Echoes from the Caverns

Hello everyone, this is Asclepius, with the next chapter of a wonderful story from Belladonna Rose, entitledBlack Rose ChroniclesBackground music by Smartsound

Trudging down the road back towards Farmer Filmore’s she could see all manner of creatures about.Bears, wolves, rabbits and squirrels. Crops growing in the farmer’s fields. Cotton. Strange. But that is probably how he makes his living. As she reached the entrance to the road that led to the farmer’s house some bandits made their way up the road….seeing her they turned and made way into the brush.Finding their comrades on the road…dead..they must of thought better than to approach her. Funny she thought.Halfway down the path she noticed fresh graves next to the tattered shack. The farmer must have gone inside and found Darwin and Quentin and decided to bury them. With that done she decided to leave the old man alone. With a turn of the heel she went on down the main path back to the bridge.As she got close to the bridge the lady guard stepped out and met her. Sadly, Bella handed her the note she found on Quentin’s body. The poor girl was distraught. After reading the missive she scribbled a message on a scrap piece of paper and handed it to Bella.“Please take this back to the Cap’n and tell her what you found. I will remain at my post as ordered.She need not fear that I will leave. It will be my duty to avenge my poor Quentin.” She slowly turned wiping the tears from her face and took her post near the bridge.Bella tucked the note in her vest and made her way back up the hill towards the camp. A few of the foolish bandits attacked her but she easily took care of them. This time she was going to check their pockets. A few coins and trinkets. She remembered something one guard said about returning heirlooms that the bandits had stolen. She would return these as well. The guards at the edge of the rope bridge were busy with a couple of those zombie things and immediately cleared the way so she could cross over. The camp was rather peaceful when she entered just before midday.Looking to the one side of the camp the children were playing around their small campfire. She approached and stood watching for a minute. One of them stopped and looked her way.“Ohhh. It be you. The Sword Breaker. What ya be wantin from us today? Here to spoil our fun some more?” Bella gave the child a scowling look and then walked closer to them. They all stopped their dancing and looked at her with a bit of fear in their eyes.“Nay I do not wish to spoil your entertainment. I just thought you might want this.”Holding the book up over their heads they all stared in disbelief. “Is that the Bloody Bones?”All the children ran towards Bella as she teased them with the book. She laughed as they jumped up and down trying to get the book.“Gimme that book Outlander. That is ours. We needs that book so we can sing the song right.”Bella looked down at them and scowled again. “You do know that Bloody Bones is not a fairy-tale don’t you? Bloody Bones is real. And each time you sing that song it brings that creature out searching for who is singing its song. “The children looked at her with surprise. Then jumped up and down laughing and cheering.“She did it…she did it. The Outlander did it. She gots us the Bloody Bones.”It was obvious these children had no clue what they were doing. But that was none of her business one way or the other…..she tossed the book in the air and let them fight over it. Laughing over her shoulder as they scrambled about trying to hold onto the book she moved on towards the guard.The guard looked her up and down and smiled. “Thank you for giving them some glimmer of hope.They know not what they do but they just try to stay entertained best they can. Eventually we will get them to a town and have them looked after better.”Bella smiled at the guard and pulled out a small pouch and handed it to her.

Hello everyone, this is Asclepius, with the next chapter of a wonderful story from Belladonna Rose, entitled

Black Rose Chronicles

Background music by Smartsound

With the intent to make the best use of the daylight Bella moved out and down the road. But despite the time of day it was overcast and quite foggy. She could see the fog rise above the cliff edges from the river below. Whoever carved this place out was insane. Those cliff edges were very steep and jagged. Keeping her wits about her she could hear things rambling about in the brush and bushes. No telling what was out there to greet her.

