Post-Apocalyptic Survivor in Another World: New Beginning

“Then I says to me brotha, ‘you can’t mix rat tail and crab legs raw’ and then he told me, he says ‘that I don’t know fin dinning’” Nine exclaimed as he picked his way forward through the ruined streets of old Ugals, “Cans you believe that? I know fin dinning! I make da best cave crab rat kebab in the whole everthing!”

“That’s crazy.” Joe replied half-heartedly.

“Right!?” Nine exclaimed, “So I bonked him on the head and da screamed at me fer it! He was askin’ for it he was!”

“That’s crazy.” Joe repeated again.

“Right!?” Nine exclaimed again, launching into yet another tirade.

Nine was an absolute critter but damn he did not ever shut up. This was not how he thought running into goblins down here would go. He thought that it would have been a shotgun genocide frankly, but apparently not. Maybe the deeper into the earth goblins went, the more… he struggled to say ‘civilized’ they became. Then a thought struck him. If Faenor consisted of Shards from other planets fused together through the use of Fog-Gates… How deep would the Shard go? Did it have a molten core at the bottom or could you dig your way into outer space?

“Hey Varig.” Joe said, getting the Prince’s attention as he walked just beside him, “How deep do Shards go?” He finished in a whisper only the dwarf could hear.

If Nine noticed that his story was being ignored, he did not show it.

Varig considered for a moment, his eyes not leaving Nine’s back the whole time, “That is a difficult question. We’ve never dug to the bottom of this Shard, nor would we want to. Our annals warn us against digging too deep, for there are horrible beasts to be found in the depths. Forgotten Beasts, such as Jilamaka.”

“You saying that there are even more of them things running around down here?” Joe asked, eyes widening, “Rat-headed lion things?”

Varig shook his head, “Not exactly, Forgotten Beasts come in all shapes and sizes… some are far less dangerous than Jilamaka, but others are far worse. Our annals describe beings that can fly, breathing poison and bleeding acid, while others record monsters no bigger than you or I, but with claws that can rend stone and eyes that can paralyze any that look into them. Some are just made of fire, while others can be composed of nothing but clay. Their existence is an anomaly, and they follow no set pattern in the forms they take. None know where they come from or what goes into creating one, but they are present in all Shards, not just Everfae.”

Joe paled at hearing this, not just because the prospect of facing more of these creatures was horrific… but because he’d seen such monsters in the wasteland before. He’d seen beasts made of fire, he’d killed what he had called mutants with acidic blood and paralyzing eyes, he’d fought a dozen freaks with Betty that were like that… could the Portal Storms have been bringing in creatures from Faenor?

Were all the strange creatures that had invaded his world been from Faenor? Joe shook his head, that wasn’t possible. If it were so, he would have seen elves, dwarves, and all manner of other fantasy creatures back on Earth. Still, the thought didn’t leave his mind… after all, the Storms had brought self-proclaimed demons with them as well… which begged the question.

“Do demons exist on Faenor?” Joe asked, taking a shaky breath.

Varig nodded, “Aye, if you go deep enough, though there is speculation that they are just a more intelligent variant of Forgotten Beast, as their shapes and sizes as well as abilities vary widely.”

Joe released his breath. Well that was a relief, the demons he’d encountered on Earth had all been spectral in nature, only able to possess weak-willed survivors. After that thought, the form the human body would take would mutate to fit the demon’s aspect. He was thankful that no such creature’s existed in Faenor in that sense, on Earth, only a demon’s physical form could be destroyed, but it would linger around after that… harassing whoever killed it’s body in the hopes that they would be easy to take over.

The demons he killed had never been able to take him over. Oh sure, they would try, but Joe wasn’t gonna be some sock-puppet for some demonic loser. Whenever he had to deal with a demon, the best way to get it off his back was to both mock it and pray to God, that usually got the job done.

“Now Daemons,” Varig said idly, “Those ones are more of an active threat.”

“...What?” Joe asked, “What do you mean?”

“They’re rare, but they seek out those of weak wills and possess their bodies, twisting them into the shape of their ethereal forms.” Varig explained, causing Joe’s blood to run cold, “Thankfully most of these creatures disappeared almost eighty years ago, though we do not know the cause.”

