Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn From: aaron@cab016.cs.ualberta.ca (Humphrey Aaron V) Subject: [NTY] Nirvan: Rumours Abound Message-ID: Date: Thu, 7 Oct 1993 19:30:25 GMT Nirvan woke up an hour before dawn. He was instantly alert--the legacy of a Low City childhood--and slipped out of the bed he shared with Jacinthe. He turned and caressed her cheek, and she mumbled in her sleep. They had been living together for several months now, and by the common-law of the Buff', were as good as married. They shared one thing in common, at least--they were also, by Buff' definition, outsiders. Jacinthe's father had been a merchant until his wife's death, whereupon he became despondent and ended up losing everything he had and moving to the Low City, and eventually to the Buff'. Jacinthe had been five years old when her mother had died bearing her twin brothers Agoust and Hercli, and seven when they came to the Buff'. So none of them had been born there, although Agoust and Hercli had spent most of their childhood there and were, by and large, accepted by the Buffers. Nirvan had grown up in Low City proper, and would probably be there still if it hadn't been for the dark-skinned warrior Maleiu, who had accosted him at the South Gate and then spared his life. He had gotten involved, on Maleiu's behalf, with the Kron Quest, until he'd been brain-blasted by the Waster Seer and literally fallen into Jacinthe's life--off a two-story building. Jacinthe's healing skills had brought him back to health, and he had, of course, fallen in love. Nirvan stepped outside into the dark of predawn. Agoust should be returning from his nightly errands soon. Nirvan prided himself on providing the best information in Low City, and its quality had only gone up with the aid of Jacinthe's brothers. There--that was Agoust, there, at the edge of the Buff'. The boy scampered furtively across the last patch of open ground--that was Zed territory, and they were usually friendly, but unpredictable--and into the safety of the Buff'. No gang dared the Buff', except of course the Shunrunners. "Got a good one," Agoust whispered as soon as he reached Nirvan's post. "Heard it from one of the servants at the Diplomatic Residence. This guy, Palandun--remember I toldya about him?--stopped in there. Apparently there's a bunch'a Bismanians comin' in, and this Palandun guy's gonna clear out half the entire Low City to give 'em a place to live!" Nirvan's head whirled. "What? Are you sure?" Agoust nodded. "This servant's never steered me wrong before. Most'a the stuff he tells me's pretty boring, y'see, cuz he can't make up anything worth spit. If he says it, it's true." Slowly Nirvan nodded. It just about fit. The higher-ups in Generica didn't care a tinker's damn for the Low City. That much he knew from the history he'd taken pains to learn. It was just another dumping ground for them, and its inhabitants rated no better than to get tossed out of what homes they had. If they thought the riots of a few months back were something, they'd be totally caught off guards by what happened this time. But would that be for the best? Even in numbers, the inhabitants of Low City would be no match for the Guard in full force, or worse, the Mage Guild, if they were called on. They'd need better planning than that. Not just a riot, but a war. Let's see. Who could be counted on to organize? Yerled, perhaps, if he could be shown his profits were in danger. Verdigren's bunch had some good fighters on their side, if he could be convinced--and if he forgot the connection between Nirvan and Kron. And then there were the gangs. The Demon Spiders had been insinuating themselves slowly but surely into the gangs of Low City. The Alley Creepers, Stiletto, the Black Bullies, and most recently the Night Martens, after the death of Hot Seccho. He hadn't heard anything from the Dark Blades in a while--surely they were just laying low--and from what he'd heard, they would soon enough make their move against the Demon Spiders. Nirvan shook his head. He couldn't count on the Spiders. He'd have to go for the independents--those with leaders capable of rational thought, anyway. And, in a pinch, he could recruit the wilder ones, like the Chaos Creating Crew, if there was a prospect of mayhem to attract them. He sighed. This was going to be a lot of work. But he couldn't just let them walk all over Low City like this...they had to take a stand. He realized that Agoust had been going on with the other information he'd gathered. Nirvan shook his head. "Sorry, 'Goust. I didn't catch any of that. Look--why don't you take care of that end of things for a while. And go wake up Hercli--I've got some messages I want him to send." Agoust gulped at his sudden promotion. "Uh...sure. Sure thing." He slipped into the house to fetch his brother. -- --Alfvaen(Editor of Communique) Current Album--Jon Hassell:Power Spot Current Read--Barbara Hambly:Song of Orpheus She said it was okay, but I felt like I just ate my young.