I am the aforementioned “professor” in a BORU post about me related to posts in subreddit. I decided to post a response after this event was brought up again with a mutual, Maria. We’re both hanging out as I type this. She and I have both hung out with “boyfriend” (Bob) in group settings and think there are definitely two sides to this story. My main gripe is being portrayed as a drunk and a man-stealer. Below is the original BORU post that I found while browsing one day. Also, someone did find me after reading this post due to how specific it is. I am responding pararaph by paragraph so you do not need to read the original post, feel free to.
The title in BORU is below as I cannot link other subreddits. (Was able to link, after the fact)

Do I (28F) need to worry about my boyfriend's (24M) friendship with his professor (25F)?

https://www.reddit.com/BestofRedditorUpdates/s/7mIcJp6t7n

My bf (24M) became friends with his former professor (25F), sometime last year - I don't know what to make of it. They seem to be friendly and talk consistently every week, and from what he tells me, it's usually very surface level. Sometime last year after the course ended, my bf, his professor, and some of his male classmates went somewhere to eat together. My bf brought up that he was going to be attending an event (plastic modeling show), and his professsor showed interest and invited herself to the event and asked if she could stay at his airbnb with his friends. My bf and his friends were all OK with it.

I was an instructor for one class/semester that BF (Bob) attended. I have no say or sway at the school and have not taught since then. I taught a class related to my profession. I did not get to know Bob personally until after the class was over. On the last day, he expressed that I was a great instructor and gave me a miniature he built as a show of gratitude. I also made miniatures (a different type though) and was intrigued that someone else was into this hobby. We stayed in touch. Later, I invited a few students for a meal (girls and guys) and the boy students were the only ones who RSVP’d yes. Bob did mention an event. I did not invite myself, I said me and my friend Linda were interested and may go too. Later on, Bob invited me to join their group’s airbnb because I was looking at hotels. A previous event trip fell through for my and Linda’s friend group and I felt bad she couldn’t go on a trip in the USA before she had to go back to her home country. This trip was to replace that experience. Bob invited us to the airbnb and Linda and I shared a room with 2 beds, Maria ended up coming on this trip as well, which the group was also okay with, and stayed in the same room with me and Linda

I unfortunately couldn't attend the event, but from what my bf told me, he and a few of his friends met up at their airbnb. That same day, his professor comes to my bf's airbnb and tagged a few of her girl friends along (I believe they all stayed in the same place). The next day, they go to the event, went to a bar afterwards and got drinks. A lot of them (except my bf) got pretty drunk and my bf took the liberty of being the designated driver for his professor and her friends. His professor won some model kit from the event, and even in her drunken state, asked my bf if he could stay up with her to work on the kit together. From what my bf tells me, nothing else happened that night.

Respectfully, I had one cocktail and then his friend bought everyone a shot. That was the extent of my drinking. I wasn’t drunk, Linda wasn’t drunk, and no one else in the group ended up being drunk., Maria was though. Maria underestimated how strong the drinks were and she was the DD and we did not have enough time to sober up once she felt the alcohol hit her. She couldn’t drive, I didn’t want to drive her dad’s car, and Linda doesn’t have a US driver's license. Bob offered to drive the car with me, Linda, and Maria back to the airbnb. The other car was driven back by his friend who was not drunk and drove sober. At the airbnb, Bob asked what i would do with the model kit I won, I said i am not familiar with this type of miniature and so I would sell it on facebook marketplace. He said it was actually easy to build, he had built that one before, and he could help me build it right then as all their tools for building were still out on the table. I said he didn’t have to but he insisted and I accepted his help. I was also still not drunk. Next to us in the living room, Maria and 2 of the guys were watching Ouran High Scool Host Club and Cowboy bebop. We all stayed up until 2AM building or watching anime. For half of the trip, me and the girls split off and did our own thing. We did not stay with the group the entire tip because our intent was to piggy back a small girls weekend while also seeing the event.

After the event, everyone from that group created a group chat and they continue to plan and talk about future events together. Since then, my bf and his friends had met up with his professor and got to meet his professor's fiance at an anime convention and it sounded like they all got along well. His professor continues to express interest in other events and it sounds like she may be attending another event with my bf and his friends in the near future.
I trust my boyfriend and don't think he is hiding anything from me. Honestly speaking, I think it's hard for me to understand their friendship as it is his professor. I've had a conversation with him on this, and he's let me know that I have nothing to worry about. I would like to hear other's opinions and see what ya'll think of this friendship? Is this something I need to be concerned about or is it really nothing?
Thank you all!
\Edit: the professor was my bf's former professor. She is classified as an adjunct faculty and works as an accountant as her full time job (which explains why she is a young professor).*
\My bf has not graduated college yet and is still a student at his university.*

Bob and his group went to an anime convention. I and my friend group also went because I was not aware there was one near me until Bob mentioned it. My friend group, I thought, got along well with his friends and it was a great first con experience. I and a few of my friends expressed interest in future events. I think she is hung up on this professor titleship but I was an instructor whom students called professor but I was very clear this was a side gig and I was had a career. I was never in any position of power at the school, I was a contract employee used to fill an open course section at an undesirable time. For the majority of the time I knew Bob, we were equals who were only 1 year apart in age and shared a similar hobby.

Relevant Comments:
You should go to one of the events with him:
"I do struggle with social anxiety so it makes me uncomfortable to be sharing a space with a lot of unknown people. I am hoping to go to the next event though since it's local."
Her relationship with students is grossly unprofessional:
"I'm totally with you - I am also quite confused of her choice of "friends". I am not sure why of all places, does she choose to share an airbnb with her former student and to be drunk with them. She is classified as an adjunct faculty, so she is a professor but is part time (she works full time as an accountant). The whole situation feels weird to me."
Clarification:
Commenter: You say “his professor” what is their specific academic connection? She taught him once years ago and now they’re roughly equals and friends? Or she’s his primary support for a PhD? Or what?
OOP: The first option - she taught him last year and now are now friends. He is no longer in a course with her. I totally understand how it's possible for students and their professors to be friendly, but i've never heard or seen of a friendship where you consistently talk and hang out together so casually.
So she's no longer his professor- they are two adults of the same age and power level:
"It kind of gives me the same vibes like if a student graduated HS and is friends with their young teacher (obv not the same thing, but a student-teacher relationship is there). I think as a teacher, you should still uphold that level of professionalism and mentorship, even if you are no longer the student's teacher.
I also want to note that they are technically not "equals" since they're both in relationships. She can't be acting however she wants with former students."

I respect that they view my actions unprofessionally. I did not view it as such since I was no longer an instructor and have not been since. I taught a 4 month course one day a week. I would not be friends with an 18-22 year old I had nothing in common with.

Update: my boyfriend and I had a more heart-to-heart talk regarding his teacher and he recognizes that it crossed some of my boundaries. He believes that she may be behaving the way she does because when she hangs out with her fiance's friends, she gets bored with them (and may possibly be seeking attention from other people?). Several weeks later, my boyfriend had a conversation with his college instructor regarding their friendship and told her how I didn't feel comfortable of their friendship and how he thinks they should keep communication at a minimum. She brought up how she understands because her fiance also had an issue with how she chose to share an airbnb with my bf. She mentions to my boyfriend that she sees him as a brother and that's why she feels really comfortable with him, but that she will try to respect my boyfriend's wishes of keeping conversations at a minimum.

I did not know it had crossed any of their boundaries at the time until the phone call. I treated Bob the same way I treated all of my friends but I do understand and respect that not everyone has the same view of friendship. My friend group went through a period where we would talk about going to stuff and then no one does any work to follow through. The event Linda and our friends were going to attend that never happened is a good example. I didn’t want lazy friends being the reason why I did not experience things. Bob did follow through on going to things. My husband’s concern was that it was a group of guys we had not met yet in person and we were all girls. I told him that if I thought any one of them was giving off weird vibes, we would immediately leave and get a hotel. As for the phone call, he did call to tell me basically the same and my understanding was that we should talk less because she does not like the closeness. At the time, we were messaging every day and I did make an attempt to reduce the frequency to once a week.

Well, even after that talk, she continues to still message my boyfriend weekly on random life updates. And because she is also part of my bf's chat in discord, one of his friends invited her to attend another plastic modeling show (it occurred recently) and dinner. Since she accepted the invitations, I chose to attend as well so that I could personally meet her. The dinner occurred first and it was very uncomfortable because she practically ignored me the entire night. When she joined us at the table, she greeted my bf but didn't say anything to me (even my bf noticed and got annoyed, but then introduced us). She got increasingly drunk throughout the night and was saying random stuff about my bf to his friends like "he could've been the best student in my class but it's cause he missed some assignments" and "[bf's name] gave me a 5 star review on rate my professor!". She ended up not going to the show, but my bf had a chat with his guys and they told him that they want to respect my feelings too and make it a guys' night next time.
I would like to hear other's opinions and see if you also think she is acting suspicious?

One thing left out is that during the phone call between Bob and I, I asked Bob if his GF would want to ever talk to or get to know me, or all 3 of us hang out, and he said he asked her and she said she did not want to do that and she was uncomfortable at the thought of meeting me. I did stop messaging him frequently and only did so once a week to ask how his job search was going and to let him know the status of a big event in my life. I thought that was what was requested, less interaction, not no interaction. Maria and I went to this dinner because everyone from the airbnb trip was going to be there (Linda did not go). What is not mentioned is that Bob and the GF arrived 40 minutes into eating. I nodded in their direction when they came and said hey in their general direction, not specifically at Bob or her. I did not talk to either specifically because (1) GF does not like me and him talking and I was not about to directly talk to Bob in front of her (2) she said she did not want to talk to me or get to know me and never retracted that statement. I learned Bob and GF thought it was a slight against them that I only said hey to Bob but I didn’t direct it to anyone and I was trying to play it safe. Had I known she came to personally meet me, I would have tried to talk to her. After learning why she came, I was surprised she did not talk to me even though she came to meet me. As for the alcohol, except for them, since they arrived late, everyone had 2-3 drinks already because it was happy hour. Me and Maria made friends with the bartender who gave us discounted cocktails. I even bought a drink for GF so she could get the discount and then pay me back. It is true I said those jokes but I said them in jest and these were jokes already made previously. To be fair, she did not try to talk to me at all, nor did she try to talk to Maria. Later that week, Maria called me to catch up and mentioned the dinner. She commented that GF made no effort to get to know us and thought GF went to monitor him and me. In essence, she ignored me and Maria and Maria and I ignored her. I did not go to the show because I had a prior commitment.

Relevant Comment:
She wants to have sex with your boyfriend. She's crossing major boundaries. Has he stopped conversation with her?
"I wouldn't be surprised if that is her intention cause there's def some shady people out there. I agree, she is crossing some professional and personal boundaries, and I think it's quite unusual behavior for any teacher to act like that. Yes, he has stopped communicating with her. She was consistently messaging him until last week...so hopefully she got the memo.

As mentioned in her post, I did view Bob as a brother. He lived similar experiences to me but I felt like he was where I would have been had I not moved out from my parents when I did. I wanted to see him professionally thrive and accomplish his goals of getting a car and moving out as those were things I strived for but had already attained. As for the 5-6 times we met up, it was in group settings and he met all of my friends and my husband as well. This post, to me, makes it seem like I was always hanging on to Bob but there were many instances of me and my friends breaking off to do our own thing. My husband and Linda’s husband were both okay with us going to the airbnb at the time and later on met and got to know Bob too. Each time we met, if I drank, I had 2 drinks and one time I had 3. I am not sure how Bob told these events to his GF so it may just be lost in translation but the only person who ever got drunk at a meet up was Maria and it was once. I do not agree with her stating that I was constantly drunk for each meet up or always asking/inviting myself to things. He invited me to join his airbnb group (i asked if Linda and Maria could join me), I did ask to join his group for another event until my friend group arrived (which included my husband, Linda, and Maria), and his friend invited me to the group dinner (Maria attended). To this day, his GF has never said a word to me or Maria (she did not say hi, only waved to us), nor us her. When I offered to order and bring her cocktail from the bar, I believe Bob was the one who responded to my offer. I only found out about what she was thinking via this BORU post. Linda, Maria, and I haven’t talked to Bob since, this was a cathartic write with Maria as it is very jarring to randomly find a post about yourself and then also have someone find you from that post.

For the past several months I’ve been having so much trouble with my For You page. Before, it seemed like my For You page was perfect and I liked almost every single video I saw. Each video seemed unique but also tailored toward my general interests.
But lately TikTok shows me ads on top of ads. I tried muting specific words and it did nothing. Every video is someone promoting something from TikTok shop. It also seems they just shove popular videos with millions of views on my For You page - even if I’ve never liked that type of content. Or they show me videos with twenty views - and again it’s not content I like.
I also noticed that - since people were scrolling past ads - they force the ad to pop up as soon as your video ends. Which is really irritating.
It also seems if I like ONE video about something, TikTok then shows me twenty identical videos on the same topic. And I get if you like something, TikTok might try to show you similar videos - but with this it literally seems like you can’t get away.
I’ll put my tinfoil hat on for a moment - but it seems like when the whole TikTok thing happened with Congress (and TikTok didn’t do what Congress wanted) my for you page crashed and burned. I think the US doesn’t want Americans to have TikTok anymore and just scrambled the algorithm. Almost like retaliation for not doing what they wanted. As for me, I feel like deleting TikTok because it’s a huge effort to find videos that I relate to, or are funny, so it’s not worth it anymore.
But it could just be my For You page that’s weird for some reason. I’m not sure if I somehow messed it up.
I’m just wondering if this is a me problem - or if anyone else is experiencing anything like this. Thanks!

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Gods were now fighting over Markus. On the matter of whether he should feel flattered or terrified, ‘terrified’ was looking to be the stronger adjective.
As many as six different voices had piped up in the last few moments expressing some level of interest over hiring Markus following his defeat of the monster. All of these voices emanated from high-class looking box seats, and all of them carried that same affectation of power and status that one might expect of a deity.
Naturally, the crowd had fallen to silence. Who wanted to interrupt an argument between gods?
It wasn’t long before the already nonplussed Markus was flanked by Drathok, who’d spawned into existence beside him in a flash of purple lightning. The creature took one look at his dead monster, another, much longer look at Markus, then waved his hand up at the gods.
“Sacred ones! Sacred ones… I trust you all enjoyed the performance?”
“I do not wish to converse with an imp baron,” the first god spoke, a touch of ire in his voice. He was the one who’d first propositioned Markus following his fight, and the tallest of all standing to address him now. Despite their distance, Markus could make out his features well, as if he were so defined that the limits of perception need not apply to his visage. “But I will indulge you if only to speed this up. Where did you acquire this one from? Where?”
“An exotic planet in the far reaches, my lord, one heralded to produce only the mightiest warriors with the highest inherent potentials…” Drathok smiled, that same wide smile from before. “Tell me, has your holiness ever heard of the planet Earth?”
“Earth…” the god grumbled, rubbing his fingers against his chin. “No. Can’t say that I have. Sounds rather exotic…”
Markus watched the whole exchange with incredulity, still reeling with exhaustion from the fight, barely staying aloft. He worried that if he fainted now, he’d end up having an important decision be made for him, and somehow, something was keeping him going even in spite of how hard and desperately he’d fought. He had no clue what.
Still, Drathok was lying through his teeth! He’d never even heard of Earth until Markus had told him about it, and he’d pulled Markus here by total accident!
To think that he’d still try and find a way to profiteer from this situation… or maybe he was just trying to cover his own hide. Markus found it difficult to tell. Was there a chance that Markus’ unexpected victory might provoke a god’s anger?
“Question,” another voice piped up, this one female. “You say this human hails from a warrior planet, one so exotic none of us would know of it. Then why is it that your announcer insisted he was a simple, weak primitive impossibly staked to lose his life?”
“A ploy to drive both tension and excitement, your emanence! An outcome so unexpected was only meant to surprise all of you most esteemed patrons with a bout beyond your expectations!”
“Beyond my expectations…” the goddess growled ferociously, the stands trembling around her. “I’ve lost good money betting on this fight! The otherworlder was meant to be eviscerated!”
“And you will be reimbursed in full! An unfortunate cost to provide you with this most glorious turn of events, I do hope you were entertained regardless!”
“I ought to gut you where you stand, but I do suppose lying is in the nature of hellspawn.” The goddess tutted. “I will pardon this deception, but only because the fight was extraordinary. A level one human besting a D grade monster? Almost unheard of.”
“Which is why I should be the one to claim him!” another god roared. “I was the first to take note of this human’s prowess, you all should’ve caught on sooner!”
“Esteemed patrons, sacred ones…” Drathok smiled at each of them in turn, giving a small bow. “I must make you aware, this one is contracted to fight for me for the foreseeable future. To terminate said contract—”
“To buy out his service?” The tallest god sneered. “Please. I care little about your petty soul contract. Name your price. It’s a pittance to me.”
“Do I get a choice in any of this?”
Markus had said it quietly and between coughs, but that was only because his throat was so coarse. He was so frustrated with the way that he was being bargained over that he wanted to scream at them all.
“We will settle this matter later. I’m tired of gawking onlookers,” the tallest god said. “See my new champion is properly cleaned up before I visit him.”
“He’s not your champion, he’s mine!” another god blurted.
“Of course, sacred ones. Any and all of you may visit the dungeons at my leisure, you need only ask. Thank you once more for your most esteemed patronage, and please enjoy the rest of today’s performances!”
With that, Drathok and Markus both were whisked away in a flash of lightning.
Before he blinked out of the arena, he noticed that the body of the bulleater he’d slain had seemed to almost be melting away around the chest area, as if its heart had been absorbed from its body.
When they arrived back in the summoning room, Drathok’s face was split by a massive grin.
“Wonderful, boy. Simply wonderful.” He levitated a far chair over to himself and proceeded to sit, as Markus stood before him, still wracked by pain. “You passed every test I put before you with ease. Truly, you are an impressive specimen.”
“Impressive?” Markus gulped, his throat dry. “You… you mean you expected me to kill that fuck ugly thing?”
“I estimated the chance to be around five percent,” Drathok admitted, eyes glinting red. “To say I expected it might be an overstatement.”
He folded one leg over the other, looking truly at ease. “When I saw your inborn trait, I became curious about your potential, so I started zapping you with just enough magic that you might make use of it, assuming your ability had any potency to it. Seems you drank quite greedily from my mana pool, and look what it ended up leading to!” He laughed. “You’ve done well. Well enough that you won’t be stuck rotting away down here for very long. Isn’t that just splendid?”
“You bastard…” If Markus understood the situation well enough, then it was simple. Drathok had known he might be able to absorb mana from attacks from the start, and that was the precise reason he’d cast his magic on him. Not for intimidation, not for torture, but to give Markus a weapon he could use, should he have the instinct for it.
Only, it was hardly something he should be grateful for, as he’d only done it so Markus could showcase his abilities in front of a bunch of gods, who’d now want to buy him instead.
Presumably, whatever Markus could do with Mana Manipulation was worth more than the cost of replacing that monster he’d slain would be. Good for him. Great for Drathok.
Markus wasn’t gonna take this sitting down. He hadn’t fought for his life just to be sold again. He raised his hand, ready to expel the last of his excess mana despite the screaming warnings of his body, but before he could do more than bring a small pulse of power to his palm, Drathok raised a finger and held Markus completely still in doing so, locking his joints and disrupting the flow of his mana.
“Come, now. Do you really think you have a hope of winning?”
The power difference between the two was so vast that it was indescribable, even after Markus’ victory. Drathok had proven so with that single display of power. Markus struggled and thrashed in place against Drathok’s invisible hold. Any head-on confrontation was likely to be impossible.
Markus began sweating, his body aching immensely. “Fuck you. When I get out of here, I’m gonna find you and make you wish you’d never summoned me. Mark my words.”
“You can talk about your daydreams all you like. It won’t change your fate.” Drathok grinned wider, probably mentally spending the fat purse of coins he’d receive for this even as they spoke. “You want my advice? Sign yourself over to Ciphelos. He’s more lenient than the others.” Drathok began to cackle as he spoke. “After a few decades of service, he might even let you go free!”
With that, Drathok snapped his fingers, and a small, red creature appeared in a puff of smoke. “What’s up, boss?”
“Show this one to his cell. He’s performed exceptionally, so give him a rag to wash himself with. Perhaps some cheese?“
“Got it, boss,” the imp answered, before swishing its tail twice. Immediately, an ethereal chain appeared from nowhere, wrapping itself around Markus’ ankle and clamping shut, as all the while the chain affixed itself to the imp’s right hip.
Markus couldn’t even begin to tug against it. It kept his foot completely in place. When the imp moved, he moved.
As he was pulled away, he turned back only to find Drathok waving, shit-eating grin everpresent on his stupid fucking face.
“Rest well, champion! Your new life awaits!”
Markus hadn’t taken more than two unassisted steps within his cell before he collapsed to the floor. The moment that the shackles had been taken off of him and his forced march through the torchlit corridors beneath the arena had ended, his body had taken its toll on him in full force.
[Mana Poisoning II in effect. Overcharging your body’s mana past 250% of its capacity causes extreme fatigue and a consistent drain in both vitality and strength. Reducing your body’s mana below 100% of its capacity will counteract this.]
[Dealing with Mana Poisoning for long periods leads to Mana Toxicosis, a condition that will render you incapable of casting magic without inflicting heavy damage upon yourself, and in advanced stages can simply kill you.]
[Overcharge (F Grade) in effect: all physical stats have been temporarily raised by 30. Magical affinity and resilience increased. Growth heightened by 50%.]
That didn’t sound good. No wonder he was laying here in such a miserable heap of exhaustion. His whole body felt utterly incapable of moving, to the point that once the promised wet rag and food were passed into his cell, Markus couldn’t even find the energy to get up and use them, no matter how he might want to.
He supposed the temporary boost in stats had probably been necessary to carry out the fight, but if feeling like this after was the cost…
Markus decided to look around at his system more. He’d been simply thinking things and getting answers from it up until now, which seemed fairly intuitive, but he wanted a way to view everything pertinent.
He imagined himself looking at a menu, and something akin to that appeared before him. There was a list of notifications spread out, as well as means to look at various advancement trees that he had yet to realise even existed.
One thing was for sure, between draining that creature and killing it, he’d been showered with levels. There were so many notifications here…
He counted, and there were seven level ups. He’d shot up from level 1 to 8 in a single fight.
44 unspent skill points. That sounded like a lot, but he had no basis for what was high or low right now. Markus opened his stat sheet, trying to determine what he might spend them on. Part of him wanted to wait until he could amass more information, but he was on a time crunch here. He wanted to be rid of this affliction plaguing him, and he was hardly about to ask whatever god came to buy him for pointers on the most meta build for escaping them.
No, he needed to figure it out himself. Head hazy, Markus summoned his status screen, staring at it for the very first time:
[Name: Markus Brown] [Class: Otherworlder (Earth) (Tier: Novice 8)] [Health: 253/340] [Mana: 832/430]
[Strength: 48 (+30)] [Agility: 42 (+30)] [Arcana: 6] [Constitution: 49 (+30)] [Spirit: 17] [???: 0]
Didn’t take a very long look for him to realise where most of his unspent points would be going. He’d deal with the other notifications and passives demanding his attention later. For now, too much mana was the problem, and a hefty dose of Spirit seemed to be the solution.
//
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A/N: Hey! Thanks for reading! Bit of system experimentation and build theorising coming up early next chapter, then straight back to the action! Hope you're enjoying the story so far, it's been a blast to write for all of you!
If you wanna support me and this story, or if you just can't wait for the next chapter, the next six chapters of this story are available right now on my Patreon!

u/SpacePaladin15 is responsible for the creation of the NOP universe. u/JulianSkies is responsible for the creation of a metric fuckton of fics within that universe.
this story is my ficnapping entry for... uhhhh... *checks notes* old scabbard, the allergy, gremlins, game review: escape series, river wolves and meteors. it's probably not strictly necessary to read them to enjoy this ficnap? but you should do it anyway, because they are Very Excellent™.
////////////////////////// Barkeep's Log: Reunion ////// Wednesday, July 9th, 2138 8:16 PM, Brasilia Time //////////////////////////
Ah, the middle of the week. For most bars, it is a time of quiet, of minimal activity. Some scant few people might show up; either regulars who come every day, or those who seek to unwind with a quick drink or just get out of the house for a bit, but they don't often stay long. They get one or two cups, share the bare minimum of a chat, and then get on their merry way.
...But of course, that's just the way humans do things.
The countless aliens who have taken up residence in Sao Paulo since the fall of the Federation simply don't seem to care for our silly calendar. They come in whenever they please, week or weekend, midday or midnight, rain or shine. Sometimes they want to get blackout drunk, other times they just want a quick taste of home. Or, there's always the frequent visitor who's just here to get their fill of social contact. Those ones are perhaps my favorite. After the horrors of the Federation War, and taking refuge on Skalga, I certainly won't ever tire of seeing aliens and humans—total strangers to one another—start chatting and getting along, coexisting in peace and harmony, without anyone batting an eye.
Today, though... was not the typical rush of aliens and one or two human regulars. When the bell above the door jingled and a figure stepped in from the cool outside air, consider my surprise to see not a small fluffy thing with no clothes, but a tall, lanky human man, with a face I hadn't seen in months.
"Lucas," I jovially said. "Welcome. It's good to see you again."
He smiled bashfully and raised an arm in a silent wave, seeing a dozen heads turn to look at him. One head in particular turned much farther than the rest; a gaunt human woman, accompanied by a relaxed venlil—Bella Rivers and Taya, both of whom are... perhaps my most frequent guests. "Oh damn! And here I was starting to think you died in a car accident, Luc," Bella said, clearly surprised to see another human at this hour, letalone one who'd been absent for so long.
"Haha, no..." Lucas said, making a beeline for the bar. "Just been... er, busy, you know how it is. How've things been here?"
Bella cast a brief glance at me, asking a silent question, to which I gave a simple nod. "It's been great," she answered in my stead. "Every day feels like more people know about this place. I keep telling Keeps to start thinking about remodeling, get some more space in here before it starts turning into a moshpit every weekend."
Lucas let out a chuckle. "I almost can't believe you two come here so often that you can say that."
Taya leaned around Bella just enough to look Lucas in the eye. "Well no duh! Where else are we gonna go? Name one pub in this city besides The Crossroad that's licensed to sell alien food and drink, and always cares about dietary restrictions!"
Bella laughed. "Okay girl, you ain't gotta shill that hard."
"Nuh uh. I'm not drunk enough not to shill," the normally-reserved venlil droned. She most certainly was a little drunk...
"Speaking of," I cut in, turning to Lucas. "The usual?"
His eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You still remember my drink?"
"Of course."
He looked thoughtful for a moment, before smiling. "Yeah. I'd love that."
I wasted no time in gathering my tools and the requisite bottles and ingredients to put together his complicated order. To say I pride myself on remembering my patrons, their quirks, and their likes and dislikes... would be an understatement. What is a barkeep if not the central pillar of the establishment? It simply wouldn't do for me to be anything less than reliable.
"For real though," Bella said. "It's not just the food that keeps us here. Like yeah, I love being able to trust my food, but there's more to it. Just look around," she waved a hand out at the rest of the room, "Isn't it great, seeing so many different people, from so many different walks of life, all come together in one place? Back during the war, I... we never imagined we'd get to see something like this. And yet here we are, back on Earth, with God knows how many aliens just hangin' around, being chill, doing their things."
"Huh... yeah, I guess I can see it-- ah, thanks Keeps," Lucas said as I passed him his completed drink. "If you forget everything that's happened, it kinda does look like how everyone dreamed things would go before first contact."
Bella smiled wistfully, idly swirling her half-full drink with her straw. "I think it's amazing. All these different cultures and faces mashing together at once, just this giant melting pot of people and worldviews and everything."
"...Yeah. It really is incredible."
Bella's brows furrowed as Lucas wasted no time in taking a large swig of his drink. It seemed as if something was on his mind, and perhaps she could tell. "Hey... where have you been, these past few months?"
"I've... well," he put down his glass, staring at it almost disdainfully. And after I'd made it so perfectly for him, to boot. Rude. "I've actually been trying to uh, cut back on the drinking..."
Bella turned, glancing confusedly at Taya, who flicked her tail in equal uncertainty. "Really? But you've always been such a responsible drinker. I don't think I can even remember a single time you've ever caused trouble, or got sick or anything. Did something happen?"
"No, nothing like that. I just wanted... well, here, look at this," he said and produced his holopad, skillfully swiping to his photo album. In seconds, he pulled up a picture of himself alongside an alien with gray fur... and long, floppy, dog-like ears. A farsul. "This is Talon. He's been staying with me since the xenomed center got going full swing."
Taya recoiled at the sight, ears flattening in apparent anger before Bella turned and shot her a firm glare. The venlil immediately shrunk on herself, looking both apologetic, and yet still agitated.
"I'm doing it for him. He... um, let's just say he gets a little nervous," Lucas mumbled. He swiped to another picture, this time with Talon hanging off his arm like a monkey, tongue lolling out of his wide-open muzzle in obvious glee. "He's such a sweet little guy, like the brother I never had. But it wasn't good for him, to be dealing with me coming home drunk. He needs stability, consistency. I... was making him worry whether I'll be the same every time I walk through the door. So I promised him I'd stop."
Bella put a hand on Lucas' shoulder. "Well that's sweet of you. I can tell you care a lot."
Lucas frowned. "Of course I care. After the shit he got put through in those... fucking goddamn facilities."
A bubble of silence surrounded the trio as his words sunk in. Bella swirled her drink one last time before she took a huge swig. Lucas watched her for a moment before he grabbed his own near-full glass and downed the whole of it in one fell swoop.
"Hhh. So much for that," he grumbled as he glared down at his freshly emptied cup. Then his expression softened slightly, turning closer to remorse. "...Sorry. I didn't mean to fuck up the vibe. I uh, got some other pics of him if--"
"No, Lucas, it's okay," Taya suddenly said. "There's nothing wrong with being honest. Especially not in a place like this," she pointed one eye toward me, "ain't that right, Keeps?"
All I could offer in response was a curt nod.
Bella reached over and laid a hand on his shoulder. "If something's on your mind, then... c'mon, be straight with us."
Lucas sighed. "I wish there were more I could do for him," he bluntly said. "We've tried so many things to help him stay calm. Breathing exercises, fidget toys, music... but it's never enough. He still just can't function in public, or around new people, or... anywhere. Especially if I'm not there. And I don't know what to do anymore. I keep telling him to take as long as he needs, but I..." Lucas slouched over, holding his head in his hands, "I feel like every time takes a little longer."
"Um... Y'know..." Taya spoke up, as her ears twisted nervously. "It... sounds like, maybe, um... he... needs a friend?"
"I am his friend," Lucas deadpanned.
"N-no, I mean... oorgh, how do I say this?"
"I think what she's trying to say is... if you want a little help, Lucas, we'd be happy to be there for you. For him."
Lucas's brows furrowed for a moment before he seemed to grasp what she was saying, and his eyes went wide. "Really? But-" his eyes locked onto Taya, "but you're--"
Taya shook her head. "Don't say it. I... I know. I know what I am," she all but whispered. "But maybe I don't want to be like... this. Maybe I want to be better. After all, if I'd never tried to have an open mind about humans, I never would've met Bella!"
"Well... okay," Lucas said, as a small smile grew on his face. "Here. Lemme get your numbers, and I'll talk to him, and we'll get in touch?"
Bella nodded and presented her pad, as Taya did the same. "Yep! And hey, if he isn't up to meeting in person, maybe you can see if he wants to try just being... like, pen pals or something?"
"Hah. He's not a child, you know. But thanks. I really mean it."
"I know you mean it. We're glad to help."
The three of them tapped pads to exchange contacts, and with that, their fates became intertwined. Whatever may happen to them after today, I cannot know. A humble barkeeper such myself shan't be blessed with the absolutes of the future. Some may try to predict what is to come, but I believe the future is theirs to decide, that they may take whatever happens in their own hands and mold it to their will.
It is all I can hope that Bella and Taya will return and share with me the stories of their antics. Or, as unlikely as it seems, perhaps Lucas could bring Talon here, for them both to participate in this gathering of souls; for them to find joy among friends new and old; for the chance to walk the wondrous crossroads of life and love.
​
////////////////////////// Barkeep's Log: Scampering Menaces ////// Monday, July 14th, 2138 1:39 PM, Brasilia Time //////////////////////////
Monday. The day of loathing. Of rest and relaxation coming to an end. Of waking up early, getting ready for work, and repeating yet another week of monotony. Some would question my sanity, to open the bar at all on a Monday, letalone to do so at noon. But those foolish few simply haven't seen how excited aliens can be about something so mundane as lunch.
But alas, the lunch rush never persists forever, and just like always, I eventually found my beloved pub woefully empty. As it would likely stay for the rest of the afternoon, save for the occasional visitor with a more unusual schedule.
...Or, perhaps, should I be so lucky... a much more rare sight; a true oddity, who might seek to come here only during the dead hours.
And wouldn't you know, it was on this day that I was blessed with one such patron. Or... multiple patrons. A human and a trio... no, quartet of dossur. It was very much a challenge for me to keep track of the little sapient rodents as they skittered about, both on and literally around their human, but I was more than certain that there were definitely only four of them.
At first, I thought there were three dossur. But then one of them retreated into their human's apparently rather spacious hoodie, and a very distinctly different dossur came out. She looked... mangy, for lack of a polite term, with numerous patches of discolored and uneven fur, and what appeared to be a few healed scars. It was clear to me that she must have been through something horrible, and yet had been saved by the miracle of modern medicine.
The small group's incursion upon my shop was... relatively peaceful. They certainly had no qualms about using their outdoor voices, speaking loudly and freely about whatever came to mind, from plans for when they got home, to theorycrafting about potential vacations they could take, and even to the status of the Sapient Coalition as a whole. I, of course, had no right to begrudge them for being so noisy—they were the only ones in the bar, after all.
But everything changed when the front door swung open, the gentle dingle of the bell heralding the arrival of yet another rare antisocial patron.
To my surprise, this newcomer was another human. But not just any human, oh no, this was a very particular human. One who I could say might be somewhat of a regular, despite his tendency to avoid the busier hours. It was no trouble for me to recognize him from the slightest glance, as his unforgettable silver hair, and the red highlights within, matched gorgeously with his red scarf.
As he entered, a somewhat shorter than average venlil trailed close behind. He too wore a red scarf, though for a... different reason. A deeply personal reason, that neither he nor his human have ever seemed keen to share. And I, out of respect for them both, shan't pry.
With a brief, wary glance at the table of chaos, the two of them made their way toward the bar. They hardly made it more than a few steps before a painfully loud shriek, followed by three more of the same, damn near shattered every piece of glass in my bar.
"HUMY!!!!!" "OH MY GOD HI!!" "JOHN! LOOK!!" "Don't yell in my ear--" "Wait is it really-- IT IS! GUYS GET OUT HERE--"
And in a staggering instant... where I thought there were only four dossur, I was once again proven thoroughly WRONG. From within John's hoodie came not one, not two, but four more of the little bastards! There were eight of them! They all scampered up their poor handler's arms and stood on his head and shoulders, waving their whole bodies and jumping up and down, and being so very loud.
"HI HUMY!!!!!!!!" "HI!!!" "HIIIIII!!!!!!" "He's so tall..." "Is that VV?? HI VV!!" "WOW I didn't know his hair was really that white!"
Humy, while certainly shocked by the sudden attention, somehow managed to take it in stride. He raised a hand and waved back to the crowd of not-squirrels, the action shutting them up for only a moment before they started squealing even LOUDER in sheer excitement.
"Guys... Y'all oughta quiet down a bit," John said... or so I think. I frankly couldn't hear him over the orchestra of rodent insanity.
One particularly bold dossur—the one with the damaged fur—made her way down from the chaos table and practically sprinted to Humy's legs, before climbing him like a tree. He recoiled in surprise, but she kept going until she was leaning off the top of his head, staring straight into his eyes. The others went silent, waiting with bated breath for whatever might happen next.
...
"Hi."
The poor man, frazzled, startled, accosted-by-an-alien-squirrel, took a long moment before he figured out what to do about this situation. "Um. Hi."
Unfortunately, that was the wrong response.
"HE SAID HI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" "I WANNA SAY HI TO HUMY!!" "THAT'S NOT FAIR, HOW COME SHE GETS--" "JOHN!!!" "Guys, pl--" "--TO SAY HI TO HIM?!?!!?!" "JOHN BRING US TO HIM OR DIE"
John abruptly slapped the table and stood up, nearly flinging half of his passengers in different directions as they panicked and clung to him for dear life. "I'm so sorry," he quickly said, "They're not usually like this. We'll just be going," he turned to me, making eye contact for an instant, "Cya later, Keeps."
"No, wait!" Humy said, just barely before the swarm could scream their collective dissent. "Please don't. I don't mind, I promise. All I ask is you quieten down a notch, is that okay?"
The dossur looked amongst each other; some of them drooped in shame, while others seemed to simply not grasp the relevance of the request. But in the end, it was John who spoke up first. "He's right, guys. Y'all need to tone it down. No more screaming."
"Okay?" "Sorry..." "Makes sense." "SURE!!--"
John immediately snatched up that particular troublemaker before stuffing him in his hoodie, never to be seen again.
"Ah... anyway..." Humy said, and gestured to the counter, where VV had already taken a seat during the commotion. John took the unspoken invitation, and the middle-aged man reunited with his friend as the dossur wrangler sat on his other side.
The swarm, of course, wasted no time in dismounting John and lining up right in front of poor Humy. Or, well, only two of them lined up. One crawled up onto his sleeve, two onto his shoulders, and the last simply kept climbing around, seemingly not intent on stopping ever. The seventh and eighth remained imprisoned in John's pocket and sprawled out atop Humy's head, respectively.
"Is Humy your real name?" "Why's your hair white?" "Your scarves are so cool!" "What's your favorite fruit?"
Humy burst out in a fit of chuckles, evidently amused by the dossur speaking over each other in their haste to treat him like a talking jungle gym. "Wow. John, right?" he turned to the other human, who gave a curt nod. "How do you live with this?"
"Very patiently," John deadpanned. "No one would ever believe me if I told them these little shits are highly trained Marines."
"Have you ever been on a cruise?" "What's your favorite game?" "If I gave you a strawberry, would you eat it?" "Are you two dating?" "Seriously, why's your hair white!?"
"Okay, okay, c'mon, one at a time! Why don't all of you line up right here in front of me, and I'll go down the line?"
"No." "...Nah." "It's comfy up here." "And it's boring down there!" "And your hair smells good..."
Humy sighed and shook his head, but his smile betrayed his mirth at the situation. "Fine... let's see... you, at the very top. What's your question?"
"Huh? Oh, uhhh-" the mangled one trailed off. She'd been rather quiet the whole time. "Hmm... what's your next video gonna be, and when's it gonna be out?"
"Ooh!" "Yeah!" "Yes yes yes tell us!" "Genius question, Fée!"
Humy, despite the dossurs' excitement, grimaced. "I'm sorry, you guys, but I can't answer that. I just can't leak upcoming content!"
"Auugh!" "Noo c'mon!" "What." "That's not fair!"
"But..." Humy cut them off, looking thoughtful. "Well... maybe I can tell you one thing. I might have something very, very special lined up soon. Do you all remember when I played that thafki game, Survivor? Well I--"
Humy jumped, startled as VV—who'd been totally quiet and unobtrusive the whole time—abruptly grabbed his sleeve and tugged it sharply. A sheepish expression spread across the human's face. "Oops! Can't spoil the surprise. Sorry! How 'bout we hear another question?"
The dossur pouted, looking dejected, disappointed and all-around displeased. But, with that, the seven tiny herbivores quickly moved on, and continued to pester Humy with evermore nonsense. Too much nonsense. Truly, veritably, too much.
It wasn't until hours later, around 4 PM, that both parties finally grew fatigued and split ways. In the wake of their madness, I could feel nothing but gratitude for the fact that, despite their behavior, the rodents hadn't made a mess of anything, nor skipped out on their tab. While they were loud, and excitable, and far too much enjoyed using poor Humy as a playground... they weren't hooligans. They were, in the end, people. Not just noisy squirrels.
With that in mind... perhaps, maybe, just maybe, next time they come in... I wouldn't be unwilling to greet them, to welcome them to this place of character and merriment; to welcome their uniqueness among the myriad faces that make themselves known; to invite them in as members, as friends, as we all tread upon the ever-exciting crossroads of greetings and farewells.
​
////////////////////////// Barkeep's Log: Mayflies ////// Friday, August 1st, 2138 9:05 PM, Brasilia Time //////////////////////////
Ah, the weekend. For a bar, it is the busiest time one could imagine. But for a bartender such as myself, it is so much more. The activity, the bustle, the countless different people coming together and simply being themselves. Just by merely being here, serving drinks and dinner to all who would want it, I am blessed with the wondrous opportunity to overhear talk and tales of peoples' lives—their homes, their hopes and dreams, their fears and regrets.
And today, of course, was no exception. Perchance, allow me to skip the lengthy preamble and get to the good stuff.
The moment an elderly, borderline decrepit old man entered the bar, he had my attention. Someone his age, coming somewhere like this, alone? The scenario piqued my curiosity.
He had a tired air to him, something between boredom, the general fatigue that comes with such advanced age and... if my keen eyes didn't deceive me, a touch of discomfort. As if he was out of his element in some way, not quite sure what to do with himself. He kept silent, bothering no one as he approached the counter and scanned one of the many QR codes plastered around the dining room.
His face stayed the same as he reviewed The Crossroads' prodigious menu, as though he was unimpressed with our unrivaled selection. But then, he paused, and something changed in his stance. His eyes flicked up and met mine, his expression suddenly lit ablaze, full of energy that wasn't there before. "Redtato tacos?" he curtly asked, sounding almost bewildered. His gaze dropped back down to the menu, to the other dishes on that same page. "Spice plates... cricket burgers," he looks back up at me, wearing a deranged grin, "even goddamn ichor ice cream? You're insane."
"Insane? Tell me you're new here without telling me," a new voice interjected. One of the other patrons—a thafki, who unlike her kin, had taken to wearing a black hoodie with the emblem of the United Nations—turned to us, appearing amused as she looked between me and the old man. "Wow, you're a perfect match for one another. Didn't think humans could get any older than ol' Barkeep here. What's someone as ancient as you doing here, new guy?"
"Hah. I like you, Blue," the man said as he took a seat beside the nosy and maybe slightly drunk alien.
"My name's not Blue. Call me Ayeli."
He held out a hand toward Ayeli. She glanced at it before shaking it without a second thought. "Ryusei," he said, before eyeing her beverage. "Tell you what, Barkeep, gimme one of whatever that is. And a refill for her, if she'll have it."
"Saltwine," I said, and reached beneath the counter to procure the bottle from which I'd poured Ayeli's first glass. I turned it back and forth in front of him, letting him read the translated label. "Be warned. This is a specialty item. It is not to most peoples' tastes, nor is it cheap."
"Pfft just do it. I've eaten rocks, you old coot."
The sheer brazenness of his words, the unwavering resolve in his eyes, and the utter lack of hesitation in his voice, took me truly off guard for the first time in a long, long while. "I'm not an old coot, you bumbling codger," I grumbled as I took a glass and filled it. Then, putting my professional facade back on just like nothing ever happened, I turned to Ayeli and hovered the bottle over her cup. She gave a thumbs up, and I poured.
Ryusei stared at me with a smug grin. "Pff. Looked in a mirror lately? Time ain't been good to you, friend. Look at all them gray hairs. Yeek."
"I can poison you in seventeen different ways," I deadpanned.
"As if I'd even be able to tell? There's nothing you can do to me that my body hasn't done at least twice already."
"Venlise alcohol. Not diluted."
"Now there'd be a challenge..." he murmured, before his attention drifted to his idle drink. He raised the glass to his lips and took a hearty sip, allowing the fluid—its texture, its flavor—to rest in his mouth before swallowing. "Mmh. Damn."
"You like it?" Ayeli asked.
"Y'know what? Yeah. Shit's weird in all the right ways. Hits your tongue like a pile of salt, but goes down smooth. No aftertaste, no burn, just a quick slap in the face and then it's gone."
Ayeli drummed her fingers on the counter before taking a long swig of her own drink. "Mmmhmm. That's how it is. How it's meant to be. I can't wait 'til someone figures out how to make this stuff for cheap."
"Speaking of. Ey Barkeep, put me down for one of them fucked up tacos. Let's see just how close a buncha earthlings can get to authentic Martian cuisine."
With a nod and several practiced movements, I had his request sent to the kitchen in seconds. I don't believe he saw me even touch the order pad with how fast I was.
"...Martian?" Ayeli asked. "Now hang on. That's... the red planet, no?"
"Mhm," The man let out a grunt of affirmation. "First planet humanity settled besides Earth. It's a dead, empty husk. Nothing but rocks and dust and solar radiation. I was born there."
"Huh. What're you doing here, then? There no bars on Mars?"
"...Classified."
"Oh. Yeah..."
Quiet spread between the two, Ayeli staring blankly into her own reflection within her glass. Ryusei's eyes slowly drifted toward her as his brow furrowed. "You... were a soldier, huh?"
Ayeli jolted, startled by the question. "Wh--? How... I mean, yeah. I guess I was. But how can you tell?"
"Eh. I've been there. Where you are now."
"...What?"
He took another sip. "You know how it is. Everything goes to shit. Then it gets better. Now everyone's pretending life is back to normal, and you have to pretend too. Even if you lost friends. Or family. Or... parts of yourself."
...
Ayeli frowned. "I... yeah. I guess."
"You guess?"
"It's... it's not that I've lost people. Or parts of myself," she said. "It's not even that I have to pretend that everything's back to normal."
Ryusei raised an eyebrow.
"All things considered, I've lost nothing. I joined the UN Marines, killed some lizards, and now I'm here. And I'm fine. Not even 'oh you're lying to yourself, you need a therapist' fine, but just... actually fine."
"Why's that, do you think?"
"I don't know. All my friends are so much worse off than me. They're all... fucked up, from everything. But I'm not. I just don't feel anything."
"I just... shouldn't I feel something?" she continued. "I've killed people. Drowned people. Slit throats. But whenever I think about it, there's just nothing. No guilt, no shame, no... no empathy."
"I understand," Ryusei breathed. Something behind his eyes changed, his tone becoming more... genuine. "You and I are alike, in a way."
"...Really?"
Ryusei swirled his drink before taking a quick sip. "When I was younger, I was part of something bigger than myself. It was dangerous as all hell—sixty percent fatality rate—but I was glad to be doing it. Glad to be playing my part. Happy to risk my life so someone else doesn't have to. But then it was over, and I got back to life like normal. I got my accolades, I took my damn awards, and I went home. And that was that."
"Except it wasn't," he continued. "I went home, and found out my family had ripped themselves apart. Half of em were obviously over the moons with pride, knowing I'd been there in the very front and came home a goddamn hero. But the rest... they had been scared. Terrified they'd never see me again. It was all they wanted for me to just come home and be safe."
"And... that's what got you?" Ayeli asked. Something in her voice was vulnerable, almost afraid. "The fact that you were ready to move on, but no one else was?"
Ryusei nodded. "I felt like a shithead not because I'd almost died a hundred times, but because I'd been the reason my parents got divorced."
Ayeli stared into nothing, dead silent for a long moment before she grabbed her drink and downed the remainder of it in one go. "F-fuck," she rasped. "It was supposed to go back to normal. We were supposed to have our happy ending. So why is everyone still like this? Why can't we just be okay now?"
"Because people need time, kid. You and I are the exceptions. You'll get your happy ending, you just... gotta wait. Gotta be there for them when they need you."
"How?"
"Whatever way you can. My little brother got hit the hardest by our parents' shitshow. He couldn't stand being around either of them. So I would drive him out to the middle of nowhere, and we'd just watch the universe go by. We'd count the stars, talk about how small we are, how it just keeps going, how empty it all is, yet still teeming with mystery. By the end of it, we'd both be feeling better... and then we'd do it again a week later when we felt like shit again. And on and on, for years."
"...We've already seen the stars though. How would that help?"
Ryusei slid his glass over to Ayeli, offering her the last few sips he had. "There are more things of beauty in this world than just the stars. Take it from me, old fart that I am—if you just take the time to look, you can find meaning anywhere. Even things you might take for granted."
Ayeli perked up, as if she'd realized something. "The ocean..."
"Something like that."
"It's... it's simple, it's mundane, it's so normal to us now that we can just go swimming whenever we like. But ten years ago, that would've been different. We... we did it. We changed it. For ourselves. We won."
"You hit the nail on the head, Blue. Tell all that to your pals. Really show them that it's over."
She looked down at the drink she'd been given, and lifted it to her lips to take a small sip. "An ocean of water, an ocean of stars... what difference does it make? Maybe you're right. Maybe we really are alike."
"Both have been around for millenia. And both will be there still, long after we're gone," Ryusei said. He looked down at his hands, an odd half-smile on his face. "Call me a sentimental old coot, but part of me still finds comfort in the stars. An infinite sea of beacons, shining in every direction for eternity. Always there, always waiting, no matter what."
"Mmm... y'know, it's funny. Our ancient ancestors probably each thought the same at one point or another. Wonder if any of 'em ever looked up in just the right place, at the right time... and looked straight at each other, even if they didn't know it."
"Heh. As much as I want to rain on your parade and say that's impossible... well, just look at the two of us, eh? The chance that we both would happen to be here, right now. Maybe it's not. The universe is pretty damn huge, and yet here we are."
Ayeli sat up straight in her seat, a determined look spreading across her face. "Yeah. I... I think I know what to do. How to help everyone else move on. Thanks for the drinks, 'Keep. And the chat, Ryusei."
"Yeah yeah. Go on, get outta here. Get back to your friends."
The thafki nodded and gave us both a smile, and then with one last wave goodbye, she made her way out of the establishment. Ryusei sighed and turned back to the bar, crossing his arms and slouching in that tired, past-our-prime way we both must know so well.
Before long, his plate of redtato tacos were brought out, and without another word, he got to work. He remained silent as he ate, but I could tell by the look on his face that he was satisfied.
"Alright... yeah, yeah you did good..." he said when there was nothing left to eat. "I'll remember this place. Think if I ever end up 'round here again, I might stop by."
"You'll always be welcome... until you call me old again. Then you might find something different in your cup than you ordered."
He laughed, grinning like a madman as he stood from his seat. "Bold of you to threaten me with a good time. Now I'm definitely coming back!"
With that, he paid for his meal and his and Ayeli's drinks, and just as suddenly as it all began, he was gone. The cycle of greetings and goodbyes played its part yet again, bringing us together and pulling us apart as if no time had passed at all.
But where his and Ayeli's presence left my bar, their imprints have not. In my memory, and theirs, lies the everlasting essence of our encounter. The feelings of meeting, of learning, of sharing ourselves—and above all else, the words they spoke. The sentiment has truly been burned into my recollection, never to be forgotten with how it touched my heart, my very soul.
How wondrous it is that two people so similar and yet so different could ever meet. The universe is vast—immeasurably so—and still they both happened to be in the right place at the right time for their lives to become intertwined. Is it coincidence? Is it fate? I can't possibly know. Such things are beyond my station. All I can say for certain is that it will happen again, and again, on an eternal cycle. So long as life itself persists, people will always be bound to find one another.
And that, I believe... is the true beauty of our crossroads of destiny.
//////////////////////////

