Ambrosious
Weaver of Written Worlds
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2000
- Posts
- 6,346
Darnell whipped out his six shooter and looked around furiously. Where the hell was he? The last thing he remembered, he was on the back of a nice tame paint on his way up to Salina looking for work. He was a ranch hand and a damn good cattle rustler and had heard about a new drive shaping up in Salina. Right now, he was a very frightened young man. To keep his bravado, Darnell waved his guns at the empty air, searching for a threat. Taking in his surroundings, he knew he wasn’t in Kansas anymore. Where he was though, he had no clue. The lush surrounding he was used to had been replaced by a rough, rocky terrain that looked hot and harsh, but was actually quite comfortable. The sun was shining down upon his back, then his front, as he circled over and over, looking for something familiar.
There was no sound here, not even birds chirping in the distance, which gave the whole landscape an even eerier feel to it. There were no trees, no buildings, no wells, no streams, and no paint. His horse was gone! Damn. This was getting stranger and stranger. Darnell picked out a direction at random and started walking, not bothering to holster his guns. It might pay to keep them at the ready. Confused and almost in shock, Darnell kept walking in his chosen direction. He almost missed the sign when he came upon it. There in the ground were several rocks laid out in the classic “X” pattern. Darnell wondered if this marked some treasure. He stood and looked down at the “X” and back in the direction he had been traveling for quite awhile, trying to decide whether to dig, or move on. He had no water, no food, and no horse, so his options were limited. If he stayed here to dig, would he die of thirst before he reached sanctuary? Just as he decided to move on for safety sake, a terrible sucking noise struck his ears and proceeded to grow louder. The noise he heard increased in intensity, until he was forced to drop his weapons and place both hands on his ears. The sound grew and grew until his ears hurt and he saw spots before his eyes.
Darnell woke up staring into the most beautiful set of eyes he had ever seen. They were big and brown and the face they belonged to looked extremely worried right now. A young lady stood looking down at his prostrate form and her beauty made him forget his predicament, if only for a second or two.
“Excuse me, sir? Are you okay? Can you tell me where this place is? I’m supposed to be in class shortly, and I seem to have taken a wrong turn somewhere.”
“Huh?” Darnell grunted.
“I don’t know where I am sir, and I saw you laying there, and I don’t know what else to do… Can you help me? Are you alright?”
“Humph. Yeah, I’m okay. Who are you? Why did you bring me here?”
“Sir, you’re not making any sense. I was on the way to class and…why are you dressed like that? Are you going to a costume party? My name is Cathy, by the way. What’s yours?”
“Darnell. And I am a little confused. You seem to have on the strange garb, and why do you talk so much? My head hurts,” Darnell groaned out his answer. He was about to stand up when the sucking noise started again.
“Oh, no!” Darnell cried. “Cover your ears!”
“What?!” Cathy yelled back.
“YOUR EARS! COVER THEM!”
The sound once again intensified, and grew louder and the two of them barley managed to keep their feet. The sound was deafening. Loud, too. Darnell pushed Cathy to the dirt and covered her with his own body, hoping to shield the young lassie from danger. This time, due to acclimation, he didn’t pass out. However, he was sure he would never hear again, or the ringing in his ears would never go away. The sound gave way with a barrier busting thunderclap and Darnell looked around to see if he could discover the source of the noise. What he discovered was another person, looking around confused and dazed. Darnell was beginning to catch on. The sound preceded someone new showing up.
This time, the guest was a grizzled old man. His long white hair blew in the wind and his deep blue eyes showed him to be a sharp old buzzard. His dress was as strange as Cathy’s, but different. He wore a shirt made of metal chains, all interloped together. His breeches were leather, like Darnell’s, but the leather was well worn, with several scars showing in the leggings. His arms were riddled with scars, and upon his head sat an unusual helm, with stag horns protruding from where the forehead should be.
“Pray thee,” said the stranger, “wherefore art thou?” He talked like some pansy, thought Darnell.
