The World Behind the World

The worst part about jumping between dimensions (other than that being a thing that happens obviously) is not knowing where you'll end up. I mean sure the creatures existed in our realm so its safe to say where they come from is not like a huge fire pit full of lava and burning, but you don't know that! In all honesty it was stupid as all get out for me to just leap into the portal, but as I've shown repeatedly that's kind of my thing to be dumb. So we lept into a different dimension and ended up in a cell with a bunch of other sad sack looking people. I've mentioned I'm stupid, this one was one of my stupider moments. I mean its not roasting alive or anything, but it certainly sucked.

Sorry another short entry my journal writing this on a back of a piece of paper as I'm being chased by the guys from the explosive deal, apparently them blowing up in their face kind of seen as a bigger deal than what I anticipated. Yeah I know what pricks.

Dimensional Difficulties

"Well it wasn't so much an order it was more a loose collaboration of people who believed in the same things working towards a similar goal." The creatures were like a mix between shorties and my nightmares (so basically shorties). Not very hard to kill, but numerous, thankfully they were not immune to magic like the armed creature had been.

"So how can you get kicked out of a loose collaboration? That's like getting kicked out of a hobby." Erchus was smashing I was burning, and the creatures were dying, it was like a nice light work out, hard enough you knew you were doing something, but easy enough that you didn't feel like you were in danger. What I'm saying is these little shorty bastards were the perfect enemy and I would kill them again!

"Well there were rules."

"Doesn't sound like a loose collaboration, rules definitely points to organization." The creatures had appeared out of nowhere, and by now I knew that meant they were coming from some place we couldn't see, possibly another dimension, possibly (look I don't understand the way the world normally works, dimensional stuff is a whole other bag of weirdness that I won't delve too deep into).

"You'll just have to take my word for it Trezlan." He crunched one of the weirdo shorties and it sadly kept walking though it was clearly dead. With their numbers dwindled and clearly not able to take us the rest of the creatures attempted to flee into some kind of rift they opened up. Because I'm an idiot I grabbed Erchus by the arm and lept for the rift (because for some stupid reason I didn't take winning a battle as an overall victory and leave it at that, no I had to figure out what was going on because again I'm an idiot). We actually made it through the rift and I really wished we hadn't, but that will be next entry naturally.

Also that explosives deal went off with a bang, I mean that literally the explosive blew up, it was ok though I got paid. So really ok for me and since that's the only person I care about, its totally all good.

No Time To Be Paraylsed

"So what was your order that kicked you out?" I had shrugged off the poison and moved on with life. I wanted to say it was an innate ability of mind that I always have had but never told you about (because that sounds awesome) but in all likelyhood no paralysis works forever (aside from back injuries) and so with time on my side I just waited it out and it went away (kind of like annoying people and death if I wait long enough they die). Erchus seemed surprised so apparently his statements about being a bad healer were more than just idle chit chat.

"How did you recover?"

"I've been poisoned so much over my life Erchus I've developed an innate healing ability to cancel them." I told you I wouldn't lie to you, I did not tell you I didn't lie to Erchus. He seemed pretty impressed with me and he would have continued to be impressed if not for a bunch of creepy creatures equally emerging to attack us, because thats how my life goes, all the time in the world to hear about someone elses fairly boring life, no time of my own to be awesome. And speaking of that I have to go, got a big business deal over some explosives I don't want literally exploding into my face. I'll write more tomorrow I swear, or not, you know me I'm a dick.

One Sided Conversationalist

"You're not one for talking Trezlan." Erchus has set up a small fire near the remains of the car, he hadn't moved me, I was currently paralyzed and chilled, he's found a blanket from a nearby building and put it over me, it didn't feel like it was working, but I couldn't really tell him that. Erchus had built the fire I assumed to also keep me warm and it wasn't doing much either.

"It's ok I'm not really a conversation person either, fishing is lonely work most of the time and people are always scared to talk out of fear of scaring the fish, I don't think they have ears though and they are in water, so its not like they can hear us when we talk anyway." He stirred the fire and I looked on unable to say anything, "If I was a better healer I could help you, but I'm a terrible healer, its why I got kicked out of the order in the first place, I mean sure I fished a lot but its not like that was the problem, no it was that whole cure the sick thing that they were concerned I couldn't do, which is total bullshit modern medicine can do so much than using life force to heal! I don't understand why it was so important to be able to heal!" Its interesting when you are a silent observer to someone else just talking, I'm sure plenty of people have thought the same with me, but this was a new moment for me so I was just watching in a weird sense of awe over what was going on.

"I did learn to swing the hammer though, that's got count for something right? I know you can't say anything but I have skill here, its not healing skill, but being able to swing a hammer like this has got to count with the Gods for something?" I could hear a sound in his voice like sadness I got the distinct impression he thought I was dying, which while sweet scared me because it meant if my paralysis didn't wear off soon he might have decided to do something humane with his huge hammer. "I don't know why I'm telling you all this, its not like you can respond or help me, I guess I've just been running from it this whole time and why I fish all the time, its easier than confronting my failings, I mean I didn't even come to this country to fish, I came to help the people here and then when I found no people here I decided I'd fish instead, because why not right?" He chuckled to himself.

