KBitegp
Skeletron
Greetings Terrarians,
and welcome to my very first Terraria story: The "Hot Pot" cafe!
In this special cafe the prices require a wallet full not of money, but of imagination!
so order some latte, take a seat and enjoy your stay!
more stories to come
and welcome to my very first Terraria story: The "Hot Pot" cafe!
In this special cafe the prices require a wallet full not of money, but of imagination!
so order some latte, take a seat and enjoy your stay!
the sun was setting and so was my will to do anything,I can safely say that this was my worst day ever since that time I accidentally walked into the girls' locker in middle school: all of the books I've written in the last three months have been rejected by the publisher, and now I'm burntout, I have no inspiration and no idea how I'm going to convince the Tax Collector to give me yet another three months of time.
"Aww, what's with that frown, Andy?" "eh? oh, hi Fantasy, ehh it's nothing,I'm just getting over the fact that in a week I'll be a hobo"
"Lemme guess, your books got rejected and the Tax Collector's after your head." I nod pathetically."And so? everytime that happens you bake a bestseller!" "Yeah, I know, but this time around I got no ideas left and unless you are like a certain sword wielding weirdo capable of all sorts of miraculous bullcrap, I don't think I'll be able to add another bestseller to the collection"
"How about a trip to some suggestive place to get some Ideas?" " With what money?" "oh...". She sat on the edge of the fountain and looked far into the distance; ah yeah almost forgot, I was in the town's park, there are trees, palm wood benches and a fountain with multicolored water, I always go there when I seek some peace. "OH!" she shouted so loud I almost fell off the bench I was sitting on"What do you HAVE to yell SO loud?!" she stood up and started bouncing like a slime on a trampoline "IHAVETHEPERFECTPLACEFORYOUCOMEONLETSGO!!!" Right after machine-gunning those words out she took my arm and started drag me across the entire square,which was connected to the park. "Where are we going?!" "Where you can receive that miraculous bullcrap you were talking about!" she said, giving her biggest smile. After a bit she dropped me in front of the signboard of a bar, "Hot...Pot...?What kind of a name for a bar is this?" "Simply the place where you can get all the inspiration you want for free!" She said making one of her "happy" poses, "Fantasy, can you not color your text to express emphasis on a word? And what do you mean for "free!"? It's a bar!" "If you don't want me to use colors, don't do it on your end,jerkie!" "Don't change the topic!" "Ahhh, just go in!" she said, forcing me through the door. The indoors of the bar were of the classic taste, with work benches used as mini tables for the sofas that were on the low corners of the room, dining tables placed in perfect symmetry alongside bar stools on each side of each table, some painting looted from the Dungeon by the Weirdo, and on one side there also was a... wall hanging clock? I'll never get these mods. Every corner of the place was filled with folks chatting and enjoying their drinks, but mostly chatting: "have I ever told you of when I got eaten by a giant jellyfish?" "...and when Holly took the bottle and started spinning it, you won't believe what he said!" "there was this beatiful girl with which I was very close, but thing is, she was a cloud!". Those didn't seem like everyday chats, they sounded more like stories from a novel, a novel that ranged from the noir genre to the most nonsensical of comedies. Fantasy made me come back to planet Earth and showed me to the bartender, who gave her a warm welcome:
"Oh, Fantasy! Here's my jolliest client! what can I do for you today?" She waved back with her usual smile "Teddie! a Sunny Day Lemonade, please" He nodded and started preparing the drink, "Andy, why don't you order something?" "Oh, no no no, I got no money, I couldn't afford it", she winked "Don't worry". After the bartender poured the lemonade in a glass he looked at me and suddendly his face beamed "Hold on... You are Andrew, the famous writer!" "You got me" "Haha, I don't believe it, my favourite client is friends with my favourite writer! Your novels make my day,pal! I always look forward to get your newest book!" as soon as he said the words "newest book" I remembered why I was here: my books got rejected and I was on the edge of failure. "...what's the matter? Did i say something wrong?" "Oh, no, it's nothing, I... just have an idea block, that's it" "that sound bad, but don't worry,some latte will help you relax" "No wait, I can't pay, I got no money...on me" When he heard "money" the bartender gave off a suffocated laugh "don't worry, I don't want money for my drinks" "wait what?" "you see all the people here?" he said, dragging his arm across the width of the room in the direction of the folks, "they're chatting" "No,they're paying their drink". I got blown away from that response way more than I should've " here at the "Hot Pot" cafe, the currency is the stories that you can tell. After you have your drink, you tell a story, whether real or fictionary. I have no interest in money, I prefer fill up my backpack of knowledge.". I stood speechless for some time, enough to notice that we had attract the attention of the entire bar,er... cafe, apparently everybody was striving for my answer, and had interrupt their "transaction" for it. After instinctively searching support in Fantasy,who stood there the entire time looking at us conversating, and after seeing her big,cheerful smile, I looked back at the bartender and gave to all what they wanted: " well then, I'll take a cup of latte", the bartender smiled and started pouring the latte into the cup: "I prepared it while we were speaking, I knew you would say yes", and after passing me the cup he said to the crowd:" Ladies and Gentlemen! We have the honor to announce that the famous writer Andrew will join us in today's story telling!". Apparentely they were fans, because once they heard my name, the applause blasted away the silence of some seconds ago. My attention got caught again by the bartender who invited me to take a seat(I stood on my feet for the entire time) and placed a packet of sugar next to the cup of latte "We will start in a moment, today we have many of our best story tellers, I recommend to get yourself comfortable, hope you enjoy your stay".
-The "Hot Pot" cafe- End of Prologue
"THAT WAS ONLY THE PROLOGUE?!
