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From: aaron@amisk.cs.ualberta.ca (Aaron V. Humphrey)
Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn
Subject: [Faith] Mirror People
Date: 28 Oct 1994 16:56:27 GMT
Organization: The Anna Amabiaca Fan Club
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ADMIN: It's been a long time since the last installment of [Faith], and
that's my fault utterly.  Some of this might overlap with the last post,
since it's been so long.

Delmara(who is mentioned herein but does not actually appear)is my
property; Devious the Paladin is the property of Ceredwyn Bensley; and
Laroo is the property of Laroo.


"Time goes by so slow when you're stuck to me."
   --Love & Rockets, "Mirror People"


The Paladin was quickly lost.  The streets of Generica were intricate and she
had never been one for cities.  She wandered up and down as rosy light tinted
the sky and eventually found a shopkeeper opening early.

"Sir," she said softly from the shadows.  The man jumped at the sight of a
small, slender woman in scale armour.  "Can you direct me to the Dragon's
Inn?" she asked in a melodious voice.

The man relaxed and laughed. "You're four doors from it!"  He pointed down the
street.  "Can't you see the sign?"

Now that it had been pointed out, Devious thought she could make out a bar of
some kind.  She was unable to read the sign from this distance, however.

"Thank you, Sir," she said briefly, then walked towards it. It was already
open, and the publican was ordering the cook about breakfast. 
The Paladin stepped over. "Master?  Might you direct me to the room of one of
the occupants of this inn?  I am looking for one Laroo."

"Here," said a voice behind her.

The Paladin refused to jump.  He did move quietly, though.  "Good morrow,
Laroo," she said.  "Sleep well?"

He gave a noncommittal shrug.  "Why are you here so early?"

"Might we go to your room?  We have a couple of things to discuss."

The man cocked his head toward the stairs and walked toward them.  She
followed.

Up in Laroo's room, Devious looked around quickly before rubbing her neck and
closing the door behind them.  Either Laroo was a fastidious housekeeper or
he had not spent the night in the room.

"Well?" he said.

"Neither of you have named your price for accompanying me.  Delmara, she I
understand, and I have no doubts that I will be able to give her what she
needs.

"You, however, are different, Laroo.  Before we join forces, I *must* know
your stance.  You, after all, have visited Ravenflight," the paladin gave a
faint smile, "and I find trust hard to give to those of my deadly land.

"Last night, you looked at me strangely when I showed the wound on my wrist. 
After that, you often seemed to glance at me as though trying to determine
something.  Forgive me, Laroo, but you are not the kind to stare at females
because they are females.  You seemed to be trying to determine something.

"Are you curious as to my race?  It must be obvious to you I am not exactly
human."  The Paladin locked eyes with Laroo.  "I have no intention of trying
to fool you, Laroo.  I am not human, or even as law-abiding as I might be.
But, and I tell you honestly, I am of the Light.  And I will kill to save
others of the Light should they be endangered.  That is not regarded as
wrong for my kind.

"Is your curiosity satisfied?"  She turned away slightly.  "Have you any other
questions about me?  And will you name your price?  For if not, then I go with
Delmara alone."

Laroo pointed to a chair as he sat down in one opposite.  Looking at the
diminutive Paladin he said, "I do not bicker about prices, Paladin; my bargain
is simple.   We either capture, banish or destroy this One Who Reflects or we
perish trying.  In return,  besides the usual even splitting of any magic
items and/or treasure we find, I want the next year of your life."

Devious had pretty much expected anything but what he asked.   That the man
did not mince words was an understatement.  Over the last century she had
endured the cat calls and offers of many men but this man, Laroo, had more in
mind.  She listened.

Laroo continued, "That I have been to your land, as you say, is obvious--that
I escaped from it was chance.  But that tale is for another time.  Judge for
yourself if I am worth the price by the information I now give you."

Laroo recalled what he could see with the spell--that she was not human was
obvious, but the magical auras around her armour, sword, and other items were
powerful indeed; he mentally catalogued these. 

His analytic mind attacked the last vision he saw, the cord that extended from
her and disappeared a few feet behind her.  She was not astrally projecting,
so there was only one obvious conclusion given what information he had.

