THE END

Damn, I had a headache. My woolly bed parter stirred restlessly, but I pushed her away as the commotion outside the door registered.

Come to think of it, it was the door that registered - the last I remembered, I was on the hillside guarding my woolly wards, with just a crock of Sally's Shite for comfort.

Jumping up, I shook my prodigious shoulders to unkink them ready for bashing mode, lowered my brows (everyone always expects my sort to have low brows) and ripped the door off its hinges with a bellow fit to bring the house down.

Unfortunately, my planned charge was hindered by the blankets tangled around my legs and I achieved horizontality about halfway out of the room. It was just past the horizontal that I noticed the alarming rate at which I was running out of landing.

"OH FU-" I began to roar as I plummeted over the edge in my underpants. I barely had time to register the dark hole of the trap door below as it rushed upwards.

 

I ran in like a madman and saw two guys going through a trapdoor and a strange...creature?Then I saw tarantian guards coming my way.They started shooting and I got mad then.I ran jumping to them like a raging bull then one of them tried to cut my head off I shot out his guts.With my left arm I took out a dagger,jumped and sliced other guards throat.But then I heard a very famyliar sound *clink*.I turned arouned and saw a guard aiming at me with his revolver I just in time rised my rifle and it absorbed the shot but broke down.There were more guards coming and my rifle was broken so I decided to retreat.I throwed the dagger to the one who shot at me before and the dagger stuck right between the eyes.I throwed my rifle to one of the guards head and jumped through the trapdoor.

 

I was fairly certain that the half-orc was real. He looked real enough down there on the lower floor. I decided to take the ladder down, because nothing had attacked him yet.
Before I could move, a massive humanoid came stumbling out of a portal which I could have sworn was not there before. He dove through the trap door!
I looked below and saw two figures in a tangled heap. It still looked safe enough.
I heard shots and screams behind me as I prepared to descend, when yet another creature threw istelf down the hole!
"The more the merrier", I thought, as I climbed down the ladder and shut the trapdoor behind me.

 

"muhahahahah foolish guards"

"what the hell is that thing" one of the guards pointed a grubby finger at me

"i am your worst nightmare"and then i turned and saw all of the ones who cause this were gone so i shot a dark missle outside the bar and watched as about 100 souls flew into the air and then i just pointed at the guard in front of me and he vanished

"have fun in hell fools"

 

Urrrrrrgh. 2 more people had landed on the floor beside me before that helpful human came sliding down the ladder.

"Come good fellow, what do we do now?"

I was in a fair bit of pain, the rage to kill was still pounding through my veins. I'd broken my favourite axe, lost the sword that had broken it (you never jump with swords, I learnt that lesson early on, that's why I prefer axes), and lost the dagger which had made the large wound in my left arm. It had not been a good day.

 

I reached the bottom of the ladder and looked around. A storage room, filled with ale crates, beer barrels, and sacks of peanuts. A stout oak door, closed and locked with a heavy wooden beam, prevented me from seeing beyond the confines of the place.
Well, none of these fellows was attacking me, so I felt safe for a moment, but I wanted to be far away from the pub and the guards surrounding it.
"My intention is to get the Hell out of here. Join me if you wish. My name is Hor-mel."
I turned to the door and tried to raise the beam, but failed. The spellcasting and combat had sapped all energy. I felt as though I might pass out.

 

"Dreig. Good to meet you."

I hurried to the door and tried to help Hor-mel to lift that bar. Man it was heavy.

"You, big guy, get over here and give us a hand!" I yelled to the half-nude fellow with the bedsheets. Man, he had strange tastes. Still, those muscles of his were big.

 

I warped down to the area were the half orc and the three others were.

"Here ill help u guys ohhhh and by the way my name is Death and i took care of all of the guards"

 

"Okay, good, you just want to teleport us out of here or something? I don't fancy my chances of getting out of the ciy at the moment..."

 

"how about hell ill bring u to hell is that fine.."I then start wavbing my hand to get ready to teleport them"just kidding i know you guys would not survive down there, ok then ill bring u to a different tavern in this city" I then teleport everyone here to a tavern in the slums.

 

I looked around, and realised that the tavern was Caleb Malloy's.

"Thanks" I croaked.

