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49: Picking up the pieces
“Basil, is that still you?” Spiro asked, fear and uncertainty in his voice. Basil turned around quickly, face fully healed, and Spiro jumped back. Basil froze in place, mind returning to himself as he stared into the blood soaked dirt, some time later stepping backward and responding in a shaky voice that no longer carried the whispers it once did. “I’m not sure.” Spiro looked as if he was about to vomit, but his words carried a more collected tone.
Read more…48: Rejected-Death
Something was very wrong. He was lying there with two weapons beside him, though he couldn’t remember why. A being was standing near him, pretender standing by the arch; both so easy to see, even as he lacked sight. Something stirred in him, a strength and rage flowing through his veins that he could not comprehend, urging him to rise to his feet. He wasn’t aware of moving, his body feeling numb and rubbery, but in an instant he was upright to confront the other being.
Read more…47: Abyss Awakens
The dreamer stared into the vast abyss once again, as he had before in another dream. The abyss grew and contracted, leaving the dreamer to watch in peace. Soon, however, the voices began to speak. They spoke, a thousand voices speaking at once, all different and all incomprehendable. The dreamer was disturbed from his slumber by the sound of these voices. “Quite!” he shouted. Or perhaps thought? One needed a mouth to scream, yet the dreamer did not have one.
Read more…46: A death worth dying
Basil kept walking towards where ACE had said the Lizard King was. His joints ached, and the gunshot wound on his stomach kept reopening. Still, he knew it could be worse - he would probably have collapsed from pain or exhaustion had it not been for the additional doses of painkillers and amphetamines. He finally found the tall man, now sporting several more bullet wounds than he had last seen him with, although luckily nothing life threatening yet.
Read more…45: A fight worth fighting
“So, are we ready?” Basil asked, suddenly feeling as if a burden had been lifted from his shoulders. ACE spoke over the salvaged craft’s intercom. “Momentarily, the Lizard King is still taking contingencies in the event he does not return.” Basil looked surprised, asking “He’s coming himself?” although upon asking he realized that of course the Lizard King would be coming - in fact he would most likely be leading the charge.
Read more…44: Wounds to Lick
A chill crept up Basil’s spine in a way that hadn’t since before he touched the (object). “It’s not open” he said to ACE, voice a higher pitch than he expected. He turned around; Spiro was wide eyed but said nothing. The Wizard froze in place as he descended the last flight of stairs, likely uneasy seeing the sudden change in the demeanor from what the two had moments ago while concluding their meeting in the upper chambers of the Redcap’s keep.
Read more…43: Hippie Orbital
“You look tense dude” Elliot said, surprising Basil and causing him to almost drop his cigarette off the roof of the condo building. Basil began to focus his thoughts, but realized he had probably taken longer to do so than intended when Elliot spoke a second time. “Seriously, what’s up with you?” Basil took a deep breath. “Some real assholes harassed some friends of mine, I’m still trying to figure out the best response to it all and I’ve been working on things pretty much nonstop since.
Read more…42: Mr Smith
“Come on, ya’ just know you’re gonna’ miss interviewing rednecks who got too wordy in their Facebook rants” Odell teased. He paused momentarily, and when Ned Smith only responded with a short smile he continued. “Well, I don’t know what someone like you did to get dead ended down here in Nashville, but if anybody’s gonna’ get out of here it’s gonna’ be you.” An ambivalent look washed over Smith’s face.
Read more…40: Aggressive Diplomacy
“Basil, are you sure this is a good idea?” Grey asked and Basil responded with a smile. “Yes, Cicero told me that all the Redcaps are fond of you for helping us, and the Lizard King told me it’s okay for you to come too. His people might be a little cranky, but you’ll be fine.” Grey’s hesitance seemed to fade and she returned the smile. “I am excited to see the festival.
Read more…41: Aftershock
Basil stood silently while looking over the table filled with captured Elthrice weapons. He felt he should be doing something, but was mindlessly observing them yet again. The Elthrice’s guns, if that term was proper, were weird and oddly ineffective. Most were made from a variety of metals, only a few made of the standard dark gray-green metal that Elthrice used a lot. Some of them on the table had large protrusions on their sides that resembled rattlesnake egg-sized ship propulsion systems, although they appeared to either be inert or cosmetic.
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