[Admin: Back in December I posted all of this stuff, but since it's been so long since then (or so it seems) I thought I'd refresh your memories. :) I think we may have a full group by now, and a quest too! :) I sincerely hope y'all enjoy reading this! --Liana Elandrian] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Admin II: Aeryn is solely the property of overholt@mtholyoke.edu (Liana Elandrian). All rights reserved, not to be used without permission, etc., etc. :) --Liana Elandrian] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- A gaily painted wooden sign creaked back and forth above the Inn door. In the fading light, Aeryn could barely make out the form of a friendly-looking golden dragon. Aeryn gazed up at the dragon, debating whether or not she should stop at this particular Inn. Her eyes widened abruptly as the dragon suddenly began to move! The light of the setting sun glinted off of its bright golden scales as it lazily nodded its head in the direction of the Inn, as though indicating that Aeryn should enter. The mouth gaped open in a sharp-toothed grin, and one eye slowly winked shut. Suddenly a voice caused Aeryn to look away from the sign. "Are you all right, miss?" a well-dressed young man was asking, his expression faintly worried. "You seemed very pale for a moment; I thought you were about to faint." Aeryn shook her head, glancing nervously back up at the dragon on the sign. It was once again curled in is original position, its painted grin beckoning visitors to enter the door below. "I--I'm okay," she murmured faintly. "I guess I'm just hungry. I was wondering...is this a good Inn?" she asked as a burst of raucous laughter erupted within the building. The young man's expression became faintly incredulous. "You've never heard of the Dragon's Inn?" he asked. Aeryn shook her head. "Should I have?" "Well, perhaps not. You don't seem the type," the young man replied with an assessing glance. "It's very popular among adventurers, since it's known to be a place where folk come to hire sell-swords and the like. But unless you're looking for adventure, I'd advise you to try the Golden Gryphon. It's not quite so--" the young man paused, a slightly embarrassed blush creeping up his cheeks. "Well, it's much quieter, at any rate." Aeryn nodded briskly, offended by the man's obvious conclusion that she was incapable of taking care of herself. "Thank you for the advice," she said smoothly before opening the Inn's door and stepping inside. The young man stared after her for a brief moment; then he shook his head and continued along the street. Aeryn stood just inside the door and looked around for a few seconds. Finally she spotted an empty table in the middle of the room--the corners were all taken, unfortunately, she noticed with a sigh--and made her way towards it. As she took her seat a smiling barmaid approached. "Can I get ya somethin' ta drink?" the woman asked. "I'll have a--" Aeryn started to say, but she was interrupted by a loud squeal from the server. "Now, we'll have none o' that!" the woman shrieked, whirling to face the grinning man at the next table who had just pinched her bottom. "Th' Innkeep don't stand for that," she informed him. "Lay another hand on me an' I'll get you bounced out o' here real quick!" The man laughed. "Aw, come off it, Sera," he retorted. "I was just teasin' ya!" "Jus' don't do it again," Sera replied in a haughty tone. "I can still get ya thrown out." She turned back to Aeryn in a huff. "Now, what was ya sayin'?" she asked. "I'll have a bottle of the Innkeeper's finest wine," Aeryn replied with a grin. She reached into her money pouch and withdrew a gold coin, which she handed to the serving woman. Sera stared at the coin for a few long moments, bit it, smiled widely once more, and then tucked the coin away. She nodded to Aeryn and hurried away to fetch the wine. The man at the next table was staring speculatively at Aeryn, eyeing first her purse and then her beautiful face and her long golden hair. Aeryn met his eyes and stared at him for a long moment. The man appeared to become entranced as he stared into Aeryn's golden eyes... Aeryn finally broke contact and turned her gaze to the returning barmaid. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed the man making hasty excuses to his companions and rushing out of the Inn. Aeryn shook her head dismissively and tasted the wine which Sera had poured. "Excellent," she said, smiling up at the barmaid. Sera smiled and nodded once more before moving on to other customers. Aeryn's golden eyes scanned the Inn as she sipped her wine, pausing now and then on some of the more interesting faces in the crowd... --Aeryn From X Wed Jan 4 16:30:47 CST 1995 Article: 2998 of alt.dragons-inn Path: ringer.cs.utsa.edu!swrinde!sgiblab!uhog.mit.edu!news.mtholyoke.edu!mhc.mtholyoke.edu!overholt From: Liana Elandrian Newsgroups: alt.dragons-inn Subject: [Inn] Aeryn--repost #2 Date: Wed, 4 Jan 1995 16:13:33 -0500 Organization: Mount Holyoke College Lines: 41 Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: mhc.mtholyoke.edu Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII [Admin: This was originally posted by Dave Womack. All rights reserved, etc. --Liana Elandrian] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The mage Therion had come to the Dragon's Inn to rest after an unproductive search for a variety of magical supplies. His particular field of study required some relatively expensive materials, notable for their rarity; which meant he often had to search far and wide for what was needed. He had obtained a good room, finished a quality meal, and begun enjoying a snifter of fine brandy, and an excellent cigar; all things considered, it seemed the best evening possible. However; as so often happened, there was a rather rude drunk harrassing an attractive young woman, but he seemed to develop