Author: Sam

Story: The Never-ending Story: 15 of 33

Series: none

Setting: Autumn 1991: The Realm of Dungeons & Dragons

Characters & Ages: Lorne- 23, Kosar- 25, Bobby- 17

Note: The lyrics Bobby uses are from the song "When the Children Cry" by White Lion.

Feedback: Yes, please? Especially constructive. samwise_baggins@yahoo.co.uk

Webpage: http://www.oocities.org/samwise_baggins/index.html

The word that came out of Lorne's mouth was not one Kosar had heard before, but he understood the general meaning. He felt the same way. Turning, the older man reached out to help the younger from the sucking mud they were trying to traverse. Lorne glared at him and shook him off, insisting he could do it himself.

After five years of traveling over all terrain and through all weather, the guys had gotten to know each other pretty well. The elder couldn't help thinking that his companion was one of the problems they'd been having. True, he'd tried to give Lorne the benefit of the doubt, but being turned away from town after town after the youth had gotten sulky, defensive, or derisive was starting to wear on the normally calm Psionicist. That, added to the fact that apparently Psionics were illegal in most parts of the Realm, made life pretty hard.

Fortunately Lorne was used to being an outcast and knew how to survive in the wilderness. That was a great boon, as Kosar had never regained his knowledge of directions or the stars. He did, on the other hand, add his soothing touch to their many confrontations, preventing either of the wanderers from being arrested... or worse.

Rain continued to pour down on the two men as they slogged their way through what was once a dirt road. It was now mud up to their ankles, deeper in spots, and the stench, which rose from it, spoke of years of filth and animals. Kosar tried to block the image of just what had made the awful odors.

"Lorne, up ahead. See the stones?" Kosar's odd, calming voice was more felt than heard, but he'd gotten the point across.

The younger man glanced up, into the driving rain, to see what his companion was talking about. Following the pointing finger, the Gypsy could see a huge ring of standing stones in the near distance. How they'd miss seeing it earlier was beyond his reasoning, probably the poor visibility from the weather. Instead of answering, knowing Kosar would understand without the need of words, Lorne nodded and determinedly set a course for the rocky barrier. Anything would be better than this open road at the moment.

Kosar trudged after his friend, not bothering to point out that he'd only meant Lorne to look, not change direction. He, too, wanted out of the biting cold. If those stones could shelter them who was he to complain?

It took at least an hour of straight walking to reach a semi-reasonably firm area. The natural hill of land apparently sported little in the way of grass or soil, the bare rock showing in large patches. Both men exchanged grins and hurried for the protection of the large barrier. Suddenly, they simultaneously became aware that there was no rain on this plateau... the bad storm seemed to end sharply just before the hill started.

A creepy feeling overcame Lorne and he hugged himself, frowning severely. It could have been a coincidence that the weather stopped there... but he was willing to bet it was something else. Something about these standing stones might very well create a sort of vortex against the laws of nature. He turned to tell Kosar but caught a glimpse of the man's genuine joy at being out of the rain. With a shake of his head, the Gypsy resolved to let his friend have a break and to keep his eyes open.

With a sigh of relief, the Psionicist sped his walk up a bit, aiming for the center of this unexpected haven. He threw a pleased look over his shoulder. Unfortunately, Kosar made an error in judging the distance from the closest stone, for he barreled right into it. With a yelp, he was thrown to his backside on the rocky surface, once again mentally cursing himself for the lack of all directional sense... including depth perception.

Lorne yelped with laughter, bending over and literally slapping his soggy knee. "Oh... oh... that was good... you are the... biggest... clutz..." he was wheezing in his glee over his companion's misfortune. "Man... the look... on your face..." The twenty-three-year-old wiped at the tears running down his face, chortling and snickering at the twenty-five-year-old's discomfort.

"Yes, quite amusing. Thanks for your support." Kosar, however, couldn't help but smile, despite being the brunt of the joke. It was so rare that he saw Lorne laughing, he could forgive him this time. Instead, he turned his head to study the stones towering above them. "It makes you wonder what their purpose may have been."

"Oh, that's easy. They were put here as a meeting place for great warriors uniting against a horrendous foe."

Both men jumped and turned startled glanced towards the middle of the ring of stones. That amused baritone hadn't belonged to either of them. It sounded young, and male, but definitely not a voice either recognized. Lorne wished he and Kosar had weapons for once.

Out of the chilly darkness, from between two of the larger stones, stepped a teenaged male. Crossing his arms in a leisurely fashion, he leaned against the nearby stone with a smug grin on his handsome features. He had a muscular build and slightly shaggy blonde hair. There was something about the crossed leather harness and fur loin cloth he wore that tugged at the memory, but the thing which gave away his identity to the two travelers was the large, solid looking wooden club dangling nonchalantly from one hand.

"Bobby?" Lorne straightened, a shocked look crossing his rounded face. He wasn't as handsome as the young Barbarian, but girls still swooned over his dark broody looks. Right now, though, hardly anyone would recognize the aloof, angry young man in the merry looking features presented. "Hot dog! I found you guys!"

