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 Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 11:23 pm
I finally did it, one migrain and two tall glasses of spiked koolaid later I'd got the first part of the Leavaros saga quiantly titled *See thread header*.
Enjoy
***
The bar was filled to the brim with rowdy patrons. The noise of nearly fifty armed and armourless men was wearing the solitary man’s nerves. He flagged over a maiden and yelled his order to her, the poor woman darted off, catching an elbow as she jaunted through the crowd. The solitaire sighed and waited as she was hefted to her feet and patted roughly on the back.
The noise intensified as another familiar face added himself to the crowds with a roaring cheer. When the bruised bar hand returned he grabbed her by the arm and stuck a silver in her hand, downed the flagon in a go and pushed it back into her arms. He attempted to muscle his way along the side of the crowd, a large man shoved him against the wall. “I’d nebber sin you afor.” He stuttered, glanced up at the ceiling and then vomited all over Varos’ clean white garb.
“Goodbye…” He groaned through grit teeth and pushed the sick man away. He finally made it to the door and ended up being sent off with a heavy boot. “By the gods it’s a good thing my mission is over and I can get back to my research.” He stood and waved a hand over himself, the dirt and vomit evaporated and he began his march out of the small town.
The moon shown brightly in the velvety sky, a cool breeze blew over Varos as he hummed a calming tune. “All is right with the world, for now it seems.” He sighed and dumped into something sturdy and a little odorous.
Varos peeked at what had stopped him, a tall, tired looking horse stared him in the face and whinnied in pain. Varos reached out a comforting hand, the horse seemed to faint, it landed hard on its side, a small rider screamed to life, his leg trapped painfully beneath the animal. “Help me! Help me!” He seemed to scream, though Varos didn’t think he was screaming much because of the pain.
He drew a symbol on the rough dirt road and the beast levitated just enough for Varos to pull the man free of the horse. “Easy there,” Varos cooed touched him gently on the head, a warm, orange glow flooded onto the man and he calmed almost immediately. “What’s the matter friend?”
“Terrible beast…” He groaned weakly attempting to get away. “Terrible eyes, and laughter… the master comes to blacken the sky!”
“What are you talking about? Who has come?”
“Not here… three days ride, my village… oh my village!” The peasant broke down, his incoherent sobs echoing off the trees in the distance. “I don’t want to die!” He whailed and clutched Varos’ robes and sobbed into them.
“You aren’t going to die.” Varos groaned and made a few quick hand gestures. “You’re exhausted, not dieing.” A white healing light fluttered down, invigorating the man, the two got to their feet, Varos cast the same spell over the horse. “Now what happened? And as plainly as possible if you please.”
“A black chimera…” the man began with a gulp. “It dropped out of the sky like a storm and soon chaos was everywhere. I was told by the captain of the town guard to ride as fast as I could to get help of any kind. You are a mage of-”
“Wizard, if you please.”
“A… wizard, of great skill and power. Perhaps you could help me find others to slay the blasted chimera?” He pleaded with his entire body, he began to shake, his eyes glistened in the bright moonlit night.
“Others?” Varos looked at him incredulously. “Clearly you have never heard of me. I am the famed Varos L’Andru, wizard of lore and rich beyond all comprehention. You mentioned the chimera had a master?”
“I am a very kept man, I have never left my village but to learn how to hunt, but I am not very good at most things, I can barely ride this horse.” He stared at the horse, it whinnied its approval. “The master of the chimera… I do not remember him well. A man came to our village, he stayed but one night and then sought out the chief. He left our village this morning looking ill and angry, I believe I saw him for a brief moment as Alice and I rode away.”
“Alice is your horses name?”
“Yes, she was bred by a master of magic and understands what we say, she is very obedient, but is not my horse. She belongs-”
“I don’t care who she belongs too.” Varos assured him, taking him by the arm. “She is a wonderful and blessed animal to be sure, but your condition is what is most pressing. We haven’t time to seek out aid from a capable lord or band of hearty warriors. Take me at pace to your village and I will do what I can, I would not want to upset Alice, having dashed here, I would not wish to burden her with twice the load and at the same speed.” He touched the horses face, it whinnied thankfully and turned back to the forest.
“You will help! Oh glorious night! Thank you gentle mage! Let us be off!” The man exclaimed and jumped spiritedly onto the horse, it huffed and kicked into a brisk trot.
“Wizard…peasants…” Varos growled and followed after them into the forest.
When the warm morning sun had risen, the group, deep within the forest stopped, Varos doubled over panting, tired of casting quickening spells on his legs and not having slept in well over a day. “We shouldn’t slow sir.” The peasant pleaded, pulling Alice to a stop.
