Churchill Downs Day 48: The bad feeling in my stomach was only complimented by the bad smell of the cave. Something didn't make sense and I was going to find out what, even if it hindered our journey by a few minutes. "Anybody got a guess as to why this place smells so badly, has softer ground than a beach, has stalagmites and stalactites everywhere, and has a very active wind current blowing in and out of it? Cause I'm out of ideas." The group paused and took what I said and started to dissect it. My comrades slowly started to notice the strange place around them. There was a silence through the crowd of metal figures. Mitri spoke, "Maybe it's just a cave getting wind from the passage up ahead. Maybe it smells from whatever our next opponent has stashed up ahead, could be dead bodies. Maybe it's just a normal cave with a bad smell." Andy's idea was next, "Maybe the cave is leading us to just a rank den of whatever that Kongulo thing is that Ted told us to be wary of." Andy's idea along with Mitri's theory was solid... but there was something else here... I just knew it. Casey decided to add to the conversation, "I don't know exactly where we are going, or even why this place has such a funny feel to it. The smell is so amplified for me that I can tell that the stench belongs to dead things like wolves, goblins, even the things we fought back there at the entrance to this place. There is something else though. I smell dead giants and T-Rex. I just feel like we're headed into the belly of the beast on this one. Whatever this thing is, whether it's the Kongulo or not, is big." Maybe Casey was right, maybe it was just whatever was ahead that was making this happen.... but... "belly of the beast".... I looked around at the environment one last time. "No... there's no way... I mean we didn't march into.. would've noticed..." I bit my tongue, turned to my brothers nervously and shouted, "RUN!!"
My brothers followed me without question, they trusted my judgment with their own lives. We all bolted back to the entrance, and as soon as we were about to leave the ground started to rumble beneath our feet. But it wasn't soft ground at all, it was a tongue, and the now closing stalactites and stalagmites were teeth. What a fool I had been to not notice the breath of the behemoth we were now offering ourselves as lunch to. The mouth started to lift up from the jungle floor, and all we could do was watch from the front of the mouth with horror. "EVERYONE GRAB A TOOTH A HOLD ON!!!!!" I shouted as loud as I could. The breath of the beast now carried several deep roars to its mouth. Almost deafening cries from the creature were surging through the mouth now. Just like that we all felt the head tip backward and attempt to shake us into its belly. "HOLD ON!!!!! EVERYONE JUST HOLD ON!!!!!" I cried out. My brothers were gripping the teeth as hard as they could. We could see out of the front of the mouth to see the beast towering over the jungle now. Jake shouted so the group could hear him, "I HAVE AN IDEA, I'LL BE BACK!!!!" I was wondering what in the hell kind of idea he could have at a time like this other than hold on for dear life. Just like that he let go. We all looked down to see him falling into the dark and screamed "JAAAAAAAKEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" We all looked over at one another after Jake could no longer be seen and could only hold on for our lives. We had just lost a brother to this thing. But there was no time for grieving. We all just held on.
The beast roared loudly, angry at its meal for not falling into its stomach like it had planned. We could only listen to the deafening roars as we could do nothing. As the beast started to roar again... it stopped.. it made a different sound. It sounded like... pain. We all looked at each other, confused as to why. "IT MUST BE SOMETHING JAKE IS DOING!!!" Nate yelled across the mouth. I looked down and strained my eyes as much as I could.... there in the dark... I saw him. I knew what he was doing now. Jake had fallen with his spear clutched above his head horizontally. He kept falling till it stopped him by catching on the colossus throat. As big as this thing was, even a tooth pick lodged in its throat hurt like hell. Brilliant was the only word for it. I could hear the beast making gagging sounds. "Must've been something he ate." I couldn't help but laugh. "Haha..hahaha....HAHAHAHA!!!!" My brothers all looked at me confused. Andy shouted, "YOU'RE LAUGHING??? WE JUST LOST A BROTHER AND WE'RE ALL ABOUT TO DIE TOO AND YOU'RE LAUGHING???" I said nothing but pointed down. They all looked at hard as they could and saw Jake lodged in the beasts throat with his spear, and slashing away with a small sword he kept on his belt as a spare. They all began to laugh. We could feel the beast start to stumble. It was choking on it's own blood. Jake was cutting it's throat from the inside out. Marvelous.
