h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

[Ma Chao] Oh dear... I meant "The Zeeky Words"... Sorry Eric!

[Furr][OoC] Baileywick! Firehose, NOW!

[Baileywick][also OoC] Aye, Sir!

::Furr takes the nozzle, Baileywick opens the valve, water sprays EVERYWHERE...except down the hole where Eric went.::

[Furr][still OoC] THAT should hold 'im!

[Baileywick][gurgling, OoC] Orrnly irrf wrree arrll gorr torr therr hrrole arrnd drrrip orrn hirrm...

[/ & ] Show

~from the bottom of the hole~

[Eric] ~cough~

[Eric Quietly] I think there's a dragon sitting on me!

::Thinking quickly, Furr races to Lampwick's side and starts rummaging through his plethora of paraphernalia.::

[Furr] Please excusse meow, but thiss is a matterr of ssome urrgency...!

::He finds what he's looking for--a Magicite crystal--and dashes back to the hole with it. He chucks it into the gaping blackness and all can hear it bouncing and rebounding from the walls on its way down.::

[Furr] Erric! Sspecial deliverry for yeou!

::He waits expectantly.::

[/Furr]

[Lampwick] Just out of morbid curiosity, exactly what Magicite did you send down there?

[Eric]Thank you!

[Eric]Do I just wave this stuff at it or what?

~There is a flash from below~

[Eric]Oh, I see

~a large and quite squat black dragon flies out of the hole, eric is hanging onto its foot~

[Eric] I've still yet to see what entity is asscoiated with this Magicite

[Furr] ::Aside to Lampwick:: Ai did not notice any parrticularr marrkingss on the Magicite, nor take note of its colorr; Ai merrely grrabbed the firsst available crysstal. Why? Does it matterr?

[/Furr]

[Ma Chao] Are you done? Bahamut seems to have tamed a fair few of these things. If you guys are ready, them maybe we should move out...

[Ribald] Sounds good! LET'S GET RRRREADY TO RRRRRRUMBLE!

*The Dragons take flight, and the Warband mounts up and flies to battle.*


For maximum listening pleasure, try Awakening from FFXI: http://ffsymphony.gamerznet.com/downloads/mp3s/ff11/Awakening.mp3

[Continuity]

::Before mounting the Huge Black Dragon, Furr Purrfikt stands in front of the wizened creature. He unslings the yellow Magicite crystal containing his true love, Felisshya, cradling it/her in both paws in front of him at arm's length. He speaks in an arcane tongue no men--and few Espers--have ever heard, his mouth forming sounds that could never be expressed by any mortal man. He pauses for a short time and the crystal brightens more and more, shining forth in hues of amber, then gold, and finally streaming out toward the dragon in brilliant yellow rays. The ebony hide of the dragon changes, transmuting from the wash of illumination, catching and holding the light in a strange way that highlights the scales around the edges, giving its whole body an ethereal glow. The dragon crouches low to the ground, folding its wings close to its sides and rumbles unendingly deep in its chest.::

[Furr] Sswifftly now, Baileywick! Climb up behind meow and hold onto thiss marrvelouss crreaturre's flankss where'er there is purrchase!

[Baileywick] Couldna I jus' wait fer ya here, m'Lord?

[Furr] Now, Baileywick!

[Baileywick] S'pose it's why I hired on, then... ::He clambers onto the back of the dragon.::

[Furr] ::Leans as far forward as he can and calls to the dragon, which cranes its neck to gaze at him with one eye.:: Ffly now, maiy ffrriend! We have much rreckoning to do with the forrces of evil embodied by the Black Legiown. To Galyana!

::The huge black dragon turns its face into the wind, unfurls its leathery wings, and moves forward. With two strokes of its mighty sails it lifts from the rocky crag and slips through the air almost effortlessly. It beats the air swiftly at first, then settles into a rhythm that lets it glide on updrafts only it can see or feel. Wind rushes past its riders and they are held awestruck for quite some time.::

[/Furr & Baileywick & Dragon ]

[/Continuity]

The sun sets on Galyana, and never again shall it rise on the city. That afternoon, the Black Legion finally broke the gates of Galyana. Moombas possessed by dark spirits snuck into the sewers and planted explosive charges at key points in the wall, blowing huge holes in Galyana's defences. However, the most terrifying moment was when Grenade Cannons, massive seige guns that fire a powerful version of the Bomb monster, moved within the Magic Barrier, and annihilated the Tower of Magic. The magic barrier failed, allowing the Black Legion's artillary to pummel the defenceless city.

