Hazardous Times: Chapter XI "Fit For A Queen"

[mistral4543]

OOC>>> Btw, welcome, LadyBlue! [img]graemlins/happywave.gif[/img] Thanks for joining

IC>>>
Legolas

As he sensed the sisters' intuitive fear, he began to survey their surroundings more carefully. As long as he avoided the feet of the dragon - which were certainly obvious to all, it would be alright to move about, SILENTLY. That was not a problem, since he had long gained experience on silent trekking. His own acute hearing discerned a familiar breathing pattern which hopefully the dragon did not (since its head was perched up proudly and pronouncing judgement on the others pompously)... it was his Sorsha.

Carefully now, he treaded closer to her and reached for her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze and smiling reciprocally.

[Attalus]

OOC>> very good first post, Ladyblue. Please do continue. IC>>

KINN'ZUWANNIK (turns his head towards Sanael) "And why are you smirking, elf? Do you think that I am performing for your benefit? I have laid elf towns in smoking ruins, before, just as I have human and dwarf ones." (He glares back at Blandamour, and a small whine appears in his voice.) "And why, my old friend, have you appeared in arms in my very den? Is it this one?" (He flicks his blue-black tongue at Gudrun) "You may see for yourself that she has come to no harm. I am merely holding her as security for what her father had stolen from me. Surely, you did not think that I would have harmed her?"

SIR BLANDAMOUR (grimly) "It is about her Highness that I have indeed come, Kinn'zuwannik, and my companions, also. You cannot claim that holding her shackled to the wall, with not a stitch on, not even a blanket that I can see, is responsible stewardship for the surety of what you and her father apparently crave so much."

[Cerek the Barbaric]

Addison's heart was pounding so hard, he felt sure the dragon could hear it. He was about to reach for Gudrun's manacles when the dragon's tongue had suddenly flicked across her body. Sweat poured down his face, stinging his eyes, and his palms were clammy.

He hadn't expected the dragon to pay such close attention to the princess once Blandamour showed up. Now he wasn't sure what to do. It didn't seem likely that they could just "sneak" the princess out, yet Blandamour was going to d his actions until the princess was safe

He forced the doubts out of his mind and calmed his breathing and heartrate as he had learned at the monastary. His pulse relaxed and his breathing returned to normal. When he looked back at the princess, all fear of the dragon was put behind him and he concetrated on the shackles. They were embedded in the rock wall, but not too deeply. He could probably pull them out if he tried, but that would be difficult....and noisy. No, they needed to grab the princess and leave as quickly as possible. He would just have to trust his magic to protect them if they were spotted.

Stepping up next to the princess, he whispered to her softly.

"Stay calm, Lady Gudrun. Help is at hand. I am going to cast a spell to free you from these shackles. As soon as they come loose, head for the back of the cave. I will guide you out to safety."

Just then, the dragon roars loudly at Sir Blandamour. Addison uses the noise to cover his spellcasting. He quickly casts a Knock spell on the shackles, causing them to pop open. Gudrun slumps towards the ground as her arms fall free and Addison places an arm around her shoulders to support her.

"This way, princess - with all haste. Come friends, let's escort the lady out to safety back the way we came."

He heads off without waiting for an answer. His arm is still around Gudrun, guiding her towards the back entrance.

"My sword and armor are hidden in the back of the cavern. I must have them." Gudrun protests.

"We will worry about that once you are safe, princess. If the dragon chooses to fight, we will explore his cave thoroughly once he is vanquished."

OOC>> OK, I'll leave it right there for now. There are several possible scenarious that could be played out here.
1) The dragon may spot the princess leaving and attack.
2) Legolas, Sorsha, and/or Isaura may decide to stay and fight the dragon.
3) Gudrun may INSIST that they recover her weapons and armor before leaving the cavern.

So I will leave our group at the back of the cave for now and wait to see what everybody else does before continuing.

[Lady Blue03]

Gudrun

Gudrun stopped and looked up at the mage who had resuced her,"I must insist," she protested,"if the dragon catches me, I'll have a better chance of escaping with my weapons."

Without waiting for his response, she cast Invisibility on herself and crept silently back towards the cavern behind Kinn'zuwannik.

She slipped silently past the dragon and into the cavern, breathing a small sigh of relief that he had not noticed her. Looking around the small cave, filled with the dragons treasures that he had saved from his past victims, she saw her equipment laying in a pile a few feet from the entrance.

She sorted through the pile and pulled out the armour she had crafted herself: a black steel half plate with winged shoulder plates, lined with intricate gold designs. She hastily grabbed her thin black shirt and jammed it on, then quietly put her armour on, being careful not to drop it. Next came the gray pants, tight fitting so as not to hinder her in close combat. Then her small boots, that made her more light on her feet. A thin circlet with a small diamond that hung at her forehead helped boost her rather weak mage skills. At the very bottom, her two long swords lay, glowing blue and white. She happily picked them up and slid them into their sheaths at her sides.

She tip-toed back to the mage and touched his arm. She was ready.

