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From: tolsen@leland.Stanford.EDU (Tanya Ann Olsen)
Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn
Subject: [Cernborn] {At the Inn} Curses and Other Secrets
Date: 5 Apr 1995 10:37:13 -0700
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		(#11) Curses and Other Secrets

"You mean you and I will go to find them," said Athorbalo, sitting up
in bed.  She swung her legs over to get up, "I'm getting bed sores
from staying here.  I have to get up and do something, anything."  She
walked over to where he was still standing. Cernborn looked at her,
about to tell her to go back to her bed, then he lowered his gaze.  

"I can understand your wariness of me, Lord Captain, but I wish you
would realize that I am no danger to you. I do not change allegiance
once I have pledged it.  I had not even heard of this contract until
you said something, and it caused me to think about who might have
been able to attack and capture me," Athorbalo smiled, hoping to
elicit a reaction  from Cernborn, "Besides, Marque doesn't sound like
someone I would be willing to work for."

"Yes, my lady.  I feel that I should trust thee, but much has happened
which causes me to doubt my own judgement.  I trusted Marque, once..."
The sentence was left hanging as Cernborn became suddenly lost in past
events.

Puzzled, Athorbalo arched an eyebrow at Cernborn, "You never said that
you had previous dealings with Marque."

"I have reason to believe that I encountered this same man once
before, but I have no proof.  But as I find out more, I become more
certain that this Marque and the other are the same.  They look
nothing alike; one is much older than the other; it was even yet
another different world where I encountered the other, but they use
the same name and many of the same tricks.  And, this bowman that I
told thee of was also in the employ of the other Marque.  That
encounter ended quite badly for me and my  companions."  His hands
clenched and unclenched and his eyes unfocused as he stared into
nothingness, remembering.

He shook his head.  "No matter; I do not know for certain. I have told
thee everything of which I am sure."

Athorbalo nodded, but she had drifted into her own world. She began
to think about the time that they were losing by not tracking Marque.
It irritated Athorbalo that she had to sit and wait for something to
happen while Gyles and Mi'cha got to have fun. She also thought it
strange that Cernborn was still not feeling up to exploration.  It
crossed her mind that perhaps he had stayed there because of her, but
quickly dismissed it as a foolish thought.

She wondered what was happening to her. Her thoughts had begun to
turn from Wonko and more to Cernborn. She contemplated the
differences between the two. She smiled to herself, realizing that
Wonko would probably have already got into some kind of trouble by
rushing into things. By contrast Cernborn's cool and planning
prevented anyone from getting into too much mischief, he had gone
very much by-the-book so far.

She looked up, realizing that her cheeks were covered in tears, and
Cernborn looking at her very strangely. 

"If thou dost not mind my asking, who is Wonko?" he smiled gently. 

Athorbalo seemed startled to hear the name spoken aloud. Shaken from
her woolgathering, she looked hard at Cernborn and said, "How did you
know that name?" 

"Thou spoke it several times when thou wast sleeping, I could not help
overhear, " he replied.

"Wonko was my love. He died nearly a year ago," she said, matter-of-
factly.

Cernborn's innate empathy detected a barrier within Athorbalo, beyond
the veil of pain, he could feel a lost happiness, fractured by Wonko's
death. "I am sorry, I did not intend to bring back unhappy memories.",
he said.

Athorbalo smiled weakly, "There are good memories as well, but it
seems so long ago." She paused, "There were no witnesses to his death,
and no-one has any ideas about who or what killed him."  Grimly, she
vowed, "I will find them someday."

Cernborn looked down, unsure of what to say, feeling her pain and her
anger, he looked back up, "I know that thou wilt."

Athorbalo looked at Cernborn and held up her pendant to the
light. "This is all I have to remember him by."

The pendant took on an ever increasing glow as Cernborn reached for
it.  "It glows sometimes.  I think it's magic, but Wonko never told me
about it." Athorbalo let it fall back against her breast; the glow
dimmed, but did not go out.  "I am sorry Lord Captain, but...", she
faltered.  

"I did not mean to remind thee of past sorrows, I am also truly sorry,
my lady."  Cernborn looked down, feeling the sadness welling within
Athorbalo. He knew that the best way to help her grow beyond this
sadness was to talk about it, and to allow the pain to go away,
little by little.

She stared at Cernborn until he brought his eyes back up,  "Do not
apologize, it is good to remember him."  

He abruptly changed the subject; there would be time later to break
down the barriers.  "Thou must be getting hungry.  If thou dost feel
able, thou mayst go downstairs.  But afterwards, I want thee to return
immediately to bed."

Cernborn opened the door and gestured for Athorbalo to leave the room,
"After thee, my lady." 


They found the downstairs quite lively; a drastic change from the
quiet early morning.  All of the tables were taken except for one in
front of the main fireplace.  When they got to the table, Cernborn
pulled out the chair nearest the fire for Athorbalo to sit.  He sat
opposite her and called for a waitress.

