From: bfish@sequent.com (Brett Fishburne)
Subject: [KQ] Captain/Azzar [Warehouse] ...and puppy dogs tails...
Followup-To: alt.pub.dragons-inn
Organization: Sequent Computer Systems Inc.
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 92 21:16:18 GMT

[ADMIN: Tanya has been busy lately, so we collaborated with this post]

Characters: Kron Questors

Lumbering across the room, Captain raced to the side of Lady Azzar of
Bloodstone, his protectorate.  She was buried beneath an orc-dog and, though
the dog was not moving, there was a huge pool of blood around them.  The
dog had its jaws clenched around Azzar's neck and Azzar's sword peeked out
from between the shoulder blades of the dog's carcass.  Colin had beaten
Captain to her side, but he had turned pale and moved aside.  Captain could
see that her face had a sickly blue-white color which caused the tatoos to
stand out like writing on a page.

-----

The dog's head had removed itself from Captain's ankle due to the jarring
run which had brought him to Azzar's side.  The head rolled to the wall
generally unnoticed by the party of adventurers who had managed to leave dog
parts strewn all over the room in many shapes and forms.  A small, shaggy
figure found its way to the head and using its little tongue tried to lick
it clean of the blood and gore which marred the fur.  The puppy's efforts
to revive its mother were in vain, but it did not know what else to do.

-----

The saber which had recently served Captain so well fell to the ground with a
crash and Captain's rope scarred hands roughly pulled the jaws of the dog 
from around Azzar's tatooed neck.  He threw the carcass of the dog aside and,
with tears flowing freely through the wind hewn crevases in his face, gently
lifted the upper half of Azzar's limp body into his arms.  As he pushed the
hair from her eyes he could have sworn he heard the soft rasping of a meager
attempt to breath.  Captain immediatly looked closely at Azzar's neck and
found that though the orc-dog had had her neck in its jaws, the light blue
skin was unscathed.  Quielty strangling her was a metal torc which had been
pressed deeply into her neck.  Captain reached behind her neck and released
the fastener causing the torc to leap away from Azzar like a thing possessed.

Colin turned around wide-eyed as Azzar drew a shuddering breath that announced
her desire to stay in this world.  Her ever sure composure tried to assert 
itself as she struggled back into life, but the trauma of her most recent
brush with death was too much and she clung to Captain almost as strongly as
he held her.

-----

The puppy had a vague idea that humans meant food, but it was also aware
that it had never smelled humans like this before.  Despite its initial fear of
the unknown, curiosity and hunger won out and the pup went to examine the two
closest humans.  One smelled mostly like an orc-dog, so he nuzzled up close
and let out a plaintive whine for food.

-----

With cat-like swiftness and grace Azzar leapt off of the floor and into
Captain's arms as she felt the pup nuzzle her thigh.  The speed with which she
did this caught Captain unprepared once more and it was all he could do to
stay upright.  "Look now, it's just a pup and from the way he is whining he's
just hungry." Captain gently chastised.  

"Oh!  I guess I'm a little jumpy," Azzar exclaimed as she moved out of 
Captain's arms.  Captain, meanwhile,
had gathered up the dog and turned to face the rest of the group.  Thk hissed
and from the looks on the other's faces it was clear they'd just as soon kill
the pup and be gone.  As it was, some of the members of the group were pushing
on through the dog's kennel and advancing into the rooms beyond.  Captain
thought momentarily of explaining that these dogs could be very gentle and
quite loyal if treated properly, but felt that the argument wouldn't hold water
with the group standing amongst orc-dog carnage.  So he gathered the puppy
into his tunic and moved to join the group leaving the room.

As they walked through the kennel room, Captain pulled Azzar close to him and
said, "Really, it is only a harmless puppy.  Trust me.  Give it a little pat
on the head."  Azzar put her hand into Captain's
tunic and quickly patted the dog on the head.  She then startled Captain by
barking and growling softly.  The pup responded and Captain could feel it
relax.  She then removed her
hand and drew her recently blooded sword.  "I was just reassuring him,"  Azzar
responded to Captain's questioning gaze.  "He really doesn't know what's going
on or expected of him as you might expect from such a young creature....God 
knows what we'll find next."  Captain drew the strings on his tunic tight and 
drew forth the longsword which Azzar had given to him.  "That may be, but it
is not going to catch me surprised this time," he replied.

Azzar turns to Captain and gives him a quick embrace.  "Thanks. I'm not sure
what happened.  I must have been too surprised to react.  It's been a
while...."  She shakes her head and shudders a bit.  "I'm alright now.  I'll be
ready for the next one."

-- Captain and Azzar