From: hutch@hutch (Stephen Hutchison) Date: Tue, 11 Aug 92 05:05:03 GMT Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Subject: Re: [DQ] Week 4: A Wave of shock for some Garg... oyles! As per our usual backup plan, here's the DQ Week4 post. Patrick's machine is still slightly ... twisted. THE DRAGONQUEST: WEEK 4 THE DRAGONQUESTERS: 'Raelf, Kadrys, Valgar, Lancos, ShockWave. Other players: JOIN ANYTIME! (email me first) Keyword: Character Development. WHAT HAS GONE BEFORE: SunStorm has lost his dragonfriend and managed to find some adventurers to help him find TrueSilver. After the obligatory informartion-gathering phase, the group meets back at the inn. SunStorm has found prophetic riddles, 'Raelf has scouted the area, Valgar has brought back a strange book, Kadrys stayed at the inn, and Lancos discovered a small cemetery were TrueSilver might have been. Above all, he was attacked by the same guy who attacked SunStorm during the MOB riots of a few days earlier. Then strangeness happened: a 'Raelf from the future arrives, and suddenly the voice of TrueSilver is heard, calling a Dark Master. The DragonQuesters get out of the inn, SunStorm first. A magical construct, a PyraCubic Diamond, has appeared in the middle of the Plaza of Glittering Steel, and enthralled all those who looked upon it. Kadrys is immune to charm powers, but SunStorm's soul gets sucked into the thing before 'Raelf manages to destroy it, just before the same fate happens to others. Curiously, 'Raelf discovers that the PyraCubvic Diamond is made with Traveller`s magic. The future 'Raelf stays in the inn. Then Krastin, the one in dark plate armor, shouts angrily from the top of a nearby building at 'Raelf for having destroyed the portal, saying he'll have to wait for the new moon. In his rage, he orders his fiends (many gargoyles) to attack 'Raelf, and then proceeds to jump two floors down to the ground, facing Lancos. The battle is joined. The previously enthralled populace flees panickly from the battle Plaza. Kadrys shows incredible feats of strength, Lancos an incredible solo fight with Krastin (and manages to make him flee), Valgar has been too affected by his enthrallment to be able to help correctly at first, 'Raelf is swarmed by many stony gargoyles, and finally ShocWave manages to work up enough willpower to control and animate SunStorm's body, still alive but lacking its soul. The fight is bloddy and fast paced. ================================================================== Gnashtongue and Razorwing dived toward the reduced giant. "Shiny gold armor won't save you softman! Inside you soft!" "I like softdwarfs! Rusty good taste!" ShockWave wasn't impressed. It had fought fiends of the DemonHordes before, and the Sons of the DemonMother are akin to minor dmeons. These two gargoyles didn't faze him (as of a magic sword can be fazed!). Even their stony skin and substance was soft compared to the cristalline structure of the Zweihander. Was bothered him was that with SunStorm gone, his control of the body was very awkward, and the fact that even though SunStorm's body was still just as strong, the fact that it was now reduced to dwarven size and MASS didn't help either. Trying to stay on his two feet wasn't going to be easy. ShockWave tried not to think about what had happened to SunStorm's soul. Grieving never had been his strong point, anyway. The DiamondSword hummed with a blue light. "Come and try to get me!" The two gargoyles appeared surprised, and broke their descent. "Magggic sword!? Hooo, shiny! Softman, now you die, and me get shiny!" "No, me first!" They arced and surrounded the tiny giant. ShockWave tried to swing itself forward, and only manage to trip and make SunStorm's body fall. "Damn, no leverage, no mass, and no speed! This'll never do, not with a 4 feet high guy holding a 7 feet long sword like me! And I'm using power fast!" Gnashtongue was overjoyed to see his opponent fall, and leapt forward for a bite. "No, ME first! HA! Softdwarf not have helm! Stupid dwarf! " Stony maws were crushing the back of SunStorm's neck. Hard. "Yarrrrgh! Oh, I simply *HATE* bonding with a body! Take that back!" Even though SunStorm/ShockWave had even less leverage than before, he managed to let go of his shield and punch the gargoyle straight in the nose only seconds before the monster crushed his head. "Ourgch! swobft dwbarf not bso swobft! Stbrong!" ShockWave