Curratore Dam [WIDE OPEN]

[K-Zu-Ziro]

Tugged with zealous resolve, a balaclava masked a fresh face. The action repeated itself five times, over five different faces. All present bore a trauma, i.e. an excuse. Anxious hearts filled the room, eye contact without eye contact. “Alright, it's time!” sandpaper words broke the mourning. A blinding shaft of light flushed out the dank basement as the stairwell door whined open on its hinge. The crew rushed the steps screaming a mantra of independence for the Tusqualun Elves.

Air rippled into spots of crackling plasma at the request of a capable psionicist. Each anomaly morphed from gas, to plasma, to solid. Once solid, the objects pooled into a whirling orbit of pentagonal and hexagonal discs. Unseen forces converged within the notion of each edge; the simplicity of every polygon silenced the psionicist's mind. The utter absence of chaos provided a level of placidity necessary to transmute matter and energy. The discs span out of their column and formed two separate balls. A translucent avatar phased into the space between the two containers, her garment marked her as a sister of Radasanth's mysterious monk order.

The polygonal containers and their spectral adept floated over an industrial spectacle: the Curratore Dam located outside the Alerian capital of Ettermire. Cement formed the dour core of the structure, carved pink granite blocks provided an ornate and functional façade. The breadth of the river at the point of blockage was less than a hundred feet, the drop from the overflow was a maximum of forty feet. To accommodate overflow there were three broad arches, each opening was defended by gargantuan gates of stalwart steel. Six million gallons occupied the reservoir behind the dam.

Two combatants suffered the instant wretch of a vacuum, a force tore open the moment's fabric and consumed them. They plunged along a chromatic maelstrom. Each cell was issued one contender from the pair. The temporary prisoners were graced with a projection of the monk's face on the interior wall of their respective containers. Through a simultaneous broadcast, the monk spoke to them.

“I am Sister Aug Lea, a member of the Ai'Brone Monks of Radasanth's Citadel. I have used the powers of my order to act outside the walls of the Citadel. I have done so at the request of a powerful faction within in the Alerian government. I am not taking payment, this is above all else a principled endeavour. When my actions are uncovered I will undoubtedly be excommunicated.

“We are at the location of a genuine crisis. Below is the site of a Tusqualun Separatist Union attack. The target is the Curratore Dam. Their team is six strong, each is carrying an explosive charge. Three are heading to the foot of the dam, while another three are aiming for the top section. After placing their explosives, a seventh will detonate from an unknown location in the surrounding area. Your objective will be, of course, to prevent the destruction of this dam.

“You are not the only person I have summoned, another has also been selected to complete this task with you. Consider it a competition, the best performer will be given a reward by the Alerian Government. In addition, the winner will be offered the role of special advisor to Alerian Foreign Ministry. When this is over I will have my healing powers at my disposal, no different than had this taken place under one of the Citadel's illusion. As long as I have not been apprehended by that point.”

Thread Structure Notes

- All explosives placed by post 5.
- Detonation occurs on post 12.
- Detonation post responsibilities fall on you!

[Arch_Nemsis]

Hero. Once I would have laughed at that word. Once I would have found the very notion utterly disgusting. But the message I had just received placed me in an uncomfortable skin. That of the very same word...Hero. I was in The Citadel at that time already looking for a battle when the message was perceived by my mind. I prepared to face the unknown.

Long had the demons of Althanas been able to walk the surface world. The Overworld. It was the word that his people had in their native tongue for the surface world. A word uttered in complete and utter disgust. Nosdyn already entered the particular Citadel arena in question. The affairs of Humes and their ilk did not concern him. What did concern him was the chaos that was about to unfold. Nosdyn was prone to chaotic events, and held no fear of death. He was a trained soldier, and he would face this new challenge under that pretense. As he looked ahead towards the chosen site for the combat arena, Nosdyn growled. He heard where both teams were heading, but was only skilled enough to potentially stop one of the teams.

The dam ahead was surging with the sound of cleaning water.

Nosdyn's powerful boot falls carried him towards the closer of the teams...the team that was heading towards the base of the dam. The paths and the ground around the dam were rocky and moist. His nostrils could already smell the stink of thousands of tons of water. Nosdyn knew the capacity to build wonders such as dams was not native to Radasanth. The dam was likely an Alerar structure. Nosdyn's blue skin sweated from the heat of the area and the time of day. His eyes, his eyes told all...they were full of hate. The Curratore Dam was built in the classic Alerar style of architecture. Nosdyn took a glance up at it, he knew that the fellows carrying the bombs would not all be stopped. As that thought passed through his mind, only one thought remained...war. Nosdyn eyed the members of the Tusqualun Separatists. They were bold, brave...and they would seen be dead. Nosdyn activated his fabled weapon, the weapon of his people. The weapon of proud demons. With the strange and maddening snap-hiss sound a powerful energy blade manifested from the elegant hilt in Nosdyn's hand. The weapon was an energy based weapon and the blade could be summoned by Nosdyn's alone.

It was a lengthy purple blade.

The sound caught the attention of the closest of the bombers. Nosdyn spotted the fellows up ahead, they would need time to affix the bombs to the base of the dam. Nosdyn made his way carefully towards the closest of the three armed warriors. The straggler of three spotted the demon heading his way. Nosdyn readied an aggressive combat stance and prepared his weapon so that it was at mid position of his body. The purple blade's tip was pointing slightly upward and the attack began. Nosdyn rushed towards the straggler...

(Don't wanna bunny the NPC's too much so let me know if you wanna take control of the NPC's or if you have something special planned. I look forward to working with you.)

[K-Zu-Ziro]

Beads of conjured glue bubbled and blistered under the sun's unyielding blaze. Without adhesive, the cell's hexagons and pentagons began to fall away, fading back into the air particles from which they were generated. This dropped the second contestant into a hapless fall. K-Zu-Ziro split its legs to form a horizontal line and locked its left pincer in a downwards stab. “Urgh.” an Elven groan underscored the severity of wound inflicted. The Child of the Black Tree God ambushed a separatist as it landed, shearing clean the flesh of its victim's shoulder while pinning him to the ground. The bomber was interrupted in reaching for its explosive charge by the snipping frenzy of his assailant's pincered claw. The elf's belly became a gruesome diorama, hollowed out and exhibiting a cross section of every vital organ.

Mux Drik, the captive mind of a human diplomat living inside K-Zu-Ziro's head, shared his captor's vision of the carnage. “Delightful. Make sure Digsy is strapped in for this one, old bean.” He was referring to his master's other sidekick: a small, spherical, rodentine humanoid required for his ability as an interpreter. “I'm fine!” whistled Digsy through his overgrown incisors while affixing the straps on the giant insect's left shoulder around his ankles to avoid falling foul of the action.

K-Zu-Ziro's limited telepathic ability had one purpose, to form a space in which the three minds could communicate.

“Time to talk strategy, Ziro.” even in thought, Drik's words carried an informed tone.

“No more grossssss sssssstuff!” and Digsy's thoughts failed to shake the ratty whistle.

“Do not waste time, Digsy.” the insectoid naturally lacked the amiability of its humanoid companions.

“Two options, old bean:” Drik interjected with imperative haste, “go north or south for another of these elves on the top here. Or! Clamber down the dam after the rest of them—and I presume our opponent is down there too! Awfully bad luck we didn't get a chance to see him, or her, before we got into this ghastly encounter.”

(OOC: You can totes improvise anything you want with the NPCs. I left details on them open ended so you can come up with anything you want. Adding details to them and the setting as we go is first come first served, there's 0% chance of me complaining about any details you add to NPCs, environment, etc ^^')

[Arch_Nemsis]

The first of the bombers fell quickly.