"
"Aww, what's with that frown, Andy?" "eh? oh, hi Fantasy, ehh it's nothing,I'm just getting over the fact that in a week I'll be a hobo"
the town's Party Girl, and a friend of mine, she may be an oversugared party pooper, but her heart of gold makes more than up for it
His name's KBite, and he's a weirdo, that's all you need to know
manages the "Hot Pot" and comes from a parallel universe where the main way of offense is through "tower defence". Adores listen to the stories of the many poeple that take the time to pay a visit, hence the unique payment method of the cafe
-The "Hot Pot" cafe- End of Prologue
"THAT WAS ONLY THE PROLOGUE?!
"The Bartender waved as the first storyteller walked their way to the bar counter:"Ah,Tania. Veterans as usual,huh?" "The ice had to be broken so, here I am.".
The dryad took the stool in the middle, as if we were in an amphitheater, and after taking a deep breath, she narrated as follows:" in my 500 year long life I have witnessed many events become legends, and in this particular one I have took part actively. This is the tale of the most unlucky king in the history of Terraria: King Jacques "The Unfortunate" de Montfort!
In the beginning Montfort was a simple citadel surrounded by trees. The inhabitans, specialized in agricolture and trading, were wisely guided by their king: Damen III ; who always ensured wealth and safety to his town. At the end of his reign Damen passed the crown to his only son, Jacques, who... really didn't generate much approval at first, since as soon he donned the crown, the scouts have arrived with the notice that the Crimson had corrupt the forest that was in-between the citadel and the main commercial road, causing the townsfolk to think that his name was cursed. The newly proclaimed king had organized a military expedition to eradicate the creeping menace, but during the assembly about the strategy to adopt a thunder struck and set fire to the royal weaponry, destroying all the weapons and leaving the town defenceless. It was only one week since Jacques sat on the throne and already everybody in town wanted him dead, the taverns were filled with people setting up the demise of the "bringer of tragedy", the bards would not stop composing ballades that mocked the king's karma, even the royal servitors didn't want to stay close to the monarch, because there were rumors about that misfortune being contagious! However, people remembered that the king also had a will of iron, because on the ninth day of reign he announced that he would go fight the evil all by himself, and to prove that he flung himself off to the forest as soon as he finished his speech. Jacques' blood was rushing in his veins, his mind was devoid of anything but the thought of the town, his sword was shining under the sunlight, it was shining so brightly that it made him not see a cliff, in which he fell and rolled down the thorn bushes filled slope below, ruining his equipment beyond repair.
That's what he told me when I found him: I was returning from the corrupted woods with the critters I rescued, and there he was, next to my refuge, unconscious and with his silver armour looking more like a wooden one; He told me the aforesaid story and fell to his knees in tears. You should've look at him, the thought of failing his kingdom was crushing him; I didn't hesitate, I rushed into my refuge to gather some new weapons for him: a Cobalt Shield scavenged from a corpse, a Cloud in a Bottle to prevent rolling through thorny hills from happening again and a Blade of Grass so he would not get blinded by the sunlight; for the armor I just fixed his as best as I could (which really doesn't mean a lot: I'm not good with metals). Having solved Jacques' equipment and emotional issues, we headed alongside to the chasm containing the origin of the Crimson. The monsters' onslaught was restless, but they were all falling before my magic and the king of Montfort's combat skills. We reached the entrance of the chasm in a short amount of time, little did we know of what was ahead, in fact, as we were climbing down the dark and humid cavern I got suddendly attacked by a Blood Crawler, the foul creature had latched onto my back in the attempt to make me fall, but thankfully Jacques managed to cut off the crawler's limbs, dooming it to the fate it was trying to inflict to me. Hearing the monster splat on the bottom of the tunnel was comforting, in some morbid way, but that was short lived, for when we reached the point where the creature bursted open like a rotten tomato we found before our eyes the nest, house of the defunct Crawler and his numerous family, which was staring at their recently deceased member... and us. The feeling of that many eyes on me was by itself unnerving, but being grabbed by the arm and forced to run through that clump of blood sucking spiders, rotting bodies and cobwebs by my ally... ugh. We somehow managed to see it through, but we were full of spider bites and Jacques' armor was yet again heavely damaged, as I said I'm not good with metals, we had to carry on though, that was our duty, I for Terraria and Jacques for Montfort, so we kept going, deeper and deeper down to the cavern that was the core of the bloody grounds. The entrance was a huge rock cliff that led pell-mell to this gigantic cave which contained in its center three magic hearts, pulsating with the dark essence of a demonic being, master of the Crimson. We tied up a rope coil to a rock right next to the precipice and climbed down towards the hearts.
The plan was to seal them with my magic to stop the evil from spread any further, then we would use an ancient spell to reverse the influence of the demon's essence, causing the Crimson to collapse and ultimately eradicate itself, but fate decide to go against us once more: as soon as Jacques gripped onto the rope, the rock we tied the rope to detached from the cliff and fell along with us right on the hearts, breaking them and releasing the essence within. My sight was blurred by the abrupt landing, but in the dust I still could see the shadows of the demons contained in the now broken hearts: a brain of gargantuan size surrounded by hundreds of floating eyeballs also enormous staring in our direction; I struggled in a desperate attempt to get up but my legs were like frozen, clearly the brain's dark energy was draining my strength. Its minions were getting closer and closer, enough to let me notice they were pulsating with unnatural vigor, my sight was fading more and more indistinct, their dark aura was making the air around me more and more choking, an experience that I dread to remember and that I augur to nobody to have. Everything around me was becoming dark and when I felt that it was the end, a yell pierced the ominous silence and before me there was Jacques, who thanks to the Cloud in a Bottle I gave him managed to land on the creeping eyes and repulse them, lifting the dark haze that was surrounding me. Having attracted the brain's attention he took the rock we tied the rope to, with the rope still tied to it, and started swinging it like a flail, smashing everything it hit to pieces; but the brain warped behind him and charged him with all of it mass, launching the warrior king against the wall. Joke's on it though, since the crash caused the rockcliff above it to collapse on it, burying the brain and the survivor eyeballs to death.
