From: bilbo@bisco.kodak.com (Charles Tryon)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: STORY: The Towers, part03
Keywords: STORY GreyEagle
Date: 7 Apr 92 14:07:01 GMT
Organization: Eastman Kodak Company; Rochester, NY


[For those who may be following this story, I'm sorry I'm late again.
Like I said, I am trying to post rather slowly so as to not catch up to
the tail end of the story before the characters get there.  ;-)  I was
planning on posting on weekends, but things get busy and....

Well, enough apologies.  On with the story!]


       Copyright 1992  Charles Tryon

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            T H E   T O W E R S

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3:  On The Road

   The next morning, GreyEagle came down from her room for breakfast.
Schimray met the group there, surprising them by having a great feast laid
out.  The others came down, one at a time, some muttering about the
condition of their heads or the evils of drink.  However, all of them were
glad for the wonderful meal spread out before them.
   Conrad seemed to especially enjoy himself.  "Hummm.  Good food here
Schimray.  Thanks!", Conrad mumbles between mouthfuls.  He ate far more
than his share of breakfast.  It wasn't clear whether he really liked the
food or was too cheap to feed himself in this fashion when he was paying
the bill.
   GreyEagle ate quietly, often gazing at Schimray.  She was much more
relaxed than the night before.
   As they were finishing, and Conrad was stuffing the last of the fruit into
his mouth, Schimray handed Sucaba and Greyeagle each a sealed scroll
tube.  "Do not open these until you are out of the city," he instructed
them.  "As you begin, you should head east a few miles and then stop."
   GreyEagle looked at the scroll tube questioningly, turning it over in her
hands to examine it closely, and looking at Schimray with a puzzled
expression.  She looked at Sucaba to gage his reaction.  As the designated
leader of the group, he was surprised and interested that GreyEagle had
also been handed a scroll tube.  She thanked Schimray, and carefully
tucked the scroll into an inside pocket in her cloak.
   After breakfast, Schimray led them to the stables where mounts are waiting
for all but Sucaba, as he already had his dragon to ride.  Two spare pack
horses are also included carrying provisions for a months journey for man
and animal alike.
   Conrad chose probably the largest horse that was in the stable.  He was
wearing the strange leather armor, with possibly more gadgets stuck in the
minute pockets covering the arms and legs, from the day before, but now
over his chest was a sleeveless shirt of chain mail.  His pack was stowed
behind him although the crossbow now was set in front of him.
   "Hey, up here on this nice girl's back it almost feels like a floor!"  he
said, patting the animal's back.  "I'm grateful for the mount -- I'd
rather she did the walking than me.  Guess we better be on our way."
   GreyEagle excused herself to collect her things from her room.  She came
back a short time later, looking quite different from the evening before.
Her cloak was now open, thrown back over her shoulders, and her leather
armor has been exchanged for plate mail.  Her armor was of a fine dwarven
type which had been, through some miracle of armory, modified to fit a
rather slender human female.
   At her belt was a shortsword with gleaming hilt, and a battle axe.  Slung
over back was a small round shield displaying the emblem of diving eagle,
its talons extended and its wings swept back.  The eagle was grey on a
background of deep green.  On her back was also a short-bow and the
requisite quiver of arrows.
   She had let her hair down now.  It was straight and as black as night, and
fell in a single heavy braid which reached almost to her waist.  Circling
her head was a fine silver chain.  Other than that her head was bare.  Her
feet were shod in soft boots.
   She strode purposefully into the sunlight, and paused for a moment to
drink it in, breathing deeply.  Someone who looked at her carefully
though, might have noticed that her eyes were a bit red.
   In the stables, GreyEagle was clearly in her element.  She went from one
horse to the next, rubbing their coats and scratching them behind the
ears, speaking to them softly.  From somewhere, she produced tidbits which
the horses found interesting and munched on happily.  Finally satisfied,
she selected one mount, a bit smaller than the others, but clearly alert
and spunky, and readied it for riding.
   After each member in the group had selected a mount, Schimray handed each
of them a small pouch containing 50 platinum pieces.  "A down payment," he
explained.  "You will get the rest of the 500 when you return."  GreyEagle
casually it, giving it a "Yup, looks like 50 platinum pieces" look, and
shoved it into her pack.
   Turning once again to GreyEagle, Schimray pressed a second pouch into her
hand and whispered "till we meet again, my beauty."  She was much more
interested in this pouch.  She took it, giving Schimray a warm, if
slightly confused smile, and a quiet, "Thank you."  She blushed a bit, and
held it close to her.  Sucaba once again seemed taken aback by Schimray
giving GreyEagle something.
   As the others continued to talk with Schimray, GreyEagle went off a little
way to open the pouch in private.  Inside she found an amulet, appearing
to be made of pure platinum.  It appeared extremely valuable and was
fitted to be worn around the neck.  Looking very closely at it, she could
see that a symbol of life, made of diamonds perhaps, had been worked into
the face of the amulet.  On the back was inscribed:


