Organization: Penn State University
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1992 12:18:18 EDT
From: <ASG102@psuvm.psu.edu>
Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn
Subject: [L] Firecat and Helen, Night to Day

     They traveled until sunset at which point they were both falling asleep
in their saddles from the long journey.  Helen spotted a small clearing by
the side of the road and pointed it out to Firecat.
     "A common camp ground it seems.  It is level and dry, plus there is a
stream nearby," Firecat said dismounting.
     "Let's have a closer look first," said Helen as she dismounted.  She
looked at the area.  A ring of stones was placed on the ground with a large
pile of ashes in the center.  About 5 feet from this ring were logs.  She
figured that the ring of stones was for campfires and the logs acted as
seats and/or fuel.  She circled around the clearing and kicked over a few
stones.
     "There is dried blood on these rocks," she said pointing out one of the
stains to Firecat.
     "Then we had better find another place to rest for the night."

     They continued down the road for an hour past sunset and then decided
to stop even though there wasn't a good campsight around.  Although the night
would be cold, they agreed not to make a fire since it would attract too much
attention from bandits.  Normally, a fire was useful for keeping animals at
bay, but the wolf would be able to smell them before they could attack.
     Without a fire, their evening meal consisted of dried, salted meats and
stale bread.  It wasn't much, but they were both used to eating such food on
the road.
     Right before sleeping, Helen took out a black stone and set it in the
middle of their campsite.  There was a shimmering in the air around them.
     "What did you do Helen?"
     "It's a minor illusion that I bought before leaving Cormyr.  It makes
this area look uninhabited.  I needed something to protect me while I
travelled alone."

     During the night, it started to rain which made Helen and Firecat wish
that they had built a fire.  Fortunately, the rain was a light one and they
came out of the experience just a little soggy.
     They next morining, they broke camp quickly and were on the road before
dawn.  They stopped in the afternoon to try and catch something to eat.
Helen suggested that Firecat should hunt in his Gnome form to avoid scaring
all the wildlife away and setting the forest on fire.
     He agreed and they split up, but stayed within shouting distance in case
anything went wrong.
     Helen was walking through the woods and her keen hearing picked up some
noises from her right.  Moving quietly, she went closer to the source of the
noise.  She saw part of a briar bush moving and thought she had found a rabbit
from the extent of the motion.  She parted some of the branches of the bush
and saw to her horror that she was face to face with a large wild boar!
     It grunted and squealed madly and then charged after her.
     "FIRECAT!  Help!  Boar!" she shouted between gasps for air as she ran
wildly through the woods.  The boar was a little faster and it smashed into
her right leg, ripping open a wound with its tusks.
     It charged past her and turned to charge again.  During that time, she
got to her feet and jumped up to grab a low branch.  She tried to pull herself
up, but the blood loss from her leg made her weak.  She just hoped that she
could hold on until Firecat could come to her rescue.

     Love and Peace and Holding On For Dear Life,
                  -The Dreamer-
Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn