Day 63

Everyone is still unconscious. Shit.

It has been several hours now. I hope that monster didn't parasitize, mind-wipe or lobotomize them. While I don't want to admit the possibility, if such a horrible situation has occurred I might have to kill them... there is only so much I can do if they are brain damaged or worse. I have no form of treatment I could apply. I think.

It is hard to know, with that weird geas I created, it may not be impossible.

Kitten is worried, asking if I can do anything.

Ultimately I cannot, until I know exactly what has happened to them. As it is all I know is: they are sleeping. Jumping to conclusions will only make things worse. I'm already on edge with worry.

If they are still sane and whole mentally, well then it's a completely different ballgame. If they're merely paralyzed or suffer from body control issues then simply by refining their bodies into weapons I could fix the problem, they would possess inferior versions of my own body because although my skill is greater I don't possess another anti-matter ring, in fact the only reason I would succeed in modifying them without a ring to use as an energy core is my increase in skill. I'm fairly confident I can create something that augments parts of people rather than the whole thing of even better quality than my own body... dammit. The skill upgrade would happen when I make the train, not when I upgrade myself.

But hey, still jumping the gun. They could be all smiles and sunshine after a pleasant nap.

Can't forcefully wake them either. Or at least I couldn't immediately after they were stunned by the 'taser' setting of Goldy the mech. It wasn't the electric shock that caused this, that's for damn sure. At worst it would have burned them or stopped their hearts. It did not do either. I suspect drugs or poison. Psychotropic drugs or tranquilizers are quite possibly one method of control used by the monster. If those are the problem I may have to simply wait for them to pass out the victim's system.

They could even be deranged by the experience.

I shake my head, trying to clear the bad thoughts. As I wait I spend the time with Kitten, stroking Minke's head as it rests on my lap and hugging Niala to my left side.

Niala's my ace in the hole. If she can still think she should be able to heal herself. From there she could heal us all. I don't know the limitations of her skill, but she did regrow the tip of my tail which includes the nerve cells and their connections. So theoretically she could cure brain damage or even brain death provided she was mentally stable. I'm sure it would be tough though. It might take days just to heal herself if it is very serious.

In the end they don't wake up today.

Day 64

When Kitten wakes the following morning they are still sleeping. I assume this is some kind of chemically induced coma. That damn monster must have made everyone into sleepwalkers.

I hope it wears off quickly. I spend the day with water skins trying to re-hydrate the sleeping cats, but feeding them will be harder. I will have to try tomorrow. Also they are filthy now, I'm not looking forward to having to clean them... especially the men.

Urgh...

I just vomited a little...

I had to change their soiled clothes and used the rags they originally wore as nappies...

Kitten is helping me carefully with a serious expression, I guess she has had experience with young children or perhaps elderly people. Since I have nothing better to do I ask about her acquired talent.

It seems she was housed in a temple as some kind of seer or priestess. She wasn't the only one, there was an elderly lady who had similar abilities, who taught her about the 'Whispers'.

Everything I hear the old lady taught about the 'Whispers' seems like a bunch of superstition.

That they are omnipotent... False. They use monsters as their hands, these can fail.

They are omniscient... False. We've already established they have limited observational abilities... they can't tell the live from the dead through anything but movement. They also use the 'Flickers' as some kind of sensor device.

They made the world... can't really argue this one, this world is very artificial. I wonder if this really is caused to them or intelligent design by a yet unknown third party? It's all too fishy to be natural.

I suppose the best way to explain the 'Whispers' is to call them spirits... in the animistic sense. Some kind of supernatural being possessing unique and grand powers that they piss away with pointless and chaotic action. According to Kitten they argue and send half their time working at cross purposes. So in some ways they're very human. In others not at all. Sidhe? Yokai? I'm not even sure if they are all the same species, if there are different types or even if they are individually unique.

They don't particularly seem to have any grand goal as far as I can see. Their opposition to each other almost sounds like gambling...

Day 65

While Kitten's asleep Myna woke up.

She's fairly groggy and looks very weak, but otherwise seems okay. So it really was some kind of drug or poison.

When she realizes she's been changed, is extremely hungry and no one else is moving she finally realizes something is wrong. Then she sees the golem...

She shrieks so loudly but she doesn't wake up Kitten. Well the little girl is a heavy sleeper anyway.

She is from the group that was traveling with me, so it could be that they had a lighter dose. Niala and Minke on the other hand were exposed the longest, an extra day. They could be out for days.

Wait... I think she was the one I freed before killing the creature, I didn't pay attention at the time. That might mean the others are only a few hours away from waking at most. I really hope there was no kind of backlash from being hooked to the creature as it died.

