Legends #4 - Distress Signal Part 1 [#186]

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           Previously on Legends: The world’s most brilliant scientist Dr. Isaac Calu and his close friend George Richardson tested a prototype spacecraft. However, a mysterious cosmic occurrence caused them to be flung across the galaxy to a strange jungle planet. Stranded on an alien world, the two quickly found themselves caught in an attack by a band of vicious space pirates. George became chosen by a mysterious sword revered by the planet’s peculiar natives and managed to defeat the space pirates. With his newfound power, and was heralded as the hero “Gira” by the natives. Their only path home through this mystical blade, Gira and Dr. Calu commandeered the space pirate’s abandoned vessel and began their interstellar journey home.

~--~

           “A distress signal?” Gira inquired, as Dr. Calu pointed to the alert on their space ship’s monitor. The repurposed pirate ship had a very rough and dirty interior, but the two had tried their best to clean it up, to mixed results. To them, it appeared more like the interior to a semi-truck inhabited by a sloppy driver. But, better that than the den of filth it was previously.

           “Seems to be,” Dr. Calu replied. “I haven’t quite grasped every feature of this alien vessel, but their idea of a distress signal isn’t too far off from our own.” The old, CRT-like monitor displayed a small, red flashing light on a vague map of the surrounding space. Based on the map, it was only a little out of their way, not that they really knew where they were going. “What do you think we should do?”

           “I’d say we investigate,” Gira proposed. “It may be dangerous, but if it weren’t for the help of complete strangers, we would never have gotten off the jungle planet. It’s time we pay it forward.”

           “Can’t argue with that logic,” Dr. Calu chuckled as he steered their ship in the signal's direction.

~--~

           The pair soon found themselves near a massive space station. It appeared to be intact, and lights shined out of almost every window. However, it seemed to be void of activity. Dr. Calu expected other ships, an attempt to hail them or even hostility, but there was nothing. As the two landed their vessel inside the station through an open hangar door, their suspicions were confirmed. The place was seemingly abandoned, and there wasn't a living soul in sight.

           “This doesn’t bode well,” Dr. Calu pointed out as the two garbed themselves in their refurbished space suits.

           “It should be fine, as long as I bring this,” Gira held up the Starbringer, before holstering the weapon at his side. The two men quickly entered the station, hoping to find some sign of life, or whoever sent the distress signal. However, no matter how far they ventured into the station, they heard nothing but the creaking of metal. There were no other life forms, no movement, not even an alarm.

           The station’s machines were still active and working. The rooms also appeared recently lived in, having been abandoned no longer than a week ago. Yet, there was nothing, no blood, no signs of struggle, no discarded weapons, or bodies. The most they could find were clears signs that some of the inhabitants were in a rush to leave. Yet, it didn’t look like anything was missing from the rooms as far as they could tell. At most, they found spilled containers just outside several of the rooms.

           “Perhaps we’re too late?” Dr. Calu asked Gira.       

           “Seems so,” the black-haired man sighed, greatly troubled by the idea.

           “Still, whatever happened occurred recently,” the scientist observed. “As curious as I am, I’d rather not stumble into whatever horrible things caused this. If there is no one to help, I think we should leave now.”

           “Good point, let’s head back to-Wait do you hear that?” Gira swung around as he noticed the muffled sound of crying down a nearby hall. “There’s someone here.”

           “Really? I don’t hear anything,” Dr. Calu commented.

           “Follow me,” Gira gripped the hilt of his sword while he approached the sound, the doctor following close behind. The two soon found themselves in a clean, white room. The area was filled with beds, curtains, and tables covered in small bottles and medical tools.

           “Seems like some kind of infirmary,” Dr. Calu noticed, “wait now I can hear the crying.” The scientist followed the sound himself before an unsettling sight caused him to lurch back. “Oh dear, that’s a lot of blood.” A large trail of green blood led further back into the room, next to a broken bed. On the ground beside the damaged furniture was a small, humanoid alien with blue skin and small horns on its forehead. The seemingly female alien cried while they clutched their right arm, which was shredded and bleeding profusely.

