Goodbye LJ...
Feb. 20th, 2006 06:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
windandwaterThis is just to make it official for those who don't know, but I'm leaving LJ completely. For the rest of this week at least. Tomorrow is the Bar Exam and it runs for three days, so don't expect to see me about at all until Thursday night. Or even until the weekend since I plan on spending Thursday after the Bar drunk and crying. No online time for me at all. *whines* It will be hard, but I know I can do it.
So, because I'm a total h0r like that, I am declaring this to be a spam post. Go ahead. Run wild! Give me fics, give me links, give me pics, just babble to your heart's content and rape my inbox so I have something to see when I finally DO come back to the wonderful world of LJ. I don't even care if you write me a drabble and post it one word at a time. XD;
Though, I've tried to make a spam post before and it failed a bit miserably, so I don't have very high expectations this time around. Feel free to prove me wrong though!
♥
So, because I'm a total h0r like that, I am declaring this to be a spam post. Go ahead. Run wild! Give me fics, give me links, give me pics, just babble to your heart's content and rape my inbox so I have something to see when I finally DO come back to the wonderful world of LJ. I don't even care if you write me a drabble and post it one word at a time. XD;
Though, I've tried to make a spam post before and it failed a bit miserably, so I don't have very high expectations this time around. Feel free to prove me wrong though!
♥
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Re: World of Darkness (cont.)
Date: 2006-02-21 10:03 am (UTC)The others stood stunned for a moment. Duo was the first to speak up. "Wow, Tro!" he exclaimed. "I'll never make cracks about your freezing wit again!"
With a growl, Heero set to work on the large troll-shaped ice statue that his opponent had become. It took some effort, as even a frozen Smith was tough, but with the combined efforts of all four of them, he at last shattered into pieces on the floor. The hammer dropped out of his hands and landed with a thud that dented the floor.
Grimacing, Heero examined his shield, before tossing it aside. "Ruined with one blow," he growled.
Quatre reached down and picked up the hammer, staggering a little under the weight of it. His eyes grew wide. "This is no ordinary hammer!" he exclaimed. "It's the Malus!"
"Charsi's enchanted hammer?" Wufei questioned. Quatre nodded.
"It's good that we have this back again. Such a powerful tool could do great damage in the hands of a demon," he said. "We should return this to Charsi as soon as possible."
The others agreed, and they started the trek back to the courtyard waypoint. Heero was watching Duo closely as they passed through the bloody dining hall once again, but the necromancer seemed to have control of himself once more. Still, the tension faded from his shoulders with every step they took into the open air, and he didn't breathe easy again until they returned to the Rogue Encampment... even though he knew it was only a temporary respite.
"You found my Horadric Malus!" Charsi exclaimed, practically bouncing with glee. "I don't know how I can ever thank you. It's a powerful and valuable tool that belongs in the hands of the Light. Now, in return, I will imbue one of your items with magical properties."
Nobody said anything, but somehow, they all ended up looking at Heero. He sweatdropped. "Oh hell no," he said emphatically. "I like my weapon the way it is."
"But, Heero," Quatre began persuasively, "Of all of us, you are best suited to handling a powerfully enchanted weapon. And besides, when we face Andariel, you and Wufei will be the only ones who will have a chance against her in close combat. And Wufei's katar would be far harder to enchant than your scepter."
Heero growled something under his breath, but gave in with a sigh. He unhooked his weapon from his belt and, not without a trace of lingering reluctance, handed it over to Charsi.
The smith set immediately to work, taking the weapon and clipping it into the vise above her anvil. Picking up a pair of tongs, she reached into her glowing forge and
Re: World of Darkness (cont.)
Date: 2006-02-21 10:03 am (UTC)A faint sound, like a muffled whimper, escaped from Heero, but the other four chose to diplomatically ignore it.
She swung the Malus in a practiced move, and as it struck the weapon, a light flashed so intense that the warriors all had to shield their eyes. The sound of metal striking metal continued, though, reassuring them that this was supposed to happen. After about five minutes, the light faded, and Charsi picked the scepter off of the anvil and plunged it into a bucket of cold water. Waiting a few seconds, she then pulled it out and wiped it dry with a spare cloth. Enough heat lingered in the metal to dry it the rest off the way quickly, but it was cool enough to hold, and Charsi handed it back to Heero with a faint air of pride.
