Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn From: kinsman@jupiter.sun.csd.unb.ca (Aphoriel/Kinsman) Subject: [Denner&Kalendraf] Kalendraf at the Inn Message-ID: <1993Jan13.145358.878@jupiter.sun.csd.unb.ca> Date: Wed, 13 Jan 1993 14:53:58 GMT BUMP BUMP BUMP "These damn barrels weigh a ton!" "I really do appreciate your help dragging them up here..." Denner and his anonymous recruit dragged the last of Denner's barrels into the temporary room he had paid for. Now that Denner's horse was dead, he'd have to stay the night.. or longer, depending on where and how soon he get get a new animal. "What's in these things anyway?" Denner sighed inwardly. "They're just barrels full of mash to make beer with." "Then how come you made me wear these gloves to carry them up with?" Denner opened his ruse barrel to show the man the fermenting grain he kept inside. "The lord who wants these wants to be sure that they come without any damage. Not that grain's likely to be damaged, but he's finicky about these things, and I'm willing to oblige him..." The man gave a shrug of agreeance. "Well good luck. Hope you find a new horse soon." "Good luck to you too." Once the bargoer left, Denner donned his outfit and gas mask and checked the contents of the other five barrels. The Chiurguin hadn't evaporated yet, good, and the green fluid wasn't likely to explode. And since this looked like an adventurer's inn, nobody was going to be curious about the admittedly suspiciousact of carting unmarked barrels to his room. Denner smiled; he was handling this setback quite well. All he needed to do know was go find a new horse, and he could continue on his delivery. ************************************* Once inside, Dramic spotted an empty table, and he motioned for Kalendraf to take a seat. Then Dramic headed to the bar and tried to get the attention of the barkeep. Kal's eyes followed Dramic that far, and then began to survey his new surroundings. The Dragon's Inn was a busy place, as evidenced by the fact that this was one of the last open tables. As Kal panned the room, he realized that not all the customers were human. He was used to seeing elves, dwarves and gnomes in his own world, but he was unaccustomed to seeing dark elves and other monstrous creatures associate so freely with humans. It also became apparent that the construction of the inn provided over a dozen dimly lit corners: each occupied by a shadowy figure. Again he pondered, 'what manner of people are these?' Cold wetness on his neck turned his question aside. The snow on the collar of his cloak had begun to melt from the warmth of the inn. The cozy comfort from the crackling fire brought some reassurance to Kalendraf that this was indeed a safe place. Smiling to himself, he was thankful that Dramic had invited him on the tour of the city. Kalendraf looked back to the bar in time to catch Dramic whispering something into the bartender's ear. The bartender shook his head a few times. Then Dramic said something else, and finally both men agreed. Dramic opened a large leather pouch and proceeded to pay the bartender several coins. Then he turned and addressed the entire room. "Good friends o' Generica, will ya join me in a toast? A toast to a man who has journeyed far to be with us tonight - A toast to the man who saved the life of a Sea Mage - A toast to my good friend, mista Kal!" Kalendraf was taken by surprise. Dramic had offered some kind of toast in his name, and now everyone in the room was looking at him. Unsure what to do, he stood up and bowed slightly, then returned to his seat. He felt extremely awkward being scrutinized by the entire bar, and he nervously twisted the clasp on his cloak waiting for Dramic to come back. When he did return, Dramic was carrying two mugs. "Try the local brew. I think you'll like it." The seaguard waited to see Kal's response to the alcohol. Kal picked up his mug and emptied it in almost no time. "So you like beer too. Good! Very good! Now just hold on mista Kal, we're gonna make us some money." *************** Denner walked downstairs into the inn's lobby. Maybe one of these people would be able to direct him to a nearby stable... *************** Dramic took the empty mug back to the bar and handed it to the bartender. Then he turned and again addressed the bar. "Good friends o' Generica - no this isn't another toast, but a wager. My good friend mista Kal thinks he can drink a lot of beer. I'm willing to wager some money in his cause, if any o' you kind folk are interested." "So what's the wager?," shouted a heckler from one of the dark corners. "I'm glad you should ask. How many pitchers do you think he can drink?," Dramic replied (as if on cue). "Three pitchers!" came the reply. "Excuse me, everyone... " Denner said. "I'm willing to bet you 10 pieces o' gold (ADMIN: If this seems to high, then reduce it to silver.) that he can drink more than that!," returned Dramic. "Any other takers?," he offered, turning to address the rest of the inn. "I was wondering if anybody here knew where I might be able to find a..." "I'll take that bet!," bellowed another customer. "So will I!," shouted another. "Four Pitchers!," injected yet another customer. "Uh, excuse me. Could anyone..." "Four you say? Well, to make this a fair bet, let's make it 3 to 2 against. If he can't drink over 4 pitchers I'll pay 10, but if he does drink over 4 you pay 15. OK?" Dramic looked calm and almost cocky running up the wagers. "I'm in!," replied that last customer. "We're all in!," chorused an entire table. "Ex*cuse* me... " "Five!" shouted a figure from another dim corner. "Five? Remember good friends that this is a man, not a horse. If I'm to make this bet it'll have to be 2 to 1 against." "Then I'm in at five!" the figure answered. "Any other takers?," Dramic continued. "DOES ANYONE KNOW... Oh forget it." Denner quietly intoned. Obviously the bar was too interested in somebody's drinking contest. He'd have to wait until this was over with before he could really catch someone's ear enough to ask.. Denner looked around. It seemed there were no empty tables to sit down and while the time in. The table where the contest was taking place caught his eye.. if he sat there, maybe he could catch other people's attention later on. Denner walked over to the table with Kalendraf and Dramic and sat down. "Good evening." Denner smiled and gave a friendly wave to the two of them. "You bettin' ?" Dramic grunted. "No, not really... but I'd like to watch, if you don't mind." "Hey, you're blocking my view!" came a voice from one of the corners. "What? Oh, sorry." Denner dragged his chair a bit off to the side. "Now you're blocking MY view!" "Mine, too! Move to the left!" "Hey, not the left! Now I can't see!" "Get off to the side, you idiot!" Denner obligingly shuffled him and his chair to a nearby wall, far from the table in the middle of the inn. He crossed his arms and gave a long sigh. -- ADMIN: Well Pub'ers - jump in on the wagers if you like. Since money isn't much of a factor on a.p.d-i, don't worry about winning/losing your bets. Dramic will go higher: 6 pitchers at 5 to 1, 7 pitchers at 10 to 1, and 8 at 20 to 1. My next post (target date of 1/17) will close off the betting and start Kal on his binge. By the way, Dramic paid Littlefair a deposit to hold this contest. If there isn't a big mess or a fight to clean up after, Littlefair will return the money. -- bdavis@cray.com Cray Research, Inc. Chippewa Falls, WI --- DENNER/ADMIN: This is bdavis's post, with my own comments and additions interspersed within. --- kinsman@jupiter.sun.csd.unb.ca University of New Brunswick Fredericton, NB, Canada