It has been over a week since I last left the apartment. I was meant to return to work the other day, but have been avoiding my boss’ calls. She’s out there now, watching me. I can see her through the window. She’ll leave soon, but then she’ll be back tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then the day after that. Same time. Same place. Always watching.
It started in the bathroom of a McDonald’s just down the road from where I work. It had been a long shift and I had to stay behind two hours as a coworker called in sick. My legs were tired from standing all day and my eyes were drooping from exhaustion.
I washed my hands at the sink. The mirror reflected my awful features. Bags under the eyes. Acne scarring on my face. I felt icky.
“What are you doing here?”
A woman called from behind me. I flicked my hands in the sink to quickly dry them as I turned to face her.
“Excuse me,” she continued, “What are you doing in here?”
In front of me was a 40 something year old woman. Blonde hair and wearing sunglasses indoors. She looked furious.
“Just washing my hands,” I said.
“You’re a man,” she said.
“I’m not…”
“What are you doing in the female bathroom you freak?” she raised her voice over mine.
“I’m just using the toilet...”
The woman pulled out her phone and, presumably, started recording me, “This pervert is in the ladies bathroom checking on women.”
I lifted my hand up to block my face from the camera and walked brusquely out into the restaurant. I could hear the woman’s heavy footfalls trail behind me.
“Look at this groomer walking off now he’s been called out,” she said.
I walked up to the front counter. No doubt she was there too. A member of staff was standing there putting an order together.
“Hey,” I leaned over, “Can you stop her?”
“Oh yeah! Call the cops! We’ll see what they have to say when they arrive!” she said behind me.
“Sorry ma’am?” the staff member said, “What’s going on here?”
“I don’t know,” I said, “I’m just trying to use the bathroom and she’s harassing me.”
“Go on! Call them! They’ll kick this freak out!”
“Ma’am,” the worker said to her, “I’m going to have to ask you to stop or leave.”
“Stop what?” she said, “I’m just calling out this pedophile so they’ll stop creeping on little girls!”
The worker sighed, “I’ll just call the cops.”
“Yeah, they’ll get this sicko out of here!” she said.
I sighed, “You know what, I’ll just go.”
“Are you sure, ma’am?” the worker said.
“Ma’am?” the woman said, “That’s a dude!”
“Yeah, I just needed the toilet anyway,” I said, “I don’t want to make a fuss.”
“Run away!” she said, “Run away like the freak you are!”
Apart from the shouting woman, the place was completely silent as every bystander watched the situation unfold. I pulled my hoodie over my head and walked out the building as fast as I could. She followed.
I walked across the McDonald’s parking lot over to the supermarket next to me where I parked my car. The entire time, the heckler followed me, her phone still up and recording. I tried to ignore her as she kept screaming absurd shit over and over.
It didn’t take long to make it back to the car. I jumped in and locked the door. The woman pulled the handle as soon as it clicked. Luckily, she was too slow. My hands choked the wheel as the adrenaline started to fade. I didn’t realize how fast my heart was beating until it began to slow. She stood outside the window still filming and shouting her obscenities as I got control of my breathing.
After a minute, I started the car and reversed out of the space. She followed still recording from the window. Once on the road, I put it into drive and sped out of the parking lot. I saw her standing in the rear view mirror, phone in hand. Still screaming.
A day later, the experience still left a mark on me. I dreamed about it overnight. Her face was vivid in my mind. All day I was filled with regret that I didn’t let the police take care of it and hopefully get the woman taken away. Everything I didn’t say to her floated in my head.
I noticed it first when I took my dog out for a walk. A banged up blue Chevrolet. Must have been from the 70s. The paint was peeling, replaced with rust. I didn’t get a good look in from across the street. The glare from the sun was too strong. But it left an impression on me. I’d never seen a vehicle so distinct on this street before.
Throughout the day, I kept looking out the window. The car was still there. Down the road. I couldn’t make out any features from the distance, but there was someone sitting in the driver’s seat. It was freaking me out. I closed all the blinds in my apartment and tried to put it out of my mind for the time being.
I was working the next day. It was at a cafe franchise in the same complex as the McDonald’s. Most of my shift was spent making coffee and wiping down tables. The same old shit every day. Customers ranged from okay to horrible. I was just happy to get a paycheck.
We closed later than most cafes at around 10pm, though we were usually out of there by 10:45pm. I noticed it when mopping the front of house. It wasn’t so easy to see in the dark of night, but there was a blue Chevrolet—same model, same rusted coat—in the parking lot just outside the store. Again, I couldn’t see the person sitting in the driver’s seat, so I wandered out back and checked the cameras. Also not good enough, even when zoomed in.
My coworker kept asking if I was okay. Even though he tried to hide it, he was clearly annoyed that I was slowing down the close for no reason. I got on with mopping, but kept my eye on the parking lot. By the time we got out, the car was gone.
It was back outside the apartment the next day. The car would arrive at around 10am and leave at 9pm. A few times throughout the day, it would leave and then come back an hour or so later. I could see the person sitting there for hours and hours. But I didn’t want to confront them out of fear of what they might do.
When I went in for my next shift, my coworkers were all staring at me. I greeted them with a good afternoon, but everyone returned it with a harsh glare. As I was stuffing my bag into a locker in the back office, the store phone began ringing. My other coworker in the back quickly shuffled out of there, ignoring the ringing. After a couple of seconds, it stopped.
I closed the locker and put the key into my trouser pocket. The phone began ringing again. No one from front came out back. It was company policy that the phone must be picked up, but I wasn’t to start my shift for another five minutes. I sat down at the office, and listened to it ring until it eventually stopped.
10 seconds hadn’t passed before the phone started to ring again. I picked it up. “No CallerID” was displayed on the screen.
“You’ve reached…”
“Who is this?” a woman’s voice commanded on the other end.
“This is…”
“Is this Amy?”
I was shocked into silence for a moment, “How do you know me?”
“What’s your real name?”
“What?”
“You need to stop playing dress up, it doesn’t suit you well.”
“Who is this?”
I looked at the monitor and saw the blue Chevrolet parked outside.
“Is that you following me?” I asked.
“Stop pretending to be a woman then I’ll leave you alone.”
She hung-up.
I watched the Chevrolet pull out of the space and exit the parking lot on the monitor. I didn’t see her again all day.
When I got home after closing, a notification appeared from Facebook Messenger. It was a random account—no photo, fake name—requesting to DM me. I opened their request:
"Hey,
You don’t know me, but I’ve been following this random page for a while. A handful of people are sharing your photos and private information around. Sorry you had to find out this way."
They attached screenshots of posts from this group. All of them had my photos, ripped from my Facebook and Instagram accounts, posted along with disparaging comments and personal information. One of the posts even shared my address and work place. Some screenshots of comments showed people taking glee in the idea of hurting me. All of them made fun of how I looked. Picking apart all my insecurities one-by-one.
He’s too tall
Look at those big hands
Why is he caked in makeup in every photo?
The anonymous account linked the group, but it was private.
I called in sick the next day and took everything I had seen to the police. I told a detective about the Chevrolet, the online posts, the woman in the McDonalds. Everything. I printed off the screenshots, I gave them the link to the account, I noted the reg number of the car. All the detective did was assure me everything was going to be okay and made a report. Although the lack of immediate action was concerning.
I got home two hours later. The car was parked up on the same spot it had occupied for days. I called the police then, wanting to make sure a tangible incident report was made, hopefully creating a paper trail if it ever escalated. However, before the cops could arrive, the car was gone. They somehow knew the police were coming. I made my report to the officers and they scolded me for wasting their time before driving off.
When I got into work the next day, my manager pulled me aside before I started my shift. He sat me down next to him in the office.
“We’ve been getting reports,” he said, “From employees here and head office of someone harassing everyone? And they keep naming you. I just want to make sure everything’s okay and know if I can do anything to help.”
“What?” I was taken aback, “What about the head office.”
“Well,” he said, “HR have been getting floods of calls from No CallerID numbers and emails spammed to them. It’s clear they’re getting put into spam databases and stuff. We’ve had to turn the phone off here because people keep calling at all hours of the day. Head office have made reports to the police but they’re still investigating and want to make sure we give you the proper support.”
My heart sank. Everyone in the store had heard the women’s rants. Even the middle management that know of me through the paperwork they receive. All of them know the embarrassing comments some random woman made about me. All of them knew I was being stalked.
The surveillance monitors were open on the desk. I looked up at them and saw the blue Chevrolet was in the parking lot. Something broke.
I got up and walked out the door. My manager called after me, though I can’t recall his words. There was a sizable chunk of concrete broken off the sidewalk just outside. I took it in my hand and made for the car.
I got a close look at the driver. The same blonde, 40 something woman that had harassed me in the McDonald’s. She saw me coming and immediately started the ignition and drove for the exit.
“Leave me the fuck alone!” I screamed.
I arced my hand. The concrete left my palm and flew towards the Chevrolet. It missed the roof by a few inches and kept flying until it hit a black BMW parked behind it. The concrete broke in half as it left a massive crack on the windscreen.
I fell to the floor. The emotions had finally hit me as the adrenaline wore off. I began crying and didn’t stop for an hour.
The police came. When the customer eventually came back to their car from the supermarket, he was pissed. Luckily the two officers were able to keep things relatively calm. My manager spoke for me as I sat in the cafe. The two officers came in and informed me that he wasn’t pressing charges so long as I covered the damages. Even though I had little money to my name, I agreed.
My manager then told me to take a couple days off and said he was there if I needed help. All my coworkers stared at me in complete shock as I left the cafe. None of them said a word.
I drove home by myself. Even though he needed it, I decided not to take my dog for a walk. I didn’t want to be outside by myself at that moment. Instead, I made a cup of coffee and sat by the window. The blue Chevrolet is parked down the street.
Always watching.

First. Previous.
‘Ri woke up in the hotel room to the sound and smell of cooking meat, as well as what she knew to be pancakes. Opening her eyes, she looked ‘down’ to see Kyle cooking on the small grill he packed with him in his subspace shadow, one of his near-silent air purifiers directly overhead, as he was using wood to cook with; the smell of fire-grilled meat was making her ravenous, and it was with a happy stretch that she sat up, Kyle turning to smile at her.
“Morning, beautiful,” he said as she smiled back, “Figured I’d make you breakfast-in-bed; we got dragon steak and eggs - chicken eggs - and I just got done with a bunch of dragon bacon. Pancakes were done a few minutes ago, and I’ve been letting the butter melt in; syrup’s over…” he looked around, spotting a metal container that looked somewhat like a drink pitcher. He set all of this down on a large tray, which he carried over to her, setting it down on the bed lengthwise between the two of them. He went back to the table he’d been working at to retrieve plates, flatware, and two glasses, floating a pitcher of what turned out to be gor’ahm juice, a sweet - yet slightly tart - berry that grew on verem’jiose, and also cost quite a bit, as it was difficult to get enough berries to mass produce, so it wasn’t ‘readily available’ outside of her homeworld.
All-in-all it was a rather enjoyable breakfast - whether or not he had any ‘professional’ training, Kyle sure did know how to cook. After they were done eating - and Kyle had moved their dishes over to the kitchenette their room came with - they took a shower, taking their time in the hot water, just enjoying each other’s presence. When they were done, they dressed in the robes that came with the room - they had gone with black all around - and went to sit together in the main room, putting on some soothing music as they sat together, tails and arms wrapped around each other. After a while of them just sitting there, Kyle stirred slightly.
“I, uh… I got a surprise for you.” He sounded a bit nervous as he said it, but she put that to the side; surely he was just hoping she’d like whatever it was. He smiled slightly, and said,
“Close your eyes.”
Doing as he asked, she shut her eyes, knowing full well that whatever he was ‘retrieving’ was in his subspace shadow, but she went along with the act. When he gave her the okay, she opened her eyes, and it seemed like her stomach dropped out from under her heart, and into oblivion; there in his hands was a thin, perfectly square - but not ‘cubed’ - black box. She looked up at him, unable to say anything, as he opened the lid, and she let out an involuntary gasp; it was difficult for her mind to process what she was seeing, as it appeared to be a round piece of the void cut out to look like a tiara. Or, at least it looked like the shape of one, seeing as she couldn’t really make out any details, though there obviously were details carved into it, as the little sparkles of what she knew to be black hole diamonds - she had seen the pendant Kyle had retrieved from the pirates - seemed to appear and disappear, depending on what angle she looked at it from. The big 8-point star in the middle - reminiscent of the shape their pupils took when observing peoples’ life-blood, and Gift - was always visible however, no matter the angle it was viewed from.
“I had to have Kay’Eighty sketch out the basic outline of where to cut to fit you,” he said, drawing her out of her stupor, “And I had the lead sehr’chtahb fit the diamonds on it, as part of the payment for bringing back the pendant, along with the diamonds themselves, of course. The actual tiara is made from the bone of the first dragon I killed, and I used the kath’loo’s Gift to turn the bone so black that it absorbs all light. I had to turn the bone behind the diamonds silver, because there’s only so much that refraction can do.” They both gave a little chuckle at that; finally, he pointed to the inside of the tiara.
“And here I put a strip of crysthril all the way around it,” she knew that he’d gotten the Gift from one of the sehr’chtahb before they’d left the planet, “Which you normally wouldn’t need, seeing as you’ve got a literal ton in your subspace; but this is different. While we can’t transfer our Gifts to anyone else, we can transfer them into the crysthril, and it stays enchanted with the Gift, no matter how much of it you use. It’s basically limited by your own power, and how much of each Gift was put into the crysthril. Right now, this has all the Gifts that I have right now, and I can always add more in later, when I get ‘em… So, will you wear it?”
The last part was said with a palpable level of nervousness, and she was unable to say anything at that moment. After a few seconds, she finally was able to nod her head yes, tears leaking down her face. Kyle’s face lit up in a wide grin, and she saw his eyes shimmer with unshed tears as he reached forward to grasp the tiara, showing her how to disconnect it at the sides. She leaned her head forward as he reached up to put it on for her, it fitting snugly not just around her head, but perfectly resting around her horns, so as not to be squeezing them, nor to be loose, and wobbly.
She reached forward, pulling him into a deep, passionate kiss, too happy to actually say anything; they sat there for a while, basking in their shared love, until she started getting a bit antsy. Kyle obviously noticed this, as he laughed, and said,
“Go look; I know you’re just dying to see it.”
After a smile, and a quick kiss, she ran into the bathroom, looking into the mirror, marveling at the dazzling headpiece that was now her’s. She sat there for a good few minutes, turning her head this way and that, admiring the craftsmanship Kyle had so lovingly put into it. It honestly looked like something a professional jeweler would be proud to call their own work, and she reveled in that fact as well. This was a testament to his love for her, and it was done through Kyle’s own handiwork; and where it wasn’t, it was small enough to excuse away, especially with having had the diamonds placed as payment for his actual work.
Eventually she was able to tear her eyes from the beautiful piece, and she returned to Kyle’s side, both of them grinning like children. After a few minutes of making out, and cuddling, Kyle insisted that they get dressed.
“I know you wanna show that off, and we can go look around the shops, see if there’s anything that we want. Then we can grab lunch somewhere, and later we can have dinner with your parents and ‘Lana. Tomorrow I’m gonna go back to the ship and get some brisket started up; Kohr’Sahr and the others’re gonna be here in a couple days, and I wanna have a party when we give them the news.”
“Do they know?” she asked.
“About me proposing? No,” he replied, “About everything else? I gave ‘em a brief rundown, but I didn’t go into too much detail. The suun’mahs representative got in touch with me yesterday: the broadcast is gonna come out later today, and anything that they need cleared up after that, I’m happy to be the one to tell ‘em… You’re sure you’re okay with them posting your general location to the public? I don’t want you to have to deal with any ‘fanclubs’ from back home.”
She smiled warmly at him, running her fingers through his hair.
“They’ll know that I’m taken, and that they have no chance; anyone who tries anything after that, no one will blame us for… teaching them a lesson. Besides, they already know not to bother me if they see me abroad; the secrecy was just an added measure.”
He bowed his head concedingly, as he got up, pulling her to her feet with him.
“Come on,” he said, giving her a quick kiss on the corner of her mouth, “Let’s get dressed.”
She got dressed in a simple black pleated skirt that came about ⅔ down her thigh, along with a teal button-up shirt. Kyle was wearing his black and red pants, with a silk purple shirt; he had decided to forgo his boots. Kyle applied a simple light layer of purple eye shadow, and simple black liner, with a reverse of that on his lips, having purple liner and black filler. She went with the same pattern, except she used a luscious red in place of her natural purple. Once they were ready, they were about to head out when she thought of something; she held out her hands, and pulled a certain large, flat box from her subspace shadow. Smiling, Kyle opened it, and gently removed the necklace he’d bought her the last time they were on this station. After he’d secured it in place, she dismissed the box, and they left the room arm-in-arm.
The payoff was near-automatic, as it only took as long as getting into the elevator before they encountered another person; this one turned out to be none other than the Captain, as the station leader had put the entire crew up in the station’s best hotels, save for a decent amount of the security, all of whom had gotten to leave the ship last time they were on this station. As soon as the doors opened, they saw her standing next to what appeared to be a golden drahk’mihn, with horns that protruded from his forehead, sweeping back over the top of his head, only to slightly curl upwards just as they reached the back of his head. He wore light blue shorts, and a matching vest, while the Captain wore her customary jacket; her eyes widened when she saw the two, going straight to the tiara on her head.
"By the Gods, man; do you do anything normal?"
"Define 'normal'," Kyle countered, which brought about a round of laughter.
“Were y’all gettin’ off?” Kyle asked, hooking his thumb over his shoulder; the Captain cleared her throat,
“Well, that’s really none of your business,” she replied, to more laughter, “But we can take another ride, either way.” She had barely taken her eyes off the tiara the entire time, much to ‘Ri’s delight. As Kyle pushed the button for the lobby, Golden asked how Kyle had made it, to which he obliged, occupying the time it took them to reach the ground floor; the Captain couldn’t keep her eyes off the headpiece the whole time, at which ‘Ri couldn’t help but smile with pride.
After they reached their floor, they bid the other two farewell, at which point the Captain seemed to remember herself, and gave a hasty - yet obviously sincere - congratulations to the two, which Golden echoed. After thanking the two, they disembarked the elevator, ‘Ri acutely aware that the Captain was still staring at the tiara, even without looking back at her.
The rest of the day passed in a similar manner, with the general crowd around them either going silent, or - less common, but still frequent enough to be noticeable - lightly gasping; all eyes were on her, which made her smile and cling to Kyle’s arm all the more. It was funny: she had never really cared about ‘tradition’, and had always simply wanted someone who saw her as her. Sure, there were several ‘high-born’ men who’d hunted dangerous beasts - even to a drahk’mihn - to turn into tiaras, all of them trying to ‘win her hand’. But none of that had ever mattered, no matter what they’d hunted, or whether they’d used their Gift, or not; none of them even knew who she was, so their efforts meant nothing, but whatever standing they could achieve by marrying ‘the girl who stopped the war’.
But here was Kyle, a man from another species entirely who saw her as a person, in a way that no non-insectoid ever had in her entire life. A man who’d had no problem whatsoever showing his anger at her - very much deserved, she had to admit; that was a rather rude wake-up call - before he really even knew her, not afraid to call her out on any toxic behavior she might display. And who had taken the fruit of his labors to produce a symbol of his commitment to her, fully embodying the true symbolism of the traditional way, not by simply trying to impress her by buying her affection, as the others had. And for the first time since she was a little girl, she felt a distinct pride in that tradition, and all the more love towards Kyle for it.
They didn’t really have any place in particular that they had in mind to visit, simply walking around, enjoying each other’s company, and the reactions of the various passersby. Among the obviously astonished expressions, there were quite a few jealous ones on a few of the women they passed by, which brought her no end of satisfaction; not that she had anything in particular against any of those women, it just felt good to have something that others wanted so badly. And though she doubted that many of them actually wanted her man - whom she still valued more than the headpiece he’d given her - what they wanted was a product of his work, and so either way - whether they knew it or not - it was him that they wanted; too bad for all of them that she’d gotten her claws in him first, and she was never letting him go of him again.
She had made sure of that, seeing as he could now issue orders to the Captain, and change protocol on a whim; she had also gotten him to give her authorization to take a shuttle planetside if she deemed it necessary, though he’d made her promise to exercise that authority only in cases of an actual emergency, and not for a small ‘threat’ that he could obviously handle. They had come to the agreement that the wild cats from Cheshire’s homeworld were the cutoff point: anything much bigger than those were enough to warrant her presence on the planet. She didn’t really like even that, but she had to agree that at that point it was almost insulting to his own abilities, especially since he had plenty of Gifts to help him out, including her own.
At one point, they were passing by a furniture shop when they spotted her parents and ‘Lana going in; it was her sister who noticed them, calling out,
“‘Ri, Kyle; hi!”
They both smiled and called back in greeting, waving as her parents turned around, their faces immediately breaking out in smiles as they saw the two of them; the looks on their faces - coupled with not a bit of surprise - told her that he’d already shown them the tiara, not that she minded. If he was going to show anyone before her - aside from those who helped him create it in the first place - she could accept her parents being the ones, and ‘Lana by extension.
They spent around an hour walking around the shop - Kyle having to encourage them to pick out the more ‘luxury’ goods - as her parents picked out a new mattress for their bed, along with a few comfortable chairs. They all went their separate ways, her and Kyle promising to meet up later for dinner together. As they had just come back from eating themselves, they went to do more shopping - Kyle reminding them not to worry about the price of anything - while she and Kyle went to go find somewhere to eat.
They decided on a unique shop setup, wherein there was an herbivore side, and a carnivore side; both were technically their own shops - separated by a wall, and everything - though there was no problem with an herbivore sitting with carnivore friends to go nextdoor to get a plate made, and bring it over, or vice versa. They decided on sitting in the carnivore section, and Kyle would go over to the herbivore side to get a bit of roughage for the both of them. After they had taken their seat - the keen’yhong waitress staring in awe at her tiara - Kyle excused himself to the shop next door; after he’d left her line of sight, she immediately got up and hurried to the restroom, eager to get another look at herself in the mirror.

Vohr’Sin - a light blue drahk’mihn with horns that curved back, down and around, so that the tips pointed forward, just under his ears - was having a bit of trouble, as the restaurant was currently too full to seat them.
“There’s nothing you can do for the drahk’mihn ambassador to the humans’ system?” he asked jokingly, “She should be on her way any minute.”
“Sorry, sir,” the black gah’rahtoe replied to him, his face showing genuine regret, “It’s the lunch rush, right now. You’re welcome to wait for someone to finish up, if you like.”
“No,” he responded, “She had to skip breakfast this morning to attend a virtual meeting, so I doubt she’ll be up to waiting… Well, thanks anyway.” As he turned to find somewhere else to eat, he nearly walked right into another person; it took him a moment to realize who it was.
“My apologies,” he said, “I should have been paying more attention to where I was going… Forgive me for bothering you, but aren’t you Ambassador Redding?”
The human was easily recognizable, the ‘scars’ across his face and the horns - which the Empress herself had expressed to his wife were not to be commented upon - that were in a very unique shape. Personally, he wasn’t too comfortable with the human getting a pass at imitating their race - especially Kah’Ri’s horns, of all people - but if the service that he’d provided to their race by coming up with the idea of how to find the slavers was enough for Empress Ella’Ven to excuse it, he had to accept it, as well. The man was carrying a tray with a few plates of vegetables on them, including two baked tass’guds.
“I am,” the human replied with a smile, “Sorry for eavesdropping, but I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation: if you like, you can come sit with me and my fiance; we’re out celebrating our engagement.”
“Oh,” he began sheepishly, “I really wouldn’t want to intrude…” but the human waved him off.
“I’m sure it’ll be no problem; you know how women like to show off their jewelry. It’s just us, so I’m sure it’ll be fine. Besides, I can answer any questions your wife may have about humans, and any social customs she might need to be aware of. Well, any that I know of, anyway.” He finished with a slight chuckle, and Vohr’Sin was torn between not wanting to intrude, but also not wanting to insult the Ambassador by refusing; it was at this time that his wife Vir’Ell walked up.
“I see you’ve met the human Ambassador, love.” He turned to see the yellow-tinted woman that he’d pledged his life to, wearing a light purple tube-top, and matching shorts. Her slender horns swept backward, ending halfway down the back of her head, pointing down.
“I’m Vir’Ell,” she said, directing her attention to the human after exchanging a kiss with Vohr’Sin, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“And you, as well,” he replied, “I was just telling your husband that y’all can join me an’ my fiance, if you like. We just got engaged this morning, and I’m sure she’d just love the chance to show off. Of course, I don’t wish to interrupt your own time, if you’d rather eat alone, but it seems that we took the last free table, here.”
“That sounds lovely,” she replied easily, lightly squeezing his tail with her own, “I look forward to meeting your betrothed.”
The human - Kyle, as he asked them to call him - led them inside, and over to an empty table, where they all took their seats.
“I’m sure she went to freshen up,” he said as they all sat down,
“So,” he continued as they all settled down, “I hear you’re on your way to Sol?”
“We are,” Vir’Ell replied brightly, “Several factors have come together to convince the Empress to send an envoy to your system; the two biggest factors being - of course - your own contribution to freeing those enslaved, but also from the fact that even through the outcasts of your society, it is entirely obvious that humans had nothing to do with the enslavement of our people. There are obviously other reasons - ones that she wishes to keep close to her wings - but she has decided that humans will be the first race to whom she will reach out a hand of open friendship. Obviously, this will have to be taken slowly, but we’re hopeful that this could open new avenues of trade and friendship that we’ve been so sorely missing all these years.”
“Well,” Kyle began, “I hope we can come together as peoples, especially since our introduction to the wider galaxy came about in quite similar circumstances.”
“Yes,” Vohr’Sin replied seriously, joining the conversation, “That is something that we - as separate races - can relate to, you more so than others, I’m sure. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to endure the mahn’ewe’s captivity, and I commend you on your mental fortitude to be able to make it through all of that relatively unscarred. I won’t claim to know how you’ve dealt with it since your escape, but the fact that you came out of it without any noticeable xenophobia is exemplary.”
“Yeah, well,” Kyle began a bit darkly, looking off to the side a bit as his mind wandered those detestable halls, “I’m kinda used to misfortune, and holding it against those who brought it on, specifically. As a matter of fact, the mahn’ewe look human enough that it doesn’t even translate the same when looking from even the drahk’mihn to them. And everyone else just looks like ‘humanoid animals’, or ‘insects’, so it’s less of a comparison to the mahn’ewe, and more so towards our own myths and legends. And I guess I can’t really complain about my lot in life, ‘cause if I hadn’t been abducted, it’s likely I never would’ve met my future wife… Who seems to finally be done admiring herself in the mirror.” This last part he raised his voice slightly, obviously addressing someone over Vir’Ell’s shoulder, who was on Vohr’Sin’s right side. Before they could turn to look, a surprisingly familiar voice rang out, the smile audible in her voice.
“Can’t you go anywhere without ingratiating yourself with whatever drahk’mihn may be in the vicinity?” Looking around at the woman who had just walked past them to sit next to Kyle, his heart seemed to stop in surprise, both at who was talking, as well as the tiara she was wearing; and looking at her now, he fully understood why the Empress had directed them to ignore Kyle's choice in horns. Kah’Ri Mih’Rell wrapped her tail around Kyle’s waist - even as he wrapped his around her - and even hooked her right wing on his right shoulder, a wide grin on her face. On her head was what appeared to be the void itself, elegantly wrapped around her head, twined gracefully over her horns so as to appear as if the void really had inserted itself onto her head.
“‘Ri,” Kyle began, obviously enjoying their reaction just as much as Kah’Ri was, “I’d like you to meet Vohr’Sin, and his wife Vir’Ell; they’re heading to Sol, as she’s been appointed the Ambassador to humanity.”
“Oh,” she replied, obviously surprised, “I honestly didn’t expect that, though I suppose Ella would have ample reason to reach out to humans, of all peoples.” Obviously it was common knowledge that the Empress had taken Kah’Ri in when she’d lost her own parents, but somehow it had never occurred to him to imagine anyone being ‘close’ enough to her to call her by a nickname.
“I’m sorry,” Vir’Ell cut in, “But that tiara is absolutely stunning.” Mixed in with the pleasure at such an extravagant praise, there was an obvious strain of pride in their faces as they both grinned, Kah’Ri leaning closer to Kyle.
“Thank you,” she replied, “He made it according to tradition.”
“You made that?!” he couldn’t help but exclaim, causing them to smile even wider, “From what? I recognize the black hole diamonds, but the material that the rest of it is made of…”
Kah’Ri gave Kyle a knowing look, and - still smiling - said,
“Show them.”
Kyle gave her a conceding nod of his head, and fiddled with the small monitor that was strapped to his wrist. Soon enough, a small hologram appeared on the table between them, depicting Kyle in a strange white tree, looking down at a - comparatively - giant red reptile of some kind. There was a seemingly one-sided conversation where he was obviously speaking with the razum’yilahn that was partially wrapped around his neck, the rest of their body disappearing beneath his shirt. They were still able to catch the gist of what they were saying, mainly that he couldn’t kill that creature until they were sure it wasn’t sapient, which would require them going into its mind.
What followed was an epic battle between man and beast, his uplifted canine companion joining the fight once it was clear that it was indeed a fight. And though it fended off any attacks the canine - Cheshire - threw its way, it seemed intent on finishing the one that had invaded its mind. It eventually had Kyle pinned on his back, both claws - and most of its weight - braced on the staff of the spear he wielded, while Cheshire continued to draw its attention. One such attempt resulted in the reptile shifting its mass, causing one of its paws to slip off the staff, producing what would obviously eventually become the tattoo across his face, though his eyes were destroyed beyond repair in the process.
He managed to catch the claw back on the staff again - obviously using the razum’yilahn’s eyes to operate - soon after which a shuttle appeared, its door open, and what looked like an automated weapon hanging out the side. It fired once, catching the reptile in its backside, and doing little more than making the beast angrier. As it hissed at the shuttle, the weapon fired again, and caught it in the throat, opening up a shallow cut, which Kyle wasted no time in exploiting. Bracing the staff between the arches in his boots, he reached down and drew another knife from his boot, and quickly used it to open the cut wider, rolling out from under the monster to avoid the spray of blood. As the hologram cut out, Kyle began speaking.
“I used the skull plate to grind out the tiara itself, though I had to use nanobots to carve out the clasp to hold the two pieces around her horns. The diamonds were a reward for returning a pendant to the ory’lagus who run the black hole mining company, and the sehr’chtahb who originally crafted the first black hole diamond shaped and set ‘em for me, and I used the Gift I took from the Kath’Loo who was holding her father to change the bone so that it absorbs all light; I also had to turn the bone behind the diamond - and every flake of diamond dust - to silver, to have some light reflect back.”
Vohr’Sin was quite taken aback by everything that had gone into making that tiara, and he was beginning to see possibly a bit of what Kah’Ri must have seen in him in the first place. He was only just realizing that Kyle hadn’t seemed phased to have seen a drahk’mihn; which now it was obvious as to why, but it should have been something that he noticed when they first met. Perhaps it was the horns, and his eyes, of course; another thing the Empress had instructed them to ignore. He was also acutely aware of how… desirable that course of events made him.
“Goddess, man,” he said, putting an exaggeratedly jealous arm around Vir’Ell’s waist, “Save some for the rest of us.” That got a good laugh out of the table, shortly after which their waitress showed up to take their orders. Luckily, they all knew what they wanted, and they were soon talking back and forth, sharing anecdotes from their home world, and asking questions about his. They learned a few things that weren’t easily discernible by simple study of their culture through text, or even video. Kah’Ri stayed quiet, mostly, letting them do all the talking about Verem’Jiose; probably since she had been - intentionally - absent from there for so long, it wasn’t like she would have any idea of more recent news, or trends.
All-in-all, it was an enjoyable lunch, with the time slipping by as they ate and talked the meal away. Towards the end of the meal, the women excused themselves to the restroom, and while they were gone, he took the chance to ask Kyle about the possibility of being allowed to hunt one of those lizards himself, as Kyle had informed them that he owned that planet.
“Well,” he began after a bit of thought, “If you do hunt one, you’ll firstly have to do it without your Gift,” that took him by surprise, but Kyle didn’t stop there, “You also have to fight without any kind of ‘modern’ weapon. Which is mostly just saying that you can’t use guns, though nanoblades are not only acceptable, but also needed. And I’ll even make sure that you’re supplied with some mithril to use, as well. And just so you know: not only will you have a guide with you at all times to make sure you stick to the rules I set out, but they can see if you use your Gift.”
He flexed his eyes for a moment, having already explained how they worked - as far as he knew, anyway - to them earlier, when they revealed that that was why Kah’Ri’s eyes were red, instead of purple.
“I understand,” he replied seriously, “I wouldn’t want to disrespect your world.” Kyle nodded once, saying,
“Well then, I think we can work something out. If y’all’re gonna be here for a couple days, I might be able to get in touch with someone who can set up a way to get you there ‘n back.”
“That would be most appreciated.” As Kyle nodded his acceptance of his thanks, an idea came to his mind.
“You know,” he started in a conspirator's tone, “Before we left home, I managed to get my claws on a crate of krav’ashah wine; it’s a ‘luxury’ berry on Verem’Jiose, as it’s hard to farm, and doesn’t produce a very high yield, even when done correctly; aged twenty years. I would be willing to gift a couple bottles to the two of you, in celebration of your engagement.”
Kyle smiled knowingly, and replied with,
“Well, that would also be much appreciated; I’d definitely owe you a lot… You know, the ory’lagus gave me a lot of extra diamonds, not just enough for ‘Ri to make my circlet. Once you get the piece you wanna make for Vir’Ell, I can shape and set a decent-sized one for you.”
“I think we have an understanding,” he said, smiling.
“As do I,” Kyle replied, a smile of his own on his face.
Their other halves came back shortly after that, and after they all said their goodbyes - he had insisted on paying for the meal - he made his way back to the ship with Vir’Ell, already planning the shape of the new tiara he would be carving for her. And while the one he had bought her would always be special to him - a simple golden band, with a blue diamond in the center of her forehead - he wanted to make this one even better; perhaps he could find a way to incorporate her old one…
[Next.] Patreon

