ftp.ee.pdx.edu/2014.02.ftp.ee.pdx.edu.tar/ftp.ee.pdx.edu/pub/frp/stories/adaz+sutekh/adaz.20

Internet Message Format | 1991-03-08 | 10KB

From [e-mail] Fri Oct 26 16:51:34 1990
From: [e-mail] (Jeff Stehman)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Story:  Adaz & Sutekh (xx)
Keywords: ee
Date: 26 Oct 90 14:40:11 GMT
Organization: Clemson University, Clemson, SC



                Ee


After Fax fell to the armies of the Free Lords, it hosted a meeting of
the allied leaders.  They were informed by an oligarch of Greyhawk, an
archmage, that he had partially deciphered the workings of Ecthalion's
gates.  The archmage believed that he could gate himself, a few
assistants, and perhaps a half dozen others into the control room of
Ecthalion's nexus system.  Once there, it might be possible to gate a
small army into the city of Stoneheim, bypassing the still sizable
forces now retreating through the Pomarj.  All consented to the plan.
    The group the archmage took with him in the initial attack
included Eldrad and his companions.  Several hours later an army of
nearly twelve-hundred experienced warriors, magic-users, and thieves
appeared inside the walls of Stoneheim.  With them was Sutekh.

Sutekh moved through Ecthalion's palace as quickly as he dared.  The
battle in the city was going well, so he had gone ahead to the palace.
Now, despite his invisibility, he spent much of his time flying to
avoid the baron's troops quick-marching through the corridors.  Sutekh
was looking for a central hall or throne room, hoping to find
Ecthalion.
    He turned a corner just in time to see Eldrad and the rest of
his old companions cautiously moving through double doors into a large
chamber beyond.  Sutekh flew into the chamber even as the doors
slammed shut.

Sutekh crouched near one of the many entrances to the monolith room,
his hand-crossbow loaded with his last death-magic quarrel.  Torrents
of rain poured into the room through the shattered windows in the
ceiling, but Sutekh was in a dry place.  He watched the battle in the
center of the room intently.  Arn Hrothgar and Ivor were desperately
fighting multiple images of Ecthalion, trying to cut down their
number so Sutekh could use his quarrel.  Sutekh's other quarrel of
power had been wasted on an illusion of Ecthalion in the great
chamber, and they could not afford another mistake.  Setara had been
beguiled by Ecthalion's magic into fighting on his side and the elven
warrior Ivan was in the process of rendering her harmless.  Eldrad was
attempting to control a black sphere that floated about the room, its
trajectory sometimes controlled by Ecthalion, sometimes by Eldrad, and
sometimes by no one.  Whatever the sphere touched disappeared.  Sutekh
doubted that such things would ever reappear.
    Also in the room were the bodies of two of Eldrad's
companions.
    No longer willing to wait for Arn and Ivor to finish their
work, Sutekh set down his hand-crossbow and began a spell in hopes of
canceling Ecthalion's multiple images.  As his spell neared
completion, Eldrad once again wrested the sphere from Ecthalion's
will; however, Eldrad failed to control it himself.  The sphere darted
straight for him, uncaring of what was in its path.
    "No!" Ecthalion screamed, all of his images suddenly producing
a small cube from beneath their robes.
    Sutekh finished his spell as Ecthalion's finger stabbed at the
cube.  Simultaneously, the sphere struck the monolith.
    The room shifted suddenly, rotating.  Then it became a
whirlpool, everyone and everything in it being pulled towards the
monolith.  There was a great roar in Sutekh's ears, then a sudden,
loud pop.  All was as it was before, except that there was no room, no
monolith, and only one Ecthalion.  They stood on a grassy hill, the
night sky clear.
    "You fools!" Ecthalion hissed.  "You do not know what you have
done.  I shall deal with you later."  With that he again stabbed his
finger at the cube he held, but his speech had been too long; Ivan,
Ivor, and Arn leaped for him.  All four disappeared.
    After a long time of shocked silence Sutekh spoke.  "Eldrad,
look at the stars."
    Both Eldrad and Setara looked up.  "Setara," Eldrad said
tentatively, "Don't those groupings look familiar?"
    Setara sighed.  "Yes.  It looks like we are back on Earth."
    "What do you mean 'on' Earth?" Sutekh asked, fearing the
answer.  "Where's Earth?"
    "A long way from home," was Eldrad's answer.  "Not even our
gods can find us here."
    Sutekh sank to his knees, touching the holy symbol beneath his
blouse, but Delleb could not hear his prayers.

