Book 2: Dirt Diver’s Dance
The Forbidden Riff Ch: 39
The little yellow, blue ringed octopus that was Gary Ward stared up at the wide, star strewn sky, so familiar, but now with a faint, glimmering crack in the midst of the starfield, directly overhead.
There was something soothing about the light that rained down from that fissure in the limitless heavens, calling him to step out from beneath the trees and bathe in the lambent glow.
His new, construct body felt light and agile, with all the range of motion and most of the senses fully operational and delightfully familiar. He seamlessly meshed with the device, becoming a part of the odd magical mecha, within a few minutes of putting it on.
“Can I… touch you?” Gandree asked breathlessly, staring at the being’s chest with a strange look in his eyes. “I need to see and touch you… so beautiful…”
“Whoa there kid! Slow down!” Ace rasped, still unsure with the vocal apparatus built into his new body. “I’m a dude…”
“He’s not talking to you uncle Ace.” Daisybelle sighed wistfully. “He just wants your body. King papa gets like this when he sees new magical thingies or musical instruments.” She shrugged and smiled at her infatuated boy. He was busily sketching a line of tiny runes and sigils inscribed on the inside of the doll’s forearm. Like the veins and arteries beneath a human’s skin, they wound all over its ‘skin’, nearly invisible under the lacquer finish of the doll.
“Just let him drool all over you for a while and take some notes.” The little goblin lass muttered, amusement and happiness evident in her voice and smile. She was snuggled halfway into Flash’s mane and was busily scritching under the jaw like she was getting paid overtime for the job. “Ooo! Good horsie!” She purred merrily, lost on planet pretty pet pony.
Ace had a lot to think about and he kinda liked Daze’s goofy kid, so he nodded his featureless helmet and sat still, while the boy studied the workmanship of the thing in excruciating and often embarrassing detail. The hapless mollusc in a magical robot body sighed and resigned himself to whatever was coming next.
Ace was a self taught mage, exploring magical forces by instinct and struggling to get consistent results, no matter how hard he studied, meditated or practiced the arts… only one field of magic answered his call.
Necromancy hadn’t been his first choice, frankly he’d just been trying to stay alive in a crazy world where nothing he knew was true… Unless it was something useless to a boneless cephalopod with a human’s memories stuffed into its brain.
These clownish buffoons were doing things that, even in the heyday of his dungeon, none of his Adventurers had been able to approach. The body he currently occupied outstripped any magical artifact or construct he’d ever even heard of.
The intricate craft of the thing told his senses exactly what he was hiding in, even as the dwarf tried to learn its secrets from the outside.
Unlike dungeon spawned magical items, this thing was a product of human hands and Will. Every line, every curve and inscription was a carefully crafted work of art; lost in the spells, he stared in fascination at his left hand for a solid three minutes, marveling at the detail and artistry of the thing…
He sighed and stopped woolgathering, as the first notes of a hauntingly familiar tune came ringing from his mad doppelganger's guitar.
‘Oh, sweet! Zeppelin!’ He thought eagerly, as more musicians joined the fray.
#
Dull, boring Gary was back at the front of the band, tuning a mandolin, while Ward slipped out of sight in the shadows.
The strange being almost reappeared a moment later, bathed in a shaft of rich, golden light that was slightly diffuse and gloriously warm.
The golden beam cast the long, dark shadow of the man over the watchers, thrown by no visible source, just blazing, radiant light. The figure was tall, slim and bore a truly impressive head of shadowy curls that danced in the light, creating a corona of glory and charisma around the man’s shadowed face.
Those shadow ringlets became gray, then dark brown, limned in a golden halo, as Ward stepped from nowhere, wearing impossibly tight, low slung pants and a snug vest.
He rose from the sourceless shadow and equally inexplicable light, stepping forth fully formed in a few short seconds.
“Tonight, we’re violating copyright! Forgive me rock gods! Robert, Jimmy and the two Johns… We need to borrow your Stairway.”
He glanced at the small, red haired explorer and received a nod from behind Dannyl’s Wardco™ Stratoblaster.
“Play it, Dannyl… The Forbidden Riff.” He declared, his voice ringing with some deep and sincere meaning that chimed and swelled with the music.
There's a lady who's sure, all that glitters is gold…
And she's buying a stairway to Heaven!
#
Gandree knew the song instinctively, feeling its tempo changes and chord progressions deep inside. Even the fascinating craft of the strange blue puppet body couldn’t distract him from the siren call of classic rock. His guitar slipped out to join the band without any conscious decision of his own.
