Tale 152 told by Driadan on 22.02.2002
Elemental shields

A few days ago a stranger arrived. Now that is not new, but this one
didn't look like the typical adventurer. He looked more like a noble,
with expensive clothes and a well filled purse. He orderer some of
the most expensive wine and muttered something about the wonders    
you might find while walking by the streets of your very city.
- You never know when you will find one! They are everywhere!
Those adventurers are a plague, indeed - the noble said.

I asked him what had happened to him to be so worried about those.
- The problem is their smell, I tell you, and their total lack of
style when choosing their clothes. Hear this! I got approached by
one, in fact he looked like just another beggar, and he grabbed
my leg! Can you believe it?!

The noble took a momment to recover his breath, like he was talking
about defeating dragons or any other trully fearsome experience.
After drinking some of his wine he continued:
- There I was, with my precious new trousers made of the best silk
available at the city of Oceania stained by those dirty beggar's hands,
while telling me something totally incomprehensible!

He took another sip and seemed to enter some deep trance, like
he was experiencing mentally what happened that day.
- Excuse me but, if he looked like a beggar, how did you know he
was an adventurer? - I dared to ask.

The noble looked at me like I had said something silly and grinned
at me.
- Yes, he was an adventurer, obviously! Nobody else would talk about
shields, giants or even a phoenix. Elemental shields he said! Bah!,
he could use some elemental bath instead!

He laughed his own joke and came back to his glass of wine...

Some time later I couldn't get rid of the same idea, repeating itself
again and again in my mind...
"Nobles, they can't recognize a chance to achieve some power or fortune
even when they stumble on one."