Mage's Guild
IS OFFLINE
32
Renown
Other / Decline to State
Dragon's Cradle
978 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Blue Raspberry on Sept 17, 2022 15:39:28 GMT -5
"Do you really think this new flavor will be good? I mean, blue raspberry? Why blue? Raspberries aren't blue."
"Well, a lot of fruits are already red, so we wanted it to be different."
"Why not pink, then? Blue just makes no sense. And there's blueberry! Wouldn't that be blue?"
"Watermelon is going to be pink! Probably. Fine, it's blue raspberry because the flavoring isn't real raspberry. How are we supposed to get a strong enough flavor from real fruit? We had to invent something new for it."
"Then why even call it raspberry!?"
"I mean, it smells kind of like raspberry...."
"Well what's actually in it, then?"
"Well, we tried using a very different ingredient, but if this works out, this stuff should practically produce itself. Profit margins will be nearly 100%! Veliky will be amazed!"
They listened to the strange conversation between the two people through the glass of the container they were in as they slowly gained consciousness. What are they talking about? Blue Raspberry? Is that me? They must be, they keep pointing at me. They continued listening until the two men left the room.
They looked all around them. They were surrounded by a glass container except for something else above them. They reached up a gooey appendage and touched it. It didn't budge. They pushed harder, but it wouldn't move. They started to hit the side of the container. It moved slightly, the whole glass container sliding slightly to the side. They continued pushing on the side of the jar until it suddenly felt a falling sensation. They had pushed the jar right off the edge of the desk.
The jar smashed on the ground, releasing Blue Raspberry. They were surprised by the sudden fall, but they immediately started moving. They engulfed and dissolved the glass shards and metal lid of their former prison. They looked around, seeing a trashcan. They climbed into it. They felt a strange urge to eat. They started devouring the contents of the can, engulfing and digesting discarded bit of parchment, thrown away experiments, and other rubbish.
As they ate, they kept growing slightly larger. They quickly grew from the size of a fist to the size of a housecat. As they finished emptying the trash can, they heard voices coming from the doorway of the room. They climbed out and hid behind a crate just as the two men from before entered. The men immediately noticed the absence of the jar.
"Where's the blue raspberry!?"
|
|
Noble
IS OFFLINE
40
Renown
Half-Halfling, Half-Goblin
Arrived in the Booba Stratosphere
766 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Veliky on Sept 17, 2022 20:57:20 GMT -5
One of the men searches about frantically. The room is a mess! The trash can has been emptied, and the jar lies in fragments. Only a person or animal could've caused this, but who?
"I-I don't know! I mean, the glass's shattered, but..."
"But it should've spilled on the ground then, right?"
"Right, so what... never mind, we've got to tell somebody that there's an intruder on board."
"Researcher Nathaniel, query: is there an intruder on board?" the voice, high in pitch but rough in texture, seems to come from nowhere until a mechanical spider materializes on the wall, near the door. The researcher stiffens in startle.
"S-Stalker! Hey, uh, how long've you been there?"
"Report: if you are referring to the time of my entrance into this room, T-plus 16 seconds. Query: is there an intruder on board?"
"Yeah! Yeah, and they stole something real important! You've gotta find them! Priority Platinum!"
"Researcher Thomiel, negative: you do not have the authority to execute Priority Platinum commands."
"Th-then whatever I do have authority for!"
"Affirmative: Priority Copper search engaged."
The spider vanishes again, its body dematerializing before the researchers' very eyes. Thomiel sighs in relief, but Nathaniel grabs his shoulders and stares him directly in the eyes.
"Listen, we NEED to make sure they find it. Do you have any idea what Veliky will do if she learns we let something go?!"
"..."
"Do you?!"
"...Yeah. But what can we do?"
"What else? We've gotta help 'em search. Come on."
The two walk anxiously out of the room.
|
|
Mage's Guild
IS OFFLINE
32
Renown
Other / Decline to State
Dragon's Cradle
978 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Blue Raspberry on Sept 17, 2022 23:10:23 GMT -5
Once the two walked out of the room, Blue Raspberry slimed out of their hiding place to peak from behind the crate. That spider had just suddenly disappeared without even moving. That was interesting. Everything around them was so new and strange. It was like they were seeing for the first time. Because they were.
