Date: Tuesday, 16 Feb 1993 13:23:36 EST From: Lancos Erredan <344LWKC@CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDU> Message-ID: <93047.132337344LWKC@CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDU> Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Subject: [Inn] Lancos: Intraspection Lancos enters the Dragon's Inn and prepares to turn in for the night when Littlefair intercepts him. "You're Lancos, right?" Littlefair asks. At the warrior's nod, he continues. "Good. Luthor's having a party to celebrate his new house, and his taking away of my best barmaid ever." He points to Serene, who is fetching drinks for Luthor and his current companions. "It's open to anyone, but he wanted to make sure the DragonQuestors were invited. The directions should be on the bulletin board." "Ok. Has 'Raelf been told?" "Sure. He's got a box here for just such communication." "Good enough, then. I know either he or I will tell Kadrys, and that'll take care of everybody that is still around.". Lancos thanks Rowan for the information, and heads to his room. * * * * Lancos awakes, refreshed, and with the memory of yesterday's events fresh on his mind. He had had a good time with 'Raelf, a day of needed escape from the problems of real life. But the warrior knew that it was just that: a momentary break; he couldn't count on using 'Raelf's items again, and should be no more "dependent" on them than on anything else. Besides, he had things to do. Going downstairs, he checks over the bulletin board [ADMIN: A seemingly common occurrence for my characters :-)!] for the directions to Luthor's house. [ADMIN: Since I never received/saw such a note, just assume it's there.] While there he scans the other new notes: Hmm -- something about Zenith collecting the stories from the past of this inn -- Lancos decides that he might have to talk to Zenith, to make sure the mage had the true story about the DragonQuest. Another mentioned murders, which Lancos doubted he could help with. And finally, someone asking for a guide. The warrior could handle that, although he wanted to accomplish another thing or two first. He walks out onto the street, making his way around the Dragon's Inn, heading south towards where he last knew the seer that helped the DragonQuesters to be. But as he approached, he saw a man standing on a ladder, removing the "Alchemy and Astrology" sign. The man suddenly went into a coughing spree, jostling the ladder a bit. Lancos hurries over and steadies the ladder until the fit settles. "Thanks.", the man says weakly as he descends. "No problem." Lancos forces a grin. But he recognizes the cough as the same type that Zia had had shortly before her death, and doesn't doubt that the man had the same limited lifespan. "I figured I'd better take that down -- too many people asking for the seer. Come to think of it, I bet you are too. You a regular customer?" "More like her regular heckler. I doubted her, but she proved to be right -- _too_ right, in my standpoint --, and I wanted to apologize. I guess I'm just out of luck.". Lancos frowns slightly. "Well, she's a seer. I'm sure she knows." "Yeah, I know. But I would have felt better about it if I had told her personally." "Well, nothing that can be done about that. I only deal with flowers, and you seem a prime candidate for a customer. Surely a young man like you must have a girl to give flowers to." The man had unwittedly struck a nerve. While his friends 'Raelf and Luthor had (re-)found a female companion and a house of late, Lancos had no such things in life, and he knew only fate would decide if he ever would. Nevertheless, he follows the man into the shop, to at least look around. And his effort is rewarded when he sees a species of familiar flowers: ones of light goldenish yellow, with a small silver "X" imbedded in them. "I'll take a half dozen of these." he says as he picks up a handful of them. The shopkeeper is a bit surprised. "Sir -- you should know those are fairly expensive..." "Oh, I know _that_.". Lancos says with a mysterious grin. "But it doesn't matter, though -- I have use for them anyway..." The shopkeeper thanks Lancos upon payment, and tells him of the seer's advice. The warrior almost laughs at it -- telling someone like him to visit other places is similar to telling a duck to fly south. But as he steps back into the bar, he thinks about the advice somewhat. After all, why is he here? Sure, to explore the city and have some adventure, but he had already done it. Then he realized why: to accomplish something. In Ak'Irneg, everyone else had done something valiant to further their cause. Alita had freed them from the PCD's influence; Kadrys had given them directions to the _real_ ruler, without whose "guidance" the party would have failed; 'Raelf had changed the PCD's set "bad" memories to pull to better ones, and had safely taken them to Ak'Irneg; SunStorm had beaten the odds and saved his sanity, while ShockWave had endured unmentionable pain to save his owner; Valgar had controlled _his_ problem, lest it engulf the party; and William -- poor, didn't-want-to-be-there William -- had sacrificed his life. What had Lancos done? Nothing but switch sides twice, his help only unintentional. The warrior knew he couldn't leave this place with a good conscience without first doing something that _all_ -- all of good, at least -- would consider beneficial, and made a pledge to do so. [ADMIN: Yes, if all goes well, this _is_ foreshadowing -- of the thread variety... Keep watching...] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Michael Sander 344lwkc@cmuvm.csv.cmich.edu AKA Lancos Erredan SAQ: "This could be the start of something big..."