The Chronicles of Mustard Man Mcgee

[Mustardmanmcgee]

-|The Chronicles of Mustard Man McGee|-
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THE Thread rule ~

Do not post on this thread please.


The only exception to this is askmax's post. Which was the
FIRST EVER post to violate the only rule. Thus it stands as a
Reminder to all of you to not post.

Keeping this sole rule in mind, enjoy the fruits of my labor!

Thank you for reading.

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|Chronicle One ~ The End of Dragongarde|
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Prologue & Introduction
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I finally find it time to recall the tales of my long youth. As my memory remains fresh of these events, I find need to salvage what little bits of them still remain before my colorful past blurs and fades into the blackest, unreachable corners of my memories. Thus it begins, the story of the man some know as Mustardman.

"Creeeaaaak........" Squealed the door, as a short, sloppily dressed man opened it wide, and stared down with eyes of irrational fury at the wretchedly filthy boy lying at his molding wooden stairs. With one cruel kick to the boys fleshy stomach, he was thrown off the ballistic man's front doorstep, and onto the dirt road.

Unexpectantly awaking from his dozing slumber, this boy rolled, and wriggled in the dust as he moaned in pain from the horrific blow, meanwhile the short tempered man hollered curses after the boys mangy hide,

"Get out of here you gutter rat! You wretch! Go find some other mans door to drag your flea riddled hide to! I ought to string you up and beat you for this!" Shouted the man as the boy helplessly writhed in the dust.

Painfully drawing himself up out of the dust cloud where he rolled in agony, the boy began to slowly limp down the street, and out of the shoddy town.

This boy is the person of whom I speak, he is Mustard Man McGee. An unfortunate orphan, forced to walk the streets of poverty ever since he was a small lad. The reason for this, was because of his stark yellow hair.

You see, his parents were traveling gypsies, that barely scraped by, showing the insolent townspeople cheap tricks with slight traces of the arcane. However, when Mustard Man McGee was born, he stood out from the rest. Why, you ask? Because of his bleached yellow hair.

Around the places that his parents grew up in, abnormalities like this were thought to be caused by demons, or evil spirits. So thinking that he was a possessed incarnate of the devil himself, they left him to die on the roadside, and spared no provision for his safe keeping.

This unlucky boy, was at this time, traveling in desolate poverty, and unawares of the effects, for better or for worse, that he would have on the multiverse.

 

[Mustardmanmcgee]

Chapter 1

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Upheaval in the marketplace
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"We want nothing that you have to sell boy" said the craven faced women as she stood over me with false authority, though I could tell, she was but a hag with a major back problem "So stop bugging me before I get the sheriff to drag you off to a cold cell."

Then, with little ease In her hips, she turned, and stormed off, in the most illiteral sense, mumbling under her foul breath,

"Little brats trying to sell me flowers eh, what a little thief. He knows wars are going on, he knows the economy has gone to hell, yet he tries to sell me a flower......" As the women's voice trailed off, and a final, "Ouch! Blast, my poor back...." From the old hag sent me off, I turned, and slowly trudged off down the godforsaken streets of that unforgiving city.

Walking along the gravel road, I eventually found myself walking the streets of the market district. The different odors of dozens of products hung and clung to the streets, and wafted about that place like a swampy fog, although un-perceivable to the eye, it was clear to the nose not what it was composed of, but the fact that it was there was clear and absolute.

With this smell, came the ringing hollers of shop clerks and merchants from distant lands bearing gifts of fish, cloth, spices, garments, precious stones and metals, meats, swords and weaponry, and so much more for the townsfolk to buy, that even if I try my hardest to recall all that I saw, many times my words to reality would fall short.

Suddenly to my left I heard a bellowing voice that somehow rang louder and clearer than the drone of the crowd around me, it said,

"You, boy, over there, come, come! I bear gifts for you!" Said the man as he beckoned towards me holding forth baskets brimming with the brightest fruits and vegetables, which looked more delicious than any I had seen prior. (Please note that I had probably never seen very many fruits or vegetables when I was at this age)

The man, as I can recall, was a jolly looking fellow, with an equally jolly looking belly, that looked as if it had a life filled with ease and comfort. And his face, plastered upon it was the widest and happiest smile that a man could possibly muster. It stretched from cheek to cheek on his round, chubby face.

Hesitating, I looked behind me, expecting a much more wealthy and worthy applicate to step forward and receive his gifts, but as I looked back, not seeing anyone who stopped to take up his offer, I turned around to look at the man once more, who I saw patiently smiling at me, as he further beckoned toward me.

Pointing at my chest with a look of absolute bewilderment, I silently asked him if he meant me. In response, the jolly man called out,

"Yes you, come on over young lad! Before the rain makes your clothes sopping wet!" As he said this, I suddenly felt a drop of rain hot my forehead, then dance down the curve of my face to collect at the very tip of my nose, and finally drip off onto the dirt road underfoot.

Looking down, then up, I began to see a steady shower of rain fall down from the sky and pitter-patter around me. Covering my ears with my course leather hat, I darted into the tent where the happy man stood waiting for me. Now sheltered from the rain, I took my hat off of my head and breathed a sigh of relief, then looked up to see the grinning man hold a piece of fruit with an outstretched arm towards me, as he said,

"Eat! Eat! This one is on me, free sample! Don't be shy now, have a bite!" Once more, I stood bewildered at the man's kindness, and not until he urged me a second time, did I break free of my trance, then timidly take the fruit from his hand, and hold it in mine,

"Don't be shy, take a bite, tell me how it tastes boy!" Pausing just a little longer, I slowly brought the piece of shiny fruit to my lips, and let my teeth sink into its soft outer skin. Immediately my mouth was filled with the strong aroma and taste of pure bliss, as I sank my teeth even further into the fruit, and then ripped out a hunk of the heavenly tasting fruit.

At first I chewed slowly, gaining speed and ferocity in each bite, and began to eat it faster until I was ravenously ripping out huge hunks of the large fruit and gulping them down whole, with little concern for taste at all, like some wild beast.

Losing all perception of my surrounding, I became enraptured by the fruit, and gave all my concern towards eating it. Suddenly a firm grip stopped my arm from letting my mouth take another bite. Looking up in surprise, I saw the once happy man with a diminishing frown on his face that stared at me and hurt my soul at the very sight,

"Boy!" Barked the now menacing man, "What do you think you are doing?!? You thought you could snitch a fruit under my nose like that! Why, if you don't pay me double what that fruit costs right now, I will call the guard on you!" Not realizing I had just been duped by the vile business man, I looked down at the ground in shame for a few second, before the man barked once more at me,

"Well, where's the money?? I swear to Kainzo above, if I don't have 5 coins in my hand within the next few seconds, I'm going to have the guards drag you off to your own cell!"

Looking up at him with a shocked face, I reached into my pocket with little happiness put into the motion at all, and pulled out 5 coins, my very last scraps of change I had to buy food with. Then reaching out to the man who now had an expression that defined the term greed, I prepared to drop the coins into the man's hand.

However, before I could do so, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a silhouette swiftly slip under the tent, sneak up to the table upon which the man held his goods, then noisily nab a basket brimming with goods. Hearing all of this, the shop keeper turned around just in time to see the small figure dart underneath the tent and slip away,

"Thief!" Shrieked the man as he clutched his round polished face with his free hand, "He just made off with my finest herbs and foods! Guards, guards!" Cried the man,"Someone go after him!"

During the uproar, the man lessened his grip on my wrist. So quickly withdrawing my coin bearing arm from the man, I twisted my wrist out of the man's grip, and slipped under the tent in a similar fashion to the thief.

Emerging on the other side of the colorful tent, I heard even more fanatic shrieks from the man in panic, as he hollered curses after me and screamed at the top of his pitchy voice for the guards to come to his aid.

Not knowing where to go know, or how to escape the enraged merchant, I spied the thief round a corned, and made off after him. Turning into the trashy alleyway, I was just in time to see the boy reach the top of a tall fence, then vault over it with certain expertise.

Hearing the sound off footsteps approaching with rapidly increasing pace from close behind me, and gaining speed at that, I quickly did as the thief had done and followed him down a complicated series of passages, tunnels, and secret alleyways, until I came to an area completely enclosed on all sides by the backs of houses. With no windows facing into the small clearing, I recognized the fact that it made an excellent thief nest.

Peering into the darkest corner of the clearing, I saw a small hut composed of bits of this and that and draped over with some cheap looking blackish brownish tarp. Walking towards it, I leaned down and looked through the small entryway, to see the figure crouching there, gnawing on the goods from the basket.

Now curious, I entered the small hut to see a small boy look back in surprise at me.

After a second, his expression faded into relief as he realized I was neither the shop keeper nor a guard, but the boy who was being cheated out of his money,

"Nice little hide out, dontchya think?" Said the boy with a friendly look on his face,

"Umm... I'm sorry, who are you..? I followed you to escape the angry merchant." Said I,

"Oh me?" Said the boy, "My name is Ultnachopony. Pleased to meet you!" Said the boy with a grin on his face.

 

[Mustardmanmcgee]

Chapter 2

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Stealing stuff makes friends
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"Uhhhmmm..."

Said I as I stared at the boy, a little lost for words, yet unable to uncover why.... Suddenly slicing the silence with his quick tongue, Ult's voice chimed outwards to greet I, saying,

"While we're doing introductions, what's your name?"

Still unable to speak back to the young boy I faced, I stood there, with my mouth slowly opening and closing, creating such a display of stupidity never before experienced before,

"You don't have a name?" Said Ult

Then, suddenly regaining my wit, I nodded back to him in a very exaggerated, and slow way that proved myself to be somewhat intelligent, but disproved any chance of extraordinary wit,

"Well" Responded Ult "If you don't have one... I'll make you one!"

Looking up at my head of raggedy blond dreadlocks, entwined with dirt and speckled with gravel, Ult, now cracking a smile and attempting to hold back his laughter, said,

"I know!" Said Ult as he attempted to stifle his laughter "Your name should be Mustard! Nice name idnt it?"

Looking shocked, I took a step back, but then began to show hints of a hidden smile as I burst out with laughter. Ult then joined me, and fell over as he was overtaken by joy. Laughing and hooting hysterically, the two of us collapsed side by side, as we rolled in the dust throwing fits of mad laughter and causing that whole area to be filled with the sounds of overpowering joy, and echoes of overbearing optimism and happiness.

