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<blockquote data-quote="Nonlethal Force" data-source="post: 3140337" data-attributes="member: 35788"><p>The closing words of the prayer were sung. Semeion continued to look up as he waited for the signal. Cautiously he spoke softly, <span style="color: Plum">“Hold your positions! Do not move until I give the order! We must be patient and not tip our hand too soon or else all will be lost!”</span></p><p></p><p>Three-quarters of the way up the mountain the gray figure heard the end of the prayer. Using the abilities granted to him by his unfortunate ghostly condition, he vanished straight into the side of the mountain. In a matter of seconds he appeared within the chamber which contained the dragon’s horde. The figure looked about the room quickly, knowing that his choice would have to be significant. He grinned as he saw the piece that would surely catch the dragon’s attention. The portion of the treasure that had caught the gray figure’s eye sat nearly buried in one of the piles of gold that spanned the floor of the room. The deep redness of the large ruby sparkled brilliantly in contrast with the gold.</p><p></p><p>In a flash of movement the gray figure concentrated in order to be able to pick up the ruby. As he pulled it from the pile, a bit of the gold spilled while the pile attempted to seek a new balance. The ruby was larger than he anticipated, but it would still do. In fact, the larger size may have even made it a more perfect selection.</p><p></p><p>In the dragon’s main chamber, Grixanthrosilithiss lifted his head and his large reptilian eyes darted towards the passage that led to his horde room. The new Provenience was startled by the sudden movement and stopped playing and singing immediately.</p><p></p><p>As she stopped singing, her hand reached out to touch the dragon’s softer underbelly. She had grown accustomed to the motion as being one that would soothe the great wyrm. <span style="color: Red">“What’s wrong?”</span> The Provenience spoke with a concerned tone at the dragon’s sudden movement. She had seen the dragon alarmed before, but never had she seen him stare so intently into his horde chamber.</p><p></p><p>The wyrm looked to his Provenience and spoke as soft as possible for a creature of his size. <span style="color: Red">“Silence. We may have a visitor among us.”</span></p><p></p><p>The gray figure knew that the ruby would not be able to leave the way that the figure had come. While the ghost could easily pass through walls and the like; the ruby could not. More importantly, even if the ruby could pass through the walls it would defeat the purpose of alerting the red dragon to the fact that a thief was present and stealing from the horde. The light-gray figure did not know that the spell casting prowess of the large wyrm was great enough to allow the dragon to know the location of every piece of his treasure so long as it was within the horde room.</p><p></p><p>The ghostly figure looked once more at the ruby and smiled. <span style="color: Lime">“This will do nicely, indeed!”</span> The figure was pleased with his choice. With determination he rapidly flew through the air to the entrance of the horde room. In a flash he disappeared down the long hallway which led to the dragon’s main chamber.</p><p></p><p>Inside the main chamber the dragon rose in fury as it detected the movement of the ruby. Its scaled body rapidly uncoiled from around his Provenience, spilling her backwards onto the floor. She had been relaxing upon him, enjoying the natural warmth rising from his scales. When the support was moved, she rolled onto her back. </p><p></p><p>The Provenience thought to speak, but before she could bring the words to her lips the dragon bellowed loud enough to shake the items with the main chamber slightly. <span style="color: Red">“There is a thief among my horde and he is coming this way!”</span> The bellowing of the dragon echoed through the entire draconic lair. </p><p></p><p>Although the mountain didn’t actually move, the Provenience was sure that the foundations shook under the dragon’s fury. Wisely, she moved to the corner of the room that offered no passageways away. The fury of the dragon would be fierce; and surely the dragon would enjoy using its breath to destroy whatever creature found itself confronting the dragon. Within the corner she chose she would have the best chance of avoiding being caught in the middle of the dragon’s wrath.</p><p></p><p>At the foot of the mountain, Semeion and the villagers heard the draconic bellowing. Semeion beamed with excitement as he began to improvise in his mind. Once he had a quick improvisational plan he spoke, his voice betraying his excitement. <span style="color: Plum">“Listen to me! The sign for our departure is coming quickly now. Continue to bow with your heads to the ground. Xando, can you begin us again in any chant that is about two minutes from the conclusion of the prayer?”</span></p><p></p><p>Xando did not respond, but his eyes darted wildly as he mentally sorted through the Morning Prayer rite. Finally the draconic words came to his mind and he began the chant again. <span style="color: Lime">“Now the sun has risen …”</span> The entire village immediately picked up on the location within the Morning Prayer rite and joined him in song. Semeion began to chant as well, having learned the rite from the past few days of practice.