Closer and closer the noises from around the corner drew, Soloman gathered some bits of wood that lay on the ground of the opening, quickly dipping the ends into the oil and then hand one to both Azrith and I. We lit the wood off the fire that was in the oil gutter that stretched around the opening and into the rest of the mine.
“Alright, you ready, keep the shield high they won’t go for your legs” Azrith quietly said, Soloman still stuck behind Azrith which was probably the safer option. We moved around the corner torches in hand instead of our weapons, the gutter stretched off into the mine dimly lighting the path ahead, in front of us three blobs sat slowly moving around aimlessly, off in the distance we could make out a few more, moving toward us but still slowly. The Blobs in front of us snapped to attention and immediately started to attack; it felt like someone was beating on my shield with a baseball bat, constantly the barrage of green goo did not let up. From around the edge of my shield I caught a glimpse of a rat caught in the blobs expanse, it must have just been run over and absorbed into the blob as it still struggled for breathe and escape. Its tiny legs waved about in distress as it tried to swim out of its predicament, but with no luck the more it wriggled and struggled the deeper it went into the centre of the blob, just as it stopped moving I lost sight of it in the green mass, a slight outline of its little body was all I could see of it anymore.
That wasn’t the way I was going to die, not today anyway, death by blob was now fairly high on my avoid list. Azrith Soloman and I slowly moved forward, the attack kept up without relent the constant whack of the projectiles against the steel of our shields was a deafening noise. Just as he had before Soloman picked a whole in the attacks and threw one of the torches he had, it struck the blob that sat in front of me, it hissed as the fire touched its surface shuddering like it had a chill, the two other blobs reacted to the heat that sprang from the fiery mess and retreated as fast as the could, which wasn’t at all, with the gap between attacks even greater now I took my chance and with my right hand heaved the torch I was holding at the remaining two. It caught the blob in fronts surface and stuck in handle first, the oil slowly ran down the wood, like liquid fire, creeping towards the blob. It must have sensed the heat as it began to his and shudder uncontrollably, trying to escape its fate. Meanwhile the blob in front of me was still alight, the torch stuck out of its half melted mass like a stick in the mud, I quickly moved forward and picked it out keeping my shield between me and the still live blob a little further away.
“Keep going” Azrith yelled, the blob that I had set alight no stood between the remaining creature and its retreat, Azrith took his torch and quickly ran the burning end across the surface of the quivering blob, it to hissed and shuddered as the flames engulfed it quickly, it bubbled and tried to attack us but all it could manage was a slight dribble of goo. With the blackened green masses behind us we moved forward down the mine shaft.
“We’ll be getting to another opening soon, much larger than the last” Soloman said, keeping his eyes forward on the enemies at the end of the tunnel, they no longer approached us but just seemed to sit there and wait for us, an ambush seemed unlikely, as they weren’t really intelligent enough.
“That’s probably where we’ll find the queen” Azrith stated
“Great how big is that one going to be” I asked in return. It was dark only the faint light from the oil gutter flickered and lit the way, but I could clearly see the buggered if I know face Azrith gave as an answer. Together we kept going forward, slowly shuffling our way along the mine shaft creeping towards the main chamber and the waiting blobs guarding its entrance and their queen. The light from the chamber started to light our way, the mass of blobs at the end of the corridor was growing in number, at least ten gathered around blocking the way through. The three of us realised that they stood no chance they were so closely packed that one torch would ignite the whole group. We moved closer and closer once we were within range though the blobs started to attack us, hard and fast, all of them at once began to spit and spew the globs of goo at us like it was rain.
“Quick come over here” Azrith yelled at me, quickly I followed the direction, moving across a few feet and placing my shield overlapping his for a stronger barrier, even with the both of us it was still incredibly hard to stay upright, the mass of projectiles only grew stronger as we got closer, Soloman stood behind the both of us with his back against ours, he could stay lower and keep us steadier that way, finally we got close enough for an effective throw, and again it rested on the shoulders of Soloman to get us out of trouble. He couldn’t find a gap in the attacks so he had to move to the back of me and throw the torch like he was skimming a rock across a lake, the torch flew through the air, the flames whooshed around almost going out. It hit one of the blobs in the centre of the pack, a better throw we couldn’t have asked for, within seconds the few surrounding blobs were aflame to, in a few more the whole lot were just a flaming wall, between us and the main chamber of the mine.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Hi ho, hi ho it's off to work we go!
We cleared away the few planks that served as a warning to keep out and slowly walked into the mine, the walls on either side were hard rock, greyish with sand compacted into the gaps of the rock. Azrith and I took the lead closing our shields to form a solid barrier in front of us, Soloman was behind us with the torch holding it between mine and Azriths heads. I could hear the flame burning, flickering around on the oily surface of the torch, the light from the outside still lit the way but as we continued it got darker and darker, until all we could see was what was lit dimly by the torch. As we walked the flame licked the torch throwing off an orange hue on the surrounding rocks. We were moving slowly so after a few minutes we had still only covered about fifty metres of the mine, the going was slow but we weren’t taking any risks. In the distance down the mine shaft further we could hear noises, first only faint hints of rocks being shifted, falling from ledges and other slight struggling noises. But as we continued they grew louder and louder.
It seemed the noises were just ahead of us out of sight in the dark, lurking and waiting for us to come closer. We must have been a few hundred metres into the mine, and it had started to widen out it was now about five metres wide and a few metres high, at least it was enough to move around in properly. Soloman stopped us for a second and moved to the wall of the mine, Azrith and I moved with him keeping our shields raised in case of any incoming dangers.
“Over here there should be an oil stream” He was right, he lowered the torch into the thick mess of liquid, it ran around the wall and down into the mine, it was nothing more than a steel gutter filled with flammable liquid, but it lit the room better than the torch did. As the flame carried around the room the opening we were standing in lit up, illuminating what had been making the noises a few minutes before. There in the far corner of the room sat what I can only describe as a giant jelly mould, green and wet looking the translucent blob shook slowly as it appeared to have seen us just as we had seen it, it stood about chest high and really did just look like a giant jelly mould behind it a trail like a slug or snail would leave.
“Oh your joking that’s what we were worried about” I was quite relieved to see what it was, how could this blobby goo be dangerous in the slightest; I relaxed slightly and for a second began to lower my shield. Without warning the blob distorted for a short second and then unleashed a rather forceful spit in my direction, luckily I was still paying attention and heaved my shield up to cover my head. I can remember as a teenager being in a car accident, it all went slow, and I distinctly remember thinking, this shouldn’t hurt were going slow. I had the same thought about the forthcoming blob spewtum, needless to say I was quite wrong on both occasions, not having anything to brace me the projectile hit with tremendous force knocking me back quite a way, the wall of the mine stopped me and was probably what kept me on my feet. I steadied up and planted my shield into the ground bracing my back foot on the mine wall; Azrith was doing the same except he had Soloman to keep him steady. I looked across sheepishly and grinned as the furious blob let loose with another array of green missiles, they kept thing the steel shields splatting and then running down to the ground, be fore long there was quite a puddle of the goo on the ground in front of me.
