The Checkers episodes

The Checkers Episodes

The Astran Age
Just a Poor Old Country Mage
Champions, Checkers, Crystallic
A Tender Mind Does not Become a Sword
The Lady and the Glider

Fred's map, with annotations.

Map of the Red Dolomite League and Four Buroughs

The Astran age

Lord Fred is sent on a quest by the King to kill the dragon plaguing Allaria. Fred picks the right entrance, follows the light, and meets the necromancer Belboz. He asks for a companion, and after a bright flash of light, a woman with black wings and a spear appears. Both the woman and Fred hear a threatening sound in a corridor to the southeast, and they run to fight the wallhugger, a large, spider-like monster. Fred is nearly killed, but the woman manages to kill the wallhugger with her spear. The woman's wing and Fred's foot are injured in the stuggle.

Fred declines her offer of a green pellet to kill the pain. The woman's name is Checkers. We find out later that she is from a race called the Gliders, from the Red Dolomite Range, far to the east. She has also been sent to slay the dragon, although her quest is one of redemption instead of a proof of heroism, as it is in the case of Fred. From observation and talking to Checkers, Fred learns that the Gliders are light and weak, but very agile and can fly. Their arms can be extended to expose a wing-like structure. Checkers also sees differently than Fred. Blue appears to be black to Checkers, but she can see the near infrared.

This vision difference allows them to decipher the mysteries of their maps. Checkers can see some infrared notes on Fred's map, including a mark for a second entrance. Fred can read the blue background of the center of Checkers map. Fred is able to use Checkers' spear, with the point removed, as an effective crutch. They decide to return to Belboz's chamber to recuperate, and find it empty.

Belboz is deeper in the caverns, and we find that he is indeed the dragon Minestus, and is holding Princess Astra of Aqualaria captive. He silences her with some enchanted mushrooms, and prepares her body for his evil intentions, to take place after he finishes playing a cat-and-mouse game with the two dragonslayers. He is also able to project his thoughts into Astra's mind, and read it as well. While this is taking place, however, Checkers reads a Old High Dolomite poem, hidden from the eyes of non-Gliders, from Belboz's open tome, unaware that she is invoking an enchantment that will have far-reaching effects. The immediate effect is that the draconian powers of Minestus are given to Astra, and Belboz is locked into the feeble form of Belboz. Astra easily kills Belboz, but she is stuck in dragon form, and does not know how to change.

Fred separates from Checkers and Astra in attempt to find a potion to either turn Astra back into a princess or to heal her. However, once he re-enters Belboz's old chamber, he finds the caves have been transformed into a beautiful and fresh underground city, although he does not find any people in it. He cannot get back to Checkers and Astra. He sees some small, but well-stocked tables outside a grand ampitheater with beautiful statues. He investigates the ampitheater, and finds a group of three statues in a niche, apparently representing himself, Checkers, and Astra. Astra's statue is enclosed in a translucent yellow substance that he cannot break. Fred examines a globe, and finds a block of the same substance over an area unfamiliar to him.

Back just outside of Belboz's chamber, Checkers is trying to heal a lethargic and weakening Astra. She tries to cheer her up. Astra takes interest in a couple of silver Guilders, the coin of her homeland. Checkers, seeing Astra's interest, gives them to her. Seeing Astra recover her spirits, and remembering that dragons kept large hoards of treasure, she tells Astra that her spearpoint is a valuable artifact, and gives it to her for safekeeping. The ruse works. Astra heals quickly, and gains in strength. What neither of them know is that the transfer of the two coins ties Astra's fate to that of Checkers' homeland.

At this point, the background as to why this is so is given. Several centuries ago, the dragons defeated the original inhabitants of the Shreken caves, and left a dragon of weak character, Minestus, as master of the caves. Minestus waxed in power. His hoard, the source of a dragon's strength, grew. In an attempt to strengthen his power, he added an obscure cache to his hoard that contained some coins of the Red Dolomite League, a nation that he had never heard of. If the nation existed, then adding the coins would be a mixed blessing. He would gain the strength of that nation, but he would also be drawn to it, and his fate would be tied to it. The Red Dolomite League still existed, and Minestus was eventually compelled to visit it. He discovered the Gliders, and in an attempt to set himself up as their King, sparked the Dolo-Minestan war. He fled the war much weakened. He returned thirty years later disguised as Vilinitiz, an old wizard, and observed Dolomite customs. He discovered and exploited the Glider fear of outsiders. He was able to return in dragon form and through careful lies was able to negotiate a treaty that allowed him to visit the fringes of the league and to secretly address the Dolomite leadership upon request.

