Forums → Art, Music, and Writing → Armorplayer's, abcdragon's and sciller's amazingly daft adventure to find all the hidden locations

ABCDRAGON
*I can see everything going on inside me, and so can the void.*

Me: I am so confused...There's a city inside of me, and it's being attacked. By the Void's soldiers, maybe?

Void: Of course there's a city inside you. Nobody's ever figured out why there are cities inside people I possessed, but of course I stole the soul of everyone who came close to me.

Me: Wow, that makes me feel better.

Void: It's not like I'm trying to support you! I want your soul! I want your friends' souls!

Me: Well as you can see my soul hasn't given up just yet. And neither will I. You know what, I can't just stay here and let my soul be battled for. You can take control of my body for now. *I lose control of my body and gain control of my soul. I look around and see everyone else.* I know that I'm not as strong in this form since the Void has attacked my soul, but I'm going to fight with you. I guess that since I am my soul now, all I have to do is stay alive until I get to my brain.

SCILLER

The city door quickly closes.

Elder: Uh-uh. Okay. This makes sense. So, we're in a city, inside abcdragon? OK. Sure. Now I just hope there's a marketplace here or something.

The group arrive at a marketplace.

- ALRIGHT! We haven't much time. Let's split up! We MUST find something useful. And no matter what happens, see that chapel over there? If everything goes smoothly, or if everything bad that can happen happens, I want us to meet there, OK? Now quickly!

The group gets split up into two smaller groups: abcdragon's soul, armorplayer, Aezullya and the robot and Elder and the knight. As Elder and the knight enter the marketplace, they are blinded by a myriad of scents and colours. Colourful, patterned, Arabic carpets decorated each stall. Despite the city being under siege, the market was flourishing, albeit, in a frenzy. People bartering their most precious valuables for simple foods and even weapons to defend themselves when the city falls. The morale of the people was completely broken.

The knight stops himself at a stand selling weapons and armour.

- Come on, knight! I think I see something that may be even more useful!

- What could possibly be more useful than armaments right now?

- You'll see.

The knight hesitantly follows Elder, who comes at a stand with hundreds of bells, all containing spices. Everything up to the most exotic scents and spices: salt, pepper, sugar, rosemary, lavender, vegeta, za'tar, baharat...

- "You want to spice up your last meal, I see." The shopkeeper says.

- No, sir, we've come for you dyes.

- "WHAT DO DYES HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING!?!" The knight shouted out.

- Just trust me.

- "Oh, alright. Dyes it is!" The shopkeeper says, as he rolls around a panel containing a whole assortment of dyes of all shades of colour.

- What about your brightest, whitest white?

- Ah, yes, powdered fog! This is the finest white you will ever see. I travel to the other end of the Earth just so I could get my hands on it! That said, it costs a fortune!

- "Oh, no" thought Elder "I forgot we don't have any money!"

- That's a bit too expensi- What?

The whole marketplace turned silent and the shopkeeper disappeared. Another look and no one was there. Suddenly blackness started pouring from the city walls. The city had succumbed to the darkness. Elder quickly grabbed the powdered fog and with the knight, grabbed hold of some of the weapons. The two men sprinted towards the chapel. Nearing the chapel, they heard a voice from the chapel's tower.

- Who's down there!?

- Calm down! We're friendlies!

- Prove i- Is that a lantern?

- YES!

- Alright. Come in, quickly!

ABCDRAGON

(I'm going 3rd person because it sounds cooler)

Dragon looked outside the market to see the darkness. She had been looking at the animals, thinking some might have been of use. Panicking, her eyes darted around, and she got sight of something extremely important. A jar of fireflies. She picked up the fireflies and ran.
"Come on, armorplayer, come on, Aezullya! Grab something important and run!"

Dragon flew to the chapel.
"Hey! Who are you?!"
"All you need to know is that I have a jar of fireflies."
"Alright, you're not from the void. Come in."
"Thanks."
Dragon soon saw Elder and the knight.
"Guys, guess what I got! Some backup fireflies, in case we're split up and I need light or if your lantern breaks!"
She saw Elder holding the dye and grinned.

ARMORPLAYERGC

Me: something important? What can be important in a situation like this? *thinks* AAAAH! *a random guy from the city, who heard me thinking out loud, gets close to me, and starts talking*

Guy: Something important you say, one thing that is important when fighting unknown enemies, my friend, is knowing whom you're fighting against, I, as an adventurer, learned it.

