From alt.pub.dragons-inn Wed Aug 24 10:11:25 1994 Xref: netcom.com alt.pub.dragons-inn:7568 Path: netcom.com!netcomsv!decwrl!spool.mu.edu!sdd.hp.com!col.hp.com!csn!yuma!lamar.ColoState.EDU!not-for-mail From: arsmith@lamar.ColoState.EDU (Alan Smith) Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Subject: [HouseStorming] Pygmalion, I asked you not to come! Date: 22 Aug 1994 19:17:26 -0600 Organization: Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523 Lines: 121 Message-ID: <33bin6$305e@lamar.ColoState.EDU> NNTP-Posting-Host: lamar.acns.colostate.edu ADMIN: The cast, characters, and techie crew of the [HouseStorming] Thread: Alan Smith ...............Palandun Lintesul Spider .......................Selna Chris Meadows ...................Andrea, Sheryl and Jay. Andrea Evans ...........Kadrys Penny Hutchison .................Leah and Errol Stephen Hutchison ...........Miro Alfvaen ...................Eowyn/Teonyl Wolvie ...................Lance and Blaze Invaluable help: Colin Sebastian Roald nevyn@camelot.bradley.edu Kelly J. Cooper Liralen Li All characters are copyright their respective authors, and shouldn't be used, copied, etc. witout said authors permission unless you really like being sued. We will make exceptions for normal archiving. All rights reserved. Background: Just after the storm Andrea and Sheryl bought a house which proved to be loaded with traps. So they gathered together the rest of the team to help them discover the secret to their new home. The party is spread out into teams throughout the place, with Palandun Lintesul serving as a central coordinator. ****** ****** ****** ****** ******* ******* ******* After Jay and Sheryl had left, delivering the paper, Palandun was, if anything, busier than before. But, since he wasn't being distracted by the kid and the 'corn he felt a lot better. Besides, if he wanted to accomplish his own project, he was going to have to be able to handle this much information flow and swing a sword at the same time. Typically, the pattern went thusly: A team member would find and defuse a trap, telling another team member (who was near a dragonet) the salient details, and remarking on anything novel or interesting they found. The second team member would put this into images and send it telepathically to the dragonet, which would in turn relay the image to the dragonet sitting on Palandun's shoulder. Palandun would relay (or, rather, have relayed) the same information to Leah, who was outside, and anything novel about the trap to the other team. At the same time, he would note down the trap's location, trigger, and kill devices on his plans of the house, which were rapidly becoming crowded. Whoever the previous owner was, he was probably the most paranoid person Palandun had ever had any association with. "Holy Sheep!" Palandun exclaimed, taking a breather and looking at the sheer density of marks on his plans. "I'm gonna have to write smaller. "Cheep!" The dragonet, which Palandun had dubbed 'Metabolism' on account of his ability to go through the stored rations like they were going out of style, replied. "Exactly." Palandun said, who hadn't the vaguest notion what the dragonet was driving at. The dragonet, sensing that the human and it weren't exactly seeing eye to eye, attempted to fullfill it's obligations to communication by projecting a mental image of some rock-food that wasn't standing still like rock-food usually does. Palandun, unenlightened but slightly hungrier, reacted to the dragonet's next "Cheep!" by pulling out (another!) strip of beef jerky, pulling it in half, and feeding the half he wasn't eating to the dragonet. The dragonet, resolved that it would get it's message across or cheep itself hoarse trying, emitted a bloodcurdling "CHEEEEEP!!!" and pointed behind Palandun in exactly the same manner that an irish setter would, had it had six limbs and been named "Smaug". Palandun turned, looked where the dragonet indicated, and saw nothing. "There's-" He said, and did a double take. He then uttered a word or two which, this being a family thread, we shan't repeat here. Suffice it to say, he was very surprised and not a little worried. The reader will perhaps remember that when we first entered this ballroom that there were four giant granite statues situated along the wall. Palandun and the dragonet were staring at just one of these statues, specifically, its left foot. Rather than being beside its mate, as was the situation when they entered the room, this foot was extended a foot or two forward as though the statue was going to take a step. There was then a breaking and tearing sound, a cloud of plaster, and that's exactly what the statue DID, steeping away from where it was embedded in the wall. There was another such sound behind them, where another statue stood. "Get outta here!!" Palandun commanded, drawing a small sphere from his belt loop and throwing it with all his might at the archway of the door they entered by. "Send these to everybody." He continued, and imagined himself and the heroic dragonet beating a very brave retreat, and Leah, outside, taking over as coordinator. "Now GO!" Without needing any more imputus than that, the dragonet took off through the door, now enshrouded in smoke from the broken sphere. Palandun siezed the opportunity to stuff some maps into a bag, saw that he wouldn't have the time as three statues were approaching him a little too quickly, and fled through the doorway. Or, at least, bonked his nose on the fourth statue. Palandun reached for his sword and pickadze. **** ***** ******* "Now," The mage said, or at least Palandun guessed it was a mage. You pretty much had to be one in order to animate one statue, let alone the three which were guarding him (one was left on the floor of the ballroom, incapacitated). "Who are you?" For his part, Raykor examined the captive Bismanian with a contemptuous scowl. Palandun's sword and tool had done their job well, as was evidenced by the gashes and missing appendages on his working statues, but that only made Palandun a halfway dangerous enemy, and not much of that, so long as he had the Horn. Palandun had been thinking on what would happen if he was questioned on the one hand, he knew he could resist anything the mage could throw at him, but it might not be exactly pleasant. On the other hand, if he answered the questions, the mage, having no further use of him, would simply kill him. He would have to buy time for his rescue. So therefore the reply was: "What's it to you?" "A good deal." Raykor said. "Andrea's friends may be...inconvenient to me. No, I don't mean you, sword-grunt, but I do mean the others. I'm sorry to fry your mind like this but..." He raised his arms, with the Horn in one hand and uttered the Mind-Drain incantation. Green fire shot from the Horn to Palandun's forehead. "Let me know when you start to fry my mind." Palandun said, leaning nonchalantly against a statue.