"Thank you," he said as he gingerly took the weapon and studied it warily. It still looked like the familiar scepter that had fought so many battles with him, but it hummed faintly against his hand and he could almost feel the new power coursing through it.
Duo whistled faintly, impressed by the extra sheen the metal seemed to have acquired. "So it's an enchanted weapon now, huh?" he said. "Do you think it can stand up to killing the Demon Queen, Andariel?"
Heero took a deep breath, and quickly hooked the weapon back to its accustomed place on his belt. Even when he was no longer directly touching it, he could feel the faint hum emanating from it. "I think this weapon was made to kill her," he said.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
According to Kashya, the only way to reach the Inner Cloister was through the Jail beneath the barracks that had at one time been used to contain demons and now served as their breeding grounds. It took the five warriors some careful searching to discover the stairwell leading down, surrounded by metal bars.
Before they started down the stairs, Heero stopped to pray to his Gods for strength and protection. A faint golden-white light surrounded him, then spread to each of the others -- even, much to Duo's amusement, the summoned skeletons. At least it improved the ambient light level.
As they descended into the dark space, a horrible stench rolled out of the blackness ahead towards them. It was especially sickening to Trowa, accustomed to open space and clean air, but he bore it stoically. Beside him, Quatre gagged. "What is that awful smell?" he exclaimed.
Re: World of Darkness (cont.)
Date: 2006-02-21 10:03 am (UTC)A faint sound, like a muffled whimper, escaped from Heero, but the other four chose to diplomatically ignore it.
She swung the Malus in a practiced move, and as it struck the weapon, a light flashed so intense that the warriors all had to shield their eyes. The sound of metal striking metal continued, though, reassuring them that this was supposed to happen. After about five minutes, the light faded, and Charsi picked the scepter off of the anvil and plunged it into a bucket of cold water. Waiting a few seconds, she then pulled it out and wiped it dry with a spare cloth. Enough heat lingered in the metal to dry it the rest off the way quickly, but it was cool enough to hold, and Charsi handed it back to Heero with a faint air of pride.
"Thank you," he said as he gingerly took the weapon and studied it warily. It still looked like the familiar scepter that had fought so many battles with him, but it hummed faintly against his hand and he could almost feel the new power coursing through it.
Duo whistled faintly, impressed by the extra sheen the metal seemed to have acquired. "So it's an enchanted weapon now, huh?" he said. "Do you think it can stand up to killing the Demon Queen, Andariel?"
Heero took a deep breath, and quickly hooked the weapon back to its accustomed place on his belt. Even when he was no longer directly touching it, he could feel the faint hum emanating from it. "I think this weapon was made to kill her," he said.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
According to Kashya, the only way to reach the Inner Cloister was through the Jail beneath the barracks that had at one time been used to contain demons and now served as their breeding grounds. It took the five warriors some careful searching to discover the stairwell leading down, surrounded by metal bars.
Before they started down the stairs, Heero stopped to pray to his Gods for strength and protection. A faint golden-white light surrounded him, then spread to each of the others -- even, much to Duo's amusement, the summoned skeletons. At least it improved the ambient light level.
As they descended into the dark space, a horrible stench rolled out of the blackness ahead towards them. It was especially sickening to Trowa, accustomed to open space and clean air, but he bore it stoically. Beside him, Quatre gagged. "What is that awful smell?" he exclaimed.
Re: World of Darkness (cont.)
Date: 2006-02-21 10:04 am (UTC)"Oh, wonderful," Wufei muttered.
"What kind of unholy place is this?" Heero demanded. "Locked away from the sunlight forever..."
"No-one should be caged," Trowa agreed quietly.
Though it never disappeared entirely, the oppressive stench faded as they grew more accustomed to it, and they pressed cautiously onwards. Instead of being arranged in neat rows of cells or corridors, the jail more resembled a maze of bars and metal doors. Wufei seemed to have no trouble opening doors, mere locks presenting no obstacle to the Assassin, but Quatre still jumped nervously every time a heavily barred door crashed shut behind them.
From somewhere up ahead, they heard a loud caterwauling, the likes of which they had not encountered since the ambush of goat-men at Tristram. The five exchanged wary glances, but had no real choice but press forwards.
