Not telling :pQuote:
Originally Posted by Shadowborn
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Not telling :pQuote:
Originally Posted by Shadowborn
It's obviously Champion of Irum.Quote:
Originally Posted by Shadowborn
Everybody loves them plot twists.
Building Bridges
Jakar paused and did a double take as he entered his tent. Majiya smiled at his reaction. It was exactly what she was hoping for.
She sat on the edge of his bed, leaning back on her arms and with her legs crossed, naked from head to toe. Her hair was let out and gently draped over her body. She could practically see his pants expanding as he stared, his eyes filled with rabid lust.
“Well well, looking for a place to stay?”
“I could use a comfortable bed.” Majiya replied seductively. “And it does get cold at night here; any extra warmth would be most welcome.”
Jakar grinned fiendishly, like a predator surveying his prey. He grabbed Majiya and pushed her down, before pressing himself on top of her and violently kissing her. “It’s your lucky day, I’m going to screw you so hard you’ll be walking funny for a week.” He whispered into her ear as he began to take his pants off.
Majiya rolled him onto his back and sat over him, stretching her back so he could get a good look at her, watching his eyes as they took in every curve. She leaned in and whispered gently in his ear. “You’re mine now.”
And with that the bed came alive, the sheets splitting and twisting around Jakar’s arms and legs, stretching him out and pinning him in place. Before he could shout out part of the sheet wrapped around his mouth, gagging him. Majiya laughed as he attempted to free himself.
“Men. So predictable.” She purred, playfully running her hands over her breasts. “Show them a good pair of tits and they’ll do whatever you want.”
She leaned over the still struggling Jakar and gently removed his bracers. “You won’t be needing these anymore.” She said, tossing them away. “Too bad you didn’t realise magic was more than fire and lightning. Now, we can have some real fun.”
She placed her hand on his chest and his muffled screaming increased in volume. After a few seconds steam began to waft into the air as his skin bubbled and blistered.
"Poor boy, seems I'm just too hot for you." Majiya purred as Jakar writhed in agony.
Jakar’s eyes rolled into the back of his head as the flames began to consume his body from the inside out. His skin turned black before disintegrating. Smoke filled the tent as his internal organs were immolated and when it was all over only his skeleton remained.
-----------------------
The sounds of reverie increased as Majiya entered the makeshift mess hall. They suddenly stopped as she rolled Jakar’s scorched skull down the table.
“What is this, bitch?” one of the mercenaries demanded. In response Majiya burned him alive where he stood with a flick of her wrist. She waited until the man’s screaming had ceased before speaking.
“No more questions, and no more back chat. You work for me now.” She pointed at the freshly charred corpse on the ground. “Any of you disagree and you’ll end up like this sack of shit here.” She grinned slightly as the mercenaries all pushed their chairs away from her in fear.
Her eyes narrowed. “And if I catch anyone staring at my tits I won’t be so nice.”
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Nishaven looked over at Mikhail. “How goes the portal construction?”
Mikhail frowned. “It’s a big job, and we’ve already had a couple of accidents.” He flicked through the builders reports. “I didn’t think you needed any sort of structure for portals.”
“Normally you don’t, the mage controls the energy themselves. But the bigger portal gets the more concentration and effort required, which enforces an upper limit on the size of them. Majiya has discovered the correct runes needed to provide that control without input.”
“Are we sure they’re correct?” Mikhail asked. “We don’t want this thing turning into some sort of bomb.”
“I can understand Majiya’s logic, I’m confident in the runic patterns.” Nishaven replied. “What I’m worried about is whether she’ll actually be able to position herself in time. Her actions in Draconia concern me as well.”
“Has she made plans to betray us?” Mikhail asked. “You can make good on your threats, we’ll find another way.”
Nishaven shook his head. “No, however she has already murdered one mercenary to take over his team. Gravebone did ask her to take control of them, and they are Shadow after all. It’s just that the brutality and cruelty of her methods that trouble me.”
“Could she be raising an army of her own?” Mikhail pondered.
“I can’t discount anything right now. But she has made no obvious moves to subvert our cause; she just appears to be keeping up the charade of following orders.” Nishaven sighed. “I just want this over with so we can break this unholy alliance.”