   NHYRE SUMME TAYYA CONLTH ZZED YZGATT


   She could not understand the inscription, but it seemed to be in an older
language, perhaps an old elven tongue.
   Also, folded neatly in the pouch with the amulet was a note:


       Greyeagle my beauty,

           The time I have spent with you has meant a great deal
        to me.  I will dream of you!  On a more serious note, I
        have given a copy of the map to both you and Sucaba so
        that if one is destroyed you will still be able to find
        the Tower.  At this point you must turn north and head
        past Castle Craig, through Gnoll Pass, and north/northwest
        through the Stonelands.  When you reach Anauroch, The
        Great Desert and/or the Desertsmouth Mountains your
        journey becomes more difficult.  Your must tread a path
        between these two past the Lost Vale.  North of that close
        to the desert's edge you will find the first Tower.
           The pouch contains an amulet to protect you against
        undead creatures.  Dark creatures are known for having
        undead minions.  It will also provide some small
        protection against the actual demon.  Simply hold it up
        and proclaim "By the power within, I command you to be
        gone" It will not always work, but it should help.  By the
        way if you are concerned that you wont know an undead when
        you see one, the amulet will glow when within 20 feet of
        them.  Wear my amulet in good health, my beauty.  PS:
        Beware Trouble, he is dangerous and likely to cause
        problems.

                               Till we meet again.
                               Forever yours, Schimray


   GreyEagle placed the amulet around her neck, tucking it inside of her
tunic.  She replaced the note in the pouch, and put it into a safe place
in her pack.
   Returning to the group, she saw Sucaba standing with his dragon.  It was
not very large, but it had attracted a fair amount of attention, even at
this early hour of the day, from the patrons at the inn and the town's
folk.  People were making a point of giving it a wide berth, though she
could see a number of children peaking around various corners to get a
look at the strange beast.  She looked at it hesitantly.  She felt like
one of the small children, wanting to look closer, but at the same time,
afraid to.
   "Is it intelligent like us?"  she asked Sucaba.  "Can it speak to you?
Where is it from?"  Her questions came in a flurry.  She was definitely
impressed by the dragon.  It held both a vicious ugliness and a strange
beauty at the same time.
   "Of course I'm intelligent," snapped the Dragon at her questions.  "where
do you get off called me an it?"  GreyEagle jumped back a bit.
   "This is my valiant steed," said Sucaba, quickly silencing the beast with
a stare of warning.  "A fine Black Dragon.  It has chosen a life in my
service."  He did not appear to be inclined to talk about the subject any
more, so GreyEagle decided to pursue the matter later.
   As she was getting ready to leave, Schimray came over to GreyEagle and
spoke privately to her.  "Be careful to keep the amulet hidden from the
others in the party until you need to use it.  I fear that one or more
might try to steal it from you.  However, while you can hide it for now,
for it to work it must be visible to the undead."  GreyEagle looked into
his eyes uncertainly.  What was she getting into, she asked herself?
   Once everyone appeared ready to leave, the impatient Sucaba commanded:
"Let us begin our travel."  With that, he vaulted onto the back of his
dragon, and with a rush of wings and dust, took to the air.