Joe remained silent as his thoughts ran wild, ignoring Nine’s chattering as he thought of the implications of this new knowledge. The demons he had encountered on Earth seemed to work the same as these Daemons from Faenor. Nearly eighty years ago? That matched with when The End took place… By God… The Portal Storms really have been bringing in monsters from Faenor!? He was grateful for the mask he was wearing, for Varig might have suspected that he had gotten sick. In fact, he really did feel sick.

The demons had been from Faenor this whole time? It couldn’t be, Everfae didn’t have skyscraper long monsters or rapidly expanding mind-controlling fungus. He asked Varig if they had anything similar, but Varig shook his head, saying he’d not seen such a thing before, at least not the fungus. Big monsters could be found across all Shards, but this talk of sapient mushrooms seemed ludicrous to the dwarf.

He then asked if they had zombies, but unlike Earth, who’s zombies were revived on their own, Faenoran corpses could only be revived via use of a necromancy tomes or a magical item. They also didn’t have giant carnivorous plants or any of the other alien beings he had described, no Shoggoths, no Mi-Go… nothing. In fact, the only thing present on Earth and Faenor had been Daemons… and possibly these Forgotten Beasts. Was it all just a coincidence?

Before he could think on it further, the column came to an abrupt halt, with Nine placing his hands on his hips before smirking triumphantly, still clutching his rat and club. The Goblin stood atop a large boulder that sat between two collapsed pillars, creating a wide chokepoint that led into an abandoned plaza surrounded by ruined buildings. The roofs looked eerie, and Joe found it difficult to pull his gaze away from them. Perfect hiding spots for ninjas. Joe stood on his toes, looking over Nine’s head to see an ancient ruin beyond the plaza, a squat, wide stone building with a domed roof and a wide open entrance. Like the rest of old Ugals, it bore engravings that had faded with the passage of time, but despite looking abandoned… Joe could see a dim light beyond it. Yet he couldn’t see any ninjas posted outside on watch.

They could be invisible or out of sight completely, but Joe was certain that Nine had led them to the right place. He pulled out the chocolate bar, snapped off a square, and tossed it to Nine, who leapt forward to meet it, catching it in his mouth like an eager dog. After Nine finished devouring the chocolate, the goblin sighed.

“Wells, time for me to gets goin’. Have fun talking with ‘em! Don’t tell them I brought ya here though, or I’ll need another square of choccy to forgive you!” He exclaimed, “Two squares, four, the whole bar, no, two bars-”

“Would you get out of here?” Varig said, shooing Nine away, “We’re done with you, now begone.”

Nine grumbled, but picked his way past the dwarves, dragging his rat behind him as he went. Joe wasn’t sure why… but his gut told him that he’d be seeing the little freak again. He was thankful that they had finally reached the base of the Black Hand, it would keep his thoughts away from The End. He popped his back, turning to Varig and the rest of the party.

“I don’t think no one would be able to see us from here, but just in case lets all crouch down, no reason to make it easy for ‘em, and just in case they already spotted us, keep yer heads on a swivel. If they know we’re coming, they’ll probably wanna stab us in the back, Prolo move to the center of the column since yer armor is a bit squishier than ours, and the back three there, stay turned around and walk backward with us.” Joe said, gesturing with his hands.

“Potor, move to the center with young Pienturshuld, ready yourself to cast, and when the need arises, do so.” Varig ordered, “Keep your throats guarded, these types will go for the weakest spot of your armor, especially if they can catch you by surprise. Do not let them, as Joseph said, keep watch all around us.” Varig continued, pointing to the building, “Joseph, as you have the strongest armor present, I suggest that you take point, keep an eye out for any traps as well… you know how to spot traps I assume?”

Joe nodded, “I do.”

He didn’t want to be the first one in, but Varig did have a good point. There was nothing the ninjas could do to get through his armor… unless they had a magic bone-cutting knife as he did. He’d take point, but he’d not be arrogant and simply let the ninjas attack him. Joe reminded himself that overconfidence is a slow, and insidious killer.

“I want everyone to keep this in mind too.” Joe said, “I had the thought before we got to old Ugals, but they might be ready for us already. There was a Black Hand fella on Betty when I pulled into the gate, if any other ones were around that saw me come into new Ugals, they might have reported that I did.” He cleared his throat then, “So Prince Varig, I want to plant c4 on that there temple, and blow it to hell.”