When one finally got around to them, Cernborn ordered, "The lady will
have a light vegetable broth and fruit juice.  I will have whatever
stew thou hast with bread and ale."  Athorbalo started to protest;
Cernborn just looked at her and she ceased.  "That will be all," he
said to the waitress.  She bustled away.

"You do realize I can and do take care of myself, don't you?"
Athorbalo stated.

"But of course.  However, while thou art under my care, thou wilt do
as I say; especially if thou wishest to attend the ball tonight."  He
grinned at her.  "I know it is nearly impossible to keep a wild
creature caged, but if thou wilt abide by my wishes just a few hours
more, thou wilt be fully recovered."  More seriously he added, "But,
if thou becomest too fatigued, let me know immediately and return to
thy room.  Thou wast grieviously injured and must not push thyself too
soon."

The waitress returned surprisingly quickly with their lunches.  The
meal passed uneventfully; the pair avoiding the serious conversation
of the morning.  Just as they were winding up their lunch, a pair of
young men at a table near them knocked over a candle, catching some of
one young man's clothes on fire, and causing their table and parts of
adjacent tables to be promptly doused by the inn's automatic fire
extinguishing system. Athorbalo looked on, amused by their antics.  

"Finally, some entertainment," she said to Cernborn, turning to look
back at him.  Cernborn's face had turned ashen.  Athorbalo's sharp
eyes noted that he had been splashed heavily by the sprinklers.  His
knuckles were white from gripping the table and bench; it looked like
if he let go, he might slide off his chair.  His face was contorted
with pain. She started to get up.  "What happened?  What's wrong?" she
asked. 

"I will be fine, just give me a moment," he grated through clenched
teeth.  Several seconds later, the pain appeared to go away though he
still gripped the table with a death-like hold.

"Can I help?" Athorbalo was getting quite concerned.

"Actually, I do believe thou canst.  Here, if thou wouldst be so kind
as to help hold me up; I must be able to use a hand to pray."  

Athorbalo came around the table and sat down next to Cernborn.  She
supported his back, stopping him from sliding off the chair.  He
immediately started an incantation.  As he chanted and moved his
hands, the area around him and the two young men started to dry
up. There was something different about his hands, though Athorbalo
could not see them well enough through their movement to pin point the
difference.  She could not see what was wrong with his legs or back to
cause him to fall off the chair; his clothes were cunningly fashioned
to conceal just that.  Once he finished, he went back to gripping the
table in the same close-fingered manner, so she still could not tell
anything.

"Thank thee very much, my lady.  The prayer takes a bit of time to
take full effect; everything will be back in order shortly."  

Athorbalo released him and stepped back to her seat, wondering what
was really  happening.  The only effect she noted from the prayer was
that everything around Cernborn was drying up, including what was left
of her juice.  Within minutes, no evidence that the sprinklers had
gone off remained; everything was bone dry.  Cernborn's face contorted
once again with pain; this time it seemed to last longer and be more
severe.  When it was over, he breathed a sigh of relief and sat
himself back up in the chair.

"Does this happen often?" Athorbalo asked, arching an eyebrow.  She
was curious as to what had happened, but was not going to press the
issue. 

"Thankfully, no," he replied, grimacing.

She yawned and then seemed to think for a moment, "I believe that you
may be right, perhaps I should rest for a while longer, I seem to be a
bit weak.  If you're able, would you escort me back to bed?  This has
worn me out much more than I expected it would," she admitted.  

"Very well, my lady."  Cernborn stood up with ease and offered her his
arm and escorted her back up the stairs.


She made her way to the bed, and laid down. "If you would, Lord
Captain, " she paused, almost as if wondering what to say, "I would
appreciate it if you stayed in the room while I slept. "

"Of course," Cernborn nodded and smiled. "And, thanks for thy help; it
could have been most awkward for me otherwise."  His tone almost
invited a request for explanation, but she ignored it, nodding, then
rolling over to go to sleep.  Cernborn went over to a chair, pulled
out a large tome, and started to read.  

Athorbalo closed her eyes and savored the feeling of being watched
over, and then fell into an undisturbed sleep.


Athorbalo woke up a couple of hours later.  She felt quite refreshed
and much stronger than earlier.  She lay there silent, mulling over
this business she had gotten involved in.  She had a lot of questions
about Marque, but she had more questions about Cernborn; his behavior
was certainly strange, one might even say eccentric, but she could not
come up with a reasonable explanation for it.  Wonko's pendant had
always glowed in his presence she realized as she thought back on it;
she had never noticed anyone before causing that.

She sat up and stretched, looking about the room.  Cernborn was no
longer there, or was he?  She could hear the sound of water rippling
in the bath room.  She quietly got up and peered through the slightly
open door.  His clothes were folded in a neat stack on the chair.  All
she could see of him was the back of his head.  He appeared to be
resting in the bathtub.  

