Date: Sat, 26 Jan 2002 14:33:44 +0000 (GMT)
From: goldenknight <goldenknightuk@yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: Night of No Tomorrow - 14 (gay/boybands)

Disclaimer:

Hello again! Well then! I finally managed to get my ass back in writing
again (particularly because I'm so sick of studying college stuff 'n'
all...). But I'm back with the fourteenth part of NNT. It's kinda shorter
than the rest, I know. Sorry about that. Now what should I yap about
first... oh yeah! Legal stuff. You all may shut your ears now. First of all
(bla, bla, bla), as mentioned before, this story is totally fictional and
has no purpose whatsoever to imply that any member of the BSB is
gay. Secondly, also as mentioned before, the setting of this story is 100%
based on TSR, Inc. Novels, the Forgotten Realms. The story is written
purely out of fun and leisure and I have no intention of publishing it
anywhere or whatever. Hmm... what else? Oh yeah, this story also contain
homosexual elements, so if you got a problem with it, Boo-hoo, I don't give
fuck. However, if you are looking for some hot monkey sex scenes, sorry
dudes, you'll be disappointed. I'm just not good in writing about that
stuff :P Let just keeps the detailed sex stuff behind closed doors. But if
you like stories that goes nice and slow and have more to offer than just
sex, oh well, you might like this one (I hope).

Well! Now that is gone out of da way, lets get on with the story. Hope you
enjoy it. If ya got comments, objections, suggestions, tips, death threats,
boos, tomatoes or cabbages to throw or whatever, just write to me at
goldenknightuk@yahoo.co.uk

Anyway, I would like to thank everyone who e-mailed me of your comments and
such. It's nice to know that you've enjoyed it. I live to serve (Hah!). All
in all, thanks guys. I intend to make this story as long as I can. But
ideas do tend to run out quickly. I can always think up of new ideas (if I
can get my lazy mind going long enough. It really needs a kick or two at
time but it has always serve me well... hmm... well, most of the time). But
if you have any inputs, ideas or suggestions, feel free to drop me a note
anytime you want, be it through e-mails, letters, pigeons, message in a
bottle, Morse codes, talking drums, whatever.

Author's Note:

Another thing is, in case you didn't notice; I have changed my email
address. So if you guys wanna drop us a note, sent it to
goldenknightuk@yahoo.co.uk

Right! Enough mindless chatters, roll back the curtain, roll the drums and
on with the show!

Drew and Andy

*****************************

At the ruins of Tandrull, in the Sword Coast...

"We cannot outrun them!" Galadriel snarled as she reared her horse to a
halt.

Andy reared his own horse, as did the others. He turned to look at the
approaching Hellhounds. Through the mist and the flashing lightning, Nick
shuddered as he saw the snarling beasts leaping towards them. It mouth
gaped open to reveal the rows upon rows of needle sharp fangs. Even as the
beasts snarled, gout of flames appeared from its throat, scorching the very
earth itself. Its eyes seems to burn in flames too and even now seems to be
glaring at them all hungrily.

Nick remembered reading about the Hellhounds during the time of his
training with Andy. Native of the deepest part of the Abyss, Hellhounds are
treated by the demon-lords as a pet, much like a dog to a man. It feeds on
the flesh of mortal but its strength is fueled by chaos and corruptions. It
hates mortals or anything that is not belongs to the Abyss. That is why it
considered dangerous to summon such beast. The mage who summoned such
creatures must have been powerful indeed.

Andy looked around them to survey their surrounding. They stood at the gate
of the ruined keep now. Beyond them, the earth gives way to a huge crevice
and even as Nick peered down, he could see nothing but cold darkness. A
crumbling stone bridge projecting from the gate to the ruined tower beyond
is the only means to get across the cavern.

The scene beyond the cavern is even more gruesome. Even if Nick hasn't been
told about the tales of Tandrull, one look at the four towering pillars
beyond and the crumbling tower in the middle would have told him that it is
a place of great evil. Lightning flashes again, lighting the surrounding
briefly. Most of the walls surrounding the keep are in ruins. Only the four
pillars seem to be intact, stretching towards the sky as if attempting to
reach the heavens. The tower in the middle also seems to be the only
structure that is still intact.

"We'll make our stand here," said Andy as he got off his horse and drew his
staff. "We can retreat to the ruins and destroy the bridge should we become
too overwhelmed by those creatures. Even the Hellhounds cannot make a leap
across the cavern width."

