by Maruchan
"I think Red should get locked up >:)="
--Nexxus
"Now, Cookie Monster kept on walking. Eventually, he came
to a fork in the road."
--Havin' Fun With Ernie and Bert, "Magic Cookie"
Maruchan, Brynhild, and Theseus had set out to find Red,
instead they had come across a spongin army. The rangers had
taken cover in a nearby clump of grass while they decided what to
do.
Theseus was the first to speak. "Either of you have any
idea what to do about these people? Not to mention where Red
is?" So much for suggestions.
Brynhild seemed to be stronger, more sure of herself than
the other two. "Red's around here, I'm sure of it. His magic
aura is stronger here, so strong he must be in the area. If we
get some time to search, I'll be able to give you an exact
location... and I have an idea on how to distract the armies.
"Anyway, I don't know if Red has tried this, but I
figured we can rig up an illusionary distraction. Nothing small,
though - a full Jihaddi army, to confuse them completely. If we
have it coming in the right direction, it won't draw attention
to us... or to the real camp! It'll probably give us time to
rescue Red as well..."
Brynhild sounded like she knew what she was doing.
Maruchan nodded. "Do it," Theseus said decisively. Maruchan
thought she detected a trace of wistfulness in his voice.
Brynhild turned to face the army, concentrating on her
spell. Maruchan watched as soldiers began to materialize and
march towards the army, which immediately turned to face the
illusionary threat. "C'mon... more soldiers," Brynhild whispered
fiercely.
A spongin soldier took a shot at one of the illusionary
Jihaddi. The soldier fell, dead. Maru watched in awe as the
illusions led the spongin army into the distance. Damn, this girl
was pretty good. She'd never be able to set up such an elaborate
illusion herself...
Brynhild turned back to her comrades, looking pleased and
slightly surprised at the effectiveness of her spell. "Red...
he's in that direction," she said, pointing to the east. The
other two rangers followed her.
They found Red lying in the brush, or rather, Bryn said
that she sensed his aura emanating from the brush. Theseus went
up to the brush. "Is he conscious?" he asked, and kicked the
brush without waiting for an answer.
"Well, he didn't cry out. It must be him," Bryn
commented.
"Bryn?" Red's voice was weak.
"Yeah, it's me. Get up; they're looking for you at the
camp, and we don't have time for any games."
"I... can't... too tired... give me two minutes?"
"All right. But only two."
Exactly two minutes later, Red got up and they began walking
back to camp.
Calculus was waiting when they arrived. "Red Paladin,
may I have a word with you?" he beckoned. Red followed meekly.
Thes watched him go. "Poor guy."
Bryn smiled. "You kicked him."
"Like you wouldn't have enjoyed it," Theseus answered.
Brynhild grinned evilly.
Red returned to the group. "Got chewed out?" Bryn asked.
Red nodded. "Pretty badly. Oh, well. He says we're on
scout duty again." Shrugging, he wandered off to rest. His
companions left to do the same.
By late morning that day, they were up and ready to move
on. They regrouped and resumed hiking. The day passed
uneventfully until noon, when suddenly...
...they came to a fork in the road.
*Jarring Chord*
The rangers wondered what they could possibly do. If they
went one way, well, then, they couldn't go the other. And that
would suck.
Calculus finally spoke. "All right, here's how this is
going to work. We need both of these routes explored. Red and
Bryn, you two take that fork; the rest of the group take the
other. We'll meet again when the roads do. Good luck."
The rangers agreed that would be good. They bid each
other good-bye, and continued on their journeys.
-TBC-