New Snippet: Ravenloft - The Hunt

 Nothing was ever what it seemed in the Land of Mists, and things in the city of Pont-a-Museau, in the realm of Richmulot was no exception.

Almost all of the shadows and dark places of Pont-a-Museau held things dangerous to the folk of the city.  Many of the dangers were due to the unsafe conditions of the buildings used as dwellings by the poor and the destitute.  Rotting wood and crumbling masonry threatened to collapse under or on to someone at any moment, and clogged chimneys and malfunctioning flues had the potential to set buildings afire, or force smoke and toxic fumes into an enclosed space.  The other dangers hiding in the city’s shadows were those posed by living residents, and some residents that were un-living.

Screams in the night were a common occurrence, and an uncommon one during the day.  The citizens of Pont-a-Museau tended ignored the sounds, unless they were members of the Watch or adventurers, and usually pitied the victim and were thankful it was not them screaming.  Some citizens ignored the screams because they just did not care.  Those that preyed upon the common folk tended to rely upon this behaviour to be able to hunt, corner and pounce upon their victims, without any unwanted interruptions.

It was with this in mind that Jaufres found himself prowling the streets and alleyways of the city, searching for his next meal.  Hunting for victims was relatively easy for him and his fellow wererats, being able to walk around in the form of either an ordinary citizen, that of a rat the size of a cat or small dog, or the horrific amalgamation of person and rat.  Rats, including the giant or “dire” versions, were common sites in almost all areas of the city, so they tended to be ignored (by habit or on purpose) by those around them.  Because of this, Jaufres felt safe and secure on his hunt.

He should have been paying more attention to the shadows he used to conceal himself, as something else was hunting him.

Flowing from shadow to shadow, footsteps making barely a whisper of sound, identity concealed by dark cloth and ash, Jaufres’ stalker waited for the right time to move with the patience of the dead.

The victim of the night for the lycanthrope was a tavern server that Jaufres had been watching for about a week’s time.  He and the rest of his extended family were suffering from attacks by a skilled hunter, and he wanted to make sure that his next meal was not somehow connected to the assassin.  The nights he spent following her showed she always took the same path, with one particular section of an alleyway that was perfect for him to make his move.  Taking a pre-planned short cut, the wererat arrived at his chosen spot with a minute or so to spare.

Just as the woman reached about the half-way point in the alley, he silently moved in behind her.  Reaching out to grab her well-worn cloak, Jaufres felt a sudden burning pain along his back, causing him to hiss in pain as he spun around.  He came face to face with the darkly clothed shadow that had been following him.  It stood at the ready in a combat stance, a short sword held in each hand, one of them with a thin line of blood along a short section of the cutting edge.  Jaufres knew the blades to be either coated with silver, or magically enchanted; otherwise they would not have been able to injure him.

The wererat’s victim turned at the sound of pain.  Gasping in horror at the scene before her, she raised one hand to her mouth to stifle a scream.  The dark sword wielding figure moved its head slightly, giving the impression of facing her.

“Run!” the figure commanded, and the woman turned and ran for home, as if her very soul depended upon it.

“You are the one that has been hunting my family,” Jaufres flatly stated, lunging at his assailant.

“I am,” was the unconcerned reply, blades flashing in response to the creature’s attack.

Unbeknownst to all involved, a small group of rats watched the ensuing battle from the nearby shadows, exhibiting no apparent concern for their own safety.  Had anyone had the chance to observe them, though, they would have been more horrified of them than of the two nearby figures locked in a fight to the death.  As the rats watched the battle intently, their heads moved, eyes blinked, and tails and paws twitched in unison, each and every time, as if they shared one mind, or were controlled by one.

Nothing was ever what it seemed in the Land of Mists.

Finally, the Snippets

 Although I am not posting this as soon as I origianally mentioned I would, here is the first of three story snippets I have ready to share, showcasing what I can do writing, as opposed to my usual visual medium of 3D renders.  This first one is currently entitled "Ravenloft Snippet - Eludicia".  I hope you enjoy it!

The spot chosen for this evening’s camp was adequate, if not acceptable.  The pilgrims were unable to reach their intended camp site, due to one of their few wagons needing some repairs.  The teamsters were preparing to see to that, while everyone else saw to their regular duties.  Whilst this was going on, Eludicia of the Road, a fledgling Paladin, wandered among the people she decided to accompany, in order to help them reach the end of their journey as safely as possible.  Smiles, waves and greetings were exchanged while she meandered through the site, helping out with setting things up when needed, offering suggestions for placements, and looking for the best spots for those on watch to position themselves.

