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From: hsexauer@vax.cns.muskingum.edu (Rapunzel)
Subject: [Legacy] A prison of the mind
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Organization: Muskingum College
Date: Mon, 21 Feb 1994 16:25:46 GMT




     They needed no prompting to move their campsite for that
night.  The idea of remaining in the company of the
Shekiren's corpse was not appealing to anyone.  Hastily,
equipment was gathered and tossed on the horses while
Elcoran's litter was hooked to Jaerodyn's stallion.  For the
first time since the ghouls attacked the elven lad seemed
recovered and on the verge of waking.  He had regained his
color and was moving restlessly on the cot.  Jaerodyn's mount
kept turning his head to eye distastefully the lump thrashing
around behind him.  The horse flicked his tail in irritation.
     Aleric paid little attention to the events following the
Shekiren's death.  The haze which had filled his mind was
still there, and stronger now that he had no need to beat it
back.  Some time later he found himself with his left arm
draped over his brother's shoulders as the other virtually
carried him through the darkened forest.  The Lyorn's limbs
felt impossibly heavy for some reason making it an effort to
move them.  Concentration was entirely out of the question,
let alone coherent action.  The blond warrior suffered
himself to be led wherever they were headed, he was certainly
in no condition to argue.
     In a small thicket to the southwest the weary group
finally stopped to make camp for the second time that night.
It had been an altogether nervous flight in the dark.  Any
small noise or movement on the edge of vision brought
immediate reaction from the travellers, who kept expecting to
see more night haunts or Shekiren at every turn.  Senses were 
stretched to the farthest reaches to detect attackers before 
they came.  Fortunately, no other horrors had showed themselves 
that night.  The little group was finally able to rest and sleep 
following the battle with the Shekiren.
     Near dawn the following morning Jaerodyn woke to his
sister's touch.  Kieriah was on one knee beside him with a
worried expression in her eyes.  "Jaer, I need your help.
Aleric is delirious and he seems not to recognize me.  Every
time I try to get near him to help he lashes out."
     The younger Lyorn sat up and pushed his hair off his
forehead.  He groaned softly as he felt a sore stiffness in
his muscles.  "I think that Shekiren gave me a better work out
than I've had in years.  Okay, I'm up."  He climbed to his
feet and stepped over Ruel's slumbering form.  Kieriah had
moved back to Aleric's side, well out of his arm's reach.
The eldest Lyorn was thrashing fitfully and muttering under
his breath.  The bronzed face was damp with sweat and the tie
had come loose from his hair leaving it to tangle around his
throat.  Jaerodyn frowned and cocked his head to listen to
his brother's ravings.  "Kia, have you been listening to what
he's saying at all?"
     "Not really, most of it is too low to be heard, but
every once in awhile he'll say something intelligible."
     Jaerodyn extended his hand to lay it on his brother's
chest, but the other fiercely swung a fist at him.  The eyes
opened and stared at him balefully.  "Judging by their
color," Jaerodyn pointed at Aleric's eyes, "he's very upset
by something."  Kieriah peered at his face trying to see for
herself.  Aleric shifted his gaze to look at her, and jerked
away violently with a startled curse.
     "Purple?  I've never seen that in him before.  What do
you suppose is wrong with him?" the Lyorn girl asked.
     "We don't know what effect the ghouls may have on a
victim.  Maybe they had some sort of venom.  I can't believe
our dear brother who's never been sick a day in his life
could have contracted an ordinary infection."
     "Hm.  Well, we've got to do something before he hurts
himself.  I wonder if Tierge could calm him down?" she mused.
     Jaerodyn studied his brother critically.  He sat back on
his heels and contemplated the fevered young man.  Then he
leaned forward and fixed his brother's bright eyes with a
level stare.  "Aleric.  Listen to me, you're very sick and
you have to let me help you."
     "No.... never let you....," Aleric muttered in a defiant
tone of voice.  "You can't deceive me.... not Jaerodyn....
won't let you win..."
     Kieriah furrowed her brow and glanced at Jaerodyn.  "Who
do you think he sees us as?"  Her brother shrugged.  He was
still listening to Aleric's low rumbling.  Most of the words
were garbled, but once in awhile something understandable
would emerge.
     "Aleric.  Look at me."  The fever bright eyes turned in
Jaerodyn's direction.  "I'm you brother, Jaerodyn.  Can you
recognize me?"  The was no lessening in the hostility
reflected in the Lyorn's eyes, Aleric was beyond reasoning at
the moment.  He was lost in his pain wracked world of fever
dreams where he faced who knew what evils.  Jaerodyn was
