The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black & TheWriter)
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		<h2 id="linktree">Play-By-Post: Bondage, D/s, S&amp;M =&gt; Bondage: Human Solos =&gt; Topic started by: TheWriter on 18-11-2009, 14:27:46</h2>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>18-11-2009, 14:27:46</strong>
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				It was views like this that first got Larry Chase into archaeology.&nbsp; Most people saw it as a life of luxury or adventure, or grew up watching too much Indiana Jones, playing too much Tomb Raider, and figured that there was a quick buck in robbing tombs, but to Larry it was about the scenery.&nbsp; 'Was', of course, being the operative word; a couple of big scores is enough to get that scent of gold in your brain and you start doing it for the cash.&nbsp; But every now and then a case will take you to a spot that just knocks you off your feet, and as Larry watched the Mediterranean wash against the Levant coastline a few dozen yards below him, the deep blue contrasting with the rich copper of the rocks and the olive green of the treeline, he couldn't help but be reminded of what started it all.<br><br>"Would you look at that view?" he said aloud within earshot of his companion, unslinging his pack and reaching in for the camera.&nbsp; He gave his partner a quick glance while fitting as much of the landscape as he could into the viewfinder, giving her ample time to jump into the picture before sounding the telltale electronic beeping and clicking of a snapshot.&nbsp; Truth be told he just wanted a breather; the hike up here was not an easy one.&nbsp; Luckily the company was infinitely better than the last time he was in this corner of the world; witty, tough, not afraid of a little action, and to put it lightly she made the view from the clifftop even better.<br><br>This particular patch of rock was near the ancient settlement of Sidon, a few hours on horseback west of the old city of Damascus.&nbsp; Fierce battles were pitched in these lands during the 12th and 13th centuries that would later become known as the Crusades. He'd recieved a lead from a colleague back home that a secret wealth amassed by the saracens under the sultan Salah ad-Din was hidden in a cave a short hike inland, concealed by a ruined temple.&nbsp; The coastline was dotted with such remains, but very few were still in good enough condition for the treasure to remain untouched as Drugger had described.&nbsp; Glancing inland, he saw the temple in question, missing a few pillars but still standing.&nbsp; Cycling through the photo reel on his camera, it seemed to match the pictures Drugger had given him.<br><br>"That's our temple," he confirmed.&nbsp; "Now, we're crashing someone else's party here, so if we're going to get first dibs on this treasure, we'd better hustle.&nbsp; You ready to head in?"
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				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>18-11-2009, 16:06:11</strong>
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				"More or less," Diane Wilcox (http://www.shockya.com/news/wp-content/uploads/odette-yustman4.jpg) nodded, lifting her pack back up her shoulders. She checked her GPS, stowed it in one of the pockets of her photographer vest, slung the nylon spelunking rope over her arm and tied her dark hair back loosely. "Come on. We want to be inside before Hoflich gets here."<br><br>Matthias Hoflich had been one step ahead of them at the Rhodes dig, but Drugger knew a few things he and his private collectors didn't this time.<br><br>"So did Hayes say what he thought was in here? Looks like it was here before the Crusades really kicked off..."
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				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>18-11-2009, 16:57:06</strong>
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				"Not a bad eye," Larry commended her, "The temple itself is a relic from the early expansions of the Hashshashin, before they fell back to Masyaf.&nbsp; What we're after, though, is what the saracens dragged here."&nbsp; He'd thought briefly about letting Diane take the lead, and allow himself an even better view, but common sense prevailed; if Hoflich was already here (as big an 'if' as it was), he didn't want to have to shoot around her.&nbsp; Ever since that fall back in Brazil his poor .45 had never been the same.<br><br>He stifled a smirk at hearing Drugger being called Hayes.&nbsp; Only a handful of people knew why he was called Drugger, and it had nothing to do with his coke habit.&nbsp; As they walked for the entrance, he pointed out the ragged cliffs that served as a backdrop for the temple itself.&nbsp; "Those walls extend far up to the north, it made access here very hard for the Crusaders.&nbsp; Drugger's been looking at some of those documents he liberated from the museum in Jerusalem; he reckons Salah ad-Din used a system of caves behind the temple as a treasury.&nbsp; Now, when the Crusaders swept past, they did it over the top of the cliffs there; they didn't bother to check the coastline with Jerusalem right in front of them.&nbsp; And seeing how well the entrance was hidden, there's every chance it's remained untouched."&nbsp; As they stepped past the threshold and into the cool shade, Larry already began glancing around the room, for any clue regarding the caves.&nbsp; "Any war costs money, even the Crusades," he finished, turning to Diane, "If Drugger's right, we're sitting on the biggest ever medieval war chest, completely untouched since the 13th century."
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				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>18-11-2009, 23:31:03</strong>
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				"Proof, if proof were needed, that most of the Crusaders weren't very bright." Stepping into the shade, Diane exhaled slowly. "So how many chances are every chance?" she asked with a wry smile as she pulled out her torch and switched it on. "Because it's sitting out here perfectly visible to the outside world. Just because Drugger and Hoflich think it's still unopened... you'll notice Drugger isn't here himself."<br><br>Her torch beam wavered with each step, tracking across the plain flat stones of the floor. "Well, I guess it <em>looks</em> undisturbed. Any idea where we should start digging? Because the last time I heard the 'lost treasure of Jerusalem' story it ended up in <em>Scotland</em>..."
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				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>19-11-2009, 00:00:53</strong>
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				"Pfft, Drugger's just afraid of a little hard work," Larry got down to business, "We'll find it either set into the floor, or against the back wall."&nbsp; Pointing his own torch back, he saw that the back wall was covered with a large tapestry.&nbsp; "I think we might have to pull that down.&nbsp; Come here and give me a hand."&nbsp; Before he did, he pulled out his camera, enabled the flash, and snapped a blind picture.&nbsp; Perhaps the tapestry would hold some useful clues.&nbsp; And boy, did it.<br><br>"Wait a sec... ah crap.&nbsp; Check this out."&nbsp; Larry shone the torch against the far wall.&nbsp; The tapestry, while it conformed to what Larry knew of Muslim art at the time, depicted two European knights riding one horse.&nbsp; Below were a handful of words in Latin.&nbsp; Definitely Crusaders of some sort.&nbsp; "<em>Non pro ego, tamen pro Deus,</em>" Larry read the markings, "Not for myself, but for God..."&nbsp; His heart sank.&nbsp; "Translation: Knights Templar was here, Saladin is a loser."<br><br>Larry continued reading.&nbsp; "Man, this is horrible Latin... <em>Ave peregrinus, vestri iter itineris propinquo suus terminus.</em>&nbsp; Uh... Hail, pilgrim, your journey approaches its end.&nbsp; <em>Matris cruor repleo subter supter...</em> the mother's blood refills below... <em>erigo mucro quod persolvo veneratio...</em> raise your sword and pay your respects."&nbsp; Mother's blood?&nbsp; What the hell is that supposed to mean?<br><br>Larry's torch swept the room as he turned back to Diane.&nbsp; "You see anything with a sword in it?&nbsp; Tapestries, statues, anything?"
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				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>19-11-2009, 03:42:02</strong>
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				Diane grimaced. "Always the damn Templars. How come it's never the Hospitallers or the Teutonic Knights - someone who didn't spend it all getting rich and making Philip the Fair kill them and take their stuff..." <br><br>She held her torch to look at the tapestry. "Well, if nothing else, Horrible Old Tapestry Embroidered By Someone With A Poor Grasp Of Latin should get a few hundred at auction."<br><br>As Larry asked "Mother's Blood? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she half smiled. "Well, when a mommy and a daddy love each other very much... Okay, I have no idea what an order of warrior monks would be talking about there."<br><br>She stepped back, looking at the decorations around the chamber. "Uhh... maybe they had an early form of metal detector."<br><br>Pointing her torch upwards, she stopped and pointed to what looked like a crack in the ceiling. "Look at this notch... sort of diamond-shaped, about eight or nine inches across. Got something sword-shaped we can slot into it?"
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				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>19-11-2009, 04:46:38</strong>
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				Larry chuckled.&nbsp; "Why?&nbsp; They never did anything!&nbsp; The Templars were the ones that got shit done.&nbsp; That and they didn't have to contend with the Assassins."<br><br>"Few hundred's better than nothing.&nbsp; Not quite our investment returned yet..."&nbsp; Larry glanced back at Diane.&nbsp; "Ah, chin up, sweety, there's got to be something better than a dusty old rug in this place."&nbsp; Larry couldn't help but chuckle at Diane.<br><br>"You know, I just so happened to leave my sword at home, what a shame."&nbsp; His light angled down, exposing a suit of armor in the floor, adorned with white and red, skeletal feet exposed at the bottom.&nbsp; Glancing to its right hand, Larry came across the dead knight's sword.&nbsp; "Hope you don't mind, big guy," he said, before noticing something weird.&nbsp; "Heh, big guy..?" An undercurrent of sarcasm.&nbsp; "This guy's drowning in his armor; it's way too big for him.&nbsp; What do you think?"
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				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>19-11-2009, 12:24:07</strong>
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				Diane tutted at being called 'sweety' and shook her had slightly, but said nothing.<br><br>"I guess the armour's worth a bit and this kid was trying to steal it. Obviously better ways to carry it than wearng it. It's in good condition... tabard's almost as red as your 'lucky' shirt." She jerked her torch beam up from the body to Larry's chest.<br><br>The sword was heavy, made for hack and slash rather than stabbing or anything requiring finesse, too much for the small, slim figure to even carry in all likelihood. And it looked like it would fit the slot as well as its scabbard.
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				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>19-11-2009, 13:20:24</strong>
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				"There we go," Larry said cheerfully, "Museums will pay a fortune for intact Templar armor; we've paid for the trip and we aren't even inside yet!"&nbsp; Larry walked over to the skeletal remains. "And don't knock the shirt," he told her, uncurling the bony hand from around the sword and hefting the blade into the air, "it's saved my life more times than I can remember."&nbsp; The blade was heavy, but not unwieldy.<br><br>As he went to stand the body shifted, slumping over to one side, the sound resonating through the room.&nbsp; "Let's save our batteries," he said, returning the torch to his pack, and slamming the base of a flare to the ground, bathing the area in red light.&nbsp; Under the light he saw an odd shape tucked inside the tabard.&nbsp; The jingle of mail rang as Larry reached under the coat, grasping a leather shape.&nbsp; "A book of some kind, vellum," he reported.&nbsp; He flipped through the pages briefly, noting dates scrawled in the top corners.&nbsp; "A journal, dates in 1192... that's the end of the Third Crusade, Lionheart's era.&nbsp; Heh, only ever Lionheart's era..."&nbsp; He pulled the tabard from the corpse with his free hand, binding the book in it and passing the bundle to Diane.&nbsp; "That'll make for interesting reading later," he said, rising to his feet again, sword and flare in hand.<br><br>Walking back to the groove in the wall, he flourished the sword.&nbsp; "Beauseant!" he cried, lining up the crevice and plunging the sword deep inside.&nbsp; A deep rumbling echoed throughout the room, and the still hanging tapestry pressed against the far wall with changing air pressure, offering the clear indentation of a corridor.&nbsp; He hoisted the tapestry over his head with his free hand, and turned to Diane.&nbsp; "After you," he said, waving her through.
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				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>19-11-2009, 14:06:55</strong>
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				Diane smirked and shook her head at his defence of his shirt. "You obviously never watched enough Star Trek growing up."<br><br>She winced at the sound of cracking bone as the body shifted. She took the journal cautiously, flicking through it. "Maybe we should read it before triggering anything... Of course, it's in Languedoil and I left my High Medieval French phrasebook at home..."<br><br>She rolled her eyes as Larry flourished the sword, then backed up as she heard grinding gears. Dust trickled between the stones.<br><br>"Well, nothing broke and dropped the roof on our heads... yet..."<br><br>The clamp inside the slot opened and released the sword back into his grip. <br><br>She looked at the dark corridor as the dust settled, at the stone steps leading down out of sight. "Oh no, I insist." She gestured for him to go ahead. "I don't mind <em>not</em> going ladies first here..."
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				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>19-11-2009, 14:47:27</strong>
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				Larry barked a short laugh.&nbsp; "I doubt Kirk ever heard the one about the pirate with the red shirt."&nbsp; He took a cautious step inside, searching for another slot on the inner wall.&nbsp; No such luck; there was no way to seal the opening behind them, at least here.&nbsp; "Alright, then, milady," he smirked, letting Diane take hold of the tapestry before setting the sword against the inside of the corridor and starting the descent downwards, holding the flare ahead of him.&nbsp; <br><br>The walk down was at least half as long as the trek up, the steps not particularly steep.&nbsp; If it came to a quick escape, the way up shouldn't give him too much trouble.&nbsp; He glanced down at his wrist; it was about one in the afternoon.&nbsp; All proceeding as planned, they'd be gone by five, ahead of Hoflich's night raid at seven.&nbsp; That is, unless there's been a last minute change of plan since last contact with Drugger.<br><br>He was about to make some small talk with Diane when the step below him gave slightly.&nbsp; He froze as the heavy grinding of stone echoed down the corridor, and the light breeze coursing down the stairs stopped.&nbsp; Then, silence.&nbsp; No rolling boulder, no spiked pit, no poison darts from the walls.&nbsp; "I guess that closed the door," he guessed.&nbsp; "Probably for the best.&nbsp; Don't want Hoflich knowing we're already down here."
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				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>19-11-2009, 19:59:28</strong>
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				"Yeah... apart from the whole 'being able to get back out'..." Diane looked back, then down at the step. She avoided stepping on it herself as she moved down.<br><br>"That... sounds like water up ahead." Sure enough, somewhere below them was a slow, steady drip. "Maybe there's a well or a spring... that would explain why they built here in the first place..."
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				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>19-11-2009, 23:29:45</strong>
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				"Calm down," he assured her, only becoming aware of how patronizing he sounded near the end, "It'll only be a few hours until Hoflich opens the door for us."<br><br>"Hmm... this place would be dead easy to defend," he thought aloud, still trudging downward, "Multiple choke points, all without much cover...&nbsp; However the Templars came across this place they took it with a big fight.&nbsp; Whatever was down here must've been worth it."<br><br>Larry paused, turning the flare behind him briefly, before hurrying down the remaining steps.&nbsp; "There's light down here," he commented, beckoning Diane to follow, before disappearing around the corner.&nbsp; "Oh, yes!&nbsp; Yes!&nbsp; Gold all over the place!"
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				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>20-11-2009, 03:43:12</strong>
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				Diane didn't say anything as he ran ahead, or even as he told her to calm down.<br><br>"Gold?" she called back, watching her step as she descended the narrow, uneven steps spiralling around and down. <br><br>She reached the bottom, and stepped into the light. "Hm. Let's see..." Stowing her torch, she opened the journal. "God-something men... Templars... Valkuryur? Grosjean... chastity... heresy? I really need to read through this... the writing style changes, gets clearer, more concise..."<br><br>She lowered the book as she rounded the corner, and stopped short. "Oh. That's... Oh."<br><br>Arched windows cut into the rock let shafts of light down, illuminating clay jars filled with coins, and weathered murals... "These are almost Byzantine, these female angels holding... a big grail-like cup."<br><br>"Larry, are we on a quest for the Holy Grail again?"
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				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>20-11-2009, 05:55:44</strong>
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				"Yeah, very 'oh'."&nbsp; Larry discarded the flare and procured his camera, snapping the murals in the light.&nbsp; He strolled around the room, dipping the odd hand into the jars, taking pictures of the coins.&nbsp; "Yeah, this gold is all Byzantine, too.&nbsp; arge nuggets in these as well, and silver dirhams.&nbsp; We're never going to get all this out of here before Hoflich gets here..."<br><br>"Valkyrur?" he piped up, still examining the jars.&nbsp; "As in valkyries?&nbsp; I didn't think many of the Templars came from that far north."<br><br>He listened to Diane's voice waver as the gravity of the situation set in.&nbsp; "Too early to tell," he answered.&nbsp; He was eyeing off that cup as well.&nbsp; "Something doesn't look right, those reliefs look strange...&nbsp; See those angels below the cup, like they're waiting for it to drop?"&nbsp; His eyes followed the relief along the domed walls, to a rock formation against the near side.&nbsp; It wasn't until now that Larry noticed the silence had gone, replaced with a muffled, light bubbling sound.<br><br>"Wait... hear that?&nbsp; Screw dripping, that's running water..."&nbsp; He paced carefully and determinedly across the room, unslinging his pack while he approached the rock formation.&nbsp; "Keep an eye out, Diane, I think I'm about to do something stupid."&nbsp; He put his foot onto the bottom of the rock and used it to push up, grabbing at a small outcrop with his hand.