</p><p></p><p>Back inside the dragon’s main chamber the wyrm turned his body around so that he was facing directly down the tunnel. The gray figure spotted the dragon first and realized that its presence had been detected earlier than it had expected. Using its ghostly abilities to its advantage, the figure charged up the tunnel at the dragon until it saw the beast inhale a large volume of air. As the dragon’s neck sprang forward and poured a tremendous volume of flame from out of its mouth, the gray figure floated off of the ground and rose to the top of the ceiling. He twisted out of the way of the dragon’s flames and soared over the effect of the breath.</p><p></p><p>Grixanthrosilithiss stopped his breath short as he noticed only too late that the figure had evaded his devastating fire. The dragon raised his head, attempting to block the passage with his massive and once more coiled neck. The gray figure did realize that the dragon would need a bit of time to recharge its fiery breath and now it would prefer to attack with wings and claws. The figure also spotted the opening that it needed.</p><p></p><p>With a mighty toss the ghostly figure threw the ruby down to the ground at the base of the dragon’s feet. The ruby hit the ground a skidded underneath the dragon and out from under the back of the beast. The ruby shot across the room after emerging from under where the dragon’s tail connected with the dragon’s body. </p><p></p><p>This action caught the dragon off guard. The beast was helpless to stop the speeding ruby, but it knew that the figure was trapped in the tunnel. If it could finish off the intruder in the tunnel it could easily retrieve the ruby once the threat was over. Grixanthrosilithiss lunged with his mighty fangs and bit down hard in the direction of the gray figure.</p><p></p><p>Free from the material possession in the form of the ruby, the gray figure had planned for the dragon’s bite. As the beast’s jaws cut the air in front of him the ghostly figure simply flew into the rock beside him. The ghostly image was not held by the same physical boundaries that held the dragon. In an instant the gray figure emerged from the wall in the dragon’s main chamber where the tunnel to the horde room branched off. The figure rapidly floated over to where the precious stone lay and snatched the ruby from where it had come to rest upon the floor. The dragon’s head and neck were still within the confines of the tunnel.</p><p></p><p>Grixanthrosilithiss’ new Provenience shrieked as she saw the ghostly figure. The dragon heard the shriek and instinctively backed out of the tunnel. By the time the dragon was able to turn his body around the gray figure had already snatched up the ruby and floated from the main chamber onto the dragon’s perch. He had a good lead, but it would vanish quickly when the dragon took to the air. The ghost could float fast enough against humans and the like; but it had no chance of outpacing the dragon. The gray figure’s only chance was to hope to use its greater maneuverability until it could get to the forest. Once among the trees, its maneuverability would be a greater asset than the dragon’s great flying speed.</p><p></p><p>Semeion looked on from below as the villagers again drew near the end of the Morning Prayer vigil. He saw the gray figure emerge from the dragon’s perch and his heart leapt with excitement. It wouldn’t be long now.</p><p></p><p>No sooner had Semeion completed the thought than the large form of the red dragon broke into the sky in pursuit of the fleeing gray figure. The dragon howled in rage, drawing up more than a few glances from the villagers below. Semeion noticed that the villagers were on the verge of being distracted.</p><p></p><p>Speaking only loud enough to be barely heard over the chanting villagers Semeion added, <span style="color: Plum">“All is well, keep singing! We are almost there! Put your heads down!”</span></p><p></p><p>The villagers responded to Semeion’s urging out of fear. Their heads snapped to the ground and the chanting wavered a bit before becoming strong once again. Semeion continued to glance up, tracking the chase across the sky.</p><p></p><p>It was obvious the dragon possessed the greater speed. Only the sudden lurches of the gray figure kept the chase alive. Time and time again the dragon barely overshot the figure as the ghostly image dodged out of the way of the fangs, claws, and the occasional draconic breath. Slowly, the chase was descending to the ground according to the plan. Slowly, the chase was moving toward the east. The gray figure was luring the great wyrm away from the mountain where Ischarus and Charis waited.</p><p></p><p>After only a few minutes the chase was close enough to the ground that the treetops blocked the view of it from the village. Semeion leapt to his feet and began grabbing villagers by the shoulders and pulling them up to their feet. <span style="color: Plum">“Run!”</span> Semeion shouted. <span style="color: Plum">“Follow Xando to your freedom. Do not return for anything. Flee with your lives!”</span></p><p></p><p>Xando sprang to his feet. For an instant he caught Semeion’s eyes and gave him a sympathetic look. Xando was grateful for this chance to lead his people to freedom. He also knew that for Semeion the greater challenge was still before him. As people rose to their feet and blocked Semeion from his view, he spoke a quick prayer. This prayer was not a prayer to his dragon father. Rather, this prayer was to an unknown god that he was sure had to exist beyond the confines of the known world. Once his prayer was complete the village leader turned and charged into the forest heading west.