Nosdyn always intended to kill with each lethal stroke. He never held anything back. As he stood over the body of the fallen warrior, he saw that there was an incendiary device strapped to the fellow. It was still armed despite the fact that he defeated the warrior. The sudden thought came to Nosdyn that the entire assault party was likely armed with such devices. Nosdyn sighed. But then was quickly on the move. It's a good day to die. Nosdyn thought to himself as he looked at the two nearby warriors. As he suspected, they were both armed with similar incendiary devices. Nosdyn ran towards the closer of the two, but they were already acting. The leader of the enemy party spotted Nosdyn advancing and did not panic. He spoke in a language that Nosdyn had never heard before, but it didn't really matter. Nosdyn moved in to get another kill, but something happened. Just as Nosdyn raised his weapon high to strike his opponent down, Nosdyn became suddenly paralyzed by an unknown force. The grip held him tightly and he saw that it was the second of the two operatives that held him in their arcane grip. The completely covered fellow held his hand raised in an odd gesture towards Nosdyn.

Nosdyn had heard of such telekinetic powers before.

The air around Nosdyn's body rippled with dead weight as the operative walked towards him.

Nosdyn's fury elevated to near psychotic rage. However, he could do nothing but watch.

The operative walked slowly towards Nosdyn and paused about half a pace in front of the Demon. He then spoke in plain, but highly accented common-tongue. "You took one of our operatives out. That was likely a huge mistake, interloper." The operative said calmly. "I did not think I'd ever see your kind suddenly attempt to act so noble as to save a pathetic species like this. Tell me Demon, what is your name?" The operative asked.

Nosdyn growled for a moment, but felt compelled to comply. "I am Nosdyn, son of Clan Krotar." Nosdyn said, he made no attempt to hide his rage.

"Krotar...I recall your clan. Filthy, salvage beasts. Your patron is one of the smaller Overlords if I'm not mistaken?" The operative suddenly said.

"Do not speak of my family..." Nosdyn said. His desire to kill was growing with every passing moment. "You would do well to bite your tongue."

"Perhaps. But where is the fun in that? You have no idea who we are and why we are here, other than what the bitch has told your people." The operative stepped a little closer until he was practically in Nosdyn's face. "Your clan has grown weak in the time that you have been here on the surface world." The operative was saying. He continued. "You have no idea how things have changed in The Tular Plains since you've left it have you?"

"I only know what my mission is..." Nosdyn's thoughts were becoming increasingly more violent.

"I will give you grunts that much. You are loyal lap dogs. Even though your regime is dead." The man tightened his grip on whatever energy was holding Nosdyn locked in placed.

Nosdyn started floating up and off the ground for a few moments, and then the operative made a grand gesture with his arm. Nosdyn was suddenly knocked off the edge of the cliff, and found himself falling...falling to certain doom.

[K-Zu-Ziro]

"The lack of information is the biggest threat. First, we will locate our main opponent."

Ziro's command went unanswered. Hostoland's emissary snapped tight its serrated pincer around the leather sash crossing the corpse's torso. Once locked in, the creature jerked until the sash ripped asunder. Once loose, the insectoid tugged up the strap and requisitioned the freedom fighter's bomb for its own purposes. "Hold this." the words invaded Digsy's mind; in accordance with his duties the sidekick clasped the strap and bomb in his scruffy paws.

Acute became obtuse when the insect's limbs unfolded. Its frightful figure grew from a crouching mount over the dismembered carcass to an erect nightmare measuring eight feet. The dark matte of its exoskeleton proved difficult to distinguish from its shadow. K-Zu-Ziro stalked the gangway with a spindly gait, making its way to the lip of the dam. Peering over the gushing gate of the centre arch, the Hostoland trio saw it was open to regulate the reservoir levels. Rainbows flourished in the splashing spray of the falls. While Mux could appreciate the juxtaposition of an artificial Elven structure versus the organic magic of a rainbow, K-Zu-Ziro could not. Unfased by the spectrum's colour and the roaring cascade, the creature hopped onto the pink stonework ridge and stared down.

“Hate to say this, but I think we're not supposed to succeed here” conceded Mux.

“Saving the dam and our success are unrelated.” Ziro's mechanical mind clarified the situation.

“Of coooouuuurse,” it clicked with Mux, “if the dam blows then Alerar's capital city will be weakened and we win, if we save the dam and get close to their government then we win.”

As the silent conversation progressed they were able to monitor the misfortune of their opponent below. A blue skinned demon floated over the corpse of another bomber while the other two bombers assigned to that section were closing in on him. Two defeated, four alive; Mux Drik's pessimistic assessment of their prospects proved a solid prediction. At either extremity of the upper gangway the separatists had placed their explosives. “We have failed to prevent the explosives being placed and armed. The top section of this dam will be damaged at either end. Below, however, it appears our opponent has more completely engaged the three targets.”

K-Zu-Ziro's plan flooded in their shared mental space causing both Digsy—“UH OH”—and Drik—“I must advise against it.”—to lose their cool. “Other options?” the comrades clammed up. “Digsy, check your straps.”

To avoid the water from the open gate, K-Zu-Ziro engaged a gangly strut northwards along Curratore's elf-made precipice. Once clear, it jumped. The face of the dam was steep, but not a sheer drop. A minor angle allowed the insectoid to slow its fall by scraping its right claw against the stone and mortar. Spray from the nearby flow glossed Ziro's exoskeleton with sparkling droplets.

After grinding down twenty feet, Mux remarked “Oh my!” as he watched Nosdyn tossed to towards his doom. “Plan goes ahead regardless.” the insectoid's free pincer snatched away the strap and corresponding explosive from Digsy's paws. A fateful toss and the bomb broke into flight, its leather appendage was a tawdry streamer in its wake. The target of K-Zu-Ziro's throw was the remaining terrorists on the lower walkway of the dam.

Uninterrupted the unstable contents of the bomb would explode on impact, blasting away the central section of the dam.

[Arch_Nemsis]

Nosdyn fell, it was almost as a dream.

He wasn't entirely certain what it was he was doing there, seeking redemption perhaps.

The afternoon sky was lurking overhead and moved further and further away. This is it. Nosdyn thought to himself as he fell and then something else happened. Far away, he heard the explosions of the bombs. Nosdyn growled as he fell down down down. And then there was a massive burst of water that broke through the shattered dam. A wave cascaded across the area, and towards the city. Nosdyn was not a righteous demon, he did not care about the Alerarians. What he did care about was his own honour code and the code of the Demons. Alerar was less hostile to the Demons than other nations on Althanas tended to be. The water engulfed Nosdyn and he was suddenly in a dark blue, and cold vortex drowning fast.

The under current dragged Nosdyn far from the dam knocking him about to and fro.

He was suddenly dragged towards shore which was many yards away.

He could see the afternoon sky as he broke through the surface of the wave of water. Fighting with everything he could muster, Nosdyn swam against the current, he coughed the entire time. His position was then relatively close the shore ine even as the water consumed everything. Nosdyn used his mighty shoulders and maneuvered towards the ground ahead, he finally made it. Grasping with large hands, he pulled himself up and out of the water. He coughed for several minutes attempting to clear out his lungs. Half of his body was still submerged. He was crawling against the ground of the forest that surrounded the dam. He looked back in the direction he'd come and saw that there was a massive hole in the dam where the explosions had taken place. It was enough to allow the tons of water to come cascading out. The whole ordeal made Nosdyn want to scream, but he continued to pull against the ground and get himself on dry land. Once he was done, he realized that he was hurting and in a lot of pain. The water dripping off his clothing did not matter, only the incredible pain that he felt mattered. He growled angrily and threw up a tremendous amount of water he had consumed. Nosdyn noticed there was some blood from his injuries.