Daisybelle had her ogre skull drum out, dancing with the red haired giantess and cavorting on the lawn among the family of mad musical loons. She had surrendered to the music and dance, finding a kindred soul in Shai, whose hips and violin were a huge part of the situation unfolding in the starlit garden.
The dwarf smiled and dove into the music, following the giddy and joyful sounds and feelings washing over the little hamlet by the sea. The song stretched out longer, as players took solos, wandered off in the groove or found an opportunity to revisit a favorite verse or two.
The unstructured and rambling jam sesh lasted deep into the night, beneath the stars and the slowly widening fissure in the sky.
As midnight drew near, a steady, swelling tone began to sound in the ears of every sentient on the island; a low, single note that swelled gently into a clear, bell-like chime that softly shook the world all around.
The band let the music fade on that soaring, triumphant note, as two brightly glowing moons emerged from the fissure in the sky… Or perhaps the firmament itself split and spread, like a vast pair of eyelids that had opened at last.
“It’s like, when you finally unclasp her bra, revealing the beautiful orbs hidden within…” Liam gasped softly, while his strings were still resonating, lost in magic, music and passion.
“I really need to get home to my wife.” The count whispered with a smile.
As the group slowed and fell silent, a sensation of being watched, or rather, being observed by a benign and awesome force, slowly spread out over the island. Every person and familiar felt a sweet, tingling sensation, the warmth of a mothers touch, a lover’s embrace or a father’s warm hug washed over the island in a sudden and anticlimactic rush of potent, but ephemeral energy.
“Well, I’m done here, for now.” Ward sighed happily, gazing up at the moons soaring in the heavens, as if they’d always been there.
“Any outsider, divine or fae being that can enter your house on the Madman’s moon can see and touch this world as of tonight. Things should work out now…”
He took an elaborate stretch and yawn, smiling widely and bouncing on his toes. “I need to get back to my ladies… immortals are patient, but I hate leaving them lonely.”
“Go on, ya horny bastard.” Gary grumbled cheerfully at his brother. “We’ll handle it from here.”
“What did you do?” Ace demanded hoarsely, sounding upset and deeply worried at the same time. “How? why?”
“How? With magic, bro. Why? Because this whole place is just clogged with fragments of sentient souls.” Gary sighed sadly.
“Every breath of air, every speck of land and sea is just covered with tiny remnants of the people who’ve lived and died here. Humans, beastkin and others. Every sentient soul that dies here leaves part of itself behind, trapped in the cracks and fissures of this world’s incomplete etheric veil.” The strange fellow shook his dead sadly and gazed around at the dark island.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
“As the former, currently defrocked high priest of the god of Death… ” He scratched his head and sighed. “Er, of two Death gods, I suppose… I’m double defrocked, which oddly enough makes me even more weird and bizarre than usual. Life is super complicated.”
He smiled at the group and gave an elaborate, palms upward shrug of helplessness. “I am but a pawn of mightier powers. Anyway, We took it on ourselves to fix this spiritual problem. You’re welcome.”
He nodded and pointed at the two glowing bodies in the sky, as though that cleared everything up.
“The fragmentary ghosts? It’s always been this way.” Ace mumbled.
“There's a lot of spiritual static and noise, pretty much everywhere. That’s why I shut down the dungeon. The stupid light cult tried to take over and make this place a monster breeding or magical item crafting facility, I wasn’t having that, not at all.” He glared at the gathered weirdos and shook his head at their blank stares.
“What?”
“So you knew about all those poor, fragmented souls, just lingering out there?” Dannyl asked quietly, waving his arms to encompass everything, all around. “Pretty messed up, bro. What kind of operation are you running?”
“I’m not running anything, yet. I shut the dungeon down a few decades after I conquered it. Otherwise this would be a blighted and wasted land, poisoned by the mining and manufacturing of the cult, or buried under a seething tide of monsters.” Ace grumbled at the small ginger man.
“That’s also why the cult really wants to catch or kill me, too bad for them; I’m a slippery character. Ace was one of their assassins too, The last seven human bodies I’ve taken over have been their cultists or hired killers.”
“Manufacturing magical items?” Gary, Wilf and Gandree all asked together, when he paused for a moment.
“Tell us about that, please.” Gary murmured excitedly. “What’s the score?”
The blue puppet leaned back on its chair with a raspy and hoarse sigh. “You seem to be complete rubes, so let’s start at the beginning.” He somehow seemed to smile, despite lacking any facial features at all.
“I’m the lord of this dungeon world, because I conquered it and the previous dungeon lord retired... That means, until someone manages to defeat me, or I willingly hand the power over, I rule this world on some pretty basic levels.”
