Total length: 90664 words / 387 minute read. (Mind you, that’s the +
Total length: 91533 words / 391 minute read. (Mind you, that’s the length of this entire page, including all the extra bits and bobs. Not just the story.)
-There have been 243 messages posted over 238 days since the first -post on July 13, 2022 for a daily post rate of 1.02.
+There have been 247 messages posted over 239 days since the first +post on July 13, 2022 for a daily post rate of 1.03.
This is the first installment of BASEMENT QUEST.
Jump to: 1 2
A malevolent force rides the still howling wind and hovers screaming
up near the ceiling of the fish market. WHAT DO YOU DO? Neddas loves mortals. Possibly more than they love themself. It’s why
+they’ve diminished their own divinity over the eons by freely giving
+parts of themself away—gifting tiny aspects of themself to the mortals.
+Part of their constant delight in doing so is that even with their
+divine wisdom they can never quite be sure what any mortal or mortals
+will actually do with a sliver of godhood, with a divine spark.
+Consequently they have a lot of experience with giving what they thought
+is a perfect gift only for it to be misused, or for it to backfire in
+some unexpected way. The Sword of Y’aml is a prime example. Justice without Wisom turned
+out to be a cruel weapon, seeing evil everywhere and smiting it on
+sight. And Wisdom itself proved as impotent as Justice was overzealous:
+it became as cold and as cruel in its own way, locked away in ivory
+towers, refusing to intervene, made lame by theory and academia. So now, in this moment, Neddas watches closely to see if they finally
+got it right. Does this mortal have not only the Wisdom to know what to
+do, but also the Courage to do it in the name of Justice? Alex rushes to Marvelo’s side and quickly begins to administer
+medicine to him. “Sorry old friend, it’s not much considering the wound,
+but it should help you at least stay lucid” Alex says as he administers
+the medicine Inky gave him. He takes quick stock of Marvelo’s wound,
+most of his teeth are gone, his jaw is horribly disfigured, it’s
+doubtful if it’ll heal properly. At best he’ll need prostethics,
+potentially a full mechanical jaw. It is essentially a death knell in
+this kind of work, the perfect normality Marvelo had always strove for
+would be forever marred by his sudden abnormality. Alex shakes his head,
+“It’s fine Marv, I’m positive we can get this fixed, no worse than at
+wound Agent 3 took in Cosovo, remember that one? Hell of a thing that”
+Alex grins grimly, casting a glance over his shoulder. “Alright, you
+should be set old friend, best I can do for now.” Alex hands him back
+his blaster and sits him up against the wall, the bleeding staunched,
+but the magled jaw not much better. Alex stands, reloads his pistol, and turns to face the malevolent
+apparition. “I don’t know who the fuck you think you are, or what the fuck you
+think you’re doing. But nobody, and I mean nobody, messes with my
+agents, my friends.” Alex approaches the apparition, pistol gripped in
+one hand, and the crystal pendant Neddas gave him held tight in the
+other. “Alright Neddas, you said you’d give me something I could protect
+my friends with. Don’t think I believe in it much, but I’d of said until
+about 15 minutes ago that candles don’t produce macabre dentists
+either.” Alex stands before the apparition, daring it to move, come and
+try me if you dare. Alex faces down the howling apparition—pistol in one hand, amulet in
+the other—daring and defiant. The wind engulfs him, swirls around him, wraps him in its embrace,
+and presses him to its bosom. While Master Alex faces the screaming presence overhead, Inky steps
+over to where Marvelo is slumped against the wall. Working quickly, they
+wipe the blood on the agent’s face with a clean kerchief and antiseptic,
+then gently realign the shattered jaw, wrapping bandages around his head
+to hold it in place. They pull a blanket laying on the ground nearby
+over his body before getting to their feet again. At the mention of Neddas, they tense minutely before turning away to
+stand in a corner, gloved hands in their coat pockets, a quiet witness
+to the ensuing confrontation. Inky continues to patch up Marvelo and watches as the nightmare
+chooses its new vessel. Flesh and bone start to materialize around Alex as the Nyxmaer tries
+to encase him in its ribcage and grow a new body. The creature starts to take shape, but falters at the threshold of
+creation. It appears to you as though through a smoky haze, or from the
+bottom of a murky well. Something is holding it back from
+materializing. It thrashes and redoubles its efforts, desperate to be born. Alex
+stands still in the eye of its storm. You see the Nyxmaer’s tiny face
+take shape in the small cyclone. It roars as Alex lifts the amulet, and
+fires his pistol. The demon’s pinched face wails as the wind no longer presses in on
+Alex from all sides but is suddenly yanked toward him. The
+struggling body collapses and folds in on itself. The wind goes out of
+the room as the amulet inhales the Nyxmaer and all its fury. And then all is quiet. Marvelo looks up at Inky and whimpers. A heavy paper envelope, disturbed by the wind, settles to the ground.
+It was torn open in the commotion, and two tickets spill out: “The
+bearer of this ticket is entitled to an all expenses paid trip to the
+moon.” It is signed by Blavin Blandfoot and bears the seal of the
+Benefactor. WHAT DO YOU DO I don’t know what I’m going to put here, but I didn’t want this
document to just abruptly end. So here you go: a kind farewell and a
diff --git a/www/rss.xml b/www/rss.xml
index 8d926a3..fa3987c 100644
--- a/www/rss.xml
+++ b/www/rss.xml
@@ -297,123 +297,97 @@ And Fortune said it shou'd be you. Puu."
The fingertips of the Nyxmaer graze the eye and an eldritch
+ wind begins to howl inside the fish market. It whips around and around inside the ritual circle,
+ flipping blankets and tossing pillows. The dreamers also toss
+ and turn in their sleep, but still do not wake. The foul wind
+ tugs at their hair and at their clothing. The small candles around the edge of the circle go out,
+ plunging the room into near darkness. The dark flame of the
+ demon candle sputters. The wind screams as it pushes through the small smudged gap
+ in the circle and out onto the floor of the market. It coils
+ around Rind’s feet and teases at the hem of the child’s dress.
+ It ruffles the duck’s feathers. The fingertips flick over the eye, caress it, draw it
+ close. And finally its fist closes tightly around it. The last candle goes out, plunging the room into darkness.
+ The wind and the sirens stop all at once, and in the silence
+ all that can be heard is the steady rain outside. “Greetings, Great One.” Inky bows, back parallel to the
- ground while they stand on the branch, now a humanoid child in
- a black uniform and matching bookbag hanging under one arm.
- The banana boat is nowhere in sight. Fuko follows her errant
- charge and the cloaked figure from a nearby branch. “This lowly one wonders if they may be permitted to seek
- the Great Spirit’s insight, whose wisdom endures before and
- beyond.” Inky begins, staring down the blurry reflection of
- silver boughs overhead on the polished toes of their black
- shoes. They notice idly they do not see themselves in the
- reflection. Straightening from the bow, they look up at the figure and
- hold out a plate of taiyaki. After a moment, the child asks
- haltingly, “There may come a day when this one will be asked
- to choose between the chance to protect many and that which
- they desire to protect most. Should this one choose equally?
- Will the choice matter if both paths eventually lead to
- destruction? Could destruction and salvation be two sides of
- the same coin?” “Look Trine or not, I need a little more than this. I ain’t
+ nobodies errand boy, and insofar as I can tell either the Gods
+ are dead, or they haven’t given a rats ass about me or anyone
+ else. What’s more, you’re claiming to be some sort of
+ divinity, yet you can only manifest here amongst my
+ nightmares, the same ones I learned years ago to shut out. You
+ never forget the face of your first mark, but what they don’t
+ tell you is it doesn’t have to haunt you either.” Alex looks
+ directly at the apparition. “But I’m reasonable too. Give me some proof you say what
+ you are. You say you have power to share? Well power I need. I
+ have people to protect, and an unclue to rescue. I’ll be
+ damned if I let anything happen to them. Yet here I am, stuck
+ in this god firsaken place chittering away with my own
+ subconcious getting attacked by freaking mushrooms
+ people.” “Just give it to me straight Neddas, what assistance are
+ you offering, and what must I give in return? If you an
+ guarantee me a way to protect those close to me, I don’t give
+ a rats ass about the rest.” You and the Dude are sitting in small upholstered chairs,
- across a small half table from each other. There is a large
- sticky bun on a white lacy doily on the table. Next to you is
- a small portal-sized window, and outside you can see green
- rolling hills and small copses of trees fly by. The other
- seats on the small train car are all empty. The two of you are
- alone. “I cannot give you advice,” the Dude says. “But I can offer
- you experience.” They raise a hand and hold a loosely closed fist out over
- the table. The walls of the train become fuzzy and blurry,
- then translucent, and finally transparent. They disappear and
- you have the sensation of rocketing through space at dizzying
- speeds. The track splits ahead you. To one side, bound to one track
- is that which you desire to protect most. Bound to the other
- are the many. “You can choose safely here. It’s just a dream, after all.”
