In the Dead of Night
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 23240
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In the middle of the night Fred is jolted out of his sleep by the sound of
muffled screams and the thundering of heavy hooves reverberating from the
cold streets outside. He scampers to the window and undoes the leather
cord binding the window bar. The eerie fog that had shrouded the city
hours earlier has lessened, if only slightly, and allows Fred a view of
the streets below and the scene of action taking place in the dead of the
night. A bent figure is scurrying through a narrow, filth-choked alleyway, followed by several riders. It’s obvious the riders in hot pursuit of their quarry are armed with some fashion of bladed weapon as the dim moonlight that manages to filter through the mists reflects off of their instruments of war. The riders quickly overwhelm the bent figure, and in the commotion Fred is unable to discern what’s taking place. Moments later his mind reels as he sees the riders depart from the chaotic scene, leaving the figure in a lifeless bloody heap in the middle of the road.His attention is diverted again as more shouting and screaming echoes through the maze of cluttered buildings from down another side street. Several more tense moments painfully pass as Fred strains his ears and eyes for any more signs or sounds. He hears and sees nothing except for the same horrible scene of the forlorn figure laying in the road and the soft drizzling of rain. Until… Night becomes day in the blinking of an eye. The biting cold of night is replaced by searing heat. A fireball is sent hurling over the roofs of the city by some unseen force and lands somewhere out of sight. Several thatched roofs nearly ignite into full flame. The ground trembles as the fireball impacts at some unlucky location but a few blocks away. Moments later several more riders come into view, in hot pursuit of several figures on foot. Just as the hunted figures are about to dodge into another narrow alley one of the horsemen gestures. Two of the figures continue their escape, the other stops suddenly and begins to convulse. Soon it is not a human figure that Fred sees outlined in the fog, but that of a pig.The rider gestures again and yet another fireball is hurled in the same direction. Ignoring the two figures who have managed to escape, the riders bolt off in the direction where the last fireball had been thrown. “Well, that’s enough action for one night,†Fred mutters as he covers the windows and fastens the leather cord back about the window bar. Vjorica is obviously in a state of civil turmoil. Being an isolated city-state in the western reaches of Havnheim, it had a reputation for such things. No wonder the innkeeper had been wary of strangers after sunset!Fred falls back into a restless sleep, his dreams disturbed from time to time by the tremors and violent noises from the streets. Castellan obviously had his hands full keeping order in Vjorica. â€ÂIt’s the Spirit Ninjas! It’s the Doom Squad! Run!â€ÂThis time the cries are coming from within the inn. It is in the cold minutes before dawn that Fred is awakened yet again by another disturbance. This time it sounds much too close for comfort, however, and Fred readies his sword as he jumps out of his cot.
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Ib (who has some more catching up to do)
1/4/2003 8:46:13 PM
Extending Enabled
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