Walkers of Worlds

[Maharg67]

23 of 1 (028)

 

WELCOME TO SHEGAROTUILL

 

Johnnie had reverted to the gear he had been wearing when he first appeared in the Lamplight Caverns, that is the fixed and enhanced versions of them, including his compact backpack. Now he had two androids with him who wore the same sort of outfits and Lucy who wore typical basic tough Sublander gear. With them came the eight tribals and the six hovering MrPortys. As they entered the outer greeting chamber to the outpost settlement, they were met by an eyebot that not only examined them but sent audio-visual data of them to a security monitor and computer somewhere.

 

Guidemara Tribalguards were there, being in theory the main fighting force for the tribe but having been cut back since the factions became more selfish and started building up their own forces. The three guards looked tense and tired as if they had been forced to take on too many shifts, too many duties. Caratrina spoke with the guards briefly and came away from them frowning. It turned out that her own faction elders wanted to disband the Guidemara Tribalguardia and to claim all of its resources as their own, even those they had not provided in the first place. It was an irrational and provocotive act that was bound to lead to trouble.

 

Caratrina led the group to a cave chamber stop-over that they could and did rent for a few days. It had mattresses in cave-bamboo frames, some salvaged metal and plastic furniture and even a pump-tap with large sink that provided clean water. It was only basically comfortable and secure but that is all one could reasonably expect of such an outpost. Johnnie passed over some EIDs to Caratrina in the form of coins and cards after she requested them and he asked no questions though trusting her was a little difficult for him. As she was away he rested, fed and talked with Lucy at times.

 

Lucy sat against a cave wall with her knees drawn up and her hands clasped in front of her legs. "I love the forest but I want to go back home to Little Lamplight and yet I want all of the Little Lamplighters to find a better home in TransOrbisZia."

 

***

 

Johnnie nodded. "So would I but there are over ten thousand Little Lamplighters which means that it would take ages to send them all to OrbisTransZia at the rate that is happening now. We need to find a better, quicker way of doing it. There are also mysteries to solve such as where do the babies come from that come down the chute."

 

Lucy nodded. "Along with the baby animals that come down the same chute and the gifts. One reason I wanted to come here was that it is closer to Big Lamplight than is Little Lamplight and much closer to the outpost that is used for Big and Little Lamplighters to meet each other normally." Then her voice took on a stronger tone of desire, of yearning. "I want to know what is going on. I want to stop all of this strangeness. I want the Lamplighters to join together to be a normal community."

 

Johnnie sighed. "The genetics of all Little Lamplighters are different from those of Outsiders. There are those you call the Cold Little Lamplighters. There are those like you who I would call the Psychic Little Lamplighters. There are those you call the Sleepy Little Lamplighters. Then there are the majority, the Linked Little Lamplighters who all most want to work, play and sleep together in groups and who function best that way. There are other groups but OrbisZiaMind has not had a chance to study any samples of them because they have not gone to OrbisTransZia. The genetic puzzle may point to difficulties that may need to be overcome in order for your wishes to come true."

 

Lucy snorted. "I thought we were being studied but I didn't mind because none of us have been treated badly. I just hope that everything works out. I miss the others, especially Mayor MacCready, Jospeph, Bumbles and others like them."

 

"So do I!" Johnnie nodded. "And I will do everything that I can to see that it does."

 

Lucy looked surprised but then pleased. She took Johnnie by the hand and giggled a little when he blushed mildly.

 

 

***

 

Caratrina returned with information she had bought off a reliable but expensive data-trader and with five more tough looking tribals of her faction. She looked concerned, deeply concerned, as she sat down on a big fairly thin cushion-mat with Johnnie, Lucy and some others. Then she spoke. "My own faction elders have gone crazy. They have claimed they have obtained new powers, new resources, and they want all other factions to break up and to pass all of their valuable resources over to my faction. The Guidemara name is to be replaced as the tribal name by the factional name of our faction. The fools also speak of an alliance with powerful allies known as the EagleEnclave who have Clonetroopers in power armour, Robamoth supermutants and robots to attack their enemies with."

 

Lucy looked troubled. "The more I focus my mind on the one you call the Shadow Elder, the more I sense he is the one called the Shadow Envoy who once came to Little Lamplight and made many big bad demands of us Little Lamplighters. MotherHub sent him and his creepy cronies fleeing with lots of firepower from BigSiblings and motherbots. That was way back before I cam down the chute but somehow I have vague memories of it happening, the memories of another Lucy who had brown skin and black hair instead of my white skin and brown hair."

 

Johnnie smiled mildly at her. "I have come to conclude that the relationship between Little and Big Lamplight is a true cyclic one or at least that is my basic hypothesis that far from explains everything like the Lost Lamplighters and the Cold Lamplighters who can turn into monsters. Little Lamplighters become Big Lamplighters who somehow, after vanishing, become Little Lamplighters again."

 

Lucy sighed. "Now that is a very strange idea, Johnnie."

 

"Believe me, Lucy, I have seen much stranger ones as true." He looked concerned now. "We face a conspiracy, conspirators, that are interested in far more than the Guidemara Tribe, that is clear enough. They seem to be building up forces, to be trying to gather valuable resources, but for what I do not know. One concerning idea is that they are going to attempt an invasion of Little Lamplight."

 

Caratina grimaced. "The other tribals are gathering forces to counter the fools but they are hindered by factional tensions and suspicions."

 

"No accident that!" Johnnie frowned. "This Shadow Elder knew what he was doing by meddling with factional politics in the Guidemara Tribe. He was building up to this moment. Divide and conquer is a very old favourite trick of such people because it is too often successful. Yet such tricks are not always totally successful for in the Guidemara Tribe are other powerful factions."

 

Caratina shook her head. "I know that but somehow I can not get rid of the feeling that our enemies have some other nasty surprises up their sleeves."

Edited December 22, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

THE M161A3, M161A4, M161A5 AUTORIFLE

 

This one weapon was mass produced in amazingly large numbers before the Doomsday War because it was rugged, accurate, reliable, could take a wide range of addons and was quite easy to master at a basic level. It had special features such as a multiple targetting scope with zoom, the already mentioned semiautomatic grenade-shell launcher, a special over-top hardpoint for a special pulselaser or a special handlong missile launcher, a butt cache for small items and a built in bottle opener. Though the bottle opener could be a little awkward to use, many soldiers came to see it as a life saver, a special back up for opening bottles of beer or even preserved milk, popular coffee syrup and such like.

 

At first only manufactured by the United States of Greater America by the GunTek Corporation, a TekCorp that focused on a relatively short list of standard weapons, it was soon being manufactured by other US corporations, by a US neogovernment corporation and, under special license, to a few chosen foreign corporations. There were a few variations such as carbines, light machineguns and a special ops model but the autorifle remained the most common version.

 

While the M161A3 was built in fairly large numbers, the improved M161A4 was easily the most common made and the even more improved M161A5 was about as common as older M161A3s.

 

There was the M161C2 autocarbine, the M161LMG3 and the stripped down special ops M161SA1 with only a grenadeshell monolauncher, no special hardpoint and a folding butt (it still had the bottle opener which on this weapon was easier to use).

 

IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THE USGA WAS AN OFFICIAL NATION THAT WAS ONE OF FIVE SET UP BENEATH THE RULE OF THE PATRIOT WORLD GOVERNMENT AND WAS EASILY THE MOST POWERFUL OF THESE.

 

In the PostDD (Post Doomsday) Era, the weapon was very popular as it was relatively common, easy to maintain and had other bonuses. It became used by many military, paramilitary, security and other forces, even by those who had access to more advanced weapons.

 

http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt9/Dragonpen61/Forum%20Terminal%20Pix%201/TERMINAL-IT-Workit-00094.jpg

Edited November 18, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

24 of 1 (029)

 

EARLY SIGNS OF BIG TROUBLES TO COME

 

Lucy staid at the rooms with the two androids and the robots though she was reluctant to do so. Johnnie and Caratrina went further into the caves of the outpost of SheGaroTuill and were soon moving through a tunnel past a loose seeming cluster of chambers converted into apartments, rooms for rent, shops, workshops and other facilities. As they came into the main settlement, many tribals gave Caratrina dark or even threatening looks but nothing happened.

 

Then they were in a big central chamber that like the Great Cavern in Little Lamplight had great columns rising up with many platforms, walkways, balconies and other structures including small buildings. Yet here there were more adults than children, there were mainly adult activities, and the main business was commercial.

 

Caratrina led Johnnie to the ground level of rocky floor cut into three almost even terraces and to a sturdy metal and wooden hut there. It was not of her faction, the Tekkusto, but there sat behind a big old metal desk a representative of the Guidemara Tribal Government that in recent months had suffered many difficulties, none of which had been coincidental. The scar faced man there, a neonorm, was dressed in fleximetallic body-armour and was examining a military M161A4 autorifle with grenade-shell launcher. It was a surprisingly compact and sturdy but powerful weapon with a special scope on top.

 

The man looked up at Caratrina and frowned. "Your damned faction leadership has gone insane." He spoke in Esperanto, the internationalist language heavily fostered by the Patriot World Government and the Enclaven before Doomsday. "But something tells me that not all of your faction support these stupid demands."

 

Michega was the Outpost Mayor and was Factionless in status as was the custom with members of the tribal government. That meant they were neutral, pleasing all factions, but also meant they lacked the powerful backing of any of the factions. He was canny, strong willed, solid of build and yet also bitter about the way that the Guidemara Tribal Government had so easily been pushed aside in this crisis as in past ones.

 

It turned out that the outpost was easily the biggest and most important of the tribal outposts for it was the major contact with outsiders be they other tribes of the Lamplight Caverns or other folks such as Clansfolk expeditions that sometimes came that far from the Lamplight Clansdom. It was the only Guidemara Outpost to have its own markets and other more important facilities. It had also the ancient Clansfolk cavern structures that nobody lived in or had lived in since the Clansfolk had long ago fled from Enclaven and tripoc invaders but there was also another place, a metallic base that nobody had managed to get into since Doomsday. Nobody had even managed to work out who had built it or when exactly it had been constructed or what its purpose was.

