Nearing the End

The Never Ending Quest - Episode 47439

Jarlath had to admit that he was somewhat relieved that he'd lost to his wife--that way, not having to be group leader, he would have a few less things to worry about. His sense of foreboding was so thick now it almost felt like a physical weight, and it had only grown worse over time. He felt as if there was something terribly wrong, just outside his field of vision, something so obvious he should have immediately noticed it. He also felt an odd twinge of terror and panic, which seemed as if it came from outside himself, somewhere to the east. He desparately shoved these forebodings out of his mind, rationalizing that they had no bearing on the present moment, even thoguh he knew in his heart that his perceptions tended to be more true than he would like.

He stood aside as Astra walked past him, picked up the rope, and reverently tied it to her neck. Inwardly, he was a little annoyed at how seriously she was taking this. She bowed before him, and then untied the knot and stepped away from the circle as the Champions who'd been sent to gather the food returned. "I hope you like mushrooms," said Annafrid wryly, "because we have plenty of them."

"What sort of feast is this?" said Astra C, a bit snippily. She was instantly angry at herself that she'd let herself act so pettily, even if only for a moment, but perhaps it wasn't too surprising. All the unexpected complications, especially what had happened between her sister and Belboz, were weighing down on her. So was her husband's increasingly troubled manner, which he tried so ineptly to conceal from her. She still remembered her childhood in Themiscyra's Terra, among the glorious new family that had taken her in after her own had perished at the hands of giants, in a city that was so much like her own that had fallen and yet so disconcertingly different. She remembered how she had stayed behind as all her family had traveled to foreign lands and had adventures, leaving Jarlath, remaining in the castle as he recovered from his great ordeal, her only companion. At first, in the days when he'd snapped between sanity and madness at a moment's notice, he'd been a bogeyman, the only adventure she was allowed to face. Then, they'd become the best of friends. And as he fully regained his sanity and came forth into the outer world, and as she grew into a woman, they became more. He was not the sort of brave warrior she had dreamed of marrying as a girl, but she enjoyed his sharp wit and came to see that he had his own kind of courage and nobility.

Her life had changed much since she had first become a Champion. Now that all the older Champions from when she'd first joined were on Terra raising their children, she was one of the most experienced of the Champions who traveled through the multiverse, respected as a leader. And she was married to Jarlath alongside a woman that, in spite of any tension that existed between them, she was proud to call sister. But now, she felt not so distant from the forlorn child who'd first been brought to Terra. She had begun to feel a heavy foreboding herself, the like of which she'd never felt since the day her family died. And there was a look of something almost like madness in Jarlath's eyes, but much more knowing.

I'm sorry," said Fertal, "Artizza encouraged that we respect the spirit of the feast by going out a bit farther to seek better food--which would also do wonders for our sagging morale. But as it happenes, we are too high up in the Shreken to find many bushes or trees, and all the ones we found bore poisonous fruit. We had to return to the caves before we took too long."

Astra 9 nodded. "I apologize for my reaction. Things have gotten a lot worse." She then told them of what had happened between this world's Astra and Belboz and what Belboz had communicated to her mind, leaving them deeply troubled, as they looked to where this world's Astra still slept in her trance.

"Belboz is up to something," said Artizza. "This world's Astra doesn't seem to have anything 'off' about her. Jarlath was entirely right about him hiding something, I'm sure."

"I knew we couldn't trust that old rat!" spat Tarin. "We would be much better off if we killed the bastard right now."

"No!" said Jenny. "There's something very cold and wily about him, and he looks like he's keeping a secret, something he's very excited about and afraid of anyone else finding out. But... We can't know for certain." She sighed. "Are you sure it's a good idea to continue the challenge? Maybe it's served its purpose by now and is causing more problems than it solves."

Astra 9's first inclination was to be enraged at the suggestion, but she realized that if Belboz was indeed plotting against them somehow, he was getting a considerable advantage from this. Everyone could feel a grim foreboding hanging over the room like a physical presence. Even Fred and Checkers seemed affected, as they were keeping to themselves--Fred seemed filled with brooding anger, and Checkers with forlorn anxiety. Only Belboz seemed to be happy. He was rubbing his hands together with ecstatic glee. "Perhaps you're right," said Astra regretfully.

"But how would this world's Fred react if the Challenge were called off without further notice?" said Lueoth. "He would not be pleased that he wouldn't get a chance to prove himself, and would think that we would not give him a chance to because we fear or resent him. That could provide more ammunition that Belboz could use against us."

"Do we need this Fred's help?" said Annafrid. "He seems to be a bit of an ass."

"We understand very little of the layout of the caves," said Ia'adoire. "We should have as many of the locals on our side as possible. And the Fred of this universe is closeminded and foolish, as I often once was, but he doesn't seem evil in any way. And--"

Through all this discussion Jarlath had said nothing. He had been staring off glumly into space. But now he spoke up--"I think I know where the 'project' we were sent to stop is. It's somewhere directly to the east, past that large cave over there."

"How do you know?" said Astra.

"Because one of my analogs is imprisoned there," said Jarlath. [44305] "And he's in great danger."

The others gasped. "How immediate do you think his danger is?" said Astra. "Should we act immediately and risk alerting Belboz, or should we wait?"

"I don't know," said Jarlath. "But I feel as if..." He waved his hands, grasping for words. "As if we are in greater danger than we realize. I..." Then he was silent. He turned away and stared at the cave walls, humming something. Astra supressed a shudder.

"Well, the group that goes to seek provisions could split up," she said after a moment. "One group could actually gather provisions and the other could investigate this cave. But I think, if the danger isn't immediate, we would be better off waiting until after the Challenge is finished. We don't want to alert the dragon until we are prepared to confront it."

"And Belboz might be in league with the Dragon of the Southern Caves," said Ia'adoire. "Or he might even be the Dragon of the Southern Caves. There have been many worlds where the Dragon was in league with a sorceror, or was a sorceror himself."

Astra 9 threw up her hands in exasperation. "We just don't know enough to act yet," she said. "We'll have to continue with this unless we find out something more."

Seeing how overwhelmed and angry her sister was feeling, Annafrid changed the subject. "So you and Annafrid made it to the second-to-last round," she said. "Who do you think will win?"

Astra sighed. "To be honest, I hope it's not me. I feel like I'm beginning to fall apart. Artizza, on the other hand, has shown herself to be very resourceful, and I am proud to be her sister." She thought again of how odd it was that she, who had once stayed behind while the elder Champions had adventures, was now leading a group fo Champions herself. Perhaps someday, when she and Jarlath had children--though she certainly didn't feel anywhere near ready for that yet--she, too, would retire, and Artizza would lead her own expeditions and help train other Champions, until the day when her own children had grown old enough to become Champions themselves...

The group sat down to eat, each lost in though. Jenny tried to soothe their nerves by entertaining them with a song, but she couldn't quite manage to take them out of themselves and let them fully inhabit her song. Was it because she, too, was feeling the strain, or because whatever had been inhibiting magic was still in force?

After the dinner was finished, the lots were drawn up. As it happened, Astra would face Artizza and Fred would face Belboz.


1200, 1201, 1202...


  1. Now the battle between Artizza and Astra C began.

Add New Option

Go Back

View Forward Story Tree
View Back Story Tree


Knight Random

9/5/2005 2:52:39 PM

Linking Enabled

Extending Enabled

The Never Ending Quest Home

Extend-A-Story Home

21392852 episodes viewed since 9/30/2002 1:22:06 PM.

Do not click me.