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| Thread: HFC: "Where you least expect it" (fog) | |
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FriendOfGunnar
Honorable
Legendary Hero
able to speed up time
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posted April 07, 2006 08:09 PM |
bonus applied. |
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King Corrin stood looking at the door. On the front of the door a phrase was written "Where you least expect it." He had actually been staring intermittently at the door for about half an hour, hoping that some small dim ray of enlightenment would shine down upon him. The kingdom had lived in peace for 40 years, which was just the right amount of time to forget where you had put the key to the treasure hall where you kept your most powerfull artifacts. He looked at the door again and for the 30th time that day asked himself the same question. "Where would I least expect it?" Just then he looked down and an idea struck him. No…he would have remembered if he had put it there. His gaze returned to the door as a couple of angels strode into the hallway.
"You wanted to speak to us?" the lead angel Azrael said.
"Yes" King Corrin motioned to the door. "I need some help with this door"
"What's wrong with it?"
"I can't open it."
"Have you tried the key?"
"I lost the key"
"Do you remember when you had it last?" the second angel Murien said.
Corrin squinted his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. So far this conversation had been infuriatingly predictable.
"I had it 40 years ago, after I used the crown of courage to defeat the skeletal hordes. I then put the crown behind this door, which I then had locked, and then I put the key somewhere, which was 40 years ago, and now I can't remember where I put it. The door is magic by the way."
"Who's magic?"
"Zare kel Ammod"
"Ammod? What do you know…old Ammod." Azrael face lit up with the trace of long distant memories.
"I remember him too." Murien said. " Did he ever show you that trick where he would appear in your hands?"
"What do you mean? Like he would teleport right to where you're hand was?" Azrael said.
"No I mean he would appear in your hand, all small."
"Oh, a teleport plus a diminuation. That is new…"
"I wonder whatever happened to him…."
"Probably a lich now" Azrael said.
"What do you mean probably?"
"Oh they all turn into liches sooner or later. They spend half their lives fighting them, and then when they get into their 60's they feel the cold hand of fate resting on their shoulder and they think 'hmm…maybe these Necro's didn't have such a bad idea after all'
King Corrin interrupted them "Look, all this reminiscing is nice but do you think maybe you could you do something about this door?"
"What do you want us to do?"
"I don't know, maybe you could give a good whack with your glads."
Azrael looked up and down the narrow corridor as if taking it's measurements.
"There's not really a lot of room to swing a glad in here."
Murien was stroking his chin. "If we brought it down at an angle…no that wouldn't work either."
"I suppose we could use a hammer or something on the glads."
"But then we'd still have the same problem of getting some space to gain momentum."
"We could try to pry it…" Azrael's voice trailed off as a squatted down and examined the doorjamb closely.
"Nah, old Ammod's got way more juice than that." Murien said.
After a few moments Azrael stood up and gave the King a pat on the shoulder "Sorry, you're going to have to find the key." The angels turned and left.
Corrin's face was tight enough to play a jig on it. "If it wasn't for their battlefield skills," he was thinking "Angels would be the most useless creature on the face of the earth." He turned and stalked upstairs.
The upper floors of the castle were a hive of activity. Everything that was in was being turned sideout and everything up was being turned sidedown.. Corrin wasn't at the absolutely, completely, totally desperate level yet, however he decided that this was not a good time to procrastinate. So for the first time in his life he went to the castle library. He walked in and found the old librarian and his even older assistant having a conversation over a large stack of books. As he got closer he realized though that the conversation was actually just the librarian and his assistant mumbling to themselves. Corrin cleared his throat loudly.
"I am looking for a key."
Both of the old men looked up.
"And to what door does this key belong?" The librarian said.
"The door to my treasure room wherein is kept my most valuable possession, the crown of courage, whichupon will be needed to defeat my new enemy, King Morgan"
The assistant was about to point out that 'whichupon' was not a real word but the librarian was a beat faster.
"Have you tried cutting the door down?"
"It's magic. Strong magic…magic all over. I can say with certainty that there will be no cutting the door down, or tunneling into it, or…."
