Back from the UK; late flight last night that was delayed as well so I only actually landed at 3am this morning. However the trip was successful -- I have paperwork and I have a government agency who like me and aren't about to fine me or remove our licence, so overall a win I think. Now, I have some catching up to do, but it might take a few days to get there completely :) I like that Max has decided he's the only sweetie in the house. Get Kat to start calling you gumdrop and see what he does then :)
[Sorry, having to double post because I've written too much...]
Sweetie The flying beasts wheeled in the sky and split into two groups, one flying directly towards the house and the other swinging out left. Lord Derby watched them for a moment, confirming that this looked like a flanking action, and then returned to the puzzle on the wall. His concentration was broken a couple of times by the agitated dance of hooves on his roof, but the demon seemed disinclined to leave. Finally he turned the mental icosahedron one last time and so deduced that this object was not missing a colour but instead repeated blue twice but no other colour. He picked up the candle in front of the drawing and checked the shade of blue, then swapped it with the one in front of the door and entered the shade of blue into the door panels. The third shape on the wall seemed to be octagons, squares and triangles and sprawled like a map of London simplified into geometric splodges. As he started to fold the strange shape in his head the pounding of hooves on the roof suddenly started up and didn't stop, so he strolled back to the window. As he'd expected the flying things were now coming in fast and direct, and he was sure that they were approaching the demon from the other side as well. Unexpected he heard a scrabbling, a scraping like mason's tools through stone, and he realised that the demon was trying to dig through the roof. The winged things were, up close, hideous. They had a head like a chicken, with a shiny black beak that was viciously hooked and staring, unblinking eyes, two on each side of its narrow, bony head. The skin looked leathery, or perhaps desiccated, and was dull red striated with purple ridges that might have been bone or gristle. The neck stretched out like an ostrich's and was corrugated like the body of a worm. The body was pear-shaped and the ribs stood out clearly under emaciated flesh, like a barrel wrapping round to the underside where hung udders as long as snakes. The riders sat forward, reins attached at the bottom of the neck and legs over the beast's foreshoulders; behind them tattered wings that seemed to belong to some corrupt, greenish moth the size of a cow were attached in along the top of the rib cage and flapped at a speed that seemed unrelated to its forward motion. It has six legs, three along each side, and they terminated in feet that looked, to Lord Derby at least, exactly like veiny, liver-spotted human hands.
The demon on the roof shrieked like an overheating boiler and dust rained to the floor of the room like a waterfall again. The walls shook with the ferocity of its impact, with the depth of its fear, and Lord Derby stayed at the window, wondering if climbing back out might yet prove the wisest course of action. "Ho there!" One of the riders had seen Lord Derby. "Prithee, speak you English?" "Certainly," called Lord Derby, bowing slightly. "Am I in your way, perhaps?" "Hah! You be certainly novel! Prithee stay stationary young man, whileon we address the rooftop vermin." The demon shrieked again and slammed itself against the roof with more anxiety. More dust fell and there were sounds of distressed masonry, but so far the roof held firm. "Sweetie, take the left. Homonoryn, take the right." The demon must have leapt because the monstrous flying beasts with their riders suddenly wheeled, and then the demon appeared in Lord Derby's view, struggling to fly still through the air but trying to get away. The beasts with the green tattered wings turned with ease and beaks stabbed out: Lord Derby realised that the necks were somehow elastic and could stretch to three times their length. Yellow gore splashed from the demon as two of the beasts struck home; where it splattered on the ground things started writhing and moving. "Sweetie, to you!" The rider urged its beast somehow forward and the demon twisted to avoid attack, its belly turning upmost and more yellow semi-liquid slime spraying around in arc. The rider called Sweetie came up and over, and this time they fired something crossbow-like that they had in their hands, and a slender white bolt sliced into the demon and came out the other side. For a moment it seemed like it had had no effect, and then there was a scream that was both painfully loud and horrifyingly human, and a jet of green, lumpy liquid fired out of the back of the demon and spewed over the ground. The lumps bounced where they struck and scattered like stones, and Lord Derby noticed that the writhing movement in the yellow pus started inching towards the green lumps. Another beak sliced the side of the demon and it rolled again, but it was clear that it was weak now. Its wings stopped beating and it plummeted towards the ground. As it fell it reached inside itself again and pulled out the hourglass, which continued to glitter. Sweetie raised his crossbow, and though Lord Derby started to shout out a warning, a white bolt struck it directly and it shattered, throwing sparkling sand in all directions.
This prompt was explained in the following day's post, so I shall leave it at that.
Morganna - I think I'll like every one as well, with that explanation.
Greg - that does sound like a win. Congrats!
Fantastic description of the creatures attacking the demon. And that's another intriguing development at the end there, with the hourglass being destroyed. Not sure that's Derby's best route back home... but we shall see!
4 comments:
Small and round
White, pink, or yellow
Every nibble a taste
Explosion.