Galadriel nodded reluctantly as she took her place and nocked her bow with
her silver arrow. Nick stood at the back with Brian while Sarelle ushered
the horses to make their ways across the bridge towards the ruins. The
crevice seems to circles around the ruins. The horses will not get
anywhere. Andy raised his hands and quietly began to work a spell. Nick
searches his mind and selected all of the protective spells he could think
of before. Near him, Sarelle and Brian did the same.

The hellhounds are nearing them now; their howls pierced the surrounding
darkness and echoed back from the walls of the crevice. Nick completed the
Spell of Haste on everyone and proceeded to cast the Spell of Invisibility
on himself. Brian completed his prayer-spell too and the air rippled
slightly around them as a barrier against evil surrounded them.

The beasts drew closer and Nick shuddered at their savage snarls.

"Mother Chauntea, hear the call of thy servant." Nick heard Sarelle
whispered her own prayer-spell. "Bless us all with thy divine might as we
stand against these beast that defile thy lands."

The Rose-In-The-Sun medallion glowed around the priestess' neck and the
light then spread to engulf the whole party. Almost immediately, Nick felt
his senses became more focused and clearer and his fear vanished only to be
replaced with courage and determination.

At the head of the party, Andy began to ripples slightly as his Spell of
Stoneskin took effect. His skin began to harden until is became as hard as
a stone. He uttered another two spells and a barrier against fire and a
globe of invulnerability appeared around him.

By the time he completed his third spell, the hellhounds has already
reached the arrow-firing range.

"Here they come," said Sarelle grimly as she strode forward to stand beside
Andy, her silver mace gripped tightly in her hands.

It was Galadriel who struck first. The elf released her arrow and was
rewarded with a pained screech from one of the four hellhounds. The arrow
doesn't even slow them down. Andy placed his staff at the crook of his
elbow again and works his first offensive spell. His hands began to
crackles with electricity and as he completed intoning the final words of
the spell, he hurled a lightning bolt towards one of the creatures. The
creature staggered and howled in pain. But the bolt doesn't stops there. As
soon as the bolt hits the first creature, it leaped to another, and another
and finally the last one. Nick raised his brow in surprise. A
Chain-Lightning Spell! That's a powerful spell indeed!

Nick dismissed the thought as quickly as it came when he saw the beast
still closing towards them. He raised his own hands and uttered a spell of
his own. His own fingers began to glow with blue-white light. He shouted
the final incantations and quickly hurled an Icelance towards the leading
creature. The lance sailed through the air and struck, causing the beast to
howled in agony. Fire is a friend to the creature. Cold is its enemy. Nick
nodded grimly in satisfaction as the leading beast fell back to recover
itself.

But the other three beasts, upon identifying as to how formidable their foe
is, roared in rage and each spat out a fireball. Nick and Andy immediately
raised their voice in incantation to commence a counterspell. Two of the
fireballs sputtered out and vanished in spark of flames. The third
fireball, however, sailed into their midst and exploded, throwing all off
them back several feet away. Only Andy remains standing at his spot,
protected by his barrier against fire and his globe of invulnerability.

The beast roared in triumph and drew closer. Nick, sorely burned from the
effect of the fireball, cast the spell to conjure a globe of
invulnerability of his own to protect himself from anymore fireball. Beside
him, Brian raised his voice as he uttered his own spell. Blue lightning
split the sky and struck all of the beasts in a mighty thunderous roar. The
spell of Holy Smite succeeded in destroying the wounded leading beast, but
the rest still came on. Near them, Galadriel released her next arrow at the
nearest beast. The beast dodged the oncoming arrow and came on. The elf
cursed and slid her sword out. By this time, the beast is too close for any
more arrows.

"Chauntea! Grant thy servant strength!" Sarelle cried out to the heavens in
the face of the approaching beasts. Her medallion glowed again and the
light enveloped her body. She strode towards the first beast and swiped her
silver mace out into an arc. Strengthened by the strength of her goddess,
the mace struck the first beast to the extent that sends the creature
flying several feet away.

"Well struck, Sarelle!" Galadriel cried out as she dodged the snarling leap
of another beast. "The strike of Chauntea's servant bites deep!"

Andy completed his next spell and spread his hands wide towards another
approaching beast. A ball of light appeared before him, growing brighter
and brighter in seconds. Then a blinding light shot out from the ball,
lighting the area briefly. The beam of light raced through the air and
struck the approaching creature. The creature wailed in agony as it turned
into ash.

"The Spell of Disintegration." Muragh muttered from the net dangling at
Nick's belt. "A terrible fate indeed. I felt sorry for the beast."

Nick paid little attention to the skull as he wove his own spell. Beside
him, Brian intoned his own prayer-spell too. Nick hurled a lightning bolt
towards the beast that is attacking Sarelle at the same moment as Brian
hurled a Bolt of Glory towards the beast that is attacking Galadriel. The
Bolt of Glory struck the beast deeply causing it to howl in agony. It turns
it snarling face towards Brian and began to rush towards him. But Andy
strode between the two.

"Get back!" the young mage snarled as he swiped his glowing staff towards
the beast. The staff struck the creature with a crackling blow, causing it
to yelp and sending it back a few paces away.

The other beast staggered at Nick's lightning bolt. Sarelle swiped her mace
again but the beast dodged the deadly swing before hurling itself towards
the priestess. Sarelle swore an oath before plunging to the ground with the
beast on to of her, drooling triumphantly. Trickles of saliva dropped from
its mouth and landed on the priestess' exposed arm. Sarelle screamed in
pain as the saliva burned through her skin. She tried to move, but found
herself unable to do so.

"Sarelle!" Brian cried in horror. Beside him, Nick muttered another spell
and hurled five magic missiles towards the creature.

The magic missiles struck mercilessly, throwing the beast off-balance for
an instant.

"Run, Sarelle! Get up and run!" Brian shouted. "Get away from there!"

"She can't!" said Muragh urgently. "A hellhound touch is paralyzing! Go
there and aid her! Nick will cover you!"

"Sarelle!!" Brian cried as he rushed towards the priestess, war-hammer
gripped tightly in his hand.

The beast looked up and snarled at the approaching young cleric. But before
it could do anything, another swarm of magic missiles swooped through the
air and struck deeply.

"Get away from her!!" Brian snarled angrily and struck the beast with his
war-hammer.

The swing managed to throw the beast off a few paces away, but inflicted no
wound. Brian swings his war-hammer again. The weapon struck but was
deflected off from the beast body. Brian looked at his weapon in
horror. His weapon has no effect! This must be one of those beasts that can
only be hurt by magical weapon.

The beast howled in triumph and took a menacing step forward. Brian stepped
back with his back facing Sarelle as he wrack his mind to figure out a way
to defeat the beast. Near them, he heard Nick's voice rising in
spellcasting and then, there was a flash of magical light. The beast turned
at the same moment and dodged the oncoming Icelance. At the same time, the
beast opened its maw wide and spat out a stream of fire. Brian turned just
in time to see the fire being deflected off Nick by the globe of
invulnerability.

But the distraction was just the thing Brian needed. The beast may be
immune to normal weapons. But is it vulnerable to his Spiritual Hammer?

Brian set off to intone the prayer-spell necessary to conjure a Spiritual
Hammer. Perhaps it was the feel of the weaving of Holy Magic or perhaps it
was something else. Somehow, the hellhound, creature from the most foul and
unholy depth of the Abyss, immediately turn back to face Brian and snarled
viciously. It hurled itself towards the young man; claws stretched out and
fanged jaws stretched wide open. But Brian completed his spell first and
narrowed his eyes towards the oncoming beast in concentration. There was a
flash of blue light and suddenly a glowing hammer shot out from the thin
air before Brian and struck the beast, sending it flying back a couple of
feet away, howling in pain.

At the same time, they heard Andy's voice rises as he cast another
spell. The spell was aimed at the other beast but the beast Brian and Nick
were battling was unfortunate to land in between the young mage and his
target. Soon both creatures were sent flying away several yards away by
Andy's Windblast spell.

"How is she?" asked Nick.

Brian knelt before the unconscious and paralyzed priestess.

"I can dispel the paralyzation and heal her wounds. But I need time." Brian
replied.

"Time is a thing we do not have right now," said Galadriel sharply as she
pointed at the group of Zhentarim warriors streaming out of the trees
towards them.

Andy looked at the approaching warriors and the hellhounds sharply.

"Nick! Take Brian and Sarelle across the bridge. Make haste!" said Andy
before applying himself into another spell-casting.

Nick rushed towards Brian and helped him carry the injured priestess across
the crumbling bridge. As they crossed the bridge, Nick looked back and saw
Andy unleashed a fireball at the approaching warriors. Galadriel stood
beside him.

