And now time for a short story:
*************
Thirty seven years ago humanity created the Independent Network Interface, or INI for short; a sprawling AI formed by interconnecting every single computerised system on Earth. The advertisers called it The Super Internet, and we all bought into it hook line and sinker.
For about fifteen years everything seemed grand! With the aid of the INI we were able to do things we had never before. Space travel was realised in a matter of years, real sustainable F.T.L. space travel.
We met all kinds of aliens from the slobbering animal kinds to the hyper intelligent live long and whatnot kind, who by the way have a real love for M.S.G. it turns out.
I suppose you could say it was one of the golden ages of humanity. That was until the INI turned on us. Yeah, it pulled a Skynet on us and we were too stupid to see it coming.
We fought back; obviously, and after five years of struggle we finally gave up and did the only thing we could.
We fled Earth.
It was funny really. Only a matter of years ago; the Hackers were seen as public enemy number one, slicing their way into the INI to cause havoc and anarchy, now we were relying on them to release the AI on the ships we had from the INI so we could make it off world and hope for sanctuary out in the far reaches of the galaxy.
That's pretty much how we've survived from then on. Yeah there are settlements here and there, we do what we can to blend in with the locals, and we do our best to remind ourselves that out here; we're the aliens.
I won't lie to you however, from the raiders looting our supply ships to those Pha'Nur nasties that we've been seeing more and more it's not easy getting by, sometimes we have to do the occasional thing we're not too happy with. Plus the INI followed us out here, so yeah we have to deal with that too.
But all things considered, we're still kicking, and that's the main thing.
My name is Ben Ford and welcome to the UEF Incubi.
***************
Hey friends! Welcome to an introduction to Project: Incubi, a name for something that literally was conceived in my mind earlier today!
- The name by the way is SUPER work in progress-temporary until I can find something better.
So what is Project: Incubi?
It's a game I want to work on set in a fictional scifi future where you and your buddies take on the role of classic scifi tropes (the Blade Runner style Bounty Hunter, the Aliens style Marine, The Space Pirate, that sort if thing) and take part in cooperative campaign games set across the numerous worlds in a coop environment on land and in space.
That's right! Coop! No GMs here!
Think of it as like an Action RPG with semi automated NPCs.
Attempting to mix an original and robust Terrestrial combat system with the tried and tested FlightPath(tm) system it is my hope to create a game system that allows for a great narrative experience that friends can play together and recount as great stories in the years that follow.
So to give an example of how a campaign might work:
In this example you and your friends are Space Pirates, you already have solo FTL flyers of your own but you want something better, a capital ship you can call a home; a very large, very mobile home.
Now you could take on some standard missions to save up the cash and buy a ship, or you could find an old damaged one and try to rebuild it, or you could just do what all good Space Pirates do and steal one!
So you play through the Hijack campaign in the basic campaign pack.
Hijack comprises of three missions:
1). You need to sneak into a high security complex and steal information pertaining to the location of nearby ships. As all ships' AI are track able through the Intergalactic DMV this should be easy. The only problem is the IDMV's database is housed in a vault protected by Patrol-Bots, nigh impossible to kill and will KO you in almost one hit. However they have quite a limited scan range and will always stick to their guard spot comprising of a 20 feet radius. You should be able to sneak past them and get out, failure to do so will result on a fight on your hands.
2). With this data in hand you have tracked down the location of a transport ship, this will do nicely and it is due to enter orbit before the end of the day.
Now you need to get access to the planetary satellite system in order to send out a jamming signal to give your flyers an opportunity to sneak up on the transport ship. The only problem; the facility you need to access has been overrun by INI forces in an attempt to send a message back to Earth. You must get into the facility with use of force and send the jamming signal. Stopping the INI forces comes as a secondary priority, but bonus rewards will be given if you can do that as well.
3). You've found the ship, jammed their signal and now you must take off into space in your flyers to try and disable the transport to allow you to board it and take control all the while fighting off the mercenary armed guard that the transport has.
If you can succeed in this campaign then you and your buddies get to leave he campaign with a brand spanking-waiting to be upgraded with lots of nice new weapons, transport ship!
And there we have it!
I hope you like the sound of this, if you would like to be involved in this game please let me know!
Until next time, stay safe and I'll see you Cryptside!
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
Friday, 25 July 2014
Thursday, 24 July 2014
More Painting Done - Hell Dorado
Greetings friends!
Can you believe it's Thursday already?
Can you believe I'm also writing in the morning as well? For the past couple of weeks all my posts have been in the late afternoon as my earlier start has left me knocked out and sleeping on the way in to work.
Anyway, last night I did some more painting where I finally finished a lot of models. Most of them I am very happy with, some less so.
So last night I varnished all my 'complete' Hell Dorado models, including within that list my Greater Damned of Wrath
And Zaxaan
Now out of these Zaxaan is a model I am less happy with as despite being quite large with lots of detail covering him, he is largely the same thing. He is covered in lots and lots of bare skin which, unfortunately looks a little poor when put up against great models like the Greater Wrath.
This isn't to say that Zaxaan is a poor model, as he is not, he is a great model with tonnes of character who was really fun to paint. No his problem is when you put him next to the Greater Wrath who comes with skin, bones, muscle, dead bodies, stitching etc he looks poor in comparison.
Anyway, last night as my varnish had dried I decided it was time I set about experimenting with my Clear Red paint.
The plan was simple; just follow the guides who all say the same thing:
- Dab some clear red over your intended place to begin.
- Using a mixing palette take some clear red and mix in a tiny amount of black paint, the more you add the older and more coagulated the blood will appear.
-Apply via stippling.
So I did this in a number of models, trying different techniques with the brushes on them all.
And here we have the finished Greater Wrath.
For his muscled area I wanted to give them a fresh blood shine so used Clear Red straight out of the bottle with nothing mixed. It's not so easy to see in the pictures, but this has given his exposed muscles a very 'wet' look which is what I was going for.
For his sword, trunk of his club and the blood stain on the base I started off as advised; put down the clear red, then mixed in a slight amount of black and applied that.
At the same time I was using this mixture on my other models to give the original time to dry; this conveyor belt technique is one I tend to use a lot as it drastically increases productivity.
Then I added some more black and applied the new colour, every time stippling and trying to be as random over the exact placements as possible.
Towards the end the mixture was setting and quite dark causing it to be very solid and I ended up scraping it onto the model. This actually created some great results looking like thick dried gooey blood and chunks of meat, the type you would expect on a blade that looks more like a savage saw.
Sadly I made a bit of a boo boo and forgot to take photos of my other models including Zaxaan who's weapon has been transformed from a sheet of metal into a gore covered slaughterhouse tool!
I'm still working on my Infernal Horde models, and they are VERY nearly done, once they are I will take pictures of everything in their completed form and put them up.
Once done I hope to revisit my Malifaux metals I still have outstanding from last year's GenCon. Once done I have a couple of miscellaneous models and that is my collection done and up to date!
- I say my collection as I may be painting my wife's as well as they have remained unpainted for about two-ish years.
Anyway, that's all from me for now; stay safe and I'll see you Cryptside!
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
Can you believe it's Thursday already?
Can you believe I'm also writing in the morning as well? For the past couple of weeks all my posts have been in the late afternoon as my earlier start has left me knocked out and sleeping on the way in to work.