</p><p></p><p>Semeion ran to the secret entrance at the foot of the mountain. As he broke to the south and left the confines of the village behind him he heard Xando encouraging the people. <span style="color: Lime">“Keep running! Do not stop until the rock tunnels protect you!”</span></p><p></p><p>[Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section]</p><p>The closing words of the prayer were sung. Semeion continued to look up as he waited for the signal. Cautiously he spoke softly, “Hold your positions! Do not move until I give the order! We must be patient and not tip our hand too soon or else all will be lost!”</p><p></p><p>Three-quarters of the way up the mountain the gray figure heard the end of the prayer. Using the abilities granted to him by his unfortunate ghostly condition, he vanished straight into the side of the mountain. In a matter of seconds he appeared within the chamber which contained the dragon’s horde. The figure looked about the room quickly, knowing that his choice would have to be significant. He grinned as he saw the piece that would surely catch the dragon’s attention. The portion of the treasure that had caught the gray figure’s eye sat nearly buried in one of the piles of gold that spanned the floor of the room. The deep redness of the large ruby sparkled brilliantly in contrast with the gold.</p><p></p><p>In a flash of movement the gray figure concentrated in order to be able to pick up the ruby. As he pulled it from the pile, a bit of the gold spilled while the pile attempted to seek a new balance. The ruby was larger than he anticipated, but it would still do. In fact, the larger size may have even made it a more perfect selection.</p><p></p><p>In the dragon’s main chamber, Grixanthrosilithiss lifted his head and his large reptilian eyes darted towards the passage that led to his horde room. The new Provenience was startled by the sudden movement and stopped playing and singing immediately.</p><p></p><p>As she stopped singing, her hand reached out to touch the dragon’s softer underbelly. She had grown accustomed to the motion as being one that would soothe the great wyrm. “What’s wrong?” The Provenience spoke with a concerned tone at the dragon’s sudden movement. She had seen the dragon alarmed before, but never had she seen him stare so intently into his horde chamber.</p><p></p><p>The wyrm looked to his Provenience and spoke as soft as possible for a creature of his size. “Silence. We may have a visitor among us.”</p><p></p><p>The gray figure knew that the ruby would not be able to leave the way that the figure had come. While the ghost could easily pass through walls and the like; the ruby could not. More importantly, even if the ruby could pass through the walls it would defeat the purpose of alerting the red dragon to the fact that a thief was present and stealing from the horde. The light-gray figure did not know that the spell casting prowess of the large wyrm was great enough to allow the dragon to know the location of every piece of his treasure so long as it was within the horde room.</p><p></p><p>The ghostly figure looked once more at the ruby and smiled. “This will do nicely, indeed!” The figure was pleased with his choice. With determination he rapidly flew through the air to the entrance of the horde room. In a flash he disappeared down the long hallway which led to the dragon’s main chamber.</p><p></p><p>Inside the main chamber the dragon rose in fury as it detected the movement of the ruby. Its scaled body rapidly uncoiled from around his Provenience, spilling her backwards onto the floor. She had been relaxing upon him, enjoying the natural warmth rising from his scales. When the support was moved, she rolled onto her back. </p><p></p><p>The Provenience thought to speak, but before she could bring the words to her lips the dragon bellowed loud enough to shake the items with the main chamber slightly. “There is a thief among my horde and he is coming this way!” The bellowing of the dragon echoed through the entire draconic lair. </p><p></p><p>Although the mountain didn’t actually move, the Provenience was sure that the foundations shook under the dragon’s fury. Wisely, she moved to the corner of the room that offered no passageways away. The fury of the dragon would be fierce; and surely the dragon would enjoy using its breath to destroy whatever creature found itself confronting the dragon. Within the corner she chose she would have the best chance of avoiding being caught in the middle of the dragon’s wrath.</p><p></p><p>At the foot of the mountain, Semeion and the villagers heard the draconic bellowing. Semeion beamed with excitement as he began to improvise in his mind. Once he had a quick improvisational plan he spoke, his voice betraying his excitement. “Listen to me! The sign for our departure is coming quickly now. Continue to bow with your heads to the ground. Xando, can you begin us again in any chant that is about two minutes from the conclusion of the prayer?”</p><p></p><p>Xando did not respond, but his eyes darted wildly as he mentally sorted through the Morning Prayer rite. Finally the draconic words came to his mind and he began the chant again. “Now the sun has risen …” The entire village immediately picked up on the location within the Morning Prayer rite and joined him in song. Semeion began to chant as well, having learned the rite from the past few days of practice.