*The Road to TeeKay-TeeKay

The troup was in mid-trek over a high mountain pass. Their destination: TeeKay-TeeKay, the seedy port town of pirates. Karl and Natzzo followed the group steadying the three-months worth of supplies that were strapped to the pack animals. The pace was slow but certain and the air had a sweet, clean scent. "Ouch!" said Karl as he grabbed his chest. "Hang on guys, I got a lung cramp." Natzzo asked "Is your left arm numb?" Massaging the left side of his chest through his hide-jacket he replied "It's not a heart attack, I don't think." "I think its the right arm that's supposed to go numb" said Gobarth.

"Does it feel like someone kicked you in the chest?" asked Ver Klempt. "Nah," said Karl "It's just a lung cramp. Maybe it's just stress." "How stressed out can a Druid be? You need a regular excercise program!" Ah Ro Ghant exclaimed. Karl lit a cigarette and nodded.

The calm was broken, Ms. Vickers jumped up to the next plateau waving frantically. Her voice broke the frigid air. "BOYS! Dig yourselves in and tie the animals down!" A mid-day snow storm was fast approaching. Karl and Natzzo teathered the animals to a large tree stump and ran over the next hill. Everyone scrambled for cover, the wind pelted them with snow, rocks and sand. As the blue sky turned to the color of fresh calve's liver, thunder and lightning took command of the mountain. Finding his way under a ledge, Karl lashed himself to a rock. The wind howled like a wounded animal and poured a bank of snow into the crevice where Karl sought safety. The blinding snow went black and Karl could not move his arms or legs. In a matter of minutes Karl was burried alive.

Which way was up? or down? All sense of gravity and time was lost. Hours passed, it seemed. He wondered if he was dead or dreaming. From above he heard muffled voices and tapping. In the small space he dug with his chin he yelled "Hey! I'm alive!" The picking hastenned. A soft rumbling shook the ground and the picking stopped. The ground shook open and Karl saw daylight peak between falling chunks of snow. He took in the fresh air and continued to scream "I'm alive! I'm alive!" But the rumbling didn't stop, it grew louder until Karl could no longer hear himself scream. Snow and rocks pushed at his shoulders until the rope lashing came loose. He was now tumbling in the wake of an avalanche.

His fear was white hot! His back scraped down the rocky path as he curled into a ball clenching his eyes and mouth shut. When the rumbling stopped he found himself half-burried, but conscious, near the foot of the range, the troup was nowhere in sight. He kicked his way out of the rocks and snow with his legs and pulled himself free with his arms. He was in pain but he didn't know how badly he was hurt. He limped into a near by stream to wash his wounds clean. As he wadded in the water a rock hit him in the leg as it passed by, then water turned to silt. To the north he could see the roots of large tree knocking its way around the bend speeding towards him in a wall of water. It sounded like a stampede of horses. He tried to run but water rose up to his chest. The avalanche had unleashed the fury of a flash flood.

An island of debrit crashed into him and he clung for dear life. He held his breath each time he went under. Losing his grip he slipped under the mass of roots, rocks and branches. Water rushed into his nose and eyes. He let out a loud gasp as he was tossed about by the current. His hit points were now dangerously low, he lost 17 and was down to only 12. His mind went as muddy as the water did and then he went blank.

The Grassy Knoll
Karl awoke on a thick mound of dried grass. "Aghhh!" his left arm was broken. Holding his arm against his body he rolled off the mound limping, looking for something he could make into to sling. As the sun rose he quickly surveyed the area. "What manner of place is this?" The land was flat and arid, like a steppe in drought, the air was hot and still. There were no hills except for the mound of dried grass. Using his good arm, Karl sat next to the mound tying his broken arm tight to his body with his belt. The mound began to move. Karl jumped up and turned around to look behind him.

A large boney head craned upwards from the tawny mound. "Dragon?" muttered Karl in wide-eyed disbelief. It rolled over stretching and yawning like a cat, fluffing the thick fur on its back. Its moss-edged wings reached upwards casting long shadows on the ground. From its mouth, the tangy scent of rusted metal rode out on its hot breath. "Good morning, Druid." The dragon's voice vibrated through Karl's chest. Paralyzed with fear he fell over. "Oh damn! This isn't the way I planned on going. Maybe a small ceremony with freinds and a little nosh, but not like this." thought Karl.

To be continued...