it was over, the master of the bloody grounds, dead; And without its master, the Crimson would fade away and give back the place to the Purity. Jacques took me, still a bit numb, and took me to Montfort. The notice traveled fast, as we got to the doors of the town we were greeted by a parade in honor of the courage of the king. The celebrative banquet went on for one full day and one full night, everybody was tipsy (besides me) and the story of our expedition got narrated throughout the entire fest multiple times, and every time it was more magnified than the last: the last time it got narrated it talked about Jacuqes imbuing his sword in holy waters in order to defeat a gigant anthropomorphous octopus with tentacles for a beard on the moon. Nevertheless the banquet was filled with glee and laughter and it would've carry on for much longer...If it wasn't for a war declaration proclaimed by a goblin kingdom arrived to raid the adjacent lands. the war lasted around one day, due to the fact that the king's wife, leader of the heavy infantry, mistook Jacques for a goblin and hit him with the catapults, killing him and dooming the kingdom of Montfort. The most memorable event of that war was that the goblins, seeing such misfortune, felt bad for their enemy and decided to adopt a diplomatic way for the first time ever: Montfort and the goblins would sustain each other in economy and war and they would share the loot from raiding and scouting.
This pact is known in history as the "pact of mourning", but at the time it was known as the "tribute to the unlucky mindblower"."
-The Story of the Dryad- end of chapter 1
Oh what's that, you don't appreciate chapters that overstate their welcome? Well, would you like some MOAR?!
The Dryad of the town. Very reserved and quite a looker, her only flaw is that she never lies, even if that means sounding very rude at times
In the beginning Montfort was a simple citadel surrounded by trees. The inhabitans, specialized in agricolture and trading, were wisely guided by their king: Damen III ; who always ensured wealth and safety to his town. At the end of his reign Damen passed the crown to his only son, Jacques, who... really didn't generate much approval at first, since as soon he donned the crown, the scouts have arrived with the notice that the Crimson had corrupt the forest that was in-between the citadel and the main commercial road, causing the townsfolk to think that his name was cursed. The newly proclaimed king had organized a military expedition to eradicate the creeping menace, but during the assembly about the strategy to adopt a thunder struck and set fire to the royal weaponry, destroying all the weapons and leaving the town defenceless. It was only one week since Jacques sat on the throne and already everybody in town wanted him dead, the taverns were filled with people setting up the demise of the "bringer of tragedy", the bards would not stop composing ballades that mocked the king's karma, even the royal servitors didn't want to stay close to the monarch, because there were rumors about that misfortune being contagious! However, people remembered that the king also had a will of iron, because on the ninth day of reign he announced that he would go fight the evil all by himself, and to prove that he flung himself off to the forest as soon as he finished his speech. Jacques' blood was rushing in his veins, his mind was devoid of anything but the thought of the town, his sword was shining under the sunlight, it was shining so brightly that it made him not see a cliff, in which he fell and rolled down the thorn bushes filled slope below, ruining his equipment beyond repair.
That's what he told me when I found him: I was returning from the corrupted woods with the critters I rescued, and there he was, next to my refuge, unconscious and with his silver armour looking more like a wooden one; He told me the aforesaid story and fell to his knees in tears. You should've look at him, the thought of failing his kingdom was crushing him; I didn't hesitate, I rushed into my refuge to gather some new weapons for him: a Cobalt Shield scavenged from a corpse, a Cloud in a Bottle to prevent rolling through thorny hills from happening again and a Blade of Grass so he would not get blinded by the sunlight; for the armor I just fixed his as best as I could (which really doesn't mean a lot: I'm not good with metals). Having solved Jacques' equipment and emotional issues, we headed alongside to the chasm containing the origin of the Crimson. The monsters' onslaught was restless, but they were all falling before my magic and the king of Montfort's combat skills. We reached the entrance of the chasm in a short amount of time, little did we know of what was ahead, in fact, as we were climbing down the dark and humid cavern I got suddendly attacked by a Blood Crawler, the foul creature had latched onto my back in the attempt to make me fall, but thankfully Jacques managed to cut off the crawler's limbs, dooming it to the fate it was trying to inflict to me. Hearing the monster splat on the bottom of the tunnel was comforting, in some morbid way, but that was short lived, for when we reached the point where the creature bursted open like a rotten tomato we found before our eyes the nest, house of the defunct Crawler and his numerous family, which was staring at their recently deceased member... and us. The feeling of that many eyes on me was by itself unnerving, but being grabbed by the arm and forced to run through that clump of blood sucking spiders, rotting bodies and cobwebs by my ally... ugh. We somehow managed to see it through, but we were full of spider bites and Jacques' armor was yet again heavely damaged, as I said I'm not good with metals, we had to carry on though, that was our duty, I for Terraria and Jacques for Montfort, so we kept going, deeper and deeper down to the cavern that was the core of the bloody grounds. The entrance was a huge rock cliff that led pell-mell to this gigantic cave which contained in its center three magic hearts, pulsating with the dark essence of a demonic being, master of the Crimson. We tied up a rope coil to a rock right next to the precipice and climbed down towards the hearts.
