Author Topic: Memoirs of a RAFian  (Read 588187 times)

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Offline Cloak

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Re: Memoirs of a RAFian
« Reply #6765 on: October 31, 2017, 05:18:57 AM »
Yes, it isn't lost on me how perfect it is that I get to the climax of this book on Halloween.

New chapter.

CHAPTER TWELVE:
Who Do Voodoo?

The tunnel was capped off by a wooden door, which looked remarkably well-crafted and well maintained. And there was no evidence of zombies. But, curiosity getting the better of them, they entered.

It was probably one of the most foolish things that they've ever done.

Why? Because nearly immediately they were sidelined into a rough pewter cage. None of the three had superhuman strength as they were, even if they did, they were taken unawares.

"I knew it," Saffa said. "Fourbe wasn't dragged down here. She came of her own accord."

The sound of a winch being pull was heard as a hole illuminated the cavern more then the bronze torch holding things mount upon the walls. The place had a very . . . malevolent feel to it. Right beneath the rooftop hole was what appeared to be some sort of moondial -- like a sundial, but for the moon -- roughly hewn from what appeared to be granite.

"Disappointing," Simone Fourbe said, "you RAFians really don't live up to your reputations. You were clearly not intelligent enough to recognize a trap when it tap dances under your nose."

She turned to Elena, "It took you minimal effort to get them down here, I expect?"

"Yes, Simone," she said. She had deliberately dropped the "Ms. Fourbe" bit, because clearly the cat was out of the bag. "The ruse was perfect."

Duff was going to say not really, but he clammed up. The reason none of the RAFians had even tried to escape was because they were trying to get more information out of the two. It was clear that the two were somehow connected to the disappearances on the island.

"Yes, and now its too late for them to save themselves," Simone said, "just like all the others."

She just basically outright confirmed the trio's suspicions.

"Although the voodoo dolls didn't work," Elena said, "strange, isn't it, Simone?"

The Mark must have blocked it. Voodoo must not have any effect on Realm Walkers either, as it is a sort of magic -- one that Broken nor any other magic-wielding RAFian is willing to touch, due to the inherent dark nature of it.

"That doesn't matter. We'll just have to be more hands-on this year," she said, with an unmistakable relish. Then she turned to the moondial thing and continued, "The harvest moon will soon reach the apex point at midnight . . . and then the ceremony will begin!"

"What ceremony?!" Duff said, pretending to be more afraid than he actually was. He was trying to trigger more information that the trio could possibly use against them.

"You won't get away with this," Gaz said, with the same goal as Duff.

"I have been getting away with it for two hundred years," Simone said, malevolently.
Then she began to transform. Her teeth sharpened. Her ears enlarged and became feline, her nails transformed into claws. Her nose became flatter and more pointed, and she grew at least a half a foot in height. Her sclera turned yellow as her pupils dilated into feline slits.

"GH and LH are still free," Duff intoned to the others.

"I heard that, Duff," Elena said. She had undergone a similar, if not identical transformation into a half werecat state.

"Just what are you intending to do with us?" Duff said, principally ignoring what Elena said.

"Ah, it's simple." Simone said. "Every harvest moon we must drain the life force from victims lured to my island. To preserve our immortality."

It kind of flew in the face of true immortality, as if they didn't drain the life force from people, then they would die. So it wasn't true immortality, which didn't exist, but a mere facsimile.

"Well," Gaz said, "can't say I expected this."
« Last Edit: October 31, 2017, 05:21:45 AM by Cloak »


Book 189: "Shenecron's Pets"
Chapter 4: "First Attempt"
(January 7, 2020)

RAFians Referenced Specifically: Demos.

Offline Cloak

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Re: Memoirs of a RAFian
« Reply #6766 on: October 31, 2017, 05:59:14 AM »
New chapter.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
Very Scary Ferryman

GH had embraced and hugged Leatherhead for a long until the little boy seemed to calm down. Leatherhead felt as if he was wrapped in love -- he didn't understand it, granted, not really. Didn't understand the great, and at the same time terrible, power of love.

"You okay now, LH?" GH said, seriously but kind. "Because we can't go home yet."

"Why not?" LH whined. He was six, after all.

"We cannot leave Saffa, Duff, and Gaz behind, LH," GH said, but his tone wasn't too reproachful. So Leatherhead didn't feel as if he was being so much scolded as reminded.

"Oh," was his only reply.

