<html><head></head><body><div class="ydp961a1291yahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family:arial;font-size:16px;"><div></div>
<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">I never got Rimmes post. Please ignore my recent post. It's all messed up. I'll post a good one ASAP.</div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">Chris</div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">The Lurking Fox</div><div><br></div>
</div><div id="ydpb6702eb6yahoo_quoted_6932176749" class="ydpb6702eb6yahoo_quoted">
<div style="font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;color:#26282a;">
<div>
On Sunday, October 8, 2023 at 10:21:15 AM EDT, Rimme the Weasel <ontherimme@gmail.com> wrote:
</div>
<div><br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div><div id="ydpb6702eb6yiv4778623511"><div><div dir="ltr">I'm sending this to you all directly, since the list apparently didn't send back out automatically.<br clear="none"><br clear="none"><div id="ydpb6702eb6yiv4778623511yqt39417" class="ydpb6702eb6yiv4778623511yqt9737231425"><div class="ydpb6702eb6yiv4778623511gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="ydpb6702eb6yiv4778623511gmail_attr">---------- Forwarded message ---------<br clear="none">From: <strong class="ydpb6702eb6yiv4778623511gmail_sendername">Rimme the Weasel</strong> <span><<a shape="rect" href="mailto:ontherimme@gmail.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ontherimme@gmail.com</a>></span><br clear="none">Date: Sun, Oct 1, 2023 at 10:20 AM<br clear="none">Subject: Round Robin: First to be Cursed<br clear="none">To: Metamor Keep <<a shape="rect" href="mailto:mkguild@lists.integral.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">mkguild@lists.integral.org</a>><br clear="none"></div><br clear="none"><br clear="none"><div dir="ltr">Reed and Aldwin watched the fight at the bar in grave concern. As the teamster drew his knife, Reed lowered his hand to his knife, but did not draw it, as they watched Sal and Tony haul the drunk away. Both turned back to their dinners, but neither had much appetite. They watched as "Tallow" left with his bat friend and the Watch officer.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">"That's two inns, and two fights where blood was drawn," Reed noted.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">Behind them, a few tables down, the teamsters grumbled under their breath, as much at the barbaric-sounding lizard as at their drunk arrogant comrade.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">"Pay no attention to them," Reed whispered. "In a few days, they'll be gone."<br clear="none"><br clear="none">After their meal, the two of them went out for a brief walk for some privacy, and to gain some familiarity with this part of the Lower Keep.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">Reed glanced around the rooftops, as if they were the treetops of an urban forest. "Tomorrow we should seek out Kasaima, and learn as much as we can about the Eastern Cities. Perhaps some things about the emperor, and the history of his people. I'm not so good at reading, so we could ask the librarian for help as well. And the land will be dangerous once we get there. We should also practice some one-on-one combat."<br clear="none"><br clear="none">"Reed," Aldwin said hesitantly. "I miss my family. So much."<br clear="none"><br clear="none">Reed glanced at him in the dim lamplight, reading his face. "You want to join those teamsters back there?"<br clear="none"><br clear="none">Aldwin shrugged. "Stow away, actually."<br clear="none"><br clear="none">"You want to abandon the quest?"<br clear="none"><br clear="none">Aldwin squirmed. "I just... I don't know if the curse is worth it. I only came to this caravan, because I'd always been good in a fight and I wanted to earn some money for my family back home. I've never seen war. I've never assassinated anyone. I just want to help people. But..."<br clear="none"><br clear="none">"Do you worry you'll never see your family again?"<br clear="none"><br clear="none">Aldwin looked up at the sky. "Papa told me that I might not come back home. That's the reality of guardwork, and he was ready for that. But if I didn't come home, then it should be out of bravery, not cowardice."<br clear="none"><br clear="none">A lion morph passed them in the street, glancing at the two humans with guarded but friendly eyes. Reed and Aldwin gave him a nod. They'd been at Metamor so many days now, the animal morphs had lost their novelty.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">"I just don't know what I'm feeling now, if I'm brave or foolish," Aldwin finished.