Bay 12 Games Forum

If you're going to do that here, please don't let it turn into a mess. We already have a dedicated thread for that.

Thanks  

I knew that post was anticlimactic, but unfortunately, that was unavoidable as you said. I didn't think it would reflect on the characters though.

Kazo walked in knowing only the bare minimums regarding tech. So, Blitukus is teaching it from the ground up. You'll see with this post that it progresses back upwards. You can't expect Kazo to go making and using high tech without knowing the basic levels first. Unfortunately, since we're all used to a technological world, although simple magic still seems cool, simple technology is of course, rather mundane.

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Blitukus, "Good to hear!" Blitukus began to notice... although Kazo was still fully functional... it seemed the shine of his adamantine exterior had dulled slightly. Blitukus asked, "Does adamantine tarnish at all?" Kazo looked at his hands, then looked at Blitukus, "Not exactly, but I should wash this off." Blitukus replied, "There is a water channel feed into the..." Blitukus noticed Kazo walk right to the edge of the magma channel. Kazo seemed to wash himself off with magma, but never submerged himself and was careful to get the magma off long before it cooled. Kazo spoke as he did this, "I've seen dragons do this but the first time I tried it I partially turned myself into an obsidian statue! Arkus and I had a good laugh about that one! Ah... Arkus... I'll miss you." Blitukus sighed... it might be a good idea to change the subject. Blitukus asked, "Why do you not submerge yourself? It would get rid of instantaneous solidification problems." Kazo replied, "Too much heat and thermal expansion makes my crystals shatter. Good thing I was told about that before it happened! I still love doing this though, nice and warm! I think it might be too warm for you though." Blitukus snickered, "Indeed." Kazo finished, checked to make sure not a drop of magma was left on his surface, shook off, then stood. Kazos adamantine surface now shined as if it were forged the previous day. Kazo spoke, "Much better! I'll just sit here and cool off. I'm eager to see what you're doing next, though." Kazo sat upon the anvil of the magma forge. Blitukus nodded... what would he do next? He still had another pig tail... and dwarven ale was a very good drink. It was mentioned in the book that the alcohol content of dwarven booze is, on average, high enough to allow it to serve as an effective antibacterial agent, only dwarven ale tasted far better. He didn't need it, but it would help to pass the time. And perhaps Kazo would be interested in trying it... the thought of a drunken reptile amused Blitukus. First, Blitukus felt simply thirsty. He stopped for a drink from the river, then afterwards, Blitukus gathered every bit of pig tail he could find, brought it back with the now empty booze barrel, and then brewed the pig tails into dwarven ale, matching the dwarven recipe. When he was done, he offered some to Kazo. Kazo spoke, "I already tried that once. It didn't work, but it did help make my mouth shinier! I don't think many constructs can get drunk." Blitukus snickered, "I see." Blitukus then moved the barrel bull of booze back to the central tunnel. Blitukus returned. Kazo grinned, "I just remembered, 'Miner's tip 58: If you're out of mana to make an explosion, dwarven booze makes a fine substitute!'" Blitukus snickered... it was an idea... a rather risky one. It seemed he had mined as much as he had needed to anyway. Kazo continued, "Of course, the dwarven mining guild condemned the booze bombers for committing atrocities... and the elves condemned the dwarven mining guild for committing atrocities... and then the booze bombers condemned the elves for committing atrocities. That's the circle of political life!" Blitukus laughed, "Much too true... especially among humans." Kazo asked, "What's a human?" Blitukus responded, "You have never seen a human before? Well... of course, they did not appear until after the first demonic war. They are like elves, only bigger, slower, and without the pointy ears." Kazo responded, "Another race of hairless apes... they really are an odd bunch, but fun to watch!" Blitukus nodded. Blitukus then walked to the door of the work room... to find Dracha walking up the tunnel.

Blitukus exited the work room, Dracha walking up to meet him. Blitukus spoke, "Hello, Dracha." Dracha replied, "Great news... but first, mind If I have a drink?" He noticed Dracha looking at the barrel of fresh ale. Blitukus had little use for it, seeing as he did not have a drinking habit nor was he short on food. Blitukus nodded, "Help yourself." Dracha spoke, "Thanks!" Dracha then took up the entire barrel as if it were a mug, and drank from it. Dracha finished, then set it back down, "Hey, this stuff ain't half bad! An' comin' from me, that's sayin' quite a bit!" Blitukus smiled... then looked up to see Kazo, slowly and carefully making his way up to the top of Drachas head. Dracha spoke, "You know... I got this weird feelin' on top of my head..." Kazo lay belly-down on Drachas head, bending his head down so he was staring right into Drachas face. Kazo grinned. Dracha seemed to go cross-eyed for a moment, then looked at Blitukus, "Hey, what did ya put in this?" Blitukus snickered, "Nothing unusual." Kazo jumped off of Drachas head, spinning in midair, and landing, facing Dracha. Kazo smiled, "So I see the Adventurous Apprentice is still around! It's been a while!" Dracha hesitated, then spoke, "... Kazo?..." Kazo replied, "I still remember the time you turned that old, broken alchemy lab into a still! How've you been?" Dracha replied, "I've been doin' fine thanks to Blitukus here... say, where'd you come from anyway?" Kazo replied, "Blitukus found me and brought me back to life! You might say I slept in a bit..." Kazo then spoke to Blitukus, "Thanks again! If you need my help, count me in!" Blitukus smiled, "Thank you..." Blitukus then looked at Dracha, and continued, "I found him by digging under a ruined building in the year 2421... I brought him back with me, and used the cat amulet. Now the amulet is part of him." Dracha spoke, "So ya dug under some old ruins and found him? I've heard of a 'living fossil' before but this is ridiculous!" Blitukus snickered. Kazo smiled. Dracha continued, "Kazo an' I are probably gunna want a chat, so I might as well tell you the news now Blitukus. I just unearthed the motherlode of gems, all those power crystals I refined are gunna help a lot when it comes to the colony. I sent out a message to all the other dragons... a lot of 'em thought I was tellin' jokes at first but I told them I was very serious. They were speechless... I told 'em to get their rumps in gear, we'll be out of here soon enough! Third... I don't know what was going on but I saw of all things a little grey cat messin' with my mana generator! I don't know what the cat was doin' with it but... somehow it was actually working better after the cat saw me and left! That was some weird stuff!" There was that cat again... perhaps the gods had missed one? Kazo spoke, "I think I'll just head over to your place. I can't wait to see what you've been up to these last 1400 years!" Dracha smiled, "Yeh, it's to the right after you leave Blitukus' tunnels. Keep going along the mountain face until you see a cave. There I am!" Blitukus asked, "Before you leave, I have been curious about one thing... what is the story behind the legend of the dragon laying on vast piles of gold?" Dracha replied, "Gold is nice, it feels good on our scales and we like how it looks. One day some humans saw a dragon enjoying some gold he'd dug out of his cave... they went in, and even though they could've asked and he would've given 'em a part of it, they wanted it all, so they drew their swords and started taking swings at him. The end result of what happened next was 4 swords stuck in the wall, 4 burnt up suits of armor, 4 charred bodies, and one dragon grumbling about a rude awakening. He took the bodies and hung 'em up outside to warn would-be robbers not to mess with him, so what happened? It made the humans think he was evil, so they sent even MORE of their kind. Stupid humans. Anyway, I've got more crystals to refine, stuff to polish up for the big day. It may still seem like a long ways off but it'll be here fast! I'll show up again sooner or later. Until then, good luck!" Blitukus smiled and waved, "Same to you, Dracha." Dracha walked down the tunnel, Kazo following. She reached the chasm, and then took off from the bridge... instead of walking through the glacier, Kazo leapt off of the bridge, ran against the wall, gripping it with his claws, then jumped again, landing on Drachas back. Dracha was surprised at first, then laughed. Kazo did still want to know more about technology... he should be back soon. In the mean time, Blitukus had some time to sit and think about what he would do in preparation for the big day...

Blitukus went back to his room, sat, and thought... Kazo did count as an observer... and Kazo did love to observe. If Kazo was around when he was operating any heavily probability-dependent device, such as the time machine or the cat relic... he would need Kazo to be cooperative. Kazo had a refined and powerful will... perhaps together they could much more accurately operate these devices. Until then, he still had quite a bit of time... he also realized, the cat relic, in order to fully do its job... also likely had to be unobserved when it performed it. Would he even have indication if it had worked or not? Likely the results would be obvious and drastic. Blitukus continued thinking about various implications, and eventually found himself hungry again... he was tired of plump helmet, and would rather NOT eat those biscuits. He retrieved a meals worth of bread, and ate it. He found it actually tasted rather pleasant. It seemed to be filling and nutritious. He smiled, and saved some... even though Kazo was a construct, perhaps he still was capable of tasting. Blitukus walked down to the very bottom of his tunnel, peering into the adamantine he had mined through, peering out into the now unoccupied prison... that demon... all of those demons... Blitukus walked to a section of unmined adamantine, and placed his hand against the wall. These walls would crumble on new years of 2000. It seemed new years day was marked with many tragedies... and after 2000 especially... never again would it be the festive day it once was. Those fireworks were now nothing but a memory. The temperature was infernal, so he did not stay for long at all. Blitukus sighed, and walked back up... further, and further, the temperature plummeting, until he reached the deathly, frozen surface. Hours had passed... where was Kazo? It was a glacial winter night... soon to be the day Blitukus now regarded with no joy... although civilization may have over the course of centuries put Fales death behind and once more welcomed new years with festivities, welcomed it as a sign of being one year further into the future... it would never be so enjoyable for Blitukus... but it would always remind him that as order turned to chaos, times natural flow took but one direction, and carried all else with it. Blitukus stood at the exit of the tunnel... the arctic winds blew. Blitukus sighed... suddenly, he began to hear the scruffing of claws digging through snow. He saw a distant blue glow quickly moving across the glacier... this glow quickly moved up, Kazo becoming visible in the moonlight. Kazo ran to the mountainside, and leapt up to the top of the cliff using various narrow ledges as landing points on the way up. Blitukus saw Kazo running along the top of the cliff... then Kazo seemed to leap up high into the air, and come down upon a steep, snowy slope. Kazos adamantine feet slid nearly frictionlessly upon the frozen surface, allowing him to reach immense speeds. A natural rock formation curved the slope upwards into a ramp... Blitukus watched as Kazo launched off of the rock formation, performing a back flip in midair, then landing in the snow right in front of Blitukus, sending a cloud of snow forth. Kazo had landed with precision and accuracy, his hand forming a third landing point, his other hand held behind him. Kazo looked up at Blitukus, and smiled, "Snowboarding without a board, you should try it some time!" Blitukus snickered, "I do not think my legs are up to that. Also, my feet are not as frictionless as yours and I happen to lack a board as well." Kazo stood, "Aww, I was hoping we could race down the slope." Kazo then looked around, spotting the electromagnetic wave generator and the armored vehicle in storage. Kazo spoke, "Now that vehicle looks heavy! What do these do?" Blitukus responded, "The wave generator is for communication, and the armored vehicle is... well... a machine of war. I intend to change the latter eventually, though. The details and inner workings of these devices are more advanced subjects that I will describe later. You seem to have understood the basics well enough, and perhaps we could move on to steel and steam-works." Kazo commented, "Steam is fun to work with! It used to have these magical properties that made it burn through almost anything! Dwarves used to make virtually impenetrable traps with it... I guess it doesn't work any more?" Blitukus shook his head, "Magic is not what it used to be, and I am afraid it may never return." Kazo spoke, "So then technology has picked up a new use for steam? I'd love to hear about it!" Blitukus led Kazo back into the tunnel, "You have a constant thirst to know more, an admirable trait." Kazo replied, "I've got quite an appetite for knowledge!" Blitukus replied, "Speaking of that..." Blitukus led Kazo back to his room, and offered Kazo the last of the bread. Kazo grinned, showing his pointy adamantine teeth, "I don't eat plants. Thanks for the offer though!" A moment passed... Kazo started looking around, his tail waving around slowly, "I am starting to get a little low on mana though. I'll be back before you know it!" Kazo then left, turning to go to the chamber. Blitukus sat back in his chair, listening to Kazo operate the dynamos... after he taught Kazo about steam and steel, he would move on to toe height of what he had achieved, electricity, the wave generator, the calculating machine, and finally, the time machine itself. Blitukus' may combine magic and technology, but it seemed that Kazo actually would soon embody this combination. This had several implications, but in the mean time, his own quest still had several implications...

Spring has arrived!

The cold outside was starting to let up... it was that day once again. Blitukus sighed, and walked out of the room. He walked toward the chamber... apparantly Kazo was already done, for wisps of steam were present, but other than that, the channels were empty and the machines were off. Kazo was also nowhere to be seen... "Happy new years!", Kazo spoke. Blitukus looked behind himself to see Kazo standing at the other end of the tunnel. Kazo approached. Blitukus replied, "Unfortunately, I find I cannot enjoy this day... it brings back too much pain. It does mark year 6 of my quest though... and reminds me that I near my quests end." Kazo replied, "I have to admit, I think you're the most dedicated kobold I've seen." Blitukus replied, "Thank you." Kazo then spoke, "I was wondering about something..." Kazo then moved by Blitukus, walking back into the cavern, Blitukus following along. Kazo then positioned himself between the particle cannon and the portal ring, positioning himself in a defensive pose, ready to cast a shield. Kazo spoke, "This looks like some kind of energy cannon. I wonder if I can block one of it's shots. Let's find out! It's been a while since I've had a real test of my shields." Blitukus sighed, "I had silently sworn... I would never use the particle cannon against a living being, ever." Kazo spoke, "Aww... I still want to see what this looks like when it fires." Blitukus replied, "You will... in fact, I may ask for your help in operating these machines once I have taught you about the more advanced technologies." Kazo smiled. Although his quest was getting close to its end, many new possibilities were opening up... Blitukus still wondered what his mother had arranged for his birthday, and when it would be useful. Blitukus hoped, that in the end... all possibilities would be opened up, and he would be able to focus down on the one, the one in which his mother still lived. This also presented an opportunity for Kazo... in the very same event, perhaps a solution could be found where Arkus had never died. Possibilities were opening up, but what were they turning out to be? It would be resolved soon enough, and Blitukus felt confident that it would somehow turn out alright in the end.

Thank you all    
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Blitukus nodded, then spoke to Kazo, "Technology is the art of directing and converting physical forces and energies to accomplish physical tasks. It is a matter of designing and building devices that take a source of physical energy and, in the end, do something useful. Seeing as you already know about gears, levers, and other basics, it should not be hard for you to get started. Physical energies come in many forms, be it motion, heat, electricity, chemical sources, or energy from fundamental particles themselves... although I am not sure regarding the harnessing of the last... In general, I would recommend breaking down your desired task into the physical processes that are absolutely needed. Then ask yourself, what physical forces or conditions cause these processes? How can these processes be replicated? How will the energy for this be derived, and how will it be handled? And always make sure you are using the most effective and efficient methods you can think of." Kazo replied, "It sounds like solving a puzzle! I like puzzles!" Blitukus responded, "In some cases, designing a new device is much like solving a puzzle. Another thing to keep in mind is that certain materials can only handle a certain amount of physical force, and also can only handle certain temperatures. All machines must stay within these limits, otherwise the material, and therefore the machine, will fail. This should be part of the common sense you must always follow... but after that incident involving a catapult firing far to the side... anyway..." Kazo asked, "The catapult spell... I always loved using it on rodents to see how far they would go. What is this technological catapult and what happened?" Blitukus replied, "A catapult is a simple device, consisting of a 'spoon' and a rotating axle mounted upon a frame. A source of tension or torque... either a string or a spring of some sort... is attached between either the axle and the frame, or the 'spoon' and the frame. When the 'spoon' is drawn back slowly, using one of a variety of force-amplifying machines, this energy of motion, kinetic energy, is stored in whatever is creating the tension or torque, as potential energy. Then, the 'spoon' is tied down, preventing the energy from being released. The 'spoon' is then loaded with a projectile, typically a rock. Then, the tie is severed, allowing the potential energy to, much more rapidly, convert back to kinetic energy, much of this energy being transfered to the rock. The rock then flies forth, hopefully hitting the intended target. What happened to me and my comrades several years ago... I was 14 at the time... was one of them had made the axle too narrow... the forces upon it as the catapult fired were too great, and the axle snapped, causing the rock to fly far off course, nearly hitting someones well... luckily for us, it only nearly hit it." Kazo smiled, "Unexpected results involving flying objects are always fun to watch!" Blitukus snickered. Blitukus walked over to the calculating machine, Kazo following. Blitukus pointed at the rollers, "Another rather simple example... no, not the whole machine, just the rollers." Kazo walked up and looked closely at the rollers. Blitukus pointed at various parts of it, "This device performs the task of counting a number based on the rotation of this axle, the energy provided by the motion of the axle itself. Note how this roller has the numbers 0 through 9 painted on it. It represents a single digit, and for each one tenth of a rotation, it increments by one. Notice the large gear and the small gear, the small gear connected to the axle. The circumference of the large gear is 10 times that of the small gear, so when the small gear rotates once, the large one rotates one tenth of a rotation... one number on the roller. Each further digit is connected to the previous in a similar manner, since each digit is ten times the one before it. This gives the tens, hundreds, thousands place, and so on." Blitukus then spun the roller slightly, spinning it back afterwards. Kazo replied, "I get the idea. Thanks, Blitukus. I'm eager to put it to use now!"

Blitukus responded, "I did have a rather straightforward project I had intended to do, a mill. Perhaps we could work on it together?" Kazo smiled, flicking his tail, "I'd love to!" Blitukus then left the cavern, walking into the farm room, Kazo following. Blitukus spoke, "I was intent on knocking down these walls and removing the floodgates you see here to make room for the mill. Our task is to grind up plants into their respective products... our source of energy, the river you see before you. I will leave it up to you to design the rest." Kazo replied, "What an interesting puzzle!... but I assume engraving runes into the millstone would be cheating. It needs rotating motion... but the river is linear. A wheel would work... and the water would push against flat surfaces. A wheel with flat surfaces on it, placed in the river can drive a shaft... and the rotation can be transfered to a vertical shaft with gears. Hmm..." Blitukus nodded. "So it seems you have learned the basics of technology rather quickly." Kazo smiled, "So where can I draw this out?" Blitukus replied, "Unfortunately, we are limited in our writing utensils... coal dust is all that is available. I will bring it here." Blitukus walked away, then returned with the cup of coal dust a few moments later. Kazo accepted it, and began drawing out remarkably precise designs on the wall. The mill he had designed also included a lever to lift the paddle wheel out of the river when it wasn't in use, and a lever to move the millstone for collection and cleaning. Blitukus nodded, "Perfect. Now, we need the stone blocks to put this together. I am quite glad you had arrived knowing the basics... I would rather not have to spend a month telling you the basics of mathematics and physics, after all." Kazo snickered, "Just like how I was glad I didn't have to spend a month telling you about the basics of willpower and the essence of it all! What a coincidence!" Blitukus smiled, "Indeed. Now... hrm... I only have one pick axe. I will dig out the limestone here and ready this space. This limestone must be conserved... it has an important use I will discuss later. Meanwhile, if you exit and turn left, the first door to your right will take you to my work room. Feel free to explore there." Kazo grinned, "Sure thing!" Kazo then left, headed for the work room. Blitukus took out his pickaxe, and dug out the limestone obstructing the future building sight. This unearthed a reasonably sized chunk of limestone, which he moved back into the corridor... it would be rather wasteful for it to get washed away in the seasonal flood. Blitukus then began to take apart the farm floodgates... he noticed the crudely chiseled floodgates and basic mechanisms... but 5 years prior, they were all he had... He felt it in his heart. He was dismantling a piece of history... but as Kazo had reminded him, history was one thing... his own future always lay ahead. Blitukus finished removing the floodgates, then filled in the channels left behind. His future food supply now relied on, as some odd dwarves from the far deserts had referred to it, 'Nile Farming'. Still, he likely wouldn't need to grow any more food until after he had completed his quest. Blitukus walked back into the work room, and looked around... Kazo was nowhere to be seen. CLANG! Blitukus looked up... Kazo was standing atop the magma furnace, little else visible but his blue, glowing, reptilian eyes. Kazo grinned, "This odd metal shines like nothing I've seen before!... and it makes for a dead giveaway, but that's beside the point!" Blitukus replied, "That metal is the technological equivalent to mithril, known as Steel." Kazo snickered, "So raccoons somehow inspired it?" Blitukus replied, "No, steel, with 2 E's." Kazo replied, "For some reason I like the sound of that name!" Kazo then hopped down, gracefully landing on the stone floor below. Blitukus spoke, "Now, we should make the blocks, wheels, and other components needed." Kazo and Blitukus then split up the jobs, gathered materials, and began to produce the needed parts. When they were done, they brought the parts out and built the mill to specification.

   

Upon completion of the mill, Kazo spoke, "Let's see if it works or not!" Blitukus asked, "What if it does not?" Kazo smiled, "Then I hope it fails catastrophically enough for it to be worth our time!" Blitukus snickered. If something DID go wrong, Blitukus still didn't want to waste food... he retrieved the dimple cup, and the empty sand bag from the glass furnace, and returned. He placed the dimple cup in the mill, readied it, then lowered the paddle wheel into the water. It worked exactly as expected, Blitukus collecting the dye in the bag. 2 dimple cup spawn were left over as well. Blitukus placed the seeds and the bag back into the barrels in the corridor, then walked back, pulling the lever to raise the paddle wheel out of the water. Kazo smiled, "Glad to see it works! I think I'll just head back over to that work room. I want to know how that stuff works!" Blitukus nodded, "Just leave things as they are, please. I will also be doing work in there soon." Kazo replied on his way out, "Of course, what a great opportunity to observe!" Blitukus followed Kazo, collecting a cave spider web on the way, and walked to the loom, weaving it into cloth, Kazo watching him and taking note of the tools he used. Blitukus then weaved it into another bag, and proceeded to continue milling plants, this time milling the cave wheat into flour, collecting the seed as well. Blitukus now needed somewhere to cook the flour into bread... his ashery no longer served any use, so he would take it apart and clean the stone, using it for a kitchen afterwards. Kazo decided to volunteer his efforts again. When they were done, Blitukus thought about it... one bit of flour alone wouldn't be enough to make a decent loaf of bread. He remembered what he had heard about dimple cup spawn... dimple cups had no nutritional value whatsoever, and neither did their spawn, but their spawn did have a rather pleasant flavor when cooked. Blitukus wasn't a chef... but he knew the basic idea. He took the flour, and mixed it with water and what else he could improvise for it... there were no chickens around for hundreds of miles, so eggs were out of the question, and little else as far as additions to the flour could be improvised. He took the dimple cup spawn, chopped it up, and placed the pieces into the 'dough', then cooked it. A while later, 3 meals worth of bread resulted. At least he now had a better variety in his diet. Next, Blitukus decided to try his idea with cooking dwarven booze. Blitukus reviewed his books regarding alcohol. As he read... he looked up to see Kazo looking at him. Blitukus spoke, "You have a habit of sneaking around." Kazo replied, "Yes I do. I love surprising people, it's like a hobby of mine!" Blitukus snickered. He then allowed Kazo to read with him. Kazo commented, "So it looks like they still use the same recipes." Blitukus replied, "Dwarves are renowned for their stubbornness." Kazo smiled, "That's just part of the reason why they're so fun to talk to! I can't get enough of listening to them argue among themselves!" Blitukus snickered again. When he was done reviewing his reading material, Blitukus put the book away, then proceeded to brew one of the pig tails into dwarven ale. When he was done producing the ale, he brought it back to the kitchen, retrieved proper chemicals, mixed a solution, then began to boil and cook it further. Blitukus spoke to Kazo, "This is another parallel. The mages of the ancients had alchemy. Today and tomorrow, we have chemistry. They are very related, and there are some books detailing a bit of chemistry back in the stack in my room." Kazo replied, "I think I'll have to read those some time. It sounds like technology has a new take on almost everything! I can't wait to try all of these new fields out!" Blitukus smiled, "You will have time. Currently though... I just hope this is edible at all... it does not smell very edible..." Kazo smiled, "Let's see you eat it when it's done." Blitukus replied, "Perhaps... but I may decide against swallowing it..." Blitukus walked out, and brought back the cave wheat seed... he knew the oils from this seed might serve as a catalyst in some carbon-consuming reactions, so he sliced it and added it to the solution. Eventually, as liquids boiled away, the solution solidified. Blitukus allowed it to cool, then shaped it into biscuits. Blitukus sniffed them... and found that even he, a canid, still thought twice about consuming them.

NOT how my mother used to make them...

Kazo watched eagerly. Blitukus sniffed them again... and hesitated. Kazo spoke, "If this experiment fails I can always heal you. It's always nice to see what doesn't work too... Let's see what this new food of yours does!" Blitukus looked at Kazo, then looked at the dwarven ale biscuit... he hesitated again, then bit into it. The biscuit actually didn't taste as bad as it smelled, but it still never tried to hide the fact that it was chemically modified. Blitukus forced himself to swallow it after chewing it enough... he found that his stomach seemed to readily accept it, and that it was quite filling. Blitukus spoke, "If I do not get sick throughout the course of the day, then I have a new source of food." There wasn't that much physically there... but it seemed so filling and energy rich, that that little bit would count for 6 meals worth. He moved the food back to the stockpile, saving it for later. It may not be masterpiece meals, but he now had more than enough food to last him through until the end of his quest. On top of it, it seemed Kazo was quite readily picking up the concepts of technology... although what he would use them for was his own agenda.
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I know it's relatively short... conversations can be hard and I'm still nervous if I'm getting it all right or not. Well, if this turned out good then it means there isn't much to worry about. Then again, this was a rather uneventful update.

[ January 04, 2008: Message edited by: AlanL ]

Thank you all  

Yeah, considering the situation it would make sense if Kazo changed a little...

Well, this was written in the old version.

There used to be a utility, ore.exe. that would give you ore veins. Ore -k would give you coal.

Thank you  

And yeah, I tend to disregard holidays in my writing, although the start of the demonic war in the first days of 2008 wasn't a coincidence  :p

Luckily, that one fit right in.
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Blitukus emerged on the other side, setting foot on the ashy dirt... he took a few steps forward, and observed the world... Around were the familiar hills of the lands near Arkus' tower... although, where their once used to be pristine, green woodland, abuzz with life... there was nothing but an ash-covered hill, dimly lit under an obscured sky... no longer was their trees, animals, birds... life... the only sound that could be heard was the dull whoosh of the winds, slowly churning the ash, a dying whoosh as if the winds themselves were dying in a downward spiral. The wind was quite cold... previously this had been a temperate area... but now, it seemed much of the world had become locked in ice, a layer of black cloud above, the sun only dimly visible through it... the sun seemed red through the clouds. In the distance... there was what appeared to be a city, although there was no motion. He remembered... he had once had a nightmare remarkably like this... He took a few more steps forward, the wind gusting slightly as he did so. He observed for a bit more... then looked back. The rift had vanished... he was there for the next day. Blitukus started walking toward the still city, his feet leaving footprints in the dust behind him, the wind slowly filling these prints back in. There was no beauty... no life... no magic... Blitukus felt rather lonely, for it seemed the wind was his only ally left alive, and even the wind seemed to lack its previous joy... He took in a deep breath, then coughed it out. He regulated his breathing as he walked, sensing his lungs having a bit of trouble with the air... it was somewhat hard to breathe... it seemed, not because the air was polluted, rather, its chemistry had fundamentally changed... the life giving gases that had once existed in abundance had become scarcer. It was still breathable... barely. Blitukus wouldn't be able to safely exert himself much in this environment. Time passed as he walked, and the sun slowly moved through the sky, the clouds reducing its radiance to dim blood red rays, dark shadows moving across the horizon. Blitukus checked his timepiece, using his souls mana... seemingly the last refuge of mana existent on the entire planet... to power it. When the timepiece had stopped adjusting, it read, "10:42 AM, Malachite 8, 2421". A little under 2 hours of walking had passed... he would need to return by 8:30 AM, allowing for a safety margin. He continued walking... and all around... nothing happened. Much of the terrain around seemed to have been strip mined... the world had been plundered, and it was all for nothing. It seemed life, civilization, the world... was over. He walked by the remains of an enormous black-and-red rocket. It seemed to have crash landed eons ago... and now, it was inert, its metal corroded through and disfigured by erosion. Blitukus looked at it, and sighed... his heart full of sadness... but beneath it all... he felt anger. The adamantine walls did collapse, and the demons set free, had abused the fruits of the work of those following after him... for this. He felt bitterness, and sighed through his nose. He continued on... slowly, he approached the city. The red glow above lit his fur dimly... all of those people... all of that potential... he sighed again, his breath drawn away on cold, lifeless winds. Eventually, he stopped... the skull of a bull lay in the dust before him... once a strong, stubborn beast of self-determined life... now, the bulls skull lay eternally motionless in the dust, ash and dust slowly blowing over and through it. He continued, observing the strip mines around the city... It seemed the demons had survived... for a while. They had lived long enough to plunder the land of its resources and squander them... and now, no civilization could ever take root upon these soils ever again. Blitukus neared the eternally motionless city, long since depopulated... many of the buildings seemed partially dismantled, and they seemed red with corrosion, eaten at by erosion. Several hours had passed. Blitukus began to feel hungry. Luckily, he had prepared himself for the worst... he took out the plump helmet... the only other life he would ever see on these barren landscapes... and began to eat it. He almost felt bad for doing so. When he finished the plump helmet, he took the seeds, and lay them carefully across the ground... should the planet ever recover in the millenia to come... may time bury these seeds, and may these seeds bring food to... well... there would be nobody to feed... Blitukus left the seeds there, and continued on. Eventually... the ruined, rusted buildings of what was once a grand, glorious city loomed above him.

The ash and dust transitioned to cracked pavement and asphalt... He looked up, and saw a building, corroded into and eternally still... this indeed seemed to be the manifestation of his nightmare. All around, many buildings were rubble... those that still stood were hardly anything more than skeletons, their supporting frames corroding over time. An occasional building still had walls up, but the interior was still rubble. Blitukus walked down the ruined road... once abuzz with the vehicles and freight of a prosperous nation... now eternally silent. Blitukus walked near to the remains of a vehicle... it was dented and bent, rusted through in some parts, and turned upside down, many parts of the interior no longer recognizable. Blitukus felt the broken glass of what was once the vehicles windows under his feet... but time had long since dulled the glass. It didn't even poke at his feet. Blitukus brushed up against the door of the vehicle... TANNNG! A spring within the door had snapped from the slight change. Blitukus bent over, and looked into the interior of the vehicle, curious as to if anything useful had remained... he leaned on the door, and suddenly, the hinges let out a crack and a cloud of rust. The door shifted. Blitukus immediately backed away. The door had come loose from its hinges, and began to tip over. SLAM! It fell to the ground, sending out a cloud of rust, the slam of the impact echoing among the dead buildings... then, all was silent and still again, the wind blowing the rust cloud down the street.

It seems security will not be a problem...

He stepped up to the now toppled door, and looked through the hole into the wrecked vehicle... nothing of use was inside. Another problem began to show itself... seeing as much of the world had come to rest... there were no energy sources, no way for him to replenish his mana. His soul contained the planets entire supply... he would have to conserve it. he was close already, and needed to know where to go next. He checked his sphere of direction... it pointed toward one of the larger, more intact buildings near the center of the city. Luckily, this city had been built upwards rather than outwards... he could reach it on foot in time. He continued towards the center of the city. On the way, he passed through some toppled steel beams that lay across the road, and several wires, once attached to a wooden pole that had since rotted away. The wires once carried immense charge through a large grid... now they were entirely inert. He crossed directly through the streets, and soon after, reached the building... its supporting framework still towered into the sky... but it was slowly corroding downwards. Only the first 2 stories had walls still, and the floors had collapsed to rubble. He would not be able to enter through the first story, for rubble blocked all entrances. A wrecked vehicle lay near the building, still right side up. It wasn't a good idea... but it was the only way. Blitukus walked up to the vehicle, and slowly began to climb its front. He climbed on top of the front of the vehicle, and began to stand. One of his feet sank through the corroded front, landing on the dull, rusted metal of the now-useless engine below. He pulled his foot out, and crawled on top of the vehicle, attempting to distribute his weight over a broad area. He slowly climbed the vehicle further, until he reached the very top of the cabin. He climbed to the back of the roof of the vehicle, and looked up... a second story window was directly above. He began to stand... and then promptly fell through the roof of the vehicle, landing on his back in the deformed interior below. He grunted, then sat up... much of the roof was still intact, although there was now a gaping hole directly above. He got up, walked to the front of this large vehicle, then opened the door. The door broke as it folded open fully. He got out of the wrecked vehicle, then walked to the front again. Unfortunately, he realized, this entire situation meant he likely would never find out the fate of Arkus and Kazo. He climbed the top of the vehicle, spreading his weight out as much as possible. He eventually reached the roof of the cabin once again. Luckily, the vehicle was quite tall... considering what was once rows of seats within, it was likely one of those vehicles that picked up and dropped off crowds that he had ridden in, back in 1999... He extended his hand out towards the window, and found it was still a bit beyond his reach. Blitukus began to stand, then jumped upward, grabbing hold of the window frame as the vehicle frame below him collapsed. He hung there for a moment, then pulled himself up, through the now glassless window. The floor below had collapsed in the center, but was still attached to the wall near the edges, forming sort of a square funnel, leading towards the middle. A piece of the floor nearby still stood out straight. He slowly made his way onto this small section of floor... it collapsed, sending him sliding down the funnel toward the center. He slid to a stop, and sat right by the center. He controlled his breathing, slowly catching his breath as much as he could from the sparsely viable air. When he had recovered, he checked the sphere again... it pointed streight down. It seemed he would have to dig... although he wouldn't be able to proceed at full speed considering the difficult air. Luckily, it didn't seem to be that far beneath the surface. Blitukus moved the rubble, and took out his pickaxe. He raised it, and with a controlled, efficient motion, brought it back down. As he dug, he found he quickly broke through the already cracked floor tile and foundation, and proceeded into the ashy terrain below. He found the ash seemed to decrease as he dug... soon, the polluted grounds revealed pristine ground beneath... the building he had dug through had been built in the valley that had once held Arkus' tower... perhaps he would dig up some clues as to the fate of Arkus and Kazo? Perhaps... perhaps not... it seemed no excavation had dug here before, but maybe that was why they knew nothing of their fate in 1999... He kept digging, stopping to take breaks every now and then to catch his breath. He suddenly felt as if he were not alone... More time passed, but eventually... He brought his pickaxe down... TCHINK! His pickaxe seemed to graze another metallic object... perhaps a lingering plate from the days of the ancients? No... it was still too high up for that... but, perhaps. These things weren't exact. Perhaps he had dug to a container that contained the component? Hopefully... He brushed the dirt away from the bottom of the pit he had dug, and noticed a metallic object beneath, sky blue in color. Blitukus carefully began to dig around the object, and noticed, this plate was oddly curved, and linked to other plates... he continued digging out the object... and realized... it seemed to be in the shape of a torso. Could it be...? He dug along the side of his pit, revealing upwards from the torso, finally unearthing the head... it was... he had dug thinking about finding a clue to Kazos fate, and he had now witnessed the aftermath first hand. It seemed that Kazo had been laying there for centuries... perhaps millenia... his joints and head full of dirt. The glow of his eyes had disappeared, and it appeared for all intents and purposes... that he had been long dead. But... Blitukus still felt that inexplicable sense that he was not alone... Kazo was a construct... it was a long-shot but maybe Kazos soul was really still there. Kazo was in a slumber from which he was powerless to awake... but perhaps, that's all it was, sleep. Blitukus continued excavating Kazo from the terrain... and found that Kazo held in his hand a device of some kind. with an exterior of that dark, technological adamantine, an immensely complex assembly of immensely small devices in its interior. These devices seemed a dim green in color, and rested on transparent plates within, forming a grid as the plates were connected to one another.

Yet again you are the one who brings a component to where I may find it... I just hope you are still around for me to thank...

Blitukus took the device, and pocketed it, proceeding to continue the excavation. When he had fully dug Kazo out... he looked up, and realized that although he could reach the lip of the pit he had dug to pull himself out, he wouldn't be able to reach back down far enough to pull Kazo out, and if he tossed Kazo up to the level above, Kazo would simply fall back down into the pit. He rested, and thought for a few minutes... then realized a possible way to do it. He began to clear the dirt from Kazos joints, and found that luckily none of the dirt had permeated inside. He then stood, pulling Kazo up by the arm, and stuck Kazos claws into the wall of the pit. Blitukus then put his pickaxe away, reached up and pulled himself out of the pit. He then reached down, easily able to reach Kazos hand stuck in the wall, and pulled Kazo out. He hauled Kazo up the incline of the 'funnel', then lowered Kazo down from a window, proceeding to drop down from it himself afterwards. Blitukus then proceeded to start hauling Kazo with him as he made his way out of the city... he found that the air reduced his strength slightly... hauling Kazo slowed him a little, but not too much. If Kazo was still there... perhaps by bringing him back to 1085, Blitukus could allow Kazo to wake up... or, if that didn't work... he would think of something. He continued on, walking down the empty streets as the chilling wind blew at his back. As he exited the city, he noticed what was likely once an airport. He passed by it... inside a hangar of the airport, he noticed the rusted, partially dismantled remains of what was once a sleek, swift flying machine. Nearby, the remains of several vehicles lay. Fences surrounded much of the airport, so he couldn't draw very near, but he did notice one peculiar feature among the buildings... out of all of the rusted surfaces, a spraypaint design remained on the front of a hangar, depicting what seemed to be a creature, much like a fox, only bipedal. Blitukus looked at this curiously for a moment... then continued on. He likely didn't have the time to investigate. He left the ruins, and proceeded among the ashen landscape back the way he came. He proceeded through the eventless wastes for several hours more... feeling his thirst building up. Meanwhile... the already dim lands were becoming darker as the sun set. He continued anyway... The sun set... and the land was soon shrouded by darkness. Luckily, he knew the way back, and there were no trees to stand in his way... but still, the path ahead became a bit unsure. He continued on into the night... the cold becoming colder, until eventually, it began snowing... although despite his thirst, something smelled quite unhealthy regarding the snow, so he avoided eating it. Eventually, he found himself becoming tired... he wasn't used to sleeping in the night, but it seemed he would have to. He felt he had at least gotten near to the rift site... but he wouldn't be able to pinpoint it without any ambient light, and he didn't want to waste further mana when he wouldn't necessarily need to. He reached the top of a hill, set Kazo down in the snowy ash, and lay down himself, bunching up in his clothes to conserve as much heat as possible. He looked in Kazos general direction...

They built a city above your resting place... I guess you were lucky you didn't end up in a laboratory or as a museum exhibit, otherwise, when this all happened... well, you're in 1 piece here and now, and hopefully that will count for something.

It was an interesting turn of events... when the bodies of the dead are buried, many hope for flowers to grow near the grave as a sign of a successful journey to the afterlife... even though Kazo may not have died, when his body was buried by nature in this centuries-long sleep... above his resting place, not flowers, but an advanced city grew. What did this signify? Likely nothing... for, Blitukus hoped, Kazo had not died. Slowly, Blitukus forced himself to sleep. He found that, although he may have dreamed that night, he did not remember it upon awakening. When he awoke, he still felt somewhat drained... the cold and harsh atmosphere had not allowed his body to recover much. The sun was rising... this confused him for a moment. He had fallen asleep in the middle of the night and had awoken at sunrise... this odd sleeping pattern was not what he was used to. Blitukus stood from the snow, and brushed himself off. He looked around... the rift site was atop a reasonably close hill. He walked to where Kazo was laying, and again, picked Kazo up, hauling Kazo with as he walked towards the rift site. He was now rather dehydrated, but continued anyway. Blitukus walked down the hillside, and continued over to the hill of the rift site. The sun rose, and continued upward as Blitukus traveled. Blitukus realized... he wouldn't be waiting that long upon arrival. Blitukus ascended the hillside of the rift side, and then sat near, but not too close, the rift site. Every once in a while, he turned back to observe the site. Time passed... and the rift was nowhere to be seen... He began to become concerned that he had missed it, and was stranded upon these wastes... until, he felt a dull shift of the winds, and observed the rift, happening to spring into existence, behind him. Blitukus stood, and hauled Kazo up to the portal. He crossed through, back to 1085, hauling Kazo through with. He hauled Kazo to the control panel, then shut down the portal ring, collapsing the rift, the view of the wastes beyond vanishing. He then cut steam to the dynamos and vented the boilers. He shut down the magma inlets... but as they drained, he went to the water channel, and drank deeply from it, quenching his thirst. When he had finished, he shut the inlet to the water channel, and let it drain as well. He looked at Kazo... Kazo still lay unmoving, the glow in Kazos eyes still gone... was his soul still there? Blitukus could attempt to revive Kazo... but was the amulet really the best idea? How would it treat a construct? What would most likely work? Blitukus' body called for more of this fresh, life giving air... Blitukus walked out of the cavern, and out the tunnel, exiting into the glacier beyond. He looked out... he would find a way... and still... what he had saw among the wastes horrified him. He had held it back... but he felt it in his heart. But, what of that other time traveler? What of that bird, that phoenix on that planet? Perhaps, the civilizations of this world, Orubxah Oru, had indeed died out... and that human was of another world, the phoenix representing a civilization among the stars that had learned of Blitukus' and Fales story through their travels... although, the thought that his and his mothers stories were of such inspiration throughout the stars deeply honored him, there was another possibility. He looked up, searching for that large red star to no avail... What if, like the dragons, they would make use of the last few breaths of their grand civilization to leave their dead, poisoned world, and reach out toward the stars? Magic had its ways of performing mind boggling feats, but to a technological standpoint, this feat was just that, mind boggling. Blitukus sighed... a kobold could always hold out hopes... although their fate was likely beyond the scope of his quest. First, he needed to think of a way to at least try to revive Kazo... for not only was Kazo a friend, he owed it to Kazo.
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OK, I'll be surprised if anyone manages to figure out the reference I made with the airport.

[ January 01, 2008: Message edited by: AlanL ]

Yeah, I had a feeling it was Fales part I messed up... but to be honest, that was probably partly due to her having a limited time in which to speak (no time to say goodbye). Also, the 'quote' was from the end of the first AKQ, which is the most linguistically structured part of what she said (to be honest, if that was where the big problem was, it was probably due to other things at the time the end of the first AKQ was written).

I actually did already look back on the first one to refresh myself. I think the main reason she sounds different there were those two reasons listed above.

[ December 30, 2007: Message edited by: AlanL ]

I'm definitely glad people enjoy it so much  
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He looked on into the rift for another few moments, then began to turn back to walk back to his control panel. "MEOWWWL!" He quickly turned back. A cat jumped through the rift. Blitukus watched as the cat ran past him, stopped, then looked back at him. The cat seemed to smile, then spoke, "Greetings, mortal!" The cat then walked away, into the corridor. Blitukus felt curious about this.

A talking cat? Is this whole time travel business getting to my head? Maybe the cat is... no, highly unlikely.

Blitukus heard footsteps... he turned to see an immaculately dressed human running toward the rift. Such a bystander getting involved was likely not a good thing. Blitukus ran back to the console, but the human passed through before Blitukus could shut the rift. The human stopped, then looked to the side, observing the cat relic. He spoke, "Just as I..." He then looked around, observing the various magma and water equipment, steam based machinery, "... thought?..." The human seemed surprised by this. He walked up to Blitukus, then checked a small, slightly glowing device. The human spoke, "This... so it really was you?" Blitukus asked, "Is everything OK?" The instability bell began to ring. He asked, "Blitukus Siegedriven?" Blitukus nodded. The human breathed a deep sigh of relief, then spoke, "I never thought they would be right." Blitukus asked, "Who, and who are you?" He replied, "That's not important, what's important is that the wavefront propagator is in good hands... we knew it was a kobold, and we knew the general description... but only a few people ever suggested you were the one who took it. I guess that means I met your mother... and didn't even know it at the time." Blitukus spoke, "So you are a time traveler as well... may I ask why you are so interested in this device?" He replied, "I am part of a team that monitors the whereabouts of the Wavefront devices in time and space. It is our job to make sure that they never fall into the hands of demons or gods. These devices are of unimaginable importance... knowing you were the one who took the propagator answers many questions. We couldn't have asked for a better recipient of that device... although due to the nature of time and probability, I cannot disclose further information. Further details are for you to observe yourself." Blitukus replied, "I understand. How far back did you have to travel to get here?" He then spoke with a smile, "Far enough... Good luck with your quest... not even we know of your destiny, but considering the legacy you've left us, it shouldn't disappoint you." The human offered a handshake, and Blitukus accepted. The human spoke, "It was an honor meeting you... I would stay for longer, but duty calls... farewell." Blitukus waved. The human saluted Blitukus, entered a few things into a device, seemed to levitate slightly, then disappeared in a blue glow, leaving no trace behind.

The bell got louder. Blitukus looked out the rift again... civilization was tough... it would survive, and that was proof... maybe... then again, could that have simply been a human from another world who happened upon the desolate, ruined future of this one? What lay beyond 2000 was still yet to be determined. Blitukus sighed, then shut down power to the ring, allowing the rift to vanish. He then cut steam flow to the dynamos, and vented the boilers. He shut the feed to the channels off, and as they drained, he walked back toward the incomplete cat relic, took out the bag, unzipped it, took out the gem, then placed the gem into its designated slot in the device. It fit snugly, then latched. The cat then entered the room again, and walked up to the device, looking at it, then looking at Blitukus, "Mrr, I see you found our gift. My following you might attract Armoks attention... and we both agree we don't want him finding this... so I'll make myself scarce... for now." The cat then quickly left the room, and proceeded toward the exit of the tunnel. Blitukus didn't even have a chance to speak to the cat. A moment later, it was as if the cat had never been there at all. Blitukus stood for a moment, thinking about it... Dracha then entered the room. She spoke, "Looks like you're half way there! Glad to see it working out. At this rate I should tell the other dragons to get ready to depart." Blitukus spoke, "Hello, Dracha." Dracha continued, "Hi. I got important news for you. All that scratching around in the astral plane finally amounted to somethin'! For a brief moment, someone broke through and sent out a message! Whoever it was must be one hell of a determined soul, for it was not a demon. Souls of the dead usually are forbidden from ever doing anything back here. Musta been one hell of a powerful soul too for this! The part that REALLY makes it news, is that the message is for you!" Blitukus asked, "Me?" Dracha continued, "Yeh! The first part of the message told me to relay the rest to you, an' I think you should get something to write this down with." Blitukus nodded, and left the chamber, gathering his bucket of coal dust and a relatively sparsely-written-on piece of paper. He then returned, and readied himself to write, listening attentively. Dracha relayed the message, copying the tone and speech pattern perfectly, "'I love you. I promised you I would give you a gift for your birthday, and I still will.' I'z had to hide da ting from Armok... Bring dat steel suit!" Blitukus immediately felt his heart warmed by hearing this... he knew of only one person in existence that spoke like that... it seemed his mother had also made a promise, and was intent on keeping it. She had struggled with immortal determination and had managed to, for a short time, pierce through the barriers between the planes of existence... just to give her son a birthday gift. Blitukus breathed deeply and smiled, his love for his mother seeming to make all of his previous fears and concerns seem insignificant. Dracha continued, "The message has 2 more parts, although they're not words." Blitukus replied, "I am ready to write." Dracha continued, "Good. 8923 1923 284975 12399 19357 71239 239847 9923 51235 36983 6754. This wasn't even really spoken... it just popped into my head as I was hearing the message!" Blitukus wrote the coordinates down, "Recorded. What is the last part?" Dracha continued, "I got a feeling about this present of yours... I think it might come in handy in the future." Blitukus nodded. His mother had always given him birthday presents that were useful in one way or another. But... useful in the future? Considering the circumstances, that could be anywhere from the day after to several thousand years ahead. Still... Blitukus set down the writing implements, walked up to Dracha, and gave her a hug the best he could, "Thank you, my friend, thank you... that was my mother..." Dracha smiled, "And she loves you more than anything else." Blitukus looked up and smiled, a tear forming on one of his eyes, "I know. I love her too, more than anything else."

Blitukus stepped back, and waited a moment, taking in what had happened. It occurred to him... it was in a place so far he needed his machine, and he also needed his suit... it was only logical, after all, since Armoks scope encompassed the entire world, in order to truly hide something from him, it had to be hidden off world. He was eager to travel to it... but it was a birthday gift... he would wait until his birthday. Blitukus spoke, "Pardon me for a second..." He then left the cavern, and walked to the river, drinking from it. He felt the brisk, clean water refreshing and surprisingly pristine compared to what he had drank during his stay in the year 1999. Upon his return down the tunnel, he found Dracha walking up to meet him. He entered his room, and Dracha followed... although she found it immensely difficult to even try to fit through the door, so she stayed outside. Blitukus asked, "Something I've sort of been curious about... why do the first 3 letters of your name match the first 3 letters of your species name?" Dracha replied, "My parents named me the first sound that came to their mind, and then realized what they did afterwards. We had some laws in place that made it so you couldn't change your name... so, I got stuck with it! Ah well, as my parents always told me, it makes me unique!" Blitukus snickered, then nodded. Dracha asked, "So what's the future like?" Blitukus replied, "Indeed, technology does become the new magic. It's a world that's different than that of the ancients in every way, yet also surprisingly similar. You would see it as a different take on familiar concepts. Given a few more decades, I expect the technological civilization of the future would become just as grand and advanced as the magical one of the ancients... although, I have a feeling, a similar fate may befall them..." Dracha asked, "What do ya mean exactly?" Blitukus replied, "Nevermind... I would rather not think about it. Speaking of the final fate of the Dragons, though... what are the details of your star-portal project? I have been rather curious about that." Dracha replied, "Well... when you were with Arkus, did he try to test his back-up spell on you?" Blitukus replied, "Close, but I turned it down." She replied, "A wise move, it was full of flaws and errors right up until we encased the demons. It might've turned your soul inside out! But, as we were developing the portal, we solved the problem of the projection on the back-up spell. We got it to work... and it proved to be the key to making the whole idea behind our resettlement plan work. You see, the energy flowing into the portal is so enormous that it can only run for a short period, once. We only have one shot. We couldn't just cram thousands of dragons through the portal, what we could get through would be so small it would guarantee our extinction... but, we can send thousands and thousands of back-up modules through, and activate them on the other side. After the portal itself was designed, and we had the back-up problem solved, we had to pick a world among the stars to settle upon. Even the most powerful among us couldn't examine these distant worlds directly. They're just too small and too far away! We had to use indirect means to even find them. We sensed the mana aura around these distant worlds to the best of our ability... and determined one world within range as having the highest probability of a successful colony. It's a rather small world with a noteworthy atmosphere. That's all we could tell about its properties on the physical plane. On the astral plane, we sensed it contained a powerful and pure aura of mana, enough energy for generations to come, and on top of it, the planet generates its own mana supply from the forces of its parent stars!... 2 stars, to be exact, each small and circling close to the other, each a serene blue. The entire combination is so serene and charged with mana we decided to use the unicorn as the symbol on the colonys banner. The world we chose is just over 9 years of light-speed travel away." Blitukus spoke, "How will you survive on a world that is likely nothing like this one?" Dracha replied, "We'll be sure to bring plenty of food, mithril and crystal along with the entire back-up stash, and leave with our mana topped off. When we first arrive, we'll cast a bubble around ourselves to shield ourselves from the environment, our most diligent and capable alchemists casting a spell to modify the atmosphere within the bubble to make it breathable. While the bubble stands, we'll dig out a network of rooms beneath the terrain. After we move our belongings inside and build a nice, sturdy hatch, we'll collapse the bubble and start building our colony up beneath the surface. There's only about 20 of us left here but there's closer to 20,000 back-ups in a stockpile near the portal. The 20 of us still awake here are gunna have to review the old books though... it's been centuries since we've last used these advanced magics." Blitukus spoke, "It sounds like quite an adventure. Good luck on it. When the day comes, may your colony flourish." Dracha smiled, "Thanks! Although when I'm gone I don't think we'll ever be talking to eachother again... you see... when crossing such enormous distances at such enormous speeds, time does weird things. We've seen this apply equally to both physical and astral objects. On top of it, when our initial lodgings are dug, we'll want to sleep to acclimatize ourself and refresh our souls in the flux of the new world... and being dragons, we can sleep for a long time. All in all I don't know when we'll become active again, but it might be centuries. There's been theories around about boring rifts through the astral plane to allow for travel that, although it still technically isn't moving that fast, it effectively exceeds the speed of light... but nobody has ever figured out how to make it work. It's beyond even us... the cats are the only ones we have seen using such methods of travel, and they didn't want to tell us how." Blitukus thought about it for a moment, then spoke, "Interesting concept. I understand that the end of my quest may be the last time we ever see each other... but I have come to terms with this already. I do not know my fate, but I may be parting this world. I hold out hope that I will still be here to enjoy life... but, no matter what, I have confidence that I will succeed, that my mothers soul, and my... well, at least my soul, will live on..." Dracha replied, "It looks like we're both in for one heck of a ride." Blitukus nodded. Dracha continued, "I like ya... I'm gunna miss ya, but we've both gotta do what we gotta do... I need to get back to my studies, I gotta be ready for the big day ya know." Blitukus nodded, "I also should rest and reflect... magic is dead in the future, and I would rather carry as much as I can before I leave for an even further future. Goodbye, Dracha, and best of luck." Dracha replied, "Magic is... well, I guess that was to be expected... damn I hope that adamantine held up. Anyway, goodbye Blitukus, I'll stop by again soon." And having concluded their conversation, Dracha left, traveling down the tunnel and taking off, flying above the chasm. Blitukus sat back on his bed, and began to reflect on the situation... he realized the situation with the adamantine, the mana flux disappearing... his visions of the war, of the rockets, of the end... but, a human from the far future, part of a highly advanced, apparantly technological civilization? Which fate lay in the future? There was only one way to find out... either way, whether it be from the grand halls of a grand civilization, or from the ashes and dust of charred ruins, he would find the next component, and perhaps, finally find an indication to the final fate of Arkus and Kazo.
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I get the feeling that I did something wrong with these convos, but I can't pinpoint what. Then again, I may be just being paranoid about it.

