16th Hematite 4078So, I am Kesp Cleanpants. I am pretty much a nobody. I have lived here in Ruluhathur, "Sweltermerchants," my whole miserable life. It's the capital city, if you can call it that, of Omon Giqua, the Realm of Creeks. Ain't no creeks here though. Just desert. Surrounded by tombs and necromancers. The whole world is going to shit and I have had enough.
The rumours are that in the keep in the town, the deity of our civilisation, the Society of Living, resides. Now, to put you in the picture, Omon Giqua is all about... lust.
Our patron deity:
Ini Charmembrace, oh, the statues that they have
erected in her honour here. I would love to see her! Surely it can't be true?
I have had enough of this life. I am going to go visit my Goddess. You know, there's all this talk about the "last bastion of goodness" over in that crazy dwarf fortress Bloodspire, but why would anyone want to trek all the way over there when the Goddess of Lust lives in your city keep!
I'm going to go speak to the High Tuft.
Yeah. Lust. That's what I am talking about. There's a lot of equipment just lying around in this keep. I look at my rusty copper spear and think to myself that I should really get some better equipment, and old Tufty is too busy dreaming of lust to notice that I help myself to an iron spear and some armour.
This tower is pretty tall. I guess the Goddess will be at the top. Time to climb those stairs.
Now, what have we here. This isn't right.
I don't remember the legends of Ini Charmembrace to mention anything about... this.
Er... Ini?
This is definitely not right. Where is the lusty Goddess? This three-eyed tortoise demon seems to have everyone convinced. The Tuft has returned. He has a very odd look on his face, and a leering grin that unsettles me. I think that Bloodspire sounds like a good idea after all.
Before I sneak out the stairwell, I find a small book covered in dust. For some reason I feel a compulsion to take the book and what I find inside makes a lot of sense.
A demon who has controlled my civilisation for over four thousand years... Snarling Lover? No thanks! I am getting the hell out of this place.
It's mid afternoon when I leave Sweltermerchants. I think to myself that if I ever got strong enough, I would come back here, and end that demon's despotic reign. For now though, I will do what comes naturally, and run.
I've never been outside this city before. I stop by the river to have a drink. A creature called a carp tries to bite me. This world is more hostile than I thought. As I recall, the crazy dwarves built their city on top of a volcano, based on the teachings of some kind of wild repentant necromancer. I can see the volcano in the distance. Just got to follow the smoke, south west of here. It looks like a long way to go on my own but none of the other peasants wanted to leave with me, just looked at me with glazed eyes, muttering about Lust. I can see now. I was fooled like them, but once I saw that tortoise beast, the spell was broken and I have come to my senses. West I go. I will need to be careful.
I spot a strange herd of creatures on the horizon. Camels. I have heard stories of what their hooves can do. I make a detour around their group.
Night is falling. I am alone and finally realise the gravity of what I have done. There are a thousand different things which could kill me out here. I even heard tales of monsters that come out at night to eat you. I am taking a chance sleeping out here but there is nowhere safe for miles. I find a little hollow in the side of the hill and set my campfire. I drift into uneasy sleep.
17th Hematite 4078Gods. It's dawn and I am alive. I am hungry and thirsty, so drink from my water flask and eat one of the 5 dried fish I managed to grab before I left town. I will need to find another source of food and water soon...
Black sand stretches off into the distance. I don't see any water, just hungry buzzards and those infernal camels. To the south, a great necromancer tower grasps the sky, it's brother to the north equally imposing. I must travel between these towers to reach my destination.
It seems like weeks I have walked but the sun still lingers in the sky. It has only been a day, and I have no water left. I spot a watering hole in the distance, perhaps I can drink there?
The water is rank and fetid. Flies buzz incessantly. This is not good water, and I can't bring myself to drink it.
It's getting dark again and I am tired in my bones. I need to sleep. I make camp next to the watering hole and set my fires. If the bogeymen come tonight, I will have at least some protection. Aware of the rumbling in my stomach, I fall into a fitful sleep.
...
What is that noise? KOBOLDS! Two of them, with little sharp teeth and glinting silver swords. I stagger to my feet and grab my spear.
The larger one lunged at me, and I tried to parry. On one side of me, the wall of campfires I had set last night. On the other, the murky pool. The kobolds could only attack me from one direction but I couldn't run either. I would need to kill these little fiends.
The smaller leapt at me over his comrade and I smacked him with the haft of my spear. The little creature scrambled to the right of me, landing with a splash in the rancid bog. I could hear his gurgling screams and grinned to myself. Seems kobolds are just as terrible as peasants at attempting to swim.