"Gate Master." said Broktar, "We found that the Undead Forces had already installed the two stolen parts on the flying Battleship.". "yes." said The Gate Master, "i also know that the Biker Gang, The 'Fire Griffens' had already made it into Undead Territory.". "The 'Fire Griffens'!" said Alan, "I can't believe this! They're here.". "Not to worry." said The Gate Master, "i have a feeling they will have their hands full.". "What do you mean?" asked Alan. "The Bikers are about to be Overwhelmed." said the Gate Master. "You think that's good?" said Broktar. "They'll come back as undead." said Kalzortus, "If they Die.". “Kalzortus is right." said Optotorix. "Not to mention." said Tirus, "Officer Morgan is missing in action.". "Yeah." said Alan, " Officer Morgan ended up on a transport ship.". "Yes." said The Gate Master, "I know about that.". "What are we going to do about it?" asked Alan. "First of all." said the Gate Master, "You heroes must find the Sword 'Omnolight'.". "We already know about that part." said Optotorix. "Apparently so." said the Gate Master, "if you must know, the location of the sword is in Or...". Before the Gate Master could finish the sentence, a group of undead forces arrived. Among the group was Air Commander Zoutoxas.
"Alright, heroes." Zoutoxas said, with a slight growl in his voice, "Come out and surrender. We will not harm you.". "Not Likely." said Optotorix. As soon as Optotorix said that, he headed towards the door. "hold it, Optotorix." said Zektus, "I have a plan.". "What would that be?" asked Broktar. "It is a psychic diversion plan." said Zektus. "Psychic Diversion." said Kalzortus, "i have witnessed that very maneuver several centuries ago.". "Where was that, Kalzortus?" asked Rotusor. "It was on the planet of Pertox." said Kalzortus, "it was when the Rebel forces had been trapped in a outpost.". "Yes indeed, Kalzortus." said Zektus, "i had learned that maneuver from a Pertoxian Mercenary.". "Whatever happened to their peoples?" asked Optotorix. "Unfortunately." said Kalzortus, "Their people were destroyed by a neighbouring civilization.". "What was that civilization?" asked Rotusor. "The civilization in question, is the Luperoids." said Kalzortus, "they are a race of humanoid wolves. Their single purpose is to fight and conquer anything and everything.".
"Yes." said Zektus, "Whatever they can't conquer, they destroy completely.". "How Tragic." said Tirus. "So, what's the plan?" asked Alan. "First, i shall create an illusion of us supposedly surrendering." said Zektus, "That is where Tlowtox activates the defences.". "I see." said Alan, "We would get the element of surprise.". That was where Tlowtox went over to the controls for the defences. "Defences are ready." said Tlowtox, "Awaiting new commands.". "On my mark." said Zektus. As soon as Zektus said that, he focused his psychic energy in creating the illusions. After he did that, the illusions started on their way out of the base. "Hmm." said Zoutoxas, "This seems too easy.". That was where Zoutoxas motioned for a couple of undead soldiers to examine the situation. "Oh Great!" said Alan, "They're going to figure out the plan.". "Not if i have anything to say about it." said Optotorix. As soon as Optotorix said that, he charged right out the door. "Hot-headed Orc." said Broktar, "He's gonna get killed.".
"Huh." said Zoutoxas, "It's a trick.". "Tlowtox, let them have it full force." said Zektus. "You got it." said Tlowtox. That was where Tlowtox pressed the button to activate the base's defences. All the while, at the bridges, not far from Castle Diroctor, a group of Human, Orc, and Kor'Drakk warriors had set up defences there. Meanwhile, at Castle Diroctor, The Mercenary Captain Douglas Mortenson had arrived. "Ah, King Anderson." said Captain Mortenson. As he was saying this, he stuck out his hand. His right hand had been augmented with a cybernetic hand. "Ah, Captain Mortenson." said King Anderson, “It is good to see you.". "Aye." said Ortonk, "It's a shame you have that Cybernetic hand.". "At least it's helpful." said Captain Mortenson. "It's a good thing you have arrived." said Princess Heather Anderson. "Yeah." said the Orc Warrior, "We need all the allies we could get.". "Indeed." said Clint Anasazi, "ever since i heard of this situation, i was sure we would have a mission in this dimension.".
"So, King Anderson." said Captain Mortenson, "How is it with the planning?". "All the Defences at the bridges had been placed." said King Anderson. "Aye." said Ortonk, "Nobody will be able to get past these defences.". "I just hope you're right." said Alex. At that moment, A Human Soldier and a Kor'Drakk Warrior had entered the Courtyard. "Comrades." said the Kor'Drakk warrior, "all of the main defences have been placed.". "excellent." said King Anderson. "What sort of defences?" asked Ortonk. "Let's see." said the Kor'Drakk Warrior, "The Orcs have offered their Griontor riding warriors.". "not only that." said the human soldier, "but the defences also include the defensive gun emplacements that both the Orc And Kor'Drakk allies offered.". "Is that so." said Alex. "Yeah." said the Orc Warrior, "I heard that the Barbarian Tribe had raised their defences just north of their base.". Meanwhile, at the bridges, the warriors had set up the remaining parts of the defences. That was where one of the warriors on the watch tower had noticed something in the distance. "wait a minute." said The Warrior, "it looks like there's a fight going on over in a area not far from the Remains of the Keep.". "The Keep?" said another warrior, "I have better use the viewscope.". As soon as the warrior said that, he used the viewscope. "Well." said the other warrior, "What is it that you see?".
"Apparently, you're right." said the warrior, "There is a fight.". That is where Sir Dante Morgan had arrived on the scene. "Sir." said the first warrior, "There seems to be a fight going on, not far from the remains of the Keep.". "Are you able to see anyone recognizable?" asked Sir Dante. “I could only make out one individual." said the first warrior, "He seems to be wearing what seems to be robotic armor.". "Robotic Armor?" said Dante, "That sounds like Tlowtox Ironhammer the goblin.". "Tlowtox?" said the warrior. "Yes." said Dante, "I knew him for years.". "Is that so?" said an Orc Warrior, as he was sharpening his Battle-axe. "You listen here." Dante Said to the Orc Warrior, "You better hold your tongue if you know what's good for you.". "Why Should i?" said the Orc, as he stood up and grabbed his Battle-axe in his right hand. At that moment, Sir Dante Morgan and the Orc Warrior started circling each around, with both of them facing each other, with their weapons ready. Just then, A Kor'Drakk warrior had stepped in to stop the fight. "Hold it, both of you." the Kor'Drakk Warrior said, "We're on the same side.".
"Bah!" said the Orc, "I have no time for this! Let Me at him!". "Hot-headed Orc!" said the Kor'Drakk Warrior, "Can't you see. Any moment now, we could have untold numbers of undead soldiers on our doorstep.". "Your Point?" said the Orc Warrior. "I can't believe this!" said the Kor'Drakk warrior, "Don't you get my point. Our mission is to defend this pivotal spot.". "Bah!" said the Orc Warrior, "Why do i even bother with this foolish talk.". That was where the Orc Warrior started to head towards the bridge. "That's it!" said the Orc Warrior, "I'm out of here!". "Hold it, Chaldor." said Targonus. "What is it, Targonus?" asked Chaldor. "I just want to say." said Targonus, "Is that you are making a big mistake by going.". "What do you mean?" asked Chaldor. "If you go out there." said Targonus, "There's no telling if you would have a fateful encounter with the Undead. Not only that, there's no telling what sort of dark forces are also at work, in addition to the Undead.". Just Then, a Dwarf and a Elf had arrived at the defences. "Halt!" said one of the warriors on the watch tower, "Who goes there?". "We are warriors from the town of Ormrus." said the Dwarf Warrior. "Ormrus?" said Dante, "It's about time they responded. It's already late afternoon.".
"What did you expect?" said the Dwarf Warrior, "it's not easy being me.". "Not only that." said the Elf, "But we ran into some undead troops along the way.". "Aye." Said the Dwarf, "But we took care of them easily.". "Let's get to business." said Dante. That was where Dante escorted the Dwarf and the Elf into the Castle. Meanwhile, at Tlowtox's Base, The undead forces retreated from the area. "That was easy." said Alan. "But they will be back in force." said Zektus. "Yes." said Kalzortus, "I have a feeling we shall soon see the undead forces converge on the castle.". "By the way." said Alan, "The Gate Master said something about a town that starts with the letters 'OR'.".
"That sounds like the mountain town of Ormrus." said Rotusor. "Ormrus?" said Tirus, "That town resides to the north of the area.". "Then let's get going." said Alan. "Indeed." said Tlowtox, "But before we go, There is someone i like you to meet.". At that moment, a figure entered the room. "By The Gods!" said Kalzortus, "It cannot be.". "Who are you talking about?" asked Alan. "A Feldrakk Warrior is here." said Kalzortus. "Feldrakk?" said Alan. "Yes. Feldrakks are a hybrid race of Feliaxars and Kor'Drakk." said Kalzortus, "They are very rarely seen.". "What are the Feliaxars?" asked Alan. "Feliaxars are a race of humanoid Felines." said Kalzortus, "They are known for their cleverness.". "Not only that." said Zektus, "But they have developed psionic powers. They have a capitalistic government.". "yes." said the Feldrakk, "Very perceptive. You must know about our advanced transportation.". "Yes, indeed." said Kalzortus, "I have heard of the technology.". "i have one such piece of technology here." said Tlowtox, "It's on the Launch pad.".
"What do you mean?" asked Alan. "It is a Feldrakk Cosmo Fighter." said Tlowtox, "I was working on this vehicle before you guys even arrived here.". "Yes." said the Feldrakk Warrior, "Even though Tlowtox didn't have all the regular components that are compatible with such a vehicle.". "This should be interesting." said Broktar. That was where the heroes went to the launch pad. Meanwhile, at the Fort of the Dead, The Master Of Zombies was addressing the troops. "We shall conquer all the realms." said the Master Of Zombies, "None shall stand before our might.". All the while, Necro-Oracle was waiting in the shadows. "Soon." said Necro-Oracle, "I shall have my revenge.". At that moment, Quotor entered the area. "Arkos... i mean Necro-Oracle." said Quotor, "i have found the location of the Sword called 'Omnolight'.". "Excellent." said Necro-Oracle, "Are the mercenaries in place?". "Yes, Necro-Oracle." said Quotor, "What's the next part?". "Hold that thought, Quotor." said Necro-Oracle, "I'm needed.". That was where Necro-Oracle stepped to the podium.
“My Comrades." said Necro-Oracle, "The Time is upon us. We shall finally cover the realm in darkness.". At that moment, All of the undead Troops at the fort started getting riled up. "Most Excellent." said The Master Of Zombies, "All of the troops are ready.". "Yes." said Necro-Oracle, "Soon, I shall rule this realm.". "What was that, Necro-Oracle?" said the Master Of Zombies. "Nothing, sire." said Necro-Oracle. That was where Necro-Oracle went into the Fort's main room. That was where Quotor met with Necro-Oracle. "Sir." said Quotor, "The Mercenaries are on hold in the viewscreen in your quarters.". "Excellent." said Necro-Oracle. At that moment, The "Fire Griffens" biker gang had arrived at the Fort. "What's This?" said the Master Of Zombies. "There seems to be a biker gang outside the fort." said the Battle Knight. "Let them in." said the Master Of Zombies. "But Sir." said the Battle Knight. “I said Let them in." said The Master Of Zombies. "If you insist." said the Battle Knight. That was where the Battle Knight went to the gates. All the while, Necro-Oracle was dealing with the Mercenaries. Each of the Mercenaries were from a different group of people.
One Mercenary is a Croctarion, one Mercenary is a Karteor, One is a Clartoxian, and one is a Terzonicor. "sir." said the Croctarion Mercenary, "What is it that you need us for?". "It is because i have a plan of revenge." said Necro-Oracle. All the while, in the main section of the Fort, the Bikers were fighting the Undead Troops. Their fight was a losing one, however. "Greg." said David, "what are we going to do?". "We keep fighting, for one thing." said Caleb. As he was speaking, he slammed a couple of zombie's heads together. Meanwhile, the heroes had gotten into the area of the Town Of Ormrus. That was where one of the Sentries had noticed the Cosmo Fighter was in the Area. At that moment, the Sentry notified the Mayor of the town. As soon as Mayor Jackson got the news, he went over to the communications post. "Unidentified Aircraft." said Mayor Jackson, "Identify yourself. You are in Ormrusian Air-Space.". "This is Cosmo Fighter Alpha 27." said The Feldrakk Warrior, "We are here to retrieve the Sword 'Omnolight'.". "Omnolight, eh." said Mayor Jackson, "not Likely.". "Why Not?" asked the Feldrakk Warrior. "Yeah." said Broktar, "Why can't we get the sword?".
"I would have to agree with Broktar." said Rotusor. "Rotusor?" said Mayor Jackson, "Is that you?". “Of Course." said Rotusor. "I didn't expect to see you here." said Mayor Jackson. "So." said Rotusor, "I would like to say, on behalf of the heroes, we request clearance to land.". "For a Friend." said Mayor Jackson, "Clearance to land is allowed.". "Excellent." said Rotusor. That was where the heroes proceeded to land in the town of Ormrus. Meanwhile, in the Town of Chior, Aross had prepared a team to go to Castle Diroctor. That was where Gretack had entered the room. "Sir." said Gretack, "There's a messenger here to see you.". "Send the Messenger in." said Aross. Meanwhile, at Castle Diroctor, The crew of the Kor'Drakk Cruiser "Dragon Fire" had arrived.
"Lieutenant Gotarus." said Captain Zordash, "Tell me again why we should trust these humans.". "Do not let the fact that a Space Pirate Crew consisting of humans whom destroyed our homeplanet, stop a new era from dawning." said Lieutenant Gotarus. That was where the Mercenary Captain Douglas Mortenson had approached Captain Zordash. "Greetings Comrades." said Captain Mortenson, "I am Captain Douglas Mortenson.". "A human!" Said Captain Zordash, as he reached for his Plasma Sabre, "I should have known better.". "Hold it Captain." Said Lieutenant Gotarus. "Like Lieutenant Gotarus said." said Sergeant Dorgarus, "Lets not do anything we'll regret.". "If you insist." said Captain Zordash, as he sheathed his Plasma Sabre.
Meanwhile, back at Ormrus, the heroes had landed at the Launch/Landing Pad. The Heroes had also been introduced to the Governing Council. "So." said Mayor Jackson, "You say one of your teammates is in enemy territory.". "Yes." said Kalzortus, "Hopefully Officer Morgan will come back alive.". "Indeed." said Tirus. Meanwhile, at the Fort of the Dead, Officer Morgan found himself in the Fort. "Alright." Officer Morgan said to himself, "Where am i?". That was where Officer Morgan turned to face a figure whom had just entered the area where Officer Morgan was at.
That figure is none other than Necro-Oracle. "Wait a minute." said Officer Morgan, "You're Necro-Oracle.". "Indeed i am." said Necro-Oracle. That was where Officer Morgan attempted to charge at Necro-Oracle, but was tossed against the wall. "Alright Necro-Oracle." Officer Morgan said as he was getting back up, "You won't get any information from me.". "That's not why i'm here." said Necro-Oracle. "Why is it that you are here?" asked Officer Morgan. "Believe it or not." said Necro-Oracle, "We are, in a way, on the same side.". "what do you mean?" asked Officer Morgan. "You don't know about my history." said Necro-Oracle, "I was once a Dark Elf known as Arkos Darkblade.".
"Oh really now." said Officer Morgan, "What is your involvement with the Master Of Zombies?". "I was killed by the Master Of Zombies." said Necro-Oracle, "soon i found myself alive once more. It was by forces outside of most people's understanding that resurrected me.". "Oh Really now." said Officer Morgan, "What is my role in this matter?". "You have stumbled on our plans." said Necro-Oracle, "I cannot allow you to leave. On the other hand, i might need you to help in my plans of revenge.". That was where the Master Of Zombies entered the Room. "Necro-Oracle." Said the Master Of Zombies, "The Battleship is ready to launch.". "Excellent." said Necro-Oracle, “I shall be with you very shortly.".
That was where Necro-Oracle proceeded to escort Officer Morgan into the cells in the Fort. All the While, He Secretly handed Officer Morgan Two Keys. "What are these for?" asked Officer Morgan. "You'll soon find out." said Necro-Oracle, "But for now, Keep quiet.". As Necro-Oracle and Officer Morgan Were heading to the cells, The Master Of Zombies had started heading to the battleship. "Hmm." The Master Of Zombies said to himself, "Necro-Oracle is acting strange.". Just then, a Necro-Guard had arrived in the area. "Sire." said the Necro-Guard, "i have some good news and some bad news.". "What do you mean?" asked the Master Of Zombies. "It's about the biker gang." said the Necro-Guard, "we were able to zombify 19 of the 20 bikers.". "Is that so." said the Master Of Zombies. "Not only that." said the Necro-Guard, "The remaining biker, the one whom the bikers call Caleb Raynor, has escaped.".
"let him go." said The Master Of Zombies, "He is of no concern to us.". "If you insist." said the Necro-Guard. Meanwhile, back in Ormrus, the Heroes were lead to The Tomb of The Knight Lord Joseph Barker. "From this point on." said Mayor Jackson, "You shall not get any help until you get the sword.". "Oh great." said Alan. "Look on the bright side." said Broktar, "It could be worse.". "Even after all this time." said Kalzortus, "Your sense of humor has not changed.". "Very funny comrade." said Broktar, "Let's get going.". "Hold It." said Mayor Jackson, "Only one of you may enter the tomb.".
"What in the realms are you talking about?" asked Broktar. "Yeah." said Optotorix, "Broktar's Right.". "According to what the Knight Lord Joseph Barker had said 175 years ago." said Mayor Jackson, "Only one person can go through the Tomb to prove themselves worthy to wield the Sword 'Omnolight'.". "I shall be the person to enter the tomb." said Alan. "Hold It Alan." said Kalzortus, "do you think it's a good idea to enter the tomb?". "I would have to agree with Kalzortus." said Zektus, "Someone else should enter the tomb.". "In case you didn't notice." said Tirus, "Alan is one of the Destined Warriors.". "If that is true." said Mayor Jackson, "He should enter the tomb.". "Excellent." said Optotorix, "Then it's settled.". "Oh Great!" Said Alan, "you guys are getting carried away with the situation.". That was where all of the heroes except for Alan, looked over at Alan. "Oh Great!" said Alan, "Oh Well, If you insist.". That was where Alan proceeded into the Tomb. "I just hope he makes it out alright." said Tirus. "I sense you have feelings for him, don't you." said The Feldrakk Warrior. "It's just that." said Tirus, "i haven't seen a human like him before.".
"Indeed." said Kalzortus, "Alan is a unusual person. but he may be the best hope for this realm.". "yes." said Zektus, "i would say so.". Meanwhile, in the Tomb, Alan had started on his path. "This should be interesting." Alan said to himself. As he was walking, Alan had noticed some footsteps on the path. "I have better be ready for anything." said Alan. At that moment, Alan stepped on a floor panel. That floor panel activated a dart trap. Alan had managed to deflect the dart, using the metal plate armor. "That was close." said Alan, "i've better be more careful from now on.". After he said that, Alan proceeded farther into the tomb. All the while, events were unfolding outside the Tomb. "This should be interesting." said Kalzortus. That was where one of the Sentries spotted a Aircraft in the distance. That Aircraft was piloted by the Croctarion Mercenary. The Karteoran Mercenary, The Clartoxion Mercenary, And the Terzonicoran Mercenary were with him. "Comrade Korzon." said The Karteoran Mercenary, "The location Necro-Oracle told us is coming up.". "Indeed, Atorusk." said Korzon. "Korzon." said Scycortus The Clartoxion Mercenary, "Did you notice something strange about Necro-Oracle?".
"I didn't notice a thing." said Korzon, "Why did you ask?”. "It's just that i had this weird feeling about Necro-Oracle." Said Scycortus. "I would have to agree with Scycortus." said Atorusk. That was where Atorusk turned to face Zor'Cortox. "Comrade." said Atorusk, "What seems to be the matter?". "it's just that." said Zor'Cortox, "My Girlfriend had written to me just yesterday, before we went to this dimension.". "Oh." said Atorusk, "I'm quite surprised to see that you have a girlfriend.". "Yeah." said Scycortus, "I agree with Atorusk.". "Guys." said Korzon, "We are at the location. Prepare to land.". "Right." said Atorusk.
That was where the aircraft landed outside the wall. "Korzon." said Atorusk, “Would you do the honors?". "It will be my favor." growled Korzon. As soon as Korzon said that, he charged right at the wall. "Warriors." said The Sentry, "Counterattack!". The warriors started the counterattack. Their counterattack proved to have little effect at all against Korzon. "By the Gods!" One of the warriors said, "The creature doesn't seem to be going down.". At that moment, Korzon had reached the gates of the wall. "Excellent." said Atorusk, "Any moment now, the wall shall fall.". "Atorusk." said Zor'Cortox, "Shall we join in with Korzon?".
"indeed." said Atorusk. All the while, the heroes, except for Alan, had been alerted to the presence of the Mercenaries. Little did they realize that the Mercenaries had a Zorhyno with them. "Is it time to unleash the Zorhyno?" said Zor'Cortox. "Indeed it is." said Atorusk. As soon as Atorusk said that, he went over and unlocked the cell that held the Zorhyno. "By the Gods!" said one of the Warriors, "A Zorhyno!". "Korzon." said Atorusk, "Fall Back.". "Understood." said Korzon. "I can't believe this!" said Zektus, "A Zorhyno!". "Indeed." said Rotusor. "I shall stop this, myself." Said Zektus.
As soon as Zektus said that, he had climbed the wall, and focused his psionic energy and bring it upon the Zorhyno. Meanwhile, in the Tomb, Alan had made it well into the tomb. "Hmm." said Alan, "That was interesting.". Just then, several skeletons had arisen from the ground. "Oh Great!" said Alan. As soon as Alan said that, he loaded another couple of shells into the shotgun. At that moment, the skeletons charged at Alan. Alan had managed to dodge out of the way. Alan had returned fire against the skeletons. All of a sudden, the skeletons had fallen to the ground. "That was easy." said Alan.
At that moment, the Skeletons had reassembled to do battle once more. All the while, Alan noticed a map fall out of a section of a utility belt that one of the skeletons had with them. "What's this?" said Alan, "There seems to be a map there.". As soon as Alan said that, he went to pick up the map, only to be hit in the face by one of the skeletons. That resulted in Alan getting tossed back several feet. Alan had also lost the shotgun in the process. "Oh Great!" said Alan, "Alright, you pile of bones. Let's bring it on.". All the while, Alan had gotten back up, and went for his chainsaw. Just then, Joseph had contacted Alan. "Alan." said Joseph, "What's your status?". "Do you mind?" said Alan, "I'm Busy.". "What do you mean?" asked Joseph. "First of all." said Alan, "I'm in the Tomb of the Knight Lord Joseph Barker.". "Apparently so." said Joseph, "Where are the Allies?". "All of the Allies, except for Officer Morgan, are in the town." said Alan, "Officer Morgan is in Undead Territory.". "Is That so?" said Joseph. All the while, Alan was fighting the skeletons. Meanwhile, at The Fort Of the Dead, Officer Morgan had gotten out of the cell. "That was easy." said Officer Morgan. Just then, a zombie had seen Officer Morgan.
"Hold it right there." said the Zombie. "Not likely." said Officer Morgan. As soon as he said that, he went for his guns. The Zombie had also gone for his weapon. But the Zombie was too late, for Officer Morgan had gotten to his guns. "Alright, you rotting piece of flesh." said Officer Morgan, "Let's bring it on.". "For the Glory of the Master Of Zombies." said the Zombie. That was where the Zombie charged At Officer Morgan, only to be severely wounded. "It should be easy now." said Officer Morgan. "Not likely." said the Zombie. As soon as the Zombie said that, he head-butted Officer Morgan. "Not a wise idea." said Officer Morgan. That was where Officer Morgan went at the Zombie, with both guns blazing. Meanwhile, in the Tomb of the Knight Lord Joseph Barker, Alan had managed to defeat the skeletons. He had also picked up the map. All the while, Joseph had been in contact with him. "Alan." said Joseph, "You better get to your mission objective.". "Whatever, Joseph." said Alan, "All i know is that the two pieces of technology already have been placed in the Battleship.".
That was where Alan started going towards the paths. One of the two paths leads to the inner sanctum, and the other leads to a crushing wall type trap room. "Hmm." Alan said to himself, "I wonder what's on the map.". As he was speaking, Alan Unrolled the map. The map showed the inner layout of the Tomb. "This should be interesting." said Alan, as he was approaching the split path. As soon as he approached the path, he heard something from outside the Tomb. Little did Alan know that the Battleship of the Undead Forces had arrived in the area, along with several hundred Undead troops.
Meanwhile, on the Battleship, The Master of Zombies, Necro-Oracle, and the Four generals were on the bridge. "My comrades." said The Master Of Zombies, "Today is a dawn of a new era.". "Bah!" said the Battle Knight, "This is too easy. I should be down there fighting the Enemies.". "Not to worry." said Quotor, "I have a feeling we'll be facing the entire group of heroes soon enough.". At that moment, a undead Soldier had entered the bridge. "Necro-Oracle." said the Undead Soldier, “The Mercenaries you have hired are down there.". "Mercenaries?" said the Master Of Zombies. "Yes, my lord." said Necro-Oracle, "I hired four mercenaries to fight for the undead forces.".
"Is that so?" said the Master Of Zombies. At that moment, the Undead Forces had smashed through the rear walls. All the while, Alan had made it by several traps in the tomb. As he was going down the path, Alan had examined the amount of ammo and gas remaining. "Oh great!" said Alan, "both the ammo and gas are getting low.". Just then, he spotted a small gas canister and a box of shells. "Talk about good timing." Alan said to himself. That was where Alan went over to pick up the canister and box. It was at that moment, that Alan felt a weird feeling. "Man, That was weird." Alan said to himself.
All of a sudden, Alan found himself face to face with the Spirit of the Knight Lord Joseph Barker. "Oh great!" said Alan, "Now i'm seeing things!". "Do not jump to conclusions." Joseph's Spirit said, "I am the Knight Lord Joseph Barker.". "Oh really now." said Alan, "If you're Joseph Barker, Why are you still alive?". "I'm not alive." Joseph's Spirit said, "I am only a spirit now. I had temporarily returned from the Dimension of the Dead to tell you something important.". "Oh yeah." said Alan, "What's so important that you had to return from the dead?". "It is because of one main thing." Joseph's Spirit said, "For if you fail in your mission, the Undead shall reign over this realm. Not only that, they will march on to other dimensions. All will be lost.".
"I can't believe this!" said Alan, "If what you say is true, i shall continue with my mission.". "Then It's agreed." Joseph's Spirit said, "I shall lead the way.". That was where Alan and the Spirit Of the Knight Lord Joseph Barker went to the main section of the tomb, Where Joseph's coffin was laid. All the while, the heroes and the residents of Ormrus were battling the Undead Forces and the Mercenaries. All of a sudden, the sound of motorcycle engines sounded in the distance. The sounds came from the "Fire Griffens'" Motorcycles. The "Fire Griffens" had been resurrected as a gang of Undead Bikers. "Guys." said the Undead Version of Greg Anderson, "Lets get these humans.".
Little did the Undead Bikers Realize that their former partner, Caleb Raynor is in the area. "Hmm" said Caleb Raynor, "This is serious, indeed.". That was where Kalzortus had noticed That Caleb was in the area. "This is interesting." said Kalzortus, "There seems to be a human in the area that the Undead haven't gotten to, yet.". At that moment, a zombie charged at Kalzortus. Kalzortus had managed to block the incoming attack. That was where Kalzortus had decided to use his special attack; the "Berserker" attack. Kalzortus had started slicing through the Undead Troops. All the while, Alan had made it to the location where the Knight Lord Joseph Barker's coffin is located at. "Finally." said Alan, "I'm Here.".
"Yes, Indeed." Said The Spirit of Joseph Barker, "Now, for the final part. You must retrieve my sword from the coffin.". That was where Alan went over to the coffin. Little did he know that Necro-Oracle had been aware of Alan's Mission. Necro-Oracle was using a spell to awaken the body of the Knight Lord Joseph Barker. Alan had opened the coffin in the tomb. "huh!" Alan Gasped as he seen the remains of the Knight Lord. "Heh, Heh." said Joseph's Spirit, "I guess you haven't seen a corpse before.". "Not Really." said Alan, "It's just that, it's been a while that i have seen a corpse that stayed in one place.". At That moment, the remains of the Knight Lord started moving. "By God!" Said Joseph Barker, “My Remains are alive once more.". That was where Joseph's remains went at Alan. "Alan!" said Joseph's Spirit, "Watch out!". "I'm Way ahead of it." said Alan, as he dodged the reanimated corpse's attack. All of a sudden, the reanimated corpse turned around and attempted to thrust his sword at Alan. "Yikes!" said Alan, as he was moving out of the way. Alan had attempted to mount a counterattack, but had been stopped by the reanimated corpse. "How am i going to stop this corpse?" said Alan.
"Try aiming for the mid-section of the armor." said Joseph's spirit, "On the left side, to be precise.". "Right." said Alan. Once he said that, he aimed for the weakspot, with the chainsaw. Little did Alan know that Necro-Oracle had boosted the Armor of the reanimated corpse. At that moment, sparks started flying when Alan's Chainsaw hit the reanimated corpse's armor. All of a sudden, the reanimated corpse grabbed ahold of the chainsaw, and crushed it. "Oh great!" said Alan. That was where Alan switched to using his shotgun. The Reanimated Corpse had knocked the shotgun out of Alan's hands. Alan then switches to using his fists. The reanimated corpse had managed to block each punch. "Oh great!" said Alan, "What do i do now?". "I'm afraid you're on your own." said Joseph's Spirit. "This is just great!" said Alan. Meanwhile, on board the Battleship, the Four Generals had started on their way to Castle Diroctor. They were accompanied by several detachments of troops. "I don't know why we even bother going to Castle Diroctor." said the Battle Knight, "When the Battle is in Ormrus.". "First of All." said Quotor, "It is our next target, After Ormrus.”. “hey guys." said Fortox, "It seems that Ghoultor is headed to the same place as us.".
"What do you mean, Fortox?" asked Quotor. "I mean, he had already made it to 'Shock Ranger' Territory." said Fortox. "yes." said Zoutoxas, "I see him now.". That was where Zoutoxas used his viewscope to view the situation in "Shock Ranger" territory. The events that unfolded in "Shock Ranger" territory, had proved to be a pivotal situation. The "Shock Rangers" had managed to beat Ghoultor, but not without sustaining major damage. "All forces, retreat!" said Xeintox, "Fall back to the bridge defences.". "Aye, sir." said the Artillery Captain. That was where the remaining members of the "Shock Rangers" clan had retreated to the defences.
The remaining members included 2 Artillery Crews, both consisting of 5 members, 6 Griontor riding warriors, 4 Orc Warriors, the Artillery Captain, and Xeintox. Meanwhile, at the bridge defences, one of The Warriors had spotted the Orc Warriors heading towards the location. "Sir Morgan!" said the Warrior, "The Orcs are headed this way, and they're not alone.". "All warriors." said Sir Dante Morgan, "Prepare to fire, on my mark.". "Yes, Sir." said the Warriors. At that moment, the four Generals had arrived in the immediate area. All of a sudden, Telzor and his clan had arrived along with Deronix and some troops from both the Barbarian Tribe Base, and the Town of Chior.
"About time." said Chaldor. "I would have to agree with that." said Targonus. "All forces." said Deronix, "Move to position and help the warriors at the bridge.". "Hold it, comrade." said Telzor, "I thought our objective was to intercept Ghoultor and the Generals.". "Indeed it is." said Deronix, "But we also must make sure to help the warriors at the bridge.". "If you insist." said Telzor, "Orc Warriors, you're with me. Let's ride to stop the Generals and Ghoultor.". "Right." said Deronix, "The rest of you are with me. Let's help the Warriors at the bridge.". Little did they know that the battleship is headed their way.
Meanwhile, back at the Tomb of the Knight Lord Joseph Barker, Alan had narrowly managed to get the Sword "Omnolight". "Phew!" said Alan, “Finally, after all this time, i had won the fight.". "Excellent work." said Joseph's Spirit, "Now you must hurry.". “what do you mean?" asked Alan. "Your allies are in danger." said Joseph's Spirit, "The undead are headed to Castle Diroctor. Not only that, Necro-Oracle has hired Four Mercenaries.". "Mercenaries?" said Alan. Just then, Joseph had contacted Alan. "Alan." said Joseph, "What's Your status?".
"I have some good news and some bad news." said Alan. "Why do i have a feeling it's involving the Allies?" Said Joseph. "The Good news is that i had retrieved the Sword 'Omnolight'." said Alan, "The bad news is that the Battleship is headed towards Castle Diroctor.". "What Else?" asked Joseph. "Necro-Oracle had hired four Mercenaries." said Alan. "This is just great!" said Joseph. "Now You must Hurry." said Joseph's Spirit, "The Spirits tell me that your comrades have just been warped aboard the Battleship.". “What else do the spirits tell you?" asked Alan.
"It seems that Necro-Oracle is about to betray the Master Of Zombies." said Joseph's Spirit, "They also tell me that the Biker gang called the 'Fire Griffens' had lost 19 of their members to the forces of darkness.". "Only 19?" said Alan, "Last time i checked, there were 20 bikers. Whom is the remaining Biker?". "The only remaining Biker is Caleb Raynor." said Joseph's Spirit. "This Should be interesting" said Alan. That was where Alan had started to head out of the tomb. All the while, the heroes, except for Alan and Officer Morgan, had found themselves in a cell onboard the Battleship. "Oh Great!" Said Optotorix, "Where are we now!". "Apparently." said Kalzortus, "We are onboard the Battleship.". That was where Necro-Oracle had appeared. "By the Gods!" said Rotusor, "Necro-Oracle!". "Indeed, i am Necro-Oracle." said Necro-Oracle, "I suppose you are wondering why i am here.". "Not Really, You Rotting Piece of..." Said Tirus. "Tirus!!" Said Kalzortus, "Enough!!". “Excellent." said Necro-Oracle, "You heroes are wondering why you haven't already been turned into zombies.".
“Indeed." said Zektus. "I am not actually part of the forces of Darkness." said Necro-Oracle, "I am, in Fact, a Dark Elf called Arkos Darkblade.". "Arkos Darkblade." said Rotusor, "that name sounds familiar.". "By the Gods!" said Optotorix, “Arkos Darkblade is a Dark Elf whom came to Octiviox from some other dimension.". "How Perceptive." Said Necro-Oracle, "I was once Arkos Darkblade. But that was a long time ago.". "What do you mean?" asked Kalzortus. "When i Was Arkos Darkblade." said Necro-Oracle, "I was killed by the Master Of Zombies.". "When was that?" asked Kalzortus. "That was several thousand years ago." said Necro-Oracle. At that moment, a Necro-Guard had entered the room. "Sir." said The Necro-Guard, "The ship is in range of the bridge defenses.". "Excellent." said Necro-Oracle. That was whee Necro-Oracle turned to face the heroes. "I shall return for you later." Necro-Oracle said to the heroes. That was where Necro-Oracle had secretly handed Zektus the keycard that would open the cell.
"What in the Realms was that all about?" asked Broktar. "Quiet, Lizardman." said Necro-Oracle, "you will ruin the secret.". "Sir." said The Necro-Guard, "What are you doing, trying to help the heroes?". That was where Necro-Oracle tossed a fire ball at the Necro-Guard. The Necro-Guard had been reduced to a pile of burnt, Undead flesh. "Now's your chance!" said Necro-Oracle, "I shall stop the undead forces here.". "Understood, comrade." said Optotorix. That was where Zektus had used the keycard on the keyport for the Cell.
Little did they know, that the Master of Zombies was watching them, via a camera located in the ceiling. "Hmm." The Master Of Zombies said to himself, "It seems that Arkos Darkblade is still alive.". Meanwhile, at the Fort Of The Dead, Officer Morgan had passed by several corridors and rooms. Officer Morgan had also gotten by several of the Undead Forces best soldiers, The Necro-Guards. It was at that moment, which Officer Morgan had made it to a seemingly nondescript building. "This was the building Necro-Oracle had told me about." said Officer Morgan. That was where Officer Morgan had picked the Keys out of his pocket. "This must be the key for the building." said Officer Morgan.
As soon as he said that, he put the key into the keyhole. All the while, in another dimension, The Gate Master was watching the events unfold. "It looks like Officer Morgan will be getting some new weaponry." said the Gate Master. As he was saying that, he switched over to another viewscreen. That viewscreen showed the events at the castle. Meanwhile, at the Caste, King Anderson had ordered the moving of the peoples in the castle to a safer location. At that moment, the four generals had showed up at the castle's wall, via a warp spell cast by Quotor.
"Finally." said Zoutoxas, "We're inside.". As soon as Zoutoxas said that, the four generals had started attacking the inhabitants of the castle. All of a sudden, Telzor came into the castle. Sir Dante Morgan came in from the Armory. At that moment, The two had seen each other. "Morgan!!" Telzor roared, as he charged at Sir Morgan. All the while, the four generals were rampaging through the castle. That was where Ortonk had charged at the Generals. "Ortonk, Wait." said King Anderson. All of a sudden, Quotor had used his Razor Slash attack on King Anderson. "Augghh!" exclaimed King Anderson, as he fell to the ground. That was where Ortonk had rushed over to King Anderson.