The plan was to seal them with my magic to stop the evil from spread any further, then we would use an ancient spell to reverse the influence of the demon's essence, causing the Crimson to collapse and ultimately eradicate itself, but fate decide to go against us once more: as soon as Jacques gripped onto the rope, the rock we tied the rope to detached from the cliff and fell along with us right on the hearts, breaking them and releasing the essence within. My sight was blurred by the abrupt landing, but in the dust I still could see the shadows of the demons contained in the now broken hearts: a brain of gargantuan size surrounded by hundreds of floating eyeballs also enormous staring in our direction; I struggled in a desperate attempt to get up but my legs were like frozen, clearly the brain's dark energy was draining my strength. Its minions were getting closer and closer, enough to let me notice they were pulsating with unnatural vigor, my sight was fading more and more indistinct, their dark aura was making the air around me more and more choking, an experience that I dread to remember and that I augur to nobody to have. Everything around me was becoming dark and when I felt that it was the end, a yell pierced the ominous silence and before me there was Jacques, who thanks to the Cloud in a Bottle I gave him managed to land on the creeping eyes and repulse them, lifting the dark haze that was surrounding me. Having attracted the brain's attention he took the rock we tied the rope to, with the rope still tied to it, and started swinging it like a flail, smashing everything it hit to pieces; but the brain warped behind him and charged him with all of it mass, launching the warrior king against the wall. Joke's on it though, since the crash caused the rockcliff above it to collapse on it, burying the brain and the survivor eyeballs to death.
it was over, the master of the bloody grounds, dead; And without its master, the Crimson would fade away and give back the place to the Purity. Jacques took me, still a bit numb, and took me to Montfort. The notice traveled fast, as we got to the doors of the town we were greeted by a parade in honor of the courage of the king. The celebrative banquet went on for one full day and one full night, everybody was tipsy (besides me) and the story of our expedition got narrated throughout the entire fest multiple times, and every time it was more magnified than the last: the last time it got narrated it talked about Jacuqes imbuing his sword in holy waters in order to defeat a gigant anthropomorphous octopus with tentacles for a beard on the moon. Nevertheless the banquet was filled with glee and laughter and it would've carry on for much longer...If it wasn't for a war declaration proclaimed by a goblin kingdom arrived to raid the adjacent lands. the war lasted around one day, due to the fact that the king's wife, leader of the heavy infantry, mistook Jacques for a goblin and hit him with the catapults, killing him and dooming the kingdom of Montfort. The most memorable event of that war was that the goblins, seeing such misfortune, felt bad for their enemy and decided to adopt a diplomatic way for the first time ever: Montfort and the goblins would sustain each other in economy and war and they would share the loot from raiding and scouting.
This pact is known in history as the "pact of mourning", but at the time it was known as the "tribute to the unlucky mindblower"."
-The Story of the Dryad- end of chapter 1
Oh what's that, you don't appreciate chapters that overstate their welcome? Well, would you like some MOAR?!
"And that's all for tonight." the Dryad concluded. The folks kept going "oooh" the entire time, and eventually showered the story teller in applause, I just could not believe my ears, I-I I just couldn't! I just heard the story of one of the most important characters of terrarian history being narrated like it was a medieval comedy(a really cheesy one)! "Hahahah! Tania's stories always make that effect on newbies of the cafe, Andrew!" the bartender said, noticing my probably boiled-fish like face "She always narrates of historical characters in a gloryless fashion,you see. take it as a close-up documentary, with everybody else it works.". I was just more and more weirded by all of this but, in a way I wanted to keep going, maybe it was the knowledge that if I did not tell a story I wouldn't leave or just curiousity, but... ... ...I just wanted to see it through. So, the bartender after talking to me called on to the crowd:"Alright! let's thank Tania for gracing us with one more of her stories!" more applause accoured "Now, who's next?" there was a bit of silent delay before somebody..."Yaaawn...me, pick me! Before I fall asleep again, yaawn...". we all turned our heads in the direction of the voice, to see a plump man wearing a pijamas and a night cap. I repeat: A man wearing freaking PJS in a cafe, and nobody was batting an eye! “What have I put myself into” is the only reasonable thing to think at this point. "Ah yeah, Ghudnit, sure go on; tell us, what did you dream this time?"
the man, without leaving the sofa he was resting on, said really calmly:"Mmmh yeah, I have dreamt a good one this time, it's a bit of a nightmare though,yaawn..." "Ah, don't worry, you sleepy bear, all stories go here, funny and spooky!" the bartender said, making the sleepy man give off a yawn of relief(I can't believe I'm saying this)"Oookie dokie then! Here I go!
I woke up on a bed of yellow marigolds, caressed by the warm morning sun. My eyelids were still heavy, but there was something, like a sensation, that was telling me to get up. And so I did. I got up and went to the river next to the flower patch to wash away the drowsiness, and when I looked into the surface of the water I saw not the fattie I'm used to see, but the itty-bitty face of a little girl dressed in red. Without much concern, I stood up from the river's shore to look into the far distance and saw a giant construction made of pink bricks with an old man wandering around the entrance. The sensation returned, this time telling me to enter that building, and so I did. I reached the gate leading to the insides of the temple, guided by that feeling that was a feeling no more: it was turning into something more distinct, it was turning into a desire, desire for a book. "Ancient symbols, incomprehensible glyphs, droplets for a bookbinding...I need it..." I whispered out of my mouth almost mindlessly as I reached some steps in the center of the chamber that led to a lightless tunnel. "It's just gloomy: a gloomy staircase filled with benches for books, there is nothing to be afraid of a dark...gate...to the abyss...". Just as those words came out of me on their own, a cold wind filled the chamber and pierced my bones, trembly I backed away: "N-N-NOoo! N-nevermind! I can probably live without that moldy tome, ehehehehehhe." But that desire for that tome returned once again to haunt me, and as if it was a presence, it kept telling me to go down that hole in the earth. "No...I can't live without it... There is enough proof of that fact...". I was still shaking, but so I did. I dipped into the dark and started descending deeper and deeper, guided only by that cursed presence constantly whispering nonsense: "Blue with a yellow stripe...until the earth shrieks...bones are staring...Until level surface signs the buring!"; I was getting so unnerved by those hums that at one point I screamed:" GAAH, STOP WHISPERING TO ME!! It's so dark, you're creeping me out!". And it left, now I was alone in that tunnel, finally some peace. Peace that turned into joy when I saw the light of a candle flickering in the distance. I rushed towards that beacon of salvation, grabbing everything touched my hand that felt like a book, at breakneck speed. But it was short lived, because as soon as I reached the candle I walked onto something I should’ve not walk onto; first many creaks raised from my feet, then cracks, in the end a thump.”What was that?” I said as my girly voice was waning, and when I lowered my head, I saw them... I SAW THE WRECKED BONES AND SPLATTERED GUTS OF AN ADVENTURER! “AHHHHHH! N-NO,NO!! I’M DONE,GET ME OUTTA HERE!!!”. I rushed out of that hell hole with feral vigor, screaming all the air out of my lungs I fled out of the chamber, to the flower patch where I fell on the flowers, to wake up in the blankets of my bed”.
