Two weeks later, we had mostly cleared out the giant rats. I had to use a few infused coins to reinforce the riot shield with increased defensive capabilities otherwise we’d have used up 5 or 6 of them in the process. Even though the nest was heavily weakened, there was still a mystery to be solved. There was no reason for the nest of giant rats to even be in this city. Something, or someone, had driven them from their usual countryside environment into the urban jungle. JR and I were at a diner across the precinct to discuss our progress.
“These things are a symptom, JR,” I mentioned to the detective. “They’re not the disease. They’re very big magical rats, true, but they’re really just animals who were driven from their natural habitat. We need to find out where that used to be and why they moved here.”
JR arched an eyebrow. “You think this isn’t the last of them?”
I nodded. “They’re the vanguard, the most easily displaced. They are still rodents, after all,” I reminded him. “The tougher ones will take longer to move but if the cause remains and is strong enough, they’ll come here and disrupt this city.”
The detective nodded in understanding. “We need to find where they came from and what changed there. How do we do that? We can’t exactly interrogate a giant rat. Can we?” At this point, nothing could surprise him anymore. I chuckled at the look on his face.
“No, we cannot interrogate the giant rats, JR,” I confirmed. “But every pack has a leader. And we haven’t run into him yet. The leader of a giant rat pack is intelligent and can be interrogated.”
“The leader? Let me guess,” JR sighed at the thought. “He’s bigger, stronger, tougher, faster, and smarter than any of the minions we’ve dealt with so far. And because we’ve been killing his pack, he’s not gonna be happy about it. We’re gonna need to isolate him from the others, restrain him, then interrogate him. Got a plan?”
I shook my head. “Not right now. You do know that the leader of a giant rat pack isn’t a rat right?”
“Not. A. Rat?”
I laughed out loud. “The leader of a giant rat pack is human actually. Think dog whisperer, only with rats and other vermin. You were imagining a talking man-sized rat weren’t you? It’s an easy mistake to make but just because he’s human doesn’t make him less dangerous. Even more so, this type of scum can even cast spells and have superhuman abilities, not to mention being armed and dangerous. His lair will also be protected and booby trapped, with multiple exits for a quick getaway.”
The detective shook his head. “Fighting him on his turf would be suicide. We need to make him come to us.”
I nodded in agreement. “Find us a place we can convert into an interrogation room that’s accessible from the sewers. We need to make preparations. And we’ll need bait.”
“I’ve got a couple of places in mind already,” JR noted as he rose from his seat. “Let me make a few calls. Anything you need for your preparations?”
“Chains. Around 3 feet should do. Police issue bulletproof vests for us. And 2 pairs of cuffs. I can take care of the rest.”
***
True to his word, JR was able to come up with everything I needed in a few days’ time.
The chains were the greatest challenge. I had to carefully etch runes into each and every link of the 3-foot long chain, rendering it stronger and tougher than normal chain. Also, it would respond to my commands. I took a run-of-the-mill 1-inch nail and used a pair of pre-enchanted tongs to hold it in place. Like a ballpoint pen, I poured magical power into the nail, allowing it to etch fine lines onto the metal of the chains. Repeating the process for every link took me the better part of two weeks. I did the same for the cuffs. Once I finished the rune etchings, I placed them on an altar directly over an intersection of ley lines and lit candles at each cardinal direction. Focusing my energy, I drew the power into the metal. “Animo metallum! Suffragium revincio!” With the incantation, the etchings glowed red, then yellow, then white before receding into black.
For the vests, I infused them with a commonly used armor spell, making it the equivalent of magical chain mail. Ordinary magic marker (yes, I see the irony there) was more than sufficient for that job. Drawing runes in blank ink on black kevlar made the runes practically invisible. Once completed, I placed my hands on the runes and spoke the incantation. “Magus armatus!” The runes flashed a bright green before fading into invisibility.
In addition, I prepped a few contingencies. Just in case.
Aside from my usual red pen, I now had blue, green, and black pens in my coat pocket, as well as 4 pencils. I had a long leather coat over the vest. On my right wrist, I wore my Charriol bracelet made from twisted metal cables on which I attached several metal coins with nylon string. On my left wrist, I had my Rolex Oyster Perpetual wristwatch, a gift from my teacher. I had more coins and a few paperclips in the pockets of my jeans. With this, I set off to meet with JR to take on the leader of the giant rats.
***
“You sure this is going to work?” JR whispered.
