# The Adventures of Thomas



## der_kluge (Jul 25, 2005)

What follows is a story hour from the game I am currently playing in. Scadgrad is the GM, and the game is set in his world of Braxus. My character, Thomas, is a fighter, and joined an existing campaign.

This is the campaign through Thomas' eyes, and the events that led up to him meeting his current party, and the adventures they share.

I hope you enjoy it.


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## der_kluge (Jul 25, 2005)

It was dark out. “This is good”, Thomas thought, “it will afford me the cover I need.” Thomas had raced through back-alleys in his baggy, stolen clothes. He’d managed to collect a few of his own personal belongings. There were things that he would miss, but knew he wouldn’t need them where he was going – wherever that was. So long as it was away from his parents – he didn’t care. He’d gathered his journal, which he coveted, and a vial of ink, and a feather pen. He stowed them away in his pouch. He had his chain shirt on underneath his baggy tunic. He’d taken it from a servant that his family had. It was just a basic pant and tunic, and the servant was a bit taller than he was, but it would work for the time being. His hair, now a cropped mess, he’d cut with his favorite rapier, a weapon of great quality, which his father purchased for his last birthday. He couldn’t have his noble locks giving him away, or arousing suspicion. There weren’t many blades in Hampton’s Gate as fine as this one, and Thomas knew it. Thomas was also sure to gather up his main gauche. It was also a fine blade, and of masterwork quality. Having it was crucial to the Assydian fighting style Thomas had learned. It was a deadly two-weapon style that Thomas mastered easily. He’d never killed a man with it, though, and for him, it was only a sport, a hobby perhaps. Would he be able to kill people if he needed to? He didn’t want to think about it. His parents would be looking for him come first light. He needed to be on a boat by then, and well inland by the next day if he was to hope to be able to flee.

“Good sir”, Thomas said to the sailor, “I need passage to Innismere this night. I can pay.” Thomas couldn’t believe he’d referred to the sailor as sir. I’m never going to be believable as a commoner if I can’t shake this noble’s tongue.”

“Boy, it’s well past mid-night! Shouldn’t you be home, with your family? You can’t be more than 12, 13 tops.” The sailor shot back.

“15, if you please!”, Thomas said standing up straight, lowering his voice as well as he could, though slouchy immediately when he’d realized how he’d just addressed the sailor again. “I mean, I’m 15, and I’d like to speak to your superior about securing passage to Innismere. I can pay. It’s urgent that I get to Innismere.”

“Well, if it’s that important to you, I’m not here to stop you. The Captain makes those decisions. You can find him on the ship. Ask at the end of the pier to see Captain Gulles, the others will show you the way.”

And without a word, Thomas was off. His heart racing at the adventure that might lie ahead for him. He’d never been away from his family. Would he miss them? He’s certain he would. His sisters, and his brother – the family parties, and social events. These things were not important to Thomas now. 

Thomas knew this area well. His family owned several ships in the area, and he knew which ships were reputable, and which ships had shady origins. Thomas knew that most reputable ships didn’t leave port in the middle of the night, and another wouldn’t for 3 more days. This was Thomas’ only shot off the island unless he wanted to risk leaving with a corsair ship. That would just be too risky, especially given who I am, Thomas thought.

Thomas easily found a group of men at the end of the pier. “Good sirs…” Thomas stopped, and shook his head in disbelief. The sailors stopped their conversation and turned to Thomas. Thomas continued, lowering his voice a bit, “Sorry… if you could point me to your captain, Gulles. Where would I find him?” To Thomas’ surprise, one man, an older man with a thick moustache answered, “I’m Captain Gulles, boy. What do you need?” Caught off guard, Thomas straightened his shoulders. “Oh! I mean, oh”, Thomas said, careful to lower his voice the second time, “I seek passage aboard your ship for Innismere. I understand this vessel is leaving tonight.”

