From: simonj@rh.wl.com (Jeff Simon) Date: Fri, 29 Mar 1996 00:55:35 EDT Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Subject: [Death Choir] Interlude II: Bridge Over the River Sty Interlude II The moons of Nexus shone brightly, filling the night with a cold light. Beneath an ancient bridge spanning the Ceruputhon, a warrior sat cross- legged in meditation. His green eyes were open, staring at a pool of shadow which lay at the foot of one of the pilings. Something was stirring there. There was a blur of color, subdued by the gray of night. A form became visible within the shadows. Tall, thin, erect as a lone rush on the side of the riverbank. The figure came nearer the crosslegged warrior, emerging more fully from the darkness. Garbed in hooded robes, hands concealed by leather gloves, purple eyes glowed from beneath the cowl. "I thought it was you, Jake. Why were you calling?" Jake Shade stood, his knees popping as he did so. He stretched slowly, working the kinks out. He was several inches shorter than the new arrival, but thicker, broader. "I need a favor. A job, one that fits your unique physiotype." "My physiotype? What's wrong with YOUR physiotype?" The newcomer's voice was slightly odd, although any observer would have been hard pressed to explain why. Something about the timbre did not seem quite . . . human. Shade walked over to the edge of the riverbank. He looked up at the bridge overhead while tiny currents lapped at the tips of his boots. "About a month ago, I . . . fell from this bridge and almost drowned. I had to ditch most of my gear to stay afloat. Something has come up, and I have a need for two of the articles I lost. I was hoping you could help me recover them." The tall figure came and stood next to him by the edge of the river. The light of the moons reflected off the water's surface, turning it into a mirror of silver glass. The hooded figure sniffed the air pensively. "That river is filthy. I suspect a large segment of the population is dumping their garbage into the water." "Tell me about it," Shade replied. "I swallowed about half of it. I'm amazed I didn't come down with some kind of horrible disease." "What will I be looking for down there, if you don't mind my asking?" "The objects I need you to find are two shortswords. They should still be within the sheaths and swordbelt." "What's wrong with the swords you've got?" the hooded figure asked, pointing at the two weapons slung at Shade's hips with one gloved finger. "Nothing, if you don't mind the fact that they're low carbon steel that is barely one step above pig-iron, that they were forged without knowledge of folding techniques. They were also water-quenched rather than oil and brine cooled, the tempering process was done without the benefit of firecla-" "Jake, I've seen some of what you are lugging around in that gray pack of yours. Surely you can afford suitable replacements?" "It's gotta be these, buddy. I wouldn't have called you if it wasn't important." "Did you at least make an attempt to recover them yourself?" Shade hedged. "I've located them magically, yeah," he said. "They're about one hundred and twenty feet from this spot, almost directly under the bridge." "If you can find them, why don't you just levitate them out?" the figure asked him, a note of puzzlement evident. "If they were normal weapons I could just SHADOWDOOR them. These swords have special properties. One of those properties is a resistance to magic, a resistance that makes it impossible to move them magically." Shade's companion sniffed the night air once again and sighed. "If they are so important, I'm surprised you didn't swim after them yourself." The muscular outland warrior cleared his throat and looked away. The hooded figure regarded him and although its features were hidden, an aura of amusement was almost tangible. "What's the matter, Jake? Not too fond of swimming? Forgotten how to float, I bet." Shade looked once more at the river where he had come so close to drowning. He supressed a shiver. "Call me superstitious, but I think diving in here again would be too much like tempting fate." He looked at the hooded figure next to him with a trace of annoyance. "Anyway, MY ancestors were built for climbing trees, not sporting around chasing fish like some aquatic types I could mention." A strange sort of barking laughter came from underneath the newcomer's hooded cowl. "Ancestors. Yark. Well, I'll do it, I suppose." The muscular warrior let out a sigh of relief. Noting the release of tension, the hooded figure emmitted that strange bark of laughter once again. Shade ground his teeth in annoyance. His companion began to remove its cowled robes. As the slender figure shed its clothing, all semblance