Mr. Dove and the Pipes of Creation

**McClef** · 7th September 10, 01:51 PM

We should always listen to Father Trefor - he is always right!

**davedove** · 16th September 10, 10:54 AM

Scene 52

“We’re surrounded!” Steven called out in warning.

I again looked around and saw that we were indeed surrounded by the shadowy forms. I could feel panic forming within me.

The Wrecker attempted to break through the shades and open a path back to the stairway, but he was unable to build up any momentum and the shades caught him, pulling him to the floor.

Deena flew above us and flashes of light appeared as she used her magic, but her light wasn’t as brilliant as it was before. The dark nature of this world was diminishing her power. The shadows of the room swirled around her. I heard a scream from within the darkness and then she was silent.

Steven struggled against the forms that swarmed around him, but his blows were useless against the shadowy substance of the shades.

Of us all, Father Trefor was having the most success. The priest held his cross in front of himself as if it were a shield and the shades seemed afraid to approach it. But he could only hold the cross in one direction and soon the shades swarmed him from behind and he was covered in darkness.

I shrank back from the shades as they swarmed towards me and threw up my arms to cover my head. Fear paralyzed me as the shades covered me as well.

I don’t know how long I waited in the darkness as the shades held me captive. It could have been hours or minutes. The darkness pulled back from my face and I could see again in the dim light, although I was still held motionless.

What passed for the faces of the shades swarmed before my eyes. I could feel the evil hunger coming from them and I pulled back in fear.

“Let him be!” I heard an aristocratic voice command and the shades pulled back from me, although they still held me.

I looked around and saw my companions held within the grasp of other shades. Like me, they were all held fast.

“Welcome, Mr. Dove, I’ve been expecting you,” said the commanding voice. Strangely, the voice sounded familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it.

I looked towards the source of the voice and saw a regal man walk from the darkness. Everything about him seemed so familiar, but his face remained hidden by shadows as he approached.

He walked closer and spoke again. “I was told you would be on my island and that I should detain you. How convenient it was for you to bring yourself here and save me the trouble of capturing you. Now, what should I do with you?” he asked as he leaned in closer to me.

As the shadows drew back and revealed his features, I gasped in recognition. The darkness in this man’s soul was obvious, and the sharp canine teeth came into view as he smiled. I felt his cold breath against my face as he loomed in front of me.

I shrank back from the face of a man I called friend on my own world, a man who had once held a seat on the League of Moderators, the man I knew as Glen, and others called McMurdo.

**Livingston** · 16th September 10, 11:46 AM

What?!?!? Glen has an evil twin? Say it ain't so!

**McClef** · 16th September 10, 11:49 AM

"Sharp canine teeth"? What do these Toronto dentists get up to?

**ohiopiper** · 16th September 10, 09:52 PM

Hooray! Another installment!

Now I wait impatiently for the next. (foot tapping)

**davedove** · 23rd September 10, 10:48 AM

Scene 53

“Are you going to kill me?” I asked, my voice cracking.

“That would be easy enough,” the Baron answered, “but not at all interesting.”

The baron grabbed my head and held it to the side, exposing my throat. He leaned in and I felt his breath against my neck. I winced as I felt his fangs graze over the skin there.

He leaned back and looked at me. “I will let you decide your own fate,” he said to me. “It will be your choice.”

“What are my options?” I choked out.

“You have two. For the first, I take you right now and you become my slave. For all eternity you will serve me as an undead minion.”

That thought chilled me to the bone. “What’s my other choice?”

The Baron’s smile sickened me. “I let you live and you serve me willingly, and these people with you will be your servants.”

I glanced around the room. What kind of choice was that? I could either doom myself to becoming one of the undead, or save myself and subject my companions to the same fate.

The baron’s shades still held my companions. Although their mouths were covered, I could see that they also feared what would happen to them.

But I saw something else in Father Trefor’s eyes. Yes, he was afraid, but I could also see determination; I could see faith.

The words of the Pleaters came back to me. I had to do the right thing. Sacrificing my companions to save my own life was not the right thing. Determination filled me.

“Take me, I will be your slave,” I said to the Baron.

The Baron looked surprised for a moment and then smiled. “Very well,” he said. “I shall take you as my minion.” He leaned in and prepared to bite me. “Then I will take your friends,” he announced with malice.

As his fangs neared my neck, I realized I had failed. Not only was I doomed, but my friends were as well.

**davedove** · 23rd September 10, 11:24 AM

Scene 54

Just before the Baron’s fangs reached my throat, a large mass of fur bolted through the door. As shades moved to intercept it, its jaws ripped through them and they let out screams of agony.

The beast plowed across the room and slammed into the Baron, throwing him to the floor.

As I watched, the beast stopped in front of me, as if standing guard. Although this creature, a large dog, seemed so familiar, it seemed strange as well. Its fur was the right color, but it seemed wilder, more feral than the dog I knew.

“Wompet?” I asked.

The beast turned its eyes towards me briefly and then again glared at the Baron. Then it began to change, slowly rising up on its hind legs, its form morphing into something else, something half dog and half man.

“He is mine, Baron!” it growled.

The Baron had also changed. Although he still had the same basic form, his face had transformed into something demonic.

“You cannot have him, dog!” the Baron declared and dove at the beast.

The two monsters wrestled on the floor. I could see large gashes appear on each of them as they fought. Their blood splattered on the stone floor.

And suddenly, the grip of the shades loosened. As the Baron concentrated on his struggle, he lost his control over the shadows.

I struggle and slipped free as the shadows melted away. My companions were also slipping free of our captors. As the shadows faded away, Deena fell from where she had been pinned against the wall and was caught by the Wrecker before she hit the floor.

“Go!” ordered the beast as he continued his struggle.

“Come on, hurry!” Father Trefor ordered as he waved us towards the door.

We rushed from the room and up the stone stairs, heading for the door to the tower. The door was closed, but that didn’t stop the Wrecker, who barreled straight through the heavy wood.

“What was that thing?” Steven asked.

“A cynanthrope, part man and part dog,” Father Trefor answered, “A cursed soul, neither wholly man nor beast.”

“But it was helping us,” Steven objected.

“Indeed, sometimes the beast holds onto its humanity. But the person must continually fight against the beast and eventually the beast always wins.” I could hear sadness in the priest’s voice.

At that very moment the beast burst forth from the door and stumbled to the ground in front of us. I could see several gashes on its flesh from the battle with the Baron. It slumped to the ground and began to change. The creatures form became softer and more man-like as we watched. Fur disappeared and claws retreated. Amazingly, the gashes appeared to heal as the transformation continued. When the change was complete, a nude, but completely healed, young man lay collapsed on the ground.

Father Trefor quickly pulled off his cloak and rushed to the young man. He knelt and wrapped the cloak around the young man, protecting him from the weather.

The rest of us quickly gathered around the two of them as Trefor raised the man to a sitting position and further wrapped the cloak around him.

“Oh, my boy, what have you done?” Trefor asked as he cradled the young man in his arms.

As the priest held tightly to the young man, I caught a glimpse of the man’s face. It was Gerald, the young man who had served us in the priest’s home.