From alt.pub.dragons-inn Sat Feb 12 09:30:19 1994
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From: hsexauer@vax.cns.muskingum.edu (Rapunzel)
Subject: [Legacy] And from this mighty chasm...
Message-ID: <1994Feb11.182821.1@vax.cns.muskingum.edu>
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Organization: Muskingum College
Date: Fri, 11 Feb 1994 23:28:21 GMT



	When they came to the first ravine the next day, Aleric realized he
could have cheerfully throttled the little mage.  The secretive smile from the
day before now took on new meaning.
	"A bit?  This isn't a ravine, it's a bloody chasm!" the warrior
exclaimed.  He whirled around to glare at Tierge.  
	"The roof of one cave system collapsed a while back I believe.  In
fact, as I recall it had some help.  This chasm was created as a means of
defense against the Shekiren.  It still works reasonably well since from here
south the frequency of night haunts increases."
	Aleric turned to Ruel suspiciously.  "Don't look at me, my friend," the
valeman protested, shaking his head.  "I told you I'm out of my element here. 
I don't know much about the deep south."
	"Somebody remind me to have a talk with that toothless old warlock if
we ever get back," Aleric grumbled.  "And tack on several more days to our
journey."
	"Is there any way down this side?" Kieriah asked.  
	"Not that I know of," Tierge replied.  "Remember, it was meant to keep
the dark ones out, and any passage we could use, so could they.  Besides, not
many people were interested in crossing it."
	"What about those who live in the south?" Elcoran asked.
	"Fell to the dark ones a long time ago."
	"Alright then.  Everybody spread out and let's see if we can't find a
way down.  Meet back here in one hour, and if we don't find a path we'll have
to go around the long way," Aleric ordered.  In response to the groans that
were issued he added, "I know.  I'm not really looking forward to it myself."
	So Tierge and the elves went south and west while the remaining four
went north and east.  Aleric and Ruel cantered on ahead of the other two Lyorns
to commence their search farther down.  The rode along the ravine's edge
carefully surveying the slope on the far side as closely as the near side. 
Once they got down there they'd need a way out, after all.  Some ten minutes
later Ruel called Aleric's attention to a narrow rift on the other face. 
	"Now that has potential," Ruel said pointing out the rift.  The Lyorn
followed it upward with his eyes and nodded.
	"It still does us no good unless we get inside first," Aleric reminded
the valeman.  "Let's keep looking.  We've got twenty minutes before we need to
head back."
	At the specified time, the travellers began to regroup.  Last to join
them were the two elves who had stopped to investigate a couple possibilities. 
Aleric glanced around to see if everyone was present.  His gaze fell on Elcoran
who was extremely dusty, his hair and clothes covered with a fine pale dust. 
"What did you fall into?" he asked in amusement.
	"The way down I believe," the young elf answered with a grin.  "I
literally fell into our answer."
	"Gave me a scare he did," Durstrin said scowling at his nephew.  "I
hadn't seen him disappear and he didn't hear me calling him down in that pit he
was in.   I thought for sure he'd fallen over the edge of the cliff!"  Elcoran
laughed brightly, a shower of dust falling off his head and shoulders. 
Durstrin ruffled the lad's hair briskly sending up a cloud of dust.
	"The long and the short of it is that there appears to be a series of
caves and tunnels whose general direction is down.  I explored a bit while I 
was in the caverns.  I think we can get down that way," Elcoran said.  Then he
began slapping the dirt off his clothes making Kieriah, who was next to him,
sneeze.  Tierge made a negligent gesture and spoke a soft word, and a stiff
wind blew on the elf causing the dirt and dust to blow away.  When he was
reasonably clean she made a dismissing motion and the breeze stopped.
	"Anyone else find anything feasible?" the Lyorn asked.  All shook their
heads.  "What about the other side and getting out?  Ruel found a track in the
other direction, but was there anything else?"
	"I saw a place or two that were climbably, but not with horses,"
Kieriah added.
	"Then it seems our choices are few," Jaerodyn said.  "We may as well
get started, the light won't last very much longer."  With Elcoran in the lead,
they rode southwest looking for the tunnels.  The most obvious problem would be
getting the horses into the cave.  Elcoran assured them there was enough room
for them to fit in all the places he explored, but it was a long way down to
the cavern floor.
	When they reached the opening, they all gathered around the edge and
stared down.  It was a fifteen foot drop into the darkness below.  The mouth of
the opening showed the four feet of packed earth and rocks that formed the
ceilings.  Many glances were exchanged including the looks toward the horses. 
