Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn
From: arsmith@nyx.cs.du.edu (Alan Smith)
Subject: [NTY] The dream is always the same.
Message-ID: <1993Aug12.145552.21036@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu>
Date: Thu, 12 Aug 93 14:55:52 GMT

The small group straggled into the town.  At it's head was a strange young
man leading a...Camel, was it? and grinning idiotically, and behind him
came...

The children!

Madam Shala shrieked and dashed over to her own son, sweeping him up in a
hug and not totally sure what to do next, scold him or assault the stranger.
  "Ow!  Hey!" the stranger said, dodging cudgel blows as the men convereged
on him and the women on their offspring.  "I didn't take your children, why
don't you ask them?"
  "Shon, is this true?" the large burly man with the mayor's badge asked his
son, "Did this... person meet you outside the town limits."
  "'Tis true father."  Shon replied, relieving Palandun no end, "Paladin only
met us at the creek when Han almost fell off the bridge."
  "You rescued him, Paladin?" The mayor asked.
  "Not exactly, and it's Palandun."
  "What did you do."
  "Fell off the bridge with him."  At this point Shon and his father had an
animated, if whispered conversation, complete with hand gestures.  Finally
the mayor stood up.  "Unhand him." He ordered, "He is a guest in our village."

It was impossible to stable the camel.  Untrained horses cannot stand camel
smell, and few people in the village had ever seen a camel, let alone the 
horses.  Eventually things were adequately arrainged, and Palandun
spent some time in the inn, hit it off real well with the miller's daughter
(age 20) and wound up several hours later snuggling as he drifted off to 
sleep.

The Dream starts with Palandun in a grey room with three other men, which
he realizes to be possible manifistations of himself at the beginning of
old age.
  The first one (called Green) is dressed in the green tunic and cloak
of a field-biologist in the jungle, and carries some books and a stuffed
rat.
  The second one, (called Grey) is dressed much as Palandun himself is, in
lowvis cloak with shirt and shorts, sword at his side and a hat signifying
his rank as Admiral-General, commander of sea and land forces, the highest
rank in Bismania, attainable only after years hard work.
  The third one, (called Gold) wears highly stylized armor and a crown, and
carries a sceptre.
  "Choose." They chorus, beginning the dream.
  "I want to be him." Palandun says, pointing at Green and repeating himself
for the umpteenth time.  After this the dream breaks down a little, with each
one trying to get Palandun to turn into him.  Palandun wants to become Green,
but every time he states the fact Grey and Gold go into how countless people
will suffer if he does.  Green argues that that's not his concern, wherat
Palandun promptly states that it bloody well *is*, but isn't there some fourth
way?  Why can't he both save everybody and become green.
  "Because the one who saves everybody is me." Gold says.
  "That's not true, I also save everybody." Grey states.  "Besides, the oracle
wants you to become me."
  "The oracle wants me to become this." Palandun holds up a carrot.  "I'd really
rather not."
  "Jeezmus." Gold says, "Don't you get it?  That carrot is a symbol.  Of course
you won't become a real carrot."
  "Okay, smarty-pants." Palandun replies, "Then what is it a symbol of?"
  "Figure it out yourself.  You have all the information you need."
  "C'mon." Grey says, unexpectedly, "You have to get up, the village's under
attack."

   "Aaaaa!" Palandun sat up.  He wiped some sweat from his brow.  That had
been the worst one yet!  The miller's daughter woke up and comforted him
for a while, till finally she remarked about smelling smoke...