"" 0 stnd 0 "" 0 stnd 0 "" 0 stnd 0 "" 0 stnd 0 "" 0 stnd 0 "" 0 stnd 0 "" 0 stnd 0 "" 0 stnd 0 "" 0 stnd 0 "" 0 stnd 0 "" 0 stnd 0 "" 0 stnd 0 "" 0 stnd 0 "" 0 stnd 0 It purrs, happy for the attention. 0 gnrc 6 It sits down to rest, then gets up again. It lets out a long, drawn out meow. This is an old cat. Very old. It totters up against you, hoping to be petted. 0 stnd 6 "I don't have to talk to you. I'm a cat!" 0 gnrc 5 It looks at your rations, then sniffs at you disdainfully. 0 food 5 It purrs a bit. "Nothing much. Just hanging out. Got any food?" "I'm Tabby. Well, that's what they call me anyway." This cat is openly staring at you. 0 stnd 5 "Meow! Meow!" 0 gnrc 4 "Meow!" It rubs up against you, shedding happily on your armor. A large, bony siamese cat without a tail walks up and starts sniffing. 0 stnd 4 It seems to have lost interest in the conversation. 0 gnrc 3 It mews. It mews plaintively. A kitten cowers from you. 0 stnd 3 "Meow! Meow! Subvert the dominant paradigm! Meow!" 0 gnrc 2 It jumps at a bit of lint. It meows. You meet one of several cats. It's a large and black. 0 stnd 2 "Ask Tori about it. She never stops talking about it." 0 port 1 "Well, the Abyss is north of Dharmon, and her tower is west of the Abyss. And, the Abyss is solid Empire territory. The only way you could get to her would be to use the portal." 0 towe 1 "She hates the Empire, absolutely hates it. And she has the know-how and the power to do something about it. If only we could reach her tower." 0 know 1 "I studied under her. Powerful, deadly woman. They way this war is going, we could really use her knowledge." 0 erik 1 11 11 Ethridge's Poison Recipe 16 purc 1 She looks up at you. "You're Exiles. I'll teach you the recipe, if you want. It's a good one, using Asptongue Mold. If you want to buy it, let me know." 0 reci 1 "That's right. It's a recipe Erika taught me, years ago." 0 pois 1 "I'm working on some poison." "I'm Ethridge. Hi." She continues to concentrate on the mixture. There is a young, irritated-looking woman sitting at a table, making some sort of mushroom mush. She wears a battle axe at her belt, which is somewhat at odds with the runes that cover her clothes. 0 stnd 1 "They were doing research in Blosk. You can still find Bartholomew there - he may know something about where Thompson is." 0 bart 0 "He was researching in Blosk, trying to find new coordinates for the portal. Then, he left, overnight. He went into hiding, and nobody knows where. It's passing strange. His friend Bartholomew is beside himself with worry." 0 thom 0 "There is a teleportation portal in the Tower of Magi! If you chant the right thing when entering it, you can end up anywhere in Exile! It's a wondrous device!" 0 port@coor 0 "Try looking in the Castle! I know some people were researching this stuff there." "She lives in Empire lands, but you may be able to use the portal to get to her. Find people who have been trying to find portal coordinates - one of them may be able to help you." 0 erik 0 "If you find Solberg's tower, be careful. The Empire has surrounded the place with demons to pen him in." 0 solb@form 0 "Solberg is in his tower to the southwest of Formello. I am here. Erika is in her tower. And poor Thompson, nobody knows where he has gone." 0 hiding 0 "I'm trying to find better ways to get coordinates for the portal." 0 live@thin 0 "It's an ugly business, and will get uglier. That's why many of us are hiding." 0 assi@magi 0 "The Empire has been hunting down and killing Exile mages, assassinating them by magical and non-magical means. Because of that, many of us have gone into hiding." 0 safe 0 "Well, I live and think here. That's what the safehouse is for." "I'm Tori. Welcome to this safehouse." You meet a graying woman carrying a shovel in one hand and a large mushroom in the other. 0 stnd 0 She shakes her head apologetically. 56 1 Painted on the wall is the sunburst symbol of Exile, surrounded by a circular rainbow. There are several runes around the sign. Isolated Home