tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794659294947563647.post3472185129173365221..comments2010-04-11T13:45:32.015-07:00Comments on The Arcade: Walking the Spiralda solomonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07707340424343007670noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794659294947563647.post-37720268908361078502010-04-11T13:45:32.015-07:002010-04-11T13:45:32.015-07:00"Grad kad daliyaey," Irene said with Pet..."Grad kad daliyaey," Irene said with Peter, "rashash du. Ia sha'porya budmudey . . ." They matched their cadences, producing between the two of them a reedy echo in the chamber. ". . . toj pug guey karkare."<br /><br />Vibrations of meaning whispered to Irene from the spaces in-between the echoes. "Faster than sound, faster than seeing." Behind – or beyond – the words, the truth and the idea of the spell appeared to Irene. It was ghostly, strung between syllables and languages as ephemerally as webs. "Iä!" Such spiderlings of truth were more tangible in Harappan than they ever could have been in English. "Sage Lost-Faces!" it rang. It came in Arabic, in came in the groping French of childhood, forgotten because it was never quite as interesting as Sanskrit. And then came a language which Irene knew immediately to be the spoken Egyptian of the Heiroglyphics. Then Harappan again: "Agastya ey ey hoti midu . . ."<br /><br />Peter had only noted the emergent harmony and the steady rhythm of their joined speech. As Caleb had said, the steed was cold. It was also viscous to the point of intruding into the crevices between their fastened hands. It slivered along the wrinkles in their palms, and as it reached the backs of their hands Peter felt it tug the tiny hairs from their pores. <br /><br /><br /><br /><i>(Action continues in Berlin in <a href="http://ghostsandtimeberlin1924.blogspot.com/2010/04/flood.html" rel="nofollow">"Flood"</a>.)</i>da solomonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07707340424343007670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794659294947563647.post-83670259279743148202010-03-17T19:03:43.781-07:002010-03-17T19:03:43.781-07:00"Together, then."
Peter gave Irene the..."Together, then." <br /><br />Peter gave Irene the letter, and took her free hand in his. Still positioned so as to hopefully not strike stone if yanked up and forward the same manner as Caleb, he planted their entwined knuckles firmly against Agasthiya's Steed.<br /><br />"I'm sure your pronunciation will be nothing short of impeccable," he said, with an encouraging (but forced) smile. "Very well, on three."<br /><br />"One."<br /><br />"Two."<br /><br />"Three. <i>Ia sha'porya budmud. Ia budmud sha'porya. Sha'psa muder guey karkar, grad kad daliyaey rashash du..."</i><br /><br />He spoke slowly and clearly so Irene's cadence could easily match his.HomoDMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15237872446913531553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794659294947563647.post-55952841695910733272010-03-17T04:22:03.686-07:002010-03-17T04:22:03.686-07:00Irene swallowed hard. "We'll have to be c...Irene swallowed hard. "We'll have to be careful, Peter. He hit his head when he went through." She almost expected to see traces of blood or skin on the rock, but didn't fancy actually looking that closely.<br /><br />"I think we should go together. But do you think we both have to say it, or could we hold hands?" She looked uncertain and also quite nervous. "I'm not sure, but I think that pronunciation might matter. If we—rather, <i>I</i>—don't say it correctly, then who knows where I might end up and in what state! Or perhaps I'm just being paranoid," she said with an attempted smile.<br /><br />Trusting and affectionate eyes lingered on her dearest friend. "Whatever you think is best."Irene Howellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17139609551288232685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794659294947563647.post-89539766547339559362010-03-16T17:50:44.683-07:002010-03-16T17:50:44.683-07:00Peter scrabbled forward to retrieve the letter and...Peter scrabbled forward to retrieve the letter and firearm.<br /><br />"Our turn then," he said, crouched before the metallic slick in the wall. "Shall we try this together, or would you rather one of us went first? Although I would not want you to go into the unknown unescorted, I am also not comfortable with the idea of leaving you behind."HomoDMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15237872446913531553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794659294947563647.post-87757049308319136802010-03-16T16:35:27.126-07:002010-03-16T16:35:27.126-07:00"Well," Caleb replied to Peter, more rel..."Well," Caleb replied to Peter, more relaxedly, "I heard it from a man from New York City. It took him out of here right away. Ain't working for me, I guess.<br /><br />"I won’t drag it out. I ain't gonna take ya with me, but I am gonna leave this here for you." He slid his back down the wall until he was kneeling, in the process dragging a good deal of the gelatinous metal with him. With his right hand, he aimed his gun across his body in the general direction of Peter who was prone and Irene who was also crouching. With his left, he positioned the letter on the ground just in front of him. After reading it over once, he cleared his throat and began.