The Relentless Slaughter [Round 3: Tormentorland]

The Relentless Slaughter [Round 3: Tormentorland]
#30
Re: The Relentless Slaughter [Round 1: Untitled-1]
Originally posted on MSPA by Adenreagen.


As soon as his feet touched the ground, Zimmer noticed two things: that there were walls being drawn around him and that there was a faint scent of parchment in the air. Having been around it for so many years, it was like an old friend to comfort him. He thought briefly about what the creature that called itself “The Tormentor” said and how he could apparently control worlds like the one he was in. Extraordinary. He could even control people’s movements, judging by how he couldn’t even twitch when he was suspended on that pillar.

Shrugging his shoulders, he absently poured the beakers of vinegar and baking soda he had been transported mid-experiment with onto the ground. Looking down expecting to see fizzing, he was instead thrown back by an explosion that set the walls around him on fire. He quickly put out his burning sleeve, and resigned his hair to the shortened state it was now reduced to. He looked up to see the fire spreading, but two circles were drawn around the fire and the middle filled with what looked to be water. The fire stopped spreading, and was then surprisingly erased and the blackened paper again replaced with white. The walls again began drawing themselves.

*Sniff**Sniff* “No smell, so it was probably water. That explains why there was no acidic smell like vinegar has” *Sniff* “Potassium! Who labeled pure potassium as baking soda? I could have been killed!” Slowly it dawned on him, “…I labeled them. Stupid. Stupid! STUPID!” He began yelling at himself, “Why can’t you ever get these things right? You’ve always messing up your labels, and it’d serve you right if you killed yourself; you’ve already killed an apprentice that way, and injured a dozen others!” The sudden memory of that day saddened him, and only increased his anger at himself. He punched the wall in anger, at the failure of that day becoming fresh in his mind, and the failure of moments ago that still burned on his skin.

Unexpectedly, the wall punched him back. Finding himself on the floor for the second time in as many minutes, he looked up in surprise at the wall that had sprouted arms.
One pointed behind him at a door that had been drawn during his rage, and the other continued to punch any part of him it could reach. He ran for the door and the wall began following him. He knew that he had to direct his anger at something else, and when he found out the door was locked he had the perfect thing to aim it at. He began pounding on the door, kicking at it, yelling at it, all while the wall slowly advanced on him and the arm began coming back in reach.

As it again knocked him to the ground, Zimmer realized that this was a test by his Maker. That being that said it was a god must have been his Lord in a different form. “To avoid the afterlife He described if I fail, I must succeed. I must survive this test He has put me in, and return to tell my people of this Divine meeting.” He reached into his coat, selecting the third vial on the right side of his vest: the Alkahest. Now that it was drawn and colored, the door was solid enough that he couldn’t cut the lines away from the paper world around him, so he decided that the easiest way out was to melt the lock. The Alkahest was only a prototype and still imperfect, but it dissolved most things it came into contact with.
He quickly pulled off the stopper on the vial, and dipped his knife into it. As a rule his knives were etched with runes that made them a blend of metals to ward against such a thing and enable him to do his experiments without a cost to his tools. Dodging the arm again, Zimmer shoved his knife into the keyhole, twisting it and feeling the metal of the lock give way. He threw the door open and dove out as the moving wall hit its opposite and come to a stop.

The arms closed the door as a rumbling laugh filled the air around him. “Who knew that there were failures that didn’t help you, eh Lieutenant? It’s just HILARIOUS”

As Zimmer went to his knees to pray for forgiveness for his failure and that he would try harder, there was a dull thud ahead of him and the sound of grinding stone.

“…and may I always be in your light as I –huh?” Zimmer looked up to see a grey-looking, tall and extremely gangly looking man begin to stand up. It was apparent that he had dove from a room that, like his, had sealed itself.

“He looks to be quite shaky on his feet. I’d offer to give him something to ease the tremors, but my Lord said he was afraid of doctors. He also said his name was Gannet and…what was it? That he was nice but crazy or just nice’n’crazy…something like that. Either way, he made it out of that room alive, so he can’t be as weak as the shaking makes him look.”

As he headed towards Gannet and tried to figure out how to introduce himself to such a strange individual, he felt a slight twinge on his forehead. “Stupid chemical burns, you’d think I’d be used to them by now. At least the man looks friendly enough, just look at that smile!”

Bowing with a flourish of his hand, Matthew introduced himself, “Hello, good sir. I’m Lieutenant Zimmer, and it’s a pleasure to meet another person hand selected by our God.”

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Re: The Relentless Slaughter [Round 1: Untitled-1] - by GBCE - 02-17-2011, 04:23 AM