From: "Michael Turek" <mdt02@uow.edu.au>

	Sāron and Makron burst into the air above the warren, followed in quick
succession by the other dragons of the wing. He quickly scanned the ground,
looking for a sign of either Galen or the warrenlady. But inside, his heart
was stone. The agonising call to him from her queen had turned his blood
cold.

	A hellspawn had her.

	While Norwall hadnāt sent riders to the Geode battle, reports and accounts
had filtered back that spoke of the frightening things these hellspawn could
do to a person. The way they took control of the body, then abandoned it
when it was of no more use after literally eating the person's insides out.
Sāron shuddered at the thought of Naomi facing that.

	By an unspoken command, Makron headed straight for the hatching cavern. Sā
ron could hear and feel the anguish of the queen within and it matched that
of his own. He had to find her and find her fast.

	His sharp eyes picked out the figure of Galen approaching them from the
mouth of the hatching cavern. Well, it seemed to be the soldier that Sāron
knew. But the fact that Galen was bearing down on him forcefully, sword in
hand, told Sāron that something was definitely wrong.

	He told people later that it was the eyes that gave it away. That empty,
lifeless stare that nevertheless seemed to peer into your soul and leave a
slimy residue there. It was that look in Galenās eyes that tripped Sāronās
defenses and in a moment he was off his dragonās back with his sword in his
hand.

	Sāron really didnāt want to kill Galen. All he wanted to do was find Naomi.
But Galen, or whoever he was at the moment, was intent on either slaying the
wingleader or slowing him down. Whichever it was, Sāron thought to himself
as he ducked under a particularly vicious two-handed swipe, he was doing a
damn good job of it.

	He had been sparring with Galen for some time now and was familiar with the
soldierās moves and tactics, but that knowledge wasnāt good enough against
the sheer ferocity and pain threshold of this hellspawn version of the man.
A normally crippling move had barely caused him to pause and now they were
in close with one another, trading blow for blow. A knife flashed and Sāron
felt a slight pain in his shoulder, before a quick execution of kicks and a
punch knocked his opponent to the ground.

	While he had the chance, Sāron raced from the scene, pulling the knife from
his shoulder and binding the wound while he ran. He was sure she was still
in the warren; there hadnāt been time for her to get out just yet. But
something nagged at his mind. Why just the attack on Naomi? Harkkon had to
be involved in this somehow, S'ron thought, there were just to many
coincidences.

	Then it struck him. Those mercenaries with Harkkon. There had been
something about them that had put S'ron on edge. An air about them that
chilled the soul and made people shiver. And those eyes...

	"The whole damn lot of them!" S'ron gasped. "They're all bloody hellspawn!"
He couldn't believe it. They had let a group of hellspawn walk right into
the warren and their was little or nothing to stop them. It was now that he
had to make a decision. Did he stay and help, or go after Naomi? It was the
life of one versus the life of many and S'ron knew he had a responsibility.

	*Mak, get hold of Calindeth and get his rider to meet me at the dining hall
as fast as he could. And tell him to be careful!* He raced through the
passage, which was strangely empty, up to the doors of the dining hall. He
paused, then kicked them open.

	What greeted him was a nightmare.

	The mercenaries had obviously attacked as soon as the wing had begun to
return. Bodies were scattered everywhere, a tribute to the warrenfolk who
hadn't just let themselves be taken. But most frightening of all was the
small group of people gathered around a familiar figure at the far end of
the hall.

	"Naomi!" The figure turned and regarded S'ron with a evil snarl on its
lips, the hellspawn twisting it's host's features to something
unrecogisable. It motioned with it's head and those around it turned towards
 the wingleader, that blank look in their eyes all to evident. These were
all hellspawn and he was in deep trouble.

	"Take him if you can," the possessed body of the warrenlady said with a
sibilant hiss. "He could prove valuable. Otherwise, kill him." She gave
S'ron one last look, then walked out the door.

	When that door closed, something inside S'ron snapped.

	In his previous life before coming to the warren, it was true that S'ron
had been very good at what he did. He had killed quite a lot of people in
his time in the guild, but that was the very reason that he had left. He had
began to start enjoying the killings, taking pleasure in the silent hunt of
his prey with the quick knife stroke at the end. That had scared the hell
out of him then and had been the impetous to start back over.

	But now, in this moment, all that control he had built up was gone. He felt
nothing but the desire to kill every last one of these things and would have
no compuncture about doing it. He whipped out his sword and decapitated the
closest attacker, the downstroke slicing the sword arm off another. The
knowledge of his fight with Galen aided him here, knowing that simple blows
would not stop these. Instead, more permanent injuries were required.

	"S'ron!" He whirled around and saw Darrkon and Aurianna run in, swords
already in their hands. "Calindeth told me..."

	"Hellspawn!" S'ron spat out, slicing through the middle of another
attacker. "All Harkkon's men are infected with the damn things. Now, would
you give me a bloody hand?"

	Although they were outnumbered, the superior skills of the three riders
soon dispatched the rest of the attackers. S'ron was ready to race off
again, but Darrkon grabbed his arm.

	"S'ron, what the hell's going on? First the wraiths, then this?"

	"It was a trap," S'ron grated, shaking his arm loose. "They just wanted us
out of the way before they attacked. They took Naomi, then went for the
rest."

	"Took her? Where?" S'ron looked at the other rider, his dark eyes boring
into the others.

	"A hellspawn took her. Galen as well. God knows how many others they have
taken as well."

	"What? Where is she?"

	"Who knows?" S'ron said angrily. "I'm going to try and find her before she
gets out. If she does then there might not be any chance of getting her back
at all. I need you to get everyone you can find and wipe out those
hellspawn. Kill anyone who isn't from Norwall." Darrkon and Aurianna
blanched at the sound of death in S'ron's voice, so unlike the person they
knew normally.

	"Is that all you want us to do?" Aurianna asked him acidly. S'ron turned
back and smirked.

	"Yes, there is one thing. If you see Harkkon, don't kill him just yet. I'll
do that myself and I want to make sure it's as long and as painful a process
as is possible."

	And then he was gone.

****

NRPG: Sorry this took so long. FYI, S'ron has gone slightly psycho and is on
the warpath, determined to find Naomi and not let anyone stand in his way.
Since he probably won't end up finding her in the end (poke Les), he isn't
going to be very happy if anyone finds him :)

Submitted by,

		S'ron and Makron
		Norwall Warren

--------------------------- ONElist Sponsor ----------------------------

    GRAB THE GATOR! FREE SOFTWARE DOES ALL THE TYPING FOR YOU!
Tired of filling out forms and remembering passwords? Gator fills in
forms and passwords with just one click! Comes with $50 in free coupons!
  <a href=" http://clickme.onelist.com/ad/gator4 ">Click Here</a>

------------------------------------------------------------------------