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				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>20-11-2009, 06:59:09</strong>
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				Diane nodded, retrieved her digital camera and snapped a few photos of the mural and its details. "Female angels seem strange enough, the knightly orders tended to go for the big badass angels with burning swords..."<br><br>She winced as Larry said he was about to do something stupid. "At least you're admitting you have a problem now..." She checked her rope and opened the vest pocket containing her pitons as she followed him at a more cautious pace. "Just remember the nearest hospital is a hundred and eighty miles away..."
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				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>20-11-2009, 10:50:33</strong>
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				By the time Diane had busted out the pitons, Larry had reached the top of the rock formation, and had just placed a hand on the first handhold on the relief itself.&nbsp; He tested his hold on the relief, tugging at it experimentally... and broke it off with a dull crumble.&nbsp; He looked at Diane, setting herself up at the base of the rock, showing her the chunk of ancient sculpture that came off in his hands.&nbsp; "I didn't do it," he muttered quickly.<br><br>He glanced up at where the handhold used to be, only to be presented with more questions.&nbsp; Instead of the solid rock he expected, there was a fist-sized hole, with nothing but the sound of water beyond.&nbsp; "Hang on," he said, reaching up to the hole tentatively, pulling at its edges.&nbsp; More of the increasingly fake fresco came away.&nbsp; "This is a fake wall," he declared in wonder, incredulous that someone had taken so much effort to decorate it.&nbsp; Come to think of it, it was a clever piece of security; who would think that a fresco as intricate and impressive as this would conceal something else entirely?<br><br>He let go of the rock, getting back to the ground in a controlled fall.&nbsp; He looked at Diane, assuming she'd be thinking the same thing: destroy a timeless piece of interior design, or be content with many jars of coins.&nbsp; "What do you reckon?" he asked.
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				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>20-11-2009, 13:47:06</strong>
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				"I think you're going to Hell for this one, Lawrence Chase. Just please let me take some more pictures before you destroy this thing," she groaned. "I know, I know, Matt will just smash it tonight anyway..." <br><br>She paused. "Hang on. We have to have something we can cut it..." She trailed off as a crack ran up the fresco, and the piece with the water pouring from the goblet painted on fell free. "... away with," she sighed.<br><br>The centre of the wall was a door-sized hole covered by plaster, where the female supplicants were painted. "So you pass under the waterfall..."
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				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>21-11-2009, 06:03:28</strong>
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				Larry fished out his torch again, stepping through the opening.&nbsp; The room inside was unnervingly plain, no elaborate reliefs or frescos here.&nbsp; Against the far wall, perhaps six or seven feet from the inside of the relief was a reflecting pool lined with gold, in which what at first glance was a large stone chest sat.&nbsp; It had to be lined with gold; there was no way the whole thing was gold.&nbsp; Water seemed to trickle in from a reservoir behind the wall again; Larry guessed that this wall was solid.&nbsp; He approached the reflecting pool; it appeared to be waist height, the chest standing on a raised platform.&nbsp; Aside from the raised part, the bottom rounded off into a concave shape, lined with gold like the outside.&nbsp; The chest had an intricately detailed lid; a relief of a woman resting, hands over her waist.<br><br>"Wow," was all he could manage, an entirely different tone from the excited shouts before, and he knew it.&nbsp; He knew the theories, but there was no definitive evidence.&nbsp; To think that it was right, after all this time.&nbsp; And even then, it just brought up new questions.&nbsp; He knew how Hoflich rolled; teams of twelve, ten of them soldiers.&nbsp; If this is what they're after, could they just be the middlemen..?&nbsp; "We're in over our heads..." he muttered to himself, before remembering he had a partner outside awaiting news. "Uh, this is going to sound odd, but are you a Christian?"
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				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>21-11-2009, 16:33:32</strong>
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				Diane climbed over the rim of the chamber, securing the waterproof nylon rope and walked over slowly, putting the video feature of her camera on. "Oh my God, this is... well, it's not movable, obviously."<br><br>She moved over to where Larry had stopped. "Uh, not really. I went to Sunday School when I was a kid, but... I was never <em>this</em> Christian."<br><br>She took a deep breath, almost shivering. "So, take the money or open the box?"
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>21-11-2009, 17:24:43</strong>
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				"I don't know," Larry said softly.&nbsp; "I really don't know."<br><br>As he walked around the edge of the pool, Larry explained what was going through his head.&nbsp; "What if the Holy Grail isn't a cup?&nbsp; What if everyone who's read the Bible in the past two thousand years has been doing it too literally?&nbsp; All that's known for certain is that the Holy Grail served as a container for the divine blood of Jesus Christ; all sorts of things could serve that purpose: bowls, ponds, tanks... even a womb, the ultimate symbol of femininity."<br><br>"I'll cut to the chase; one of the crazier theories about the Grail is that it's the remains of Mary Magdalene, the wife of Jesus Christ and mother of his child.&nbsp; Within her is the DNA of the son of God, and proof that the Bible is very wrong about a lot of things back then.&nbsp; If the Church ever knew this existed, there'd be hell to pay, and the Templars knew it.&nbsp; Once they got back home, it soon slipped that they knew too much, and the Church had them silenced.&nbsp; To think Dan Brown got it right..."<br><br>He looked back at Diane.&nbsp; "This could bring down the entire concept of Christianity.&nbsp; If we open the box we're going to have every Christian from here to Rome looking for us; we might as well call the morgue and make reservations.&nbsp; But... people deserve to know as well...&nbsp; I just don't know."&nbsp; Larry stepped up to the edge of the pool, camera in hand, taking pictures of the casket, stalling for time while he tried to figure out what to do.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>21-11-2009, 21:11:06</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"The Grail isn't even <em>in</em> the Bible," Diane pointed out. "Of course, the 'Holy Blood and the Holy Grail' theory would still make a mess of a lot of dogma..."<br><br>"So. Think we can lift it?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>22-11-2009, 05:15:04</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Sunday school's still more than I got," he smirked as Diane corrected him.<br><br>When asked about lifting it, Larry shook his head.&nbsp; "No way in hell.&nbsp; Solid stone, no idea how thick it is... We'd be lucky enough to be able to lift the lid.&nbsp; Even if it were light enough, the bottom of this pool's rounded out; we can't get a good footing.&nbsp; You said it yourself; the nearest hospital's a good hundred and eighty miles away."<br><br>"If we want to take the chest," he finished, sitting down on the edge of the pool, "I'd say our best bet's to wait for Hoflich to turn up; he's got a better chance of pulling it out than we do."&nbsp; He almost didn't want to say it, but the possibility was still there: "If it comes to it, we could try and negotiate with him..."&nbsp; Even Larry knew that sounded like suicide.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>23-11-2009, 00:50:40</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Yes, because he's such a famously good listener." Diane shook her head, then looked around. "I dunno. We could get out of here with a few hundred Byzantine gold and silver coins in mint condition and still call it a win. This thing goes to Matt's bosses and never sees the light of day... but it's been unknown for eight hundred years, so what's another couple decades in a private collection?" She added the last part, sounding like she was trying to convince herself as much as him.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>23-11-2009, 01:53:45</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"No, no, no," Larry dismissed with a grimace, "if he's being hired by who I think he's being hired by, they'll burn it, smash it.&nbsp; It doesn't even matter if they're not; the church will buy it, steal it, kill the owner and change his will, they'll do whatever they can to make sure it never sees the light of day."&nbsp; It's not that he was anti-Christian or anything.&nbsp; He just had a problem with blanket deception, like the kind rumored to be behind the Holy Grail.&nbsp; This was proof the church had duped the entire world for millennia.&nbsp; If Larry had anything to do with it, it wasn't going to continue.<br><br>"Right, break's over," he said, standing up, "here's what we do.&nbsp; Let's get that open, take as many pictures as we can.&nbsp; Get whatever we can take into specimen bags.&nbsp; Not too much, it's still got to look like a whole body.&nbsp; Get the lid back on, bust out and get the hell out of Dodge with as many of those jars as we can muster.&nbsp; Hoflich thinks he has the whole body, long story short it winds up to the Vatican and they burn it thinking they've taken care of the whole shebang.&nbsp; Meanwhile, we find someone with the means to expose the whole thing, sell it to them for a small fortune."<br><br>"So, ready to get wet?" he finished, gesturing to the pool.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>23-11-2009, 02:42:38</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I think maybe you're getting paranoid in your old age - nobody got killed over the Shroud of Turin... but what the hey, I gotta know what's inside too." She stowed her camera in a full-seal clear plastic bag suitable for waterproofing or even underwater use, dropped her vest and started untying her hiking boots. "And yes, I'm ready. Unfortunately for you, my gear is waterproof." She smirked as she dropped her boots and pulled off her socks. "Let's go vandalise history."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>23-11-2009, 03:33:37</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Larry bided the old age comment, taking care to shift his pack clear of the pool's edge before standing at the edge, waiting for Diane to get herself ready.&nbsp; "Yeah, well, the shroud was a bit different."&nbsp; <br><br>He spun himself around, bracing his arms on the edge as he lowered himself slowly into the water.&nbsp; He tread water toward the sarcophagus, bracing his legs against the gilded walls of the pool, using the leverage to push against the lid.&nbsp; Slowly he began to exert himself, not wanting to overdo it and send the lid into the water, and after much effort the lid groaned as it was pushed aside.&nbsp; Lifting himself out of the water over the open tomb, he was greeted by a skull, grinning up at him from beneath bloodied robes.&nbsp; <br><br>"Hello, Mary," he said, beckoning Diane into the pool.&nbsp; He couldn't help but think of how Mary's final moments went down, to be bundled into a casket with blood-soaked robes.&nbsp; He shimmied around to give Diane better access.&nbsp; "My hands are wet, don't break a nail grabbing those specimens.&nbsp; Then I'll need your help lining this up properly."<br><br>It was years of modern living that led up to what happened next.&nbsp; Like nearly any other kid, Larry loved going to the pool as a boy.&nbsp; It's almost ingrained into anyone's head to dive down after entering water; to fully submerge themselves.&nbsp; Larry shortly proved he was no exception, his head disappearing under the water.&nbsp; He'd intended to kick off the bottom shortly after, but the minute his hair disappeared under the surface, he froze.&nbsp; His body stopped responding to him; it felt as if thousands of insects were crawling over every inch of his body, and that each of those insects were on fire.&nbsp; His cries of pain were muffled under the water, as he struggled to regain control over his body, currently thrashing below the surface as precious air escaped his lungs.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>23-11-2009, 05:12:05</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I wasn't planning to," Diane tutted at the joke about breaking her nails - hers were kept pretty short as a rule. She rounded the pool to join him, pausing to grimace at the bloodied sheets and the bones visible through them as she continued filming. Shouldering the camera, she pulled on a pair of latex gloves and retrieved a scrap of bloodstained cloth and bagged it, then lifted a finger bone...<br><br>And then Larry vanished under the surface and started to spasm. <br><br>"Larry?"<br><br>She set the bone down as she waded closer to reach down to him, squinting to see him through the bubbling, thrashing water all around him. <br><br>The gilding around the pool seemed to light up, like the sun had burst through from behind a cloud stronger than ever, seemingly turning the water to gold, making him even harder to see. <br><br>And he could barely see either, as something like strands of golden hair swirled in front of his eyes. Where was that coming from? <br><br>He could feel her hands on him - his skin seemed far too sensitive, like instead of touching his hairy arms she was grabbing at the softer, smooth skin of his inner thigh. <br><br>The boiling sensation seemed to ease, but his skin felt that sensitive all over, and the clothes clinging to him felt too heavy, waterlogged, dragging him down.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>23-11-2009, 12:32:38</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Larry felt Diane's hand around his arm from behind the golden curtain.&nbsp; Almost all the way around his arm; that was impossible, her hands weren't that big.&nbsp; The skin under her hand tingled more predominantly with the after effects of... whatever had just happened to him.&nbsp; As the burning faded, he felt his head gently bump against the curve of the pool floor.&nbsp; He pulled at Diane's arm and righted himself in the water, the yellow haze lifting from his eyes as he broke the surface, chest heaving to bring in lungfuls of air.&nbsp; The first thing he noticed was that somehow, treading water had gotten a bit more difficult; as if his clothes were weighing him down.&nbsp; At first he argued that it was only the water, until his hiking boots began to slip from his feet, requiring special attention to keep them from falling off.&nbsp; Every inch of clothing that once sat snugly against his body was now loose, his trousers even slacking, slipping down to his hips.<br><br>Now Larry's eyes opened to Diane, still holding his arm, a look of abject disbelief on her face.&nbsp; "What?"<br><br>No, wait... who said that?&nbsp; "What the...?"&nbsp; It was Larry speaking, but certainly not his voice.&nbsp; Larry glanced down at what definitely wasn't the body Larry was accustomed to.&nbsp; Where Larry once had modest muscles, now were lithe, narrow arms.&nbsp; Where once were washboard abs from years of climbing, now a flat but toned waist, obscured by twin mounds of soft flesh.&nbsp; And where once was a cocky, devil-may-care adventurer; now was a slowly panicking blonde woman, throwing herself backward against the pool wall, hurriedly examining her hands and face in terror.&nbsp; "What just happened?" she managed in a quick, trembling gasp.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>23-11-2009, 23:36:39</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"... Larry?" Diane managed to stammer after a moment as she looked down at him. <em>Him?</em><br><br>Larry could feel his... her chest heave, feel the tightness of his red shirt across his chest, his shorts about his hips. Looking down through a tangle of wet honey-blonde hair, he could see his nipples press out through the wet fabric. He could feel himself trembling, feel wet clothes drag on smooth, sensitive, unblemished skin. <br><br>"You... you're a... girl..."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>24-11-2009, 00:16:40</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Larry's eyes returned to Diane, indignation shining through the panic.&nbsp; "I think I've figured that out for myself, Diane!" she snapped shrilly, "How!?"&nbsp; Almost as soon as she'd said it, regret set in.&nbsp; Whatever happened Diane couldn't have had anything to do with it; it wasn't fair just to blame her for it.&nbsp; She felt herself start to calm down, her mind regain control.&nbsp; What had happened was still completely unbelievable, but as unexpected as it was it wasn't the complete sum of her problems.<br><br>Larry decided it was time she got out of the pool; water was going places Larry wasn't used to water going, and cool as it was it made her more than a little uncomfortable.&nbsp; "Look, can we please hurry up?" she said, "I just want to get out of here before it turns me into a horse or something."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>24-11-2009, 03:36:25</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Diane blinked at the high, girlish shriek, but didn't seem offended. If anything, she was too shocked to be. <br><br>"Well, it's... ah..." She trailed off, still gawping at the soft curves revealed by wet, clinging, male clothing. <br><br>"Um. Right." She snapped out of it. "I got the rag, I had the bone... Not... not sure we can get it shut again now..." She backed up slightly, tearing her eyes away from Larry, looking back at the tomb. "I think... it was only when you submerged. I mean, it hasn't done anything to me... has it?"<br><br>Looking at her, Diane was perhaps a little less tanned than she had been, maybe her hair was an inch or two longer? Or maybe Larry was just seeing things. Either way, Diane still clearly looked like herself, at most in a more flattering light.<br><br>She offered Larry a hand out of the reflecting pool.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>24-11-2009, 04:55:35</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Well we've gonna have to get that shut," Larry reminded her, "Matthias is expecting a sealed tomb."&nbsp; She had all of tonight to worry about being a girl, if she got that far.&nbsp; Larry swam back to the casket, before doubling back wearing an annoyed expression.&nbsp; "Ah, fuck it," she grunted, kicking her boot up and dumping her loose footwear up top, "we're just going to track more water through the whole place, we can't not leave signs."<br><br>Larry picked up on the hint of concern in Diane's voice.&nbsp; "No, you look fine," she replied, "Uh, that is, normal."<br><br>"I guess on the plus side, he'll have no idea who the hell I am," she commented, accepting Diane's help out of the pool.&nbsp; Being out of the pool didn't help her feel any more comfortable; now instead of billowing around her, the mens' clothing just hung off her like dead weight.&nbsp; Not only that, her shirt stuck like glue to her, the heavy wet cotton torture over her newly sensitive nipples.&nbsp; "Hang on a minute," Larry said, as she readjusted her clothes; retying her ill-fitting shoes' laces, cutting a new notch in her belt to keep her shorts up, tucking the large shirt into them.&nbsp; With that done, Harry leant down to Diane, returning the favor of help out of the pool.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>24-11-2009, 06:32:28</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"The water'll dry out," Diane assured... her. "Long as we don't leave too much..." <br><br>She watched as Larry pulled her boot laces tight, not wanting to interrupt her focus but unable to look elsewhere until she was done.<br><br>Taking Larry's now small, delicate hand, she hauled herself out of the water. "Uh... right then. I'll take this side..." She walked around the rim of the pool, very warily.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>24-11-2009, 07:50:18</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Diane's gaze didn't go entirely unnoticed by Larry, but he chalked it up to the change, refusing to consider anything aside from getting out of this hole for the moment.