"Ahh gods Trezlan I'm as confused as you are by whats going on here is what I'm getting at, I can't help these people anymore than you can, and now with that creature emerging and trying to kill us or capture us or whatever I'm even more confused. Well this has been healthy but if its all right for you I'm going to get to sleep Trezlan I hope you feel better in the morning or... " He left it at that, but I knew what the or meant, or he'd kill me. Though I was not really comforted by him going to sleep because I also knew that the creature with its long arm and paralysis had intended on capturing us not killing us, but it was probably not the creature who did the capturing, and those ones were still out there, waiting, and watching, and I couldn't move at all. So it wasn't exactly a "sleep tight" situation let me tell you.

One Long Arm, One Big Problem

"Where's your weapon?" Erchus had retrieved his hammer from the broken car. The monster had taken a couple clubbing swings with his arm but they had been mostly unsuccessful (I say mostly because he did destroy the crap out of the car).

"I am my weapon." The creature coiled back its arm to launch it again and I unleashed my magical rage, which it promptly ate. I don't mean it disappeared or something, I saw the mouth on its chest open up and swallow my magic. Which is never a good thing.

"I hope you have a plan B!" Erchus pulled back his hammer and charged at the creature. For a fisherman he sure swung that hammer with authority. The blow connected just above the weak arm (its left arm) and I swear I heard a crack but the creature swung around and slammed Erchus and he went flying. I heard him land with a crash and a groan and then it turned toward me. Ordinarily this would be when I used magic, or said a line, or fired a pistol or something. But my magic was useless, I didn't have a pistol, and I remembered the exact place I'd left my sword and was all the sadder for knowing it (you ever forget something you'd really need and then remember exactly where it is when you need it? That's what happened with me and the sword). I feel stupid now, but all I did was stand there frozen in place.

It happens sometimes, you're placed in imminent danger, and yet you can't get your body to move. You can't bring yourself to do anything, because your brain has decided its going to die and do nothing until that happens. So you look like a damned idiot standing there awaiting death like I did with a huge clawed assailant about ready to gore me. I was actually saved by my cowardice, I fainted. Seeing death coming as I did I just passed out. The creature's arm shot past me and collided with the ground and Erchus who has regained his composure attacked with savagery.

Like I started to doubt his claims of being a fisherman with how he swung his hammer, first he attacked the creature's knee, and brought it to the ground. And then once it was on the ground he smashed again and again on the creature until its guts and blood were smeared all over the landscape. He tried to talk to me, but I was out of it, too afraid to move, or so I thought. Funny thing I thought I was a coward, but it turned out the creature had a bit of a paralytic in its arm and I'd unknowingly stepped into it, when my legs gave out it saved me from my fate.

So all that talk about people too afraid to move? That was just for other lesser people, me I was paralyzed! Unfortunately for me it was a long term poison, which mean I was left up to the care of Erchus, and he was terrible just terrible. But that's the next entry you knew that already.

Erchus Master Fisherman

"So who are you anyway?" We had been walking back to Carlina's car, I figured it was better than walking and my companion had agreed since he was tired of walking. The hammer he was carrying looked pretty heavy, probably more so because he carried the hammer in one hand and his fishing gear in the other, which if there were people around would have probably drawn a crowd.

"I am the greatest fisherman who has ever or will ever live, my goal in life is to catch every fish in this entire world."

"A name would have done."

"Oh, Erchus." We arrived at the car and he loaded his hammer into the back seat. I was about to get into the driver seat and give this mechanical beast a go when a creature with a ridiculously long arm smashed the car. The creature which had appeared from no where, was about twice the size of a normal person. The arm he crushed the car with was a combination of suckers like on an octopus (see I know sea creatures!) and claws, two big ugly looking claws. Its other arm as if to balance out its gigantic one was very tiny and sickly looking. Where a head would traditionally be was just one huge bulging eye, on its chest was the mouth full of nasty teeth.

"What in the gods is that?" The creature had pulled back its freaky arm and was appraising both me and Erchus.

"I was hoping you'd be able to tell me Trezlan, you are the one who claims to be very old." I admit I had been hoisted on my own petard here. I was about to try and offer a retort when the creature again swung his arm at us and thinks went a little crazy as they kind of do in a combat situation. I'll get into that next entry though, because I like to draw things out if you haven't noticed.

Annoyance The Catalyst to Help

"What you are doing does not make any sense?" Because the fisherman had not acted to help me yet I decided to try my next tactic, annoyance. Its the most useful thing to get people to help you, make them so bothered by things they can't ignore you any longer. Yes I realize people do this to me too and I complain about it, but I'm a hypocrite its what I do.

"Right you know how to fish and what I'm doing is not proper because your suddenly an expert." He said this dryly I assumed sarcasm.

"I've been around, you're using these plastic things! That's not going to catch a fish, you need live bait, that's what fish eat!" I'll admit he was completely right I had no idea how to fish, as a young man many centuries ago I tried fishing, I didn't catch shit and it's colored my belief in fishing ever since.

"They're called lures, live bait is unnecessary, how long has it been since you fished?"

"At least several hundred years." He shot a look at me and I smiled in return, his look was one of bewilderment.

"What are you mister?"

"Lost in a strange place looking for a hand, can you be that hand?" He sighed and put down his fishing pole and took up his hammer.

"Well since you won't leave me alone I guess I might as well, fish aren't biting anyway." Because they were gone as well, we didn't know that at the time, but every living thing in the area was gone. All gone. And that was just the start of the problem.