“How cute!” Cathy exclaimed as she ran up to the old-timer and lightly brushed the horns in his helm with the fingers of her left hand.
“I say,” said the stranger.
“What’s your name, old man? I’m Darnell, and this here is Cathy? Why are you dressed like that?”
“For sooth! You speak a strange tongue, sir.” said the old man. “I am called Pervius the Great in my land, but I fear that my land is far and away lost to me.”
“How cute!” Cathy exclaimed again.
“Does anyone know where we are? Did anyone happen to bring supplies with them? Does anyone have ANY suggestions to our next course of action?” Darnell asked.
A voice from behind a rock spoke, “I do.”
“Show yourself!” Darnell said as he brought his guns to attention again. Cathy jumped behind the old man, who was suddenly holding a dagger at waist level.
“Sit, and I will tell you a story,” said the voice as a man appeared to go with it. The man was also older, and his face showed a hard life. His eyes almost glowed underneath the midday sun and his robes caught the sun’s rays and reflected them back to the sky in a rainbow of hues. The three of them gawked at the stranger in their midst and sat as he commanded.
“Each of you has been called here for my purposes. I brought the three of you from different places, and different times, so that you may come together as one. There is a rhyme to my reason, as each of you has prayed to the god you worship to give you a challenge. You each desire to test your mettle with a challenge that will prove you to yourself. So be it. I have heard, and this is your testing. This land you stand in is in turmoil. There is a powerful creature here, not human, more demon, that has enslaved the population. There are several factions of resistance, but nothing profound or organized. I cannot interfere for these are my people, just as you God cannot interfere with your world. There are rules, even for Gods. What I can do, I will. Here today, I give you each magical powers, powers that you must use together to save this world. It is up to you to discover these powers, and how to use them. The ability to defeat this demon lies in each of you individually and collectively. You will not return to your own time until you either prove yourselves, or you die from the effort.”
The three of them sat in open mouthed wonder at the news delivered them by this man calling himself God. Challenge?
“Good, I must return to where I came. You will have no further contact with me, however I will send help through emissaries as I can. Go, defeat this demon, and your own.”
The God disappeared without a sound and the three of them looked back and forth at each other with pleasure. This was something they all secretly craved, a chance to prove themselves, if only to themselves. They stood as one and set off in the direction that Darnell had been traveling before Cathy showed up. The desolation seemed less desolate and more inviting somehow.
There was no sound here, not even birds chirping in the distance, which gave the whole landscape an even eerier feel to it. There were no trees, no buildings, no wells, no streams, and no paint. His horse was gone! Damn. This was getting stranger and stranger. Darnell picked out a direction at random and started walking, not bothering to holster his guns. It might pay to keep them at the ready. Confused and almost in shock, Darnell kept walking in his chosen direction. He almost missed the sign when he came upon it. There in the ground were several rocks laid out in the classic “X” pattern. Darnell wondered if this marked some treasure. He stood and looked down at the “X” and back in the direction he had been traveling for quite awhile, trying to decide whether to dig, or move on. He had no water, no food, and no horse, so his options were limited. If he stayed here to dig, would he die of thirst before he reached sanctuary? Just as he decided to move on for safety sake, a terrible sucking noise struck his ears and proceeded to grow louder. The noise he heard increased in intensity, until he was forced to drop his weapons and place both hands on his ears. The sound grew and grew until his ears hurt and he saw spots before his eyes.
Darnell woke up staring into the most beautiful set of eyes he had ever seen. They were big and brown and the face they belonged to looked extremely worried right now. A young lady stood looking down at his prostrate form and her beauty made him forget his predicament, if only for a second or two.
“Excuse me, sir? Are you okay? Can you tell me where this place is? I’m supposed to be in class shortly, and I seem to have taken a wrong turn somewhere.”
“Huh?” Darnell grunted.
“I don’t know where I am sir, and I saw you laying there, and I don’t know what else to do… Can you help me? Are you alright?”
“Humph. Yeah, I’m okay. Who are you? Why did you bring me here?”
