From: Mike Whitaker <MIKEW@SDL.MDCBBS.COM>
Subject: STORY: Midnight's Bane - part 17
Followup-To: rec.games.frp.misc
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 1992 21:47:46 GMT

	Hawk went over to the two prisoners and bent down close to them, but
spoke so that everyone could hear.
	"After what your people have done to this girl I really wouldn't advise
you attempting to escape or hinder us. I have a personal reason for not liking
that sort of thing, and right now your lives are hanging by a thread. One false
move and I will take great pleasure in cutting that thread!" Anya's voice,
quiet yet clear, broke the silence that followed.
	"This one," she indicated the male, "has been of some use and has been
willing to talk to us." The male prisoner grinned wryly at her.
	Drax looked curiously at Tanya.  "You say that they arrived in a
'thing'. What does it look like?  Truly it must be an enormous vessel if there
may be thousands more of these...Lifestealers in it.", he said, shuddering
slightly and glancing over at the now lifeless creature.
	"It's a...." Tanya frowned "...I'm really not sure how to describe
it..." She took a drink from Hawk's waterskin. "It's like a city made of metal
that travels between the stars... It's huge - thousands of paces long." Drax
raised an eyebrow but said nothing as the sorceress met Hawk's questioning
gaze. "The people I was with in Alcar, we've met Lifestealers before. We still
don't know anywhere near enough about them though." Hawk eased Midnight's Bane
in its sheath, then rammed the ancient blade home with a click.
	"I think we should press on immediately. The longer we delay, the more
chance there is that our adversaries will detect us before we are ready for
them." He turned back to Tanya. "We cannot afford the time to take you back,
and even if we could it would probably not be too easy. Staying here is out of
the question, so I would suggest that you accompany us. We may be able to find
someone to take that chain off." Pausing to look at her closely, he continued,
"Stay close...if anyone else tries to hurt you they'll have to come through
me." The girl picked herself wearily to her feet, shook back her red-brown hair
and frowned.
	"What are you doing here anyway? Where exactly are you 'pressing on'
to?" She steadied herself with a hand against the side of the cavern, and
scrutinised Hawk closely, as if trying to read his thoughts. "There's still
things you probably ought to know - things that your priest can't tell you."
She glanced at Angron. "I mean it - you don't know all that's going on... you
*can't*.... I......" Tanya slapped her palm against the cave wall in
frustration. Her green eyes met Hawk's dark ones, green eyes that seemed to
plead with him to understand. "You haven't given me enough reason to trust you
to tell you anything more, and......." she laughed, a laugh with a slightly
hysterical edge "...this is going to sound like one of the legends about
Greycloak, but it's true...." with a wave of her arm she indicated the
Lifestealer bodies, still sprawled, huge and malevolent even in death, across
the cavern floor "...you have to understand that those things could destroy
Altrion..." her arm swung to point at the prisoners "...or *their* priests
could." She paused, unconscious of Hawk's fur cloak having fallen back off her
shoulders, and took a deep breath before fixing Hawk with an emerald gaze like
a knife thrust. "Separately. Without any help from the other."
	Picking up his fur cloak, Hawk gently placed it back on Tanya's
shoulders. She pulled it close around her. Of a sudden, whatever inner strength
had been keeping her going seemed to fail her somewhat, and she caught at
Hawk's arm for support as he spoke.
	"We are here because of an ancient book, and a tale it tells within.
We're on our way to Irongate, for a reason we have been assured will become
clear when we get there." Looking at the dead Lifestealer, and then back at
Tanya, Hawk continued, "Perhaps that reason has become obvious. For the sake of
our world, it would appear as though we have been chosen to try to thwart any
plans these priests and Lifestealers may have for conquering it." Remembering
painful memories of his family, his expression changed to one of grim
determination, "This world has many faults, because we are born with them. But
I don't believe that any god, or any creature from another world, should be
able to dictate how we should live or die. I for one, will try to ensure that
whatever schemes these groups have will never come to fruition. Tanya, I hope
you can trust us, as we are going to have to trust you. Any more information
you may have that you think would be useful, please share it with us, before
it's too late." The sorceress looked round at them, then heaved a weary sigh.
	"The group I was part of - the Company of the Phoenix - are trying to
do the same thing. We retook Alcar from the servants of the Lady, and we've
fought Lifestealers before. They captured me because I'm supposed to be
imortant in the prophecy as well, or something. I don't understand." She ran
her free hand through her hair. "There's a lot of things you ought to learn
from them...us..., I suspect it includes the rest of the ancient book you
mention, but I think you should hear it from people who understand it better
than I do. If it were up to me..." Hawk nodded encouragingly.
	"Go on."	
	"Don't go into Irongate to attack - there's too many of them. Go in
quietly if you can, and get information, anything, on who's there, what their
plans are." Her grip tightened on Hawk's arms and she rested her forehead on
her other hand for a second. "I....I can probably show you the way I got out of
