The Journal of Captain Markham

This may be my last post...

2004-03-25T17:35:00.000-08:00

I don't like to leave a story unfinished, but my current quest is coming to a head. At the end of it, I will be dead - or - possessing a power beyond imagination. Either way, I will have little time to tinker with technological toys.

If you've been following my adventures, dear Reader, then I know that you will be cheering me on. Remember me fondly if I fail - rest assured that if I succeed, I will be thinking of You.

Into the Depths...

2004-03-16T19:17:00.000-08:00

As we descended, we became aware of a light coming from below. Before we could reach it though we had one more threat to face.

Strange laughter reverberated in the sea around us... the blood in the water started gathering, coalescing into a single mass. The mass took on a form in front of us - a particularly horrible one. Some of the party members fell back at the sight of the horrible demon that took shape and confronted us, but I was made of sterner stuff.

"I am Gibberfat!" the demon proclaimed - reducing it's horror somewhat, "And you are trespassing on my Masters domain!"

I swum forward, cursing the situation that made a dramatic stride impossible. "Silence, worm!" I shouted. "We are here on your masters bidding and will not be interfered with by the likes of you!"

The demon sneered at my bluff. "I think not," he said. But then he noticed something I was carrying. "Wait, is that the Key I see?"

I nodded, then remembered that he wouldn't be able to see my head move in this helmet. "It is." (How we managed to speak to one another is one of the mysteries of the Cosm.)

"Give that to me," said the Demon, "and I will let you pass - there is a demon prince that would desire it greatly."

"Give you this?" I asked, "After all that we've done to obtain it? I think not."

"Then you will never pass..."

"Unless I kill you," I said, raising my speargun to my shoulder. The fight was surprisingly short. My companions had learned the futility of the underwater projectile weapons, and had reverted to hand-to-hand combat. Bishops mechanical claws and Kai's ninja sword made for an efficient combination. I was also able to join in, my conversion to the Beast once again hidden by my suit.

We swum on. Down to the sunken ship, from which a tornado of whirling light arose. Past the zombies, which slowed my companions slightly, but did not hinder me in the least. Down to the hold of the ship, where the Gaunt Mans device performed its mysterious operations. Mysterious to most, but not to me. I saw quickly that this device could not be stopped, or controlled. It could however be destroyed. It was the work of moments to turn its energies back onto itself, and only moments later before we were frantically swimming to escape the detonation.

A shame that the device could not be turned to my own use... but we had no regrets then. We arrived at the surface in time to see the sun rise. We had saved the world.

So where was I?

2004-03-16T00:21:00.000-08:00

Ah yes, in a seaplane off the coast of Indonesia. A seaplane fortunately supplied with diving suits and underwater weaponry. I mention this because our target was situated some fifty fathoms underwater - a sunken pirate ship. My companions would have preferred more 'modern' diving gear, but I found it quite suitable. The big brass helmets had plenty of head room, and the suits themselves had some sort of Nile technology about them. As we were to find, they miraculously healed any cut or damage to themselves. Quite clever.

It was soon put to the test... as we descended into the depths, we were savagely attacked by a Giant shark! It headed straight for me, perhaps sensing that I was the greatest threat. Its hideous teeth sunk into me, tearing suit and flesh with equal ease. The pain was incredible, and I'm sure my companions thought it was the end of me.

It was not, for there were depths to my powers that had not yet been touched.

I released the iron bands that I had set around the Beast.

How can I describe the transformation? Perhaps my older readers could understand the attraction in returning to the full vigor of their youth. I was not always the frail stick that you see today. Before my accident I was quite the young tough. Releasing the Beast was - is - like a return to that youthful strength, only more so. A supernatural strength courses through my limbs... a feeling of power that nothing on this earth can deny. The shark never had a chance.

We descended again, this time through bloodstained waters.

A long absence

2004-03-15T23:58:00.000-08:00

But not without reason, I assure you. Internet facilities are somewhat limited in Belize, and the hovels - I cannot call them hotels - that we have been staying at have not been able to provide me with access to this account. Not to mention the zombies... but I am getting ahead of myself.

Your Hero Triumphant

2003-12-23T18:56:00.000-08:00

We landed our plane on the coast of some Arabian country. The locals were unfriendly at first, but they were soon won over once we explained how we had given the Nile Empire a black eye and lived to tell the tale. We were taken to a local chieftain who entertained us magnificently and had his men see to the quite significant damage our transport had suffered.

While we were enjoying the Sultans hospitality, he introduced us to another of his guests. This fellow must have caused some consternation when he first appeared, for he was no man, but a giant talking lizard! We, of course, recognised his race to be the same as the primitives who had attempted to impede our earlier efforts in the Living land. This fellow was quite a different kettle of fish. He had been transformed by Core Earth reality, giving him the ability to use tools, and speak quite well. One could almost think him a civilised being. He was quite taken with the tales of our adventures, and he asked if he could come along. I graciously accepted, thinking that further contact with our own selves could only add to the great improvements that Core Earth had made to him.

We spent some little time at the Sultan's, we were in a hurry to get the world spinning once more. As soon as the mechanics pronounced our plane fit to fly, we left. After thanking the Sultan once more for his hospitality we flew off... headed south east for Indonesia.

It has been a while

2003-12-23T18:39:00.000-08:00

There have been some delays since my last post here, but if you've been following the somewhat abbreviated chronicles on that other site, you'll know I've been busy giving Tharkoldu what for. I would tell you all about it, but it would interfere in the contininity of this tale. In the meantime, you should peruse these pages for a fascinating example of what Victorian technology is capable of.

Mile-high Adventure!

2003-11-27T00:08:00.000-08:00

We flew out of Cairo in our rickety aircraft, hotly pursued by two Nile fighters. Fortunately, Kai was as excellent a pilot as she was a marital artist. She dodged and weaved about, avoiding the enemies fire. And we were not defenseless. This PBY was equipped with mounted machineguns, and we returned fire with gusto. Alas, no one was familiar with weapons of this caliber and our shots, for the most part, went wild.

And while everyone else was concentrating on the exterior threats, another danger revealed itself. One of Sharif's men had been sleeping in the planes secret compartment!

For those new to Nile Empire transportation, as we were, I should mention that it is the invariable practice of their engineers to include at least one secret compartment. We've found them quite useful on occasion, and that is one of the reasons we do prefer to use Nile vehicles. This time, however, we were caught by surprise by the sudden emergence of the swarthy thug who emerged from the back of the plane, wrench in hand.

As the only person not operating either the plane or the guns at that moment, it fell on me to dispatch the ruffian. Which I did forthwith, with a shot from my trusty pistol. All at once, a plan occurred to me.

I knew that our pursuers were just the sort of scoundrels who wouldn't hesitate to fire on a defenseless person parachuting to safety. I put the corpse of our assailant into a parachute, and threw him out the door. By this time, we had sustained some damage. Smoke was pouring out of one of the engines, and I knew it would appear that we had started bailing out. Sure enough, the enemy planes dropped to rake the falling thug with their guns. They didn't expect Kai to turn the plane around and strafe them from above!

It was a close fight, but in the end we triumphed. We limped across Northern Africa and finally landed near the coast, somewhere in the Persian Gulf.

So there we were...

2003-11-19T22:50:00.000-08:00

We'd liberated a plane from Professor Sharif's hanger, we had fought our way past his legion of Nile Empire stormtroopers. Now we were away, up in the sky, in the rickety flying nightmare that was to be our home for quite some time - the PBY.

Not my preferred means of travel. I much prefer the stately grace of the airships back home, or even the jet liners of the more high tech worlds. What they lack in elegance they certainly make up for in convenience. Still, one must adapt to circumstance. While the PBY was lacking in many of the elements that make for refined travel, it was the only choice available. In future days, its would prove a fine choice. Few planes could travel as far, as inconspicuously or to as many places as this one would. Also, few commercial planes, I'm told, come with cupola mounted machine guns.

All that was far in the future though. Back then, there were more pressing matters at hand - namely the two Nile Air force fighters that were swiftly gaining on us!

Where have I been?

2003-11-19T22:42:00.000-08:00

Saving the world of course. I'll tell you more about that later. But first....

Some things never change.