“What do we do now?” I yelled at Azrith, he looked back at me with a look that told me he was making this up as we went, but hew did look excited, flying by the seat of his pants must have been a familiar feeling. Soloman had readied his hammer and was ready to rush out and have a crack at the blob, if it would ever stop spitting at us; he looked awkward crouching down behind a person who was clearly smaller than him. His massive body squeezed down as close to the ground as it could go without lying down.
“Quick… the torch” Azrith commanded, Soloman reached around behind him and picked the still burning torch off the ground, without waiting for further instructions Soloman picked a gap between the blobs missiles and heaved the torch with all his might at the green blob. The throw was on target and the burning end of the torch embedded itself into the surface of the blob, the flames escaped from the edges and then suddenly the entire mass went up, quicker than a pack of matches. The blob began to move around shuddering in all directions, the flames spewed off the creature going as high as the roof as the gelatinous mess bubbled and steamed before beginning to melt and liquefy. Slowly the pool of green slime around the blob got bigger and bigger before it stopped moving completely. A few short minutes later the blob was nothing but a green and charred black puddle on mine floor.
The three of us relaxed ever so slightly as we gathered around the remains of the blob, now we had an idea of how to beat them it was just a matter of getting close enough to set them on fire. But how many were left, in the distance we heard the familiar sounds from before, the mine continued around a bend and off a fair distance into the hill, we still had a fight before us.
It seemed the noises were just ahead of us out of sight in the dark, lurking and waiting for us to come closer. We must have been a few hundred metres into the mine, and it had started to widen out it was now about five metres wide and a few metres high, at least it was enough to move around in properly. Soloman stopped us for a second and moved to the wall of the mine, Azrith and I moved with him keeping our shields raised in case of any incoming dangers.
“Over here there should be an oil stream” He was right, he lowered the torch into the thick mess of liquid, it ran around the wall and down into the mine, it was nothing more than a steel gutter filled with flammable liquid, but it lit the room better than the torch did. As the flame carried around the room the opening we were standing in lit up, illuminating what had been making the noises a few minutes before. There in the far corner of the room sat what I can only describe as a giant jelly mould, green and wet looking the translucent blob shook slowly as it appeared to have seen us just as we had seen it, it stood about chest high and really did just look like a giant jelly mould behind it a trail like a slug or snail would leave.
“Oh your joking that’s what we were worried about” I was quite relieved to see what it was, how could this blobby goo be dangerous in the slightest; I relaxed slightly and for a second began to lower my shield. Without warning the blob distorted for a short second and then unleashed a rather forceful spit in my direction, luckily I was still paying attention and heaved my shield up to cover my head. I can remember as a teenager being in a car accident, it all went slow, and I distinctly remember thinking, this shouldn’t hurt were going slow. I had the same thought about the forthcoming blob spewtum, needless to say I was quite wrong on both occasions, not having anything to brace me the projectile hit with tremendous force knocking me back quite a way, the wall of the mine stopped me and was probably what kept me on my feet. I steadied up and planted my shield into the ground bracing my back foot on the mine wall; Azrith was doing the same except he had Soloman to keep him steady. I looked across sheepishly and grinned as the furious blob let loose with another array of green missiles, they kept thing the steel shields splatting and then running down to the ground, be fore long there was quite a puddle of the goo on the ground in front of me.
“What do we do now?” I yelled at Azrith, he looked back at me with a look that told me he was making this up as we went, but hew did look excited, flying by the seat of his pants must have been a familiar feeling. Soloman had readied his hammer and was ready to rush out and have a crack at the blob, if it would ever stop spitting at us; he looked awkward crouching down behind a person who was clearly smaller than him. His massive body squeezed down as close to the ground as it could go without lying down.
“Quick… the torch” Azrith commanded, Soloman reached around behind him and picked the still burning torch off the ground, without waiting for further instructions Soloman picked a gap between the blobs missiles and heaved the torch with all his might at the green blob. The throw was on target and the burning end of the torch embedded itself into the surface of the blob, the flames escaped from the edges and then suddenly the entire mass went up, quicker than a pack of matches. The blob began to move around shuddering in all directions, the flames spewed off the creature going as high as the roof as the gelatinous mess bubbled and steamed before beginning to melt and liquefy. Slowly the pool of green slime around the blob got bigger and bigger before it stopped moving completely. A few short minutes later the blob was nothing but a green and charred black puddle on mine floor.
The three of us relaxed ever so slightly as we gathered around the remains of the blob, now we had an idea of how to beat them it was just a matter of getting close enough to set them on fire. But how many were left, in the distance we heard the familiar sounds from before, the mine continued around a bend and off a fair distance into the hill, we still had a fight before us.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Make mine a triple
How we were going to do that still eluded me, so I hoped and prayed that the others might have some sort of plan.
“Right at least on of us is going to have to go down there to find out what were dealing with… and its got to be quick they could be multiplying down there.” Soloman said, he shifted his eyes over Azrith Harn and I, as expecting at least one of us to volunteer, after an unhealthy pause it was slightly clear that no one was going to volunteer to go down there, alone at least.
“Look if they are going to be multiplying ones not going to be enough” I replied trying my best to sound like I knew what I was talking about.
“How big is it down there” I asked
“Four could go but only three could fight, it would be best to keep the exit clear in case we need to retreat” Soloman was still not looking at any of us for more than a second, it looked as though he was getting more and more excited or nervous. Since it was his mine he would definitely have to go down, if not to fight at least as a guide of sorts. So it was down to me Azrith and Harn, a one in three chance of being the one not going down the dark tunnel filled with Blobs.
“Ok so Azrith, and Taylor will come with me” Soloman blurted out before anyone could interject.
“What!” Azrith bleated, sounding very surprised.
“That’s a good idea, you three get along now” Harn said relieved he was in the clear
“Why can’t you go?” Azrith questioned Harn
“He has a family” Soloman kicked in
“What family?” Azrith puzzled, Harn thought for a second and then replied.
“Cyril”
“The cat!” Azrith was not so much angry as more just shocked that Harn wasn’t already barrelling down the mine stark naked in a fit of rage.
“He needs someone to look after him” Harn shouted whilst trying to keep a straight face.