"Who's magic is it? can't be that bad I think"
"Zare kel Ammod"
"Oh, old Ammod. What a character." The librarian's face lit up with a now familiar gesture. He turned to his assistant. "Did he ever show you that trick where he'd reach into your chest and pull out the sausages that you ate for breakfast?"
The assistant laughed "Most of them could do that, I think…he was the only one who was willing to that's all." They were both laughing now.
King Corrin put his hands on their shoulders and drew them both close to him. "You guys aren't acting as if you are aware that there is a huge army camped 3 days away from here and that if they reach here without us having something to stop them then all of us will be out of a job….permanently."
"Yes er ... I was thinking maybe we could send some divers down into the moat" The librarian said.
"Good idea." the king replied. "I hereby task you with organizing the effort to see if the key is in the castle moat." He then turned to the assistant. "And you're the assistant, right?" The assistant nodded. "Then I assign you to assist him in the job of seeing if the key is at the bottom of the moat." The assistant nodded and gave a low cadaverous groan of assent. Both men's joints cracked as they stood up to begin their assignment.
King Corrin gave a brief scan over the respectable collection of books that constituted the castle's library and then made to leave. "I'll be…somewhere. I want periodic reports." He stalked out.
The librarian waited until he couldn't hear Corrin's footsteps anymore and then sat back down.
"Out of a job…like anybody really pays us." They both laughed and returned to their pile of books
The next three days flew by in the same manner as the previous forty years. The key was never found, the treasure room never opened, and the King unhappily joined the ranks of the newly unemployed. Meanwhile the new owners where busy exploring the castle. It took them only half a day to find the passageway and the door with the tantalizing message written on it.
"Hmmm…Where you least expect it." King Morgan said, gazing at the door.
"Where you least expect what? The treasure room?" one of his top courtiers said.
"No, the treasure room is right where I thought it would be, down in the lower levels with a passageway to the kings chamber."
"They must be talking about the key then."
"Probably."
"So where would you least expect the key to be?"
Morgan thought for a moment.
"Well inside the treasure chamber of course."
"Of course."
"Summon Gindin why don't you." Morgan said
It was only minutes later that Gindin, the chief court mage appeared.
"What seems to be the problem?"
"We think there's a key to this room on the other side of this door"
"That's an interesting place to put a key….Oh I see…'where you least expect it'"
"Can you do something about it?"
Gindin spent several minutes scrutinizing the door closely. "Maybe, give me some time to prepare"
Gindin reappeared several minutes later carrying a small phial and two large buckets filled with slimy liquids. He opened up the phial and powdered his right arm with the contents. Then he dipped his entire arm in the first bucket and walked over to the door carrying the second bucket. He then dipped his arm in the second bucket and there was a fizzing sound as the magic started it's activity. He started probing various parts of the door with his now disgusting hand.
"ahh here we go…" with a spectacular fizzing sound Gindin's entire arm disappeared through the word 'where'. Everybody crowded around as Gindin's face kept up a look of intense concentration. Suddenly his arm was out of the door and in his hand was a large jewel-encrusted key. Cheers broke out as he held it up for everyone to see. Without a pause he slipped it in the lock and opened the door.
"Well done Gindin!" King Morgan said as he stepped through the doorway. "Wow, look at that hat…"
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Echo_
Tavern Dweller
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posted April 11, 2006 02:42 AM |
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Its a good story but you don't qualify for the contest. This story is a little more than 3 pages.
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kookastar
Honorable
Legendary Hero
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posted April 11, 2006 02:48 AM |
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LOL I was thinking the same thing 
It is an awesome story though. 
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friendofgunnar
Honorable
Legendary Hero
able to speed up time
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posted April 11, 2006 02:50 AM |
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heh heh you just watch Foggy's magic
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FriendOfGunnar
Honorable
Legendary Hero
able to speed up time
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posted April 14, 2006 06:30 PM |
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Valeriy
Mage of the Land
Naughty, Naughty Valeriy
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posted June 09, 2006 08:18 AM |
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QP for the nice story Not for the length qualification 
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You can wait for others to do it, but if they don't know how, you'll wait forever.
Be an example of what you want to see on HC and in the world.
http://www.heroesofmightandmagic.com
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