 

Michega frowned as he pushed the weapon away from himself on the desk. "Sabotaged! All of the guns in the local armoury were sabotaged and the ammo replaced by unreliable stuff. The Tribalguards have a few guns and some containers of bullets but little more than that. Your faction was behind the sabotage, either directly or indirectly, or so most assume it to be so, Caratrina."

 

Caratrina frowned. "Such assumptions are unfair until we learn more about what is going on. Not all of my faction would support our elders in this madness. Indeed there is Elder Suune who would never do so. She has always clashed with the other Tekkusto Elders. She has been a supporter of the Five Tribe Plan for years now while the other Tekkusto Elders have favoured a stupid plan of absorbing other factions and becoming the whole tribe." She turned to Johnnie. "The Five Tribe Plan is to have each faction become a tribe in its own right with the Factionless being allowed to join any tribe that they wish to or even to form a sixth tribe if they so desire. Then the tribes would come together not as the Guidemara Tribe but as the Guidemara Alliance that would hopefully allow for greater equality and efficiency. Now that the Clansfolk are indicating they wish to return to occupy their old stone cut settlement here, such reforms are more important than ever."

 

She turned back to Michega. "What is the situation?"

 

The mayor frowned at her. "Our telephone link to AshenStop was cut about an hour ago. I sent a courier, with two bodyguards, to AshenStop but have grave fears for their safety. Anyway I ordered them to avoid the main route to that settlement and so they will take longer to get there even if they avoid danger. Some factionless scavengers reported seeing a large group of heavily armed and body-armoured fighters between us and AshenStop but they wore unknown tribal symbols. They caught the scavengers and then let them go as if they wanted them to bring information of the sighting to us."

 

Johnnie reached out and touched the autorifle. The mayor went to say something rude but then, with a sparkling shimmer, the one M161A4 autorifle became three identical M161A4 autorifles lined up neatly on the desk top.

 

Johnnie sighed. "That is a trick I can not do too often or even all the time for it drains my energies and it relies on various other conditions being right. The autorifles are all fixed and ready to use as if brand new from a good quality factory."

 

The mayor snorted. "Every working gun is needed now and will make a difference for the better." He picked up one of the autorifles and began checking it, soon finding out that it was of brand new condition and was fully functional as Johnnie had promised.

 

 

***

 

 

Johnnie regenerate-replicated a few weapons and crates of ammo along with a crate of stimpaks. He made a big difference but more on a morale level than a practical one. Information kept coming in.

 

Clansfolk of the Sisterhood of Compassion and Brotherhood of Protection had arrived, along with others, in a large expedition to check out the rock-cut settlement for resettling. They had not only Brother Protectors but Clansguardia soldiers and warriors of other Orders with them along with healers, psytats, three elders, scholars, techs and others. They also had androids and robots along with other special hardware with them. The Brother Protectors wore faster, lighter assault power armour and the Clansgurds heavier, slower battle power armour except for scouts of both forces who wore scout power armour, even lighter and more agile.

 

Johnnie found himself most reluctant to approach the Clansfolk though he was not sure why. Instead he returned to where Lucy was as Caratrina and Michega went off to try to get assistance from the Clansfolk against the growing troubles in the Guidemara Tribe. But Lucy was not there. With one android to be her bodyguard, she had gone off to the markets to look around and to buy some items. So Johnnie lay on a rented bed and slept.

 

Only to find a projection of himself soon drifting phantom like through the settlement. He moved quickly through most places, having no wish to spy on people's private activities unless he sensed that to do so was most important. People were both trying to keep the settlement functioning while preparing for troube. A defense force of sorts was being organised under the control of the Tribalguards in the settlement but while it was full of tough, experienced fighters it was having trouble becoming coordinated properly. Too many tribals were looking after their interests first and were planning to escape rather than to fight.

 

He found a group of three traitors planning to poison coffee and tea before taking these beverages to the defence force. Before the two women and one man could do this, Johnnie struck them down simply by touching them so they lay semiconscious but paralyzed on the floor of a large kitchen cave chamber. He would later inform on them and they would be executed by firing squad, which was an outcome that Johnnie would not be too pleased about. What he did learn from their minds, glimpsing their knowledge, was surprising. They belonged to a Guidemara Faction, the so called Sixth Faction, that apparently no longer existed. The faction was called the Securamara. The faction used to be very powerful, quite large and quite tech advanced in comparison to other factions but they came to rule the tribe through brute force and enslaved the other factions until they revolted and destroyed the Securamara. Except that it had not really happened for many Securamaras had survived and had both formed their own secret tribe and had vowed revenge. They could not see history in any other way but that they were the victims of treachery.

 

Then he saw, in the big main cavern, the Clansfolk and others gathering in preperation for troubles. Nobody saw him or even seemed to notice him at all until an elder, beautiful woman peered in his direction from beneath a hooded robe of fine flexible hornlizard leather. That she could see him was clear to him but he suspected that she could not see him clearly so he fled from the great cavern. He felt troubled as he drifted through other parts of the outpost and then he was waking up fully with his body again.

