Date:  Tue Feb 5, 2002  10:10
am


Day 8 – Late Morning





	`Tonio left the dining hall, having had his fill of 

breakfast.  Moving across the green, he spotted a figure advancing 

quickly towards him.  Stopping and turning to focus his vision, he 

smiled as he recognized the person – his comrade-in-arms, Eriu.  He 

acknowledged her and embraced her as she came near, "Eriu!  It is 

good to see you again so soon.  Tell me, what brings you back to the 

warren."



	Eriu looked healthy enough, although she still looked a 

little pale from the mercury poisoning she had suffered, "After what 

happened to me, I figured that I would do some scouting around, see 

what our brethren knew about what was going on."



	"What did they find out?" asked `Tonio.  The Knights were not 

many, but they had an excellent information network.  He had not 

thought to use them, but then again, the only person he knew of in 

this area was Eriu.



	Eriu smiled, "Well, a couple days ago, a dragonrider was 

exploring mines and asking questions.  Somebody by the name 

of `Tonio," she said looking at him, "anyway, it seems that caused 

quite a stir.  A couple of the men were nervous, mentioning that they 

never should have listened to the Snake, that they were now going to 

be burnt to a crisp by dragonfire."



	`Tonio raised his eyebrows, "Oh really.  They didn't by any 

chance reveal who this Snake was, did they?"



	Eriu shook her head, "No, but I do have the names of the two 

individuals.  They happen to be brothers, Juris and Hardy Thorpe."



	"Good.  Thank you Eriu for your assistance.  If it's not too 

much trouble, I'd like you to have someone check our stables.  I may 

be paying a visit there and I want to make sure that Laroxes is in 

good shape," `Tonio said with a grin.



	"Your white charger?  The steed to complete the cliché?  I 

thought you rode a dragon now?" Eriu asked, her eyes peering into his 

soul, "Just who are you trying to impress?"



	`Tonio chuckled, "One of the riders here happens to have read 

the biography and has figured out that I am one of those people.  I 

am merely indulging her curiosity." 



	Eriu shook her head, "I see.  Just be careful `Tonio.  You're 

walking the line there."



	"I know, but I've always walked the line ever since I became 

a rider.  But now I must go inform Merissa of what I have found out 

and take action," he said.



[..]



	"And you got this information from a reliable source," 

Merissa said after hearing `Tonio.



	The Knight nodded, "Yes Merissa.  Eriu is my partner and I 

trust her information completely.  If we can find these two, we will 

likely be able to stop the problem at its source," `Tonio said.



	"True, but we will have to go about this subtlely.  Sending a 

dragonflight in will scare them, and then we'll never bring the 

people responsible out in the open," mused the Dragonlady.



	"I would propose that myself and Latnem go, milady.  Both of 

us are skilled at reading human behavior and would probably be able 

to glean more information that the average person," he suggested.



	Merissa looked him up and down, "True, but I think you would 

be recognized because of your choice of dress."



	"Easily remedied, milady.  With your leave, I'll inform 

Latnem," `Tonio said.



<Tag, Arle – anything to add?>



Submitted by



`Tonio and DeMarco

AKA Chris Weeda





NRPG:  Okay, figured I may as well kick this mercury plot into gear.  

Anyone wanna come along for the ride?  Provide a few twists of their 

own?