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I've seen these threads before but never taken the plunge, this time I'm In.
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Jun 22, 2015 07:04
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| # ¿ Apr 19, 2024 04:28 |
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An Apprenticeship Tchk-shff, tchk-shff. “Aren't there laws about this sort of thing?” “There's laws about an incredible number of things, and I don't remember telling you to stop digging.” He was right, of course, the laws were very clear on the subject of necromancy. Firstly: trespassing in a graveyard at night, that's a week in the dungeon. Secondly: grave robbing, that's a hand cut off. Thirdly: the act itself, raising the dead, that's death, punishable on sight. I never saw their side of the issue with that last bit, though. Nobody's using these old bones anymore, and once you get past the fact that this stuff used to be a person, what's the difference between the summoning schools other than their choice of medium? Golemancers use rock, carnomancers use meat, arbormancers use trees, but a necromancer digs up a couple skeletons that were just sitting there, and suddenly you've got an impromptu farming implement swap meet knocking on the door to your cave. So I do my due diligence. If you go digging up a miller's wife that just got buried last week, someone's gonna catch wind. An illegible tombstone hidden in some brambles, though? Nobody's gonna bother taking their pitchfork out of storage for a centuries-old pile of bones. What's more, it's easier to work with a canvas that old. The tricky thing about necromancy is, you gotta get the old spirit out first before you can put your spirit in. The miller's wife is gonna put up quite the fight, but some poor fool whose gravestone can't even remember his name is gonna be glad to get lost. If you can't clear the old spirit out, your new friend ends up wandering off halfway through digging out your new wine cellar. And when that miller comes home to find a skeleton cooking his dinner, well, he's not going to greet it with a kiss on the cheek. Tchk-shff, tchk-shff. “It's just, when I read the flyer at the college, it said it'd be mainly clerical work. I thought I'd be filing papers, copying manuscripts...” “Well then this is a great chance to get out of your comfort zone. This sort of apprenticeship looks great on a resumé . Shows you're not afraid to get your hands dirty.” I lit a few more candles as he started digging again. It's a common misconception that the candles are part of the process, really they're just for ambiance. As I've told my apprentices in the past, necromancy is 90% preparation, 9% perspiration, and 1% dead bodies. Tchk-shff, tchk-shff, chunk. “Oh... I think I found it sir.” “Did I hear a crunch? I best not have heard a crunch.” I hurried to the hole to see what we'd found. No casket, maybe an enemy soldier from the war. Might make a good fighter once we get him out. My apprentice dug around and had as much of the skeleton as he could find out of the hole and onto the impromptu altar in a few minutes. “Now comes the fun part. Stand back a bit, you're stifling my energies.” First, out with the old. I waved my hand over the pile of bones. No need to sort them neatly, they'll figure that part out themselves. A wispy red smoke, barely visible in the candlelight rose from the pile and quickly dissipated. Then, in with the new. I waved my hand back the other way over the pile as more smoke, purple this time, drifted from my fingertips and disappeared into the bones themselves. Suddenly the whole mess started shaking and creaking. I took a step back to let it figure itself out. The bones snap into place as if following written instructions. Legs are up first, then the pelvis, the rest of the torso, a couple arms, and the head pops into place last. “Amazing, sir.” “Not my best work, admittedly, but not half bad either.” I size up the skeleton, now sitting upright on the edge of the cloth draped over the stone, and nod to myself. “Alright, let's get that hole filled back up, it's unlikely anybody will be back here, but it's better to be safe than sorry.” He quickly gets back to shoveling while I work on getting the skeleton moving. A flick of the wrist and he's standing up nice and tall. “Oh you'll be perfect. Maybe an archer? Oooh, or maybe we'll stick you in a barrel.” Tchk-shff, tchk-shff, clink-clank. “Sir did you-” “Ssh...” I scanned our surroundings. Darkness, spooky stuff, ominous glow... Wait, that's not our ominous glow. I peered at the light coming from the entrance to the graveyard. Not the reddish orange of a torchlight, no. Pure white. Magelight. Some lowlife alchemist come to pick flowers? Then I saw the gleam. Plate armor. This is not good. “Sir is that... is