           “Are you okay?” Gira approached the alien, but they were in so much pain they didn’t register his presence.

           “I’m on it,” Dr. Calu moved quickly. Thanks to the translator probes the space pirate injected him with previously, he could read the alien language on the bottles. Wasting no time, he gathered some clean water, antiseptic, bandages, and painkillers. The scientist moved swiftly to treat the alien’s wound the best he could.

           “Monster...” The alien mumbled, “it stalks the station you can’t...stop such a beast...too many...” The alien drifted in and consciousness.

           “Monster?” Dr. Calu asked, “Hey, stay with me, what happened?” Gira looked on with concern, only following the doctor’s half of the conversation since he lacked the translator probes.

           “I...w-was lucky...can’t stop the monster...too...too...” The alien passed out but remained breathing, albeit very slowly.

           “I don’t like the sound of that,” Dr. Calu exclaimed. “I think we should take her and leave, something menacing lurks in this vessel.”

           “If that’s the case, let’s shut off the distress signal then,” Gira proposed. “Don’t want anyone else stumbling across this mess.” Dr. Calu nodded in agreement before lifting up the alien girl and snatching some medical supplies to take with them. The two men ran in search of a command bridge or control room. However, they were unaware of the shadow that had been lurking behind them since they arrived.

~--~

           “Here it is,” Dr. Calu directed Gira into the space station’s control room. “Hold her, I’m going to figure out how to shut off the distress signal.” The scientist handed off the alien girl before running about the room.

           “Careful Doc, I hear something,” Gira was on guard.

           “There you go again, I don’t hear anything,” Dr. Calu replied as he fiddled with different knobs and switches. “Did that sword strengthen your hearing?” The scientist turned around to face his friend, unaware of the shadowy creature hanging above him.

           “Doc look out,” Gira moved to draw his sword, while Dr. Calu turned back to see a set of outstretched claws racing towards him.

To Be Continued...

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When going to help people in distress, be wary that you do not end up the same.

Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy

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Enigmatic Fantasies - Knowing Their Future [#185]

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 I saw it once, the gleam in their eyes, that heart of fire and soul of passion.

Clad in armor of will, armed with weapons of justice and just enough hope to ration.

I knew not their name, goals, or destination, yet I could see the outline of their destiny.

They would succeed in their quest, their actions would shape history without regard for penalty.

This was no mere inkling, I could practically see their future stretch out before them.

They couldn’t see what lay in wait, but they must have known, or they would not have come.

The world awaits them, their touch, the changes they would bring.

Some may fear their effects, their power, but in the future, that name is all they’ll sing.

I saw it but once, but it was a magical moment that I will never soon forget.

It is a comforting feeling to see the course of history from the outset.

I eagerly await the day I hear their name again when their might stretches to the heavens above.

I will not claim anything that day, I will simply smile and know they were worth being proud of.

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Sometimes you can just tell where someone's future will take them. It is not through wisdom, or evidence or even premonition, but simply by the feeling they give you. It's a very rare feeling, but you'll know it when it happens.

Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy

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Enigmatic Fantasies - That One Quest [#184]

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           “Finally, we’re here, adventure awaits,” Roderick, the warrior, said to himself as they stepped off the lift into the mountain town. It was a long ride from the sky city down to this outpost, and it cost a pretty chunk of change, but it would all be worth it. This humble outpost became famous overnight for its constant stream of quests that adventurers like Roderick were needed to complete. And a long stream of quests meant a healthy living for the working class adventurer.

           “The quest board is up in front of the tavern,” Anna, the sorceress, pointed out. “Strange, it’s noon, but no one is at the board.”

           “More quests for us then,” Mary, the ranger, declared. “Come on.”