Me: Wh- what? Do you know anything important about those guys?

Adventurer: Yes, young traveller, I have seen some very weird, crazy, and some pretty powerful foes in my journeys!

Me: TELL ME WHAT YOU KNOW! D:

Adventurer: Well, you already know those soldiers from that army well, at least you know they're weak to light, the Sunbird however, is an absolute nightmare, but he does have a weakness!

Aezullya: JUST SAY IT! WE'RE IN A HURRY!

Adventurer: He, is made of the stars, he is made of Sun, as a result, all his power and strength rely on one, just ONE thing: heat. The higher his temperature, the stronger and deadlier he gets!

Me: but...

Adventurer: So, what you have to do is lower his temperature, you have to make him colder, right now, he's hotter than a blaze, hotter than fire, hotter than LAVA! Keep cooling him, eventually, he will become grey and slow and weak, as soon as that happens, he will be VERY weak, he will literally be a winged piece of stone, when that happens, you just have to break him apart.

*the Sunbird, flying high up in the sky dives right into the sand, just like it's water, leaving a trail of molten glass below the ground, then, he very quickly flies straight up again, melting a part of the walls of the city, which becomes a fluid similar to lava, but that doesn't hurt anyone, then, he screams like a very angry and powerful bird*

Aezullya: How can we cool that thing?

Adventurer: Well, the best and fastest way to do it is hitting him with... cold things, water would be good, but it's dangerous to go alone, so take this *he gives us a bucket with cold water, and a remote thermometer* When this number here says "200°C (392°F)" or lower, the bird will be super weak and kill-able, right now, it's at *measures his temperature. 5391°C (9736°F)* Good luck.

*the Sunbird sees Aezullya and I, with the cold water, he quickly understands we're going to try to kill him, so, he rushes towards both of us, very quickly, but then, a very long, strong and giant shock attack hits him, which makes him retreat and go close to the army again... he'll be back soon*

Me: well... *we run to the chapel...* let's make a strategy!

SCILLER
The Sunbird attacks Armorplayer and Aezullya, but just before it struck them, the priest rang the bell of the chapel, as the shock wave pulsated across the city, it pushed back the Sunbird. The three get to the chapel, show them the robot and entered the chapel.

The inside of the chapel was cool and bright, or at least, will be bright after the impending darkness outside. The rope used to ring the bell got sliced off, the presence realized that it's a threat.
- A few minutes beforehand -
-"So, pastor" Elder said "You said something about a lighthouse?"

- "Yes, but it was abandoned after the sea dried out. If you plan on finding that door of yours, you'll need light!" Replied the pastor.

- So how do we get there?

- Well, the safest way would be through the sewers, but if you light the lighthouse, the soldiers will probably hide in the sewers.

- How can we get there?

- Well, all the manholes were closed shut. The only way in you could use would be the dungeon. We'd have gone along, but we only have torches.

- Wait, we?

A group of pastors all holding torches go out of hiding.

- Alright, you'll lead us to it once armorplayer and Aezu-

- "Pastor!" The guard said "Some new people have come here! They said they were Armorplayer and Azulya"

- Great! Let them in! Now, TO THE LIGHTHOUSE!

The group head on into the sewers...

It has been exactly 5 years* since the last post! This was my penultimate roleplay. And the last time I sat down and wrote down a proper story.

*Well, closer to 5 years + a day.

Now, there comes a time in every man's life when he thinks to himself - what legacy have I left behind? When the world has far forgotten my name, how will my actions propagate through the void?

And would you really want your legacy to be unfinished? UNFINISHED!? NAY! It cannot be! For though most of its readers are now far gone, and so are the memories, and so, soon, will be the text - apart from a .txt file on one man's desktop.

But really, I wanted to finish this for the... well, always. But I didn't want to double-post. It didn't feel right. It was a joint project, so if my friends got bored and left, then I would leave, too.
There was some intention of continuing, but the confusing wording of (are we in the sewers, are we not?) was sorta the last nail in the coffin.
Now I stand alone, so I suppose I've the liberty of carrying on. Though there is... ONE more story (or rather saga) I'd like to finish. It would certainly give this summer a proper nice Romantic(-era) adventure. (repeat: NOT a kissing novel. Those are for girls and girls have cooties. It's the "Jules Verne novel" type of Romantic. Big R.)

