Fred: Dragon of Thunder and Lightning (Starting ep: 10384)

Discussion about The Never Ending Quest.

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Sam
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Fred: Dragon of Thunder and Lightning (Starting ep: 10384)

Post by Sam »

Making a post here to as a summary of the main plot-to-date (Currently up to Ep. 108074) to keep track of some details and to splat ideas. I've enjoyed building this storyline with JH so far (and there's plenty of room for more to jump in!)

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Early Chapters
Fred starts his quest by taking the right-hand entrance [4]. He follows the light [8] and talks to the man he finds there [16], thus meeting Belboz the necromancer. Belboz offers to assist Fred by casting, for a reasonable fee, any magic that he knows. Fred's voice in this episode is not as formal as it sometimes is, which may be foreshadowing to some of his coming impulses and choices.

Fred asks Belboz to turn him into a dragon to properly fight the evil dragon [8534]. Perhaps surprisingly, Belboz simply replies by asking what colour of dragon Fred would like to be [8535] and gives a list of the different dragons and their main attributes. (Personal note: This answer seems surprising, coming from a Necromancer. Speculation to follow below).

Fred answers that he wants to be a Blue Dragon [10384] and acts like a child when Belboz asks if Fred is certain about his decision. The spell that Belboz casts consists of two parts: First to immobilize Fred, enclosing him in a 'box of pure energy'. This spell only took a single word to activate. The second part seemed to be the spell itself, which required both verbal and written (rune) components to cast, plus several lookups in his spellbook.

Fred: A dragon without training
Assuming that Belboz is successful, Fred is now a mighty Blue Dragon. However, there are a few minor things that do NOT come standard with the body, such as breath control and flight [20679]. It is also only now that Belboz names his price, namely 'to have the help of a dragon' after Fred 'defeat[s] the evil dragon of the caves'. We also note that Belboz refers to the evil dragon as a 'she'. Belboz reveals that he can create magical shields very quickly to block Fred's accidental lightning discharges.

Fred asks how he's going to learn how to fly and to control his lightning, to which Belboz says, 'Beats me. You're the dragon, not me' [20682]. Belboz triggers something that teleports Fred back to the tunnel that led to Belboz's study/cave, and now the entrance is blocked by a magical barrier. Fred is startled by the sight of his own body and accidentally discharges his lightning again, but can't figure out how to use it deliberately afterwards. Fred's personality this chapter varies between serious knight and jubilant child. Belboz instructs Fred to follow a tunnel to a cave suitable for training/practice. Just as Fred disappears from Belboz's view, Belboz remembers something and calls out after Fred, but Fred doesn't hear/doesn't notice. Chapter includes several description details of what Fred now looks like.

Whatever Belboz was going to say was, unfortunately, important [102997]. The important detail isn't made clear yet, though. It could be that the entrance to the suitable training cave is through a hole in the floor that's masked by an illusion, or it might be something yet to be revealed (as of ep. 108074). Regardless, Fred literally falls for the trap.
This is also the first episode where Fred speculates on whether he would have a chance against a more experienced dragon and whether Belboz was even able to turn him into the evil dragon's equal, power-wise. (Some of the other dragon transformation options branching off of [8535] explicitly have Belboz only able to make Fred a 'Level 1 dragon', so this concern may be warranted.) Fred's inner narration also uses the phrase 'upper wing' instead of 'upper hand' when thinking of the other dragon. Is there some level of draconic subconsciousness mixing with Fred's thoughts/personality?

Fred lands heavily [104640] on the floor in the cavern below. (Dead-end option: Fred goes directly to [60] by landing neck-first). He injures his right arm and right wing. He makes a lot of noise as he rights himself again: one more accidental lightning discharge and one mighty roar of pain. Fred again demonstrates human reflexes (trying to shield his face from falling debris with his hands) that don't work very well for his new body proportions. Once Fred is back up on all fours, he hears something coming towards his location.

The adventuring party
A tiny dog pulling a semi-clad warrior woman enters the cavern. [107779] The red-haired woman is currently unconscious. Now that there are other characters to talk to, Fred's ability to control his volume when he speaks becomes a recurring concern (a dragon made of THUNDER and lightning isn't naturally very quiet).

Fred tries to reassure the dog that he's a friendly dragon, but the dog loses its nerve and flees [107783]. (Abandoned path: The dog stands its ground, Fred is overcome by laughter and he brings the ceiling down with uncontrolled thundering). The warrior-woman is abandoned to Fred's care.