&nbsp; Any other time Larry would lap up the attention, but right now she wished Diane'd get over it; it served to fuel some sort of warm uneasiness in her waist, which she took to mean being nervous.&nbsp; It really was an entirely different body...<br><br>The lack of effort needed to pull Diane up surprised Larry greatly, especially considering her new form.&nbsp; It was like he didn't even need to try; almost as if Diane floated out of the pool of her own accord.&nbsp; With that sorted Larry went back for her pack, and the revolver inside it.&nbsp; "Gun out if you've got one," she asked Diane, pulling the beat-up .45 from his pack, "Just in case."&nbsp; Secretly she hoped she could still manage the recoil of this thing; it was enough to handle with arms double the size of hers.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>25-11-2009, 00:01:32</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The lid of the sarcophagus returned with a heavy grinding sound. Diane flashed her torch inside for oen last check that they had not left any telltale clues to their presence, then pulled as Larry pushed and sealed the tomb again.<br><br>"Okay, that's done... let's get out of here." She looked over at Larry, visibly shaken.<br><br>As Larry pulled out her heavy revolver, she nodded and unclipped the pocket containing her much smaller automatic. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>25-11-2009, 02:27:01</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Larry moved into the light of the antechamber, pack in her free hand, and thankfully saw no one.&nbsp; Slinging the pack, she moved to the jars of gold, hoping to take one with her.&nbsp; If she came across a firefight she'd have to ditch it, she reminded herself as she braced to heft the jar, but if no one turned up it'd be a was-wait a minute..!&nbsp; <br><br>Larry caught Diane's attention, and demonstrated grabbing the rim of the heavy jar, lifting it with next to no effort.&nbsp; "I thought getting you outta that pool was much easier than it should've been," she commented, "Don't suppose there's anything in that book about turning people into Supergirl, is there?"&nbsp; Larry hugged the jar to her chest and made to move on up.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>25-11-2009, 02:57:18</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Valkyries are super-girls, right?" Diane suggested with a weak smile. She tried to heft an urn, and could lift it just a little. "Well, I feel pretty fit, but... not like that."<br><br>Setting it down, she skimmed a few coins from the top into a specimen bag, put that in her pack next to the shroud, the bone and a phial of the water, and unslung her SIG-Sauer. "Let's not push our luck... it's been a plenty weird day already."<br><br>She advanced slowly, listening intently. "Clear... looks like you're not going to have to throw that at anybody just yet."<br><br>She stowed her gun and started to climb down her rope, drawing it again as she reached the floor.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>25-11-2009, 05:32:56</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I guess that's a way of looking at it," she reasoned, sliding down the rope with one hand, the other around the jar holding the .45 at the top.&nbsp; Her feet hit the ground, and she moved against the temple wall, eyes fixed on the entrance.&nbsp; She moved to the side of the opening, putting down the pot to draw the sword from the wall, closing the entrance behind them.<br><br>There weren't any signs of disturbance in the temple; their friend the Templar still lay against the wall in the oversized chainmail...and with that it dawned on her.&nbsp; "Hey Diane," she gestured to the skeleton on the floor.&nbsp; "We'd said the skeleton was small for the armor.&nbsp; What's the bet she took a dip as well?&nbsp; Certainly puts a new spin on the old stories..."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>26-11-2009, 00:28:00</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"... I guess it'd explain why they just left it here. Not exactly egalitarian times... No matter how strong it makes you, they still wouldn't want to do that on purpose." Diane bit her lip and looked away. She concentrated on the floor, pulling a fleece jacket out of her pack and using it to redistribute the sand, covering their tracks. <br><br>"So where to? Drugger's dropoff point? Or is this too big now? Should we go straight to... huh, I dunno, the Greek Orthodox Church or somebody?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>26-11-2009, 04:12:46</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Drugger's for now," Larry answered, "I need... I just need time to think."<br><br>"That is a good idea, though." Larry commented on Diane's initiative.&nbsp; Larry put down the jar again and shrugged her shoes off, still very loose around her feet despite tightening them before.&nbsp; Bagging the wet boots before packing them, she kicked over any footprints she made coming in.&nbsp; The trip back was mostly sand and shaded rock through the scrub; she figured she'd be able to manage in bare feet.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>26-11-2009, 05:07:09</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Thanks. Um... I guess I'm only a little bit in shock by comparison," Diane said with a weak attempt at a reassuring smile.<br><br>"Want to borrow my sandals once we get out of sight?" she asked as Larry stowed her old boots. <br><br>They reached the entrance to the tomb and she looked out, squinting into the light. "Looks clear..."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>26-11-2009, 14:00:48</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Oh don't worry," Larry managed with a wry smile, "I can't wait to completely freak the hell out once we're back on the boat.&nbsp; I just want to make sure we get there."<br><br>"Well, so long as you're offering," she answered, "Let's see how my feet hold up on the sand first."<br><br>Larry took a peek out of the temple herself, and saw no one.&nbsp; "Alright, if they're on their way they won't be coming up through the scrub with all their men and equipment; they'll be in jeeps coming over those hills to the left.&nbsp; &nbsp;If we get around past those dunes to the right we can just hit the sand if we hear engines coming."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>28-11-2009, 03:06:28</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Diane nodded to Larry turning down the offer of sandals. <br><br>As she pointed to the dunes to the north, she grimaced. "Right. Ready?" She braced herself to start running.<br><br>The sand was hot under Larry's exposed, soft-soled feet, but probably not too much to handle at a run. The suggestion of wearing her sandals did indicate that Larry and Diane were about the same size now, though...
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>30-11-2009, 14:42:31</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"No time like the present," she said, bolting into the afternoon sun, slowly falling into the Mediterranean.&nbsp; Almost immediately she regretted rejecting Diane's sandals; the sand was rather hot.&nbsp; Perhaps it was her pride that pushed her on; he was a man, he didn't need sandals to walk on sand!&nbsp; Her unrestrained breasts bouncing up and down with each bounding stride soon reminded him that wasn't the case any more, and her rapidly warming feet agreed.&nbsp; The sand itself was not the issue; she could push herself through the pain barrier for that.&nbsp; But she was certainly not going to be able to handle bare sunbaked rock; she'd have to stop at the trees after all.<br><br>Thankfully the air stayed free of the roar of engines, and they reached the treeline undetected.&nbsp; By the time Matthias had realized something was up, they'd be in their dinghy back to their 'camp' offshore; a charter boat licensed to Drugger, with room enough to sleep two in the cabin.&nbsp; From there, they would make for Rome, then fly back home from there.&nbsp; If Matthias was angry enough to follow the tracks all the way out here, he'd be too far in their wake to bother chasing much further than the coast.&nbsp; Even so, they still had plenty of time between hearing him going in, and him following their trail out.&nbsp; Time enough for a break, Larry decided.<br><br>Larry signaled to Diane for a break once they found some shade, and placed the jar down next to her, rubbing the sore soles of her feet.&nbsp; "I think I might need those sandals," Larry admitted, in between winces of pain at touching particularly tender spots.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>01-12-2009, 02:31:39</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Diane dashed in and stopped once she was in the shade of the trees. She nodded and opened her backpack, retrieving first the burn cream and then her plain, flat sandals (http://keetsa.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/hemp-sandals-by-patagonia.jpg). "Good thing I didn't bring that gladiator style pair I bought in Milan," she said with an attempt at a jokey smile as she handed them over and opened her drinking water bottle.<br><br>Handing the bottle over after taking a sip, she pulled out her field glasses and surveyed the horizon. "Looks clear. We might be able to get to the boat by nightfall... so we have that long to figure out what we're going to tell D. about why we went out with... something else." She trailed off as she looked at Larry balming her feet, stretching a perfect pair of legs, as bending over reminded her of the mounds of flesh that had grown from her chest as they got in the way...
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>01-12-2009, 04:03:44</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Didn't know you had a thing for strapping into tight leather, Diane," Larry retorted, as if nothing had happened.&nbsp; Larry set the flipflops to one side while he took the offered drink.<br><br>"I figure I'll need at least that long to wrap my own head around it," Larry said, lightly brushing the loose sand from her feet before starting with the burn cream.&nbsp; There were no burns per se, but she'd take no chances.&nbsp; It didn't help that actually seeing her feet was a more difficult prospect than before.&nbsp; Larry put down the bottle of cream before pulling down the slack on her old shirt, pressing her breasts against her as she rubbed the cream into her feet.&nbsp; "There's no point trying to make it complicated.&nbsp; Tell him what happened."&nbsp; The foreign mounds pressing at the confines of her shirt helped it all sink in; he was magically turned into a girl by holy grail water.&nbsp; Well, <em>she</em>, was magically turned into a girl.&nbsp; Sure, made perfect sense.&nbsp; <br><br>Done with the cream, she hugged her new legs against her chest.&nbsp; This was something she hadn't been able to do since sixth grade; her new form was a lot more flexible than the tough, robust self of old.&nbsp; Between her knees she noticed Diane staring at her.&nbsp; She stopped herself from saying 'What?' or 'Yes?', or even 'Stop staring at me, it's wierd'; for some reason she felt she would regret it.&nbsp; Instead, she just felt intent to look into her eyes.&nbsp; Larry figured this is what other people meant by 'sharing a moment', and in other circumstances she would've prioritized dismissing the notion, but truth be told her mind was elsewhere.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>03-12-2009, 01:49:09</strong>
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				<div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote"><a href="https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=53077.msg2502307#msg2502307">Quote from: TheWriter on 01-12-2009, 04:03:44</a></div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"Didn't know you had a thing for strapping into tight leather, Diane," Larry retorted, as if nothing had happened.&nbsp; Larry set the flipflops to one side while he took the offered drink.</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br>Diane looked like she was about to say something, then just shook her head.<br><br><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote"><a href="https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=53077.msg2502307#msg2502307">Quote from: TheWriter on 01-12-2009, 04:03:44</a></div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"I figure I'll need at least that long to wrap my own head around it," Larry said, lightly brushing the loose sand from her feet before starting with the burn cream.&nbsp; There were no burns per se, but she'd take no chances.&nbsp; It didn't help that actually seeing her feet was a more difficult prospect than before.&nbsp; Larry put down the bottle of cream before pulling down the slack on her old shirt, pressing her breasts against her as she rubbed the cream into her feet.&nbsp; "There's no point trying to make it complicated.&nbsp; Tell him what happened."&nbsp; The foreign mounds pressing at the confines of her shirt helped it all sink in; he was magically turned into a girl by holy grail water.&nbsp; Well, <em>she</em>, was magically turned into a girl.&nbsp; Sure, made perfect sense.&nbsp; </blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br>"Yeah, because he'll totally believe that," she said quietly. <br><br><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote"><a href="https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=53077.msg2502307#msg2502307">Quote from: TheWriter on 01-12-2009, 04:03:44</a></div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">Done with the cream, she hugged her new legs against her chest.&nbsp; This was something she hadn't been able to do since sixth grade; her new form was a lot more flexible than the tough, robust self of old.&nbsp; Between her knees she noticed Diane staring at her.&nbsp; She stopped herself from saying 'What?' or 'Yes?', or even 'Stop staring at me, it's wierd'; for some reason she felt she would regret it.&nbsp; Instead, she just felt intent to look into her eyes.&nbsp; Larry figured this is what other people meant by 'sharing a moment', and in other circumstances she would've prioritized dismissing the notion, but truth be told her mind was elsewhere.<br></blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br>"Sorry, just... now we're not running... you look a bit like you, but... you've got the same eyes. You look <em>fit</em>. But not all muscles, like you used to. Like... a swimmer, maybe." She paused before saying that, like she might have thought of something else first. She was obviously being careful with her words.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>04-12-2009, 09:02:02</strong>
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				Larry noted her silence on that matter, and filed it away as important information for the future, with the good taste not to dwell too much on it.<br><br>"Well, I don't think there is any way to make this believable," Larry said, "short of 'oh, Matthias shot down Larry, but here's his twin sister that no one knew about until now'.&nbsp; If you want cliches, that's right up there with me waking up and realizing it was all a wet dream."<br><br>"It will be nice to get a better look at what I've turned into," she said as Diane described the new Larry Chase.&nbsp; Larry herself was beginning to notice the lesser changes; her hands were smooth and soft, the callouses of years of rock climbing gone.&nbsp; Her knuckles were flat again, two decades of cracking them and self-defense practice undone, along with other various bumps and scars from years of tomb raiding.&nbsp; She'd heard Diane hesitate trying to find a comparison for her new physique, and craned her neck towards the dark-haired woman, her right eyebrow quirked in interest.&nbsp; "A swimmer, huh?" she echoed slowly, with a suspecting smirk, "Strange first choice..."
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>05-12-2009, 02:26:31</strong>
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				"I wouldn't say <em>twin</em>. You look about eighteen." Diane cringed apologetically as she said this. <br><br>She avoided Larry's gaze as she called her on the strange first choice. "I'm trying not to freak you out any more." She bit her lip and resolutely looked away. "Um, ready to keep moving?"
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>05-12-2009, 05:38:17</strong>
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				Larry's ears perked up.&nbsp; "Eighteen?&nbsp; Yeesh..."<br><br>She meditated on Diane's words briefly, before agreeing.&nbsp; "That's probably a good idea," Larry muttered half to herself, "Both counts."&nbsp; The flipflops were much easier on her feet when she stood up, shouldering the pack again.&nbsp; "The dinghy's just down the hill.&nbsp; Let's just get back to the boat so I can take this in."&nbsp; She hefted the jar to her chest and began to soldier on, trying to think of easy ways to handle this, and every time coming back to large amounts of alcohol.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>06-12-2009, 01:35:42</strong>
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				Diane straightened up and started walking ahead, her hand on her holster. She glanced back, watched Larry heft the amphora. <br><br>"So you're... superstrong as well. You don't need a hand with that?"<br><br>It did seem heavier now, although still not as heavy as it should. Maybe the heat of the day was wearing Larry down. Or maybe the effect was fading.<br><br>She didn't seem to be any less female, though...
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>07-12-2009, 12:43:55</strong>
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				Larry grunted, bringing the jar around to carry with both hands.&nbsp; "It is a bit heavier," she said, "I guess this wears off after a while.&nbsp; It's still nothing I can't handle.&nbsp; We aren't too far now, I should make it."&nbsp; With that, Larry started down the path, watching her feet on the uneven rocky descent.<br><br>"So," Larry said in between light, decidedly un-Larry grunts, "You don't feel any different?"
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>08-12-2009, 01:41:18</strong>
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				"... Should I?" Diane asked warily, glancing down at herself. "I'm already... y'know." She pointed at her face. "Do I look eighteen as well?"<br><br>Perhaps not, but she looked less tired than she should after this overland trek. More like she'd spent a week at a spa than in country.<br><br>As Larry considerded this, she heard a rumble in the distance. A jeep, maybe more than one, on the other side of the outcrop. Heading for the tomb.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>08-12-2009, 06:38:55</strong>
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				"How should I know?" Larry returned at Diane's initial response.&nbsp; "Well, I dunno about eighteen, but after all that you've barely broken a sweat."&nbsp; At that, Larry noticed that despite struggling with the jar most of the trip back, she wasn't tired either; the load just seemed heavier.<br><br>The distinct sound of engines drifted through the scrub, fanfare for Matthias' brigade.&nbsp; "Hoflich.&nbsp; I'd say it's about time we weren't here," Larry said, picking up her cautious pace. <br><br>The two beat feet back to their craft, beached on a strip of grainy sand amongst the rocky shore, obscured by carefully placed foliage courtesy of Diane earlier.&nbsp; By this stage whatever effect the pool had taken on Larry's staying power was fading, Larry herself now struggling to get the heavy pot over the side of the boat.&nbsp; With a relieved sigh she cleared the hull, keeping hold of the rim until she heard it touch the fibreglass bottom with a dull thud.&nbsp; <br><br>"Start her up," she beckoned Diane to hop in while she unbeached it, vaulting onto the prow before scooting over the windshield and into the boat proper, now floating free.&nbsp; Finally out of danger, Larry felt safe to breathe easy.&nbsp; The breeze seemed to cut through her, so she ducked down under the windshield, again hugging her knees to her chest for a moment of reflection, a somewhat uneasy look on her face.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>08-12-2009, 10:03:48</strong>
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				"Good thing it didn't sink," Diane observed as the boat lowered in the water as Larry shoved the amphora in.<br><br>Watching her curl up, she took the wheel and started steering the boat away from the shoreline. "I'll steer. Keep an eye on the cliffs, this thing isn't the quietest."<br><br>Sure enough, she could hear the distant growl of engines separating as the boat floated down the river. "Well, we can make a bit of progress without the engine if we have to... but one we reach the rapids we're gonna need to gun it..."
