TLDunn213

(My own add-ons ) We call you from the Blackest Hells With Obscene Rites, and Eldritch Spells Screaming out your name, Jolene. And when you from the Pit doth Rise With acrid smoke that fills the Skies And Eldritch Flame that sears our eyes We will call the bringer of our demise; Jolene.

Disclaimer: I found this on iFunny, and it looks like a re-post from some other social media platform. I'm just posting a easier to read version. If the originator sees this, get in touch and I'll add a byline. ****************************************** Eldritch Horror Jolene By (Unknown) Your teeth are sharp Your mouth agape Your claws rend flesh There's no escape From the judgement of the Eldritch One Jolene. He screams about you in his sleep And when he wakes, does naught but weep In terror, of the one they call Jolene. Blackening the summer skies With burning wings and countless eyes We tremble at the sight of you Jolene. We cower here beneath your gaze That sets the earth and sky ablaze Have mercy at the end of days Jolene.

Targon took his place, and the rest of us followed suit. Once the rest of us were in place Latara began inscribing the Runes from the spell book into the clay figure. There was a flow of Power, growing stronger with each Symbol inscribed. At her signal we began to Chant. The Power flow seemed to double as each of us joined in. Then, finally it leveled off and the memories started to flow. All our memories were open to each other if we'd had the attention to spare to look. The strongest of course were those of the Dracolitch, Seline Deathshadow, master assassin. Or so she had called herself, before the change. Her entire life, Her entire being was flowing through us from the Dracolitch to the clay figure, soon to become living flesh. Her entire life flowing through us and we had to watch those memories without getting caught up in them, without missing a word or even a syllable of our appointed part of the Spell. Born in a brothel, with no clue as to who or what her father was. Thieves Guild. Assassins Guild. I wanted to look closer here, see what lead to this choice, But I couldn't take the risk. Ah there it was, Her mother's death, a desire for revenge, the discovery of a talent for killing. Then the Major turning point. The discovery of her draconic heritage. These memories were too strong. I felt my awareness slipping away, then splitting. Part of me was still standing in the Circle, Chanting. But the rest of me was there, with a young Seline, entering a dimly lit back room of the tavern, that was the cover for the Assassins Guild.

O.k. upon reflection I have to admit that sky cities are likely not an option for here on Earth. The gas bags just have to be too big compared to the size of the living space you're trying to lift with it. This does not rule out the possibility of both crewed and non-crewed research platforms able to stay aloft indefinitely with little to no support from the ground. Especially small unmanned lighter than air aircraft/drones. A small blimp covered in solar cells and designed to catch water from clouds. Catch water and then float up into the sunshine and break it down into hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen for lift and fuel in a fuel cell to run the electrical systems when there isn't enough sunlight.

Powers, abilities, and other details. O.k. first off, as the idea was to weaponize them then it follows that they must have some combat abilities. And they do: all Necro-Snails can generate a stun field out to a ten feet radius. And Necro-Ghouls can fire a stunbolt up to fifty yards. Spawners are often able to cast spells and or use psi-Powers. And both Ghouls and Spawn are able to weild most normal weapons. Beyond these basics, it's a grab bag, Any spell that can be Cast from a Wand, Rod or Staff was tried. And if the control aspect had worked they would have been quite formidable. Each Spawn could control up to two Ghouls or fifteen Snails or any combination there of. With a Ghoul being able to control five or six Snails. Each Snail would have from one to three spells inscribed on it, with three or four charges and the ability to absorb incoming spells and or lifeforce to recharge. As well as the digestive acids and draining touch that go with their basic feeding process. The problem, as noted above, was in the control aspect, memory retention linked to how to Snails were made. There were two ways of making a Necro-Snail. The slow way, which let you customize the spells, and avoidedthe memory retention problem, Well, mostly. Someone with a strong enough sense of self could still be a problem. But the odds were way better this way. But the process was slow, a full day, or more to inscribe the spells needed to make just one Snail. We'll ignore the time needed to make the ink as it was needed for both methods, and could be made in large batches, assuming you had the ingredients. The second way used one spell, and a vile of the Ink, to copy the inscription from the casting Spawn onto the snail-to-be. Much faster, but now you're copying the memory boosting Runes. There is a way around this problem, and I'm not sure why it wasn't used. Likely there is some detail in the process that makes it trickier than it would seem to be at first glance. The idea is to simply inscribe the Runes you want to use on a skull and use it as your template rather than your own head. But, As I said, there must be some detail to the process that makes this complicated and not the easy answer it seems to be.

