Fun Size
Newbie
In celebration of a wonderful ending to the game year I thought I'd post a teaser to keep our mouths watering for more. And so we present the following interlude: The Two Reports!
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It had been a bad day. Wretched, even. None had been like it in...millennia? He wasn’t sure how many, but definitely millennia. To lose not just one, but two of his finest suits in a single act? It was more aggravating than anything in recent memory. The insult that came with it was even worse. Ruen Kraytor? Please. To be compared to such a lesser being was unconscionable.
The man sat on his throne, contemplating the precise manner in which his vengeance would be inflicted, when an apparition appeared before him: a gaunt, confused young man of twenty, hair unkempt, ceramic mug clutched in his shaking left hand.
“G-grandfather? Is that you?” the image asked.
With a long, irritated sigh the man responded, “Yes, Jerath? What have you to report?”
“I’m sorry, lord. It appears that...” His confusion waned, replaced by fear. “...s-someone beat us to it.”
“What?” he said in flat disbelief.
“The colossus. Hyperion. It has been destroyed and the core harvested. There is nothing of value left.”
“I... see.”
“My Lord, how should we proceed?” the apparition asked, taking a hungry sip from his mug.
Wretched was no longer an adequate descriptor. The man’s feelings on this day transformed into something else, something unfamiliar. What was it? It was all just so inconceivable and alien. Was this a dream? No, the pain felt all too real.
After a long and awkward silence a part of him finally came to understand. He looked Jerath square in the eye with a smile that would not soon be forgotten.
“You have worked diligently this past month, grandson. I’ve no doubt that you did the best you could, and your loyalty should be rewarded.”
“T-thank you sir. How so?”
“You are ordered to rest. Effective immediately.”
*******************************************************
“Lieutenant Farai...” called a voice, both calm and urgent. “Lieutenant, one of our scouts has returned.”
If it wasn’t for her training and discipline, Farai would have ripped the soldier apart for interrupting her sleep. For goodness sake, it wasn’t even close to dawn! She spent a moment to compose herself before responding.
“This better be important.” she grunted, “Bring him in.”
Farai took the brief privacy to stretch and put on her chain shirt. A short time later a young Sarr in dusty leathers entered the tent and saluted.
“Sergeant Kamisi reporting, ma’am.”
“At ease. What have you to report?” it took her a moment to realize some people were missing, “Where’s the rest of your squad?”
“We split up to keep tabs on several targets. But first let me explain: the colossus is no more.”
“What!?” Suddenly the Lieutenant was awake and alert.
Kamisi nodded, “Three days ago, a group of seventeen people of mixed races approached the colossus and engaged. My unit watched from afar. It was an incredible fight. The warriors were able to deflect and block the colossus’s attacks like any conventional weapon. One human even engaged it with his fists!”
“That... is indeed incredible. Sounds like Outlander work to me.”
“I agree. When it fell, they rummaged through the rubble for a moment before disappearing into thin air.”
“Definitely Outlanders. But if this happened three days ago, you could have arrived here yesterday. What kept you?”
“We... ran into a throng of golems on the way back. Iron golems wearing Fathomfall livery.”
The second shock hit her just as hard as the first, “Fathomfall? What were they doing here?”
“Their path lead us right back to the carcass of the colossus. They seemed to have a keen interest in it too, and spent a while sorting through the rubble. When they started to leave, that’s when we split up. I went to trace back where they came from and the others are keeping tabs on their movement.”
“Alright, what did you learn?”
“I traced their movements back to the edge of Big Brother, to a cave in its cliff face. Inside was some sort of old ruin with strange glyphs I’d never seen before. They spent some time looking around there too before leaving.”
“Did you find anything there?”
“Just this.” with that, the soldier produced a set of dirty clothes, the shirt carrying a brownish stain splattered across the front and the fragments of a broken mug.
Farai brought it to her nose for a sniff. It caused her head to jolt back. “Coffee?”
Kamisi shrugged, “No idea. But I would guess the owner was dead when the golems got there. No blood, no cuts, no indication of any struggle.”
“Huh...” She spent a moment lost in thought, trying to make sense of all this. “And where did they come from before this cave?”
“Due west, but I thought it more prudent to come here and report than pursue that far afield.”
Farai nodded in agreement just before another thought popped in her head, “And did you see who was in command of the Fathomfall golems? Dwarf? Dark Elf? Stone Elf?”
“Well...” Kamisi hesitated, “We got close enough to overhear them, but the only voices and orders came from golems.”
“Ok, that doesn’t change my question. Who was stored inside the golems: Dwarf, Dark Elf, or Stone Elf?”
“That’s the thing ma’am...the golems commanding the others weren’t expressing any racial characteristics. As far as I can tell, no one was spirit storing inside them at all.”
