From: gudarien@aol.com (Gudarien)
Date: 23 Jul 1998 01:04:29 EDT
The day had been hot and humid, Gudarien wiped his brow with a cotton cloth. His plate armor had been acting like an oven in the bright son, collecting the rays warmth and storing them for what seemed to be soley to make gudarien uncomfortable. He had taken leae from Azoun's court in Cormyr to seek adventure, and possibly bring some recogniztion to his name. He was happy serving under Azoun, yes, but those that were not in the circle
did not even know his name. This is what he desired, to have his name known across the realm.
Gudarien had decided to head north by northeast. His current path would lead him straight to Tilverton, a city on the border of Cormyr. "Maybe I'll travel by Shadowdale and pay Eliminster a visit." Gudarien mused as he rode along on his horse. He'd never really been outside of Cormyr's borders, but he figured now was as good as any to venture forth. His thoughts were now drifting to all types of fame he would like to have. He was a young man, only
23 cycles old, and he had the blessings of Gond "The Wonderbringer". Having been taught the methods and life of the paladin from birth, Gudarien knew them well, and utilized the powers granted to him.
As he rode, Gudarien also thought of a few battles he had fought, mostly with orcs and other miscellaneous bandits. He wondered if he would happen to chance by possible challenge of his mind and skills on his way to Tilverton....he recieved his answer quicker than he thought. Moments after asking himself the question, he heard a woman screaming at the top of her lungs. What was being screamed Gudarien never decifered, but he knew it to be a
distress call, and imediately spurred his horse into a dead run.
Momens later he arrived at an overturned wagon. Two dead draft horses lay still connected to their hitch, one of the poor animals had been nearly ripped in half, the other's skull had been crushed. The woman who had screamed rest next to a dead man's body just off the road. She was on her knees and sobbing as she looked up at Gudarien.
"It took my son, please save him!" She begged as tears rolled down her cheeks while craddling her dead husband.
"What took your son?" Gudarien asked as he looked around the country side. "Never mind, I see it..I think." Was all he said as he kicked the horse in the sides to move. The beast was over a thousand yards away now, it was large, very large. Not big enough to be a dragon, and Gudarien thought, "Besides, if it was a dragon, it would have flown away, not run on the ground." Now moving at top speed, he closed the distance quickly, the horses hooves
made loud thuds on the dry ground as the distance was lessened.
The beast dared a look back to the sounds of the running horse. It seen the shiny glint of steel and reconized it to be armor, the only thought in it's feeble mind was that of danger. Unfortunatley for Gudarian, it had reached the entrance to it's lair, and quickly decended into the darkness under the surface of the plains. Gudarien, only a minute or so behind seen the creature drop from sight. He cursed softly as he slowed his mount, not wanting
to just run up on the beast and find it waitng for him. The horse and rider slowly advanced on the tunnel. Gudarien slinked off the side of the animal and moved closer to inspect the hole. He shook his head seeing it was over twelve feet in diameter, and a pungent smell was carried on the slight breeze coming up and out of the hole. Gudarien drew his sword and quietly spoke the arcane word Eliminster had taught him to activate this magic weapon.
The silver blazed reated to the word with a quick fizzle. The silver blade burst into flame from the hilt up to the tip in a slow fashion. Now with a source of light, Gudarien slid down the steep wall down into the darkness. The tunnel was nearly set at a sixty degree angle, and Gudarien estimated it to be forty feet deep. He didn't like this one bit. He was way below the surface, and facing something he never did get to identify. Whether he liked
it or not, he slowly started after the the beast.
Guadrien walked for a few moments and noticed something...the beast had left no trace of it's passing. Now could he see or hear it down the tunnel. He mearly shook his head, wondering what he was getting himself into. After walking for nearly seventy yards, Gudarien stopped. The light radiating from his sword was not penetrating the darkness directly in front of him. He squinted, then realized....it was a magical darkness.
