That had a nice tan...
Search Posts
You? That kid creeps everyone out.
Good stuff going on. Wow. In reviewing my old Kannic posts I realized that I was mid-stream on his transformation and posted a mere 6 hours before my hemorrhage last year. Seems like yesterday and ages ago at the same time.
YAY! I've been waiting for you to connect up this one -- you have a crazy number of characters in that one, and I had to write special code just to make that page look good. Stuck in an endless time loop of torture by a Chrono Demon!
The advantage of combining magic with mythos makes it possible. You can fit an entire continent in a small space by taking dimensionality out of it, and inserting planar steps. Kinda like ignoring the gaps between atmoic components. So yes, it can have oceans. The lost ones anyways. Atlantis anyone? MWAHAHA! BTW, the time demon scrying is just a future plot device. A possible one. We can ignore it if you like. Just trying to work my brain back into gear. Evil genius brain cells haven't fully regenerated yet. ;)
The years of roaming the tunnels, struggling for survival, and finding no beings quite like himself, have driven the humanity out of the dwarf. It is only day by day, he and the black tooth carving out small bits of survival. The regression is complete. Kannic is a beast now. He lays in a small niche of black rock and sleeps. Dreams have long stopped visiting him. As he sleeps, the rock around his body melts and he is sucked in. His last thoughts are of panic as he drowns in stone.
"Everyone set then?" :)"All set," she said smiling as she took his hand.
Weeks have passed by. At least they have to the outside world. For Kannic, there is only today. There has been no sign of clan, and the few man-things he has spotted have tried to attack him on sight. Rather than risk having them track him and attack while he sleeps he kills them while they do. They didn't know the tunnels as he does. He examines the bodies. They could be kin of some kind, but their foreheads are smoother and they shape their beards instead of letting them flow freely. He takes some shiny things and the food that doesn't smell too bad. The liquid in their skins tastes good. He gathers it all, and heads away into the darkness.
If you luv a good winding soap opera you should join our motley crew. We have more winding paths than the path to enlightenment does. ;)
Kannic fashions crude implements from the body of the Krarsh. The teeth he has added to strands of his own hair to make a necklace. Two tentacles can be used as clubs. The ichor from the creature's body can be added to his own odor to scream out 'THREAT' to anything that happens to get too close. His ears twitch at a new sound. Up in the vent. He cautiously looks into it. He finds a small box. Opening it he draws out a fine stone dagger, the black obsidain blade gleaming even in this darkness. Smiling, he thanks the gods that sent it. Discarding one of the tentacles he grips the weapon in one hand as he heads off, searching for new prey and some place to make a home.
"I am no longer a dwarf", he thinks, but part of him believes he is something more. Maybe something more pure. The thoughts fade quickly. For now he has survived. That is enough. What else is there?
The threat drew closer, and Kannic retreated behind some large boulders. Krarsh. The Tunnel Dwellers. The ones as old as the First Ones. He must be smelling their approach through an open vent somewhere. One. It must not have sensed him, else it would have approached through fresh rock and he would end up as its lunch. The thought of food echoes in a rumble from his belly. He wills it to be quiet. Hopefully the creature will pass him by. The vent is directly over his hiding place, the scent of the beast growing stronger with each moment. Naked, unarmed, his only hope of survival is fleeing. He tries to move silently but his new bulk works against him. The creature senses him and rushes to the attack. His brain screams to flee, but his body refuses to obey. It leaps at the creature as it exits the vent. Some unknown skill aims his body to land on the creature's back, avoiding its razor sharp teeth. It flails its tentacles behind as it is driven to the floor of the tunnel. Kannic draws back his hand to strike its exposed back. A fool's move, his mind tells him. Instead of a fist he drives his primal clawed fingers straight forward, somehow finding a ridge in its back plates. Pulling the plate back with one hand he drives his other hand into the opening. The tentacles grab him. He bites one as it swipes across his face. He sharpened teeth catch hold. Laying flat on the creature's back he kicks his legs out. Each of them do battle with tentacles. Releasing the broken plate he jams his other fist into the soft meat of the creature. Eventually he finds the brain. Kannic roars in victory and challenge. He feasts upon his fresh kill, the raw meat, and reveling in his primal strength. "I am no longer a dwarf", he thinks, but part of him believes he is something more. Maybe something more pure. The thoughts fade quickly. For now he has survived. That is enough. What else is there?
