From: jcp@trident.usacs.rutgers.edu (Jonathan Petersen)
Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn
Subject: [Ga] Small talk
Date: 27 Jan 93 03:36:02 GMT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.

Zebron turned over in his bedroll.  He had slept well, and considering the 
recent lack of good nights of sleep, he was thankful.  But he was indebted to
Khisanth, who had linked her mind with his in order to comfort him after the
revelation that the newest addition to the troupe, Mathew, had taken his 
dark elven heritage as a joke.

Seeing that there was almost an hour until dawn, until the party needed to
rise, make breakfast, and break camp, Zebron tried to return to the peace of
slumber, but it was not to be.  He was up, and there was nothing he could do
about it.

Not one to let the precious hour go to waste, Zebron sat up and stretched his
muscles.  Sleeping in leather armor was no easy trick, but a necessary one.  
The drow pitied those who, if they felt the need, as did he, of sleeping in
armor, would have an uncomfortable suit of metal as their bedclothes.  His
magical leather was hard enough.  Not wanting to wake the others so early by
starting breakfast, Zebron started to hone and polish three of the four daggers
he wore in his boots.

A few minutes later, he got the feeling that he was being watched, a feeling
the sometimes thief knew never to ignore.  He looked around to find
Marran'helar, Khisanth's winged cat, watching him.  Marran posed no threat, so
he continued working.

But Marran'helar kept its eyes glued to the drow, making him nervous.

"What?!" Zebron whispered, trying to be curteous to his fellow travellers.

Getting no response, the dark elf continued, "Want to know what I'm doing?"

Still nothing, but talking made the drow feel better, more at ease than when
he was being kept under silent surveillance, so he went on, "These three blades
need to be sharpened.  They're basically normal, these two being steel and this
one being of cold iron, something I heard in children's tales that works
especially well against faery folk.  This dagger," pulling out the fourth
dagger worn in his boots, one with a hilt carved like a skeleton, "I won in
a dagger thrwoing contest when I travelled with pirates.  It's magic; returning
to me after I throw it.  Something that's quite useful.  My swords are 
ensorcelled as well.  Otherwise their silver edges would dull within the week
and they'd be as useful as silver sticks."

Running out of weapons to explain, Zebron changed the subject, "I suppose you
want to know why I'm travelling with Khisanth.  Well, we met in a nice little
place called the Dragon's Inn.  Nice if you like people from every reality
dropping in for a drink, that is.  Well, we met a while ago, and then I had to
leave, you can't just sit around every day of your life you know.  When I
returned, she remembered me.  She and Kyleen were getting involved in the 
trek we're in now.  Garriot had entered the inn and needed help.  He was hit
in the head and had trouble recalling things.  Kyleen..., well, don't tell
anyone I told you this, but she's actually a competent healer, and privately
helped Garriot with his physical wounds.  Khisanth got herself involved because
she is adept in the ways of the mind - just one of her many talents, I'm
discovering.  That alone was enough to peak Dusk's interest.  Dusk, my raven
friend, has a passion for the mindscape.  I often tell him that he should
have linked with a psionicist instead of a renegade drow walking both sides of
the law.  Anyway, seeing as I often drag Dusk along on my misadventures, he
decided it was time for me to follow on one of his.

"Basically, everyone else joined because one of us brought them in.  Brent 
was interested in a hobby of mine and decided to join.  Kyleen somehow got
the mentalist Mardan to accompany us.  Her other recruit, a water being, got
called away on urgent business.  Khisanth's mate arrived.  And then the two
fools joined.  And that was how we set off.  Of course, Khisanth tried to get
more out of Garriot using her skills before we left, Dusk going on a joyride
with her, but that took a lot out of her.  We did get some vivid clues though:
a thorned hedge, an evil looking man, and images we pieced together to get
our destination: Hawksholme.

"Well, we set off.  That's basically when you joined, so you know the rest.
Ambushed, we defended ourselves, only to found that we had killed innocent 
farmers.  One of whom was Mathew's father.  He joined out of a sense of
justice or revenge - it's too early to tell which.  And that brings us to
today.

"What?  Not you too.  Don't worry.  I'm not like other drow.  I serve
Eilistraee, goddess of the good, renegade drow.  I left my home five, maybe
six years ago.  I was unhappy with a female dominated culture that was too
focused on infighting than to rejoin the surface world.  Granted 'rejoining'
the surface hasn't been easy.  The prejudice, losing my innate abilities,
getting used to that damned sun...

"And I have no respect at all for 'laws' or the like, except those of my own
heart.  The laws of a land are for the convenience of those who make them.  I
live by my own rules.  I think it is right and just to steal the ill gotten
gains of evil to give to the poor good people they oppress.  Others call it
theft, pure and simple.  I call it theft against the law, different from theft
within the law.

"And then there's my magic..." Zebron looked around.  Marran'helar, having
long grown tired of the elf's words, had fallen asleep at his side.  Petting 
the feline, the drow whispered the words, "Thank you" to it as it purred
contently.

Note: feel free to have any character overhear the 'small talk'.  Zebron truly
did not care who was listening, and was overcome by the moment, and didn't
think about it.  It's quite possibly the most open he's been with anyone except
Khisanth (communicating via thoughts tends to do that), and reveals information
that is more than anyone but Brent and Khisanth know about him at the moment.
Except for Ixnaphior, of course, but that's just because the two are, well, 
'linked' for lack of a better term.  Ixy is a character run by the DM in whose
campaign I created and played Zebron, and they have the same planet of origin,
similar enemies, the like.  Such as that nasty Black Eel, whom I haven't heard
from in a while...

-jak
jcp@trident.usacs.rutgers.edu