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Blitukus waited, sitting back, then eventually turned to rest his legs on the adjacent seat, his back resting against the inner wall of the fuselage. He felt very tired... he would likely just sleep his way back. He had paid nearly all of his money for the flight... he had only 6 moneys left, but it should be more than enough to arrange transportation from the airport to the center of the city once he arrived. He sighed through his nose... several minutes passed, and as the fireworks continued, people began to hurriedly board the aircraft. Many of the seats were taken, but a few weren't. Blitukus was able to keep the adjacent seat as a footrest. Apparently, according to a nearby sticker on the back of the seat in front, he wasn't supposed to though. He sat back up as the aircrafts engines started. When boarding finished, the doors closed, and the walkway retracted. Soon after, the aircraft taxied out to the runway, and a minute later, the engines spinning up to their full power, accelerated down the runway and took off. Blitukus saw the aircraft had left the ground, and promptly moved himself to once again rest his legs on the adjacent seat, back against the wall. He then emptied one bag into the other, and used the empty bag to shade his eyes. Despite the light in the cabin and the screech of the engines, he slowly fell asleep.

His dream started out nebulous... and then, he felt as if he were a ghost, watching a city, not much different than the Rametaru of 1999, from above. The city was on an oceanic coast, though. A large, obsidian colored aircraft approached... a loud siren sounded in the city. The aircraft exploded... and when the fireball dispersed, it revealed a demon, holding a large ranged weapon of some kind. The demon laughed, aimed at a small building, then fired the weapon. The weapon seemed to let loose some sort of rocket, that started out slow, but accelerated rapidly toward the building. The rocket struck the building, demolishing the building in a large fireball. A screeching sound could be heard... a military aircraft was approaching from the left. It fired its dual heavy automatic crossbows at the demon, and the demon grunted, slowing its flight, bits of ichor splattering towards the ground. The demon then fired again, the rocket zipping through the air, and striking the aircraft. The aircraft erupted in a ball of flame, one of its wings blown clean off. It trailed flame as it spiraled toward the ground, then exploded on impact. The demon laughed... another rocket approached, and flew right into the back of the demon, knocking the demon into a flaming tumble. A second rocket struck the demon as it fell. The demon trailed ichor and gore through the sky as it plummeted, splashing down into the ocean. A screech was heard as a second military aircraft zipped from right to left, pulling up and ascending, then turning to fly out to the ocean. Dull, distant explosions and thuds could be heard... Blitukus turned his presence to look out to sea... a naval battle was going on between red-painted steel clad ships, and dark, spiky ships. The vessels exchanged fire, blowing holes into one another... more and more of the dark vessels approached, black smoke and flame billowing from their exhaust pipes. Several rockets were fired out of the city, arcing in a parabolic path towards the ocean, creating large explosions as they landed in the water near the dark ships. One of the dark ships blew apart in a wall of flame, the remains sinking into the waters, another dark ship capsizing and sinking shortly after. Several demons in flight arrived, holding heavy weapons, firing on the steel ships... then suddenly, many of the steel ships simultaneously exploded for no apparent reason... but that reason became apparent a few moments later. In a previously unoccupied region of the waters, several shadows appeared... then several sleek, previously submerged vessels surfaced, their obsidian-dark surface absorbing all light, making it very difficult to detect them. The demons in the air stormed toward the city, and an immense battle between the demons, and the city, involving the citys military aircraft and armored vehicles ensued. Some of the vehicles seemed to deploy armored infantry, which further aided in the fight. Glowing shots streaked across the sky, to the ground, and up from the ground. Explosions burst in midair, sending shrapnel out in all directions, shredding the flesh of the demons. It seemed the demons were causing heavy tolls, land, sea, and air, the tolls exacted on the demons quickly remedied by more and more demons joining the fight... aid to the city arrived from the south. Several titanium-clad ships, one seeming to be very large and heavily armored, quickly made their way toward the battle. The dual-cannons of the large titanium ship seemed to consist primarily of crystal glass, titanium platings protecting it. The ship carefully aimed... then fired two bright beams of energy, striking one of the dark ships. The dark ship began to glow with heat, then exploded, the remains sinking into the ocean. The demons... actually laughed at this... a large, dark submersible craft emerged, far away from the battle. Several doors on its top opened... then it fired a large rocket into the sky. The rocket streaked upward, and arced forward, trailing through the sky, and coming down in the frantically scattering titanium fleet. Much of the fleet was annihilated in a brilliant flash of energy... another rocket streaked into the sky, destined for the center of the city... but, despite heavy damage, entire pieces of their glowing-hot hulls missing, the few survivors within the titanium fleet persisted, launching rockets and heavy explosive rounds at the dark ships as they approached.

Blitukus shut his eyes, his heart in pain from what he saw... but he felt his presence shift. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in the middle of a sealed room, far, far beneath the surface. The room was full of military personell, walking about in a hurry. Several computers were in the room, and advanced equipment around, the room sealed by thick, heavy steel bulkheads. It seemed a prominent military figure, a human, was watching over it all... in the front of the room, a large display, showing a map of the entire world... on this map, simple symbols of aircraft, naval vessels, land forces, and infantry could be seen. War had spread throughout the entire world... but it seemed that the front was positioned westward... the demons were winning... but, the nations of the west continents were making a comeback, pushing the front eastward. Still... fear and tension could be sensed throughout the room. Blitukus felt his presence shifting again. He saw himself in the center of a city... the buildings were familiar... it was the Rametaru of 1999... only, it seemed, it was no longer 1999. The buildings were darkened with soot, the sky black and red. The center of the city was now dominated by a large, dark tower... carrying the OmnireCo label. Demons flew above the city as if it were their own... a beam of energy swept through the sky, melting the wings off of several demons. A very large titanium-clad aircraft slowly made its way through the sky. It was a leviathan aircraft, armed to the teeth and having several turrets on its fuselage. On its side, the name "Dreadnought" was painted. Several smaller aircraft flew near it... an immense aerial battle ensued, ground forces firing on the aircraft. It seemed it was doomsday... for the demons... Demons fell from the sky, vanquished by various high power, high energy fire from the advanced aircraft. But... the demons were laughing. Blitukus found his presence shifting again... he found himself out in the middle of nowhere, in a desert, a subterranean facility below. There was a large, flat concrete floor below, several towers on the mountains nearby. A demonic laughter seemed to echo among the hillsides... then, part of the ground seemed to move. An enormous steel lid slowly opened, revealing a dark, shadow-filled chamber below... it was very dark, so not much could be seen, but there seemed to be an enormous rocket loaded within the chamber. This filled Blitukus with an overwhelming sense of gloom... he shut his eyes, and found his breath shaking. He heard a voice, "Hey..."