Edited December 22, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

25 of 1(030)

 

AT THE REAL SHEGAROTUILL

 

It was a great cavern chamber with glowcrystal growing across its high wide ceiling that was now in its dim light even staging reflecting the dimness of light above in the Wastelands. The city was carved out of two great walls that faced each other. On one side were the many balconies, rampways, defensive positions, walls, windows, bay-windows, statues and much else where Clansfolk had once lived, worked and played. That was on the western side of the cavern and was made up mostly of half cubish shaped buildings carved out of the rock. Water flowed down cleverly made channels and long, fairly narrow terraces were designed to grow crops and to support herds of nimble footed goats.

 

The Clansfolk were moving back into that half of the real Shegarotuill.

 

The other side was quite different. Ancient temples, great statues, amazing murals and mighty half columns and columns showed the Great Goddess herself and her various aspects and avatars. Elemental and spiritual angelic entities stood with lesser gods and goddesses, with the Great Trickster, with demigods and demigoddesses and with other creature entities, some kind ugly and monstrous to look upon but they represented the darker side of nature.

 

Johnnie stood there with Lucy and Caratrina watching, from a fair distance, the Clansfolk moving into the western wall city. Another large group had arrived and then a third so now there were many Clansfolk and their number including many soldiers and warriors along with others who bore exotic and dangerous abilities. The old woman in the hooded robes was there and though she did not look openly towards Johnnie, he had the unnerving sensation that she was observing him closely.

 

Caratrina sighed. "Those Clansfolk Priestesses give me the creeps. They seem to look right through one."

 

Lucy smiled. "I like them! They are nice and they make me all tingly warm inside. I talked to the very old one there. She asked about you, Johnnie, and I told her some things. I hope you don't mind, Johnnie."

 

Johnnie shook his head. "No, I do not mind." He paused briefly and then spoke again. "Why now? Why would the Clansfolk want to move in so suddenly now and in such numbers? What do they know that we do not know? Why have they brought so many soldiers and warriors with them? Look at all that power armour, even working and specialist power armour! So much for the so called primitiveness of the Clansfolk."

 

Lucy sighed. "You said you found a way to get me back to Little Lamplight, Johnnie."

 

He nodded. "Via OrbisTransZia! You can go any time but you will need to spend at least one hour in the forest-haven transbubble of OrbisTransZia. That is one hour inner time and one minute outer time. I can only send you and not much stuff with you."

 

The girl sighed. "One of the Clansfolk Priestesses wanted to come with me."

 

Johnnie sighed right back at her. "Even if I could send her with you, OrbisZiaMind would block me from doing so because of security reasons. She would want to know more about the Clansfolk and these priestesses before she allowed any to go to OrbisTransZia. I do not control OrbisTransZia but am part of a trio who do so but for now I can not tell you of the other third member of the trio. My own mind, my own memories, are still becoming clearer to me. I also need to be patient and I know how frustrating it can be."

 

Lucy sighed and nodded. "Very well then but first I am going to tell the pretty young priestess that she can not come with me."

 

So she did and soon after Johnnie sent Lucy, along with her worn gear and a backpack full of items including some small gifts from the Clansfolk, back to Little Lamplight.

Edited December 22, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

QUESTIONABLE HISTORIES OF CENTRALIA

VERY ANCIENT MYSTERIES OF THE LAMPLIGHT CAVERNS OF CENTRALIA

 

There were mysteries far older even than the arrival of the Clansfolk to Centralia, the actual origin and other facets of the Clansfolk being an acient set of mysteries in their own right. When the Clansfolk entered the Lamplight Caverns, they quickly realised that it would be an important source of special resources and a special, if exotic, place to dwell. Yet the great majority of Clansfolk were not interested in living in glowcrystal lit and warmed cave systems even if it sported some extremely large glowcaverns. The Clansfolk encountered various troubles and mysteries, some of which they never solved and some of which they concealed from others.

 

NEANDERS

 

Neanders, or evolved Neanderthal humans, were dwelling in many parts of the Lamplight Caverns and they had a very sophisticated tribal, caste and totem-circle organised culture. Their technologies were mostly flint, furs, the basic use of fire and such as bone and ivory. They dwelt in chosen areas of caves that they could secure from various threats. They were a tall, powerful, hairy people who were stronger, slower and a little less intelligent than the Clansfolk. They were also defensive aggressive only. The Clansfolk did not conquer them, exploit them or do anything but become their allies. The Clansfolk brought new diseases with them and helped the Neanders overcome this threat. The Clansfolk found plenty of room to build their own colonies and so they did while becoming fond allies of the Neanders.

 

But by the time the British came to the Lamplight Caverns during their attempt to conquer Centralia, they met no Neanders and most of them assumed that the Clansfolk had destroyed the Neanders in one way or another. Only a minority of British and other Outlanders seemed to question this dark assumption and they tended to be the ones who knew most about the Clansfolk and the Neanders. The Clansfolk openly stated that the Neanders had joyfully moved onwards to a new home over a thousand years before the Europeans came to Centralia. The Clansfolk would not discuss the matter further with any Outlanders, or at least anybody who was willing to talk, so the dark stories continued.

