Kokujin made his way back up through the mines after, presumably, recovering a luckstone and stumbled into Minetown. He was beset upon by a cat named Trinity then another cat named Spot.
Usually I don't like bones files since everything in bones files tends to be cursed and that's not a good thing. Yet Spivak's adventure was special to me since it filled up a week's worth of material for heptapod.org I didn't delete the bones files. Kokujin was fortunate as he had in his possession a wand of cancellation. A single zap at a pile of objects will remove their cursed status. Of course had they been enchanted or blessed those bonuses would have been cancelled out as well. I am surprised that I stumbled upon Spivak's bones so quickly! Sadly there are no actual bones in bones files but there was a human corpse.
The owlbear has been dispatched, Spot and Trinity paid the price for attacking Kokujin and the ghost of Spivak was finally put to rest after haunting that area spot for days.
No, I don't plan on boring you with Kokujin's travels. You'll only hear about him if he happens to ascend with the Amulet of Yendor.
Traversing stairs became tricky but I did my best not to show any weakness around Jaybird, Cassius or anyone else. Saturday morning I was still aching but at least taking the single step in and out of the bathroom wasn't a treacherous adventure.
After much consideration I've found a proper analogy. Ever have those dreams where you can't run? Everything's moving slow, something horrible is right behind you and a hair's breadth from capturing you? Legs are leaden and more of a hinderance than an asset?
That's precisely how my legs feel right now.
On the bright side, my left knee has stopped hurting me. At its worst I'd feel like it'd completely slip making my knee bend the wrong way or simply slide foward over my shin and through my skin.
I was somewhere in the southern United States but not the American South. My pad was a shoreside apartment that overlooked blue water and wide beaches. Everything in my apartment was white like the afterlife but there was plenty of color from the ultraviolet bulbs and red lightbulbs in various lamps. When I walked in from where ever an enormous horseshoe crab scuttled over to me and climbed up my leg and no further than my belt. Sure I felt a little unfamiliar horror but eventually I understood the beast and I were companions. Whenever she was afraid she'd clamber up and hold onto my jeans until she felt safe again.
Outside it was night. People were filtering into my apartment, sitting around, chatting and making a nuisance of themselves since none of them appeared to be folks I'd ever have as friends. The crab was in the middle of the room in a puddle of fluid, raising her spiked tail high in the air and tapping the floor. Small brown pellets that appeared to be more like kibble than poop built up in a small pile. I ordered everyone to leave but instead of leaving the entire apartment they went into the basement.
After cleaning up the mess and checking under the couches for the horseshoe crab there was a ruckus downstairs. Some rich and entitled rich kid was holding the helmet of the crab's body upside down. Inside were the segmented pinchy bits rattling like bones in a funeral urn. My heart was broken so I ended his life grabbing his throat and smashing his head against the concrete wall. Surprisingly when the head shattered the other bones followed in kind.
With the deflated hide of the guy in one hand and my beloved horseshoe crab's mortal remains in the other hand I marched upstairs, all of the trespassers parting like the Red Sea. They fled with the intent of contacting the authorities but I didn't care. Already the ocean was picking up, waves grew taller and began crashing with greater violence. The evidence of both crimes was readily taken back by the ocean never to be found again. Walking back across the increasingly narrow beach I saw the ocean was coming in from both directions. Soon I was knee deep in water, battered by waves but I persevered making my way into an alleyway. A rubber raft careened around a corner manned by a shrieking teenaged girl and some guy. I was more annoyed at her needless screams than being sideswiped by the boat.
That's when I found myself standing in line at a grocery store. I had bought eight dozen eggs and was waiting to check out. The cashier looked at me which got her a smile and "Hallowe'en is just around the corner!" She didn't laugh. When she started to scan the eggs and bag them, most of the cartons tipped over and crashed on her side. My order was put on hold so the folks behind me could check out before the store closed for the night. Never did get checked out because the cashier leapt up into a tree and started jumping between branches like a monkey.