OOC>>Knock one thing off your list Cerek . Now its in the others hands

EDIT: Attalus, check your PMs

[ 07-13-2002, 02:22 AM: Message edited by: Lady Blue03 ]

[TAOWolf]

OOC: welcome and well posted, LadyBlue!!

IC:
She turns her muzzle to the sky, and howls as a name appears in her mind......."Gudrun".......

She swiftly touches the bracer around her neck and shifts to her human form.....feeling that there is more she should be told, after the telling of her own story.....

"I begin my story............"

[ 07-13-2002, 12:54 AM: Message edited by: TAOWolf ]

[Attalus]

KINN'ZUWANNIK (As he is talking to Blandamour, he is suddenly aware that part of his horde has been stolen. A quick look around shows the empty manacles. He spins about and sees the fleeing figures. He lunges at them, but they have gone too far back in the cavern for his huge form to fit. He lets out a mighty bellow) THIEVES!!! I SHALL BOIL YOU! {He lets loose a huge cloud of boiling acid at Addison's group.)

[Galadria]

ooc>> LadyBlue, how nice to see you. [img]graemlins/happywave.gif[/img] Good writing, dear. [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img] IC>

LADY GALADRIA (She has been forcing herself not to attack the sneering dragon, and now she lets herself immerse in the battle fury. She jumps nimbly over the lashing tail, and shashes with her sword into the right thigh. Her sword rebounds from the heavy black scales, but the enchantment in it to the bane of her foes loosen a black scale, which falls to the ground. Reversing her grip, she stabs deep into the muscle below.) "IN MY FATHER'S NAME1!

[Ar-Cunin]

Originally posted by Attalus: OOC>> very good first post, Ladyblue. Please do continue. {DITTO from me [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img] } "And why are you smirking, elf?

OOC: You're really getting to know Sanael, Attalus - those comments would make him smile/grin/smirk

IC:

As the Dragon attacks, Sanael retreats to the cave-opening taking advantage of a stone outcropping for added protection. There he raises bow and starts firing off arrows - trying to find a weak spot in the dragons armor - focusing his attacks on its head.

[ 07-13-2002, 11:41 AM: Message edited by: Ar-Cunin ]

[Cyril Darkcloud]

For Raymond

THE GROVE

“How peacefully he sleeps,” Melpomene says quietly. “But there is doubt beneath this peace.” Stepping softly, she moves among the figures and places of the young man’s dreaming. There is a harmony about things, but it is the clumsy harmony of wishing, a harmony that is hoped for more than it is possessed. It is the harmony of a dream, and it is the harmony for which he dreams. She smiles with delight at this. It is always a joy to stand so near to the great desires of so innocent a heart. But this is a heart that has been wounded in its innocence and the sting of that wound is alive beneath the almost desperate wishfulness of the dreaming. “She is a greater witch than I had imagined to cast this one aside so easily. Her heart must truly be a thing of wood.” Melpomene’s eyes narrow as the old and bitter wound in her own heart, a wound over one who was not worth her love in the first place, stirs in its quiet and constant anger. Her fingers tighten around the delicate carving made from the wood that had once been Tobias. “We have so much more in common than I first had thought, my young friend,” she whispers.

She waits until the anger of her heart subsides before looking once more at the idyllic setting of the young man’s dreaming. She breathes deeply, drawing the emotions of the dreams into herself and savoring their scent. “Raymond,” she exhales his name with the breath of his own hopes. “Raymond,” she says once more and his excitement about the new possibilities he has discovered here carry his name to where he might he hear it. “Raymond,” she says again and names him now in terms of the wide-eyed day dreams of his childhood. “Raymond,” she whispers, and a panther moves with a swift and graceful playfulness across the landscape of his dreaming. “Raymond,” she repeats, “your life is calling to you and it is time to listen.”

ooc: I’ll stop here to give you a chance to respond before the really heavy stuff starts to happen [img]graemlins/blueblink.gif[/img]

[Lady Blue03]

OOC>>Thanks Gal and Cunin! I especially like Sanael's attitude, Cunin, so the princess might befriend him

IC>>

Gudrun

Opening her mouth to thank the mage, she was interupted by Kinn'zuwanikk's roar, "THIEVES! I SHALL BOIL YOU!"
Looking behind her, she sees a massive cloud of acid moving quickly down the small passage to where they were.

Before she could react, the mage grabbed her arm and yanked her out the entrance, "Over here princess!", he pulled her into a small alcove away from the entrance.

The acid flew out the cave, lingered in a dissapting cloud, and dissapeared. Gudrun jumped at the sound of the dragons roar, then she darted out of the alcove, quickly drawing out her glowing long swords,"That worm will pay for what he did to me!" she charged into the cave, and directly to Kinn'zuwannik's left front foot. She had watched him long enough to know that it often bothered him when stood on too long.

Following his foot while he stamped around in fury, he finally paused long enough for her to get in a hit, "FOR TORGA'NATH!!!", she cried, and brought both swords down on his scaled foot, causing him to jerk it away. His head swung around and glared at her,"YOU!".
Gudrun grinned and waved a sword at him, then quickly sped to where the lady paladin was about to make a strike on the dragons bared flesh. She braced herself as the sword dug into the dragons thigh.