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94. Chain Gang
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2021-09-13 17:13:30Related chapters
How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 95. Tripping
The city of Dargot is built over a network of tunnels. I don’t know if they were created by natural means or man-made, but our troll-made tunnel soon came out in another bigger, wetter one.I will say the tunnel made by troll hands had a solid feel to it. The walls were a bit rough, with claw-like marks gouged into them, but you didn’t get the impression the whole thing was about to fall on your head.The tunnel we ended up in did not give me the same sense of security. Bits fell off the roof and splashed into the knee-deep water as we sloshed along after the trolls. They at least seemed to know where they were going.I released my ball of light and it bounced along the roof of the tunnel. It helped us see where we were going but it also showed us plenty of other less helpful things. We were basically in the city sewers and the stuff floating alongside us weren’t paper boats and lost goldfish.The water gushed along at a fair speed, steadily rising. Most lik
Last Updated : 2021-09-13How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 96. Grief Encounters
I had no idea if Biadet’s note meant we should attack the giant’s penis or if we should watch out for him using it to attack us. Personally, I preferred to avoid both.A goal I considered well within reach as we wouldn’t be facing the giant as enemies but prisoners. I imagined the conversation to go something like:“What up, Keezy?”“Yo, Gargantua. Delivery for the boss.”“No problemo, go straight through. Ta ta for now.”“Thanks. Cheerio.”All very civilised, no fighting, no need for penis attacks.“Do you think the other group are in there?” asked Claire, snapping me out of my wishful thinking. She was referring to Gideon and the Cool Kids who Gullen had sent here on a reconnaissance mission.“Probably,” I said. We were approaching the fort on a wide, dusty road that ran parallel to the canyon and led straight to the fort’s entrance.Keezy and the trolls had reverted to their soldier forms and wanted to enter the fort as
Last Updated : 2021-09-13How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 97. A Bridge Too Near
It shouldn’t really have been a surprise that the other groups would have developed special abilities. It was possible Stella wasn’t the only one. The way they seemed unfazed by the prospect of facing off against the Archfiend more than likely meant they had other tricks up their sleeves. Probably best if I didn’t aggravate them. Hey, first time for everything.“You want to go into Monsterland instead of us?” I felt like I should check he meant what I thought he meant.“Yah, man,” said Gideon. “It sounds like the sort of thing we’ve been looking for. Most of the monsters here are too easy. We could use a challenge. Just give us any info or equipment Gullen gave you and we’ll take care of it.”On the one hand, I felt a sense of relief — they didn’t want to fight us. On the other hand, they thought we were being sent on some cool quest to save the world, and decided they would just take over.It irked me.“Gullen didn’t give us anything,” I said.
Last Updated : 2021-09-13How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 98. Washed Up
Flossie’s scream went from operatic swansong to abrupt silence. One of the trolls had leaned over the side and grabbed her. Only, she had already fallen too far to be caught by normal hands. The troll’s arm was stretched like chewing gum pulled out of someone’s mouth to its breaking point.Unlike Mr Fantastic, whose limbs could snake about and do all sorts of useful things, the troll’s arm hung limp and Flossie swung to and fro under the bridge.Below her — far, far below her — a river snaked through the middle of the canyon. It didn’t look very big, maybe a stream. If she fell, it probably wouldn’t save her.I was lying on the boards holding on as tight as I could as I peered over the edge, but the vertical view made me feel quite nauseous. I rolled onto my back, panting for breath.Everyone had immediately stuck their heads over the side, making the bridge tip over precariously and I felt we could all easily slide off. They were calling out to Flossie, tel
Last Updated : 2021-09-13How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 99. Brassed Off
I reached up slowly. Bald before twenty, that’s what I was thinking. Cool, Jason Statham hardman kind of bald? No chance. More like burns victim with alopecia.The hair on my head was still there. In fact, there was more of it than I remembered. I didn’t bother too much with my hair. I let it grow and occasionally sliced bits off when they got in my face. But now the strands were noticeably longer than before. My beard, which was patchy at the best of times, also felt heavier.As I moved my fingers over my face, I also noticed a difference in my fingertips. My fingernails had grown.“Do I look weird?” I asked the others, who were still staring. They made noncommittal noises. I guess it was a hard question to answer if you thought I looked quite weird to start with.“Stand up,” said Keezy.I rose to my feet and walked over to him. He seemed reluctant to come closer to his fallen comrade.He placed his hands on my shoulder, looked me in the face
Last Updated : 2021-09-13How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 100. Welcome to Monsterland
The smaller creatures didn’t look too intimidating. About the size of monkeys, although in various shapes.A raccoonish thing sporting a beard and long hair with a centre parting was busy hammering tent poles into the ground.A creature resembling a squirrel with a bushy tail but the face of one of those big-nosed monkeys scampered through branches, tying off vines that held up the roof of some kind of stall.Some of them wore clothes — little waistcoats with pockets, or bandoliers with tools and weapons hanging from them — and I could see Flossie’s eyes expanding with glee. She was practically salivating at the prospect of grabbing one and giving him a cuddle. Right before he throttled her with his adorable human-like hands and ate her face.The larger creatures were less endearing. Some of them were a mixture of human and beast, and not cute like a cat-girl with ears and tail and sexy human body. More like a large cat that decided to walk upright and bulke
