Deadly Nightshade
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 8645
|
Astra, princess of Aquilaria, was uneasy. Lady Andrea Croix's words had
sung true to her, for she knew that those who made deals with the fey took
their lives, indeed, their very souls into their own hands. Though her
father rebuked them when he saw it happening, she had heard her share of
the darker folk tales of her kingdom, and remembered well the whispered
rumours of the Faerie tithe to Hell, which fueled the magicks of the
Unseelie Court which dwelled in the Faerie Rath at the center of this
wood. While it boded ill to her to trust the quickling which capered
eerily on the branch before them, it seemed they had no choice, and he was
very insistant. She was shaken from her ruminations by the call of a hunting horn, and the baying of hounds. Whirling about, her sword drawn, she squinted through the mist to find the source. Vague shadows bounded in the distance. She could make out at the very least a hunting pack of dogs. She strained her eyes, trying to make out another figure far away. It seemed like a man, yet his head bore a strange crest...almost a crown of antlers? "I wasn't merely jesting when I said we had no time," The spriggan said, "they've called the Wild Hunt on you now, and nobody escapes the Huntsman. Nobody mortal at least. I can show you the way out, but you have to trust me." The little man gestured again to follow, then sprung to action, flitting from branch to branch, leading them through the forest. They followed, albeit reluctantly, until he paused at an immense hollow tree, the hole in its trunk wide enough that three might walk abreast, leading into darkness. "In! In! This leads into the dvergar tunnels beneath the Faerie Rath! The dvergar hate the Unseelie Court, so they'll see you to safety." One by one, the four stepped into the hole. Astra was last, backing into it, her sword ready to strike. Slowly she inched her way in and then... ...all was blackness... Astra awoke to Simon the Anchorite gently rousing her. She had, it seemed, fallen asleep at watch, slumped over her lantern staff. The grove on the lakeshore was beautiful again. It must have all been a dream. The warrior woman looked about in wonderment and confusion at her surroundings. All was as it had seemed before. Pristine. Perfect. Lord Frederigo D'Honaire skulked about the edge of the grove, sword drawn, scowling at something. The hermit looked at her pensively. "Lass, is something wrong?" "No...just...just a bad dream...a nightmare..." "Oh. Well then, lass, ye'll have to get your belongings together. Andrea's run off. She attacked Frederigo with a look in her eyes like a wild animal, then bounded off into the forest..."
|
The Traveler
4/7/2000 3:09:27 PM
Linking Enabled
Extending Enabled
21472016 episodes viewed since 9/30/2002 1:22:06 PM.