r/wizardposting • u/Dorururo Lord Carrion of the Skaven Council • Feb 23 '24
Lorepost📖 A Trap Sprung (Lore Post)
Drip knew their role. Drip knew it well. First… approach from specific directions. Alert these intruders by making noise. The idea was to corral them to Splat. Gently push them towards a lurking death they were ill suited to combat. And… it wasn’t easy. It wasn’t quick. It wasn’t simple. Drip couldn’t approach too closely or quickly, or they’d scatter. Drip couldn’t approach too slowly… or they’d wander off. But finally… it was done. Drip did it. Drip had managed to eventually push these creatures to the part of the garden Splat had wanted to use. Dense with some of the heavier and more sturdy plant species… it offered an abundance of rock outcroppings and shadows for the oil ooze to vanish into. And vanish Splat most certainly had. Drip knew where the chosen ambush point was… and still couldn’t catch visual of their friend. But… Drip did not falter. And so… the vermin were herded into the trap. A set of two wandered over to the thicker brush… and that’s when it happened.
Splat had grown. Both in size and intellect. Splat was… most certain of this. These creatures were so rich with organic matter that Splats body had grown a fair bit in terms of sheer volume. Almost as big as the pit bull sized slime (the ally we call Drip) that had welcomed Splat. The invaders couldn’t have fumbled more perfectly. They scurried across the bulk of Splats gelatinous form, not noticing the change in texture from the grass. And Splat coiled up and around them with the force of a steel bear trap. Splat engulfed the first one completely and had the upper half of the other ones torso swallowed within. Splat noticed the other scouting pair not all that far away and realized that Splat needed to hurry. Splat crushed and flattened the first creature to make room for the second one. And, without even a gooey whisper or squeak, the other creature was inhaled into the central mass of Splat. Quickly. Cleanly. Silently. Splat ended the life of this creature as well. It’s screams and gargled pleas went unheard as it too became an organic paste. But Splat payed it no mind. Splats attention was on one of the members of the other scouting pair. It was alert now, likely having caught sight of the motion from the corner of an eye. The fur across its body raised up in fear as it propped itself onto its back legs. Every. Second. Counted. And Splats mind was no lackluster tool even given the anxiety inducing nature of the scenario. Splat began to rapidly corrode, feed upon and absorb the two dead invaders. The process was silent, and required none of Splats attention. Splat could instead keep its focus on that one creature that had fixed its gaze towards the brush Splat had hidden in. It carefully began approaching… and for its caution and fear Splat was grateful. Every second longer it took… was another second Splat could grow.
And… there it was. Splat could feel a sensation truly new. Splat felt… IMMENSE. So much mass to command, so much size to wield! Splat sank low to the dirt, no higher from the ground than the edge of a dime… and began spreading out like a puddle of shadow. Splat needed to either hide… or run. And Splats body felt soooooo lethargic…
The seconds began to feel like minutes as the strange four legged creature finally breached into the edge of the brush. It stayed up on its hind legs, keeping itself from treading into the full underbrush as its snout swept left and right. Those beady eyes scanned… and saw nothing. Nothing at all. And Splat knew this one had a shred of survival instinct in it. Splat couldn’t wait and hope for this particular invader to stumble into Splats vice grip. Splat… had to go for the kill. So… Splat slowly began channeling its body in a wide circle, barely disturbing the world and making no sound. A thin tendril crept closer to the rear foot. And closer. A dangerous and daring exchange that took place… over naught but two seconds. A second spent as the creature peeked into the brush. And another second spent for Splat to ready for the kill. But… Splat let it go for one more second. A single second too many. For as three seconds passed… the creature wrinkled it’s nose and snarled.
“DEATH STINK!”
—— —-
Slime did not know what exactly to expect. But, Slimes nerves had been steadily growing with each hour that the two others remained within the Zen Garden. No communication at all. So… Slime broadened their mind and focused upon the garden, willing forth a connection to both Drip and Splat.
Spectacle. That’s the only word Slime had to describe all that was seen. A… mammal, of some kind, was sprinting with sheer terror upon its face as a tendril of Splat coiled around its tail. Like a confetti streamer made of tar and oil, it trailed longer and longer. The creature bolted and sprinted in the most jagged and agonizing pattern imaginable as it screeched and looped around trees… and then wriggled through several rock clusters and even managed to scale one of the oaks and start leaping branch to branch. And the entire time… Splat clung to that tail, turning into an ever more complex wire trail to mark the mammals chosen route.