“Boy, come here.”, Captain Gulles replied. A little unsure, and quite a bit nervous, Thomas approached. Had he recognized him, Thomas wondered? Would his whole plan come crashing down right here, right now? Thomas’ thoughts were interrupted, “Let me see your hands, boy.” Thomas, unsure, but not wanting to cause any trouble handed the man his hand, palm downwards. Gulles grabbed his hand, while the three others standing there spit some tobacco into the water. Gulles turned his palm over, harrumphed, and said, “These hands haven’t worked a day in their life, life on the sea is hard, you’ll – “. “Sorry,” Thomas interrupted, “I wasn’t clear. I don’t seek employment. I simply seek passage to Innismere. It’s important that I leave tonight.”

Gulles looked at Thomas closely up and down. “Boy, shouldn’t you be in bed? You can’t be more than 13 years old.” “15 sir!”, Thomas shot back. Gulles turned his back on Thomas, “No” Gulles said bluntly. Thomas felt his whole world crumbling beneath him, but shouted back quickly, “But… I can pay. I can pay for passage.” Gulles looked back briefly, and then turned to pick up a barrel. The others stopped standing around, and decided picked up barrels as well. Just as the others begin heading up the ramp, Gulles laughed a bit, and said, “Very well. 100 gold coins!”, provoking a chuckle from the other sailors, chuckles which were instantly silenced with Thomas’ quick reply. “Ok.” Gulles stopped, and turned around, and walked over to Thomas with the barrel still on his shoulder. “Wait. Did you say ok?” “Yes”, Thomas replied. “I will happily pay you 100 gold crowns for passage. I know such a fare is exorbitant, but I don’t have a lot of bargaining position here”. Gulles, a bit stymied by this turn of events narrows his eyes and looks down at Thomas. “Why do you need to get to Innismere so badly. “That’s not important”, Thomas replied. Gulles paused for a moment, “Who are you? What’s your name, boy?” Thomas paused for an uncomfortable moment, winced at how stupid he was for not coming up with a name. “Um… Thomas”, he replied stiffly, holding out a bag of 100 gold coins.  “Well, um-Thomas” you’ve just bought yourself passage to Innismere. If you want to help us load these barrels, we can leave sooner.” Thomas brightened, and smiled at the man. “Indeed”, Thomas shot back, scurrying over to a barrel. With everything he had, he could barely lift it up to his chest, but it was too much, and set it back down again on another barrel. The sailors and Gulles laughed. “Boy, get on the ship before you injure yourself!”


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## der_kluge (Jul 29, 2005)

"Dear Journal, 

The sailors here tell me that this passage takes a fortnight to complete. That was way longer than I had expected it to take. If you look on a map, it doesn't seem to be nearly that far to Innismere. I guess they take a southern route, since there aren't any large trading cities on the western shore of Innismere. Apparently they sail south, around the cape, and usually head to Devonshire, on Brinnismor/ I hear Devonshire is a large city, as large or larger than Hampton's Gate. I would very much like to see that, but I'll not be going there. My father will expect that, since that's where this vessel is ultimately headed. I'm going to try to throw him a curveball, and head to points inland on Innismere instead - dragons be damned!

The sailors are generally pleasant folks. They work really hard tending to the ship. They clean it constantly. They say the sea water really does a number on it otherwise. One young guy named Terry even played a game of cards with me last night. I think he's a little worried about me, but I dare not tell him who I am, or why I am here.

I've not left the sleeping quarters except to go to the galley when they serve the meal. I've just tried to keep out of everyone's way. The first night was a little interesting. Most of the sailors sleep in the nude. I can certainly see why. This heat and humidity makes it hard to sleep, but I certainly wasn't used to seeing a bunch of grown naked men walking around. It was quite a sight! It didn't seem to phase them in the least.

All this rocking back and forth is making me sick as well. You'd think with my father having such close ties to these ships, I'd be ok on a ship, but I've not traveled that much. Just the occasional social gathering. I've never tried sleeping on a boat before. That's a totally different kind of experience altogether.

I'm sure it's a matter of time before my parents accost Emily, and try to get them to tell them where I was headed. Hopefully she won't buckle under the pressure. Maybe they won't think to ask her. I can certainly trust her to not tell them. I'm going to miss Emily. I had wished that she came with me, but I know that her dreams lie elsewhere. Perhaps I'll see here again some day.

I'm certain at this point my family realizes that I'm gone. Maybe this will teach them a lesson. I hate doing this, but they don't leave me any choice."

