From m.m.gunn@xtra.co.nzWed Mar 11 22:39:47 1998 Date: Thu, 12 Mar 1998 18:08:35 +1300 From: Mike and Micky Gunn To: "dagrfall@ods.com" Cc: Christopher John Cunliffe <698cunliffecj@deanery.wigan.sch.uk>, Kristy , Tom du Barry Subject: [PORC] Into the unknown > Twilight, who'd been silent for some time, turned to face the latest > arrival - a Nord from the look of her - and spoke, her voice laced with > weariness and a hint of suspicion. "I know not from whence you came but > your unexpected arrival bears testament to the fell power of this > place. Had you another destination in mind ere you were wrenched > here?" The flame-haired Nord nodded and Twilight continued in a more > cordial tone. "Care you then to enlighten us as to your name and > intentions?" The stranger appeared unruffled by Twilight's challenge and was apparently in no hurry to provide an answer. Coolly appraising first her surroundings then the companions one by one, her gaze calmly met the Elven woman's increasingly suspicious stare. Finally she answered. "My name is Pilar....Pilar Kent, and as to how I ended up here," she gestured at the expanse of desert around them and shrugged, "I have not the slightest idea! Rest assured however that I mean you no harm." She turned to face Tenaka. "I apologise for uh....dropping in on you like that. I trust you are unhurt?" Tenaka's wry smile and formal half-bow was reassuring. "I am well - thanks in no small part to my armour - but we dark elves are made of far sterner stuff than you might think." Pilar smiled and turned back to Twilight. "Your assumption was indeed correct - I fully expected to arrive elsewhere. Perhaps you have room in your party for one more?" So saying, Pilar extended her arm, palm open in a gesture of friendship. Twilight sensed the Nord had spoken candidly and relaxed her stance somewhat. "Forgive my terseness Pilar Kent," she said, clasping the offered hand with her own and gripping it firmly, "but we have encountered much malevolence in this hostile place and I wager my last, precious ration of water that greater peril still lies ahead." She indicated the dark citadel, hunched over the dunes like a nightmarish beast of prey about to pounce on its next unsuspecting victim. "That is where we intend to go - into the very "Heart" of the place." Mea and J'layah grinned half-heartedly at the pun and Twilight spent the next several minutes explaining their quest while Tenaka and Pilar listened intently, grave expressions on their faces. "And so after the tunnel collapsed and excavation proved futile, we decided to try another approach and march through yon front gate," she finished. "You are both welcome to join us but I know not what lies ahead." It took the newcomers mere seconds to make their decision, and shortly afterward four women and one man marched purposefully ever closer to the menacing bulk and unknown dangers. Some twenty yards from the raised portcullis they discovered the putrefying remains of a man - a mage, judging by the looks of his bloodstained robes and shattered staff. Twilight cast an experienced eye over the corpse. "Hmmm, looks like he had a *very* bad fall - note how the limbs are placed at such unusual angles, and see there..where a couple of snapped ribs have pierced the flesh? Also, the dried trickles of blood around his mouth, nose and ears would indicate he fell from a great height." She looked up at the lofty towers and crenellated parapets high above them, hand shielding her eyes from the relentless glare. "I cannot help but wonder how he met with such a grisly end." J'layah blanched and shifted uneasily...not being blessed with a cast iron stomach this sort of thing made her nauseous. "Perhaps we could move on? There is nothing we can do for this man anyway, except bury him and we do not have time for that." Twilight tore her gaze from the citadel's heights to regard J'layah with an amused expression on her face. "Surely you are not squeamish my young friend? A delicate stomach and a soft heart are poor ingredients for an aspiring adventurer." J'layah looked unconvinced so she continued. "Myself, I have seen death aplenty - so much so that a sight like this affects me not in the least nowadays." To emphasise her point she prodded the bloated cadaver with the tip of her ebony katana. The razor sharp blade effortlessly pierced the dead man's abdomen, releasing pent-up gasses with a loud "FSSSSSSS". The stench was truly indescribable. J'layah dashed behind the nearest sand dune and violent retching sounds drowned out Twilight's soft chuckles. Mea turned toward her, eyes wide in amazement. "Why Twilight, I never knew you possessed such a mean streak!" "Ah Mea, there is much about me you do not know, and best it should remain so. Look you, our sensitive comrade returns." J'layah tottered towards them, giving the corpse a wide berth as she rejoined the group. "Feeling better?" asked Twilight, and J'layah nodded, smiling weakly. "Good, then let us make haste. We have tarried here too long." Without awaiting a reply or even looking back, Twilight strode up to the citadel's huge, open maw and was soon swallowed up by the darkness beyond....