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VRDET-OP: The Marraketh Connection
     "Underground Part 4/4"
        by: Red Paladin
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	"Damn! I knew it... I mean, I felt it."
	Red was following the youngster with the elder and a 
group of druids to a secret hideout that the youngster had 
accidentally found. It had been created by the new "druid" who 
had come to live with them. It was a shorter journey than Red's 
exploring, but to his impatience, it seemed like an eternity. Red 
did not want to lose another friend.
	The druids went ahead. As they neared the entrance, they 
slowed down to consider their course of action. Red, though, 
would not wait any longer. Extinguishing one the hanging torches, 
he Shadowslipped[tm] through the nearest exit. Crossing to the 
other side of the wall, he could see that the entrance was an 
open, but outside, he had seen no passageway. It had to be an 
illusion. Moving quickly, he located the main chamber of the 
pseudo-druid's lair. There was only figure in the round room. It 
wasn't Bryn. He guessed that it was probably the so-called druid. 
For some reason, however, he was getting a very creepy feeling 
from him or her. It was almost familiar somehow...
	While circling behind, to get a better angle of approach, 
the druids' shadows were funneling into the room. The ones at the 
front stumbled slightly, tripping one of the renegade's wards, 
though not suffering any permanent damage.
	He chose to arrive at that moment, daggers in hand and 
the Fire[tm] coursing through his veins. When he stepped back 
into the normal world, he realized what he was facing.
	*Damn!*
	It was a Lyran. He hated Lyrans. From the colour of the 
crimson robes, he could tell that it was one of the higher levels. 
It was a she as well. She was the one Bryn had told her about, he 
guessed.
	"Watch out! It's a Lyran!" He exclaimed to the druids. 
That meant nothing to the druids, but the tone of voice did speak 
of grave danger, despite its cold sound. It meant more danger for 
Red as it suddenly redirected her attention to him.
	Though he was facing a great danger, the Fire[tm] left 
him unfazed.
	The druids, by now, were firing off offensive spells. The 
Lyran merely outstretched her hand in their direction, counter 
acting the spells, and defecting them back at the sources. The 
druids scattered, enduring minor injuries.
	"Well, what do we have here?" she asked in a mocking 
tone. "You have a nice taste in clothing," she said, noting Red's 
own Crimson Cloak[tm]. He remained silent, speaking only with his 
stone cold stare. Then, she summoned a ball of crimson energy in 
her outstretched hand, aiming it at the center of the scattered 
druids. Red cringed at the what the energy might do, but it 
simply expanded. It expanded until it enveloped the entire group, 
essentially trapping them. Some of the more persistent ones 
tested their magical prison and were rewarded with a nasty shock.
	"Did you have a nice rest?" she asked Red. *What? No 
wonder I slept in so late!* His face, however with its Fire[tm] 
fueled stare, betrayed none of the these thoughts.
	Common sense would normally have led Red to running, but 
the Fire[tm] only knew the target and the path to it. It had no 
need for such frivolous things. Red thrust a dagger in the 
Lyran's direction, but brushed aside in a sweep of magic. 
Relentlessly, Red pushed ahead the attack but was, each time, 
denied the pleasure of escorting her to death's door.
	"Is that the best you can do?" she said. Under the 
circumstances, it was, but Red said nothing. Too much time was 
needed to summon any useful magic, so instead the Fire[tm] burned 
brighter within him. The sheer force of will broke through the 
shield that protected her, letting one of Red's dagger through 
and drawing blood. 
	"I grow tired of this," she hissed. He tried to follow 
up, but another ball of energy wrapped around him as well.
	"You will be my next slave," she directed at Red, 
menacingly. Red only responded in a cold stare.
	"Now, where did she run off to," she said. By this, Red 
was sure she meant Bryn. 
	Suddenly, an explosion of blue light came from the energy 
that trapped the druids, emanating from the elder druid. This 
took the Lyran by surprise. Their crimson prison shattered, 
throwing bolts of energy like the shards of glass. Fortunately, 
just as Red's retrains kept him in, it also kept things out, 
giving him protection from the destructive shower.
	The druids had pooled their power, letting the elder 
druid become its focus. Even through the shield, Red could feel 
the power saturate everything in the room. Still, the level of 
energy grew. The Lyran seemed to flinch through her mask. Had she 
known what would have followed, she would have ran for, what was 
the rest of her miserable life.
	The elder druid unleashed a torrent of blue flame and 
energy crashing through, by comparison, her feeble shield, at the 
Lyran, surrounding her. There was barely enough time to hear her 
scream, as she became a black smudge of ash on the floor.

	"Is she going to be okay?" Red asked the druids, 
urgently. This second time, he made a point of remembering the 
route taken. They had brought Bryn's unconscious body back to the 
hospital room that Red had found earlier on. It was awhile before 
they had found her because she had been hiding in a small cave, a 
few metres away from the Lyran's room. Red was sure it was Bryn, 
but something change the Lyran did had changed her outward 
appearance to a form that he did not recognize, especially the 
crimson coloured hair. For some reason, she was also smaller.
	"Yes, if we hurry," said the elder.
	"Is there any way I can help?" Red asked.
	"Do you have any knowledge in herbal medicines?" he 
asked. Red nodded. "Good, then you will be able to help. Not now, 
but later. First we must try to reverse the transformation that 
being you called a Lyran has done to her."
	Red nodded again, but could not help but still feel 
frustrated. He had let another friend get hurt. Last time it had 
led to death, and Red did not want to have this come to the 
same conclusion.
	He left the druids to work their magic. The little magic 
that Red knew or had documented in the datapad was of no use in 
this matter. Healing with magic was not his specialty. As he 
walked hallways slipped past him, unseen. It was all a blur, 
colours flowing past him, until he finally stopped at the dining 
room to sit down.
	Food was brought to him. He mumbled some thank you, but 
he could not eat. When he did, the spices that made it smell and 
taste wonderful before, was now odorless and bland. All the worry 
would not make it better, but it could not stop Red from doing 
it.
	He carried himself to his room to rest, as waited for the 
call, when his help would finally be needed.

	It was few hours later, near 4:00, before Red heard 
anything. He awoke hearing the noise of shuffling feet, headed 
towards their quarters. Red opened the door to see a line of 
hooded zombies headed his way. It was alright though, as he 
realized the druids had stayed up all night to help Bryn. It was 
four in the morning, surface time, though, underground, time 
seemed to stand still.
	Red caught up to the elder just as he was about to enter 
his room.
	"Is she okay?" Red asked, anxiously.
	"Yes," he nodded, "and you can go see her."
	"Thank you."
	He nodded, and went into his room. Red quickly 
extinguished a torch and Shadowslipped[tm] into the sick room 
while the last hours of night still remained.
	"So Bryn, how do you feel?" Red said, instantly cringing. 
It was a very bad question.

To Be Continued in "Lockdown"

(C) A Neutral&Chaotic Production, 1998.

Neutral&Chaotic Publishing since 1997.
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The preceding segment is a work of fiction. Names, characters, 
places and incidents are either the product of the author's 
imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual 
events or locals or persons, living or dead, is entirely 
coincidental.