Face in Murky Waters

Several decades ago, a group of scientists experimented with the effects of gene manipulation.  They employed four transients to take part in their experiments.  Soon after, the city was plagued by several unsolved disappearances.

It seems that the poor subjects had begun to search out 'alternative' nourishment.

When a fisherman and his daughter came across one of the subjects making a meal of a horse, they ran for their lives.  The subject would have caught them, were it not for the truck that ran the subject over.  Before their very eyes, the subject deteriorated, and soon was reduced to a greenish pile of ashes.

Weeks later, another subject was caught attempting to attack a local librarian as she was locking the library for the night.  Her screams alerted several men in a bar, which immediately went after the shadowy figure.  They chased the subject as far as the dock, where it jumped into the dark waters, and disappeared from sight.

In the distance, they noticed two more shadowy figures drop down into the waters.

Reports of more violent attacks came more frequently.  The locals began patrolling the areas at night, and groups of armed men would go out in search of the 'fish men', as they were called.  People that had escaped the fish men's clutches had described the croaking, and clicking, and the swampy smell that protruded from the slimy creatures.

When the scientists were found deceased, and their laboratory destroyed, the locals decided that it was time to put an end to the slimy fish men.

They took weapons, and went out in search of them.  Soon after, some of the men found the fish men scrounging around in the local woods.  The locals confronted the slimy fish men, who began fighting back.   As the fight continued, the noise alerted more of the locals.  As they arrived, they found the men sprawled on the ground, and the three fish men gone.

Some of the men that went in search at the dock, saw the fish men jump into the water.  Startled, one of them went back to alert the others.  When all of the locals arrived at the dock, they poured oil into the water, and set it ablaze.

The locals remained long after the fires went out, and into the early morning.

Since that night, the slimy fish men were never seen again.  Most of the locals believed that they had been destroyed trying to escape the flames, and others believed that they perished under the waters by all of the objects and dynamite that had been thrown in.

Years later, the fish men had been mostly forgotten, until the day when a tourist diver came across a greenish, and slime-covered figure lurking in a nearby bay.

Needless to say, nobody believed his story.

The Flamenco Dancer

It was in old Barcelona where he saw her for the first time.  After a business meeting that had lasted for hours, he went out into the night.  Not feeling particularly tired, he decided to wander into a local establishment for something to drink.  There she was.

She turned and flowed on the stage as she danced.  Perhaps she reminded him of someone.  Perhaps she had been part of his life at some point.  But how?  He had never seen her before, yet after a few moments, she had become an obsession.

She danced for a time in her native dress, and to her native music.  She flowed and twirled, and he watched her through the smoke, the hushed conversations, the tiny candles, and the dim light.

During his time in old Barcelona, he would stand at his hotel room window, and he would look out at the old city.  He would stare at the distant lights, which became the tiny candles, and see her fleeting face in them.  She haunted him in his memory, as she danced through the shadows and smoke.

After his last scheduled meeting in old Barcelona, he quickly made his way back to the local establishment.  Another dancer was performing.  He paid for an extra night at the hotel where he was staying, and missed his scheduled flight back home.  On that extra night, a local guitar player played in the local establishment.

He remained in old Barcelona an extra week, in hopes of seeing her again, in hopes of watching her dance again, but other acts followed one after the other.  Inquiring about the dancer, not the barmaids, nor even the establishment's owner could answer.

The following night, he sat in his plane seat, and stared out at the old city while the plane began to rise.  Throughout the city, the lights became tiny candles again.  In his memory, he watched her as she twirled and turned amongst the shadows and smoke on the stage in that local establishment in old Barcelona.

Just a simple copper lamp

Just a simple copper lamp.  It is so much easier to achieve semi-realism with objects, even down to the fake plastic wood base.  Realistic-looking skin is always so much harder to achieve.  It is just one of those difficult things.  I built this lamp in Hexagon and rendered in Vue.

Sword of the Spirit

At times, we could see the battle atop the distant mountain.  We rode in our air balloon, and that is how we saw.  We fought the wind that pushed us about, and the cinders that threatened to send us crashing down into the treacherous land far below.