“Easy for you two to say, that spell I cast was the equivalent of you both sleeping for ten hours with a full stomach. I’m tired, we will rest for a moment and continue on soon.” He sighed and slumped against the nearest tree.
Varos closed his eyes and his mind quickly fell into darkness. He stood within a dark sphere in his mind, he went over spells, some he knew quite well, others he had nearly forgotten. A terrible feeling overcame him and he realized he was dreaming. Varos awoke, forcing his eyes open he looked dazed into the woods. Before him stood the horse and peasant still mounted. “I wasn’t out long was I?”
The horse clopped a hoof six times on the ground, the peasant nodded. “Alice says you’ve been asleep for six hours. I do not know how a horse tells time, but she is rarely wrong.”
“And you’ve done nothing but sit there a watch me?” Varos grumbled, struggling to his feet, he wished he had an enchantment to dispel drowsiness.
“We both relieved ourselves, over there of course.” The peasant nodded to a clearing in the distance.
“Wonderful. Let’s get going then.” He started off down the beaten road, the horse following close behind. Varos picked at a few low hanging branches, spelling them into a green brick which he took a wincing bite from. “This is why I buy my food.” He groaned swallowing the chewy substance. Alice nudged his shoulder, eyeing the food he was eating. “You wouldn’t want this, it is just something to tide me over.” He said, wondering if the horse really was magical.
The horse snorted and nudged him again, Varos bit off his final mouthful and let the horse swallow the rest. “What’s your name by the way?” Varos slowed so he could look at the gruff man.
“I am… I am… I don’t remember. I have a name I’m a sure of it.”
“Tis a good thing your head is screwed on tight.” Varos rolled his eyes, he wasn’t entirely surprised of the man’s forgetfulness, something about him spelled doom and disaster, he was beginning to regret agreeing to slay the chimera when Alice began to whinny loudly. “It wasn’t meant as a joke horse.” Varos eyed it and realized it wasn’t laughing.
Varos stared ahead, they halted a few strides from a small creature muttering to itself in the middle of the road. Varos pushed the horse back and carefully stepped up to the creature. It’s thin, muscled arms and legs twitched, kicked and hit at everything close to it. It picked up a rock and squeezed it in both hands, it’s girgling muttering climaxed and the rock exploded into dust. “Are you-?”
“Am I what?! What! I’m sitting here! Obviously what’s wrong with you?” It’s surprisingly low voice barked, it’s yellow eyes flickered red, Varos realized suddenly this was no human child, but a demon, a very distraught demon.
“Lost?” Varos gulped and took a step back, he didn’t need a fight with a demon, they were too magically resistant for his liking.
“Lost? Lost! I’m a demon! I have the keenest sense of direction in this world, apart from dragons and the occasional walking compass.” He glowered at him and fluttered to its feet, tiny, black, leathery wings swooshed behind it, blowing clouds of dust at the trio. “If I were lost, I’d be in a worse temper than I am now, and normally I’m quite nice.” The little beast seethed through its gritted maw of clawed teeth.
“I would hate to see you in a bad mood then. But we must be off, much to do.” Varos bowed to the diminutive monster, his rough, grey-black skin glittered in the afternoon sun. “I apologize for disturbing you.”
“The horse and I apologize too!” The moronic peasant blurted out. “We quest to slay a mighty chimera who has sacked my village! This mage has vowed to single handedly slay it with his powers!”
Varos groaned, the peasant’s idiocy was finally taking its toll on him. “We are traveling with haste good demon, we wish you no harm but merely to pass by.”
“A magician…” It grumbled and paced in a tight circle, it’s little clawed feet propelling the creature round and round. “And a chimera, could be his?” The demon looked up at the horse and licked its lips. “No, such a being of slight magical ability couldn’t possibly produce a chimera.”
“I beg your pardon?” Despite his better judgement, Varos took a step towards the demon. “I could summon a chimera right now. Are you saying I can’t?”
The demon fell to all fours and crawled over, its wings flowing behind it like twisted flags, little claws snapping and flicking as it went. It sniffed Varos’ robe and bit off a piece, chewed and swallowed. It began a slow climb up his leg, sniffing and tasting as it went. When Varos was looking at it in the eye, its yellow orbs swirling and changing to a bloody red and back again, he let out a small cough, more to clear his senses of the rank smell coming from the demon as to get its attention.
“Your clothes reek of magic, your soul smells of emptiness, you are either an apprentice or someone who has stolen a magical garb that gives the wearer magical properties.” Varos’ eye twitched. “This robe’s been mended many times, probably self-mending, good for a beggar-thief to look his best.” The creature leaped from Varos’ shoulder and glided to the ground, it scratched at the dirt and laid down.
