Time Blossom
2014-06-02, 06:28 AM
Eight P.M., Imperial Standard Time. The hour when the sun's called it a night, and the hard-working commoners of the realm find themselves safe at home–or, more likely, not-so-safe at the local brewery, to drink away the aches of the day.
Around this time, the smoke is thick and the conversation is thicker, but everything seems to die down at once as a polished silver mirror hanging on the wall lights up with a telltale crackle that cuts across the room, and all eyes turn to the images blazing across the surface.
Images and sound bits play: an angry dragon roaring its disapproval with a gout of flame, a pair of spiked walls slowly squeezing together, a clearly illusory arrow flying across the screen to split an apple on the head of a goblin, and finally an ancient chest creaking open, golden light pouring out and completely overtaking the screen.
The light fades, replaced with the view of a magic eye slowly panning across a giant stone-paved room lined with benches full of live viewers, safe behind thick walls of glassteel. As the image roves across the room, it finally lights on the announcers' box, and the bold red title lettering smashes across the image:
X-Crawl: Season XXVIII
And the crowd, both in the taverns at home and lining the sides of the dungeon, sends up a cheer.
"Goooooood evening, ladies, gentlemen and those for whom Common pronouns are sadly inadequate, and welcome to another exciting installment of X-Crawl!" The first announcer is a boisterous Beholder sporting a wide grin and several pairs of designer smoked goggles. "And let me tell you, folks, tonight is going to be something special, isn't that right, Ollie?"
"You're right about that, Mike!" The second announcer is a smooth-voiced blink dog with a sharp red bowtie and a scar across his left eye. "You know, I've gotta tell you, Mike, I've been on the circuit for a long time now, but never in my day have I been as excited for a crawl as I am for this one. You know why that is, Mike?"
"Well, if you're anything like me, Ollie, it's because of the venue." Mike turns to the magic eye, grin full of teeth. "Our newer viewers at home might not know this, but tonight's dungeon has quite the history. It was actually used for the first official X-Crawl event in history, but has never been used since, and there's never been any official word as to why. Now me, I've got a theory, but what do you think, Ollie?"
"Oh, I think we've all got our theories about that one, Mike." Ollie crosses his paws on the announcers' table. "But that's actually not why I'm excited. What I'm looking forward to is seeing tonight's dream team in action. I mean, I've seen a few team-ups in my day, but these three are a party and a half."
"You are not kidding about that, Ollie," Mike answers with an approving nod. "But, before we introduce our competitors for those folks at home who've been living under a rock, we'd like to give thanks to tonight's sponsors. First, the Temple of Akeldama, promoting bloody conquest In Her Name."
"Next up, Hew's Handy Haversacks. Because you don't know what that thing is, but you're pretty sure you'll need it eventually," Ollie adds.
"And finally, Machanoid consulting. You don't ask questions, and neither do we."
"And now," Ollie begins, taking a deep breath. "Let's give a warm, hearty X-Crawl welcome to tonight's competitors! First up, a man who has given his name and blood in service to Goddess Akeldama, cutting a vicious swathe through arenas and dungeons with a sword in his hand and smile on his face. The Boomin' Human: Jaaaaaacian!"
"And in this corner, the sharpest mind and quickest hands this side of the Mournlands, magewright mugger and locksmith extraordinaire. The Warforged Ascendant: Miiirrrralaa!"
"And last but certainly not least, the starry-eyed crooner with a voice of honey and a heart of gold, and his fearless furry companion, splitting apples at hundred paces and stirring hearts no matter the distance. The Dynamic Doublet: Tanteeein and Bueeeellllaaa!"
Illusory pyrotechnics and signature music accompany each crawler's introduction as they walk into the dungeon, and the crowd gives up a cheer.
"Viewers, Crawlers, Everyone." Ollie gives a respectful nod. "Let's get ready to X-Crawl!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Dungeon Lobby
The cold, neatly carved stone of the floor is cracked in many places, and the walls are slick with moss. The upper dome of the room is supported by ancient stone pillars, and has been replaced with glassteel, allowing the crowd to see in directly. You all know that given the expense and impracticality of this operation, the rest of the dungeon will most likely be observed strictly through magic eye sensors, so this will be your last chance to directly observe the crowd until you reach a rest area.
Across from where you entered, there is a single, solid iron door with heavy rings for handles, flanked on either side by iron statues in various states of decay; one of them is half-gone from rust, leaving three total remaining. Experience with X-Crawl has taught you that the crowd area at the entry to a dungeon is not usually lethal, but there's always a fight involved so the audience feels like they've gotten their money's worth.
So it is no surprise, really, when the eyes of the statues light up with a bright crimson light, and the statues leap out from their sconces, bolting towards you with a sound somewhere between a feral snarl and the sound of nails on metal. At the speed they're coming, they'll be on you in a matter of seconds.
