From alt.pub.dragons-inn Sat Oct 7 11:56:03 1995 Xref: netcom.com alt.pub.dragons-inn:8764 Path: netcom.com!noc.netcom.net!news.sprintlink.net!connix.com!ajh!ajh From: ajh@connix.com (A. H.) Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Subject: [FAITH] Chapter 4 - Terms (2/3) Date: Fri, 6 Oct 1995 22:47:06 Organization: Connix - The Connecticut Internet Exchange Lines: 263 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 4: Terms (2/3) Devious The morning light had not even edged the horizon when she awoke. She immediately preened and washed her face in the basin. Devious then checked her equipment, her armour and sword. She cleaned the scales of her own crusted blood and smoothed out a nick in her blade with a whetstone. She glanced at her cloak. Ripped and dirty. A gesture and a word, and the clerical orison whisked about her and her clothes. The small spell carried away the dirt and mended her torn rent. Then the Paladin stood up and walked quietly out into the dark. The day would be fine, she judged, then frowned. Mist, the light ground mist that comes before morning, had seeped into the grass. It now flowed up her legs and billowed her cloak slightly. The Ravenloft Paladin gritted her teeth. This reminder was irritating. She flicked her cloak back and decided to leave the rest of her supplies in her room as she explored the town this morning. Let Delmara know she would be back. She stepped into the streets and quickly faded into the alleys. As always, her poor vision made her squint and cock her head at every sound. That, too, would improve once her cloak was back. The Paladin was quickly lost. The streets of Generica were intricate and she had never been one for cities. She wandered up and down as rosy light tinted the sky and eventually found a shopkeeper opening early. "Sir," she said softly from the shadows. The man jumped at the sight of a small, slender woman in scale armour. "Can you direct me to the Dragon's Inn?" she asked in a melodious voice. The man relaxed and laughed. "You're four doors from it!" He pointed down the street. "Can't you see the sign?" Now that it had been pointed out, Devious thought she could make out a bar of some kind. She was unable to read the sign from this distance, however. "Thank you, Sir," she said briefly, then walked towards it. It was already open, and the publican was ordering the cook about breakfast. The Paladin stepped over. "Master? Might you direct me to the room of one of the occupants of this inn? I am looking for one Laroo." "Here," said a voice behind her. The Paladin refused to jump. He did move quietly, though. "Good morrow, Laroo," she said. "Sleep well?" He gave a noncommittal shrug. "Why are you here so early?" "Might we go to your room? We have a couple of things to discuss." The man cocked his head toward the stairs and walked toward them. She followed. Up in Laroo's room, Devious looked around quickly before rubbing her neck and closing the door behind them. Either Laroo was a fastidious housekeeper or he had not spent the night in the room. "Well?" he said. "Neither of you have named your price for accompanying me. Delmara, she I understand, and I have no doubts that I will be able to give her what she needs. You, however, are different, Laroo. Before we join forces, I *must* know your stance. You, after all, have visited Ravenloft," the paladin gave a faint smile, "and I find trust hard to give to those of my deadly land. Last night, you looked at me strangely when I showed the wound on my wrist. After that, you often seemed to glance at me as though trying to determine something. Forgive me, Laroo, but you are not the kind to stare at females because they are females. You seemed to be trying to determine something." "Are you curious as to my race? It must be obvious to you I am not exactly human." The Paladin locked eyes with Laroo. "I have no intention of trying to fool you, Laroo. I am not human, or even as law-abiding as I might be. But, and I tell you honestly, I am of the Light. And I will kill to save others of the Light should they be endangered. That is not regarded as wrong for my kind." "Is your curiosity satisfied?" She turned away slightly. "Have you any other questions about me? And will you name your price? For if not, then I go with Delmara alone." Laroo pointed to a chair as he sat down in one opposite. Looking at the diminutive Paladin he said, "I do not bicker about prices, Paladin; my bargain is simple. We either capture, banish or destroy this One Who Reflects or we perish trying. In return, besides the usual even splitting of any magic items and/or treasure we find, I want the next year of your life." Devious had pretty much expected anything but what he asked. That the man did not mince words was an understatement. Over the last century she had endured the cat calls and offers of many men but this man, Laroo, had more in mind. She listened. Laroo continued, "That I have been to your land, as you say, is obvious--that I escaped from it was chance. But that tale is for another time. Judge for yourself if I am worth the price by the information I now give you." Laroo recalled what he could see with the spell--that she was not human was obvious, but the magical auras around her armour, sword, and other items were powerful indeed; he mentally catalogued these. His analytic mind attacked the last vision he saw, the cord that extended from her and disappeared a few feet behind her. She was not astrally projecting, so there was only one obvious conclusion given what information he had. "The One Who Reflects is somehow linked to you. That it did not kill you when it could have easily done so, since it would have gained your abilities as a reward, shows that it has reason to keep you alive." "Also, it was no accident that it followed you here, It may well be