A Progression of Filth

[Ford 1996]

 

An Oak Shade gatehouse was relieved of its prior inhabitants after they had finished conversing, heading out into the tundra. A man and woman, both donning suitable armor exited the ruined town with little knowledge of what danger linger nearby.

 

Upon the road, they encountered it passively crossing. A mere moment or two of attention was all it graced them with, but it seemed preoccupied with some more esoteric goal and nonchalantly departed from the two. Still, they followed. They were unsure of its nature, and drew their arms.

 

And so it did show its nature -- calmly, as if by cue. The thing turned around and advanced upon them at a steady pace once it realized it had an audience, going to close the distance between them enough in order to probe at the man's head with a single claw. When he declined by shielding its hand from his scalp with his blade, it instead made a move to grasp at his sword arm. 

 

A scuffle erupted. Black chippings, a well-placed stab, strikes glancing against a hard surface, vigilant eyes, inhuman speed, and soulfire.

 

The fiend fled into the snowy wilderness and spared the two further conflict, leaving a trail of black that was quickly covered by falling flakes.  

 

 

...

 

 

The moon rose to bask the mountainscape surrounding the Barbanov camp in a dull blue. The bite of winter was slowly receding, but this far north meant that some snow was always present. For most people here, this was as warm as it got in these months, and two youngsters were enjoying some time with each other in the privacy and safety of a camp.

 

Outside, two abominable creations, one painted with the number 2 on its forehead, the other with a '1'. They stalked their way through the dense boreal forest, their dorsal tubes ejecting hot steam into the cool air as they coordinated with each other. Their sonar-like senses picking up the movement of the stables inside the camp. They stopped at the foot of the wooden walls that had been erected to defend the camp from would be attackers. Unfortunately, whoever built it did not have these creatures in mind when it was designed.

 

The creatures scaled the walls with ease, their talons digging deep into the wooden surface as they did. With two thumps and the combined neighing of many different cows, the creatures signaled their arrival. The people inside stopped their romancing, pondering the sounds for a moment before getting back to it, blaming the sounds on a snake getting into the pen.

 

But the next sounds they could not ignore. The tearing of flesh was heard and the disturbing cries of an animal in extreme pain. Jets of blood had their shadows cast on the outside of the tent by the nearby fire, causing the two within to run to arms. The two youngsters opened their tent flap and stared on in horror, seeing the creatures face-deep into the belly of one of the horses, feeding on its tripes with abandon.

 

The two youths stared on in silent horror, holding their weapons lowered before steeling themselves and commanding the creatures to stop. As the young man shouted and steeled himself both creatures stopped their feeding frenzy and turned towards him, commencing their slow advance.

 

It began with the duo holding themselves responsible for their own protection first, the crossbow-wielding lass letting off the first shot towards 1's head. Both aberrant's aggression rose to fearsome levels, and a battle ensued. The cacophony of fearful shouting, roaring, and shuffling within the camp garnered the attention of other curious warriors who swiftly hurried to assist the younglings as they attempted to fend off the things of the night. 

 

Metal hissed as it exited scabbards, claws deftly sliced through the air, black and red blood was spilled once more, and equipment became damaged from battle. The monsters' combined strength, range, and speed proved to be a worthy challenge for the cohort of battle-ready men. One man fell to his knees in agony, blood spilling profusely out of his abdomen after suffering a powerful jab by one of the homonculi's tail end, but not before slamming his warhammer down onto one of the beasts to daze it.

 

A sword-wielding man hacked down at the neck plating with fervor, his third strike breaking through the carapace to finally sever its spine and, soon after, its entire head. 

 

The wretch's kin did not fare well either. Humanoid 1 dove for the young boy it had encountered first, wrappings its arms around him in a tight grasp. However, the boy angled his sword and thrust upwards into its mouth with such force that it tore through the spine of the thing. It went limp and collapsed, its weight impressed down upon the lad. The others who were able to rushed over to aid...

 

Eventually, the fighting subsided, and peace drove out chaos from the fray. The Descendants had endured the unknown, for now.

 

 

. . . 

 

 

And in a room filled with horrific creations and foreign concoctions, in a homely-looking cabin, in a quiet, massive meadow, a deranged dwarf pulled at the hairs of his beard in frustration. His brain continued to work at a maddening pace, fingers darting to and  fro to grab at alchemical reagents lining the shelves on the walls, floors, and his desk. Fumes of varying hues bloomed out of the chimney, and heavy gasses lingered on the floor, creating a filament of toxicity that he paid no mind to. His creatures had failed so far in completing their tasks, the men and women of Axios proving to be more formidable than he had assumed. But it would not matter. Soon, he would have the means to achieve his goal. 

 

And a determined dwarf can be very crafty. 

 

 

Spoiler

An Encounter

 

Spoiler

An Encounter

 

Spoiler

((This is a continuation of the "On the Helderenberg" eventline, something oncenoeda (huge credit to him for helping me conceive this eventline and making the characters and writing up this post and everything) and I have been working on for some time. Was a pleasure roleplaying with you all, and we hope to see you down the line! Look out for future events branching off of the original post.))

 

 

 

[Birdnerdy 1539]

((Fantastic event! Enjoyed rping with y'all 

[mitto 2312]

Moved to The Great Library. It shall be sorted into the appropriate category shortly.

 

If you feel this is a mistake, please contact myself or any FM and we'll restore it.