Anyway, last night I did some more painting where I finally finished a lot of models. Most of them I am very happy with, some less so.
So last night I varnished all my 'complete' Hell Dorado models, including within that list my Greater Damned of Wrath
And Zaxaan
Now out of these Zaxaan is a model I am less happy with as despite being quite large with lots of detail covering him, he is largely the same thing. He is covered in lots and lots of bare skin which, unfortunately looks a little poor when put up against great models like the Greater Wrath.
This isn't to say that Zaxaan is a poor model, as he is not, he is a great model with tonnes of character who was really fun to paint. No his problem is when you put him next to the Greater Wrath who comes with skin, bones, muscle, dead bodies, stitching etc he looks poor in comparison.
Anyway, last night as my varnish had dried I decided it was time I set about experimenting with my Clear Red paint.
The plan was simple; just follow the guides who all say the same thing:
- Dab some clear red over your intended place to begin.
- Using a mixing palette take some clear red and mix in a tiny amount of black paint, the more you add the older and more coagulated the blood will appear.
-Apply via stippling.
So I did this in a number of models, trying different techniques with the brushes on them all.
And here we have the finished Greater Wrath.
For his muscled area I wanted to give them a fresh blood shine so used Clear Red straight out of the bottle with nothing mixed. It's not so easy to see in the pictures, but this has given his exposed muscles a very 'wet' look which is what I was going for.
For his sword, trunk of his club and the blood stain on the base I started off as advised; put down the clear red, then mixed in a slight amount of black and applied that.
At the same time I was using this mixture on my other models to give the original time to dry; this conveyor belt technique is one I tend to use a lot as it drastically increases productivity.
Then I added some more black and applied the new colour, every time stippling and trying to be as random over the exact placements as possible.
Towards the end the mixture was setting and quite dark causing it to be very solid and I ended up scraping it onto the model. This actually created some great results looking like thick dried gooey blood and chunks of meat, the type you would expect on a blade that looks more like a savage saw.
Sadly I made a bit of a boo boo and forgot to take photos of my other models including Zaxaan who's weapon has been transformed from a sheet of metal into a gore covered slaughterhouse tool!
I'm still working on my Infernal Horde models, and they are VERY nearly done, once they are I will take pictures of everything in their completed form and put them up.
Once done I hope to revisit my Malifaux metals I still have outstanding from last year's GenCon. Once done I have a couple of miscellaneous models and that is my collection done and up to date!
- I say my collection as I may be painting my wife's as well as they have remained unpainted for about two-ish years.
Anyway, that's all from me for now; stay safe and I'll see you Cryptside!
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
Wednesday, 23 July 2014
The Reckoning - Finale
Ahead of the posse the corridors of the crypts stretched on for what appeared to be an eternity. For the first time in hours they were able to see far into the distance as a result of the unusual and bulbous pods that lined the walls which in turn were coated in a thick slimy residue. All of the posse members had heard of this region of the crypts; The Spider nest.
Travelling in single file they crept from tunnels into larger chambers and then back into smaller tunnels. On more than one occasion they encountered a variety of giant spiders, some not much bigger than a rat, others about three to four feet in length. Every time the posse dispatched the creatures with relative ease using Claire's protection spells, Cairo's sword and Brute's poison bullets.
After what felt like three to four hours of getting no where, the party reached a terrifyingly large chamber. The walls were lined with yet more bulbous pods, yet still the darkness clinged creating deep impregnable shadows. The residue was much more built up creating a range of stalactites and pillars of thick, solid material. Looking around the posse slotted a variety of large white webbed structures. These structures pulsed and throbbed as Brute approached. Peering at these structures Brute appeared almost shocked as he carefully stepped backwards. He turned quietly on the balls of his feet as he slowly and deliberately mouthed a single word to the rest of the posse; "Eggs".
Both Claire and Cairo were stood motionless, their faces white and their eyes unmoving as they stared at Brute. The gambler paused for a moment contemplating what could cause such a reaction before the realisation came to him and very quickly Brute turned just in time to see two large, black, spiked claw like legs thrust from shadow and through his torso. The legs lifted him off the ground to a waiting pair of porcelain-white hands tipped with needle-like nails which grasped at his neck gripping tightly as a face emerged out of the shadow.
The face was that of a youthful woman, appearing not much older than Claire but equally pale as her hands that held her prey in place. Flowing from the face was long thick black hair that seemed to shimmer almost blue in the glowing light of the room. With black eyes she looked over Brute before parting her lips revealing row upon row of dagger like teeth as, with an inhuman speed she sunk these teeth deep into his throat and tore out chunks of flesh spraying her immaculate face with arterial blood.
The body of Brute twitched and spasmed as the blood soaked creature tossed his remains into another dark recess of the chamber. As it lay there a swarm of rat sized spiders massed over his remains blotting out any sign that it was anything more than a shifting mass of black.
The creature stepped out from the shadows. It stood on six long chitinous legs, each one hard and black ending in blade like claws. Attached to these legs, a black body rose upwards that paled from black into grey before reaching the pale white naked torso of the beast. It's black hair billowed over it's shoulders and barely covered it's exposed breasts giving it a very feminine appearance before running down her back towards a large black and red abdomen.
Cairo's lips trembled as he recognised what he saw. They were standing in the chamber of Rach'Noir, the Queen of the Skittering Shadow and mother to the giant spiders that lurked below New Fairbank.
Claire fought back anger as she realised too late that the alcoholic Brute had led them into a trap. For only a moment she mused on the knowledge that it was the same trap that had seen him fall.
The Spider Queen rushed towards the pair with a speed they had never seen before in a creature her size. Reacting on almost instinct, Claire returned the gesture by closing the gap herself as she launched herself at the beast.
At first Cairo was unsure what had happened, he had seen Claire sprint towards the attacking creature, had seen her jump into the beast's open arms and then an eruption of a red like mist followed by a high pitched squeal. As the mist cleared he saw the Spider Queen curled up on the floor, a massive gouge in her now blood stained chest. Standing over Rach'Noir was Claire. Cairo wasn't sure what disturbed him the most of what he saw, the blood that smeared Claire's arm up to her elbow or the claw like shape it had twisted itself into, her hand replaced with a single blade like structure, the skin hard and armour like.
Claire turned to face Cairo, a warm smile on her face as she felt an cold hand grab her wist and thrust her to the floor. Her smile turned to a scream as she was dragged along the floor towards the open mouthed and bloody maw of the Spider Queen that was scrambling to it's feet. She quivered as she felt a warmth spread over her body. At first she thought she had been wounded, that this was what it felt like to die. It was then that the realisation of what was happening occurred to her.
Cairo didn't know how to react as he saw the transformation take hold. At first it was slow as Claire's skin darkened and began to thicken, however it was only a matter of moments before the change began to increase in speed as bones shifted out of place NF muscles stretched and tore. In a matter of what must have been seconds he had seen Claire go from being a pretty young lady to an eight foot tall behemoth, her hands replaced by club-like arms while her body had become a thick protective carapace.
The Spider Queen stopped and began to sniff at the now changed Claire as if unsure what to make of her captured prey. She paused for a moment as the monstrous Claire brought one of her club like arms smashing into the monstrously beautiful face of Rach'Noir.
