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  1. #1
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    Mr. Dove and the Pipes of Creation - The Final Chapters

    Hi Everyone,

    It's been a long time since I wrote the threads below, but I always felt bad that I never finished the story.

    http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...reation-56178/

    http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...ntinued-70647/


    Would you all like to see the end?
    We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance. - Japanese Proverb

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  3. #2
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    Nice to have you back and yes please.
    " Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the adherence of idle minds and minor tyrants". Field Marshal Lord Slim.

  4. #3
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    Absolutely!!!
    "Good judgement comes from experience, and experience
    well, that comes from poor judgement."
    A. A. Milne

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  6. #4
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    OK, let's see if I can get this finished!

    Scene 84

    “Battle stations!” the Captain ordered and the crew scrambled to their positions.

    “What can we do to help?” I asked him.

    The Captain looked at all the approaching ships and then surveyed his crew before turning to me, a look of grim determination on his face. “Mr. Dove, my ship is shortly going to be attacked by six ships from the Latin Confederation. Under normal conditions we could stand against three such vessels, four if we get some lucky breaks. Short of a miracle, there is no way we can survive an encounter with six.”

    “What are you going to do?”

    He again looked at his crew, sadness on his face. “The only thing we can do.” He looked back at me. “Mr. Dove, I know the stakes of your mission, your quest. If you don’t get through, nothing we do matters. We cannot defeat those ships and we cannot outrun them.”

    He called out over his shoulder. “Dove, Ashton, report!”

    The two men rushed to comply with the order and stood next to the Captain.

    “Gentlemen, get Mr. Dove and his team to the glider!” he ordered.

    “What do you mean, Captain?” I asked.

    “Mr. Dove, David, you have to get away from here to complete your mission. I want you to take our glider and get away from here. My ship will draw the enemy’s fire until you do so.”

    “Captain, you don’t need to do that. We can help.”

    “And you would die with us. No, Mr. Dove, I’m ordering you to take the glider and get away. Gentlemen, get these people to the glider, now!”

    Although I didn’t like it, Captain Panache was right and I let the two officers lead my team and I to the lower hold.

    As we climbed down the ladder to the lower hold, I had to cling tightly as the ship was rocked.

    “We’re taking fire!” Commander Dove called out. “Steven, get to the release levers! I’ll get them aboard.”

    The Commander and I got the entry hatch opened and my companions hurried into the glider. As I started to board the craft, the Commander started to close the hatch behind me.

    “Wait!” I said. “Aren’t you coming too?”

    He glanced over to Steven, then back to me. “No, David, we’re not. We can’t abandon our ship. We can’t flee when our comrades are in danger.”

    I understood what he was saying and that their death was certain. “Good luck!” was all I could think to say.

    The Commander nodded. “As soon as this hatch is secured, we’ll release the glider. Steer her away from us. We’ll buy you as much time as we can.”

    I nodded. “Thank you.”

    “Just go! Get out of here!”

    I dropped down and he closed the hatch behind me. I had just reached my chair when I felt the glider drop away from the Valiant.

    “Why aren’t they on the glider?” Deena asked, the worry obvious in her voice.

    “They’re helping cover out retreat.” I said sadly.

    “Oh, Steven!” she choked out.

    “Mike,” I said, trying to control my own emotions. “Let’s get this thing out of here so that their sacrifice isn’t wasted.
    Last edited by davedove; 13th December 19 at 07:53 PM.
    We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance. - Japanese Proverb

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  8. #5
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    Looks like Mr. Livingston should prepare himself for loosing a pint or two of blood.
    " Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the adherence of idle minds and minor tyrants". Field Marshal Lord Slim.

  9. #6
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    Can't wait to see how it all ends!
    His Exalted Highness Duke Standard the Pertinacious of Chalmondley by St Peasoup
    Member Order of the Dandelion
    Per Electum - Non consanguinitam

  10. #7
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    Scene 85


    The glider sailed through the air and we quickly left the airships behind. None of us looked back. We didn’t want to see what was happening to the Valiant.