After several long minutes we calmed down, and lay side by side in the dirt,

"Mustard..." Said the previously un-named boy "I like it!"

"Mhm!" Chimed in Ult excitedly.

Suddenly sitting up, Ult said with a broad grin,

"Want some food? I stole plenty from old fat face back there."

"Groowwlll...." Groaned my stomach in response,

"I guess that's a yes?" Chuckled Ult happily.

Reaching then into the tent, he pulled out the basket he had slyly nabbed from the overweight shopkeeper. It was stuffed with fresh and particularly delicious smelling, and looking foods. Positioning my nose between the basket and the sky above, I took a long sniff, and instantaneously had my nose filled with a multitude of aromas, some which would seem to be: comfort, happiness, and unmistakeable warmth. So powerful were these smells, that they motivated me to reach into the large basket, and pull out a marvelously bendy and twisted culinary concoction made of what seemed to be baked and salted bread.

Now taking a bite into said food, I was filled with strength and happiness as I voraciously wolf down the large treat like some massive glutinous beast. And afterwards, proceeded to lick my fingers repeatedly until I could no longer taste the delicious seasoning salt on my palms and finger tips.

Patting my surprisingly sated belly, I contentedly sat back and let my head relax and fall back to look at the wispy clouds lazily drifting about in the sky. The rain had stopped without me even being aware of such a change. And taking the place of that dreary host of raindrops, were clouds, massive and drifting across the sky like heavenly airships. Shrouded in the late light of the day, these tufts of air were painted over and lined with gold and yellow hued stripes of magnificent color.

Sitting straight up again, I witnessed Ult lazily lying about on the ground nibbling a fruit,

"Hey Mustard" Addressed Ult suddenly "Have you ever had a friend?"

"What's that?" I answered with a deeply puzzled look on my face,

"Well" Responded Ult "Friends are.... are... Uhmm... It's kinda hard to explain."

"Try me." Said I with a grin,

"Friends are.. Well for an example, they give each other names, and good tasting food." Said Ult as he sat up. His face had a wide smile on it as wind entered the small clearing, and whipped his brown hair about his head,

"Does that make us friends?" I said, already half expecting his answer,

"I guess so." Answered Ult calmly as he sat back again, letting a lazy and blissful silence ensue once more descend upon that clearing. The only voices that sounded in that place were the hushed and slow whispers of the wind, who speaks in tongues far too old and cryptic for the modern multiverse dweller to ever fathom, and the steady chirping of a bird from some location that was undetectable.


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"What's it like to steal something?" I asked, breaking the silence,

"It gives you a surge of energy, and you feel absolutely awesome, it's really fun." Answered Ult in response "Have you never tried it?"

"I don't know how to, and I was always scared I might get caught." I said shyly,

"Well, I can show you how. Want to try grabbing some more food? I have a great plan." Then not even giving me an option, Ult jumped up excitedly and said follow me! I know how to get out of this place and into the market area easily!"

Seeing Ult run down the nearest alleyway, I saw him round a corner before I chased after him. Turning the corner The boy looked down another alleyway, except this one was sloped and led to a dead end. Thinking I had lost the trail to his friend, I stood there, wondering what to do next, until a voice said,

"Behind you!"

I turned just in time to see two legs vanish under a second trash pile at the end of a very short and narrow alleyway. I ran towards the trash, and dived straight in, but was surprised to find himself in what seemed to be a small cavity structure made out of trash. At the wall of this cavity, I saw a small drainage pipe that was just big enough for someone his size to squeeze through. Although it had bars, or more accurately, used to have bars, they were now corroded stubs that did little more than cause oneself mild discomfort as he entered. Traversing the small decayed drainage pipe, I eventually reached the end to find myself under massive stone tower comprised of molding stone, and the roof of a short house looming below me at a drop of nearly 3 yards. Looking around and along the wall I desperately searched for a way down as Ult disappeared from view, running and sliding down the slopes of roofs with an air of swiftness and acrobatics I had never seen in someone my age at the time. Then, out of the corner of my eye I saw it. Hidden holds were etched into the stone that would allow someone small and agile to slip down to the roofs below with ease. Gripping the drainage pipe I had come out of, I slipped out of the drainage pipe and swung myself to the left using the momentum. And then let go, expecting my hand to grab hold of the small alcove in the mossy stone any second,

"For the love of Kainzo..." I muttered under my breath.

For I had just been enlightened to the devastating fact that I had underestimated the jump by nearly 2 feet. Looking downwards at the horrid fall that awaited me below, I was instantly acquainted with terrible consequences that I had to endure for my actions.

I was falling.....

Falling and going to miss the edge of the roof I wanted to land on.....

Suddenly reverting back to my automatic primal instincts I dug my calloused fingers deep into the wall I was falling beside, and drug my fingers over the stone looking for a gripping point, as though I had claws like some wild beast from the Farlands. The burning sensation on the tips of my fingers felt like my skin and very bones were being ground into the wall as I fell, slathering some sick and bloody picture of torment on the stone as I passed. I couldn't take it anymore. I retreated my burning hands from my stone adversary I had attempted to stand up to, and accepted my fate that had been forced violently thrusted into my arms.

I was going to die.

 

[Mustardmanmcgee]

Chapter 3

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Solon the cloaked wanderer
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"Shinnk!" Cried a scythe as is graced the flesh on the zombies neck, leaving in its wake a deep gash, that left the creature stupidly pacing backwards,

"GraaagshaaAAAAA." Moaned the corrupted soul, as it stumbled about clumsily, clutching its neck which now spewed forth a foul smelling green liquid,

"I have you now you little bugger..." Mumbled a cloaked figure as he drew his scythe back, and with one fluid motion, lobbed off the creature's molding head, then sidestepped the headless fumbling corpse and swung his scythe under-handed to deliver a finishing blow, piercing the creatures heart, one of the few weak spots on a zombie known to the living folk.

Drawing his blade, which now was the only thing holding the rotting corpse up, out of the zombies back, the body fell forwards, landing in the dust and spewing out of it's stub of a neck, more putrid liquid, which drained in a puddle at the man' feet,

"Doesn't matter how many times I do it" said the man as he cautiously backed away from the puddle of green goo "It's still disgusting..."

Then turning around to face the full moon beaming bright,
from its gentle grace be begifted to this man, a pale blue light,
which shrouds the deep woods, and all in sight.

Entranced by this moon which pulsed down unto him, streams of silvery light, which though man can scarcely see with, is more than enticing for the souls of this world. The man stood on his stubby hill, ostracized from the rest of the forest, and admired that bastion of nightly light that stands alone in the dark midnight sky. Suddenly breaking the blissful silence, came the voices of more of what he had just slayed. Monstrosities of creatures, with twisted black hearts that feed on the flesh of man,

"Graaaeegh..." Came a host of dreary voices from deep within the woods, quiet, yet unsettling... Then suddenly, all hell seemed to break loose as the clinking of swords, chattering of skeletons, and blood chilling, fell shrieks of spiders resounded in the forest and made one horrific chorus of malicious thirst of vengeance for reasons lost to time, and longing for a taste of the blood of living flesh,

"I think I have overstayed my welcome." Mumbled the hooded man hurriedly as he hastily broke camp, extinguished his fire, and saddling his horse

"rrrRRRRAAAEEEGHHHEEEKK!" Came the screams of the tormented once more. Closer... Closer! Come the cries of the dead and antagonized! They live to drink the blood of human souls.....

"Looks like your friends are here.. " said the man drearily as he glanced towards the beheaded zombie, that lie in it's final resting place, beside the man, atop that hill. A lone hill in the middle of that dense wood, secluded haven now intruded by the wails of the dead, who through hate and envy of the living alone, live in agony..

Throwing his belongings onto his small wagon pulled by his steed, he deftly mounted the horse and cried out,

"Ya! Ya! Run Maxos, lest we be devoured by the dead!" Lurching forward, the horse responded to his master's will and speedily started up to a fast trot,

"Graaagshaaaaeeiiikk!!" Cried the tormented souls as they breached the edge of the clearing, bursting out in choruses of horrid screams of blood lust. Turning around to see them charge at bone shivering speeds, nearly matching those of his own horse, the man looked forwards once more, and urged his horse to run faster. Leading this charge of twisted creatures, was a row of spider jockeys. These horrid beings are spiders who have bent to the will of skeletons, and now accepting them as their master, let these heralds of death ride on their backs. Lagging slightly behind the crowd was a platoon of literally, the walking dead. Zombies. The corpses of the dead, infused with the malicious souls of those lacking peace in the afterlife.

Swerving his steed onto the cracked stone path, riddled and split through with mossy roots, he leapt backwards off his horse to land on his small wagon, and yelled,

Follow the path Maxos!" The man shouted back to the horse over the howl of the furious gale that whipped about him "The reigns are yours now! Get us out of this foul wood!"

Snorting loudly in response, the horse lowered its head and galloped faster along the beaten path in response to his master's command.

The man knew he could trust the horse to guide him, for this was not the first occurrence of such an occasion. Breathing out a sigh of relief, he drew his scythe from his side, and nimbly slipped it into his fingers, with intent to strike the incoming spider jockeys which bounded forward. Crouching down into a defensive stance, he whispered the words of a cryptic text into his free hand. Dancing to life, a spell was kindled in on his finger tips, which now flickered in his hand.

Suddenly the skeleton leading the bounding charge, chattered out an order to his cohorts, which all responded to by drawing out an arrow from their quivers, and nooking it in the shafts of their rusted bows. Their bows noisily creaked as they drew back their rusted drawstrings to full power, arrows pointing straight at the man,

"Left Maxos!" The man shouted to his horse.

