From alt.pub.dragons-inn Sat Oct 7 11:55:50 1995 Xref: netcom.com alt.pub.dragons-inn:8760 Path: netcom.com!ix.netcom.com!howland.reston.ans.net!math.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!news.sprintlink.net!connix.com!ajh!ajh From: ajh@connix.com (A. H.) Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Subject: [FAITH] Chapter 2 - Opportunity Knocks? Date: Fri, 6 Oct 1995 21:33:06 Organization: Connix - The Connecticut Internet Exchange Lines: 327 Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: alain.connix.com X-Newsreader: Trumpet for Windows [Version 1.0 Rev B] FAITH This is the story of Devious Silverblu, a.k.a. 'The Devious Paladin', and a creature that she encountered in the land of fear. It has been a while, but the story is picking up. Cast Delmara Humphrey Aaron aaron@amisk.cs.ualberta.ca Devious Silverblu Ceredwin clben1@giaeb.cc.monash.edu.au Laroo A. H. ajh@connix.com ----------------------------------------------------------------- - This article may only be copied and distributed freely. - This article may not be distributed by any organization which attempts to recover its' distribution costs and/or make a profit. - All other rights are reserved by the authors. ----------------------------------------------------------------- [FAITH] Chapter 2: Opportunity Knocks? Laroo Sipping the sweet tea at the bar, Laroo reflected on the nature of the gods while dipping a muffin into the mug. He had been up late studying and researching his spells, which always left his mind wandering in the morning. He had come to the conclusion that gods were simply very powerful wizards. This was not a conclusion he had come to lightly... Many years before, as a young fighter, Laroo had felt that power for the first time. 'Of course' he mused, 'once you learned how to increase intelligence like that, you can't help but become a god eventually, after all, who wouldn't increase their own intelligence if they knew how?' His mind wandered back to the patrons of the Inn. Most Inns have a bar that wrapped around a corner. This place was no exception. In fact, it seemed to have more than the usually possible number of right-angled dark corners. Laroo found himself in the typically convoluted logic that governed his life: - 'people who do not want to be noticed or seen usually move to a dark corner' - 'so if you are looking for someone interesting, look for them in dark corners' - therefore if you want to hide, hide in plain sight, away from dark corners, blend in and try not to attract attention, appear to mind your own business.' That was exactly what Laroo was doing when a woman walked in and sat herself by the window. Laroo thought her attractive and, as usual, started analyzing.. After a few seconds he focused in on her belt buckle, which looked like the handle of a whip. He had seen her before, here. He had never met her, but he knew her name was Delmara and she was a cleric of some sort. He never forgot a face, and he remembered her from the few times he had passed through. Laroo concluded that she must be a regular at the Inn in order for him to recognize her from random trips. Laroo's mind drifted again to the differences in the nature of magical energies used by clerics versus mages. He had been studying clerical magic items and could even sense that there was a difference. But he could not quite grasp the difference enough to manipulate it. Not yet. 'Of course' he mused again, 'if you could both use the belief of people in you as energy and give them some of it back in the form of magic for them to use in return, you could not help but to gain a following and a corresponding increase in power.' Laroo had finished breakfast and was about to leave when the fighter stumbled in, a woman fighter no less. She shuffled toward the bar and said something unintelligible, but he clearly heard the name "Ravenloft". That got his attention almost as surely as if someone had driven a dagger in his back. Laroo looked behind him just in case. Research on a particular item had led Laroo to study the theory of alternate planes of existence. His party had -- correction -- Ravenloft had found his party while they were searching for information. Later he had found out the problem had been the entity working through the item. Had it not been for pure, blind, dumb luck, he and his companions would still be there... The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. He mentally went through the spells he had at his disposal, as well as his physical situation. He knew if something happened he would have to act fast. Looking out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the fighter wore a cloak, and he could not mistake the quality of her armor. He heard her ask if anyone knew an "Alfvaen". No one answered. She moved as though she had been injured