Rancid Chronicles: part 6

There is a little Sun Tzu in all of us.
Locked
Lo Ki
Seeder
Seeder
Posts: 46
Joined: Fri Feb 14, 2003 12:24 am
Location: Michigan

Rancid Chronicles: part 6

Post by Lo Ki » Wed Oct 08, 2003 3:18 am

I awoke to the smell of mulled wine. Flickering lights played beneath the door. I rose and pulled on a robe as I moved to the door. Opening it a little I peered into the next room. The fire which I had banked for the night had been stoked and the dancing flames provided the light I had seen under my door. In the overstuffed chair by the fire sat Rancid. I had locked up before retiring; but, that was scant obstacle to the small traveler. A bottle, not his usual, sat in the holder by the fire and it filled the room with the aroma of spices and wine. I sat down at my desk, lit a candle, and pulled out paper and ink. He began to speak.

"Most people are too trusting. Not that I am complaining, mind you, because it has saved my skin several times. I mentioned before that some friends and I were investigating a cell of the dragon cult. We tracked them into the sewers of this very city. We found a secret passage out of the sewers and into an underground complex. They had left some pitiful excuses for traps; nothing that I couldn't handle. We were after information so we slipped through the passages and avoided most of the inhabitants; those we could not avoid we quietly ambushed and hid their bodies.

All was going well until we entered one large hall. We were creeping along the wall at one side when that wall suddenly disappeared. It had apparently been an illusion. In the chamber beyond was the skeleton of a huge dragon, and it moved! We tried to flee but we were too slow. We found ourselves trapped in a bubble of magical power. Both our mage and our priest tried to counter the magic, and failed.

'The dragon-lich laughed at our feeble attempts to escape. "Well, well. What do we have here?" he asked. His voice sounded like a harsh wind blowing sand through the ruins of some ancient temple. "Why are you here? I did not send for you." The skeletal form moved closer.

'Kellan, the lady killer, started forward but was restrained by the others. Being the only one free at the moment I had to speak for us. "We came to kick your ass!" I said. The scuffling behind me ceased. Everyone was stunned by my announcement.

The dragon-lich laughed again. He laughed long and loud. It started to get annoying. He finally regained his composure but a chuckle still slipped out now and then. “It has been long since I have been so amused,” he said. “Perhaps you can amuse me further. Instead of killing you outright, I will give you a chance to live. I will match each of you with an opponent from my dungeons who is at least your equal. You will fight to the death. The winner will rewarded with his freedom. Of course, before you go, I will place a geas on you so that you may never tell others of me or this place; that should torment you for quite some time.” The creature turned to Kellan. “You shall go first just to rid me of your stench.” Then he turned back to me. “And you, little one, will be last. I think I could grow to like you.”

‘Suddenly the world began to whirl and blackness enveloped us. Then we found ourselves in a room about ten human paces across. The whirling continued in my stomach. Someone began to heave and suddenly the smell of vomit filled the room. That cinched it, soon everyone was throwing up. What a stench! Once we had finally settled, someone noticed that Kellan was no longer with us. Once we recovered from that shock, my companions began to blame me for everything, again. Seems like someone’s always blaming me for something. I finally convinced them that we would all have been dead by now if I hadn’t spoke up. Then we heard the dragon-lich’s laughter through the rock. We would never see Kellan again. Our mage was just getting ready to try another spell to get us out of there when he suddenly disappeared. Everyone went nuts again so I just sat in a corner and tried to get some sleep. Over the next few hours my companions disappeared, one by one. The priest was the last before me and he was in hysterics. I was not surprised that he did not survive. Finally my turn came. The room, and my stomach, whirled.

‘I found myself in a large circular room facing another halfling; but, he was wearing plate armor and holding a nasty looking sword. I wouldn’t have a chance. The dragon-lich’s voice filled the room. “here’s your opponent, my bold little friend. He is last surviving member of a group of do-gooders who also came to ‘kick my ass’. I knew I would find a use for him someday. And for you, noble warrior, here is a sneaky little thief. Kill him and you will be doing the world a favor. Let the battle begin.”

‘Thief! I’m no thief! Sneaky, yes. Grave robber, sure, but not a thief… usually. Anyway I had to act fast; so I stuck out my hand and stepped towards my opponent. “Well, may the best halfling win,” I said. He hesitated a moment and then shook my hand. “Tell you what,” I said. “You start on that side of the room and I’ll start on this one.” He seemed somewhat confused but agreed and turned to go to his side. That’s when I drew my dagger and shoved it home under the bottom edge of his back-plate. He was pretty game, but all I had to do was stay out of reach until he bled out. Never turn your back on an enemy.

‘The dragon-lich guffawed for several minutes and the room shook with his laughter. I was beginning to worry it would collapse on me before the fiend finally calmed down. “Well, little sneak, you are quite entertaining. You shall have your freedom, and a bit extra.” Once again, I whirled, and hurled though my stomach was totally empty. This time I found myself standing in a city street. There was a stinging sensation on the back of my left hand. When I looked, I discovered this tattoo.” Rancid held up his hand to show me the tattoo of a dragon’s head which covered it. “It probably saved my life later on; but, that’s another story.”

The small adventurer took another draught of mulled wine before rising and heading toward the door. “You should really invest in better locks,” he said as he headed out into the night.
Lo Ki Level 80 sword
Brion Level 46 spear
Ahn Lo Level 49 four school mage
K'tellen Level 52 trade mule

Locked