Dave suddenly recalls something he just learned people should do when in times of doubt and danger - focus! That ought to help, right? It's worked reasonably well so far, after all. And so he orders his thoughts, sets up a systematic approach of willing and wishing as well as short breaks of pleading and groveling to test the waters, so to speak, and with this plan in mind, sets about stopping his abominable butt portal!
When the chaotic magical phenomenon meets Dave's planned approach, it recoils in horror! It tries to spin away, but alas, Dave's hindquarters prove too effective an anchor! And so it can only try to weather the onslaught, which, as Dave ascertains momentarily, is quite a tall order for something that can't rightly think or do anything other than shoot thylacines out of someone else's bottom. The rift, cowed by the coordinated effort of will, immediately closes and solemnly promises not to bother Dave again. Dave, awash with newfound bossitude, raises his arms to the air triumphantly.
* * * * *
Eta, displeased greatly about both the sight and smell of this place, nevertheless soldiers on. It's probably not real, she assures herself. Leyline corruption of reality. Yes, that sounds like a thing. It's probably that. Indeed.
"Ugh. I'd expect magic to smell better. Looks like something out of one of those awful movies full of violence.""I'm kind of glad I've never seen any of those," Lois says, her eyes resting on the hairy viscera-eating thing.
"I mean, seriously, ugh.""I'm going to take a closer look, see if there's anything worth our time around here." Eta says after thinking on how best to approach this against her better judgement.
"You can stay back if you want, no reason to risk both our lives.""No, no. I'm okay, sort of. Where you go, I go," Lois says, beginning to breathe through her mouth from the looks of it. Eta nods and they both move, stepping carefully around the gore and especially keeping their distance from the carrion eater as they get closer to the reddish pillars - there appear to be two of them in total, spaced close together, placed right up to the side of the building. Close examination reveals that they seem to be made of some softish, creamy material of a variety of colors, mostly shades of red, pink and purple, though red dominates. The lower pillar is 4 meters or so in height, and the other one is about 3 and a half higher. And only about two meters up from there is the edge of the roof.
"These look kind of like that pillar you made," Lois observes curiously.
"Except less dangerous, I guess. I wonder if we can climb it?"* * * * *
Impressed by James' constructive (well, destructive) comments,
John immediately forms a plan.
"Excellent, good thinkin', James! We shall use the bench as a battering ram and break through this slab of something that impedes our progress. This is just the kind of thing Trey would have proposed!""Huh? Who?"But John doesn't answer, as siege warfare takes priority. With the aid of James, he quickly finds the bench in question - it is made of metal, with a delightfully uncomfortable upholstered seat. The archetypical piece of hospital furniture, really. And also presumably great for use as a battering ram! John tries to pick it up, but only manages to lose his footing and stretch out across it instead, at which point it occurs to him that maybe he needs a nap more than he needs to explore. He yawns contently, and his eyelids begin to grow heavy.
"Uh... what are you doing?"* * * * *
Larry, encouraged by the angel, provides his own critique of the monstrous void.
"Nothing in every direction is personal and all, but it doesn't really say dance floor to me. Maybe something more light and colorful?""Indeed. I'm glad we're on the same page here!" she agrees, and the void suddenly gives way to something else entirely - the inside of a massive platinum dome, the ceiling engraved with a short history of life (that is to say, three quarters of the engravings look like elaborate lithographs of bacteria of many varieties in various combinations, and everything else, from vertebrates to primordially mysterious things Larry can only begin to guess at the nature of, occupy the rest). The entire place is bathed in a bright light, and the gleaming bits all along the ceiling remind him of diamonds, but somehow even shinier. He is about to whistle approvingly, but then he looks around the rest of the room.
Creatures are all around him, each more hideously strange than the last - black, inky, solid shadows, all too familiar to the wizard from previous engagements, with eyes of red, yellow and orange form most of them, but one can see other things as well - a hulking, garishly colored spider creature, a man in a suit who must be at least four meters tall, a whole host of creatures with cabbages for heads, and many other things oddly related to various everyday objects. And in the midst of them there is a clearing, in which Larry and the angel stand, and that also hosts something else - a metal ziggurat, atop which a throne of gold rests. In it sits a figure of infinite red, vile arms stretching out in every direction, a glowing golden tetrahedron with a beastly eye on each side rotating wildly in the center, providing a peculiar halo.
It's all a bit much to take in, and Larry is about to say something, but then the angel snaps her fingers, and music starts playing over the room, a peculiar song that resonates deeply within Larry, and also seemingly within the rest of the creatures around - the shades begin dancing first, followed by the larger creatures. And even the figure in the center starts swaying rhythmically, emanating intense displeasure as it does so. And finally, Larry himself begins to dance as well. And though he's not much of a natural dancer, the music moves him to a degree music never really has, and, taking the angel by the other hand as well, he begins to spin in a wild dance, his very own interpretation of the jitterbug.
Things, needless to say, are getting a bit out of control on the dance floor - everyone seems to be cavorting wildly, most conventional forms of restraint dropped in favor of uninhibited displays of rhythm and choreography. Well, everyone except the central figure, who only appears to be vibrating menacingly, the air in the room becoming thick in its vicinity. Larry and his dance partner dive into the mass of assembled creatures, and they artfully give way, and the two spin and dance their way twice along the entire edge of the dome, getting a good look at the chaos within, a sight that makes the angel laugh more than a little manically. The shades begin to take flight, filling the air above with dancing shapes and hugging the engravings with their inky shapes, flowing through them like water, leaving dark marks on the ceiling as they pass. One particular set of shades begin to engrave vague notation on the ceiling as the creative spirit takes them.
Eventually, though, after a period that feels like a minute, but that was probably much longer, the music stops, and the room becomes still, only the low, but rising roar of the central figure still audible in the room. As its arms suddenly extend, moving to strike at the two disruptive arrivals, the angel quickly bows, and then takes Larry with her as she disappears back into the aether, leaving but a host of very confused demonic entities in her wake.
The two reappear back in the Seventh Heaven, Saturn, at a respectable distance from their original position, where the others appear to have settled in a nice bit of conversation. Larry's companion sighs contently.
"Well, that was fun, wasn't it?" she says.
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Topic: The Forgotten Art: Approaching the Nexus (Read 267883 times)