The term Necro-Snail refers both to the creature and the spells used to create one. I say spells because, even though they are all the same base enchantment, requiring some bit of a Necro-Snail as the material component, there are several variations that allow the subject to retain greater or lesser amounts of their original being during the transformations. Of which there are three, if everything goes right. First is from freshly dead spell subject to Necro-Snail. Second, once the snail has consumed enough raw materials, into a Necro-Ghoul. More about that stage in a bit. Third, if all went well, Necro-Spawner If things did not go well, or if the Necro-Snail was one that formed spontaneously, the third form will be a mongrel amalgam of all the beings that were consumed along the way by both the Snail and Ghoul forms. This "final" form being will automatically have the Necro-Snail Enchantment and its skull will transform into a Necro-Snail at death unless steps are taken to prevent it. Description: The Snail form is the size of a human skull, having the shape of a normal snail shell in back, and the look of the face bones, (minus the lower jaw) to the front, with the snail body below. The Ghoul form takes the snail form and places it atop a humanoid body with see through skin and flesh. Which become more opaque over time. The head still looks mostly like a skull shelled snail with the eyestalks protrudingthrough the eyesockets of the skull. Once the Ghoul form has consumed enough raw materials it becomes a Necro-Spawner. A bald, ear-less humanoid with corpse white skin and a snail shell pattern "tattoo" on the head. The eyes are still eyestalks, although when retracted they look almost like normal eyes. Which can allow these creatures to pass as human around 80 percent of the time. Sometimes there are runes and other arcane symbols on the head and body. These are the mark of a more complex form of the enchantment which allows the Necromancer to retain far more of their original being than would otherwise be the case. These beings are insane to one degree or another due to being an amalgam of all the beings that were consumed along the way. In snail form the main drive is to consume as many dead and dieing creatures as possible so as to transform into the next stage. The Ghoul form is the most unstable as each fragment attempts to gain control. The Spawner form tends to be more stable as at this point one fragment has gained control or the fragments have merged into a single mind. Although such control/merger may be incomplete and unstable. Necro-Snails occur "naturally", or at least spontaneously, along the banks of the Styx. And are sometimes found in the living world at sights of massive death and dying The Yun-Xi and their Necromancer allies discovered Necro-Snails during the War and attempted to adapt them for their own ends. On the whole this did not go well. The spell and spawn process did allow some Necromancers to escape death by becoming Necro-Spawners without losing too much of themselves along the way. The other intended use, that of conscripting enemy dead in to the ranks of the Necromancer's army. Was a complete failure, due primarily to the very things they were hoping to exploit. Namely the retention of memory. One can talk to the dead, with the right spells. But once you make them undead that stops working. The Necros were seen as a way around this. But the retention of memory and a sense of self lead to rebellion against their controllers. And the project was mostly abandoned. But no effort was made to clean up the related mess. So there are still Necro-Spawners out there. And every now and then someone with a strong enough sense of self will come back as a Necro-Spawner with memories of their former selves. And sometimes they can even be fully restored.

