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Article 34439 of rec.games.frp:
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From: [e-mail] (bruce.w.reisman)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: STORY: Darkness Rising (Part 2)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: 2 Mar 91 01:39:50 GMT
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 431


NIGHTMARE

    [Lannons-Trun]
    It is dawn on the 2nd day of High Spring in the year 6049
    The weather is:
        temperature:    49
        sky:        clear
        wind:        15 mph (moderate breeze)

As expected, the army breaks camp at dawn.  We continue southeast along
the main road to Trun.

That night, Jhere rejoins us and Kidd, Alicia and Todd seek visions of
what awaits us.  Kidd dreams of an audience with the Queen.  He is sure he
didn't like what she had to say, but can't remember what she said.  Alicia
wakes up screaming, shaking in a cold sweat.  After we calm her, she cannot
seem to recall what she dreamt.  Todd has the worst dream of all: a face
stares back at him from the "other side" of his dream; it gets closer and
closer; he has a growing feeling of horrible cold and terrible evil;
suddenly there is a flash of fire and he is shaken awake (though no one is
nearby).  He has the strong feeling that he has escaped some perilous fate
through divine intervention.

The next day, we continue our trek.  Our troubled spirits are further
dampened by a late morning shower.  The heat and humidity sap our vigor.
We camp at dusk and share the army's meal.  Around midnight, it begins to
drizzle.

Princess Leia seeks a vision to clarify those that trouble us.  She dreams
of six faces (resembling photo negatives) that close in upon her.  She
feels that she will freeze to death and calls upon the full force of
Brigit's divine fire to fend off the cold.  The faces retreat before her
flame.  She feels as if she has faced an evil force that has existed since
the beginning of time.

Ragnor and Todd are abruptly awakened as they are engulfed in fire.  After
a moment, Ragnor rolls away from the source, putting out some of the
flames on his clothes.  Todd runs out of the fire, then sees that it is
Leia that is burning and runs back to wake her.  When she awakes, she
quickly ceases her magic.  Jhere and Felicia put out the fires on Todd's
clothing by wrapping him in a blanket.  Ragnor finishes putting out his
own fires.  Alicia heals their burns and Brigit and Freya heal the
remaining damage by channeling power through Leia and Jhere when they
offer prayers of thanks.  Alicia and Vilim also pray to their deities,
making sacrifices that appear to be refused.  Later, Elured emerges from
his "haven" and makes an offering to Diancecht.

[Leia's prayer: (joined by Todd, Felicia & Ragnor)            ]
[    Oh Great Brigit, you are everything and above all that burns    ]
[    bright.  We are faced with a great evil force that I have    ]
[    seen in my dreams.  An evil since the beginning of time.    ]
[    Help us to gain knowledge of this evil and face this evil.    ]
[    You strengthen my powers to share with your followers; help    ]
[    me to know like the soaring flame the knowledge of this evil.    ]

[Jhere's prayer:                            ]
[    Oh Freya, who sees all, your humble servant asks your guidance    ]
[    and help.  We who seek only to serve the Light are soon to be    ]
[    sorely tested.  With all honor and glory to Thee, I beseech    ]
[    Thee.  Help us, help me to help the party.  Thanks be to Thee,    ]
[    Oh Wondrous Freya.                        ]

[Alicia's prayer:                            ]
[    Oh Great Mielikki, thank you for all you have done for me.    ]
[    Please, I beg of you, help guide me to defeat this source of    ]
[    evil which is in our world.  Thank you, and please humbly    ]
[    accept my sacrifice.                        ]

[Vilim's prayer: (joined by Merle Lir)                    ]
[    Oh great Osiris, most powerful and enlightened of all deities,    ]
[    protect and guide this party against the evil that threatens    ]
[    us.  Grant me the additional power to prevail over this evil.    ]

The drizzle continues through the next day.  As we break camp, Merle Lir
and Vilim slip away for an interlude in a secluded grove of trees.  They
easily catch up with the army by mid-morning.

Leia tries again for enlightenment during the night.  Ragnor and Todd keep
watch over her -- a bit further away than the night before.  Leia dreams
of a blizzard ... blinding snow ... freezing cold ... she walks on and on
... so tired, she must rest ... she lays down and sleeps.  When we prepare
to break camp in the morning, she wakes up, exhausted.