making no progress at all.
     Kieriah touched Jaerodyn's shoulder again.  "Jaer he's
got to be sedated.  The way he's struggling he's bound to
injure himself sometime.  And I can't do anything about the
fever if I can't get near him."  Her brother looked at her
briefly and nodded.
     "Go get Tierge and tell her what's going on.  I'll see
about restraining Aleric," he said.  The Lyorn girl got to
her feet and went to wake the mage.  Meanwhile, Jaerodyn
fished in one of the packs for several lengths of cloth.  He
finally tore several strips from an extra blanket and
returned to his brother's side.  Aleric had closed his eyes
again and fallen silent, though he still jerked spasmodically
at intervals.  Jaerodyn carefully knelt next to him with a
length of cloth in one hand and the other ready to ward off a
blow.  He gently picked up one wrist and wrapped the cloth
around it.
     The limp wrist suddenly tensed and twisted in Jaerodyn's
grip.  Aleric formed a fist and tried to take a swing at his
brother's head.  Jaerodyn ducked and regained his hold on the
arm.  Wrestling against Aleric's strength Jaerodyn finally
managed to get the arm tied against his brother's waist where
it couldn't do any harm.  While he hesitated debating whether
he should do the same with the injured arm, the object in
question wrapped itself around the younger Lyorn's throat.
In his delirium Aleric seemed not to feel the pain of his
shoulder, so used his full force in an effort to strangle his
perceived enemy.  Jaerodyn clawed at his brother's arm trying
to loosen it without hurting him.  Finally, he shot his elbow
back in the direction of Aleric's chin.  It connected with a
solid thump and rocked the warrior's head back.  The arm
loosened abruptly.  Jaerodyn quickly tied the offending arm
to Aleric's waist and rubbed his throat ruefully.  On further
thought, he used the remaining length of cloth to bind
Aleric's feet as well, just in case he thought of using them.
     By this time the entire company had awakened and was
watching the scene with concern.  Even the elven lad who had
recently regained consciousness was following the spectacle.
Elcoran was leaning up on one elbow, looking very young with
his silvery hair tousled and tanned face flushed from sleep.
Tierge was delving into her packs of implements, pulling out
several packets of powders and a small wooden bowl.  Kieriah
hovered anxiously taking each of the items as they appeared.
At last when the little mage seemed satisfied, she removed
her equipment to the fire Ruel was lighting.  While the
company looked on, she carefully measured a noxious smelling
powder into the bowl and added a pinch of another on top of
it.  Then she decanted a bit of water from one of the skins
into the bowl and stirred the contents slowly.  After a brief
time of heating the concoction over the tiny fire she dropped
one more pinch of a yellow powder into the bowl and sniffed
delicately.  Ruel who was sitting the nearest wrinkled his
nose when he caught a whiff of the foul brew.  Tierge fluidly
rose to her feet and glided over to Aleric's prone body.
     The little mage frowned at Jaerodyn when she observed
the state of their leader.  "He can't swallow very well when
he's unconscious, now can he?" she chided gently.  One thin
finger touched the Lyorn's forehead as she sent a slight
surge of power to wake the young warrior.  He woke violently.
Tierge had to back off while Aleric fought the newly
discovered bonds.  When he had exhausted himself
sufficiently, she brought the bowl close to his face.  The
fumes, when concentrated, had a soporific effect and the
Lyorn in his weakened state succumbed quickly.  Just before
he fell asleep Tierge put the bowl's rim to his lips and
forced him to drink it.  Even in his drugged somnolence he
tried to resist.  The little mage stroked his throat like a
child's until he swallowed the stuff.  His chances of being
difficult diminished rapidly from that point.  The eyes
closed and he promptly went limp.
     "So much for that.  Well, we've just gone from one
invalid to another.  Now that Elcoran doesn't need the litter
we can use it for Aleric." She placed one small hand on his 
forehead, feeling the heat of his skin burning her own.  Her
expression was worried.  "I don't like this.  With a fever as
high as this he could die simply because he's killing his own
system trying to rid himself of the poison.  We must find help
quickly," the mage remarked as she turned away from her patient.
     The began the next leg of their trek later than usual
that day.  After Tierge had dealt with Aleric, she had turned
her attentions to Elcoran.  Surprisingly, the elven lad was
almost in top condition.  The wounds from the ghouls had
closed completely and mostly disappeared.  He was, however,
still weak enough that he was forced to ride until he
regained his strength.  Nothing was said about the youth's
sudden recovery, but Durstrin gave his nephew a stern look.