Meanwhile, at the Base of the Barbarian Tribe, the King, Clint Orons had talked to the Messenger. "I shall consider the proposal." said Clint. "Sire." said Deronix, "we should be watching for the so-called 'Heroes'.". "so be it." said Clint. That was where one of the Council Members came towards Clint. "King Orons." said The Council Member. "Yes." said Clint. "With all due respect, we don't really know what the heroes are all about." said the Council Member. Meanwhile, at the crash site of the Kor'Drakk Cruiser, Alan had informed Joseph about the situation that had happened so far. "Where is the Undead Keep?" asked Kar'Gorto. "I'm not certain." said Kalzortus, "Perhaps we could ask the Orcs.". "I can't believe this." said Broktar, "of all the possible situations, you suggest asking the Orcs. Even when you said that you found them to be brutish in nature.".
At that moment, a Orc Warrior had approached the ship. "Sir." said Helmsman Mecator, "There's a Orc warrior at the side of the ship.". "Patch the Transmission to the Ready Room." said Captain Zordash. That was where Helmsman Mecator had patched the transmission to the ready room. "Captain Zordash." said the Orc. "yes, Comrade." said Captain Zordash, "What is it that you want?". "Xeintox has suggested that i come and help the Heroes." said the Orc, "i can help, by leading you to the Undead Keep.". At that moment, Tirus, Rotusor, and Officer Morgan had arrived at the area. "So." said Officer Morgan, "This is the object that had been sighted.". "I wonder where Alan And Broktar are located?" said Tirus.
That was where the Orc Warrior had turned to face Tirus, Rotusor, and Officer Morgan. "I should have figured." said the Orc, as he went for his axe. Tirus had gone for her bow and arrows. "wait a minute." said Rotusor. "What do you mean?" asked Tirus. "The Orc may actually be trying to help the crew of the ship." said Rotusor. "You may be right." said Officer Morgan, "i say we let him have a chance.". "if you insist." said Tirus. That was where the Orc had approached Tirus, Rotusor, and Officer Morgan. "I'm quite surprised." said the Orc, "i thought you would have fired on me, without a second thought.". "state the reason you have approached the ship." said Rotusor. "It is because my boss, Xeintox had sent me to lead a group of warriors to the Undead Keep." said the Orc. "Is that so." said Rotusor.
At that moment, Alan and Broktar had exited the cruiser. That was where Broktar had noticed Rotusor. "By the Moons of Artiox." said Broktar. "What do you mean by that?" asked Alan. "It's a figure of speech." said Broktar. That was where the Orc warrior had approached Alan and Broktar. "Well, Comrade." said Broktar, "Let's get a move on.". "What about our mission of finding allies to help fight the Master Of Zombies and the Undead Forces?" Asked Alan. "You are Right." said Broktar. As soon as Broktar said that, he went back to the ship, and accessed the comm-link. Meanwhile, at the Undead Keep, Ghoultor, Quotor, and the Battle Knight had entered the main room of the Keep. The Master Of Zombies And Necro-Oracle were waiting in the room for them. "Master, it is good to see you." said the Battle Knight, "Even after all these years.". That was where an undead soldier had arrived in the room."Sir." said the Undead Soldier, "we have captured several outlying towns, that surround the Plains of the Kordoz.". "What about the search for the Tomb of the Knight Lord Joseph Barker?" asked The Master Of Zombies. "Well, Sir." said the Undead Soldier, "They still haven't found the tomb yet.". "What!!!" the Master Of Zombies Roars, "This is unbelievable. They still haven't found the tomb.". "On the Bright side." said the Soldier, "when we captured the towns, we had transformed a good deal of the population into zombies.".
"Is that so." said the Master Of Zombies. Just then, K'Dartok and Captain Ghoulax had entered the room. "About time the two of you have arrived." said Quotor. "Yeah, That was wise." said The Battle Knight, "sending in a couple of shambling corpses to do a warrior's job.". "we may be reanimated corpses." said Captain Ghoulax, "but we actually had managed to do some damage to the heroes.". "Bah!" Said the Battle Knight, "You have battled only two of an entire group of Heroes.". "An Entire Group?" Said Captain Ghoulax. "yes, apparently there was a clan of Orcs and a crew of Aliens in the area, when i tried to contact the Battle Knight." said Quotor. "How do you know of such things?" asked Captain Ghoulax. "yeah." Said K'Dartok, "Neither of us were at the site.". "You're not helping matters." said Captain Ghoulax. "Oh, Really Now." said K'Dartok, "And i suppose that tactic of charging at the human with the two guns was effective.". “Oh." said Captain Ghoulax, "And i suppose that letting yourself be seen was any better.". "In case you two didn't notice." said Quotor, "We're on the same side.". "Oh, Right." said Captain Ghoulax. "in case any of you haven't noticed." said Necro-Oracle, "The plans must proceed, if we are to cover this Realm in darkness.". Meanwhile, At the Kor'Drakk Cruiser, Broktar, Tirus, Rotusor, Officer Morgan, Alan, and the Orc Warrior had started on the Way to the Undead Keep.
Just then, Kalzortus had caught up with them. "Kalzortus." said Broktar, "i'm surprised that you are coming with us.". "Captain Zordash figured that i would make a great representative on this mission." said Kalzortus, "Even though he doesn't really trust humans.". "Why does Captain Zordash distrust humans?" Asked Alan. "I'm Not sure." said Kalzortus, "but he did mention something that happened several hundred years ago, between him and a human.". "Several hundred years." Alan Said Curiously. "Yes." said Kalzortus, "i guess you don't really know too much about our people.". "Indeed." said Broktar, "The Kor'Drakk can live for hundreds of years. Kalzortus here, is one thousand years old.". "One thousand years." said Tirus. "I'm surprised the Kor'Drakk live that long." said Officer Morgan.
"Guys." said Rotusor, "it looks like these hills are about to curve over to the other side.". "it's not far now." said the Orc. "just what does this Undead Keep Look Like?" asked Officer Morgan. "last time i was in the area." said the Orc, "the place had been falling apart.". "Falling apart?" said Rotusor. "but when i had seen some undead creatures around the place." said The Orc, "upgrading the place. They had also placed some pieces of weaponry outside the gates.". "pieces of weaponry." said Broktar, "it should be no problem.". As soon as Broktar said that, he shifted his weapon mount to long range cannon mode. "What kind of weaponry?" asked Kalzortus. "I have only seen the two guns placed outside the Undead Keep." said the Orc, “It looked like they're long range rifles. Both of the guns are operated by a team of two zombies each.". At that moment, Joseph had contacted Alan. "Alan." Said Joseph, "What is your status?".
"i'm headed towards the Undead Keep." said Alan, "Officer Morgan is here as well. So are some of our new allies.". "Is that so." said Joseph, "Who are they, if you don't mind me asking.". "First of all." said Alan, "We have Broktar the Cyborg Lizardman, Tirus the Ranger, Rotusor the Warrior, Kalzortus, and, Wait a minute, We didn't ask the Orc Warrior what his name is.". "Yeah, That's Right." said Officer Morgan. "My name is Optotorix." said Optortorix. "Is that so." said Kalzortus. “Yes." said Optotorix, "and the Undead Keep is straight ahead.". As soon as Optotorix said that, He aimed at the Keep. "Well, i'll be." said Officer Morgan. "Hmm." said Joseph, "Apparently, Optotorix wasn't kidding.". Joseph had checked the database for any records on the weaponry. "I say we take it on directly." said Broktar. "Hold it, Broktar." said Kalzortus. "What do you mean?" asked Broktar. "there might be a weakness in the weaponry we may be able to exploit." said Kalzortus. "You may be right." said Officer Morgan. Just then, one of the zombies had seen the heroes. "Oh great." said Tirus, "they spotted us.". At that moment, Optotorix had charged at the guns. "For the Glory of the clans." Optotorix exclaimed as he charged at the guns. "Hold position." said Kalzortus. All of a sudden, a mysterious force had taken out both of the teams of zombies. "What in the Realms was that?" said Rotusor. "I haven't the slightest." said Tirus, "but whoever, Or whatever, had caused this, it sure helped us.".
"yeah." said Broktar, "And to think, i had shifted my weapon mount to long range cannon mode. Now i don't need to use it, for the time being.". "Just what doesn't your cyber-arm come attached with?" said Officer Morgan. "The kitchen sink, for one thing." said Broktar. "I should have figured." said Officer Morgan. "you must have learned that expression while you were on Earth." said Alan. "You mean to tell us, that Broktar was on Earth." Said Officer Morgan. "Of Course." said Broktar, "it was in the late 19th century, that i have been on Earth. The Location was England.". That was where Tirus had noticed a message near the Remains of the Gun emplacements. "i wonder what's on the message." said Tirus. That was where Tirus went over and picked up the message. "Hey, Tirus." said Officer Morgan, "what's on the message you have there?". "Apparently, it's in a Elven Language." said Tirus. "Are you able to Translate it?" asked Kalzortus. "I'll see what i can do." said Tirus. As soon as Tirus said that, she started to translate the message. Meanwhile, In Xerdas, The "Fire Griffens" had just started on their way. Little did they realize that there was someone watching them from a distance. "Hmm, this looks like the gang is headed towards the Undead Keep." said the Person, "if my instincts prove correct, They're going to be in danger.".
As soon as the Person said that, he opened a Portal. Meanwhile, back at the Undead Keep, Tirus had just finished translating the message. "What does it say?" asked Broktar. "Apparently." said Tirus, "it says that, to stop the Master Of Zombies, one needs The Sword of the Knight Lord Joseph Barker.". "What else does it say?" asked Officer Morgan. "it says that the Master Of Zombies has already placed the parts in the Battleship." said Tirus, "Not only that, it seems that the person had left several pieces of equipment.". "any idea on the identity of our mystery ally." said Alan. "as a matter of Fact." said Tirus, "it says the person's name is Zektus Skystar.". "Zektus." said Kalzortus, "that sounds like a word we Kor'Drakk use.". "Oh, Really Now." said Broktar, "Could we get on with this mission.". Just then, Zektus Skystar had appeared, via a portal. "Greetings, Heroes." said Zektus. "Hold it right there." said Officer Morgan. "Wait." said Tirus, "allow him to explain himself.". "thank you." said Zektus, "as i was saying, i am the warrior known as Zektus Skystar.". "If you don't mind me asking." said Alan, "But Kalzortus had mentioned that your first name is a word in Kor'Drakk. What does it mean in english?". "Ah, an inquisitive person." said Zektus, "Zektus means Warrior in Kor'Drakk.". As soon as Zektus said that, he went over and picked up the pieces of equipment he left for the heroes.
"You may need these." said Zektus. That was where Zektus handed Officer Morgan several clips of ammo. "Good thing you arrived with these clips." said Officer Morgan, "i was about to run out of ammo.". "indeed." said Zektus, "I had a feeling that you will be needing them. After all, i had witnessed your fight with the zombies.”. After Zektus said that, he turned to face Alan. "Alan." said Zektus, "I know that you intend on completing the mission. But i must warn you, The Master Of Zombies knows that you are headed to his base.". "What do you mean?" Asked Alan. "I mean that the Master Of Zombies has laid traps in advance." Said Zektus, "Not only that, but the Battleship that the Undead Forces have constructed, is not here.". "What do you mean the Battleship isn't here." said Officer Morgan. "You mean to tell us that this search was in vain." Said Alan. "All is not lost." said Zektus, “I know where the Battleship is being held in.". At that moment, an Zombie had spotted the heroes outside the Keep. That was where the zombie signalled for reinforcements. "Oh, Great." said Officer Morgan, "We must get going.". "Understood." said Zektus, "But before we go, Alan, Here's your equipment.". As soon as Zektus said that, he handed Alan a shotgun, a chainsaw, and a piece of Metal Plate Armor.
"Interesting pieces of equipment." said Alan. "Now can we get on with the mission." said Broktar. "Hey, what about Rotusor, Broktar, and Me?" said Tirus. "Yeah, She's Right." said Optotorix, "What about us?". "I hadn't expected to be with more than two heroes." Said Zektus. "I couldn't really blame you." said Kalzortus, "I mean, That you must have learned of the legend of the heroes.". "If that is true." said Tirus, "Than you must know of the sword 'Omnolight', and its role in this battle.". "Indeed." Said Zektus, "but the legend said that there is a group of only 2 heroes.". "Could we just get on with the mission." said Broktar. "Broktar seems to have a point." said Kalzortus, "After all, We're here to stop the Master Of Zombies.".
"He's Right." said Optotorix, "let's get going, before we're swarmed by shambling corpses.". "Good idea." Said Alan. That was where the heroes had entered the Undead Keep. Meanwhile, in the Mountain Town Of Ormrus, The townspeople were preparing the defences. That was where a messenger had arrived at the main building. "Sir." said one of the warriors, "There's a messenger for you.". That was where the warrior had escorted the Messenger to the leader. The Leader of the town, is Mayor Reinhart Jackson. "So, This is the messenger you mentioned." said Reinhart, "What is it that you have to say?". "First of all." said the messenger, "King Anderson requests that you would help him and his forces in the battle against the Armies of the Undead.". "Is that so." said Reinhart, "Then prepare a reply, saying that i will provide assistance.".
Just then, a Drwarven Warrior had entered the area. "Sir." The warrior said in a gruff voice, "the defensive perimeter is set up.". "Excellent work." said Reinhart, "is the Tomb of The Knight Lord Joseph Barker secured?". "Aye, Sir." said The Warrior. Little did the warriors know that there was a undead Scout spying on them. Meanwhile, Back at the Undead Keep, The heroes have already passed by several corridors. All the while, Necro-Oracle was watching the situation. Necro-Oracle was in the Observation room. That was where Quotor had entered the Room. "Necro-Oracle." said Quotor, "I just wanted to...". That was where Quotor had seen Necro-Oracle without his hood over his head. "By the Gods." said Quotor, "It cannot be possible.". "Then you know who i truly am." said Necro-Oracle, "That i am, in fact, an Dark Elf named Arkos Darkblade.". "That couldn't be possible." said Quotor, "Arkos was killed 7000 years ago.". "indeed i was." said Necro-Oracle, "However, i was resurrected by Dark Powers, that even i don't understand completely.". "Is that so." said Quotor. "Look, Quotor." Said Necro-Oracle, "Let's settle this when we're out of the way.". "What For?" Asked Quotor, "For What Reason?". "I have a plan." said Necro-Oracle, "I have set up a explosive for levelling this base. Not Only that, i had managed to hire a giant Cyclops to help in the plan to stop the Heroes.".
"This should be interesting." said Quotor. "Yes, indeed." said Necro-Oracle, As he was putting his hood over his head."Now, then." said Necro-Oracle, "Let's Get going.". Meanwhile, in another part of the Undead Keep, The heroes had managed to come across a room with three doors. "Which Way now?" said Officer Morgan. "I haven't the slightest." said Tirus, "What do you say, Broktar?". "I find it odd that you would ask me." Said Broktar, "Even though Zektus might be better at this than i.". "I'm surprised you would say that." said Zektus. "What do you mean?" asked Rotusor. "I mean that you would be the ones to trust me completely." said Zektus, "Even though you guys don't really know much about me.". “Indeed." said Kalzortus. "Let's just choose a path and keep going." said Officer Morgan. "Alright then." said Optotorix, "let's choose the middle path.". As soon as Optotorix said that, the heroes entered through the middle door. Little did the heroes realize that the doorway leading to the right, leads to a secret passageway leading outside of the Keep. Meanwhile, in the main room of the keep, the Giant Cyclops was waiting for the heroes to arrive in the area. "I wonder when they will arrive." said the Cyclops. That was where Quotor had contacted the Cyclops. "General Quotor." said the Cyclops, "i didn't expect you to call.".
"yes, indeed." said Quotor, "There is one thing i want you to do.". "What would that be?" Asked the Cyclops. "I want you to set the explosives to explode in 60 minutes." said Quotor, "Also, make sure the heroes don't make out of the keep.". "Anything else?" Asked the Cyclops. "That is all." Said Quotor. That was where the Cyclops had heard some footsteps in the distance. "Hmm." said the Cyclops, "The heroes must be nearby.". That was where the heroes had arrived in the room. "What on Earth?!" Said Alan, As soon as he seen the Cyclops. “Ah, Humans." said the Cyclops, “What's this, Non-human creatures?". "There seems to be a Rat-Man, An Orc, Two Half-Elves, A Lizardman, and a Alien there." said Quotor, "Along With the humans.".
"I shall make sure they don't make it out." said the Cyclops. As soon as the Cyclops said that, he had set the explosives for 60 minutes. "Oh, Great." Said Broktar, "There's a bomb.". "I thought you would have experience in that." said Tirus. "You think you're wise, with your comments." Said Broktar, "You just wait and see.". "Guys." said Kalzortus, "It looks like we only have less than an hour to deal with both the bomb and the Cyclops.". "Kalzortus is right." said Optotorix, "I say i will do the bomb defusing. You guys try to hold off the Cyclops.". "That sounds risky." said Officer Morgan. "I say we let him have a chance." said Rotusor, "I'll help Optotorix.". That was where Rotusor and Optotorix went to defuse the bomb.
All the While, The Cyclops was chasing after Alan, Broktar, Tirus, Kalzortus, Officer Morgan, and Zektus. At that moment, Joseph had contacted Alan. "Alan, What's your status?" Asked Joseph. "I'm inside the Undead Keep." said Alan, "The allies are here as well. There is one setback.". "One setback?" said Joseph. "Two, in fact." said Alan, "One, a bomb that is apparently set for 60 minutes, and Two, a Giant Cyclops.". "Is that so." said Joseph. "I just thought of something." said Kalzortus. "What's That?" asked Alan."What if we were able to convince the Cyclops to help us?" said Kalzortus. "That might be crazy enough to work." said Rotusor, "Although i doubt if it will work.". "Then i shall be the person to attempt that plan." Said Zektus. That was where Zektus had started to talk to the Cyclops. "Comrade." said Zektus, "Why is it that you serve the Forces of Darkness?". "I was hired to do so." said The Cyclops, "And i shall not fail in my mission.". "Even if it means that you will go down with this Keep." said Zektus. "What do you mean?" asked the Cyclops. "I mean that you will go down." said Zektus, "when the bomb explodes.". "Yes." said Kalzortus, "In other words, you'll be sacrificing yourself to help the enemy.".
"If what you say is true." said the Cyclops, "Then i shall help you.". That was where the Cyclops had gone over to the bomb and attempted to deactivate the bomb. At that moment, the bomb started up again. "Foolish Heroes." said a voice from the comm-link next to the bomb, "You think you can stop us.". "By the Gods." said Zektus, "It can't possibly be whom i think it is.". "What do you mean, Zektus?" Asked Broktar. "It is none other than Necro-Oracle." said Zektus. "Indeed, It is i, Necro-Oracle." said Necro-Oracle. "Who's Necro-Oracle?" Asked Alan. “Necro-Oracle is a Dark Oracle." said Zektus, "He has lived for centuries. It is rumoured that he feeds on the lifeforce of others.". "Also." said Rotusor, "It is rumoured that no-one has ever seen him without his hood.". "Indeed." said Necro-Oracle, "As for you, Comrade, you are no longer needed.". As soon as Necro-Oracle said that, he activated a remote, which controlled the bomb. The countdown timer went from 35 minutes to 15 minutes. "Oh Great." said Officer Morgan, "What are we going to do now?". "I have a idea." said the Cyclops. "What's that?" asked Officer Morgan. "There's a passage that exists under this Keep." said the Cyclops, "I'm not sure where it leads to, but it may be our way out of here.". "It sounds like a good idea." said Zektus, "let's get going.".
As soon as Zektus said that, the heroes went out of the main room, and headed towards the room with the three passageways. "Which Way Now?" Asked Officer Morgan. "It's this way." said the Cyclops, as he pointed to the door on the right.". "Excellent." said Kalzortus, "Let's go.". "Right." said Broktar, "Alan and i should take up the front.". As soon as Broktar said that, he shifted his cybernetic optic sensor to infra-red sight. "This should be good." said Alan. As he was talking, Alan had put a couple of shells in the shotgun. All the while, Necro-Oracle had warped in some troops to stop the heroes. "Captain Abomtus." said Necro-Oracle, "See to it that the heroes don't make it out of here.". "Yes, Master." said Captain Abomtus. That was where Captain Abomtus had moved into towards the location of the heroes. Meanwhile, At Castle Diroctor, An Orc Warrior had arrived at the Castle. There was a Barbarian Warrior at the Castle. "Greetings, Comrade." said the Barbarian Warrior. "You must be here to form an alliance with the Humans." said The Orc Warrior. "Indeed i am." said the Barbarian Warrior, "You must be here for the same reason as well.". "Of Course." said the Orc Warrior.
At that moment, King Anderson had Arrived in the Courtyard. "Ah, Greetings Comrades." said King Anderson, “How have you been?". "We've been Great." Said the Barbarian Warrior, "Wouldn't you agree with that?". "Indeed." said the Orc Warrior. Just then, Ortonk had appeared. "Sire, i was thinking." said Ortonk, "There might be a possible plan.". "What would that be, Ortonk?" asked King Anderson. "The Citizens of Chior might be able to help." said Ortonk. "Anyways." said the Orc Warrior, "Both the Barbarian and I are here on behalf of our respective peoples to usher in an alliance.". "Aye." said the Barbarian Warrior, "Even though i suspect Telzor and his clan would be reluctant in joining.". "I would Think so." said King Anderson.
"Yeah." said the Barbarian Warrior, "Telzor's brother was killed by a Knight.". "How did you know about it?" asked the Orc Warrior. "I heard it from Tlowtox Ironhammer." said the Barbarian Warrior, "He said he heard it from a friend of his.". At that moment, Princess Anderson had arrived in the Courtyard. "Jesse." said Princess Anderson, "Is that you.". "Heather." said Jesse, "I didn't expect to see you here. I thought you were with your Uncle and Cousin.". "I was." said Princess Anderson. "Why are you here?" Asked Jesse. "Yeah." said the Orc Warrior, "He's Right.". "Uncle Arthur wanted to make sure i was safe." said Princess Anderson. Meanwhile, in the Tunnels under the Undead Keep, The Heroes had ventured into the lower levels. That was where Kalzortus had attempted to contact the crew of the Cruiser "Dragon Fire". "Comrades." said Kalortus, "This is Kalzortus reporting in. I just...". That was where Kalzortus noticed the comm-link had shorted out. "Bah!" said Kalzortus, "This Thing must be low on energy.". "Either that." said Broktar, "Or these Tunnels have an Communications Interference Device in them.". That was where Broktar turned to face Alan.
"Hey, Alan." Said Broktar, "see if your Communications device works.". That was where Alan had attempted to contact Joseph. "What The..." Said Alan, as soon as he seen the Comm-Link short out. "What Heppened?" asked Rotusor. "Apparently my Comm-Link is inoperative." said Alan, "For the Time Being.". "Well, That's just Great." said Officer Morgan, "what are we going to do now?". "Not to worry, Comrades." said Zektus, "I have a plan.". "What would that be?" asked Broktar. "You guys forget about my abilities." said Zektus, "Including Telepathy.". "Oh, Really now." said Broktar.. While the Heroes were in the Tunnels, The "Fire Griffens" gang had arrived at the Undead Keep, only to find it was about to blow up. That was where one of the Bikers had started to approach the Keep.
"Hold it, comrade." said Greg, "I have a feeling that something is about to happen.". At that moment, the Keep blew up. "All Bikers, head for cover." Said Greg. Fortunately, all 20 of the bikers had hidden behind the rocks. "Is everyone alright?" asked Greg. “All present and accounted for." said Caleb, "All are in one piece.". "then let's get going." said Greg. “Shouldn't we at least call Aizortun." David said. "Of Course." said Greg. As soon as he said that, he called Aizortun. Meanwhile, in the Tunnels under the Undead Keep, the Heroes had progressed through the tunnels. "So, Zektus." said Rotusor, "You haven't told us much about yourself.". "Indeed." said Broktar. "Then i shall tell you about my history." said Zektus.
As soon as Zektus said that, he had seen something in the distance. "What in the Realms was that?" said Rotusor. "Scans show a humanoid creature." said Broktar, "The closest i could figure, it is a Troll.". "Wait a minute." said the Cyclops, "The only Trolls in the Undead Forces i know of, are Fortox the Undead Troll, and Zoutoxas the Dark Troll.". "Fortox." said Rotusor, "that name sounds familiar.". "That's because Fortox was, at one time, a friend of Gretack the Ogre." said Tirus. At that moment, the creature showed itself. "By the Gods!" said Optotorix. "Mua-ha-ha." said the Creature, "so you have figured out who i am.". "indeed." said Tirus, "You are, in fact, Fortox.". "indeed." said Fortox, "But your quest ends here.". As soon as Fortox said that, he went right for Alan, With both Handaxes. "Alan, Duck out of the way!" said Tirus. Alan had managed to duck out of the way, also managing to fire off a couple of shots. one shot had hit Fortox in the Shoulder. "Arg!!" Fortox exclaimed in pain, as he clinched his left arm. "You shall pay for this, Human." said Fortox, As he charged at Alan. Fortox had taken a swipe at Alan with one of his axes.
"Alan, Watch out!!" said Tirus. That was where Alan had managed to move the metal plates of the armor in the path of the axe. That resulted in one of the axes being broken. "You shall pay for this, human." Said Fortox. "I wouldn't be so sure." said the Cyclops. At that moment, Fortox was surrounded by the Heroes. "You heroes shall not defeat me." said Fortox. "Care to try." said Officer Morgan. "You shall not stop the Master Of Zombies." said Fortox. "How could you fall so far from the light?" said Tirus, "You were once a noble warrior, Fighting along side your old friend, Gretack the Ogre.". "Bah!" said Fortox, “Do you really think i would willingly betray my friend.". "You mean to tell us, you're not a traitor." said Alan. "I say we deal with him immediately." said Broktar. "I wouldn't be so certain." said Zektus, "i have a plan.". "What would that be?" asked Alan. "We have a leader of the Undead Forces here." said Rotusor. "Exactly my point." said Zektus. "Where are you going with this?" asked Broktar. "We will try to interrogate Fortox to get the whereabouts of the Master Of Zombies." said Zektus. "Yeah, That's an excellent idea." said Alan, "with that data, we could find the two parts that had been stolen from the Military base From Earth.".
"I would have to agree with Alan." said Officer Morgan, "This could be advantageous.". All the while, above the Tunnels, and outside the remains of the Undead Keep, The "Fire Griffens" had gotten their new instructions. "Alright, boys." said Greg, "Let's Get going.". "Hey Greg, Where are we headed to now?" asked David. "Aizortun says the Location lies up to the North." said Greg, "It's a place called the Fort of the Dead.". "Then why did you have that confused look on your face?" asked David. "That's because Aizortun had first said the name of the location in another language." said Greg, "The Language he used, was a dialect of Troll.". “What was the place called in Troll?" asked Caleb. "That would be 'Nertos Dox Fareous'." said Greg. "Anyways." said David, "Let's get going.". As soon as David said that, the gang started on their way to the Fort of the Dead. Meanwhile, in the Tunnels, the heroes had managed to get the information they needed. At that moment, Captain Abomtos and the Troops had arrived. "Oh Great!" Said Officer Morgan. "Finally." said Fortox, "The odds are now stacked against you.". "I wouldn't be so sure." said Broktar.
As soon as Broktar said that, he grabbed ahold of Fortox. "Troops, Hold your fire." said Captain Abomtos. All of a sudden, Fortox had hit Broktar right in the mid-section. That resulted in Broktar loosening his grip, long enough for Fortox to escape. "We shall meet each other soon." said Fortox, as he was running towards the exit. "You won't be going too far." said Zektus, as he tossed a homing device on Fortox. At that moment, the Undead Troops in the Tunnel attacked the Heroes. "Heroes, Defensive Position." Said Tirus. At that moment, the Cyclops had hit the Wall. "What was that for?" asked Officer Morgan. "Just clear out of here." said the Cyclops, "i'll hold them off.". "If you insist." said Broktar. "We shall go." said Kalzortus. That was where all of the heroes, except for the Cyclops had started on their way out of the tunnels. "Your efforts shall not be in vain." said Kalzortus. "C'mon, Let's get going." said Broktar. "i shall stay here with the Cyclops." said Optotorix. "You go along with the others." said the Cyclops, "i shall catch up with you later.". "Alright then." said Rotusor. That was where the heroes went after Fortox. "How far is it now?" asked Alan.
"I haven't the slightest." said Officer Morgan, "But we'll find out soon enough.". All the while, Fortox was activating the mechanism for the exit. "I shall be out of here, finally." Fortox said to himself, "and i don't have to deal with these so called 'Heroes'.". Meanwhile, outside of the tunnels, The "Fire Griffens" had reached the outskirts of the towns surrounding the Plains of the Kordoz. "How far is it to the Fort of the Dead?" asked David. "Aizortun says it's only 3 days ride from here." said Greg, "Whatever that means.". That was where a Ogre had appeared. "Oh great!" said Duane. "Let me handle him." said Caleb. That was where Caleb stepped forward to deal with the Ogre. "we come in peace." said Celeb, "We are here on a mission to stop the Master Of Zombies.". "Tell him about the Location we are headed to, Caleb." said David. "Right." said Caleb, "we are headed to a place called the Fort of the Dead.". "is that so?" said The Ogre, "i know of someone who can help.". "Who is this person of which you speak of?" Asked Caleb. "you'll find out soon enough." said the Ogre. Meanwhile, under the tunnels, all of the heroes, except for the Cyclops, had made it in time to see Fortox enter the Mechanism to leave the tunnels. That was where Fortox turned to face the Heroes. "If you plan on getting those parts." said Fortox, "You're Too late.".
"Not if we can help it." said Officer Morgan. As soon as Officer Morgan said that, he charged at Fortox. At that moment, Fortox's comrades had arrived. "Commander Fortox." said the Captain of the Transport, "get a move on, sir.". That was where Fortox headed to the transport. "Until next time, heroes." said Fortox, as he boarded the Transport. "Officer Morgan, Hold position." said Kalzortus. But Officer Morgan didn't listen. He grabbed ahold of Fortox, just when Fortox stepped into the Transport. "By the Gods!" Said Kalzortus, "This cannot be!". At that moment, The Transport started to head to the Fort Of The Dead. "Oh, Great." said Rotusor, "They're getting away.". "Not if i can help it." said Broktar. As Soon as he said that, he targeted the Transport.
"Hold your fire." said Tirus, "Officer Morgan's in the ship.". "Oh, Right." said Broktar. At that moment, Optotorix had arrived. "Optortorix." said Broktar, "What Happened?". "I have some bad news." said Optotorix, "The Cyclops had Died.". "By the Gods!" said Kalzortus, "This is a dark day, indeed.". "What shall we do now?" asked Broktar. "I have a idea." said Rotusor. "What would that be, Rotusor?" asked Tirus. "I know of someone who can help us." said Rotusor, "He is Tlowtox Ironhammer, a Goblin.". "where does he reside?" Asked Tirus. "He resides in a area to the east of here." said Rotusor. "Let's get a move on." said Optotorix. "I just hope Officer Morgan is alright." said Tirus. "Of Course he'll be alright." said Alan, "i knew him for years.". "If you say so." said Tirus. That was where the heroes went to Tlowtox Ironhammer's base. All the while, on the Transport, Officer Morgan had been surrounded by several Ghouls. "Alright, you rotting pieces of flesh." said Officer Morgan, "You and your masters shall not conquer this realm.". All of a sudden, Officer Morgan was hit in the back of the head by a zombie. "That ought to keep him quiet." said the Zombie. Meanwhile, the Heroes made it to Tlowtox Ironhammer's Base. At that moment, Aizortun and Scaltokas had appeared. That was where the Heroes were taken off guard by their appearance. "Aizortun!" said Tirus, "I might have figured you would be around.". "However did you know, young Tirus." said Aizortun.
"I could sense your dark energy." said Tirus. "You must know of my history, and my role as it involves the Territory Wars." said Aizortun. "Yeah, i've heard the news." said Tirus, "You betrayed the Humans to the Orcs.". "Hey, do you mind." said Optotorix. "Right, Optortorix." said Tirus, "i have also heard the news that you had helped the 'Shock Rangers' clan get some new weapons.". "indeed, i have done so." said Aizortun, "And now your quest ends here.". "yeah, like he said." said Scaltokas. As soon as Scaltokas said that, he raised his battle-axe. At that moment, Tlowtox Ironhammer had appeared. "Tlowtox." said Aizortun, as he turned to face Tlowtox, "i didn't expect to see you here.".
"Nor i." said Tlowtox, "Now begone from here.". "Not likely." said Aizortun. All of a sudden, Aizortun had tossed an energy ball at Tlowtox. Fortunately, Tlowtox had managed to dodge the attack. "Now It's time to teach you a lesson." said Tlowtox. As soon as Tlowtox said that, he pressed a button on his wrist-mounted computer system. "What's happening now?" asked Alan. "Tlowtox is armoring up." said Rotusor. "Armoring up?" Alan said, curiously. "Indeed." said Rotusor. That was where Tlowtox had completed the Armoring up sequence. In his armored mode, Tlowtox stood over 8 feet in height. There are weapons systems over most of the robotic Armor.
"I shall not ask you this." said Tlowtox, "You two must leave here, and never return.". "Make us." said Scaltokas. "Stubborn Minotaur." said Aizortun. That was where Scaltokas charged at Tlowtox. All of a sudden, Tlowtox lifted Scaltokas off of the ground. Tlowtox then tossed Scaltokas out of the area. "By the Gods!" Exclaimed Aizortun, "You shall not beat Me.". As soon as Aizortun said that, he launched another energy ball. The energy ball hit Tlowtox directly in the armor. Tlowtox retaliated by using his grappling hook mechanism. Tlowtox had tossed Aizortun to the ground. "What do we do?" asked Alan.
"I suggest we try to find a mode of transportation." said Rotusor. "If you are looking for a mode of Transportation." said Tlowtox, "there's one on the launch pad.". "That does it!" said Aizortun, "i shall use my ultimate attack.". As soon as Aizortun said that, he raised his staff in preparation for his ultimate attack. The ultimate attack is "Omega Storm". "Now you shall fall." said Aizortun. "Boom!", a shot rang out, and Aizortun's staff was broken in two. Everyone looked over directly at Alan. Alan was holding the Double-Barrelled Shotgun, which was smoking.
That was where Alan Cleared the Smoke from the Barrels. "You know." said Alan, "You should listen to the Goblin.". "You Foolish weakling!" said Aizortun, as he planted his staff in the ground, "Don't you know how long it took to create this very staff with the best type of wood and a special type of crystal, which was available.". "Your Point?" said Alan. "You shall pay for this!" said Aizortun. "I don't think so." said Tlowtox. As soon as Tlowtox said that, he went for Aizortun. "You think that i could be beaten so easily." said Aizortun, "We shall meet again.". As soon as Aizortun said that, he summoned a Griffen. The Griffen swooped down to pick up Scaltokas. "This isn't the last time you'll see me." said Aizortun, As he was riding off. "Shouldn't we chase after him?" said Alan. "Not to worry, human." said Broktar, "i have a feeling he'll be facing a larger threat.". Meanwhile, in another dimension, The Gate Master was watching the events. "Most impressive." said the Gate Master. That was where the Gate Master noticed some of the events on another one of the View screens. "i have a bad feeling about this." said the Gate Master.
The situation that the Gate Master is referring to, was the "Fire Griffens" had made it within the Borders of the Undead Territory. "I have better tell the heroes about this." said The Gate Master. That was where the Gate Master went over to the communications console. Meanwhile, at Tlowtox's base, the heroes had met Tlowtox. At that moment, a call came over the communications console. "i'll be right back." said Tlowtox. That was where Tlowtox went over to the Communications Console. "I'm Surprised that you did that." said Broktar. "Yeah." said Optotorix, "i thought that Broktar would be the one to try something like that.". "Do you Mind?" said Broktar.
"The most unusual things happen in this dimension." said Kalzortus. At that moment, Joseph had contacted Alan. "Alan." said Joseph, "where on Earth have you been? the Troops were getting concerned. even the President had contacted this base.". "The President?" Asked Alan, "Well, the allies and i were in the tunnels under the Keep.". "Yeah, There was some sort of device that blocked communications." said Broktar. "Yeah." said Optotorix, "Not only that. we had a new ally join our side for a while, until his death.". "you mean that the Cyclops helped you." said Joseph. "yes, indeed." said Optotorix, "he sacrificed himself to help us.". "yes." said Kalzortus, "he died honourably.". That was where Tlowtox had come back from being inside the base. "guys." said Tlowtox, "There's someone you should meet.". "Alright." said Alan, “We're coming.". That was where the heroes had entered Tlowtox's base. "Alright, who is it you are referring to?" asked Broktar. "It is none other than the Gate Master." said Tlowtox. "Gate Master?" said Broktar, "i didn't expect to see you.". "Indeed." said The Gate Master, "So, you must be Alan Stukov.". “Indeed i am." said Alan. "So." said Kalzortus, "You are the Gate Master.".