Varig considered, but shook his head, “We don’t know how deep it goes, nor if there are any other entrances to their lair that they themselves have carved out. It could be like burying just one mound of an ant hill, not to mention the loss of our history. I say that we must go in despite the risks.”

“Why do that?” Prolo asked from the center of the column, “They want me and Joseph, could we not lure them out into a firing squad with our presence?”

Joe considered, “That’s a good idea, but if they’re smart they wouldn’t fall for that. They won’t be expectin’ shotguns sure, but they might think crossbows’ll be at the ready.”

“Remember the manor?” Prolo asked, “If they can do that again they won’t care about the trap, they’ll blur right up to us and start stabbing.”

“Well if they do that, then the firing squad plan won’t work.” Joe pointed out.

“Fair point.” Prolo said with a sigh, “So what are we going to do then?”

“Actually.” Potor piped up, his low voice raspy, “I say try with young Pienturshuld’s plan… this blurring will not work with me present, I assure you.”

Joe looked to the old dwarf, “Wanna elaborate on that?”

Potor didn’t reply.

“Do not be stubborn, old man.” Varig scolded, “This is important, if you will not tell him what it does, then I will-”

Varig was cut off when he heard Joe gasp, and they all turned to see an army of blurring figures rapidly approaching their position. Damn it all, the Black Hand did know they were here! The dwarves all ran forward, kneeling on either side of the boulder before raising their shotguns, aiming them down at the horde of blurs. There had to be a hundred ninjas pouring out of the entrance to the temple, all closing in on their little group and fast. Prolo drew his pistol, holding it awkwardly toward the crowd but holding his fire. In fact, none of the dwarves fired, realizing that their shots would all phase right through. Joe raised his shotgun regardless, hoping that whatever Potor had up his sleeve would work.

He turned his head to see the old dwarf standing tall, clapping his hands together three times in rapid succession before he screamed, “Cancellation!”

A translucent orange bubble then formed around Potor, and expanded rapidly, engulfing Joe and everyone else in its field. Still it expanded, reaching the now retreating ninja’s as they were caught inside it. Joe watched with awe as the blurring dissipated, like the bubble forced the fog free from their bodies. The sphere expanded further, Potor breathing heavily as the entire temple became engulfed too by his spell.

“Fire!” Joe screamed.

The damn ninjas had gotten arrogant, and would now pay the ultimate price for it. Shotgun slugs flew forward, blowing off limbs and opening backs, sending the ninjas to the ground, screaming in agony if they didn’t just outright die. Prolo too shot his gun, but Joe couldn’t tell if he had hit any of the ninjas with it. His ears rang as he and the dwarves unleashed hell onto the Black Hand, turning the plaza before the temple into a bloodbath.

The firing line advanced into the plaza, continuing to gun down the Black Hand in droves as they retreated back into the temple. They hadn’t been expecting Potor’s magic, in fact, if the old dwarf hadn’t been present… their plan of attack may just have worked. Joe didn’t advance on the firing line, loading in new slugs before he turned, checking to see if any were sneaking up on them… and to his horror, there were. Their blurring had been dispelled as well, but they had crossbows trained on the backs of the dwarves firing on their fellows.

“Turn around!” He shouted, but it was too late.

A dozen crossbow bolts flew forth, and while most of them plinked off the dwarves' armor uselessly… three embedded themselves into Potor’s back. The old dwarf stumbled, but remained upright, keeping the palms of his hands pressed together despite the harrowing wounds he’d received. The bubble flickered at these injuries, and Joe rushed over to him, blocking a dozen more bolts before they could penetrate.

Damn, if Potor died here, the Black Hand would likely win this fight! The three dwarves that had been keeping watch in the back had not done so once the Black Hand had emerged from the ruin, having hastily joined the firing line despite Joe’s instructions. There would be time to scold them later. He fired at the ninjas, blowing holes through them right alongside Varig’s dwarves, the warriors turning to fire into the new threat. There had only been a dozen of them, the Black Hand attacking their flank quickly turned to chunks of bloody mist as gunfire underlit gleaming dwarven plate. Potor fell to one knee, keeping his hands together even as blood began seeping from his mouth.

