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 Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 8:46 pm
--- Ancient Tunnel --- --- ---
"More than you know Athan." He spoke in response, "More than you should know."
However there was another scene going on between the older looking man and Kael. Yes his face seemed to brighten right up upon hearing that name. Smiling ear to ear one would say.
"So I guess that Kael's still around in you Kael, good to know he's keeping up his promise to live forever too. Yeah, Thomas, that's me." He thumbed over to the knight, "But as you can see the "live as long as you're needed" thing works better for people like him than people like us."
"It hasn't worked well for all of us Thomas." The knight spoke with authority on this matter. He then addressed Kael, "The dreamers are all connected in some way or another. I cannot speak to how the force of judgement has connected them, but it has."
Then there was another noise, one in reaction.
"...Hrmph...
It was as just shortly after Rage and Ruby reacted the darkness would become lit up with hundreds of red dots. Good thing their warning would give everyone else a chance to react.
From the darkness there were now the creatures known as shades. Some were skinny and lanky, others appeared to be armoured, all were unified by their dark flesh and single red eye. There were also no shortage of them.
Ruby noticing first would have two bolts of raw arcane energy launched at him. Chaotic and powerful the energy had no allegiance to good nor evil nor to the elements, it was magic in its rawest destructive form. The bolt came from a lanky looking shade wearing a red mantle, protecting him was a shade with a sword and a shield. There of course would be more. Attempting to silence Rage as shade dropped down from the ceiling. Feral looking this thing took a few bounds on all fours before leaping right at the swordsman with sharp claw strikes. They would come fast and furious, the shade had little regard for its own life, just damaging the enemy.
"Why do you keep knowing these things?" Thomas yelled out to the knight.
"Why do you never beleive me?" He sounded calm and resigned, "Finish the craft. It's the only way for you and them to escape."
"Wha? Why... Damnit..." He then turned to Kael as if for support but then saw something else, "Kael! Watch out!"
From behind a lightly armoured shade was charging at Kael with a spear. Wild stabs, but it had the distance. Landing a blow or not it would pull back slightly and strafe to either side, attempting to make it difficult to figure out where it would come from next.
The knight reached under his cloak and drew his sword. He was ignoring all the action in the back and was making tentative steps forward. He was looking for something. That much was very obvious.
"I know you are here. Show yourself." Those words sounded strong, the next were quiet and even slightly desperate, "You have to be here.
"Why?" The voice was familiar, it would send chills to some and thoughts of rage to others. But there was something different about that familiar voice this time. Something was bothering it. Something was cracking the cold emotionlessness, "I stopped playing your game in the Murmillion lands. These are your fools now aren't they? These who only know half truths."
Into the light stepped a figure. The height was right, the build was right, the armour was right, even the glow of the eye was right. But that eye was just barely visible under a red hood. The being known as Alpha had chosen to wear elaborate red robes, layers, markings, trims that contained runes. It seemed like the last thing the agile and able warrior would wear. It was standing quite a distance away, illuminated by the blue light of one large crystal.
The knight then turned to Athan and spoke very calmly and clearly.
"Remember, this was not your fight first." And with that he took off running toward the shadelord. Slashing through a few shades and lessening what Athan now had to worry about.
More shades. Athan had to worry about three, each in moderate armour, each with a two handed sword. One would run in and attempt a run by slash, trying to duck out if it could, the other would do much the same, only approaching and attempting to exit to the opposite side. The third clearly just didn't give a ********, it was running straight toward Athan and trying to run him through with the pointy end of its blade.
"If you are not here because it had to be, why are you here at all?" The knight slashed clean through shade with a single hand as he made his approach.
"They have to know what has been hidden."
The knight could feel the lump in his throat, his forward assualt only intensifying in his silent acknowladgment of those words.
"How many times to you think you have to martyr yourself before it gains meaning?" Cold but bubbling with anger, "Because it still has not. It will not today."
