From alt.pub.dragons-inn Thu Oct 19 10:17:19 1995 Xref: netcom.com alt.pub.dragons-inn:8813 Path: netcom.com!ix.netcom.com!howland.reston.ans.net!newsfeed.internetmci.com!news.sprintlink.net!news.onramp.net!usenet From: rodney@onramp.net Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Subject: [HAM] A bad day for Teleporting Date: 18 Oct 1995 12:56:30 GMT Organization: On-Ramp; Individual Internet Connections; Dallas/Ft Worth/Houston, TX USA Lines: 344 Message-ID: <462thu$4np@news.onramp.net> NNTP-Posting-Host: hou09.onramp.net Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Mailer: Mozilla 1.1PE (Windows; I; 16bit) Oct 18,1995 Summary: Henry Allen Mann, Helen, C.T, arrive Generica mage guild. [Admin- all charcters are fabrications of my mind. 'Enry, Helen, and C.T. rights reserved, but available- probably, have to see their next few days materialize. Others are pure NPC. This is my first post so all comments ... accepted - Rodney Taylor aka rodney@onramp.net Note: curses, magical injury, bad timing vs other mana use, and just bad luck leave an out if you need a character to stay injured.] --------------------------------------------------------------------- It was an ordinary clear day in the glade. Birds were chirpping and squirrels were scampering around, until the -pop-. Now there were three travel-cloaked people holding hands and a large bundle, all floating three yards up. Things got real quiet, like they always do at an intrusion, until the residents could tell if there was a threat. The people shook their heads, looked around, and settled to the ground. By build, they might be relatives, since they were all about five and a half feet tall, and not massive. Perhaps typical of travelers, they had arms: crossbows, medium swords, staves, and bucklers. While not an impressive array, those are meant to and do give some pause to the average highwayman. The crossbows have been seen before - none of the animals want to be lunch, so it remains quiet a bit longer. One brushed back his hood and said the obvious- "This _isn't_ the road patrol station." The next threw back her hood to reveal red hair and blue eyes. "Well it wasn't me that threw us off, were you `distracted' again C.T.?" she asked. A combined questioning glare descends on the third figure. "Uh, ... well I was sort of thinking about this being adventure and .. ah, I'm sorry if it was me," comes the tenative reply. <> "Well, this is just great. Let's find out where we are. C.T. _you'll_ do the recon, but how can we make sure you return promptly? Ideas?" "Well, we don't have Frank, so no telepathy. We could time a spell like light, but Connie might not notice. And do we need to do something for direction sense for the return?" The redhead begins pondering, while the still hooded one looks around helplessly. The first cuts a green bush and gathers some sticks. A blaze appears _beside_ the sticks. He does something with a vine and rock, then places a stick in the ground upright and marks its shadow. "Okay, a smoke trail will lead him back when we need it. Worst case, I'm trying to estimate longitude and latitude from the sun dial, but will need four points. Most likely we're just off a couple miles. Helen, any ideas on the 'awareness' problem?" asks the man as he glares at C.T.. Connie replies first, "How about timing a *shield* protecting me from wind rush?" "That would work; it certainly will be hard to ignore when it fails. Backups Henry?" agrees the woman. "Right. When the *fire* goes out.." he says while putting some wood on it, "C.T. will make two *lights* and leave us one for timing. And you _better_ set down when yours fails, Connie. Helen, you'll do the *shield* and I'll do the *flight* only. C.T., you're looking for Redstone Castle, Port Donaghadee, or Redstone Road - use a four mile radius. And if you set down elsewhere, - give us a smoke signal!" After Connie leaves, Henry turns to Helen and remarks, "Apprentices can be such pains. Someday you'll have your own church and appentices. We thought C.T. would be learning, but maybe it is us . Well, learn from this, Helen - _always_ carry extra supplies and mana like we did." Raising an eyebrow teasingly, Helen inquires, "and a map and compass?" "Right. And I think we need to up your spell diversity as well as C.T.'s." He marks another shadow. "Oh well, no damage yet, and we are probably only a little off. You do see why I use precautions with *teleport*?" "Yes. But really Wendy would come looking for us, or telepath anyway. I mean she is expecting us." "No. You missed the point. A mage worth his salt should be ready and able to handle these little errors. Never