CHRONICLES OF GEMCLOD
Late Summer 262: Comatose Blues
As the summer slowly turned to autumn, it became clear that CommaToes' gangrene was not going to heal. On the contrary, his skin swell and festered, and everywhere he went, he was surrounded by a cloud of mosquitoes, flies and blood gnats.
I think it must have driven him mad. One day, he took his axe and armour, canceled all training sessions, and without as much as a word, went to the thick part of the swamp where trees hadn't been cut yet.
We all knew he wanted to die before the infection got him.
But the beak dogs weren't up to the task.
He came back, covered in beak dog blood, but looking even more unhappy. That's no death for a dwarf, to die in a hospital bed from festering wounds. To die fighting horrible monsters, that's the way to go! Personally I wouldn't mind dying in a comfy bed instead of being eaten alive, but you know these warrior types.
The following morning he left for the swamp again.
And never came back.
We waited through the whole day and night, but as the sun came up in the east and the swamp woke up, CommaToes was still missing. Fearing the worst, and realising he was our only competent soldier, I decided to organise a rescue party. Well, I say 'party' but I actually mean just you, Enzer, I said.
Leperfish tried to convince me otherwise: You can't send Enzer! She's not a fighter yet, she just began her training! You can't send her alone against the beak dogs!
But we all knew there was no other option, and even Enzer herself understood it needed to be done. She was the only one left with a weapon. So she kissed Leperfish goodbye (they told me to turn away!) and off she went.
Later, when she came back, she would tell us what happened. Once she got amongst the trees, she was attacked by two beak dogs, both cut, bloodied and bearing marks of a fight, but very well alive. CommaToes was nowhere to be found.
Fortunately, she was just able to kill the weakened beak dogs.
A couple of minutes later, she found CommaToes on a clearing, lying in a pool of his own blood amidst various beak dog parts. Legs, heads, bodies severed in halves, gore everywhere. CommaToes was horribly mangled, unconscious, but breathing.
(It's a bit confusing since they both have the axeman graphics, but this one here is CommaToes.)
So she threw him over her shoulders and carried him back. When we saw them coming up from behind the trees, Leperfished rejoiced, but the rest of us stood silent. We knew this meant nothing good.
It quickly became apparent that CommaToes is missing most of his right thigh. One of the beak dogs must had chewed upon his leg it was a miracle he hadn't bled out.
K0npeito spent the whole afternoon examining the patient, bandaging his wounds and trying to save him. CommaToes was fast asleep the whole time.
In the evening, K0npeito came to me with the medical report.
He might yet survive the gangrene, he said. But he will never walk again.
Kennel wrote :-
Now he can't dance for Onshen anymore.
(Archiver's note: If it's not clear, Commatoes was a worshipper of Onshen.)
Kikka wrote :-
At The Hospital with Commatoes
Klokwurk wrote :-
In honour of CommaToes, Gangrenous Guardian of Gemclod, I made him in Spore.
Here's the save file pic in case anyone wants. Hopefully this works...
