03-12-2015, 06:35 PM
How long had it been since the gates of Darkshire? His CPU would have kept an accurate measurement down to tenths of a second, but regardless of the number it would give him, Proto Man felt as if it’d been weeks since he’d seen the town. The android knew that time worked a little weirdly for primes, and he often wondered how long it would be before he got to see Coruscant once again. How long had it been since he left? A year? Or was it longer? His contact with Roll had been steady up until his arrival in the Ashen Plains, and since then, it had gradually fallen off to the point where he was certain he could return home to nothing.
They’d traveled for most of the day, and slowly but surely, the sun was beginning to dip behind the translucent clouds that hung low overhead. From Whirda’s general appearance, Proto Man was left to believe that they were in a warmer part of the Moors. Unless that disease is giving her a fever? Would she need to stop soon? She certainly hadn’t made any remarks about fatigue or weakness, but humans had a tendency to mask their emotions rather than reveal them to people they weren’t too familiar with.
The sun would be gone in a few hours. That meant that the duo had little time to properly prepare themselves for the drow ambush that would come for them once darkness fell across the Pale Moors. Proto Man wondered if they could just press on with the hope of simply out-pacing their pursuers, but he doubted the woman would want to follow such a benign path. Shadow corruption or not, Whirda didn’t appear to be the type to pull punches or offer quarter to her opponents. Proto Man would have to do his best to temper her emotions. She was probably far more hardened to a life of brutality than he, but everyone had a point from which they couldn’t come back.
Once they within the ‘village limits,’ the pair paused to assess what was around them. For the most part, it was a collection of your run-of-the-mill shacks, with some ‘nicer’ homes tossed in every now and again. Unlike Durnhill, it wasn’t in such an advanced state of decay, which led Proto Man to believe that the place had only been empty for a few months at the latest. His system started to run a few more scans as he turned to Whirda. “Looks like this place hasn’t been like this for too long…”
“You’re thinking what I am thinking, aren’t you?” The woman asked as she walked over to a building and peered through an open window.
“Tarrasque.” Proto Man muttered as he joined Whirda. A glimpse inside the building confirmed that the inhabitants must have left in a hurry, because there was still a meal set on their table, albeit one that had long since spoiled. “Do you think the people here made it to safety?”
Whirda shook her head. “I feel like fresh waves of refugees from the interior is something that Dobson would have mentioned to one of us. These people are probably in the gut of whatever monster is out there.”
If he had a stomach, it would have twisted in knots at the thought of an entire village being devoured by a monster. Who would willingly sick a beast on a village of people just trying to make a living in an already hostile area? With a scowl, Proto Man turned away from the abandoned home and stared at the rest of the forgotten buildings clustered together. “What’s our next move? It’ll be nighttime soon.” Since they’d departed, Proto Man had updated his visual systems to ensure he wouldn’t lose spatial awareness in low- or zero-light situations, but that didn’t mean he wanted to deal with another pack of drow.
“We’ll be ready for them when they come to get us,” Whirda muttered. “We can set up some traps and ambush points among these buildings in the meantime.”
He didn’t know how comfortable he’d feel destroying all that remained of a few dozen dead people, but Proto Man also didn’t want to risk a verbal altercation with the woman either. So with a nod, he gestured to the far side of the cluster of shacks. “I’m going to go to the other half of the village and see what I can do.” The woman just nodded her head and entered one the buildings to get a better look at whatever may have been left behind during the exodus.
Entering one of the buildings, Proto Man let out a sigh and tried to get a wireless connection.
They’d traveled for most of the day, and slowly but surely, the sun was beginning to dip behind the translucent clouds that hung low overhead. From Whirda’s general appearance, Proto Man was left to believe that they were in a warmer part of the Moors. Unless that disease is giving her a fever? Would she need to stop soon? She certainly hadn’t made any remarks about fatigue or weakness, but humans had a tendency to mask their emotions rather than reveal them to people they weren’t too familiar with.
The sun would be gone in a few hours. That meant that the duo had little time to properly prepare themselves for the drow ambush that would come for them once darkness fell across the Pale Moors. Proto Man wondered if they could just press on with the hope of simply out-pacing their pursuers, but he doubted the woman would want to follow such a benign path. Shadow corruption or not, Whirda didn’t appear to be the type to pull punches or offer quarter to her opponents. Proto Man would have to do his best to temper her emotions. She was probably far more hardened to a life of brutality than he, but everyone had a point from which they couldn’t come back.
Once they within the ‘village limits,’ the pair paused to assess what was around them. For the most part, it was a collection of your run-of-the-mill shacks, with some ‘nicer’ homes tossed in every now and again. Unlike Durnhill, it wasn’t in such an advanced state of decay, which led Proto Man to believe that the place had only been empty for a few months at the latest. His system started to run a few more scans as he turned to Whirda. “Looks like this place hasn’t been like this for too long…”
“You’re thinking what I am thinking, aren’t you?” The woman asked as she walked over to a building and peered through an open window.
“Tarrasque.” Proto Man muttered as he joined Whirda. A glimpse inside the building confirmed that the inhabitants must have left in a hurry, because there was still a meal set on their table, albeit one that had long since spoiled. “Do you think the people here made it to safety?”
Whirda shook her head. “I feel like fresh waves of refugees from the interior is something that Dobson would have mentioned to one of us. These people are probably in the gut of whatever monster is out there.”
If he had a stomach, it would have twisted in knots at the thought of an entire village being devoured by a monster. Who would willingly sick a beast on a village of people just trying to make a living in an already hostile area? With a scowl, Proto Man turned away from the abandoned home and stared at the rest of the forgotten buildings clustered together. “What’s our next move? It’ll be nighttime soon.” Since they’d departed, Proto Man had updated his visual systems to ensure he wouldn’t lose spatial awareness in low- or zero-light situations, but that didn’t mean he wanted to deal with another pack of drow.
“We’ll be ready for them when they come to get us,” Whirda muttered. “We can set up some traps and ambush points among these buildings in the meantime.”
He didn’t know how comfortable he’d feel destroying all that remained of a few dozen dead people, but Proto Man also didn’t want to risk a verbal altercation with the woman either. So with a nod, he gestured to the far side of the cluster of shacks. “I’m going to go to the other half of the village and see what I can do.” The woman just nodded her head and entered one the buildings to get a better look at whatever may have been left behind during the exodus.
Entering one of the buildings, Proto Man let out a sigh and tried to get a wireless connection.
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Dante's Abyss 2015
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