From alt.pub.dragons-inn Wed Mar 16 17:11:09 1994 Xref: netcom.com alt.pub.dragons-inn:7135 Path: netcom.com!netcomsv!decwrl!pa.dec.com!nntpd.lkg.dec.com!crl.dec.com!crl.dec.com!caen!cmuvm.csv.cmich.edu!344lwkc Organization: Central Michigan University Date: Wed, 16 Mar 1994 14:02:22 EST From: Mike Sander <344LWKC@CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDU> Message-ID: <94075.140222344LWKC@CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDU> Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Subject: [BBD] The Mission Lines: 493 [ADMIN1: A brief What Has Gone Before: When last we left the BBD thread, Bek and Raoh (who currently has control of Tarkyn's body) where on their way to the Mage Guild, to pick up an item Velric ordered BBD to get. Meanwhile, Lancos and Kaalzic were approaching BBD's HQ, intent on rescuing Myrnien. Meanwhile #2, Myrnien herself, while in a dream, met wolves who knew Kaalzic, and found them to be a bit more than they seemed.] [ADMIN2, Accredations. Raoh and Tarkyn belong to Barry Prismall; Myrnien, Kaalzic and the wolves to Dan Peters; Gutt Man to the Dreamer; BBD and Lancos to myself. Also, thanks to the Mage Guild people for... well, allowing this to happen, and for helping with the post.] His first waking thought was a memory of pain. Someone was calling him. The voice was annoying, imperative. How dare they? He would destroy... No. The memories were returning. He'd heard this voice before. It had woken him, called him out of the darkness, out of the hoarded pool of souls that the accursed runeblade had stolen. He opened his eyes, again seeing the face of the stranger in the mirror: Tarkyn, the man who had killed him. The voice spoke again and he reocgnized the mage holding the mirror: Bek. ... Raoh stopped the memory there, and approached the Mage Guild with measured steps. He felt a strange sense of nervousness as he neared, which he attributed to being in this new body. It surely had more physical strength than he was accustomed to, but it was weaker magically, and it was magic -- that and a bit of good acting -- which would help him in this endeavor. For, BBD had informed him about the Mage Guild, stressing how thorough they were, and how badly they would treat an invader. After being defeated once, Raoh was ready to agree with BBD that subtlety was the best course, especially after Bek hinted he could use someone else. Of course, the time for thinking of such thing was in the past; now it was time to concentrate on this task. After trying to prepare himself for anything, he stepped through the door, felt himself being scanned, and received... an amazing amount of disinterest. No bells, no whistles, no flaming balls of death, nary a raised eyebros at his entrance. Which meant that either BBD had overestimated the defenses -- which Raoh seriously doubted -- or else he'd succeeded in fooling the sensors. He kept focussed however, as he moved forward. "Afternoon, Tarkyn." came the greeting from the front desk, followed by a stifled yawn. "It's been a while since I've seen you around here. Almost since you came back after defeating Raoh." Raoh grinned at the deskworker, and hoped that the expression conveyed friendliness, although its true significance was pleasure. After all, both Tarkyn's Mage Guild membership and the lazy, late afternoon atmosphere had apparently proven to be as beneficial as hoped. Of course, he couldn't tap into the ranger's memory to find out this fellow's name, but that was a minor inconvenience. Giving a small shrug of his shoulders, he said, "Yes, I've been rather busy lately." That was certainly the truth. The deskworker nodded. "Yeah, who hasn't? So anyway, what are you up to today?" "Oh, I just plan on doing a little experimentation." This caused a slight surprised look. "Well, you must be feeling more comfortable with your magic." "Yes, I guess you could say I'm almost a new person in that respect," Raoh said quickly, hoping he was staying within Tarkyn's characteristics. A smile in reply told him he had salvaged things. "That's good. I'll let you get on with your business -- I'm sure you know where everything is." That wasn't exactly true, but Raoh nodded nevertheless, and gave a wave as he walked away. 'That wasn't too bad,' he said to himself. 'Of course, what comes next should be significantly more difficult...' * * * * Myrnien felt the dream world grow dizzy around her, and the next thing she knew, she was in the middle of a forest. Besides trees, all she could see at the moment was the sun making its descent, and -- far to the east -- the front of a large black tower, which seemed to fluctuate in and out of view. She was blinking her eyes at the discomforting sight, when a noise in front of her diverted her attention. Zana and Toric emerged, followed close behind by several other wolves. "Sorry for any discomfort," Zana said. "But we feel more comfortable here. And so it is here that we will help you escape. And all we ask is that you return the favor." "I'd do anything for my freedom," Myrnien said, then paused for thought. 