<br /><br />"Iya sha-poorya budmud!" From the very first words, there was something wrong with his incantation. "Grad, cad dolly yay rashash due." The problem was not entirely clear until Caleb said the line, "ha budmud rate vam rashashsa." His vowels were wrong; he pronounced budmud with “uh” sounds and he made the “e” in “rate” silent. Instead of long "ah" sounds, "rashashsa" was a collection of muttered hisses. Transliterative conventions that were second nature to Peter were alien to the cowboy.<br /><br />"Tarry jarred-ha! Gwa agah kar-kar!" To Irene, it was a more basic dissonance. Hearing Caleb was like hearing a foreign accent tromp all over the characteristic phonemes of one's own language. It was grating.<br /><br />Suddenly Calbe was speaking with more force. "Horse dolly yay! Shush-uh geeday!" he called out. Perhaps he was raising his voice in anticipation. Perhaps the metal had already started to activate somewhere against his back, and Caleb was reacting to its tingle. By the time he reached the final, "sore-rub-A-hey!" he was exclaiming with the stern volume of a pastor. "Fun alta!"<br /><br />There was an echo. The three listened to it reverberate. "Fun alta!" rang out the cowboy's voice from the spiral cavern. <br /><br />"Stupid." Caleb concluded. "More bullshit." He cracked a smile and pushed his hat back with his gun. Then he was in the air, as if having been yanked from behind, and gone. His gun and his hat hit the ground.<br /><br />Irene, who had been a little more elevated than Peter, saw that Caleb's head had knocked against the rock wall as he had been pulled into the silvery panel ass first. In spite of everything else, she winced to think of his skull meeting with such a hard angle.<br /><br />His sudden departure had created a wind, which drew the page up into the air. It doubled over, swung on an eddy, and landed against the silver panel. There it stuck.da solomonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07707340424343007670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794659294947563647.post-86829336235772300292010-03-10T02:25:37.235-08:002010-03-10T02:25:37.235-08:00Peter seemed well enough, better than Irene had ho...Peter seemed well enough, better than Irene had hoped, and so she put her hands under his shoulders and helped to raise him off her lap and into a sitting position. As his ear passed, she ducked her head in and whispered a quick: "I'm sorry." She felt deeply guilty for handing over the letter and was convinced she should have found a way to keep it. They were entirely in Caleb's hands now and Irene didn't like it one bit.<br /><br />She hadn't intended to say anything else to the thief, but his words piqued. Before she realized what was happening, she was directing a harsh glare in his direction and chastising his assumptions: "You have no conception of what this man has suffered, so I will beg you not make hasty judgments about his character. Had you been trapped in this place and fed upon by devilish creatures, I very much doubt that you would be yourself, and I think you would do just about anything to ensure your safe escape. Neither of us are violent by nature. It is this horrible place that drives humanity to desperate recourse."<br /><br />Irene sighed a little, closing her eyes for a brief moment and then regarding Caleb with a kinder, but not quite kind glance. "I'm tired and I want to go home," she said simply. "If you are going to take us with you, then I suggest you let us approach and we read the words together. There are better, safer places to bicker in." <br /><br /><i>And if you're not going to take us, then get the hell out of here.</i> She didn't say it, but she was thinking it so loudly that he probably got the message.Irene Howellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17139609551288232685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794659294947563647.post-3699399887606869772010-03-09T17:04:04.719-08:002010-03-09T17:04:04.719-08:00Peter glowered at Caleb as he gingerly felt his fa...Peter glowered at Caleb as he gingerly felt his face. "I have heard something similar," he said, "from a Frenchman I encountered here, right before he disappeared."<br /><br />"To answer your question, I assume that yes, you only need to recite the incantation to travel elsewhere. Do with it what you will."HomoDMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15237872446913531553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794659294947563647.post-57669990627482114782010-03-08T16:12:34.039-08:002010-03-08T16:12:34.039-08:00"Good." Caleb took the letter. "Now..."Good." Caleb took the letter. "Now c'mere and get him outta my way before he tries anythin else stupid as tryin ta take a man's gun."<br /><br />Irene cautiously made her way to his side and in short time had dragged Peter some distance from Caleb, who was still attached to the wall. Irene briefly inspected Peter for wounds more serious than the browning bruise left across his face. She could see none, but she lifted his head and rested it on her lap, just in case. Momentarily, Peter's eyes fluttered.<br /><br />"Where I'm from, doin somethin like that will get you killed - an I'm sayin, it's a battleground there and it's still a helluva lot nicer than here. In fact," he continued, "if it weren't for my better graces an the presence of a lady, I'da done him in. Just a minute."