The Story of Finora (FHMan)

[Fhman]

The Wheel

Flashes of light in the darkness. Disconnected images, seeming fragments of a long forgotten play. Or are they something more ? I try to reach out and grasp one of them and realize at that moment I am without form. The shock of the discovery resonates within me as the feelings of panic and despair overwhelm me. I am nothing. I am alone.

Slowly my consciousness returns. I know not how long I was lost in my despair for I have no means to measure the passage of time. If indeed time exists in this place. The images I saw previously still flash before me. They must signify something more than to taunt my nothingness? I try to concentrate on one of the images and hold it in my mind. Slowly the image comes to rest and for the first time I see it clearly.

I see a young dark haired women dressed in strange clothing (Armour ?). She is standing on a featureless plain fringed by jagged peaks. A fearsome creature approaches her. This creature has a form similar to her but seems corrupted as though from a child's nightmare.

It is 100 feet tall, wearing a long flaming red coat, flapping open to reveal pale gray skin the color of mold. It's right arm has a huge hand, with fingers tipped with razor talons. But it is the left arm and head that are the real horror. The left arm is not an arm at all but a questing tentacle with a blood red sucker at it's tip like an open wound. Around it's head I see a necklace hung with the shrunken wizened corpses of others it has slain. The head itself seemed almost human but with such a look of pain and anguish on it's face as though it despised it's actions but was impelled against it's will by some inner force.

The women faces the creature gripping a strange blue glowing sword, seemingly calm in the face of her nemesis.

All at once curious I concentrate on another flashing image. With some effort it comes to rest next to the first image. Emboldened now I chase image after image until all are at rest forming a sphere around my formless spirit. Looking at them I see scenes of happiness and companionship. I see people united in pursuit of a common goal. The word “Soldiers” comes into my mind although I know not from where.

And in all the images stands the dark haired women, familiar and yet a stranger at the same time. The dichotomy of it spins within my mind until at last it fans some tiny spark of recognition. All at once I realize who the women is. And with that recognition the images dissolve and I stand before the throne in that great gray hall which is suddenly all too familiar.

I bow before Kal Niranjan.

“My Lord I have done what you asked of me. I wish to return to my true home.”

In reply I see a set of scales before me. Instinctively I know they show the balance of my life's deeds. With a heavy heart I see that they are not exactly in balance. Out of nowhere a voice intones

“The judgment has been made. All praise to Kal Niranjan, Lord of this creation.”

The hall dissolves into white nothingness and I am at once alone. Before I have time to consider my new fate , I see a spec of darkness in the distance like the entrance to a long tunnel. The spec grows rapidly until all of a sudden I am hurtling though it into...



The Awakening

I lie cold and naked on the ground. Soft rain falls out of the night sky on and around me. My body aches from an unknown source. But I am alive although I know not who or what I am.

Out of the distance I hear two voices. They seem to be coming closer. I struggle to get up and see the source of the voices and if necessary run from them. But my body is weak like a newborn and I can do nothing but lie and await my fate.

At length I see two people. One is an elf in dressed in a wizards robe. The others race and occupation is obscured by a huge hooded cloak. Both have an aura of dark power about them that attracts and repulses me at the same time. They stare intently at me and I can do nothing but return their stares.

“Another one ?”, asks the cloaked person to the elf.

“Lets find out”, growls the elf as some glowing runes of power form over his head.

I hear the crackle of magics on my skin as I close my eyes, hoping for nothing more than a quick death. Which does not come...

Strong arms wrap my nakedness in a blanket and lift me up. I look again into their eyes which this time are filled with recognition and friendship.

“Welcome back to Soldiers of Fortune” I hear the elf say. “Luin Nengwi and I had almost given up hope.”

“Typical Finora late for every reincarnation.”, grunts Luin as he carries me across the rough broken ground towards my future.

To be continued.

[Edited on 10/1/2004 by Fhman]

[Seton]

Nice!!!! I especially like the end :exclam:
Do all SoF members go trough that? Yugh ;)

[Fhman]

Part 2 of the story

Scale me Softly

I don't know how long I slept but at least I did not dream. Eventually I awoke as the gray light of early dawn crept under my heavy eyelids and beckoned me awake. I was lying wrapped in a blanket by the remains of a camp fire. Carefully sitting up I looked around. I was alone except for three other abandoned blankets arrayed around the camp fire. The camp itself occupied a clearing maybe six hundred feet in diameter. Huge heavy set trees crowded into the very edge of the clearing as though pushing against some invisible wall.

With some effort I stood up, my body protesting as I did so as though it some how was unused to movement or my presence. Finally I was standing with the blanket wrapped about me (still as naked underneath as when they found me). Something seemed out of place. The feeling pricked at me like a splinter in my thoughts. The clearing still had the huge trees at it's edge, but now I noticed the wild grass that grew in the clearing was as tall as me.

“Just tall grass, must be the way it grows around here”. I addressed to the empty camp ground.

But that wasn't the reason and I knew it. There was something else. The splinter dug a little deeper as I tried to bring my thoughts to bear on the question. After 30 minutes of what I suppose must have been deep thought, all I had was a headache and the beginnings of what was probably hunger.

“Well do something about it then”, I said to my still aching body.

After some initial stiffness and the occasional twinge my body agreed to let me walk stiffly about in the clearing looking for food. It didn't look very hopeful. The clearing itself seemed devoid of plant life other than head high grass and a few scrubby clumped patches of bushes. No berries, no succulent leaves, no breakfast. Once or twice I edged close to the trees that ringed the clearing. Peering out at the dark under woods, they seemed to smother all the ambient sound giving them a quiet expectant quality. Something feeling a little like panic rose up in my back brain the closer I got to the edge of the clearing.

“This is crazy” I told myself. “You're only on this new world one day and already you're scared of trees. Next you'll be running from your own reflection.”

Except I knew that wasn't it at all. There was something out there and the most primitive part of my brain, the part that had been around when my ancestors had crawled or slithered out of the swamp, didn't like it one bit. Shivering slightly in the chill of the early morning I walked slowly back towards the campfire. As I did so the feeling of panic and dread receded like a quick ebbing tide.

Not really knowing what to do next, my body suggested a course of action by increasing the tempo of my headache. I sat down again close to where I had slept the night before. Slowly the sun rose in it's morning arc across the sky. Perhaps two hours passed and I began to feel both a little better and hungrier at the same time.

Suddenly there was a metallic sound like a great bell being broken in two. I stood up to see it's source and as I did so a strange towering human figure appeared at the far side of the clearing. He seemed to have come through an invisible door. I could see movements in the space directly behind him but ten feet to his left or right the forest was still and motionless as before.

As he approached, the figure shouted “Hello Finora, glad to see you're up. I wouldn't stand in directly in front of the barrier opening if I were you”.

As if to emphasis the point an arrow flew through the opening and buried itself in the ground about two feet to the right of the running man. Three more arrows in rapid succession followed the first tearing up the ground either side of the stranger. My survival instinct finally got the better of my astonishment and I fell to the ground in time to hear the sounds of another volley of arrows, sweeping the grass above my head. I could still hear his footsteps pounding the ground as he closed on the center of the clearing. The third volley of arrows again swept over me and I heard a grunt as they did so.

Then not fifteen seconds after the spectacle began it was over. Again the metallic sound rang out and at once the woods were again quiet. Breathing heavily my new companion sat down beside me and examined his jacket with an expression of intense disgust on his face.

“Damn those swines to a spiked pit of ebony vaperines. That was my best coat and now it's ruined. It'll never keep the rain out now.”

He pushed his finger through a ragged hole in the right side panel of his coat, cursing to himself and shaking his head. After a couple of minutes reflecting on his clothings new found ventilation, the huge stranger turned towards me. Up close he seemed to me to be thirty feet tall. Everything about him was on a huge scale. His hand alone could easily encompass my entire body

“Shazi, Soldiers of Fortune. You remember me don't you ?”

The name seemed somehow familiar. With a feeling of general relief that neither my new companion or the arrows had caused any damage, I began to relax. Looking more closely at Shazi it began to finally dawn on me. He wasn't towering at all. The grass and trees were normal height. And I was very small.

Shazi what am I ?“ I cried out as the realization dawned.

“Sorry I'm not sure. Eldarion thinks you're still changing , but we don't know into what.”

“Ahh be positive” said Shazi, his smile broadening as he saw my crestfallen expression, “Eating out at the local Tavern is going to be really cheap for you. One normal meal can last you a whole month”

“I'll bear that in mind” I said with as much composure as I could muster. “Say that reminds me you don't happen to have any breakfast on you by any chance ?”

“But of course I do. Why do you think they were shooting at me ?”, laughed Shazi as he removed some kind of flatbread from his backpack and broke me off a small piece. “Not so long ago this was their breakfast”.

Munching my bread I began to feel a little better. “I could be worse I thought to myself. I could have been reincarnated as a tree.”

To be continued.

[Edited on 10/1/2004 by Fhman]

[Pistols]

Brilliant story. Really cool.
There appears to be another talented writer in amongst us all.
I hope that they will organise the competitions soon, cuz I wanna read all the entries.
Nearly all the stories so far have been brilliant. This one aint an exception.
:cool: :cool: :cool:

[Shazi]

lol Fhman, you can write about my character better than myself :P That was just so typically Shazi :P

Extremely good work, *claps hands*

[Bluenose]

Brilliant....

But surly that blanket is more of a tissue.... I'd look out for some snot... ;) Specially as it came from me or delta :o

great work again

[DivZ3r0]

yes very nice story, i liked em, both of em

[Fhman]

Thanks for the encouragement.

Next episode I discover what I really am and one of my fellow SoFer gets wet. Hows that for a trailer ?

[jr82080]

great story, that is a good way to keep those of us from sitting here bored all the time

[Fhman]

Chapter 3

Knowledge in fashion

Shazi and I had the clearing to ourselves until later that afternoon. We warmed ourselves in the sunshine and Shazi slowly drank his way through a gourd of some local brew he had “acquired” at the same time as our breakfast. (I tried some of it but found it much too strong for my new diminutive bodies liking).

Presently we heard the metallic sound again. This time Luin Nengwi and Eldarion appeared at the far end of the clearing, moving at a somewhat more relaxed pace compared to Shazi's previous entrance.

“Hey Finora, feeling smaller ?”, laughed Luin Nengwi as they sat down beside us.

“Very droll” I said with bad grace, scratching at an itch on my back. “More to the point why am I this size today ? I wasn't this small yesterday. At this rate I'll be mosquito size by next morning”.

“No danger of that”, replied Luin Nengwi. “Shazi has our comely little Finora changed size since you came back ?”

Shazi looked at me critically, holding an arrow, next to me to help him in his length comparison. “I don't think so”, he ventured. “But then again the stuff in this gourd is beginning to make the left side of my face numb, so I can't be certain.”

“I'll take that as affirmative”, said Luin Nengwi as he carefully picked up the gourd and turned it neck downwards. It was empty. He carefully sniffed the neck of the gourd recoiling as the vapor entered his nostrils. “How often have I told you not to drink these liquid refreshments of the Braves. You know how unpredictable the effects can be on those of us not of immortal blood.”

Shazi looked as embarrassed as his state of paralysis would allow.

“I think you'll live” said Luin Nengwi with a look of annoyance. “Anyway as Shazi has confirmed in his unique manner, you are safe at your current size. You won't shrink any more”.

Seeing my questioning expression he continued “It's to do with your previous lives anthropomorphic field. In your previous life you were a human. Your mind remembered being this size and imposed it on you when you were incarnated here. Normally the mind is not powerful enough to hold the field stable for long and it quickly resizes to match Natures intended size for your new body. However in your case your mind only relinquished control slowly hence your slow size shrinkage.”

“If it's any consolation, I've never seen a mind hold control for that long. A mind that powerful and stubborn can only belong to our Finora.”, said Eldarion speaking for the first time.

“You wouldn't believe how much trouble it's been,” added Luin Nengwi. “I had to make sure you wouldn't get either suffocated by the blanket or get exposed to the night air. It took me ages to find the right spell combination. Eventually I settled on an inverse of Frobsters Gigantic Expander coupled with an old Invar spell for localized time dilation. The overall effect seems to have worked quite well”. Luin Nengwi said this with an expression that suggested he'd just achieved something really clever.

“So what am I then since you're in the mood for explanations ?”, I said more forcefully than I had intended. The novelty of being small, already limited, was getting old.

“I think I can answer that one“, interrupted Eldarion with a flourish. “Luin Nengwi and I have researched the subject in depth and concluded that you are a beautifully formed Faery.”

“Ah, like a lesser dung burrowing weavel, except bigger”, said Shazi helpfully, slurring his words slightly.

I looked at him with what I intended to be an expression of annoyance. I unfortunately Shazi seemed oblivious to my mood and indeed pretty much anything currently residing in his immediate vicinity.

“Hey don't look so sad”, said Eldarion with a smile. “Luin Nengwi has a present for you.”

Luin Nengwi rummaged around inside the voluminous cloak he was wearing. After several attempts at removing various objects from it's apparently near infinite pockets, he produced a small daintily wrapped parcel. Blushing slightly he handed it to me. “Here I hope you like it. I picked it myself.”

I stared at the parcel for a few moments. The wrapping paper was a tasteful shade of dark blue. There was also a gift tag attached to one corner. Smiling now I read the writing on the tag which was inscribed with the words “To Finora, many happy returns on your 33rd incarnation. Luv SoF xxx”.

“Thanks”, was all I could say as I tore at the wrapping paper. Inside was a small bundle of clothes apparently in my size.

“Hope they fit”, said Eldarion as he and Luin Nengwi turned their backs to me to preserve my modesty. Shazi didn't follow suit but I suspected that he had difficulty focusing anyway. Quickly I slipped on a fetching long purple dress, glad to be out of the blanket, which I was now convinced was home to more than me. Unsurprisingly the dress fitted perfectly.

“That's the problem with keeping the company of wizards. They know too much.”, I reflected with a smile. The only odd thing was two vertical slits in the dress over my back. “Still good for getting to an itch.” I thought as I scratched my back through one of them.

“You can look now” I said

“Very fetching” said Luin Nengwi. Eldarion just smiled. Shazi, still sitting and gazing into the far distance, very slowly fell over onto the grass and started snoring.

To be continued.

[Edited on 10/1/2004 by Fhman]

[Fhman]

Chapter 4

Run Brave and free

Next morning we got ready to break camp. I couldn't carry much, so after I had packed my small bundle of clothes and my blanket I sat and watched the others. Shazi was at least alive but obviously suffering from his encounter with the drink of the immortals. He had his head wrapped in a wet cloth in an apparently unsuccessful attempt to cushion it from the effects of moving.

“We'd better get moving now “ said Eldarion , “The barrier will not stay in place for much longer and these woods are too far into the lands of light to be well disposed to us.”

“Meaning ?” I asked.

“Meaning, didn't you feel the trees enmity towards you when you stood near the barrier ? Within these woods we are the invaders and given time they will try to destroy us.”

With that we started out towards the edge of the clearing. Pausing before the edge, Eldarion inscribed the shape of a doorway in the air and after a few moments a doorway appeared. The view through the doorway was not that of the woods but an open windswept meadow with gently rising hills in the background. Luin Nengwi picked me and sat me on his shoulder. From that improved view point I watched as we stepped through into the meadow, leaving the clearing and my unconscious feeling of dread behind.

We traveled in a northerly direction until early evening. For the most part the scenery was unremarkable. Rolling hills spread out in every direction like some great greenish brown sea.

Shortly before sunset the hills started to level out and presently we arrived at the southern edge of a wide valley that cut east to west across our path. On our side the transition to the valley was marked by sheer cliffs, hundreds of feet high.

“The Rift wall”, commented Eldarion to my unasked question. “The lands ruled by Light end here. We must move quickly now for we dare not camp here tonight”.

Shazi and Luin Nengwi began to unpack lengths of rope from their packs, while I sat scratching my increasingly itchy back. Suddenly Shazi held up his hand.

“Quiet” he hissed urgently and put his ear to the ground. After a few moments he stood up an angry expression on his face as he pointed southeast . “Riders, I count fifteen of them coming this way at full gallop”.

“How long ?” asked Eldarion opening up his spell pouch.

“Five minutes if we're lucky. Usual plan then ?”

“Yes” replied Luin Nengwi. “Finora you get behind myself and Eldarion. Anything comes near you, then run.”

“See you on the other side, maybe”, said Shazi with a grim smile as he vanished into the tall grass to my right, unsheathing his swords as he went.

“Well this is just a fine start.” I thought “Not only am I in the middle of a huge battle on my second day, but if that doesn't kill me my back will.”

This second point was literally the case, as my back was by now unbearably itchy. Worse, two large spots that felt like giant insect bites had appeared on my back just below my shoulder blades. Miserably I scratched at them as I watched Luin Nengwi and Eldarion preparing what I hoped was powerful magics.

Slowly the sound of galloping drew closer and closer. “At this rate I'll be trampled to death” I told myself. Suddenly the idea of being crushed underfoot seemed both likely and very unappealing. I ran to the back of Luin Nengwi and by jumping and scrambling managed to climb up to sit on the hood of his cloak. If Luin Nengwi noticed he didn't make a sign as he seemed deep in concentration.

From my new vantage point I could see fifteen Braves riding towards us along the cliff path on what looked like small shrunken dragons. Their white and gold armor glinted in the setting sun which also lit the edges of their drawn swords with a dark red light that looked unpleasantly like blood. As they got closer to us the pitch of Eldarion's chanting grew louder. Sparks of blue and green fire danced around his robe in a slowly expanding sphere.

The riders were about two hundred feet from us when the rumbling started. The entire ground started to shake violently in a rising crescendo of noise. The shaking was so bad I clung tightly onto the hood convinced I would be thrown off. Then above the noise I could hear a cracking sound. Looking towards the source I saw a huge piece of the cliff give way and plunge to the valley below taking eight of the riders with it.

The shaking was still very violent and as I continued to be buffeted about I felt two small “pops” coming from my back as something flat and wet slapped against the sides of my face. Now I could hear Luin Nengwi chanting and felt the crackle as the magic energies coalesced and shot towards the remaining riders. Less than a second later a huge column of fire descended from the clear sky onto the remaining riders scattering them like so many roman candles.

Two of the riders, their mounts driven mad by the flames, galloped blindly off the cliff edge. Three of the others who had been near the center of the flame column, thrashed around vainly trying to put out the fires engulfing them. The remaining three riders dismounted and started towards us. Luin Nengwi started chanting again and this time a huge ball of fire flew towards the approaching Braves. This time the lead attacker raised his huge white and gold shield. The fire hit the shield and flew back towards us. Ducking behind his head, I gasped as the fire hit us throwing me backwards to the ground.

I rolled around on the ground to put out any flames that might be upon me. It was only now that I noticed what had been slapping me in the face moments before. Behind me a huge pair of darkly radiant wings protruded from my back. The wings extended almost the full length of my body and were still slightly damp having received an impromptu drying session a few moments previous. “Perfect timing for major bodily changes “ I thought angrily.

Getting to my feet I saw Luin Nengwi lying motionless on the ground. Eldarion and Shazi were nowhere to be seen. The attackers were now about thirty feet from me.

“I'll skewer this little dark worm with my dagger” shouted the leading Brave as they approached. His companions seemed to find this amusing as they spread out to encircle me on three sides.

Then came a cry from the attacker to the right of me as he looked down in astonishment at the two sword tips that had protruded from his chest. He collapsed to reveal Shazi standing behind him with a bow drawn and an arrow notched. The arrow flew through the air nicking the leading Brave in the arm as he tried to sidestep. With a roar he started towards Shazi, smashing him to the ground before he had a chance to fire a second time. The Brave got to his feet again breathing heavily as he raised his sword for the kill. His body tensed as he tried to bring his sword down into Shazi, but he did not make the blow. A look of puzzlement crossed his face as it became obvious that he was completely paralyzed. Unable to maintain his balance any longer he fell rigid onto the ground.

The last remaining attacker switched his attention from his dead comrades back to me.