The spirit that appeared from the southeast, and strode northward, was there.  He fought fearlessly, for he was spirit, and his enemy was all that was evil.  We knew that it was he, and we knew that only he, and those who were pure, could tolerate the deadly lands of the fire mountain and it's master.

Now, the battle raged.

Far below, we could see the evil minions as they stirred and raged.  They looked up at their master, and they screamed and beat their battle weapons against their battered armor.  They shot arrows up at us, but for our fortune, we were far too distant for their reach.

To the west of them, we spotted the paladins.  They, who were the brightest and purest of heroes, had arrived, and with their swords and spears, they engaged the evil minions far beneath us.

Our air balloon rocked, and we steadied ourselves, while thunder shook the world above us.

The battles raged.

Vile winged beasts arrived in support of the minions, yet the mighty paladins held their own.  The fearless heroes cut a swath through the raging hordes, and lay waste to their commanders.  Fires and chaos and the sight of the unbreakable force, struck fear in the hearts of the evil minions, and many of them fled.

They turned and fled through the fires, over their broken contraptions, over their fallen compatriots, and they disappeared into the darkness of the dark land.

The paladins cheered their victory, as far above, the last battle waned.

We watched through the rising smoke.  Thunder and lightning shook the world, as the spirit battled the evil master of the mountain.  We watched as the spirit struck down the evil master of the land; it's ruined form fell down and burst into flame as it struck the jagged mountainside.

It's form fell onto the battlefield, and the paladins surrounded it in victory.

We looked back up to the top of the mountain where the fatal strike had been dealt.  We looked about while steadying ourselves in our air balloon.

We could not see the spirit.

Soon enough, we had to return to safer fields in order to land.

It was years after, when I travelled through the icy pass, that I heard stories of the soldier's sword.  It was called the soldier's sword by a shepherd that had witnessed a man of stone pass by that way.  The shepherd and his friends followed the man up into the pass.

They said that the man made his way up to the furthest point, unsheathed his sword, and struck it down into the rock.  After the man of stone had left, the shepherd and his friends attempted to withdraw the sword, but could not.  They called him the man of stone, but I knew that it was the unnamed spirit.

I went in search for the sword.

In time, I found it for myself.  I found the sword where the man of stone, or the spirit as we knew him, had driven it into the stone of the icy pass.  The battered helmet lay beside it.  I tried to withdraw the sword myself, but I could not.  I tried to lift the helmet, but I could not.  I realized that they were to remain there forever.  As I turned to leave, I could see the top of the distant mountain where the last battle had taken place.

It was no longer veiled in fire and smoke.

Perhaps, one day the spirit would return.

Perhaps, when evil would shroud the land once more, and man is once more found unworthy to take up the sword, then the spirit would return to free the land and it's peoples again.

Keeping Your Industrial Cities Functional

Greetings, intergalactic tourists and travelers, let us welcome you to the finest in inter-universal and time traveling facilities.  Our city-sized structures provide the greatest in comfort and excitement.

Time travel enthusiasts, would you like to visit the beginnings of your solar system as it formed from the gaseous and elemental remains of the previous celestial formations?  Would you like to witness the birth of your sun?  Would you like to travel forward and learn the eventual fate of your home planet as it falls victim to war-hungry megalomaniacs or as your sun finally experiences supernova and lays waste to your solar system? Well, we can provide it for you.

For those deep space travelers who would rather visit the furthest known and distant civilizations, then you can do so.  Visit the distant ice systems or the most dangerous of ethereal planets.  Examine life on the deepest oceans on the most massive of planets, and the densely packed life forms living in the cold of space.

For the last 417 years, standard Earth time, we have maintained the upmost in quality in atmospheric and technologically pleasant environments for our customers.  It is our commitment to provide the finest in inter-universal and time traveling adventure.  We strive to better our methods for your benefit and comfort.

A special note:

For those of our customers who have spotted members of our workforce as they perform their work, our bio-humanoids work constantly to maintain and upgrade our facilities.  They are not alive.  Do not be alarmed, as our maintenance teams ensure proper function of our complex city-size vessels.

Mountain of the Fire King

No man can go there.  Even taking one step into that cursed land would doom any with the courage.  The air there is poisonous.  The cursed ground itself would burn the stoutest reinforced boot, and lead vapors that peal the very skin away to dust.

It is a most dangerous place, and the master of that land is said to bear skin of molten earth.  He is a foul beast, and he is cruel beyond measure.  He commands evil spirits that take the bones of those who have fallen there, to themselves.

Then I saw the soldier himself.  As I fled this way, I saw him with my own eyes.

I saw him! As you must have, I saw him, or I should say, it.

So, I tell you, that the stories are true.  None in this world were worthy enough; not you, or I, or any else in this tavern.  None bore the faith and courage of heroes past, and so, that thing was chosen.

I was there when it fought the molten demons in the desert.  Yes, and I was burned for glimpsing the sight of it, and I turned away to feel the ashes on my face.  After, I heard stories of it's further exploits as it made it's way to the fiery mountain.

Many did not believe it, for they had not seen.

I was there.

And now, It was said that the thing had ventured forth within the very cursed lands of fire.  What is it, you ask? If not a man of flesh, then what is it that took up the sword? They say that it is a spirit.  They say that it is a spirit which has accepted and taken up the cause, and it was given a legendary sword.  It has taken up the cause to rid the world of the king of fire, and it was given a helmet of heroes past.

I say to you, I do not doubt it.  I do not doubt it, for what man can withstand the minions of the king of fire?

But I lament, for none of us, and none in this world were worthy of it.

A cover for skittering things

"There they hide.  In the dark of their treacherous webbed caves, and the moist rocky crevices that line the mountain's base in the gloomy woods.  They hide, and they wait.  they wait, but not for rodents or reptiles that wander the woods and the edge of the bog lands.  They wait for us." the trapper said in a monotonous tone.

"They wait for us," his friend added; the light of the campfire turning and twisting his features in the dark.

"They lie and they wait, and when an unfortunate soul wanders near, the dark spidery things skitter out to catch them, they poison them, and then drag them back into the darkness to be devoured.  It is what they do." the old trapper said, relighting his pipe.

"It is what they do," his friend said, "and whether is was for greed or for ignorance, none ever see the poor unfortunate souls again!" his friend said, glancing over at the open window of the hut.

~~~

This image was going to be the cover art for an upcoming 'creepy' story ebook that I am working on, but it seemed too dark, and not 'intricate' enough.  After some re-thinking, I decided to scrap it and start again.  I may use it for something or maybe just delete it.  The new cover image that I am building is to be much more 'spidery', a bit more colorful, yet subdued colorful, and much more detailed.

What do you think? Does this image seem appropriate enough for a story about 'skittering' things?

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to all of my Christian family.

A Typical Day

He found them in the king's castle, and chased them when nobody was looking.  He found them hiding in the haystacks, and he chased them until he lost them amongst the thorny bushes.  He found them wandering by the riverbank, and nearly caught them until they jumped in and swam across the river.  He found them sitting next to a campfire deep in the forest, and lost them in the gloom.

Boy, after all of this time one would think that a big bad wolf would have better things to do than chase three tasty-looking pigs on a daily basis.

One would think that he was obsessed.  But if you ask him, he would say that he chases a certain red-capped little french girl and her granny on the weekends.

To the poor little pigs, it was just another day in their lives.  This time, Mr. Big Bad's sidekick, Mr. Weasel, joined in the chase.

"Pork Chops, Pork Skins, Pork Cutlets, Flambe de Pork… Boy, it sure sounds delicious, doesn't it, friend Wolf?" Mr. Weasel asked.

"Yes, friend Weasel!" Mr. Big Bad Wolf replied, "today it will be different, and we will dine well."

"Yes, yes!" Mr. Weasel replied while licking his lips, "I am sure tiring of sour berries and roots."