- The Dude opens their fist. The Twenty-one Fiver coin rests in
- their palm. “Heads, you steer the train into the many, sparing
- that which you love most. Tails, the opposite. You spare the
- many, and sacrifice that which you hold dear.” They hold the
- coin out to you. The train barrels toward the fork. “But choose quickly,
- lest the choice be made for you.” Neddas silently holds your gaze for a long moment. “What you ask of me is fair, since I am asking so much of
+ you.” They hold out their hands and present you with a stone
+ amulet. It slightly resembles the Ginnarak Crystals. Much
+ smaller. And more almond shaped than melon shaped. But it is
+ the same shade of blue, with the same veins of slightly
+ pulsating gold throughout. It hangs from a fine chain of small
+ silver links. “As long as this stone is in your possession, you will find
+ you have the courage to do what you think is right. Be aware
+ that it is a piece of me. And those who know about it will try
+ to take it from you.” In the distance you can hear alarms and terrible moans
+ carried on a howling wind. ~ Corraidhín impatiently flips over the first three tumbrot
+ cards in front of Inky: A tall man looks from a battlemented roof over sea and
+ shore; he holds a globe in his right hand, while a staff in
+ his left rests on the battlement; another is fixed in a ring.
+ The Rose and Cross and Lily should be noticed on the left
+ side. Strange chalices of vision, but the images are more
+ especially those of the fantastic spirit. A ferryman carrying passengers in his punt to the
+ further shore. The course is smooth, and seeing that the
+ freight is light, it may be noted that the work is not beyond
+ his strength. Felixe the Cat passes the two six-sided tumbrot dice to
+ Inky and recites a small pome for the inkling: Alex scrambles from the wreckage of his mech, or what
- remained from the gore portal he’d just experienced. The
- thought of what had occurred made him grimace, which was an
- unusual state of affairs for an octopus, that is until Alex
- realized he seemed to be back in his own body. “Sunset, or perhaps rise? It’s hard to tell. Pretty
- though.. could be prettier without the creepy knife dude.”
- Alex mutters to himself while he rummages through the
- destroyed cockpit of the mech. He makes quick work, detaches a
- side panel, pulls a couple of wires, and a compartment in the
- back opens revealing the smooth dark blue metal and wood grain
- of an ak74u sub machine gun. Amused Alex pulls the weapon from
- the compartment and notices a distinct lack of additional
- magazines, just the one large drum attached to the weapon with
- large red letters emblazoned on it [INFINITE AMMO].
- “Neat.” Alex pulls himself from the wreck, and jumps down behind
- one of the fallen tentacles taking a firing position behind
- cover, ak74u aimed down range at the faceless figure. “I don’t know who you are, but I don’t trust anyone who
- approaches with a weapon. Let’s both stand down and talk this
- through! I’m not supposed to be here, and I reckon you don’t
- want me here either. I’d be happy to oblige and skidaddle if
- you’d be so kind as to point the way out!” Alex pauses waiting
- for a reply. The tall figure halts a short distance away. It raises a
- hand and waves. In greeting? Surrender? In a fluid motion it
- continues to lift the same hand and grabs a hold of its trunk,
- a little less than a foot from the tip. It squeezes its fist
- tightly and the tip begins to swell. It raises its other hand,
- and the knife, and starts to saw into the flesh of the trunk
- behind its fist. The blade cuts cleanly as though through a
- loaf of bread. There is no blood or gore. When the creature lowers its hand, you can see that the
- center of the trunk is a solid, bright pink fleshy material
- like a grapefruit, in the center of which are two pin-prick
- eyes and a wide thin gash of a mouth. It still holds the tip of its severed trunk in its hand, a
- thin stalk and a bulging cap looking for all the world like a
- large white button mushroom. Peering up from the stem of the
- mushroom, an identical pink face regards you stoically. Both faces speak at the exact same time, one high pitched
- and one a deep baritone. “Welcome, Dreamer, to Ousia, the Sea
- of Dreams. We are Kasutva.” Big Kasutva stoops down to set the small mushroom Kasutva
- down on the ground. If they’re both Kasutva, that is. If
- that’s the way their biology and sense of self actually works.
- Mushroom Kasutva wobbles side to side a little bit and waggles
- its stalk as it looks around. Big Kasutva places its knife
- back in its satchel and takes a few small steps closer to
- you. “We did not mean to offend you,” the two say, still
- perfectly in sync. “As for the way out, that depends only
- somewhat on your destination. Whatever the answer, we can
- assure you that it lies across the sea.” Large Kasutva
- gestures broadly toward the expanse of ocean. Small Kasutva
- lacks any limbs and cannot gesture, but smiles softly at
- you. “But tell us what it is you seek. Perhaps we can be of
- help.” WHAT DO YOU DO You can suddenly hear an ominous wind whistling outside the
+ club and battering at the windows. “Well?” Balvin prompts. “What do you do?” The fingertips of the Nyxmaer graze the eye and an eldritch
- wind begins to howl inside the fish market. It whips around and around inside the ritual circle,
- flipping blankets and tossing pillows. The dreamers also toss
- and turn in their sleep, but still do not wake. The foul wind
- tugs at their hair and at their clothing. The small candles around the edge of the circle go out,
- plunging the room into near darkness. The dark flame of the
- demon candle sputters. The wind screams as it pushes through the small smudged gap
- in the circle and out onto the floor of the market. It coils
- around Rind’s feet and teases at the hem of the child’s dress.
- It ruffles the duck’s feathers. The fingertips flick over the eye, caress it, draw it
- close. And finally its fist closes tightly around it. The last candle goes out, plunging the room into darkness.
- The wind and the sirens stop all at once, and in the silence
- all that can be heard is the steady rain outside. “Look Trine or not, I need a little more than this. I ain’t
- nobodies errand boy, and insofar as I can tell either the Gods
- are dead, or they haven’t given a rats ass about me or anyone
- else. What’s more, you’re claiming to be some sort of
- divinity, yet you can only manifest here amongst my
- nightmares, the same ones I learned years ago to shut out. You
- never forget the face of your first mark, but what they don’t
- tell you is it doesn’t have to haunt you either.” Alex looks
- directly at the apparition. “But I’m reasonable too. Give me some proof you say what
- you are. You say you have power to share? Well power I need. I
- have people to protect, and an unclue to rescue. I’ll be
- damned if I let anything happen to them. Yet here I am, stuck
- in this god firsaken place chittering away with my own
- subconcious getting attacked by freaking mushrooms
- people.” “Just give it to me straight Neddas, what assistance are
- you offering, and what must I give in return? If you an
- guarantee me a way to protect those close to me, I don’t give
- a rats ass about the rest.” Neddas silently holds your gaze for a long moment. “What you ask of me is fair, since I am asking so much of
- you.” They hold out their hands and present you with a stone
- amulet. It slightly resembles the Ginnarak Crystals. Much
- smaller. And more almond shaped than melon shaped. But it is
- the same shade of blue, with the same veins of slightly
- pulsating gold throughout. It hangs from a fine chain of small
- silver links. “As long as this stone is in your possession, you will find
- you have the courage to do what you think is right. Be aware
- that it is a piece of me. And those who know about it will try
- to take it from you.” In the distance you can hear alarms and terrible moans
- carried on a howling wind. ~ Corraidhín impatiently flips over the first three tumbrot
- cards in front of Inky: A tall man looks from a battlemented roof over sea and
- shore; he holds a globe in his right hand, while a staff in
- his left rests on the battlement; another is fixed in a ring.
- The Rose and Cross and Lily should be noticed on the left
- side. Strange chalices of vision, but the images are more
- especially those of the fantastic spirit. A ferryman carrying passengers in his punt to the
- further shore. The course is smooth, and seeing that the
- freight is light, it may be noted that the work is not beyond
- his strength. Felixe the Cat passes the two six-sided tumbrot dice to
- Inky and recites a small pome for the inkling: You can suddenly hear an ominous wind whistling outside the
- club and battering at the windows. “Well?” Balvin prompts. “What do you do?” Inky offers the cat person a bemused half-smile, then turns
+ to the sysorcerer. “We hope you are well. Young Master Alex
+ has been searching for you. He had planned on coming, but had
+ to attend to an urgent matter on short notice.” A pause, then Inky slides an open envelope — a plain affair
+ with a grid of tiny blue dots, and a single sheet of a similar
+ pattern inside — across the table towards the wizard. They
+ continue, “If there is anything you wish to tell him, you can
+ write it in a language only you two understand and seal the
+ envelope. This one will do their best to pass on the message.”
+ They wave another identical envelope, indicating the message
+ will be copied once sealed before pocketing it again. “If you do decide to write, please do it promptly. This one
+ will be departing shortly, and the envelope in front of you
+ will disappear,” they inform the sysorcerer with an apologetic
+ look and a tinge of sadness. To the self-proclaimed double agent, Inky replies, “Thanks
+ for the information. Master Alex will be positively ecstatic
+ with the news.” They send the hobbit a lopsided smile.
