COSMIC OPERA: EPIC OF THE DRAGON

[Maharg67]

14

BOBBY OF THE CLANFOLK

WILD SURVIVAL #12

 

*********

 

They saw a barely controlled group of Joytroopers rushing across the landscape in the distance in multiple garish coloured body-armour and with a wide variety of bizarre weapons such as chainsaws, weird bladed battle-axes, elaborate combination guns with other weapons and toxic-flamers. But these crazy invaders, bent on wanton death and destruction, had made a big mistake; the locals would not make them at all welcome. The Naneninonu felt strictly aggressive about their territories and, with odd exceptions, only allowed their own kind in. There were even restricted movements between different kinds of Naneninonu. Wombles and wozzles were welcome by the Naneninonu but never morlocks. Bobby was more than welcome, she-he was sometimes invited to go into the Naneninonu territories.

 

Joytroopers were the Joytopians chosen to go on hate crusades against anybody who happened to be chosen as targets by the Joytopian Leadership of the Prime Joyker and the three tiers of Joykers in the Joytopian Parliament. Except the real power in Joytopia was one mysterious man.

 

The strangely named Joytroopers ran, chanting and shouting, straight into a trap. The ground gave out from beneath them and they fell out of sight into a great pit. Then there was a terrible explosion of force, flames and shrapnel from within the pit itself and the bodies and bits of bodies of Joytroopers flew up into the air.

 

Bobby wondered if the Naneninonu could sustain constant attacks on the Joytopian intruders. They were a scattered people with mainly very small settlements though they did have their Hidden Forbidden City, also known as Kabebibobu. Yet Kabebibobu was far away from this place. If anything the Oonnoo were even more scattered and isolated than were other forms of the Naneninonu.

 

He looked back at the wombles, wozzles, morlocks, humans and other folk in the convoy, along with the animals and biomecha of the mercenaries. They were making good time, especially considering the roughness of the landscape. Above them the cloudsky was swirling in energetic patterns. There was a light promise of rain in both the cloudsky patterns and in the slight dampness of the cool air.

 

*********

 

http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt9/Dragonpen61/Forum%20Additives/1-steampunk-soldier-tahina-adria-1.jpg

Edited July 13, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

15

BOBBY OF THE CLANFOLK

WILD SURVIVAL #13

 

*********

 

The refugees from BingBingBarbo came to the stop-over settlement of Duvorito Damarto that was owned and run by a few hundred industrious gnomes. The gnomes lived mostly in warrens beneath the settlement and with them dwelt minorities of wombles, wozzles and other folk. The Duvorito gnomefolk were tough and not only had guns but they manufactured and repaired them along with other weapons but, more so, tools and small motor vehicles. Yet by gnome standards the settlement was small, merely a distant outpost from the Motherland of Fairiagia; Fairiagia was also the homeland of many other of the so called Little People, many of whom were actually not so little.

 

Bobby found a settlement that was deeply concerned by a series of growing threats to the area; not just insane Joytroopers but also rogue Aeiou of the Naneninonu who were hated even by other Naneninonu peoples, Pakken, goblins and other, new kinds of threats not seen before by the Duvorito. This was saying quite a deal for the Duvorito had outposts in many areas of the Known Underworld, even in some of the dangerous Semiknown Regions such as the Brakken Seacaverns and the Hotra Desert Maze. The gnomes wanted refugees to stay with them to boost defencive capacity and to carry out other duties if any attacks came against the settlement. Generous offers were made of wages, allowances and furnished and fitted places to live in the guest warrens.

 

Decisions were made and plans were changed. It was decided by many of the refugees from BingBingBarbo that they would stay in Duvorito Damarto, even if only until people could return to BingBingBarbo. This included the wombles and wozzles. Bobby was happy for them but he intended to go on. That is after he tried to get things done he had failed to get done in BingBingBarbo while he was there.

