Ambrosia Software Web Board: The Alraeican Tavern, Part IV - Ambrosia Software Web Board

Lemenath smiled disarmingly, "I'm here with him." he pointed a finger in the direction Hergat took, "He owes me a favor and I want to make sure he collects on it."

Xenar spoke up, "I'm with Lemenath, we have uh...a common goal."

"They want to...ow!" Phinral interrupted and stopped, at a kick from one of his compainions.

'Would like to what?' Sideline would have loved to inquire, but that would seem improper. "I understand." is what he replied instead. More uneasy silence settled upon the group for a few moments. Then, Lemenath suddenly stood up.

"If you'll excuse me, I need to rest before a long days work tomorrow." he said as he bowed and left the tavern.

Xenar stood up, "I should be going as well." he nodded to Sideline and Katze, and started to turn away but stopped as if he remembered something. "Stay out of trouble" he told Phinral as he turned and left.

It wasn't until hours later that Sideline remembered that he never saw Hergat return from the bathroom.

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It was about noon in the tavern on a sunny day, several days after the tense encounter between Sideline and Hergat. Lemenath, Hergat, Xenar were at a table off to the side of the tavern playing a variation of tarok, out of direct view of the doorway. Phinral was off attempting to fit in at the gambling tables, yet failing miserably. Lemenath was grinning, about to go nolo on the final round when Hergat held up his hand.

"Shush!" he hissed to his companions. Lemenath shifted his chair so Hergat could see past him and out the window. Xenar turned his head and gasped. Outside, several men were making a commotion, causing either fear or curiousity to plague the nearby populace. Twelve or so men were in sight, each wearing full shiny silver armor and an odd object in their hands, and strange gear...for this world. As a matter of fact, so strange it was familliar.

"Get down!" Xenar shouted, overturning the table, ignoring the questioning looks being given to him, not the least of which from Sideline and Katze. Phinral turned questioningly. "The Defenders!" Xenar hissed, making a motion with his hand. Phinral's jaw dropped, and he overturned the table he was sitting at, stirring up angry patrons. Phinral moved the table to cover the window, and started turning a few more over. They were going to need all the cover they could get...

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"What the devil -" Sideline exclaimed, as Xenar overturned the table. Since their encounter a few nights before, he and Katze - and a few others that owed him some favours - had been keeping a close, but unobtrusive, watch on Hergat and his associates. They'd been prepared for violence aimed in their direction, but this was totally unexpected; Hergat and his friends appeared completely on the defensive, but were ignoring him and Katze totally.

"What could have spooked them that much?" he asked himself, moving around to get a view out the window. He jostled Katze, who'd had the same idea - but being seven inches taller than he was she could easily peer over his head, and made space for him. He caught a glimpse of the silver figures, just before Phinral blocked out the window.

"What in the world...?"

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My signature? You want to see my signature? Now why would I go revealing all my secrets to a total stranger, huh?

Theo's eyes flashed open as his table was shoved across the room. "Huh? What?" When no one answered him, he too crouched down.

He nudged another patron, and asked, "What's going on?"

"Seems t'be some bandits or something out there causing trouble. Don't know who they are, so long as they leave me to my refreshment," he said, staring at the remaining contents of his mug.

Theo glared at the man, who was obviously more interested in his drink than his life. "I don't have time for this," he sighed, "I must finish the book I'm working on. Hmmm, what to do? Well I don't want to miss anything exciting going on over here, so..."

Crawling on his hands and knees, he made his way to to back of the tavern. There was shouting going on, but he ignored it. Once he got there, Theo searched in his pocket for a few seconds, then pulled out a polished stone in a rough egg shape. Then he cast a green glob spell, through it at the wall, and poked the stone sideways, half way into it.

"There, now I can see when I want to, and now I must be off." He opened his crackling blue portal and stepped through. The portal closed in on itself behind him.

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I am no one, and I am everyone. But most importantly, I am
The One And Only:
~Theo Nean Donly~

The uproar in the tavern was instantly quelled as the door was kicked open and fell to the floor in splinters. Six men in some really shiny body armor carrying small tubes of some type smoothed in curves and glowing brightly filed inside, sweeping their tubes around the room as a red light next to their helmet scanned the crowd.

"We are looking for Hurphindal Retelchazer, if you are here come out now and nobody would be hurt." One of the men in front shouted as the group made their way to the front, and fanned out in an arc in front of the bar.