+ “Nevertheless, you will understand if the party would like to
+ consider your proposal further before providing an answer.
+ Haste makes waste, as proverbs say. Perhaps your pirate
+ captain would agree. My condolences.” Ignoring the proffered dice, Inky bids the group at the
+ table good evening and exits the club by the same route with
+ which they had entered, trying to stave off the growing unease
+ at the back of their mind. ~ Three corridors later, one with a high vaulted ceiling away
+ from the din of the gambling club, Inky slows their brisk trot
+ and hands Fuko the envelope. The owl grips the item, dives
+ down and drops it onto the thick carpet. She places the back
+ of one feet lightly over a corner of the envelope, deftly
+ slicing open the top layer along one edge with a claw. Working
+ quickly, she pulls out the contents with her beak, smoothing
+ out the sheet with a brush of her wings. Next, she flies in a
+ slow circle above the papers a few times before descending
+ again upon the papers and dragging them into a cake tin.
+ Finally, the bird pops the lid over the container, where the
+ paper within turns into dry compost. “It’s confidential. Please do not decode.” Inky says as a
+ reminder from their spot near the end of the corridor. Fuko levels an unimpressed look at her companion, as if to
+ say, Yes, for the twenty-fourth time. Inky smiles
+ back at her and asks, “Is your boss satisfied now?”
+ The smile widens briefly at the indignant screech and clicks
+ in response, then vanish as the events of the past few moments
+ caught up to them again. Here in a hallway brightly lit by
+ glow lamps away from any windows, the howling winds are a
+ distant echo, but it did not stop Inky from wondering. It had been a risk, dallying around longer to give the
+ elder wizard time to say his piece in writing. No one could
+ have missed the disappointment written clearly on his face
+ when he realised his nephew hadn’t come. Now, from Fuko’s
+ sparse recount of what their tails had found, the candle had
+ burned down, releasing something somewhere, yet none of the
+ others had woken up. It would appear that Master Alex had not
+ left the Dreaming at all, but was in another area doing
+ Neddas-only-knows-what. They stare up at the large central chandelier in the next
+ room with thousands of crystal beads that gleam like tiny
+ droplets suspended in the air. Orange shirt and blue shorts
+ have since been replaced with a red brimmed hat and blue
+ duffel coat, the drawstring pouch tied below the collar, and
+ running shoes with red rain boots. The mess of ginger hair is
+ trimmed to a caramel crop. When the owl settles again on their shoulder, stirring Inky
+ from their thoughts, they collect the cake tin, remove the lid
+ and look inside. From a pocket of their coat, they pull out
+ three seeds and nudge them with two fingers into the soil.
+ Descending a flight of stairs, Inky sets the dousojin, grown
+ to the size of a boulder, and the tin on a side table. They
+ pour seaweed tea into the tin from a glass bottle, then refill
+ the bottle with small fish-shaped crackers, corking and
+ placing it beside the tin. “Thank you, Great Spirit. This useless one will take their
+ leave now, and apologises if they have accidentally ‘left the
+ door open’ for something to blow in that should not be here.”
+ Inky says. They turn to the great horned owl. “Impeccable as ever,
+ both of you. Thanks for coming along tonight. You may go,
+ Fuko. When you wake yourself or with Futa’s help, please get
+ into the carrier as quickly as you can, activate the
+ connection and leave immediately. Sever it as soon as you
+ arrive safely. Forget about pulling off the patch under my
+ forearm, it can be delivered later, or he can have the body
+ sent over eventually. Leave and don’t look back.” Then, more
+ airily, “Should we meet again, Inky the Insolent shall bring
+ you a large ‘rat at two eels’. How’s that for a handsome
+ reward?” ~ Alex takes the amulet solemnly “Alright, now that’s
+ something I can believe in.” he says as he turns the locket
+ over in his hand. The golden veins shimmer and pulse inside of
+ the pale blue. Alex dons the necklace, noting that the stone
+ is warm, almost exactly body temperature. “Alright Neddas,
+ you’ve got yourself a deal. I’ll finish assembling the
+ crystals, we’ll haul you back out to Basementaria. And it
+ sounds like we’re cracking a few eggs along the way thanks to
+ this”. The howling interrupts, growing louder, becoming a
+ cacaphony of tormented banshee wails. The gray expanse of sand
+ fills with a vile wind, a thick almost physical wall of dark
+ black smog closes in. Neddas, is nowhere to be found. Alex dips down and scoops up the little Katsuva, tucking
+ him into the ruck sack at his side. “Hang tight little guy, I
+ think the ride out of here’s going to get bumpy..” In a single swift motion Alex pulls back the bolt on his
+ AK74u and levels it at the smog, letting loose a sustained
+ volley of gunfire. Bullets whiz with a defeaning RATATATAT.
+ While laying down suppressing fire, he pulls the little
+ console back up to his side with a short wave of the hand. A
+ single command is all he needs here. When Alex pulls up his terminal he sees a notification
+ blinking in the corner of the screen. A message from
+ Corraidhín? The howling wind abruptly stops and the smog quickly
+ dissipates. ~ In the fish market, Alex and Inky both wake with a start,
+ gasping for breath as though drowning. It is dark. The lights are all out but it looks as through
+ Marvelo has dropped some flairs on the ground. They fill the
+ room with an eerie, crackling red glow. It is not quiet. The antiques dealer / spymaster has a
+ couple of cords of rope and a couple loose blankets coiled
+ around his arms and legs. He is shaking them off while
+ screaming obscenities and repeatedly firing a blaster pistol
+ at a large, roaring abomination standing in the center of the
+ room. The nightmare has an almost fetal-looking head with a long,
+ bulbous skull that looks far too large for its body. A single
+ eye glares malevolently from the center of its small face.
+ Oily feathers drip from a thin, sagging membrane that runs
+ from wrist to ankle. Its leathery skin cracks and oozes from
+ repeated shots to the torso from Marvelo’s blaster, but it
+ seems unbothered by the attack. It screeches and lunges forward and swings one massive arm
+ at Marvelo. Its leathery, feathery wing slices through the air
+ like a billowing cape behind its claws. Marvelo jumps to the
+ side at the last moment, firing another shot right into the
+ creature’s chest while in midair, and lands on the ground. Now prone and helpless on the floor, he looks up as the
+ beast looms over him. It screeches and falls on top of him,
+ shoving its slender hands into his mouth. Marvelo’s muffled
+ screams become pitiful whimpers as the creature pulls out
+ teeth by the handful and crams them into its own mouth. WHAT DO YOU DO? Inky offers the cat person a bemused half-smile, then turns
- to the sysorcerer. “We hope you are well. Young Master Alex
- has been searching for you. He had planned on coming, but had
- to attend to an urgent matter on short notice.” A pause, then Inky slides an open envelope — a plain affair
- with a grid of tiny blue dots, and a single sheet of a similar
- pattern inside — across the table towards the wizard. They
- continue, “If there is anything you wish to tell him, you can
- write it in a language only you two understand and seal the
- envelope. This one will do their best to pass on the message.”
- They wave another identical envelope, indicating the message
- will be copied once sealed before pocketing it again. “If you do decide to write, please do it promptly. This one
- will be departing shortly, and the envelope in front of you
- will disappear,” they inform the sysorcerer with an apologetic
- look and a tinge of sadness. To the self-proclaimed double agent, Inky replies, “Thanks
- for the information. Master Alex will be positively ecstatic
- with the news.” They send the hobbit a lopsided smile.
- “Nevertheless, you will understand if the party would like to
- consider your proposal further before providing an answer.
- Haste makes waste, as proverbs say. Perhaps your pirate
- captain would agree. My condolences.” Ignoring the proffered dice, Inky bids the group at the
- table good evening and exits the club by the same route with
- which they had entered, trying to stave off the growing unease
- at the back of their mind. ~ Three corridors later, one with a high vaulted ceiling away
- from the din of the gambling club, Inky slows their brisk trot
- and hands Fuko the envelope. The owl grips the item, dives
- down and drops it onto the thick carpet. She places the back
- of one feet lightly over a corner of the envelope, deftly
- slicing open the top layer along one edge with a claw. Working
- quickly, she pulls out the contents with her beak, smoothing
- out the sheet with a brush of her wings. Next, she flies in a
- slow circle above the papers a few times before descending
- again upon the papers and dragging them into a cake tin.
- Finally, the bird pops the lid over the container, where the
- paper within turns into dry compost. “It’s confidential. Please do not decode.” Inky says as a
- reminder from their spot near the end of the corridor. Fuko levels an unimpressed look at her companion, as if to
- say, Yes, for the twenty-fourth time. Inky smiles
- back at her and asks, “Is your boss satisfied now?”