A little farther on, they encountered the source of the noise; dozens of minotaurs swarmed about in a confined space, bleating menacingly and brandishing their crude weapons. Duo took one look at them and burst out laughing; there were more than enough of them to overwhelm the adventurers... but they were on the wrong side of the wall of bars. None of the monsters had anything more sophisticated than crude swords, so all the adventurers had to do was stand back a few feet to be completely free of danger.
Wufei and Heero sulked rather while Quatre, Trowa and Duo threw leisurely spells at the trapped and frustrated monsters. Quatre assured them earnestly that just because they weren't needed now didn't mean that their contributions to the team weren't appreciated. Duo helpfully volunteered that even if they died, he would reanimate their bones for the good of the cause. Heero suggested that he'd better make sure he could reanimate his own before Heero would let that happen. Duo sulked.
Sighing, Duo turned back to the imprisoned minotaurs. Only a few of them remained, their numbers quickly diminishing under the assault of fire, lightning and poison. The last of them were quickly dying off, bleating at them what were probably potent and eloquent death-curses in goatmanese. He was just considering the puzzle of how he was going to get one of the bodies to the other side of the bars -- he could summon new skeletons from the dead bodies, but then they would be stuck just as the monsters were! He selected a body that had fallen close against the bars, close enough that his creature would emerge on the correct side, and was just starting the incantation when the body dissolved right before his eyes. Startled, he looked up to see one of Trowa's animated vines just finishing off the last of the bodies. "Oi! Trowa!" he protested. "Leave at least *one* for me, why don't you?"
Re: World of Darkness (cont.)
Date: 2006-02-21 10:04 am (UTC)Glowering, Duo turned to Heero. "Hey, Heero! He works with dead bodies too. How come you never came down on *him* for black magic and stuff?" he wanted to know.
Heero raised one eyebrow sardonically. "If I had to say," he began, "It would probably have to do with the fact that he doesn't *flaunt* his allegiance with Dark forces the same way you do."
"I do not flaunt it!" Duo said indignantly.
Heero's gaze traveled pointedly up Duo's form, at the jet-black clothes and the bone dagger sheathed at his hip to the sun-avoidant paleness of his skin. Duo flushed, and, crossing his arms, he huffed and turned pointedly away -- but his ears stayed red. Heero's flush, concealed beneath the more tanned color of his skin, was not nearly so visible.
They traveled on, and before too long found the connecting passageway between the jail and the catacombs beneath the Inner Cloister. Why the Rogues had felt the need for easy access between the tombs and the jails, none of them really wanted to think about.
At first, Quatre was relieved to be away from the endless procession of bar walls and grating doors, at least until the first time he opened a door into a dark chamber and came face-to-mandible with a giant spider. A very giant spider. As the door opened, it chittered and started forward, pressed by the weight of the dozens of other spiders, behind it. Quatre took one look, and freaked. "AAHHHHHHH!"
Startled, the other four backed up as Quatre seemed to explode into a frenzy of electricity. Duo wisely dropped to the floor to avoid the backflow as Quatre filled the air with dozens of lightning bolts, not even waiting for one to dissipate before casting the next. Though the magic was directed forward, it couldn't help but bounce back onto the rest of the party, and Heero clenched his teeth hard as the lightning shivered and jolted against his metal armor.
After a long moment, it was over, and the faint smell of fried spider wafter out of the door. Quatre stood, breathing heavily, hair standing on end and eyes wild. "I. Hate. Spiders!" he panted.
"I hate chain lightning!" Wufei growled in return, gingerly trying to convince his jaw to unlock.
From the floor, Duo piped up. "Oi, everyone okay?" he said. "No more than lightly fried?" Trowa, who hadn't been wearing quite as much metal as the others, just ran one hand through his hair to dispel the static and nodded.
Quatre finally began to look sheepish. "Sorry, guys. It just sorta surprised me."
Re: World of Darkness (cont.)
Date: 2006-02-21 10:04 am (UTC)Glowering, Duo turned to Heero. "Hey, Heero! He works with dead bodies too. How come you never came down on *him* for black magic and stuff?" he wanted to know.
Heero raised one eyebrow sardonically. "If I had to say," he began, "It would probably have to do with the fact that he doesn't *flaunt* his allegiance with Dark forces the same way you do."
