Sorry if I bump a bit much, but I'll probably always bump when I post an update in order to let people know there is one.
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Blitukus stopped near the unconscious dwarf, and opened the hatch. He carefully pulled himself out, and slowly slid his way down to the ground. He placed his hand over his chest. His heart was hurting, both physically and emotionally, but it was still beating. Perhaps the 3 years he had spent searching for a way back to his dead mother had made his heart tougher in more ways than one. Blitukus stood, and looked down at his other hand. It was burned, some of the fur blackened, but he felt no pain from it. He licked the burn, and snickered.
Fried kobold... tastes like chicken!
He found himself a bit light headed, shaking slightly as he walked over to the dwarven leader, his legs unwilling to support a lot of weight. Blitukus stood in front of the dwarf, and watched as the dwarf slowly came to.
He would have to die slowly a hundred times over to pay in full for the pain he has caused us all. One is far better than zero, though. But... I still need that technology, despite this.
Blitukus swiped at the dwarfs face, leaving deep scratches, then punched the dwarven leader in the face, causing the scratches to bleed at a quicker rate. The dwarven leader grunted loudly, then coughed up more blood, spitting it at Blitukus. Blitukus looked down, then looked back at the dwarven leader. Blitukus spoke, "No matter what you do, this will likely be your final hour, dwarf. I have an offer for you, my enemy. Give me the combination to the safe, and I will kill you quickly, or give you a chance to live on as a crippled dwarf if you are compliant enough and abandon your evil ways." The dwarven leader responded, "... go f*ck yourself, kobold..." Blitukus replied, "I recommend you talk." The dwarven leader responded, "The day a kobold lays his grubby paws on my technology is the day elves and goblins start having children together!" Blitukus replied, "If you are unwilling to talk... then I have ways of making you talk, and all day to administer them." The dwarven leader replied, "Bluff!" Blitukus smiled and snickered, a menacing gaze piercing into the dwarfs eyes, "Bad call, dwarf... Have it your way, then. I think this will prove entertaining..." Blitukus walked a short distance, and spotted a metal shard on the ground. Blitukus picked up some dirt to insulate his hands, and picked up the metal shard by the back. It was twisted and sharp at the front, the tip still glowing with heat. It was iron, a fragment of one of the super-weapons plates. Blitukus then walked over to the dwarven leader, and spoke, grinning menacingly, "Hold still, this should only take a few minutes..." Blitukus ripped the dwarfs goggles off and moved the shard near the dwarfs eye, the dwarven leader tilting his head back. Blitukus then jammed the shard in under the dwarfs left eyeball, the sharp, twisted metal piercing through to the back of the socket, the glowing got end of it burying itself in, causing the flesh on the eyeball to sizzle and bubble. The dwarf screamed with such intensity as to allow the scream to echo off of the cliffs. The dwarf thrashed about, only making the wound worse, the metal pinning him digging into his mangled limbs. Blitukus pushed the end of the shard down, prying at the dwarfs eyeball. The eyeball sizzled as it was squished and pried out of its socket. The dwarven leader fell unconscious again due to pain. The dwarfs eyeball dangled out, smoke rising from the back of it, intense burns visible on both the eyeball and the now thoroughly cut up eye socket. The blood on the shard boiled and smoked due to the heat still within the metal. Blitukus waited for the dwarf to reawaken. Blitukus dragged a piece of nearby debris back to brace himself upon. As the dwarven leader woke up again, Blitukus braced himself, and kicked the dwarf in the face, his heel landing on the dislodged eyeball, splattering it across the dwarfs face. The dwarven leader screamed several times. When the screaming had died down, Blitukus walked up to the dwarven leader again. The dwarven leader watched as Blitukus, ears laid back and snickering, brought the shard toward the dwarven leaders right eye. The dwarf pulled away and squinted. For the first time in his life, Blitukus witnessed an adult dwarf cry. The dwarven leader yelled, "8-14-10-42! 8...14...10...42... the combination is my birthday..." The dwarfs voice faded away into a shaky mutter, "Please. Please... no more... I... erh, I promise I will stop my plans... you said you would give me a chance to live... if i did...."
Just ask Dracha... I am not a skilled liar. You'll have your 'chance'.
