7 replies to this topic

[Wandering Rogue]

~Happily Ever After~

 

Storms are oft the harbingers of change.  We are wont to believe that change is a catalyst of good when in fact it is nothing more than aberration from what is.  Good and bad are meaningless to a storm.  It'll come regardless of your wish or intent and all we can do is hope to find ourselves alright when it passes.  Even if we aren't what is there to do but pick up and go ahead regardless.  Our course was set a long ago by people and places as alien to you or I as places from another world.  The storm they brought broke the world and forever after had continued to make its way midst the remnants.  

So what's it all mean?  Simple.  You plant it firm and deep in the setting and let it read the winds for you.  That way you'll know which ones will miss you and what ones you'll need to dig in for.

~Excerpt from Abernathy's chapter of proper weather vane maintenance.~  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The storm blowing into New Dales was bad.  Not like in the normal way either.  Talking straight up nasty evil stuff.  That magic storm that was supposed to pass the city by and hit the north sticks ended up changing course and being a less magical than expected.  Well, there was magic in it but it wasn’t of the random kind.  It was guided by something intelligent and malevolent.   

The sky was dark and clouded while winds heavy with sand smashed about with malign intent through the streets and corners of New Dales.  The sharp sound of thousands of locusts wings could be made out through the winds as they descended upon whatever scraps they could find abandoned.  It seemed as if the storm itself was trying to open new holes for the locusts to climb through as it battered itself against the homes of the cities denizens.  

The greatest minds of the city were gathered together to come up with a solution to their current predicament which is to say a lot of priests were doing a lot of science while there were mages around doing other stuff.  None of it had been effective.  The only change noticed has been a temporary change in the wind pattern that resembled laughing.  Very condescendingly exaggerated laughing.  Which got a whole lot of people upset because storms aren’t supposed to mock you and on the whole is just rude.  Still, as Abernathy likes to say, this too shall pass.

 

A false peace settled over the center of New Dales as from above a throne atop a stone dais flanked by aged sentinels of stone descended like a meteor.  It crashed into the center square with such force that impact cut through the sounds of the storm and was felt throughout the city.  The dust from the collision with the ground shrouded the figure in the throne momentarily save for one glowing eye. It sat within the head of a man rapped from head to toe in ancient wrappings from another time. Science would call it a mummy.

 

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

From the piles of sands that covered the town arose its dogheaded minions that moved unhurriedly towards their master.  They stomped their feet and slapped the palms of the hands together as they moved creating a beat whose intensity increased by the moment.  It reached its zenith as they all converged about the throne and just as it seemed as if it could be no louder the mummy stood and for a moment all was silent.  A second only but it was a pause that was felt throughout the city.  The beat resumed at a steadier rate and the figure encased in wrappings nodded in time with it before speaking with a force that belied his frail appearance.

 

"Welcome gentlemen and ladies, and before you get chummy, Let me introduce myself, while Ra is still sunny."

 

"So whom am I? I am the Rap MUMMY, Egyptian flow sonny. I looked into the eyes of death, and still found it funny. I have awakened from my sarcophagi, to put you all in a bad situation. No rumination, No consideration. No contemplation. Bury you all in the sands of isolation."

 

"Brick by brick, of lyrical mastery, I stand at the pyramid tip, of the rap hierarchy. I defy all the odds, like I defied all the Gods, I was made for this, rhymes straight from the papyrus, A plague upon this, city that I now ultimately command, come my dogs, lets initiate the master plan!"

 

"This is the new underworld, welcome to it's depths, and I have brought forth a storm worthy of Set. Wish to challenge me? Travel through the maze I have created, or leave my hunger forever unsated. The catacombs will test you, and probably eat you. Especially as I send in my slaves of Anubis's to help you meet your end." 

 

"He's a hungry, snarling, spiraling, god of death ready for for some gnawing upon your bones, so save your breath, before you get checked. I humbly ask you, to take that shit back home, before I crack this pharaoh's scepter across your dome. Your land that I now Own, This gumption you've Shown, be ready to be blown away by the sheer cold, of my righteous tones. So grit your teeth, and bare your soul, come at me weaklings, I am ready to go!"

 

OOC

Spoiler

So a sand storm is covering the city.  An evil rapping mummy sits at its heart and challenges anyone to stop him from just destroying everything.  You are free to try and attack him or his minions or the locusts.  The locusts are the only ones being actively hostile as they try to get in your homes.  The dog headed soldiers right now are just dropping sick beats.  What do you do?

Edited by Wandering Rogue, 21 August 2014 - 06:10 AM.

[Officer Judy Hopps]

Boot to the Head

Ms. Travesura

A day in Dales started just like any other day in Dales. First came the incessant and stubbornly persistent buzzing of her alarm clock, which was met with an uncoordinated smack of a palm that caused the small metal device to go skittering across the floor. Rising inexorably from the comfort of her bed was a temporary sleep zombie that dragged her feet across the floor to pick up the still buzzing clock.

Grumbling incoherent curses that sounded more akin to a rotting undead wretch, clumsy fingers fumbled with the device like a Rubix Cube before finally finding the switch that finally turned off the accursed device. With a mess of hair that was completely flat on one side of her head, and an exploded mess on the other, the zombified girl meandered aimlessly towards the shower.

Nearly an hour would pass before she emerged, with a toothbrush still lodged in the crook of her mouth as a hairbrush hastily straightened the ferocious mess that her hair had become overnight. Unraveling the towel from about her waist, she quickly donned her undergarments, which were shortly followed by the ominous looking black and white uniform of an Inquisitor.

The last detail was the most important.

Her boots.

Sliding on a thick leather boot first over the anklets that enabled her to walk in the first place, Natalie picked up the more complicated portion: a set of obsidian knee high boots made of steel and circuitry. With a snap and click, these two boots fastened onto the anklet devices through tiny holes in the leather, and with a high pitched whine, Natalie soon experienced a new level of strength in her legs.

And not a second too late!

Abruptly, there was someone knocking at her door as a glimpse towards a window revealed that a Sandstorm was taking place. In a post-apocalyptic world, it wasn't unusual; but what came through the door most certainly was. Exploding through her front door came a small horde's worth of locusts, and in her still waking state, they attacked her!

Realizing rather sharply that she was under seige, Natalie then did her only option: she didn't have a weapon that could burn bugs en-masse; so she ran! Exploding out of a window was literal black blur that left the offending bugs in the dust. And through it all, she could finally discern something that caught her attention.

...Rapping?

Darting from one rooftop to the next with superb ease, Natalie easily found the source of the storm and locusts: A mummy using some sort of magic that was unfamiliar to her. All of this mattered not as she thought along the lines of a key strategy which was rather simple; if one cuts off the head of a snake, then the rest shall fall. So, crouching and coiling a massive amount of force in her legs, the Inquisitor literally exploded off the rooftop. Shattering the room's shingles and tearing straight for her target in a beeline that caused her to vault about in midair with the purpose of planting both of her feet in the Mummy's face.

[Diabolical Rhapsody]

Jorgid Grey-Winter

 

Negligee of Undead Husk.

 

Jorgid woke up to sounds of thunderclaps, well atleast that's what it sounded like in her head. A bit too much to drink last night, it seemed. She could hear the rumbling and screeching just beyond her room's window. Whatever it was, it was something pretty unusual even by New Dales standards. Paying it no heed, she stumbled onwards to the bath to water some sense into herself. Ice cold water does what not many medicines can boast off, jolt you into senses. Well, the water wasn't icy but well, Jorgid is a mage so you shouldn't be surprised by her little modifications. She has been living in this abandoned house for more than a few weeks now. She even tidied it up enough for herself. Placed a few traps for unwelcome guests and a hearth for welcomed ones.

 

She was trying to remember what she did last night to get so hammered and how in the heck did she return. There didn't seem to be anybody in her bed beside her, looking into a dirty mirror she could see a bruise on her head. If she was in a brawl and she forgot about it, it was high time to check on her drinks. Only drink enough for revelry, once you get to the point of forgetting it, there is no point left. She walked out of the shower, dripping wet as ominous sounds grew about her little settlement. She slipped on her gloves to hide her hands. It was something of a habit, even before underwear, she would always put on her gloves. Not that she was ashamed of it, just that she was only starting to be social now and thus she was a bit more self-conscious than your average girl.

 

The mechanical screeching also grew around as something tried to force its way inside, the wards were holding them off for now. She looked through the blinds to see a massive sandstorm rising, and a black swarm of locusts its harbingers. They seemed to be circling something, acting as the first line of defense or maybe the limbs of what lay inside the massive orb. She quickly slipped on her undies before alerted by a loud thud coming from straight overhead. She hadn't thought of putting wards on the walls, well apart from being time consuming she thought it would make her paranoid. But now she was cursing herself for that stupidity, it would take too long to draw a ward on the roof now and whatever was up there won't wait for her.

 

With a loud bang the roof caved in as she caught the afterimage of a black feline like being.

 

"Oi!!!" she shouted, clearly pissed that whatever it was exposed her to locusts before she got ready. She quickly dived for her Grimoire and flicked open the page of the Orb. Pulsing mana through the page a orb formed right around her left shoulder, just in time to negate the incoming swarm of locusts. Whizzing and buzzing like tiny chainsaws hungry for her blood. A rune vanished from the orb as a mana wall surrounded her and stopped the incoming pests cold. She quickly scribbled in he Grimoire with one minded focus to purge the stuck pests. The wall rippled for a moment before a infernal breath emanated from it and burned the scourge to a crisp.

 

A beat flitted in from outside as a deep voice could be heard tearing the sudden silence.

 

"Welcome gentlemen and ladies, and before you get chummy, Let me introduce myself, while Ra is still sunny."

 

"So whom am I? I am the Rap MUMMY, Egyptian flow sonny. I looked into the eyes of death, and still found it funny. I have awakened from my sarcophagi, to put you all in a bad situation. No rumination, No consideration. No contemplation. Bury you all in the sands of isolation."

 

"Brick by brick, of lyrical mastery, I stand at the pyramid tip, of the rap hierarchy. I defy all the odds, like I defied all the Gods, I was made for this, rhymes straight from the papyrus, A plague upon this, city that I now ultimately command, come my dogs, lets initiate the master plan!"

 

"This is the new underworld, welcome to it's depths, and I have brought forth a storm worthy of Set. Wish to challenge me? Travel through the maze I have created, or leave my hunger forever unsated. The catacombs will test you, and probably eat you. Especially as I send in my slaves of Anubis's to help you meet your end." 

 

"He's a hungry, snarling, spiraling, god of death ready for for some gnawing upon your bones, so save your breath, before you get checked. I humbly ask you, to take that shit back home, before I crack this pharaoh's scepter across your dome. Your land that I now Own, This gumption you've Shown, be ready to be blown away by the sheer cold, of my righteous tones. So grit your teeth, and bare your soul, come at me weaklings, I am ready to go!"

 

"Ooooooooh! Wicked!!!" she jumped excitedly, shaking her head on in a rhythm as the one identified as Rap Mummy dropped sick beats. She was totally distracted by the rap as she walked out through the door still wearing nothing but essentials, lost in the beat. She was surprised to find what looked like dog-soldiers rising from the ground and marching forth towards the center where a massive throne could be seen, or at least the sentinels that stood watch over it. Her eyes wandered off on herself as she noticed her mistake.

 

She turned to look inside to find that most of her belongings were already roasted by her attack earlier so she instead ran for the roof of the nearest building, a murderous swarm of locusts gaining on her. Another Rune was triggered as they came within harming distance of her as a cloak of mana coated her and the large swarm got stuck on it. She scribbled on the run, to send a jolt of electricity through her cloak to dispense off all the stuck locusts and there it was. Straight out of the fashion book of an age lost in time, a quirky dress for weird times. A full body jumpsuit of dead locusts. She hurried on to a rooftop nearby to gain a clearer view of the mummy before sounding of her own challenge.

 

"Don't take me for a fool, I know I ain't that cool. but if you so want a duel, I'll play by your rules." She tried rapping in a rhyme, taking on her best husky voice for effect.

 

"Send in your hounds to go for a round. If I lose I am yours or else you leave this town. I stand of a roof to challenge your proof, you are nothing like the real deal but a nasty silly spoof, on gods of old and demons beneath them who stomp on our hope. Go play somewhere else and leave me some of yer dope, I'll send y'all to the ground as the new Pope."

 

Dissing from the rooftop, she caught glimpse of the feline she had seen earlier, apparently she was a woman, clad in black, going for the Rap lord. Thinking of providing support, she scribbled into her grimoire and soon a thunderbolt tore through the rising storm, sending more minions into sleep.

Edited by Diabolical Rhapsody, 22 August 2014 - 03:49 PM.

[Jod]

William did not like storms, he especially hated sand storms. Sand has this annoying tendency to make his town look dirty, he did not like dirty. It also had a very bad habit of forming mounds, mounds of sand did not go with aesthetic of his district. This was unacceptable. Unfortunately he couldn’t beat up a storm, and pounding on mounds of sand wouldn’t get him anywhere either. So Will had to be content with expressing his rage on a makeshift punching bag hanging from the rafters that made up his roof.

 

And then the laughing began, it wasn’t a happy laugh, oh no, it was the kind of laugh that made your skin burn from the inside. The kind that went well with a condescending sneer, and a supercilious glare. William absolutely did not like being laughed at by a storm, and by now his punching bag was reduced to tatters. He had now way of venting at the moment and had to make do with pacing his room.

 

But then it all stopped, with a loud crash reverberating throughout the city. Will of course used this opportunity, get out of his room and find someone to explode on. As is the natural course in this new age of humanity things only got stranger. While he was judiciously thwacking any locust that even looked at him wrong, the dogheads popped out of the mounds of sand. Startling Will, just a tiny incy wincy bit. He was about to teach the dogheads some manners when the rap began. William looked around wildly, trying to find the source of the voice. But he had no luck, so instead he decided to climb the water tower, hoping to get a better view. As he got a better look at  the scene, he merely sneered and said “Magic”. As the Mummy, the perpetrator of this most heinous act of vandalism upon his town, issued his rap and challenge. Will decided it was only fitting that the creature be crushed at his own game. So he took a deep breadth and raised his megaphone…..

[S]

“Hands up! I am the Law. Police man with no flaw. The Knight’s got some news for ya, you aint the king of this hill. So why don't yah take this pill, be a little still. Remember this rap ya undead dummy, cause once I’m done you’re gonna feel so slummy.”

 

“ I’m a caped crusader, but I ain’t no do gooder. Law and Order is my excuse, to deal some abuse. I don’t need a cape, to lay down some fool ape. So don’t be be challenging my authority, with  sentimental senile seniority.”

 

“Do you wanna know why, they call me crazy Eyes?Hot headed mean monster, crime fighting master. A natural disaster. Are yah feeling a little flustered? I have the crown, I own this town. So hunker down son, have a little fun. Cause once I’m done, you gonna run.”

 

“When I look at you with my third eye, you know what I see? A floozy decomposer, toilet paper poser. So get a little sober, try to keep yo composure. So listen convict, this is my decree, your fate mine to foresee.”

“Give Up! Get outta town! Sit tight, get beat down! Fight back,get burned down! So before it gets bloody. Take three, make a choice, the end is yours, choose its device. There are three ways to go, the good… the bad… and the ugly”

Edited by Jodgod, 24 August 2014 - 05:32 PM.

[Johnny Paradise]

Ichabod and Moma

 

The days in New Dales had a tendency of blending together. Most Tuesdays were much like most Mondays, and Thursdays and Sundays were likewise similar. Ichabod did not know what day it was today, but wagered it was either a Wednesday or a Saturday, as they were the most unpredictable of days, and he had never seen a storm like this one.

 

At the storm's center was a mummy, and this was something terrifying. It had unbeatable flow, and its beats were off the charts, its rhythm undeniable. No one could stand against that. No one would want to, even, as a rap battle was a futile and, frankly, embarrassing thing. Ichabod, despite being terrified more than he'd ever before been in his life, felt embarrassed for the mummy. Did he have no social awareness? Ichabod felt his cheeks turning red just thinking about how ridiculous he must have felt on his throne, threatening the city with phat rhymes.

 

As Ichabod looked through the window of his small abode, watching locusts ravage the city and an ancient evil serve the townsfolk, Moma walked restlessly through Ichabod's legs. He didn't notice. Moma had a tendency to do this when he was feeling anxious. If Ichabod was feeling adventurous and wished to face such evils, he would usually trip over the cat. Sometimes he skinned his knee really bad and couldn't go after the dark evils of the land. Moma didn't like hurting Ichabod, but he liked even less when Ichabod faced the evils of the land. Those guys were mighty fucked up.

 

And so, when Ichabod turned around to find his net, his weapon with which he would whack the mummy, he fell. Perhaps it was for the best, for he was quite terrified. As he lay on the floor, his nose throbbing from meeting the ground on unpleasant terms, he couldn't help but wonder who would bother rising to meet the mummy's challenge. Another person wholly lacking in social awareness perhaps? Nay, for meeting more than one in a single day was just too unlikely. Ichabod doubted greatly that any would join the rap battle, and that New Dales was doomed.

 

But on this day, Ichabod would realized how much of a fool he truly was. Never one to believe that society had degraded to the point of indulging terrorists, he was quite shocked to hear not one, but two--perhaps even more, lost among the buzzing of locusts and the sound of his own heaving tears--people rap back at the freestyling mummy. What an embarrassment.

 

"W-what a bunch of idiots, r-right Moma?" he choked out, his voice a rumbling staccato.

 

Knowing what was coming, Moma mewled and pleaded helplessly, jumping on Ichabod's back, trying futilely to hold him down. Moma weighed around eight pounds, so he did not do a very good job of it. Ichabod stood up, Moma's claws lodging into the boy's clothes to stop from falling, and grabbed his net. His trembling hands clutched the thing until his knuckles turned white, and he took a deep breath. And another. And another. And another. And oh god why would I go out into that fucking sandstorm, it's terrifying. And yet another.

 

If the people of New Dales would fight the mummy, then the greatest adventurer from The Over There would likewise need to meet this challenge. His country's pride was on the line, after all.

 

With God as his witness, Ichabod would most certainly whack that mummy with a net. He would make sure of that.

Edited by Johnny Paradise, 26 August 2014 - 02:58 AM.

[Vafhudr]

Epona Scathain and Lug the Wyvern 

 

"Do you hear that?" Lug asked anxiously, it's head perking upward. 

 

"I can't really hear anything above the sound of these locusts -pftbpfftpffpffppftpt" Epona responded as she pat out a mouthful of raging insects out of her mouth. By the gods did she hate insect - especially insect plagues. 

 

Today had been a crappy day. As a mailwoman, she had been thought to deliver mail in all climactic conditions. Snow, hail or sleet - sand was a bit challenging, but when the weather got biblical you had to brace yourselves for the worst. New Dales finally came into view - she could have almost missed it with the absolute crap visibility. 

 

"I swear I can hear music." Lug insisted as they descended toward the city besieged by the unnatural elements. 

 

Epona, taking the precaution of putting her hand in front of her mouth this time, muffled out "I can't hear anything. Just the storm and a low rumbling noise."

 

"A what?"

 

"A LOW RUMBLING NOISE." she shouted through her hands.

 

"Oh. Do you think this has anything to do with it." Lug asked innocently as he pointed the massive ceremony happening below. 

 

The wind suddenly stopped - the storm relented, as if the whole world was holding it's breath. Only the clattering and the chattering and the stomping down below continued. The two landed and hid behind a small hill and peered over to assess the situation. 

 

Then the Mummy King opened it's dry mouth - give this dude a glass of water and some lip balm. His voice was basically the most eloquent sand paper you have ever heard. Which shouldn't be that much. 

 

"Epona - is it rapping?"