 

Bobby expected that only she and the four human astronauts, along with his special new companions, would go on together. Then KaratToop came along with three other wombles, three wozzles and the two hulking Wuzzles that were happy to see him. Then came the unhappy morlocks for the gnomes would not let them stay, not even in the outermost guest warren. Bobby was deeply annoyed at this failure to keep to the Coda of Honour that supposedly was a mixture of strong rules, regulations and guidelines for the supposedly more civilized peoples of the Known Lunar Underworld. Yet she could understand it as well for the morlocks were poor at keeping to the Coda of Honour themselves. She allowed them to come with him as far as BingBingBeverlus, which had a fair sized minority of morlocks working deep in its regenerating snowcoalsh mines; only the morlocks in that region worked efficiently in the damp, claustrophobic, filthy smelling working conditions of those mines and they were well paid for doing so. The morlocks would dwell there until they decided what they would do next.

 

*********

 

http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt9/Dragonpen61/Forum%20Additives/gnome-icon-1280x-1-1.jpg

Edited July 13, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

Accicentally repeated a chapter. Editing changes are being carried out.

 

http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt9/Dragonpen61/Forum%20Additives/1164113888011-1.jpg

Edited July 9, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

16

BOBBY OF THE CLANFOLK

WILD SURVIVAL #14

 

*********

 

Bobby made her way into the dimly lit claymud chamber with its floor level below that of the door so that one had to go down a short ramp. The old man was huddled in a corner over a curious combination of metallic glass beakers, tubes, spigots and other structures. Two bunson burners flamed bright and hot beneath two softly bubbling beakers of strange, thick liquids. A stuffed crocodile hung from the wooden logs running across the room just below the ceiling, along with garlic, long necklaces of multiple coloured beads and a collection of almost identical looking black robes.

 

The place was cluttered at the sides with sets of small medicine drawers, bookcases almost overflowing with books, scrollracks almost overflowing with scrolls, walls heavy with charts of various bodies of various types of being, strange brass mechanisms and much else. A phonograph stood on a wooden table with a stack of phonograph records next to it. It was one of the few signs that Rincewand had once been of the British Empire before he was infused with the False Dragon Blood and transformed; his own people had rejected and exiled him after the transformation though he had not gone through it willingly. Somebody had captured him, a loyal British soldier, along with many others and had changed them all. Another sign of his heritage was a cricket bat and a cricket ball sitting in a corner.

 

The man was an alchemist, scholar and psychic-mage named Rincewand. Bobby and he were old friends, having known each other for easily a hundred years.

 

The wrinkled human, who was three hundred and twelve years old, was of the False Dragon Bloodlines. Rincewand was old for a mortal. With out turning around he spoke in the Clansayde language. "Bobby, as always you are damned hard to detect except Spiritumus not only detected you, she is happy to see you. I am sorry that I failed to meet you at BingBingBarbo. Some powerful, cunning and very dark force has been seeking to destroy a long list of groups and individuals here in this wildzone. You are on top of the list and you are the highest priority. The whole attack on BingBingBarbo was meant to kill you. You have turned into a woman again, a very attractive youthful woman."

 

Bobby smiled at sat on a chair. "The female Bobby is distinctive from the male Bobby in that we are semiautonomous from each other. People do not tend to understand that. Too often people assume that I am always Bobby the man but sometimes I pretend to be a woman with some cunning shapeshifting. I sense you, Spiritumus. Come and play, sweetie."

 

Spiritmus formed, with a soft sparkling shimmer, into a translucent naked young woman who sat on Bobby's lap. When she took such shapeforms, she became a semisolid illusion of sorts. Then she spoke sweetly, warmly. "Bobby survived! Bobby sensed the truth of the trap. Pakken got betrayed; now the Pakken are angry. Pakken come into area trying to find what the truth is, trying to hunt down the one who paid first half of generous fee and then destroyed many Pakken with a blastoid. The Pakken did not know about the blastoids; they were told the attack would be with precision long range smart-missiles."

 

Rincewand turned around and removed nose-plugs from his nostrils. "Slithine Serum is a wonderful medicine but it stinks worse than a backed up goblin group-toilet. Pakken are here. The Aeiou are going rogue in well organised, armed and armoured groups. Goblins are sending in trouble groups just to see what goodies are stirred up or they can stir up with all the trouble taking place. As for the Joytroopers, nobody seems to know why they are here, this far from the insanity of Joytopia. Then there are others."

 

What others? Bobby had encountered no others.

 

Rincewand snapped his fingers and a big round mirror on one wall began to glow softly. A non-reversed mirror image formed there of monsters running over the rocky, rugged grounds of the Ragrocklands. She knew them and knew they meant trouble. Then they showed up, creatures running in packs but not all of the creatures were the same. Short, naked humanoids with pointy ears, light furred brown skin and sharp teeth, they were the scamps of the daedra who served the Daodaedra Gods and Goddesses. They attacked with integral magic of throwing small fireballs but also used weapons with their non magical hands. Clannfears were small, odd dinosaur like creatures that attacked with fangs, claws, barbed tails but also jets of toxic gas. Then there were rough leathery skinned, tall humanoid dremora with the females noticeably smaller, lighter than the males. The women ran in light armour and carried lighter weapons. The men moved more slowly in heavy armour and carried heavier weapons.

 

Bobby cursed softly and then spoke. "Daedra, quasidemons from the Realm of Oblivionfane, that serve the Daodaedra. Look closely and you will see they all bear the symbols on armour or branded on skin, of Mehrunes Dagon. There, also, scards being tall, skinnier scamp like creatures but with light armour and weapons. Scamp weapons appear to be basic, rugged power-blade weapons used for cutting with, stabbing with and shooting dangerous energies. Look, the dremora and scards have automatic guns, also basic and reliable. Zizipistols, zizicarbines and zizirifles that fire pulses of flaming, minor exploding energies, each having a fold-out stab-slash blade."

 

The others gave him looks of questioning.

 

Rincewand sighed. "I have heard whispers of there being many kinds of daedra. They are created by hybridisation of other species with the original daedra, the daemans, through sorcery-science and horrific breeding programs."

 

Bobby nodded. "Dremora only serve one set of Daodaedric Gods, being those of the Dagon Family. Mehrunes Dagon is the most powerful and cunning of the Dagons but far from the wisest or smartest or oldest of them. If he is here, if he has found a way to send his forces here, then the peoples of this realm are in for a good deal of trouble. He has more followers and other things than daedra to do his bidding and some are most terrible. There are also far more dangerous daedra than those in the eye-mirror but, thankfully, they are less numerous."

 

Rincewand opened one small wooden drawer in a big, long wooden set of such medicine drawers, each marked with its own elaborate picture-word. He took out a very small leather purse tied carefully with strong, fine string and threw it lightly to Bobby. "Take these pills to assist with your transitional states. You need to talk to a gnome called Navis212 Abris221. He is not a local gnome, is not Duvorito. He is Hashopiom serving the Great Gnome Imperium. He was sent here to investigate feint whispers that the Duvorito are hiding some kind of secret here in Duvorito Damarto. The whispers hint that this settlement make be bigger than it appears to be on the surface."

 

Bobby took a single pill out of the small bag and swallowed it down with a clay mug of clear, cool, clean water given to her by the old mortal. Then she put the other pills into a pouch and carefully secured it. The pills were made up of a mixture of expensive, hard to grow, hard to buy, herbs and other ingredients. Bobby took five golden finger-ingots out of his coin-purse and threw them lightly to Rincewand who deftly grabbed them and made them vanish into his robes. They were to pay for the ingredients and not the skilled labour; Rincewand would be offended if Bobby tried to pay for that.

 

Bobby spoke after a thoughtful pause. "I have a persistant sense that all of what we have spoken of is linked together somehow in a very important way but sensing something and knowing something for sure, that is different. I will go and speak with the gnome called Navis212 Abris221 as soon as I can."