"Alert, level 2." said the ship's computer. "Computer, where are the hostiles?" asked Captain Zordash. "Hostiles located ahead of ship, and to the left side." said the ship's computer. Just then, the ship was hit by several rockets. "all crew, prepare for defense." said Captain Zordash. "Sir" said Lieutenant Gotarus. "Yes, Lieutenant Gotarus." said Captain Zordash. "I have some bad news." said Lieutenant Gotarus. "What is it?" asked Captain Zordash. "Our Armor Walkers are Off-line. also they're beyond repair." Said Lieutenant Gotarus. "this is just great." said Captain Zordash. Just then, several more rockets had hit the ship. "Helmsman" said Captain Zordash, "Prepare Autocannons.". "Yes, sir." said Helmsman Mecator. Meanwhile, at the Arch Mage's tower, Alan, Officer Morgan, and Broktar had arrived in the main room.
"Ah, you must be the people my apprentice told me about." said Alex. At that moment, Broktar noticed something in the distance. "First of all, i would like to introduce myself." said Alex Johnson, "i am Alex Johnson. You three have already met my Apprentice, Lucas Sorbo.". "I am Tirus, Ranger Of the Town Of Chior." Said Tirus. "A Elf, I should have known." said Broktar, "I sensed her energy level when we were on the seventh floor.". "Actually, i'm a Half-Elf." said Tirus. "What do you mean by that, Broktar?" asked Alan. "My People, The Lizard Creatures, have a history with the Elves." said Broktar. "Yeah, Elves have a history with the Lizard Creatures." said Tirus. As soon as Tirus said that, she went for her Bow And Arrow, and aimed it at Broktar. That was where Broktar had aimed his weapon mount at Tirus. "Hold it." said Alan, "We're supposed to be on the same side.". "Sir." said Lucas, "There seems to be a disturbance in Orc Territory.”. "What is the disturbance?" asked Broktar. "apparently, the Shock Rangers are raiding a ship of some sort." replied Lucas. "Then we must do something about it." said Officer Morgan. "Yes, i agree, but you should be careful." said Alex. "What do you mean?" asked Officer Morgan. "The Shock Rangers are a dangerous clan. Their warriors ride upon creatures called Griontors." said Alex, "They also have weaponry from other dimensions.".
"Other dimensions?" Said Officer Morgan. "Yes, but we should go there to help out any survivors." said Alan. "It's agreed then." said Alex, "Tirus will show you the way.". As soon as Alex said that, Broktar, Alan, Officer Morgan, and Tirus had gone back down to the first floor, After Alex Convinced Tirus to go with the team. "I can't believe this." said Tirus. "What's that?" asked Alan. "It's Being stuck with a creature, such as Broktar." said Tirus. "Hey, just because Lizard Creatures and Elves have a history of being enemies, that doesn't stop our two peoples from reconciling our differences." said Broktar. Just then, Joseph had contacted Alan, via the comm-link. "Alan." said Joseph, "What's your status?". "We've just started our trip." said Alan, "But we have been informed about a disturbance in Orc Territory.". "Yeah, and the Clan that resides in the territory is the Shock Rangers." said Officer Morgan. "Shock Rangers." said Joseph. "Yes, Shock Rangers." Said Broktar, "We Must get a move on.".
"Yes, then you better get there." said Joseph, "I will contact you once you're in position.". Once Joseph said that, he ended the transmission. "Hey, i just realized something." said Broktar. "What's that?" asked Officer Morgan. "We don't have any mode of transportation." replied Broktar. "That's right." said Officer Morgan, "We couldn't use the police car, because it's in the Earth Dimension.". "So is my truck." said Alan. "I know of someone who can help." said Tirus. "Who's that?" asked Alan. "Rotusor the Rat-Man." Replied Tirus. "Rotusor?" asked Officer Morgan. "Yes, Rotusor lives in a encampment to the south of the Castle." said Tirus, "I'll go talk to Rotusor.". "We'll meet you on the way." said Alan. "I will accompany Tirus on her way to Rotusor's place." said Officer Morgan. "Alright, Officer Morgan." said Alan, "We'll start to head to the area where the disturbance is located in.".
As soon as Alan said that, he and Broktar started on their way. "Tirus, what is area where the Orc Territory is located in?" asked Alan. "it's Directly to the north." said Tirus, "go past the bridges and keep going north until you find two cliffs.". "is that where the boarders of the begin?" asked Broktar. "not quite, it starts a couple of meters off from it." said Tirus, "there is a sign stating that it is Orc Teritory.". "i understand." said Alan. That was where Alan and Broktar had started on the way to the Orc Territory. "Tirus, who is this Rotusor whom you speak of?" Asked Officer Mogan. "He's a good friend of Mine." replied Tirus, "he had helped my hometown from being invaded by Orcs.". Little did Tirus and Officer Morgan know that the Ghoul K'Dartok was following them.
"General Quotor." said K'Dartok, "i have something to tell you.". "What would that be?" Asked Quotor. "Apparently, the Half-Elf Ranger Tirus is getting involved." said K'Dortok, "and now Tirus and the human known as Officer Morgan are going to the base of the Rat-man Rotusor.". "this is most serious." said Quotor, "i'll send a squad of zombies in to deal with the human known as Officer Morgan and the Ranger Tirus.". "what shall i do, General Quotor." said K'Dortok. "Hold your position." said Quotor. At that moment, a squad of zombies had entered the main room of the Keep, where Quotor was located in. That was where the Captain of the Squad came Forward. "Sir, Captain Ghoulax reporting for duty, sir." said Captain Ghoulax. "finally, the troops i sent for have arrived." said Quotor, "i have a mission for you and your troops.". "what is it, sir?" asked Captain Ghoulax. "it seems that a group of warriors have started a quest to stop the Master Of Zombies." said Quotor, "so far, two of the warriors are headed to the base of the Rat-Man Rotusor. I want you to make sure they don't get any farther in their quest.".
"understood, sir." said Captain Ghoulax. At that moment, Quotor had moved into position to warp the troops into the Area. Meanwhile, outside of Rotusor's base, Tirus and Officer Morgan had made it to Rotusor's place. That was where Rotusor had noticed Tirus and Officer Morgan. "well, i'll be." Rotusor said To himself. That was where Rotusor went over to the Front door and opened it. "Rotusor." said Tirus as soon as she saw Rotusor. "ah, Tirus." said Rotusor, "it's been a long time.". "It sure has been a long time." said Tirus. At that moment, a squad of zombies had appeared in the area. "By the Gods." said Rotusor. "Finally, the targets." said Captain Ghoulax, "Alright Troops, surround and attack.". "Yes, sir." said the zombie troops, as they moved into position. "Oh, great." exclaimed Officer Morgan, "how did they get here?". "Apparently it's the work of General Quotor." said Rotusor. "Quotor?" said Officer Morgan, "who's that?". Just then, a zombie tried to jump at Rotusor. Fortunately, Rotusor managed to dodge the attack. Officer Morgan had unholstered both of his guns and aimed both at the Zombies.
"if i remember Correctly." said Officer Morgan, "to stop a zombie, aim for the head.". "where did you learn that?" asked Tirus. "That was from watching Zombie Movies." replied Officer Morgan. That was where most of the Zombies had surrounded Officer Morgan. "This should be good." said One of the Zombies. All of a sudden, The zombies had charged at Officer Morgan, Tirus, and Rotusor. "Bang!", "bang!". Shots rang out as several Zombies fell. Several Zombies had tried to gang up on Tirus. "Tirus, Watch Out!!" exclaimed Officer Morgan. just then, a zombie managed to injure Tirus. "Yaah!!" Tirus exclaimed as she fell to the ground. "Now for the Human and the Rat-man." said Captain Ghoulax. "how dare you harm a friend of mine." said Rotusor. As soon as he said that, Rotusor had charged at the remaining Zombies. "Rotusor, wait!" said Tirus. But before Rotusor could react, he was hit with a arrow from one of the Zombies.
"yaargh!!" Rotusor exclaimed when the arrow had pierced his shoulder. That was where Officer Morgan had moved into position. "trying to be the hero, eh, human." said Captain Ghoulax, "Zombies, attack.". Just then, the zombies had charged Officer Morgan. Officer Morgan had started charging at the zombies, with both guns blazing. "This is for harming Rotusor and Tirus." said Officer Morgan. While that was going on, K'Dortok was watching from a distance. "This is most interesting." K'Dortok said to himself, "the human seems to be quite a fighter.". Meanwhile, Broktar and Alan had crossed the bridge leading north into Orc Territory. "You're probably wondering how i had gotten these cybernetics." said Broktar. "How did you get those cybernetics?" asked Alan. "It was in the late 19th century, in your home realm of Earth." said Broktar, "when i had entered the realm by accident. the location i landed in, was England.".
"19th century England?" Alan Said, curiously. "i know it sounds strange." said Broktar, "during that time, i had encountered a time-travelling Mad Bomber.". “A time Travelling Mad Bomber." said Alan. "Yes, during the encounter, one of his bombs went off." said Broktar, "i tried to move it out of the way, but it went off, and it cost me my arm.". "how did you get the cybernetics?" asked Alan. "that was with the help of a alien warrior whom had arrived there centuries before." said Broktar, "ever since the incident, i didn't see the Mad Bomber ever again.". Just then, Broktar had seen something in the distance. "Computer." said Broktar, "access long range visual scan.". “Accessing long range scan." Broktar's computer Replied. "What on Earth is that?" said Alan.
That was where the Recon Patrol, lead by Sergeant Dorgarus had moved into position. "wait a minute." said Sergeant Dorgarus. "apparently there are two individuals in the distance." said Kalzortus. That was where Kalzortus had checked the viewscope. "Are you able to tell who, or what they are?" asked Dorgarus. "there is a human and a lizardman." replied Kalzortus. "a human and a Lizardman?" asked Kar'Gorto. "yes, young warrior, a human and a lizardman." said Kalzortus. "how were you able to recognize that there is a lizardman with the human?" Asked Dorgarus. "i have seen many different kinds of life forms throughout my life." said Kalzortus, "i have witnessed these lizard creatures, and some of the events in their civilization.".
"what events?" asked one of the members of the Recon Patrol. "one such event happened during the battles in the sister realm of this realm." said Kalzortus, "it was when a sacred object that the Elves had deep respect for, had been stolen.”. "what Happened next?" asked Kar'Gorto. "the Elves had suspected the Lizard Creatures of being the culprits." said Kalzortus, "it was later revealed that a clan Of Orcs had stolen the object known as the Vase Of Light.". "Why would the Orcs steal the Vase Of Light?" asked Dorgarus. Just then, Alan And Broktar came closer to the Recon Patrol. "Well, I'll Be." Broktar said, "it's a patrol of Kor'Drakk Warriors.". "Kor'Drakk?" said Alan. "yes, it just so happens that a member of their people had helped me get these Cybernetics." said Broktar.
Just then, Kalzortus came forth from the Recon Patrol. “Wait a minute." said Kalzortus, "is that you, Broktar?". "Kalzortus?" said Broktar. "Well, i'll be." said Kalzortus, "it is you.". That was where Broktar and Kalzortus came forward, and started acting like old friends, which, in fact, they are. Alan was standing there, with a rather confused look. So were the other members of the Recon Patrol. "it's sure been a long time." Broktar said to Kalzortus. “Yeah, it's been 500 years." said Kalzortus. "500 years?" Alan Asked, curiously. "yes, young human." said Kalzortus, "500 years ago, i had met a young Lizardman by the name Of Broktar.". "yes, it was during a time of conflict between my people and the Elves." said Broktar, "the Events took place in a dimension that just so happens to be the sister realm of this realm.".
"hey, wait a minute." said Alan, "Broktar, when you told me the events in which you got your cybernetics. The events you said, took place in the late 19th century, in England.”. "Yes, what about it?" asked Broktar. "How were you able to arrive in England during the Late 19th century?" asked Alan. At that moment, Captain Zordash had contacted the Recon Patrol. "Sergeant Dorgarus." said Captain Zordash. "yes, Captain." said Sergeant Dorgarus. "There's a situation here at the ship." said Captain Zordash. "The Orcs must be near." said Broktar. "how would you know, Lizardman?" said Captain Zordash. "we were told by Tirus the Ranger." said Broktar. "we were on our way to the site of a crashed object in Orc Territory." said Alan.
"the Object you are referring to, is our ship." said Dorgarus, "how dare you insult the Kor'Drakk cruiser 'Dragon Fire', the glory of the Kor'Drakk Armada.". Just then, Dorgarus had attempted to strike down Alan for the perceived insult. "stand Down, Dorgarus." said Kalzortus. "What do you mean, Kalzortus?" said Dorgarus. "you're letting pride cloud your judgement." said Kalzortus, "you must learn to control your emotions.". "if you insist." said Dorgarus. After Dorgarus said that, she started heading back to the cruiser. "i must apologize on Dorgarus's behalf, and on behalf of our patrol." said Kalzortus, "Dorgarus tends to get riled up whenever someone insults the Kor'Drakk, its People, Army, or its Technology, or even the home planet.".
"we've better get a move on, if we are to be of any help." said Alan. "That's Right." said Broktar. "why don't you hop on-board." said Kalzortus. "On-Board?" said Broktar. "yes, on-board the Drakkus 7." said Kalzortus. The Drakkus 7 is a 4-wheeled recon vehicle. Its features include a cloaking device. "i just hope we can get there in time to be of any help." said Alan. That was where Alan, Broktar, And Kalzortus started to make their way to the Kor'Drakk cruiser. Meanwhile, at Rotusor's place, the zombies were shot down by Officer Morgan. "you won't be able to stop the Master Of Zombies." said Captain Ghoulax. As he was saying that, he looked over at Tirus and Rotusor. Then he looked back at Officer Morgan. That was where he started moving towards Officer Morgan.
"it seems your friends are in a bad position." said Captain Ghoulax, "you shall not proceed any farther.". As he was moving closer, Captain Ghoulax had reached for his battle-axe. "The Master Of Zombies shall thank me for eliminating these so-called 'heroes'." said Captain Ghoulax. "you won't stop us." Said Officer Morgan, as he was reloading his guns. "alright you rotting piece of flesh." Officer Morgan said under his breath, "just a moment longer.". That was where Captain Ghoulax has started to quicken his pace. At that moment, Tirus had managed to toss an arrow in Captain Ghoulax's path. The Arrow that Tirus tossed, had crossed the path of Captain Ghoulax. At that moment, Captain Ghoulax had tripped over the arrow. "Arrgh." Captain Ghoulax said, as he fell to the ground. "now's your chance, Officer Morgan." Tirus said to Officer Morgan. that was where Officer Morgan had gotten into position. "Alright, you rotting piece of flesh." said Officer Morgan, "get up.".
As he saying this, he aimed both of his guns directly at Captain Ghoulax's head. "human, why do you even bother with this talk?" Captain Ghoulax said to Officer Morgan. Once he said that, Captain Ghoulax went for his Battle-Axe. "Don't even bother trying to get your axe." said Officer Morgan. While Officer Morgan was dealing with Captain Ghoulax, the Ghoul K'Dortok was moving closer to the scene. "i must help Captain Ghoulax." said K'Dortok. Just then, the archers whom were stationed at the south wall of the castle had come back from the armory. "wait a minute." said one of the archers. "what is it, Greg?" another one of the archers asked Greg, "it looks like a ghoul is fighting Officer Morgan." said Greg, "not only that, it looks like a Half-Elf and the Rat-Man Rotusor are in the area. It looks like they're injured.".
"We've better do something to help them." said one of the archers. Just then, the Knight Dante Morgan had come onto the Wall. "What's going on?" asked Dante. "it Seems that there is a situation going on just outside Rotusor's place." said Greg. "i shall get a squad of troops ready." said Dante. Just then, one of the archers had noticed the Ghoul K'Dortok. "hey guys." the Archer said, "there seems to be a ghoul here.". At that moment, K'Dortok had noticed the Archers at the wall. "Oh, Great." said K'Dortok, "hey, Captain Ghoulax, you've better hurry up and finish off the Human, the Half-Elf, and the Rat-Man.". "yeah, yeah." said Captain Ghoulax, "i'm on it.". After he said that, he went for his secondary weapon, which is a short sword.
"hold it right there." said Officer Morgan. "You won't stop me from completing my mission." said Captain Ghoulax. As soon as he said that, he charged at Officer Morgan. "for the Glory of the Master Of Zombies." Captain Ghoulax exclaimed as he charged at Officer Morgan. "watch out!" exclaimed Tirus. Just then, Officer Morgan had managed to dodge out of the way of Captain Ghoulax's charge. "huh." said Captain Ghoulax, "how are you still able to move?". Little did Officer Morgan, Tirus, and Rotusor realize that Captain Ghoulax isn't the only undead creature in the area.
All of a sudden, K'Dortok had started charging towards the area where Officer Morgan, Tirus, Rotusor, and Captain Ghoulax are located in. All the while, the archers were firing at K'Dortok. Just then, K'Dortok had turned to face the Archers and the barrage of arrows. K'Dortok then took a Blade Disc from his belt and tossed it at the archers. The Blade Disc is a circular disc weapon with a curved blade on each section. "incoming Projectile!!" exclaimed one of the archers. As soon as the archer said that, the archers had put up their shields, in a attempt to block the Blade Disc. But it was too late, the Blade Disc had managed to hit its target, as it sliced through several of the Archers' Armor.
"auggh!!" exclaimed the injured Archers as they fell to the floor, next to the outer edge of the wall. "someone get the healer up here." said Greg Myers. That was where one of the archers had started on his way to get help. Meanwhile, at the site of the crashed Kor'Drakk cruiser, Kalzortus had joined with the rest of the crew. All of a sudden, one of the Orcs had targeted Kalzortus. "this should be good." The Orc Said, as he loaded a missile launcher. "Helmsman." said Captain Zordash, "What's the status?". "i'm getting several incoming projectiles." said Helmsman Mecator, "they're coming in from Starboard Side.".
Just then, several rockets hit the cruiser right below the Autocannons on the starboard side. "ka-boom!!" the rockets hit directly at the shields, which rocks the ship. "Chief Engineer Jor'Dorus." said Captain Zordash, "how are you and the crew doing on the engine repair?". "Warp coils are nearly repaired." Replied Jor'Dorus. At that moment, Kalzortus had contacted Captain Zordash. "sir." said Kalzortus, "recon Patrol Alpha reporting in.". "Kalzortus, what's your status?" asked Captain Zordash. "Apparently, this realm has many different cultures." said Kalzortus. "Cultures?" asked Captain Zordash, "What kinds?". "there is a medieval type of area to the south of this area." said Kalzortus. At that moment, several Orc warriors came charging at the recon patrol, Alan, and Broktar. "For the glory of the clans!!" one of the Orc Warriors exclaimed. "warning: incoming hostiles", Broktar's computer said. "i suggest we defend ourselves." said Broktar, as he was getting into defensive position.
"Kor'Drakk Warriors, begin defensive maneuvers." said Sergeant Dorgarus. As the Kor'Drakk Warriors were getting into defensive position, Xeintox had motioned for his Gatling cannon artillery crews. "Alright, Comrades." said Xeintox, "move into position.". "yes, sir." said the Artillery Crew Captain. That was where Broktar had noticed that the Artillery crew was moving towards the rear of the cruiser. "guys." said Broktar, "there seems to be a artillery crew headed towards the rear of the ship.". "oh, great." said Dorgarus, "if they make it to that part, they'll be able to knock out the external propulsion system.". "aren't there any shields in that area, or at least some way of defense in that area." said Alan. "There's only a couple of chain guns and an energy shield protecting the external propulsion system." said Dorgarus. "i'll help defend the position." said Kar'Gorto. Little did the Kor'Drakk crew, the Recon Patrol, Alan, Broktar, and the Orcs realize that the Battle Knight Was Watching the situation. "Most Impressive." The Battle Knight said to himself, "these Orcs have some powerful weapons.". Just then, Quotor had contacted the Battle Knight.
"Battle Knight, What is your position and status?" Asked Quotor. "I'm Outside the site of a c rashed Alien ship." said the Battle Knight. "Crashed Alien ship?" asked Quotor. "yes, a alien ship." said the Battle Knight, "I'm not waiting.". As soon as the Battle Knight said that, he had unsheathed the Skull Sword, and started charging towards the site. That was where one of the Orc Warriors had noticed that the Battle Knight was charging towards the site. "sir." said the Orc, "the Battle Knight is approaching.". "Prepare defensive maneuvers." said Xeintox. That was where two Artillery crews moved into position, Along with a squad of Orc Warriors, both on Griontors and on foot. "all troops, fire upon the Battle Knight." said the Artillery Crew Captain. That was where every troop in the defensive position started firing at the Battle Knight.
"pow", "Pow". Each of the shots from the Artillery cannons had hit the Battle Knight. However, the Gatling cannons had no effect on the Battle Knight and his armor. "that can't be possible." said one of the Orcs. "this guy isn't going down." said another Orc. That was where several rocket launcher wielding Orcs moved into position and fired upon the Battle Knight. "That should do it." said the Artillery Captain. All of a sudden, the Orcs had started to see a shadow emerge from the shadowy Smoke. It was that of the Battle Knight. "is there anything that he can do to stop him." said one of the Orcs. "Look guys." said another Orc, "it looks like most of the Battle Knight's armor is heavily damaged.".
The Battle Knight's Armor had sustained heavy damage, including his helmet. "hey guys." said one of the Orcs, "we might have a chance of beating this guy.". All of a sudden, one of the Orcs had seen the Battle Knight Start to recover his armor. The Battle Knight's Armor is created from Dark Powers. It can recover itself, using the Dark Powers. As the Battle Knight's Armor was repairing itself, he looked down at his tunic. He had remembered that there was a cut on the tunic, right over his chest. "it's been years." the Battle Knight Said to himself, "that i faced Joseph Barker.". The events that the Battle Knight is referring to, happened many, many years ago. It was when the Battle Knight had battled the Knight Lord Joseph Barker. The Battle had left the Battle Knight with a scar on his chest.
That was where Quotor had managed to contact The Battle Knight. "Battle Knight." said Quotor, "return to base immediately.". "Not until i finish what i have started." said the Battle Knight. "Get Back here immediately." said Quotor, "the Master Of Zombies is expecting you here at the Undead Keep.". "the Master Of Zombies is there?" said the Battle Knight. "the Master Of Zombies is there?" said the Battle Knight. "yes, and he's waiting for you." said Quotor. "If you insist." said The Battle Knight. That was where the Battle Knight had faced the Orcs, Broktar, The Crew of the "Dragon Fire" and Alan.
"Until Next Time." said the Battle Knight. Once he said that, he started to head towards the Undead Keep. "Who was that?" Asked Alan. "i haven't the slightest." said Kalzortus, "Even in all my years. i have seen hundreds of worlds and hundreds of people. Never before have i seen a being such as him.". That was whee the Orcs had turned to face the crew of the Kor'Drakk cruiser, Alan, And Broktar. "All Warriors." said Dorgarus, "Prepare to defend the ship at all costs.". Once Dorgarus said that, she and the Warriors had readied their weapons. All of a sudden, an Orc Warrior came forth from the clan. "All Warriors, Hold your fire." said Xeintox. "What on Earth?" said Alan. At that moment, Joseph had contacted Alan, Via the Comm-link. "Alan." said Joseph, "What's your status?".
"Officer Morgan and i had arrived in Octiviox." said Alan, "i am currently at the site of an crash landed alien cruiser.". "interesting." said Joseph, "what else had happened? Were you able to find the creature that stole the parts?". "i haven't found him yet." said Alan, "but i have a idea where he might be at.". "Oh, Really now." said Joseph, "where would that be?". "Well, when the Knight was talking to the Dark Being, The Dark Being said something about an Undead Keep." said Alan. "an Undead Keep?" asked Joseph. "i haven't the slightest what that is." said Alan. Just then, the Orc Warrior had reached the Kor'Drakk Cruiser. "What On Earth?" said Alan. "On behalf of Captain Xeintox, Leader of the Shock Rangers clan, and on..." said the Orc Warrior. But before the Orc Warrior could finish the sentence, Broktar had grabbed him by the throat, and started to lift him into the air.
"Alright you slimy...." said Broktar. "Hold it, Broktar." said Alan, "let the Warrior speak.". "If you insist." said Broktar, as he put the Warrior back on the ground. "Continue with what you are saying." said Alan. "As i was saying." said the Orc, "On Behalf of Captain Xeintox and the Shock Rangers, Captain Xeintox wishes to apologize for any inconvenience the situation has caused.". “Apologize." said Broktar, "for What? Trying to raid this ship.". As Broktar was saying this, he aimed his weapon mount at the Orc Warrior. "Apparently, there is something more to this situation that what it appears to be." Said Kalzortus. Meanwhile, in another Dimension, The Gate Master had seen the recent events. "It is time." said the Gate Master, "That i meet Alan in person.". That was where the Gate Master Realized that if he was to leave the portals unwatched, creatures from all dimensions could cause chaos.
"Hmm, how shall i meet Alan." said the Gate Master, "without leaving the Portals unwatched.". Meanwhile, at the Kor'Drakk cruiser, The Orc Warrior had sent a message from Xeintox, Leader of the "Shock Rangers" clan to Captain Zordash of the Cruiser "Dragon Fire". "I still don't trust these Orcs." said Broktar. "After witnessing the events in your homerealm, i couldn't really blame you." said Kalzortus, "Maybe you should let them have a chance to prove themselves.". "Maybe you're right." said Broktar, "Who knows. Maybe they might prove to be worthy allies.". That was where Captain Zordash had contacted Dorgarus. "Dorgarus, What is your status?" asked Captain Zordash. "It seems that the Orcs have stopped the attack." said Dorgarus, “and the Clan leader has sent one of his warriors to negotiate a possible alliance.".
"Allow them to enter the Ship." said Captain Zordash. "But, Sir." said Dorgarus, "they just attacked our ship.”. “they may be able to prove themselves." said Kalzortus. "i would have to agree with Kalzortus." said Kar'Gorto. "Then it's agreed." said Captain Zordash, "escort the warriors inside.". That was where Xeintox, leader of the "Shock Rangers" clan came forth from the Orc Clan. "so, your leader has decided to accept my proposal." said Xeintox. "Why, you Slimy..." said Broktar. "Hold it, Broktar." said Alan. "it seems your lizardman friend is a bit of a hothead." said Xeintox. After Xeintox said that, he started to head towards the Kor'Drakk Cruiser.
Meanwhile, in the Town Of Chior, Aross was having a meeting in the main room of the Town Hall with his advisors. "sir." said one of the Advisors, "we must improve our defenses if we are to stand a chance against the forces of the undead.". "by the way." said another one of the Advisors, "how is your sister?". "the last i heard from her." said Aross, "was that she was headed to the Arch Mage's Tower. I haven't heard from her since then.". Just then, Gretack the Ogre had entered the scene. "Gretack." said Aross, "What in the Realms are you doing here? You're supposed to be guarding the Bridge.". "One of the Advisors told me to see you." said Gretack, "I had also made sure that the bridge is still being watched.".
Meanwhile, at Rotusor's base, Captain Ghoulax and K'Dortok had retreated from the base. "that was unusual." said Officer Morgan. That was where Sir Dante Morgan had arrived on the scene with the healer with him. "Ah, Comrade." said Sir Morgan, "i have heard so much about you.". "How on Earth do you know about me?" asked Officer Morgan, "i have only just arrived here not too long ago.". "Never mind that." said Sir Morgan, "lets get you guys healed up.". That was where the Healer had proceeded to heal Officer Morgan, Tirus, and Rotusor. Meanwhile, back at the Kor'Drakk Cruiser, Xeintox had been escorted to the Ready Room section of the Cruiser. "So what you're Saying." said Captain Zordash, "is that, if we were to join forces with you, we would get the help of great warriors.". "Basically." said Xeintox, "not only that, my warriors know more about this land then even your recon patrol, or even your Probes could tell.".
"How dare you insult our people?!" exclaimed Sergeant Dorgarus. "Dorgarus, You're doing it again." said Kalzortus, "You're letting your pride cloud your judgment.". "Ha hah." said Xeintox, "it seems i have riled up one of your troops.". "The boss tends to do that." said one of the Orc Warriors. "Yes, apparently so." said Kalzortus. Just then, Joseph had contacted Alan. "Alan." said Joseph, "What's your status?". "i'm inside the Kor'Drakk cruiser." said Alan, "the Orcs have stopped fighting against the Kor'Drakk.". "the Orcs have stopped fighting." said Joseph, curiously. "they're going over a proposal for an alliance." said Alan. Meanwhile, at the Desert Base Of The Barbarian Tribe, the council had assembled. That was where Clint Orons, King of the Tribe, had stepped forward. "Comrades." Clint Orons said, "It is time for all of the tribes to unite, and stand against the oncoming Forces Of Darkness.". "Sire." said Deronix. "Yes, Deronix." Said Clint. "There seems to be a messenger waiting outside the borders." said Deronix. "Allow them to enter." said Clint. That was where Deronix went to the Outer Gates, and informed the messenger to come see the King in person. Meanwhile, at the Kor'Drakk Cruiser, The Kor'Drakk Captain Zordash, and the Orc Warrior Xeintox had signed the Aliiance. "This shall mark the beginning of a new era." said Xeintox. "Sir." said Mecator, "Kor'Drakk High Command is contacting this ship.". "Bring it on screen." said Captain Zordash.
That was where the vid-screen in the ready room came on-line. The Kor'Drakk Commander-In-Chief, Vor'Tosus had contacted the crew. "Captain Zordash." said Commander-In-Chief Vor'Tosus. "Commander Vor'Tosus." said Captain Zordash, "I was thinking of contacting you.". "i have some bad news." said Vor'Tosus. "what would that be?" asked Captain Zordash. "Our Homeplanet, Dracronus, was destroyed." said Vor'Tosus. "By the Gods." said Captain Zordash, "When did this happen?". “It was a hour ago." said Vor'Tosus. "How Could this happen?" said Gotarus, "who has done such a thing?". "It was the Slortaxons." said Vor'Tosus, "Not only that, but a pirate crew.". "A Pirate crew?" Said Kar'Gorto. "This is a dark day, indeed." said Kalzortus. "What is the pirate crew?" asked Kar'Gorto. "The Crew is comprised entirely of humans." said Vor'Tosus, "their captain is Amadeus Ironside. The ship's name is 'Gatronus'.".
"Humans." said Captain Zordash, "I should have known better.". "Captain." said Kalzortus, "Don't let your distrust of humans prevent a new era from dawning.". "Apparently humans had been responsible for this situation." said Captain Zordash, "i say we deal with the Humans.". "I wouldn't be so certain about the humans." said Kalzortus, "Not all humans are bad.". "Name a example." said Captain Zordash. "One such example is the human whom is with us." said Kalzortus. "What is his name?" asked Captain Zordash. "I actually didn't get to ask his name." said Kalzortus. "That was bright." said Broktar. "Apparently, you still haven't lost your comments." said Kalzortus. That was where Alan had stepped forward.
"Human, What is your name?" asked Captain Zordash. "It is Alan Arthur Stukov." Replied Alan. “Stukov?" said Captain Zordash, "How interesting.". "Sir." said Kalzortus, "We should start to rebuild our homeworld.". "That's a good idea." said Vor'Tosus. "Hey, Wait a minute." said Alan. "What's that?" asked Kalzortus. "Vor'Tosus's Voice Sounds familiar." replied Alan. "What do you mean?" asked Gotarus. "Ah, so you recognize my voice." said Vor'Tosus, "Maybe this might help.". As soon as Vor'Tosus said that, he started to transform. "What on Earth?" said Alan, as he watched Vor'Tosus transform into a human form. That was where Vor'Tosus had fully Transformed into a human form. "So, do you recognize me now." said Vor'Tosus. "What on Earth?" said Alan, "You Couldn't possibly be my teacher.". "Indeed i was." Replied Vor'Tosus. "What do you mean, Vor'Tosus?" asked Kar'Gorto.
"I was once a teacher at a school on the Planet Of Earth." said Vor'Tosus, "It was there, where i had taught history to a young Alan Stukov.". "Is that so." said Captain Zordash, "Apparently you seem to trust humans too much.". "Captain Zordash." said Vor'Tosus, "it seems you haven't lost your distrust of humans.". "I might have figured you would say so." said Captain Zordash. "Now then." said Vor'Tosus, "Let's Get a move on.". "For What reason?" Asked Kalzortus. "Apparently the patrol has been interrupted." said Vor'Tosus. "Yes, we were getting to that." said Kalzortus. "Kalzortus is right." said Dorgarus, "but we were side-tracked when we inadvertently entered a wormhole, and entered into this dimension.".
"Not only that." said Kar'Gorto, "we had encountered a clan of Orcs.". "yes, and also the ship had suffered moderate damage around the ship." said Captain Zordash, "we were doing the repairs when the orcs had attacked.". “yes." said Vor'Tosus, "well, you've better get a move on.". "There's one last thing." said Kalzortus, "there's the matter Of the Master Of Zombies.". "The Master Of Zombies?" asked Vor'Tosus. "yes, the Master Of Zombies." said Captain Zordash, "All we know is that he is a dark being.". "Apparently so." Said Vor'Tosus, "if you wish, you can remain in that dimension.". "We may need reinforcements." said Gotarus. "We shall see what we can do." said Vor'Tosus, "When he have supplies for you, we shall warp it to you.". "What about troops?" asked Dorgarus. "unfortunately, we can't spare any troops at the moment." said Vor'Tosus. "Why is that?" asked Dorgarus. "For one thing." said Vor'Tosus, "most of the troops were killed in the battle against the Slortaxons and the Pirate crew.". "Of course, this realm may make a suitable location for a outpost." said Gotarus. "you may be right." said Vor'Tosus. "then we shall send you the data for the Alliance." said Captain Zordash. "It shall be done." said Vor'Tosus, "When we have available supplies and troops, we shall warp them to you directly.". Just then, A Kor'Drakk Warrior had entered the room where Vor'Tosus was located in.
"Sir." said the Kor'Drakk Warrior. "Yes, Comrade." said Vor'Tosus. "All of the Repairs have been completed." said the Warrior. "Most Excellent." said Vor'Tosus. Meanwhile, at Castle Diroctor, King Anderson's Daughter, Heather Anderson, had arrived at the castle. "Finally, you have arrived." said Ortonk, "i was starting to get worried about you.". "how have you been?" asked Heather. "I have been great." said Ortonk, "although these events have been a bit stressing, not only on me, but on the other residents of the castle.". At that moment, Sir Dante Morgan had entered the area. “M'Lady." said Sir Morgan, "it is good to see you.". "it is good to see you, too." said Heather. At that moment, King Anderson had entered the Area. "Father." said Heather, as she headed towards King Anderson. "It is good to see you." said King Anderson, "How was it with your Uncle and Cousin?". "It was excellent." Said Heather, "Duke Arthur sends his regards.". "Sire." said one of the Archers.
"Yes, what is it?" asked King Anderson. "The Heroes haven't returned from the object in the distance." said the Archer. That was where Officer Morgan, Tirus, and Rotusor had started on their way to the Crash-landed Kor'Drakk Cruiser. "I'll Come along." said Dante. "It's much better that you stay here, at the Castle." said Tirus. "then allow us to help by sending troops." said Sir Morgan. "That won't be necessary." said Officer Morgan. That was where the trio continued on their way. That was where Alex Johnson had arrived at the Castle. "Greetings, Alex." said King Anderson. "Greetings, King Anderson." said Alex Johnson. "Any news of the Heroes?" asked King Anderson.
"I haven't heard from Alan and Broktar." said Alex, "Or even Tirus and Officer Morgan. I have sent a messenger to the Barbarian Tribe.". “Excellent." said King Andrson, "Do you really think the Barbarians would be a worthy ally?". "Of Course." said Alex Johnson, "The Barbarians are Strong Warriors.". Meanwhile, at the crash site of the Kor'Drakk Cruiser, the orcs have left the ship. "I'm surprised." said Kalzortus. "What do you mean?" asked Gotarus. "I mean I'm surprised that this situation hadn't gotten any worse than it was." said Kalzortus. "whatever makes you say that?" said Broktar. "when i was in Artiox, i had encountered a clan of Orcs." said Kalzortus, "i had found those Orcs to be a bit Brutish.". "Is that so." said Broktar. "Of Course, Orcs can also make great Allies." said Kalzortus, "Even though Orcs can be a bit brutish.". "Oh, Really Now.” said Kar'Gorto. "Let's get going." said Dorgarus. Meanwhile, at the Undead Keep, The Battle Knight had arrived at the Keep. Quotor was waiting at the gate for him. "What in the Dark Realms were you trying to do?" asked Quotor. "Whatever do you mean?" said the Battle Knight. "You know what i mean." said Quotor, as he looked at the Battle Knight with one eyebrow raised. That was where Ghoultor had appeared at the gate. "Ah, Ghoultor." said Quotor, "About time you have gotten here.". "The Master Of Zombies wants to see both of you, Immediately." Said Ghoultor. "Is that so." said Quotor. "yes, indeed." said Ghoultor. That was where Ghoultor, Quotor, and the Battle Knight went into the Undead Keep.

Hi everyone, I'm a solo developer named Adam, and my Steam game, the cozy RPG A Weekend in Puzzleburg, recently received a free content update for its one-year anniversary called "This Town Ain't Big Enough"
Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1929760/A_Weekend_in_Puzzleburg

About "A Weekend in Puzzleburg"

A Weekend in Puzzleburg is a cozy slice-of-life role-playing game with over 180,000 ways your weekend vacation can play out. There's no need to fight monsters or save the world from impending doom - you've merely booked a relaxing weekend getaway in a quaint resort town. Welcome to Puzzleburg!
All around town, each person needs your help with something, if you can first puzzle out what item they need and where to find that item. So in between reading a book, taking a selfie of the town's welcome sign, getting your hair dyed, or any other vacation activity you get up to, see how many random acts of kindness you can fit in. Because you can take a break from your workaday life, but one should never take a break from being kind to others.
A Weekend in Puzzleburg has been featured in this Kotaku article Ten New Games That Are Bursting With Imagination, and here is a review of the game: https://ladiesgamers.com/a-weekend-in-puzzleburg-review

About the "This Town Ain't Big Enough" free content update

When I made A Weekend in Puzzleburg, I had a few ideas that were too complex to fit into the game by its release date, so I kept plugging away after the release to bring in these additional things that expand the town of Puzzleburg by adding:

• An Old West-themed game of hide-and-seek. This quest puts your knowledge of the town to the test as you try to find a little girl who goes by Billie the Kid hiding in different spots all around Puzzleburg (if you can catch her four times, she declares "I knew this town wasn't big enough!")
• A child's toy that may well decide the entire future of Puzzleburg. Two girls in town each seek a yo-yo that is prophesied to belong to the future mayor of Puzzleburg. It falls to you as the "yo-yo bearer" to decide which candidate should receive the legendary object and become anointed as the chosen one who will someday rule the land (or you can hold onto it for yourself, of course)
• Your hotel room key will stop working at one point randomly. Just a bit of flavor here to truly capture the vacation slice-of-life. After a certain number of times using your room key (randomized for each playthrough and only occurring after a certain point), your hotel room key will stop working, but this can thankfully be resolved by a quick trip to the hotel front desk. And it will only ever stop working a single time, no matter how many times you enter and exit your hotel room
• New characters, new items, and new dialogue

Stay Up To Date on "A Weekend in Puzzleburg"

I publish a company blog about A Weekend in Puzzleburg (and other games that I make) if you would like to know more about the game's development - there's about a year's worth of updates for A Weekend in Puzzleburg located at that link. I also post smaller updates on Twitter, so please follow the company's Twitter account (@SunnyVideoGames) as well, and you can find trailers on the company YouTube page. For any streamers or members of the press, the press kit has additional info on the game, as well as publicly available promotional assets.
Here is the link to the Steam page for A Weekend in Puzzleburg one more time: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1929760/A_Weekend_in_Puzzleburg
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope you enjoy your weekend, whether it's in Puzzleburg or elsewhere.