           “I have a bad feeling,” Eric, the priest, expressed his concern as the group of four made their way to the quest board.

           “I hate it when your right,” Roderick sighed as he observed the quest board. From what he heard about the town, he expected the board to full of quest posters and requests for help, but that wasn’t the case. The quest board was practically barren and mostly featured mundane requests that paid a pittance. There was only a handful of extremely dangerous quests that were far out of their league.

           “What about this one?” Mary pointed at one of the posters, which had a rating of 6 out of 7 for how difficult it was. “Slay the wyvern that has roosted on the nearby mountain, reward 100,000G. Hey, that’s more than most people make in a year.”

           “I believe a wyvern is a little outside our capabilities,” Anna shook her head. “Besides, we don’t have the equipment to scale any of the adjacent mountains.”

           “Yes, let us take something more simple,” Eric agreed, “how about this? I need some extra hands to harvest my crops and chase moles out of my garden, reward 20G per person.”

           “That’s not the kind of work we came down here for,” Roderick exclaimed. “There has to be something closer to our comfort zone.”

           “I wouldn’t count on it,” someone walked out of the tavern and approached the group, they looked like a bartender. “You four are late to the party, all the other adventurer types cleaned us out of quests. Things have been mostly quiet since the beginning of last week.”

           “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Mary clutched her forehead, “isn’t there anything left?”

           “Well, there’s one, but I’m not sure you’ll be interested,” the bartender explained.

           “We’ll take it,” Roderick assured.

           “Okay,” the bartender shrugged and pointed to one last quest poster tucked into the board's corner.

           “Let’s see,” Anna looked closer at the poster, “slay the fire boar terrorizing the mountainside. The reward is 2,000G, and the difficulty is only 3 out of 7.”

           “Wait, 3 out of 7 sounds a little high for slaying a boar, even a fire boar,” Eric commented, “that would normally be 2 out of 7.”

           “Well, that boar’s been a slippery bastard. They upped the difficulty a few weeks ago,” the bartender explained.

           “Sounds good to me,” Mary smiled, “let’s go hunting.” The ranger skipped off for the town’s exit.

           “Mary wait, we should have a plan first,” Anna rushed after her.

           “Oh, dear,” Eric followed as well.

           “Things are looking up,” Roderick boasted and walked after his friends.

           “That’s what they all say,” the bartender sighed, but Roderick didn’t hear him.

~--~

           At first, the group thought tracking their target would prove troublesome. However, a long trail of destruction through the countryside proved that wrong. The scorched grass collapsed trees, and torn up ground marked a clear path to wherever the fire boar may have gone. Roderick smiled at this fact, he saw this as a sign that the hunt would be quick and painless.

           “This is boring,” Mary groaned, “where’s the fun if it practically leads us to its lair?”

           “This is not about fun; this obvious destruction is a sign this problem must be resolved,” Eric argued, but Mary only shrugged in response.

           “Hey, who are those guys?” Anna pointed at a couple of people approaching the group. They looked to be adventurers, a pair of warriors at that.

           “You’re a group of new faces,” the first warrior greeted them, “what brings you to the mountainside?”

           “We accepted the quest to slay the fire boar,” Roderick answered with pride.

           “The boar?” The second warrior gave him a quizzical look. “Good luck with that,” the two adventurers stifled a laugh.

           “You got an issue with us?” Mary glared at the pair.

           “Nah,” the first warrior tried to hide his smile. “Let’s just say, you aren’t the first to go after that thing, and you most certainly won’t be the last.”

           “What’s that supposed to mean?” Roderick inquired.

           “You’ll see,” the second warrior grinned as he walked past the group alongside his companion.

           “That doesn’t bode well,” Eric gulped.

           “They’re just trying to scare us,” Roderick assured.

           “I hope so,” Anna fidgeted.