 

"Dear gods. It is. Such sick and hateful beats can only be the product of evil." 

 

"Well, it's not that bad. Kind of catchy really."

 

"Lug. You give an inch to this kind of self-expression and the next thing you know you have delinquents "hitting the bong" and skipping schools. That thing is attacking the very fabric of civlization with it's underworldly rhymes. Also - the army of dawgs and the rain of locusts is kind of a give away. This dude is no friend of New Dales."

 

"Oh come on." Lug growled. "I am starting to think that you have no taste in music, Epona."

 

"How dare you, you big fat lizard! I can totally do music." she said, punching the multi-ton lizard in the upper leg. 

 

"Well, I wouldn't call what you do music..."

 

"You can't even play music! Who are you to judge?" she snapped back.

 

"Wow time out that's offensive - we wyvern have a long and deep tradition of vocal chor--"

 

"Wait, shut up for a moment, stuff is happening."

 

The two resumed their vigil as people came from the city. "Hey, isn't that the sheriff?" Lug asked. "How many people with three eyes do YOU know?" She responded with a hint of bitterness, still sore from the dismissal of her musical talents. "Okay. Stupid question."

 

"Wait. Are they rapping?" 

 

"Are you asking questions or adding question marks to declarative statements?"

 

"It's a question."

 

"Hmm. Yeah. They are rapping."

 

The two of them watched as rap skirmishes flared.

 

"This is really embarrassing actually." Epona said, suffering from a bad attack of second-hand shame, her face almost as red as her armour. 

 

"Should we leave... or help? Or do something."

 

"Hmm..."

 

"Oh come on. Don't you want to prove me wrong about your musical skills?"

 

"Yes. I really, really do, but since someone has pointed out that I can't apparently do music, I don't feel like it."

 

"I swear you can be such a brat sometimes." Lug sighed heavily.

 

"WELL MAYBE NEXT TIM--- pflbbeblelblefftbebelbel PUAH DAMN THESE BLASTED LOCUSTS." she vociferated in a stream of spittle. She wiped her mouth and continued.

 

"Beside. Looks at these dawgs. They aren't just there to look aesthetically pleasing and act as an actual threat to New Dales as an army. They are making a beat. A sick, evil beat. Those guys have no chance of winning as long as they are making music. It's time to lay down our own beats on these servant of evils."

 

"So... uh... what do we do about that?"

 

"We disrupt." Epona said confidently, getting up and pulling out her two guns from the saddle bag. She slung her spear on her back and pulled her goggles up on her face. 

 

"Oh come on. It's a whole army down there! We can't take that!" Lug sensibly protested.

 

"Well, that's cool. We are not going there to fight. We are only there to harsh on their jam. Or whatever the kids are saying these days."

 

"I swear sometimes you are like 150 years old inside." Lug said, half laughing as she clambered back up on the saddle. 

 

[...]

 

 

And so it was that Lug and Epona surged from the sky, like a thunderbolt of righteous justice cast from the sky. Lug simply squished the poor blokes right underneath him. With a yelp, several of the well toned and oiled dogs were splattered on the ground. Epona unloaded both her guns, shooting a fire storm of bullets and flames into the tightly formed group. Lightning and thunder. Let's see how long they will keep on dancing and chanting, Epona thought, as her and Lug went airborne once more. 

[Unbelievably Majestic]

Alexi

In the highest room of the tallest tower a candy-vampire slept. It slept in a bed made of sweet wrappers, finely crafted by the most artistic resident of the broken down apartment. Of which there was only one, the candy-vampire itself. It was the only resident. It had decorated this small collection of rooms personally. Everything, from the old time-worn band posters that littered the walls, to the paintings and doodles around the door which indicated that the empty frame leading to a hellish drop into the city below was, in-fact, the entrance, and most certainly the exit. From a glance you could tell that this was not a place that saw much in the way of visitors.