Now the construct really looked like it was grinning… grinning like a smug asshole with its featureless mask.
“I can control the weather, on a macro level, alter the landscape in limited ways and manage most of the ways this world develops. It’s a complicated and labor intensive job, but it has its rewards.”
He swept his featureless gaze over the late night audience and shook his head in mocking dismay. “You don’t even know where you are, do you?”
“Why don’t you fill us in?” Liam asked tartly, in his displeased nobleman tone. “You keep claiming to be ‘dungeon lord’, but all I see is a small, squishy critter.”
The blue helmet snapped around to glare at the count with limited success, since he lacked a face to properly glower at the young lord.
“Yeah, I’m small and unthreatening. A harmless little sea beastie… that’s me.” He grumbled.
The creature sighed and resumed his tale, when Gary cleared his throat at the two men, wordlessly suggesting that they play nice.
“You kids have stumbled into the Swarm Dungeon… This world produces a terrifying variety of swarming creatures on its many island levels. Each one presents unique challenges and rewards, to those valiant enough to face their fears.” He spread his wooden arms to encompass the little volcanic isle.
“This is Iron Wolf island, the starting point for any Adventurer who wishes to face the gauntlet, in search of power, fame and wealth.” Ace answered in a grumpy tone of voice. It was hard to tell, since he was still having trouble with the vocal mechanism.
“So you lure Adventurers in and kill them?” Amy asked sharply. She was up late after a long day, her manners were suffering for it.
“No, young lady. I lure Adventurers in and challenge them, I help them grow and instill in them a healthy respect for the perils of their chosen career; a few fatalities are to be expected. Omelets and breaking eggs, you know.” Ace answered happily.
“At the heart of this world… and every dungeon world, there lies a potential, dormant and still, but waiting to become active. Mortals live, love, are born and die on this world, whether sentient or beasts, just as on any other world.” Ace nodded sagely at his attentive audience, he’d expected some nonsense at least, but they seemed to really listen…
“The difference is, a soul born here, remains here, unless it can either escape while alive, by exiting into a prime world, or by decaying into a multitude of soul fragments that are small enough to slip out through the porous etheric veil of this world.” He nodded sagely as the mages in the group considered his words.
“A properly run dungeon brings new souls in, lets current souls out and manages the current glut of fragmentary souls by temporarily incarnating them as monsters.”
“But why lure Adventurers here?” Lindsey asked from under a blanket on the lawn with Barry. “That sounds suspicious!”
“It totally is, kid. Why do you think there are treasure chests, filled with gold and silver, magical weapons, armor and trinkets? Bait.” Ace stood and stretched under the moonlight, while gazing up at the new decorations high above.
“This world is struggling and striving too, Just like those Adventurers. It’s trying to become a prime world of its own and it needs the energies and experiences of mortals to achieve that. Every experience and interaction, every battle, betrayal, liaison and alliance that forms on this world provides the mortal energies needed to awaken the core of the world and create a fully functional etheric veil.”
“Really?” Becky asked, suddenly much more interested and alert. “That would mean…”
Ace nodded firmly. “At the core of this world, is the cradle of an infant god.”
A soft, hushed buzz swept over the little cluster of people in the garden, late at night, as they considered that nugget of info.
“See? I do crazy shit too!” Ace grumbled at the gathered weirdos.
#
A hush fell over the gathered immortals, as the unspoken secret they all knew, but seldom if ever acknowledged, even with those they were closest to. Beyond taboo, the truth that had tumbled out into the common room landed heavily and with terrible gravity of its own.
“Well, how crass and unpleasant.” A tiny, dust brown jackalope muttered sourly, with a wedge of apple between his teeth.
“The boy never could keep a secret, no surprise his progeny can’t either.” Beast finished his snack and hopped into Joy’s lap, with a satisfied little grunt. He curled up and made himself comfortable, finishing by nudging his little antlered head under the goddess’ palm, encouraging her to begin petting the divinity of all living things, everywhere.
“Marduk, please scoot that crudité platter this way… Lady Joy wishes to feed me a snow pea pod.”
‘It’s just too cute; the way his little nose wiggles!’ Joy enthused, expressed through a subtle change in the angle of her head and a tilt of her nearly featureless ivory mask.
#
Ace woke in a hammock by the shore at sunrise, disturbed by the sounds of the family performing their morning exercises and training routines. Men, women and familiars were running on the sand; surging through the loose, drifting piles above the waterline.