Elcoran gazed at only one person.  His grey eyes did not waver in their
contemplation of Tierge's face.  She returned his gaze with a worried one of
her own.
	"Can you do it, Tierge?" Kieriah asked.
	"I think so," the mage replied unhappily.  "But horses are very heavy,
and with seven it will be a strain."  She eyed the pit, measuring it
speculatively.  
	Elcoran shifted his gaze to Aleric.  The Lyorn raised one brow in
question at the elf, unsure as to what he wanted.  "You can help her Aleric,"
Elcoran urged.
	"How?  I'm not a mage, and I have no skills in that direction."
	The elf only nodded at Tierge who was undoing the drawstrings of a silk
bag.  When she withdrew a tiny crystal with a rose hue he understood.  Aleric
fumbled in his pocket for the soft leather pouch that held his starstone.  He
opened it and poured its contents into his hand.  
	Extending his hand to the mage he asked, "Will this help?"
	"That will help tremendously!" Tierge cried in excitement, taking the
stone from him.  "I could kiss you!  Now there will be no problem at all."  She
held his blue stone in one hand and her rose one in the other.  Bringing the
two together, they started to hum as they neared.  When she touched them the
hum changed into a single clear note.  Guided by the tone of the stones, Tierge
modified her voice to match and softly sung her commands.  One by one, each of
the immobile horses was lifted from the ground and lowered into the cavern
below.  When the last was down, Tierge separated the stones again and the note
stopped.  Reluctantly, she handed the starstone back to Aleric.
	"What happened?" he asked as he pocketed the stone.  
	"Lodestones by themselves can be very useful in concentrating energy,
but when you have more than one in combination they can bounce the energy off
each other multiplying it a hundredfold if necessary," the little mage said. 
"For that reason they are usually found only one per person, and then only
rarely.  Because they can be extremely dangerous when singing, very few have
the ability to control them.  Those who don't...."  She trailed off
suggestively.  Those gathered around her felt a tingle of fear at the back of
their necks.
	Jaerodyn produced a length of rope from one of the packs, and began
lowering it into the cavern.  He and his brother braced themselves holding one
end while the others descended hand over hand.  When all were at last below,
Jaerodyn motioned for Aleric to go next.
	"Are you sure you're able to bear my weight with that old injury of
yours?" Aleric asked soliciously.  Jaerodyn nodded.  "When I'm down toss the
rope and jump.  We'll catch you."
	Jaerodyn snorted in mirth.  He muttered something under his breath that
Aleric didn't quite catch, but sounded like, "Not very likely!"
	Aleric took hold of the rope and lowered himself into the pit. 
Standing on the floor of the cavern he called back for Jaerodyn to join them. 
There was no immediate response, but the rope began making strange movements. 
Then Jaerodyn stepped off the edge backwards withthe rope tied at his waist and
a length in his hands.  He walked slowly down the side and when he neared the
bottom, pushed off and jumped.  He landed and gave the rope a sharp jerk.  It
came loose suddenly and dropped around him.
	"Show off," was Aleric's only comment.  Jaerodyn grinned and started
coiling the rope.
	Tierge lit a magelight and sent it above their heads to light the way
since there would be none once they left the pit mouth.  Elcoran, once more in
the lead, headed for a side tunnel to their left.  He seemed, at least
initially, to be following his own footprints in the dust.  They passed through
several small chambers, each of which had other tunnels in other directions.
	"Elcoran, how do you know which one of the passages to take? They all
look the same to me," Kieriah asked nervously.  She seemed to be a little
uncomfortable enclosed in so much stone.
	"I don't really," he answered cheerfully, steering them into yet
another passage.  "I'm just taking the ones that feel like they're going in the
right direction."
	"Hold it."  The Lyorn girl stopped dead in her tracks, causing Durstrin
to bump into her from behind.  "Are we lost?" she demanded.
	"Of course not Kia," Elcoran assured her easily.  "I know where we are. 
I can't explain it, but I have this sense that we're going where we should be."
	"That's not in the least bit comforting," she said tartly.  Aleric,
standing behind Elcoran, passed a look at Durstrin.  He lifted one brow. 
Durstrin shrugged his shoulders and shook his head almost imperceptibly.  Yet
another mystery added to the rest.
	Not five minutes later, Aleric pulled them all to a halt again.  He had
taken to wearing his amulet outside his shirt since seeing signs of the
watchers.  Now, in the depths of the earth, the green gem was starting to
glimmer.  Trouble was nearby.  He waved the others silent and clenched one hand
around the amulet as he peered into the darkness outside the range of the
magelight.  With he free hand he slowly reached for Xel'ha's hilt over his
