From alt.pub.dragons-inn Thu Dec 9 07:47:15 1993 Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Path: netcom.com!netcomsv!decwrl!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!nigel.msen.com!yale.edu!yale!hsdndev!cfanews!cfatrw.harvard.edu!rudnick From: rudnick@cfatrw.harvard.edu (Bret Rudnick) Subject: [VampQ] My Dinner with Pericles Message-ID: Sender: news@cfanews.harvard.edu Organization: Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA, USA X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL0] Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1993 17:08:17 GMT Lines: 281 ============================================================ [VAMPQ] My Dinner with Pericles Admin [The cast of characters for the [VampQ] thread: Character Created/Managed by --------------------------------------------------------- Ja'nis arsmith@lamar.ColoState.EDU (Alan Smith) Bluestar Dreamer NC312022@WVNVAXA.WVNET.EDU Gemini (Feline familiar of Bluestar Dreamer) Moria Runecaster Master Hawk Rathan Barbar Morning Reaper Ah (Blood spider created by Rathan) Turion "Mr. Sinister..." a salamander (Turion's Travelling Companion) Billy the Torch JGE103@PSUVM.PSU.EDU Matte Kudasai Matt Hebert Tomonobu Fujiwara rudnick@cfatrw.harvard.edu (Bret R. Rudnick) Mathew Dawnstrider jcarl@jabba.ess.harris.com Synopsis: The Questors are in disguise on the Undead plane where they hope to find (and return with) the Vampire Orchid. They are at the castle of a vampire named Pericles, who experiments with matters of death and life. The party members are about to attend a formal dinner at the castle, given in honour of 'Festival'.] Admin [As always, comments/questions welcome.] ============================================================ It took some time for Tomonobu to find his way back to the floor where quarters had been provided for the group. Although he returned by the same path he began his searching, the unusual layout of the castle placed him in an altogether different location. As he turned a corner he bumped into a castle servant. "Begging your pardon," the creature said as it picked itself off the floor. Tomonobu was startled to see a very normal- looking human in front of him rather than some vile creature of the undead plane he had become familiar with over the past few days. A closer inspection showed that whatever bumped into him was wearing an elaborate costume which gave it the appearance of a normal, living man. "I hope my Festival costume hasn't frightened you," the creature said as it picked up the trays it had dropped. "I believe your friends are at the top of the stair around the corner, sir." It then continued down the hall, bustling about its business. It was Bluestar's turn to be put out this time. He stood waiting with the others, arms folded in exasperation. "_Whose_ candles burn slowly?" If it was Bluestar's turn to be frustrated it was Tomonobu's turn to ignore the remark, although he did notice that Blue and Moria had the same uncomfortable look about them. "I just ran into a castle servant in costume for 'Festival'," the samurai reported. Matte put an index finger to each temple and closed her eyes. "Let's see ... that would have been a fellow in decent clothes with a pleasant face, right? About so high?" She peeped open one eye as she gestured over her head. Tomonobu cocked an eyebrow at the apparently skinless creature. "You are not far off the mark, Matte. Have you withheld some talent for divination until _now_?" "Not exactly. Billy and I found the library while we were prowling around. I discovered a book there that described Festival. From what I could get out of it, it seems that lots of ghouls come from all over the plane to dress up like living people and cavort through the streets for a few days. It sounds like pandemonium in the truest sense of the word. "The whole event is supposed to have something to do with cutting loose before they perform some long act of self- sacrifice. There are no rules and they're likely to do just about anything to each other ... or to us." The exorcist got a very uncomfortable look on her already gruesome face. She turned to Blue. "Can your experience with Wild Magic help us out here?" Blue looked up, obviously distracted,"Huh, oh...I am not sure. In such a chaotic setting, anything could happen. I could try to weave a defensive spell that would bend probability around us. That would, Lady Aoihoshi willing, make us immune to random acts, such as a Zombie saying, "I think I will eat someone" he won't pick us. But Should some one be intentionally seeking us, the spell would not be as effective." Blue let the others consider his words then added, "Of course, this is Wild Magic. So anything could happen, good or _Bad_. I would suggest waiting to see how bad it is, before using it." "That being the case, it is time for our 'costumes'," Moria said. Golden-red runes began to form around the party members, a change from her normal brilliant azure. When her eyes met Bluestar's, the blue-haired elf smiled. Moria quickly looked away. Seeing the looks on some of their faces and guessing that bewilderment was the order of the day she touched them all and sent <* . . . a good illusion should be harder to dispel than to conjure . . . _amusementoverlyingconcentration_ *> A few seconds later the runes flashed and the familiar faces of Moria's friends greeted her. The feeling of relief that she felt was only over-shadowed by the similar feelings of the others. Wearing those disguises had been a trial for most of the party. Matte undid the scarf around her head and shook out her curly, dark hair. She spoke more to herself than to the others as she tied her tresses back up. "I'm _so_ glad to be out of that. It was really starting to get to me." Tomonobu turned to Dreamer, "Did you and Moria discover anything of interest?" Bluestar looked from Moria to the samurai then back to the Drow. Moria would still not meet his gaze. "No, nothing that would interest you." The ronin considered the two elves and decided to leave the subject alone. Tomonobu noticed some were missing. "Where's Mathew, Ja'nis, and Rathan?" he asked. "Haven't seen 'em," the