In the short distance she could make out what looked like abandoned buildings. To the right was a burned-out husk of one building. That didn’t look good. Suddenly from out of nowhere one of those zombie creatures and two skeletons came towards her. Quickly she pulled her sword out and took a full swing at them all. Clattering of bone and the ill sounding smack of her blade against flesh made her wince. That sound is one she will never get used to. Wiping the blood from her blade on the grass she stood and proceeded down the road. Over a period of half an hour or so she dispatched everything that came forth. Even some of the lower ranked Cultists were taken out silently.

Weaving between two of the back buildings of the area she saw a bonfire glow. As she crept closer she could hear chanting from the three cultists moving around it. And suddenly something happened.

Quickly she pulled her bow out and lined an arrow up to fire. There in the midst of the fire stood a mishappened woman…covered in blood and bandage. Raising her hands to the sky and chanting some sort of spell. OH NO you don’t Bella thought to herself. Firing off a shot it hit the woman and she turned in Bella’s direction. Pulling out two more arrows she fired another volley and the woman collapsed into the flames. Blue light spewed up high in the sky and then vanished. She was gone. But that didn’t stop the cultists from making their way towards Bella. Coming out from the cover of the broken-down garden wall she fired off rapid shots at each one…taking them down quickly. Checking each cultist to make sure they were dead she found a few gold pieces and she pocketed them quickly.

As she made her way close to the bonfire she noticed that a strange color ooze was all around on the ground. There was no way she was touching that stuff. So she just moved on.

Climbing across the wall and heading towards the edge of the old town again she heard the chanting. Same sounds same set up. As carefully as she could she watched and waited. Again the woman appeared. Rapid fire shooting and down she went. Again she took out the cultists too. This must have been what Captain Kinsey was talking about. She would be sure to report this.

By the time she made her way back to the tattered road going towards Ackerley’s place the sun was beginning to go down. Picking up the pace she made her way to the shack. Fighting every step of the way with zombies, skeletons and wolves. Exhausted she was happy to see that broken down shack . As she started to knock on the door Ackerley open it and smiled.

“Knew you would make it back. I told ya so. Besides I heard all the noise nearby and took me a peek through the shutters. I saw you taking down some of that riff raff out there. You be a good one with that there sword. Glad to see you back.”

With that he took her by the arm and ushered her inside. Shut and bolted the door. Then went about his business. Shaking her head she made her way to the water basin and bucket and cleaned herself up a bit. Looking about there was nothing hot to eat so she grabbed a pot and rooted around for something to cook. Putting what vegetables she could find together she made a quick stew. After an hour or two it was done and Ackerley made sure he scooped himself a big bowl of food like it just ...

Hello everyone, this is Asclepius, with the next instalment of this wonderful story by Draxenath. It is entitled

Interview with the Dragon Goddess

Background music by Smartsound

 

Part 15: ConclusionMany years passed between the interview and the writing of this conclusion. I have spent countless hours reading books at the ancient library. The amount of knowledge contained within its books would empower the people to do unimaginable things that could either bring prosperity or self-destruction. Time and time again, The Goddess would remind me: “The majority of the sentient mortals are not ready for the knowledge and technology amassed by Humenalia. She had a chosen few who would be her disciples and the ones applying the knowledge within this library for the good of the inhabitants of Curiosity”.It was a fairly large metropolis with several thousands of inhabitants, completely isolated from the outside world in order to prevent the theft and misuse of its technology. Deep down, I really want to share all of this knowledge with the world, but I am also worried it might be used for terrible purposes. Maybe Amaxis thought the same and left it there to be mostly forgotten and thought of as myths.When I started this interview, I was not expecting to have the pleasure of finding this fountain of unlimited knowledge. As for my expectations towards Draxenath, I thought she would be more like Amaxis, a proud deity who would never admit fault and would proclaim any of his opponents as enemies of the world. Instead, I found a strong yet fragile goddess, grieving over past mistakes and feeling devoid of purpose after what she felt was a sign that mortals did not appreciate her devotion to them.Today, I see a determined goddess striving on her new purpose, “healing Humenalia and making preparations for their glorious return”. That makes me reflect on the importance of finding purpose in life. The loss of her purpose drove her to seclude herself and attempt to end her own life. Asking her about her life and letting her know her legends are passed on and prayers are still directed at her after all this time slowly burrowed through her hardened scales and into her heart, driving her to consider if there is yet a new purpose for her to find and live for.As for me, I am now traveling the world with a trusted companion, spreading copies of this interview, and working on a new project of my own, of which no details will be provided for now.-End-

