Title: Coming Together

Author: Sam

Series: The Never-ending Story 26 / 33

Rating: PG-13: Language, imagery

Setting: Autumn 1992: The Realm of Dungeons & Dragons

Characters & Ages: Eric- 24; Uni- 19 (Elfish) but 9 (Unicorn); Terri- 18; Lorne- 21; Kosar- 25 going on 26; Ramuud- adult; Jaref- adult; Marinda- adult; Amber- adult

Summary: Eric, Terri, and Uni get the news and join the hunt.

Feedback: Please? I love comments.

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"You could teach DM a thing or two about teleporting, Uni!" Eric whirled around, his face showing the delight in his voice. "I don't feel sick at all." He grinned at his red-headed companion and noted her faint blush.

Terri nodded her agreement, her tones more subdued than Eric's. "It was certainly different than that surge I felt when I showed up in the Graveyard." She looked around at the large area of sprawling tents and turbaned people packing unfamiliar beasts. "Where are we?"

Eric glanced around, taking note of the beasts, the people, the howdahs and tents, and laughed. "Terri, unless I miss my guess, you are about to meet one of the nicest people in the entire Realm." He shot the teen a grin.

"Myeah!" Uni nearly trembled in pleased anticipation. She, too, had enjoyed her time with the desert king. "We should meet him, Airk."

"Damn!" the voice came from off to the left, full of surprise and delight. "The Caviar's all grown up!"

All three whirled to see a dark-haired man sauntering towards them, most of his head bandaged in crisp white, dressed in a brown tunic and dark trousers of heavier material than the desert people were wont to wear. The smile on his face, and his amused blue-grey eyes, were as welcoming as any of Ramuud's people.

"Lorne!" Eric rushed forward to envelope the other man in a hug. "Wow! When did you join Ramuud?"

"About an hour ago," came the feminine reply of Marinda, again drawing delighted shock from Eric.

This time Uni gave a laugh and grabbed Terri's hand, tugging her towards the older woman. Uni's voice carried on the wind, "and here's another one of the nicest people in the Realm, Terri."

The redheaded Elf's words made Marinda blush, especially as the woman had no idea who the two young ladies were with the familiar Cavalier. "Thank you, and welcome. Please, rest. We'll be starting off soon but Ramuud's tent is still set up." She offered both hands to the teenaged women. "Jaref is in there studying with Kosar."

"Kosar!" Eric turned surprised eyes on the woman. "I thought he'd left." He gladly slid his arm companionably around Lorne's shoulders, though, and followed Marinda towards the largest tent. "Does Jaref still hate me?"

Lorne gave a quick glance to Eric. "You still ruffling feathers?"

"As often as possible," Eric quipped back. Something in Lorne's worried tone drew his attention. "Hey, Corny, what's wrong?"

The other man shook his head then winced at the pain from his injudicious movement. "Where's Hank? We were told he'd be with you."

Marinda opened the tent flap, allowing the group to move into the comfortable enclosure, eschewing temporarily the cracked landscape and driving heat outside. She followed them in, heading for the sideboard and the light luncheon still set up there. As she began to serve the new arrivals, Ramuud slipped in from supervising the packing up.

Eric cut of Ramuud's answer. "Who told you I was with Hank? I haven't seen him for six years. Stupid DM teleported me smack dab into an Orc battle and if it wasn't for Uni, I'd have been dead." He gestured to the pale-skinned Elf.

Five jaws dropped open at the new information. Finally, Kosar broke the silence in his odd voice. "Uni? You mean Bobby's unicorn?"

Eric jumped at the audible and mental voice. "Whoa - - uh, Kosar? What happened to you?"

Jaref raised his voice to drown out all replies. "Enough. One question and story at a time." He glared around the tent, shifting the scrolls in his lap. "Ramuud, sit before you fall." The white-haired man sent a worried glare to the dark-haired king. When the other man obeyed, Jaref turned back to the new trio. "There isn't time for many explanations. The enemy is a host of undead," he gestured towards a scroll between Kosar and Amber, ignoring the surprise once again from the newest visitors; they hadn't noticed her on entering.

With a sigh, Marinda pushed food and drink at the three, but no one touched what she offered, too intent on the conversation.

"One of ours was captured and is being taken to the Wall of Souls. Four of ours have gone after her. We are short on weapons for the army we were told was being raised." Jaref's voice rose in agitation with every word.

Kosar's hands flew to cover his ears and he looked to be in severe pain. His voice sounded soft by comparison. "Please, Jaref. My head aches enough with the unfamiliar minds around."

The older man flushed and turned his habitual frown on the young man. His voice barely audible, he said, "I apologize, Kosar. I forgot you hear minds."

"Hear minds?" Terri looked at the brown-haired man in curiosity. "Doesn't that get overwhelming?"

Jaref glared at the girl and she shut her mouth, a flush tinting her cheeks. The older man turned back to Eric, still taking the lead from Ramuud. "Ramuud and Lorne were injured so we move slowly towards the Wall of Souls and the battle coming.

Eric jumped on the statement. "You said one of ours was captured and taken there, right? Uni, Terri, and I can move quickly. We can get there and help free this person."

Cutting through her husband's words, Marinda said, "four have already gone after her. Though Aelhburt and Varla need weapons."

