D'arcon was fuming when he left the dining hall. Where did Lenna get off
telling him what to do? Surely he had more influence than she, or did
he? His thoughts were interupted by a messenger.

"Cynthia wants to see you in her office right away," he told D'arcon, before
running off to deliver another message.

Great, as if I didn't have enough trouble already, he thought to himself. He
had a pretty good idea what Cynthia wanted to talk about. She was also a
healer, and had much of the same priorities as Lenna. D'arcon's mind was
racing, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation to yesterday's
events. Adrian did come down a bit hard on Garoth, but he was just following
their mutual agenda. Finding Shakar Warren was imperative to D'arcon and by
that, to Adrian too. There were few things Adrian wouldn't do for his rider.
They'd been through too much together for that.

D'arcon knocked lightly on Cynthia's door. He had decided to stand tall no
matter what she had to say to him.

"Enter!"

"I got a message you wanted to see me." He gave her a big smile. Usually,
the smile tended to throw people off, but not Cynthia. She was almost as mad
as Lenna had been, a few minutes ago.

"What the hell were you thinking, when you had Adrian threaten Garoth? I
specifically told you to tread lightly on this one."

"With all due respect - no, you didn't. You just said you wanted to use a
hatchling to do a grown-up's work. As you recall, I was opposed to it from
the beginning." D'arcon tried to make it sound, as if he had done nothing
wrong. By his standard, he hadn't. Perhaps he had used excessive force,
but when dealing with rogues, he found it appropriate.

"What I did, or didn't say is not important. I was expecting you to think
before acting, not rush in and do something stupid like this. I have a fair
mind to put you on probation, outside the Warren for a while."

"If you'll let me explain..." D'arcon was feeling less confident now.

"This'd better be good."

"I was going to talk this over with Trevor, before setting the ball in
motion, but I couldn't find him. My plan was to have Adrian play the part of
the bad dragon, making it a lot easier for Trissana, aka the good dragon, to
get information from Garoth. So far, my plan seems to be working, don't
you think? A few more meetings between Triss and Garoth should settle the
matter."

"You've got a point, but I still don't approve of your methods. No more
threatening injured dragons or riders, OK?"

"Certainly. Perhaps I should send Adrian to apologize?"

"You will do no such thing. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, you do. Farewell for now." D'arcon left Cynthia's office. All in all,
he was pleased with the meeting. He was still in charge and one step closer
to finding the location of Shakar Warren. Just to make sure he didn't miss
out on any information, he walked over to the hatchling barracks, to see
Trevor. One of the helpers directed him to the Upper Greens.

While making his way to the Upper Greens, he contacted Adrian. He told him
about the encounter with Lenna and his meeting with Cynthia.

<We need to do something about Lenna,> he told Adrian. <I don't want her
getting in my face again.>

<You're not suggesting...>

<Of course not! I would never do such a thing. I'm just saying that everyone
has a skeleton or two in their closet. Lenna must have her fair share of
skeletons. All we have to do is find them, and if she won't co-operate,
we'll let them out of the closet. It's as simple as that.>

<I like the way your mind works. It's like seeing a reflection of myself,
only less intelligent of course.>

<Comparing intelligence is totally uncalled for, and you know that.>

<Sorry, it was just an observation.>

<Apology accepted, for now.>
----------

D'arcon found Trevor and Trissana near a well, obviously involved in some
sort of lesson. Trissana hissed when she saw him. Trevor also looked a bit
on the suspicious side.

"There you are," D'arcon said. "Listen, I wanted to apologize for yesterday.
I planned on discussing my plan with you, before I put it to work, but I
couldn't find you. I hope your hatchling wasn't harmed."

"She is fine, but we don't appreciate being kept in the dark. What's this
plan your talking about?"

D'arcon told Trevor the same story he had told Cynthia. Afterwards, Trevor
seemed to ease up a little. He accepted D'arcon's apology, on condition it
never happened again.

As D'arcon made his way home to his apartment, he was smiling. His plan was
back on track and he was one step closer to the top. All in a day's work.
--------------

[NRPG]

Barbara - This could be interesting. I don't know if Lenna has any hidden
secrets, but if she does, D'arcon will find them. He's not the one to back
down...

John - Can Triss make this 'good dragon / bad dragon' routine work?

Kind Regards,

Krister Persson <kris_mia@algonet.se>

SA-1 Martin Reed, Team Zulu, The X-Files PBeM RPG (XFRPG).
D'arcon and Adrian, Cleft Warren, DragonLands PBeM RPG.
--------------
Check out my homepage at: http://www.algonet.se/~kris_mia/

"Proceed boldly and with stealth" - Sally Solomon (3rd Rock from the Sun).