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| Jack Mann |
 Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2012 4:22 pm Post subject: The Escape |
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Joined: 01 Dec 2011
Posts: 124
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The sun flashed off the curve of the sword as it swept inches past Vach's lined and wrinkled face. He was already tumbling backward, a reverse summersault into a crouch. He swung with his hooked stick, catching the dead man behind the knee. As he stood straight, his opponent fell to the ground.
The man rasped something out in the sibilant language of the dead, and tried attack Vach again from the ground, but his blows were clumsy, ineffectual.
"Sorry, friend. I'd love to play longer, but it's rude to keep a lady waiting." Vach jumped back several steps, then used his stick to grab the top of the spiked fence, scrambling over agile as an ape.
By the time the dead man was on his feet, the spry old man was sprinting down the hallway, his bare feet slapping against the warm skin of the floor.
------
"Did you get it?" asked Masra, as Vach arrived in their little cubbyhole. She absently passed a hand over the wards, letting him through the glimmering light that kept others out.
"Have some faith," he said, patting the satchel he'd rigged out of a shirt whose owner no longer needed it.
"I keep my faith in the holies. Not in such as you," she said, though without rancor. She'd come to know Vach well in their time together. Too well, at times.
"Anyway," he said, "I have it. So you can ease that troubled mind of yours."
"Let's see it, then," she said impatiently.
"All right, all right." He chuckled as he pulled out the crystal.
"Are you sure it's a true map?" she asked.
"I'm sure. But watch, if you still have doubts." He cupped his hands around the crystal, and it started to glow. Lines of light traced their way across the ceiling.
"Oh, it's real. It's real." Masra's voice trembled.
"As real as me or thee, my lady," Vash said kindly. "And look, there we are. We're close this time. We're going to make it."
"Yes..." she whispered. It had been so long since she'd dared to hope. "But wait. Look, there's only one way out from where we are. And look where it goes through."
"Mmm." He frowned. "The furies' lair. Well, if that's where we have to go, that's where we'll go."
"But last time..." She didn't continue. She didn't have to.
"I know. But this is what we have to do. I don't know how, just yet. We'll need help, that's certain. But we can do this, Masra. I know it. We have to."
She swallowed. "I know, Vach. But to be so close, and then having to go back there..."
"It'll be worth it," he promised. "Hey, you and me, girl. Who'd have thought? Out of everyone, we're going to make it out."
"Out of hell," she breathed. |
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| James Thomas |
| Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 9:55 am Post subject: |
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Joined: 19 Feb 2010
Posts: 727
Location: Rocklin, California
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Nice story Jack. What's the backstory?
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Kobold Minion #66
MightyMongo's Summoned Monster
Freelancer 2, Game Master 7, Historian 5 |
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| Jack Mann |
| Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 5:17 pm Post subject: |
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| Not entirely sure yet. Two people trapped in some sort of hell (possibly literal, possibly figurative). Haven't figured out the setting too far yet. |
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| James Thomas |
| Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2012 8:44 am Post subject: |
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Joined: 19 Feb 2010
Posts: 727
Location: Rocklin, California
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Have you ever heard the story of Saint Vadim? The only mortal to ever escape alive from Hell? A priest to a righteous god, he and his companions dared to infiltrate Hell in pursuit of a terrible devil and were captured and imprisoned instead. I've composed a bit of a story about the ordeal that still needs some development.  I like the abstractness of your writing Jack. And the horror. Care to collaborate? Send me a PM!
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Kobold Minion #66
MightyMongo's Summoned Monster
Freelancer 2, Game Master 7, Historian 5 |
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| Jack Mann |
| Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2012 2:17 am Post subject: |
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They picked their way through the rubble of a ruined part of the city. The armies of the damned had leveled buildings, leaving bleeding wounds in the landscape. Eventually, the dead would come by to rebuild and regrow, but for now, it offered a path away from the road.
"He's got to be close," Vach said. "There's one of his ridiculous traps." He pointed near a massive scab, where a crude deadfall of black stone and bits of spiked metal waited for something to trip the line.
"Then he probably knows we're here," Masra said. "Let's rest a moment. He'll come out when he sees we brought food."
"As you say," Vach said.
They made their way past a red puddle and sat under the shade of a toppled statue. Vach spread a blanket down on the ground, and Masra chanted under her breath, until bread and cups of water appeared before them. They began to eat.
Presently, a man appeared. He didn't step out from behind anything, and there was no magic. He simply wasn't seen until he wanted to. He wore a suit covered in stone dust and bits of metal and other trash that blended in perfectly with the background. An irregularly-shaped mask covered his face, except for slate-gray eyes.
Neither Vach nor Masra said a word as the man sat down, removed his mask, and began to eat. His face showed elven features, worn down and creased. His hair was so streaked with dust it was impossible to tell its original color. There was no emotion showing in his eyes.
"Well," he said after a time. "You're here. Why?" His voice hoarse, and he spoke slowly.
"We found a way out," Vach said. "You want in?"
The man looked off into the distance. "All water flows to the edge of the world. Whether in streams, rivers, or oceans, it cannot change its destination."
"Er. You don't want to come?" Vach said, uncertainly.
"The terminus is where things end. It is also where things begin." He paused for a moment. "I will go with you for a time. I will end. I may begin again."
"Thank you, Terel," Masra said. "I'll feel much safer with you along."
"Why?" he asked. "You won't be."
No one said anything for a while after that. |
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