ftp.ee.pdx.edu/2014.02.ftp.ee.pdx.edu.tar/ftp.ee.pdx.edu/pub/frp/stories/qelrik/43

Internet Message Format | 1994-09-29 | 9KB

Path: usenet.ee.pdx.edu!cs.uoregon.edu!sisters.cs.uoregon.edu!sgiblab!spool.mu.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!not-for-mail
From: [e-mail] (Guido Roessling)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.archives
Subject: STORY:  Qelrik  part 43
Followup-To: rec.games.frp.misc
Date: 28 Sep 1994 09:45:59 -0400
Organization: UUNET Technologies Inc, Falls Church, VA, USA
Lines: 160
Sender: [e-mail]
Approved: [e-mail]
Message-ID: <36bs2n$[e-mail]>
NNTP-Posting-Host: rodan.uu.net




                        Yet another party...
                        ====================

A short while later, Kyle and Gernodt were nearing the clearing where they
had left the others.  Kyle was slowing down a little, wanting to let Gernodt
catch up with him, but for some unfathomable reason, Gernodt slowed down at
the same time, seemingly unwilling to overtake Kyle or even draw even with him.

Kyle slowed even further, irritated a bit by this unexpected reaction, and was
promptly brushed on his ankle by Growler.

Meanwhile, Gernodt has slowed down his pace a bit, letting Kyle get ahead of
him.  'We're nearing the clearing where Dahlarin wanted to use his illusionary
orcs on us', he thought.  'It's certainly a good idea to let Kyle enter on his
own, with me some way behind, so that he has to act on his own for a while -
up to the moment when the illusionary dart is supposed to knock me out !'.

Just at that precise moment, Kyle rounded the last bend and entered the
clearing.  Since he was still busy thinking about the way the tests had turned
out, he didn't notice at first that there was something very unusual about
this clearing --  no one was visible, and the whole area was quiet -- an eery
feeling of quietness that he was well aware was unusual for this part of the
woods, even and especially at night.

Before he could focus his mind on this sudden situation, however, his feet
had already taken him quite some ways inside the clearing, where he slowed down
to a halt before he could help himself.  He immediately began drawing his
sword, crouching down in a position he deemed practical for defense.

Looking back at Gernodt, he saw him enter the clearing with a wide smile, which
he took care to drop when he noticed Kyle watching him.  This only managed to
confuse him more - Gernodt was sure to notice something was amiss, yet he did
not act as if he minded...  just what was going on here ?  Was this yet another
pre-arranged test to judge his mettle ?  Well, if that was the case, he was
prepared to do so, yet he was also getting quite irritated by it.  Why couldn't
they accept him for what he was ?  Had he not proven his skill only a short
while ago to Gernodt ?

He was, quite frankly, getting a bit upset, a state that wasn't helped any
when he noticed that Growler's tongue lolled out of the side of his mouth,
a sign that he was simply perspirating in the way wolves do, but which seemed
to him like a crude sneer.

At that precise moment, he spotted a movement behind him, and saw three orcs
approaching him from behind, all of them wielding wicked-looking swords and
showing an evil grin.  He spun around, maintaining his defensive pose, all
thoughts of this being a test wiped from his mind for the moment.

The first orc closed, while the rest went to his sides, relying on their
superior strength in numbers to catch him.  Well, let them try !

Feeling pretty strong by now, he managed to parry the first thrust, and even
countered with a quick jab, which managed to draw some blood.  The orc grunted
in pain, and pressed his attack even more furiously.
Now, if only Gernodt might come to his aid, he shouldn't have too much of a
problem...

However, Gernodt was facing problems of his own.  He had, of course, noticed
the eerie silence in the clearing, and even seen the two orcs hiding in the
lower branches of the tree above him;  however, he had decided to do nothing
about them -  if he attacked them, the whole illusion might collapse, and that
was certainly not the intention they had.
However, he did draw his great sword, and gave a shout to announce to his
adversaries he was ready to face them.  Now, if all went according to the plan,
the poison dart should arrive any second now...

