[This post was written jointly by Arlene, Bridget, Dana, John, and Katrina]


Elvynia
****

Elly woke covered in a fine mist of perspiration, echoes of her dream still 
filling her mind.  The walls of her room seemed too confining, so she decided 
to wander outside to clear her head.  

Though the sky was dark, the light of a full moon made it quite easy to see 
as she made her way down toward the beach.  She settled on an outcropping of 
rocks, staring out at the sea shimmering in the moonlight.  Crossing her 
legs, she rested her elbows on her thighs and leaned her head in her hands, 
contemplating this new development in her recurring dream.  Were those 
unforgettable sea-green eyes there because she wanted them to be - or did it 
mean something else?

{You should be asleep, rider, but you're not happy.  Why?}  

{{Oh, Iris, I'm mostly just confused.  I'll be all right.  Don't worry.}} 

{When you worry, I worry.  It's my job.} 

{{Don't worry too much this time, then.  I'll go back to my room in a few 
minutes.  It's a nice night.  I like just sitting here.}} 

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't hear them approach until one reached out to 
seize her firmly by the arm, drawing a gasp of surprise from her.

The bedraggled, red-bearded sailor looked her appraisingly up and down, a 
speculative gleam in his dark eyes.  "This is a fine bit o' fluff we've found 
ourselves, ain't she mates?" he crowed to his  two equally rough-looking 
companions.  

"Aye, Rufus, she's a pretty one," the scar-faced one agreed.  "Ain't she, 
Gegger?"  He nudged the other man.

Elly turned her head away from the blast of foul breath that pelted her face. 
 "Let GO OF ME!" she shouted, voice rising in indignation.  She tried to tug 
her arm loose from his fierce grip. 

"Not so fast, deary, me mates and I are lookin' for a bit o' sport, and yer a 
choice tidbit."  He licked his fleshy lips.  

"I have no intention of doing anything with you!" Elly told him 
contemptuously, the sour stench of their unwashed bodies turning her stomach.

"I know you warren sluts are always ready for some fun, ain't that right, 
Gegger?  Colm?" he nodded to his cronies.  "What's yer price, then?  This, 
perhaps?"  He opened a small pouch with his free hand and spilled out several 
gleaming jewels.  He held one up for her inspection.

"I wouldn't want to have 'fun'," she sneered the word, "with you for a barrel 
full of jewels.  Now LET GO OF ME THIS INSTANT!" 

{Rider?  What's going on?} 

{{I can't seem to get these disgusting men to let me go.}} 

"Let's see what ye've got hidden in here."  He reached for the neck of her 
shirt. 

The hand in her cleavage sent rage shooting through her.  In one sudden fluid 
motion, she brought up her head and her knee with every ounce of force she 
possessed.   Before he knew what had hit him, he slumped to the sand, his 
streaming nose disregarded as he clutched his groin, which seemed to explode 
in a paroxysm of agony.  

****

Gus
****

Gus rolled silently out of bed and pulled on a pair of pants under her shirt. 
 Chiding herself mentally for growing soft, she headed out of the barracks.

Blending into the shadows, she gazed pensively up at the walls of the warren. 
 Choosing to scale the one nearest the sea, she had pulled herself off the 
ground when she heard noises from the beach.

Who the hell would be up at this hour? she wondered.  Dropping from the wall, 
she loped off toward the sounds.

Creeping noiselessly along the sand, Gus noticed three men surrounding Elly.  
"...GO OF ME THIS INSTANT!" 

Slipping ever closer, her eyes half-closed to prevent them from reflecting 
the moonlight, Gus watched the red-haired stranger paw at Elly's shirt and 
then go down in a flurry of movement.  Silently crowing at Elly's victory - 
however temporary - she pulled herself up on a higher section of the rocks.  

One of the two remaining - a dark-skinned fellow, his bare back heavily 
scarred - leaned over their downed comrade.  "You ok, Rufus?"

As he did this, the other fellow grabbed hold of Elly's arm.  "Yer gonna pay 
for that, warren-bitch!" he hissed. 

The moonlight played across the men, highlighting the scarred one's two 
missing fingers, while he kicked at Rufus'ss feet to rouse him, and the 
jagged scar running from below his shipmate's eye to the corner of his mouth. 
 

