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Clown the Jester -> RE: =AQ= Paintball War Stories 2011 (5/1/2011 20:51:09)
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The Legends of Clown the Jester
The Paintball War
Part 1
Atlas...my friend...he tired to kill me. He joined Seth Cay Dhows, betrayed all of us. Why? Was he right? Was it my fault what happened to him?
No it was Dhows....DHOWS! IT WAS HIS FAULT! His manipulations, his brainwashing, his plan. Dhow's army of Reverse monsters...nearly whipped us all out...we never stood a chance. So many heroes and allies dead. So many still missing.
Close to 14 million Reverse Creatures maybe more. We were so caught off guard by switch in elemental strength and weaknesses, by the time the message traveled throughout our armies, it was to late. Darkovia and Mount Thrall still overpopulated with the Reverse Monsters.
I was in Darkovia fending off a small town from a Reverse attack. A dozen or so Reverse Undead. My instinct kept telling me as I fought to use light weapons, but I knew their new weakness was Darkness and any light attack would Benefit the skeletons. After drowning the last Reverse monster in a cloud of darkness I saw the world around me shimmer in a strange green light.
"Hwuah?" I cried out as my eyes were blinded by the green glare.
As the brilliant light grew brighter and brighter I saw a small group of figures approaching the town from the opposite end. As they drew nearer and nearer, the Town's colors seemed...to be fading...
Everything faded to a dull brown. Even the Reverse Undead bone piles at my feet. "No," I mouthed silently. "It can't be." I strained my eyes to make out the figures. At least twenty of the figures. All holding some kind of a gun like object in their hands. It was impossible to make them out in the Darkovia Darkness. I shielded my eyes as the Green Glow grew brighter and brighter. My ears ringing, my legs growing weak. My vision could only see bright green.
"Clown the Jester?" a familiar voice exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
My visison finally cleared. "Ms.Vox?" I asked my legs shaky.
Ms. Eukara Vox, a teacher for hundreds of students, teaching them on the incredible history of Lore. She was sitting at her desk reading a book, her fairy wings folded up behind her.
"I am sorry Clown the Jester, but as I told you before," Ms. Vox stated, her teacher personality taking over. "The Portal has a mind of it's own."
"Yeah," I said, trying to avoid a lecture. "I was in Darkovia trying to deal with the mess Dhows left us when...the whole town, it changed. Like when the Truphma turned the creatures in Greenguard grey."
Ms. Vox sat up in her seat, closing her book, her face in a serious expression. "I thought I felt their presence." She said. "They must have struck knowing how weak Battleon's Defenses are since the disaster with Dhow's forces."
The Portal's green light shined again on us.
"Not again," I moaned closing my eyes. My stumach feeling sick. When I finally opened them, we were back in Darkovia, in front of Queen Safiria's Castle.
"Oh my," Ms. Vox said examining the Castle. The Whole Castle, Dark Grey. It's colors...gone.
"It is the Truphmas," I muttered.
Every time I am occupied by an army or monster, my old enemies are always ready to strike again. Never any rest. Not for me at least. I only beat the Queen Hybee's forces four days ago and already another conflict.
The Green Portal engulfed us again.
We were now standing in front of Granemor. The City's colors were gone as well.
"This is horrible," Ms.Vox exclaimed. "All the wonderful bright colors faded away."
The Portal teleported us again.
"STOP IT!" I cried out. I fell to the ground from the Nausea.
"No," Ms.Vox shouted. I looked up. Battleon was also hit by the Truphma.
"I'm sorry Ms.Vox," I said trying to comfort her. "If this keeps up," Ms.Vox said reaching into her back pocket. "All of Lore and it's inhabitants will loose their colors."
"How do we stop the Truphma?" I asked.
Ms.Vox pulled out a paint ball gun. "With this," she exclaimed thrusting the gun into my hands.
I looked down at the gun. "Are you serious?" I asked. "Fighting an army with a children's toy? How are we to fight an army of Truphma's with this?"
Ms. Vox pulled the weapon from my hand, took careful aim, and fired at a grey patch of grass.
BLOOSH!
A thick layer of blue paint covered the grass.
"Ah," I said. Ms. Vox studied the gun in her hands. "If we were to hit a Truphma or any creature they have infected with enough of the Paint, it should change them back to normal."
