From alt.pub.dragons-inn Tue May 17 18:33:04 1994 Xref: netcom.com alt.pub.dragons-inn:7277 Path: netcom.com!csus.edu!wupost!darwin.sura.net!howland.reston.ans.net!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!newsxfer.itd.umich.edu!gumby!yale!yale.edu!noc.near.net!news.delphi.com!usenet From: brudnick@delphi.com Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Subject: [VampQ] Belfry Date: Mon, 16 May 94 18:55:47 -0500 Organization: Delphi (info@delphi.com email, 800-695-4005 voice) Lines: 302 Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: bos1g.delphi.com ============================================================ [VAMPQ] There's never a Belfry when you need one. Admin [The cast of characters for the [VampQ] thread: Character Created/Managed by --------------------------------------------------------- Ja'nis arsmith@lamar.ColoState.EDU (Alan Smith) Bluestar Dreamer (in absentia) Gemini (Feline familiar of Bluestar Dreamer) Moria Runecaster Master Hawk Rathan Barbar Morning Reaper Ah (Blood spider created by Rathan) Turion "Mr. Sinister..." a salamander (Turion's Travelling Companion) Billy the Torch JGE103@PSUVM.PSU.EDU Matte Kudasai Matt Hebert Tav Safthandor sxk29@po.CWRU.Edu (Susan Kretschmer) Tomonobu Fujiwara brudnick@delphi.com (Bret R. Rudnick) Synopsis: After retrieving specimens of the Vampire Orchid, all that's left to do is deliver the goods -- easier said than done.] Admin [As always, comments/questions welcome.] ============================================================ > After only a dozen paces or so, they stood once again > under the cool Generican stars. The triplet Nexus moons waxed > high above them, and the cool breeze they felt was joyous. > They had finally come home, but not yet to the end of the > journey. The Vampire Orchids had yet to be delivered, and > there was still the matter of the unknown assailant who tried > several times to foil their quest. "Where are we?" Tomonobu asked, half-expecting the planar change to have gone wrong. "Home," Ja'nis whispered as she saw the moons and stars. "Hey, I know this place!" Billy interjected. He ran to a pile of boulders near a narrow trail and scrambled to the top. Looking out over the area, he got his bearings to confirm his hunch. "I used to come out here to, uh, put a few items for safekeeping. We're only about ten miles from the City." "I think we should press on, though we may be weary," Tomonobu advised. "If there's going to be an attempt to stop us it will likely come between here and the City walls." Tav frowned at the sky. The stars here appeared different from those in his homeland to the north. Some constellations he recognised but the placement was different. He was taught to find his way by them, and knew if he kept at it he could figure his position fairly accurately. But just as he was getting somewhere with his calculations, his view of the stars was obscured. "Darned clouds," he commented as he noticed his view of the sky was periodically blocked by this or that large dark mass moving in. Hearing Tav's comment, Matte looked up automatically. But the "clouds" had a peculiar undulating movement not consistent with weather she had seen. "Those aren't clouds!" she warned. Bluestar scanned the sky with his sharp elven vision. "She's right," he confirmed, "they're giant bats!" "Bats? What about th- Aaaa!" Ja'nis said as one of them made a swooping attack on her face, which she avoided only by ducking at the last minute and nearly falling over. For a brief moment the air was filled with the metallic sound of blades emerging from scabbards, and the group naturally clustered together, their backs to each other. "Just like the lizardman wars," Ja'nis noted to herself, "In imminent danger of attack and I can't see my own sword." "Shhh." Moria instructed, taking her daggers, crossing them, and using them to construct a complicated rune in the air. She looked up in the sky, scanning with her sharp elven eyesight until she spotted a bat, when some more manipulations with her dagger sent the rune spinning towards the bat, who became entangled in a sticky net and plummeted to earth. "I make out eight of them." Bluestar said, nocking an arrow and beginning to take aim. "These are not isolated incidents." Tomonobu said, searching the sky for the bats, "Someone is trying to stop us. And this attack is sure to be a diversion from something even more unpleasant." Each member of the group took up his or her defensive position immediately and confidently, spreading out for room to work. But in a clearing just