Gus carefully positioned herself at the very top of the rocks.  If she missed 
this, it could get real ugly, real fast.  Of course, she'd never missed yet.  
She grinned viciously, heedless of the glint of her teeth and dove forward, 
aiming for the sparkle of the beringed finger tight on Elly's arm. 

She hit where she wanted, her arms wrapping slightly around his torso, with 
her mouth next to his ear.  Timing her shriek at the instant she hit caused 
him to reflexively loosen his grip, and they tumbled to the sand, leaving 
Elly behind.

{Gus, Iris says Elly needs help!}

{Yeah, I noticed.}

****

Aitzan
****

The sudden absence of a warm weight on her chest was enough to jerk Aitzan 
from a sound sleep.  Groaning to herself, she ran a hand over her chest 
trying to figure out what had woken her up when the sound of a closing door 
woke her up completely.  Hi'ga Nyumi, the lizard!

Three violent kicks disentangled her from the bed clothes and sent them 
scattering across the floor as she practically flew towards the door - and 
smashed her face into it as she tripped over a pillow.

Her knees hitting the floor were only marginally less painful then her nose 
and forehead.  Groaning and swearing to herself, she blinked the stars away 
and flung open the door as she climbed to her feet.  The little monster was 
going to pay for this!

"Bakke!" Aitzan shrieked as she caught sight of a tail snaking out the door 
before it shut.  Racing across the room, she forgot about the rug and 
skidded.  Air whooshed out of her lungs as she landed hard.  But that was 
pure bliss compared to the painful scrapes the wall gave her bare skin when 
she crashed into it.

Too livid to even curse, she spit out the blood from her nose and got 
furiously to her feet, throwing open the door.

That creature was going to die, by Nyumi, with her hands around his neck!

But first, she had to catch him.

A flicker of movement caught her eye, and she was on it like a shark with the 
scent of blood in its snout.  But the lizard hadn't survived as long as it 
had as a lizard without knowing when it was being hunted.  More than that, 
the lizard knew that it was a better swimmer then its hunter. 

Bakke made for the water, with Aitzan close on his tail.

****

Corwin
****

Corwin was sleeping heavily, worn out by the day's activities, and was 
startled awake by someone crashing and shrieking, as the door suddenly burst 
open to issue Aitzan out into the night.  Corwin laughed to himself, 
wondering what demon now possessed the strange girl.  He was just settling 
back to sleep when he was startled again, this time by Sy, urgently calling, 
{*My rider!  Iris is afraid for her rider!  She is at the beach and is in 
trouble!*} 

Jumping out of bed, he smashed into his locker in his confusion, issuing 
expletives that only a sailor would know.  G'ret, Lainie and the other 
trainee, K'liam, sat up, bewildered by the loud noises. 

"What's going on?"  G'ret asked, noticing Corwin struggling with his pants.

"Something's happening on the beach," Corwin said, not wanting to mention 
Elly in fear that Lainie might take it upon herself to go and that might 
re-injure the girl.  "Don't worry, I'll go see what's up and be right 
back....  And I'll have Sy let your dragons know," he called over his 
shoulder from the doorway as he rushed out of the barracks, then dashed 
across the green and down the steep incline to the beach.   

****

Aitzan's brown eyes watched as Bakke looked back over his shoulder, 
confirming what his ears had already noticed: no pounding footsteps, no 
Aitzan.  She sent silent prayers to the ocean that his instincts would not 
let him feel safe - not after all the trouble she had gone to steering him to 
this very spot in their mad chase down to the beach.

His steady lope didn't even pause.  She wore a tightlipped grin as she waited 
from her rocky perch.  She had always loved the hunt.  Moving silently, 
lacking even clothing to catch on something, she slowly gathered her legs 
beneath her, preparing for the strike.  Her keen eyes widened to catch all 
available light, and she counted silently in her head, three...two...one....  
She jumped.

An exhilarating moment of free fall ended with a shocked squeal and a grunt 
as she hit her target dead on and sent them both tumbling uncontrollably down 
the beach.