“You'll pay for that witch.” He snarled as I backed away from his wildly swinging sword towards the cliff edge. A few more steps and I was at the precipice. I could feel the updraft from the cliff edge as the wind flowed around my wings. Seeing me cornered, he swung down hard at me with his sword. Anticipating the swing I sidestepped left, managing to keep my balance on the broken rock of the cliff edge. The sword edge smashed into the rock, sending blue sparks cascading into the air.

I knew that I couldn't dodge blows like that too often before I would tire or my luck would run out. Seeing him tense for another strike I knew I had to act. As the next blow started down I mustered all my strength and willed my wings to flap, jumping up as I did so. I felt the swords draft pass close by my cheek as I half flapped, half jumped over the Brave and landed behind him. My attacker roared with anger and started to spin round as I tensed myself again and flew at his head as hard as I could. My lowered head hit him square in the nose as he completed his turn and I felt something crack.

Stunned by the force of the impact the Brave clutched his nose, blood streaming from it, as he staggered back two steps and then a third where his foot found nothing but air. Unbalanced now I watched his hands flailing wildly before he slipped screaming over the cliff to his death.

I sat for a few moments, slightly stunned that I had survived at all. The whole battle seemed almost like a dream. As if to remind me that it really had taken place, smoke from the smoldering fires drifted past me carrying the sickening aroma of burnt flesh.

Struggling up I made my way over to Shazi. The rigid Brave was lying on top of him as Shazi vainly struggled to free himself from the crushing weight of the huge body in full armor.

“I'll be back in a second, don't go away now.” I said. Shazi looked at me with such an expression that I scurried away through the smoke to where Luin Nengwi had fallen. I got there to find him being helped up by Eldarion. Both of them looked weak and drained from the magic they had wrought. In the case of Luin Nengwi his appearance was not enhanced by his hair and eyebrows being badly singed. With their help we collectively managed to extract Shazi from beneath his last victim.

“Nice poison you have there Shazi”, commented Eldarion.

“Not fast enough though”, grunted Shazi. “Look at my arrows, he crushed half of them when he landed on top of me”, holding up a bent arrow to emphasize the point. “Took me ages to hand dip each one with the right poison. They were color coded and everything”, he added sadly.

“Well at least we are alive”, I commented. “It looked pretty grim back there for a while”

“Nonsense”, coughed Luin Nengwi as he gingerly rubbed his singed hair. “ We were always going to win. I just didn't expect to get quite so well baked in the process”.

“Exactly”, said Eldarion. “For we are Soldiers of Fortune. Our true destiny still awaits. Come on we still have to make it down the cliff before dark”.

And with that we resumed our journey home.


To be continued.

[Edited on 10/1/2004 by Fhman]

[Shazi]

15 braves, not a bad kill for four dark companions :D
Cheers Finora! *Empties a big glass of Brave-beer*

*hickup*

[DivZ3r0]

Wow, that story was really cool :cool:

one thing: the RIFT barrier?!?!?! :P

[windwalker]

Verry nice.

Had me worried there for a second,but you all kicked some butt. ;)

{Maybe could be the Great DivZ3r0 divide) :) Just jokeing...

[Bluenose]

Heh seems finora didnt think baout naming the rift barrier after rift :)

Jst a coincidence. ;)

Crackin story fhman, more more!

[Fhman]

There will be more. Maybe rift will make a more personal appearance instead of being set in stone ;).

Actually the naming was a coincidence. Still having a cliff named after you is better than a street.

[TheHazzard]

Love ur work Fhman.
Can't wait for the next part ;)

[Alexandr]

keep those stories comin...really good stuff :)

[ClayToN]

ya love this story.. good job ;)

[Bandar]

Nice story!

[Fhman]

Chapter 5

Cooking can be Hazardous

The next days travel in the contested lands was thankfully less eventful than our previous evenings encounter at the Rift wall. We traveled at a leisurely pace first through the low hills that bordered the northern side of the valley, and then a fertile mosaic of farmland punctuated with small farming villages and market towns. Everyone we met seemed friendly and not the least bit inclined (to my general relief), to want to skewer us with sharp objects.

My wings dried nicely in the spring sunshine and I practiced flying with reasonable success after one or two unexpected encounters with the ground. The trick seemed to be how I controlled the wings shape as they flapped. After many tries I found I could finally hover and inch slowly in any direction I wanted. The others were marginally impressed.

“Hey Finora, you're getting good at that.” observed Shazi. “I'll have to employ you as a fan for my hideout when the summer heat arrives.”

The others fell about laughing at this while I tried my best to look annoyed at them.

In fact the only sour note that day was when my head started itching about mid morning. Knowing what happened last time I started itching, I was therefore unsurprised when a pair of antennae made their appearance just after sunset.

“Ah now you have the most important Fairy accoutrement” commented Eldarion while the others teased me.

“How so ?”

“Well Faery magic is mainly an innate gift. Your antennae signify that your body has matured and that gift is now yours. Here try for yourself.”

With that Luin Nengwi removed yet another object from his unfathomable cloak. It was a tiny book delicately bound with smooth blue fabric and embossed with some runes in gold leaf.

“We took the liberty of adding a few spells to get you started.”

With some trepidation I opened the book at the first spell page. According to it's title it appeared to be a spell for mending things. As I looked at the writing below, the strangest feeling entered my mind. Feelings of worthlessness and insignificance washed over me. I was not worthy, to read such fine words, I was lower than a worm. Inside my head these thoughts battled and clawed against me as I clung to the reality I had known a few moments previous.

“What in the world ?” I gasped as the thoughts and images that were not my own continued rampaging inside me. “This is ridiculous loosing control of my own mind.” Annoyed with myself now, I fought the invading alien thoughts pushing them back until....

I saw the page of the book still open before me. The writing below the title was now perfectly clear. The feeling of conflict and insanity so vivid a few seconds before, was gone.

“Odd fighting in your own head is it not ?” Eldarion said after a few moments.

“The writing, the spell ...., it was in my mind.”

“Yes and if you had not the power, the spell would control you by now, and not you it. Many a spell caster has been driven mad trying to master a spell too strong for him.”

“I remember my first spell”, ventured Luin Nengwi “I tried learning a spell from the middle of my spell tome by mistake. It made me feel so sick I returned my lunch onto the lap of the unfortunate next to me....” His voice tailed off as Eldarion flashed him a furious glance.

That night we camped again in the open. One thing I had begun to notice after two distinctly unappetizing camp dinners in a row, was that preparing food was not one of my companions strong points. No matter how they went about it, no matter what the ingredients, the end result always seemed to be a burnt tasteless mush. I could see the others weren't enjoying the results either.

The next morning we started out again. I felt light headed but whether this was from my previous nights dream or the spells I had mastered I couldn't be certain. We made good progress that morning and soon we were approaching a crossroads at which joined the road that would finally lead us home. As we approached Shazi held up his hand.

“Something doesn't feel right” he cautioned as he slowed his pace to carefully weighted steps, drawing his bow as he did so. “I sense creatures have been here recently and they did not leave by way of the road.”

We stood looking about us wondering what to do next. A warbling yell rang out, and we watched in slight astonishment as seven Orcs burst from the carefully concealed pits dug by the sides of the road to surround us. The one that appeared to be their leader stepped forward a pace or so and addressed us.

“Give gold and you may live. Fight and you die.”

Then his eye fell on me and he grinned a sickening lecherous grin. “Little lady come with us. She tasty.”

As he said that something inside me snapped. I was sick of being small, annoyed at being looked down on, and fed up being weak. I summoned one of the recently memorized spells from my mind and cast it at him with all my might. There was an orange flash and in the place of the Orc leader there now sat a large but slightly rough looking pumpkin.

The sight of this unnerved the other Orcs somewhat. Their discomfort was further enhanced by Shazi pumping arrows into the nearest three Orcs while they stared at what remained of their leader. The remaining three Orcs, recovering their wits decided a retreat was in order and got a good 50 feet away before a lighting bolt from Luin Nengwi reduced them to so many glowing cinders.

“Nice Finora. An interesting use of Stimpson's Cellular Reclarifier.” laughed Eldarion as he picked up the pumpkin. “Now all we need to find is someone to cook it for us.”

“Quiet”, yelled Shazi “I can hear something else.” Quickly advancing further up the road about 100 feet, we came upon roughly bound and gagged half Orc lying in the roadside ditch. As the others pulled into a standing position and removed his gag, I noticed that his clothes were of a quite fine cut and material. Indeed his lithe muscular body and rakish haircut suggested that he was not used to being tied up and lying in ditches.

“Talk fast if you value your life.” Shazi snapped a wicked looking dagger to the Half Orc's chest. He winced slightly as the razor point of the dagger cut through the material of his tunic and into his skin. A spot of bluish purple blood welled up under the knife tip.

“Er well my name is Zilrion Hazardous and I was ambushed and captured by the raiding party you so recently dispatched. You have my eternal gratitude now if you would just free my bonds...”

Eldarion cut him off in mid sentence “What makes you think we value you any more highly than the Orcs ? Tell us why we should free you.”

“Well I am a mercenary and bodyguard by trade and my skill with an Axe has made me well paid among these provinces. I offer my services as payment for my freedo...”

Shazi yawned as he dug the point of the dagger a little deeper, cutting off Zilrion's offer. The blood spot grew bigger. “I've heard that before. Countless braggarts recounted their fighting prowess to me and I've dispatched them all. What else can you do ?”

By this time Zilrion was by turns looking increasing pained from the knife point and desperate as he contemplated his rapidly diminishing life expectancy.

“Er well I can ride, I can read, I can craft fine weapons...Ahhhh”, his voice rising as the dagger point advanced, “hhhh.... I'm trustworthy, loyal and I'm an excellent cook”

“Hold” Shouted Luin Nengwi. Shazi's knife stopped it's advance. “Repeat that last part again”

“I can cook ?” ventured Zilrion.

“That's good enough for me. Shazi free him, Eldarion start one of your magic camp fires I'm hungry”

“What's on the menu?”, Asked Zilrion recovering some of his composure.

Eldarion tossed the pumpkin to Zilrion “Anything with this as long as it tastes good. Remember your life depends on it.”

Later eating our evening meal I reflected that at least the days events had improved our culinary experience. Zilrion was true to his word and the meal he had prepared with the pumpkin and some wild herbs was truly delicious.

I turned to Zilrion who seemed to enjoying the sounds or rather chomps of approval of his meal. “One thing I don't understand is if you are such a good bodyguard, how did the Orc raiders best you ?”

“Simple my exquisite Finora. I was partaking of my afternoon nap in order to be alert for my evenings travels. The raiders made haste and bound me before I had a chance to awake.”

This brought some guffaws of amusement from my companions, causing Shazi to spray some of his part chewed dinner.

“A sleeping bodyguard. Well he's honest as well. I'll give him that. Keep it up and you might just fit in”, commented Luin Nengwi. “For Soldiers of Fortune fight best on trust and a full stomach.”

To be continued.

[Edited on 10/1/2004 by Fhman]

[DivZ3r0]

im speachless again . . .

[windwalker]

Indeed you are very good at this,Fhman.

Keep up the good work. ;)

[BashfulDude]

It's always a joy to see skilled roleplayers! :D *Claps as much as his frail hands can muster*

[Denieru]

Your style of writing is fantastic. It´s adventurous, funny and extremely well written. Hopefully the story of finora will continue to grow for a long long time. And now since my own story is linked to yours you have no choice but to include me in the future adventures of Finora. ;)

[TheHazzard]

Shazi will regred that...thats for sure! ;)
No good night hug for him today :P

[Bandar]

Damn! It just keeps getting better and better!

You should be a professional writer.

[Fhman]

Chapter 6

Out with Gods and Dragons

The mountain peaks whisper softly to me. “Come destiny. Come to us”. I float slowly over the still forms of my sleeping companions. Again the voices call to me “Come sister meet your destiny”.

Slowly at first and then with gathering speed I sweep towards the distant mountains. Higher and higher I rise past fertile lowlands speckled with farmhouses. Past rich mountain meadows grazed by wild horsephants. Past stands of pine trees standing like some great green army awaiting battle. Higher now until the trees grow more stunted and finally give way to bare rock and snow. Still higher into air so thin that I leave the realm of birds and dragons below.

The sky grows brighter with crisp stars as I alight at the peak of a mountain on the very edge of the world of Ganareth..

Ten radiant figures stand before me. They are strangers to my sight but somehow their names are known to me. The one known as Gothar speaks.

“Child of mine imagination, witness the return of the true Gods.”

I shake my head “No. Your time has passed and gone. Your deeds are but broken memories worn smooth by the passage of time. Ganareth has no need of you now.”

Their expressions darken at my reply. “We cannot be forgotten we are your wellspring, your creation.”

Again I shake my head and point at the shattered moon.”The mortals make their own destiny now. They wish to remember you not. For your memories are soiled by pestilence and destruction.”

The one called Malecta seethes with anger at this reply. “You cannot spurn your past for we are also your future”

“No.” The power in my voice surprises both of us. “Know what is the truth of Kal Niranjan, lord of all creation. For he knows that even Gods must someday die.”

Forks of lightening crash and thunder about me as I say this. Above the tumult of noise comes the cry “You will welcome us”. A moment later a lightning bolt hits me and the world dissolves into brightness. I cry out and raise my arm to shield me from the glare as I fall back into..


The glare of the morning sun hurts my eyes, my raised arm ineffectual in reducing it's brightness.

“I say my sparkling gem, that must have been an exceptional dream. Would you like some Krettal tea ?”

Turning to my left I could see Zilrion holding two divergently sized cups. The smaller of the two he handed carefully to me.

“Thanks” was all I could manage as I sipped the gently steaming brew. Looking around I could see the others were getting ready to break camp. Presently Shazi appeared carrying a small purse. Zilrion gave him some tea and he sat down beside me. “So what do you think of our new companion? “

Shazi glanced in the direction of Denieru “Well he's a bit aloof and proud to boot. But then again elves tend to be that way. We'll see his mettle soon enough I'll wager. Let us hope that fancy staff of his is more than just decoration.”

“We'd best be off soon.. I've scouted the main road to Tobrian only two miles distant and the town itself is not more than eight beyond that. We can make it well before evening. The merchant whose purse I borrowed will be happy that his coins are put to good use in the betting pits of Tobrian.”

Shazi got up and went over to inform the others. A short time later we were making good progress through the woods and soon met up with the road. The road itself was well traveled. Every twenty minutes or so we would pass some merchant caravan or other traveler. The caravans invariably had some military escort, numbering between five and eighteen riders.

“Plenty of undesirables even in these parts, like the ones who accosted me”, commented Zilrion, as he noted my unspoken interest.

Whether because we were obviously not merchants or perhaps due to the odd mix of our party, we saw no trouble as we made our way along the road. Some hours later the afternoon sun illuminated a goodly size fortified settlement on the hilltop ahead.

“Tobrian” motioned Eldarion as we covered the remaining distance towards the main entrance.

As we reached the main gate the guards on duty looked at us closely a few times. Their leader said something to his colleague who ran off into the guard house. A few moments later a slightly pudgy looking guard ran out of the guardhouse to meet us.

“Hold good sirs”, he puffed. I have been charged by my master to keep a stern lookout for a party such as this. “I am looking for the two gentlemen that go by the titles of Eldarion and Luin Nengwi.”

Luin Nengwi looked at him with a slight expression of distaste. “And your intention is ?”

“My intention is sirs, is to deliver this request under seal and make available whatever the recipients may need.” With that he handed Luin Nengwi an envelope closed with a large blue waxen seal. Turning the envelope over a few times Luin Nengwi peered closely at the seal.

“King Armorion's seal. I wonder what that old rascal wants now.” Breaking the seal he removed the letter contained inside and began to read. As he did so his expression hardened into a grimace.

“It's worse than I thought. He has dragon trouble and not just any dragon either.”

“An old one ?” questioned Denieru.

“Yes. He requests our immediate aid.”

Eldarion stepped forward “And he shall have it, for the usual fee.”

Luin Nengwi looked troubled “Are you sure that's wise ? You know how much the last old dragon taxed us, and that was with five users of magic working to bind it. We can only call upon three in this party with no time or opportunity to summon any more to our aid.”

Eldarion gestured towards me “We have Finora as well. Have no care Luin Nengwi for we are sufficient.”

“Alright three and a half.” conceded Luin Nengwi. “It will still be difficult.”

“Armorion's reward will make it worth the struggle” said Eldarion turning to the guard. “We'll need five of your strongest war Dodo's saddled and ready to depart within the hour.”

“It will be as you request.” The pudgy guard bowed and ran off shouting orders as he did so.

Looking around at the rest of us Eldarion gave a thin smile. “Fortune smiles on us today. We shall exercise our craft against a worthy foe for a worthy reward. Let us make preparations. Come.”

To be continued

[Edited on 10/1/2004 by Fhman]

[windwalker]

Getting better all the time,if that's possible :exclam: ;)

[Edited on 18/5/2003 by windwalker]

[DivZ3r0]

nice story, the continue of it will be very cool, fighting a dragon

[Denieru]

Incredible, I hope this is the beginning of a never ending story. I hope the story will continue soon, the suspence is killing me! ;)

[SkJohnson]

Wow...Did you come up with all of that?! I mean, i come up with ideas...but im nothing compared to you... ;)

[Absolution]

wow.....! that is a great story!!!!! WRITE A BOOK

[Shazi]

Haha, now we're 2 persons on that opinion... Fhman, if u ever got the time then you relly should write a book :P

[Marauder]

That is truly incredible. Are you a professional writer or going to school to be? If not, you're dang good at it!!! I am stunned at your exquisite stories and your brilliant plot!


*Gets even more interested in SoF* :cool: ;)

[TheHazzard]

^bump^

and yes finora u shud considering writing a book, ur story is amazing...

*starts readin from the start again*

[Fhman]

Thanks for the comments.

Does anyone know what color of Dragon they'd like to see in the next episode.

The color with the highest votes gets included :)

[Bluenose]

heh sorry but I have to say it :)

BLUE! :cool:

[DivZ3r0]

red-black, gold eyes something like that, nice and evil :)

[Shazi]

hmm, black, red eyes, at least 100 years old... able to fly... spit fire and the usual stuff...

um, oh, only color?

[(-BLACK-)]
:P

[Hjelgan]

I say surprise us. We people without a so called life, would be thrilled to have something killing off our usual days. Our endless days without any form of joy what so ever.

I sound pathetic, and indeed I am.

[Editorial]
I say you are in need of more half-orchs in your story. Nothing more pleasing than to see ones own kind slaughtering a dragon or two ;]


[Edited on 21/5/2003 by Hjelgan]

[blue_fire]

Absolutely bootiful
All stories should be like this

[DivZ3r0]

yep imho she is the best :cool:

[Fhman]

Chapter 7

Dragons & Dissolution

We set out just before dusk fell over Tobrian . The evening was warm for the time of year and it imparted the darkness a soft velvet quality. Along the way we passed several mana fountains. At each one Eldarion made me advance and touch the base of the supporting structure. As I did so a small spark like tiny lightening passed between my outstretched hand and the stone.

“Now you will be able to use a faster and more comfortable transport than a Dodo. Teleportation is a blessing for the magically gifted, but it must be used with care. Travel only to locations you have verified in person. Many a careless traveler has teleported to a place unknown to them only to find themselves inside the stomach of some creature from the Nether Dimensions. Such creatures exist and hunt in the dimensions between teleportation points. They are to be avoided at all costs if you value your life and your souls sanity.”

I shivered at the image such a fate invoked. “I'll take that advice, thanks.”

The journey passed uneventfully and I tried to first meditate and then sleep for a while inside the hood of Luin Nengwi's cloak. This was more difficult than it sounded as the motion of a War Dodo at full gallop was not an easy one and I found myself constantly sliding from side to side within the confines of the hood. Shortly after sunrise we passed into the Armorion kingdom. About two hours later we came upon a crossroads where a small party of Armorion soldiers awaited our arrival.

Halting before them, their leader, a tall well built human in ornate plate armor, came over to address us.

“Hail Soldiers of Fortune, I am Morian the Kings representative on this mission. I have been instructed to accompany you and render whatever aid is necessary.”