a sudden need to leave; curious - magic perhaps? The young woman *_had_* caught his eye. He signaled the barmaid, and sent a bottle of good vintage champagne to Aeryn at her table. As the barmaid pointed to Therion, he smiled, and raised his glass in pleasant greeting. ************************************************** Therion is middle-aged, with greying hair, and is dressed simply but expensively. His hooded cloak is charcoal grey, and he wears black boots. A single silvery ring appears on his right hand...scribed upon it are two equalateral triangles, the upper of the two having a symbol written within it. He walks with a cane; the top is a small sphere of clear, glittering crystal, and the body is silver. Inlaid in the body of the cane are fine filaments of gold creating a complex pattern. The tip of the cane is gold, yet shows neither wear nor damage from use. He pays his bills with gold coins, and tends to spend freely and tip lavishly. From X Wed Jan 4 16:31:16 CST 1995 Article: 2999 of alt.dragons-inn Path: ringer.cs.utsa.edu!swrinde!sgiblab!uhog.mit.edu!news.mtholyoke.edu!mhc.mtholyoke.edu!overholt From: Liana Elandrian Newsgroups: alt.dragons-inn Subject: [Inn] Aeryn--repost #3 Date: Wed, 4 Jan 1995 16:13:55 -0500 Organization: Mount Holyoke College Lines: 46 Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: mhc.mtholyoke.edu Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Admin: Aeryn is the property of overholt@mtholyoke.edu (Liana Elandrian); Therion is the property of dwomack@runner.jpl.utsa.edu (Dave Womack). All rights reserved; characters are not to be used without permission. Sera is public domain--she is one of the resident barmaids at The Dragon's Inn. --Liana Elandrian ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sera returned to Aeryn's table; she was carrying another glass and a bottle of champagne. Aeryn glanced at the bottle and then up at the barmaid in puzzlement. "What's this? I didn't order this!" "This is from the gentleman over there," Sera explained, pointing to a middle-aged man on the far side of the room. The man raised his own glass in greeting, and Aeryn smiled absent-mindedly in return. "Did he say *why* he sent this?" Aeryn asked, returning her gaze to the barmaid. "No." Sera shrugged. "You'll hafta ask 'im yerself." She left then to answer a demand for ale from another table. Aeryn returned her speculative gaze to the man at the other table. He had a strange, powerful aura around him--he was probably a mage, Aeryn decided. He might prove useful to her quest... As Aeryn gazed at the man, her eye was caught by the glitter of the clear crystal on the top of his silver cane. An image started to form in the crystal. The golden dragon appeared again, smiling and beckoning... then the dragon faded away, and Aeryn shook her head as though to clear a dizziness. She stared at the crystal, hoping to see another image form...but the crystal remained empty. This was the second time Aeryn had seen the dragon in her visions-- perhaps it was a good sign. With a shrug, Aeryn decided to take it as such. She picked up her two bottles of wine and the glasses and approached the man's table. "Excuse me," Aeryn said briskly, setting the bottles and glasses down on the table. "Do you mind if I join you?" She smiled, her strange golden eyes seeming to glow in the firelight... --Aeryn [Aeryn is wearing brown breeches, a brown cloak, and a golden tunic which shimmers as the light reflects from the strange material. She has unusual golden eyes; otherwise she appears to be an ordinary human. She is about 5'10" and has long blonde hair. She does not carry any obvious weapons.] From X Wed Jan 4 16:32:08 CST 1995 Article: 3000 of alt.dragons-inn Path: ringer.cs.utsa.edu!swrinde!sgiblab!uhog.mit.edu!news.mtholyoke.edu!mhc.mtholyoke.edu!overholt From: Liana Elandrian Newsgroups: alt.dragons-inn Subject: [Inn] Aeryn--repost #4 Date: Wed, 4 Jan 1995 16:14:12 -0500 Organization: Mount Holyoke College Lines: 38 Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: mhc.mtholyoke.edu Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII [Admin: Again, this is reposted for Dave Womack. All rights reserved, not to be used without permission, etc. --Liana Elandrian] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- > "Excuse me," Aeryn said briskly, setting the bottles and glasses >down on the table. "Do you mind if I join you?" She smiled, her strange >golden eyes seeming to glow in the firelight... Therion stood as Aeryn sat the bottle and glasses on the table, waiting for her to sit before returning to his chair. He replied to Aeryn's question "Mind? Indeed not! In my travels, I came across a people who believed that those who dine alone tend to be morose...and, it seems that is frequently the case. Since you appear to be by yourself, as am I, I thought a bit of evening conversation might be pleasant.... perhaps for both of us?" "My name, by the way, is Therion. I am a student of magic...I come from the town of Chadwick, roughly midway between Montfort and Mysthaven." The particular magical discipline I pursue requires unusual components; rare gems, unusual alloys of base and precious metals...all difficult to find, unfortunately. But I forget my manners; please forgive me for talking 'shop'." "Journeys are always enlightening, but as one gets older the simple comforts come to mean a lot. This Inn, for example...a pleasant place; unpretentious; good food, and good folk. I visited the Principality of Kosice, northeast of here; they're prosperous folk, but not particularly friendly. And, I regret to say that their Inns are somewhat lacking...(Therion chuckled)." "However, I again find myself prattling endlessly (Therion smiled); pray, tell me what interesting things and peoples you have come across in your travels; for I perceive that your horizons are at least as wide as my own."