"Nobody will be fighting anyone in my bar! If you don't like it, get out!" Shrieked a voice behind the supposively empty bar. Startled, several members turned towards the sound, and a look of disbelief crossed over two as they stared at a pious frog ghost. With a curse, they turned their backs on the protesting frog, and stared at several of the patrons who had yet to hide behind their overturned tables.

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"I'm a controversial figure. My friends either dislike me or hate me."

"He aint here, why don't you take yer circus somewhere else!" one of the angry bar patrons angrily exclaimed, having lost his drink in the hurried confusion.

"Oh he's here, I know it." The leader smiled and shot a beam of bright energy into a nearby keg on the counter. The keg burst forth its contents in a rush, having had a hole burned into the side. An angry patron threw his empty mug, which clattered harmlessly off of one of the men's chest armor.

"Very well, men! Fire at will!"

Crimson and blue plasma blasts struck both unsuspecting patrons still standing, burning a hole, leaving them dying with a charred chest, and also several tables. Fortunately, Talos had problems with exceptionally strong drinks early on and had renovated the former wooden tables with a metal plating on the inside, keeping both the antique fashioned design, yet also cutting replacement costs. Thus, the plasma bolts did not at first burn through the overturned tables, but several shots in the same area would finally melt their way through.

The remaining patrons standing turned over the last few upright tables or dove for cover under other objects readily available. Cracked mugs and varios liquids spilled everywhere, the amount of glass on the floor in some areas was hazardous. Some shots ignited the spilled liquor, burning fires engulfed those nearby. The once serene and joyful tavern had become, literally, a living hell.

A guard off duty had the bright idea of using a crossbow to fight back. The bolt was strong enough to penetrate armor to the Defenders' surprise, and one took a shot in the upper right chest. Blood seeped out, staining the surrounding metal. Three Defenders angrily bombarded the poor guard in return, eventually piercing his cover and puncturing his body with multiple wounds.

"Damnit, we've got to do something!" Lemenath hissed to Hergat. "My bow and arrow won't harm them, and the guy with the crossbow was taken down!"

"Keep calm. I thought we might be followed. Here, take one." Hergat offered a phaser to both Lemenath and Xenar, who started returning fire. One of the guards fell with a gaping hole in his chest, a few more dove behind the bar, knocking over some bottles previously standing on top. A quick exchange of fire occured between Hergat and the Defenders, as Xenar and Lemenath worked their way around the tavern, spreading out, yet remaining behind cover.

Xenar found himself hiding near Sideline and Katze. He also noticed the crossbow was lying on the ground just a bit away. The three of them couldn't handle all six alone, they needed as much help as possible. Xenar waited for a particularly heavy exchange of fire from across the room, then dove behind Sideline's table.

"I need your assistance, have you ever used one of these before." Xenar asked, already fearing the answer. Seeing Sideline nod a negative he continued, "point the phaser like this, and aim. Then, pull the trigger" he said as he handed the phaser to Sideline. "I need covering fire, the crossbow would help us greatly. Sideline nodded once in acknowledgement, still stunned at this outworldly technology, and stared at the phaser. Xenar grunted and turned, hoping he'd have the sense to use the weapon. He crouched as close to the crossbow as he could, behind cover. Turning, he shouted "now!" to Sideline, and dove for the weapon.

He was mildly surprised that Sideline stood up, pointed in the general direction of the four remaining silver-armored men, and fired several shots at them before ducking under the barrage of fire that came his direction, chewing up the table he was at. All of his shots missed by at least a mile, but it gave Xenar the time to snatch the weapon, roll to his knees, and dive back behind cover. Sideline willingly exchanged the phaser for the crossbow, having a weapon he was comfortable and familliar with to use instead.

The battle lasted a relatively short while, the bar regulars finally won. However, they suffered serious casualties, not being able to easily defend themselves against the outworlders. Sideline suffered a mild burn on his left shoulder, Phinral had a nasty scorch on his right elbow. Katze was about to stand up in relief, when Hergat suddenly shouted out. "Keep down! Its not over yet!" just as a metal egg was hurled in through the splintered door. Luckily, the Cytherians had had enough of technology, and backed away from the object, rather than running gleefully over to pick it up, as some had foolishly done. The object exploded in a blast of smoke and fire, as the remaining eight defenders rushed in, guns blazing wildly as they sought to drive out those they were seeking...

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The story of the tavern continues on. You can find it under the name "The Alraeican Tavern, Part V"

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"I'm a controversial figure. My friends either dislike me or hate me."

[This message has been edited by Avatara (edited 01-01-2002).]