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>08-12-2009, 16:18:40</strong>
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				"And let them get closer for a better shot?" Larry disagreed, "No, gun it now; they'll know someone broke in, but by the time they get to shooting we'll be too far gone to hit us.&nbsp; Even if Hoflich was overkill enough to bring a sniper, the waves will make it hard to get a clear bead on us from the cliff."<br><br>The dinghy might not have sunk, but it was listing a little to the port side.&nbsp; Larry leaned forward, gently tipping the jar empty across the bottom of the boat, the gentle tinkle of loose metal faintly wafting through the air as she distributed the weight across the floor.&nbsp; The hull shone with gold and silver, when she was done, worth enough cash to take a well deserved and desperately needed break from treasure hunting.<br><br>Larry looked down at herself, her lucky shirt sundried and flapping over her knees in the breeze.&nbsp; As soon as Matthias got a look at the boat, he'd see Larry's signature clothing and know where to look.&nbsp; It probably wouldn't mean much, but... oh hell with it, it's not like it's Larry Chase in a red shirt: it's just his younger hotter sister.&nbsp; Larry scrambled low over the coins to reach into Diane's bag, procuring the Templar tabard and pulling it over her head.&nbsp; Like the skeleton in the tomb it was enormous on her; a tunic designed to bare shoulders she wore like a short sleeved shirt, but it served to keep the baggier shirt underneath in check, and was much less recognizable.&nbsp; Larry also pulled out Diane's binoculars, ready to keep an eye out when duty called.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>09-12-2009, 02:10:07</strong>
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				The tabard split slightly at the wrinkles which had been exposed to centuries of fresh air, but it held. <br><br>Diane powered up the inboard and the boat surged forwards, kicking up a high wake as it sat low on the water.<br><br>Up above, they could hear shouting in English, German and Arabic. <br><br>Matthias Hoflich looked down, grabbing his binoculars. "Who the... I want to know who that is!"
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>09-12-2009, 12:34:22</strong>
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				Larry braced herself underneath the opening to the stowaway, bringing the binoculars to bear on the height of the rapidly shrinking cliff face.&nbsp; An angry Matthias stood near the edge, excitedly gesturing toward their boat.&nbsp; Seeing that Kraut frustrated never ceased to make Larry smile, and even with today's unique circumstances, now was no exception, a gentle smirk spreading across her lips.&nbsp; <br><br>Men at his right aimed rifles over the edge, AKs from the look of them, lighting up with muzzle flash.&nbsp; May as well be firing spitballs at that range, she thought as the chatter of the guns cracked through the air, their ammunition ultimately falling short in spurts of water caught in the wake at least ten yards back.&nbsp; She had to fight with herself not to goad Hoflich by blowing a kiss or flipping the bird; if he got angry enough he might actually give chase.<br><br>"They're long gone," Larry assured Diane, keeping eyes pasted on the cliff regardless, "I'll keep an eye on them, but we're fine for now.&nbsp; Just get us to the boat, back due west."
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>11-12-2009, 04:01:03</strong>
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				"Working on it," she said as she straightened up from leaning defensively over the wheel. The splashes of bullets hitting the water tailed off, and Larry could just make out Hoflich shouting into a walkie-talkie as he vanished from sight behind the edge of the cliff. <br><br>Diane took a ragged breath as she lowered the throttle to guide the small boat through the ravine towards the bay. <br><br>"If we hit the rocks I'm throwing you in," she muttered as they approached the rapids. Larry could feel the cool water churned up by the stones splashing on her smooth, exposed legs. Her lucky T-shirt was still moist, clinging to her, her nipples poking out and rubbing on the inside of the ancient tabard.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>11-12-2009, 17:26:30</strong>
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				Larry returned the binoculars to Diane as they rounded the bend.&nbsp; As Diane killed the throttle, Larry kept an ear out for other rising engines.&nbsp; Hubris crept into her mind as she made nothing out over Diane's nearly idling motor; Matthias had prepared to clean out a tomb, not chase a couple of scavengers downriver.<br><br>"Like you could lif..." Larry began to say, before realizing that right now, Diane probably could lift her.&nbsp; After that, she wisely kept her trap shut on the matter.&nbsp; "Pull the motor out of the water, though," she told her, "If we bust the prop on the rocks we'll be paddling back to the boat.&nbsp; We'll have to use the current."<br><br>Scattering the coins turned out to be a stroke of genius; the rapids did hit hard, but the distributed weight helped keep the craft level in the rapids.&nbsp; What didn't turn out to be such a smart idea was the tabard; she doubted that they made clothes back in the Crusades to be tumble-dried, let alone white water washed.&nbsp; On the plus side the bright red and white distracted Hoflich from Diane; it wouldn't have taken him long to connect Diane to Larry, but he didn't seem to notice her.&nbsp; The odd bucketful of foamy water splashed over the side, thoroughly drenching Larry to the bone.&nbsp; <br><br>As the boat drifted downstream, another downside of the tabard revealed itself; it pressed her shirt against her chest.&nbsp; If her nipples were chafing before they were on fire now, twin bullets protruding from her breasts.&nbsp; The worst thing was she wouldn't dare try and alleviate them; with all the in-hindsight-inappropriate comments he'd made about Diane being in a similar situation in the past, she'd just be inviting trouble.&nbsp; Larry saw no alternative but to bite the bullet and withstand it, all the while praying Diane would either not notice, or be the better woman and not say anything.&nbsp; As unassuming as she intended to be, however, she couldn't help but look sheepish and embarrassed.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>12-12-2009, 03:54:51</strong>
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				Diane looked back as Larry shifted the engine up on its hinged base - it felt about as heavy as it had when she was a man. At least she wasn't any weaker than she had been... yet.<br><br>"Okay, we're coasting. You okay?" She noticed Larry's expression, and spotted her trying not to glance down. "Just put your hands under there and cup them. That'll help," she said in a completely matter-of-fact tone.<br><br>She turned back around as the boat started to drift less slowly towards the narrow choke point of the rapids. Larry could just see her starting to smirk reflected in the windscreen, before high spray slashed over it again. 
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>13-12-2009, 02:33:18</strong>
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				Larry gave Diane a disappointed look at the words 'You okay?'.&nbsp; She couldn't even muster the effort for sarcasm.&nbsp; "No, I'm not," she replied.<br><br>It did sound like Diane was going to be the better woman after all, thankfully.&nbsp; Larry hooked his hands underneath the tops, taking Diane's advice and cupping her two mounds.&nbsp; It suffused her chest in warmth, and provided a barrier between her and the rough cotton.&nbsp; Heh.&nbsp; Rough cotton.&nbsp; That's something he never thought he'd think.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>13-12-2009, 11:19:16</strong>
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				"Better?" Diane called back. <br><br>"Of course, you might need a hand to hold on to something," she added quickly as the boat started to pick up speed as it plunged through the bottleneck. "Use one hand for both of 'em!" she called, raising her voice over the churning spray as it lapped over the sides of the boat.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>14-12-2009, 03:02:21</strong>
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				"A bit," Larry said back, unsure whether her new voice could carry over the roar of the water.<br><br>"Better idea," she called back.&nbsp; She shimmied further up the nose of the craft.&nbsp; The stow was low enough for Larry to brace herself against, rolling onto her back and pressing her feet against the inside of the nose, using a lifejacket to cushion against the fibreglass floor.&nbsp; Not the best use of a lifejacket ever, but what the hey.&nbsp; Besides, it gave Larry a chance to better examine her new legs, lithe and silky smooth as they were.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>15-12-2009, 01:07:52</strong>
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				"We keep going like this, we might need those lifejackets," Diane said over the noise of the churning water which now surrounded Larry as she lay in the boat.<br><br>Larry had seen a lot of pairs of women's legs in his... her life, but never from this angle. But from what she could tell, these were stunning - long and slim, definitely suggesting she had a swimmer's build, or some kind of athlete's. Perfectly smooth as well, to the touch of her sensitive, supple fingers.<br><br>"Okay, here we go, hang on!" Diane tightened her grip on the wheel as the walls of the ravine grew close enough that the boat was in shadow, and it started to rock and bob under them.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>15-12-2009, 01:51:39</strong>
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				Larry had to admit, it was a fine set of pins she had now.&nbsp; They seemed to go all the way up, and from what he dared feel, between the rocking of the boat and keeping her chest covered, there was nary a problem to be found.&nbsp; On anyone else Larry'd be hounding them unabashedly, drink in hand and smile on face.&nbsp; But... these were her legs, and she still didn't know what to think of that.<br><br>Larry took a spare hand and reached to her side, grabbing a spare lifejacket.&nbsp; She threw it low across the boat, landing it just near Diane's feet.&nbsp; She took one for herself, donning it loosely over the tabard, not wanting to risk damaging the fabric any more.&nbsp; That, and she wanted to keep her hands there for now.&nbsp; She'd tighten it when things started to look really grim.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>15-12-2009, 02:25:57</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Diane didn't take her hands off the wheel. "Yeah, I'm hoping I can stop us crashing and not actually need it..." she said through gritted teeth as she held the small boat steady through the rapids, as they shook and swayed. The gold coins shifted like they were in a jar being tipped to catch the light.<br><br>There was a definite thud and a jarring feeling as it hit an outlying rock. "Are we holed?" Diane asked, stopping herself looking around, putting her eyes back on the churning water ahead.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>15-12-2009, 02:41:34</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Larry took a hurried glance at the inside of the boat.&nbsp; No water cascading in was always a good sign.&nbsp; "We're good," Larry assured her, "You're doing great."&nbsp; <br><br>It hadn't really occurred to her exactly how much experience Diane did or didn't have in white water.&nbsp; "Try to stay away from the rises," she coached her, "We're carrying a lot of weight, but going over the high water drags our ass right across rocks.&nbsp; The troughs will be deep enough for us."&nbsp; That's one thing she made a mental note to bring up later: taking the white water option instead of just leaving via the calm, smooth way they came.&nbsp; They sure as hell wouldn't have made it upstream this way.&nbsp; Almost as soon as she thought it, another voice of reason piped up: they were under fire, bullets going everywhere, it was a hurried decision and it was wrong.&nbsp; Nothing to get angry about.<br><br>"Oh, another thing," Larry said, "Pray this way out doesn't end in a waterfall."
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>15-12-2009, 02:49:56</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				"It doesn't, I checked that much on the map," Diane assured her, barely audible over the roiling waves. <br><br>Another, smaller thud from the port side this time, and up ahead they could see the river valley opening out a little, the pressure easing off a little.<br><br>The boat started to slow and level off.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>15-12-2009, 03:22:26</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Larry breathed a sigh of relief as the water calmed down.&nbsp; She did a quick equipment check; bag intact, bottom still covered in ancient coins, all effects present and accounted for.&nbsp; Shrugging the unsecured lifejacket, she tossed it back into the stow.&nbsp; She still couldn't hear anything aside from the dulling roar of the white water they were drifting further and further away from.<br><br>"Doesn't sound like we're being followed," Larry voiced her observation.&nbsp; "I guess we can put the motor back in."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>15-12-2009, 03:36:30</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				"Right." Diane took a deep breath, let it out, and lowered the engine into the calming water, turning it over. The buzz of the propeller blades seemed incredibly loud as it echoed off the cliff face, but as it started pushing them along the slowing river no-one appeared.<br><br>"Well, that went... um..." she trailed off as she glanced back at Larry, then looked ahead again. "That part went well."<br><br>The low boat proceeded down the river towards port. Diane kept her eyes on the water ahead.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>15-12-2009, 03:53:03</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Larry opened her mouth, intent on letting Diane have it for almost getting them both killed, but she didn't have the heart to say anything.&nbsp; It felt wrong, really; Larry was barely holding her head together, but Diane is probably just as weirded out by all this.&nbsp; She chose instead to just lay down along the length of the boat, not before carefully removing the tabard, folding it up and placing it delicately back into the pack.&nbsp; The gold didn't exactly make for a comfortable bed, but that was the least of her problems.<br><br>Her hands went up to her head, languidly exploring her new golden locks.&nbsp; She continued from her head downwards, slowly exploring her new form as modestly as she could.&nbsp; She'd already gotten more than a good feel of her torso, and the nagging sense of something missing below her belt proved that was gone without the need for a grope.&nbsp; She really was a girl... but...&nbsp; Larry stared dumbly at the sky, watching silently as it turned purple with the onset of the evening.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>15-12-2009, 04:17:31</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Upriver would have been faster, of course... and gone right under Hoflich and his men and let them give chase across the cliff edge more easily. Six of one, half a dozen of the other, really. And at least the rapids wouldn't have actively chased them.<br><br>Touching and stroking her silky hair and soft, smooth body felt very pleasant. Larry had never realised how rough his hands were until they were suddenly very soft and sensitive, or how coarse and hairy his skin was until it was softened, rejuvenated... and feminised. <br><br>"It'll be dark soon, they wouldn't be able to follow us if they were even trying... Will you be warm enough like that?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>15-12-2009, 04:36:11</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				It took some rolling around in Larry's mind to piece together what Diane had said.&nbsp; "It's a warm night," she said, clearly distracted, "and the boat's not that far away."<br><br>Larry couldn't keep her hands off herself.&nbsp; The feeling of her new body under her hands was two-fold; one one hand, it felt like exploring the curves of a woman, any other woman he would've hooked up with in the past, attractive, smooth and soft as silk.&nbsp; On the other hand, it was her own body after all; it felt like someone was exploring her own curves.&nbsp; Foreign hands were coming to grips with her foreign body.&nbsp; It felt... it felt like being with a woman, and being the woman at the same time.&nbsp; It felt like... like being loved...<br><br>"It's different," she explained, being very careful with his words.&nbsp; "I know, I should be creeped out, I'm an entirely different person... but... but it feels... no-normal..."&nbsp; Her voice strained a little.&nbsp; "It's not so much the being a girl... it's knowing it feels normal... that scares the shit out of me..."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>17-12-2009, 02:33:31</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Diane nodded, her expression turning gentle. "I guess it wouldn't be much use if it drove everyone using it crazy. As it is, I can see why they decided to wall it up and leave it behind." She smiled softly. "Don't worry, I'm sure we can find ways to freak you out about it."<br><br>She looked back at the river ahead of them, then glanced back. "And hey, maybe it'll pass... Or maybe Matty'll wade in there too," she added with an encouraging smile.<br><br>Above them, the sky was starting to turn, hints of purple in the blue and orange on the clouds. His first night as a woman.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>17-12-2009, 10:24:03</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Larry hummed agreement with Diane's first points, watching the violet sky turn blue.&nbsp; It was when Diane mentioned finding ways to freak her out about her new body that Larry began to get nervous; that warm, blooming feeling in her waist she felt back in the ruins, accompanied by his mind conjuring images of such.&nbsp; An inaudible gasp escaped from her as she realized what the warm feeling was.&nbsp; "Uh... listen, Diane... saying stuff like that... it makes me... look, it just feels... weird, okay?"<br><br>As the uneasiness slowly invaded the rest of her body, Larry was desperate for something to shift those otherwise perfectly fine images, and Diane delivered in style.&nbsp; "Ugh!" Larry revolted at the mention of Matthias, "I certainly didn't need to think of... no, you know what, I did need to think of that.&nbsp; Thanks, Diane."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>20-12-2009, 02:29:35</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Glad to be of service," she replied with a warm smile. "So. We get back to port, make pots of money - literally, we have a pot of money - and figure out what happened and what we can do about it." She sounded confident as she listed this off. Then she paused. "Not that I have any idea who to ask." Then she carried on, quickly: "We'll need to sort out a passport, probably."<br><br>Up ahead, their boat came into view. "Okay. I'll get Hayes on the sat phone, and I can pilot us back if you want to get some sleep. You've had a long day."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>20-12-2009, 14:44:04</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Sounds like a good battle plan," Larry murmured from the floor of the boat, laying down again.&nbsp; "Come to think of it, Matthias will probably be checking the nearby ports for big spending arrivals.&nbsp; We can't exactly cheap out for the big boat.&nbsp; And he'll widen the search with each day...&nbsp; So if we're going to dodge him, we can either find a not-so-nearby port, say Crete or Greece, or find somewhere out of the way and waste a day on the water to throw him off.&nbsp; Or both; after that boat trip I'd say we both need sleep."<br><br>"We can leave that to Drugger," Larry said of the making of money, absentmindedly rolling one of the coins between her fingers, "He knows where to find people who'll pay a mint for just one of these coins.&nbsp; Aside from one little snag we've hit the jackpot."&nbsp; More like the absence of a snag, she thought bitterly.&nbsp; <br><br>"We'll figure something out once we dock.&nbsp; We can get by on your one for now, even if it means me being boatridden until we can hook something up.&nbsp; I'll be okay to do my share at the wheel once I wake up, though."&nbsp; Larry began to collect the coins back into the jar, the boat a dark, growing shape on the horizon.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>20-12-2009, 15:52:42</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Diane lowered her gaze slightly. "I didn't mean about the coins. I meant about the... snag." She gave Larry a sympathetic look, as this was clearly something she had no wish to hear or consider, then looked back to the boat as she started to guide them in under the stars emerging from the deep blue sky.