[Ma Chao] Damn! We're too late!
[Bahamut] No... There may still be hope...

[Ribald, naturally, flies his dragon on a course that will take him directly into the thick of things, firebreath blasting.]

[Ribald] YEEEE-HAW!

[Furr] ::Wonders out loud (hopefully loud enough for all the company to hear him):: Ai prresume we only want to utilize the drragons' sstrrength to rout the Black Legiown, and not to burrn Galyana to the grround...?
[/Furr]

[Eric] Yes. Don't go for overkill now. Some subltity is needed for this task. Friendly fire is the last thing we want to recive or give

[Ribald] Well then, WATCH THIS!

[He swings his dragon around, and it releases a blast of fire that cuts a swath through the Black Legion, without even touching any of the Galyanans. Of course, this means there's still a lot of Black Legionnaires.]

~lands on high tower~

[Eric]Ohh yes. The dragon does most of the aiming and it seldom misses

[Setting] (May I be so bold as to add this to the story line?)
From their vantage point high in the air, the adventurers see thousands of troops of the Black Legion swarming outside the city of Galyana. One can only surmise whether they were drafted from people of the lands or if they were fashioned for warfare by some magic power. The latter seems more likely, from the inhuman visage of the warriors, and that nowhere could an army of such proportion be assembled so quickly. It is obvious that siege engines have been pounding the city, as witnessed by the rubble of sections of the outer wall and the decapitated remains of several of the city’s spires. All is chaos, within and without. Where the main fortifications of the city are not being assaulted by massive war engines, throngs of invaders are battling hand-to-hand with the defenders. The battle has gone from stalemate to steady encroachment, with the men and women of Galyana beginning to feel the desperation of being overwhelmed by greater numbers.
[/Setting]

::The huge black dragon, glinting with golden highlights, glides over the walls of the city. This causes confusion among the fighting men of Galyana, who perceive the beast as an added threat. Arrows and other projectiles glance off its hide, making it difficult for Furr Purrfikt and Baileywick to dismount safely.::

[Furr] (to Baileywick) Ai will ffight from within; yeou must ffight from without. Sstay on the drragon and let it rrid the ffields of the Black verrmin. We will meet again affterr this sskirrmish!
::With that, Furr drops from the dragon’s back, falling onto a rooftop, gaining his footing, then leaping to the ground amidst some soldiers.::
[Furr] Ai am here to help ffight againsst the Black Legiown!
::He rushes past them, leaps into the air, and lands in a small group of Legionnaires. He begins shredding them with his claws and flinging others--helpless--toward the soldiers that followed him.::

[Baileywick] Why’s he actin’ all brave-like? It’s not like he’s gotta prove anything...

::The dragon bearing Baileywick rises aloft, then turns to assay the fields of battle outside the walls. It draws its wings inward, hurtling from the sky at tremendous speed. Its head tilts slightly to survey the massing of armaments and evil warriors, then it alters its course to close the distance to its target. The dragon sends gouts of flame lancing the siege engines and turning them into deadly pyres of kindling; it sprays the knots and ranks of Legionnaires with liquid flame, and hundreds flail and burn on the unprotected grounds. Pass after pass, circling round and finding another group of enemy warriors as targets, the black dragon attacks without remorse and sends the scattering troops into a rout. Baileywick holds on for dear life, but the thrill of impending victory causes him to shout with joy.::

[/Furr & Baileywick & Black ]

*Ma Chao's Dragon flames its way to the Senate Chamber. Ma Chao leaps off onto the roof, and becomes surrounded by Monsters.

Massive Mountain Wolves, the size of horses, have been let loose in Galyana, and Ma Chao is faced by four of them. He kills the first with a well-aimed thrust, somersaults over to impale a second, and the third smashed him through a skylight, into a melee below...

four Galyana Guard, two Archers and a Level 1 Mage are battling the encroaching hoard of fiends. Wolves, Kobolds (goblin-like creatures) and Elementals (tough creatures that are almost pure magic) swarm everywhere. Ma Chao looks around, and takes action...*
[Ma Chao] Haste! Haste! Haste Okay, now the Archers and Mage are speeding up, let's clear the rest...
*Ma Chao dives int othe fray...*