The two got up and dusted themselves off, and walked on the path. Unwittingly, they were walking towards the ferry and not their friends. GH realized that when they came upon the dock -- and the other three were not there. The only other landmark he knew of was in mansion of over-opulence.

But the back of the ferry was lowering, without a person in sight. Leatherhead clutched the side of GH's right leg, scared. Leatherhead really was tired of being scared. Then Jacob came out of the pilot house thing, and descended the stairs onto the flat bed of the ferry, heading towards the two. The rotund man was walking with a sedate little walk.

An alarm in the back of GH's head was ringing that something wasn't right here, as he backed off the dock with GH making haste to follow suit. GH's instincts, both survival and parental, was tell him that Jacob was actually a dangerous dude, but GH couldn't imagine why. He looked so unassuming and harmless. But, then again, so did a Yeerk in its natural state.

"I'm so glad to see y'all, too," he said.

GH had said nothing of the sort. He backed away, putting his body in front of Leatherhead, protectively. Then GH was proved right in his instincts when Jacob turned into a full blown werecat with orange fur and feline eyes with yellow sclera and slitted pupils. His clothes were torn asunder, except, luckily enough, for his pants, which had a Hulk-like motif now. He stood at least seven and a half feet, eight feet tall now.

GH immediately got out his guitar and started to play, with Leatherhead following his lead. But this didn't work. It didn't reach the decent man that GH had assumed was inside. Jacob kept pressing his attack, until the two had to just run, with GH making sure LH was in front of him. Out of the line for being attacked first.

Jacob was making wildcat hisses and roars behind them, and without his music, GH wasn't real effective long range. He had no intention on in getting close range with thing. He was libel to get maimed if he tried, and he wouldn't put Leatherhead in that position, momentarily forgetting that Leatherhead was no human and his scales probably could not be penetrated as easily a human skin and flesh. Still, "probably" wasn't good enough assurance for GH, anyway.

But, as it turns out, GH managed to run them into a dead end. A friggin' dead end!! He felt outraged with himself that he allowed himself to lose track of the path. And it was too late for the to turn around as Jacob roared. There was no conceivable escape. He had them dead to rights.

Leatherhead clutched GH's left leg, he was trembling and shivering. "D-daddy? Are w-we gonna d-die?"

There were no words of comfort that GH could off him. He just scooped him up and held him, as he braced for the impact. The killing blow. But what happened next was not something he was prepared for.

"RRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAA WWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRR!!!!"


Book 189: "Shenecron's Pets"
Chapter 4: "First Attempt"
(January 7, 2020)

RAFians Referenced Specifically: Demos.

Offline Cloak

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Re: Memoirs of a RAFian
« Reply #6767 on: October 31, 2017, 06:44:11 AM »
New chapter. Sorry about the brevity.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN:
Time For Backstory*

"If you're as old as you say," Saffa said, trying to keep them talking. Trying to distract them. "Then I bet that you're the one who found Michael Moonscar's treasure!"

"Michael Moonscar!" Simone snarled. Then she launched into a flashback. "He was the cause of all of this. I was but one of a group of settlers who made this place our home. We looked to our cat god, Bast, for a plentiful harvest."

The trio of RAFians exchanged knowing, but furtive, looks.

"Until that dark night, when he came ashore," she continued without interruption. "He drove everyone into the bayou, all except for Elena and myself. Where they were ripped apart by hungry alligators and who knows what else."

Seemed needlessly gratuitous of the pirates.

"We cast a curse on those pirates. To kill them as they killed our loved ones and our island." Simone continued. "Our wish was granted. We became cat creatures and we killed every last pirate. Only afterward did we discover that, by invoking Bast's power, meant that we were cursed as well."

Then Elena picked up the narrative, "Over the years, boats continued to come to our island. One consisted of spice traders, who started a pepper plantation. It flourished."

"At least, until the harvest moon." Simone added. "Sometimes it became necessary for Elena to lure outsiders back to the island."

"I've had years of practice," she gloated.

Then you'd think she'd stop be so obvious about it, Saffa thought to herself.

"And those zombies are just the poor souls that you've drained," Gaz said. One might think that it was hypocritical for a vampire to say that, but Gaz drinks Blood Light, and doesn't actually drain people. "They were just trying to warn us so we didn't suffer the same fate they did."

"Pretty smart," Simone said, with condescending tones, "but a bit slow on the uptake."

They all heard a roar from outside echo around the room faintly.