“Sir, you’re not making any sense. I was on the way to class and…why are you dressed like that? Are you going to a costume party? My name is Cathy, by the way. What’s yours?”
“Darnell. And I am a little confused. You seem to have on the strange garb, and why do you talk so much? My head hurts,” Darnell groaned out his answer. He was about to stand up when the sucking noise started again.
“Oh, no!” Darnell cried. “Cover your ears!”
“What?!” Cathy yelled back.
“YOUR EARS! COVER THEM!”
The sound once again intensified, and grew louder and the two of them barley managed to keep their feet. The sound was deafening. Loud, too. Darnell pushed Cathy to the dirt and covered her with his own body, hoping to shield the young lassie from danger. This time, due to acclimation, he didn’t pass out. However, he was sure he would never hear again, or the ringing in his ears would never go away. The sound gave way with a barrier busting thunderclap and Darnell looked around to see if he could discover the source of the noise. What he discovered was another person, looking around confused and dazed. Darnell was beginning to catch on. The sound preceded someone new showing up.
This time, the guest was a grizzled old man. His long white hair blew in the wind and his deep blue eyes showed him to be a sharp old buzzard. His dress was as strange as Cathy’s, but different. He wore a shirt made of metal chains, all interloped together. His breeches were leather, like Darnell’s, but the leather was well worn, with several scars showing in the leggings. His arms were riddled with scars, and upon his head sat an unusual helm, with stag horns protruding from where the forehead should be.
“Pray thee,” said the stranger, “wherefore art thou?” He talked like some pansy, thought Darnell.
“How cute!” Cathy exclaimed as she ran up to the old-timer and lightly brushed the horns in his helm with the fingers of her left hand.
“I say,” said the stranger.
“What’s your name, old man? I’m Darnell, and this here is Cathy? Why are you dressed like that?”
“For sooth! You speak a strange tongue, sir.” said the old man. “I am called Pervius the Great in my land, but I fear that my land is far and away lost to me.”
“How cute!” Cathy exclaimed again.
“Does anyone know where we are? Did anyone happen to bring supplies with them? Does anyone have ANY suggestions to our next course of action?” Darnell asked.
A voice from behind a rock spoke, “I do.”
“Show yourself!” Darnell said as he brought his guns to attention again. Cathy jumped behind the old man, who was suddenly holding a dagger at waist level.
“Sit, and I will tell you a story,” said the voice as a man appeared to go with it. The man was also older, and his face showed a hard life. His eyes almost glowed underneath the midday sun and his robes caught the sun’s rays and reflected them back to the sky in a rainbow of hues. The three of them gawked at the stranger in their midst and sat as he commanded.
“Each of you has been called here for my purposes. I brought the three of you from different places, and different times, so that you may come together as one. There is a rhyme to my reason, as each of you has prayed to the god you worship to give you a challenge. You each desire to test your mettle with a challenge that will prove you to yourself. So be it. I have heard, and this is your testing. This land you stand in is in turmoil. There is a powerful creature here, not human, more demon, that has enslaved the population. There are several factions of resistance, but nothing profound or organized. I cannot interfere for these are my people, just as you God cannot interfere with your world. There are rules, even for Gods. What I can do, I will. Here today, I give you each magical powers, powers that you must use together to save this world. It is up to you to discover these powers, and how to use them. The ability to defeat this demon lies in each of you individually and collectively. You will not return to your own time until you either prove yourselves, or you die from the effort.”
The three of them sat in open mouthed wonder at the news delivered them by this man calling himself God. Challenge?
“Good, I must return to where I came. You will have no further contact with me, however I will send help through emissaries as I can. Go, defeat this demon, and your own.”
The God disappeared without a sound and the three of them looked back and forth at each other with pleasure. This was something they all secretly craved, a chance to prove themselves, if only to themselves. They stood as one and set off in the direction that Darnell had been traveling before Cathy showed up. The desolation seemed less desolate and more inviting somehow.