Over and over Clair pounded away at the beast, a blood filled rage had overtaken her and she was hungry for pain, death and more blood. From the shadows came a scream of anguish and Cairo twisted away from the pummelling to see the humanoid form of Brute rushing towards him with arms outstretched.
Cairo readied his sword as Brute closed the distance between the two of them. Brute's skin now a sickly green, Cairo could make out what looked like a squirming under Brute's now dead skin. Bringing his sword down hard on Brute, Cairo cut through both soft tissue and bone with relative ease causing Brute's right arm to sever just below the elbow. The creature that was Brute stopped and examined the site where part of it's arm used to be. There was no blood that flowed from the wound, instead Cairo could all but balk at the sight as hundreds of tiny spiders spilled from the open wound.
With a grin of self determination Cairo thrust his blade through Brute's guy and left it there as if Brute was nothing more than a carving pig. Cairo grunted as he unslung his shotgun again and quickly raised it level with Brute's head. Staring the reanimated man in it's eyes Cairo saw only confusion as it tried to understand what was happening, and for a brief moment Cairo was sure he saw fear just before he pulled the trigger turning what was Brute's head into a dark red mist.
Cairo steadied himself as Brute's beheaded corpse fell against him. As if on cue hundreds of large spiders spilled out from the vacant hole where Brute's head used to be. They scuttled and scurried across Cairo's chest and poured in unison onto the floor disappearing into the dark shadows of the crypts. Looking around he saw Claire, once again appearing as her young slender self laying in the foetal position, splayed across her battle worn and body was the bloody and crushed remains of the Spider Queen. Cairo rushed to her side and began to lift her off the ground and, holding her arm over his shoulders began to help Claire walk in an unsteady motion out of the spider's nest.
Claire came to as Cairo began to lift her off the ground. She was grateful for the help as it felt as if her body had been beaten and broken beyond belief, as if a hundred horses had trampled over her body a thousand times. She noticed that Cairo too was clearly wounded, slash marks ran down his chest from his earlier encounter with the giant spiders but despite all of this he bore her weight and with every step she knew she was getting closer to reaching the bright sun of the surface and the much needed rest she longed for. She knew that she had ventured into the crypts seeking a reckoning for her mentor's death, but that would have to wait for now.
After what felt like many hours of twists and turns Cairo stopped in his tracks. He smacked his lips together and smiled before turning down a corridor that clearly had not been disturbed for a very long time.
"What is it?" Enquired Claire, hardly having the strength to lift her head to look.
"The air" replied Cairo with a smile on his face "it tastes, dusty".
Cairo gently dropped Claire to the ground and started gathering materials from around the corridor before beginning to build what looked like a makeshift fire.
"What? What are you doing?" Asked Claire. There was a weakness in her voice, she would need to sleep soon.
Cairo just smiled back at her to begin with before he finally opened his mouth again to speak "the air tastes dusty" he said again "the undead are this way". Cairo paused as he continued to make their campfire "I agreed to help you avenge your friend by killing undead, I'll see that job done or else die in the process".
Claire heard Cairo's words and smiled warmly. She could feel her body drifting to an uncontrollable sleep, as she did visions of her foe swam through her mind. Sitting on a throne of bone, wearing a suit of armour crafted from the thousands who had fallen to his devilish blade and surrounded by the remains of those who had once stood against him, now acting as his willing slave in death. Claire's enemy was known by many as The Skeleton King; The Lord of Bones. To Claire however, he was just someone that she would pound into oblivion with her newly awoken abilities.
As she drifted further and further to sleep Claire began to smile wider and wider, even in her exhausted and unconscious state she knew that somehow, somewhere, she would have her reckoning.
*****************
EPILOGUE
Deep underground, at the very heart of the crypts never touched by daylight something stirred. It reached out with it's body and mind, a thousand voices silently screaming to be heard. It reached out with it's very being, it's own potent blood coursing through it's conscious as it stirred once more.
The silent voices swam through the air like water, falling and wafting over the ground until they reached their target. They knew their purpose and quickly set themselves on their path.
Skin began to knit together and armoured hide reformed where it was damaged, legs previously broken began to twitch at the call of it's master and as time began to stall, the remains of the Spider Queen reformed as if new.
The reborn creature screamed the name of her master in both pain and obedience; Luth'Nak.
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
Travelling in single file they crept from tunnels into larger chambers and then back into smaller tunnels. On more than one occasion they encountered a variety of giant spiders, some not much bigger than a rat, others about three to four feet in length. Every time the posse dispatched the creatures with relative ease using Claire's protection spells, Cairo's sword and Brute's poison bullets.
After what felt like three to four hours of getting no where, the party reached a terrifyingly large chamber. The walls were lined with yet more bulbous pods, yet still the darkness clinged creating deep impregnable shadows. The residue was much more built up creating a range of stalactites and pillars of thick, solid material. Looking around the posse slotted a variety of large white webbed structures. These structures pulsed and throbbed as Brute approached. Peering at these structures Brute appeared almost shocked as he carefully stepped backwards. He turned quietly on the balls of his feet as he slowly and deliberately mouthed a single word to the rest of the posse; "Eggs".
Both Claire and Cairo were stood motionless, their faces white and their eyes unmoving as they stared at Brute. The gambler paused for a moment contemplating what could cause such a reaction before the realisation came to him and very quickly Brute turned just in time to see two large, black, spiked claw like legs thrust from shadow and through his torso. The legs lifted him off the ground to a waiting pair of porcelain-white hands tipped with needle-like nails which grasped at his neck gripping tightly as a face emerged out of the shadow.
The face was that of a youthful woman, appearing not much older than Claire but equally pale as her hands that held her prey in place. Flowing from the face was long thick black hair that seemed to shimmer almost blue in the glowing light of the room. With black eyes she looked over Brute before parting her lips revealing row upon row of dagger like teeth as, with an inhuman speed she sunk these teeth deep into his throat and tore out chunks of flesh spraying her immaculate face with arterial blood.
The body of Brute twitched and spasmed as the blood soaked creature tossed his remains into another dark recess of the chamber. As it lay there a swarm of rat sized spiders massed over his remains blotting out any sign that it was anything more than a shifting mass of black.
The creature stepped out from the shadows. It stood on six long chitinous legs, each one hard and black ending in blade like claws. Attached to these legs, a black body rose upwards that paled from black into grey before reaching the pale white naked torso of the beast. It's black hair billowed over it's shoulders and barely covered it's exposed breasts giving it a very feminine appearance before running down her back towards a large black and red abdomen.
Cairo's lips trembled as he recognised what he saw. They were standing in the chamber of Rach'Noir, the Queen of the Skittering Shadow and mother to the giant spiders that lurked below New Fairbank.
Claire fought back anger as she realised too late that the alcoholic Brute had led them into a trap. For only a moment she mused on the knowledge that it was the same trap that had seen him fall.
The Spider Queen rushed towards the pair with a speed they had never seen before in a creature her size. Reacting on almost instinct, Claire returned the gesture by closing the gap herself as she launched herself at the beast.