'Anything but give it up to someone else,' she amended, reminding herself about how she'd been trapped in BBD's service. "What would I need to do?" "Your talents will help to free us from a prison, just like ours will do for you. More than that we dare not say while someone else has access to your mind. Is it agreed?" "Yes," the warrior replied. She felt she could trust these creatures, but even if she were wrong, she couldn't see what harm they could do. It was _her_ dream, after all. "Good. Then move your left arm away from your body, so that we can grasp your bracelet." Myrnien found herself looking down at her hand, for the first time noticing the object was also around her arm in this dream. She lowered her arm, but almost jerked it back when Zana tried to grasp the bracelet with her teeth. "Hold still," said the wolf. At first, little happened, despite Zana's attempts to break open the bracelet's clasp, so it could be removed. But then the other wolves appeared to... flow into the first?!? The result was that Zana grew larger, and therefore stronger, slowly warping the bracelet further. Myrnien smiled, anticipating success. And in the waking world, Myrnien fumbled with the bracelet, the clasp on it holding together because of its magic, but slowly starting to give way. * * * * BBD sat in the shadows, trying not to lose his patience, which had proved to be overall more difficult ever since Velric had gained control. In most areas, BBD had extraordinary patience, but getting his revenge was an exception. And having to depend on someone else's skills didn't help matters. Still, in many ways he had conquered parts of Generica before, so he was confident that this plan would work. A small alarm was relayed to him, informing him that one of his houses had been entered by someone other than one of his minions. He did a quick survey, and found it was his headquarters. It figured -- the one place he didn't have full defenses up, in case Raoh needed to teleport there in an emergency. BBD had thought about forcing Raoh to put on a bracelet in order to reenter the headquarters, but it made _so_ much more sense to wait until he was trapped _inside_. Velric's command kept BBD at the Mage Guild for now, but that mattered little to him. All he had to do was send a signal to his servants. However, he encountered an unexpected barrier. He couldn't seem to wake Myrnien; she appeared to somehow be disconnected from him. Which didn't make a grain of sense; it was all very frustrating. At least he managed to rouse Gutt Man, who he was sure could handle whomever had intruded. At least until he found out -- through Gutt Man's thoughts -- who it was. Kaalzic and Lancos, who had troubled him before?!? That also didn't make sense: BBD was sure the spell he'd cast to make his foes forget where his headquarters was had been successful. So how had they found their way back? He again cursed Velric's command, and silently debated about removing the bracelet _now_. However, that would leave him too weak, at too critical a time. And, with no safe way to speed up things here, all he could do was anticipate the time he could attack these pests, and all teach Velric about making such restricting demands on him. * * * * After their first step into the house, Lancos and Kaalzic took a quick glance around. They were in a hallway that led to a large room that was just out of sight, torches and doorways littering their path. "Is it just me or does this place seem different?" Kaalzic asked. "I don't remember things being like this." "Well, I think BBD had us sent to the main room," Lancos replied, pointing in front of them. "So we might as well check these other rooms while we can. You start on the right -- just be careful." Kaalzic nodded, slowly pulling on the knob, and backing away as opened the door. When nothing showed, he peered in, the sight before him causing a wide grin: a few feet in front of him lay Myrnien. She had her eyes closed as if asleep, but she clapsed her bracelet as if trying to force it off. This convinced him that the item had some sort of way to control her, and the painter was determined to help her remove it if he could. Just then Lancos came over, his own door producing nothing, and wondering about what Kaalzic was looking at. "Myrnien!?" he said quietly, stating the obvious. "I can't believe our luck." "Your luck has just run out," a familiar voice said. They turned to face the Gutt Man, who wore a maniacal grin. "You go help Myrnien if you can -- this battle is mine." the ranger said, matching his opponent stare. Kaalzic nodded, and went into Myrnien's room. He knelt next to her, for a moment simply too glad to see her again to move. But then he looked down to her bracelet, and swore to himself that it would be removed. He pulled hard on the clasp, lending his strength to her effort. Which was harder than he thought: the bracelet was fairly tight on her skin, and the clasp seemed to resist most of his attempt at force. Still, he refused to stop trying as long as there was hope, and smiled as he was rewarded by the feel of the bracelet giving way. "The bracelet's loosening!" Myrnien said in her dream, momentarily unable to keep her composure. "That is because you have help both in the real world and that