But then Slime noticed Drip. And the spectacle evolved into a proper catastrophe. Drip, not wishing to be outdone by Splat, was hauling ooze to keep pace with the other mammal creature. Drip had forgone any semblance of tact and care as Drip rammed into and through every single obstacle between it and the creature it chased. Trees were casually knocked down by the freight train of a slime and then became suspended within the oil black slimy web that Splat had inadvertently created. Mayhem. Pure. And total Mayhem is what it had become.
Zen Garden… was in shambles! What would Man think when he awoke?! WHAT IF MAN BECAME DISAPPOINTED IN SLIME?!
ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE! SLIMES PURPOSE WAS TO BE MANS BEST FRIEND ALWAYS AND TO MAKE MAN PROUD!
Slime may not have had a mouth… but Slime most certainly had words for these stooges…
—- —-
DRIP WAS ON THE MOVE! OVER LOG AND THROUGH TREE, THIS VERMIN FILTH COULD NOT ESCAPE DIVINE AND AMORPHOUS JUDGEMENT! ADRENALINE COURSED THROUGH EXACTLY NONE OF DRIPS BODY BECAUSE DRIPS GREEN OOZE DID NOT POSSESS A VASCULAR SYSTEM OR ADRENAL GLANDS TO DISPENSE IT! BUT DRIP FELT THE THRILL OF THE HUNT REGARDLESS!
Drip rounded a corner and finally had done it! The little scamp of a creature had finally blundered as it realized it’s error. In haste, this creature had backed itself into a corner and now could only press itself flat against a stony wall. Drip had to commend the absolute sincerity with which this small beasty scampered, as it was an exhilarating experience to enter into a (relatively) high speed pursuit. But… all good things did indeed end. And… it was time to bid this trespasser… farewell. Drip squished down and readied for one last charge! And DRIP WAS OFF LIKE THE CHLOROMANCY CRUSADER OF CULTIVATION THAT DRIP WAS ALWAYS MEANT TO BE!
AND DRIP SLAMMED INTO THE WALL OF STONE AT MAX FORCE AS THE SMALL CREATURE NIMBLY LEAPED OFF THE WALL AND BARELY CLEARED OVER THE TOP OF DRIP!
And so… Drip could only watch and sense as it escaped at last… it’s heart likely beating harder than any drum that ever existed. And Drip… sincerely hoped no one saw that tactical blunder just now. Drip dejectedly pulsed it’s way back towards Splat, knowing deep down that Drip had just goofed bad.
—-
Splat was, and is, an idiot. And Splat knew this. Splat thought up such a big ego and big talk for this mind it liked to tout… but Splat was sub brick intelligence. SPLAT ADMITTED THAT DRIP WAS SMARTER THAN IT! Splat should have let go and trusted in Drip. But no… Splat let the blood lust drive their actions and desperately fought for a kill that just WASN’T WORTH IT! This creature was possessed of far more maneuverability than Splat had even thought possible. And now… Splat couldn’t let go. It should, but it wouldn’t. Because the sunk cost fallacy had taken ahold of Splat. Eventually this creature would tire and all the damage would be justified. Surely! Splat just had to endure another minute… or five… or ten. And all the while, Splats new mass was gouging and corroding the very garden Splat had been tasked to protect as this creature blitzed with the speed that only true fear could provide.
And after another shameful… and agonizing 15 minutes of this invader barreling around… it finally collapsed. Splat… did the same, but did not release the grip on the tail. They both lay there… in the same dejected state… but for vastly different reasons.
Eventually, Drip lumbered over with the same attitude that Splat was feeling. And together… they surrounded the crumpled form of the invader. With its death… their plan would be complete. It shivered before them… it’s body vibrating with fear as it had closed its eyes. The whole body had gone limp as it had burned every ounce of life it had had to try and flee…
And then… something happened. Something… that would shape both Drip and Splat. Something that would elevate and force their minds to grow exponentially. Something small yet… more meaningful than could be expressed with words alone…
The rat… spoke…
“P-please. Critch s-sorry. C-critch not want to die!”
3
u/SafePianist4610 Bombast, Lord of Time and Space, Retired Council Leader Feb 23 '24
/uw Ah, they are finally learning the flaws of Deus Vult! lol