Damned psionics... Nosdyn managed to think to himself as he wiped the blood from his mouth. He had a job to complete, though the separatists had been successful in their mission so far, Nosdyn knew they were still out there. They would have to be prevented from causing further harm. Nosdyn was glad he'd manged to sheathe his weapon in mid-air and had held on to it thee entire time of his fall and drowning. He looked down at the handle of his energy sword and saw it was still quite active and ready to spill blood. Nosdyn knew the mechanics of his weapon inside and out. After drying himself off best he was able to, Nosdyn proceeded to walk back towards the dam and where the remaining separatists were.

His face had a psychotic fury etched on it.

[K-Zu-Ziro]

Quilted paddocks rolled into the horizon ahead of a Radasanthian Finch; the bird sailed in acquiescence with the day's breeze. Oceans of yolk coloured buttercups peaked into waves of crimson poppies; hedgerows alive with the season outlined each darling meadow. The bird's regal plumage, red and gold, made him a worthy guest above the beauty of High Lord Mis-Co's plantation. In that moment, no living creature in all of Althanas could boast a better existence. Limestone blocks account for the breadth of a sizable windowsill on the second floor of the plantation's manor, a perfect perch for the journeying finch. Upon landing, his kingly air expired as he let loose a jet of black and white droppings. While resting a moment, the bird's attention was taken in by the thick accent of a foreign elf. It peered into the adumbral chamber, eavesdropping on an important conversation.

“No heroes, I wanted no heroes!” while speaking common, the pronunciation was so bad it was difficult to comprehend.

“No heroes? Of course, the monk has already returned to the citadel. My squires tell me they're doing exactly what we hoped.” the second member of the conversation spoke with a well-bred Radasanthian finish.

“The bug? The demon?” the elf's words were a blunt rupture to the moment.

“K-Zu-Ziro has already shown itself to hold little regard for the lives of Ettermire's citizens.”

“Fantastic!”

“What a delightful little finch, do you see him?” the Radasanthian nobleman pointed to the bird on the windowsill.

“Ah, yes—did you know that birds see in full colour?”

“Really?”

“Mother Ivra, the planet's own mother, first gave birds the gift of flight. The first birds flew in a huge flock over the virgin world filled with primal beauty. But they returned to Mother Ivra to lament that the whole world was painted with a palette of greys only. She explained to them that only elves, humans and their lower relations could see the colours. Avra Linor, the first bird, said that she spoke for all the birds and explained that if they couldn't see the colours of the world, then they wanted to return their wings since they were useless. Mother Ivra recognised her mistake and was not proud. She gave birds colour sight, now birds are the most colourful animals we have. And they know which berries to eat and not to eat. Birds are Mother Ivra's favourites—she admires their boldness.”

“...” the co-conspirator's eyes rolled to the side dismissively.

Meanwhile, back at the Curratore Dam, Ziro's audacious lob had landed with a thumping pulse, triggering a chain reaction of three beefy blasts. Explosion number one was the ignition of the stolen bomb, the second two were the bombs still strapped to the chests of the psionic marytrs. Their bodies splattered into a mist of blood, pulverised bone and charred chunks of flesh. Granite blocks flushed forward with the marauding torrent, keeping pace through the force of the water gushing around them. The reservoir's contents spilled through the gaping hole in its base with concerning rapidity. Each gallon wore at the remaining blocks and cement, widening the hole by the minute.

Continuing the ride down the dam's face was immediately impossible for K-Zu-Ziro, the growing fault blocking the insectoid's path posed an inescapable threat. "Argh, gonna get my fur wet!" complained Digsy before taking a thoroughly deep breath. Kicking against the stone when coming in contact with the water gave an extra push for the Hostoland trio. Drowning dimness periodically engulfed Ziro as it struggled to stay above the one-way surf. Distance from the damage meant a slow in the water's push and it allowed the creature to drag itself up against the thick vegetation lining the banks of the river. K-Zu-Ziro was finally within sight of Nosdyn Krotar, twenty yards upriver.

K-Zu-Ziro's limbs locked into a lifeless rigidity; the creature was using every telepathic resource at its disposal to take control of Digsy's mind entirely. In this state, no action could be taken by Ziro and a moment of recovery for both it and its sidekick would be required. Once in control, the minor telepath was able to use the rat boy decorating its shoulder as a mouth piece. In a surprisingly loud voice, Digsy shouted a comical whistle across the distance, "Demon!" the thundering chorus of the engorged river was not enough to obscure the words "I am content to see this dam destroyed and Alerar weakened. Will you attempt to prevent me?"

[Arch_Nemsis]

Nosdyn heard and felt the taunt of the strange insect like creature.

He turned to look at the flood waters that had caused so much damage.

Shit that could have almost been me as one of the victims...I have got to be more careful about how I do this sort of shit. Nosdyn applied all of his attention towards the bug like creature. His eyes narrowed at that point, hidden behind the scary mask he wore. Nosdyn figured that Ziro and his companion was likely an enemy. However, Nosdyn did not want to directly engage despite his current rage and fury. Nosdyn approached the warrior and kept a steady distance letting the question linger in the air for a moment. Once Nosdyn was well within ear shot range of the creature, he spoke.

"I've seen your kind before...damned bugs. Somewhere on the Tular Plains there are tribes like you. You're probably a variant or off shoot of one of them if I'm not terribly mistaken." Nosdyn was not a Hero. He was a villain through and through but he followed his Demon's code of honour. "Your boys up there set me back quite a bit, I'll admit I admire your colleagues skills. " Nosdyn Krotar finished covering the ground between himself and the bug. He was now approximately five or six paces away from the bug. "Now then. It is probably too late to prevent what you are attempting here anyway. And I don't give a fuck about the people of Alerar. They are just means to an end anyway. I was attempting to stop your operation to see how far I could get on my own." Nosdyn explained. "However now that I have seen the skill capacity of you and your people, I wish to ask you something. Would you do battle with me? Not as enemies, but as someone who wants to test your skill level. I want to see for myself if you're worthy of being called an ally." Nosdyn explained boldly. His eyes were narrowed the entire time he spoke, and he waited for the response of the bug.

[K-Zu-Ziro]

"Your boys up there set me back quite a bit, I'll admit I admire your colleagues skills. " While Nosdyn Krotar took the opportunity to close the distance.

"They are not my colleagues, I was summoned here against my will, instructed to defend the dam by a monk. I assume you experienced the same!" K-Zu-Ziro continued to channel Digsy's mind, manipulating his twitching muzzle and scratchy vocal chords to communicate.

"Now then. It is probably too late to prevent what you are attempting here anyway. And I don't give a fuck about the people of Alerar. They are just means to an end anyway. I was attempting to stop your operation to see how far I could get on my own." Nosdyn explained.

During the demon's explanation, K-Zu-Ziro felt the anxious throb of an unnoticed wound; a jagged shard of granite had pierced the central trunk of its exoskeleton. The wound, though minor, would gradually weep bodily fluids. Cumulatively the insectoid's movement would be compromised due to the nature in which arthropods operate their limbs. Hydraulics in conjunction with more familiar muscle systems allowed the Child of the Black Tree God to move with a certain pace. Upon realising its handicap, the creature released Digsy's mind and set to recovering its mental fortitude.

"However now that I have seen the skill capacity of you and your people, I wish to ask you something. Would you do battle with me? Not as enemies, but as someone who wants to test your skill level. I want to see for myself if you're worthy of being called an ally."

Honour, ego, vanity, pride—these complex emotions typically eluded the invertebrate beast. A primal lust for dominant consumption, however, was not lacking. Without Digsy to speak on Ziro's behalf, the creature nodded with the solemn simplicity.