 

*********

 

NOTE: CLANSAYDE IS AN ANCIENT CLANFOLK LANGUAGE THAT IS COMMON ONLY AMONGST CERTAIN CIRCLE-NETWORKS OF SCHOLARS AND OTHERS WITH ONLY A FEW EXCEPTIONS.

NOTE: DAODAEDRIC GODS, ALSO KNOWN AS THE DAODAEDRA OR THE GRAND DAEDRA (NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH THE GREAT DAEDRA THAT ARE DEMIGODS AND DEMIGODDES). THEY ARE SERVED AND WORSHIPPED BY THE DAEDRA AND OTHER PEOPLES.

 

NOTE: RINCEWAND IS NOT TOTALLY CORRECT WHEN HE STATES: "I have heard whispers of there being many kinds of daedra. They are created by hybridisation of other species with the original daedra, the daemans, through sorcery-science and horrific breeding programs." THE TRUTH IS MANY DAEDRA WERE CREATED WITH OUT INVOLVEMENT BY THE DAEMANS.

Edited July 13, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

17

BOBBY OF THE CLANFOLK

WILD SURVIVAL #15

 

*********

 

Rincewand wanted to see the exotic new companions that had appeared to Bobby. They went together to the underground chambers hired by Bobby using a special arrangement made with the Gnome Imperium Bank Securitus that was normally known simply as the GnomeBank. Bobby had also bought some equipment and supplies from the gnomes as gifts to the wombles, wozzles and morlocks, the morlocks being most surprised that anybody but morlocks would give them anything. Of course he also bought some for his own future expedition. Rincewand observed the floating orb, the unicorn and her rider, the clone, the great wozzle like creature, the others, and was impressed.

 

Rincewand came with Bobby, as did KaratToop the womble, as they sought the Hashopiom gnome. They went to his rooms in the Gnome Guest Section of the settlement but he was not there. They sought him in gnome favoured places like gnome tap-rooms and pallet-eateries. Asking questions of the Duvorito gnomes only got unsatisfactory answers and sometimes silence. Clearly they had been told to not speak of Navis212 Abris221. Non-Duvorito gnomes and others were more open. Navis212 Abris221 had been asking questions, too many of the wrong questions it seemed, and suddenly a Duvorito Security Sheriff and some of his Security Deputies had taken the protesting Hashopiom gnome away.

 

Realising that she would not get any further for the moment, Bobby returned with KaratToop to their underground chambers while Rincewand went back to his chambers. Rincewand would seek more answers but though he was greatly respected by the gnomes of Duvorito Damarto, he was still an outsider and he had doubts that he would learn anything new.

 

Bobby stood for a short time in the open surrounded by claymud structure of domes, cubes and other shapes all partly interflowing smoothly into one another in a very beautiful form. Special colourations had been added to the claymud and the effect was of a multiple coloured display that she found most pleasing to the eye. Flowerbeds grew crazy half wild mixtures of amazing flower dotted lush bushes. Insects buzzed or hummed through the air. Gnomes and other folk moved in fairly large numbers on foot, on bicycles, in small electric vehicles and using other means of transportation.

 

It looked normal enough but Bobby noted the abnormally high number of Duvorito soldiers and mercenaries of varied peoples. He could also sense not only tension and fear but something else, something unnatural and very disturbing. It was new and yet, somehow, he remembered it vaguely but from where and when?

 

*********

Edited July 13, 2010 by Maharg67

[Fifoo]

Simply epic and... oops! have forgot to put my vote on, that's done now. :thumbsup:

[Maharg67]

THANK YOU VERY MUCHLY, FIFOO

 

18

BOBBY OF THE CLANSFOLK

WILD SURVIVAL #16

 

*********

 

Bobby wondered about her resources, her followers and allies. She was back in the rented chambers with wombles, morlocks and the others. As she looked at the others in that comfortable, lightly fitted and furnished place, she wondered why certain entities had appeared to assist her.