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Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 2:15 pm
Shades.
Athan's right hand was gripping the Rook's Destroyer before he could even form the thought. His perception of the scene at hand narrowed, the knight's plan of a retreat falling on deaf ears as Athan loosed that giant slab of metal from his back.
With all of these red eyes, Alpha was going to be hard to spot in the crowd, but for some reason, just like his new companion would soon point out, he knew that Alpha was going to be present. When his suspicions were confirmed, Athan bristled, obviously showing a considerable amount of restraint in keeping himself from just charging into the bulk of the enemy force.
When he stepped out, only the mysterious knight stopped Athan dead in his tracks.
"If you think that's gonna keep me from him, we're not as tightly connected as I thought."
The Knight moved first, getting a couple crucial steps on Athan and preventing him from staking his claim on the Red-eyed Shadelord. Despite his anger (which, strangely, seemed to be reigned in much better than in previous encounters), Athan was still coherent enough to realize that ignoring the incoming trio would have a pretty negative impact on his plans for vengeance.
"Dammit."
Athan swore beneath his breath, then stepped to his right, directly in the path of the shade appraoching from that side. Even though his sword was large, Athan was getting good at maneuvering it pretty well in tight quarters. Arms tucked close to his chest, Athan swung his sword upwards before the charging shade could even get his slash off, hitting the underside of the shade's sword and hopefully bringing it all the way up over Athan's head as the shade went right on past.
The other shade had an opening, but since Athan was a good four feet to his right, the shade's sword sparked off Athan's armor, ripping open a nice gash in the metal and scratching the surface of Athan's side, drawing a negligible amount of blood.
Athan stomped down with his right foot, managed to pivot to his left, and brought his sword down onto the shade's sword, hoping to either completely disarm the shade or drive the point of it's sword into the cavern floor.
"I don't have time"
Once he had done that, Athan worked quickly to move his left hand from his sword and ram his open hand into the shade's "face", only to clamp down on it's head and just throw the shade behind him as though it were a rag doll.
"TO PLAY WITH YOU!"
One down, and two to go as Athan picked up his sword and spun to face the two shades he had passed.
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Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 6:53 am
Gulp. Gulp. Gulp.
Swallow after swallow Umbra rids himself of thirst. And then, the voice. At first confused by the days of merciless exhausting heat, he regains enough wits about him to notice that it is not normal.
The ninja turns about quickly with his one hand reaching up to the handle of his blade sticking above the right shoulder.
A spirit!?!
Umbra draws his sword and sinks low in stance, ready to charge at any given moment.
"State your purpose here spirit, and I may yet forget you were here!"
Still clearly exhausted, he would like to avoid battle for the moment. Thus, the ultimatum/offer.
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Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 9:29 am
Remains of the Dig-Dug empire
The brown eyes beneath the hood widened. The warrior had seen these before - seen what they could do, and knew, at least somewhat, about their history. A small 'click' loosened the blade beneath the robe - Rage got the feeling he was going to need it.
But before the blade could be drawn, the feral beast was already on him. One, then two, then three steps back - he could barely stand, stumbling and taking a few scratches across the face and chest. It was like his center of gravity had been --
"Oh. Shhhhhit."
Gotta act fast...
In one fluid motion, the cape came off, flying towards the shade in a desperate hope to tangle the thing up and get a few more moments of precious time to work with. Meanwhile, the figure underneath took the best leap it could backwards, landing with steady legs while drawing it's left fist back.
"Time for a trial by fire!"
There were just a few tiny problems with this situation though. There was no fire. Rage's hair color had turned brown. That was kind of a lame one-liner. And on top of that... he was a she. Still, regardless of if the creature was tangled or not, or if it was standing or grounded, she would deliver a powerful roundhouse with her right leg. She could figure out what the hell had just happened later. She had suffered several gashes from the claws - not deep enough to prove deadly (at least immediately), but enough to cut through the light clothing she wore.