"I do not flaunt it!" Duo said indignantly.
Heero's gaze traveled pointedly up Duo's form, at the jet-black clothes and the bone dagger sheathed at his hip to the sun-avoidant paleness of his skin. Duo flushed, and, crossing his arms, he huffed and turned pointedly away -- but his ears stayed red. Heero's flush, concealed beneath the more tanned color of his skin, was not nearly so visible.
They traveled on, and before too long found the connecting passageway between the jail and the catacombs beneath the Inner Cloister. Why the Rogues had felt the need for easy access between the tombs and the jails, none of them really wanted to think about.
At first, Quatre was relieved to be away from the endless procession of bar walls and grating doors, at least until the first time he opened a door into a dark chamber and came face-to-mandible with a giant spider. A very giant spider. As the door opened, it chittered and started forward, pressed by the weight of the dozens of other spiders, behind it. Quatre took one look, and freaked. "AAHHHHHHH!"
Startled, the other four backed up as Quatre seemed to explode into a frenzy of electricity. Duo wisely dropped to the floor to avoid the backflow as Quatre filled the air with dozens of lightning bolts, not even waiting for one to dissipate before casting the next. Though the magic was directed forward, it couldn't help but bounce back onto the rest of the party, and Heero clenched his teeth hard as the lightning shivered and jolted against his metal armor.
After a long moment, it was over, and the faint smell of fried spider wafter out of the door. Quatre stood, breathing heavily, hair standing on end and eyes wild. "I. Hate. Spiders!" he panted.
"I hate chain lightning!" Wufei growled in return, gingerly trying to convince his jaw to unlock.
From the floor, Duo piped up. "Oi, everyone okay?" he said. "No more than lightly fried?" Trowa, who hadn't been wearing quite as much metal as the others, just ran one hand through his hair to dispel the static and nodded.
Quatre finally began to look sheepish. "Sorry, guys. It just sorta surprised me."
Re: World of Darkness (cont.)
Date: 2006-02-21 10:04 am (UTC)Cautiously, Duo scrambled to his feet, and went to peer past Quatre into the room. He whistled his appreciation. "Damn, Quat, you really did a number on them!" he said approvingly.
Heero, still feeling a bit singed around the edges, just growled wordlessly and pushed past the others, leading ahead. Blushing, Quatre fell behind, but Trowa hung back to walk with him, offering wordless approval of his actions.
They came out of the chamber into a hallway that lead off to the right, while a door was set in the wall ahead of them. Heero, in the front, opened the door, but then immediately closed it again and turned right. Curious, Duo put his hand on the door, but Heero grabbed his arm and dragged him past with no explanations. Puzzled, Trowa and Wufei exchanged glances, and Trowa opened the door just far enough to see inside while his body still blocked Quatre's view.
Inside, a group of chairs were arranged in a circle, like to prepare for some entertainment, with large torches set high to make sure the scene was well-lit. In the middle... Trowa hastily slammed the door shut, and, like Heero had done, took hold of Quatre's arm to pull him past. Neither he nor Duo needed to see that, not even if it meant taking the extra time to go around.
Finally, they found a stairway leading upwards, into the Monastery's Inner Cloister. It was completely deserted, devoid of even rats, much less monsters. The Inner Cloister consisted of a closed-in courtyard, surrounded by circular halls that echoed with every sound. At the northernmost end of the courtyard was a vast, ornate door leading into the cathedral. Faint sounds escaped through the door, the shrieking and gibbering of demons, and... something more.
"That must be the cathedral Andariel has taken over," Quatre said in a half-whisper, as though afraid sound would carry past the heavy door and alert the demons inside.
Heero snarled silently; every part of his mind was incensed at the cold mockery of Andariel, choosing the most sacred place in the Monastery to house her revelries. He put his hand on the hilt of the enchanted scepter, the one Charsi had modified for him, and felt the pulse of magic hungry for demon blood. Almost unconsciously, his aura began to glow blood red, and it quickly spread to all of his companions, filling them with energy.