   Leaving was very difficult for GreyEagle.  She looked back only once, as
they went around a small bend in the road, to see if Schimray was still
there.  She thought about how it had been such a short time -- not even a
full day, as she thought back.  Had it really been that short?  It seemed
like so much longer.
   Then again, it had been such a short, intense flash, like the sun glancing
off a freshly polished mirror, with its brilliance blinding for a moment,
and then before you had a chance to shield your eyes, gone.  Well, she
hoped that this flash would linger on much longer, even if she had to be
away from Schimray for now.
   Yes, now.  Now she had a task to face.  She had faced other tasks, but had
never before felt that so much had been at stake.  She had faced other
foes, and the darkness of the unknown lurking before her.  Why did she do
it?  She still couldn't figure that one out.  Her first encounter with the
bandits in the gully had done something to her deep down inside.  She
wasn't one to go around killing for power or treasure, as some people she
had known, and as she had a lingering feeling that some in this group
might.  She was still haunted by some of those faces, the Finds and
Bugbears and orcs.  She could still feel the oppressive stench of evil
which had hung in some of those dark rooms and passage ways.
   The common people.  Those who could not defend themselves, who suffered at
the hands of the powerful around them.  She guessed that it was for them
that she fought.  She remembered Schimray's scorn of such people, and how
he had spoken of the maiden and her attempts to better their lot.  She was
still troubled by his attitude.  She had grown to understand somewhat and
have a bit of feeling for the sorrows that Schimray had suffered at the
hands of these people, but it burned her heart to see the deep bitterness
he held there.  She could tell that this was not going to be an easy
relationship, she thought with a heavy sigh.  Right now though, she had
more to keep her busy.
   When the party arrived at the rendezvous point a few miles from town,
Sucaba and mount were waiting.  He called the party around him, smiling
wryly at GreyEagle as he saw her approach.  Rising to his feet, and
putting away the dragon sculpture he was working on, he spoke:
   "I have opened the tube given to me and found a map within."
   "At this point we must turn north and head past Castle Craig, through
Gnoll Pass, and north/northwest through the Stonelands.  When we reach
Anauroch, The Great Desert and the Desertsmouth Mountains our journey
becomes more difficult.  We must tread a path between these two past the
Lost Vale.  North of that close to the desert's edge we will find the
first Tower."
   "The first part of our journey is on a road.  We follow Calantar's Way
through Gnoll's Pass until the mountains to our left end.  Then we turn
north."
   Once the party was ready to depart, Sucaba wandered over to his mount and
mumbled and incantation.  Sucaba and his mount suddenly vanished from
sight.  GreyEagle stared at the spot where they had been.
   Sucaba's voice seemed to float to them from the thin air.  "I am still
here," he told them.  "I will go ahead of the group a short distance on my
mount.  Invisibly I will scout, and report any dangers as I see them.  If
I am unable to warn you in person, I will create a bright light in the
sky.  This signal will mean to hold your position and prepare for the
worst.  Who will watch for this signal?"
   GreyEagle didn't want to jump out, to make herself stick out any more than
she had to.  It was already bad enough being the only woman there, but
when no one else moved, she raised a shy hand.  "I will watch, Sucaba.
Can you tell me a little better what to look for?"
   "My warning light will be a ball of bright light in the sky.  It cannot be
missed.  I will locate the light above the danger I have detected.  If
what I detect does not immediately endanger the mission, I will come back
and report in person so as to not alert the foe."
   Suddenly, the voice came from a spot close by her, speaking to her in a
lower voice.  "I have seen the apprehension in your eyes in regards to the
`dark creature' Schimray spoke of.  We must be successful in slaying it.
We must not fail.  It would not be befitting of a fighter like yourself to
be beaten by such a ill guided thing."  She was not so sure she had as
much confidence as he had.
   Then the sound of wings beating the air told them that Sucaba and his
mount had taken off.  The others mounted their horses and turned to the
North.
   As they rode, GreyEagle pulled out her scroll case and opened it to check
the map.  Since Sucaba, and his copy of the map, were flying around high
above and ahead of them, it would be up to her and the map that she had to
keep the rest of them on track.
   They continued on, taking the road leading through Gnoll Pass towards
Tilverton.  The sky was clear, the day was warm and pleasant.  It seems
hard to believe they are heading into any danger.  The day passed
uneventfully -- they meet with nothing on the road except an occasional