“We do have another problem.” Mikhail stated, turning over one of the pages in his hand. “Reports from our scouts around Herodius. The Shadow has launched a major offensive there, but they’re not sacking the city in the traditional sense, they’re actually tearing down buildings and dragging materials back to Draconia.”
“Whole buildings?” Nishaven exclaimed.
Mikhail nodded. “My best guess is they’re refining ore from them. I know Draconia was rather mineral poor, and the only large deposits are in the hands of the Harak who still have a decent defence force, despite being decimated by the Shadow. This could indicate that the Shadow forces aren’t as large as we first thought.”
“Because they’re taking the easy route, attacking a softer target.”
“Exactly. It’s neither easy nor efficient to extract ore out of buildings and re-smelt it, hardly an ideal situation for Gravebone. It tells me they don’t have the forces to take the Harak remnant head on.”
“That’s good news.” Nishaven smiled.
“It’s not all good news unfortunately.” Mikhail frowned.
“Why?”
“One of the scouts caught sight of the one leading the attack.” Mikhail said, breathing deeply. “It’s Kairos. He’s back.”
The quality of this story arc is very good. Your writing ability continues to grow
*continues shoving popcorn into face*
Ohhh, best scene yet
Glad you're all liking it. I thought Majiya's revenge would go down well :)
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Out of Time
Serena felt an overwhelming pity for the poor women being herded into the tents. Obviously threats of violence hadn’t been enough, so Majiya had bought her troops loyalty by providing them with the promise of carnal pleasure, and these women were the latest in a long line of 'rewards'. As they disappeared into the tents their screams and pleading began to fill the air, leaving Serena with the near uncontrollable urge to gut their attackers like pigs. She pushed those thoughts down however; she was vastly outnumbered and would no doubt end up like those she wanted to help.
So instead she maintained her vigil, helpless to act, listening as those monsters forced themselves on the innocent. For two weeks now she had been living in the shadows, watching Majiya’s movements and the movements of her new army. She had watched as they had sacked villages and taken prisoners, and done her best to help the survivors after they had left. She had even killed a couple of stragglers who had stayed behind to keep looting. And all the while that contraption in Draconia's main square had just kept getting bigger and bigger. The last time Serena saw it, it looked complete, or very close to it, which meant they were out of time.
She had managed to get a few mental updates to Lance, however with the distance involved it was a tricky and tiring process, forcing her to rest for long stretches afterward. What responses she received revealed Lance’s concern at the developments, and his distrust of Majiya and her actions rolled off him in waves. She could feel that he secretly hoped Majiya would step out of line even for a second so that Nishaven would make good on his threats. Truth be told if she did turn on them, Serena would make sure that she would be the one to end Majiya’s life.
Serena brought her thoughts back to the present when she noticed a Gargoyle approach Majiya’s tent. In his hand was a scrap of parchment, and he poked his head into her tent before entering completely. Knowing that this exchange was going to be important, Serena decided to take the risk and get close enough to hear what was going on.
Moving as quickly and as quietly as possible, Serena skirted through the shadows towards Majiya’s tent. She ducked behind crates of food and weapon stands as patrols passed, and made doubly sure they would not detect her by mentally altering their perceptions before she left cover. Still it was a risky ploy, if she missed or didn’t see a patrol she would be found out and this far into enemy territory she would not last long.
Moving past the mercenary tents and stifling the urge to charge in there blades drawn, Serena finally got within earshot of Majiya’s tent. She bunkered down to have a listen but a sharp blow on the back of her head knocked her to the ground. As she fell she managed to catch a glimpse of a human mercenary before her world went black.
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Gravebone stared at Thaddeus from his position at the altar. He could tell Thaddeus had some doubts as to what was coming. Gravebone had assured him of his safety, but that didn’t stop that slight twitch that his acolyte always got when he was nervous.
“Relax Thaddeus.” Gravebone said. “You know this has to happen.”
Thaddeus exhaled sharply. “I know my Lord, but that doesn’t stop me being nervous.”
Gravebone nodded simply as he uttered the incantations. The Shadow Crystals he had carefully positioned around Thaddeus came to life, glowing with power before unleashing that power into Thaddeus. It was painful in the extreme, Thaddeus screaming until his throat turned to ash. His body burned and his eyes turned milky white. His internal organs shut down and died, and his heart pumped its last. As the ritual finished Thaddeus slumped to the ground dead.