Six generations later, the citizens of the Dolomite League believe that Minestus is invincible, and there is no organized resistence to his encroachments. The cities of the RDL republic ostracize their misfits as an object lesson to young Gliders, and within the last six generations, there has been an addition to the ceremony, sending the doomed misfit on a quest to kill the invincible dragon. Eight years before the fateful battle between Astra and Minestus, a young Glider, Robin Goldenrod, is given valuable help by Checkers, a Glider, in his tests for the Academy of Celestial Peak. Checkers hopes that Robin's guidance and support may help her avoid ostracism are destroyed when a Burgess requires the elders of Electric Pass to send them an ostracized Glider. Checkers is expelled, tasked to slay the dragon, and dumped on the southwestern border of the RDL. She finds that her map is useless due to the fact that the black stripe in the center covers the territory that she is entering. She takes inventory of her pouch, and finds that Sylvan Goldenrod, Robin's grandfather and a respected elder of the village, has apparently added 11 silver coins and a small bag of coffee beans. He writes a note of encouragement in Checkers' diptych. Encouraged, Checkers loads her spear into a small device and flies west.

However, she is not fully prepared for the dry and treeless grasslands that lie to the west. The large game and flora that she knows from the Red Dolomite Range is scarce, and she has difficulty with creating shelter or fire. She continues on, but one day she is so weakened that she can no longer fly. She summons the last reserves of her strength and arrives at a small creek, and is captured by two farmers, Benjamin and Mary. They carry Checkers to their barn, feeding her and housing her in a cowpen. This is seen by Ian the Lurker, a shadowy figure with a grudge against the two farmers. Checkers is able to eat the meat, but not the starchy food, offered her, and recovers enough strength to help with the laundry. The start to talk, and Checkers begins to describe aspects of her society, and then tries to close the conversation. Mary asks Checkers to tell her more, as traveller's tales are one of the few sources of entertainment.

Checkers, in a bold break with Glider tradition, accepts that she has to get help from outside the Glider community, and she trusts the farmers not to harm her. While she is bathing, she notices that there are horsemen approaching. These turn out to be men loyal to Jeremiah, who is checking out Ian's charge that Benjamin and Mary are sheltering a dangerous harpy. Checkers hides in the cowpen, and hears Benjamin directing the horsemen away from doing a thorough search for her. As they find nothing, Ian is expelled from the Four Boroughs for slander.

The farmers are still suspicious, and despite Mary's fondness for Checkers, who resembles a lost daughter, they test her to see if she is lying to them about her motives by asking about locations on the map. She acts as if she cannot see obvious markings on the map, and they determine to kill her until they discover her inablility to see colour normally. They then sit, relax with a pot of coffee, and tell tales by the fireside. Checkers begins by telling her people's tales of the creation.

The story of George the Glider, and how he earned the right for the Gliders to speak and think, is told. In this story, George works to build a bridge across a gorge. He helps out the forefather of the dragons, elves, men, and gnomes, but is abandoned when he needs help. After a harrowing encounter in a barrel shooting the rapids of the gorge with a good-natured giant, George manages to complete the bridge, roll down the road and make it back into town, but after the appointed hour. One of the powers finds George and becomes his mentor, not only allowing him to keep the gifts of speech and reason, but giving him wings and mastery of the mountains.

Checkers then resumes her travels. The flashback ends here, and the trio have a problem. Fred and Checkers can get through the cave, but Astra does not know if or how she can change her form, so she is stuck in a pocket in the cavern. She finds that she can stick her tail out the passage and wag it, and Fred and Checkers can re-enter her chamber. Fred and Checkers explore the ampitheater, and contruct a necklace from a golden rope and obsidian spearpoint. They then notice that the mural of the dragon on the ceiling of the ampitheater is now painted with that same necklace.

