Time: the future. The future is NOW. Place: Dragon's Inn Who: SunStorm and the Seekers of Lost Dragons Things have been going very strangely for our group of attempted heroes. One of their number has returned before they started, and refuses to tell them what their fates will be. They only know that they should seek in the caves, not knowing where they are. Valgar has sought (and found) maps of local caves, and the legends which accompany them. There are three which seem likely candidates. And Lancos was attacked, in Low Town, by someone who might just be the Dark Armor of the quest-riddle oracle, and the strange remarks made by that individual about the mysterious amulet Lancos bears. And his friend in the guards had spotted the dragon on his way out of the city, and Lancos had found his footprint, in a graveyard to the south of the city. This makes the caves directly south of town more likely yet. Sometime early in the morning, 'Raelf has been busy. He has healed Thk of his injuries, in exchange for a better knowledge of the local Common tongue. And at the table, 'Raelf has begun covertly examining Lancos' amulet, creating a number of tiny spheres whose archetypal natures would react meaningfully with the magic of the amulet. The discussion continues about the most likely cave, and about how to approach the search. The discussion is rudely interrupted. Shockwave began shouting. "Wait! Can't you HEAR?" (On the table in front of 'Raelf, the spheres, un-noticed, flash with color and evaporate. If 'Raelf had seen them, he would not have believed their message.) Nearby people at other tables suddenly fall silent and turn their attention to the DragonQuestors' table. A chorus of "What" was led by SunStorm. "What, what? You mean you don't hear him?" the sword was peeved. "Him who?" the giant demanded. "TrueSilver! Who else?" "WHAT? You hear him? What does he say?" "Shut up!!! I'm trying to ... gone!" A moment of silence fell upon the whole group. SunStorm finally broke in. "Gone? Well, what DID he say?" "Not much. He repeated three words over and over." SunStorm (apparently not succeeding very well at keeping his "Well, don't just hover there. Help me wake him up." ShockWave replied, quietly dignified. "'My Dark Master', over and over... I'm sure it was his voice. It seemed to grow nearer and nearer, until it finally -and abruptly- stopped completely just when I was sure the 'voice' was going to 'feel' so near I could have touched it!" SunStorm tried to control his emotions. Fear for his friend was making him rude to another friend. "How come only you heard it?" 'Raelf(the original) interrupted gently, "Sounds like magic to me." Shockwave replied delightedly. "Yes, that's what I thought it was like: a magical vibration." And suddenly EVERYBODY heard it... "my dark master... My Dark Master..." 'Raelf (the older) wrinkled his nose in disgust. Why, he thought, why did these megalomaniac evil villains insist on obvious, blatant names? No more subtle villains, not since Fu Manchu died. His younger self was listening with all his senses and then some. Waste of time but he doesn't know that yet. SunStorm shouted. "TrueSilver! It's *YOU*!?! Where are you?" The voice began to grow louder and louder (or maybe nearer and nearer), til it seemed to come from just outside the inn!!! "...My Dark Master... MY DARK MASTER... *MY* *DARK* *MASTER* !!!" SunStorm got up and ran towards the outside of the inn, completely oblivious to the other DragonQuestors (and to caution). Kadrys followed closely behind, pursued by Valgar. "TrueSilver?!? *WHO* are you, you who use his voice???" shouted the giant, over the growing din of the dragon's adoring voice. A sudden gust of wind scrambled SunStorm's hair just as he was getting outside. SunStorm damned himself for forgetting to put on his helm *again*. Inside, Lancos has begun grabbing his weaponry, preparing to Lancos noticed it in passing as he ran to follow - oh well. He bent to get it, and his own weapons. 'Raelf begins pulling the upper part of his voidsuit over his body, sealing the edges as he goes. Strange lights were making the Plaza of Glittering Steel glimmer with an eerie glow. Something was really going on there. .....whoooooosh Kadrys felt the pull of a charmspell wash over him, without effect, ignoring him as though he were no more alive than the cobblestones in the street. "Charm Magic!" he shouted in warning, "Don't LOOK!" SunStorm stared. "*WHAT* is that???" A white sphere of light came instantly into existence just at the center of the plaza, causing the strange clapping sound. Just as the light receded, a geometrical shape appeared in its center, still floating, just above the ground, at head level. It was pitch black, with a purple glow all over it. The shape was very strange looking. Light