As briefly mentioned on the last stream, the Wolcen devs are giving up and moving on to new things 4 years after release.
Wolcen came out at a stagnant, desperate time for ARPG players. D3 was dead, there was basically only PoE (and occasionally Grim Dawn was in the spotlight as well). All it took was a new, random game in the genre with some good graphics like Wolcen for it to immediately find a massive audience of dopamine-deprived ARPG players.
And when those players realized it wasn't a replacement for D3, but just a kind of meh indie ARPG by a studio that was still learning, everyone got really angry. It wasn't enough for Wolcen to just be a decent first attempt at an ARPG, people wanted the next big thing.
I've found the memes dunking on Wolcen funny over the years, but it actually upsets me to see people celebrate its death. It doesn't seem like the devs had malicious intent with the game, and it seems like they made an honest attempt at improving it.
It just signals to any studio thinking about making a new ARPG that they shouldn't even try unless it's the next PoE, LE, or Diablo.

Don’t kick me out of the kitchen yet, wait for the soup to be finished before you rate it.
First
Previous
You know the drill: credit to SpacePaladin15 for the universe.
Thank you JulianSkies for proofreading.
Memory Transcription Subject: Gillab, Gojid Citizen, Father
Date [Standardized Human Time]: April 3, 2142
Billy refused to leave my side, following behind me almost like a lost child. He had been terrified by his panic attack and said that if he was around me he felt more comfortable. I was beginning to wonder if he had developed some kind of phobia against being left alone, although he claimed that it was just a one-time thing. Still, I would have to be on the lookout for any more panic attacks caused by being left alone. I didn’t want Billy to develop another hurdle to cross, especially one that was caused by me. I would have to find the time to contact Richard privately and explain the situation to him. I should have yesterday, but I had been setting up this meeting instead.
After what Billy said yesterday about meeting my family, I decided to set up a meeting between them. I was certain that Billy and Kirala would get along wonderfully, and Lulaly was sure to cheer him up as well. Plus, Kirala could help Billy understand himself and his emotions, considering that she went through a depressive episode similar to his.
The place we had chosen to meet was a newer place, one meant to bring alien-Human fusion foods to the common passerby. Usually, that kind of food was only for the adventurous or the wealthy, as most Humans tended to stick with what they knew, but Sulolo’s had been doing well enough in its goal. They were making more than enough to keep the lights on, but they hadn’t been able to outcompete the long-time staples that most people were used to. I’m sure that, given enough time, the food will take off in popularity.
I blinked the runaway thought out of my head as I opened the door. I needed to focus, or at least pay attention to my surroundings. Kirala said that she was already there and had picked out a table for us. After a moment of searching, I spotted my wife and my daughter talking with the waitress.
Neither of them noticed me until the waitress left, but once they did I saw them both start to wag their tails. Lulaly hopped out of her chair and rushed up to me, embracing me in an eager hug. After nuzzling me for a second, Lulaly pulled back. “I missed you Dad.”
I couldn’t help but melt. “I missed you too. I want you to tell me all about what’s been happening recently. Every. Little. Detail.”
She giggled as I tapped her on the nose, giving me another, much quicker hug before grabbing me by the hand and leading me to the table. I glanced back as she tugged me along, seeing that Billy was standing awkwardly away from the table, seemingly unsure of how to introduce himself.
“Oh, but before you start, I want to introduce you to someone. Billy, I’d like to introduce you to my wonderful daughter, Lulaly, and my beautiful wife Kirala. Kirala, Lulaly, this is Billy Marsh, the man who saved my life.”
Billy stepped forward hesitantly, the nervous bounce in his leg barely poking through as he extended his hand to Kirala. “H-hello, it’s nice to meet you. Your husband has told me lots about you.”
Kirala shook his hand firmly, giving a small laugh as she did. “All wonderful, I assume?”
Billy smiled nervously and pulled his hand away. “Of course.”
Billy then turned his attention to Lulaly, smiling softly as he spoke. “And he has told me just as many wonderful things about you.”
Lulaly froze, looked him up and down, and spoke without hesitation. “Why are your arms a different color than your face?”
Everyone’s eyes widened in surprise, even if Kirala and I were used to Lulaly’s straightforwardness, I never expected her to ask such a sensitive question immediately. Billy let his mouth hang open for a second before responding slowly. “Well, um, you see, my arms can ever change color. The- they are bionic. Not real. Fake.”
To hammer the point home, Billy pulled his sleeve back, revealing a subtle cut off between the two skin tones. With the sleeves covering the seam where his bionics connected, it was impossible to tell that he even had them. A passive observer would assume that his face just got less sun than his arms, somehow, and continue on.
“When they were put on, they were set to a certain skin tone that matched mine the best. I could go in and have it altered to match my current tone, but that would just be wasted time. I’ve just dealt with slightly different colored arms and no one has really noticed unless I told them they were fake.”
Lulaly puffed her chest out with pride. “I’m just that smart.”
I wagged my tail and guided her back to her seat. “You sure are. Lulaly’s always been ahead of the class in certain subjects. Plus she has always had an eye for detail. She’s a very smart girl, just as smart as the older kids.”
Lulaly hopped into her seat. “I’m smarter than them!”
I placed my hands on my hips in pride. “You sure are.”
Billy and I found our way to our seats and ordered our meals, getting the necessities out of the way before we earnestly started the conversation. I ordered a simple salad made from leaves of various planets, Kirala ordered something more homely, a Human-Gojid style stew, Julaly ordered an exotic-sounding dish from Sillis made with polo fruit, and Billy kept it simple with a mixed vegetable sandwich. I was slightly surprised that no one ordered anything with meat in it, it wasn’t like anyone here still had the cure, but I guess everyone was just wanting to be nice.
Once everything was set in order, Kirala took a sip of her water and started the conversation. “Well Billy, I guess I’ve been wanting to say this for a bit now, but felt like I needed to do this in person. Thank you.”
Billy looked slightly confused. “What for?”
Kirala chuckled. “Well, for saving my husband first off. Even if we had no way of knowing that we were going to meet, had we never did, I feel like my life would have been much worse.”
“Don’t thank me, anyone could have done what I did.”
I shook my head. “I really don’t think they could have. You went through hell to save me, I don’t know a single other person who could do the same.”
“That’s what everyone keeps telling me, but I really don’t think it’s true. I am–I was– just a soldier doing my job.”
I glanced at Kirala, giving her a small nod. She returned with one of her own, understanding how similar Billy’s situation was to hers. “I still think you are underselling yourself. You need to give yourself much more credit. You are strong, you did amazing things, you need to recognize that and give yourself credit for them. I know I didn’t, it put me in a very similar situation.”
Billy sighed. “Gillab had told me, but it’s not the same.”
Kirala nodded. “Nothing will be the same. No one else is you. Your experiences are unique only to you and you will have a wholly unique way of coming to terms with them. But there are people with similar experiences, people who can help you find the right path to take to find your own way.”
Kirala stared at me for a moment. “Gillab was that person for me. He was the first person I met who understood me. He helped me find my footing, brought color back into my life, and supported me through any relapses I had. Gillab is trying to be that person for you too. If he’s not, and you aren’t comfortable enough with him to talk about it, that’s fine, but let him help you find someone who you feel you can talk to.”
Billy paused for a moment. “Gillab is… He’s… It’s not that I don’t trust Gillab, but I can't talk about it with him. I don’t know why, but, it’s like, if I really get into, I don’t know, I think I’m going to push him away.”
I leaned forward. “Billy, there is nothing you could do to push me away. But if you really can’t feel comfortable telling me, let’s look for a therapist. We could even ask Richard to help us find one.”
Billy bit his lip for a second before sighing. “I don’t know. I-I’ll think about it.”
Warmth welled up in my heart. Hearing Billy take another step on the path to getting help would always make my day, even if he was just thinking about it. I don’t know if I understood why he couldn’t talk about his issues with me, but at the same time, I was thankful that he was going to a professional. Even if I wouldn’t admit it to him now, I always felt like I was inadequately prepared to help him.
Just as Billy finished speaking, the waitress brought us our food. As the food was laid out in front, I could see Billy smiling softly in his seat. As the food was dug into and our first bites were taken, I watched everyone gauge just how good the food was. It seemed that everyone was enjoying their meal, even the ever-picky Lulaly.
Kirala was the first to speak, wiping away some broth with a napkin as she did. “Wow, you have to try this stew, it’s really good.”
I finished a bite from my salad. “Is it? It looks pretty average to me.”
“Well, looks can be deceiving, you know.”
I chuckled and wagged my tail. “Oh, I know all about deceiving looks.”
Billy smiled. “Why do I get the impression you are talking about me?”
I wagged my tail as I speared more leaves. “I have no idea what you are talking about. Clearly, there is a misunderstanding, right Lulaly?”
My daughter looked up from her plate, mouth full of fruit and fork still gripped tightly in her claw. “Huh?”
“Oh, nothing. Say, how has school been going recently?”
Lulaly swallowed her bite finally. “It’s been going great! We had a sub… substittoo… Mr. Jenkim wasn’t there yesterday so we had Mrs. Willis instead. She was super nice, she gave us more free time than Mr. Jenkim does."
“That sounds wonderful. Did you have any big tests or projects?”
Julaly thought for a moment. “No. There was a math quiz, but math is easy! Oh, and Jammie came over the other day. We played a lot. Then he went home be-”
Julaly stopped herself in the middle of a sentence, and she only does that when she thinks she might get in trouble or when she sees something she really wants. With the history that Jammie and Julaly had, I was going to guess it was the first one. “Did he hurt himself on your quills again?”
Julaly couldn’t help but smile and look away. “Nooo… Only a little. We were playing tag.”
I wagged my tail and shook my head. “Tag… no wonder.”
Billy found it funny as well, chuckling to himself slightly. “Tag with a Gojid. Hey Gillab, that kinda reminds me of what you did back on the Cradle.”
I cocked my head to the side in confusion. “What? Be scared of you?”
“No, after that. I was feeling down one day, and you decided that the best course of action was to snuggle up to me.”
Kirala nearly shot water out of her nose, cough-laughing as she reached for a napkin. “You did what? Why haven’t I heard of this?”
I raised my paws in defense. “Okay, so, at the time I didn’t realize that cuddling to Humans was much more intimate. I just wanted to cheer him up, is all.”
Billy smiled. “You could have asked before you did though. I nearly impaled myself on your spines when I woke up.”
I bobbed my head back and forth. “Yeah, yeah. You're welcome. Anyways, enough about that, Aliert and Tintak both want to meet you again before they have to leave, I was hoping that we could meet them in the park again soon.”
Billy nodded. “That works with me. I feel like I need to apologize to them for how I acted last time I talked to them. If possible I would like to see Kertava as well.”
I winced at her name. “Uhm, Kertava might not remember you. She uhm… She had a serious brain injury in that tower and lost a lot of her memories. Right now she’s in a mental hospital, and it looks like she’s getting better, but she might not even remember you.”
Billy’s face grew somber. “Ah, I see. I’d still like to at least see her, maybe it might help spark some memories.”
I nodded. “If you want to visit her, you should talk to Aliert, he’s the one who visits her the most. I only visit sometimes, and Tintak has only gone to see her once.”
Billy nodded. “I guess that means I really should apologize.”
The rest of the meal went by smoothly, filled with casual talk about anything that came to mind. Billy revealed further knowledge of potato lore by describing all of the ways that a potato could be cooked. I never knew that a singular, misshapen root could be so versatile. By the end of the meal, Billy’s face seemed to be glowing, at least compared to what it looked like earlier. He had gotten comfortable around my family, letting himself speak freely.
Eventually, the bills were delivered and our conversation came to an end. Everyone gathered around the entrance for one final goodbye. However, Julaly’s attention was focused across the street on something I couldn’t find. I placed a claw on her head and started my goodbye. But before I could start, Billy started his own goodbye.
“Tonight was really fun. I’m glad to finally meet you Kirala, and you too, Lulaly.”
Instead of responding like she normally would, she only nodded her head. I glanced to her, trying to figure out what had her attention, but conceded when all I saw was a sidewalk.
Kirala stuck out her claw. “It was wonderful to finally meet the man who saved my husband's life.”
Billy smiled. “I was just doing my job. I’m just happy that you are all here for me. Oh, and, uh, Gillab? You don’t have to stay with me anymore. I’m not going to ever even think of suicide again. I owe you a world of thanks for pulling me back from that edge. If we hadn’t met by chance at the memorial, I wouldn’t be here.”
Billy’s face slowly turned melancholic, simultaneously smiling and crying. “I’m- I’m so thankful for you.”
I let go of Lulaly and opened my arms to hug him. “I was just doing what any good friend should.”
Billy ignored my quills and gave me a tight hug, slowly wobbling back and forth. As Billy hugged me tightly, he continued to thank me, each time with more emotion put into it. This was the culmination of my time with Billy. I had pulled him out of that very deep and impossibly dark pit in his own mind and showed him that he had made a difference. He was anything but useless, and even if there would be lingering trauma for some time to come, he could face it head-on with the help of everyone who he has helped in the past.
But as I pulled away and reached my claw back for Lulaly, I noticed she wasn’t there. I turned around to find her, only to have my heart plummet in my chest. She had run onto the road carelessly, and there was a car hurtling toward her.
Kirala noticed it at the same time, screaming Lulaly’s name in fear as I tried to force my body forward, but all the yell did was make her stop in the middle of the road and notice the danger she was in. She was frozen in fear, and there was nothing I could do to get to her quickly enough.
As the worst possibilities raced through my mind, I barely registered a flash of color to my left. Billy raced onto the street as bystanders finally turned to see what the commission was. With his bionic leg, he was easily able to outrun me, but it didn’t seem like it was going to be enough. Even as the car slammed on the brakes, it was still screeching towards my daughter.
At the last moment, Billy leapt forward and tackled Lulaly, shielding her with his own body. The car slammed into them, launching them down the street with a sickening thud. Billy held Lulaly tightly to his chest as they rolled down the road, stopping a great distance away from the now-stopped car.
I blinked out of my stunned state and turned back to Kirala. “CALL AN AMBLANCE!”

As discussed in the first post, this is my ongoing compilation of the remaining questions Christopher has answered online between August 1st 2023 and April 30th 2024 which I've not already covered in other compilations.
As always, questions are sorted by topic, and each Q&A is annotated with a bracketed source number. Links to every source used and to the other parts of this compilation will be provided in a comment below.
The previous post focused specifically on [the writing process](). This installment will focus on Inspirations, including Christopher's idea process, specific inspirations used, and some comments about other properties. The next post will focus on Worldbuilding and Promotion.

Inspirations

Coming up with ideas

Do you have trouble coming up with new ideas? They don't fall out of trees, but it takes me so long to write a book that I usually come up with at least one or two ideas over the six months to a year that it takes to write, edit and publish, if not longer. So they keep accumulating. One of the reasons that I really like having a world to play in for a long time is that the longer I spend in a setting, the more story ideas suggest themselves because you get to know the characters so much and you get to know the implications of the magic in the world and the culture. [1]
What is your inspiration process like? I read a lot of books, I watch a lot of movies, and I make sure I have time to stare out the window and do nothing but daydream. And all of those things continually give me ideas for stories. [20]
Inspiration can come from anywhere, but good stories and good music will actually give me the proverbial tingle up the spine. And basically nothing else in life does that. So I'm always chasing that high. And that's really the inspiration. And trying to replicate that both for myself and for my readers. [33]
I get my inspiration from the beauty of the world itself, from every book and movie that I watch and read, even the bad ones, sometimes especially the bad ones. I get my inspiration from meeting folks like you who have so much energy and enthusiasm and from thinking and talking and listening to music. Everywhere can be a source of inspiration. [36]
I listen to soundtracks when I write. I can't listen to anything with lyrics because it's too distracting. But my biggest source of inspiration is simply the environment in which I live. The mountains around my house look like the mountains from The Lord of the Rings. If I have no experience with the things I write, the descriptions would probably not be as good. You have to look around for inspiration. Photos, visiting places… that which just comes out of your head ultimately has its limitations. You can do a lot, but it helps creativity if you can base it on your own experiences. [23]
You have an idea, you have a spark of thought. Do you jot it down and leave it? Or do you immediately delve into it? It depends on the idea ultimately and it depends how much of it I have. But I always write something down because I have forgotten story ideas in the past, which sucks. So the instant I have something that I think is interesting, I write it down. I won't write most of these because I don't have the time but I write them all down. I have a file here with 140 pages of story ideas, 19,147 words. I try to write it down. If I have a sense of more of the story than the initial thing, then I'll write that down. Then mostly I just let it sit and I think about it while I'm working on other stories. [28]

Executing ideas

Would you rather lose a mental battle against another author so he could steal your ideas? Or give away your true name to your literary agent so he could control you? Wow. I trust my agent with my life. But I'd go with the first one, lose a mental battle, because honestly, ideas are cheap, execution is what matters. You could take every single idea I would have and give it to Brandon Sanderson, or any other author, and their execution would be totally different than mine, and vice versa. And quite honestly most authors wouldn't want to write the ideas I have, they have their own ideas. So that seems like the least perilous of the two options. [17]
When have the greatest flows of creativity happened for you? Whenever I know what I'm trying to write in terms of the scene, I understand what it's doing for the characters and who the characters are. And it all clicks together. And I don't have to sit there, banging my head against the keyboard trying to figure any of that out and then I could just work on writing it. Are there times where you have to bang your head against the keyboard? Or do you just get up and walk outside and just walk away from it? You need to do some of the head banging on occasion just to get past the tough stuff. But you also have to recognize when you're not making any progress and then it's better to step away, move physically in order to get your brain to move. And learning when to step away is always a challenge and has taken me a long time. [34]
What do you think about the idea that when we're asleep, our minds or souls wander off and act unbeknown to us and perhaps ideas aggregate which may lead to us waking up in the morning with sudden ideas, realizations? I think it's a very common occurrence. The whole point of creativity is that you connect two or more things that are seemingly unconnected. That's what a metaphor is or simile. "Her love was like a red, red rose." It's not literally a rose, but you're connecting two things to make a point. So when you sleep the barriers in your mind sort of descend and it's much easier to connect things. And there does seem to be some indication that if you are trying to solve a certain problem or working on something in the back of your head that your subconscious, whatever the hell the subconscious is, this older more instinctual part of the brain, continues to work on the problem even while you sleep. There have been multiple instances of scientists and inventors, engineers, who have actually thought of the solutions to their problems that they're trying to solve while while dreaming. So it's a known phenomena. And it's something that I do try to take advantage of. Sometimes I will think of things I'm trying to solve right before I go to sleep. The trick is you can't do it in a way that stresses you so that it keeps you up. So don't do this if it's going to keep you up. But it doesn't stress me to think about what I'm trying to figure out with the writing. So I'll think about that as I'm falling asleep and a lot of times I'll have a better idea in the morning or a better sense of what path to pursue and sometimes I'll actually dream of a solution. ... There's also some very solid research that says that if you're trying to learn something, whatever that something is, put in a couple hours of study, practice, whatever it is, and then you need to sleep in order for your brain to consolidate that knowledge. So if you pull an all-nighter studying, you're not going to retain the information very well. But if you were able to sleep even for just three hours, it allows the brain to take that temporary knowledge and encode it in more permanent memory. And that seems to be a very important part of the process. [19]

Fantasy Inspirations

How much has Tolkien influenced your writing, if at all? I wouldn't be here if not for Tolkien. I'll be honest with that. And I think there are a number of other contemporary fantasy authors that were equally as influential on me. But they wouldn't exist without Tolkien either. So Tolkien's the foundation that so much of this genre rests upon. [33]
Which dragon in literature do you find to be the most impactful as an influencer on stories that came after it? Historically, you'd have to put in for St. George and the Dragon, the dragon from Beowulf, Jormungandr, the Midgard Serpent from Norse mythology, Tiamat. Of course, then there's all the Asian dragons as well. And all of those influenced the authors that have influenced us, Anne McCaffrey, Ursula Le Guin, Wizard of Earthsea. Vermithrax Pejorative. [30]
What was the inspiration for how you approached the dragons in your books? For me it was a whole mess of fantasy that I read. Lord of the Rings, of course, with Smaug. The Pit Dragon trilogy by Jane Yolen. Dragon Singer was the first Anne McCaffrey book I read, and that got me into the Dragon Riders of Pern series. I still have a soft spot for Dragon Singer. The Wizard of Earthsea series. Raymond Feist's Magician series. As well as I think the Millennium series by David Eddings. A lot of others. Beowulf, of course. Tad Williams's Memory Sorrow and Thorn, which has some really impressively dangerous dragons in it. [30]
From just the first book and the second I can see how heavily Christopher was 'influenced' by George R R Martin. The part about the swords being imbued with spells to keep them sharp and the dragons growing forever isn't borrowing. It's downright plagiarism. I, uh, have never read GOT. Started the first book in 2011 and bailed when Bran was pushed out the window. However, Tolkien and Dragonriders of Pern were certainly big influences. [R]
Did the way Eragon and Arya ended remind you of the way Will and Lyra ended in His Dark Materials? In love, but unable to be together. Completely unintentional. I didn't read His Dark Materials until I'd already written Eragon (and plotted out the whole series, including the ending). I won't lie though: I love bittersweet endings, and Pullman wrote one of the best ones. [R]

Names

How do you go about naming all the places in Alagaësia? Well, these days I tend to think about where the name is coming from with the internal cultures of the land. So is it an Urgal name? Is it an Elvish name? Is it a Human name? Is it something else? For the human names I'm often drawing from established cultures, Germanic cultures, Scandinavian cultures. But I have a lot of invented and established things within the world itself. So it just sort of depends what I'm writing and how I'm doing it. The nice thing is because I've created various invented languages for the different races, that gives me a good starting place for the feel of some name that I might be creating. [12]
Where do the names in your worlds come from? Some are puns, Eragon is Dragon but with an 'e' instead of a 'd'. It also means an Era Gone By. Saphira is from Sapphire. The names also come from historical names: Germanic, Northern influences or were made up by me based on the rules from my world. For example, Murtagh is Irish. [23]

Name of Names

Does the ancient language have a canon name? I know it's never said in order to keep the mystery feel, but out of curiosity, do YOU know it? Or is it something that does not even truly have a name for you? Yup, I do have a name for it. Not sharing it with anyone, though. :D [R]

World of Eragon

What is the "World of Eragon"? Well it encompasses the entire Inheritance Cycle (Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr, and Inheritance), as well as The Fork the Witch and the Worm, Murtagh, as well as all the other projects that I hope to be doing in this setting, whether books, games, or other things. And the reason we went with "World of Eragon" instead of something like Alagaësia is because Alagaësia is hard to say and hard to spell, and some of the adventures the characters will be going on actually go beyond that land. So World of Eragon it is. Also I'm rather fond of that Brisingr symbol in the "O" there. It felt appropriate for the character, for the world, and like I said, I like it myself. [Y]
What would you say to introduce someone to the World of Eragon? Well, it's the story of a young man who finds a dragon egg. And the dragon and Eragon, they go on a series of adventures and there's duels and dragons and battles and villains and romance and all the good stuff a story needs. I think it's fundamentally a good hearted series. I don't really like to write stuff that's like super super grim. It definitely is a good place to start if you're getting into epic fantasy and you're a slightly younger reader and then as you go along with the books, adult isn't really the word, but they get more elaborate and epic as the series progresses. I was learning as I wrote the series and so I tried to put all of that learning to use with each new book. [12]
What is the difference between the World of Eragon and other fantasy series? The fact that I wrote it and not someone else! There are definitely references to other works, because I love reading about elves, dwarves, magic and dragons and I wanted to write about them. At the same time, there are some unique aspects. I believe that my magic system is unique in the fantasy genre and I have unique races such as the Werecats, Ra'zac and my slightly different take on Dragons. It's a mix of familiar and really new things. [23]

Arya

George [R R Martin] and I invented the name Arya completely independently. We talked about it: he was trying to come up with something fierce and warrior-like … I was thinking of an aria in an opera. [R]

Eldest

I was today years old when I realized "Eldest" refers to Murtagh. And Roran. [T]

Shruikan

Me, a weeb, reading Shruikan as "shuriken" Where do you think I got the name from? Shruikan is just 'shuriken' rearranged a bit (and with the 'e' changed to an 'a'). [T]

Do Well Then

Am I the only one who ever realized that Du Weldenvarden sounds like Do Well Then, Varden? You are not. [T]

People, Places, Things, and Scenes

Eragon

Does the character Eragon resemble you? Initially, yes, a lot! But the more the story progressed, the more my hero experienced his own adventures. The common point that remains between him and me is that we both like to ask each other questions. [4]
What are the commonalities that you now still have with Eragon to this day? Curiosity. Eragon is very curious about the world and wants to understand it and learn, and that's definitely something I still have and still pursue. Probably a willingness to tackle big adventures and projects, even knowing it's going to be a huge thing. And then maybe a basic sense of optimism, all things considered. [19]
Eragon's journey appears to me from the beginning to the end a quest of research of identity, of self-discovery, the "Who am I?" question. Did you put yourself through the same examination Eragon and Saphira did on Vroengard while searching for their true names? And do you have an idea of what your true name will be? I think that identity and character and figuring out who you are is one of the central things of adolescence. Because you transition from a child to an adult and figuring out what sort of an adult you're going to be, and how you fit into society and how you're going to function as an adult once you have agency and power versus a child who usually doesn't have a whole lot of agency and power. And so that's why writing about adolescence to me very naturally becomes writing about identity and who you are. And yes, it's something I have spent a large portion of my life thinking about and figuring myself out. I think I have a pretty good idea of who I am and have had a pretty good idea for a long time. If you asked me to guess at my true name, I think I could come pretty close. [19]
Do you think emulating your characters’ actions is a necessary part of the writing process? It’s definitely not necessary, but it can be helpful. Having personal experience with a particular activity is always a plus. Failing that, books, articles, and YouTube can be a decent substitute. Given that I write about spaceships and dragons, there are somethings that I’ll never be able to encounter in real life . . . but, hey, that’s what our imaginations are for! [10]

Beor Mountains

I drew a map and it was like the western half of the current map. And I thought, well, this gives me everything I need. But then I was like, "oh, I want to visit this location. I want to visit that location." And pretty soon I realized I was out of space. So I didn't want to spend like days and days drawing another map because I wanted to keep writing. So I took another sheet of printer paper and put it next to the first one, and I quickly scribbled in some mountains in a giant forest. And I was really lazy. I did this in like 15 seconds, 30 seconds tops. And I was moving so fast that I made the mountains huge. And I looked at that and I was like, well, wait a minute, what if they actually were 10 times bigger than the normal mountains? And that's how I got my Beor mountains. Also, I'd read an article about the mountains in New Zealand being 10 miles high if it weren't for erosion, given their rate of upheaval. That also contributed. [34]
You grew up in Montana, is it true that the valley where Eragon comes from is based on that? Yes. There is even a mountain in the valley that is as high and the same shape as Tronjheim, the mountain where the dwarves live. And I looked at that and thought: hm, what if that was a city? You can take things from everyday life and recreate them in something. [23]

Roran

Roran and his chapters have a good bit of biblical allegory. It wasn't intentional, but I read a LOT of Biblical stuff growing up. Make of that what you will. [R]

Forging of Brisingr

One of my favorite parts of the Inheritance Cycle was the forging of Brisingr. Tell us about the research process you used in order to construct such an intricate and detailed scene. I've done a fair bit of metalworking myself. I built two forges as a kid. I credited in the back of Brisingr two different books I have on Japanese sword making, both of which I referenced pretty heavily because they were relevant, since Brisingr is made for meteorite steel and there's various reasons for using the Japanese method on a western-style sword in that book. So I did some research but I also had a fair bit of practical knowledge and that was helpful. That scene actually was even longer because if you know your metalworking you'll know there's definitely some things I skimmed over or condensed and it was just because the scene was too long and my editor said, "look, Christopher, just summarize or say it was magic. You've got a magic elven smith, let her use some magic, move it along a little faster. So I was aware of the things that I had to skimp over a little bit, but no, that was one of my favorite scenes to write and I think that came through since so many people enjoyed it. [34]

Erôthknurl

Is this [Japanese dorodango] what Orik's earth rock was based off of? Of course. [T]

Burrow Grubs

Trauma is an element that's always been a part of these books, but it's been talked around and mentioned, up until I think the burrow grubs in Inheritance. That one is rude. They're bad. I won't lie. They came from a nightmare. That literally came from a nightmare. I shared it with the world so that it's out of my head and into yours. But when I write about something, I stop thinking about it. After it's done, it purges it from my brain. [11]
I need to know how you came up with the burrow grubs because they've always freaked me out. Bad nightmare. [T]

Inheritance Climax

Was there a particular experience in your life that suggested to you that it was ultimately through compassion and empathy that Eragon will vanquish Galbatorix? No. It was the result of sort of a long chain of logic while writing the books, and a lot of thinking I've been doing about violence and responses to violence and when it's appropriate to use violence. Part of the chain of logic was the fact that I just got sick of writing sword fights. I wrote a lot of sword fights between Eragon and Arya, Eragon and Murtagh, and of course, Roran's hammer fights. So resolving the entire series's conflict just through a physical confrontation felt inadequate. There needed to be a moral component to it. One of my own criticisms for myself here is that I feel like I failed to do that with Roran in Inheritance. There really should have been a little bit slightly deeper resolution to his storyline and his confrontation with Barst that taught us something new or resulted in a change in his character. Roran's character is a little different than Eragon's because he's already grown up in a lot of ways and thus is not resolving the same issues, but a good arc, a good journey, would have reflected on what was happening with Eragon and Galbatorix. So how Roran defeats Barst in some ways should stand in contrast to how Eragon defeats Galbatorix. Maybe it does, but that's something I would have spent more time taking another look at were I to do that now. But again with Eragon and Galbatorix, just one more sword fight was inadequate. So much of the story with Eragon involved him paying attention to the lives of the ants and learning about the different groups in Alagaësia, the Urgals, the dwarves, this and that. So all of that played into this decision to have him defeat Galbatorix in that matter. And with all of that, the fact that I really didn't want there to be some obvious way of defeating Galbatorix. Galbatorix isn't stupid. He protected himself in all of the ways that one might think of protecting himself, and he's had a long time to think about that. So it needed to be something that was non-obvious. Non-obvious and yet inevitable. [19]

Favorites

Which of the fantasy creatures/races did you most enjoy writing about? I obviously love dragons. Before Murtagh I would have said the dwarves because I think they are funnier than the elves, although I enjoy writing about the elves too. But the dwarves are more earthly and interesting and human in their own way. [21]
Who is your own favorite character anyway? Saphira. I used to say Eragon right after that, but nowadays Murtagh is number two. That said, I feel most connected to Brom. Because I'm also getting old and starting to get some white spots in my beard. [21]
Which of your characters would you bring along with you to a deserted island? Saphira, because she could fly me off the deserted island. [34]
Which place in your Eragon universe would you like to live in the most? Probably with my dwarves, because they live in these 10-mile high mountains. And I love mountains and I have a beard like a dwarf these days. And I think the dwarves have more fun than the elves. [2]
Which fantasy world would you like to live in? Middle-Earth can be a nice place to live in some places, especially Hobbiton. I wouldn't mind living in a Hobbit hole and writing my books there. [23]

Interactions with other media properties

Getting into Fantasy

I got into sci-fi and fantasy because of a magical creature. My parents had a lot of sci-fi fantasy in the house, and I wasn't particularly interested in it at the time. But when I was around eight, my grandfather was taking me through a bookstore. I saw a book that had a knight in full armor without his helmet, holding a spear, facing off with a giant scaly humanoid, dragon-like monster. And at eight years old, all I knew was that this was the coolest book cover I had ever seen in my life and that this therefore must be the best book in the world. And so I begged my grandfather to please, please, please, buy me this book. He wasn't entirely sure about it, but he bought it for me anyway. That ended up being The Ruby Knight by David Eddings, which I took home and I read as fast as I could. I got a little concerned as I got near the back of the book because I was getting through the pages and then there's only this many pages left. I started to get this weird feeling that somehow the author couldn't end the whole story in the number of pages that were left. And sure enough, when I got to the end, I discovered that this was the middle book of a trilogy. Yeah, I wasn't always the brightest kid. So I finished that and immediately said, "well, I need to know what happens". So I went to our library and I read all the David Eddings books they had. There really was no internet back then, so I didn't know what to read next. So I'm standing in the library staring at Eddings, "E". What do I read next? Well, two shelves down from "E" was "F" and there was a giant book called Magician by Raymond Feist, which had a dragon on the cover. And I thought, okay, well maybe that's good. It's got a dragon, the same magical creature. So I checked out that book and I read it and it was pretty awesome. So I read everything by Raymond Feist. And then I go, "well, what do I read now?" And well, a couple of shelves down, there was a book called Mossflower by Brian Jacques which was the prequel to Redwall, so I read the entire Redwall series. And wasn't too far from Brian Jacques to Anne McCaffrey, and there was the Dragon Riders of Pern series. So I basically worked my way through the library, just chasing the covers with dragons and talking animals, which is not the worst way to set up a reading program when you're ten. And that really transformed my life. And I just absolutely fell in love with reading in a way that I never really had before. [35]

Anne McCaffrey

Is it awkward though, sitting here between Dragonriders of Pern, the original series about Dragonriders, from a beloved author who was nice enough to give you a blurb for your first novel, knowing that you sort of borrowed the whole Dragonriders thing? Oh, not at all. Absolutely shameless about it. And McCaffrey was kind enough to give me not just a blurb, my first blurb. So funny thing is I did kind of repay her in the most roundabout way. I was touring in Spain and found out that her books were out of print there. And I talked them up so much that they ended up reprinting the entire series in Spain and I blurbed her books in Spain. But you know, it's a small market so it probably doesn't count. Right. No, I would say not. [31]

Star Wars

I was homeschooled and raised in a very rural environment in Montana. I had no access to the internet and stuff. I literally had not heard about Star Wars all the way up until I was 14. And it was referenced in the movie Space Camp. And I said, "Why are they saying 'Luke use the force'? What does that mean?" And my dad got this horrified expression on his face. Like he had failed as a parent, and so we watched Star Wars the next day. [5]

Star Trek

The problem with Lost is those seasons are full length seasons. I mean it's like 23, 26 episodes. It's a huge commitment. My wife watched Next Generation for the first time a couple years ago, and each season is like 24 or 26 episodes, and it's a big commitment of time. And that's part of the problem getting into something like Battlestar Galactica or something else. [21]
Deep Space Nine is the best Star Trek, because they actually managed to take the Ferengi and turn them into interesting, well-rounded, deep characters, which you wouldn't think, and not just the Ferengi, but other aliens, which the other Star Treks didn't manage to do anything like that, I think. [29]

The Prisoner

The original Prisoner television show is the most prophetic piece of science fiction in a lot of ways because it deals with loss of privacy and individuality, the strength of the individual against the system of government. And the cool thing too is that I think The Prisoner is definitely an auteur piece. It was written by Patrick McGuinn who also stars in it and he also directed the majority of episodes. And it directly follows from his earlier series Secret Agent Man. When that show ended he was at a party and there were some governmental officials and someone asked him, so what does a secret agent do when he retires? And he said, I don't know, you tell me what does a secret agent do when he retires? And the bureaucrat just kind of goes, well we take care of them. And that was kind of the beginning of the concept for the show. A lot of people hate the ending. I actually quite like the ending but there's a sense of absurdity to the show as well that I think is very well suited for the nature of modern life given that although we live in a Heinlein future in the sense we have rockets taking off and landing vertically as God and Heinlein intended, at the same time, we live in a very strange modern life and Philip K. Dick captured that, but I also think the prisoner absolutely did. So if you haven't seen The Prisoner, I can't recommend it enough personally. McGuinn had some really strong philosophy driving it underneath. He was a very religious man, actually very similar to Gene Wolfe, both Catholic. And that drove a lot of his beliefs and approach to the material. [21]

House of the Dragon

I'm not necessarily a fan of the way George R R Martin writes. House of the Dragon pretty much started with a bloody scene about a young mother who had to pay for the birth of her child with death. My wife was just heavily pregnant, I turned off the TV and didn't look back. But there is no arguing about the quality of Game of Thrones and the enormous cultural impact of the series. All respect. [18]

Dragons Love Tacos

I've had to read Dragons Love Tacos to my son more times than I care to remember. Look, dragons do not love tacos. Dragons love some of the things that go into tacos, like cows or maybe sheep or goats. But dragons do not love tacos. And this is sheer slander upon the whole race of dragons. [14]
They'll probably like the ground meat that sometimes goes into tacos, but no, dragons don't eat tacos. Come on. [34]

Video Games

What was the first game that you played where you thought, I really love games? Crystal Quest. If anyone remembers that. Old game that was on the Mac Classic. I got up to level 99 on that or something. It was insane. But, yeah, Myst, Riven especially, the Marathon series, Mass Effect trilogy. Loved Control recently. I've spent way too many hours playing Far Cry 5 because it's set in Montana and looks exactly like Montana. And there are some similarities to things in that game, to actual real world stuff, which is kind of weird, but it's cool. I don't know. Too many games to list and they're all awesome. [26]
I played a lot of classic Mac games, we're talking about like on the old Mac Classic, so things like Crystal Quest and Starship Mono and things like that. And then later on, when the computers upgraded, I loved the Myst series, so Myst and Riven. My friend had a PC, so I got to play the original Doom and Wolfenstein 3D and all of that. On the Mac, I loved the Marathon series. That was a huge influence on me with storytelling. I'm really excited that they're rebooting it or doing a sequel to the Marathon game finally over at Bungie. So the Marathon trilogy. Unreal Tournament 1999 is still the best shooting game I've ever played in a lot of ways, a tournament game. So yeah, all that stuff definitely had an influence on me. [12]
All of my gaming experience was computer games, video games. One that had a huge influence on me was the old Myst series. Personally I love solving puzzles, so that's the first thing. And also the concept of the series, especially with the second game, Riven, it's all based around people writing books that create new worlds. And you get to go in them and solve puzzles and understand how that world works. And that just tickled every single part of my brain back in the day. [26]
Now, funny thing with Spyro is that the company that made the Spyro games actually worked on the Eragon video game back in the day. Now, I've never played the Spyro games, but my wife is a huge fan of them, and I like Spyro. Proper number of legs. The wings are a little small, though. But sheer force of personality, and at least Spyro's not a dog dragon. [13]
What do you love about Mass Effect? I like the RPG elements, but I like the universe. I like the setting. I like the fact that really their big jump is they assume the existence of this element zero that if I'm remembering it correctly, allows for all of the technology. And then they don't break the laws of physics past that. They assume there's one break from what we know and then explore that. But I love the setting. I like how much blue they use. No, seriously. And if I'm remembering correctly, one of the planets in Mass Effect actually is the planet from Dragon Age. So they've tied in their two different franchises, which is cool. I have so many wonderful memories with the characters and in the world of Mass Effect that in some ways it was almost like a Star Wars experience for video games. [21]
There's great aliens in Mass Effect. I seem to recall Wayne Barlow, an artist, creating a cool book with some aliens in it. [29]

