From alt.pub.dragons-inn Tue Dec 20 21:08:16 1994 Xref: netcom.com alt.pub.dragons-inn:8000 Path: netcom.com!ix.netcom.com!howland.reston.ans.net!news.moneng.mei.com!uwm.edu!news.doit.wisc.edu!f182-070.net.wisc.edu!user From: jepeter2@students.wisc.edu (Skatha) Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Subject: Re: Dark Warrior II Followup-To: alt.pub.dragons-inn Date: 20 Dec 1994 21:21:58 GMT Organization: UW-Madison Lines: 57 Message-ID: References: <3d2bv6$dpm@utdallas.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: f182-070.net.wisc.edu In article <3d2bv6$dpm@utdallas.edu>, byer1662@utdallas.edu wrote: > "Do you know anything about alchemy,... or riddles?" > "Alchemy, hmm? Or riddles? I distrust Alchemy, for it is less > precise then most forms of magic I know. I have some experience with > riddles, yes. I am called Rikus Kalarin, out of Tanthamere. You are > called Ranne." > The girl looked at him questioningly before nodding. > "I's a talent I have sometimes." > "Riddles, hmm? What can I help you with, miss?" > Rikus put his legs up and sipped his whiskey while the girl talked... Ranne was flustered by the fact that the stranger knew her name, but she recovered quickly - one has to, when living off the land. "Well. Um, actually, my father always called it a science - whatever that means - but I suppose that it's a lot like magic, only less...um, magical. And the riddles...they're not really riddles, not like you might think, but they are riddles in their own way, and I-" she broke off, realizing that she was babbling. She took a deep breath to steady herself, and started over. "My father was an alchemist. His main goal was to discover a substance that he called the 'Philosopher's Stone'. It's supposed to be something so pristine that it would bring everything up to the quality of gold...or something like that. I never really understood it all that much. Well, one day a man came to our house and told my father that he knew about someone who had either made or discovered the Philosopher's Stone, and of course my father wanted to see it, since it was his whole life's work. So he got instructions from the man, and he just left the next day without a word to me or my mother. At the time, I couldn't leave my mother alone to look for him, but my mother died a few years ago, so..." Ranne stopped again to catch her breath, and also to shove the emotions from her memories out of the way. She continued, pulling a large, leather-bound book out of her backpack. "This is the only thing useful that my father left behind. It's a book about alchemy - interesting for the beginner, but not all that important. What is important is what he wrote inside. See, my father was the kind who wrote down everything in several places, just so he wouldn't have any chance of forgetting it. Anyway, that's what I've been following. Only, they're several years out of date. I've gotten as far as here by pure luck, but I think I'm stuck. That's what I meant by riddles - I seem to use the wrong words sometimes. I mean, if the phrase, 'A man in black will be waiting for you at the bar. He'll be wearing a large silver ring with an emerald stone. He will tell you where to go, for a fee' isn't a riddle, I don't know what is! It seems that at least half the people that come to this bar wear black! No offense to you, of course," she apologized, referring to Rikus' black outfit. "As you can see, I need help. The man I came with - he calls himself the Pilgrim - is nice enough, and he helped me survive outdoors. I'm not sure why he sticks with me, but I know he'll help - that is, I think he'll help - but he's a woodsman, and he's very uncomfortable in cities. I need someone more familiar with places like this, and I thought you might be like that - I don't know why - and I don't know why I'm telling you this or why I came over here in the first place or why I haven't asked anyone else first or why I'm babbling like this I never babble but could you would you please help me if you can or want to?" Ranne spit the last part out in a constant rush of words, then she looked bashfully down at the table, her face red, waiting for the man to answer...