<br /><br />Caleb read the letter. When Peter began to stir, he looked up. "This ain't the same thing as I thought it would be. Still. From what you said, I reckon this is a magic spell and our way out." He paused for effect. "Uh-huh," he said. "I saw a man do it a few minutes ago, just as the swarm of black things were comin in from the sea."<br /><br />He leaned back a little into the silvery goo in the wall. He shivered and gave a hiss. "Is this all?" Caleb asked, wielding the paper. "I don't want to leave y'all here, but I also've had just about enough with trusting people to be non-violent-like. So you tell me, is this all I need to make magic happen? Do you know anything about kooshy sawger badalapa-hunch Lopa-moodra? You ever hear that before?"<br /><br /><br /><br /><i>(When she was trying to talk Caleb out of his demands, I gave Irene fast talk, persuade, bargain, and luck rolls, none of which worked for her. Just FYI.<br /><br />I pre-rolled a success for Irene on first aid for Peter. I have no idea what in the world she could do that would be therapeutic for Peter at this point, but as soon as she does it, he will get <b>+3 hit points</b> back.)</i>da solomonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07707340424343007670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794659294947563647.post-88930593878068992502010-03-06T03:45:11.276-08:002010-03-06T03:45:11.276-08:00Irene didn't fully understand what the cowboy ...Irene didn't fully understand what the cowboy was talking about, but she knew that she had no power to stop him. Peter was unconscious, she was exhausted and not too far from passing out herself, and Caleb was armed. And he would use the gun, even if he wasn't itching to do so.<br /><br />Her eyes closed, tears gathering behind the lids. It was all so overwhelmingly frustrating and upsetting, to be here in this horrible place and to be forced to put her life and Peter's in the hands of a man who was clearly not stable and who knew far less than they did about this situation.<br /><br />"Fine," Irene said at last, blinking furiously so as to ward off the tears. To her annoyance, she didn't entirely succeed. She sniffled and dabbed at her right eye, but her jaw was set when she thrust the letter out in Caleb's general direction. "Take it."Irene Howellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17139609551288232685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794659294947563647.post-59136407606220219022010-03-03T21:30:17.060-08:002010-03-03T21:30:17.060-08:00"Abandon you?" Caleb repeated. "I s..."Abandon you?" Caleb repeated. "I seen enough of this place. I drather shoot you.<br /><br />"I misjudged yer friend here. So I'm in control of the situation now. I got nowhere else ta be. Might as well be so." His tone was matter-of-fact and calm; it almost sounded like an apology. "If ya can't understand that fore he wakes up, I hafta stomp him." <br /><br />He restated his demand by shaking his hand. "Please."da solomonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07707340424343007670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794659294947563647.post-55496553722946725482010-03-01T07:48:08.714-08:002010-03-01T07:48:08.714-08:00Irene took a small step towards Peter, but her eye...Irene took a small step towards Peter, but her eyes remained locked on the cowboy. Frustration temporarily overcame fear, which helped her to keep her head. This squabbling and violence was childish and counterproductive and she was sick of it. It was time for all of them to calm down and work together. <br /><br />"No," she said simply, not at all argumentatively. She didn't look angry, merely determined. "I think it's best if I hold onto the letter. The Librarian is gone, so all three of us can leave safely now. I suggest that we wake Peter up and use the spell to take us out of this place together.<br /><br />"Unless you plan to shoot me and to leave us stranded here," she added quietly, her dark eyes searching Caleb's face for any sign of his true intentions. He hadn't shot them yet, and Irene dared to hope that he would make the right choice now.Irene Howellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17139609551288232685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794659294947563647.post-57222216076030180632010-02-24T22:09:22.502-08:002010-02-24T22:09:22.502-08:00Caleb had sensed Peter's intentions only at th...Caleb had sensed Peter's intentions only at the last moment. In an instant he would realize his mistake – he had confused having a pansy accent with being an actual pansy. He tried to snatch his weapon away, but Peter was far faster and Caleb was burdened by the steed. The cowboy was already throwing his punch as Peter pointed the .45 in the imagined direction of the librarian's eye. Peter fired. He saw Caleb's blow coming, but could do nothing to avoid it.<br /><br />From Irene's point of view, the muzzle flash highlighted one brief, but crucial moment in the short struggle: perfectly timed with the gun's report, Caleb's bony fist planted up to the knuckles in Peter’s cheek.<br /><br />Almost jumpily, as if someone had spun an old-fashioned zoopraxiscopic disc, the scene came back to life. Peter released the weapon and fell away from Caleb in a weak arc. Without moving his gun or looking at Peter, he turned his attention to Irene and then towards the librarian.