Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn From: hutch@hfglobe.intel.com (Stephen Hutchison) Subject: [DQ] Week 15: War Games Message-ID: Date: Mon, 7 Dec 1992 01:24:51 GMT [ADMIN] This is posted for Mike Sanders because his version of the same article hasn't made it out of the morass of his news server. Or maybe it just hasn't gotten here. Anyway, here goes. ... Tableau: a room, vaulted ceiling, large enough for a good-sized dragon to enter and grovel before the thronelike desk on its raised pedestal. At one end, an open arch with a fluted top, leading into a cavernous room lit by a polychromatic effulgence emanating from a pit in the center. In front of the desk, dramatically posing, Lord Raven, Vampire, called Dark Master by his adoring slaves (none of whom were here to protect him.) In front of the arch, the DragonQuestors, their masquerade broken. Kadrys, a lean, hawklike man of medium height; his shredded black clothing showed a hole in the chest where he had been killed and then restored earlier that day. Kadrys is also a vampire, but not nearly as outgoing as Lord Raven. He is bound, with false knots. Alita, a succubus, a sexual pleasure-demon, currently shapeshifted to impersonate Noira high-priestess of Loviatar, goddess of needless pain. Noira was an uncommonly ugly woman even before she scarred herself with the rituals of her faith. Noira was Lord Raven's servitor once. William, an unhappy-looking, sensitive man with a nervous fidget. He also is bound with false knots. 'Raelf, a 'kan Traveller, from a place where the laws of magic and the laws of physics are the same. 'Raelf, through a series of strange mishaps, has taken on the body of a ten foot marble golem; four armed, otherwise beautifully sculpted by Noira in the aftermath of an earlier punishment. As the false priestess' supposed lave, he holds the ropes binding the others. Lancos, a warrior, tall and red-haired in worn green leathers, allegedly in the service of Lord Raven due to the mind-twisting machinations of a magical medallion. But he and the medallion have come to a compromise and Lancos once again rules his own will. ShockWave, a thirteen-foot-tall giant of mixed race, half Stone, half Storm, or actually, the magical sword that belonged to that giant before his soul was stolen from his body and imprisoned in the crystalline trap of the Pyra-Cubic Diamond, a long-lost 'kan artifact of considerable power that is currently enslaved by Lord Raven. ShockWave is also bound. Valgar, a lean, muscled man in faded worn denims, an escaped slave who fell in with these others largely to get away from the galleys of the slavers who had held him for so many years. He has a haunted, almost trapped-animal look to his eyes, and he is tied as well. These seven are facing the vampire. They are outnumbered. >Raven gestured, and the PCD sent a stream of magic through the open >arch at the DragonQuestors. The magic hit the ropes, making the false knots in them real, and tightening them. ShockWave simply flexed and broke his ropes, and Kadrys shifted into mist to escape his bonds. The Dark Master emitted a small laugh at the other two, even though Valgar slipped free from his constraints moments later and 'Raelf easily broke William loose. Raven threw up a protective circle as the DragonQuesters charged. "All my power, all that I've offered you, and STILL you feel the need to fight me." He scowled, nodding disapprovingly. "Perhaps _I_ have erred. Perhaps I should just give you what you want..." <> - Raven's accent was bad but it was recognizably the 'Kani language. 'Raelf's golem face stared impassively. "There you go.. the giant is back in his proper body." A weak voice -- but one that was nonetheless SunStorm -- came from the giant. "Hi, guys," it said. He tried to move, or to speak more, but only issued a small groan before collapsing. Obviously the strain of the transferral had been too much for him. The odds had gotten worse for the DQers, and they hadn't even done anything. Yet. That was the operative word, as issuing the command caused Raven to drop his barrier, and they closed in on him. Lancos was first, having been the closest. "You just want a shot at me, to prove something to yourself. Very well." Raven said, confident in his defenses. But while the words were essentially true, Lancos was not all THAT single-minded. He had one bit of surprise left, and used it, drawing out the stake and hammer instead of his more normal weapons. Lancos could see Raven's expression change from confidence to a moment of shock to a cold, calculating stare. The warrior still came on, adjusting and leaping slightly as he aimed for the heart. Raven's hands shot up, lifting Lancos in the air at the last second, and moving the strike to the upper shoulder. Still, the vampire briefly cried out in pain. "Feel priviledged that you hurt a god," the Dark Master snarled, not seeming to notice Lancos reach for his weapons. In the next instant Raven removed the stake with his right hand, and flung the fighter away with his left. <> The mental voice echoed in the room, echoed by the spinning PCD in the pit in the next room. Lancos was tossed towards Kadrys, the nearest person. Kadyrs shifted into mist form to avoid collision -- each feeling a moment's discomfort as they passed through the other -- before continuing on. Lancos righted himself somewhat, but still ended up skidding his leg along the floor, and rising slowly and uneasily. The Dark Master could not help but watch the spectacle. Kadrys took the provided opportunity to strike at Raven's throat. The evil man dodged, and the two vampires' arms met in a test of physical -- and as their eyes interlocked, mental -- strength. "You want to beat me without using your best power. We'll see about that." Despite the words, Kadrys allowed a brief smile to cross his lips, as his experience caused him to gain the advantage. But then he felt his strength being sapped out of him. Obviously Raven had the same life draining power as he, and was a lot less worried about using it. Kadrys felt the urge to return the "favor", but dismissed it, instead using the knowledge to keep himself from being drained. In the Dark Master he saw what he might have -- and might STILL, if he gave into temptation -- easily become, and he felt like spitting in the face of it. Then Raven drew on the power reserves granted by the PCD, and instead of "fighting fire with fire", Kadrys pushed the two apart and moved away, planning to pick his attacks when and if he could. 