Just then he felt a sudden chill. The chill went all the way to his bones, he unwillingly took three steps backwards. the smell of rotting flesh now assaulted his nose. He now knew why the beast made no noise or left no trace...it was undead. Gudarien took a deep breath, his courage returning as he reminded himself he was a paladin. He was telling himself he'd just summon the power from Gond to turn the beast. With his free hand, he took the
pendant symbol around his neck into the palm of his hand, ready to unleash the power of his god.
The beast slowly emerged from the shadowed darkness, gleeming red eyes burned of light long dead. What this beast had been in a former life, Gudarien never could guess. It stood ten feet tall at the front shoulders, it's hind legs were half the size of it's fore legs. What resembled flesh clung loosely to it's ribs and other various bones. Gudarien could see right through some of the holes in the beast's flesh. It was almost eight feet wide, it
had two horns protruding from it's head, accented by many rows of sharp teeth. The beast opened it's maw in a silent roar, it's vocal chords long since rotted beyond use.
It was at that moment that Gudarien realized he was nowhere near powerful enough of a paladin to turn such a creature. He could sense it's power. Greater than he had ever imagined from an undead any less than vampirec.
"Well, guess I'll have to do this the old fashioned way." Gudarien almost didn't get to finish his sentance. the beast broke into a charge with amazing speed, but, beeing rather agile, Gudarien quickly slipped from the beasts path, and, as the creature tried to stop it's charge, he lunged with the burning blade, burrying it deep into the side of the creature. Loose flaps and folds of skin burst into flame. The creature writhed from the blow and
spun around to face Gudarien who calmly stood waiting. The creature open it's mouth and raired back, more than telegraphing it's intentions. Which Gudarien quickly brought the blade up in an arc, nearly deacpitating the beast. He spun to his left and struck again, this time to the creatures right foreleg, taking off most of the front of it's knee joint.
The slow undead, unthinking beast, having always chased after farmers and those who never weilded cold steel, tried again to strike the man down. again, the result was a burning wound to the leg. the creatures limb was burning as was it's side, the knee finally buckled which toppled the beast. Quick to react, Gudarien drove the burning blade through the beasts skull before it could move. All that came was a quick shudder, and then the beast went
limp as the undead energy that held it together left the body. The bones crumpled and turned to a flaming ball of dust right in front of Gudarien's eyes.
Gudarien stood, a bit unsure how he wound up on his knees. He looked around as if expecting something, or somebody to come out of the darkness. "That wasn't so tough, now all I have to do is go find the boy it nabbed." Burning blade in hand, gudarien turned and walked straight into the magical darkness...
TBC
The Quest for identity.
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From: gudarien@aol.com (Gudarien)
Date: 24 Jul 1998 02:24:06 EDT
He poked his head through the blackness, the other side of the cavern opened up into an abandoned underground city. The ruined buildings were short, appaerntly dwarven or gnome by design. Gudarien shook his head, he knew that the undead beast could not have hidden the boy that quickly, so he tried to imagine who, or what, would keep that abomination as a servant. he shrugged and decided it really didn't matter, he had to find the boy.
Nothing less.
Gudarien looked around, the city's name was probably long forgotten about. Light radiated from above, most likely magic. There weren't many tracks in the dirt below his feet, and certainley none new enough looking to have possibly been carrying a screaming child. Gudarien suddenly felt like this was a challenge to him that no matter what he did, he was bound to fail. None the less, he had to look, and he would give his life if need be. Taking a
deep breath, he then picked a random direction and started walking. Whether by luck, or the will of a higher power, he did not have to walk long before seeing a sign. Just ahead was a shoe, small in size, and very out of place. The shoe lay near the cavern wall, a small tunnel was nearby, Gudarien theorized whoever, or whatever had the boy, had gone done that tunnel. Squating down, he slowly made his way through the darkness of the tunnel, the flame
blade offering some light, but in the twisting tunnel, it did little good.
