Path: usenet.ee.pdx.edu!news.reed.edu!nntp.teleport.com!psgrain!news.sprintlink.net!uunet!in1.uu.net!not-for-mail From: Guido Roessling Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.archives Subject: STORY: Qelrik part 77 Followup-To: rec.games.frp.misc Date: 5 Jul 1995 08:49:16 -0400 Organization: TU Darmstadt Lines: 147 Sender: smm@uunet.uu.net Approved: smm@uunet.uu.net Distribution: world Message-ID: <3te1oc$ota@rodan.UU.NET> NNTP-Posting-Host: rodan.uu.net This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ---------------------------------292731613112662098976071971 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii *** Take a look at the Qelrik WWW page at http://www.pu.informatik.th-darmstadt.de/dida/qelrik.html !!! **** ---------------------------------292731613112662098976071971 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain =========================================================================== Collision =========================================================================== Fox's legs were starting to burn from exhaustion, as they ran through the winding corridors. Twice she tripped, stumbling badly, but she ran on. Ahead, she could see the vague form of the panther loping ahead, the twitch of its long, sinewy tail. Her sense-net was developing holes -- or what Fox had learned to call as such. Pockets where she could not detect anything. She had kept it up far too much in the past hours. Normally, she kept a slightly elevated awareness of what was going on around her, but she did not keep the net flung so far for so long. She needed food and sleep, and plenty of both. The very idea of some of the state dinners she had eaten in her master's keep and in the Imperial Palace made her stomach want to beat the rest of her into submission. She was almost nauseous, she was so hungry. She knew with the increase of the vampiric nature her metabolism would quicken. More food would be needed to maintain herself. Soon the food need would change to a need for pure energy, then life-essense. She had been warned, and she had just drunk from the Chalice again. Already, her muscular body required twice as much food as most women her height and age, and it had increased with every sip of the Chalice. Expected though this was, she was annoyed by it. At last, she decided to drop the sense-net, and just send small queries every now and again. She did not detect orcs and had not for some time. It was probably safe to give herself that much rest. They ran on. After some minutes had passed, Fox spotted a small side corridor and sent a small query flinging into it. Empty. A whiff of fresher air shocked her brain as they passed it. "This way!" Fox exclaimed, skidding to a sudden halt and changing directions, ducking into the small corridor. Gernodt shouted a protest -- she knew this more from the tone of his voice than from the words she could not quite hear -- but she could tell he followed. She let the sense-net collapse completely as she followed the scent of the fresh air. Her legs no longer burned, and she pushed herself harder, faster. She led them through the winding corridors, around this turn and that, around a very sharp, blind turn -- Fox had only a momentary impression of blinding color before smashing hard into something softer than a rock, but not by much. Something hard and unyielding dug into her solar plexus and she fell, gasping. "OOOFF!" Fox heard, as both she and the figure she crashed into fell to the ground, the lantern making a loud clatter as it fell too (but did not go out). Fox leapt to her feet, feeling the strain, and instantly readied her sword for combat, despite the fact her breath seemed to sit in her chest like a leaden weight. "Egad!" the figure said as it sat up and shook its head. "You might have given a chap some warning, what?" Fox relaxed only slightly as she realised this was a man and not an Orc. At least, she thought it was a man. His face was obscured by his very bright blue cape which had become wrapped around himself. In fact, she noticed, all his clothing was the same bright colour. 'What idiot would draw such attention to himself?' she wondered. The man slowly untangled his clothing to reveal himself as such. Then, in a move faster than a normal human should be capable of, he jumped to his feet, recovered his lantern, and stood two paces back. Still, he did not draw the sword sheathed at his side, but rather doffed his wide feathered cap in a graceful sweeping motion and bowed. "Sir Percy Featherstonehoff-Fartheringay-Fipps, at your service," he introduced himself. Fox noticed the man look at her, and almost _through_ her. He seemed to quickly apprise himself of every feature about her, both in her appearance and in what she carried. She caught a raised eyebrow from him that seemed to say "Most interesting." It made her very uncomfortable. Still bewildered and almost automatically Fox replied curtly. "Fox. What the hell are you doing here?" "Why, my dear, I am currently bivouacked in these very halls, immersed in the study of a civilisation long since departed from this world. I guessed from what I heard the locals were raising some ruckus or other and decided to investigate, what? Looks as though you've met them, I daresay!" By this time the others had caught up to Fox. The strain on them was definitely beginning to tell, and they were on the point of finding even to stand was difficult. "What the --" Gernodt began. "He's --" Fox began. "a friend!" Sir Percy quickly finished, as he looked the others over in a way similar to his examination of Fox earlier. "Looks like the Orcies have been showing you quite a night on the tiles, what?" "What language is he speaking?" Gernodt whispered to Fox. Fox shrugged her shoulders. "You all need to be tended to," Sir Percy told them. "I'd best shut the back door to keep us safe. Wait here for a moment and I'll escort you to my camp." Sir Percy quickly pushed past them and proceeded down the hall. "And mind the Newts!" "The what?" Fox asked. "The Newts! They're a rare species that crawl about here from time to time. Tend to be rather poisonous, don't y'know. Still, might find a use for them in a potion or two, what?" Fox looked about dubiously for any sign of Newts. "Don't wander off!" they heard Sir Percy call. "I shall return momentarily!" They then heard his voice fade, as he mumbled a lecture to himself about Newts. Fox watched Percy disappear, and turned wearily to the others. Slowly, she resheathed Mindseeker. "I, for one," she announced, "am not running any more today." ---------------------------------292731613112662098976071971--