get into what you don't have two ways of getting out of. We still have enough to return, twice, but not much more." Both putter around. He building a bed of coals and starting the fire to smoke. She gathers a few edibles. "We won't starve. I've got trapping and good plains survival trainning from my father. And we all know enough herbalism to eat without that. Hmm, you know the vegetation doesn't seem quite right for the east continent. See the seed pattern in this berry?" Setting another shadow mark, Henry replies "I agree on the seeds, but Connie will be back soon and then we'll have the latitude estimate soon after that. Oops, there goes the light. I guess I better *lev* and look aro..." "Nope. I'm back," says the arriving Connie, "and there was no sign of Redstone, the Port, or farms. But there was a road, no travelers, and it had a marker like this by the side." __ / \ Drawing in the dust, they look at : / G. \ | 50 | | == | |________| "That's not from around Redstone." "Nope. I've been on their roads too. They just pile some sandstones every quarter mile or so." They stare at the drawing and munch some veggies for a while. Henry marks another shadow. Drawing a parabola and getting length ratios with the same bit of vine, he ponders for a while, then pronounces, "We are within three degress of both longitude and latitude, but I don't like the marker and berries - something's wrong. Let's burn mana and go home to try again. But first, I'm leaving this," as he empties his quiver and drops it on the ground, "it's been with me a long time and I can find it. We know _here_ is safe at least. Recharge, pack up, and let's go." ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- The same three appear over a dessert. It is night. Helen remarks, "Now we seem to be south in Ylaruam, but Soderfjord is just to the north. -CONNIE-?!" "No. Really I didn't! Ah, look at the moon!" "-oh- . -my- . -gawd-... the face, size and color are -wrong-, Henry?" In a quiet voice that cuts more than a shout, he replies, "The stars are too. This has happened to me twice before..." "_We are elsewhere_." They stare at the sky awhile trying to realize that everything and everyone they knew is gone. The desert cools, drawing them from their thoughts. Faintly, someone expresses the obvious- "Let's try to get back to where we were. Conserve mana." ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- Again they appear in the glade. It has only been an hour since they left, but this time blood streaks run from an eye, an ear, and a nose. Henry picks up his quiver. They gather some more veggies and walk in the direction of the road Connie found earlier. Night falls after some travel down the road and they move off it at full dark. Spreading out, they make camp with a mist rising around them. The next morning they hear a coach overtaking them. Placing their bundle and weapons on the ground, they hail it- "Help the lost?" The guard readies his crossbow, while the driver slows to a stop on the far side of the road. "What be yer need? Gregory Lloyd, whose coach this is, has sympathy for travelers. But stay were ye be. We have no tolerance for bandits, and more guards inside." "We are healers from afar, lost and know not what road we are on." "You're on the road to Generica. Need ye more?" From inside the coach comes a muffled voice, "Bryon, did they say healers?" "Yes mum, they did," the driver replies as an eye peers over a crossbow from within the coach. The view is repeated in the other window. "I see the a black bag. Perhaps they could prove themslves on Percival?" "Yes mum." "Would one of you care to look at our Percy here? He caught a bolt yesterday. Let me help him down." "We will, but await here as told." When Percy is down, it is evident from his stagger and pale face that more than one bolt found him the day before. In fact, the trio's close inspection reveals four bolts and a rib cracked by a sword striking mail armor. "We can help but little with poultices and herbs, may we resort to other -Arts-?" "If you can ... do," comes from within the coach. Helen holds a glittering object and speaks softly to Percy. He begins to breathe slowly and deep. The others pull the shafts from his body without his protest and the holes visibly heal soon after. They tape the rib and Helen snaps her fingers. "Hey, I feel _much_ better now," Percy exclaims. He rises, then redons his armor and climbs up to retake his place as guard beside Bryon. A woman emerges from inside. While her clothes are expensive to be of the traveling variety (meant to get dusty), her bearing says she is used to much finer. "So, you do