"The One Who Reflects is somehow linked to you.  That it did not kill you when
it could have easily done so, since it would have gained your abilities as
a reward, shows that it has reason to keep you alive.

"Also, it was not accident that it followed you here, It may well be able to
follow and find you wherever you travel, or it may even know where you are at
all times.   It was probably your travel to this plane that allowed it to
escape and follow you here.  It is also possible that it must follow you to
whatever plane you travel, but I wouldn't bet on that just yet.

"I once encountered a strange race of beings, the Dyzantaar, that could cast
such a thread as I see attached to you.  That thread could not be severed, but
the Dyzantaar could use it to track the creature to which it was attached.  I
believe what I see is similar in nature to that.

"As you have guessed by now, I am a Wizard.  Now Paladin, we have much to plan
if we are going succeed, decide now if you can meet my price..."

Devious would have laughed out loud had it not been for the intensity of
the man's scrutiny.   That this man felt some sort of attraction to her
was obvious.  That he would risk his life foolishly for same was also
obvious, and that type of foolhardy person she did *not* need, nor would
she accept help from.

She said, "Laroo, you flatter me, but more importantly, it seems that you
overrate your abilities and worth to me."  Turning toward the door, she
felt confident that this was not the type of person she needed to help
her.  Unfortunate--she had not considered Laroo to be such a person.

She paused at the door before opening it.  "Your memory is obviously
faulty Laroo, you have forgotten that I followed it and..."

She could not believe it possible, but the intensity of his stare doubled.
He interrupted her.  "I do not make mistakes like this, Paladin, so listen
carefully."

She bristled at the affrontery of his schoolmaster tone--her hand was a
blur as it went to her sword.  She stopped just short as she realized he
had provoked her intentionally.  That was the second time he had played
her like a trout and gotten a reaction he wanted; she moved her hand to
the door knob.  

She paused to let him continue not so much that what he said would be
important, but to understand her own reactions...too long from Swanflight, she
reminded herself with the litany.  Too fast, too foolish.  The foolish died
swiftly.

Laroo saw her reach for her sword, but stop as she regained control of
herself.  He was impressed, and greatly relieved.  He resumed in a
normal tone, "What you said was 'It came here through the hole it had
made with magic and its own evil thoughts, and I followed it'.  I am
telling you that this is wrong.  Sit and listen."  He nodded to the empty
chair.

That she had lost many of the social graces of her own people was
understandable considering the last 70 years.  She felt the loss when
compared to Delmara; she felt like a savage struggling to remember the
proper etiquette which used to be second nature.  But this man appeared
never to have had any.

She moved to the chair and sat down, in clear indication that he had
bested her in the verbal joust.  She would listen, but he would not best
her again.  "Convince me, Laroo, that you are worth one copper piece, let
alone what you ask..."

He sat back and she realized he had been tense as well.  She would
remember that certain of his seemingly indifferent and relaxed postures
were probably those of action.

He produced a pipe from a pocket in his vest which he filled with
tobacco from another pocket.  In the most clever execution of a cantrip
she had ever seen, he flicked his thumb against his index finger and
produced a flame that danced on top of his thumb, and with this he lit the
pipe.  The small clouds of blue smoke revealed the first rays of sunlight
streaming through the window.  She expected a terrible smell but found
it not unpleasing...unusual for her.

Laroo saw her eyes go blue and as unemotional as a bird's, her face
became a dead pan.  He said: "You understand the demi-plane much
better than I, and therefore you might even have a name for the
intelligence that actively prevents even the most powerful darklords
from escaping.  All but one of my attempts to escape fell prey to this...
and that one was pure chance.

"Think now upon what you said, that it had made a hole with its own
magic.  It may well have made a hole, but something would have
happened to prevent its use of it.  It was your crossing over FIRST
which allowed it to follow and escape."

He continued, "you also said 'I believe it is not supernaturally intelligent';
you also said it used not only its own magic, but that of others.  This
alone, by any standards, shows that it is intelligent.  That it created the
magic to make a hole out of the demi-plane, then tricked you into going
through first so that it could follow, leaves no other conclusion.

"You have said it had your strength and magic as well as that of others,
yet it did not kill you to obtain it.  Furhermore it did not kill you when 
had the chance but instead took your cloak from you.