Each was dressed in some kind of heavy armor, with additional weights on their wrists and ankles, as they pounded up and down the low dunes, grunting with effort and cheerfully falling, when the sand proved too clinging and treacherous to run on.
Laughing people dusted themselves off and paired up for sparring matches all over the garden, drawing lots for opponents, cackling cruelly when an easy foe was drawn or groaning with misery at an unlucky pull…
“Aww… I gotta fight Shai?” Dannyl moaned softly.
“Last time she kept swatting me across the ass ‘til I could barely sit for a day!”
“Aye, best ye guard your bottom well, then, here I come, lad!” Was all the poor boy heard, before a red haired storm brought him to wrack and ruin.
When he collapsed by the shoreline a half hour later, gasping, battered and unable to stand, Shai let out a long, slow sigh.
“Tis good to finally beat the last of my lingering resentment into thee, little brother. I’ll have no more liberties taken with my children’s privacy, mind me well on that.”
“You’re right, I should have consulted you before publishing their story…” He murmured weakly from the sand, where his wooden training whip, ‘Chain of Fools’ thrashed in the sand, just as spent as its master. “I really am sorry, Shai.”
The giantess smiled and nodded, just barely, before wandering off in the garden with her paired training swords of split bamboo thrashing in eager anticipation of fresh prey.
Ace watched from the hammock as the tiny drama played out before his eyes. Without context or any convenient exposition, he just let the small, homely moment of real human interaction unfold. He savored the short performance for what it was…
It tasted like family; complicated, weird, dysfunctional and fractious, but family.
That was a flavor he had not tasted in so long he… couldn’t really remember, beyond the way it ended; with breaking glass and terrible lights, on a dark, rainy highway, several centuries and dimensions from here and now.
Ace shook off those old, half forgotten memories and kept watching, hoping to find the secret of all this madness.
Only the young, dark skinned couple remained in the house, preparing breakfast, his new sense of smell informed him shortly.
They were sir Kermal and lady Becky, who claimed to be the ‘high priestess’ of some fanciful god or another, as he recalled. All that would come out in the wash… Since no god could touch this world, no matter how potent they might be on another.
Only one god could dwell in this realm, the one he would coax into being with his own tentacles! A god who could make this world truly become something more than a mote in the cosmos, isolated and mostly forgotten.
He sat up in the swaying hammock and sighed. “I’m so hungry…” The words spilled out in an involuntary croak, surprising himself and the flaming moth perched above his resting place.
“Shai left you a meal, go ahead and eat, we can talk while you refresh yourself.” Mariah said softly, as she pointed to a low table, just out of sight from where he lay. On it sat that same pickle jar, but this morning it held two silver anchovies, swimming around in helpless circles, looking damnably delicious and helpless.
“I’ll help you with your body. He left a hook in this tree for you to hang it from while you eat and bathe.”
“Your Gary Ward is a strange one, little moth girl.” Ace croaked, while his wooden fingers deftly attached a hook on a silk rope to a ring at the nape of his neck. Just as nimbly, he unclasped the seal on his compartment in the doll’s chest.
Ace crawled down the puppet’s arm and slipped into the jar from the construct’s fingertips with a soft, liquid splash. Anchovies never tasted so good!
“The thing you said last night…” Mariah whispered softly, when he had finished eating and was busily grooming his slime coating in the jar of fresh seawater. “About what lies at the heart of this world… Please refrain from repeating that information or disseminating it further.” She smiled at him from her perch on a branch and shook her cute, flame haired head.
“I can’t stop you, nor would I if I could… but such information is dangerous, to the entire world and other worlds yet unknown.”
“Yeah, I get that. I can feel him or her, way down there, waiting, listening and learning from every person and beast that passes through this world’s veil.” The octopus said, by shifting colors and patterns rapidly, followed by a tiny jet of ink to indicate his regret for speaking so freely.
“I felt I needed a big punchline, or they would have tried to steamroll me with weirdness.”
“Octopus boy, you keep doubting him and yourself… wondering if Gary Ward is some delusion churned up by your mind…” She shook her head and stood on her branch, nimbly hopping to her feet with only the briefest flutter of her radiant, flaming wings.
“How the hell does a normal octopus with simple delusions know what a damn ‘steamroller’ is? I guarantee there has never been one on this world.” She crossed her arms over her tiny bosom and smiled at him.
“Don’t get all wrapped up in time, seniority and who’s ‘crazy’ or ‘sane’. The god of Beasts is watching, now, things will change, under the light of his moon.”
The little insect creature took flight, as Ace closed his chest compartment and brought the mech back to ‘life’. “Chaos has come calling… and it brought snacks.”
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