 - "Thomas"


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## der_kluge (Jul 29, 2005)

"Thomas?", a voice asked from the shadows, it was Gulles, apparently coming to see how he was doing.

Thomas, gazing out a porthole at the ocean, with his journal on his lap stood up, and sharply hit his head on a protruding board. "Ouch!", he yelped, rubbing his head. "Yes, I'm in here."

Gulles entered, "you've gotta watch those bunks, laddy, they'll get ya if you're not careful." "I can see that", Thomas replied, still rubbing his head.

"Lad, I wanted to have a word with you, if you don't mind.", Gulles asked, sitting on a barrel nearby.
"Is there trouble", Thomas asked, with a look of concern.
"No, no trouble, but I am concerned about you. You're a tad young to be traveling all alone. The men and I have been talking, and some of them are concerned for you. You never leave these quarters, only to eat. Hell, you don't even come upstairs to pee!"

Not sure how to answer that last bit, satisfactorily, Thomas chose to ignore it, "I'm ok, I've done nothing wrong, if that's what you're asking. Yes, I'm armed, but only to protect myself, I'm not a criminal if that's what you're driving at", Thomas said, hoping to satisfy the line of questioning.

"Well, I'm not worried that you're gonna kill us all. I don't see that happening, but if you're running from something, or someone, you can't run forever, you know."

Thomas paused, "I suppose you're right, Captain. I can't run forever. I don't intend to. I just have to see what else is out there. Explore the world a bit, you know. Before I get tied down, and stuck in Hampton's Gate."

Gulles nodded, "I understand lad. You've got the wanderlust in ya, and you're parents have different plans for you."  Thomas, happy that Gulles understands, grins and nods excitedly, "That's it. That's it exactly."

Gulles stands up off his barrel, and pushes it back against the well. "Well, Thomas, there's always a life on the sea for you, if you're interested. We'd bulk up those muscles for ya lad!", he says, rolling up his sleeve to reveal a hugely muscled arm. Thomas laughs, and then contains himself, "haha, er well, I don't see that happening, but that is mightily impressive, I must admit. Thanks for the offer. How soon before we land?"

"Another week still. Hang tight, lad.", Gulles replied, smiling, and nodding to Thomas as he leaves the room.


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## Spider_Jerusalem (Aug 1, 2005)

Hey der_kluge,

Nice work so far, but I am having a problem. Now please strike me down if this is a rogue statement, but I think this story hour would work a good deal better if it was written in first person. Reason being... well, primarily, the reoccuring use of "Thomas" really grates (on me, as the reader - the first post in particular). 

It could afford a really exciting view of this young lads travels. Especially if interior thoughts spilled into the SH. 

The writing is good though, and journal entries are always a bonus - and please don't take the above criticism the wrong way. Let me know what you think! 

Spider J


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## der_kluge (Aug 2, 2005)

Spider_Jerusalem said:
			
		

> Hey der_kluge,
> 
> Nice work so far, but I am having a problem. Now please strike me down if this is a rogue statement, but I think this story hour would work a good deal better if it was written in first person. Reason being... well, primarily, the reoccuring use of "Thomas" really grates (on me, as the reader - the first post in particular).
> 
> ...




thanks for the comments, Spider. I'll see what I can do on the next entry. I don't think I've ever written from a 1st person standpoint before, so that will be an interesting exercise. Thanks for the feedback.


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## Spider_Jerusalem (Aug 2, 2005)

der_kluge said:
			
		

> thanks for the comments, Spider. I'll see what I can do on the next entry. I don't think I've ever written from a 1st person standpoint before, so that will be an interesting exercise. Thanks for the feedback.




Well don't change because I mentioned something. I tried writing in 1st person a while ago and it wasn't my cup of tea, but I think this SH would work brilliantly from Thomas's perspective.

No problem on the feedback. 

Looking forward to more of your work.

Spider J


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## Henry (Aug 2, 2005)

So far, so good, d_K; I look forward to more of Thomas' adventures and especially the introduction of the other PCs!


