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] [Jiri] Hail and Well Met! Date: Sat, 27 Mar 93 10:28:11 CST Organization: Organization for the Preservation of Unicorns & Werecats Lines: 115 Message-ID: <16B9E933B.CHM173S@vma.smsu.edu.Ext> NNTP-Posting-Host: vma.smsu.edu Keywords: [AU] [Jiri] Andrea Sheryl unicorn Khyra X-Newsreader: NNR/VM S_1.3.2 ADMIN: This posting is actually mostly by Kalhad the Blackk . I would like to thank him for his help! This post takes place immediately following the entries [AU] Andrea Goes Shopping, and [Jiri] The Wolfmage has Come... I hope you enjoy this, and remember, if you want to use my characters or write on my thread, all you have to do is ask! In article <16B9D129CA.CHM173S@vma.smsu.edu.Ext> CHM173S@vma.smsu.edu.Ext (Chris > 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..." > >Chris Meadows >CHM173S@SMSVMA.BITNET Kalhad the Blackk : Kyhra stood, surveying the Inn as he did, looking for someone who would be suitable to hire as a guide in the city. After a monent he saw what he wanted and crossed over to the table in front of the fireplace. Andrea was still whistling as she fiddled with the knife. With a slightly audible click, and a joyful expression from Andrea, the spring slid into place. The dark-haired thief tested it out a few times, flipping the blade open by the hidden catch in the handle, then closing it again. When she was satisfied that it was working properly, she set the "pen" aside and took up another of her new items. As she did, Sheryl whinnied nervously as she caught a strange scent approching. Andrea wasn't paying attention, and she was surprised when a gruff voice broke her concentration. "Excuse me, milady, but I couldn't help noticing you and your companion over here. Might I make a proposition?" Sheryl shuffled nervously, trying to hide behind Andrea, who also had shrunk back a little in surprise when she first beheld the towering man-cat who addressed her. She cursed at herself for not hearing his approach. "What sort of proposition?" she asked guardedly, her hand creeping toward the just-laid-aside death knife. Then added, "If it's entertainment or trouble that you're looking for, you'd best inquire somewhere else." The strange feline let out a mirthful laugh before replying. "But that's exectly what I'm looking for--entertainment, and perhaps a little bit of trouble! My name is Kyhra, and I am only just arrived in this city. I noted that you are definitely a woman who knows what is going on around her, and perhaps knows what to do about it. One would have to be, travelling with such a noble yet innocent companion." Here Kyhra nodded at the young 'corn that still regarded him warily from behind Andrea's chair. "As to my proposition," he added, "I would like to hire you to guide me around the city--especially the areas of disrepute known as the Low City." Kyhra picked up a small and clever hand lamp from the table, one of Andrea's purchases of that afternoon. "I can see by your shopping bag that you have been to the part of the city where they sell, ah, special items." Kyhra fiddled absently with the broken hinge on the lamp as he waited for the girl in black to reply. "Leave that alone," Andrea yelled as she snatched the light back from Kyhra. "And why would I want to be a sight-shower to the likes of you?" She silently added, "Whatever you are." "Ah, milady, please do not take offence by my presence, nor my remarks. I am merely a humble adventurer as yourself, seeking the aid of one who walks along similar roads." Kyhra lowered his voice. "I can clearly see that you are a thief, milady. My companion and I are looking for one or two in your profession. We would like to turn a good bit of coin in this city, a city which seems to be full of opportunity. Perhaps a joining of ways would be prudent for a time, hmmm?" Raising his voice back up to conversational level, Kyhra smiled pleasently and nearly purred. "I will make it worth your while to show me around the Low City and the Harbour tonight. I am also interested in any information that you might have concerning certain guilds of the city, and of the ships that frequent the port. Do not fear for your safety while in my company, though I doubt that you do at anytime. What do you say?" Andrea sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Sorry, pal. Not much that I can do to help you. I'm new here myself, and I haven't been down to the 'City or the Harbour very much yet." Before Andrea could turn away Kyhra laughed again and slapped a paw to his thigh. "Hai! But then let us explore it together. Come! We'll go down to the Harbor, have a few drinks and see what we can learn. The drinks are on me tonight, milady. What do you say?" Andrea allowed a faint smile to touch her lips as she looked to Sheryl before nodding. "All right, why not? Kirha, was it?" "Kyhra, milady." "Okay, Kyhra. I'm Andrea, and this is Sheryl." She whispered to her companion, who then stepped a little closer to Kyhra, though warily. "Hail and well met, noble Sheryl. I am truly honoured to meet one of Sievnaer's holy creatures." Kyhra extended a paw, which Sheryl cautiously sniffed before whickering her approval. --Dargon D'aragohna Chris Meadows (CHM173S@SMSVMA) "However, we'll have to postpone the expedition for a while...I'm waiting for a friend right now, with whom I have some business. He should be arriving rather shortly, though." Khyra shrugged. "Very well. But at least allow me to buy you dinner." Andrea shrugged. "All right, by all means. If you wish to pay for my meal, why should I stop you?" She smiled, and reached for the heavy grappling arrow that she'd thought just needed a good cleaning. "I might as well get some more work done while I wait." -- 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. 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] [Jiri] Doctor, Doctor, Give Me the News... Date: Tue, 30 Mar 93 22:15:03 CST Organization: Real Life--Ain't it Depressing? Lines: 341 Message-ID: <16BA1138E7.CHM173S@vma.smsu.edu.Ext> NNTP-Posting-Host: vma.smsu.edu Keywords: [AU] [Jiri] Andrea 'Raelf ra'Elya Sheryl Khyra Serene X-Newsreader: NNR/VM S_1.3.2 ADMIN: Thanks to Steve Hutchison, who wrote the majority of this entry, and to the following people for the use or mention of the following characters in the next few messages: Stephen Hutchison 'Raelf ar'Elya Kalhad the Blackk Khyra Jiriku Christopher Motherway Raoh And gods help me if I left anyone's name out or spelled any of the character names wrong. :) There was a pile of boxes. There were cardboard lids and plastic wrappers and paper and heaps of tags, cut off and discarded at random. A blond man in his twenties sat in an overstuffed chair talking to the pile of boxes. "Raye, you look fine, it's just the Dragons' Inn, not the Embassy." "Do I tell you how to dress?" "Yes." "Well, you should listen." "I don't WANT to buy all my clothes from GQ and Banana Republic." "Well, you're wearing the wrong gender for Victoria's Secret," the boxes replied, and rose into a tall heap, falling aside as the woman behind them tossed them away. She was average height, somewhat athletic but not hard, with red-brown hair halfway down her back. At the moment, she wore a silky blue-green dress with curves in all the right places. "I prefer to make my own clothes." "Then why did you set up the catalog-tap back to Earth? All the high fashion magazines and papers?" "I didn't say I like to look tacky, Raye." "Well, the surfer-jock look is fine when appropriate, but I want to dress up a bit for dinner. Besides," she pulled open another box, and held out a raw-silk shirt in an eastern-european traditional style, "You look really delectable in peasant garb." "Well, maybe. If you're going to wear that dress then I better get my semiformals." He grinned. "Hey, you suppose we'll annoy anyone by going into the Dragons' Inn in upscale-drag?" "I didn't see any semiformals in your closet." "They're in the 'bago. I haven't shifted all my stuff out of there." "Well, let's see 'em." <> WORKING READY <> Clothing fell from the air. The blond man dressed quickly, with some muttering and imprecation at the tight collar. "What's wrong?" "Oh, I've added some weight since I came here. That stone-golem. I haven't been this buffed-up for about three years, and the clothes are too tight." "Well, fix them, dummy." "Gotta get them (oof) ON first..." He sucked in, and fastened the pants. There was a fast flicker of colors, and things relaxed a bit--no longer too tight. "Looks very nice." "Shall we walk or gate?" "We'd better gate. I haven't 'garded this outfit yet." The sun was setting with the usual pyrotechnic display, when the door opened and two more-formally-attired-than-the-usual people stepped into the Dragons' Inn. Rowan looked over the bar at them, shrugged, and continued drying from the rack of freshly cleaned glasses he was stacking on the shelf below. They walked over to their usual table. Andrea and Sheryl were waiting, as expected: a dark-haired woman, olive-complected, wearing clothing colored to blend well into the shadows, and the traditional white-white-colored unicorn, albeit only about 3 and a quarter feet tall at the shoulder. They had been joined by a tall, husky, furry fellow of feline background, coloration somewhat tigerish, with bars and bands of black, white, and orange. "Andrea! How goes it," 'Raelf said, pulling up a chair at the far side of the table and holding it for ar'Elya. She sat, amused, and gave a careful slow look over the others at the table. 