The following is a short written by Kiki detailing the events that took place when she attempted to stop the "Blink Goat" when it came after her and Simeon at the start of Episode 5 of the Antecedents campaign.— Six the DM
The celestial goat had continued to charge forward long after Heidi had grasped it by its horns, and by now Heidi wasn’t sure where it had taken her. She could tell they were still moving, but the air felt wrong. It seemed to stick to her clothes and hair, and it smelled of that late, fateful autumn when the crops had spoiled from disease and were blazed to the ground, causing smoke to fill the skies for days.
Wind whipped around Heidi’s hair as the massive beast continued its blind march into the surrounding darkness. The stout woman held firm to the horns that kept her anchored close to the goat, her body dangling helplessly both on and off the its back. The animal seemed aware yet unconcerned with its increasingly annoyed passenger, occasionally bleating proudly into the void around them, as if to announce itself to the darkness.
Heidi struggled to keep her eyes open against the wind, trying to find some source of light or something familiar enough that she could determine where she was, or at least where she was being taken. Through the whipping hair and strong gusts of motion she thought she could see blips of light occasionally, passing by on the left or right as the pair ran past. Realizing the usual techniques of goat herding would probably be unsuccessful in this instance, Heidi decided either she would cling on to the goat forever, or she would break her leg trying to cause the goat to halt. She considered the darkness around her, looked down upon the goat, and sighed.
“I DON’T SUPPOSE YOU’RE PLANNING ON STOPPING?” She shouted to the beast over the wind and bleating.
The goat replied with a loud “BLAAAAHH” and continued its pace forward.
“I DIDN’T THINK SO.”
“BLAHHHHMMMP”
Heidi pondered for a moment more, thinking of her family farm, her Gran, and her twelve brothers and sisters. She would miss them, she decided. She tried to forget about the party, the strange beings that had accompanied her and seemed to be considerably unorganized and busy city-folk. She thought back to her apprenticeship, to her Kobold friends and her journey from farm to this new hellish void. It had been a good run, decidedly. For a farmer’s daughter from Hog’s Hollow, she had certainly gotten around. Perhaps that was the trouble, really. All this wasn’t meant for a commoner from the back wooded farmlands. Heidi wondered if perhaps she had set her sights too far ahead for her means, and that was why she now found herself hurtling towards oblivion on the back of a rather large and irritating demon-goat. Still, at least the burden of it all was gone now.
Heidi closed her eyes and in one swift movement, let go of the goat’s horns.
At first there was a sharp pain in her chest, and her head seemed to buzz with white noise. They, as if in an instant, everything fell deafly silent. Heidi felt light, as though her body were floating in the unwavering darkness. She felt a bit like a bucket spilling over and emptying as thoughts, emotions, sights, and sounds fled from her into the blackness. She felt as though she had been floating there an eternity before a sound erupted the silence.
"THAT WAS AN ODD THING TO DO."
The voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. It sounded like gravel and dead leaves, like the dying tree branches and the dead of winter. It thundered in her mind while also whispering in her ear. Despite all this, Heidi ignored the voice and continued to float away.
"YOU WOULD BE CONTENT TO WITHER HERE?"
‘No.’ Heidi thought, ‘That would be rather lazy of me. I should get up.’
"AH. YES. I HAD THOUGHT YOU WOULD SAY THAT."
Heidi struggled to stir and open her eyes, but they were heavy and numb and somehow foreign. She felt like a poorly crafted marionette whose strings were tied to heavy stones. Something had its grip on her, yet she could not see or feel it- only feel the slow numbing spreading across her body and holding her still. She continued to float away, growing increasingly numb by the second.
"YOU WILL NOT GET ANYWHERE DOING IT LIKE THAT."
Heidi ceased struggling. ‘What would you suggest, then?’ She thought to the voice, trying not to sound too exasperated.
"WELL YOU HAVE AT LEAST THREE OPTIONS. YOU COULD CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE AND FADE AWAY FASTER. YOU COULD GIVE UP AND FADE AWAY EVEN FASTER. OR, YOU COULD WORK ON EXISTING AGAIN."
‘But I already exist.’
"DO YOU?"
‘Yes. At least, I’m pretty sure I do.’ Heidi could feel herself getting less annoyed and more, more complacent? No. That wasn’t it. She just felt less.
"GIVE IT A FEW MORE MINUTES, THEN."
‘I’d rather not.’ Her thoughts felt like a small whisper in the back of her-her what? What had contained these thoughts? What was she? Where was she?
"WELL THEN, I WOULD WORK ON EXISTING AGAIN. IT WON’T BE GETTING ANY EASIER."
The wispy consciousness that may have once been human and female thought deeply about this. It tried to imagine what it would be like to exist beyond some scattered thoughts and impressions of what once may have been. It could recall warm air, the smell of a dusty tome. It could see a woman, aged and bent, smiling through stern eyes. It could feel magic flow through its thoughts.
But it could not remember who, or what, it was. And it was fading fast.
"SEEMS LIKE IT MAY BE TOO LATE. PITY, IT WAS NICE TO HAVE SOME COMPANY."
The thoughts did not reply, they only continued grasping at what few thoughts remained. It could only think of darkness and the voice now.
"I CAN HELP YOU, BUT IT MAY BE TRICKY NOW THAT YOU ARE SO FAR GONE. I MAY GET…STUCK."
Somewhere, deep in the pits of the darkness, whatever was left of Heidi Seeder put all her effort into thinking as hard and as loudly as she could.
‘Don’t let me disappear.’
And somewhere, also in the darkness, a voice like gravel and dead leaves- like dying branches and the dead of winter, laughed.
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