that the guard? Oh geez... I... sir I can't... I should just...” He dropped the shovel and started walking towards the front gate. I grabbed the corners of the cloth I had covering the altar and scooped my supplies up whole. I looked over at my new, soon-to-be old, skeleton and pointed towards the approaching figure. “Slow him down.” The skeleton's shoulders jerked upwards and his head rolled back as his ribcage expanded, then contracted. Did he just... exasperatedly sigh at me? I really have to figure out how to make these things less passive-aggressive. The apprentice raised his hands in a non-threatening gesture and called out. “Hey! Guardsman? We're over here! I didn't know what he was going to have me do and I don't agree with any of this stuff and if you could find it in your agghuck gurgle splart.” Dashing off through the back of the graveyard, or as well as I could in my robes, I didn't turn back to see what gruesome end my ex-apprentice just made. Judging by the sound I'd wager he'd just gotten a throatful of arrow, though. Magelight, plate armor, and archery skills. That's no guardsman, only an adventurer is that unfocused in his choice of skills. I ran and ran, until a stifling heat lead me to glance at my hand; my hastily collected bag of supplies was on fire. The candles... I forgot to put out the candles... I dropped the mess, hitched up my robes, and broke into a sprint. Through the gully past the burned out chapel follow the river move the hanging moss and there's the door. My cave. I slammed the door behind me and barred it shut. Collapsing in a heap with my back against the wall, I waved off a skeleton as he creaked over and attempted to take my coat. I wasn't even wearing a coat. I never wear a coat... Losing an apprentice is a hassle. Losing my good necromancing candles was worse, I'd have to make a trip up north to replace those. The good news is, if that adventurer collects the bounty on necromancers, it might take the heat off me for a bit. I collected myself and walked to my study. Slumping down in front of my desk, I pulled out a quill and a roll of parchment. I dabbed the quill in my inkwell and started to write: “APPRENTICESHIP AVAILABLE. FLEXIBLE HOURS. UNPAID.” Word Count: 1231
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Jun 28, 2015 19:17
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I'm IN, I await the terrifying uncertainty of being assigned a genre.
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Jul 7, 2015 17:37
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J.A.B.C. posted:Await no more! Yeah, you might as well give me a flash rule too, let's gently caress this poo poo up.
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Jul 7, 2015 18:47
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A Tango Over Titan Sam kicked open the door to the bounty office and shoved her quarry in. “Hey there! Long time no see! Maybe a bit too long, enh?” She smirked at the bounty officer on duty, which was completely lost on him when he neglected to look up from his monitor. “Heh... eh... hmph.” She pointed to a bench against the wall, and her bounty sat down and rested his bound hands on his lap. Sam made her way to the counter and leaned her elbow on it. “So how's it going, uh...” She leaned out to spy the name placard affixed to the front of the counter, and then back in. “Bill!” It really had been a while, hadn't it. “I've got a real catch this time. He's been making waves from here to The Belt, you'll be glad to get him behind bars. And I'll be glad to get that bounty!” She raised her hand to her mouth to mock whisper to the officer. “To be honest, I could use the dosh, I ran out of shoes to eat a week ago, and I've started cooking up socks.” She waggled her eyebrows at the desk jockey, who continued to stare at his monitor. Sam cleared her throat and cocked her head at him. “Well? I haven't got all-” The officer pointed a pen grasped in his pudgy hand at the prisoner Sam had brought in, who was still slumped in the bench. “Name,” The officer grunted. “Huh? Oh, him, uh... lemme just...” Sam pulled out her datapad and scrolled through a few listings before she found it. “Here we go. Grell Tamzarian. PID is 140-2387-009. Bounty is a swank three hundred thousand. Bet you're wondering how I caught him, right? Well I just got this pair of facial recognition goggles, real fancy, all the features, and th-” “No.” The officer interjected. “No? No what?” “We already gots one.” “You already gots one what?” The officer pointed his pen at the prisoner again. “Grell.” Sam's gaze returned to her bounty, who was still busy studying the bare concrete floor. “Uh, there's just the one, sir. That's him right there. How can you already have one?” The officer turned his monitor to face Sam and tapped his pen on a mugshot. “Booked