Shelter for a stranger.

*[Even before the door opens, he can tell that the person struggling with the latch is different. It's in her voice. She sounds about his age, and speaks through the heavy oak door with a detatchment, a performance almost, that he has not heard for what seems like an aeon. He used to talk that way himself, appropriating phrases and mannerisms from a multitude of fictional universes that he and millions of his kind had been privy to - enslaved by a form of technological magic long since alien to him.]*

*[The twinge of familiarity, of comfort, of belonging, takes his breath away for a split second. Yet he does not dare imagine that the person who is opening the door may be what he has been searching for all this time - until the latch finally slides home and the door creaks open.]*

*[She is about his age, and the moment he sees her, he can tell simply by virtue of the look in her eyes that she doesn't belong here. Hers is a face from another time, another realm - a realm he used to belong to, before all this happened. As they stand there eyeballing each other in the rain, he slowly realises that maybe, after all this time, he may have finally found the key to complete his journey and end his suffering.]*

*[Wordlessly he accepts her invitation, certain that his hesitance has betrayed him. It is immediately obvious that his incongruity in this realm has not escaped her either. His face still concealed by the shadow of his hood, he steps inside the inn.]*

"No, I guess you could say that I'm not from around here...but I can't think of what a girl like you is doing here either..."*[he says, lying.]*

[*He lifts his head towards her slightly, squinting to see her face. Under his hood, she swears that she sees a brief flash of blue light from his eyes. Blinking, she sees nothing. Must have been the storm.]*

"What's your name?"

"My....I mean, I'm...."

*[He hesitates again, as if he were afraid to utter his own moniker. It has been a long time since he has ever had cause to use his real name, and he has even taken to calling himself Skiprazor, as if in resigned acceptance of the nickname thrust upon him by others. But he realises as Julia is talking that she is no madwoman or witch. No amount of roleplaying or pretence could mask her ultimate origin.]*

*[Now he is certain as to where she comes from, but what he really wants - no, needs - to know is how she got here. Perhaps she could shed some light on his own predicament, or to provide some answers as to a potential way back - although he already knows that their paths will diverge should such a situation arise. Confusion, a human emotion he was not created to experience, wells up inside him, its taste wholly alien and unremitting. He also knows he can trust her. One thing at a time, though.]*

"...my name's Neil."

[*He exhales, as if a great burden has suddely been lifted. He reaches for his hood as he speaks again.]*

"As I'm confident you've already gathered, I'm not from this realm either. You remind me a lot of the people I used to know back where I come from. You look very familiar. But you're different also, somehow. You seem more......"

*[He slowly lifts his hood. He looks about the same age as Julia, perhaps slightly younger. His hair is cut short, unusually short for this particular time period, and is dark and spiky-looking. He has sharp features, but he has no look of evil abut him - although his persistently blue irises threaten to alter his demeanour at any moment. As if at a secret joke, he offers the slightest trace of a grin.]*

www31.brinkster.com/skippyonline/urban.html

"....more....human."

*[His mind is racing, and it's all he can do to stop himself from blurting out any one of a hundred important questions.]*

"It's a great pleasure to meet you, Julia."

*Just then there is the sound of footsteps on the staires behind them.*


"Miss Julia, Miss Julia."

*Julia turns rouns and sees what apppers to be Tom Troughton half running down the staires.*

"Miss Julia. Are there you are my dear, Another message has just turned up at your door. But it's not from Lord Fear."

"It's From Ridolfo."


(OOC: No I haven't forgot to change accounts. This is realy Deal/Nesty useing his disguise Powder to imatate Tom so as to lull DG in to a false sence of scurity. See the thread FAKE in same Topic.)

* "Tom" smiles and looks at the letter.*

"You know Miss Julia. The Letter says he wishes to meet you tonight on the Path to Wolfenden."

"I would hurry along if I were you True Love waits for no one you know."

"Well anyway I must dash myself, Goodnight to you both and good luck Miss Julia."

*With that Tom hurrys out the door. Out of sight of The Inn Tom's fetures apper to start mealting and dissolving in a few seconds Tom's happy go lucky face is replaced by the smerking arragont smile of H.O.Nesty.*

"Yes do hurry to your little midnight randavue Miss Julia, You sure don't want to miss this."

"Well, maybe he saw me from a distance but didn't approach me, he could have been playing his guitar-type instrument for people and telling them news. That's what he does, you know. I reckon Tom must've told him that I liked him".

*Starts spouting details about Ridolfo that she knows from watching KM*

"Ahh...I love watching him. When he appears on dungeoneer's quests, they tell him what's going on and he gives them information in return. And he's a great musician too!"

"I will tell you where I come from in more detail later on, Skip - I promise you! But I can't turn down the opportunity of meeting him...I really can't! Sorry to rush off like this, but it's almost midnight and I gotta dash! You'd better call for the innkeeper...I'll see ya later and we can compare notes on our different realms. Hehe, I'm glad I've made a new friend! Well, wish me luck!"

*Dashes out the inn and to the path to Wolfenden*

"Good luck," *[Neil calls after her as she dashes excitedly into the darkness]*, "don't do anything I wouldn't do."

*[The thought strikes him that this is a somewhat redundant statement, because - as those who have been unfortunate enough to get on his bad side will attest - there really isn't a lot that he would't do. He allows himself a wry grin at this notion, but as Julia's footsteps fade away in the distance, he finds himself struggling to drown out the alarm bells ringing in his ears.]*

*[He has already been through something of his own personal hell since arriving in this land, and all he wishes to do is have a roof over his head, to relax, and sleep. His senses tell him to get a room and retire. His instincts tell him to get up and follow his newfound companion into the forbidding night. As is the norm, his instincts win out. Looks like he won't be putting his head down for the night just yet.]*

*[Carefully staying well out of Julia's perceptive range, Neil shadows her every move through the gloom, his movements seemingly as unhindered as if it were broad daylight. His eyes, always an irridescent blue, now emitted a faint but perceptible glow. Making no sound at all, he continues to trail Julia, keeping her just at the very limits of his vision, as she disappears into the dense thicket surrounding the main path to Wolfenden.]*

*[Continued in The Path To Wolfenden: Waiting For Ridolfo.]*