    [Lannons-Trun]
    It is dawn on the 5th day of High Spring in the year 6049
    The weather is:
        temperature:    53
        sky:        drizzle
        wind:        0 mph (calm)

We break camp and trek on through the drizzle.  The humidity is
oppressive.  The soldiers pay particular attention to polishing their
weapons, trying to minimalize the corrosion.

Elured begins wearing a large copper and gold disk, imbedded with three
large pieces of amber, over his breastplate.  When asked about it, he says
that it is dedicated to his deity, Diancecht.  Vilim, unobtrusively, makes
a careful examination of it.

Merle Lir offers to teach Jhere to ride a horse and Jhere accepts.  By the
end of the day, Jhere is quite stiff and sore.  Elured offers to soothe
her aches, then changes his mind.  She goes into a meditative trance and
feels a little better.  The thurl tea brewed for her by Merle Lir helps,
as well.

The drizzle continues unabated through the night.  Leia again dreams of a
blizzard.

Jhere gets another riding lesson during the morning.  By noon, the heat
has become nearly intolerable -- shortly afterward the temperature tops
100 degrees -- with the continuing drizzle, it's like a steam-bath.
Merle Lir discards her overtunic and blouse, riding on in only vest and
breeches.  Jhere doffs her shirt and pants in favor of a sleeveless,
knee-length tunic.  Vilim concentrates and his cloak becomes cold to the
touch, absorbing the worst of the heat and generating a thin fog a few
feet from him, where the heat meets his encircling coolness.  He cools
Merle Lir's vest to keep her comfortable, too.  Leia seems oblivious to
the heat.  The rest ride or plod on in growing discomfort.

Near midnight, the drizzle turns into a heavy downpour, that abruptly
stops.  Jhere and Felicia have the watch.  Shortly after midnight, Jhere
hears a disturbance near the edge of camp and goes to check it out.  When
she returns, she strings her bow and puts on her leather jerkin.  Felicia,
Elured and Todd head out as the army's perimeter guards run in, screaming
in abject terror.

Todd soon runs back to the tent.  Vilim is just strumming a tune to calm
Rex.  Alicia tries to question the dog, but that just gets him upset.
Merle Lir strings her bow and dons her robe, keeping her staff close to
hand.  Felicia's call for help brings us all out, even Todd, after he
quickly drinks a potion.  King Thiokol is already past our tent, with
several soldiers in his wake.

Felicia and Elured wield their blades against the onrushing gibberlings
-- horrid, dark creatures with glowing eyes, that utter muttering noises
nearly like human speech, striking terror in the hearts of would-be
adversaries -- quickly dispatching two, though Elured is injured and
momentarily dazed.

Felicia kills two more before the king, wielding a greatsword, reaches
her side.  Elured turns and runs away as we enter the fray.  Merle Lir
switches to her staff; Jhere prays to Freya and does likewise.  Alicia
fires an arrow, Ragnor swings his maul, Todd thrusts with the "dagger of
death", Vilim strikes with a sword of flame that forms in his hand, and
Princess Leia hurls a ball of fire that explodes to envelop three of the
gibberlings.

Jhere's staff glows blue as she attacks a gibberling; Alicia goes into
a dance of power, but suddenly is overcome by fear and runs away; Elured
jogs back to where we are fighting; Thiokol, Todd, Ragnor and Vilim kill
the nearest gibberlings; Merle Lir jogs back to the tent to find a potion.
Jhere and her adversary exchange blows and are both staggered, Todd
finishes it off with a flank attack.  Elured is again overcome by fear and
runs away.

Alicia had sensed a creature beyond our range of vision, apparently
guiding the gibberling's attack, but hadn't a chance to tell anyone.  Now
that being enters the gap left by the effectiveness of Felicia, Ragnor
and the King.  It is one of the things from Princess Leia's nightmares
-- tall, thin, dark under its coat of frost, it exudes frigid cold --
Thiokol, Ragnor and Felicia fall back as it advances.  Merle Lir drinks a
potion of flying and flies to where Vilim exchanges spell attacks with a
gibberling (neither attack has any apparent effect).

Todd runs to protect Leia as a wave of bitter cold sets (almost) everyone
to shivering.  Vilim steps out of time and hurls a succession of attacks
-- two fire balls and a spell intended to bury it under 100 feet of earth
-- at the frosty creature, with virtually no effect.  He then beats a
hasty retreat before rejoining the normal flow of time.

