CHAPTER I: The Ruined Plot

By Wacko, Inja Yew, King Louis. Storm Master, Lord Roberts

Artemia awoke as the sun's golden rays slowly penetrated the trees. He turned over, trying to hide from the light beneath his covers, but to no avail. The sun, intent on its mission to wake the sleeping inhabitants of the forest, shone with a brighter light that left almost no room for shadow. The sleeping figure, finally giving up the struggle, rolled out of bed and stood. He stretched a little, working the kinks out of his muscles, and prepared to meet the new day...

An unpleasant odour assaulted his senses. "Hurmmm hurmmm!" Something yelled "Breakfast time! Breakfast time!" Artemia was still a bit groggy and had not become totally aware of what was going on. Suddenly a pair of burly hands grabbed him and started dragging him through the forest. "Hurmmm, hurmmm!" the offensive creature grunted "Fresh meat! Fresh meat!" Artemia realized that all his weapons and armour were neatly stacked way back there by his bedroll. Maybe this won't be such a glorious new day, but his last day ...

The Ogre had grabbed his unwitting victim and was dragging him to his last meal, a meal in which he would be the main course... Artemia knew that to show visible signs of struggle may mean a quick and brutal death for him, so he tried to devise a quick means of escape...

Suddenly, from high up above, a large grey figure swooped down upon the pair. It was winged, about seven feet tall, and had a face even a mother couldn't love. From a pouch tied to his waist, the creature produced a gleaming object, that Artemia could only identify as a Shuriken a few moments later, when it lodged itself in the hand that was dragging him.

The Ogre released Artemia in screaming agony, pulling out its club to swing at the intruder. Artemia rolled onto his back, poised for action. Unfortunately, the Ogre's party members had heard the scream: Artemia could hear their savage chants coming towards them...

Looking leisurely into the sky, a Paladin saw a flying Gargoyle diving from high above and reaching for a Shiruken. Knowing that Wacko was again going to get in trouble, the Paladin reached for his Longsword with his right hand while reaching for a solid shield with his left and lengthening his strides.

The sword happily sang as soon as it was born by its long-time companion, feeling the rush of excitement at another fight for the Goodness of Poutine.

Running lightly the Paladin approached the scene of the fight just in time to see Artemia rolling away from the maddened Ogre as Wacko prepared another shuriken, just in time to see another 5 ogres crashing through the trees ...

Saying a quick prayer to his Goddess, the paladin blessed Artemia , Wacko and himself and studied his enemies ...

On his upward swoop, the Ninja Gargoyle felt a light glow that tells him he'd been blessed. "What, is Louis stalking me?", he wondered in amusement and gratitude.

Wacko swooped back down, and had a moment to take in the view: Artemia had ripped the Shuriken out of the Ogre's hand with a brutality that didn't seem to be in him at first glance. He proceeded to stab the enraged Ogre in the back, as the latter was still facing Wacko. Out of the woods, on the eastern side of the trail, Wacko could see the Paladin King, sword unsheathed. Which was good, because coming North up the trail was a gang of Ogres. Three were wielding their clubs; the other two had picked up rocks that each must have weighed half a ton.

Wacko reached down to the hilt of a dagger he kept by his ankle. It was the best he could offer Artemia under the circumstances. He flung it; it embedded itself in the ground between Artemia's feet. As Artemia quickly bent down to dislodge it, he looked up and saw a club swinging towards his head. Just in time, a sword came forward and slashed the Ogre's abdomen; the Ogre collapsed on its knees, guts spilling... then it fell.

Artemia nodded in acknowledgment to the unrecognised King, and the two charged the rest of the group, just as two boulders became airborne...

Meanwhile ... In a tidy little kitchen mother prepared the meal. She hummed happily to herself as she chopped carrots and celery for the stew she was preparing. She had the table all set and had invited the neighbors over. "Ouch!" she cried as she accidently nicked her finger with the sharp chopping halberd. Darn it it was tough having that mono vision of a cyclops. "Humphrey!" she called impatiently to her husband. "Why don't you go see what is taking the Hendersons so long. They said they would bring the meat and at this rate it will be lunch by the time it is tender enough to eat." Humphrey grumbled in annoyance, he was busy sharpening the spikes on his favorite club. "Oh and why don't you take little Johnny with you! He is so proud of that fiery gaze attack he's been developing, maybe he can practice it on some woodland creatures on the way".