2003-11-14T00:29:00.000-08:00

I see that prejudice against what is, after all, an unfortunate but hardly dehabiliating condition is as strong as ever. I also see that his trackback links aren't working... perhaps this will work tomorrow.

Ah, Cairo!

2003-11-14T00:22:00.000-08:00

City of secrets; city of adventure! Visiting Mobius's latest conquest took me back to my days in the 6th Empire. I would have liked to stay for a while, particularly since I would have been in the company of the lovely Hildy. But, alas, we had pressing business. We had discovered that Sharif's mission was to bring the key back to Cairo and then transport it via plane to an island in the Indonesian sea. There it would be serve as a critical part in the Gaunt Mans plans. Once the Key was activated, the energy that had been stored up by the recent halting of the earths rotation would be released, and under the Gaunt Man's control.

Perhaps I should have mentioned the fact that the Earth had stopped rotating earlier... In truth, this affected us less than you would expect. In the Living land, after all, there is little distinction between day and night, and we had left that land by an underground route. It must be admitted however, that there was no small amount of widespread concern about this development. Clearly, we had stumbled into a way of restarting the earths spin, something we would be much lauded for.

But first, we had to find the map which marked our destination, and steal a plane to take us there. This did not prove much of a challenge. Leaving Hildy and her father behind, we set out to save the world (well, its rotation at any rate.)

The map was easily obtained by Kai. While she still denied that she was a Ninja, she did exhibit a number of ninja-like skills. Next on the list was the plane, conveniently available at the same military base that Sharif had been keeping his map. There were obstacles in the form of some Nile Empire soldiers, but between the withering amount of high-technology firepower owned by Bishop and Kai, and my own crack shooting, they were quickly overcome. Chu-ling also aided us - I don't like to leave him as an afterthought, but his contribution was minimal. Kai informed us that his "Kung-fu" was "pig-dung". Ugly words to come out of such a pretty mouth, but I don't think she knew what the words meant.

So there we all were.

2003-11-12T23:41:00.000-08:00

Working in the Living land, a team whose story had yet to begin. We were all in the same truck, Bishop driving, traveling along a barely perceptible track through the jungle. Conditions were terrible: hot, sticky weather, the mist covering everything. Honestly, I was glad when the attack finally came - the chill of terror as the dinosaurs rampaged through the convoy was quite refreshing. We became separated from the pack - I concealed us from the dinosaurs with a quickly crafted illusion. However, in the confusion, Bishop had run the truck into a tree, and once safe, we had to stop for repairs.

By pure co-incidence, that put us in just the right spot for Hildy to find us. She had just escaped from a group of Nile Empire lackeys. Running through the jungle, she burst into our makeshift camp, desperate for help. Naturally I could not let her down. She told us her story, how she had been kidnapped by and old enemy of mine: Profession Sharif. He had kidnapped her in order to gain the co-operation of her father, who had just invented an incredible digging machine, capable of digging its way from Cairo all the way to America. Apparently the professor had some sort of deal going with the Edinos... a deal I would be happy to spoil.

It was at this point that the local Eddy tribe attacked us. Things looked dicey for a moment, but my companions skills proved to be up to the challenge. They easily disposed of our attackers, and I scarcely needed to lift a finger in my own defense. Our blood raised, we decided to follow their trail back to the dastardly Professor.

The professor was easily overcome. He had left his troops guarding the digging machine, but we made short work of them. Just as we were finishing them off, he came back from whatever village he had been visiting. He was full of bluster - just like I remembered. But this time, with the able aid of my companions, he was quickly overpowered and taken prisoner. Hildy was reunited with her father, and all was good.

We investigated the contents of the digging machine. We found the professors orders - he had been working for none other than the High Lord Mobius! He had been instructed to trade weapons for something the Edinos had - something called "The Key". Apparently, he had just finished negotiations, and the locals would soon be arriving to seal the deal.

We saw no reason that the deal should not go ahead. After Bishop had turned the unnatural strength of his metal hand to crushing the gun barrels of the weapons, we traded them to the Eddies that showed up. I could go on about the ugliness and stupidity of this race, but it will suffice to mention that they could not tell the difference between working rifles and destroyed rifles, and so handed over the Key. A good thing too, as such an exquisite artifact should not left in such crude hands.