<br><br>The small crew were waiting on the old stone dock, picked out in the dark by the glow of their cigarettes.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>20-12-2009, 16:08:34</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Hm..."&nbsp; Larry considered her circumstances as she found the last of the coins.&nbsp; "I think we're going to have to hit the books, look for anything that sounds relevant in the legends.&nbsp; There's that journal to look through as well, I daresay that'll have something to say.&nbsp; Short-term, I'd say that's our best bet, though; get out to open water in the boat, call back to base and get Drugger to meet us at a dock with my new passport."<br><br>As Diane guided the boat to dock, Larry stood up and made herself useful, standing ready with the mooring line.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>22-12-2009, 03:41:38</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Diane nodded slightly at the plan. "We'll need a photo for that. We can do that with my camera, I guess."<br><br>As they approached the dock, the crewmen looked over. And as Larry stood up, one of them wolf whistled.<br><br>"Who's this now?" asked Captain Henry as they approached.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>22-12-2009, 04:33:35</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The wolf whistle was an strange thing to be on the receiving end of.&nbsp; With that not-so-innocent gesture, Larry was caught surprised at exactly how vulnerable she really was; five or six men on the dock could easily overpower the both of them.&nbsp; She was thankful that idea wasn't something that made the warm spot bloom.&nbsp; And here Larry was with her pack right by Diane's feet.&nbsp; As she tossed the mooring line not so much <em>to</em>, as <em>at</em> the wolf whistler, her free hand was behind her back, extending her thumb, index and middle fingers behind her, miming the shape of a gun to Diane.&nbsp; Working the boat with just the two of them wasn't exactly complicated, if it came to self-defense.<br><br>Who was she?&nbsp; It was as good a question as any.&nbsp; They saw off a twenty-something man, and a woman in her teens comes back.&nbsp; Larry thought on her feet; they knew we were up to some sort of no-good, they didn't need to know exactly what.&nbsp; "Someone who could not be in a lesser mood for twenty questions, Henry," Larry responded abruptly, "Diane tells me you were paid for the two-stroke, the dock and some muscle, not for the gameshow."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>22-12-2009, 04:45:33</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Diane gave one nod to indicate that she the message had been received and understood. <br><br>The captain grinned, a gold tooth glinting in the faint light of the docks' illuminations, and settled his well-worn cap. "You'll have to pardon my curiosity, Miss, no-one mentioned the trip being a relay race. Will Mister Chase be joining us?"<br>Diane looked at Larry, then shook her head. "He's been delayed. Nothing serious."<br>"Good," said Henry. "Because we don't have a spare cabin for your new travelling companion. Do you have any luggage for my men to bring on board, Miss...?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>22-12-2009, 05:03:38</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Nothing serious," Larry chimed, "but enough of a delay to arrange alternate transfor- transportation."&nbsp; An innocent slip of the tongue; there's no way anyone could make the connection, she reminded herself.&nbsp; If they did, they'd be completely daft.&nbsp; "I'll be taking his cabin."<br><br>Larry knew the ruse sounded suspicious, but backing off now would only compound it.&nbsp; Besides, the truth was indeed far stranger than fiction.&nbsp; "Doe.&nbsp; Jane Doe.&nbsp; I have this jar; everything else we can handle."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>24-12-2009, 02:23:28</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Captain Henry nodded and grinned. "This way then, Miss 'Doe'." He lifted his hand behind her, to guide her, never quite touching her but if he stepped when she stopped his hand would be touching the small of her back. "May I call you Jane?"<br><br>Behind them, Diane held the gaze of the first mate, who finally flashed a grin and signalled for the others to help him bring in the launch. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>30-12-2009, 13:02:17</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Jane will do."&nbsp; Larry clambered up onto the deck with as little help as humanly possible from the crew.&nbsp; "If you'll excuse me the boat ride has me feeling uneasy."&nbsp; Larry left the heavy lifting to the men and made for her cabin, the fact that "Jane Doe" ought not know where it is the furthest thing from her mind.&nbsp; As she moved through the empty ship, the cool calm demeanor she wore in public faded quickly, revealing the panicked, confused mess within.&nbsp; She needed to lie down, she needed to let go, she needed to...&nbsp; Almost before the word drifted through her mind, she heard his dad's voice from childhood: 'Real men don't cry, Larry.'&nbsp; Yeah, thanks, Pops, she retorted, now I'm too proud to cry.&nbsp; Fucking Wonder-Dad you were.<br><br>The room on board was anything but the Ritz.&nbsp; Flat, featureless metal walls accompanied by a bunk bed, at the foot of which Larry half expected to find a footlocker at first sight last week.&nbsp; Against the wall was a sink, as bare and spartan as the rest of the cabin, with a square mirror extending from the fixture up the wall about three feet.&nbsp; Aside from that, the room was sprinkled with the contents of Larry's pack: clothes, footwear, weapons and other amenities, some of which suddenly useless.&nbsp; A night with Diane was always a long shot, truth be told, it never hurt to be prepared.&nbsp; But what struck Larry the most as she closed the door behind him was the smell.&nbsp; It wasn't particularly strong, just very unnerving.&nbsp; The room was definitely his room, that was unmistakable.&nbsp; But it wasn't <em>hers</em>.&nbsp; At the same time his cabin was completely familiar, and totally unrecognizable.&nbsp; Larry gave a sorry chuckle before stumbling to her bed, collapsing over the foot and onto the mattress, gently huddling her legs to her chest.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>01-01-2010, 00:06:00</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The bed had been cramped before, but now seemed large enough, the thick sheets slightly rough against her skin reminding her that she was still wearing the remains of the tabard. It was strangely easy to curl up, her knees touching her chest.<br><br>After just a minute or so there, she heard a soft knock at the door, Diane's. "I figured you might need something to ch-put on." She had just about caught herself before saying <em>change</em>, but Larry could hear the start of a <em>ch</em> in her stutter.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>04-01-2010, 01:54:42</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Larry turned to the door at the knock, sitting up again.&nbsp; "Come in," she said softly, wiping her eyes.&nbsp; Larry stood up and moved to the sink as Diane entered, taking to washing her face.&nbsp; The mirror greeted her as she lifted her face, and Larry stopped in her tracks.&nbsp; Diane was right; eighteen, build of a swimmer, golden hair hanging down in a mess.&nbsp; Larry hadn't realized she was still wearing the tabard, and overall the look served to further gobsmack her, a nagging sense of familiarity... deja vu?&nbsp; Either way, blonde hedge that was her messy hair aside, if Larry were to spend the rest of her life as a woman, her beauty was one less thing to worry about.&nbsp; She was certainly, as she would've said, a catch.<br><br>She wiped the excess water from her face, and turned to Diane.&nbsp; "Probably a good idea," Larry agreed, "I don't want to know what'll happen if they figure out what's going on."&nbsp; Larry's eyes dipped to Diane's hands, curious as to what she'd brought for her to wear.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>04-01-2010, 02:26:02</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I sincerely doubt <em>anybody</em> would figure out what's going on," Diane said with a reassuring smile as Larry turned. She was carrying a white vest top, a thin cream cotton shirt, a pair of canvas knee-length shorts and her brown spare pair of walking boots, and also a small travel bag. "We'll hit Gibraltar in a couple days, I have enough to spare till then." <br><br>She set the clothes down and opened the bag. <br><br>Inside, Larry could see a jumble of white straps and patches. It took a moment to recognise a sports bra and matching plain, practical cotton panties.<br><br>She could see another set as Diane pulled out a Yankees baseball cap. "Sorry I don't have a second pair of sunglasses, we'll need to get you a pair on shore. And, uh, some more things," she added more quietly, looking at the bra strap now hanging out of the bag.<br><br>"Oh, um..." she retrieved another bag, like a large soft wallet. A toiletries bag. "In case you wanna wash up. And there's a band for your hair and... um... Oh, remember to pad dry, don't rub with your towel." Her reassuring smile looked more awkward as she rambled slightly in a way she obviously hoped was helpful.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>04-01-2010, 14:08:44</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Larry eyed the items set out on the bed.&nbsp; Not too bad, she thought, it could have been a lot worse.&nbsp; "I suppose I should thank you for not picking me out a dress, Diane," she said, picking up the vest.&nbsp; "I guess a bit of clothes shopping will be going on the punch list in the next few days..."<br><br>Diane opened the bag, and the bundle of white straps reminded Larry that underwear was a whole different problem.&nbsp; The sports bra she supposed wasn't much different from a tank top, but ever the realist, down the line she'd be expected to use a conventional one, as the single strap dangling from the bag suggested.&nbsp; "Uh, Diane, sports bras are well and good, but I uh, don't know how to, you know..." she trailed off.&nbsp; Larry had a much easier time taking bras off than putting them on again, least of all behind his back.&nbsp; Just another hurdle, I guess.<br><br>"Ah, these I know how to use, though," she smiled, picking up the hairband.&nbsp; At last, something familiar!&nbsp; "I had a ponytail back in college," she explained, stretching the band around her five fingers and clasping as much of her hair together as she could, before tugging the band back off her hand, and feeding her hair through the loop.&nbsp; Alternating hands she repeated it, and a couple of times later, the hair was held back snugly.&nbsp; "This much I can handle!"&nbsp; It felt good to have a smile on her face, at least.<br><br>She turned back to Diane, accepting the cap she held in her hands.&nbsp; "Thanks," she said, "I've gotta admit, with the way I talked to you before, I thought I had it coming to me.&nbsp; But you're being helpful and mature about it, certainly better than I am, anyway."&nbsp; She placed her hands on Diane's shoulders.&nbsp; "I don't know how I'd cope with this without it."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>05-01-2010, 02:50:49</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Diane smiled ruefully at the idea of the dress. "Don't worry, I didn't want you screaming and throwing things."<br><br>She watched Larry look over the borrowed clothing, chosen for its practicality even before she knew she would have to lend it to... someone. <br><br>She reached up to give Larry's small hands a squeeze as they rested on her shoulders. "Don't mention it. I'm biding my time before doing something incredibly bitchy, obviously." She flashed a grin, clearly joking. "For now... put your hands up, I'll show you how bras work. You should be able to figure out sports bras by yourself, but clasps are tricky."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>05-01-2010, 03:05:07</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Wait up," Larry delayed, "Let me get this thing off."&nbsp; Larry gently took hold of the tabard at the collar, tugging the delicate fabric over her head with care before shrugging it off onto the bed.&nbsp; Her lucky red shirt was almost dry underneath, albeit a little wrinkled.<br><br>"Okay," she said, raising her arms.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>06-01-2010, 03:31:35</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Okay, take your shirt off first." Diane paused as she hooked the bottom of Larry's shirt, and looked away. "Um. I'll understand if you don't want to just take it off like that." She held up the plain cotton bra. "Put your arms through the straps, put the cups in place and I'll help you fasten it."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>09-01-2010, 13:21:40</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Larry turned away to undo the shirt's buttons, before sliding the shirt off, tossing it gently onto the bed.&nbsp; She turned back to Diane, politely looking away while holding up the bra.&nbsp; While it wasn't something she expected to happen, Larry had earlier thought over the prospect of finishing the night disrobed with Diane in her room, but truth be told this wasn't exactly what she'd had in mind.<br><br>Holding out the garment by the straps, Larry couldn't help but stare at it a short while.&nbsp; Speaking of things she didn't expect in the morning, here she was about to put on a bra.&nbsp; Larry slipped her arms through where she figured they were supposed to be.&nbsp; So far so good, the cups ended up where she expected them.&nbsp; After fixing up the cups' placement, she took hold of the clasps and coughed gently to attract Diane's attention.&nbsp; "Just show me where my hands need to go," Larry suggested.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>13-01-2010, 02:01:23</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Diane stepped around her to take a look. "This can be tricky, even for an expert. It's why they invented front-clasping. But anyway..." She took Larry's hands, a gentle reminder of how small and soft they now were, and guided them to find the clasp and fit the straps in place. The shoulder and underarm straps pulled in a little tighter - this thing would never let her forget she was wearing it. <br><br>"There we are." Diane stepped back, lifted the thin, airy cream cotton shirt and held it out for Larry. As she did, she realised that the buttons were on the opposite side.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>15-01-2010, 05:23:51</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Larry made a note of the position of her hands as Diane guided them to a place on her spine, and gasped as the straps were pulled taut.&nbsp; Again, her hands felt much larger against her own than she was used to.&nbsp; Larry took a breath and tested the new garment, twisting her torso and arms experimentally.&nbsp; She wasn't used to wearing such tight clothes, but on the plus side Larry wasn't chafing in it as she would without.&nbsp; "Thanks," she repeated.<br><br>Larry took the shirt from Diane, holding it out to examine it briefly.&nbsp; It was far lighter than the cotton stuff she used to wear, and certainly not her colour at all.&nbsp; Then again, she thought, what was her colour now?&nbsp; Diane probably had a better idea than she did at the moment.&nbsp; She swung it around her, sliding into the sleeves as she reached for the buttons, turning to Diane.&nbsp; Wait, what?&nbsp; Where's the button?&nbsp; She looked down, and on the right of her shirt a line of button holes ran down the shirt, the buttons instead being on the left.&nbsp; "Huh.&nbsp; Never noticed that before," she commented, buttoning her shirt with mirrored hands.&nbsp; She glanced at Diane, hands falling down onto her hips.&nbsp; "So how do I look?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>17-01-2010, 01:27:48</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"See for yourself," Diane suggested rather gently, gesturing to the small metal mirror attached to the back of the cabin door. <br><br>In it, Larry could see... herself. <br><br>She was beautiful.<br><br>She was trying to hide it, golden blonde hair scraped back and hat pulled down almost hiding her light green eyes, but there was no denying it. <br><br>She was now the most beautiful girl she had ever seen.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>25-01-2010, 14:19:32</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Larry had to double take in her mind.&nbsp; Hubba-freakin-hubba.&nbsp; Her first reaction to the blonde-haired beauty staring back agape was a sudden and overwhelming desire to buy her a drink, and hopefully learn her phone number.&nbsp; A nine-and-a-half, nine at the very least, being as harsh as she could imagine.&nbsp; Almost as sudden was the realization that she was staring at herself.&nbsp; She reached up and pulled the hat off to get a better look.<br><br>"Holy shit, that's me," she murmured, leaning toward the mirror.&nbsp; In clean clothes, 'swimmer' wasn't the first thing that came to mind; she looked like she belonged on a set more than a starter's block.&nbsp; It could've been the cream and khakis, but she looked like a blonde Evelyn Carnahan on location in Hamunaptra; no, more like Ann Darrow on Skull Island, only without the delicacy; a turn-of-the-century Lara Croft without the boob job.&nbsp; She was ravishing, a smouldering temptress unafraid of a little physical activity, a hands-on rough-and-tumble girl who exuded attraction even with Larry's blokish stance and body language.&nbsp; In short, she was everything Larry looked for in a woman.<br><br>"I... just... damn..."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>27-01-2010, 04:12:24</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Her reverie was broken by Diane's voice.<br><br>"You okay?" she asked, very softly, clearly concerned by Larry's reaction to her mirror image. <br><br>"It's gonna be okay," she added, doing her best to sound confident and reassuring. "We'll figure this out."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>29-01-2010, 05:40:36</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Huh?" Larry turned away from the mirror at Diane's words, taking a moment to process.&nbsp; "I... I really don't know," she said slowly, her voice hinting more at curiosity than fear now.&nbsp; The life of a treasure hunter wasn't exactly a walk in the park; at the end of the day you couldn't really ask for more than a bag of loot and your head still attached.&nbsp; Sure, her situation wasn't particularly normal, even heard of.&nbsp; But all things considered, it could be much worse.&nbsp; She could like like this, AND in Hoflich's schnitzel licking hands.&nbsp; <br><br>Or was she just telling herself that?&nbsp; This was a life-changing problem, and she was taking to it like a duck to water.&nbsp; It only took a look in a mirror to go from alcohol-seeking depression to optimistic apprehension.&nbsp; Larry was adjusting a lot easier than she'd thought she would back in the ruins.&nbsp; She dared to ask herself: was there something Larry Chase liked in the idea of being a woman?&nbsp; "I guess so," she finished her response to Diane.<br><br>"Yeah," she agreed.&nbsp; Of course we'll work it out.&nbsp; What's another Templar mystery to the dauntless Larry Chase?&nbsp; Higher stakes than usual, but oh well.&nbsp; "How about that journal?&nbsp; Did you bring your translation stuff with you, or is it all back at base?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>30-01-2010, 07:20:55</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I brought it," Diane nodded, smiling slightly as she saw Larry at least trying to brush off any concerns. "It must have some of the answers, at least. And the water samples are bound to have more, once we can get them to a friendly lab. And with what else we brought back, some of them are sure to be mighty friendly."<br><br>She stretched slightly. "Been a long day, though. For you especially." She paused. "Alhough I guess you're not gonna get much sleep tonight, you look... way too wired."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>30-01-2010, 09:12:24</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Wired, huh?" Larry responded, following up a tired sigh, "I'm not sure wired is the right word..."&nbsp; Shaken?&nbsp; Stirred?&nbsp; Downright petrified?&nbsp; Even that sounded like it was in the wrong direction.&nbsp; The mention of the word sleep did stir up some fatigue in Larry.&nbsp; "I could use some rest, though," she half-yawned, "If I can't get any sleep it won't be out of a lack of trying."<br><br>"And, if worse comes to worst," she said, pacing down to one of her bags to dig through, taking longer than she thought to procure her prize, before turning back to Diane with a bottle of vodka and a gentle smile, "a little nightcap won't hurt.&nbsp; A toast to our success?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>03-02-2010, 01:08:40</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Why not?" Diane smiled, with a slight nod. "Are there glasses or are we pulling from the bottle? Oh, and while you're rummaging, get one of your old T-shirts out. Unless you want to sleep in my spare jammies." She smirked, encouraging Larry to smile as well. "I mean, they're not pink or anything, but they won't quite fit..."