From alt.pub.dragons-inn Wed Mar 30 18:18:29 1994 Xref: netcom.com alt.pub.dragons-inn:7166 Path: netcom.com!netcomsv!decwrl!olivea!sgigate.sgi.com!sgiblab!sdd.hp.com!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!math.ohio-state.edu!news.acns.nwu.edu!ftpbox!mothost!mdisea!mmddvan!vanbc.wimsey.com!deep.rsoft.bc.ca!kakwa.ucs.ualberta.ca!quartz.ucs.ualberta.ca!alberta!aaron From: aaron@amisk.cs.ualberta.ca (Aaron V. Humphrey) Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Subject: [Faith] Laroo Date: 28 Mar 1994 19:42:38 GMT Organization: The Anna Amabiaca Fan Club Lines: 131 Message-ID: <2n7bve$go0@scapa.cs.ualberta.ca> Reply-To: aaron@amisk.cs.ualberta.ca NNTP-Posting-Host: cab111.cs.ualberta.ca Originator: aaron@cab111.cs.ualberta.ca ADMIN: This is the introduction of a new character, Laroo, who is property of "A.H.--Laroo". I have only made minor changes to the post... Sipping the sweet tea at the bar, Laroo reflected on the nature of the gods while dipping a muffin into the mug. He had been up late studying and researching his spells, which always left his mind wandering in the morning. He had come to the conclusion that gods were simply very powerful wizards. This was not a conclusion he had come to lightly... Many years before, as a young fighter, Laroo had felt that power for the first time. 'Of course' he mused, 'once you learned how to increase intelligence like that, you can't help but become a god eventually, after all, who wouldn't increase their own intelligence if they knew how?' His mind wandered back to the patrons of the Inn. Most Inns have a bar that wrapped around a corner. This place was no exception. In fact, it seemed to have more than the usually possible number of right-angled dark corners. Laroo found himself in the typically convoluted logic that governed his life: 'people who do not want to be noticed or seen usually move to a dark corner; so if you are looking for someone interesting, look for them in dark corners; therefore if you want to hide, hide in plain sight, away from dark corners, blend in and try not to attract attention, appear to mind your own business.' That was exactly what Laroo was doing when a woman walked in and sat herself by the window. Laroo thought her attractive and, as usual, started analyzing.. After a few seconds he focused in on her belt buckle, which looked like the handle of a whip. He had seen her before, here. He had never met her, but he knew her name was Delmara and she was a cleric of some sort. He never forgot a face, and he remembered her from the few times he had passed through. Laroo concluded that she must be a regular at the Inn in order for him to recognize her from random trips. Laroo's mind drifted again to the differences in the nature of magical energies used by clerics versus mages. He had been studying clerical magic items and could even sense that there was a difference. But he could not quite grasp the difference enough to manipulate it. Not yet. 'Of course' he mused again, 'if you could both use the belief of people in you as energy and give them some of it back in the form of magic for them to use in return, you could not help but to gain a following and a corresponding increase in power.' Laroo had finished breakfast and was about to leave when the fighter stumbled in, a woman fighter no less. She shuffled toward the bar and said something unintelligible, but he clearly heard the name "Ravenloft". That got his attention almost as surely as if someone had driven a dagger in his back. Laroo looked behind him just in case. Research on a particular item had led Laroo to study the theory of alternate planes of existence. His party had--correction, Ravenloft had found his party while they were searching for information. Later he had found out the problem had been the entity working through the item. Had it not been for pure, blind, dumb luck, he and his companions would still be there... The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. He mentally went through the spells he had at his disposal, as well as his physical situation. He knew if something happened he would have to act fast. Looking out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the fighter wore a cloak, and he could not mistake the quality of her armor. He heard her ask if anyone knew an "Alfvaen". No one answered. She moved as though she had been injured and sat down at a table, in a corner. Laroo saw the cleric, Delmara, watching the newcomer, then get up and talk to her. He was able to hear some of the conversation, and was able to lip read some of the rest. 'The newcomer was a Paladin, no less, who went by the name of Devious?' Laroo thought he must have gotten the name wrong. He heard them preparing to leave. Laroo left the coins on the bar and slipped out. Fortunately the Paladin was too injured to notice. Laroo had had troubles with Paladins while he was in the thieves' guild and he did not want to be noticed now. He left the Inn and moved to the shadows to watch and follow. Once in the shadows, he cast the spell that rendered him invisible. Laroo saw one of the women exit, Delmara, and hail a rickshaw. She went back in and came out with the Paladin. For a moment he thought the Paladin was going to attack the rickshaw driver, but the other woman calmed her down and helped her in. He heard her tell the driver "Temple of Aditi -- On the Arcade of Unforgotten Heroes. I'll tell you when." He had no trouble following the women. They stopped in front of a modest building where Delmara unlocked the door. Laroo was surprised as he looked through the door; the woman was apparently the high priestess. He heard Delmara say that they were going to her office. For an instant, he almost followed them in. But sneaking blindly into an unknown temple behind a Paladin and a high-priestess was a stupid thing to do. Instead he listened at the door to get their approximate heading and moved to the wall, which he had no trouble climbing. He found the spot where he could listen, almost, when the sounds of the street were not too overwhelming... After he had found out as much as he could, Laroo climbed down as he thought about what he had heard. He sought the shadows. He stood there, unmoving and thinking about the situation and what little he knew about Ravenloft. The convoluted logic screamed at him: 'A Ravenloft lord is all but invincible in his domain.' 'A Ravenloft lord that leaves his domain is vulnerable.' 'A dead(terminated) Ravenloft lord leaves his domain for the next taker.' 'There are probably many more magic items in Ravenloft as most trips there are one-way.' 'As a lord of a Ravenloft domain he, Laroo, would be nearly invincible, he would also have access to most, if not all of the magic items in the domain for his research.' 'But once a Ravenloft lord, it is impossible to leave.' 'But this lord apparently had, and therefore it was not impossible.' 'However it was improbable.' 'But shortly after the death of a lord, before the installation of a new one, many of the magical items will be up for grabs...' 'But what if this lord had already been replaced?' 'If he left his domain for good he would have brought the most important magic items with him.' Then Laroo came to the inevitable conclusion: In certain instances, one should not wait for circumstances, one must create them. Making sure no one was watching, Laroo terminated the invisibility spell and walked to the door of the temple where he straightened his clothing as best as he could. He then knocked loudly on the door of the temple and waited...