AN: Dungeons and Dragons and all related characters belong to Disney, TSR, and Gary Gygax. I'm only borrowing them for a time. I'm writing the story for the episode and hope to animate and voice it one day, when I can afford to not work. -J.B.
Janapurna and the Stallions of Hokar
Premise by Richard Merwin
Story written by J.B.
CHAPTER I: SUMMONS
It's 10 P.M. on a Saturday night. Having managed to sneak out of their respective homes and leap over the neighborhood theme park fence, the children now stand before the roller coaster ride that trapped them in the Realm many adventures ago.
"Are you guys sure about this?" Eric whispers.
"What do you mean, Eric? We're coming back."
"Yeah, Eric. That was our deal with Dungeon Master."
"Look- do I hafta SPELL it out for ya? We are breakin' the law. Are we gonna hafta do this every time we're called to save the Realm? Ya don't get a 'get outta jail free' card here!"
From a portal appearing feet away, a tallish form emerges.
"Young Ones, it is time," summons the voice of Dungeon Master, only this voice sounds lower, and all-too familiar.
"Venger is Dungeon Master now? How can we trust him, you guys? I mean, he's making nice with us now, and I get that, but didn't he try to kill us all those-"
"Knock it off, Eric. There's gotta be a reason Dungeon Master summoned Venger…even for this one." Hank looks back to number the kids.
"Okay, Venger, we're all here," Hank replies. "But Eric's right."
"I'm RIGHT?" Eric quips. "I'm writin' this down."
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"Isn't there some better way to return to the Realm? It might be a bit much for some of us."
"Yeah! Can't we just go back like you came in? Going ta jail ain't an option, Venger… I mean, we can't just break rules… I mean we can bend them a little BUT NOT LIKE THIS!"
"Fear not, Young One, for all of you are free from such perils. I shall see to it."
"Great, Realm-term life insurance, courtesy of Venger ," mocks Eric.
"Thanks for telling us, V.M. Now I can sleep nights!" prates Eric, wheedling away. "So if ya don't mind…
"…I was just dreaming about passing my algebra quiz Monday morning… on second thought, how about that mission? Only don't make me into a tree again."
"What is our purpose in the Realm now, Venger?"
"All questions shall have answers in due time, Cavalier… Ranger."
"Oh NOOO… he's talking like His Shortness! Umm… look here, Venger. If ya want this job, do yourself andus a favor… and DON'T talk like THAT!"
"Farewell. I shall return." Venger leaves by portal.
"You heard him. Let's go", says Hank.
The children enter the roller coaster ride once more.
"Quietly, you guys. Try not to make a sound."
The ride ensues as the bumper car shuttles into a flume of light!
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Twilight glimmers about the Realm, twinkling over a lake overlooking a brushy and otherwise dry plain. As we move in closer, we see the children moving as fast as ever. Huffing and puffing on the verge of exhaustion, the kids come face-to-face with a terror they've never dared to see before- the mortifying gaze of the Stallions of Hokar- night-colored winged heralds of a world lurking about the Realm from another astral plane.
"Hey guys!" Bobby shouts, trailing behind. "Wait for…"
As he runs, Uni materializes out of thin air into his arms.
"…US! It's UNI! I… I'VE GOT UNI! UNI'S BACK!" cries Bobby in-between breaths, hoisting Uni about.
"Great", mopes Eric. "Dead weight… just the handicap we need!"
Hank yells ahead of the gang. "Guys! This way! Don't look back!"
"Ya don't hafta tell ME twice!" Eric bellows, shuddering.
One of the stallions whinnies as it tries to overtake Eric, breathing too close to him.
"YAAAA! Get away from me!" Eric yowls, taking off!
Just ahead of them lies a barren clearing leading to a craggy area with a tiny shed in front overlooking a cliff.
"Bobby!" shouts Sheila.
"C'mon, Bobby!" Hank shouts behind him.
"Over there guys! Behind that shed!" shouts Eric.
Eric turns the corner to find a tiny old man standing over a cauldron.
