Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Path: netcom.com!netcomsv!decwrl!uunet!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!howland.reston.ans.net!xlink.net!rz.uni-karlsruhe.de!stepsun.uni-kl.de!sun.rhrk.uni-kl.de!physik.uni-kl.de!kring From: kring@physik.uni-kl.de (Thomas Kettenring) Subject: [Welcome] BT: One More Dungeon Message-ID: <1993Oct29.004529.2258@rhrk.uni-kl.de> Sender: news@rhrk.uni-kl.de Organization: FB Physik, Universitaet Kaiserslautern, Germany Date: Fri, 29 Oct 1993 00:45:29 GMT Lines: 242 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bakr's Tales: One More Dungeon ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ADMIN: This follows "The Good, The Bad, And The Pig-Faced". "Bakr! Wake up!" "Grrmm. I was not sleeping." "I told the others what happened, and they think we should leave as soon as possible." "Yes?" "Oh come on! You know why!" "Yes?" I knew it, but first I had to sort everything out. The others had apparently slept better than I had, with no unnecessary appendages on their heads, and they were packing all their stuff and mine. I followed them more automatically than otherwise, and the next I knew I was sitting on my horse and riding on a road through the mountains with a quick pace. Slowly I started to activate my brain and found questions inside. "Where are we going?" "Ikonium." "Did we tell that anybody?" "Only shortly before we left. Yesterday we told the villagers we would stay for one more day and then perhaps go back to Mythros, perhaps to Ikonium." "What made us change our minds?" "Compass and his tale of the brigands' money. We shouldn't give them more opportunity than necessary to prepare an ambush." "Very good. Aren't we cunning?" "Yeah." ----- Nobody stopped us. It seemed we had taken the brigands by surprise. Probably they had a spy in the village and knew we would leave Eraton tomorrow. At noon we made a halt and ate a bit. Tarik had talked the innkeeper into giving us food for the way. "Could you explain again why we left Eraton?" asked Ormgwen, who had at least had had time to wash the reptile blood off. Compass sighed. "The brigands are after us because we stole their money. So we had to leave quickly." "I would have liked to see Thelma again." "You want her to knock you out again?" "No, but maybe after we killed the dragon she is more... viable." "I don't think you got the right word." ----- A few days later we arrived at the southern gate of Ikonium. It closed behind us and we were surrounded by at least one hundred guards with bows and arrows. "Surrender," said a small muscular fellow with lots of hair on his helmet, "you don't have a chance." "What are we supposed to have done?" asked Tarik when we were led to our cells. "Murder and robbery." "Of a dragon?" "Of a priest of course!" "Jelay Yelay? The old priest of Xan?" "Right. So you admit it. That's good." "No, we didn't do it! It was..." "Yes?" "Someone else." "That won't help you. Soon two emissaries from Eraton will come and identify you." "Emissaries indeed! Everybody in the villages knows we killed the dragon." "So what?" "Er..." "You didn't think you would get away with that?" "How did you get the idea that we killed the priest?" "We got a letter from the Mayor of Eraton." "Uh oh. This must be a misunderstanding." "No, this is your cell." The jailer, a roundish man with a nose (I think that's the best description), opened a massive door. ----- At least we were together. They had taken everything. Weapons, money, magic thingies, horses. The dog had disappeared when we were arrested. The cell was big enough for a few dozen people, but there was no-one except us. High up in the wall there was a window with a grating. "Can't you mage around a bit?" asked Ormgwen. "I don't master any spell that could help us now." "It looks like we are in the soup." "Yes." "No! Of course," I said. "Manual! Come here!" There was no response. We were in the soup. ----- A few minutes later the nickel grew out of a brick in the wall. "User?" "Manual! I'm so glad to see you!" "Thank you." "Why didn't you come immediately, if I may ask that question?" "I was occupied." There was the noise of a key in a keyhole. I waved at the earth spirit, and he disappeared. The jailer entered. "Don't grin!" he shouted. "You won't get any meals today! You should have warned me!" Then he ducked (to avoid hitting the doorframe with his horns) and left. Manual returned. "You wanted something, user?" "Could you bring us out of here?" "Yes." "Then do it!" "No." "Why not?" "You would be back here in an instant. The streets outside are full of guards. I'll do it tonight if you want." "And how?" "I'll just displace you." "Huh?" "You are here. Puff - you are there." "Ah." "Could you get our stuff too? I think the jailer has it," said Tarik. "Yes I could, and yes he has." "I hope you didn't tell him too much." "He has the Chain now. I have to answer his questions truthfully." "What did he ask?" "Nothing that would interest you." "Uh... you are not very open." "Right. I don't *have* to answer. You don't have the