We looked at each other and nodded. "We're doing this then; Right. So, where do I fit ? " Targon ask as we all gathered round the work table at the start point. "First we bleed into the flask here, until it's up to this mark. Then we mix that with the powdered Dragonbone in this bowl. That will link us to each other and the Dracolitch. Then you will take your place in the Guardian's circle over there. Once the lines start glowing you will be able to step out of the small circle and travel freely around the perimeter. You'll have a view as if this were the edge of the island. And your job will be to warn us of anything if anything big enough to break through the spells shows up." I explained as we each took the ritual knife and added our blood to the flask. I felt a rush of power as my blood dripped into the flask and we became linked. In that moment I gained a deeper understanding of the allure of Blood Magic. Then I poured the blood into the bowl of powdered Dragonbone. The world went away for a moment, or an eternity, and when I was able to notice details again I was happy to see that none of us had fallen. Although it was clearly a near thing. I felt the Dragon's pleased laughter in my/our minds *"Impressive. You are a party worth joining."* she said/Thought.

She was huge. It is one thing to know that Dragons are Big, and quite another to be face to face with one. Words truly cannot convey the feeling of being in the same room with a creature who's head alone is taking up more space than your entire party. The room itself was also on an epic scale. Even with the Dragon's skull taking up a good fourth of the available floorspace; there was still plenty of room to walk around the transmutation circle, carved into the middle of the room's floor, and get a good look at the worktables, alters, and so on set up around it. And walk around it we did. It was likely the single largest, most complex ritual spell setup any of us had ever seen. or were ever going to see, even if we lived for another hundred years or more. And yet, once you got past the sheer scale of the thing, and the number of spells layered into it; It was elegant. Each spell streamlined and crafted so as to flow smoothly as possible into the next. Magic is sometimes called The Art; and this was a Masterpiece. While the whole was complex, each part was as simplified as possible to the point that even an apprentice could have followed the general flow of the whole and told you what each part was supposed to contribute. There was really no way to hide anything in the ritual. It took time to walk through all the steps, but each was simple and flowed easily into the next. We went over it twice, as much to admire it, as from any other need for understanding or fear of treachery. The Dracolitch watched us, with glowing points of light, where her eyes had once been. Lights that shifted from reddish-orange to a mellow contented blue, as we openly admired her handiwork. There is something satisfying about having your work admired by a fellow craftsman who can fully appreciate it.

"Once, I did not trust Dragons or Spell Casters. Yet, now I am friends with several. Mayhap, the time has come to find that an Undead can have honor and earn my respect." "Thank You, Barbarian. That is the kindest thing anyone has said to or about me in a very long time." "Enough Talk. Those who know spells need to see your Ritual Chamber and spells; then we can decide and Act. Lead on skeleton." And so we followed our boney guide through a maze of twisting passages until we came to the Lair of the Dracolitch.

We felt the spell snap into place, and before any of us could say anything, a skeleton stepped out of one of the doorways and said, "Adventurers, I wish to bargain." We all looked at each other for a bit and then Yerico said, "speak." "Your allies trapped me, and my undead legions, here during the war. But I was already trapped by my undead state. Having had much time to think I have devised a plan by which I can escape both, with your help." "Why should we help you?" Targon demanded. "Because, Barbarian, it is the only way you can get out of here. And by aiding me you gain a powerful ally" "An ' ally ' we have little reason to trust, is not that tempting an offer." Latara observed. "The resurrection process I have devised will allow you to place a Geais on me. So that I have no choice but to serve your goals, for a time." "How long a time ?" I ask. "Until Melkior has fully vanquished Varque, I will do all in my power to aid him in that goal." "And you swear this by your honor as a Dragon?" Latara demanded. "I do. Freely and of my own will; So, long as you honor your part of the bargain." "Which is what; exactly ?" Kain inquired. "To preform the ritual, I will provide, so as to enable me to go forth from this place as a member of your company." "Restoring one to life often requires a life in exchange. I will not sacrifice any member of our company to free you." Hawk stated flatly. "Peace, archer. There is a blood price, but not a death price. You will each need to sacrifice some of your blood and life force into the Gollum body I have prepared, so that it will be 'alive' enough for me to use. But no one will need to die for this."