The trade completed, we made use of the transportation that Sharif had so graciously provided. Back to Cairo, where there would be more information about this mysterious Key that we had obtained.

Back when it all began...

2003-11-12T00:46:00.000-08:00

I first met my companions in the Jungle of the Living land. I had managed to get a job protecting the food convoys to certain American settlements that had been cut off by the invasion. You might wonder, to look at my frail form, how I ever managed to get hired as a guard, but I can be quite persuasive when I wish to be. And I did so wish. Certain divination, the nature of which I will not go into at this time, had convinced me that here, in this pestilential hell-hole was where I had to be.

I suppose I had better introduce my companions at this point. Let me see, perhaps I should start with Bishop. An unusual name, but then we were all unusual in our own ways. Bishop was an exile from the Cyberpapacy. He like to keep quiet about it, but his metal arm did all the speaking that was necessary. He didn't like me very much to start with, but it was to be expected. Men like him respect strength, and none of my strengths were immediately visible.

Kai was much more polite. Silent but deadly was, if not her motto, then certainly her modus operandi. It took her a while to warm to the group, but eventually she came around. She was from Japan, but despite this, and despite her habit of dressing in black and killing people with her sword, she denied that the was, in fact a Ninja.

Another person in denial was Chu-Ling. He claimed to be a Buddhist monk, but exhibited none of the reverence for life that that Oriental sect is famed for. If it seems odd that I have a knowledge of Buddhism's tenets, you have to remember that I spent some time in Chu-Lings company, and he was not shy or reticent about his faith. He even managed to convert Bishop at one point, but that is another story... So, while at the time I did not think it odd, as time passed and I grew more aware both of Chu-Lings religion and of his habits, the contradiction became more and more apparent. Perhaps that is why he eventually had some sort of crisis of faith and returned to his monastery... but I am getting ahead of my story.

So there we were, the four of us. A formidable team, needing only a goal and a determined leader, to weld the group together. Of course, it was inevitable that I would be that leader. Bishop, of course, resisted - often going his own way, pursuing unwise courses of action. He was always headstrong and stubborn. But eventually he would see wisdom, and my way would prevail.

The Beginning

2003-11-10T23:47:00.000-08:00

Perhaps it would be best to start with an introduction. My name is Captain Liam Markham. I served in the South Wales Borderers, back in my own cosm. Unfortunately, while on an expedition to Africa I caught a debilitating illness, which put paid to my promising military career. I came back to Majestic, a broken shell of a man in dire need of recuperation.

While I eventually recovered somewhat, I never regained the strength that I'd had before. It was while I was still bed-ridden at my family estate that I turned to the Occult Arts as a way of regaining my health. While I had some successes, there was one prominent failure....

Since that other fellow has seen fit to inform the world about my dark secret, I suppose I should confess. Yes, I am a werewolf. It was a condition brought on by my own hubris, and lack of understanding of the dark arts. But there was another that shared blame. We shall come to him eventually.

In any case, it was being cursed with lycanthropy that finally decided me. In this world, with its dark laws and evil powers, I was never going to regain the health and vigor that I felt was my right. I would have to leave - to seek new realms, with new possibilities. I decided that I would leave Orrorsh, and go to Core Earth.

The tale of how I got from there to here would fill another journal. I will not tell it here. But eventually, after adventures in Aslye, and some... misunderstandings in the Nile Empire, I found myself in Core Earth. There I met the people who would be come my companions in the adventure to come. But that is another journal entry.

Update

2003-11-10T23:03:00.000-08:00

I have been informed that Television is something else, and that this is the World Wide Web. Exactly what the difference is I am unable to determine. They both seem to involve staring interminably at a small glass box.

Ahem.

2003-11-10T22:54:00.000-08:00

It has come to my attention that a certain account has been pubished of my adventures. One that contains numerous inaccuaracies and casts all sorts of aspersions upon my character. I feel it is in the public interest, as well as my own, that these numerous libels be corrected, and so I have turned to this new, unfamiliar medium to tell my side of the story. While the ways of this Television method of publishing are new to me, I am sure that I will master them in time.