Last Updated : 2021-09-13How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 101. Beware the Jabberwock
It didn’t take me long to get changed. I had fallen asleep in my clothes and only needed to put my shoes on. I emerged from the tent bleary-eyed but ready for action. More or less.Keezy was waiting for me with a small creature at his side. It came up to about my waist and had the head of a dog but with human-ish ears and eyes. It also had a tail that slapped from side to side. If it were an actual dog, I would assume it was happy, but it wasn’t an actual dog so who knows?“This is May-May. He will act as our tracker.”If here were an actual dog, I would also assume he’d sniff the ground and then catch Kungen’s scent. It’s hard not to let your preconceptions inform your poor guesses but I decided not to presume when faced with things that shouldn’t really exist. Especially when the thing in question might get annoyed and eat me.“So you’re working with humans now,” said May-May in a yappy voice that only reinforced my presumptions. “You trolls sure are hard
Last Updated : 2021-09-13How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 102. The Worm Turns
It’s not often you hear the phrase, “Oh shit, it’s the cavalry,” when people are coming to your rescue, but those were the words that sprang to my lips.“Stop!” screamed Jenny.They ran faster to be able to hear what she was saying. We both raised our hands and shouted again. “Stop!”They heard us this time and did as commanded. They came to a shuddering halt like we were playing a game of musical statues, limbs in unnatural poses as they wobbled trying to keep their balance.“What is it?” asked Maurice. “Quicksand?”We were standing on perfectly solid ground, not sinking from view, so I don’t know why that was his first thought. “It’s the jabberwock. It’s a giant worm that’s under us right now. I think it’s attracted to movement so try to keep as still as possible.”“How big is it?” asked Claire.“Enormous,” said Jenny. “It ate Keezy.”There was a murmur of surprise and disbelief.“Sounds like Shai-Hulud,” said Maurice kno
Last Updated : 2021-09-13
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How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 244. Don’t Forget to Breathe
Claire stabbed me. She didn’t know I was in here, but would that have made a difference?The moment the blade entered my chest, I felt a rush of cold go through me like smoke through a keyhole. Everything began shaking. I was falling apart.“What are yo’ doing?” screamed Flossie.“It’s not him,” said Maurice. “Colin’s safe. This is just his body. We have to stop them now, or we’ll never get another chance.”It had never been a great body, but ‘just his body’ seemed a little harsh.Was this part of some big plan? Maurice had always been good at seeing patterns and drawing conclusions. He wasn’t always right, but he was starting to have faith in himself. They all were. Dangerous times.If you joined up the dots and they formed a picture, it would make sense to assume that’s the picture you were meant to find. Maurice had decided this was the picture he had seen. Kill Peter, kill Wesley. Leave no one powerful enough to threaten the rest of us.
How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 243. The Older Woman
By this point, I considered darkness to be an old friend. Considering how my friends had been treating me of late, my buddy darkness was probably hiding monsters that would eat my face.The voice I’d heard had sounded feminine, although I wasn’t about to assume gender. These days, that sort of thinking can get you in all sorts of trouble. If it was a woman, my track record with females in dark places wasn’t good, but I wasn’t about to generalise about that either.Yes, women had treated me poorly, often trying to kill me, torture me and nag me to death. I didn’t hold a grudge. Women aren’t all the same. I never think, Oh, yes, she’s just like all the others. They’re all individuals. They each have their own preferred method for ruining your life. Some of them even do it by ignoring you. They’re my favourite.I listened for any follow-up threats. There were always follow-up threats. Everyone had too much fun arranging my demise to not announce their plans.No
How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 242. Further Beyond
It wasn’t like Claire suddenly transforming was a bad thing. When the Fire Nation attacks, you want someone to change into their Avatar state. She was more Korra than Aang, but who knew what she was capable of now?I suddenly felt a sense of loss at not having Maurice around to swap pop culture analogies with. It’s all very well having people standing beside you in times of trouble, but it leaves an unsatisfactory feeling when they don’t understand your references.We had a giant Elf with a handful of twats coming at us, so Claire going blue-eyes white dragon was a good thing, even if she had no idea what a blue-eyes white dragon was. Whatever had been behind the wall in the crypt, it had presumably exited via Claire and taken up residence.Normally, that would be a cause for concern. How often has the thing bricked up inside a church been a chill dude who got trapped by accident? No, it was always some abused child whose vengeful spirit was now going to wreak havo
How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 241. Sister of No Mercy