Duo closed his eyes, concentrated, and chanted something in a low voice. The other warriors almost didn't hear the chant, but they definitely heard the noise that followed; a loud, distinct sucking sound as *something* pulled its way out of the floor and stood before Duo. Quatre turned to see what new creature Duo had pulled out of his hat this time, and gasped. Unlike his earthen golem, which had been formed of dirt, this monster seemed to be formed of flesh... but not into any human shape. Instead of skin, there was nothing but uncovered muscle, and an empty hole where the internal organs would be in a human. Droplets of blood constantly ran from it, but disappeared before they hit the floor.
Re: World of Darkness (cont.)
Date: 2006-02-21 10:04 am (UTC)"Oh... ew!" was all Quatre could say.
Duo looked a little pale, but proud of himself, despite the revulsion evident on the faces of his teammates. "It's not a pretty beast, but it's useful," he said quietly, actually reaching out to touch the golem. "The more damage it does, the stronger it grows. And since it shares my blood, it won't die... unless I do first."
"But isn't that dangerous?" Wufei said, profoundly disturbed.
Duo rolled his eyes, getting his breath back from the difficult casting. "Of course it is, Wufei," he said sarcastically. "But, in comparison to, say, going up against one of the lesser archdemons of Hell --"
"Let's go," Heero said abruptly, not seeming to have truly noticed to their new companion. "This is what we came here to do."
"Is everyone ready?" Trowa asked quietly, one hand on each of his wolves' heads as though communicating with them telepathically.
"As ready as we're ever gonna be, Tro-man," Duo replied, straightening and taking a firm, almost white-knuckled grip on his weapon.
"Then let's do it."
It took all five of them their combined strength to shove open the cathedral door, but once it got moving, it swung out on its own. In the wide, high-ceilinged space inside, demon heads turned all over the room to see their entrance. The spellcasters let loose, fire and lightning pouring through the doorways as curses rained down at them from overhead, blinding and weakening the demons. Heero and Wufei hung back, at first, picking off any demons who got too close and waiting for their main enemy to appear. Wufei tossed out a few firetraps, wreaking havoc into any group of monsters it landed among, but Heero just waited, face grimly set.
The cathedral, once a proud and beautiful space venerated to the Gods, was barely recognizable now. Most of the tapestries were torn down, or soiled with a thick black slime. The center open space in the room was actually sunken into the floor, seething with the sullen glow of molten rock. Demons ran back and forth in hysteria, wavering between running away from their unexpected attackers in terror and towards them in fury. Very few demons, though, got close enough through the elemental magics that were flying around to be finished off with the quick strike of a weapon. Bodies fell in heaps, to be reanimated into skeletal minions or dissolved for the health and mana the carrion vines could glean from them.
Absorbed in keeping up the assault, the warriors did not even at first notice when a pair of doors towards the back of the cathedral burst open and a towering figure stalked out. Heero was the first to see her, twice the height of any of the demons they'd fought before, form a hideous parody of a woman. Four viciously clawed
Re: World of Darkness (cont.)
Date: 2006-02-21 10:04 am (UTC)Heero broke away from the others, running like a shot across the floor between the dying lanes of fire. "Heero! What are you..." Quatre's voice trailed off as he saw what had caught Heero's attention, and his eyes got very big. "...doing. That's Andariel?"
"You go, Heero!" Duo cheered, eying the towering demoness nervously. "Hit her in the kneecap!"
As Heero approached the demoness, she drew back slightly, and opened her mouth to speak. Instead of words, however, all that came out was an infernal hiss and a cloud of vile poison that caught Heero by surprise. He turned green and stumbled backwards; fortunately, some of Duo's summoned creatures were nearby, and at a shouted command from their master, they mindlessly threw themselves at Andariel. A single blow from one of her claws shattered them into pieces, but that gave Heero time to recover.
He charged in again, holding the enchanted scepter ready to strike, seemingly oblivious to the monsters that were closing in at his back. The other four worked their way across the chamber as fast as the could to support him, Duo spending all his energy to call up new undead minions to support them. They might not be much use against Andariel, but they could at least clear out the smaller demons and protect their backs while they concentrated on the larger threat.
The warriors cautiously surrounded Andariel, dodging clear whenever she turned on them spewing poison. Trowa tried another Arctic Blast, to freeze her or at least slow her as he had done to the Smith, but she shrugged it off with no effect. Duo cast his strongest poison spell, but it was just as useless as Wufei's metal claws, which practically ricocheted off of Andariel's demon hide. The only thing which seemed to do damage was the enchanted scepter, which flashed white light despite the fact that what dim light was available in the dank room was a sooty red. Where the weapon struck her, Andariel shrieked and recoiled, and retaliated with another blast of noxious vapors.
