From: aaron@space.ualberta.ca (Aaron Humphrey)
Subject: [MI] Alfvaen[Inn]: Shelter To The Little Rat
Reply-To: aaron@space.ualberta.ca
Organization: University Of Alberta, Edmonton Canada
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL4
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 15:57:20 GMT

Characters featured: Alfvaen, Delmara, William, Little Rat

Alfvaen is watching William's hands flying on the clay sculpture, mesmerized,
when Delmara taps him on the shoulder.  "Look at that poor child!"

Alfvaen turns his gaze, and sees a ragged child of about six, or perhaps an
undernourished eight, hiding under a table.  He hears a voice from outside
saying, "Where are ya, ya little bitch?  I'll get ya.  Ya can't hide from
me..."

The child's voice, a girl's, says from under the table, "Can yinz people help
me?  Him da Gutt Man.  Him gonna make me dead an' take my gutts out.  I ain't
got no jangles, but I'd be slave or sumfin'."

Delmara bent down and reached under the table.  "Hush, little one.  I'm here.
I'll help you."

The child looked at her suspiciously through the legs of a chair.  "For what?"

Delmara looked puzzled.  Alfvaen bent down to join her.  "You're from Low City,
right?"  As if anywhere else in town a child could live like that.  But the
girl nodded.  "Well, I bet you've seen a lot of stuff, right?"  Another nod,
more hesitant.  "Well, I need to know about some people in Low City.  If I
help you now, will you tell me what I want to know?"

The girl considered this for a moment, then nodded vigorously as there was
pounding on the door from outside.  She spat on her grimy palm and held it out
solemnly to Alfvaen.  After a moment, he spat on his palm and they shook hands.
He covertly wiped his hand on his pants and stood up, just as the door burst
open and a disreputable-looking man walked in.  "Where's that Little Rat?" he
growled.  "She's mine, and she ran away, and I seed her run in here."

Alfvaen looked as innocent as possible.  "Ain't seen no kid in here, guy.  Now
perhaps you can leave before you stink up the place any more?"  A hush settled
over the Inn, and Listener started tuning up his harp.

The man grimaced, and then his eyes flicked down to the face barely visible
between Alfvaen's legs.  "Thar she is.  Under that table.  Now give 'er to me,
and there won't be no trouble."

"Please don't, mister," Little Rat whispered, fear in her voice.  "I'll tell
you everything you want to know about anyone.  Just don't let the Gutt Man get
me."

"I'm afraid you're mistaken, sir," Alfvaen said.  "This little child is my
daughter.  She's a little shy with strangers, and I believe she had dropped
something under the table and was looking for it.  Found it yet?  No.  Well, I
believe that if that's all your business here..."

The Gutt Man scowled.  "You don't fool me none, pointy-ears slick-talking
bastard."  Listener started to play the first strains of a soothing melody.
The Gutt Man strode further into the room, then stopped as his sleeve caught on
something.  He looked to see Alfvaen's dagger pinning his sleeve to the wall.
And his other sleeve, too.  He looked up to see Alfvaen holding another dagger
in his hand.

"This one goes right in between.  Or maybe I'll just keep it in my hand.  Your
choice."

The Gutt Man growled and ripped his sleeves loose from the daggers, leaving
scraps of cloth pinned to the wall.  Then he seemed to reconsider and turned to
leave the Inn.  "Next time I see that elven scumlicker in Low City, he's gonna
regret it.  I'll tear out his liver and chop it into mush and boil it in Orc
Ale."  He mumbled as he walked out into the Plaza of Glittering Steel and all
the way back to Low City.

Little Rat crawled out from under the table and looked up at Alfvaen. "Thanks,
mister," she said.  "Now what you want Little Rat to tell you?  I know lots."

"Not here, Rat," he said.  "Let's go someplace a bit more private.  Back to the
office."  Then he recalled the sculptor's work, and went back to see if he'd
finished yet...

--
---Alfvaen(Canadian SF Quasi-Activist)
"What have I done to piss the gods off?"  ---Terence Trent D'Arby
Current Album--Aztec Camera:Love
Current Read--John Updike:Rabbit, Run
Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn