Tuesday, January 5, 2016

1. GLIMMERINGS IN THE DARKNESS

A Meeting, by Todd James

The darkness fades as the light from the sun glows behind your eyelids. You awaken. You sit up and are on the dusty ground. There is a sound in your head vibrating your skull, but you can’t tell if it’s ringing in your ears or if it’s external. Others are sitting like you, but most are lying down and their bodies are shredded. Some have their insides in piles next to their bodies. Some look like they’ve been turned inside out. Some look to have been flayed. Steam rises from them.

There are buildings on the edges of the town square made of gray clay or scrap metal. In the center of the square is a stone of black glass. It’s one meter tall and three meters on a side. On top of it is flesh, guts, hair, and bone, of some large, unrecognizable animal.

In the sky behind you a sand storm is receding. The storm clouds are iridescent. They shimmer in the sun when they move at certain angles.

All you remember is your name and who you are. Otherwise you remember nothing.

Morn Start the Android, by Todd James


Mickey, by Eric Gillin



Map 1



47 comments:

  1. [IC] Mon-Start feels the circuits within quickly wake him to start up, Blerp-zaaap-zip-verrrziiiiip!! with a warp and ripple of digital noise things start re-connecting. Ready to work but he must run first to survive, to make customers happy, to live another day, the organic life forms seem to have not faired so well. Mon-Start’s scanners don’t recognize this place but the buildings seem to be the safest place to go. Rising mechanically and slowly amongst the body parts and the half living to remain undetected by the black glass monolith. The memory function of speed kicks in as the tiny Cat droid runs full force with robotic precision, tiny chrome legs clacking like pistons. “Please carry me away to the safety of the clay and scrap metal buildings beyond” Mon-Start needs more time, more work to be done!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. [@Morn-Start]

      There are three buildings on the Eastern side and three on the Western side. One large building occupies the Northern border of the square. To the South are two, almost-identical squat buildings of clay.

      Delete
  2. [MICKEY]

    [IC] "Where are we, Mickey?" asked Mickey's left head, fur and snout crusted over with matted oil and dried blood. "I do not know, Mickey," answered the right head. So, with nothing to do, the twin-headed rat man sat down, legs folded, in the midst of all the body parts and and chaos, waiting for something to happen next. Mickey didn't know who Mickey was, but something about living in filth felt right. Sometimes, Mickey's left head was content to do nothing. That is, until Mickey saw a tiny, silver convenience store droid shaped like a cat run for the gray lumps in the distance. Then he stood up, ran a clawed hand over his patchy fur, and limped after the robot.

    [OoC] Is the stone of black glass in the square of the town? Or is it right in front of us, in the center of the bodies?

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    Replies
    1. [@MICKEY]
      Yes, the stone of black glass is in the center of the town square where you find yourselves. It is in the center of the bodies. You notice you, along with everyone else, are all facing the stone in the center when you sit up.

      Delete
  3. [IC] Orth Haut rises to an animal-like crouch. He cannot see the carnage around him, but he can smell the coppery blood and the dead flesh starting to turn under the sun. This, he reckons, is not a good place. Ortho extends his antennae-like ears and listens for signs of life around him...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. [@Orth Haut]
      The ringing in your ears becomes more pronounced when you focus on listening. Otherwise you can hear stirring of others who are alive as you are.

      Delete
  4. [MOSES MARLBOROUGH]

    [IC] Moses stares goggle-eyed upon the eviscerated bodies surrounding him. What a wonderful start to the day! Compelled by his piranha appetite, he waddles friskily to the nearest corpse and tears away hunks of steaming meat with his strong jaws. As he bites and swallows, he notices Othus Haut crouching nearby. Moses smiles broadly at Othus, revealing wide rows of bloody, triangular fangs.

    "Good morning, stranger!" gurgles Moses. "Trust that I will not eat you, what with this fine breakfast that surrounds us. Unless you are similarly disemboweled, of course!"

    ReplyDelete
  5. There are nine, rough buildings in total surrounding the town square. And five roads leading to the village beyond.

    The storm, with the silvery clouds, moves off into the distance to the Southeast.

    To the Northwest there is a green mist along the horizon.