</p><p></p><p>Back inside the dragon’s main chamber the wyrm turned his body around so that he was facing directly down the tunnel. The gray figure spotted the dragon first and realized that its presence had been detected earlier than it had expected. Using its ghostly abilities to its advantage, the figure charged up the tunnel at the dragon until it saw the beast inhale a large volume of air. As the dragon’s neck sprang forward and poured a tremendous volume of flame from out of its mouth, the gray figure floated off of the ground and rose to the top of the ceiling. He twisted out of the way of the dragon’s flames and soared over the effect of the breath.</p><p></p><p>Grixanthrosilithiss stopped his breath short as he noticed only too late that the figure had evaded his devastating fire. The dragon raised his head, attempting to block the passage with his massive and once more coiled neck. The gray figure did realize that the dragon would need a bit of time to recharge its fiery breath and now it would prefer to attack with wings and claws. The figure also spotted the opening that it needed.</p><p></p><p>With a mighty toss the ghostly figure threw the ruby down to the ground at the base of the dragon’s feet. The ruby hit the ground a skidded underneath the dragon and out from under the back of the beast. The ruby shot across the room after emerging from under where the dragon’s tail connected with the dragon’s body. </p><p></p><p>This action caught the dragon off guard. The beast was helpless to stop the speeding ruby, but it knew that the figure was trapped in the tunnel. If it could finish off the intruder in the tunnel it could easily retrieve the ruby once the threat was over. Grixanthrosilithiss lunged with his mighty fangs and bit down hard in the direction of the gray figure.</p><p></p><p>Free from the material possession in the form of the ruby, the gray figure had planned for the dragon’s bite. As the beast’s jaws cut the air in front of him the ghostly figure simply flew into the rock beside him. The ghostly image was not held by the same physical boundaries that held the dragon. In an instant the gray figure emerged from the wall in the dragon’s main chamber where the tunnel to the horde room branched off. The figure rapidly floated over to where the precious stone lay and snatched the ruby from where it had come to rest upon the floor. The dragon’s head and neck were still within the confines of the tunnel.</p><p></p><p>Grixanthrosilithiss’ new Provenience shrieked as she saw the ghostly figure. The dragon heard the shriek and instinctively backed out of the tunnel. By the time the dragon was able to turn his body around the gray figure had already snatched up the ruby and floated from the main chamber onto the dragon’s perch. He had a good lead, but it would vanish quickly when the dragon took to the air. The ghost could float fast enough against humans and the like; but it had no chance of outpacing the dragon. The gray figure’s only chance was to hope to use its greater maneuverability until it could get to the forest. Once among the trees, its maneuverability would be a greater asset than the dragon’s great flying speed.</p><p></p><p>Semeion looked on from below as the villagers again drew near the end of the Morning Prayer vigil. He saw the gray figure emerge from the dragon’s perch and his heart leapt with excitement. It wouldn’t be long now.</p><p></p><p>No sooner had Semeion completed the thought than the large form of the red dragon broke into the sky in pursuit of the fleeing gray figure. The dragon howled in rage, drawing up more than a few glances from the villagers below. Semeion noticed that the villagers were on the verge of being distracted.</p><p></p><p>Speaking only loud enough to be barely heard over the chanting villagers Semeion added, “All is well, keep singing! We are almost there! Put your heads down!”</p><p></p><p>The villagers responded to Semeion’s urging out of fear. Their heads snapped to the ground and the chanting wavered a bit before becoming strong once again. Semeion continued to glance up, tracking the chase across the sky.</p><p></p><p>It was obvious the dragon possessed the greater speed. Only the sudden lurches of the gray figure kept the chase alive. Time and time again the dragon barely overshot the figure as the ghostly image dodged out of the way of the fangs, claws, and the occasional draconic breath. Slowly, the chase was descending to the ground according to the plan. Slowly, the chase was moving toward the east. The gray figure was luring the great wyrm away from the mountain where Ischarus and Charis waited.</p><p></p><p>After only a few minutes the chase was close enough to the ground that the treetops blocked the view of it from the village. Semeion leapt to his feet and began grabbing villagers by the shoulders and pulling them up to their feet. “Run!” Semeion shouted. “Follow Xando to your freedom. Do not return for anything. Flee with your lives!”</p><p></p><p>Xando sprang to his feet. For an instant he caught Semeion’s eyes and gave him a sympathetic look. Xando was grateful for this chance to lead his people to freedom. He also knew that for Semeion the greater challenge was still before him. As people rose to their feet and blocked Semeion from his view, he spoke a quick prayer. This prayer was not a prayer to his dragon father. Rather, this prayer was to an unknown god that he was sure had to exist beyond the confines of the known world. Once his prayer was complete the village leader turned and charged into the forest heading west.