Fred and Checkers drift southward toward the hostel, and find a group of beds and a row of lockers. Fred opens one, and finds warm winter clothing (boots, parka, and gloves), one set that fits a large man, and one set that fits a Glider. They find mysterious artifacts. They then fall asleep on the hostel's beds. Fred dreams a fantastic dream. An old innkeeper, Paul, asks Fred to help him clear some rocks out of the cave vents, while he tells him some of the history of the hidden city.

After the Tetralonian wars, refugees founded the city of Mount Erebus, by and underneath the vale of the Shreken. A Golden Age came and went, and then the dragons, far to the south, demanded that one of their own rule the city. The city accepted this demand, and a dragoness, Lady Atheline Corcyra served as viceroy. The life of the city continued, less luxurious, but as stable, as before. After a time, another dragon, Minestus, approached, and announced the Lady Atheline would have to go south. Lady Atheline refused to go with him. She then gathered the citizens of Mount Erebus, and announced that she would go, with one of their citizens. She would likely not return, and that they should be on guard for an attack. The city prepares a doomed resistence. As part of their plan, they freeze fifty of the citizens into statues studded with valuables, to be brought back to life when thieves attempt to loot them. The city does fall after a spirited resistence, and Paul fled. Apparently a long span of time has passed. Paul recommends Sartoma, a young wizard, and Solbert, a gnome, as people who may be able to help Astra get out of the cavern.

When Fred awakens, he sees signs that the tools that Paul pointed out to him in order to clear the air vents have been used recently. He and Checkers attempt to remove a valuable artifact, a horsehead cane, from Solbert's statue. Fred does so, and Solbert awakens. After convincing Solbert that his intentions are good, Solbert considers their problem. Changing Astra back into a human should be possible, if not easy. However, she has gathered her strength from the Dolomite League, and breaking that spell would have unpredictable effects on Checkers' homeland. He goes to the cavern where Astra is trapped, and manages to help her assume human form long enough leave the caverns. As she enters the ampitheater, and reverts to dragon form, all see her portrait in the mosaic's ceiling.

Solbert awakens Sartoma. Sartoma appears to be a cheerful, adventerous woman who has a high tolerance for risks. Solbert is a quieter, hardy, cautious gnome. There are competing agendas. Sartoma and Solbert want to rebuild Mount Erebus, using Astra, Fred, and Checkers as the nucleus. Astra wants to go home and become a princess again. She knows that it may be possible, but probably not without damaging the Checkers' home nation, the Dolomite League. She is also stirred by the prospect of adventure and power. Checkers wants to get home, and try to prepare her homeland for the appearance of another dragon. Fred's motives are purely that of adventure, and the desire to perform heroic deeds.

Sartoma and Solbert decide that they need to resolve 'the Dolomite problem' first, by training Astra in magic and dragonlore and journeying to the Dolomite League. It also gets Astra away from the Shreken, and any prying eyes. They plan on taking a balloon through this world's jet stream in order to traverse the wide Terel Sea. After a week's worth of training, where Astra shows her impatience with her flying lessons, and learns how to use the silent speech to communicate to others and to read thoughts, they set off. The first leg of their journey takes them to Atheline Island, a quiet outcropping in the Terel Sea. The second leg has no land, but they do spot a burning ship. From Jan, a sailor that they rescue, they find the a pirate nation, called the Lords of the Sea, burned his ship. Jan tells them of the approximate location of the Black Capes, about two or three days sailing. Astra needs a spot to land so that she can get some sleep, and thinks she finds one when she sees a friendly ship. It turns out to be an ambush, and Fred, Solbert, Sartoma, and Jan are captured. Checkers and Astra fly off. Astra decides to attack and try to scare the pirates, burning the rigging but leaving the masts. The pirates are not intimidated. There is a mage on board, who has overcome Sartoma, and read her mind. The pirates have also taken her hoard, save the coins that give her strength, which Fred has swallowed, for safekeeping. She has agreed to let the pirates use her balloon to replace the sails of their ship. The pirates tell her that she and her companions will live if she follows orders. Astra is not assured...