'Raelf crossed to the other side and sat, next to the big catman. "You don't mind if I sit, do you? Thanks." Andrea looked a little confused. "I thought you were here with a different woman yesterday." "Oh, no," ar'Elya smiled. "I'm a person of many facets, and I tend to change my appearance from time to time." "Well, Littlefair DID say you were magicians," Andrea said, doubtful, and toyed absently with one of the `tools' she'd picked up earlier. "Ask Sheryl. She knows." The unicorn just whickered and continued nibbling at the dried corn on the plate in front of her, then returned her gaze to Listener. Clearly the young unicorn was becoming infatuated. "Uh, Sheryl," 'Raelf stage-whispered, "I don't think he qualifies as virginal." She made a raspberry noise and continued watching. "Kids, what can you do with them," muttered Andrea. "Did you find anything?" She selected the grapple-arrow again--it was more seriously broken than she had thought, and she was trying to identify what needed fixing. "Just a sec. Hey, big guy, mind if I move the steins out of the way here?" Kyhra the catman looked down at the comparatively fragile human with a toothy grin. He moved the pitcher and his beer stein aside, leaving the others for 'Raelf to deal with. "Go ahead. My name is Kyhra, by the way." "'Raelf. Glad to meet you, Kyhra. Not many folks from Kalnar around here." "You know my homeland?" Kyhra asked a little suspiciously, then shrugged. He'd had many dealings with mages before, and Jiriku had somehow known that upon their first meeting as well. The catman took a second look, then he extended a hand to shake. The blond man returned the grip, and proved surprisingly strong for someone the size of a Kalnarian cub. "Only been there once. Was a nice place, but I didn't have time to visit." "Too bad. I'd like to talk to you about it sometime." While they were speaking, the blond man had put a flat case out onto the table, something similar to a small book, only about ten by fourteen inches, and two inches thick, but covered in strange runes and patterns. He pulled a silk pouch out from inside his shirt--it was on a fine gold cord--and opened it, pulling out a blue stone, translucent and rounded, like a river-polished sapphire. "This is the recording I took of you and Sheryl earlier. Raye here did most of the in-depth work. My analysis program got caught in an infinite loop, doing part of the shape analysis." "Uhm, could you please repeat that in Common?" "It's easier to show you." He placed the sapphire onto a spot on the surface and muttered a few words in a very strange language. While 'Raelf was setting his equipment up, ar'Elya had spent a few moments looking at their companions. Kyhra felt his fur prickling under her gaze, and returned the stare. A momentary dizziness assailed him, looking into those sparkling black depths, and he was sure for a moment that he was looking into the eyes of a Kalnarese seeress. But the image of black fur and golden slitted eyes vanished, and she was just a human female again. "Milady? Is there aught I can do for you?" He felt the fur prickling again along the back of his neck, and reminded himself that this was probably another mage. "No, Kyhra, I was just admiring your coloration. Do you like the life of an adventurer?" "Aye, well enough, it serves to keep me fed and awake. What does milady do for entertainment, if I may be so bold?" "Please, call me ar'Elya. I dabble a bit in this and that. My real pleasure comes in watching those around me." "Hurm. I prefer action mysel'." At this point, the air between them was taken up by a glowing sphere of colors and twinkling lights. 'Raelf ran his fingers across the case in a sort of rapid tapping, rhythmic but not really musical, and the image of Sheryl appeared in the sphere, standing at bored attention. (Kyhra sipped off the end of his beer, and fidgeted. This wasn't necessarily stuff he was invited to see--he nodded to ar'Elya, who cocked her head, and smiled, rising. She crossed around the table, and the two of them went over to the small dance floor where four or five of the Rabble were beginning a chair-dance--a complicated foot and hand weaving that got its name because beginners needed to sit on a chair to do it right.) The image of Sheryl begae to glow, then became transparent, with fiery lines running throughout it in complex channels. The colors changed, and it was a solid image again, but then all the parts separated, muscle from bone from blood from tendon, and spun dizzyingly into little boxes, each box filled with runes. "So this is the basic biologicals. She reads as a Nexian Unicorn, but with a few minor differences. She's about seven points closer on the Karthak scale to the Unicorn fundamental harmonic, which just means," he grinned at Andrea's narrowed eyes, "that she has a few advantages. She's about at physical age forty-three, corresponds to a human age of 12 or so, which is just before puberty normally hits. She'll have a growth spurt later this year. If she was a normal Nexian 'Corn, she'd have to mate or bind with a virginal humanoid, or go through a second growth spurt and start feeling a strong aversion to places where humans dwell. But she'll probably just continue to grow instead, reaching her full adult size after about four years. It also looks like she'll feel the usual Unicorn territorial urges, want to find a forested area somewhere away from humans to guard, but her unusual background may allow her to choose a different path. Of course, if she wants she can choose to follow the Nexian Unicorn route, bond with a virginal type or mate with a stallion." Andrea frowned. Some of this was good news; she'd been afraid, after her first real success in finding Unicorn-lore, that Sheryl would be doomed to a solitary existance, or servitude to some airhead boy or girl. Even the Great Library of Generica had said much the same. "We did the full aura scans, and the karmographics, and came up with a bit of strangeness." (tap, tappity tappity) The image vanished, replaced by the glowing fiery patterns shown earlier. These separated into a half dozen different colored components, each with slightly different shapes and conformations. Each had a collection of runes hanging in the air beside it. "The red and blue ones are her magical and karmic auras. The magical flows are a little restricted, for a 'corn of her age, meaning she probably needs to use her powers more, or she might be developing some new ones. The karmic reading is a bit off the true innocent-animal, but it's well within tolerances for a creature which spends time around humans. The green is her mental web, and that's also typical of a 'corn her age and development, but see, there's these parts here," and two of the clustered swirls of green lines spun forward and larger, "inside the cognitive patterning. This first cluster is an abstractive mapping of her skills. She knows how to read, and she has speech and self-abstraction and memory typical of a humanoid, around 8 to 10 years of age--I'm not sure, but this COULD be a result of hanging out with you, especially if you have been teaching her reading. The second cluster, here, is her imago, the mental ties to the body. This is so perfect it's got to be unnatural--no Nexial creature short of a phoenix can have a self-image that matches that closely to its body, it's not normal here. Some kind of magic has to be behind it. So I looked, and there's some cross-ruffing into memory, and that's where the loop happened. The daemon which was set to analyzing this pattern just kept going in circles, here, at this point. I didn't want to examine the details of the memory itself without clearing it with Sheryl." The unicorn had hauled her front hooves up onto the table, careful not to scratch the surface, and was staring at the picture with large eyes. She wagged her head from side to side, barely not sticking her horn into 'Raelf's face (but he ducked). "I take it that's a `no' then. Well, my mate did some research, and she found some things over here, in the volitional crossings. There." The green whirls spun, and there was a small nest of sticks. Three of them were broken and gray, leading to a pattern that had been erased, and four quite hefty ones (three green and one black) led to a pattern that resembled a unicorn sculpted from glass. The black one had a sort of ...face? "What does that mean?" Andrea glared at the black image, wondering what it looked like that was making her so angry. It wasn't Raoh, certainly, but it had to be connected to that... Oh. It was HIM, Raykor, the bastard son of seven bastard sons, may his member rot off from the inside out. 'Raelf watched impassively as the emotions crossed Andrea's face. "The one who did it?" "Yes." "You know it took some pretty high powered magic to do this?" "Yes. I know." "Well, it looks like whatever Sheryl used to be, she definitely WANTS to be a unicorn now--ow!" 'Raelf ducked back away from the swinging horn as the young unicorn nodded her head vigorously up and down. "Oh." Andrea dropped the arrowhead. She hadn't considered this possibility. "Well, I think you ought to talk it over with her. Oh, and I ran the scans on you too. Nothing unusual, no curses, no ugly surprises. But you've got to be more careful who you `liberate' things from--you're picking up a bit of a smudge on the karma, and that's a majorly bad thing to have right now in this burg." "I'm sure I'll be very selective," she replied wryly--yeah, only bother to steal from those who have something worth stealing--around here, if someone had the goods, they probably at least got started with something underhanded. The image vanished as 'Raelf handed the sapphire to Andrea. "Don't give this to anyone else. When she gets a little bigger, feed it to her, it won't hurt her, it'll just dissolve. Unicorns in the wild eat raw gemstones for part of their diet, so don't worry." He picked up the non-functional grapnel. "Wow. Can I see?" "Sure. The crosspin's broken here, and the hook has been bent too many times, sure to snap if any weight's put on it." "Huh." There was a sort of `foomf' like a fire imploding into a forge, and the mage handed it back to her. "Looks good to me." Andrea examined the arrow suspiciously. As she inspected the repairs, ar'Elya and Kyhra returned to the table, as Listener began a new tune. "Rafe, if you're done playing with the lady's tools, could we order dinner?" 'Raelf shrugged. "Sure, why not?" He waved to Serene, and she came over and eyed Andrea curiously. Andrea returned the auburn-haired barmaid's gaze, noticing the small baby girl dozing in a sling across her chest. "I'd say you'll be having a glass of stout ale, eh?" Serene said to Andrea, whose jaw dropped. That had been exactly what she'd been about to order, having picked up a taste for the stuff during her training in the Selactican Thieve's Guild so long ago and far away. Serene nodded. "Thought so." She glanced over at Khyra, noticed that the large man-cat already had a drink, and then looked at 'Raelf and ar'Elya. "Your usuals?" she asked, and they nodded. "And what will you have for dinner?" "What would you recommend?" Andrea asked. "Well, the roast turkey is rather good tonight..." "That sounds good," Andrea said. "Indeed," Khyra said. "I'll take two. I've worked up quite an appetite getting here." "And a salad for 'Raelf," Serene decided. "In fact, you could probably all do with some vegetables." "But--" 'Raelf began weakly. "No 'buts.' You need to eat your greens..." Andrea shrugged and smiled. "Sounds good to me. Do you have any bleu cheese dressing?" Serena smiled. "Aye, that we do. And what will your wee friend here have?" She gestured to Sheryl. "Uh, she'll have a large salad, I think," Andrea said. Sheryl nodded, and Andrea said, "Yes, that's definitely what she'll be having." "All right, those will be here very shortly." Serene made a few notes on a pad she was carrying, then walked off behind the bar. "So, what do we talk about now?" 