Re: The Fearsome Encounter (GBS3G8) [Round 1: Circumlocution]
09-16-2011, 10:59 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by Sanzh.
The Viscount was unbearably hungry.
There was always a nagging hunger, but each second he went without satisfying his hunger just amplified the desire to consume. The jump from pocket dimension to pocket dimension that came with his entry into the battle only seemed to exacerbate that longing. While he had been trailing Mr. Saturday, there were far too many witnesses to allow him to satisfy himself without throwing a countless number of his plans into disarray-- that would not do well at all, not when isolated from the many fail-safes he had established. No, he needed to find someone alone, someone who he could feed on and surreptitiously withdraw from without arousing suspicion.
He drifted across the lake, the water roiling as he moved over it. Between the clear sky and the water, he was difficult to distinguish. The cloud of smoke, as he rolled across the water, noticed some motion further away-- not the commotion near the warehouse, something else. Directing himself closer, the Viscount could see two of the contestants-- the scientist and one of the two religious figures. Augustus was motionless, while the alien circled and seemed to talk to the frozen figure. Was he unaware of the inability to communicate? Why hadn’t Augustus raked his sword across the sickly, diminutive figure and ended his life? These questions only took up a brief moment of time before the Viscount realized the opportunity he had. Cthaasa was distracted and was, at least for the moment, a meal waiting for him to devour.
The smoke entity accelerated, wind rushing past him. Caution was something he could temporarily ignore; it was doubtful the alien would survive for that long, considering there were others much more powerful than the alien. He could satisfy his hunger and go back to being unnoticed.
Cthaasa felt a slight rush of wind. He adjusted himself to face the disturbance, but before he could was overcome by what appeared to be a cloud of blue gas. The creature began to swirl and coalesce around him, starting at his head. Cthaasa’s mind raced past his own reflexes, attempting to psychically dominate the Viscount. But, unlike his current pawn, the cloud had no neurons to manipulate, nothing to grasp onto. As the blue gas wrapped itself around him, the alien struggled to free himself. The cloud had a surprising feeling of resistance for something wispy and obscure.
His head hurt as the Viscount scoured his memories, tearing through his mind in search of information. Cthaasa attempted to recoil to escape, but the swirling cloud remained focused around his head. The buffeting left him helpless, at the mercy of this ambusher.
And then it stopped. The cloud left as quickly as it arrived. Cthaasa re-examined himself-- he seemed to be fine, albeit somewhat disoriented. Augustus seemed to be motionless still. The ithaqu wondered just what had happened-- there had only been eight contestants, and this locale seemed to be abandoned. Were there more of these creatures? His hand fidgeted over his coin.
Or it would have, were it not floating along the billows of the Viscount.
Cthaasa was struck by panic. While he had no interest in the supposed prize of this competition, there was some importance to the coin. If anything, it had a fragment of compromising information. He would need to retrieve it, dominating his thrall further could wait.
“Time to move, puppet.” He said to the human, beginning to walk.
Augustus did not understand what the ithaqu had said, or even much of what had just happened. He did, however, understand that he was involuntarily following Cthaasa as it attempted to trail the Viscount.
The Viscount was unbearably hungry.
There was always a nagging hunger, but each second he went without satisfying his hunger just amplified the desire to consume. The jump from pocket dimension to pocket dimension that came with his entry into the battle only seemed to exacerbate that longing. While he had been trailing Mr. Saturday, there were far too many witnesses to allow him to satisfy himself without throwing a countless number of his plans into disarray-- that would not do well at all, not when isolated from the many fail-safes he had established. No, he needed to find someone alone, someone who he could feed on and surreptitiously withdraw from without arousing suspicion.
He drifted across the lake, the water roiling as he moved over it. Between the clear sky and the water, he was difficult to distinguish. The cloud of smoke, as he rolled across the water, noticed some motion further away-- not the commotion near the warehouse, something else. Directing himself closer, the Viscount could see two of the contestants-- the scientist and one of the two religious figures. Augustus was motionless, while the alien circled and seemed to talk to the frozen figure. Was he unaware of the inability to communicate? Why hadn’t Augustus raked his sword across the sickly, diminutive figure and ended his life? These questions only took up a brief moment of time before the Viscount realized the opportunity he had. Cthaasa was distracted and was, at least for the moment, a meal waiting for him to devour.
The smoke entity accelerated, wind rushing past him. Caution was something he could temporarily ignore; it was doubtful the alien would survive for that long, considering there were others much more powerful than the alien. He could satisfy his hunger and go back to being unnoticed.
Cthaasa felt a slight rush of wind. He adjusted himself to face the disturbance, but before he could was overcome by what appeared to be a cloud of blue gas. The creature began to swirl and coalesce around him, starting at his head. Cthaasa’s mind raced past his own reflexes, attempting to psychically dominate the Viscount. But, unlike his current pawn, the cloud had no neurons to manipulate, nothing to grasp onto. As the blue gas wrapped itself around him, the alien struggled to free himself. The cloud had a surprising feeling of resistance for something wispy and obscure.
His head hurt as the Viscount scoured his memories, tearing through his mind in search of information. Cthaasa attempted to recoil to escape, but the swirling cloud remained focused around his head. The buffeting left him helpless, at the mercy of this ambusher.
And then it stopped. The cloud left as quickly as it arrived. Cthaasa re-examined himself-- he seemed to be fine, albeit somewhat disoriented. Augustus seemed to be motionless still. The ithaqu wondered just what had happened-- there had only been eight contestants, and this locale seemed to be abandoned. Were there more of these creatures? His hand fidgeted over his coin.
Or it would have, were it not floating along the billows of the Viscount.
Cthaasa was struck by panic. While he had no interest in the supposed prize of this competition, there was some importance to the coin. If anything, it had a fragment of compromising information. He would need to retrieve it, dominating his thrall further could wait.
“Time to move, puppet.” He said to the human, beginning to walk.
Augustus did not understand what the ithaqu had said, or even much of what had just happened. He did, however, understand that he was involuntarily following Cthaasa as it attempted to trail the Viscount.