****

Two of the sailors' companions had stayed behind to beach their borrowed 
dinghy and relieve themselves in the shallows before heading up toward the 
warren.

"Hoo-ee," the larger one crowed.  "Let's go have us some fun!"

"Damn lucky, them having that sot on guard duty, eh, Mungo?" 

Corwin, seeing the approaching men, sprinted across the beach.  Panting, he 
careened to a stop next to Gus.  Corwin faced the new arrivals as Gus kept an 
eye on the one she had just taken down. 

"Can you handle them?" Gus muttered under her breath to Corwin, her attention 
never straying from her target.

Corwin barely nodded, "I think so...."  He eyed the two.  One was tall and 
lean, with dirty brown hair and a goatee.  The other one was about as big as 
Corwin, with dirty blond hair and eyes that promised cruelty. 
    
****

Xanith
****

Xanith sat sulking, his back turned on his partner.  He was still fretting 
over how to get rid of this new load of bottles when he heard the mental 
cries.  Another rider in trouble, further down the beach! 

{Rider, get up, we are needed!} 

There was no response.  {My RIDER!}  Xanith nudged hard at Devon, but the man 
only hiccuped and tipped back another bottle. 

Xanith sighed mentally and gave up in disgust, swishing his tail at the 
bottles.  They plummeted off the rocks into the water.

Devon swore at Xanith and scrambled after them. 

****

Jerram
****

Jerram, meanwhile, was just returning from the beach.   Seydor's thoughts 
suddenly impinged on his own thoughts.  {Jerram, Iris says her rider is being 
attacked!}  

*Where* he asked, breaking into a run as the dragon guided him in the right 
direction.

Ahead of him, he saw several figures in the darkness.  Nearest to him, he saw 
Corwin and Gus facing several rough-looking men...sailors, by the look of 
them, their postures telling him that this meant trouble.  His first thought 
was that they must be pirates from Dolfis's vessel.  Farther away, he could 
make out Elly and another man.  As he ran, his sword whisked out of its 
sheath.  

****

Elly sat with her arms curled around her up-drawn legs, keeping a wary eye on 
Rufus as he continued to roll moaning on the ground.  She was unprepared when 
the dark-skinned man called Gegger, who had been leaning over Rufus, suddenly 
drew a knife then took a step in her direction.  The fall of a body suddenly 
to his left made the man turn quickly in that direction expecting an attack. 

****

Aitzan didn't even have the breath to groan as a rock considerately stopped 
their somersaulting by giving her right side something to ram into.  White 
hot fire shot up her right arm, managing to overpower the pain of her 
lacerated skin before it started to go numb.

Gasping, she firmly clutched the dazed lizard in her lap with her good hand 
and blinked her double vision away.  The cold flash of the knife a few feet 
from her head and the reek of alcohol and unwashed bodies was all the 
justification she needed to immediately go on the offensive.  She was as 
naked and weaponless as the day she'd been born, and he was turning towards 
her, so she did the first thing that came to mind.  She threw Bakke at him.

****

Gus grinned ferally as her opponent rose to his feet, his eyes also alight 
with the joy of battle.  Gus sidestepped the sailor's oncoming fist, landing 
a hard blow to his right kidney.  He grunted in pain and spun to face her.  
"Not bad - for a little boy."

****

Corwin's eyes watched both men as they approached.  

"Looks like some dragon folk want to play."  The taller one chuckled evilly.  

"Mungo, you take the big one...."  

With that they split, the leaner man peeling off to Corwin's right and the 
largest facing him squarely.  He heard a snick of a weapon being drawn, and 
as he began to turn, he saw Jerram jump out of the shadows.

****

Jerram saw the tall, lean brute, with dirty brown hair and goatee, move into 
position where he could attack Gus or Corwin from behind with his cutlass.  
Well, no one was going to stab one of his trainees!  He smoothly interposed 
himself in the man's way, the tip of his sword pointed at the other's heart.  
"I wouldn't," he said.

****

Corwin stood his ground as the larger of the two men slowly came at him.  
Fists raised, Corwin squared off.  "If you want trouble, come and get it," he 
growled at the man the other sailor had called Mungo.  Mungo moved more 
swiftly than his bulk suggested, and for a second Corwin didn't react.  It 
was almost a fatal mistake as the man's fist landed against the side of his 
jaw. 