'Raelf asked. "The weather? It certainly is nice outside..." Andrea sighed. She'd come to a decision. "After all you've done for me, 'Raelf, you deserve to hear my story. You too, ar'Elya. And wait--" she said, stopping Khyra as he got up to go. "You can hear this too. After all, we've agreed to adventure together, have we not?" Khyra nodded. "Mmmm," he said, producing a noise deep in his throat. "Very well. I must admit, I would be interested to learn why a unicorn travels with a thief. I'll wager its a fascinating tale." "You may well find it so," Andrea said, taking a sip from the ale that Serene had just delivered. "As for myself, I lived it, so I can't properly say." Andrea took another sip from her ale, and began to spin her story. "A long time ago, in a town far, far away..." ADMIN: Flashback to follow. Stay tuned, true believers! -- 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. [Flashback post, by Chris Meadows...header and .signature lost...] Andrea could still remember that horrible day...if she just let herself remember, it was like she was ten years back in time, reliving that horrible incident without any power to change it... Andrea had been just a normal farm girl back then, the daughter of a moderately successful wheat farmer, whose responsibilities were to help with the annual harvest and to look after her younger sister, Sheryl. She'd led a relatively normal existance, except for her constant quest for knowledge. At the age of ten, she'd somehow managed to get a nearby cleric to teach her how to read, write, and work basic math. After that, as often as not, she'd be found in the hayloft reading a book or scroll she'd borrowed from somewhere when she was supposed to be working. At first her parents objected ("She's just a farm girl. She doesn't need an edjication, she needs to be working!") but they finally acquiesced. As for her younger, blonde-haired sister Sheryl, the two of them were nearly inseparable despite their age difference of about 6 years. They were constantly getting into trouble together (and Andrea's high intelligence showed her ways of getting into trouble that most kids her age wouldn't have dreamed of) and sometimes their parents had their hands full. One summer a travelling carnival came to down, and Andrea spent the ten copper pieces she'd saved from harvest work on two tiny color portraits of herself and Sheryl, which she put in a silver locket that her kindly cleric teacher had given her ("One of my adventuring apprentices donated it, and the Church has no use for such things..."). Little did Andrea know that this was to be the last normal summer she and Sheryl would ever have... That fall, Andrea was 14 and Sheryl about 8. It was harvest-time, and she and her parents were working in the wheat fields with their scythes, stacking up the sheaves of weat for later threshing, when it happened. There was a sound like a peal of thunder, and when Andrea looked up, there was a huge cloud of smoke coming from where the nearby village had used to be. "Quickly girls, you go and hide in the barn," Andrea's father instructed. "Your mother and I are going to go and see what has happened." As Andrea and Sheryl hid in the shed as instructed, their father strapped on a sword. The last thing Andrea's mother said before they left, the last thing they ever heard her say, was, "Always remember, that no matter what happens, we'll always love you." Then they were gone. After an hour had passed, Andrea was getting impatient. So cautioning Sheryl not to leave their hiding place, she ventured outside to see what was going on. As she ventured toward the village, she began to see that it, as well as all the neighbors' houses, lay in smouldering, smoking ruins. There were also bodies lying around--bodies of people she KNEW! Andrea clamped both hands over her mouth to keep from vomiting. Then Andrea heard the rhythmic sound of horse hoofbeats. Someone was coming! She dived into the bushes by the side of the road just in time...two horses rode up, stopped. From where she was, Andrea could only see the lower legs of the riders in their stirrups. One of the riders wore tanned deerskin boots; the other black leather. "Did you see something?" Black Leather asked. "Nooooo, don't think so," Tanned Deerskin replied. "Maybe it was a squirrel," Black Leather thought. "Or maybe another one of those snivelling townspeople. We've rounded up most of them...most of the surviving ones, anyway." "So what if one or two gets away? They'll have nowhere to go," Tanned Deerskin said. "My sentiments exactly. Let's go on to the camp and inspect the latest arrivals. Have we found anyone for our Master's experiments yet?" "No...none that is suitable..." As Andrea had been listening to their talking, she became aware of an itching in her nose. Then she realized that she was in the midst of a patch of wild dandelions, and their pollen was getting in her nose. She tried to grab her nose and stave off the sneeze she felt coming, but it was too late. KER-CHOO! "Hey, what was that?" Black Leather asked. "I think there's someone in these bushes!" Tan Deerskin replied. They climbed down off their horses. Andrea tried to escape but there was nowhere to run. She was captured, and taken to the enemy camp. There were only about fifteen people there--fifteen survivors, from a town of two hundred. One of them was Andrea's father, and as soon as she was released into the prison pen she ran up to him. "Father, father!" she yelled, embracing him. He embraced her in return, and said simply, "I know, girl." Looking at him, she could see that he was bruised and bloody in places, and his sword was gone. "Father, who are they?!" "The minions of an evil man named Raoh," Andrea's father said. "Not content with what he has, he's out to take over the entire land. And it looks like there's no one with the power to stop him." "Her! I want her!" The voice came from a man wearing magician's robes, standing a few feet away from the pen. He appeared to be in his forties, and his countenance, though free of malice, appeared incredibly evil. "Guards, get me the black-haired girl. I shall start with her, I think." "Daddy, who is that man?!" Andrea asked, fear showing in her eyes. "I don't wanna go with him!" "You won't have to," another man said, stepping in front of the two. It was Father Phylus, the cleric who'd taught Andrea reading and writing. "Raykor, I warn you, stay back." The mage laughed. "Your powers are no match for mine, old man." He waved an arm, and Phylus was knocked back twenty feet into the wall of the pen. He slid slowly to the ground, a rivulet of blood running out of the left corner of his mouth. "Now, guards." Though Andrea's father attempted to fight back, he was beaten down by the club-wielding guards. They grabbed Andrea by her arms and dragged her out to where the wizard was standing. "Ah, good. Release her." The guards let go and stepped back. Andrea tried to turn and run, but she found she could not--she was held firm by the gaze of the wizard. "What is your name, little girl?" the mage asked. Andrea found herself answering against her will, "An-drea." "Ah, good. That's a nice name, Andrea. My name is Raykor, and Raoh has put me in charge of this area while he goes on to conquer more. And he's said I can do my experiments here." He began making some gestures. "I wonder how you'll look if I...YOW!!!" The mage's control over Andrea had lapsed, and she gasped, staggering backward then falling over to land on her rear end on the ground. Andrea immediately turned over and started crawling, then running--she didn't know what happened, but she was going to take advantage of it. What had happened was that a fist-sized rock had hit Raykor in the side of the head, staggering him, breaking his concentration. As he began to bleed, he turned, vindictively looking for whoever had DARED to strike him. And he found her--it was Sheryl, who had left her hiding place and crept into camp, then thrown that stone to save her sister. But who was going to save her? Andrea, meanwhile, had run around the corner of the prison pen, and was panting with her fear and exertion. Then she tripped over something. Picking herself up off the ground, she saw what it was--a half-buried harvesting scythe, probably forgotten in last year's harvest. This area was farmland, after all. She reached down, pulled it out. It was half-rusted, but it was still sharp. While she didn't know how to use a sword or a bow, she had been taught from a very young age how to cut with a scythe. Now one of the guards had seen her and was coming after her. He didn't even have his club or sword out--how much trouble could a little girl be? Her back was to him, so he couldn't see the blade she held in her hands. As his footsteps got closer and closer, Andrea told herself, "You have to do this. Everyone's going to die if you don't." As the guard came up behind her, she swallowed hard, then spun around and swung the scythe as hard as she could at the guardsman's neck. Surprised, the man never had a chance. The blade embedded itself in his spinal column with a solid THUNK! Blood began spurting out of his severed arteries, his eyes rolled up into his head, and he collapsed. Andrea just stood there and retched. Then she got ahold of herself. She unstrapped the guard's dagger, club, and sword, and shoved them through the bars of the prison pen, followed by the keys on his belt. Her father, who had come up just in time to witness the guard's death, took them. "Thank you," he said. "Now get out of here!" Andrea turned to run, then saw--the mage had Sheryl! "You insignificant little WORM," Raykor said to the young girl, his voice oozing malice, as he held a cloth to his head to stop the bleeding. "I should KILL you for that..." Sheryl stood there, lower lip trembling, but she didn't cry. She had an inner strength that amazed even Andrea at times. "...but no, I don't think I will. No, I have a better idea. Yeeeessss. I shall make you wish you WERE dead. I shall CHANGE you. Not into a hideous creature like a dragon or a goblin...no, that's been done before. Noooo, I shall make you the most beautiful creature that ever was, so that you will be hunted the rest of your life. That will be a fitting sentence for you." Through Raykor's monologue, Andrea had been moving closer. Meanwhile, her father had unlocked the gate of the prison pen and he was leading the remaining villagers in a charge against the guards. Andrea was still about twenty feet away from the mage...could she distract him somehow? She looked around for a rock, but it was no good...the ground was plain, smooth dirt, not a pebble in sight. And Raykor was gesturing, pronouncing words that were never meant to be uttered by human tongue. The sky darkened, and thunder sounded, and even the guards were awed enough by this display of power to lose some ground. The mage raised his arms in supplication to the heavens, and the sky darkened still further. The earth shook. Lightning lanced down to strike Raykor, and he shaped it, bent it, and threw it at Sheryl. The static electricity played over the young girl, wrapped itself around her body and absorbed itself into her. Her hair stood on end, her spine arched, and her eyes glowed pure