It was gonna cost another small fortune to repair her jacket again when this was all over.
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Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 9:34 am
Red dot, another dot, hey another dot after that, more of these things were popping into view into a sea of red against a black background within this cavern. He didn't really have to know that these things that were appearing were evil. He could practically feel the tension of evil in the air, the disgusting, suffocating pulse of someone's intentions of harm stuffing the monk's nostrils. He gripped his rosary beads tight as he prepared to unleash another one of his orbs until a large bolt of energy shot itself from someone in red, slamming into the monk without warning, and sending the guy flying back a few feet before he hit the ground.
"Argh!" Ruby lied there for several seconds, pain rushing through his body from both the attack and the slide across the rocky ground of this cave. It took him a moment to recover, quickly getting back onto his feet. His shades knocked off his face and lost somewhere along the ground, his brown eyes were now visible. You would think anger would be the expression on his face, but instead he was more like agitated. It was as if he had just taken a punch to the face, but felt no digress toward it, no sign of negative reaction whatsoever. Ruby was a nonchalant man, which sometimes made him seem careless.
A chuckle came from Ruby as he held his right arm over his torso in the form of showing that he had took some damage there. The darkening of some marks upon his clothing, however, was a sign that some of the magical damage had been reduced, saving him from taking the full blunt of it. Still, it left some hurtful marks on both it and his flesh underneath.
"You're going to pay for---" Well, he couldn't really go after his attacker. It seemed that someone else was occupied with going after him. Then again, he doubt he would be able to return the favor with ease, not with the unit of these monsters gathered here around them. Taking stance with his feet spread, his left hand extended itself outward as his rosary beads glowed, spiritual energy taking effect again. With a misty visual surrounding his body, ki would flow through his muscles, enhancing their performance.
When his enhancement was complete, the world around him seemed to slow by a few milliseconds. He could see the movement of these monsters, but they appeared more like they were taking their time with their movements than their aggressive actions was making it seem. However, this was only to Ruby's perception of time, as his speed had just been kicked up a notch, his nervous system able to relay messages to his brain quicker, and his muscles having the capability to produce better output than normal.
"Well then...my turn to throw back the ball." And with that, Ruby rushed forward, his speed showing a sprinting nature of that of an Olympic runner. Squeezing both hands into fists, he found his first group to punish, releasing a flurry of fists in their direction. The movement blurred, it was as if he had fifty furious fists instead of just two within the pretentious attack.
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 1:48 pm
There was a lot happening at once, and too many people. He'd waited a long time for this, for things to make sense, and here they were rushing it! He might have asked why, but it was hard to stop for that as he tried to internalize and compute all the words that flew on by, the three way discussion and everything else. Kael gritted his teeth and nodded as the Knight replied to him though. It wasn't an answer he liked, but it'd have to do. Until they could take some time and pick his brain, this was what he got. Something was urgent. He didn't know what, but it was practically palpable in the air.
Frustrated but calming himself, he spared a moment to reply to Thomas.
"Not sure how much 'in'. But our friend's been with me at the very least."
Without thinking about it he made a small gesture, flicking the tail of his coat back to give a clear view of the hilt and guard of the sword sheathed on his left hip, resting his palm on the pommel almost in the way one would clap a shoulder in mutual reassurance.
Irony of ironies, as if on cue, one disquieting voice cut in past it all.
And all hell broke loose.
The prickle through the pack of his neck went sharp as if someone had snapped a whip, and as he spun, there was nothing but a wall of shadow, rife of piercing red gleams like lightning in the storm. He could have sworn his hackles stood straight up on end. Red eyed shades.
...the ones who took her away.
Rasping, the sword slid out of its sheath not moments after he'd gone and gotten it ready to draw to show Thomas, deadly and beautiful. Not in an artistic, glorious way, simply without flaw. Every inch save the wrapped hilt shone, cared for and polished, but more than that, where on any blade there should have been tiny scratches and marks of wear, use, slight agitations to the steel, or the tiny birthmarks of its crafting, all the steel of the sword was smooth and unmarked, whole. For once, Kael didn't stop to admire as he drew it though, settling his grip and readying his body as well.