~--~

           After about an hour’s walk, the group found themselves at the end of the beast’s trail, a small clearing past a row of trees. There the boar slept next to a large rock; its coat was shiny black, and its tusks a shade of ebony. Even lying down, it was taller than any of the adventurers. Anna, Eric, and Mary felt a wave of fear roll over them as they stared down the creature, but Roderick stood tall.

           “Is that truly the fire boar, where are its flames?” Roderick wondered aloud. “It seems the rumors of how troublesome it was were overblown.”

           “Don’t get cocky,” Anna urged, “it might light up the second you disturb it.”

           “I will give it no chance,” Roderick drew his sword. “Mary, prepare your bow, Anna ready a strong water spell, Eric you’re on support duty.” His three companion gave a salute and moved into formation as Roderick marched forward. “Take this beast,” the warrior stabbed the boar’s hide.

           Upon feeling the sharp surge of pain, the boar’s eyes widened, and it bucked at Roderick. The warrior was knocked aside, but maintained his balance and kept a tight hold on his weapon. The boar bled a little from its wound, but some black substance quickly covered the injury.

           “Now, what’s that?” Roderick observed the strange phenomena before looking down to see he was covered in the same substance. “Oil?” He immediately recognized the scent.

           “Here it comes!” Mary announced as she fired a volley of arrows into the boar, which had started to charge. The arrows struck true, but the beast showed no signs of slowing down, and Roderick was knocked off his feet.

           “Roderick,” Eric cried out to his friend. However, his panic only grew worse as the boar ignited into a ball of flame.

           “I warned you!” Anna released a surge of water magic, which extinguished the beast for a moment. Roderick quickly noted that the creature's flames were already returning and took his chance to roll out the way of its rampage.

           “Brace yourself,” Eric cast a spell of reinforcement on Roderick as the boar turned around and charged him again. The warrior managed to hold off the beasts charge for a few seconds. With Roderick holding the line, Mary and Anna had a chance to pepper the beast with their ranged attacks. Another bundle of arrows and another surge of water struck true.

           “It’s slowing down, keep on it!” Mary exclaimed, but Roderick could not hold his ground any longer and was forced to jump away from the beast. The again extinguished boar snorted at the warrior, but quickly turned its attention to Anna and Eric and charged them instead.

           “Oh no, you don’t!” Roderick tried to grab the boar, but even with its flames gone, he could not grip the creature’s oily hide.

           “I knew this would happen,” Eric cried as he and Anna dived out of the way of the boar’s charge. The creature broke through the tree line, but suddenly stopped on a dime and turned to face the group again.

           “It’s injured, but it still has a little fight in it,” Roderick pointed out. “All things considered it is still not that strong, how is this thing rated 3 out of 7 in difficulty?” As if in response, the boar let loose a loud squeal that echoed across the mountainside.

           “Forget it, let’s claim our loot,” Mary jumped in front of Roderick and fired an arrow which nailed the boar in the eye. The creature squealed again right as Anna fired off another water spell, which slammed it to the ground. It did not stand back up this time.

           “Well, that went a little off the rails, but still fairly well,” Roderick puffed out his chest in pride and moved to check the beast for any signs of life. “Hmm?” The warrior turned back to his group, “do you hear something?” The entire party flipped around as the ground began to shake. Emerging from the other end of the tree line was another fire boar, that resembled the one they had just fought. However, this one was much larger and more mature, its tusks were thick as logs, and its fiery mane ignited the trees around it.

           “Oh, so that must be the fire boar,” Mary pointed out, “so we’ve probably been fighting its baby.” The ranger let out a forced laugh, “Uh oh.” The small boar behind them let out a squeak of pain, which prompted an ear-splitting roar from the parent.

           “Should we run or-?” Anna tried to ask.

           “Run!” Roderick exclaimed as he turned on his heels, the rest of the group followed suit and sprinted away. The giant boar chased them for almost half-a-mile before finally giving up and letting them go.