bird or small animal darting away as they approached.  They made camp the
first night within Gnoll Pass.  After a hot and filling dinner from the
provisions thoughtfully packed by Schimray they turned in for the night.
Ormec and the dark one took the first watch, followed three hours later by
GreyEagle and Trouble, who were followed after three hours by Conrad and
Sucaba.  Conrad seemed to have some trouble getting his boots on.  It
seemed as though his feet were somewhat swollen.  After twenty or so
minutes of fussing he finally managed to get them on comfortably.
   Their second day of travel passed much as the first had, quietly and
uneventfully.  They rode quietly, each absorbed in his own thoughts.  They
had now passed through Gnoll Pass and were leaving the road to turn
towards the mountains and the great desert.  They spent the next night
much as the last and again Conrad noticed that his feet were somewhat
swollen even though his mount had done all the walking.  But his
discomfort quickly passed and they enjoyed a hot breakfast before heading
out across the Stonelands.
   As they were leaving civilization behind and heading into wild country
they stayed more alert with Sucaba doing a great deal of scouting ahead on
his dragon.  But the third day passed much as the first two.  It had
however, grown at least 10 degrees warmer since they had stopped for
lunch.  To the north they could see the hills marking the beginning of the
Desertsmouth Mountains just a few miles in the distance.  To the northwest
they could see a golden shimmering that could only be Anauroch, the Great
Desert.  They could see waves of heat dancing over the golden sands in the
twilight, promising that tomorrows ride will be even warmer than today's.
But for now they settled down for another warm and filling dinner and then
to some well deserved rest.  With the setting of the sun it cooled off
allowing for very comfortable sleeping conditions.
   During the quiet hours of her night watch, when she thought Trouble wasn't
looking, GreyEagle would pull out the amulet which Schimray had given her
in the small pouch.  She wore it around her neck on its finely crafted
chain.  She could not read the inscription on the back, but she studied it
intensely, trying to form the sounds of the words in her mind, but never
daring to say them out loud.
   As they took turns guarding they were lulled by the peaceful, silent night
into believing nothing bad could happen.  But only an hour before dawn the
peace and quiet was rudely interrupted by a shout from Sucaba and then at
least a dozen bloodcurdling war cries.
   "Kobolds, kobolds," Sucaba shouted again.  "Wake up, low life forms coming
in." As they raised their heads in alarm and fumbled for weapons and packs
they could see 3 foot tall humanoids charging in from three directions.
They had dark, rusty brown scaly hides, red glowing eyes, two small white
horns, and non-prehensile rat like tails.  Conrad, though he had been
awake and on guard, seemed surprised to see these creatures where only a
moment before he was sure there had been nothing.  A shower of spears and
javelins rained upon them.  Several were aimed in Conrad's direction and
come flying right at him, with one hitting him in the shoulder.  He gave a
sharp cry of pain and alarm.
   GreyEagle was awakened by Sucaba's yelling, and the blood-curdling war
cries of kobolds.  She had never seen such little creatures before.  As
she stumbled to wakefulness, trying desperately to shake the sleep from
her head, she grabbed her shortsword which she had carefully placed at her
side before going to sleep.  The fire had died down a bit by this time,
and the first red tinges of dawn were starting to filter into the darkness
in the East, but there wasn't enough light for GreyEagle's still sleepy
eyes to pick out much.  She rose to her knees, grabbing for her shield.
Having found this, she yanked the shortsword from it's sheath.
   The moment she did this, she could feel the sword's power flowing through
her arm.  Suddenly, everything seemed clearer as the brilliant light
emanating from the blade broke upon the darkness around her.
   Still, she wasn't quick enough.  A shower of spears rained down upon her.
One hit her squarely in the chest.  She had seen it coming, and had frozen
in her tracks, as if waiting for it to strike, somehow unable to move.
However, rather than the searing pain that she had expected, the spear
bounced off her chest without scratch.  GreyEagle fell over, as much out
of surprise as anything else, looking at her chest where the spear had
hit.  However, the kobolds were still coming at her and she had no time to
ponder.  She scrambled to her feet, planting herself for their attack.
   The dark one was also hit by a spear, but his didn't bounce off.  Barely
to his feet as the alarum was raised, he stumbled back from the advancing
kobold horde.  He spun toward the campfire and in its light the reason for
his sudden clumsiness could be seen: the shaft of a spear protruded from
his thigh.  He seemed quite angry at the blood trickling from the wound on