Fortunately, the dog's ward wakes up soon after [107793]. Seeing that she's at the dragon's mercy, she asks for a swift death. Fred tries to reassure her that he is not the resident dragon of the caves and that he means no harm. Fred's speech this episode is far more formal than we've seen to date, no doubt because there's a lady present.

The woman is skeptical of Fred's story [107799], but goes along with it. She introduces herself as Astra and the dog who fled as Velus. Like most storylines, Velus is a young man turned into a dog, and Astra has sworn to protect him. Though unconsciousness has left her with a nasty headache, she is quick to get down to business. Astra's priorities are: 1) Find Velus, 2) Re-equip herself, 3) track the dragon of the caves. We also learn that some dragons have glow-in-the-dark eyes (Electric blues and fiery reds, at minimum). (Abandoned path: Astra berates Fred for trusting a necromancer and voices many of the doubts Fred started to express back in [102297])

Fred realizes that 'Astra' is actually 'Princess Astra of Aqualaria', who had gone missing months earlier and is presumed dead. [107811] Astra asks Fred not to stand on ceremony and also gets Fred to whisper from now on, which he does (with some lapses when he gets excited). From here going forward, Fred's normal (thundering) voice is consistently noted by boldface, Fred whispering (at normal human speaking volume) is denoted by regular text.

Fred offers to accompany Astra [107812], and does so using sexist 'Damsel-in-Distress' phraseology that Astra doesn't appreciate - though the mentality expressed does confirm for Astra the story that Fred told about being a knight transformed into a dragon. Astra interrupts Fred and demonstrates remarkable accuracy by throwing a stone and hitting Fred squarely at the base of his injured wing. How Astra could make such a lucky shot in the dark is not elaborated on. (Abandoned path: Velus returns, and we learn that the duo were searching for one of the dragon's treasure rooms)

Size Matters: Getting Stuck
Astra and Fred follow the tunnel that Velus fled down [107819]. Astra finds that the light from Fred's eyes is barely enough to see by, and we learn that among the gear that Astra has lost are several lightstones.

The tunnel soon gets to be too narrow for Fred and Astra to comfortably walk two abreast [107825]. Astra takes the lead despite Fred's chivalrous desire to be in front, and does so without revealing her reliance on Fred for light. As the cave continues to narrow, Astra reveals she's seen dragons manage smaller (implying a previous dragon encounter) and that dragons should be able to navigate any tunnel they can fit their head into, and encourages Fred to try slithering like a snake. Fred finds this comparison distasteful.

Nevertheless, Fred agrees to give slithering a try and manages to make progress [107827]. As they move, Fred speculates that he might be a bigger dragon than the resident dragon, and recalls that Belboz referred to the evil dragon as 'she'. Maybe Fred has an advantage after all?

Astra tells Fred not to get his hopes up [107840]. We learn that female dragons are, on average, slightly larger than male dragons. Fred and Astra stop when they arrive at a cave-in that blocks their route. (Abandoned paths: Astra points out that the dragon is a magic user and a shapeshifter and that anyone encountered might have been the dragon in disguise, even Belboz. In another path, we learn that Fred's scales have a natural one-way grip to help him glide forwards but might cause trouble if reversing.)

The duo appear to be stuck [107856], but Fred thinks he might be able to put his dragon body to work clearing a way forward. There's a small gap in the rubble big enough for a small dog, so presumably they're still on Velus's trail.

Fred can't get good leverage on the rocks [107858], so tries blasting through with lightning instead. Fred tries unsuccessfully for a few minutes and only manages to fire a bolt after Astra interrupts, so it's unclear whether Fred has learned control or if lightning is more of an emotional response (embarrassment, in this case). (Abandoned path: Fred manages to push the debris over, and finds a magical artifact. We learn that dragons can identify magic items by touch, and an experienced dragon might be able to discern more. I've been wanting to extend this line, but haven't been able to come up with good artifact powers)

The rock pile shatters, but Fred has hit something he shouldn't have [107867]. Astra is temporarily deafened by the explosion.

Injured Belboz
Fred discovers that he wounded Belboz [107870], who is now bleeding and unconscious. Astra demonstrates some advanced first aid knowledge and Fred finally learns that his glowing eyes have been Astra's only source of light. A sharp piece of rock is embedded in Belboz's gut, which Astra refuses to remove lest it cause more damage. Curiously, Belboz didn't put up a shield to protect himself like he did back in his study. (Speculation: If the shape-shifting powers from the abandoned plotline apply to this plotline, perhaps one of the Belboz's encountered thus far is a fake?)