The stench of the monsters blood filled the air, and it began to tilt its mouth forward. "EVERYONE HANG ON, IT'S GOING TO SPIT US OUT!!!!" The beast rocked forward and ejected us on the ground. Jake followed and landed near me. We all stood slowly back up. "Damn good work" Andy said with a smile to Jake. We all looked up at the massive problem we had. It was 10 stories high, maybe more. It was a dark grey and covered from head to toe in the foliage that it laid in before. The face was something from a nightmare. Covered in moss and dirt with immense red eyes. It was grasping its throat with both of its hands with blood running through its fingers. "What now?" asked Nate. Mitri looked over at him and only said, "If it bleeds, we can kill it." He was right, and thanks to Jake we had a great advantage... but there was no harm in having one more. "Casey, you know what to do, go to work on the things eyes." Complying, Casey drew three arrows from his quiver and aimed at the left eye. "Three??" asked Andy bewildered. "It's ten stories high, still kicking after it's had its throat slashed, and has eyes the size of small cars. Thought I'd need a little more of a kick." Andy retracted his comment being that he was wrong. Casey waited for the staggering beast that was still gathering its composure and looking around for its meal to turn to the left. It did. Casey let the arrows fly and we could immediately see the jet stream of purple blood pour from its eye. He drew another three as it roared in even more pain. It turned to the right and Casey let go the next volley. The same happened to the right. A waterfall of blood rushed from its eye. The beast now covered its throat with both hands and closed both of its eyes. It was stomping around, crying in pain. We had thought that it was over and the beast would be easy to kill. That is the mistake of underestimating your opponent. The beast stopped roaring and stamping altogether. "What's it doing now???" Mitri asked confused. The beast turned in our direction and I said sternly, "It can smell us."
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Monday, February 18, 2013
Day 48
Churchill Downs Day 48: The loud cling of our new armor accompanied us as we marched toward the shortcut to the heart. With every step we took you could hear the steel rustle together. It was heavy. Heavier than anything I had worn before. It must have been the same for my brothers. I looked over at my companions to see them struggling under the weight of their new armor. I wasn't worried though, I had asked Ted about it in private before we had started on our mission. He had said to me that it would become like a second skin, weighing nothing and aiding in combat more than it would hinder. It seemed we would be able to test it in the very near future too. Up ahead we came upon a section of the dense forest, but this was different... darker than the rest of it all, it had a strange aura to it. I was ahead of the group, and therefore the lead in the march, so I held up my fist to signal the stopping of our group. The group was silent behind me except for Casey. "I feel it too brother" Casey had said from the rear. I glanced back to see only the five's helmets turned straight ahead toward me. I was still getting used to telling them all apart in their armor, as they were all of the same design and covered from head to toe. The only way to recognize any one of my brothers was by the different way "Death" was written on their chests. I looked over at the steel monster that had a strange alien language written on his breast and knew this to be Jake. "Jake, front and center, I need your expertise." Jake stepped forward and met me at the entrance to the dark forest. "I've only seen this area while out gathering food brother, none of us from the village dared to enter. We had seen creatures vanish if they were too close to the entrance, like they were being grabbed. At night we would hear strange noises out of this area, it isn't a path for the wise." I took Jake's words to heart, but even so, I did need an opinion on our next move. "What do you suggest we do Jake?" He looked at me and I could see the smile forming under the steel plate that guarded his mouth. "Personally, I've never been very wise Wes. But if there is one thing I am, it's a fan of a good fight, and I'd like to see what this apartments got." I chuckled a little as Jake smiled at me. I turned to my other brothers behind me. I nodded and they nodded back. I could see them all drop a hand to each of their weapons. They were prepared. I looked at Jake one last time and started toward the dark area with my brothers. We slowly gripped our weapons just a little tighter, and entered completely. We left the sight of the bright plains behind us.