 

THE TRIPLEONES

 

The Neanders had been a very ancient people but there were signs of others having existed in the great labyrinth of caves. The Clansfolk spoke of the glowcrystal itself as being the creation of a strange and dangerous people that they called the TripleOnes, a very alien species who were surprisingly alike the tripocs that later came to invade the Earth from Mars. The TripleOnes worshipped, as did other species, a monstrous entity known as Cthulhu of the UnholyOnes. The amphibious, but mostly at home in the water, TripleOnes had strange sunken cave cities that were huge, intricate and disturbingly exotic but well hidden and secured by many means. The TripleOnes enslaved any Neanders or other peoples they could get hold of and devoured many of them in horrific religious sacrificial ceremonies. Again the Clansfolk would not speak much of the TripleOnes except to say they had been part of a war in which the monstrous peoples had been defeated. Again Outlanders, especially the Europeans, refused to believe in such things, especially because the Clansfolk refused to take them to any surviving cities of the TripleOnes.

 

SubNote: Not to be confused with the Unamed Ones or GreatRace that created the dinosaurs and dragons amongst other great feats.

 

DRAGONFOLK

 

Dragons were dinosaur based creatures, some would say they were dinosaurs, but not evolved naturally. The dragonfolk and the Clansfolk themselves spoke of a people that they would not even name who had created the first of the dragons and other dragonfolk, most of which most humanity had yet to meet even after Doomsday. Despite dragonfolk being a noticeable, hard to hide, part of Centralian life, these lifeforms never attempted to go beyond the great disk shaped continent. Any attempts to take any of them off the continent ended in disaster as did non-Clansfolk human attempts to bond with, to control the dragonfolk. Dragonfolk would only bond with Clansfolk willingly and neither would say why this was so.

 

THE LAMPLIGHT CAVERNS ARE GREAT IN SIZE AND MORE MYSTERIES WILL BE ADDED IN FUTURE NOTES

Edited November 17, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

CHANGING NUMBER SYSTEM FROM '0' TO '2'; I HOPE THIS DOES NOT CAUSE ANY TROUBLE

 

5 of 2 (031)

 

EDDIE AT THE SITE OF THE CRASHED JET

 

It was becoming darker as the wreckage burned and though the distant town could be seen, it was under black out conditions with no lights showing. Above the sky was clear except for a few small clouds as the stars began to come out and show themselves.

 

Lamplight Town was partly in ruins thanks to the attacks of Enclaven aircraft, that is jet-fighters faster but less agile than most allied aircraft. Except the Brothers of Steel had soon started shooting down the Sparrow jets, German designed but Enclaven improved, with surface to air missiles (SAMs). The young man stepped out of nothingness and stood fairly close to the burning wreckage of one of these jet aircraft. He stood there in his jeans, his Betty Boop Tshirt, his wrist-computer, his hiking boots, his pouchbelt, his baseball cap and his compact backpack and looked around in wonder. He seemed to be a little sleepy.

 

A woman raced past him in stained coveralls that probably needed a good clean months ago. Then came two other women. They carried the same hose. Then they were pumping water onto the wreckage for they needed to stop a fire breaking out that would sweep across the thick, fairly dry light forest of the top of the main Lamplight Mountain. A big old truck was there, a modified worktruck that was now a jury rigged fire-fighting engine of sorts.

 

The women volunteer fire-fighters both saw him and yet, did not quite see him, and for the moment this suited him. In the distance were houses and other buildings of the town including a cathredal that once was Catholic but was now used by the Followers of the One True God, the Ormons. The Pope had died when the Martian tripods had stomped through the Vatican, burning it with their heat-beams and exploding it with their beam-missiles. Of the town he could also see many added tents and portable hut buildings.

 

The Lamplight Mountains were in the British Centralian Territories but were of special status because they were special to the Clansfolk. So in the town he could just see a Clansfolk temple building and also some Clansfolk communal houses.

 

Then a young woman with amazing green eyes was seeing him and was standing in front of him, was frowning at him. "Well, are you going to help fight the damned fire or not? Don't just stand there."

 

Eddie gave her a mild grin, he looking very much like Johnnie so that he could have been his twin brother, and then he answered. "Of course but then I must speak with the Field Marshals."

 

She shook her head. "Oh yes, and what makes you think that they would speak with you?"

 

Eddie grinned, raised his right hand, aimed it at the burning crashed jet-fighter and from it shot a blue bolt of energy. The whole wreckage flashed with blue light for a moment and then it was gone but so was the fire. The flames had gone out just like that. Then Eddie spoke again. "I mean I need to speak with all of the Field Marshals and also the Grand Marshal."

 

The fire-fighter women were standing now and staring at Eddie in amazement. The green eyed young woman shrugged. "My name is Elsie and I will take you to the outer fence of the command area. That is all that I can do."

 

Eddie nodded. "It is more than enough."