See you in like... 3 days at most. Finals week and all.

Did I say 3 days? I meant. Uh. 3... months... For finals... trimester... *cough*

I realize now my last post was... very unclear. Let me explain what I meant.

1) The bell held some sort of spiritual power, as noted by it pushing away the sunbird. A dark tendril of the void reached out into the chapel tower and cut the rope, preventing the bell from being rung further.
2) Lighting the lighthouse would light the entire city. Light that hurts the void's creations. The void soldiers would need to hide from the lighthouse in the sewers.
3) Don't fully recall, but the sewer system was in some way closed or made inacessible though the regular entrances. However, exceptional entrances, like a direct, individually-designed opening for a church, or, say, drainage openings like the ones hobos sleep in.
4) Dungeon has very clear connotations in the realm of fantasy. I wasn't thinking of those. I was thinking of a church dungeon - a place below a church where the bones of priests and relics of saints and suchsuch would be buried. Ergo, an easily-accessible part of the church. No skeletons, no gold-filled chests, no mimics. Just going to a crypt with a door to the sewer.

The sewer though. Anything could happen in that old thing. Soldiers, floods, who knows what wacky adventures await!

So the scene ends with the group and the pastors in the church crypt / "dungeon", about to head into the sewer.

wow, its a little bit disorienting to come back to these forums after who knows how long and seeing a thread with my name on it (and with a post from 2 hours ago too!). boy i was quite the child 5 years ago

Anywayshearyehearyewelcomeall tothesignularScillerian endingslashspinoff, concerning entirely the story of our favourite unnamed amnesiac protagonist, the end of Aezullya, the Knight, and the ultimate fates of our author-heroes and one more yet unspecified!

I hope I've figured out a satisfying ending. Enjoy!

AASBWTAAA[1] // ADA: MAN'S END

Chapter One: A More Pleasant Blackness

Elder stepped the open grate, tripped over the doorframe, and tumbled down into the central pit. He wailed on the way down and flapped his arms and shuddered in disgust only to realize he was completely dry. And so was the pit. He took a deep breath and composed himself.

"Ahoy! Are you alright! Is it safe down there!

"Watch out for the door frame there!" he cried "It's fine as far as I can see! Come on down!"

He stood up, cracked his back, took his lantern off the ground, and shone it forth. A great, long abyss stared back at him. The air was thick and stuffy, but not at all damp. It must have been long since the sewer was last used. He scanned the walls and ceiling with a light for any further openings. There were none. Only one way to go.

The sewer was quiet. There was no deep hum of battle, only the faint buzz of fireflies, the clanking of armor, the scuffle of footsteps inching down towards the sewer bed, and the hastened, uneasy breaths of the group. Peaceful. Elder clapped his hands once.

"Alright! The plan! The plan is we don't have a plan!"

"My owner..." Aezullya whimpered "he won't be pleased..."

"Your owner can hold himself back a little! I admit, we don't have home turf, but neither does the void. The dice are still rolling. I'd hoped we'd find water, a lake, a stream, a fluid you usually find in the sewer. Something to stop the sunbird. Something-

We'll find something. I'm sure of it. No use losing hope now. We've still got the lighthouse lead, and this tunnel should take us straight to! Maybe... there'll be backup! Maybe..."

Elder looked down and narrowed his eyes.

"a nice, sharp dagger. Worst case. C'mon, let's hur-"

At that moment a shining white shape appeared in the air. White and gold, geometric in shape, made of many plates that phased through themselves. It shook and grew in bursts to the size of a stool. over about 6 seconds Elder hid behind the Knight who readied his sword and stood ready for battle.

"Helllooooo" said Aezullya.

"Begone demon!" barked the knight "You've picked the wrong group to- Huh?"

The shape had stood in place for a few moments, then shrunk to nothingness the same as it had appeared.

"noooo... alone... he'll be back for us" said Aezullya.

"All the more reason to hurry. C'mon."

[1] Armorplayer's, Abcdragon's and Sciller's But Without The armorplayer[gc] and abcdragon[66{6}]

Oh! Hello, dragon! I'd left my tab open with my writing. Submitted the post and had to do a double take. It *is* our RP, but I didn't actually expect you to see it. This soon anyway. Odd stroke of chance.