Merle Lir fires an arrow at the gibberling that had been fighting with
Vilim (after futilely seeking where Vilim had disappeared to) and sees
a glowing woman step out of a tree.

Queen Ariel strides imperiously through the battle on a path that will
intercept the frigid creature's current direction, becoming an avatar of
Freya as she does so.  Jhere falls to her knees at the sight of the living
embodiment of her deity.  Glowing even more brightly now and giving off
a spray of blue-green sparks, the Queen faces the monster as it veers to
attack her.  It gets within 10' before realizing the strength of the power
it faces, then rapidly veers off and disappears into the darkness of the
overcast night.  Without a word, the Queen heads back into the forest from
whence she had come.  Jhere follows her, but (painfully) bounces off the
tree into which Ariel passes.

The King is not exactly angry at the Queen's intervention -- he is,
however, both perplexed and disturbed that she could know their position
and situation.  He is not yet willing to admit that sometimes magic can be
useful.  Muttering under his breath, the King gathers his men to him and
makes a trip around the camp.  Without the force of will of the frigid
being, the gibberlings give up the attack -- their losses have been large
and only a very few of the soldiers have been seriously harmed.  One lies
dead.

Alicia warns that a hurricane will soon arrive as we return to the tent
and the camp begins to clean up from the battle.

We have about two hours to prepare before the hurricane hits.  Elured,
Jhere and Leia draw circles on the ground and guide the positioning of the
horses and wagons within them.  When the storm hits, they plan to raise
some sort of protective spheres.

Only one soldier was killed; Leia calls on Brigit's power to preserve his
flesh until his soul can be restored.  Alicia plucks a flower from her
wreath and it becomes a silver flower -- tyr-fira.  She masticates it,
then forces it into his mouth, then strokes his neck muscles until they
convulse and the powerful herb passes into body.  Moments later, his
breathing resumes and his eyes blink.  All the injured of the camp gather
closely about Alicia as she burns a winclamit berry in her censer; their
wounds miraculously heal.

As it starts to rain, Elured establishes six 5' radius havens, Jhere makes
three 10' radius havens and Leia creates seven 10' radius havens.  Most of
the wagons and horses have been placed under Leia's protection -- in one
circle, Merle Lir and Vilim care for the horses accompanied by Rex, Alicia
attends to other horses.  King Thiokol's entourage includes Ragnor (with
Slither attending), Felicia and Princess Leia (with Todd hovering ever
near).

During the noon hour, Elured's spheres lose their potency.  The hurricane
still rages.  In 160mph winds, Elured struggles to re-establish his
circles of protection before any is injured.  He succeeds, but is almost
totally exhausted from the effort.

Jhere's havens last until mid-afternoon.  The storm has intensified -- she
fights winds in excess of 180mph and is quite tired by the time she brings
her protective circles back into existence.

In early evening, Leia finally faces the storm's fury, rebuilding her
havens with little difficulty despite 120mph winds.  An hour later,
Elured must again recreate his protections, but this time the storm is much
weaker than his last time around and it's no problem for him to do so.

It's late night when Jhere confronts the hurricane for the second time.
She again succeeds in restoring her protections before any are injured.
Again, she is quite tired, though nowhere near exhausted from the ordeal.

During the dawn hour, Alicia predicts that the hurricane will continue for
at least another day.  Elured faces winds over 160mph as he rebuilds his
havens for the third time.  He collapses from exposure while trying to
cast the spells for the last of his six circles, but struggles back to
consciousness just long enough to bring the haven into existence before
again collapsing.

    [Lannons-Trun]
    It is early morning on the 8th day of High Spring in the year 6049
    The weather is:
        temperature:    45
        sky:        hurricane
        wind:        129 mph (hurricane)

It is late morning before Leia's circles of protection falter.  She faces
winds of 133mph as once again she tries to raise her protective spells.  A
sudden gust hurls her into a boulder, breaking her left arm.  Desperately,
she erects a partial barrier against the wind and reduces the storm's fury
to a level where she can more easily build the remaining havens.  Leia is
nearly exhausted by her ordeal, but miraculously, no one else is injured.

