Intermission
Zdrakloyananuiseth hovered noiselessly in a grove of ancient cedar trees, barely lit by the lanterns at the shrine some fifty yards distant.
A creature of many guises, Zdrak had assumed their most subtle: an amorphous, softly glowing crimson cloud. They'd awaited their quarry patiently for over a week. Now, they sensed the time was growing near. They sank lower into the undergrowth.
Some twenty yards off toward the light, a patch of air flickered and fuzzed. Like a ghost crawling out of a television in a horror movie, a crouching creature appeared. It had the typical Earthling biped body plan. In broad strokes, anyway. The closer one looked, the more things were amiss.
Zdrak didn't need to look that closely. They knew the creature well. Immediately, they shot out a wisp of vapor, lurching and reaching forward in an elongated streak of extradimensional plasma; so by the time their target realized what was happening, and reached to tap something on an unseen instrument panel, they were already upon him.
The creature, and his bench, and Zdrak, all disappeared. And they did not snap back properly to whence they'd come. Rather the two entities grappled in a caliginous void, as the bench and its attached apparatus tumbled end over end.
<RELEASE ME!> cried the creature. <I have given you everything you’ve asked!>
<SOMOTOTH IS DEAD. THE ENEMY HAS STOLEN ARTIFACTS OF STRATEGIC SIGNIFICANCE. THEY KNOW ABOUT THE SPEAR! TIME GROWS SHORT FOR THIS PLANET.>
They unleashed tendrils that enveloped and constricted around the creature, which emitted a series of sputtering noises. Unhindered it sent its reply:
<Peace, peace! It is not the clock you should fear, it is your own haste. And your master’s. These losses are regrettable, but they dont mean the plan is not working!>
Zdrak’s usual placid facade showed a crack. <What must We do?>
<You have done all you can for now. You want my advice? Ready your pen and ink.>
That stopped them in their tracks. They did not release their grip, but they loosened it. The apparatus eventually stopped spinning and righted itself.
<My apologies. You are right as usual, old friend. For the first time in centuries, We are afraid. We sense such martial strength in our enemies. We waited until the Sheldon human was ready to ascend. But is he strong enough?>
The creature sighed.
<Stop fishing for information for once, Zdrak. This is a conspiracy, not an interrogation. I’ll tell you this much: strength will be found where strength is required. And when that happens, things are going to move very, very fast.>