his leg.  He wrestled with it, a grimace of pain on his face as he pulled
it out.  Still, not a sound escaped his lips.  He retreated on toward the
campfire, ignoring the kobolds behind him, moving past GreyEagle and Ormec
and beyond to the relative safety on the other side of them.
   All the rest of the javelins and spears landed harmlessly around them.
Having expended their javelins, the kobolds pulled out wicked looking
short swords and spiked clubs.
   Sucaba quickly started waving his arms and chanting an incantation.  To
GreyEagle's surprise the five kobolds headed directly towards her just
fell down.  A second later Sucaba's black dragon popped in and took off
towards the four kobolds headed towards the dark one and Ormec.  With a
scream of fear and panic these four plus the five headed towards Conrad
and Trouble turned around and ran away just as fast as their short little
legs would carry them.  Sucaba called for Horton, leapt on his back, and
took off after them.  Ormec found his horse, with some difficulty managed
to mount it.  Still wearing his leather armor and carrying only his battle
axe and shield, he took off after Sucaba and the kobolds.
   Leaning on his staff, the dark one lowered himself to the ground and bound
his wound.  He was constantly turning his head, watching in all directions
to see how the battle was going.  Soon his thigh was wrapped with a gray
strip from his own robes and, leaning on quarterstaff, he rose again,
prepared as could be, for whatever happened next.
   However, there seemed to be no more kobolds coming.  Trouble went over to
the sleeping kobolds and slit the throats of four of them.  He then tied
the fifth up.  Searching their pockets he found a total of 40 copper coins
and 15 silver pieces.  The dark one hobbled over to Trouble and the
kobold, interested in helping the questioning.
   GreyEagle, after a moments hesitation, went over to Conrad to see if she
could help him.  While she was binding Conrad's wounds they could hear an
occasional grunt or yipe from where Trouble and the dark one were
questioning the kobold, however they couldn't see what was going on.  When
done they went over to see and found the kobold was dead.  Seeing that the
dark one had already taken care of his wound, and that Trouble was unhurt
(but with a strange glint in his eye), she looked at the dead kobolds,
remembering the noises she had heard from this direction.  She looked
again at Trouble and the dark one and suppressed a shiver.  Yes, she would
need to keep on her toes all the time with this group.  It didn't make her
feel any more comfortable.
   Ormec, following Sucaba and the dragon, caught up with the fleeing kobolds
just in time to see Sucaba torch them.  When the flames died down all were
dead.  Searching the charred bodies they found a total of 72 copper and 27
silver pieces.  When they found nothing else of interest, they returned to
the camp.  Arriving, they found that the sleeping kobolds were also dead
and that the wounds of the other members in the party had been bound.
   After the attack by the kobolds, GreyEagle checked herself over again.
She still was befuddled by the spear which had bounced off her chest.
Turning from the others, she sat down a little way from the fire to gather
her whits.  She had strapped her shortsword to her side, and flung the
shield over her shoulder.  Facing away from the others, she pulled out the
amulet to see if it was what had deflected the blow, but it showed no sign
of being struck.  What could have turned the point of that spear?  She
looked at the leather armor she was wearing.  It looked the same as it had
before.  She couldn't find any rivets or other metal fixtures which could
have done it.  It didn't make any sense.  "Best not to jump to any
conclusions," she thought as she tucked the amulet back under her tunic.
   Briefly scanning the party, Sucaba seemed satisfied and sat near his
dragon to watch.  He threw a brief grin at Trouble as he saw their
handiwork with the Kobolds.
   "Do you think that we should dispose of the kobold bodies to get them out
of seeing and smelling range?"  suggested GreyEagle, wrinkling her nose at
the stench.  "I am not sure if we should just leave them or bury them for
sanitary reasons.  We are not exactly on a well traveled path, but there
is no use leaving rotting flesh lying around, especially if we have to
stay here any longer."
   "Burial of these vermin is a waste of my time," sneered Sucaba.  "Let them
be consumed by the buzzards.  We should be on our way shortly."
   "Do you think I could ask you a few questions about our route?"  GreyEagle
asked Sucaba.  She figured that he might have gleaned some information on
the route ahead of them as he had flown over it, and she was interested in
knowing what to expect ahead of them.
   "I have no time to converse about the map either," he said, pulling out a
large tome from a pack on his dragon.  "I must study."  He quickly became
immersed in his study, and GreyEagle figured that she would get no more
out of him for the moment.

