SDIV El Juego Chapter 17 Part 1

Chapter Seventeen Cursed Hills Zone IV Grishak still retained consciousness, the pain had all but gone now and he hung onto life by a thread. Great swathes of flesh had been peeled away, the hungry tribesmen rushing and cutting free tasty morsels, impatient enough to risk burned limbs in their eagerness to feed. His sight gone, Grishak retained only partially his hearing, the once great Tauran Elite reduced to being nothing more than food. He heard the first cries, the roaring, the sounds of weapons striking flesh and was glad. At least he would not die alone. As his life left him, he witnessed the sounds of carnage, of the destruction of the last flicker of human life in the area as the Ambryn feasted, and internally at least, he smiled. Emerald Forest Zone I A sword rested lightly against Harms’ chest, he dared not move as he and the rest of his men were disarmed. The first of the Knights raised his visor, the obviously human face stared down sternly upon Harms from the back of the warhorse. “Bind them!” ordered the Knight and as Harms tried to speak, “And gag them as well! There will be enough time for explanations at their trial!” Helplessly, and none too gently, they were led away, their weapons hastily bundled into a sack on the back of one of the horses. They were tied together via a long piece of rope and with a jerk they moved off. Llorente fell and was dragged along the ground for a time, until Harms managed to help him to his feet, their captors looking on disdainfully. Cursed Hills Zone IV There was nothing left of the tribesmen, or Grishak. The only sign of life was the heaving mass of Ambryn, as they pranced around the fire in an inexplicable alien ritual of celebration. Then they were still, heads cocked to one side as they listened intently. This lasted but a moment and the dancing began again, its wildness increasing with each pass around the flames.

Emerald Forest
Zone I


“Monsters!” screamed Harms, the rope noose beginning to tighten around his neck, “I said, monsters...they’re coming!”

“Hold!” cried an older voice, “What do you know about monsters? We recently lost two of our brethren in the pursuit of such. Their loss has the distinct taste of magic...!”

“Yes, yes, that’s us,” gabbled Harms, in excitement, “We’re the magicians!”

“Thank you for that admission,” said the Knight moving into Harms vision, then turning to the gathered crowd, “You heard what he said … burn them!”

SDIV Chapter 16 Part 2

Child-like, Ngulu the Broken centered all of his concentration on the transformation before him. The flesh on Cornelius’ face melted, becoming one with the body of the winged creature, whose hold did not lessen as it consumed itself. Red skin arched upwards, struggling to meld the two forms together, ridging where there was union. Flames licked along Cornelius’ shoulder, neck and cheek, where a small head nestled in an ultimate caress. Ngulu saw the moment when Clari died, when her form became no more than an intricate tattoo which added to those already on Cornelius’ body. This was brighter though, a brilliant red tracing a line from Corneliu’s neck, wrapping round his throat and terminating at his eye.


As the human fell to the ground, Ngulu reached forward reverently. It was then that he heard the stamp of feet and the swish of a weapon. Rolling quickly, he tried to avoid the blade, which even now smashed downwards.

Flagship
Unknown Location


“Now, tell me,” said Shan, stirring the pieces on the board in front of him,” is this usual?”

There was no answer; putrid henchman did not make for good conversational companions. He had hoped to make up for that with the Ori in front of him, revived from a fist-induced slumber. Shan had found him bleeding in the main hanger on his return and reacted true to his nature. He had only recently regained consciousness.

Shan nodded and one of his henchman grabbed the Ori’s hair, and slammed him face first into the board.

“I am querying,” explained Shan slowly, “this chaotic amalgamation of characters. There is a randomness here, which just does not seem right.”

“I’ve noticed that too,” answered the Ori, spitting blood and tooth fragments from his mouth, “there should be more death and less resistance. Who is this one?”

His finger traced the screen, highlighting the small figure there. Unlike the others shown, it carried no data stream and flickered angrily.

“Don’t you know?” asked Shan, puzzled, “Your family has controlled this enterprise for generations.”

“True,” continued the Ori, “and this is the first time I have seen an unaligned piece enter the Game.”

“Explain!” snapped Shan.

“We didn’t put him there…”


Cemetary Plain
Zone III


Burns raised his rifle and fired, the slug smashing into the Knight’s weapon, spinning it from his hand.

“Missed!” said Kam, who had joined him.