“I must advise against this one, old boy!” the bug's eternal prisoner, Mux Drik, whispered in their shared mind, “I've seen this a hundred times,” he was referring to his years representing Corone in international diplomacy, “there's something more going on here. Firstly, our mission was doomed to fail. And somebody, somewhere, stands to gain from our failure and this dam's destruction. Trading blows with this overgrown blueberry is hardly the best course of action! We're hurt too, we might be able to swing fast now but eventually we're going to seize up—you know that!!!”

K-Zu-Ziro ignored Drik's silent counsel. With a defiant scuff of the muddy sand lining the banks of the raging waterway, the insectoid kicked a wad of material at an acute angle, aiming towards its prey's face before committing to reckless lunge into melee range of Nosdyn Krotar, fundamentally fearless, with pincers spread and mandibles salivating.

[Arch_Nemsis]

So the monks do play favorites, that's good to know.

Nosdyn had learned a great deal about how surface world politics plays out. According to Nosdyn's beliefs structure the Humes of the surface world were the most dangerous beings on Althanas. They waged wars with one another and all other races for the mere pleasure of it. There was nothing wrong with warfare on it's own. However, Humes wasted their own kin's lives in their selfish desire for conquest...that lacked honour. According to demonic belief system, contracts and honour bound folks to one another and was paramount in a contract society. Nosdyn felt that the Humes were a disgusting lot and had earned his mire and distrust.

However, Nosdyn also learned that he could play the Humes against themselves. Neutral parties like the insect before him would prove equally useful in his plans for global conquest. All great Demon generals started at the bottom and worked their ways up to the top. It was hard work t hat paid off, not the sacrifice of other lives. As Nosdyn thought that, he felt the snap-hiss of his master craft energy weapon. Energy pierced through the air and a purple blade of magnificent quality materialized. The blade radiated power. It was clearly a vile and evil thing. Nosdyn looked at the insect before him. This is not personal...I am merely testing you if you can be friend or foe...and where you stand in the grand scheme of things. Nosdyn thought to himself.

Then once Nosdyn activated his weapon, he was ready. He looked the creature in it's foreign eyes. Nosdyn was Demon kind and had seen his share of things in his day, but the insect variety of the Demon brood always did disturb the warrior. Nosdyn readied a tightened combat stance and pointed his weapon towards the bug. Then, Nosdyn proceeded to run towards the bug. The waters of the flood still were being emptied from the now defunct dam. Nosdyn had to be certain that the Humes of Alerar had died for a good enough cost. Nosdyn was about a half of a pace out when he struck. He rotated his weapon started from it's original position away from the bug. Then he jumped the rest of the way, circling his weapon back towards the bug. This time, he aimed for the chest cavity of the creature and Nosdyn's attack was a sweeping slash in essence. The glowing blade emitted that terrifying sound. Nosdyn's mind was already beginning to fill with the rage and fury, almost like a goblet over flowing with crimson blood.

[K-Zu-Ziro]

Four of six were dead, and the two lingering separatists made haste with their fleeting moments. A fugitive life lay ahead, a destructive legacy lay behind. Critically damaged, but not destroyed, Currutore's fate as the future delight of a snorkeling archaeologist was all but sealed. The final two explosives sat placed and primed, but not detonated, at either end of the upper section. The seventh member of the original crew had her wrinkled finger on the trigger and would ignite the remaining devices the very second her two comrades had successfully escaped the limits of the blast radius.

An errant block, artificially angular and colossal in mass, sloshed through the roiling waters and ran along the ongoing duel. The majesty of Alerar's ancient stonemasons fell to the looming shadow of Mother Ivra's savage indifference. The force of the bulging river drove the stone with so much power that it ploughed into the sodden mud of the river's bank. Timed with impeccable inconvenience, the freshly shoved mud pressed against K-Zu-Ziro's ankle and caused the creature to teeter just as the purple whirl of Krotar's runed beam blade emerged from the water's spray with murderous prowess. "Barrrgggghhh!" Ziro backed into a fall and Digsy's straps seemed to loosen. The rodent's vocal distress proved immaterial, K-Zu-Ziro attempted to block the incoming blade by crossing its pincers in an X across its chest as it tumbled backwards.

Impact was always agony, but this agony played the role of an accomplice to the amputation of K-Zu-Ziro's precious pincer—the left one. The iron-equivalent sword cracked into the snapping appendage and left it hanging by a single sinew. No clear break had been made at the joint, instead the insectoid's wrist was a jagged wreck of stabbing spurs. The sinew tore and the claw fell alone into the muddy waters. Ziro's fall followed, it fell onto the hulking rock; the flattened granite scraped the giant bug's back upon connection. As though it were lying in bed, the creature looked up from its prone state and at the furious mask of Krotar. A second wound meant a second oozing breach that would inevitably sap the insectoid's movement system dry.

"Dying once was bad enough. You're supposed the be the glorious child of T-Zu-Hosto. This is just fantastic."

Mux Drik's sarcastic diatribe permeated their shared mind and focused a spotlight on his own sanity; it hinged on the virtually hopeless notion that one day the back door to his birdcage might be left open. To truly perish, for keeps, locked within K-Zu-Ziro would be final horror for a life stolen. Digsy, still strapped onto Ziro's shoulder, wriggled frantically. “Come on! Let's go!!!” the rodentine member of the trio reverted to a primal state and bore his impressive gnashers at the encroaching demon.

K-Zu-Ziro—carrying two injuries, flat on the ground before a lethal rival and finding movement more difficult by the second—readied itself for another strike…

[Arch_Nemsis]

For a long moment, the demon was actually surprised that his attack had hit.

My previous entanglements in The Citadel were for naught...this is...a good change of pace. Nosdyn thought to himself.

He carefully studied the putrid blood that poured from the injury that he'd given his opponent. Something happened at that point, Nosdyn hesitated. He wasn't sure what it was about the fact that he'd hurt someone...and quite badly... that felt so damned anti climatic. Nosdyn was angry to be sure, but he did not want to substitute a confused opponent for the true opponent. Nosdyn's aura of fear was permeating his body as he stood before the injured creature, water was everywhere. Nosdyn amplified his fear aura to it's fullest potential. He stared directly into Ziro's eyes at that point. The maddening sound of Nosdyn's weapon seemed to make the air vibrate. Then, Nosdyn shut his weapon off, the magnificent blade vanishing into thin air. Nosdyn attached his weapon to the scabbard area of his belt and looked back towards Ziro. Nosdyn's eyes held an accusatory stare about them. The blue skinned demon was not sure how to proceed, Ziro was already injured. But then, the something occurring within Nosdyn's heart and soul continued.

Nosdyn understood what it was he was feeling.

The doubt and anxiety he'd felt soon turned to rage and an amplified one at that. Nosdyn cracked both sets of his knuckles and proceeded to stalk towards Ziro. "Don't take this personal, bug." Nosdyn said in a low voice as he proceeded to attack.

Instead of cutting the creature down to bits with his mighty weapon, he was about to beat the shit out of the bug. Nosdyn reached back with his left arm and swung it forward with all the might he could muster. At the same time, he simply let go of any semblance of sanity that was locking him to his current state. He allowed his full rage, which was potent, to activate. His body seemed to have a red glow about it as he activated his rage to it's fullest capacity. Nosdyn timed the seconds down to see if the damned bug would take the second hit as well. If his second hit would connect, Nosdyn would proceed to hit the bug over and over. But that's only if the bug truly did not intend to fight. If that was the case, Nosdyn would beat the shit out of it. Nosdyn growled with anger as he swung his mighty fist right at the bug's head. He intended to make every precious strike count. This was the first time he'd fought an opponent who could be hit and he was going to take full fucking advantage of that.

No mercy would be shown.