have -Art-. How far does it go? I have another needing help inside. If you can help him, then you may have a ride to town." "What's wrong?" "A crushed leg." "A fair offer accepted. We may make the leg whole, but he won't be able to use it for a month. Is that good enough? And we will need an hour to try." "Done. Bryon, rest and feed the horses, they will have extra weight to pull." "Then allow us to also produce water for the horses refreshment, the ditch will hold it." (And does, as several gallons appear therein.) "So, shall we see to this leg?" "Inside. Percy, load that bundle and pick up their gear. Healers everywhere are usually peaceful, I doubt these would want to undo their own work!" "-WAIT!-" "Percy, please let C.T. handle and secure the bundle. We would have it treated gently." "Now, Helen let's see what we must do. Umm, diseased as well after being crushed, well we can fix that during the ride. If you all want to help, follow C.T.'s lead in song." ----- ----- ----- ----- Having completed the leg, first phase, they were riding on to town when they had time to formally introduced themselves. The lady was Sandra Lloyd, the youngest sister of a copper supplier. The crushed leg belonged to Herald Farnsworth, her personal guard. Our trio were 'Enry (his pronunciation, spelled Henry) Allen Mann, Helen Hofstein, and Connie (C.T.) Touchstone, mages, healers and clerics of Mikshall, a healing Goddess. Aside from pleasantries and unremembered name dropping, they were informed that: yes, there was a mage guild that desired registration, no, Mikshall was not a well recognized name (no church anyway), yes, Generica was a very big city, yes, there were good, secure, pubs (try the Dragon's Inn), yes, packages and people could be sent off world (see mages?, cost unknown), no, commoners did not view mages as evil neccesarily, yes, local coin was easier spent, but not much, and governmental power was generally with merchants. They ride through the gates at dusk. The Dragon's Inn is pointed out as it is passed and the three are let out in front of the mages guild. They enter through the revolving door and it is Henry that has to be brought back to the current task, rather than C.T.. They approach the front desk with Henry back in charge (of himself too) again. "Hello. We are lost mages/enchanters from under a different sky. Also healers and clerics. We want: mage info- 1 to register ourselves with the guild, 2 the list of what not to do in public so as not to upset non-mages, 3 to perhaps sell some magical items, 4 availability of pentagram rental- we may wish to produce more, 5 mana stones and / or raw gems- where can we get them, 6 spell study availability, if we stay, 7 (this is my fourth world) may we sell my understanding of magic, if different than your world, 8 can we secure some items here, clerical lowdown- 1 is religeon a fight-starting socially dangerous topic, 2 is the Goddess of healing "Mikshall" known here, 3 is healing 'controlled' or 'claimed' and who would we see, we _can_ usually regrow others' limbs, 4 about what are 'standard' healing fees (demand always exceeds supply, but no sense starting price wars), this bundle is a boy we need to raise in three days, so one of the following- 1 mana, how much can we get in three pieces and cost, 2 return home, place of our choosing - in time, cost and availability, 3 the same for him alone (and maybe fetching some of our stuff), 4 a list of local clerics or mages that can resurrect for us. And maybe a couple more things I can't remember at the moment." "This is a large city and apparently a big guild. You should be able to register us and provide the 'don't do' list, _immediately_. If not I want to see the head mage about improving organization, >now<. As for the rest, we'd like to know who we can see tonight. I know it is evening and we may need to bother (or buy) some dinners or see them after, >>>but the boy doesn't have weeks for beaurocracy<<<. And I want the full list of who to see about _all_ this prepared by 10 am. We and the proper guild agents will work out money or service exchange. Which reminds me, we have other services to offer, we can all enchant, I'm an engineer, she's an alchemist, and C.T. is apprenticed to us." Inhaling again and smiling, Henry concludes with "So, do you want to start with registration, or notifying people we need to see? We'll be staying at the Dragon's Inn when we leave here tonight." ---------------------------------------------------------- Usual (dis) claimers Rodney Taylor, aka rodney@onramp.net http://rampages.onramp.net/~rodney "If I have time to write, I need more work - rent me."