and blinding white. Then she collapsed to the ground, unconscious. The lightning vanished, and the skies returned to normal. Raykor cackled, then giggled. "Now all that remains is to see if it worked!" he said. Ignoring the danger, Andrea ran up to Sheryl. "Oh, no!" she cried, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Are you all right, Sheryl? Say something!" She looked up to see Raykor cackling. "Oh, no, she's not all right...but you'll find that out soon, won't you?" He giggled some more. "And that will be part of YOUR punishment as well. Hee hee. I'll look in on you from time to time, see how you're doing. Hee. But now, I think I shall leave before your stupid townspeople take it into their heads to try to kill me. Totally futile, of course. Hee hee hee. Farewell, Andrea. I'll be watching you!" He gestured, then disappeared. Five minutes later, it was all over. Raykor's guards had been defeated by the villagers, albeit barely, and only with the help of Father Phylus' healing magic. Only five townspeople still stood, Andrea's father and the cleric among them. "What are we going to do now?" her father asked, leaning against the outer wall of the pen as one of the other villagers bandaged his wounds. Father Phylus was busy binding the wounds of another of the townspeople. "We have to get the girls to Selactica, to the Temple of Issek there. Even though I am not of their faith, I can readily see that they have the most chance of being able to help young Sheryl." Andrea's father nodded. "Agreed. Let's--" He grunted with pain as he tried to stand back up. "Let's go." Fortunately they found a wagon that hadn't been destroyed along with the town, and a horse was running loose which they could catch and harness to it. As the wagon started moving out of town, a gentle rain began to fall. As the others rode in the front of the cart, Andrea and Sheryl huddled under a tarp in the back. As Andrea looked on in the dim light that filtered through from outside, she saw to her horror that something was happening to Sheryl! A fine white hair was appearing all over her body, a bump was pushing up through her forehead, and her fingers were growing shorter and melding together. Her eyes were growing larger, and the whites were disappearing as the pupils and iris grew. "Oh GODS, Sheryl," Andrea sobbed, "what's HAPPENING to you?!" Even as she watched, more hair appeared, Sheryl's blonde hair itself began to turn white, and the bump pushed out a little further. Then the next thing Andrea knew, there was a horribly loud BOOM!!!! then a CRRRRRRRRRASH!!!! and the entire wagon flipped over. When Andrea came to, she and Sheryl were lying in a puddle and the rain was falling into her face. She looked around, her head feeling as though someone had just been using it to break rocks. They were in a clearing, surrounded by forest. The acrid smell of smoke was in the air, along with a tinge of ozone. "Oh, gods," Andrea screamed, her gorge rising. "OH, GODS!!!" Lighting had struck a tree just as they had been passing beneath it. It had toppled over onto the front of the wagon, killing her father and two of the other men instantly. All she could see was an arm and a leg sticking out from the ruins of the wagon, with blood slowly seeping out to color the nearest puddles a light pink. As for the other two men, one of them had been knocked off and apparently trampled underfoot by the horses in their hurry to get away. He was very obviously and graphically dead. But Father Phylus was nowhere to be found. Andrea didn't know what to do, so she just sat there crying. In the space of a few hours, her entire life had been taken away. Both parents gone, her entire village destroyed, her sister magically cursed, cold and alone in the middle of a muddy road. Then Andrea's crying stopped as she heard a groan from behind her. She turned. It was Father Phylus! He had apparently been thrown off the wagon by the impact of the tree, and briefly stunned by his impact with the ground. Andrea hurried over to help him up. He groaned. "I'm not as young as I used to be..." Then he saw Andrea's face. "What is it, child? Your father--?" He saw the wreckage of the wagon, and paled. "This is a truly evil day," the aging cleric sighed. "Help me stand, girl. The least I can do is give them the last rites." So Andrea helped Phylus hobble over to the wreckage of the wagon. As he saw Sheryl, he gasped and made the Issekian equivalent to the Christian sign of the cross. The changes had progressed further, drawing the girl's little form into an eerie contortion, looking halfway between anthropoid and--equine? The bump in her head was now several inches long, and her body completely covered by white hair or fur. "Oh, Issek, what has been done to this one?" he breathed. "I had thought I had seen the worst that evil could do, but I guess I was sadly mistaken." He sighed. "Well, there's nothing I can do for her right now. Help me over to the wagon." Andrea did. As Father Phylus dragged the corpse of the horse-trampled man over to the wagon, Andrea tried to ignore him by looking at the pile of wood instead. "Do you think I--should I--?" He shook his head. "No, girl. Issek allows cremation [ADMIN: At least, I HOPE he does], and I think that in this case it would be better that way. Let this be their funeral pyre." He stood over the wreckage and raised his arms in supplication and began the Issek Last Rites. Andrea watched, tears in her eyes, sitting with the still-unconscious Sheryl. "Oh, Sheryl, what are we going to do now?" she said. As Phylus came to the end of the rites, he pulled out his tinderbox and set fire to a part of the wagon sheltered by the rest from the rain. It spread with almost preternatural swiftness, and soon the entire pile of wood was ablaze. Andrea and Father Phylus stood by it, watching. Then they heard the clip-clop of hooves coming up the road. Andrea looked around for cover and was about to bolt for a nearby tree, but Phylus held her arm to stop her. "Wait," he said. "It is only one horse, and its rider might be friendly. Besides, I'm too old and frail to run now." So the rider came around the bend into the open. Andrea's first impression was of a dark rider on a dark horse. Looking closer, she could see that the horse was completely black with a white star. Its mane had been braided, and it was well-shod--it seemed very well cared for. The saddle and bridle were plain leather, the only ornamentation being a gold medallion on the bridle in the middle of the horse's forehead. There was a sheath on the saddle holding a bastard sword, and two shorter swords were strapped across the rider's back. In addition to the two swords, there were daggers in each boot and a quiver strapped to each leg. The rider wore dark clothes--leather breeches and jerkin, and a rather plain helm with a visor that was currently down. The rider looked from right to left, pulled up the horse (which snorted nervously at the fire), and stepped down, making almost no sound. Then the rider reached up to the helmet and pulled it off, shaking out shoulder-length golden locks, and Andrea realized that she was female. She had a slight Oriental cast, and she appeared to be in her mid-to-late twenties or early thirties. "That fire is going to bring every creature for ten miles," she said. Phylus shrugged. "It couldn't be helped. It is a funeral pyre for four brave men from the village up the road. Now we, alas, are the only survivors, and that girl has been cursed by an evil mage." The rider looked at Sheryl. "That's a girl?" she gasped. "It's certainly like nothing I've ever seen." Andrea started to sob. Phylus put his arm around her. "There, there, girl. It'll be all right..." He turned to the rider. "We need to get to Selactica. Can you help us?" The woman sighed. "My name's Fujiko. I've been a number of things, but just recently I was a lady spy. I was, until the people I was spying for were killed by a man called Raoh." Andrea tried to stop sobbing. "He's the man--" she got out, "--the man who destroyed our village!" Fujiko shook her head, a grim expression on her face. "That tears it. I'll help you." She helped Father Phylus up into the saddle of the horse, then laid Sheryl across the saddle in front of him like a sack of potatoes. Then she lifted Andrea up onto its hindquarters and put the reins over the horse's head. "Come on, Wolf, let's get out of here before trouble comes." She led him nervously around the smouldering fire, then they walked on out of the clearing. As they rode along, the rhythm of the horse's steps proved hypnotic and lulling to Andrea, and after the day's events, she was only too ready to fall asleep. And fall asleep she did, leaning forward against Father Phylus's comforting back. The next thing she knew was when she woke up as they were making camp for the night and Fujiko was helping her down from the horse. Andrea looked around...this didn't look like her bedroom and she was horribly stiff...Then the events of the past day came rushing back and she emitted a little cry. "Sheryl--how is Sheryl?!" "I think you'd better have a look at this, kid," she said, lifting Sheryl down from the horse. Andrea and Father Phylus gasped, and Father Phylus once again crossed himself. "Oh, ISSEK!" he breathed. "She's--she's--!" Sheryl was now a small, white unicorn, about nine hands high at the withers. She was not the "classic" unicorn, per se, but the equine-with-horn kind, and she was beautiful in the way that only a unicorn can be--a symbol of purity that almost seemed to shine with its own inner light. Andrea sobbed, both at its beauty and the fact that it had been her sister. "Gods, Sheryl..." she said, then trailed off. Now Sheryl's eyes blinked open, and she got shakily to her feet. She looked around, taking in her surroundings, and Andrea just had to run over to her. "Sheryl...Sheryl...can you understand me? Can you?" Sheryl looked at Andrea and tried to say, "Of course I can!" but only a whinny came out. She tried again, but again only managed to whinny. "What's wrong with me?!" she tried to scream, but only succeeded in whinnying highly and shrilly. Fujiko tossed something over to Andrea, who barely managed to catch it out of midair. It was a small hand-mirror. Andrea gasped, half-sobbed, and turned it so that Sheryl could see herself. When she did, she rolled her eyes until the whites showed, reared, then turned and tried to run for the forest. Fujiko put her fingers in her mouth and whistled shrilly. Wolf took the signal, galloping over and heading Sheryl off before she could get anywhere. Andrea ran over to Sheryl and put her arms around her. "Sheryl! Don't run away! You mustn't!" Father Phylus walked over too. "Don't worry, girl," he said to the unicorn. "We're going to the Temple of Issek in Selactica. The men of my faith are skilled at reversing all sorts of ailments, including magical malaise. Surely one of them will be