Meeting With The Family Man

(( Sunset near Jasra Warren ))

Trap marveled at the ever changing beauty of the scene before him as he
glanced out over the ocean's water. Laying witness to the suns last showing
of the day. He stood there in awe as the colors played out their final
viewing and wished with all his heart that Danielle could have been with him
to see the wonder of it. It was something she would have loved to have seen.

But Danielle wasn't here. He had left her broken hearted in Telnor and he
was alone now as the ocean's beauty mocked him.

He heard a sound off to his left and stole a glance around the rocks hiding
him to see the outline of a man climbing up over the lip of the cliff. As he
stood there silently watching, the man took a quick look around then stood
facing the water, his body outlined by the setting sun.

Trap knew the man. Had sat across the table from him playing cards and
drinking to life love and women before. This was Saul. The man he'd come to see.

"Been a long time Saul of Whiteriver," Trap said stepping out of his hiding
place. "Never figured you to settle down with a mate and kiddies. Your
Shawnee must be one hell of a woman to have made you give up your bachelor
ways and settle into papa hood."

"Twice over. Boy and girl," Saul said turning to face the sound of the
voice. "And my Shawnee *is* something very special. But I'm sure you didn't
ask me to meet you here to talk about my family life. You said trouble was
in the wind?"

"No. It's not," Trap chuckled. "Though I just never thought I'd see the day
you'd take a woman to mate much less become a dotting daddy....."

"No more then I thought the leader of a gang of thieves would turn out to be
a Warren dragonrider in disguise." Saul mused in return. "What's the world
coming too?"

"Funny how life sometimes turns out that way," Traplin quipped
sarcastically. "But you're right. That's not what I came looking for you about.

"So what gives?"

"You got trouble coming at you and in the form of mentally disturbed
villagers who think dragons are an evilness out to possess the world one
rider at a time," Trap began to tell the bearded ex-Whiteriveren the story
he had learned recently.

Starting with Dewer's request, but leaving out the girl's name or any
mention of his break up with Danielle.  The one he would learn soon enough
and the other just wasn't anyone's business but his own.

"Recently an ... acquaintance of mine... Someone I knew from my days as the
Shadow came to me, knowing what a smart man I can be sometimes with things
like this, with a request for help. Seems he had gotten word that the folks
back home were plotting some evilness against a young woman that he cared a
great deal for, and he came to me asking me to check it out. To see if it
was true, and to find some way to stop them if it was."

"And did you?" Saul asked, leaning his hip back against a bolder, crossing
his arms over his chest as he waited for an answer.

"Oh I checked it out all right and found out that my ah... friend .... had
every right to be worried," Trap nodded with a short snort. "These fine
upstanding folks I went to check out aren't what you and I might call lovers
of dragon kind. They believe that dragons are demons set down to possess
humans and convert them to do their evil bidding if you know what I mean?"

"I get the drift," Saul commented dryly, but felt a fear inside that he
hadn't experienced since leaving Whiteriver. An anger and sadness filled him
as he remembered friends and love ones who had been killed by a dragon
hating cult back home in Whiteriver just before he and his family had left.
He and Shawnee had both lost loved ones.

"You said that the threat would bring trouble to the Warrenlady Tara? How so?"

"It's her own people," Trap explained dropping what he knew would be a bomb.
"Her very own proud papa is leading the group here even as we speak. They
believe that if they kidnap her away from her Queen then they can take her
somewhere and De-possess her."

"Are they crazy!" Saul exploded. His body coming away from the bolder he'd
been leaning against as he began to pace. "No don't answer that. Dumb
question. Do they realize that Tara and the Queen are in constant contact
with each other and if they try to harm her, her queen will send out the alert?"

Trap nodded. "They've done their homework. They plan on drugging her to keep
her from talking to the beast until they can get her away from here, and
then take her to one of the pockets around here where the magic is gone.
They'll keeping her there until the bond of their joining is broken."

"Don't they know that can kill Tara as well?"