 

The orbotor was able to duplicate, regenerate-repair and otherwise work on items in itself as well as carrying out other tasks. The wombles had fed it a series of small tools, weapons and other items for repair and duplication. Now it was recharging with a power-plug in local power-point.

 

The hulking womble like wombotor was squatting and was surrounded by visiting wombles and wozzles who were quite taken with him. The wombotor was very pleased with the attention and cuddled in his lap was a young female-adult womble.

 

BobbyLee, the Bobby-clone, had adopted the morlocks and was starting to influence them, to ‘civilize’ them in a fashion that astonished Bobby herself. BobbyLee was powerful but far less so than her clone-mother and she could not shapeshift, or more deeply, shapechange. She was a clonetor.

 

The solar elementor drifted in air but did not move far, sleeping in a beam of sunshine coming through a small glass window designed to help light up the chamber. She was absorbing the solar energies.

 

As for the unicorn and the nymph amazon, they were with the big wuzzles, the cart pulling wozzle cousins. The amazon was brushing the fur of a happily contented wuzzle. Some wombles were there also.

 

*********

 

KaratToop came to her and sat next to the Clanswoman. He was much shorter, of course. He looked to her and spoke. “Long time ago wombles signed contract to keep watch on and care for Bobby of the Clansfolk. Back then wombles did not think so much of Bobby but then became to love Bobby as Bobby came to love us. Now we, we wombles, we feel guilty at the contract. We do not know the identity of the Contractor.”

 

Bobby smiled at KaratToop. “I always knew about the contract because I am the Contractor. I wanted to know more about wombles, to share more with wombles, but wombles can be very shy, even wary, with non-wombles. Now the contract can be altered. Wombles, wozzles and kin peoples will be paid now to keep watch of and care for wombles, wozzles and kin peoples.”

 

KaratToop snorted. “We would do so with out payment.” Then he shook his head. “Silly contract that pays us to look after ourselves but soundly economic.”

 

Bobby nodded. “Of course you look after yourselves. You will might never know just how important you have been and are to me.”

 

The womble shook his head. “We know! You is proud and lonely but we are here for you. Life goes on and the Wheel of Life-Death continues to turn as do the Cycles of Eternity. Womble wise-women, seers and shamans see signs of a great turning moment coming but we do not know what it means. They see you at the centre of what is coming and they say you are more than just a Clansman High Noble of the True Dragon Blood, as if that is not enough grandness in itself.”

 

Bobby sighed. “I am a physical avatar of the Living Eternals, the ancient ones, also known as living-gods and living-goddesses though others also share that same title. Some call me Eterniaska.”

 

KaratToop stared in wonder at Bobby. “I do not know that name but it sounds very impressive that you are of the Living Eternals. Were they not criminals imprisoned in a great prison after a great criminal of them did something terrible?”

 

Bobby nodded. “This is the prison, all of the Underworld, and I was the great and terrible criminal.”

 

KaratToop spoke. “Gosh, that’s amazing! What you did must have been not very nice.”

 

Bobby gave a slight start and then hugged the womble before she responded. “Yes, it was not very nice!”

 

Thankfully, KaratToop asked no more questions on the matter.

*********

 

NOTE: ONE OF BOBBY'S NAME AS AN ANCIENT AND VERY POWERFUL LIVING ETERNAL WAS-IS ETERNIASKA

Edited July 13, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

19

BOBBY OF THE CLANSFOLK

WILD SURVIVAL #17

 

*********

 

Bobby slept and she dreamscaped with family and friends, as one of the True Dragonblood could do. Many hours passed in the dreamscape reflected realm of his home ClanEstate. His mother and other inner circle relations were less formal with him and friendlier even with his semiwife and the neobaby. His semiwife's seminoble family was there. Some big hairy neands were there, being a kind of Neanderthal people, and they greeted him warmly. Wombles, wozzles and related folk dwelt in the estate lands and even had their own warren-colony next to the ClanEstate; many of them were in the dreamscaping. There was dancing, story swapping, feasting, games, archery contests and swimming in a big, clear blue lake. It was a holiday of sorts but it was also a chance to ease clan tensions, to make relationships easier and more fluid.