 

Although a novice adventurer, Eludicia seemed wise beyond her apparent youth, and most of the people under her care deferred to her judgement.  When the pilgrims’ leadership offered her a place on their council, she declined, saying that she was there to help ensure the good of the pilgrims, not decide upon what was good for the pilgrims.  A few of the leaders were quite happy to hear that.

 

Suddenly, there came a crash and a scream of pain, followed by calls for aid.  Eludicia rushed off to find that the damaged wagon had fallen onto one of the teamsters working on it, and he was now trapped underneath.  The others were trying to hoist the wagon off of the unfortunate pilgrim, but were not able to get quite enough hands on it to raise it far enough to pull the man out.

 

“You and you”, Eludicia pointed to those closest to the injured man, “Be ready to pull him away when the wagon is high enough!”  Looking at one of the men trying to lift the wagon, she said “Kindly step aside and let me take your place!  The rest of you, pray!”  Space was made for the tall, muscular holy warrior to get a grip on the toppled wagon.

 

“Alright,” she shouted, “lift!”

 

With groans from all those lifting, the wagon rose far enough to pull the trapped man free. As he was freed of the weight of the still loaded wagon, another scream of pain escaped his lips, and he passed out almost immediately.  The wagon was quickly set back on the ground, and Eludicia knelt beside the unconscious pilgrim.  Taking his hands in hers, she closed her eyes and prayed.  Only a few syllables had passed her lips, and she could feel the divine energy coalesce inside her, and transfer into the man, healing him of most of his injuries.

 

Standing back up, Eludicia addressed those around her.

“He should finish the journey in one of the wagons or carts, so there is no risk of him injuring himself further.  For now, make him as comfortable as you can.”

Looking at the other teamsters, she continued, “Please, I beg you all to be more careful.  I am currently limited in what I can offer each day in healing.”  She smiled at them all, as they nodded and murmured their assent.  After that, Eludicia began a perimeter check of the camp, verified the rotation of the watch and spent some time socializing with the pilgrims.  Having originated in the Outer Planes, the novice Paladin had very little in common with her charges, but believed it was best to be a friendly, approachable member of the group, rather than a silent and stoic guardian.

 

Finished with her rounds, Eludicia moved to what she believed was the approximate centre of the camp to prepare for her nightly observances.  Once again, she knelt upon the ground, placing her glaive beside herself on her right, removed her travel pack and great sword from her back, placing the former in front of her, and the latter to her left.  Although it was uncomfortable to remain kneeling in her armour, the holy warrior made no move to divest herself of its unyielding parts.  Eludicia accepted the discomfort as a mild form of penance for the evil she committed before starting to walk the long, lonely road of redemption.  To further add to her penance, Eludicia would remain like this through the night while she prayed: prayed for guidance and strength on her road of redemption, and for the safety and forgiveness of the pilgrims she protected on their journey.

 

As an Outsider, Eludicia had a number of abilities she could rely on to help with her protection over the pilgrims, one of which was the ability to read the surface thoughts of any intelligent creature within thirty paces of her.  Before becoming a Paladin, she would have used this to search the minds of her victims, to find things that would make it easier for her to ensnare them in her web.  She now considered touching the minds of those that were not her enemies, without permission, to be a sin.  So, while she prayed during the night, she cast a part of her mind out near the edges of the camp to be aware of the state of those on watch, and to search for any minds that intended harm to the pilgrims.  This tactic caused more than a few bandits to regret their choice to attack those under Eludicia’s protection.

 

A few hours after the rise of the gibbous moon, something touched the edge of Eludicia’s awareness.  It was faint, but there.  Halting mid-prayer, Eludicia focused more on where the intrusion was.  She interpreted it as a susurrus of quiet whispers, speaking in multiple languages, almost daring the novice Paladin to find them.  Eludecia reached for her glaive while quickly reaching out to the minds of the pilgrims around her, to see if they were aware of the whispers as well, or if any of them were in need.  What she learned, was the minds of the pilgrims were becoming quiet, as if they were voices of people walking away from her.