151 episodes as of 16-January-2005

Last episode - 48502 submitted on 16-January-2005 by JH

Contributers: Anableps, JH, Ib, Sir Paulito

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Just a Poor Old Country Mage

Belboz is deeper in the caverns, and we find that he is indeed the dragon Minestus, and is holding Princess Astra of Aqualaria captive. He silences her with some enchanted mushrooms, and prepares her body for his evil intentions, to take place after he finishes playing a cat-and-mouse game with the two dragonslayers. He is also able to project his thoughts into Astra's mind, and read it as well. While this is taking place, however, Checkers reads an Old High Dolomite poem, hidden from the eyes of non-Gliders, from Belboz's open tome, unaware that she is invoking an enchantment that will have side effects.

Checkers' recitation of the poem allows Astra to escape her bonds and she is discovered by the dragonslayers, although she is still mute. Astra is able to use a diptych (wax tablet) and stylus that Checkers has on her to let the dragonslayers know that she has been cursed by the dragon, but does not have time to explain that Belboz is the dragon before Belboz himself enters the room. Belboz smoothly deceives the dragonslayers into believing that Astra has been traumatized by a battle with the dragon, and has halluciantions, seeing the dragon in unlikely places. He projects to the princess that she must obey him, or that he would do worse things to her. Fred and Checkers ask if the princess can accompany them. Surprisingly, Belboz agrees. He claims that the princess cannot have a weapon due to her periodic hallucinations, but he supplies her with a mysterious black armour that envelops her from neck to toe. Belboz will accompany the trio on the expedition, and offers to use his healing powers on Fred and Checkers. Fred accepts, but Checkers declines the offer. Belboz brings out a crystal that flashes a deep blue (invisible to Checkers), and he claims that this happens whenever the dragon is near. Astra has the task of leading the party toward the dragon. As she cannot expose Belboz's deception, she randomly picks the old Arsenal on Checkers' map. The room before the old Arsenal is littered with rocks, and the wall is so choked with rocks that no exit can be seen. Astra is able to move a rusty iron rod on the wall, causing further rock slides. However, Fred inadvertently rotates the freed rod, and exposes an entrance high in the wall.

Checkers is boosted into the entrance, carrying with a rope ladder, and works her way down a rope ladder into the spacious Arsenal. She finds that the Arsenal is dark, and sunken at least lightly, some odd projections on the walls, but little else. She returns to the party. Belboz proposes that he join Checkers in the tunnel. Astra, contemptous of Belboz, finds that her armour can sense that anger or contempt and it will shrink. Chastened, Astra helps Fred boost Belboz into the elevated tunnel.

Astra, trying to avoid thinking about Belboz in order to avoid being crushed by the armour, embraces Fred and kisses him. Fred, being a young man and a courtly knight, returns her affections, and accepts a collar of her hair as a token of her esteem. He offers to act as her champion. They hear something like singing coming from the tunnel, and Astra's armour turns into a plain black broadcloth, and the curse has been lifted. Concerned about the sudden silence, Fred and Astra use the rubble to build an artificial ramp to the tunnel entrance.

Meanwhile, Checkers and Belboz talk about the dragon and the Glider scepticism of magic while walking to the Arsenal. Belboz is able to create a bright light from two rocks, and they see that the ladder will not reach the ground. They agree on a plan - Checkers will throw her spear down and glide toward it (which would not put as much stress on her hurt wing), and then move some barrels below the ladder so Belboz can reach the ground. While she is gliding, Belboz mixes a powder to change the colour of the light to blue -- an illumination that Checkers cannot see. He then turns himself into the dragon after warning her (as Belboz) that the dragon is coming.