“Alright then Soloman you get some weapons, Taylor and I will get some torch ready” Azrith had gone into command mode again, all humor went from his voice and he spoke with confidence and clarity like a general commanding his troops. My confidence grew as he got more and more serious about what we were about to do. I was definitely scared but along with that there was a feeling of exhilaration and expectation, I felt alive, strong, and spiritual even. At the entrance to the mine was a barrel cut into, filled with torch, long bits of wood with cloth wrapped around the end, near the barrel sat a vat of some sort of oil, it was thick and black, but had a green hue to it. Azrith gathered a few of the torch and sat them cloth first into the bucket of oil, while he did this Soloman had disappeared into the crowd, well as much as he could disappear he was almost a foot taller than everyone else in the town so his head stook out above everyone’s, like a sharks fin when it cruises on the top of the water.
Azrith looked down the mine shaft, I could see about 20 feet into it before it got to dark, the torch would really be necessary for us to see anything.
“You got everything” Azrith asked me while still peering down the shaft. I was still wearing my new armor and still had my shield slung across my back, the Lt. Mace rested in the space between the shield and my back.
“Yeah it’s all here” I said trying not to show any fear, my voice cracked in the middle of my reply betraying the image I was trying to project. Soloman quickly returned through the crowd pushing his way through back to the mine, he was now dressed in armor as well, on his head was a helmet, it covered his face almost completely it was a solid piece if steel with a slot cut in it for sight, it wasn’t meant to be pretty just purely for protection. He wore a chain mesh vest, leaving his tree like arms bare apart from the fore arm guards covered in raised bumps. Gone were his mining tools replaced by a severe looking hammer, with one side extending out into a point making it look like some hammer pick hybrid. His legs were cover the same way mine were, some simple thigh guards quickly tied only minutes before.
“I have no shield, so you two will have to cover the front” Soloman to no stared down the mine shaft, the moment was so close, everyone was now starting to sweat, worried about what would greet us down the blackened tunnel. I looked at my hand for a second to see it shaking, I tried to steady it as best I could but it didn’t work to well, I reached for my weapon, in the hopes that the weight would stop my hands from visibly trembling. I grasped it in my right hand and then slung my shield onto my left arm, it was a little heavy but nothing to bad, and it was fairly large, big enough to completely hide behind if I ducked down. I felt a little safer, but not much, Azrith had to ready himself, his sword drawn from its sheath shield on his left arm with a dagger in his left hand for extra ‘luck’. Soloman stood behind us both fiddling with his hammer nervously
“Its always the same before the fight isn’t it, no matter how many times you walk in, its always the same” Soloman sounded as worried as I did, whether that was good or bad we were about to find out. Azrith handed the torch that had been soaking in the oil to Soloman
“Your going to be torch man then if your at the back” Azrith said, Soloman nodded and held out the torch, Harn lit it by striking some flint stones over the top of it, the sparks fell down onto the oil soaked rag and then burst into flames. Now with the light, we were off into the dark…
To be continued
“Right at least on of us is going to have to go down there to find out what were dealing with… and its got to be quick they could be multiplying down there.” Soloman said, he shifted his eyes over Azrith Harn and I, as expecting at least one of us to volunteer, after an unhealthy pause it was slightly clear that no one was going to volunteer to go down there, alone at least.
“Look if they are going to be multiplying ones not going to be enough” I replied trying my best to sound like I knew what I was talking about.
“How big is it down there” I asked
“Four could go but only three could fight, it would be best to keep the exit clear in case we need to retreat” Soloman was still not looking at any of us for more than a second, it looked as though he was getting more and more excited or nervous. Since it was his mine he would definitely have to go down, if not to fight at least as a guide of sorts. So it was down to me Azrith and Harn, a one in three chance of being the one not going down the dark tunnel filled with Blobs.
“Ok so Azrith, and Taylor will come with me” Soloman blurted out before anyone could interject.
“What!” Azrith bleated, sounding very surprised.
“That’s a good idea, you three get along now” Harn said relieved he was in the clear
“Why can’t you go?” Azrith questioned Harn
“He has a family” Soloman kicked in
“What family?” Azrith puzzled, Harn thought for a second and then replied.
“Cyril”
“The cat!” Azrith was not so much angry as more just shocked that Harn wasn’t already barrelling down the mine stark naked in a fit of rage.
“He needs someone to look after him” Harn shouted whilst trying to keep a straight face.
“Alright then Soloman you get some weapons, Taylor and I will get some torch ready” Azrith had gone into command mode again, all humor went from his voice and he spoke with confidence and clarity like a general commanding his troops. My confidence grew as he got more and more serious about what we were about to do. I was definitely scared but along with that there was a feeling of exhilaration and expectation, I felt alive, strong, and spiritual even. At the entrance to the mine was a barrel cut into, filled with torch, long bits of wood with cloth wrapped around the end, near the barrel sat a vat of some sort of oil, it was thick and black, but had a green hue to it. Azrith gathered a few of the torch and sat them cloth first into the bucket of oil, while he did this Soloman had disappeared into the crowd, well as much as he could disappear he was almost a foot taller than everyone else in the town so his head stook out above everyone’s, like a sharks fin when it cruises on the top of the water.
Azrith looked down the mine shaft, I could see about 20 feet into it before it got to dark, the torch would really be necessary for us to see anything.
“You got everything” Azrith asked me while still peering down the shaft. I was still wearing my new armor and still had my shield slung across my back, the Lt. Mace rested in the space between the shield and my back.
“Yeah it’s all here” I said trying not to show any fear, my voice cracked in the middle of my reply betraying the image I was trying to project. Soloman quickly returned through the crowd pushing his way through back to the mine, he was now dressed in armor as well, on his head was a helmet, it covered his face almost completely it was a solid piece if steel with a slot cut in it for sight, it wasn’t meant to be pretty just purely for protection. He wore a chain mesh vest, leaving his tree like arms bare apart from the fore arm guards covered in raised bumps. Gone were his mining tools replaced by a severe looking hammer, with one side extending out into a point making it look like some hammer pick hybrid. His legs were cover the same way mine were, some simple thigh guards quickly tied only minutes before.
“I have no shield, so you two will have to cover the front” Soloman to no stared down the mine shaft, the moment was so close, everyone was now starting to sweat, worried about what would greet us down the blackened tunnel. I looked at my hand for a second to see it shaking, I tried to steady it as best I could but it didn’t work to well, I reached for my weapon, in the hopes that the weight would stop my hands from visibly trembling. I grasped it in my right hand and then slung my shield onto my left arm, it was a little heavy but nothing to bad, and it was fairly large, big enough to completely hide behind if I ducked down. I felt a little safer, but not much, Azrith had to ready himself, his sword drawn from its sheath shield on his left arm with a dagger in his left hand for extra ‘luck’. Soloman stood behind us both fiddling with his hammer nervously
“Its always the same before the fight isn’t it, no matter how many times you walk in, its always the same” Soloman sounded as worried as I did, whether that was good or bad we were about to find out. Azrith handed the torch that had been soaking in the oil to Soloman
“Your going to be torch man then if your at the back” Azrith said, Soloman nodded and held out the torch, Harn lit it by striking some flint stones over the top of it, the sparks fell down onto the oil soaked rag and then burst into flames. Now with the light, we were off into the dark…
To be continued
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Blobs?