<br /><br />But the librarian was not there.<br /><br />Caleb turned to Irene and gestured with his gun to the letter from John Daniel. "Gimme that."<br /><br /><br /><br /><i>(Peter hit the librarian, effects unknown.<br /><br />Caleb has knocked Peter out cold. His damage (4) beat out Peter’s current hit points (8) in a resistance check. Peter takes one-third damage rounded down <b>(-1 hit point)</b>, but is knocked out for 10 rounds of combat or until someone applies first aid to him.<br /><br />That was the surprise round. If Irene does </i>anything other than<i> stay still, speak, or extend her arm to Caleb to give him the letter, we will remain in combat rounds. In that case Irene has initiative and will act first.)</i>da solomonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07707340424343007670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794659294947563647.post-10976684994928311032010-02-23T16:25:03.302-08:002010-02-23T16:25:03.302-08:00Peter handed the folded letter to Irene with a kno...Peter handed the folded letter to Irene with a knowing glance and then backed toward Caleb. "Not an ape," he affirmed. "But something otherworldly and unwholesome; I have endured its foulness long enough! I have no question that it comprehends my commands, for it had no difficulty complying until now. No, it seeks to follow us."<br /><br />Reaching carefully behind his back, he put his hand around Caleb's gun, and positioned his finger upon the trigger.<br /><br />"Over my dead body..."HomoDMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15237872446913531553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794659294947563647.post-80291096764452493812010-02-22T21:28:23.462-08:002010-02-22T21:28:23.462-08:00"Please . . . it seems wrong," the libra..."Please . . . it seems <i>wrong</i>," the librarian pronounced, "mimic the world and break through the words even now, It could. It could." Its intonation and pitch were perfect. As it spoke, it seemed to grow slighter beneath its cloak.<br /><br />Would the librarian be capable of a long recitation? Irene hadn't heard it arrange more than a few words at a time into a meaningful phrase. It could repeat phrases, but could it say anything meaningful? She wondered if Peter had been taken in by a dumb functionary, if perhaps its speech was nothing but the babble of an alien parrot.<br /><br />"Assistance. Protein ribbons, and salts shredded on," the librarian said as Peter.<br /><br />Irene was right, it had done nothing but help them. But Peter knew what it was like walking in its shadow. He had shared its company for hours, or days. Peter had followed it; had listened to the weird rasping, sucking sounds it emitted; had breathed in its oily vapors; had touched its cloak. It had eaten his bile. Peter had found the thing so repellant that he had not given the question of whether or not it deserved consideration as a living thing any thought at all. Imagining the thing slinking about Friedrichstadt in the darkness verged upon blasphemy. He couldn't begin to consider it in England. <br /><br />Caleb guessed where the librarian's heart would be if it were a man, and pointed his pistol. He cocked it. "Not really a ape, is it?" He swallowed, looked away, and abruptly lowered his gun. "I ain't doing it. It's not pissed off – keep it that way." Licking his lips, he looked to Peter and Irene, twice each before bowing his head. "God-<i>damn</i>. I'm scared ta shoot it. What the hell is it?"da solomonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07707340424343007670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794659294947563647.post-19611151004917523052010-02-22T17:39:13.919-08:002010-02-22T17:39:13.919-08:00"It hasn't heard the whole incantation,&q..."It hasn't heard the whole incantation," Peter said. "And it <i>must not."</i>HomoDMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15237872446913531553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794659294947563647.post-11532055240988022972010-02-22T08:42:05.932-08:002010-02-22T08:42:05.932-08:00"It's heard the incantation," Irene ..."It's heard the incantation," Irene said softly, her tight throat restricting her voice. "It could mimic the words and break through into our world even if we leave it behind now. Peter, if you truly believe that this creature is dangerous, then I do believe we must…" She glanced at Caleb's gun hesitantly, clearly not too pleased with that option, but open to it nonetheless. <br /><br />"But it…it seems <i>wrong</i> to harm a thing that has done nothing but help us,” she added, frowning. Even in this strange reality, they had to cling to their humanity—and wasn’t mercy part of that? "Without it, we would never have found this place, or the steed." <br /><br />Irene bit her lower lip and looked directly at the Librarian. "Do you want something from us? Some kind of payment for your services?" She couldn't be certain it understood her, but she suspected it could comprehend more than it could convey.Irene Howellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17139609551288232685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794659294947563647.post-72573760578233728642010-02-21T14:03:41.718-08:002010-02-21T14:03:41.718-08:00The librarian failed to follow orders.
