Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Path: netcom.com!netcomsv!decwrl!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!newsfeed.rice.edu!rice!tomscud From: tomscud@ruf.rice.edu (Thomas Reid Scudder) Subject: Young William returns... Message-ID: Sender: news@rice.edu (News) Organization: Rice University Date: Mon, 9 Aug 1993 05:20:11 GMT Lines: 63 William the younger left his ship in Generica's harbor and didn't look back. It hadn't been a particularly pleasant voyage. _Havelock's Fist_ was a privateer, sponsored by the crown of Ydoine. William had signed on out of a desparation to do something, anything to cause harm to Alasir. A privateer sponsored by Alasir's great enemy seemed to be as good a hope as any. Certainly he had had ample reason to hate the Alasyrians. They had come in and conquered his homeland, just when his people had been on the verge of a successful revolution. They had corrupted the man he had loved and admired above all others, reducing him to a pawn in their games of power politics. And they had exiled him from the land of his birth, forever, for no greater crime than the love of his own country. And so he had set off, no longer truly expecting justice, but perhaps hoping for a modicum of revenge, with a touch of adventure and freedom such as he had known in the forests of Vascondy. But it had all come to naught. The freedom of the seas had been replaced by the bullying of a greedy, thoughtless, callous martinet of a captain whose idea of fun was to watch his first mate beat the hell out of a crew member for being a half-minute late for his watch. Adventure had been replaced by long stretches of the sort of boredom which only being in the open sea, with nothing but water visible in any direction can inspire, broken only by the moment of stark terror when the Alasyrian navy ship had appeared on the horizon and had pursued the Fist for the better part of the day. And revenge... revenge was the dearest loss of all. The one successful raid the Fist had made when William was on board had been on an Alasyrian merchantman. The merchantman had been badly outmanned, and the crew had surrendered rather than put up a hopeless fight. But Captain Havelock would have nothing to do with it. He had them all locked in their cabins, to drown with their ship when the Ydoinians holed it, after first emptying the hold. William had recognized a boyhood friend among the crew, and managed to convince the captain to let William take him as his own private captive, in exchange for William's share of the loot. Jan (William's "captive") had provided William with news of Vascondy. "Things haven't been so good since the old Baron's grandfather, if then. I tell you, William, the Alasyrians are the best thing that could have happened to Vascondy. They've brought peace back to the land, their taxes are fair, and they are unusually just and fair with the people. And people don't really believe that this is all because the Alasyrians are just wonderful folks, you know. Your uncle is smarter than you give him credit for. He has stocked the local troops with his own followers, equipped and trained as well as regulars. And he's done a damn good job at the political game, considering how much he has to make up in that area. Oh, yes, people may like the Alasyrian rule, but they still love William more, let me tell you. So cheer up. Vascondy may have its day yet. And until then, long live Alasir!" This speech, and others like it, set William to thinking. Brooding, perhaps. Had he been wasting his time in his futile war against Alasir? Had his uncle been (*gasp*) RIGHT to sell out to the invaders? Whatever it was, it destroyed the last piece of surety in William's mind, and with it all enjoyment of his travails on the ship. He resolved to leave at the next port. So here he was. Generica. Greatest city in the world, even allowing for normal parochial exaggeration. William had already freed Jan, who had secured passage back to Alasir on the next ship. Now he was left to his own devices. Perhaps it would be good to see Dougl again. The kid may be more than a bit naive, stuck inside the walls of that damn small-minded paladin's school, but he was still a good kid, probably likely to end up a hell of a lot better than William had. It would be good to see Dougl again. --