Unleashed at last...
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 9112
|
Lord Frederigo D'Honaire reached over to draw his sword. He needed to
eliminate the rabid faerie that endangered the young noblewoman who was
so useful to him. Just as he gripped the pommel of his sword,
though, he heard a noise that startled even him. A low feral growl coming from Lady Andrea Croix... Something snapped in Andrea when the black goblin slammed into her. Something in her wouldn't let her be helpless again, wouldn't let her be the victim again. An overwhelming rage welled up within her, and as it came she accepted it, knowing that if she didn't, she would be subject to the will of one person or another for the rest of her life, and she would not allow that. Her lips parted in a snarl, and though still largely human, she felt a burst of strength flow into her arms as she flung the goblin against the cavern wall. Her sensitive ears heard bones crack as it slid down the stone, leaving a slick of irridescent blood in its wake. The strength faded suddenly as she struggled to get up, finding her legs weak beneath her. Indeed, her body seemed not to respond at all as she flopped prone onto the damp cavern floor. However, as quickly as her strength faded it was replaced by the ecstatic rush of the change. Andrea moaned softly as it came upon her. Her arms thrashed and flailed about as her hands clutched at the air, her nails already longer and sharper. The already present strip of fur from her navel to her loins seemed to come alive, growing fantastically shaggy, and the sensation was simply exquisite. She growled happily, watching it spread. She was becoming increasingly hirsute, downy growths already cropping up on her forearms and legs as a bushy tail sprung from her rump. Within a matter of frenzied minutes, the change was complete, and Andrea, following the way she sensed would lead away from the Fey Wood, bounded off down the tunnel. As she did this, she felt a faint, odd tug, but she shrugged it off with ease, running toward freedom. Lord Frederigo D'Honaire's eyes widened as he witnessed the change overtake Andrea. This was impossible! None before had been able to call upon the change without the full moon! He shook his disbelief. It didn't matter how she had done it, all that mattered now was the fact that she had played into his hands. Frederigo called upon the magick that was bound into the brand upon his hand, sending it out to ensnare the now bestial Andrea. What he didn't expect, though, was for it to have no hold over her. Instead, he felt the touch of a strange magick, somehow older in origin than even his... Andrea's heart was pounding as she galloped out of the caverns and into the night air. She was far away from them all now, and many leagues away from the Fey Wood. A gibbous but not full moon shone over that distant forest, and for the first time in what felt like ages, Andrea was able to enjoy it... Astra of Aquilaria and Aethir MacFionn watched as Simon the Anchorite slowly came to consciousness. As the old man's eyes fluttered, Aethir smiled and spoke. "Come on now, old friend, you didn't think I'd avoid paying you back for freeing me?" "Ah, but lad, surely ye know why I've come." "So soon? No, I suppose it isn't that soon, save to me. So the time has come, eh?" "Yes, I'm afraid it has. Just as the shewstone reading Belboz gave after we defeated the sorceress said." "But...the joining could kill you!" "I know, lad, but all the same, I know it has to be done." In unison, both the wild-haired warrior and the old hermit pulled a small stone object from their necks. They looked almost as if they could fit together, like two points of a compass rose. Simultaneously, each reached out and pressed their piece to the other, and magickal energy crackled through the two of them. First the warrior winced in pain, then the hermit. When all were done, the two pieces pointed in opposite directions, joined. Simon gasped, and passed into a deep sleep. "So it is done," Aethir said softly, "and my friend could possibly never wake again. Two pieces joined, and a step closer to the sorceress's chance to live again. I only hope that after joining Belboz's and Charles D'Honaire's pieces to the amulet that its magick will be able to fight the great evil we know is to come from the south, and thus be worth the lesser evil we will have brought back to life..." Frederigo pondered his options. Andrea had escaped, and that was unfortunate. However, the strange power that guarded her, combined with her wolfish frenzy, would make pursuing her impractical at best. He would have to perform the second portion of the task his masters had given him before he would have enough power to deal with her. This meant he was bound once more for the Southern Caves. There dwelt the men who thought they served the dragon, Minestus. What they didn't know was that Minestus wasn't the dragon at all. Frederigo had learned much under the ministrations of Hell, and in his agonizing stay, he had uncovered his father's hidden shame. His father had been routed by the dragon indeed, but the secret Charles D'Honaire thought would haunt him to his grave was that he had been defeated by the true dragon. Minestus was, in fact, a practicioner of the art of magick, an opportunistic illusionist who had posed as a shapeshifting, wizardly dragon, all the while tending the immense, sleeping cthonic form of the true beast of the Southern Caves. The great wyrm Deltumnimos. Frederigo knew he must slay Minestus to harness the sleeping dragon's potent magick through its dreams, but he found the task ahead of him a light one, for it was Minestus' hastily uttered curse which had sentenced Frederigo to hell when he died. This was going to be a most pleasurable task indeed...
|
The Traveler
5/1/2000 5:04:52 PM
Linking Enabled
Extending Enabled
25287971 episodes viewed since 9/30/2002 1:22:06 PM.