Path: netcom.com!netcomsv!decwrl!wupost!CSM560.smsu.edu!vma.smsu.edu!CHM173S From: CHM173S@vma.smsu.edu (Chris Meadows) Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Subject: [AU] Entry to Generica Date: Mon, 08 Mar 93 14:26:50 CST Organization: Southwest Missouri State Univ Lines: 104 Message-ID: <16B8BCB2A.CHM173S@vma.smsu.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: vma.smsu.edu THREAD: AU (Andrea and Unicorn) Commenced by Chris Meadows The rough-clothed sailor raised the axe high over the chopping block where the young unicorn's head was tied down. The evil glint in the sailor's eye perfectly matched the glint of sunlight from the axe as it reached its zenith. From where she was being held, Andrea had a perfect view of what was about to happen to her companion. She was in the grip of another sailor, a heavily-muscled thug who was shackling her arms to the wall. He'd already clasped the heavy metal collar around her left arm, but she managed to get her right hand free. She tensed her wrist, and felt the dagger drop right into her hand. Wasting no time, she stuck it into the thug's neck. He went down with a gurgle of blood and she pulled it out again, then threw it. It stuck right into the leg of the man with the axe, causing him to stumble to one side and sink the axe not into the unicorn's horn but into the deckplates instead. "You bi--aaaugh!" the groaned, pulling the small dagger out of his leg. Andrea didn't notice; she had removed another dagger from a secret sheath inside her tunic. She pressed a stud on the hilt of this dagger and a lockpick sprung out. With this she picked the lock of the shackle around her left wrist, jerking it free just as the sailor came running at her, swinging the axe. She dropped to the floor as the blade went whistling by to embed itself a good six inches into the wooden wall. As the man grunted, trying to jerk it free, she used the dagger of resource to slit his neck from ear to ear. Andrea ran to the chopping block and slit the ropes holding the unicorn to the chopping block, grabbing her shortsword and other gear along the way. She picked up the bloody dagger from the deck, wiped it on the sailor's pants, and returned it to the wrist sheath, then did the same for the dagger of resource. "All right, Sheryl...let's look for a way out of here," Andrea said. The unicorn nodded, and Andrea looked around. They had just come into port this day, which was extremely fortunate for them. If the ship had been at sea, they would have had no alternative but to take to a lifeboat, and Andrea had no knowledge of navigation. "The docks. Hurry!" Andrea ran for the off-ramp followed closely by Sheryl, the young unicorn's feet making a rhythmic hollow clop-clop sound on the wooden deck. Behind them, Andrea could hear the outcry being raised by men discovering the two sailors' bodies. She swore softly; just a few minutes more, PLEASE!!! Then she would be safely hidden among the crates and boxes that were piled all around awaiting loading onto various ships. But if they found her now, it would mean a fight. "Hey! There she is!" Andrea winced, unslinging and cocking her light crossbow. It looked like she would have to make a fight of it after all. She turned, to see four or five burly men pouring down the ramp behind her. She steadied the crossbow, sighted carefully, and fired, impaling the first man through the neck. Then she threw the weapon at the second man and ran, her equine companion following closely at her heels. A dagger flew past Andrea, THONKing into the side of a crate with a crudely-drawn fish on the side. "Why, thank you, that's an excellent idea!" she said, pulling the dagger out then pulling the crate down to smash on the floor. She pocketed the knife and continued running. Behind her, there were startled shouts and crashes as the remaining pursuers slipped on the fish that now lay all across the ground. Andrea didn't look back, though she would later imagine what it must have looked like with a slight chuckle. She was too busy getting herself and her friend to safety. After running for a time (she didn't know how long), she found herself standing, nearly out of breath, in front of the door to a pub. The sign read "Dragon's Inn". "I could use a drink," she sighed. "Come on, Sheryl. Maybe they'll have something fit for a young unicorn to drink." She opened the door, and they stepped inside. As they entered, a lot of people looked up, then most of them shrugged and went back to their drinks. Only a few continued gazing at the odd twosome, and it was these that Andrea reminded herself to keep an eye on. "Hey, Sheryl, is it my imagination or does this pub have more than its share of corners, and don't most of them have dark-robed, shadowy figures in them?" Sheryl did the unicornish equivalent of a shrug. Sheryl selected a seat at one of the empty corners and waved to the barkeep to bring her an ale, and a pan of milk for Sheryl if he had any. When the ale arrived she sipped at it and looked around pensively. Those who were looking at Andrea at the moment saw a dark woman clad in dark clothes. Dark breeches, dark tunic, dark leather armor. Her black hair fell to about the middle of her back, and her dark brown eyes peered over the rim of her glass as she took in the sights and sounds of the rest of the pub. Her body was well-sculptured, though not to the point where one might vulgarly call her "stacked." She had an air of quiet competence about her, yet also something of despair. An uncanny contradiction, yet also an interesting one. ADMIN: I'm rather new here, but I've been reading a lot of messages; I pride myself on being a fanfic type author, so I figured I might as well try my hand at this. I'm still patting myself on the back for the pun in this thread name (AU=Andrea and Unicorn; AU=gold). Heh. :) If you want to add to this thread, please contact me via email. Thanks. -- Chris Meadows || Johnny was a chemist's clerk CHM173S@SMSVMA.BITNET || But Johnny is no more CHM173S@VMA.SMSU.EDU || For what he thought was H2O CMEADOWS@NYX.CS.DU.EDU || Was H2SO4 Path: netcom.com!netcomsv!decwrl!wupost!CSM560.smsu.edu!vma.smsu.edu.Ext!CHM173S From: CHM173S@vma.smsu.edu.Ext (Chris Meadows) Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Subject: [AU] [Inn] The walrus said to talk... [Repost] Date: Tue, 23 Mar 93 08:18:17 CST Organization: A Disorganized Room Indicates an Organized Mind Lines: 365 Message-ID: <16B9A74CA.CHM173S@vma.smsu.edu.Ext> NNTP-Posting-Host: vma.smsu.edu Keywords: [AU] [Inn] 'Raelf ar'Elya Andrea Sheryl unicorn X-Newsreader: NNR/VM S_1.3.2 ADMIN: This is a repost of a repost; the first repost apparently did not get through. This repost is because I don't think the original post didn't get everwhere, since it never showed up at my site. This takes place immediately before "Off to See the Wizards..." ----------begin Steve Hutchison's post---------- ~Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Path: ibeam!hutch ~From: hutch@ibeam.intel.com (Steve Hutchison) ~Subject: [AU][Inn]'Raelf,ar'Elya,Andrea,Unicorn: the walrus said to talk... Message-ID: Organization: Intel Corp., Hillsboro, Oregon ~Date: Fri, 12 Mar 1993 08:36:07 GMT [the time has come, the walrus said to talk, of many things]... "I'd be happier if it felt like things were settling down, Raye." (click) "'Raelf, there's nothing you can do about it from here-and-now." "I found the keel and the transitor and four partially blasted runes." (clack. clack) "So