ftp.ee.pdx.edu/2014.02.ftp.ee.pdx.edu.tar/ftp.ee.pdx.edu/pub/frp/Archives/1231

Internet Message Format | 1995-11-12 | 8KB

Path: usenet.ee.pdx.edu!cs.uoregon.edu!news.uoregon.edu!mayonews.mayo.edu!newsdist.tc.umn.edu!umn.edu!spool.mu.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!news.cac.psu.edu!news.math.psu.edu!chi-news.cic.net!usc!cs.utexas.edu!news.sprintlink.net!newsfeed.internetmci.com!in2.uu.net!not-for-mail
From: [e-mail] (Alan Schwartz)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.archives
Subject: STORY: Riverworld, Chapter 8: Torchlight Rendezvous
Followup-To: rec.games.frp.misc
Date: 7 Nov 1995 16:19:31 -0500
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Lines: 186
Sender: [e-mail]
Approved: [e-mail]
Distribution: world
Message-ID: <47oih3$[e-mail]>
NNTP-Posting-Host: rodan.uu.net

For more information, see:
    http://mellers1.psych.berkeley.edu/~alansz/rw-pbem/

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Riverworld Turn #8: Torchlight Rendezvous
Day 31


                *  *  *  *

Shaka gripped his spear tightly and looked at the men.
He considered his options. Escape from the compound was first in his
mind, but the soft-hearted people he had awakened with seemed set on
finding the women at whatever cost. On the other hand, he thought he
could probably take Temuchin in a fight, if the guards didn't get in
the way.

Tjar exchanged glances with Shaka, then turned to the English speakers,
and spoke in a quiet whisper.

Tjar: "Well, men, what shall it be? Who is with me?"

He gestured at the two-story shack. He looked at Shaka, and made an
inclusive gesture, pointing at the shack again.

Glenn shrugged, and nodded weakly. Friend also signaled his approval.
Charles looked carefully at the visages of Shaka and Tjar, and then
back at Glenn and Friend. After a moment's thought, Charles pantomimed
the walk of a guard, and pointed toward the building, looking
officious.  As the others watched, he pointed to the west, toward the
River, and held up 8 fingers. He held up 2 fingers and pointed to the
south, back toward their prison, and also toward the mansion-building.
Finally, Charles held up his pinky, pointed toward the building, and
nodded approvingly at Shaka's spear, provoking a quiet chuckle from
the African and an obscure almost-giggle from Friend.

Charles smiled and nodded to each man, and then began to walk toward
the palace haughtily, in a reasonable impression of the guards.

Inside the mansion, the lower floor was laid out as a rough hall, lit
by torchlight and dominated by a large bamboo throne. Stairs in the
northeast corner of the room led up to the second floor. The pair of
guards at the foot of the stairs looked surprised to see the group,
and moved forward aggressively.

Charles murmured "Fight" in Bantu. Shaka nodded.

As the guards approached, Charles leapt at on and Shaka charged the
other. The guards were quickly, if noisily, overcome.

Tjar whispered "Bravo!" to the two men.

Charles: "As the Roman soldiers say, 'Never leave an Enemy behind you,
      and never turn your back on an enemy who became your friend
      at knifepoint -- an enemy is your enemy until either you or
      they are dead.'

Charles motioned for Glenn and Friend to stay at the entrance.

Charles: "If there's trouble, yell."

Taking a torch from the wall and slinging his grail over his shoulder,
Charles led Shaka and Tjar up the staircase and out of sight.

Friend turned to Glenn.
Friend: "*If* there's trouble? I fear it's too late already."

And indeed it was, for the large group of guards waiting outside the
mansion door had them bound and gagged before Glenn could say
"staccato." They could only widen their eyes in greeting when another
guard escorted the olive-skinned woman, bound but regal in posture,
across the room and up the stairs.

Shaka, Tjar, and Charles reached the second story, another large room,
containing a bed, a table, and some chairs.  On one of the chairs at
the other side of the room, Temuchin sat, peering at them in the glow
of the torches. In his hands was a scythe-like weapon with a metal
blade.