They moved away from the crate fully, looking around. They saw what bits of the jar they hadn't devoured and slimed over to finish eating it. Nothing remained of the jar. As they finished absorbing the last shard of glass into their body, they saw the spider reappear on the wall of the room in a different place than before. Those men seemed like they were looking for them. Was the spider also looking for them, too?
The spider crawled around on the wall some, its mechanical eyes scanning the room. They passed over Blue Raspberry several times, but seemed to ignore it. They had spotted Blue Raspberry, but their scanners had told them it was just some spilled BlixtTM on the floor. Their command had been to look for an intruder, not to clean up. That wasn't their priority. They would inform the proper personnel about the spill.
Blue Raspberry watched the spider crawl around the room a few times, disappearing and reappearing, before leaving through the same open door as the two men. What was it looking for? What's an intruder? Were those men also looking for the intruder? They followed through the open door into a long hallway and saw another open door nearby and went through it into another room.
Inside the room, they saw more crates. Most of them had no lids and were overflowing with various root vegetables. A food storage of some kind, stocked with foods that would last a fair journey. Blue Raspberry climbed up into a crate full of potatoes and started eating, quickly burying themself in a pile of potatoes.
|
|
Noble
IS OFFLINE
40
Renown
Half-Halfling, Half-Goblin
Arrived in the Booba Stratosphere
766 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Veliky on Sept 18, 2022 4:07:11 GMT -5
Hisss, clank. Hisss, clank. Hisss, clank.
Through the open door, a rhythmic series of mechanical noises can be heard, drawing closer until it stops just outside, in the hallway.
"Researcher Nathaniel, query: what is your current ordinance?" the voice is similar to that of the spider, but much lower in pitch.
"Oh, hi Rook! I-I'm, uh, I'm just looking for something."
"Query: are you searching for an intruder?"
"...Yeah. Did Stalker tell you?"
"Affirmative: Stalker-01 ordered a Priority Copper search, T-plus 4 minutes. Query: Stalker-01 stated that an unknown item of high importance was stolen. Do you know what item it was referring to?"
"..."
"Repeat query: do you know what item it was referring to?"
"No, sorry."
"Inpolar. All units, report: Researcher Nathaniel has been pinged for impending repairs."
"Wait, what?"
"Researcher Nathaniel, report: I have detected a malfunction in your processor. I have pinged you for impending repairs. You will be brought to the recharge station at the earliest possible convenience. Specification: once the intruder has been located and neutralized."
"Th-that really won't be necessary, I-"
"Negative: this ping is in accordance with standard procedure. Necessity is beyond the scope of my programming. You will be brought to the recharge station at the earliest possible convenience. Out."
Hisss, clank. Hisss, clank. Hisss, clank.
Silence.
|
|
Mage's Guild
IS OFFLINE
32
Renown
Other / Decline to State
Dragon's Cradle
978 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Blue Raspberry on Sept 18, 2022 8:13:00 GMT -5
A man came into the food storage with a sack to grab some ingredients for dinner. They looked into the crate of potatoes and frowned, a bit puzzled.
"Damn, we're going through these potatoes faster than I thought. I remember there being a lot more of them left yesterday."
They started grabbing potatoes and throwing them into the sack until they had grabbed enough for tonight's stew before moving onto the other crates to grab other ingredients. The sack started to get a bit heavy, so they placed it on the ground while they continued gathering ingredients. As the man weas turned away, focusing on grabbing some onions from another crate, Blue peaked out from under the potatoes. They had grown in size from about the mass of a housecat to nearly four times that. Potatoes still floating and dissolving inside the transparent blue slime, they watched for a moment before climbing out of the crate and into the sack on the ground.
Finishing up their selection, the man tossed the onions into the sack and closed it up before throwing it over their shoulder.
"Oof, this is heavier than I thought it would be." the man said as they walked out of the room. They walked down the hall, and saw another man looking a bit panicked.
"Hey Nathaniel, what's up?"