 

Bobby awoke to find BobbyLee beside her one one side and KaratToop beside her on the other. She smiled but secretly wished she could for once have a bed to herself. All her life somebody, be it a animal companion or other person or womble or other, had slept next to her. Then the feeling slipped away and she meditated lying there, focusing on her breath and then on a silent mantra of preperation of use of her powers.

 

Bobby slipped quietly out of bed but the others awoke and as she dressed, so did the clone and the womble put on his webbing of pouch dotted belts. The three of them were served bowls of a kind of nutty, fruity porridge with chopped up fresh fruit. They drank fruit juice with fruit bits in it. Then they had strong coffee with podmilk. Word came to them that a large Pakken force had clashed with Aeiou just north-east of the settlment. The Pakken had been both male and female, had driven back the deadly fast moving Aeiou with surperior fire power and body-armour. In this case both sides had suffered losses but the Aeiou had easily suffered more losses than their enemies. Understandably enough, the gnomes of Duvorito Damarto were deeply concerned at the closeness of such brutal enemies and of such a violent battle.

 

Then came other, surprising news. The Aeiou had made peace, of sorts, with the other Naneninonu peoples. A surprisingly strong mutual defence alliance had been formed between not only the Naneninonu peoples but between them and other folks including local goblin claves, human tribals and the reluclusive Zigaziga of nine peoples. It was amazing enough that the others should join the alliance but that the immortal Zigaziga should do so was incredible considering their long history of enforced isolation.

 

Joytroopers and Pakken had battled in recent days in the area known generally as Fool's Paradise because it looked beautiful, promised many easy to gain riches but was full of danger, falsehood and dark secrets. Bobby sometimes wondered if there was a part of the Underworld that 'did not' hold ancient dark secrets. If so, she had yet to find it. The Joytroopers and Pakken had suffered more from attacks by local monsters and the treacherous terrain than from fighting each other.

 

Then came the good news. A woman called Herculine had arrived at the settlement. Herculine was an old comrade of his and of the False Dragonblood. She was thus of limited immortality but for her status she had surprisingly powerful and varied special abilities, in some ways rivalling Bobby's own. Except that Bobby was only young and her powers were growing while Herculine was at the apex of her powers; they would grow no stronger but they would not dwindle either until close to death. Herculine wished to meet with him at once and she had brought comrades, animals and others with her.

 

It sounded both important and urgent.

 

He had meant to find the Hashopiom gnome Navis212 Abris221 who had been taken away by Duvorito Damarto Security and to learn what the Duvorito were hiding deeper, down inside their settlement. Herculine would, he assumed, take him away from doing such but he was wrong; she would help him with both.

 

*********

Edited July 13, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

20

BOBBY OF THE CLANSFOLK

IN THE TRANSDIMENSIONAL INVERSE CHAMBER #1

 

*********

 

Herculine brought with her official pressure not just from the Clandom rulers but from the Gnome Imperium. The Duvorito Damarto Elders gave in and led the Clansfolk down to the great, metallic stone chamber that they had discovered just over a year ago by Underworld terms. Navis212 Abris221, the Hashopiom gnome, was already there and was busy studying a wall of symbols that he had no hope at all of translating. Clearly he was under no threat. The chamber was an amazingly big dome and gentle bowl with airlock style doors leading into it and it was bigger inside than outside, it was an transdimensional inverse chamber by its common name.

 

Bobby observed the chamber with a growing sense of foreboding.

 

The chamber was dotted with nine great wonder-machines, one in the centre and eight others in the compass directions out from the centre. Apart from Navis212 Abris221, the place was busy with hundreds of gnomes, small gnome electric vehicles and other gnome machines. There were three big machines operating at a low level and they were dispensing in turn blank biocrystals, biomodic semiliquid and precharged bionodes. The gnomes were filling up vehicle tubs and tanks though what they would do with such wonder substances was a puzzle to Bobby.

