Warnings: Please be aware that this fan-fiction will contain mild profanities, sexual content, bloody battles, some character deaths (although none of the main D & D characters!), and an overly obsessive use of semi-colons and 'big' words.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the D & D role-playing game, including the books, games and cartoons. This piece of fiction is being written for merely entertainment reasons.
Rated: T!
A/N: My main reason for starting a Dungeons and Dragons series is that, well, I adore Eric's character for a start. But also I found some faults with the series; not only in the episode's plotlines, but in how some of the characters were always portrayed. However, I was hugely disappointed when I then also found out that this amazing show finished only after 3 seasons. I was born in 1993 and never realised it existed until my family introduced me to it later on, only to realise that it technically never finished. So this is kind of a dedication to an amazing cartoon series (may I collect every DVD set and keep them all preciously for the rest of my days haha).
Acknowledgement: This chapter has been slightly re-worded due to some spelling and grammatical mistakes. A big thank you to D. B. Cooper for beta-reading this fic.
Summary: Cont. from 'The Traitor', the young companions once again find themselves searching for a way home. Across bottomless swamps, through the land of blue fire, and further into the deeps of this mysterious world, the children must overcome great challenges. But will they ever get home? Shipping: Eric & Hank.
Dungeons and Dragons' series
Part One: Across the Bottomless Swamps
{Continued from 'The Traitor' episode}
"Now that you are friends once again, I have news of a possible way home," announced Dungeon Master, as he sat upon the barrel with his arms widening.
"All right, Dungeon Master," praised Eric, grinning wildly. "So what's the news?"
"You will find a clue in the land of blue fire, only three days journey through the bottomless swamps…"
"I still say that Dungeon Master's led us on another wild goose chase," grumbled Eric, as he sat almost too close for comfort in between Presto and Bobby.
"Give it a rest, Eric," said Bobby.
"Yea'," whinnied Uni, whose head briefly rose, since she had taken to lying by Bobby's feet, before returning to lay atop her hooves.
The Cavalier huffed.
"You know, Eric, you could help out with the rowing," Hank suggested, though he knew his suggestion to be in vain, "…it would get us there faster."
Hank and Diana had been sitting opposite him and rowing for more than two hours now. The group had made their way to the swamps only to find a rickety boat, no larger than a four-by-four door car, and had realised, after Presto's unsurprising failure to produce a flying machine from his magic hat, that the boat was likely the only way they were going to make it across the bottomless swamps.
However, it was a matter of the swamps being 'bottomless' that Eric above all feared, since the group had practically tugged him into the boat earlier this morning.
Eric shook his head wildly. "Oh, no! Thanks for asking, really, but no thanks, Hank. I mean, why would I want to be the party popper to all the fun you guys look like you're having," he blabbered in a mocking tone, and forced a grin in their direction.
Diana's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, loads of fun, Eric…and if you don't keep your trap shut, I'm willing to bet that you'll soon be joining us – like it or not."
Eric decidedly kept quiet and looked down at the bottom of the boat. He could feel his hands sweating from underneath his gauntlets, which he'd kept in his lap since their journey began through the perilous swamps.
"Maybe I can conjure up some more oars," said Presto, taking off his hat.
"Good idea, Presto. We'll get there in no time that way," said Sheila, smiling. She had been sitting behind them at the back of the boat.
He waved his hands over his hat and began chanting:
"Oh, mighty magic hat, help us now.
Give us something, so faster we will row."
Presto plunged his hand into his hat and grabbed hold of a wooden handle. He pulled it out.
"A spoon!" said Presto, moaning in annoyance.
"Hey, well done there, Presto," laughed Eric. "You keep that up and we'll each have our own set of fine cutlery by the end of the week."
"Maybe if I try –"
"I would not think that a wise decision, young Magician," a voice through the mist called.
"Who – who's that?" questioned Presto nervously.
Dungeon Master appeared before Presto, in the middle of the boat, and he laid a hand on top of Presto's hat.
"Dungeon Master!" they chorused.