 

Alarmed, Eludicia’s eyes flew open as she set her glaive butt-first on the ground, in preparation to help her stand.  What she saw caused her to suck in a breath of air.  She could no longer see the camp or pilgrims around her.  Instead was a thickening, cloying mist, which seemingly moved with purpose around her.  The susurrus of whispers she sensed with her mind was now audible enough for her to hear.  She began to discern sobs, screams and laughter mixed in with the various words and phrases.  Although the moon was obscured by the dense cloud enveloping her, Eludicia’s sharp eyes still made out whorls and eddies in the unnatural fog, seemingly indicating something moving nearby, even though her telepathy could find nothing there.

 

Eludicia was about to call out to challenge whomever or whatever was there, but stopped on forming the first word.  There was a subtle, yet verifiable sensation passing through her, one that, as a creature of the Outerplanes, she was intimately familiar with: the crossing of a planar boundary.  She was now beyond the reach of the pilgrims she promised to protect.

 

Reaching down, she found the pack and blade in the obscuring mist.  Grasping them and tightening her grasp on the glaive, she pictured the camp in her mind, and focused on opening a doorway back to the camp.

 

The door refused to form for her.  It was being blocked by a more powerful entity.

 

The laughter of a crowd of voices made itself heard, in varying intensities, and ranging from maniacal, to dark to that of the mad.

 

“Wanting to leave so soon, little fiend?” seemingly asked the mist itself.  “Stay and play with us awhile.  We promise to draw the game out as long as possible….”

 

As the laughter began again, Eludicia’s eyes went wide, and she froze as still as a stone statue.  Fear took root inside the Paladin, as she once again felt the subtle sensation of crossing a planar boundary, this time, possibly returning her to the very realms that birthed her.  If so, she knew her welcome would not be a pleasant one, to say the least.

A Small Update

 As you have probably noticed, I am not exactly keeping a regular schedule with posting new renders or updates and that is going to be how things are for a bit longer. I have just started a new job and I have to figure out what the best approach to my schedule around work will be. The job is rather labour intensive and after having been out of work for about 8 months now, it is quite tiring both physically and mentally. I expect I will be able to adapt, but right now that tiredness will be influencing how and when I can work on new stuff. I do have an idea on how to schedule my time, but we will have to see how well that works. For now, I am going to keep plugging away at it as I adjust to things, and I hope all of you will stick with me! Thanks for your patience and support!

Blog Changes

 With my desire to try and eventually generate an income stream from my visual and literary storytelling, I decided to finally re-brand the blog to be inline with my DeviantArt, Patreon and social media accounts.  Why am I doing so?  Partly to make sure that all of my posting locations are recognized under the same name and banner, as well as to be taken more seriously with my work.  After all, would you be willing to take someone named Druuler seriously if you were representing a management or publishing firm?  Honestly, I would not, but that might just be me.  This will also hopefully make it easier for anyone to find my various internet locations in a search engine.

I have also found it rather frustrating that most social media platforms are not designed to hosting large "walls of text" like I post with my story snippets.  At the moment, my Facebook page is currently the only location other than my DeviantArt account that I can post them in full.  I am neither inclined to, nor able to afford a "Blue Checkmark" on Twitter to allow a greater character limit that would enable me to post some snippets there.  Should I manage to develope a (much) larger fanbase willing to support my work, I might revisit that idea.

Speaking of my snippets, I will get around to posting the ones I have already shared publicly on the blog in the near future.

Update for December

 As usual, it has been a while since I last posted here, and although I have not been as busy as I had hoped, I have been busy.

My Patreon account is up and running, as is my Twitter, Instagram and Facebook Page.  Despite some changes on Deviant Art that I am not happy with, I am still active there, and have changed my name there to CSBs_Infinite_Worlds, to keep things more "together" as well as look a bit more professional.  After all, I, personally, would not take someone calling themselves "Druuler" overly seriously.

Everything I have been working on lately, has been various renders in the different genres I plan on working in, such as post-apocalyptic (The Phoenix Imperative mainly), horror/macabre and superhero.  I plan on doing fantasy and science fiction as well, but at this moment, I have not done more than "dabble" in those areas.

I will post links to my various online presences later, but for now, here are some recent works.  Enjoy!

July Update

 It has been just over two months since I last posted anything here, and, well, so much for avoiding long intervals between updates.  Oh well, here we go.