Behind the group of ogres, a small portal appeared, and a the light began to glint off of a mailed figure... Speeding forward, a sword whistled through the air, removing the head of one of the ogres in the back of the group. As quickly as it had appeared, the figure vanished into the shadows of the trees. The Ogre Magus, realizing that his forces were in danger, began to chant... An ominous silence filled the forest as small red portals began to appear, and wicked shapes began to step forth...

"Oh HELL!", cried Wacko, "As if we needed more complications! Who WAS that mysterious stranger?"

One of the hurled boulders came flying straight at him. He was unable to completely dodge it; it hit his left foot as he was flying upwards, causing him to twirl uncontrollably for a second.

The second was headed for Louis and Artemia. They parted just enough for the boulder to land between them. They ran onwards, teeth bared partly because of the minor wounds the rock chips have caused.

As well as the four confabulations coming out of four portals, Wacko saw two Cyclopses coming from further South. What do THEY have to do with all this??

Wacko recovered and, hovering, started hurling Shuriken at the lesser Demons stepping onto this plane...

A figure clad in crystal plate mail stepped forward to halt the charge of Artemia and the Paladin. Motioning them backwards, the figure mouthed an incantaion, creating a bright portal of light. From the light came a huge man, towering almost 10 ft tall, and carrying an 8ft long broadsword. His wings stretched as he lofted himself into the air and lunged towards the summoned devils.

The Ogre Magus screamed a wordless cry of frustration and chanted a wild curse upon the Archangel, but the spell was deflected without doing any harm.

The mysterious figure drew his crystal blade, uttered a quick healing incantation upon Wacko, and with Artemia and the Paladin, charged again towards the pack of ogres.

Wacko shakes his head while rubbing his newly-healed foot in gratitude. How the hell did this get so complicated? I thought this was just a simple "rescue a man from the Ogre" scenario!

Meanwhile, the Guardian Angel is doing its job - with its huge sword it is making life difficult for its four counterparts...

Wacko turns around and is faced with the two Cyclopses. As Artemia and the mysterious figure charge at the ogres, Wacko pulls at King Louis' tunic, and they go for the one-eyed monsters: Louis charging on foot, Wacko flying at full tilt...

One of the cyclopses, the slightly smaller one, smiles as his eyes glow an incandenscent red. King Louis' step stutters, as he realises his sword is suddenly very, very hot! He puts it back in its hilt, hoping he can keep it there for a bit longer before it burns his belt.

"Rock Brain!", gasps the King, "That smaller one..."

The Gargoyle nods as he swoops down upon the two. Without stopping he takes out two Shuriken, and fires both at the smaller Cyclops. The first hits him right on his tunic, stunning him but apparently doing no further damage. The second lands with a bullseye in his singular eye!

As it screams in utter pain, whatever attack it was performing on King Louis is halted. King Louis, who was now kneeling in agony and determination, gets up suddenly, triumphantly, and, unsheathing his sword, rushes forward again.

As Wacko revels in his direct hit that seems to have mortally wounded the little Cyclops, the older one swings in lost rage at the flying pest. Wacko dodges the mace, which would surely have taken him apart if it hit; but he failed to dodge the Cyclops' left hand, as the "clothesline" attack hits him with full force.

Wacko lands right in front of King Louis, who dodges the slumped figure and runs onwards, sword singing...

Artemia and the unidentified Paladin meet the four Ogres in a crash of blows. As Artemia skilfully parries with one Ogre with his long dagger, the Paladin is dueling with another two, barely dodging the crude clubs swung at him. He sees the Magus in the back muttering an incantation, and quickly casts a Silence spell in defense. Too late, the Fireball hits the Paladin full on the chest just as he fells one Ogre. Artemia kills his opponent with a quick direct thrust into the neck, and turns to face the silenced Magus.