Blitukus tossed the metal shard away, and went back to his armored vehicle. He had assembled and brought with a rotatable tray to hold 6 clips. He unloaded the automatic crossbow and took bolts out of 3 clips, placed one empty clip, 4 nearly empty clips, and one full clip in the tray. He then dismounted the automatic crossbow, and dragged it and the ammo tray slowly back towards the dwarven leader. Blitukus then dropped the tray on the ground. Blitukus spoke, "I will let the forces of chaos decide your fate... in a game of roulette." Blitukus stood behind the tray, and spun it with as much force as he could put into it. The tray spun, then its spin slowed to a stop. Blitukus chose the clip closest to him, and loaded it into the automatic crossbow. He readied the crossbow, and braced it against the debris, aiming at the dwarven leaders head. Blitukus allowed the crossbow to ready, a bolt going from the clip to the bow. The clip was not the empty clip... or one of the 4 nearly empty clips... pure chance had given Blitukus the fully loaded clip. It seemed chaos has a strong desire for the dwarven leaders death as well. Blitukus laughed, "Sorry, you lose!" The dwarven leader gasped, an expression of overwhelming fear on his face. Blitukus fired, two bolts piercing through the dwarven leaders forehead. The dwarven leader immediately died, falling limp and motionless. Blitukus sighed through his nose. The one who ordered his mother dead had been killed. His smile died down, and he frowned. He stood victorious... but at what cost? It was supposed to be breakfast time for the humans... that one mechanic, the one who looked up to him, was no more. Ori, his ally, was no more. All of those humans that fought bravely alongside of him, were now nothing but figures of the past. Blitukus took the ammunition and automatic crossbow back to the armored vehicle, placing it on the floor of the cabin, shutting down the generator of the crossbow. He then took the goblin crossbow. He was still weakened, and he wouldn't be able to enter and exit in a reasonable time dragging such a heavy weapon behind himself. But, the dwarves were no without their iron fisted leader and without their goblin troops. He would face no resistance, the crossbow he carried merely to scare away would be attackers from the citizenry.
He walked back into the gate, stepping over the traps and cages that he had ruined... that his fallen comrades had once stepped over. People with lives, friends, and family back home, who would feel a pain similar to that which Blitukus felt. It seemed that this war was a type of war where nobody won. Blitukus continued down the halls, dwarves staying far away from the crossbow wielding kobold. Blitukus backtracked his escape route, the mangled areas of the room that once held his armored vehicle now a cool, dead black. Blitukus reached the room... the cages were empty, and no dwarves were tending the equipment. It seemed that this was almost like an office in the back, the safe embedded in the back wall behind a masterpiece obsidian table that was encrusted with ruby. Blitukus dialed in 8-14-10-42. The safe clunked. Blitukus pulled the latch and opened it. Within the safe lay a mess of papers, sticking out from it a book titled "Of Electromagnetism, the Interaction of Matter and Energy", and below the book, several blueprints. The blueprints detailed the design of the super-weapons main cannon, titled, "Shiva Mk IV Charged Particle Cannon. Affectionately known as the Death Ray." Blitukus looked at the designs... this technology was as otherworldly as the effects it had when used as a weapon. The weapon itself wasn't enormously complex, but the concepts it was founded upon seemed far too advanced for any known race existing on the world. The dwarves were geniuses to understand and apply these concepts... but they couldn't have thought of them on their own, not with the current understanding of the universe. Under the designs was a small book, but a very odd book. The covers were bendable, and seemed made of a material that Blitukus had never encountered before. Like the document Blitukus had received from Armok, it seemed oddly displaced in time. It was titled, "The Worlds Easiest Atom Smasher". The text within was uniform and dense as if it had been rapidly printed by a machine. On the front page, Blitukus cought the text, "Copyright 1991". On the back of the book, written in blood, were two bold letters... "Have Fun." Armok had given the dwarves a document from the future as well... but why? Perhaps Armok knew that Blitukus would be victorious, and gave it to the dwarves knowing it would end up in Blitukus' hands. Maybe... Blitukus knew that Armok wanted something of him, but didn't know what. Blitukus bunched up the books and papers, and carried them with as he walked back out. Armok would have also knew that giving the dwarves such power would have triggered their plans, triggered the death of Fale... something felt very wrong about this to Blitukus. Blitukus left the dwarven stronghold, and dumped the papers into the cabin of his armored vehicle. Luckily, the goblin blood had long been emptied and dried. Blitukus began to climb in, but stopped. Blitukus walked back towards the walls, and spotted a small plant patch The plants were sickly, but one small bit of the patch still looked healthy. Blitukus found a flower among the vines, and picked it. He then walked in front of the gates of the stronghold, and knelt down, planting the flower, alone, a symbol of purity among the polluted and corrupted wastes. He closed his eyes. His mother, Fale Siegedriven, had been avenged. She will never be forgotten. He opened his eyes, and looked up. Those who had fought bravely and died this day would also be remembered.
This fortress, a demonic pit in the mountain, was their mass grave... may the flower serve as a reminder far into the future... that these people were NOT just a statistic. They were my friends, they were someones family.