The teen laughed as he was swooped into a bear hug by Lorne. "Yo!" Pushing away, Bobby turned to Kosar and his eyes widened in surprise. "Kosar? Whoa! I thought you went home ages ago."

"I did. I am back now."

The more mental than audio voice wasn't lost on the Barbarian as he reached out to shake the man's hand. He tilted his head with a slight frown. "I don't remember you sounding like that. What happened to you? And you, Lorne?" He belatedly turned back to the younger man, including him in the reunion once more.

Lorne shrugged without comment, merely rolling his eyes expressively as Kosar explained about the past four years. Bobby listened intently, especially to the part where Dungeon Master had enlisted Lorne's help, then the place in the story where the boys had met and discovered their losses. With a gentle smile, Kosar wrapped up the long tale.

By that time, all three had sat down in the center of the stone circle. Bobby nodded thoughtfully and absently, gently beating a tattoo on his hand with the club. The others watched him thinking for a moment before Lorne interrupted testily. "So, where's everyone else? They run off or something? Just like that stupid Caviar."

Bobby's head shot up and his light blue eyes narrowed, but not out of anger. He merely contemplated the pair of adults before him then shrugged as nonchalantly as he'd swung his club before. "I have no idea where they are, Lorne. We got split up ages ago."

Kosar frowned and looked thoughtfully at the young Barbarian. "How long ago?" He leaned forward, blocking the sight of Lorne's shock in order to not become distracted.

With a shrug and a laugh he didn't feel, Bobby said, "I think about eight years ago... at least, it was for me. It might have been less here, though. I went home, the others stayed." He found he couldn't look at the guys suddenly, and started studying the cloudy sky.

"Whoa... I thought they all wanted to go home?" Lorne pushed forward, making Kosar sit back. "I mean, that's what Eric was always ragging on about, right?"

"Yeah." Bobby stood and frowned at the rainstorm just beyond the hill. "We got the choice to stay and help or go home. Or..." and here he kicked the ground hard, glaring at his boot, "they got the choice. Sheila pushed me into the portal before I could stop her. I wound up back to the time I left... and got grounded, too." He turned his glare to the others.

Having no idea what being grounded entailed in the world Bobby came from, Kosar none-the-less understood that it must have been an unwarranted punishment of some kind. He leaned forward and started murmuring soothing words, which Bobby ignored. He was interrupted once more by the impetuous Lorne, finding it a bit frustrating as he did now and then.

"So," Lorne jumped to his feet and yanked Kosar up without warning. "We need to find them. Dungeon Master said to find the Children of Power. We might not be kids anymore, but we are definitely the ones he's talking about. Any idea where we can find them? I'm supposed to get them together to fight."

Bobby shook his head then shrugged. "Yeah, so am I. I was told you guys would show up here, so I waited. Guess we just start walking and hope to find them. I was thinking on revisiting all the old places the gang went before. Maybe some of them went back there?"

Massaging his arm, Kosar quietly agreed. As Lorne also agreed, the trio started walking away from the rain, back down the only path in the hillside. Apparently Bobby knew where he was going, so they quietly let him take the lead.

Bobby walked ahead of the other two a foot or so. He was lost in thought, worrying about the others and wondering how Terri was faring back at home. He was distracted enough that an enemy could probably sneak up on them and get a free attack, but enemies weren't what was on the seventeen-year-old's mind at the moment.

He hadn't exactly told the truth to the others. True, Dungeon Master had said that someone he was waiting for would show up at the stones, but he hadn't said who it'd be. In fact, Bobby hadn't for a moment thought it'd be anyone other than one of his friends... close friends. Lorne and Kosar were okay, but he barely knew them. As far as he remembered, Lorne was always trading sarcastic barbs with Eric and Kosar had always been talking with Diana. Neither had been overly concerned with becoming close to the youngest member of the group. It would have been far better, in Bobby's opinion, if they'd wound up with their own friends. Baby-sitting a couple of men without any weapons or fighting skills wasn't exactly the Barbarian's idea of a great assignment.

The air began to get even colder and Bobby wished he'd asked Dungeon Master to let him keep his jeans and T-shirt. This loin cloth was colder than a witch's... he cut the thought off with a sour chuckle, and had to explain the joke to the older guys: twice to Kosar. Glancing over the horizon, the teen found himself again wishing he'd never gotten back on that stupid ride. He could have been home with Terri, warm and safe.

Shaking his head, the Barbarian chastised himself for laziness. He'd wanted to help Sheila, right? So, here he was back in the Realm, and the first day hadn't passed before he was sounding like Eric whining about home. Ruefully, Bobby turned his head to study his companions, making himself try to spot the good qualities in the pair.

Didn't help; all he could see was a couple of guys a few years older than him without anything that could possibly aid in the coming war. After all, Kosar's claim to fame was his star gazing abilities, but he'd already admitted the Void had taken that away. And when last Bobby'd met Lorne, the kid had been sporting an unlucky amulet and a stalking wizard... until he'd smartened up and ditched both for a life with the gypsies. Bobby sighed. This was going to be one hell of a bad trip. He could feel it in his very cold bones.

