From: 344LWKC@CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDU (Michael Sander)
Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn
Subject: Re: [DQ] Week 17: Memories Over Beer
Date: 11 Dec 92 16:34:41 GMT
Organization: Central Michigan University

>"So what happened before?"

>"OH. Right. You want the whole thing?"

>"Sure."

Lancos listens intently of 'Raelf's story, needing answers. Though all of it
is intriguing, certain parts could not go by without being noted:

>  "Between the servitor and Tan Ru, the ritual was devised, and at
>   the end it was decided that five people were required. On this
>   time track, the Traveller could not just be snatched from the
>   heart of the Dragon's Inn. They would be lured."

Lancos quickly recalled the group's meeting. Not that credit needed to be
distributed, but he remembered helping SunStorm, and asking the others to
join. Apparently, that -- admittedly rather impetuous -- behavior, and the
near immediate acceptance by those who had left with him, had been
pre-determined.

>  "There was a wandering Warrior, with just the right combination of eager
>   brashness and experience."

Not hard to figure out who that meant. Names -- and the acknowledgment that
went with them -- were not needed.

>  "Unwilling 'guests of the Dark Master, they were tormented and in despair,
>   and the ancient Vampire lost his last trace of humanity. In the midst of a
>   battle, carefully set up by the Dark Master, the bloodlust overwhelmed the
>   Vampire and he attacked the Warrior, and was destroyed in the battle, but
>   he had so ravaged the Warrior that healing was impossible."

Lancos was dumbfounded. Kadyrs and he killing each other? He could only
imagine -- somewhat fortunately -- the torment that had caused both men.
"That's why the older 'Raelf ... er, you... took Kadrys away! He knows about
that aspect, doesn't he?" he said, suddenly realizing why Kadrys had refused
Lancos' gift, and how foolish he had been to even try.

'Raelf only gave a slight nod before continuing.

>  "But the Succubus, still free, performed a blasphemous rite on the fallen
>   Warrior.... And the Warrior, by dint of the blasphemy which had killed him,
>   and the Wampire's bite, rose as a vampire himself."

Lanocos briefly lost his speech ability. Him -- a vampire?!? Still, it DID
answer his question about Alita's note. If she had raised him, he would feel
indebted to her. And he knew what would be on top of the woman's list of
paybacks. He had hoped the note's content of him having responsibility for her
child had been a lie, or had meant he had kept a watchful eye over them, but
with this new information, he doubted it.

>  "The Warrior continued in his unlife, hiding in shadows and never seeing the
>   sun, trying to emulate those traits that the ancient Vamprire had used to
>   survive."

Lancos mentally nodded at that. In that situation, he would try to follow
Kadrys' example, feasting on those of evil, when he must at all.

>  "My regret is for more than his death.  I had to cause William to be
>   driven here, knowing nothing of who he was, or what he was like.
>   If he had not been chosen, the world would have fallen.  But I couldn't
>   give him the freedom to choose it.  It was set up so he would have
>   to do what he did once he was with us.
>
>   He wasn't just a martyr.  He was a sacrifice."

>And the music died as Listener stopped playing.

"I'm afraid that doesn't answer everything." Lancos said, a sigh escaping his
lips. "We know that William wasn't there, but what about Miro?"

"Like I told William.  When I got killed and Dave got into the jar, he
took some of me with him - the Gift that the Entity gave me was knowledge
of how Lord Raven had enslaved the PCD.  When Noira stuck the jar into
a capture remote, Dave told the PCD to pull my element-fragments from the
places they'd gone to, and put them back in the past in one piece.  The
two swords were my elemental-manipulation nodes, and the body it chose was
an elf that I killed in battle." 'Raelf paused to wet his throat.

"But Miro had amnesia - he only knew that he had to meet us when we got
there.  Why do you think I was so pissed off when I saw Miro waiting for
us in the Black Dragon?  I knew there was some nasty coming - else why
would I come back to try to stop it - but up til then I thought I could
get out of the whole mess without dying.  Was major fear and pain, dude."

"Then when Dave got stuck in the golem, he killed Miro with the sword
manipulation-nodes so it would trigger us into feeding-vortex.  So here
we are.  Miro wasn't there before because we didn't get the Gifts, so
when Dave was put in the remote, he eventually lost it big."

Lancos nodded in understanding. "One final thing, then, but it's a big
one. What about the medallion?"

"A necessary evil that didn't have a chance the other time. Alita was
enthralled with you, and one time when you had that device off, she made
sure you felt the same way. She likes touching 'her men', so it stayed
off, and never had any real effect on the quest."

Lancos paused for thought. 'Raelf had called his experience a "necessary
evil". And thinking about it, he supposed it was. His troubles were minor
to evil infesting Generica and beyond, almost killing his longest friend
in the Dragon's Inn was better than everyone he knew either being killed
or enslaved by Lord Raven. He couldn't forget what he did, couldn't like
it, but he could accept it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Michael Sander
344lwkc@cmuvm.csv.cmich.edu
Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn