Patchwork Universe

Peri · God Joined: 29 May 2004 Posts: 56 Location: Terminus

"Whoa boy," said Peri. From one of her trouser pockets she produced a large red and yellow can bearing the legend "BUG-OFF Industrial-Strength Insect Repellent". Shaking the can so it rattled loudly, she squirted a cloud of the stuff at the advancing scarabs.

"And I thought the giant mosquitoes in the Jungles of... of... wherever-it-was were nasty," she said. Spinning round, she bowled the can in the direction of Karl and Larkin. "Quick! Spray yourselves with this!"

Karl Groever · Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 1:41 am Post subject:

Karl didn't need telling twice. The swarm fast approaching looked enraged and engorged with poison both. He had never seen any insect quite so vicious as those approaching, although his experiences in the Desert allowed him to make an immediate assumption - scarabs, of some description. He had little further time to think. The swarm were almost upon him. He dropped the pepperbox into his suit pocket and caught the can. Sprayed himself, yelling all the time in Peri's direction. 'I hope to the gods this works!'.
His next thought; to fall to one knee, hurl his shoulder bag to the floor and fish within it, for the item that had suddenly recalled itself to him. But now the swarm was massing above his head...

[OOC: All adrenaline propelled, so I assume that it is happening remarkably fast...although not perhaps fast enough...]

liason · Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 9:52 am Post subject:

The stone lunchbox watched with increasing astonishment. There was only one thing to do.

"All available salvagers to this location. We appear to have located a war zone."

Salvagers like war zones. People drop things. If you're really lucky, the things they drop are bodies.

Larkin Quickgrip · Strong Joined: 21 Jan 2004 Posts: 194 Location: The Slums

Larkin suddenly gave off a very loud scream. "Its trying to eat me SKIN!" He quickly threw off his jacket and hurled his knife which landed point down quivering where the small lump was bulging out, skewering the evil "buttercup".

Looking down at his side there was a very large and apparent hole in his grimy under-vest with an equally large and apparent mark underneath. Larkins hand flew to the stain upon his skin, covering it and he glared at the monster that had done this to him.

He got as far as saying "You ba . . ." when he began to violently cough and retch. Slowly edging his way backwards his spine hit the wall of the building and Larkin froze, before gently sliding down and landing on the floor where he remained unable to move, let alone fight.

(ooc, just for clarification Larkin isn't dead, merely paralysed. Of course the other characters don't know this yet)

Lord Doomshadow · Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 12:20 pm Post subject:

Clashing their mandibles in baffled rage, the scarabs veered away from the loathsome unfood scent that now surrounded Karl.

A moment later, the archaeologist could see that the swarm was reforming into a different shape. It developed two legs, two arms, a mass that might perhaps have been a head... The scarabs settled into place, locking their legs and wings together to form a single body, a beetle colony that walked like a man.

The creature reached down with its right arm and wrenched a handful of the scarabs that made up its form from its chest. Plucking off their razor sharp mandibles, it turned to hurl them at Karl...

Lord Doomshadow · Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 12:22 pm Post subject:

"The evil beetles have injured Larkin!", shouted the masked monster. "I must save him!"

Sweeping Quickgrip's paralysed body up in its arms, it ran for the open doorway.

Jones · Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 12:55 pm Post subject:

Rose Briar had watched events unfold with bewilderment. The beetles had made no attempt to harm her and she'd watched them fly past with a childish delight.

Jane, meanwhile had tried to swat them from her body, and then had turned to watch them in horror as they formed into a massive man beetle.

Rose turned to ask: "The beetles are evil?" with some distress.

Jane leapt forward to grab at Doomshadow's armour as he ran past her carrying the limp body of Larkin.
"Hey wait!" Jane shouted. "Where are you going with him?"

Peri · God Joined: 29 May 2004 Posts: 56 Location: Terminus

"Yeah," said Peri, "what do you mean, save him?"

She glanced at Karl, facing the manbeetle, and back at the fleeing Doomshadow, torn as to which way to go. "I don't like this at all," she said to Jane under her breath.

The Janitor · Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 2:22 pm Post subject:

[OOC note: From my reading of this, Lord Doomshadow is currently carrying seven very large and heavy slabs and an unconscious Larkin. He is capable of doing this, but is likely to be somewhat encumbered, by the sheer bulk if nothing else.]

Lord Doomshadow · Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 2:57 pm Post subject:

Lord Doomshadow snarled in frustration. Women, he thought. First they call you a thing, and then they get in your way.

Still, this Jane female seemed to be Rose's friend, so he supposed he could not simply tear off her head. Tempting though the thought might be. Besides, his tentacles were full...

"Only the brownies can save Larkin from the deadly beetle poison which courses through his veins!", he shouted. Pausing briefly for thought, he added in a quieter tone, "Trust me, I'm a healer."

Selecting a slab at random, he thrust the massive piece of rock into Jane's arms.

"Quick, take this!", he yelled.

Guest · Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 3:30 pm Post subject:

Karl had merely moments to think as the swarm veered away and regrouped. He registered that the scarabs were reforming into a pulsating man - shape with a shiver of horror. But, even as he did so, his mind was still working, and so were his hands. He had wrested what he wanted from the bag. He hefted the spray- can in his left hand, and began to work the flint of the cigarillo lighter in his right. If his assumptions were right...
As the particles of bug spray came into contact with the flame, they flared into a circle of heat and fire, which he aimed towards the approaching missiles...

Jack Frost · Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 5:28 pm Post subject:

Frost enters from Lost Frost.

Sprinting up the stairs towards the map room came a tall, spry, blue-skinned man dressed in fine silk clothing that may have once been in fashion a long time ago. In his arms, he was carrying what would have appeared to be a life-sized ice sculpture of a misshapen, ugly, dog-like humanoid.

"Lilac!" he shouted to the fleeing leather-clad giant. "I've brought Ivor back for you! He looks ill!"

Larkin Quickgrip · Strong Joined: 21 Jan 2004 Posts: 194 Location: The Slums

The only part of Larkins body that could actually move was his eyes. It was the most horrible, helpless feeling he had ever been subjected to. Grasped in Lilacs tentacles all he knew was that it had done this to him and when he could move again he was going to cause some hell, he seriously doubted that the lumbering thing could do anything to match his speed and he hoped that would clintch it.

Right now however there was little he could do except roll his eyes and try to glare at Jane and hope she would pick up on the fact that this was a giant multi-tentacled *monster* carrying him away. This was *not* a position Larkin wanted to be in, even if it did claim to be a healer.

Lord Doomshadow · Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 5:56 pm Post subject:

Bugs, it seemed, burned well.

A huge jet of multi coloured flame shot out from Karl's spray can, incinerated the flying mandibles, and caught the Man Beetle on its left arm. Chittering shrilly in agony, the composite creature lurched away, shedding burning beetles everywhere.

Bright flames from its burning arm lit up the inside of the room, casting grotesque shadows across the empty shelves, as the screaming thing staggered blindly towards Jane and Peri...

Jones · Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 6:19 pm Post subject:

Jane made up her mind quickly. Out of the room with the flaming bug thing seemed like a good choice.

Throwing the stone slab at the bug thing and barely noticing the arrival of Frost she lunged after the creature that called itself Lilac and took a firm grip on one of Larkin's arms.
"Hey," she said. "You leave him alone. He doesn't want any of your magic brownies. And I've got a health potion in my saddlebags. Put him down and go and stop the bug thing killing everyone."

With a flash of inspiration she added:
"Help Rose, she's frightened. You don't want the bugs to fry her, do you?"