last week. Shipped off to MaxSec. Bounty don't say nothing about more than one.” Sam peered at the monitor, then back at her quarry, who was now staring at the monitor too. Aside from a painful looking black eye on the mugshot, they were identical. “So then, what do I do with mine?” Sam inquired. He turned the monitor back and gave a lazy shrug. “Can't leave him here, though.” Sam turned to face her meal ticket, now stamped “VOID”. She sighed, and her stomach gurgled in shared disappointment. “Up.” Grell stood up, his eyes still fixed on monitor's backside. Sam stared at his face, and he turned to meet her gaze. “You've got a lot of explaining to do, pal.” She nodded to the door and he trudged through it. Outside, Sam tapped Grell on the shoulder, and he turned around. “So what was that? You got an identical twin?” “No.” “Doppleganger?” “No.” “Professional impersonator?” “No.” “Mass produced cyborg?” “No.” “Clone?” “I don't know.” Sam frowned. “Well if the bounty on you is no good anymore, I might as well let you go. I should get back to the dry dock, I think I forgot to pay the meter.” She produced a key from her boot and started for Grell's bindings, but was interrupted. “Wait. You have ship?” “Well yeah what kinda bounty hunter doesn't have a ship? She's a real beauty too, runs like a drea-” “You need bounty. I need answers. The person I worked for. Big bounty.” Grell pointed at Sam's datapad in her pocket. “May I?” “Uh, sure. How big are we talking, here?” Sam handed over her datapad. Grell manipulated the screen deftly despite his bound wrists and handed it back. “Woah, Vetterlund? You could have just said so, she's one of the biggest names...” Sam scrolled down and her eyes went wide. “That is a lot of zeroes.” Sam looked up from the pad. “You said you work for her, why go turncoat now?” “Money dried up. Was her best agent. Best in the Outer Worlds. Crimes show up on my blotter. I didn't do 'em. Someone's patsy? Looked into things. Found out where my orders were coming from. Looked for passage. Got cold-cocked with a stun baton.” Grell squinted hard at Sam on the last part, and gestured for the datapad again. “So why should I trust you? And why should you trust me?” Grell handed her back the datapad, now displaying an orbital pattern over Titan. “Don't, yet. Once we get there. Then we trust. Keeping these until then.” Grell brought his wrists in front of his face, displaying the bindings still there. Sam screwed up her face. This wasn't the best situation, but neither was going hungry on this backwater until she lucked into another bounty. “Alright.” They walked off towards the docks. They reached Titan a few hours later after a quick trip through the Gate. Grell's coordinates were correct; Sam quickly found what they were pointing at: a small orbital platform. No ships were docked, and no life readings came up on the scan. It could be empty, or it could be shielded. Either way, the AI was giving her clearance to dock, and it would be rude to decline such a polite invitation. She made her way back to the cargo hold and told Grell the news. “Might not find a bounty.” Grell frowned. “Might find something else.” “Well come on, let's at least find out what's inside.” They made their way through the airlock, the station was pressurized, no need for a suit. It didn't seem abandoned, but there was certainly no activity. Sam stopped inside a cold dark room, the largest on the scans, and approached a terminal. “Let's see if we can't find out what's going on here.” Red light filled the room, revealing two long rows of tanks covered in condensation. Grell approached one carefully and wiped away the moisture, his handcuffs clinking against the surface. The dew cleared, revealing Grell's reflection in the glass. Except the reflection didn't recoil in horror when Grell realized what he was looking at. Sam piped up and called to Grell. “Alright I've put everything I could find on my datapad, we can take a look later back in the ship. Lemme just-” An alarm sounded and white flashes of light lit the room. Sam turned away from the console and yelled at Grell over the din, “Hey, that wasn't me, don't look at me like that!” Grell tensed up and charged towards Sam in a sprint. She let loose an unsteady yelp and dove to the ground as Grell barreled past her and tackled someone to the ground. Sam heard a sickening crack as she got to her feet and tried to make sense of the situation. Alive Grell was standing over Dead Grell. Dead Grell was holding a blaster, which Alive Grell kicked to the side. Dead Grell's neck should not be bent like that. Alive Grell held his cuffs out in front of him. “Trust me now: we need to leave.” Sam unlocked his cuffs quickly and nodded. She took off in a sprint down the hall with Grell chasing after her. Halfway back to the airlock Sam skidded