I grabbed Hor-mel's arm.

"If you want to get away from the mess we just left permanently, come with me now."

Then I turned, and left the bar. My things were well hidden in the woods just a mile away. I hoped I could make it there in time...

 

In my dazed condition I was barely aware of my surroundings, but it seemed to be Caleb's! The half-orc (Dreig?) was tugging at my arm and leaving the bar.
I staggered after him, hoping none of my "friends" in The Boil caught me in my current state.

 

I left the Boil as quickly as I could. My glare was enough to frighten off some of the weaker elements around here, but it wouldn't stave off anyone from the remnants of Clan Maug and Pollock. They'd been in nasty moods since their leaders were killed...

The guard at the gates let me through, although he gave me a suspicious look. I grunted - "Bar fight". He let me go past, but I knew I shouldn't return to Tarant for a few months...give the authorities time to cool down...I hadn't killed any guards after all, just maimed one and knocked another unconscious. Still, better safe than in jail.

 

Something tugged me back into the land of the living. A strange feeling, like an urgent pull on my brain. Reluctantly I sat up and saw some men leaving the ... tavern? ... together. The insistent sensation made me want to follow. I resisted for a moment but as the human disappeared from sight, the sensation became more painful. Shite, had I been ensorcelled again? What WAS it with people and that spell?

Sighing heavily, in a way that only an ogre can, I lifted myself up and jogged after humans. The bedding was still tangled around my legs, so on the way I ripped a hole in it and used it as a poncho.

Outside the tavern I saw that I was in a city. I hate cities, and this one seemed even shittier than most. Nasty looking types were everywhere, but didn't seem to want to get in my way. A few rubbish-filled streets later, I caught sight of the human exiting the city through the large, smoke-streaked gate.

I jogged up to the gate just as it being closed. Without thinking, I lunged for it and jerked it open. The gate guard went sprawling, but he didn't look hurt so I dodge through.

"Oi!" I called after the man who seemed to be the focus 'itchy' feeling, "Did you order an ogre shepherd?"

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Sheriff Fatman on 2001-12-06 00:59 ]</font>

 

Ah. The huge being that had been in the tavern with us had managed to track us.

Oh well, he looked like a half-ogre, so his brute strength would come in handy were we to encounter trouble...he'd also be a handy pack-mule should the need arise.

"Come, fellow" I called to him. Wonderful. He was wearing a bedsheet for a poncho. Either he was an imbecile or trying to introduce a new fashion. I decided upon the former.

 

"Hey wait for me guys!I helped you and you are going to leave me behind?!!Hell you won't I am coming with you!My name's Richy if you care."
I ran up to them and walked right next to them not caring what they'll say.It was a shame my rifle was in the guns'-heaven.Fortunately I still had my fine revolver and the trusty dagger but I had only twenty or so bullets left.Hmm...I wondered which direction are we going.It would be good to go Blackroot to get some useful items like an elephant gun and some bullets.
"So where are we going?May I suggest Blackroot?"

 

I warped myself to where the living ones were
"Ah so you guys just leave without me,I see and all the stuff i have done for you.I actually injoyed that i say we do that to Blackroot or something.I think I already told you that i was Death but who are all of you and you guys look like you can help me END this world.Muhahahahahahahahahahahahaha

 

I began to feel a little better out in the open, but I still couldn't get my energy back. Once through the city gates, I struggles to catch up with Dreig.
Then, from behind, I heard heavy footsteps, and an Ogre wearing a poncho came running toward me. So that's where my Guardian Ogre was! Oddly enough, the Gunman from the bar was right behind him.

 

Damn, two's company, three's a crowd but five is just overdoing it...

"Hello Richy...we weren't trying to leave you behind, we were trying to leave the city."

I looked at this 'Death' character. He'd certainly proved handy with his teleporting abilities...but I really needed a rest.

"Uh, yeah, thanks for the offer Death, but I was planning on just resting in the woods for a few days...you know, letting my wounds heal and all that..."

 

"What the hell!"
My body started to feel my body weaken.And then all of a sudden I was surrounded by pure magic.I could not even see the poeple i was walking with.
"Nooo!I do not want to become my mortal self again!Nooooooooo!!!!"
Then the magic faded and I was just my dark elf form.