"Oh, uh, hey Brian. Just looking for something. You haven't seen any intruders on the ship have you? Something went missing and we can't find it."
"An intruder? No, I haven't seen anyone but you for a bit. Just getting prepped for dinner. What went missing?"
"Oh, nothing. Don't worry about it."
Nathaniel sounded very nervous about something. Whatever went missing, they clearly didn't want word of it getting out. They probably really didn't want Veliky to know. It must be something important.
"Listen, if it's a secret, I promise not to tell anyone about it, but I can't let you know if I see it if I don't know what it is."
Nathaniel hesitated for a moment before giving a shake of their head.
"No, it's nothing to worry about. I'll just keep looking. We've already got bots looking for any intruders who might've taken it. I'm sure we'll find it." he said before walking past Brian to continue searching.
Brian gave a sigh and continued on his way to the kitchen to start cooking dinner for himself and the other crew members.
|
|
Noble
IS OFFLINE
40
Renown
Half-Halfling, Half-Goblin
Arrived in the Booba Stratosphere
766 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Veliky on Sept 18, 2022 12:08:13 GMT -5
For such a massive vessel, the Nin Hloth has only one, tiny kitchen. This is surely due to its minimal living staff. But what equipment they do have is, like the ship itself, advanced and innovative in bizarre ways, with iron machines that produce fire and water alike. Unfortunately for Brian, a gnome, it is all sized for humans, so he must rely on a less advanced, but equally useful invention: a stepping stool.
Brian drops the sack unceremoniously near the stove before walking into the closet and scrounging about. He brings out a knife, a cutting board and some odd device of unknown function and places them on the counter. Just then, the other researcher, Thomiel, peeks his head through the door. Brian notices, smiling at first but then frowning when he sees the troubled expression on Thomiel's face.
"Hey, Thomiel. Is something wrong?"
"No!" he shouts. "Uh, no. Hi. Umm... have you seen anything weird in the past, uh, ten minutes?"
"That's funny, Nathaniel just asked me something very similar."
"Ha! Ha! That is funny... what'd you tell him?"
"I said 'no.' What're you two looking for, anyway?"
"It's just..." He looks over his shoulders in paranoia before turning back to Brian. "Look, just tell me if you see a jar or container of blue stuff, alright?"
"Blue stuff? Wait, you don't mean the-"
"Shushushush! Don't tell the bots, don't tell anyone but me or Nathaniel! Got it?"
"Right. Right." It isn't lost on Brian how important this matter is. "I'll help you look, too. I just need to cook first."
"Great! Be quick!"
Thomiel hurries out. Brian, too, is now more rapid in his movements as he reenters the closet and begins searching for a stepping stool, leaving Blue Raspberry alone in the kitchen.
|
|
Mage's Guild
IS OFFLINE
32
Renown
Other / Decline to State
Dragon's Cradle
978 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Blue Raspberry on Sept 18, 2022 13:25:34 GMT -5
Blue Raspberry slimed out of the now empty sack, approximately double their previous size. They were now about the mass of a large dog. They swallowed the empty sack, too, before moving around to observe the new place they found themself in. They heard noises coming from a door in the room as they looked around. The gnome that had carried them in the sack wasn't there, but they had heard talking from inside the sack. Did he leave?
Sliming their way toward the closet, they saw the stalky gnome standing on a stool reaching up to grab some more tools needed to cook that night's dinner. They felt an urge to sneak up behind the gnome and devour him, but as they were about to move, they heard voices coming from the open kitchen door. They moved to hide behind a large barrel in the corner that was full of fresh water.
Brian finished grabbing the cooking equipment and turned around to find Nathaniel and Bishop entering the kitchen.
|
|
Noble
IS OFFLINE
40
Renown
Half-Halfling, Half-Goblin
Arrived in the Booba Stratosphere
766 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Veliky on Sept 18, 2022 16:02:29 GMT -5
"Oh! Uh, hi Nathaniel. How's your search going?"
"..."
"Nathaniel?"
"Researcher Brian, command, Authority Silver: report all of your activities since T-plus 15 minutes."
The bot towers over the gnomes, being nearly twice their height. Its voice is identical to that of the one called Rook.