The Paladin is on all fours, grimacing in pain. The Ogre steps up to him and swings downwards with all his might. Fortunately, the Paladin rolls just in time, casting a Heal spell on himself while rolling away, and flips back up to continue the fight.

As Wacko regains his alertness, he sees the King, doing his best to fell the 30ft. behemoth standing before him, while using all his might to block the mace's blows with his quickly deteriorating shield. There are slash wounds on the Cyclops' knees.

The Gargoyle gets up to help Louis, but is besieged by an unearthly cry that tells him the Guardian Angel has been banished off this plane of existance. The two remaining Demons are standing right beside him in no time. Wacko forgets about the pouch for now, the demons being too close, and leaps on the one that has already been injured, snarling and with bared claws. He makes short work of that one, but the second, who apparently was not hurt by the Angel, has gotten onto Wacko's back and is throttling him with his spindly arms...

To make things worse, all four protagonists notice a third Cyclops, this one wearing an apron and wielding a halberd that looks ridiculously small on her, lumbering towards them...

"Mama!" gurgled the small cyclops, his life essence slowly trickling away. He remembered experiences from his infancy as his life passed before his eyes - hoppo bumpo with Uncle Knud, hunting with his father. A single tear flowed down his cheek, and in it's reflection was captured the image of a hideous creature shredding Wacko's back. The gargoyle shuddered and twisted, but to apparently no avail. "Johnny!!" cried Elspeth, "Oh, Johnny, what have they done to you!" She lifted the halberd; it was akin to raising a toothbrush in her meaty paws.

In the midst of this awful chaos, King Louis looked askance, raising his shield in a last ditch effort to keep the huge cyclops at bay. "Ack, my good companion..." he called to the gargoyle, "I fear we are done for! At least we shall die of honour!" One last clang, and his shield dully expired. Louis didn't bother to begin the incantations for a Psychic Shock - there wasn't enough time. And besides, he doubted the Cyclops had a brain at all. And now it seemed that the worst was yet to come - Elspeth approached, grunting like a huge sow.

The cacophony of violence shrieked throughout the mountains. A passing Minstrel, his figures shrouded in a dark cowl, dropped his sitar with a thud. "Good heavens!" he exclaimed, and reaching within his robes, drew forth a flute. He quickly put it to his lips, and played a most melodious tone. The demons ears pricked, and they slowly rose, tugged as if by a current towards the strange music. The Cyclops shouldered his club, and blinked in a daze. Artemia stabbed one of the demons rather delightedly in the back as it approached the Minstrel. "Ha!" he screamed. "Have at them fellows!" Louis quickly cast a cure wounds, and just in the nick (figuratively speaking) of time - his injuries were most serious. Wacko arose, spreading his wings, and soared towards the insane shuffle the demons had suddenly adopted.

Louis grinned and motioned to Wacko. "Indeed, the tune he plays is strangely unmusical, do you think he has any talent?" "Hardly" grunted Wacko, attempting to withdraw his Shuriken from the huge Cyclops' eye, it being still paralyzed in the melody. It sunk to the ground, with nary a sound. Elspeth spouted insane babble over Johnny, cradling his monstrous head in her arms. Suddenly the music stopped. "Mercy!" cried the minstrel, "I hath forgotten the rest! And I'm off key to boot!" Dropping his flute, he saw his only option was to rush the Ogre Magi, who himself was cursing, as coincidentally he had mixed up his scroll of Evil Catastrophy with Random Teleport, more's the pity. Mid attack, the four travellers found themselves stepping out of a portal, and viewing a strange environment.

In front of them, a vast panorama of twisted steel revealed itself. Strange chariots raced overhead, and obcenely grotesque creatures walked back and forth, some quite human, some obviously not so. They wore strange garb - it seemed to consist of a one piece, chain linked material, but the chain was finer than any they had seen before.

The figures that passed had a look on their faces - a look as though they had never seen war, had never been in battle with highwaymen... their faces had the look of utter peace.

"A place of no war?" wondered Wacko. "Is there such a thing?"