of dreaming." Zana said, this time through mental communication. "Let us take advantage of this -- on the count of three, push as hard as you can. One... two... _three_!" Kaalzic felt a sudden surge flow into him, making him feel stronger. He pulled with full force, closing his eyes as part of the strain. The next thing he knew, he was falling backwards onto his rear. He opened his eyes and found his hands still around the bracelet, which was no longer connected to Myrnien. He threw the item towards the nearest corner, and stood up over his sister. Even without looking at her hand, Myrnien knew the bracelet was off. She heard a clink and -- despite the fact that it shouldn't have happened on the soft ground around her -- thought it possibly the most beautiful sound she'd ever heard. "Now we will do the same for Gutt Man," Zana stated. "It should come easier, although he might be more resistant to it." "Gutt Man?" Myrnien asked, astonished. "Yes. Remember, he was trapped just like you were. Besides, he is too dangerous to Generica with his current abilities." "Ok, I'll agree with _that_. But I'm still far from fond of the idea. What do I have to do?" "Fortunately, he is already halfway there. Just grasp him, and we'll help you enter his dream, and assist with the rest. "Fine with me." "Good. You best awake now. I am sure the sight will please you..." Myrnien opened her eyes, slowly adjusting to the level of light in the room; to these surroundings. She quickly scanned the room, her eyes locking on Kaalzic's form, and smiled widely. Emotion overtook her and she moved to hug him, something that was eagerly returned. She sat there, silent, joyous, on the verge of tears for many reasons, until she remembered what Zana had said in her dream. She backed away, and stood up. "What's wrong?" Kaalzic asked, worried about what might interfere with their reunion _now_. "Kaalzic, I missed you and we really need to talk, but there's something we need to do first. Come on." * * * * Lancos and Gutt Man moved slowly at first, sizing each other up. The walk here had allowed the warrior to regain his physical energy since the spars with Kaalzic, and earlier Karl. However, despite the hatred he felt for Gutt Man -- in fact, perhaps _because_ of it --, he didn't want to rush into battle with someone as reckless as the child-killer. Gutt Man, on the other hand, was prepared to attack as soon as he'd seen the ranger. However, BBD had commanded him to draw out the battle as long as possible, probably in hopes of finishing them off himself. Gutt Man was starting to really hate the bracelete around his hand, despite the powers it gave him. First it had brought him back here, away from his prey, now it delayed his attack versus one of the few people to so far escape his "cleansing". There was some flexibility to the command though, as so he was soon able to initiate the battle. He drew his knife and the sword he'd taken from Lancos in their earlier battle, and charged at him. The ranger was waiting for this, and drew his own scimitar, and the short sword he'd replaced the first with. He braced for the charge, and pushed back after it was met. No harm done, except for maybe from smelling the murderer's foul breath. Lancos then came with his own attack, slicing towards Gutt Man's left shoulder, but failing to connect thanks to a dodge on his opponent's part. Then, like their first encounter, they settled into a pattern of attacks and parries, occasionally punctuated by a minor wound on one side. However, unlike the prior battle, Lancos didn't have to worry about BBD casting spells at him, and so he was able to turn things to his favor. The main advantage Gutt Man had had was his unorthodox style, but now that the ranger had figured the basics of it out, he could manipulate it. He stepped one pace backward, and then slid his right foot back, as if it had unexpectedly slipped on something. The Gutt Man, seeing this, came rushing in towards Lancos' left. It was the correct move, but it was also what the warrior had planned. He brought his left foot back quickly, executing a legsweep on Gutt Man immediately after he got his balance. Gutt Man was able to slash at Lancos, even causing a good-sized gash along his left arm. Nevertheless, Lancos was able to force his foe to the ground, locking Gutt Man's left leg behind him at a painful angle. Gutt Man tried to reach back to attack, but from this position, it only caused himself more pain than it ever could Lancos. Before Gutt Man could try something else Lancos struck him in the head with the pommel of his scimitar. Even as Gutt Man's head hit the floor, Lancos was tempted to follow with a swipe from the other end of the weapon; something to finish off this threat once and for all. But then he thought of Little Rat, of the bad example that he might set, and instead gave Gutt Man another blow, for her sake. After some thought he felt a bit guilty about doing something so cruel, but shrugged it off after figuring Gutt Man no doubt deserved worse. Lancos reached down to pry Gutt Man's weapons away, his own blade coming close to Gutt Man's head. It was at this time that Myrnien and Kaalzic