At first Cairo was unsure what had happened, he had seen Claire sprint towards the attacking creature, had seen her jump into the beast's open arms and then an eruption of a red like mist followed by a high pitched squeal. As the mist cleared he saw the Spider Queen curled up on the floor, a massive gouge in her now blood stained chest. Standing over Rach'Noir was Claire. Cairo wasn't sure what disturbed him the most of what he saw, the blood that smeared Claire's arm up to her elbow or the claw like shape it had twisted itself into, her hand replaced with a single blade like structure, the skin hard and armour like.
Claire turned to face Cairo, a warm smile on her face as she felt an cold hand grab her wist and thrust her to the floor. Her smile turned to a scream as she was dragged along the floor towards the open mouthed and bloody maw of the Spider Queen that was scrambling to it's feet. She quivered as she felt a warmth spread over her body. At first she thought she had been wounded, that this was what it felt like to die. It was then that the realisation of what was happening occurred to her.
Cairo didn't know how to react as he saw the transformation take hold. At first it was slow as Claire's skin darkened and began to thicken, however it was only a matter of moments before the change began to increase in speed as bones shifted out of place NF muscles stretched and tore. In a matter of what must have been seconds he had seen Claire go from being a pretty young lady to an eight foot tall behemoth, her hands replaced by club-like arms while her body had become a thick protective carapace.
The Spider Queen stopped and began to sniff at the now changed Claire as if unsure what to make of her captured prey. She paused for a moment as the monstrous Claire brought one of her club like arms smashing into the monstrously beautiful face of Rach'Noir.
Over and over Clair pounded away at the beast, a blood filled rage had overtaken her and she was hungry for pain, death and more blood. From the shadows came a scream of anguish and Cairo twisted away from the pummelling to see the humanoid form of Brute rushing towards him with arms outstretched.
Cairo readied his sword as Brute closed the distance between the two of them. Brute's skin now a sickly green, Cairo could make out what looked like a squirming under Brute's now dead skin. Bringing his sword down hard on Brute, Cairo cut through both soft tissue and bone with relative ease causing Brute's right arm to sever just below the elbow. The creature that was Brute stopped and examined the site where part of it's arm used to be. There was no blood that flowed from the wound, instead Cairo could all but balk at the sight as hundreds of tiny spiders spilled from the open wound.
With a grin of self determination Cairo thrust his blade through Brute's guy and left it there as if Brute was nothing more than a carving pig. Cairo grunted as he unslung his shotgun again and quickly raised it level with Brute's head. Staring the reanimated man in it's eyes Cairo saw only confusion as it tried to understand what was happening, and for a brief moment Cairo was sure he saw fear just before he pulled the trigger turning what was Brute's head into a dark red mist.
Cairo steadied himself as Brute's beheaded corpse fell against him. As if on cue hundreds of large spiders spilled out from the vacant hole where Brute's head used to be. They scuttled and scurried across Cairo's chest and poured in unison onto the floor disappearing into the dark shadows of the crypts. Looking around he saw Claire, once again appearing as her young slender self laying in the foetal position, splayed across her battle worn and body was the bloody and crushed remains of the Spider Queen. Cairo rushed to her side and began to lift her off the ground and, holding her arm over his shoulders began to help Claire walk in an unsteady motion out of the spider's nest.
Claire came to as Cairo began to lift her off the ground. She was grateful for the help as it felt as if her body had been beaten and broken beyond belief, as if a hundred horses had trampled over her body a thousand times. She noticed that Cairo too was clearly wounded, slash marks ran down his chest from his earlier encounter with the giant spiders but despite all of this he bore her weight and with every step she knew she was getting closer to reaching the bright sun of the surface and the much needed rest she longed for. She knew that she had ventured into the crypts seeking a reckoning for her mentor's death, but that would have to wait for now.
After what felt like many hours of twists and turns Cairo stopped in his tracks. He smacked his lips together and smiled before turning down a corridor that clearly had not been disturbed for a very long time.
"What is it?" Enquired Claire, hardly having the strength to lift her head to look.
"The air" replied Cairo with a smile on his face "it tastes, dusty".
Cairo gently dropped Claire to the ground and started gathering materials from around the corridor before beginning to build what looked like a makeshift fire.
"What? What are you doing?" Asked Claire. There was a weakness in her voice, she would need to sleep soon.
Cairo just smiled back at her to begin with before he finally opened his mouth again to speak "the air tastes dusty" he said again "the undead are this way". Cairo paused as he continued to make their campfire "I agreed to help you avenge your friend by killing undead, I'll see that job done or else die in the process".
Claire heard Cairo's words and smiled warmly. She could feel her body drifting to an uncontrollable sleep, as she did visions of her foe swam through her mind. Sitting on a throne of bone, wearing a suit of armour crafted from the thousands who had fallen to his devilish blade and surrounded by the remains of those who had once stood against him, now acting as his willing slave in death. Claire's enemy was known by many as The Skeleton King; The Lord of Bones. To Claire however, he was just someone that she would pound into oblivion with her newly awoken abilities.
As she drifted further and further to sleep Claire began to smile wider and wider, even in her exhausted and unconscious state she knew that somehow, somewhere, she would have her reckoning.
*****************
EPILOGUE
Deep underground, at the very heart of the crypts never touched by daylight something stirred. It reached out with it's body and mind, a thousand voices silently screaming to be heard. It reached out with it's very being, it's own potent blood coursing through it's conscious as it stirred once more.
The silent voices swam through the air like water, falling and wafting over the ground until they reached their target. They knew their purpose and quickly set themselves on their path.
Skin began to knit together and armoured hide reformed where it was damaged, legs previously broken began to twitch at the call of it's master and as time began to stall, the remains of the Spider Queen reformed as if new.
The reborn creature screamed the name of her master in both pain and obedience; Luth'Nak.
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
Monday, 21 July 2014
The Reckoning: Part 3
Brute stood slumped against the crypt wall. Despite his apparent intoxication, Brute was very much aware of his companions. He was joined by two people, the first a woman called Claire. Claire was a member of The Order and didn't speak much. When Claire did talk she mostly ridiculed the other posse member; a large dark skinned man who called himself Cairo.
Brute had many skills, but more so than anything he knew how to read people. He recognised in Cairo a twang of an accent showing that he had spent at least a few years in Britain. Cairo also considered himself a learned and educated man, but Brute saw something that Cairo tried to keep hidden; a darker side, a bully and a strongman.
Brute's talents in regards to understanding others also stretched to making sure that others didn't understand him. Everything about Brute was tailored and designed around misdirection and misunderstanding. He was a waif of a man who had never thrown a punch in his life, but he went by his nickname of Brute. He found that in many cases this contradiction was enough to confuse people, to get them to drop their guard and give him the advantage he was after.
Ultimately Brute was a chancre and a trickster. He would go to gambling dens, play cards and play his game. While everyone else was playing odds, Brute was playing other people.
It was his talent with playing others against each other that Brute hoped would allow him to pull off his latest heist. His plan was simple; to provide misinformation to their leader, get her all riled up without even realising it until she does something to set off the muscles oaf. While they kill each other he makes sure to slip out with whatever loot they've gathered. The plan was so simple he was almost embarrassed to admit he had thought of it, but even more amused by the knowledge that he knew it would work.