"Yes peace ... peace ... no war..." mused Lord Roberts. Then reality rushed back as he realized he was halucinating from a nasty blow to the head. Nay, perhaps it was not a halucination but a prophecy of the very near future. A shrill voice snapped him back to reality.

"What in tarnation is going on around here!" Screamed mother Cyclops. "Momma !" yells little Johnnie Cyclops, attempting to run blindly towards safety. He stumbles and falls on top of the demon straddling Wacko.

"Elspeth ?" Artemia looks up from the Ogre Magus he is using for a pincushion. "What the ... "

"You idiots! Kill the deamon, not our guests!" Yells Elspeth the Cyclops at her remaining ogre followers. The Paladin looks dumbfounded at the huge Cyclops he has been intending to make mince meat out of. Humphrey look at him with a puzzled "Hurmmm?"

In the ensuing confusion there is a "fwoooshhhh" followed by a deafening explosion as the ogre mage lets off with another fireball in the midst of befuddled combatants. The other Ogre and Artemia and Louis are again horribly singed by the powerful magic.

"Aaauughhh!" screams Elspeth, "Kill the traitor! Kill the one who would sabotage peace between our peoples!"

Wacko now freed from the deamon, that is struggling with Johnny, looks at the Ogre mage who seems to be the center of all this trouble.

Wacko didn't know what exactly was going on, but guessed that Artemia and the apron-clad Cyclops knew each other. They were obviously not hostile to one another, and she seemed to be ordering the Ogres around.

So what was he fighting for?

He caught the malicious glint in the Ogre Magus' eyes, as his Silence spell wore off and he cast the Fireball into the midst of friends and foe alike.

Not knowing quite why, Wacko got up and flew as fast as his wings could carry him, towards the Magus, who was muttering another incantation even then.

Wacko hit the Magus at full speed, just as he had finished his spell. A feeling of "removal" told him he had been affected by a teleport spell even before he noticed the change in his surroundings.

He was suddenly pitched into darkness, so it took him a few seconds to adjust. He was indoors, in a man-made structure. The corridor he was in stretched out several feet in either direction before turning around the corner. He was still grabbing a hold of the Magus, but his slight disorientation gave the Magus the chance he needed: A swift flick and Wacko was hurled into the wall.

"Kill him!" ordered the Magus to a small group of guards. They advanced upon him unquestioningly.

With a yell of rage, Wacko grabbed the first guard to reach him and flung him against the second, knocking them both to the floor. The third thrust with his sword, but Wacko dodged, grabbed his arm and ripped it off the screaming body.

The Magus' eyes flashed. He took out a scroll. "I've been saving this one for a special occasion," he mused as he started the incantation. Wacko tried to get to him, but the remaining two guards slowed him down too much.

By the time he had killed off the guards, the Magus finished his incantation. The castle walls shook with the power of the spell. "Get him ALIVE!" the Magus snarled as he turned the corner. Suddenly, from a fissure in space, came a score of hideous incarnations that Wacko recognised instantly as... Liches!

Even if his initial fear hadn't been there, Wacko stood no chance. The Liches advanced upon him, and with almost no effort, managed to beat him to within an inch of his life. Properly subdued, Wacko was dragged into the recesses of the Fortress...

"Okay, I want an explanation!" snapped King Louis.

The young elf standing off to one side stepped in, introduced himself as Artemia and began to explain...

Artemia was an Elf of nobility, who had not really chosen his profession yet. He was the son of the King of Forest Elves.

A Warlord had moved into the abandoned Fortress in the dark recesses of the forest a year ago. Soon after, trouble ensued. In an effort to banish the Evil presence from the forest, all the Elven men staged an attack on the Fortress. Artemia was the only one to escape. When he returned to his village, he found it razed to the ground. He was the last Wood Elf of his lineage.

The Cyclopses and Ogres had been minions of the Warlord's, but he abandoned them when he discovered the loyalty and efficiency of summoned creatures (like the Demons they saw today).

