Sammy followed the group, her head hung low and her eyes wet with tears, all the while feeling extreme self-pity. When the ruined house came upon them Sammy also wondered herself, but instead of keeping that wondering to herself, she wondered aloud. "What kind of a place is this? Monsters, destroyed villages. I can't believe anyone would like living here."

"Can't imagine what could have done it. It's not like we haven't seen hordes of monsters," Sylvia commented snidely.

Desdemona jerked away from Simon and wandered away from the others, kicking through the debris. She glowered angrily at Sylvia when the goddess accidentally made eye contact.

"We're going to the safest place in this area: Darkplain Village," Mona said in reply to the Wraithe's question. She would have said more, but was interrupted by Sammy's remark.

"It's not like we have a choice!" Mona replied defensively. "This is our home, and always will be. We just have to adapt... and survive if we can."

"It’s not that different in Ditto town" Muttered Matthew "Our ancestors and we have always been fighting for our lives, however somehow goodness always wins in the end. Their doesn’t seem to be an end in sight here” Shono nodded as he kicked a broken board out of his way which went flying in Simon's direction “Whoops” he said sarcastically as the board hardly missed the vamp. Matt rolled his eyes and shrugged before continuing on and prepared himself for the torrent of taunts, insults and exclamations that was sure to come pouring from the vampire.

Simon did not flinch as the board flew past him. Instead he turned to look at Desdemona, who was obviously in a bad mood.

"What's wrong, sweet?" he asked with a slight sigh, wondering what had set her off this time.

"I just can't believe we're still in the Mansion," Bobby said, scratching his head and looking genuinely perplexed. "I mean, we have to be. The vampires aren't burning up in the sun. And, I mean, we stepped through a door that was in the Mansion . . ." he trailed off and huffed. "Nothing makes sense anymore," he muttered, looking mournfully about.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

Desdemona hissed at Simon and stomped around the others angrily. She looked almost feral with anger.

"I want to go home. I want to go home now!" she snapped.

Sylvia rolled her eyes and transformed the kicked board into a shower of flower petals. She snickered as they wafted into the air and settled all over Simon.

"Well," said Dona, "I wish I knew what a clue would look like in this game. Or if there are clues..." She reviewed the rules Kari had read earlier, trying to remember the details.

"We're supposed to be on a quest of some sort... and... " Dona scuffed the ground. "I should have written them down. But I don't think we are in the Mansion anymore."

They finally arrived on the outskirts of the village. The buildings were a mishmash of new construction and half-demolished and had clearly been rebuilt many times with limited supplies. A few people milled about, some tending little gardens, some calibrating peculiar-looking weapons. There were few children running about, but the moment they saw the newcomers, they froze and stared with eyes wide with curiosity and trepidation. Everyone was dressed in similar fashion to Mona, all in pastel colors, though the villagers' clothes were more tattered than hers. Mona nodded and waved to people as they passed by, all of whom stopped their work and stared. The men tightened the grip on their weapons, and the women faded back into their homes.

Mona led the Dittotopians past several blocks of houses towards the center of Darkplain Village. Before they reached the center, a bell sounded, it's deep bellowing echoing off the buildings and sending the villagers scurrying back inside their homes. Mona looked around, confused.

"Why would they be sounding the alarm bell?" she wondered aloud. "I haven't heard any monsters approaching. You can always hear them coming," she explained to the Dittotopians, "It's one of the things that's kept us alive all these years."

The alarm bell ceased ringing, though the remnants of its tolling still reverberated throughout the village. Suddenly, there was a puff of smoke in the street in front of the group, so unexpected that Mona let loose a short scream and jumped back behind the nearest Dittotopian, which happened to be Kari. The smoke cleared, revealing a short man, nearly wider than he was tall, dressed in a pastel blue robe that pooled on the ground around his feet, with a violet turban wrapped tightly around his head and increasing his height by nearly a foot, though he still failed to come to Mona's chin. His round face was hairless, and his black eyes flashed with anger.

“Mona Dydevli!" he bellowed in a surprisingly high voice. "You were told to never again come to our village! Why have you disobeyed our word and brought trouble upon us?"

Mona crept out sheepishly from behind Kari and stood before the man.

"I'm sorry, High Aldrin," Mona said submissively. "But I had nowhere else to go! I was being chased by a Sni, and these people saved me. I brought them here to seek shelter from the monsters!"

"We saw the flock of Ornis, and the storm that drove them off. Were you responsible for that, Mona?" he squeaked imperiously.