I took the gun back from her, examining the setting on the gun. Ms. Vox quickly showed me how to change what color to fire and how to refill it.
The School Teacher pulled out a second gun for herself. "These Truphma will pay for what they did to Battleon." She said marching into the town, with me following her from behind. "Count on it."
Part 2
BLOOSH! BLOOSH! BLOOSH!
Ms.Vox and I fired our paintball guns at everything we saw. Trees, grass, rocks, houses. “The faster we finish Battleon,” Ms. Vox shouted over the loud paintball splats. “The faster we restore the colors of Darkovia and Granemor.” I nodded, halfway done with repainting Aria’s Pet Shop. “When do we go after the Truphma?” I called out. Ms. Vox paused her firing to examine her paint job on Warlic’s Magic Shop.
“It’s imperative we repaint Battleon first,” She said firing last finishing touches to the Shop door. “We need to stop the Truphma spread before all of Lore turns black and white.”
I nodded walking into Aria’s Pet shop to repaint the interior.
To my surprise, the shop was empty. No Aria or her pets in sight. I began firing light brown paint at the floor when I heard a scream outside.
I darted outside to investigate and stopped in my tracks. Truphmas. Six of them. Their pail white clam shell shaped heads and white suits made them resemble ghosts. I noticed one holding a struggling Ms.Vox, a butcher knife pressed against her throat. Ms.Vox’s eyes locked onto mine her eyes wide in fear.
The Truphmas stared at me. Their dead white eyes turning to scowls of loathing seeing my bright purple hair and armor.
Remembering from our previous battles their weakness to cold attack I drew my Ice Kanata. I couldn’t attack while Ms.Vox was endanger. They would kill her without hesitation. The Truphma holding Ms.Vox, stood up shoving Ms.Vox into the clutches of his five Truphma companions. Despite her wild struggling, the Truphmas held onto her still staring at me. The leader Truphma slowly walked towards me. His butcher knife raised over his head. I saw a dark smear of blood on the blade. I stared into his cold eyes. Reminded me of Shark eyes.
The Truphma suddenly floated a foot off the ground and swooped at me like a hawk, slashing his knife at my neck. I ducked to my knees the blade passing over my head. The Truphma flew over me like a Vulture. He swooped down again striking again at me. I dodged the blade, but not his knee, which collided into my forehead knocking me onto my back.
I dropped the paintball gun scrambling back to my feet.
The Truphma soared down at me again.
I sidestepped him, this time grabbing him by his arm and yanking him down to the ground. He landed on the earth rolling, sending dirt into the air. I grappled with him trying to pull the blade from his fingers. I foolishly dropped my Ice Kanata while we wrestled. The Truphma might have been sickly thin, but he was surprisingly strong.
The Truphma knocked me off him with a well placed punch delivered to my chin. He was back on his feet, knife raised, preparing to strike. I evaded his weapon, barely able to dodge the Truphma’s lighting quick slashes.
I remembered my Ice Kanata, kicking the Truphma in his thigh, leapt backward grabbing my weapon and raising it into the air. I blocked the Truphma’s knife with my Kanata’s blade shoving the creature backwards. He threw the knife at me. I leapt out of the weapon’s path and it plunged harmlessly into a tree behind me.
The Truphma lunged at me slamming his large head into my chest knocking me to the ground. I slashed my blade at his head. He quickly ducked under my swing punching me hard in the face.
I clenched my teeth in pain, stabbing at the Truphma. He leapt backwards doing a double back flip. I got back to my feet, slashing my sword at the Truphma. Again he dodged. I had forgotten how agile they were.
The Truphma jumped into the air dive bombing down at me. I sidestepped the assault and slashed my blade across his back. This time I did not miss. The Truphma let out a shriek, feeling the icy cold blade cut through the back of his skin. Grey blood oozed out staining his white jacket. Instantly the other Truphma were on their feet.
They shoved Ms.Vox out of their way and charged at me. I blocked their strikes with my sword, slashing wildly at the five assaulting Truphma.
Nimble as their leader, the Truphma all dodged my swing, one kicking the blade out of my hand. I blocked attack after attack as best as I could. I punched one in the face, kicking one across the legs, toppling him to the ground. But it was impossible to fight the five of them. Each was as fast as me if not fast. One hit me hard in the back; another kicked me in the chest, knocking the air out of me. Another head butted me, my vision turned red from the impact.