what does it mean to us?" (click. Click, click) "I can't really say. There's so much happening, and I still can't see any of the branch around the Mage Guild." "Who was he, anyway. You didn't really say." "Well, the others all called him `silken' and LittleFair said he was another one of the dark-corners crowd. He's not from Nexus, really. I tried to follow his traces from a few months back, saw him in action. Very competent cat-burglar, semicompetent psychic - couldn't ever tell when he was going to be idiot or savant. Had the usual array of magic unbeatable weapons and stuff. Stereotype of the jack of all trades." (clack) "Oh? Into archetypes, you say?" "I think he dabbled in everything, but never stayed with anything." (click) "Why would he choose to dabble in vampirism?" (clack) "Who knows? He made noises like he didn't want to be, but he sure seemed to enjoy using the weedy. Anyway, I hope the safety field stayed on long enough to kick him back into reality." "What ruined the board?" (tap, tap, tap, tap. clunk.) "Combination of things. I think he either got hit by the Sorc's wards, or he actually caught his attention and got blasted. The protections should have held it off, but then I didn't expect the local gods to start dying out of turn. Weakened it. Then the turbulence has been so much worse lately, and it's rippling backtimewards. Board probably blew along the discriminator array." "Are you bored?" "Yes. This game is no fun. Can I burn it?" (clatter, clatter, click) "Sure." <> FOOOMF - the board and tiles exploded in flames, infernal but contained above the marble tabletop. A wisp of white smoke rose, drifting on the wind over the garden, and across the lighthouse wall. "Why did you think that game would be fun, 'Raelf?" "I thought it was different. Chinese Scrabble, who'd expect them to do it in their own alphabet?" "I guess. Hey, I'm hungry. Free Lunch?" ar'Elya flickered briefly between her two more athletic base-roles, before settling on the Amazon form of A'ree, with the requisite wolf appearing from nowhere. "How we gonna get there? I don't want to use the gate." "Could race. Could skate." "Yah! Come on!" 'Raelf sprinted towards the tower where their gear was stored. After a ten minute mostly-invisible race across the skies above the Low City the air in front of the Inn flashed with faint blue flames as three figures emerged into the street. The two human figures looked dubiously at the third; a wolf wearing inline skates, even modified for canine feet, looks very odd. "You could have been a Hawk, Critter. Raye, why wasn't he a hawk?" "Why weren't you a hummingbird? Cut some slack, jack." They helped the lupine to dismount the skates, and approached the door. "Careful, guys. Alita's got the door boobytrapped." "Right." The warm air from the Inn washed over them, causing the wolf to sneeze. <> "This IS the Dragon's Inn, Critter. Strange is a way of life here." Rowan smiled as 'Raelf approached the bar. "Here to get your free lunches?" "Yah. Raye's being polite, decided to be daintier today. So you don't have to put another cow on the grill." "I'm relieved, lad. Say, do you know anything about thiii... What's your wolf doing?" "Uh, Raye?" In response, she looked over and whistled. The wolf had gone over to the table 'Raelf usually took, one by the small fireplace near the front door, but instead of sitting, he was very carefully whiffling at the heels of something that 'Raelf could have sworn was the kiester-end of a Unicorn. ar'Elya went over to speak to the human who was sharing a table with it. "Rowan, is that a for-real Unicorn sitting, er, standing, in my usual spot?" "I believe so. She's been drinking milk." "Oh. Uh, what was your question?" "Why have I had four people appear in here from Ak-Ir-Neg, and why have I had people calling me `LittleTrill', and why did one of them tell me to ask you about it?" "Uh, right. You remember Alita, the blue-lady who went off to hunt for the shrunken-giant's dragon with us?" "Yes. Be careful of her, I suspect she's a succubus." "That would be almost correct. Anyway, she's living over flipside now. She's opened a bar there, exact spot as here, but it's cursed to violence instead of blessed to peace. She and a friend of hers decided to `help' you out, by creating a correspondence-gate between their inn and yours. She does a wicked good impression of you, by the way." Rowan scowled, thinking of the damage to his reputation and his clients. "And this gate takes people who are peaceful and boring there, and shunts them over here, and sends violent people over there." "Right, sort of, when it really works right. I'm almost sure the Knight and his Lady Blaze got sent there once by mistake, for instance." "Well. I'm not sure I want my clients being snatched away." "I'll see what I can do about it." "Give it a week, lad. I might decide I like the arrangement." "Whatever. Hey, could you be out of Catamount Porter today? I think Raye's having flashbacks from the stuff." "Well, normally no, but I DO happen to be out of the Cat today." "Way cool. See ya." 'Raelf went over to the table and joined Raye, who was apologizing to the young dark-haired, dark-skinned woman at the table. "He doesn't usually get this fresh, ma'am." The young lady in question continued to glance nervously at the wolf. There was a small dagger within easy reach on the table, but she didn't appear to be too predisposed toward using it, which seemed to be a good sign. The small unicorn had turned and was peering curiously toward this creature that was sniffing at her, though she didn't seem too wor- ried. "Well, Sheryl doesn't seem to mind," the woman said at last. "May we join you here for lunch? Our usual table is occupied," ar'Elya nodded, indicating the place where the Unicorn was standing. The dark-clothed woman shrugged. "If you like." Then, sensing that perhaps introductions were in order, she added, "My name is Andrea, and my...friend here is Sheryl." "I'm ar'Elya. This blond fellow here is 'Raelf, my housepet. The wolf is Critter, and if he doesn't behave himself I'm going to skin him for a coat, got it, Critter?" She drew a dagger threateningly. 'Raelf bowed greetings, and grinned at Andrea's cautious expression. "Ignore her, please, she's not herself today. She'd sooner skin her own self as cut into her Critter. Or skin me." "That's not funny. When's the food showing up, we're starved." The wolf growl-whined in agreement. "Just here," Mary LittleFair said, delivering a big bowl of crisply fried potatoes to the center of the table, and setting down a mug of blackjack cider. "The meat'll be here as soon as it hits blood temperature." "Great. Oh, hey, Andrea, would you like to share lunch with us? Tell a few stories, we can find out what a nice 'corn like this is doing in a place like this. Hey, you better be careful here, there's parts of town where they'd mug you, chop the horn off your friend, and sell the two of you off to the Rameshanders in half-a-second." Andrea nodded, in a manner which suggested that she knew all about places like that. "Yes, I've had that experience." 'Raelf tasted one of the fried potato sticks and looked around the table, searching for something missing. "Where's the ketchup and salt?" Andrea picked up the dagger and made it disappear with some impressive sleight of hand that seemed to come naturally to her. She stroked Sheryl's neck gently. "This may sound like an...odd question, but what is this place? The city, I mean, not just the pub." 