The
team emerged from the portal onto an island of barren, yellowed rock.
“I
think I found the intern. And he looks like I just got through testing a new
weapon on him,” Morthos noted, pointing at the badly charred corpse of Greg.
“What
a shame. He had such a dim future ahead of him,” Thunder dryly remarked.
“Please
send him back for cause-of-death analysis,” the voice of B.I.L.L. requested in
their heads, communicating through the small, blue orbs in their helmets.
“Here
you go, boss,” the demon stated as he nonchalantly chucked the body through the
portal.”
With
that out of the way, the team quickly began taking a better look at their
surroundings. The island they were on was floating above a black abyss and was
devoid of life save for a few strange purple plants. Dr. Bones held out one
hand and a small metal chisel appeared from within his dimensional storage
gloves in a flash of blue light. He held down a small, blue button on its side,
sending electricity coursing through the chisel’s end. With the tool, the researcher
easily carved a few chunks of the strange, yellowy rock from the ground before
sending them to the pocket dimension within his gloves for later examination.
Meanwhile, Thunder collected a few bizarre, purple fruits from the tall, purple
plants and placed them in storage as well.
The
squad trekked to the edge of the island and stopped to survey the surroundings.
In all directions spanned a black void, dotted by many islands similar to the
one they were on. The land’s only light was a strange, dim illumination shining
from the dark, bleak sky.
“Over
there!” Abzug the orc security guard shouted. The group quickly turned its
attention to where he was pointing. On a nearby island stood an odd figure. Its
skin was black as night, it was shaped much like a man except that it stood a
few feet too tall, and it was unnaturally thin with frighteningly long limbs. The
creature was clad in long, loose clothing seemingly made of some kind of purple
fabric with a symbol (which couldn’t be made out at this distance) stitched on
one shoulder. Its indigo eyes stared intensely in their direction. Upon being
noticed, the figure stood transfixed for a moment before disappearing in a
cloud of rapidly dispersing violet particles.
“What
was that thing?” Kethra asked in a somewhat concerned tone.
“Well,
I’ve certainly never seen one before, and I’ve seen some weird things in my
time, believe me,” Morthos responded.
Thunder
matter-of-factly stated, “I think it was clearly a member of a civilized race
that is likely native to this dimension.”
“Do
you think it is hostile?” Helixea questioned.
“No.
At least, not that individual. It’s clear to me from its behavior that it was
scared of us, which is only natural given that it has likely never seen
creatures like us before. And judging by its clothes, it was not a warrior,”
the tabaxi explained with an air of condescension.
“Do
any of you have any idea how we can get to those other islands?” the medusa queried.
“Well,
it’s not the fanciest option, but the team could split into two groups and climb
into my and Mort’s bags of holding, which we can then carry across,” Dr. Bones
suggested.
“For
lack of a better option, I say we do it,” Kethra acquiesced.
“Then
it’s settled,” Helixea agreed.
With
the rest of the team safely inside the bags of holding, Morthos took to the sky
with a few strong flaps of his great, leathery wings. Before long, the demon
touched down on the island where the strange figure had been standing. In a
moment, he was joined by Dr. Bones who arrived in a flash of light after
uttering an incantation. The two of them quickly placed the bags upon the
ground, allowing their companions to climb out.
Using
this method, the squad began hopping from island to island, trekking through
the eerily similar terrain for hours on end, catching glimpses of strange
creatures all the while. Along the way, they witnessed a few more individuals
of the same bizarre race that they had seen earlier and got brief glimpses of a
few apparently related, yet distinctly different, species. Once, a few hours into the mission, Morthos
caught sight of what appeared to be a humanoid shadow with a pair of glowing, white
eyes standing on a nearby island.
Eventually,
the group decided to make camp, as they had been traveling for hours. With a
flash of blue light, a small model of a structure appeared in Helixea’s
outstretched hand. The medusa hurled the figurine to the ground and spoke an
arcane command word. In an instant, the model vanished and transformed into the
object it depicted. The building was a large igloo-shaped structure made from
the same alloy as most of A.L.E.R.T.’s gear, and it featured alchemical
regulation of its interior temperature. The building’s inside was furnished
with many comfortable bunks and a small kitchen. After cooking themselves a meal
from ingredients stored within their dimensional storage gloves, the team went
to bed.
Ì
A
number of hours later, the team awoke and quickly resumed traveling. About an
hour into their journey, Stedd the ghost exclaimed, “I think I see the shadowy
figure that Mort spotted yesterday!”. Upon
hearing this news, the group turned as one to gaze upon the mysterious being
who stood watching them from the next island over. After a moment, the stranger
rapidly sunk into the dark, yellowed stone and disappeared. An instant later,
he rose from the ground directly in front of the team, allowing them to get a
good look at him. His body was black as night and seemed somewhat indistinct
and wavering. A dark, shadowy smoke constantly wafted off the terrifying figure
and his eyes were pools of white light that balefully bored into each member of
A.L.E.R.T. as he studied them in turn.