After what seemed an eternity of crawling, Gudarien finally emerged at the end of the tunnel. The tunnel had a decline in it the entire distance, and gudarien had no idea how deep below the surface he now was. He suddenly had this bad feeling. Then his heart fell to the floor. the boy lay motionless just a few feet away in the darkness. He knelt next to the body to exzamine it, it had not been here long, but the boy was unaturally cold, and there
were two burn marks on the boy's arm. Gudarien looked closely, seeing they were not actually burns, but frostbite.
"How unusuall....it's nearly 80 degrees out." Was Gudarien's only comment. He knew the marks to be unnatural, but the source, he could not visualize just yet. He did however have a sneaky suspision that he was dealing with a greater undead. He shook his head and stood straight up, looking around for a direction in which to go. He was too late to help the boy, but he could try and destroy what ever it was thad had taken his life.
Gudarien spent the next three hours searching tunnel after tunnel, looking for a clue as to where his prey hid. He had wandered down what appeared to be the oldest and most unused by the underground creatures. Very few tracks were in the dirt here, the dust had to be two inches thick in spots. If what he sought was undead, it would probably be down here he thought. At the edge of the light cast by his flame blade, he seen a large oak door, rotted
and covered in dust. Cautiously he advanced. He reached out and felt the door, it wiggled slightly. His hand slipped down to the latch, it was unlocked and worked rather freely. A quick "snick" could be heard as he pushed the latch down and freed the bolt from the wall. The door pulled itself in just over an inch, and the smell of death filled Gudarien's nose. He shook his head, knowing this is where he needed to be. He knew that what ever was behind
the door, most likely knew he was coming. With that thought he shoved the door open with all his might, sending dust flying along with a loud "boom" from the door hitting the wall. Gudarien stepped in quickly, and looked around. Chests line the far wall, a pile of old clothes lay next to them, a bucket of water stood in the middle of the circular room, a table and chair to his right with many old books stacked atop the table. Light radiated from the
walls and ceiling with an eerie greenish glow. The scent of death was strong, along with the overwhelming feeling of an absolute power, weighing heavily on his chest. It was an evil feeling, one he had never felt before in his life as a paladin. He spun slowly in a circle, he had turned to look behind him when he saw it.
The lich stepped from a shadow near the doorway as Gudarien turned to face it. It's red glowing eyes accented the rotting flesh on it's face. Gudarien's face went pale, then white as he realized what stood before him. He had only hear mith's and rumors of these vile undead wizards, and he was begining to think they were just that, having never seen any sign of one...untill now. He was a brave man, but at this point in his life, Gudarien was
paralyzed with fear. He held onto the sword tightly, staring at the long dead wizard. The lich had actually been taken by suprise. If Gudarien had not hesitated, he could have struck the creature right then. Neither reacted to the others presence. The lich seeing that Gudarien was feel-struck, it called to mind a good spell to deal with the intruder, thinking as long as the human stood there, he would be easy to get rid of.
As the lich fumbled for a single spell component, the realazation set in that Gudarien had to move, and move now. The lich started to cast, Gudarien blinked once, then twice as feeling returned to his limbs. The wizards hands moved in intricut patterns, spelling out Gudarien's demise in an arcane tongue. The ground around Gudarien's feet began to shift and rise, just as the stone formed hands to drag Gudarien down into it, he lunged at the wizard,
flame blade extended. Had gudarien acted sooner, he could have skewered the lich, but his delay allowed one of the stone hands to grab his foot as he lunged, tripping him. His shoulder met the lich's ribs with a thud. The two fell backwards in a bright flash of light. The spell had been interupted before it's finish, causing it to surge wildly. Both the lich and Gudarien fell into a hole of light. They fell for a few moments, then landed soundly in a
grassy meadow. Gudarien, sword still in hand, looked around. The lich was standing up from the tall grass to his left. With a swift stroke, the long sword screamed at the lich as it neatly removed it's head while igniting the body at the same time. The creature crumpled to the ground in a burning heap. Gudarien rolled away from it and rose to his knees.
