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1995-06-21
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7KB
Path: usenet.ee.pdx.edu!news.reed.edu!sun.lclark.edu!netnews.nwnet.net!alfa02.medio.net!news.sprintlink.net!uunet!not-for-mail
From: Guido Roessling <dida@pu.informatik.th-darmstadt.de>
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.archives
Subject: STORY: QELRIK part 75
Followup-To: rec.games.frp.misc
Date: 19 Jun 1995 08:50:10 -0400
Organization: Technische Hochschule Darmstadt
Lines: 114
Sender: smm@uunet.uu.net
Approved: smm@uunet.uu.net
Distribution: world
Message-ID: <3s3rq2$t4n@rodan.UU.NET>
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
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QELRIK is also available on the WWW at
http://www.pu.informatik.th-darmstadt.de/dida/qelrik.html
*******
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Dreamscape
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was raining.
Kyle looked out from the mouth of the cave at the steady downpour as it fell
from the dark gray sky to hit the water below. Still, the sounds of the
constant pounding of the falls could not be overcome by the spattering of the
rain. Only muffled them to the point of a dull, drowsy, drone. Soon, Kyle
was lulled into a deep sleep.
A dull pain in his side woke him up. As he rubbed the soreness in his jaw,
he realized that he was in the same cave he had dreamed about. He rolled
over, off the rock which was causing him the pain in his side, and slowly
climbed to his knees. He hesitantly stood up, again rubbing his jaw and his
side, almost convinced that they hurt because of the way he had slept on
the ground. But memories flowed in and out of consciousness, and he remembered
the beating he had received at the hands of the orc called Grunalf. How he
hated the orcs! When he returned to town, he would make sure they would pay
for their deeds!
He was mildly surprised that the damage he sustained was not bad at all. Just
a mild discomfort in his side and a dull ache in his jaw. He wondered briefly
how that could be, before that memory slipped away and out of consciousness.
It was dark. The evening had come and the rain had stopped. Rain? Yes, the
leaves of the trees glistened with moisture in the pale moon light. The moon
reflected laughingly from the pool below the falls, as if to comfort the boy
with its companionship.
Companions? Memories of Dahlarin, the lovely Finn, and ... Gernodt (Yes, that
was his name) passed though his mind. They must be near. He should call out
to them or look for them. But Kyle just stared out into the night, mesmerized
by the serenity of the falls before him. 'They'll come for me,' he thought.
He didn't know how long he stared at the reflection of the moon in the water.
But he became aware that a dimmer point of light was reflecting off the water
next to the moon. He looked up, away from the pool, in the direction of the
setting moon. There, far away in the mountains, a light shown as if from a
tower window. How he knew it was a tower and how he could see so far, he
didn't question. He just knew that somehow it was important.
A soft growl turned his attention immediately to a low shadow creeping around
the entrance of the cave. To his horror, a large panther crept toward him
from the undergrowth. Before he had time to panic, another memory materialized
in his conscious. He recognized Growler by his growl even before the wolf
appeared behind the cat. His earlier fear turned to relief. He knew that
Finn would be nearby.
The panther and the wolf grew impatient with Kyle, as they circled in front
of him and ran short distances down the path they had come from, then returned
to Kyle. But Kyle was still entranced by the falls, again forgetting about
his companions and the animals and the tower in the distance. Through the
rumble of the cascading water, he again heard Growler's voice. This time it
took on words. "Come with us, now!"
The panther did not wait, but ran down the path. Moments later and a distance
behind, Growler followed, commanding Kyle to do the same. He easily kept up
with the animal, as they effortlessly ran through the woods. Soon, Growler
slowed down to a walk, then stopped altogether in the undergrowth. The
panther was already there, impatiently waiting for them.
In front of them was a clearing, where one woman knelt in front of another.
He did not recognize the kneeling figure, but knew instantly who the other
was. Finn. Bathed in the pale moonlight, she looked more beautiful than
ever. She looked confused and in distress, but the other woman was confident
in her motions. And she seemed to be subjugating herself to Finn.
He watched as the strange woman stood up and took a step backward. In his
astonishment, Finn slowly sank into the earth. "We are too late!" the panther
said to either Kyle or Growler, he wasn't sure. "Perhaps not," replied the
wolf, "if the boy is alert enough."
The woman sat down on the gentle earth, and stared at the spot in which Finn
had sunk into. The words the animals had spoken rolled slowly around in
Kyle's mind. He found himself pondering them, rather than running out of the
bush and asking the stranger the million questions he wished to---yet the
questions would not quite take solid form in his head. His overly sensitive
ears picked up another rustling sound, which instantly focused his attention.
An elderly gentleman wandered casually through the woods near the clearing.
Instead of bathed in the pale moonlight, a red aura surrounded his tall frame.
He did not look unlike ... Dahlarin (he forced the name), yet he had a more
gentle and wise presence about him. He glanced at the boy once, then
disappeared, leaving a thin trail of red, hanging scantly in the air. Where
he once was, the sun peaked red through the trees.
Kyle quickly scampered up the nearest tree, for the thin red trail rose
up and out from the woods, and grew weaker by the moment in the growing light.
He knew before he reached a tall branch from which he could see, that the trail
ended in the tower he had seen earlier that evening. He looked down at the
clearing again. The woman was still there, sitting patiently, waiting for
something to happen. He began to call out to her, but the thought of forming
words sent sharp pain piercing through his jaw. The pain was so extreme, that
he lost his grip on the branch and plummetted to the earth below...
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