Eldarion looked him up and down “We need no escort although you may convey to King Armorion our appreciation at his offer.”

“It is not an offer sir. It is a condition for you accepting this mission and the information I have on the dragon's location.”

Eldarion looked non plussed. “Very well. What do you know of the dragon and it's lair ?”

Morian unrolled a map of the area. On it were about thirty to forty crosses clumped in one region. “We have sense of it's location based on the places affected by it's attacks. We confirmed this by sending a patrol of soldiers into this valley where we believed the dragon's lair is situated.”

“Can you give us a description of the dragon ?” asked Shazi.

“I cannot sir because no one attacked by the dragon has lived. Not even their bodies remained to give us some indication of the manner of their deaths.”

“What about the soldiers you sent into the valley”, I questioned.

“None of them returned.”

Luin Nengwi took one final look at the map before rolling it up. “Come we are wasting time in idle speculation. We will know the measure of the dragon soon enough.”

We rode northward until at length we approached the entrance to the valley where the map indicated that the dragon dwelt. The valley itself ran in roughly northeast direction. It was a river valley, it's shallow V shape carved over the years by the small river that passed through it and issued from the entrance. The sides of the valley were not particularly steep and were covered by patches of trees and bushes.

We made our way up the valley, keeping to the east bank of the river. After about two thirds of a mile of roughly northeasterly progress Eldarion held up his hand.

“Listen close”, beckoned Eldarion, “Here is what we'll do.”

He stepped down onto the rock and gravel that had been deposited by the river as it swept in a smooth arc westward before resuming it's normal course. Bending almost double he seemed to be searching for something specific. After several minutes he had gathered two flat stones made of a dull white rock. Each was about the diameter of a small apple.

Luin Nengwi stared closely at the stones Eldarion had selected before taking one of them. “Not perfect, but they'll suffice”.

“Always the perfectionist Luin Nengwi”, laughed Eldarion “They are adequate for the time we will require them”. With that they both began casting a spell. At length two runes hung purple and glowing in the air before rushing to affix themselves to the stones each of them held in their left hands.

Denieru spoke. “An excellent idea my brethren for the dragon will be located far easier with three dragon runes to guide our steps.” With that he closed his eyes for a moment. Presently another purple rune appeared, this time affixed at the head of his staff.

Eldarion handed his stone to Zilrion.

“We will spread out into three groups. Shazi and Denieru will take the western slope of the valley, Finora and Zilrion shall continue along the river course. Luin Nengwi, Morion and myself will proceed along the eastern part. Now listen carefully. We must make some haste for the dragon runes have no like of being cast on such inferior materials and the stones will be consumed within the hour. If the runes color turns red, mark your progress and return from whence you came to inform the others. Do not investigate further unaided.”

With that he walked quickly towards the eastern slope of the valley. Zilrion watched Eldarion for a few moments before turning to me.

“Come Finora we shall venture forth and root out this dragon.”

He walked briskly along the river bank as I fluttered along beside him. Every so often I would fly higher to check on the position of the others. The clumped patches of trees and bushes along the valley floor made this difficult, but occasionally I would catch sight of the others. As we progressed our rune stone stayed resolutely purple.

“So Zilrion, what will we do if we come across a dragon ?” I asked, feeling slightly bored by the drawn out search.

Zilrion smiled broadly showing a well cared for set of white fangs. He patted the shaft of his axe.“Why I'll be sure to wish the dragon a good morrow before introducing him to the edge of my other friend.”

About forty minutes or so after we had split up we spotted an odd looking mound on the other side of the river. The sickly looking pale yellow of the vegetation on the mound stood out in stark contrast to the background greenery of the valley. Zilrion headed towards a shallow part of the river and we crossed over to take a closer look.

On close inspection the bushes and grass on mound seemed to have crushed flat by some great weight. The reason for their unusual color was not so easily explained. Zilrion bent down and carefully sniffed the grass.

“Hmm smells like dragon but there's something else as well. Something sickly and acrid smelling. I've never smelt the like before.” He wrinkled his nose and looked at the dragon rune. It was still purple.

Relaxed slightly by the runes color, I flew to the crest of the mound and peered over the other side. What I saw caused me to inhale sharply. Zilrion must have heard me because he bounded up the mound to the crest, axe in hand. What lay on the other side of the crest was quite extraordinary. Thousands and thousands of bones lay in different sized piles, arrayed in a seemingly random manner. There were also bones scattered on the ground, so thick in some places it gave the sensation of having been carpeted in white death. What vegetation that was visible was also the same sickly pale yellow we had seen on the mound. At the base of this side of the mound, in a single glinting golden pile were millions of gold coins.

“Well. It looks like we found the dragons horde. One thing puzzles me though Zilrion. Why are the bones so white and shiny ?”

“I was thinking the same thing myself my dear Finora. Not a scrap of flesh on any of them. Something tells me this is not the work of any dragon creature in my experience.”

I looked around again at the piles of bones and the single golden pile sitting in mocking contrast. How many people had this creature killed to accumulate it? The pointlessness of the whole thing depressed me. For it had not killed out of ordinary human motives of greed or jealousy. No, it killed simply because it's creator had implanted in it a hatred of all living things and through it's instinctive gathering of gold, the means to lure men to it.

“Well so much for the dragon horde now where is this ?”

“DRAGON !” The shout echoed to the west of us. Zilrion's head snapped round at the sound and with a quick glance at me we both began moving towards the direction it came from.

“That sounded like Shazi.”

Zilrion merely grunted in reply and continued to stare straight ahead. He was now running at an almost reckless speed through the trees and underbrush. I had to flap energetically not to be left behind.

Ahead I could hear the crashing and cracking of branches underfoot and the sounds of rapid progress. There was another sound a growling that was unlike any animal of nature.

The crashing grew louder as Shazi burst through a bush into full view about thirty feet away. Spotting us he headed at full sprint towards us shouting

“The dragon is close in behind me. Finora do something to slow it's progress.”

Racking my mind's limited spell collection for something to halt a charging dragon I settled on an alteration I hoped fervently would work. I cast the spell at the grouping of trees from which Shazi had emerged. In moments their bark shimmered and changed from an earthy brown to a sharp steely glint. Turning back I flew full speed after my fast retreating companions. After a some hard flapping I drew level with them again. Shazi looked over at me.

“And ?” he panted.

“I think steel trees may hold it's progress for a time.” As if to confirm this, a dull metallic clang issued from behind us , followed by a loud screech of seemingly pain, anger and surprise. By this time we were emerging again at the western bank of the river. Without stopping Shazi and Zilrion ran across the shallow water to the opposite bank before halting, breathing heavily.

“Eldarion and the others will meet us here. I sent Denieru to bring them.”

Zilrion looked around at the east side of the valley. There was no sign of the others. “We'd better hope they're swift footed, for your pursuer is likely to be of an unpleasant temper after his collision with Finora's barrier.”

From the woods to the west came renewed sounds of growling followed by the whup, whup, whup of wings beating as a huge green dragon broke clear of the trees and flew towards us.

“Quite extraordinary, a green dragon.” I heard Zilrion exclaim.

Well if we plan on considering it's existence from outside it's stomach might I suggest some magic to halt it's charge”, shouted Shazi above the noise of the approaching dragon's wing beats.

“Stand close to me.“ I shouted. “I don't know how big I can make this.” In truth I wasn't entirely sure whether I could make it at all, having spent all of the previous evening locked in mental conflict with this particular spell. However I knew with a sense of foreboding it would be the only one powerful enough to resist such a charge. By now the noise from the dragons wings was tremendous as it dived towards us, foot talons outstretched and it's teeth shining in a huge mouth that could rend a Dodo whole.

Zilrion and Shazi bunched tightly to me as I fought the spells attempts to twist my mind. Winning my mental battle, I cast the shimmering multicolored sphere around us. There was a yelp from Zilrion as the enclosing sphere twisted his leg beyond the limits of it's normal movement. Moments later the sphere crackled violently and I heard a screech of pain followed by a loud crash. After a few seconds the sphere dissolved into nothingness and we struggled free from our imposed captivity.

To the east of us was movement as the dragon struggled to free itself from the trees it seemed to have crashed into. As it emerged the reason for the unexpected landing was revealed. Most of it's left wing was burnt away presumably having made first contact with the prismatic sphere. Shaking it's head the dragon started towards us. From here I could see the torn scales and blood on it's head and body although whether this was from the crash or the earlier barrier was not clear. Suddenly the beast halted and opening it's mouth wide.

“Down” grunted Shazi as he grabbed me and dived towards the river. Dragged behind him I could see a huge cloud of boiling yellow/white vapor pour from the dragons mouth towards us. Moments later I was underwater. The shock of the immersion and the coldness of the river caused me to breath in a mouthful of choking water. My lungs filled with cold fire and with it the feeling of drowning. I struggled to break free but Shazi still held me tightly in his grip. Then we surfaced, the three of us breathing in air in great gulping gasps.

Turning my head, I half expected to see the dragon upon us, but it was facing side on to us as it's attention was drawn by something to the southeast. As Shazi climbed the river bank, it became clear what held the dragons attention. Eldarion, Denieru, Luin Nengwi and Morian had emerged from the trees and were now engaging the dragon with magics. Tendrils of pulsing fiery ether reached out from Denieru and Eldarion, were encircling the dragons body. Similar tendrils from Luin Nengwi were wrapping themselves around it's jaws squeezing them shut.

The dragon writhed and thrashed trying desperately to break free. Eldarion's face was etched with concentration as they tried to take control of it's movements. It was at that moment that Morian broke cover from behind the casters and sword in hand ran towards the dragon.

“Get back you fool it is not full bound”, shouted Shazi.

Morian circled round towards the dragons right flank. As he did so the dragon redoubled it's efforts to free itself and managed to shake off the tendril from it's jaw. Time seemed to slow and the terrifying scene played out like some slow motion nightmare. Morian seeing that the dragons jaws were free, started to reverse his course. At the same time the dragon breathed another cloud of vapor directly at him. The expanding broiling mass hit him and enveloped him. A rising scream of pain issued from the cloud before stopping abruptly. As the vapor thinned and dissipated, where Morian had been, only a small pile of gleaming white bones and yellowed grass remained.

“My word. Well that explains our earlier findings”, remarked Zilrion, apparently unperturbed by the Morian's rapid dissolution.

Luin Nengwi, wrestling with trying to rebind the dragons jaws, shouted “Finora. You must help to bind the creature. We cannot succeed alone.” His face like those of the others was now etched with pain from the effort required.

I was by this time cold and exhausted from my immersion and the previous wrought spells. I sensed that there was mana enough for perhaps one more spell. “Better make it a good one then.” I thought grimly. Pushing back the fatigue in my mind, I bent the shining magic words to shape and suddenly my mind was racing towards the dragons. Reaching it, I burst into a mental landscape quite unlike anything I had ever known.

It was one of barely controlled madness. The dragon hated all living things with the cruel instinct given by it's creator. But at this moment it hated us most of all and most of it's anger was focused on Eldarion, Denieru and Luin Nengwi. Twisting around Kraythar's thoughts (For I knew now that was it's name), I tried to find an edge, some fear that I could use as a lever for my illusion. At last I saw it tucked in a corner almost out of sight. Seizing upon it, I fashioned it into something huge and terrible and crushing as...

Kraythar whined and screeched as he found himself back inside the tiny windowless cell where he was brought into this creation. He tucked his head and wings into his body to escape the imagined crush of the walls on his body.

Seeing this Shazi and Zilrion needed no further urging. With a ululating yell Zilrion ran over the dragons right leg. The muscles on his arms and neck stood out in great cords as he swung the axe, half severing the leg with one stroke. Blood sprayed out from the wound in huge pumping gouts. A second stroke completed the amputation. Kraythar shocked out of the illusion by the pain, tried to react but it was too late. Unable to stand, he began to topple over towards Zilrion. Shazi had circled round to the other flank and as the dragon fell, he thrust both swords into the soft exposed underbelly. Kraythar screeched and writhed again but weakly. After a few moments the dragon lay still.

Exhausted, I slumped down shivering on the grass. The spells cast had drained so much mana that even thinking about magic made me want to vomit. The others began to make their way over to where I sat. Zilrion sat down beside me, his tunic soaked through with dragon blood.

Luin Nengwi, Denieru and Eldarion, while somewhat less blood stained looked haggard and drawn. Shazi by contrast seemed to be relatively untaxed by the whole battle. He busied himself with removing the dragon's teeth with his dagger.

Luin Nengwi looked around at the group. “I told you it would be difficult.”

“Ah, acceptable casualties and scratches. Nothing more” smiled Eldarion. “Although I am curious as to why we had no warning of the dragon.”

Denieru coughed. “My dragon rune was such that it was attuned to recognize only dragon species I had previously encountered. I regret the inconvenience that my oversight caused.” He drew himself up stiffly awaiting his rebuke.

“Fret not Denieru,” shouted Shazi from somewhere inside the dragon's mouth. “For only Morian was truly inconvenienced and he doesn't seem to be complaining.”

“I thank you master Shazi for your kind words. I am lucky to have been adopted into the fellowship of such considerate companions.”

Luin Nengwi bent down to pick me up. Placing me carefully in the hood of his cloak, he turned to the others. “Come we still have a hoard to gather and a king's appreciation to collect. The day's events are not yet complete.”

With that we started slowly back to the valley entrance.

To be continued

[Edited on 10/1/2004 by Fhman]

[Bandar]

Wow....thats a very nice chapter...Cant wait for more.

What is next to come for the group?

[Rasjr12]

I just read the entire thing and you are a good writer keep the story going

My favorite part is when the orc was turned into a pumpkin :P

[windwalker]

Good as usual. ;)

I'm runing out of things to say,but keep on going.

[Bluenose]

Theres only so many ways you can say well done brilliant story, and I think im running out :(

[TheHazzard]

Having the same problem,

Its a master piece..
I have never seen such amazing writing and im proud of beeing a part of it.. again thanx for a great new chapter, keep em comming.

[Shazi]

AHA! i know how to show my gratitude...

Once ingame i can kill 3 of your enemies and you'll only have to pay for 2*, how does that sound finora?





*no responsibility taken for other casaulties during the proccess

[Hjelgan]

Ahh, Zilrion showing his mighty muscles. This we like. Him shopping of the dragons leg was the best part :] I woke my neighbours yelling; "YES, YOU GO ZILLIE, AT EM BOY!!".
Thanks for a good time. Am waiting for more ;].

[TheHazzard]

Ooooh a fan!

Want a pic of me with autograph? :P

[Fhman]

Zilrion et Al will return shortly. I have a story worked out that I hope will keep you interested :)

[Fhman]

Chapter 8

Armorion Morals


It took the rest of the day to load all the gold for transport. Shazi had ridden to summon the Armorion guards to help with the effort. He returned in the late afternoon with the guards and two Grouik pulled carts.

We rode back up the valley to the dragon hoard, passing the scene of the battle as we did so. The bulky corpse of Kraythar brought some gasps of amazement from the guards as we passed it. Looking at his gaping toothless mouth and glazed eyes staring into eternity, I fancied that in his death he looked more at peace and content than he had ever been in life.

Zilrion must have seen my expression for he turned to me and said “Hopefully his soul will find some rest from the multifarious tribulations of this existence.”

Recalling the tortured landscape of Krythar's mind I could not help but feel this to be true.

Loading the dragons hoard was not a pleasant task. The carpet of bones ground and cracked underneath their feet as my larger companions struggled with the heavy sacks they had filled with coins. That noise and the flashing gleam of the early evening sun off the mounds of white death, reduced everyone to a sullen plodding mood. Even the normally irrepressible Shazi was withdrawn and silent.

Dusk had come upon us by the time the task was complete. Despite their exertions and obvious fatigue, nobody even suggested making camp so close to such a graveyard. Wearily we rode back to the valley entrance for the final time, accompanied by the creaks and groans of the heavily laden carts. Reaching a flat grassy area created by one of the rivers many curves, we made camp and immediately slept.

I tried to sleep but when I did the dream came to me. In the dream is was once again in the twisted madness that formed the landscape of Krythar's mind. Only this time I sensed another presence there with me. The feeling transmitted to me by the other presence was one of loathing encased by a shell of ego and ambition. Twisting and turning as hard as I dared, I could still not make out the form. Suddenly with a high pitched shriek a burning disc flew towards me so fast that I barely had time to register that there was a face behind it before the imagined impact threw me awake.

I looked around me at the sleeping forms of the guards and my companions. The shock of awakening had me sitting bolt upright. My heart was beating faster than I thought were possible like some Timpani player in Hell's own orchestra. Slowly the feeling of panic edged away with my heart rate, but I found myself unable to sleep again. Or perhaps if I was truthful to myself, afraid to.

Shortly before dawn we decamped and started towards Falstag the capital city of the Armorion kingdom. The soldiers rode close escort on the two carts and their precious contents, leaving the rest of us with little to do but admire the scenery and reflect on the previous days battle, or perhaps for some the reward soon to come.

I used the journey time to catch up on some of my lost sleep. I dozed fitfully as the rhythm of the walking War Dodo occasionally shook me awake. The afternoon found us entering the walled and heavily fortified city. The city itself was fairly nondescript. The people seemed happy enough. There were many of merchants hawking their wares and an abundance of goods for sale in the markets we passed. It seemed that whatever this Armorion was like he seemed not to be a tyrant.

We were given a full honor escort from the city gate to the Kings palace. Richly built and decorated, the Kings palace was an overly ornate building as though the architect had been paid on the basis of how many decorations he could attach to one building. The heads of strange demon creatures and finely carved patterns in wood and stone lay claim to every free inch of the building. And covering every surface was a layer of gold leaf. The effect made the whole building shine in the afternoon sun.

We dismounted and were shown first into an antechamber situated some distance from the throne room. The chamberlain came in and fussed breathlessly about the state of our clothing, tut tutting loudly when he caught sight of Shazi and Zilrion.

“No time, heavens no time to make you presentable. The King wishes to see you immediately.”

And so in our slightly disheveled state we were whisked along a long corridor (decorated in similar fashion to the outside of the building), and then another until at last we came upon a set of towering double doors. Oddly considering the garishness of the interior and exterior of the building, the doors were remarkably plain. They rose flat and clean, bereft of any decoration or door handles. Their dark black color seemed to glow in the reflected light of the torches. Walking up to the doors the chamberlain motioned with his left hand and the doors opened noiselessly inward revealing the throne room. As we entered I flitted quickly to the side and touched the door. It was solid stone polished to a mirror finish and cool to the touch. There was something else, something I was sure I'd seen or heard before but I couldn't recall.

Sweeping towards the throne with the rest of us trailing like flotsam in his wake, the chamberlain announced in a voice that seemed too loud to belong to him.

“Soldiers of Fortune my King.”, as he herded us into a ragged line in front of the throne. At his prompting we all bowed with varying degrees of refinement, from Denieru's perfect motion to Shazi's careless shambling one. For my own part I found bowing while hovering more difficult than I imagined and almost pitched head first into the floor while trying to perform it. I made a mental note to myself to remember to stand on the floor next time I was introduced to any royalty.

Landing on the floor I looked up to see the King clearly from the first time. As I did so I must have let out a small gasp for the chamberlain gave me a blazing glance whose import was all too clear. Composing myself as best I could I tried to remain still as the King spoke.

“Welcome Soldiers one and all. I am greatly pleased that you bring me good news regarding the destruction of the dragon that has blighted my kingdom. But tell me, I am sorrowed to learn of the death of Morian. He was a loyal and noble servant to me. Prey tell me how did he die ?”

Eldarion stepped forward “He fought with great courage sire, and but for an evil trick played on him by the dragon he would still be alive. We believed the dragon bound but the dragon pretended thus in order to draw us out. Sadly Morian, such was his bravery was first towards the dragon and suffered for it.”

The King listen, nodding slightly as Eldarion relayed this version of events to him.

Smiling the King clapped his hands once to make sure he had everyones attention.

“Tonight we will have a feast in honor of these brave souls. Armorion is once again free of dragon tyranny. Let us rejoice.”

With that our audience was over and the chamberlain was herding us towards yet another set of antechambers. These ones were inset with additional dressing rooms each of which was equipped with an already filled bath, soap and fresh towels.

