Fade to Black

The Never Ending Quest - Episode 18469

Somehow, word got around to a small, ragtag group of good (metallic) dragaon, and that is where things got really hairy....for them!

It had been an odd assortment indeed that had finally come out to greet the strange ones out in what some were now beginning to call the Nation of Teyr. The dragons, hoping against hope that what they'd viewed as their wayward children (children who'd been stolen and corrupted by the Dark Queen) had somehow overcome their evil nature and now..... Somehow....

Well, it was something that was worth investigating for the agitated dragons. Even with the whole of Krynn going insane about them and the mystery of the departure of magic, reptilian parents were hoping against hope. It was imperative that they find out!

Verden Leafglow, an odd female dragon indeed (was bronze in coloration....so was a good metallic dragon....but looked more like a green dragon than anything) had been able to bring this startling news to the dragon.

Rumors, actually. By Reorx, even that much had been hard to get with things as they were!

Dragons, usually solitary by nature, had found life grown dangerous and uncertain nowadays and so were beginning to band together into larger and larger groups for self defense. Some even went so far as to fully integrate themselves into non-dragon society, forming alliances and such for self defense. For survival. Some even whispered about a movement afoot at forming an actual nation of dragons, for Paladine's sake!

Several of the gold dragons still chuckled at that idea, but that list was growing smaller and smaller by the day. What with those monstrous chormatic dragons about., who somehow were actually able to still use magic? Well....er...well, the humans had that one saying about numbers and safety. Mayhap those short lived ones were onto something?

Verden hadn't expected, however, that her new friends to slide into some kind of insanity and INSIST on flying out to Teyr forthwith, and indeed they did just that!

She'd been remembering that one last sad dream of the deity who'd help saved her from her fate, and as such hadn't reacted quickly enough to talk sense into her friends (or even to stay up with them as they had leaped up out of their cavern and out into the sky).

If she hadn't known just why her friends were flying as quickly as they were without even keeping an eye out for foes, she'd thought their wits had been stolen by the kenderfolk. That, or maybe somehow there had been some horrible curse that had been overlooked by her after her finally dealings with those @$%# gully dwarves and had reduced her friends mental abilities to match those vermin.....

Note: for a better understanding of gully dwarves of Krynn as well as Verden Leafglow, read The Gully Dwarves by Dan Parkinson.

No, but it was hope born of desperation that her new friends had flown. Verden Leafglow herself had had hopes for offspring of her own in a former, evil life. Back before a vengeful Takhisis, the Dark Queen of Krynn, had cursed her to die and be reborn by her own egg....and be servants to the lowest of the low, gully dwarves. No, before she'd died she'd felt that same sense of desperation for her offspring (....as well as other fears and anxieties). She understood enough so that she only gave off a soft curse as she flew after her friends, on the small hope that she could be the eyes they'd need in case of an ambush by Dark Knights on dragon back or something.

They'd been particularly heavy this day and it probably was a good time to relocate to safer, more secure environs. Indeed, she'd suggested as much to her friends earlier, but when draconic pride gets in the way of good sense.....

If she hurried, she'd catch up with them if....if she pushed it really hard! Gads, desperation had made them incredibly swift!

As it was, her worst fears were confirmed and she'd found them engaged in a desperate battle of twice their number. A Dark Knight patrol (human knights riding chromatic dragons, red ones) were engaged in a deadly ballet with her friends. Verden groaned in fear, knowing that while dragons were fierce fighters individually, they had a tendency of being....unable to coordinate in group battle tatics (lost selves in heat of battle)....unless they had a human rider taking care of that score...

As it was, the reformed green dragon, proud of her abilities, knew that these particular dragon riders were VERY skilled....and her friends were doomed! In her olden days she'd have written them off and retreated but something inside her just couldn't.....

Next thing she knew, friendship overcame common sense and she joined in the fray....and got found herself soon falling earthward with her wings shredded from a vindictive red male who'd gotten past her defenses.

Hitting painfully and blacking out for a second, she plowed a furrow into the ground. She raised pain glazed eyes up, expecting to see the last of her friends gored and beaten to death above her, only to see the battle joined.

She faded to black again, only to find herself here, speaking with these odd....Draconians (awfully shiny scaled Draconians...but Draconians nonetheless). Somehow the one known as Slith had managed to charm out of her the fact that she was indeed what she appeared to be (a green female dragon) despite the bronze scales. Somehow, they'd not killed her on the spot (and kill her they could....so weak was she then). Instead, she found her wounds tended to and.....even a healing of her wings in the works here, done none other by Slith!

"Rest, there is much to discuss later," Slith says softly, adding a small sleep spell to emphasize the point, "We shall talk of the future later. Sleep now and heal..."