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## der_kluge (Aug 5, 2005)

_(now in new techno-first person/past tense perspective!)_

It was too quiet. In fact, it's been too quiet for a little bit now. I decided that it would be best to go on topdeck to figure out what was going on. Perhaps the sailors had found me out, and the jig was up. Perhaps I worry too much.

When I got up top, I see these sailors throwing fruits overboard. Amazingly enough, there was also land not too far to the left. What is that, port side, I guess. These sailors look like they'd seen a ghost, and were acting all crazy.  About that time I see the captain. I asked him what the hell was going on. The captain told me to be quiet, and got all concerned himself. "you see that", he said, pointing up towards a high mountaintop just off the coastline. "It looks like a bird", I said, "maybe an albatross".  "You keep on telling yourself that". I looked again. Oh my god - that was no bird, that was a dragon way up high doing lazy eights in the sky over a rocky mountain top. I looked back at the captain and he just nodded coyly. "What are we going to do?" I asked.  Gulles didn't intend to do anything. "We should be safe out this far away from the coast. They don't tend to bother ships. The sailors are mighty spooked about it, though". I don't blame them. "Why the hell are they throwing food overboard. Is it bad?" "No", gulles said, "quite the contrary. They're offering praises to Threvis".  "Threvis!?" I yelled, gathering stern glances from the men and from the captain who obviously didn't want to invite danger. Threvis, best as I can recollect, is an ancient god of the sea. I didn't think anyone worshipped him anymore. Most religion doesn't find much of a home all the way out in Innisfaeren, but apparently I was wrong. These guys were living proof of that.

"So, where are we?", I asked. Gulles said that we were on the southern tip of Innismere. Apparently the rumors of this being a dragon-infested island aren't much of an exaggeration. I wonder what I'd gotten myself into?

Fortunately, the dragon never bothered to attack the ship. I think some of the sailors said that they figured it was pretty young anyway. He said that even though Innismere is home to a lot of dragons, most of them are fairly young. Like that's supposed to make the island a good place to take a picnic or something. A baby dragon is still scary enough for me. Hopefully I never encounter one.

With any luck we should be landing in Rahanna in a couple of days. From there the ship will make its way to Devonshire, so hopefully my father will believe that I am in Devonshire, and he can start looking for me there. I hear Rahanna is pleasant this time of year. The sailors say that there are some nice inns near the docks, and I should be able to find work there, though they didn't elaborate on what kind of work they thought I was good at. They are a pleasant enough group of folks.


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## scadgrad (Aug 9, 2005)

Excellent D_K! More, more, more.

signed,
Your Adoring Public


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## der_kluge (Aug 14, 2005)

Amazingly enough, we finally managed to reach a port to dock at. To my happy surprise, I didn't have to kill any sailors trying to molest me or steal all my stuff. I'd never really talked to any sailors before. My father employs quite a few of them. But they're all decent, hard-working guys just trying to earn their way in this world. Decent chaps, all of them. Well, most of them aren't the brightest stars in the sky, but good people. Salt of the earth - I think that's the saying.

We arrived at Rahanna early in the morning, or late at night, I'm not sure which. The port is dark save for a few lamps lighting the port itself. I don't know how Gulles even managed to see it. I was woken when the crew scrambled to ready the ship for port. It takes far more than I had imagined to get a port actually docked. Interesting experience that was.

When I left, Gulles asked me if I was going to be ok. I assured him that I was. He seemed concerned for me, and wished me the best. He said he'd be unloading and loading cargo that day, but that he'd be shipping off for Devonshire the next morning a day from now, so that if decided I didn't want to stay, that there'd be room for me on his ship. Nice to know, I guess, but I'll be more hidden here. My father won't expect me to be here. I certainly didn't expect me to be here.

So where is here? Rahanna is a small town, and kind of grungy - at least at the docks. I keep to myself here, and pull the hood of my cloak over my face to keep people from bothering me.

I headed to the nearest inn, and decided it was far too seedy and dangerous for me to hang out there. I went to the next one, and turns out one of Gulles' men had already booked up all his available room for the sailors on our ship!  In fact, all the inns in the immediate vicinity were booked up. Probably just as well, since they probably didn't have very comfortable beds in them anyway. That, and all the whores walking around this place would probably mean there'd be far too much banging going on in the middle of the night to get any kind of sleep at all.