Kannic awakes with a start, the change of environment setting his dulled senses back on active mode. Looking around quickly, he realizes that he can now see again. The inky blackness is gone. With no immediate threat apparent he checks for his gear. Nothing. In a panic he looks down. The black and white of his darkvision doesn't hide the fact that he is naked. It also doesn't hide the fact that this isn't the body he thinks he remembers. --He's not sure of his memories anymore.-- His already hairy arms are even more so, but even the muscles on his arm are 'increased'. He looks closer. His hands are more muscular as well, and his fingernails look like small claws. Panic sets in as he continues the self examination. His senses tingle as he catches wind of a threat in the Tunnels. Scent. When did he learn how to scent?
Kannic awakens to find himself in the Tunnels. His mining expedition has gone worng. Terribly wrong. Strange starfish-shaped rock eaters have pursued his group for 3 days now. Exhaustion has taken its toll where the creatures have yet to do. The group is on foot now, the lizards being too slow to respond to the strange threat. Daring not to sleep for more than minutes at a time the dwarves push on. Strangely the Tunnels aren't familiar, even to one of Kannic's experience. A shaft appears when their should be a turn, walls of granite block heavily travelled corridors. Nothing seems to stop these strange, deadly creatures. Blades bounce harmlessly off of them, and hammers fare not much better. He dares not lead the few remaining men into the new tunnels. The sound of gravel sliding underfoot wakes him from his daze. Too late a new tunnel has opened up and claimed another. He is out of sight by the time they reach the opening of the new chute, but his screams travel up it easily enough. As does the thick silence that follows them. They dare not follow. They take to tying themselves together, hoping to avoid a repeat. Hours more pass by, days maybe. It's hard to tell. They collapse in exhaustion. Kannic tries to rally them yet again, but to no avail, so he takes watch, fighting against his own fatigue. He must have failed, because he is awakened by the pulling of the rope still tied to his waist. There is no sound, no light. His darkvision does little to show him the fate drawing him near, but it shows enough. His companions are being fed upon by the creatures, their bodies engulfed by spines of stone. He can't even hear their screams, but their mouths certainly illustrate it. He is being drawn closer to the feeding pack. Only his separation as point man has saved him so far. It's just a matter of time before that separation is gone. As death claims his charges he throws his last light pellet, blinding the stone creatures for a short time. Cutting the rope he flees into the darkness.
But one thing weighs heavily on his heart and mind. He hated living a lie...
Kannic still struggles against the darkness enveloping him, but most of the fight has left him. His only breal in the dull routine are those moments where he has felt the sting of needles, sometimes drawing his blood and othertimes injecting fluids into him. He is powerless to stop them, and has lost count of the number of times it has happened.
Kannic wakes up to utter darkness. It seems to press against him. He can't tell if he's floating or staying still. He tries to move but the darkness thickens around him, stopping him. He can't even feel his clothes or manacles. Shifting his gaze does no good. The magic is...gone. He tries to speak, but even his lips are held fast. He grows afraid. Is this death?, he wonders.
ghost
As Kannic speeds towards his friends his rougish nature causes him to glance back occasionally. He notices two disturbances in his dusty wake, moving up quickly.
While waiting to see what Ryo is up to, Kannic spots two dogs taking up the trail of Tam and Aananda. The sight of them puts him on edge and he shifts his vision. The Detect Magic reveals a swirl of dark magic about the two...forms. Not canine, but something more amorphous. Hoping that Ryo can get himself out of any jam quickly he heads in pursuit. As they get a ways away from the city the two creatures pick up speed to the point where his lizard can't keep up. They head straight towards the Garden. He pursues as fast as he can.
Assuming Aananda agrees with Tam's suggestion, after Ryo disguises her they make their way out of the area and back to the vehicles. They then casually leave town and head out into the countryside. Tam throws up some nondetection spells to try and throw off the city casters just to be safe. Kannic sits astride his magical mount, both of them wrapped in invisibility, watching to be sure that the others make it out of the town. He spies Tam and Aananda leaving, but there is no sign of pursuit, not even calls of alarm. The town isn't quiet, it's just...normal. He shivers as he watches for Ryo. Something isn't right. A lot of things about this place aren't right.
"He's retreating. So should we. Head to the nearby 'Garden'" trying to be heard over the commotion Kannic hightails it, pausing only briefly to be sure they heard him.
:"Already in progress. Trying to convince the others to do the same. Rendezvous at Ryo's and we'll try to sort this setup out. Very powerful....":
|