It was Kosar tripping and tumbling headlong into the blond that made Bobby pull out of his morose thoughts. He caught himself before hitting the rock-strewn ground, turning and frowning at the brown-haired man. "Watch where you're going, Kosar. I can't carry you if you break your leg." He knew his tone was grumpy and impatient, but he didn't care at the moment.

Kosar flushed and nodded, muttering something. Fortunately, his psionic mind-voice made it very clear to the others, even without the aid of volume. "I cannot tell depths. I am sorry."

Bobby's frown deepened and he ran a hand through his hair, impatient with this whole fiasco. "Well, that helps, doesn't it? Should we slow down?" At Kosar's further blush, the teen felt a stab of guilt. He ducked his head and apologized, wondering when he'd turned into such a jerk. The answer came unbidden; when he hit his teens and still couldn't get back to the Realm.

Squatting, reaching to help his long-time companion, Lorne merely shrugged at Bobby. "Yeah, well, we're all wet and tired, you know? We need some sort of shelter... and food would be nice. We haven't had anything for two days."

"What!" Bobby whirled around and stared at the twenty-three-year-old in shock. He felt instant guilt well up stronger. "Great, so that's why Kosar's tripping over himself. We'll..." He looked around, surprised how far they'd traveled in the last six hours. "I know there's a town over there, but they aren't real friendly. We'd find better tidings if we could wait a day... but you guys can't."

The blond racked his brains for anything he could do to aid these two. After all, useless as they seemed, Dungeon Master wouldn't have given him them if they were totally helpless. And he sure couldn't have them fainting away on him. Finally, his eyes lit up and he nodded.

"Okay, here's what we'll do..."

The villagers were having a town meeting, which was extremely fortunate for Bobby's group. The Barbarian, dressed now in Lorne's gypsy clothes, knowing his own information about the town would be more helpful than a genuine gypsy at the moment, strode right up to the large gathering and cleared his throat. Thank goodness he had Kosar and his telepathy to back him up, as well. He struck a dramatic pose and, in very serious tones, said "I will predict the future for the first, and only the first, person who offers food to my brethren." Sure, it was corny as hell, but it certainly worked.

This town was full of the superstitious. They were always wondering about what the fates would play out for them. Wanderers were treated with food and shelter, but only in the off chance that it would prevent said travelers from cursing the people of the village. Thus, five people immediately jumped to claim Bobby's offer of fortune for food. The first one to claim such prize was the very man who was leader of the people.

He didn't nod, didn't smile, didn't even relax. Instead, moving with great precision and pomp, the teen headed for the mayor's seat. As fortune telling was beyond him, Bobby decided to do his best Presto imitation and merely recite the words of something he already knew that these people wouldn't. Standing in front of the mayor, with his back to the crowd, the Barbarian played his role for all he was worth. He raised his hands to the sky, letting his head fall back ever so slightly, and deepened his voice into an impressive deep baritone.

"Little child, dry your crying eyes. How can I explain the fear you feel inside? 'Cause you were born into this evil world where man is killing man, and no one knows just why. What have we become? Just look what we have done: all that we destroyed, you must build again."

He paused to see what effect his words were having on the mayor. That man was sitting on the edge of his seat, his watery green eyes wide and staring. His breath was coming in short pants and he seemed to be hanging on Bobby's every word. The teen had never been so thankful for White Lion before. He continued in the same stentorian manner.

"Little child, you must show the way to a better day for all the young. 'Cause you were born for all the world to see that we all can live with love and peace. No more presidents, and all the wars will end. One united world under God."

Peeking again at the man, the blond was suddenly struck by the idea that the guy might have a heart attack from the tension. He pushed that thought from his mind and concentrated on the lyrics he'd memorized to one of his favorite songs. It was time for the dramatic finish to his dire prediction.

"When the children cry, let them know we tried. When the children fight, let them know it ain't right. When the children pray, let them know the way. 'Cause when the children sing, then the new world begins."

With that, Bobby threw his head forward, letting his eyes roll back until only the whites showed, a habit Sheila had always said was disgusting. He let his body start to go limp, as if his strength was failing now he was done speaking to the forces beyond. Several men jumped forward to support him. A buzz of conversation surrounded the young Barbarian, discussing what he could have meant, what could possibly be done.

Finally, as Bobby was beginning to think he'd failed in his attempts, the mayor stood. In a commanding tone, he ordered food brought for the Gypsy and his people. Then, then man turned and hurried away, signaling his counselors to accompany him so they might deal with whatever had been forewarned for them. It worked!

People of all ages rushed forward to support the young man towards a seat. At his mental call, Kosar led the shivering, grumpy Lorne, dressed in Bobby's loincloth, towards the center of town. The people were surprised, wondering just how the men could have known the prophecy was completed, but gathered supplies for the newcomers as well.

For three guys trying to find a group of warriors to battle the coming evil, they weren't doing so bad.