Elcoran had the grace to look abashed, but he refused to
explain.  When Tierge had finally finished her short
examination, they struck the camp and prepared to move on.
     They moved as fast as possible that day, eager to get
out of the region.  For five people on foot with two members
of their party injured, six leagues a day was making pretty
good time.  Nevertheless, it seemed like a slow crawl to the
group.  Stress and the monotony of the trek was wearing on
each of the travellers, crushing their spirits.  The
bantering between the new friends that had marked the early
stages of the journey had ceased, yielding to a sullen
moodiness.  No one spoke through the endless miles they
travelled that day, except when decisions were necessary or
their drugged leader became unruly.
     The weather held reasonably clear over a period of two
more days.  The group wended their way through the hills and
minor cuts that preceded the foothills of the southern edge
of the Janariak.  Occasionally it had been necessary to find
cover during the day when there were indications of unwelcome
company.  While on the road, the company elected not to trust
anyone they happened to meet since those few would be slaves
to the Shekiren.  Mostly it was the fear of discovery by
another Shekiren that drove them to ground when any sound out
of the ordinary was heard.  And even though they may not have
known it, that instinct did indeed preserve their meager band
from discovery on at least one occasion.
     By the end of the third day since the Shekiren's death,
the company had reached a crossroads.  Durstrin had scouted
ahead as usual and upon returning had reported he could see
evidence of a settlement several miles ahead.
     "From what I could see," the elf began slowly, "the
settlement is a walled stockade perched on top of a bluff.
The land surrounding it has been cleared and the citizens are
able to survey the land all around them.  Once we step out of
the cover of the trees, if anything happened we'd have to
make a dash for the stockade.  It had a series of ramps and
bridges leading to the gates, but we'd be exposed until we
actually entered the gates."  Durstrin rubbed his chin
thoughtfully, trying to remember if there were any other way
in visible.
     Ruel interrupted his thoughts to bring up an important
point. "It won't really matter how exposed we are; with
Aleric down there's no way we can kill another Shekiren if
one decides to show up."
     "That brings up my next point," Durstrin replied
heavily.  "I'm not entirely sure, but I think this stockade
is under the Shekiren's direct supervision.  I could make out
what looked like a station or watchtower just outside the
town.  I caught a glimpse of one of the guards, and unless
the inhabitants of the town are winged, I think we're going
to have a few problems."
     Jaerodyn sighed heavily. "So what else is new?  We
always have problems.  Okay, I'm inclined to trust Durstrin's
judgement because few things are sharper than elven eyes and
being this close to Highspire I'd expect little else.  Our
next step is to figure out which way we'd like to go."  The
young Lyorn looked around at his companions for suggestions.
They all knew that the situation was getting critical for
their leader, who was still in the throes of delirium.
Aleric had to get professional help soon or he would die, but
taking him into the stockade could be fatal to them all.
     Ruel scratched at the new scars that striped his cheek.
He looked around speculatively at his companions before
turning back to Durstrin.  "Where is the river in relation to
the stockade?  Did you see it?"
     "Vaguely.  I heard it more than saw it.  It comes down
from the heights in a small waterfall just to the east of the
town.  It looks like the citizens even utilize its power for
some of the town.  I can't say what it looks like on the
other side, the stockade and the heights are in front of it."
     "Hmm... Do we actually have to take Aleric into the
town?  It would be just as easy for a couple of us to go in
and find the help we need," the valeman asked appraisingly.
     "I don't think it matters how you get it, just as long
as you do.  And fast.  Aleric isn't looking too good,"
Elcoran ventured.  "Was he gasping like that before?"
     From the look of concentration on the valeman's face, he
was forming a plan.  "Kieriah, exactly how good are you at
what you do?" he asked in a thoughtful air.
     The Lyorn girl furrowed her brow as she thought.  "What
exactly do you need?"
     "Well, I was thinking something along the lines of a
little deception.  But it would also require us to alter our
appearances a little."
     She grinned with a self-satisfied air.  "I'm pretty good
at what I do.  I think I can handle just about anything you
can think up..."



-- 
Heather Sexauer
Muskingum College
hsexauer@muskingum.edu

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

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

						-- Princess Bride