</p><p></p><p>Semeion ran to the secret entrance at the foot of the mountain. As he broke to the south and left the confines of the village behind him he heard Xando encouraging the people. “Keep running! Do not stop until the rock tunnels protect you!”</p><p>[/Sblock]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nonlethal Force, post: 3140337, member: 35788"] The closing words of the prayer were sung. Semeion continued to look up as he waited for the signal. Cautiously he spoke softly, [Color=Plum]“Hold your positions! Do not move until I give the order! We must be patient and not tip our hand too soon or else all will be lost!”[/Color] Three-quarters of the way up the mountain the gray figure heard the end of the prayer. Using the abilities granted to him by his unfortunate ghostly condition, he vanished straight into the side of the mountain. In a matter of seconds he appeared within the chamber which contained the dragon’s horde. The figure looked about the room quickly, knowing that his choice would have to be significant. He grinned as he saw the piece that would surely catch the dragon’s attention. The portion of the treasure that had caught the gray figure’s eye sat nearly buried in one of the piles of gold that spanned the floor of the room. The deep redness of the large ruby sparkled brilliantly in contrast with the gold. In a flash of movement the gray figure concentrated in order to be able to pick up the ruby. As he pulled it from the pile, a bit of the gold spilled while the pile attempted to seek a new balance. The ruby was larger than he anticipated, but it would still do. In fact, the larger size may have even made it a more perfect selection. In the dragon’s main chamber, Grixanthrosilithiss lifted his head and his large reptilian eyes darted towards the passage that led to his horde room. The new Provenience was startled by the sudden movement and stopped playing and singing immediately. As she stopped singing, her hand reached out to touch the dragon’s softer underbelly. She had grown accustomed to the motion as being one that would soothe the great wyrm. [Color=Red]“What’s wrong?”[/Color] The Provenience spoke with a concerned tone at the dragon’s sudden movement. She had seen the dragon alarmed before, but never had she seen him stare so intently into his horde chamber. The wyrm looked to his Provenience and spoke as soft as possible for a creature of his size. [Color=Red]“Silence. We may have a visitor among us.”[/Color] The gray figure knew that the ruby would not be able to leave the way that the figure had come. While the ghost could easily pass through walls and the like; the ruby could not. More importantly, even if the ruby could pass through the walls it would defeat the purpose of alerting the red dragon to the fact that a thief was present and stealing from the horde. The light-gray figure did not know that the spell casting prowess of the large wyrm was great enough to allow the dragon to know the location of every piece of his treasure so long as it was within the horde room. The ghostly figure looked once more at the ruby and smiled. [Color=Lime]“This will do nicely, indeed!”[/Color] The figure was pleased with his choice. With determination he rapidly flew through the air to the entrance of the horde room. In a flash he disappeared down the long hallway which led to the dragon’s main chamber. Inside the main chamber the dragon rose in fury as it detected the movement of the ruby. Its scaled body rapidly uncoiled from around his Provenience, spilling her backwards onto the floor. She had been relaxing upon him, enjoying the natural warmth rising from his scales. When the support was moved, she rolled onto her back. The Provenience thought to speak, but before she could bring the words to her lips the dragon bellowed loud enough to shake the items with the main chamber slightly. [Color=Red]“There is a thief among my horde and he is coming this way!”[/Color] The bellowing of the dragon echoed through the entire draconic lair. Although the mountain didn’t actually move, the Provenience was sure that the foundations shook under the dragon’s fury. Wisely, she moved to the corner of the room that offered no passageways away. The fury of the dragon would be fierce; and surely the dragon would enjoy using its breath to destroy whatever creature found itself confronting the dragon. Within the corner she chose she would have the best chance of avoiding being caught in the middle of the dragon’s wrath. At the foot of the mountain, Semeion and the villagers heard the draconic bellowing. Semeion beamed with excitement as he began to improvise in his mind. Once he had a quick improvisational plan he spoke, his voice betraying his excitement. [Color=Plum]“Listen to me! The sign for our departure is coming quickly now. Continue to bow with your heads to the ground. Xando, can you begin us again in any chant that is about two minutes from the conclusion of the prayer?”