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From: hebert@ucbeh.san.uc.edu
Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn
Subject: [Welcome] A moment's notice
Message-ID: <1993Aug9.210919.4245@ucbeh.san.uc.edu>
Date: 9 Aug 93 21:09:19 EDT
Distribution: world
Lines: 13

    Tupker turned his rheumy eyes toward Coriander as she finished her tale. 
His mouth was knotted, the corners turned down.  Her head was bent low, and the
ragged man took a moment to study her.  Her eyes were red, he'd noticed; and
those freckles over her pale skin.  Fire and innocence weren't often packaged 
together.  She seemed quiet and strong.  And told a good story, to boot; one 
all the more potent for its apparent truth.  A sincere girl; but perhaps not as
innocent as her simple longing for a lost mother might indicate.  And for that,
perhaps not as invulnerable as her tough appearance suggested.

    The wandering barmaid leaned over to him with a fresh mug.  It was the same 
brew he'd had earlier that evening, though he had never tasted it before
tonight.  It was smooth, though, and he drank deeply as he concentrated on the
next tale and story-teller, who had already begun.