The first few times Heero was caught by the poison cloud, he took a precious second to quaff an antidote potion, but before long he was running out. Steeling his determination, he decided he would wait and take the antidote only after he knew he wouldn't be infected again. The poison quickly sapped his strength, so he redoubled the speed and fury of his attack.
Changing tactics, the others gave up on hurting Andariel and resorted to distracting her, keeping her deadly claws away from the real source of danger, Heero. One of Duo's spells finally managed to catch hold, a vicious curse that reflected damage back onto the demoness every time she managed to land a hit in.
Re: World of Darkness (cont.)
Date: 2006-02-21 10:04 am (UTC)At last, everything fell quiet once more, and they cautiously looked up again. Wufei breathed a silent sigh of relief; he had not been entirely sure that the cathedral wouldn't collapse around them. Trowa, who had been standing next to Quatre when Andariel died, had wrapped his arms around the slender mage to protect him from falling blocks; for a moment, they just stood there, before Trowa seemed to realize what he had done and broke away with an uncharacteristic blush.
Duo, however, missed out on this wonderful blackmail material, hovering at Heero's side as the Paladin struggled to get his breath back. He solicitously offered healing potions and encouraging chatter, the latter of which was ignored, and Wufei shook his head in exasperation. As though we didn't have more pressing concerns, he thought irritably.
A portal flickered to life above the quickly disintegrating remains of the demoness, and Quatre saw the by-now-familiar shapes of the Rogue Encampment through it.
"At least we don't have to walk back through that wretched dungeon," he said with relief. "Let's get out of here."
"Not yet, Quatre!" Duo said protestingly.
"Why not?" Quatre demanded. "We've killed Andariel. What is there left for us to do here?"
"Well, for starters, this was where Andariel was camping out, right? Which means... there's gotta be some serious treasure here!"
Heero, apparently, had recovered enough to growl. Trowa sighed and shook his head. "Somewhere along the line, Duo, you're going to have to get your priorities in order," he said.
"They are!" Duo insisted defensively. "Clear out the Monastery: check. Kill Her Bitchiness Andariel: check. Locate all available loot is next on the list..."
"Where does 'rid the world of evil' fall on that list?" Wufei asked dryly.
"Somewhere after get a good meal and a good night's sleep," Duo replied promptly.
Re: World of Darkness (cont.)
Date: 2006-02-21 10:04 am (UTC)At last, everything fell quiet once more, and they cautiously looked up again. Wufei breathed a silent sigh of relief; he had not been entirely sure that the cathedral wouldn't collapse around them. Trowa, who had been standing next to Quatre when Andariel died, had wrapped his arms around the slender mage to protect him from falling blocks; for a moment, they just stood there, before Trowa seemed to realize what he had done and broke away with an uncharacteristic blush.
Duo, however, missed out on this wonderful blackmail material, hovering at Heero's side as the Paladin struggled to get his breath back. He solicitously offered healing potions and encouraging chatter, the latter of which was ignored, and Wufei shook his head in exasperation. As though we didn't have more pressing concerns, he thought irritably.
A portal flickered to life above the quickly disintegrating remains of the demoness, and Quatre saw the by-now-familiar shapes of the Rogue Encampment through it.
"At least we don't have to walk back through that wretched dungeon," he said with relief. "Let's get out of here."
"Not yet, Quatre!" Duo said protestingly.
"Why not?" Quatre demanded. "We've killed Andariel. What is there left for us to do here?"
"Well, for starters, this was where Andariel was camping out, right? Which means... there's gotta be some serious treasure here!"
Heero, apparently, had recovered enough to growl. Trowa sighed and shook his head. "Somewhere along the line, Duo, you're going to have to get your priorities in order," he said.
"They are!" Duo insisted defensively. "Clear out the Monastery: check. Kill Her Bitchiness Andariel: check. Locate all available loot is next on the list..."
"Where does 'rid the world of evil' fall on that list?" Wufei asked dryly.
"Somewhere after get a good meal and a good night's sleep," Duo replied promptly.
