Fire So Cold It Burns

"What is that anyway?" We had dispatched the flesh monkeys easily enough if only grossly. I had taken to using the cold flame as more of a sword than just throwing it. Nidget was of course intrigued by it.

"Cold fire, its the only magic I know."

"Trezlan never taught you his necromancy?"

"I didn't really know him for long, he just arrived, declared he's a god and then disappeared, on top of that, I don't want to learn his stuff, its terrifying."

"Made him a god."

"And he used that power to send us to the past and get us stuck in a trap."

"Point taken." The creatures had stopped for now. I could sense it wasn't exactly over, but I had no reason to believe that, just a feeling. Clearly whatever had killed the people before was a lot more powerful than some fleshless monkeys. With no other options we kept going forward, figuring there had to be a way out or a way to stop whatever was inside, or failing both of those things perhaps treasure to bait the trap? The last one was Nidget's belief, but I couldn't find fault in his logic.

From the initial assault area we moved further down into the ruins. The walls of bone cave way to the more traditional stone work. Wall paintings probably in blood depicted something, but I didn't understand the language and Nidget apparently didn't speak it either so we both could just look at and try and interpret the writings as to what it meant. It looked to be some kind of ritual, but for what? Couldn't tell you. We ignored the writing and kept going down because that seemed like a really good idea!

Past the blood writing we came to an altar and I'd be lying if I wasn't surprised there was gold and jewels all around it. Like wow Nidget was actually correct. Of course immediately upong entering the chamber the doors slammed and a man in a hooded cloak showed up. So we had fallen for the trap, but honestly we were kind of there anyway? So yeah, fun times were indeed ahead!

In Sacrifice of the Dark

"So spiders?"

"No monkeys."

"Bullshit no one gets sacrificed to monkeys."

"I was more hoping, I'd love to fight some god monkeys." Nothing had attacked us yet, but it let us come up with what could attack us. I did want to fight some monkeys, if only because I'd only ever really seen them in books and never in reality yet, and I so wanted to fight some.

"Well I just don't want it to be flesh monsters, far too bloody, you hear me creatures in the dark? Have some gods damn skin."

"I agree skin would make things easier to deal with." I did find it mildly alarming Nidget had a preference and a reason for that preference. But you know somethings are best left unsaid.

"So we're killing Carver when we get out right?"

"Totally, like not even letting her explain, straight to the murdering."

"Agreed." Just then we were attacked by fleshless monkeys. So what I wanted, and what Nidget didn't want. The universe as always was a cruel mistress.

Suspicions Naturally Growing

The inside initially was straight horror, bodies, and parts of bodies splattered everywhere. It looked like they had all stacked up at the door hoping to escape before it was sealed, which conflicted with what Dr. Carver had told us. I found myself distinctly aware I didn't have my swords, or any sword, and really wished Nidget would lend me one, but he apparently kept his weapons his own.

"You said you locked yourself away?"

"I meant I locked the site away, just misspoke." Nidget didn't seem convinced and I shrugged, maybe she panicked? We had gotten inside, just past where the door light was fading when I noticed Carver wasn't next to us, she had moved to the door.

"Good luck you two!" I tried to throw some frost fire at her but it was too late the door slammed shut and I heard the chains and such being reattached. The metal had all sorts of runes on our side so I knew even my magic would probably not work against it.

"Why do you think she shut us in?"

"Because we're a sacrifice Nidget."

"You don't know that, maybe she's just afraid of what's in here and like figured we could handle it and..." With the door shut we could see more in the room, the ambient light highlighed the walls were made of bone and written in blood on the ceiling was "Welcome to your death."

"You were saying."

"Yeah we're fucked."

Dr. Carver, Survivor

"So I know Nidget he is well was a well known thief."

"Hey... well at least you knew me."

"But who are you other than Trezlan's grand daughter? Some kind of doctor from your clothing and lack of weaponry?" I hadn't realized the prisoner outfit of the future would look like a doctor outfit of the past.

"I'm a soldier, or I was I should say, the outfit is more that I was a prisoner."

"Oh? What did you do?"

"Killed some people for not being just." Carver's eyes looked down.

"Oh." I couldn't read her, whatever association I had with justice had been severed since Nidget took me to the portal.

"I'm not a murderer really, ok I am sort of, but its a recent thing I used to fight machines." I could tell from her look Dr. Carver wasn't really on board with what I was saying.