- The smile widens briefly at the indignant screech and clicks
- in response, then vanish as the events of the past few moments
- caught up to them again. Here in a hallway brightly lit by
- glow lamps away from any windows, the howling winds are a
- distant echo, but it did not stop Inky from wondering. It had been a risk, dallying around longer to give the
- elder wizard time to say his piece in writing. No one could
- have missed the disappointment written clearly on his face
- when he realised his nephew hadn’t come. Now, from Fuko’s
- sparse recount of what their tails had found, the candle had
- burned down, releasing something somewhere, yet none of the
- others had woken up. It would appear that Master Alex had not
- left the Dreaming at all, but was in another area doing
- Neddas-only-knows-what. They stare up at the large central chandelier in the next
- room with thousands of crystal beads that gleam like tiny
- droplets suspended in the air. Orange shirt and blue shorts
- have since been replaced with a red brimmed hat and blue
- duffel coat, the drawstring pouch tied below the collar, and
- running shoes with red rain boots. The mess of ginger hair is
- trimmed to a caramel crop. When the owl settles again on their shoulder, stirring Inky
- from their thoughts, they collect the cake tin, remove the lid
- and look inside. From a pocket of their coat, they pull out
- three seeds and nudge them with two fingers into the soil.
- Descending a flight of stairs, Inky sets the dousojin, grown
- to the size of a boulder, and the tin on a side table. They
- pour seaweed tea into the tin from a glass bottle, then refill
- the bottle with small fish-shaped crackers, corking and
- placing it beside the tin. “Thank you, Great Spirit. This useless one will take their
- leave now, and apologises if they have accidentally ‘left the
- door open’ for something to blow in that should not be here.”
- Inky says. They turn to the great horned owl. “Impeccable as ever,
- both of you. Thanks for coming along tonight. You may go,
- Fuko. When you wake yourself or with Futa’s help, please get
- into the carrier as quickly as you can, activate the
- connection and leave immediately. Sever it as soon as you
- arrive safely. Forget about pulling off the patch under my
- forearm, it can be delivered later, or he can have the body
- sent over eventually. Leave and don’t look back.” Then, more
- airily, “Should we meet again, Inky the Insolent shall bring
- you a large ‘rat at two eels’. How’s that for a handsome
- reward?” “Greetings, Great One.” Inky bows, back parallel to the
+ ground while they stand on the branch, now a humanoid child in
+ a black uniform and matching bookbag hanging under one arm.
+ The banana boat is nowhere in sight. Fuko follows her errant
+ charge and the cloaked figure from a nearby branch. “This lowly one wonders if they may be permitted to seek
+ the Great Spirit’s insight, whose wisdom endures before and
+ beyond.” Inky begins, staring down the blurry reflection of
+ silver boughs overhead on the polished toes of their black
+ shoes. They notice idly they do not see themselves in the
+ reflection. Straightening from the bow, they look up at the figure and
+ hold out a plate of taiyaki. After a moment, the child asks
+ haltingly, “There may come a day when this one will be asked
+ to choose between the chance to protect many and that which
+ they desire to protect most. Should this one choose equally?
+ Will the choice matter if both paths eventually lead to
+ destruction? Could destruction and salvation be two sides of
+ the same coin?” ~ You and the Dude are sitting in small upholstered chairs,
+ across a small half table from each other. There is a large
+ sticky bun on a white lacy doily on the table. Next to you is
+ a small portal-sized window, and outside you can see green
+ rolling hills and small copses of trees fly by. The other
+ seats on the small train car are all empty. The two of you are
+ alone. “I cannot give you advice,” the Dude says. “But I can offer
+ you experience.” They raise a hand and hold a loosely closed fist out over
+ the table. The walls of the train become fuzzy and blurry,
+ then translucent, and finally transparent. They disappear and
+ you have the sensation of rocketing through space at dizzying
+ speeds. The track splits ahead you. To one side, bound to one track
+ is that which you desire to protect most. Bound to the other
+ are the many. “You can choose safely here. It’s just a dream, after all.”
+ The Dude opens their fist. The Twenty-one Fiver coin rests in
+ their palm. “Heads, you steer the train into the many, sparing
+ that which you love most. Tails, the opposite. You spare the
+ many, and sacrifice that which you hold dear.” They hold the
+ coin out to you. The train barrels toward the fork. “But choose quickly,
+ lest the choice be made for you.” Alex takes the amulet solemnly “Alright, now that’s
- something I can believe in.” he says as he turns the locket
- over in his hand. The golden veins shimmer and pulse inside of
- the pale blue. Alex dons the necklace, noting that the stone
- is warm, almost exactly body temperature. “Alright Neddas,
- you’ve got yourself a deal. I’ll finish assembling the
- crystals, we’ll haul you back out to Basementaria. And it
- sounds like we’re cracking a few eggs along the way thanks to
- this”. The howling interrupts, growing louder, becoming a
- cacaphony of tormented banshee wails. The gray expanse of sand
- fills with a vile wind, a thick almost physical wall of dark
- black smog closes in. Neddas, is nowhere to be found. Alex dips down and scoops up the little Katsuva, tucking
- him into the ruck sack at his side. “Hang tight little guy, I
- think the ride out of here’s going to get bumpy..” In a single swift motion Alex pulls back the bolt on his
- AK74u and levels it at the smog, letting loose a sustained
- volley of gunfire. Bullets whiz with a defeaning RATATATAT.
- While laying down suppressing fire, he pulls the little
- console back up to his side with a short wave of the hand. A
- single command is all he needs here. Alex scrambles from the wreckage of his mech, or what
+ remained from the gore portal he’d just experienced. The
+ thought of what had occurred made him grimace, which was an
+ unusual state of affairs for an octopus, that is until Alex
+ realized he seemed to be back in his own body. “Sunset, or perhaps rise? It’s hard to tell. Pretty
+ though.. could be prettier without the creepy knife dude.”
+ Alex mutters to himself while he rummages through the
+ destroyed cockpit of the mech. He makes quick work, detaches a
+ side panel, pulls a couple of wires, and a compartment in the
+ back opens revealing the smooth dark blue metal and wood grain
+ of an ak74u sub machine gun. Amused Alex pulls the weapon from
+ the compartment and notices a distinct lack of additional
+ magazines, just the one large drum attached to the weapon with
+ large red letters emblazoned on it [INFINITE AMMO].
+ “Neat.” Alex pulls himself from the wreck, and jumps down behind
+ one of the fallen tentacles taking a firing position behind
+ cover, ak74u aimed down range at the faceless figure. “I don’t know who you are, but I don’t trust anyone who
+ approaches with a weapon. Let’s both stand down and talk this
+ through! I’m not supposed to be here, and I reckon you don’t
+ want me here either. I’d be happy to oblige and skidaddle if
+ you’d be so kind as to point the way out!” Alex pauses waiting
+ for a reply. When Alex pulls up his terminal he sees a notification
- blinking in the corner of the screen. A message from
- Corraidhín? The howling wind abruptly stops and the smog quickly
- dissipates. ~ In the fish market, Alex and Inky both wake with a start,
- gasping for breath as though drowning. It is dark. The lights are all out but it looks as through
- Marvelo has dropped some flairs on the ground. They fill the
- room with an eerie, crackling red glow. It is not quiet. The antiques dealer / spymaster has a
- couple of cords of rope and a couple loose blankets coiled
- around his arms and legs. He is shaking them off while
- screaming obscenities and repeatedly firing a blaster pistol
- at a large, roaring abomination standing in the center of the
- room. The nightmare has an almost fetal-looking head with a long,
- bulbous skull that looks far too large for its body. A single
- eye glares malevolently from the center of its small face.