   They still had an hour before daybreak.  Since no one seemed in a great
hurry to do anything, and it seemed pointless to try and fix a meal while
it was still dark, and GreyEagle was too wide awake to go back to sleep,
she thought that she would do as she had so often done before, and sit to
watch the sun rise.  "Tis good for cleansing the soul," she told the
others.  She stooped to her pack to pull out the map, thinking that it
would be a good thing to look at.  Besides, it would be a good excuse to
get a bit of time to herself to sit and think.
   She went off a stone's throw from camp to sit.  Already, an occasional
bird was greeting the gathering dawn.  Looking at the map, and remembering
the increasing heat as they were coming closer to the great desert, she
started to think about the water situation.  As they got into the hills at
the edge of the desert, it might be difficult to find good water supplies,
forcing them to cut in farther towards the mountains, making for more
difficult travel.  Also, the closer they were to the mountains, the more
likely they would be to come under attacks just as they had experienced
this morning.  She thought that she would try to get an opportunity to
talk to Sucaba about the situation.
   GreyEagle was still surprised to find yourself without any wounds.
Putting down the map, she again pulled out the amulet to examine it.  She
could find no marks on it to show that it might have been what stopped the
spear, nor could she find any marks on her chest.  Its as though some
invisible force had stopped the spear from physically touching her.  Her
thoughts turned to Schimray, wondering if he might have been somehow
responsible.  Could he have done something that she didn't know about that
night she had been with him?  She murmured a thanks to him and replaced
the amulet under her armor.
   As she was sitting there deep in her thoughts, she heard the call of a
raven to her left in the trees.  She looked up and saw it skipping from
one branch to another until it was only a few yards away.  It stopped
there and cocked its head to one side, appearing to watch her.
   At first, GreyEagle was amused.  She had always loved to watch the birds,
especially the eagles as they soared high above, riding the currents of
air.  She had often wished she could fly with them.  Ravens too had
fascinated her, though in a different way.  They had always seemed dark
and mysterious, with their midnight black feathers, and their obvious
intelligence.  As the raven approached, her amusement melted into wonder.
She had never been so close to one before.  She crept closer to it,
digging something out of her pocket, not sure if ravens would be
interested in the same sorts of teats that the horses had liked.  She held
it out to the raven, speaking softly to it, admiring its beauty and
strength.  GreyEagle wanted to come closer to it, but was afraid of
scaring it away.  She wanted to stroke its feathers, to see into its
mind.
   Something deep within her trembled, as if she felt that she knew the
raven, or that it knew her.  Her body tingled, though she didn't know
why.  She waited to see what it would do with the food she was holding out
to it.  The raven cocked its head but didn't approach any closer.  It
stared at her a moment longer in consideration and then took flight almost
seeming to wave a wing at her.  GreyEagle sat down again, watching it as
it flew off into the gathering daylight.