“Welcome, travelers, to this accursed
realm,” he finally spoke, uttering the words in a voice that was deep and raspy
as well as disdainful and altogether malevolent. “It has been a long time since
I have laid eyes upon any but the endermen and their kin.”
“Greetings,”
the team leader stated diplomatically, yet warily. “I am Helixea. And you are?”
“I am
Null, an unfortunate and cursed wanderer of these desolate isles,” he responded
in an embittered tone. “Tell me, did you come here by choice, or was the
journey forced upon you?”
“By
choice . . . in a manner of speaking. Investigating lands like these is in our
job description,” Helixea explained.
“Since you are clearly knowledgeable
about this dimension,” Thunder interjected, “would you mind helping us to expand
our understanding of it?”
“I would rather help myself,” Null cryptically
remarked before vanishing in a fit of maniacal laughter.
“That can’t be good,” Kethra said
with a nervous chuckle.
“If we see him again, I will be ready
to blast his face off,” Morthos boastfully assured.
“I have never seen a being such as
Null before. This could make for quite a discovery,” B.I.L.L. mused. “Especially
since he has more than a passing resemblance to a figure who most think to have
been an ancient urban legend.”
Ì
Sometime later, the team was trekking
across a rather large island when they heard a series of “voop” sounds
as several of what Null referred to as “endermen” teleported in front of them
in a haze of violet particles. There were about five, but unlike the creatures
that the squad had observed before, these endermen were wearing chainmail made
from an exotic, cyan-colored metal that emitted a faint glow, and they were wielding
weapons made from the same material.
Flanking the endermen were two
creatures, which although somewhat similar to the dark, lanky figures, were
clearly a distinct species. These “watchlings” possessed shorter and stockier
bodies than their kin, wore no armor, and wielded no weapons, but most
remarkably, their heads and torsos were speckled with staring, purple eyes.
Behind the line of endermen stood
another three seemingly related creatures. They were of a similar shape to the
watchlings, but were speckled with dark purple dots rather than eyes. These “blastlings”
had dark purple hands and rings of purple fire emitting from their necks.
At the head of the pack stood an
enderman who was slightly taller than his kin and wore a full suit of platemail
rather than chainmail. In his hands, he held a greatsword with the tip of its
blade leisurely resting on the ground.
Seeing the armed group appear around
them, the members of A.L.E.R.T. quickly summoned their weapons from within
their storage dimensions. Morthos wielded a spear, Kethra a shield and metal
baton, Thunder twin scimitars, Dr. Bones a revolver with a series of gems on
the barrel, and Helixea readied her fists. Behind the most prominent team
members, the seven security guards readied their own weapons as well.
The leader of the endermen took a
step forward and began speaking in a language that the interdimensional travelers
had never heard before. He quickly realized that they could not understand him
and resorted to more primitive means of communication: he jabbed a long finger
toward his chest a few times while repeating, “Erebus”.
Having guessed that the enderman was
stating his name, Thunder, A.L.E.R.T.’s diplomat, stepped up and introduced
himself in the same way.
Erebus made a series of gestures in
an attempt at further communication. Failing to understand the meanings of
those gestures, and figuring the endermen would not understand his own, Thunder
summoned a piece of paper and wrote upon it, hoping that the two sides’ written
languages would be more similar than their spoken ones. He handed the paper to
Erebus who held it in front of his face while gazing perplexedly at it. Clearly
unable to understand the writing, the enderman threw the paper to the ground. Thunder
could tell the endermen were growing increasingly agitated as the failed
attempts at communication continued. The leader of the endermen exchanged a few
words with the soldier next to him before turning to address the foreigners. He
raised his sword aloft and flourished it through the air before waving a hand
to indicate the recon team and determinedly pointing behind them.
“I’m pretty sure he is telling us to
go away, or else,” Thunder worriedly explained. “Orders, boss?”
“Remember our company’s motto: ‘Progress
at any cost’. We will stand our ground, and if we must, we will fight in the
name of science!” Helixea firmly and motivationally ordered her squad.
With a noise that sounded much like a
sigh, Erebus thrust his sword forward, prompting the rest of the endermen (save
for the blastlings) to charge. Thunder pressed a button on the hilt of each of
his scimitars, causing the edges of their blades to be coated in a thin layer
of magical energy. Before he could use his weapons, however, Erebus appeared
behind him and kicked his legs out from under him. The tabaxi vanished just in
time to avoid being impaled by the enderman leader’s downward stab.
Another enderman jabbed at Dr. Bones
with a spear, but his attack was deflected by a rapidly-summoned arcane
barrier. The creature teleported out of the path of an arcane blast from the
skeleton’s firearm, but as it reappeared, Thunder returned from the ethereal
plane, materializing behind it. Before the soldier could turn around, it was
slashed viciously in the back by the diplomat’s twin blades.