The hellhounds snarling approach forced the young mage to turn his
attention from the approaching warriors. Galadriel snarled out her own
curse and swiped her own blade at one of the beast. The beast was finally
destroyed when Andy uttered a spell harshly and hurled five magic missiles
at it. But the other beast jumped over the two and makes its way across the
bridge.

"Nick! Brian! Look out!" Galadriel shouted as she chased the creature
across the bridge, Andy not far behind her.

Brian lie Sarelle on the ground as Nick straightened himself to face the
beast.

'Magius Stryke!!'

Five magic missiles leaped out from his outstretched hand and struck the
beast mercilessly. At the same time, Brian rushed forward and concentrated
on his Spiritual Hammer. The ghostly hammer flew through the air and struck
again and again. The beast snarled but kept racing forward, dodging
Galadriel's swinging blade as it did. At the head of the bridge, Andy
uttered something harshly and stretched out his hand. Two missiles of
forces shrieked through the air and slammed onto the beast, causing it to
howled in pain... right before Brian's spiritual hammer struck and send it
off the bridge. The creature howled angrily as it fell into the pit. It
faded away as darkness engulfed it and Nick shuddered as he realized that
he didn't hear the beast reaches the bottom when its howl fades.

But the battle is far from over. At the gate, stream of warriors spilled
out onto the bridge. Andy turned swiftly around and intoned a spell. Arrows
sailed towards him but it bounced away as it hits the young mage's
stone-hard skin. Galadriel halted in mid-running and dodged away from the
oncoming arrows before forcing herself to back away out of bow
range. Instead of coming closer, the elf took out her own bow, nocked it
and fire. Her aim hits true, sending a Zhentarim warrior careening off into
the pit.

Andy completed his Death Spell and spread his arm into an arc. Tendrils of
dark fog spread across through the air towards the warriors. Whenever the
tendrils touch someone, the person eyes glazed over and fell to the ground
like an empty husk - dead. Nick looked in amazement at the display of the
workings of heavy magic. The necromantic spell took out about a dozen of
the warriors and those that survived scrambled back in fear.

'Small wonder,' Nick thought quietly, 'A person who got hit by a Death
Spell is dead forever. Not even a priest's Resurrection Spell could bring
that person back.'

Andy was casting another spell. He passed his arms in an arc and then
pointed at the direction of the gate. A blast of swirling ice crystals
sprung from his hands. The frigid air forms a cone and then fanned out
towards the gathered warriors. More yells arise and more warriors fell into
the pit.

Soon the warriors are running towards the gate. Andy stepped forward toward
the gate and then stopped when a creature floated into view. It is
spherical and surrounded by numerous eyestalks, all of which are glaring at
Andy as with the baleful central eyes in the middle. Brian recognizes the
creature, as did Nick and Galadriel. It's the beholder from the Friendly
Arm Inn!

Andy took a step back and held his staff protectively before him. The Staff
of Tempus blazed with blue-white light, brighter than any Nick has seen
before.

"Get away from me, creature, or I shall destroy you," said Andy
coldly. Nick shuddered at the coldness of his lover's voice. Again he bore
witness at the awesome strength of power that radiates from Andy. No mage
could hold such power!

The beholder smiled, revealing the rows of needle-sharp teeth lining in its
mouth.

"So, you're the Chosen of Tempus," the beholder rumbled amusingly. "A
demonstration of your power perhaps?"

One of the eyestalks stretched forward and spat out a lightning bold. Andy
simply batted the lightning bolt aside with his staff. Another eyestalk
stretched out and spat out another lightning bolt but it too was batted
aside. Soon, all the eyestalks are stretched out towards Andy, each lashing
out one magical blast after another - lightning bolts, paralyzing rays,
petrification rays, disintegrating rays, death rays, fire blast, energy
beams, fireballs - but Andy simply swat it all aside with his
staff. Fireballs exploded all around him but his globe of invulnerability
protected him. The death rays and disintegrating rays were simply absorbed
into his staff.

Then, amidst the chaos, Andy raised his voice and intoned a spell. The air
wavered around him slightly as he completed his spell. The beholder, now
angry in the face of the mocking gaze of the young mage, drew all of its
eyestalk together and fired all of its rays at the same time. The rays
swirled around Andy for an instant before turning back and shot back the
creature. All of the beholder's eyes widened in shock and it screamed as
the first of his own lightning bolt struck him. He hastily raised his own
anti-magic field around him and it was this act that saved him from the
rest of his own deadly rays.

"I have destroyed many of your kinds before, creature. You will not be the
last!" Andy sneered as he wove another spell. "You anti-magic field protect
you from magic. Does it protect you from this?"