"Alb-urt?" Uni sounded faintly confused as she turned her back to Eric, who began untying the trident she carried.

Terri nodded, dark ponytail swinging. "That would be Presto. His real name is Albert."

A look of surprise crossed Eric's face. "Yeah, I remember him yelling at me about it. That was right before we got teleported and hell began." He released the trident and handed it over to Lorne. "Weapons," he commented and he pulled the flail from his belt and handed it over to Lorne. "Weapons of Power," he added smugly.

Ramuud leaned forward and asked, "How did you know to bring them, My Son?"

The Cavalier grinned and gestured towards Terri. "She told us DM said we needed to get them to the Children of Power. Well, until we can find the others, we may as well let you guys use them. Turn around, Terri, let me get that horn for you." He interrupted himself easily then went right back to talking with Ramuud, unstrapping the ties that held the massive spiral of ivory to Terri's back. "We know you're going to show up in the right spot when you get there, so they'll only be on loan."

"Not all of them," Lorne interjected. He weighed both weapons in his hands then passed the flail to Kosar, who looked amused. "Kosar and me are two of the Children of Power you're looking to arm. And we could use these weapons."

Eric grinned and tapped Terri's shoulder absently. He handed the horn to Ramuud. "Presto still has his hat?"

The bandaged man nodded slowly. "Yes, and he has improved much over the years. His spells are magnificent now he has learned to ask for exactly what he wants. Random requests led to random magic in his youth."

"Right," Eric stood. "That means Varla'll need a weapon, which we've got in the pack. So, point us to this Wall of Souls and we'll get moving."

Marinda whimpered, but Jaref put a quelling hand on her shoulder. Lorne stopped admiring his new weapon to frown at his long time friend. Kosar nodded, resigned, and looked back at his papers. Ramuud, however, put a brief hand on Eric's shoulder. "Let me provision you, My Son. We could not do less for you than we have for the others who left here."

With a nod, Eric followed Ramuud from the tent.

Turning to the young women, Marinda softly said, "eat while you wait." She offered the food once more, and this time they accepted it.

In a determined voice, Amber finally spoke up. "Let me come, too? I know the way and know all of who have gone to save her."

"It's a good idea," Kosar added. He sounded distracted and became more so when Terri moved to sit beside him.

"What's this?" She glanced over what looked like a poem. She couldn't resist the question; years of watching Bobby at what seemed to be a similar task had made her curious about people's research: especially in light of her recent knowledge of Bobby's danger.

He shook his head and pulled it on top. "It's an old song called 'The Jewel of Eliavah.' I'm not sure why it was locked in King Varen's safe, but he thought it was important." His eyes darkened. "Important enough to take one of ours captive."

With an equally dark frown, Terri lifted the parchment and glanced over it. Speaking, as she didn't know the tune of the song, she recited:

"To each his own

In golden shelter

The unicorn unleashes the snake

Then a sharp divide

One to twist in the wind

Encircled by the mariner's charge

The other to cut through the darkness

Join in the energy unseen

Pierced by an emerald shaft

A crack of wood

An echo of steel

With the power to invoke

And bound in chains

Let free the jewel of the Elves

But let it begin with the heart."

Amber looked up, surprise on her dragon face. "Oh, Queen Tasmira used to sing that for us at evening fall."

Offering a smile to the little dragon, Terri gestured towards the stack of papers in general. "And all these?"

Kosar looked at her then back at the papers. "These papers hold the secret to defeating the enemy. They're tactical plans and star charts and messages sent back and forth among his allies. If I could just decipher their use, I would know how to stop him."

Terri's denim blue eyes met Kosar's blue. "He's after Bobby."

The Psionicist frowned. "Why do you say that?"

She shrugged and took one of the pages. "Because Bobby knows too much. He knows almost everything about the Realm." She looked back up at the older man, her face darkened with worry. "I'm afraid for him."

He put a hand on her shoulder and his voice was for her mind alone as he said, "Bobby was one of the ones that went after her. He was fine an hour ago when he left us."

As no one else had heard the comment, shock reverberated around the group when Terri sobbed and threw her arms around Kosar. Eric and Ramuud stopped in the doorway at the scene. Finally, Eric snorted in amusement. "Yeah, he had that effect on Diana, too."

Embarrassed, Kosar carefully unwound Terri's arms from his neck and gave her a gentle smile. He took the crumpled paper from her lap and smoothed it over his knee. "You should leave. You are only an hour behind him."

"Him?" Eric looked from Kosar to Ramuud.

Smiling, Terri stood and reached to Uni, pulling her up by the arm. "He means Bobby. They saw Bobby and he was heading to this Wall of Souls prison. We're right on his tail."

Amber flew to the Cavalier and landed lightly on his shoulder. Happily, she chirruped, "then what are we waiting for?"

Eric looked at the Faerie Dragon then at Terri and Uni. With a smile, he nodded and handed over two of the packs he carried. "Right. Let's go help Bobby."

As the foursome made their way northwest towards the cursed prison, the other five watched them leave. This parting, unlike all of the others before, did not feel so fatalistic. It must have been the knowledge that, aware or not, the Children of Power began to converge in one place again. Dungeon Master's plan started to come together. For the first time since Sheila's capture, hope blossomed among the allies.

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Continued in Chapter Twenty-Seven: Plans Change