From: 344LWKC@CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDU (Mike Sander)
Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn
Subject: "DQ" Week 13: A proposition
Date: 9 Nov 92 00:39:49 GMT
Organization: Central Michigan University

[ADMIN: This happens right after Alita's memory, although it may not
APPEAR in that order. Also, get your "turncoat" votes in by tomorrow
morning (approx. 11 PM EST) -- since this will be the last thing until
then --, or else I'll assume you think Nightstalker {:-)!} is it...]

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> <<Abort/ Error, Multiple Thread Overlap>>

"Damn -- again they set my toy back. Not that it will save them. Let's
get down there and show them the futility of their situation." the Dark
Master says, leading the figure behind him to the stairs.

>The memory chain broke, and they were free. And around them, the minions of
>the Dark Master, weapons and spells at the ready.

The Dark Master's servants had changed since the DQers last saw them. Krastin
-- identifiable mainly by his armor and weapon -- had been transformed into
a skeletal warrior. Vornik had been stripped of humanity also, resembling a
wight more than anything else. And there was another heretofore unseen, a
evil priestess by her robes and the undead "serving" her. Also, there were
various undead creatures of many shapes and constructions.

And finally, the Dark Master strolled into the room. "Hello, those who
foolishly thought they could easily enter my grounds. You realize that you
needn't have gone thru all this troulbe. All you needed to do was ask and
you would have instantly come to me. Although it was almost amusing seeing
your plans go awry..."

Out of sight of all, and out of danger, Miro allowed himself a small smile
at that statement. By "scouting ahead", he had avoided the PCD's trap. Of
course, it helped to know that it was forthcoming. He also knew what was
coming next, and had planned the appropriate reaction.

"But how rude of me -- I haven't introduced the newest member of my
entourage. Trust me, you'll like him." Lord Raven announced, spreading
his arms in a rather showy manner.

Then the dark shape behind him stepped forward. The DQers gasped as they saw
it to be a jet-black dragon, who screamed, "YIELD NOW, MANLINGS, TO THE MIGHT
BEFORE YOU!"

"TRUESILVER!?!?" boomed ShockWave.

"MY NAME IS *BLACKSILVER*, AND AS MY MASTER COMMANDS, YOU *WILL* YIELD TO HIM!"

There was a period of helpless activity -- at least for most. A mumbling of
spell words pierced the air, but the magic seemed to dissolve almost before
it got started. 'Raelf -- rather surprisingly -- let out a curse, now
realizing that there was some sort of magic-dampening field around.

"Tsk Tsk. You shouldn't have done that -- I might have been kind to you.
You will notice, of course, that magic only obeys MY will in this place."
the Dark Master says, nearing his troops, "Take them!"

The battle was quickly joined...

Krastin shambled towards Valgar. The bearded man met the skeletal warrior
with much skill, and his enchanted sword found holes in Krastin's defenses
several times. Despite the valient attempt, Krastin had more skill, more
power in his home realm, more pure stamina. And soon, a victory. Valgar's
last thought before slipping into unconsciousness was relief that he had
kept the beast inside him at bay during the fight.

ShockWave and Vornik paired off, and initially could only produce a
stalemate. ShockWave noticed he seemed to radiate something that caused the
undead to fight amongst themselves, or even attack Vornik. And for a while,
ShockWave didn't care about the power, only thrashing the occassional zombie
or skeleton who strained TOO close. Then he sensed evil start to loom in an
unfamiliar place -- his own mind and heart. ShockWave stopped the power,
unbalanced by the fact that he had been partially corrupted. He still
tried to fight off the undead, but soon the tension and the numbers were
too great, and he was defeated.

Alita was blocked as to ideas for a moment. She could not find a spot for her
newly-gained abilities. The dead had little to no lust, and Noira seemed to
give no response. Alita walked -- even her more familiar powers seemed to be
disengaged here -- to the only remaining target, BlackSilver. Her powers
worked, but too well -- the dragon had not felt pleasure in a long time, and
overreacted to the stimulus, toppling onto Alita. The force caused Alita to
loosen her influence, saving her life but not her captured position.

William was constantly struggling, dodging the undead when possible and using
the plane's idea of magic when necessary. The Dark Master was intrigued to see
this display of power, but William was too busy to note his expression. He
loosed a bolt which disintegrated the monsters nearby him to ash, and allowed
him a moment of rest. He asw his fellow DQers struggle with and fall to their
foes. William gave up his bit of hope -- if the more powerful people were
doomed, what chance did HE have? Several zombies suddenly charged, but William
made no attempt at stopping them.

Lancos was initially content to subdue the zombies that came at him. Despite
the odds, the word surrender was not in his vocabulary. However, even his
defenses could not hold back so many foes, only so much damage could be
absorbed at one time. Lancos went down swinging, but nevertheless went down
underneath a mass of bodies.

'Raelf tried to shift to an elemental form, but stopped instantly. Noira was
chanting a prayer of some kind. He realized, he had deliberately not adapted
himself to this plane of existance, and so he was susceptible to
conjure-magic and holy words, beyond the usual. The prayer made it agony to
draw on his elemental nature, but it didn't hurt if he remained human.

Magic denied him, 'Raelf drew his short staves and prepared for the onslaught.
The shambling figures surrounded him - but they felt no pain from his strikes,
and though he dodged and threw him and did things to their cadaverous bodies
that would have crippled or killed living men, they generally ignored it.
Eventually they overwhelmed him.

Kadrys started with fighting several skeletons and zombies, with notable
success. But soon he viewed around, and saw that more desperate measures
were called for. His life-draining abilities were limited: draining True
-- he corrected himself -- *BLACK*Silver's life would be counter-productive,
and the priestess was taking in energy faster than he could absorb it.
Filling up with as much life as he felt safe with, he zoomed at the Dark
Master. Even a minor set-back would help turn the tide.

The Dark Master didn't appear to pay attention to Kadrys until only a few
feet seperated them. Lord Raven mumbled a few words, and suddenly Kadrys
stopped in mid-air, then crashed to the ground, as if having hit an
irrestable barrier.

"The fool." the Dark Master said, ordering his minions to rouse the DQers,
so that he could talk to them. "Now you see how truly naive you were to
think you could oppose me. But I shall give you one final chance to show
some intelligence. Forget you 'noble' ideas and join with me -- or else
end up like your friend 'SunStorm' has". Lord Raven smiled, inwardly
knowing what the outcome would be.
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Michael Sander 344lwkc@cmuvm.csv.cmich.edu
Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn