💾 Archived View for clemat.is › saccophore › library › ezines › textfiles › ezines › FLAM › flam31.t… captured on 2021-12-03 at 14:04:38.
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The Necromancer -- The three men gazed at the road ahead of them, as they left the safety of Willow Dale. Al, a tall, blond human with a lean but muscular build led his traveling companions. Ged, the tall, dark-haired elf with a lean build brought up the rear, for he had incredible perception and could sense danger lurking. Professor Neil, another human but dark-haired and more muscular than Al, marched in between his friends, carrying the supplies. Eventually the trio reached the River Dawn, meaning they were indeed traveling south as the map instructed. Al held his hand above his eyes, staring into the dark blue waters. "I guess this is the river," he said, pointing to the map. Ged and the Professor looked at the map and then at the river. The Professor dropped his bag and stroked his mustache. "Your turn to carry the supplies for a while," he said. "My back hurts." Ged shrugged and picked up the bag, and slung it over his shoulder. He turned his gaze to Al and said, "So how do you suppose we should cross?" Al tried to look thoughtful and said, "I don't believe the river is any more than a meter deep in the middle. We could just walk across." Al stepped in the river, grimaced at the cold, and continued south through the icy water. Ged and the Professor followed and before long they made it across. After walking many kilometers, the party decided it was time to camp until morning. It was getting dark and they needed shelter and a fire to keep away predators. Ged dropped the bag and fished out a flint and the sleeping bags. Al grabbed the sleeping bags and began to spread them out. The Professor reached on the back of his belt and grasped his hand axe and exclaimed, "I'll get the wood!" Al and Ged nodded absently and began gathering roots and berries. Soon after, the Professor returned with an armful of wood. After a hearty dinner of dried meat, bread, cheese, cooked roots, and a berry pie, the trio retired and slept all night long. Birds chirped, to announce the dawn, and the three travelers rose wearily. Al scratched his head, stretched, and asked his friends, "Did either of you have any nightmares?" They nodded. "Unbelievable. I've never had anything like this." Ged exclaimed, "I dreamt I was being stripped of my soul and forced to become a mindless slave to some shadowy being!" Al's and the Professor's jaws dropped simultaneously. They all had the same dreams. Before long, the trio was back on the trail, heading south. After several kilometers, Ged stopped, and the Professor and Al peered back quizically. Ged held up his hand, for silence. Ged sniffed the air delicately and gazed up. "We're there." Al and the Professor joined Ged's gaze to see a gloomy, overcast sky. Shreds of black cloud decorated the sky. Al asked, "What is all that? Birds?" Ged shook his head and said gravely, "We are in the Necromancer's lair now. He is watching us. He's been watching us for quite some time, actually." Al nodded, the Professor gasped, and Ged started walking again. The Professor said, "What are we going to do?" Ged turned around and was about to speak, when suddenly dozens of shadowy figures appeared from seemingly out of nowhere. The trio drew their weapons as the figures charged. Al slashed with his shiny broadsword, which went right through the figures without even making contact. Ged leapt around with great agility, poking with his dagger, but his daggers went through the figures, too. The Professor, seeing the futility of fighting, took to his feet. He hadn't run far before he was captured. He turned around and saw his traveling companions out cold. Soon, he too was out cold. When he awoke, Ged tried to rub his sore head but discovered he was chained to the stone wall. Looking around in the ambient light, he learned his friends were captive as well. The Necromancer had gotten them. After some shouting, he roused the rest of the trio. They were very confused. "What is going on? Why are we here?" Al shouted. Ged calmly stated, "Shouting won't do any good. Those were wraiths that captured us. They only have ears for their master, the Necromancer." Al and the Professor gloomily looked at the chains which bound them. "What are we going to do now?" the Professor asked. Ged shrugged and exclaimed, "We're dead for sure!" As despair began to set in, suddenly the cell door opened. A very imposing figure slowly walked in the room and eyed his adverseries. It was the Necromancer. In a voice that was more chilling than the river the trio had crossed, he said, "You shall join my army of wraiths." Before Ged, Al, or the Professor could react, a muscular man suddenly charged through the door frame, with a very large battle axe in his hands. He swung the axe at the Necromancer, before he could react, and split him from his head to his navel. The bloody corpse fell to the ground and turned to dust. Ged blinked several times, and Al and the Professor just stared, dumbfounded. The muscular man picked up his axe and started towards the chained trio. He lifted his axe high, and brought it down hard, smashing the chains of the captives. As suddenly as he had appeared, he left. "Wh-wh-who was that?" stammered the Professor, as he looked at the door frame. Ged chuckled and said, "Why that was By-Tor. Actually, I believe now he is Prince By-Tor. He has been seeking the Necromancer for a very long time. I just can't believe we had a first-hand view of the fight." Al and the Professor breathed a sigh of relief. Soon the trio found their way out of the labyrinths and back to Willow Dale. They all lived very successful lives as musicians before dying very old men. The end.