Date: Tue, 23 Jun 1992 14:41:02 EDT
From: The Dreamer <ASG102@psuvm.psu.edu>
Message-ID: <92175.144102ASG102@psuvm.psu.edu>
Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn
Subject: Murell's Story [Inn]


ADMIN:
Characters involved: Luthor, Murell, and Brycur
Place: Bar Room of the Dragons Inn

--
In article <1992Jun23.155003.27195@wpi.WPI.EDU>, patchman@wpi.WPI.EDU (Peter
Bruce Harper) says:
>
>
>     Luthor interupts their meriment to ask "would you care to tell us the
>tale which has brought you to such hard luck?"  With that he picks up his
>drink and sits back in his chair and waits.

     'Luthor is a sly one,' thinks Murell, 'He knows that something is wrong...
I'd better think fast or he'll be tipped off.'
     Murell leans back in his chair, with his mug and takes a deep breath.
     "I was born near to the city of Waterdeep [Forgotten Realms].  My father
worked as a butler for Lord Firesmith, a noble of the area.  Borric Firesmith
was my childhood friend and we were inseperable.  I went with him when he was
being taught by his tutors and in this way, I learned to read and write.
     "As Borric grew, he also gained an interest in swordplay, so I, naturally
studied that as well.  We became sparring partners and would practice at every
possible opportinity.  Lord Firesmith thought that the Borric's fascination
with fighting was just a phase that would pass in time.  However, as the years
went by, both Borric and I surpassed our tutors in skill with the sword.
     "One day, Lord Firesmith confronted his son, telling him that when Borric
eventually rules the Firesmith Clan, he would have to give up fighting.  This,
Borric accepted with grace, but he came to me later that evening and asked if
I would go with him on a great adventure.  He wanted a chance to prove that
he was a skilled warrior before he had to settle down to rule his family.  I
thought it was a bad idea, but he said that he would go without me, so I
agreed.
     "We went into Waterdeep and got ourselves hired as caravan guards.  The
caravan, run by a merchant named LaBratte was headed here, for the city of
Generica.  In the beginning, Borric was wide-eyed and not able to believe that
he was actually going somewhere away from home.  Then, a week into the journey,
our caravan was attacked by a band of bandits.  Borric and I faught back to
back throughout the battle.  He and I killed a total of six men.  After the
battle, I turned to him to thank him for his help, but he was staring at dead
men around him.
     "'I've never killed anyone before,' he said, 'and I never want to kill
again'.  I didn't know what to do.  We had to continue on to Generica in order
to catch a caravan back to Waterdeep.  On the other hand, we could go back on
our own, but with the bandits around, that would be suicidal.  In the end, I
convinced him to continue on with the caravan.
     "When we arrived here, we got our pay from LaBratte which included a
bonus for killing the bandits.  This deepened Borric's depression over their
deaths.  We decided to get a room with the money from the caravan job and
wait for the next caravan to Waterdeep.  We found a room above the Spitting
Cobra in the Low City.
     "During the night, Borric would go down and get drunk in the Cobra and
during the day he would sleep and get over his hangover in time for the next
night.  I sent word to his father saying that we were in Generica and needed
to get home as soon as possible.  Weeks went by with no reply, and then I got
a message from Lord Andre saying that the entire Firesmith Clan was
wiped out by an attack from the Kemeres, their political enemies.
     "When I told Borric, his depression darkened further and I thought he
would try to kill himself.  I bought a sleep drug from an alchemist to use
on him, but when I returned to the Cobra, he was gone.  I ran around the
streets of the Low City knowing that as soon as it was dark, Borric would
be dead.
     "I found him around midnight.  He had apparently been jumped by some
men and robbed (big suprise in the Low City).  He had put up a good fight
from the looks of the other body and the small pools of blood over the
street.
     "I took his body to the river and dumped it in, not having enough money
left to pay for a proper burial.  Then I looked for a job.  After a month of
being unsuccessful, I came here to look for work as a hired sword."
     Murell took a swallow from his mug and looked hungrily at the food that
the barmaid brought for him.  He began to wolf it down like he hadn't
eaten in days.

     Luthor studied Murell carefully.  He felt like there was something
Murell wasn't telling him, but Murell's story explained a lot.  The accent
that Murell had was definately from around Waterdeep.  His mannerisms showed
that he was educated, still, there was something wrong.
     'Perhaps I'm just being paranoid after almost being killed,' Luthor
thought.

     Brycur had returned to his friendly chattering with Murell.  He knew that
they would need perhaps one or two more people before leaving for the unknown
in search of a brother, a Queen, and now the Kemere Clan.
     Life was suddenly becoming VERY interesting.

     Murell, half listening to Brycur, relaxed a bit.  Luthor hadn't stood
up and called him a liar, so he was momentarily safe.  His story was almost
true...he and Borric had grown up together and gone in search of adventure,
but it was Murell's family that had been slaughtered, and not by the Kemeres,
but by Luthor, the half elf sitting at this very table...revenge would be
sweet indeed.

     Love and Peace and Lies,
         -The Dreamer-