People kept streaming out, in the end it must have been about half the town, I didn’t realise the mine was so big, two men carried out another, he was slumped over, groaning in pain as they took him past me. I shoved my way through the pack of miners, they smelt like earth and sweat, it was a hefty concoction of scents. I got through to the entrance where a few of the miners were now erecting a barrier. It was just a few planks of wood that slotted into some joists on the side of the entrance. To the right there was a bell hanging, under it a sign, “In case of Emergency”. A dusty young lad approached the bell and grabbed a hold of the rope that hung below it. He swung it from side to side and the bell rang throughout the whole town, the people yelling and bustling around the town market all stopped. It must have been a sound they dreaded, it was a small community, so to have any people put in danger must have been a frightful experience for them. Soon women and children, store keepers and all the rest of the town started to gather around the mine, everyone must have been there, I spotted Harn and Azrith making there way though the forming pack. Azrith spotted me and made his way over.
“What’s happening, have you seen anything” He said sounding worried and excited at the same time, he seemed to be the type that thrived on action, and I got the feeling that what ever this action was I was now going to be involved.
“I don’t know, they dragged some guy out before but no ones saying anything”
“Well lets go and find out lads” Harn injected, the same hint of trepidation and action in his voice. Harn led the way and guided us to the mine leader, Soloman was a beast of a man, over six foot and probably just as wide, he still had a pick in his hand, and a hammer in the other, both obviously meant to be carried two handed, but in his hands the seemed tiny. He was the mine leader because he was the strongest, and the best, every time the miners went down he would be at the front, at the deepest part of the mine. It was his mine and they were his miners so if anything started he was going to be there first. Harn approached him and Azrith and I followed.
“Why are out of your hole your grubby Lummox” Harn jokingly yelled at Soloman. Soloman paused for a second before replying.
“…. Blobs” He said.
“Blobs?” I replied surprised.
“Blobs” Soloman said again.
“I hate Blobs” Harn muttered.
“Wait, wait, wait…. what are Blobs?” I asked, hoping for a straight reply
“There… Blobs” Azrith said.
“Squishy, wobbly Blobs” Harn followed straight after. I was still confused, I didn’t understand the danger of Blobs, or what they even where… I’d seen the movie but… no it couldn’t be. There was a slight pause as I stared at the mine and then everyone in the conversation.
“So there blobs” I asked again
“Yes” Azrith replied starting to get a little agitated, he’d obviously come across them before, and there was obviously something I was missing as to how dangerous they were.
“So how do we get rid of them” After I had said this I immediately realised that I had just basically volunteered to get rid of the Blobs, I had completely jumped the gun and dived straight into a giant pile of trouble.
“Well first we have to find out what kind of Blobs they are” Azrith answered looking at me as if he was both pleased and surprised I gave my services.
“Oh god… there are different kinds of Blobs” I thought out loud, somehow though I was the only one that found this thought ridiculous.
“Yes Blobs are just manifestations of thought; any viscous liquid can be made into a blob and controlled by a thought or a spell.” Azrith seemed to know quite a bit about Blobs, which was probably a good thing.
“So someone must have put them there” I wasn’t sure whether I wanted the answer, thought Blobs all of a sudden seemed more to deal with.
“Yeah… someone doesn’t like this town or this mine” Azriths voice now lost its excitement and was just full of worry, he had friends here, it seemed at least that he liked this town, it was the closest thing to home for him, I cant say I blamed him though, I had only been here a day and it already seemed like a place I’d like to stay.
“Well I think we can guess who that is can’t we” Soloman angrily added.
“Falsom” Harn said, both he and Soloman winced at the name, I expected them to both spit on the ground like a couple of old ladies from the old country talking about someone they didn’t like.
“Who’s that” I quietly asked.
“A damned mystic we sent away, he was causing trouble with the stock and the crops so we threw him out, the stupid fool was dabbling in Necromancy” Soloman spoke angrily, he clenched his fists around the handle of his pick and hammer, shaking then in the air for effect.
“I still have dreams about that blasted cow” Harn said. Azrith and I stood there, both wondering if he was going to continue, you can’t mention a cow around the word Necromancy and not continue to tell the story.
“Was there a Zombie cow here?” No matter how I asked it, that was always going to sound stupid, I looked at Azrith he had put his face in his hands I suspect to stop from laughing but I also think he was glad I had asked the question.
“Don’t you laugh at it you fluffy bastard it was a hell of a weekend, by Gorms Hammer that milky fiend raised some hell” Harn could see Azrith had turned away to keep from laughing.
“I’ll tell you the story another time, but now we need to deal with these damned Blobs”
“What’s happening, have you seen anything” He said sounding worried and excited at the same time, he seemed to be the type that thrived on action, and I got the feeling that what ever this action was I was now going to be involved.
“I don’t know, they dragged some guy out before but no ones saying anything”
“Well lets go and find out lads” Harn injected, the same hint of trepidation and action in his voice. Harn led the way and guided us to the mine leader, Soloman was a beast of a man, over six foot and probably just as wide, he still had a pick in his hand, and a hammer in the other, both obviously meant to be carried two handed, but in his hands the seemed tiny. He was the mine leader because he was the strongest, and the best, every time the miners went down he would be at the front, at the deepest part of the mine. It was his mine and they were his miners so if anything started he was going to be there first. Harn approached him and Azrith and I followed.
“Why are out of your hole your grubby Lummox” Harn jokingly yelled at Soloman. Soloman paused for a second before replying.
“…. Blobs” He said.
“Blobs?” I replied surprised.
“Blobs” Soloman said again.
“I hate Blobs” Harn muttered.
“Wait, wait, wait…. what are Blobs?” I asked, hoping for a straight reply
“There… Blobs” Azrith said.
“Squishy, wobbly Blobs” Harn followed straight after. I was still confused, I didn’t understand the danger of Blobs, or what they even where… I’d seen the movie but… no it couldn’t be. There was a slight pause as I stared at the mine and then everyone in the conversation.
“So there blobs” I asked again
“Yes” Azrith replied starting to get a little agitated, he’d obviously come across them before, and there was obviously something I was missing as to how dangerous they were.
“So how do we get rid of them” After I had said this I immediately realised that I had just basically volunteered to get rid of the Blobs, I had completely jumped the gun and dived straight into a giant pile of trouble.
“Well first we have to find out what kind of Blobs they are” Azrith answered looking at me as if he was both pleased and surprised I gave my services.
“Oh god… there are different kinds of Blobs” I thought out loud, somehow though I was the only one that found this thought ridiculous.
