From alt.pub.dragons-inn Mon Apr 3 18:31:10 1995 Xref: netcom.com alt.pub.dragons-inn:8228 Path: netcom.com!csus.edu!news.starnet.net!wupost!howland.reston.ans.net!math.ohio-state.edu!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!csn!yuma!holly.ACNS.ColoState.EDU!not-for-mail From: arsmith@holly.ACNS.ColoState.EDU (Alan Smith) Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Subject: [NTY] Family, part 2 Date: 27 Mar 1995 11:05:08 -0700 Organization: Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523 Lines: 81 Message-ID: <3l6uok$3d2p@holly.ACNS.ColoState.EDU> NNTP-Posting-Host: holly.acns.colostate.edu The following people write for/help with the [NTY] Thread. Kelly J. Cooper (kjc@cs.rutgers.edu) Steven Hutchison (hutch@ibeam.intel.com) Alan Smith (arsmith@lamar.colostate.edu) Special thanks to: Claudia Mastroianni (cmarie@max.tiac.net) The Great Mother was created by Andy Solberg and is on loan to [NTY]. The Bismanians were created by Alan Smith, all except Jorma who is on permanant loan to Alan, barring his creator coming back. This story may be kept in both private and free public electronic and hard-copy archives, all other rights reserved. ================================================================= Palandun left the meeting feeling very optimistic. Jorma and Silvrenfin Lintesul, still getting to know each other, walked off from their meeting in the small C'fie shop feeling somewhat optimistic as well. Pal had called a favor in, and Jorma's few things were waiting under guard at Silvrenfin's porch. Sil showed them where Jorma's new room was, and guided the young bismanian in a tour of her home. When they reached the front door again, Sil took a small metal object from a nearby table and pressed it into Jorma's hand. "This," Sil explained, "Is your key. You can come and go as you please." Sil actually planned to send Jorma to school soon, but first she felt he should become more acclimated to his surroundings. Adopted waifs often ran away when people imposed to many rules on them too quickly. "Thank you." Jorma said, still obeying his custom of shying away from anyone that might make eye contact and speaking just loud enough to be audible. If you were an Elf. "Jorma," Sil said, kneeling down to his level and gently turning his chin to make him look at her, "I'm not going to hurt you, okay? There is nothing in the world that could make me hurt you." Jorma broke out of Sil's grasp and dashed into his room closing and (experimenting with the key) locking the door behind him. "Noodles?" Rowan Littlefair asked, naming the special of the day. "Or maybe pork chops?" "Pork chops." Palandun replied. "I don't feel up to noodles. How about you, Jorma?" Jorma was if anything even more withdrawn than usual over the past month or so, and Palandun was treating him to lunch at the Dragons inn in an effort to find out what was going on. "My treat." "Perf chp" Jorma said, keeping his head down. Palandun and Rowan took this to mean the pork chops and acted accordingly. Palandun discussed inanities while they waited for their food and most of dinner, but that didn't seem to put Jorma any further at ease, and finally he decided to just bite the bullet and ask. "Jorma, are you okay? You've been withdrawing. I expected aunt Sil would pull you out of that." "An Sil iz grate ldy." Jorma said, barely audibly. "An Sil givz me evthing. An Sil grate ldy." "I like my aunt Sil too." Palandun said. "But is there something else that's happening? the kids at school? Some low city people?" "An Sil iz grate ldy." Jorma replied. "An Sil givz me evthing." "Palandun, can I talk to you for a minute?" Palandun started and turned, it was Listener, who had the most concerned look Pal had ever seen on the elf. "Well?" Pal asked, whispering in the dark corner. "That is the most scared person I ever saw in this inn. What did you do to him?" Listener whispered back, hostily. "Nothing. I asked him if he was okay, and he keeps going on about how great my aunt is." Listner pondered this for a while, and asked Pal if there was anything about his aunt that should be known. "Not really," Pal replied, "She's a mage that travelled with the colony. Noncitzen, but then most of them are. She gave me a wooden lizard for my twelfth birthday. Anything else you want to know?" "No." Listener said. "she sounds harmless enough, but still...My heart bodes ill, Pal." Pal clapped the Elf chummily on the shoulder. "Must be the noodles. Go, play something happy to pick your spirits up. Works for us." "An Sil givz me evthing." Jorma repeated to himself, "An Sil gonna make me specl." "Really?" Pal said casually, reseating himself, "How's that?" "Gonna jn me wif god." Palandun's eyes got wide. "Come again?"