'Raelf looked up from the unsatisfactory fries and said, "It's called Generica." At this, Andrea looked up. "Generica..." she murmured. "At last. What a long, strange trip it's been." Sheryl perked up too, at mention of the name. "So, what brings you to this town?" 'Raelf asked. "Oh, just a little problem I need to solve. Nothing, really." Andrea sighed. "Do you know if there is anywhere around here that I could find a room for the night?" 'Raelf toyed with the fried potato sticks and said, "I believe Rowan Littlefair has some rooms for rent. Or you can look for something on the bulletin board over there." He pointed to a space on the wall of the staircase, by the door. It was plastered with a few dozen notices, some quite new, others tattered and fading. "Thanks." Andrea got up. "Save my seat, Sheryl." The little unicorn nickered an affirmative, and hopped up onto the bench seat vacated by Andrea. She tucked her legs under her and lay down, looking so pleased with herself that it elicited a chuckle from 'Raelf and ar'Elya. Andrea almost smiled, then walked over to the bulletin board. It was filled with notices of all sorts--quests unfinished, help wanted, rooms to let, etc. Then one fairly new announcement caught her eye, and her eyes widened. "Raoh..." she breathed. She reached out and pulled it down, then carried it back to the table. She walked as if dazed, and her eyes betrayed the inner turmoil she was feeling. While Andrea had been reading the board, someone had apparently brought some ketchup and salt by; 'Raelf had been raising a red-tipped potato fry to his mouth when Andrea sat back down, looking like she was under a spell. "Hey, are you all right?" he asked, the fry forgotten. "Raoh..." she murmured, staring at the notice gripped within her hand. "That bastard..." She let the notice fall to the table, and suddenly a dagger appeared through the center of it with a THONK! that startled everyone at the table, Sheryl included. Now that the note was on the table, 'Raelf and ar'Elya could see that it was the poster advertising for adventurers to seek out and destroy the tyrant Raoh, who supposedly had the power to raze entire towns with a wave of his hand. "Andrea..." 'Raelf said gently. "Andrea?" Sheryl looked concerned. Andrea wasn't listening. She was in her own world, her eyes betraying the agony she was feeling inside. She reached down the front of her tunic and brought out a silver locket. She flipped it open, looked at whatever was inside, and the tears started to flow. "Oh, Sheryl..." she half-sobbed, and the small unicorn nuzzled her gently. She lowered her head to the table and sat there crying silently, the force of the sobs shaking her body. 'Raelf looked embarrassed, and would have moved to comfort her but ar'Elya stopped him. "No," she said. "Look at her. Combat fatigue. Survivor syndrome, she's been hiding something from herself for too long. Let her cry it out." Reluctantly, 'Raelf agreed, and Andrea's sobs gradually subsided, until she was silent. "She's fallen asleep," ar'Elya observed. 'Raelf got up, and walked over to Littlefair. "Got a crash pad? Lady needs to sleep." He tossed him a gold piece. "Of course," Littlefair said, indicating the place. "Right through there, second doorway on the right." "Thanks." 'Raelf walked back over to the table and gently picked the sleeping thief up. Sheryl moved as if to stop him, but he said, "Don't worry, little 'corn, I'm not going to harm her." He carried her to the room, Sheryl trailing behind him. As he laid her on the bed and pulled the cover up over her, he noticed that she was still clutching the locket. Curious, he gently disengaged her hand from the necklace and examined it. The locket had two small drawings in it, rendered in color by some skilled artist--probably done at some travelling carnival for a few copper pieces, he reflected. On the left was a picture of a young teenaged girl who had to be Andrea ten years or more ago. She certainly looked happy, nothing like the world-weary woman whose neck the locket hung around. In the other side was a younger blonde-haired girl, perhaps about 8 or 10 years of age. 'Raelf snapped the locket shut and tucked it back inside Andrea's collar before pulling the covers up to her neck. "Pleasant dreams," he said before walking out, leaving a small unicorn standing sentinel at the foot of the bed. -- [ADMIN] This is a joint post, by Chris Meadows and me. If you want to comment to Chris, send mail to one of CHM173S@SMSVMA.BITNET CHM173S@VMA.SMSU.EDU CMEADOWS@NYX.CS.DU.EDU The characters: "Silken" is owned by Mithrandir (TKelly) and is slandered here without explicit permission. "Andrea" and "Sheryl" are owned by Chris Meadows and appear here by special arrangement. "Raoh" is a guest villain owned by Chris (Wolvie) Motherway and appears in cameo by special arrangement. 'Raelf and ar'Elya are mine, all rights reserved, etc. ------------end Steve Hutchison's post------------ Well, that's it...hope you like it, and I hope this lessens any confusion. Heck, just blame it on the timestream thing. If you want to join the thread or have the character make an appearance in your thread, just email me for permission, as per the admin note at the end of "Off to See the Wizards"...I like getting email, especially about something I've written. Later! -- Chris Meadows || Kaiser Bill went up the hill CHM173S@SMSVMA.BITNET || To see the War advance. CHM173S@VMA.SMSU.EDU || Kaiser Bill came down the hill CMEADOWS@NYX.CS.DU.EDU || With bullets in his pants! Path: netcom.com!netcomsv!decwrl!wupost!CSM560.smsu.edu!vma.smsu.edu.Ext!CHM173S From: CHM173S@vma.smsu.edu.Ext (Chris Meadows) Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Subject: [AU] Off to See the Wizards... Date: Mon, 22 Mar 93 21:47:07 CST Organization: Istanbul (Not Constantinople) Lines: 100 Message-ID: <16B991325B.CHM173S@vma.smsu.edu.Ext> NNTP-Posting-Host: vma.smsu.edu Keywords: [AU] Andrea Sheryl unicorn X-Newsreader: NNR/VM S_1.3.2 Andrea blinked as the early morning sunlight fell across her face. What--where was she? She sat up, looked around, her dagger appearing in her hand. It was a bedroom--no, it looked like lodgings in an inn. And then Andrea recalled the previous day, how she and Sheryl had barely escaped from those raucas sailors, then found their way to the inn, and met 'Raelf and ar'Elya...and then she remembered the notice on the wall, and her subsequent breakdown. Oh, gods, she thought, I really must have embarrassed myself. The dagger disappeared, almost without conscious thought on Andrea's part. She looked around, and saw Sheryl dozing at the foot of the bed. Even as her gaze fell upon the young unicorn, Sheryl opened her eyes, then got to her feet in the awkward way all resting equines do. She nickered a good morning greeting. Andrea pushed back the covers and noticed that she was still fully-clothed. Well, that was hardly unusual. Nowadays, she slept with her clothes on more often than not. Her choice of profession warranted this precaution. Andrea smiled wanly at this thought. "Who would have thought it ten years ago, Sheryl, that I'd be a thief, and you'd be..." She stopped, not wanting to say it yet again. Sheryl sensed her pain and walked over to the side of the bed. Her equine body language managed somehow to convey that it was all right, the past was the past. Andrea sighed. "Guess I must have made something of a fool of myself last night, eh Sher?" Sheryl shook her