Ready for any obstacle the dim foliage could produce, we continued our walk. It seemed as though the forest was breathing. The wind was heavy where we were headed. It was strange... we were so far in the closed section of the dark jungle... but could feel the breeze like there were no trees standing around us. I was the only one of my companions to observe the environment, the others were not going to take where they were into consideration. Whether they were marching into a jungle, or hell itself, they continued with no fear and grasped their weapons expecting a fight. It was marvelous to see them as a unit. Ready to trample any that lay in their way. We marched deeper and deeper into the black of the jungle. Curious. Very curious. The wind did not stop, only changed directions. One stream of air was rushing into the forest, and once it passed, another stream would rush out in the opposite direction. It was darker now... the ground beneath us even seemed softer than before... there was something wrong with it all. I glanced back only barely able to see my brethren, and noticed Casey had taken another step in his path, then planted his feet ready for combat.We all looked over at our brother in his steel attire with "Death" written in an almost hieroglyphic font. We knew what this meant. We rushed toward him, and spread out in a circle around him. We all drew our weapons at the ready. "I smell them... there in the dark.. teeth ready and... they're watching us." That was all the warning we needed from him to expect a fight. I peered into the darkness and watched. We all did. Slowly but surely, dots started to become illuminated floating in the black. Eyes. We each set our feet, and started to see the creatures emerge from the distance. There were many. More than any wolf pack or goblin fleet. They were short and stalky. Their skin, wasn't skin at all, it looked like their bones were on the outside of their bodies. Every one of their mouths was open and breathing heavily, also showing row upon row of razor sharp teeth. Their pace began to increase in our direction. Nothing we couldn't handle.
Casey drew arrow after arrow firing into the crowd of creatures. Even bone wasn't hard enough to stop one of his shots. One by one they dropped. Some had managed to get past his range, but no further. That's where the rest of us came in. Sword, ax, and spear whirled through the air. We were a giant machine. Casey had the ranged game covered, and we would decimate anything that got closer. Mitri made a mess of things, being as it was what he was good at. He would swing his gigantic stone blade killing three and four of them at a time, splintering bodies as they hit the soft ground. Jake impaled them quickly with precision, penetrating their hides and finding the bladed tip of the spear emerging out of their backs. Andy cleaved them in two halves with his heavy ax, swinging vertically and horizontally, leaving body parts covering his feet. Nate waited for them to get even closer, removing their limbs swiftly with the wolves teeth he had to his bite, disgusting, but effective. I was stuck on head games, removing the skull from the rest of the body with quick slashes. It seemed to more than work. Heads thudded on the ground as they landed and rolled. The monsters were no challenge to us... but we did have a problem. There were many. More than we could count, and they kept coming. We would grow tired before we saw the end of their numbers. "QUICKLY MY BROTHERS, DEEPER INTO THE FOREST!!!!!!!!" I shouted from our formation. We finished killing whatever was in front of us and ran into the dark. The creatures gave chase. They were fast and the armor was heavy on us. Like it or not, we had to turn and ready ourselves for another wave. As we did and the creatures were almost upon us.... they stopped. They made noises like whimpering and just like that, they all turned around and ran the opposite direction. We looked dumb founded under our helmets. We all stood silenced and in unbelief as to why they tucked tail and ran. Nate decided to break the silence. "YOU BETTER RUN BACK TO WHATEVER MAMA YOU GOT BEFORE I DECIDE TO CHASE YOU!!!!!!" We all kept our composure but Andy who decided to join in. "I WASN'T DONE YOU UGLY DICKLESS COWARDS!!!!! GET BACK HERE!!!!" The rest of us sat in silence. Obviously there was something close to us that they were afraid of... but what? Nate and Andy calmed themselves and reformed our party. "Well? Shall we continue?" Nate asked the group. I turned and they followed me into the darkness of the jungle again. As I walked I passed what seemed like stalagmites rising from the jungle floor. I looked up and saw pointy stalactites hanging in mid air over all of us.... We were walking into a cave it seemed. The wind had returned again and blew in that same pattern, and the cave seemed to be the source. I had a bad feeling about all of this, but bad feelings would not stop me.
