Date: Thursday, July 15, 2004 12:14 PM
"Hon I'm really not sure if we can get away with this, these
people are rich as hell, and prideful. The same kind of people who
aren't above putting a price on someone's head for the slightest
infraction. I just think this is too dangerous."
"This coming from the guy who not more than a day past was killing a ten
foot tall tiger who stood upright and smoked from a pipe? Hah!"
"Well, if you really must eat well tonight, then I suppose we shall do
this." Muad'Dib said as he kissed Taffi-Fu on the cheek and gave her a
small hug.
"All right sweety pie, I'm the smaller one so I'll go in through the
window then unlock the deadbolt for ya. Give me a boost, would ya hon?"
she said as she strained upwards with her arms in the air.
Muad'Dib picked her up by the waist and lifted her until she got her
arms on the ledge and could pull herself in through the open window. She
squirmed through the tiny opening, sitting on the sill on the other
side. She took a quick look around to make sure noone was stirring, and
seeing no signs of human activity, she decided it was safe to make a cat
like leap to the ground.
Unlocking the door and opening it for him, Taffi whispered "See hon,
noone is up, no guard dogs, no one's gonna know.. or miss their salami."
She giggled softly.
Muad'Dib answered, "Please stay quiet, my dear, this home invasion thing
can be tricky. Especially, when you leave the victims alive." He said as
he strapped on his katars.
"What the hell are you putting those on for? We don't kill people when
we do this, these people are most likely decent folk, just privileged."
"Yes, but even decent folk can be dangerous when you wake them up in the
middle of the night by invading their home, this is to ensure our
safety as well as theirs." Muad'Dib gave a little sigh. For all the time
that his beloved had been under his tutelage, she was still so naive at
times.
"I suppose you are right, this time." She said as she slid towards the
kitchen, heading for the cabinet which housed the food, certainly filled
with some gouda, pepperoni, and salami. As she began stuffing the meats
and cheese in a sack, a glitter on the mantle in the next room brought
Muad'Dib's attention that way. "Oh, looks expensive, perhaps this isn't
just a waste of time", he thought to himself, slinking through the
shadows.
The glittery object was of Gold, or something like gold, an amulet
depicting a snake eating it's own tail, a symbol of infinity and
immortality to some. To Muad'Dib, the amulet was a sign of Zeny and
nothing more. An easy score, something which is not often found.
"Sweety what are you doing in there?"
"Oh nothing, I just found something which may have been worth finding."
He answered in hushed tones as he slid the amulet in his hip pack with
the silver goblets he had found in the kitchen.
"Sweety, are you ready to get going now? I think it might be a good idea
to get moving before these people wake up…."
"Sounds like a plan, hon, besides-- I want to leave some of this stuff
behind... It would be bad manners to leave them with an empty pantry in
the morning, I don't want them to
starve in the morning, after all."
"So sweet of you, honey. It's a good thing we didn't have to slit their
throats, that would be bad manners indeed", he said as he kissed her on
her rosy lips.
"Teehee, yes, very bad manners indeed, now let's split!"
With that, they slinked back into the alley and ran off in silence with
their delectable meats and cheeses, hoping that their pilfered trinkets
would proove to be delightful and valuable.
Chapter 2
"Oooooo, it feels so good resting up against you, dear. And this fire is
lovely and warm as well", Taffi exclaimed as they sat, her nestled
against him, her head resting on Muad'dib's well toned chest. Their
campfired crackled cheerfully, giving the scattered loot and half eaten
cheese spread around them a golden glow.
"This is perfect, your warm body next to mine. If I had my way we would
never move from this spot, we would never leave each other's arms."
Muad'Dib whispered it gently into her ear as he reached around with both
of his muscular arms and hugged her closely.
"You're such a sweetheart, I love you, honey!" Taffi turned around,
wrapping her legs around him and kissing him hard, opening mouths and
receiving each other's tongue.
