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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Bob Aberton" data-source="post: 386449" data-attributes="member: 1518">Sindell was later seen to be escorted out of Lord Meiron's castle by a double squad of soldiers, looking wan and pale.She reeled into the Leaky Keg, stumbled up the stairs and into her room, and immediately her haggardness left her.  She burst out laughing.  Then she swooped down on the Gnome sitting near the fireplace and whirled him around the floor in a "happy dance.""We've done it!" She said joyfully.  "He swallowed it, hook, line and sinker!""Er...that's wonderful, Miss Nystyra," Eliad said cautiously.  "But what did I have t' do wi' it?""Oh, you haven't played your part yet," she said confidentially.  "But you will soon." Meanwhile, back in his room, Lord Meiron was nervous.  Very nervous.  In fact, he had long ago shredded his pink lace handkerchief, and his nails were down to nothing.  He paced back and forth, back and forth again, thinking and chewing his nails.What have I done to deserve this?  he thought.  I have been a good man...as good as the next man anyway.  I only sought to make myself comfortable in life...why me?But this strain of philosophical thinking did not last long, and soon he was thinking of the more practical details.I must appear at the Commendation, he thought.  I simply must.  No doubt the people will be terribly dissapointed if I do not come...and a bit of adulation would do me well, in the state I am in..."Guard!" he called sharply.  A bored-looking Bodyguard poked his head in the room."You called, Lordship?""Yes.  Bring me...ah...bring me some more of this...hmm...excellent wine.  And summon my favorite...ah, you know who I mean...""Yes, m'lord." the Bodyguard replied, rolling his eyes.  It was not fetching the wine that he objected to so much, but he couldn't fathom why his Lord always wanted to be alone with that particular Bodyguard.  Some details of his Lord's personal life were best left unquestioned...The Commendation was a grand ceremony.  A celebration particular to the town of Dwllyn, it was held every year on the first day of fall, to commemorate the hard toiling of the farmers that produced the crop that would keep Dwllyn's citizens alive through the winter.  Lord Meiron's father had started it, and Lord Meiron had found that it endeared the people to him to have their efforts commemorated.  But, standing at his gaily beribboned lectern, delivering a long flowery oration to The Common Man, he let his mind wander.  Despite what the Seeress had said, he couldn't stay inside all his life...and he had plenty of men guarding him, he had nothing to worry about...Or had he?  Crouching on a rooftop nearby was a tall, red-haired man, staring intently at Lord Meiron and fingering a dagger.Lord Meiron had no time to react.  He had the crowd give an audible gasp, but thinking it was merely due to the dashing figure he cut in his newly tailored plum-colored overcoat and curly pink wig, he continued speaking."...thus it is that the Common Man's toils are commendable, nay, laudible, for it is his back upon which rests our livelyhoods.  Indeed...err...indeed..."  Tired of the crowd's pointing above his head, he turned to look at the rooftop above his podium.  He speech faltered as he realized that the tall, red-haired man perched on the rooftop was holding a flashing knife."Sic Semper Tyrannis!" the man yelled, and lept off the rooftop, brandishing his knife.A heavy weight hit Lord Meiron in the chest and he fell to the ground.  His vision was suddenly full of flashing knives and red-haired assassins.  As the red-haired man leaned toward him with that wicked knife, Lord Meiron heard  Sindell's words echoing in his mind; "Red is your blood, Lord Meiron, and Red the hair of thy killer...!"Incredible, Lord Meiron thought,  she is a genuine Seeress.  Then his vision turned black and he knew no more. ****************************************************In lieu of a *BUMP*, I updated again.  Happy, O invisible readers? <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue    :p"  data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":p" /> <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" /></blockquote>

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