Although I am not really happy with my progress right now, I am getting closer to being able to set up a Patreon account to (hopefully) support my storytelling, of which, my "flagship" story will, of course, be The Phoenix Imperative.  The other story I plan on working on (and have so far put the most thought into, after TPI), is the superhero one based upon the failed table-top Marvel Superhero game from back in 2018.  There are three other ideas I have, each of them basically covering a different genre, but bringing Cameron, Bridget and the others back is my main focus at this point.

As far as The Phoenix Imperative is concerned, I am slowly outlining the chapters for the first book, and working through character introductions and how I am planning on using them.  I am making some changes, mostly out of necessity, but partly out of a desire to include some elements that I wanted to use in the Fallout 3 fanfic version, but either could not at the time, or did not think of until after the relevant episode was published.

I have also been torn between which format I wanted to present TPI in this time around.  Did I want to stick with a visual style like before, or did I want to move over to a novelization, which I can now do, as I am writing in my own setting, and not using characters owned by a game publisher.  Well, I have decided to try and do both at the same time.  The visual style will be the main focus, with the novelization getting worked on while the renders are running.  Once I have a complete manuscript, I can start "shopping it around" to various publishers, and see if I can one of them interested enough to give me a chance.  Whether or not it does get picked up by an actual publisher, I am planning on an autographed physical copy of the manuscript being a Patreon reward tier, if I end up with enough subscribers to bother with that sort of thing.

Speaking of Patreon reward tiers, I am expecting to start off with maybe four of them: $2, $5, $10 and $20.  I have a couple of other levels in  mind, but I see no point having them until there is a substantial interest in what I am doing first.

I am aiming to have the Patreon account and the Facebook page up and running before the end of August, but I hoping to be ready sooner.  We shall see how that goes, I guess.

Nihil Novi Sub Sole

 Okay, for those of you not familiar with Latin, the title of this post translates to a rather familiar phrase: nothing new under the sun.  I entitled this post with that, as it seems to be very true.

I bring this up, as I have discovered that a few names that I have been intending on using in a couple of my stories, have shown up in other properties.  Also most, if not all of these stories contain similar tropes, resulting in creative uniqueness being difficult to attain.

When I first started my table-top superhero role-playing game back in 2017/18, there was one player character named Echo, and another named Justice.  About a year after starting the game, I discovered that there was a Marvel Comics character named Echo that appeared in Marvel’s “Daredevil” series, and has recently made its live action debut in the Disney+ series, “Hawkeye”.  While recently watching a Youtube video about the history of the original “Guardians of the Galaxy” team in Marvel Comics, I learned that there was a mutant character named “Justice”.  Just to be more sure of “covering my bases”, I looked to see if DC Comics had any characters by those names, and sure enough, there were several unconnected characters named “Echo”, but no characters named “Justice” though.

The Marvel Comics characters bare no similarities with the characters of the same name from my game, with the exception that both Echo characters are female.  Thus, I believe, there should be no issues arising there.  Of the nine (yes, 9) characters in DC Comics named Echo, two of them have very slight resemblances to “my” Echo.

One of them, a character named Terri Eckhart, has the ability to absorb and redirect energy.  The other, Myke-4 Astor, has the ability to manipulate sound.

The Echo from my superhero game has a number of sound based or sound related abilities.  Notably, in this case, the ability to absorb kinetic energy, and use it to either heal herself, or expel it as sound, although at a significant “signal loss”, resulting in just an “echo” of the original intensity.  She also has the ability to generate and manipulate sound in various ways.  The similarities, although not great, are unfortunately there.  I think I may consult a legal expert at some point about this, before proceeding with including Echo in any stories that I produce.

The last issue is too much of a similarity for me to continue with.  Back in 2010/11 when I was originally working on The Phoenix Imperative, I was planning on using a virus called The Hunger Virus as a major story element that lead up to the apocalypse.  Random Youtube watching revealed to me that in Marvel Comics, the Marvel Zombies storyline involves a virus known as “The Hunger”, which was responsible for all of the heroes and villains becoming zombies.  This is something I was completely unaware of at the time, and is much too similar for me to continue using.  I will have to think up some other name, perhaps attached to a real bacterial or viral infection that is similar in effect to what I envisioned my “Hunger Virus” to be.

Time will tell, I guess.