From: ssalter@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (-=[SLS]=-)
Subject: To Ride a NightMare -end. [CASTLE]
Organization: OFSA
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 13:35:35 GMT

				-=<0>=-

	She sighed with relief as FK and Mikandric narrowly averted
disaster in DreamWorld. That place was wickedly subtle and immensely
dangerous. If only Feral Knight just remembers to utilize the
knowledge she magically infused him with. Kathrea glances around the
room to view the somnolent figures and closes her eyes again.

				-=<0>=-

	NightMare pounded steadily through the shifting dreamscapes,
her hooves flashing in the changing lights. She lightly bore Alwir,
Mikandric and the Feral Knight through these treacherous visions. The
amulet %called% to her with an almost painful urgency and the sound of
her gait increased as her body exerted itself even more. 

	Suddenly, they broke through a drifting, opaque fog and
emerged into a large area that looked to be paved in old, broken
flagstones. A small figure in a dark robe whirled as her hoofs sounded
on the pavement and a muffled curse was heard.

	"HERE!" NightMare screamed with a mental agony that carried to
all her riders. She felt the urgency of the amulet's summons as a
resounding beat in her mind. She fought to hold herself  and then felt
Alwir's hand on her neck, stroking gently. She snorted with relief as
the red tinged darkness faded from her mind.

	Feral Knight set his hands on NightMares withers and with one
smooth thrust sent himself arcing off her to land before the figure.
His sword glowed palely in his hand as he confronted the man. Just
beyond the figure was a huge open pit that was illuminated with a
smoky red light. Large boulders were scattered about the area at
random and steam leaked upwards from some of the cracks in the
flooring.

	Feral Knight %felt% the evil darkness inside the man he faced
and knew that this was the one that had trapped Brianna in DreamWorld.
A fury burst into being like a fiery hurricane and the edge of his
sword flickered with with a golden radiance as he took a step
forwards.

	The robed man raised his hands and GREW until he was fifteen
feet tall and massive as a rock troll. Feral Knight crouched lightly
as he awaited the monsters move.

	"Remember, this is DreamWorld!" Alwir shouted, "What we think
or dream can become reality here"

	The towering figure that menaced the Feral Knight suddenly
blurred and lengthened and grew even taller. As it solidified the
questers saw the form of an immense dragon. Smoke drifted from it's
ruddy nostrils and a dull glare flared inside it's razor sharp fang
filled mouth.

	"Ooops, I just thought these dismal surroundings just seemed
perfect for a dragon...just like the stories me Da used to tell us
kids." Mikandric blurted.

	"Oh great! Thanks a lot, Mik. The fifteen foot troll would
have been enough as it was" Feral Knight sniped.

	"Allow me, kind sir, since it was my thoughts that encouraged
yon varlet to assume such a form." Mikandric said as he stepped in
front of the Feral Knight. "You just go look for your loved one and
I...YIPE!!" he screeched as the dragon breathed a bolt of flame that
he narrowly avoided with a wild twist of his body. 

	"On second thought, YOU are the warrior here and it is only
right that you have the honor of dealing with that wretched
creature." Mikandric continued as he beat at the edge of his
smouldering cloak.

	The Feral Knight sighed as he avoided the scorched rock in
front of him. The dragon reared up to it's full height and a rasping
voice accosted him.

	"Finally, Feeble Knight...I have you at my mercy. You are the
cause of my sorrows and misfortunes. I vowed to see you die in agony
and I will accomplish that vow NOW!" it thundered.

	"Who are you? What have I ever done to you" the Feral Knight
shot back as his mind raced through the accumulated experiences
Kathrea had imbued him with through her enchantment.

	"Who am I?! Ahhh, only the most accomplished of the Dark Ones
mages, you worm. When I failed twice to destroy you before the Final
Battle the Dark One obliterated my physical body and drew my powers
into his own reeking essence. When he imploded under the disgusting
radiance of love <shudder> that you monsters bathed him in I was
released but in an incorporeal form....and trapped here in
DreamWorld." the dragon continued as it moved one razor taloned foot
closer to the Knight.

	"Where is the woman, Brianna, you fiend." the Feral Knight
said with no sympathy in evidence in his tone.

	"Ahhhahahhaaa, your TrueLove, you pathetic fool? I waited long
to find a chink in your goddess damned psychic armor. You just won't
learn that to love is to weak, will you? That is your vulnerability,
you spineless idiot! THAT IS YOUR DOOM!"