 

Then he slipped his backpack off and began to hand out foodbars, small resuable bottles of clear cool water and cupcans of coffee or tea, depending on the preferences of the women. He also gave out other items like compact electric surval torches, survival knives in scabbards and compact medical kits. Nobody but Elsie seemed to notice that he took out of the backpack more than it looked able to hold and that it seemed no emptier as he did so. He also gave out packs of special items for the special needs of women, like chocolate.

Edited December 22, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

CHANGING NUMBER SYSTEM FROM '0' TO '2'; I HOPE THIS DOES NOT CAUSE ANY TROUBLE

 

6 of 2 (032)

 

AT THE REFUGEE CAMP OF THE UNWANTED

 

Elsie detoured the small truck she was driving and let off some of the volunteer fire-fighters at a work camp before driving on and detouring yet again to another site, a larger refugee camp of tents and make shift shelters made of anything that was available including some abandoned trucks and buses. Eddie sensed that Elsie had good reason for taking him there, at least what she saw as good reason, and when they had gotten out of the vehicle she led him through the encampment. The people there were the generally unwanted by society being addicts, petty criminals, social misfits, mentallly ill vagrants and such like. Hidden amongst them were some political criminals on the run along with some hiding military and civil service deserters.

 

The woman who came and met them was attractive, mature, middle aged and she radiated confidence, practical efficiency and a steel fist inside a velvet glove to any who would dare to break the rules of the encampment. Holstered at her side was a standard issue military revolver of the British Empire and Commonwealths, the BEC, which had pretty much ceased to exist in real terms. The woman had one look at Eddie and then nodded as if answering her own unspoken question.

 

Then she spoke to the young man who somehow radiated the impression of great age and very much experience, of greater than normal confidence and power but in a subtle fashion. "Are you one of them, one of the Walkers of Worlds?"

 

Eddie arched his eyebrows in surprise. Then he nodded. "Amazing that you should or could pick me out so easily."

 

She sighed. "No, not really, not for those who know what to look for or who are open to sensing the truth of your kind. My name is Marlena. Though I am not openly showing it, I am of the Clansfolk who have lost so much in this terrible invasion along with the rest of humanity. Where are your people sending the fleeing humanity?"

 

Eddie gave her a mild puzzled look. "I do not know of what you speak. I just got here as an envoy-investigator of the CentroPybero but also to revisit my home world for I came from here, from this very area, from Lamplight Town. CentroPybero are a great, powerful, resources rich and influential faction of the CentroCentros of the Centro. Or at least that is the best way I can explain describe them in human terms. CentroPybero transdimensional probes sensed a relatively tiny but disturbing transdimensional disturbance in this isolated sector of the Multiverse, the universality of universes. As I arrived I picked up many impressions of what is taking place on this world but I am still sorting them out. Have a coffee."

 

He opened up a big pouch and, taking out a cupcan of coffee, passed it to Marelena who took it with a smile of gratitude but who then sighed. "We need coffee and much more for the whole camp load of people that are low on the priority list of the Grand Exodus Regulation Committee."

 

Eddie nodded. "Yes, I can sense that is the case but I am quite limited in how many resources and types of resources I can bring forth through... well my backpack, pouches and pockets. I want to go to Lamplight Town to see if my family is still there. This is important to me. Yet there is a way that I can assist you in a secondary fashion. They call themselves the Merchant-Traders of Mistrya but many know them as the Merchants, Merchant-Traders or Traders of Mist. I can summon one. It will sell you a list of basic items in exchange for what it calls tradecredit but be warned the lists can have some limitations. The Merchant-Trader of Mistrya may ask for some odd products in exchange for tradecredit though they also normally give at least some tradecredit in exchange. The listed items will be very much based on those of this world, generally speaking."

 

Eddie wanted to give to these people who were badly in need but he was also feeling drawn towards the town now and his family that he could sense were there.

 

Marlena nodded. "The Clansfolk have dealt with the Mistrya before, though not always with happy results. Summon forth this one, please."

 

***

 

Knowing that he was taking a small risk, Eddie did so and out of the air, with a sparkling shimmer, appeared a tall elegant looking man in a typical British Imperial business suit of the 1910s complete with bowler hat, briefcase and umbrella, all of black. Yet his face was a little too pale, his shapeform a little too tall and angular, his gear a little too polished to be real. Behind him appeared a structure something like a grey canvas tent but instead of a typical tent entrance it had a machine of a silvery cube jutting out of the front of it. It was all a clever illusion. It was a strange thing to happen and yet most of the people in the camp did not seem to notice that anything was abnormal at all.

 

The Merchant-Trader spoke first to Eddie. "Wwweee thank you, Lucky Eddie, we of the Mistrya whose beneficial nature is great of trade and commerce. A hundred kudos to you and 1,000 in tradecredit as a way of our appreciation." Then it turned to Marlena. "So so so, you frown so. Clansfolk have not forgetten or forgiven then. Such a pity. Still we can put that straight with 10,000 worth of tradecredit for the baseline listing of tradegoods as a gift from the Mystrya Justice Efficiency Progression in Commerce. If you trade to us in turn human waste products, sperm, hair, nails and perhaps other related products, we will be oh so generous in our payments of tradecredit."

