4/23/98 THE COMING OF THE ZIOTH TURN THIRTY-THREE 'Not good. No, not good at all,' thought Sahlman as he scrambled for readiness. For a split second, visions flashed before Sahl's eyes: cloaked raiders materializing out of the frigid darkness to tear through a peaceful bedouin camp, black blood bubbling pink and frothy in the wake of his scimitar, screams and wails of despair from the friends and relatives, from the wives and children, of those not strong enough to hold on to that most precious of treasures -- food. But Sahl was used to such thoughts, and they slowed him not at all as he rushed the others, his friends, into some semblance of a battle line. The former outlaw placed Ardith in the center of the line, the position of the leader. What would once have been unthinkable was now done as a matter of course. So much had life's path changed. Silently cursing the fact that they had slept so close to the road and had taken no precautions to disguise their presence, Ziedon got up and and grabbed his staff. He spoke rapidly and quietly to the others as Sahlman pushed the group around. "That many riders, moving so fast, this early in the morning, is not a good sign. Perhaps the townsman thought to silence us. Prepare weapons." Knowing that he would not be of any use in a melee combat, Ziedon moved behind the cover of a large nearby tree, ideas and plans shooting randomly through his head. In preparation for the expected attack, Ziedon loosened his mind and allowed his thoughts to more frequently focus on magic. Words of the ancient language that codified his power imprinted themselves in the forefront of his mind. Ziedon's mouth opened, ready to spew forth the strange words, but his discipline took hold. Heady with magic and drunk on his own power Ziedon thought, 'HA! Let them come!' and he waited for the confrontation. The rest of the group dashed about as Sahlman directed, confused and still groggy from sleep. Ardith stood at the side of the road, closest to the oncoming party. Behind her, Kay, Kreemon and Korisca lined up. Sahlman stayed at the end of the line. He was happy to note the rising sun behind him; its light would surely interfere with the aggressors' vision. Ardith did not approve of the way Sahl arranged the defense-line, but it was an arrangement that would convey a feeling. Its open nature would seem to say, 'we've nothing to hide; why are you here.' By the time the battle line was arranged, everyone could see the riders, and, by the angle of the riders' heads, it seemed they had been noticed as well. There were only five horses, fewer than could have been expected by the noise, but their racing gallop made up for the numbers. The horses slowed to a trot at a hundred yards' distance, and some of the rider's features could be made out. Four of them rode behind the fifth. The followers, by the way they rode, and by the way they carried themselves, were clearly soldiers. The fifth sat entirely unlike a soldier. His back was straight and his head was held high. It looked as if he was currently feeling particularly proud about something, or, more likely, as if he had been trained through his whole life to sit with such a posture. Before he was nearly close enough to identify conclusively, Ziedon was sure he knew who it was. Ziedon, in his paranoia, had memorized that body and head better than anyone else in the group. It was Ulan. Korisca ducked into the shadows of the trees and drew her dagger. Absolutely terrified, that's where she stayed, taking in every action made by either group, looking for anything that might help her new companions. Ziedon cursed the stars and the moons. Obviously the little ragpicking thief told Ulan when they would be going and to where. Ziedon scanned the area, thoughts of blood and mayhem on his mind. He saw Korisca slip in between some trees on the opposite side of the road. Within a few seconds, his eyes lost her. Ziedon seethed with anger when he remembered that the footpad left with the others to purchase supplies. Undoubtedly, he thought, the guttersnipe slipped away from the altruist Ardith and sold the party out -- probably for a piece of bread and last night's table scraps. A horse's snort brought Ziedon's attention back to the more pressing matter at hand. From the glint of the morning sun, Ziedon saw that the soldiers were armed with sheathed swords of some sort. Ulan had a sword as well, but looked like it might have been merely decorative. There was no visible armor on any of them, but, then again, there would rarely be _visible_ armor on town guards. None seemed to be armed with ranged weapons. Assured by that fact, Ziedon took out his spell book. Ziedon's voice was faintly heard from the trees to the side of the road, too low for the distant riders and townsman to hear. "Stall for time," was the simple message. He realized that a hundred yards was not very much distance to cover. Ziedon could not relearn a magic spell in such a short time. Ardith made a sign behind her back, where she was sure Ziedon could see it. She crossed her fingers and moved her hand up and down, to convey "yes, and may you be right." Ziedon quickly looked through the written incantations for the spell he had used on the barmaid. For a moment, the symbols were strange to him, even though he had studied them on the previous day, but he pulled his thoughts together and concentrated. When she recognized the Townsman, Ardith wondered what might have brought him out to follow them. She held her ground and waited to see what would happen. Kay strung her bow in one quick movement, and stood ready. "Ulan? Ulan!" Sahl exclaimed in a whisper. He could think of several reasons why the townsman might have sent a war party, none of which had beneficial connotations for Ardith, Kay, Kreemon, Korisca, Ziedon and Sahlman. Most likely, Ulan had decided that the little group was a threat to him and would now eliminate that threat, perhaps giving the excuse that one of them had stolen his finest horse if anyone were to question his action. This was most definitely not good. And if all this weren't bad enough, Sahlman was getting the feeling that something else was wrong. His warrior's instinct told him that Ulan shouldn't even have been there. The