head firmly, in a manner indicating that whatever else Andrea might be, she was certainly not a fool (at least not to her). Andrea smiled. "Thanks, Sheryl." Andrea climbed out of the bed and checked her possessions. Her haversack was leaning against the bed; a quick check through it indicated that nothing had been taken. The secret pocket seemed untampered with, though she had little time or desire to count the money secreted within to be sure it was all there. She shouldered the pack and walked out. Sheryl followed, her hooves making little "clop-clop" sounds against the wooden floor. The tavern room was mostly empty at this hour of the early morning, the only current residents being a few coffee-drinkers and some still-snoozing drunks. There were also a few darkly-robed people in about five or six of the corners, but they seemed to be a permanent fixture of the place, kind of like the furniture, so they almost didn't merit mentioning. The innkeeper, whom Andrea had heard called Littlefair, was standing behind the bar polishing a glass. Andrea sat down at the bar and said, "Thanks for the room last night. What do I owe you?" Littlefair shook his head. "Don't thank me, young lady, and you don't owe me anything. It was 'Raelf who paid for the room and made sure you were comfortable in it. I had little to do with it." Andrea blinked. This came as a bit of a surprise. "Very well...what can I get for breakfast around here?" Littlefair mentioned the choices; it was relatively simple fare but sounded quite good to Andrea. She ordered a hearty breakfast; with what she had planned for today she knew she'd have need of it. "And I would like something for Sheryl; do you have any oatmeal porridge? She likes it hot, with just a dash of brown sugar." "Coming right up," Littlefair said, and true to his word, in under five minutes their breakfast was ready. Andrea and Sheryl ate, and then Sheryl plunked down a few silvers on the table to pay for the meal. "That was quite good." "Thank you," Littlefair said. "Do you know where I might find 'Raelf?" Andrea asked as she turned to go. "I would like to thank him for his hospitality of last night." "You might try asking at the Wizards' Guild," the innkeeper suggested. He walked to the door and pointed down the street. "You go down there, then you..." He gave her detailed directions, then as he returned to the bar, Andrea pulled out a gold coin and tossed it to him. "Thanks," Andrea said. Then, "Come on, Sheryl...we have a Guild to visit." Once they got outside, Andrea said, "So, 'Raelf's a magician, eh? This gets better and better...maybe he can help us!" And with that, the twosome started off down the street, following the directions Littlefair had given her. If it had been the Andrea of several years previous, her mind would have been abuzz and her spirits lifted with hope that a wizard could help her, but by this time she had long since lost much of her faith in wizards--none of them had been able to help her before. She was more looking forward to the chance to thank 'Raelf properly and apologize for any embarrassment she might have caused than to see about securing an end to the condition which had caused her and Sheryl to wander nearly from one end of the world to the other. As for Sheryl, she capered down the street, thoughts of angst and suffering farthest from her mind. Andrea almost envied her that. It was in these frames of mind that Andrea and Sheryl walked down the street toward the Wizards' Guild. ADMIN: If you want to join this thread or use my characters, please email me at CHM173S@VMA.SMSU.EDU or CHM173S@SMSVMA. I will be only too glad to let you help out; I just have to be sure that it doesn't go against the character concept I have set up for Andrea and Sheryl. Thanks!!! -- Chris Meadows || Read A BAROQUE FABLE, by CHM173S@SMSVMA.BITNET || Chelsea Quinn Yarbro! CHM173S@VMA.SMSU.EDU || Read DREAM PARK, by CMEADOWS@NYX.CS.DU.EDU || Larry Niven & Steve Barnes! Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Path: netcom.com!netcomsv!decwrl!uunet!newsflash.concordia.ca!sifon!VM1.MCGILL.CA From: BGHO000 Subject: [Jiri]:The Wolfmage has come. Message-ID: <25MAR93.05941903.0061@VM1.MCGILL.CA> Lines: 113 Sender: usenet@MUSICB.MCGILL.CA Nntp-Posting-Host: vm1.mcgill.ca Organization: McGill University Date: Thu, 25 Mar 1993 10:30:06 GMT Once more the hooded figure emerges from the shadows in the back corner of the Inn. Lowering his hood and removing his cloak, the elven mage walks to the bar and orders an ale. As he waits for his drink, he surve ys the inn, his mind lightly probing. When he is satisfied that all is as it should be, Jiriku takes his mug and seats himself in a corner tabl to wait. The elf waits quite a long time, ordering more ale and cursing colorfully every few minutes. Before his wait is over, he has managed to get quite drunk. In the middle of his fifteenth pint, Jiriku looks up sharply and settles his gaze on the door. "It's about time, by Kurath's bloody head," he mutters as he struggles to rise. Somehow, he manages to stand up without knocking anything over, and without spilling too much of his ale. Pushing his silver locks back out of his face, the Wolfmage stumbles towards the door. When he is halfway ther a huge form fills the doorway. After a short pause, a hulking jungle cat pads lightly into the Inn to stand before the golden eyed elf. "By the gods, I've been waiting a good while. You're two weeks late!" the elf admonishes his friend, who even then begins to shift, his body changing into a more human shape, and a rich red cloak and swordbelt appearing upon the massive frame. The man-cat looks down upon the elf before him and grins, showing off his cruelly pointed fangs. "Jiriku, my friend, it has been a long journey. I am near dead from thirst, and you don't even have an ale or three waiting for me!" The gruff yet noble voice is full of mirth as the cat begins to laugh and grabs the Wolfmage in a crushing bearhug (cathug?). "Ah, Jiri, 'tis been a long time." Stuggling for air, Jiriku manages to loosen the grip around him ere he replies. "Yes, friend Kyhra, it has. Too long. About two weeks too long..." Releasing the elf from the hug, Kyhra cuffs him lightly on the shoulde with a furry paw. "Oh, by the three tails of Granog! You're beginning to sound like Dargon. What wrong, are you getting old too, Wolfmage? Come, let us sit and raise glasses together. We have much to catch up on old friend." The elf muttered something barely audible about great age and the right to complain before breaking out in a large grin and turing back to his table. Swaying slightly as he sat, Jiriku slammed his mug down a little to hard, sloshing ale up all over his face, and uttering another curse worthy of a dwarf. "I see you've started without me, sylvan. I guess I'll have to do something about that!" Turning to the barmaid who walked cautiously towards the pairs bearing two more mug of ale, Kyhra let out a great laugh and motioned to her with a great paw. "Come girl, I'll not bite thee! Well, as long as you keep the ale coming I won't! Now that I think on it, why don't you just bring us a keg of your finest. Just bring it out and set it here beside me." Forgetting her fear for a moment, the girl gave Kyhra a shocked look. "The whole keg, sir? Have you the coin? And the thirst?" Kyhra laughed once more as he reached into his pouch and pulled forth a small leather bag full to bursting with gold coin which he slammed down on