Blitukus felt himself becoming teary eyed, and stood, walking back to his armored vehicle. He pulled himself in, sat, shut the hatch, and drove off, leaving the flower standing in front of the now dormant stronghold. He passed through the valley. The magma had cooled to stone, eternally still, the charred remains of goblins embedded motionless within. The remains of goblins, humans, their weapons, the wagon, supplies, machines, men and women of war, sat, eternally motionless, their fury and fire having departed the mortal plane. A gust of wind blew as Blitukus left the valley, proceeding out into the wilderness. The stronghold ceased emitting smoke... it was being abandoned. Its stone walls would also sit motionless. Blitukus felt alone, and felt a coldness. The only sound was the dull clanking of his own machine and wind gusting. The cannon, the armor, the automatic crossbow, the bolts, the clips... all of which he had forged for this battle, that which he was once proud of, now made him feel disgusted, nearly ashamed... but it had to be done. It had been done. It was over. The wind continued gusting, and time passed without even the animals stirring. The war was over, and everybody had, in one form or another, lost. Blitukus took a slight comfort in knowing that he had vanquished the evils of that stronghold and avenged his mother and the people of Anthath Sizet... but he had still lost many allies in the process... and lost the pure intent of his creations. Nothing good could come of such a war... and Blitukus promised, or at least hoped and prayed... that from present to infinity in the future, that would be the last instance of that kind of war.
Never again. Never. Again.
Blitukus crossed out of the region, and his strength and senses restored themselves, but his spirit remained in pain. It would heal... with time. Blitukus kept driving, and crossed the bridge, passing the broken lever, the top of the lever laying on the ground idly near the shore. He was crossing the bridge out of hell, leaving behind an entire section of his quest... and leaving many of his friends with it, frozen eternally into the past. Again... the idea of time. Armok had displaced the documents across time... 1000's... 1700's... 1900's... this was still the golden age... and a bright future lay ahead, hopefully. It was tradition to define a new age every 500 years, the age of myth, the age of legend, the golden age... what would the people of 1500 to 1999 call their day? Blitukus looked back, then looked forward. He had done away with great evils, and the future must harbor utopias metropolis... at some point in space, at some point in time. Blitukus smiled slightly, a tear nearly forming, and half-laughed through his nose. His methods of production en-masse... bringing items to those in need, solving hunger, providing a better future... that was the true form of his technology. He felt it inside... despite the war, he had retained his good nature perfectly intact. He sighed through his nose, and looked at his new reading material. He may have lost like everyone else, but he still kept his life, and his quest. He allowed the vehicle to continue on without further input, and looked down at the blueprints for the "death ray"... he pondered the contraption. Like an arrow, his insight pierced through the corruption that this technology had been subjected to, and found its mark on the simple basics within. The weapon was a weapon, but the ideas and technologies it was founded on were simple, elegant, and profound, all in one. A colossal amount of energy could be channeled... not solely for the sake of destruction, but for any use that would require a large amount of energy confined to a small point in space. He felt something was very important about this... but couldn't explain why, as he had found no need for such a thing. He let his breath out slowly through his nose. He had a brighter future ahead... but his soul was still in pain, a pain that would only cease once he spoke to his mother once more. She was, like his allies and comrades from before, eternally frozen in the past... no more. But, her memory lived on, and Blitukus, his love for his mother fueled on by this memory, refused to accept that she was truly gone. Death and the planes of existence would not stand between him and his mother... no matter how much matter, energy, space, or time it took. Blitukus took up the book, "Of Electromagnetism", and began skimming the index, looking for possible ways to project his voice into the heavens, and listen for the voices of those among the heavens who might reply. He flipped to a section titled "Long Range Electromagnetic flux: Particles and Waves". Within, it detailed how careful manipulation of magnetic fields through electricity could send out waves of energy, how these waves, when they hit a suitable receiver, cause a small amount of electricity to shift within. The transmitter could change the properties of its waves, change the state, and what the receiver indicated would follow. In one location, one person could manipulate a powerful transmitter, and a receiver a long distance away could pick up on the waves. Standards of transmission could be established. These waves could carry more than just changes of state, these changes of state could hold information encoded into them. It was an unheard of idea, and seemed nearly magical... but there was no magic involved. Blitukus looked up at the sky, the stars and planets dancing behind the veil of a blue sky. He found his insights had given him new hope in attempting to contact his mother. He would develop and build a wave transmitter powerful enough to blast a message up through the sky and into the heavens beyond... yet it would also have to be sensitive enough to receive the faintest reply when dealing with such enormous distances. Luckily, his reading of Glass Optics would allow him to build a small mountable telescope to aid with aiming the transmitter. He would need energy generators of his own, the steam to aim and drive the massive transmitter, and the massive transmitter to start with. This idea seemed to rapidly become a large scale project, especially since he would have to experiment to develop prerequisite technologies on his own, but Blitukus had all the time in the world now to attempt it. His voice would be heard, carried into the heavens on waves of energy. He knew that the astral plane was very attune to certain energies, and this energy seemed to be one of them. His mother was out there somewhere, and even if he had to probe every single speck in the sky, he would establish communication, eventually.
[ November 14, 2007: Message edited by: AlanL ]
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Topic: A Kobold's Quest II (Read 76136 times)