Responding speedily, the horse swerved out of the way, just as their volley broke loose, allowing the both of them to dodge all the arrows, save one that flew straight towards the man's grim visage. Bending low, he raised his scythe just in time to his cover his head, and bend the arrows path. Sparks flew above the cloaked man's head as the arrow grinded across the metal surface of his blade, illuminating the floor of the wagon on which he stood, and exciting the scythe to life, and making a shimmer of purple light break loose from his weapon,

"SCREEeeiii!!" Screeched a spider suddenly, as it leapt through the air with little warning, and landed at the very back of the wagon. Chittering furiously, this hairy monstrosity stood there with its gaping maw opening and closing, dripping venom from its horrid fangs that sizzled as it dripped to the floor of the wooden wagon. Suddenly it leapt forwards, hairy legs outstretched, eager, thirsting for the kill. The skeleton also in unison, drew his corroded sword from his sheath, and prepared for a cohesive, coordinated attack with his spider.

Responding to this attack, the man clenched his hand that held his spell closed, and slid under the spider, deftly slitting the spider's head in between the eyes, and then opened the palm of his spell hand, releasing his arcane attack. Suddenly from both side of the wagon, roots burst forth from the earth, capturing the deceased spider in a vice grip, and binding the legs of the skeleton. Now captured, the skeleton chattered furiously as he disappeared into the mist of the forest. Panting slightly the man looked up, and to his surprise, found all the remaining spider jockeys missing.

Knowing now through vast experience, the man didn't let his guard down but instead, heightened it even further, expecting an incoming sneak attack at any moment.

.................................................

For once, the man made the mistake of lowering his guard slightly, and muttered

"Did they actually leave..?

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"ScreeerrRRRRREEEGNNAAAAKKK!!" Screamed a spider, as it leaped from the bough of a passing tree, and toppled the man to the floor of the wagon. Barely raising the shaft of his scythe on time with one hand to block the spiders fangs, he fell to the ground, with his scythe the only thing stopping the massive fangs of the spider from ripping his face in two. Chittering angrily the spider continuously attempted to bite through the wooden shaft, and into the man's flesh, as the man conjured a second spell in his right hand. Suddenly growing out from his hand, an ice spike shot out of his palm, and impaled the spider through the abdominal. Shrieking with a long high pitched cry of pain, the spider reared, releasing the man, and stumbling about foolishly until it fell off the side of the wagon.

Then seemingly out of nowhere, from his right, left, front, and back, spiders leapt out from the branches of the forest and surrounded him. Swaying from side to side, the spiders stood still as the skeletons drew their rusted blades, and slashed at the man all at the same moment...

"ENOUGH!"

Bellowed the man with a booming voice of dominance. Looking at each of the beasts before him in turn, his eyes began to shimmer and spark to life a brighter light than any found in the heavens. So compelling and aweful was his speech and air of authority, that the skeletons hesitated their attack, and the spiders faltered,

"I have studied with the noblest! Dined with the highest! I knew each and every one of you when you were living souls as I live this very day! I WAS THERE AT THE DAWN OF ZEAL AND SHALL LIVE UNTIL THE END OF THIS ONE! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO STEAL MY BREATH FROM ME ON THIS DAY....."

"I AM SOLON."

Dancing about and around him, out from his face and body, an aura of gleaming white light shone from his body and scythe, flooding the murky forest with a holy light. Suddenly bursting into an inferno, the creatures of night flung themselves off of the wagon, and crawled through the dust attempting to quench the holy flames that plagued them. Raising his furious gaze after these pathetic creatures, he stared into their black hearts with eyes of a burning hell, raging and vengeful, yet holy and cleansing; and decided to end their suffering. He raised his hand, and from his palm leapt forth numerous beams of light, which shot out to pierce the chests of the skeletons and spiders, and make them cease their pitiful struggle for survival.

Withdrawing his hand, the light about him ceased to shine, leaving him stumbling about clumsily and clutching his head as he struggled for consciousness, like some common drunkard. Then losing his grip on reality, he fell backwards.

And everything went...

Black.

(This place was just to perfect to stop for this chapter. Gonna release another one this Saturday/Sunday! Think of this chapter as an intro to the chapter I will hopefully release tomorrow.)

 

[askmax]

Thread views : 61
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lol

 

[Mustardmanmcgee]

Chapter 4

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The Road to Ferestoc
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"Solon... SOLON.... Solooon... Solon..." Resounded several whispery voices from every direction,

"Where... Am I..? I-I... I cannot speak.... All I see is.... Is... darkness." Thought Solon to himself,

"Do not worry.. Solon the WISE...."

Whispered a single voice mockingly. Though it was one voice, it seemed to fade, split, and morph constantly, making it seem to be the jumbled up, frantic whispers of hundreds at one moment, then a lone slithery voice the next,

"You do not have to speak to be heard.. By me.." Said the mysterious disembodied voice, suddenly trailing off into hundreds of sub-voices, which all hung to the air and lingered about in the farthest reaches of the darkness.... Until all slowly crescendo-ed in volume and fazed once more into a single voice to speak,

"Shhhh.... Do not bother thinking, or even speaking... For I know what you are about to say, or what you might say, or possibly what you will say. There are hundreds of possibilities.. Though it seems the most likely is, ' Who are you? '....... However, before I answer, it may be better to ponder the question the question.."

"Who.."

"Are.."

"YOU.. Solon the wise..?" Interrogated the voice,

"I.... I.... I am...." Stuttered Solon at a loss for words,

"Well.." Sighed the voice in obvious discontent "I must be off... Expect to see me again."

"Solon."

.......................................

Suddenly opening his eyes, Solon sat bolt upright, and gasped fanatically in an attempt to fill his breast with a breath of wind. For a few moments, he looked around himself wildly unsure, and unable to remember anything of who he was or what he had done.

Feeling the floor of the wagon, then turning towards the sun, his memories of the previous night's events flooded back to him, up until he was surrounded by spider jockeys.

Relaxing his tensed muscles, and wiping his sweat from his brow, Solon lay back, and stared up at the blue heavens that spanned the entire horizon, and stretched from corner to corner of the sky. Filling his longs with a long, drawn out breath, he closed his eyes and sighed.

He had escaped the forest.

..........................................

"Oh shoot!" Shouted Solon as he jumped up once more "I need to get to Ferestoc for Gallifrey's appointance as the new Captain of the Guard!"

Looking down towards Maxos, his steed, he saw the great beast sleeping silently in its harness,

"Up! Up, Maxos! C'mon, we have a lot of road to cover before night fall!" Snorting loudly as he opened his eyes, the horse looked about slowly, and then turned back to face Solon. The horse let out a loud whinny, while nipping towards a sack of apples in the wagon, attempting to relay its message of its hunger.

"Oh so you're hungry, eh Maxos?" Responded Solon happily. Reaching his hand into the sack of apples, he pulled out several, and threw them at Maxos' feet. Letting out a whinny of pleasure, the horse bent it's long shaggy neck down, and noisily chomped the apples. After a few seconds, the horse had gulped down every last scrap, and drew its head back up to look at Solon, as though it was begging for a second helping,

"Done so soon you glutinous beast?" Said Solon with a look of annoyed expectancy "Well, no seconds for you. I'm not going to have you eat all the food by yourself. C'mon c'mon, mush, let's go."

Facing front again, the horse started up to a slow peaceful trot,

"Nothing but fields and fields of wheat...." Said Solon as he lept off the wagon and mounted his horse "This ride is going to be very boring.."

And boring, it did become. So boring, that finding himself with a serious lack of things to do, the wizard began to hum out a familiar tune,

"In the beginning.... At the head, the crest"
"Standing above, creation below"
"Noble Zo far above us, most holy and blest"
" Oh, help us, aid us, father Kainzo"

"Once we were alone, left for dead"
"Forgotten, we moaned and groaned through the night"
"Through our wounds? Nay, our souls we bled."
"The screams echoed round and struck us with blight"

"Our walls could not keep at bay the shrieks"
"Which tormented, vexed, and tore at our flesh..."
"Our fear of such things, subsided no more"
"For all the night-tide, they tore at our door..."

"Then one night as we lay trembling still"
"The howling ceased, and the moaning died"
"For once in our lives, all was peace, and.. tranquil.."
"Yet...... Fate had lied"

"For without cease, pause, or respiration"
"Horrid screams set the very air a-tremblin'!"
"Our study walls? Struck with the worst damnation!"
"They were toppled, permitting those horrid beasts to amble in!"

"Terrible teethy jaws, and horrid shining tusks"
"They thirst firstly for the children"
"And ripped them to shreds, but worse yet, licked their bloody husks"
"But as we sat back and watched, we realized then.."

"All hope of redemption..."
"Was lost."

"However, a light, in the far distance, sped straight to meet us."
"And growing ever, in both size and luster"
"Shone through our windows, and thus,
"Forced those cruel beasts pale, unable to fester us longer"

"They were then cut down, each in turn"
"Revealing a man who shone forth, a holy tide of light"
"The very flesh then, of those beasts, began to burn"
"And for some reason, they made no attempt to subdue his might."

"This man, was none other than Kainzo"
"He who had thus slaughtered the greatest enemy"

Then with a sigh, he sat back and watched the blazing sun as it prepared for the second half of its journey across the sky. He had culled his boredom. Well, at least for the moment,

"Maxos, I'm gonna get some shut eye." Said Solon as he dismounted the horse, and hopped up into the cart "Keep on the path and stop when we hit the gate. We aren't far from the city now."

Curling up into a ball, the wizard drifted off, once more, to sleep.

...……………………….

"Get up Solon" whispered a voice that sounded somewhat familiar "You have finally come to the place, where it all shall..."

"End....."

....................................

"HO THERE TRAVELLER!" Yelled a voice that shocked Solon back to consciousness "State your business at Ferestoc!"

"Ferestoc...?" Mumbled Solon as he wiped drool away from his mouth with his long blue sleeve, and looked up at what he soon realized to be a guard above a gate "OH YES! Ferestoc!" Hooted Solon finally comprehending his situation,

"My name is Solon, I am here to meet the new Captain of the Guard!"

 

[Mustardmanmcgee]

Chapter 5

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A Captain's Tale
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"Wait... I'm no longer falling...? Am I floating upwards? To heaven? Am I dead?" I thought,

"You can open your eyes now." Mumbled a monotone and slightly annoyed voice,

"What." I gawked as I opened my eyes to find myself soaring high above the shingled rooftops of houses and businesses "I'm NOT dead?!" I exclaimed noisily,

"Well you would've been if I hadn't jumped in time to catch you." Said the voice, reminding me that there was indeed someone there carrying me over the high heighted roofs of the sprawling city-state that lay mapped out below me.

