Exeunt
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 13898
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Jarlath D'Honaire again sighed at the puppet play that formed his life.
Why had he tried to push the Prophesy only to have Andrea refuse it?
Simply because he knew he was going to. He had gone through many phases
since his gifting/cursing, and taken the mantle of each in time. He was... Jarlath the Burned Jarlath the Exiled Jarlath the Shunned Jarlath the Finder and now... Now he knew he must be Jarlath the Destroyer, for he must fan the smouldering within to a bonfire once again, fires that would burn him from within even after he killed the giants and became Jarlath the Lord of Ruins, to await those who would bring the remains of the amulet. Flames that would lick his innards still when he was Jarlath the Sentinel of the Lost Grove, when the feral child would inevitably return... As Andrea howled from her high perch, it signified something deeper, as she had accepted something dark deep into her heart. A dreadful joining was occurring within the once meek Allarian girl as the final walls between her and the wolf shattered. This was not without immediate and dire consequence. Andrea thrilled as something she had desired for some time came about Tufts of fur sprouted from her cheeks, while her nose flattened and darkened, looking more like a snout. The fur on her stomach seemed to come alive, twitching and spreading across her frame as her tail grew in and she assumed her full wolf-woman shape. She gloried in the freedom of the werewolf, and the assurance that this time, it was here to stay. She and the wolf were one, and she need never change her shape again... The Chul Suz Canal remains a mystery to many. Perhaps the only thing that can be agreed upon is that it was never built by human hands. A massive waterway capable of allowing passage for even the largest ships between the Sea of Storms and the Midnight Sea, it serves as a viable, if risky alternative to the lengthy trade routes controlled by Hespan. Many of the more daring ship captains brave the sea of storms to seek out the mouth of the canal and haggle with the pirates who exact tribute for the priveledge of using the canal. The pirates of Smuggler's cove are a violent lot, and the pecking order of the ramshackle town on the docks about the mouth of the canal changes constantly. Many, though, find it quite a bit cheaper than the tariffs Hespan imposes, and a much easier way to get contraband to their destinations. This night, a rowdy drinking song rises from one of the many taverns which pepper the docks. Tonight is a night to escape one's troubles by fleeing to the bottom of a bottle, and even the sentinels are passed out in their posts, tankards still clutched in their hands. None notice the feral wolfish figure that stalks over the rocks from the frozen lands to the North... Minestus, the Great Pretender, watches eagerly as what was once a young Allarian noblewoman savagely butchers her way through the pirates' shantytown. Many fall before her claws, but more still are left merely injured in the wolf-woman's wake as she lopes singlemindedly towards the shipyard. The Lord of Smoke steepled his gloved fingers, smiling at the thought of the contagion he had nurtured so carefully spreading at last. Not only would many of the pirates who survived succumb to it within a month, but young Andrea was stealing a boat to escape, and with prevailing currents she would likely reach the mainland within a week. Things were turning out better than all his expectations... As Astra of Aquilaria helped break camp, her thoughts once again wandered, this time to her abandoned charge. Andrea had seemed to enjoy the curse of lycanthropy, and this in and of itself was disturbing. Combining this with the fact that as the young noblewoman had fled the Faerie Rath she had changed without the moon, and Astra was genuinely worried. They were nearing the villages trapped between the Court of Fools and the rumoured site of the sage Myrddin's tower, though, both of which were near the Fey Wood. No doubt, some of these villagers would have seen either the young noblewoman or her wolflike alter-ego. Astra only hoped it was the former and not the latter...
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The Traveler
11/6/2000 9:26:55 AM
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