The demon’s neck twisted and grew long, it’s sleepy eyes looked up at the wizard and his dull companion. “I am a great wizard.” Varos seethed washing himself in cleansing white light, the tears and bite marks vanished, the demon looked at the sight unimpressed.
“Interesting spell it has been enchanted with, the wearer must wave its hand-”
“I’m casting the spell damn it!” The wizard snapped with a vicious sneer.
“Of course you are.” The demon sighed.
“And I suppose a slightly demon of such ill-worth as yourself has a name?” Varos couldn’t stop himself from prying, though the reaction was hardly what he had hoped.
“I do possess a name, but it is one you will never know. You may address me as Spritz the Demon Lord.”
The wood fell into a humourless silence as the two men and horse stared awkwardly at the small demon. “You’re a demon lord?” The peasant asked scratching his head.
“Size doesn’t matter in all things mindless one!” The demon’s voice boomed like rolling thunder, the peasant fell from his saddle and hid behind his wizard. “I could set this forest a blaze in a single breath, silence a man’s life with the blink of an eye and turn any animal into a slathering fiend by merely whispering to it. If I say I am a lord then you will acknowledge me as one!” The demon’s body stretched and reshaped as his wrath grew bolder, his eyes bugged and his wings flapped and ripped at the air and road.
Varos raised an eyebrow, he knelt down and sniffed the supposed demon lord. “Doesn’t smell much like a lord, those wings could be held on with tree sap.”
“Speak again mortal!?” Spritz reared back his head, his mouth widened large enough to fit the horses head in sideways. “I will not tolerate your… Where are you going?”
“I’ve got a chimera to kill and a library to return to, I haven’t time to spend with you demon lord Spritz.”
“Lies!” It screeched but they kept walking. “I must see this with my own eyes!” Spritz growled brilliantly as he marched determinedly beside Varos. “If only to feast on your bloody corpse when the creature has finished with you, I will determine how such a powerless fool defeats an ancient, writhing beast from whence my greatest ancestors were banished.”
“I take it you’re coming with us?”
“I am following you.” It sneered inanely.
“Welcome aboard then.” Varos smile to it as best he could, this venture was going to end up like nothing he had ever done before.
***
Hey look, it's 2:22 in the morning *Dies*
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Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 1:28 pm
Amazing! I really enjoyed it. I rarely read something and get so caught up in it I forget to check for grammatical errors. xd I did notice a few spelling errors, though...
Wailed, comprehension, gurgling. wink
Very nice. I demand more! scream
biggrin
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Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 2:21 pm
Wow! What a compliment! I know I made some small mistakes and the grammar gets shoddy at times but I wrote it from 11pm to 2am so its bound to not be perfect.
But demand and you shall receive!
*Runs off to write more*
the Demon
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Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 3:30 pm
Demon! *squeals with glee* That was absolutely amazing! I loved it! And it didn't hurt that I was the main character wink !
Vale,
-LD
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Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 8:33 pm
Haha, you seem to think I was going to write something aweful! Or in the very least embarass you terribly? Nah, I decided to write something tasteful and humourous with a serious undertone that doesn't appear to actually be there. I look forward to reading about Lor, though it isn't nice to post the introduction and none of the story, it creates unwanted curiosity, so it better be up before the night is over or also someone's getting puked on again.
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Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 11:22 pm
I'm going to warn readers that I've used some strong imagery in this one that may not appeal to anyone but myself, having said that, enjoy!
***
The day grew long and Varos found his legs growing heavy again. He dared not sleep, not with a demon in his company. If he could find a river he might invigorate himself in private and be able to hold out another day, or at least until the demon had left them. The minute beast scraped along behind him, Varos watched the creature from a hidden eye at the base of his neck. It didn’t take long for Spritz to take notice, he winked at it every so often, a malicious glint in his eyes.
When the day had worn long and the sun began to set, Varos took a seat against a rock and sighed heavily. He could hardly move, he’d eaten nearly twenty of his magically sewn food stuffs but they hardly helped. He stared at the fidgety peasant, he seemed to be sated and never complained about being hungry. Varos thought it odd, such a peasant, he thought, would at least mention food. He eyed him for a long while, his eyes drooped and he nearly missed it. The peasant reached down onto the other side of the horse and produced a large chunk of bread. He ate it quietly, sitting patiently while his wizard sat exhausted.
Varos was beside himself, he watched daftly as the little man gorged himself. He ate every last crum and patted his belly for good measure. The peasant sat bored atop his borrowed steed, looking around he caught the vicious glare of Varos, who would have torn the man from his saddle if it weren’t for his good nature. “Sir?” The peasant said, seemingly oblivious to Varos famished state.
“You’ve had food this entire time!” Varos finally snapped and he pulled himself up and staggered to the other side of the horse. He ripped open the hidden sack and felt around, he tore out a fist sized piece of bread and went back in for something else he had felt. Varos’ hand returned with a nearly empty animal skin of sweet wine, both he consumed at the protests of the peasant.