"Well, I was doing some maintenance in the utility shaft until about ten minutes ago, when I... wait..."
"Brian, just play along."
"Command, Authority Silver: continue your report."
"Nathaniel... are you trying to frame me? Did you tell them that I was involved?"
"N-no, they were just asking me about possible suspects, and I- I-"
"And you told them ME?!"
"Repeat command: continue your report."
"Do you have any idea what could happen if I was implicated in something like this?!" He tosses the stepping stool aside.
"I- I- I- know! Please, just-"
"Repeat command, final warning: continue your report."
"Nah! No, instead, why don't you ask Nathaniel here how he lost a company product?!"
Nathaniel goes pale. His jaw hangs open like the closet door. The bot shifts its attention to him.
"Researcher Nathaniel, query, Authority Silver: what incident is Researcher Brian referring to?"
Nathaniel twitches. His hands shake, and his eyes dart about the kitchen.
"I-... um... i-it's complicated..."
"Command, Authority Silver: elaborate."
"Uh... well... when I mentioned earlier that something had been stolen, uh... it may've been a top-secret, experimental flavour of Blixt™." He immediately hides behind his arms. "Please don't shoot me!"
"Affirmative: I will not shoot you."
Nathaniel peeks from between his fingers.
"Really?"
"Repeat affirmative: I will not shoot you."
Nathaniel drops his arms and relaxes.
"Oh, thank Solaria, I-"
"All units, report: Researcher Nathaniel has been pinged for immediate repairs."
"...What? Wait, no. No!"
Bishop walks toward him, extending a cold, metal hand.
"Researcher Nathaniel, command, Authority Silver: stand down. Remain still."
The gnome is backed into a corner.
"I'm not a bot! You can't 'repair' me! My processor- no, my brain doesn't work like that!"
"Negative: irrelevant. I have detected a major malfunction in your processor. Researcher Brian, command, Authority Silver: remain in this area until further notice."
The robot grips the gnome's arm with vicelike strength. He begs and pleads as Bishop begins dragging him out of the kitchen.
|
|
Mage's Guild
IS OFFLINE
32
Renown
Other / Decline to State
Dragon's Cradle
978 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Blue Raspberry on Sept 18, 2022 17:37:31 GMT -5
Brian stands there, arms crossed, as Nathaniel is dragged away by the bot. He deserves it, that asshole. Trying to blame this on me. He'll get what's coming to him. Brian thought to himself as the sounds of begging and pleading grew more distant. They had always been like this. Trying to push the blame for their mistakes onto others.
He turned around after letting his anger cool down for a few minutes. He had work to do. He still had to cook dinner for the few living personnel on this boat and then look after his own research projects. If someone was going around the ship stealing top secret experiments, he needed to hurry up and finish with dinner to make they hadn't stolen his work too.
He placed his tools on the counter, ready to start cooking before looking to where he had left the sack of ingredients, but it was gone.
"Wha- What the hell? Where's my ingredients?"
He started looking around, checking under the table, opening cabinets, looking behind the crates and barrels in the room, but there was nothing. Had he been robbed by the thief? There was no way, only Nathaniel and Thomiel had been in here since he had brought the sack from the food storage. Did Thomiel steal it?
He didn't have time for this. He needed to finish cooking and then check on his projects! He wanted to just go back to the pantry and grab some more ingredients, but Bishop had ordered him to stay here. How did this happen? They were feeling extremely angry now. First Nathaniel almost got him "repaired", and now Thomiel or someone had stolen his cooking ingredients? It was just so frustrating!
"I need a drink" he said, heading over to the water barrel in the corner. They placed a stool next to the barrel and climbed up. They cupped their hands and dipped them into the barrel to get some of the water, but they could immediately feel something was off. The water was far too blue to be normal and it felt oddly thick. They tried to pull their hands back out of the barrel, but something held onto them and started pulling them deeper into the liquid. They struggled, trying to pull their hands free, but it was now their whole arms that were submerged in the liquid. Panicking, they tried to call out.