Perhaps you were, but, given the circumstances, I'd wager 'twas a forgivable offense :]

I'd been feeling nostalgic (as if that wasn't my base mood) and decided to tie up some old loose ends. Trying out a new... more intuitive mentality. We'll see how it goes. Cheers!

Chapter 2: The Fork and the Turnaround

The group carried on through the dry sewer with footsteps and a newfound tension in the air. They went on until they came across a Y-shaped crossing. The sewer split towards the left and the right.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhh-"

"Did they say anything about a fork?"

"I think... the left one is a bit straighter..."

"No. No they did NOT in fact say anything about a fork."

"Helllloooo again..."

"Well what now?"

"Does anyone have like a coin, or a die, or..."

"Well, can we see anything?"

Elder shone his lantern into the left lane. He shone it into the right lane. All stone and dry sewerbed on either side.

"Maybe we can turn back and-"

"What? Risk meeting THAT THING again?"

"Waste time?"

"Ask the pastors? Maybe. Maybe both paths lead to the same place?"

"Or maybe the pastors don't spend their days mucking about in sewers! We just... Have to pick a side."

"I think a vote's in order! I pick left!"

"I concur, mnuhuehehehe!"

"Well I'm sticking right!"

"I found a coin! Let's see here... HEADS! Uh. Which side is heads?"

*sigh*

"Alright, heads is left, tails is right. We throw the coin again."

"WATCH OUT! On the right!"

The Knight lowers his stance and puts his hand on his sword's pommel. The coin pings and rises into the air, then drops down and whirrs, spinning on the ground. Flat plates of white and gold spin and grow in place in the middle of the right path. The shape grows again to the size of a stool and stops. It stays this way a few seconds before flipping around and phasing through itself. Within a few seconds, the clear shape of an eye formed within the plates.

The knight drew his blade and barked another threat, but the shaped remained fretless, staring, scanning the group, before once again contorting itself and disappearing as it came. Dead silence ruled before a voice spoke out:

"So... Left, then."

Followed by a murmur of agreement.

As the group pushed on, they noticed a yellowish-orange shape, far away, on the side of the sewer tunnel. As they got closer, they noticed it was the outline of a man wearing dirty white and orange highlights. He was wearing a steel helmet that covered his cheeks. He had no other armor and wore loose clothing and snadals. He was armed with a shortsword within a leather scabbard that he had untied from his waist.

"Hello? Hey! Hello! What happened!? Are you alright?" shouted Elder.

He noticed a gash along the soldier's robe. The soldier shuddered and took many short, shallow breaths. The soldier managed to regain a bit of composure and leaned his head against the wall, facing the group. His eyes were bloodshot. He talked through his shallow breaths.

"I was... Scout... Port guard... Walls breached... Lighthouse... Standing, but... Occupied... Guarded... *cough* I must tell the... The vice... The captain... In the armory... Not far..."

He dropped his head and let out a wheezing cough, spitting out blood over his robe and his knees. Looking a bit closer, the guard's torso had a deep gash across it diagonally.

"Captain? Of the guard? In an armory? Where is that!?" asked Elder

The guard raised his head.

"Where you came... A split... A church... An Armory... Please... You must relay... I... I'm not..."

"Wait, what about... Plates! Floating, growing, plates! White and gold! Do you know what it is? Can you tell us?"

The guard shut his mouth and stopped breathing a moment. His eyes focused and he looked deep into Elder's eyes.

"Mother?"

"Good God"

"I don't want to go... I can't go... Not now... Mom..." the guardsman whimpered before breaking down and crying.

"Ooohkaythere. You'll be... fine... Come on now." He hugged the guard and laid him on his side, onto the floor. He took the guards' helmet and placed it onto his head and tied the sword around his waist.

"Just in case. At least until we get to the armory!" Elder said. "Let's head back. Nothing we can do."