Try all the colors
I think you'll like
Every one.
Back from the UK; late flight last night that was delayed as well so I only actually landed at 3am this morning. However the trip was successful -- I have paperwork and I have a government agency who like me and aren't about to fine me or remove our licence, so overall a win I think. Now, I have some catching up to do, but it might take a few days to get there completely :)
I like that Max has decided he's the only sweetie in the house. Get Kat to start calling you gumdrop and see what he does then :)
[Sorry, having to double post because I've written too much...]
Sweetie
The flying beasts wheeled in the sky and split into two groups, one flying directly towards the house and the other swinging out left. Lord Derby watched them for a moment, confirming that this looked like a flanking action, and then returned to the puzzle on the wall. His concentration was broken a couple of times by the agitated dance of hooves on his roof, but the demon seemed disinclined to leave. Finally he turned the mental icosahedron one last time and so deduced that this object was not missing a colour but instead repeated blue twice but no other colour. He picked up the candle in front of the drawing and checked the shade of blue, then swapped it with the one in front of the door and entered the shade of blue into the door panels.
The third shape on the wall seemed to be octagons, squares and triangles and sprawled like a map of London simplified into geometric splodges. As he started to fold the strange shape in his head the pounding of hooves on the roof suddenly started up and didn't stop, so he strolled back to the window. As he'd expected the flying things were now coming in fast and direct, and he was sure that they were approaching the demon from the other side as well. Unexpected he heard a scrabbling, a scraping like mason's tools through stone, and he realised that the demon was trying to dig through the roof.
The winged things were, up close, hideous. They had a head like a chicken, with a shiny black beak that was viciously hooked and staring, unblinking eyes, two on each side of its narrow, bony head. The skin looked leathery, or perhaps desiccated, and was dull red striated with purple ridges that might have been bone or gristle. The neck stretched out like an ostrich's and was corrugated like the body of a worm. The body was pear-shaped and the ribs stood out clearly under emaciated flesh, like a barrel wrapping round to the underside where hung udders as long as snakes. The riders sat forward, reins attached at the bottom of the neck and legs over the beast's foreshoulders; behind them tattered wings that seemed to belong to some corrupt, greenish moth the size of a cow were attached in along the top of the rib cage and flapped at a speed that seemed unrelated to its forward motion. It has six legs, three along each side, and they terminated in feet that looked, to Lord Derby at least, exactly like veiny, liver-spotted human hands.
The demon on the roof shrieked like an overheating boiler and dust rained to the floor of the room like a waterfall again. The walls shook with the ferocity of its impact, with the depth of its fear, and Lord Derby stayed at the window, wondering if climbing back out might yet prove the wisest course of action.
"Ho there!" One of the riders had seen Lord Derby. "Prithee, speak you English?"
"Certainly," called Lord Derby, bowing slightly. "Am I in your way, perhaps?"
"Hah! You be certainly novel! Prithee stay stationary young man, whileon we address the rooftop vermin."
The demon shrieked again and slammed itself against the roof with more anxiety. More dust fell and there were sounds of distressed masonry, but so far the roof held firm.
"Sweetie, take the left. Homonoryn, take the right."
The demon must have leapt because the monstrous flying beasts with their riders suddenly wheeled, and then the demon appeared in Lord Derby's view, struggling to fly still through the air but trying to get away. The beasts with the green tattered wings turned with ease and beaks stabbed out: Lord Derby realised that the necks were somehow elastic and could stretch to three times their length. Yellow gore splashed from the demon as two of the beasts struck home; where it splattered on the ground things started writhing and moving.
"Sweetie, to you!" The rider urged its beast somehow forward and the demon twisted to avoid attack, its belly turning upmost and more yellow semi-liquid slime spraying around in arc. The rider called Sweetie came up and over, and this time they fired something crossbow-like that they had in their hands, and a slender white bolt sliced into the demon and came out the other side. For a moment it seemed like it had had no effect, and then there was a scream that was both painfully loud and horrifyingly human, and a jet of green, lumpy liquid fired out of the back of the demon and spewed over the ground. The lumps bounced where they struck and scattered like stones, and Lord Derby noticed that the writhing movement in the yellow pus started inching towards the green lumps.
Another beak sliced the side of the demon and it rolled again, but it was clear that it was weak now. Its wings stopped beating and it plummeted towards the ground. As it fell it reached inside itself again and pulled out the hourglass, which continued to glitter. Sweetie raised his crossbow, and though Lord Derby started to shout out a warning, a white bolt struck it directly and it shattered, throwing sparkling sand in all directions.
This prompt was explained in the following day's post, so I shall leave it at that.
Morganna - I think I'll like every one as well, with that explanation.
Greg - that does sound like a win. Congrats!
Fantastic description of the creatures attacking the demon. And that's another intriguing development at the end there, with the hourglass being destroyed. Not sure that's Derby's best route back home... but we shall see!
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