As the sandstorm raged and against the walls of New Dales, and of the candy-vampires apartment, something seemed to come down with a lot of noise. It was a mug. Fallen off a shelf in the gentle shaking of the apartment. The candy-vampire awoke from it's slumber. As was it's habit it started the day by examining itself quickly. It found it was in a male form. Today it would be a he, Alexi decided. He stretched in a surprisingly cat-like manner as he crawled out of his bed and straightened up. "What's all this noise about then?" He wondered after throwing on some clothes at random, speaking his thoughts aloud as always. He caught a glimpse of the shattered mug and seemed to unthinkingly decide that his question might be answered with a quick stroll through the open doorway, or as Alexi liked to call it, the void window. And so he walked out, stepping into the air like there was still more floor rather than a sheer drop. He knew now what the noise was. Not in exact details, but he had a vague inkling towards the nature of the beast. "This sandstorm's much worse than the normal ones. Can't be natural. It's shaking my darned house! Broke my mug. That was my favorite mug. I'm not pleased about this. Not at all." He looked for the sun quickly. "The sandstorm's blocking most of the light," He said. "I reckon it'll be fine to go out. I probably ought to bring my shadow-maker, just in case." He walked back inside for a moment, slung an umbrella over his back like a mighty sword and tied his bag of travel sweets around his waist. Now he was good to go.

He hopped out of the void window just in time to see some sort of huge rock fall from the sky. He plummeted in line with it, muttering to himself as he tried to figure out what he was looking at. The sandstorm was really blocking his vision. Just in time to avoid becoming a syrupy stain on the cement he started floating and gently touched down, just as the huge rock collided with a loud boom. Now that the wind, not to mention the sandstorm, wasn't rushing in his eyes as badly Alexi was able to make out what the big rock actually was. Some sort of throne on a platform, a man covered head to toe in bandages was sat upon the throne. "So, is he supposed to be the king or something? King of New Dales. Ha ha! Somebody's trying to bite off more bubblegum than they can chew. This should be worth watching. Alexi thought aloud.

And he wasn't proven wrong.

Within mere minutes the bandaged man summoned a dog-man army of some kind, made them pound out a beat on their chest, did a full rap to said beat, and was attacked by no less than three people. Alexi simply floated around the area trying to get a good view of everything that was happening. The zone was a real beehive of activity right now. He wasn't interested in jumping in the center of that. That would be stupid. He'd wait until some of these idiots got got knocked out of the contest. All Alexi knew was one thing. When all was said and done, that sweet throne-chair would be his. It'd look really cool in his painting-room.

[Drakan]

Tora Laohu

 

In the outer part of town, Tora was enjoying her lunch,a rater generous serving of meat, It was a common afternoon in New Dal- *bzzzzzt*, It would have been a common afternoon in New Dales if it weren' for the swarming locusts, the tiger lady didn't ind them, so long as they stayed away from her-*bzzzzzz-SMASH!* food, in which case they were dead before they even got to touch the smoking, browned work of art that sat on her plate.

 

She planned on just eating calmly while mindlessly swatting the odd bug that aproached, but it seemed someone wasn't about to grant her that kind of peace, a beating sound started thumping on her ears, every time louder, Tora wasnt left with any choice to look out and look at what was causing the insufferable noise.

 

And then she saw it, there was the mummy and his army of dog people, he started rapping, the sound was unbearable, Tora covered her ears on instinct until he finally shut up, and then she remembered and lookde behind her. A large group of locusts had gathered on the table, her eyes looked just as empty as the plate, "my... food", was all she uttered before coming out, one of the dog men was just outside her door, apparently entranced while listening to the other two who responded in rap to notice the tiger lady approaching, a vein was cleary visible on her forehead, "a Laohu must always remain calm...", she repeated to herself to no avail.

 

Just as the sheriff had finished his own rap, the last word, "ugly", was accompanied with a loud "BAM", perhaps the mailwoman who was coming down with her wyvern would notice the cause: one of the dog men had come flying from the outskirsts and hit the ground right in front of it's master, somehow this message was quite more graphic than the rap, from the same direction he had been hurled from, a rumbling noise started coming, a visibly angered tiger-person was running at full speed toward the mummy.

 

No one around had any idea what the mummy or it's servants could have done to anger her like that, but it certainly must have been something serious.