With three team members heading away from the swampy world, the group now made for the world of Sylvan. It was a richly forested planet, and held a huge vacationing population. Castles soared into the skies atop craggy peaks, shimmering unicorn herds danced through the glades... It was a paradise.

It cost an arm and a leg to get in.

Jake didn't worry about that. But he did have a couple of the other legal reps wait outside.

"It's a head count, and ... well, they're the judges of this. When we need you, I'll send for you."

The law team members nodded, kind of disappointed that they weren't going to be able to see for themselves this beautiful lush planet. Unless they could afford it, which they probably could - but they were cheapskates.

The group walked through a garden and a hedge maze, and up to a large mansion. At the gigantic oaken and gilded doors, Jake rang the bell and waited. Finally, a small butler of humanoid descent answered the call.

"You are expected?" He asked, and Jake nodded once. "Then come in. Please do not touch anything. The master is rather particular about that."

"Thanks for the warning," Sh'urrb said, slightly annoyed that this little... person (who looked somewhat like a hedgehog) was implying that she or the others would steal anything. Of course, when they started their journey through the mansion the place just reeked of money. Even Jake looked impressed by the items hanging on the walls, the paintings and tapestries.

"You will be waiting in the sitting room? Or sitting in the waiting room?" Asked the hedgehog.

"Let's sit in the waiting room," Jake said with half a grin, "I don't feel like standing."

"Excellent choice, sir. The Master will be with you shortly."

When the little butler left, Maxiil asked, "Jake, why are we here? Who could possibly be on our team from here?"

Jake held his hand up, and smiled silently. Shortly there was a knock and the doors opened, to another room to the side. A hall with exquisitely carved wooden chairs and tables, and rich red wood panneling along the walls. At the end of one table sat a silver-haired stag male, whose rack one could safely assume might interfere with him walking between doorways easily.

The regal Stag nodded, and indicated that the group sit. Jake took the seat nearest the man, and the others were a bit nervous to sit at all.

"Lord Fallwood," Jake said, quietly, "I understand that your son Tamoth plays softball in his spare time."

"He does," Fallwood said, half grimly. "I wish that he would stop. It is so... base."

"There are three, and home plate," Jake said. "And it's a high-stakes game in the right circles, offworld."

At that, the stag raised a thin eyebrow and tilted his head gently to the side. He must have really - really - strong neck muscles.

"I am prepared to offer him a place on a team, which would travel world to world and most likely score better than most." Jake watched the stag's reactions carefully, and he was clearly able to detect something. A weakness? "A business opportunity like this does not present itself often, lord Fallwood, and your son would enjoy the company - and the travel would do him good. When he is finished with this childish play, he'd have made many business contacts and seen many worlds."

This obviously intrigued the elegant white deer. "I see. Well. Let me call him and see if he's up for this... Do you have a contract?"

"I left my lawyers at the parking lot," Jake admitted.

"Good. We do not need a contract. They can sit there and rot. I detest lawyers."

Maxiil and Z'ren looked at one another, clearly passing the thought -'so that's why they got left behind!' between them. Jake was a thorough man - and his research told him that fact already.

Soon, a slender and small-'headed' young man appeared at the doorway. He poked his head in, and looked at the group assembled. When he saw Maxiil and Sh'urrb he brightened and entered. "Hey - you're the-"

"Son, these gentlefolk wish to make an arrangement with you to join their team. I would agree to allow you to do this, only if you come home and perform your duties to the family at a later time." The Lord said, watching his son.

Sh'urrb was watching him too - closely. He was stunning, very cute. Tall, handsome, and talented if Jake thought he was right for the job. She had to stop herself from just staring at him. Well, she could have, but she didn't. She continued to watch him until it looked as though he was uncomfortable being looked upon.

"Of course I will, father, this is... this is an opportunity I can't bear to miss." Tamoth said. "I'll accept! Both deals," he said to his father.

The stag and his son bowed to one another, and Lord Fallwood rose from the chair. His shoulders were slender enough, but they were twice the size of his son's, and he stood another foot and a half taller. That's not to mention the rack...

And the ass, which appeared to have a short tail - that Sh'urrb watched as he left the room.

"Well," Jake said, "Tamoth I've heard about you - but I haven't heard about the people you play with. Could you introduce us?"

"Do you think they're going to be picked up too?" Tamoth asked, excited. He had a golden voice, soft, and a beautiful smile. He'd clearly be the best thing that happened to the team even without playing a game.