    “What do you think?” I asked Mike. “Do you think we can make it to the citadel?”

    “Assuming the air currents hold,” he answered. “We should be able to land next to the lake surrounding it.”

    We both jumped a little when the large shadow quickly passed over our craft.

    “What was that?” I gasped.

    “Whatever it was, it’s big!” Mike answered.

    Deena spoke up from behind me. “We need to get away from here!”

    “What do you mean?” I asked.

    “If it catches us in the air, it will tear this craft to splinters. We need to flee!”

    “Why, Deena? What is it?”

    “Something from my world, something very big and very powerful.”

    “No! No! No!” James blurted out as he looked out the window.

    I looked in the same direction and saw what he had seen. “Oh, you can’t be serious!”

    The large winged, sinewy reptilian form cut through the air towards us. The only name I could apply to the creature closing in on our craft, was Dragon!”
    We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance. - Japanese Proverb

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  12. #8
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    Scene 86


    I turned back to my copilot. “Mike, we have to get this thing on the ground! We have no chance if we stay in the air.”

    “I’m open to suggestions. Do you see anywhere we can land?”

    I looked at the landscape below. Everything looked uniformly rocky and far from acceptable as landing strips.

    “We need to go faster!” came James’s worried voice from behind us.

    “Believe me,” I answered. “If we could, we would. Remember, we have no engines on this craft. We have to rely on wind and gravity.”

    The glider shook as the dragon swept by us and suddenly the controls quit responding. I looked out the windows. “What happened?”

    Mike was looking out the window. “Half our left wing is gone. There’s no way we can control it anymore.”

    I desperately scanned the ground below us, looking for anyplace to land.

    Suddenly, I saw it, a reasonably clear, flat space in the valley ahead. “Mike, there, we need to aim for that!”

    The two of us struggled to control the glider enough to land.

    “This is going to be rough!” I warned.

    “Just get us down!” James said with clenched teeth.

    The shadow again passed over us. Suddenly, the glider was rocked again. The controls were now completely useless.

    “We’re going down!” I yelled out in warning. “Prepare to crash!”

    As the glider began to spin out of control, I noticed a glow from behind me. I risked a glance back and saw Deena in flight, glowing strongly with magic. The glider’s spin slowed a bit and I saw the strain in Deena’s face.

    Suddenly, Deena let out a startled gasp and fell to the floor. Her glow extinguished.

    I cried out. “Deena!”

    The pixie pushed up from the floor weakly. “Too much weight! It’s too heavy! I can’t do it!”

    I saw Gerald scoop her up and cradle her protectively.

    The glider was no longer spinning, but we were now quickly dropping to the earth below. We all braced for the impact that would likely kill us all.
    We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance. - Japanese Proverb

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  14. #9
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    Scene 87

    I watched as the landscape rapidly rose up to meet our plummeting craft and then suddenly it wasn’t.

    I felt the glider begin to even out as our rate of descent slowed.

    In disbelief I looked around to see what was happening and noticed the entire craft was beginning to glow, a glow I had seen before.

    I looked back at Deena, but saw she was still trembling in Gerald’s Hands.

    She too was looking around in disbelief. “It’s not me!” Then her eyes grew wide with understanding. “It’s my people! They’ve come to help!”

    “There must be a hundred of them!” James exclaimed, his face plastered to the side window.

    I looked out and saw what he was looking at. There were indeed easily a hundred pixies all around our glider, each of them glowing with magic as they lowered the craft gently to the ground.

    As soon as the glider touched down, we quickly exited the craft.

    One of the pixies flew in front of me. “Savior of the Worlds, you must hurry, the dragon has not finished with you.”

    “Thank you, all of you, for your help.”

    The pixie waved off my thanks. “There is no time for pleasantries. You must leave now.” He looked over at Gerald, who still carried Deena. “Leave our sister with us. We will protect her.”