walked into the hallway. "Wait!" Myrnien cried, almost surprising herself with her concern. Lancos spun around, getting his first good look at Myrnien. She was older than how she looked in Kaalzic's picture, but still seemed to retain her beauty, although her current look suggested she could also be dangerous. "I was only removing his weapons," he explained. "Good. Because we need to remove his bracelet. Otherwise, I'm not sure even his death would stop BBD from controlling him." "All right. What can we do? "Just give me a minute, and then help pull on the bracelet," Myrnien answered. Lancos only shrugged, and exchanged a puzzled look with Kaalzic when Myrnien lay down as far away from Gutt Man as she could possibly get, but still be holding his left arm. "What is she doing?" the ranger whispered to Kaalzic. "I have no idea," came the equally quiet reply. "But she knows more about the bracelets than we do." Myrnien again found herself in the forest, but it was slightly different. She was joined by a tall handsome man with hands that burned with an evil- looking fire and eyes that were the incarnation of insanity. His clothes were white, splashed with deep crimson. The trees around him were bare and the birds that perched there screamed like children on fire. It was almost more than she could stand. He looked about himself, slightly confused. "What have you done with my pretty little knives? I'm never without them," he said in a deep voice, unsettling in its rich, intellectual tone. Myrnien took advantage of his disorientation and drew her sword, pointing it towards his chest. "Move or I'll run you through." "But dear, don't you want ta join my flock?" he asked, motioning to the screaming bird/children. He reached towards her with his burning hands. "The fire has cleaned them. I could clean you too. I love you." She poked him in the chest slightly. Enough to cause pain. A new crimson stain joined the others on his white shirt as she broke skin. Zana, still enlarged, spoke up. "Gutt Man. We know you want to remove your bracelet, and we are going to help." Gutt Man showed no trace of surprise at seeing the animal speak. "Really? It hinders my mission. I suppose you want to just cut off the hands, and destroy me forever?" He held up the arm with the bracelet. It cut into his wrist, making the flame flicker violently. "No, we are not so cruel, unlike you. We won't cause you any harm. Besides, we know you desire your freedom, and you have no option of returning without us allowing you." Gutt Man frowned, after realizing the wolf was right. He had no weapons. He couldn't even guess where he was at, or how to get back to Generica. Effectively, as much as he hated to admit it, he had no choice. "All right. But if you cause me any pain, I'll steal your children and have them join my little flock." He held out his hand, now without the burning flame. Zana nodded, and carefully slipped her muzzle again between bracelet and skin. As predicted, the situation went smoother this time, thanks to the wolves being more familiar with the bracelet's weaknesses, and the added strength of Lancos in the real world. Soon the bracelet was off, although all remained in the same place. "Please place your hands behind you," Zana addressed Gutt Man. After a poke by Myrnien's sword, Gutt Man slowly complied. He grumbled as he did this, trying to disguise his hands moving for Myrnien's sword. He smiled, knowing it was almost in reach -- but then, he disappeared. Myrnien resheathed her sword, and looked toward Zana. "Our part of the bargain is finished," the wolf replied. "Now, as soon as you can, come to us in the waking world. Your brother can lead you to us, and once your enter dreaming there, the rest can be accomplished. Be sure the ranger accompanies you -- he also has some unusual skill in this area. Afterward, your destination shall be that tower," she motioned to the east. "It appears as it does because you should not be able to see it from here, but it is where you must go, both to have your revenge and to stop an invasion into Generica." Before Myrnien could reply, she found her eyes reopening, again taking in the sights of BBD's headquarters. She looked around, and was relieved to see a rope around Gutt Man's hands and feet, Lancos and her brother preparing to drag the child-killer by it. "We'd better leave," she stressed. "I was thinking the same thing," the ranger replied. "After all, I'd like to get Gutt Man to Glorashanned Keep as soon as I can." "No, you don't understand! BBD's alive, and could return any second!!" Lancos stared in surprise. "What? BBD?" * * * * Raoh, after what seemed like endless searching, finally found the door he had been looking for. It had a magical lock on it, but that would be no problem to disengage without detection, he thought. And he was right, although the spell he cast made him feel unusually woozy. He pondered about the limits of Tarkyn's magic, not knowing that the ranger had been taking a drug that suppressed magic, making any spell more straining. Nevertheless, Raoh quickly scouted the room, until he found what he was looking for. A vial, containing the tears of a ki-rin. It was rare, but