“If I scattered the remains of your mates in the sewers, I think you’d be pretty mad,” I replied. Eyes narrowed, I tapped on my glasses. “Visio tenebrae,” I hissed and my vision in the pitch dark sewer lit up like it was early afternoon. From afar, we heard an indistinct roar. “I think we got his attention. Get the shield ready.”
JR hefted the shield and turned to face the sewer tunnel in the direction of the roar. Taped to the inside of the shield were 4 coins. I waved my hand at the coins to replenish their power. “Suffragium.” We were at an intersection of two tunnels and I had placed a pencil at each corner of the intersection. Our position led eastward if we opted to retreat. Soon, loud splashes and grunts could be heard coming our way.
“Rat-killers! You’ll pay with your lives!” He sounded enraged even as he ran right towards us. He spotted us as he turned a corner. He was massive, a full 8 inches over 6 feet with broad shoulders and muscular arms. His hair was long and stringy and so much dirt covered his face we could barely make out his features. He wore a shirt and jeans but dirt and grime made everything just look black. “You! I’ll kill you!”
“Freeze! I’m a police officer!” JR pointed his gun at the man. “We just want to ask you some questions.”
The man roared and charged. Clearly, he didn’t feel like talking. We started to take a step back, a bit at a time. The moment he reached the intersection, I pointed and released the spell. “Inretio!” The pencils sprouted vines which quickly wrapped themselves around his feet and legs. The entanglement wouldn’t last but it delayed him a bit.
He stared when I released the spell. “Mage! This is all your fault! Your fault!” He roared again and, with a surprising display of strength, tore the vines apart with his bare hands. He reached behind him and pulled out a huge handgun, a 44-caliber Desert Eagle. We quickly hid behind the riot shield as he shot round after round at us even as we retreated backward at a steady pace. With a grunt of disgust, he threw away the gun and charged at us, slamming his shoulder into the shield. Even braced for impact, JR was no match for the force of the charge and flew backwards, slamming into the nearest sewer wall. I managed to dodge to one side and dropped a coin directly in front of me. “Scutum vitae!”
A shimmering wall of force sprang up in front of me as the enraged pack leader turned and smashed both fists right at a seemingly defenseless mage. His massive arms stopped short, blocked by the wall of force I had conjured up. He pounded on them repeatedly as I quickly took out my blue pen and pointed it at him. “Infriga!” A visibly blue beam of arctic cold hit him in the chest slowing his actions and dropping his body temperature. I took the chance to run to JR and help him up.
We took a left at the corner and kept on running until we saw a metal doorway. Without hesitation, we dove in and closed the door behind us. In a moment, we heard the pounding of his fists on the door and the metal shuddered as it seemed about to give way.
I nodded at JR as he placed the chains carefully to the side of the door, behind it when it swings open. We crouched near the opposite wall and I took out my black pen.
The pounding was relentless and unceasing until the door gave in with a screech of protesting metal. It swung ponderously open. The moment I spied our target, I rose and pointed the pen. “Oculus tenebrae!” A beam of darkness shot out of the pen but the rat pack leader dodged to one side.
“Puny mage,” he said, voice a deep bass. “I will break every bone in your body. You will scream but no one will hear. And your policeman friend will accompany you.”
I drew out my red pen and pointed it at him. “Ignis!” Bolts of flame shot into him but he slapped them away like flies. JR began firing his gun but the bullets didn’t seem to have any effect on the brute. Step by step, he entered the room.
I dug into my pocket and drew out a bunch of paperclips which I threw directly into him. “Fulmen prendo!” Sparks flew between the clips, electrifying the air and catching the brute unawares. Like a taser, it zapped him into temporary paralysis.
Raising both hands, I shouted the activation spell at the top of my lungs. “Coercio relligo!” The chains we had stowed away rose from their spot and snaked around the brute’s paralyzed form, wrapping themselves around him and binding him into immobility.
As silence descended, JR rose from his crouch. “I really need a bigger gun.”
Tuesday, April 23, 2019
Saturday, April 20, 2019
The Artificer, Chapter 1
12 March 2015. Medford, Massachusetts, New England.
One of my teacher’s favorite lessons involved ordinary objects, things so mundane normal people rarely even gave them a second glance: paper clips, note pads, tissue paper, coins, pens, and so on. “Everything has a secondary or even a tertiary purpose, one just has to unlock it,” she always said. And when it came to unlocking those purposes, she was second to none.
She always said I had a gift for magical infusion. Among other things.