able to help you." This seemed to calm Sheryl, and together they walked back to where Fujiko was building a small, smokeless fire. "This does put a whole new face on things," Fujiko remarked, sitting back from the cozy blaze. "Travelling with a 'corn is going to be difficult. You know how valuable to black magicians their horns are, and the fact that this one used to be your little sister doesn't make any difference in that." Andrea gasped, putting her hands over her mouth. "But you'll help protect her, won't you?" "Up to a point," Fujiko said. "Once you're inside that temple, you're on your own." "We shouldn't need protection after that," Phylus said. "The Fathers..." Fujiko waved this aside. "Oh, I know what you said about your priests." She lowered her voice and leaned close so Sheryl wouldn't hear. "But you and I both know that there may not be a hell of a lot your Fathers can do. And what then? You can't protect them forever." Andrea gasped. "Then what can we do?" "Father Phylus, you may not like this suggestion, but here's what I recommend." She turned to Andrea. "Apprentice yourself to the Selactican Thieves' Guild in exchange for protection for Sheryl. It will work well for both of you--the Guild will gain prestige from having a unicorn under its roof, she will be protected extremely well (the Guild in Selactica is more powerful even than its militia), and you will pick up some useful talents in Guild training. You seem to me to be a reasonably bright kid." Father Phylus opened and closed his mouth. "That's blackmail!" he said. "Out of the question!" Fujiko shook her head. "No it's not...I'm just making a suggestion. A very eminently reasonable one, I might add." "The girl wouldn't steal. That's immoral!" Phylus said. "I suggest you leave that choice up to her," Fujiko suggested. "Anyway, we can table the discussion until after you see the clerics. I don't know what will happen. Neither do you. We'll just have to wait and see, okay?" Sheryl had wandered off by herself, away from the campfire, to where she could consider the situation. She stepped uncertainly, for she wasn't used to being a unicorn and actually trotting around as one was strange. She felt hungry, but the thought of eating human food (especially MEAT) made her feel slightly queasy. She stood there wondering what to do, and then noticed that Wolf had walked up beside her. The big, black horse put his head down to the ground and ripped off a mouthful of grass, then chewed it placidly. Sheryl, uncertainly, followed his example, and found, to her surprise, that grass actually tasted GOOD. She wondered why she'd never thought of eating grass before. She was so absorbed in this unique new experience that she forgot to worry, and was soon grazing like an old hand (hoof?). That night, Andrea sat awake a long time, watching Sheryl graze. "She's a unicorn," Andrea said, for perhaps the twentieth time that night. "I guess that's what Raykor meant by making her 'the most beautiful creature possible,' so that she would be 'hunted the rest of her life.' What am I going to do?" Fujiko came up behind her. "Get some sleep, it's going to be a long day tomorrow." "I'm not tired," Andrea said. "I had a long nap today, remember?" She just sat there by the dying embers of the fire, and Fujiko sat with her, sensing the comfort she needed. Andrea at last broke the silence. "Fujiko...what is it like, being a thief?" Fujiko got up and moved around to where Andrea was partially facing her. "It's great," she said. "One of the most exciting jobs in all the worlds." Her eyes stared off into the distance as she recalled some thrilling adventures. "It's a job about secrets, about finding out others' secrets. Money isn't everything, though it does pay the bills. The real commodity is what others know, and what they don't want you to know. You can go far with the right kind of information." "If I were going to become an apprentice, how long would it take? What would I learn?" In spite of herself, Andrea's hunger for knowledge was leading her on. Fujiko shrugged. "For me, it was three years. For you...who knows? You seem bright enough to me--you might learn even faster. And you would learn all the tricks of the thieves' trade--fighting, picking locks and pockets, climbing walls and opening windows--everything a thief needs to know. Everything YOU would need, to protect your sister Sheryl while at the same time earning a decent living for yourself." Andrea hesitated. "But--but isn't stealing wrong?" Fujiko shook her head. "Not always." "But how can you tell?" Andrea pressed. "Several ways. If you really need the money, or if the person whom you'd be stealing from doesn't, or any combination of the two, it's all right. If it's in a good cause, it's all right. If the one you're stealing from deserves it, then it's right. The only way that it ever could be wrong would be for greed alone." "But--but I don't know if Issek would--" "Forget Issek, child, there are other gods in the sky," Fujiko said, quoting a popular truism oft used after failed courtships. Andrea was thunderstruck--she'd grown up worshipping Issek, after all. "But--" "Oh, hush, girl," Fujiko said. "For all you know, Issek might smile on your ventures as long as they're in a good cause. You don't HAVE to steal from anybody, y'know. Just go through the training and pay your yearly dues." Andrea sat there, silent, for a few minutes, just watching Sheryl. The little unicorn looked so peaceful...Finally Andrea said, "Tell me about the Guild." Fujiko nodded. "Oh, they're wonderful," she said. "The best source of aid a thief could ever have. They're famous for the services they perform for their members. They'll provide a roof over your head, warm food, and a place to sleep. If you get in trouble, they'll get you out. You can buy equipment, fence stolen goods, get magical aid there. And..." Fujiko paused for emphasis "you can trade information there. It's an amazing place, like a great big surrogate family for thieves." Unfortunately, the word "family" reminded Andrea that she'd just lost all of her family. She looked over at Sheryl, sighed, and pulled out the silver locket that held the pictures of herself and her sister. She looked at the pictures, and felt the tears start to come. She closed the locket and clutched it tight, and bit her tongue to stop from crying. The time for crying was over, she told herself. It was time for firm resolve, and for planning what she was going to do. She had her whole life ahead of her, and it was looking rather empty without her family. Fujiko watched Andrea silently, surreptitiously wiping away the tear that glittered in her own eye from recalling when she'd been told that her parents had been killed by an orcish raiding party so many years before. She really wanted to help this girl, the way that she had been helped herself after that tragic time. But that old fool of a cleric Father Phylus was getting in the way! Well, perhaps after they got to Selactica... Finally Andrea got tired and went to bed. She slept restlessly for the first few hours, then she woke up and noticed Sheryl lying curled up on the ground beside her, her back against Andrea's. After that she slept better, somehow calmed by the close presence of the magical creature who was also her sister. The next day they set out once more. Andrea declined to ride this time, choosing instead to walk with Sheryl. Sheryl seemed quite upbeat today, for some reason--she was running ahead and capering all around, causing Wolf to snort, undoubtedly in disgust, at her antics. "Hey, what's gotten into you?" Andrea asked. Sheryl just nickered playfully in response. Fujiko chuckled. "I'd say that she's decided as long as she's going to be a unicorn, she might as well have a good time at it." All three of the humans had a good laugh at that, and they proceeded on their way to Selactica. On the way, Andrea and Fujiko had a chance to talk further (though Father Phylus didn't necessarily approve, he knew that he had asked for her help and had to take the bad along with the good). They discussed many things, but Fujiko tried to keep the discussion to neutral subjects. She actually didn't have any trouble in that respect, since Andrea mainly wanted to know all she could about unicorns. This was a subject Father Phylus could provide some input on as well. "Basically all _I_ know about unicorns is that their horns are much sought after as components for spells, and they're said to be able to purify water," Fujiko said. "There's also the old legend about their being attracted to virgins or something, but I tend to disbelieve that. Mainly because our friend here hardly has any reservations toward approaching me. Do ya, girl?" Sheryl nickered and showed that she had absolutely no reluctance at all to being approached by the lady thief and given a good scratch behind the ears. Then she pranced on ahead again, and Andrea was torn between running after her to play and staying to listen to the discussion. "It is sometimes hard to tell myth from fact in matters like this, where the principals of the legend have not been, ahem, available for close scrutiny," Father Phylus admitted. "Personally, I tend to see the virginity idea as a sort of a metaphor for purity of heart, or perhaps one's own intentions. After all, if it were true, it would raise some interesting questions--such as whether virginity is defined as actual--er, um, or just--ahem." Phylus had been getting a little carried away before remembering that there was a child present. Andrea was disappointed. She was FOURTEEN, for gods' sake, her body was changing, and no one had told her precisely what she was supposed to DO with it. She sighed. One of these days, though, someone would let it slip. Sooner or later. Or maybe she just hadn't found the right book yet... Fujiko just nodded. "I take your meaning," she said. "Tell us, do you know of any other powers unicorns are said to possess?" "One ascribed ability is that of teleportation once per day. I've heard some people claim that they actually saw it. Of course, there's no way of knowing if our Sheryl actually has any of these powers..." However, later that day they came to a small stream. It was full of silt caused by the recent rain. Sheryl walked up to it, put her nose to the water. "Hey, Sheryl, don't drink that!" Andrea said. "That's all filthy!" But then Sheryl dipped her horn into the water, and there was an odd sort of sparkling disturbance in it. The shimmering spread outward, and before she knew it, the stream was as clear as glass. "Wow!" Andrea said. "Sheryl, did you see what you just did?!" Sheryl nodded and nickered happily before putting her head down to drink from it. Andrea did likewise, and found it to be the purest, most delicious-tasting water she'd ever sampled. "What is--well I'll be..." It was Fujiko, leading Wolf with Father Phylus sitting on his back. "Did she just--?" "Yes, she did!" Andrea