The Truphma that I had cut with my Ice Kanata stood back up. The other Truphmas wrapped their long arms around me, holding me in place. He charged at me leaping into the air foot raised, and slammed the heel of his shoe into my face.
I fell to the ground, my nose, and mouth bleeding. The other five Truphmas surrounded me kicking me over and over in the side. Stomping on my chest. Tramping my face. Blow after blow hit my body. I was hopelessly trying to fend off the attacks trying to block the hits with my arms.
My mind jumped to my dream I had four weeks ago, before the Bizare Fleck War. The Nightmare of the dozen Falerins beating me to the ground. I defenseless. My arms dropped motionless to my side. The kicking continuing, nonstop.
I failed. I failed again. I failed Lore. Nothing I could do…never could save Falerin, Maxwell, Garlick, Konnan, Trey Shure, Domento, Divara’s brother, and the many unknown. All that was left was failing me…Clown the Jester. I was dying. Soon I would be dead.
Part 3
BLOOSH! BLOOSH! BLOOSH! BLOOSH! BLOOSH!
Three Truphmas crumpled to the ground. Their faces and bodies smeared with a thick layer of brightly colored paint.
BLOOSH! BLOOSH! BLOOSH!
Another stumbled backwards, the impact of the paint balls knocking him to his feet. The two standing Truphmas and I turned to see Ms. Vox aiming her gun.
BLOOSH! BLOOSH!
The two creatures fell to the ground writhing in agony with their companions. Ms. Vox helped me to my feet.
“Are you alright Clown?” Ms. Vox asked studying my injuring.
I held my hands signaling her to stop. “I’ll be fine.” I said rubbing my stinging chin. I turned back to the six Truphmas. The leader, his suit stained with blue, red, and green smears started shacking wildly as if having a seizure.
The others began shaking as well their heads jerking left and right.
“What’s happening to them?” I asked retrieving my Paintball gun and Ice Kanata.
I watched the paint stains fade into the Truphmas’ skin.
“The color is reentering their bodies,” Ms. Vox said examining the Truphmas closely.
The Truphma started morphing before me eyes. Their swollen Clam Shell heads shrank back to normal size, their sickly thin bodies growing wider, their skin growing rich color. One of them started shrinkig in height. Instantly, six humans laided at my feet fast asleep.
All were strangers except Aria, the Pet Shop keeper who had shrunken down to her normal height.
I stared, eyes wide. “You mean,” I started trying to grasp what I saw. “All the Truphma are human?”
“More or less,” Ms.Vox said tending to Aria’s wounds. “There may be a few Orc, Elve, and Gnome Truphma as well. But also a great deal of monsters that the Truphma’s have drained clean of color.”
“How many Truphma are there?” I asked.
Ms.Vox thought carefully and replied, “Thousands. Maybe even Millions. So many people are being transformed into Truphmas.”
“Then we don’t have time to waste,” I exclaimed limping painfully into Warlic’s Shop, reaching into a box he stored on his shelf and pulling out a handful of Health Potions. I quickly poured the contents of one into my mouth swallowing the warm liquid. Immediately I could feel my wounds closing, my pain ceasing, and my blurred vision cleared.
I exited the store and turned back to Ms. Vox. “I need to go to the other towns and find more survivors, and deal with any Truphmas.”
I reloaded my paint ball gun and began to walk off when Ms. Vox grabbed my arm. “A few health potions won’t be enough of an edge to defeat an entire army of Truphmas. You barely survived an encounter with six. You can’t take on an army alone.” She hissed harshly, glaring at me like a foolish school boy.
“I don’t have a choice. We can’t just let all of Lore fall to these creatures. I have to try and save any survivors or at least turn as many Truphmas back to normal,” I said yanking my arm free of Ms. Vox.
“You can’t go alone.” She yelled angrily at me.
“It’s only you and I left that we know of!” I shouted, angry with how futile my plan seemed. “Everyone else has been turned into Truphmas!”
“Then I will go with you,” She said reloading her paintball gun.
I shook my head. “You need to gather more of these Paintball guns. Much more. We need arm as many of Lore’s citizens as possible,” I said motioning to the six unconscious people still sleeping at our feet.
“The more people armed with these weapons the more of a chance we have of saving Lore.”
Ms. Vox nodded and held out her own paintball gun.
“You’re going to need as much ammunition as possible."
