From: ASG102@psuvm.psu.edu
Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn
Subject: The Little Rat-City Chase [Inn]
Date: 3 Sep 92 15:07:40 GMT
Organization: Penn State University


     Shivering in the coldness of the predawn morning, the Little Rat slept
in the corner of the burnt out building, lying like a discarded rag doll
in the midst of some torn clothes.  Her sleep was fitful as always, being
chased all night by the Low City gangs in her dreams just as they did in
reality during the day.  Hers was a life of constant struggle, her goal for
the day being to see the next.
     The night cold was becoming unbearable, it must be getting toward the
time of death.  Soon the time would come when the weak and the sick would
start to die from the Winter cold.  This was her first Winter alone.  In the
years past, her brother had been there.  Last Winter, he was jumped by
the Doom Walkers, another band of Low City ruffians.  He survived the attack,
but broke his leg in the process.  In the Low City, healers were as scarce as
rich folk, so his leg healed badly causing him to be permanently lame.
     Knowing that he could no longer take care of Little Rat, he began teaching
her the ways of the street.  In the end, he forced her to eat all of the food
that they could find so she would be strong enough to survive.  Just before
the first thaw, he died, leaving behind all of his worldly possessions to
Rat: nothing.

     Little Rat woke and gathered the insect-infested rags around her for
warmth.  She wondered for a moment what it would be like to be one of the
rich folk.  She had heard that they didn't have to steal or beg or look
through garbage for food, but that seemed unlikely.  Everyone had to do those
things, it was just how things worked.
     It was then that she remembered what day it was.  It was the day after
Drunk Day, meaning that there would be a lot of half-eaten food in the trash
cans.  Her little heart lept with joy.  She had woken early enough to get the
stuff without the white worms in it, a feast for sure.
     She quickly put on some of the clothes she had found last night, a stained
tunic and a pair of ripped boys trousers.  Silently she thanked what ever gods
there were for her good luck as of late and then headed off toward the Spitting
Cobra.  She walked quickly through the streets with a look of dispare on her
face.  If she looked happy, people would think that she had some coins or knew
something, then she would be attacked and beaten (again).  There are some
lessons that you only have to learn once.
     Near the Spitting Cobra, she saw a man lying in the street.  His face was
a little bloody and he reeked of ale.  Little Rat did what any other urchin
would, she walked up to him and picked his pockets.  Suddenly, the man didn't
seem so drunk and he grabbed her arm.
     "Not so fast my little beauty.  You have tried to steal from me and I
have caught you.  For this crime you must be punished," he said with an
unkind smile of rotting teeth.
     Little Rat screamed.  She had seen this man before, many street children
disappeared around him and were found later in abandoned warehouses with
their intestines spread around the room.
     She clawed at the mans face and kicked him hard in the chest causing him
to release her arm.  Without thinking, she ran as fast as she could down the
street.  She could hear him puffing behind her, slowly catching up.
     Not knowing what else to do, she ran down one street and up another,
taking random directions in an attempt to lose him.  Every time she turned a
corner, he would fall a bit further behind, but that advantage was quickly
lost on the straight parts.  In her panic, she found herself leaving the Low
City and travelling north.  Apparently either the sudden change of city
sections or the length of the chase was slowing her would-be captor.
     She turned another corner fron an alley to a broad street and followed it
to an intersection.  There, she saw the most beautiful sight ever, a section
of the crossroads was made of shiney metal.  For a moment, she paused, then
she decided that it was time to find a hiding place.  She saw a large building
that looked like a house and ran through the door.

     The doors to the Dragon's-Inn swung open and through them ran the form of
a small girl of perhaps 8 years panting wildly and barely covered in rags.
She looked around the room and then crawled under a table.  From outside,
a voice could be heard, "Where are you ya little bitch?  I'll get ya.  Ya
can't hide from me..."
     "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',"
came a quivering voice from under a table.

ADMIN: I am going to be using the Little Rat as a PC for a while.  Please
       e-mail me before you have her do anything (like talking).  She is
       a very complex child with a lot of problems.  Thanks.

     Love and Peace and Vermin,
           -The Dreamer-