Was reading the Devlogs, and the Future of the Fortress thread, and what inspired to write this piece of fanfic. It's written from the perspective of Human Trader (standard, I know, but it was the easiest from the point of describing an environment.) Enjoy, and tell me what you think about it.
...And after the rain, the evil ground and soil of the place, sucks in the blood split centuries ago, when the inhabitants of the place offended gods. With terrifying sucking noise, the ground takes in what has been taken out. The process is not lethal to a human (usually, there has been exceptions) unless you happen to fall in one of the many dark and gooey pools that form immediately after rain. Leeches and many other parasites, whom humans have no names for, and whose names dwarves and elves never mention to outsiders, come out of the ground and swarm in those pools.
I shall not say what happens to them then, and their skin turns black, they go mad, all the while not being able to get out of that pool. For describing that, would be insulting their memory with my obtuse words that cannot portray what happens inside. Should anyone try to help them, he is doomed, as the moment the extending arm touches the past comrade, the fool shall find himself pulled in after him. But, as I said, the rain is rarely lethal. The horses have acute sense, and don't step in those pools, and we are in safety up on the wagon, going to trade with the mad dwarves trying to establish another fortress in the area.
Of fools, they will surely fail, for no living being can survive the place that offended Armok 700 years ago. And foolish is our merchant guild for trading with them. I have been traveling to this place for 15 years, and I've seen countless comrades, some of them my brothers, die here. For the accursed rains are not the only things threatening the lives of those who travel here. But let's not talk about that, for I am not writing this to describe all the dangers that hulk here. That would have taken years to write, and I am glad that I haven't in all those years, seen the worst things that dwell here. Let's continue with the accursed rains.
After the ground sucks up all the blood and all the rain that fell out the place looks almost the same as before. It would almost seem that this place is trying to hide the fact that it rains here. Even the blood that seeped through the wagon, rushes up the walls to disappear after the rain ends. Even the blood that seeped into your skin, rushes out, leaving sore, and a little sick. It is common for those unaccustomed to it, to feel nausea, and sweat a lot, as the foreign blood that rushes out of your body, makes your body confused what's going on. Some unlucky ones, especially city folk, may also have their skin rot a little for a day or two after the rain ends. It's a horrifying experience, and some die from the diseases acquired while rotting. I've grown accustomed to all that over the years, and feel no more than a slight tingling when the blood leaves the body. To be honest about it, I feel much cleaner than after the dirty showers in those so called "dukes" whom as I wrote, tried to raid our caravan last month. Yes, to me, it feels like a clean towel, and a clean bath. Even my clothes feel much cleaner.
As I've said, it feels like the place is trying to clean up after itself. Like it's ashamed of itself. Alas, that is in vain. There is no blood left on the surface, but you can smell a faint smell of decay. The horses look much more tired than before, and both creatures and plants all look a little tired, a little scared, and a little out of place. Some of the weirder creatures that live here, however, look like they relish it. They feel refresh after the blood rain. The other creatures shun them, and are often afraid of them. I plan to touch more on these creatures, when I have more time on my hands, by which I mean inside the safety of dwarven fort. The ink I brought with me was accidentally spilled by one of the newer rectuits, and I am limited in my abilities to write further.
There are, however, a couple more things a can put down, before I will have to put down my still. I was talking about how the ground is trying to hide all the traces of what happened here. The thing that really give it away, are the behavior of the monsters. Should you pass a troll after the rain, he won't attack, but will stand idle in contemplation of what happened. Before I came here, I would never think that trolls could stand in contemplation, but they do. Don't feel relaxed however. That same troll that allowed you to pass without as much as a threat, with remember the tracks, and rush after you the next day. Hungry, after so much thinking and contemplation, it will be more ferocious than ever when it reaches you.
I'm looking at what I wrote, and I'm surprised by how little I've put down. I had plans to write about such things as murdering mists, deep caverns, the history of this place, about how the dwarves treat this place, and why they settled here. It gives me just that edge of how deep this place is, for I've barely touched it's surface.
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Enjoy. I've been meaning to write more, but I have to eat dinner now, and I have homework, etc, etc. Not sure I will ever continue it. If you want me to continue tell me. Also, tell me what exactly you would like me to write about. I could explore the history of this place (which I would enjoy doing), what happened to the trader, switch to the dwarves side (not sure I have enough experience of dwarven culture to pull it off), some other topics to describe what's happening in the accursed place, maybe write something from somebody else's perspective?
Also, should I link to this in the Future of The Fortress thread? And does anyone know a better name for this thread? I'm generally bad an naming things.
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Topic: My experiences of murderous rains (Read 692 times)