tried to roll and get up, but the blade was getting in the way. "Ha, that's the FIRST time I find I'm too long!" Pain was wracking the Sword's bond rapidly. The DiamondSword wasn't used to pain. Usually, it's SunStorm who deals with that part. Ho, well... Razorwing didn't stay inactive during this time. She was just about to show just why she got that name. "Take that, dwarfskin!" ShockWave sensed the blow coming from behond SunStorm: The gargoyle was actually attacking with her wings! Sharp, fast, and dangerous looking, too. It looked as if the monster had taken great care to make her wings' side as thin as razors. One hit from THAT and the sword would have to animate a headless body. "Damn, next time I'll be sure SunStorm doesn't forget his helm AGAIN!" thought the blade while it moved itself to meet the wings. The move unbalanced the dwarven sized giant again, but Razorwing was moving so fast that it would hit well before SunStorm's body would hit the ground. "OOff, deflected it somewhat! I knew I was harder than stone!" But now SunStorm was on his back, and an angry Gnashtongue seized his arms from behind. "Thaass for me nose! Now, split him Razorwing!" The gargoyle was positioning herself for the deathblow. Having SunStorm's head being split in half from forehead to neck was just as bad as having it truncated from the rest of the body, so ShockWave tried to think fast. In millenia of fighting, this was the first time he had so many problems (except maybe counting the time he and sunStorm met TrueSilver). He really wasn't good at animating a body that small. But he could think real fast when it was something related to fighting. "Think fast, SW, or your SS's body's gonna be only good for a paperweight! I can't do anything by myself, the only chance I've got is by using SunStorm's body to it's fullest. I *must* get into to bond like never before." And he did. At that moment, ShockWave stopped *sensing* the gargoyles and actually SAW them. Through SunStorm`s eyes. Sight wasn't something the DiamondSword ever experienced before. At the same time so much more and so far less than what he was used to! He also felt incredibly hot, and the rush SunStorm`s body was in made it look as if time stopped and slowed down. But ShocWave didn't ponder the effects of adrenalin, and he reacted almost instinctively. In fact, it was SunStorm`s instincts that were doing the reacting. A magic sword doesn't normally have instincts. SunStorm grabbed the gargoyle with both arms, dropping the Zeihander altogether, and pulled with all his strength, just as the gargoyle in front of him was swinging it's left wing vertically toward it's head. Gnashhtongue felt an iron grip on his arms, and lost balance, pulled forward by all of SunStorm's half-stone half-storm giant's strength. "Wbhaaaa? Too stbroooong!" The attack from Razorwing was perfectly aimed. The only problem was that now there was a gargoyle on top of SunStorm. "Ha! killed yuuuu... oops, sorry Gnashtongue!" The blow split Gnashtongue in half from neck to waist. Razorwing's wing didn't seem cracked at all. "Gbrawbrk! Ya killed me ya stoopid ..uck" ShockWave suddenly didn't feel all that well at all. He just realized what he'd just done. "My body!" he shouted, looking at himself (well, actually, SunStorm's body was looking desperately at the Zweihander on the steel floor). ShockWave knew that there were only seconds left before the incredible weakness and chill that he now felt would take him over. "No, I won't die!" "Ho, but you WILL die, dwarf, NOW, you DIE!" "Halp!" panicked ShockWave as he tried to push the (nearly) dead gargoyle in the face of Razorwing, with somewhat weak success. But just enough to stop the gargoyle's leap, and let him grab himself again. "Haaaaa. Done it. Boy, does that feel good or what?" "Now, you've done it, dwarfscum!" said the gargoyle as she leaped again on the still prone SunStorm. Gnashtongue was groaning and trying to crawl away, calling to Tonguerot for help and a healing spell. This attracted the attention of a few more gargoyles. Three of them, to be exact. ShockWave managed to get up again. "Shit shit shit. I had two, now I got four! And my energy is starting to get low. Guess it's time to learn "Dwarven sized battle tactics 101 in a crash course!". Razorwing attacked first, because she was the nearest and in an attack frenzy. She held her wing