***

Tamoth grinned widely as he showed off his 'team'. They were a strange bunch. But then, Sylvans weren't known for their consistant appearance. From three rabbit-oids, two more deer, and several foxes, cats and other such morphs, they assembled just over one team. They'd always played short a couple hands, since this sport was so ... degrading, according to some folks. It became clear that one more of the deer-types, a female, and one of the rabbitoids, another female, were the ones that Jake immediately spotted.

He had Sh'urrb and the others pick a couple members of this group, and squared off against the rest. This gave the whole batch of people time to see who could really do what.

And Tamoth was clearly good at this. He hit more often than missed, and when they ran the bases he was so remarkable to watch... More than once, Jake noticed that not only Sh'urrb was gazing at the Sylvan, but a number of others on his own team. He could work that to his advantage. A good hitter like him was not going to go to waste.

The other two, the female lagomorph in particular, were quite good at throwing and catching. Seevie, the deertype, glared at Sh'urrb much of the time, until it came time for her team to start in the outfield. She blistered the air with the ball, causing Z'ren to actually miss more than once.

"She's in," Z'ren said jokingly to Jake. He knew it wasn't quite his place to call it when a new member was listed, but in this case, he was dead on.

That, and when Bushish the bunnymorph scurried around the infield catching anything that came her way, cleared the deal. Three from Sylvan left, and the lawyers never did get to see the castle.

***

Raki was their last stop - Jake was getting impatient and wanted to get the team set up and playing. Or at least practicing. The Gems were no longer scheduled on the season's roster, because of the string of retirees leaving. That left them a little over four months to get their whole team together and start training.

Raki was a cliff-ridden world. Stiff breezes blew from the canyons, and many birdlike natives cruised the airways. Below, on the windswept stone plains, massive cities filled with all manner of beings were crammed down in the lee, away from the winds.

"It is hard to imagine a place sustaining life like this," Tamoth said, amazed. "This place is so ... harsh."

"It's not like home at all," Bushish agreed. She glanced around and held herself nearer to Maxiil since he was closer to her height than the rest. "There are no trees..."

It was true, there were very few tall trees. But upon closer examination much of the ground was in fact covered in a maze of low bushes and roots. But that wasn't why they were here. They headed to one of the canyon cities, where a number of lizardoid folk camped out.

Among those, there were several strong runners, and those who could catch their prey by chasing it down. Two such males, Enni and Anni, showed up to the summons for players. But there was a catch.

That catch was odd, in the form of two professors of the local Rakian university.

"They cannot go anywhere," said one, red-skinned and a little annoyed.

"They have classes to finish!" Said the other, more orange-skinned and truly annoying.

"But we've got our vacation time right now," said Anni, but the red-skinned prof would have nothing of it.

"You're supposed to be finishing up your paper on stone dynamics, and you cannot afford to miss any more classes!" He bellowed.

"Your play time should be long over, Anni," replied the other. "This is a childish thing."

"That's just what my father said," Tamoth admitted to Seevie, who knew that story all too well. It wasn't Tamoth who stood forward, it was the female.

Seevie said, "Sirs, with all due respect, if you don't like doing something, you shouldn't have to be forced to continue doing it."

"But this is - hardly - your place to speak!" Said the orange. His red crest frill stood at attention, and his tail was lashing back and forth. Enni suddenly moved himself between the orange and Seevie.

"Sir, she's not from here," he said with a bit of song in his voice, a warning tone, "she doesn't know our customs!"

"Well you should be the one to teach her?" Said the red. The violet colored crest on his head started to rise up.

"Maybe I will," Enni said, "maybe Anni and I should do a... research trip."

Tamoth perked up, "research - you could help me. My father wants me to study up on the foreign life outside Sylvan, before I take over the family business."

The pair of professors were stimied. Obviously, they didn't think much of females talking to anyone, but this Sylvan had hit the nail on the head for them.

"Of course. Fine. Certainly." Said the red. "Well. Your tuition will lapse, and you will both have to re-apply. But I do expect you to provide us with a detailed paper on ... something."

"Of course!" Anni said, "we'll do that. We really will."

The pair of professors left, and Enni let out a long breath. "You could have really hurt yourself, you know," he said to Seevie.

"I don't think he could have done anything to me," She replied.

"You don't know how dirty our kind fights," Anni added.

"I like you," Seevie said. "Now, are we done here?"

They looked at Jake, but he did not answer them. He was looking at the sky, where a pack of avian types were chasing after one of their own kind. It was then that they all noticed that the avians did not have their own wings - they used crafted ones instead. But they were so expert at it, that they looked perfectly natural.

The one being chased was struck by something, and on his way down to the ground, several others began pelting him with small stones. He batted them away with his wing sail, and caught another few with his beak. Then, he crashed.

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