 

Hello everyone, this is Asclepius, with the next chapter of a wonderful story from Belladonna Rose, entitledBlack Rose ChroniclesBackground music by Smartsound

 

Heading across the rope bridge she nodded to the guards again on both sides. Then made her way towards the swampy area. Here is where she was told the bandits hide out. At first glance it did not look like a great hiding place. Making her way through she took out a couple of the pesky bandits and checked them for heirlooms and such of the Solace Bridge survivors. She found a couple. Making her way across the nasty waters she saw a cabin on stilts. This must be the hideout. As she walked up she saw a small tombstone with a candle and flowers. With a sad memoir or ode to a young girl. Lilianna. That is the name of the daughter of the couple in camp. Strange this be way out here. As she rose up from the stone she felt a light tap on her shoulder. Turning she was face to face with a haggered looking bandit.“Was a sad day when my Lilianna died. I swore I would always remember her sweet angelic face.”Puzzled Bella stepped away from him.“Are you the one who stole the painting from her parents. If so I would appreciate if you could return it so they can move on from this horrid place.”Chuckling under his breath he turned and walked towards the cabin. “Aye. I took it cause it belongs to me. Lilianna painted that portrait of herself for me so that I could remember what she looked like. Before she could give it to me the Bridge was attacked and she died to those foul undead things.” Clearing his throat trying to hold back his anger he went on. “Her parents found it next to her body and took it….claiming it was their. When I saw them come into camp I snuck in and looked through their things and took the painting.”Bella looked down at the ground mulling over what he said. Does she take the painting from him in a fight or does she disregard the whole thing.“I understand it means a great deal to you. But it means a great deal to them as well. They lost their daughter horribly and this is the only thing to give them piece. Would you not part with it for that fact.”He looked her up and down and grinned. “Ahhh you be one of them Outlanders here to help set the world to right again. Nah. I keep it. They can deal with their grief just as I have. If it werent for them and their peddling ways they would never of beenin Solace Bridge and my sweet Lil would never of died. They can rot for all I care.”Walking over to a small campfire he squatted down and looked up at Bella. “I have a copy you know….of the painting. Not as good as the original but you can take it…they can have it and never know the difference.” He poked around the embers waiting for Bella to answer.Not really knowing which way to go she decided she would take the copy back. If they never knew she created it to begin with they might not know the difference. She struck a deal with the bandit leader. “Might I know your name sir. I am Belladonna Rose.”“Aye. Pleasantries escape me of late. My name is Yardley. “

“I have decided I will take the copy back to them. But mind you if they see it is not the true painting I will be back to take it from you.”

Trudging back to the camp Bella approached the couple by the campfire. She softly cleared her throat to get their attention but they neither one looked up. Stepping in between them she stood the painting gently infront of them and when they glanced up they both gasped in surprise.“Ohh My. It is the painting. However did you find it?” the gentleman asked. The lady burst into tears and hugged her husband tightly. Bella could see they were both happy and overjoyed to see the painting.“My name is Belladonna Rose and I was told you were looking for this. One of the guards told me to search the bandit camp in the swamps so I made my way there. I talked to a man named Yardley and he admitted taking it.

Hello everyone, this is Asclepius, with the next instalment of this wonderful story by Draxenath. It is entitled “Interview with the Dragon Goddess”.Background music by Smartsound

Part 14: Humenalia’s Message

With the ancient library now residing within Draxenath’s hiding place, we had unimaginable amounts of knowledge at our disposal. The Goddess entered the library and went straight to the automaton behind the desk and proceeded to examine it. – The magitronic circuit boards are intact, – she said. – the only damage they have is the interconnecting fibers were severed, it is easy to repair them.