on the opposite side of a dividing thicket, a long, white crack quietly formed in the air. After a moment, a black serpentine neck twisted through the crack between planes. The mouth filled with writhing tongues opened, and a mist like a light snow rolled forth. As the mist accumulated, two claws protruded from the crack and forced it to slowly open wider. "For the Sands of Algorath! Let us take the battle to them," so exclaiming, the giant insectoid ran and gave a mighty leap only to hover for a few seconds before crashing to the earth. "AAaaaaarrrgggghhhh!!" The mighty surfer sprang to his feet raising his four arms high. A colossal pillar of earth and stone shot screaming into the formation of the bats, knocking many askew and striking one square in the chest. A look of fear crossed Rathan's face as a single thought crossed his mind: "What goes up, must come down." Then before the insectoid surfer could leap away, the pillar of earth and stone with the one bat came crashing down on Rathan. "Boss, Boss! Are you O.K.?" a red spider shouted at the pile of earth and stone under which his master, Rathan, lay. "NO! I'm not O.K. I feel like I just got hit by a ton of bricks." Slowly a mound of swampy material oozed his way out of the pile earth and stone. "I think I'll just rest here for a bit." "Boss, I told you not to overdo yourself." "Ah,... shut up." Matte had originally set herself to identifying the creatures they faced. They were clearly supernatural, but she was unable to identify their home plane easily. However at Tomonobu's comment about a possible second stage of this ambush, Matte attuned herself to the spiritual forces of the glade around them. As she closed her eyes, a wide spectrum of energy presented itself. Tomonobu was right -- the ambush obviously involved more than just the bats. She scanned the signatures as quickly as she could, but it was some little while before she recognized the most significant being near them. "Watch out over there!" she suddenly screamed as she pointed in the direction of the being. But her open eyes could see none of the others around her. There was a heavy mist of a magical nature surrounding them, and even the sounds of battle were muted by it. The only answer she got to her call was a low tremor from the ground. The tall, glossy black creature, all but blind in its eye, stepped through the crack onto the world of Nexus with confidence. It's thousand tongues leapt wildly around its lips, and its mouth curled into a kind of smile. "Finally," it thought, "this little band will be stopped." The beast relished the thought of an easy victory as it waded through the trees toward the now foggy clearing. As the vision grew more obscure, each member of the group knew they were in trouble. It was becoming almost impossible to see, so it was not possible to determine whether friend or foe would be struck. The group began to spread out to minimise the risk of attacking one another, but they also lost the benefit of mutual protection. Bluestar could see no alternative for action. He sank to his knees and began his prayers to initiate his Wild Magic. He knew his record for this incantation had not been very good, but this time they really needed help. "Great Lady, I beseech thee for thy gracious aid," Bluestar prayed. He was tired. He was weary of running, of always being on the move and never having any time to be alone with his thoughts. He resolved to run no more. Although only an instant passed, he found himself living key moments in his life over again. He saw the slums where he grew up, he and his impoverished but proud family. He saw his beloved Caulie-Aun cut down before him yet again. He saw his recent encounters with his companions, and relived his conversations with Moria, and his stolen moments of affection. And then, for the first time he could recall in a long while, he felt at peace with himself. He was no longer anguished, no longer afraid of being alone. He became as one with his fate, and saw for the first time the nature of his soul. It was like nothing he had ever before experienced. He was in a state of deep trance. And at that moment, a wisp of air began to form a funnel of current around him. Pale gold sparkles swirled about him, and the currents of air expanded and picked up the mist of doom. The air began to move faster and faster, and shortly one was able to perceive a powerful cone of magical energy increasing above him. The force was no match for the giant bats. One by one they were sucked into its currents, spinning helplessly in its