Nari’s Log was a ambitious unfinished sci-fi novella created by Natalie Neumann. Natalie does not recommend that you try to read the original work due to its low quality, structural issues, and grammatical errors. Instead, she encourages you to read the summary included in Volume 06: Nari’s Logof The Saga of Vincent Dawn and Volume 02: Nari’s Log of Natalie Rambles About The Saga of Vincent Dawn to better understand the content of this novella.
I felt my eyes flutter as a voice hit my ears. I felt like I’d been thrown out a window and onto a rose bush. Probably because I had. I quickly moved my hand to see my usual white glove, and rub my head. Same hair from before same hand. Apparently I did not Shift out of my Host, Lynne Long. But as I was trying to stand up, feeling a more numb, but still very present, pain. I heard a familiar voice. It was the voice of Y’vonne’s Host spouting, “Nari, please, wake up!” a couple times before I finally groaned and heard the voice gasp with delight.
“Oh thank goodness, my magic worked. I was unsure about healing spells after such a large injury. But you’re okay.” Being naturally grumpy after a great fall, I scoffed a bit before replying. “Yeah, great work, now I can move a limb as I feel it may come off, rather than just stay limp!” The voice sighed. “Nari, please try to be more grateful. We still need to finish our mission. And Maxxi would probably not make it, despite being able to become a dragon.”
Which sparked another voice to appear, Maxxi’s regular hyperactivity. “Oh! I coulda done that? Whoopsie! Just liked being a necklace too much!” I looked around for these two voices, but neither were in my field of vision, which was pretty much just the night sky, in all fairness. “Okay you two. Where are you? And didn’t you die Y’vonne?” “Well, Nari. I did indeed die, but I had access to a soul separation spell. For the sake of this world, my soul is my own essence, with the Queen’s knowledge. But I need a vessel or I’ll fade away. So I’m more or less inside of your mind, while using some of your untapped magical powers to cure you… I’m sorry, it’s complex.”
It was enough info for me, so I brought back up Maxxi. “Oh, she managed to morph herself into an… exoskeleton of sorts. Your body does have a good amount of built up magical power, but I could only stop the bleeding so much. Without Maxxi, I think you’d literally fall apart.” I looked down to the best of my ability, and other than a stone wall and bush I saw a dark teal suit of armor that encompassed my whole body. And even my head, upon adjusting my face.
“Okay, so what’s the plan now? Because I can barely move.” I said while wiggling myself around, feeling loose in places where it shouldn’t, but held in place by something coming from the armor. “Dontcha worry! I can make you walk. Hold onta your head!” Maxxi spouted before I felt my legs move on up as my rams gathered support. I was not sure if I was just overreacting to my wounds, or that Maxxi’s armor acted as a second layer of muscle.
“Nari, I know of this man, but I can not recall his name. He summons a flock of blackbirds to do his bidding, while throwing around flames of his own control. I know how to defeat him, but I’m going to need both of you to put forth all your motsy. His blood becomes flames when exposed to oxygen, so a traditional stab, even to the throat, would not kill him. We could either remove his head, which would erupt in enough fire to destroy the castle. But that would sadly destroy our chances of fulfilling our mission.”
“However, there is one weapons we can access, although through great difficulty, that could properly slay him. In this castle’s amory, there exists a pair of daggers embedded with the power of ice. With them, we could kill him through traditional means, since they would prevent his blood from becoming anything more dangerous than colored steam.”
Clearly, Y’vonne had been digging up information through her Host’s head. “Alright Y’vonne, what makes this so difficult?” I asked, before I coughed up a bit of blood. “We need to travel to the armory. But I am certain the man in black has his birds surrounding it. We just need to hope he does not know how to open the enchanted lock, so he may dispose of the daggers with post haste. So we need to go through a secret passage in the sewers, of which I know the way, but… one mistake and we’re done for.”