After Checkers lights her lantern, the dragon is at the base of the rope ladder. Instead of attacking, it talks to her in a superficially charming but ultimately provoking way. The dragon leaps and cuts her off from her spear, and Checkers hides behind a barrel. When she snuffs her lantern, the dragon projects into her mind that he can still see her, and mocks her by asking for a song. She complies, playing for time, it is then that the curse of Astra's armour is lifted. Minestus the Dragon now makes the connection, and realizes that the Old High Dolomite language that she speaks may hold the key to unlocking much of the magic of the caves. The dragon dispatches a goblin via thought projection to take care of Fred and Astra. The goblin is better armed than he knows. He then creates an illusion that is designed to fool Checkers into thinking that Belboz has come back to drive off the dragon, while he transforms himself back into Belboz's form. He succeeds, helped by Fred's shouts from the elevated tunnel.

For Fred has been attacked by a nasty little device of the goblin - a mechanical bug, attracted by metal, that stuns and then cooks its victims. Checkers and Belboz bound up the ladder, but by that time Astra has killed the goblin, and attempts to ease Fred's pain. She then makes a deal with Belboz - her unconditional servitude to him for Fred's life. He accepts the oath, provided that she swears by the honour of her House, and arranges for Astra to speak so that it be given publicly, so that Checkers can witness it. Little does he know that Gliders despise slavers, and that she will expect him to free Astra.

The two carry the wounded Fred to Belboz's lab. Fortunately, as a necromancer he has lots of spare parts, but needs five units of blood, which will require two people. Or one person and a Glider, if he is willing to risk it. He decides to do so, but Checkers has concerns about the methods and morality of what she is being asked to do. She yields to Astra's pleas, and gives the blood, in her own way. Fred heals successfully.

Belboz, content with enslaving Astra and plotting how he can use Checkers, ambles off to a distant part of the cave to gain some refreshing sleep in dragon form. Checkers and Astra start to talk. Checkers explains some of the Glider mores involved in her decision to give her blood, and that she hopes that Astra and Fred would consider her a worthy companion. Astra learns that there is a greater stigma with being a slaveowner than a slave in her society, and that Checkers has great respect for her sacrifice. While Checkers is sleeping, Astra trains by doing some exercises with the sword, and she reaches for a medallion hidden away on a high shelf.

When the time for the shift change arrives, Astra shows Checkers the medallion, which has a picture of a glider on the front, and an inscription on the back. Checkers is able to translate most of it, to the effect that the medallion is a safe conduct for a 'sfiniti' of the dragon. Astra, putting together what Checkers told her, reasons that this medallion was given by the Gliders to an emissary of the Dragon to negotiate something. Checkers does not know of any such emissary, however.

Astra finally gets some sleep, and Fred later awakens on Checkers' watch. She feeds Fred, and informs him of the return of Astra's voice and the vow that she made. The small snack lulls him to sleep, and he wakes again to the smell of bacon and eggs, prepared by Belboz. Fred naturally feels sore and weak from his ordeal, and Belboz suggests that he may not be able to hunt dragons for a while. In the course of breakfast conversation, it is discovered that Belboz had held Checkers in a state of suspension for a time, as she had arrived in the cave early in the winter, and it is now late in the fall.

They discuss how to pass the time while Fred is healing. A journey to nearby Penn in Allaria is considered, but the agreement is reached to go to Aqualaria. Belboz is secretly trying to separate Astra from the other two, but Fred, out of love, and Checkers, out of admiration, do not want to leave Astra.

The four tell stories to pass the time. Astra describes court life, military organizatin, and role of women in Aqualaria. Here we learn that bread is not a staple food of the Gliders. Belboz tells a fantastical tale of his birth, which belies his image as a "poor old country mage," which gives Fred and Checkers food for thought. Belboz continues...

74 episodes - Last episode - 35739 submitted on 9-November-2003 by JH

Contributers: JH, Anableps, Ib, Sir Paulito, Y

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Champions, Checkers, Crystallic

This is a merge between two branches - the Poor Old Country Mage branch mentioned above and the Astra 9 branch from the Analogs series by MSG. I am writing part of this from memory, but here it goes.