and sat down at a table, in a corner. Laroo saw the cleric, Delmara, watching the newcomer, then get up and talk to her. He was able to hear some of the conversation, and was able to lip-read some of the rest. The newcomer was a Paladin no less, who went by the name of Devious? Laroo thought he must have gotten the name wrong. He heard them preparing to leave. Laroo left the coins on the bar and slipped out. Fortunately the Paladin was too injured to notice. Laroo had had troubles with Paladins while he was in the thieves' guild and he did not want to be noticed now. He left the Inn and moved to the shadows to watch and follow. Once in the shadows, he cast the spell that rendered him invisible. Laroo saw one of the women exit, Delmara, and hail a rickshaw. She went back in and came out with the Paladin. For a moment he thought the Paladin was going to attack the rickshaw driver, but the other woman calmed her down and helped her in. He heard her tell the driver "Temple of Aditi -- On the Arcade of Unforgotten Heroes. I'll tell you when." He had no trouble following the women. They stopped in front of a modest building where Delmara unlocked the door. Laroo was surprised as he looked through the door; the woman was apparently the high priestess. He heard Delmara say that they were going to her office. For an instant, he almost followed them in. But sneaking blindly into an unknown temple behind a Paladin and a high-priestess was a stupid thing to do. Instead he listened at the door to get their approximate heading and moved to the wall, which he had no trouble climbing. He found the spot where he could listen, almost, when the sounds of the street were not too overwhelming... After he had found out as much as he could, Laroo climbed down as he thought about what he had heard. He sought the shadows. He stood there, unmoving and thinking about the situation and what little he knew about Ravenloft. The convoluted logic screamed at him: - 'A Ravenloft lord is all but invincible in his domain.' - 'A Ravenloft lord that leaves his domain is vulnerable.' - 'A dead(terminated) Ravenloft lord leaves his domain for the next taker.' - 'There are probably many more magic items in Ravenloft as most trips there are one-way.' - 'As a lord of a Ravenloft domain he, Laroo, would be nearly invincible, he would also have access to most, if not all of the magic items in the domain for his research.' - 'But once a Ravenloft lord, it is impossible to leave.' - 'But this lord apparently had, and therefore it was not impossible.' - 'However it was improbable.' - 'But shortly after the death of a lord, before the installation of a new one, many of the magical items will be up for grabs...' - 'But what if this lord had already been replaced?' - 'If he left his domain for good he would have brought the most important magic items with him.' Then Laroo came to the inevitable conclusion: In certain instances, one should not wait for circumstances, one must create them. Making sure no one was watching, Laroo terminated the invisibility spell and walked to the door of the temple where he straightened his clothing as best as he could. He then knocked loudly on the door of the temple and waited... Knock Knock Aitreni heard a loud knocking on the door of the temple. After a quick glance to ensure that Jad was still asleep, she went to answer it. Standing in front of the door was a man of medium height, with dark hair and eyes. He was less attractive than average; common-looking would have been a compliment for the likes of this one. She felt sorry for Delmara if this one asked her...and then she shuddered briefly at the thought that _she_ might have to, with such as he, someday... But there was something about him that put her off, and she instinctively took a half-step back. It was his eyes: there was something in the way he looked at her that left her feeling as though she were an insect being scrutinized. "Can I help you?" she said. "The morning service won't be for another hour." "I'm not here for the service," the man said gruffly. "My name is Laroo and I want to talk to Delmara." "She's with someone right now, if you want to come in and wait..." "I know she's with someone," Laroo interrupted. "I want to speak to them both." With some misgivings, Aitreni stepped back, letting Laroo inside. He looked around curiously. "This way," she said, taking him to the office. Before she could introduce him he somehow slipped by her and shut the door in her face. "We could have common interests," Laroo said to both women. "I know a little about Ravenloft." Although she was laying down, the movement of the Paladin's hand to her sword did not go unnoticed by Laroo... Devious' eyes went quite flat. It was obvious that this introduction was not the way to make her acquaintance. She looked into Laroo's