Sutekh crouched beside the only doorway into the room, his
hand-crossbow again loaded with death-magic.  He was tempted to step
up to the door in hopes of seeing Ecthalion, but he knew that at least
two men flanked the doorway.  Invisible, he could release the quarrel,
but he had tasted the lead of their weapons two weeks ago and did not
care to do so again.
    "Interesting," he thought to himself as he waited.  "Two
months ago I would have gladly died to kill Ecthalion."
    Eldrad and Setara were at the control panel in the center of
the room; the half-elf desperately trying different combinations and
hoping that one of the images flashing by in the portal on the wall
would look like home.  Eldrad covered the door with what he called a
gun.  They had heard Ecthalion order the guards not to damage the
control panel, so, for the moment, they were safe.
    A guard must have dared a glance; Eldrad loosed a burst of
fire from his weapon.  As soon as he finished, both guards poked their
weapons into the room and fired blindly.
    "This one!" Setara yelled, leaping away from the control panel
as it suddenly erupted in fire and sparks.  She raced across the room,
through the portal, and into the darkness beyond.  Eldrad, firing
another burst towards the door as he ran, followed her through.
Sutekh hesitated a moment, hoping Ecthalion would show himself.  Then
the control panel exploded and the image in the portal quivered.  As
Sutekh leaped through the portal the guards stepped into the room,
their weapons spitting fire.  Their projectiles hit a blank wall where
the portal had been.

"Damn that world!  It ended the same way last time we were there!"
    "Eldrad," Sutekh said quietly.  "Shut up and look around."
    In the blackness of the cave Eldrad saw it immediately, though
Setara's eyes took a moment longer.  As the dragon shifted its bulk on
a bed of coins, Sutekh raised his hand-crossbow and Eldrad brought his
gun to bear.  The dragon's head moved towards them, but stopped short;
the drow could see that it was held by a chain.
    "Free me and I will let you live," the dragon's voice rumbled.
    Eldrad looked to Sutekh, but he only shrugged.  Moving slowly,
Eldrad approached the dragon and examined the chain.  He slung his
weapon on his shoulder, preparing a spell, but then hesitated.
    "It is a harmless spell," he explained to the dragon.
Receiving a rumble in return, he cast the spell.  The chain glowed
brightly in response, revealing the enchantment upon it.
    "Naturally it would take magic to hold a dragon," Setara
observed.
    "Time to see who is the better spell caster," Sutekh told
Eldrad.  "You or Ee."
    Eldrad cast another spell and, surprisingly, the glow faded.
The dragon leaned his bulk against the chain, snapping it easily.
    "Hah!  Free!"  Its bellow was deafening.  "A puny human would
imprison me.  Hah!"  Then the dragon's gazed turned on the three before
it.  "I suppose I should let you live," it said matter-of-factly as
Eldrad's gun snapped into his hands.  With that it heaved its bulk off
of its bed and exited the cavern, charging down a tunnel.
    "I guess that means we're home," Sutekh commented as they
watched the dragon leave.  Eldrad shrugged and moved to the bed of
coins.  Mumbling a few words he lit up much of the pile with a soft
glow, then he picked up a coin and examined it.
    "Lead."
    "Nice to know we aren't the only ones on Ee's bad side,"
Sutekh replied.
    As they moved down the tunnel, light appeared ahead.  Soon
they were standing on a ledge of a high mountain, overlooking a
valley.  Over head flew the dragon, its blue scales glistening in the
last light of the sun as it disappeared behind the mountain.  The eyes
of the drow burned.
    "Well, it looks like home," Setara sighed.
    Sutekh touched his breast at the place where his holy symbol
should have been and breathed a sigh of relief.
    "Your spirits should be higher Sutekh," Eldrad said
jubilantly.  "We just kicked Ee's ass across three worlds, including
one of his own making.  Like I said before, when you and I work
together no one can stop us."
    "Half of our equipment is on another world, Eldrad."  Sutekh
squinted, trying to keep the pain from his eyes.  "That includes our
spell books.  I spent three days near death and neither of you are
without wounds, yet we never touched Ee.  I wouldn't exactly say we
kicked his ass."
    Eldrad shrugged.  "Just staying alive is kicking his ass.
Besides, we got a few extras in return."  He held up the gun for
emphasis.
    "Eldrad, throw it away."
    "No way.  I love these things."  Eldrad pointed the weapon at
the sky and squeezed the trigger.  Nothing happened.
    "I don't understand," Eldrad puzzled after checking the
weapon.  "There are a dozen rounds left."
    Sutekh laughed for the first time in weeks.  "Its magic
doesn't work on Oerth, and you just pointed it at a live dragon."


                        Jeff Stehman