======================================================================= = [Dragon] 1.9 - Black Boot Inn - What Now? = ======================================================================= Nothing else was said. Without a glance back, Tawas and the stranger simply stood up and walked out the door of the inn. Prytz shook his head as he lowered it to his hands and rubbed his temples. He began to search outside the inn for any sign of the two, probing quietly with his mind; he found no one. They were gone. Brianna watched the two of them go. She was stunned. This drow was stranger than ALL of the stories she had ever heard about dark elves put together. Brianna reached out, grabbed a mug of beer and drained it. As she put the mug down, she realized it hadn't helped, sat down and picked up another. This was going to be a LONG day.... An itch started to infest itself underneath Prytzouth's eye patch. Scratching it irritably, he found himself wondering what he looked like to his companions. It wasn't more than a week and a half ago when he had fully healed since his fight with Maurkel. The purple scarring still webbed his body including the starburst scar around his eye. How his thoughts wandered these days . . . Thanin watched as Brianna downed her beer and grabbed a second. He caught himself thinking that perhaps there might be some dwarven blood in this woman. The dwarf polished off his tankard, and belched appraisingly. After a while she looks up to see how everyone else is reacting and says "We could still get on the boat..." The dwarf blew another ring of smoke into the air as he cast a glance around the room. People were still watching the group warily, though none of the inn's patrons were concerned enough to approach them. "I think Brianna's got a good idea there. I want to get as much distance between myself and that damned - I mean this damned port as possible," Thanin replied. "Huh?" Prytzouth was shaken from his thoughts. "Boat?" After a second of recollecting himself, he added dispondantly. "Oh, the boat." He grabbed his sword from where it leaned against the table and sheathed it once again on his back. His mind spun trying to collect and sort all that had happened in the past month, including the recent altercation. Adain talked at last, a bit shocked by the speed at which things were occurring. "Well, uhmm, boys, shall we start to, amhh, talk about the trip and so on?" He waved a gloved hand, inviting everybody to sit down at the table. "Okay, let's see... as I told you, this morning I found a boat that could fit as very well, I think. Its owner, an old human, agreed with me to discuss the price once we all were there to see the ship, I didn't like the idea of giving him a price for his services only to find that one of you didn't like it." He smiled at all, and, opening his arms, added "so, here is my plan. Some of us will want to make a visit to the city. Well I say, let's do it, buy some equipment, and the whole thing, then walk to the docks to see the ship and arrange the price and if all is fine, by tomorrow we can be sailing to the island. Well?" "How long is this trip going to take anyway?" he asked with a hint of worry in his voice. Melmar just stood there shaking his head in wonder. After his brain finally worked its way through the recent happenings, he stood and said "If we have a good wind at our backs, perhaps a couple of weeks. If we're becalmed, well, how fast can you row?" He smiled, and then continued, "I'll be outside when you are ready to leave. I think we should get on with this bandit hunt as soon as possible." With that he stood, slung his gear over his shoulder, walked outside, and sat in front of the Inn. He then started sharpening his sword with a sort of quiet, detached look on his face. Thwuck looked alarmed at the young man's remark. A couple of weeks in a boat? He wasn't ready for that yet. "We go on boat now?" he said. "No more Inn again for weeks? No stops on islands? Oh..." He dropped his bulky frame in a nearby chair, which protested from such uncalled-for behaviour. After guzzling two more beers, Brianna had decided she needed to get outside. She looked at the group and said "Are we decided about the boat? If so, I need to get more supplies." She rose from the table and walked to the door and turned. "We are meeting at the docks at what time?" "I suggest we have an early supper so we can meet the ship's captain by seven," Thanin put in. Brianna nodded, smiled, and proceeded out the door. Prytz watched her go in a detatched manner. There's more than equipment she's after, Prytz thought to himself. And there's definitely something different about her. Despite his curiosities of Brianna, he began to think about his dilemma with the boat. Two to three weeks! He could never keep up this cherade that long; maintaining human form for more than two days would send him into exhaustion so complete that he'd have to recover as a wolf for a full 12 hours of undisturbed rest. No that wouldn't do. He'd have to think of something . . . Brianna? "Say, I think I'm going to follow suite and wrap up my business on the main-land before we set off." Prytz announced. "I'll meet back with you for supper then." He waved and walked out the door. "I think I'll have another beer," Thanin smiled at no one in particular and downed another mug of the frothy brew. "And then I'm going to head down to the docks - I've never been to a port city before." The dwarf hopped down to the floor, brushed the crumbs off of his armor, and adjusted the falchion sheathed at his hip. "I'll be back for supper," Thanin assured everyone - not that they really needed it. "Anyone care to explore the city?" he asked, pausing on his way out. "Yes, me!" said Thwuck, who had an anxious expression on his face all of a sudden. He closed the distance with the dwarf in two huge steps. "Okay Thwuck, let's see what Pas du Mer has to offer two discerning folks like us," the dwarf joked. As the two demi-humans exited the inn, Thanin noted that Thwuck appeared nervous about something. The dwarf knew his friend was fairly sensitive to his surroundings and often had difficulty hiding it, but this was something different. "What's on your mind?" he asked, scratching his beard. Damn, Thanin thought, it must be the humidity in the air. And we have to spend two or three weeks in it. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- = [Dragon] Volume 01 Scene 09 Copyright (c) xx April, 1996 = -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- = Adain -- The Cheshire Cat -- cat@adi.uam.es = = Thanin -- Darren Robinson -- drobin02@uoguelph.ca = = Brianna -- -- Tammarion@aol.com = = Thwuck -- Mark Vanhommerig -- mvan@win.tue.nl = = Melmar -- Andrew of Scarborough -- AStoner@MAIL.WESLEYAN.EDU = = Prytzouth -- Chad C. Walstrom -- cwalstro@d.umn.edu = -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-