“You may rest and refresh yourselves here. I will send servants to have your clothes cleaned and returned to you prior to the feast. Please be ready by 8.00 pm.” With that the chamberlain spun sharply on his heel and left.

As soon as the door had closed I looked around at the others. “I don't trust that King, there's something wrong here.”

“Nonsense”, replied Eldarion. “King Armorion and Soldiers of Fortune have a long history of mutual co-operation. He may be a typical rogue and oppressor of his people, but that's normal. He has always dealt fairly with us.”

“But I saw his face in my dream. He's somehow linked with the dragon.”

Shazi yawned. “Look the only connection he has to the dragon is that it chose his kingdom to terrorize. You can't hold that against him. You're probably just seeing flashbacks of the fight with the dragon. It happens to us all occasionally.”

Luin Nengwi and Zilrion nodded in agreement with Shazi's statement.

I could see I wasn't convincing anyone so I fell silent although my unease remained. The face I had seen behind the burning disc was only glimpsed but I was certain it was Armorion's. Unsure now, of what I had seen, I tried to reply the sequence again in my head but I could no longer bring it into focus. Looking up from my thoughts , I saw that the others had already disappeared into their changing rooms. With a shrug of resignation, I went into my room to get ready for the feast to come.

The hot bath relaxed me slightly and I began to think that perhaps I had been mistaken. Changing into my freshly cleaned clothes, I heard a knock at the door. Hurriedly finishing my dressing, “Come in.” I shouted. The door opened and Denieru entered.

“It's not time for the feast yet is it ?” I asked.

“Not for 30 minutes or so. But that's not why I came to see you.” Denieru's brow furrowed slightly. “I too have some concerns regarding the King. I thought I may be mistaken but resting just now I too had a dream in which Armorion and the dragon appear together. I pray this is but some trick of the mind, however I feel we should be on our guard.”

Hearing his words I felt relief and concern at the same time. “We'd best watch what they serve at dinner. Do you have any spells to detect poison ?”

“Yes I shall be sure to warn you if I find the food adulterated.” Denieru turned to leave and then said to me. “Don't mention this to the others yet. When we are certain of Armorion's intentions and have proofs, we can warn the others. I think they will not accept anything on trust alone. They are too long in their dealing with Armorion for that.”

The feast was certainly a magnificent one at least in my limited experience. There were thirteen courses as was the tradition in that part of the world, thirteen being associated with good luck. Being of small appetite to begin with it was all a bit much for me. After the eleventh course had been cleared away I made my apologies and went in search of some fresh air. As I left Armorion was still in fine form, telling bawdy jokes and tales of battles long since won. Eldarion, Shazi, Luin Nengwi and Zilrion seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves judging by the number of empty plates.

I made it to a long open terrace and the cool night air. Resting on the terrace rail I looked up at the stars and the dark half of the moon that was beginning it's ascent into the night sky. Feeling movement next to me I turned to see Denieru standing beside me.

“Couldn't last till course thirteen either?” I asked.

“No I couldn't manage. I am unsure which was harder on my stomach, the food or Armorion's incessant boasting. Still nothing was poisoned. Perhaps we were wrong about him. He seems likable enough for a human.”

Denieru went over to a table that sat close by on the terrace and poured a glass and a thimble full of water from the jug that was sitting on it. Accepting it gladly I drank some of the cool liquid hoping that it would help wash away the excesses of the dinner.

We talked some more about Armorion and his overly ornate palace. Denieru seemed to hold the same opinion as I did regarding his taste in architecture. Laughing at the excesses of royalty, we lapsed again into silence. I turned back to look at the moon and as I did so I felt my heart begin to race a little. My vision started to go gray and woolly at the edges.

“Denieru, are you sure about the poison thing ?” I asked feeling the beginnings of panic. “Denieru can you hear me ?” But there was no reply as my vision faded to soft blackness and I felt no more.

To be continued

[Edited on 10/1/2004 by Fhman]

[Denieru]

And the plot thickens...

I can't belive you choose to stop just when it´s getting really exciting. I suppose it´s meant to keep us wanting more, but you have made us want more from the first sentence long ago.

Dear God, please give me patience to wait until the next chapter continues, and give it to me NOW! ;)

[windwalker]

The plot thickens indeed ;) I think she is letting the suspense build,but I also can not wait I just hope it is not a long wait.
GREAT WORK,I wonder what will happen now !?..........

[Edited on 24/6/2003 by windwalker]

[Fhman]

Hmm, Suspense is my aim here...

Does anyone care to speculate wildly as to who poisoned who and why ;)

[windwalker]

Well Denieru questioned,that he surely wold'nt do such a thing on the chat awhile back,and I don't think he did.

I think it was the king,or he had it done,because he somehow kwows of your suspition,and he is somehow linked with,or maybe was at one time in control of the dragon.

I took a shot,but what do I know ;) come on now tell us : )

[TheHazzard]

finora ur one evil fairy, when tellin these stories u cant just stop! :P
Ohh aww gww ... ok umm ye.,... lets see..
My first taugh is that its the king..but now...no Its someone else... or maybee something..

[Denieru]

I think it´s obvious who´s responsible for the poisoning. Only one persone could have done such a low and cowardly act, fearing direct confrontation and sneaking about with stealth and illusions.
This has Shazi written all over it! I belive he chose to poison Finora because he was jealous that Finora always kept close to Bluenose. Shazi confessed his feelings for her but they were not returned. Nothing is more dangerous than love scorned.
Hopefully we can prevent him from kidnapping Finora and turning her into his own tormented pet fairy.

Was that wild enough?

[Fhman]

Chapter 9

Armorion Actions


An odd sensation returned me to wakefulness. I could feel an intense tickling sensation on my cheek. Giving in to the urge to scratch I reached my hand up where it contacted what felt like fur or hair. Starting at the touch, my eyes flew open to see a huge hairy forearm crowding my vision and beyond that Zilrion's face.

“Ah Finora, you awake from your induced slumber. Welcome to the world of captivity”, noted Zilrion with a lopsided smile.

At first I didn't understand what he meant. Sitting up slightly I took in my new surroundings. We were in some small cubic room maybe a little less than four foot long on each of the sides. It's surface was smooth and without seams, made of the the same dark black material I had seen on the throne room doors. A single candle in the corner cast it's reddish orange light over us. Due to the rooms small size, Zilrion could not stretch out and had hunched up his body, trying to make himself as comfortable as possible. In one corner of the room there was a chamber pot for toilet. Save for these two items the room was bare.

“Well I don't think much of the guest quarters. How did we end up in here ?”

“Your guess is as likely to be correct as mine.”, shrugged Zilrion. “One minute we were enjoying that splendid feast and the next I passed out and awoke to find myself in here.”

“H'm, the same happened to me, except I was outside with Denieru, taking the night air. I drank some water that Denieru had poured for me and then everything went black.”

“The question is of course my sparkling one, who or what has imprisoned us and to what end ? I am sadly short of rational reasons for such events.”

I looked at Zilrion, “Well I did have a dream about Armorion being somehow linked to the dragon. But as was pointed out before the feast, SOF has a long association with him. So why would he suddenly do this ?”

“Good question Finora. Just one among many I currently have requiring urgent attention. One thing is certain. If we are still within the palace confines, such actions must have at least tacit approval of the King.”

I nodded in agreement with Zilrion when he said this. Now I thought, time to try to get out of here. Thinking that a Stimpsons inorganic alteration ought to work in removing one of the room walls, I began to cast the spell.

Zilrion noticed what I was doing and had just enough time to shout out “Stop Finora...”, before I let the spell fly at the wall opposite me. The effect was not what I had expected. On reaching the wall the spell was reflected back towards me. Shocked, I ducked narrowly avoiding the spells return. Zilrion, hunched in the rooms confines had no such freedom of movement. He let out a loud yelp as the spell grazed his forearm, scorching the skin and then watched in amazement as green grass sprouted from the skin to replace the lost hair.

“Oops, sorry Zilrion. I don't know what happened. It's never done that before.”

Zilrion glared at me. “That's because the room is made from magic proof rock. I see we shall have to work on your education should we ever get out of here. Assuming I am still completely half orc by then.”, he noted, examining his newly pastoral forearm.

Embarrassed at my actions. I lapsed into silence.

Some hours later, I heard a ringing noise. Looking up I saw a small purple tinged portal forming in the center of the room near the ceiling. Through it came a tray with a bowl of food and what looked like a glass of water. Zilrion was evidently expecting this and deftly caught the tray as it appeared in mid air. Placing the tray on the floor of the cell, he beckoned me to eat. “The first tray ended upside down on the floor”, he commented. “Now I know what to expect.”

The food turned out to be boiled turnips and cabbage with rough brown bread, was stodgy but edible. Eating, I considered the portal that had brought the food. Surely there was a way to use it to our advantage? Resolving not to make any more mistakes, I decided to watch the next portal and examine it closely before making any decision.

The next portal came 30 minutes later. This time Zilrion placed the tray and empty dish in it and watched them vanish. Quietly as it had arrived I had cast Morganson's informatical in the hope of determining something of the portals nature. To my relief, the spell indicated that what I had suspected about the portal was true.

Turning to him, I said. “I think I can get us out of here.”

Zilrion regarded me with suspicion. “And how do you intend to accomplish this feat ?”

“I will use the portal that sends the food. I can travel to wherever the portal is initiated from and then use it to free you.”

Zilrion looked unconvinced. “I'm sure they must have thought of someone trying to escape this way. What makes you think it will work any better than your last attempt ?”

Wincing slightly at the implied rebuke, I carried on. “That's true. The portal is keyed to the tray, dish and glass. Nothing else can go through.” Seeing him begin to comment, I held up my hand. “But there is a small loophole. The space inside the dish and glass is transported as well, so as to remove any leftover food from this room. If I can get small enough I can hide in the dish and go through.”

Considering the possibility, Zilrion was silent for a few moments. “It might work”, he conceded. “Just be careful when you shrink yourself. If you're not careful, there will be nothing left. You know the risks with those spells.”

“I'm touched with your concern.” I said smiling, “but I'm sure I'll survive long enough to turn your grass back into hair.”

Zilrion laughed. “I'll pass for the moment, thanks. Save your magic for the guards.”

We waited what seemed like an age for the next meal to arrive. Finally it appeared and We took care to completely finish all the food in the bowl. Casting a reduce spell I shrunk down small enough so that I could curl up in the bowl. Zilrion then covered me with his handkerchief before placing a thin layer of the food on top to disguise my presence. When the next portal came. I felt myself being lifted up with the tray. Taking a deep breath I waited for the feeling of dislocation that comes with portal travel.

Seconds later I felt my body twist as the trays contents shot through the portal and out into a different space. Suddenly could hear voices. Slowly raising the edge of the handkerchief I looked out into the room.

The bowl was sitting on some kind of table near the center of the room. Towards one side was another table with two guards seated at it, playing some kind of game using a stack of blue pieces each of them had. Over the other side of the room. I could hear, but not see what sounded like a third guard. Hearing footsteps approaching, I ducked down into the bowl again.

“Hey they didn't eat their food. Ah well more for us.”

I felt an object push down on the handkerchief and knew this was it. Turning I lobbed a particularly nasty illusion at my would be devourer and heard him gurgle as he clutched at his throat. Pushing free and out of the bowl I saw the other two guards staring in astonishment at their colleague who was by this time turning a deep purple color. Crafting a mass illusion of infant bliss, I watched the other two guards drop to the floor and lie on their backs gurgling happily. Behind me there was a thump as the third guard passed out from his own efforts and collapsed.

Flying over to the door I looked down the corridor. The door was too big for me to push shut in my current state so I set a trap spell at the entrance and returned to the table to work out how the portal functioned. After some examination, it seemed like the portal could be adjusted to admit Zilrion. I began to work on the incantations, hoping for enough time to finish them. Twenty minutes later I was almost to the point when I could try it when I heard footsteps.

“Oh not again”, I thought, just as I heard the trap spell detonate to cries of surprise and pain. Hurriedly I activated the portal. My modifications had caused it to enlarge sufficiently to let a normal size creature through. Diving into it I emerged back in the cell and a slightly surprised Zilrion.

“Quick, dive through the portal.”

Zilrion needed no further encouragement. Moments later we were both in the guardroom. By the look of things, the situation hadn't improved since I had left seconds before. Two more guards lay near the door, victims of the trap spell. A further two were in the room swords drawn, looking for their attacker. Zilrion, his temper uneven from hours of forced confinement, went for them with a feral growl. Snatching one head in each of his huge hands, he brought them together with a thump I was sure could be heard throughout the palace complex. The guards collapsed in a heap.

Turning to me he flexed his neck muscles which gave an audible crack. “That's better. I was not impressed with the prison accommodations. Such small cells, why it's positively uncivilized. Now change yourself back to your normal size, there's a good faery, and we'll go and find the others.”

Retrieving all the guards keys, while I reversed the shrinkage spell, Zilrion verified they were all incapacitated. Noticing the two guards lying on the floor gurgling happily, he glanced at me.

“On second thoughts I don't want to know what you did. Mind you, they seem to be the happiest people in the room”.

Locking the door we started carefully down the corridor. Carefully we checked the other rooms opening from the corridor. All were empty and seemed little used. Finally reaching the door at the corridors end, Zilrion opened it slowly to look before quickly shutting it again.

“It's the blasted parade ground with about 30 soldiers doing archery training.” We'll be cut down before we're halfway across if we go out there now. Not to mention the chances of someone raising the alarm.”

I nodded, “Agreed, we'd better wait for them to finish.”

So we sat behind the door for listening to the occasional twang of a bow. It was all quite restful and I was starting to relax to the sounds of the archery practice, when I heard a shout from the soldiers punctuated by several loud thumps. Curious, we opened the door again. Outside was now a chaos of shouting and bodies. It seemed that someone had taken up position at the entrance to the the parade ground and using the cover afforded by a low wall, was taking out the soldiers using astonishingly accurate archery. Already at least 10 of them were either dead or wounded. The remaining soldiers had taken what ever cover was available and were returning fire.

“Now is our chance Finora. Stay behind be me and we'll clear the rest of them out in no time.”

Zilrion heaved his whole weight behind the door. Grunting, he wrenched the entire door from it's mountings and charged towards one group of archers. One of them, turned to see what must have looked like the door moving by it's own motive power and shouted a warning. But by then it was too late. Zilrion at full speed ploughed into the group, smashing men like so many skittles as the heavy door hit them. Fluttering behind him I spied another group some way off and summoned up an illusory fireball to disrupt them. The result was rather effective, scattering screaming soldiers in all directions as they clutched and swat at the imaginary flames consuming them, before slumping to the ground. The last blow in the battle came from our as yet unknown helper as a single arrow hit the last soldier square in the chest, pinioning him backwards to the ground.

The silence contrasted the frenetic battle of moments before. Our mystery archer stood, revealing himself as slightly built and probably of mixed human/elf ancestry. Cautiously he walked towards us, bow still taut with an arrow notched.

“To whom do I owe the honor of meeting across this field of battle?“, the stranger called out.

“Finora Kochin and Zilrion Hazardous, both of Soldiers of Fortune. We are looking for our comrades who have been captured and are being held here against their will.”, I replied.

With our reply, the stranger lowered his bow although he still remained tense ready to respond to any new threat.

“I am Dilzeron also of Soldiers of Fortune, at your service.” he said simply. “I received word that Masters Eldarion and Luin Nengwi were to be found here and to meet with them. What I had not expected was the less then friendly reception upon my arrival.”

“You are not the only one to be surprised.”, commented Zilrion. “The tale is stranger than even it first appears.”, and he proceeded to tell our new companion the events leading up to our imprisonment.

Dilzeron's face darkened as he heard the story. “To be sure there are some forces beyond our reckoning at work. Let us resolve the situation to our favor.”

To be continued

[Edited on 10/1/2004 by Fhman]

[TheHazzard]

Wow Finora another chapter, yay.
*starts reading*

edit: yay read it now... well I love this chapter ^^ but u hit me with a spell :P

[Edited on 28/7/2003 by TheHazzard]

[Fhman]

Chapter 10

Armorion Returns

After the parade ground battle, we carefully checked the rest of the guard complex. There were two reasons for the search. First we had to be sure there were no guards left in a condition that they could warn the palace and secondly Dilzeron felt there was a good chance that some of our Soldiers of Fortune companions were also imprisoned here.

This idea seemed plausible so we spent the next hour carefully searching the remaining rooms. Dilzeron's hunch was proved correct when we came upon a room in which I detected a similar portal to the one we had escaped through. After modifying it in the same way as the previous one, I stepped through to find Denieru and Shazi cramped into a cell not much larger than the one Zilrion and I had been confined to. Noticing the frosty silence between the two of them I suggested they might want to leave and stretch their legs which they were happy to do.

Outside the confines of the cell, Shazi's mood brightened a bit and he roamed around the room looking for things to loot while listening to Zilrion retell the story of our escape and meeting with Dilzeron.

Denieru turned to me. “I am grateful to you Finora, for releasing us from that enforced confinement. Being forced to remain in such a small space and observe Shazi's bodily functions in close detail was very wearing.”

“Speak for yourself, yours smelled worse”, shouted Shazi from the far corner of the room, as he searched carefully inside one of the cupboards.

“Yes well perhaps the less said the better”, said Denieru his face darkening slightly. “I am curious however, about what happened on the balcony after dinner. What kind of poison did they deceive us with ?”

“You didn't detect anything, even in the water we drunk out there ?” I asked.

“Nothing at all. It is most frustrating. On analysis in the cell I found the residue of the sleeping poison that had been introduced to my body, but not it's means of transport there.”

Dilzeron interrupted. “This discussion should wait for another time. Our guild masters are still missing, and the remains of the battle here will be discovered soon.”

Recognizing the urgency we concluded our search but could find no trace of Eldarion or Luin Nengwi. “They must be being held somewhere else in the palace.” I suggested.

“I can try a scrying spell to search for them”, said Denieru. “But first we must find a secure base for our operations, for scrying takes some time to prepare.”

Dilzeron nodded. “Agreed, and I know just the place, which I passed on my way here.”

Following Dilzeron's lead we made our way out of the guard barracks and away from the palace complex. Presently we came upon a fairly nondescript grouping of wooden huts set in the gardens surrounding the palace. Each was maybe 20 foot by 10 built of roughly shaped timber planks and capped with a thatched roof. Stopping at one of them, Div pulled the door open to reveal the dark interior. We made our way inside, Denieru striking up a small magical illumination as we did so. The interior was mostly bare save for a few rusty gardening tools hung on the wall. The floor was a crude mixture of dirt and straw. Denieru, surveying the interior, wrinkling his nose as he did as though even the air of the place offended him.

“I'm sure we can find somewhere better than this...” he commented before Dilzeron motioned for us to be silent.

“All is not as it seems” he said with a slight ironic smile. He reached over to one of the tools hanging on the wall and twisted it slightly. There was a barely audible click and then with a near silent fluid motion a 4 foot square section of the floor rose up, revealing a supporting frame beneath and an entrance.

Dilzeron motioned to the entrance. “I found it when I was scouting earlier”.

I was puzzled as to how you found such things in so unlikely a spot. So I asked him how he had come to detect it's presence, given how well it was hidden.

Dilzeron flashed his slight smile again. “It was a simple thing really. The air smelled different. It was not the normal smell of air in a hut like this so I knew that there must exist a hidden area.”

I sniffed the air in a spirit of investigation. It smelt of gardening huts and straw. I was pretty sure I couldn't smell a secret room even knowing that one was there. Marveling at the skills of my new companion, I followed the others into the darkness of the entrance. Steps led down a narrow stone tunnel. Abruptly at the bottom, the tunnel opened out into a stone walled room. It was sparsely furnished with a large table in the center, circled with about twelve chairs. Off to one side there seemed to be a small pantry with dried provisions and a small well. Overall it seemed well suited for the purpose of holding secret meetings and hiding out.

Sitting on the edge of the table I relaxed for a while. The others were doing likewise. Then the stirrings of boredom started to creep in so I flew over to Denieru who seemed to be working on something. As I approached he motioned me to sit.