“No I didn’t,” replied the sniper, “look!”

Cornelius now stood, dazed yet alive. In front of him, the monster waited, head bowed, ignoring the stupified Knight. Slowly Ngulu the Broken stretched himself full-length on the ground, his muzzle just touching Cornelius’ feet. He was ignored.


…the pain had gone, instead his mind was filled with a chorus of voices. Song vibrated within, opening itself to him. No-one had ever love him, shown him such trust and given him so much. He was ashamed, and yet exultant. She had died for him. Anger now built within. This thing before him had killed her, and must pay…

The reddened skin became more pronounced as Cornelius’ rage grew; what had remained seemed to take a life of its own, writhing and twisting with each contortion. Power surged through him, flames wreathing the ridges of his spiked mohican, curling around his forehead and running along his face and neck. He raised his hand high, the flames coalescing into a bright ball of energy which pranced greedily on his open palm. Cornelius wanted to kill, and his enemy lay open beneath him.


Flagship
Unknown Location


Shan cackled with glee. He loved this. Under his controls, the remote fighters shadowing him, jinked and weaved, hugging the terrain. The carefully segregated Zones meant nothing to them, and less to him. Here, he was the Lord and Master, and no shrunken dwarf was going to spoil it for him.

Power surges were common here, the instruments adjusting them in line with the Game’s parameters. The strange light show surrounding Cornelius did not register, and Shan dismissed it as nothing more than a distortion of the video feed.

His charges were close now, and he leaned in, concentrating on the controls beneath his fingers. One stroke and he knew it would be over. Eagerly he depressed the firing sequence, then sat back to enjoy the fruits of his labour.

SDIV Chapter 16 Part 1

Chapter Sixteen

Cemetary Plain
Zone III

Ngulu the Broken was upset. No-one understood him. Granted, his urges made it hard for him to be loved, but he found that people judged him only by his appearance. He could not remember how he had arrived on this strange planet, nor did he know how the magic worked, which moved him between places. It always seemed to happen when he was hungry, and that was the problem.

Food meant battle; he needed fresh meat and it just seemed to be there, waiting for him. More recently, he felt persecuted, especially by the strange detachable creatures with shiny skins. They were fragile, yet persistent. Now he was in pain, his mouth held rigidly open and feeding was not an option.

His hand burned, breaking into his simple reverie and he dropped the small warrior to the ground, shuffling round on his injured legs to stare curiously at the strange little man. The tiny winged animal clung ever tighter, seemingly intent on doing Ngulu’s work for him.

He started back as flames burst from the head of the red-haired human, grunting in surprise. Totally engrossed in the scene being played out before him, he forgot about Sir Frederic, who was pulling himself to his feet with the aid of his now recovered sword.

*

Cornelius was in a world of pain, his neck and face on fire. No longer did he rationalise, instead he existed. Where Clari touched him, nerve endings protested vehemently. His mouth opened, a scream trying to break free, but nothing came out. Head flung back, arms raised in supplication, Cornelius suffered.

*

Clari knew that her time had come. She felt bones become fluid, skin translucent and she surrendered to her purpose, pouring her essence into the process, sacrificing her existence for the one she loved.

*

Sir Frederic saw the monster leaning over his erstwhile saviour. The wounds on the creature’s legs had ceased to weep and he watched in horror as flesh began to reknit. There was little time; he needed to act now. Cursing, he clanked his way forward, certain that the thing would notice him at any moment. Sword raised he threw all of his training and muscles into one all-powerful blow.

*

Child-like, Ngulu the Broken centred all of his concentration on the transformation before him. The flesh on Cornelius’ face melted, becoming one with the body of the winged creature, whose hold did not lessen as it consumed itself. Red skin arched upwards, struggling to meld the two forms together, ridging where there was union. Flames licked along Cornelius’ shoulder, neck and cheek, where a small head nestled in an ultimate caress. Ngulu saw the moment when Clari died, when her form became no more than an intricate tattoo which added to those already on Cornelius’ body. This was brighter though, a brilliant red tracing a line from Cornelius’ neck, wrapping round his throat and terminating at his eye.

As the human fell to the ground, Ngulu reached forward reverently. It was then that he heard the stamp of feet and the swish of a weapon. Rolling quickly, he tried to avoid the blade, which even now smashed downwards.