“Why’re you eating my food! You eat your green bread and I eat my brown bread! You can’t eat both-”
“I can’t eat my ‘green bread’ either you idiot! It’s made of leaves and bark! Neither of which do anything to sate my hunger!” Varos yelled and cast a silencing spell on the peasant, who mutely protested from his perch. Varos examined the horse for any further packings but he found nothing but a plain dagger and a broken arrow hidden under the saddle in a tiny pouch. “I could make you disappear you know? But I’m not, because there are people in your village that need help, people who… who… well they deserve to be there more than you do, so sit there and don’t make a sound! If you have something important to say, though I doubt it very much you will, wave your arms and I’ll lift the spell.”
Varos spun around and stormed off, the demon trailing close behind, admiring the tiny blue eye on the back of Varos’ neck. The four stopped suddenly, both the demon and Varos sniffed the air. “Smells like a good day to die.” The demon uttered in its cold, carefree voice.
“Not if I can help it.” Varos growled and darted off, the horse and demon in hot persuit.
They came to a clearing, the smells of burning wood and another, disturbingly familiar smell flooded their nostrils. The dimming evening light grew brighter as they pushed through the trees. Varos could see a great fire and heard a rasping scream. He cast a greater strength spell on his legs and he jumped up through the canopy, he flew a few feet above the foliage and landed, on the verge of vomiting, at the skirt of the woods.
Before him a great pyre of flame engulfed what he hoped wasn’t a village. The wooden huts and inns were fully engulfed. A few living tossed hapless buckets of water upon the searing flames to no avail. Varos stood, unable to move, he listened to the terrible cries for help, listened to them fall quiet.
“I don’t suppose you can summon a great storm?” The demon yawned as it fluttered down onto Varos’ shoulder, a sly, satisfied grin plastered on his face.
Feeling the sharp claws dig into his shoulder Varos came to his senses and began a terrible sounding chant. Alice shook her head and back away, the peasant crouched low in the saddle, his whimpers quieted by the spell cast upon him. Varos threw up his arms, his golden eyes glowing brilliantly, a great ball of water formed over them. The demon glided to the ground and watched the trees around them grow weak and die. He gnawed on the ground and waited for the resulting splash, he hacked and gagged as a fist sized rock got lodged in his throat, but he swallowed it whole and licked his lips.
The great mass of water stretched with Varos’ parting arms. He pulled it as wide as he could and finally let it drop over them. The wave pummelled the survivors who could not find anything to hold on to and were washed away. The buildings crumpled under the weight and Varos watched, waiting patiently until he could release the shield preventing the water from carrying him, Alice, the peasant and Spritz away, though Spritz, he knew, didn’t need the protection, he had merely rolled over until he was shielded as well. When the tide subsided, Varos ran into the town and revived a great many people, he ordered Alice to find those who had been washed away and didn’t bother with the demon.
After over an hour of casting and digging and trudging through mud Varos sat with his back against half of a hut and passed out. He let himself fall into sleep, he organized his thoughts in his dark bubble, oblivious to the world around him. He felt hands pushing and pulling on him but they stopped after a time. Suddenly his leg burst into pain, he looked down to see it torn and bloody and the world around him vanished, replaced with a blurry, dark one. “What in the… you bit me!” Varos wailed seeing his blood dripping from the demon’s mouth.
“The peasant thought it wise to test you in case you had died.” Spritz grinned with a vile poison. “But since you passed the test of life, mend yourself and let us be off. These people can rebuild.”
Varos rubbed his eyes painfully and stifled a tear of anguish. He cupped a hand over the unnatural wound and it ever so slowly it healed. He gazed around at all the downtrodden folk he had saved. Some of them looked dead, others, looking for their dead. A few hopeless faces stayed to watch him sombrely, their eyes burned holes into his own and he wanted to leave before he had a breakdown of conscience.
“We thank you great mage for helping us.” An elderly woman said through heavy breaths, Varos could feel her life draining away, she’d been injured, she just didn’t know how badly.
He let the mage title slide, he stood, but before he could return her sentiments she fell to the ground, her empty eyes gazing into the mud. Varos heart panged and he stared helplessly down at her. No one else seemed bothered, they merely bowed courteously to him before walking away, no one bothered with the old woman, they just left her to sink slowly into the mud.
“Let’s go.” Varos choked out and snorted back his tears and hocked a wad of spit onto the ground. He looked to the peasant, he stared disconnectedly at the old woman, the horse whinnied and started into a light trot.