there...and where I was kept..." She shivered, though her hand on Hawk's arm was
warm. "Then...then go to Alcar like...like the prophecy says." Tanya looked up
at Hawk, her face pale.
	"May...maybe you should leave me. I'm not going to be much use, and...
and I d..don't know how much longer I can stay on my feet." The red-brown
haired mage was stumbling over her words, and another fit of shivering took
her. "Got to...to...warn them about the doppleganger..." The ranger steadied
her as she swayed on her feet and beckoned the priest over.
	"Angron - what's wrong with her?" Angron, with Hawk's assistance, sat
the girl down and examinds her for a couple of minutes, talking to her in a
soft voice, Anya and Drax watching the cave entrances nervously. At length he
straightened up.
	"I can't get any healing past the chain they've put on her. She may
have hit her head sometime during the last few hours, and I suspect she has
caught a chill from crawling around these damp tunnels." He frowned. "Other
than that, she needs sleep..." A thought struck him. "It may be that the silver
chain is wearing her down somehow, and she did say they'd taken her familiar
off her. Neither of these is going to do her any good, but I'd not like to say
if they are doing actual harm."
	Hawk, one arm protectively around Tanya's shoulders, turned to Drax.
	"Well, my friend, do you think you could push on, or would a rest be
beneficial to you ? I would not recommend resting here, but am prepared to
guard you if you feel it is necessary." Drax motioned for them to move in
closer so that the prisoners would not hear their conversation.
	 "That Tanya is the fifth one prophesied there can be no doubt now and
as such she must travel with us." Smiling kindly at Tanya, he continued, "Not
that it was ever considered by us, dear lady. Your offer to stay behind is a
noble one, but I fear we may have need of your knowledge of Irongate." Hawk
picked Tanya up and cradled her in his arms, speaking to her in a reassuring
voice.
	"We won't leave you behind. You're coming with us to Alcar where we may
get more answers. Anya, could you take point, while Drax watches our prisoners
and Angron brings up the rear? I'll be right behind you." Hawk glanced back at
the prisoners and lowered his voice sa as not to be overheard by them. "My
friends, we have to come to a decision about our prisoners and what to do with
them should trouble arise and we have to flee. They have heard too much, and
could be a threat to us. Therefore I believe that it leaves us no other choice
but to kill them should the need arise. However, I would listen to anything you
have to say on the matter." There was grim silence from the others. After a
moment, Anya tested her shoulder experimentally to see how it had responded to
the healing, and then looked at Drax enquiringly.
	"Are you ready to continue on?  Perhaps not too long, but I agree with
Hawk that it might be wise to get out of this general area."
	Frowning slightly, Drax nodded, then stroked his stubbly chin.
	"There is one thing that should be addressed now however, as a
precaution. Tanya, you mentioned that they have employed at least one
doppleganger. We must be prepared for the likelihood that they may also have
other dopplegangers, quite possibly of us since we appear to be the prophecied
ones also. It is not altogether unlikely that we may get separated at some
point and if this were to happen, we ourselves might be replaced by
dopplegangers. I propose that we have some sort of password phrase that only we
five know and recognize. If we are ever separated for more than a few
candlemarks, it would behoove us to ensure that we are all who we appear to
be." Looking at the others, he continued. "Perhaps I'm being more than a little
paranoid, but when you consider the odds stacked against us, even such a
precaution may prevent a disaster." Hawk nodded at the idea.
	"What about 'Dazar Grimble'? Only we could know about him, and the
chances that anyone else could think of that are pretty small." Angron murmured
in agreement.
	"Seems fine. Where exactly are we headed, Tanya?" The somewhat pale
looking sorceress moistened her lips before answering. Despite her pallor, she
seemed to have recovered something of her composure, although a fine sheen of
perspiration glistened on her face and her speech was punctuated by long
pauses.
	"They were holding me in... in a cell under the courtyard of the main
citadel. There's... a secret passage from one corner of the cellars that leads
this way and ends up in what looks like it was some kind of... wizard's
sanctum..." Drax scrutinised Cherri's map and nodded.
	"Seems to match with what Raverna told us..." Tanya craned her head to
see the map.
	"I... I don't think the priests use the temple - I think they have a...
shrine... in the citadel." There was a long pause. "Damn", muttered Tanya, "I
wish I could think straight.... As far as I know that's the... the only way
between here and there... "
	As the group prepared to move out, Drax grimly added "I fear that
Angron may speak truer than he knows. In the College in Imril we were taught
that mages and their familiars are extremely close linked. From the looks of
her now, I would say that she is suffering from the shock of separation from
her familiar and that the return of it might well strengthen her somewhat. If
they have indeed taken her familiar to Irongate, we must make every effort to
retrieve it, for prolonged separation will only worsen her condition, and
should the familiar die, there is a chance that Tanya herself may die as well.
Something that I'm sure none of us would want to see happen."	

