Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn
From: aaron@space.ualberta.ca (Aaron Humphrey)
Subject: [MI] Moriarty[Mage Guild]: Slipping Through The Cracks
Message-ID: <1992Dec8.030512.20790@kakwa.ucs.ualberta.ca>
Date: Tue, 8 Dec 1992 03:05:12 GMT

Moriarty and Choir of Vidmar had been in the middle of the Mage Guild when
the whole trouble had started.  They had been shunted off to a side room with
Gwaliostrok, whose title was Guildmaster but who in reality was little more
than a flunky of Rivy, Archmage of Bureaucracy.  Moriarty fumed at the time
lost.  "What the hell is going on, anyway?" he grumbled.

"Oh, some kind of instability in the underlying field of Generica," the
Guildmaster said.  "Nothing to do with us, I don't think, but it's like a
shifting of the foundations.  Or that's what I hear, anyway."

Choir was pacing around examining various decorations and items on the walls.
He wondered if Gwaliostrok had done the decorating himself.

"Anyway, the Mage Guild is kind of delicate in some areas.  I mean, magical
architecture is just the same as any other kind of architecture, in that you
try for strength and sturdiness, but meanwhile you want it to look nice, and
be useful, and have as much space as possible inside--which is where magic
gives you an advantage, with all the dimensional things you're allowed to do--
but all of those come at sacrifices to sturdiness, or as extras overtop."

"So what are you saying?" Moriarty asked, annoyed.

"Well, it's just that some of the dimensional links might be getting a bit
frayed right now.  I'm sure that Fauteuil and his people are just trying to
keep the links together at all right now, and will concentrate on cleaning up
the weak points later.  Although it's been a while since it was last done, so
it'll probably take a lot longer this time."

Choir, only half-listening to the conversation, grew bored and opened a door
in the wall.

Gwaliostrok, his monologue interrupted by the sound of the doorknob turning--
it hadn't been oiled in quite some time--suddenly looked alarmed and said, "I
wouldn't--"

The door opened, and the doorway FLEXED and Choir was gone.  For an instant the
pair still in the room could see a series of images through the doorway--a
flash of a hot desert covered with green sand; a shadowy place with a single
arc of light across the sky; a forest full of rioting brown forms; a collection
of multicolored phosphor dots seeming to make a pattern of some kind that they
were merely too close to see.  Then the doorway--and the door--disappeared.

Gwaliostrok heaved a sigh.  "Oh, dear," he said.  "How unfortunate.  I hope we
haven't undermined anything important.  I'm afraid your friend could be lost
for a while.  The portal flailed through a fair number of dimensions before it
faded out.  I imagine that Fauteuil could do it with a bit of work, but he'll
be awfully busy, as I said before, and I don't know how much trouble he'll go
to for someone who isn't even a member of the Guild.  I'll have enough trouble
just regaining my things."

"Your things?"

"Yes, well, that was my closet back there.  I keep some rather bulky items in
there, so I thought a pocket dimension would be the way to go.  I do hope that
the Library don't want their book back too soon..."

ADMIN: Choir's player was holding up the [MI] thread, and admitted that he
really didn't have time to keep up with things, so he suggested that I shunt
his character off somewhere for a while.  This should make it possible for him
to return at any time, if he so desires, but he will probably no longer be with
Moriarty Investigations.

I also hope that Thomas Kettenring doesn't mind my use of his character
Gwaliostrok, who makes here his first appearance outside of email...

--
---Alfvaen(Looking for "October's Baby")
"After this, let no one ever say that anyone who is silly can never become a
 person of importance."  ---Grimm
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