	The dragon suddenly blasted out a blistering column of hellish
flame towards the Feral Knight before the man could move!

				-=<0>=-

	Kathrea moaned in her trance as she witnessed the unfolding
events. Now things were beginning to fall into place. This was a
remnant of the Evil that the Dark One had brought into the Land. Would
they never be completely free of it? She watched helplessly as the
fire blazed a coruscating trail through the murky air directly towards
the Feral Knight. 

	NightMAre and Alwir had moved off to the side and were
attempting to flank the monster but were caught unaware by the sudden
attack and were frozen with horror as the flame leaped forth. The
blast that Mikandric had dodged must have been a meager warning
message. This bolt of flame was thicker in diameter than a man and the
very air exploded as it ripped it's way towards the Knight.

	Mikandric had successfully circled around the dragon and
Kathrea saw him peering into the pit. She willed herself to see from
his viewpoint...

				-=<0>=-

	Long crooked tongues of flame licked upwards from the gaping
pit. It was about fifteen feet across and about twenty five feet deep.
In the center was an island of stone that appeared to float in boiling
lava. Sulferous fumes assailed Mikandric's nostrils and he jerked his
head back as a wisp of flame detached and wafted upwards just missing
his face.

	The smoke and steam made viewing the tiny stone island
difficult but he could see a figure crouching there. By the Goddess,
it was Brianna! She was half sitting there surrounded by steaming
fumaroles and bubbling molten rock. Drifting around here were
phantasmal figures of twisted creatures that menaced her with their
various appendages. 

	"Oh blast, how am I gonna do this?" he muttered to himself,
his mind racing through and discarding plan after plan. Suddenly, his
brow cleared and he grinned. "YES! This is DreamWorld after all" he
commented to a miniscule demon that carried a tiny scimitar of flame.

	Mikandric concentrated and a broad stairway built of stone
formed from where he crouched on the lip of the pit to the edge of the
island of stone. He didn't dare call out to Brianna for fear of
drawing the dragon's attention. With a sigh and a gulp he slowly
started to descend the steps. He was buffeted with rising waves of
heated air and some of the monsters that menaced Brianna noticed him
and started to move towards him. 

	His head  was level with the top of the pit when a brialliant
light lit up the entire dismal dreamscape. He twisted his head just in
time to see the dragon's attack!

				-=<0>=-

	Just before the bolt of flame hit him the Feral Knight called
into existence a coldly glowing shield of translucent blue that
covered him from head to toe! The flames impacted on this substance
and ricocheted off it, causing jagged streamers of flame whizzing away
in all directions.

	Alwir ducked barely in time to avoid a mouthful of
fire but NightMare sustained a glancing blow on the rump. She screamed
as her hide blistered and reared in fury and pain. Alwir fell from her
back to the slimy paving stones as she reared again and again, her
human control lost in a maelstrom of equine indignance.

	Mikandric dropped down a couple steps to avoid some errant
fragments of fire that sped his way and was pleased to see three of
the approaching monsters sizzled in place. 

	"Burn baby burn" he muttered cheerfully as he descended the
steps towards Brianna.

	"You cannot defeat me so easily, darkspawn" Feral Knight
taunted the towering figure of malevolence. "Surrender now and I will
preserve your life."

	This bit of boasting enraged the dragon to no end, as was the
Feral Knight's plan. It stretched itself up and inhaled a mighty
breath and spat acidic flames and words at the Knight,

	"SURRENDER?!! YOU CRETINOUS SLOB!!! I AM  D R E S H E R !!! I
AM THE DARK ONE'S PRIME WIZARD!!!"

	"Dresher, huh" the Knight muttered as he barely deflected the
latest offering of violence. "Dresher Smchesher, you are dogmeat in my
book, lizardbreath." 

	The wizard lunged forward with uncanny speed and his maw
opened wide, revealing the needle sharp fangs that lined his jaw in
double rows. He struck the glowing blue shield with an overwhealming
force and sent the Feral Knight reeling backwards! Dresher shrieked as
the shield exploded under tension and sent slivers of blue light
lancing through his unholy flesh.