Belboz begins breathing again, but remains unconscious [107878].

Fred and Astra wait as long as they can, but there's no change [107883]. In their silence, they can hear various noises from elsewhere in the caves. We learn that dragons have extremely good hearing that can make sense of words even when echoed through a long tunnel. They have no choice but to abandon Belboz for now.

They come to a cavern where there's a fire and six goblins plus a captive. Unfortunately, the captive is much too big to be Velus [108062]. The goblins quickly flee from the approaching dragon (Fred).

The dragon arrives
Though the captive was human-sized, it turned out to be something very surprising [108074] - a bound-up baby red dragon in a sack. We learn that goblins delight in taunting their captives. (Maybe that contributed to why they were so quick to flee an adult dragon, too?)

This would be a very bad time for the momma dragon to show up, so naturally this is exactly when the resident dragon makes her entrance. [108078]. This red dragon about twice Fred's size, dashing any remaining hope Fred might have of possessing any form of advantage over her.

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Speculations:
  • Belboz is a necromancer. To change Fred into a dragon he used some aspect of a dead dragon. This would further imply that Belboz is powerful enough to have bits of each colour/type of dragon. Why he would need Fred at all is then a mystery.

    The first Belboz encounter was with a fake - the dragon of the caves (a magic-user and shapeshifter) disguised as Belboz. She forgot to mention the drop because it's a non-issue for her, and could turn Fred into a dragon because she isn't actually a necromancer (or at least has access to/training in other magics). Maybe she saw something in Fred that she found attractive?

    Fred's transformation will eventually make him think more like a dragon and less like a knight. Will Fred eventually turn 'evil' too? Is the current dragon actually a victim of Belboz's magic?

    The dragon may not actually be evil, just unconcerned by human affairs.

    Where do dragons get the energy to fuel their breath attacks? What would happen if Fred runs empty? (Perhaps absorbing magic from the items in their treasure hoard, or maybe there's some power in gold? Perhaps just from food - in which case, Fred will be getting powerfully hungry soon. Do dragons eat princesses?)

    What happens to the spell on Fred if Belboz dies? (Ending the spell and leaving Fred without a shred of equipment (or dignity) might be the funniest option...)
JH
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Post by JH »

Welcome to the forum. :) I'm glad that you, like I, have been enjoying our collaboration.

That's an excellent summary of the plot to date, including one or two details that I had failed to pick up on. I like your speculations too.

Curiously, Belboz didn't put up a shield to protect himself like he did back in his study.

Maybe he simply didn't have enough warning to do so in time?
JH
Sam
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Post by Sam »

Fred was snorting at the rocks for a few moments before he got it right, and there was a hole large enough for a small dog (and probably sound) through - unless Belboz was distracted/preoccupied, it seems likely that he would've heard something. Maybe he had only prepared a single casting of that spell for the day, or it was something about his study that allowed him to quick-cast it the first time? Maybe Belboz created a double of himself to send down into the caves and the real 'boz is still in his study?

That Belboz was there at all just screams of something wonderfully plot-important that's just out of reach of the heroes. (Checkov's necromancer?)

And with the details - I'd been finding that we were getting enough story going that I was starting to need notes :) I've probably missed/failed to pick up on other points too, so feel free to add.
Sam
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Post by Sam »

Story update:

The Dragon Arrives (Cont'd)
Momma dragon shows up [108078], and Fred tries to talk rather than fight [108080]. Fred cranks up his volume to 11, and the other dragon actually stops to listen for a moment. The dragon replies speaking her own language ('Taksrrith') first, then responds with (fake-)accented Allarian when Fred admits he doesn't understand. Fred does his best to explain the situation in a way that doesn't make it look as bad as it does (is), and the dragon responds by casting a spell.

We don't learn what the original spell is, however, as Astra intervenes in a desperate attempt to help when it becomes clear that Fred's in trouble [108118]. We get additional confirmation that Astra and the red dragon have some history and that Astra escaped before the dragon resumes spellcasting. The red dragon drops her accented speech this episode - she's clearly more fluent than she was letting on at first.