I sheathed my Ice Kanata and took her gun. Holding the two paintball guns in my hands I nodded to her and said, “Wish me luck.” I ran off into the Green Guard Forest.
Part 5
BLOOSH! BLOOSH! BLOOSH! BLOOSH! BLOOSH! BLOOSH!
I ran from tree to tree dodging the bombarding the giant Bored Buzzer bees. Their once bright black and yellow bodies now a dull grey. An entire nest of Buzzers perusing me.
Nearly twenty Buzzers. Each the size of a pig. All aggravated by my brightly colored hair, face, armor, and weapons. Two Buzzers dive-bombed at me trying to impale their long stingers into my chest. I ducked under their stingers shooting one Buzzer in the head and right wing with my two Paintball guns.
BLOOSH! BLOOSH!
Instantly the bee started flying around crazy, the colors driving it crazy. To my surprise the other bees swarmed around their fallen comrade, stabbing their stingers into the now brightly colored stains on the bee’s fur.
The colors enrage them enough to attack their own, I realized. I fired another round of paint into the herd of bees. Their loud humming growing louder and desperate.
After a dozen or more shots, the remaining bees collapsed to the ground, twitching. The paint slowly soaking back into their bodies.
I continued on my way through the forest, stopping to shoot a colorless Forest Demon, or a Dulled Wolverine.
The Wolverine was quiet a bit of trouble. I shot him four times in the chest and to my surprise the paint started leaking into his system, and stopped. His skin barely grew any color. The Wolverine’s razor sharp claws burst out from his hands.
His endurance and regeneration must have been slowing the process; I assumed and started firing more and more paintballs into him. The Wolverine started slashing his claws in the air popping most of the paintballs before they could even touch him.
Thecreature pounced at me, knocking me to the ground and plunged both of his claws into my chest
I screamed in agony, the creature pulled back his claws, covered in my blood.
In a fit of rage, I grabbed the Wolverine’s head with on hand and smashed my fist into his snout. The creature yelped as I hit him over and over.
“I am trying to save you!” I roared at the creature hitting him under the jaw. My chest stung, I knew I needed to tend to my wounds before I lost too much blood.
I reached out my hand grabbing one of my guns and shot five paintballs into the thick headed Wolverine. The creature’s fur turned a light yellow, but still not back to his normal shade. I fired another round into his chest.
As the creature turned back to his normal color I pushed him out of my way, gulping down another health potion. My wounds started fading, not completely healed; a health potion could only do so much. But I was well enough to continue.
I retrieved my other paintball gun and continued on to Granemor. After three hours of running, and fighting monsters I reached the outer walls of Granemor. The city had lost even more colors then earlier.
It was now a light brown, perhaps tan. My pale skin was darker then the city. I walked through the gates that usually kept out enemies. No guard on post. No defense. The city was deadly quiet.
I walked from building to building…nothing…
As I neared Bloog’s tavern I saw the Orc burst out of his Tavern sprinting towards me.
“Clown!” Bloog yelled waving frantically to me. “Bloog in trouble! Entire city in trouble!”
I quickly steady the Orc and asked him, “Where is everyone?”
Bloog shook his head, bewildered and frightened.
“Everyone now pail! Strangers turned them pail! Everyone bad now!”
“We can fix this Bloog!” I said trying to reassure him. I showed him my paintball gun. “If we shoot the creatures and the town with enough paint we will save the citizens here! I cannot do this alone Bloog, I need your help.”
Bloog grew serious, his face no longer fearful. He drew out his Kanata and growled, “Bloog always there to help Clown.”
I started to speak when a loud noise cut me off.
BLOOSH! BLOOSH! BLOOSH!
Bloog fell to the ground, his face scrunched up in pain.
“BLOOG!” I cried out trying to help the orc back to his feet.
To my horror the orc dark green skin turned white as a ghost.
Bloog suddenly stood up. I noticed on his back three grey blots of paint.
Truphmas. Four of them. Each holding a strange paintball gun.
“No,” I said as Bloog turned to me his face filled with hate.
He slashed his sword at me. I dodged about to shoot the Orc with my own paintball gun when Boog cut one of my guns in two with his Kanata.
Two Truphmas grabbed me from behind, shoving me to my knees. One of the Truphmas nodded to Bloog. The Orc raised his sword over his head and slashed it down on my neck.
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