In the early afternoon, both Jhere and Elured restore their havens in
116mph winds, with only moderate difficulty.  But in the late evening,
Elured uses all his remaining spell energy to re-establish his protections
against winds of 76mph -- weaker, but still hurricane force.

After midnight, Jhere is briefly battered by furious 147mph winds before
she feels power flow through her and hears the Queen's voice say, "I am
with you, Little Sister."  She has little problem re-forming her havens
in 78mph winds.

It is late night when the band of demons attacks the havens.  One demon
kills a soldier before it is destroyed.  Another breaks Merle Lir's spine,
paralyzing her from the neck down, and severs an artery in her left calf,
before Vilim gains control of it.  It takes all of Alicia's healing craft
to bring Merle Lir back, but her close brush with death costs her and
Vilim their mounts.  Merle Lir will be stiff for some time, and bear scars
as permanent reminders to guard her back.

Jhere kills a demon that attempts to attack Kidd, who dodges the attack.
The fighters in the haven with Elured make short work of the demon that
attacks them, though Elured is badly injured and is only saved by his
staff's power -- he regrets having squandered more power than necessary
when he rebuilt his circles of protections and prays for the dawn to come
swiftly.

The most powerful of the demons causes Ragnor to have convulsions and
causes assorted injuries to others in the haven with the King and
Princess, before being driven off by Todd and Leia and finally killed
by a prodigious shot from King Thiokol's bow.  Moments after they finish
with the demon, Leia's spell of protection fails, and 145mph winds howl
about them.

Praying to Brigit for aid, Leia begins restoring her defenses.  Her ring
flashes brilliantly red as the air becomes dead calm.  Is the hurricane
over?  Have they entered the eye of the storm?  She thinks not -- the
change was too abrupt -- and gives thanks unto Brigit.  Quickly she casts
the spells to rebuild six of her havens, but she lacks the resources to
complete the seventh.  She removes the earrings that Leethth gave her,
and offers them to Brigit with a prayer.  The gems flare brilliantly and
are gone, releasing a flow of power which allows her to restore the last
haven.  Brigit works through her with the remaining power, healing Todd
and Ragnor and mending Leia's arm.  Leia and Todd give thanks before
going back to sleep.

Elured feels his magical energy restored with the coming of the new day,
and restores his body with a spell of regeneration.  He struggles for a
several minutes in 108mph winds when his protective spells expire again
in the early morning.  In the end, however, the havens again shield the
soldiers in his care from the hurricane's fury and no one is worse for
the experience.

That is the last we see of the storm.  Those under Jhere's protection
emerge to partly cloudy skies and a light breeze in the early afternoon.
They set about clearing the campsite.  By sunset, when Elured and the
soldiers under his protection emerge, it is drizzling again.  It is still
drizzling when the last of the army in Leia's keeping rejoins us in the
early evening.

With a hint from Alicia as to its nature, Merle Lir is able to discover
how to invoke the powers of Imyra's Bathing Basin (a small silver tub,
about 2" in all directions, it expands to a full-sized, filled bathing
basin upon command, up to three times each day) -- which has mysteriously
appeared in her supplies.  Leia, then Vilim and Merle Lir, bathes in the
warm, sweetly scented waters.  Elured invokes a ward and washes in the
healing waters of Diancecht.

The drizzle has increased to a light rain by dawn, when Kidd, Alicia,
Felicia and Jhere trek to a nearby stream to clean up.  The waters are
much muddied by the storm and they end up settling for a shower (after
Felicia chases off Kidd and some soldiers who are too anxious to assist
the womenfolk, though *she* has second thoughts).

    [Lannons-Trun]
    It is dawn on the 10th day of High Spring in the year 6049
    The weather is:
        temperature:    55
        sky:        light rain
        wind:        8 mph (light breeze)

Merle Lir informs Vilim that she will not walk to Trun, so he prepares a
spell and they go in search of some soldiers with horses.  Encountering
two prospects, he releases the spell on one then, while Merle Lir
distracts the other, casts the same spell on him.  Strumming his lyre,
he sings a song of friendship as he approaches more closely and inquires
as to whether they would part with their mounts.  The first is all too
willing, but the second is anything but.  With Merle Lir again providing
distraction, Vilim attempts a more powerful persuasion on the second
soldier.  To no avail.  They settle for the single mount as the second
soldier offers to make a wagon available to them.  That offer they
decline.  After some discussion, Merle Lir convinces Vilim that she will
ride side-saddle in his lap and they strap their saddlebags to the back
after stowing her saddle in a wagon.