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>08-02-2010, 01:59:56</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Ah, don't be a wimp," Larry waved, opening the bottle, "I don't have cooties."&nbsp; The irony of the statement didn't completely hit her until her second gulp from the bottle, her groan echoing around the third.&nbsp; She lowered the bottle from her lips, breathing heavily in a decidedly un-ladylike manner.&nbsp; She turned to Diane, offering the bottle by the neck.<br><br>"I think I'll manage for nightwear," Larry smiled back, returning her smirk with the words "I wouldn't have minded getting in your pants, though."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>08-02-2010, 14:42:11</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Diane chuckled and shook her head as she took the bottle and took a quick, much lighter sip. "Remember you shouldn't drink as hard now. You're a lot lighter, and you might not be able to handle it as well in general." She took another slow sip. "Don't want you passing out."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>08-02-2010, 15:44:56</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Larry craned her neck over to the bag on the floor, to- whoa...&nbsp; That felt weird.&nbsp; She swung her head back and forth slightly, a subtle, quizzical expression adorning her features.&nbsp; There was some sort of lag between her muscles and her nerves; like she was moving one way, and moving the same way again to catch up.&nbsp; Was this what being drunk was like?&nbsp; Larry couldn't tell; she used to have an cast-iron liver.&nbsp; "Huh."&nbsp; She turned back to Diane, saying something about passing out.&nbsp; "Wouldn't mind it," Larry commented, "if it means I get sleep tonight."<br><br>"And that's why we're drinking vodka," Larry informed her partner, "It's the hardest drink to get a hangover from.&nbsp; Something in the fermenting process, can't remember the details...&nbsp; Besides, it's my family motto:" she grinned, "Chases love chasers."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>11-02-2010, 02:46:17</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Yeah..." Diane moved to guide Larry towards the bed. "But you need proper sleep more than you need to pass out. Even with vodka you can still get a hangover." She sat her down. "And you haven't eaten much today, so throwing up wouldn't be fun either. And... don't go making a habit of it, because then I have to keep an eye on you as you sleep."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>14-02-2010, 15:32:55</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				It didn't take much longer of this new sensation for Larry to get quite tired of it.&nbsp; "All... very valid points," she finally agreed with Diane, taking a seat at the foot of the bed.&nbsp; The strange lag seemed to dissipate slightly, but still remain ever-present, its interference with Larry's actions at the back of her mind.&nbsp; "I mean, what would people think if you had to sleep in here..?"<br><br>Almost as soon as the words left her mouth she regretted them, the slightest red tinge dashing over her cheeks.&nbsp; Did I just say that?&nbsp; No way I just said that.&nbsp; Please didn't say that.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>15-02-2010, 16:28:46</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"They'd think I didn't trust them to leave you alone," Diane assured her... which also assured her that she had indeed said that. "After all, they've only got a day or so to hit on you before we get to port."<br><br>The engines rumbled, and Larry could feel the boat shift under them.<br><br>"Just focus on getting to port. Because then there's money, and better food, and we can start to figure out how to fix this. Okay?" Diane smiled reassuringly.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>17-02-2010, 14:30:51</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Fantastic, Larry thought to herself.&nbsp; "'Kay," she said quietly, Diane's assurance doing much to lift her heart.&nbsp; Larry's sensibility belatedly returned to her, and she lazily screwed the lid back on the vodka.&nbsp; "So, uh... shower, I guess," she said, standing up.&nbsp; Standing up a tad too fast.&nbsp; Her feet twirled around as she haphazardly caught her balance before a disaster.&nbsp; "Perhaps in the morning..."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>18-02-2010, 02:55:15</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Diane nodded, leaning back as she saw Larry right herself, and retrieved the water canteen from her rucksack. "You should try to get some rest." With that, she set the full canteen on the case that served as a bedside table.<br><br>"I'm right next door if you need me." She opened the cabin door, taking a lingering look at the girl who had until this morning been Larry Chase.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>22-02-2010, 06:27:39</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Larry sighed, sitting on the bed before rolling over, easing herself into a supine position.&nbsp; "Good night," she farewelled her partner as she left the room, "And thanks, again..."&nbsp; She then laid back in the bed to find the rest she knew would not come easily.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>23-02-2010, 02:09:34</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Diane closed the door, leaving Larry alone with the low thrum of the engines and the slow rocking of the ship as she lay on the flat bed. The sheets felt heavier than she remembered, starchy, as they lay closer against her exposed skin than they had with her now-lost body hair. <br><br>Outside, she could hear footsteps on the deck passing, a bell ringing a few times below. She was sure she could hear everything moving in the ship and she'd never be able to sleep.<br><br>But... <br><br>Larry was bathing in a crystal clear pool. His skin tingled, and he could see it pulling in, feel his chest start to swell and grow heavy... see his image in the water, as long silky blonde hair hid his face...<br><br>She woke to the low moan of a foghorn.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>23-02-2010, 04:50:48</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The dull drone of the foghorn shook Larry out of his slumber.&nbsp; He wasn't exactly suffering a hangover; more of a dulled sense of things.&nbsp; He could only remember taking one swig of vodka, though; he sure as hell must have had more than that, he wasn't such a lightweight.&nbsp; There was something tight around his chest, not cutting off circulation or anything but... just uncomfortably tight.&nbsp; Bleary eyed he stretched in bed, before rolling out and stumbling to the sink in the corner.&nbsp; Turning the handle, he cupped some of the warm water into his hands and splashed it over his face.&nbsp; Strange... he hadn't shaved yet, and his face was already smooth.&nbsp; Smoother, even; his skin hadn't been this soft since grade school.&nbsp; He strained his eyes open.<br><br>The face in the mirror gave a start, eyes suddenly widening behind the curtain of golden hair.&nbsp; I'm a gi-!&nbsp; Then the memory of the past day's exploits caught up with her; the Templar ruin, the hidden room, the golden pool with the casket...&nbsp; Oh, that's right, the girl thing.&nbsp; So the tight thing must be - yep, she fell asleep with Diane's bra on.&nbsp; Fantastic.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>25-02-2010, 04:13:49</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Her bra and panties, both almost fitting her new shape but not quite right for her slender... girlish build. <br><br>Fortunately, Diane's T-shirt, or Larry's old T-shirts and boxers, would do. Not that sleep seemed likely again... but she had managed it once.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>25-02-2010, 05:38:59</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Foghorns meant being near civilization, if not coming into a port; there wasn't much point in catching another few moments of sleep.&nbsp; Besides, it seemed that whoever Larry was now, she was a light sleeper.<br><br>After donning her old boxers, Larry reached for Diane's shirt and shorts, wearing them directly over her nightwear.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>26-02-2010, 01:27:04</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Diane's thin shirt fit snug over Larry's chest. At least her shorts could be adjusted to fit comfortably. This only left the little other suitable clothing she had in the cabin.<br><br>As she looked over how much he had packed and how little she could still use, there was a knock at the cabin door. "Port!" called a male voice.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>02-03-2010, 12:46:59</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				After sparing a thought to how right she was about more sleep, went back to mulling over her old clothes, largely useless at this stage.&nbsp; With a last look in the mirror she checked herself over.&nbsp; <br><br>The clothes... the clothes didn't suit him.&nbsp; But that didn't matter because the clothes suited her, quite well in fact.&nbsp; Grabbing hold of the hair tie Diane had left her, she whirled her loose locks back and moved for the door, eager to find out exactly what time it was, and what port they were in.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>02-03-2010, 20:11:12</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Diane was outside, buttoning a shirt up over a tank top. "Algiers," she said as she saw Larry looking out. "We can hit some contacts, sell some of our finds, get some more clothes for you."<br><br>She walked into Larry's cabin, looking around. "We should bring the gold with us, sell some of it, stash the rest in a bank on shore for now."<br><br>She paused, reached over, and adjusted a lock of Larry's hair, moving it away from her eye. "Careful. I know it's a lot to get used to."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>07-03-2010, 15:09:53</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Algiers?" Larry commented, "These boys sure know how to move."&nbsp; Algiers would be well beyond Matt's search net.&nbsp; At this rate, by this afternoon they could be anywhere in the world.<br><br>"What's this 'we' stuff?" she asked her, glancing around quickly for any crewmen, "I can't get ashore without a passport... unless Drugger's come through with the goods already..?&nbsp; But yes, money's always good."<br><br>"Hm?" Larry's eyes followed Diane's hand as it brushed the errant hair away.&nbsp; "Oh... thanks... for everything, that is."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>10-03-2010, 16:17:16</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Well, I don't want to leave you here by yourself." Diane half smiled as Larry mentioned the passport issue. "I'm sure the guys at the port wouldn't be averse to a small gratuity. Anyway, we don't even have a passport photo for you yet." She paused and looked at her. "Or a name to put on it," she added gently.<br><br>"So, anyway, let's get us some money, get you some clothes that fit properly, and start poking people to research this." She smiled encouragingly. "Come on. I'll buy you an ice cream."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>15-03-2010, 18:33:20</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yeah, come on, Larry's mind spoke up (still in his old voice), live a little!&nbsp; Diane's got your back if something goes wrong!&nbsp; It almost hadn't occurred to him to bribe the customs officers; she must have been worse off than she'd thought.&nbsp; <br><br>"Then I guess we get in touch with Drugger, see if he can set us up with someone," Larry said.&nbsp; At the mention of a new name Larry opened her mouth to protest, but knew Diane was right.&nbsp; Larry could just as easily be a nickname, but she wouldn't get away with a passport named Lawrence.&nbsp; "L-something," she murmured, "if we slip up it'd have to be something Larry works with..."&nbsp; Larry, Laurie... Lauren?&nbsp; No, that's that barmaid in Polynesia... Laurell, no, too... just no... Lori?&nbsp; Hm...&nbsp; "Lorelei."<br><br>The prospect of money had always been enough to lure Larry anywhere.&nbsp; And ice cream...&nbsp; She certainly hadn't always into it, but just at the mention of it Larry's mouth watered a little.&nbsp; "Okay, then," Larry said, moving back for the foot of her bed, "Just let me get those sandals on."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>16-03-2010, 02:59:39</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Lorelei?" Diane echoed, her thin eyebrows rising slightly. "I was gonna suggest something a bit more boring, like Laura. But I guess you could look like a Lorelei." She stepped back, letting Larry sit in the cramped cabin and pull on the strappy sandals. The soles gave her a slight spring in her step.<br><br>"Oh, finishing touch." She handed over a pair of aviator sunglasses. "It's sunny out... and it's this or teach you how to do eyeliner. Which is a nightmare with years of practice anyway." She half smiled.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>16-03-2010, 12:03:01</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Close enough to the same name anyway," she dismissed, tightening a strap, "Add some lye and Robert's your father's brother."&nbsp; Once done with the sandals, she lent down into his pack while seated, pulling out her wallet before standing up to face Diane again.&nbsp; It was about this point she realized she had another problem, staring at the wallet in her hand.&nbsp; "Oh."&nbsp; Another item to add to the shopping trip, she surmised.<br><br>Lar - uh, Lorelei.&nbsp; Might as well get used to it - slid on the large glasses, and glanced back in the mirror.&nbsp; "Great," she said, "All it needs is a cop uniform and some cuffs.&nbsp; And eyeliner in this heat?&nbsp; What, pray tell, would be the point of that?&nbsp; Last I checked we were going shopping, not clubbing."&nbsp; A short silence.&nbsp; "And no, we're not going clubbing."&nbsp; She caught her mind adding a yet.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>17-03-2010, 17:04:36</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"We don't want to look out of place," Diane explained. "We're two white western women going around town, we should look like all the other white western women."<br><br>With that, she pulled out a small plastic oblong and held it out for Lorelei. A lipstick. "Sorry, but this you <em>will</em> have to put on."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>19-03-2010, 15:48:16</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Lorelei took the small tube begrudgingly, knowing Diane was right.&nbsp; Turning back to the mirror, she uncapped it and experimentally twisted the end, as if a caveman first discovering that banging two rocks together set twigs on fire.&nbsp; She silently thanked Diane again for choosing one that wasn't too attention-grabbing.&nbsp; Last thing she needed was anyone hitting on her right now.<br><br>Lorelei lifted the stick to her lips, stroking it over her bottom lip before sweeping it gently back over her top.&nbsp; Nervous as she was, she did a good job of keeping her hand steady, but as she looked back up at the mirror she became aware of a... overburdened sensation.&nbsp; Had she put on too much?&nbsp; "Uh, napkin, tissue..." she glanced around.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>21-03-2010, 00:03:58</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The blonde girl in the mirror suited the pout she had to make to apply the slightly warm, waxy lipstick. Larry would have wondered what her eyes looked like behind those sunglasses.<br><br>"Not bad for a first attempt." Diane handed her a pack of paper tissues from her pocket. "Give it a bit of a kiss," she directed, pushing her own lips out slightly to demonstrate. <br><br>She looked down at Lorelei, half smiling. "I would never have believed this yesterday..."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>21-03-2010, 08:21:25</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Ha!&nbsp; <em>You</em> never would've believed it?" Lorelei couldn't help but laugh as she took the tissues.&nbsp; Pulling one free from the pack, she pursed her lips out against the tissue, leaving a signature kiss mark.&nbsp; It certainly helped; her mouth didn't feel so heavy.<br><br>"Well, at least we have a plan now," she considered, binning the tissue and returning the pack and the lipstick to her, "and we're working past it.&nbsp; Thinking on our feet... not like many people have a contingency plan for switching sexes.&nbsp; Either way, are we ready to head out now?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>21-03-2010, 08:31:30</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Diane's smile got a little stronger as Lorelei laughed, as she took back the lipstick and returned it to one of her vest pockets. "I think we're ready. Hopefully the guys on the boat won't wolf-whistle, but I can't make any guarantees for the guys on shore." She put a hand on Lorelei's shoulder, gently guiding her towards the door. "Come on."<br><br>Outside the cabin, the air smelt of metal, oil and sea water, contrasting with the faint aroma of sunscreen, soap and scented talcum powder inside. The aroma which now clung to Lorelei, faint but definitely there.<br><br>The sun was already up, and she could feel it across her face, the exposed skin of her chest before the top started.<br><br>Seeing Lorelei in daylight for the first time, some of the men in the crew lingered on her. Diane gave them warning glances, and they looked away, but she could see and feel some of them looking back, watching her.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>28-03-2010, 10:36:20</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Lorelei was surprised she hadn't been seasick; normally she wasn't one for the water.&nbsp; The smell of the old rustbucket hit her like a ton of bricks, but she wasn't one to complain.&nbsp; The sun was another issue; Lorelei had spent half the day indoors yesterday, and even through the aviators its glare stabbed at her eyes.<br><br>And then came the stares.&nbsp; She seemed to grab the whole crew's attention as she neared and passed.&nbsp; It stirred up a sense of vulnerability unlike anything she'd ever felt; the nearest thing she could think of was being aimed at, each wandering set of eyes like a dot sight scouting her body for a place to put a bullet.&nbsp; It drove her crazy, the feeling of defenselessness; she hated being weak almost as much as being underestimated.&nbsp; She was confident that she could take a challenger within reason, but her years of martial arts stood untested in this new body of hers.&nbsp; If she could avoid a fight, she's prefer to for now.&nbsp; <br><br>But at the same time, she knew how they felt; damn it if Larry wouldn't have hit what he saw in the mirror this morning, if Larry were still Larry.&nbsp; Men's eyes were made to look, let them gaze.&nbsp; Diane seemed to be doing a good enough job to discourage them, anyway.<br><br>"So, first stop;" Lorelei asked, torn between keeping her head down and the sun out of her face, and keeping her head up to avoid appearing weak, "How do we get to Drugger?&nbsp; Net cafe?&nbsp; Or do we want to offload some of the prize first?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>29-03-2010, 04:07:01</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"We're close to a dealer. We can try the Wifi in one of the hotels..." Diane paused. "Is the sun bothering you?" she asked. "Chances are you're more sensitive now. Did you bring your cap?" Then she glanced around, at the people on the street in the morning - at the men looking them up and down. "You get used to it," she said gently. "In the meantime, cap on, that'll shade your face at least so they won't try and catch your eye."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>30-03-2010, 06:29:33</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Well, it is middle of the day in Africa, I knew it wasn't going to be cool," she said, pulling the cap on over her head.&nbsp; It sort of helped; at least with the sun.<br><br>"Uh huh?&nbsp; We'll see."&nbsp; Lorelei continued on alongside Diane, just content for now to get something done with the day, stares or no.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>31-03-2010, 02:10:47</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				They walked together through the market, Diane keeping close, protectively. <br><br>Women in burqas appeared to ignore them, some local men did as well, others joined the Western men in looking at them with barely- or undisguised interest. Most of the Westerners made as little pretence of hiding their interest as their fellow Frenchmen might in Paris or the beaches of Cannes.<br><br>Stallholders called out in French and English as they passed. "Jewels to match your eyes!" "Chanel, genuine!" "Beautiful silks for beautiful ladies!"<br><br>And everyone seemed to stand closer than they would have with Larry as well.