[K-Zu-Ziro]

Digsy and Drik crawled through the black bowels of K-Zu-Ziro's telepathic birdcage. Wailing a fearful chorus, they were lost to a lonesome nightmare. Together, they wandered the woods, far from home. A fading light forced them forward, deeper into the distant forest. The setting sun's dying glow pulled them up a set of creaking steps and through the open door of a forgotten home. Within they found decades of decay, lost time's smile was a hillbilly's grin, smug and toothless. Pleasure and laughter reigned over the ghosts of a terminal bloodline, a million years to die at a dead-end. The dead sons and daughters were buried in the back, still wearing their necklaces and shoes, proud and pretty. Above Digsy and Drik, the roof's beams were rotten and collapsing, below them they felt melancholy's loss beckoning them to the grave.

Nosdyn's fear had rattled Ziro's companions into a maddening terror. Digsy was screaming out desperate tears, in the real world, while dreaming in the nightmare. Mux Drik, for the first time since his murder, was no longer completely confined by Ziro's dominating telepathy. Unfortunately for him, he had fallen to Nosdyn's night terror instead. Ziro felt them lose control and immediately abandoned them, the arthropod had no time to deal with their mammalian weakness. If the bug were gifted with a genuine empathy then their plight might have concerned him. The fear aura, though powerful, had a negligible impact on the less emotional thought process of Ziro, an insectoid.

K-Zu-Ziro's bemusement at Krotar's decision to deactivate his weapon was short-lived. This was an opportunity to address the imbalanced scales. While Nosdyn wound up his left swing Ziro strained its rapidly weakening muscles to deliberately position the jagged stump and its stabbing edges directly in the path of the mighty punch. For the second swing Ziro repeated the same defence, aiming to skewer the shit out of the raging demon. While taking measures to protect itself with its left arm, K-Zu-Ziro used its remaining right sided pincer to snap quickly and repeatedly at Nosdyn's crotch.

It was then that the last two charges on the dam exploded, rendering the remnants of the majestic elven structure into a rushing mix of broken concrete, granite blocks and surging water. A final torrent emptied into the already swollen waterway below. Moments separated the wave and the fighters downstream.

[Arch_Nemsis]

Nosdyn felt the block more than anything else.

Then he felt something else, a futile attempt at his manhood.

Normally, the surface dwellers were very prideful of their manhood and reproductive organs. But Nosdyn knew how The Citadel's laws operated he felt the intense pain when the pincers clutched at his sensitive genitalia but he did not cower or wince away in agony and pain. He did not go down quietly into the night. No. Instead, Nosdyn did the unthinkable. Nosdyn allowed the pain he currently was experiencing to bring him to such a euphoric state of mind, a psychotic state of mind, that the demon smiled. More importantly, he looked the bud right in the eyes and carefully sized up the creature as the pain in between his legs swelled and reached up Nosdyn's spinal column. Nosdyn felt something squish in between his legs, but he did not care. He simply allowed the agony of euphoria to fuel his battle rage.

And fuel him did it ever.

Nosdyn's face twisted to such a psychotic state of being, that it was almost terrifying to look at. He did now know the nature of the bug's race fear receptors. He did not care. The only thing he did care about at that moment was to harm the creature in such a complete way, that it would think twice before ever returning to The Citadel's halls. It was then, that Nosdyn clenched his same fist tightly, the one that the creature had foolishly blocked with his arm. Nosdyn had knowledge of close-combat range, and he would take advantage of it even as he accessed his battle rage ability.

Fueled by the pain he felt, the rage he was so complete that Nosdyn felt every fiber of his being swell in hatred. He wore his face, a mask, as a bloody and crimson stained monster from a childe's nightmare. Even as he realized what he was doing, he willfully did it anyway. He aimed the attack at a higher state. He intended to kill with his very hands. He pulled his hands slowly, feeling the weight of every muscle in his arm, no, every muscle in his very being, tighten. The demon's intent was masked only by the pure hatred that burned in his eyes. And so, with every amount of strength he could muster, which at that state he was in was considerable, Nosdyn struck.

He aimed for the side of the bug's head and he would be certain to repay the favour for the creature even daring to assault the demon's manhood. Nosdyn yelled with a fury the entire time, and then as the sound pierced the very air, he began to laugh uncontrollably. At his opponent, at The Citadel, at the very essence of life itself. It suddenly all made so much sense that it made the demon feel a strong sense of purpose. Hell's fury was channeled through the demon's veins as he swung his mighty fist at his opponent's head. There would be time for regret later.

[K-Zu-Ziro]

The churning fray fractured Ziro's skeleton in the wash from the dam to the river bank, it was a handicap from the beginning. Next, the loss of a vital pincer to the surreal slash of a purple energy sword compounded the insect's calamitous ordeal. Digsy and Drik fell, devoid of defiance, to Nosdyn's radiating insanity. K-Zu-Ziro, unfamiliar with consistent misfortune, observed as the attempted block of Nosdyn's attack using its broken limb to cut into the demon's swings proved trivial. Ultimately, K-Zu-Ziro's final defeat came when, with utter desperation, the rabid mutilation of its opponent's genitalia only made said opponent more powerful. In the time taken by those events, the fluid inside the insect's body had become so low that movement became impossible.

Hell's infamous fury struck K-Zu-Ziro in the right eye, blackening half the world. The skull around the eye faltered, lines spread across the creature's entire head like cracks in a hard boiled egg. Then the rest of the world darkened. Digsy's distress had whimpered into relentless tears, he was still in the house in the woods. Mux Drik was still in that house. The insectoid, mentally stout and initially resistant to the nerve-racking assault, was to join them. Defeat sent K-Zu-Ziro to hell.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, help me mother, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no don't, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, please no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, are you listening to me, can you help me, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, mama, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, god no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I want my mama, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, why did I wander for days to end up here, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, stop it, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, mama, no, no, no, no, no, no, why me, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I don't understand, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, don't touch me, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, how could this happen to me, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, please take me home, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no please, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, mama, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, help me, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, help me mother, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, why, no, no, no, no, no, no, no don't, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, please no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, god no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I want my mama, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, how could this happen to me, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, mama, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, please take me home, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, help me, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no please, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, help me mother, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, why, no, no, no, no, no, no, no don't, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, please no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, please, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, mama, no, no, god no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I want my mama, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, please, no, no, no, no, why did I wander for days to end up here, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, stop it, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I don't understand, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, it's so dark, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, mama, mama, mama, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, why doesn't anybody help me, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, don't touch me, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, how could this happen to me, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, please take me home, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, please, no, no, no, no, why did I wander for days to end up here, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, stop it, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I don't understand, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, don't touch me, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, how could this happen to me, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, it's so cold, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, please take me home, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, Ziro, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, help me mother, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no don't, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, please no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, mama, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I'm shivering, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, god no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I want my mama, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, why did I wander for days to end up here, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, stop it, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, Mux, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, why me, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I don't understand, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, don't touch me, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, how could this happen to me, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, please take me home, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no please, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, help me mother, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, why, no, no, no, no, no, no, no don't, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, please no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, my feet are wet and cold, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, god no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I want my mama, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, how could this happen to me, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, please take me home, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no please, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, mama, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, how can I be here, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, help me mother, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, why, no, no, no, no, no, no, no don't, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, please no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, god no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I want my mama, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, please, no, no, no, no, why did I wander for days to end up here, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, stop it, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, what is happening, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I don't understand, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, don't touch me, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, how could this happen to me, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, please take me home, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, please, no, no, no, no, why did I wander for days to end up here, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, stop it, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, why, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, mama, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I don't understand, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, don't touch me, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, how could this happen to me, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, please take me home, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.”