“Yes Blobs are just manifestations of thought; any viscous liquid can be made into a blob and controlled by a thought or a spell.” Azrith seemed to know quite a bit about Blobs, which was probably a good thing.
“So someone must have put them there” I wasn’t sure whether I wanted the answer, thought Blobs all of a sudden seemed more to deal with.
“Yeah… someone doesn’t like this town or this mine” Azriths voice now lost its excitement and was just full of worry, he had friends here, it seemed at least that he liked this town, it was the closest thing to home for him, I cant say I blamed him though, I had only been here a day and it already seemed like a place I’d like to stay.
“Well I think we can guess who that is can’t we” Soloman angrily added.
“Falsom” Harn said, both he and Soloman winced at the name, I expected them to both spit on the ground like a couple of old ladies from the old country talking about someone they didn’t like.
“Who’s that” I quietly asked.
“A damned mystic we sent away, he was causing trouble with the stock and the crops so we threw him out, the stupid fool was dabbling in Necromancy” Soloman spoke angrily, he clenched his fists around the handle of his pick and hammer, shaking then in the air for effect.
“I still have dreams about that blasted cow” Harn said. Azrith and I stood there, both wondering if he was going to continue, you can’t mention a cow around the word Necromancy and not continue to tell the story.
“Was there a Zombie cow here?” No matter how I asked it, that was always going to sound stupid, I looked at Azrith he had put his face in his hands I suspect to stop from laughing but I also think he was glad I had asked the question.
“Don’t you laugh at it you fluffy bastard it was a hell of a weekend, by Gorms Hammer that milky fiend raised some hell” Harn could see Azrith had turned away to keep from laughing.
“I’ll tell you the story another time, but now we need to deal with these damned Blobs”
Friday, September 14, 2007
Little Black Book
From the back of the store noise began to escape, first just some murmurs and then some rather annoyed verbal jaunts from both Azrith and the lady, I smiled to myself and continued to leaf through the book in front of me. Curious I turned to ‘s’ and looked for Shadow, I didn’t expect to find anything but what I did gave me a quite unexpected surprise, third down a page were the letters Shadow, and then a picture of the figure from my dream, well someone in the same clothes at least, could it be him or was it just a strange coincidence? I began to read the passage
‘Shadow, Shadow Cult, A dark and mysterious type of magic, it bestows the ability to move between the two universes on the user. Though some practice is needed to suitably control this ability. Higher level Shadows can also learn many other dark magics, but again the level of training required is most difficult to acquire. It must be said that there are special cases to this, people born or imbued with great powers, but these are rare instances and don’t often happen. It is thought that the Shadow Cult first came to be many thousands of years ago, through Carsi, a magician who some what learnt to control the matters of life and death. Many histories tell us that Carsi is now the ferry man for the under world, but this is often disputed. Those accounts of history say that Carsi was wounded in battle stabbed through the heart, when one of the reapers tried to take him to the underworld Carsi killed it and the subsequent ones after that, the King angered at this left the underworld him self and dragged Carsi there himself. Carsi was put to work as the ferry man taking people across and back the river at the entrance to the underworld…..’
Deep in reading I didn’t notice that Azrith and the old lady had returned from the back of the store, the old lady held in her hand a book, it was small and had a black cover with no writing on it, she placed it on the counter and returned to staring at me as though she had never left.
“Now… what can you give me for it” She asked, cracking a smile that would scare small children. I looked at Azrith; he had done all the trading so far so I assumed he would do this. Azrith took a small package from his pocket, and carefully placed it on the counter.
“That should cover it” He seemed confident that what ever he had placed on the counter was valuable. The lady picked up the package and unwrapped it, a new smell wafted out that overtook everything else in the shop, it was horrid like rotten fish, but the lady seemed very excited about it.
“Yes that should do very nicely” She said as she wandered to the back of the store to hideaway her new acquisition.
“What was that” I asked Azrith as I winced from the smell.
“Behemoth skin… that’s what I was looking for when I came across you, you can find it on trees sometimes if you’re lucky”
“Lucky… If it smells like that I thought you’d be lucky not to find it, what’s she going to use it for?” The smell still invaded my nostrils; it reminded me of the possums we used to find in the air conditioning vents at work.
“Potions… since they eat Mana their skins can be boiled and then you drink that to temporarily raise your energy.”
“Drink… that!” I didn’t think there was a situation that could ever make me swallow anything that smelt like that, and hopefully there never would be. The old lady returned and slowly shuffled back to the counter, she had a bag in her hands, a small leather pouch which she threw to Azrith.
“That was a generous amount so here is some Kappa root; I assume you know how to use it.” She asked us.
“That we do.” Azrith answered. He placed the pouch in one of the folds of his robe and picked the black book of the counter and handed it to me.
“That’s all we need let’s go” He seemed happy to be finished dealing with the old lady, and I must say I was kind of agreeing with him, her constant staring made me immensely uncomfortable. We turned and headed for the door, as we reached it, the old lady spoke once more.
“You be careful now” I’m sure it wasn’t meant to be as creepy as it sounded, or maybe it was, but with her smile and glassy eyes, I felt like running and screaming like a little school girl.
“Yeah….” I said glancing back at her, Azrith opened the door and walked out into the bright sunshine, and I quickly followed; glad to be back in the fresh air. The light was bright and hurt my eyes for a second making me squint in was so bright. It would have been about two in the afternoon I guess and we were both hungry, Azrith made the suggestion of heading back to the inn as we had everything we would need, I wasn’t feeling hungry yet so I decided to walk around the town for a bit. So for the time being we went our separate way and I wandered around taking in the sights of Morgoth. I wandered back down to where the Smith was, at the far end of the town, I walked past him and went to the fence of the animal pens, the cows ambled around slowly munching on the grass, and just generally looking dopey, at least something’s where the same in this world and mine. I had always liked cows, my uncle had had a farm I’d spend hours as a kid just watching the cows as a kid. From behind me came noise from the mine I turned to see people of various shapes and sizes running out from the entrance, something was wrong…
To be continued...
‘Shadow, Shadow Cult, A dark and mysterious type of magic, it bestows the ability to move between the two universes on the user. Though some practice is needed to suitably control this ability. Higher level Shadows can also learn many other dark magics, but again the level of training required is most difficult to acquire. It must be said that there are special cases to this, people born or imbued with great powers, but these are rare instances and don’t often happen. It is thought that the Shadow Cult first came to be many thousands of years ago, through Carsi, a magician who some what learnt to control the matters of life and death. Many histories tell us that Carsi is now the ferry man for the under world, but this is often disputed. Those accounts of history say that Carsi was wounded in battle stabbed through the heart, when one of the reapers tried to take him to the underworld Carsi killed it and the subsequent ones after that, the King angered at this left the underworld him self and dragged Carsi there himself. Carsi was put to work as the ferry man taking people across and back the river at the entrance to the underworld…..’