to a halt, and Grell almost fell over on her. “I noticed this on the way in! Help me!” Sam ducked into a side room off the main corridor and grabbed one end of a large box marked “RATIONS.” Grell shook his head, but grabbed the whole box around the middle and started dashing down the hall again. Sam followed after him and smacked the button to close the airlock once they were in the ship. She kept running all the way to the cockpit and quickly detached from the station. They were a thousand klicks out when the station broke apart. It wasn't a big pretty explosion, but anything on board would soon enter Titan's atmosphere and disintegrate. Grell joined her in the cockpit with a handful of “NUTRIENT BAR: ORANGE FLAVOR.” He handed a couple to Sam. “Well, at least we won't get scurvy, right?” She chuckled. “And don't worry about that guy back there,” Sam mumbled through a mouthful of nutrient bar, “that counts as suicide, they can't book you on that.” They set course for Saturn Gate and planned their next move. Word Count: 1499
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Jul 15, 2015 08:51
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I humbly accept your judgment. I felt the same way when I finished. I had it at around 1600 with an abrupt ending, and had to go cut more out when I saw you slap down The Colonel for going over 1500. The middle section kinda lacks any punch. Now I'm reworking it in my head and thinking of all the extra words I could have if I cut this or that, heh.
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Jul 17, 2015 11:09
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I'm in.
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Jul 20, 2015 07:25
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A Truant Wizard Finally, I was rid of them. The damnable teachers constantly looking over my shoulder, tut-tutting me, holding me back. The damnable classmates always pestering me, ratting me out, interrupting my experiments. Most of all, the damnable Grand Magus who always seemed to be just around the nearest corner, throwing me in detention, confiscating my tomes. I needn't worry about them now, though. Soon they'd all know just how wrong they were to hold me back at Junior Novice for the last six seasons. I trudged through the forest. The snow was halfway up my shins and even my thickest cloak wasn't enough to keep the cold out. In a small clearing I stopped to collect my thoughts. I crossed the creek a few minutes ago, I should be able to see the tower by now. I pulled my cloak tighter. If this drat chill won't go away I could at least do something about it. A simple fire conjuration spell should do the trick. Pyra Manifestum was the words, but I read in an upper level book that if you change the suffix to -aga you get a spell that's three times as powerful. Novices aren't allowed to use anything greater than first level spells, and that was strictly enforced. Finally I'd be able to flex my might a bit. “Pyraga Manifestum!” I shouted while waggling my fingers. Pyra produced a small flame, large enough to warm your hands on. I expected a slightly larger flame to appear. Instead, the ground cracked open in front of me and a large flaming hand burst out. I took a step back. Out came another hand, then both of them pulled a creature of fire up through the cracked earth. A bound fire elemental? Stupendous! Perhaps I was meant to be a summoner after all. I adjusted my gaze upward to look the elemental in its face-ish place and grinned. “Elemental, hear me! I command you to, erm, stand right there.” I popped off my gloves and held my hands up closer to the creature's flaming body. “RETH KALIMUS.” The creature said, although it was more of an elaborate sizzle than speech. Uh oh. That's right. Elementals spoke their own language, and had to be commanded in that tongue. Okay, think back, Ancient Languages with Master Inimus. I thought hard, but couldn't remember any of it... how often did I even bother to show up to that class? I cleared my throat and took a step back. “Uh, yes... Reth Kalimus!” A bluff, but these elementals weren't terribly smart, right? “RETH KALIMUS TORRON.” The creature raised an arm and an enormous fireball shot off and exploded a nearby tree. “No! No Reth Kalimus!” The elemental ignored me and exploded a few more trees. Flaming tinder landed in the snow. This was quickly getting out of hand. I probably couldn't kill a third level summon outright, but I could stop it for a bit with a banishing spell. I pointed at the elemental and shouted “Temporus Intent!” Did it work? The great flaming beast had stopped moving, but it wouldn't last long. I took off in a sprint. Soon I was standing in the shadow of the tower, in front of its grand wooden doors. Entering, I found myself in a large open hall lined with