The information visibly stunned Farai. “I... I think we need to get some messages out...”
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It had been a bad day. Wretched, even. None had been like it in...millennia? He wasn’t sure how many, but definitely millennia. To lose not just one, but two of his finest suits in a single act? It was more aggravating than anything in recent memory. The insult that came with it was even worse. Ruen Kraytor? Please. To be compared to such a lesser being was unconscionable.
The man sat on his throne, contemplating the precise manner in which his vengeance would be inflicted, when an apparition appeared before him: a gaunt, confused young man of twenty, hair unkempt, ceramic mug clutched in his shaking left hand.
“G-grandfather? Is that you?” the image asked.
With a long, irritated sigh the man responded, “Yes, Jerath? What have you to report?”
“I’m sorry, lord. It appears that...” His confusion waned, replaced by fear. “...s-someone beat us to it.”
“What?” he said in flat disbelief.
“The colossus. Hyperion. It has been destroyed and the core harvested. There is nothing of value left.”
“I... see.”
“My Lord, how should we proceed?” the apparition asked, taking a hungry sip from his mug.
Wretched was no longer an adequate descriptor. The man’s feelings on this day transformed into something else, something unfamiliar. What was it? It was all just so inconceivable and alien. Was this a dream? No, the pain felt all too real.
After a long and awkward silence a part of him finally came to understand. He looked Jerath square in the eye with a smile that would not soon be forgotten.
“You have worked diligently this past month, grandson. I’ve no doubt that you did the best you could, and your loyalty should be rewarded.”
“T-thank you sir. How so?”
“You are ordered to rest. Effective immediately.”
*******************************************************
“Lieutenant Farai...” called a voice, both calm and urgent. “Lieutenant, one of our scouts has returned.”
If it wasn’t for her training and discipline, Farai would have ripped the soldier apart for interrupting her sleep. For goodness sake, it wasn’t even close to dawn! She spent a moment to compose herself before responding.
“This better be important.” she grunted, “Bring him in.”
Farai took the brief privacy to stretch and put on her chain shirt. A short time later a young Sarr in dusty leathers entered the tent and saluted.
“Sergeant Kamisi reporting, ma’am.”
“At ease. What have you to report?” it took her a moment to realize some people were missing, “Where’s the rest of your squad?”
“We split up to keep tabs on several targets. But first let me explain: the colossus is no more.”
“What!?” Suddenly the Lieutenant was awake and alert.
Kamisi nodded, “Three days ago, a group of seventeen people of mixed races approached the colossus and engaged. My unit watched from afar. It was an incredible fight. The warriors were able to deflect and block the colossus’s attacks like any conventional weapon. One human even engaged it with his fists!”
“That... is indeed incredible. Sounds like Outlander work to me.”
“I agree. When it fell, they rummaged through the rubble for a moment before disappearing into thin air.”
“Definitely Outlanders. But if this happened three days ago, you could have arrived here yesterday. What kept you?”
“We... ran into a throng of golems on the way back. Iron golems wearing Fathomfall livery.”
The second shock hit her just as hard as the first, “Fathomfall? What were they doing here?”
“Their path lead us right back to the carcass of the colossus. They seemed to have a keen interest in it too, and spent a while sorting through the rubble. When they started to leave, that’s when we split up. I went to trace back where they came from and the others are keeping tabs on their movement.”
“Alright, what did you learn?”
“I traced their movements back to the edge of Big Brother, to a cave in its cliff face. Inside was some sort of old ruin with strange glyphs I’d never seen before. They spent some time looking around there too before leaving.”
“Did you find anything there?”
“Just this.” with that, the soldier produced a set of dirty clothes, the shirt carrying a brownish stain splattered across the front and the fragments of a broken mug.
Farai brought it to her nose for a sniff. It caused her head to jolt back. “Coffee?”
Kamisi shrugged, “No idea. But I would guess the owner was dead when the golems got there. No blood, no cuts, no indication of any struggle.”
“Huh...” She spent a moment lost in thought, trying to make sense of all this. “And where did they come from before this cave?”
“Due west, but I thought it more prudent to come here and report than pursue that far afield.”
Farai nodded in agreement just before another thought popped in her head, “And did you see who was in command of the Fathomfall golems? Dwarf? Dark Elf? Stone Elf?”
“Well...” Kamisi hesitated, “We got close enough to overhear them, but the only voices and orders came from golems.”
“Ok, that doesn’t change my question. Who was stored inside the golems: Dwarf, Dark Elf, or Stone Elf?”
“That’s the thing ma’am...the golems commanding the others weren’t expressing any racial characteristics. As far as I can tell, no one was spirit storing inside them at all.”
The information visibly stunned Farai. “I... I think we need to get some messages out...”