Deep in reading I didn’t notice that Azrith and the old lady had returned from the back of the store, the old lady held in her hand a book, it was small and had a black cover with no writing on it, she placed it on the counter and returned to staring at me as though she had never left.
“Now… what can you give me for it” She asked, cracking a smile that would scare small children. I looked at Azrith; he had done all the trading so far so I assumed he would do this. Azrith took a small package from his pocket, and carefully placed it on the counter.
“That should cover it” He seemed confident that what ever he had placed on the counter was valuable. The lady picked up the package and unwrapped it, a new smell wafted out that overtook everything else in the shop, it was horrid like rotten fish, but the lady seemed very excited about it.
“Yes that should do very nicely” She said as she wandered to the back of the store to hideaway her new acquisition.
“What was that” I asked Azrith as I winced from the smell.
“Behemoth skin… that’s what I was looking for when I came across you, you can find it on trees sometimes if you’re lucky”
“Lucky… If it smells like that I thought you’d be lucky not to find it, what’s she going to use it for?” The smell still invaded my nostrils; it reminded me of the possums we used to find in the air conditioning vents at work.
“Potions… since they eat Mana their skins can be boiled and then you drink that to temporarily raise your energy.”
“Drink… that!” I didn’t think there was a situation that could ever make me swallow anything that smelt like that, and hopefully there never would be. The old lady returned and slowly shuffled back to the counter, she had a bag in her hands, a small leather pouch which she threw to Azrith.
“That was a generous amount so here is some Kappa root; I assume you know how to use it.” She asked us.
“That we do.” Azrith answered. He placed the pouch in one of the folds of his robe and picked the black book of the counter and handed it to me.
“That’s all we need let’s go” He seemed happy to be finished dealing with the old lady, and I must say I was kind of agreeing with him, her constant staring made me immensely uncomfortable. We turned and headed for the door, as we reached it, the old lady spoke once more.
“You be careful now” I’m sure it wasn’t meant to be as creepy as it sounded, or maybe it was, but with her smile and glassy eyes, I felt like running and screaming like a little school girl.
“Yeah….” I said glancing back at her, Azrith opened the door and walked out into the bright sunshine, and I quickly followed; glad to be back in the fresh air. The light was bright and hurt my eyes for a second making me squint in was so bright. It would have been about two in the afternoon I guess and we were both hungry, Azrith made the suggestion of heading back to the inn as we had everything we would need, I wasn’t feeling hungry yet so I decided to walk around the town for a bit. So for the time being we went our separate way and I wandered around taking in the sights of Morgoth. I wandered back down to where the Smith was, at the far end of the town, I walked past him and went to the fence of the animal pens, the cows ambled around slowly munching on the grass, and just generally looking dopey, at least something’s where the same in this world and mine. I had always liked cows, my uncle had had a farm I’d spend hours as a kid just watching the cows as a kid. From behind me came noise from the mine I turned to see people of various shapes and sizes running out from the entrance, something was wrong…
To be continued...
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Encyclopeadia Demonica?
She smiled bearing her rotten teeth and gave a little chuckle.
“More than you know dear boy” She never stopped staring at me for a second all the time she spoke; I never thought I’d be quite so fascinating to insane people but there she was watching me like a hawk.
“What do you know about the Demons of Iferach” I asked her, where her smile had once been she know had an expression of shock, maybe even terror, as if had just told her there was a tiger loose behind her. For a few seconds she stood still gathering her thoughts before she beckoned me closer, why I don’t know we were the only ones within earshot, but she scared me slightly so I thought it best to obey her wishes. We both leant on the counter, and she began to speak again.
“You said you had a dream…. Which one was it, which statue?” She asked, but how could she know my dream, I hadn’t told anyone.
“It had two heads… I don’t know its name” I replied meekly, I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear anymore from her, but she seemed the kind of lady that wasn’t going to stop talking no matter what I did.
“Two heads… eh” She backed off a little as she said this, it seemed that she was now as worried as I was.
“So what was it” I didn’t want to sound impatient but it was like hearing the start of a dirty joke and then not getting the punch line, you knew it was going to be filthy, but it was just going to gnaw at you and consume all you thoughts until you heard it.
“Gojira… the two headed fiend” she whispered, as if the name was unspeakable.
“Gojira, and why is he special, you seem worried about him”
“Not worried just cautious as should you be if you are having dreams about him, he and his followers are quite dangerous” She had finished whispering, I don’t know why she had even started in the first place.
“Why should I be” I nervously asked. She turned and walked back to a shelf behind her and pulled a book off it. Its was a huge book, dusty and falling apart, she dropped it onto the counter and a mini mushroom cloud of dust rose off it as it made contact. On the cover some drawings covered by the layers of grime, I rubbed it off to reveal the picture of a creature and the words, Baphomets Guide.
“Look under ‘i’ you should find him there… what is Halfling doing” And with that she disappeared to the back of the store to help Azrith, though I guess she would just be more of a hindrance. I threw open the book and looked at the pages, as I flicked through, it became clear what this book was, a dictionary or encyclopaedia of demons and monsters of all sorts, the illustrations showed the most horrific creatures beyond anything I could imagine. But finally I reached what I was looking for, ‘i’, a few more pages then in big bold lettering ‘Iferach Daemons’, I blew the dust off the page and began to read.
‘Iferach Daemons, Legion of Iferach, Tree of Iferach, 13 legendary beings amongst the Demon world, once servants of the King of the Underworld, he imprisoned them in stone in the two Universes after they tried to rebel. Lead by Sorcus, also referred to as the Majestic Jackal, the demons believed there place was no longer by the side of the King in the underworld, and that they could rule both Universe as they wished. They may have succeeded if not for their tempestuous relationship with each other, each believing they were more powerful than the other. The Rebellion failed when the King played the each off against each other. Leaving only four in a fit state to fight, the King cursed each of them and set them in stone in each universe.’
It all seemed quite unbelievable to me, but what I had seen in the last day or so, lead me to believe it, after that introduction, the book listed each of the Demons by name, I quickly scanned the page, I couldn’t see Gojira so I turned it, and there he was. I could see his two heads more clearly now, one an old wrinkled face, the other a young with a vicious look on its face. I read the entry about him.
‘Gojira, the Two Headed Fiend, The Torn Leper, Gojira started his life as the right hand to the King of the underworld, his servant in house and in battle, he was known to be a middle man, (able to see both sides of the argument and settle differences with ease), but in the uprising he was not willing to play second fiddle to anyone including Sorcus. One of the four remaining Demons after there battle he was cursed by the King once he had been defeated. Since Gojira had been a mediator able to see both sides of an argument, the King split his mind in two and gave Gojira his extra head, one head being ruled by passion, the other by intellect. Thus meaning the Demon is always at odds with himself. Gojira was sealed in a statue holding a Pia Flute an instrument two people play together, his two heads always arguing means he never gets the proper tune.’