"There are three real possibilities given what you have told me:
1)   That it knows everything you knew at the time it was created.
2)   That it knows everything you know at certain times, or all the time,
    possibly including this conversation..."

He tapped his pipe into a bowl, dumping the ashes there and put the
pipe back into its pocket.  Then he said, "Judge the answer to your own
question."

His words, as painful as they were, struck home.   Yet he was still
verbally jousting with her and she would see just how stupid he thought
she was.  "You said three real possiblities Laroo, and mentioned but
two..."

He looked at her again, and she too, for a brief second, had the feeling
that she was a bug being scrutinized.  He said, "A third real possiblity is
that it can exert some influence on your thoughts and/or actions..."

They sat there, looking at each other, both dead pan and giving away no
emotions for some time.  Finally he said, "As I said, I will not bicker on
my price; take it or leave it, the decision is yours..."

The Paladin folded her arms, eyes lowered.  Then she raised her head
swiftly, eyes almost blazing.  "It...may be that it can...exert some
influence," she ground out through clenched teeth "it..."  She stopped,
rubbed her neck "The test comes again," she whispered to herself, "and
not with the one I would have willed it try."

The Paladin sighed heavily and forced herself to relax "If I agree to
your asking, I will place two conditions upon that asking.  You must
understand, what you require is...painful for me."  She held up a finger.
"And I will tell you a little more."

The Paladin turned her head away.  "The first condition is that you will
not have me act against the precepts of Light.  Those are simple: I kill
no innocent, commit no crime without great need, and I pray where and
when I will without being disturbed.  The second is...harder."

She snarled, showing small, even, teeth.  "Should it come to battle,
you will do *anything* to get the cloak.  I need that garment more
than you might imagine.  You will not harm the cloak, but render it
to me immediately as is reasonably possible.

"The cloak is why the creature mimics me in great part; I have
invested too much of mysel--no.  It can read some of my thoughts
through it, perhaps, and open some portals if it has become attuned
to the delicate magicks within it.  But, and this is more important
even than my wish to follow Light, you must not hurt the cloak!  The
longer it has it...the harder it is for me to resist, Laroo.  You
cannot imagine the shame."

Alarms rang in Laroo's mind, now focusing his thoughts on the Paladin:
-    "she needs the cloak, and is willing to do anything to get it."
-    "was he an expendable in this effort?"
-    "and who will they be fighting, the One Who Reflects, her, or both?"
-    "you have your slave/teacher for a year, pay the price!"
-    "greed is good, but stupidity is death, both are constants."

He simply said, "You will have one day out of seven or 4 days out of 28 to
yourself for a year which will start immediately after we obtain your cloak
and either destroy, entrap or banish the creature.

"Also" he said, "I need to clarify your...terms: should I be faced with a
decision between the lives of Delmara, innocents, or those of the Light as you
say, or obtaining the cloak, which is my priority?"

Devious understood well the way's treachery, and as much as the Way of Light
permitted, she fought fire with fire, as her name attested.  However, with one
question this man had made perfectly clear the difference between the
righteous path and the rest.

She *knew* that he would not needlessly take an innocent life.  In fact he
probably did nothing needlesly.  A chill ran up her spine.  This man would
have few self-imposed limitations should he have a purpose, and she was now
his purpose.

Her heart wrenched.. this man could cause harm, even death, to innocents,
Delmara, those of the Light, and any others unfortunate to get caught in this
conflict...for her, because of what she needed.

A man...a grey soul such as this, *could* never know what anguish he is
causing with such a simple question.  She recalled the people the One Who
Reflects had destroyed, and the visions of her people *all* dead.  The last
could only happen if she did not recover her cloak.

"The cloak," she said.

She offered her hand, a strange gesture.  "If thou, Laroo, dost agree,
than I indenture myself to thee for the period of one year following
the defeat of the creature--and the return of my cloak." Her
voice was forced, painful.

And her thoughts were not on the beast nor the year that might
follow, but on the gold and silver feathered cloak and the secret it
contained.

If Laroo, or even Delmara, should have it...

--
--Alfvaen(Web page:"http://ugweb.cs.ualberta.ca/~aaron/")
Current Album--Clannad:Macalla
Current Book--Joel Rosenberg:Hour of The Octopus
Song In My Head--Love & Rockets:Mirror People