He heard a gurgling scream as one of the twenty guard-dwarves fell, clutching a bolt that had sunk into his neck. Three more Black Hand men had found a vantage point on a rooftop overlooking them, and Joe raised his shotgun, the slug clipping one ninja’s skull and sending the body falling limp to the stone floor. The other two scattered, ducking out of sight before Joe could get another shot off on them. The dwarf that had been shot gave a bloody growl, giving up on staunching the bleeding before raising his shotgun, running toward the temple even as blood fountained from his ruined throat.

More bolts flew from the rooftops surrounding the plaza, and the guard was riddled with dozens of bolts, another hitting his throat before he fell forward again. Why had he done that? Was it to reveal the trap the Black Hand had set up on the roofs? Well whatever the reason, he wasn’t going to let it go to waste. Joseph, Prolo, and Varig all let loose on the rooftops, the guards following their example and blasting the ninjas atop them to hell. Another dwarf fell, but not from a bolt.

A Black Hand had managed to sneak up on him in the confusion, wrapping steel wire around his neck before wrenching on it with all his might, dragging him off into the darkness. The dwarves hesitated to shoot… but Joseph had no such proclivities, he could already tell the guard was dead based on how limp the body was. Joe fired, the slug punching through the dead dwarf’s helmet and shredding through the ninja’s chest. He then continued firing at the rooftops, the ninjas returning fire with their inferior yet more numerous weaponry.

When the roof ninja’s were driven off, Joe noticed a black armored figure emerging from the entrance of the temple, with a dozen more Black Hand goons accompanying him. That was Yugo! He had gotten his armor back, either by tracking it or because he had known where it had been left, but right now the specifics didn’t matter. Joe fired on the figure, but the slug seemed to warp around him, quickly orbiting Yugo’s body before flying straight back at Joe! It impacted with his chestplate, knocking the wind out of him and nearly sending him sprawling backward. Joe dug his heel into the stone and remained upright, but breathing was difficult now… at least his armor was still completely intact. Thank God he had killed that stupid dragon!

Why wasn’t the cancellation stopping that crap!? Did it only work on spells and not magical items? He’d need to figure out a way to deal with him before he reached the firing line, if those daggers he was wielding were the same he fought Joseph with, then they’d peel right through the dwarves here with little issue.

“You are mine!” Yugo shouted, “I am invincible now, and you won’t be able to put those cuffs on me again. I’ll kill the rest of these and drag you below!”

“I’m gonna kick your ass!” Joe shouted, lowering his Benneli and bringing up his poleaxe, “Don’t fire at that guy, it won’t work!” He warned, “Just leave him to me!”

Truth was, Joe wasn’t sure he’d be able to take Yugo on in melee, especially now that the bastard could just reflect things right back at him… He just needed to hold on until the rest of the ninjas were gunned down. Just a few more seconds really, once everyone was finished, they could all pin down Yugo and remove his armor-

“The dwarves have returned?” An impossibly loud voice asked, its presence putting a stop to the incoming battle.

Everyone froze in place, Joseph, Yugo, the dwarves and ninjas, everybody as they heard this horribly loud, gravelly voice. Cold terror welled up within him as the voice continued to speak.

“I have not smelled dwarf blood in ages… I warned you to never return. I know you did not forget it.” The voice continued, seeming to weigh down on all of old Ugals. So heavy in fact that none could move beneath its weight. “I must have killed the dwarf I told by mistake…”

Everyone still remained frozen, and Joe found himself inwardly screaming in horror at his lack of motion. He wanted to fling c4 and blast lead all over the creature, wherever it was, but his damn feet… they just wouldn’t move! A massive head then rose over the domed roof of the temple, shaped like that of a rat. Fumu that floated by it illuminated a patchwork hide of fur and scale, its body like that of a lion. A long tail whipped about behind it, a wagging silhouette that knocked over more ancient buildings.

Eventually, Joe forced himself to take a step back… but froze again when a fumu drifted by its face. He saw a flash of a grinning… human like mouth, and deep black cavernous eyes that sucked in all the light surrounding them. It’s teeth were bigger than Joe was, and each came to a sharp point, deeply yellow in hue. Massive claws that gleamed like steel gripped onto the roof of the temple, digging deep furrows into the ancient stone.

“Men are here too?” It asked, “So much blood… I have slept for so long, and my stomach has become empty. You will all make a good appetizer.”

Jilamaka had found them.