Before he knew quite what to do, he noticed yet another orc in the foliage to
his left, and wondered how powerful Dahlarin really was to maintain so many
independent orcs at the same time...  Then he noticed that this orc was wiel-
ding a crossbow, and had pointed that at him.

Even while he thought that this probably was supposed to be the poison dart
they had agreed on, he instinctively dodged to the side, and the bolt flashed
past him.  A long-drawn growl told him that it hadn't missed completely, and
looking down, he saw that it had scraped Growler's left hind leg.  Yelping from
the pain, Growler was slowly dragging himself out of the clearing.

Now truly angry, and more than a little perplexed about just how an illusionary
dart should manage to wound a wolf, Gernodt approached the crossbow-wielder
with his mighty sword casually held in his right hand, and a wicked grin in
his face.  The orc was trying to re-load the crossbow as far as possible, and
was having a hard time of it.  Taking two steps forward, Gernodt reached him
and pulled his sword back for a heavy roundabout strike.  At the same time, his
former suspicion that something was seriously amiss was proven when the
orcs in the branches above him threw a heavy gladiator's net over him, comple-
tely entangling him.  Snarling wildly, he managed to cling to his sword, but
at this moment four more orcs approached, and reinforced the net b some rope
they had thoughtfully brought with them, and also managed to wrench his sword
out of his hand.

Realizing that he was tangled beyond hope of getting free anytime soon, Gernodt
meekly accepted this position, clinging to the belief that he would get a
better chance to free himself sometime later.

He did, however, manage to turn his head around just in time to see that Kyle
was indeed very hard-pressed by now...   He was dealing very well with his
opponents, and kept the three orcs at a respectful distance.  Although he
seemed to sport some minor cuts, the orcs were looking far worse.  Perhaps he
might manage to break out of the ring they had formed around him...

However, at that moment another orc approached Kyle from behind and made ready
to strike at his unprotected back.  Gernodt tried to yell a warning, but didn't
get the words out, only a loud groan made its way out of his mouth.
This did, however, suffice to alert Kyle to his danger, and he spun around and
desperately tried to parry the heavy slash.
And parry it he did - but in the same moment, he was disarmed by the sheer
power of the slashing attack.
Immediately, the orcs dropped their weapons and lept on him, keeping him in a
hold he had no chance to escape from.

Yet more orcs came from the side, carrying the bound and gagged Dahlarin...

***************************************************************************

This story is a collaboration of seven people: one German, two Canadians
and four Americans. Comments about particular characters should be
forwarded to their character's "owners":

Finn Ambrose  -  Sheryl Ann Galchutt* - [e-mail]
Gernodt       -  Guido Roessling      - [e-mail]
Dahlarin      -  Brent Hughes         - [e-mail]
Kyle          -  J.E. Mason           - ** no current mail address **
Fox           -  Barbara French       - [e-mail]

Will appear in future chapters:

Gladrial      -  Jennifer Immel       - [e-mail]
Sir Percy     -  Bret Rudnick         - [e-mail]

If you have WWW access, you can also read the chapters there. The site is
http://rbhp62.rbg.informatik.th-darmstadt.de/~guido/qelrik.html

**************************************************************************

**************************************************************************

            Legal stuff about Qelrik

All characters contained in this story are the sole and exclusive property of
their authors. They are the copyrighted property of the authors, and may not
be used for any reason without the express written permission of the authors.

Qelrik is (c) 1993, 1994 Guido Resszling, Brent G. Hughes, John E. Mason,
Barbara C. French, Jennifer Immel, and Bret Ryan Rudnick.

Gernodt T'Slorung -- Guido Roessling
Dahlarin -- Brent G. Hughes
Growler -- <Guido Roessling
Kyle -- John E. Mason
Fox -- Barbara C. French
Gladrial -- Jennifer Immel
Sir Percy -- Bret Ryan Rudnick
Qelrik -- all authors given above

***************************************************************************