With the pathetic whimperings of the dying guard slowly fading away, the group hurried back to the fork in the sewer.

~~~~~~~
Fun fact / Spoiler: "The Turnaround" originally meant something completely different, but this chapter ended up a tad longer than anticipated. My original intention will be seen in the beginning of the next chapter.

This might be a real game story someday.

This? Nah. This is/was just a fun RP / story. Although I *am* thinking about one story for an OG fallout-style game set in Osijek (&friends). Thought of it in the thermal pool in Bizovac. But that one, ah... I'd have to work with an artist, I'd have to have a job, and a hellolalot more knowledge about history. Still, 'dlike to have a prototype by the end of a decade-or-so :]

By the way, excuse the wait. Making silage is a lot of absolutely soul-crushingly dull work, takes ages.
------------------
Chapter 3: The Man Behind the Bars

The group made its way back to the fork and took the relative left towards the supposed armory. The trip was uneventful, with the same brick and sewerbed repeating. Eventually a passage revealed itself as a dark smudge along the walls. It was a relatively small passage, enough for a 3 men side-to-side, ending in a semicircle at the top. Rays of light illuminated the end of the short passage.

"This must be it", Elder said. "The armory. I hope there's equipment..."

A clank reverberated through the tunnel. Faint rustling and whispering echoed through. Aezullya called out.

"Helllooooo!"

Elder called out "Hello!? Hey! Anyone there?"

And the tunnel stood silent. Elder placed his hand on the hilt of his newly-"borrowed" sword and walked forwards lightfootedly. The tunnel opened up revealing a tall ceiling. Stairways leading to a walkway that stood on each side and met at the tunnel entrance. Elder walked forth, the others following behind, until he had stepped on a strangely coloured stone.

At that point, the air blew up with a flash of light and shot up a big puff of smoke. The whole room had spun about around him. It expanded and contracted and Elder thought he'd seen a familiar white-gold smudge alongside the smudges of his fellow teammates. He felt sick, lost his balance, and collapsed onto his elbows and knees onto the floor.

He'd stayed in this position for a few seconds before feeling the full weight of someone's foot slamming his torso into the ground, then them grabbing his arms and cuffing them. A man shouted:

"Dryport City Guard! Vice Captain Hammond[1]! You are under arrest on suspicion of murder and treason! You will be detained until peace is re-established!"

Dizzy and exhausted, Elder planted his face into the ground and laid there for a minute before spitting up dirt, rubbing his lips on his shoulder, and turning himself over. The room around him was no longer the same room he was in. It was shaped as a slanted parallelogram, though with the same walkways visible, yet differently shaped, disappearing into the walls at several points. He noticed only one way out. There was no path into the sewer.

Looking around, the guard was gone alongside the rest of the group. Only Aezullya was left, floating around in the air. Elder sat up.

"Aezullya? How are you still here? Where are the others?"

"You're hurt... We're all here..."

Elder glanced towards the one door in the room then stared at the ground. He moaned, crossed his legs, and folded his body over.

Suddenly, a familiar white-gold shape appeared before him. It grew again, folding and passing through itself until the whole thing seemingly fell in place and out came a tall figure in full shining white plate armour. It was ornately decorated with golden engravings of various patterns and hunting and battle scenes.

The armour had several bits and wheels that stuck out like valves. The helmet visor consisted of a vertical grid of thin metal bars with some leeway around the eyes. Thinner bars connected the vertical ones. Otherwise, there was not a single gap in the armour. The armour was perfectly tailored to the man's phisique. The man walked towards Elder with surprising ease and quiet.

"YOU THERE! Your friends have been captured!" He shouted , grabbing Elder by the cuffs and dragging him by the arms onto a hook on the wall by which he hung.

"And you will tell me the truth, the whole truth, and nothing BUT the truth like the good little dog you are. You will tell me why you are wearing our colours. What you are doing. How you have come here. Why the seedling is with you..."

He frowned, bare his teeth, drew his face closely to Elder's, and spoke in a hushed, seething tone.

"And how - exactly - and in GREAT detail - have you brought upon this invasion."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[1] I never watched Top Gun. His name just happened to be innuendo. Also, I've no clue how I got the name "Hammond" into 2 seperate RPs. Strange coincidence, or maybe just the natural result of me actively trying to think up a good original name.

Chapter 4: Like The Organ

The captain backed away, stood tall, and looked down upon the chained Elder.

"Okay, okay! Let me just... Let me start from the beginning...

I was in this place. Lush green forests, a beautiful day. On the outskirts of some ghost town. Wolvesben."

"-Wolvesben? Sorry. Go on, marked one."

"Marked one?"

The vice captain raised an eyebrow and nodded his head to the side.

"Ech. Inside the town was a mine. Inside the mine was the void. More of a vast, coal black lake. I dove into it. And it feels like... That same thing happened over and over and over and over and over like a fever dream. One I couldn't wake from. I don't even... Remember anything beforehand. That's my earliest memory. Feels like it'd gone on for an eternity."

"Rrreally now? One does not simply lose their memory, marked one. Not without scrambling your head."

"I would tell you, I *want* to tell you, but... There's nothing to tell. Anyway. Things happened. I don't even know it all really was. But eventually I found a group. And we were walking in a cavern made of flesh. Inside the cavern was a trapdoor. One that led outside your city gates. Maybe it's still out there. But it'd lead back to the void.

We went in, we bought some weapons, got to a church. They told us we could take the sewers to a lighthouse. The plan - as if there was much of one - was to light it and hope that it would defeat the void. Instead, we found a dying scout. He told us the lighthouse was occupied. And he was cut open. I took his helmet. I'm not a knight. I'm not a warlock. I'm not a... a... a dragon. I needed a weapon!"

"Jeremiah... Hmm... At least you brought his armour back, marked one."

"Yeah! Yeah, see? Why the hell do you keep calling me marked? What are you talking about?"

"You should know ****ed well. You have one more question. The seedling."

"I don't know. And I. don't. Know. What a seedling is. What a mark is. I have nothing more to tell you.

"Actually, just *one* more question. What's your name?"

"Elder. Elder uh... just Elder"

The captain narrowed his eyes and scrunched his face. He walked by Elder's side and pulled a pulley, driving the hook upwards and leaving Elder hanging.

"Aye, we'll first see what your friends have to say. Then I'll figure out how to deal with you."

The captain manipulated some switches on his breastplate and with the turn of a valve on his helmet, he disappeared into nothingness. Not much happened for about half an hour. The pain in his shoulders kept growing, and a few strange meaty and some plated apparitions grew in and out of view.

Eventually, a white-gold shape did grow and the captain appeared back into the room.

"So. You don't know anything, do you? You don't know where you are. You don't have a plan. You don't even know your mates' names. I'm sorry you had to go through this. Wartime precautions. Can never be too careful."

He lowered Elder's shackles and released him from them. He extended his hand.

"We meet officially. Vice Captain Rick Hammond[1]. Like the organ? Mnuhuehehehe!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOTES:
[1] Oops. Past post's footnote was meant to go here. Chapters just keep piling up!

Chapter 5: The History

Elder shook his hand.

"Elder. Officially. Why the change of heart?"

"Gut feeling. A little bit of everything, mostly. I'm sure you're smart, you'll piece it together. So much to explain. Starting with this all!"

The captain spread his arms and spun about in place.

"First of all. You're a flatlander. A three-dimensional being in a four-dimensional world. Just like us all. But you come from a flat world on the very edge of the world tree. Each of these worlds we call a plane of existence. But closer to the centre, the "trunk" of the world tree, there exist several flat planes in close proximity.

Points at which these planes are closest become "Hubworlds". Like our own Dryport. They become centres of trade, metropolises! So was Port once. And in charge of trade are the vice holders. This!", he bangs on his armour twice with his fist, "is a grand vice! It lets me traverse the planes of existence. Wielding this divine artefact is the greatest honour I can achieve in any land I can walk to.

The vices allow the user to rotate themselves in the 4-th dimension, and the plate protects the user from spilling his internal organs on the wall. Anyone can learn to move through the 4-th dimension. Only I can do so safely.

Some vices are weapons. Specifically mines. Specefically anti-projection mines. They usually aren't triggered by flatlanders, and they obliterate projections. You managed to trigger the mine, but had the fortune of only being spun around. I'm sure there's something in the armory that'll help you get back. But we don't have the time to worry about it now.

These &quotrojections" are physical manifestations of 4-dimensional beings. Gods. They are made entirely of spiritual essence. They bind the planes of the world tree and feed on the spirit we produce. It's more of a tax. Planes cannot exist without gods. Not for long. The sun dying, seas drying up, so on.

Gods can be created and replaced. Like the Phantom that banished me. Like Za'Lob - your void. Like the seedling you carry around with you. That's why you can see her. She never left. She always stretched across the 4-th dimension. But she is just a seedling. An immature clump of spiritual essence. But she makes me think...