Spritz slid over, his unnatural guile leaving the lightest of prints in the wed dirt. He sniffed the woman, then, to Varos complete shock and horror, began to tear at her neck. The demon shook violently, tearing hunks of meat and slurping them down its throat. Varos reacted with a wide kick that sent the demon soaring into a steaming hut. The little demon sneered loudly and a clawed fist burst through the last standing wall of the hut and out slithered the demon’s body. It slithered over, it’s huge eyes, one staring greedily at the body, the other staying obsessively still on Varos, roiled and mutated colours of all sorts. “I’m hungry.” It said and snapped its maw a couple times up at Varos.
“Don’t.” Varos’ face twisted in pain and he looked away. “Please.”
“No,” The demon hacked as the crunching sound of its jaw unhinging sounded loudly off the newly dead and dry trees. Its tongue wrapped gingerly around the body, rolling her in long slurping turns before it reeled itself in.
The peasant watched the ordeal without blinking. The body disappeared into the mouth, never to be seen again. Spritz’s teeth ground together, chittering against one another. The demon made off with Varos and Alice as they left the town. When darkness had fallen over them, and Varos head ached for want of food he gathered a few nuts and berries and stripped a large portion of a bark from the half-dead willow they had settled under and piled them high on top of a pallet of leaves. The demon watch intently as the concoction melted away into a thick brick of marble like substance. Varos picked it up and lit a fire with his magic, he attempted to cook the brick but to no avail. He broke it in half and handed a piece to the peasant who inhaled it hungrily. Varos did the same, it didn’t taste so bad if he did it quick. He sat back against the tree and let the tiny fire warm his bare feet. The demon watched him, ready to pounce it seemed, but Varos was too tired to care.
“That was an interesting display.” Spritz growled, pawing at the ground. “How many do you think lived?”
“Ten, fifteen maybe.” Varos sighed, his heavy eyelids threatening all the while to close on him.
“So many… perhaps I should set off the fire again.” The small fiend pondered, it seemed to calculate how many people were in the town to how many had died to those that lived.
Varos mind hardly grasped what the beast was saying. His brain slowly took it in and he jumped to his feet. “You set that fire!”
“So… dramatic.” Spritz yawned, his left eye rolled out of its socket and slurped to a stop just before Varos.
“When? You were with us the entire time, you couldn’t have!” Varos stomped on the eye, he didn’t care if he was going to fight the demon, he was so sickened by the little beast, deep inside he wanted the creature to lash out at him.
The demon began to chuckle, it grew into a deep, hearty laugh. The laughing echoed off the trees until it reached a wailing tone that deafened the wizard and caused Alice to flee into the woods, the peasant ran nimbly after it. “Look down.” The demon stopped, its perfect voice hit Varos like an arrow and took his breath away.
He looked down at his foot, the one that had squashed the eye. It began to ooze out and crawled up and over his foot, then up his leg. The fluid quickly covered Varos’ entire body until it had captured all but his head and neck, he couldn’t move, every inch of his body felt paralyzed. He gazed down at Spritz, eyes seething with anger. The demon grinned up at him, it stood up on its hind legs and began to reshape and grow. Its body took the smooth slender form of a woman, its face changed to fit it yet the eye socket was still empty. The demon walked sensually up to the still form of Varos, its tongue stuck out and flattened, slithering along its body, forming a sickening, fleshy dress around its supple breasts and thighs. The demon gave a sharp jerk of its head and tore the tongue free of the dress, black pitch flowed steadily down its chin . “Could I not be capable of such things?” Its voice was pure and beautiful, Varos nearly fell asleep hearing it but he forced himself awake, keeping his situation in mind. “The town was bigger than what you saw of it. I started it quietly, the human body makes such a deviantly wonderful device for burning. The child babe hardly squealed as its crib was engulfed and soon the house. I set my minions upon the people to feast, a mere few of them but they plotted against me and sent me far away.” Spritz stroked the side of Varos smooth face with its hand and grinned as tiny barbs stabbed out and drew tiny lines that bled out and quickly healed.
“If you’re going to kill me do it already you foul-”
“Beast? Demon, monster? I do not wish the kill you, or even to torture you, which is odd, when I touch you I feel empty.” Spritz moaned and kissed Varos deeply on the mouth, the bleeding pitch filled their mouths, Varos struggled until Spritz released him and he spat the awful liquid out of his mouth.
“Then let me go.” Varos gagged, the smell of the pitch flood his lungs and he began to hack and wheeze.
“If you wish…” Spritz whispered sweetly into Varos’ ear. It drew its eyeless head back, Varos could feel his body, it was there again, the fluid moved up his body and in tiny globs jumped onto the demon’s head and laid themselves within the socket. “Sleep well wizard, pray the peasant finds his way back to us.” The demon lay seductively down onto the ground, the fleshy dress hiking up ever so revealingly about her thigh.
