From: ASG102@psuvm.psu.edu
Date: 9 Sep 92 13:47:04 GMT
Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn
Subject: [MI] Little Rat Gets a Meal [DQ]

Characters Mentioned: Little Rat, Alfvaen, Delmara, William, Kadrys, The Short
                      Ogre Cook

>     "Mr. Elfman, I is gonna find somefin' to eat whiles you watchin' the man
>playin' in da mud.  I be comin' right back.  I ain't gonna run off."  She said
>trying to supress another smile.
>good.

     Little Rat turned and walked out the front door, pausing near the entrance
just to make sure that the Gutt Man had gone.  She didn't see him, so she went
to the corner of the inn and walked to the back.  There, amidst a buzz of
flies, was the garbage cans of the Dragons Inn.  She opened the closest one
and took out a chewed up rib with a good portion of meat left clinging to the
bone.  She turned it over a few times and didn't find any of the white worms
that were often on food she found.  Many Low City people would eat the meat
anyway, but her brother told her not to.  "People who eat the meat with the
white worms get the sickness and die," he had told her.  She did not want to
die.
-----

     "I wonder where she went," Delmara wondered out loud.
     "I wouldn't worry, Low City kids know how to take care of themselves,"
Alfvaen replied.
     "No, I mean I wonder where she is going to get food.  She said that she
had no money and the markets aren't open now," she said, but the pieces of
the puzzle didn't quite fit together.
     "Oh no..." Alfvaen gasped.  In a flash, he was outside and running around
to the rear of the building (Which is kinda complicated for a building with
19 corners).  There he saw the Short Ogre Cook towering over the girl.
     "Get outa my trash," he said trying to shoo her off.
     "It's ok, she's with me," Alfvaen said as he took her hand.
     "Mr. Elfman, I is hungry.  I gotta eat sumfin'"  she said looking at the
rib that she had dropped on the ground.  Tears began to well in her eyes and
she supressed a sob.
     "Don't worry Rat, I'll get you something to eat."  He lead her back inside
the inn and motioned for Serene to come over.  "My friend and I will have two
bowls of soup..and some ribs."  He winked at Rat.
     After Serene left, Little Rat said, "Mr. Elfman, I can't pay for da food.
I ain't got no jangles and she's gonna beat me an' throw me out."
     "Don't worry Rat, I'll pay for the food," he said casually.
     "Why?" she asked.  The look on her face showed confusion.  She couldn't
understand why this man was being so nice to her.  What did he want?  Was he
going to beat her later?
     Alfvaen saw that there was many levels to this simple question and he
chose his answer carefully, "If you don't eat, you'll get sick right?"
     "Yep."
     "I want to ask you some questions right?"
     "Uh-huh."
     "Well, if you are sick, then you might not be able to answer the
questions.  So I have to feed you to get what I want."
     Her little mind accepted this...he was feeding her because he wanted
something.  She nodded and decided to watch the man make shapes with the
mud for a while.

     A few minutes later, the stew and ribs came.  Alfvaen paid Serene with a
single gold coin.  This convinced Rat more than ever that he was a prince, but
she didn't say anything.  Obviously he didn't want anyone else to know so his
secret was safe with her.
     Alfvaen was about to take a bite of the rib, but Rat stopped him.
     "Mr. Elfman!  You gotta check da food for da white worms.  If it got da
worms, den ya can't eat it 'cuase you're gonna get the sickness and die.  An'
if you die, ya can't ask Little Rat no questions right?"  Little Rat took the
rib from his hand and looked it over carefully.
     "Dis one is ok.  You can eat it if ya want," she said handing it back.
     He began eating, but noticed that Rat didn't touch her food.
     "What's the matter Rat?  Don't you want the food?" he asked.
     "I thought you was gonna eat it an' I eat da parts that's left," she said
pointing to his plate.
     "No, you can have all of that to yourself."  He smiled at her confusion,
but that didn't last for long.  She dug into the food.  Not too long after, she
patted her stomach in a gesture of satisfaction.  She had eaten all of the stew
and almost all of the ribs.  She took the extra rib and put it in her pocket
for later.
     Content, she yawned and stretched.  Then she looked around the room to
see if anyone was watching her (and saw where she hid her precious rib).
Deciding that it was safe, she walked around the room a bit to where she
saw another group of strange looking people.  They were all gathered around
a table.  They appeared to be a gang talking about rescuing someone.  One in
the corner didn't look to well.  Little Rat thought about it for a moment and
then took out her rib and gave it to Kadrys.
     "Eat dis, you ain't lookin' so well.  Don't get da sickness," she said
and then walked back to Alfvaen, Delmara, and the man playing in the mud.

     Love and Peace and Charity,
            -The Dreamer-