   With the coming of the sun, some of the worry and uncertainty of the night
was washed away.  She let its rays wash over her face, the warmth of it
filling her again with hope as it had done so often before.  Laying back,
she listened to the animals as they too greeted the dawn.
   Hearing noises from the camp, GreyEagle remembered the others.  She
reluctantly got up, leaving her moment of quiet to join the others.  At
least now she felt ready to go on.  As dawn broke across the sky the
others stirred from their slumber or thoughts.  The dark one stood with
ease showing no sign of the discomfort he must have been feeling.  Indeed
it seemed to GreyEagle that he should be grateful to be alive but he took
things in stride and silently helped with the preparations for breakfast.
   GreyEagle continued to watch him, trying not to stare as he worked around
the fire.  She felt like she understood him no better than she had the
first time she had seen him.  Always helpful around the camp, she had
still never heard him utter a single word.  She wasn't sure if he could
not speak, or if he just never found it necessary.  During discussions
which they occasionally had, he would listen, but never offer any opinions
one way or the other.
   She was confused too by his choice of weapons.  He carried the longsword,
and she had seen the half dozen or so daggers which he had strapped to
various places on his person, but it was always the quarterstaff which he
had with him whenever he was on guard shift.  She decided to see if she
could find a time when the others weren't around and she could try to
speak to him.
   Horton and Sucaba still had matching smug smiles and even Trouble seemed
pleased with the nights work.  Ormec was a little disgruntled that his
battle axe hadn't been able to draw blood but consoled himself with the
thought that there must be more of the little dog creatures out there.
Conrad still seemed a little out of sorts and was having a great deal of
trouble getting his armor on and fastened properly.  It seemed that some
of the closures were giving him a difficult time.  But after struggling
with it for a few minutes he managed to get it properly fixed.  GreyEagle
wondered if perhaps his sore shoulder was interfering.
   As they were coming closer to the desert, GreyEagle voiced her concern
about the availability of water.  "We should be careful to fill our water
bottles at every opportunity.  I will fill them now from the stream here."
   "Your concern about water is a real one," Sucaba agreed, thinking about it
a bit.  "I will be on the lookout from my mount as we travel for water
sources, and we should be able to keep our containers filled."
   After a hearty breakfast, with full bellies and canteens, they mounted
their horses for another day in the saddle.  Some of them looked a little
enviously at Sucaba as he hopped on his dragon and settled comfortably
in.  He indicated to GreyEagle, who was still interested in discussing the
map and where they were headed, that there would be time for that as they
traveled.  He waved his hands, uttered an incantation, and he and his
dragon once again disappeared.


= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
    Next:  Into The Desert's Mouth


-
Chuck Tryon
    bilbo@bisco.kodak.com                                 B. Baggins
    << Kodak and I don't always share opinions. >>        At Your Service
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   REAL Bicyclists don't take abuse from motorists, they drop them.
                                          -- Dan Mocsny