"Boy, are we glad to see you," said the Barbarian.
Eric snorted. "Just be glad we can see anything; for all we know, we could be going in circles in this mist."
"Don't be such a pessimist, Eric," scolded Hank, pausing in his rowing.
"Actually, Ranger, the young Cavalier is most correct in this instance –"
"Ha!" burst Eric, grinning. "See, I was right – we are going round in circles!"
"Indeed, Cavalier, but do not look so heartily yet, for, as these swamps run in circles, they have been known to drift adventurers into their centers, where great danger rests and awaits."
"Well, why can't I work my magic to help us get out of here, Dungeon Master?" asked Presto tentatively.
"Yeah," said Bobby, nodding, "and what is this great danger at the middle of this swamp anyway?"
Dungeon Master sighed and slipped his hand away from the Magician's hat, bringing it to clasp the other behind him.
"I am afraid, my young children, that the great danger that rests at the center of this swamp holds magical powers of its own. It is the beast that keeps these swamps turning in circles, and he has long used his magic to block other being's magical powers that enter his domain," forewarned Dungeon Master, shaking his head. "But this beast also protects the swamps from those who would use these swamps to assist in their own evil deeds. In this case, the beast is neither your foe nor your friend – he is simply there."
"However will we get to the lands of blue fire to find the clue to go home, then, Dungeon Master?" asked Sheila.
"Yeah, if the journey there takes three days, how will we have enough strength to continue rowing and make sure we don't drift into swamp's center?" Said Diana, who had similarly taken up a rest from rowing the moment that Hank had stopped.
"Ah, and here lies the great mystery, my children," he replied, "for only by conquering your fears may you find the strength to find your way forward."
Dungeon Master walked over to the side of the boat beside Presto, stepped up onto the ridge, which should have caused the boat to rock, tip and dunk them all in the water, but it didn't. Instead, he stepped forward himself.
"Dungeon Master!" They chorused, and Presto and Hank moved swiftly to look over the edge and into the watery murk of the bottomless swamp.
"He's gone, there's no splash. He's just…gone," said Presto.
"Dungeon Master's probably fine, Presto," assured Hank. "He usually disappears like this on us, anyway."
The rest of the group took Hank's word for it; and, as Hank picked up his oar that he had laid down on his lap, Diana did the same. They began rowing once more.
"I'll do some rowing, Hank, if you want," said Bobby.
"Me too," said Sheila.
"Okay, guys, we can do switch-a-rounds every hour or so," replied Hank. "We'll take it in turns to keep going."
"Good idea, Hank. Hopefully, we'll be able to fight this current without any trouble, then," said Diana.
Eric sat in silence whilst a few hours past, his hands clutching and retracting back into their original position every few minutes. He exchanged places with Bobby once to row and found himself even more weary by the end of it.
As night drew on, the youngest members of the group began to fall asleep. Bobby, leaning on his hands on the edge of the boat, along with Uni, who was still resting below him, were both snoring quietly; and Presto and Diana had drifted off not long after them. Only Hank, Presto and Eric remained awake.
Hank and Presto were to take the first watch, with Diana and Eric, and then Sheila and Bobby following. However, even though Diana, Sheila and Bobby had fallen asleep, Eric knew that he wasn't likely to get any sleep. Not only was he uncomfortable sitting so squashed between the Acrobat and the Barbarian, but also, the thought of such a small boat being the only thing keeping him from falling into the bottomless swamp beneath them, was enough to keep him from sleeping.
"You okay, Eric?" Presto asked at one point during that first night.
"I'm fine, just thinking about the land of blue fire, that's all," he lied, smiling faintly. "I mean, with all that blue fire, in my armour I'll be roasting more than a burnt chicken."
They had looked at him with questionable gazes, but only agreed that they would all deal with the heat when they finally reached the land. Eric offered to take Hank's place at the end of the boat to row after a while, and was envious to find that Hank could settle so easily in the place where Eric had been sitting and sleep whereas he could not.