I asked a guard, and he recommended a place called the Bag of Nails, which wasn't terribly far from the docks anyway. He said the proprietor, a guy named Dugan Brown was a good man, and would probably have a room. Their nothing if not friendly in Rahanna.

I made my way to the building, and found it easily enough based on the guards directions. It's a modest two-story building, but dark. Probably everyone is asleep at this hour. I wasn't sure whether to knock or not. But, I did. Otherwise, I'd be sleeping in the street, and that didn't sound like fun. And it looked like it might rain.

I knocked and knocked, and eventually a bleary-eyed man answered the door. "Yes", he asked through the slitted window in the door. I asked him if he had a room, and he opened the door and looked at me. "You're just a kid. Shouldn't you be home."  Damnit, I though to myself, not this sh*t again. I didn't cuss at the guy, though, I did just wake him up in the wee hours of the morning after all. "I can pay", I said. "Very well", he said, and let me in.


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## der_kluge (Aug 14, 2005)

This morning I slept in. It was amazing how comfortable this bed was, even though compared to my bed at home, it was awful. Compared to that cot in the ship, it was like sleeping on a cloud.

When I'd gone downstairs, I couldn't find anyone. No. One. Dugan wasn't there, there wasn't anyone in the great room, either. I went outside. It was raining, but it was like I'd entered a ghost town. I think I even said out loud "where the hell is everyone", and no one answered. Not wanting to get lost in a town I wasn't familiar with, I pulled up my hood to cover myself from the rain, and headed for the docks. It was cold here, too. Really cold. It wasn't this cold in Innaesfaren when I left.

I finally managed to find someone - a guard again, who told me that everyone was busy with noon services. "Noon services". Yes, at church, the guard said, with a curious look on his face. Not wanting to sound ignorant, I smiled and nodded, "Of course, church." Then he had the gall to tell me that I should be in church, too! Yea, me in a church. That's funny. I told him that I'd overslept, and was from out of town, and asked him where I could find this church. He pointed out this huge stone building at the top of a hill behind me. I should have guessed. I don't know I hadn't noticed it before.

About then, I could hear bells, and could see them ringing in the tower. "Oh, you just missed the noon service. Better catch the evening one then", he said, smiling. "sure", I said.

I had heard that the Church of Hanna was big on Innismere and the main continent, but I had no idea the streets dried up when they had service. This kind of thing never happens in Innisfaere. Oh sure, we get our religious nutjobs there, and a lot of folks pay homage to old gods, including sailors, apparently, and Hanna has churches there, but most people just ignore them there. That's not the case here, apparently. About an hour later, the whole town was full of people again. Dugan even came back and made me some fresh lamb for lunch. It was a great meal compared to the crap I'd been eating on the ship. It tasted so much better than hard tack and fruit.

Dugan's a curious fellow. Lots of questions for me. Too many questions. I mostly just tried to evade his questions, but he did ask me one that kind of stumped me - what was I doing in Rahanna. I think I even slipped up and told him that I didn't know. He asked me if I had a job. "No", I reluctantly answered. By Hanna! I guess I'd never even though about it, but I was on my own now. I was going to need a damned job if I was going to survive. The money I'd taken wasn't going to last me forever. He wanted to know what I was good at, and commented on the rapier hanging off my belt. I told him that I was good with a blade. Maybe I could join the guards?

Dugan had a better idea. "There are some sellswords - adventurers, that stay here. They're out in town today, but they'll probably be back tonight. It's not my job to pry, but I overheard them talking about some difficulties they were having. They could probably use a hand. You should talk to them tonight."

An adventurer? Thomas, the brave!  Thomas, the daring! Thomas, the hero of the land?  Haha!  I couldn't help but chuckle with myself, but the idea sounded dashing! I shall have to meet this adventurers tonight.

But first, I've got to find a bathhouse. I'm just a wreck!


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## XCoconutMonkey06X (Aug 21, 2005)

Very well written, DK (and I dont mean Donkey Kong). Nice to know just a tad of Thomas's  early years   DOn't worry though, Korhil will still remain none the wiser Hope you had a blast and Gen Con. Look forward to the details!