“Ah Finora, since you're bored I have a task I need you to perform.” Before I could ask how he knew I was bored, Denieru continued “Go and make a small magic circle to surround me. Nothing fanciful is required, just a simple circle of magical protection to shield you and the others from any untoward effects of the scrying.”

To be honest I failed to see how such protection was needed for a simple scrying spell. I was about to question him further, but then thought better of it. Grumbling softly to myself I flew around Denieru in a small orbit until the incantation was complete. Now Denieru was separated from the rest of us by a slightly shimmering barrier that hung weightlessly in the air. Denieru glanced up briefly from his preparations and nodded slightly at what he saw.

“That's exactly what I needed Finora, although I request that next time you refrain from including star flashes in your circle. They are unneccesary and gaudy.”

Seeing Denieru's annoyance, Shazi let out a guffaw. “But I like the way they sparkle”, I protested.

Denieru sighed, drawing himself up to to his full height. “I suppose it's the price I pay for leaving the realm of my countrymen and dabbling in the affairs of the world.” He returned to his work, silent in his complete concentration.

After perhaps an hour of silence, I began to hear a low whistling sound. Looking up I saw Denieru glowing gently as he presumably bestrode the dimensions with his mind looking for the telltale signs of Eldarion and Luin Nengwi. I could see the concentration etched on his proud forehead as he searched. Suddenly, the low whistle turned into a screech. Everyone jumped at the sound and turned to see the cause. I looked and saw Denieru still within the circle only now he was being buffeted by monstrous air currents from I knew not where. As I watched one of the gusts ripped some stone tiles out of the floor, hurling them at Denieru with murderous force. Whether by instinct or good timing, he dodged these missiles which then dissipated themselves to dust against the magical barrier. Again and again the wind tore at the floor sending more death spinning towards him. Denieru was a blur of motion as he twisted and turned to combat the attack. Then with a final howl the wind was gone and he was alone.

Shazi was for once almost lost for words. He gazed, slack jawed at the source of destruction. “I don't suppose”, he said finally, “that it was meant to do that.”

Denieru motioned for me to drop the magical barrier. He walked over towards us, unsteady in his gait and breathing heavily. As he got closer I could see tears in his robe and cloak as well as bleeding gash on his left cheek. Pausing for breath he sat on one of the chairs. After a time his breathing became a little less labored.

“That”, he panted, “was a slightly more vigorous welcome than I had expected.”

Shazi, having recovered his voice interrupted. “So did you find them or not ?”

“Oh yes my impatient companion, I found them, or at least a good indication of their location. Unfortunately that which was guarding them found me also.”

“What was it ?” I asked

“I'm not exactly sure. Probably something that normally lives in the dimensions used for scrying. I was unable to see it's face I could only feel it's unending fury.”

“So we have to fight that thing to get to Luin Nengwi and Eldarion ?” asked Shazi, as he absently stroked the hilt of one of his swords.

“No I think not. It likely can only exist in those dimensions and cannot trouble us within the four dimensions you normally call Ganareth. Even so we must be on our guard for they are sure to have employed other means to guard our leaders.”

With those words we relaxed a bit. However I suspected, fancifully perhaps, that Shazi looked just a little disappointed. Dilzeron pulled out a large scale map of Falstag from his backpack and unrolled it on the table.

“Show us where you think they are” he said grimly.

Denieru pointed to the Northwest corner of the palace. “I sense them there, some way underground. I regret though I was unable to penetrate into the room they were held in. I suspect that it, like our cells, is in some way proofed against magic.”

Together we made a plan for how we would get to the palace room and what we would do when we got there. I must confess to being more apprehensive than when we were hunting the dragon. Back then the dragon had been just an abstract idea in my mind. This however seemed very real given what we had fought just to escape. And now we were going back into the very center of our enemy. Denieru's brush with the unseen entity also disturbed me. Likely it had been summoned by someone or something holding great power, who would be doing their best to destroy us.

As night fell, we emerged from our hiding place and headed towards the palace. Dilzeron and Shazi took point positions for scouting while the rest of us traveled together. Getting into the palace was surprisingly easy. I cast a mass invisibility magic on the group and we slipped quietly past the guards and into the palace complex. Slowly we worked our way Northwest, going deeper into the lower levels of the palace as we did so. Thanks to our scouts we rarely saw any guards and were able to quietly pass the ones we did encounter.

Finally we approached the room where Denieru believed that Eldarion and Luin Nengwi were being held. Two guards were stationed outside the door. Other than the door being constructed from the black magic proof stone, nothing else indicated that the room beyond was in anyway different from countless others in this part of the palace. Dilzeron and Shazi quickly and noiselessly dispatched the guards before trying to open the door.

It was locked. The guards had no keys that fitted the lock, so Shazi spent the next fifteen minutes trying in vain to pick it. Admitting defeat, Shazi scratched his head

“I don't understand it, there seems to be some special tumbler that won't yield. It's almost as if it knew what I was trying to do.”

Denieru looked at the door. “Well Magic will have no effect against such a door so constructed. I cannot help you to open it.”

Zilrion smiled broadly at our resignation. “Well look at all of you, stopped by a little stone door. I'll find a way in for you, although I need the help of you Finora and Denieru”.

It was a breathtaking simple idea. While Denieru transformed the bodies of the two dead guards from soft flesh into solid iron, my incantation enlarged Zilrion until his head almost touched the ceiling of the passage. Bending down he grabbed the iron bodies of the guards, placing one under each arm before backing thirty paces down the passage away from the door. Quickly we all moved out of the way as he began his run, thundering down the passage towards the door. As he hit it with the two iron bodies there was a tremendous crash and the door developed a huge crack across it's surface. Zilrion backed up and began a second run at the door, this time sending it spinning in two pieces into the room beyond.

Growling at his effort, Zilrion pushed through the doorway with the rest of us trailing in his wake. Inside the room the sole furnishing was a table and two chairs. Of more interest was our two lost guild leaders who were shackled and chained at their ankles and wrists. The chains were also made from the magic proof stone and were anchored to tightly to the wall. Eldarion and Luin Nengwi were also gagged with rough hessian cloth, presumably to prevent them using magic.

Shazi wasted no time in removing the gags and shackles, whose locks seemed to be less resistant to his skills than the door had been. Eldarion was the first to speak as he took in his sudden release.

“We need to get out of here fast, Zilrion and Finora guard the doorway. We don't want any interruptions for a minute or two while we prepare a portal.”

I fluttered over to the doorway to join the oversized Zilrion. To my relief the corridor was clear with no guards in sight.

“Good try soldiers. Predictable but amusing to watch.”

The sound of Armorion's voice caused me to turn in surprise. There at the far end of the room, stood Armorion although how he came to be there I was unable to say. At least it looked like Armorion. The voice seemed to be edged with something infinitely older and crueler, like the sound of ice cracking in the tomb of someone long dead.

Dilzeron and Shazi were the quickest to react as their arrows quickly cleaved the air towards Armorion before passing straight through him to impact on the wall behind.

Armorion laughed. “I would have greeted you in person, if I'd thought my welcome would have been warmer. However despite your rudeness I have welcome a gift for you. Now that the last of member your council has seen fit to heroically rescue you, I have no need to detain you any longer. I wish you all pleasant journeys.”

On the table a small light colored crystal appeared and started to spin, slowly at first but rapidly picking up speed.

Luin Nengwi looked alarmed when he saw the crystal. “It's a dimensional lattice snare, everybody run”, he shouted.

Just then the crystal began to pulse with a dirty yellow light as Luin Nengwi and the others began to run away towards the door. As the crystal continued to pulse, their movement became slower and slower as though they were running up a steep hill. Denieru was the first to slip back as he was closest to the crystal. Helplessly I watched as each one of them was first brought to a standstill and then fell back towards the crystal. As each person hit it there was a flash of light and they vanished.

All this had occurred in in the space of a few seconds and now I could the force of the crystal tugging roughly at me. I grabbed onto Zilrion as tightly as I could.

“Zilrion, perhaps we should get out here”, I shouted. Zilrion needed no further encouragement and tried to walk against the crystals force. His face strained in effort as he used all the strength in his legs as well as gripping the edges of the door frame with his hands. But the force kept building like some strange magnetic attraction. I could feel my grip on Zilrion, being relentlessly peeled away before I fell helpless towards the crystal and into the light. The last thing I saw as I fell was Zilrion loosing his grip on the door and following my trajectory into...

The gray featureless plane spread out in all directions as far as could be seen. I turned to Luin Nengwi.

“Well where in the world are we ?”

Luin Nengwi gave me a grim smile as Zilrion appeared out of nothing to complete our group.

“You remember the warning Eldarion gave you about teleporting into places of which you have no knowledge. Well here is just such a place and if I'm not mistaken we are intended to be an interesting and tasty diversion for the creatures who live here.”

“So why can't we just teleport out of here back to somewhere we know ?”

“But that it were that easy Finora.” said Eldarion. “We can only teleport out when we know where we are. Otherwise the teleport spell is useless at best and dangerous at worst. If we have no starting reference point we would likely as not teleport into a void and suffocate or worse into the heart of a demons realm or other more unwelcoming place.”

Just then a howl not made by any creature on the face of Ganareth, caught our ears.

Denieru spoke.“Something tells me that finding the location of our new resting place will prove an interesting diversion from the mundane. Let us start before the creature decides our course of action for us”.

To be continued

[Edited on 10/1/2004 by Fhman]

[CommanderDelta]

w00t....

/me claps his hands

again a chapter of the best story evah.... way better then discworld. |

/me slaps Terry Pratchett.

But could we plz skip the rest and go to the part where i met this beautiful princess? :)

[sivitri]

Wow...... nice big chapter nut i had to strain my eyes to see it....
:casstet:
hmm.... i dont know how to continue.... eh...... :casstet:

[Denieru]

WoW! ...wow... *sigh* ..wow..

You´ve captured each character so well it´s scary. Denieru is everything I imagine him to be and Delta, Bluenose, Shazi, Divzero and Zilrion are portrayed with such eloquence they feel like real living characters, which they are. ;)

Your story has brought us through many perils, but perhaps this new one will be the most dangerous of them all. Trapped in a strange and hostile dimension, I can´t imagine what will happen next. And that is why I can´t wait to read the next chapter and find out what happens next.. you will make us all age in advance for keeping us in suspence like this all the time!

[Shazi]

Humm, why u have to stop writing when things gets so goddam interesting :P (me wanna kill big dimensional monster!!)


*eyes Denieru*

If anyone is not alive here it's you mr "never-seen-the-sun" elf :P


Btw, did i find anything? any gems? any money? Shazisnacks??? :P

[Fhman]

Large evil extradimensional monsters are on the todo list ;)

Oh and while searching the cupboards in the guardroom you found two slightly mouldy biscuits....

[Kellare]

great read *Checks closet for monsters*

[Aran]

Ermm.. Finora,
this is better than any Forgotten Realms book i've read!
Congratulations
I stand amazed! I even consider joining SoF just in the case you will write about me too^^
You allready got a book there hun, put it on a webpage along with Divs excellent artwork and senf e-mails to publishers.
If u aint a writer yet -BE one!
*claps hands too*
WD again! :)

btw, bluenose reminds me of another name.... hmmm.... *wonders*

[Fhman]

Chapter 11

A short interlude in Oblivion

Infinity can be very boring. That was the conclusion I came to within the first two hours of being stuck wherever we were. According to Eldarion this plane of existence was in fact infinite or as near as made no difference. As we trudged over mile upon mile of the featureless, endless gray landscape, I found myself wishing he was wrong.

My Faery sized attention span meant that I felt the nothingness more keenly than the rest of my companions (or at least I assumed I did). I almost found myself wishing for one of the inhabitants which we had heard but not seen, to appear an give us some purpose, some raison de etre, to dispel the void.

No day or night existed in this place, only a constant twilight. We stopped and rested when we were tired or hungry. These stops formed the only punctuation in our progress to somewhere, although where the somewhere was, none of us was sure. We traveled in a straight line, guided by a spell from Denieru intended for navigation in such a place. At least I hoped it was a straight line, for there were no landmarks on the ground nor stars in the sky to verify our progress. Another spell was similarly in place to mark the passage of the hours, for just as the landscape bore no witness to our location, so the absence of a sun robbed us of our normal sense of time.

After maybe 7 or 8 days of travel, we found we were being followed. Shazi and Dilzeron were the first to notice. It was barely discernible and only with some careful pointing from Shazi, was I able to discern a faint dot on the horizon. I would have normally dismissed it as an atmospheric aberration, a mirage. But there were no such air currents here, all was perfectly still and we could see clearly in every direction until the slight curvature the ground caused it to disappear from sight.

We stopped for a time to see if who or whatever was following would come closer. But it seemed to sense our movement and remained a dot, never getting larger or smaller. Shazi and Zilrion were in favor of approaching it to force some kind of confrontation, but Luin Nengwi cautioned against it.

“It may well be an intended taunt to draw us to it. We know precious little of the creatures here and in my view approaching it may be an incautious way to learn more.”

The rest of us agreed with Luin Nengwi although you could see that Shazi was still for determining our distant shadow. Perhaps he chafed against the fact that someone or something else was the one tracking him for a change.

In any event, Shazi found something else to lavish his attention upon. Gradually over the curve of the horizon displayed what looked like the start of some different terrain. The ground became much more broken and uneven with loose rocks strewn across the landscape. Progress here was slower and the footing less secure. We were perhaps a day into this new landscape when we came across a large conical mound made from rocks piled on top of each other. Such was the size and height of it that it was visible from over twenty miles away. We approached carefully, after all it seemed very unlikely that such thing should exist in such an alien place without someone or something having built it. Shazi and Dilzeron carefully checked over the mound, but could find nothing special about it other than it had been built by someone. We decided not to rest there in case other creatures were attracted to it.

As we made to leave, Zilrion tripped over what seemed like a loose stone. Suddenly the whole section of the ground gave way and we were falling towards blackness. Trapped in the hood of Luin Nengwi's cloak by the material and the roaring air currents all I could do was watch as the blackness approached....


I was home at last. A feeling of total peace washed over me as I felt my soul's joy at returning to it's true home after so many years. All around me the unstruck melody, the form work of all creation sounded pure and clear. Weightless and free from the cares of the material I floated letting the music flow through me in a continuous tide of joy.

Eons of time washed over me as I watched universes flaring into being, living and dying in time with my heartbeat. The secrets of their existence were now like an open book to me and I the avid reader was enthralled.

Before my eyes the material creation expanded to it's fullest extent like some exquisite flower reaching for the sun before it's petals once again folded back on themselves and into the symmetry of oblivion. My heart beat marked more eons in that ocean of time before a brilliant new flower of creation burst forth again in all it's radiance.

A stray thought tugged at the edge of my consciousness, an orphan with no obvious parent. Why would my heart beat in such a place ? My body was long since discarded before I reached here. Then the feeling of bliss and enthrallment broke like a wave over me and I flowed away. A small eternity later the orphan returned to me and this time it had a voice.

“Finora you know this isn't right. Look inside yourself and see the deception.” the voice insisted to me. Another memory stirred within me striving to put a name to the voice.

The wave of rapture crashed around me again, but this time I clung to the rock of that thought and the wave subsided leaving me clear headed. All at once I could feel the hardness of a floor and the stiffness of my body. The shock caused me to take a huge breath that rasped painfully in my throat.

“Steady there”, came the voice again. “Don't move until I tell you to.”

Feeling was gradually coming back to my body, not all of it pleasant. Now I began to feel something clamped tightly around left arm and shoulder. I tried to move my arm and heard hiss and a searing pain in my head and neck as I did so.

“I told you not to move.” The voice came again tinged with frustration and annoyance. “If you struggle you will be dead long before you can break free. Stay still and focused, the symbiont will disengage on it's own.”

I didn't like the sound of that at all, but the voice was insistent so I remained still. After a few minutes I felt the thing gripping my arm begin to move. At the same time the searing pain in my head and neck returned, more intense than before. Lights flashed before my eyes as I clenched my teeth against the pain. The pain steadily built upon itself reaching a crescendo of intensity as the lights in my mind blazed with furnace like brightness and my ears with hissing white noise.

Then suddenly it subsided like a wave from the high water mark of the beach and the thing that had gripped me so tightly moments before, was gone. In it's place I could hear strange scratching, scrabbling noises off to my left. Now able to open my eyes for the first time I was startled to see Denieru stepping into the dimly lit room where I was lying. Before I could say anything, two bright flashes shot from his outstretched hands. I heard a sharp crackling sound as the magics hit something, although from where I lay I couldn't see the target. Denieru walked over to where his attack had landed and after a few moments survey, turned back to me.

“Ah Finora, I'm glad to see you remain alive despite your best attempts to cause the symbiont to dispatch you.”

Seeing my confused expression, he paused for a second and then asked.

“What do you remember before you found yourself here?”

“I remember the mound and the pit. Then nothing but bliss, or at least I thought so. I really thought Kal Niranjan had finally let me go home. It was so peaceful but then...” I stopped, trying to remember the moment when everything had changed. “But then I felt my heartbeat and somehow I knew it wasn't right. Then I heard your voice and I woke up here.”

Denieru gave me an expression that was as close to a smile as he allowed himself.

“I suspected as much. But first let me explain. We have been captured by a tribe of symbiotic creatures. As with all symbionts they are two creatures who live together in mutual support. One is a large powerful creature who's speed and strength is useful to help gather prey. The smaller creature is the intelligence behind the pairing and is the creature who was feeding upon you just now.

That creature has a very particular diet. It feeds on the living brain tissue of it's prey. In order to keep it's prey under control, it projects into the mind, illusions which deceive the victim into believing they have fulfilled and are living their hearts desires. Unfortunately for the creature, in your case it was unable to give you the perfection you seek and so I was able to reach you and help break the illusion.”

This explanation caused a whirling of thoughts in my mind. It was so fantastical and yet I had never seen Denieru joke about anything let alone deceive his companions, so it had to be true. Stiffly I got to my feet. As I did so I could feel something wet trickling down my neck. Wiping my hand over it I saw to my horror that it was blood.

“The entry point for the creature.” commented Denieru. “It enters through the skin into the jugular vein and thence to the brain by way major blood vessels. The wound will heal in time and is no worse than I experienced.” With that he pulled aside the collar of his tunic to reveal a single livid puncture wound on the left side of his neck. I had nothing to bandage the wound so I tore a small strip of cloth from lining of my dress, noting sadly how dirty and frayed it was becoming.

“How long has it been since we were captured ?”

“I believe we were taken some 3 days ago, according to the record of my timekeeping spell.”

“And how did you manage to escape the illusion without any help ?”

Denieru sighed heavily. “So many questions from one so recently rescued from oblivion. Well if you must know it was the fault of the illusion the creature chose for me. In the illusion I was in my laboratory, performing all the experiments I have forsaken in order to meddle in the affairs of mortals.”

I was puzzled. “I don't see how that would have caused you to see it as false ?”

Denieru gave a wan smile. “No the setting didn't, it was perfect. The problem was all my experiments kept succeeding. Not one of them failed, even the really speculative ones. When that happened I knew it must be a dream.”

I stifled a half developed laugh as he told me this. Trust Denieru to find fault with perfection I thought.

“And the others?” I asked hopeful that we were not the only two awake.

“That, Finora is our next destination, and one for which I will need your help.”

We made our way to the door of the room. At Denieru's request I cast invisibility as well as sound and smell masking spells. Apparently the larger creatures were extremely sensitive to such things. Suitably hidden we cautiously ventured outside.

We were in a small village composed of roughly built stone huts similar to the one we had just stepped out of. There were a few creatures standing either in small groups or making their way on some errand or other. The outdoor light afforded me, my first real look at my captors. It was as Denieru had described, but seeing it in the flesh was worse.

The larger of the symbiont creatures were perhaps two heads taller than Denieru but much more broadly built. They were roughly troll shaped in proportion, heavily muscled but not excessively so and looked as though they could move quickly if required. Their skin was dark blue almost black. But it was their heads that betrayed their purpose. Although their heads were not out of proportion with their bodies, their mouth's were. Their distended jaw was lined with wicked looking incisors and canines, which made clear what their primary diet was. With thin lips drawn tight against the fangs, the overall effect was that they appeared to be constantly grinning.

