[Old School Mash-Up] The City of the Sleeping Demon

[Mark Chance]

"If you're not demons, then you should go," the dog-creature says. "If you're here after sundown, you're going to die. No one survives in the Flood Zone after sundown." She shudders, glancing sideways toward a nearby cracked and dirty, floor-to-ceiling window. "This is a place of exile and death."

 

[Deuce Traveler]

"We are exiles ourselves, and to return would be death. At least the danger might run off our pursuers. I'll take my chances here. What happens when the sun goes down," the dwarf asks.

 

[Mark Chance]

The dog-creature squats in the corner. As she speaks, her eyes wander from Wing to Thudarr, to the others who move closer, to the part of the room where Attila lurks unseen.

"Can you truly not know? How can you be exiles, and not know?" She waves a paw-like hand. "Listen as I, Melni, tell you my tale. We are the Hueños, and our pack lives on the hills west of the Flood Zone. We obey the taboos because without them the Flood Zone would rise and take our homes. At night, the demons come. They prowl our yards and streets, but they cannot enter our dens. That is their taboo. Of course, we stay in our dens from sundown to sunrise. We do not venture forth at night, nor do we venture forth without wearing red, for the demons must honor red. That is their taboo. I was checking the doors and windows when I discovered one of my pups was missing. My mate forbade me from venturing forth to find him, but I did. I found my pup, and brought him to the den. For disobeying a taboo, I was stripped of red and sent into the Flood Zone to await my death for the good of the pack. When the sun sets, the demons rise from the waters, ravenous and unstoppable." She looks out the window again. "We have two or three hours left to live. You should prepare yourselves for death."

 

[doghead]

Attila watches as the puppy creature's gaze keeps sliding back to the spot from where Attila watches.

It seems little pointless continuing this ...

Attila releases her hold on the light and materialises.

"The red taboo is interesting don't you think. I wonder why red? Perhaps it has something to do with blood? And why would demons have taboos? I think that it is very interesting.

"But perhaps more pressing right now is finding a place to stand and fight. Or should we find a place to hide. To be honest, I am a little over running and hiding. It gets old quickly. Seeing as they come from below, I'm thinking up. It would be nice to know what is further up in there." Attila punctuates the last statement with a leg, pointing towards the roof.

Attila turns to look at the little puppy creature.

"You wouldn't know what is further up would you?"

 

[Deuce Traveler]

"Hmph. I'm quite used to violence, little one. Is there no place we can go for safety? If not, I can teach you how to use a makeshift club if you want to join our defense. I wonder how these demons would deal with the situation if we found a way to paint the entire floor red," Thuddar muses.

 

[Mark Chance]

Attila releases her hold on the light and materialises.

Melina starts a bit, but then cocks her head to the side, blinking at Attila.

"But perhaps more pressing right now is finding a place to stand and fight. Or should we find a place to hide. To be honest, I am a little over running and hiding. It gets old quickly. Seeing as they come from below, I'm thinking up. It would be nice to know what is further up in there." Attila punctuates the last statement with a leg, pointing towards the roof.

Attila turns to look at the little puppy creature.

"You wouldn't know what is further up would you?"

Melina shakes her head. "I'm not sure. It just seemed to me that, if there is hope, it must be farther away from the water."

"Hmph. I'm quite used to violence, little one. Is there no place we can go for safety? If not, I can teach you how to use a makeshift club if you want to join our defense. I wonder how these demons would deal with the situation if we found a way to paint the entire floor red," Thuddar muses.

Melina shuffles forward a bit. "You could fight demons? Is such a thing even possible?"

 

[Deuce Traveler]

Thuddar the Barbarous puffs out his chest and says, "If it bleeds, we can kill it." He thinks on that a moment and adds, "If it doesn't bleed, we can chop it into tiny bits, and that should work out the same, I figure."

 

[doghead]

Melina shakes her head. "I'm not sure. It just seemed to me that, if there is hope, it must be farther away from the water."

Melina shuffles forward a bit. "You could fight demons? Is such a thing even possible?"

Attila bobs her head in agreement, and affirmation. But she lets Thudder respond. It was a good decision, his response is priceless.

Thuddar the Barbarous puffs out his chest and says, "If it bleeds, we can kill it." He thinks on that a moment and adds, "If it doesn't bleed, we can chop it into tiny bits, and that should work out the same, I figure."

Atilla struggles not to giggle.

"So lets keep moving up then, same as before. Lets find a good place to hold up, then if we have any daylight left, we can scout the building some more."

If there are no objections, Attila heads out the door and back towards the stairs.

 

[Deuce Traveler]

Thuddar offers a hand while he says to Melina, "Come with us little one. What does it matter how you spend your next hour if you believe you will die anyway. We shall at least make your evening interesting. After all, aren't you curious how this will pan out?"

 

[Mark Chance]

Martik sighs. "Sounds like we climb more stairs, eh, Narford?"

Narford nods in response, and the group, along with Melina, follows Atilla's lead back to the stairwell. The floors pass by, with a brief stop to check out each one from the stairs. The next three are all the same: hallways with doors, varying states of decay and damage, all pretty much like the floor on which Melina was encountered.

The fourth floor up from Melina's former hidey-hole proves different. The stairwell opens onto a wide, L-shaped hall. Large double doors can be seen down both legs of the L, two sets each. The exterior sides of the legs are walls that are mostly windows, cracked and dirty, with glass doors that lead outside to a wide balcony.

"Looks like maybe an hour or so of daylight left," Onslau says, observing the deepening hues of dusk.