NetNews Usenet Archive 1993 #3/NN_1993_3.iso/spool/alt/pub/clovens/151

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From: [e-mail] (Mike Conner)
Subject: [Djinn]:Agraba, the city in the desert
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Sender: [e-mail] (Netnews control)
Organization: Computing & Information Science, Queen's University at Kingston
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Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 15:29:53 GMT
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[ADMIN]: This post was writtne my Deborah Berry Taylor, she was having troubles
         with her site so I'm posting it for her.

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Raven woke to the smell of Meriden's tea and the murmur of voices.  It must
be still early since Chalmers hadn't bothered to wake her yet.  Gods, she
thought with a shudder, two mornings in a row I'm up at dawn ... I'll be
glad to get to Agraba, just so I can sleep late again!  She smiled softly
to herself as the comforts an inn provided ran through her head; a real
bed, a long hot bath, a choice of food and ale ... it seemed like forever
since she'd enjoyed those things instead of only 3 days.  And tonight she
could have all of those things!  She sat up, throwing back the covers as
Chalmers poked his head in the opening, a steaming cup of tea in his hand.

"Good morning!  he smiled at her, then leaned in for a kiss.

"Morning," she smiled back when the kiss ended, taking the cup from his
hands.  "I'll be dressed in a minute."

Chalmers was surprised at Raven's unprecidented good mood.  "I'm glad
you're awake already, we're almost packed.  We can leave as soon as you're
ready and we've packed up our tent."

A few minutes later Raven emerged from the tent with her and Chalmers'
packs.  All three men looked at her with puzzled looks on their faces.
Instead of the tight black leather and satin clothes she normally wore,
today she had on a light colored bloused tunic and and full trousers tucked
into her boots.  Both the pants and tunic were made of a light weight
linen.  A long scarf of gauzy white material was wrapped around her neck.
The clothes fit loosly, effectively concealing the curves her other outfits
enhanced.  Raven shivered in the cold morning air, throwing he cloak over
her shoulders as she handed Chalmers her mug and asked for another cup of
tea.  When Chalmers asked her about the change, she mearly replied that
she'd be warm enough soon and that they would most likely be too warm in
the clothes they were wearing.

Within the hour they were traveling southwest through the Desert of
Lindsey.  Chalmers had never been to Agraba, but he was sure it was
somewhere southwest of the canyon.  The farther they got from the canyon,
the warmer it got.  By noon, though it was by no means hot, it was warm
enough that their cloaks had been removed.

Chalmers had taken off his woolen tunic as well, leaving only his black
chainmail and his linen under tunic.  The chainmail was warm to the touch.
He used the sheet he bought at Smitty's to cover his head, draping it down
his back like a cloak, so that it covered the chainmail effectively
blocking the sun's rays.  A bright green strip of satin (a piece of Raven's
ruined blouse) tied it around his head.   Raven offered another piece of
gauzy cloth to tie around the lower part of his face to keep the sand out
of his mouth and nose.  She offered similar scarves to Meriden and Jester.

Meriden had refused, instead digging into his pack and retrieving one of
his own.  Instantly the magic in the scarf cooled his overheated body.
Jester accepted her offer greatfully.  Raven felt sorriest for him, his
brightly colored silk clothes had to be hot.

Chalmers called for a rest when they reached a large rock outcropping that
offered some shade from the sun.  Only Raven and Meriden looked
ccomfortable. Jester and Chalmers looked miserable.

"When we get to Agraba, Chalmers and Jester at least will need to get some
more appropriate clothes for desert travel," Raven said as she returned
with another canteen from the horses.  "From the description on the scroll,
the Djinn's desert is more like Amuran than this desert ... it will be much
hotter!"

"Aren't you hot?" Chalmers asked Raven.

"She shrugged, "A little .. but only because it's been so long since I was
home.  I guess I've gotten more used to your cold weather than I thought.
Back home this would be a pleasent evening temperature."  The men just
stared at her in disbelief.  This dry heat was pleasent?  "You also have
another problem as well," she continued, "your skin is so fair that the sun
and wind have burned your faces above the scarves, that makes you feel even
hotter.  We'll have to get something to prevent further damage when we
reach Agraba."

"I think I have something that will help," Meriden said reaching for his
pack.

"Meriden! STOP!"  Raven shouted, flinging one of her knives into the sand
just inches from his hand.  When he looked down, Meriden saw that her knife
had neatly pinned a 10 inch long scorpion to the ground.  The scorpian
shuddered once and stoped moving.  "Everyone move slowly away from the
rocks," Raven spoke quietly.  If there's one, there's probably others."
She bent and retrieved her knife, carefully avoiding the scorpion's barbed
tail.

Jester, Chalmers and Meriden slowly moved away from the rocks.  Another
scorpion skittered around the rock Jester had been sitting on.  Then
another and another.  Soon it seemed a whole swarm of scorpions was
streaming out of the rocks.

Away from the rocks, Chalmers reached the horses and dug through his packs.
Grabbing a wool blanket and some oil, he hurried back to the others.  Raven
had drawn her rapier, intending to skewer any that came close enough.
Meriden had instinctively pulled a string on his shirt and a shimmering
barrier had sprung up between him, Jester and the horses and the now
advancing scorpions.  Chalmers threw the blanket on the scorpions, then
sprinkled the oil.  Seeing his intentions, Meriden quickly dug out his
flint and steel.  A clump of dried grass served as tinder.  As soon as it
was lit he dropped the shield and threw the burning grass on the blanket.
The blanket went up in flames, a couple of the scorpions escaped before the
fire consumed them, but they were easily avoided.  The companions mounted
their horses and rode away.

Several hours later, Jester spotted a large dark smudge on the horizon.  As
dusk approached, a brilliant sunset highlighted the city of Agraba.  As
they rode through the gate, the first stars of the evening were seen in the
eastern sky.

The city was large and even as darkness fell, it's citizens still hurried
down it's dusty streets.  A quick inquiry led them to an inn called
Averies.  As Chalmers arranged for two rooms, Jester and Meriden looked
around.  It seemed to be a respectable place and the food smelled good.
Meriden looked forward to a meal he hadn't had to cook.  Jester looked
around and noticed what Meriden failed to see ... most of the patrons were
staring at them.  At first he thought that it was because of their clothes
and coloring, since the other patrons were all obviously desert dwellers,
but then he realized that Raven was the only woman in this place.  No
barmaids, no female patrons, no other women and several of the men were
staring at her.  Could be trouble, he thought as Chalmers handed Meriden a
key as he and Raven headed upstairs.