She took a strange tool from a toolbox under the desk and proceeded to re-attach the automaton’s tendrils. After she was done, the automaton lit up and started making noises, then slowly got up on its feet and addressed us. – Welcome visitors, I am the librarian, how can I assist you? – it said with its unnatural voice. It looked at us for a moment, then it reacted erratically upon looking at Draxenath. – How ca… Please wait… How can I…… Please wait… How… Please… Overriding main program. Identity confirmation required, please remain still while a biometric scan is performed.

The automaton set its eyes on the Goddess’ face for a moment. – Identity confirmed. – the automaton said. – Lady Draxenath, welcome back to Curiosity’s Central Library. It has been 445,327 days since your last visit. I have an urgent video message for you from our administrator, it is 438,627 days old. Would you like to display it?

The Goddess nodded. – Please display it on the screen at your desk. – she said, and the picture at the large slab on the desk changed. It was very realistic, the face of Humenalia, so real I felt like I could almost touch her. She was sad, her eyes red, probably from shedding too many tears.

– Draxenath! – Humenalia said. – I know you will come back one day, but I don’t know what will be of me by that time. My chest aches so much… I barely had time to mourn Sari’s death at the hands of Merealla, and now Athaldar is dead by his own father’s hands… first my grandchild, now my son… both murdered by those of their own blood…murdered by those too selfish and envious to understand how important their work was…

– I have always admired you, and so have many of the humans. The other gods hate humans, but you don’t, because you understand humans are a cursed race. You understand humans lack so many things and have been misguided. Humans have no magic of their own, no fur, no fangs, no gills, no fins, no claws, no wings, and have become used to feel entitled to take things from others by force. That’s how Amaxis taught them.

– You understood, and in the beginning, stood up to defend humans from the aggressions of the other races. Your kindness to us ignited a spark in my son Athaldar. He always thought his father’s ways and teachings were not entirely correct, and so did I, but didn’t dare to go against Amaxis’ will. I always admired you for standing your ground against Amaxis, but still seeing humans as your people to protect and support.

– You loved my son, you supported each other in the common goals you had and did many things I never dared to do myself. You worked to eliminate the hate among the races, to build a common history from the ground up for all races together. You gave hope to those who thought nothing would ever change. Unfortunately, things went wrong because no race was ready to leave their hate behin...

Hello everyone, this is Asclepius, with the next instalment of this wonderful story by Draxenath. It is entitled “Interview with the Dragon Goddess”.

Background music by Smartsound

Part 13: The Ancient Library

Once we finished having our meal, Wallanime laid down and turned face down on the ground. Her clothes dissolved, white and grey fur started growing all over her body as it increased in size and acquired a canid shape. Her nose and jaws elongated, turning into a snout with a maw full of long, sharp teeth. Her ears grew and became pointy as her hair turned into a dark bluish mane. Her amber eyes became snowy blue. In a matter of seconds, she had taken the shape of an Inujin as large as a horse.

She sniffed on the floor, looking for tracks of The Goddess, then stood up straight on her hind legs and signaled me to follow her. She leaped on her four and followed the scent as in pursuit of prey. I tried to keep up with her pace, it was exhausting! She would stop every once in a while to allow me to catch up, to dart away as soon as I was a couple of steps from her. We soon arrived at a large crater in the center of the ruins. My dog friend was wagging her tail and panting happily as she waited for me.

– She came to the site of the battle, just as I thought. – said the Avatar. – It will get dangerous from here, follow me and be as silent as you can. – She shrunk to the size of a small dog and crawled stealthily, approaching the center of the crater, using the debris as cover. I followed her as best as I could. We came across numerous interesting pieces of technology, and she explained a bit of what they were. It all seemed like techno-babbling nonsense to me, and I had no time to take detailed notes that I could study later, the only word that stuck in my head was “Magitronics”, the magical manipulation of “electrons”, which are some kind of incredibly fine specks of dust that carry electricity around.