Then looking up at my unexpected savior, I saw for the first time, Captain of the guard, and dragoon prodigy, Captain Gallifrey.

His face had sharp angles, that the lines on his face drew on either side of his visage to connect at a sharp chin, and his eyes, looked like that of a deep pools of water, iced over by old man winter's wispy breath. As for his hair, it was quite long for the region of his inhabitance, for in that land men often tie their hair into braided locks or tails that trail the back and sides of their heads. His however, flowed down freely from his head, and boasted openly of its deep black hue. The back of his head was covered with a metal helm, which seemed to meet the curves of his face's flanks in the most magnificent fashion, in order to flow up to tip of his full helm and end at a purple feathered plume, which wavered about crazily in the flushing winds that swept about us as we seemingly floated weightlessly above the town.

His visor suddenly met a gleam of the afternoon's furious heavenly torch, and reflected the beam across the steel skin of the helm. The light scanned across the circumference of his helmet several times, but then faded as he slowly drifted back into the shaded rooftops of the town. Softly a-lighting on a roof of a building, he expertly navigated the shingled slants of the roofs with an air of obvious superior agility. Then reaching the very tip of a roof, where he leapt outwards to grasp the blue sky, which busily fills every corner of the heavens, yet at the same time, seems to leave entirely too much unused space. And I swear, that on that day, I felt as though I could have touched the sun,

"Where did Ult go..?" Mumbled the man in a most annoyed and hurriedly as he surveyed the streets that flew by underneath us,

"Ult? You know Ult? Are you his brother or something?" I answered rather puzzled at my current situation,

"No, I am his legal guardian. Though I'm sure he would rather not have it as so..." Spoke Gallifrey with a depressed sigh,

"OH!" I pronounced suddenly " If you want Ult, he was right over there just a few momen- ... Wait a second... Where'd he go??"

"No way he would stay still after seeing me." Responded Gallifrey "He probably saw me, and ducked into an alleyway... I don't know why he always has to do this... Especially on such an important day... I'm gonna find him eventually, so why even bother hiding?"

"How do you know him?" I asked as my intrigue had hit its peak, forcing me to openly voice my curiosity,

"Long story..." Said Gallifrey sadly "And not a terribly pretty one either. Although if you cannot possibly survive without the details, then sure, I can tell you."

"Tell me!" I said barely able to cap my overflowing excitement and curiosity,

"Well, the story goes like this:

"When I was very young, I lived in a land, far, and distant from this city. My particular city-state was the commerce and innovative capital of our entire kingdom. My father, however, was an veteran ex-army captain who valued combat strength and intellect over innovation and creativity. So thinking the high society and snooty merchant's life was not to be lived by his son, he sent me off to a military boarding school in Varaaskar, the blades and shield of our entire kingdom. I spent every day working my body to the bone there, and strengthening myself physically and mentally in the art of combat."

"In my senior year at the academy, they gave my class the option of joining one of many different branches of the military. There was a Samurai Division, Lance Corps., Calvary Division, Heavy Armored Unit Force, Scouter Corps., and so many more options that lay before me. However, always personally preferring a spear to a sword or bow, I decided to take up my lance for the name of my kingdom and become a dragoon under the Lance Corps."

"I then graduated as the valedictorian of my class, and steadily rose to a minor position of power within the Lance Corps. "

"However, one day we got wind of a rival army that was rallying troops at the walls of my home town. Being dispatched to aid the city, we were sent immediately to assist with fending off the invaders. But by the time we had arrived, the enemy had already gored through the gates, and was tearing up the inside of the city. They even posted guards up top the walls to halt incoming re-enforcements. Arriving at the city, my unit stormed the walls causing major casualties, and then leapt into the burning war torn streets below."

"We fought for what seemed a grueling eternity against hoards of enemies. And after what seemed hours of nothing but endless deaths of both comrades and foes, I was left with little more than 3 squad mates. So we fell back with the main force, and stopped performing aerial sweeps."

"Then it happened."

"A heavily wounded man stumbled in behind the front lines with one message to seal our doom, 'Enemies... sir- .....' After saying this, his eyes rolled back into his head, and he crumbled to his knees to died in front of us. More enemies had arrived. Being halfway through the city with another half to conquer and only 3/4ths of our original forces, we were about to be locked inside the city by a second dispatchment of enemy re-enforcements..."

"A desperate struggle for survival raged across the streets as we attempted to fend off oppressors from the fore-front, and behind us. However, as the last of our army was pressed into a tiny alleyway, with no where to run or to hide, to my shame, I leapt up onto a nearby roof to run away, and left my comrades to die."

"After putting several buildings between me and the enemy, I leapt off the roof into an alleyway to sit and rest, as shrill screams of death echoed and slowly died out far away. My compatriots blood was been churned into the soil, and had quenched the earth's thirst... Yet mine still coursed throughout my veins... Suddenly, the cry of a child rang out further down the alleyway. Surprised, I looked up to see a woman lying dead on the ground, torn up with blade wounds, yet still holding a child to her bosom, even unto death. I fought to stand on my shaking legs, and stumbled towards the woman to see if my senses had lied, or if the child was truly alive."

"Arriving at the scene, I saw that the woman had her stomach drilled through with a lance. Yet for some reason, the child appeared untouched. Grabbing the child, I leaned over to whisper in the deceased mothers's ear, 'Don't worry. I will save your son.' I then rested my limbs further, and fled the city before a patrol caught me. The reason I rescued the child, was because I had convinced myself that if I was to leave my comrades to die, I should at least save one life."

"I then escaped the entire region, as I had deserted my army mid-duty, and came here with Ult. Although some may call me insane, I swear that as I ran from the city, I heard a woman's voice faintly whisper in my ear, 'Thank.. You..' " Stated Gallifrey, concluding his mournful tale.

Suddenly zoning out, he stared off contemplatively into the distance as we lightly soared above the streets.

.....…………………………

"There he is!" I shouted suddenly as I briefly saw Ult fly by in the streets beneath us,

"Wait, what? You saw Ult? Where!?" He said, suddenly regaining his wit,

"Turn back and land on that roof!" I said pointing behind us "He was in that alleyway!"

Landing on a tower, he perched upon the heights of the towering stone ediface and surveyed the location,

"Found him! Thanks, uh.. What's your name kid?" He shouted above the winds that whipped about us as he leapt off, and ran down the side of the tower. Finding a formidable slant in one of the roofs below, he used his magumentous (And yes, I think I just made that word up.) force of velocity to fling himself into the sky at a tremendous speed,

"Mustard! My name is Mustard!" I shouted back in kind to Gallifrey,

"Mustard?!" He yelled "Ahahahahahaa!!! That's great! What a great name!"

As we bounded through the air and across the busy intersection, Gallifrey landed on the slant of another roof with ease, and expertly executed a roll to brace the fall as he slid down the high roof. As we reached the edge of the roof, he grabbed hold of the gutter, and swung himself downwards to land directly in front of the unexpecting Ultnachopony.

The look on Ult's face.

Was priceless.

Setting me down on the ground, Gallifrey strode towards Ult with a disappointed look as he said,

"Ult.. What are you doing..! Are you aware what's gonna happen if we are late to the ceremony?! You know better than to run off like that!"

"I....I-I'm sorry...." Muttered Ult as he twisted his foot in the dust and held his head low in shame,

"Anyways, we need to run, the ceremony started nearly ten minutes ago! We're late!" Grabbing hold of Ult's arm, Gallifrey ran out of the alleyway and rounded the corner.

................................

"Wait.. Now I'm all.. Alone.." I said to myself with a dawning sensation of sadness,

................................

"Hey!" Yelled Gallifrey as he suddenly peeked around the corner and looked expectantly at me "Mustard kid, you coming with us or what?"

Shocked at the request, I was unable to speak. Thus instead of voicing myself, I simply nodded at the offer,

"Then come on!" Shouted Gallifrey as he ran off once more, and I chased after him.

The sun setting on the horizon on that fateful day blazed its last rites to us as black night soon availed it, but not without a dying, and magnificent blaze of glory. And oddly enough, I can vividly remember everything. The sun felt great... The wind that nestled and played about my hair felt great.

For once in my life...

I no longer felt alone.

I had friends.

(If you cannot find my comment thread, then look herocraftonline.com/main/threads/mustard-lore-comment-section.49890/ <--There!)

 

[Mustardmanmcgee]

Chapter 6

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The Long Awaited Arrival
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The night descended.

Yet the air was filled with light.

All around me as I ran down the bustling streets, I looked to and fro, this way and that, watching trailing streams of red, and yellow lanterns flow through the city streets as they were hung across the vendors that now crowded the streets, and elegantly replaced the dim lamp posts that were speckled throughout the city.

The entire city seemed to be bursting at the seams with celebration.

Small, and colorfully striped, food, toy, and service stalls crowded every corner of Main Street. The businessmen who tirelessly operated these vendors bellowed out into the streets, boasting how their special meat pan fry was way better than Mr. So-And-So's food, as they simultaneously mingled with customers, and cooked under the blazing glow of colored lamplight.

Burly workmen in long flowing black robes, bearing tents, cords, and steams of lanterns, pushed and bustled through the streets.

Bells chimed as horses drawing wagons parted seas of crowds on their way to their selected stall, as their drivers urged them on with a hearty, "Ya! Ya!"

Workmen shouted out orders, requests, and commands to one another as they prepared for the climax of the eventful night.

And magicians, with long twisty black hats, and flowing, ebony black silk capes, astounded crowds with over-dramatized tricks.

All the commotion seemed to faze into one single voice of cheer, happiness, and celebration as the night steadied itself for the biggest celebration of the year.

————————

"Meet the Captain? Aye, you must be here for the celebration!" Yelled the guard in response "Well then Sir, come right on through!" Hollered the guard from the wall as he signaled with his hands, the command to lift the iron barred portcullis,

"Onward Maxos, through the gate!" Commanded the master wizard, Solon the Wise, as he drove his old and trusted steed through the gate and into the busy streets of the giant town,

"Hrmmm... Thought Solon out loud, and quite loudly at that "How do I get.. To the Captain's Inauguration...?"

"Ahoy there traveller!! Per-chance, might you be lost?" Yelled a man, who was attempting to address Solon's unawareness.