Wanting to lighten up the mood, I was optimistic in my response. “No problem, Yvonne. You know the way and Maxxi will keep me alive, right?” “well, that’s the ideal route Nari, but I am not certain-” “Either way, ya two dorks aren’t gonna get this done by standing around. So, let’s go-for-it!” Maxxi interjected before she started jogging, resulting in my groaning out of pain. “No, please, Maxxi. You need to be careful. We need grace and poise before we may venture into the sewage system. And if you would be so kind as to give Nari some of your night vision-” “Garafle! Fine! I’ll be patient. And check out these cool specs Nari-kun!”
Just then, a semi transparent visor was placed over my eyes, as I attempted to walk with a wall acting as my support. Y’vonne ended up directing me across the walls of the castle. I took about five minutes due to the necessary slow pace, but we eventually made it to a bush that concealed an iron lid down to the sewers. Unfortunately, there was a ladder, which I was unable to climb down without falling into the polluted water that waited below. In short, it smelled awful. I thought the town smelled bad, but this was a good five times worse, at the bare minimum. I was nearing vomit, until I felt something appear in front of my mouth and nose. Another piece of armor, except this one greatly filtered out the odor of year old feces and piss. But it also prevented me from speaking.
With only the directions of Y’vonne, and the shushed comments form Maxxi, I was on my way through this sewage system. The liquidy substance was up to my knees as I sifted through it with no idea where I was in this brick laid catacomb. Y’vonne seemed to, but all I was doing was moving, with the pain thankfully becoming less potent, but my movement also became less precise. I was tempted to ask if there was any extra magic in my system, or some sort of healing tonic nearby. But why wouldn’t Y’vonne provide them for me.
I lost track of time, direction, and often even myself. I knew that Maxxi was a bandaid solution after declaring that, “I am the god of the bandage! Bring your sick and tired to me, and I shall prevent them from losing any more blood! Kukukukuku!” But I felt like everything was only getting worse, with my feet feeling like stumps in water after six corners. And the rodents. They were the size of cats, and crawling everywhere, even on me, trying to gnaw at my armor as I lacked enough energy to do anything. God, I could barely even imagine what they would smell like. Before long, I felt like if I did have the ability of speech, I would not be able to do any more than pant.
But Y’vonne certainly seemed to comprehend my agony. Sounding sincere as she interrupted her directions with apologies, and encouragement. I felt more bad than anything, as if I should’ve just tried to not get hurt as badly to prevent her from being as upset. I was lucky to be looking at anything near the end, let alone walking. But we eventually came to a stopping point. When I had to muster up a good chunk of my nearly depleted energy to push a brick, and open up a wall that led to another ladder. I climbed it, with genuine shock that my arms didn’t just fall off. I didn’t want to know what my Host’s body looked like, since most if not all of its muscles felt like they were torn or being torn off.
Once Maxxi helped me move my borrowed body up the ladder, I saw a nearly absurd amount of swords, spears, sets of armor, arrows, bows, maces, gold, boxes of treasure, and raw materials. All in a stone room that was only illuminated thanks to Maxxi’s visor. I would have wondered how this was even possible given the kingdom’s economy, but I lost the energy and support to even stand at this point. WIth my hearing on the verge of fading away, I heard Y’vonne’s borrowed voice, telling me that there was something just a few feet away, with my eyes nearly glimmering as she mentioned it would heal me. Feeling nothing more than achey and wet, I crawled in the general direction I was given, with everything sounding and looking half-blurred as I got closer.
There were many vials of multi colored liquids on a wooden shelf, but upon mustering the energy to stand up. The only one that looked safe in my limited range was a blood red liquid, which I guzzled down my throat. I managed to make out some loud noises from both Maxxi and Y’vonne, but all I could do was collapse. I am not sure how long I stayed there on the floor. It felt like hours, maybe even days. I did not fall unconscious, I could feel every breath I made all the while. But it was more than that. The pain spiked several times, emitting a groan and blood filled cough. I just waited there, not able to get up even if I tried.