Artemia had come to the Cyclopses' home to ask for help against the Warlord. His only contact was Elspeth, who had invited him to her home for dinner of the previous night.

He arrived very late last night to the Cyclopses', but upon hearing extremely loud noises of marital bliss between the cyclopses, he thought it would be in poor form to intrude, and thus he camped nearby... The Ogres, having not met Artemia, picked him as breakfast by mistake, and thus the fight ensued. Wacko and King Louis, Lord Roberts and the Unnamed Paladin had all noticed the struggle and came to the aid of the unarmed Elf.

"Gorth!" exclaimed Elspeth, tutting over her son who had been healed with the combined efforts of King Louis and the Unnamed Paladin, "That traitor! He still works for the Warlord!"

"And now Wacko's gone wherever it is Gorth teleported to," muttered King Louis.

The combatants stood exhausted in the middle of the battlefield, still unsure of who was friend or foe. It was clear now that some sort of grave misunderstanding had occurred.

As they were trying to figure things out a lone figure clad only in a loin cloth and almost skelatal in build, stumbled into the group. It was obvious that he was extremely enraged but also very confused. His body was all bruised up and blood ran down his back. He staggered toward the last remaining ogre, muttered an incantation, then passed out and fell on his face. 7 tiny sparks bounced from his finger tips rolling along at the party, stopping just a few feet away. They fizzed and popped and the startled adventurers jumped back a foot. The remaining Henderson shouted "Stop, no kill again", to assure the semi-conscious figure of no more hostility. "He come with this one" pointing at Artemia. "We no take him, no meat."

"Ahh, another ally" mused the fair King "We must heal him, we will need all the help we can get to get our friend back"

The Paladin had been busy healing the small Cyclops, a task he found distasteful yet neccessary for the long run. He now knelt at the body of the emanciated man. The figure started to stir under the healing touch. "Easy, easy you are safe now" He helped the man roll over and sit up. "My god man what have these beasts done to your face" The paladins fingers moved to see if he could repair any of the disfiguration.

"We no hit face" offered the ogre.

"Indeed, these are old wounds, ughh and you should do something about those warts"

Artemia walked over to his traveling companion. "Inja, Inja Yew" the man introduced himself weakly to the others.

"What happened, what happened man, you were supposed to be on watch"

Inja shrugged his shoulders "Interesting plants in area, Just studying their potential, next thing I know an ogre is whacking me over the head. Where's our stuff?"

The Henderson pointed at a bundle at the edge of the clearing. Inja staggered over with more energy than one would expect from such a crippled figure. He reached in the sack and started throwing equipment out all over the place. Finally he found a small silver object. It was no bigger than two palms, shaped like half a globe with straps attached. He opened it up, it was empty. He looked inside and poked about with his finger finally shaking the object to see if anything would come out.

"Gruesome?" he prodded, stopped looked around "Gruesome !!!" He yelled. Several blades of grass moved slightly as a small creature approached. Inja Yew straightened out and smiled "Gruesome !" A rather large toad leapt from the grass and attached itself to Inja Yew's leg. It seemed to be trying to climb up. "There, there" Inja Yew comforted the creature, picking it up and giving it a kiss. "You're safe now, safe" He put the toad on a little red pillow and into the silver spherical object, then attached the device to his shoulder and looked back over at everybody staring at him. "So now, what is going on here"

The room was filled with all sorts of weird contraptions that the Magus could not identify. Some of them had blinking lights, some had large flat colorful lights with intricate ever changing patterns. But he paid little attention to that for his problem was a huge man, a very annoyed huge man.

"Why have you not brought the elf, what is this stone thing you brought back" The Magus knew better than to answer just yet. "how are we supposed to find out our enemies plans .... ?" The question trailed off.

"Your l-l-lordship" stammered tha Magus "He was a traveling companion, perhaps he is privy to this information. I-I-I barely escaped with my life" "Hmmmm" mused the man "you did not" quicker than the magus could blink the man waved his arm and the Magus' head rolled from his body hitting the ground, a couple of seconds later the body slumped down.

