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The Marraketh Connection
"Kick Your Friends"
Author: Maruchan, VRDET
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	"I think Red should get locked up >:)="
               --Nexxus          

	"Now, Cookie Monster kept on walking. Eventually, he came 
to a fork in the road."
                --Havin' Fun With Ernie and Bert, "Magic Cookie"

	Maruchan, Brynhild, and Theseus had set out to find Red, 
instead they had come across a spongin army. The rangers had 
taken cover in a nearby clump of grass while they decided what to 
do.
	Theseus was the first to speak. "Either of you have any
idea what to do about these people? Not to mention where Red 
is?" So much for suggestions.
	Brynhild seemed to be stronger, more sure of herself than 
the other two. "Red's around here, I'm sure of it.  His magic 
aura is stronger here, so strong he must be in the area. If we 
get some time to search, I'll be able to give you an exact 
location... and I have an idea on how to distract the armies.  
	"Anyway, I don't know if Red has tried this, but I 
figured we can rig up an illusionary distraction. Nothing small, 
though - a full Jihaddi army, to confuse them completely. If we 
have it coming in the  right direction, it won't draw attention 
to us... or to the real camp! It'll probably give us time to 
rescue Red as well..."
	Brynhild sounded like she knew what she was doing. 
Maruchan nodded. "Do it," Theseus said decisively. Maruchan 
thought she detected a trace of wistfulness in his voice.
	Brynhild turned to face the army, concentrating on her 
spell. Maruchan watched as soldiers began to materialize and 
march towards the army, which immediately turned to face the 
illusionary threat. "C'mon... more soldiers," Brynhild whispered 
fiercely.
	A spongin soldier took a shot at one of the illusionary 
Jihaddi. The soldier fell, dead. Maru watched in awe as the 
illusions led the spongin army into the distance. Damn, this girl 
was pretty good. She'd never be able to set up such an elaborate 
illusion herself...
	Brynhild turned back to her comrades, looking pleased and 
slightly surprised at the effectiveness of her spell. "Red... 
he's in that direction," she said, pointing to the east. The 
other two rangers followed her.
	They found Red lying in the brush, or rather, Bryn said 
that she sensed his aura emanating from the brush. Theseus went 
up to the brush. "Is he conscious?" he asked, and kicked the 
brush without waiting for an answer.
	"Well, he didn't cry out. It must be him," Bryn 
commented.
	"Bryn?" Red's voice was weak.
	"Yeah, it's me. Get up; they're looking for you at the 
camp, and we don't have time for any games."
	"I... can't... too tired... give me two minutes?"
	"All right. But only two."
	Exactly two minutes later, Red got up and they began walking 
back to camp.
                                **********

	Calculus was waiting when they arrived. "Red Paladin,
may I have a word with you?" he beckoned. Red followed meekly.
	Thes watched him go. "Poor guy."
	Bryn smiled. "You kicked him."
	"Like you wouldn't have enjoyed it," Theseus answered. 
Brynhild grinned evilly.
	Red returned to the group. "Got chewed out?" Bryn asked.
	Red nodded. "Pretty badly. Oh, well. He says we're on 
scout duty again." Shrugging, he wandered off to rest. His 
companions left to do the same.
	By late morning that day, they were up and ready to move 
on. They regrouped and resumed hiking. The day passed 
uneventfully until noon, when suddenly...
	...they came to a fork in the road. 
	*Jarring Chord*
	The rangers wondered what they could possibly do. If they 
went one way, well, then, they couldn't go the other. And that 
would suck.
	Calculus finally spoke. "All right, here's how this is 
going to work. We need both of these routes explored. Red and 
Bryn, you two take that fork; the rest of the group take the 
other. We'll meet again when the roads do. Good luck."
	The rangers agreed that would be good. They bid each 
other good-bye, and continued on their journeys.
-TBC-