[/Color] Xando did not respond, but his eyes darted wildly as he mentally sorted through the Morning Prayer rite. Finally the draconic words came to his mind and he began the chant again. [Color=Lime]“Now the sun has risen …”[/Color] The entire village immediately picked up on the location within the Morning Prayer rite and joined him in song. Semeion began to chant as well, having learned the rite from the past few days of practice. Back inside the dragon’s main chamber the wyrm turned his body around so that he was facing directly down the tunnel. The gray figure spotted the dragon first and realized that its presence had been detected earlier than it had expected. Using its ghostly abilities to its advantage, the figure charged up the tunnel at the dragon until it saw the beast inhale a large volume of air. As the dragon’s neck sprang forward and poured a tremendous volume of flame from out of its mouth, the gray figure floated off of the ground and rose to the top of the ceiling. He twisted out of the way of the dragon’s flames and soared over the effect of the breath. Grixanthrosilithiss stopped his breath short as he noticed only too late that the figure had evaded his devastating fire. The dragon raised his head, attempting to block the passage with his massive and once more coiled neck. The gray figure did realize that the dragon would need a bit of time to recharge its fiery breath and now it would prefer to attack with wings and claws. The figure also spotted the opening that it needed. With a mighty toss the ghostly figure threw the ruby down to the ground at the base of the dragon’s feet. The ruby hit the ground a skidded underneath the dragon and out from under the back of the beast. The ruby shot across the room after emerging from under where the dragon’s tail connected with the dragon’s body. This action caught the dragon off guard. The beast was helpless to stop the speeding ruby, but it knew that the figure was trapped in the tunnel. If it could finish off the intruder in the tunnel it could easily retrieve the ruby once the threat was over. Grixanthrosilithiss lunged with his mighty fangs and bit down hard in the direction of the gray figure. Free from the material possession in the form of the ruby, the gray figure had planned for the dragon’s bite. As the beast’s jaws cut the air in front of him the ghostly figure simply flew into the rock beside him. The ghostly image was not held by the same physical boundaries that held the dragon. In an instant the gray figure emerged from the wall in the dragon’s main chamber where the tunnel to the horde room branched off. The figure rapidly floated over to where the precious stone lay and snatched the ruby from where it had come to rest upon the floor. The dragon’s head and neck were still within the confines of the tunnel. Grixanthrosilithiss’ new Provenience shrieked as she saw the ghostly figure. The dragon heard the shriek and instinctively backed out of the tunnel. By the time the dragon was able to turn his body around the gray figure had already snatched up the ruby and floated from the main chamber onto the dragon’s perch. He had a good lead, but it would vanish quickly when the dragon took to the air. The ghost could float fast enough against humans and the like; but it had no chance of outpacing the dragon. The gray figure’s only chance was to hope to use its greater maneuverability until it could get to the forest. Once among the trees, its maneuverability would be a greater asset than the dragon’s great flying speed. Semeion looked on from below as the villagers again drew near the end of the Morning Prayer vigil. He saw the gray figure emerge from the dragon’s perch and his heart leapt with excitement. It wouldn’t be long now. No sooner had Semeion completed the thought than the large form of the red dragon broke into the sky in pursuit of the fleeing gray figure. The dragon howled in rage, drawing up more than a few glances from the villagers below. Semeion noticed that the villagers were on the verge of being distracted. Speaking only loud enough to be barely heard over the chanting villagers Semeion added, [Color=Plum]“All is well, keep singing! We are almost there! Put your heads down!”[/Color] The villagers responded to Semeion’s urging out of fear. Their heads snapped to the ground and the chanting wavered a bit before becoming strong once again. Semeion continued to glance up, tracking the chase across the sky. It was obvious the dragon possessed the greater speed. Only the sudden lurches of the gray figure kept the chase alive. Time and time again the dragon barely overshot the figure as the ghostly image dodged out of the way of the fangs, claws, and the occasional draconic breath. Slowly, the chase was descending to the ground according to the plan. Slowly, the chase was moving toward the east. The gray figure was luring the great wyrm away from the mountain where Ischarus and Charis waited. After only a few minutes the chase was close enough to the ground that the treetops blocked the view of it from the village. Semeion leapt to his feet and began grabbing villagers by the shoulders and pulling them up to their feet. [Color=Plum]“Run!”[/Color] Semeion shouted. [Color=Plum]“Follow Xando to your freedom. Do not return for anything. Flee with your lives!”[/Color] Xando sprang to his feet. For an instant he caught Semeion’s eyes and gave him a sympathetic look. Xando was grateful for this chance to lead his people to freedom. He also knew that for Semeion the greater challenge was still before him. As people rose to their feet and blocked Semeion from his view, he spoke a quick prayer. This prayer was not a prayer to his dragon father. Rather, this prayer was to an unknown god that he was sure had to exist beyond the confines of the known world. Once his prayer was complete the village leader turned and charged into the forest heading west. Semeion ran to the secret entrance at the foot of the mountain. As he broke to the south and left the confines of the village behind him he heard Xando encouraging the people. [Color=Lime]“Keep running! Do not stop until the rock tunnels protect you!”