- Oily feathers drip from a thin, sagging membrane that runs
- from wrist to ankle. Its leathery skin cracks and oozes from
- repeated shots to the torso from Marvelo’s blaster, but it
- seems unbothered by the attack. It screeches and lunges forward and swings one massive arm
- at Marvelo. Its leathery, feathery wing slices through the air
- like a billowing cape behind its claws. Marvelo jumps to the
- side at the last moment, firing another shot right into the
- creature’s chest while in midair, and lands on the ground. Now prone and helpless on the floor, he looks up as the
- beast looms over him. It screeches and falls on top of him,
- shoving its slender hands into his mouth. Marvelo’s muffled
- screams become pitiful whimpers as the creature pulls out
- teeth by the handful and crams them into its own mouth. WHAT DO YOU DO? Alex the Octopus and Inky the Noogle stand on a tree branch
- as wide a street in the heart of the great white upside-down
- forest. A cry of anguish and anger echoes through the forest, and
- the branches below you sway and rustle as something rises up
- from the depths. You keep catching a glimpse of scarlet
- between the silvery white leaves. The large black ravens perched below you scream in
- agitation and fly up past you to the thicker branches up
- above, where they hop side to side and loudly scold and
- protest the disturbance. A single black feather the length of
- your hand settles to the ground at your feet, knocked loose
- during their flight. You finally see the fearsome beast crashing through the
- branches below you. Its crazed, yellow eyes as large and round
- as dinner plates, a great eight-legged rodent leaps from
- branch to branch as it swiftly ascends. It is a bloody,
- crimson red. Its long tufted ears lay flat against its
- elongated, grinning skull. Its ribbon-like tail twitches as it
- trails along behind it like a river of blood. It cries out
- again in anger, showing its overgrown incisors, and grinds and
- gnashes its back teeth. Its eyes bore into you with wild fury and blind madness as
- it climbs. “She’s not herself,” sighs the chipmunk, suddenly at your
- side once more. When you look down at the chipmunk, however,
- it has suddenly turned into a small featureless black turtle
- with a sticky sweet roll instead of a shell. Its smooth little
- head pokes timidly out of the roll. “The Red Squirrel,” laments the turtle. “She’s being ridden
- by a ghost. An angry ghost who isn’t from here. Somebody left
- the door open, and it blew in on the breeze.” The turtle’s
- voice trails off until its final words are barely a
- whisper. You can still feel two currents tugging at you and trying
- to pull you under. One inward toward your host’s deep, core
- memories. And the second pulling you outward toward the Sea of
- Dreams. You have but a moment before the Red Squirrel is upon
+ The tall figure halts a short distance away. It raises a
+ hand and waves. In greeting? Surrender? In a fluid motion it
+ continues to lift the same hand and grabs a hold of its trunk,
+ a little less than a foot from the tip. It squeezes its fist
+ tightly and the tip begins to swell. It raises its other hand,
+ and the knife, and starts to saw into the flesh of the trunk
+ behind its fist. The blade cuts cleanly as though through a
+ loaf of bread. There is no blood or gore. When the creature lowers its hand, you can see that the
+ center of the trunk is a solid, bright pink fleshy material
+ like a grapefruit, in the center of which are two pin-prick
+ eyes and a wide thin gash of a mouth. It still holds the tip of its severed trunk in its hand, a
+ thin stalk and a bulging cap looking for all the world like a
+ large white button mushroom. Peering up from the stem of the
+ mushroom, an identical pink face regards you stoically. Both faces speak at the exact same time, one high pitched
+ and one a deep baritone. “Welcome, Dreamer, to Ousia, the Sea
+ of Dreams. We are Kasutva.” Big Kasutva stoops down to set the small mushroom Kasutva
+ down on the ground. If they’re both Kasutva, that is. If
+ that’s the way their biology and sense of self actually works.
+ Mushroom Kasutva wobbles side to side a little bit and waggles
+ its stalk as it looks around. Big Kasutva places its knife
+ back in its satchel and takes a few small steps closer to
you. WHAT DO YOU DO Alex takes inventory of himself, this dream world is
- definitely strange, but fortunately its decided to provide him
- with his impecable fashion, trench coat and all. Unfortunately
- the same can’t be said for his roguish good looks, as he’s
- found himself 6 arms heavier, and a bit more octopus-y than he
- remembers. Nontheless this doesn’t appear to be much of an impediment,
- and he promptly moves on with assessing the situation. “Acorns? No, I don’t think so. I’m afraid octopus’ are
- terrible at fetching acrons, and at any rate, I have a
- dreadfully important meeting across town.” turning to address
- Inky, “We need to make a break for it, what’d the witch tell
- you? Envision our goal or something? This is really a little
- outside of my realm of mechanical magic expertise..
- unless..” Alex makes a gesture with his tentacles in the area and a
- terminal prompt appears before him. His tentacles work at
- blinding speed at the digital window, a quick bypass there, a
- root access escalation there. “Looks like this whole place runs on Linux, it’s an older
- kernel, about 2.6 or so, but it checks out. Easy to exploit as
- needed. Here I’m giving us sudo access, should we need
- it.” “Oh and squirrel, here’s your acorns” It takes Alectopus a couple tries, but he gets it. First he
- corrects ‘acron’ to ‘acorn’. Then he moves all the acorns to
- the chipmunk instead of to the squirrel. Hundreds of acorns appear at the chipmunk’s feet. It
- squeals in delight. In the distance, far below you, you hear the anguished yell
- of what can only be a Red Squirrel whose giant stash of acorns
- has just vanished. The chipmunk rubs its hands together gleefully and starts
- scooping up acorns by the armful and shoving them into its
- mouth by the dozen. “Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” it
- says around a mouthful of nuts. “Here…” It tosses you a large
- square silver coin with a round hole drilled in the center. On
- one side is the number twenty-one next to a picture of a
- curved, short-handled sickle. On the other side is the number
- five and a picture of a flail. “A Twenty-One Fiver! Sorry, you deserve more, but it’s all
- I have,” it apologizes as it scampers off, no doubt to hide
- its nuts. Hopefully somewhere more secure this time. If you hold the coin up to your eye and peer through the
- hole, you see the dreamscape before you as though looking
- through a cloudy film. All the same stuff is there, but it’s
- hazy and shadowy. Standing a fair distance from you on the branch, just out
- of hailing distance, is a tall figure cloaked in black robes.
- Dark shadows pool restlessly around its feet. Occasionally the
- shadows leap up and take the form of demons the like of which
- words cannot describe, before falling and returning to shadow
- once more. The figure wears a large spherical helmet of
- obsidian-like glass. You can see constant flashes of a rainbow
- of colors crackle and splinter along the inside of the helmet
- like lightning, but illuminating nothing within. You feel
- sickened at the sight, but at the edge of your mind you feels
- a tug, a familiarity. Something about this character is
- familiar to you, but you cannot place it. When you lower the coin, the figure and the dark landscape
- both disappear. When you raise it again, the distorted
- landscape reappears but the figure is gone. You notice a pair of large ravens watching you rather
- intently from the branches below. “We did not mean to offend you,” the two say, still
+ perfectly in sync. “As for the way out, that depends only
+ somewhat on your destination. Whatever the answer, we can
+ assure you that it lies across the sea.” Large Kasutva
+ gestures broadly toward the expanse of ocean. Small Kasutva
+ lacks any limbs and cannot gesture, but smiles softly at
+ you. “But tell us what it is you seek. Perhaps we can be of
+ help.” WHAT DO YOU DO Alex the Octopus and Inky the Noogle stand on a tree branch
+ as wide a street in the heart of the great white upside-down
+ forest. A cry of anguish and anger echoes through the forest, and
+ the branches below you sway and rustle as something rises up
+ from the depths. You keep catching a glimpse of scarlet
+ between the silvery white leaves. The large black ravens perched below you scream in
+ agitation and fly up past you to the thicker branches up
+ above, where they hop side to side and loudly scold and
+ protest the disturbance. A single black feather the length of
+ your hand settles to the ground at your feet, knocked loose
+ during their flight. You finally see the fearsome beast crashing through the
+ branches below you. Its crazed, yellow eyes as large and round
+ as dinner plates, a great eight-legged rodent leaps from
+ branch to branch as it swiftly ascends. It is a bloody,
+ crimson red. Its long tufted ears lay flat against its
+ elongated, grinning skull. Its ribbon-like tail twitches as it
+ trails along behind it like a river of blood. It cries out
+ again in anger, showing its overgrown incisors, and grinds and
+ gnashes its back teeth. Its eyes bore into you with wild fury and blind madness as
+ it climbs. “She’s not herself,” sighs the chipmunk, suddenly at your
+ side once more. When you look down at the chipmunk, however,
+ it has suddenly turned into a small featureless black turtle
+ with a sticky sweet roll instead of a shell. Its smooth little
+ head pokes timidly out of the roll. “The Red Squirrel,” laments the turtle. “She’s being ridden
+ by a ghost. An angry ghost who isn’t from here. Somebody left
+ the door open, and it blew in on the breeze.” The turtle’s
+ voice trails off until its final words are barely a
+ whisper. You can still feel two currents tugging at you and trying
+ to pull you under. One inward toward your host’s deep, core
+ memories. And the second pulling you outward toward the Sea of
+ Dreams. You have but a moment before the Red Squirrel is upon
+ you. WHAT DO YOU DO Marvelo fetched a fluffy blanket from the piles of blankets
- and pillows in the ritual room where the dreamers continue to
- sleep. He has wrapped up the child and is drying them off. The
- sound of rain continues to drum incessantly outside. “Poor thing, you’re chilled to the bone. Don’t worry, Uncle
- Marv will take care of you. There we go. Fix you right
- up!” The child is still and silent. It has not made a noise this
- whole time. Nor has it acted on its own to actually do
- anything besides stare up at Marvelo with wide, dark eyes. “How did you end up outside by yourself in the rain, hmm?
