From: hutch@ibeam.intel.com (Steve Hutchison)
Subject: [DQ] Week 13 Lancos: Battleground (Part 2) -- There's Only One Way Home
Organization: Intel Corp., Hillsboro, Oregon
Date: Sun, 8 Nov 1992 08:18:30 GMT

>Lancos could feel his forces nearby lose confidence.  They had been led by
>the hero of the first attack.  Now their closest thing to a leader was a man
>who was lucky to survive the lesser strike.

Lancos took stock, and decided to throw caution to the wind.  If these troops
were going to lose, it was going to be because his best attempt at leadership
wasn't enough, and because he went down fighting.

Lancos barked out some words of encouragement, and watched happily as the men
regained some of their resolve.  The evil knight eyed Lancos, as if marking him
for his next opponent -- provided the latter got past the four orcs separating
them.

Lancos swerved his horse to the right.  The orc adjusted, but too late -- there
was an opening, and Lancos' scimitar pierced the gap quickly.  Three.  An elf
rode up beside Lancos, causing an orc to back up and away.  A small nod was all
the thanks Lancos could give.  Two.  The orc ahead tried the same type of
charging technique, but instead met Lancos' well-set blades, his charge
serving only to heighten the blows' effectiveness.  One.  But fate suddenly
shifted a bit, as the remaining orc's sword found its way into Lancos' chest,
driving him back and seperating horse from rider.

Lancos regained his footing in an instant, hugging low to the ground.  The orc
tried to run the fighter over, but Lancos blocked the blow from above, and
swept at the worg's legs.  The beast toppled, pinning its rider underneath,
and allowing an easy kill.  Zero.

The knight advanced, an air of confidence in his movements.  Lancos stood
unmoving for a second, catching his breath and allowing the adrenalin that
had been running through his veins to do further work.  The knight's
arrogance proved to hold substance, as his first strike found the green-
clothed man's right leg.  The knight gleemed a smile as he bore down on Lancos.

Lancos rose, and performed a bit of trickery, blocking the next blow with
his scimitar and successfully slashing into his opponent's waist with his
short sword.

The smile disappeared from his foe's visage, replaced with grim determination.
The battle became neutral for a period, neither man finding a hole.  Lancos
blocked out the screams of the dying through necessity -- concentration was
essential.  Suddenly, and opening appeared, when the knight aimed high.  But
when the attack proved to be a feint, both men raked each other in the chest,
causing each to stagger away.

The knight spat out some blood, and Lancos took the opportunity to draw
his bow.  The knight approached, and shots were fired at point blank range.
The man attempted to turn away, but the arrows hit his right shoulder, one
sticking in and the other bouncing off -- into the head(!), around the upper
neck.  The blows caused some unplanned reversal, and Lancos relaxed
momentarily, storing the bow and grabbing his more familiar weapons.

Then the knight charged, in a rather berserk manner.  Lancos caught the first
blow with a raised elbow, a move that literally save his neck.  The blows
continued fast and furious, but Lancos was a survivor, as he eventually
adjusted to them.  Finally, the move could be made from pure defense to
partial offense.  The options available were numerous, but Lancos made his
chance count: he plunged his scimitar into the previously-created gap in
the armor's chest.  The attacks stopped, and Lancos watched as his foe's eyes
rolled up, and he immediately dropped.

* * * *
Out in the real world, the Dark Master scowled.
<<Halt.Playback>> "Too bad -- I thought I had found another servant.  But
this memory hasn't been what I expected..." <<PCD: Search.Memory>>

<<Memory in storage..  Insert.Search.Phrase>>

<<QUERY: 'Medallion'?>>

<<Affirmative.  Phrase forward in memory>>

"Very well then." <<Continue.Playback>> "You better be right..."

* * * *
There was a loud cheer from his side, as the victory caused the orc-riders
to rout, insuring they could be easily handled.  Soon that threat was ended,
and the cavalry rode off to the wall, having enough enthusiasm that a
leader was unnecessary -- at least temporarily.

Lancos removed the weapon from the body.  It was smeared red with blood.  All
that is, except for the tip -- that was blackened.  Heart's blood, he realized,
and in fact could now see it flow out of the wound.  Lancos might have
vomitted, had there been anything "available"; might have passed out, if that
act wouldn't insure his death.

Instead, he slowly made his way to the tunnels -- the safer route back by
far -- along with others who had lost their mounts but survived.

Lancos watched the battle unfold.  The enemies had broken into chaos,
quickly losing but also causing massive damage.  Wall was destroyed regardless
of who controlled it.  Orcs refused to climb ladders, fleeing if possible.
Hobgoblins charged everywhere mindlessly, setting fire to buildings and...
and worse yet, heading for the woods Lancos had just entered.  He ran towards
the tunnel, several forms behind him.

"Go!...go!...go!" Lancos shouted, ushering the others in as quickly as
possible.  But not quickly enough -- hobgoblins were upon him.  Lancos resigned
himself to defense.  He waylaid his first opponent, but received a wound in
his left lef for his troubles.  The wound visibly weakened him, loosening his
grip on the weapons.

>'No!' Lancos thought to himself.  'Sure, this battle has worn you down, but
>that's no excuse to almost drop your weapon! Keep focused, dammit!'.  All this
>occurring in the second or so he had to regroup before another opponent
>reached him.

[ADMIN; This passage was a memory from Lancos' first encounter with the PCD.
 Sort of shows how my idea of a memory has changed...]

But words weren't enough -- Lancos inwardly realized he would falter soon.

Then Lancos heard some strange words behind him, and a ring of fire
surrounded the area, burning all the enemy nearby.

"C'mon, get going!" the mage who performed the spell cried.

Lancos complied.  "I was just wondering who's side you were on -- that fire
won't exactly help the situation." he said, slowly crawling.

"Hey, I only saved your life!"

"Yeah, sort of makes up for you trying to find evil on me when we first met."

"Humph! The only way I can accept that comment is to take it as a compliment!"

Lancos didn't pay attention to the words, his mind elsewhere.  Foremost was the
recent scrapes he'd been through.  If this was to continue, he might have to
wear that medallion the mage said would serve as protection of sorts.  Lancos
didn't trust it -- for unknown reasons -- but he also couldn't trust his luck
to hold out.

They reached the make-shift hospital at the end of the tunnel.  It was abuzz
with activity, as might be expected.  Lancos scowled, wanting to get back out
to the battle.  But a nurse stopped his progress.

"Sit down, impatient one -- it's obvious you need care.  Why not tell of your
battle exploits in the meanwhile?"

Lancos complied giving a full, unembellished account.

The crowd gave a rather high opinion of Lancos' actions.  A high-ranking noble
was notably happy about them.  "C'mon, Hero," the man said, patting Lancos on
the shoulder.  "Let's finish these <censored> off!"

'Hero.' Lancos debated his deservedness of the word, but could not deny the
meaning behind it.  It meant that he had finally found a place to call home
again.  His visage could not express the inner joy that feeling produced.

* * * *
"Nice story, but is that all I get? I wished for the FIRST medallion memory!"
<<QUERY: Check.Parameter.Status>>

<<Memory fits within all parameters>>

Lord Raven cursed.  Either the memory was hidden by unknown means, or someone
had been playing with the PCD.  Either way, the Dark Master didn't like being
underinformed.  He consoled himself with what he'd learned about Lancos.
Answers would come.  Maybe not soon, but eventually.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Michael Sander 344lwkc@cmuvm.csv.cmich.edu