Like a moth to a flame
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 84323
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Lord Fred decides that it would be in his best interest to investigate
the distant pyre. The way he figures, there will at least be survivors,
treasure, equipment, a dragon, any combination thereof, and a myriad of
other possibilities of things which he could find that could assist him
in his quest. He's really hoping for survivors. The dragon he is to
slay is beyond the description of "Worthy adversary." It is a natural
killing machine. A true animal of destruction. If he is to take on such
a creature alone, he may as well strip himself naked and impale himself
on a barbecue spit before laying himself down upon a silver platter right
at the dragon's feet. At least if he finds a few people to assist him,
he can use them as a distraction so that he may attempt some sort of
stealthy maneuver.
And hey, if any of the survivors are any good at combat, Fred thinks, we could probably take the dragon straight on! And what with his town being destroyed, such a fine fighter would need a new home. I'm sure the King would reward me greatly for not only slaying the dragon, but also bringing back a warrior of high calibre back to the kingdom to fight alongside our own troops. The path to the great plume of fire and smoke is, to Fred's delight, not a grueling one. Mostly a simple trek across a great flat, open field, with a small strip of forest near the actual site of the pyre. Fred makes a jog of it, clearing the great distance of the field in about two hours plus one quarter. It was actually the most pleasurable jog he'd had in quite some time. The evening cool, but not too cold. The bright moonlight from the clear, starry, nearly-cloudless sky illuminating the knee's-height grass an irridescent silver. The air, crisp and fresh with the scent of spring. And finally, of course, the sounds of crickets and small nocturnal forragers going about their business. It had hardly seemed like any time at all to Lord Fred when he came upon the forest, the only thing separating him from his destination. To his surprise, the fire was still burning strongly. The thick smoke which it belched had formed a cloud surrounding the area, which had the distinct smell of dead, rotting, burning flesh. The smell came upon him fairly suddenly, as he'd been upwind of the smoke as he travelled towards the location. As he entered the forest, he was overcome with the distinct sickening, sour smell of rotting flesh. The smell even overcame the smell of the burning flesh which was, at this point, obviously the source of the fire. He could barely see anything in the forest, and he was beginning to hear leaves rustling along with strange grunting, hissing, growling sounds from various directions. Fred was starting to wonder just what he'd gotten himself into. Fred was beginning to get rather frightened. The sounds were growing closer, and he wasn't able to see well. He could still turn back.
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Stan Phylipth
11/22/2008 4:02:01 AM
Extending Enabled
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