"Sounds like Jacob has found your friends," Elena said.

"Jacob?" Duff asked.

"We needed a ferry driver," Simone said, "the old man wanted immortality. So we gave it to him."

The RAFians cast another furtive look. They were deciding when would be the perfect time to escape and fight them. Did they have enough information yet? Was it time to play their hand? What would happen if they ran out Simone, Elena, and Jacob's clock?



* Yes, that was an "Atop the Fourth Wall" reference.


Book 189: "Shenecron's Pets"
Chapter 4: "First Attempt"
(January 7, 2020)

RAFians Referenced Specifically: Demos.

Offline DinosaurNothlit

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Re: Memoirs of a RAFian
« Reply #6768 on: October 31, 2017, 11:41:06 AM »
Yep, this is definitely based on the Scooby Doo movie I remember.  I remembered the cat-creatures, and the voodoo dolls, but I thought my brain was just making that up.

Poor LH.  *hugs him again*  It's okay to be scared.

Offline Cloak

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Re: Memoirs of a RAFian
« Reply #6769 on: October 31, 2017, 06:39:59 PM »
Yep.

New chapter.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN:
Cat on Cat Violence

The roar did not come from Jacob. It was a deeper roar. A more powerful one from a larger animal. And, yet, it was somehow familiar to GH.

As Jacob closed in for the kill, he was tackled hard and roughly with a loud, audible WHUMPH sound, as if it was an action scene in a movie. He crashed into a rowan tree, which snagged a few loose hairs from his fur-covered hide. As he righted himself, he saw his attacker -- a creature that was at least a few inches taller than him, and a more intimidating glower. A glower of penetrating, amber eyes.

This creature growled at Jacob who roared back in an effort to intimidate this newcomer in black. But it failed miserable as the pitiless amber eyes seemed to bore into him. It was clear that this figure was a man-cat, but not of Jacob's breed. The newcomer's hands -- yes, hands! -- were curled into fists and he looked as if he wished to use them.

They stared themselves down, as Leatherhead shook with fear, and GH reacted with slight relief and perplexity. How did he know? How could have possibly deduced --

Jacob took the initiative and attacked first. He ****ed back his right arm for a slash, only to be blocked by the newcomer's arm and clenched fist, held vertically at a ninety degree angle. This opened Jacob up for an attack. And the newcomer didn't waste any time delivering a powerful blow to Jacob's gut, then slashing his face with his left hand and unsheathed lustrous black claws. Four streaks of red appeared after a single slash raked his face, tearing through fur and biting into flesh.

Jacob staggered back. He was winded and bleeding. He was incredibly unaccustomed to having people fight back against him, much less a cat his own size! The newcomer was actually even larger! He had never encountered what he took for a werecat other than Simone and Elena before, before they offered him the gift of immortality.

Intimidation and fear was his greatest assets in this form. He occasionally used it to herd people into the voodoo chamber to drain. He was flummoxed at the possibility of someone actually willing to fight him. That someone actually managed to knock the wind out of him and even draw his blood, his tainted, cursed blood.

He glanced at this newcomer and he seethed. He was so arrogant in his power he didn't pursue in attacking him. Even now he glared at Jacob with those penetrating eyes, he knew he saw disgusted dismissal. Let's just say that Jacob found this in particular rather . . . triggering.

Apparently, he used to be pushed around as a kid, so that's one reason why he loved draining people. To have that kind of power over them, and to show them no mercy. And when his parents died, he found that he never wanted follow suit. He wished immortality and power, two things that just always seem to be a bad thing to seek out together. Like adding two explosive chemicals together resulting in a violent, explosive reaction.

When he recovered, he quickly launched into another flurry of attacks. But each strike failed to land or was blocked. He roared in anger and frustration, which increased when this newcomer seemingly refused to the same. He wasn't taking Jacob seriously! This irritated the werecat to no end.

In the end, the newcomer forced Jacob to flee. He would retreat back to the voodoo chamber. Elena and Simone would not need to know of this embarrassment. No, they wouldn't need to know.

"C'mon, GH," Cloak said, "we have to follow him. If my gut instinct is right, we may not have much time!"


Book 189: "Shenecron's Pets"
Chapter 4: "First Attempt"
(January 7, 2020)

RAFians Referenced Specifically: Demos.

guitarhero01234

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Re: Memoirs of a RAFian
« Reply #6770 on: October 31, 2017, 08:07:30 PM »
Wait, who dis?