My name is Scott Cole, Apprentice Artificer, Ninth Class. And right now, I was in an alley staring at a corpse that had been mangled by something inhuman. “What do we have, Cole? Don’t keep us in suspense.” That was Detective John Richard McGinnis, Homicide Division, who we simply called JR. My day job was as a forensics consultant for the police department.
I tapped my glasses twice and spoke the activation word under my breath, “Deprendo.” The lenses flickered a golden yellow for a split second. In my view, the body suffused a golden glow, with the wounds a shiny crimson color. “The wounds are rough and uneven, indicative of natural weaponry like claws or teeth. Lots of defensive wounds here. Looks like our victim put up quite a struggle. Have the examiner send samples of any hair or whatever to the lab for identification. Looks like an animal attack if you ask me, JR.”
“In the middle of the city? Are you insane?” JR scoffed at my assessment.
“Hey, I’m just calling it as I see it,” I replied defensively. “It’s your job to figure out the rest.”
He pulled me aside out of earshot of the other cops. “You don’t think it’s… You know, that other thing?”
JR was one of the few LEO’s who were aware of the magical world. I shook my head. “Too early to say. From what I can see, there’s no magical residue on the wounds or the body. That doesn’t mean it’s not magical, just that it’s not directly magical, if you catch my drift.”
He sighed at that. “I’ll let you know what the lab finds out.”
Two days later, my phone rang. It was JR. He said one word. “Rats.”
I sat up in my chair. “Rats? Are you sure?”
JR’s voice was impatient. “I have the lab report right here. Hair from the victim’s fingernails show rat hairs.”
“No rat is big enough to take down a man, not with wounds like that,” I muttered, more to myself than JR. “Not even if it’s several rats. Unless…”
“It’s that other thing, isn’t it,” JR said.
“Maybe,” I ventured. “I’ll need your help on this one, JR. And some things.”
His voice was suspicious. “What things? Like bat wings or bird crap?”
I sighed. “Not even close. You’ll need a police standard-issue riot shield most likely.”
JR sounded relieved at that. “That I can handle. But where are we going?”
“Where else do you find rats? The sewers, of course.”
***
JR hefted the riot shield as we descended into the sewers. As this was not exactly a sanctioned police matter, we had to do this at night. Besides, giant rats are more active at night anyway. We started at the nearest storm grate from where we had found the victim. Once we entered the sewers, I tapped on a different pair of glasses and recited the activation incantation. “Deprendo gigas rattas.”
The lenses flickered golden once again before my view became a bright sunlight yellow, interspersed with the crimson tracks of, presumably, the giant rat or rats. I pointed the way and followed behind JR with the shield. It took over two hours of mindless tracking in the sewers before we stumbled into one.
The giant rat we found was a full 3.5 feet from tail to nose. It gave a screech when it saw us approach and attacked without hesitation. Fortunately, JR had the shield handy and the rat slammed into the shield, its claws scrabbling at the steel and plastic barrier. I reached into my jacket pocket and took out my red pen. JR already had his gun out but I grabbed his arm before he could shoot the creature.
“That gun will bring the whole pack down on our heads,” I warned. “Just block him, I’ll take care of the rest.”
Struggling with the shield, JR’s eyes widened as he saw the pen in my hand. “You’re gonna kill it with a pen?”
“In this case, the pen is indeed mightier than the sword,” I grinned as I carefully pointed at the beast with my pen. “Just make sure to block it with that shield.” While it was busy attacking JR, it didn’t perceive me as a threat. That would soon change. “Ignis.” My red pen glowed white-hot as a searing bolt of flame shot out and slammed into the rat, setting its fur ablaze. It took 3 shots of flame to down the giant rat.
JR stared at my pen even as I put it back in my jacket pocket. “You weren’t kidding about the pen.”
I grinned and shook my head. “I never joke about pens, my friend. Unfortunately, we don’t have enough firepower to clear out this nest tonight. After all, my pen can only shoot so much. Like any gun, it’ll run out of bullets. We can take out 2 more before we call it a night.”
JR nodded in understanding. “How many of these are in a typical nest?”
“Around thirty.”
***
Back in my apartment, I opened a newly bought box of red pens. This is gonna be a long night, I thought.
One of my teacher’s favorite lessons involved ordinary objects, things so mundane normal people rarely even gave them a second glance: paper clips, note pads, tissue paper, coins, pens, and so on. “Everything has a secondary or even a tertiary purpose, one just has to unlock it,” she always said. And when it came to unlocking those purposes, she was second to none.
She always said I had a gift for magical infusion. Among other things.
