[K T Ong]

"This is... terrible!" exclaimed Rufus. "Is there anything we can do to help Sir Morguerat regain his former self, Master Magnus?"

"There is," said Magnus, "but it's an extremely difficult and exhausting spell which takes a long time to cast. In fact it takes seven days, the fourth of which must be the summer solstice -- and the summer solstice was two weeks ago already!"

"Is there no other way, then?" asked the apprentice.

"I have actually designed a Girdle of the Giants of late," interjected Khadgar, "which will endow any warrior who wears it with superhuman strength and endurance, and greatly augment his physical size as well. The effects last only as long as the girdle is worn, though; once it is removed they will be gone. The Girdle can only be a temporary solution until a more permanent one can be found. And I left it behind at my residence..."

"I wonder if this young woman would know of yet any other ways to help in this respect..." muttered Magnus.

Just then the dark elf stirred. "Pretty girl... waking up!" said Fenric.

Chun-Li sat up. "Easy, miss," said Rufus, "you've still got a few wounds. By the way, I'm Rufus, and this is Magnus, my mentor in the mystic arts. This is Fenric, my... uhhh... playmate..."

"You may address me as Khadgar," said Khadgar.

"I'm Sir Morguerat, Expatriot of the Keldorn Order," said the paladin.

"I must thank all of you greatly for providing me this refuge," said Chun-Li. "The minions of the Dark Knight were pursuing me, and I was virtually out of mana. Had I not found this place, I would have been done for..."

"Could any of the minions have followed you here?" asked the paladin.

Chun-Li's expression became sober. Quickly she looked around the place, a green glow emanating from her eyes as she did so.

"There are none for now," said Chun-Li. "Not for miles around. If there were, I would have been able to spot them straight away. I know their aura. It is nevertheless possible they might find this place and seek entry, though, so I think I must do something, now that I've regained my mana." The dark elf stood up and turned around and around with her arms stretched out as if performing a dance, and for a moment the surroundings seemed to grow darker. Then all was normal again.

"I've cast an Aura of Darkness around this place," explained the drow. "Whenever a place has been overrun and devastated by the Dark Knight's forces, it will be enshrouded in such an aura, so once any minions of the Dark Knight outside see this aura, they'll think this place has already been overrun by their forces and will therefore leave it alone. We're safe for now. And I can maintain this aura for as long as I have mana."

"Rufus, how many potions of mana have we left?" asked Magnus. "Don't mind checking it out for me."

But as Rufus was preparing to leave, a bright glow appeared in the hall, resolving itself into a large gate through which two figures stepped. They were Sir Jorlon and StoneRock!

"Greetings, friends!" said Sir Jorlon happily. Then the smile on the faces of the two changed to an expression of shock as they saw the diminutive yet strangely familiar man, the aura of darkness that enshrouded the place, and above all the dark elf necromancer...

"What... What's going on??" cried StoneRock. "Has this place been overrun by the Dark Knight's forces already??"

[ 07-15-2002, 09:48 PM: Message edited by: K T Ong ]