The blastlings stretched out their
hands, which began to glow a much brighter shade of lavender than before, firing
blasts of violet fire. The long-range shots collided against multiple A.L.E.R.T.
members, but did little against their heat-resistant armor. Growing impatient
with the enemies’ ranged attacks, Morthos rapidly beat his wings and swooped
downward toward one of the fire-lobbing freaks. The burly creature managed to
teleport to the side, dodging the strike, but the demon recovered quickly and
stabbed at the blastling, who caught the spear just behind the point with both
hands. “Big mistake,” Morthos laughed as he flipped a switch on his spear. The
spear’s head split into two halves which slid apart, revealing a glowing red
gem. A red blast of arcane energy issued from the end of the weapon, striking
the blastling in the face and sending it falling motionless to the ground.
Kethra blocked the watchling’s
powerful fist with her shield and retaliated with two swift strikes from her
electric baton. The creature took the hits in the chest, but seemed to care
little for the pain as it grabbed the medic’s shield with both hands and hurled
it, and her, a few feet away and onto the ground. As the watchling advanced, it
was suddenly stopped by the artificer’s construct bodyguard. The strange being
swung its great fist at the humanoid construct, but the mechanical defender
blocked the blow with its arm. It extended a metal blade from one of its forearms
and drove the watchling back with a slash across the chest. As her enemy
regained its composure, Kethra leapt forward and bashed her shield against it,
causing it to stumble. Taking advantage of the momentary gap in the watchling’s
defenses, the medic slammed her baton down onto its head, shocking it with
electricity and sending it to the hard ground.
Darvin swung his baton down to strike
the finishing blow against the staggered enderman. Just as the strike was about
to connect, a transparent, gray duplicate of Erebus leapt in the way, taking the
hit for the other enderman. Upon being struck, the strange copy dissolved in a
brief cloud of grey smoke. Suddenly, the real Erebus teleported right next to
the human security guard and delivered a mighty punch to his gut. Darvin managed
to recover just in time to deflect the enderman’s slash, but the next blow
knocked the weapon from his hands. With a third swing, Erebus put a sizable,
bleeding gash in the guard’s armor and chest and flung him from his feet. The
towering warrior suddenly leapt to the side, barely dodging a petrified
watchling that had been hurled at him.
Erebus turned to see Helixea
slithering rapidly towards him. He conjured another echo of himself which
charged in to intercept. The dark copy swung its blade at the medusa, but she
deftly outmaneuvered the swing. With the agility of a striking snake, she
thrust her arm forward and slammed her metal gauntlet into the image’s jaw,
destroying it in a moment. The enderman teleported right behind his adversary
and was about to swing his blade when she knocked his legs out from under him
with a sweep of her armored tail. Erebus quickly rolled out of the way of
Helixea’s fist, which collided with the ground, flinging small chunks of rock
in all directions. The leader of
endermen sprang to his feet and rammed the hilt of his weapon into the A.L.E.R.T.
commander’s stomach. As she recovered, Helixea managed to make eye contact with
her adversary.
Erebus stood fixed to the spot for a
moment, feeling as if he was being held in place. With a tremendous force of
will, he managed to shake of the effect and avoid becoming a statue like the
watchling. The endermen let out a strange, crackling growl as he leapt forward
and swung his greatsword at Helixea. Before the strike could connect with her,
the medusa slammed her fist into the side of the weapon and knocked it aside
with a small thunderous blast. Erebus stumbled back as he was struck in the
chest with a thunderous blow from his enemy’s electrically charged gauntlet.
Another dark copy appeared near the enderman,
and they charged side by side at Helixea. The medusa pointed her arm at Erebus
and a small hatch opened in her arm’s plating, revealing the opening of a small
tube. A beam of cold energy fired out of the tube, forcing the spindly warrior
to teleport out of its path. Helixea dodged the echo’s strike and swiftly
slithered around it, wrapping it in her coils. Before the duplicate could
react, he was crushed into dark mist.
The commander turned to see Erebus,
once again, approaching. The gems on the back of her hands glowed brighter than
usual as they built up electricity. The medusa slammed her knuckles together, releasing
the energy in a terrific blast of thunder and electricity that hurled the
enderman backwards. Helixea watched as Erebus painfully rose to his feet and
surveyed the battlefield. By this point, half of the enderman leader’s men lay
dead and every member of A.L.E.R.T. was still alive, only one of them suffering
a serious wound. Evidently realizing the odds were heavily against him, Erebus
shouted something in his native language and, a moment later, he and his remaining
troops were gone in a mist of violet particles.
Kethra carefully examined Darvin’s
wound. “You got sliced pretty good, but I can patch you up,” she calmly
explained. The medic pulled out a vial of translucent green liquid and popped
open the lid. Kneeling, she poured the liquid on the security guard’s wound,
which rapidly healed over and disappeared.
After Darvin had gotten back on his feet, the team forged on, traveling across several more islands before, once again, making camp.
No comments:
Post a Comment