My name is Scott Cole, Apprentice Artificer, Ninth Class. And right now, I was in an alley staring at a corpse that had been mangled by something inhuman. “What do we have, Cole? Don’t keep us in suspense.” That was Detective John Richard McGinnis, Homicide Division, who we simply called JR. My day job was as a forensics consultant for the police department.
I tapped my glasses twice and spoke the activation word under my breath, “Deprendo.” The lenses flickered a golden yellow for a split second. In my view, the body suffused a golden glow, with the wounds a shiny crimson color. “The wounds are rough and uneven, indicative of natural weaponry like claws or teeth. Lots of defensive wounds here. Looks like our victim put up quite a struggle. Have the examiner send samples of any hair or whatever to the lab for identification. Looks like an animal attack if you ask me, JR.”
“In the middle of the city? Are you insane?” JR scoffed at my assessment.
“Hey, I’m just calling it as I see it,” I replied defensively. “It’s your job to figure out the rest.”
He pulled me aside out of earshot of the other cops. “You don’t think it’s… You know, that other thing?”
JR was one of the few LEO’s who were aware of the magical world. I shook my head. “Too early to say. From what I can see, there’s no magical residue on the wounds or the body. That doesn’t mean it’s not magical, just that it’s not directly magical, if you catch my drift.”
He sighed at that. “I’ll let you know what the lab finds out.”
Two days later, my phone rang. It was JR. He said one word. “Rats.”
I sat up in my chair. “Rats? Are you sure?”
JR’s voice was impatient. “I have the lab report right here. Hair from the victim’s fingernails show rat hairs.”
“No rat is big enough to take down a man, not with wounds like that,” I muttered, more to myself than JR. “Not even if it’s several rats. Unless…”
“It’s that other thing, isn’t it,” JR said.
“Maybe,” I ventured. “I’ll need your help on this one, JR. And some things.”
His voice was suspicious. “What things? Like bat wings or bird crap?”
I sighed. “Not even close. You’ll need a police standard-issue riot shield most likely.”
JR sounded relieved at that. “That I can handle. But where are we going?”
“Where else do you find rats? The sewers, of course.”
***
JR hefted the riot shield as we descended into the sewers. As this was not exactly a sanctioned police matter, we had to do this at night. Besides, giant rats are more active at night anyway. We started at the nearest storm grate from where we had found the victim. Once we entered the sewers, I tapped on a different pair of glasses and recited the activation incantation. “Deprendo gigas rattas.”
The lenses flickered golden once again before my view became a bright sunlight yellow, interspersed with the crimson tracks of, presumably, the giant rat or rats. I pointed the way and followed behind JR with the shield. It took over two hours of mindless tracking in the sewers before we stumbled into one.
The giant rat we found was a full 3.5 feet from tail to nose. It gave a screech when it saw us approach and attacked without hesitation. Fortunately, JR had the shield handy and the rat slammed into the shield, its claws scrabbling at the steel and plastic barrier. I reached into my jacket pocket and took out my red pen. JR already had his gun out but I grabbed his arm before he could shoot the creature.
“That gun will bring the whole pack down on our heads,” I warned. “Just block him, I’ll take care of the rest.”
Struggling with the shield, JR’s eyes widened as he saw the pen in my hand. “You’re gonna kill it with a pen?”
“In this case, the pen is indeed mightier than the sword,” I grinned as I carefully pointed at the beast with my pen. “Just make sure to block it with that shield.” While it was busy attacking JR, it didn’t perceive me as a threat. That would soon change. “Ignis.” My red pen glowed white-hot as a searing bolt of flame shot out and slammed into the rat, setting its fur ablaze. It took 3 shots of flame to down the giant rat.
JR stared at my pen even as I put it back in my jacket pocket. “You weren’t kidding about the pen.”
I grinned and shook my head. “I never joke about pens, my friend. Unfortunately, we don’t have enough firepower to clear out this nest tonight. After all, my pen can only shoot so much. Like any gun, it’ll run out of bullets. We can take out 2 more before we call it a night.”
JR nodded in understanding. “How many of these are in a typical nest?”
“Around thirty.”
***
Back in my apartment, I opened a newly bought box of red pens. This is gonna be a long night, I thought.
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Final Fantasy 14: Beginnings & Endings
The Rising Stones, Revenant's Toll, Mor Dhona
Amid the aether-shattered remnants of Mor Dhona, in the bustling town of Revenant's Toll, The Rising Stones served as the headquarters for the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, or what was left of them anyway. Stricken by a strange sleeping illness that felled all its senior members, only the Warrior of Light remained standing.