said proudly. "If she has to be a unicorn, it's at least a consolation to know that she's the real thing, not just an imitation." She hugged Sheryl, who snorted, tossed her head, and then proceeded to roll in the creek, getting all wet. Everyone had a good laugh at this, then they continued onward. The rest of the journey passed uneventfully. Sheryl got better at being a unicorn, and Andrea and Fujiko became very close friends. Fujiko was now Andrea's surrogate family, the big sister she never had, and she felt much the same way about Andrea, to her consternation. "You can't afford to get attached to this kid," she told herself. "If you do, sooner or later you always regret it..." But she did anyway. On the morning of the third day they'd been together, Selactica appeared on the horizon. By midafternoon, they had reached the city. Andrea was amazed! She'd never seen anything like this before--the largest human settlement she'd ever been to in her life had been her own small village. All she could do was stare and stare, trying to take it all in. There were cobbled streets, ramshackle old buildings with--they actually had 3 or 4 stories! There were dozens of people in the streets and even more animals. In the distance was some sort of seaport or riverport--she could smell the salt air on the breeze. And there were other buildings, too--pubs, inns, even open markets. The melange of smells was astounding! Fujiko looked around at all the people warily, then reached down to her belt and removed the sheathed dagger clipped to it. "Here," she said to Andrea, "put this on your belt. I should have given this to you sooner." "What?! What are you doing!" Father Phylus said, gripping the staff he'd cut earlier in the forest and now used as a combination walking stick and crutch. "You can't give the girl a weapon!" "I can, and I am," Fujiko replied calmly. "No one should be in this city without some means of self-defense. Especially a young girl with a unicorn to look after." Phylus backed down and conceded the point, while Andrea looked proudly at her new weapon. Sheryl stuck very close to Wolf, who she knew would protect her. With Wolf on her left, and Fujiko and Andrea on her right, she felt very safe indeed. But soon Fujiko had to leave Wolf at a stable, and they continued on into town on foot. It wasn't far before they had some trouble. They were in one of the town's open squares when it happened. Andrea didn't notice the start of it, she just noticed when Fujiko suddenly had her twin blades out and was dealing death with them. Actually they weren't twins, exactly, but Andrea couldn't tell that without getting a chance to examine them. They were a Daisho, katana and wakizashi. The katana was longer than the wakizashi; together they were a set of weapons often used by samurai and other warriors from the Orient. In the right hands, they could be very, very deadly. And Fujiko was apparently a master of the art. She used her katana to block a blade on the downswing from the left, then swung the wakizashi in a viscious arc that disembowelled an attacker on the right. She turned to face the assailant on the left, then lashed out with her left foot, sending another man reeling back against a wall. In the room directly above that man, a matronly middle-aged woman was doing some redecorating. She happened to be next to the window, holding a rather large potted plant. She looked from the plant she was holding, down to the stunned rogue leaning against the wall, back to the plant again, then looked away and "accidentally" let the plant go. CRASH! The stunned thug was now an extremely unconscious one. The woman walked away from the window, whistling off-key in a manner which suggested exaggerated innocence. Meanwhile Andrea and Father Phylus stood on either side of Sheryl, with weapons at the ready. Father Phylus bashed with his staff at any of the assailants who happened to get within range, and Andrea slashed out with her dagger (not actually hitting anyone, but at least keeping them far enough back to be out of harm's way until Fujiko could dispose of them). Sheryl just stood there looking rather scared. Fujiko used both blades to block a longsword slash, then bound the sword and wrenched it out of the man's hands. He drew a dagger and threw it, but Fujiko nimbly ducked out of the way and it embedded itself in the wall behind her, above the unconscious thug with the shattered pot, dirt, and plant on his head. She spun around and delivered a roundhouse kick to the guy's face, shattering his jaw and knocking him back, down, and out. Fujiko continued her spin, dropping her wakizashi, producing a dagger, and throwing it. It tumbled over exactly once and embedded itself quite neatly in the throat of a man who had been sneaking up on Father Phylus from outside his field of vision. She then dropped to her knees (avoiding a sweeping cut from a bastard sword that would have left her shorter by a head), caught her wakizashi before it hit the ground, and sliced a man's legs out from under him. Quite soon, the fight was over. About ten men lay leaking blood into the street, with swords and knives and assorted body parts lying everywhere. Fujiko wiped her swords and dagger on a dead man's clothes before resheathing them. "Who were they?" Father Phylus asked. "Just a bunch of young toughs who saw an opportunity for profit," Fujiko replied bitterly. She turned to Father Phylus. "See what she'll be up against?" she asked. "She'd be wise to take my suggestion." "The Temple of Issek is only a short ways from here," Father Phylus said. "We'll be safe there." "But you can't stay in that temple forever," Fujiko retorted. "We won't HAVE to," Phylus said, getting a bit angry. "Just until they cure Sheryl!" Fujiko nodded. "Right. Whatever you say..." She turned to Andrea. "Are you and Sheryl all right?" she asked. Andrea was still staring goggle-eyed at all the carnage around her. "Where'd you learn to fight like that?!" she asked. "An ancient master taught me," she said. "And I had some help from a fellow pupil. His name was Goemon." She reached out and tapped Andrea's dagger, which was back in its sheath without being bloodied. "You didn't do so badly yourself," she said. "But I didn't hit anybody," Andrea said, puzzled. "That's not the point. You kept them back, which was good. And the way you held the blade...you held it correctly without being told how. I think you may have a natural potential for this kind of thing." "Really?" Andrea asked. "Really," Fujiko nodded. "But come on. Let's get out of here before people start coming." As the three humans and one unicorn made their way out of the square, that matronly woman from the upstairs apartment came creeping out to collect her plant for repotting, and she pulled out the dagger from the wall while she was at it. THIS time she would have something really EXCITING to tell the members of the Garden Club. "Yes, a UNICORN!" she would say. "And it was THIS VERY PLANT! And THIS VERY DAGGER!" This was guaranteed to make her the toast of the club for a good long time! Andrea wasn't too impressed with the Temple of Issek from the outside. All these years she'd expected a huge cathedral, with gleaming spires and stained-glass windows, all the fancy stuff that she'd so often read about in the books she'd been able to get her hands on. But all it really was was a small stone building, with a couple of stained glass windows above the door. "This is it?" Andrea asked. Father Phylus nodded. "It is better to spend money on healing the infirm than to use it up on a handsome building." Fujiko shrugged. "If you say so. Now me, I've never had any problems with spending money..." She trailed off as Father Phylus glared at her. They walked inside, Father Phylus in the lead, Andrea and Sheryl behind him, and Fujiko bringing up the rear. On the inside, the decor was that of a church--very somber, very rigorous. There were pews here, and an altar at the head of the aisle between them. Sheryl, who had been prancing along on the city streets outside, was very subdued in here...something in the air seemed to DEMAND it. No sooner had they advanced halfway up the aisle, than a man dressed in the robes of a priest came running up, waving his arms and quite startling Sheryl, who looked like she was about to spook. "No animals in the church!" the man yelled. Father Phylus dropped his staff so that it rested across the aisle on a pair of pews, and the man was brought up short with an OOF! as he ran right into it. "Not so fast, brother," Phylus said calmly. "Take a closer look." The man did, and his expression of anger changed to one of amazement. "A unicorn--!" Father Phylus nodded. "Indeed. Only this little one is not really a unicorn; she has been cursed to it." He removed the staff, and the priest stood up. "I see, I see...well, now, we'll have to see what we can do." He walked back up the aisle. "I think we'll need Father Sheraton for this." He genuflected at the altar, turned right, and entered a small door leading out of the room. "Who is this Father Sheraton?" Andrea asked. Sheryl snorted, looking around. She seemed a little bit scared. "He is the highest priest of Issek in the region," Father Phylus breathed. "If anyone can help Sheryl, it will be him." For a moment, Andrea's hope surged, but then she said, "But what if Father Sheraton can't help her? What then?" "Hush, child," Father Phylus said. "We must have faith." Fujiko snorted, but didn't make any comments. The priest came back out the door. "Father Sheraton has agreed to see you. Follow me to his private chambers." Father Sheraton's chambers were not quite so large as to be called spacious, yet they were not quite cramped, either. Father Sheraton sat behind a table that was the sole piece of furniture in the room. A few dozen dusty books were stacked on the table, and there were a few scrolls lying around too. Father Sheraton was an elderly man. His robes were much fancier than those of the lesser priest who had conducted them in, and he appeared to be very old. Currently he was paging through one of the old books on his desk, then he looked up. "Ah, welcome. Let me see the problem." Sheryl stepped forward, a bit uncertainly. Father Sheraton adjusted the half-glasses that rested on his nose and peered through them at the unicorn. "Ah, I see." He chanted some words, held up a holy symbol. "O Issek, let me DIAGNOSE this problem that I might heal it for Your further glory..." Sheryl was surrounded by a soft golden glow that spread outward from the holy symbol. Sheraton closed his eyes, muttered something under his breath and the glow darkened to ruby. Sheryl's eyes flashed, and sparks started coming off of her hooves and horn. Sheraton opened his eyes and gestured. The glow faded. Sheryl sat down on her rump, eyes slightly unfocused. Sheraton shook his head slowly. "This must be a very powerful curse...to all my examination, she