	Feral Knight sprang into the air like a pouncing lion, his
hair streaming behind him and his sword slicing through the air.
Dresher staggered back as the blade carved a path through the scaly
hide. FK crouched and swung the sword in a figure eight pattern as the
dragon slavered in insane fury to reach him. 

				-=<0>=-

	"Brianna, it is I, Mikandric! The Feral Knight and I, along
with a couple of friends that came along for the ride, have come to
rescue you!" Mikandric called as he reached the woman.

	She looked up and blinked her eyes as if she were trying to
clear her vision. Then, her pupils focused and she stood up abruptly!

	"The Feral KNIGHT! Where is my love? I knew he would come!"
she cried out. She noticed the steps and started running up to the
surface.

	"Well, he is kinda busy right now with a bad guy, and *I* am
the one who rescued you, y'know", Mikandric panted as he tried to
catch up with her. He blinked his eyes as he noticed her well rounded
rump ascending ahead of him. Hmmmm, there ARE benefits to this sort of
job, he mused.

	As Brianna emerged from the pit she watched in horror as the
dragon slashed at the Feral Knight with it's glinting talons. FK dove
and rolled to avoid one set and managed to parry the other set but was
knocked sprawling with the force of the attack. His glowing sword was
knocked from his hand and rang upon the stone floor like a bell as his
head impacted with the floor with a sickening thump!

	Dresher lunged forwards once again and kicked the Knight's
sword off into the ragged mists. One claw vaporized into boiling steam
as it touched the naked blade but the dragon now towerd above the
defenseless Knight. Before the Feral Knight could clear his head the
dragon had seized him cruelly in his taloned forepaws and raised him
high in the air. Dresher's dagger filled mouth gaped widely open as
Brianna screamed from the side. 

	Dresher paused and regarded the woman with one evil, red eye. 
"You will be my dessert, woman, after I destroy my nemesis. I will
take my pleasure with you for eternity and your howls of agony will
resound throughout eternity!!" he exulted.

	"Oh fer chrissakes stop with the comic book talk, big scaly
and ugly." Mikandric complained as he threw a dagger that whirled
through the smoky air and buried itself in Dresher's eye!

	The dragon screamed in agony and swept it's spiky tail in a
lethal swipe that would perforate Mikandric in about a dozen places.
A resounding smash rerouted the dragon's tail upward just enough to
miss Mikandric. 

	"I knew I shoulda brought more underwear" he muttered as he
dropped prone on the floor.

	NightMare stood there, her eyes blazing red! Her doublekick
had saved Mikandric but now Dresher had focused on her. Alwir suddenly
ran past Brianna, snatching the amulet as he went by. He hurled it as
Dresher and NightMare leaped forwards as the amulet struck the dragon.

	For an instant, Dresher was immersed in his own worst
nightmare. He screamed and staggered to the side, narrowly missing
Mikandric again who cursed fluently in about four different languages.
Feral Knight stared at his sword lying in the mists to the side and
abruptly thrust his hand out towards it! The sword streaked to his
hand and with one double handed swing he sent the sword cutting
through the monsters neck. Dresher sank into a black spiral of
nightmares as his spirit fled forever. 

	The dragons head and Feral Knight landed on the ground at
about the same time. Brianna rushed forwards to be enveloped in his
arms and Mikandric grinned widely. Alwir stepped forwards and found
the crushed remains of the amulet under the dragon's bloody head. He
looked up into the deep, lambent eyes of NightMare and put his arms
around her neck.

	NightMare gazed at the other three and they heard a single
overpowering command echo in their heads. "WAKE UP..."

				-=<0>=-

	Kathrea leaped to her feet as Mikandric, Feral Knight and ,
yes!, Brianna, groaned and stirred. They opened their eyes and looked
about then smiled in relief. Brianna and the Feral Knight locked lips
in an exultant display of love and relief as Mikandric winked at
Kathrea. The misty forms of a horse and a rider materialized part way
in the room and then faded again. 

	"There went Alwir and the NightMare" Kathrea pronounced. She
heaved a big sigh of relief. Brianna is back and all is quiet again,
at least for a few minutes!

	"Say, Feral Pal, how did you do that trick with the sword?"
asked Mikandric.

	Feral Knight rolled his eyes at Mikandric and mumbled through
a mouthful of Brianna something about "the force"? Mik just shrugged
and sauntered out of the room in search of clean underwear.


- end of DreamWorld Quest -


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