    I saw Deena weakly raise her arms to two pixies. “Deena?”

    She looked at me and smiled. “Go, David! I can’t continue with you. I am too weak.”

    “But Deena, you’re part of my team.”

    “And I did my part, just as Steven did. Go now, you still have to save the worlds.”

    I nodded and watched her get lifted away by the pixies, then turned back to my team. “Come on, we still have a mission.”

    The four of us quickly moved across the broken landscape towards the fortress. We were shaken when the large fireball erupted from our fallen glider.

    “What was that?” James cried out.

    “Our glider,” I answered as I watched the dragon rise into the sky. “Apparently this dragon breathes fire.”

    We picked up our pace in a desperate attempt to outrun the flying dragon, knowing our only chance was to find some kind of cover.

    Our luck ran out as we found ourselves in a dead end. The walls were too steep to climb quickly.

    “Here it comes!” James warned.

    The dragon was swooping down towards us. Frantically I looked around for cover but none was to be found.

    As the dragon neared, its mouth opened and a blast of fire came directly towards us.
    Last edited by davedove; 5th January 20 at 07:12 PM.
    We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance. - Japanese Proverb

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  16. #10
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    Scene 88

    In the split second before the fire could engulf us, I heard the sliding sound behind me. Glancing back, I saw the large, armored man land at the bottom of the cliff.

    “Behind me!” he ordered and jumped forward to interpose himself between us and the dragon, raising his shield defiantly in defense.

    Despite all I had seen in my journey, I was still amazed at how this man stood and took the full brunt of the fiery blast on his shield. Against all expectations, the flame flickered around the edges of the shield and burned no one.

    As the dragon passed overhead and the flame died, the man lowered his shield. He turned to face us and raised his visor, revealing my own face. “You must be careful who you play with, brother. Dragons can be dangerous.”

    “Sir David?” I asked.

    “Indeed, brother. And you are the savior of worlds. The Grey Goddess sent us to assist you.”

    “Us?” I started to ask, before hearing more sliding behind me. I was relieved to see two familiar faces. “Jockel! Starbuck!”

    The dwarf smiled at me. “Yes, David. We heard you were in trouble again, so we came to rescue you.”

    Starbuck extended his hand to greet me. “It seems you can’t get anything done without our help.”

    I shook his hand and chuckled. “Things are getting a bit complicated. I appreciate your assistance.”

    Sir David examined his shield. “There is no time for more pleasantries. We must be going. The magic in my shield will not withstand another such blast and the dragon will return soon.”

    “Where can we go?” I asked. “We’ll be vulnerable in the open.”

    “Indeed we will. Jockel can you find us a safe path?”

    Jockel turned and examined the cliff they had slid down. After running his hand over it a few times, he nodded. “Stand back!”

    As we moved back, the dwarf raised his arms and addressed the hill. “Spirits of the earth, I am Jockel Stronghammer, dwarf of the Iron Mountains! I call upon the friendship beneath the dwarves and the earth and request safe passage for my friends and I!”

    After only a second, the earth began to tremble. “What’s happening?” James asked.

    “Just watch,” Starbuck told him.

    As the earth continued to shake, a crack formed in the face of the cliff. It spread, opening to reveal a tunnel leading into the hillside. When the opening was wide enough for a man to pass through the trembling ceased.

    Sir David had been watching the skies. “The dragon is returning! We must hurry!”

    “Inside!” Jockel ordered, gesturing for us to enter the opening.

    Starbuck wasted no time and jumped through, followed closely by James. I ushered Gerald and Mike through and then followed them in.

    Jockel followed us in. “Hurry! We must get away from the entrance or the dragon’s fire can still reach us.

    We quickly moved down the natural passage, with Sir David guarding our rear.
    Last edited by davedove; 12th January 20 at 09:52 AM.
    We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance. - Japanese Proverb

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