seems a perfectly normal unicorn." Andrea's breath caught, and she felt weak. She leaned against Fujiko for support. "Is there nothing you can do, Father?" Fujiko asked. "Hold on, let me try one more thing." Sheraton picked up another tome, blew dust off of it, and flipped through. "Ah, yes." He held up the symbol of Issek, chanted in some ancient language. A burgundy glow surrounded Sheryl, and then she was englobed by a shower of sparks. As the sparks faded, Sheraton turned a little pale from the exertion and promptly sat down. "Father, are you all right?" Father Phylus asked, going to the man's side. Sheraton waved him away. "Oh, I'm fine, fine, just a little weak is all. And I have managed to determine the nature of the curse." He shook his head. "I'm afraid there's nothing I can do." "What?!" Father Phylus asked, shocked. Andrea turned and buried her face in Fujiko's shoulder and started to cry. Fujiko embraced her and said, "There, there...it'll be all right. Let's hear what the good Father has to say." Andrea tried to control her sobbing and to some extent succeeded. "What do you mean, Father? Why can't you help her?" Phylus asked. Sheraton continued to shake his head. "Whoever or whatever did this must have been using an Artifact of some sort--the magic's much too strong for even Issek's healing powers." Andrea sobbed, "An Artifact?!" She'd read tales of objects such as these--extremely powerful magical or clerical items created by gods or demons that could be used for very great mischief in the wrong hands. Father Sheraton nodded. "Indeed. It would take a very powerful magician indeed to change her back, I'm afraid." Seeing Andrea start crying, he said, "Don't worry...we'll find a way, somehow..." This was little comfort to Andrea, however. Father Phylus showed Andrea a room in which she and Sheryl could stay for the time being. After he left, there was a knock on the door. It was Fujiko. "Can I come in?" she asked. Andrea sniffled. "Sure..." Fujiko sat down next to Andrea on the plain cot. "It's not the end of the world, you know." "What do you MEAN it's not?!" Andrea cried angrily. "My parents are dead, my village was destroyed, and my younger sister is a unicorn! All that I've ever known is gone." "You'll have to make a new life," Fujiko said. "Look, Sheryl doesn't seem all that unhappy." She pointed to Sheryl, who was currently sniffing at the rug at the foot of the bed. She looked up and whinnied, nodding vigorously. "I bet she hasn't legitimately been able to play around this much since she was 4 or 5." Andrea smiled through her tears. "Yes, she always did like to play..." "As long as she isn't unhappy, why worry about it?" Fujiko asked. "Just go with it. You have the rest of your lives in which to look for a cure. And the Thieves' Guild knows of many powerful magicians..." Andrea looked up. "They do?" Fujiko nodded. "Consider my offer. Here." She pulled a ring off one of her fingers and slipped it onto Andrea's. It was a beautiful gold ring inlaid with a large sapphire. "This is a little token of a favor the Guildmaster of this town owes me. Show it to anyone who tries to attack you and they should stop, recognizing the seal. Show it to any guardsman and he should know just where to take you. If they don't stop, then say the word FLASHBLIND." "Fla--" Andrea began, but Fujiko clapped a hand over her mouth. "Not NOW, silly! If you say that word, the ring will emit an extremely bright flash of light and blind your attackers so you can get away. Be sure to close your eyes before you use it." Andrea nodded. "It's magic?" "Yes, kid. It's magic. And it should get you safely to the Thieves' Guild." Fujiko clapped her on the shoulder. "I have to leave now. I'll be waiting at the Guild for you." "What--what if I don't come?" Andrea asked uncertainly. "Then I'll get it back from you later." Fujiko drew up close to Andrea. "I've told you all about the Guild. Only YOU can decide what's best for you, though. You know where I'll be." She walked over to the window, opened it, looked outside. "Bye! She jumped through the window. Andrea ran over to it and looked outside, all around, but she was gone. Later that night, Andrea decided to go downstairs to use the facilities. As she passed through the hall, she heard voices coming from behind a door that was ajar a crack. She was about to pass on by, but then she heard that one of the voices belonged to Father Phylus! Knowing that she shouldn't be eavesdropping, yet still curious, she stopped to listen. "--can't do anything about the curse, so what do you recommend?" "I just don't know." The other voice was Father Sheraton's. "I think it would be best for the girl if we sent her and the unicorn to a secluded abbey. I know just the spot, it's just over the moutains to the north." "Do you think we should?" "Oh, definitely, absolutely. There she'll be safe from those who would try to kill her for the 'corn--and she could get the kind of education a young lady deserves." Andrea couldn't listen any longer. They were talking about sending her to a PRISON! She would not be corralled into that kind of life, and neither would Sheryl. She was going to choose her own fate, not let it be chosen for her by a couple of old men! Andrea ran back up the stairs to her and Sheryl's room. She nudged the sleeping 'corn. "Hey! Sheryl, wake up! We gotta get outta here!" Sheryl shook her head, and opened one eye sleepily. She snorted. Obviously she did NOT want to go ANYWHERE at this hour. "Come on, Sheryl! We gotta go! If we don't get out of here, they're going to stick us in an abbey!" Sheryl got to her feet. She shook her head drowsily. Whatever Andrea wanted, fine, she'd do it...but she'd just BETTER get some sleep afterward! Andrea and Sheryl crept silently down the stairs. Obviously negotiating the stairs was harder for Sheryl than for Andrea--once Sheryl stumbled and almost fell, but Andrea caught her in time. Once they were on the ground level, it was relatively simple to sneak out of the church. Then they were outside. It was pretty dark--there were street lanterns and such, but these only provided dim pools of illumination in the otherwise black night. Andrea and Sheryl started walking down the street, Andrea fervently wishing Sheryl's color were anything but white and easy to spot. She just KNEW that they were going to run into trouble. And sure enough, before they had gone too far three lanky teens stepped out in front of her. They held knives, and the leader had a shortsword. "Well, I'll be damned," the leader said. "What have we here...a girl and a--what the hell, that thing's a unicorn!" "Do you know how much money those things are worth?!" the second one asked. Andrea held up her hand with the ring on it. "See this? Recognize it?" The three punks looked at each other. "What do you think?" the first one asked the others. "That's the Guildmaster's seal." "He doesn't have to know..." the third one said. "We can dump it in the river..." "All right, let's do it, then..." Andrea, sensing trouble, whispered to Sheryl, "Close your eyes now! I'm going to do something." Sheryl's eyes blinked tightly shut, and Andrea held the ring forward, covered her own eyes, and yelled, "FLASHBLIND!" There was a bright flash, visible even through Andrea's hand. "I can't see!" the leader yelled. "They blinded me! They blinded me!" The others were similarly affected. "Now, Sheryl!" Andrea said. "Run through!" They dashed past the blinded punks and down the street--and ran right into the arms of a town guardsman who had been attracted by the bright flash and was coming to see what was the matter. "Well, now, what's all this?" the man said in a thick Irish brogue. He fingered his nightstick. "What's going on--Oho, I see. You're wearing the Guildmaster's ring! And those young toughs just tried to mug you..." Andrea nodded. "They did, sir, they did! Can you take me to the Guild?" "Why now sure I can, little lassie. Well, now, and what's this? Is that a unicorn I'm seeing?" Sheryl nodded, sensing that this man could be trusted. She nickered softly as he reached down to pat her neck. "Well, now lassies, I'll see that you reach the Guild safely. And I think the Guildmaster himself is going to want to hear about this." He smiled. "Now you just follow me. I know right where you need to be going." The guardsman led them through several streets and back alleys for the next ten minutes or so. He was never challenged, though there were some people who looked greatly interested in the nature of the creature following him. At last they reached a large, nondescript building, with a sturdy, solid wooden door in front of it. The guardsman pounded on it with his baton. "Open up! Open up, I tell you!" A rectangular panel set in the door at eye level slid open and a pair of eyes appeared. "And what is the password?" a rough voice asked. The guardsman rolled his eyes. "'Walt sent me.' Now are you going to open up--?" The door swung slowly inward, and the rest of the man behind the door was revealed. He was a tall and thick individual, who probably moonlighted as an enforcer in his spare time. "Whaddaya want, copper?" The guardsman lifted Andrea's hand, with the ring on it. "I think the Guildmaster will be wanting to see this girl, don't you?" Just then Fujiko came running up, dagger in hand. "What--Andrea! I didn't expect to see you this soon! Come in, come in...I'll vouch for her." That last comment was directed at the thug, who stood their scratching his head. Fujiko turned to the guardsman. "Thank you, Officer Killian." The guardsman tipped his helm. "Least I could do, ma'am." Then the door was slammed shut in his face. Fujiko led Andrea and Sheryl to an office just a little larger than Father Sheraton's. However, this one was furnished much more nicely. There was a thick carpet on the floor (which Sheryl promptly curled up and went to sleep on), a fine mahogany desk, and several beautiful paintings and tapestries hanging around the room. On the desk were a blotter, paperweights, and a jade figurine that looked quite valuable. There was also a little frame with seven shiny balls hanging from it on strings. Andrea took a seat in one of the comfortable-looking chairs opposite from the desk, and looked up just in time to see part of the wall behind the desk slide open, and a man step out from a dark space behind. He was in his late middle age, with a few lines on his face, and his sandy-colored hair was a bit unkempt. He was wearing a nightrobe, and he looked a bit tired. As he sat down at the desk, a female voice called out from the space behind him, "Shall I get you some coffee, Guildmaster Robinson?" "No, woman!" Robinson roared back. "Wine is what I need, you know that! Get me a glass, immediately." "Yessir, Guildmaster! Right away..." There was a shuffling of feet, and the wall swung shut behind the Guildmaster's chair. "Fine woman, she is, but if she were just a little quicker on the