Annoyed, the dragon casts a spell on Astra instead [108125]. The teleportation spell is accompanied by pyrotechnics appropriate for a fire dragon's magic, and the dragon claims that she has no idea where Astra ended up. Fred unleashes his biggest chain of lightning yet in response, but we learn that this dragon can put up energy barriers similar to the spell that Belboz used. We learn that the baby dragon has a name ('Skyrath'), though the dread red dragon remains nameless. Fred finally finds Velus, and is now at a crossroads as to what to do next.

(For whatever reason, I had trouble coming up with a good plot to continue 108118 - hopefully this direction helps give some inspiration!)

Other thoughts:
  • Fred is clearly outclassed by the resident Red at this stage. Being a dragon probably isn't living up to Fred's initial expectations. If given the chance to be a knight again, would he take it?

    While not exactly nice, that the red dragon has young dragon(s?) in her care and hasn't killed Fred or Astra outright gives room for her to be a somewhat sympathetic villain. Even if she and Fred never become friendly towards each other, there may be room for them to come to some kind of understanding in the future...

    The red dragon used the same or similar spell to block Fred's lightning attack as Belboz did early on, leaving open the possibility of some connection between the two. Of course, a high-level energy barrier spell would be a must-have when dealing with dragons, so no guarantees.

    At one point it looked like we were close to reuniting the party, but that dream now seems shattered for the next little while.

    Astra seems like the sort of princess who is more than capable of rescuing herself from whatever danger she just landed in. Probably should have given you an option to give her the camera for a while if you're more inspired on that side... ah well, that's why 'Extending' exists.

    It could be that the barrier spell used by Belboz and the Dragon only block certain types of damage (electrical, at minimum) and that physical matter (eg: blasted rock) passes through it. This would be another explanation to why Belboz was injured in the caves.
JH
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Post by JH »

More good stuff. I don't have any particular ideas as yet on where to go next, so I shall have a little think.
JH
Sam
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Post by Sam »

Since back-(cross-)linking exists here, what about extending both the Fred and the Astra lines in parallel for a few episodes, then bringing them back together once they find each other again? I don't want anything remotely as complicated as that story web that has parallel universe copies of everybody, just a simple path that splits and rejoins, shaped like so: ----====---- (Thoughts?)

I like how your [108154] suggests (at least to Fred) that the necromancer has probably died off-screen. We can ALWAYS trust no-way-he-could've-survived-that off-screen deaths in fiction, right? Danger: TV Tropes link
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Post by JH »

Sam wrote:Since back-(cross-)linking exists here, what about extending both the Fred and the Astra lines in parallel for a few episodes, then bringing them back together once they find each other again? I don't want anything remotely as complicated as that story web that has parallel universe copies of everybody, just a simple path that splits and rejoins, shaped like so: ----====---- (Thoughts?)
It works for me.
Sam wrote:I like how your [108154] suggests (at least to Fred) that the necromancer has probably died off-screen. We can ALWAYS trust no-way-he-could've-survived-that off-screen deaths in fiction, right? Danger: TV Tropes link
:) Even Tolkien wasn't above using that idea, in the case of Gandalf. (I did think that Peter Jackson was taking a bit of a liberty to do the same thing with Aragorn, though. It seemed to me that two "resurrections" was one too many.)

Of course, as Belboz is a necromancer, even death need not necessarily be the end. He could have placed a spell on himself sometime in the past to cover just such an eventually, which will give him a second life as a zombie (though with more more intelligence than the average zombie seems to retain).
JH
Sam
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Post by Sam »

Heh. Yeah, the Tropes link was to to the "Sorting Algorithm of Deadness", and I think the only thing that could have pushed him farther into "Death? What is that?" would be if he'd somehow jumped off a cliff :P

Belboz's magical displays in his first appearance gave him what, in most universes, should be pretty high-level spells (especially the permanent[-so-far] dragon transformation) and he set up shop in a dragon's caves/dungeon filled with traps and monsters. The number of ways he can survive being left for dead is staggering! If our heroes were a bit more genre-savvy they could've just abandoned him without any fanfare and waited for him to catch up again, possibly with a "There's no way he could've NOT survived that" thrown in for good measure :)

Just off the top of my head:
  • Coming back from the dead with any number of spells conveniently prepared earlier, probably as whatever flavour of undead he likes best

    Sending Belboz-clones (made from spare bodies/parts of fallen adventurers?) out into the dungeon (possibly with an illusion or polymorph to give them his appearance) to do his dirty work in the dangerous caves while he stays in his comfortable study. (Killing Belboz could become a recurring joke in this instance)

    Permanent regeneration spells on self, possibly ones that draw small amounts of some sort of life-energy from nearby living things, if he's not ready for undeath yet

    The help of a previously-unseen aid or familiar who can fetch a healing McGuffin from the study for him. (Speaking of, where's the undead servant hoard for this necromancer?)