<br><br>They crowds finally thinned as they reached the antique store row, a winding alley of whitewashed buildings with tourist-friendly trinkets and knockoffs on the tables outside each shop. Pushing back a beaded curtain, Diane held it for Lorelei as she stepped into Daud's store. "Hey, Daud, hope you got your wallet..."<br><br>A pot-bellied middle-aged man stepped out from the back room, and gave Diane a crooked smile. "Ah, the huntress returns. And who is this... a little sister? Que belle..." Lorelei could tell he was looking at her exposed upper chest.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>02-04-2010, 03:23:13</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The markets were an entirely different place.&nbsp; Larry wouldn't have even been noticed in a place like this; Lorelei had every stall owner waving their wares under her nose, hoping to coax a purchase out of them.&nbsp; She appreciated Diane's efforts to shield her from the worst of it, but wondered whether seeing two women instead of one only served to exacerbate the problem, if you could call it that.&nbsp; Lorelei had a good chuckle at one of them though; as if anything genuine could be found in a place like this.&nbsp; But again, the main issue was the closeness.&nbsp; It was as if everyone was subconsciously idolizing them, letting themselves be crowded around them or accidentally bumping into them for little reason other than to touch her.&nbsp; It was a little unnerving, not to mention inducing of claustrophobia.&nbsp; Just another one of the things Lorelei supposed she'd have to get used to.<br><br>Diane beckoned her into a small antique store further down, secluded from the main hustle and bustle.&nbsp; Lorelei would freely admit not knowing much about this Daud character, but all the same she trusted Diane's judgment; if he were well paying enough a fence, that's all that would matter.<br><br>Way to make a first impression, bub, she thought, feeling Daud's gaze wander uncomfortably below her neck.&nbsp; But what was she going to say, that she was a dude?&nbsp; She still had enough patience in her to shake it off and let Diane do the talking.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>02-04-2010, 03:31:34</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"That's right," Diane hissed, "she's my little sister, and her eyes are up there. Capiche?"<br><br>Daud smirked and nodded obseuquiously. <br><br>"Good. Okay, we've got some items we could do with selling."<br>"I presumed you were not here for my coffee, excellent though it is if I say so myself." <br>Diane stopped herself rolling her eyes, and unfastened her bag to pull out a wrapped parcel containing some finds from earlier in the expedition. Best to keep everything from the shrine togetehr for now. <br><br>Daud whistled, and retrieved a jeweller's magnifying glass, squinting to hold it to his eye. "This is interesting... I suppose... But you know with the banks collapsing, what can one do with such a thing in these days?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>02-04-2010, 03:58:40</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"What the hell's this, sis?" Lorelei asked.&nbsp; If she was going to play the brat sister, she might as well play the brat sister.&nbsp; By instinct she strode over to the table, placing both hands flat and stared him down, appraising him.&nbsp; "I thought you were taking this stuff to a quality fence.&nbsp; We're selling you gold, bud, not stock options."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>03-04-2010, 03:11:12</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				As she put both hands on the table, he smiled. And his eyes flicked downwards, then back up as he spoke. "You want more than the scrap value, don't you? Anyone can do that. With me, is just a question of how much more you get. Relax, princess..." He flashed her a yellowish grin.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>06-04-2010, 17:04:22</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"If you're going to use the banks as an excuse to skimp out on the 'how much more'," Lorelei rebutted, "perhaps we've taken all this to the wrong fence.&nbsp; And she said my eyes were up here."&nbsp; For fuck's sake, she couldn't even intimidate people properly any more.&nbsp; Sure, he was starting to talk her language, but not the way she wanted.&nbsp; And those teeth... ugh.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>08-04-2010, 01:43:34</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Daud gives her an earthy chuckle. "You are of course welcome to seek a second opinion, but Diane would not waste time dragging you in here just to let me see your smiling face, would she?" Shaking his head, he looks back at the finds. "Late Outremer, all certainly nice... eight hundred."<br><br>Diane gives him a sharp look. "I was thinking four figures."<br><br>"This is a buyer's market, ladies. The Crusades make people uncomfortable. Besides, it's all found money to you... obviously this wasn't the main find."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 01:39:52</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Oh Daud, you should widen your gaze," Lorelei stood back up, "You might be the best fence at this port, but we have dozens of ports to go yet."&nbsp; She let out a sigh; in her old voice it would've came out more as just a deep breath, but her new voice made it breathy and light; perfect.&nbsp; She could almost hear the fence's heart rate jump; god knows Larry's would've.&nbsp; "And here I was hoping to get my shopping done before we hit Valencia..."<br><br>Lorelei knew she wasn't getting anywhere with Daud.&nbsp; He wanted more than the coins, but aside from the bloody rags, bones and other samples there wasn't mu...&nbsp; She pushed herself off the bench, turning away from the merchant so only Diane could see her face.&nbsp; It was a shame, she kind of liked it; but if it was going to help, there was no point in concealing it.&nbsp; "Come back with more?&nbsp; The tabard?" she mouthed.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 01:52:36</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"All I meant was you're not pushing as hard as you would be if this is all you had." Daud trailed off, and Lorelei could <em>feel</em> him looking at her backside.<br><br>Diane caught Lorelei's gaze, and looked thoughtful, then shook her head. "No, you're right. But you also know <em>we're</em> right. Everything we've brought you here you can sell, quickly, with a decent markup from seller value.I wouldn't drag my baby sister down here to waste our time, or yours."<br><br>Daud looked down at the gold and licked his teeth slowly. "Fair point," he conceded. "Twenty-five hundred, all in. That's friend prices."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>15-04-2010, 16:51:00</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				God damnit, can't I get a moment's peace?&nbsp; All the bloody time, laser beams dancing all over my body!&nbsp; Lorelei had no real way of knowing it'd be this bad.&nbsp; Larry would've just said Lorelei was body-conscious... and he would've been right.&nbsp; Lorelei was very damn conscious of her body, just as someone would be very conscious of suddenly finding themselves on a UFO.&nbsp; Everything unfamiliar, the lonesome feeling, being so far out of your depth of understanding...&nbsp; Thank whatever powers that be that Diane was with her, or Lorelei just may have lost it.<br><br>"Well, sis?" Lorelei put it past her for the moment with the slightest of cringes, "Is that four-figures enough for us?"&nbsp; She couldn't help it, but she felt the sooner they were out the door with their money and away from this fat repulsive man, the better.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>16-04-2010, 01:57:38</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Depends on the currency he means," Diane said coolly.<br>"Dollars, I'm afraid. The exchange rate is such that I just don't have the call for much in sterling."<br>Diane looked at Lorelei, then tutted. "Twenty-seven."<br>"Always haggling, I like that about you. You should move here, I'd get to see you more. Twenty-six."<br>"Twenty-<em>seven</em>."<br>Daud chuckled and shook his head. "If that makes your sister smile." He looked at her and winked, probably meaning it as a joke rather than a genuine come-on.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>17-04-2010, 16:32:26</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Twenty-seven," she agreed.&nbsp; "Maybe some other time, right now I'm just not in the mood." She paused, realizing Daud's intention.&nbsp; "To smile."&nbsp; She really needed to watch what she said now.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>17-04-2010, 16:40:10</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"That is a shame, a sorrow for the world when a beautiful face wears a frown." He grinned. "Just as much as when an ugly old mug like mine smiles, eh? And I just spent all this money, what have I got to be smiling about?" He chuckled as he bent down to open the safe under his counter.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>17-04-2010, 17:18:05</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Out of sight of Daud's distracted eyes, Lorelei rolled her eyes.&nbsp; Larry sure as hell didn't spout that kind of stuff at girls, and given the situation she had even less tolerance for it.&nbsp; All this mindless praise, it still felt strange to be on the end of.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>17-04-2010, 17:24:34</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Diane caught her eye and smirked at her expression.<br><br>Daud retrieved a strongbox, unlocked it and started counting out well-used American bills. "Two thousand five, six, seven." He closed and locked the box, and proffered the money to Diane. As she took it, he looked back to Lorelei. "Now you can go shopping, yes? Buy yourself something nice..." He grinned wolfishly.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>20-04-2010, 11:15:26</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Pleasure doing business with you," she nodded curtly, ignoring the sleaze dripping from the man's words as she turned for the door.&nbsp; She put it down to her newfound... vulnerability, but she could almost feel her skin crawl under his gaze.&nbsp; In short, Lorelei was feeling nothing like Larry, and it was starting to wear on her.&nbsp; It felt like she wanted to pick herself up, slap herself across the face, and scream at herself 'Fuck this defenseless little lamb bullshit, you're still Larry Chase!&nbsp; Act like it!'.&nbsp; But while they were out in public she had to hold it in, at least until they got back to the boat.<br><br>"So where to now?" she asked Diane as they left.&nbsp; She still needed to touch base, and she still needed to revise her wardrobe, and it didn't really bother her which was first.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>21-04-2010, 03:09:38</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Diane divided&nbsp; the cash and secreted it in three different zipped pockets. <br><br>"You look like you need to sit down," she said as she stepped outside. "Daud's usually a bit better behaved than that. But then I'm usually there with guys. I shoulda thought of that. Sorry." She looked contrite. "So, sit down and get online somewhere? Maybe one of the big tourist hotels."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>27-04-2010, 01:32:43</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Huh?" she turned to Diane.&nbsp; "Oh, no no, I can tough it out.&nbsp; Entertain myself with fantasies of murder and whatnot.&nbsp; Besides, I'd rather get the most money out of this stuff than get half because I was afraid of a sleaze."<br><br>"Try and get in touch with Drugger?&nbsp; Sounds good, lead the way."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>28-04-2010, 23:35:56</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Diane nodded, and flagged down a car with a TAXI sign clamped to its roofrack and rust poking out of the gaps in dull white paint as cracked as a Roman mural.<br><br>"L'hotel Madison, s'il vous plait," she said casually as the drive pulled over. He nodded, looking at her, and then at Lorelei. His gaze lingered on her chest as he opened the rear door for them. Diane shared a look with her as she climbed in.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>01-05-2010, 03:24:23</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Lorelei had instinctively went for the door handle, only to find the driver already there, pulling the door open for them.&nbsp; At first she found herself touched by the gesture; she couldn't remember any instance of someone holding the door open for Larry.&nbsp; It took the driver's glance to remind herself why she was getting the special treatment.&nbsp; Of course, she thought to herself, sparing herself the effort of rolling her eyes this time.&nbsp; Seems like she was getting used to it after all.<br><br>Diane's eyes met hers as she bundled herself in the cab, looking for a reaction.&nbsp; She shrugged her shoulders in a half-smirk, an expression that hopefully carried her basic sentiment: 'whatever'.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>01-05-2010, 06:29:19</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Diane fastened her lap belt and leaned back, resting her elbow against the window ledge of the door, leaning over to get the breeze on her face as the cab moved out of the old city towards the more open expansion area. The driver leaned on the horn and cursed in Arabic as he dealt with morning traffic, but Lorelei could see his eyes flicking to the rear view mirror whenever they stopped. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>07-05-2010, 15:09:23</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Lorelei barely moved during the car trip, content just to gaze out the window as the city went by, staring aimlessly at traffic lights.&nbsp; She could still feel eyes on her, which she assumed to be the driver's; she couldn't be bothered being all angry or shy over it, it took too much energy.&nbsp; The last eighteen hours had been taxing, and even with the sleep she'd had, she still found herself exhausted.&nbsp; No bloody wonder, it occurred to her, she hadn't eaten anything since lunch yesterday, and all she'd had to drink was a swig of vodka.&nbsp; Close enough to lunchtime, she figured, after touching base with Drugger she'd need to get some food.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>08-05-2010, 14:45:34</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Her stomach rumbled quietly at the thought of food. <br><br>Diane looked over. "We can eat at the hotel. 'Less there's a dress code... anyway, there are other places around there too."<br><br>The cab reached the run of hotels by the station. Large buildings lit up with Western corporate signs, hardy foliage in their forecourts and bilingual "loading and unloading only" signs the only indications that this wasn't Cannes. <br><br>The Madison was second from the edge. The cab rolled to a halt outside and the driver smiled and glanced down as Diane leaned over to pay him.<br><br>A uniformed doorman welcomed them into the air-conditioned forecourt in native French and accented English. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>20-05-2010, 02:53:11</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The lobby was significantly cooler than outside.&nbsp; Ah, air conditioning was a godsend in these places...&nbsp; And the hotel itself seemed pretty lavish, it'd be a good place to sit down for a steak.&nbsp; No, not a steak, she decided, something lighter, like a salad or chicken...&nbsp; But first thing was first; there had to be one in a place like this:<br><br>"Pardonnez-moi," Lorelei asked the doorman in her broken French, "Pourriez-vous si vous plait, nous montrer au café d'Internet?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>20-05-2010, 03:14:40</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				He smiled. "Oui, mam'selle, de cette façon." He gestured towards a stairway leading down to a lower part of the open lobby, where she could see a few people using laptops and some sitting at sponsored wall-mounted consoles. "Le mot de passe est '9palms9'."<br><br>Diane went first and looked over the place, then looked back to Lorelei and nodded to take a secluded table. As they did, a waitress approached, asking in local-accented French to take their order. Diane looked to Lorelei, shrugged, and ordered two Diet Cokes.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>22-05-2010, 14:24:39</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Et deux plus," Lorelei added, before looking at Diane.&nbsp; "What?&nbsp; I'm thirsty."<br><br>Lorelei sat down in front of the laptop, placing her hands over the keys.<br><br><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote"><strong>Veuillez entrer votre mot de passe pour accéder au réseau sans fil de Madison.<br>Mot de passe: </strong>*******</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br>She pushed enter.&nbsp; Nothing.&nbsp; She pushed enter again.&nbsp; The password field grew by one.&nbsp; Surprised, she look down at the keyboard.&nbsp; Her pinky was hovering over the hyphen key.&nbsp; Smaller hands, she realized, letting out an exasperated sigh.&nbsp; She'd have to relearn how to type later, but for now she kept her eyes on the keys, punching in the password slowly and deliberately.&nbsp; Successful this time, she opened up the browser.<br><br>"Drugger," she began, "Problem with job in Damascus.&nbsp; Need new passport, use attached picture.&nbsp; You've got some explaining to do once I get back."&nbsp; Turning back to Diane.&nbsp; "Simple and to the point, right?&nbsp; Let's get a picture and send it off."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>22-05-2010, 19:13:14</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Diane nodded. "Yeah. Of course, if he <em>knew</em> about this, then I'll hold him down while you stomp him. Or we could make him test the sample of the water, if you like..."<br><br>She stood up and approached the server, exchanged a few words and she pointed her back towards the upper lobby. She strode back. "Okay, there's a passport photo machine in the lobby. I'll wait here."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>23-05-2010, 06:13:14</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Lorelei let out a short laugh.&nbsp; "I'd want to see him in the water even less than Hoflich," she commented, heading off to the lobby.&nbsp; She found the booth without any trouble.&nbsp; She slid some dinar into the slot and stepped inside.&nbsp; Not minutes later, she stepped out, her pictures developed and waiting in the tray.&nbsp; <br><br>The long blonde locks were still the thing that stood out most to her.&nbsp; The fuller lips, the smoother jaw, the wider eyes, they all stood out, but the hair was the biggest thing.&nbsp; Such a departure from his old short crop, that was probably it.&nbsp; This was only the second time she'd seen her new face, and it still seemed foreign, it still didn't register straight away as "me".&nbsp; She leaned against the booth, studying the pictures further.&nbsp; The face itself was very feminine, not to mention damn attractive, but the posture, the facial expression, that smirk... all signature Larry Chase.&nbsp; So it wasn't a perfect transformation, it was still him in her body.&nbsp; Maybe there was more of him in her than she thought.&nbsp; <br><br>She took the photos back to Diane at the laptop.&nbsp; "So is there a scanner around here, or are we taking pictures of pictures?" she asked, giving Diane the strip.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>23-05-2010, 06:22:45</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				As she waited, the receptionist in the lobby kept an eye on her. She would have said he was suspicious before... but now he was probably just admiring the view.<br><br>"There's a scanner. I thought there'd be a digital format thingy in the booth actually, but yeah, scanner..." She lead the way over to the general computing area, and quickly scanned in the photos. "That's a cute one," she said, obviously trying to make the kind of small talk a woman scanning in photos of another might.<br><br>"Okay then, send this off, we can get you that visa." She uploaded the images and handed the laptop to Lorelei.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>27-05-2010, 12:26:37</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Yeah, well my memory card's in my camera, and my camera's back on the boat, so nyeeugh."&nbsp; Lorelei took the laptop from Diane, attaching the files to her email before sending it off.&nbsp; Business done.&nbsp; Lorelei set about closing off the chain of proxies she'd opened.<br><br>"So what do you feel like for lunch?" she made some small talk in the meantime, "The bistro here should have some chicken, right?&nbsp; Or a salad..."&nbsp; Even as the words left her lips, a voice in the back of her brain rebelled: 'Salad!?&nbsp; Larry Chase does not eat salad!&nbsp; Larry Chase is a manly man who eats steak!'&nbsp; But like before, the idea seemed to have little appeal.&nbsp; Was this another part of the transformation, wanting different food?&nbsp; Or was it just her new body telling her what it wanted instead of the wants of her old body?&nbsp; Hell, she wasn't a doctor or a nutritionist or whatever...
