08-17-2015, 12:58 AM
[spoiler]Blackness began to overtake the field. I ran, reaching the injured Mr. Clayton. He glanced at me, looking more than a little unhappy to see me as he ran. I guess I understood; our last encounter involved a lot of unpleasant sensation on his part. He was running from, well, from something—same as all the others, and myself—but with his leg in such sorry state, he wasn’t as quick as he could’ve been. A gang of orcs closed in on the hunter, though his attention was so focused on escaping the encroaching blackness that he hardly noticed. I covered for the both of us quietly, my laser pistol’s soft whistling drowned out by the roaring of the strange darkness as I fired blindly into the crowd of orcs during my own retreat.
No sooner had we made it into the temple—its doors being tended by other members of this ragtag little group I’d stumbled across—the place started falling to bits. I looked up instinctively, and had to shield my eyes from the falling bits of stone. My arms were a rather ineffectual shield, however, and I soon found myself nearly buried under stone. With each pelt of the ruins’ fragments, my vision grew more hazy. I couldn’t help but succumb to their barrage…[/spoiler]
I woke from my sad state of unconsciousness sometime later. I heard a voice…
“I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced…” This voice went on to identify itself as a certain Isaac. Reeling, I tried to offer my own name, but all that would come from my mouth was a quiet curse in my native tongue. I only loosely understood where I was; although, whoever this Isaac was, it was clear after a few seconds of contemplation that they couldn’t be speaking to me, anyway.
That was when I heard the reply. “You can call me Clayton,” the old-timey gentleman’s voice echoed out. Good, I thought to myself. I know somebody here.
Slowly—shakily—I rose, very nearly toppling over a couple of times during the attempt. I lurched forward, my head pounding, and uttered out: “Clayton?! You’re okay?”
As I stumbled towards the fellow, still dizzy, with arm outstretched, he reacted by taking a step back. I couldn’t hide my confusion at this; I’d saved the man’s life, after all. “I wanted to get a better look at you, Roger,” he explained, “You don’t look so well.”
“Roger?” I echoed, smiled a little at that. Clayton didn’t seem like the type to extend a first-name basis so easily—and, even though his body language suggested some apprehension, he made a point to cover this up by expressing some care. I decided to take it as a show of appreciation, however small.
“You’re telling me, though…” I answered him, taking assessment of my own injuries. I was pretty sure that one of my ribs was cracked—that had happened before, and wasn’t wholly unlike what I was feeling now, just inside my chest. My head was throbbing, and it was likely that I’d develop a concussion if I didn’t rest soon. My left arm also felt pretty sore, though I wasn’t too sure if that was anything serious or just the usual. Other than that, it was all bumps and bruises that were clearly insignificant in the long run.
Before the conversation could be carried further, there came a new voice from just beyond my sight. “He doesn’t look so well?”
Instinctively, I turned. Some sort of alien(?) I didn’t recognize, and the woman from earlier—Klaud, I believe someone had called her amidst the chaos. “This is Zora, and I’m Klaud…” she continued on. I was right; then again, I make it a habit to never forget a name.
Before I could further assess our situation, Clayton took the torch from Klaud and used it to light some kind of small bowl or brazier. “Now come on, both of you get over here so we can check out your injuries,” he instructed, motioning to myself and the one called Zora. I didn’t think the old-fashioned gentleman was well-equipped to examine the biology of a creature he probably hadn’t seen before, but held my tongue on the matter, stepping forward slightly.
It was then that the flames within the brazier surged, and the apparatus began to turn. Before any of us could clear the floor, it disappeared from beneath us. We plummeted, screaming, into the unknown.
Or they did, anyway. My own descent was stopped—and rather violently—by a long bit of tree root that had wormed its way through the ancient architecture of the temple. My vision flashed red, and I could taste blood, but I maintained a grip on this lonely protrusion. Clinging on for dear life, I saw as the others landed below. Fortunately, the drop wasn’t great enough to be lethal; maybe only around twelve feet or so. In fact, it probably would’ve been better if I’d just hit the ground… Unfortunately, though—as Clayton had almost immediately experienced upon recovering from the drop—this room was filled to the brim with snakes.
A quick glance over the lot of them revealed that most of the snakes were not venomous. There were, however a large number of constrictors that could pose a problem, especially considering how agitated the reptiles were by the group’s presence. Glancing around from my vantage point, I could see a door flush against the northern wall of the room, but it required a short climb up a ladder, that, from what I could tell, would require wading through a heavily concentrated patch of serpents to reach.