"Well I believe you! Besides its not like I haven't done some ethically questionable things myself, I mean when the rest of my team was dying I locked myself in a chamber and didn't let anyone else in." This was meant to reassure me and Nidget, it didn't really. We stood there awkwardly not saying anything for a bit after her revelation.

"So treasure?" Nidget of course spoke up.

"I'm not sure really, we were just starting into the chamber when whatever it is attacked."

"You didn't see what killed your fellows?" I suspected Carver was holding out on us, but I had no way of proving that.

"Nope, aren't you excited to see what's beyond this door?" I hadn't even noticed the door, it looked pretty evil with runes and other marks on it. I did notice chains as well, just a lot of bad stuff.

"Can we?" But she already broke the seal on the door and with it kick started our super fun adventure. SUPER FUN GUYS CAN YOU TELL I'M NOT BEING SARCASTIC!

Trezlan The Great and Foolish

"Where are we?"

"When would probably be a better question." I looked at Trezlan with a scowl he put up his hands like he meant not offense. We were standing beside a cave, there was a woman there her outfit looked odd, like she was some kind of archivist or something but the clothing was all leather and silk, a look I'd never seen.

"I recognize I believe Nidget, but I have no idea who the woman is, or how a dead man like Pavarossi is here."

"Not dead anymore probably, I have no idea Trezlan what am I?" Trezlan shook his head.

"Annoying, Dr. Carver you asked for help and I give you, help! This is the formerly dead Nidget Pavarossi and my grand daughter Anzi."

"My god you've bred on your way to being a god?" I didn't know who Dr. Carver was, but I liked her right away.

"Anways Dr. Carver, I believe this ends our transaction, good luck."

"Wait I thought you were the god of luck how did you do time travel?" I was confused, I had been already, but this was more confusing.

"Dr. Carver here was excavating this whatever it is, and her entire group was wiped out by local and other nasties I'm sure you'll become acquainted with, and so she cried out for assistance, and I heard her and came to help."

"Still confused how the luck thing factors in."

"It was lucky for her I was listening." He smiled at that and then was gone. Leaving me with Dr. Carver in some ancient when.

"Well this is awkward." She seemed high spirits for her situation.

"Right, well Dr. what can we do for you?"

"I have no idea."

"That makes three of us." It was an odd start for an adventure, but I've had worse, so much much worse.

Intervention To Intervene

"You know I sent you because I was busy." Trezlan had saved us, he just showed up and burned everything and then stuck around to be a dick. I noticed that seemed to be his MO, do something and then complain you had to do something.

"This isn't my fault."

"You didn't open a pathway to a dimension you had no idea about and then run out of space for that lack of knowledge." Nidget looked away.

"Ok so maybe this was some of my fault, but she's crazy Trezlan, she got us arrested again! Usually this is the kind of shit you'd get me stuck in on a longer time frame, but she's already well in deep with Oshujon. She's doing his work!" Trezlan looked at me with sadness, or pity, it was hard to tell.

"Is that true?"

"He gave me pur..."

"I had to kill him once because of his purpose, or destroy him, either way I did something to him once, and now my own blood is following him, this pains me."

"Well maybe if you gave me some kind of direction! I'm lost Trezlan, I don't know what I'm to do." He looked at me, and then Nidget, and then back to me.

"You need some kind of quest then? Ok well I can do that." I should have known at that point I wouldn't like what happened next. Least of all because we went back in freaking time, how does someone this idiotic have this much power? It's like giving a toddler an anti air battery!

Planar Problems

"I almost wish we were back with the police." The creatures were some kind of spider wolf hybrid, why or how was beyond me. The whole plane deal made little sense to me, but everything nowadays did. I swear being the grand daughter of a god was a rawer deal then being the daughter of a losing general.

"What Wolfiders aren't your thing? This is great." Nidget did seem to be enjoying himself, though I guess being a ghost sucks enough any activity is better than what you were doing before.

"I don't have my swords, and my magic seems to be screwed up here Nidget."

"Oh right don't use magic, this plane has some kind of oddness with it."

"YOU ARE NO HELP!"

"I'm killing things lady!" We were moving through the not city to some place Nidget at least seemed to want to get to. I still had no idea where we were or why Nidget had decided we should go here. We had fought our way from the prison area to another section of town when we literally ran out of space. The city had given way to just a gigantic gap.

"You freaking idiot."

"Ok so mistake may have been made." MAY HAVE BEEN MADE?! This is what he told me. THIS IS WHAT HE TOLD ME AS WE FACED CERTAIN DEATH! I didn't know Nidget very much, but this highlighted why I figured we would not be great friends.