Should I be worried I had a dream about this Demon, should I tell anyone, I had so many questions, I was starting to wish that dark stranger from my dream would come back and fill me in on some much needed details. For whatever reason I had seen Gojira though I knew it wouldn’t be good, I decided to develop a new yardstick for instances such as this, if it appears in a big Demony dictionary thing its probably not good, a simple test I know but non the less an effective one.
To be continued...
“More than you know dear boy” She never stopped staring at me for a second all the time she spoke; I never thought I’d be quite so fascinating to insane people but there she was watching me like a hawk.
“What do you know about the Demons of Iferach” I asked her, where her smile had once been she know had an expression of shock, maybe even terror, as if had just told her there was a tiger loose behind her. For a few seconds she stood still gathering her thoughts before she beckoned me closer, why I don’t know we were the only ones within earshot, but she scared me slightly so I thought it best to obey her wishes. We both leant on the counter, and she began to speak again.
“You said you had a dream…. Which one was it, which statue?” She asked, but how could she know my dream, I hadn’t told anyone.
“It had two heads… I don’t know its name” I replied meekly, I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear anymore from her, but she seemed the kind of lady that wasn’t going to stop talking no matter what I did.
“Two heads… eh” She backed off a little as she said this, it seemed that she was now as worried as I was.
“So what was it” I didn’t want to sound impatient but it was like hearing the start of a dirty joke and then not getting the punch line, you knew it was going to be filthy, but it was just going to gnaw at you and consume all you thoughts until you heard it.
“Gojira… the two headed fiend” she whispered, as if the name was unspeakable.
“Gojira, and why is he special, you seem worried about him”
“Not worried just cautious as should you be if you are having dreams about him, he and his followers are quite dangerous” She had finished whispering, I don’t know why she had even started in the first place.
“Why should I be” I nervously asked. She turned and walked back to a shelf behind her and pulled a book off it. Its was a huge book, dusty and falling apart, she dropped it onto the counter and a mini mushroom cloud of dust rose off it as it made contact. On the cover some drawings covered by the layers of grime, I rubbed it off to reveal the picture of a creature and the words, Baphomets Guide.
“Look under ‘i’ you should find him there… what is Halfling doing” And with that she disappeared to the back of the store to help Azrith, though I guess she would just be more of a hindrance. I threw open the book and looked at the pages, as I flicked through, it became clear what this book was, a dictionary or encyclopaedia of demons and monsters of all sorts, the illustrations showed the most horrific creatures beyond anything I could imagine. But finally I reached what I was looking for, ‘i’, a few more pages then in big bold lettering ‘Iferach Daemons’, I blew the dust off the page and began to read.
‘Iferach Daemons, Legion of Iferach, Tree of Iferach, 13 legendary beings amongst the Demon world, once servants of the King of the Underworld, he imprisoned them in stone in the two Universes after they tried to rebel. Lead by Sorcus, also referred to as the Majestic Jackal, the demons believed there place was no longer by the side of the King in the underworld, and that they could rule both Universe as they wished. They may have succeeded if not for their tempestuous relationship with each other, each believing they were more powerful than the other. The Rebellion failed when the King played the each off against each other. Leaving only four in a fit state to fight, the King cursed each of them and set them in stone in each universe.’
It all seemed quite unbelievable to me, but what I had seen in the last day or so, lead me to believe it, after that introduction, the book listed each of the Demons by name, I quickly scanned the page, I couldn’t see Gojira so I turned it, and there he was. I could see his two heads more clearly now, one an old wrinkled face, the other a young with a vicious look on its face. I read the entry about him.
‘Gojira, the Two Headed Fiend, The Torn Leper, Gojira started his life as the right hand to the King of the underworld, his servant in house and in battle, he was known to be a middle man, (able to see both sides of the argument and settle differences with ease), but in the uprising he was not willing to play second fiddle to anyone including Sorcus. One of the four remaining Demons after there battle he was cursed by the King once he had been defeated. Since Gojira had been a mediator able to see both sides of an argument, the King split his mind in two and gave Gojira his extra head, one head being ruled by passion, the other by intellect. Thus meaning the Demon is always at odds with himself. Gojira was sealed in a statue holding a Pia Flute an instrument two people play together, his two heads always arguing means he never gets the proper tune.’
Should I be worried I had a dream about this Demon, should I tell anyone, I had so many questions, I was starting to wish that dark stranger from my dream would come back and fill me in on some much needed details. For whatever reason I had seen Gojira though I knew it wouldn’t be good, I decided to develop a new yardstick for instances such as this, if it appears in a big Demony dictionary thing its probably not good, a simple test I know but non the less an effective one.
To be continued...
Saturday, September 8, 2007
A mystical shopping trip: Enter the crazy lady.
The part that went over the chest was a dull grey, across the shoulders it was joined by some clasps, in the shape of hands, the rest of the stomach was only chain mail, a mesh that hung down to about waist height. After I had examined it for a second I hoisted it over my head and feed my arms and head through the appropriate holes.
“It’s a little loose” I wiggled the armour around it moved a little freely, but I really didn’t have any idea whether it was meant to or not.
“You’ll grow into it” Azrith said wryly as if he was speaking to a child about a pair of shoes. I continued to fiddle with the breast plate wriggling and shifting it around till I found a comfortable position for it, Azrith and Darius continued to trade.
“That Lt. Mace, how heavy is it” Azrith inquired, Darius picked it off the shelf and handed it over, Azrith gave it a quick going over and then handed it to me.
“That should be better than that axe you have” he knowingly said. It was light enough to swing quickly but at the end of the steel shaft rested a rather gruesome looking club end, a solid block of metal surrounded by six cutting edges. I swung it round for a second and then nodded to Azrith as if I knew what I was doing. This continued on for a short while, Azrith would hand me things I would try them out honestly it was completely the same as shopping with my wife, obviously lees implements of death on those trips though. In the end Azrith and I left with a breast plate, some thigh guards, a shield and the Lt. Mace, while Darius took the axe and some other trinkets from our stash. They both seemed happy so I was as well, especially since I had benefited most from our little shopping spree.
“That should be just about it, I think” Azrith said as he wrapped up our remaining belongings and placed them under his arm.
“What exactly are you preparing for, with all that?” Darius waved his hand at all the items we hand just bought.
“Were heading up to the monastery, you know what the mountain trails are like, its best to be prepared” Azrith said, he didn’t speak with any doubt in his voice that we would make it to the monastery, where ever it was. But there was a fraction of worry, like he didn’t know what lay before us.
