From: rigler@galileo.ifa.hawaii.edu (Michael A. Rigler)
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1992 22:16:05 GMT
Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn
Subject: [KQ] Thk [Dragon's Inn]: boulliabaisse

Chrs Involved/Mentioned:  KronQuestors, 'Raelf, Marcel

AT THE DRAGON'S INN...

'Raelf and Marcel look on with amusement as the newly healed lizard man 
wolfs down thirteen bowls of delicious boullabaisse without speaking.  
Finally, the tatooed savage looks up from the last empty bowl with a 
dripping grin.

"Vous allez comme un grossir!"              [ADMIN:  pardon my french]

"Ssss...The Trident, it demandss itss price.  It mussst be fed.  If I 
make no ssacrifissse, it takesss it out of me."

"Eat away, Dude.  Whatever floats your boat."

"Cosssmic Ssurfer and Marcel, you have sssaved me.   How and why, I do 
not undersstand.  But that is not important.  For though I am old, having 
lived far passt my time by the will of Sssuthru, I am ssstill not tired 
of my life.  Esspecially when the tidess of desstiny casst me upon sshoress 
more sstrange and wondrouss than any I have known, to meet beingss of ssuch 
grace and power as to put my humble originsss to ssshame.  What I am trying 
to sssay is...Thank you, and may the God of the Ssea blesss your travelss."

The lizard man stands and flexes his new left hand.  Five shiny black
talons pop out of their cuticles.  He takes up his Trident and turns
to Kron.

"It wasss a good fight.  Too bad I misssed the lasst part.  What did you
learn?  What isss our next sstep?"

In a grim voice, Kron informs Thk of the joystix and their implications.
He gives Thk a brief description of a nasty spot in the Low City which
is to be the next target.  Most of the socio-econo-political considera-
tions pass over the lizardman's head, so he files them for future ref-
erence.  But with his keen tactician's mind, he picks out the most impor-
tant aspects of the enemy defences (poison, traps...etc.).  He also 
listens to the slight barely-detectable quaver beneath Kron's voice.
He's heard this sound before, from his own generals, when there is grim
work to be done.  Yet there is no doubt that the human is brave.  Thk
tries to imagine Kron plus thirty humans like him assaulting the target
and being repelled.  That tells him a great deal about the place.

One thing is obvious.  Magic will be required.  He holds up a hand.

"Sss...I go now to pray to Sssuthru to grant me power.  I do not know if 
He will lissten.  I know that I have angered Him sssomehow, becaussse he 
hasss withdrawn sssome of my exissting powerss which I took for granted 
-- sssuch as the ability to regenerate."

Kron only grunts, and passes a hand through his greying hair.  The lizard-
man doesn't mention that he suspects that Sssuthru is angry because Thk
has delayed in bringing Kron, who was once 'the butcher of his people' to 
the Shunned Center for justice, and has instead joined with him.  Something 
funny about the whole business.  Perhaps praying will bring guidance.

"Thk, be back down here by noon, magic or no."

"Yessssss."

Thk steps outside for a moment and brings back a barrel full of old rain-
water.  Littlefair shakes his head as the lizardman slops water onto his
staircase.

[ADMIN:  another post to follow immediately.]

--
Rigler
          "How I'm tortured by my creative demons, how, having hit bottom,
   I wallow in the backwash of my existence.  She'll be sorry she left me."