What do you do?
Around this time, the smoke is thick and the conversation is thicker, but everything seems to die down at once as a polished silver mirror hanging on the wall lights up with a telltale crackle that cuts across the room, and all eyes turn to the images blazing across the surface.
Images and sound bits play: an angry dragon roaring its disapproval with a gout of flame, a pair of spiked walls slowly squeezing together, a clearly illusory arrow flying across the screen to split an apple on the head of a goblin, and finally an ancient chest creaking open, golden light pouring out and completely overtaking the screen.
The light fades, replaced with the view of a magic eye slowly panning across a giant stone-paved room lined with benches full of live viewers, safe behind thick walls of glassteel. As the image roves across the room, it finally lights on the announcers' box, and the bold red title lettering smashes across the image:
X-Crawl: Season XXVIII
And the crowd, both in the taverns at home and lining the sides of the dungeon, sends up a cheer.
"Goooooood evening, ladies, gentlemen and those for whom Common pronouns are sadly inadequate, and welcome to another exciting installment of X-Crawl!" The first announcer is a boisterous Beholder sporting a wide grin and several pairs of designer smoked goggles. "And let me tell you, folks, tonight is going to be something special, isn't that right, Ollie?"
"You're right about that, Mike!" The second announcer is a smooth-voiced blink dog with a sharp red bowtie and a scar across his left eye. "You know, I've gotta tell you, Mike, I've been on the circuit for a long time now, but never in my day have I been as excited for a crawl as I am for this one. You know why that is, Mike?"
"Well, if you're anything like me, Ollie, it's because of the venue." Mike turns to the magic eye, grin full of teeth. "Our newer viewers at home might not know this, but tonight's dungeon has quite the history. It was actually used for the first official X-Crawl event in history, but has never been used since, and there's never been any official word as to why. Now me, I've got a theory, but what do you think, Ollie?"
"Oh, I think we've all got our theories about that one, Mike." Ollie crosses his paws on the announcers' table. "But that's actually not why I'm excited. What I'm looking forward to is seeing tonight's dream team in action. I mean, I've seen a few team-ups in my day, but these three are a party and a half."
"You are not kidding about that, Ollie," Mike answers with an approving nod. "But, before we introduce our competitors for those folks at home who've been living under a rock, we'd like to give thanks to tonight's sponsors. First, the Temple of Akeldama, promoting bloody conquest In Her Name."
"Next up, Hew's Handy Haversacks. Because you don't know what that thing is, but you're pretty sure you'll need it eventually," Ollie adds.
"And finally, Machanoid consulting. You don't ask questions, and neither do we."
"And now," Ollie begins, taking a deep breath. "Let's give a warm, hearty X-Crawl welcome to tonight's competitors! First up, a man who has given his name and blood in service to Goddess Akeldama, cutting a vicious swathe through arenas and dungeons with a sword in his hand and smile on his face. The Boomin' Human: Jaaaaaacian!"
"And in this corner, the sharpest mind and quickest hands this side of the Mournlands, magewright mugger and locksmith extraordinaire. The Warforged Ascendant: Miiirrrralaa!"
"And last but certainly not least, the starry-eyed crooner with a voice of honey and a heart of gold, and his fearless furry companion, splitting apples at hundred paces and stirring hearts no matter the distance. The Dynamic Doublet: Tanteeein and Bueeeellllaaa!"
Illusory pyrotechnics and signature music accompany each crawler's introduction as they walk into the dungeon, and the crowd gives up a cheer.
"Viewers, Crawlers, Everyone." Ollie gives a respectful nod. "Let's get ready to X-Crawl!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Dungeon Lobby
The cold, neatly carved stone of the floor is cracked in many places, and the walls are slick with moss. The upper dome of the room is supported by ancient stone pillars, and has been replaced with glassteel, allowing the crowd to see in directly. You all know that given the expense and impracticality of this operation, the rest of the dungeon will most likely be observed strictly through magic eye sensors, so this will be your last chance to directly observe the crowd until you reach a rest area.
Across from where you entered, there is a single, solid iron door with heavy rings for handles, flanked on either side by iron statues in various states of decay; one of them is half-gone from rust, leaving three total remaining. Experience with X-Crawl has taught you that the crowd area at the entry to a dungeon is not usually lethal, but there's always a fight involved so the audience feels like they've gotten their money's worth.
So it is no surprise, really, when the eyes of the statues light up with a bright crimson light, and the statues leap out from their sconces, bolting towards you with a sound somewhere between a feral snarl and the sound of nails on metal. At the speed they're coming, they'll be on you in a matter of seconds.
What do you do?