"Hey mister! How 'bout lettin' us catch our breath!" Eric yelps as the other kids catch up to him.
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The old man gestures indoors to his smallish shed. The kids enter without hesitation and just when all seems well…
The old man grows in size and dons a cloak, becoming Kelek!
A small but bright flash of light illuminates the shed.
Bobby and Uni duck behind a nearby wheat field amid the commotion.
"They're not comin' outta there, Uni! We gotta help them!" Bobby whispers, starting to charge in.
"Nnohhhh", murmurs Uni, pulling him back by his belt.
"Guys, I-I got a bad feeling that's-" Eric murmurs.
"KELEK!" They all shout, as Kelek begins to conjure.
"Get down!" Hank warns, firing a beam of light to distract the sorcerer, all but too late!
"I shall send you to the astral plane of Vilith… from there, you shall never return!" cackles Kelek.
And with a swift gesture across his purple smock, dazzling display of light overwhelms the tiny shed as Kelek whisks them far,far away on a distant plane… a distant world far from- and not at all of- the Realm.
The luminous display silences Bobby and Uni with awe and despair. As the shed disappears into thin air, what they fear is confirmed…
"They're gone!"
Someplace else, Presto blindly combs the ground.
"Whoa…that light hurt my eyes…my glasses…there they are!"
"Glad you know where your glasses are, Presto… but where in the Realm are we?"
"Sheila! Hank! Diana!"
"Hey Sheila… ain't that your little runt of a brother!"
"Bobby! We're in here!"
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"Wherever here is…" Hank surveys the interior. "Some sort of burned-up, dead tree."
"Presto! Eric!" Bobby shouts!
"Sheila! Hank? Where are you guys?" Bobby's voice echoes through the charred dead wood surrounding the Young Ones.
Bobby starts to cry.
"They're gone, Uni!" He cries more loudly.
"No we're not, ya little dummy," Eric blurts out, crawling out of the wood's hollow trunk. "We're right-"
"C'mon, you guys, after Eric", Hank says.
As Bobby's cries vibrate through the hollow, Eric pokes his head outside of it.
"-here." Bobby is not in sight.
"What are we gonna do, Uni?" Bobby's cries intensify in this astral plane.
As Presto emerges, Diana says, "It seems like we're on a different world from the Realm…"
"…and Bobby's in the Realm, alone … Oh, BOBBY!" Sheila cries.
"Easy, Sheila. Uni's with Bobby. He'll be okay."
"Some comfort that is", deadpans Eric.
"Look, guys," Hank calls them to attention. "Kelek brought us here. That means there's a way outta here, too."
"Hank, you're not talkin' about—oh noooo! Winged Death with Bad breath? Are you nuts?"
"No, Cavalier, there is another way."
"Ven-geon Master?"
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"You have found Vilith, an astral plane far away from the Realm."
"Is THAT what ya call FINDIN'? If itis, HOW DO WE LOSE IT!"
"Eric! Be quiet and listen!"
"On an astral plane, Young Ones, you cannot see anyone on any other. The voices you hear…"
Murmurs and groans resound through the dry air, enshrouding the land with a moving fog. The Young Ones turn with their backs to each other. They look without at the apparent emptiness.
"…are spirits who cannot be seen or heard from the Realm- or any other material world, for that matter."
"Neat-o!" exclaims Presto.
"Within this plane you must rescue Janapurna, a princess from a distant land. Only by heralding her return can you break the spell that has brought you here."
Eric frantically recites as he writes. "Returning her herald… break the spell… rescue a princess… did he say a Princess? Hope she's loaded! Er… can you repeat that, V.M., new buddy, new pal?"
Venger's wings flap open, opening a portal behind him, which he steps backward into, closing his wings.
"So I have spoken."
"That's it, Venger?" questions Diana. "Isn't there more?"
Venger vanishes, leaving behind a glimmer.
"At least D.M. gives us some kinda clue, even if it IS one-a his dumb riddles," Eric mutters to Diana.
"Come on, you guys", Hank adds. "I never thought I'd say this, but we gotta do as Venger says- push ahead- and look for Princess Janapurna."
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