around the object seemed to bend as if to go around it, making the image of objects behind it seem completely distorted and multiples. SunStorm stepped forward toward the incongruity in the very fabric of space, drawn to examine it. "WHAT is that? It seems like a cube or something... no, it's diamond shaped... or maybe a pyramid.. it's... very....... s-t-r-a...n...g.........e....." The object was a paradox, a shape that can't exist. It was like a cube with as many sides as a pyramid, but looking more like a diamond, then changing perspective, turning inside-out. It drew the onlookers. Certainly, it had SunStorm enthralled. (Kadrys tried in vain to block the giant's view...) Shcokwave (still inside) was shouting at anyone who would listen. "What's going on? WHAT is going ON? Someone, bring me OUTSIDE, NOW!" 'Raelf pulled the arms of his voidsuit into place as his older self looked on. Waves of distortion passed through the room, causing the runes on his board to glow in response. He kicked it up, and in a graceful move, was in place on the board - KLIK - boots locked tight. He grabbed the sword down from the wall in passing, surprised at its weight - a sword, even that size, shouldn't weigh more than 50 pounds. Lancos was near, with the helm, getting ready to go out. "Lancos! Here! He'll want this!" said 'Raelf, then realized that the sword was disproportionally heavy - Lancos would be slowed. He decided to risk tying up a bit more power in a transient spell. <> and Lancos strength increased as he felt the power of stone feed into his body from the ground below. The sword was manageable. He ran to the door, stopping in surprise when he reached the street. Shockwave was surprised into silence. The construct was even trying to snare HIM! 'Raelf slid into the air, passing through the top half of the doorframe. Kadrys' voice, strangely distorted, reached his ears, but he couldn't make it out. He looked into the square. There was a trapfield construction, an unusual multidimensional energy construct. It carried at least one spell in its folds. The mind-capture spell blunted against his protective wards, unable to find him. <> he said, touching the amulet at his chest. A single pass around the thing would catch its structure and he could study it later. He circled, cautiously, noticing the gathering crowd of mesmerized onlookers. He arced around, coming to a stop next to SunStorm and Kadrys. The dark-eyed thief was glaring at the object, slapping the condensed giant across the face, to no effect. More onlookers, like SunStorm, were caught up in the thing. They all felt the same sensation: Incredible Inexplicable Absolute and Total Fascination. Nothing else in the world mattered; it spun faster around them, only the pyracubic diamond shaped object was important, it was the center of the world, of the universe, it was only important to look deeper and be lost in the twisting. It was keening, making a siren-call that drowned all thought. Shockwave tried to shout above the siren-song. "This looks like major trouble!!! SUNSTORM! WHATEVER IT IS, SNAP OUT OF IT!!! THINK ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE! *ANYTHING*!!!" (SunStorm's thoughts crawled at an agonizingly slow pace)... Lancos was struggling to regain his own mind. He fought up out of the murkiness - " noth.. ing ... is.. im.. possible." But the pyracubic object was capturing more victims. Lancos broke free, and placed Shockwave in SunStorm's hands, carefully avoiding looking at the contravoluted shape. Valgar stood nearby, captured, and Lancos went to his aid. 'Raelf was becoming angry. Keep your center, he told himself. His older self was watching from the door of the Inn. He waved a salute. (Beside him, a stranger from the Inn stepped out, tried to shape a spell, but apparently left out the bit that would have projected it beyond his personal aura. It fizzled, and he retreated.) This thing must be stopped. It's just a simple energy loop trap. Let's see... He watched as the shifting shapes repeated - that, there, he slid closer, preparing a focussed point of elemental instability - the small facet came forward again, and he slid the point into the tiny flaw in the apex of the facet. Cracks began to spread through the structure - each face was a different thing - one was fire, one was smoke, one was broken glass, one was vinegar - and the spell construct dissolved. There on the ground was a chip of glass, a curl of lead foil from a wine bottle, three drops of blood from a magpie's heart, and a bit of ectoplasm that evaporated as he reached for it. He slid over to the giant. His eyes were beginning to focus again. The sword was leaning against his body where Lancos had left it. Kadrys stood by, concerned. "Well, don't just hover there. Help me wake him up."