not part of any spell that Raoh knew of. Which probably explained why it wasn't behind more powerful defenses, though it left open the question of what BBD was going to do with it. Of course, that wasn't _his_ problem. What was his problem was to avoid being caught. To do so he needed to execute the next few steps as quickly as possible. He began the incantation to his next spell even as he reached for the vial. He grabbed it with his left hand and let loose the built-up magical energy with his right, letting it shape into a portal. Raoh didn't sense any alarms going off, but he knew they had, and swiftly placed the vial through it. However, from there, things strayed from what had been planned. After all, the Mage Guild only allowed certain entrances and exits in its building, and the portal certainly wasn't meant to be one of them. Which meant it was a strain for Raoh to maintain it, especially with the suppresant running through his veins. Then, some defense of the Guild seemed to strike him, and he stumbled, trying to concentrate both on escaping, and keeping the doorway open. He tried to step toward the portal, but the pressure overcame him, and he collasped, falling into unconsciousness. The portal, with no more magic to support it, instantly disappeared. When security arrived moments later, all they found was the slumped body of Tarkyn. * * * * Still outside the Mage Guild, BBD saw a rectangular box of light appear before him, and smiled: the plan had worked. The vial soon came through, and BBD immediately grabbed it. With Velric's command no longer active, and figuring Raoh would be shortly behind, he teleported back to his home base. >Lancos stared in surprise. "What? BBD?" "In the proverbial flesh," BBD said, smiling as he came in to their rear. "Drop Gutt Man! I may have lost his services -- albeit temporarily --, but that is no way to treat one of my minions. Lancos felt his arms grow heavy, as if every inch of them weighed several pounds. He unconsciously loosened his grip on Gutt Man, and the knife he still held. Gutt Man, who had revived by now, started to wriggle towards the weapon. Meanwhile, Lancos struggled, trying to draw the energy to pull out his weapons, or maybe even his medallion. He also backed away, pushing Myrnien and Kaalzic towards the exit. "Ah, ah; it won't be that easy," BBD said, seeing what the ranger was up to. He cast another spell, one intended to subdue his opponents. 'No use killing them, and wasting good slaves,' he told himself. The energy travelled quickly in their direction, and suddenly _stopped_, about an inch away. BBD blinked, and then saw that they were surrounded, by what appeared to be a mystical field of eyes. "Oh, so one of you has some magic on your side. Don't expect that to save you, though," he said, beginning another spell. Meanwhile, Gutt Man had reached his knife, and began to use it to cut his bonds. It was a painful experience, even for someone as used to handling a knife as Gutt Man, but eventually he was able to slice the main knot, with only a few minor rope burns as a result. He went to work on the other bonds, knowing it wouldn't be long before he was totally free again. Myrnien stepped forward, screaming "You won't have me as a slave again!". She lunged at BBD, who sidestepped the charge, but nevertheless shifted, as if having to adjust his spell. Myrnien sliced again, this time at an angle BBD couldn't dodge. She smiled as her sword came down, but lost her grin when it passed right through BBD, who laughed at her attempt. Myrnien was stunned: she had had a dream like this; could BBD even penetrate that far into her mind while she wore the bracelet? BBD showed what could only be assumed to be his real self. "You got your one chance. Now the time for games is over!" Gutt Man quickly cut the bond to his feet, and then jerked at the one between his arms. Some skin came off with the rope, but it was more than worth it, in his opinion, to be free. He scanned the room, trying to decide on a target. He quickly locked on BBD, partially because he knew he'd have to get past him to escape, and because he wasn't exactly excited about having to face Lancos again. Just as BBD motioned the energy outward, Gutt Man bumped into him, slashing a wound in his left arm. The energy dissipated, only causing a nasty-lookin burn in the floor. "You'll pay for that!" BBD cried, even as he healed himself. "I don't think so," Gutt Man replied, making another swipe at BBD. The mage was forced to retreat a bit, giving even the murderer enough time to make it out of the doorway. BBD cursed, and debated about going after them. However, he figured by now they had scattered. Besides, he had bigger fish to fry, in Velric. Raoh hadn't shown up yet, which likely meant that he had been captured, and took him out of BBD's plans, but that didn't stop the mage from being confident of his chances of getting his hands on the DarkSeed, and toppling Velric. Then let Generica -- _especially_ those who had opposed him -- fear him. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mike Sander 344lwkc@cmuvm.csv.cmich.edu P.S. Congratulations if you actually read this far {:-)!}