 

So the trading began but there was no haggling at first for the Mistryand entity was simply passing items out on the given tradecredit. They bought tents, healing-serums, carpentery hammers, boxes of mixed rations, litrejons of clear cool water, basic sets of clothes with shoes plus caps, lamps, lamp-oil, blankets, axes, rope, five lutes, five harps, five basic musical horns, basic boots, cooking utensils, basic knives and a few other items.

 

Eddie had begun to sense something about Elsie, something that he had somehow both picked up earlier and had missed. Why had she noticed there was something odd about him and his backpack when others did not? Why was there something subtly special about she and Marlena that was unlike the other people there and that linked them so. Also why was he now sensing something quite familiar about both of them?

 

Marlena dealt with the alien merchant-trader in a way that showed the Clansfolk really had dealt with them before. Eddie sat on the ground in a full lotus position and passed out small gifts to individuals who lined up for them more or less patiently. The children got small, basic but colourful toys or teddies. He also gave out hair-brushes, combs, chocolate bars, cupcans of coffee, small bags of very realistic tobacco substitute that was much healthier than the real thing, packs of playing cards, harmonicas and quite a variety of other items. Some requests he refused because they were too dark of nature or because he knew the people of the camp would never approve such as opium powder or pornography.

 

When the free tradecredit was all used up, then the haggling began.

Edited December 22, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

QUESTIONABLE HISTORIES OF CENTRALIA

FACTIONS OF THE LAMPLIGHT CAVERNS OF CENTRALIA

 

SCOUTKINLA TRIBES OF BADGERDIE, WOLFCUBIO, EAGLELIO AND COYOTUSTA

 

There were four Boy Scout and Girl Scout camp groups, two of each, created and named after animals that were visiting the Lamplight Caverns when the Doomsday War began that went only for a monthays before ending in Doomsday itself. As war raged between the Aquatic Martians, the Enclaven and other, mysterious forces, the four groups struggled to survive. Along with the scouts were some parents, older siblings, scout leaders and some carers such as a doctor and two nurses. The expedition numbered over 5,000, being in the greater majority teenagers. From the long hard years following Doomsday rose the Scoutkinla Tribal Cluster made up of four tribes with distorted names of the old group names but now each had both males and females. During the hard times the tribes grew as they took in newcomers from outside and procreated. They became powerful, industrious and canny as hunter-gatherers, traders, artisans and warriors. The cry of 'dib dib dob' became a terrifying war cry and 'always be prepared' a fearful slogan.

 

RAILTOONA TRIBE

 

How this tribe arose is much of a mystery even to the tribe's members but they have come to control and run a railway tunnel through a relatively large part of the Lamplight Caverns. This is a very old railway of double rails built during the Great World War by humans of the FreeAlliance retreating from Enclaven soldiers. The tribals control, service, guard and hire out three small electric lomotives and three passenger, four flatbed and four other carriages along with a guard car at the end. The railway tunnel service is fairly busy and makes a good income for the tribe.

 

THE LAMPLIGHT CAVERNS ARE GREAT IN SIZE AND MORE FACTIONS WILL BE ADDED IN FUTURE NOTES

Edited November 27, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

26 of 1 (033)

 

IN THE TEMPLE OF THE DARK MOTHER GODDESS

 

Caratrina had told Johnnie that something very special lay inside the Eastern Wallside of the Clansfolk settlement, in one of the big temples carved out of rock, and sensing truth in her words he set out to infiltrate the place. The Clansguardia sentries at the approaches to the temples of SheGaroTuill were good soldiers and well alert but he slipped past them with out any real difficulty. He darted along great carved stone walls, jumping lightly from statue head to statue head of heroic figures, sybolic avatars, deities and other representations of Clansfolk culture. Then he perched quietly on top of a Demigoddess of Leafencakes as two amazons darted beneath him along the floor of the same great hallway. They were impressive but even in the light of glowcrystal lamps, they missed him somehow, in their stealth power armour. He shot along a stone vent shaft, horizontal, and dropped a fair distance onto the stone back of a great statue of a dragon with spread out open wings.

 

:ninja: Johnnie is a super ninja.

 

:sweat: This place is scary.

 

:ninja: Ninja the scary.

 

:wub: Oh Johnnie, what a hero.

 

:blink: Rather him than me.

 

:tongue: Aaahhh, where Johnnie goes, we go.

 

:sweat: I wish you hadn't said that.

 

Johnnie sighed softly to himself and peered around the great temple of monstrous statue figures. There were huge dragons like the one that he was perched on. They ran along a wall facing inwards to the rest of the temple with the great seminaked figure of the Dark Mother Goddess with her six arms each ending in a hand clenching a strange sword or gun or other kind of exotic device. The great woman figure was bare breasted, youth and aged at the same time, and looking up at the ceiling she was crying out in an endless silent scream of rage and pain. Other woman figures dotted another wall being priestesses, matriarches, healers, amazon warriors and others being all bare breasted. Then there was a wall of men, all on their knees, in chains and in subjecation but all with expressions of ecstasy as the women statues held. The fourth wall was a row of strange creatures, of stranger forms, that Johnnie could not truly identify.