This man who had called out to Solon, stood on a box which had "HERALD" haphazerdously slathered across it's front in bold black paint. His appearance, well, most likely was intended to be flashy and somewhat brilliant so as to attract the public's attention. This eccentric herald was dressed with bright and overly-garnished clothing, bearing a clanging bell held in his left hand, which he rang to signal that he was indeed a herald and guide of public affairs,

"Come on over Sir, I can tell you where anything is in the entire city!" Said the herald as he surveyed the land with his chin tilted prominently to the sky, and his magnificent sleeves spread out, palms open, as if he was attempting to shade the entire city with his ego.

With no other obvious option, Solon drew his horse up alongside the herald, and said thus,

"Do you know where the anointing of the Captain of the Guard is at?"

"Ha! Like that is hardly a question! Just follow the crowd down Main Street!" Responded the herald joyfully, yet with an undertone of annoyance,

"Oh, well, thanks... Umm, sorry, who are you?" Said Solon, now feeling even more like an ignorant tourist,

"My name's Etkenn!" Responded the herald "Now hurry on to the Plaza! The Ceremony is about to start!" Said the herald, waving Solon goodbye.

"Cursed Kainzo... This pay isn't nearly worth standing up on a box.... Dressed like a bafoon..." Muttered the herald under his breath just before Solon left earshot.

————————

"We are almost there!" Yelled Gallifrey as he turned back to face me and Ult, who could barely keep pace with the battle hardened Captain.

Panting violently, I somehow managed to put one foot in front of the other, though my body detested violently with every extra step I took,

"Just keep running, every bit of pain you feel builds you stronger!" Yelled Gallifrey back towards me.

Take note of that saying, dear readers. For it no more than circumferences the entirety of my mournful tale,

"See that stage?! That's our destination!" Gallifrey hollered over the immense din of the crowd.

Less than a one hundred strides away, was a massive stage, erected facing towards the center of the Plaza. Sloppily draped over the stage was a white tarp, with fettered edges worn by time, and waving in the wind. Crowding the edges of the stage and filling the plaza, was a packed hoard of onlookers, who patiently waiting for some event to take place,

As we arrived, several of the crowd members caught sight of Gallifrey, and unable to hold in their excitement, bursted forth with joy and drew quite the amount of unnecessary attention people hollered and cheered as he climbed the steps to the backstage. Grabbing hold of the curtain door, he motioned to both of us to follow him up, and into the stage.

Gallifrey then vanished behind a thick black curtain that led backstage, leaving us no obvious choice but to follow him inwards. Upon my entrance, the first thing I saw was a stage helper arguing with a man in a green, hooded cloak. At his side, was a most glorious weapon, a golden scythe. Then I saw it, faintly. Out of the corner of my eye, a sheen of purple light danced across the skin of the metal scythe head, to ultimately deposit into the air.

Gallifrey, looking quite shocked at the man's presence, stood still in surprise for a few moments, before a smile swept across his face, and he walked to forwards to meet the man.

Finally realizing that he had arrived, the stage hand turned to see Gallifrey and looked annoyed, yet slightly relieved at Gallifrey's arrival, as he said across the room

"Gallifrey! Can you clear this up? This guy over here says he's your friend, and won't leave the stage until he sees you! You think you can convince this idiot to go away?!" The man said, pointing to the hooded figure,

"Why... That's no idiot..." Said Gallifrey with annoyance towards the stage hand "You're... No... Solon? Is that you?"

"Ha! You do well to recognize me Gallifrey! You're militarily sharpened mind has yet to dull!" The man said, smiling under his hood.

Unable to contain his excitement, Gallifrey ran towards the cloaked man to embrace him, as he cried out,

"Solon! Hahaha! It's so good to see you again!"

"Like-wise Sir Gallifrey of the King's Guard!" Responded Solon, embracing Gallifrey and patting him on the back,

Breaking the moment of happy realization, a man with a executive's garb and a long clipboard that haphazardly spewed papers, ran into the room, shouting,

"Gallifrey! Why are you back here!?! The crowd has been waiting for nearly 20 minutes!" Then not even giving him a moment to respond, the man grabbed Gallifrey, and pushed him onto the stage, just as the giant curtain was rolled back to reveal Gallifrey, alongside a seemingly important second man. The man firmly gripped Gallifrey's arm, and raised it into the air, shouting out triumphantly to the crowd,

"People of Ferestoc!! Now presenting your new Captain of the Guard... GALLIFREY!!"

 

[Mustardmanmcgee]

Chapter 7

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A Facade of Bravery for a Speech of Feigned Valor
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"Now!" Pronounced the man "A gift for our esteemed Captain, courtesy of the citizens and royalty of Ferestoc!"

Said the man as he beckoned towards the curtains, to a steward, who, with little ease, carried out a wooden mannequin clad in stylishly ornate armor,

"Crafted by non other than the masters of the King's forge, this regal suit boasts its silver body plates, and gold enamaled engravings! A gift from the very King himself! It is nothing less than a tradition between the previous Captains and the royal family!" Boasted the man loudly as Gallifrey stood shocked at such a work of art, and the unnecessity of its overexcentric beauty.

Then without warning, the man shot his hand out to signify he wished to shake hands with the recipient of such a gift. To this, Gallifrey sheepishly stuck his calloused fingers out to grasp the announcer's. Then after a firm handshake, the man turned him to face the audience, and proudly patted Gallifrey on the back. All the while the mixed pack of both paupers and aristocrats applauded and cheered loudly, showing great admiration and appreciation.

Then one peasant in a lopsided leather cap, who was nearest to the stage began to chant, "Speech! Speech! Speech!" As he looked around at his fellow audience members, beckoning them to join him as he raised his fist, like some small child, or brat if you will, demanding some treat, or reward for no feat accomplished.

Soon enough, the entire crowd was arroused in this effort (Save a few dignified looking noblemen who awkwardly held their fist in the air, yet did not chant with the crowd. For the last thing they wanted to do was to make a fool of themselves in public, yet at the same time they wished to fit in to some extent.) to make the poor Captain speak in front of the masses,

"Aaaalright you mongrels!! Quiet down, quiet down!" Yelled the man who had announced Gallifrey, waving his hands to signal the masses to hush their voices "The new Captain, has a speech for yours truly, the fair people of Ferestoc!" After these words were yelled, the crowd blazed to life with new found strength, cheering, hollering, and clapping, just as how a fire leaps to life as kindling is fed to it.

Then once more patting the wide eyed, most horrified Captain on the back, he leaned towards Gallifrey to whisper loudly over the raving crowd,

"Good luck." Then turned and promptly walked backstage to leave the terrified Captain alone to sate the tightly packed crowd of expecting men and women,

"I will now attempt to collect myself for a brief speech." Said Gallifrey in an attempt to make a few of the audience members chuckle, which to some extent, was accomplished,

"I wasn't much," started Gallifrey, starts up his speech "To be pondered, or considered when I was young." Lied Gallifrey. He was actually very smart and athletic as a boy. Even before military school began to shape him a part of his life,

"Yet somehow, I have made it here, to stand before an audience of fine people. You see when I was....."

———————————

For the Zo's sake, do I really have to repeat the WHOLE speech?! We all know what he is going to say.... I grew up in a small town, through hard work I got here, and so on, and so on.

Instead... How about I write of what was going on backstage at this time?

———————————

"Are you absolutely SURE it's ok to be back here?" I questioned, worried someone would bust through the door any moment and yell at us,

"Eh we're fine, no one was looking when we slipped through the door." Answered Ult in that calm tone of his that frankly, never met the mark of reassuring me he was correct.

Peeking out of a doorway behind the curtains edge, were two small heads that peered over at Gallifrey, who stood up on the stage attempting to speak eloquently to the people, yet not bore them past what a peasants small attention span could handle,

"I think he's scared." I whispered,

"Eh. He'll be fine. If he can't even do this then he doesn't deserve to be a Captain." Responded Ult somewhat mockingly,

"You wouldn't be a able to do it..." I retorted,

"You're right, but the thing is, I never will. Cause it doesn't matter what happens, someday I'm gonna skip town, before I have to do something like that." He responded, glancing at me briefly with a grin on his smug face,

..........................

"This is boooooooring...." I mumbled letting go of the doorpost and falling back on the wood floor to lie down,

" ...... Ya. You're right." Sighed Ult as he turned around and walked away from the door to sit in a dusty chair at the back of the room,

"Well then, what do we do?" I said sitting up and turning my head Inquisitively towards Ult.

"Dunno...." Responded Ult lazily.

..........................

"Hey!" Said a man in a loud commanding whisper as he flung open the door and looked at us with a glare of peaked annoyance "What do you kids think you're doing back here!?"

"We were allowed to come backstage." Ult retorted slowly "Gallifrey is my legal guardian."

"Sure, sure. I totally believe you." Said the man with an amount of sarcasm that was almost enough to make me cringe "Now get out of here before I get someone to drag you out."

"Hey look pal, if you don't believe me, you can go up the and ask him yourself. That is, if you have the balls to walk in front of a thousand people and ruin his speech over your idiotic questions." Snarled Ult with a face of indignant stubborness.

The man stumbled backwards at the extraordinary gall of the boy, to make such an uncouth comment at someone who was vastly older than him. And after a moment or two of deep breathing and reigning in his anger, the man emotionally collected himself to respond,

"Fine." Growled the man impatiently "But at least go into the waiting room. Not even GUESTS are allowed back here."

To this, Ult triumphantly stood up, and victoriously paraded out the door, and out of the ill-tempered man's furious gaze,

"Uhm... Thanks for letting us stay here... Uh... Mister sir." I mumbled timidly as I slipped through the doorway and out into the next room.

Laying my eyes on the new area I had entered, I saw a room, much like the last, just with more people and generally more space. Men and women with incomplete makeup jobs done to their faces bustled their way through the tightly packed space, speaking with one another, toting carts filled to the brim with frilly costumes, and finishing odd jobs that were left to the last second for completion.