Ziro left the real world and entered theirs as an apparition, watching the rotten room from the height of the opposite corner. Digsy's horrific chant carried a sense of eternity, before and after it. Mux Drik, once again in his own body, stood next to Digsy. The last time K-Zu-Ziro had seen Mux Drik's body was during its dismemberment. The pair faced into the corner together. Drik, unlike his ratty comrade, was empty and sedate. Unfortunately, the insectoid was not capable of sentimentality, but it was burdened with a sense of devotion to its social group. An irresistible desire to assist them overcame Ziro. In making that decision, the mind of K-Zu-Ziro remade its own body in the nightmare. Its health in the dreamland was not connected to its lack thereof in the real world. Ziro landed on the creaking boards beneath. “Ziro,” Digsy broke his forever chant and came into the moment, “don't come here, stay back, you can't help us. It has us, we're here and we'll always be here. Go down the stairs and into the woods, get lost in the woods. This isn't safe, this isn't a home, it's not a home.” K-Zu-Ziro became cautious hearing Digsy's advice, the Hostian child's words were pitifully sincere.

At first it was a puzzle; why were Digsy and Drik standing in the corner when nothing was holding them there? But as K-Zu-Ziro crept through the dream the thing they were afraid of became a reality for the dying insect, as it was for his companions. The beast in the nightmare was shreds of dresses and shirts, trousers and skirts. A belt strangled the thing's neck, and hair pulled from the dead was stuck to its head. Its feet were brooms and mops, a hundred thousand floors had been swept and washed for nothing. The tattered fabric fluttered with whispers, the demon's nightmare was nattering at Digsy and Drik. It was retelling the house's tragedy. A floorboard snapped under K-Zu-Ziro's foot, the giant bug readjusted and reared back, knowing it would draw the nightmare's attention. When it turned around, a face presented itself: five slouching eye sockets moved in circles around each other, a broken nose pointed sideways, a little mouth strained to make itself heard and these features were all pushed much too deep into a bed of water-logged soil.

Having been spotted, K-Zu-Ziro did not need to sneak any more. Two bounding leaps closed the distance between the insect and the ghost. “They raped me and burned me in the fireplace,” the ghost said staring at Ziro's bug eyes, but the insectoid had no inherent sympathy for such a conundrum. Ignoring the misery of its phantom tormentor, Ziro snapped at the whirling clothes and broomstick shafts with merciless tenacity. When cut, the threads splattered septic puss over cobwebbed trinkets still standing on an old dresser. When cut, the wooden handles clattered to the floor in a pool of their own piss and shit. No legs to stand on, no body to depend on, the ghost was just an odious head. K-Zu-Ziro ended the horror show by opening a puss stained claw and snapping it closed through the head. Then, like the real world before it, Nosdyn's nightmare regressed from shadows to void.

Reality continued regardless of Ziro and co's perception of it. The final detonation of the remaining explosives atop Curratore Dam, and the success of the Tusqualun Separatist Union, unleashed the reservoir's remaining capacity. It formed a second wave of torrential rock and concrete. Ziro's lifeless body was washed from the granite slab and sucked into the churning carnage. The victorious Nosdyn Krotar and the ineffectual K-Zu-Ziro were separated by fate. Alerar's capital, Ettermire, was also subject to fate's whimsy; two gigantic waves were heading downstream and towards the city.


~

Sister Aug Lea phased into High Lord Mis-Co's plantation home.

“Ah, the monk...” Mis-Co said in lieu of a genuine greeting.

“Ettermire will be destroyed.” the monk said with impious satisfaction.

“Ah, delightful!” after a pause Mis-Co continued, “Do you think either of the candidates would be useful allies going forward?”

“I don't think we could control or count on either of them. The demon came out on top though.”

“The positions in the new government will have to be filled elsewhere, I suppose. We should track their development going forward, they do have potential.”

“They do, but...”

High Lord Mis-Co grunted with disapproval, “But?”

“I don't want to risk going back there to heal them, I don't want to get caught!”


~

Resplendence in the shape of an eagle the size of a horse blocked the sun. Its lashing feathers bent nature's intent to become fire and fury instead of dull and brown. The godly raptor swooped down and along the dam's wondrous cascade. K-Zu-Ziro, with Digsy still strapped in, sloshed in and out of the second wave of water. The eagle soared along the burgeoning waterway's length, until it came across the insectoid's still carcass. Upon spotting Digsy and his companion, the bird plunged into the frothy mix with pointed dynamism. Ai'brone plasma melted the bird's feathers and reformed them into the shimmering scales of a gigantic salmon, its lungs pushed outwards and became gills, wings to fins and a beak transformed into a gulping mouth. With its tail thrashing through the current, the thrashing fish chased down Ziro's errant remnants. After closing the distance, the fish widened its jaws beyond the fantasy of any sea shanty and swallowed its target whole.

Once K-Zu-Ziro, Digsy and the bodiless mind of Mux Drik were snug with digestive juices, the fish charged ahead of the second wave. Its speedy rush soon brought the supernatural salmon to the original wave of overflowing dam water, and again, it overtook the danger. With the dual floods threatening Ettermire, the salmon simply buried its head in the river's sandy substrate and recited a prayer with bubbling earnest. A second transformation occurred. Every time the salmon pushed water and silt through its gills, it doubled its size. The salmon flapped slowly once it was so big its head and tail were out of the river; it was four hundred feet long and blocking the river completely. No matter how big the mysterious magician grew, it was no way to prevent the impending disaster. A final phase to complete the transformation was necessary. The soft rays of the fish's fins hardened into solid bone and grew digging claws at each end, while the tail grew in length and was thick at its base but tapered to a tip, whiskers sprouted from its nose and finally its shell of fishy scales flaked away to reveal a slick coat of waterproof fur. The eagle had become a salmon, and the salmon had become a river otter. Its kindly mammalian eyes checked upstream to see the torrent approaching and with no time to waste it pawed away at the earth in an attempt to add the capacity in depth and width required to accommodate the incoming excess. Curratore Dam's first flood ploughed into the otter's patch and poured left and right into the freshly improvised breadth. Through the power of the Ai'brone's kindly devotion, a virtually bottomless plunge pool accommodated the second flood. Ettermire was saved by a magical eagle-salmon-otter.


~

Digsy woke up first. An overzealous healing monk was eyeballing him. “You're a delight, aren't you?” she said while being upstaged by the adorable pattern of freckles on her cheeks. “I've heard of Hostians before of course I have, but dear me, you are sooooooooo cute!” she tumbled into infatuation, patting him on the head. Digsy's nose twitched awkwardly. After coming to terms with the pretty peppered face, Digsy took aboard the details of the sandstone room he was in. “Must be the Citadel,” he thought to himself. “Well, aren't you going to say anything?” the monk pestered him. Digsy looked around and spotted K-Zu-Ziro's shattered shell spread across a stone table, it looked more like an alter. “I washed all the otter's stomach acid out of your fur and sucked all that water out of your little lungs and you can't even thank me?” she giggled between her words. Digsy's eyes turned glassy. “Oh...” the healer realised. “Are you going to save my friend?” finally, Digsy spoke. The girl's smile came through a closed mouth. Then she span four thousand, six hundred and eighty degrees in thirteen seconds. Her robes twisted into a fragrant mist of lavender and her human body fluttered into the form of a hummingbird. “IT WAS YOU! YOU CAUGHT US!” Digsy's realisation stunned him. This being's supreme power was intoxicating; and now coming face to face with her meadow breeze whimsy, he was victim to the innocence of puppy love. Ziro's mortal injuries were immediately obvious: fractured skull, missing pincer, broken abdomen. Ai'brone's foremost shapeshifter dusted the corpse with glitter. A claw grew from the unsightly stump, the holes in the insectoid's flank and skull were filled quickly. The girl's freckles returned when she took on her robed human form again. K-Zu-Ziro was still motionless, Digsy was visibly concerned. “One last thing,” the girl was fresh faced with freckles again, “I need to find...” she started fumbling through a collection of conical flasks. “Ah!” she said grabbing a small container with yellow goop inside, “this is the stuff. But… we don't have enough! Digsy, there's a bucket over there. Bring it to me!” she pointed. The lovesick rodent scooted off the edge of the operating table and scampered to where she pointed, his little body disappeared behind the bucket and from behind he pushed it with all his might. Once the bucket was at the monk's feet she began to pour the little flask of liquid into the much larger bucket. It poured way beyond its capacity. Creased with curiosity, Digsy's brow displayed his wonder, “how are you doing that?” he begged of her. She winked. A moment later the bucket was full. She grabbed a hose from a hook on the wall, stuck one end in the bucket and then sucked on the other end to create a siphon. Before the yellow liquid came out the other end she popped open a hole in K-Zu-Ziro's exoskeleton with the tip of a finger and fed the tube into the creature's body. “Almost done!” she tapped her foot and counted on her hands. “Okay, all done!” she proclaimed pulling the hose loose and healing the hole with a stern stare. K-Zu-Ziro sat upright.