 

Except his feeling that he had been in SheGaroTuill before, had been into the temples, was stronger now. He had been in that very place but the faint memories were polluted with pain and horror. He began to sense approaching danger.

 

Johnnie was happy he had brought his special pistol, his large and very powerful, very versatile elemental revolver pistol that he called his GodzillaMagnum. To make things better he pulled out his GodzillaBlaster energy pistol with his other hand and now he was ready.

 

A metallic door flew open in one wall, being large but tiny in comparison to the great chamber, and two figures ran through it. They were amazons in stealth power armour but they were running from something and that something was what Johnnie sensed was the threat. No, more than just one threat in the sense that a dozen Clonetroopers and robamoths charged into the chamber after the running amazons. What were EagleEnclave forces doing there?

 

Johnnie aimed his weapons and fired. Elemental projectiles roared from the GodzillaMagnum and bolts of energy from the GodzillaBlaster causing the chamber floor to erupt but only enough to destroy the power armoured Clonetroopers, once named Stormtroopers or so it seemed, and the robamoths. Others were hurled in all directions.

 

Johnnie was not really in a killing mood and soon the EagleEnclavers were reatreating, were dragged away the stunned but equipment damaged enemies. The moving Clonetroopers seemed better behaved this time as they took the super mutants with them and did not step on them or anything like that.

 

He leapt down and approached the amazons but they appeared to be no more pleased to see him there than they had the EagleEnclavers.

Edited December 22, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

27 of 1 (034)

 

WITH AMAZONS IN THE TEMPLE OF THE DARK MOTHER GODDESS

 

Johnnie smiled at the amazons and then looked around. "Ooommm, nice architecture though a little on the oppressive, scary and dark side. Could use a splash of colour and less of a enduring feel of human sacrifice, horrific rituals of torture and bizarre fanatical devotion. Oh, yes, the subjucation of men is a nice touch there."

 

One of the amazons spoke as she slipped off her helmet as he had done. "You should not be here. No man should be except those that are to be sacrifised once a year and such dark acts were put a stop to a very long time ago."

 

Johnnie sighed softly and shook his head. "No, no, no, I have a troublesome feeling I was once here. Yes, it was not good, not good at all. Below the great big statue of the Dark Mother Goddess there is a big, very ancient secret. It is one of the Thirteen Ancient Secret Instrumentalities left behind by the Unamed Ones who created the dinosaurs, the dragons and many other entities. Why such information comes to me now, I do not know. The thing down there is known as the SpiralEvutu of Life-Death of the Thirteen TransEvutu. It seems some naughty Clansfolk decided to try to use the device that is beyond the comprehension of mere mortals or even mere immortals."

 

The tough looking amazon frowned hard. "You must leave here now or I will have to deal with you harshly."

 

But her comrade suddenly removed her helmet and the redhead spoke with annoyance. "Ooohhh don't be a fool, Angieletta. We couldn't win with this one even if we wanted to. He emanates power, lots of power, and fighting ability of long violent existence. Also he feels nothing. The temple is not rejecting him, not pushing him away as it normally does to men thanks to the wards that were placed on it, the barrier of wardings."

 

Angieletta frowned at her younger but still tough looking companion. "I am only trying to follow my duty, Perisha." Then she turned back to Johnnie. "Still that was impressive how you got rid of those Clonetrooper women, if women is what one can call them, and sexless robamoth supermutants. Not one killed, either, by the looks of it. This temple was built to hide that artefact. The Dark Mother Goddess deals with the dark side of life and death, she reflects such matters. Since the SpiralEvutu of Life-Death seems only to have final dark results with its use, what better place to hide it. Problem is, the basic logic of the idea points to this temple."

 

Johnnie frowned. "I was here once but not just me and what happened here was not very nice, not very nice at all."

 

Perisha sighed. "Poor thing! Men sometimes have strange delusions about this place."

 

Which was when Johnnie screamed out in pain, shivered horribly and burst into flames of golden red that gave out no smoke and not heat that the amazons could feel but which burned Johnnie away with amazing speed to leave a burned heap of ash amongst all of his gear. It happened with amazing speed.

 

The amazons backed away, understably, and aimed their weapons around but they could see no source of attack. The temple was still, shadowy and silent.

 

But then, with a sparkling shimmer, a naked Johnnie formed out of mid air and quickly began to put his clothes and other gear back on. The amazons caught a strong glimpse of his tattoo dotted body and they were as shocked by his return as by his sudden destruction.

 

Johnnie was annoyed even as he finished putting things back into place and adjusting them. "I am a Walker of Worlds! Did the shadowy fool really think that he could get rid of me so easily or was that the point? Perhaps he wanted to learn more about my true nature."

 

The amazons stared at him in shocked for it was clear they were with one of the Ancient Cursed Ones known as the Walkers of Worlds.

Edited December 22, 2010 by Maharg67