Troy Lauder

UP: Atlantic

    Trinsic - I was eating lunch at the Keg and Anchor the other day, when Sidney the tinker came strolling in. He was surrounded by a group of people, in usual fashion, who were enthralled by this latest tale of his.

    Having spotted me from across the room, Sidney approached my table and asked if the seat across from mine was taken. After I indicated that it was not, he promptly sat down. Before I had a chance to ask him what was going on, he began telling me how he'd spent his last few weeks.

    "Having inspected the Journal of Masterson that I had received from the bold group of adventurers that my friend Roy dispatched, I determined that associates of the Pawns of Virtue were living in and operating out of the area surrounding Vesper.

    "I took the long trip to Vesper to locate a group of adventurers to escort me safely to the hideout of this band of rogues, but alas, we arrived too late. The rogues had been slain by the Pawns of Virtue,"

    Sidney recounted.

    "Was the whole trip for naught, then?" I asked. "Not exactly," Sidney said, thoughtfully, "for there was some information that we obtained at the site of the murder that I suspect will be valuable to my cause."

    "Just what type of information did you gather? And are you prepared to further discuss this cause of yours?" I pressed, inquisitively. "As I have said before, my reasons are really my own. I don't think they'd be of any interest to anyone else.

    "As for the information that I received, you really must understand that there are very dangerous people who are looking for the same thing. It would not be in my best interest to discuss this. Just know that I have a few more expeditions planned for the very near future. And I will again require the aid of hearty adventurers," Sidney grinned.

    With that, Sidney rose from the table and walked out the door. While this uncharacteristically abrupt behavior caught me off guard at first, it occured to me that our conversation had probably more than fulfilled his appetite.

From the Town Cryer - The Journal of Ultima Online, Tuesday, December 22nd 1998