🚀 go-pugleaf

> Mr. Briggs started to smile a beaming grin, that made everyone else in the
> room just a little bit happier.  "Come on in and have a seat, we were just
> getting through introductions.  My name in Barnabus Bristlemyer Briggs, most
> call me Mr. Briggs or just Briggs.  Just try to say it right would you please".
> He looked at Cranach and the dwarf as he said that.  "This here is Cranach,
> a unique individual, I'm sure you'll grow to like him in time." The dwarf
> was busy thumbing through his manuals so Briggs skipped over him for now.
> 
> "I am known as Dahvyn Gray", the elf said.
> 
> Mr Briggs smiled again and said "Let's get down to business then. Cranach,
> pull up a chair, I'm gonna want to know everything you have to say about
> the Troll mountains."  Mr. Briggs unfolded the map again that he hadn't
> quite gotten out of view when Cranach came barging in.  The dwarf was
> still buried in his books.
> 
> "Mind if I call you Gray?" he said to the elf. "You look like an educated
> elf, why don't you tell me what these elven runes say?  We can discuss
> rewards and payment after we get organized a bit"

   Dahvyn stared at the rows of unfamiliar characters.  He knew Elvish, at
least a lot of it.  Three thought net languages and one computer language were
based on its structure.  Just the familiar symbols were not here.  Some looked
the same, portal, move to ... well not really.  This was one of those problems
that back home he would have solved by casting "thought net" and digging the
answer out of some data bank.  In desperation, he reached out with his mind
for a thought net portal and cast his spell... willing the data net to appear.
   It did.  The spell "thought stream access " is very similar to the more
complicated "ESP" spell used by the great wizards of his homeworld.  Except it
is easy for anyone with magical gifts or even a dozen years or practice to
master.  Dahvyn had cast it three or four times each day for one hundred or
more years and it had never allowed access to anyone's thoughts who wasn't
also casting the same spell.  But here, the surface thoughts of those near
him were clear.  The Dark Wind Clan's presence here was suddenly clear : Magic
is powerfull here!
   He attempted to use the data stream in the same way he had in his old
"hunting grounds."
   " KEYWORD : ELF"  He thought.
Near him the imediate thoughts were Cranach and himself;but, there were others
in the bar.  He extended his range to cover the barmaid who was prominent in
Mr. Briggs thoughts.
   " KEYWORD : ELF" again
There was one elf in the bar but his thoughts were screened.  Dahvyn thought
quickly.
   " KEYWORDS : WALK-INS, RECENT "
There were two.  One of them was a farmer familiar to Dahvyn.  He quickly
located John Simple in the crowd.
   "KEYWORDS : ELF, LOCAL"
Through John's eyes, Dahvyn could see a cook from a local Inn teasing the fish
with a fly rod in a stream only 100 feet from the pub.  The information was 
five minutes old but the cook hadn't seemed to be in a hurry.  So.. less than
a second later he found him.
   Dahvyn was unsure what path to take so he followed "handshake" customs from
his own lands.  He presented himself to the Elven fisherman's mind.  He saw
the fishing elf as a ghostlike figure fishing on the tabletop.  The elf
perhaps saw him leaning over him or as a talking fish...however his
sub-concious mind  viewed surprises.  "I am Gray" Dahvyn said.
   " REQUEST TRANSLATION OF SYMBOLS : ATTACHED, TRANSMITTION FOLLOWING ON
ACCEPTANCE "
   The elf recovered quiclky and accepted the first line.  The mental image
frowned and declined further transmittion.  "I know this first line from a
morality play popular many years ago.  It says, "I speak quietly " which
means, "I speak with the sure knowledge of remaining anonomous."  It is not an
elven thing to say, unless the elf is a dark elf, a drow.  The contact was 
broken with a mental shudder.
   "KEYWORD : DARK ELF, DROW"  The race was unknown to Dahvyn who only knew of
two races of elves, but, one name quickly appeared in the mind of Barnabus
Briggs.
   Barnabus frowned at him. " well, what does it say?" 
   Dahvyn realized suddenly that all of the previous action had passed
unnoticed by the rest of the group. 
    "Cranach, some of these runes are giving me trouble...would you like to
give me a hand here?"