eyes and gave a very dead smile, one often seen on the faces of those who have little patience for others. Her fingertips deliberately flicked lightly over the dimly glowing pommel. They were the hands of a mage rather than a fighter. Enough, she told herself calmly, you give away too much. Delmara's reaction was similar to Aitreni's. She had bedded worse in the past, and had grown somewhat inured--and besides, this was the Temple of her Goddess--but she still mentally catalogued her defenses. Devious looked up. "What is your name, 'I know a little about Ravenloft'?" Her voice smoothed over suddenly, to Delmara's surprise. It was now quite friendly. Looking up, Devious knew Laroo had understood. The message was recieved. This Paladin was quite content with deceit, and as equally content with hiding her true self. Let the other answer as he would, faith would be hard to win on both sides. She had a mages hands and the thought struck him 'A mage that had access to both types of magic could teach him a lot' He also noted the distinct change in the womans' voice from what he had heard outside. Laroo was surprised that the Paladin had any capability for subtlety. He prepared for the inevitable when dealing with Paladins... As Laroo opened his mouth he felt the tingle of clerical magic, the "metallic taste" that it left on his mind. Yes, he recognized the spell as one from a Paladin, he had experienced it before, although this womans' god was a bit heavy handed with her power. He did not resist this, since with his looks this was probably the best way to get acquainted. The spell would tell her nothing in either form that she used it. The Paladin's eyes widened a little, "I am Laroo", he said. "I am the Devious Paladin. I am known..." she struggled and then said the words as though they were vinegar, "by my false name Devious Silverblu. I do not know my true name. I am a Paladin of Ravenloft. I am feared by three Dark Lords... and I fear the rest." The alarms went off in Laroos' mind as he thought to himself: -'what kind of a creature a could a Ravenloft Lord fear in their own domain?' -'But if three Lords feared her, then she would not be in the dire straights in which she appeared to be' - 'He needed more information...' "Well, Laroo," Delmara broke in, "would you mind answering a few questions? How did you know we were talking about Ravenloft? How do you know we have common interests? Don't you think it perhaps a bit presumptuous to walk into a strange temple without the invitation of she who serves She whose temple it is?" Delmara's eyes were glinting with a strange light. Then the light disappeared and she smiled. "But She, of course, has already determined that, even uninvited, you may enter--this time. In the future you may not be so fortunate". "So--satisfy us that we do indeed have common interests. Or that you even have an idea what our interests are." Laroos' mind went through the convoluted logic: - 'The Paladin is obviously more than she seems, but then so are most things from Ravenloft, she could even be a Lord' - 'The priestess did not cast a spell, so was probably in communion with her god' - 'Her god did not take action against the Paladin, therefore the Paladin may not be a threat, for the time being.' - 'If the Paladin was a Lord that had escaped, she would not want to return to Ravenloft, time would tell' "No, I will answer a few, provided the spell casting session is over?" Laroo asked in the archly disapointed manner which, in years past, he had reserved for his student pickpockets that blundered. The tone widened both their eyes. Now came the delicate part. He did not know what sort of protective spells they or the temple had in place, so keeping a grain of truth and no falsehoods in everything he said he continued. "Thank you. But what I said was that we could have common interests, not that we did, yet.." "As for knowing that you were talking about Ravenloft, the whole Pub heard it, which is from where I came, AND" Laroo emphasized the word for the benefit of the Paladin "since a wounded female Paladin muttering that name is not an everyday occurence, by tommorrow the whole town will probably know it as well." The women wore poker faces but he had their full attention now. "If you are what you say, Silverblu, and are seeking help in another plane no less, then one could deduce that you are in more than serious trouble". Devious smiled slightly. Not a pleasant smile, but there was something almost cynically amusing in it. She appeared to be almost grinning. "As I said, we could have mutual interests, you see, I am available for partnerships. My price varies according to the endeavor and is not necessarily measured in currency..." "And, it would seem that your last question has been answered, Priestess..." He waited for the women to respond.