"Hey... HEY!"

Blitukus slowly opened his eyes. He was back in the aircraft, looking into the face of a human. The human smiled, then continued, "We've landed..." Blitukus sat up, "Oh, yes we have, thank you." The human nodded, then walked away. Blitukus rubbed his eyes, stood, checked his possessions, then walked into the aisle and stretched. The aircraft was nearly done unloading. Blitukus blinked, then proceeded out the door, through the walkway, into Rametaru airport. He was nearly home... He walked through the building, and left it. He looked around. The vehicle that had carried him the day before was not present, and it seemed it would not be present for a long time... he needed an alternate means. He began walking away, back toward the center of the city... although, he knew he would never, ever make it on foot. He noticed a small vehicle with a sign on it pick up a passenger from the loop of the airport, and drive away. The passenger seemed unaffiliated with the driver of this specially marked vehicle. Blitukus kept walking for a few minutes... the strange position of the sun in the sky seemed to play havoc with his bodys internal sense of time. It was an odd effect of such rapid aerial transit. Eventually, he noticed one of these oddly marked vehicles passing down the road. Perhaps they ferried people around? Blitukus waved and gestured toward it. It pulled over to the side of the road, stopping by Blitukus. Blitukus opened the door. The driver spoke, "Back seat!" Blitukus shut the door, then opened the other door. He hesitated a moment... judging by the design of the interior, it was a vehicle meant to ferry others around. Blitukus entered the vehicle, sitting in the rear seat, then shut the door. The driver asked, "The A-shaped building near the center of the city... and I must be there by 3:42." The driver replied, "Okay." The driver drove away, accelerating down the road. He continued, "Businessman eh?" Blitukus responded, "No, but I do have a very important deadline to meet..." The vehicle continued down the road. Blitukus sat, and looked out the window... the driver seemed to perform skilled feats of rapid maneuvering as if there were nothing to it. Blitukus quickly found himself getting nearer and nearer the center of the city... although, eventually, the driver had to stop due to a large crowd lining both sides of the street again. There was a loud roar in the distance. Suddenly, two sleek cars roared by, traveling at such a speed they both were blurs. The driver commented, "Damn street racers..." The driver then honked at the crowd, causing it to part, allowing him to continue on. The vehicle continued, Blitukus remaining silent. Quite some time passed, but eventually the vehicle reached the A-building, the alley Blitukus had entered from visible nearby. The rift was not there. The driver pulled off to the side of the road, then stopped. The driver spoke, "That'll be 3 moneys." It was far more expensive than the other, large vehicle... Blitukus realized, that small competition he attended was luck tending to his needs. If it weren't for that, he wouldn't have the money to pay. He gave 4 moneys to the driver along with thanks, then got out of the vehicle. The vehicle drove away a moment later. He walked to the intersection, and crossed over. He then walked down the path near the street to the mouth of the alley. The rift was still not there. He sighed through his nose, then looked around the city... Everything still seemed OK... but, he felt a sense of gloom and detachment as if he were about to experience his nightmare manifested in reality... time passed, and nothing happened. He looked back. The rift had happened to come into existence again... and there was his home, back so long ago. He approached the rift, and crossed, exiting Rametaru, and exiting the year 2000.

Meanwhile, after the street race had ended...

The human sat in his sleek, blue car, grinning at the light ahead, grinning at his winnings, revving his engine, his expression full of pride. Not long ago, though... in a dark, distant alley of Rametaru... one fissure, resulting from the collapse of the adamantine, seemed to be extended and expanded upward be forces from below... until finally, the ground parted, leaving a dim, red, glowing pit open in a dark corner of this back alley. The human was still waiting at the light, waiting for it to turn... and there was no traffic going the other way. The human revved his engine, "Come on! Sh*t!" A tall person, shrouded by a blood stained brown coat, hood shrouding this persons head entirely in darkness, approached. The being approached the vehicle, and stood by it. The being observed the gas-guzzling engine, the careful paint job sporting a flame design... The being then spoke, "Magnificent *vehicle*..." The being then placed his hand on the aluminum hood, revealing his hand to be red and strangely amphibian, "I like it..." The driver spoke, "Hey what the f*ck?!" The being cracked its knuckles and tilted its head back, collapsing the hood of his coat, revealing his red, amphibian head, glowing eyes, and vicious, cruel grin. The demonic frogman continued, "I think I'll take it..." The driver then locked the doors, "Oh hell no!" The demon grabbed the door, and ripped it open, tearing the latch open. The driver stomped on the throttle petal, and the vehicle began to dart away. The demon quickly reached in and snatched the human driver by the shirt collar, pulling him out of the vehicle. The demon then held the human up in the air by the throat, grinning into the humans face. The demon then grabbed the humans head, and twisted it with enormous force, snapping the humans neck. Then, the demon threw the body against a wall, leaving a dent in the wall. The demon then walked back over to the body, and proceeded to consume something from the body... although the result wasn't visible. He then strolled back to the vehicle as if nothing had happened, sat in it, and, this being his first time out in daylight in over 2000 years, was at a loss about what to do with it. He played with the controls until he figured it out, then drove away. He rolled the window down, looking at the innocent bystanders... he held his hand out, and attempted for form a ball of destructive energy, finding that nothing happened... "Hmmnh." He then began to search through the various compartments... ripping out doors and scattering items upon the seat and floor, paying no attention to the road ahead. He smiled as he found a small hand crossbow, among several bags of various illegal goods... apparantly the previous owner of the vehicle had been up to no good anyway. He ratcheted the string back on the crossbow... the crossbow seemed to do the rest automatically. This would drastically improve fire rate! He laughed, "I see I have a little catching up to do!" He then slowed, and aimed out the window. He found a poor female human, pushing a stroller forward. He fired at the stroller, and when the bolt pierced through, it caused a spattering of blood and a high pitched squeal. The mother jumped back, and let out a scream of horror and heartbreak. The demon pointed and laughed, readied the crossbow again, then fired again, the bolt piercing the knee joint of the mother, who stumbled over, letting out a tortured scream of simultaneous physical and emotional pain. He drove along, firing at random passerby, and firing at other vehicles. Eventually, he fired at a certain, shady looking vehicle, the vehicle then rolled down its windows, the rear passenger holding out an automatic crossbow. The passenger in the other car yelled, "YOU GOT A PROBLEM PENDEJO?!" The passenger then promptly fired at the demons car, breaking several windows and piercing through the aluminum. The passengers car then drove away at high speed. The demon looked down at his shoulder, finding a bolt sticking out of it. He spoke, "Ow..." He then ripped the bolt out, tossed it away, and laughed about it. The demon continued driving, driving up a ramp onto a highway. He looked to his side, and observed the bag of illegal narcotics. "Pain killers!" He grinned, took some of the yellow, powdery substance, rolled it up into some paper, and breathed a slight bit of flame on the end to light it. He smoked it as he drove down the highway, taking potshots at passing vehicles. He noticed that these specific narcotics contained carefully formulated chemicals, and other carcinogens, engineered to make the product immediately and hopelessly addictive, as well as slowly destroying the user from the inside out. The demon laughed, "What would we do without our loyal alchemists?" He took in a deep breath through the narcotic, and exhaled a plume of smoke out the window. The plume of pollutants was dense and pitch black. It coated the windows of the vehicle behind him, obscuring their view. That vehicle slowly began to move from its previous path... it ground against the center divider, swerved, then veered off of the highway, falling into the grass and rolling over several times. The demon laughed, then fired at another vehicles tire. The vehicle in question was right next to a very large cargo hauler vehicle. The vehicles tire blew out, causing it to slam into the cargo hauler and wedge itself into the cargo haulers wheels, knocking the cargo hauler off course and causing the hauler to drift off into the grass, its cargo container toppling over, crates and barrels spilling out everywhere, their contents spilling out further. The demon pressed down the throttle petal, shifting up. Eventually, the vehicles and land around became a blur as his newly 'reclaimed' vehicle reached high speed. He still took potshots at vehicles, buildings, signs, wildlife, whatever he felt like. He soon found himself taking potshots at the hallucinations caused by the industrial chemicals coursing through his veins. He laughed menacingly, looking at his vehicle and his weapon, "I think I'll enjoy this future..."

Upon exiting the other side of the rift, Blitukus immediately felt immersed in a sensation of being refreshed, a power being restored... but then, he looked back, at the steel and glass towers of 2000 AD... and let out a sigh... where was it all going to? His dreams had a tendency of being prophetic it seemed, but who would truly win? Perhaps... in the nature of all technological wars... nobody would win. The mere thought stung at his heart, and he pushed it from his head. Still... he felt concerned...
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Hmm... I hope the name Dreadnought was appropriate, all I know about the word is that it was used to label a now-outdated class of battleship.

[ December 28, 2007: Message edited by: AlanL ]