Elsewhere

Duke awoke to find himself bound in multiple ways. He was standing upright against some sort of vertical board. His arms were bound at the wrist, forearm, elbow, and bicep. His legs were similarly bound as was his chest, stomach, and neck. He even had a strap around his forehead holding his head down. He had no idea where his armor had gone as he was practically naked. Oh, this can’t be good. One quick Teleport and I’m free. Fuck you! Duke activated his TELEPORTATION Ability and got nowhere.

***Warning! You attempted to activate a Mana-dependent Ability with zero Mana. The Ability logically failed. Continued attempts may cause damage. ***

Duke quickly brought up his stats and saw that he, indeed, had zero Mana. He watched as the number didn’t fluctuate. With his Mana regen, he should be getting 30 Mana a second. Oh, Fuck me! His thoughts were interrupted as a creature entered his sight. It was what could only be described as a steampunk nightmare.

It was cobbled together with random metallic limbs that did not match in the least combined with exposed fleshy parts that all had differing skin colors and textures. The head was held together with imprecise stitching and flesh from at least a dozen different creatures. The left eye was too small for the head and slit like a reptile’s eye. It was held in place by a brass tubular monocle. The right was too large for the head and glowed with a soft red light. It, too, was held in place by a monocle fitted for it. The nose was similarly a brass fitting that connected the two monocles. The mouth was a lipless slash that housed sharp teeth.

The creature spoke with a terrible lisp that made it hard to understand even with Duke’s XENOGLOSSIA. “It awakethess. Suss a goud eshample. Suss goud peeshess.” Then, with a pop in Duke’s mind, the Ability fully kicked in, normalizing the speech. “Finally, I have all the pieces I need to make myself a new body. It has been so, so long. I can live again! Thank you for coming to me and providing me with such a fine body.” It laughed maniacally as it stumbled over to another table that was laid out with an array of what could only be surgical or dissection tools. Duke’s blood ran cold.

“Where to start? Where to start? Oh, yes. New arms first. That will make the rest so much easier!” The creature spoke absently to itself, ignoring Duke.

“Hey, fuckhead! This ain’t cool. You can’t have my fucking arm! Or any part of me at all! Let me go or you will regret it!”

The creature looked up from its instruments and back to Duke. “It speaks, but it is some strange warbling. Not important. It will never break out of the Nethercloth bindings. No, the bindings will absorb all its Mana. No escaping. No no no. Not this time! I learn! This time no Mana!”

Duke strained against his bonds but could get no leverage as all of his major joints were locked in place. Yet still he strained, frustration and panic washing over him like a haze. He groaned and eventually screamed with the effort. There was no give. None. It was as if the bindings were absolute and he was never going to get loose. Still, he raged at his situation. Trapped again! Restricted! Bound! His mind raged as his body struggled. He even felt deep inside himself, in his innermost consciousness, a stirring of his PURPOSE. This, too, was swept away by the Nethercloth, the Mana swept away before anything could activate. Then came motion.

Duke’s eyes snapped open as the table he was on rotated so that he was lying on his back. And then came the pain. His pain receptors spiked as he felt the blade slice into his right shoulder. The creature was next to him, leaning over him with his surgical tools cutting away the skin from Duke’s shoulder. Every cut was met with renewed pain as Duke’s REGENERATION fought to repair the damage even as it was occurring.

“It heals too fast. What to do, what to do? It heals. Yes…it heals.” The creature placed its surgical tools back on the table and left the room. Duke continued to struggle against his bonds to no avail. He could feel his own blood cooling on his skin as it began to drip onto the floor. It tickled even as the wound finished closing and healing. He gritted his teeth and pulled for all he was worth, still screaming in rage and frustration at his predicament. His throat quickly became raw from the screaming only to heal itself seconds later. He screamed more.

Duke did not know how long he strained against his bonds, but his mind was scrambling for a way out of the situation when it struck him that his INVENTORY Ability did not require Mana to activate. He pulled the Elven Dagger of Sharpness out of his INVENTORY and into his right hand in a reverse grip. The blade felt good in his hand, and he began sawing at the binding around his wrist, finally having a hopeful moment.

The blade refused to cut, even feeling extraordinarily dull against his skin. Did the Nethercloth suck the magic out of the blade too? Duke felt his hope fade as despair wrapped his soul in darkness. He barely heard the return of the creature and would not had it not returned with a gigantic golem. The thing was shaped like the rest of the Red Dwarves but was over four meters tall. The axe it held was nearly as large as Duke himself.

“Are you done screaming? Not that you could understand me. Anyway, thank you for the arm.”