~--~

           The adventurers did not stop running until they were back inside the town. Exhausted and out of breath, they all collapsed in front of the tavern. The same bartender from before peeked out the window and shook his head at the sight. However, the four were too tired to even register his arrival.

           “How’d your boar hunt go?” The bartender asked.

           “It went well at first, then very poorly,” Mary exclaimed between deep breathes.

           “Why did no one warn us there were two?” Roderick let out a half-yell.

           “I tried to,” the bartender shook his head, “that quest is this town’s famous rookie trap. It seems easy enough at first glance, but then it pulls out the rug from under you. Most adventurers around these parts avoid that quest like the plague. But, they always encourage others to try so they can have a good laugh at their expense.”

           “Lovely,” Anna replied as the bartender left the four to their own devices.

           “Maybe,” Roderick began, “maybe we should just take one of those easy quests.”

           “Amen.” “Agreed.” “No complaints here.” The party collectively agreed.

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As a beginner in any field there are many beginner's traps you must be wary of. The problem is, as a beginner you have no idea what a trap even looks like.

Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy

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Night of One Hundred Horrors - The House off Long Oak Road [#183]

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           “It was truly a tragedy,” the goth girl went on and on, “such a dark and lonely place.” He hadn’t bothered to listen to the story in full, his attention was drawn to “other places.” All he caught was something about an old house off Long Oak Road.

           “Fascinating,” he lied while he stared at the goth girl’s creepy, dark eyes. ‘She must wear contacts,’ he thought as he observed her almost soul-piercing gaze.

           “Alas, all the family’s vast wealth was lost on that night,” the girl continued. “No one else was brave enough to step foot on that land, not even thieves or debt collectors could muster the courage. So it is believed to still be there to this day.”

           “Really?” The last part finally caught his attention. ‘A good chunk of money just lying around. Ah, what I would do with money like that,’ he fantasized, ‘there’s no way it’s still there.’

           “It’s such a shame really,” the goth girl smiled. “If someone could lay claim to that money, they’d be the richest person in the region.”

           “That is a shame,” he nodded like he agreed with her, but really he was trying to get a better look at her chest. That black, lacey dress that hugged her features left little to the imagination, but that didn’t stop him.

           “If only someone would claim it,” she leaned closer to him, “they’d be more than just the talk of the town.”

         “If only,” he repeated, enjoying his new view, “but I guess it wasn’t meant to be. Not like anyone has seen it.”

           “I have,” she giggled.

           “You have?” He has surprised.

           “I took a peek, not that long ago,” the goth girl whispered in his ear, “it’s right there in the middle of the first floor. I saw it through a window on a door.”

           “Why didn’t you take it?” He inquired.

           “The door was locked,” she explained, “besides, one should never disturb wealth in such a haunted location. The spirits would grow upset.”

           “You, scared of a ghost?” He chuckled.

           “Scared of their wrath,” she replied, “I guess, I’m not quite brave enough.”

           “Ah, don’t be scared,” he put his arm around her. ‘Oh, this just got so much better.’

~--~

           He always fancied girls like her; he liked the creepy vibe. He also knew nothing impressed them more than proving your bravery visiting a haunted house. At least, that’s what his friends told him. Regardless, that house off Long Oak Road had a fortune right for the taking. He’d pocket that big chunk of change, and then he’d pocket that beauty. He’d be living the dream before the day’s end, and to think most people spent decades to reach that point.

           Without fear nor care, he drove up to the old, haunted house and walked inside with a swagger. The creaky, wooden building looked pitch black in the overcast lighting of the autumn afternoon. Most people would be afraid at this sight, but he was too focused on the money.

           The front door led right into a cobweb-covered living room. The furniture looked half-decayed and ready to crumble to dust at a moment’s notice. He watched for any spiders that might be hanging from the ceiling as he searched for the door with a window. The first door he found lead only to a closet full of moldy clothes. Behind the second was a small, narrow hallway that led to a bathroom with cracked tiles. Finally, the third door led to a much larger hallway with several doors and the stairs to the second floor.