****
      
Gus ducked the next blow, but when she slid inside for another blow, he was 
ready for her.  His fist met her abdomen with tremendous force, fortunately 
missing her ribs.  Only dropping to the sand kept the second blow from 
landing.  Gasping for breath, Gus yanked on his legs, sending him sprawling 
as well.            

****

Jerram's opponent snarled, showing a set of teeth that looked more than a 
little green.  "You want her, you can stand in line behind us!" he spat.  He 
brought up the cutlass as though to swing it at Jerram.  "Beat it, sonny, 
unless you want to tangle with Wargh the Swordsman!"

Jerram smiled.  "Oh, you must be a truly *fearsome* opponent!" he taunted, 
circling in towards Wargh.  "I'm sure that you can beat an *amateur* like me 
with no difficulty.  But humor me and try, eh?"

****

Corwin's head snapped back from the blow, sending stars dancing in front of 
his eyes.  But he had been in enough fights to know how to strike back.  He 
attacked with force, pummeling the large man with a flurry of uppercuts, 
jabs, and punches.  He blocked his share, but allowed a few to pass to set 
him up for a greater opportunity.  He led with his right, letting his left 
drop.  As expected, his opponent went for the opening on the left side, only 
to be caught with a low shot right under his ribs.  Mungo's breath shot out 
from him, and doubling over, he gasped trying to suck in more.  Corwin 
swiftly struck him with doubled fists across the back of his neck, and Mungo 
sank to the ground. 


****

Gus took several deep and painful breaths while her opponent rose to his 
feet.  Grimacing against the pain, Gus rolled to her back and then flipped 
herself into the air, her feet landing on the man's chest with a satisfying 
thump.   He went down again, to the great amusement of his shipmate wielding 
the cutlass.  "Can't ye beat the lad, Colm?"        

****

Aitzan watched with amusement as the man with the scarred back completed his 
turn just in time to have a flailing four foot lizard wrap itself around his 
face.

Hissing as her arm suddenly complained about the sudden exertion, she tucked 
it close and groped around with her good hand, two small stones finding their 
way into her palm.  Then she sat back and enjoyed the shrieking and 
struggling in the sand before her.  A bloody grin blossomed on her tattooed 
face; revenge was very sweet indeed.   Unfortunately, it didn't last forever.

Bakke suddenly flew free of the man with another ear splitting screech, and 
Aitzan let loose with one of the stones in her hand.

A pained squawk and a hiss from the rapidly retreating lizard told her she 
had hit her first target.  The abrupt collapse of the rising man confirmed 
that her aim had been just as good the second time.  Spitting out a bit of 
blood and chuckling softly, she looked for another rock, just in case the
lizard showed up again.

****

Wargh snarled, swinging the great cutlass in a whistling arc aimed at 
Jerram's head.  But Jerram had seen the blow coming, and ducked under the 
swing.  In the same moment, his own sword flicked out at Wargh.

His opponent laughed.  "Hah, ye weren't even close!" he crowed.

"Sure about that?" Jerram asked, backing up a few steps and motioning for 
Wargh to come after him.  Wargh obliged but made it only one step before 
pitching forward as his pants dropped and tangled his legs.  Jerram's sword 
had neatly cut through the rope-belt that held them in place.

****

Angered, Colm lashed out from where he was, landing a neat punch as Gus was 
struggling back to her feet.  The force knocked her back, and she let it roll 
her over and back onto her feet, one eye swollen and bleeding from where his 
ring had cut her face.

Encouraged by this show of success, Colm reached out toward Gus.  Grabbing 
the hand as it came at her, Gus leaped, letting all her weight take his arm 
down, her momentum carrying her forward until she heard the satisfying snap 
of broken bones.

****

Corwin stood over his inert opponent, catching his breath but remaining alert 
for more adversaries.  Glancing about him, he suddenly saw Gus take a blow to 
the face that sent the lad reeling.  He was about to go to Gus's aid when he 
saw the lad neatly snap the seafarer's arm.  He grinned as he turned to look 
at Jerram and saw his foe with his pants around his ankles.