Caleb watc...The librarian failed to follow orders.<br /><br />Caleb watched Peter and cocked his head. "I'm ta shoot it?" He squinted. "Fuck that thing - but now I'm confused an I gotta think." He drew his sidearm again.da solomonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07707340424343007670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794659294947563647.post-1249195841383931932010-02-21T13:55:18.854-08:002010-02-21T13:55:18.854-08:00"Go on!" Peter said more forcefully. &qu..."Go on!" Peter said more forcefully. "Shoo!" He glanced at Caleb while motioning for Irene to stand clear.HomoDMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15237872446913531553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794659294947563647.post-46717940461753733092010-02-21T13:52:47.927-08:002010-02-21T13:52:47.927-08:00"Begone!" it repeated, wavering in place..."Begone!" it repeated, wavering in place like a foul flower bowing under an unfelt wind. It did not give any indication that it was planning on abandoning its position.da solomonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07707340424343007670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794659294947563647.post-15580834677900070122010-02-21T13:49:01.789-08:002010-02-21T13:49:01.789-08:00"I wonder," Peter began, "if we mig..."I wonder," Peter began, "if we might all be freed from this place were we to recite the incantation in unison."<br /><br />He looked sidelong at the librarian. "But certainly not all of us should return to the world of man."<br /><br />"Perhaps I asked you to stow your firearm too soon, Mr. Black. For if this creature insists on joining us, we may need your help to discourage it."<br /><br />Peter addressed the librarian directly now. "Thank you for your assistance. We have located the steed and your presence is no longer required. You must not follow us. Begone."HomoDMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15237872446913531553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794659294947563647.post-59217401470410399622010-02-21T13:39:10.422-08:002010-02-21T13:39:10.422-08:00"Hell if I know. I met another man, on the be..."Hell if I know. I met another man, on the beach out there. Said he was from New York." Caleb finally holstered his gun. "And another fella, I shot when he came at me. He's dead enough fer bein in the flesh. But the New Yorker's done vamoosed, soon as he said sumthin like that." He gestured at Peter as if the words to the incantation were hanging in the air in front of him still.<br /><br />Some wet aperture flapped open beneath the librarian's cloak. It was followed by a long, uneven exhalation of an onion-odored gas.da solomonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07707340424343007670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794659294947563647.post-75749051165595202532010-02-21T13:21:35.010-08:002010-02-21T13:21:35.010-08:00"What do you mean?" Peter asked the guns..."What do you mean?" Peter asked the gunslinger, interrupting the chant. "What does New York have to do with this?"HomoDMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15237872446913531553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794659294947563647.post-3093547355104621702010-02-21T11:31:03.428-08:002010-02-21T11:31:03.428-08:00"Ia sha'porya budmudey toj pug guey karka..."Ia sha'porya budmudey toj pug guey karkare!" With the third pronunciation of Lopamudra's Harrappan name, the steed shimmered. Peter gasped ever so slightly. In that brief pause, he heard that he had an echo.<br /><br />". . . karkare!"<br /><br />Rubbing the finger of steed that clung to his shoulder, Caleb interjected. "Now you an the ape both plannin on vanishin off ta New York? Ya just gonna leave this lady here with me?" he asked, resigned.da solomonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07707340424343007670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794659294947563647.post-28193612754373258412010-02-19T18:40:13.020-08:002010-02-19T18:40:13.020-08:00"It looks like a mineral, certainly," Pe..."It <i>looks</i> like a mineral, certainly," Peter acknowledged, "but it seems to me to behave more like a living thing. Who's to say?"<br /><br />Stymied, he thrust his hands into his pockets, as if to stop himself from making the mistake of touching the stuff. His eyebrows furrowed. "Hullo, what's this?"<br /><br />He withdrew a folded sheet of paper, recognizing it immediately, for he had read over it scores of times. Irene recognized it also as John Daniel's final message to the world, scribed just moments before Peter had murdered him.<br /><br />"Ia sha'porya budmud," he began, observing the mercurial steed for any discernible effect. "Ia budmud sha'porya. Sha'psa muder guey karkar, grad kad daliyaey rashash du..."HomoDMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15237872446913531553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794659294947563647.post-5123679208468039302010-02-19T15:18:25.759-08:002010-02-19T15:18:25.759-08:00"Er, y'all think this is a animal?" ..."Er, y'all think this is a animal?" His frown deepened. "Mineral is how it seems to me. I seen it in veins like copper. It's bitin like ice an rope burns, not like a dog. Still, ain't no mineral ever grabbed me like that before." He thought for a moment, seeming to hang from his metallic cloak.da solomonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07707340424343007670noreply@blogger.com