I didnt think being dead would keep so busy. I had the old gods waiting for to co back and rescue them, I had god of solo play out here, acting very suspicious, I had my party keeping all sorts of secrets from each other for the greater good, and then I had Peter up to no good whatsoever.
To be fair, I did now have a fairly OP ability. If I ever figured out how to use it properly, Id be unstoppable. By which I an Id be running in the opposite direction and nobody would be able to stop . Now thats what I call OPness.
My only real advantage at this point, though, was being able to move around in this place while everyone else was stuck in pleb-mode. Or nearly everyone.
Once I was through the portal, Joshaya was aware of . I had managed to avoid letting the realisation that we were dead get to him, but that didnt an he wouldnt figure it out.
It was a difficult thing to grasp, that epheral concepts like realisation, understanding and awareness could be manipulated through physical connections that I could see and touch. Emotions I could sort of get my head aroundthey were just chemicals in the brain, after all. You block them or turn them off, the feelings go away.
Ive seen that in action, first-hand. No matter how strongly you think you feel about sothing, the right cocktail of antipsychotics will convince you to no longer give a shit.
But the more nebulous thought processes were much harder for to get a handle on. How was I supposed to exploit sothing without understanding how it worked?
Then again, thats never stopped the great religious leaders of the world. Perhaps I needed to take a leaf from their book (although taking a leaf out of their book would probably be considered sacrilegious and get stoned to death).
What I had learned so far was that I was able to prevent connections being made. If I kept moving and didnt get too close to people, Id be okay. Story of my life.
Joshaya was winding up to say sothing. So far, no tendrils had sprouted from my body, but that didnt an they wouldnt. I decided to leave Joshaya and follow the massive vine growing out of his head.
Once I got going, Joshaya wasnt able to keep up, although he did attempt to follow . I was floating along, using the vine as my guide, trying to keep my thoughts in the here and now. The vine led back to the interior of the temple.
It had seed odd that if the Pope was in control of all these dead people that he would only have the one vine growing out of him. Id have expected one for each minion under his necromantic power.
There could be all sorts of reasons for this. Maybe he wasnt the one in control. Maybe there was another person involved. Maybe another god. Or possibly so other annoying twat.
Whoever or whatever it was, this vine would reveal the truth. That in itself was a useful ability. I might not have been able to use my power properly, but I got to see what I could have used it for if Id been competent. It was a bit like on a gashow when they show you the prize you would have won if you hadnt bottled it at the end.
Thats why I would never go on a gashow, no matter how big the prize. Theres just no way I wouldnt choke when that final question ca up. That and also it would be embarrassing to have no one to put down as my phone a friend.
In my new, completely unattached state, the world had a different look to it. It appeared similarlots of vines and tentacles wriggling and pulsing in the usual disgusting fashionbut everything was in much higher definition. And if youve ever taken a good look at a stupidly high hi-def picture, youll know that seeing things more clearly isnt always the most attractive option. A little grease on the lens can do wonders for your self-delusions.
The vines now looked very different to each other. It was subtle, a shift in colour, a slight change in texture, even the way so of them moved. It would be much more revealing to study them now, if looking at them didnt turn my stomach so much.
There are so people who just love creepy crawlies and weird looking creatures that look like the aliens already landed, they were just a lot smaller than we expected. They let them crawl over their hands and say enthusiastic things about them, like, It wont bite. Fuck those people. Smug bastards. Have the common decency to be grossed out like the rest of us.
Not that its very likely a tentacled monstrosity is going to slide into your bed and lay eggs in your ear (or other damp crevices), but holy fuck, why take the chance?
The main thing Id noticed was that the vine growing out of Joshaya, while different to the ones growing out of everyone else (Id passed a few of them as I rose from the bowels of the temple), did not seem to be any more powerful.
The output from it was very similar to the rest. The colour was a different tone, but that was about it.
What did that an? It would be useful to be able to talk to Maurice about it, only every conversation with him now ca with the risk of unravelling his power and getting us all killed.
As I continued down the passage that led back to the main hall of the temple, I kept looking back over my shoulder. I had no doubt Joshaya would be in slow-motion pursuit, but there was no sign of him.
As a running away power, my ability was pretty good, with one ever so small problem. I could get away, but my body was still where I left it. I had to go back. I always had to go back.
The main hall was full of the undead, hanging out. It wasnt much of a life, being dead. There didnt seem to be much to do. The point of life was to have kids, raise them to the point they could have kids, and so on. People think they have important things to do, make their mark and whatnot, its all irrelevant. Reproduction has always been the only reason for human existence. Its a terrible system, the most grindy ga ever invented. And the microtransactions are a complete rip-off.
I was still following Joshayas vine, but all the other vines were drawn towards it. Not in a subservient manner, more like wherever his was going, theirs were going to.
Was there really soone else behind all this? Was it Peter?
Even if Peter had managed to take back control of his body I wouldnt have thought hed have ti to get here from Fengarad, but then wed been delayed by Joshaya.
The more I thought about it, the more likely it seed that Joshaya was working for Peter.
Was he doing so against his will? Was he even aware of it? Or was he just a massive sellout whod made a deal?