-The story of the Goodnight Talker- End of chapter 2
Based on a real run, enchanced for the sake of "spooks"
If you think this one story is not well-made, there's a reason for it, don't worry
a middle-aged man with a serious case of narcolepsy, so serious he wears his pjs at all times. It leads to some awkward issues but in exchange he dreams a lot, so he has plenty of stories to tell. He's known at the Hot Pot as the "goodnight talker"
I woke up on a bed of yellow marigolds, caressed by the warm morning sun. My eyelids were still heavy, but there was something, like a sensation, that was telling me to get up. And so I did. I got up and went to the river next to the flower patch to wash away the drowsiness, and when I looked into the surface of the water I saw not the fattie I'm used to see, but the itty-bitty face of a little girl dressed in red. Without much concern, I stood up from the river's shore to look into the far distance and saw a giant construction made of pink bricks with an old man wandering around the entrance. The sensation returned, this time telling me to enter that building, and so I did. I reached the gate leading to the insides of the temple, guided by that feeling that was a feeling no more: it was turning into something more distinct, it was turning into a desire, desire for a book. "Ancient symbols, incomprehensible glyphs, droplets for a bookbinding...I need it..." I whispered out of my mouth almost mindlessly as I reached some steps in the center of the chamber that led to a lightless tunnel. "It's just gloomy: a gloomy staircase filled with benches for books, there is nothing to be afraid of a dark...gate...to the abyss...". Just as those words came out of me on their own, a cold wind filled the chamber and pierced my bones, trembly I backed away: "N-N-NOoo! N-nevermind! I can probably live without that moldy tome, ehehehehehhe." But that desire for that tome returned once again to haunt me, and as if it was a presence, it kept telling me to go down that hole in the earth. "No...I can't live without it... There is enough proof of that fact...". I was still shaking, but so I did. I dipped into the dark and started descending deeper and deeper, guided only by that cursed presence constantly whispering nonsense: "Blue with a yellow stripe...until the earth shrieks...bones are staring...Until level surface signs the buring!"; I was getting so unnerved by those hums that at one point I screamed:" GAAH, STOP WHISPERING TO ME!! It's so dark, you're creeping me out!". And it left, now I was alone in that tunnel, finally some peace. Peace that turned into joy when I saw the light of a candle flickering in the distance. I rushed towards that beacon of salvation, grabbing everything touched my hand that felt like a book, at breakneck speed. But it was short lived, because as soon as I reached the candle I walked onto something I should’ve not walk onto; first many creaks raised from my feet, then cracks, in the end a thump.”What was that?” I said as my girly voice was waning, and when I lowered my head, I saw them... I SAW THE WRECKED BONES AND SPLATTERED GUTS OF AN ADVENTURER! “AHHHHHH! N-NO,NO!! I’M DONE,GET ME OUTTA HERE!!!”. I rushed out of that hell hole with feral vigor, screaming all the air out of my lungs I fled out of the chamber, to the flower patch where I fell on the flowers, to wake up in the blankets of my bed”.
-The story of the Goodnight Talker- End of chapter 2
Based on a real run, enchanced for the sake of "spooks"
If you think this one story is not well-made, there's a reason for it, don't worry
"Yawwn..."Ghudnit said in conclusion.This time the people didn't look very amused, actually Ted was the only one there that didn't look bored, as he went:"Well, thanks Ghudnit for sharing your dream!"the crowd answered with a deadpan "ehh...". Man,they really didn't like his story!"Thanks Ted for allowing me to...Yawwn...So, did I spook ya?"A buzzing rumor took all over and the voices all told the same thing:"Mhh...well...really...","Not very good...","My son's drawings have more depth than this story...","Is this excuse of a storyteller part of the "elité" of the cafe?"."Wow...they're verbally massacring him. And I though my editor was a tyrant..."I said taking a couple of sips of my latte,"It's the same script everytime...there's always that one guy that doesn't match the expectations, and he gets assaulted by those prissy duck-faces..."Fantasy said with a sigh,"Why they don't understand that it takes time to make these tales?" "Guess that whiny brats are everywhere, huh?".The bartender kept on trying to calm the rumor, but with no success, until..."QUIT IT! ALL OF YOU! Don't you understand that he dreamed his story? When you dream, you feel what you dream, and he tried to give us the feelings he had when he dreamed!" "Well, it's not our fault if he did a terrible job at doing so!"A tall man wearing a red mantle that covered diagonally half of his well visible bronze armor stood up, staring at the bartender quite surly;"And you are?", the man responded with a thundering voice:"I am Ahr Uanspam, peak of the gladiators of the circus of Hallowstone! And don't change the topic, barkeep! It does NOT matter if he has dreamt his story, he had to mantain the feeling he had when dreaming his descent in the tunnel; instead the narration felt like a waterfall of disconnected and unsalted content!".