Andy aimed his lightning bolt at the stone arch above the gate. The bolt
struck and blocks of stone thundered down. The beholder cried shrilly as it
raised a wall of force above him desperately to protect himself from the
falling rock.

"I wonder if you can hold that wall while maintaining the anti-magic
field?" said Andy as he wove another spell. The beholder screamed as a wave
of magic missile struck him. It hastily re-create the anti-magic field
around him and in doing so, he has to draw some of the power that is
maintaining the wall of force that keeps the rocks from burying him. The
wall weakened and several blocks of rocks began to fall around him.

"Halaccan!!!" the beholder roared.

A shadow crossed Nick's view, causing him to look up. Up in the air, a
wyvern swooped down from the sky, bearing a figure wearing a mage's robe on
its back. The mage's hands moved in the gesture of spell-casting.

"Andy! Look out!" Nick cried just as Galadriel aimed and released her arrow
at the mage.

Andy looked up in surprise at the approaching mage. His globe of
invulnerability and his barrier of Spell Turning are still intact;
protecting him from any spells the mage might hurls at him. But the flying
mage is not aiming at him.

Galadriel's arrow struck an invisible barrier around the mage. Halaccan
completed his spell and hurled a lightning bolt aimed at the stone bridge
where Andy is standing. The lightning bolt struck and bridge shook, cracked
and began to crumble apart. Andy was thrown off his feet.

"Andy!!" Nick cried out and began to rush toward the crumbling bridge.

"No!" Brian caught him and dragged him back. "It's too dangerous!"

"I don't care! I have to save him!!" Nick shouted back.

But the situation is beyond their control now. Lortan, the beholder moved
quickly from underneath the gate and floated onto the bridge. The rocks
crashed where he last floated as he released the wall of force. Andy was
trying to get up to his feet up the bridge shook so badly that it was all
he could do to keep himself from falling off into the pit. He looked up
when Lortan approached him. The beholder used its central eyes to dispel
all the barriers surrounding the young mage. Then he used his paralyzing
rays to render the young mage immobilized.

"What a pity Sememmon wants you alive," Lortan hissed as he remembered how
Andy nearly defeated him. "But I will have my revenge yet!"

"Andy!!!" Nick shouted hoarsely from the other side. The bridge is falling
apart. The other end has already fallen into the pit and even now, the part
where Andy lay is cracking apart.

The beholder concentrated on changing his shape. Then the creature blurred
and shifted before Nick's eyes and finally ended up wearing the form of
some twisted beast with wings and scaly skin. It stretched his clawed hands
and picked up the paralyzed form of Andy.

The bridge finally collapse and the beast floated up in the air, wings
beating slowly. It fixes a glare at Nick and the rest.

"He'll be at the Citadel of the Ravens," the creature hissed. "Come and get
him, if you dare!"

With that, the creature flew off. As it flew off, Andy, trying his hardest
to fight off the paralyzing spell placed on him, turned slowly to fixed a
final look at his love. Nick was screaming his name from below, tears
spilling of his cheek.

He is aware of what is happening. The beholder mentioned the name
Sememmon. Andy knew that name. He also knew another name that is related to
that evil archmage - the enchantress Elaendra, current ruler of the Citadel
of the Raven. He knows what is waiting for him there. It must not happen!!

As they flew off, Andy continues to look at Nick. He has little time!
Summoning all of his strength, he called upon Tempus and willed the power
of Tempus into Nick. Inside, he cried at what he is doing. To some, having
such power would be a blessing. Eventually, they would find out it is a
curse! Nick has to bear this. There is no other way.

He willed half of Tempus' gift to Nick, and left the other half within
him. Tempus is a God of Battle. His power is divided into two halves. One
half is dark and chaotic. This represented in life as the blood, fire,
ashes and the carnage of war. The other half is light. This is represented
as a warrior's might, courage and honor. Such is the nature of War.

Andy gave Nick the latter half and retain within himself, the dark half. As
they flew off, tears began to trickle off his eyes and slid down his
cheek. The Zhentarim will have his power but not his full power. He knows
what Sememmon and Elaendra are going to do to him. He fears for the days
ahead. He fears for Nick.

He watched Nick crying out his name for the last time before they disappear
from view. He could stifle his sobs but he cannot stop his tears from
trickling down his cheek. Inside, he is screaming.

'I love you, Nick,' he thought tearfully in his mind. 'Take care of
yourself'.

****************************