the table. "I have the coin, and don't ever doubt my thirst girl. Now fetch that ale, so I can get started!" Turning to his elven friend, Kyhra raised the mug the girl had brought. "To good times, good adventure, and good wenching!" "Aye, my friend. And to good ale too!" The elf raised his mug as well and the two slammmed them together ere pounding the mugs back in one go, a feat that takes little time or effort for the huge feline. Long into the night the two companions drink, sharing tales as well as recounting past adventures. The talk soon turns, as it must always with adventurers, to future exploits. Jiriku lowers his voice slightly as he fixes Kyhra with a suddenly sober and serious eye. "I have not learned all that much about Generica yet, my friend, but I have seen several opertunities. There is a thriving Thieves Guild in this city, known as the Fellowship, and a strong Mages Guild as well. The Guild tries to control all magical business in the city, but there are several independents. I must think more on it, and the Mages Guild is not one to willingly cross, but I sense an opportunity there for us. The port of this city is bustling, and trade is good. I heard a rumor that a certain friend of ours has passed through the port recently. A certain thief..." "Cain?" Kyhra cut in excitedly. "Yes, Kyhra, it was him, if the information I got was accurate. It seems he has taken up with a certain ship that he conducts his 'business' from. If we can get in touch with Cain, I know that he will have something up his sleeve. And he will surely join us, even if his smuggling operation is as lucrative as I suspect it would be. I know that the authorities in Generica do not take kindly to pirates and smugglers, but I also know that the Fellowship is a powerful force here. Perhaps there is something there..." Kyhra chuckled and refilled his mug. It would be good to be adventurin with his old comrades again, especially if they could turn a good profit in this city. "Jiri, I do look forward to the days ahead. I think tommorrow I'll head down to the Low City and seek out information. I could also use a little merc work right now. My blade is thirsty. I believe I have enough to establish ourselves up in a house somewhere, but we'll need to do some more research first. You look into the Mages Guild, and try to find out more about Cain's whereabouts. I have a felling that things will happen fairly quickly once we get them rolling. "Yes, Kyhra, they will. Oh, by the way, there is a certain perfumer in town that will pay for blood eaters and drinkers of souls." Kyhra bared his teeth in a wicked grin. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" At Jiriku's nod, Kyhra chuckled. "Ah, but we could not do tha to him... but perhaps, perhaps there is something in that..." Jiriku finished his ale and yawned. "Ah, but it nears rest time for me. I have not slept in ages, and this ale tires me. I'm staying upstairs, in the corner room. And you?" The man-cat nodded."I have not a room yet, but I'll not require one just yet. The night is young, and I would hunt still. Or mayhap I'll head down to the Spitting Cobra or one of the Harbour bars. I here that an old pirate with one eye runs one that has a pit for knife fights. My claws are begging to dull, from this long journey, and I could use a good fight or two. Perhaps I'll take a guide to show me the city." Kyhra stood, and surveyed the inn, searching for one who looked to be a suitable person to ask to be hired as a guide. As he looked, the Wolfmage silently donned his cloak and dissappeared into the shodows to find the sleep of the sylvan. ************************************************************************ If anyone is interested in showing us a little more of the city, or starting a new thread, send me email and I'll gladly respond. -Jiriku Goldeies and Lord Kyhra na Kalnar. Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Path: netcom.com!netcomsv!decwrl!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!asuvax!chnews!ornews.intel.com!i beam!hutch From: hutch@ibeam.intel.com (Steve Hutchison) Subject: [MG][AU] quite a sight to see Message-ID: Organization: Intel Corp., Hillsboro, Oregon References: <16B991325B.CHM173S@vma.smsu.edu.Ext> Date: Sat, 27 Mar 1993 01:29:43 GMT Lines: 249 [ADMIN] Pardon any multiple copies of this you might see. I got the wrong file into my windpipe. I *think* I've cancelled all the botches. This is a crossover between Andrea&Unicorn and Mages'Guild threads. Just a small one, though, no earthshaking disasters. Chris wanted me to point out that I corrected a typo in the quote of "Off to see the Wizards" which precedes my post - the original had Sheryl tossing some silver onto the table to pay for the food, and unicorns seldom carry pocket change. ------ + "Coming right up," Littlefair said, and true to his word, in +under five minutes their breakfast was ready. Andrea and Sheryl +ate, and then Andrea plunked down a few silvers on the table to +pay for the meal. "That was quite good." + "Thank you," Littlefair said. + "Do you know where I might find 'Raelf?" Andrea asked as she +turned to go. "I would like to thank him for his hospitality of +last night." + "You might try asking at the Wizards' Guild," the innkeeper +suggested. He walked to the door and pointed down the street. +"You go down there, then you..." He gave her detailed +directions, then as he returned to the bar, Andrea pulled out a +gold coin and tossed it to him. + "Thanks," Andrea said. Then, "Come on, Sheryl...we have a +Guild to visit." Once they got outside, Andrea said, "So, +'Raelf's a magician, eh? This gets better and better...maybe he +can help us!" + And with that, the twosome started off down the street, +following the directions Littlefair had given her. If it had +been the Andrea of several years previous, her mind would have +been abuzz and her spirits lifted with hope that a wizard could +help her, but by this time she had long since lost much of her +faith in wizards--none of them had been able to help her before. +She was more looking forward to the chance to thank 'Raelf +properly and apologize for any embarrassment she might have +caused than to see about securing an end to the condition which +had caused her and Sheryl to wander nearly from one end of the +world to the other. As for Sheryl, she capered down the street, +thoughts of angst and suffering farthest from her mind. Andrea +almost envied her that. + It was in these frames of mind that Andrea and Sheryl walked +down the street toward the Wizards' Guild. The instructions weren't really complicated - "Go out the door, turn right, stay on the street until you come to the guild hall. You'll know it when you see it." She strode confidently up the street, Sheryl frolicking around - but not too far away from her; she was drawing a few stares from the passers-by, and one or two of those were avaricious. A warning glance from Andrea sent those ones running. The avenue came up to a bridge - the plaque read "Keruon" in the old common runic, and the river was about a half mile across at this stretch. The bridge was hung between pylons, a mish-mosh of styles, not quite a suspension bridge, not quite an arched bridge. There was only one center support, and the arch of the bridge wasn't very steep, just enough to provide leverage. It was fairly wide - the street was wide enough for five men to walk, arms outstretched and hands touching at fingertips, and the bridge was a little