Arm? What? Oh my god! No! Not again! Duke’s thoughts were shattered as the giant blade slammed down on the table, cleanly severing his right arm. Duke passed out.

Duke awoke hours later to see his torturer standing over him once again, tightening the straps along his newly regrown arm. He could feel the heat of the creature’s breath on his neck as it finished binding him once again – with his own arm. Duke watched in horror as he saw his own limb dexterously tighten the bindings around his new arm. It was surreal and horrific. His sense of dread and despair deepened.

“Oh yes, this arm works so well. So strong and agile. I must have the other one too. What other glorious secrets does this body hold for me? Could I use the heart? The lungs? Oh yes, everything in time. Not the brain. I must keep my own, for sure. But how much can it grow back? Must test before taking anything vital. Yes, test, test. test!”

Duke continually screamed obscenities at his captor mixed with threats. It neither understood nor cared as it prepared its own surgical site, removing its constructed left arm. It had also removed its left eye and placed it on the table pointing back at itself. It turned its now empty arm socket to the eye and began reaching in with surgical instruments. It was using the separated eye to see its own surgery. Duke continued to strain, scream, and curse. It did him no good.

With the inevitability of an approaching glacier, Duke could see the moment when the creature felt itself ready for further surgery. Once again, Duke struggled and strained, feeling the tearing of muscles as hysterical strength pulled them beyond the breaking point. The bindings did not budge, even as the enormous axe once again descended, removing Duke’s left arm. The pain and horror again pushed him into merciful unconsciousness.

Duke returned to lucidity an unknown time later, noting that he was once again fully bound, including his new left arm. He did not hear or see the creature for quite some time again. He did not know where the creature had gone but he did know that he was starving and dehydrated to the point where he was nearly delirious.

He removed one of dozens of waterskins from his INVENTORY right onto his face. It took a few minutes of using his teeth, lips, and tongue, but he managed to finally get the spout to his mouth and nearly choked on the water as it flowed down his throat. He bit down on the end, cutting off the stream as he struggled to get the mouthful of water down without choking. It took him several tries but he was able to finish drinking his fill and pulled the waterskin back into his INVENTORY. Food was easier to manage from his INVENTORY as he could take a bite and then send it back into his INVENTORY repeatedly.

By the cycle of hunger, he could tell that he had been imprisoned for days now. He still had no prospect or plan for escape. He continued to strain against his bindings, hoping against hope that eventually the strain on them would do something.

When the creature returned to the room, Duke was stunned to see that it walked on human legs. His legs! “Well, it appears you are lucid again, donor. At least awake. I’m not sure if you were ever lucid. I have to say, these parts you keep making for me are quite spectacular. I really do appreciate the effort.”

The creature came closer, leaning over Duke again. Duke strained again and managed to actually grab hold of it with his hand. The creature struggled to pull away but Duke’s grip was filled with pent up rage, frustration, and hysterical strength. “Now, I have you, motherfucker! Time to pay the piper!” Duke’s grip tightened and tightened around the creature’s coat before it finally sliced Duke’s hand right off with what Duke recognized as the Elven Dagger of Sharpness.

Duke screamed in frustration as he watched the creature pull back his fingers from their now lifeless grip. He then walked across the lab and placed the hand in a jar. When he closed the lid, the jar glowed with a slight pink hue. The creature looked back at Duke and smiled. “Yes, good idea. I should take care to stock up on spares before the dangerous work starts.” He then proceeded to come over and slice off Duke’s other hand, placing it in a similar jar.

Days passed as the creature lopped off parts and placed them in jars. Duke’s mind flailed against sanity, slowly losing the battle. Then, the creature came for Duke’s eyes, and he fully retreated into his own mind. The darkness embraced Duke giving him precious relief from the terror and the pain. He floated in darkness for days, or years, or minutes. Time held no sway in this new world of his. Duke let the darkness consume him as he recalled the favorite lyric of a song that his once roommate always repeated: The only path to heaven is via hell. He knew that he was in hell now. He had died and was paying for his sins. That is the only explanation that made any sense. He sunk deeper into the darkness.

He floated still as a light came into his awareness. A light? In this lightless hell? Duke focused on the light. The slight blue glow grew in his consciousness until it finally filled his vision with a message:

*** Through prolonged contact and use, you have absorbed the Nethercloth Bindings. As these were a Unique magical item, an appropriate Ability is being created as a reward. Your patience is appreciated. Would you like to return to consciousness at this time? ***

Duke’s mind leaped at the thought of freedom, and he snapped his eyes open. His aching arms snapped to his face in surprise and wonder. He took a moment to check his stats and saw that he had regened 30 Mana already. Without further thought, he TELEPORTED!