	Anya checked her daggers and her short sword, securing everything
carefully to assure herself that her passage was as silent as possible.
	"I'll take point. It makes sense..." and her voice, already hushed,
trailed off even further as she slipped quietly down the passage, consciously
moving quietly and remaining in shadows as best as possible, to scout out what
immediately lay ahead.	The next half hour was nerve-wrackingly tense as they
followed the slim bard's lead down the tunnel. After a hundred yards or so,
they reached what was obviously once a cunningly concealed door on the left -
it appeared to have been smashed open and bore the marks of huge claws.
Carefully picking their way through the debris in a group of chambers beyond
this door, they found another passage, narrow and damp, leading east into
Irongate. After a while Tanya persuaded Hawk to put her down and walked,
leaning on him a little for support.	

	After about half a mile Anya turned to face the rest, a finger on her
lips, and beckoned. Everyone crept carefully forward to where she was standing,
and she pointed upwards to a small crack in the ceiling through which there was
a faint fitful glimmer of torchlight. In the room above could be heard voices
raised in anger.
	"...exceeded your authority, Merin." The speaker was a smooth and even
baritone carrying a hint of menace.
	"I did what I thought was expedient in the circumstances - there was
litle time in which to catch the intruders." The voice was that of the
fair-haired priest they had encountered earlier.
	"The Lifestealers are *not* under your command - remember that. They
are far too dangerous to simply be let loose in the tunnels." A third voice, a
sibilant and oddly inhuman tenor, spoke.
	"The Acharim were resstless. To tempt one with the ssorceresss and then
leave it unfulfilled wass a dangerouss thing. Remember, what one feelss, all
near it feel." Tanya's eyes widened in fear at this voice as it continued.
"Whatever there iss out there, it possessess ssomething which iss a bane to the
Acharim. Though the pure onesss know no fear, yet musst we who are but sstepss
on the way back to purity protect them from needlessss harm."
	"While you are sitting here bickering..." The fourth speaker was a
woman, dripping ice and venom. Drax stiffened involuntarily, eyes wide in shock
at the sound of the voice. "...they may be coming here - I do hope you've taken
*some* precautions."
	"My dear Sirina." The first voice again. "There are a dozen guards
waiting just outside the entrance in the mountains, and another dozen at the
end of the passage not fifty feet away beneath your very feet, with whom Merin
will stand watch." There was a brief silence. "*Now*, Merin."
	"What about the little sorceress you seem to be so fond of?" continued
Sirina over the sound of receeding footsteps.
	"She will not get far." A short and mirthless laugh. "Her doppleganger
should keep the fools in Alcar from worrying for long enough, and she herself
is powerless as long as that chain touches her skin. We will find her - for now
let her run in fear of the Lifestealers."
	"Sssshe sshould be given to the pure onesss."
	"No." the voice was firm "She belongs to our Lady and is to be given to
her on Darkmoon. Rest assured, my friend, there will be many more for your pure
ones ere we are done, but this one is mine." This last sentence had a note of
finality to it, and they heard more receeding footsteps and a door close, then
silence.
--
This story is a compilation of a PBeM campaign, by:

	Mark Little ...................	Hawk
	Janet Huss .................... Anya
	Rob Holden .................... Drax
	Alan Braggins ................. Angron

	Mike Whitaker ................. GM and evil master villians

Back episodes of Midnight's Bane are available by anonymous ftp from:
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Internet address:  	129.71.32.151