From alt.pub.dragons-inn Sat Dec 17 13:44:19 1994 Xref: netcom.com alt.pub.dragons-inn:7985 Path: netcom.com!ix.netcom.com!howland.reston.ans.net!spool.mu.edu!uwm.edu!news.doit.wisc.edu!f181-040.net.wisc.edu!user From: jepeter2@students.wisc.edu (Skatha) Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Subject: Back to the greener side... Followup-To: alt.pub.dragons-inn Date: 17 Dec 1994 16:52:03 GMT Organization: UW-Madison Lines: 27 Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: f181-040.net.wisc.edu Ranne's father was (, she reminded herself) an alchemist. While most people believed that all they did was try to change things into gold, what many of them were actually searching for was a substance that they called the Stone of Knowledge, the Stone pf Wisdom, or the Philosopher's Stone. It was believed that the Philospher's Stone was a substance that was so much more perfect than gold, that it was able to bring the more baser metals to the perfection of gold. One day, he had left his wife and daughter in a mad hunt for the Stone - a stranger had told him that the Stone had been discovered, and had given him clues as to where the Stone could be found. All that he had left behind was a book that explained many of the processes in alchemy. And inside that book, in her father's careful handwriting, was a copy of the clues. That book now resided in Ranne's backpack. She had left home after her mother died, and began searching for her father, since he was the only family that she had left, using the clues in the book. The Pilgrim had stayed with her through many of her travels, claiming that he had nothing better to do. And somehow, although she knew next to nothing about him, Ranne felt safe with him. He reminded her of her father, in a way. The last few clues had led the pair here, to Generica, but Ranne was at a loss to discover where to go from here. In the meantime , they both needed a meal, a bath, new clothes, and a bed, in whatever order they could get them. Acting with the unspoken understanding that familiarity breeds, Ranne and the Pilgrim headed for the most likely prospect: a place called the Dragon's Inn. Ranne stepped through the door, let her eyes adjust, and gasped in surprise...