Offline Cloak

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Re: Memoirs of a RAFian
« Reply #6771 on: October 31, 2017, 09:06:34 PM »
I assume you're referring to the newcomer? That was me, GH.

And, as I've caught a shiny Tympole and a shiny Goldeen (both female, by the way), I guess you can finally say that I was distracted by a shiny thing. I'll work on Chapter Sixteen tomorrow, after I go to the laundromat. Right now? It's bedtime. Night!


Book 189: "Shenecron's Pets"
Chapter 4: "First Attempt"
(January 7, 2020)

RAFians Referenced Specifically: Demos.

Offline DinosaurNothlit

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Re: Memoirs of a RAFian
« Reply #6772 on: October 31, 2017, 09:10:19 PM »
Yeah, I had a feeling it was you, Cloak.  ;)

Congrats on the shiny Pokes!

guitarhero01234

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Re: Memoirs of a RAFian
« Reply #6773 on: October 31, 2017, 09:19:49 PM »
Wow, I should have caught on to that XD In my defense, I’m exhausted and at work and I have Swedish death metal on the brain :P

Offline Cloak

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Re: Memoirs of a RAFian
« Reply #6774 on: November 01, 2017, 08:06:25 AM »
It's okay, GH. And Duff hasn't registered his species on the list, so, for the purposes of this story, he will be treated as a human.

New chapter.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN:
Drain Them!

"Jacob's in trouble!" Elena said, having heard the roars from Jacob and Cloak's battle.

"Forget about him!" Simone scolded. "They must be drained now! While the moon is in the apex alignment!"

"Sorry, cat ladies," Duff said, freed, holding up a concealed weapon -- it looked like a fusion between a Dracon, a handgun, and a Zat'nik'tel. Duff had been good at such things. "But I don't think you're draining anybody today.

Gaz had reconstituted herself from her gaseous state and opened the cage, while Saffa was still in her Psycholeopterran morph, having phased out of the cage. This was the obvious means that they escaped, and helped Duff to escape from the cage.

"What?!" Simone screamed in fury.

"Yeah, that whole capturing us bit?" Gaz said, flippantly. "We were just stringing you along for information. Which you have provided us with some damning evidence, by the way, of your culpability."

<Two hundred years of getting away with this ends now,> Saffa said. <You picked the wrong marks to target, cat ladies.>

"Cat got your tongue?" Duff said, sardonically, pointing his unique weapon at them.

"I've had enough of these interruptions!" Simone roared in frustration.

Then she and Elena, with an inhuman roar from both of them, finished their transformations into full werecats, complete with orange fur and powerful feet that exploded their footwear. But their respective blonde and black hair remained, if just a bit wilder. Their clothing ripped at the sudden gain in mass.

"Should have seen that coming," Duff replied at this, as Saffa dived sown and released her gas which she turned into hypnotic waves with a flap of her Psycholeopterran wings.

It seemed to work on Simone and Elena, but Saffa seemed find enthralling two people like this infinitely more difficult than one. The illusion would not be maintained. The illusion could not be maintained. They would break free of it, they would --

<Ahh!> Saffa screamed in thought-speak as the illusion she was stimulating the two to see was broken. Their wills too strong to be manipulated so easily. <Perhaps another morph is needed.>

And she had fully intended on demorphing and remorphing into a Tyrannopede, one of her favorite morphs actually, hoping to bind them by wrapping them up into a silk cocoon. But she was interrupted in this plan by the pounding at the shut door.

In fact, that distracted all the occupants of the room, as even the moondial's shadow seemed to even become less pronounced. Again and again, came the beating upon the wooden door.

Then, all of a sudden, the door's hinges gave and the door flew off its hinges. And then it flew forward at incredible speeds, sandwiching the werecat ladies between the stone wall and the wooden door. Jacob was plastered on the other side.

In the corridor, Cloak was standing with right foot and leg extended. He lowered them as he placidly entered the room. He only looked vaguely surprised to see all this stuff in here, as if he had ventured into a realm where all this stuff was placed in this exact order.

"So," he said, "let me just guess what depraved acts you have been up to in here."
« Last Edit: November 01, 2017, 11:03:49 AM by Cloak »


Book 189: "Shenecron's Pets"
Chapter 4: "First Attempt"
(January 7, 2020)

RAFians Referenced Specifically: Demos.

