Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn
From: bfish@sequent.com (Brett Fishburne)
Subject: [KQ] Captain [Orc-Dog Room]: Spuds McKenzie
Message-ID: <1992Aug11.191720.21232@sequent.com>
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 92 19:17:20 GMT

Characters: KronQuestors

[ADMIN:  For you AD&D types, Captain missed his saving throw against surprise]

They came rushing out of the door which opened as if in response to Azzar's
arrow changing position.  The space behind the door was dark, but the orc-dogs
seemed to adjust to the lighted room quickly.  Before Captain could move,
Maleiu had one dog attached to his arm and another on the end of his spear.
In the confusion of the initial melee, Captain had no time to draw his
sword and was only vaguely aware that Azzar was somewhere behind him.  Blood
seemed to be flying everywhere and hoarse grunts of surprise and pain mixed
with the yelping and growling of the dogs.  

Everything moved in slow motion as it became clear that one dog was planning
on feasting on Captain's bones.  He could see the spittle which had collected
in the dog's cheeks spilling out onto the floor and chest of the advancing
animal as it raced into the confrontation.  The dogs fetid, purple tongue was
draped across two rows of razer sharp teeth and bounced wildly as each paw
hit the ground.  The eyes were the worst, however.  Clearly intelligent, the
eyes seemed to burn through Captain and he felt their hot gaze on the rapidly
beating veins which coursed through his neck.

There wasn't really much that Captain could do.  He threw his arms up and
tucked his head in as the dog launched itself at him.  It only took an
instant for Captain to realize what happened as the dog sailed over his
head.  Turning and grasping for a tail or haunch, Captain watched the dog
sail into Azzar and her drawn sword.  They went down in a heap with Azzar's
sword portuding from between the shoulder blades of the loathsome beast.  
Captain drew the sabre which Bill had leant him, but, before he could move,
he felt the claws and weight of another dog on his back.  "Never turn your
back on the enemy!" flashed through his mind as Captain fell to the 
ground.

As he hit, Captain rolled in an effort to pin the dog between him and the
ground, but it was useless; the dog jumped free of Captain before he hit the
ground and was on him almost at once.  Captain brought up the unwieldy
sabre and attempted to fend off the dog before it was too late.  The dog
grabbed ahold of Captain's tunic in an effort to get to his neck and shook
her head back and forth.  Captain was tossed about like a rag doll and it
was all he could do to bring the sabre under the dog and force it up into
her body.  The orc-dog was surprised and yelped as it both released Captain
and jumped off of the sword.  

Blood flowed onto the floor.  The orc-dog grabbed hold of Captain's
ankle as he flailed his legs in an effort to get to his feet.  Captain
instinctively drew his foot backwards and up under his body when he felt the
jaws of the dog on his ankle.  This left Captain precariously balanced on the
blood-slippery floor.  Using his left hand to hold himself up on the nearby
wall, Captain managed to finally get a good swing at the dog and sliced
deeply into her neck.  Blood flowed from the open wound, but the dog
refused to let go of the grip it had on Captain's ankle even as her legs
collapsed beneath her.  The dog's weight dragged Captain's foot back down to
the floor and Captain transfered his weight to his injured leg in preperation
for another blow.  Captain felt the labored breathing of the dog on his
uninjured ankle and held his sword high for the death blow.  With a final
swipe the orc-dog's head was freed from its body and Captain looked up to
find Azzar, not even taking time to free the dog's head from his leg.

-- Captain