Underground Cities: An answer to the overcrowding of our planet. Sky cities and Sea cities; both floating and underwater; being some other options we could consider. I see underground as the easiest to do large scale. There are ships out there right now that could be counted as cities. But I'm thinking of a large, selfsuficient sort of thing. And I'll cover that option in a later post. Now then, I'm thinking that a basically four level system would be the best way to go. Starting at the top, we would have several caves/chambers for water storage. These would be at a depth where the temperature is around 60 degrees F/15 degrees C and would be connected to the evaporation and steam caves on levels 3 and 4. With the water vapor condensing on the ceiling, which would be sloped with the cool end lower. There should be 4 to 12 such chambers to allow for repairs/maintenance without causing any disruption to service. The water caves would be connected to the city proper, on level 2, so as to not only provide water But also Power. A series of turbines along the way, if engineered correctly, should be able to provide most of the power needed to run the city. With Steam caves on level4 providing the rest. Level 4 is mostly intended to be a backup system as it will be so deep and therefore hot, that protective gear will be needed to work on anything down there. Likely the turbines and so on would be connected to the cranes used to lower them into place, for ease of extraction When repairs are needed. Level 2 would be not only the living quarters of the city but also the level at which food would be grown and processed and whatever other manufacturing process would take place. Level 3, the wet caves, would be where the city's waste water is treated, with some additional farming operations. This level would be at a depth where the temperature is around 90 to 100 F With the city proper being at a depth where the temperature is around 70 to 80 F. There would need to be fans and a good bit of natural chimney effects in place to ensure proper airflow. But this is the basic idea in a nutshell.

After almost an hour, of working our way around bogs, that were too thick with mud to sail through, but still too wet to walk on; we reached the central island or islands. Hard to say which as there were streams everywhere with fallen trees bridging most of them. In any event there was a building in the middle of the whole thing, which we eventually made our way to. There were Runes and Glyphs, more than half hidden by moss and vines, above the doorway. We really should have taken the time to study them. But we were all wet and tired, and beyond the archway was a courtyard covered with smooth, dry, solid, flagstones. I don't think words can really convey how good solid ground can look after an hour or so of slogging through knee deep muck, and slipping on moss and slime covered rocks and treetrunks. So we all rushed through the archway into the courtyard. And as soon as we were all inside, the magic snapped into place. Every one of us knowing that this is the Lair of a Dracolitch. Every one of us well versed in Magic; even Targon. He might not be a spell caster like the rest of us, but he's faced enough magic using foes...And we blunder through a Rune covered archway like amateurs. Thankfully our tale doesn't end here, with us becoming the undead servants of a Dracolich. No, our story didn't end here; it just started a new chapter, or maybe a new volume.

Over the next several days, their dinner conversations allowed me to learn a great many things. Both amout my hosts, and the history of the world in general. I won't bother going into detail about that here, as such matters are both better recorded elsewhere and likely already well known to most of my potential readers. It is enough to note that my earlier speculations about how far I was from my own time and what had happened in the interim were largely correct, with the remaining details being as unknown to my hosts as they were to myself. The other gain from my spying, was a steady supply of items that needed doing around the farm. Various small items that I could easily do in such a way as to both repay them for their unknowing hospitality and to hint at my presence without fully revealing myself just yet. I was still stuck as to a plan for how to approach them and was hoping, once they were aware of a shy yet helpful presence around the place, That they would hatch some plan to draw me out. Then, I would need only play along. Not a great plan, I admit, but the best I could come up with at the moment.

!!KABOOM!! "*What was that ?!*" "*Things not going according to plan. Well, not according to plan A, at any rate. *" Anna gave Garm a questioning look Garm resumed human form and spoke a Word to restore Anna as well. "By this point she was supposed to have lost the Naazz and be slipping quietly through the trees not setting traps to try and take them down. And if that wasn't one of her traps going off, I'll eat my boots." "I'd love to get you some hot sauce for them; but, assuming you're right...?" "They'll probably be coming out of the trees over there near the edge of that field. If they're in human shape and walking, we relax a join them. If they're in cat shape and running..." Garm paused to string a longbow he'd pulled from his pack "...We get to find out how good you are with one of these." He finished passing her the bow and pulling a second one from his pack.