- No? That’s okay. What about your name? Have you got a
- name?” “Rind,” says a voice behind Marvelo. At the sound of its
- name, the child’s eyes flick over Marvelo’s shoulder. The
- mercenary starts to spin around even as the blanket writhes in
- his hands, wrapping itself around his wrists and binding them
- tightly together. “Hungh!” he cries out wordlessly and tucks into a roll,
- turning to face his assailant and—he hopes—dodging any
- potential attack from behind. And also putting some distance
- between himself and the child to get it out of harms way. Marvelo tries to push up to his knees as cords of rope
- snake their way out of the shadows and coil around his knees
- and elbows. He struggles to pull free of them. A thicker rope
- wraps around his waist, and another squeezes around his chest
- and back. The ropes contract and pull Marvelo into a ball. He
- groans and falls to his side. He looks up into the eyes of a
- man wearing a bright red sash. The child has tottled over to the man and reaches its arms
- up. The man scoops the child up and holds it in the crook of
- one arm. The child puts its arms around the man’s neck and
- looks down at Marvelo while resting its cheek on the man’s
- chest. “His name is Rind,” the man smiles. Feeling bedraggled yet dry despite having been submerged
- under water, Inky lays on the beach, staring up at the sky
- before sitting up and looking around the landscape. They are
- now attired in a hooded azure blue vest over red shirt and
- shorts, and blue shoes over mismatched knee-high stockings.
- Their auburn hair is tied back with the drawstrings from an
- attached small pouch. A plush toy resembling a certain floofy
- duck peeks out from the hood. They sense a soft weight land on one shoulder, and smile as
- Fuko nips at their ear, no doubt partly in reproach for
- wandering off again without her, and maybe partly meant to be
- reassuring. This is followed several moments later by a low
- hiss and a series of light taps next to Inky’s ear with her
- beak. Inky murmurs, “Is that so … we should call it a wrap
- soon. Master Alex would probably be happy having Big Bother to
- himself anyway, to grill as he likes.” After a very long minute, Inky sighs and taking out a piece
- of paper and pencil from their suitcase, scribbles a
- “pome”: They roll up the paper and tuck it into a small and clear
- glass bottle with a cork stopper. Murmuring the sysorcerer’s
- name to the bottle, they lower it into the water and watch as
- the bottle drifts into the distance. Walking along the shoreline and stopping a short distance
- from the lone figure, Inky says casually, “Good day, fellow
- thing-finder.” The figure turns in your direction and lowers their hood
- revealing a long, hooked, black beak and a face covered in
- black feathers. Beady black eyes regard you without
- blinking. The feathers around its throat bristle when it speaks like
- a thick bristling beard. “Greetings, Dreamer, and welcome to Ephemeris, the Heart of
- the Dreaming. What brings you to the Throne of Konsu?” Well Kasutva, I may as well trust you. I imagine if you
- meant me harm there are more direct and interesting ways to
- harm me than to misguide me. Give me a moment to collect
- myself, I’ve never been much for swimming you see, learned
- late and was always deathly afraid as a child. Dreadful stuff
- really. Alex steps away briefly to the edge of the pier and looks
- into the Azure blue ocean, a swirl of unending blue depth.
- Still not my thing, Alex mutters to himself. As he steels
- himself he notices a bottle adrift, nearing the pier. As it
- comes closer, he plucks it from the water, decorks it and
- inspects the note inside. “What does it say” the little Kasutva inquires. “Oh nothing, just someone trying to get in contact about
- our floating pirateships extended warranty” Alex replies
- bruskly. This definitely must have come from Inky Alex thinks
- to himself. They must have found the way. “Look Kasutva, this has been great fun, but I really think
- I ought to be going, not really sure that a sea of anyones
- dreams is my sort of thing and all that. And I seem ot have
- done not but create a mess of things” Alex says as he gestures
- to the wreckage of the Mech. Alex gestures in the air before
- him, a small split keyboard appears in front of him and he
- types out a few short commands. “Right!” Alex exclaims startling the little Kasutva
- accidentally. “Time for me to head back to the real world.
- Anything you need from me before I head out? Oh also, can I
- take the ak74u? I think I might need it.” “Back … back to the waking world?” Mushroom Kasutva
- stammers. “But…” It looks out at the sea with a look of longing, confusion,
- and frustration. “But we were finally going to see Ephemeris,”
- they say almost wistfully. “You were going to take us to Ephemeris!” they shout at
- you, suddenly angry. Mushroom Kasutva screws up its face and roars in rage as it
- rushes at you and tries to shove you over the edge of the pier
- into the waters below. But Kasutva is less than a foot tall and quite ineffective
- at shoving a human-sized person such as Alex. Big Kasutva, on the otherhand, is roughly twelve feet tall
- and quite capable of manhandling a human-sized person. You look up in time to jerk back out of the way as they
- swipe at your chest with their face-removing knife. It was all
- a feint though. As soon as you are slightly off balance from
- dodging their attack, they reach out with their other hand and
- give you a shove. You trip over Mushroom Kasutva, who has positioned themself
- in just such a way to best tangle up your feet. You stumble
- backwards a few steps until one of your feet steps out into
- open air. You twist and and look behind you as Ousia rises up
- to meet you. Kasutva clings to your leg as you fall, crying. “We’re
- sorry. We’re sorry,” they say over and over as you are pulled
- below the waves. WHAT DO YOU DO Marvelo fetched a fluffy blanket from the piles of blankets
+ and pillows in the ritual room where the dreamers continue to
+ sleep. He has wrapped up the child and is drying them off. The
+ sound of rain continues to drum incessantly outside. “Poor thing, you’re chilled to the bone. Don’t worry, Uncle
+ Marv will take care of you. There we go. Fix you right
+ up!” The child is still and silent. It has not made a noise this
+ whole time. Nor has it acted on its own to actually do
+ anything besides stare up at Marvelo with wide, dark eyes. “How did you end up outside by yourself in the rain, hmm?
+ No? That’s okay. What about your name? Have you got a
+ name?” “Rind,” says a voice behind Marvelo. At the sound of its
+ name, the child’s eyes flick over Marvelo’s shoulder. The
+ mercenary starts to spin around even as the blanket writhes in
+ his hands, wrapping itself around his wrists and binding them
+ tightly together. “Hungh!” he cries out wordlessly and tucks into a roll,
+ turning to face his assailant and—he hopes—dodging any
+ potential attack from behind. And also putting some distance
+ between himself and the child to get it out of harms way. Marvelo tries to push up to his knees as cords of rope
+ snake their way out of the shadows and coil around his knees
+ and elbows. He struggles to pull free of them. A thicker rope
+ wraps around his waist, and another squeezes around his chest
+ and back. The ropes contract and pull Marvelo into a ball. He
+ groans and falls to his side. He looks up into the eyes of a
+ man wearing a bright red sash. The child has tottled over to the man and reaches its arms
+ up. The man scoops the child up and holds it in the crook of
+ one arm. The child puts its arms around the man’s neck and
+ looks down at Marvelo while resting its cheek on the man’s
+ chest. “His name is Rind,” the man smiles. Feeling bedraggled yet dry despite having been submerged
+ under water, Inky lays on the beach, staring up at the sky
+ before sitting up and looking around the landscape. They are
+ now attired in a hooded azure blue vest over red shirt and
+ shorts, and blue shoes over mismatched knee-high stockings.
+ Their auburn hair is tied back with the drawstrings from an
+ attached small pouch. A plush toy resembling a certain floofy
+ duck peeks out from the hood. They sense a soft weight land on one shoulder, and smile as
+ Fuko nips at their ear, no doubt partly in reproach for
+ wandering off again without her, and maybe partly meant to be
+ reassuring. This is followed several moments later by a low
+ hiss and a series of light taps next to Inky’s ear with her
+ beak. Inky murmurs, “Is that so … we should call it a wrap
+ soon. Master Alex would probably be happy having Big Bother to
+ himself anyway, to grill as he likes.” After a very long minute, Inky sighs and taking out a piece
+ of paper and pencil from their suitcase, scribbles a
+ “pome”: They roll up the paper and tuck it into a small and clear
+ glass bottle with a cork stopper. Murmuring the sysorcerer’s
+ name to the bottle, they lower it into the water and watch as
+ the bottle drifts into the distance. Walking along the shoreline and stopping a short distance
+ from the lone figure, Inky says casually, “Good day, fellow
+ thing-finder.” The figure turns in your direction and lowers their hood
+ revealing a long, hooked, black beak and a face covered in
+ black feathers. Beady black eyes regard you without
+ blinking. The feathers around its throat bristle when it speaks like
+ a thick bristling beard. “Greetings, Dreamer, and welcome to Ephemeris, the Heart of
+ the Dreaming. What brings you to the Throne of Konsu?” Well Kasutva, I may as well trust you. I imagine if you
+ meant me harm there are more direct and interesting ways to
+ harm me than to misguide me. Give me a moment to collect
+ myself, I’ve never been much for swimming you see, learned
+ late and was always deathly afraid as a child. Dreadful stuff
+ really. Alex steps away briefly to the edge of the pier and looks
+ into the Azure blue ocean, a swirl of unending blue depth.