The small symbiont creatures rode on the left shoulder of the large creatures. They were a sickly pale green color and looked unpleasantly like over sized fleshy spiders. They had 6 legs and protruding from the front of their bodies a single long tentacle which was held against the sides of the larger creatures heads. They had no eyes that I could see . I supposed they must also rely on the tentacle to relay instructions to their symbiont companion for there was no verbal communication between them.

Keeping our distance from the symbionts , we began to work our way through the village , checking each hut as we went. At least half the huts had several unfortunates lying prone with a symbiont slowly draining their life though a slowly pulsing tentacle. In one hut we inadvertently witnessed the other side of their feeding cycle. We entered to see one of the large creatures standing by a body just as the smaller symbiont disengaged from it. As soon as it had scurried clear, the creature fell on the body ripping away wet red chunks with it's teeth, greedily devouring the flesh.

I shuddered at the spectacle. It was a pitiless rapacious act, hunger brute and simple. We continued our search and after checking more than twenty huts we entered one where I could make out the forms of Shazi, Zilrion and Dilzeron lying together with several other motionless bodies.

I turned to Denieru “What do we do now ?”

“We need to find some edge some error in the illusions the creatures are using to bind our companions. Once they have realized their true situation, the creatures will withdraw from them. Only at that point can we destroy them without causing harm to our three friends.”

“How do you know that?” I asked puzzled by his sweeping knowledge of the symbionts.

Denieru looked down at the floor and just perceptibly shuffled his feet. “I, er, tried removing one or two symbionts by forceful means from their victims. This worked very well but had the unfortunate side effect of causing the victims to expire.”

We started probing the illusions that held them captive. I tried to enter Zilrion's illusion first but try as I might I could not break it free from the creatures control. Admitting defeat I tried Shazi's which if anything was even worse. It also seemed to involve large amounts of food brought by female servants in clothing that was much too slight and transparent for my taste. There too I tried but was unable to find any chink in the totality of the illusion.

I turned to Denieru to see if he had fared any better. As I did so I thought I saw movement on the far side of the room near another entrance door. Turning back I was surprised to see Eldarion and Luin Nengwi enter the room and make their way towards Shazi and the others.

“Ah here they are. Now we just need to find a way to break the illusion.” I heard Eldarion's voice carry over to me. Denieru turned to me, with urgency in his voice. “Quick we must stop them before they alert the symbionts to their presence.”

Unfortunately as he said this, he was interrupted by a piercing squeal from one of the symbionts. It was a terrible sound pitched close to the limit of hearing, leaving the listener under no mistake that this was a cry of distress. We burst out of our shell of invisibility and ran over to where Eldarion and Luin Nengwi were standing.

Eldarion seemed unsurprised by our entrance. “Oh there you are. I wondered where you two had got to.”

The sounds of movement from outside grew louder.

Denieru gave them a look of barely concealed annoyance. “Presumably you have already prepared a detailed plan for dealing with our enemies.”

“Well no not really.” said Luin Nengwi as the first of the large symbionts made it to the doorway. “But I thought we'd give Farvre's Shockball a try. It should be interesting with three of us at once.”

Muttering something about beggars not being choosers, Denieru took up position with his back to Eldarion and Luin Nengwi, roughly equidistant from them and started casting. Somewhat unsure of the likely spell effects I decided not to take any chances and quickly flitted into the hood of Luin Nengwi's cloak. From this vantage point I watched as a stream of creatures converged on us from both doorways of the hut. They got to almost biting distance before the spell effected. Three concentric expanding rings of magical force swept all before them. The nearest attackers were reduced to little more than a thin smear of blood and tissue as the rings raced outwards at tremendous speed, destroying the hut as they did so.

The rings dissipated well beyond the village, having flattened every structure there. However not all the large symbionts were killed. The ones further away from the epicenter, though badly dazed were alive and struggling to their feet. I didn't feel like waiting for them to regain the initiative so I tried a mass illusion which I hoped would keep they at bay until round two started properly. To my surprise, with growls of hatred they fell upon each other tearing themselves to shreds.

After their surprise self destruction, it was a simple job to finish off the last of the survivors. Returning to the epicenter of the battle I glanced down at Shazi, Zilrion and Dilzeron, still comfortably undisturbed and adrift in their illusions by virtue of being inside the circle of the three wizards as they unleashed their destruction.

“So what do we do about these three ?”

“I'm still not sure how to break the symbionts grip on their minds.” answered Luin Nengwi. “But tell me what illusion did you use that caused them to attack each other ?”

“Well I didn't expect that reaction. All I did was cause the illusion that the small symbionts had all gone and abandoned them. I suppose it must have been that influence that prevented them from fighting amongst themselves before.”

“Looks to me that they were lone hunters before the symbiotic relationship developed. They were likely fiercely territorial.” added Eldarion. “But it does give me an idea for how we might wake up Div, and the others.”

Seeing that he had our attention, Eldarion continued. “Well our persuasive little Finora can convince muscular half of the relationship that their partner has forsaken them, why not play the same trick on the brains ?”, and he turned to look at the symbiont that tightly gripped Shazi.

It was such a simple but brilliant idea that even Denieru grudgingly admitted as such. After carefully crafting the illusion I projected it at the spider like symbiont and was gratified to see it release it's grip before chasing after it's imaginary partner before a bolt of lightning from Luin Nengwi ended it's existence. Slowly each of our three dreaming companions returned to us, some more grateful than others.

“Aw why did you have to go and do that.” groaned Shazi. “You wouldn't believe what they were about to serve me and that was just the second course...”

Recalling the inside of Shazi's illusion, I thought that just perhaps I could believe it, but I decided to keep quiet. Nobody likes all of their deepest desires known to others, even their friends.

Gathering up what clothes and blankets we could salvage from the ruins, we continued our punctuated progress to find somewhere. The journey home had never seemed longer.

To be continued

[Edited on 10/1/2004 by Fhman]

[DeLayette]

I find myself checking the boards more often in order to check for your next excerpt. Great work!! Can't wait to see what lies in the future for Finora.

[windwalker]

Still as good,as ever.

all the time running into trouble... :D

[Fhman]

Chapter 12

Circuitously Windward

We left the symbiont village far behind, still traveling according to direction spells guidance. The landscape remained broken although the going was easier than before. I traveled at the front of the party due to the slightly odd smell we now carried with us. Denieru had recovered two of the small symbiont for “later study”. Unfortunately even with a preservation field cast in place around them, the dead creatures gave off a slightly bitter smell which I found unpleasant. Curiously though none of the others claimed to be able to smell anything.

Although tedious and frustrating, our progress was at least less eventful than the past few days events. Shazi and Dilzeron redoubled their scouting efforts in order to avoid any repeat of the trap which found us in the symbionts hands. Dilzeron in particular seemed to take our capture as a personal affront. He would often spend almost the full day roaming far in front of our position returning only briefly for the shortest of rests before setting out again. I marveled at his energy, but Luin Nengwi was concerned.

“I've never seen him this bad. Usually he calms down after a few hours, but this time missing the symbionts trap seems to have really marked him.”

Shazi looked unworried “Aw you know Div, he always pushes himself too hard. Always trying to prove something. I blame his mixed blood. He feels he has to prove himself to both races as well as his parents.

“Me, I feel no such debt to pay. People know my faults and still like me, that's enough.” He belched loudly before turning to Zilrion. “Any more of that soup left ?”

The next day, Dilzeron had not still not returned. After discussing the situation we decided to remain camped and not to continue traveling. Shazi was adamant that Div would be able to find us again easily, but the others were not so convinced. One days wait turned into two and then three days. With the exception of Shazi we felt a growing concern for him. On the fourth day, Shazi, who chafed at the enforced halt, declared that he would go and scout a while to see if he could detect any hint of Dilzeron's passing. He had not been gone more than a few hours when he returned at a run.

“I've noticed some strangers a distance out, traveling by air. We best be ready for them should they prove unfriendly.” He pointed at the a the horizon, where I could just make out two dots in the shimmering distance. Quickly the dots grew until at last we were able to see the nature of the strange party.

There were two what looked like brightly colored balloons, one blue, one purple. Both were roughly cylindrical but tapering towards each end giving them a sleeker look. Slung underneath each balloon was a gondola big enough for probably 6 people. Currently there were two people in the nearest balloon and but a single person in the other.

As they came closer I could see that the balloons had faces on them and two small fins on each side as well as a much larger fin at the back which beat slowly seeming to provide the means of forward motion. Closer still and I could see that one of the figures in the lead balloon was Dilzeron. The other figure looked much smaller and thinner with pale skin.

I saw other details too. Ropes tied to the front pair of fins ran to the front of the gondola where they were held by the thin stranger. They looked like reins for steering, but how did they work I wondered? My question was quickly answered when a deep resonating “Froooooooook” sound came from the first balloon. Suddenly I realized the face on the balloon wasn't painted. The balloon was alive. A huge toothless mouth gaped wide as the balloon gave another “Froooooooook” noise. Either side of the mouth was an eye about the size of a large dinner plate which I could now see moving around as it took in the details before it.

I wasn't the only one surprised. Our three normally unflappable wizards were just as amazed as I was judging by their expressions. Even Denieru seemed to be shocked at the existence of such creatures. The balloon creatures slowed as they approached us until they came to a stop, floating with the gondolas about sixty feet above us. Dilzeron looked over the side of the Gondola and waved to us. He looked far happier than I had ever seen him previously.

“Well how do you find our new transport ?”, he shouted.

Eldarion, finally recovering some of his poise did not reply but instead began walking underneath the balloon creature towards it's tail, his head bent back as he took in the details of the creature. All the while he seemed to be muttering to himself in amazement.

Dilzeron shouted down to us. “We're going to land now, so I would not stand anywhere near the back of the creature. You might get more than you intended.”

I didn't understand what he meant by his last statement and and everyone else was still lost in their examination of the creature. Moments later what Div had meant became all too clear. The balloon creature let out a booming “Fraaaaaaaaaak” noise, and then there was a loud hiss as a billowing cloud of white gas shot from a vent near the rear of it's underside. Most of the gas (which seemed much lighter than air), fortunately went upwards around the sides of the creature and into the sky. Some of the gas did make it to ground level, enveloping Eldarion, whom we could hear coughing violently.

We watched as the gas rapidly dissipated upwards to leave a slightly green looking Eldarion sitting on the ground with a glazed expression on his face.

Luin Nengwi carefully sniffed the air. “Interesting, slightly sulfurous aroma there.” he remarked. “I'm not sure I've smelled anything quite that potent since the evening after Shazi drank 10 tankards of Throgmorton's troll strength ale to wash down the cabbage stew he'd eaten.”

Shazi looked offended. “It was your choice that we all share the same room at the inn to save money. I told you it was a bad idea, but you wouldn't listen.”

Luin Nengwi grimaced. “Yes I realized that night that money isn't everything. Being able to breath without a burning sensation in your lungs is far more important.”

As we were talking the balloon and gondola had slowly drifted lower until the gondola gently bumped onto the ground. Dilzeron and the gondola driver got out and walked towards us. From ground level, the drivers origin was clearer. His facial features and build marked him as gnome although his skin seemed much paler than normal. Thinking for a few moments I realized the permanent twilight in this place would limit anyones opportunities sunbathing and with that in mind his skins pallor simply marked him as a long term resident.

Dilzeron introduced him. “This is Gronark. He's one of the chief engineers from the settlement I discovered”.

Gronark give a small clipped bow towards us and then in an equally clipped accent he said “Meeting good. Dilzeron explain. You travel far to here.”

I smiled at that last statement. “Yes I suppose that would be one way to describe it.”

Gronark continued. “Committee send welcome party. We like new faces. New faces bring new knowledge.” He turned and gestured towards the gondola. By now the second gondola had touched down next to the first, the two balloon creatures side by side.

“We send fastest hippoblimps in fleet for you. Journey not take long.” He motioned to us to get aboard the gondolas. I looked up at the two hippoblimp creatures floating above us. They seemed happy to see each other. They bumped against each other softly, rolled their eyes and made frootling noises. Their small side fins flapped rapidly back and forth as they bumped around.

Seeing my interest, Gronark volunteered “They glad as two. He daddy hippoblimp and other be mummy.”, pointing first to the blue hippoblimp and then the purple one.

I boarded the first gondola with Luin Nengwi and Dilzeron. Shazi, Zilrion and Denieru got on board the second. As we boarded I noticed that Eldarion was still sitting on the ground gazing into space with a big smile on his face. His color however had improved, the previous green tinge had faded quickly. I nudged Luin Nengwi on the side of his head.

“What about him ?”

Gronark, following our gaze seemed to notice Eldarion for the first time. “Oh I fix.”, he shouted out as he hurried over to where Eldarion sat. With one smooth movement he scooped Eldarion up in his arms, causing Eldarion to giggle slightly, and carried him back to the gondola.

“Strong fellows for their size.” commented Luin Nengwi. “You need it to assemble some of those odd machines they keep dreaming up. Let us hope one of their machines actually knows where we are, although I doubt that will be the case.”

With a softly giggling Eldarion safely wedged in a corner of the gondola, Gronark returned to the driving position. Feeling some concern for Eldarion's condition I asked Gronark if he would recover. Hearing my question he gave a short barking laugh.

“Yes she who sparkles small. He fine some time soon. Hippoblimp lift gas make nice happiness. But bad for thinking.”

He tugged on one of the reins that were attached to the front of the gondola. The other ends on the reins couldn't be seen from where we stood as they disappeared around the curvaceous bulge of the hippoblimp's underside. Whatever message the pull conveyed it was in a language the hippoblimp understood. Another deeply resonant “Froooooooook” sound came from the creature above us. This close I could feel the sound deep within my own body as it vibrated in step with the note. It's body seemed to expand as it started breathing in huge quantities of air. After several minutes or so of this heavy breathing we began to rise, slowly at first and then quicker as we gained several hundreds of feet in altitude.

Beating it's huge tail , the hippoblimp began to push forward through the air. We gathered speed and soon we moved over the landscape many times faster than a man could run. I made myself comfortable in the hood of Luin Nengwis cloak, allowing his head to act as a windbreak, for the draft from our motion buffeted my small body much more than was comfortable.

From this relatively wind free vantage point, I watched the scenery for a while before trying to talk to Dilzeron. I asked him more about his unusual new companions. But the wind kept whipping the sound away and I had to shout even to get his attention. Shouting at each other I managed to find out that by accident he had encountered a hippoblimp and it's driver loading an ore cargo from one of the mines that was situated near our route. He had ridden with them to the gnome's town and persuaded them to help us. Shouting questions drained me quickly and I fell silent despite wanting to know more about them.

We traveled in silence for the next few hours save for the sound of the wind as the hippoblimp cut it's rapid swath through the air. Eldarion slowly returned to normal as we traveled. Slowly his smile faded until abruptly got up and stood as though nothing unusual had happened. I shouted over to him asking him how he felt.

“Happy, I've never felt so good”, was his reply. He saw my bemused expression and added “Really Finora, aside from the smell the gas relaxed me no end. I'm ready for some real action now.”

That sounded exactly like the old Eldarion I thought. So no need for concern there except for what his real action might entail. I had a feeling it would involve large numbers of enemies whose sole aim was to rend us into small non living pieces. Smiling to myself I gave a mental shrug. I didn't end up here for a quiet life. Kal Niranjan had seen to that.

About forty minutes later Luin Nengwi started and shouted to Dilzeron, pointing at the horizon. Putting my face out into the slipstream I looked in the direction he had pointed. With my eyes watering in the wind I could just make out the forms of a buildings hugging close to the horizon. Not long after I felt the hippoblimp start to slow as we approached. As soon as we had slowed enough I flew clear of my resting spot and hovered alongside the gondola to get a good look at our destination.

Alongside me the hippoblimps frooked, vented lift gas and slowly sank towards an area of flat ground near the center of the settlement. Looking at the extent of the place it seemed that several thousand persons must call this their home. The building style was quite utilitarian in keeping with the gnomes dislike of anything ostentatious, ornate or the worst sin of all nonfunctional. Dotted throughout the town were chimney stacks rising to various heights above the rooftops. Almost all reflected activity beneath by issuing steam or smoke from their tops.

Gronark insisted that we stay as guests in his house. It seemed from what I could understand from his clipped sentences, visitors were extremely rare and thus afforded their host considerable prestige. As the journey had been long, Gronark suggested that we have dinner and rest before he took us on a “full” tour of the town and later his workshop. This seemed agreeable to all of us, so we set off towards his house. Despite his house being less than five minutes walk, the news of some strangers traveled quickly and before we reached there we had accumulated a crowd numbering over one hundred. They were curious particularly about the tallest of us. They seemed especially in awe of Denieru. His standoffish nature and haughty airs impressed them no end and before long he seemed to have collected a sizable and devoted following. He of course ignored them completely as he swept along and into Gronark's house with nary a backward glance.

The house reflected his nature and way of speaking in almost a clichéd way. It was spartan, neat and devoid of any decoration. However the food he served was excellent and I was glad to make the acquaintance of a real bed for a change instead of a blanket on the ground.

The following day we assembled early for a hot breakfast and the promised tour. True to his word, Gronark gave us the full unabridged version. We saw all the important factories and research houses, together with the main council buildings. After a while I felt my eyes starting to glaze over and the names of the massive machines he showed us, seemed to run together in an indistinct mess. To prevent my complete fall into tedium I talked about the possible origins of the gnomes with Denieru.

Denieru considered the question before replying “I suspect their ancestors fell prey to similar trap as we did or perhaps one of their high energy machines ran amok causing them to be transported to this spot. I have heard reports that some of their machines have the power to prise apart the very cracks of the universe. From their pale color I would conclude they have resided here for at least seven generations if not longer.”

Intrigued I tried to ask Gronark what he knew of his peoples origins here, but he was not to be deflected from showing us as much as was possible.

The one interesting part of the tour was being shown the hippoblimp stables. Well, stables was perhaps the wrong word to describe the enormous cavernous structure on the edge of the town. Inside the hippoblimps were cared for. This mainly consisted of giving them vegetables, fruits and water, which they sucked into their stomachs using a long hollow tentacle that extended from just in front of where the gondola was normally mounted. The tentacle could be fully retracted, which explained why I had failed to notice it previously. Their mouth I discovered was not for eating with, but only for sucking in vast amounts of air, from which they extracted water which they then converted into their lift gas.

Within the stable there were many different types of gondolas, from the passenger variety we had traveled in, to cargo gondolas, ones with winches for use in construction projects and attack versions with armored undersides and mounts for crossbows.

I loved watching the hippoblimps as they floated about. They all seemed to be possessed of gentle natures and seemed contented to be in the service of the gnomes. In turn Gronark's countrymen treated them with kindness and it seemed clear that they were highly valued for their transport abilities.

Seeing our interest, Gronark motioned us over to a small hut situated in one corner inside the giant building. Briefly disappearing inside, he came out holding two glass tubes each about three inches long and maybe half an inch in diameter. The tubes were solid at one end, the other being sealed with a cork and then dipped in wax. Inside each tube was what looked a bit like a butterfly chrysalis. One of them was blue in color, the other purple. Seeing he had our full attention, Gronark revealed

“Hippoblimp babies contained. They grow big one day. We keep in glass, take gas out. They sleep til gas come back.”

Having shown us their breeding program, Gronark returned the tubes to the hut and continued on his tour. Reluctantly I followed him with one final backward glance at the stable.

The 'highlight' of the tour, Gronark's workshop, seemed like all the others to me. There were several large machines, whose purpose and construction I had absolutely no idea about. He droned on pointing out various functions and control panels with buttons. I stifled a yawn. We passed one of the workbenches. This one had what looked like a smooth dark horn clamped in some kind of cutting machine. A second uncut horn lay on the workbench surface. Eldarion stopped short when he saw the horn and picked up the uncut horn from the workbench.

“Where did you get this from ?” He asked, with edge of urgency to his voice.

Gronark considered the horn for a second. “That De'il horn. Very hard. Make good bearings.”