Has anyone heard anything about the "no moving parts" airplane? Works on an ion thrust process. So far they only have a proof of concept drone sized thing. I have a few ideas on how to scale it up; but would need to know a lot more about how what they have works, before I could say if any of my ideas would be worth looking into. Anyway this is mostly a PSA to anyone who is into this stuff and hasn't heard about this yet.

Still haven't found anything on gravity resistant materials, at least not as such. Have found vids on You Tube talking about the Secret Space Program; Which included some stuff about craft that just sit there a few feet off the ground. Same way as Luke's sand speeder and the hover board from Back to the Future. I forget which vids was talking about them, But just look for Secret Space Program on You Tube, And you'll find a lot of stuff. Several channels posting stuff that's an hour, hour and a half, Two hours. Long, but if you've got the time and are into this stuff, it's worth a look. Love to hear what you/anyone thinks about any of this.

South American Shamans Stone Softing Liquid. 10 parts Acitic acid(vinegar) 9 parts Citric acid (orange juice, ect) 8 parts Oxalic acid (from rhubarb leaves) Just noting it here so I don't forget. Check out stuff about Geopolimers to learn more about this. Geopolimers, by the way, are how a lot of the Megalithic structures were made. See also Egyptian "concrete"

Magnus Wing. I'm putting this here because why not. Anyway, I'm assuming that anyone reading this has heard of the Magnus Effect and the few attempts made at using it for aircraft. If not, go look it up so you'll know what I'm talking about. My idea is to try using the Magnus Effect in a way that gets around the biggest problem with how it has been tried before. That is, if you use a single large drum in place of the wing, when you lose power you fall. Because a drum doesn't let you glide. My idea: a wing made of several rows of smaller drums. This should allow one to tap into the Magnus Effect for extra lift while still having enough of a wing that you would still be able to glide without power, at least well enough to land. I can't be the only person to have thought of this, but I can't find anything about anyone having tried this. If anyone reading this has heard of this being tried, let me know I'd love to see how it worked or didn't. After all we don't have these things flying around. So, either I am the only one who has thought of this so far, or I just haven't found the info on where it was tried and what the problem was that keeps it from working; or maybe just keeps it from being practical. Anyway, if anyone knows anything about this, let me know? Thanks. Well, I found one thing where the drum was replaced with just a flat piece. Just an RC model, so they weren't looking at safety features like locking the panels in place in case of power failure. Might work, but still risky. Panels might not lock in at the right angle, and being a flat piece and not a true wing shape, probably wouldn't glide all that well. And still not close to what I have in mind.

While poking around on the gravity resistant thing I ran across a thing Where this guy; Bushman; had done a test involving crazy strong rare earth magnets. Placed N to N and dropped off a building they were landing later than two equal sized pieces of the same stuff that weren't magnetized. Claims that this is an anti-gravity effect Sadly I can't buy it without better testing. Steel rebar in the wall of the building is most likely to be why the magnets fell slower. Take the magnets up in a balloon and drop them over an empty field. If you get the same results, then, Then, we are on to something. Until then, it's just a pipedream fueled by wishful thinking and sloppy science.

"We need answers, and to get them we need more information, and one place to get that is the Scarlet Stag." I said getting up from the table and putting my dishes in the sink. "O.k. I'll head over there and see what I can find out." Fantasia said adding her dishes to the sink. "I was thinking of going myself, Need to talk to Tatanya about something that's between us, and get it settled before we go forward with any sort of alliance for dealing with the ongoing problem." "I see... Well, don't let me get in the way of resolving a personal score with a Fay." "Now, Just a minute;" Pheron said sliding his plate across the table, where Fantasia could reach it. "Didn't we just escape from the Scorps ? And won't they be looking for us ? Which would make walking the streets a sort of crazy thing to be doing just now ? " "Well, it would be; If I was to go out there looking like this; Or relying on a glamour. But Full on shape shifting is a lot harder to see through. As Fantasia demonstrated by rescuing us." "Okay, fine, have it your way. It's still crazy. Then again so's leaving a personal score with a Fay standing any longer than you have to; Or even having a personal score with a Fay in the first place. How did...? No. On second thought; I don't think I really want to know."