Varos turned away, disgusted and aroused in the same instant. He focused his now tainted mind on the energies of the horse and peasant. They weren’t far, but Varos sent a brilliant green jet of light that left a trail leading back to their camp. He lay down against the tree again and watched nervously the apparently sleeping she-demon. He hated it for killing all those people, for eating the old woman, for just being alive.
The steady glomps of hooves beat on his eyes. With every sounded trot they grew more tired until he could fully hear the peasant, completely engaged in a one-sided conversation with the horse. His mind fell into silence, he hardly cared if the demon consumed him that night, none of it seemed worth it anymore. He still had to try.
***
Oh looky! It's 2:22 again!
Go me.
the Demon
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Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2007 4:14 pm
Ooh... A twist! biggrin Love it. Don't have time to further critique or check grammar... But I assure you I enjoyed it very much. biggrin
A she-demon... Interesting, perhaps I shall draw her... cool
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Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2007 5:45 pm
My Demon, I shall give you this: you are an amazing writer. It retains the feeling that you are telling it, but also lets go with the value of the story itself. Too many forget that, I fear.
I await your next part,
Vale
-LD
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Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2007 9:48 pm
crystalsmuse Ooh... A twist! biggrin Love it. Don't have time to further critique or check grammar... But I assure you I enjoyed it very much. biggrin
A she-demon... Interesting, perhaps I shall draw her... cool That would be a freaky drawing... very... very freaky. Especially with the demon's choice of apparel. Just a little spoiler, my idea of demons are that they are sexless and can change their shape at will, so Spritz really isn't a she-demon, just a very devious creature who likes to play mind games. Thanks Leavaros! I rarely get to hear/read what people think of my writing, and I know you know your fiction, so hearing that really made my night, I haven't been feeling very good, I think I might be getting sick, probably not, but even so, I feel like crap. Thanks again you too, I'm not sure when the next part will be up, at the latest will be next sunday, I'v got a lot to do this week crying for school. the Demon
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Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 8:44 pm
I would of course draw Spritz in female form. Perhaps with those wings... hrmm... yes... twisted
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Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 12:57 pm
Yay! Part three!
****
“So your village is in the mountains.” Varos nodded to himself, the peasant looked at him strangely.
“It is not, we have travelled by the wrong road.” He said matter-of-factly and scratched his chin, then began to comb the horses main with his fingers. “My village is further west along the base of the mountains. Though it is more of a city, we mine deep into the mountain for stone that we built our great wall with.”
Varos glared up at the man, he wanted to strike him, but hadn’t the want or the energy to follow through. His dreams had been haunted by the demon, watching, laughing as he reread books and incantations in his mind. His safe place had been violated, what else could the demon do? He stole a quick glance at the feminine figure, she had shrugged off the decaying dress hours past and took to taking the lead in the group. Varos found it hard to stay his eyes, her exotic figure combined with the strange white markings and runic symbols that painted her body made him red with embarrassment.
The demon scanned the mountain side, spotting an eagle nest high up on a rotted tree. It wondered how eggs taste and snapped her vision back to the group hearing the familiar sound of footsteps. “The peasant is aggravating, don’t you agree?” Her voice gushed as she took Varos’ arm. “He doesn’t even seem concerned. Perhaps he is the enemy, or an enemy of you drawing you away from friends and allies.”
Varos glared into his massive yellow orbs and shook his head. “As misguided as he is, I must help him to regain his village.”
“Why great wizard? What has this man or his compatriots done to assist you?” She pushed her head closer to his, her neck stretching out to get closer. “You may very well be marching into a trap concocted by your enemies, or into the hands of a powerful lord you couldn’t hope to compete with. Do these thoughts not bother you?”
“I must help because I can.”
“And if you truly can’t?” Her eyes bored deeply into him, she could read his every thought, felt and touched his wavering courage before letting him speak.
“Then I truly can’t.” Varos stated simply and gave her a friendly smile.
They walked until nightfall and still through the darkness. When Varos could walk no more they had come to a fortress built into the mountainside. It was no village, not by ordinary means. The wall was twenty feet high and made of huge stones and plastered together with a chunky cement. Varos plopped himself down on a tree stump and began collecting bits of barks and leaves. “Why do you eat such things?” The demon queried, annoyed by the idiotic ritual.
“Because I can’t very well eat anything else can I?” Varos snapped back and cast the spell to meld the materials. “If there was something, anything, I would eat that.”
“Why not me?” Spritz seductive tone floated around Varos and turned his stomach. She walked over and sat in his lap. “You could eat me, I wouldn’t mind.” She whispered as her hands rolled over his chest.
“And risk being tainted and consumed with darkness, I’ll pass.” Varos made to push her away but Spritz held him at bay.