Belboz is deeper in the caverns, and we find that he is indeed the dragon Minestus, and is holding Princess Astra of Aqualaria captive. He silences her with some enchanted mushrooms, and prepares her body for his evil intentions, to take place after he finishes playing a cat-and-mouse game with the two dragonslayers. He is also able to project his thoughts into Astra's mind, and read it as well. While this is taking place, however, Checkers reads an Old High Dolomite poem, hidden from the eyes of non-Gliders, from Belboz's open tome, unaware that she is invoking an enchantment that will have side effects.

Checkers' recitation of the poem allows Astra to escape her bonds and she is discovered by the dragonslayers, although she is still mute.

At this point, nine beings called the Champions appear. The Champions are immortal, and to grossly oversimplify, they are galactic policemen, who do the work of their superiors. This group contains a mix of experienced Champions and rookies. Their task is to prevent the dragon Minestus (unknown to them, he doubles as Belboz) from using an artifact called the Crystallic in such a way as to ruin the underlying fabric of the universe(s), either through malice or incompetence. They have been given minimal information, and find a hostile or incredulous group of four adventurerers. Oddly enough, many of the Champions are either doubles or have lived part of their lives as Fred or Astra in the past, and so are surprised to find that Belboz is hostile, that Fred is a bit of a blowhard, that Astra is nearly helpless, and that Checkers exists.

In one branch, the magic of the artifact is suddenly released. There is an illusion of the death of one member of the party, Fertal, and a sundering of the party. Belboz goes in one direction, and Fred, Checkers, and the original Astra in another. The semi-competent Belboz works the magic of the artifact to turn Fred and Astra into tengus, a mischevous but intelligent (and telepathic) bird-like animal. Astra Tengu exposes Belboz's duplicity. Checkers is inadvertantly turned into a changeling by Belboz, with the first of three incarnations being a dark elf. Not unexpectedly, Checkers resists the fact of the change, and it is with difficulty that she is pursuaded to accept a change into an Oriental dragon as part of a plan to distract Belboz/Minestus. She succeeds, but at a cost of much strength, and perhaps more. She also assumes both Minestus's burden and power, tied to a distant land of stubborn, skeptical, and fearful beings. The task of protecting, guiding, and integrating the people of this isolated land into the world seems impossible, although the new guardian is already remarkably familiar with its ways and customs....

A Tender Mind Does not Become a Sword

Fred and Checkers, upon hearing the noise of the battle, approach the room containing the draconian Astra. Astra attempts to communicate with them, but she is met with skepticism, and Fred attacks. She is able to stay out of his reach, and Checkers asks her to perform a barrel roll while making her claim that she is a Princess of Aqualaria, to verify the truth of the claim. Astra tries and fails, crashing to the ground, injured. Checkers cannot pursuade Fred not to kill her, although the true purpose of the test was to expose the lack of flying knowledge that Astra would have, proving that she could not be the dragon. She bitterly criticizes him, and a callous Fred kills her as well. A ghostly Belboz taunts Fred for killing the two women, one who truly deserved the glory for killing the dragon, and the other who had saved his life. A haunted Fred is considered a hero in Allaria, but is tormented by the injustice that he committed, as well as Belboz's final taunt that he would keep a place in Hell warm for him.

25 chapters as of 7-Jan-2003
Last episode - 22594 submitted on 23-Nov-2002 by Ib
Contributers: Anableps, JH, Ib, Sir Paulito

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The Lady and the Glider

Belboz is deeper in the caverns, and we find that he is indeed the dragon Minestus, and is holding Princess Astra of Aqualaria captive. He silences her with some enchanted mushrooms, and prepares her for his evil intentions, to take place after he finishes playing a cat-and-mouse game with the two dragonslayers. He is also able to project his thoughts into Astra's mind, and read it as well. Belboz detects two more adventurers, a brash Sir Paulito of Allaria and a haughty Lady Heather of Aqualaria. Belboz sees an opportunity for discord between the noble and arrogant Heather and the republican and proud Glider Checkers. He creates the sounds of Astra struggling in chains in his chamber, attracting Heather and Paulito. Heather tries to put Checkers in her place, and Checkers reacts....

14 chapters as of 7-Jan-2003
Last episode - 22059 submitted on 30-Dec-2002 by Anableps
Contributers: Anableps, Sir Paulito, JH