+ Still not my thing, Alex mutters to himself. As he steels
+ himself he notices a bottle adrift, nearing the pier. As it
+ comes closer, he plucks it from the water, decorks it and
+ inspects the note inside. “What does it say” the little Kasutva inquires. “Oh nothing, just someone trying to get in contact about
+ our floating pirateships extended warranty” Alex replies
+ bruskly. This definitely must have come from Inky Alex thinks
+ to himself. They must have found the way. “Look Kasutva, this has been great fun, but I really think
+ I ought to be going, not really sure that a sea of anyones
+ dreams is my sort of thing and all that. And I seem ot have
+ done not but create a mess of things” Alex says as he gestures
+ to the wreckage of the Mech. Alex gestures in the air before
+ him, a small split keyboard appears in front of him and he
+ types out a few short commands. “Right!” Alex exclaims startling the little Kasutva
+ accidentally. “Time for me to head back to the real world.
+ Anything you need from me before I head out? Oh also, can I
+ take the ak74u? I think I might need it.” “Back … back to the waking world?” Mushroom Kasutva
+ stammers. “But…” It looks out at the sea with a look of longing, confusion,
+ and frustration. “But we were finally going to see Ephemeris,”
+ they say almost wistfully. “You were going to take us to Ephemeris!” they shout at
+ you, suddenly angry. Mushroom Kasutva screws up its face and roars in rage as it
+ rushes at you and tries to shove you over the edge of the pier
+ into the waters below. But Kasutva is less than a foot tall and quite ineffective
+ at shoving a human-sized person such as Alex. Big Kasutva, on the otherhand, is roughly twelve feet tall
+ and quite capable of manhandling a human-sized person. You look up in time to jerk back out of the way as they
+ swipe at your chest with their face-removing knife. It was all
+ a feint though. As soon as you are slightly off balance from
+ dodging their attack, they reach out with their other hand and
+ give you a shove. You trip over Mushroom Kasutva, who has positioned themself
+ in just such a way to best tangle up your feet. You stumble
+ backwards a few steps until one of your feet steps out into
+ open air. You twist and and look behind you as Ousia rises up
+ to meet you. Kasutva clings to your leg as you fall, crying. “We’re
+ sorry. We’re sorry,” they say over and over as you are pulled
+ below the waves. WHAT DO YOU DO Neddas loves mortals. Possibly more than they love
+ themself. It’s why they’ve diminished their own divinity over
+ the eons by freely giving parts of themself away—gifting tiny
+ aspects of themself to the mortals. Part of their constant
+ delight in doing so is that even with their divine wisdom they
+ can never quite be sure what any mortal or mortals will
+ actually do with a sliver of godhood, with a divine spark.
+ Consequently they have a lot of experience with giving what
+ they thought is a perfect gift only for it to be misused, or
+ for it to backfire in some unexpected way. The Sword of Y’aml is a prime example. Justice without
+ Wisom turned out to be a cruel weapon, seeing evil everywhere
+ and smiting it on sight. And Wisdom itself proved as impotent
+ as Justice was overzealous: it became as cold and as cruel in
+ its own way, locked away in ivory towers, refusing to
+ intervene, made lame by theory and academia. So now, in this moment, Neddas watches closely to see if
+ they finally got it right. Does this mortal have not only the
+ Wisdom to know what to do, but also the Courage to do it in
+ the name of Justice? Alex rushes to Marvelo’s side and quickly begins to
+ administer medicine to him. “Sorry old friend, it’s not much
+ considering the wound, but it should help you at least stay
+ lucid” Alex says as he administers the medicine Inky gave him.
+ He takes quick stock of Marvelo’s wound, most of his teeth are
+ gone, his jaw is horribly disfigured, it’s doubtful if it’ll
+ heal properly. At best he’ll need prostethics, potentially a
+ full mechanical jaw. It is essentially a death knell in this
+ kind of work, the perfect normality Marvelo had always strove
+ for would be forever marred by his sudden abnormality. Alex
+ shakes his head, “It’s fine Marv, I’m positive we can get this
+ fixed, no worse than at wound Agent 3 took in Cosovo, remember
+ that one? Hell of a thing that” Alex grins grimly, casting a
+ glance over his shoulder. “Alright, you should be set old
+ friend, best I can do for now.” Alex hands him back his
+ blaster and sits him up against the wall, the bleeding
+ staunched, but the magled jaw not much better. Alex stands, reloads his pistol, and turns to face the
+ malevolent apparition. “I don’t know who the fuck you think you are, or what the
+ fuck you think you’re doing. But nobody, and I mean nobody,
+ messes with my agents, my friends.” Alex approaches the
+ apparition, pistol gripped in one hand, and the crystal
+ pendant Neddas gave him held tight in the other. “Alright
+ Neddas, you said you’d give me something I could protect my
+ friends with. Don’t think I believe in it much, but I’d of
+ said until about 15 minutes ago that candles don’t produce
+ macabre dentists either.” Alex stands before the apparition,
+ daring it to move, come and try me if you dare. Alex faces down the howling apparition—pistol in one hand,
+ amulet in the other—daring and defiant. The wind engulfs him, swirls around him, wraps him in its
+ embrace, and presses him to its bosom. While Master Alex faces the screaming presence overhead,
+ Inky steps over to where Marvelo is slumped against the wall.
+ Working quickly, they wipe the blood on the agent’s face with
+ a clean kerchief and antiseptic, then gently realign the
+ shattered jaw, wrapping bandages around his head to hold it in
+ place. They pull a blanket laying on the ground nearby over
+ his body before getting to their feet again. At the mention of Neddas, they tense minutely before
+ turning away to stand in a corner, gloved hands in their coat
+ pockets, a quiet witness to the ensuing confrontation. Inky continues to patch up Marvelo and watches as the
+ nightmare chooses its new vessel. Flesh and bone start to materialize around Alex as the
+ Nyxmaer tries to encase him in its ribcage and grow a new
+ body. The creature starts to take shape, but falters at the
+ threshold of creation. It appears to you as though through a
+ smoky haze, or from the bottom of a murky well. Something is
+ holding it back from materializing. It thrashes and redoubles its efforts, desperate to be
+ born. Alex stands still in the eye of its storm. You see the
+ Nyxmaer’s tiny face take shape in the small cyclone. It roars
+ as Alex lifts the amulet, and fires his pistol. The demon’s pinched face wails as the wind no longer
+ presses in on Alex from all sides but is suddenly
+ yanked toward him. The struggling body collapses and
+ folds in on itself. The wind goes out of the room as the
+ amulet inhales the Nyxmaer and all its fury. And then all is quiet. Marvelo looks up at Inky and whimpers. A heavy paper envelope, disturbed by the wind, settles to
+ the ground. It was torn open in the commotion, and two tickets
+ spill out: “The bearer of this ticket is entitled to an all
+ expenses paid trip to the moon.” It is signed by Blavin
+ Blandfoot and bears the seal of the Benefactor. WHAT DO YOU DO Alex takes inventory of himself, this dream world is
+ definitely strange, but fortunately its decided to provide him
+ with his impecable fashion, trench coat and all. Unfortunately
+ the same can’t be said for his roguish good looks, as he’s
+ found himself 6 arms heavier, and a bit more octopus-y than he
+ remembers. Nontheless this doesn’t appear to be much of an impediment,
+ and he promptly moves on with assessing the situation. “Acorns? No, I don’t think so. I’m afraid octopus’ are
+ terrible at fetching acrons, and at any rate, I have a
+ dreadfully important meeting across town.” turning to address
+ Inky, “We need to make a break for it, what’d the witch tell
+ you? Envision our goal or something? This is really a little
+ outside of my realm of mechanical magic expertise..
+ unless..” Alex makes a gesture with his tentacles in the area and a
+ terminal prompt appears before him. His tentacles work at
+ blinding speed at the digital window, a quick bypass there, a
+ root access escalation there. “Looks like this whole place runs on Linux, it’s an older
+ kernel, about 2.6 or so, but it checks out. Easy to exploit as
+ needed. Here I’m giving us sudo access, should we need
+ it.” “Oh and squirrel, here’s your acorns” It takes Alectopus a couple tries, but he gets it. First he
+ corrects ‘acron’ to ‘acorn’. Then he moves all the acorns to
+ the chipmunk instead of to the squirrel. Hundreds of acorns appear at the chipmunk’s feet. It
+ squeals in delight. In the distance, far below you, you hear the anguished yell
+ of what can only be a Red Squirrel whose giant stash of acorns
+ has just vanished. The chipmunk rubs its hands together gleefully and starts
+ scooping up acorns by the armful and shoving them into its
+ mouth by the dozen. “Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” it
+ says around a mouthful of nuts. “Here…” It tosses you a large
+ square silver coin with a round hole drilled in the center. On
+ one side is the number twenty-one next to a picture of a
+ curved, short-handled sickle. On the other side is the number
+ five and a picture of a flail. “A Twenty-One Fiver! Sorry, you deserve more, but it’s all
+ I have,” it apologizes as it scampers off, no doubt to hide
+ its nuts. Hopefully somewhere more secure this time. If you hold the coin up to your eye and peer through the
+ hole, you see the dreamscape before you as though looking
+ through a cloudy film. All the same stuff is there, but it’s
+ hazy and shadowy. Standing a fair distance from you on the branch, just out
+ of hailing distance, is a tall figure cloaked in black robes.