Eventually, I heard a door open, followed by a familiar cackle. It was the man in the black cloak, with the sound of his feathered friends not far behind. Immediately after hearing him enter, breaking through the armory, I leaped to my feet. No longer feeling any pain, but I did not feel anything anymore. At least not anymore. I moved my hand to the mouth piece Maxxi placed over me as Y’vonne was stammering in shock, and Maxxi was screeching in glee. I spat out a tooth as I uttered one word in a bloody slur, “Daggers”. I shot open my still closed eyes to the sound of tearing flesh, and through the visor I still had up, followed Y’vonne’s directions to a crate with the daggers, avoiding the ravens as I sprinted to the chest she mentioned. And there, I found them.
They were curved blades at least a foot in length before counting the handles. With a red piece of cloth at the end, and a light blue mixed with the color of steel covering the blades. All topped off with an aura of sorts, that had the blades emitt frost. I murmured Maxxi to take off the visor before I did. She quietly complied. There, through the darkness and the sea of ravens, I took one dagger in each hand, and headed towards the pale blue and tired face of the man in the black cloak. And in one fell swoop, where I took the two weapons and jammed them into his eye and throat, I knew he was done for.
I stared at him during the full second of silence that followed, in which he met his demise with not an expected look of defeat, but a grin. Unfortunately, before I could settle down, I was surrounded by a mix between the same colored flames that threw me out before, and a wave of darkness. I was ready to enter the normal poses of distress, but no. It was more of an illusion than anything. Just a visual that could not harm me. And in the moment of peace, after the ravens all vanished across my eyes I found it more than fitting to openly weep.
I was alone, as the other two seemed to be accustomed to this whole charade, or maybe I was just unlucky enough to feel more pain than the two. I recall being blown up more or less, and using that for a scale, this was more likely than not enough pain to make a person simply give up on life. I shared my relief with the others, crying all the time, speaking with a broken mouth as I felt my Host’s teeth fall out. I never asked what happened to these people afterwards, but unless it is a complete memory wipe, I can not verbalize my condolences for this, Lynne Long.
After a minute, Maxxi brought back up the piece that kept my mouth and nose in place, and free from doing anything but breathing. And thankfully too, because my odor was nothing short of ghastly. I was ready to leave now, my borrowed body destroyed, my psyche most likely traumatized, and nothing on my mind other than getting out of here.
But right as I was closing my eyes, in hopes that falling asleep would just bring me back, a figure loomed over me. My visor was removed by Maxxi, and I saw a blue eyed man in a black suit with a red tie. He had jet black hair that stuck up roughly a centimeter, and a very straight look on his face. Topped off by a bit of a beard, a cigarette in his mouth, and a few unintimidating scars around his face. He looked over me and very stiffly shrugged, before he took out a thin rectangular black object, and began to tap it with his right index finger.
“Well, it appears you only managed to make it halfway. Fair enough, you’re not really a combat heavy team. I guess I can take it from here. Just need to give Queen Sanitas some revival tonic. And some morality buffer on this man here. I don’t see any problem with that.” He spoke in a mildly monotone voice, that sounded both gripping, and plain. I wasn’t even sure how that was possible. I coughed, drawing the man’s attention to me. “Oh? That’s unfortunate. Not a big deal…” He kept tapping the device, which I assumed to be a tablet computer of sorts. “…Just a few more entries and… Done! Say hello to The Doctor for me. I’ll get back to him soon”
Before I could even try to spit out a question, everything went dark, even my allies’ bantering that reflected my own thoughts. This time, I hope, I would at least be able to talk to The Doctor, and not need to move around this half destroyed corpse that I called a body. I can’t help but feel guilty for this Lynne Long, but I am more curious about the man in a suit. But, as always, I know where my answers lurk. Now if only there were less questions.