Across the room, in the farthest corner from the door I had entered from, stood a small solemn congregation of dusty, cobweb riddled chairs, that all huddled about a low coffee table. Above them, hung on the walls, were faded posters, worn at the edges, and stuffed in foggy picture frames. Some of these posters were marred with small cuts and others absolutely maimed and torn halfway down the middle. In one of these chairs sat the cloaked figure that Gallifrey had briefly conversed with before being shoved off onto the stage,

"Hey Ult" I said tugging at my friend's sleeve "Found a place to sit." I said, pointing towards the ring of chairs,

Then motioning towards the hooded man that sat in the chair the furthest tucked into the corner, Ult turned to me with a horrific smile pulled across his face as he whispered in my ear,

"I bet he's a sorcerer... And if we sit by him, he'll kidnap us and throw our innerds a-strewn across the floor of his worship room for some sadistic bloody sacrifice..."

"Wha.. What..?" I whispered back slightly shocked,

"Pshhh.. Just joking, I know that guy! He's a friend of mine from way back. C'mon!" He said as he deftly slipped past the rolling carts and people that mulled around the room, making his way to the chairs at the opposite end.

"Uh, pardon me, 'scuse me, sorry." I said as I attempted to follow Ult to the corner, yet somehow managed to bumble right in front of every person that was around in the room,

"GET OUT OF THE WAY YOU BRAT!" Hollered a man as he almost ran me over with a cart of various props and costumes,

"SORRY!" I shrieked as I dove out of the way just in time to escape, just to face planted on the other side of the crowd of people,

"I need to teach you how to move more smoothly..." Mumbled Ult in a disappointed tone as he peeled my face off the ground and helped me up.

Reaching the ring of chairs, Ult sat in the chair directly next to the hooded man, and naturally, I sat next to Ult, not knowing if he had told me the truth about the man being a sorcerer or not. Ult began to start small talk with the man, as I looked up at the poster on the wall above me, which read:

"Come see 'The Fall of Zeal' this Friday! Witness the annual running epic tragedy relived for the 20th year in a row at our grand outdoor theatre in the Plaza!"

Underneath the black lettering was a large horrific picture of a dragon's teethy, gaping mouth laying waste to a village with its fiery breath of damnation,

"And who is your friend over there?" Said the man, suddenly grasping my attention,

"Oh! This is Mustard! Mustard, this is Solon, he's a friend of mine! He saved me and Gallifrey a long time back when we used to wander about in the wilder lands." Looking past Ult, I saw the face of this man named Solon.

His facial shape was gaunt, with a shaggy scruff of a beard that hung on to his chin and cheeks. His eyes were golden like the bannered rays of the evening sun, and his nose was not too short, yet not too long. Not too wide, but not exactly fat either. It seemed to fit his face perfectly and curve down to his pale grey lips. As for his hair, it was a light crispy brown hue, only comparable, if my memory still serves me well, to the washed brown tone of a leaf in the deep days of autumn. He had deeply set lines of past smiles that stretched across his face, yet small scars and blood stains that indicated recent adventures as well.

And for a second, I saw a small, yet detectable... How to describe it... A flash of deep seated fear streaked across his golden colored eyes as he looked at this small innocent boy for the first time. Yet he remained smiling, as if he attempted to shake off and deny the ill-boding scent his sixth sense had unnaturally picked up,

"Well he looks like he has had his fair share of hard times too." Said Solon cooly as he got up and took off his hood, letting his locks of brown hair tumble from his head,

"Yeah, I'm not sure myself about where he came from, just kinda showed up at my doorstep." Said Ult with a shrug, almost making me feel like a dog or common house pet that he graciously took under his wing,

"How about we let HIM tell us where he is from?" Suggested Solon, to which both Ult and Solon both faced at me with a look expantancy,

"Well... Where to start..? Oh, my family-.." I started before I was cut off with a loud round of applause and cheering, followed by Gallifrey walking through the door moments later.

Looking up excitedly as Gallifrey moved towards us, Solon walked over to meet his friend,

"Haha! Gallifrey! Finally I have some time to visit with an old friend who isn't a pile of bones!" Said Solon said as Gallifrey parted the crowd and made his way to the encirclement of ancient looking chairs,

"Just as well! I thought that we were going to part ways for good! How did you know I was here?" Asked Gallifrey intrigued,

"Heard some widow's talk of a new Captain of the Guard in Ferestoc named Gallifrey. I knew that Ferestoc territory was where you were wandering about at that time, so I decided to check, and to my luck, I found it was you!" Responded Solon happily with a laugh,

"You have a place to stay tonight?" Asked Gallifrey, suddenly veering the conversation off its original topic,

"Well, uh.. No. I thought I would either sleep in my wagon or simply stay at one of the cheap, local hotels." Answered Solon, in a way that implied that no, he didn't have a place to stay, and that he wanted Gallifrey to provide,

"Oh that won't do!" Said Gallifrey, worried about his old friend's health "You can stay at my place for at least tonight. It's better than most of the hotels around here."

"What about Mustard though?" Interrupted Ult worriedly, and like Solon, implied that he too had no where to go,

"Well I guess he'll have to come with us too." Stated Gallifrey "That is, if he doesn't have anywhere to go."

"I have a pile of charcoal and newspaper scraps that I sleep on every night in an alleyway up the road." I said

"Yeeeaahh.. No. I think you're staying with us then." Said Ult attempting to solidify the arrangement,

"Well then follow me, the house is just down the road. I got it as a gift for becoming the new Captain." He said as he led us out the back door, and paraded us through the streets.

In the distant background was a muffled mix of cheers and applause as it seemed a new event was starting for the people to celebrate by the dim lantern light that blotted the distance and was speckled under the dark sky, sheathed in night, blacker than the sheen of the raven's coat, and more solemn than that of that ominous bird's guise,

Then after some walking, we reached a tall building with tower-like architecture tucked into the side of the wall. It was much like a large cylinder in both shape and form that was standing upright. It's roof was flat, and it's craftsmanship, decore, and even brick pattern and scheme were all akin to the portion of the city wall that it merged with.

Pulling a clinking ring of keys out of his pocket, Gallifrey fumbled through them for a few brief moments, until he found the satisfactory one that turned the metal lock with a clank, and unlocked the door for our entry. The innards of the house were very similar to the outside. That is, in the sense that it was all very uniform and plain, with the only difference being that there was at least some effort put into the decore, it had furniture speckled throughout the floors, and most importantly, it had food.

After a hearty meal of delicious thick beef stew, I found my night's quarters, and tucked myself in an astoundingly comfortable bed, and for once, had a good nights sleep.

Mostly.

 

[Mustardmanmcgee]

Chapter 8

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The voice of promise
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"Hey... You there...?" Spoke a voice that softly echoed around me as I seemed to float in an otherworldly black substance that resonated with the words, which rebounded back against my ears,

"Open your eyes, we have no time." Said the voice again slightly clearer than before.

Suddenly, the blackness I had perceived around me began to be speckled with dots of fuzzy color and light far in the distance. Then speeding to meet these shavings of light, I found my senses were flooded with what seemed to be reality... Seemed to be anyway...

My eyes were cracked opened slightly, just enough to see the blurry image of a man leaning over me,

"Get up you sleeper, we have things to discuss, now." Said the man very firmly and urgently, as though his need was rushed on every form of time,

Not saying a word in response, I blinked once or twice, and slowly let my eyelids slide shut to exclude my mind from this man, and lull my consciousness to a bliss enwrapped sleep once more,

"No.. No no no no! Don't go to sleep aga-..." Yelled the man as my mind slowly drifted down to the darkest depths of my head to be enveloped by a deep slumber, cutting the off the man's words mid-sentence,

I was once more floating in that unexplainable black substance, drifting over an ever widening expanse of nebulous darkness. The air was empty, starless, and felt completely void of existence, as if the very realm I seemed to reside in at the moment did not exist at all.

And deep within the chasm of swirling sombre darkness below me, echoed the hazy murmurings of hundreds of voices that spread across the bottom of the expanse.

Their solemn voices swore their eternal hatred for all that lived, promised mother night an infinite descent upon the earthen realm, and chanted dark, obscure psalms in a every every tongue feasible. So unholy and corrupt were the words of these chants, that speaking them now is not only impossible, but also completely worthy of damnation in and of itself by the worst form of death that can, and will ever be conceived by either Zo or man.

Suddenly sweeping across the darkness like a rolling tide from the dark ocean, came a low, rumbling voice comprised of voices, which were even further comprised of voices, all of which morphed into a single tone to speak,

"You are the sword... I am the right arm..."

"I am the bow... You are the arrow... The string is taut, ready to unleash you upon the earth..."

"You are the servant... I am the master... And through you... All shall cease to exist..."

Then all went quiet...

For a moment at least...

.................

"Drag him... SMITE HIM... Come DOWN... Come with us... Grab him... Become us..." Broke out the voices with a from below, as they seemed to swell up from the darkness and enwrap my confining substance. They took hold of me, and dragged me under the tide of relentless moans and tormented shrieks of hundreds of voices, which would seem to recede and ebb away at one moment, to backwash and crush against me with revived furiosity the next.

Darkness surrounded me.

..........................

"Well... Haha... This looks like the end of the line for me..." I thought with a deep seated ambience of melancholy to say as a gross understatement...

Down I drifted, helplessly cast deeper and deeper into the murky quagmire of shadow,

"There really is no escaping this..." I thought solemnly as I accepted my fate and awaited for what would come...

..............

To describe it, impossible. One cannot simply describe with mortal words the sound of a dimension being torn apart. All I can say is that it is defies all you ever will and can think to be possible,

"Release him, you defiled ancient soul!" Roared a commanding voice that ruptured the black arching heavens with a fissure of light,

At the sound of the voice, my bonds were shattered, and the voices that wailed restlessly at me subsided and keeled over, to flee back down into the darkness.

That which bound me had been stricken. Then, unexplainably, I rose upwards, towards the crag of light that had ripped the dimension in two. Closing the distance, my terror and fright melted away into a peaceful state of mind, as my view was flooded with blinding white light, and I entered a more....

Calming plane of existence...

......................

"HUAAAHH...! GAAAHH..!" I exclaimed noisily as my eyes flew open to reveal a man standing above me.

My pupils darted about uncontrollably, and my lungs struggled to inhale a breath of air, having entered back into what seemed to be the real world,

"You're awake!" Exclaimed the man "Zo's sake, don't drift off again, he will capture you!"