Wallanime stopped her advance. I noticed she was agitated and trembling. – Don’t move, don’t look, just listen carefully. – she said. For a moment, all I could hear was her panting, but then she closed her snout shut, and I could hear footsteps, they were approaching. At some point, the footsteps stopped, and I could hear a clear human-like yet oddly unnatural voice. “Intruder detected. Please, drop any weapons and stolen property and retreat in peace immediately. Non-compliance will result in hostile engagement.”

The Avatar grew in size again, grabbed me and put me on her back. – Hold on tight, we got to run! – she said as she darted. I looked behind and could see one of those humanoid constructs, clad in odd, glowing armor and wielding a sword with a blade made of light. It pointed at us with what looked vaguely like a firearm and shot bolts of light in our direction. – I thought it would attack only if we did not comply! – I commented. – These automaton guards take things literally, so “retreat immediately” means “disappear in this very instant”. Their behavior directives were not properly revised!

The automaton was pursuing us, and more of them joined the pursuit as we encountered them. Wallanime kept dodging the bolts of light, but one of them she could not react to and hit me on my left arm. It burned! I could not keep holding on to her and fell. I hit the ground and rolled until a wall stopped me. I was pretty beaten from the fall. I could smell the scorched flesh from my arm. My head was ringing, my sight was blurry. I saw a humanoid figure approaching, it pointed at me with its magitronic sword.

I thought that was my end, but then a black figure pounced and trampled at the automaton. Black wings spread and a tail swung, hitting at another automaton. A dozen more approached, bolts of light flew towards the black figure.

Hello everyone, this is Asclepius, with the next instalment of this wonderful story by Draxenath. It is entitled “Interview with the Dragon Goddess”.Background music by Smartsound

 

Part 12: The Avatar’s LamentI proceeded with my next question. – Has there ever been a civilization that improved so much in science that it accidentally destroyed itself?Draxenath repeated the question to herself a couple times as she pondered. After a few minutes, her eyes lit up. – Let us have our barbecue out in the world, there is a place you need to see for yourself. – She picked up the spit with the roasted beef and opened a portal. I noticed the beef was already about middle term, it had cooked much faster than I expected, it probably had to do with the magical blue fire from the spit.We went through the portal and were transported to some ruins. Plants and animals had already made their home in them. Draxenath placed the spit on the ground and lay down on the grass, then continued speaking.– These are the ruins of Curiosity, the most technologically advanced city before my absence. They worshipped Amaxis’ wife Humenalia more than any other deity. As I said before, she was very curious and smart, and would constantly question her knowledge and put everything to test and experimentation. I mentioned before that she suffered a lot as Amaxis was abused by the other gods, she felt powerless for some time, but then she researched for ways to protect him and give him an edge. Amaxis had ideas of the tools and weapons he needed, but it was Humenalia that had acquired the scientific and technical knowledge to develop them. He couldn’t have done it without her. Take a look around, you may find scraps of the wonders they created. I will be waiting here.I was amazed, the legends spoke the truth, this place existed! I followed Draxenath’s suggestion and walked around for a bit. There were remains of walls that could be seen through, and humanoid constructs of strange material that wasn’t metal, wood or stone. They were broken and not functioning. Their faces, although worn out by the weather and the passing of centuries, looked so human and lifelike, it was scary, like looking at a corpse reanimated by a necromancer. Their innards had numerous tendrils of another strange, flexible material. Inside the tendrils, smaller such tendrils were found.The roads had ruined vehicles, which were probably scavenged after the city was destroyed. They were built of strange materials as well. Their innards also had tendrils much like the ones from the humanoid constructs. There were also massive, snake-like vehicles full of seats, capable of transporting hundreds or even thousands of people at a time. Besides that, there were so many things I am unable to describe properly. Strange boards with numerous small bumps that would sink when pressure was applied, and pop back once the pressure was gone, thin slabs and tablets hanging from the walls, with purpose unknown to me, and many other things unimaginable.I came back to the spot we arrived at, Draxenath was now sitting, next to her was a beautiful human woman with pale skin and auburn hair, resting her head on the Goddess’ lap. There were dozens of birds standing all over the Goddess’ body, chirping and singing. She opened her eyes, and the birds ended their song and flew away. – Rise, Avatar! – said the Goddess with a firm, commanding voice. – He has returned and will want to hear your tale about the fall of Curiosity. In the meantime, I will be taking a stroll.The woman got up and bowed to Draxenath. – As you wish, My Mistress! – she said, as Draxenath walked away, the birds following her and resuming their song. Now she turned her attention to me. Her amber-colored eyes looked at me with interest. – You must be VERY special! I had been trying to reach My Mistress for a thousand years with no s...