townsman was an administrator, not a fighter. The only reason for Ulan to be personally leading these soldiers was if... "Yochra be-att!" Sahlman immediately focused his attention on the flanks and rear of the group. He kept an eye on the oncoming party as well, looking for things he could use to his advantage, and watching for Forgolon to appear. The episode with the minstrel would not soon be forgotten. Kreemon drew his sword. He did not recognize the townsman, as he had never seen him, but he knew who it must have been. Ziedon had openly feared this event since he first returned from the townhouse. The wielder of magic struck Kreemon as quite paranoid, but it seemed the sorcerer had been right. There was clearly a danger here. Kreemon had fought soldiers before, and he knew he could do it now. The words flowed into Ziedon's mind. Six pages of the book were devoted to this spell alone, but he could relearn them in only a few minutes. Even with Ardith stalling, however, a few minutes might have been more than Ziedon could afford. Townsman Ulan slowed the horses again, and finally stopped at a distance of ten yards. Ardith put on her best smile and said, in a voice to be heard across the gap, but not much further, "Hail, Townsman. Is there something we have forgotten? Need ye a message the way we are going?" She knew well that Ulan should have had no idea where they were going. "What service can we do ye, so far from our palaver?" Kay only made sure her bow was properly strung and an arrow ready to be nocked. She listened to the words of the mage and of Ardith, and thought only of betrayal, but allowed for other events. She stood at the ready. Ulan slid off his horse and collapsed on the ground. One of the soldiers dismounted and helped the townsman up, and then climbed back onto his horse. From that distance, Ulan looked from end to end of the armed group before him, stopping finally at Kay's bow. He watched the tip of the arrow for a silent minute. Light from the rising sun reflected brightly off of Ulan's face and balding head. Each wrinkle in his face was a sharp, narrow shadow. Two distant birds began a musical conversation, adding an awkward element of peace to the tense scene. Ulan looked unsure of himself as he approached the party. As each step brought out more of his features, he looked worried, but not in the way that a man looks when he is in fear for his life. At two yards, he stopped and looked back and forth, as if unfamiliar with a ritual he was about to perform. When he was sure that no more delay could be gained, he dropped to his knees and spoke in a voice unbecoming to a townsman. It was almost a whine. "Balban's servant has taken the power of my position from me. He refutes my orders, repositions my soldiers and frightens my allies. Galgewe is a menace to Maelbourg." Ulan looked back and forth again, and continued with a softer and more becoming voice. "Even if he were gone, I would not have the resources to control Maelbourg in a month. I never had the resources, or I would have had Maelbourg long ago. I can control the town, but I need more time, and Galgewe is no help." Behind the trees, Ziedon felt a sudden, sharp pain in his leg. He dropped his fragile book and forgot what he had been studying. A page slipped out of the binding and fluttered a few feet away, and the book's landing rustled the leaves. Ulan turned his head suddenly toward the forest, searching for the source of the sound. He saw the charred paper land slowly, and turned back to Ardith. "Please, I beg of you, make Balban understand my position, and do not let him take me from it." Ziedon pulled up his robe to see what caused the pain. A small portion of his left leg was still swollen from his adventures at Rakbaven, but one part was more swollen than it should have been. A shallow, red lump stood out from among the scars. Ziedon looked at it more closely, turning his leg toward the sun, and frowned bitterly at the green point in the center. *********************************************************************** It is early morning on this chilly second day of Farinon, ninth month of the moon Halkak, two hundred and twenty-sixth day of the one thousand first year of the Zioth, on the land of Aerv. /--Next New/Full Moons--\ Upcoming Events | New Full | ----------------------- | Halkak: 10/1 9/14 | Today is market day in Maelbourg and many | Tirop: 9/4 9/12 | other towns. | Ot: 9/28 9/11 | | Ilsapeich: 10/8 9/10 | | Zabrigar: 12/8 10/4 | \-----------------------/ Notes ----- All: A turn in eight days. Not bad. Pretty short though. I think responses are pretty obvious this turn, and there's really nothing else I have to say in this part. Standing Orders --------------- 1) Feel free to ask me about anything your character knows. If I can't answer, you might be able to make up a bit of the history of my world yourself in order to answer the question. 2) A copy of all public ZIOTH-related messages that you use the Internet to send should be posted on Fidonet. A copy of all private ZIOTH-related messages you send to each other should be sent to me so that I know what's going on. 3) If I ever intrude on your character in a way you don't want me to, tell me. I probably won't be able to undo the damage done, but I'll know to avoid it in the future. Levels and Experience Totals ---------------------------- Ardith: 3 4725/6000 (Good role-playing) Kay: 2 2425/4000 (Good turn) Korisca: 2 1325/2500 (Ok turn) Sahlman: 3 4900/8000 (Good role-playing, fun to read) Ziedon: 2 4700/5000 (Good role-playing) *********************************************************************** * GameName RealName Fidonet Internet * *********************************************************************** * DM Eli Fenton 1:101/265 * * * * * * Ardith/ Karl Schinke 1:2604/116 * * Kay 1:2604/116.1 * * * * Korisca Julian Kite 1:333/124 * * Sahlman Shaun Sides 1:3666/113 * * * * Ziedon Alex Corbin * *********************************************************************** * (Primary addresses are the first listed) * *********************************************************************** * Zioth web page: http://hops.cs.jhu.edu/~elifenton/zioth * ***********************************************************************