wider, to make room for the raised walkways on either side. Andrea gestured and Sheryl came in closer to her. They started across, stopping briefly to glance down at the traffic below. The central pylon was bigger than the bridge, and there was a building on it, a few shops and a pie store and a guard station. She smiled sweetly at the guards as they stared with suspicion - this adventurer was clearly not a fighter, so she had to be a thief, but what thief was pure enough to keep a unicorn as a pet? The bridge arched downwards again, towards the far side of the river. The street kinked a bit, going off more to the north on this side. Things were Much Nicer over there - the houses and buildings were freshly painted, servants' entrances, that sort of thing. Not quite as much traffic. Sheryl saw the first fountain and nickered a strange sort of noise. She pranced up to it, jumped in, splashing water around herself. From a nearby house, a servant came rushing out - "Here, get that animal out of the ... oh. Sorry, ma'am" and went back in, embarrassed. Unicorns were Not Bad Things to find in your water. "Come on, Sheryl, we need to get going." "Pbbtr-weeeeeigh!" The unicorn jumped out, and preceded Andrea as they wend up the Avenue of Fountains, stopping at each fountain to deliberately dip her horn in and splash around a bit. The waters sparkled brightly as she passed. Andrea stopped for a moment in front of a milliners shop. The woman going in was blocking the entire walkway, and the production she was making of exiting her carriage, crossing the three feet to the door, and entering the shop, reminded Andrea of the airs that were put on by the noble daughters in her homeland. Of course, this one didn't wear any of the badges of nobility, but that down-the-nose sort of look was a sure sign of someone wanting to be taken down a few steps. She put on her awed-at-the-great-lady expression while considering if there was any profit in tracking her down later and "visiting" her house. But not right now, she decided, she still needed to get the lay of the town. "Darling, there's a unicorn in the garden." Andrea turned, looking for Sheryl. She wasn't in sight. There was a house with a large, fenced-in ornamental garden, the wrought-iron fence coming down to the street; she looked through and past the hedge of shrubs to see Sheryl looking placidly at a somewhat-older man, who was holding a cup of tea in one hand. A faint, bored voice came from inside the house, a woman's voice. "That's nice, dear." The man held out a rose to Sheryl, who happily ate the flower off. "Darling, the unicorn just ate one of my roses." "Yes dear. Come inside now." The man went inside, and Andrea stage-whispered: "Sheryl! Get over here!" The 'corn skipped over, then ducked down and through the hedge, and got through a wide spot in the wrought-iron fence. The woman's voice came from inside: "You're out of your mind. I'm going to call the hospital and have you committed." Andrea nudged Sheryl and they proceeded up the street, oblivious to the domestic disaster unfolding behind them. They went two more blocks, and four more fountains were magically purified by the Unicorn horn. Then they came to the Mages' Guild - LittleFair had been truthful, it was unmistakeable. It was only four stories high but there were at least fifteen stories worth of doors, windows, and such - and there were walkways and fountains and things on parts of it, but the directions they went had nothing to do with up and down. It was painted a very pretty color, sort of a rose-petal-pink, with green borders and blue trim. The entry was a big glassed-in area, probably stone or metal that had been enchanted to be transparent, because that much glass would be impossible to blow out without rippling or clouding or bubbles. The door was even stranger - it was like a wheel on its side, with walls of glass, and it went around in a circle. People went in one side, the door turned, and they came out the other. It was very strange. Sheryl thought it was fascinating. She skipped up to it, Andrea hurrying up behind her, and managed to push on one of the glass faces with her horn before Andrea could stop her. There, she was inside, and Andrea got bumped from behind as the door swung her around and deposited her inside as well. "Stop that! Don't play with the door, Sheryl," she scolded, trying to regain her dignity. She looked around, but nobody seemed to be laughing at them. Directly across from the door was a young, roundish short woman wearing a pair of wire-rimmed glasses, slid halfway down her nose. "May I help you, ladies?" the woman asked. "Uhm. I'm looking for the magician called 'Raelf, I was told I might be able to contact him here." "Let me see if he's on site." The woman made a flipping-through-rolodex sort of gesture, and stopped, examining one of the invisible cards. "He's in conference with Archmage Dasham. Shall I page him?" "Would he be interrupted?" "Not if he doesn't want to be." "Oh, well, sure, I guess." She tapped a finger against the invisible card, and a chime sounded. "You have a guest at the front desk." She smiled the professional smile of a receptionist. "Please have a seat in our waiting area." "Thanks." Andrea followed the direction she was pointing. There was a comfortable-looking set of overstuffed chairs around a small table, with a carafe of some savory-hot smelling beverage and cups. Andrea was sure that it hadn't been there before. Sheryl trotted over and began to eat the popcorn from the bowl on the table. Andrea shrugged and sat down. "I wonder how long this is going to be?" "Not long at all. Glad to see you're feeling better." 'Raelf appeared in the chair next to her, not wearing the colorful garb he'd worn the day before, but this time wearing an almost sedate black poncho and long black baggy pants. He was wearing amber-colored goggles of some kind, with sparkly runes flashing along the edges. "Sorry to be working while I talk to you, I only have a few hours to do this analysis before I have to go back to Dash's labs." "Oh, that's quite alright. I wanted to thank you for helping me last night, and I want to repay you your gold." "My pleasure. But don't bother with the gold, it's no big deal, I can get more of the stuff. Think of it as me paying someone else back a debt to them." He pulled a sheaf of papers from empty air, and started waving an amulet over them one at a time, returning each one to the empty air. "That's a strange way of doing things. The gold, I mean." "Yeah, isn't it? Confusion and chaos to the hidebound." "Anyway, so, you're a magician, then." "Well, yeah, I guess so. I don't think of myself that way." "Do you know about breaking curses?" 