And finally there she was... Slowly walking towards the crowd and very pleased to see so many people, most of them unknown faces, but not for long anymore...

*a nervous cough*

"Greetings, everyone. If you will kindly be seated, we will begin. We will be closing the doors now, so I hope everyone who is going to attend is already here."

As I said this, the caterers and bartender left the room. I nodded to the man in the Larian Studios T-Shirt, and he closed the doors and locked them from the inside. Then he dimmed the room lights, except for a reading lamp on the lecturn.

As the small crowd settled into their seats, I felt a little nervous. I've read speeches before and hosted parties before, but tonight's gathering was special. I bit my lip and took a deep breath to calm my nerves, while unfolding the paper that held my over-rehearsed words. Then I found the button on the lecturn that controlled the slide projector, and showed the audience my first slide.

Slide One - Welcome to the Special Conference. "All of you know me as Lynn, the administrator of the Larian Studios forums, and ...". I was briefly interupted by a spontaneous applause, which embarassed me more than a little and didn't do anything to calm my nerves.

"... and, on behalf of LarianStudios I welcome you to this special conference on Future Game Concepts."

Slide Two - A picture of a name tag. "By now, I hope each of you has written your name on your name tags, and introduced yourself to your fellow attendees. If you have, then you may have already guessed that you have at least one thing in common: you visit and participate in the discussions on our internet forums."

Slide Three

[Linked Image]

A picture of Lar holding a Larian Studios T-Shirt covered with autographs of every Larian employee. "Lar will be joining us shortly. He will ... ." Again, the audience applaused unexpectedly.

Note to myself: Next time I write a speech, try to anticipate interuptions by applause.

"He will make some introductory remarks. Then, we will give you all a ten minute break while we rearrange the furniture for a seminar discussion between all of us. We will also plan a fifteen minute break halfway through the discussions. Then, and 22:30 (that's 10:30 pm for our western friends) we will present some special awards and give each of you one of these ..." I gestured toward the T-Shirt on the projection screen. This time I was expecting the applause, and was not disappointed.

However, someone in the back of the room asked a question that didn't quite make sense to me. It was something like: "Do you mean we get to take Lar home?" Of course, I graciously ignored the comment, as I have practiced doing so on the forum numerous times.

I was preparing to show my fourth slide when Lar abruptly appeared from one of the darkened corners of the room saying, "Pardon me, Lynn. There has been a slight change in plans." He walked to a point directly in front of the group and addressed them. "Please look underneath each of your seats. You should find a small golden book, tied with a purple ribbon. I must apologize, but there is no time to explain further details until you have been transported ... "

I suddenly felt very drowsy. The last thing I remember as I fell asleep was the sight of every person in the room (except Lar) falling into a deep sleep. When we awoke, I knew we weren't in Belgium anymore...

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