Subject: RPG among the dead II
Date: Sat, 09 Jan 1999 23:14:26 PST
From: "Stana Hierspiel" <happydoodl@hotmail.com>

 The dull thud of the blade hitting the flesh made her stomach churn,
bile rise in her throat. She gagged and her hand clamped down hard on
Sullam's. His fingers squeezed in acknowledgement and he repeated his
statement not to think about it. She tried not to.

......................................................................

          As they moved forward she kept her head down and tried to
breathe through her nose. Anything to dim the stench. There was the
sound of chopping slamming on her ears and with every whack her stomache
churned anew. Her whole life seemed to be focused in that moment. And
she began to doubt that there would never be anything but the horrid
stench, grinning dead and the sound of a blade shearing through rotted
flesh and bone.
         Then there were the voices ringing in her head that she tried
not to heed. But the dead couldn't be denied. They beat about her senses
with viscous chattering, demands to be heard and obeyed. Siblant
whispers came from the bodies piled around her, mocking laughter, the
screams taht were on their lips as they died horribly. The cold fingers
grapsed at her, holding her back. They wanted her to join them, to be
dead too. She struggled through them, trying to fight vainly free of
their grip. She was unaware of the sound of fingers snapping, but she
heard them sobbing. Or was that her voice?
     Stana's sight was getting cloudy, and Sullam's and Clip's hands
were just a faint sensation against her skin. SHe understood this
because the dead couldn't feel, couldn't see and she was dying; joining
the dead, becoming one of them.  A cold was wrapping itself around her
heart- freezing out the life until her blood ran icy and sluggish. The
darkness inside gripped hold, dragging her down into oblivion. The dead
had no need of light, of feeling. Her mind was bending under an
incredible pressure, ready to snap as the will to live flickered out and
nearly ceased.

           Then something happened, a presence moved in obtrusively and
blocked the voices. It felt almost as if someone had placed hands over
her ears to block out the noise.  She released her breath in a second,
trying to get air past the pressure in her chest. It hurt...it all hurt.
But the pain became welcome, because the dead never felt pain anymore.
Not like she was now.  Sensations rushed back in like a thunderclap and
sudenly the two hands in hers felt burning hot, but even that was a
blessing.
           And then they were through and she was retching in the
ground. But there were no tears, and very little feeling. She had gotten
through the dead, but they had claimed a part of her regardless.

            Sullam wiped teh blade and handed it wearily back to Clip.
The Unicorn nodded, his eyes very sharp and bright. An all consuming
rage boiled underneath, not needing much to trigger.
            The human supressed a sigh, packaged up the encroaching
tiredness and placed t at the back of his mind to deal with when he
could. He allowed a few shallow breaths, not forgetting that they were
still too near the corpses than was good for their health.
             The two glanced at Stana, and for a moment Sullam thought
he saw two of her, dark and light struggling free of eah other, but when
he blinked there was just one, curled against the outside world, eyes
looking into nothing at all. Perhaps seeing too much.

              It was then in the dark of the dead, that he knew they
were no longer alone. Nor were they hidden. He had just the time to
shout a warning before the group vanished.

               "Welcome." bade the voice as teh three turned toward the
dark throne. "Excuse the mess, I hadn't been expecting company."
               By mess, he meant the blood sloshed unceremonially acrss
teh floors in a grotesque canvas. Clip felt a rush of intense  hate as
he realized that this blood was that of innocent children. Used in
rituals made to enhance the Wizards own powers.
               "The Unicorn child." Sullam's calm voice cut icily
through the gloom of the cahmber. "will be coming with us magician. Her
power is too strong for you to hope to control. Her innocence just as
vast, and the time for your brand of Wizadry is gone."
               "And what would I do boy." he replied with a mocking
smile"pick flowers with you and your witch-mother?" his eyes flicked to
Clip and his smile took on a glating tone"and you Stallion, or should I
say you Gelding? Have I not neutered you well enough with removing your
Alicorn. I knew you sought me, I did not think you would be foolish
enough to march straight into my keep asking for your deaths."
               "There is no death." Sullam replied unruffled "there is
only change Magician." and with that, he stepped forward and nearly
disappeared in a blur of motion almost too quick to see. Only the wizard
saw, and sank his taloned fingers deep into his attackers abdomen.
Sullam grunted, eyes squinching shut despite themselves.
                Stacey gasped in horror, taking a step back as the
wizards' baleful gaze fell on her. She screamed as her knee buckled,
bursting with long suppressed agony. She fell to the ground, sobbing
helplessly.
                 Clip gave a bugling battle cry, equinely unique in a
human voice. But he did not charge. He stood and waited.
                 A moment later there was an answering cry, and with a
roar, he reached up and out to his princess.
                 THeir prescences meshed together, slamming the group
into a void. Time ripped and crinkled around them, and then Sullam was
reaching back, farther and farther. The sound of his voicem raised with
a shout so full of self, sent Stana tumbling to her feet just in time to
watch the warriors hand sink through the wizards chest and through to
the back.
                 Yellow eyes went wide with shock as Clip gave a whinny
of triumph. Light  exploded and he threw back a morphing equine head. A
spiraling horn growing from his forehead, reaching like an atenna to the
heavens.
                 With a snort he charged, zeroing in on the wizrd,
sighting down the length of gold tinged ivory. The second impast was
softer, but no less accurate. There was a screech and then the three
tumbled back into reality.
                  THe Wizard was gone, but the princess was nowhere to
be found.