Date: Wednesday, 5 May 1993 23:22:18 EDT From: Michael Sander <344LWKC@CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDU> Message-ID: <93125.232218344LWKC@CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDU> Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Subject: [BBd] From the shadows comes a shroud [ADMIN: Watch as I try to connect stuff from Stilt Man, Joe Carl Jr. and myself! Voila, I hope...] As they left Kadrys to be alone again, Darvos glanced at Lancos questioningly. "I thought you said Kadrys was interested in vampires." "Yes, and I was correct." the warrior replied. He was somewhat taken aback at the vampire's dismissal of the subject. It wasn't as if Kadrys didn't have tons of time ahead of him. But he refused to even suggest the truth, if Kadrys wanted to hide it. "I guess he's just secretive about his life. I suppose I would be too, in his situation." Darvos gave Lancos a strange look of inquiry but said "I can certainly respect someone's privacy." Shrugging his slender shoulders he continued with a smile "Besides, we have other pressing matters to deal with. For example, acquiring some lunch and returning Lissa to our home for some well-deserved rest." They hailed a waitress, and despite the busy atmosphere, it wasn't long before one approached. The adults ordered, Darvos caring after Lissa's needs, and Lancos after Bast's. After the waitress left with their orders, a voice from behind them caught their attention. "Excuse me," it said in sharp resounding tones. The group turned around to see what looked like a man of average size and shape. But that -- rather subjective, and possibly incorrect -- information was all they could really determine, as most of the features were hidden behind a shrouding cloak. "May I be of assistance?" Darvos narrowed his eyes in suspicion and watched the individual carefully. Lancos gave a smile, both at the possibility of help, and its source. "Sure, Shrouded One." Kryalla kept what little surprise she felt internal. "You know of me?" Darvos looked to Lancos with a bit of his own surprise. "It seems he knows a great many people." "I know of _her_." Lancos said to answer both statements. "I know Kryalla's been around Generica for longer than even I. There's a few rumors about, one even saying that she was in the Dragon's Inn before there were so many dark corners in the place." The Shrouded One's gaze wandered a moment, but as soon as the fact registered in Lancos' mind, he was again alone in her scrutiny. He thought he saw a ghost of a smile drift across her lips. "Rumors of you also abound, Lancos." The warrior dismissed his shock in favor of changing the subject. "That's not important, unless it deals with my newest companions, Darvos Mantar and Lissa, or my tag-along Bast." Darvos stood up and greeted Kryalla formally. He said with a bow "A pleasure to meet you maam. Cry-ell-ah may I introduce you to my ward Lissa." Darvos swung his arm towards Lissa, who was still sitting in her chair. Darvos furrowed his brow in disapproval, and she quickly stood up and greeted Kryalla too, But she was much more hesitant, being a bit scared of the shrouds the person was wearing. Darvos smiled in apology and said "We've had a rough few days lately, and probably should head home for some rest soon." Meanwhile, while all this went on, Lancos' cat seemed interested in nothing as much as giving herself a bit of a bath. After the greetings were complete, Lancos continued "Now, what about your offer of help?" Kryalla nodded, reading by his earlier reaction that he didn't want to hear about his part from others. "Indeed," she said, gesturing to her table. " Come and share your tale." They agreed, followed her to the table, and sat down. Lancos observed the surroundings: he had never been in a corner table of the Dragon's Inn, and wanted to see what made it seemingly so attractive. Not much, as far as he could tell, save a painting that hung on the wall. It was of a beautiful seaside setting, with the sun's reflections and shadows on the water well represented, signed by someone named "Kaalzic". A group of symbols followed the signature, no doubt meaning something in a language he didn't know. Lancos was just finishing his appreciation of the picture when the food arrived. In addition to what they had ordered, the tray contained a drink for Kryalla. Thet was one thing you could say about the Dragon's Inn: they adapted and trained well to meet their customers' needs. Lancos put the meal on his tab after some resistance from Darvos. But the warrior dismissed his worry, saying that he'd always have enough money to be at least comfortable. "I shall pick up the bill next time though." Darvos' last words were, though no sour emotion flowed through them. Lancos took a deep breath, and began to speak: "The adventure began rather ordinarily, at least for me. I was travelling through Low City on the advice of a seer named Enn Piecy. It was there that I found and resuced Bast here. After feeding her, she decided to hang near me. Though that is not at important as the next event, when I heard a scream from nearby. "I ran towards it, and used it and other means to track the source. Eventually I came upon the Little Rat, who was being threatend by a child murderer named the Gutt Man, and helped her to save herself. Soon after, Darvos came by. After a brief instance of mistaken identity, Darvos was reunited with Lissa, who had apparently gone to Low City to share some of her wealth, before Gutt Man attacked her. "We had planned to take Gutt Man to jail, but somehow he woke up. And furthermore, surprised us with a heretofore unseen speed and resistance in capturing Lissa and taking her off somewhere. "Of course we followed, although we had to deal with adversity along the way. Our first obstacle was the driving rain that prevented part of our tracking, though did not stop us. The second was the amulet that Darvos had been using to determine Lissa's location being misplaced. "It was picked up rather accidently by a woman. She had darker skin and curly hair, and wore a seven pointed star that had three trees -- made of silver, by my guess -- on it besides Darvos' adornment. "Anyway, we soon picked up the trail again, and found Gutt Man at a store. And not alone, either, since with him there was a magician that was doing something to Lissa. We didn't tolerate the situation long enough to figure out exactly what, instead intent on rescue. We saved Lissa, but the foes disappeared, using some form of teleportation. "And so, we decided to drop off the Little Rat at a friend of mine, for her safety from that sort of magic, as well as other mutual benefits. Now we've come here to look for help in stopping Gutt Man, and whoever may be assisting him, before they can do any further damage." Kryalla nodded, her ebon eyes as unreadable as ever. "I will assist you." "Great." Lancos exclaimed. "If I ... we can return the favor in the future, just let me know." "So noted." the Shrouded One replied. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Michael Sander 344lwkc@cmuvm.csv.cmich.edu