Not that you can really judge soone for taking the money when its a fuck-ton of money. Its all very well being high and mighty when no ones offering to bribe you, but who doesnt want their life to be a lot easier? All you need to do is shit on everyone else. Most people do that for free.
I drifted out of the giant skulls left nostril. The thing with evil buildings is that they look a lot more impressive from afar. Close up, everything just feels awkward. Doors and windows look a lot better when theyre evenly spaced out.
Once I got outside I had to stop for a sharp intake of breath, and I didnt even need to breathe in this state. The world, too put it bluntly, had transford.
The vines that had looked like a slimy mangrove swamp, now looked like a stunning technicolour vista. Like landing in OZ after spending your life in black and white. It was quite overwhelming.
Everything pulsed and throbbed, but changed colours as it did so. Lollipop trees and candyfloss clouds would not have been out of place.
Sadly, I didnt have ti to sightsee. I didnt mind, I hate looking at scenery, no matter how beautiful. Photography has ruined it for . Every ti I see so amazing view, it feels like Im looking at the wallpaper on soones desktop.
The vines stretch out towards the other end of the city. People enveloped in their vines shimred below as I floated overhead. I recognised where we were going, Id only co from there recently. The graveyard where the druids had their little church.
I hadnt seen anything of note last ti Id been there, but then, Im a horribly unobservant person. Sothing in that place was connected to everyone in the temple. It could be a pleasant sothing, or it could be an unpleasant sothing. Anyone want to give the odds on which it would be? Id already placed my bet.
The vines had twisted together into one massive tendril arcing over the city. I could still see Joshayas one glimring in the middle of it. Still no sign of Joshaya, himself. Perhaps he had given up. Or perhaps he would appear at the most inconvenient ti possible. Id already placed my bet on that outco, too.
It wasnt very late in the day and the sun was fairly high behind . The buildings beca more sparse and the graveyard sprawled out below. There were fewer vines here. But still quite a few. Growing out of graves.
I wasnt sure what that ant. I suspected it was probably better not to investigate. Not on my own. I was probably immune to undead attack in this state, but still. Might be a bit creepy.
There was a bigger target for my attention, though. The ga-vine from the ga temple went straight into the tiny druid church. Passed through the roof. Maybe that was why churches always had that big thermoter outside trying to raise funds for roof repairs. Huge fucking alien tentacles playing havoc with the tiles.
I pushed my way through one of the windows. It was a prickly sensation passing through solid objects. Took quite so getting used to.
There were no druids inside. I assud they were still in the city square where wed left them. Whose side were they on? Whose would they be on once they understood what was really going on?
The vine went down into the floor. Sothing was under the church. When was that ever a good thing?
Co down into the church basent, I want to show you sothing really cool.
Theres an offer you want to find a polite way to refuse.
There was a door at the back. I could have tried sinking through the floor, but just the thought of it made feel claustrophobic. I tried going through the door, which was a tickly but manageable, and found so stairs leading down. I made a light. Almost there.
The steps went down and back on themselves. It was damp and slled musty. At the bottom was another door. Actually, more of an iron gate, padlocked. To keep people out, or to keep sothing in?
I slid through the bars, another perk of being an insubstantial person.
It was a crypt. I knew it was a crypt, rather than a wine cellar because of the huge stone coffin in the middle of the room. The vine ca in through the ceiling and straight down into the sarcophagus lid.
What good things might be in a sarcophagus? Anyone?
Whos there? said a thin, reedy voice.
I stopped. It had sounded normal. Well, it would be hard for anything to be normal in this situation, but it sounded at the right speed. Soone was able to operate in this world as well as . The hairs on my arm and neck rose. Which was odd, because this wasnt even a proper body. Yes, yes, the sa could also be said about my real one.
Hello? I said, like a nervous idiot.
D-dont co any closer. It sounded like it was coming from inside the sarcophagus. Of course. Where else?
My nas Colin, I said in a cracked voice. Give a break, Ive never been good at small talk.
The lid moved. I jumped back. Kind of. Floated back rapidly, to be accurate. Dust escaped from the opening with a gasp.
What do you want? The voice sounded wheezy now.
Nothing. I was just passing and the door was open. It didnt sound convincing even as I was saying it. Actually, Im trying to find a way to bring myself back to life. Im kind of dead.
Best way to make friends, try to find sothing in common. Im sure I read that in a book sowhere.
Ha! More dust blew out of the coffin. Join the club.
Are you a necromancer? I asked.
Hardly. Quite the opposite. I used to be a vivimancer. I could prolong life. Shared my gifts with my friends and what do you think they did?
Turned their backs and betrayed you first chance they got? I asked hopefully. If the answer was yes, this was my kind of people.
Thats right. He sounded astonished. Easy crowd. How did you know?
One of these friends wasnt called Peter, by any chance, was he?
There was a chilled silence, which suited the tomb quite well. Yes. Hes still around is he?
The bitterness in his voice was like music to my ears. You cant trust peoples goodwill, but their grievances are always genuine.
Yes, hes still around. Want to help destroy him?
Best way to make friends, find sothing in common.
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