Trap raised his hands running his finger decisively through his hair as he
took a deep breath. "That point was brought up to them," he frowned,
remembering the heated and suspicious looks he had received from the
villagers after he had spoken the words. "By myself, and I feared they were
about to stone me until I convinced them that I was in total agreement with
the plan. Just stating the obvious."

"And what was their reaction?"

"To quote the young ladies proud father," his voice shifting slightly to
take on the sound of a much older man. "If the Gods will her to die to end
the possession... then far be it for us mer mortals to question what the
Gods will do. End quote."

"They'd *let* her die rather then stayed join to her Queen?"

"Yes. To protect her from the demon. Yes they would let her die and feel not
one damn bit of remorse for doing so." There was bitterness in the blond
riders voice now as he spoke. "Real sweethearts your Warrenlady comes from.
Remind me never to go to a family reunion with her."

Night had fallen. Leaving the two men silhouetted in what light the moon
threw off the darken water below them. Both were silent. Trap so that Saul
could think about what he'd just been told. And Saul wondering what could be
done to stop things before they got to far.

Saul knew one thing however. A certain person of his own acquaintance had to
hear this story. He had to know about the danger focused on the woman he had
spend his life protecting.

As Trap watched, the bearded rider's eyes took on the *out of focused* look
a rider's took on when communicating with their dragon. Trap remained silent
during the exchange to give the man time to deal with whatever he was daling
with.

Then Saul blinked and turned back to refocus on Trap's face. "There's
someone I want you to meet. Someone I want you to repeat this story too,"
Saul told him and saw Trap frown. "It's important he knows."

"Look... I've already been gone a long time from the village, but I had to
get you this news," the tall blond rider looked back over his shoulder to a
place Saul couldn't see. "The longer I stay here the better chance of my
absence being discovered by the villagers."

"I'm sure you'll convince them you're the same kind of lowlife as they are
if you have too," Saul waved off Traps words. "But there are reasons you
have to stay a bit longer and talk to this guy. Like you... he's not to open
about his past or present life, so if you ask questions don't expect
answers... In fact the two of you should get along famously."

"Who is he?" Trap asked.

"Some may call him a thief, some a hero, some don't even believe he's real,
but I call him friend. I'd trust this man with my live and the lives of my
family... But I know he has his own reasons for wanting to make sure Tara
stays healthy and in one piece. So I can't leave him out of this... Besides
which he's on his way here now."

Moments later a dragon appeared in the skies above them and as they waited
for it to land Trap noticed there where two humans aboard.

He watched as they dismounted and drew near. Of the two it was the woman who
first caught his attention, for it was the same lady who had been in town
earlier with the kid Ojean. The same feeling of familiarity that had hit him
before when he has seen her came back to him now.

So did the reason. He knew her. He knew her name and wondered how she could
be here in this place.

When everyone back in Keldarra thought she was dead.

But then he heard Saul speaking and finally turned to look at the man who 
had arrived with Darlea... and took in his second shock of the day.

"Been a long time Traplin," the man said holding out his hand, his
expression, Trap read as *not now we'll speak later*.

"To long," Trap agreed, not missing a beat that would alert the others, 
but his mind was screaming for answers. Did this Jasra Warren collect dead
riders somehow?

"Saul looked at the two of them slightly confused. "You two know each 
other?"

"You could say that," Wisp chuckled. Please that Trap hadn't given him away.
"We've... run into each other once or twice. But I don't think you brought
me here for a reunion with an old friend....."

He turned then to look at Saul for an explanation.

"No," Saul agree frowning. "Trap here has brought word to me about a plot
against Tara... I fingered you should know about it."

Any amusement Wisp felt at shocking his old friend left him, to be replaced
by a cold awareness of action. Any threat to Tara was worth listening too,
and hell be damned for any who were involved.

"Tell me about it."


***Submitted by: *****

Traplin & Diemis (formerly of Telnor)
Wisp & Smoke (parts unknown)
Jasra Warren

Aka
Barbara

Return to Telnor Posts for Aug 2000