She had stood there watching him for several minutes when she realized
that the only sound she was hearing was her own breathing and the
water rippling.  Starting to worry, she glanced down at the pendant:
it was not glowing.  Then, she noticed that Cernborn seemed to be
slowly sinking under the water.  His head had all but disappeared, and
still he had not moved.

Fearing the worst, she rushed over to the bath, reached under his
arms, and tried to pull Cernborn enough out of the water so that he
could breathe.  The bath was quite deep, designed to accomodate some
of the giant-sized beings; she could barely reach him.  She felt
certain that the ninja had gotten to him once again and poisoned him. 

She was stronger than she looked, but it still took all her effort to
raise him.   His skin felt odd:  smooth and almost rubbery; she knew
of some poisons that could do strange things.  Wondering if it was
already too late and giving one last heave, she managed to pull
Cernborn out of the tub, but overbalanced and fell down with him on
top of her.

Cernborn started to revive as she yanked him out, "What...what is
going on?"  He rolled off Athorbalo, looking around in confusion,
acting as if just woken from a deep sleep, but not behaving in the
slightest bit hurt.

Athorbalo breathed a sigh of relief, "I thought you were dead!"  She
started to get up, "I couldn't hear you breathing and then you sank
beneath the wa..."  Her jaw dropped and she fell back down, stunned,
as she looked at Cernborn fully for the first time.  The implication
of all the little peculiarities she had noticed over the last day hit
her full force.  Gathering her composure and hiding her surprise, she
arched her eyebrow and stated quite matter-of-factly, "So this is your
monstrous skin condition...you're a merman."

Cernborn still acted groggy and confused.  He shook his head and sat
up, propping himself on a thickly webbed hand and rubbing his eyes
with the other.  Athorbalo studied him, fascinated; she had never been
this close to a demi-human before, especially one from the
sea. Earlier, she had noticed what she had thought were ritual scars
on both sides of his neck, but now she knew that they were simply
closed up gills.  She wondered what kind of magic would enable a sea
creature to function so well and easily upon the land; he had
obviously spent a lot of time in human company, so much time in fact
that she doubted anyone would ever realize otherwise; she certainly
would never have. 

"I was speaking with my goddess," he said suddenly, startling her out
of her reverie. "It is always difficult to return, especially if I am
disturbed before I am done.  Now, wouldst thou stop staring at me and
either help me back into the bath or hand me those towels?"  He
pointed at a stack of towels near her. 

She quickly got up and grabbed the towels.  "Please, lay one out on
that chair over there," he added and started to move.  Painfully
slowly, he inched over to the chair, and with surprising adroitness,
managed to seat himself on the towel in the chair.  "The other
towels..."  She handed them to him.  He took them and painstakingly
dried himself.  He waited for a moment, but nothing happened.  "Damn,"
he cursed, "Wouldst thou be so kind as to dry my back?  I appear to
have missed a spot."

Athorbalo obliged.  The instant she was done, Cernborn writhed in pain
and fell to the floor.  She watched utterly entranced as his fish tail
disappeared and was replaced by a pair of legs.  She reached down to
give him a hand getting to his feet.  She noticed that her pendant was
glowing again. 

Carefully avoiding the puddles, he made his way to his clothes and
started to get dressed.  Athorbalo noticed seams in all the leggings
which seemed designed to easily give way without ripping the
cloth. She still was not sure how he had hidden his lack of legs at
lunch when he had transformed which she was now positive had happened.
She went back to the bedroom and changed into some dry clothes.


Athorbalo waited for him to speak first when he finally came out of
the bath room.  "Now thou knowest all my secrets, and it appears I
must trust thee in yet another way.  Please do not reveal my curse to
anyone," Cernborn said, "not even our new companions.  The fewer that
know, the better the chances that my enemies will also not know."

"Curse?" asked Athorbalo, somewhat confused, "Why do you say curse?
Aren't you really a merman?"

"Yes and no," he replied ambiguously.  "I was not always a merman; I
was once human, much as I appear now.  But this is not a true curse; I
am now a merman in all ways, no one would be able to detect otherwise;
those that have the capability would know that I am not human.  There
is no way to remove this "curse" except by the gods.  It is not like
were-dom.  Poseidon granted me the ability to walk on land, so long as
I am dry.  But I am one of his creatures, until he chooses otherwise."

Athorbalo remembered the tale Cernborn had told the previous night at
dinner and suddenly understood what must have really happened and why
it had seemed to her that he had not told everything.  "I will keep
your confidence; you can trust me." She thought for a moment about her
debt to Cernborn, and hoped he would accept her bond of loyalty.
Cernborn looked at Athorbalo and wondered guiltily if he could truly
trust her.

------------------
Lord Captain Cernborn		tolsen@leland.stanford.edu
Athorbalo			hilanse@wkuvx1.wku.edu
Gyles Dormani			virtuesr@gps1.laafb.af.mil
Micha Ning'ra			jmc@ataxia.confusion.net