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drnuncheon's Freeport Story Hour - Book II: Inheritance
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<blockquote data-quote="drnuncheon" data-source="post: 306570" data-attributes="member: 96"><p><strong>Session Two, Part Five: The Message</strong></p><p></p><p>Chirr looked up as the door to Sehanoarun's opened. <em>She's here <u>again</u>? That's the second time today,</em> he thought, as Dru strode over to his table, her cloak shedding the remnants of the rain. Without preamble, she sat.</p><p></p><p>"What's going on with Papa?" she demanded.</p><p></p><p>Chirr's mouth hung open. "I...ah..." He couldn't meet her eyes. <em>I shouldn't be telling her this, but...</em> "He's worried, Dru. These attacks are aimed at him, and none of us know who or why."</p><p></p><p>"I just got done finishing off two of them. They killed Talis and two others. Someone will need to tell their families. And tell my father no more avoiding me - I <em>must</em> talk to him."</p><p></p><p><img src="http://www.io.com/~jeffj/b2sep.gif" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /></p><p></p><p>Di'Fier helped lift the last of the bodies onto the cart, and with a wave from the driver it rumbled off to the morgue. The Watchman stared after it until it vanished in the night. <em>There, that's done. Now, all I have to do is find Echo, and wait for Dru.</em> "Echo?" he called out. "It's all right now, you can come out."</p><p></p><p>The only answer was the sound of the rain.</p><p></p><p><img src="http://www.io.com/~jeffj/b2sep.gif" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /></p><p></p><p>"I can't make heads or tails of it," Dru complained. She leaned back in her chair and tossed the message back onto the desk she shared with Di'Fier. "I don't even know which way is <u>up</u>."</p><p></p><p>Her partner nodded. "It's no alphabet I've ever seen. Still, tomorrow I'll just prepare my spell of translation...hmmm."</p><p></p><p>"Hmm?"</p><p></p><p>"I wonder if Glunnyn is still around."</p><p></p><p>The gnome was. In fact, he had set up a cot in the small room he had claimed for an alchemist's lab, which he used for his frequent catnaps. Now, however, he was overseeing the reaction of a pair of reagents whose purpose seemed to be solely to make a foul odor reminiscent of burning brimstone.</p><p></p><p>"Glunnyn. Can you read this for us?"</p><p></p><p>The gnome's hand shot out impatiently, seized the note, and brought it back in front of his face - all without looking up from the alembic he was studying. An instant later, it thrust the paper back at Di'Fier. "Not a bit of it. Complete gibberish."</p><p></p><p>Dru cleared her throat. "Could you cast a <em>spell</em>?"</p><p></p><p>The gnome turned to her and blinked, as if the possibility had not occurred to him. "Ahhhh...let me see." Taking the paper from Di'Fier - more gently this time - he smoothed it out on an unused stretch of table and spoke a word, then studied it again. Frowning, he rotated the paper, his expression changing from displeased to puzzled as he did. "How odd."</p><p></p><p>"What does it say?"</p><p></p><p>Glunnyn handed the paper back. "No idea. It seems to be resistant to spells of translation." He thought about it for a moment, then added, "Since the spell operates partially by psychometrically discerning the communicator's intent, it <em>is</em> vulnerable to giving an incorrect translation - or no translation at all - when the writer's intent is to conceal information."</p><p></p><p>Dru looked blank, but Di'Fier nodded. "So it's a cipher."</p><p></p><p>"Most probably."</p><p></p><p><img src="http://www.io.com/~jeffj/b2sep.gif" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /></p><p></p><p>Dru threw the stick of charcoal down in disgust and wiped her hands on a rag. "Stupid criminals...why couldn't they write their secret messages in plain language?"</p><p></p><p>Di'Fier looked up for a moment, as if he were about to explain the matter, but then thought better of it. "If we can just figure out a few of these letters..."</p><p></p><p>An elven finger stabbed at the page. "That one's an 'e'."</p><p></p><p>"How do you know?"</p><p></p><p>"It's there all the time. All over the place."</p><p></p><p>"I guess we can try it..."</p><p></p><p><img src="http://www.io.com/~jeffj/b2sep.gif" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /></p><p></p><p>Di'Fier sat back and read over the <a href="http://www.io.com/~jeffj/note2.gif" target="_blank">translation</a>. "We have the girl and the b-tch is a hellion - she and her friends wounded...er, someone...when we grabbed her. We got the one you wanted and two others but one got away in the fight. We'll have her tracked down soon enough."