The Boar's Head Pub

[VampiricDread]

"I must rest." I got up, and asked for a room upstairs.

"If you want one of our dearies, love, I may be able to accomodate you for a reasonable fee", Ilfred replied.

"Where can I get some rest, Ilfred? I have to sleep, you know." I gave her a few silver coins.

"Since you're being so nice, love, I may have a room for you, then."

Ilfred escorted me to the upper floor into a small room, and handed me a key.

"Sleep tight, then. Do lock your door."

The room was barely able to drop oneself onto a bed of bale. I prayed a safety from bugs prayer I had learned from a Priest, and went to sleep.

....
....
....


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I wish I had more time to adventure...

[Argh]

After absently following Ilfred's conversation with VampiricDread, which was an unusually nice conversation. . . the elven lord slowly started to tell his tale, while swishing a small pint of bitters in between sips of wine.

"Well, I suppose I should start at the beginnning, right? Well, 3000 thousad years ago, my ancient ancestors were in the middle of a war with this dreadful horde of demons called the T'hula, who'd emerged from a trapdoor in time that an angry Eternal opened. After the war had continued for almost 50 years, my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather turned towards his wife, who was busy talking about shrubberies or some such nonsense-"

"Do get on with the important parts!" Bargehead snapped.

"Oh. . . er, very well, my stout companion!" Said the elven lord lightly, and Bargehead snorted loudly and patted his barrel chest, which was hardly fat, and then waved his hand to encourage the Elf to get on with the story.

"At any rate, and to make a long long long story very short, the T'hula invented this special thingy called the Gem of EverLasting Darkess to aid their warriors. Basically, this Gem was said to 'blacken the face of the Earth', and it was also said to 'blot the Sun from the sky'. We Elves have the ability to see in the dark somewhat, but our enemies were cold-blooded creatures. . . and things started going very badly. . ."

Bargehead laughed. "Ha! I'll bet that was a sight to see! You skinnies- er elves, m'lord- must've been in deep trouble! 'Course, back then we were still mainly living in the far northern keeps, below the icepack of the Great Freeze,we were. . ." Bargehead ground to a halt, noticing that Monty and Drago were both starting to yawn. . .

"Well, it was a very bad scene, to be sure," the elven lord responded, "but we Elves are not to be equalled in magical feats, when put to the test. . . and we came up with a solution. After several decades of warfare, one of our mages created the Gem of EverLasting Sunshine, a device of truly Elven beauty. . . which 'shone across the sky like a hundred dawns breaking' and gave the Elves enough light to kill by."

Bargehead stirred from his seat, and exclaimed, "So your people were the ones who ended the Great Freeze! We still tell stories of the caverns that were awash in melted glacier ice, and the tales of woe and misery. . ." Bargehead began to rummage around his bag of Useful Stuff, and eventually pulled out a worn but serviceable Book of Woe, in which he entered new writings for the Neverending Saga sung in the lowest deeps.

"Er. . . yes, well. . . we eventually had some problems with it too- namely, some nasty sun rashes and a few too many parched throats- it was horrible!" Bargehead just grunted and continued to scribble furiously, no doubt planning a massive war of revenge a few centuries from now, when the Elves had forgotten all about this little slip.

"Well. . . ah. . . anyway. . . we eventually hid it away, along with the Gem of EverLasting Darkness, in great magically-trapped tombs at the poles- until recently, when somebody, er, lost the password that opened the gates to the place. . ." He blushed and said, "It was, unfortunately, one of my cousins. . . so I am honor-bound to retrieve the device, so that it may be re-buried in a newer, nicer tomb, and, uh. . . using a shorter password."

"Figures! You Elves would lose yer arses, if they weren't firmly glued in place! Why, my mother once told me of an elven maiden who lost her eyeballs once, while applying makeup! And then there was the time that an Elven lover lost his-"

The elven lord was swift to interrupt with, "Well, that may be so, but the plot is thicker than that. . . the Gem of EverLasting Darkness is missing from its tomb, and my cousin's memory loss is rather total. A shame, really, he was very good at Trivial Pursuits and such, even if he was a bit of a drip."

"So someone may. . . possess that horrible Gem?" Drago interjected, looking worried. Meanwhile Monty was heard muttering, "Always the same, these darned Quests. . . gotta save the world again. . ."

The elven lord beamed, and said, "Right in one! Now all we have to do is. . ."

[This message has been edited by Argh (edited 29 May 2001).]

[This message has been edited by Argh (edited 29 May 2001).]

[This message has been edited by Argh (edited 29 May 2001).]