"You make it sound like I control them!" Mona protested in a hurt tone.

"The monsters never bothered us before until you visited our village," the Aldrin growled. "Well? What do you have to say to us?"

"The Ornis flocked came at us, but again, these people drove them off," Mona admitted. "They say they're from another world, one called 'Ditto Town.’ "

The High Aldrin again looked at the Dittotopians, this time with a longer, more thoughtful gaze.

Kari frowned. "We helped, yes. But we were about to be killed by the storm and Mona stopped the storm..." She trailed off. With magic. Hadn't she? Somewhere deep down in Kari's gut something felt wrong.

She stepped forward. "I'm Kari Leeman." She gestured to the group. "These are my friends. We're from Ditto Town on Dittotopia."

Shono muttered to Matt "And now is where we say; take us to your leader, we come in peace" Matthew chuckeld before stepping forwad and saying "I am Matthew Benedict... I was responsible for that storm" he decided that the only way they would work with this group of game players would be if they were afraid of them.

The High Aldrin's eyes grew wide.

"How dare you speak before we give you leave to address us!" he cried, clearly offended.

"Forgive them, High Aldrin! They didn't know!" Mona interjected, coming to the players' defense. "They're from another world and are ignorant of our customs!"

"Silence!" he squeaked, his voice reaching an almost painfully high pitch. He waddled over to Matthew and looked up at him scornfully.

"You seem quite proud of your powers, little one," he said disdainfully, most definitely unafraid. "Some day, if you live to see it, your pride will be your downfall." He turned on his heel briskly and stepped toward Kari. He looked up at her with narrowed eyes.

"And you say that Mona stopped the storm?" he asked incredulously. "That is impossible. We know the extent of Mona's powers. She was one of my apprentices, and the only notable spell she could master was to preserve her youth. I bet you didn't know she is over fifty years old! But as impressive as that is, we know there is no possible way she could have done something even as simple as calming a storm. It is far beyond her abilities."

Mona hung her head, very embarrassed by the High Aldrin's frank appraisal of her skills.

"Why are you on Lyolen?" the High Aldrin asked abruptly.

Kari blinked. "Do I have leave to address you now?" She asked, trying to make a little joke. It fell rather flat. "My friends and I were transported here. We're pawns in some sort of game that won't let us back to our town until we win it."

Xerec thought that that explanation sounded rather silly. Therefore, she broke the situation down point by point for the benefit of the High Aldrin. (See first page and rules )

Dona pulled out her sketchbook when Xerec started the extended explanation. This time, she was going to take notes. She doodled around the edges of her messy handwriting... Kari talking to the High Aldrin... Mona and the storm... Slyvia and her tree....

Dona held her tongue between her teeth as she concentrated on getting the tree to look like it was growing rapidly. In a way, it was. But the unfurling branches were going to cross and obscure her notes. She decided to change from the charcoal stick she had grabbed from the mess in her bag to a powder blue coloured pencil.

The High Aldrin listened intently to Xerec's explanation. He spoke as soon as she was finished.

"So, do you know what your task is here?"

"Maybe it's to save us from the monsters," Mona guessed, but was met with an icy stare from the High Aldrin. She sighed and slunk back to the group. As she did so, the ground began to tremble. Mona looked around fearfully.

"Is that...?" she wondered aloud, not daring to voice her suspicion.

"A Doruga!" the High Aldrin shrieked as the ground erupted behind him and massive monster burst from beneath the surface. It was the largest one the Dittotopians had encountered yet, over fifty feet tall, covered in white-edged blue fur. It had red claws and stood on its hind legs, its long, thick tail flailing behind it. The creature unfurled two blade-shaped wings from its back, and it short, muscular forearms raked the air as it shook the dirt from its fur. Its long ears were laid flat against its round skull and the monster let loose an ear-splitting roar from a surprisingly toothless maw.

The High Aldrin echoed the roar with a terrified squeal of his own and scrambled for safety among the Dittotopians. But before he could reach them, the Doruga lunged forward and grabbed the little man with his jaws.

"Heeeellllp uuussss!!!" the Aldrin screeched as the Doruga tossed him up into the air and snapped him up as he began to descend, swallowing the poor man whole. The monster then focused on the Dittotopians and let loose another menacing roar.

"Dang" Matthew said "I wanted a break" he drew his lightsaber and ran towards the monster. Shono caught on, transformed into his starfighter mode and took off; he made a circle and came back to begin pounding the doruga with blaster bolts.

Matthew some of the monster's fur and began climbing towards the head.