    ReplyDelete
  6. [MOSES MARLBOROUGH]

    [IC] Moses quickly skeletonizes his breakfast. Although intrigued by the buildings surrounding them, the stone of black glass is too strange to be ignored. Moses wipes his bloody fish-lips and waddles carefully to the black glass for a closer look.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. [@MOSES]

      As you get closer to the stone the ringing in your tiny fish ears increases volume slightly.

      Atop the large stone of black glass you find a heap of gore in a rainbow of colors. Bright pinks, florescent greens, deep reds, pulsing purples. There are a gleaming white bones, but also tufts of hair stuck to pieces of flesh. There appear to be four skulls, but only one rib cage.

      A miasma lifts from the pile.

      In the center of the mass is a steel object.

      Delete
    2. [IC] Unnerved by the winged creatures in the sky, Moses thinks that perhaps he can arm himself with the steel object from the garish flesh-pile. He grabs a long bone from the pile and attempts to flip the steel object off of the black glass altar and onto the dusty ground.

      Delete
    3. Moses flips the steel object onto the ground. It's shape is an elongated egg about a foot in length. It has a bluish hue. Strangely no gore or fluid, from the pile of organs in flesh, clings to its surface.

      Delete
    4. [IC] Fascinated, Moses picks up the bluish steel egg with his stubby flippers.

      Delete
    5. Upon closer inspection, the steel blue egg has seam running along its length. On one side of its horizontal face is a circular seam, interrupting the lengthwise seam. The circular seam is about two inches in diameter.

      Delete
    6. [IC] Moses sets the egg down on the dust, its circular seam facing skyward. Using the femur that he plucked from the flesh-pile, he pushes down hard on the steel circle with the knobby end of the bone.

      Delete
    7. The end of the bone depresses the circle in the egg resulting in a sharp "click" sound. But nothing occurs.

      [Tech] Roll for INT - 1d20, under 8.

      Delete
    8. Note: I included a web die roller in the footer of this blog if you want to use it.

      Delete
    9. [Tech] Moses rolls a 1 on 1d20! (For reals. Thanks for the dice roller below!)

      Delete
    10. [Moses]

      The silvery blue egg remains a mystery to you, as well as the function of the circle you were able to depress with the bone.

      Delete
    11. [IC] Moses cradles the steel egg in the crook of his left stump, while with his right he grips his long bone like a club. He gazes at the pile of multicolored meat on the black glass altar. "Could one of those four skulls be fashioned into a helmet?" wonders Moses.

      Delete
    12. [@Moses]

      Indeed it could be fashioned into a helmet.

      [Tech] Roll a 1d6 to see how effective this fin-made helmet will be

      Delete
    13. [Tech] For skull-helmet-crafting, Moses rolls a 4.

      Delete
    14. [@Moses]

      You pull the skull from the pile of gore and clean it off with the dust on the ground, crushing the underside of the cranium so it fits your piranha head.

      [Tech] Due to your 7 Intelligence, your AC is reduced (we're using old-school descending Armor Class here) -1. You are now at 9 AC.

      Delete
    15. [IC] Feeling snappy with his new skull helmet, bone club, and steel egg, Moses turns away from the black glass altar and flops toward the large building (1) on the north side of the square.

      [OoC] I will update my character sheet with my new possessions and AC of 9, Ben. I guess I can email you my updated character sheet, and then you post it? Is that how I could get a Moses drawing on the blog, too? I see how all the images are posted by you.

      [OoC] Also, it it's cool, I will end this sub-thread here and Moses will return to the main thread at the bottom.

      Delete
    16. [@MOSES]

      As Moses flops toward the large building on the north side of the square, the enormous sound coming out of the Northwest stops him in his tracks as he recoils.

      [Cool. You can use Acrobat or Photoshop to edit the character sheet. Definitely send along the updated sheet and any character artwork to me and I'll post it.]

      [Right on. There's a new post! You can state Moses moves and decisions there!]

      Delete
    17. [IC] Moses yells, "OH SHIT!"

      [OoC} Love it.

      Delete
  7. Far off in the eastern sky, in a red haze, are shadows. There are about two dozen winged creatures flying South in formation. Each winged creature appears to be holding a humanoid creature by the shoulders.

