From: fannicm@wkuvx1.bitnet (Master Hawk)
Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn
Subject: [TW] the killing of a thread...
Date: 24 Jan 93 17:10:12 CST
Organization: Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY

   A pair of eyes peered through the thick foliage at the small group
riding through the forest.  Some time before, a hooded person had come to
him offering much honor and money if he would complete a contract.  Greed
overcame caution and B'lxxath'ss, for that was the watcher's name, quickly
agreed, even before he knew the particulars of this contract, such was the
sum of money offered.  The hooded one then conjured a picture of a dark
elven maiden, one who would be considered beautiful by her race, and some
others:  a merman, a strange armored human, and another human with a
friendly face and an amulet hung around his neck.  "Kill these, and bring
their heads to me."  
   B'lxxath'ss felt his eyes dilate as he thought of the money, enough to
convince him to perform any task, for any master.  All creatures have thier
price, B'lxxath'ss was just fortunate enough to know his.  He drew himself
from his rememberances and desires as he watched the small group near the
ambush site.  'Easssy money!' he thought as he raised his dark, scaled
hand...

   Moria Runecaster looked up as Kotaro flew overhead on his strange steed. 
He was not very high, flying scout for the group.  The incident with that
brute with a tooth-ache still grated on her.  She did not wish to be taken
by surprise again.  She looked around at the group.  Indigo still chafed
from being carried by the meta-golem, but that was normal.  It would have
been more difficult for him to have 'swam' through the air with the group,
and there was no real need.  Amachiak had vanished with the sun's rising,
obstinsibly to scout through the forest, but she believed that he just
wanted to be free of the group with his friend for a while.  Ixy was riding
nearby laughing at a joke that she remembered hearing some time ago,
apparently unconcerned and content.  Then she saw only brightness.

   She felt a sense of weightlessness, followed quickly by a gut-wrenching
pain as she felt herself hit the ground.  That pain was immediately
followed by another, a mind-twisting pain so intense that she felt the
world begin to slip away.  Dimly she heard a scream, never realizing that
it was her own.  The pain slipped away in the face of her rising anger and
she pushed herself to her feet, seeing without comprehension that Ixy was

:6j5a already on his feet and pointing towards the enemy.  She turned toward the
place where he was pointing and saw a large group of what looked like
lizard men, but with skin so dark it appeared almost black.  They floated
down out of the trees, their hands moving wildly in the gestures of new
spells.

   T'hlasss floated down from the trees cursing to himself.  He told the
others that the plan would not work, the innate resistance of the drow to
magic would foil the spell's effect and the armored human just flew away
faster than their fireballs could chase him, but his words went unheeded.
As he started to cast a spell that would counter her innate resistance he 
felt a power wash over his shields.  It appeared to originate from the human
who stood pointing at them.  He watched with glee as a look of surprise washed
the soft-skin's face.

   Moria growled, a feral sound that emminated from deep within her throat. 
To all appearances she had lost all trappings of civilization, her clothes
tattered and burned, her eyes wild, and her face contorted in a rictus of
hatred that would have turned a man's blood cold to view.  She launched
herself at the group of mages, drawing her daggers while she was in the
air.  She had flown about half the distance when something unseen grabbed
her from the air and forcefully slammed her into the ground.  Uncaring, she
bounded to her feet.

(* ... moria ... *)

   The voice barely registered in her mind, but it was enough to distract
her.  

   Ixy knew that they had to escape, they were outnumbered and unprepared
and had no hope of winning against these foes.  He had to get her to calm
down so that they could escape.  Then he was afraid that it was taken from
his hands.

   T'hlasss released his spell and signaled to his partner.  With a grin of
anticipation he watched the two fireballs streak from H'chasss' wand and
strike the drow dead center.  He tasted the air in anticipation of their
victory.
   
   Ixy saw the fireballs streak toward Moria, and yelled a warning.  His
actions were to no avail.  The blindingly bright balls struck her in the
chest, throwing her back a great many feet.  He tried again to silence the
group, also using his ring to cloud their minds and think he was
unmoving while he ran to his friend's side.  
   He reached her just as another pair of fireballs struck his old
location.  She was dazed, but coming around.  Her clothes were even more
tattered, her skin slightly discolored in places, but somehow she was
alive.  He reached out and grabbed ahold of her head, forcing her to stare
into his eyes as he sent to her.

(* Moria!  We must flee! *)

(* NO!! THEY KILLED MY FRIENDS!! THEY MUST DIE!! *)

(* We must Flee!  They are Too Many!  If we stay, we will only be killed!
*)

(* {anguish} NOOOOO!! They must die.... *)

   Her body relaxed underneath him as she came to her senses.  She looked
up at him, tears streaking her face, her pain plainly showing in her eyes. 
Their silent communication was broken in the next instant as the heat of a
nearby explosion washed over them.  Moria's eyes widened in shock and she
quickly decided on a course of action.  Slowly, her mind still clouded from
pain and anger and grief, she drew a rune which would take them back to her
room at the Dragon's Inn.  She finished the rune and tightened her grip on
Ixy's hand as the rune expanded, its complexity blotting out sight.  For a
moment they were suspended in a timeless limbo, her last sight of the
forest the strewn remains of Indigo's tank, the merman lying on the ground,
his skin blackened and charred and the lizard men closing in.
   Then, the rune disapated, revealing her room in the Dragon's Inn.

[ADMIN:  We (zweldron and I) have decided that the TW thread was dead,
mostly due to the fact that the character of Indigo the merman has been
removed from the net totally, and we could not get responses from the
creater of the thread.  It is still possible that the thread will continue
and the thread can be resurrected if Amachiak shows up, but for now, it
should be considered dead meat.  
   The following characters are back in circulation:
   Moria Runecaster
   Ixyanophor (or however you spell it...:-)

Shade and sweet water]

--Master Hawk--(24-JAN-1993 17:06)--