Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn
From: arsmith@nyx.cs.du.edu (Alan Smith)
Subject: [NTY] The Il-Shar.
Message-ID: <1993Aug16.041104.7398@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu>
Date: Mon, 16 Aug 93 04:11:04 GMT

Back on the west continent, the Dark one had used descendants of The Horde
which had swept almost all the way across this continent some two and a half
centuries ago.  Hordians (as they were called) were considered the last word
in nomadic barbarian hordes: tough, mean, and nearly unstoppable.

Palandun compared what he remembered of the hordians to what he saw riding
into the Il-Shar's camp.  The two tribes were not related, he concluded, there
were too many superficial differences in their cultures.

There was also a lot of interciene strife, something the Hordians would never
have tolerated.  This Il-Shar must be the first person in a while to come
to that position.  Intertribal fighting would be a big thing to know about.

Palandun's concentration was broken by his being led into the Il-Shar's tent.
  "Who is this person?" The Il-Shar demanded.  Palandun told him who he was
and why he was there.  "I am interested in no peace with a dead kingdom and
a boy-king.  Take him away."
  "Wrong." Palandun said, putting his hand on Gynsoo, "You do want to, and
I'll tell you why: the way things stand, you may or may not win, and if you
do it will only be at great cost in lives."
  "The dead of battle are honored by the gods." Il-Shar quoted.
  "My homeland had a leader once, but he wasted too many of his subjects lives
and was deposed and executed in the most gruesome manner anyone could think
of.  Your people may do the same to you, if you carry on this war needlessly."
Palandun knew he was practically talking out of his hat, but he felt it had
the best chance at working.
  Palandun had underestimated the Il-Shar's courage, however, and was a mite
shocked when he said "I will not be threatened by a settler, put him in the
slave pens."
  Being enslaved twice in the same adventure was too much, however, and 
Pal decided not to be caught this time.  The major problem being that it wasn't
quite so easy as it had been back on the Ceruputhon river when his only opponent
was a butler.  Still, he pulled out Gynsoo and wheeled on the three men who
were about to capture him.  The left one proceeded without interruption and
merely got his rope cut and a gash on his upper arm.  The middle one and the
right one paused and wielded a sword and a spear, respectively, and attacked
when the left one fell off to tend his wound.  Deciding on the two-handed grip,
Pal parried a spear thrust, blocked the sword comming from above, then bound 
and pressed Gynsoo's point into the swordman's face.  He lurched into the
swordman (missing a spear thrust) pulled out his sword, and with a quick swipe
beheaded the spearman.
  It was at this point that he realized he was surrounded, at odds of twelve
to one.  Survivors would later say that the only word he said during the
whole battle was right then, and it was "Oops."
  The first thing Palandun did was to cleave one of the tent-poles, collapsing  
that side of the tent and nullifying 180 of the 360 degrees he recently had to 
fight. He then attacked the guard to his right, faking a knee-swipe.  The guard 
dutifully jumped back, spreading his arms for balance and losing his shield-arm
a few inches behind the wrist.  Palandun picked up his shield, slung it,
and used it to block sword-swipes from the next two guards.  He slew one, 
shield bashed the other and was just about to slay him too when he heard this
"HALT!"  His sword-edge remained at the guard's throat, the adrenaline coursing
through his system practically begged his triceps to extend and kill the guard.

  "You killed three guards and wounded two others, and you have not a mark on
you."  The Il-Shar observed.
  "He's next, then you are." Palandun stated, trying to figure out what the 
snark was going on. 
  "You have admirable courage.  Guards, back to your posts.  You have your
freedom, Palandun Lintesul.  I have just one question: why would so good a
warrior as yourself degrade himself to becoming an ambassador?"
  Gynsoo remained unsheathed.  "I'm not a warrior, I'm a student.  I only
make war and deliver embassies when I have to."
  "I can understand your not wanting to be an ambassador, but why not a
warrior?  Surly the honor and prestiege-"
  "Honor and prestiege won't replace his arm, or revive them." He indicated the
casualties from the last exchange, "and I could have lost.  That's always a
possibility.  What good does honors do a dead man?  Or his family?"
  "You are definitely different from us, capable of war, but reluctant to do it.
Does a similar motive strike the boy-king?"
  "Possibly.  We won't know until the embassy arrives."
  "Very well, I will hear him out.  We will wait for him to arrive."