    ReplyDelete
  8. [Morn-Start]

    [IC] Morn-Start, a flash of chrome, hauled himself at top speed down the alley between buildings 4 and 3. Running through the stnk and debris he tried to make out any thing visible inside the structures as he sped past before stopping behind the corner of building 4 with building 3 on his right. Antena up, He quickly watches his back looking for cover and makes note of what lies beyond before looking back at the Town Square and Mass bodies. Crouched low ready to sprint again Morn-Start is spying now on a two headed Rat and another ghoulish Fishman who’s feasting on the dead toying with the dangerous looking black glass.


    [Ooc]
    Do I see anything in the buildings as I pass, life forms? Where the interriors destroyed or any signs of danger? What lies beyond buildings 3 and 4? is there anything in this alley that could be used as a weapon? Is there enough cover in the alley to hide or windows or other entrances to these two buildings?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. [@Morn-Start]

      You don't see any movement in the buildings. No signs of life, other than the ones you see in the square sitting up and moving about.

      Beyond buildings 3 and 4, to the East, lies a road, running North/South. Beyond the road appears to be a small lake.

      There is a grey piece of dried clay, the size of a fist, probably broken from the building wall, that could be thrown or held as a weapon.

      The sun is high up in the northern side of the hazy sky. The building casts a light shadow into the alley where you sit.

      Delete
  9. [MICKEY]

    [IC] Mickey continues to limp after Morn-Start, but upon seeing the fish man feast on dead bodies and the flying creatures in the sky, he lets out a low whimper. "That's not nice," says left head. "We gotta get out of here." Friendless and alone, Mickey curries into building number 3 to hide, eyes on the skies, wondering when the next horrifying will happen.

    [OoC] I'm going to try to use my two heads to smell and look at the flying creatures, just to see if I can tell anything new.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. [@MICKEY]

      You lift your noses into the air in the direction of the flying creatures, but they are too far off. They might be more than a mile.

      However, you smell something else to your left, Northwest. It's an earthy, sour stench, mixed with manure.

      In building 3 it is dark and cool. There are several rows of benches. There is a table at the North end of the building. Behind the table, on the North wall, is a painting. There is no image, only thousands of marks that appear to be done with fingers, piled up over the years, in one shade of brown paint.

      Delete
  10. [Morn-Start]

    [IC] Picking up the clay rock, Morn-Start attempts a stealthy creep along the shady wall of building 3 heading back to its entrance. He sees the two headed rat and hopes to quickly slip in unnoticed through its front door after it.

    [OoC] I'm looking for a better weapon or anything of value searching and for a better place to hide.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. [@Morn-Start]

      Following the Mickey, the two-headed rat, in the building, you find a slate tablet on one of the benches in the single-room building.

      No one could see you in the building unless they came to the door.

      Delete
  11. [Morn-Start]

    [IC] Morn-Start enters the dwelling and says "Hello Rat Man I am Morn-Start!!! There is danger outside but I am hoping today will be a productive work day, comfort and service, I am here to help, what can I do for you? Bzzrrrrt beep!! Also, may I suggest breaking this granite table to make something we might defend ourselves with?

    ReplyDelete
  12. [Mickey]

    [IC] Catching an unusual scent, Mickey uses his noses to follow the odor, when a small silver cat-droid suddenly enters the room and begins loudly introducing himself. As a rat, Mickey never trusted cats, let alone loud, friendly cats who were looking for a weapon. There was always a catch. Then again, the cat-droid who called itself "Morn-Start" might be the last living being for miles. And wouldn't that be ironic.

    "Hi. I am Mickey," said the left head. "I smell something sour," said the right head. "Why do you need a weapon?"

    ReplyDelete
  13. [Celexis]

    [IC] --> Celexis looks around and surveys the carnage. A few beings seem to be scurrying into the surrounding buildings, but he is more interested in scavenging the bodies first to see if he can find something that may be of use to him later.

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    1. [Celexis]

      You begin to inspect the bodies nearest you. Something in your mind tugs at you. You feel as if you recognize these people, in spite of the fact they have been sliced to ribbons by what looks like tens of thousands of tiny blades. The integrity of some of their skins gave way to the amount of wounds and they are simply piles of muscle, organ, and bone. Whatever clothing they wore is shredded.

      But among the bodies closer to the large black stone of glass you find a rusted pocket knife from The Before, and an ancient metal key.