Incensed by his brothers death, the larger kobold Stlorber attacked me with savagery I did not expect. His blows glanced off my bronze and iron armour, hastily confisctaed from the keep. The only exposed areas were my upper arms, as I could not find a mail shirt.
With sudden stinging agony the little silver sword bit my arm. I felt my left hand go limp and I dropped my shield. Hot blood ran from a torn artery and I knew my left arm was useless.
I swung my iron spear in an arc. If only I had some training in this weapon.
The silver sword struck again, and my spear clattered to the earth. Both arms now hang limply at my sides, the nerves severed and broken. I knew now that I was in very real danger of death. I could not grasp my weapons!
I jumped at Stlorber and kicked him hard. He seemed surprised. I kicked and kicked. Finally I felt his skull crunch under my bronze boot, and he moved no more.
I caught my breath and a wave of panic came over me.
Things were looking grim. Without the use of my hands, I couldn't catch animals to butcher. I could not fight off wild animals. My only hope would be to make it to the volcano fortress and put my fate in the hands of a dwarven surgeon.
Exhausted after my battle, I fell asleep.
18th Hematite 4078My arms are ruined. I have dark bruises to both arms and my cheeks. My nose is shattered and dribbles blood. Scattered on the earth are my broken teeth which I scoop up with my tongue and spit into my backpack. Maybe the dwarves have a dentist.
I travel west and south. The hot noon sun is in the sky and I feel ready to collapse. Bloodied arms swing in the breeze.
I am delirious with hunger, having finished my last scraps of fish what seems like days ago.
19th Hematite 4078I have no chance to sleep. I must make it to safety at all costs. I sneak through the dusk heading ever closer. Walking through the night I am starving and thirsty, dried blood caking my face and arms.
I hear an odd hoot and am suddenly accosted by some foul creature, it has the head of a dingo but walks like a man, a long furred tail behind it. It punches and bites but it's blows glance off my armour. I lunge at it and bite it's finger off. With a yelp it scurries off into the night.
I scramble in my backpack for something to eat. Licking the dingo-man finger provides no succour. I find some smear of frozen blood at the bottom of my backpack. Making a campfire with my feet, I melt the blood and drink it down, it is foul but I feel better for it.
When I open my eyes the sun is in the west. It is late afternoon. I am so thirsty I cannot think. Several yards away is a giant bird, like a monstrous kea. I chase it. It looks so tasty. It is so quick that my efforts are fruitless. It is only after I have given up in despair I realise I have no tools to butcher it. I calmly realise I am dying.
I awake in the late evening, roused by a cool breeze. I will not die today.
I stagger westwards, I can see smoke billowing from the volcano. I am close! A shimmering line of white marble appears on the horizon, can it be the wall? Have I made it?
Scattered at the base of the wall are crossbow bolts fashioned from chinchilla bone, larger than any I have ever seen. It seems that the dwarves here are no stranger to giant chinchillas.
I spot someone in the distance. A dwarf! Surely he will accompany me to the fortress. Oh what a sight for weary eyes!
I stumble over to this dwarf who names himself Deduk. He seems mad with grief as he recounts his tale.
He gives me a stark warning to follow his God Stettad as he looks at my crazed features and limp useless arms. But he will not follow me. He stands unmoving in his grief. I see the giant chinchillas of this place have taken a heavy toll.
I follow the great marble wall north. I seem to recall a story of this place -the entrance was north west. That is all I can remember.
I find an opening in the wall. All around are strewn crossbow bolts. Several yards forward is a pile of silver bolts in a pool of congealing chinchilla blood and vomit. A battle was fought here. Greedily I slurp the blood until I feel sick. I will not die of thirst so close to my goal.
Heading south east towards the fortress I spot a rotten coyote. It revolts me to contemplate eating it. A buzzing in my head. There was something else. Some warning about what path to take. I can't recall. My mind is ruined from wandering the desert.
Ahead of me is a great pile of corpses strewn across a narrow pass. A natural chokepoint. Chinchilla remains are jumbled with giant kea corpses, and twisted kea-men. So hungry. So close. I amble forwards.
I try to remember the warning. There is something I forget. I am roused from my delirium by a click and a whirring sound.
No... So close and yet not close enough. I feel my lifeblood flow from me. Oh, to end like this.
And so, today I die.
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Topic: Necropia: Adventurer Succession Survival Game (Players Wanted!) (Read 20942 times)