high. Most probably, she was going to do her razor attack again. But this time ShockWave was ready. He managed to come back a little into himself, not wanting to spent too much energy in his bond with SunStorm's body. Somehow, he had trouble doing that. "Now you DIE!" "Ha, how predictable you are!" ShockWave interposed himself, well the part of himself that was the blade anyway, straight perpendicularly in the way of the wing. A wing fell on the floor. The monster was shouting angry cries of pain. ShockWave thrusted forward to make her meet her final fate. When he pulled himself out, he heard and sensed at the same time the noise of sonething above him. Gargoyle dive attack! He didn't have time to move anything but himself. The giant's body was definitely too slow to move, but the Zweihander had good control of at least one part of himself, and so the DiamondSword pointed straight up before even a nearly crushed neck could look up. The incoming gargoyle didn't even have time to break. Instant brochette. The oother two gargoyles were looking at the dwarf, which again fell onto the floor, unable to keep his balance (try to hold a 800 pounds brochette straight up without flinching, ok?). That dwarf-looking softskin had killed three of their number already. He was beginning to earn the respect of beasts whose only sense of value is thoughness. But since he was under one of their dead comrades, and his sword was sticking straight through that same comrade, this meant that they had the advantage. So they decided to rush him. "Softskin lost luck now! Sword stuck in Baldermash! Never liked Baldermash anyway! He was too stoopid! Ha, Angrypaw, which side ya want?" "Me want soft parts! Watch me eat his soft parts, Spiketail! he he." Again, ShocWave felt that he was in a situation he'd only experienced a few moments before. He tried to move out from under the dead gargoyle, but already the two others had piled on him, and were starting to eat him alive. The only thing he could do was trying to protect his head. It was sad that the plate was going to get a few holes, but it's only armor anyway: it's designed for that. The problem here was that ShockWave didn't have enough energy left to make full use of SunStorm's strength through the bond. The only thing left would be to do exactly like before: reach even more fully into SunStorm. That was risky, but this time he wouldn't let himself fall out of SunStorm's hands. The only thing he needed was time. "Wait! Wait!" The sword glowed softly with a blue shimmer "Stop, I can give you the location of a great treasure full of gold." ShockWave was hoping that these gargoyles were exactly like the gargoyles from Titania, and that the saying "Greedy like a crow and three gargoyles" held true everywhere. Well, there was also that other saying "Hungry like a gargoyle", but ShockWave preferred not to thing about that. "Ya got no stinking treasure! Ya only say that so we donna eat ya! Ya don't have gold!" "Ya, let's eat the softparts, Spiketail!" "YES! Yes I have gold! Where do you think I got this armor?" "Hmmm, Angrypaw. Mebe he HAS a treasure." "And mebe not. Me hungry, anyway. Less eat him." "No, less let softdwarf inna hard GOLD armor say where wesscan find gold first. THEN less eat him!" "Mmm. No, les eat him THEN ask about treasure!" "Ya stooppid, Angrypaw. Ya always were just az stoopid as Baldrmash!" "OK, OK, Spiketail. FIRST ask, then EAT. But don't ask too long." The more intelligent of the two gargoyle on top of SunStorm the asked the reduced giantabout this "treasure". "So, where is it? And ya better don't lie ta me, ya stinking softmeat!" "Hmmm, huh, well, it's just outside the city. But you can't eat me right now, or else I won`t show you the way!" "Huh, how youze talking without moving lips?" "Spiketail, thatss enuff asking! Less eat him NOW! Then search for treasure just outside city!" "Hmmm, OK. Me hungry too anyway. Whu? Wha!? Strong dwarf!" ShockWave had succeeded: he delayed these stupid gargoyles just long enough to make his consciousness pass into SunStorm once again. It was MUCH harder this time, tough. As soon as he felt that he was "in" SunStorm's body again, he tried to simply get UP by pushing whatever was on top of him. He succeeded at unbalancing the two gargoyles to the side. Normally, SunStorm would have been able to hold them high up above his head. But SunStorm's will fled