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 Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2007 5:21 pm
"It's been an eventful night," Jeddeth said wryly. "I don't blame you."
It played with the taps a little longer until the hot water burned it. It yanked its spidery fingers from under the stream, shaking off water as blistered skin deflated and healed over. It turned its attention to the cracked window, snuffling in distaste.
"Rude," it muttered, tapping its fingers across the glass. The cracks seemed to be pulled into a single point on the window and suddenly disappeared. Satisfied, it crouched down on all fours again and made itself comfortable on the floor.
"So. I said we would speak, provided we survived. And since we have, more or less..."
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Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2007 5:23 pm
Liam shoved the cup into the microwave and pressed a few buttons, then leaning against the counter to wait. Cracks in the windows. Huh.
"Yeah. It'd be nice to know what I did."
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Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2007 5:56 pm
Jeddeth coarsely cleared its throat, cracking its knuckles in unconscious imitation of Julian's bad habit.
"All this," it said, waving one hand around, "-all this is the tail end of a long chain reaction. It began when you rescued Master. You stole his spirit, leaving the body whole but hollow."
It cleared its throat again, and reached two long fingers down its throat to fish out a scrap of bone. It examined it and swallowed it again before continuing.
"Nahedathal was not even aware of the spirit's loss until the next time he took Master," it said. "And after a long tour over his borders, he came home and tried to release the body before he damaged it too badly. Only, he couldn't get out."
It picked at its teeth unconcernedly, giving Liam a glance that would have been more effective if it had eyes.
"With Master's spirit gone, Nahedathal's had been sealed in the body in its stead. He could not kill the body to return to his own, because that just left him in a losing situation. But at the same time he was corroding his host - flesh will crawl from bone in order to escape his touch. You can imagine what was happening to the body."
"So, he decided that he would just tarry on in Master, wait for the body to degrade until it was no longer useful, and just come after Mistress again. And in the mean time, he decided that as long as he was mobile, he would launch an attack against one of the last remaining temple-cities. Using Master he burned down the city of Sehletah, so he figured he'd go for a score of two."
The creature hesitated, voice dropping.
"But something went wrong. For one, I wasn't with him. The body was injured and sick, and he didn't even realize it. Easy pickings for clever soldiers."
It drew a skeletal finger across its throat, making a wet slurping kind of sound.
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Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2007 5:59 pm
Liam's head dropped in dismay. Well. He had ******** up good, hadn't he?
"Damn," he sighed, "Didn't mean to. Really didn't. 'S just Rabs was goin' nuts n'...feh, doesn't even matter anymore. I'm screwed."
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Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2007 6:05 pm
"If he was stronger, and if most of his armies had not turned upon themselves, I'd be inclined to agree," Jeddeth said absently. "But I wasn't finished. When the body was killed, the shock made Nahedathal...ah. Lose his grip. He lost control. The Zheh Hakin are hive-minded, and they are linked to him. With him temporarily out of commission, the hive broke. The Hakin woke up. The rebellion that resulted was terrible."
It shuddered profoundly.
"They brought the fortress down. They slew the Amalgamated, the priests...they overturned They-That-Watch's shrine, extinguishing them. They tried to reach Nahedathal himself but he regained enough control to turn them back. So, they destroyed everything they could. And when it was over, when there were no more to kill...they threw themselves into the sea. The shore is still thick with their corpses."
Jeddeth glanced up at Liam again.
"You don't think it, but you did us all a tremendous favor. He's fallen. Now the only thing left to do is kill him, and end the thing."
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Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2007 6:07 pm
Huh. That made it a little better. Liam leaped up and sat on the counter to retrieve his tea and stuff it with milk.
"You say that like it should be easy."
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Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2007 6:17 pm
"Nothing's easy," Jeddeth said dryly. "Even now there are people from all over Azuhmn gathering to collect their dead and lay siege to what's left of the fortress. And every single one of them hates my master very, very much. If he dared to show his face they would take him and put him under the executioner's axe before you could spit."
It gave a dry chuh of laughter.
"But on the bright side, we have a way to sneak in," it said, unfastening an iron chain from around its neck. An ugly medallion swung from it, little more than a crude iron plate inlaid with silver wire. The inlaid eye symbol was hideous. "It's a little dented, but it should still work."
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Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2007 6:19 pm
Liam gave a growl of disgust at the mention of hating "Master". ********. What had that poor guy ever done to them?
...uh...intentionally.
"Good, good. I'm all for it. Especially if there are dead things." He cracked his knuckles and sipped his tea.
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Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2007 6:30 pm
"Your enthusiasm is appreciated," Jeddy said cheerfully. "Always good to be optimistic when faced with a suicide mission."
It paused, head tilting to one side as it regarded Liam. Without warning it pushed up Liam's upper lip, making investigative noises.
"Your pardon....fangs, but no forking of the tongue....eyes relatively normal. Hmm. No claws to speak of..."
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Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2007 6:32 pm
Liam pulled away, smacking his head hard against the microwave, and licked his upper row of teeth.
"Yeah, well, I only took a little. And then I died, so...yeah." You know it's bad when you begin speaking of death and soul-stealing as a natural occurence.
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Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2007 6:37 pm
"You took enough," Jeddeth said, tone scolding. "You should have known better. You have seen how badly damaged Mistress is. Even with that foul ink on her skin...how she can bear to live with that thing, I don't know. All they do is repress, and not even well. No wonder she tried to kill herself."
"I resent that."
Crow leaned in the doorway, mouth pushed to one side. Jeddeth spluttered.
"Easy, Leatherface. Ethan wanted some water," she said, wandering to the tap. She caught Liam's eye and gave a tiny smile. "Hey."
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Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2007 6:38 pm
"Hi, hon," Liam smiled and sighed, "and ******** you, Gaping Maw of Horror. I was stoned."
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Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2007 6:45 pm
Jeddeth gave Liam a long, sightless look, head tilting to one side.
"She threw rocks at you?" it asked. Crow snorted despite herself, and pressed the glass into its hand.
"Don't hurt yourself. Go take this to Ethan," she said. Jeddeth obeyed instantly, leaving them behind. Crow leaned on the counter beside Liam, throwing her arms around him and hugging him very tightly. The odor of rot had long since been very forcible scrubbed off, her skin still raw from the treatment.
"Tell me this is just a nightmare," she said. "I'll believe you. Honest."
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Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2007 6:47 pm
Liam slid to the floor and hugged Crow back.
"Sorry, sweetheart. I don't lie." He heaved a sigh.
"If things go batshit crazy, I'd really prefer you...go hide somewhere. As opposed to fight like the little hellion you are."
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Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2007 6:53 pm
Pressing herself against Liam, clinging as though deathly afraid to let go, Crow sighed.
"I hid last time, and look where it got me," she said, a half-grin that looked like a rictus quirking her lips. "Dead'n rottin' on the floor with an eye shot out. That must've been fun to find. I'd rather just fight until something bites my head off and just ends it, y'know?"
She stared absently at the floor, at a conspicuous spot of faded red.
"I'm tired," she said, her voice sounding ancient. She leaned her head against Liam's shoulder, starting to tremble and shake as a sob tried to force its way out. "I'm so tired, Liam."
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