voice of Billy replied. "I'll go check around. They have to be somewhere." Billy turned to head down the hall, off in search of the missing party members. [Turion's not around either,] Bluestar's cat answered telepathically. Everyone could sense that Gemini was annoyed with the strange man. [But, he seems quite familiar with the castle and its owner. It would not surprise me if he is with the vampire already.] "Probably you're right, then again you mayn't be right, you might be left." The voice came from one of the suits of armor that adorned the walls. Gemini turned and hissed as a little puff of flame flickered from the helm where Turion's salamander sat. Scratching, he got up and waddled down the armor and onto the floor. "Carry me," he said to Matte, seeing her as the closest to him. Matte considered conjuring a nice big demon with nice big feet to squash the little creature, and a smile came to her now human face. she thought. Fortunately however, she decided that would not be good for party dynamics and probably wouldn't work, anyway. But still, she had no love for Turion or his familiar. "Drop dead, lizard," she said as she turned her attention back to the others. The salamander again looked at the group, lastly at Tomonobu, and flumped onto the floor. Matte chewed her bottom lip. "People missing... servants prowling around. There doesn't seem to be much chance of getting out of here without complications. I'm getting my weapon." Matte turned and dashed into her room. She returned a moment later, fussing with something under her long skirt. "There. Now I'm dressed for dinner." * * * * * * The party walked downstairs to the Great Hall. The name was apt. There was a long, narrow table in the centre of a huge room. The hall was easily a hundred feet or more along each wall, the ceiling some thirty feet high amid a tangle of gothic arches with all manner of streamers and banners hanging from them. There was a gigantic walk-in fireplace in the centre of the far wall, and every wall was lined with a dozen suits of armour. Gemini's suspicions were confirmed as there sat Turion next to Pericles, chatting about something. A servant greeted each guest and escorted him or her to their proper place at the dining table. Pericles already sat at the head of the table and immediately began to play the part of generous host. His Festival costume consisted of a simple small mask which hid only the area around his eyes, cheeks, and nose. "I see not all of our guests are present," he smiled. "But I'm sure we'll all be together later. We mustn't let the food get 'cold'." The food displayed on the table would have surprised Ja'nis. It was much the sort of fare they would expect on their home plane. Perhaps it's just in honour of 'Festival', Matte thought, hoping their host wasn't on to them yet. Pericles smiled at them in a way that suggested more than humor. "What convincing costumes you all have. The realism will likely frighten half the local population to life." His manner made Matte squirm, and she started to look the Hall over in a more tactical, defensive way. Unfortunately, it still didn't look very agreeable to her, somehow. "This isn't what we had last time I visited you Pericles," Turion stated, "nothing's moving!" The salamander waddled up the table leg and sat down in front of Turion and Pericles. There he regarded the vampire from across a plate of steaming sweet potatoes. Pericles had sat Bluestar and Moria together. Gemini also had a seat beside his master. As the cat went about his meal, the two elves seemed to be occupied more intently with a whispered argument that couldn't be heard by the others. Moria, in a frustrated tone, ended the argument loudly, "I do not know how I feel!" Realizing that everyone's attention was now on them, both elves fell silent. Embarrassed, Blue and Moria looked down into their plates in a strange mirror of mood and gesture. The dinner banter between Pericles and his guests continued for a short time. He continued to drop vague hints about what he knew and didn't know about Life and the living, Death and the dead. Turion would throw in a comment every now and then at which the vampire would politely laugh, or raise an eyebrow. Tomonobu, mindful of his surroundings, pushed the food on his plate around but didn't eat anything. Still, he noticed portions disappearing from time to time. "Enjoy yourself Billy, but take care," he whispered, correctly assuming that the thief was famished and it was he making the food disappear. Pericles slowly pushed his chair away from the table, but did not rise. "I think it is now time for the grand finale," he said in a sinister manner, and snapped his fingers. Unable to enjoy her food and not really interested in dessert, Matte had just begun to try to excuse herself from the table when the servants attacked. Halfway out of her seat already, she quickly leapt upon her chair and picked up a piece of cutlery from the table. She attempted to hit one of the creatures attacking Moria on the opposite side of the room, but was picked up from behind as she drew her arm back, the knife falling harmlessly to the floor. Turion remained seated watching the chaos erupt around him. None took note of the old man or his pet, who was engrossed in clambering into the salad bowl. "Now, now," Turion scolded, "don't eat too much or there'll be no room for dessert!" "Hey, guys? This dinner is a trap," everyone amongst the questors heard whispering in their ears. The next moment a large insectoid appeared opposite Pericles, resembling a muscular thri-kreen without an abdomen, and with elbow and head spikes. After taking stock of the situation Rathan muttered, "Well, I see you already know that." Turion glanced at the newcomer. "It seems that your castle has become infested, Pericles," he remarked calmly. "It would seem so," the vampire replied with disdain. -- |----------B. Rudnick -- e-mail: rudnick@cfatrw.harvard.edu --------| |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | All that we see or seem, Is but a dream within a dream -- E.A. Poe | |--------------------------------------------------------------------|