"So- Someone! He-" their cry was cut off as their head and shoulder were pulled under, followed by kicking legs and then they were gone.
|
|
Noble
IS OFFLINE
40
Renown
Half-Halfling, Half-Goblin
Arrived in the Booba Stratosphere
766 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Veliky on Sept 19, 2022 3:02:19 GMT -5
Hiss hiss clank clank, hiss hiss clank clank, hiss hiss clank clank.
Now, two bots enter the kitchen. One carries a heavy crossbow while the other wields a sword. They both pause for several seconds upon entering and finding nobody. The crossbow-bot walks forward and looks into the closet. Another few seconds of silence as its red eyes scan the dark corners.
"All units, report: Researcher Brian has committed an act of grievous insubordination. The previously enacted Priority Copper search has been increased to a Priority Gold search. Targets include 1) Researcher Brian, 2) Researcher Thomiel, 3) other possible intruders and 4) remaining units of Blixt™ Blue Raspberry."
The sword-bot beeps in acknowledgment as the crossbow bot hisses and clanks out of the kitchen. It flips a tiny switch on the hilt of its sword, and the blade begins crackling with electricity. Then, the severity of a 'Priority Gold search' becomes apparent, as the bot begins tearing through the kitchen, ripping open cabinet doors, clearing shelvers and tearing open crates. Ingredients and cutlery alike are heedlessly tossed to the ground. No hiding place, it seems, is too obscure for it to consider; even the stove is opened, searched, and slammed close.
|
|
Mage's Guild
IS OFFLINE
32
Renown
Other / Decline to State
Dragon's Cradle
978 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Blue Raspberry on Sept 19, 2022 11:47:51 GMT -5
Blue Raspberry waited in the barrel, watching the two robots destroy the kitchen. They felt strange since their last meal. They felt more aware, as if they had gotten a little smarter. What did they just eat? Well, it didn't really matter right now. They were in danger. They could grasp the situation better, now. These robots were destroying the kitchen, looking for any intruders, the Gnome named Brian, and Blue Raspberry. If they stayed in this barrel, they would definitely be found.
One of the robots approached the barrel, a sword in their hand. Their red eyes scanned the barrel and they stopped.
"All units, report: remaining units of Blixt™ Blue Raspberry disc-"
Blue Raspberry burst from the barrel, flipping it onto its side and charged directly at the sword-wielding robot. The ooze had grown much larger, nearly filling the large barrel to the top. The robot dodged out of the way of its charge and swung their sword down, lopping off a chunk of the slime's body that fell off and splashed onto the ground, melting into a liquid with no form. The other robot fired a crossbow bolt at the fleeing ooze, but the crossbow bolt was slowed down in the air by a thin bolt of electricity that arced off of the slime. The bolt landed harmlessly into the slime and was quickly absorbed,
The slime left a clear trail in the cooking utensil strewn floor, picking up the objects as it practically rolled out the door and began barreling down the hallway, away from the two pursuing robots.
Static Field (Will be protected from projectiles for 2 posts)
|
|
Noble
IS OFFLINE
40
Renown
Half-Halfling, Half-Goblin
Arrived in the Booba Stratosphere
766 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Veliky on Sept 19, 2022 16:55:59 GMT -5
The halls of the Nin Hloth are strange, almost otherworldly, but the awakened Blixt™ has never known anything else. The walls are lined with brass pipes. On one of the walls is a strange, brass bowl, like the bell of a trumpet.
Rook and Bishop run out of the kitchen, in hot pursuit. Bishop stops fires another bolt, but it is absorbed just as easily as the last. This seems to demoralize it, in whatever way a construct can experience such things. While Rook gives chase, Bishop lowers its crossbow and approaches the brass bowl on the wall. It emanates a rapid series of beeps, clicks, whirrs and buzzes that echoes through the pipes.
The hall leads on and on, twisting and turning. There are strange markings all along the walls that might mean something to a Blixtbot's™ binary eyes, but they offer no sense of direction to a person, let alone Blue Raspberry.
The chase leads to a three-way intersection, with the hall continuing past a tributary passage. Suddenly, sparks alight from the ground as if something skid to a halt, but nothing can be seen. Then, exactly one second later, another bot screeches around the corner, shaped like a jackal[1], possessing many of the other Blixtbots'™ features but lacking the polished sheen. It sprints forward, clockwork jaw agape. But before it even comes within reach, Blue Raspberry feels a tearing sensation as something invisible bites into its membrane!