"Of course," he muttered to himself, glancing back from the slow rolling wall of shades as Thomas and their helmed benefactor talked. "Because just crossing a desert would have been too easy."
It was always time for sarcasm, but evidently not long.
His own set of red eyes flicked up as Thomas spoke, and his head spun, body twisting. Something dark flicked at his torso as he spun and he tried to stumble away, side of the spear punching into his side and knocking him a step to the side, punching a small hole into his coat with the tip and retracting. His side hurt from the blow, and he could have sworn it was wet. Nicked by the spearhead then, not deep, but enough. He narrowed his eyes and set himself square, defensive. But the shade moved to the side.
Kael cursed under his breath, and stepped sharply back a half step, making a short strike with his blade to deflect the spear, and then forward again. It didn't have the liquid grace or speed he was used to in Gaians ever in their quantity-over-quality motions, but it was quick enough and more disciplined. Measured and timed. Nothing to make one shrink back, save in his repeated motions to keep the spear from punching a hole in his chest- hell of a day not to be wearing his breastplate- but if there was any flaw in the shades motions he wasn't going to find them soon enough...
I'll have to make one.
"Thom, the rig!" he reminded, counting in his head as he parried another thrust.
The spear came in and he moved but this time twisted and reached. The head of the spear passed his side with a hiss and he grabbed the haft as it retracted, starting forward behind it as the shade moved and pulled, nearly wrenching it from his grip.
Naturally, the spear twisted and then thrust forward again, as long as he'd anchored himself nice and near the tip. He shoved down on the haft, unable to avoid it, and rather than cracking a gap between his ribs and burying shadesteel in his lung it followed the slope of his torso down, carving a furrow- eliciting a pained snarl- this time out of his lower left side.
And in the shadow of the thrust Kael lunged deep forward, sword whistling high.
As powerful as the hand-and-a-half sword's straight blade was, only so much power could go into a single handed swing, much less above one's own head level. Enough to kill a person maybe, but the shades were built for war, and he knew from experience that their bodies weren't only powerful, but their flesh as good as solid leather armor, through and through.
Which is why he froze in surprise as the blade cut into one side of the shades neck and exited neatly from the other, as if throwing a pose.
...Kael.
You glorious b*****d.
The head toppled to his side, tossing a cold speck shadow-flesh on his cheek, and he recovered quickly, backing away from the corpse and readying the blade, pure white-gray shine of steel contrasting the fresh shock of shade's blood, in a two hand grip. He passed a worried glance over Thomas, and the rest of the motley crew, the Knight and the Shade- not just a Shade, but one of the Shadelords, he was sure, all with problems of their own.
"Looks like we might need that working soon. No pressure or anything," he called with humor, backing nearer the man and his project again.
The others seemed well able to fight, but numbers were on the shades' side in bundles, and sooner or later things were going to get rough. And their contact, facing off a shadelord, alone. He'd nearly managed the golem way back when, but that didn't mean this guy couldn't spell bad news. It looked like everyone was due all kinds of backup. But someone would have to cover Thomas' back if he was going to fix their ride.
Kael grinned tight, ignoring the burning in his side, and gripped the Vagrant Soul tight.
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Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 11:17 pm
"State your purpose here spirit, and I may yet forget you were here!"
Huh, what, when did you...nevermind.
The figure seemed to snap from his reverie, he closed his book and placed it under his arm and then turned to face the man who had addressed it. It did not speak for a good few moments, simply hovering. But, when it did speak, it did so while adjusting its antique glasses, and giving the man before it the once over.
Forget? You cant very well do the job I requested if you forget I'm here, can you? I had better keep my purpose hush hush then should I?
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Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 6:57 pm
Umbra falters.