Chain." "You won't... leave us now?" "You still want to destroy the Chain?" "Yes, of course!" "The jailer doesn't. He has signed a receipt for it, and he doesn't want any trouble with his superiors. You are still my only hope to become free." "Would you also... help us in a fight?" "Sure. I could summon a few lergrises, for example, or joernbanis. Earth elementals," he added. "And I could fight myself of course." "Oh." "If you need me, just call. I am with you. Until I get the feeling that you don't want to destroy the Chain because I won't be with you any more if you do." "And then... you'll be against us?" Compass asked. "Maybe, maybe not." "How do we know that you don't kill us as soon as the Chain is gone?" "You don't." "And you have to obey the Chainbearer as soon as he changes into whatever?" "Right." "That means it will be hard to kill the Chainbearer and destroy the Chain." "Maybe, maybe not." "Does the Chainbearer have to be a human?" I asked. "No. It can be anything. It must have the wish to change though. And not into something too unrelated to its previous form." "Hm." "Could we return to the subject of flight please?" asked Tarik. "Where shall we go? We are not very conspicuous, especially Bakr, and the guards know us. We could leave the city, but where to?" "I know someone here," said Compass. "Ephialtes the tailor will hide us." "What? Compass, you are a precious!" "But you weren't here in your whole life," objected Ormgwen. "How can you know a tailor here?" "He's a friend of a friend. I don't exactly know him." "Then how do you know he will hide us?" "He's a close friend of a close friend. Could you please stop that now?" ----- Knock knock. "Who's there?" "Arasnastrar the ranger with three friends." "What do you want?" "We sure don't want to eat beans," Compass answered. The door opened, and a bearded man who didn't look like a tailor let us in. "Quick, come in before the guard sees you! You are the priest-killers, right?" "No. That is, yes, but we didn't do it." "Ah. Unjust oppression by akousmaticians! I'll be damned! Those who are responsible for that will be the first to be put against the wall when the revolution comes!" He led us downstairs into his cellar. "You can hide in this room." "Put against the wall? And then?" "Uh... just an idea of mine. I thought it would look nice if all the more nasty akousmaticians stood side by side at a wall and you could walk along and sneer at them. Then release them and let them do their humble work again while the Mathematicians rule." "That's a good idea, Ephialtes. You are Ephialtes, right?" "Yes, yes. At the moment I'm a tailor but I hope to become the head of Ikonium, with Master Periandros's help. I was among the first Mathematicians here. You come from Mythros?" "Yes. This is Tarik; Bakr; Ormgwen." "You are all barbarians?" "Yes, one could put it that way." "Fine, fine. It's fine that our ideas spread over the world. Soon even the people in Kanthaipan - the knowledgeable ones - will have heard of such great things as Periandros's Proposition. Are you hungry?" "Yes, some food would be nice now," said Compass. "But no beans," said Ormgwen. Ephialtes laughed. "Of course not!" He left and went upstairs. "I said *I* would talk!" said Compass. "You could have ruined everything!" Ormgwen grinned and shrugged. "Could but didn't." "One moment," said Tarik. "If I didn't misunderstand the situation, you are a member of the secret organization of that crazy philosopher Periandros, and Ephialtes is his local crony. Is that correct?" "He isn't crazy! Or rather, we don't know for sure. And I won't answer your question." "Ah, an oath again, right?" Compass was silent. "And he thinks that all four of us are members? Mathematicians?" Silence. "What is that about beans?" asked Ormgwen. "Why don't we eat beans?" Silence. "Your teacher in Mythros was a Mathematician, and he brought you into it," I said. I slowly learned how to interpret the different sorts of silence the ranger emitted, and it seemed to me that I was right. "He's coming back!" ----- After we had eaten I asked the tailor, "Just a question. These stools are from Mythros, right?" "I bought them a few days ago from a young man for only two gold pieces, nine silver, and nine copper. I think he came from Mythros." "That young man... did he have a moustache?" "Yes. Do you know him?" "It's Garamas, probably. He wanted to live here with Periklymenos, the maker of these stools. Big middle-aged fellow with a beard." "There was nobody with him on the market." "He sold them on the market? I thought they would have a shop. Maybe they are still looking for one." "Shall I ask him if I meet him again?" "That would be interesting. But don't mention us please!" "Of course not." "Can we stay here for a few days?" "Of course! As long as you want." "Can we also... receive training while we are here?" "Do you have money?" "Lots." "I could arrange for teachers coming here." "Fine! So that's that." -- Bakr ibn Ja'far ibn Musa al Mekneshi, apprentice mage aka Lifilis Kloote, conjurer and artist aka Thomas Kettenring