 

The Durvorito Damarto Governor, gnomes had an amazingly complicated and intricate system of ranks, titles, castes and classes that even Bobby found it hard to track at times, looked up at Bobby with a soft frown on his lightly skin powdered face and long waxed eyebrows. He took a long sniff from his scented handkerchief and then spoke. "We have done no harm. We have simply been storing the taken substances away for study."

 

Bobby sighed. "The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth."

 

The Governor winced slightly. "Oh, very well, the stranger came and activated the way into the great chamber. Before that it was hidden from us for it is very small on the outside, as you know, and cloaked by many magics of ancient peoples of far greater power than Clansfolk or gnomes."

 

Bobby examined the complicated, exotic looking huge wonder-mechanisms. "Living Eternals you mean. Yes, that is true, but it is not a full answer for there are many factions of the Living Eternals and there is the One-Of-Many-Of-One. Even gnome political, religious and social structures are simple when compared to the intricacy of the Ways of the Living Eternals."

 

The local gnome leader looked impressed. "The stranger was most disturbing. He was menacing. He threw no shadow. He appeared out of mid air and then vanished. He failed to keep his promise and never arrived to buy all the wonder-substances. We have spent many resources carrying out our side of the bargain and all we got were a few large sacks of small glowcrystals, suncrystals, starcrystals and lifecrystals. It was a good first payment but as a whole payment it was poor. Oh, when he left, none of us could remember just what he looked like. We had fleeting impressions but they were all different from each other."

 

Bobby was not pleased to hear that for it hinted at somebody with much power and sophistication of talent.

 

Neither was the beautiful, athletic Herculine. She stood there in fleximetallic armour and holding a powerful automatic rifle of a kind called a SLLE or Self Loading Lee Enfield. It fired specialised type .303 calibre bullets. The British Empire was manufacturing SLLEs to replace its SMLEs and other types of rifles for its military, security and police forces but the process was proving to be fairly slow. Bobby wanted to stay with her SMLE. Technological developments, advances, were slowed in the vast Underworld by a very subtle and yet effective influence that was part of the very fabric of the prison. It slowed some technological types more than others and sometimes caused reverses or even dark ages. Sometimes very advanced civilizations just vanished with out good explanation.

 

Herculine spoke. "The Clansfolk could buy the wonder-substances and bury them somewhere safe."

 

Bobby shook her head. "No, the substances are stored in a huge antechamber inside this TIC. It will remain here. I no longer trust the Clansfolk to carry out such a task. Or at least I am not sure which Clansfolk I should trust and which I should distrust."

 

Herculine gave Bobby a dirty look. "You can trust me."

 

"You know what I meant." Bobby frowned back. "You are one of few Clansfolk that I can trust. You stood against the Traitor Fools during the Night of a Hundred Betrayals that led to so much death and destruction in Clandyvo, the City of a Thousand and One Towers that now has far less than that many towers but many more filled grave-slots in its catacombs. Strange things happened that night, very strange things. Who or what unleashed such destructive forces in Clandyvo?"

 

Herculine gave him an odd look. "You were there on the Night of a Hundred Betrayals."

 

Bobby shook her head. "Not that I remember."

 

At that Herculine nodded. "We have more important matters to focus on now. Why don't we explore this wondrous place?"

 

So they did just that.

 

*********

Edited July 13, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

ON GOING NOTES

 

1

 

Bobby who is sometimes a man, sometimes a woman and sometimes something else, who and what is he really?

 

Bobby was born Clansman, a Noble of the True Dragonblood but during the Night of a Hundred Betrayals he officially lost his heritage for reasons that he only vaguely remembers if at all. The Night of a Hundred Betrayals was linked with Clandyvo, the City of a Thousand and One Towers and the death-destruction that took place there.

 

Bobby as Living Eternal, Clansfolk and English genetic inheritances but also others, some of them very exotic.

 

more to be added/edited.

Edited July 10, 2010 by Maharg67