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">Reed shook his head. "Stowing away would be foolishness. You'd never stay hidden long enough, and they'd know right away if someone was taking their food. You know how nothing gets overlooked in such a small caravan." He rubbed his lip in thought. "You gave Kasaima your word."<br clear="none"><br clear="none">"Do you think that was foolish of me?"<br clear="none"><br clear="none">"Doesn't matter now whether it was or wasn't." Reed stroked his chin, dissatisfied with his own answer. "You must trust yourself to know what to fight for. Only your heart can commit itself to another. Only you can tell where your heart lies." He tapped his chin. "Well, and maybe Kasaima, with that aura-reading of his."<br clear="none"><br clear="none">Aldwin nodded. "I know a man like me can't stay home forever. Being a guard means having to tie myself down somewhere else to another. There's just... so much I don't know about the world. So much."<br clear="none"><br clear="none">Reed patted Aldwin on the shoulder. "You can help in more ways than you know. Remember, we all look out for each other. You'll always have a family." He looked back up. "And we have plenty of time to learn about the world."<br clear="none"><br clear="none">The two of them turned a corner, careful not to lose themselves in the winding starlit streets of the Lower Keep.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">----<br clear="none"><br clear="none">Nathan and Rodrick both bolted upright when they heard Jerrod's scream. They saw Jerrod backed against a wall, staring in horror at a piece of straw on the ground.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">"What, pray tell," Rodrick said, "is the cause for alarm?"<br clear="none"><br clear="none">Jerrod pointed, his nails noticeably darker as if he'd bruised them against the wall. "T-THAT! I pulled THAT! From my BACK!"<br clear="none"><br clear="none">Nathan yelped as his head butted against the invisible wall he'd forgotten was there. From his own cell, Rodrick examined the straw more closely. It had an unusual coloration, dark brown on one end, cream-colored on the other, with thick bands in between. The ends were tapered to sharp points, like a large toothpick. It reminded Rodrick of some desert tribes that hunted with javelins banded with their tribal colors.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">"Why," Nathan said aloud, leaning forward more carefully, "it's a porcupine quill."<br clear="none"><br clear="none">"A what? A WHAT?" Jerrod croaked, gingerly pressing his back against the wall, no doubt feeling more of those quills behind him.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">Rodrick chuckled. "It appears the curse has bitten you. In a most sensitive area."<br clear="none"><br clear="none">"But, but it's only been six days! Six days! It was supposed to be SEVEN!"<br clear="none"><br clear="none">"Oh, don't forget that we spent a night camping in th' valley before reaching Metamor. So it's really been six and a half." Rodrick waved it off. "I suppose some of us are more susceptible to th' curse than others."<br clear="none"><br clear="none">"This isn't how it's supposed to happen!"<br clear="none"><br clear="none">"Would you rather have become a woman, Jerrod?" He laughed. "It suits you. Now you'll always have a set of weapons on you that you won't thoughtlessly gamble away."<br clear="none"><br clear="none">Jerrod clutched his neck, pulling down his collar to feel the bare skin that lay there. For now.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">"Hey, now," Nathan said. "A porcupine ain't such a bad critter. They're great climbers, and kin see in the dark."<br clear="none"><br clear="none">"I don't want to see in the dark or go climbing!" Jerrod collapsed to his knees and fell over. A patch of pinpricks pressed against his trousers. Some of the quills had already grown to three inches. "I wanna go home!"<br clear="none"><br clear="none">"Cheer up, Jerrod," Rodrick grinned. "I hear they love exotic pets in Marigund. We can get you a nice cage, a collar. Teach you to do hand stands. You'll blend right in."<br clear="none"><br clear="none">"Rodrick, please," Nathan said, looking back at Jerrod. "Yer not gonna be a full animal, ya know. Unless ya want it. Ya still got yer wits with ya. Stay calm, and you'll git through this."<br clear="none"><br clear="none">"Leave me alone," Jerrod said, turning towards the back of the cell.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">He was inconsolable. Rodrick had already had his fun, and Nathan had nothing to do but sit back and wait for however many hours it took for the guards to come.<br clear="none"></div>
</div></div></div>
</div></div></div>
</div>
</div></body></html>