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Back to Empire on the HPe3000
... and ...
This is a first draft of a story set in the world of Greyhawk.
It is based on a home campaign so some of the people, places and things
may be different. Any helpful comments or suggestions are very welcome.
Thanks
Jason Zavoda
Svar jangled the bone dice in his hand, his cousin Dazh laughed,
but Dajd, Dazh's brother looked anxious. They had been sent with a score
of orc slaves to empty the giantesses quarters. The three ogres had
the orcs hard at work but did nothing but gamble themselves.
"Whatja worried about Dajd, we're supervisen." Svar said and
rolled the dice.
Dazh laughed again, a deep bass rumble.
"Any of them find us here and it'll be our arses." Dajd said and
kept looking at the outer door. The orcs had just left with another load,
they'd kept the door to the yard open to make it easier for them to
go in and out and save the ogres the trouble of getting up from their
game.
"Their nibs is all to busy." said Svar, he'd rolled two skulls,
two shields and a severed hand, Dazh cursed and picked up the dice, it was
a hard roll to beat.
"They'll want their stuff and them orcs, they aint gonna get
half of this trash outta here before the fire eats it." Said Dajd.
"You worry too much." Svar told him.
Dazh shook the dice in both hands listening to them rattle back
and forth then tossed them into the circle they'd traced on the floor.
The bones turned, one skull, then a second, then a third, Dazh couldn't
believe his luck, then a shield and the last die came to rest with a
grinning skull face up.
"Read em and...." Dazh started to say with a deep laugh, but
as his words came out a groaning creak brought his head up and froze
the rumble in his throat.
"Bloody Hell!" cursed Dajd.
Svar swept the dice aside with the back of his hand and stood up,
he grabbed the wooden chest he'd been using as a stool and made a bee line
for the outer door, nodding his head respectfully to the giants coming
in from the kitchen passageway. He'd taken only a step or two before he
stopped and with a start turned back to face the door.
Talberth pushed the door inward, but not full open, just wide
enough to slip inside. He leaned his head around the edge and glanced
back and forth, giant beds he saw, huge chests, a table big as a
wagon, an ogre carrying a wooden box, it gave him a respectful nod...
The mage almost nodded back, Talberth's eyes went wide, the ogre
turned its head away and took another step. Behind it came another and a
third which walked straight into its companions back when the second ogre
stopped suddenly in its tracks and stared wide eyed at the human staring
back.
When Talberth pushed the door aside Ivo walked past and into the
room beyond. He'd barely turned his head when he heard Talberth draw
his breath in a whistling stream. Ivo glanced up and followed the
direction of Talberth's eyes, then saw the ogres standing frozen in the
middle of the room. Ivo had kept a spell prepared, a crystal rod, inside
the tails of a hundred fireflys, as he waved it in the air the rod began
to glow.
"Stay back, do not look." Ivo said in a muffled voice and began to
weave the rod in an endless loop. The greenish light began to leave a
glowing trail, an ouroboros, a snake of light that went on and on, it ate
its tail.
The staring ogres froze in place, Svar dropped the wooden box
it crashed to the floor with a bang and the sound of breaking glass. Dazh
had his mouth half open, a long drop of drool hung down from his lip,
it stretched halfway to the floor before it broke. Dajd wiped a hand
across his eyes, but he too became enraptured by the twisting glow, he lost
his balance and sat down on the floor, but never took his eyes away.
"Quick!" Ivo called to the others behind the door. "They are
powerless while I weave this spell."
* * *
(To Be Continued)