Chains of Fate
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 58611
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Fredric was having a rough time of it. The constant disasters, the
bickering between Chuc and Val, and especially the absence of Elashi, were
taking their toll on him. It wasn't that he loved Elashi the way Val did,
but her presence was comforting - like that of an angry mother hen or
something. So he really wanted to help, even if he had doubts about Val's
methods. But as he watched Chuc and Val race off after the kobolds he had
a sudden rush of vertigo. "Too much." he thought. "It's all too much." Fredric put his hand on the wall to steady himself, and blinked as he heard a click and felt a part of the cavewall slide inward. He barely had time to pull his hand back before the floor gave way and he fell screaming into utter darkness. He fell for a short distance, then hit a slope and rolled down in a most unpleasant manner. Just as the slope was leveling out and Fredric was starting to slow his descent, the floor opened up again and Fredric fell through another chute. Then he landed in a dimly lit jail cell full of mouldering skeletons. "Damn." Fredric said. His shirt was bloody and torn beyond repair, so he took it off. Then as he stumbled over to the cell bars, he realized the dim light was coming from a torch being carried down the corridor. Soon the bearer of the torch came into view - a tall, red-haired girl about Fredric's own age. She was wearing light battle-armor and held a longsword in her left hand. "Excuse me." Fredric said as she walked past. "Have we met somewhere before?" The girl shrieked and spun to look at Fredric. "By the all-protecting light! There are people alive down here!" she said. "I'm Fredric. I just recently got here by accident." Fredric said. "I'm Princess Astrelle of Keltis, tributary to Aquilotica." the girl said. "My nation is poor, and my mother insisted I pay my own dowry, so..." "So you went looking for the Dragon's Hoard." Fredric said. "Exactly!" Astrelle smiled. "Although we call it the Dragon's Treasure in Keltis. Anyway, what about you? You seem to have a noble bearing about you, even looking like that." "Well, do the D'Honaires of Sultifex Bay count?" "Ah, I have heard of Clydain D'Honaire!" Astrelle said excitedly. "He was a great general in the second war, wasn't he?" "Uh... right." Fredric said. He wasn't about to tell her what he really knew about greatuncle Clydain. "In any case, the D'Honaires are practically broke now, so I guess my reasons for being here are similar to yours. But in truth it was because my friends dragged me along. I got separated from them earlier and ended up here." "Hush now. Let me get you out of that cage." Astrelle said. She took a step back and swung at the cell bars with her sword...
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Ryu "with apologies to L.E."
5/13/2006 12:45:28 PM
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