with his soul, so the DiamondSword had to provide this control with it's own dwindling energies. "Kill it! I do not car about treasure no more! Hungry!" "Ya, anna want the softparts! Rusty dwarven softtaste!" Angrypaw salivated, and Spiketail attacked. ShockWave had to free himself, so he tried to swing himself forward, to throw the dead body of Baldermash onto Spiketail. He missed, but at least managed to free the blade. Spiketail dodged, and leapt forward. It didn't miss, and SunStorm was on his back AGAIN. "I'm getting tired of this! This must end NOW!" ShockWave then forced the gargoyle's head between the Zweihander's sharp side and his fist, pushing all he could with both hands. He felt pain as the gargoyle tried to shake lose by scratching against SunStorm's face, and swung widly with it's spiky tail, making holes in the magical armor. But with enough will power, the sword finally sensed that the gargoyle's resistance had reached it's limit. There was a snappy crunch, and the gargoyle then lay still, it's stony head broken. Then ShockWave felt pain again, as the other gargoyle was ripping through the armor belly portions. The Zweihander had almost no energy left. This was now all or nothing. Too weak to push Spiketail's body to the side, not enough manoeuverability, ShockWave was beginning to think that he should simply have swung widely in broad circular patterns as soon as that battle started, just to keep them at bay. Now he had no ideas how to get to that gargoyle. He tried swinging at it, but the blade only chipped little bits off the back of the beast, who was crouching behind it's defeated friend. Trying to swing over and around that gargoyle wasn't easy. But SunStorm`s OTHER arm was free. Not long or powerful enough to grab at the gargoyle from under, no. But ShockWave just remembered that SunStorm had a mace when he started this fight. He must have dropped it when he became enthralled by that pyracubic diamond thing, but the whole fight he had stayed approximately in one place. He tried to sense the weapon, which should have been near. To no avail: he was really "into" SunStorm this time. So he tried to forget about the pain, and looked around, on the floor. There it was, just behind his head. He reached and grabbed it, and made a broad low swing on his right side, and hit the gargoyle's leg. That managed to stop it from trying to get through SunStorm's armor. "Yaaarh. Kill ya, dwarfscum!" But now that Angrypaw had moved back, SunStorm was able to let Spiketail's body fall on its left side. SunStorm crouched, and managed to hold ShockWave in a horizontal position, although quite shaky. The light from the sword was no more than a shivering flicker. The gargoyle then got up, ready to jump and attack an enemy apparently on the brink of exhaustion. But Angrypaw managed to see a gargoyle body lying in pieces on his side: Tonguerot, his leader! Angrypaw then became aware that most of his fellows had been vanquished by the DragonQuesters, and that Krastin was nowhere in sight. "I won't flee until yar dead, dwarfscum!" "Try me!" said SunStorm, getting up again, trying to look as fierce as possible, dropping the mace and holding the sword with both hands again. Angrypaw then quickly decided to keep the better part of valor to himself, and took off. ShockWave was too tired to care about the gargoyle getting away. He'd never felt that tired of his whole life. Except maybe that time when that DemonSpawn leader had cast a Mordenkainen's Disjunction at him. Now that the enemies had been dispatched or had fled, ShockWave had only one thing to do to insure his continued existence. ShockWave was feeling ill, and weaker and weaker. He knew that this was because his consciousness was inside SunStorm's mind instead of where it SHOULD be: inside the nearly dark magical crystalline sword. He tried to make himself reenter his own "true" body. "Arrh, too hard! Too weak!" And he passed out, falling on the steely pavement of the Glittering Steel Plaza, between SunStorm`s shield and mace, amidst a half dozen gargoyles bodies. Only a flicker persisted in the sword. And you really had to look at it in the dark of the night to be able to see it. TO BE CONTINUED! Don't miss our exxxxciting new episode! Next week, on Star... ooops! ===================================================================== SAQ: "When it rains (gargoyles), it pours."