</p><p></p><p>"Great. Just great." Dru threw up her hands. "Does <u>anything</u> on this case fit in with anything else?"</p><p></p><p><em>- End of Session 2 -</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em><strong>Next Session:</strong> Two brutal murders for the price of one - and a choice no Watchman should ever have to make. Don't miss it!</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="drnuncheon, post: 306570, member: 96"] [b]Session Two, Part Five: The Message[/b] Chirr looked up as the door to Sehanoarun's opened. [i]She's here [u]again[/u]? That's the second time today,[/i] he thought, as Dru strode over to his table, her cloak shedding the remnants of the rain. Without preamble, she sat. "What's going on with Papa?" she demanded. Chirr's mouth hung open. "I...ah..." He couldn't meet her eyes. [i]I shouldn't be telling her this, but...[/i] "He's worried, Dru. These attacks are aimed at him, and none of us know who or why." "I just got done finishing off two of them. They killed Talis and two others. Someone will need to tell their families. And tell my father no more avoiding me - I [i]must[/i] talk to him." [img]http://www.io.com/~jeffj/b2sep.gif[/img] Di'Fier helped lift the last of the bodies onto the cart, and with a wave from the driver it rumbled off to the morgue. The Watchman stared after it until it vanished in the night. [i]There, that's done. Now, all I have to do is find Echo, and wait for Dru.[/i] "Echo?" he called out. "It's all right now, you can come out." The only answer was the sound of the rain. [img]http://www.io.com/~jeffj/b2sep.gif[/img] "I can't make heads or tails of it," Dru complained. She leaned back in her chair and tossed the message back onto the desk she shared with Di'Fier. "I don't even know which way is [u]up[/u]." Her partner nodded. "It's no alphabet I've ever seen. Still, tomorrow I'll just prepare my spell of translation...hmmm." "Hmm?" "I wonder if Glunnyn is still around." The gnome was. In fact, he had set up a cot in the small room he had claimed for an alchemist's lab, which he used for his frequent catnaps. Now, however, he was overseeing the reaction of a pair of reagents whose purpose seemed to be solely to make a foul odor reminiscent of burning brimstone. "Glunnyn. Can you read this for us?" The gnome's hand shot out impatiently, seized the note, and brought it back in front of his face - all without looking up from the alembic he was studying. An instant later, it thrust the paper back at Di'Fier. "Not a bit of it. Complete gibberish." Dru cleared her throat. "Could you cast a [i]spell[/i]?" The gnome turned to her and blinked, as if the possibility had not occurred to him. "Ahhhh...let me see." Taking the paper from Di'Fier - more gently this time - he smoothed it out on an unused stretch of table and spoke a word, then studied it again. Frowning, he rotated the paper, his expression changing from displeased to puzzled as he did. "How odd." "What does it say?" Glunnyn handed the paper back. "No idea. It seems to be resistant to spells of translation." He thought about it for a moment, then added, "Since the spell operates partially by psychometrically discerning the communicator's intent, it [i]is[/i] vulnerable to giving an incorrect translation - or no translation at all - when the writer's intent is to conceal information." Dru looked blank, but Di'Fier nodded. "So it's a cipher." "Most probably." [img]http://www.io.com/~jeffj/b2sep.gif[/img] Dru threw the stick of charcoal down in disgust and wiped her hands on a rag. "Stupid criminals...why couldn't they write their secret messages in plain language?" Di'Fier looked up for a moment, as if he were about to explain the matter, but then thought better of it. "If we can just figure out a few of these letters..." An elven finger stabbed at the page. "That one's an 'e'." "How do you know?" "It's there all the time. All over the place." "I guess we can try it..." [img]http://www.io.com/~jeffj/b2sep.gif[/img] Di'Fier sat back and read over the [url=http://www.io.com/~jeffj/note2.gif]translation[/url]. "We have the girl and the b-tch is a hellion - she and her friends wounded...er, someone...when we grabbed her. We got the one you wanted and two others but one got away in the fight. We'll have her tracked down soon enough." "Great. Just great." Dru threw up her hands. "Does [u]anything[/u] on this case fit in with anything else?" [i]- End of Session 2 - [b]Next Session:[/b] Two brutal murders for the price of one - and a choice no Watchman should ever have to make. Don't miss it![/i] [/QUOTE]
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drnuncheon's Freeport Story Hour - Book II: Inheritance
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