From: peters@physics.ubc.ca (Dan Peters) Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Subject: [BBD] Almost out of his shell Date: 7 May 1993 08:43:28 GMT Message-ID: <1sd7fgINNnlr@iskut.ucs.ubc.ca> Kaalzic braced himself and stepped inside the Dragon's Inn. Nothing happened. He looked around. There were many people in the room (most seated at tables, some gathered around the fire, a few standing), but with relief he saw that no one was taking any special notice of him. He intended, at first, to head quickly up the stairs and find the tiny room in the attic with which he was familiar. (The Nowhere Room, he called it.) But the success of his entrance, coupled with the sudden realization that he was cold and wet, made the fire seem very attractive. He walked toward the fire () and sat down. After a short time he was at least warm, if not dry, and not wanting to push his luck, he stood up and walked toward the stairs. On the way, his eyes met those of Rowan Littlefair, who simply nodded expressionlessly. Soon he was alone in the Nowhere Room. Beside the sleeping mat (which was always there) there was a hot bowl of stew and a hot mug of tea. ------------------------------------------------------------ He woke late in the morning, and lacking any better idea, went downstairs, taking his pack with him. He was not at all enthusiastic about trying to rebuild his cabin; he would wait until a few dry days had passed before tackling that problem. Meanwhile, he intended to bring to the Inn whatever belongings of his remained intact in the wreckage. But as he passed throught the common room, he was distracted by a most unusual sight - it seemed to be a miniature horse, but with a horn in its forehead. , he thought. It was standing near a table at which a man and a woman were deep in conversation, apparently negotiating a business deal of some kind. He found his way to a nearby table. He had hoped for one of the corners, but they all seemed to be occupied. The table he found was near the wall, not far from the horned horse. After a while he became aware of a nearby conversation from another table. In the nearest corner there was a strangely mixed group of what evidently were adventurers. One of them, a red-haired man dressed in green, said something Kaalzic found _very_ interesting. An inner battle began. Talking to strangers was terrifying, but in this case, it might be necessary.... -- ^..^ / | Dan Peters | "He who would cross the Sea of Fate | /_/\_____/ | | must answer me these questions 28." | /\ /\ |peters@physics.ubc.ca|[from an early draft of Monty Python & the | / \ / \ | |Holy Grail, shortly after the bridge scene]|