Re: World of Darkness (cont.)
Date: 2006-02-21 10:04 am (UTC)As it turned out, Andariel had indeed collected a great deal of treasure during her occupation of the Monastery; gold, jewels, and fine-crafted weapons in abundance. Heero found a new, ornate scepter to replace his old one; after Andariel had vanished, the weapon had sizzled and corroded almost into uselessness, its magic spent. By common consent, or at least by majority vote, they agreed to leave the majority of the wealth to the Rogues, so that they could begin to rebuild, and take only what they could easily carry to Lut Gholein. Warriv, the caravan master, was more than anxious to get going after such a long wait, but he agreed to wait one more day for the warriors to rest and say their goodbyes.
The Rogues were overjoyed at the news. Charsi actually risked life and limb to give each of them an exuberant hug; only the fact that her weapon had made their victory possible restrained Heero from taking her head off for the unexpected embrace. Even Kashya approached them to say their goodbyes, and, reluctantly, she admitted that maybe they weren't so bad after all. For outsiders, that is.
Deckard Cain had decided to accompany them. "You'll need my wisdom for the trials ahead," he had pointed out. "After all, you may have defeated Andariel, but she was but a Lesser Evil in the hierarchy of Hell. In order to face the three Prime Evils, you will need not only strength and skill, but courage, determination, and cunning... not to mention the Gods' own luck."
"You're so encouraging," Duo told him as the wagons rumbled out of the Encampment.
~tbc~
[1] since diamonds raise resistances, I attribute this to the diamond lodged up his butt... ^_^
[2] Figuratively.
[3] No shit, Sherlock!
[4] Those of you who have played the game should be groaning about now.
[5] I always thought this was a singularly stupid thing to do. Who did he think he was? Tal Rasha?
[6] See footnote 3.
[7] In other words, she's one ugly mutha.
Re: World of Darkness (notes.)
Date: 2006-02-21 10:05 am (UTC)It was hot.9 It was always hot, waves of unrelenting, unnatural heat that seared the air. He had stopped talking to himself, keeping his mouth closed to defend against the searing heat that threatened to dry his body out past the point of no return. The only water was in the mystical pool that opened an eye onto the world above, and that was as flat and smooth as mercury. That link to the real world was the only thing that kept Quatre sane; he watched it all the time, except when his eyes slipped shut from exhaustion.
Inhuman creatures came and went; sometimes he sensed more than one of them, talking or maybe arguing in earth-rending voices. He had no idea why the demon hadn't just killed him, but he made sure to stay quiet and out of the way, not wanting the demon to rectify that fact. He stayed hidden in a quiet corner, keeping his eyes on the portal. With all his soul, he hated the forces that kept him here. Not only was he trapped in this infernal place without food or water, but worse yet, he was away from his friends, unable to talk them or help them against the dangers they faced.
The mirror that let him watch them was his only comfort. Unbidden, a small smile flittered over his face as he looked down into the image; Heero, Wufei, Duo -- and all accompanying undead -- Trowa... He missed them, he knew they missed him, but they hadn't let it deter them. They had kept on fighting even without him. They were coming.
In the image, only slightly wavery, Trowa and the others were crossing a stone bridge over some glowing backdrop. They approached a blood-red portal, not unlike the ones from the Arcane Sanctuary... and then, without warning, the image went dark.
Quatre sat up abruptly, out of the unobtrusive pose he had drawn himself into. No. That wasn't possible. That just wasn't possible! The scrying spell had been cast by Diablo, himself... the only reason Quatre could possibly think of that it would suddenly cut out, was if the targets had ceased to exist...
"NO!" he cried out, voice hoarse and dry. "NOOO!" He jumped to his feet and, without a thought, ran over to the scrying pool to confirm his horrible suspicion. It
Re: World of Darkness (notes.)
Date: 2006-02-21 10:05 am (UTC)It was hot.9 It was always hot, waves of unrelenting, unnatural heat that seared the air. He had stopped talking to himself, keeping his mouth closed to defend against the searing heat that threatened to dry his body out past the point of no return. The only water was in the mystical pool that opened an eye onto the world above, and that was as flat and smooth as mercury. That link to the real world was the only thing that kept Quatre sane; he watched it all the time, except when his eyes slipped shut from exhaustion.