The bartender was getting really upset,at the point that some people feared for a fight and hid behind the sofas:"Well, I don't accept this behavior in my cafe! I'd appreciate if you all said sorry to Ghudnit!" "Zzzz...". Are you telling me that he fell asleep in that eye of the cyclone? "Oh look, the direct interested fell asleep...Guess there is no point in continuing the discussion then. But I stay on my thought: he should've give us the thrill, and he failed!" the gladiator concluded,"Alright then, if you wanted so much the "thrill", why don't YOU narrate a story and give us the "thrill"? the bartender said tightening his theeth, and the gladiator took immediately after that his stool, the one with a bronze helmet on it, and said proudly:"I was hoping you said that! and fear not, folks! I will give you all of the things that went through my mind when I fought in...The Super Slash Tournament!"
"Here we are...The final destination...Now it’s just me and the blades, nothing else...Or is it? There's also the other fighters-but who cares! The others are equal to nothing, the others are my lunch!...Lunch...Yeah I should've had lunch before I got here, maybe I should have a snack before going-No,nonono, let everything out!...Me and just the blades...Just the blades!"
"Oi, Uanspam, are you done mumbling? It's time to start the games!" "Oh, finally! You made me wait a tad too much for my tastes,Guildmaster!" And off I went up the stairs that led to the gates, in a few seconds the dark of the dungeon would be vanquished by the blinding light of the sun's zenith, and the crowd's murmur would grow in a glorious roar which spelled the word:"Battle! Battle! Battle! Battle!"; It was the moment of truth, it was the moment every gladiator lusted from the very beginning of their career, it was the moment to brawl in..."The Super Slash Tournament! Yes, boys and girls! It's the time you've all been waiting for! Today the top gladiators from the circuses of all the nation will fight against hordes of bloodthirsty monsters for glory! Live from the circus of Hallowstone I, Bruce Chops, and my friend, Bob Twist, will be your chroniclers for the occasion!" "You said it Bruce! This is going to be glorious! The crowd is seething with excitement at the idea of such a slaughter." "And what about'cha?" "You even ask?! I got the flames coursing through my veins since yesterday! I'm seething so much I could evaporate at any moment!" "You heard him, lads! This is the sign that a great show is brewing! But enough of the talk, here come the gladiators!". First row, right in the middle. There I was conducting the opening parade as the audience was showering us with ovations and shouting the name of their town's champion towards the sky, as if they were begging the deites for their survival.”You seem very confident in yourself, Uanspam: that smirk is glazed on your mouth since we’ve been called.” “Bleide, my dear nemesis,this is where I always wanted to be, wether I win or die. Of course I’m smiling! Now take that banner.”. The parade went on with various performances that were to show our skills: Twirling banners as if they were spears, throwing batons at each other as a demontration of reflexes, and using said batons to jump high in the air to then stab the ground. “For all of those who are new to the arena, allow me to explain how this is going to go: 50 gladiators! 10 waves of murderous beasts, one stronger that the other! A battle of ages that will keep you on edge until the very final act!” “Gah hah hah! Bruce, my boy, you could have not told it in a better way! Now I’m more eager than ever to start! And I hope our audience is too!” “Well you’re in luck,Bob, because the party starts… Right NOW!”.The murmur of the crowd suddendly disappeared as the parade came to an end; We took our blades and gathered in front of the monsters’ gate, now open, waiting for our destiny to strike. “Bleide… may the best among us triumph.” “I surely will, Uanspam…” . From the dungeon where the beasts were contained a thousand screeches rose, and swift a legion of skeletons covered in red armors flailed towards us! With no hesitation we responded with our own thundering voices, and so the first of the ten battles of the War of the Arena begun! “Number 1: a legion of those who once were part of the armies that have failed to conquer the Kingdom of Hallowstone, preserved by a curse cast by demonic creatures on the catacombs of the Old Realm. They may have lost weight, but they sure have not lost their hatred towards our people!” “Well, they do not seem a threat for our gladiators, Bruce. Not even a droplet of blood on the ground yet!” “Bob, what did you expect? We have before us the greatest of the kingdom’s fighters! It will take more than some Angry Bones to see some goners.”Dust and steel were viciously storming around me, behind me my fellows, ahead the skeletal army. One by one I struck them with my spear, one by one those cursed bones were falling like leaves before me and my combat prowess, ‘till there was no more. But that was short lived, as after them we faced another army of monsters, and another one after that one… Flying eyes, rotten worms, demons, and more and more foul beasts all against me, a triumph of gore and glory reserved to us and us only. It came flowing at my spear like a river, to be disperded and splattered at the ground by me and my ever so thinning row of companions, alas for some of them that feast was too much. As the sun, fully fed up of our gargantuan sacrifice, begun to set, at the center of the screames of those left with no champion and the blood-stained arena remained me, my rival, and one last legion of the dark.”And so here we are, ladies and gentlemen, the last battle for today’s slaughter.” “What a scenery worthy of a painting, Bruce: our two heroes standing in an ocean of blood and corpses. I get mist in my eyes at the thought.” “For the gladiators we have: Ahr Uanspam and Bleide Endshild.” “A legendary duo of rivals: risen in the same guild, they’ve always fought over the glory. One destined to be the champion of the crowd, the other got where he stands now with the help of our king. There could have not be a more fitting end to this rivalry.” “And the two globs must fight the most gruesome of our circus’ beasties: just a piece of what it was, but certainly not to look down on! Gigantic, ferocious, blood-thirsty is the all-seeing eyeball of the Devil! THE EYE OF CHTHULU!!!” “This creature is going to need the Cage, for the sake of our audience,of course”. With a thousand metallic roars, the Cage, a net of steel made entirely out of impaling spikes,descended on the arena, separating us two from the crowd, now the only escape from there was through victory or glorious death.