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## der_kluge (Aug 28, 2005)

With my bath taken care of, I headed back to the Bag of Nails where I enjoyed a simple meal. Dugan's no world-class chef, but he's not too shabby, given what he has to work with. I suppose I can't complain in my state, though I am certainly used to far better. My parents have a chef named Guillome. Oh how I miss Guillome's delicate fruit pastries. They were just divine. Oh well.

So, after dinner, I stayed in the common room. There were always people coming and going from this room, mostly sailors who had just docked. There were some curious folks, though. A couple of elves came in, and a dwarf. Perhaps these were the adventurers Dugan spoke of? Then I saw Dugan waving down the dwarf and talking to him. During the conversation, he pointed at me, at which point I knew it had to either be someone looking for me, or these were the sellswords. My dad never had any dealings with dwarves, so I decided the first scenario wasn't likely. I got up, and walked over to them.

Dugan introduced me. "Thomas", he said, "this is Brundle, he's an elementalist Dwarf from the northern mountains, a follower of Kaz Grimmle", I just stopped short of bowing slightly, and extended my hand. "Thomas", I said. I didn't want to admit that I didn't understand most of what Dugan said. I'd never met a dwarf. I'd only ever seen a handful of them, and they were a curiosity. They didn't tend to make it to Hampton's Gate very often. I'd heard they were kind of untrustworthy, but I didn't have any firsthand experience with that.

"You're just a boy.", Brundle said.
"I get that a lot. I'm 15", I retorted back.
"Are you looking for fame and adventure, young Thomas?", Brundle asked. I admitted I did not know what I was searching for. At this point, I just wanted some income. Brundle couldn't help commenting on the rapier on my back. "Yes, I think you'll find I'm very skilled with the sword. I'm trained in the Assydian two-weapon style, and have been taught by some of the finest swordsmen in Innaesfaren."

"Are you familiar with the Shrines of Dol Nuardeth?", the dwarf asked. "No", I admitted. The dwarf explained that they were investigating some old shrines far to the south of the city, and that they had encountered some skeletons and trollkins there, and had come back to town to resupply and maybe pick up another mercenary to assist them. He asked me if I was up to the challenge. "I think so. I've never fought skeletons or these trollkins as you say, but if they bleed, I'm sure I can kill it."

The dwarf looked serious, and replied, "Skeletons don't bleed." Oh, I thought I was going to die. I was just sure he didn't want me traveling with them at this point. I've got to think about what I'm going to say!

"I'll want to introduce you to everyone. If everyone is in agreement, you can travel with us. We're leaving first thing in the morning."

Brundle exited upstairs, and over the course of the evening, introduced me to everyone in his group.

I met Korhil - an elven fighter. I greeted him in the tongue of the sidhe, and I think he was a bit taken aback that I spoke his language. Another elf - a ranger named Syng'l (with a soft g), seemed quite pleased that I spoke his tongue, and his face brightened up a bit when I spoke it. I also met Ian. Ian was a human from Avondale, and wielded an Avondale longbow. I'd heard of the Avondale longbow. They are unique to his kingdom, and are considered some of the finest bows in the land. I'd never actually seen one, and to have one and not be from Avondale is a crime against the king. He carried his around quite proudly, as well he should. He seemed like a very well traveled, very knowledgable man. He knew far more about Innaesfaren than I had expected him to. Later on in the evening, I met the final member, a mage of the order, no less. My father had some dealings with wizards in the past, but I'd never really met one so informally. His name was Albrecht Holzbog, and he wore the medallion identifying his order around his neck. He seemed a nice enough fellow, although I could smell a hint of whiskey on his breath. Perhaps being a wizard is a stressful job. Well, who am I to judge.

These guys all seemed very rugged, and serious, although Ian could crack a joke once in a while. We'll see if I can hold up to their expectations in the morning.


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## Once a Fool (Sep 23, 2005)

At once exotic and familiar.  I like Thomas!


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## Fulcan (Sep 23, 2005)

A great start!  I can't wait to hear about Thomas' first adventure.


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