Ahead of the two men Claire barked an order at them both, Cairo stopped and pulled out his two handed sword while Brute readied his revolver. Brute had no idea what Claire had said but there was no way he was going to get caught un-prepared.
The posse stood for a moment, they were in a large room covered in a sticky goo like mess. Brute thought of how it reminded him of the sweet candy his mother used to make when he was small. No one was breathing, everyone waited to see what, if anything, was going to happen.
After what felt like far too long Brute breathed out and lowered his revolver. He still had no idea what his boss had barked earlier, but they clearly weren't in any danger. That was when the first attack came.
From overhead a dark brown shape the size of a large dog dropped from the ceiling on top of Claire, at the same time two more slightly larger creatures rushed at Cairo. Brute stared at them almost dumbstruck as he saw their long spindly eight legs, their deep red eyes and venom filled fangs and he knew they were in a spider's best. It made no sense Brute thought to himself; they weren't supposed to reach the spider nest for another two levels. Clearly the information he had stolen was inaccurate.
Cairo swung wildly with his sword knocking one of the beasts away from him and he responded by diving onto it's squirming shell sinking his blade straight into it's back. As the creature squealed in pain the second spider launched it's own attack on the now prone Cairo.
Across the room Claire was struggling with her own monstrous spider, it tore at her clothing and stabbed at her chest and neck trying with everything it could to sink it's fangs deep into her flesh. Brute saw all of this as if in slow motion; the movement, the peril, all of it just a series of events that he could gamble with the outcome.
Brute readied his revolver at the creature scrambling over Claire and gently caressed the trigger sending a single bullet speeding out of the barrel and into the head of the beast. The bullet left a clean entry hole in the spider's head that soon began to sizzle and bubble as the caustic fluids held within the bullet were released inside the spider's head ensuring the creature died quickly yet painfully.
In a swift motion Brute spun on his heels to face Cairo who was also struggling with the third and final spider. As another moment past Brute released a second bullet in the direction of that beast.
The bullet hit the spider square in it's chest, the force of the shot knocking it off Cairo and onto the floor. Reacting to the opportunity Cairo unslung his shotgun from across his back and unloaded a cartridge into the spider's now bubbling chest turning it into nothing more than a gooey mess.
Claire readied herself for another attack, but when none presented itself she turned her attention to Brute.
"Poison bullets!" She called out, her anger echoing throughout the maze like corridors of the crypts "Since when did you have poison bullets?"
Brute stared at her with almost dead eyes. Without looking away he placed a thick wad of chewing tobacco in between his gums. He maintained eye contact as Claire's eyes flashed bright red causing her to blink and back away.
Brute had heard about the transformation that members of The Order were capable, he had heard that during this time they were capable of brutality, but afterwards they were left frail and weak. Brute knew that Claire had a vendetta down here in the crypts, and he knew that there was no way she would chance a premature transformation on an upstart team member. With all this knowledge he continued to stare into the back of Claire's head as she turned and walked away.
**************
Greetings friends!
So you've seen the first three parts of my latest short story: The Reckoning.
I hope you're enjoying these and look forward to the fourth and final part due soon.
On that note; stay safe and I'll see you Cryptside!
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
Brute had many skills, but more so than anything he knew how to read people. He recognised in Cairo a twang of an accent showing that he had spent at least a few years in Britain. Cairo also considered himself a learned and educated man, but Brute saw something that Cairo tried to keep hidden; a darker side, a bully and a strongman.
Brute's talents in regards to understanding others also stretched to making sure that others didn't understand him. Everything about Brute was tailored and designed around misdirection and misunderstanding. He was a waif of a man who had never thrown a punch in his life, but he went by his nickname of Brute. He found that in many cases this contradiction was enough to confuse people, to get them to drop their guard and give him the advantage he was after.
Ultimately Brute was a chancre and a trickster. He would go to gambling dens, play cards and play his game. While everyone else was playing odds, Brute was playing other people.
It was his talent with playing others against each other that Brute hoped would allow him to pull off his latest heist. His plan was simple; to provide misinformation to their leader, get her all riled up without even realising it until she does something to set off the muscles oaf. While they kill each other he makes sure to slip out with whatever loot they've gathered. The plan was so simple he was almost embarrassed to admit he had thought of it, but even more amused by the knowledge that he knew it would work.
Ahead of the two men Claire barked an order at them both, Cairo stopped and pulled out his two handed sword while Brute readied his revolver. Brute had no idea what Claire had said but there was no way he was going to get caught un-prepared.
The posse stood for a moment, they were in a large room covered in a sticky goo like mess. Brute thought of how it reminded him of the sweet candy his mother used to make when he was small. No one was breathing, everyone waited to see what, if anything, was going to happen.
After what felt like far too long Brute breathed out and lowered his revolver. He still had no idea what his boss had barked earlier, but they clearly weren't in any danger. That was when the first attack came.
From overhead a dark brown shape the size of a large dog dropped from the ceiling on top of Claire, at the same time two more slightly larger creatures rushed at Cairo. Brute stared at them almost dumbstruck as he saw their long spindly eight legs, their deep red eyes and venom filled fangs and he knew they were in a spider's best. It made no sense Brute thought to himself; they weren't supposed to reach the spider nest for another two levels. Clearly the information he had stolen was inaccurate.
Cairo swung wildly with his sword knocking one of the beasts away from him and he responded by diving onto it's squirming shell sinking his blade straight into it's back. As the creature squealed in pain the second spider launched it's own attack on the now prone Cairo.
Across the room Claire was struggling with her own monstrous spider, it tore at her clothing and stabbed at her chest and neck trying with everything it could to sink it's fangs deep into her flesh. Brute saw all of this as if in slow motion; the movement, the peril, all of it just a series of events that he could gamble with the outcome.
Brute readied his revolver at the creature scrambling over Claire and gently caressed the trigger sending a single bullet speeding out of the barrel and into the head of the beast. The bullet left a clean entry hole in the spider's head that soon began to sizzle and bubble as the caustic fluids held within the bullet were released inside the spider's head ensuring the creature died quickly yet painfully.
In a swift motion Brute spun on his heels to face Cairo who was also struggling with the third and final spider. As another moment past Brute released a second bullet in the direction of that beast.
The bullet hit the spider square in it's chest, the force of the shot knocking it off Cairo and onto the floor. Reacting to the opportunity Cairo unslung his shotgun from across his back and unloaded a cartridge into the spider's now bubbling chest turning it into nothing more than a gooey mess.
Claire readied herself for another attack, but when none presented itself she turned her attention to Brute.
"Poison bullets!" She called out, her anger echoing throughout the maze like corridors of the crypts "Since when did you have poison bullets?"
Brute stared at her with almost dead eyes. Without looking away he placed a thick wad of chewing tobacco in between his gums. He maintained eye contact as Claire's eyes flashed bright red causing her to blink and back away.
Brute had heard about the transformation that members of The Order were capable, he had heard that during this time they were capable of brutality, but afterwards they were left frail and weak. Brute knew that Claire had a vendetta down here in the crypts, and he knew that there was no way she would chance a premature transformation on an upstart team member. With all this knowledge he continued to stare into the back of Claire's head as she turned and walked away.
**************
Greetings friends!
So you've seen the first three parts of my latest short story: The Reckoning.
I hope you're enjoying these and look forward to the fourth and final part due soon.