Yes I know what it is, but where did you get it ?”, he persisted.

“Travel to De'il realm. Take soldiers, many weapons. Kill De'il. Carry here to process.”

I could see that getting the information was going to take some time. But Eldarion would not be deflected.

“That's interesting. Tell me how did you get from here to the De'il realm ?”

Gronark's expression hinted that he regarded that as a stupid question. “Using vecular transmigration machine. Gronark's invention. Work good for resources.”

Eldarion smiled brightly. “That's a tremendous achievement Can you show us your wonderful machine ?”

Gronark, being no more immune to Eldarion's persistence than the rest of us, was happy to oblige. He took us to a door in his vast workshop, opened it and lead us into a cube shaped room about forty feet square. Oddly the room walls, floor and ceiling were all clad with metal, the reason for which I was at a loss to explain. In the center of the room sat a machine. It seemed composed of two main parts, a large cabinet with some kind of control panel and adjacent to it a circular platform about eight feet in diameter.

Eldarion looked at the machine with the smile still on his face. “It looks perfect, big enough even for Zilrion.”

Luin Nengwi seemed to grow more alarmed the happier Eldarion became. “Oh no. You're not thinking that. We're already in enough trouble as it is, without compounding the error.”

“Oh Luin Nengwi, I find a way to determine our location and you can do naught but complain. You know full well without a known location Ganareth will not be found to us.”

“Yes but at least in this unfound location we don't have De'il's bearing grudges for what we did to them last time we were there.”

Zilrion interrupted. “I must admit to being out of my intellectual depth with the subject of your argument. Please indulge a poor dim fellow and enlighten me ?”

“Well Eldarion, explain your brilliant plan for getting out of here.” said Luin Nengwi sourly.

Eldarion smiled at us. “It's really quite simple. This machine can take us to a location known to myself and Luin Nengwi. From there we can return to Ganareth.”

“In short”, growled Luin Nengwi, “We are going to Hjell.”

To be continued.

[Edited on 10/1/2004 by Fhman]

[Fhman]

Sorry for the delay, but Finora is taking a little break right now. I've been working on the new Soldiers of Fortune DnL history which you can also read in this forum. The link to the story is

www.darkandlight.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=XForum&file=viewthread&tid=6868

Unitl then I have edited the story to correct some typo's and give the character names a more DnL feel.

Enjoy...

[Edited on 10/1/2004 by Fhman]

[Shadow_Slayer]

Everything I read can be summed up in one word

WOW!!!!

If there are any publishers out there pick this story up....I would buy it for sure.

[tralese]

I will join my hand together and clap for this exquisite storytelling. Thanks for the entertainement. It sure breaks the monotony of my days at work.

[Fhman]

Chapter 13

Circuitously Windward (II)

As the Hjel spawned creature and Zilrion smashed into each other, the words of Eldarion popped into my mind as if to draw attention to their obvious dichotomy with our current situation.

“It's really quite simple,” Eldarion had said “Quickly in and even more quickly out. They won't even realize we're there.”

With a snarl Zilrion swung his ax through a viscous arc ending with it embedding most of the ax's head into the creatures back, severing it's spine . With legs no longer under direct control it collapsed in a heap, jaws weakly trying to bite at Zilrion's legs as the severed arteries in it's back pumped the remaining seconds of life onto the ground.

Stepping back Zilrion surveyed his handiwork before turning to me.

“So much for not realizing we are there.” He commented, drawing his lips drawn back in silent mirth which exposed his amply sized incisors. “Eldarion has excelled himself this time. Now in Gruhun's name let's make for this blasted exit.”



It was a breathtakingly simple plan, if you believed Eldarion that was... Luin was obviously less than enamored with it and grumbled constantly under his breath as Eldarion explained it to the rest of us.

All we had to do was be transported into Hjel using Gronark's vecular transmigration machine. Once there we would find the “exit” or more correctly the portal that joined that particular plane of Hjel with all the others. Since this location was known to Eldarion and Luin, it would be a relatively simple matter to teleport from this location back to Ganareth.

“Now are there any questions ?” said Eldarion brightly.

Zilrion raised his hand. “Er I'm not trying to obviate the attractiveness of your plan, but what about the residents of Hjel. Surely they are not going to offer us afternoon tea and toast when we arrive in their midst?”

Eldarion smiled broadly. “That's the beauty of this plan. With the help of the foresight feature of Gronark's machine we can arrive quietly and without fuss. The residents of Hjel need never know that we were even there.”

Recalling our past adventures, I felt rather doubtful about this last statement. Luin I noticed was still mumbling, holding his head in his hands. Eldarion must have seen our less than enthusiastic expressions because his face took on a somber expression and motioned for us to be still.

“Look I know the last few plans have taken some unexpected turns, but like true Soldiers of Fortune, we improvised and prevailed. This time there will be no errors. I've considered every eventuality and there is nothing left to go awry. Let us traverse the land of our ancient enemy with joy in our hearts for they can harm us not.”

The kernel of the plan was straightforward. Gronark's machine was equipped with a small glass screen. As Gronark explained to us, upon this screen could be projected an image of the place the user wished to travel to. Henceforth we could verify the safety of our intended location in Hjel before setting foot there.

I was quite taken by this device. It seemed like a normal transparent piece of glass perhaps ten inches in diameter. But upon flicking a switch and adjusting some huge knurled metal knobs on the adjacent control panel, Gronark was able to cause a picture to form on it's surface. As colors and shapes swept across it's surface in an ever changing pattern. The effect was almost hypnotic and I watched enthralled until Gronark's adjustment finally caused the patterns to coalesce into a picture of somewhere.

The resulting landscape was something of a disappointment. Compared to the previous pretty patterns it was rather dull and featureless, with a few rocks and mainly rust colored dust.

Gronark turned from his seat at the control panel and announced “Area clear. No De'il in sight.”

Shazi and the rest of the party came over to look and crowded round the viewer. Even Luin seemed interested in the findings.

Apparently satisfied, Eldarion stepped back. “See I told you there would be nothing to worry about. That location is but a short walk to the portal. We shall have traversed the domain of danger in no time at all.”

Even Luin had to grudgingly agree that he could see no prospective enemies in sight. After scanning the area for around twenty minutes, Gronark could find no sign of any life. Everyones curiosity satisfied we began making arrangements to leave later that day.

Gronark and his countrymen kindly provided us with water, provisions and some new weapons to replace the ones lost on our travels. In return (and after some encouragement from Eldarion and Luin), Denieru was persuaded to lend them one of his precious books that he always carried with him. The gnomes seemed delighted by this and immediately carried it off to the town library for transcription, returning it to him within the hour.

When we were ready, Gronark again checked the view screen which still displayed deserted landscape. He bid us stand on the machines circular platform and once we were assembled there began moving through a complicated sequence of switches on the adjacent control panel. The machine hummed into life, fields of energy coursing around us on the platform. Instinctively I grabbed onto the nearest of my companions, which was in this case Zilrion. The crescendo of noise and energy grew louder and I was astonished to see that everyones hair, including the thick wiry hair on Zilrion's forearms, was standing on end. The effect would have stuck me as comic if my concern about standing in the middle of so much powerful energy had not kept my mind occupied elsewhere. Shazi however, seemed unconcerned by this and was busy laughing loudly as he pointed out the destruction wrought on Denieru's perfectly groomed hairstyle by the energy.

Above the urgent thrumming came the sound of Gronark's voice. “Portal opening. Wish you good journey.”

The humming grew even louder and slowly the metal interior of the room seemed to shimmer and fade. All around us the I started to see signs of the landscape that had previously only been visible on the tiny viewer screen. It was as if someone had taken the two images and slowly faded them into one another. Long seconds passed and slowly the Hjel landscape grew to be the more dominant of the two. Now the room walls were barely visible.

Suddenly there was a tremendous bang and the scene around us seemed to splinter and spin as though it had been dumped into some manic butter churn. With no visible reference I began to feel terribly sick and emptied my lunch over whoever was next to me on the platform. Above the humming I heard broken fragments Gronark's voice once again.

“.....gy Surge. ...blization.....eded. sta....by.”

Again the visible world took another sickening lurch and I vomited a second time, my stomach cramped and twisted. Then as suddenly as it had started, the fractured reality came together with an audible crunch. I blinked and looked around. As far as I could see the deserted landscape of Hjel spread out before us. But it was not the same landscape seen in the viewer and Zilrion and I were alone.

My first thought was that I was glad it was not Zilrion I had been sick over. I suppose that in the aftermath of that horrid journey I didn't really feel up to apologizing to anyone. Thankfully he seemed unharmed and completely vomit free.

Silently we both took in the surroundings. It was hot here but not overly so. More like a tropical heat. But it had an unpleasant undertone to it, like air in a sealed box that has been out in the sun too long. As we grew accustomed to the temperature, I began to notice that the humidity was unbelievably high. As I stood there I could feel my skin start to moisten as the air clung to me. The air seemed almost pregnant with moisture as though any sudden movement or change would cause it to condense.

Zilrion found his voice first. “This seems to be the right place but a somewhat inconvenient turn of events. You don't per chance know how we might find our way to the exit ?”

As it happened I had absolutely no idea. Carrying mental maps of some peripheral plane of Hjel, hadn't been very high on my list of things to learn. “Perhaps we should ask someone who lives here ?”, I suggested.

Zilrion threw his head back and laughed. “We'll I'm sure they will oblige you Finora. And should they decide against it I will endeavor to change their mind with the help of this handy ax.”

We made preparations for travel. I made ready some concealment and general illusion spells although I was unsure as to their effectiveness in a place like this. From previous talks with Denieru I had the impression that as creators of deceit and grand delusions amongst men, De'ils were more likely to see through illusions cast upon or about them.

We picked a direction more or less at random since no direction seemed more promising or different from any other. Just like the plane we had come from there was no sun here nor stars to guide us, so I cast a rudimentary direction spell to keep us from going in circles. Progress was reasonably easy if somewhat sweaty. Even at a gentle walking pace, or in my case flying pace, the moist air caused a heavy sweat to form.

We called a halt after a few hours, both of us drenched with sweat. After some rest or at least an attempt at resting in damp sweat soaked clothes, I decided to check our progress. Flying up as high as I dared, I looked around to see if I could determine any clues that would lead us to the exit. Nothing immediately stood out but then as I was circling I spotted a glint of light, perhaps like that reflected off a metal object or water. Moments later it was gone. I hovered longer to see if I could catch the flash again, but saw nothing. Landing next to Zilrion I explained to him what I had seen.

“What do you think about heading towards it ?”

Zilrion considered the question. “Well I think there is a good chance we will meet with one of the residents of Hjel. That may be a good or a bad thing Finora. Bad in that it will probably want to rend us into small pieces. Good in that we may be able to prevail upon it for some information.”

I nodded in agreement. “It seems a better choice to me than walking in one direction. For all we know we may be going the wrong way. Lets risk it's animosity. Besides I'm getting a little bored with sweating into my clothes. I'm sure there isn't a laundry within three hundred miles of this place.”

Zilrion barked a short laugh. “Your priorities are unique as always. Let's make the acquaintance of who or what is there.”

We set off in the direction of the flash moving as carefully as we could. Slowly we sweated our way across the landscape for some time before Zilrion held up his hand. I stopped and landed on the ground to listen. Ever so faintly I could hear a sound like stones being chinked together and underneath that a mournful groaning sound. We made our way towards the apparent source of the noise, which was obscured by a low hillock.

Pausing just short of the summit, we looked over onto the landscape beyond. There was single figure there seated at a large stone table. It seemed to be engrossed deeply in putting together what appeared to be a necklace of some kind. Three or four small white spheres about the size of peas sat on the table in front of where it was working. As I watched the creature picked up one of the spheres and carefully threaded it onto a cord where the sphere came to rest against other spheres already in place. Two other apparently finished necklaces lay near the middle of the table.

The creature itself looked vaguely humanoid aside from a thickset build and reptilian skin, colored a dull dusty red. It sported a single horn which protruded directly from the crown of it's head for a distance of perhaps nine or ten inches, tapering to sharp point at the end.

The only other feature of note was a large ragged crevice in the ground adjacent to the table. It was filled with a roiling oily gray mist and seemed to emit the low groaning sound I had heard earlier. Every so often I could see sparks of light flick through the mist before disappearing out of sight.

I turned to Zilrion and whispered “Well ?”

“Well it does not appear to be armed although De'ils perhaps have no use for swords. Let's approach it carefully.”

I readied a spell just in case, as we got up and made our way towards the creature. As we got closer, it looked up from it's work, carefully put the necklace down and stood up. This close I could see the necklaces in more detail. I quickly concluded they were the most beautiful jewelry I had ever seen. The pearls were radiant with a soft pulsing light that came from deep within them. The more you looked at the pearls the more details you noticed such as the way the pulsing light slowly changed both hue and rhythm. I decided in an instant that I had to have one.

Zilrion began to hail the creature “Er hello there ....”, before I abruptly cut him off.

“Those necklaces are so beautiful. Can you show us how you make them and most importantly can make one for me ?”

My question seemed to catch both Zilrion and the creature off guard. It was the creature who recovered first.

“Ahzzz someone who appreciatezzz my skillzzz.” It's pronunciation was a little stilted as though it were unused to talking and it had a odd lisp which made some words hard to hear. “I am De'il uuaina'ehtarzzzz the XVIIIzzzz, butz you may addresszzz me as Soulz Spzzearer.”

Zilrion had recovered his composure and made a small bow towards the creature. “It's a pleasure to meet you, er, Mr Soul Spearer”, he said with a straight face, while nudging me slightly with his elbow. “Perhaps you could oblige Finora by showing her how you make such stunning and beautiful creations.”

Soul Spearer appeared to be enjoying the flattery and attention. It beckoned us to follow as it went over to the edge of the crevice. Standing motionless at the very edge it motioned to us to watch. With an audible buzz, a thread of cold blue energy started to extend from the tip of his horn. Longer and longer it grew until it had reached at least twenty feet in length, hovering and shimmering weightless in the air. With a sharp crack, the thread of energy changed shape and the end of it dove into the gray mist that filled the crevice.

For many minutes it stood quietly. Then with an excited gasp it said “A lost soulzz approachezz my lure. We senseszz it.”. Moments later there was another crack as the thread retracted out of the mist and back into the horn. It was over in the blink of an eye . One second the thread was there, the next it was gone. But in it's place impaled at the very tip of the horn was a shiny glowing pearl. Carefully Soul Spearer reached up and removed it. After some careful examination of the pearl, it was placed on the table with the others.

“My word, that was a skillful display.” complimented Zilrion. “Perhaps you could show us the catching sequence again ? My eyes missed most of it the first time.”

Soul Spearer seemed happy to demonstrate a second time. Once the creature was engrossed in the process, Zilrion casually asked.

“Say, we heard that this is not the only plane of Hjel. I overheard someone saying there were many others and that the gate to them was a spectacular sight. Have you ever been yourself ?”

Soul Spearer seemed to consider the question for moment then answered “Yeszzz, visit I havez madezz. Gate stands 3 milez tall. A glorias tributezz to Venarion naar-uuainazzz, myz lordzz and master. Itz fiery beacon is alwayzz lit...”

Just then it must have caught something for it suddenly snapped back it's thread catching another pearl on it's horn. This one was much smaller than the previous one and seemed rather misshapen and dull looking. Soul Spearer removed it and after examining it for a few moments, threw it away in disgust.

“Sozz hardz to find good soulz here. Most all are stuntedz ugly thingzz. Andz I must finishzzz this necklace todayz. Hmzzz. Perhapzz yours arezz betterzzz”

There was a strange glint in it's eye and then the blue thread sped towards me. It was so lightening fast I had hardly registered it's appearance before it hit me. The skin level magic shield I had cast earlier, took most of the onslaught of energy, reflecting it back towards Soul Spearer. The remainder jolted me off my feet and backwards some distance where I hit the ground with a thud that winded me heavily. I heard a piercing cry but from where I had landed I could not see the source. Then Zilrion was standing over me helping me to my feet and I knew then that the danger had past.

“So what happened to our fair weather friend ?” I asked. Soul Spearer was nowhere to be seen.

Zilrion smiled broadly. “Ah, the energy it attacked you with seemed to too much for it to handle. One second it was there, the next the resulting explosion blew Mr Soul Spearer bodily into the crevice. Landing there must have been disagreeable to it for it has not subsequently emerged.”

Well good riddance I thought. My body was still tingling from the effect of energy jolt, so I had Zilrion sit me on the table so I could rest. Slowly the tingling died away until I was left with a slightly dull, pulsing headache. More disappointing was that the demise of the creature meant that I would never get my necklace. The finished necklaces were much too big for me and the unfinished one was just that, unfinished.

“Zilrion, what about my necklace?” I cried. “When will I ever get another chance to have something as beautiful as that made for me ?”

“Fear not my sparkling Finora, for I have a solution to your problem.”

Then with surprisingly dexterous hands he took the unfinished necklace and retaining only the smaller pearls, shortened the cord until it was faery sized.

“There you are”, he said with a flourish as he handed me a perfectly proportioned soul pearl necklace. I put it on and not having a mirror to hand, cast a small cantrip causing a mirror to appear and float weightlessly in the air in front of me. The necklace was I decided, the most beautiful thing I had ever possessed. Sadly I noticed that it was not complemented by my increasingly soiled and torn dress. I resolved to increase our efforts to find a seamstress just as soon as we had found the exit from this dreadful place.

I turned to Zilrion “Perhaps we can use the information Soul Spearer told us about the gate to our advantage.”

Zilrion raised his eyebrows “You have my full and undivided attention. What did you have in mind ?”

“Well surely there can't be that many 3mile high structures even in this part of Hjel. I can try to scry for anything that sticks that high in the air. Luin showed me a good spell for it.”

“Well it sounds plausible and to be frank our options are somewhat limited at this juncture. I hesitate to ask, but are there any possible drawbacks ?”

“One drawback. If a De'il intercepts the scrying spell, it will instantly know our location.” I admitted. “At least that's what Luin told me.

Zilrion sighed. “Well even allowing for that peril, it seems the best option under the circumstances. Try your best.”
The spell being new to me I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Recalling the effect of Denieru's previous use of it in the secret room, I asked Zilrion to keep well away from as I had no spell casting companion to raise a protective barrier. Zilrion retreated to behind one of the hillocks, out of direct sight.

After my trepidation and elaborate precautions, the end result was something of an anticlimax. As the spell completed I felt the horizon shoot towards me as though I were flying at some tremendous speed. Momentarily disorientated, I concentrated at one spot and with some effort managed to halt. I felt totally alone if anyone was intent on attacking me I saw no sign.

Carefully I practiced moving my attention around, gaining confidence as I did so. After several minutes of this I felt confident enough to begin my search for the tower. It did not take long to find the tower, for it was as I had correctly guessed, the only structure of that height anywhere in the whole plane. Pleased now at my own cleverness, I made a mental note of the exact direction and distance, before closing the spell and returning to normal sight.

“Well ?” asked Zilrion expectantly as I walked over the hillock to get him.

“Well, I found it and the good news is we were at least walking in almost the right direction. I think another days travel should find us there.”

“Excellent. Well no time like the present. Perhaps the others faired better in their trip and are already waiting for us. We can't be too tardy. So get your things, theres a good faery and we'll make a start.”

We were both in good humor as we set out. In retrospect that might seem odd to those reading this journal, given that we were still on a plane of Hjel and surrounded by De'ils. But it was the first piece of good luck we had found since being dumped there and at that point we were thankful for any.

Our actual progress was reasonably quick. We were still looking out for De'ils and on two occasions, spotted, or rather heard, something moving. But the De'ils seemed not to be built for stealth and both times we easily skirted around whatever was there. Finally out of the dust of the far horizon, the tower appeared. Faintly at first and then as we approached, growing in size to dominate the whole vista.

We reached the crest of a small rise and looked over. This rise formed what looked like a rough concentric ring of about one mile in radius around the tower. Towards the tower the rise sloped down into a broad shallow valley before the ground rose again to peak at another smaller concentric ring, From there, from what I could see it seemed to be another downward slope all the way to the tower.