'Raelf laughed. "I seem to be in demand for that sort of thing lately, but it's not my specialty by any means. Who's got the curse, then?" "Sheryl." "Really? She seems like a pretty carefree 'corn to me. May I take a look?" He nodded to the unicorn, who had finished the popcorn and was sniffing at the papers he was doing things to. She nickered, and assumed a well-practiced, bored sort of stance. "Done this before, eh?" He took the amulet he'd been using on the papers, and whispered into it. After a few seconds a golden light sprang out and washed over the young unicorn. Sparks began to fly off her horn and hooves, and her eyes began to glow with internal fire. He held it for a while, then covered it, stopping the light. The unicorn returned to her normal aspect. "OK, I'll run that through standard and detail and let you know what I come up with. Hey, should I do the same for you? Sometimes these things can be contagious." "Uh, I'm not sure, what will this cost me?" Andrea was almost panicked, the thought of her being accursed hadn't occured to her. "Oh, for diagnostics, nothing - if there's anything I can do for you, then we'll work out the terms." "All right then. What do I need to do?" "Just hold still." He aimed the light from the amulet at her, and she flinched as it washed across her. She wondered what she was supposed to feel, her hands started itching, and she flexed them nervously, then held them still again. "Great. Hey, this'll take a few hours to run, and I've got to finish this records search so I can get back before Dasham misses me. How about we meet tonight at the Dragons' Inn, I'll tell you what I discovered." "All right." "Cool. See you there around sunset." He picked up the remaining papers and nodded, then vanished. "That was strange." Sheryl nickered agreement, and whiffled at the bowl where the popcorn had been. Path: netcom.com!netcomsv!decwrl!wupost!CSM560.smsu.edu!vma.smsu.edu.Ext!CHM173S From: CHM173S@vma.smsu.edu.Ext (Chris Meadows) Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Subject: [AU] Andrea Goes Shopping Date: Fri, 26 Mar 93 21:10:34 CST Organization: Society for the Preservation of Unicorns Lines: 251 Message-ID: <16B9D129CA.CHM173S@vma.smsu.edu.Ext> NNTP-Posting-Host: vma.smsu.edu Keywords: [AU] Andrea unicorn Sheryl Callus Low City X-Newsreader: NNR/VM S_1.3.2 ADMIN: This post takes place AFTER the entry by Stephen Hutchison entitled "quite a sight to see". If you haven't read it yet, you should probably mark this one as unread and wait for it to propagate to your site. Thanks! After Andrea left the Mages' Guild, she crossed the street to another building that had caught her eye. Like the Mages' Guild, this building showed a mixture of many different architectural styles. Unlike the Mage's Guild, however, this one looked capable of standing on its own without magical help. The sign said that it was a library. Andrea stepped inside, looked around. There were shelves and shelves full of books and scrolls. Sheryl walked in behind her, causing the librarian on duty to look up and say, "I'm sorry, but except for seeing-eye creatures, we don't allow pets in this--" Then she caught sight of the horn on Sheryl's head and trailed off. "Don't worry, she won't hurt anything. Will you, Sheryl?" Sheryl shook her head, the epitomy of angelic behavior. Her hooves clicked lightly on the tile floor as she followed Andrea, subdued, trying to cause as little noise as possible. After looking around to get her bearings, Andrea walked to the reference section dealing with unicorns. She always read whatever books or scrolls she could find on the subject, and had ever since the...she had for more than ten years. She selected a dusty tome, blew the dust off (causing Sheryl to sneeze twice), and opened it. There was a color plate of a unicorn, a fey and mysterious creature rearing and pawing the air. Andrea ran her finger down the next page, trying to decypher the archaic printing. "Ye unicorne be a magikal creature ov poweres great..." she muttered. Skimming, she could find nothing there that she hadn't known already, so she returned the book to the shelf. Andrea spent a few more minutes browsing, then left the library, not much wiser than she had been when she had entered. But it was just as well. Andrea liked libraries--they were the one place that she considered sacred enough not to steal from. If it hadn't been for her unique problem, Andrea often thought, she might have been a mage. She'd always liked to read, an unusual avocation for a farmer's daughter...but she'd forced the cleric in her village to teach her to read and had thus commenced her quest for knowledge at an early age. She considered any time spent in a library as never wasted, and promised herself she'd return here one day when she had more time. Now Andrea and Sheryl walked back down the Arcade of Fountains. It was getting to be early afternoon, with short shadows reaching in an easterly direction as the sun stood nearly overhead. Andrea paused to drink at one of the purified fountains. As always, the water tasted crystal clear, as though it had just come pouring out of the side of a mountain. Andrea reflected wryly that as long as she had Sheryl around, she had no need for water purification tablets. As she passed over the bridge, the guards once again gave her and Sheryl strange looks, but Andrea ignored them. Inwardly she enjoyed their consternation. That was one advantage to travelling with a unicorn...the confusion it caused often enabled her to make her thefts that much more easily. However, her trade was not on her mind at the moment. Shopping was. Andrea had been forced to leave a good deal of her gear behind on the last trip...the necessity was for a speedy exit, and about all she had time to grab had been her weapons, her pack, and Sheryl. Well, if she wanted to do business here, she'd have to purchase some materials. From past experience, Andrea knew where this could be done. Almost every city had a slum area, where contraband was bought and sold daily. All she had to do was ask directions. And she bet that someone at the Inn would know. Fifteen minutes later, Andrea and Sheryl walked back into the Dragon's Inn. There were people at the tables, talking, drinking, eating, or doing other things. There were a few folks at the bar, conversing with Rowan Littlefair about the weather and other little mundane things while he refilled their glasses. And a man with a lute was sitting on the mantel of the hearth over the fireplace, strumming and singing. He appeared to be finishing up a set. He sang: I have an incantation that will make you stare and wonder It won't give piglets cholera or break strong chains asunder It won't send from Valhalla a small horde of pliant nurses; It's the gift of song So sing along.......... So sorry -- out of verses. Several people applauded, Andrea included, and the man grinned. "Thank you, thank you. I'm glad you appreciate my music." "Hey, Listener...do you know Greensleeves?" someone asked. The man snorted. "Of course, what do you take me for?" He started playing his lute again, and sang, "Alas, my love, you do me wrong..." Andrea took a seat at the bar as the song continued. She looked over the menu. "I think the fresh fried halibut looks nice. What will you have, Sheryl...Sheryl?" She turned, and saw that the little unicorn was standing entranced by Listener's playing. Andrea nudged her. "Hey, what will you have?" Sheryl snorted, then continued watching Listener. She gave the impression that she couldn't care less about food right now; she was interested in hearing the man play! Andrea shrugged. "Do you have any micronized corn...?" she asked Littlefair. As the two of them ate, Sheryl making enough noise as three people as she crunched the corn, someone sat down beside them. Andrea looked up and so did Sheryl, pieces of corn still clinging to her muzzle.. It was Listener, the man who had been doing all that playing. His lute hung by a strap over his back, and he regarded the twosome with an expression of mild interest. "Good afternoon, ladies," he said, glancing at Andrea and then at Sheryl. "It is uncommon, to say the least, to see a unicorn here, especially in the company of a charming young lady such as