The Magnolia Purchase: Open, seriously, go to town.

[Akira_fighter_for_hire]

Psychofish

((And it begins anew. Be afeared.))

There was a figure on the far end of the bridge. There wasn't much of the island to see from that side, but he saw what he could. Only, he wanted to see what was on the other side. Maybe 'wanted' wasn't right, but he intended to. What he appeared to be was a child of no more than ten, about eight years old with average skin and plain, messy brown hair tossed about. A glowing, incoporeal blue sphere with a white glowing center, visible only to him and any withing a few yards, spun slowly about him, the wispe whispering into his mind. Wrapped up from head to toe in thick layers of dull, dark green cloaks and other baggy coverings, a hood not pulled up over his head. The only things that would stand out infact, at this point, beyond the wispe, would be a somewhat odd feel about the child in ripped and baggy plain garb, a necklace with a gently glowing perfect jewel covered by his clothes, and his eyes. Bright red eyes that had seem much more than his body suggested. Cautiously, he reached into his neckline and took hold of that jewel beneath it, as if reaching for a weapon, but he didn't move.

"Maybe we should go in. This must be the place." he said, letting his guide circle him as much as the tiny glowing spirit wished, though it flickered between dissappearing and fleeing repeatedly. He didn't mind. "We do have to try something sometime soon..." he said, taking his hand out to climb over the first of the blockades put up on the bridge, slow going but scaling it with his small, agile body.

((*gasp* Rivven in the FFA? SHWAT!?!?!?!))

[Psychofish]

((Nah, I play more than one character. Rivven's kind of on pause right now, really complicated reasons.))

[DenyPain]

aaaa

[Shouyin]

Gamma lurked underneath the bridge. Very much the troll awaiting harmless billy goats, if trolls were panther-like creatures flaunting a black sinewy figure and massive shoulders that practically oozed death and violence. It stalked silently, somehow walking upside-down across the bridge's surface as easily as if gravity was pulling the opposite way.

The red rune on its humanoid forehead glowed eerily in the shadows. The blind Shadelord has heard the approaching figure long before it reached the foot of the bridge. A masterful yet etherial like hearing guiding its patrols across this gauntlet to Magnolia Island. However, despite this imposing, but albeit entirely unseen or heard nature, Gamma intended no harm, for now.

Trespassers were only trespassers once they started trespassing, of course.

[Psychofish]

The child bit his bottom lip, looking, and considering the open space across the bridge to the island. It was an open space, and it'd leave him vulnerable, but he had to get across somehow. He needed to get a look at what was supposed to be here before he could decide whether to do anything about it or not after all.
The wispe hummed as it floated to the jewel of the stone he held up, connected with it and dissappeared inside it again. He smiled and tucked it away beneath the layers of dull and faded coat, scarf, cloaks, and shirt, making sure it was tucked firmly against his skin. He hopped down from the first blockade, a small sound of boots striking the bridge's surface as he landed, brushing himself off, and trekking across it a small step at a time, fingering a woooden rod sticking out of a thick clothe sash on his hip when the little boy wasn't staring anxiously ahead or glancing behind himself nervously.

[Shouyin]

Gamma shifted curiously underneath the bridge. Those light footsteps, with the nervous appeal to them. The Shadelord could assume young woman or child. Certainly not someone who came here knowing what was in store behind those broken old doors. Just a traveller having lost their way.

Although the initial pause before starting to cross led to suspicion.

Gamma was no wolf, but even the dullest barbarian could smell fear.

Breaking free from the shadowy depths, the Shadelord crawled around and onto the top of the bridge. Firstly because it didn't want to threaten too much, and secondly because someone didn't know if it could sink through the floor or not. Taking its place a few metres in front of the boy, Magnolia Island to its pack, Gamma quirked its head about, like a cat watching a piece of dust sail through the air.

Despite this, and the overwhelming silence, the thing seemed to scream get out.

[Psychofish]

The boy paused, drawing back, and calming his nerves. Odd, with something in sight now, but to him it was better than imagining things slithering up behind you or any such.

The creature looked odd, certainly. He hadn't known what to expect. But, from the aura the thing's soul gave off, he could tell it was the sort of thing he'd come to invesigate.

A hand went to his chest, unconciously. Good, of course it was still there. Right now, he wouldn't be able to do much without it. Now, only to decide if hostility or caution was the wiser course... he already knew they could be and were destructive, and maybe he should just take the risk and see what he could do.

The boy drew the wooden shaft tucked into his sash out most of the way, trying to keep it from jingling more than a touch as the chain's connected to it's far end moved.

[Shouyin]

Gamma's head twitched, and it started to close the distance at a slow but initimidating pace.