Suddenly the man stopped, as a look of horror swept across the man's grim face. He leaned in towards me and grabbed me by the shoulders,

"No you didn't.... You didn't hear him... Speak.. Did you...?" Then not even giving me a chance to respond, he leaned back in a chair and rubbed his head, dumbstruck.

It was then that I realized my surroundings for what they were. The walls were laid with expertly hewed stones, and obviously leveled by an artisan. The floor too, was lain with white washed stone tile, and engraved with complex motifs that spiraled about the room, circumferencing one grand design, which in turn lead up two a gilded arching doorway.

The place where I was laid to rest was a small bed overlaid with red blankets, soothing in color, as well as soft, and comfortable to the touch,

"Where am... Am... Who are you..?" I questioned with a shaky voice,

"Not enough time... Never enough time..." Mumbled the man in a serious tone as he got up, and opened the door to reveal a hallway "All I can say is, no, this is not an earthly plane of existence, and I am a friend." Said the man, begging me for a willing sense of understanding and trust,

"Can you stand?" He continued,

"I.. I think so." I said getting out of bed and slowly bumbling my forwards, towards the doorway,

"Good." Said the man as I reached the door "Because we are going to have to walk and talk." He stated, exiting the door and entering the hallway. Entering a steady pace, the man strode down the hallway, while I struggled after him, and eventually matched his pace,

"Where are we..?" I questioned, unable to hold back the hundreds of questions I was generating in my mind every second,

"This is a little hard to explain, and a little hard for you to believe." Said the man without a glance back towards me "The place in which we tread, this palace is the sanctum of your mind, Mustard."

"Wai... Wah..." I responded suddenly stopping for a second to let his words sink in, before I ran after him and matched his speed once more,

"So... Who does that make you?" I inquired,

"Me? Well, in the most basic terms, I am the Zo's response to a potential threat that has chosen you as a host." Responded the man as if this was not anymore out of the norm than any daily activity one might take up

"So you are..... You're a.... What." I said having generated more questions than I had before he offered an explanation,

"Something bad is going to happen. Soon. And I am here to stop it." Stated the man, who then turned around with a sigh to say,

"Look, we are almost to the archives, you can hang on until then, right? Ok. Come on."

After saying this with a look of slight annoyance, he faced forward once more, and continued down the hallway at a faster speed than before.

Becoming bored of the empty silence, I looked around, and took in my surroundings for a little while. On either side of me, was a row of polished marble columns, that emerged out of the walls, with just enough space in between each column to hold a small artifact or trinket on a wooden pedestal, along with an ornate tapestry that was hung further up the wall.

On the opposite side of the hall, was lined up, a row of tall skinny stained glass windows, which depicted munomentous points in history. All of which, I could not identify with,

"Soooo..." I started, attempting to coax the man into answering more of my questions and concerns "You said that this place is my mental sanctum or something?"

"In a way." He responded "More accurately, this is your mind palace, the place where all information you have come in contact with is archived. That includes the history of the threat I spoke of, since it is beginning to merge with you."

"Interesting..." I lied, still unable to comprehend the details of my situation.

Then there was a lull for awhile, as we walked the "halls" of my mind.

Briefly glancing over at the windows, I attempted to perceive through the colored glass, and witness what was outside the castle walls,

"Stop, don't go any further." Said the man as he held out a hand, which I ran straight into.

Looking forward to see what he halted to, I saw a segment of the hallway that was in a state of desolate ruin. The pillars had been sundered and hacked into large chunks, laying in piles across the floor. The tapestries a were in fetters, dispersed across the floor and then stomped upon like the rags of a doormat. Finally, stone and glass had been sprinkled about, left as residue from the destroyed portion of the wall.

"What... What happened here...?" I mumbled eyes wide in terror,

"Oh... Sorry... I forgot to mention, this castle represents your mantle state as well. As it resides in you, it mirrors you." Remarked the man,

"So that means.. It's... I'm..." I stuttered,

"Yes." He interrupted, finishing my statement for me "You are undergoing a war with an ancient soul over your consciousness." Then grabbing me by the shoulders, and staring deep into my eyes, he said with such solemnity that I finally understood the gravity of our situation,

"The enemy is more numerous than you could possibly imagine. More powerful, and more destructive than anything you could think feasible. Give him a chance, let your guard down for even a moment... And he will consume you."

Then turning to face the path of destruction that led down the remainder of the hallway, he said,

"We need to get to the archives, hurry."

After several long moments of frantic dashing to our objective, we arrived at a door, so huge, so massive in width, that the hallway was temporarily expanded for a short distance to accommodate its tremendous size. Towering above us, the thick wooden chamber door stood several meters tall in height, and was operated by a thick bronze ring, anchored into the wood.

Upon contact with the massive ediface erected of wood, I could see small dents and cuts in the wood of the door, as if someone, or something had attempting to breach it,

"These are the archives. A mass compilation of every single thing you have seen, thought, and come in contact with." Said the man, grabbing a hold of the bronze knocker, and applying great force to prod the great door forward.

As it creaked and groaned open, an entirely new segment of the massive palace was revealed.

A enormous library stood before us.

Along the edges of the room, several staircases led up to a second, and even third floor, filled with volume upon volume of history. At the other end of the room, was a tall stained glass window that had a gorgeous rose in full bloom arranged with crimson hues onto the middle panes of the window. Banners of sanguine red shaded light cast down upon a grove of chairs and benches in the middle of the room, collecting dust under the ever vigilant eye of the golden sun's rays,

Without a word, the man strode over towards a bookshelf, and fumbled through the volumes until he heaved out of the shelf a thick, green, and ancient looking book. Walking over to the nearest desk, he dropped the book with little care, conjuring up a small scale torrent of dust. Signaling to me to come over, he brushed a thick layer of grime off the cover, revealing an ominous looking eye printed in black ink,

"This book has some of the details about the enemy that you must know in order to combat it." Said the man, opening the book and flipping through the pages, until he stopped on the satisfactory one,

"In the age of Sanctum, land of our ancient ancestors, some of whom still tread the earth, there was a being that breached the multiverse. This being was later to be known as Dagith-Narr, the intruder. After foolishly attempting to wrench the control of the multiverse out of the Zo's hands, this ancient being was encased in his own botched creation, and sealed in the deepest, darkest bowels of hell by the strongest seals and bonds available to the Zo. Thus he was trapped for what most hoped would last an eternity."

"However, being sealed did not stop him. For his will wormed its way into the minds of men, whispering promises of fortune, prosperity, and infinite power to those who followed his decrees. Thusly, some foolish souls were enticed to follow the whispers of the entity of pure, raw malign. And in turn, the guild "Bloodline" was created for those freaks of nature who pledged their souls to the Intruder, Dagith-Narr, and aimed to one day release their master from the depths of hell."

"Among this band of souls, was a powerful one, that went by the name of ...." Then stopping without explanation as to why, the man flipped several pages back and forth speratically before looking back at me with his eyes wide in shock, to say,

"It's not there... How can this be..?!"

"What's not there?" I asked feeling ignorant to the situation,

"The "things" name... It's blotched out...?!" Yelled the man crazed at the lack of details.

After flipping to several differing pages, he stepped back from the desk, and pressed his fingers against his temples, as if to increase his reasoning capacity,

"Wait..." Paused the man, attempting to re-collect himself for more clear analysis "If it only logs what you yourself know, and what he knows then.... Then...."

"Then what?" I interrupted,

"He doesn't know his own name." Said the man perplexed beyond what he could mentally bear,

"How is this possible...? ...... I must investigate the library further." He said, walking off behind a bookshelf,

"Hey wait up!" I yelled, running after him...

........................

"Crgghkk..." Came a noise from deep below, stopping me in my tracks....

Then silence...

"CRKKKKK" Screamed the ground as the room shook and books toppled out of shelves,

"What's going on?!?" I shrieked clutching onto a sliding table for dear life,

"Your body is summoning you back to the mortal plane of existence, our time is up for now!" Yelled the man from somewhere,

"Goodbye!" He finished as a flash of white light flooded the room and I slipped away into the mortal realm...

............

"MUSTARD!" Yelled a voice that made me shriek a little bit and sit straight up, to see Ult standing at the foot of my bed,

"Finally you're up!" He said with a tone of exhaust,

"Gallifrey's making breakfast, come down before I eat all of it." He said, before dashing out the room and romping down the stairs.

Groggily getting out of bed, I foraged my way to the door and stumbled down the staircase to arrive on the first floor,

"Mustard! You're finally up!" Called Gallifrey from the kitchen,

"We've been waiting for you forever, sit down and eat already." He said pushing a plate of food infront of me.

Before me sat a plate of eggs, mingled with bits of meats, and varying vegetables, such as onion, bell pepper, and mushroom. Separated into halves across the edge of the plate was toast, ever so slightly warm, and slathered with golden melting butter,

"You were really loud last night Mustard, you were talking, and even yelled once or twice. What did you dream about?" Inquired Ult randomly, as he pulled a chair up next to me and began to dig into his meal,

"Oh... I can't... Really... Remember..." I said attempting to recall the dream,

"Eh, it happens to all of us." Responded Ult, shoving a forkful of eggs in his mouth and noisily chewing them up.

"I wonder what I dreamed about..." I thought silently in my head, grabbing a bit of toast and gnawing on the edge,

"I have the strangest feeling that it was somehow.... Important..."

 

[Mustardmanmcgee]

~ Sanctum Era, After The Intrusion & Insurrection Caused by Dagith-Narr ~

Part One ~ Chapter 9

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The Blazing Drunkard
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"Last warning." Snarled a large, brawny man wearing a stained white apron "Get out of my tavern you godless drunkard, before I wring you out alive."

The man he spoke to was an individual with hair matching the sheath of night, and a long cloak. I would describe his facial features, if his face was not at the moment shielded by a large tankard of grog, which he noisily downed, making a exaggerated gulping noise each time he swallowed a brimming mouthful from his frothy pint. He completely ignore the man's menacing warning, imposing an air of extreme arrogance as he seemed to dare the barkeep to follow through with his threat.