Minecraft

My favorite game these days is Minecraft. If you put a gun to my head and told me I can only have one game for the rest of my life, I'd pick Minecraft right now. If you go to my YouTube channel, you can see my storage system, which is mechanized and can store every single item in the game, either in shulker boxes or bulk storage or chests. It's mechanized. If you're familiar with the Hermitcraft series, they actually invited me on the server as a guest at one point. Scicraft, I got to tour with them. I built a machine to kill the Ender Dragon with one arrow. I love Minecraft. The problem is I could spend so long playing Minecraft, I will never write another book in my life. So I haven't played it in six months. But I really want to update my storage system. So we'll see. [26]
You went almost a decade from the time that you published Inheritance to the time that you published another book that people cared about, To Sleep in a Sea of Stars. What were you doing during this time besides Minecraft? Have you seen my storage system in Minecraft? I have, it's pretty solid. It's not just solid, it's like I built a computer in Minecraft. Honestly, I could have written another book. I was going to say, imagine if you had written a book instead. What was I doing in those ten years? Well, I suppose I was just relaxing on my giant pile of money. Plagiarism pays, nepotism pays, I was just relaxing, enjoying life. And then I decided that I should probably, pay tribute to a lot of the sci-fi games and movies that I enjoyed and pluck up a bunch of pieces from them and paste them all together and put out a new book. And that was To Sleep in a Sea of Stars. That's fantastic. Absolutely. And you know what's even better? It won Best Sci-Fi of the Year over at Goodreads. I'm starting to wonder if you might be a pretty smart guy. People have said that on occasion, but I don't really believe it. Yeah, I wouldn't either. No, I wouldn't. I wouldn't. [31]

Crossovers

Who wins in a fight, Kratos or Eragon? I'm enormously fond of Eragon and he does have magic at his disposal, but we are talking about a man who literally killed the Greek pantheon and then the Nordic pantheon. So I hate to say it, but I think Kratos has it here. Not to mention that technically his son becomes the Midgard Serpent. [30]
Who would win in the fight? Eragon or Anne McCaffrey? Not the dragons, the author? Well, look, Anne McCaffrey gave me my first blurb. I kind of have to go with Anne McCaffrey there. [30]
[Rebecca Yarros:] How would our dragons interact with each other? I think your dragons would consider Saphira a bit soft. But I think Saphira would rise to the occasion. She's more humane. Like she's more human. She has more like a softness to her, as where mine are superior jerks. Well, I think also she's trying to be nice for the nice little squishy humans around her. And if she were stuck with a bunch of dragons who weren't quite so nice, she'd probably go a bit more feral. [33]
What would Eragon's signet be if he was in the Fourth Wing world instead? Probably something with fire, firebending essentially. The first spell he ever used was Brisingr, which was fire. So probably something with fire. I think that that seems appropriate. I could come up with something more exotic, but let's face it, Eragon's kind of basic. So it's going to be fire. [33]
I assume Roran would have carried a 45-70 govt in a different timeline. He absolutely would, if not a 45-90 or even a 50-110. [R]
What Taylor Swift song do you feel most represents each character? I’ve never listened to a Taylor Swift song, so … How is that even possible?? You must not have listened to a radio in the last decade. You would be correct. That is actually insane. What kind of music do you listen to? I love classical. However, mostly I listen to movie & game soundtracks while writing. And when not writing, I've had enough music, so don't listen to stuff. I can't listen to anything with English lyrics while writing. Messes with the words in my head. Nothing while lifting? Heh. Heavy Metal. Amon Amarth. That sort of thing. [T]

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Generous hours donated to the editing foundation by WaveOfWire
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Lukewarm water gave way to sand underfoot, frequent rocks and dried sea flora giving the orange shore a coarse design. Following an animate piece of metal to harvest underwater stone was not something the gray-skinned fisherwoman thought she would ever be doing. She hauled the ‘potassium’ up and into the wheelbarrow alongside her sister, the once-submerged resources’ rugged texture reflecting the bright sun’s rays in peculiar ways. Unfortunately, the days were getting colder much faster than she would have liked, despite the plentiful light. It was dismissible, but it ever so slightly urged her toward the warmth of the fires… and her new living quarters—the luxurious abode provided by the star-sent himself.
She could not understand how the brick home was capable of keeping such heat without flames, but she would not question it. Instead, she elected to enjoy the first nights of truly comfortable sleep in a long while… and it had been quite some time since the fisherwoman twins enjoyed the luxury of proper civilization. The village was quiet and peaceful compared to the bustling capitol, but it simply lacked the amenities that a large population provided. Their escape to the island provided poor bedding, no entertainment, little variation in food, and a nauseating deficiency of rum. Oh, how the sisters missed the sweet burning liquid. Their… past… may have heightened such affection for the alcohol, but it also didn’t help that they were suddenly branded as sky-worshipers and forced to flee to a humble islet—one that didn’t have any drinks besides boiled water…
Now look at the fisherwoman; there was no escaping her banishment. All that time spent making good with the locals, just for the inquisitors to show up once more and throw her onto the deck of a boat before it departed for an unknown land. She was not scared of the prospect, no. So what if she was to live on the mainland? It was no less rural than the last island—one they were just getting used to. No, she was vengeful for what they had stripped from her and her sister. They had crawled their way from nothing to something within the capitol only a winter or two prior. They could have lived like regular citizens. She supposed it was the grace of the Mountain God that they were led to an actual deity-sent. The siblings’ living situation had improved, too, even over their previous urban living situation. The two would not have to resort to… alternate forms of making a living ever again. She was even starting to appreciate the honor of completing a hard day’s work.
The wheelbarrow creaked and whined underneath the strain it was put under. The hefty rocks were intent on digging the two wheels deep into the dirt. Her sister’s equipment was fairing much the same, but they persevered, dragging the precious haul to the workshop where the Creator needed them. She shoved the portable storage up and over the small hump of the ‘cargo bay’ entrance, hauling it down the rows of animate creations.
Dozens of ‘hums,’ ‘whirrs,’ ‘tonks,’ ‘slams,’ and ear-mauling scrapes assaulted her senses. The ‘machines’ were clumped up with one another under the bright white lights. They spat materials, clear liquids, and yellow gasses amongst their others in a jumble of… something. Some things boiled, others hissed. There was much going on, with one foreign male at the center of it all.
The Creator stood by a towering device, pushing it with the help of the juvenile and the ceramist. The group slid the apparatus into place, leaving the star-sent to deftly manage the many colors on the glowing, rune-filled panel, while the assistants were dismissed, having received a few genuine words of appreciation from the male.
The gray-skinned fisherwoman clicked her tongue, garnering his attention, his weary eyes meeting her own.
“Hey,” he addressed them casually, eyeing their cargo with a raised brow. “You two are back soon. You can put the stuff in the same place as last, then just close the panel. Appreciate the hard work. Feel free to take a break between the next three loads; these machines won’t work fast enough to keep up with y’all.”
“You have my appreciation,” the twins said in unison.
The two of them did as asked, traversing the maze of tubes and metal, pouring the crumbling rocks into the belly of the machine, making sure to close the door as requested. Her sister sighed and stretched her back, extending all four arms up and backward, revealing the short cuts she had on their undersides. The fisherwoman cringed underneath the sudden aura of shame at the sight… It was the only real differentiator between the two, and it was her fault.
“I believe I shall take up the Creator on his blessing and take a short break by the fire. Will you join me?” her twin asked.
“I will be there shortly. Allow me a moment,” she returned.
Her counterpart squinted playfully. “Planning on something with the males, eh?”
“Nothing of the sort,” the fisherwoman chided, flicking her sister's snout with a singular talon.
The twin scowled and turned away, exiting the castle swiftly.
The fisherwoman shook her head and made her way to the star-sent, heedfulness and hesitation quieting her footsteps. It was an unusual feeling. She was never the best when it came to respecting those higher on the mountain than herself; they were always flippant, derisively ordering and pecking at those ‘who make not an honest day’s work.’ She despised giving her labor for such self-assured fools, forced to put on a face for them while suffering through their ‘hierarchy.’
That was why the small island villagers were so welcoming. They were much less strict in their positions or status, allowing for a community focused on the goals of the whole rather than the aspirations of a singular high-ranking Malkrin. Maybe that was why it was so easy for the gray-skinned twins to return to sincere labor there.
The star-sent was much the same, though… different in one aspect. Where the village had a sort of collectivism while still keeping some status of the elders or those higher up the mountain, the Creator did not seem to place himself within any sort of hierarchy. He was solely focused on seeing the settlement progress, addressing and communicating with whomever as if they were of the same status. It made tasks a lot easier and was most certainly why she felt it so easy to approach him with such an unnecessary question.
He was not by the previous set of machines, leaving the fisherwoman to look around. She scanned the entire floor, looking over much of the equipment, spotting him by one of the desks. She stepped up behind him, curiously eying the items on his table. He was… disassembling his staff? His blunt digits twisted small metallic pieces and pulled off larger ones, sliding the large cylindrical end out. He continued until all the components were resting on their respective cuts of cloth, each cleaned and rubbed down with a few liquids.
The fisherwoman did not realize she was leaning over him and staring until he stopped and stretched upward, inadvertently tapping her snout. His chair jolted out of the way, turning around to face her. The Creator’s body was stiff as his wide eyes bored into her, palm resting atop his shoulder-bound blade. He stared up at her for a long few seconds, his burning glare stunning her in place all the while. A loud huff finally escaped him, his strained posture loosening.
“…Jesus, you fuckin’ scared me,” the high male groaned, his chest still rising and falling rapidly. His hand still had not left his knife. “Did you need something?”
“Forgive me star-sent,” she bowed her head, embarrassment and a hint of shame running through her frills. She quickly excused her actions nervously. “I did not mean to startle you… Nor did wish not to bother you, b-but I have a query. You had mentioned that I was free to ask any.”
“Mm, yeah.” The Creator finally released his blade and took a piece of cloth, returning to his task of rubbing down another metallic piece of his staff. “I’d rather you guys ask questions than sit in confusion. So, what’s up? Is there anything you need to harvest the deposits? We’ve got some metal to spare.”
Sparing metal for her simplistic job? Lord above… “N-No. Please excuse my prodding, but I wish to know what these machines are doing.”
“What they’re doing? Like, each one specifically or as a whole?”
“As a whole, Creator.” She did not dream of wrapping her head around the blessed equipment.
He grabbed a gray tube from his staff’s belt. “Gunpowder… for these. Or, more accurately, modified black powder. It’s just as powerful, but it’ll also put on more of a smoke show… and dirty the hell out of barrels and bolts alike…” He frowned at the components next to him before noticing her confused expression. He shook his head. “Sorry. It’s a powder that ignites and propels—” he dug into the cylinder with his digits and slid out a piece of metal. “—slugs and bullets. It’s essentially the whole reason guns work. I’m sure you’ve seen the FAL Akula’s touting around, right?”
She slowly nodded, understanding what he was alluding to. The dark-green-skinned fisherwoman was quite proud of receiving her own staff, keeping it in hand at all times.
“Yeah, so without this, her weapon would be as good as a piece of wood. That’s why I plan on making so much of it.”
“I… see.” She looked back at the whirring snake of moving parts within the center of the castle, a greater sense of awe settling on her as she took in its final purpose. “So it takes metals from a cave, rocks from the sea floor, and the burnt husks of logs to produce such?”
“There are a few more ingredients, like the spider-crab biofuel and trace air elements, but yeah.” The high male continued to clean the components of his weapon as if the process of gunpowder creation was only a menial accomplishment. “It takes a good bit of specific inputs to make the stuff.”
The others claimed the star-sent to be a wizard, and that would be an easy assessment with his staff and mystic equipment, but that would not be accurate. The Creator was clearly a great alchemist, turning useless materials into the very power of his grand weapons. Not to mention forming fine metals from coarse rocks. How did the settlers not see such? The villagers were more blessed than they realized.
A thousand other questions burned into her mind of what else he was capable of creating. What could he do with tree bark? What about dirt and fish? Were they ingredients of powerful remedies or sturdy materials? The dam almost burst, but she held it in. The star-sent’s invitation to casual conversation should not be squandered by her pestering any further. Perhaps he would enlighten her another time. For now, she was required to complete her tasks—this time with much more purpose than she had prior.
She thanked the high male and left for the shore with a swaying tail. Perhaps her efforts would be rewarded handsomely were she to keep it up.
\= = = = =
Harrison sat back on a stool by the outdoor range. The sun had already been down for some time, keeping much of his work underneath the few Malkrin-sized floodlights placed around the settlement. Their bright white light illuminated the decimated wooden targets twenty meters out, dim moonlit covering the rest of the meadows further beyond. It wasn’t a great idea to stay out in the night, given Tracy’s reconnaissance drones weren’t equipped with any night vision or thermals yet, but there was still work to be done, so he instead relied on two armed females to serve as early warnings and defense while he finished up his testing.
The modified black powder was finally narrowed down to a suitable side-grade for traditional double and triple-base gunpowder. The first batch wasn’t nearly powerful enough, and it dirtied the hell out of the FAL he used. The second attempt was much the same, but actually managed to reach an acceptable muzzle velocity. Now, after a whole day of experimenting with the ingredients, it was a damn powerful propellant. The most important ingredient was the added biofuel-adjacent compounds that were made from, of course, biofuel, and much of the air-extracted elements like oxygen and nitrogen.
It was an increasingly convoluted process that required many of the machines to be switched around. Most of their programmed inputs and outputs had been changed several times by the end of the day. Hell, almost the entirety of the workshop’s stock of chemical and mechanical fabrication units had been used up by the operation—if they hadn’t already been taken by the other ongoing lines of industry.
The powder dirtied the hell out of the rifles, it kicked like a horse, and it was a pain in the ass to synthesize, but it was done. He wouldn’t need to worry about letting loose any bullets into those spider-crabs anymore. He even had a suitable source of metal, solving all of his iron and steel needs too. It was small scale, but it was something, and that little bit of income was all he needed to start scaling up the process and deal with all the alloy-hungry projects he needed to start on.
The first of which was probably going to be simple automated mules for the heavy ore. He spent a good portion of the morning assisting with the mining operations until he was confident that the lumberjack got a hang of the hand-held lasers. The most prevailing thing the engineer learned from his efforts was how much of a pain in the ass it was to drag the sphalerite back on sleds.
They didn’t have any on-hand blueprints for any transportation droids until he traveled to the vehicle bay and got them himself. Thankfully, there just happened to be a woman who specialized in creating automated drones, and she was more than happy to take the task on herself. Some part of him felt a little bit of remorse for dumping the work on the technician, but she genuinely seemed to actually kind of enjoy it, almost like it was just a hobby for her. The woman even had her own corner of the workshop dedicated to her tinkering. It had two fabricators, warm yellow lighting, and plenty of cluttered parts and pieces around her laptop. All of it surrounded a central chair that she used to bounce between the different sections of the building process. One corner was for the printers and requesting components, another was for welding, a third for circuitry, and so on.
However, the whole thing did urge him to visit the vehicle bay before the blood-moon. There were a hell of a lot more applications for drone automation than he realized, and he wasn’t intent on putting all of that on Tracy.
The engineer sighed and rubbed his forehead, grabbing for another blue-leaf on the nearby bullet casing-covered table. The finger-width frond was something he’d been enjoying since the foraging Malkrin started to bring them back. They tasted like the fragrance of jasmine. Simply chewing it and letting the small particles of plant matter mix with saliva created a sort of tea in his mouth. He saw Cera using it alongside the whole ‘females using a stick to sharpen their teeth’ thing, so he asked and was generously given a bunch.
The blue-leaf jutted from his mouth like those depictions of Old-Earth farmers chewing the stems of wheat, slowly being gnawed until its tip as the night went on. He eyed Sharky and the ceramist standing at their post nearby, the two of them staying as alert as possible despite it being later than they would usually go to sleep… Maybe it wasn’t best to test gunpowder late at night with unsuppressed fire while the others were sleeping. A tinge of embarrassment and regret nipped at the back of his head.
It was worth it, though. Their ranged capabilities would benefit immensely from the gunpowder, most likely ensuring their survival to come… if it weren’t some small issues. It was a shame the Malkrin had such difficulties with the weapons. Not enough to make them unusable, but enough to cause annoyance with general handling. The guns were practically compact submachine guns to the giant females. Cera and Akula had a hard time reloading with their big ‘ol talons, especially for the mag-release paddles by the trigger. Not to mention the process of actually packing ammo back in the empty magazines… Furthermore, there was irritation with trying to keep the firearm in a suitable place while they worked. Slings swung around too much, and pack attachments poked their lower arms and back. Of course, none of them voiced their opinions on it. He simply noticed all the ways they squirmed when the gun swung out and poked them in the side, or how they fumbled with them while reloading.
Honestly, at this point he might just consider designing a whole new weapon system if the most basic aspects of kinetics were a bother. Something more ergonomic for them to use and store… probably with a bigger bullet that’s easier for them to handle. He’d figure it out later, after he managed to finish helping Tracy build the automated mule.
“Shar! Cera! C’mere!” he called out, his voice somewhat muffled by the frond stuck between his teeth.
The two females perked up, quickly making their way back to his ramshackle firing point. The paladin clipped her M2 onto her back as she trotted up to his side.
“Are we fin—hed for the even—g?” the maroon-colored Malkrin questioned, looking rather tired.
He packed the can of ammunition up, slapping its cover closed. “Just about. I’ve still gotta test the fifty-cal ammo for your browning, but that’s for us to deal with tomorrow.”
“Of course. Will y–u be requiring this firearm for the durat—n?”
“Luckily for you, I won’t.” He pointed a thumb in the direction of the workshop. “I’ve got another being printed right now.”
The paladin squinted. “Anot—r? For whom?”
Cera flipped through the notebook she used for communication, scribbling on it for a mere second before turning it around for the other two to see. It showed a crude outline of the turret they used during the last blood moon… How’d she know?
“I’m guessing Tracy filled you in, huh?” The technician and the ceramist were pretty close, especially whenever Tracy went to help her with drawing. He slid a few FAL magazines into a small pseudomycelium bag, glancing up at Shar. “We’re planning on putting two or three active turrets up around the modules and possibly around the beach and sphalerite cave—depending on resources, of course.”
A grin spread across Shar’s muzzle, her tail swaying. “So we sh—l be furthering our fortificat—ns? It is wise we act early before the bl—d-moon.”
The engineer continued to pack the range items away with the ceramist's assistance. “Yeah, only about ten days or so until then. We have to make the best of it. But that’s not the only reason; I’m planning on setting out sometime ‘fore the blood-moon to retrieve some data from a module further out. This time, it’ll be a longer expedition; ‘Smore than a day’s walk. We’ll be needing more than just the two of us to keep watch overnight. So yeah, we’ll need to keep home base safe while we’re out.”
She leaned forward, an inspired glint in her eye. “I underst—d. Will there be anyth—g I can do to assist the p—paration process?”
“Nothin’ specific.” He smirked, patting her on her oversized forearm for a moment. “‘Cept training and lifting stuff like you do anyway. Definitely gonna need yer strength for hauling turret materials around. Even more for the bullshit we’ll probably have to go through on the journey.”
Her restrained smile turning into something different than the grin she wore before. “I-I am at your c—mand, Harrison. I give my labor to y–u freely.”
Harrison caught Cera idly watching their conversation, a curious look gathering on her face as she observed him. He soon noticed his palm was resting atop shar’s wrist, his hand in a much different place than he last remembered leaving it. He awkwardly coughed and removed it, returning his attention to the mass of equipment he packed up. “Right, uh… Again, that’s all for the day. Cera, you’re free to check out if you want.”
The addressed female raised a brow, still eying up him and the paladin before wiping the look off her face and smiling. She bowed and gave a short wave, leaving him and Sharky to stand underneath the outdoor floodlights while Cera slunk back to the barracks. He looked back up at the tall female beside him, giving her a knowing look.
“You can head off too if you want. I know you’ll be sleeping anyway if we head back into the workshop.”
She stood up straight, an adorable mix of furrowed brows and a pout resembling offense forming on her visage. “I w—ld not fall asl…” The flushed paladin paused, clearly realizing her inaccuracy, causing Harrison’s smile to grow all the wider. She huffed and quietly continued with her excuses. “I can not leave you to the night by y—rself. What if sculking b—sts enter the castle? I should not dare to l—ve your side.”
He stared at her with lighthearted contempt. “C’mon, Shar. Wouldn’t you rather fall asleep in a comfortable bed than a metal desk? I’m gonna be helping Trace with her drones for a long while too.”
“I would prefer noth—g more than to be within arm’s r—ch of you,” she insisted. Her orange irises burned as her tail found its way around him. “Even still, the other star-s—t has left for the other castle alr—dy.”
He raised a brow, the cool skin of her limb rubbing against his palm. “Wait, Tracy left already? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“F—give me, I was busy patrolling the settlem—t. She offered a short wave to me as she left.”
If the technician was gone already and wasn’t in the workshop in the first place to need his help… why did he even need to be in there? She noticed his realization, leaning in closer. Her eyes glanced away nervously for a short moment as she appeared lost in thought before being wrangled back to match his gaze.
“Then, if there is noth—g else for you to complete with the machines, might I sugg—t a compromise to the is—e at hand?”
He raised a brow curiously.
Short clacks of the talons tapping together filled the air. “W-Well, If y–u were to join my slumber, It would satisfy your wish as w—l as my own. I will not fall asl—p atop the desk and you shall be within my p—tection. I-It would be best for your sl—p if I were there, no?
He gave her an incredulous look, the corners of his cheeks breached by a small smile. It wasn’t a great ‘compromise’ for him, but it wasn’t like he had any place to argue against it, really. He wasn’t that tired, yet there was fuck all to do in the workshop until tomorrow… so… “If it’ll get you to sleep, then fine.”
Her eyes lit up in surprise. She clearly wasn’t expecting him to go without debate. “Y-You… Yes, of c—rse. The offer was intended for both our be—fits…” The paladin gestured toward the other module with a wide arm, her thin confidence barely hiding her vibrating frills. “Sh—l… we…?”
He nodded, letting her tail rest on his shoulder like a scarf as he turned around, nudging her to follow. They strolled through the soft grass and night breeze, eased by the thought of a comfortable bed and sound sleep.
\= = = = =
A consistent click came from Kegara’s talon tapping rhythmically against her shield, the piercing sound mirroring the force of her scalding breaths. The tent was bathed in the flickering hue of flame from a centralized fire, yet the warmth bled from everywhere she looked, which was primarily the current target of her displeasure. When their excursion team returned, the Grand Paladin thought them to come back with results or news, yet they brought only an infuriating pitiful recount of a spineless worm.
Every exhale was riddled with the white-skinned female’s ire as she paced around the trembling, pink-skinned female that stood inside the Grand Paladin’s tent. The fisherwoman’s shaking breaths could barely be heard beneath the sizzling of Kegara’s unfinished meal. She had lost her appetite, and the contents she had been looking forward to were now tainted by the taste of ineptitude. A burnt smell permeated throughout the room. A waste, but no more of a waste than the pathetic trash currently fouling her tent.
The failure’s back was straight, her head was kept level, and her tail was as still as the mountain towering above the camp outside, yet nothing but inadequacy was visible.
The Grand Paladin stopped her pacing in front of the messenger, covering her burning vexation with cold, quiet intent and an edged stare. The fisherwoman swallowed heavily. “Were you at least capable of finding their sea vessel, incompetent one?”
“W-We did, Grand Paladin,” the pitiful excuse for a Malkrin quickly returned, fear and guilt bleeding through her voice. A sense of hope entered those dull eyes as they tried to salvage what was already lost. “There were footsteps we followed along the beach, b-but they were cut off abruptly by the tracks of abhorrent!”
Kegara took another step forward, brows furrowing as she bore her gaze ever deeper into the scum that stood before her, the head-height difference in stature between them further emblazening the glare. Her words grew more heated with every question, each syllable teeming with threats. “Then they perished? Was there blood? Signs of a battle?”
The pink-skinned female struggled to keep herself straight, trembling down to the talons. “T-There was no sign of s-such.”
“And you did not pursue them?” A simple question, and one spoke through a frigid, flat tone. Dignified and controlled, yet making no effort to hide the malice underneath. Her digits twitched, barely restrained.
“N-No, we f-feared the abhor—”
The fisherwoman’s speech was cut short with a choke and a flicker of movement from the white-skinned paladin. A singular hand wrung the failure’s throat and lifted the veritable waste, her grip tight enough to cull the fouled intent before it could spit more worthless drivel. Kegara’s frills shook with her burning projection. “You failed because you were *scared? Fourteen females were **frightened of footprints? You insolent failure! Your heathenous brothers and sisters are left to the whims of the mainland because of your fear! Left to be mauled and eaten alive by the abhorrent!”*
“W-We could not have—”
“SILENCE,” she commanded sharply, her voice a blade that tore through the fisherwoman’s denial. She snarled, feeling the very heartbeat within the fragile neck as her grip tightened. Shameful vocalizations and strained breaths failed to bring air to the pathetic one’s lungs. It would be quicker to silence the fool permanently, and Kegara’s pride demanded it be done. Every move within the paladin’s talons threatened to rend the very flesh beneath them, yet her claws must be stayed, for allowing blood to spill would be an equally foolish mistake. The fisherwoman was lucky; menial labor was a strained resource. Such a failure of a banished fool would be culled on the spot otherwise.
The pink-skinned female was thrown to the ground, dirt being tossed into the air as she skid to a stop. She hacked and coughed on her back, her ragged gasps irritatingly scraping the high one’s ears. Kegara’s slow exhalations poured through clenched teeth as she controlled herself. Perfection required persistence. If she wished to send the group back out for their incompetence, then she would need them to live long enough to do so. To ensure the new banished were found and brought back. To prove themselves worth her kindness.
But were there banished left to collect? The latest group was most likely reduced to bones for the repulsive creatures to gnaw on by now, and it would be but a waste of Malkrin to frivolously send more out. It was a situation wrought from mistakes and inadequacy, searing her flesh with its reflection onto her, painting her image with its wretched color. The vexation burned her from the inside as she resisted the urge to stain her tent with the failure’s red. This was much greater a failure than the fisherwoman could understand, but at least a large catch of meat had been procured. This was still a salvageable outcome.
“Bring half the food to the cooks,” the grand paladin relented with a simmering hiss, glaring down at the coughing lump of shame. “Leave the rest by the cave as always. Do not fail me with such a simple task, or you will prove my benevolence to be a mistake.”
“Of… c-course.” The fisherwoman shakily nodded before shuffling away, all but fleeing the tent to complete her duties. The failure was gone, but her stench persisted.
Kegara spat on the ground, no longer wishing to return to her meal, as disgusting as it had become. The searing exasperation that gnawed at her chest slowly fell away, leaving only the frigid caress of mortification on her frills. The lack of success would carry with it great consequences, and those would carry more in an ever-growing rockslide of punishment.
Would it impact her mission? What would happen if her settlement was incapable of providing logistics for the excavation? Would they no longer return with the relics? How would the Grand Script-keeper react? What of the high priestesses? The Grand Paladin was no fool; she knew where their disdain would lie, should she prove to be as pathetic as that fisherwoman. The blame could not be siphoned off into the tainted peasantry beneath her command. It would be put on her and her alone. She would face judgment without reprieve.
The white-skinned Makrin let out a shaky breath, steeling herself away from the agonizing worries. The solution was as clear as her faith, and just as certain. She would not allow such a mistake to occur again. More capable laborers would be sent next time, paladins without such weaknesses as fear, and success would be enforced.
According to the report, the next island that the inquisitors were approaching was one with a larger population, numbering in the thousands. It was assured that they would find many more of the blighted Malkrin to be exiled, and the traitorous filth would find their labor funneling directly to the mainland. She could perform her duties properly once she had the subordinates to do so.
Those higher on the mountain would see her accomplishments then. Surely.
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And im kind of dissappointed, i was really hyped for this movie, but it wasn't what i was expecting. (Please don't be mad if your opinion is different) I know its a kids movie, but the humor and everything really wasn't my piece of cake. i really liked the Animation though.
What i was expecting:
I was expecting the movie to be more like the Garfield Comic Strips, while keeping things fresh, i was also expecting to see more characters returning like Arlene, Nermal, Liz, Irma, Lyman, ect. I Know that Liz and Nermal are in the Movie, but you see Nermal for like 3 seconds interacting with Garfield, and Liz was also in this movie, what i found sad is that she didn't interact with Jon, to be honest i thought that she would talk to him, atleast the one line that she said was Funny.
I was expecting them to animate the very first Garfield Comic Strip as the beginning of the Movie (the one where Jon introduces him and Garfield)
The Beginning of the Movie looked and felt like the Comic Strip.
What i liked about the Movie:
I liked how when Garfield talked,moved did anything, pretty much every frame looked it was straight from the comic, there were some jokes that i enjoyed, like Garfield ''being'' as useless as a dead rat, the joke that Liz made (you also see it in the Trailer) Garfield being worried that his Father's pictures were hanged on the Board from Jinx, but when he saw that she gave a rating of 1/2 for one of this favorite restaurants, then he became more worried.
I liked how they put a reference to Jim Davis (there was a store in the movie called 'Jim's Book Store', or something similar to it) and another reference to the comic, in the movie there was a Trash Can that had the number '06-19-78' on it (that was the date when the first Garfield comic strip released), and i like how they put Bingo the Clown, on a cake and cereal box. I also liked how they made references to Jon being a Cartoonist (he was drawing two times in the movie, and his mailbox was a pen)
The Animation and Design looked really good in my opinion, Garfield, Odie, Jon, Vic, everyone looked amazing.
The Drone scene with the Food was epic, i also love how they used the freaking 'Top Gun' Theme for the Train scene.
I like the new character Vic.
What i didn't like about the Movie:
The damn sad-piano-music, it really felt overused, i personally love the Piano, it's one of my Favorite Instruments, but this movie made me hate it xD (in the movie only of course)
The Humor, it felt really awkward most of the time, i know im a teenager, and thats a kids movie. For Instance, in the Mario Movie, the Humor was perfect, not over-the-top. Characters, like the Dogs, and the villain Jinx felt awkward to watch because they were over-the-top, Jon also had his over-the-top moment at one point in the movie.
The Plot to the movie felt boring, and i was feeling bored. The movie felt more like a cartoon episode, rather then a Movie.
I liked the Drone scene, but it really came out of nowhere, just like the Milk Factory being really ''Futuristic''
Most important thing what i didn't like about the Movie!!!
I was expecting Garfield to kick Odie, in the Movie he was way too kind to him, the in the Comics.
https://preview.redd.it/1dp290ysn54d1.jpg?width=412&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=da0bd18fd3ac3820d04831420b6a0611cb9f9f8d

Hi there! Just to say spoilers for all Trek and everything is just my opinion. Let's begin!
875) Man of the People (1992)
TNG 6x3
Writer: Frank Abatemarco
Director: Winrich Kolbe
The story has some cool ideas, but the dialogue and character interactions are so staid and boring I don't enjoy the episode. There is some nice foreshadowing of what will become of Deanna when we see the Ambassador's 'mother', but Deanna's actual descent is unsatisfying and a bit cringeworthy. Marina Sirtis tries her best, but she is shackled by the subpar script. Picard does get one neat speech, though: 'You cannot explain a wantonly immoral act because you believe it is connected to some higher purpose.' But overall, deathly dull.
874) Virtuoso (2000)
VOY 6x13
Writer: Raf Green & Kenneth Biller, story by Raf Green
Director: Les Landau
Just a terrible use of the Doctor. The idea of him wanting to leave the ship for some civilisation that has great meaning for him is a good idea, since it brings up the debate over whether he will be allowed to go, like any non-holographic member of the crew would be. But the reason for him wanting to leave is so small and shallow, the whole thing comes off as ludicrous, and an insult to his character. I do enjoy some of the singing, though, and the final scene where he is cast aside by those who once hero-worshipped him is kinda sad. Still awful, though.
873) The Infinite Vulcan (1973)
TAS 1x7
Writer: Walter Koenig
Director: Hal Sutherland
Messy, rough nonsense, for the most part. The plant-based aliens are interesting, but the episode's not really about them; it's about some gigantic clone of a Eugenics Wars scientist who makes a gigantic clone of Spock. There's really no reason for them to be gigantic; there's some half-baked reasoning that they'll be an interplanetary peacekeeping force, but I don't totally buy into that. Their presence also distracts from what could have been an intriguing story about an alien race devastated by a human disease. The end product just comes off as schlocky, and not in a fun way.
872) Such Sweet Sorrow Part One (2019)
DSC 2x13
Writer: Michelle Paradise, Jenny Lumet & Alex Kurtzman
Director: Olatunde Osunsanmi
I have pretty much the same criticisms of this as with Part Two; the problems are just less prominent here. First, I hate Spock saying he'll go with Burnham, as I don't buy into the connection the writers have tried to build between this fifty-year-old character I love and this new one I'm indifferent to. Second, the Control storyline is dull and its connection to the dreadful portrayal of Section 31 makes it worse. And third, because I've connected with almost none of the Discovery crew (the only exceptions being Saru and also Jett Reno), I simply don't care about the great final problem they're facing.
Also, let's get real here: they don't need to go to the future to defeat Control. Just find Lieutenant Kirk and get him to talk it to death!
871) Wolf in the Fold (1967)
TOS 2x14
Writer: Robert Bloch
Director: Joseph Pevney
I just feel so tapped out and uninterested throughout this. There are some cool creepy shots with Scotty standing, dazed, over murdered women holding a knife, that make you wonder how in the hell he didn't do it. But a few cool shots do not a good episode make. The bulk of the material is meandering and repetitive, with Scotty continually being tested, then seemingly murdering another woman. I do actually kinda like the final sequence on the Enterprise, which is quite a large part of the episode. It's only fine however, although the reveal that the villain is Jack the Ripper is just insane enough for me to enjoy.
870) Time Squared (1989)
TNG 2x13
Writer: Maurice Hurley, story by Kurt Michael Bensmiller
Director: Joseph L Scanlan
Big yawn. Again, time travel isn't always my favourite (although it can be amazing!), and it's put to poor use here. They try to build up a mystery surrounding the future destruction of the Enterprise, but I'm never fully invested in it. It isn't a complete flop, though: seeing Picard slowly take the same steps to the ship's destruction as his future self is sort of neat. Overall, competently done; the story just didn't grab me.
869) The Child (1988)
TNG 2x1
Writer: Jaron Summers, Jon Povill & Maurice Hurley
Director: Rob Bowman
This episode could have been so much more. The ball-of-light alien that impregnates Deanna to study human childrearing obviously has benign intentions: it makes the experience as physically painless as possible for her. But the fact remains that it forcibly impregnated this woman, which is morally reprehensible to humans. This could have been a challenging story about where the line is drawn in accepting other philosophies, or having to condemn something as utterly unacceptable. It could also have served as an allegory for how women who give birth due to rape, I imagine, have extremely conflicted feelings about their children.
But instead, the episode portrays Deanna, and everybody else, as 100% OK with what's happened, and implies that a woman should be pleased to have a child even when it is born of rape. It also doesn't at all go into the moral complexity of what the alien did: how it didn't see it as wrong, but the crew should.
This episode, as the first one of TNG Season 2, does have a few nice firsts that I'll point out, though. Geordi becomes Chief Engineer, Worf gets his yellow shirt, Guinan makes her debut and has a neat subplot with Wesley, and most importantly, Riker grows his beard, the source of all his power and sexiness. We also meet Pulaski for the first time, and while I hate her here for how she mistreats Data, she will grow on me over the course of the season. Despite these important firsts, this is still a troubling episode.
868) Bound (2005)
ENT 4x17
Writer: Manny Coto
Director: Allan Kroeker
The twist that it is the Orion men who are the slaves and the women who are the slavemasters is nice, but it's a reveal we get to by slogging through a painful forty-five minutes. So much of this feels so sleazy, especially the beginning dance scene; just eye-candy for male viewers. The plot is also thin and uninteresting.
I will give kudos for Trip and T'Pol's storyline, though: it's great how their mental connection means Trip is also immune to the Orion women's pheromones, and so they get to grow closer while defeating the invaders. After they'd started to divide from each other since the Kir'Shara three-parter and Trip's departure from Enterprise, it's really satisfying to see their romance bloom again here. The scene where T'Pol asks Trip to come back and kisses him is lovely. That storyline's what saves this episode from being irredeemably bad.
867) If Memory Serves (2019)
DSC 2x8
Writer: Dan Dworkin & Jay Beattie
Director: TJ Scott
OK, so I've already beaten this drum a lot, but this episode is another example of the Spock's sister idea that I so despise. This episode unrestrainedly nails Burnham into Spock's childhood, realising my worst fears about what this part of her character would mean, as it devalues the story of Spock's early life. The episode is salvaged slightly by Captain Pike's storyline with Vena; there's one nice scene between them in his ready room. You do feel the emotional impact of his seeing her again, but it's still only one scene.
866) Coming of Age (1988)
TNG 1x18
Writer: Sandy Fries
Director: Mike Vejar
Wesley's up for selection, Picard's under inspection, and both storylines are equally bland. The process this episode puts forward for how candidates get into the Academy is ridiculous and convoluted and is happily retconned by later episodes. Picard's inspection serves as an underwhelming set-up for an underwhelming later episode, Conspiracy. So, overall, really nothing I enjoy here.
865) The Masterpiece Society (1992)
TNG 5x13
Writer: Adam Belanoff & Michael Piller, story by James Kahn & Adam Belanoff
Director: Winrich Kolbe
Another rare misstep from the later seasons of TNG. I just find this episode paralysingly boring, which is a shame considering its intriguing subject matter. A society where everyone is genetically engineered to be perfect, and absolutely necessary to that society's functioning. Very interesting. But the execution of the idea falls flat, as none of the guest cast really hit, and a lot of screentime is swallowed up by a dull Deanna romance.
864) Aquiel (1993)
TNG 6x13
Writer: Brannon Braga & Ronald D Moore, story by Jeri Taylor
Director: Cliff Bole
Constantly feels like it's got another shoe that's about to drop, and gives you a lot of potential paths that shoe could take. But when the drop finally occurs, it's rather underwhelming and out-of-left-field, although it is a decent surprise. I also don't care for the Geordi romance; just another example of a bland Trek one-episode romance.
863) Unexpected (2001)
ENT 1x4
Writer: Rick Berman & Brannon Braga
Director: Mike Vejar
An episode that tries to be intriguing, then tries to be funny, and largely fails on both counts. I appreciate that they were trying to convey how strange and otherworldly the alien ship's environment was, but the visuals and sounds used to do so ended up coming off clunky. This episode also circumnavigates the absence of a holodeck in ENT by having an alien one. This feels very cheap and forced, especially considering how early in the show it is. It's like they didn't trust the audience to enjoy the show without all the trappings of the 24th Century.
After Trip returns to Enterprise, there is some solid comedy with his pregnancy. Him acting hormonal and stuff; that's kinda funny. Connor Trinneer plays it well, for sure. The bit where he has to admit to the Klingons that he's pregnant is also funny, but overall this series of events is too long-drawn out.
862) Eye of the Beholder (1994)
TNG 7x18
Writer: Rene Echevarria, story by Brannon Braga
Director: Cliff Bole
It was all a dream! Oooooh! Yeah, this one frustrates me. I was rather enjoying the episode up until they made that reveal. The inexplicable suicide of a crewmember is weighty and intriguing, and Deanna's psychic experiences seem to add fascinating pieces to the puzzle. But then it's revealed that almost the entire episode happened inside her mind, meaning that all that stuff I enjoyed didn't happen. The resolution that what she experienced were all psychic echoes from a previous murder is cool, but I wish they'd thought of a way to actually have this episode's content actually happen. Also not a fan of Worf/Deanna, but I mean, who is?
861) The Mark of Gideon (1969)
TOS 3x16
Writer: George F Slavin & Stanley Adams
Director: Jud Taylor
The deliberate misunderstanding over the beam-down coordinates is unbelievable, as Spock would surely have noticed the discrepancy immediately. The story itself is interesting: a planet so overpopulated everyone is literally packed right in with each other. But the exploration of this idea falls flat: Kirk has another bland romance on the Enterprise replica and Spock has a very dry B-plot about navigating diplomatic vagaries. Also find the ending of the Gideons asking the Enterprise to leave, rather than discussing relocation, a little off.
860) Human Error (2001)
VOY 7x18
Writer: Brannon Braga & Andre Bormanis, story by Andre Bormanis & Kenneth Biller
Director: Allan Kroeker
When I first watched VOY on TV with my parents as a kid, I knew that Chakotay and Seven got together at some point, and I was looking forward to seeing their romance. As the seasons passed by, and nothing was ever established between them, I grew increasingly confused as to why they hadn't started their romance story yet. Then we get to this episode in the latter half of the final season, which is the only episode before the finale where anything is written for them. That is nowhere near enough build-up for their relationship, even if this episode was good, which it isn't.
I do find Seven's exploration of her human side in the holodeck interesting and actually quite sad, but it's still mostly bland, especially her interactions with the holographic Chakotay. They don't put much effort into making their relationship individual and unique to them; their interactions are all quite generic. The problem that develops with Seven's emotion-inhibiting implants is whatever, and the episode leaves you thinking: 'That's it? That's all they're doing to establish their relationship?!'
859) Saints of Imperfection (2019)
DSC 2x5
Writer: Kirsten Beyer
Director: David Barrett
The stupid black badges aside, I was quite excited to see Section 31 on my first watch of DSC after they were teased in Point of Light. Then this happened, and I discovered how the organisation would be treated for the entirety of DSC Season 2, and indeed nu-Trek as a whole.
Section 31 does not have ships, anymore than they have a base. They are also almost entirely unknown by the population of the Federation. This episode begins this portrayal of them as a public wing of Starfleet, which I have already ranted against in previous posts. I also hate the scene at the end between Pike, Leland and Admiral Cornwell. Our boy Pike at least stands up for Starfleet morals, as a Starfleet officer should, but he's shut down by Cornwell, who defends Section 31 as a necessary part of the Federation's existence.
This fundamentally undermines the optimistic future of Trek, as it presents the Federation as an organisation that permits Obsidian Order-type activities, like murders and abductions, to further its interests. When in reality Section 31 is a secret, rogue organisation of Federation citizens who violate everything the Federation stands for, and are presented as such to the audience. This dreadful portrayal is a problem throughout the entire season, but it's strongly featured here, which is why this episode is down so low.
I will say that the main story of Discovery entering the mycelial network is an interesting sci-fi concept, and there's a classic Trek story about making sure not to damage the life-forms who we discover in this episode live in the network. The finding of the presumed-dead Doctor Culber is OK too.
858) The Ambergris Element (1973)
TAS 1x13
Writer: Margaret Armen
Director: Hal Sutherland
One thing I appreciate TAS for is the fact that it really used the fact that it's animated. It told stories that visually couldn't have been done in live-action at the time. That being said, I wish the stories themselves were better. This feels like the writer thought 'Let's do an episode underwater', and never fleshed it out beyond that original idea. The plot is predictable, the guest characters' conflict thin, and I don't like the design of the big seamonster. Kirk and Spock's transformation is neat, though.
857) Persistence of Vision (1995)
VOY 2x8
Writer: Jeri Taylor
Director: James L Conway
Illusion storylines aren't generally my favourite thing either, and this is a weak depiction of that story type. It all feels weird and ethereal, a vibe I like, but without any substance to make me invested in the episode. Has a solid use of Kes to defeat the alien in the end, but beyond that I think this is an unimpressive outing. I'll also take this opportunity to vent that we never got a conclusion to Janeway's governess holodeck program, because I was genuinely curious about that story.
856) The Fight (1999)
VOY 5x19
Writer: Joe Menosky, story by Michael Taylor
Director: Winrich Kolbe
This is a good example of the VOY writers having no clue what to do with Chakotay. They often give him episodes that could happen to any character: here they give him a sudden interest in boxing, that we've never seen from him before. Just feels so generic, and not individual to his character.
The episode itself is extremely underwhelming. I do like some of the imagery and directorial choices in Chakotay's boxing visions, but that's about it: the actual story, of Chakotay going mad whilst trying to communicate with these otherworldly aliens, is serviceable but executed unimpressively. Not for me.
855) Manhunt (1989)
TNG 2x19
Writer: Tracy Torme
Director: Rob Bowman
The worst TNG Lwaxana episode, by far. There's some enjoyable comedy when Picard is trapped alone with Lwaxana, who insists the Captain's attracted to her, but the episode soon meanders into nothingness. Picard hides in the holodeck, where nothing happens, then Riker hides, and nothing continues to happen, then Lwaxana comes, there's some comedy, and the episode ends with her being embarrassed by choosing a holographic man as her mate. You keep thinking some other shoe is going to have to drop, but the episode just whittles away its time on the holodeck. Truly pointless.
854) Prodigal Daughter (1999)
DS9 7x11
Writer: David Weddle & Bradley Thompson
Director: Victor Lobl
This feels like an episode of Murder, She Wrote, and not even a good one. It's a good decision to have Ezri return to her family so we can get some background on the new character, but her family's business politics are so dull and dry, as are their emotional conflicts. The murder doesn't do anything to pull me further into the episode, and the resolution is a decent twist, but the emotional impact is limited. Just generic, soap operatic family drama.
853) Alter Ego (1997)
VOY 3x14
Writer: Joe Menosky
Director: Robert Picardo
Ah, they had to give Robert Picardo a hologram episode for his directorial debut, didn't they? That's cool. Unfortunately, the episode is not cool. There is an interesting shift from it being a Harry episode to it becoming a Tuvok episode (we've never really seen that before in any other Trek episode), but the story remains equally unintriguing for both of them. The revelation that the holographic woman Harry's infatuated with, and who develops feelings for Tuvok, is actually a lonely woman, sparks zero emotion in me.
852) Heroes and Demons (1995)
VOY 1x11
Writer: Naren Shankar
Director: Les Landau
Ah, the holodeck episode formula. Characters go inside a holodeck, something goes wrong and the safety protocols are switched off or something, and they have to struggle out of whatever setting they've been flung into. These episodes can be good, even great, but this is not one of those times.
I will say that it's a logical early use for the Doctor, but I feel his story falls flat during the course of the episode. Robert Picardo is sublimely sarcastic and put-upon, as always, but the writing doesn't serve him very well here. There's little to no emotional weight from his interactions with the Beowulf characters, and the confrontations with 'Grendel' are bland. Hang in there, Doc, you've got some great episodes in your future.
851) Fascination (1994)
DS9 3x10
Writer: Philip LaZebnik, story by Ira Steven Behr & James Crocker
Director: Avery Brooks
Yeah, the DS9 Lawxana Troi episodes... they are really not it. As a teen, I actually kinda enjoyed this one, but I find it tiresome and tedious now. It's sort of fun to see all the characters going after weird partners (Jadzia after Sisko, Quark after Keiko, Kira and Julian after each other - the actors of course were briefly married in real life). However, it's only fun up to a point, and mostly makes me bury my head in my hands in disinterest.
I'm also really cross that this was the penultimate appearance of Vedek Bareil, one of DS9's superb recurring characters. With his death coming up in a few episodes, do they give us a dignified penultimate outing for the character? No, they have him make a fool of himself chasing after Jadzia. Just really frustrating to see. Lwaxana also plays little role in the episode; her lack of presence is again surprising given how dominant of a personality she is.
Well, that's it for today. I swear I will get more positive in time; I'm just moving through a lot of the bad episodes right now. We're not even out of my bottom 100 yet, after all. Thank you very much for reading, and Live Long and Prosper!

