Back at the Beginning
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 19011
|
Fred stared at the two entrances of the Southern Caves. He was shaking
like a madman, his armor he
had taken off for his flesh was burned in various places, and he had
soiled his jerkin.
He kept staring at the two entrances. He thought of the words of King Emry on the day he was sent to these caves: ...For years the dragon has tormented our people; burned our fields, taken our children, and been an all around mean dragon. He now knew that this was not completely true. He had found the Daughter Exultaine within the caves and she herself told him the fuller truth: The chaos, the confusion that the Beast creates, the tales of death - they are only a ruse. The Beast takes people, not to eat but to serve it in its lair. The Allarian Princess spoke of how the Dragon would strip the women-slaves of their clothing and how she, herself, was maltreated by the perverse creature. And she spoke specifically of nine other prisoners, maidens all. Fred had actually met one: a warrior princess from Aqualaria. He had been so awed by the gorgeous young woman -naked as she was- that he didn't even catch her name before he left her -chained to the wall as she was- in search of the Dragon in hopes of killing it quickly. He had as his companion and guide the cursed boy Velus who looked like a tiny dog and could only bark and growl. And it was this cursed Velus who took him deeper into the caves. Velus, too, had barked out the true intention of the Dragon: The Dragon didn't eat the people it kidnapped, it changed them into animals! Animals don't chop down trees to make homes, they don't turn lush plains into cornfields, they don't build ugly villages in beautiful valleys. "...and now I am left without Velus," said Fred to himself. Fred remembered other words of his King's daughter: A powerful spell keeps us within these caves, in fact an arcane hex binds everyone to the caves. People may enter but they cannot leave! Seeing as how he was indeed outside of the caves he felt certain she had been duped by the Beast. But after that horrible encounter with eldritch fire, Fred was quite certain there was no lie as to the monster's ability with magick. Again he stared at the two entrances. Should he again enter the one on the left? Left had always been his lucky direction, always...up until today. The Dragon obviously knew that the Knight was present, should he enter the right entrance in hopes of finding it and surprising it? Would it be better to traverse the tunnels of which he was already aware? He was uncertain of the fate of the Princess Exultaine or of Velus - the heat and the light had been too much for him and after he regained his sight he had found himself here, outside. Should he rush back in, in hopes of rescue? He neared the left entrance, a cold breeze blew from that cave. Fred pondered the words of the Aqualarian: Normal chains are far too weak to restrain a true warrior princess. The only way to break the curse on these magical chains is to either kill the dragon that put the curse on me, or find the Wizard of Kamiro who has enough power to remove the curse. Fred had chosen to not seek help. He had chosen instead to go deeper into the caves with Velus, hoping that he himself could slay the Dragon as he had been trained. And now he was here... outside... alone. Fred recalled his last words to the Aqualarian: Take care, baby, I will come and rescue you when I find and slay the dragon. Don't worry about me - I can take care of myself. But now he was full of doubt, self-doubt. And he still found himself staring at the two entrances.
|
YY
12/9/2006 9:09:32 PM
25027837 episodes viewed since 9/30/2002 1:22:06 PM.