yourself." Andrea didn't quite blush, being used to flattery by those whose real interest was in her unicorn. But this man seemed somehow sincere, and Sheryl seemed to trust him. "I can imagine," Andrea said drily. Listener appeared not to notice the sarcasm. "Indeed. Might I ask what brings you to our fair city?" At Andrea's cool look, he said, "I'd like to write a ballad, you see, but one cannot write a ballad with no information." He strummed his lute experimentally, as if coming up with a tune already. Andrea shrugged. "Maybe later." Listener nodded. "Of course. I'll be around for a long, long time." He glanced toward the hearth. "Oh, you must excuse me. I think they want me to play some more." "Wait a minute," Andrea said. "Can you tell me where I might go to find..." She tried to come up with a suitable word. "...UNUSUAL items?" "'Unusual items...?'" Listener murmured to himself. "'Unusual...' Oh! I understand. I understand exactly." He smiled craftily. "What you want is to go south from the Inn, along the Arcade of Unforgotten Heroes, then turn west. That's the Low City. You should find what you need there." Andrea nodded. "Thank you." Listener turned to go, then half-turned back and said, "I wouldn't take your friend there with you, though." "Don't worry," Andrea assured him. "I don't intend to. Hey, Littlefair! How much to rent a room for the night?" A half-hour later, Andrea walked, alone, down a street lined with statues of various heroes from the past. Many of them were covered with rust or moss, and some were piled high with bird droppings. Andrea kept her right hand on her shortsword and made sure that the dagger in the drop-sheath on her left arm was loose and ready to go at the first sign of trouble. Andrea now entered the Low City, a dingy, unwholesome part of town. It was the same place in a hundred different cities, all over again. There were dingy shops, bars, prostitution houses (Andrea hurried past these), and everything, even the sky, seemed darker here than in the other parts of town. Graffiti lined the walls, saying things like "MELWIS is a PRICK!!!" or "Kum tu the Spitting Cobra!" or even "Kilroy Was Here!!!" whatever that might mean. Andrea ignored it all, walking onward. Before long, she started to hear noises up ahead. It was the sound of a busy market--just what she was looking for. She quickened her step-- Then someone had her by the neck and was holding a knife to her throat. "I want your gold--all of it," a voice rasped from behind her Andrea feigned fear. "All--all right sir...let me get it out of my pocket...just don't hurt me..." As she'd hoped, the arm restraining her by the neck let go, questing for her pocket. This left just the arm with the dagger to contend with. No time like the present... Andrea reached up, grabbed the knife arm, and applied a wrist lock. "Gyaaah!" the knife-wielder gasped as his dagger fell from nerveless fingers. "You picked the wrong girl to hassle this time," Andrea said. She shifted her hold on the arm and heaved. The would-be mugger went flying over her shoulder, to land on his back on the ground with an OOF! "I'm glad I took those classes that the monk offered in elementary self-defense," Andrea said. Then she had the thug's own knifepoint at his throat. "Now, why don't you just take all your clothes off..." "Wha--but--" the robber stammered. Andrea kicked him in a tender spot. "Do it," she said, as he doubled over in pain. "And then you're going to walk on out into that square in just your underthings." The mugger complied, stripping out of his boots, breeches, shirt, etc. Andrea backed away, holding her nose. "Pew," she said. "Don't you ever bathe?" Her knife was held in a throwing position, so there was no question about him obeying her. He sighed, put his hands on his head, and started walking forward, out into the market area. There were a wide variety of stalls here, selling everything from foodstuffs to weapons. A variety of citizens were standing around, talking with each other or to the vendors, and a few rough-looking customers were standing by with weapons ready in case an emergency were to arise. As Andrea and the unfortunate would-be mugger walked into the area, almost everyone fell silent. "This man tried to waylay me," Andrea said. "He didn't quite succeed." This was the signal for the start of a good deal of laughter at the unfortunate thief. After all the laughter subsided, Andrea said, "Okay, get out of my sight. And don't let me see you again, or it'll be the worse for you." The man scrambled off, and Andrea walked up to one of the stalls. "You may have made yourself an enemy, missy," the vendor remarked. "Callus doesn't like being humiliated." "And I don't like being held up, so I'd say we're about even," Andrea replied cooly. "Now, I'm here to do some business, so let's get down to it. How much do you want for these sharkskin gloves...?" The sun was a good deal lower in the western sky when Andrea had finished her purchases. She'd found some good deals here, as well as some outrageously high prices she'd had no choice but to pay. She wondered if word of her purchases would get back to the local Thieves' Guild. Probably, but she wasn't worried. She could deal with Guilds when the necessity arose. With her pack now much fuller than it had been when she'd come, Andrea began her trek back to the Dragon's Inn. She was even more wary on the way out than she had been on the way in, knowing that Callus might be waiting to jump her even now. But fortunately, she made it out of the Low City without incident, and was back at the Inn in another ten minutes. Sheryl, who had been waiting impatiently in the room Andrea had rented, was exceedingly glad to see her. She whinnied happily, and trotted up to rub against Andrea's leg. "Hey, take it easy, Sher! I've only been gone a few hours!" They sat at the same table they had occupied the day before when 'Raelf and ar'Elya had dropped by. It wasn't QUITE dinner time yet, so Andrea dumped out some of the gadgets she'd picked up that day in the market and got to work. Some of them hadn't quite worked right, and she'd gotten them at a discount thinking maybe she could repair them. Currently she was fiddling with a small device that resembled a fountain pen. It actually concealed a spring-loaded blade, and was called a "death knife" on the street. However, the spring wasn't quite adjusted right, and the blade tended to stick instead of shooting out. Andrea tinkered with the knife happily, whistling a cheerful little tune that some might have recognized as "We're In the Money." Sheryl sniffed curiously at one or two of the items, but knew from experience that to mess around with them could cause unpredictable (and dangerous) results. She contented herself with looking around and listening to the songs being played by Listener at the other end of the bar. "There's nothing like the tools of the trade to make you feel ALIVE again," Andrea thought. "Now, all I have to do is find a good way in which to put them to use..." ADMIN: The verse about the Gift of Song is shamelessly stolen from a previous post by caz@owlnet.rice.edu (HWRNMNBSOL). As always, if you wish to add to this thread, just write me (replying to this post would work). -- Chris Meadows || "The Zetons look like beautiful CHM173S@SMSVMA.BITNET || women, but their tissues are made CHM173S@VMA.SMSU.EDU || of paper, so they burn, like paper." CMEADOWS@NYX.CS.DU.EDU || --Captain Harlock, Ziv's lame-o dub.