The second day was bad on everyone. The boat was too small for anyone to find real comfort, and most grew annoyed that they could not seek some solace in solitude, with Eric, Bobby and Diana in particular. Before coming to this world, Eric had barely known these people; he could have perhaps considered himself friends with Hank and Diana, since Hank was in his same year whilst Diana was one below him, but now he knew them all too well – and it bothered him sometimes.
Similarly, Bobby was reluctant to be spending so much time around his ever-worrying sister, Sheila; and Diana, albeit the third eldest – beneath Hank and Eric – and so more reasonable than some of the others, was not free to run and leap like the energetic acrobat she had always been.
"Hey Eric, you sure you can't use your shield to help us row a bit faster?" Hank asked, when the afternoon settled in. "If Presto can't use his magic, the least we can do is try to use our other weapons to help row."
Eric, after some reluctance, switched places with Presto and began using his shield as an oar. It wasn't the best method, as slime and grimy things stuck to the end of his shield, but at least it might get them back faster. Bobby also helped on the other side by using his club to row.
"I'm hungry," said Bobby.
Uni whinnied in agreement.
"We're all hungry, Bobby," said Hank.
"I'm so hungry I could eat a whole zebra," continued Bobby.
Eric snorted. "Why settle for a zebra? Back home, I could have whatever I wanted, whenever I liked. I swear I'm not gonna be leaving my dad's kitchen for days when we get back home."
"I miss our family's Sunday roast dinners," murmured Sheila. "The way mum would always spend ages cooking them, but then we'd all sit around the table and finish within minutes."
"Me, too. Especially the meat dad always insisted on cooking," said Bobby.
"Come on, guys, we'll get back someday. May be even sooner than we think," said Hank, tossing a smile their way. "After all, once we find that clue in the land of blue fire, we'll be home in no time."
"Yeah, I guess you're right, Hank," said Presto.
But the days passed by; the third, the fourth, and by the fifth, even Hank was questioning Dungeon Master's idea at sending them across a swamp with no bottom. It was the morning, and Diana, Hank and Eric hadn't slept the previous night.
"Maybe we should all just stop rowing, Hank," said Presto.
Bobby yawned, since he had – like the others – only just woken up.
"Yeah, us all rowing doesn't appear to be getting us any further," he said. "Plus, Dungeon Master said we'd be at the land of blue fire in three days and we haven't seen any land. It's all been reeds, smelly water, and more reeds."
"Oi pip-squeak, didn't you hear what Dungeon Master also said?" asked Eric pointedly. "He said there's a great danger that rests in the middle of the swamp and no offence, but I don't fancy being some beast's main course."
"Well, there has to be something we're not doing right, and I reckon we should stop rowing," said Diana.
"Yeah," agreed Bobby. "Besides, we can take on anything. This big beastie doesn't scare me."
Eric snorted. "No, but I'm sure drowning in a bottomless swamp would."
Sighing, Hank laid down his oar onto the floor of the boat and pushed an exhausted hand through his hair. He and Diana had been pushing it during the night to do an hour extra of rowing, but Bobby and Eric had looked like they had needed some rest whilst Sheila and Presto, having only just finished their shifts, had just fallen both asleep.
It was hard being the leader sometimes, but someone had to make the hard decisions.
"All right, we stop rowing – at least for a while," said Hank. "Dungeon Master told us we would find inner strength by facing our fears, and it's likely the only way we're going to face them is by heading straight into the thick of things."
"Dungeon Master is always telling us to face our fears, and it never gets us home," scoffed Eric. "He's just making go on a wild goose chase again."
"Maybe Eric's right," said Sheila. "What if Dungeon Master is wrong, or that we're wrong, and we're meant to keep on rowing?"
"We'll just have to see," said Hank simply.
That night was the first night everyone was able to sleep together, but not every one did take the chance to sleep. Sheila offered to keep watch first and no one disagreed, but both Eric and Presto were wide-awake that night. Neither talked to one another, but both could feel the uneasy tension in the air from not knowing what was to come.
