Path: netcom.com!csus.edu!decwrl!decwrl!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!pipex!sunic!news.funet.fi!klaava!ATKAS-9204.pc.Helsinki.FI!jpesonen From: jpesonen@viikki.Helsinki.FI (JORMA JUHANI PESONEN (EKT)) Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Subject: [Shadow] Here comes the sinking feeling... Date: Wed, 22 Sep 1993 11:04:53 GMT Organization: University of Helsinki, Fac.Agric.For. Lines: 63 Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: atkas-9204.pc.helsinki.fi ***What is happening in the City. I feel cold touch of a memory far away. A thing that has been forgotten a long ago if brought up again.*** **Malthus, my servant. You go and get information for me.** "Yes, master. I ame youre servant, you'ree loyal servant." **NOW!** "Yes, master, right away..." The night was fallin again in the City of Generica, as the lonesome door of the Perfumerie was opened again. Neatly clothed figure of Master Perfumerist Malthus de la Noeuze came out of the building and locked the door behind him. He began to walk south towards the Plaza of Glittering Steel, slowly passing the Academy on the right. The distorted architecture of the Magicians Guild didn't affect the perfumerist anymore, as it had some time ago, when he had opened his shop just a few blocks away from it. "Just behinde the Guildhousee of Magics", as he had advertised in the Examiner. But now he just passed it without a notice. As he passed the guards, which had been assigned here after the Watery Gale, when a lonesome guard had been burned to death at a nearby alley. Nobody knew, who or what had done it, but as the Inn was nearby, everyone expected that someone of it's customers had had something to do with it. The Plaza of Glittering Steel was only a widened stretch of the Arcade of Fountains, and still there was an invisible magical forcefireld holding down three mansized earth elementals in one side of the Plaza. They were a reminder of an unfortunate incident, when Mista, the daughter of Serene Uhtsong, the barmaid, had been stolen with the aid of several different elementals. The elementals had been fought back by the denizens of the Dragon Inn, which was situated at the east side of the Plaza. And that was where Malthus was heading. Because if there was one single place in the whole city, where you could get information about strange occurrences and strangers in town, then it was The Inn. The battered looking door of the Inn had seen better days, but if served still well enough. The sturdy oak beams were still in one peace, eve though those earth elementals had tried to break through some time ago. Malthus opened the door and stepped in. Rowan Littlefair was serving a stranger somekind of hot drink, and as he saw who the newcomer was, he rushed to serve him. He emtied Mister de la Noeuze's table by the window and awited for him to be seated. "Well, well, Monsieur Noeuze, long time no see. The usual, eh?", he queried politely. "Ah, yess, pleez. The weather iss sso coold and damp, that the amount may well be double off that oof noormall.", answered the eccentric perfumerist. ***Take a good look around, you pest. Who is it?*** Malthus peered around. A squirrel and its rider at the table, an odd looking triplet, still smouldering, talking with a pale looking young man, stanger drinking a hot drink... ***THERE! Who Is It? Where Do I Know Him?*** "Rowan, Iff I may be soo ruude, who is that genleman, if that man iss, who is sstansing over theree?", Malthus asked politely, when Littlefair delivered his Suntan Sherry. "I don't know, to be exact. But he calls himself Derek Ebon." Littlefair stopped there. It was most unpolite to ask about people in the Inn, especially without them knowing. And that kind of action by Monsieur Noeuze, most unheard of. Something was very wrong here, but Littlefair couldn't say what. Malthus continued to drink his sherry as if nothing had happened... Shadowmage Malthus de la Noeuze