Still, it was better than letting these new friends of mine get eaten by angry anacondas. Taking careful aim with my pistol, I fired a round into the empty doorway. “There!” I shouted, hoping they’d see the projectile move across the room and understand. “There’s a door over there!”
I fired a second laser. A third. Then, realizing that the lack of sunlight meant that my weapons’ reserves were suddenly quite a bit more limited than usual, I turned my pistol upon the writhing mass of slithering fiends that blocked the way between our group and the room’s exit. The tree root began to crack under my weight, my single grasping hand pulling it down with all my weight. I didn’t stop shooting, though.
One of them was struck, writhing with pain as it breathed its last. The snake Clayton had lobbed across the room quickly fell to a follow-up blast from his shotgun, briefly illuminating the room. I could see Klaud in the corner, defending the injured Zora from the predatory reptiles with her whip. Everyone was doing quite well, so I turned my aim downward and ended the smattering of foes that lay beneath where I was suspended.
With the snakes beneath me cleared out, I dropped down from the weary root and switched back to my rifle, which, miraculously, wasn’t being finicky today even though it got hit by a few of those rocks; I was ready to face the full swarm. A flick of my thumb set the thing from “semi” to “fully” automatic, and, with a few concentrated bursts, our way out was cleared.
“Go! Go! Go!” I cried, overtaking a more sensible position next to the ladder as my comrades made their way up. I frowned a little as the last of them began to ascend—the limping Clayton, who’d stayed behind and actually seemed to be enjoying the free target practice until Zora had gotten up. The source of my scowl was not his apparent lack of regard for these dangerous creatures, however; to be honest, I was right there with him. Fuck snakes, am I right? Rather, it stemmed once more from the lack of any ready source of sunlight. Although my attempt at heroism had gotten us through this room unscathed, I was down to half of my full reserves of battery charge for the sunburst rifle now. It’d have to stay semi-auto the rest of the trip topside. And my pistol wasn’t about to get used again until there was a real emergency.
As I began my own ascent up the rickety, ancient ladder, I had but one thought: that we had to get out of here, because none of us could keep this up forever.
Reaching the top of the ladder, I glanced down the small hallway to see where the group was. Looked like I was a straggler, for now. Couldn’t say I blamed ‘em, either. None of the snakes we’d encountered were anything I recognized as a territorial species, but that didn’t mean that we should just stick around for them to chase us. Giving only a quick glance over my shoulder, I leaned forward and broke into a full sprint towards the sounds of my comrades’ foot-falls.
I'd catch up.
No sooner had we made it into the temple—its doors being tended by other members of this ragtag little group I’d stumbled across—the place started falling to bits. I looked up instinctively, and had to shield my eyes from the falling bits of stone. My arms were a rather ineffectual shield, however, and I soon found myself nearly buried under stone. With each pelt of the ruins’ fragments, my vision grew more hazy. I couldn’t help but succumb to their barrage…[/spoiler]
I woke from my sad state of unconsciousness sometime later. I heard a voice…
“I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced…” This voice went on to identify itself as a certain Isaac. Reeling, I tried to offer my own name, but all that would come from my mouth was a quiet curse in my native tongue. I only loosely understood where I was; although, whoever this Isaac was, it was clear after a few seconds of contemplation that they couldn’t be speaking to me, anyway.
That was when I heard the reply. “You can call me Clayton,” the old-timey gentleman’s voice echoed out. Good, I thought to myself. I know somebody here.
Slowly—shakily—I rose, very nearly toppling over a couple of times during the attempt. I lurched forward, my head pounding, and uttered out: “Clayton?! You’re okay?”
As I stumbled towards the fellow, still dizzy, with arm outstretched, he reacted by taking a step back. I couldn’t hide my confusion at this; I’d saved the man’s life, after all. “I wanted to get a better look at you, Roger,” he explained, “You don’t look so well.”
“Roger?” I echoed, smiled a little at that. Clayton didn’t seem like the type to extend a first-name basis so easily—and, even though his body language suggested some apprehension, he made a point to cover this up by expressing some care. I decided to take it as a show of appreciation, however small.
“You’re telling me, though…” I answered him, taking assessment of my own injuries. I was pretty sure that one of my ribs was cracked—that had happened before, and wasn’t wholly unlike what I was feeling now, just inside my chest. My head was throbbing, and it was likely that I’d develop a concussion if I didn’t rest soon. My left arm also felt pretty sore, though I wasn’t too sure if that was anything serious or just the usual. Other than that, it was all bumps and bruises that were clearly insignificant in the long run.
