Lord Chuck overheard Elizabeth's thoughts with her opinion of the dinner. 'Hell indeed' he thought back to her. She was startled and looked the newly empowered mortal in the eye; his eyes twinkled with laughter, relaxing Elizabeth.

What a disgusting spectacle, thought Chuck. In the course of a couple days, we've gone from a sane, safe, and more-or-less consentual Dungeon to a site for this, this Roman Bacchanalia. Wizards! Vampires! Dracula, oh my! Lord Moebus forgetting whose subs are whose, and this Lady Aconite wandering in like Queen of the May, for crying out loud. It sure would be nice if dungeon masters would fill me in on what the hell is going on!! Dammit, I'm not going to eat any more uncooked food.

Standing, Lord Chuck said, "Ladies, Lords, friends, I find I have a pressing obligation, as do a few others here. We shall withdraw now, and pray you enjoy your stay, and the remainder of your meal prepared by my subs. They, too, must withdraw, but sexslave will take their place. I bid you all good evening."

Sir Chuck gathered the eyes of Ruby, Elizabeth, Jade, Jenny, Dee, and A. Jenny grasped Jade's arm, and moved her from the dining room. All exited properly, and remet across the main room.

Chuck lowered his voice to Dee. "Sweet lady, please go find Yellowrose, WannaBeExopsed, and Bisarah; join us in the private pool room."

Turning to the others, he said, "My friends, we have much to discuss, and much to reveal to each other. Tonight shall be the night for all this. Please, friends, especially you, Jade, come along that we might work for peace and sanity." He turned, trusting the others to follow. They did, every one.

Along the way, they ran across Docilia, and invited her to join them as well. Being lonely, she was happy to join the group.

We all arrived at the pool together, including Dee and her charges. People began to spread through the room as Chuck and Ruby sealed and locked the door. Tearing off his clothes, Chuck made a running dive and found himself a spot to sit in the hot end of the pool. Ruby smiled at the enthusiasm; she enjoyed his occasional boyish actions.

Everyone else joined those in the pool except Docilia, Jenny, and Jade. Ruby looked at the three, and offered seats next to her. Docilia walked into the water and took a spot, followed, slowly, by Jenny, and eventually by Jade.

Sir Chuck spoke. "Today, yesterday, we all suffered emotional bombshells which have suddenly served to change our lives somehow. We have joined new friends (smiling at Elizabeth and Docilia) and one we hope to become a new friend (looking at Jade). One of the things I have learned over the years is that stress is best handled by a group. Personally, I have found that forming a love circle works well.

"There are some things to talk of first. The actual words come from an ancient language, and are meaningless. "The Jewel in the Lotus." Om mani padme om. Just a phrase to focus your thought. It's done so: 'inhale' om mani padme om 'exhale'.

"This is an important thing: we need to do this at least an hour. Get yourself comfortible in the water or out, whatever, but the circle must remain unbroken. Don't worry if you go to sleep; sometimes that happens; people around you will not allow harm. Let's begin; 'inhale' om mani padme om 'exhale'." He continued for a great while; the circle held for four hours and more. Finally, the group broke the circle as several moved to the restroom to release a buildup of fluid in the proper place.

Those who stayed behind broke into smaller groups. Ruby had Dee, A, and yellowrose laughing about something. WB, Bisarah, and Jenny were no-doubt remembering the cruise. And Sir Chuck, Elizabeth and Jade were together.

"Jade, we have no idea what your concerns are, at this time," said Elizabeth. "You and Sir Chuck were strongly affected by it, to the point of actually changing Sir's mind. His reactions at that time were multifold: he was protecting his 'family', he was protecting his domicile and property, and he expected respect and polite behavior in return for safety. He got spat upon, a particularly rude thing to do. I heard some of your concerns while we were in the circle, you no doubt heard many of Sir Chuck's. Please, Jade, allow us to help you past your concerns!" Elizabeth finished with a large hug, just barely accepted by Jade.

Sir Chuck and Elizabeth awaited Jade's answer.