Unfortunately the first valley was not empty. I could see at least seventeen creatures roaming around within. Worst of all, their movement seemed to have a pattern as though they were patrolling or searching. I hoped it wasn't for us.

Zilrion drew out his ax and inspected the edge. “I see no other option than making our progress as quickly as possible. Perhaps timing and your concealment spells may help us. But from what you say the De'ils may see through those.”

I nodded in agreement. Casting all the concealment and protection spells I thought might help, I then waited with Zilrion for a good moment to make our move. Then as the pattern of creatures seemed to be best, Zilrion nodded and we started down into the valley. All was quiet until about two thirds of the way across. Then I saw two of the creatures start towards us having obviously seen through the concealment spell. Shouting a warning to Zilrion, I backed away, putting him between myself and the creatures.

The both creatures reached Zilrion almost at the same instant. He caught the first with a brutal horizontal swing of the ax which seemed to cleave it's head almost in two. The top of it's skull flew off arrested only by a thin flap of skin causing the half skull bowl to flap next to the creatures left ear for a moment before the De'il collapsed with a surprised look on it's face.

The second attacker was so close that there was no time for Zilrion to swing again. With a sickening crunch Zilrion and the De'il connected, the creature clawing and biting ravenously. With only one free hand to defend himself from the onslaught Zilrion moved quickly. With a snarl he swung his ax through a viscous arc ending with it embedding most of the ax's head into the creatures back, severing it's spine . It collapsed in a heap as the severed arteries poured blue hued lifeblood on the ground.

“So much for not realizing we are there.” Zilrion commented, wiping the away blood which had run into his left eye from a set of deep wounds on his forehead. “Eldarion has excelled himself this time. Now in Gruhun's name let's make for this blasted exit.”

I needed no further encouragement on that score. Finally reaching the second rise I was horrified to see that the innermost valley was positively crawling with creatures. There seemed to be several hundred, all at least as big and powerful as the two Zilrion had just battled.

“This is not good” I exclaimed out loud, stating the rather obvious reality.

“Why Finora, your perception and powers of observation are excellent today.” grinned Zilrion. “I don't suppose you have any pla”

Zilrion swung around just in time to parry the blow from another De'il. Close behind four more were converging on our position. Gulping I tried to focus on these four attackers as I cast out a hasty fireball, hoping that they would be less resistant to that than my concealment spells. The spell worked at least in part as the fire and superheated air knocked all four backwards to the ground. Although dazed and injured they seemed to be still alive. I began to ready a second fireball as the first of the creatures struggled to it's feet. But instead of attacking it just stood there. Disconcerted by this I turned to see what had halted their attack. Zilrion's opponent lay in a bloody mangled heap but some distance beyond I saw a huge De'il approaching .

This one was at least twenty feet tall and had three horns on it's head. It's skin was sleek and hugely muscled. I watched groups of powerful leg muscles move like pistons under silk as it approached. Zilrion gripped his ax in anticipation of the onslaught his face set and grim.

“Venarion naar-uuaina does not tolerate interlopers in his realm”, the giant growled. “I shall enjoy keeping you alive for my pleasure for a long time. Your almost infinite pain shall be a source of great joy to me.”

Almost infinite pain didn't sound very good to me and I resolved not be in a position to find out. Moving close to Zilrion, I began casting a prismatic sphere. As quickly as I could I spoke the words of power as the De'il Venarion closed the distance between us. The spell effected slightly before the creature got to our position. Zilrion yelped slightly as he found himself unexpectedly constrained inside the multicolored sphere. Then there was a loud crash as Venarion either collided or hit the sphere with a blow that was intended for us. The sphere vibrated but did not collapse as the force of the impact knocked it over the rise and sent it rolling down the slope towards the tower.

Inside was almost as bad my earlier trip in Gronark's machine. Faster and faster we rolled centrifuging both of us against the inside wall. Resolving not to be sick for a third time I somehow managed to push off from the side and fly into the center of the sphere where I hovered with some difficulty. From this position I was treated to the sight of Zilrion orbiting me like some bizarre planetary constellation. Every few moments there was a thump or a sizzle as the sphere cleaved it's way through the massed minions of Venarion.

Then the sphere dissipated as the spell ended and Zilrion spilled out and rolled to a halt about three hundred and fifty feet from the tower. He groaned and tried to get up but his balance was completely gone after the spin he had been through. I looked around at the rapidly closing ranks of creatures, thinking that the situation was deteriorating even further if that were possible. I began trying to summon enough energy for another spell when a circle of blue fire suddenly burned, circling the two of us before racing outwards with tremendous force, throwing the attackers back. Wearily I was looking around for the source when Luin, Shazi, Dilzeron and Eldarion appeared out of nowhere.

“About time” was all I could manage to say

Eldarion looked slightly hurt “We come to help you with your De'il problem and this is the only thanks we get...”

“Oh for pity's sake” shouted Luin “Save your hurt feelings for later. Right now let's get out of here before Venarion gets really upset.”

Eldarion huffed and turned away. “Ok Shazi and Dilzeron, grab Zilrion and be careful with him mind. If he's killed, Shazi is on cooking duty for the next month.”

I saw Dilzeron shudder momentarily at the concept of Shazi cooking anything before he and Shazi grabbed one leg each and started running as fast as they could towards the tower. We fell back under the cover of spells from Luin and Eldarion. As we approached the tower I could see Denieru standing in the entrance archway, rings of magic power encircling as he too aided our retreat. I looked back briefly, enough to see Venarion making towards us huge angry gouts of flame and ball lightening issuing from him towards us.

“Quickly now, he's closing” shouted Denieru

The last fifty feet to the tower was surreal with flames and lightening crossing above and beside of us. But all was deflected and we reached the door breathless but unhurt. Luin was the last through and as he cleared the threshold Denieru cast a shimmering blue barrier over the entrance.

Exhausted I slumped down. Shazi and Dilzeron, both breathing heavily from their exertions did the same.

Denieru turned to us. “Much as we would all like a rest, we cannot do so here. The barrier keeping Venarion out will not hold for long. We must seek a safer resting place.”

Eldarion nodded. Taking his staff he drew a rough circle in the dust that covered the floor. “Everyone stand inside the circle. We must prepare to leave now.”

Luin, Denieru and Eldarion took up position at the edge of the circle equidistant from each other and began chanting. Minutes passed with nothing happening save for a slight muffled booming as the De'ils impotently vented the fury of their attack on the tower and Denieru's barrier. Then slowly the room we were in started to fade from view. Trees and plants began to be visible. And then we were in a forest. It was late evening and the dark half of a broken moon was just starting to rise. We were in Ganareth.


To be continued.

[Denieru]

Excellent chapter Fhman, you are the first cup of coffee on a bright and sunny morning.

I have only one complaint. The story would have been much better if you´d just let me kill Venarion. I could have taken him! Instead I just put up some blue barrier like a coward. Very unlike me. *smiles*

[Fhman]

Chapter 14

Priorities & Dodo's Discordant

Truth be told, Shazi was the first to move. As Ganareth had come into being around us (or us into being on it if you prefer), we had all stayed rooted where we stood. I even halted my breath as the first aromas of the forest entered my nose. It was as if we were afraid to that it was yet an illusion and to move would somehow break it's fragile thread of belief, hope and longing, casting us back into the void.

Tentatively Shazi stepped over the yielding forest floor, his feet sinking slightly into the thick layer of pine needles. Reaching the nearest tree he paused before leaning in towards it's rough mottled trunk and very gently licking it with his tongue.

“Hmm tastes like Ganareth and not too far from our exit point I'll wager.”

Luin snorted loudly, shattering the remains of the moment. “ Now I know you've been in Hjel too long. Perhaps the heat has boiled what remains of your brain. Tasting trees indeed. Next you'll be scouting wider shins and dancing with horsephants.”

Shazi looked crestfallen. “There's nothing wrong with it,” he protested. “ It's in the guild apprenticeship training and everything...”

Eldarion interrupted silencing Shazi's further justifications. “But he's right. We are not more than 20 miles from Falstag.” Bending down he brushed the needles away with his hand uncovering a fist sized near black stone with a small glowing rune on it.

Luin grinned. “Well now I know why you insisted in scattering those stones liberally around Ganareth a few years back. But if you knew where we were why did you let Shazi get all intimate and au natural with that tree ?”

“Quite simply, Luin Nengwi, it could have been yet another elaborate Hjel born illusion. In which case Shazi might in fact have been licking a De'il disguised as a tree. Rather him than me. Besides he may have even enjoyed the flavor.”

Shazi considered the possibility for a moment before shaking his head. “No not really. They only taste good when baked.”

Spinning round towards the rest of us, Eldarion smiled broadly. “Well now that's sorted out, let us attend to the business at hand. We have a king to banish and a payment to claim.”

Our collective expressions must have been less than enthusiastic because Eldarion's momentum was jolted for several seconds.

“Oh come now, it's not as though we haven't been here before.”

“I think that's exactly the point”, I blurted out. “Without knowing who or what Armorion is, how can we avoid being treated to the same voyage ?” Struggling for something more solid to justify my reluctance I noticed my very soiled and torn dress. “ Besides I'm not going to Hjel again without some new clothes. If I'm going to die I want the last thing I smell to be something other than my own sweat.”

Then Eldarion turned to me and looked at me with such an expression of sympathy and concern that I could feel my resolve slipping away as the seconds past. I knew that in a few moments he would have me convinced that my comfort and well being were naught in the grand scheme of some greater shared destiny. Miserably I touched a frayed seam my head bowed in submission.

“Finora has a point.” Denieru's voice snapped the moment like a brittle autumn twig. “To defeat our enemy we need to be sure of our plan and more importantly his weaknesses. And there is nothing wrong with dying in clean clothes...” he added after a pause.

Looking around Eldarion saw Shazi, Dilzeron and Zilrion nod in agreement. Turning again to me he considered for a moment before smiling again. “For our Finora anything is possible. All you had to do was ask. Let us avail ourself of the nearest tavern and some suitable refreshment before considering our new strategy.”

We made our way slowly though the darkened forest with only the dark half moon to light our way. Shazi and Dilzeron scouted ahead and soon found the road that wound it's way though the silent stands of trees. On the road faster progress was possible and we made good time towards some lights in the distance that Shazi assured us represented both food and a place to rest.

Finally we rounded the last bend in the road and a small village with an tavern loomed large. Luin strained to read the name on the tavern's sign in the flickering torch light. As we got closer he groaned.

“Oh for Gruin's sake Eldarion why did you have to pick this tavern ?”

Eldarion remained unmoved. “Oh have a care Luin, it's not as though we owe them more money than any of our other regular stopping points. Besides we took care of their recalcitrant guard last time we were here.”

By now we were approaching the door of the tavern. Looking up I read the sign out loud. “The Dodo's Tavern”. The sign itself was an enthusiastic if not entirely accurate painting of a Dodo balancing a tankard of beer on it's head. On the front door was a second sign with the following written on it in blunt square letters:

<< No fight inside >>
<< No dodo inside >>
<< We aren't responsible if ur Dodo has been eaten or stolen or for any kind of loss >>
<< Pay what u eat and drink or Die >>

Eldarion strode up to the main door pulling it open bringing with it a smell of smoke, beer, spicy food and a great many bodies of questionable cleanliness. From the sound of things the nights activities of drinking, eating, bragging and more was in full flow. Trailing behind him we entered the inn. Eldarion swept majestically towards the bar. As he got closer the conversations fell away until the whole place was silent.

From the damp warm darkness to the left came a loud growl. Moments later a large half troll hit Eldarion at full speed knocking him to the floor. Such was the momentum of his attacker that he carried on past Eldarion, ploughing into the startled onlookers sending several of them flying. Shaking off the collapsed bodies the half troll swung round looking for Eldarion who was still lying stunned on on the floor.

“Braaaah smash Soldiers.” growled the attacker “Soldiers cheat Braaaah. Braaaah smash cheaters.”

This was clearly quite a long speech for a half troll. In another situation I would probably have been impressed. Unfortunately he was obviously intent on squashing the still prone figure of Eldarion and perhaps the rest of us. This in turn would delay me getting a hot meal and hopefully a bed, so I decided to act before things got even more out of hand.

Perhaps it was my hunger that determined my course of action. In any event just as Braaaah charged for the second time, I cast Hogarth's emergency ration resolver. This was the quickest spell to cast, with the intent that it would distract him enough until I had the chance to cast something more substantial. In the event Luin must have had a similar idea for at the same moment our two spells both hit Braaaah in a huge flash and cloud of smoke.

There was a small thump and then silence. As the smoke cleared I looked for Braaaah who was nowhere to be seen. I turned to Zilrion.

“Where did the half troll go ?”

Zilrion licked his lips and pointed . “I believe you'll find the answer on the floor next to Eldarion.”

Following the line of his finger I saw what looked like a small round object on the floor. Flying over I landed next to the mystery object. It turned out to be a small pie sitting innocently on a plate that was whimsically decorated with small purple flowers. Additionally there was a wooden stick embedded in the pie so that it stuck out about 5 inches.

Shazi strolled over beside me and picked up the pie on a stick before sniffing it carefully. “Hmm smells tasty”. He took a cautious bite and chewed before spitting it out. “A bit too leathery though, not a patch on Zirion's cooking”

Luin looked annoyed. “Oh put Braaaah down please. He won't appreciate you chewing him whenever he finally changes back to his normal form.”. He shook his head. “This sort of thing happens every time we're here. If it's not colliding spells, it's raids by the forces of light or giant necrotic purple mushrooms. With Eldarion, taverns are never simply a tankard of beer and a warm bed”

Eldarion had by this time picked himself off the floor and was dusting himself off. “That's the problem with barbarians,” he remarked, “no well developed sense of imagination. They can't conceive of a situation where they might loose. Beer anyone ?”

Slowly the volume of conversations swelled to it's previous level as the onlookers got back to their nightly pursuits. As the crowds began to fill the space vacated by Braaaa and Eldarion, I had to hop and fly quickly to avoid being trampled. Not wanting to hover all night I looked around for a suitable perch. In the absence of finding an item of tavern furniture that met my needs I decided on a more mobile seat.

It was too easy with barbarians I decided as my new carriage moved slowly towards the bar. This particular one was the tallest in the room, which appealed to my aspirations towards an uncrowded view. The illusion I had crafted for him was utterly simplistic and involved food and fighting in equally unaesthetic quantities. A small transformation of his helmet into a cushioned chair completed the ensemble.

“Why Finora that is a fine barbarian transport you have there.” observed Zilrion as he handed me a thimbleful of something frothy. “Drink up. The landlord has been most hospitable since his guard reverted to a food item. I understand he reserves this drink for special occasions.”

Sipping on what appeared to be an excellent flavorful beer, I looked around at the taverns interior. Granting much to the unwritten law of tavern design, the walls were peppered with the heads of animals stiffly mounted on plaques, glass eyes staring into the unrevealed far distance. Ever so slightly bored I nudged my barbarian towards one of the darker corners of the room. Right in the corner was a head that seemed somehow familiar it's three horns marking it uniquely. Drawing closer I suddenly recognized the De'il Venarion's disassociated head.

“Wonder how it got from Hjel to here ?” I thought. There was a corroded brass plaque mounted below. All at once curious I cast a small illumination to see if it was inscribed. As the light flared, sure enough there was an inscription. Although covered with tarnish and corrosion, with care and some guessing I was able to make out the words.

“Here is mounted the severed head of Venarion the foulest De'il ever to plague the face of Ganareth. May he always be bound to a shell of endless torment and never trouble the world.”

“It still doesn't explain how he can be chasing us in Hjel when his head is up here. Perhaps he has a spare ?” I thought idly. Another thing of curiosity was his horns. While most of the head and the plaque were thick with acquired dust, the horns shone with an almost liquid obsidian sheen. Not a speck of dirt marred their perfection. Their matchless beauty seemed to draw me in and I felt myself reaching out to touch the center horn.

“I would recommend NOT doing that.” Denieru's voice startled me slightly and I drew back.

“Adding Venarion to our current group of enemies would be imprudent at this point.”

Seeing my questioning expression he added “Venarion's horns form a link to many places where he resides. Signaling your proximity to him is unwise unless you are prepared to confront him on your own terms.”

I felt even more confused. “But how can his head be here when we met so recently with him in Hjel ?”

“De'ils have superb powers of regeneration, even from injuries that would prove fatal to mortal creatures. This 'trophy' is a decaying reminder of our previous meeting with him. I'm sure he still resents me for having taken his head from him so easily.” Denieru compressed his lips in something approximating a smile. “Shazi traded the head for room and board, which was as well for I have little use for such trifles. The horns have power but are too loyal to their master to be of any real use.”

I yawned slightly. The beer was working it's effects on my tiny system and I could feel the excitement of the day slowly draining out me to be replaced by sleepiness.

Bidding Denieru goodnight I steered my barbarian up the stairs to upper floor where a number of rooms were situated for paying overnight guests. All the rooms were locked, so somewhat at random I picked a room and willed the barbarian to walk through the door. His massive frame ripped the door from it's hinges as though it were wet paper, surprising the room's sleeping guest awake. The guest took one look at us, shrieked in terror, before diving out of the partially open window.

This wasn't quite the result I had intended, but I was too tired to care. Moving the barbarian in front of the ruined door I curled up in one corner of the bed and fell almost instantly into a dreamless sleep.

“Finora my sparkling one, wake up please”. I sat up abruptly and twisted round to see Zilrion at the window of the room with a small cup of steaming tea in his hand. Light streamed insistently into the room. Judging from the angle it must have been at least mid morning.

I yawned and stretched “Oh Zilrion why didn't you just use the door like normal people ?”

“I tried my dear, but someone had parked a large well used barbarian in the doorway, blocking my attempted ingress.” Handing me the tea he continued “Now be a good faery and get up. Eldarion has threatened to take us shopping an opportunity not to be missed..”

My spirits rose at the word shopping. Rising quickly I gulped down my tea and quickly smoothed my hair and dress.
Moving the barbarian out into the hallway, I canceled the illusion leaving him very puzzled but none the worse for his enforced service. Zilrion and I made our way downstairs and out through the tavern's front door.

Everyone else was waiting outside in various states of readiness. Luin looked as though he was suffering from a surfeit of beer the previous night judging by his heavily bloodshot eyes. Shazi and Dilzeron both sported several new bruises and in Shazi's case a black eye.

Eldarion was as always well groomed and apparently unruffled by whatever had transpired the previous night. “Everyone ready ? Good then let's spend Luin Nengwi's reserve cache.” He moved off before Luin could register a complaint, trailing the rest of us in his wake.

True to his word Eldarion did indeed re-equip us with the best that the town could offer. Everyone got new clothes and in my case three new dresses to replace those I had lost and soiled.

I was even treated to herbal steam bath at a tiny boutique that Eldarion somehow knew the existence of. Feeling sleek, clean and well dressed I relaxed while watching Zilrion testing the weapon smiths latest hard edged axes.

As we headed back towards the tavern, the last red coals of the sun setting behind it's roof, Eldarion turned to address us.

“Now renewed, we Soldiers will remove the corrupt tyrant Armorion and replace him with a slightly less corrupt one who is in our employ.”

“But we still don't have a plan..” I ventured.

“Ah but we do have a plan”, replied Eldarion as he flashed us his widest ingratiating smile. “In fact Denieru has shown us the way Ahead. Come let us prepare for we leave tomorrow.”


To be continued.

[Shazi]

Hah! Lurked around just in time to read some of Finoras exellent stories! And welcome back little faery :)

[neorapsta]

yeah, i spotted this as the last thread and thought someone was necrothreading :D

Welcome back little fairy lady ;)

[Stormsblade]

yeah, i spotted this as the last thread and thought someone was necrothreading :D

Welcome back little fairy lady ;)

Neorapsta.. you are AD? Hows that work.

[Matthiasa]

Welcome back Finora,
It's good to see you here again. Also, thats yet another good chapter of your story.

[Fhman]

Aww thanks boys. It's nice to be back.

BTW I did "necrothread" the Dodo's Tavern thread, but only because I wanted to turn Braaaa into something (to match my story). Sorry Neo I couldn't resist it.....