[/Color] [Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section] The closing words of the prayer were sung. Semeion continued to look up as he waited for the signal. Cautiously he spoke softly, “Hold your positions! Do not move until I give the order! We must be patient and not tip our hand too soon or else all will be lost!” Three-quarters of the way up the mountain the gray figure heard the end of the prayer. Using the abilities granted to him by his unfortunate ghostly condition, he vanished straight into the side of the mountain. In a matter of seconds he appeared within the chamber which contained the dragon’s horde. The figure looked about the room quickly, knowing that his choice would have to be significant. He grinned as he saw the piece that would surely catch the dragon’s attention. The portion of the treasure that had caught the gray figure’s eye sat nearly buried in one of the piles of gold that spanned the floor of the room. The deep redness of the large ruby sparkled brilliantly in contrast with the gold. In a flash of movement the gray figure concentrated in order to be able to pick up the ruby. As he pulled it from the pile, a bit of the gold spilled while the pile attempted to seek a new balance. The ruby was larger than he anticipated, but it would still do. In fact, the larger size may have even made it a more perfect selection. In the dragon’s main chamber, Grixanthrosilithiss lifted his head and his large reptilian eyes darted towards the passage that led to his horde room. The new Provenience was startled by the sudden movement and stopped playing and singing immediately. As she stopped singing, her hand reached out to touch the dragon’s softer underbelly. She had grown accustomed to the motion as being one that would soothe the great wyrm. “What’s wrong?” The Provenience spoke with a concerned tone at the dragon’s sudden movement. She had seen the dragon alarmed before, but never had she seen him stare so intently into his horde chamber. The wyrm looked to his Provenience and spoke as soft as possible for a creature of his size. “Silence. We may have a visitor among us.” The gray figure knew that the ruby would not be able to leave the way that the figure had come. While the ghost could easily pass through walls and the like; the ruby could not. More importantly, even if the ruby could pass through the walls it would defeat the purpose of alerting the red dragon to the fact that a thief was present and stealing from the horde. The light-gray figure did not know that the spell casting prowess of the large wyrm was great enough to allow the dragon to know the location of every piece of his treasure so long as it was within the horde room. The ghostly figure looked once more at the ruby and smiled. “This will do nicely, indeed!” The figure was pleased with his choice. With determination he rapidly flew through the air to the entrance of the horde room. In a flash he disappeared down the long hallway which led to the dragon’s main chamber. Inside the main chamber the dragon rose in fury as it detected the movement of the ruby. Its scaled body rapidly uncoiled from around his Provenience, spilling her backwards onto the floor. She had been relaxing upon him, enjoying the natural warmth rising from his scales. When the support was moved, she rolled onto her back. The Provenience thought to speak, but before she could bring the words to her lips the dragon bellowed loud enough to shake the items with the main chamber slightly. “There is a thief among my horde and he is coming this way!” The bellowing of the dragon echoed through the entire draconic lair. Although the mountain didn’t actually move, the Provenience was sure that the foundations shook under the dragon’s fury. Wisely, she moved to the corner of the room that offered no passageways away. The fury of the dragon would be fierce; and surely the dragon would enjoy using its breath to destroy whatever creature found itself confronting the dragon. Within the corner she chose she would have the best chance of avoiding being caught in the middle of the dragon’s wrath. At the foot of the mountain, Semeion and the villagers heard the draconic bellowing. Semeion beamed with excitement as he began to improvise in his mind. Once he had a quick improvisational plan he spoke, his voice betraying his excitement. “Listen to me! The sign for our departure is coming quickly now. Continue to bow with your heads to the ground. Xando, can you begin us again in any chant that is about two minutes from the conclusion of the prayer?” Xando did not respond, but his eyes darted wildly as he mentally sorted through the Morning Prayer rite. Finally the draconic words came to his mind and he began the chant again. “Now the sun has risen …” The entire village immediately picked up on the location within the Morning Prayer rite and joined him in song. Semeion began to chant as well, having learned the rite from the past few days of practice. Back inside the dragon’s main chamber the wyrm turned his body around so that he was facing directly down the tunnel. The gray figure spotted the dragon first and realized that its presence had been detected earlier than it had