shoulder.  The others had followed his lead and readied their weapons.  Kieriah
drew a pair of daggers and held a third ready to throw.  Ruel hefted his axe
and the elves nocked arrows to bowstrings.  Jaerodyn drew his blade and moved
to shadow his older brother.  Tierge alone drew no weapon, but appeared ready
to unleash her power.  Aleric held Xel'ha point down, straining to find the
danger.  Jaerodyn looked quizzically at Aleric.  The older Lyorn tore his gaze
away from the shadows to look at the talisman again.  It still glimmered with a
soft green glow in the darkness.  Seconds passed into minutes, and nothing
showed.
	In a low voice Aleric said, "Elcoran, can you find the way out
quickly?"  The elf nodded in reply, his silvery hair making him stand out in
the magelight.  "Okay, let's see if we can get out of here before whatever is
out there finds us," Aleric said tersely.  He curtly motioned for Elcoran to
go, and they hurriedly followed with one hand on their weapons and the other
leading their mount.  Aleric scanned the side corridors as they passed
searching for movement, but there was none he could see.  Soon, he began
hearing light shufflings underlying their ringing footsteps.  The horses grew
nervous and snorted their anxiety.
	On the edge of his sight the Lyorn thought he saw a pair of eyes,
watching.  But when he turned to look they were gone.  He shook his head and
concentrated on finding their way free safely.  Elcoran insisted they were very
close now, he could smell the fresh air ahead.  The young elf hurried forward
into the next chamber.  The passageway opened out into a narrow pocket where
tumbles of rock obscured parts of the walls.  There was only one other way out
of this chamber-- straight ahead.  But now the entire company could feel the
air moving from outside.  They almost ran forward in their eagerness to escape. 
Elcoran entered the corridor-- and screamed.
	The adventurers leapt to his aid only to be beaten back by a wall of
ghouls.  Aleric could see Elcoran's form lying on the floor with a ghoul
hunched on his chest, but in that brief glance he couldn't tell if the boy was
alive or dead.  A pair of ghouls, twisted limbs scrambling over the floor,
attacked the tall warrior at once.  Xel'ha flared to life with its searing
flame.  Nilsangehir hacked at the monstrosities desperately trying to save
himself and his friends.  He could barely spare a glance to see how his
companions fared, but the sounds of fighting rose around him.
	The ghouls shrieked and cackled with malevolent glee as they attacked
the group.  Some bore crude knives or clubs, but most used their natural claws
and fangs.  Their arms did not seem to be hooked on right for stabbing, but
they raked their victims with a terrible powerful blow.  Each about the size of
a young child, they stood only about knee high on the tall Lyorns.  There was
little room to defend themselves against these tiny terrors with the chamber
filled with the bulk of seven people and horses.  And to make things worse the
horses were screaming and fighting as well.  
	At one point, Aleric felt something land on his back and sink its claws
into the skin to secure its grip.  Aleric cried out in pain and swept Xel'ha
behind him, trying to dislodge his attacker.  The fiery blade hit nothing as it
passed causing the ghoul to giggle all the more.  Nilsangehir heard a shrill
cackle and the ghoul sunk its fangs into the muscle where his shoulder met his
neck.  In his struggle to rid himself of the one on his back, another attacked
his legs and struck his with such force he fell to his knees.  Xel'ha dropped
from Nilsangehir's nerveless fingers and its nimbus died.  The second ghoul
grinned hugely, showing all its pointed teeth as it swarmed over Aleric's
fallen body.
	Jaerodyn saw his brother's plight and came to his rescue.  He pulled a
dagger from his belt and plunged it into the    base of the skull on the ghoul
on Aleric's back.  It died instantly with its jaws still locked on Aleric's
shoulder, but at least it had stopped chewing on him.  The second Jaerodyn
kicked away with one booted foot and skewered it on his sword.  Standing before
his brother to protect him, he kicked Xel'ha back toward Aleric. 
     Acting on an unknown impulse, Nilsangehir picked up the sword and slowly
used it as a prop to climb to his feet.  Holding it by hilt and blade, he held
it over his head and poured all his strength into it.  The amber nimbus ignited 
again but this time shone in full fury.  The light form the blade, falling upon
the twisted forms of the ghouls, burned them with its fiery radiance.  Those
still living scrambled to get away, but the sword's power decimated them before
they escaped.  Their bodies dropped lifeless to the cavern floor.  Nilsangehir
let the fire die, and fell to one knee in exhaustion.
	

-- 
Heather Sexauer
Muskingum College
hsexauer@muskingum.edu

	
	"We'll never survive....."

	"Nonsense.  You're only saying that because no one ever has."

						-- Princess Bride