"Koeron!" the man bellowed. Out of the shadows emerged a bald spindly man in an odd white cloak. He had several unusual instruments in pockets arranged in easily accessible places. Black rims surrounded chunks of glass that hideously distorted his eyes. "I want you to torture that creature the Magus brought us, find out everything it knows ... I doubt it will be much."

Inja Yew and Artemia retrieved the remainder of their gear as Lord Roberts told them of a hallucination he had during the encounter. Normally, not that this kind of thing happened very often, he would have kept it to himself. Something about it this time seemed to bring about a clarity and an urgency that he did not understand.

"Aaah, a storyteller, you have certain qualities, do you not, that other do not posses." Inja Yew ran his fingers through the hair of Lord Roberts, studying the bumps on his head. "Hmm, I suspect that what you saw was somehow a prophecy a clairvoyant vision of something of utmost importance. My friend you posses the great power of a seer." He studied the man's cranium some more. "Tell us, tell us what else you see"

"That's it, that's all I remember"

"That's it" mused Inja "Just a simple brush off. Oh my friend, a true seer does not admit the limits of his knowledge, he hints that more will be revealed, he teases us with delicious little tidbits, putting us in awe of his power. But you, you just say 'that's it'"

"But really it is" replies Lord Roberts squinting his eyes "I can't bring anything else forth"

"Hmmm" Inja Yew considers the situation "Perhaps your powers do not come to you willingly. Perhaps there is a trigger that brings about these visions. It may take you years of trying before you figure it out. ... Here, allow me to try something." Without waiting for a reply, Inja Yew quickly brings forth his staff and strikes good Lord Roberts on the head.

This time Lord Roberts' hallucination is more like a vision than a dream.

He sees tall, tall buildings, reaching up to the clouds, made of metal and glass; he sees horseless chariots travelling at speeds faster than any bird he's ever seen; he sees flying contraptions that travel even faster, carrying whatever creatures that wish to travel inside of them...

Then his vision shifts to the inside of one of the tall buildings (for some reason the word "skyscraper" pops into his head). He sees, sitting behind a desk, a tall, broad-shouldered man, who would have been a Warlord in another life... By the quality of his garb in relation to the others, he is obviously very well off... He lets out an evil, bone-chilling laugh before the image of the Other World recedes into nothingness...

Lord Roberts regains consciousness. "What the hell was THAT for?!" he cries.

After regaining his temper, he tries his best to decribe what he saw while out. Nobody amongst the listeners claims to grasp it, but Inja Yew is, for some reason, the only person not to seem astounded.

"Okay", muses Inja Yew, "Let me try something different...". With that, he bops Lord Roberts on the head once again.

After about a half-hour, when he regains consciousness, Lord Roberts has nothing but obscenties for Inja Yew. "It DOESN'T work every time you knock me out, you know!" was the general drift of the message.

"Alright," announces the Unnamed Paladin, "We have a certain obligation to see to it that this Warlord is stopped. Who's in?"

Artemia, King Louis, Lord Roberts, and Inja Yew instantly volunteer. The Cyclopses decline on the basis that they have a family to maintain... the remaining Ogre declines because he currently has a lot of funerals to attend...

"Let us go to Castle Perron, where we can properly construct a rescue plan for Wacko," says King Louis.

"Yes... I believe I can help there," says Artemia. "I have some knowledge of the layout of the Fortress, having taken part in a siege upon it... There's a secret passageway, on the West side. However, I think only one person must enter it in order to maximise the chances of success..."

Wacko, laid out over a rack, blood all over his stony face, lets out a little grunt in place of the moan of agony he desperately wants to emit.

"You're only making this harder on yourself," says the little bespectacled man. "For the last time: What does Artemia know about us?"

"I... don't... know... who you-u're talking about," says Wacko truthfully.

Koeron nods to the Demon standing at a wheel at Wacko's head. The Demon turns the wheel, emitting more grunts from the stubborn Gargoyle.

Convinced that he knows nothing, Koeron dismisses the Gargoyle's worth. "Shackle him in the Magic Room," he orders, "we'll determine his method of execution tomorrow morning."

END OF CHAPTER ONE

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