“So...here we are, Bleide.” “...here we are, Uanspam...” “The legend of your prowess has always rivalled mine, so much that the king didn’t want to separate the “duo”... Let’s give people a good show, this might be our only chance to do so.” “Finally, I will be able to rub over your dead body my shield, the very thing that you always insulted! This is the end, Uanspam!” “This is the end, Bleide”. As the sun disappeared behind the mountains, plunging the land in the dark of the night, a roar like I have never heard before rose from the dungeon, thundered through the ground and made the crowd tremble on their seats. “Looks like the Eye is up for a meal, I don’t blame it, it hasn’t seen food for a month!” “Now I wonder what it will eat, Bruce...the dirt or our gladiators?” “There is only one way to find out... Let the fight begin!”. With one more roar an enormous shadow broke through the gate, pulverizing it. In the dust you could see a glowing iris, staring us down with malevolence and an appetite you’d say demonic. We shouted with all of our might to show it we were not afraid, it’s response didn’t take long to arrive... Bleide took the initiative grabbing one of our dead mates’ spear and tossing it at the beast as it was charging at us, the tip cut through the length of it, stopping it in place. He then took his sword and shield and he rushed towards the Eye for a quick finish, but from the wound a myriad of smaller eyes crawled out and assaulted Bleide, who promptly rose his shield to traverse the assault. But the eyes hit harder that a great shield to the face at full force, and eventually they broke his guard, and the Eye took the chance to charge him down with even more strength than before. Bleide flew from one side of the arena to the other, crashing into a pylon and losing consciousness. The Eye then started staring at me, and we engaged a dance of death, a dance that felt like it lasted an eternity: he dashed as I rotated round and round with my spear to destroy its servants, it kept slamming into the walls, leaving me the chance to pierce its being deeper and deeper, but everytime it seemed like it was getting stronger with each wound instead of weakening like any other foe I faced before. It seemed like there was no end to this until, with one last dash, the beast left itself wide open for a decisive strike and so I threw my spear with all of my strength, hitting the foul being dead centre. I rushed as it fell to the ground, grabbed the spear embedded in it and scooped out its iris. I turned triumphant to the crowd who roared my name with force and passion as the Eye let out its last cry...or so I thought. Instead, with great terror of the audience, the beast rose up again, and while emitting more of those damn eyes, what first was an eye opened up with gruesome noises and turned into a gaping mouth with razor sharp teeth. I held my spear to counter its next attack, but with a dash that seemed immediate it threw me in mid-air and swallowed me whole. I have felt alive like never before, knowing that I was on the brink of death! Just before that not-so-Eye gulped me down its throat(?), I reached for my spear that was stuck between the thing’s teeth. I grabbed with all of my might at that last chance of survival and I kept pulling until the spear came off for me to stab whatever that pulsating thing next to the mouth was and propel myself out of the beast, breaking through his teeth! When I came out the Eye looked angry, so much that it charged once again, but this time I was ready: I jumped and stabbed with my spear the beast’s forehead(?), and like a mariner stirs the helm to guide a ship, I stirred my spear to guide the creature to the Cage, to its death and my triumph!”.
-The Story of the Gladiator- end of chapter 3
Idea blocks are fun...not
The best gladiator of all Hallowstone. Skilled in linking multiple attacks of the same force to immobilize the enemy, his might is compared only to the shamelessness of his tongue. Always tries to give his audience a thrill
"Here we are...The final destination...Now it’s just me and the blades, nothing else...Or is it? There's also the other fighters-but who cares! The others are equal to nothing, the others are my lunch!...Lunch...Yeah I should've had lunch before I got here, maybe I should have a snack before going-No,nonono, let everything out!...Me and just the blades...Just the blades!"
"Oi, Uanspam, are you done mumbling? It's time to start the games!" "Oh, finally! You made me wait a tad too much for my tastes,Guildmaster!" And off I went up the stairs that led to the gates, in a few seconds the dark of the dungeon would be vanquished by the blinding light of the sun's zenith, and the crowd's murmur would grow in a glorious roar which spelled the word:"Battle! Battle! Battle! Battle!"; It was the moment of truth, it was the moment every gladiator lusted from the very beginning of their career, it was the moment to brawl in..."The Super Slash Tournament! Yes, boys and girls! It's the time you've all been waiting for! Today the top gladiators from the circuses of all the nation will fight against hordes of bloodthirsty monsters for glory! Live from the circus of Hallowstone I, Bruce Chops, and my friend, Bob Twist, will be your chroniclers for the occasion!" "You said it Bruce! This is going to be glorious! The crowd is seething with excitement at the idea of such a slaughter." "And what about'cha?" "You even ask?! I got the flames coursing through my veins since yesterday! I'm seething so much I could evaporate at any moment!" "You heard him, lads! This is the sign that a great show is brewing! But enough of the talk, here come the gladiators!". First row, right in the middle. There I was conducting the opening parade as the audience was showering us with ovations and shouting the name of their town's champion towards the sky, as if they were begging the deites for their survival.”You seem very confident in yourself, Uanspam: that smirk is glazed on your mouth since we’ve been called.” “Bleide, my dear nemesis,this is where I always wanted to be, wether I win or die. Of course I’m smiling! Now take that banner.”. The parade went on with various performances that were to show our skills: Twirling banners as if they were spears, throwing batons at each other as a demontration of reflexes, and using said batons to jump high in the air to then stab the ground. “For all of those who are new to the arena, allow me to explain how this is going to go: 50 gladiators! 10 waves of murderous beasts, one stronger that the other! A battle of ages that will keep you on edge until the very final act!” “Gah hah hah! Bruce, my boy, you could have not told it in a better way! Now I’m more eager than ever to start! And I hope our audience is too!” “Well you’re in luck,Bob, because the party starts… Right NOW!”