From: Mike Sander <344LWKC@CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDU>
Date: Saturday, 29 Aug 1992 00:40:46 EDT
Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn
Subject: [DQ] Lancos Week 6: Of games and dames

[ADMIN: ...And this is for Mike, who's forgotten which one he is :-)!.
 But seriously, for those returning to a.p.d-i. or seeing it for the
 first time, it is FAR from normal behavior to have ONE man post stuff
 for the majority of the group. I just seem to be the only one with the
  time and/or ability this weekend...]

}Alita watched the group enter the Inn. ALl four men...
[ADMIN: Did _I_ do that? Of course, I meant FIVE men! I'd appreciate it
 if you'd insert a lame excuse here! {:-)!}]

>The vampire turns to the sword-operated mini-giant next to him, and begins
>to give instructions in how to handle eating, drinking , and the swallow
>reflex.
Lancos aided where he felt it was needed. But ShockWave seemed to be
allowing SunStorm's bodily instinct to guide him, and Kadrys rememberd his
"old " eating patterns well enough. That and starting off with the simplier
foods ensured the process ran smoothly, and would continue to do so as
long as ShockWave didn't try to MAINTAIN his pace of eating and drinking.
Lancos was glad, as he himself was only hungry enough to pick at his
food, with him eating more to prevent 'Raelf from having to watch over
HIM as well than any current need.

Then 'Raelf unloaded his surprise...
>ShockWave/SunStorm sits bolt-upright in his chair, half-choking on the
>bread he'd been eating.
Lancos frowned , but was happy to see SUnStorm's body handle the shock.
Still, at the least 'Raelf could have given a warning. The thought was
quickly dismissed as Lancos absorbed the information.

Lancos was impressed by the list of items Krastin had. A potion of
dragon control? A potion of shrinking? A stone-to-mud want? Likely he
had been equally prepared for their battle. Lancos felt even luckier to
survive the encounter in that case. He was also mildly surprised to find
in the wand a facet of his previous opponent that he didn't know about,
even though the wand would have been useless in the Plaza of Glittering
Steel outside. Lancos felt no reason to mention any of this to the others,
however.

'Raelf had left for a bit, and the others were talking heavily. Lancos
decided to test just HOW mentally drained he actually was. He pulled out
a box which anyone near him saw contained an ornate board and two sets
of carved figures. The medallion also fell out of the backpack. Lancos
grabbed it and slipped it on as if it was a reflex action. He then
--seemingly randomly-- placed some of the figures on the board and
studied the position. The best attacking moves seemed to come easily
enough for each side, but the best immediately non-attacking moves
evaded him for a bit. 'Still,' he thought 'nothing serious for NOW.'.

[ADMIN: Lancos has just set up and studied a chess position. I guess
 Death & Destiny aren't the ONLY ones who can play the game :-)!]

Kadrys and 'Raelf Elder were familiar with the game, SHockWave was
concerned about TrueSilver, and Valgar chose to only watch. So, no one
said anything to Lancos, until...
>A few minutes later 'Raelf comes back, dropping off the stairwell in an
>excess of energy.

'Raelf sees Lancos peering over something. Curious, 'Raelf attempted to
tap Lancos on the shoulder to get his attention. Instead, his hand
passes through Lancos' shoulder. Lancos feels a tinge and turns his
head around.

Lancos <somewhat guiltily holding the medallion> "Sorry about that!
Sometimes I almost forget I have this on!"

'Raelf: "No problemo! What are you up to?"

Lancos : "Well, when Helen mentioned that game, it brought back memories.
So, when I went on my shopping binge, I purchased a set."

'Raelf: "Gnarly pastime, dude! Never learned it myself."

Lancos thinks to himself "'Narle'? 'Dood'? It would be nice to always
understand him!" Then an idea crosses his mind.
Lancos: "If you want, I could teach you the game. Maybe in exchange for
some lessons in your language --namely explanations of your expressions.
Not that I could use it around here, really. But you never know when
knowledge can be useful." As he completes the last sentence, he ponders
over the number of times he would have been attacked on sight if he
didn't know at least the basic greetings in Centaur.