The group stared at Temuchin and his weapon, and he stared back at
them. Moments later, a guard led the olive-skinned woman, her hands
bound, up the stairs, and walked across the room to stand by his leader.

Temuchin spoke calmly, and a Chinese woman sitting at his feet stood
up.

                *  *  *  *

Jeanne took time for a hurried glance around the immediate area. She
had intended to follow the two guards carrying the woman's body, but
more activity in front of the mansion caught her eye.  To her
surprise, she saw Shaka, Charles, Glenn, and a fourth man walking into
the mansion.  They were dressed as guards, and moved as though they
were familiar with the path. Charles, leading them, had the same
haughty look Jeanne had noticed in the other guards.

When the guards carrying the woman's body entered the wooden dock
along the River, Jeanne had to decide which way to go.  The woman
might be alive; it would take a closer look to tell.  And yet, if she
were dead, following her might be a useless act, and would certainly
increase her chances of getting caught.

While she considered her options, a party of about 12 guards
approached the mansion. After lurking about outside for a few minutes,
they entered, and Jeanne thought she could hear the sounds of a
scuffle. She had just decided that the mansion was the more important
aim, when yet another guard approached the building and made her
choice inevitable. He was escorting the olive-skinned woman, whose
mien was as arrogant as Jeanne recalled, but whose hands were bound.

                *  *  *  *

Josephine's eyes went wide as she looked at Florence for a long moment
before placing one ear to the bamboo wall, attempting to listen for
sounds of trouble.

Josephine: "We will face away from each other and listen, no? It would
        be a pity to have come this far to be captured from
        behind."

She smiled brilliantly, but an sliver of fear, thin and sharp as a
needle, remained in her eyes.

Florence nodded quietly. Josephine pressed her body tightly against
the wall, and Florence took up a position next to her, back-to-back.

                *  *  *  *

Cleopatra's gaze shifted toward the prison guard. As he moved to unlock
her cell, she roses to her feet and stood to one side of the entrance.
Ignoring the lecherous grins, Cleopatra awaited her release as if the men
were part of an honor guard gathered to lead her to her throne.

The guard bound her hands, and led her out from the prison.
As she left her cell, she glanced at the still-entranced form of
Hypatia, and shook her head.

Cleopatra: "I hope you learn to face the world that surrounds you. At
        times, thought is the best action, but one must never
        forget that although the spirit can wander and seek
        solutions, the body, the part of you that is always in the
        here and now is also a tool, and is not to be ignored."

Hypatia slept on.

The guard closed the bamboo door behind Cleopatra, and led her to the
north.  Cleopatra walked alongside the guard proudly, and the grins of
the others soon turned to hushed murmurs.

The guard took her to a two-story building in the northwest of the
camp, and led her within. The downstairs was a rough, torchlit hall
with a bamboo throne in the center. The guard led her past a dozen
guards who were gathered in the hall. Glenn and another man were with
the guards, but their bonds and gags prevented anything but wide eyes
as a gesture of greeting.

At the top of the stairs was an large room, furnished with a bed, a
table, and some chairs. On one side of the room stood Shaka, Charles,
and Tjar. On the other sat Temuchin, holding a scythe-like weapon with
a metal blade. Her guard walked across the room and stood by Temuchin.
At the leader's feet was a Chinese woman, who, at a word from
Temuchin, stood up.

Temuchin looked at the olive-skinned woman, who nodded her head in
greeting. He smiled approvingly, and spoke again.  This time, the
Chinese woman repeated his words, in Latin. She directed them at the
men.

Woman: "The mighty Khan will permit you to honor your gods before you
        die as traitors. By now, the Khan's men have killed your
    friends below, and there is no retreat."

Charles frowned and pointed downstairs, toward the entrance.  He drew
his hand across his throat.

Temuchin motioned to the olive-skinned woman. She looked from one
group to the other, and then walked slowly and majestically to stand
before Temuchin.