uptake..." Robinson sighed. "Now then, what is the situation? I'm told you were wearing one of my rings...?" Andrea took it off and set it on his desk. "Yessir," she said, her eyes downcast. "Look at me, girl, don't look at the floor. I don't bite," the Guildmaster boomed. "Ah, that's better. "Where did you get this ring?" "Fu--Fujiko gave it to me, sir." "Ah, she did, eh? Well, I trust her judgement a great deal...what man wouldn't trust his own niece, after all?" As Andrea goggled, Robinson picked up the ring. "It's been used, and quite recently, too," he remarked. "Were you attacked?" "Yessir." Sheryl chose this moment to stand up. She had been lying right in front of the Guildmaster's desk, obscured from his view, and this startled him immensely. "Ho, what's this? A unicorn, in my office?" After recovering from the initial startlement, he said, "Well, I'm honored, honored indeed. To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?" As Andrea opened her mouth to reply, Robinson held up his hand and said, "No, wait...I mustn't get distracted from the business at hand. First I have to find out just who it was that attacked you." He held up the ring and pointed it at the wall. "This handy little device was crafted for me by the great mage, Kodak Land. PROJECTION!" he called out, and the ring flashed again. This time, however, it produced an image on the wall of the three punks just as they had been standing when the ring had flashed. As Andrea goggled and Sheryl whinnied in surprise, Robinson fingered his chin and said, "Ah yes, Miko and his friends. I've had some trouble with them in the past, but now I have a legitimate excuse...ignoring my seal of protection. This is indeed a red-letter day for me--first a unicorn shows up, and then I get proof enough to take care of that thorn in my side once and for all. Ah, thanks, my dear." The last comment was directed at the woman who had just come out of the secret door behind Robinson, carrying a carafe of wine and a goblet on a silvre tray. As Andrea looked up, she saw that it was Fujiko, wearing the dreary clothes of a kitchen drudge! She winked, then left the wine carafe and goblet and closd the door behind her. "Now, what brings you to my humble domicile?" Robinson asked, swallowing the wine and leaning forward attentively. Andrea told her story, punctuated by snorts and nickers from Sheryl at the proper moments. Robinson listened attentively, at times playing idly with the steel balls on the frame. He would pull one back and release it, and it banged into the other balls and one on the far end would fly off, then swing back, and send the first one flying again. Then he would pull two back, and, lo and behold, TWO balls from the other end would be launched outward. Soon Sheryl was completely mesmerized by this strange device, and she even forgot she was sleepy. When Andrea finished her tale, Robinson nodded. "I can see now why you have come. It will be a good deal for all three of us if you become an apprentice here. You will learn marketable skills, Sheryl will be protected far better than any bodyguard could hope to, and I will gain new apprentices because of having the only Guild with a unicorn under its roof. So what say you, Andrea? Is it a deal?" Andrea thought. This was it--the moment that her entire future rested upon. How would she determine the course of her future life--thief or not? She looked at Sheryl, but Sheryl just looked back. "You're no help," Andrea told her unicorn/sister. Sheryl just tossed her head. Andrea looked Robinson in the eye. "Sir, I will do it. I will become an apprentice." And thus did Andrea decide. Andrea's training commenced the next day. It was, of course, no mystery to Father Phylus where she had gone, and that day he came by the Guild demanding that she be returned to him. Robinson met him firmly and told him that Andrea had made up her own mind. However, only when Andrea told him herself that she had no intention of going to an abbey did he admit defeat. "I'd had such hopes for you, girl..." he sighed. "I'm afraid my hopes are rather different than yours," Andrea said pointedly. "Besides, with Robinson's decree, everyone in the area knows that to attack Sheryl would mean certain death." Phylus sighed again. "I guess my coming here was pointless, then." "No, Father, it wasn't," Andrea said. "I'll always love you, and I will stop in at your church. Just because I'm learning this trade doesn't mean we can't still be friends..." Father Phylus nodded. "I see. Well, you'll always be welcome in the House of Issek." He started to walk away, then stopped, turned. "Please come see me soon." "I will," Andrea promisd. Over the time that passed after this, Andrea discovered that she was even more talented than Fujiko had thought. She had a real gift for sleight-of-hand, which would come in quite handy for working with weapons up her sleeves and picking pockets. She had a dexterity that many thieves could only dream of. And she had the brains to figure out alternate plans when things went wrong. Andrea's combat teacher was Fujiko herself. Though it was hard at first, soon Andrea had mastered most of the moves Fujiko taught her. After this, Andrea's instructor became a monk whose fighting skills were different from Fujiko's--Fujiko was a brown belt (working on her first black) in Tae Kwan Do, he explained, while he taught Judo as self-defense. He demonstrated, by asking her to rush at him, then throwing her half a dozen times. This was where she learned the techniques that would later save her life half a dozen times (including, most recently, Callus' attack). Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, months into years. Before Andrea knew it, two and a half years had passed, and a lot had changed for her. She'd grown taller, smarter, stronger, wiser, and...better-endowed. She had proven to be an excellent thief, too, better than most in her class and some above her. And she knew instinctively that it was time to go. Sheryl hadn't seemed to age very much at all; Andrea had beeen assured that this was because unicorns generally had a much greater lifespan than normal humans or horses. Sheryl had made many friends in Selactica, and the Thieves' Guild had grown accordingly stronger because of her. Andrea knew that it probably would be hard on her to leave, but also knew that she would come. As a graduation present, Robinson gave Andrea a magical Dagger of Resource, a small dagger with studs on the handle that, when pressed, released various gadgets, including enhanced lockpicks, a hoof-cleaning tool (very handy with Sheryl around), and a couple of other implements. Also, it was magically enhanced, and thus more sure to strike the enemy. On the day of her departure, Andrea and Sheryl were met one last time by Fujiko and Guildmaster Robinson. Fujiko had tears in her eyes. "I can't believe how far you've come in just two short years..." Andrea nodded, her own eyes glistening. "It's been fun...but now, Sheryl and I have our lives to get on with, and I have some wizards to find." "You think that they'll be able to help?" Fujiko asked. "They can if anybody can..." Though Andrea did feel a slight pang, recalling the last time someone had used a similar expression. "Anyway, there's no harm in trying...and I will at least be able to learn more about what Sheryl has now become." Robinson nodded. "Who knows? Maybe you'll learn something about yourself in the process." Andrea looked him in the eyes. "You may be right." She turned to go, and Sheryl walked after her. They walked a few steps together, then Andrea turned and said, "We'll be back someday. And one last thing: Thank you." Then she turned and walked forward, and they didn't look back. Andrea wanted to remember them just the way she'd seen them last, and she hated long goodbyes anyway. For the next several years, Andrea and Sheryl wandered aimlessly through Nexus. Andrea would go to one place to see a powerful wizard, and no sooner would she find that he could not help her than she would learn another rumor of a more powerful wizard in another place and go off to investigate it. Of course, all this magical investigation required a great amount of money, so Andrea had to pull some jobs to keep the required amount of cash on her. Not that this was much of a problem for a thief of her talents. Several times she heard rumors of Raykor or Raoh, but no sooner would she investigate than they had moved on, gone elsewhere, or else the report was bogus to begin with. After several years, Andrea was still no closer to finding a solution or taking revenge than she had been when she had started out. Andrea never saw Raykor again, but she never forgot his face. There were several times that Andrea heard his mocking laughter in the night, coming from just outside the range of their campfire, but he never showed his face. It scared Sheryl half to death, but Andrea only clenched her jaw in determination. "One of these days, Raykor whoreson, you WILL die!" she yelled back. There was never any response. Eventually their journey led to a chain of islands out in the Great Blue, where she and a band of fellow adventurers had gone on a dungeon crawl through a series of catacombs that Raykor had supposedly claimed for his own. Things went rather badly from the first, with several of them getting killed right off, and by the time it was over, she and Sheryl had barely escaped with their lives. Of course, the fact that she was now several thousand gold pieces richer did serve to make up for it somewhat. However, her luck continued to change for the worse. As she and Sheryl were in the local town celebrating their gains and the fact that they were still alive, a horde of monsters swept down out of the dungeon. Andrea choked on her drink, grabbed her satchel (which, fortunately, contained her money) and Sheryl and ran for the docks. She bought passage on the first ship she saw (actually it was one of the last still in the dock, with that horde of monsters advancing) and they'd headed out to sea. However, late in the voyage, some of the sailors decided to try to take the unicorn's horn and get rich quick. Andrea had to kill the offenders and escape. Fortunately, the ship was just pulling into Generica dock when this happened and so they were able to escape. "And the rest you all know," Andrea finished, leaning back in her chair. She looked around, and noticed that their dinner had arrived but no one had noticed, they'd been so wrapped up in her tale. "Hey, everybody, let's eat!" This suggestion was greeted with much approval, and the conversation level at the table dropped appreciably as everyone tore into their roast turkey (and 'Raelf, with some reluctance, into his salad). ADMIN: If you like this thread, or noticed all the little in-jokes (or should that be "inn-jokes"? :) I put in, or whatever, please drop me a line! I like hearing from people about what I write. Later!