Challenge #03093-H185: The Wait for Travel Services

The Humans were sitting around the fire with several of their Havenworlder friends. The winds outside the shelter were howling loudly and they were still waiting for the rescue vessel to bring them the rest of the parts they needed to repair the ship enough to limp it to a spaceport for a full refit. It was a stormy night so the Humans decided to have fun and tell ghost stories. – Anon Guest

It was a dark and stormy night. The winds howled and rattled the very temporary shelter on a small, nondescript planet just off from the major shipping lanes. They would have made it to Pinkus East if only someone patrolling the lanes hadn’t been napping and missed one high-velocity paint fleck.

Space travel. It makes even the most insignificant debris into a life-threatening hazard. Alas, in high-traffic shipping lanes, the ships’ micrometeor defense systems[1] had to be turned off. Smaller ships and short-hop vessels looked an awful lot like asteroid hazards to defense system AI’s. Which was why there were patrols in the first place. Which should have worked. One had not, and now they were here because they were here.

On a passive planet that was set aside as an emergency landing for people like the crew of the Therinbak. All they had to do was wait for a patch kit and a tow back up into space, and they could resume their travels. This, of course, meant that the Humans were already bored. The one with the guitar had run out of songs to show off with[2], the one with the card tricks was still trying to work out what had gone wrong with the last one, and one of the Humans was sitting upside-down. Always a bad sign.

[Check the source to see the full story]

(Source: peakd.com)

Challenge #03021-H098: The Lengths Gone Unto

A man walk down the crossroad late that night that when he ran into a beast in black. The beast spoke “Boy that’s a heavy load you have on your back, I can take care of your troubles and your worry woes, all you gotta is sign.” Man said “beast I do believe another devil beat you to it this time. I do wish I had something to give but ‘fraid I’m sold out. If you ain’t looking for the walking dead better find yourself another town. But if your still looking for my soul just wander down this road to a small house to the right. Cuz devil I’ve already lost my soul to devil with emerald eyes.“ – Anon Guest

[AN - ISTG those are lyrics for something but a quick search can’t find it. This has rhythm and meter… I can firkin hear Johnny Cash singing this.]

All the Tieflings were gone. So too were all those people who loved them anyway. This should have been a relief to the world because now they could tell the difference between a Fel fiend and someone who just happened to look a little bit like one. It should have been a relief for ordinary and decent folk, but one had become a statistical outlier. It wasn’t his fault. He fell in love with a Tiefling Bard just before the miracle they were calling the Fel Exile.

She had eyes of emerald green, and skin the colour of royal robes. Hair the colour of a raven’s wing that fell in luxurious curls. And her voice… he would never forget her voice. It didn’t belong in a devil’s throat. When Dan learned that all Tieflings and all unwanted peoples were sent away from decent folk by a concatenation of Wishes, he knew why she had gone. What he didn’t understand was how he had been left out of the phrasing, "and those who love them.” She was gone, and he was left sadder without her.

Dan sold everything he didn’t need and stocked up for a long journey. He didn’t care for a home without her in it. He didn’t want his family telling him it was just infatuation and he would get over her. The first part of his quest was finding out where the devils and all who were like them had been sent. And it was on that journey that he met a genuine fiend.

[Check the source to see the full story]

(Source: peakd.com)