Job?
The heat must be frying his brain, he thinks. No recollection of a job offer does he gather from the first week he departed the other world. Nevertheless, if there is a job to done, he better take it - spectre or not. Afterall, a ninja does not seem to fit his roll dressed in comman man's attire.
"Hm..."
Wiping the fresh sweat from his brow and licking some water from his lips, he lowers the sword and stands up in a more relaxed posture.
"What's this I hear about a job?"
Though appearing to be at ease, one should never underestimate the cleverness of another. And yet, he is more a merc than a ninja in time recent past. Job equals pay, and that is what he needs.
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Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 10:52 pm
You do not know?
The floating spectre said. His head cocked slightly to the side and his pale transparent arms folded across his chest. He was, true to form and title, judging the man in front of him. There was something behind those elderly glasses, swimming in his dull eyes. There were thoughts, ideas, and opinions slowly being formed, and it showed.
Obviously, a certain level of ability was required for the task. Spiritual, physical, as well as mental.
If you do not know of the quest my organization posted on that bulletin board, then why did you travel so far out into the middle of the desert? You hardly seem comfortable.
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Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2009 5:04 pm
That's it. He's lost it. Wandering the desert and somewhere along the way he forgot why. Even now he can't bring to bear that particular memory. Thinking quickly, he atleast pretends to remember.
"Oh, yeah... beg yer pardon, the heat must've gotten to me. But, uh... if you could, refresh my memory? What is it that I've gotten myself into here?"
Umbra puts the sword back into its sheath slung 'cross his back. He begins to feel the tiniest tinge of recognition, like maybe he did take on a job afterall.
Damn, I REALLY should have gotten the right clothes for this s**t!
Repeating his earlier thought to himself.
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Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2009 11:47 pm
"Oh, yeah... beg yer pardon, the heat must've gotten to me. But, uh... if you could, refresh my memory? What is it that I've gotten myself into here?"
Certainly.
The spirit said wafting silently toward the other man, the judges movements made his black robe billow and waver in an unseen wind. He took one step toward the ninja, and then seemed to utterly vanish. It was as if he stepped past an unseen curtain, out of the visible spectrum.
Damn, I REALLY should have gotten the right clothes for this s**t!
No, you most certainly do not.
The judge said, as he re-appeared several feet behind Umbra, with his book open wide in his arms, and a finger scanning a page. It wasnt that far of a stretch. Spirits by natural do not exist mainly in the physical, just as humans by nature do not exist mainly in the spiritual. That a spiritual being could perceive something, such as thought that a physical being could not was not too far of a stretch.
The bulletin was posted because of an issue recently discovered, regarding certain deceased individuals.
The judge placed his bony finger on a section of text and read.
Samuel Jonas, three times murder, four times theft, seventeen times willful harm to others for personal gain. The list of sins goes on an on.
The book was shut with an audible thump. The judge took a step forward, again vanishing and remanifesting on the gallows, with a hand out toward the hang-mans rope.
Mr. Jonas passed right here, and for all intents and purposes should have sank to hells depths. But instead...he rose. This, of course, can only mean one thing...
A breathless sigh followed by a shake of the head.
...Sin Eaters. Sin Eaters which require slaying. Of course, such a task brings rewards. Which brings me to the most important question...
The judge stepped forward a final time, vanishing in a warble of air and appearing silently beside Umbra.
...What is your sin?
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 2:28 pm
Umbra, adept in the slaying of spirits, is quite familiar with a spirit's ability to read thoughts. He masks the words in response with the single emotion of self-disappointment.
His eyes follow the 'poofs' that this spirit performs, nodding at the explanation as it flows forth. And at the mention of -
"Sin eaters..."
He whispers. His thoughts scanning his own knowledge; yet, unable to identify that particular type of specter. Perhaps they went by a different name in his homeland. Nevertheless, an apparation needing slaying could have acquired no better slayer below the gods of death themselves.