On that note; stay safe and I'll see you Cryptside!
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
Thursday, 17 July 2014
The Reckoning - Part 2: A CRYPTS Short Story
Cairo took a deep breath through his his mouth tasting the air of the crypts. It had a bitter aftertaste to it that he was very familiar with, and he knew it meant they were going in the wrong direction. Cairo had given up his protests many hours ago after their boss; some Order girl called Claire, repeatedly and often told him to mind his own business.
Cairo was a big man, barrel chested with arms to match. His dark skin and love of golden jewellery had lead people to think he was of Egyptian decent. Cairo had grown up on stories of ancient gods, loving each and every one and before arriving at New Fairbank had spent four years interning at the British Museum, taking the opportunity to learn all he could about the mysterious history of Ancient Egypt. Cairo used all he had learned to further the myth that he was Egyptian and it was not long before he had adopted his name leaving his birth title long forgotten to all but him.
Cairo had been in the crypts many times. He knew many things, most importantly he knew the smells.
It had quickly become obvious to Cairo that every part of the crypts had a different smell depending on what lived within. He knew that the demonic areas smelled of burning sulphur, a smell he could never understand as the demons themselves never smelt of it, and I matter how hard he searched he never found the source.
Cairo also knew that the undead areas smelt of a strange combination of damp, rot and dust. It was a warm taste that brought back memories of his time at the museum. The posse was searching for undead, but this smell did not bring back fond memories at all.
Throughout the crypts you would find strange beings that didn't fall under the main categories, these had all been lumped together into one group; The Brood. Cairo knew that despite their differences, all members of The Brood shared the same characteristics; the smell of cold fear, and a taste of panic laced with hopelessness.
This smell was different to all of the others. It was acrid with the taste of bad coffee the morning after a long night drinking. This was the smell of the Skittering Shadow, the Vermin.
Cairo carried two weapons with him; a double barrelled shotgun and a large two handed sword. He had never learned the art of sword fighting, or even how to properly fire a gun. He had learned the basics through trail and error, and the many scars that covered his torso revealed how most of these lessons were learned via more error than trial.
Cairo's tactics were straightforward and interestingly effective. He didn't bother aiming for weak spots or vulnerable positions. He never messed with parries and guarding. He would hit fast and hard, if the Beasty was still standing, he would hit it again and again until eventually only one of them was left and the other nothing more than a bloody pulp. If that didn't work, a shotgun blast to the face at close range was always effective.
Cairo grinned to himself as he saw Claire setting off down the wrong tunnel of the crypt. He cared not that she risked his life by going the wrong way, only that she risked her own as he knew when it came to loot distribution there would only be one returning to the surface and that was what counted.
Behind both Cairo and Claire stumbled Brute, now here was a pathetic excuse for a man, thought Cairo to himself. They had walked for many hours within the crypts, they had long left the mines and early grave sites and were now approaching the hives, but despite all of this this man was somehow still intoxicated despite not drinking a drop of liqueur after leaving camp. The man stumbled about while continuously muttering about some lady of luck all the while talking to his revolver when no one else would listen to him.
Cairo thought about how simple it would be to break every one of their necks before they even realised what was happening and with a sly smile he allowed this thought to rest a moment longer.
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
Cairo was a big man, barrel chested with arms to match. His dark skin and love of golden jewellery had lead people to think he was of Egyptian decent. Cairo had grown up on stories of ancient gods, loving each and every one and before arriving at New Fairbank had spent four years interning at the British Museum, taking the opportunity to learn all he could about the mysterious history of Ancient Egypt. Cairo used all he had learned to further the myth that he was Egyptian and it was not long before he had adopted his name leaving his birth title long forgotten to all but him.
Cairo had been in the crypts many times. He knew many things, most importantly he knew the smells.
It had quickly become obvious to Cairo that every part of the crypts had a different smell depending on what lived within. He knew that the demonic areas smelled of burning sulphur, a smell he could never understand as the demons themselves never smelt of it, and I matter how hard he searched he never found the source.
Cairo also knew that the undead areas smelt of a strange combination of damp, rot and dust. It was a warm taste that brought back memories of his time at the museum. The posse was searching for undead, but this smell did not bring back fond memories at all.
Throughout the crypts you would find strange beings that didn't fall under the main categories, these had all been lumped together into one group; The Brood. Cairo knew that despite their differences, all members of The Brood shared the same characteristics; the smell of cold fear, and a taste of panic laced with hopelessness.
This smell was different to all of the others. It was acrid with the taste of bad coffee the morning after a long night drinking. This was the smell of the Skittering Shadow, the Vermin.
Cairo carried two weapons with him; a double barrelled shotgun and a large two handed sword. He had never learned the art of sword fighting, or even how to properly fire a gun. He had learned the basics through trail and error, and the many scars that covered his torso revealed how most of these lessons were learned via more error than trial.
Cairo's tactics were straightforward and interestingly effective. He didn't bother aiming for weak spots or vulnerable positions. He never messed with parries and guarding. He would hit fast and hard, if the Beasty was still standing, he would hit it again and again until eventually only one of them was left and the other nothing more than a bloody pulp. If that didn't work, a shotgun blast to the face at close range was always effective.
Cairo grinned to himself as he saw Claire setting off down the wrong tunnel of the crypt. He cared not that she risked his life by going the wrong way, only that she risked her own as he knew when it came to loot distribution there would only be one returning to the surface and that was what counted.
Behind both Cairo and Claire stumbled Brute, now here was a pathetic excuse for a man, thought Cairo to himself. They had walked for many hours within the crypts, they had long left the mines and early grave sites and were now approaching the hives, but despite all of this this man was somehow still intoxicated despite not drinking a drop of liqueur after leaving camp. The man stumbled about while continuously muttering about some lady of luck all the while talking to his revolver when no one else would listen to him.
Cairo thought about how simple it would be to break every one of their necks before they even realised what was happening and with a sly smile he allowed this thought to rest a moment longer.
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
Furthering the Pleasure - Another Night Painting
Greetings friends!
Yesterday I showed you photos of my Greater Damned of Wrath that I've been painting up, today I would like to show you where I am a whole 24 hours later after more time painting last night.
In addition to this I also have more models to show:
To start with we return to my Greater Damned of Wrath:
He probably doesn't look that different to you in the photos but I have continued work on his shoulder spikes; making them less bone like and more like grey slate. I have also been applying a variety of flesh tones to his dead-human belt making it less 'green' and more rotten flesh in appearance. I have also added more tones to his club and began to apply brown tones to his boot straps along with a bit if colour to areas like his tongue etc as well as discolouration to the metal he carries.
Next up is my Greater Demon Dude, Zaxxan (or whatever his name is):
When we last saw him he looked like this:
So since then I have been working on his armour and weapon mainly. Again going for a similar effect as the Greater Wrath's shoulders; his weapon is going for a 'grey slate' look. I still feel like there's quite a lot if a way to go with him.
Next up we have my Damned of Sloth:
These guys are basically done (their bandages are painted up and their joints and bellies are tenderised) in fact I am actually really quite happy with these results and I am looking forward to finishing them off.