Being as close as he had been to the lich, he now noticed the frostbite burns caused from being in the proximity of the abomination. He shook the cold from his limbs as he stood on shaking knees. Looking around, he did not recognize the countryside. he assumed the spell had turned to a teleport of somekind, and guessed at worst case scenario, he could be on the other side of the realm. Below him in a fiel, two men worked in the grass, setting up
what appeared to be a ring. Gudarien extinguished the sword then placed it back in it's sheath. He trotted down the hill, a town came into view as he neared the two men.
"Ho there my good man, what town be that prithee?" Gudarian asked in as friendly manner as he could, still being a bit shaken from the incredibale luck he just had with a lich.
"That be RhyDin good sir." one of the men replied, the other nodded in agreement.
"RhyDin eh? Never heard of it. Well, I thank you, have a good day." Gudarien nodded to both men and headed for town. He could see a busy bustle in the streets ahead of him. Once he reached the town, the first building he seen was a large inn. A sign over the door read, "The Red Dragon Inn". gudarien shrugged and decided now was as good a time as any for a stiff drink. He checked to make sure he still had his money pouch, then pushed the door open
and went inside....
TBC
Date: 24 Jul 1998 02:24:06 EDT
He poked his head through the blackness, the other side of the cavern opened up into an abandoned underground city. The ruined buildings were short, appaerntly dwarven or gnome by design. Gudarien shook his head, he knew that the undead beast could not have hidden the boy that quickly, so he tried to imagine who, or what, would keep that abomination as a servant. he shrugged and decided it really didn't matter, he had to find the boy.
Nothing less.
Gudarien looked around, the city's name was probably long forgotten about. Light radiated from above, most likely magic. There weren't many tracks in the dirt below his feet, and certainley none new enough looking to have possibly been carrying a screaming child. Gudarien suddenly felt like this was a challenge to him that no matter what he did, he was bound to fail. None the less, he had to look, and he would give his life if need be. Taking a
deep breath, he then picked a random direction and started walking. Whether by luck, or the will of a higher power, he did not have to walk long before seeing a sign. Just ahead was a shoe, small in size, and very out of place. The shoe lay near the cavern wall, a small tunnel was nearby, Gudarien theorized whoever, or whatever had the boy, had gone done that tunnel. Squating down, he slowly made his way through the darkness of the tunnel, the flame
blade offering some light, but in the twisting tunnel, it did little good.
After what seemed an eternity of crawling, Gudarien finally emerged at the end of the tunnel. The tunnel had a decline in it the entire distance, and gudarien had no idea how deep below the surface he now was. He suddenly had this bad feeling. Then his heart fell to the floor. the boy lay motionless just a few feet away in the darkness. He knelt next to the body to exzamine it, it had not been here long, but the boy was unaturally cold, and there
were two burn marks on the boy's arm. Gudarien looked closely, seeing they were not actually burns, but frostbite.
"How unusuall....it's nearly 80 degrees out." Was Gudarien's only comment. He knew the marks to be unnatural, but the source, he could not visualize just yet. He did however have a sneaky suspision that he was dealing with a greater undead. He shook his head and stood straight up, looking around for a direction in which to go. He was too late to help the boy, but he could try and destroy what ever it was thad had taken his life.