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>28-05-2010, 17:00:44</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Probably should've brought the camera, we'd look that bit more like tourists," Diane frowned, kicking herself for not thinking of that but apparently not blaming Lorelei for not doing so either.<br><br>She arched an eyebrow at the mention of salad, but nodded. "Yeah, they'll have all sorts here. What do we do after that?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>08-06-2010, 07:00:58</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Well, I've been a little preoccupied this morning, so..."&nbsp; Lorelei snapped, before reining herself in.&nbsp; "...no, sorry, never mind."<br><br>"Hm..."&nbsp; As much as she didn't like it, she wasn't going to get far with Diane's hand-me-downs and what few of Larry's clothes were still appropriate.&nbsp; "Shopping, I guess," Lorelei muttered, "I do need new clothes."&nbsp; Need, not want, she added quietly.&nbsp; "I guess I'll have to rely on your expert opinion again."<br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>08-06-2010, 16:39:28</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Diane nodded and smiled faintly as Lorelei stopped herself ranting.<br><br>"Okay," she nodded at the mention of new clothes. "It'll mostly be beach and club stuff around here, but I'm sure we can find you something."<br><br>A waiter arrived with their orders, professionally not quite looking at Lorelei.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>02-07-2010, 04:04:19</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Well, we've got all afternoon to worry about that, maybe some of tomorrow too.&nbsp; Depends on how quickly Drugger can get that passport down here.&nbsp; So how about long-term?" Lorelei theorized aloud, "We get back to Kingston, see if we can't find a lead from the journals, then...?"<br><br>The waiter set plates down in front of them, and Lorelei tucked in, famished.&nbsp; She'd have to remember this place; top notch chicken.&nbsp; "I guess..." she said between mouthfuls, taking her time, "we could see if Hoflich dug up anything else of interest..."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>02-07-2010, 04:35:07</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Sure, after lunch... which I guess won't be long." Diane half smiled. "Manners, sweetheart." She ate more slowly, chewing and savouring her food with more care. More than she usually did, she was generally pretty casual, but now she was making a point of dining like a proper lady.<br><br>No-one else was actually paying any attention to how Lorelei ate, though... although some of the men were looking her way. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>14-07-2010, 20:35:11</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Lorelei's stomach rose in protest, but her head quickly intervened.&nbsp; "Fine, fine," she acquiesced, torturing her appetite for the sake of appearances.&nbsp; "Sorry, mother," she added quietly.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>17-07-2010, 02:19:18</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Diane gave her a look, eyebrow arched at the mumbled retort. <br><br>Despite the delay, soon enough they were done, Diane sipping her mineral water. "So, Hoflich then, or are you after some dessert?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>25-07-2010, 10:22:46</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Well, I would prefer to wait a couple of days," Lorelei replied, pausing for a sip from her own glass, "I don't want to go on any sort of mission without knowing just how much of a liability this... is going to be.&nbsp; Besides, it isn't like he'll be hard to find, what with all that loot we left there for him."<br><br>She had to stop herself saying 'this body'; she was fully aware of the attention they were getting, and talking about bodies could be interpreted in all manner of ways.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>25-07-2010, 19:52:35</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Diane nodded. "That sounds sensible. Just wanted to make sure you weren't looking to run off after him right away." She paused. "So what do you want to do for a couple days?" she added as she set down her glass. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>06-08-2010, 19:48:23</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Lorelei kept it simple.&nbsp; "Adjust.&nbsp; Learn to make do.&nbsp; Make lemonade out of lemons, all that positive thinking crap.&nbsp; I can't just assume all this will wear off in the morning."<br><br>Taking a forkful of chicken into her mouth, she made a note of chewing it thoroughly and swallowing, purposefully glancing at Diane to emphasize it.&nbsp; "I'll probably have to push myself a little, test my limits," she added, reaching for her own glass, "Hell, there'll be plenty of that this afternoon if I'm going shopping for new clothes.&nbsp; Bottom line, if I can't run as far, jump as high, punch as hard as I used to, I have to know just how worse off I am, because a pretty face won't help me dodge bullets.&nbsp; And if I'm going back to Hoflich for anything, you know damn sure I'm going to be dodging bullets."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>11-08-2010, 03:33:18</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Diane nodded firmly. "Alright then. Testing limits it is." She drank up and retrieved her wallet. "Go to the gym and see how fit you are? Might be more relevant than shopping for new clothes. I figure you won't freak out any more than you already have, but I don't want to throw you into things you'll freak out over."<br><br>The waiter approached with the bill on a small tray and Diane handed over suitable notes, retrieving the wrapped sweets and throwing one to Lorelei.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>25-08-2010, 11:16:46</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Oh no," Lorelei shook her head, "testing limits is something I can do in my own time and space.&nbsp; Besides, I don't want to say I came to Algiers and all I got was this lousy gym towel.&nbsp; I'm happy to see the sights, buy a new wardrobe, wait for my new passport, etcetera."<br><br>Lorelei caught the sweet tossed her way.&nbsp; At least I don't have to worry about hand-eye coordination, she thought, placing the candy in her mouth.&nbsp; Within seconds her whole mouth... ached?&nbsp; No, wrong word... it was a heightened sense of the taste, not sickly sweet but very strong, drawing a rush of colour to her cheeks.&nbsp; Her reflexive reaction was to raise her hands to her mouth; she wasn't sure why, it just happened.&nbsp; Almost as soon as it happened, she lowered her hands, seemingly back to normal, giving Diane an I-don't-know look.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>02-09-2010, 02:12:58</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Diane looked at the sweet she had doubtfully, then cautiously took it. "Yeah, I guess they're pretty sweet," she agreed. "Guess you've got new taste buds working." She swallowed, then pushed herself up to her feet. "Come on. Let's... test some limits." <br><br>She shouldered her bag and offered Lorelei her other arm. "Start with shopping? Get you some things that fit."<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>06-09-2010, 05:30:18</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Sounds great," she commented, ready to take Diane's hand.&nbsp; Lorelei paused when she saw that Diane was offering an arm.&nbsp; What was she supposed to do with it?&nbsp; You don't normally offer a guy your arm, you offer a guy your hand.&nbsp; How was she supposed to respond?&nbsp; Link arms, walk like that?&nbsp; She was posing as a little sister; should she hug it, dangle off her arm as they walked?&nbsp; No, that was more how a girl acted around a...&nbsp; Was that Diane's game?&nbsp; Was this Diane's way of...&nbsp; No, she shook her head, Diane was a professional... and more to the point, Larry was a jerk, why would she suddenly be interested in Lorelei?&nbsp; Even further to the point, Lorelei was a girl.&nbsp; She didn't know Diane was a...<br><br>Breaking her hesitation, she used Diane's arm to pull herself up, letting her own slide underneath it.&nbsp; "Let's go."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>06-09-2010, 05:33:14</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Diane gave it a small squeeze as she stood up and they walked out together. <br><br>The breeze toyed with Lorelei's long golden hair as they walked down towards the city's Western shopping precinct. "Where to start?" Diane asked as they approached a ladies' fashion store.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>10-09-2010, 14:51:14</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Lorelei hadn't had long hair since Larry's college days, and then he had the common sense to tie it back.&nbsp; Here, all she had to keep it out of her face was a tacky baseball cap.&nbsp; She held it gently in her teeth in a very un-ladylike manner while she pulled her hair into a bunch, before pulling the cap over it, feeding the ponytail through the gap at the back.&nbsp; There, she thought, that'd do until the wind died down.<br><br>"Well, that shop looks as good as any," Lorelei said, gesturing to the outlet just in front of them.&nbsp; "I should be able to find something practical in there, right?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>11-09-2010, 08:01:31</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Practical-ish, anyway," Diane agreed as she smoothed down a rogue strand of Lorelei's hair, neatening her ponytail. "And maybe a scrunchie or something too."<br><br>A chime rang as she opened the doors, leading the way into a foyer with glossy mannequins wearing sundresses, smart-casual blouses and pants, bikinis and swimsuits, one in a little black cocktail dress and further back one in a silky nightdress and robe. Similar items hung from racks throughout the spacious, air-conditioned store.<br><br>A pretty, tanned assistant in a summer dress came over to greet them. "Good afternoon, ladies. How can I help you this evening?"<br><br>Diane looked to Lorelei.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>11-09-2010, 15:27:40</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I..."&nbsp; Lorelei froze up.&nbsp; Every part of her was screaming, 'this is wrong'.&nbsp; The closest Larry got to shopping for clothes was at disposals stores, where practicality was king; he looked for belt loops strong enough to use a karabiner clip with, weaving that didn't wear or tear easily, material that wouldn't itch like crazy underneath a holster strap.&nbsp; It seemed that her and Diane had very different interpretations of the word 'practical'.<br><br>Lorelei felt a blush rise in her cheeks, and tried to will it down.&nbsp; Even if it was a good clothing store, she still couldn't bear to look at the dresses, bikinis and blouses with wearing them in mind.&nbsp; Her tenuous hold on Diane's arm tightened.&nbsp; "I'm looking for..." she squeaked.&nbsp; She wasn't even sure what she was looking for... "...uh, for some clothes.&nbsp; A-Active clothes..."&nbsp; She cursed Diane's name for throwing her off the deep end like this.&nbsp; Is this how I'm supposed to ask?&nbsp; Hell if I know.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>07-10-2010, 07:09:15</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Diane looked sidelong at Lorelei as she felt her grip tighten, as the sales assistant nodded. "Outdoor and sporting is this way," she said, turning to lead them deeper into the boutique, past more mannequins in sun and cocktail dresses that seemed to loom over her, down a short flight of well polished steps to a section containing more hard-wearing travellers' clothes alongside gym clothes, swimsuits and short tennis skirts. <br><br>The woman stepped aside and Diane lead the way to a rack of khakis, long and short, next to a row of looser shirts. "See anything that works?" she asked quietly, gently, visibly concerned about Lorelei's reaction.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>15-11-2010, 05:39:30</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Yeeeah, let's stay around this end for now," Lorelei followed Diane toward the adventure gear.&nbsp; If she was having trouble with the idea of dresses and gowns, the figure-hugging poolwear and gym gear wasn't going to be much better.&nbsp; "Where to start...&nbsp; I'm looking for something simple, just something to bum arou... uh, day to day wear...&nbsp; Here, this will do."&nbsp; She took up a pair of khaki shorts, and a couple of the looser shirts, draping them over her arm to take back to the dressing room.<br><br>Her eyes wandered to the other sections, the dresses and skirts and other things that set him ill at ease.&nbsp; She knew she'd have to break past that barrier eventually, and there was no time like the present.&nbsp; "Uh, what else do you think?" she asked Diane, her voice carrying a hint of need, the tone of someone unfamiliar with the mysterious ritual of shopping for girls' clothes.&nbsp; 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>16-11-2010, 02:47:10</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Some nderwear, I guess. Maybe some jeans, some tanks... a jacket would probably be a good idea too. A sun hat. I can fetch some stuff if you'd like. You can stay in here, try things on for size." Then, after a moment's thought, she reached over and tucked a lock of Lorelei's hair back behind her ear, with a gentle, soothing stroking motion. When she spoke again she was quiet, and reassuring, rather like she might talk to a worried child. "If we can fix this, you won't have to worry about it for long. Okay?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>30-11-2010, 05:02:19</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Ah, of course, all the common sense stuff that she was too distracted to think of...&nbsp; Nothing for pulling a treasure hunter off his A-game than switching his junk around.&nbsp; Lorelei nodded as Diane reminded her that this situation, after all, very well may be temporary.&nbsp; How did she become so accepting of this?&nbsp; Come to think of it, just about every step she'd taken to adjust since the change had been of her own accord; she was taking to it far too well for her liking.&nbsp; It was as if she'd unconsciously come to terms with it, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.&nbsp; Was that too part of the magic the water wove... or was it her?<br><br>Lorelei made her way to the changerooms, carrying the clothes she'd hurriedly picked out.&nbsp; As she closed off behind her, she went to work disrobing of Diane's clothes, until she stood facing the full length mirror in the loaned underwear.&nbsp; Jeez, it really was the body of a stripper.&nbsp; It was the first chance she really had to inspect her new body, and it was anything but disappointing to look at.&nbsp; Lightly toned, lithe, curves in all the right places...&nbsp; If she was stuck this way at the very least she'd be stuck as a knockout.&nbsp; Turning back to trying on the clothes, she reached for one of the light shirts.&nbsp; Even after she buttoned it up, the mirror brought two words to mind: "morning after".&nbsp; That annoying squirm under her waist was coming back, spurring him to reach for the shorts.&nbsp; As she slid them on and tucked away the shirt, it started to look better.&nbsp; Now that was more business-like... knockabout clothes for even the girliest of girls.&nbsp; Lorelei couldn't help but smile.&nbsp; This she could see herself living the Larry Chase life in.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>01-12-2010, 07:44:04</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Of course, they also showed off her long legs, and tucking in her shirt emphasised her small waist and wider hips. Still, at least her sporty underwear fit properly, and didn't push up her bosom too much. <br><br>The effect was discreetly flattering, by and large.<br><br>She was still looking at her reflection when Diane came in, carrying a light khaki jacket and a pair of hiking boots. "Sure about the shorts? We can find you something longer."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheWriter</strong> on <strong>09-12-2010, 17:23:00</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She spun to see Diane make her way in, carrying a jacket and boots.&nbsp; "Ah, great," she agreed, knowing that the one pair of shoes she had now were Diane's to begin with.&nbsp; "Could you get me some hiking socks to go with them?"<br><br>As she mentioned the shorts, Lorelei looked back to the mirror.&nbsp; Her first instinct was to say she was happy with them; the reflection looked good.&nbsp; But the longer she looked, the more she was coming to regret them; they were all well and good to look at, but to wear... it was like it was only just dawning on him that it was her body she was looking at, her loose shirt not quite camouflaging her breasts, and her shorts showing off too much of her legs.&nbsp; "Fair point," she admitted, reaching for the waist, "Something longer.&nbsp; Oh, and see if you can dig up some climber's pants.&nbsp; Might not have them, but it never hurts to ask."<br><br>Looking back at the pile of clothes, it wasn't really that different.&nbsp; Sure, being a woman put him in a different mindset, and there were things he had to think about that wouldn't have occurred to him beforehand, but what surprised him most was how... normal it seemed.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Startling Secret Of The Grail (Beatrice Black &amp; TheWriter)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Beatrice Black</strong> on <strong>12-12-2010, 01:39:01</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Considering that, he was lucky he had not lived and found the pool a few decades ago, before a lot of previously masculine clothing became acceptably unisex. <br><br>The boots looked like they would fit, and the jacket did, going some way further to covering her figure. She did have notably deep pockets in the lower half of the jacket, under her breasts and around the inward curve of her slender waist.<br><br>"Khaki combat trousers, best I could do." Diane placed them on the stool by the door of the changing room, and stepped back out. The trousers were thin, but at least they were long and loose, with large side pockets. They, and the boots, fitted well and comfortably. <br><br>Now the girl in the mirror looked like she was dressed to go hiking. Probably for the first time, judging by her clean new clothes and unscuffed boots. Like she was going along to impress an outdoorsy new boyfriend. Her long, silky blonde ponytail and pinked lips did nothing to dispel the illusion. Her short unpainted nails and unpierced ears were about the only things out of place.<br><br>A discreet knock at the door. "Everything okay?" Diane asked.
			</dd>
		</dl>
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