expected. Using its ghostly abilities to its advantage, the figure charged up the tunnel at the dragon until it saw the beast inhale a large volume of air. As the dragon’s neck sprang forward and poured a tremendous volume of flame from out of its mouth, the gray figure floated off of the ground and rose to the top of the ceiling. He twisted out of the way of the dragon’s flames and soared over the effect of the breath. Grixanthrosilithiss stopped his breath short as he noticed only too late that the figure had evaded his devastating fire. The dragon raised his head, attempting to block the passage with his massive and once more coiled neck. The gray figure did realize that the dragon would need a bit of time to recharge its fiery breath and now it would prefer to attack with wings and claws. The figure also spotted the opening that it needed. With a mighty toss the ghostly figure threw the ruby down to the ground at the base of the dragon’s feet. The ruby hit the ground a skidded underneath the dragon and out from under the back of the beast. The ruby shot across the room after emerging from under where the dragon’s tail connected with the dragon’s body. This action caught the dragon off guard. The beast was helpless to stop the speeding ruby, but it knew that the figure was trapped in the tunnel. If it could finish off the intruder in the tunnel it could easily retrieve the ruby once the threat was over. Grixanthrosilithiss lunged with his mighty fangs and bit down hard in the direction of the gray figure. Free from the material possession in the form of the ruby, the gray figure had planned for the dragon’s bite. As the beast’s jaws cut the air in front of him the ghostly figure simply flew into the rock beside him. The ghostly image was not held by the same physical boundaries that held the dragon. In an instant the gray figure emerged from the wall in the dragon’s main chamber where the tunnel to the horde room branched off. The figure rapidly floated over to where the precious stone lay and snatched the ruby from where it had come to rest upon the floor. The dragon’s head and neck were still within the confines of the tunnel. Grixanthrosilithiss’ new Provenience shrieked as she saw the ghostly figure. The dragon heard the shriek and instinctively backed out of the tunnel. By the time the dragon was able to turn his body around the gray figure had already snatched up the ruby and floated from the main chamber onto the dragon’s perch. He had a good lead, but it would vanish quickly when the dragon took to the air. The ghost could float fast enough against humans and the like; but it had no chance of outpacing the dragon. The gray figure’s only chance was to hope to use its greater maneuverability until it could get to the forest. Once among the trees, its maneuverability would be a greater asset than the dragon’s great flying speed. Semeion looked on from below as the villagers again drew near the end of the Morning Prayer vigil. He saw the gray figure emerge from the dragon’s perch and his heart leapt with excitement. It wouldn’t be long now. No sooner had Semeion completed the thought than the large form of the red dragon broke into the sky in pursuit of the fleeing gray figure. The dragon howled in rage, drawing up more than a few glances from the villagers below. Semeion noticed that the villagers were on the verge of being distracted. Speaking only loud enough to be barely heard over the chanting villagers Semeion added, “All is well, keep singing! We are almost there! Put your heads down!” The villagers responded to Semeion’s urging out of fear. Their heads snapped to the ground and the chanting wavered a bit before becoming strong once again. Semeion continued to glance up, tracking the chase across the sky. It was obvious the dragon possessed the greater speed. Only the sudden lurches of the gray figure kept the chase alive. Time and time again the dragon barely overshot the figure as the ghostly image dodged out of the way of the fangs, claws, and the occasional draconic breath. Slowly, the chase was descending to the ground according to the plan. Slowly, the chase was moving toward the east. The gray figure was luring the great wyrm away from the mountain where Ischarus and Charis waited. After only a few minutes the chase was close enough to the ground that the treetops blocked the view of it from the village. Semeion leapt to his feet and began grabbing villagers by the shoulders and pulling them up to their feet. “Run!” Semeion shouted. “Follow Xando to your freedom. Do not return for anything. Flee with your lives!” Xando sprang to his feet. For an instant he caught Semeion’s eyes and gave him a sympathetic look. Xando was grateful for this chance to lead his people to freedom. He also knew that for Semeion the greater challenge was still before him. As people rose to their feet and blocked Semeion from his view, he spoke a quick prayer. This prayer was not a prayer to his dragon father. Rather, this prayer was to an unknown god that he was sure had to exist beyond the confines of the known world. Once his prayer was complete the village leader turned and charged into the forest heading west. Semeion ran to the secret entrance at the foot of the mountain. As he broke to the south and left the confines of the village behind him he heard Xando encouraging the people. “Keep running! Do not stop until the rock tunnels protect you!” [/Sblock] [/QUOTE]
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