1. (Ashland Jackal) Lag Switch-01
|
|
Mage's Guild
IS OFFLINE
32
Renown
Other / Decline to State
Dragon's Cradle
978 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Blue Raspberry on Sept 19, 2022 18:27:14 GMT -5
Blue Raspberry felt part of itself being torn off. It was terrible. It hated this feeling, the feeling of having its size forcefully reduced and part of it taken away. They picked up speed and barreled down the hall toward the robotic dog, wanting to slam into it and devour it to regain what it had just lost, but the dog suddenly disappeared. They slammed into the wall in front of them and looked back to see the dog had reappeared exactly where they had been when they felt the bite. The other two robots were close behind.
They looked to their left and right, down the hallways on either side, and started moving down the left hallway to get away. As they went, they spotted one of the holes in the pipe that the robot had made noises into and darted for it. They leaped up and started squeezing themself through the hole and travelled down the pipe. The pipe let out metallic groans as it was flooded with the ooze.
The sword-wielding robot ran up to attack the ooze as it entered the pipe, swinging its sword down at it. It managed to lop off another chunk just before it disappeared, but it wasn't enough to kill the creature that was now making its way through the ship's communication system.
|
|
Noble
IS OFFLINE
40
Renown
Half-Halfling, Half-Goblin
Arrived in the Booba Stratosphere
766 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Veliky on Sept 19, 2022 20:31:31 GMT -5
Very little light makes its way into the communication pipes at all; it isn't long before Blue Raspberry slithers through pitch blackness. For now, it is safe, but where does it go?
The two humanoid bots and the jackal-shaped one stand by the bell, communicating with one-another through clicks and buzzes. They know where the pipe leads: the Caller Room, normally restricted except in emergencies. This counts as an emergency. They sprint down the halls; the anomaly will be there before them, so they'll need to be quick.
Crawling through perfect dark, Blue Raspberry is unable to predict a sudden, steep drop. It's an undoubtedly disorienting, if not terrifying experience for Blue Raspberry, which has never even fallen, let alone at this distance, in these conditions. Fortunately, the fall itself is only roughly 12 feet, depositing the slime in a strange room.
To its right is a short flight of stairs leading to a heavy, brass door. To its left is a great machine of unknown purpose, built into the walls, contained within a shell of unknown alloy. A reinforced window offers a view into its core, which contains... water. Only water. But how it moves is strange, not flowing nor standing but writhing, much like Blue Raspberry itself.
There are no switches, no buttons, no levers and no handles on the machine. How is it operated, and what does it even do?
|
|
Mage's Guild
IS OFFLINE
32
Renown
Other / Decline to State
Dragon's Cradle
978 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Blue Raspberry on Sept 19, 2022 20:55:05 GMT -5
Blue Raspberry slimed over to the strange machine and extended a pseudopod to the window. What is that? Is it family? What is family? They thought about the writhing mass in the machine, feeling like it was related to them. But, they needed to keep moving. Those robots were definitely on their way here. Something in the back of their mind told them so.
They looked around the room for somewhere to go. They went down the stairs to the door, looking for a gap to squeeze through. They slowly squeezed under the door, into another hallway of pipes and doors. They had so little time, they had to hurry. They popped out from under the door and headed as quickly as they could to another door that was slightly ajar. They pushed it open and entered a room full of crates neatly stacked along the walls.
The closed the door behind them as they slimed into the room and over to one of the crates. They pulled off the lid and peaked inside one of the crates and saw it was filled to the top with bottles. They climbed into the crate and started eating, reaching out and pulling the lid back overtop of the crate to hide after eating enough of the cans to clear room for them inside.
They heard the sound of hurried footsteps running past the door to the room as they buried themself in the bottles of liquid, hiding like they had hidden in the potatoes from the Gnomish man named Brian. Brian had never known they were in the potatoes. How did they know that? Well, it didn't matter. They needed to hide from those robots.
|
|