And then after a few seconds, he stood up.
“Eternal life in undeath.” Gravebone said. “How does it feel?”
Thaddeus didn’t answer immediately, he was getting used to the fact his heart wasn’t pumping and that his internal organs weren’t there anymore. He held his hand on his chest, trying in vain to find a heartbeat. “It’s quiet, and still.” He said simply. “You don’t realise how much noise and sensation your organs produce.”
“You get used to it. Consider yourself lucky, you still look marginally human.” Gravebone replied.
Thaddeus turned to a nearby mirror and smiled. His skin didn’t move quite like it used to, it was more rubbery, but still a good enough imitation of living tissue. “I guess you’re right.”
Gravebone nodded. “Now that you’re properly prepared for what lays ahead, it’s time to proceed with the final stage of the plan. The Hellmouth is ready, all we need to do is open it and welcome our new friend.”
-----------------------
A sharp slap across the face brought Serena back to consciousness. Opening her eyes groggily she saw Majiya standing over her, with a trio of mercenaries behind. As her vision resolved she could see one of the mercenaries blow her a kiss. She tried to get up but she was bound by chains to a tent post.
Majiya was obviously not amused. “Leave us.” She ordered, and the three men left without argument. She turned her attention back to Serena. “What’s the meaning of this?” She demanded.
Serena was about to answer but she realised Majiya wasn’t talking to her. She was talking to Nishaven, who could see and hear her every movement. She couldn’t hear Nishaven’s replies, but she got the gist of the conversation from what Majiya was saying.
“Bullshit you didn’t know.” Majiya exclaimed. “She’s your insurance policy. The problem is, now she’s mine.”
Majiya paused. “You don’t seem to understand. If anything happens to me after our little deal is done, you’ll never see Serena again. Not in one piece anyway.” She smiled wickedly. “If I’m feeling nice I may not kill her, I may just leave her to my men. I’m sure they’ll look after her.”
Majiya tilted her head. “Well, maybe we can come to an arrangement; it depends on how valuable she is to you. But we can work out any details later, right now there is something more pressing to discuss.”
She unfurled the sheet of paper and held it in front of her face. She wasn’t reading it though; it was for the benefit of Nishaven.
She frowned as Nishaven said something. “Yes, I hope you’re ready. Because it’s happening now. I’m going to get my men prepared, just in case my faith in your kind is misplaced and you haven’t got what it takes to get the job done.”
Majiya turned around and stuck her head out of the tent. “All of you! Finish up and get out here now! We’ve got work to do!” She shook her head as she walked over to Serena. “Men.” she said, kneeling down in front of her.
“Now my dear.” Majiya purred, running her finger down Serena’s face and around her cheek. “I’ve got a corpse to kill again, so you’re going to stay right here and wait for me. And when I get back, we can discuss your future. Rest assured it will be painful.”
She gently patted Serena on the face before standing up and leaving the tent. Serena watched as her captor walked off, and cursed herself for getting in this position. Still, she wasn’t done yet, she still had a trick up her sleeve.
Now if she could only reach it….
Double post, because I can :) The identity of the Elder One is revealed! (No, it's not Firesnake.)
Also for some reason when I wrote Aldon I could only imagine Sgt. Apone from Aliens. Not sure why. But Aldon needs a stogie.
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The Mouth Opens
“All right men, this is it.” Aldon shouted out over the square. “Prepare yourselves; we’re going in hot, hard and fast, just like the last time you were with that pretty young lass from the bar.”
He could hear some of the men chuckle as he continued. “Now, we’re dropping right into the middle of the Shadow stronghold. They’re not expecting us, so we have the advantage of surprise. Every other advantage belongs to them however, so keep your wits about you and remember the first rule of combat.”
“Stick ‘em with the pointy end!” One of the troops shouted.
Aldon smiled. “Damn straight. But don’t kid yourself; this isn’t going to be easy. Not only do we have Gravebone on the other side, we also have Kairos waiting for us. And those who survived the Battle for Corvinus know what he’s capable of.”
He paused to let that knowledge sink in a bit before continuing. “One other thing. For those of you who’ve never taken a Portal ride before, close your eyes as you go through. Otherwise your first view of Draconia will be the dirt you’re emptying your guts onto.”