columns. The inside geometry seemed a bit different from the outside, but magical architects tend to take liberties with reality. There, at the opposite end of the hall, I spied what I had come for. Just a pile of rubble now, but it had once been a grand summoning portal, smack dab on top of one of the strongest leylines in the region. I barred the tower doors behind me and strode toward the end of the hall with a determined smirk on my face. Once at the end, I removed the bag from my shoulder and took out the object that had brought me here: a pristine portal keystone that I'd nicked from the Grand Magus' desk. He'd been shouting at me for quite some time about (and I quote:) “The Danger Posed to the School and its Inhabitants by Possessing Illegal Alchemical Ingredients” when he was called away by his secretary to deal with a rampaging filth abomination in the trophy hall. My goodness, how convenient. A bit of time in the library informed me as to what I had gotten my hands on, and a bit more time found me a place to put it to use. It was time to do what I'd come out here to do, far away from the others. I placed the keystone atop the pile of rubble and began the incantation. Or, I was going to. I knew I wrote down the words here somewhere... I rummaged through my backpack until I found it. I stood up, cleared my throat, and started reading aloud. “Oh great beings from beyond the veil! Manifest yourselves in my realm so that I may pay homage!” Immediately, the keystone floated upwards, glowing a pale green. It hung in the air as the other stones on the ground also started to rise, forming an arch with the keystone at the top. Once all the stones had gone into place, the archway burst open with an opaque swirl of green and white light. “Yes, I've done it!” I shouted. Then I waited. Nothing was coming through. Wasn't something supposed to come through? From the direction of the tower doors I heard a sound like the popping of a champagne cork. Dammit, not again. I turned to face the doors and saw my worst fears realized. The Grand Magus stood there, still sparkling from the after effects of teleportation, his fists clenched to white. “YOU'VE GONE TOO FAR THIS TIME. THIS IS GROUNDS FOR EXPULSION.” He stomped forward, still shouting. “Once I close this portal we're going to pack you up and ship you back to your parents, you hear me you little shi-” Something dark streaked past the edge of my vision and struck the Grand Magus in the chest. An inky black tendril had burst from the portal and skewered him right through his heart. I froze in place with my jaw open wide. The tendril lifted the Grand Magus into the air then slammed him down again. I turned back to the portal to see more tendrils slowly coming out of the portal. This was not good. I must have misidentified the keystone, I was sure this was going to open a portal to Ary'krish, the Plane of Air. This was no being of air I'd ever seen. I ducked behind a column and started making my way towards the entrance, hoping not to gain the thing's attention. I was halfway down the hall when a noise caught my attention. It sounded far off, as if it were coming from outside. “reth kalimus Reth Kalimus RETH KALMIUS!” The tower doors exploded off their hinges as the fire elemental burst inside. “Reth Kalimus Torron!” I yelled towards it, and the fire creature rushed towards the portal, glowing brighter and brighter: it was going super-critical. The tentacles attempted to stop it but recoiled in pain when they touched the elemental's blazing hot surface. I dove to the ground as an enormous explosion rocked the tower. I could feel my body leave the ground and my vision went to white, then black. I awoke later in the school infirmary. The teachers seemed to think I had stumbled upon the Grand Magus doing something illicit. He, being dead, couldn't say otherwise. I was off the hook. They advanced me to Junior Apprentice. Well... I guess I could stick around a little while longer. Word Count: 1300
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Jul 29, 2015 12:46
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Jamfrost posted:I uh... have some concerns about the health of GamerDome. You think it needs a nap, J.A.B.C.? The more competitors, the better, I think. Yeah, it's a shame more people didn't sign up. I had a lot of fun writing this week.
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Jul 30, 2015 06:28
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| # ¿ Apr 19, 2024 04:28 |
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Thanks for posting your story anyway deathbagel, I enjoyed it. Your entry was pretty interesting Jamfrost, I definitely didn't see that ending coming.
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Jul 31, 2015 08:35
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