“We'd like to debrief the three of you on this breach of Ai'brone authority, after that you're all free to go.”

“Does this mean we're not getting a job with the Aleraran government?” whined Digsy.

(ooc: this is gonna be my last post before we send it off to get judged. wanted to say big ty for doing this with me. i know you've been busy and stuff so I appreciate it! it's been mad decent fun.)

[Arch_Nemsis]

(Some minor bunnying if that's okay with ya mate)

***

"Get off me." Nosdyn said coldly.

He removed the knocked out bug from his body making to carefully remove the now tightened pincers that were grabbing his reproductive organs with a strong death-like vice.

It took a bit of time, but he'd actually gotten the process done and did not care to look at the amount of damage that the bug had actually gotten done. Nosdyn was in pain, but the pain was still charging his anger, and he was in near hysterics. The first of the monks to arrive in the chamber got knocked out by a sucker punch from Nosdyn. The monk foolishly attempted to touch the demon in his currently psychotic state. Several more monks arrived, at that point, Nosdyn could not discern between ally and enemy. He howled in a battle frenzy. Foaming at the mouth, he began to swing at anything that came his way. His body appeared massive, as every muscle in his physique was tightened by his battle-rage. Nosdyn's paranoid eyes darted back and forth until finally, there was a loud shout from one of the monk leaders. A sudden shockwave of energy pulsed through the air.

Nosdyn felt a paralysis radiate through his physical shell and try as he might, he could no longer move against the monks of the orders. Though in his eyes, all he saw was the bloodied figures of an enemy. Several monks converged on him at that point, and proceeded to weave their accursed powers on him. Soon...

***

Once Nosdyn came to, he realized what had happened.

He awoke in the Medical ward of The Citadel, his injuries fully treated...he wasn't certain how much time had passed.

Nosdyn sat up as he came to, his heart still beating irregularly from his heightened state of psychosis.

He heard several people talking in the chamber.

"He's awake." Said a gruff male healer. "What do we do with him?"

"He took down some of the bombers by himself...that deserves merit." A second voice said.

Nosdyn turned to look at a bunch of unfamiliar monks.

He didn't say a word just yet he merely listened.

"He's a liability, he injured several after the event was over." The first monk said.

"The event was not his fault. Need I remind you that the monks who organized the battle were doing so against our orders. Both participants suffered massive injuries." The second monk added.

They were all looking at Nosdyn.

"You represent the last remnants of a dying age." The first monk, clearly the leader, said. "There will come a time when Althanas has need of your skill, warrior."

Nosdyn felt confused. "I don't quite follow. Aren't I in trouble or something?" The demon asked.

"No. Quite the contrary, you will be decorated for your heroism in the previous events. Furthermore, we are going to train you to control that temper of yours." The monk said with a serious expression on his face.

"...The black blood burns hot within me. But I understand why you are doing this, you don't want to have anymore of your kin hurt. Do you expect an apology from me? I do not give apologies." Nosdyn said sincerely.

"Regardless of the reasons why, it has been deemed that you are an asset. Your kind is normally quite hostile...we get that. But there is a different quality about you. You represent the best hope for us all." The monk explained. "There is other reasons behind this all, but I am not yet at liberty to reveal them. But know this, Nosdyn Krotar, we will train you to become an asset. What you do with the lessons that we have to offer will be entirely up to you." The monk said.

Nosdyn nodded. "All right. I think I follow where you're coming from. Just be aware...I won't work for free." Nosdyn stated. "I expect to be well paid."

"Understood." The monk said carefully. "We will arrange a salary for you and other accommodations. In the mean time, Nosdyn, rest. You have earned it." The monk said carefully.

"What about the bug?" Nosdyn asked carefully. "How is he doing after the battle ended?" Nosdyn had to know.

"Your friend is doing well. Hopefully your paths cross again soon on more amicable terms." The monk said.

Nosdyn nodded. "I don't think I can go back to sleep at this point, I have no idea how long I have been asleep. Though I am pretty hungry..." Nosdyn explained

The monk nodded as he looked at Nosdyn. "Very well, I will arrange for a hot meal for you. And I will talk to you further as time passes, once you have recovered your strength; we will begin your full training." The monk explained and then summoned another monk to prepare a nice hot meal for Nosdyn.

And so it all began.

[Shinsou Vaan Osiris]

Thread: Curratore Dam
Participants: K-Zu-Ziro / Arch_Nemsis
Judgement type: Full Rubric

Judge's note:

I apologise for the delay in posting this!

Commentary

Plot

Story

K-Zu-Ziro - 6
Arch_Nemsis - 6

The way you both wrote the story ensured the reader wanted to continue reading until the very end. The length of the story as a whole was just right, although the general feeling was that the story transitioned into the battle a bit too early. The reader would probably want to read more about the Tusqualun Elves and their agenda before the battle started. K-Zu-Ziro and Nosdyn’s separate agendas, and how they opposed their brief from Sister Aug Lee, re-enforced the dam section of the story and made this particular section more enjoyable to read.

There were good moments of actual tension (Nosdyn being knocked off the cliff in post four and the continuation of that in post six, as well as K-Zu’s bombing of the lower levels of the dam), and Ettermire’s rescue at the hands of the Eagle-Salmon-Otter was very well written, and served as a strange and unique twist to the story.

A final point to note was that there seemed to be a small contradiction in the plot – Sister Aug Lee’s initial intentions were to save the dam (Post one: “Your objective will be, of course, to prevent the destruction of this dam”) and yet in post fifteen it is implied that she is, in fact, in favour of its destruction (“Ettermire will be destroyed.” the monk said with impious satisfaction”). It may well be that this was an intentional faux pas, but if so I’m afraid it was not communicated clearly enough for the reader to pick up on.

Setting

K-Zu-Ziro - 7
Arch_Nemsis - 5

There were varying strengths and weaknesses evident in the setting of the thread. A highlight of this particular catagory was that the consistency was actually quite good between you both. The consistancy of the setting was always clear enough to ensure the reader never found themselves, at any one time, feeling that both characters were describing different places.

In post one, K-Zu-Ziro sets the thread up very nicely with an opening scene in a basement in which the Tusqualan Elves are readying themselves for their assault. Then, quite suddenly, the reader is whisked to the dam itself. More transition between these two settings in paragraphs one, two and three were required on this occasion to tighten up the opening post and ensure that the reader could follow every movement and every change in scene. These are the paragraphs where the reader’s attention is first grabbed, and it is important to be especially consistent in these opening areas.