      Delete
  14. [IC] Morn-Start walks further into the room wanting be hidden from view outside. “Greetings Micky, so nice to meet you, be aware friend, there is much death and danger outside. there seems to be flying predators coming to this area. I wish for us to be prepared-bbzipppp- preperation is the key to success. There is much work to be done, shall we whistle while we do it?

    ReplyDelete
  15. [WINTER BLACKFORD]

    [IC] Winter Blackford wakes with a start, sneezing dust from the mutated nostrils on both of his simian shaped mutant-human heads. Disorientation quickly gives way to a focused concern as his dual heads quickly scan his surroundings.

    Man Head: “There you go Meat Head, drinking like this is gonna get us killed one day. We can’t be blacking out like that I keep telling ya!”

    Meat Head: “Not meathead. Not drink. We kill thems?”

    Winter looks down to check his hands. Plenty of scars, gouges and signs of healed breaks cover his forearms hands and torso but those details somehow all seem familiar. More importantly there seem to be no open wounds or new marks visible.

    Man Head: “Don’t think so Meat Head, we got no blood on us…”

    Meat Head: ‘Not meathead. Lookit. They kill thems?”

    Winter eyeballs (Moses), (Celexis) and (Ortho) as they pick through different areas of the surrounding carnage. Not sure about these unfamiliar scavengers Winter decides to keep his distance for now.

    Man Head: “Let’s figure this out Meat Head”

    Meat Head: “Not meathead. Check dead body”

    [OoC] I check the bodies nearest me first keeping my distance from those who are awake, looking for anything of value or information.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. On one body you find a small, silver key, on a ring. There is also a remnants of a plastic piece on the ring, but it has been mostly destroyed.

      Another body yields a thick plastic rectangle shape with beveled edges and rounded corners.

      Delete
  16. [Orthus Haut]

    [IC] Stunned by the ringing in his ears, Orthus fails to respond to the somewhat ominous greeting of the seemingly friendly stranger, but he manages to follow the sound of the stranger's feeding, and his footsteps as he wanders off. For lack of anything better to do, Orthus follows the footsteps, hunched and cautious, almost cat like- really, kitten like- is his movement...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You stand near Moses as he manages to fashion a helmet out of a skull from the carcass on the black stone of glass.

      Delete
    2. [MOSES]
      [IC] "How do I look?" asks Moses proudly, modeling his skull helmet for Orthus. The man does not respond, and Moses notices the filmy glaze over the man's eyeballs. "Well, take my word for it, it's quite smashing. I am Moses Marlborough, and don't worry, I just had breakfast. What say we both inspect that impressive building to the north? Follow me!"

      Delete
  17. [WINTER BLACKFORD]

    [IC] Winter Blackford stows away the key and plastic plate for later inspection.

    Man Head: “Let’s keep moving Meat Head, I don’t like the looks of this scene …”

    Meat Head: ‘Not meathead.”

    In a slow simian gallop, Winter Blackford approaches the ominous glass pyre at the center of the town square. Winter is careful to approach the object from the opposite side of the other awoken scavengers.

    [OoC] I use both heads to inspect the base of the Black Glass object looking for shards, symbols, buttons or traps.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. [@WINTER BLACKFORD]

      You run your hands over the bottom of the stone. It has a rough rectangular shape. You sense it very old, ancient even, and as though it was carved with an enormous tool, huge pieces removed to leave raw, heavy marks. You wonder what could have held a tool to master such a stone.

      You find a piece has come loose from the stone along the bottom. It is a shard of black glass, almost as long as a forearm.

      It is when you stare at this in your fist that you hear the stunning sound from the North.

      Delete
  18. [@WHOLE PARTY]

    The next phase of your adventure continues in the next post, THE SHADOWS ADVANCE: http://cruellightbrutalsteel.blogspot.ca/2016/01/2-shadows-advance.html

    ReplyDelete
  19. [@WHOLE PARTY]

    Accounting:

    Moses's AC drops to 9.

    Inventory:

    Celexis - A rusted pocket knife in one hand, an ancient key of black metal on his person.

    Morn-Start - A brown clay stone in one hand, a slate tablet in the other hand.

    Moses - A skull helmet on his head, a silvery blue metal egg in his fins.

    Winter - A small key and plastic rectangle on his person. A shard of black glass in his hand.

    Let me know if I missed anything. I'll post this at the top of the next Comments section, too.

    ReplyDelete

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