“But why?” asked Claire, her hands shaking by her side.Maurice had a ferocious grin on his face, the kind only severe embarrassment can produce. Despite any reasons and justifications he might have, when you get caught doing something you know you shouldn’t do — because all the Pixar movies you’ve ever seen have clearly identified it for you — there’s no way to stop your body from producing all the ‘oh fuck’ hormones it contains, and sending them to your face.“You went inside my mind and took my memories from me.” This was what Claire was really upset about. Not that Maurice had betrayed us and aligned himself with the enemy, but that he had crossed her personal boundaries.“It wasn’t like that,” whispered Maurice. He was keeping his words quiet as though they would hurt less that way, but they filled the silent crypt we were standing in. “I did what I thought was best.”“Best?! You thought lying to me was best?” The surprise of it was wearing off now, and
How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 240. Cockblocula
It might have seemed a bit risky to call out Joshaya. He was the person I’d been trying to avoid, after all. If him catching up with me unravelled Maurice’s power, meeting him could kill me. But that was also why it was safe to do so.If this version of Arthur was really Joshaya, then I’d already been in his presence, even told him I was dead, and was still alive.If I was wrong, it wouldn’t change anything, and if I was right, I should already be dead. Unless there was more to this whole being dead business than first appeared.I didn’t need to understand exactly how all this mumbo jumbo worked to realise whoever was holding death over my head as a threat, was also making sure I didn’t die.Not to blow my own horn (every boy’s dream), but I was important enough to keep alive. They needed me. Which gave me some leverage. Until I became so irritating that they gave up on their plans and killed me anyway.Joshaya rose to a vertical position like some un
How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 239. Planning for the Future
We headed out of the temple with two of our members in wheelbarrows. Normally this would require some explaining. People don’t just push around unconscious bodies in gardening equipment, unless it’s a stag do that’s going very well.In this case, however, we were aided by the presence of druids, the local religious weirdos who everyone did their best to ignore.Coupled with the fact we were coming out of the temple everyone believed could do no wrong (never fails to amaze me how ready the faithful are to confuse turn the other cheek with turn a blind eye) and they assumed we must have had a good reason to use this particular form of public transportation.The crowds in the square simply parted for us as they went about their business. My own thoughts were preoccupied with the strong suspicion that Arthur, the one in the crypt, was another manifestation of Joshaya. The roleplaying was of a very high standard, and the cosmetic touches were really well done, but there
How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 238. Lead Me Not into Temptation
“Destroy? You mean as in kill? You want to kill Peter.” The voice, for all its unsettling menace — hard to come across as anything else when you’re emanating from a stone coffin — had a tinge of genuine shock to it. He was horrified by the prospect of what I’d suggested. “Oh, I couldn’t do that. Absolutely not.”Disappointing.“You don’t control dead people, then? You aren’t a necromancer?”“I told you, I’m a vivimancer.”“I’m sorry, I’ve never heard of that before. What does it mean?”“It means I can heal, I can prolong life. Other people’s and my own. It’s the reason I’m in here. My body was starved of food and air, but my life force abides.”“You aren’t dead?”“I am and I am not.”“And Peter put you here, but you still don’t want to get him back?”“Not by robbing him of life. I mean, I wouldn’t like it if someone did that to me, so why would I do it to someone else?”Someone had done it to him. I didn’t point this
How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 237. Hold the Moan
There were four lights in all. Three smaller one, and the big one that seemed to do all the talking. The red balls hanging in the air suggested eyes, but not in a Sauron ‘I see everything’ kind of way, more a HAL ‘Hello, Dave’ kind of way. A harmonised version of Daisy, Daisy could break out at any moment.There’s a rumour, strongly denied, that HAL, in the movie 2001, was meant to represent the firm IBM. If you take a letter away from each of the letters in I-B-M you get H-A-L.But it was never the hardware that was going to be the problem for the future of mankind. If you made the same kind of movie today, the insane AI watching your every move would be something more like Facebook, but you’d face the same problem. You couldn’t use the name without getting sued. You’d have to take a letter away from each of its initials to make up a completely fictitious evil company. FB would become... Oh, wait.“You have returned to set us free,” said the big light. There was a
How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 236. Freedom for All
Jenny was not happy. She was the sort of person who prided herself on not being a nag. She presented herself as a supportive partner willing to back me up in whatever retarded idea I came up with. She’d tell me it was retarded, but that wouldn’t stop her having my back.Which is cool. People should only tell you not to do something if they have a better option. One they know works due to experience and wisdom, not because they think it will help them whore karma on Reddit.Under those conditions, hardly anyone would get to tell anyone else what to do. People would make mistakes, of course, but they would be valuable mistakes that would help the person grow and improve.This time, however, Jenny was not in the mood to stand by and allow me to go skipping off into the jaws of danger. Not without her mooring line firmly attached.“If he disconnects himself from me,” said Jenny, “won’t he die? I thought I was the only thing keeping him alive.”“Yes. Techn