PART ONE THOUSAND AND SEVENTEEN
[Previous Chapter] [The Beginning] [Patreon+2]
Sunday
Dad and I arrived back in the hallway outside the living apartment, and without missing a beat, I separated myself from Dad and went inside. Dad was half a step behind me, but I reached the living room first since he had shoes to kick off, and I didn’t.
I’d forgotten Levi and young Maddy were staying over, and when I saw them on the sofa watching cartoons, I grinned at them both. “Hey, sweetie. Where’s my hug?” I asked, going down on one knee with my arms open wide.
“Awww, I don’t know, honeybun,” Levi cajoled, even as his daughter leapt to her feet and ran to give me a proper hug. “The boot makes it difficult to get up.”
“Don’t quit your day job,” I jeered over Maddy’s shoulder, then lifted her up and carried her back to her father.
“All day and night job,” Levi corrected because he could be that annoying.
And then Dad walked in, sucking all social niceties out of the room. I could understand Levi and Maddy’s apprehension. Dad was marginally taller than Boyd, almost as wide, and intimidation came second nature to him. I had to do something to break the ice. “Levi, did you meet my dad yesterday at the party?”
At that, Levi seemed to snap out of it and struggled to his feet. “Sir,” he said, hobbling forward with his hand outstretched. “I wanted to thank you for letting us stay over last night…”
Dad accepted the handshake, for which I was grateful. He was just as likely to look at it like Levi had leprosy. “It wasn’t my decision. That end of the apartment is Robbie’s domain.”
“That may be true, but you’re still the overall owner, and I prefer to have your approval when it comes to letting my daughter stay the night at times when her uncle and I are pulled into work together. It shouldn’t happen often. She’s three-and-a-half, and it’s only happened once in her lifetime…”
“What did you do then?” I asked, unable to help myself.
“Shar—Charlie took her for the night. Luckily, it was a two-in-the-morning call-out, and she was home. I don’t think she was much good to her boss the following day, though.”
“Sam’s mother is pregnant,” Dad declared, and inwardly, I winced, having a fair idea of what was coming next.
“I heard that. Congratulations, Mister Arnav.”
“Thank you. My point is…”
“Finish that sentence in any other way than ‘it’s not a problem’, and you’re going to be finding out how comfortable the couch is for a week, boo,” Mom said from the hallway leading to our side of the apartment.
She could move like a ghost when she wanted to, and none of us had heard her come in.
Dad turned to her. “Ivy…”
Mom walked through the living room, pushing Dad back to stand before Levi. “Maddy is welcome here anytime you need a babysitter, Levi.” She made the statement sound so final; I was surprised when she turned back to Dad and said, “Isn’t that right, Llyr?” Her eyebrow arched sharply, daring him to contradict her.
That was not what Dad wanted, and a blind man with a broken cane could’ve seen that. I had to wonder how his precious family mantra would handle this without losing face.
I wasn’t kept waiting long.
“Levi, I have no problem with your daughter visiting her aunt and uncle as often or for as long as you need. However, Ivy’s health is precious to me, and should anything happen to her or the three babies she’s carrying as a result of Maddy not doing as she’s told, what happens next will be on you. You know your child better than I do. If she is asked to stay out of a space, is she likely to do it, or be curious enough to think that the mandate is merely a suggestion to be ignored?”
I saw Levi take stock of the words and hear the enormity of the threat interlaced with them. “I respect your forthrightness,” he began. “And Maddy’s a good girl. She'll stay away if she’s told to stay away from something. But accidents happen all the time, Mister Arnav, and I don’t appreciate the rest of what you’re insinuating.”
“Sometimes, children think things are funny without understanding the dangers involved,” Mom said, bulldozing her way into the conversation as only she could. “Some are more prone to being more hands-on than others. Llyr doesn’t know Maddy, and for his sake, I’m going to assume he was more concerned with Maddy possibly being the type of child who thinks playing bumper cars with ‘the fat lady’ is funny.”
Levi’s expression was a blend of disbelief and denial. “Oh, she’d never do that. If anything, she’d curl up beside you and read stories to your stomach. She knows what a pregnancy is.”
Since the Titans had already squared off, I went down the other side of the coffee table and slid into the seat beside Maddy. “Did you have a good sleep?” I asked, trying to distract her from the most civilised argument in history.
“I nearly peed on Daddy,” she said.
I was glad I hadn’t been drinking, for the snort alone almost choked me.
Which, of course, had all three adults turning towards me. I raised my hand and shook my head, hoping they’d understand I hadn’t laughed at them. “I’m glad you didn’t,” I said once they started talking amongst themselves again. “I don’t think Daddy would’ve had anything else to get changed into.”
“Unca Lucas’s gettin’ stuff f’r us.”
That answered a question I didn’t know to ask. “How come you nearly peed on Daddy anyway?”
“I’s stuck. Door stuck.”
I strongly doubted if any of the doors in the apartment would ever be stuck. Locked, sure, but…. Oh! “Daddy stopped you from getting out last night, didn’t he?”
Maddy made an agreeable humming noise.
The apartment’s front door opened, and from where I was sitting, I saw Lucas struggle through the opening with his arms full of bags. “Hey, I’m home,” he called out, just like he always did.
“UNCA LUCAS!” Maddy squealed and scrambled over me to run down the length of the coffee table, avoiding her father and my parents because she was a smart little kid.
Lucas had just enough time to dump the bags and pretend to oomph as she slammed into him, and then he lifted her off the ground.
“That’s exactly what I’m talking about,” Dad insisted, gesturing towards them. “She can’t do that to Ivy right now.”
“And she won’t,” Levi shot back. “Look, it’s okay if you don’t want her here…”
“Wait, what?” Lucas demanded, catching up really quickly. He glanced at me, and after I rolled my hands and shook my head in a ‘don’t look at me’ gesture, he decided to weigh in. “Levi and Austin are both first responders, and if and when it happens that they both get called in together, every minute wasted costs more lives. Robbie, Charlie, Boyd, and I have all said she can stay with us if necessary, even if that means putting up a dividing door in the hallway on our side to keep her away from Miss W. It’s what family does.”
“Just try to separate us,” Mom growled, then turned on Dad. “Maddy is adorable, and you ought to be ashamed of yourself, picking on a defenceless child.”
“I’m not going to sugarcoat my priorities, Ivy. I’ve already said I don’t mind if she stays.”
Lucas looked from one to the next in confusion. “Then what’s the problem?”
“Mister Arnav said that right on the heels of threatening Maddy,” his brother answered.
I saw the argument was about to ramp up again, so I jumped up and went over to Lucas, working my hands around his arm to take Maddy from him. “I’m just going to take Maddy into my office…” I said, determined to remove her from the scene.
Lucas twisted so that his back was to the wall with the TV. “In one of those bags are some toys and games for Maddy.”
“Luke!” Levi reprimanded, even as Maddy heard the magic words and squealed, shimmying to lunge from her uncle to me.
“Relax, bro. Board games and books and the like. Not all of us are millionaires.”
With Maddy in my hands, I put her down in the alcove. And like all kids everywhere, she was off like a bloodhound searching through the bags, discarding anything that didn’t meet the criteria of ‘fun’. She held up three stuffed bags, and even I saw the edges of the board games sticking out.
“Okay,” I said, sliding the bigger two into my hand. Maddy clung to the soft, puffy bag, and I thought I saw toy fur poking out the top. Boardgames and books, my ass, I mused to myself.
We went past the adults, but as I reached the office, I turned and asked Maddy, “Should we see if Geraldine wants to play?”
“Who dat?” she asked in return.
“My girlfriend. Would you like to meet her?”
Maddy shook her head shyly.
“Awwww, come on. She loves to play board games.” I had no idea if Gerry even liked that sort of thing or not, but I’d left her alone too long already and at the very least, I was going to check on her and let her know I was back.
We reached my bedroom door with a little more coaxing, and I opened it without knocking. Gerry was sitting in the reading nook, her favourite place to be when she was alone, and I saw her curled up around her tablet reading. Her head came up when I opened the door, and her smile was wide. “You’re home,” she said, dropping the tablet onto the small table used for it and snacks. She came over and hugged me, then pulled back when she saw Maddy.
“Well, hello,” she said with a welcoming smile as she squatted down to be at Maddy’s height. “You must be Maddy, right?”
I had no idea how she knew who Maddy was, but I was ever so grateful for it since it drew Maddy out of her shell. “I’m gonna be a vet,” she declared like it was a done deal. “Like set, but wif a v.”
Gerry looked up at me, and I snickered. “Mason,” I whispered, for who else in the household could’ve set her on that path?
“And you’re going to be a great vet,” she agreed. “How come you’re down here with us?” She may have posed the question at Maddy and was looking directly at her, but I knew the question was more for me, so I answered instead.
“Mom, Dad, Levi, and Lucas are getting into it in the living room. I figured it was better that she’s not around to hear it.” I still planned to leave the door slightly ajar so Levi could find us when he was ready.
My girl, whom I already loved more than anything, smiled and never took her eyes off Maddy. “Well then, we need space to play. Do you want to help me make the bed? Cause it’s softer up there than down on the floor.”
The bed really should've been made before we went out, but we’d left in such a rush that I hadn’t thought about it. Gerry clapped her hands together for Maddy, who went straight to her. “Here,” she said, lifting Maddy up. “You help me on this side since this is the girls’ side, and Sam can do his side ’cause that’s the boys’ side, okay?”
It was crap, but I got the gist. As I grabbed the covers and pulled them up from my side, she had Maddy hold them from hers and between the three of us, they were straightened out in no time. “Okay, so what are we going to do first?”
Maddy squirmed out of Gerry’s arms and raced back to the bags, upending them on the carpeted floor.
“Oh, my goodness,” Gerry gasped, picking up the Candyland box. “I used to play this with my grandmother when I was a little girl.” She brought it to the bed and opened the box, oohing and ahhing over all the familiar characters.
I was lucky to have Gerry with us, for the bright colours and over-the-top cartoon smiles on all the characters weren’t doing anything for me. “Oh, this is different,” she said, lifting the sweet-shaped spinner out of the box. “My set only had cards to draw from.”
Given that the set-up consisted of a board, a spinner, and tokens, there wasn’t a whole lot to it.
Gerry suddenly sat back and drummed her cheek, humming loudly in mock concentration. She then picked up the four plastic tokens by the bases and turned them towards Maddy. “Which one do you think looks the most like Sam?”
Maddy pulled a near-perfect replica pose, but no matter which one they picked, they were all awful. The choice was between a happy square marshmallow, a laughing jelly blob with a bow on top, a smiling ice cream cone where the ice cream was swirled upwards to resemble hair and a gingerbread girl who looked like she was trying to sing.
Kill me now.
* * *
((All comments welcome. Good or bad, I’d love to hear your thoughts 🥰🤗))
I made a family tree/diagram of the Mystallian family that can be found here
For more of my work, including WPs: Angel466 or an index of previous WPS here.
FULL INDEX OF BOB THE HOBO TO DATE CAN BE FOUND HERE!!

I’m 35m I’ve been with my wife now going on 9 years. I spent most of my life dating the wrong woman. Long story short just not good people. One was emotionally abusive. Anyway the girl I was with before my current wife was great. The only problem was I didn’t like being around her family. It was really hard for me being around them, especially on holiday stuff. It also didn’t help I was a hardcore introvert. I really liked her mom though she was a very nice woman even after we broke up she would check on me from time to time.
I didn’t realize it at the time and this sounds cheesy but she was the second love you get before you find your person. Almost right but not quit there. We both lived in the Midwest she ended up moving down south to finish school. I was a year ahead of her and out working. I thought she was the one so when she was down there for an about 6 months I decided to go down with her. It’s funny people always say in certain moments they just know. As soon as I got down there, I remember laying in bed that night staring at the ceiling and thinking “this isn’t right, this isn’t where I belong” so I basically had a 3 week vacation until I called it and went back home.
It made me sad I still remember how I felt it wasn’t her honestly I just didn’t want to be away from family and the things I loved. Also I was 24 but I wasn’t an adult. I was still figuring out life how to be emotionally mature. But the thing I really was grateful for was at least being emotionally mature enough to let my gf at the time finish school have fun not missing out on those experiences and also realizing I wouldn’t be a good partner because I wasn’t ready to fully grow up or know how to at that point.
After we split and I moved home, it was rough I missed her a lot we had a few conversations where she wanted to get back together. I thought about it i genuinely missed her. Which was weird when I later found out that she was cheating on me when I moved down with her. This person would later move on to be her future husband. She had visited our home once in awhile (the state) she would try and reach out. One time she asked for places to go/visit with her husband while they were in town. I told her wasn’t rude or anything at that point I was in a healthy relationship and had grown as a person with my now wife.
Eventually I found out through Facebook they made it about 2 years and got a divorce. At first I felt relief after finding out she cheated and who knows who else she was messing with. But that feeling lasted about 5 seconds. Then I felt bad/sad for her. I don’t know the story but she’s already got a new guy. Hopefully this works out for her, truly.

I did this questionnaire some while ago and i didn't submit it anywhere. Feels like wasted effort so i thought why not post it here. I hope it helps or at least contains some useful information.
Thanks already to the crazy person who has the patience to read at least half of it😅
Te Section
Te-A. What would you consider to be productive work? How would you measure this? What are some factors that may affect someone or something’s efficiency? Provide some examples.
Productive work is if you are fast and good in executing the task at hand. I would measure this by giving a person a task and compare how fast, comprehensive, and accurate this person completed the task compared to others. Factors which could influence efficiency are sleep, personality, mental health, or other outside factors like distraction...
Te-B. Think of a time where you needed to complete a difficult task. How did you approach managing the workflow? Why? How can you tell apart logical and illogical workflows or methods of action?
I managed the workflow by preparing myself with nutrition water and then I came up with a tactic, for example my exams tactic was skipping every question I did not have an approach for after about one minute. That way I got through all the easy tasks first and then I had enough time to go back to the trickier ones. I can tell a logical and illogical apart from each other by looking at the outcome and observing which workflow arrived at a better result or faster.
Te-C. How can someone make a set of rules or instructions easy to follow? When people aren’t properly following directions or procedures, how do you correct them? When should you?
First of all, simple language and also try to create a rule that makes sense and therefore can be accepted by people. In the best case you set a goal you want the people to arrive at and make it attractive or rewarding and then you convey that you will arrive at that reward by following the rules. If people aren’t following the rules I will tell them straight up, as long as I also see the meaning and logic behind the rule, and then I will explain to them why this rule is important. I think you should correct people if their rule breaking affects someone or something for example the efficiency or the teamwork.
Te-D. What would you consider a normal level of activity? Is it always necessary to maintain this? Why or why not? How can you tell if someone is overexerting or under exerting themselves?
I think different people have different levels of activity. No, it is not necessary to maintain this normal level at all times, but it can of course come with consequences especially if we are talking academic or workplace performance. I think I notice when people are overexerting through them acting stressed, tiered or maybe a bit obsessed. If someone is under exerting, I notice that through them showing signs of boredom, no enthusiasm or interest in the task.
Te-E. Think of an activity you’re interested in which requires certain physical or mechanical skills. How would you differentiate a good and bad technique? What makes these techniques effective or ineffective? How aware of you of your own performance?
I would differentiate a good or bad technique by again checking how efficient this person arrives at the wished outcome. I would differentiate between effective and ineffective technique by trying and finding out which on is the fastest and most accurate. I think I’m pretty aware of my performance and always criticize myself, reflecting on what I should’ve done better.
Fe Section
Fe-A. To what extent does someone’s emotional state affect a person’s being? How does your emotional state affect your everyday life? When does your true emotional state differ from what you express?
Emotions can affect a person’s being drastically imo. I someone feels anxious or depressed that can have serious consequences on that person’s life. My emotional state affects my everyday life in form of motivation and in general enthusiasm. My true emotional state differs from what I express if I don’t want people to know what I feel.
Fe-B. How important is it for someone to be inspired and excited about what they’re doing? Why? How can people actively inspire others?
Very important, it is a mayor drive in productivity, and it gives you meaning. People can actively inspire others, by doing and being good at what these people find desirable.
Fe-C. What role do negative emotions, including anger, play in people’s lives? What causes them? Are they intrinsically valuable? Why or why not? What can be learned from negative emotions?
Negative emotions can literally destroy people’s life or lead them into even deeper bad emotions. Bad emotions can be caused by having no drive or goal in life or it can be caused by having no belonging or community you are accepted by, but there are a dozen different reasons and people can also be affected by different things. Yes I think bad emotions are intrinsically valuable, because we can learn from them and about ourself, how they are triggered and why we feel them.
Fe-D. In your view, what does it mean to be calm? How can someone reduce the amount of emotionality happening in others around them? When would it be appropriate to adjust this?
It means to react thoughtfully and really thinking about the situation and its different perspectives before deciding for or against something. If someone want’s to reduce the amount of emotionality in others around them, I think you should act confident, reassuring but still realistic. I think it is appropriate in many situations, especially in tense situations where people are nervous or exited.
Fe-E. How can you tell how someone is feeling? Describe some signs to look for. What are some giveaways that someone’s internal state is different from what they’re expressing on the outside?
Face expression and body posture are a big giveaway, when trying to tell how someone feels. You can for example check if someone is looking behind him or around a lot, then he is probably nervous. Some giveaways that someone’s internal state is different from what they’re expressing on the outside are a difference in tone of voice or just agreeing with you and then staying silent without really saying how they feel about the situation.
Se Section
Se-A. To what extent does an individual’s appearance and external presentation affect them? How aware are you of the way you come off? Should people always consider how they look? Why or why not?
An individual’s appearance can affect them in many ways, but especially in how they are perceived by others. I think I’m pretty aware of the way I appear most of the time except for when I’m really glad or intoxicated, then I do not really care that much. I do think people should consider how they look, because first impression is very important and when you are aware of how you appear you can influence how people will remember you.
Se-B. Describe your view on money. What can it do for someone, and how does access to it affect people? What are your thoughts on riskier approaches to attaining it, such as risky investments or criminal activity?
I think money is important and it plays a big role in what opportunities you have. Access to money can affect people differently, some might get arrogant, but others might be generous and will try to help and share with those without access. I think a risky investment is your choice and if you have thought about it carefully assessing all the risks and you still think you want to go for it then do it. Criminal activity on the other hand I find mostly stupid or selfish.
Se-C. What would you consider your short and long term material goals? How do they compare to the goals of others? How can you tell if someone is striving for the right goals?
My short term goals are for example making my bed or packing my stuff and my long term goals are creating a business or developing an app. I feel like my goals compared to the goals of others are a bit more ambitious, but I think that really depends on what environment you are in. I can’t really tell if someone is striving for the right goals since a goal is something really personal and could feel wrong for me but right for them.
Se-D. What makes a person or organization look “put-together”? Are these people and groups more able to exert their will over others? Why or why not? What makes a person good at organizing and directing the will of themselves and others?
People striving for a goal look more put-together. Yes, I think so since a common goal makes them work together and the majority with the most power are able to exert their will over others. A person good at organizing and directing the will of themselves and others knows how
to charm people and find common ground with them. He also knows how to convince peolpe of his idea.
Se-E. One famous English adage is that “If there is a will, there is a way.” Do you agree? Why or why not? To what extent an individual’s will affect their ability to accomplish their goals?
I do agree that our motivation very much influences if we accomplish our goal or not, but there are also factors you can’t influence as much, for example height or intelligence.
Ne Section Ne-A. What would you consider to be the essence – or meaning – of existence? Should life’s
meaning be personal or collectively shared by humanity? Why?
I think the meaning of existing is that you are exploring, understanding, enjoying, and helping. I don’t think it should be shared collectively and imo you must find you own meaning, to really enjoy and fully understand it.
Ne-B. What makes someone have potential? What makes an individual more capable at something than others? When is it important to consider these capabilities? Can a person be truly hopeless? Why or why not?
Potential for me is what you were given and didn’t work for to get. So your genes and also what situation you were born into. An individual can be more capable at something than others because of several reasons, for example being tall as a basketball player or being intelligent as a theoretical physicist, but it can also have personality reasons like hard working, social or agreeable. I think it is almost always important to consider these capabilities, but I think that you shouldn’t just give up and that hard work can make up for lack of inherent abilities. I don’t think a person can be truly hopeless, but oftentimes these people need someone who gives them the opportunity to change or opens their eyes to other possibilities, and that can take time.
Ne-C. What must an individual understand to physically and spiritually develop themselves? Is it more important to recognize the flaws or the strengths that people are given? Why?
You must understand that it takes time and effort. If it is challenging to go in this direction then it is probably the right direction. I think it is more important to look at the strengths of a person. Don’t make a fish climb a tree. You will have to find the right thing something you good at, but still challenges and motivates you.
Ne-D. How would you determine how good an idea is? Do these ideas need to be realistic to be worthwhile? How would you differentiate a promising opportunity from a dead end?
I think the definition of a good idea can be broad. Some ideas might not work in reality, but can still be inspirating as a story or art work. I would differentiate a promising opportunity
from a dead end, by thinking about the possibilities I get if I take the one or the other. The one with more possibilities to learn is probably the one I’ll take.
Ne-E. What does it mean for someone to understand the “essence” of something? When should someone prioritize understanding the core characteristics of a phenomenon? Think of a topic or field of interest you are knowledgeable in. What do you think lies at the essence of it? What does this suggest about the way people should approach it?
It means to understand the underlying idea behind a broader concept. I think understanding the core characteristics of a phenomenon can be very helpful when you want to learn about it and apply it in different ways. Often times it is easier to understand the basic idea before you get into all the technical details. Example, at the essence of art there is to deliver a message. This suggest that people who want to approach art should think about what do I want to tell the world and how can I deliver that message through my piece of art.
Ti Section
Ti-A. What would you understand as an individual’s basic needs? Are these the same for everyone? To what extent do people rely on others to get their needs met? At what points does this become overreliance or underreliance?
An individual’s basic needs are food and community. Yes, these are the same for everyone, although some might need different amounts. Others rely very much on others to get their needs met, alone the food we are dependent on is produced and marketed by thousands of different people. We have always been dependent on others and only very few people are truly autonomous today.
Ti-B. How do people gain leverage, power, and respect from others? Is it sometimes necessary to use threats, fear, and punishment to accomplish this? Why or why not?
They can gain power and respect from others through having extraordinary abilities (intelligence, empathy, talking...), taking initiative or having common values and taking the lead. You can also use less ethical methods like manipulation. No, I don’t think it is necessary to use threats, fear, and punishment to gain respect, because you can also get respect by doing something good for someone else or advising them when they have struggle taking a decision.
Ti-C. One commonly used idiom is that “Everything has its place.” What does this mean to you? How do things being “in their place” contribute to orderliness? Do you agree with the idiom? Why or why not?
To me this means that everything has a meaning and place. Orderliness is quite literally having things in their place. I do agree with the idiom when it comes to people, because I think that everyone has a place in this world, you just must find the place where you fit in. Maybe there are people who truly don’t belong anywhere.
Ti-D. What makes hierarchies work? When are they appropriate to use, and what do they provide to people? Should they always strive for equality and justice? Why or why not?
Hierarchies can work for different reasons. Some work because of fear of the powerful others work because of trust into a selected minority like politicians. You can also have a common set of beliefs and leverage those who support and advocate for these beliefs into a higher ranked group. Hierarchies can provide a sense of leadership and direction and they can also provide people with security by enforcing a set of rules the general population agrees with. They can of course also be bad and result in tyranny. Generally I think that they should always strive for equal opportunity, rights and status, but we shouldn’t see everyone as equal. Some people need more help than others and some need to be challenged more. I think especially in education thinking of everyone as equal would be a very big mistake.
Ti-E. What does it mean for something to be logical? Is this the norm? Provide an example of something logical and illogical, and compare what makes the first logical and the second not.
If something is logical it is also consistent, coherent, valid, rational and systematic. Yes, this should be the norm since logic is a universal principle and basically the language for explaining what is true or false. Logical:
Premise 1: All humans are mortal. Premise 2: Socrates is a human. Conclusion: Therefore, Socrates is mortal. Illogical:
Premise 1: All cats have tails. Premise 2: Some animals have tails. Conclusion: Therefore, all animals are cats.
The first one is logical, because it is based on the two true premises and makes rational conclusion based on the facts given. The second one is not logical, because it assumes that all animals are cats just because some animals have tails and cats happen to have those to.
Fi Section
Fi-A. What does it mean to be emotionally close to or distant from someone? In what ways can you adjust your “emotional distance” to someone else? For what reasons would you decide to do this?
To be emotionally close to someone means for me to know the person, what they value, what makes them sad and what they like. Distant would be the opposite. You can decide to distant yourself from a person through not talking to them anymore, then you will not exchange values and opinions with each other, so you don’t know as much about the person. Some people decide to do this, because they do discover that they don’t like the person as much as they thought they would, for whatever reason and the decide to distance themselves.
Fi-B. Share some thoughts on how you view love and desire. What makes a person desirable? Is this the norm? Are some people more deserving of these than others? Why or why not?
For me a person is desirable if I can talk to the person, and we can openly share our opinions and discuss why or why not we think the other person is wrong. Ideally this person is also intelligent, open, outgoing, and confident. No, this is not the norm, every person has different priority’s and traits which they find desirable. I do think that some people are more deserving of love than others and their actions and how they treat others. I think that those who treat others kindly are more deserving of kindness than those not treating others with kindness.
Fi-C. Describe what morality means to you. What does it mean for something or someone to be good or bad? What does it take for something bad to become good? Are some things truly irredeemable? Why or why not?
Morality to me is a set of rules one creates and tries to follow. These rules can be thought of by others (the state, church...) or by yourself. If someone is good or bad varies depending on what moral code you follow. If something or someone bad wants to become good then it has to follow the moral code and take the punishment for it’s wrong doings. If somethings truly are irredeemable again depends on what set of rules you follow, personally I think it really depends on the specific scenario, but killing can be irredeemable under some circumstances.
Fi-D. How are people shaped by their relationships with their friends and family? How do these differ from romantic ones? Are non-romantic relationships more important than romantic ones? Why or why not?
People are shaped by their family and friends in various ways, they often share common values or adopt the values of these people and share similar experience. Romantic relationships differ from these, because we choose them, and we choose them from different criteria. For example most people choose someone they are attracted to both personality wise and sexually/physically. Personally I think both are very important, romantic can really shape a very deep bond, but family will always stay and you can’t choose it and for me personally I think that family is my biggest priority.
Fi-E. What can establishing new relationships with people do for someone? Is making new contacts with others as important as deepening the ones people already have? Why or why not?
It can give you new experiences and perspectives. I think that making new friendships is not as important as deepening the ones you already have since you already selected these people deepening a bond will give you someone for life you always can trust and I think it is really important to have someone you can trust.
Si Section
Si-A. One of the key themes in the bestselling book Atomic Habits is that what people have in their surrounding environment is the greatest subconscious driver of how they live their life. Do you agree? Why or why not? How can changing the environment around someone impact the way they live their life?
I do agree to some extend that our environment has a big influence on us, but since we shape our environment with our thoughts and ideas, for example what our room or work evironment
looks like, I think that our mind has a big influence on that. Changing the envorinment can influence us for example in learning. If I want to learn to play piano and my piano is in the second floor and my room in the first floor I will have to make an effort to get to play, but if I place the piano directly in my room I will have less effort to start playing and therefor practice more often.
Si-B. How should people approach managing their health and well-being? How does this compare to the way you approach your own? When should people be taking their health and well-being into account? Why?
They should inform themselves about how they should shape their diet and they should practice some kind of activity or sport, like running, biking. They should also take time for their hobbies and themselves to self-reflect. This is about how I manage my own health and well- being, my diet could be a bit healthier, but my active nature allows me to eat more unhealthy stuff, which is a habit I want to get rid of. People should always take their health and well- being into account, because it is tied to so many things like mental stability and also performance.
Si-C. Think about the way sensations, both good and bad, shape the way people live and experience their lives. How important are experiencing good sensations in one’s life? Is there a limit to how much one should chase these? What role do negative sensations play in our lives?
I think that good sensations aren’t super important, but they definitely add flavor to your life and personally I really like experiencing different physical activities and sensations. Yes, I think ther is definetly a limit to when people should stop a certain sensation, and it is called addiction. When it gets to a point where you disregard your imp
Si-D. Choose one of the following: art, clothing, photography, graphic design. What makes something well-designed in that area? How do the individual components work together to generate the experience?
Something well designed in art is not only aesthetic, but also has a story or a message it wants to tell. The art is the carrier of the message, but it still very important to deliver the message in a powerful way.
Si-E. Describe what your living & working environments are like. How do they affect you? Would other people be similarly affected in the same environment? Why or why not? What changes could you make to improve it? How would these be beneficial?
Ni Section
Ni-A. How do people’s relationship to the past, present, and future influence the way they currently live their lives? To what extent does this affect them? How does this influence your own life?
They influence them to the point where they control some people. It really depends how you look at the different dimensions. Some people are super pessimistic about the future and therefore don even try to do anything about it since they already see everything doomed. These people are highly influenced by their outlook on the future. People with a positive outlook might see the future as a playground with endless opportunities and potential. The past can influence us if we look back too much. For example, a person who always dwells on past experiences might miss many opportunities. On the other hand a person looking back at their mistakes once in a while might gain a lot of insights and is better prepared for future situations. A person living to much in the present will forget what consequences his actions might have in the future, while a person not enough in the present might miss a lot of opportunities.
I would say that our outlook on these three dimensions can control our life or make us smarter more efficient and better. My own life is also affected by these. I am a person who likes making plan and being prepared, but I also like to welcome the futures different paths and possibilities. Sometimes I can get a bit too stuck up in past and future and miss out on opportunities in the here and now. I’m slowly getting better at taking opportunities as they come, but it is still way nicer to be prepared.
Ni-B. What does it mean for a person to be at a certain “phase” of their life? What puts people into the phases they’re currently in? How does this affect the way people navigate their lives?
It means that they arrived at a state where they go through a specific environment (both physically and psychological) for a certain period of time. They can be put into to a phase through a event which changes their live to some degree, for example changing school or learning about a new topic. This affects people and how they navigate their life, because they change and have to learn every time they enter a new phase. If I for example, go to a new country I will automatically adopt and learn the way the behave in this country and that will influence how I make decisions and act.
Ni-C. How do you anticipate events unfolding? How can you observe them unfolding in your environment? How do you adjust yourself towards the way things are developing? Provide some examples.
There are always some details or hints which I connect in a logical way to derive what could likely happen next. These hints can be body language, facial expression, or simply visual things, like a wet floor and a person running. It can also be a verbal hint or my memory reminding me that I have been in a similar situation before. I can observe them unfolding by simply watching. I adjust myself to the way things are developing in the way were I can gain the most or run the least risk. For example if I see people riding their bike very unstable and I want to overtake, I will immediately adjust my overtake and try to have as much distance to the person as possible and a way out if this person happens to fall or make a sudden turn.
Ni-D. Think about the way you experience the pace and rhythm of your life. What dictates the speed in which time flies? Why do you think people experience time passing at different rates?
For me excitement dictates the way time flies. If I’m working on my own project which I am passionate about, then time will pass pretty quickly, but if I sit at a dinner table with my grandparent’s time feels like it is going in slow motion. I think that people experience time passing at different rates can be due to different factors. Some people might simply be better at guessing how much time they spend on thing or the other or it is again dependent on excitement.
Ni-E. Consider each of the following feelings people have about time: hurriedness, anxiety, optimism/pessimism. What causes people to experience these feelings? What role do they play in our lives? To what extent are these feelings beneficial?
I think people have these feelings because time is limited and unknown. These feeling have a big role in our life, and we can be controlled by them if we aren’t careful, but they can also be a good tool if we understand why we have them.