of humanity disappeared. "Hold my robes, would you?" Lutra the Otter Mage asked. "I don't want to get any mud on them." Shade held Lutra's robes, gloves and leather mask as the otter-morph glided cautiously to the edge of the riverbank. The strange, outworld Mage gave the river one more pensive sniff and turned to regard the burly swords- man who had summoned him. "You're going to owe me one for this, Jake." The golden-furred Mage turned and with a quick splash was gone. "Yeah, yeah, nothing is free," Shade muttered at the empty space where Lutra had been. Shade's mind was already turning towards the next steps of his plan to rescue Yvette. Ripples appeared on the river's moonlit surface. They began moving toward the bank and moments later, Lutra emerged with a slime-encrusted swordbelt held tightly in one hand/paw. Shade grinned and relieved the drenched Mage of his burden. "That was disgusting," Lutra observed, banishing the water from his fur. "not to mention a severe waste of resources. I could understand being asked for help with some difficult puzzle, but doing fetch-work for an over-muscled under-bathed hairless ape..." The Mage's voice trailed off and he let out a quiet sigh. "If you feel that way," Shade replied, "make sure that when you ask me to repay this favor, it is something intellectually stimulating. No scut-work." Lutra's whiskers quivered in amusement. "Oh no, Jake, fair is fair. You have to do it, no matter how distasteful the job may be." "You're a big weasel, not an otter," Shade grumbled under his breath, handing Lutra back his gloves and mask. "What was that, Jake?" the Mage barked, making as if to take the swords back and toss them in the river. "You're a bit greasy from that water," Shade lied smoothly. "Must have some river in my ears," the furred Mage said, boxing one of his ears to dislodge any water that remained. "I thought I heard the croaking of the nearly extinct Bitching Bog Toad for a moment." Shade grinned and threw the otter's robe at him. The furry Mage drew the concealing garment back on while Shade distastefully removed a glistening weed from the swordbelt and tipped the sheaths down at an angle. Foul smelling riverwater poured out of them, spilling onto the riverbank. "Better oil those," Lutra suggested. "These babies don't need it," Shade said, drawing one of the blades from its sheath and running his hands lovingly over the dark metal. Something about the manner in which he touched them was unsettling. Lutra sneezed suddenly and spat out some more river water. "You're lucky there's not much current in this part of the river," he mentioned. "They sank almost straight to the bottom. They were entangled in some weeds, not far from where they originally touched down." "Yeah." Shade's voice was quiet. "Lucky." Something about the warrior's tone caused Lutra to prick up his ears. "What's going on, Jake? Why the sudden need for the Mage-killing weapons?" "It's nothing, Lutra. A friend of mine is in trouble. I have to enlist Luthor's aid in locating a group of renegade Magi and then go kill them. You know, the usual thing." Lutra's whiskers stood out straight, then relaxed. He stroked them casually and then drew his hood up, neglecting to put on his leather mask for the moment. His purple eyes glowed in the darkness, contemplating the muscular outland warrior. "How is Luthor these days?" the otter asked, finally. "I don't know," Shade admitted. "I've been kind of busy lately." "Yes," Lutra said softly. "Falling off bridges, killing Mages. The usual thing. Gets almost monotonous." "I never thought about it in that way," Shade said after a moment. "I guess taking the same ride over and over again beats not riding at all." "I'm going to the Dragons' Inn, since you were kind enough to summon me back here. I have a couple journals to retrieve." Lutra pulled the soft leather mask back over his face, so that only the eyes were visible. "Care to join me for some fish and chips?" "No thanks," Jake answered, still fondling the swords. "I do have a Mage or two that needs killing." ************************************************************************************* Jake Shade is a copyright 1995,1996 of Jeff A. Simon, all rights reserved. This story and any other Jake Shade stories may not be reprinted or reposted without the expressed permission of this author. Lutra the Mage was created by Steve Hutchison, is his copyright, and appears by his permission. ************************************************************************************* --PartBoundary_Wed_Mar_27_09:30:46__3003081-- -- The opinions expressed in this message are mine alone. This message does not necessarily reflect the positions or opinions of my company or organization.