Another Strange Encounter

Astra leaped in and kicked the knife out of his hand, but then the woman panicked and shot a crossbow bolt into Astra's shoulder. She fell to the ground. Filled with Rage, Fred leaped at her and hit the crossbow, flinging it out of her hand, and knocked her unconscious. He put his arms around Astra and helped her up. "Are you well, Astra?" he asked.

Astra was already beginning to feel dazed. Had the arrow been poisoned somehow. "I--I think so, but I'm not sure. We must return to the caravan as soon as possible and get medical aid. Perhaps we should take the woman with us--they might be able to understand her. I can't help but be a little curious about all of this." She smiled grimly. "Wouldn't it be something if the princess of Aqualaria survived the dragon but died in the middle of nowhere from a crossbow bolt from a frightened young woman who, from what I saw of her, was clearly not a trained warrior? We shouldn't have gone here. I should have returned to my people as soon as possible."

"You will not die," said Fred firmly. "This I promise." He picked both Astra and the other woman up in his arms, hoping she didn't return to consciousness too soon. The other woman, indeed, didn't look like a trained warrior. Her build was slim and very frail, and Fred recalled that she'd seemed hesitant when holding the crossbow. The man seemed to have left while the others weren't looking.

Fred soon found that the door was now closed again, and had somehow jammed. Filled with frustration, Fred put down the two women and pounded on the door, slamming against it with all his bulk, but it somehow didn't budge. Had this been the work of the man who'd attacked the other woman and run out? Fred let out a cry of frustration, and pushed harder, but the harder he pushed the harder the door seemed to resist.

That was when he realized he wasn't alone in the room. There was another man there, all of his skin swathed in black clothing that blended into the shadows, revealing only pitiless dark eyes. He pulled a sharp and deadly sword from out of his scabbard and leaped upward, as if propelled by a gust of air, seeming more animal than human. Fred drew his sword and, staving off a burst of fear and wild panic that he somehow felt, parried at the new arrival.

However, to his shock, the man's sword sliced Fred's in two. The momentum threw him backward into the wall as the other half of his sword slammed into the other side of the room. The strange man laughed a pitiless demonic laugh as he prepared to take Fred's life.

At that moment, however, Fred heard a panic outside the door as someone spoke eldritch words in a foreign accent. The door burst open, scattering splinters throughout the dingy room, as the strange warrior leaped into the shadows. Fred couldn't see where he'd gone.

1. Mendo and the other members of his caravan then entered the room, holding his hand in an eldritch gesture. Apparently the dwarf was a wizard.

Add New Option

Go Back

View Forward Story Tree
View Back Story Tree