****

Wargh struggled to his feet, holding his pants in place with one hand and 
waving the cutlass menacingly with the other.  "I'll cut out yer heart and 
stuff it down yer throat, you sonofabitch!" he snarled.  He swung his blade 
at Jerram again, intending to use the greater weight of his sword to knock 
Jerram's aside.  But Jerram ducked and thrust his sword arm upward, catching 
Wargh's blade low so the two blades were locked hilt-to-hilt.  Although Wargh 
didn't have a free hand, he brought his knee up into Jerram's stomach, 
momentarily knocking the wind out of him.  Jerram stumbled back, twisting 
aside as the blade of the cutlass once again whistled past him with only 
inches to spare.

****

Gus wiped the blood from her face with one hand before stumping around to 
where Colm lay cursing in the sand to place a kick behind his ear.  She 
grunted in satisfaction as he twitched and lay still, smiling happily at his 
bare fingers.

****

Wargh leaped forward, trying to press his momentary advantage.  He brought 
his cutlass up over his head in a two-handed grip, ready to bring it down in 
a killing blow.  In doing so, however, he left himself totally open - and 
before he knew it, Jerram's sword-tip had slashed a shallow cut diagonally 
across his chest.  Howling with pain, Wargh dropped his blade and clutched 
his chest.

"Moron," Jerram grumbled, giving the other man a swat across the face with 
the flat of his blade.  Wargh's howl of pain trebled in volume, and he 
shrieked curses at Jerram.

"Sweet Saelida, Jerram, shut him up, will ya?"  Gus held her hands over her 
ears in protest.

"Now, now, there are ladies present, you know," Jerram reminded Wargh, 
slamming the hilt of his sword onto the top of the brigand's head.  Wargh 
collapsed to the sand and lay unmoving.  Nodding in satisfaction, the 
Swordmaster whirled around to see if anyone else needed help.

****

Her attention diverted by the struggles going on around her, Elly didn't 
notice Rufus drag himself to his feet.  Grabbing her firmly with one hand, he 
backhanded her sharply across the face before swinging her around and drawing 
her back against his chest.  He wrenched his knife from its scabbard and held 
it against her throat.

"Leave off!" he shouted, "or I'll carve this bitch into pieces too small fer 
even the seagulls ta want!"

All froze in place as Rufus backed up slowly, dragging Elly with him.  Corwin 
stepped forward, and his eyes met Elly's across the expanse of sand.  "Let 
her go,"  Corwin warned softly, his sea-green eyes narrowing. 

"Or what?" Rufus snarled. 

Suddenly, Rufus fetched up against what at first he assumed was a wall.  Then 
he felt hot breath on his neck.  He looked up, and up, into the jaws of a 
large black dragon.

****

Gus staggered to her feet, watching the red-haired sailor drag Elly off.  
Then she noticed the ring of dragons he was slowly backing into.  Elly was 
safe enough now.  

{Where are you?} Gus queried.

{Over here to your left.}

Gus craned her head around but saw nothing...and then suddenly two glowing 
eyes.  She headed straight for them and leaned against Loki a moment before 
sinking to the sand.  The pain in her belly had subsided to intermittent 
complaints from muscles pummeled and then forced to exert themselves through 
the pain.  She sighed.  Hadn't practiced what she wanted to, but this worked 
just as well.

****

Rufus cried out in fear as he stared at Xanith's gaping maw, nicking Elly's 
jaw with the knife.  She screamed in pain.  With that distraction, Corwin 
leapt forward, crossing the gap to grab the wrist of the hand holding the 
knife.  With a vicious twist, he sent the knife flying and snapped Rufus's 
wrist. 

Rufus crumpled to the ground shrieking, and Corwin pulled Elly to him 
protectively.  She buried her face in his chest...trembling.  He encircled 
her in his arms, murmuring comforting words.

Their eyes had met when she'd needed so desperately to reach him, and he had 
brought her across the wide gulf between them...to the safety of his arms. 
 
****

[Thanks to Kris for her help with including Xanith and Devon]

****

Submitted by:

Arlene, Bridget, Dana, John, and Katrina
(Corwin, Aitzan, Elly, Jerram, and Gus)