Elured "borrows" some twine from Todd and secures his staff and shortsword
to his belt.

Alicia goes off to find Tigger and the hawk with which she had become
acquainted.  Jhere, despite Alicia's refusal of escort, follows her
through the tall grass and occasional trees to insure her safety.  Alicia
finds Tigger and converses with him.  He agrees that he will follow.  She
finally realizes that he means later and leaves him to sleep the day, as
is his habit.  She doesn't locate the hawk, but realizes that someone is
following her and ends up running, with considerable loss of dignity, back
into the camp.  A few minutes after she breathlessly informs the party
that she is being pursued, Jhere emerges quietly from the tall grass and
rejoins us.

Between recovering from being cramped for days in the havens, the sodden
ground and the steady, if light rain, we make poor distance that day.
Despite her aches from the day's ride, compounded by residual stiffness
from the demon's attack on her, Merle Lir persuades Vilim that they need
to slip away from the main camp for a little privacy -- a couple hours
pass before they return, somewhat wetter and disheveled, but apparently
pleased with themselves.

We are wakened from sleep when Vilim screams and sits up.  Despite our
inquiries, he won't discuss the nightmare that troubled him.

In the morning, Ragnor trades a ring to Alicia for some boots, with which
he seems quite pleased.  They allow him to act with phenomenal speed for
roughly a minute each day.  Alicia is not satisfied with the ring, so she
trades it to Vilim for a rod of shock bolts.  Vilim finds that the ring
enhances his vision.

Alicia tells us that the rain will continue.  By mid-afternoon, it has
gotten quite warm as well.  We are thoroughly soaked from both rain and
perspiration by the time we make camp.  The army takes small consolation
from the excellent mileage we made, covering nearly half the remaining
distance to Trun.  Barring unforeseen obstacles, we should reach the city
well before dusk the day after tomorrow.

Merle Lir invokes her magical bath and shares another enjoyable interlude
with Vilim.  Meanwhile, Elured invites everyone to join him in a quick
plunge in his deity's healing waters.  Todd and Jhere accept and follow
Elured to a small glade a short way from camp.  There he invokes a ward
about them and they find themselves standing upon stepping stones in the
midst of a great lake.  Elured carefully pulls a pouch (clearly containing
coins) from his pants and a few gems and many coins from within his shirt
and asks Todd to keep an eye on them.  Todd says, "Sure."  Elured has
second thoughts and attempts to elicit a promise from Todd that he won't
swipe anything, but Todd jumps into the lake.  Todd pulls his clothes off
in the water and rinses both himself and his clothes.  He steps into his
cloak as he emerges from the water, embarrassedly shielding himself from
Jhere's view as he slips into fresh clothes.  Elured slips into the water,
too.  Since he doesn't have another set of clothing, he just soaks himself
and his clothes without bothering to remove them, all the while trying to
watch his valuables.  Jhere, meanwhile, has shed her outer clothes and set
about washing herself with a small bar of soap.  Elured notices that his
two pieces of amber are gone and accuses Todd before realizing that he
saw a glow -- perhaps Diancecht took them as a sacrifice.  After rinsing,
Jhere soaps her clothes, but before she can rinse them, the lake vanishes
and they are once again standing in the glade in the rain.  Todd and
Elured catch a brief glimpse of her, clad in only her wet underthings,
before she slips into a fresh tunic and stomps off in a huff.  Reaching
the tent and finding that Vilim and Merle Lir are still splashing inside,
she manages to get their attention and asks to use the scented water to
rinse the soap out of her clothes before Merle Lir dumps it.

Rex turns up as we're eating and Vilim feeds him.  Soon afterward, we
go to sleep.  Todd dreams of an audience with the Queen.  He is sure he
didn't like what she had to say, but can't remember what it was.  Jhere
also dreams of Queen Ariel.  She finds herself following her endlessly
through the snow of a blizzard.  Vilim tosses and turns, waking Merle
Lir, but not himself.

The dawn brings at least a momentary pause in the rain.  Though the skies
are still partly cloudy, the sun manages to make a brief appearance.
--
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