Within the somber halls of the Rising Stones, the members of the free company The Bringers of Light gathered. Led by the miqo'te Silverfox siblings, Vitya the White Mage and Va'lia the Astrologian, the free company counted some of the finest heroes in Eorzea.
"So it seems we need to find something at the base of the Crystal Tower," Vitya said as he sipped from a wine glass. "Smells like a trap though. This... entity... did manage to fell most of our fellow Scions after all."
Diana Taurasi, their resident headstrong Hyur Warrior, smirked. "I don't know why we're even discussing this. If it's a trap, we'll spring it and smash our way out!"
An elegant looking Elezen Red Mage looked over in annoyance at the warrior. "Unlike you, some of us would like to come out of this alive and awake." Violet Evergaden was ever the pragmatic one.
A red-haired Hyur wearing dark clothing and carrying a massive bow shook her head. Her voice was pleasant and musical. "I'm sure Tataru is doing her best to scout the area for us with the help of The Sons of Saint Coinach." Meggan Blazewind the Hyur Bard shrugged.
Va'lia snorted delicately. "Those scholars and researchers from Sharlayan? What do they know? They've been at those Allagan ruins for years and they haven't uncovered anything we couldn't have found ourselves."
Araveug the Hyur Samurai shook his head. "We mustn't judge them. The Allagans are notorious for concealing their technology behind walls impossible to breach by normal means."
On the other side of the room, Uknoy Oicmus the miqo'te Paladin shrugged. "There are other matters that need to be addressed. This can wait. Any news from the war front? I know the Eorzean Alliance managed to push the Garleans back with our help against Zenos but I'm pretty sure the Garleans aren't just gonna sit on their asses."
The bard nodded. "Indeed they have not. They continue to pound the Eorzean Alliance positions with their magitek cannons and artillery. So far, no news on the Black Rose which I guess is good news."
Diana grinned at the news. "Let's go kick some Garlean ass! I'm pretty sure we could overrun a few Garlean artillery emplacements and steal some of their ceruleum reserves."
Vitya hesitated slightly before nodding. "It's better than sitting here doing nothing all day. Let's go."
Amid the aether-shattered remnants of Mor Dhona, in the bustling town of Revenant's Toll, The Rising Stones served as the headquarters for the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, or what was left of them anyway. Stricken by a strange sleeping illness that felled all its senior members, only the Warrior of Light remained standing.
Within the somber halls of the Rising Stones, the members of the free company The Bringers of Light gathered. Led by the miqo'te Silverfox siblings, Vitya the White Mage and Va'lia the Astrologian, the free company counted some of the finest heroes in Eorzea.
"So it seems we need to find something at the base of the Crystal Tower," Vitya said as he sipped from a wine glass. "Smells like a trap though. This... entity... did manage to fell most of our fellow Scions after all."
Diana Taurasi, their resident headstrong Hyur Warrior, smirked. "I don't know why we're even discussing this. If it's a trap, we'll spring it and smash our way out!"
An elegant looking Elezen Red Mage looked over in annoyance at the warrior. "Unlike you, some of us would like to come out of this alive and awake." Violet Evergaden was ever the pragmatic one.
A red-haired Hyur wearing dark clothing and carrying a massive bow shook her head. Her voice was pleasant and musical. "I'm sure Tataru is doing her best to scout the area for us with the help of The Sons of Saint Coinach." Meggan Blazewind the Hyur Bard shrugged.
Va'lia snorted delicately. "Those scholars and researchers from Sharlayan? What do they know? They've been at those Allagan ruins for years and they haven't uncovered anything we couldn't have found ourselves."
Araveug the Hyur Samurai shook his head. "We mustn't judge them. The Allagans are notorious for concealing their technology behind walls impossible to breach by normal means."
On the other side of the room, Uknoy Oicmus the miqo'te Paladin shrugged. "There are other matters that need to be addressed. This can wait. Any news from the war front? I know the Eorzean Alliance managed to push the Garleans back with our help against Zenos but I'm pretty sure the Garleans aren't just gonna sit on their asses."
The bard nodded. "Indeed they have not. They continue to pound the Eorzean Alliance positions with their magitek cannons and artillery. So far, no news on the Black Rose which I guess is good news."
Diana grinned at the news. "Let's go kick some Garlean ass! I'm pretty sure we could overrun a few Garlean artillery emplacements and steal some of their ceruleum reserves."
Vitya hesitated slightly before nodding. "It's better than sitting here doing nothing all day. Let's go."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)