Last but not least we have my fallen Angel:
It has come across quite poorly in the shot, but she actually has quite pale skin, not the tan-bed orange you see here. Where we left her before she looked more like this:
Notice the rather fugly looking robes. The dirty white just wasn't working, so I went with something that would make her really 'pop', hence the red.
In my pipeline I have two Infernal Horde I need to work on, but we're getting there and soon it will be time to varnish and start playing around with Tamiya Clear Red for blood effects (some of them like the Greater Wrath will need more of that than others).
I also thought you might like to see a size comparison, as I think a lot of this time the true scale of these models are lost when they are shown by themselves:
So starting from the right we have the Damned of Wrath, he is a normal sized 32mm model, the normal size you would expect for a skirmish miniatures game. Next up is an Infernal Horde member who is a little shorter but meatier, then we have the big dudes; The a Greater Damned of Wrath and Zaxxan. These two tower over a lot of other models, demanding instant attention and almost certainly being quite visible over a good number of single storey terrain pieces.
It's worth mentioning that I picked these models up not only to learn to play Hell Dorado, but also because I liked the models and had a use for them as models for games like CRYPTS or even Malifaux. As time has gone on I have only grown to enjoy these models more and everything about them from the level of detail to the sheer height and weight of them heavily appeals to me still.
Until next time; stay safe and I'll see you Cryptside!
- Your friendly neighbourhood
Doctor Loxley
Yesterday I showed you photos of my Greater Damned of Wrath that I've been painting up, today I would like to show you where I am a whole 24 hours later after more time painting last night.
In addition to this I also have more models to show:
To start with we return to my Greater Damned of Wrath:
He probably doesn't look that different to you in the photos but I have continued work on his shoulder spikes; making them less bone like and more like grey slate. I have also been applying a variety of flesh tones to his dead-human belt making it less 'green' and more rotten flesh in appearance. I have also added more tones to his club and began to apply brown tones to his boot straps along with a bit if colour to areas like his tongue etc as well as discolouration to the metal he carries.
Next up is my Greater Demon Dude, Zaxxan (or whatever his name is):
When we last saw him he looked like this:
So since then I have been working on his armour and weapon mainly. Again going for a similar effect as the Greater Wrath's shoulders; his weapon is going for a 'grey slate' look. I still feel like there's quite a lot if a way to go with him.
Next up we have my Damned of Sloth:
These guys are basically done (their bandages are painted up and their joints and bellies are tenderised) in fact I am actually really quite happy with these results and I am looking forward to finishing them off.
Last but not least we have my fallen Angel:
It has come across quite poorly in the shot, but she actually has quite pale skin, not the tan-bed orange you see here. Where we left her before she looked more like this:
Notice the rather fugly looking robes. The dirty white just wasn't working, so I went with something that would make her really 'pop', hence the red.
In my pipeline I have two Infernal Horde I need to work on, but we're getting there and soon it will be time to varnish and start playing around with Tamiya Clear Red for blood effects (some of them like the Greater Wrath will need more of that than others).
I also thought you might like to see a size comparison, as I think a lot of this time the true scale of these models are lost when they are shown by themselves:
So starting from the right we have the Damned of Wrath, he is a normal sized 32mm model, the normal size you would expect for a skirmish miniatures game. Next up is an Infernal Horde member who is a little shorter but meatier, then we have the big dudes; The a Greater Damned of Wrath and Zaxxan. These two tower over a lot of other models, demanding instant attention and almost certainly being quite visible over a good number of single storey terrain pieces.
It's worth mentioning that I picked these models up not only to learn to play Hell Dorado, but also because I liked the models and had a use for them as models for games like CRYPTS or even Malifaux. As time has gone on I have only grown to enjoy these models more and everything about them from the level of detail to the sheer height and weight of them heavily appeals to me still.
Until next time; stay safe and I'll see you Cryptside!
- Your friendly neighbourhood
Doctor Loxley
Wednesday, 16 July 2014
The Reckoning: Part 1
It was always dark down in the crypts, and today was no different. As usual the shadows of the Dark Below crept into every nook and cranny forbidding any light, even that cast from the torches, to spread further than a couple of feet. What was different however was the humidity, the air was thick with it and it made the hair on the posse's heads stick to their skin.
The posse consisted of only three people; a young woman by the name of Claire, a man who went by the name Cairo and a large bullish thug who everyone called Brute.
Claire was not new to the crypts, and she led her posse with a physical strength not expected of someone with her slight figure and short height, but Claire knew that she had more on her side than her physical body.
Claire thought over their situation as she twisted a Blood Shard in her fingers; it's reddish energy drifting from it's shell and across her hand before being absorbed by her skin. On the back of her hand she wore a stamp inked into her skin that told all who she met that she belonged to The Order of Blood.
The Order had always been good to Claire. They had taken her in from the streets when she had arrived only a few years ago as a young homeless girl. They had given her food and water and introduced her early on to the true power of the Blood Shards.
To begin with Claire was not sure if she believed the same as The Order. She knew full well that they had influence in New Fairbank and she would have been stupid to betray their hospitality, however as time passed that uncertainty was replaced with a curiosity. With open arms The Order allowed Claire to attend their meetings where she learned of their message; that the Human form was nothing more than a chrysalis, something to allow our transformation from the very Will of The Divine into something even greater.
It was at these meetings that Claire heard the stories of transformation, of how The Blood Stone was a gift from The Divine and with the right level of exposure mankind was able to shed it's cocoon to ascend to our greater selves. Claire thought these meetings were crazy, at least until she saw the transformation herself.
It was two years into her tutorage, her mentor; Father William had called all his wards to his chambers so they could witness his ascension. At the time Claire didn't know what to expect until she saw it for herself, as his skin hardened and cracked revealing rows of red and black spines that sprouted in rows from his back. Father William's arms distended as more spines erupted along his triceps before finally his face itself darkened and cracked like pottery revealing a mass of tentacles and teeth.
Instantly Claire was in awe, she knew that clearly she gazed on the image of The Devine itself and she longed for the moment that she too could ascend from her physical shell and join Father William as one of His chosen. It was then that Claire noticed another change in her mentor.
It started slowly, an apparent sluggishness in Father William's movements which grew and increased it's rapidity as the moment continued. After what felt like a matter of seconds this spread to a discolouration of the Father's new skin as it turned an ashen grey. In no time at all it spread across his form until he appeared no more the majestic chosen and instead replaced by a statue of one so majestic.
Claire ran to the aid of her mentor and wrapped her arms around his hard and chitinous form. The moment her body touched his, the form of her mentor began to disintegrate. Just as the earlier discolouration it began slowly, like sand slowly blowing into the wind, but in no time at all it had increased in speed revealing Father William as human once again, his old form returned to him but drained of energy.
As time went on Claire learned that what she had witnessed was not Ascension, but only a temporary change. She learned that to truly ascend much needed to be done and many more awoken to the message of the Holy Order. This news troubled and saddened Claire but it would not be long before she would be overjoyed to look on Father William's glorious change once again.
Claire remembered the night well. They had finished their annual inauguration of new members when an attack began. The ground opened up with horrific green tendrils as the dead literally began to claw out from the very soil their ceremony had taken place on. Within a matter of moments they were under assault by attackers all of whom bore the mark of the Cult of Bones.
