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Old 06-09-2006, 12:49 PM   #241
dplax
Jack Burton
 

Join Date: July 19, 2003
Location: an expat living in France
Age: 40
Posts: 5,577
Andrion Wilgor

Despite the fatigue in his wings, despite his muscles already tired from the relentless circling above the Tower of Shadow one thing made Andrion go on. The Mage had mentioned something about Andrion getting out of the owl body he was in.

What Andrion had hoped for seemed to be possible. He only needed his own head. The miles seemed to fly below him, but eventually even the elation was not enough to keep him going and he had to rest. The day passed rapidly and in the next morning Andrion set out with renewed vigor.

It was around midday when he spotted the dull greyness of Castle Lesismoore as a smear on the horizon. A smear and a disgrace which would forever shame Andrion. Being overcome only through numerical superiority could not lessen the humiliation he felt as he circled the castle.

Inside those walls where he had fallen, he could feel nothing. He could pick up no trace of his missing head, nothing whatsoever, neither could he pick up any trace of the drow who had taken it. Then suddenly he felt it. It was a very weak sensation, but something seemed to be tugging at him, willing him to approach. Nothing but a treacherous bog lay in that direction, but Andrion knew better than not to trust his instincts.

Above the swamp the pull was definitely stronger, and was almost as a physical force, pulling Andrion towards the slimy waters. Andrion did not resist the attraction and soon he spotted the first difficulty since he had set out. A chuul was sleeping on a flat rock in the middle of the swamp, close to a cloth bag, which Andrion could instantly feel contained what he was looking for.

The oversized insect looked definitely capable of devouring the body of an owl in a matter of seconds. Andrion was not aware of the fact that this particular chuul was quite content with what it had eaten in the last forty eight hours. A drow was a tasty and filling meal. It was with utmost caution that Andrion approached the sack. His owl claws made short work of it, and finally he spotted what he was seeking.

There were two heads in the sack, his own and one which he did not recognize. The second head seemed to move its mouth, but Andrion was ready for it and with a rapid movement of his claws, he tore the tongue out.

The damp swamp air and insects had already started devouring the heads and rot was starting to settle in on the right side of his face, but it was Andrion's own head, the last remaining part of his body. He grabbed hold of the head with his claws, but found that in his tired state, after having flown for most of the last three days he could not even move it.

Nearby the chuul stirred, but continued sleeping. Andrion, unable to budge the rotting lump of flesh, decided to go with a radical solution. Working swiftly and silently with both beak and claws he tore chunks of flesh from the head.

The chuul was still unmoving when Andrion flew off, carrying an eye in one claw, a chunk of flesh in his beak and an ear in his other claw. The long journey back to the tower had begun.
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