wake. The remains of the mist quickly dissipated and were replaced by angry storm clouds. The violent motion in the air above was building a large static charge, and there was an occasional discharge of lightning. None of this seemed to impress the creature Matte had detected earlier. It was making its way slowly to the dispersed group, and was now nearly upon them. There was a collective sigh of despair from the group. They had encountered this creature before, and knew their weapons could not harm it. "Finally," it hissed at Matte as it fixed what was left of its vision upon her. "The game is won." It began to lurch in her direction. Tav suddenly shook himself out of his state of shock. He had been watching the effect of the storm with interest, and recognising the daemon from the plane he had been so long captive on, had an idea. "A chain!" he called. "Give me an iron chain!" Ja'nis came to attention. This was something she could help with. "My harness chain is mostly iron -- heavy damn thing." She undid the straps which held together a loop of chain that secured her sword and accoutrements. She quickly handed this to Tav. "We've got to wrap this around the creature and stick one end in the ground!" he shouted. Moria was closest and leapt to assist. She and Ja'nis each took an end and crept behind the creature. Its stubby legs were too wide for the length of the chain, but they could fit it around the creature's narrow tail. They moved into position to attempt the manoeuvre. Meanwhile the creature ambled toward Matte. Suddenly, to its surprise, a little man appeared near the spot she was standing, a startled expression on Matte's face disappearing just as she did when Billy snapped his bracelet around her. "Hey you! Ugly! Pick on someone your own size!" Billy taunted. The creature merely sneered. "So, the game resumes. Hide and seek is it? I can find you by your aura, you little pest," it hissed. The storm continued to intensify. Bluestar remained transfixed, a conduit for the force flowing through him. Moria and Ja'nis were in position. They had tied the chain securely about the monster's tail and Moria was about to stake the chain to the ground with a dagger when the creature noticed them. In a dismissive move, its tail flicked them several yards away, and they were stunned by the blow. The thing returned to its pursuit of Matte. "The chain!" Tav yelled to be heard above the rising wind. "It must touch the ground!" The air crackled with the intensifying electricity. Tomonobu nocked an arrow. He drew a breath, aimed for a link at the far end, and fired. He missed. He quickly tried again. He missed again. "By all the daemons in Hell," he cursed, trying again. "I used to make a shot like that in my sleep!" He drew again and held his breath. He forced himself to relax. He felt the taughtness in his arm, how the muscles stretched down to his fingers, and how he could feel the flow of being through them and into the very bow itself. He released the string. The arrow flew true to its target and pinned the chain firmly to the earth. The creature laughed. "You delay me but a moment from my task," it snarled, and moved to free itself. But at that moment a powerful bolt of lightning struck the black, glasslike hide of the creature. The electricity from the bolt flowed through the beast and conducted the energy to the ground. With that done, the creature's link to Nexus was broken, and again it was forced back to its own dimension. There was a violent implosion at the site where the creature stood, and then the storm began to quickly dissipate. An exhausted Bluestar collapsed, as Moria hobbled over to assist Blue, and Tav steadied Ja'nis. Matte removed Billy's bracelet and returned it to him. "Thanks," she said. "That was very brave of you." "Ah, it was nothing," Billy said proudly, plainly impressed by his actions. He began to shadow-box an imaginary opponent. "We took that thing out, no problem!" "Nice shooting," Matte said as she turned to Tomonobu. "I owe you thanks again." Tomonobu laughed. "It is but a return volley in a series of exchanges, I'm sure. Besides, you should save your compliments for true skill. I was but lucky, this time." "Ahem," the voice of Turion was heard. "Haven't you rested long enough? You were late when I first found you and you are still late. There isn't much time." Turion had managed to appear with horses, supplies, even a cart. "Since _you_ found _us_?" Ja'nis said indignantly. "Just so," Turion smiled. The salamander burped loudly, having just eaten an enourmous apple.