Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn
From: li@Data-IO.COM (Phyllis Rostykus)
Subject: [storm] [MG] A Restoration
Sender: news@data-io.com (The News)
Organization: Data I/O Corporation
Date: Wed, 14 Apr 1993 19:29:06 GMT

        They emerged from the basement as if coming up from a cave.  Kardia 
blinked at the sunlight in the house, with the rest of the guests.  She 
didn't want to see Mrs. Cludne's face, so she just looked at the hole in 
the roof and the jagged edge of the brick wall above it.  She heard the 
intake of breath and then the long sigh after it.

        She walked through the house, feeling a little as if she had just
survived a war.  Most of the windows had been blown in, there were two
nasty brick falls from the overhead wall, and the haste of the exit down
into the basement had left most of the house forlorn looking.  Kardia's
knee hurt after the long, enforced stillness and now the climb up the
stairs.

        The room that Kardia had been staying in was the one that took the 
second brick fall.  Kardia looked up at the small patch of sky outside, the 
white clouds puffy and big against the blue and shook her head at the mess 
of the interior.  The bed had been crushed by the fall.  Kardia took two 
pairs of gloves out of her bag and put the doubled protection on her hands 
and started gingerly gathering an armful of splintered boards.  
 
        "No." Mrs. Cludne's decisive voice stopped Kardia.  "Lass, there 
are plenty of burlies that can do that work.  Your poor hands would be torn 
up in no time at all, doin' work like that.  Perhaps the Guild could use 
your capabilities better'n here..." 

        "But..." Kardia gave a helpless look at the destruction, almost 
hugging the boards to herself. 

        Something relaxed in Mrs. Cludne, "Aye." She seemed to finally look 
at the destruction, "I know... but you'd be more use elsewhere..." 

        Kardia gave a shivering sigh and nodded.  She grinned a wry grin at 
the boards in her arms, "I'll take these down, though.  Should I look for a 
room as well?  You were full when I came in."

        Mrs. Cludne shook her head, "No, child, there'll be room here for
you, if you want it.  With the storm there'll be fewer places to stay, not
more."

                     *               *               * 

        Kardia realized the truth of Mrs. Cludne's words as she walked
towards the Guild.  Even on Merchant's Hill there were houses that looked
as if they'd been leveled.  A house broken open by a falling tree.  One
house that cradled a tree in the midst of what had once been a roof.  There
were few windows intact anywhere she looked.  Everywhere there were
carpenters, haulers, garbage collectors to take the debris away.  The sheer
destruction apalled her; but it was also heartening to see, everywhere,
people working together to rebuild.

        She limped up to the Weavers' Guild and was somewhat surprised to
find 'Raelf there, dressed in the skimpy work clothes popular amongst
carpenters and roof-workers in every culture she'd seen.  He had waved down
to her from the ?surfboard? he was standing on, floating in mid-air as he
rehung slate shingles on the roof.  She waved back.  When he turned back to
his work she watched him for a long moment, then smiled and went inside.

        Inside there were far more people than she'd seen the day before.
Peter, looking harried, said, "Why don't you just wait in the reception
area?  We'll think of something for you to do here, later?"  A little
crestfallen, Kardia nodded and carefully sat down.  Peter grinned, "Don't
worry, there will be plenty to do once we're sure the roof's safe in the
work area."  Kardia gave him a smile, which he returned before disappearing
back into the Guild.

        After a while 'Raelf showed up inside, pulling on a black tee-shirt
with a picture of a pale woman's face, kind of gothic in appearance.

	"You still interested in doing some contract work for me?" he asked.

	"I suppose so.  Depends..."

	"Well, standard Guild fee for cursebuster is 1000 guilder per rated
level of the breaker plus 2x hazard if applicable plus a personal bonus if
rated or required.  You'd be on my contract so I get to charge them at my
rating, which is 11, and you need to determine whether hazard is there or
not, and I'll provide personal bonus anyway."

	Kardia chuckled at the rapid-fire legalese.  "The money seems more
than fine, 'Raelf, but what's this about `personal bonus'?"

	"Well, if you will put up with Archmage Dasham long enough to help
me get rid of the curse she's carrying, we'll do something about that limp
of yours."  'Raelf nodded to one of the passing weavers.  "All done."

	"I see.  When do you want to start on this?"

	"No time like the present, eh?"

        Kardia blinked as 'Raelf took off her shoe and the wool sock
underneath.  She leaned back as he studied the cauterized stump, knowing
too well how it looked.  It hadn't been sewn shut and all the ragged,
glossy and wrinkled bits of skin over the now healed, rather lumpy flesh
and skin covered bone.

        'Raelf was muttering to himself.  "Fer shure.  Lessee..." Gentle,
strong, impersonal hands along her skin, "Seattle foot's out, there's too
much structure still in place.  Besides, they tend to break if you gain
weight..."

        Kardia blinked at the word "Seattle".  Something a little like
worry and fear flashed for a moment behind her eyes.  Then 'Raelf rambled
his cheerful way on, "How about something a little higher tech?  Hope you
don't mind a bit of magic as part of the fab.  Marcel didn't want any, but
then Marcel was a peasant."  Kardia giggled at the cheerful comment and
'Raelf protested, eyes wide in true innocence "No, really."

        Kardia shook her head and laughed softly, "I don't doubt you.  And
I don't mind having magic in the making... it would be most interesting to
watch." 