Before the conversation could be carried further, there came a new voice from just beyond my sight. “He doesn’t look so well?”
Instinctively, I turned. Some sort of alien(?) I didn’t recognize, and the woman from earlier—Klaud, I believe someone had called her amidst the chaos. “This is Zora, and I’m Klaud…” she continued on. I was right; then again, I make it a habit to never forget a name.
Before I could further assess our situation, Clayton took the torch from Klaud and used it to light some kind of small bowl or brazier. “Now come on, both of you get over here so we can check out your injuries,” he instructed, motioning to myself and the one called Zora. I didn’t think the old-fashioned gentleman was well-equipped to examine the biology of a creature he probably hadn’t seen before, but held my tongue on the matter, stepping forward slightly.
It was then that the flames within the brazier surged, and the apparatus began to turn. Before any of us could clear the floor, it disappeared from beneath us. We plummeted, screaming, into the unknown.
Or they did, anyway. My own descent was stopped—and rather violently—by a long bit of tree root that had wormed its way through the ancient architecture of the temple. My vision flashed red, and I could taste blood, but I maintained a grip on this lonely protrusion. Clinging on for dear life, I saw as the others landed below. Fortunately, the drop wasn’t great enough to be lethal; maybe only around twelve feet or so. In fact, it probably would’ve been better if I’d just hit the ground… Unfortunately, though—as Clayton had almost immediately experienced upon recovering from the drop—this room was filled to the brim with snakes.
A quick glance over the lot of them revealed that most of the snakes were not venomous. There were, however a large number of constrictors that could pose a problem, especially considering how agitated the reptiles were by the group’s presence. Glancing around from my vantage point, I could see a door flush against the northern wall of the room, but it required a short climb up a ladder, that, from what I could tell, would require wading through a heavily concentrated patch of serpents to reach.
Still, it was better than letting these new friends of mine get eaten by angry anacondas. Taking careful aim with my pistol, I fired a round into the empty doorway. “There!” I shouted, hoping they’d see the projectile move across the room and understand. “There’s a door over there!”
I fired a second laser. A third. Then, realizing that the lack of sunlight meant that my weapons’ reserves were suddenly quite a bit more limited than usual, I turned my pistol upon the writhing mass of slithering fiends that blocked the way between our group and the room’s exit. The tree root began to crack under my weight, my single grasping hand pulling it down with all my weight. I didn’t stop shooting, though.
One of them was struck, writhing with pain as it breathed its last. The snake Clayton had lobbed across the room quickly fell to a follow-up blast from his shotgun, briefly illuminating the room. I could see Klaud in the corner, defending the injured Zora from the predatory reptiles with her whip. Everyone was doing quite well, so I turned my aim downward and ended the smattering of foes that lay beneath where I was suspended.
With the snakes beneath me cleared out, I dropped down from the weary root and switched back to my rifle, which, miraculously, wasn’t being finicky today even though it got hit by a few of those rocks; I was ready to face the full swarm. A flick of my thumb set the thing from “semi” to “fully” automatic, and, with a few concentrated bursts, our way out was cleared.
“Go! Go! Go!” I cried, overtaking a more sensible position next to the ladder as my comrades made their way up. I frowned a little as the last of them began to ascend—the limping Clayton, who’d stayed behind and actually seemed to be enjoying the free target practice until Zora had gotten up. The source of my scowl was not his apparent lack of regard for these dangerous creatures, however; to be honest, I was right there with him. Fuck snakes, am I right? Rather, it stemmed once more from the lack of any ready source of sunlight. Although my attempt at heroism had gotten us through this room unscathed, I was down to half of my full reserves of battery charge for the sunburst rifle now. It’d have to stay semi-auto the rest of the trip topside. And my pistol wasn’t about to get used again until there was a real emergency.
As I began my own ascent up the rickety, ancient ladder, I had but one thought: that we had to get out of here, because none of us could keep this up forever.
Reaching the top of the ladder, I glanced down the small hallway to see where the group was. Looked like I was a straggler, for now. Couldn’t say I blamed ‘em, either. None of the snakes we’d encountered were anything I recognized as a territorial species, but that didn’t mean that we should just stick around for them to chase us. Giving only a quick glance over my shoulder, I leaned forward and broke into a full sprint towards the sounds of my comrades’ foot-falls.
I'd catch up.