    A grand reveal where Belboz is not really a necromancer but IS a shapeshifting, teleporting red dragon who is bored out of her skull and is just messing with the protagonists' heads. When you're (practically) a god, who needs reasons?

    Just getting better enough on his own that he can regain consciousness, cast the big spells and call it a day without any extra explanation.

    Showing up with barely a handwave. ("I'm a powerful enough wizard that turning knights into dragons is a hobby that lies outside my area of specialty. Think about that and ask yourself why you're surprised I'm here.")
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Post by JH »

Some great ideas there. I especially like this one: "Sending Belboz-clones (made from spare bodies/parts of fallen adventurers?) out into the dungeon (possibly with an illusion or polymorph to give them his appearance) to do his dirty work in the dangerous caves while he stays in his comfortable study. (Killing Belboz could become a recurring joke in this instance)"
JH
Sam
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Post by Sam »

Sorry for being so slow on this update. My writing time kept getting interrupted, and I ended up getting a bit verbose in the end :P

[Edit to add]: D'oh! Forgot to include the option in the Astra line of a city composed entirely of undead Belboz clones! :P
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Post by JH »

Sam wrote:Sorry for being so slow on this update. My writing time kept getting interrupted, and I ended up getting a bit verbose in the end :P

[Edit to add]: D'oh! Forgot to include the option in the Astra line of a city composed entirely of undead Belboz clones! :P
There's a thought. :) If I decide to take that route then I can add that option myself. I especially liked the LotR reference in that episode.

I appreciate that RL can sometimes get in the way of writing - not to mention the dreaded writer's block!
JH
Sam
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Post by Sam »

Glad you enjoyed :) I didn't want to derail the story with the ACTUAL One Ring of course, but once I settled on 'Lost Jewelry' it needed a shout-out at the very least.

I like the characterization of Astra is a little bit genre-savvy, or at least moreso than Fred. I also found myself wondering how old Fred actually is while writing these - in most storylines I have a mental image of Fred as a seasoned late-30s or 40-something or so, but the establishing scenes of this arc that we're building from (written by Kistaro Windrider, Ep. 8535 & 10384) had given Fred that rather childish voice. Is Fred less experienced than I normally assumed? Is he actually in his early-20's or even late teens in this one? (If Astra had met Fred prior to his drakification, would her opening line be to comment that he's a little short for an Allarian Knight?)
JH
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Post by JH »

Based on some early episodes in the story (but not necessarily ones that are direct ancestors of our thread so possibly of limited relevance), I've had the impression that Fred is in his middle or early twenties, and that Astra is in her early twenties. Of course Fred's character and degree of maturity varies an awful lot between threads, Astra's less so. This seems to be one of the threads in which he's less mature, though not necessarily younger.

I'd say that Fred was around six feet tall. Astra is sometimes described as being unusually tall for a woman, so would be about the same height, or conceivably even an inch or two taller. Of course there's bound to be some inconsistency between threads (and at times even within them).
JH
Sam
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Post by Sam »

For whatever reason, I often picture Fred to be somewhat similar to 'Cyan' from the old 'Final Fantasy VI' game. Don't know where the mental image came from. [Quick trip to Google image search...]
Image


And a nonplussed 'Aren't you a little short-?' in response to the hero's arrival was trying to be a different reference that, in my current sleep-deprived state, made sense at the time:

Image
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Post by JH »

Too subtle for me, I'm afraid. :)

That's a great clip of Princess Leia. It seems amazingly suggestive, for some reason, as if her comment is actually expressing dissatisfaction about the length of one particular part of the stormtrooper's anatomy!

You can find the much-missed Traveler's take on what Fred and Astra look like here: http://web.archive.org/web/200505111516 ... chars.html

His idea of what Fred looks like - and in particular his age - seems not dissimilar to yours. Some of the text there is specific to the "Betrayed by Moonlight" thread.

I'd also have referred you to Wolfrun's site, but unfortunately the archiving site hasn't gone to a deep enough level to preserve his descriptions of the characters. Added later: It turns out that the link that Sir Toby has provided isn't to the fullest archive of the site, and Wolfrun's brief descriptions of the characters can be found here:
http://www.reocities.com/toh1999/WRchar-alphabet.html
JH
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