Unable to grind his teeth in vehement rage longer, the shopkeeper reached out his muscly arm and grabbed the man by the coller of his shirt. This gesture of anger interrupted the man's current gulp of mead, and shook his mug, causing his sticky yellow alcohol to splash on his legs and chest,

"Listen here you son of a bi-"

"Do you want to die." Interrupted the shrouded man, releasing the mug from his lips to reveal his cold threatening gaze.

The face of the man was pale, and rather bony, with the frame of his cheeks suspended by his bones alone. His sunk in cheeks were colored only by the slight red blush of his drunkedness, which spanned his cheek, and crossed over his thin nose to the other side of his face. Under his emotionless eyes lay dark lined sags, which crescendoed up once more, to his eyes, those dark gray vortexes which feed upon souls. His eyes were drunk with the stench of death.

Slightly surprised by the man's words and ominous gaze, the shopkeeper stood captive to an unexplainable horror for a moment at the sight of the man, until he prodded his body onward with the remembrance of his objective,

"Why you filthy mutt... I'm going to beat you dead!!!" Roared the barkeeper as he drew back his fist and prepared to deliver a solid right hook as punishment.

At this point, the entire bar was silent, for everyone was captivated by the potentially gruesome spectacle that was about to go down at the front of the bar.

In mid-flight, the man's fist halted as a pale and terrified guise gripped the face of the once authoritive, brawny barkeep.

Suddenly, drips of blood fell from betwixt the two men, to splatter onto the floorboards and paint a puddle of sanguine red that matched the pain-struck face of the shopkeeper.

With a smirk of sadistic satisfaction, the frail drunkard put his tankard aside and got out of his seat to reveal a knife handle lodged in the silhouette of the man's abdominal outlined beneath his white apron.

Swiping his arm towards the handle embedded in the man's chest, he grabbed hold of the dagger, and pulled himself towards the man, closing the distance to maximize damage. Gripping the handle with both hands he dug the knife deeper in the man' chest, twisting and gouging out a large blood seeping gap in his chest, all the while smiling with intense pleasure as blood splattered across the sleeves of his robes.

The man howled in pain while the onlookers of the blood fest stood a-back with shock, unable to react to the situation, which, might have saved one or two of their lives.

He then seemed to gracefully dance as he stepped backwards, drawing the knife out of its gory sheath, to make two quick crossed incisions across the mans chest.

Looking down in dumbstruck horror at his wounds, the injured man sank to his knees, and looked up at he who was about to kill him.

Drawing his hand to his mouth, the frail man whispered the cryptic words of a long forgotten text into his palm, to bring to life, a raging inferno that burst forth from his hand.

Shooting his spell wielding hand out to the man, he gripped the wounded man's face, and smiled as a hellish churning inferno enwrapped the man's head. Meanwhile, muffled screams could be heard, that slowly died down into silence. Releasing the man's head, the shopkeeper fell forwards to revealing a deformed and charred skull that had but a few singed hairs sticking crookedly out of the burnt flesh.

Drawing back his flaming arm, the murderer patted out the few fires scattered about his long sleeve. Completely burnt off, the cloth that once shielded his right fist was gone, revealing an ominous looking black eye that had been printed onto the back of his hand,

"He's a.. He's a BLOODLINER!!" Shrieked a woman as she stumbled backwards, clenching her mouth closed in terror with her hand,

"Yes I am..." Chuckled the man happily "And sadly enough, I can't let any of you know that. So please. Go to hell." He said with a smile as raised his arm to raze the tavern, engulfing it with a swirling torrent of relentless fire, which, did not so much as touch the man, but instead swirled about him at a distance as if it knew him to be master.

After several seconds, the fire dissipated into the air to reveal marred bodies, blackened by a furnace of swirling fire. The rest of the tavern was charred or still inflames. As for the ceiling, it was still burning, and already falling apart,

"Whoops, looks like I overdid it again." He said surveying the area of destruction "I think I need to get out of here before I, I don't know... Die?" He said to himself as a large beam of burning wood fell directly infront of his face.

Ignoring the large beam that nearly crushed him, he non-chalantly strolled towards the exit and with one fluid motion, kicked down the door to walk out under the cold, snow flurried sky,

"Man... The snowflakes sure are pretty." He said to himself, his warm breath mixing with the cold air to form a visible cloud "To bad everything will burn. Well, one day." He continued looking up and down the path that was paved going two directions outward from the tavern.

Far down to the left, distant voices and the light of torches could be heard and seen through the blurring gales of snow as a group of people, or worse yet, guards made their way towards the burnt-down tavern with quickening haste,

"I think I need to find another tavern, I'm not drunk enough." He said prominently as he walked in the opposite direction of the approaching group, and disappeared into the snow...

(I'm not completely sure, but it seems no one particularly cares about 1 person's story. Thusly, I am going to put the series on hiatus to see if there is anything more meaningful I can spend my time on. @Alator, looking for work.)

 

[Mustardmanmcgee]

Part Two ~ Chapter 9

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Voices of the Past
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"I trust you are sleeping peacefully?" Whispered a voice that seemed to wildly lunge to and fro across the plain, one second being directly infront, and the next sounding from miles down the dark and dreary landscape,

"Who are you..?" Sounded a voice like the bleat of a lamb, soft, and from everywhere at once, mimicking perfectly the very question the dreamer was about to ask,

"I am him who you fear most. The details are fuzzy..." Hissed the voice quietly from afar "But I can remember you clearly..."

"You are.."

"THE TRAITOR!!!" Shrieked the voice beside the dreamer.

Then as a mother gives forth children, more and more voices seeped and snaked away from the original voice, cursing, making accusations dark as the sifting fog which haunts heaven in that world.

Soon the land resounded with moans and screams, until shrieks shook the sky and threatened its demise, and wails rocked the earth, forcing it to split by the power of their volume. Then the voices slowly merged, composing a dark, haphazerdously constructed chant which echoed,

"Murderer... Murderer.. Filthy... Cunning... Murderer... Bloodlusty... MURDERER..! BLOOD DRENCHES YOUR HANDS! DIE AND BE DAMNED!"

"DIIIIIEEEEE-"

"NO!" Screamed the man! Hurling him back into the earthly realm once more.

His sheets, drenched in sweat, evidence to the marrow-chilling reality of his dream. For a moment, he was muted, unable to breathe as well, for his lungs seemed to be filled, flushed with some deathly liquid as he choked on his own saliva in his mounting panic. Maybe his hands were the cause of his problem? For they were both wrapped about his neck in a communitave effort to seemingly strangle himself,

"Solon!" Yelled a voice from outside the door, which made its entry quite loudly.

Gallifrey threw open the door, which slammed into the wall to rebound and nearly close behind him,

"Are you alright?!" He said, crossing the gap of the room with lengthened and hurried strides to meet Solon at his bed.

Quickly analyzing the situation, the combat veteran turned the man on his side and pounded his back, causing Solon to cough once more and swallow the liquids that his mouth had been brimming with.

Gallifrey then wrenched his hands free of his neck and laid them at Solon's side,

"There was... A voice... It... IT!" Solon gasped loudly, attempting to talk and breathe at the same time,

"Don't talk!" Said Gallifrey putting a finger to his friend's mouth "Breathe first, catch your breath!" He said, calming Solon down until his complexion brightened from its pale state and the man had some wind in his lungs,

"Ok, now what were you about to say?" He inquired of Solon,

"I... I don't... Remember." He answered, still in shock,

"Ok. It's ok." Answered Gallifrey "Calm down a bit, try to remember, then come down and have something to eat, it's nearly noon, and everyone else has already had breakfast." He said leaving Solon's bedside, and walking out the door to leave him alone in the dark of his room, pierced through the middle with a crack of light beaming from the doorway,

"I have never before felt so powerless... Yet, I can't remember even a second of the dream..." He thought to himself, thoroughly purplexed as to what had happened,

"No... It was nothing... Yeah, nothing important... Just a bad dream." He lied to himself, hoping that it would calm his body down slightly in effect,

"Anyways... I need to head downstairs and eat... I'm starving." He said, finally letting words slip out of his mouth instead of echoing them in the chamber of his head.

So, he sat up, then tried to walk, yet stumbled about with no more wit put into every step than a drunkard. He idiotically tripped over one foot, to be caught by the other, just to hit his foot on a rogue nail and plant his face expertly onto wall, causing a minor nosebleed as one might expect,

"Kainzo.." He spat "I feel like a crotchety old coot."

Looking around for a way out of the situation, he spied his staff, non-chalantly leaning against the nearest corner of the room. This sight gave him hope as a way to get down the several flights of stairs which awaited him outside the door.

Now in possession of his staff, he struggled out the door and down the stairs, slowly gaining coordination and feeling in his legs once again.

He slowly made his way down the spiral staircase until he had reached the bottom floor, brimming with the smells of breakfast,

"Sit down and have some food, you look hungry." Said Gallifrey, handing Solon a plate of food and directing him to the nearest bar stool at the counter,

"Mmmhh.. I haven't tasted food this good since... A long time ago." Mumbled Solon as he chewed up his forkful of seasoned hashed eggs,

"You sound like an old man." Chuckled Gallifrey,

"I feel like one too!" Exclaimed Solon, directing his fork back into the mound of freshly cooked eggs "Just a few moments ago, I could barely walk!"

"That's wierd..." Responded Gallifrey "Maybe you picked up a ghooost on one your wild adventures." He joked, waving his hands around in the air mockingly,

"Yeah..." Said Solon looking down at his plate of eggs and stirring them about in silent contemplation,

"By the way, where is Mustard and Ult?" Asked Solon, looking back towards Gallifrey over the counter,

"Oh, Ult said he was taking Mustard to the shopping square to buy him "something everyone needs" apparently." Said Gallifrey calmly,

"And you let him go..?" Said Solon inquisitively,

"Yup." Responded Gallifrey,

"AND you gave him money to buy an un-named object for a kid you barely know." Said Solon amazed at the Captain's inability to perceive the suspicious,

"Well... When you put it that way..." Said Gallifrey thinking over his actions "Oh crap, we need to go find him."

"Geez you're slow for a war captain.." Mumbled Solon as the both of them strapped on shoes and ran out the door.

(Yes, I know its short, but bear with me, it is a half of a chapter after all.)

 

[Mustardmanmcgee]

Discontinued.

Sorry.


Maybe not...