'Raelf cursed silently, a relatively rare occurrence that had recently been happening all too frequently. The 'Dark Master' was systematically taking them down, planning it so no more than one could safely attack at any time. Not to mention the fact that Raven was trying to command his golem body to his own purposes. Still, fighting it made 'Raelf's progress even slower, and it was impossible to shift forms. He drew the four swords, one blazing, one ice, one crystal, and one focussing a strong wind. He stepped slowly towards the vampire lord, leaning against the magical repulsion. William was more positive -- he forced himself to be. It might be better to do nothing rather than use the desperate option provided him. He only saw that the Dark Master had been weakened -- and was being continuously weakened now -- while the DQers hadn't suffered any permanent losses. So he told himself, the more sane part of him whimpering in fear that he would have to bring his special plan into play. Alita was next to Lord Raven, the succubus appearing in a form that can only be described as a depraved fantasy. "You want to please me." Raven smiled, deeply, as Alita neared, hugging her as a sort of welcome. Alita felt the faint echo of pleasure in him, but before she could seize it to siphon the power from him, it vanished. "Gods have no need for carnal pleasure," he said, crushing her body to him, and snapping her spine. "And what brings ME pleasure is causing others to do my will." he finished, dropping Alita, effectively dismissing the succubus to crawl away, trying to heal herself. Valgar strode up, cautious but determined, carrying a makeshift weapon - the spike discarded earlier in Lancos failed attack. "You just want to be free -- of the beast inside, of me, possibly of life itself." Before Valgar could phrase a word of protest, or close to strike, energy encased him. "The pentagram will provide that -- trust me!" the Dark Master said as Valgar disappeared from the room. "Thanks for being the first 'volunteer'." 'Raelf finally made it to Lord Raven. But the energies, done with Valgar, returned to hold him locked motionless. "You still hide your mind, but I know what you want. You want all this to end. And since I'm growing bored with this game, end it shall!" Blackness washed across the room, and they knew nothing for a time. * * * * "Ah, good to see you awake again!" Lord Raven said, studying their trapped forms. Kadrys, Lancos, 'Raelf (still a four-armed golem), SunStorm and Valgar were immobilized on the pentagram, while Alita and William were separately caged, suspended in midair. "Don't even bother to try movement -- you are fortunate that the process takes a bit of time, and that I WANT you to witness my triumph." "I am almost saddened by your bungling. You had -- and probably STILL have -- the powers to defeat me, but you refused to use them. I might have squashed you earlier, but I enjoyed letting you succeed, only to fail again and again, and I might have indulged that amusement too much. As a god, I will not make even those minor mistakes. But I was waiting for you to make a truly foolhearty gesture. I rather wonder what kept you going. Do you realize what I could have done to you had I wanted to KILL you? I actually didn't use my whole arsenal, but I can see you STILL cling to a thin thread of hope." "Kadrys, so experienced, yet so reluctant to respond to your natural urgings." Kadrys only stared back, not listening to the words he felt were pure lies. "Lancos -- my servant once, yet you refused to remain that way." "I wonder why," Lancos responded sarcastically. "I would have ended up at the same spot, according to what Miro told me!" "Nonsense, my boy! I would have never done such a thing! I knew someone was reading my thoughts, but instead of trying to stop it, I changed them to incorrect feelings. I knew Kadrys was not destroyed -- who better than a fellow vampire to know what kills one? -- but didn't want to disappoint you in your so-eager efforts at obedience. It's also why I acted so uninformed about you. I always knew the truth. But anyway...". "'Raelf: guess you'll find out how the PCD works -- the HARD way, of course!" <> He smiled inwardly, knowing that the vampire lord would be enraged enough by his taunt that he'd attempt the ritual immediately, even despite the reservations he had felt earlier. "SunStorm -- I suppose our long 'relationship' has come to its zenith." SunStorm looked like he was trying to speak, but little came out of his mouth. Obviously, the Dark Master had reinstated the silence spell on him. "And Valgar -- well, at least you'll finally be in peace." Valgar said nothing. If he were to die a slave, he'd at least do it bravely. "And finally, my two new future apprentices -- sort of a bonus. The two probably most susceptible to the nature of this plane. Alita will make a nice replacement for Noira, especially if I can integrate the two spirits together. And William -- poor little William, who didn't even want to get involved in the fight. Well, you don't have to fight me, just bow to my will. You'll do fine, trust me." William sighed inside his hanging cage. All natural hope had disappeared, only the final option remained. He knew what he must do.