“What about now…” Her voice changed to a deep, thunderous boom. Varos watched as the body reshaped into a man, its hair grew long and silver, the face petrifying and familiar. “Feast on the dead, we do not mind.” The man said, Varos fought his stomach to stay down as tears flooded his vision as he stared hatefully into the dark face of his long dead father. “Have a taste.”
“Get off!” Varos roared, a small explosion of wind flung the demon off him and into the thick trunk of a nearby tree. “Stop playing with me demon or I swear to the gods I’ll have you sent back to the hell you came from!” He seethed, anger dripping from his envenomed words.
Spritz melted again, back into the small demon form he was used to. It sauntered back over to Varos and sat politely like a dog before him. “You eat something that will give you strength, demon flesh does just that. And it’s a sad mage’s tale that one becomes tainted by consuming a demon, nor is it true that you gain its power. It is possible if you don’t let the flesh die before you eat it that the demon can then remove it from you.” A wide smile spread across Spritz’s face. “But why would I do that? It would reform on me within half a day. Your death will come but I see no reason for me to be the cause of your agonizing doom.” Varos head fell back with the conviction and truth in the little creature’s words, he didn’t want to believe anything it had to say, it all felt so wrong, demons were evil creatures.
Spritz eyed the tired and exhausted wizard, his breathing heavy and laboured. It knew it could very well retired the young magician with ease and feast on his delicious, magically tainted flesh. The demon dropped suddenly to the ground and rode its face across a sharp rock. “Why do you do such things?” Varos asked, he could hardly move/
“For being a worldly and knowledgeable fellow, you certainly know nothing about demons.” Spritz moaned as the rock scraped at his flesh, relieving him of a terrible itch as well as more than a few layers of skin. “We are not so different, humans and demons, we have our strength and it can be wasted as much as yours can. In this form I retain vast amounts of power and can perform many abilities and feats. In larger forms it take that energy to sustain my form and requires much concentration.” The little beast faced Varos, the side of its head torn and dripping blood. It eyed something to its right and began to lick its arm. “Our energy returns much like yours, there are interesting differences, but it is similar none the less. I enjoy having a massive store of power at my disposal, and so I retain this form despite what another may think of it. Size alone isn’t everything. What about you wizard? Do you change shape?” The yellow eyes focused intently on the man, Varos flinched seeing the eyes so full of want.
“This is my form, it would take me a long time and a lot of preparation to- Hey!” Varos cried, the demon, without warning or hesitation bit deep into its arms and viciously tore it free from its shoulder. “What are you doing! You’re insane!”
Spritz blinked a moment, staring disparagingly at the wizard. His body began to shift until he had become the slightly woman with huge circular eyes. She walked over to Varos and laid the tiny arm in his lap. “Eat this, your strength will return. I do not wish to see you die tomorrow because you had little strength. A chimera is a deadly creature, almost as much so as I, take my flesh and sleep, it will restore you.”
Varos sat horrified, the woman’s torn stump of an arm twitched and spat blood onto the ground. He could feel the arm in his lap but her calm and gentle eyes, despite their size and colour held him firmly in place.
“Hurry and cook mage! I wish to eat restoring flesh as-”
“SILENCE IMPUDENT FOOL!” Spritz roared louder than any dragon had ever done, her eyes bulged twice as large as they were, black veins pulsing through them, her fangs shot from her mouth as it widened ready to consume the man.
The peasant screamed and stumbled to his feet, trailing urine as he fled deep into the forest. Alice watched him go and whinnied a tormented sigh. The horse trotted after the man and out of sight.
Spritz turned back to Varos and nodded to him that her arm was truly deceased, her stump had stopped bleeding and small, black, fleshy vines twisted and wove together forming new tissue. Varos stared at her almost gratefully and brought the arm up to his mouth and sniffed it. It smelled of pitch and metal and he winced shooting Spritz and cautious look. “Eat it, like most things it doesn’t taste well.” Her voice began to change as her body shifted back into the small demonic body.
“Thank you demon, I appreciate this.” Varos nodded to the little beast and took a small bite of the hard, taking off two little fingers.
Spritz twitched for a second, Varos noticed and then began to scream and wail in pain. Varos spat out the fingers and moved over to the demon trying to see what was the matter. “You bit off my fingers!?” It cried and cleaved three long grooves into the hard dirt.
“You can feel me eating it?” Varos stomach did a summersault and he puked over his shoulder. “Why would you let me do that?”
The demon began to giggle in its high pitched voice and rolled happily on the ground. “Of course I can’t you ignorant fool! But surely the look on your face was utterly without price! If only I were an artist to capture it!”