“Yeah… well I’m sure you’ll make it” All through the conversation I had noticed a certain level of distance between Darius and Azrith, it was clear the two knew each other, but whether they were friends or not was another thing, there had obviously been some event in the twos past that had them acting this way to each other. But it wasn’t my place to interfere so I left it at just a thought.
“Is the mystic still in town” Azrith asked
“She is, same spot… still crazy though I don’t know what you’ll get from her” Darius replied.
“Well I guess we’ll find out wont we… I guess we’ll see you when we return” With this Azrith turned and headed for the street again, I simply smiled at Darius and followed Azrith out to the street. The street was still as busty as before with people rushing about the various shops and stalls, we got back to the centre of town the Inn, looked inviting but Azrith peeled off in the opposite direction and headed down an empty street. The building we headed to sat at the end of the street, it was about the same size as the Inn but nowhere near as cheerful, at the door sat a statue, it looked like a dog, but its mouth was far bigger with teeth reaching up around its eyes. The door was heavy, as if it hadn’t been opened for quite some time; we entered and immediately were struck by the aroma of herbs and dust. It wasn’t a pleasant smell like someone was cooking a meal, but a harsh stench that filled your nostrils. The entire place was dark, only a few shards of light got through the window, lighting up a few select jars or books that sat on the shelf.
“Mystic… hello” yelled Azrith. Silence then some slight rumblings from the back of the shop, slowly from out of the darkness shuffled the mystic, an old lady, grey ragged hair, hunched over placing her hand on the bench in front of her as if to keep from toppling over.
“Ahhhhh… a Halfling… what do you want” She said as she peered through the gaps in her natty hair.
“I’m looking for a book on the shadow cult, and its arts.” Said Azrith. This seemed to interest her greatly as she stood taller and cleared her hair from her eyes.
“Why do you want that…. You’re not a shad…” She got halfway through the sentence and then stopped; slowly she tilted her head towards me, looking at the ring on my hand.
“But you are” She looked straight at me, staring with her beady eyes, she smiled, it was thoroughly creepy but I endured her looks.
“Do you have it” Azrith asked sounding a little impatient.
“Yes it’s in the shelves at the back, I can’t reach it though you’ll have to get it yourself” she said as she kept staring at me, her rotten teeth showing, her knotted hair, I was expecting a bunch of cats to appear, she seemed like that sort of crazy. Azrith, groaned and went to the back of the shop leaving the old lady to stare at me.
“Have you been yet” she asked
“Where”
“To the Bleak side, my dear” It all seemed very star wars; I didn’t know what to answer, had I been or was that just a dream.
“I don’t know, do dreams count….” I asked.
To be continued
“It’s a little loose” I wiggled the armour around it moved a little freely, but I really didn’t have any idea whether it was meant to or not.
“You’ll grow into it” Azrith said wryly as if he was speaking to a child about a pair of shoes. I continued to fiddle with the breast plate wriggling and shifting it around till I found a comfortable position for it, Azrith and Darius continued to trade.
“That Lt. Mace, how heavy is it” Azrith inquired, Darius picked it off the shelf and handed it over, Azrith gave it a quick going over and then handed it to me.
“That should be better than that axe you have” he knowingly said. It was light enough to swing quickly but at the end of the steel shaft rested a rather gruesome looking club end, a solid block of metal surrounded by six cutting edges. I swung it round for a second and then nodded to Azrith as if I knew what I was doing. This continued on for a short while, Azrith would hand me things I would try them out honestly it was completely the same as shopping with my wife, obviously lees implements of death on those trips though. In the end Azrith and I left with a breast plate, some thigh guards, a shield and the Lt. Mace, while Darius took the axe and some other trinkets from our stash. They both seemed happy so I was as well, especially since I had benefited most from our little shopping spree.
“That should be just about it, I think” Azrith said as he wrapped up our remaining belongings and placed them under his arm.
“What exactly are you preparing for, with all that?” Darius waved his hand at all the items we hand just bought.
“Were heading up to the monastery, you know what the mountain trails are like, its best to be prepared” Azrith said, he didn’t speak with any doubt in his voice that we would make it to the monastery, where ever it was. But there was a fraction of worry, like he didn’t know what lay before us.
“Yeah… well I’m sure you’ll make it” All through the conversation I had noticed a certain level of distance between Darius and Azrith, it was clear the two knew each other, but whether they were friends or not was another thing, there had obviously been some event in the twos past that had them acting this way to each other. But it wasn’t my place to interfere so I left it at just a thought.
“Is the mystic still in town” Azrith asked
“She is, same spot… still crazy though I don’t know what you’ll get from her” Darius replied.
“Well I guess we’ll find out wont we… I guess we’ll see you when we return” With this Azrith turned and headed for the street again, I simply smiled at Darius and followed Azrith out to the street. The street was still as busty as before with people rushing about the various shops and stalls, we got back to the centre of town the Inn, looked inviting but Azrith peeled off in the opposite direction and headed down an empty street. The building we headed to sat at the end of the street, it was about the same size as the Inn but nowhere near as cheerful, at the door sat a statue, it looked like a dog, but its mouth was far bigger with teeth reaching up around its eyes. The door was heavy, as if it hadn’t been opened for quite some time; we entered and immediately were struck by the aroma of herbs and dust. It wasn’t a pleasant smell like someone was cooking a meal, but a harsh stench that filled your nostrils. The entire place was dark, only a few shards of light got through the window, lighting up a few select jars or books that sat on the shelf.
“Mystic… hello” yelled Azrith. Silence then some slight rumblings from the back of the shop, slowly from out of the darkness shuffled the mystic, an old lady, grey ragged hair, hunched over placing her hand on the bench in front of her as if to keep from toppling over.
“Ahhhhh… a Halfling… what do you want” She said as she peered through the gaps in her natty hair.
“I’m looking for a book on the shadow cult, and its arts.” Said Azrith. This seemed to interest her greatly as she stood taller and cleared her hair from her eyes.
“Why do you want that…. You’re not a shad…” She got halfway through the sentence and then stopped; slowly she tilted her head towards me, looking at the ring on my hand.
“But you are” She looked straight at me, staring with her beady eyes, she smiled, it was thoroughly creepy but I endured her looks.
“Do you have it” Azrith asked sounding a little impatient.
“Yes it’s in the shelves at the back, I can’t reach it though you’ll have to get it yourself” she said as she kept staring at me, her rotten teeth showing, her knotted hair, I was expecting a bunch of cats to appear, she seemed like that sort of crazy. Azrith, groaned and went to the back of the shop leaving the old lady to stare at me.
“Have you been yet” she asked
“Where”
“To the Bleak side, my dear” It all seemed very star wars; I didn’t know what to answer, had I been or was that just a dream.
“I don’t know, do dreams count….” I asked.
To be continued
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