K-Zu-Ziro is responsible for some high-quality description of setting later in the story (Post five“ K-Zu-Ziro stalked the gangway with a spindly gait, making its way to the lip of the dam. Peering over the gushing gate of the centre arch, the Hostoland trio saw it was open to regulate the reservoir levels. Rainbows flourished in the splashing spray of the falls. While Mux could appreciate the juxtaposition of an artificial Elven structure versus the organic magic of a rainbow, K-Zu-Ziro could not. Unfased by the spectrum's colour and the roaring cascade, the creature hopped onto the pink stonework ridge and stared down.”) and keeps the quality high throughout the rest of the thread.

Arch_Nemsis was weaker in this area and whilst there were some promising examples of setting in post six (“He could see the afternoon sky as he broke through the surface of the wave of water. Fighting with everything he could muster, Nosdyn swam against the current, he coughed the entire time.”), at times throughout the thread the reader would struggle to follow his movements, as well as visualise the surrounding area. The advice here is to work on bringing the world around you to life and bring in some techniques, such as the use of similes, to really aid the reader in painting a picture of the world around you.

Pacing

K-Zu-Ziro - 5
Arch_Nemsis - 5

The pacing of this thread began very well, starting from the insertion of the participants onto the dam up until the actual destruction of the lower levels. The feeling was that the pace and tone of the thread suffered once Nosdyn challenged K-Zu-Ziro to a battle, as everything seemed to grind to a halt in order to accommodate the fight, but the pace then picked up again and carried itself through to the end. Advice here would relate to making sure that the timing and placement of the battle in such a story is right - such a sudden change of scenario can disrupt a thread's pacing quite a bit without the correct build up of tension.

Character

Communication

K-Zu-Ziro - 7
Arch_Nemsis - 6

This was a strong, solid area for both characters.

K-Zu-Ziro’s cold, bug-like personality came through brilliantly. The reader was left in no doubt that K-Zu himself was an almost mechanical being that only cared about succeeding in his own agenda in post five (“Saving the dam and our success are unrelated.” Ziro's mechanical mind clarified the situation.) and yet his two companions, Mux Driks and Digsy, were written to compliment that cold side with a believable human touch. There were three distinct personalities rolled into one character, and all three shone as one. One area for improvement might be the use of further dialogue and inner thoughts, simply to expand on an already solid area.

Nosdyn’s character was written very well. The reader could pick up on his sense of pride at being a Demon, and his drive for honour (and the honouring of the Demon code). He also shows a very obvious affinity for his own kind (“"Krotar...I recall your clan. Filthy, salvage beasts. Your patron is one of the smaller Overlords if I'm not mistaken?" The operative suddenly said. "Do not speak of my family..." Nosdyn said. His desire to kill was growing with every passing moment. "You would do well to bite your tongue."). Improvement in this area would be to bring in more of Nosdyn’s inner workings and give the reader more of an insight into his raging personality. We know he is a Demon, but the reader would like a little bit of insight as to why he is the way he is.

Action

K-Zu-Ziro - 6
Arch_Nemsis - 6

The writing is solid in this category. The general feeling the reader would have about this piece was that most of the character actions in this thread seemed to be aligned with their differing personalities.

K-Zu-Ziro’s actions were mostly all designed with a specific purpose in mind. He was mechanical, thorough and single-minded when it came to executing his plans and this suited his bug-like personality. A weakened Alerar was what he desired, and mixing this goal with the destruction of the separatists below him in post five ensured no loose ends (“Of coooouuuurse,” it clicked with Mux, “if the dam blows then Alerar's capital city will be weakened and we win, if we save the dam and get close to their government then we win.”).

Nosdyn’s actions were also, more or less, in line with his character’s persona. Most of his movements and decisions were based around his lust for blood as a Demon, his anger and rage and his desire for honour and for the most part were good. He naturally wants to fight, so nothing seemed to out of place when it came down to the action.

Persona

K-Zu-Ziro - 7
Arch_Nemsis - 6

Again, this was fairly solid. Both K-Zu-Ziro and Nosdyn show their personalities well in this thread. There were, however, small weaknesses that could be noticed here. In post two (“His eyes, his eyes told all...they were full of hate”) the reader would want perhaps a subtle clue as to why Nosdyn is seething with hatred, without having to allude to his whole backstory. There were a few occasions where these sort of sentences cropped up, yet no explanation or insight was given as to why he is feeling this way. To improve this, try to give a brief explanation of the situation. Perhaps he has been slighted? Perhaps he is looking for revenge? Emotions, and dealing with them, play a huge part in character building.

Prose

Mechanics

K-Zu-Ziro - 6
Arch_Nemsis - 6

Spelling in this thread was very solid, and for the most part sentence structure was correct with the exception of a little bit of sentence fragmentation. Paragraphing was utilised effectively and with varied lengths for effect. However, there is a big flaw in one section of the thread that simply cannot be overlooked.

K-Zu-Ziro – in post fifteen, there is a block of dialogue that repeats the words “no, no, no” for a good portion of the page. Not only does it look awfully out of place amongst what would be described as otherwise good, solid writing, but it broke up the pacing of the thread horribly and ruined the presentation of that post. In future, the recommendation would be to replace that dialogue with: “no, no, no, repeated over and over endlessly” or a similar mechanic to preserve the integrity of the piece.

Clarity

K-Zu-Ziro - 6
Arch_Nemsis - 7

There was very little in this thread that wasn’t clear, but a re-read was required of the first post for two reasons already mentioned – firstly, the lack of transition between settings in the opening paragraphs, making it difficult to pinpoint who was where, and secondly to confirm Sister Aug Lee’s actual intentions (which seem to conflict with the paragraph near the end in post fifteen). Again, a way to improve both this and the setting would be to ensure that you follow through on all transitions to new locations, just to ensure the reader has the best visualisation possible.

K-Zu-Ziro - One problem in this area is that the sheer volume of description and similes you use to describe an action or a place can sometimes effect the clarity of the writing. The descriptions were so complex and long winded that it actually took another read through to understand what had actually happened. To improve this area, simplify the descriptions and remove redundancies (“Unseen forces converged within the notion of each edge; the simplicity of every polygon silenced the psionicist's mind. The utter absence of chaos provided a level of placidity necessary to transmute matter and energy.” Could be simplified to “Unseen forces converged within the discs; the simplicity of every polygon silenced the psionicist's mind. The silence provided her with a level of focus necessary to transmute matter and energy.”).

Technique

K-Zu-Ziro - 7
Arch_Nemsis - 5

K-Zu-Ziro, overall you write extremely descriptively and are clearly adept at it. There were some excellent uses of imagery and similie (post 3 - "Beads of conjured glue bubbled and blistered under the sun's unyielding blaze. Without adhesive, the cell's hexagons and pentagons began to fall away, fading back into the air particles from which they were generated") and, points on clarity aside, the writing helped the reader to visualise everything well.

Nosdyn, you use a good amount of description in your posts and the way you describe the sound of your blade in post two was an excellent (“With the strange and maddening snap-hiss”). You were probably the more clear of the two writers but you also used less description and would benefit from perhaps bringing adjectives mixed with adverbs into your writing, along with more similes and metaphors, just to add a bit of colour to an already solid base.

Wildcard

K-Zu-Ziro - 6
Arch_Nemsis - 6

The story was good to read and the characters of K-Zu-Ziro and Nosdyn complimented each other nicely. I also really enjoyed Ettermire’s rescue by the Eagle-Trout-Otter. Well done!

Total scores:

K-Zu-Ziro - 63
Arch_Nemsis - 59


K-Zu-Ziro wins! Congratulations!

K-Zu-Ziro receives 825 EXP and 100 GP
Arch_Nemsis received 225 EXP and 95 GP

[Rayleigh]

All EXP and GP have been added!