Inhuman creatures came and went; sometimes he sensed more than one of them, talking or maybe arguing in earth-rending voices. He had no idea why the demon hadn't just killed him, but he made sure to stay quiet and out of the way, not wanting the demon to rectify that fact. He stayed hidden in a quiet corner, keeping his eyes on the portal. With all his soul, he hated the forces that kept him here. Not only was he trapped in this infernal place without food or water, but worse yet, he was away from his friends, unable to talk them or help them against the dangers they faced.
The mirror that let him watch them was his only comfort. Unbidden, a small smile flittered over his face as he looked down into the image; Heero, Wufei, Duo -- and all accompanying undead -- Trowa... He missed them, he knew they missed him, but they hadn't let it deter them. They had kept on fighting even without him. They were coming.
In the image, only slightly wavery, Trowa and the others were crossing a stone bridge over some glowing backdrop. They approached a blood-red portal, not unlike the ones from the Arcane Sanctuary... and then, without warning, the image went dark.
Quatre sat up abruptly, out of the unobtrusive pose he had drawn himself into. No. That wasn't possible. That just wasn't possible! The scrying spell had been cast by Diablo, himself... the only reason Quatre could possibly think of that it would suddenly cut out, was if the targets had ceased to exist...
"NO!" he cried out, voice hoarse and dry. "NOOO!" He jumped to his feet and, without a thought, ran over to the scrying pool to confirm his horrible suspicion. It
Re: World of Darkness (notes.)
Date: 2006-02-21 10:05 am (UTC)An inhumanly strong grip grabbed him away from the pool, and he found himself being thrown into a narrow, hanging cage, like the garret that Deckard Cain had been imprisoned in. There was more of the mind-numbing voices, and then suddenly the cage was moving, out of the profane temple they'd been in and onto a flat, black plain.
Stunned, Quatre collapsed to the bottom of the cage, days of weakness catching up to him. As the last one left, he knew it was up to him to somehow escape and finish the job, but he couldn't make himself care.
Trowa would not be coming any more.
Re: World of Darkness (notes.)
Date: 2006-02-21 10:06 am (UTC)When they stepped through the portal, Heero braced himself for the worst. He didn't know what he would find on the other side; given the portal's nature and origins, he wouldn't have been surprised if it had dumped them right at the feet of the Hellforge.
"So this is Hell," Heero mused, looking around at the serene white walls. "Or at least, the gateway there. This is the last bastion of the forces of Light before the
Darkness sets in..."
"What are we waiting for?" Trowa's ragged voice cut across his contemplations, and he turned to see Trowa standing beside him. The Druid's grip was bloodlessly tight on the hilt of his weapons, and his single visible eye brimmed over with anguish. "Quatre's out there somewhere, we have to go and find him! It might already be too late!"
"Calm down, Trowa," Wufei advised him. "We can't just go charging out there blindly, with idea what to expect. We'll be able to find Quatre much more quickly if we know where we're going. Duo is over there talking to Tyreal now," he said, nodding up the shallow stairs to where the Archangel floated.
There is a dark tortured soul who was trapped within this forsaken realm long ago. He was called Izual by mortal men, and in ages past he was my most trusted Lieutenant.
Yet, against my wishes he led and ill fated assault upon the fiery Hellforge itself.
Despite his valor and strength, Izual was captured by the Prime Evils and twisted by their perverse power. They forced him to betray his own kind and give up Heaven’s most guarded secrets. He became a corrupt shadow of his former self - a fallen angel trusted neither by Heaven nor Hell.
For his transgressions, Izual’s spirit was bound within the form of a terrible creature which was summoned from the Abyss. His maddened spirit has resided within that tortured husk for many ages now.
It seems to me that he has suffered long enough. I implore you, hero, find Izual and release him from his cruel imprisonment.
Put an end to his guilt and suffering.
As though prompted by the mention of his name, the braided Necromancer's voice rang out against the white marble walls. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN I HAVE TO PAY YOU?" he shrieked. "YOU'RE AN ANGEL!"
It was difficult to tell in the faceless shadows of the Archangel's hood, but Heero though Tyreal looked uncomfortable. "These lightning wings don't light themselves up, you know," he said defensively. "Do you have any idea what my electricity bill is like?"