           He glanced up the stairs and could only see darkness above. For a moment, he thought he saw several shadowed figures. However, as his eyes adjusted, he realized it was only furniture and paintings. He shrugged as he checked the next set of doors, each of which had a window.

           “Is it this one?” He looked through the first door, but could only see a child’s room. It was fairly girly, but whoever said girl was, she clearly favored creepy dolls and the color black. “Yep, I’m having nightmares tonight,” he admitted as he tried to dispel the image of the dolls from his memory.

           “What about this one?” He checked the second door. Through the window, he could see a small sitting room with a coffee table and a few torn-up couches. The only thing of note was the broken tea set on the table. “Nothing of interest.”

           “Okay, it has to be this one,” he peeked through the last door’s window, “jackpot.” The window was dirty and distorted the image, but that didn’t hide all the sight of the shining gold and jewels behind it. Of course, just like the goth girl said, the door was locked. “Let’s work a little magic,” he jiggled the knob violently. Eventually, the old door gave in, and the knob broke right off. “Come on,” he pushed on the door until it finally caved to his demands.

           “Easy,” he sauntered into the room through the forced open door, only to be met with a gust of wind right to his face. “What the?” He looked up to see an open window across the room, “seriously, why has nobody robbed this place blind?” He shrugged and went for the gold and jewels. The collection of wealth was quite heavy, and he wasn’t sure how he was going to carry it all back. Another gust of wind blew through the room, he didn’t really care until it forced the door behind him closed.

           “You got to be kidding, whatever I’ll climb out the window,” he turned to see the window close abruptly. “That’s...concerning.” He went to try the door, but this time it didn’t budge no matter how hard he pushed on it. It wasn’t like the door was any stronger, it felt like there was something behind it. He looked through the window and was taken aback when he noticed a dresser was in front of the door. “Okay, who’s the wise guy?”

           “The spirits will grow restless, you know?” A familiar voice echoed from outside. He turned to see the goth girl’s face in the window, her soul-piercing gaze was a bit harsher than before.

           “Are you doing this? Knock it off,” he exclaimed.

           “The spirits do what they want, I’m here, to tell the truth,” she replied.

           “Ha, ha,” he shook his head, “now help me open the window.”

           “No,” she refused with a cackle.

           “That’s it,” he picked up a particularly weighty piece of gold and slammed it against the window, but the glass didn’t even break. “The hell?”

           “You disturbed the gold, you really shouldn’t have done that so carelessly,” the goth girl stated.

           “All right, where are the rest of your friends?” He demanded an answer, “who did you get to put that dresser in front of the door? Have you been following me?”

           “I told you the spirits would grow restless,” the goth girl explained.

           “That doesn’t answer my question,” he grew angrier. “Fine,” he turned around, “I’ll break the door off its hinges if I have to.”

           “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” the girl’s voice grew closer.

           “What are you-?” He flipped around to see the goth girl was inside the room. “W-wha?”

           “Why are you in such a rush to leave? Stay awhile,” she approached him with an uneven smile.

           “Stay back!” He warned, still brandishing the chunk of gold like a club.

           “You know you don’t have to go to such lengths to impress me,” she ignored him, “I already planned on keeping you around.”

           “I said, stay back!” He lifted the gold up, ready to strike.

           “I wouldn’t do that,” she warned, “you’d make me very mad.”

           “I,” a chill went up his spine, almost paralyzing him, “don’t-”

           “No need to be afraid,” her body pressed up against his, her eyes looking up into his own, “you’re a big brave man, aren’t you?”

           “Stay away!” He screamed.

           “No,” she cackled, “you stay here.”

           “Aaaah!” He screamed as the chill consumed every part of his body, and he felt his consciousness slowly slip away.

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An act of bravery made in self-interest is likely to not produce the results you want. After all, a selfish act, especially a careless one, tends to bite you in the ass.

Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy

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