5 hundred and some years ago, three Phantom mage copycats wished to rule the world. In an fortress, near a deep underground lake, they sacrificed their souls to create a powerful seedling. Za'Lob, the evil one. It did not only tax souls, it fully absorbed them and used that power to conquer the world. But the previous Vice Captain - Elder of Wolvesben - called upon the old god who granted him a ballista as a final favour.

Old Elder used this ballista, powered by the will of a dying god, to launch Za'Lob into some far-away corner of the world tree. With the void so far away, it's power waned. And so did Port. The sun began to die, the seas boiled away, people left, people died. Leaving only Dryport. Sadly, this was not a permanent solution.

So now Za'Lob, its projections, and the Sunbird stand outside like cats around a mousehole. The lighthouse is gone, the ballista is unfueled, the walls are breached... We're dead. Unless... Hm..."

Captain Hammond fell deep into thought and hunched over. After a minute, he shot up and snapped his fingers.

"I've got it! A plan! Step one? We feed the Sunbird!"

-----------------
* AKA: The infodump. I cut it down a lot, believe it or not.
* The turnaround refers to Elder getting spun about in the 4th dimension
* Inspired by the 4D Toybox!

Chapter 6: The Gambit

"I've been thinking, HOW do we find water? Ice? We can't! But who says we need to kill it? We can trap it. In the lighthouse. It's a big flame, a mirror, and a lens. Plenty of space for a sunbird. We. Well...

Step 0: We retake the lighthouse. The city guard is still largely intact. The captain will lead them and your friends. It's possible if we concentrate our forces on the lighthouse district.

Step 1: We feed the sunbird. We use the gas and black oil we mine from the ground to light our lanterns. There's a storage facility not far from the lighthouse.

Step 2: We lure it into the lighthouse. With said oil.

Step 3: When the time comes, we let the light loose on Za'Lob, leaving him vulnerable!

Meanwhile, you, I, and Aezullya have a special mission. You got spun around in a way that isn't as useless as you'd think. We'll make our way towards the city hall. The ballista is there, ready for the Banishing Day celebration next week. We don't have a powerful-enough source of energy to power it, but we *can* use it as a regular-old 4-dimensional ballista.

We bring it back, as near to the lighthouse as we can. At the moment Za'Lob gets lit up, we shoot Aezullya into the centre of the evil one. Then, we pray to Phantom she's strong enough to replace him.

Now. Go on. Get ready. You can keep the armour. There should be some more in the other room. I'll go tell the others about the plan. We leave in 30 minutes.

Oh, by the way, if you see any fleshy, floating shapes, those are likely your friends' organs. Please don't touch them. It's not nice to crush people's insides."

Captain Hammond then put his hand on a valve and disappeared back into nothingness.

Elder moaned and cradled his head in his hands.

"Augh, God. I couldn't process this in a year."

He perked up and looked at Aezullya.

"Seedling... That explains things. But how'd you get made? Something about your owner? About that planet?"

Aezullya stayed silent and froze up for a moment, still gliding ever-slowly into a wall. The first time she'd ever stopped her jellyfishy pulse. Elder sighed.

"Whatever. I'm done thinking."

Elder walked into the armory door. There was a partial staircase on the right side climbing to an opening through which the sun shone through. It wouldn't be an efforless climb, but one could jump to the doorway. But Elder rather concerned himself with armament. He looked at the rows of steel chunks, awkwardly-cut, partial swords and pieces of armour. But in the pile laid a whole cuirass, a shield, and a crossbow.

He put on the cuirass, strapped on the shield and slung the crossbow on his shoulder. He decided he was done and took a peek up the staircase. Curious, he inched up the broken staircase and jumped a perfectly triangular 3-step gap. The world outside looked much like usual, but the building proportions were all wonky. Strips of the city were completely missing, leaving geometric sandy pits in the streets.

Elder sat on the top of the staircase to think. The stress, excitement didn't let him think much however. His body was ached and tired, but he knew there was still much to do. Captain Hammond peeked out at the bottom of the stairs.

"Oh! There you are! By the way, you'll need these." he said, throwing a quiverful of crossbow bolts at Elder who caught them mid-air.

"Remember - follow behind me, follow close. I hope you have combat training somewhere in that noggin of yours... Keep away from Za'Lob's projections. You'll know them when you see them. Now let's go. Clock's a-ticking."

------------ Notes:
* Writing this is getting depressing. The more I write, the worse it all seems. Not as an objective measure. I couldn't tell you what I hate about it. I just hate it.
* If you were bored with the very talk and exposure heavy and just wanted to see some action, you'll be happy to know the next chapters will be more combat-oriented.