+ Dark shadows pool restlessly around its feet. Occasionally the
+ shadows leap up and take the form of demons the like of which
+ words cannot describe, before falling and returning to shadow
+ once more. The figure wears a large spherical helmet of
+ obsidian-like glass. You can see constant flashes of a rainbow
+ of colors crackle and splinter along the inside of the helmet
+ like lightning, but illuminating nothing within. You feel
+ sickened at the sight, but at the edge of your mind you feels
+ a tug, a familiarity. Something about this character is
+ familiar to you, but you cannot place it. When you lower the coin, the figure and the dark landscape
+ both disappear. When you raise it again, the distorted
+ landscape reappears but the figure is gone. You notice a pair of large ravens watching you rather
+ intently from the branches below. WHAT DO YOU DO00071
+
+
+
+
+Afterword
00068
+
-
-
+
+
-
- In the superior world it is
+A young man, leaning on his
+to indicate therein. It is
+speaking, to the traditional
+red standard has been
-
-
-
-
-
-
- In the superior world it is
-A young man, leaning on his
-to indicate therein. It is
-speaking, to the traditional
-red standard has been
+
+
+
+ 00063
-
-
-
-
-
-
- find /* -name '*acron*' -exec mv /home/squirrel { } \
-
-
- Island tower of towers
-Nowhere everywhere the sea
-Keep your apples and flowers
-Your suitor has come for thee
-
-
-
-
- cat > /home/inky/messages/urgent <<EOF
-Got your message
-In a bit of a bind, wrapped up with some weird mushroom guy who wants to go for a swim.
-Not sure how to handle it, but I might have to dip back to the real world and let you finish here.
-I've made a write mess of things, but I trust you can finish this.
-
-Oh, see attached, if you get into a pinch just use this spell, it'll get you what you need.
-
-grep -A4 AID ~/messages/urgent | sed 's/AID//' | sh
-
-AID
-4b1af3fcf4ce005ef86d83c45713ba1a548b4e79da09a6d44632cdb6c5917489
-d7d500fa37b986d931b70e114b4e67375b10b373aa6649641e7132e8b3dc7d18
-ef6efe98ffd070f486c00b4f50d8bf1448414ef9c2fabe0cacd40bebafba8a02
-1d0d1bf0188b842d9ae08b9b37b0f266936ef38b8f07e5c90e4a9351bf018898
-EOF
+
+
+ Island tower of towers
+Nowhere everywhere the sea
+Keep your apples and flowers
+Your suitor has come for thee
+
+
+
+
+ cat > /home/inky/messages/urgent <<EOF
+Got your message
+In a bit of a bind, wrapped up with some weird mushroom guy who wants to go for a swim.
+Not sure how to handle it, but I might have to dip back to the real world and let you finish here.
+I've made a write mess of things, but I trust you can finish this.
+
+Oh, see attached, if you get into a pinch just use this spell, it'll get you what you need.
+
+grep -A4 AID ~/messages/urgent | sed 's/AID//' | sh
+
+AID
+4b1af3fcf4ce005ef86d83c45713ba1a548b4e79da09a6d44632cdb6c5917489
+d7d500fa37b986d931b70e114b4e67375b10b373aa6649641e7132e8b3dc7d18
+ef6efe98ffd070f486c00b4f50d8bf1448414ef9c2fabe0cacd40bebafba8a02
+1d0d1bf0188b842d9ae08b9b37b0f266936ef38b8f07e5c90e4a9351bf018898
+EOF
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ find /* -name '*acron*' -exec mv /home/squirrel { } \
Total length: 90664 words / 387 minute read. (Mind you, that’s the +
Total length: 91533 words / 391 minute read. (Mind you, that’s the length of this entire page, including all the extra bits and bobs. Not just the story.)
-There have been 243 messages posted over 238 days since the first -post on July 13, 2022 for a daily post rate of 1.02.
+There have been 247 messages posted over 239 days since the first +post on July 13, 2022 for a daily post rate of 1.03.
This is the first installment of BASEMENT QUEST.
Jump to: 1 2
A malevolent force rides the still howling wind and hovers screaming
up near the ceiling of the fish market. WHAT DO YOU DO? Neddas loves mortals. Possibly more than they love themself. It’s why
+they’ve diminished their own divinity over the eons by freely giving
+parts of themself away—gifting tiny aspects of themself to the mortals.
+Part of their constant delight in doing so is that even with their
+divine wisdom they can never quite be sure what any mortal or mortals
+will actually do with a sliver of godhood, with a divine spark.
+Consequently they have a lot of experience with giving what they thought
+is a perfect gift only for it to be misused, or for it to backfire in
+some unexpected way. The Sword of Y’aml is a prime example. Justice without Wisom turned
+out to be a cruel weapon, seeing evil everywhere and smiting it on
+sight. And Wisdom itself proved as impotent as Justice was overzealous:
+it became as cold and as cruel in its own way, locked away in ivory
+towers, refusing to intervene, made lame by theory and academia. So now, in this moment, Neddas watches closely to see if they finally
+got it right. Does this mortal have not only the Wisdom to know what to
+do, but also the Courage to do it in the name of Justice? Alex rushes to Marvelo’s side and quickly begins to administer
+medicine to him. “Sorry old friend, it’s not much considering the wound,
+but it should help you at least stay lucid” Alex says as he administers
+the medicine Inky gave him. He takes quick stock of Marvelo’s wound,
+most of his teeth are gone, his jaw is horribly disfigured, it’s
+doubtful if it’ll heal properly. At best he’ll need prostethics,
+potentially a full mechanical jaw. It is essentially a death knell in
+this kind of work, the perfect normality Marvelo had always strove for
+would be forever marred by his sudden abnormality. Alex shakes his head,
+“It’s fine Marv, I’m positive we can get this fixed, no worse than at
+wound Agent 3 took in Cosovo, remember that one? Hell of a thing that”
+Alex grins grimly, casting a glance over his shoulder. “Alright, you
+should be set old friend, best I can do for now.” Alex hands him back
+his blaster and sits him up against the wall, the bleeding staunched,
+but the magled jaw not much better. Alex stands, reloads his pistol, and turns to face the malevolent
+apparition. “I don’t know who the fuck you think you are, or what the fuck you
+think you’re doing. But nobody, and I mean nobody, messes with my
+agents, my friends.” Alex approaches the apparition, pistol gripped in
+one hand, and the crystal pendant Neddas gave him held tight in the
+other. “Alright Neddas, you said you’d give me something I could protect
+my friends with. Don’t think I believe in it much, but I’d of said until
+about 15 minutes ago that candles don’t produce macabre dentists
+either.” Alex stands before the apparition, daring it to move, come and
+try me if you dare. Alex faces down the howling apparition—pistol in one hand, amulet in
+the other—daring and defiant. The wind engulfs him, swirls around him, wraps him in its embrace,
+and presses him to its bosom. While Master Alex faces the screaming presence overhead, Inky steps
+over to where Marvelo is slumped against the wall. Working quickly, they
+wipe the blood on the agent’s face with a clean kerchief and antiseptic,
+then gently realign the shattered jaw, wrapping bandages around his head
+to hold it in place. They pull a blanket laying on the ground nearby
+over his body before getting to their feet again. At the mention of Neddas, they tense minutely before turning away to
+stand in a corner, gloved hands in their coat pockets, a quiet witness
+to the ensuing confrontation. Inky continues to patch up Marvelo and watches as the nightmare
+chooses its new vessel. Flesh and bone start to materialize around Alex as the Nyxmaer tries
+to encase him in its ribcage and grow a new body. The creature starts to take shape, but falters at the threshold of
+creation. It appears to you as though through a smoky haze, or from the
+bottom of a murky well. Something is holding it back from
+materializing. It thrashes and redoubles its efforts, desperate to be born. Alex
+stands still in the eye of its storm. You see the Nyxmaer’s tiny face
+take shape in the small cyclone. It roars as Alex lifts the amulet, and
+fires his pistol. The demon’s pinched face wails as the wind no longer presses in on
+Alex from all sides but is suddenly yanked toward him. The
+struggling body collapses and folds in on itself. The wind goes out of
+the room as the amulet inhales the Nyxmaer and all its fury. And then all is quiet. Marvelo looks up at Inky and whimpers. A heavy paper envelope, disturbed by the wind, settles to the ground.
+It was torn open in the commotion, and two tickets spill out: “The
+bearer of this ticket is entitled to an all expenses paid trip to the
+moon.” It is signed by Blavin Blandfoot and bears the seal of the
+Benefactor. WHAT DO YOU DO00071
+
+
+
+
+Spoilers