Varos glared at the little monster and made to boot him, but he stopped realizing he still held the creature’s arm. He stormed back to the tree and cleaned the fingers on his robe and gnawed happily on the disgusting tasting flesh. The meat was without bone or muscle and felt to Varos like he was eating tree bark. Spritz watched him intently, muttered something and a small claw sprouted from its chest. It scuttled over and watched Varos consume the entire arm. Varos colour returned, and after a while, so did the peasant and horse. His energy had returned stronger than ever and he ignored the protests of the peasant and the gleaming stare of the demon as he put himself to rest.
The morning was cold and Varos found himself struggling to get up, his limbs hurts to move and his feet were colder than ice. He wrapped himself in warm light as well as the peasant who shivered terribly beside the horse. They marched on the city, the four travellers, no there were only three.
Varos opened his mouth to speak with the demon, but looking back the tiny creature was gone. He searched with his mind’s eye through the forest and sky, even the ground but there was no trace of the creature anywhere. “Goodbye.” He said instead, and carried on, Alice and the peasant already nearly a mile down the way.
They reached the main road that led to the stone village, Varos could see something lying just in front of the main gate. It heaved in an irregular pattern, as they approached, Varos could make out the tell tale signs of the chimera, its spiked back and three necks slithered around beside it. But something was different, Varos spelled his eyes and took a closer look at the beast, its skin was not covered in fur but a dull leather and scaled in areas round its belly and legs. “You idiot.” Varos twitched, his fists balled. “That’s no chimera! That’s a Black Hydra!” His mind reeled, there wasn’t any way he could defeat a hydra, chimeras had the decency of not breathing acid and napalm, hydras knew no such courtesy.
“I heard it called a chimera!” The peasant cried and hid his face.
“Who did you hear it from?”
“My lords, after they took over the village, I was made their servant, but they tortured me terribly! I stole this horse and ran, I am sure it was they who made me forget my own name.” The peasant began to sob atop Alice who stared hopefully into Varos eyes.
“Damn it.” He groaned, the hydra shifted in its sleep, he had few spells that could dint the creature but kill it? He closed his eyes and retreated into his mind, the dark sphere seemed different but he marched over to the bookshelf in his mind and scanned through his volumes of knowledge. None of the magic he knew would be of much use. Varos screamed inside his head and took a seat at a table banged his fist on the table. What should have been a loud crack resounded as a dull thud, he looked down to see a tattered, red leather bound volume and opened it.
Within it he found powerful magic he had never known. Between two pages was folded a single page, he opened it and memorized the incantation to create what appeared to be a powerful magic weapon. Varos scanned the rest of the volume and put it safely into his stock and returned back to the world.
The sun had risen over the mountains and he felt his body warm and his worries no longer felt so dire. He spoke aloud the incantation he had read and from his hand grew a long, splendid sword made of the darkest black. He swung it deftly over his head, the sword let out a terrible roaring screech. Varos’s eyes bulged and he grit his teeth, two of the hydra’s heads lifted from the ground and yawned, revealing a maw of sword like teeth. One head spotted Varos and reared the others.
Varos cursed and yelled a spell, he stretched his hand out in front of him and from his fingers burst thick bolts of dark energy, a bolt connected with one of the hydra’s many heads and blew it clean off, the neck fell limp to the ground as the four other bolts pounded into the stone wall, sending rock and dust everywhere. Varos could feel his energy drop and staggered back, leaning heavily on the sword. “Not casting that one again.” He gasped trying to catch himself from falling.
The hydra screamed in vicious agony and closed the large space between it and Varos horrifyingly fast. Varos slapped Alice hard on the rump and sent her galloping away. He readied himself for a battle he could only hope to win.
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Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 3:56 pm
Wow, this story litteraly has me on the edge of my seat... Forgot to blink a few times and my eyes teared up. xd
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Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 7:02 pm
Same here. I wonder....
-LD
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Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 7:33 pm
You wonder what? If I'm putting anti-blink potion into the guilds water supply?! Blast I've been found out!
*disappears into a cloud of smoke*
No seriously, what do you wonder?
the Demon
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Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 7:49 pm
If you must know, I'm wondering how I can learn to take the pace a little more quickly with my own story.
Myself, I'm partial to just laying back and watching the characters' lives rather than their best hits.
When I read, I enjoy learning about the character, their life and interactions with others, much more than the fight scenes that are so resplendent in typical fantasy.
The problem is that when I write--almost always following a variant of this style--I often get stuck. I hope that doesn't happen, but it's a strong possibility.
I wonder if I could take the pace a little faster, as in your story, but retain the depth that I hope to achieve. Jordan seemed to do it, and Hobb mastered it, but I write more like a Fiction writer than a Fantasy writer. Of course, I have read some Fantasy that is written like this, but unless it's done properly....
Well. Now you see. I wonder.
~Leavaros
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