Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn
From: bdavis@staccato.cray.com (Brent Davis  {67000 CF/DEV})
Subject: Kalendraf: Generican Tour
Message-ID: <1993Jan9.135919.9255@walter.cray.com>
Date: 9 Jan 93 13:59:19 CST

   "Mouse - mouses," Kalendraf spoke aloud.  'No, that's not right.'  "Mouse -
meese."  'No wait, that's still wrong.'  "Mice!  Mouse - mice."  Kal was
struggling through the plural noun forms of the Generican tongue, wondering why
this language had to be so difficult.  "Jul qba'g gurl whfg nqq na F gb
rirelguvat?," he grumbled.  He set down the picture cards that Velnar had
given him.  Then he moved to the window, and stared out over the city.

   For the last three weeks, Kalendraf had done little besides practice the new
language.  He felt almost like a prisoner in this tower, referred to as
'Kraken' by the guards.  Besides Velnar, his language tutor, and a brief visit
by Ezrin nearly a week ago, he hadn't seen anyone besides an occasional guard
bringing him food or wa...

   Kalendraf sturdied himself and moved to the chair.  He had just experienced
another blackout.  He never felt ill, and instead these blackouts were more
like periods of sleepwalking.  They seemed to occur most often around mealtime,
and he suspected that it was some type of allergic reaction to the food or drink
here in this new world.  But that didn't explain all of them.  Why had he just
blacked out now, or on other occasions when he was simply talking with Velnar,
Ezrin or the Wyeriun.

   A knock on the door broke Kalendraf's thoughts.  "Enter!"  A guard walked
peaked in and looked around, then entered the door and shut it gently.
"Dramic?," asked Kal.

   "Yes, mista Kal.  I been thinkin' that ya should get a tour o' this
fine city.  Bein' all cramped up in here tain't good for a man.  Whatcha say
mista Kal?"  Dramic looked expectantly at Kalendraf.

   With difficulty, Kal tried to understand the guards broken, and slanged
speech style, but was unsuccessful.  "Sorry, but I do not understand."

   Dramic walked over to the window and then pointed out toward the city.
"You and me go see the city," the guard spoke very slowly while pointing and
gesturing on nearly every syllable.

   "Yes, we go to city," Kal replied excitedly.  This was exactly what he had
been waiting for.  He quickly donned the boots and cloak that Velnar had
brought for him, and followed Dramic out the door.  Surprisingly, the outer
hallway was empty.  Dramic led Kal through the tower, on an unfamiliar route,
and several times Dramic told Kalendraf to "Stay quiet, the guards here are
sleeping."  They emerged from Kraken Tower via some type of a service entrance.
Why Dramic had chosen this route was not entirely clear to Kalendraf, but it
really didn't matter; he was finally going to see the city.

   For the next hour Dramic led Kalendraf around the northern sections of
Generica, trying his best to be a tour guide.  "And this, mistu Kal, is the
Royal Palace.  O' course it used to be the ruling house until the merchants
came into power.  Still a pretty sight."  Next, they saw a large fortress,
Glorshanned Keep, and a beautiful set of fountains just to its south.
Then they passed two bizarre buildings: The Great Library, which appeared to
have been constructed using dozens of different, even clashing, styles, and the
Mages' Guild, which appeared to be tilting, although it must have been some
kind of optical illusion.

   As they continued southward, they crossed a great bridge spanning a wide
river called the Ceru.  Part-way across, Kalendraf staggered and clutched the
retaining wall.  It was another blackout, and his proximity to the edge made
him shudder.

   "Scared o' heights, are ya?  Well, don't ya worry mista Kal.  We'll be
'cross it in no time."  Dramic took Kalendraf's arm and led him across down the
center of the bridge.  They arrived at a busy square, obviously a major
business center in the city.  "Are ya getting thirsty, mista Kal?"

   After yet another blackout, Kalendraf looked down and noticed that he was
walking on metal stones.  Dramic was apparently leading him to a popular
tavern, a place called the Dragon's Inn.  "Ya'll like this place, mista Kal."
Dramic beamed with a big smile.  "Plenty o' strangers like ya'self and more
than 'nough for ya to drink."
--
bdavis@cray.com
Cray Research, Inc.
Chippewa Falls, WI