able to follow and find you wherever you travel, or it may even know where you are at all times. It was probably your travel to this plane that allowed it to escape and follow you here. It is also possible that it must follow you to whatever plane you travel, but I wouldn't bet on that just yet. I once encountered a strange race of beings, the Dyzantaar, that could cast such a thread as I see attached to you. That thread could not be severed, but the Dyzantaar could use it to track the creature to which it was attached. I believe what I see is similar in nature to that." "As you have guessed by now, I am a Wizard. Now Paladin, we have much to plan if we are going succeed, decide now if you can meet my price..." Devious would have laughed out loud had it not been for the intensity of the man's scrutiny. That this man felt some sort of attraction to her was obvious. That he would risk his life foolishly for same was also obvious, and that type of foolhardy person she did *not* need, nor would she accept help from. She said, "Laroo, you flatter me, but more importantly, it seems that you overrate your abilities and worth to me." Turning toward the door, she felt confident that this was not the type of person she needed to help her. Unfortunate -- she had not considered Laroo to be such a person. She paused at the door before opening it. "Your memory is obviously faulty Laroo, you have forgotten that I followed it and..." She could not believe it possible, but the intensity of his stare doubled. He interrupted her. "I do not make mistakes like this, Paladin, so listen carefully." She bristled at the affrontery of his schoolmasters' tone -- her hand was a blur as it went to her sword. She stopped just short as she realized he had provoked her intentionally. That was the second time he had played her like a trout and gotten a reaction he wanted; she moved her hand to the door knob. She paused to let him continue not so much that what he said would be important, but to understand her own reactions...too long from Swanflight, she reminded herself with the litany. 'Too fast, too foolish. The foolish died swiftly'. Laroo saw her reach for her sword, but stop as she regained control of herself. He was impressed, and greatly relieved. He resumed in a normal tone, "What you said was 'It came here through the hole it had made with magic and its own evil thoughts, and I followed it'. I am telling you that this is wrong. Sit and listen." He nodded to the empty chair. That she had lost many of the social graces of her own people was understandable considering the last 70 years. She felt the loss when compared to Delmara; she felt like a savage struggling to remember the proper etiquette which used to be second nature. But this man appeared never to have had any. She moved to the chair and sat down, in clear indication that he had bested her in the verbal joust. She would listen, but he would not best her again. "Convince me, Laroo, that you are worth one copper piece, let alone what you ask..." He sat back and she realized he had been tense as well. She would remember that certain of his seemingly indifferent and relaxed postures were probably those of action. He produced a pipe from a pocket in his vest which he filled with tobacco from another pocket. In the most clever execution of a cantrip she had ever seen, he flicked his thumb against his index finger and produced a flame that danced on top of his thumb, and with this he lit the pipe. The small clouds of blue smoke revealed the first rays of sunlight streaming through the window. She expected a terrible smell but found it not unpleasing... unusual for her. Laroo saw her eyes go blue and as unemotional as a bird's, her face became a dead pan. He said: "You understand the demi-plane much better than I, and therefore you might even have a name for the intelligence that actively prevents even the most powerful darklords from escaping. All but one of my attempts to escape fell prey to this... and that one was pure chance. "Think now upon what you said, that it had made a hole with its own magic. It may well have made a hole, but *something* would have happened to prevent it's use of it. It was your crossing over FIRST which allowed it to follow and escape." He continued, "you also said 'I believe it is not supernaturally intelligent'; and that 'it used not only its own magic, but that of others'. This alone, by any standards, shows that it is intelligent. That it created the magic to make a hole out of the demi-plane, then tricked you into going through first so that it could follow, leaves no other conclusion." "You have said it had your strength and magic as well as that of others, yet it did not kill you to obtain it. Furhermore it did not kill you when it had the chance but instead took your cloak from you." "There are three real possibilities given what you have told me: - That it knows everything you knew at the time it was created. - That it knows everything you know at certain times, or all the time, possibly including this conversation..." He tapped his pipe into a bowl, dumping the ashes there and put the pipe back into its pocket. Then he said, "Judge the answer to your own question." His words, as painful as they were, struck home. Yet he was still verbally jousting with her and she would see just how stupid he thought she was. "You said three real possiblities Laroo, and mentioned but two..." He looked at her again, and she too, for a brief second, had the feeling that she was a bug being scrutinized. He said, "A third real possiblity is that it can exert some influence on your thoughts and/or actions..." They sat there, looking at each other, both dead pan and giving away no emotions for some time. Finally he said, "As I said, I will not bicker on my price; take it or leave it, the decision is yours..."