Ready for any obstacle the dim foliage could produce, we continued our walk. It seemed as though the forest was breathing. The wind was heavy where we were headed. It was strange... we were so far in the closed section of the dark jungle... but could feel the breeze like there were no trees standing around us. I was the only one of my companions to observe the environment, the others were not going to take where they were into consideration. Whether they were marching into a jungle, or hell itself, they continued with no fear and grasped their weapons expecting a fight. It was marvelous to see them as a unit. Ready to trample any that lay in their way. We marched deeper and deeper into the black of the jungle. Curious. Very curious. The wind did not stop, only changed directions. One stream of air was rushing into the forest, and once it passed, another stream would rush out in the opposite direction. It was darker now... the ground beneath us even seemed softer than before... there was something wrong with it all. I glanced back only barely able to see my brethren, and noticed Casey had taken another step in his path, then planted his feet ready for combat.We all looked over at our brother in his steel attire with "Death" written in an almost hieroglyphic font. We knew what this meant. We rushed toward him, and spread out in a circle around him. We all drew our weapons at the ready. "I smell them... there in the dark.. teeth ready and... they're watching us." That was all the warning we needed from him to expect a fight. I peered into the darkness and watched. We all did. Slowly but surely, dots started to become illuminated floating in the black. Eyes. We each set our feet, and started to see the creatures emerge from the distance. There were many. More than any wolf pack or goblin fleet. They were short and stalky. Their skin, wasn't skin at all, it looked like their bones were on the outside of their bodies. Every one of their mouths was open and breathing heavily, also showing row upon row of razor sharp teeth. Their pace began to increase in our direction. Nothing we couldn't handle.
Casey drew arrow after arrow firing into the crowd of creatures. Even bone wasn't hard enough to stop one of his shots. One by one they dropped. Some had managed to get past his range, but no further. That's where the rest of us came in. Sword, ax, and spear whirled through the air. We were a giant machine. Casey had the ranged game covered, and we would decimate anything that got closer. Mitri made a mess of things, being as it was what he was good at. He would swing his gigantic stone blade killing three and four of them at a time, splintering bodies as they hit the soft ground. Jake impaled them quickly with precision, penetrating their hides and finding the bladed tip of the spear emerging out of their backs. Andy cleaved them in two halves with his heavy ax, swinging vertically and horizontally, leaving body parts covering his feet. Nate waited for them to get even closer, removing their limbs swiftly with the wolves teeth he had to his bite, disgusting, but effective. I was stuck on head games, removing the skull from the rest of the body with quick slashes. It seemed to more than work. Heads thudded on the ground as they landed and rolled. The monsters were no challenge to us... but we did have a problem. There were many. More than we could count, and they kept coming. We would grow tired before we saw the end of their numbers. "QUICKLY MY BROTHERS, DEEPER INTO THE FOREST!!!!!!!!" I shouted from our formation. We finished killing whatever was in front of us and ran into the dark. The creatures gave chase. They were fast and the armor was heavy on us. Like it or not, we had to turn and ready ourselves for another wave. As we did and the creatures were almost upon us.... they stopped. They made noises like whimpering and just like that, they all turned around and ran the opposite direction. We looked dumb founded under our helmets. We all stood silenced and in unbelief as to why they tucked tail and ran. Nate decided to break the silence. "YOU BETTER RUN BACK TO WHATEVER MAMA YOU GOT BEFORE I DECIDE TO CHASE YOU!!!!!!" We all kept our composure but Andy who decided to join in. "I WASN'T DONE YOU UGLY DICKLESS COWARDS!!!!! GET BACK HERE!!!!" The rest of us sat in silence. Obviously there was something close to us that they were afraid of... but what? Nate and Andy calmed themselves and reformed our party. "Well? Shall we continue?" Nate asked the group. I turned and they followed me into the darkness of the jungle again. As I walked I passed what seemed like stalagmites rising from the jungle floor. I looked up and saw pointy stalactites hanging in mid air over all of us.... We were walking into a cave it seemed. The wind had returned again and blew in that same pattern, and the cave seemed to be the source. I had a bad feeling about all of this, but bad feelings would not stop me.
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