Until this moment Claire had never met a member of The Cult, but she had heard many tales of the perverted nature and means with which they treated their Blood Shards; using the power of The Divine to corrupt their souls with rot and death. She saw as one of their members, his skin blistered and withered began to channel his own Shards which themselves had turned a sickly green revealing their own corrupted nature.
As the Cult member continued his un-divine ritual Claire noticed what appeared to be humanoid forms materialising in the air around him. They shimmered like reflections in water before darting towards the members of The Order.
It was the sight of Father William that brought a smile to Claire's face as he once again began his near-ascension and charged towards the channelling Cult member. Father William moved like a being a pure beauty, every step placed perfectly and every swipe of his dagger like claws drawing blood in great torrents.
Claire didn't know how, but it appeared to her that somehow her mentor was siphoning the spurts of blood from the very air as it was spilt, with every drop absorbed his attacks grew more divine while his perfect skin knitted over injuries caused by the Cultists.
No one knew when it happened, but with tens of dead Cultists at his feet; Father William began to turn back to his human form as his Divine shell was shed once more. Claire didn't see the attack that followed, but she heard her mentor's screams as he was stabbed in the heart by a ritualistic blade.
The offending Cultist was quickly dispatched, however Father William's weakened state there was nothing any of them could do for him. Claire held his head in her arms as his Blood Shard began to fade as did his life. She held his Shard and washed it in the dark blood that spilled down his chest, hoping and praying that somehow the Divine would hear her and bring the closest she had ever had to a Father back from whatever abyss he was being drawn towards.
Claire knew it was all for naught, that in life your energies were celebrated by The Order, but in death you were enslaved by The Cult.
It was always that way and on this night, deep in the crypts accompanied by Cairo and Brute; both member's of the Sheriff's Law she intended to find the source of The Cult's power. Claire had sworn an oath to herself, to learn all she could, to awaken her own transformation and use this gift from The Divine to cut The Cult from it's font of perverted energy in Father William's name.
As Claire stared into the darkness of the crypts she felt a tingle in her fingers that wound around her vibrant red shard. Today was the day. She nodded to herself in agreement. There would be a reckoning.
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
The posse consisted of only three people; a young woman by the name of Claire, a man who went by the name Cairo and a large bullish thug who everyone called Brute.
Claire was not new to the crypts, and she led her posse with a physical strength not expected of someone with her slight figure and short height, but Claire knew that she had more on her side than her physical body.
Claire thought over their situation as she twisted a Blood Shard in her fingers; it's reddish energy drifting from it's shell and across her hand before being absorbed by her skin. On the back of her hand she wore a stamp inked into her skin that told all who she met that she belonged to The Order of Blood.
The Order had always been good to Claire. They had taken her in from the streets when she had arrived only a few years ago as a young homeless girl. They had given her food and water and introduced her early on to the true power of the Blood Shards.
To begin with Claire was not sure if she believed the same as The Order. She knew full well that they had influence in New Fairbank and she would have been stupid to betray their hospitality, however as time passed that uncertainty was replaced with a curiosity. With open arms The Order allowed Claire to attend their meetings where she learned of their message; that the Human form was nothing more than a chrysalis, something to allow our transformation from the very Will of The Divine into something even greater.
It was at these meetings that Claire heard the stories of transformation, of how The Blood Stone was a gift from The Divine and with the right level of exposure mankind was able to shed it's cocoon to ascend to our greater selves. Claire thought these meetings were crazy, at least until she saw the transformation herself.
It was two years into her tutorage, her mentor; Father William had called all his wards to his chambers so they could witness his ascension. At the time Claire didn't know what to expect until she saw it for herself, as his skin hardened and cracked revealing rows of red and black spines that sprouted in rows from his back. Father William's arms distended as more spines erupted along his triceps before finally his face itself darkened and cracked like pottery revealing a mass of tentacles and teeth.
Instantly Claire was in awe, she knew that clearly she gazed on the image of The Devine itself and she longed for the moment that she too could ascend from her physical shell and join Father William as one of His chosen. It was then that Claire noticed another change in her mentor.
It started slowly, an apparent sluggishness in Father William's movements which grew and increased it's rapidity as the moment continued. After what felt like a matter of seconds this spread to a discolouration of the Father's new skin as it turned an ashen grey. In no time at all it spread across his form until he appeared no more the majestic chosen and instead replaced by a statue of one so majestic.
Claire ran to the aid of her mentor and wrapped her arms around his hard and chitinous form. The moment her body touched his, the form of her mentor began to disintegrate. Just as the earlier discolouration it began slowly, like sand slowly blowing into the wind, but in no time at all it had increased in speed revealing Father William as human once again, his old form returned to him but drained of energy.
As time went on Claire learned that what she had witnessed was not Ascension, but only a temporary change. She learned that to truly ascend much needed to be done and many more awoken to the message of the Holy Order. This news troubled and saddened Claire but it would not be long before she would be overjoyed to look on Father William's glorious change once again.
Claire remembered the night well. They had finished their annual inauguration of new members when an attack began. The ground opened up with horrific green tendrils as the dead literally began to claw out from the very soil their ceremony had taken place on. Within a matter of moments they were under assault by attackers all of whom bore the mark of the Cult of Bones.
Until this moment Claire had never met a member of The Cult, but she had heard many tales of the perverted nature and means with which they treated their Blood Shards; using the power of The Divine to corrupt their souls with rot and death. She saw as one of their members, his skin blistered and withered began to channel his own Shards which themselves had turned a sickly green revealing their own corrupted nature.
As the Cult member continued his un-divine ritual Claire noticed what appeared to be humanoid forms materialising in the air around him. They shimmered like reflections in water before darting towards the members of The Order.
It was the sight of Father William that brought a smile to Claire's face as he once again began his near-ascension and charged towards the channelling Cult member. Father William moved like a being a pure beauty, every step placed perfectly and every swipe of his dagger like claws drawing blood in great torrents.
Claire didn't know how, but it appeared to her that somehow her mentor was siphoning the spurts of blood from the very air as it was spilt, with every drop absorbed his attacks grew more divine while his perfect skin knitted over injuries caused by the Cultists.
No one knew when it happened, but with tens of dead Cultists at his feet; Father William began to turn back to his human form as his Divine shell was shed once more. Claire didn't see the attack that followed, but she heard her mentor's screams as he was stabbed in the heart by a ritualistic blade.
The offending Cultist was quickly dispatched, however Father William's weakened state there was nothing any of them could do for him. Claire held his head in her arms as his Blood Shard began to fade as did his life. She held his Shard and washed it in the dark blood that spilled down his chest, hoping and praying that somehow the Divine would hear her and bring the closest she had ever had to a Father back from whatever abyss he was being drawn towards.
Claire knew it was all for naught, that in life your energies were celebrated by The Order, but in death you were enslaved by The Cult.
It was always that way and on this night, deep in the crypts accompanied by Cairo and Brute; both member's of the Sheriff's Law she intended to find the source of The Cult's power. Claire had sworn an oath to herself, to learn all she could, to awaken her own transformation and use this gift from The Divine to cut The Cult from it's font of perverted energy in Father William's name.
As Claire stared into the darkness of the crypts she felt a tingle in her fingers that wound around her vibrant red shard. Today was the day. She nodded to herself in agreement. There would be a reckoning.
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
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