It took us a couple of hours to get to the side channel we were looking for. Surprisingly, none of the Styx Gollums from the fortresses followed us. I wondered if I should take it as a good sign or a bad one, but came to no conclusion on that point. I took the time to swap out the sleep spells for binding ones, and take a look at the rest of the book. As expected there wasn't much of use to us just now. But quite a lot that Melkior could use in his research. After all knowing how a Styx Gollum or Dracolich is made can be quite useful in figuring out its weak points. Once we reached the point where we were on the map it was a simple matter to repair the spell that keeps it up to date. In fact it took longer for the map to settle down after. It seems that the map has a rewind abilitie; allowing one to check for trends in the way things are moving around. I took a few minutes playing around with it, but didn't spot any shifts likely to be fast enough to matter to us. As to paths in and out, There weren't any good ones, But I found a couple that we could deal with well enough.

Maybe they did ask and it was edited out. But then they'd just edit out the oops part. As to being watched; This is a writing site, it's a fiction thing isn't it. 😊 "Gravity resistant" I'm going to have to do some poking around to see what I can find on that one.

Going back to the hidden passageway, Zatar takes a moment to scan the still unconscious Snypiuer. After finding no major damage, and placing a general purpose heading spell on him, just in case, teleports him to the, by now customary, couch in the Tavern. "He'll be fine. Now, bring me up to speed on what happened to you?" "O.k. " Qwerty said, putting the stunner in its holster and setting off down the hidden passageway "I was down by the Vaults of Time, trying to figure out which way to go to reach 'just a bit past' " " Sorry, about that. You Teleported in next to the Vaults ?" Qwerty nodded. "I'm normally coming from the Kitchen/Larder direction." "Ah, of course, picking up food for the hatchling; I should have thought of that. Anyway, before that insight had occurred, this evil looking clown shows up and starts wrapping me up in this sticky sleep cocoon stuff. Would have had me too, if I hadn't remembered this spare body I'd left at your place last year." "I'd forgotten about that, So, the breakaway stasis spell broke when you mindshifted in ?" "Had to give it a bit of a mental shove, But it worked pretty much like we wanted."

Zatar looked back and forth between the two Qwertys reflexively shifting to Magesight and aiming the med-Scaner at the armed Qwerty... Zeta; and with traces of a stasis spell clinging to him. Zatar turns his gaze and Scaner tword the other Qwerty, only to find him vanished. A stunner beam rips through the empty space a second later. "Really gone then, I was hoping he'd just gone invisible." "Should I have you bring me up to speed now or after?" "After, if you can get a lock on his teleport trace. I'm not sure what he/it Really is; So no clue how hard it will be to track." "Very;" Zatar said after a few minutes of murmured spells and adjusting of settings on the Scaner. "He didn't teleport, so much as dissipate. He seems to have turned into smoke or vapor and drifted off this way... and then sank through the floor... about here." Zatar finished coming to a stop a few yards further down the original hallway. "Seems to be an innate ability too, as I'm not picking up any traces of spell work of any type I've ever seen before."

Snypiuer's screams of panic had stopped rather abruptly. Growing worried Zatar sends a small glowing mote of magic trailing after his earlier spells, and lengthens his stride. He's almost running when his light mote takes a sharp left into and through a large wall hanging. Skidding to a stop Zatar reaches out with his magic to lift the tapestry out of the way. Revealing a secret passageway with an unconscious Snypiuer on the floor. Pulling a Med Scaner from his cloak Zatar notes a lump on Snypiuer's forehead and a low support beam. "Knocked himself silly, I take it ?" Qwerty observed as he glided to a stop next to Zatar. "Looks like it. Now to see if he did any damage to..." "IMPOSTOR!!" Qwerty yelled from further down the passageway; charging forward with some sort of ray-pistol in hand, aimed at the Qwerty standing next to Zatar.