Gudarien spent the next three hours searching tunnel after tunnel, looking for a clue as to where his prey hid. He had wandered down what appeared to be the oldest and most unused by the underground creatures. Very few tracks were in the dirt here, the dust had to be two inches thick in spots. If what he sought was undead, it would probably be down here he thought. At the edge of the light cast by his flame blade, he seen a large oak door, rotted
and covered in dust. Cautiously he advanced. He reached out and felt the door, it wiggled slightly. His hand slipped down to the latch, it was unlocked and worked rather freely. A quick "snick" could be heard as he pushed the latch down and freed the bolt from the wall. The door pulled itself in just over an inch, and the smell of death filled Gudarien's nose. He shook his head, knowing this is where he needed to be. He knew that what ever was behind
the door, most likely knew he was coming. With that thought he shoved the door open with all his might, sending dust flying along with a loud "boom" from the door hitting the wall. Gudarien stepped in quickly, and looked around. Chests line the far wall, a pile of old clothes lay next to them, a bucket of water stood in the middle of the circular room, a table and chair to his right with many old books stacked atop the table. Light radiated from the
walls and ceiling with an eerie greenish glow. The scent of death was strong, along with the overwhelming feeling of an absolute power, weighing heavily on his chest. It was an evil feeling, one he had never felt before in his life as a paladin. He spun slowly in a circle, he had turned to look behind him when he saw it.
The lich stepped from a shadow near the doorway as Gudarien turned to face it. It's red glowing eyes accented the rotting flesh on it's face. Gudarien's face went pale, then white as he realized what stood before him. He had only hear mith's and rumors of these vile undead wizards, and he was begining to think they were just that, having never seen any sign of one...untill now. He was a brave man, but at this point in his life, Gudarien was
paralyzed with fear. He held onto the sword tightly, staring at the long dead wizard. The lich had actually been taken by suprise. If Gudarien had not hesitated, he could have struck the creature right then. Neither reacted to the others presence. The lich seeing that Gudarien was feel-struck, it called to mind a good spell to deal with the intruder, thinking as long as the human stood there, he would be easy to get rid of.
As the lich fumbled for a single spell component, the realazation set in that Gudarien had to move, and move now. The lich started to cast, Gudarien blinked once, then twice as feeling returned to his limbs. The wizards hands moved in intricut patterns, spelling out Gudarien's demise in an arcane tongue. The ground around Gudarien's feet began to shift and rise, just as the stone formed hands to drag Gudarien down into it, he lunged at the wizard,
flame blade extended. Had gudarien acted sooner, he could have skewered the lich, but his delay allowed one of the stone hands to grab his foot as he lunged, tripping him. His shoulder met the lich's ribs with a thud. The two fell backwards in a bright flash of light. The spell had been interupted before it's finish, causing it to surge wildly. Both the lich and Gudarien fell into a hole of light. They fell for a few moments, then landed soundly in a
grassy meadow. Gudarien, sword still in hand, looked around. The lich was standing up from the tall grass to his left. With a swift stroke, the long sword screamed at the lich as it neatly removed it's head while igniting the body at the same time. The creature crumpled to the ground in a burning heap. Gudarien rolled away from it and rose to his knees.
Being as close as he had been to the lich, he now noticed the frostbite burns caused from being in the proximity of the abomination. He shook the cold from his limbs as he stood on shaking knees. Looking around, he did not recognize the countryside. he assumed the spell had turned to a teleport of somekind, and guessed at worst case scenario, he could be on the other side of the realm. Below him in a fiel, two men worked in the grass, setting up
what appeared to be a ring. Gudarien extinguished the sword then placed it back in it's sheath. He trotted down the hill, a town came into view as he neared the two men.
"Ho there my good man, what town be that prithee?" Gudarian asked in as friendly manner as he could, still being a bit shaken from the incredibale luck he just had with a lich.
"That be RhyDin good sir." one of the men replied, the other nodded in agreement.
"RhyDin eh? Never heard of it. Well, I thank you, have a good day." Gudarien nodded to both men and headed for town. He could see a busy bustle in the streets ahead of him. Once he reached the town, the first building he seen was a large inn. A sign over the door read, "The Red Dragon Inn". gudarien shrugged and decided now was as good a time as any for a stiff drink. He checked to make sure he still had his money pouch, then pushed the door open
and went inside....
TBC