'Raelf: "Good enough. I've got a couple of other things I want to do
first, though."

>He sits down, putting the weapons and the rocks on the table.
>"These rocks, here, are ablative armor.
>...and I think they work for you, Lancos, 'cause your armor isn't all
>that magical. You got that weird can't-touch-this trick I saw you pull,
>but the rock should still have priority if something would make you bleed.
Lancos is thankful for the gift, but wonders at the wisdom of trying to
mix two magical items. Still, there's no reason to ignore 'Raelf's
hospitality. If he doesn't use it himself, perhaps the others can while
he sticks to the medallion protection.

>"Hey, looks like we have some leisure time! Anyuone want to learn a game?
Lancos is heavily interested until the full rules are explained. He had
previously had to ask Serene for water due to his current mental state.
Throughout the night, Lancos played the game when he felt his mind would
allow it. However, the tandem of Valgar, 'Raelf and SunStorm were the
center of the games. The latter seemed to take the worst of it.

It was all too obvious that SHockWave could not handle the amount of
alcohol he had imbibed. Lancos could not help but find it ironic that
the body of the person who had challenged any two men to a drinking
contest [ADMIN: Anyone besides me remember this?] was inexorably wasted.
Lancos decided to take charge of the situation, and with the help of
Valgar, began to carry SunStorm upstairs. Lancos wondered if it was his
muddled head, or if Valgar had grown a mustache and beard since the fight
began. He decided it was best not to comment about it.

Then a mysterious woman entered . SOme patron tried to make an in with her,
but was literrally pushed away. She then slowly and seductively slinked
towards the party
"Hello boys! Do you recognize me?"

That was a definite "No"! Kadrys seemed to show a spark of recognition, and
'Raelf Elder kept quiet per usual, but Lancos carried the same puzzled
look as the other three.

ShockWave --obviously trying to deal with strange feelings--shook off
Lancos and Valgar in a measure of bravado. That proved to be unwise, as a
push from the woman sent ShockWave/SunStorm to the floor. The sound of
snoring and smell of ale was all Lancos needed to blame the condition on
the alcohol.

She then began to talk with the party. First with Valgar...
>And then, she turned to Lancos. "Ha, don't be jealous, now!"
Lancos inwardly scoffed. If he had been jealous, he hadn't known about it.
As of yet, she had given no reason to be jealous for...

After remarking on their similiar hair, she passed him a note and told him
to keep its content a secret. Lancos immediately felt it would be HE that
decided whether the others would know or not. He also started to believe
her claim of knowing them, as she didn't even TRY to touch Lancos with the
medallion on. But both those things could wait --the first thing to do was
to get ShockWave to bed.

After carrying the body into the room upstairs, Lancos dismissed Valgar,
telling him that he could take care of things from now on. While Lancos
DID perform some mundane tasks, the main reason for his seperation was to
investigate the note. A flood of feelings swept over him as he read it.
First and strongest came confusion. That was followed by a sever interest,
then shock somewhat, and finally a bit of fear. He recomposed himself before
starting to head back downstairs.

Then 'Raelf the younger cried out:
>"By the Great Void!"

That sent Lancos rushing down the stairs and towards the table. As he
neared, "Raelf Elder gave him a strange look.

'Do you think he knows?' Lancos' mind seemed to ask itself.
'Of COURSE he knows. The future may not be fully preordained, but this
 is likely of large enough magnitude to be constant' came the reply.
'Plus, it would be a big step towards why the future LANCOS isn't here...'
'If he didn't tell us about the Pyracubic Diamond, though, there should be
 no reason to tell about THIS!'

His mind in general seemed to relax at this thought. A deeper part of his
mind was even happier that 'Raelf Elder knew the full story.

Then Lancos saw the current fate of SunStorm. THAT put everything else on
the back burner. Words could not describe the way he felt. He looked to
'Raelf for some sort of action, or at least an explanation...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael Sander 344lwkc@cmuvm.csv.cmich.edu
AKA Lancos Erredan