the Village of Erl
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 20319
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Astra decided to approach the remote hamlet. She
theorized that the natural features that isolated this hamlet would also
serve to protect it from the Dragon's clutches. She could only hope that
this place hadn't been corrupted yet. With any luck, she might be able to
locate a mage and obtain some form of transportation. As she began her descent into the valley, she noted several ponies pasturing along the willowy banks near the stream. For a brief moment she debated stealing one of the ponies and leaving this place altogether. Her stomach growled once again as if in protest. In the end she decided the friendly, upfront approach would have to be the first tactic...all though by no means the last. Underneath the old oak, in the village of Erl... "...beyond the dark spires of the Shreken there is the land of Aqualaria; the so-called 'playground of the Elementals', it is a violent landscape of sweltering jungles, volcanic mountains, and scarred, blasted plains! And then there's the man-eating Amazons;...," the speaker of these words, a youth of solid frame and keen eyes, waited for the impact of his opening to fully settle in the impressionable minds of his audience. "...the fierce race of warrior women that are the scourge of the Ryngaerd! They are said to stand over seven feet tall, their hair ablaze by some unknown sorcery bestowed upon them by their blood-thirsty Elementals whom they worship according to their ancient, barbaric religion. Using their savage, supernatural powers they attack their neighboring nations, slaughtering the sick and elderly and taking the choicest of the men to be their slaves and sacrifices in the ritualistic man-killings that they must perfrom in order to appease the Elementals..."There was an audible gasp among even the bravest of the children gathered around the old oak, hanging on the speaker's every word. Though they had heard this story many times, they never tired of it's telling... As the story continued and the clouds lazily sailed along over this peaceful corner of North Umbria, a peculiar thing happened. Cresting a ledge not far above them, a tall figure could be seen descending into their little valley. The children wondered at this, but held their tongues so as not to disturb the speaker's story. As the minutes passed, the figure steadily approached their gathering. They didn't often have strangers in these parts, and they usually didn't just come wandering in from the wilds away from the roads. The children couldn't help but display their tension."...their screams still echo in the wind," the speaker continued his tale, taking a moment to pause and nod his approval at the nervous looks etched on the youthful features of the faces in his audience. He was obviously getting better at this whole story- telling business. "...now where was I, oh yes! ...their screams still echo in the wind, never drifting beyond the..." "Excuse me, Winter," an older boy interrupted, shifting uneasily about on the tree limb where was was perched. "Could you describe one of those 'Amazons' again?" Winter was slightly annoyed by the boy's interruption, but he proceeded to give another general description of your average Amazon's physical features, and a couple of the more squeamish youngsters bolted off towards the village proper, screaming and flailing their arms about wildly. Those who remained seemed to have a distant look in their eyes, as if they were focused on something far ahead of them. Their faces were a sickly pale color. Were his stories really getting that good!?"Well, children, if you think the story is scary thus far, just wait till we get to the part about the blood-sucking..." "B-b-behind you!" the same boy boldly interrupted Winter in the middle of his words yet again. His scrawny arms were extended outwards, pointing towards the hillside behind the oak where Winter's back was turned."William, shut up!" Winter scolded. "You know I'll smack you upside the head if you interrupt me again! Now, as I was saying..." "By the gods, Winter! Look behind you! It's an Amazon!" the boy stumbled backwards off the limb, springing to his feet an instant later and charging off in the same direction as the other children had moments earlier. He was followed by the rest of the horrified youths, their screams filling the small valley.Maybe he was getting too good at this! He was going to have some explaining to do... "Excuse me," a voice sounded from behind him, startling him into yelping out in a girlish cry of surprise. Embarrassed, he cleared his throat and slowly turned around...Towering above him there was a being he had only imagined in legends. A fiery-haired demoness loomed before him! It was an Amazon! "Please," Winter pleaded, tears welling up in his eyes. "Don't kill me! Don't kill me!!!"
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Ib
11/2/2002 11:33:26 AM
Extending Enabled
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