From: hutch@hutch (Stephen Hutchison)
Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn
Subject: [DQ] Dragon Quest Week 10: Valgar Walking
Date: 3 Oct 92 01:18:29 GMT
Reply-To: hutch@ibeam.intel.com
Organization: Intel Corp., Hillsboro, Oregon

[ADMIN]
In order to try and keep things going along, the collective Dragon Questors
have been putting together posts from the point-of-view of our currently
less active players.  If you notice a difference in personality or in the
way the characters are written, this is the cause.  Our apologies in advance
to those less active players if we've somehow muddled a characterization,
and we hope to see you back soon to help with the writing.

[Dragon Quest, Week 10]

In summary, the group of five - ShockWave/SunStorm, Lancos Erredan, Valgar,
William, and 'Raelf, have set off for the cave described in the Book which
Valgar found, the cave which they've determined was where TrueSilver the
dragon was, ahem, dragged, when he was kidnapped by Krastin and his unknown
co-conspirator.  Alita, an aggressively forward woman who is also a skilled
thief, has left a message to our group, to meet her at the cave.

'Raelf has convinced the others to leave in time for them to get to the cave
before midnight, which is when they were supposed to meet.  He does not want
to enter a place where evil holds sway during the hours when it is strongest.
As they walk, the first stanza of the prophecy comes to their minds, over
and over again.  Maybe they can avoid its dire prediction.

+ "A Book, a Rook, a Crook and a Nook,
+  A Cave, a Grave, a Grief and a Thief,
+  One contains a Secret, Steals it, Binds it,
+  And the Other contains only a Promise of Fear"

Valgar scratched his newly-grown beard.  It itched, something fierce, but
he'd left it in place, because he had been clean-shaven when he was a slave.
All the slaves had been depilated fairly often; kept the lice and parasites
from taking hold.  The only diseases his former masters, may they rot, had
allowed among the galley slaves, were those they put there themselves.

They crossed the crest of the hill, going south.  The cave should be visible
in the sea cliffs - the lower entrance would be underwater right now, this
being high tide, but the secret upper entry would be reachable, if the map
in his book had been right.  He'd memorized that page.  The terrain marks
were all showing up - the notch in the ridge, the small stream that 'Raelf
said started in the graveyard, the blasted crown of a small hill where some
adventurer had died, centuries ago.  There, the cliffs, just beyond the
next rise, and the secret opening.

He considered his situation.

Fine group, this.  'Raelf could take care of himself, sure, but who knows
how he'll do when he's trying to protect someone else.  And that William
character, definitely someone else, he was.  Some kind of a mage, sure,
but Valgar couldn't recall ever meeting a mage who was so unsure of himself.
That HAS to have a bad effect on his magic.   Lancos was getting to act
a bit high-and-mighty, too, which wasn't like he'd been earlier.  ShockWave
had figured out how to use his giant's-body, and seemed to be getting along
pretty well.  Alita, however, was another problem.  She was definitely able
to take care of herself, but at what cost to the group?

Valgar grimly shifted the sword-belt on his waist.  It had been chafing.
He didn't like openly carrying.  The others had convinced him, though,
that he'd be the right one to use it.  That, and the dagger 'Raelf had
made, which Valgar hid in a back sheath.  Hmm - even 'Raelf seemed to
think there was something up.  He was carrying several suspicious looking
objects about his person, and was wearing the weird body-fitting spongy
leather-armor he usually wore to go flying in, and he'd left his board
somewhere else.  Lancos, too, had his amulet on, and his sword and armor.
ShockWave even remembered to wear the dwarven helm they'd bought.
And he, at least, was wearing the amulet 'Raelf had given him - never hurts
to have some kind of armor, even the magical kind.

There it was, the notched rock outcropping, that meant the cave was nearby.
They all spotted it at once.  The crevice, and the place where it went flat.
That was the hidden entrance.  They began the climb down to the ledge, just
wide enough to hold one at a time.

They walked into the cave.  The sun was an hour above the horizon, the nearly
new moon already set.  'Raelf was perturbed - he'd wanted to get there before
this, but there had been the usual delays.  Still, it wasn't yet sunset, and
plenty of time to search around before the dark lent power to their enemy.
And they had prepared, as best they could.  Except they hadn't gotten any
kind of spiritual support - none of the local priests was an adventurer
type, it seems.  ShockWave had mumbled something about being a Holy Sword,
but hadn't followed up on it when pressed.

It was dark inside.  Lancos pulled out a bullseye lantern, and lit it.
'Raelf went first, then Lancos, then Valgar and William followed, with
ShockWave last, his sword-self glowing brightly.

The shadows danced on the wall of the cave, looming and flickering and
shrinking off to nothing.  The entry tunnel wound about thirty feet,
and managed to kink back and forth twice, effectively acting as a barrier
to outside light.  There was, strangely, no sign of bats or insects or
the usual cave dwellers.  The dust on the floor showed little sign of
being disturbed.  Even Lancos' ranger-taught tracking skills didn't show
anything.  'Raelf was annoyed.  He spoke, quietly.

"This is bogus, meinen freunden.  There should be something, some kind of
animal tracks or footprints or something.  There aren't even any smells,
and caves are supposed to smell like old wet dirt."

A shadowy mass was revealed by the lights as they entered a large cavern.

"What the hell?"  Valgar picked up the mass.  "My book!  What's it doing
here, it's supposed to be in my pack!"  He dug for a moment, and came up
empty.  "How do you suppose that happened?"

"I have an idea how it happened," SunStorm/ShockWave growled.  He looked
ominous in the sword-glow, dwarven helm gleaming.  "I think it was that
demon-spawn thief Alita."

Lancos coughed.  'Raelf said nothing.  Valgar tried to remember if they'd told
Alita the precise location of the cave.  Her note had said she'd meet them here.

William looked around.  "No clay here.  It would be near water, anyway."

They examined the walls and ceiling.  Nothing special, but a small crevice
that was wide enough to admit a man, stooped over.  Tracks showed in the
dust around the crevice.

"Must be the place," someone commented.  Resuming marching order, they
went inside.  A winding tunnel, like the entrance, opening to another
large grotto.  From the front, 'Raelf cried out, then began quietly
moaning to himself in one of his old dead languages.  Lancos shone
the lamp around, then stopped, and Valgar felt a sudden sick dread at
the sight before them.