[Psychofish]

Well, it was made of shadow. It seemed intimidating enough to almost match descriptions. And the thing's soul had something really wrong with it. Better he take what it had than let it go on and do the same from some poor people it might come across should it ever leave it's perch.

The child's body, clothes and all, seemed to ripple, go hazy and unclear, as he begand to move, taking a long step forward. In the time it took his other leg to come forward, he'd changed, now around six feet in height, garbed in much larger similair clothes, a young man with black hair with brown highlights on his bangs and messy mop, and a long braid with tiny bells jingling quietly on it's end.

His second hand coming out and forward almost defensively, the other was not more than strong enough to pull the shaft free, along with the chain that followed, and the heavy metal end on it, larger than a fist, spinning as his brought his arm backward, and then forward again to bring it in a powerful arcing swing, the weight of the flail flying for the creature's head as soon as he came within distance to strike with it, about a good sixteen inches beyond his arm's reach counting chain and handle.

[Shouyin]

The jingling chain, the sound of air splitting. Oh 'dem tells. Leaning heavy on its upper right side, Gamma raised its left hand, aiming to catch the weapon in its taloned hand before planting the extremity, hopefully disarming its opponent. The Shadelord had supposedly been an assassin, however it seemed to have become a little more solemn in this age.

Try and convince the foe to leave, disarm it and try and convince it to leave...

Then tear it limb from limb.

[Psychofish]

Catching the ball, which he could turn easily, but not without about a second's more notice than he was getting, so the ball smashed into the hand. Only, sticking the shadelord's flesh, the ball stopped suddenly with a great impact, but still stopped, only to be thrust to the earth.

Recovering quickly, he changed from his run into a turn, chain from the handle in his hand suddenly growing longer without apparant cause, enough that he jumped over it with one foot while spinning his body about, bringing his left leg (the one which was following the other up now) and the heavy metal boot on it up for a head level kick as he spun in the air, head throwing itself with his spin to add even more momentum to the end of the waist length braid following his kick up with an aim just below the shoulder as he came down from his jump.

A braid which's end was tied around an eight pound metal weight concealed withing the thick twisting of hair.

A small rattling and jingling could be heard growing up through his free arm, the left, during this entire time, though he didn't do anything with it yet and the volumnious sleeves hid whatever metalic object was moving beneath. Assuming he completed his spin uninterupted, his next move would of course be to finish it to face his opponent again, and take a full step back, chain on the flail lengthening to give him enough room to.

[Shouyin]

Gamma's right arm came up in a manner much similar to what his left had done previously, weight shifting over to the left as the hand came up and forwards to grab the man by the knee. If the foot connected with anything, it'd be the Shadelord's hefty shoulder.

And much like before Gamma would force his arm towards the ground, pushing his weight downwards so as to take the man to the floor, and crush his kneecap, disabling his leg. The thing had tried disarming, and yet its foe persisted. Ripping and tearing and whatnot would soon ensue.

[Psychofish]

And unfortunately, stopped by it's arm, the foot's force probably wouldn't be enough to harm that strong shoulder it connected to. He twisted as it stopped his leg and started to move, and brought his left arm up high- revealing as the sleeve fell down, silvery chains like what he already employed flowing out like a serpent from apparantly within his shoulder and surrounding his arm, putting a lot of weight behind the force with which he brought a wicked and heavy dagger at the things wrist, with the weight of his arm and the chains which somehow seemed to add weight to him without slowing him noticably, possibly enough force to sever, or near sever, the hand, even as it jerked his leg to the ground.

[Shouyin]

There was a flinch in Gamma's shoulder as a wide gash opened across its wrist, and it was forced to simply let the man drop; it was kinda hard to grip something when half your hand was hanging off. However, as black darkmatter oozed from the 'wound', Gamma spared no moment in releasing the mace ball in its left hand and pouncing forward to crush the man's throat as he hit the ground.

This was getting to be a nuisance.

[Psychofish]

His leg was open, even dropping to the ground hard with the force of the interrupted smashing, but while his other one managed to get up between the lunging creature's torso and keep it off his own, the now free leg didn't manage such, and so he was unable to stop it wrapping the hand around his neck.

Drawing his lips back in a snarl as his head cracked quite painfully against the ground, sending colors flashing before his eyes, he wasted no time in grabbing the wrist of the hand pressing down on his throat, pulling up on it with the force of his arm, and added the power of his leg pushing up to keep it from taking full advantage of it's body weight in pressing down on him, trying to hold it off and stop the thing doing permanant harm to his throat, which he could already feel bruising and not breath through. By no means was his other hand passive though, and as his one hand strove to force the hand to let go, he drove the blade through the elbow of the arm on his throat, pulling it free and hacking at the arm.