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Mud! The rain had been drizziling down for three days, the roads were mud, the streets were mud, and the floors were slick with mud, it encrusted every boot and rimmed every trouser cuff and cloak and cape bottom. The inn was crowded, much more than usual, with everyone but the fishes and ducks waiting for better weather to venture outside. You were lucky to found this empty seat to call your own and to ride out the storm.
At least the rain cleaned the soot and smoke from the town air, and the roaring fire pit kept the chill away, and the food here was edible, even though it seemed to also smell slightly of mud.
A few glowing sparkles floated through the air, drawing your eye once again to the fat, pompus mage that had been here since last night, showing off for the pretty waitress again. The glowing sparkles took the shape of a ship tossed on the seas, then a giant serpent, as the mage told another boastful but unlikely tale. You start to look away once again.
Suddenly everything goes black, a black darker than night, even though it is barely midday. You hastily consider what danger this sudden blackness may hold, even as you hear the cries of suprise, the clanging of dishes, the drawing of weapons and the chanting of charms, reassuring you that you are not the only one blinded. Not wanting to move into greater danger, you stand guarded, and in a few heartbeats time, the room returns to normal, the blackness is lifted, and you look around at the suprise and chaos, trying to sort out what happened.
The mage lays face down, a hilt protruding from his back, blood staining his gaudy garb.
You also noticed, the rain has stopped.
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