Offline Cloak

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Re: Memoirs of a RAFian
« Reply #6775 on: November 01, 2017, 02:25:59 PM »
New chapter.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:
Ideological Differences

"Let me guess," Cloak said, to a rapt audience. "You were settlers on this island when it was ransacked by pirates -- I assume named Moonscar, just a hunch -- and they killed all the islanders, besides you two. Then you prayed to some petty pagan god who cursed you and enabled you get your vengeance upon those pirates. Am I close?"

Silence. So Cloak continued, eyes narrowing into an apparent look of smugness. In reality, he was subtly checking something and making silent calculations.

"So, year after year, decade after decade, century after century," he said, keeping focus upon himself, "you drained all outsiders to come to this island of their life force to preserve your fallacy of being immortal. All the disappearances -- that was effectively you three mass murdering people who had no idea what they were getting into. Am I getting warmer?"

"How do you know all this?" Saffa asked. "Another realm?"

Cloak tapped his nose, before returning his attention to the werecats, his tone did not disguise his revulsion. "You do this -- literally steal the lives of others -- and for what? Prolonging the time before your appointment with the grim reaper? Ugh. Just stop. Stop chasing immortality. It doesn't exist."

"It does. And we are." Elena growled.

Cloak didn't flinch, but looked down on her, "If that was true, then you wouldn't constantly need to drain others of their lives. You would be immortal and unkillable. You would not need to maintain it. You are not immortal. You just have a delayed mortality."

"You -- whatever you are -- don't know what . . . what you're talking about." Jacob said, still wheezing from their earlier confrontation.

"Suffice it to say, I believe I may be older than all three of you," Cloak began, "and I am mortal. My kind are mortal. Just as you are."

"We are not!" Simone said.

Cloak smiled inwardly. He was getting them riled up. Good.

"Immortality is an impossibility." Cloak said, folding his arms. He hoped his ploy was working. He held up his right hand to project a scarlet and gold construct of what he was about to entail. "Lands die. Seas die. Atmospheres die. People die. Animals die. Stories die. Worlds die."

He paused briefly before continuing, onto a larger scale. "Star systems die. The stars themselves will eventually die out. The universes and realms will die out. Even Death itself will possibly die when all of creation ends. Yet, immortality suggests that you'd outlive all that. Permanence is a misleading concept. Things may seem to stay the same on the micro-scale, but when you dial it up? The pursuit of immortality is a pointless and, ultimately, fruitless one. Such endeavors will often lead to disappointment, or, like you, false claims of immortality. You may be long-lived, but you're not immortal."

"Don't you talk down to us like that," Simone said, rearing up to her full height -- and still smaller than Cloak. "Don't stand their proselytizing like you know everything. You know NOTHING."

Anger. This was good. Anger has a rather inconvenient habit of clouding the mind from rationality. Which means this could be used in their favor. Cloak had to hide his smile.


Book 189: "Shenecron's Pets"
Chapter 4: "First Attempt"
(January 7, 2020)

RAFians Referenced Specifically: Demos.

guitarhero01234

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Re: Memoirs of a RAFian
« Reply #6776 on: November 01, 2017, 02:29:38 PM »
Meanwhile, gh stands just outside the doirway kicking Jacob every time he tries to move :P

Offline Cloak

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Re: Memoirs of a RAFian
« Reply #6777 on: November 01, 2017, 02:42:28 PM »
Except he's on the opposite side of the room, with Simon and Elena. But funny reaction, nonetheless.


Book 189: "Shenecron's Pets"
Chapter 4: "First Attempt"
(January 7, 2020)

RAFians Referenced Specifically: Demos.

guitarhero01234

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Re: Memoirs of a RAFian
« Reply #6778 on: November 01, 2017, 03:35:39 PM »
I have really long legs :P

Offline DinosaurNothlit

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Re: Memoirs of a RAFian
« Reply #6779 on: November 01, 2017, 04:20:19 PM »
To be honest, I'm kind of glad true immortality doesn't exist.  I mean, can you imagine what it would actually be like, to live forever?  To watch everything die around you, the world, the stars, and eventually the universe?  And in that time, you'd have to do every single conceivable thing possible to do, millions of times over, just to keep yourself entertained.  Either you'd have to find a way to wipe your own memory every few thousand years, or you'd go insane.  Or else you'd have to become some kind of being with an infinite mind, capable of comprehending infinity, that your mortal self could not possibly understand nor recognize.

 . . . You tell 'em, Cloak.