.The murmur of the crowd suddendly disappeared as the parade came to an end; We took our blades and gathered in front of the monsters’ gate, now open, waiting for our destiny to strike. “Bleide… may the best among us triumph.” “I surely will, Uanspam…” . From the dungeon where the beasts were contained a thousand screeches rose, and swift a legion of skeletons covered in red armors flailed towards us! With no hesitation we responded with our own thundering voices, and so the first of the ten battles of the War of the Arena begun! “Number 1: a legion of those who once were part of the armies that have failed to conquer the Kingdom of Hallowstone, preserved by a curse cast by demonic creatures on the catacombs of the Old Realm. They may have lost weight, but they sure have not lost their hatred towards our people!” “Well, they do not seem a threat for our gladiators, Bruce. Not even a droplet of blood on the ground yet!” “Bob, what did you expect? We have before us the greatest of the kingdom’s fighters! It will take more than some Angry Bones to see some goners.”Dust and steel were viciously storming around me, behind me my fellows, ahead the skeletal army. One by one I struck them with my spear, one by one those cursed bones were falling like leaves before me and my combat prowess, ‘till there was no more. But that was short lived, as after them we faced another army of monsters, and another one after that one… Flying eyes, rotten worms, demons, and more and more foul beasts all against me, a triumph of gore and glory reserved to us and us only. It came flowing at my spear like a river, to be disperded and splattered at the ground by me and my ever so thinning row of companions, alas for some of them that feast was too much. As the sun, fully fed up of our gargantuan sacrifice, begun to set, at the center of the screames of those left with no champion and the blood-stained arena remained me, my rival, and one last legion of the dark.”And so here we are, ladies and gentlemen, the last battle for today’s slaughter.” “What a scenery worthy of a painting, Bruce: our two heroes standing in an ocean of blood and corpses. I get mist in my eyes at the thought.” “For the gladiators we have: Ahr Uanspam and Bleide Endshild.” “A legendary duo of rivals: risen in the same guild, they’ve always fought over the glory. One destined to be the champion of the crowd, the other got where he stands now with the help of our king. There could have not be a more fitting end to this rivalry.” “And the two globs must fight the most gruesome of our circus’ beasties: just a piece of what it was, but certainly not to look down on! Gigantic, ferocious, blood-thirsty is the all-seeing eyeball of the Devil! THE EYE OF CHTHULU!!!” “This creature is going to need the Cage, for the sake of our audience,of course”. With a thousand metallic roars, the Cage, a net of steel made entirely out of impaling spikes,descended on the arena, separating us two from the crowd, now the only escape from there was through victory or glorious death.“So...here we are, Bleide.” “...here we are, Uanspam...” “The legend of your prowess has always rivalled mine, so much that the king didn’t want to separate the “duo”... Let’s give people a good show, this might be our only chance to do so.” “Finally, I will be able to rub over your dead body my shield, the very thing that you always insulted! This is the end, Uanspam!” “This is the end, Bleide”. As the sun disappeared behind the mountains, plunging the land in the dark of the night, a roar like I have never heard before rose from the dungeon, thundered through the ground and made the crowd tremble on their seats. “Looks like the Eye is up for a meal, I don’t blame it, it hasn’t seen food for a month!” “Now I wonder what it will eat, Bruce...the dirt or our gladiators?” “There is only one way to find out... Let the fight begin!”. With one more roar an enormous shadow broke through the gate, pulverizing it. In the dust you could see a glowing iris, staring us down with malevolence and an appetite you’d say demonic. We shouted with all of our might to show it we were not afraid, it’s response didn’t take long to arrive... Bleide took the initiative grabbing one of our dead mates’ spear and tossing it at the beast as it was charging at us, the tip cut through the length of it, stopping it in place. He then took his sword and shield and he rushed towards the Eye for a quick finish, but from the wound a myriad of smaller eyes crawled out and assaulted Bleide, who promptly rose his shield to traverse the assault. But the eyes hit harder that a great shield to the face at full force, and eventually they broke his guard, and the Eye took the chance to charge him down with even more strength than before. Bleide flew from one side of the arena to the other, crashing into a pylon and losing consciousness. The Eye then started staring at me, and we engaged a dance of death, a dance that felt like it lasted an eternity: he dashed as I rotated round and round with my spear to destroy its servants, it kept slamming into the walls, leaving me the chance to pierce its being deeper and deeper, but everytime it seemed like it was getting stronger with each wound instead of weakening like any other foe I faced before. It seemed like there was no end to this until, with one last dash, the beast left itself wide open for a decisive strike and so I threw my spear with all of my strength, hitting the foul being dead centre. I rushed as it fell to the ground, grabbed the spear embedded in it and scooped out its iris. I turned triumphant to the crowd who roared my name with force and passion as the Eye let out its last cry...or so I thought. Instead, with great terror of the audience, the beast rose up again, and while emitting more of those damn eyes, what first was an eye opened up with gruesome noises and turned into a gaping mouth with razor sharp teeth. I held my spear to counter its next attack, but with a dash that seemed immediate it threw me in mid-air and swallowed me whole. I have felt alive like never before, knowing that I was on the brink of death! Just before that not-so-Eye gulped me down its throat(?), I reached for my spear that was stuck between the thing’s teeth. I grabbed with all of my might at that last chance of survival and I kept pulling until the spear came off for me to stab whatever that pulsating thing next to the mouth was and propel myself out of the beast, breaking through his teeth! When I came out the Eye looked angry, so much that it charged once again, but this time I was ready: I jumped and stabbed with my spear the beast’s forehead(?), and like a mariner stirs the helm to guide a ship, I stirred my spear to guide the creature to the Cage, to its death and my triumph!”.
-The Story of the Gladiator- end of chapter 3
Idea blocks are fun...not
more stories to come
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