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Hello everyone, this is Asclepius, with the next instalment of this wonderful story by Draxenath. It is entitled “Interview with the Dragon Goddess”.Background music by Smartsound

Part 10: Humans and Magic– With the improvements in science and technology, did humans forget how to use magic?Draxenath shook her head. – Humans never had any magic, that is part of the punishment imposed on Amaxis. That is the reason humans created technology and artificial means to harness magic, they need to use materials already infused with it.– But I have seen a few humans use magic on their own! For example, the fair-skinned humans from Draconia. – I said. She looked at me with condescendence. – Those are not entirely human, they descend from the House of Athaldar, as you already know.She evidently knew the details in depth, so I could not help to ask. – Not entirely human? But Athaldar was human! How did his descendants obtain magical power?– There are ways for magical races to interbreed, even with humans. There are also cases of humans forcefully breeding with other races to have magic-wielding offsprings, with varying degrees of success. Back to the subject of Athaldar, you have certainly read about him, but do you know anything about his wife?I tried to think, but I really knew nothing about her. Draxenath continued. – Her name was Wallanime Draconia, she was a dragoness that magically changed her shape, allowing her to give him children. That’s where the city’s name comes from. Are there no historical records about her?– Not readily available, none that I am aware of. – I replied. She seemed upset. – I see… most of the important women and dragons have been erased from history, it does not surprise me. She was one of my most faithful servants and a very bloodthirsty one. She was well known for her craving for human blood and meat, no other kind would satisfy her. Humans feared and respected her, the other races worshipped her.– I can see why humans feared and respected her. – I said. Draxenath chuckled. – Oh, you have no idea, she would eat human women, take their shape, mate with their husband or significant other, then eat them! That is where most of the original Draconians came from.I was horrified at the thought of such murderous wantonness. – And Athaldar allowed her to get away with all of that?! – Draxenath was very entertained. – At the time they first met, she was naked, rolling over the pond of blood from Athaldar’s original wife, she had just taken her form after eating her. He was furious as he quickly figured out what just happened. He swore to kill her, and almost did! After an arduous fight, Athaldar managed to defeat her. When he was about to give her the killing blow, she begged for mercy and promised to submit to him and give him strong and healthy children. He was not willing to spare her life at first, but she invoked me and swore under my name. That was enough for him. She was allowed to eat humans only on the battlefield, and she would also have rights over criminals sentenced to death.– Athaldar’s courage must have had no bounds! Wasn’t he afraid she could eat him? – I exclaimed. Draxenath gave me that condescending look again. – She swore under my name, had she broken her oath, I would have killed her myself! Never swear under my name unless you plan to keep that promise! But that was not all, with time they grew on each other. By the time I left, they were deeply in love.– I understand. What happened to her after Athaldar’s death? – I asked. – I don’t know, – she answered. – I left well before Athaldar’s death. Wallanime’s oath expired with his death, so if she was still alive I would assume she grieved for a few years and then went back to her old ways.

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