Sheila, Bobby and Uni had been the first to fall asleep, and Hank and Diana had drifted off, partially due to their exhaustion, not long after.
"Guys, wake up – look!" Presto shouted, and he moved to shake Bobby awake by the shoulder.
"Wha –" came Bobby's muffled voice from beneath his arm.
"Way to choose a time to take a nap, your royal shortness," growled Eric.
They were headed for rapid waves in the swamp, their car-sized boat scraping against floating rocks or huge reeds beside small islands.
"I thought swamps were supposed to be all smelly, but calm and tranquil to travel through," shrieked Sheila. "This can't be normal – this can't be!"
Hank broke into a coughing fit; the air was becoming bitter from the smell of swamp-ridden stench. Presto followed soon after, and many members of the group were soon covering their mouths with their hats, cloaks, or various other fabrics.
"Since when is anything in this place normal," retorted Diana, with Uni neighing in agreement. The small unicorn had placed her hooves fearfully over her head.
"Hold on, guys," called Hank.
The rapid waves led them in circles, spinning the boat and almost tipping them over. But that was not the worst, for after an hour – or what felt like one – of drifting the group came to see that what had caused the circling rapids.
They were caught in a whirlpool, and the water was rising!
"Hank!" called Sheila, grasping tightly onto the boat's side, "What is that thing?"
"I don't know," he responded, tightening his grip on the side to his right.
The twirling whirl of water revealed a creature akin to that of a giant black swamp dragon, which had been using its wings to turn the currents. The swamp's current lightened with the dragon standing now and unmoving, but it still continued to course round and round at an alarming rate.
The dragon roared and flapped its wings. The sheer ferocity of the wind would have tipped the boat over had the young ones not leaned their weight against it on one side of the boat.
Stopping to roar a second time, Hank yelled, "Come on – let's use our weapons whilst we still can!"
He fired a golden arrow, hitting the beast in his stomach. The dragon raised his head towards the sky and roared, and directed a claw into the swamp, showering the young ones with swamp water.
"Eww – yuck," said Bobby.
"Yea'," whinnied Uni, attempting to shake most of the filthy black water from her fur.
"Good plan, Hank, you got another one?" Eric called mockingly, having used his shield to cover Presto, Sheila, and himself from the swamp water.
"Don't worry, I got it," said Bobby, grinning madly, as the swamp muck smeared on his face made him look almost wild. He marched past Presto and Eric, rocking the boat, and shouted: "Hey, dragon – why don't you have a taste of your own medicine!"
Bobby leaned over the side and smashed the water with his club. A wave of infested black infested swamp water went spiraling towards the dragon, and the sheer force and size covered it right up to his neck.
The dragon roared, and began turning in a circle and flapping it's wings, attempting to rid itself of the filth from its body. Hank shot off a second arrow, but to no avail, as it only served to hit the dragon's neck and irritate it further. Similarly, Diana attempted to blind the dragon by aiming her javelin for one of it's eyes, and yet the dragon caught the stick in it's mouth, snapped it in half, and sent her weapon hurtling into the slimy sea.
"Bobby, get back in the boat!" Shouted Sheila.
Bobby, with the help of his friends, returned to his seat. They held desperately onto the sides, as the dragon's wings began to beat faster.
"Now you did, pipsqueak!" Eric yelled. "We're gonna be dragon food."
The boat tipped, and the young companions fell into the swirling whirlpool of the bottomless swamp. The first to go under was Uni, for she could not swim against such waves and Bobby could not hold her, let alone keep himself afloat for too long. But as soon as she went down, he swam down into the blackness after her.
After Bobby's courageous dive, Sheila, much against Hank's cautious words, dived down after them, wanting to search for her brother. The dragon was still swirling; the companions still caught in a whirlpool.
A huge ripple of waves swept the rest of the companions under. They struggled and attempted to swim for the surface, but the dragon's spinning whirlpool had caught them; and so it was that they were further sucked deeper into the bottomless swamp, each losing their own state of consciousness and letting their bodies run with the flow of the dragon's whirlpool.