        "How about a - wait a sec.  The tech base here is high enough to
support ... hmm.  I was thinking of that as a cure for Dasham anyway, but
it's so much easier if it's not the full Sternberg internal refit..."

        Kardia blinked at the name, but kept quiet, fascinated by 'Raelf's
mental gymnastics.

        "Here."  'Raelf produced two blocks of foam from nowhere.  "You
don't wear any of those nettle-weave socks, do you?"  Kardia shook her
head.  "No?  Good.  Let me fit this to your foot."  The foam substance
blorped as it reshaped itself around her foot.  Kardia suddenly started
giggling.  "Yes, of course it tickles.  Hold still."  Kardia frowned
horribly at 'Raelf as she tried to hold still but then broke down into
another giggle fit as 'Raelf took the mold off her foot.
 
        "Now.  Let me go play with this." 'Raelf flickered out and then in
in less than a fraction of a second and held something out to her.  She
blinked power dazzled eyes to look at it.

        "This is a prototype.  See if it fits."  He held out a
clunky-looking foot-shaped boot-thing made out of what appears to be metal
bands.  She turned it over in her hands and then strapped it around her
foot.  The surface against the tender scar tissue was so soft she found
she could nearly ignore it.  It fit around her foot quite well, but she
looked a little bit unhappy with how clunky it was.  'Raelf didn't seem to
notice.

        "OK, now stand."  Kardia stood a little uncertainly, having that
extention to her left foot was now strange in and of itself.  But she felt
so much more solid it amazed her.  "Good." he said.  Encouraged, she bent
that foot experimentally and then put her weight on it, front and back.
'Raelf's eyes narrowed, "Hmm.  Readings a bit off, and of course the cyber
isn't installed.  OK, sit again."  Kardia sat and 'Raelf removed the boot
thing.  He flickered again.  Kardia was a little dazzled by the wake that
appeared to her when he did that.  He held out a delicate left foot that
shone like gold.  The only similarity that she could see it shared with the
previous piece was that it was as hollow as a boot.  She carefully put it
over what was left of her left foot.

	"This is the second prototype."  It fit her foot as perfectly as
the other had.  Then the stub of her foot started to tingle.  After a few
moments, Kardia's eyes went wide as she felt the hardness of the wooden
floor beneath the 'toes' of the gold foot, and the toes started to wiggle
at her command.  Carefully, slowly, she bent her 'foot' up and then down
again, and she shook her head slowly, her eyes wide.

	"Thought so."  Said 'Raelf, "Now, this is shielded, so you'll be
able to put your funny weavings on, but don't let them get at the inside,
and be sure to take it off every few days.  Let me see it in a few hours,
I'll adjust the adapt.  Yeah, it's slightly magical, but it's mostly tech,
the magic is just in the initial control interfaces.  No jacks required,
uses a resonant receptor over the nerve bundle."  Kardia blinked up at him
in wonder.  Even with the receptors she'd known at home, there were weeks
to months of training the nerves to do the what the user wanted.

        "You want some color other than shiny gold?  I can do matte-black
dullkote, or match it to your leg color, or leave it.  Just takes a
second..."

        Kardia couldn't help it, she threw her head back and laughed.
Probably the first completely carefree laugh she'd had in a very long
while.  She didn't even want to think how long.  In the face of 'Raelf
surprise at her laughter, she got up and carefully hugged the big, blonde
mage with her face turned away from his.  "It's perfect." she said when
she let go of him.  "It's absolutely perfect." she whirled, once on her
left foot, caught her balance, just barely and then laughed again, this
time with a slightly hysterical note.  Then she sat down, pulled her sock
over the bright metal, and tapped her toes on the floor and shook her head
at the sensation of it.

        When she turned her face towards him, there were tears running down
her face.  "Thank you." was all she could say before the tears choked her
voice.  

        "Hey, dudesse, you O.K.?"

        She just nodded, and tried to choke back the sob that came up.
Then she was just crying hard enough to shake her slender body.  'Raelf
sat down next to her, not touching her, and just waited.  The sobs peaked
for a moment and then subsided slowly into hiccoughs.

        "It's... (hic)... It's just that... awww.. shit. (hic)" A softer
giggle than the laughter that had gone on before. "I never thought...
(hic)"  Then in a rush, "I didn't think I'd ever get it back."  'Raelf
shifted on the bench.  She hurriedly said, "I know, I know... it really
isn't a foot.  It's just a (hic) prosthesis... but do you *know* what it's
like to lose...?"  She looked up at him and went silent.  "Yeah... well.
Thanks... such an inadequate word that..." she trailed off and hicccoughed.
She took the sock off and looked at the shinyness.  "I think I'd like it to
stay the way it is, so I remember it's not real and maintain it right."
She looked up at him.  "That make sense?"  The hiccough broke her solemness
and she shook her head and smiled.

	"Yeah.  I do know what it's like to lose a part of yourself, and
know it'll never be back, and then have it returned by an impossible chance.
Thank _you_ - it isn't often that I can repay that particular debt to the
universe."  He smiled back.  "So now, let us go walking, so the foot can
learn you better."

- -- 
Liralen Li             |  "... and how you feel can make it real 
aka Phyllis Rostykus   |       Real as anything you've seen... "
li@Data-IO.com         |                      Peter Gabriel _US_ 


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