3 May 2002

I spent five hundred dollars before I got to work this morning.

It's quite an accomplishment, but one that I really think I could live without.

When the car people called yesterday to tell me the car was ready, they told me how much it was going to cost, and I made a mental note to check the invoice before I wrote the check, because I suspected them of having gone ahead and charged me for the air conditioning compressor even though it was still under warranty from last year.

Well, a terrific storm blew up just as Matt was picking me up from work, so I decided I could wait to get my car until this morning. I wasn't going anywhere yesterday evening anyway.

This morning, I did in fact remember to look at the invoice, and no, I'm afraid I was wrong - they hadn't charged me for the new compressor. Just lots and lots of labor hours attached to getting my car inspection-worthy.

$496.17. Four hundred. And ninety-six doallars. And let's not forget that seventeen cents.

And then I got in my car and remembered that it had been badly in need of fuel when I took it in. Another seventeen dollars.

So much for my share of the tax refund...

But the good news is that since I've been working 9-hour days for most of this week, I get to go home early today! Whoo!

Forget the car. I'm still vibrating from yesterday's Hall sessions!

First - Kevil, Loria, Vallel, and Glossaria (Tell Karen she needs a character webpage!), on the road to Khymrych, are met by some of the Bad Guy's constructed skeletons - a few of the normal variety, and two special ones. A battle ensues, quite naturally.

At the end of it, Vallel has collapsed from psionic exhaustion, Loria is slightly squashed, and Kevil - the result of a helpful spell from Glossaria - is nearly twelve feet tall... and sounds like he's been sucking helium. It was amusing.

Then, the evening's main event: The Battle at Khymrych. This one involved our main bad guy, his henchman, a handful of hirelings, and an adventuring party including Vallel and Loria's older brother, Kristo. Kris and his party aren't regular Hall characters, so I don't have pages for them, but they're fun NPCs to play: Kris is a plain fighter, married to Raven, the half-elven ranger. Kris' best friend is the halfling thief Lotho, and Raven's is the mage Finn... Finn also happens to be in love with Kris's youngest sister, Polla.

And I play all four of them. Usually, it's not a big deal - Kris does most of the talking, Lotho throws in a few wise cracks, and Finn keeps an eye on Polla. Raven's quiet. I agreed to play them for K.T. because when we're in Khymrych, she's usually swamped with other characters.

But last night, I was playing all four of them, against Matt, K.T., and Karen. Luckily, we agreed to taking turns with all of our actions so I didn't get swamped. I type fast... but not that fast!

Anyway, the combat was wonderful. Everyone described their spells and special effects splendidly, everyone took their damage dramatically... Everyone congratulated each other for clever (and diabolic) ideas and theatric lines... (Actually, I may have been reticent in that department - but then, I was very busy. If I didn't say it last night, let me rectify the matter now: K.T., Matt, Karen - y'all were awesome, all three of you.)

It was, quite simply, role-playing at its very best.

After that, more because we were still exhilarated from that session to think about going to bed anyway, we continued on to have Loria and company arrive in town to find out about the battle and its consequences (the Bad Guy escaped, taking the youngest sister hostage... And Kristo has had a curse laid on him that makes it impossible for him to participate in the rescue).

I'm still feeling excited about it. There's just nothing like a really great gaming session.

--Liz