Aldon looked up at the Portal construct as Nishaven began preparing it. He turned back to his troops, and could see the apprehension on the faces of many of them, particularly the youngest ones. “Good luck people. See you on the other side.”
-----------------------
Serena could hear Majiya’s troops starting to move out towards the square, however of more immediate concern were the two mercenaries heading toward her tent.
“Do you think we’ve got time?” The smaller one said. “Majiya wants us ready.”
“Have you looked at her?” The other replied. He looked like the offspring of a man and an exceptionally ugly bull. “She’s much better than those farmyard bitches we’ve been playing with. I’m making the time.” He smiled at Serena as they entered the tent. “Hello love.”
“What do you want?” Serena spat. It was a stupid question; she already knew what they were here for.
They walked over to her. “Well, as you know, there’s something big about to happen, and we’re under a lot of stress. We just want you to help relieve us, help us relax.” The big one smirked as he knelt down in front of her.
Serena sighed. “Well, before you get to work, you need to know one thing.”
“And what’s that beautiful?” He said.
“You know these chains?”
“Yes?”
“I picked the locks.” Serena smirked, swinging her arms around from behind the pole. The chain wrapped around the big one’s neck, choking him. As he tried to free himself Serena pulled as hard as she could, sending him tumbling to the ground. The smaller mercenary began to advance, but Serena put a stop to that with a throwing knife to the throat. Standing up, she tugged on the chain, causing the bigger mercenary to gurgle as he tried to take in air.
“Never again.” She snarled as she yanked hard on the chain. “Never again are you going to hurt another innocent woman.” She waited until the man was well and truly dead before picking the last lock on her wrist and letting the chain fall to the ground. Looking out of the tent she could see the camp was empty, no doubt Gravebone had everyone available to defend the ritual. She knew she had to get over there as well, but first she had something else to do.
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“Brothers and sisters!” Gravebone shouted from the balcony. The huge gathering of creatures, men and the undead craned their necks skyward to hear their master’s voice. “Today the war shall be won! The Shadow shall take control of this world, and enslave all that stand against us!”
A raucous cheer erupted from the gathering below. Gravebone lifted his hands and began to chant, and all eyes turned to the Hellmouth. Hundreds of tiny runes etched all over the surface of the gargantuan torus began to glow with eldritch energy, until it became so bright that some had to look away. A horrid grinding noise filled the square as the torus began to slowly rotate like a wheel held in place by an unseen force. As it did a flicker of light in the centre of the torus exploded into a swirling mass of blue energy and a giant hand became visible….
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“Boss?” One of the mercs asked somewhat apprehensively.
“Quiet.” Majiya snarled. “Get back, find cover in the buildings. What’s coming next isn’t going to be pretty.”
Without any hesitation her men began to move into the nearby buildings to hide and prepare. Majiya did not retreat into the buildings immediately however, she needed some privacy right now.
“Are you seeing this?” She asked Nishaven.
“Yes, we’re ready to move in immediately.” Nishaven replied, his voice filling her mind.
“Wait. Your men will be slaughtered, and neither of us will achieve our goals.”
“Then what do you suggest we do?” Nishaven retorted angrily. “We can’t let this Elder One into the world.”
Majiya smirked. “I’ve got plans in place. Just watch.”
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Gravebone watched as the giant hand pushed through the Hellmouth, bringing with it an arm and then a body. The crowd looked on in awe as the Elder One pushed its way into this world, casting its immense shadow over the congregation. The undead troops simply stood and stared at the beast. However the living were not so lucky, all those caught under the beast’s shadow simply keeled over and died, their souls ripped from their bodies to feed the Elder One’s insatiable appetite.
Gravebone looked down at the now panicked crowd as they attempted to escape their fate. Thaddeus simply smiled. “I’m very grateful for my transition to the ranks of the undead now.” He watched as more and more of the living fell to the beast, causing him to grow larger with every soul reaped. “I must say he certainly does live up to his name.”
“Indeed, it is very appropriate.” Gravebone replied. “The Glutton.”
Ironic that Ogloth can kill living beings if they fall under his shadow because Ogloth really sucks in-game :p
Well, it seemed like a cool way to explain his insta-kill ability :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Reshiram99