And then, the question of his sin. Well, that is pretty obvious. What else could have gotten him here? If there ever was a path of redemption to follow, never one so blatantly obvious.
"Betrayal of my clan's code. I used my skill to harm living that did not deserve death."
At the openess of his statement, his eyes sharpen. The memory replays in his mind, and the utter disregard he felt for innocents in the face of greater calamity. 'For the greater good' could still bring evil; he knows that, now.
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Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 12:36 pm
"Betrayal of my clan's code. I used my skill to harm living that did not deserve death."
The judge said nothing for a moment, he simply opened his book and began flipping through pages, the book was massive. The very idea that someone or something could have memorized such a vast record was nearly ridiculous. And yet, with uncanny accuracy the judge stopped on a page, scrolled down it with his gavel and tapped it lightly, speaking in an almost sympathetic voice.
Ahh, here you are. Umbra. Good intentions, pave the road to hell you know?
The judge looked back down at the book and the wrinkled edges of his pale mouth tugged down. He shook his head softly and looked back at Umbra.
Murder is tricky, very tricky. You see of all sins, it exacts the highest toll. A death cannot be undone. What constitutes evil, real evil, is the taking of a single human life. Whether a man would die tomorrow or the day after or eventually...it doesn't matter.
He shut the book, and adjusted his incorporeal glasses. Facing Umbra, with his back to the sun it was all too easy to see right through the apparition. And yet his words carried a gravity and reality that his form did not.
Because if eternity does not exist, then life... every second of it... Is all we have.
And then he paused, just long enough to let the words sink. His gaze shifted to the gallow, the stained spot beneath it, the notches in the wood from where men and women kicked and thrashed. And then he looked back.
I can forgive you this sin. But for it you must slay not one of the Sin Eaters plaguing this place, but all of them. And that which called them. Do you accept?
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Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 7:02 pm
Umbra takes in a deep breath and exhales with a loud sigh. His eyes avert to the side in contemplation. Sure, by the end of this he will know full well the price of 'good intentions'. And yet, there is some justice in having to use his 'skill' to exterminate those that deny the evil their rightful place in the afterlife. Well, it doesn't take more than a second after the single breath to decide.
"Yes. This is just the task for my redemption. Though I will be sure to remember my sin, even if it is forgiven. Just as one should do."
His chaotic nature pulls him towards excuse-making, but the honor of his clan presses him into accepting this turn of fate. With a hardening of his facial features, he appears focused and determined, ready for anything.
"So, where is it that I must first go?"
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Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 9:51 pm
Quite.
The judge added, with a slide of a finger up the bridge of its ethereal nose.
Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it, and all that. No mortals will forget the deed you have done, but when it comes time to pay your final debt.
He made a sort of sweeping gesture, as if pointing out an unseen crowd. But infact it was only the two.
We will remember you have payed your penance.
Umbra looked focused, ready, prepared to begin. And these were good qualities, the judge gave a sort of grin followed by a slow bob of his head.
"So, where is it that I must first go?"
Right here.
He responded without skipping a beat.
Midnight this eve brings the execution of a one Alayas Delis. Murderer, theif, rapist, and worse. In the moment of Alayas' death, when the sin is extracted from his body to weighing...they will strike.
The judge looked toward the gallows with a sort of heaviness to his glance, seriousness dotted his tone and facial features.
I know not how many there will be, but I know that niether they nor the villagers will appear if they see you or sense your presence. And I know that one Sin Eater must be left alive to track back to the source. If I knew more, we would need hire you.
And with that, the judge bowed and vanished leaving only his words hanging in mid air.
Good luck Umbra...
The challenge was not too difficult. But the ninja still required a place to physically and spiritually hide, in the middle of an empty expanse of desert where only a single gallow lie. And survive in the sweltering desert the majority of the day, until midnight. All while, as had been repeatedly mentioned, not wearing the proper the proper gear.
Redemption was never an easy road.
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