From: aaron@atlantis.uucp Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Subject: [MI][SQ] What a swell party this is! Date: 4 Feb 93 02:54:49 GMT Characters involved: Maleiu, Mistletoe, Bronwen, Angus, Radan, Karl, Alfvaen, Moriarty, Delmara, Ornigan, Thorn, Dasham The five of them were almost the first to arrive at the Diplomatic Residence. Karl greeted them with a smile. "Come in. Things are just getting set up here." Radan went off to talk to Karl. Mistletoe & Maleiu went off to be alone together. They made a strange couple, the large black man and the diminutive grey elven woman. But somehow they seemed natural together, and their love seemed to radiate from them like a glow. Bronwen sighed. She wished that her love could be as uncomplicated as her friends'. With her, it always seemed that it never rained but it poured--no sooner would one love come along than another did as well, to make things more complex. So even while she talked with Angus, her mind dwelt on Remi. On the ship, she had asked Karl what would happen to the pirates when they reached Generica. They'd be taken into custody by the Seaguard, he had said, and put to trial for piracy. Then they'd be thrown into Generica's dungeons. The penalty used to be hanging, he said, or slavery back when Generica still allowed slavery. He had slipped back into talking about history, and Bronwen's attention had drifted. All she could think of was Remi's eyes in the light of a candle's flame. *** "What're you thinking, love?" Mistletoe whispered. Maleiu had been silent for several minutes, lost in thought. "Where to start?" he said. "Everything. My quest. Home. Lyono. You." "Oh," she said. A flash of jealousy came over her at the thought of Lyono, the woman waiting in Nariawah who apparently still loved him. "I've been on my quest, to walk all the shores of the world, for years now. I don't know how near I am to being done. I've been meaning to check with the Cartographer's Guild here, but I keep putting it off. "The whole reason I've been going on this quest is because I can't go home until I've completed it. Home to Nariawah, and to Lyono. But now? Now I have you, and Lyono is a wisp of imagination that I can hardly put a face to anymore. "So have I wasted the last several years?" Mistletoe chose her words carefully. "Who does it matter to if you don't complete this quest?" Maleiu thought. "Well, Loiu probably never intended for me to complete the quest in the first place. That was why he gave it to me--so his daughter would be safe from me. Lyono may be still waiting for me, but I don't think she really expects me to return either." He paused, then said, "Sometimes I wonder if the vision I saw in the Hall of Eyes was even correct. The Faerie are known for their tricksome nature, are they not?" Mistletoe nodded. "It does seem suspiciously contrived. So it doesn't matter to the chief of your tribe, or to the women you left behind. Does it matter to anyone else in your tribe?" Maleiu was silent for a time. Then, "No." "Does it matter to you?" Again, he fell silent. "Yes." "Then it is to me also. Still...we don't have to set off again right away, do we?" "Generica hasn't had very pleasant memories for me so far," he said softly. Thoughts of Great Mother sent a shudder through his frame. "We can always change that," she murmured. *** "This the place?" Moriarty said. "Goddamned formal dress," he added under his breath. Alfvaen nodded. "Seems to be." He took Delmara's arm. "Shall we?" The priestess of Aditi, stunning in her formal gown, smiled and accompanied him up to the door. "Moriarty and Alfvaen, guests of the Mage Guild," Moriarty said to the doorman, "and Delmara, Alfvaen's escort." They were shown inside, to a party in full swing. Alfvaen said to Elstree. Lassiviren broke in. they chorused. Alfvaen brought his attention back to the party. It was getting to the loud and raucous stage. "D'you think they'll bring Amaan?" he said. Moriarty shook his head. "Despite the fact that he's supposed to be the guest of honour, I somehow severely doubt it. He's in no shape right now. The Mage Guild can get away with saying that he's ill or injured from the trip. And there's absolutely no chance that Dariel will show up, either." "So why are we here?" "Supposedly, to scope out this Thorn guy. I don't see how this undercover thing is supposed to work. I mean, we're supposed to be posing as a couple of guys who are just studying magic on the side--and then we go with Nijorik to meet the ship, and we come here as Mage Guild guests..." Alfvaen shrugged. "Urcohea must know what he's doing." *** Ornigan had just finished talking to the doorman when a voice from behind him said, "Excuse me? Are you a Mage Guild guest too?" He turned to see a dark-haired impeccably handsome man. The man smiled--a smile framed by perfect white teeth--and said, "I'm Thorn. The Guild's political representative, I suppose you could say." "I've heard about you, Archmage Thorn," Ornigan said, stressing the title. He was instantly wary. Were the Archmages trying him yet again? Or, wait--in the way Rivy had spoken of Thorn, he had gotten the impression that she thought of him as an opponent. Well. Factions in the Mage Guild? Not a far-fetched idea. Well, he'd try to avoid getting involved, if he wasn't already. At least until he knew more about the sides involved... He caught Thorn staring at the amulet he wore. "That's a nice piece of work," Thorn said. "Where'd you get that one?" His voice contained nothing more than idle curiosity. "I got it in Rameshan," Ornigan said evasively. He had no reason to lie about it, he thought. "Indeed," Thorn said. "Did Amaan give it to you?" "Actually, it was sent to me under his name, but he didn't actually give it to me himself," Ornigan replied. "Interesting," Thorn said. "Would you like a drink?" Suddenly Ornigan became aware of how thirsty he was. "That would be nice, Archmage." The smile appeared again. "Please, Ornigan--call me Thorn. So I understand you're from Maybold?" *** "Well, there's the guy himself," Moriarty muttered. "Who's that he's talking to?" "He looks familiar...wait--he was that guy from the ship. Orn-something." "Ornigan," Moriarty supplied. "Yeah, you're right. Didn't recognize him at first. Doesn't that strike you as odd?" "Hmmm?" "Well, Delalle himself shows up, and, among other things, welcomes this guy to the Guild. Now here Thorn's chatting him up. What's so interesting about this guy?" Alfvaen shrugged. "I don't know. Do you think we should try to find out?" "I think we should ask Urcohea about it next time we talk to the bastard. If this is going to interfere with our case, then we should know about it." "Did you see where Delmara's gone off to?" *** "So you don't know where the laboratories are?" Thorn asked. Ornigan shook his head. "No. I know a fair bit about where they aren't, but that's not quite the same. Castle Maybold has a lot of hidden passages and such, and my sister and I only explored a few of them. Perhaps my former teacher would know more, but I have no idea where he's gone to. Wandering around the Great Heath, no doubt." What a pleasant fellow, he thought. Much nicer than Rivy had tried to paint him. Well, lots of mudslinging goes on in this internal conflicts. Why should mages be any different? At least Thorn seemed genuinely interested in him. Thorn looked distant for a moment, then said, "Sorry, chap, but I've got to go. I do have to talk to other people at this thing, you know." He flashed a charming smile yet again. "Maybe come see me at the Guild sometime." "Sure thing," Ornigan said, smiling in return. He shook his head suddenly, feeling a bit disoriented. Maybe it was time to go see if he could find some of his friends around. *** "Well?" Dasham whispered in his ear. "I was right," Thorn whispered into the stone. "He was the one given that amulet. And it's still functioning. It'll make him very suggestible to me. I've found out enough to know that his usefulness to us is limited--he doesn't know as much as any of us hoped. But if the other side don't know that yet, then we can play him for a bargaining chip worth more than he is..." -- ---Alfvaen(Eagerly awaiting "October's Baby") "Clocks don't bring tomorrow--knives don't bring good news." ---Bruce Cockburn Current Album--The Jesus & Mary Chain:Honey's Dead Current Read--Sean Stewart:Passion Play