[VampiricDread]

After a few hours sleep, interwoven with Elf meditation (you know Elves don't sleep, just meditate on Nature), I went down to the Pub.

Though it was sun rising, and most of the Pub's hands were busy at cleaning, the windows were fully oppened, and the morning air was fresh and invigorating.

The Elven Lord was pissed drunk, like the Dwarf in front of him. I wondered what the business was to have them sit at a table for so long.

I got out and the morning dawned with the singing of birds. I rushed to the wood hill nearby, to relax, but Jonesy was waiting fo me there.

"Hello, Vamp."

"Don't call me that, Jonesy."

"Don't call me Jonesy, then." It said, feigning offense taken.

"Should I call you by your name, then?"

"No, no, no. Sorry, VampiricDread."

"What is it then?"

"The elf in the Boar's Head... He's been talking..."

"Come on. I hate riddles in the morning, you know that!"

"Very well, then. Ask your former companions. He told them of the Gems of EverLasting, and he is setting up a party on prizes that are not his." With this, Jonesy went away, as fast as a Wood Sprite could.

I went back to the Boar's Head Inn. It was deserted, but I was given the same table.

"I think your friends went to sleep", a maid said.

"I'll wait, if you don't mind. Bring me some tea, fresh bread, butter and cheese, please".

I was puzzled! Why would an Elven Lord, in fact why would any elf mention the Gems of EverLasting? I saw no point in brooding over it, so I took my meal, went to the stables and practiced my morning rituals and body tune-ups, before returning.

It took some hours waiting before they showed up...

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I wish I had more time to adventure...

[This message has been edited by VampiricDread (edited 29 May 2001).]

[monty]

Monty crawled out from under a nearby table. Something had definitely shat in his mouth Last night. At least he had gotten out of the way. He ran his fingers through his short hair and looked around.

"Hey VampiricDread, good morning."
Monty offered VampiricDread some dough crescents. In between bites, Monty told VampiricDread of what happened Last night and asked him a question. "Do you have a nickname or something short we can call you? Vampie doesn't really fit you, but we can't call you in a hurry with 'Hey VampiricDread!'"

"The quest sounds prety important. I'd hate for the world to go all dark or light. I can offer some magical muscle and some fighting skills."

[Drago]

Drago awoke from his slumber; washed up and went downstairs. He drank way too much Last night and was still feeling the effects. After eating some elven muffins for breakfast
he rejoined his friends and exclaims: "Good morning you guys. Quite an adventure we have in store for us; I hope Monty let you in on all the details VampiricDread."


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"My soul to nothingness: but I will strive against all doubtings, and will keep alive..." ~ John Keats's Sleep and Poetry

[VampiricDread]

"Good morning, Drago. Yes, Monty has just told me what you discussed Last night. I have some reservations on the quest, but I'll help you out, if you want to. Do you know where to start?"

And to Monty "Why don't you call me just Dread, then? It's just a name of no consequence."

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I wish I had more time to adventure...

[monty]

Monty smiled. "OK, Dread I like. That'll work!"
Monty looked around. "This may sound like a dumb question, but does anyone know what the surrounding area is like? I'm not from around here."

[This message has been edited by monty (edited 30 May 2001).]

[Drago]

"Well, I suggest that we pack up our things, and leave the tavern to start out with. We should go to the town of Northia which is nearby the elven lord's tomb. Ask a few questions to the townspeople, and further inspect the tomb for any clues the elves may have missed in their investigation" Drago stated.

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"My soul to nothingness: but I will strive against all doubtings, and will keep alive..." ~ John Keats's Sleep and Poetry

[VampiricDread]

"Won't the elven lord and Bargehead, the Dwarf, join this company?", I said.

It seems strange to go on with them, I reflected, but then again, this is strange company.

"I'm as ready as I can be, and packed, so I'll wait for you."

"But you're carrying nothing!", Drago exclaimed. Before I could speak, Monty winked an eye, and said "Don't be deceived by the looks of Dread. He's packing, I'm sure."

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I wish I had more time to adventure...

[monty]

Monty went up to the barkeep and bartered for some road rations and various other sundries. Ilfred wasn't much in a bargaining mood, she started her side of the conversation with a left hook. Monty did manage to get her settled down enough to get what he wanted.
He gave up much of a thick rod of dwarvish hacksilver and some elvish woodcarvings in trade.
As they prepared to leave, Monty turned to VampiricDread. "To continue from before, Names are very important where I come from. Nothing is 'just' a name."



[This message has been edited by monty (edited 31 May 2001).]