Melted Ice? (Bane)

[DoF Archive]

Date: 2/22/1999 5:20 PM Central Daylight Time
From: Bane0fEvil

It was obvious that Bane had not been the same lately. It seemed that he wasn't fully there. The warrior had been going through some stressful situations, in the Outback and in his home life. One of his dwarven friends had died and he had to cope with that as well as the illnesses that had came from nowhere. Not to say that he was taken aback by the recent actions of one of his friends. What had been on her mind for her just to go off and do something like that?! Nonetheless, she had done it, and there was no way he could go back andstop it. By some strange twist of fate, Bane had won the Blue Opal, Icedancer. When he entered the rings for the tournament, it was like he hit a zone. He couldn't remember winning any of the duels, but he came to find out that he had gone undefeated that night. "Undefeated?!" he asked himself. "How could I have done that?" He stared dumbfounded at the prize of the tournament as he mulled over these things in his mind. The time had come that he was ready to try Icedancer out. He took the blue stone up into his hands, ready to try and unleash the powers of his prize.Nothing....... Nothing had happened. Needless to say, the warrior was extremely angry at the outcome. He had gone to Matt Simon the next day to announce that the stone was a fake. "Give it back," was Matt's simple answer. "Give it back?" Bane thought. "He must be crazy to think I'll give it back, even if it is just a blue rock." Bane had won the stone and he choose to keep it until he was defeated in a challenge match, or his record dropped below the minimumwhich was allowed to hold such a prize. He stomped out of the Outback that night in a rage. It hadn't crossed his mind that he may not have been concentrating enough to use the stone's powers. How was he supposed to concentrate on using Icedancer with all the other things he had bearing on him? In his blind rage, he went searching for Janella. "Maybe she'll know what to do with it," he thought. Janella was anything but a fan of the Outback'stitles, and would probably do anything to get them destroyed. Bane might not have stooped to that level, even in his state, but Janella could have very easily persuaded him to let her hold it for a few days. It is probably better that he didn't search extensively for the warrioress. Who knows what would have happened to the stone then? Bane had tried to stay away from his house as much as possible in the next few days. It just wasn't the same without Barden there. Barden Rockcrusher had become one of Bane's closest friends in Rhydin. The dwarf was one of the few who were left in the caravan that had accompanied the warrior in the trek to Rhydin. Many of the others had scattered about, finding their own places and making their own lives. Barden had stayed loyal to his friendand remained in Rhydin. "Why did Barden have to die?" he thought. "It happens," came the simple response. He would have to cope with it and move on. He couldn't change what had happened that day. Orcs. A group of orcs had attacked the dwarf. A big group from what he could gather. Barden was getting rather old, but his skill with the club hadn't dwindled one bit as a result of his age. Bane came upon the dwarf's lifeless body on his way back from Rhydin Towne. His eyes scanned the forest warily as he looked for any sign of trouble. "Orcs," came a melodic voice from his side. The voice startled him and he turned to see who had spoken. No one was there. "The orcs ambushed him." The voice seemed to be coming from a tree. The fighter narrowed his eyes and moved to examine the tree. Just as he first made his movement, he saw a small figure step away from the tree. "He was helpless to defend," announced the small individual. The warrior had heard stories of dryads, and wondered if this just might be one of them. The dryad managed a smile and a nod to confirm Bane's beliefs. "Yes," she said "You are correct in your assumptions." With that, the small figure stepped back to the tree and faded from the warrior's view. "Wait!" he shouted. It was to no avail, the dryad was gone. With a sigh, Bane turned back to the mangled body of his companion. He had to wrap the body of the dwarf and carry him home on the back of Titan. The steed didn't hesitate for Bane to place the dwarf on his back. Titan was extremely loyal tohis owner, and it seemed that he would stay that way until they parted. The warrior found some of his other friends from the forest and they performed a proper funeral for the red-bearded dwarf. He deserved it. Bane had yet to try and use the opal again. He had almost forgotten all about the prize he won in the tournament. When his concentration returned fully, he might be able to loose the unpredictable powers of the simple blue stone, but until then he would have to bide his time and endure all that had come against him.(( Excuse the errors, I know they're there. ))