“What is that thing?!” [Myna]

Oh yeah, have to explain it all to her first.

“I made it. There was a monster, it took control of everyone so I fought it with a lifeless puppet from a distance.” [Rick]

“You... made it? Like the metal cart?” [Myna looking at the golem in wonder]

“Yes. So you don't remember seeing it?” [Rick]

“No...” [Myna uncertainly]

“Not at all?” [Rick]

“Well maybe... it looks familiar and very frightening.” [Myna]

“Probably because you tried to fight it.” [Rick]

“I did? What happened exactly? How long have I been controlled? I'm so hungry.” [Myna]

“It had you for about three hours.” I shrugged. “Then you slept for two days and three nights.”

“Where is the monster now?” [Myna]

“Dead. I burned it. Sara called it a... Kurnam?” [Rick] “Whatever that means...”

“Eh...? EH?!!!!” [Myna stunned]

“Was it really such a big deal? All it did was float there.” [Rick]

“You killed an ESSENCE EATER?! How?! What did it look like?!! No one has ever seen one, just the victims, wasted away and feral!” [Myna]

“What, it was one of those unknown high level boss types? Huh. Easier than I thought...” [Rick] “Hmm. With a few more drone type golems I could research those 'death' rooms with little risk.”

…

“So... why am I dressed like this?” [Myna]

“What? Oh, I had to change you, since you 'dirtied' the clothes you were wearing before.” [Rick]

“You... changed me? You undressed me?!” [Myna]

“I used the golem to undress people.” [Rick lying]

Actually I only used it on the males, autonomously...

Cue the golem snapping it's claws together. She looks pale.

“It was just cleaning, I had no ill intentions.” [Rick still lying]

Actually I paused to get an eye-full, but I consider that a perk for being a nice guy... I did take a few still images with my eye, but that was purely for research purposes. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Besides I've seen most of it in the bath room anyway, even if there was a lot of foam in the way.

Besides it would be fairly sick to actually take advantage of the sleeping or the ill. I'm just really wound tight, since I haven't got any time to myself. With a little girl hanging off me at all hours and everyone in a terrible state I've been under a lot of stress, you know. It was just a diversion that popped up to make the situation a touch more bearable.

As we are talking one of the younger male cats with me on the iron train run sat up.

Hurrah!

It's morning, wakey, wakey!

Over the course of the morning several are awake now, minus Niala and some cats.

Minke greets me softly with a kiss, which I appreciate, immensely.

I've set up a large meal from the stores, but warn everyone not to over-eat as they may hurt themselves. I urge them to eat slowly over a longer period of time than normal.

That crazy weapon-maniac Theras wants to have a sparring match with the golem...

His iron weapon versus a ton and a half of metal.

It went about as well as I expected, I let him get a few hits in, until he scuffed the gold plating...

From there I used a reverse polarity magnetic field from the arms of the golem as a barrier and simply threw him around by the weapon he loves so much. It was almost pitiful.

Finally near midnight Niala woke up with a start, and then immediately relaxed as I was hugging her.

All in all they finally shook off the drug in three days. They did complain a little of aches and shivers, probably withdrawal symptoms but they had no way of getting captured again anyway so it wasn't an issue. I hope there aren't long term side-effects.

Day 66

It seemed like a normal day at first, everyone wide awake and bushy tailed... or scale tailed for us rats. Minke even provided me a suitable reward for my care and concerns over the dangerous times. It was most pleasurable. If she wasn't still tired from the mind-control experience it would have continued until morning.

However very early on, while we were still serving breakfast a resounding bang could be heard at the door. Now this was quite concerning, as everyone is home. The sound echoed twice more, in a pattern that I had told to Little Rat.

It can't be him, since they haven't opened the door. He knows the correct sequence required to open it, after all.

So, someone he sent...

Was he caught and tortured? Or perhaps these are new friends...

I have the golem come and greet them, instead of personally going. If I need to eject them then it won't take long. I glance at Kitten, checking if it is the 'Whispers' but apparently it isn't.

Outside I find some two hundred odd people, riding a convoy of carts. At the head three huge, rusty red bipedal dogs...

“Well that's unusual...” [Karamech]

What we learned:

Rick's enjoying the lack of legal restrictions on cameras.

Drugs. Just say no to mind-controlling gas monsters.

Niala, back to hugging Kitten to sleep again.

Myna, keeps eyeing the golem strangely and covering up near it...

Next chapter things heat up as we hear about the amazing escape... and how it went wrong.