From: "Aaron Smith" Subject: RPG: Aaaaaaaand they're off! Date: Sun, 26 Jul 1998 10:27:19 PDT Official announcer-type voice-over: "When we last left our heroes... er, well, they're not heroes YET, so to speak, but they WILL be eventually. That is, provided they manage to do a few heroic deeds and become famous and have much rejoicing and maybe even cross the Gorge of Eternal Peril and..." The entire FARPG cast is seen in a group, screaming "GET ON WITH IT!!" "Heh... sorry. Anyway, as I was saying- when we last saw them, they'd just agreed to help each other and go on a journey.. perhaps even to fight the Vicious Chicken of Bristol or-" *THWAP!* "AIIIIE!!!" "By the way, the name's Finn." "Just 'Finn?' Do you not have a family name?" "You have to have a family, first..." *How much does she know about slavery? Considering how little she knew about blindness, it might be better to keep my mouth shut until I'm sure she doesn't think it's a good idea to own a slave...* "No, It's just Finn." "Oh. Well then Finn, my name is Iya. Iya Yume." *Yume? The name sounds familiar..* "Pleased to meet you." "Pleased.. to meet you, too." Iya was a little surprised to find that she meant it. It wasn't too often that she got the chance to talk with something that didn't either want to kill her or run away. It was a nice change of pace - although she wasn't about to attend any social gatherings quite yet. ^_- ---- Finn pulled his torn shirt over his tattoo, only to have it slip back down again. "Um, you wouldn't happen to have a spare shirt, would you? Or perhaps a cloak?" His companion thought for a moment, then nodded. "Perhaps. Follow me." Iya started off, then walked back and tried again - this time leading Finn by the hand. The going was much slower than she was used too, as she had to make sure Finn didn't trip over every root and rock that popped out of the ground. She wouldn't have even bothered dragging Finn along with her if their destination wasn't in the same general direction as the town - they'd have to cover that distance anyway. They eventually got to what was one of her stashes. Travelers who encountered her often left a few things behind while trying to run away. If she thought the items might be useful but didn't feel like carrying them around, she hid them somewhere for safe keeping. This particular stash happened to be a weather-beaten rucksack containing a ragged (yet serviceable) shirt (which she handed to Finn), an illustrated book of legends, a pouch containing a small amount of money, and a small knife in a scabbard that had seen better days. After some thought, she took the money pouch out of the rucksack, and returned the rest to their hiding spot. "We should be going - this morning has already half passed, and it may take a day or two to reach the town. Although I am not sure how far away it truly is." Finn nodded and extended his hand to be lead again. ---- As is the nature of walking through the woods for hours, one tends to get bored. Luckily, there was someone there to start a conversation with. Iya was the first to break the silence. "Where are you from?" "Hm?" "Your home. Is that where you wish to go?" "Not really. I'm originally from a country called Madron, although I wouldn't want to call it home." "So where are you headed?" "I don't know - the further from Madron the better, I guess." "Was living there that horrible?" Iya's voice had grown soft again. "Not for everyone, but... let's just say there's some people from Madron who are after me right now." *Why would they be after him? You are not much of a threat without your eyes...* She took the hint, however, and became silent again. ---- "Iya, are you any good at magic?" "I... I know a little. Why do you ask?" "I was wondering if you've ever heard of a place called Tel'aran'rhiod." "Sorry, I have not. Why? Have you been there?" "I might have been there recently, but I'm not sure." Finn grew silent, but continued thinking on the subject. *Well, that proves nothing either way. So was that whole thing last night just a dream? Or is that wizard actually looking for some of his friends? Of course, there's always the third option... he could be lying to me.*