The View From Here

[Halbarad]

"I'll try," Tim replies.

With the thought of soldiers rather fresh in his mind - and bearing in mind the number of people they have to move - Tim tries to imagine something like an APC - spacious enough for everyone and able to move fast enough, if they can figure out where to move TO.

[Brian]

It wavers a bit, but as it solidifies, it becomes easier for Tim to concentrate -- noticing an feeling a connection between his will and the Dream around him.  There's now a fully functional APC.

"That's pretty handy," David says, blinking in surprise.

[Ebiris]

"Cool," Daniel nods his approval. "So how do we do this? Is there any path we have to take or is it a 'mind over matter, all paths lead where you want to go' type thing?"

[Halbarad]

"Well, we've got an idea of where we are, and an idea of where we want to go. Let me try something."

Tim imagines himself as in one place, and Pandora's mountaintop in a separate place. In the same way he imagined the APC a moment ago, he tries to picture a path or road connecting the two.

[Carthrat]

As Tom realises what's going on, he eyes Tim's new.. vehicle.

"I've always wanted to drive one of those," he confesses. "This place is kinda neat. Freaky, and in a way-out-of-my-depth way, but neat all the same.

If you can change stuff here, though, and these are for sure our real bodies... kinda makes you wonder how much *is* real, eh?"

[Brian]

As everyone watches, the grass immediately before and beneath the APC turns into a wide dirt road, stretching across the valley, and over one edge of the valley.  It leads away from Charrel's rock pile.

Kyle and Phae nod in approval, as Sterling and Jim examine the APC.

"Handy," Walker says.  "Who's driving?"

Wallace eyes the vehicle and says, "I think I'm the only one with training to drive an armored vehicle.  But I'm not sure if that really matters in this instance."

[Halbarad]

"Doesn't matter to me, but I think someone besides me should drive. Not sure how hard it'll be to hold everything together, so I'd rather not have the distraction of driving if I don't have to."

That said, he heads for the rear of the vehicle, climbing in and finding a free seat.

[Ebiris]

"Go for it," Daniel nods to Wallace, following Tim into the vehicle.

[Carthrat]

"I so call shotgun. If this thing has one," says Tom, heading into the vehicle, too.

[Brian]

Once everyone's piled into the APC (Tom sitting in the navigator's seat), Wallace starts it up, and it begins chewing up the distance between this point, and wherever it is that Pandora is.

The APC is quiet, and according to Wallace, has no fuel gauge.  But it does move.

[Halbarad]

"Well, we're on our way to see Pandora. Hopefully she'll have some idea of where we can get started, other than just staying ahead of everyone that wants to kill us." Tim shakes his head a bit.

[Ebiris]

"I'm just glad we can take a break here without anyone trying to kill us," Daniel comments, stretching.

"Well, except, y'know... nameless horrors that lurk beyond the Dream. But I guess nowhere's perfect."

[Brian]

The trip is very odd.  It's not really fast, or slow, and in fact, when no one does anything, seems absolutely timeless.

So everyone has just settled in for a long ride when the APC slows to a halt.  "Uh," Wallace says, leaning forward and peering out the window.  "Is this thing dragon-proof?"

[Halbarad]

Tim blinks. "I'd... um... I think so, but how am I supposed to be sure?"

[Carthrat]

"Well, you thought it up," suggests Tom. "If you think that it's dragon-proof really hard, then I suppose it is. Maybe you could, like, attach anti-dragon missiles too it.

Just what limitations are there here, anyway?"