Usually such a small spell wouldn't have any effect at all on a dragon, but Verden was so very tired still....and there was so very much still to be healed on her abused, glorious body.

Scaley eyes close over slit pupils, and soon her snores added to the other dragons the Draconian patrol had rescued from the Dark Knight neighbors. It had been a given already that the Draconian patrol would have intercepted the incoming blips on the radar screen. As of yet the Dark Knights still were unaware of such a device's existence, much less any idea on how to avoid it detecting them every time they tried to extend their territory. It had been a great surprise that in addition to the regular dragons of the Dark Knights, that there were these others (who Kang had a sneaking suspicion viewed themselves as his and the other Draconians rightful parents).

Parents as the ones who actually went about producing the eggs that would that got altered and produced him and his draconians of his regiment! The Draconians didn't know what was stranger, actually having a possibility of meeting their parents or the fact that these dragons had kept track of them for this long.

Slith and Kang were discussing this and other matters in Kang's study (things like how nice it would be to have more trade with the outside so less resources would have to be spent on the bare necessities) when two things appeared, one right after another (why that way turned out to be just chance). They'd just broached the idea on in addition on how nice it was that the old parents were paying them a visit that their parents now could put in a good word to the others out there for the Draconians when a pop and a grind interrupted them. One was a fancy envelope which would prove to be a wedding invitation. The other was a strange, large blue box that announced itself with a grinding/wheezing sound.

Well, after the passengers inside the TARDIS are able to calm down Kang and his bodyguards (understandably jumpy with such an unexpected visit out of the blue), the Doctor is able to explain just why they had come.

"While the Stonehenge formation that Queen Astra and her band used earlier is usable to travel to other realities," the Doctor finished, looking up at the seven foot tall scaly humanoids, "It, I'm told, will take too long to set the co-ordinates to Nantucket Earth, where this wedding is taking place."

"Understood, but just why is this woman named Inquirer inviting us?" Kang asks, perplexed, "Isn't like we've ever really met!"

"Well," Jarlath says, glancing at the others and then back at the Dracaonians, "It's to do in part with the fact that while Queen Astra's group had traveled with you, you had discussed the upcoming problems you'd be facing. Things like setting up trade and such, and being that it's a custom of Aqualaria to discuss such issues after important social gatherings and ceremonies....well.....she figured that you'd be interested in trade talks afterwards with not only officials from Terra Prime, but also with town representatives of Nantucket."

"That...is awfully considerate of her," Slith blinks, finding himself begining to like this female Golem even before he'd met her in the flesh, "But I believe you mentioned another reason as well?"

"Ah, yes," Jarlath chuckled nervously in chargrin.

"She's an avid role-player," Andrea 2a said, taking up the conversation thread, "She had read some of your regiment's exploits and wanted to meet you in the flesh. Read about some of those exploits in the Dragonlance short stories myself, and that one about the wicker dragon was hilarious!"

Kang blinked in surprise, remembering that particular one, and guessed that while surprising and disconcerting, as long as such things struck a positive chord in others who'd otherwise be leary of his kind, he'd not be upset about secrets being public knowledge.

Perhaps we can learn much from that series when we get to this Nantucket, Slith thought to himself, Goddess knows that I'd like to learn a few things about the War of the Lance that I'd been unable to learn of while in it! Perhaps I'll learn more about this Kender that Scott Chen told of that actually died trying to stop Chaos from destroying Krynn.

To think that one of that short, larcenous race could do that was still something that made the Sivak shake his head in wonder.

Kang accepted the wedding invitation, curious and eager at the opportunities presented here (and curious in seeing this Inquirer for himself...as well as walking on an alien world).

That news was greeted by smiles, and soon the discussion drifted to questions on what to get those to be wed as a gift. Somehow, a just a bad of steel pieces (the local currency) just wouldn't do, Kang felt.....

"Now, there is an advantage of traveling by TARDIS," Romana said proudly, "Not only is it more spacious inside than it appears from the exterior, but it's able to travel through time, so we're going to have enough time to do chose a proper gift. That and, if you'd be so kind as to allow a small favor with the stonehenge of yours...."

And thus it came to pass that Jarlath 2's groups ended up on Midworld, looking about the street they were on like it was the neatest thing in the world!

http://www.geocities.com/asthefurflies/Arsk3.jpg

Jarlath then remembers to turn back to close the doorway to this world, only to hear Andrea yelp in pain behind him!

He whirls around, seeing Andrea rubbing her head where a ruined handgun (an "Apprentice revolver" Roland would have called it) had flown out a brothel's window and beamed her!

  1. "Believe that that's a Roland and his father in the window up there," Joan said, pointing at a young (bare chested) man and an older fellow in the window staring down at them.

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1/29/2002 2:15:31 AM

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