What happened next was what always tends to happen when two lovers
embrace and kiss in such a manner
The next morning they decided to do some shopping, and perhaps a bit of
stealing if the opportunity arose. The hamlet of New Brunswick was known
for its fat purses and soft towners. At any rate, Muad'Dib had no
intention of trying to sell his amulet so soon, at least not in the same
town where he had just stolen it. He considered instant gratification
somewhat amaturish.
"By God-poring, you say this happened in the middle of the night?"
"No in the early morn what do you think? It's astounding the curs were
not spotting by anyone, they must be assassins of some skill to do such
a deed and get away with it, not to mention overturning everything in
the house without so much as a peep!" Two good townsfolk were talking,
quite excitedly of some happenings the night before, obviously the
mention of assassins raised Muad'Dib, and Taffi-Fu's interest.
"The hell do you mean, must be assassins? Every time someone keels over
you people always blame it on assassins! YOU JERKS! Might have been some
a mage or even one of those damn hunters! You wish to settle this matter
with fisticuffs, good sir?!" Taffi was shouting at the men, and Muad'Dib
did not attempt to restrain her. As quick as she was to cool, she was
even quicker to anger. Best not to get in her way when she got like
this, he decided as he tipped his hat down.
Cowering, the peasant replied, "P-p-please accept my apologies, ma'am,
no offense meant! I - I- I was only stating that a killing of such skill
could easily be attributed one having the deadly skills of the
assassin's trade. It's not often we see your kind 'round these parts. I
do apologize, ma'am."
"HMPH! Very well then, but do not soon forget that the next insult you
fling my way may very well be your last!" She snorted while berating him
with her index finger. "Sayyyy, what are you on all about anyways? Who
keeled over?"
"Why, it was the good folks in the house right that way." The man
pointed nervously in the direction of the house from which they had
robbed the night before. "Some brigand broke in at the witching hour,
and did in the good sir and his family, he did. Buckets of blood, from
what we've been told. Whoever did it killed the man of the house, his
wife and his wee daughter of 5 years. I can't believe a man could do
such a thing, killing a child and woman and all. Even left the house a
shambles, ain't nothing in there what hasn't been overturned or busted
open."
Taffi, her eyes widening, quickly turned to her beloved and whispered
,"You didn't have anything to do with this, did you?"
"No, of course not, but whoever did either wants us on the run, or
wanted something in that house they could not find."
The townsmen slipped away, unnoticed, but relieved. Taffi chewed on the
end of one of her pigtails thoughtfully.
"What would they be looking for, certainly noone likes salami that
much!"
"No, I doubt that very much. However, I did steal a trinket that looked
to be of some value. I couldn't imagine it being worth all that much
though unless….unless…." He paused for a minute, letting the realization
of what had transpired last night hit him…
They stared at the seemingly harmless bauble dangling from his long
fingers.
"OH, DEAR, SWEET GOD-PORING! Hel's Breath?? The ancient and powerful
amulet which can be used as part of a necromancy spell to summon an army
of the undead, thus granting the user to rule over the land with an iron
fist??" Taffi-Fu and Muad'Dib said together at the same time. They
stared at it, aghast.
"Heh, great minds think alike, eh? Well, it looks like we've got two
choices. We get rid of it now. If we don't, we're off to fight whoever
this necromancer is, before he figures out that you have the amulet,
sweetums." Taffi-Fu exclaimed. Muad'Dib still could not understand why
a spoiled rich girl had left her lavish townhouse for the hard life on
the road. This life never offered any rest for weary travelers, but he
was glad she had, she was the light of his life; it was an
understatement to say she was the best thing to ever happen to him.
"Yes, we will be, and unfortunately finding the culprit may involve
speaking with more of the "good people" of this town. Ugh." Muad'Dib
replied. He disliked these soft town folk, milling around like sheep.
The only thing he hated more than them, was the idea of actually having
to talk to them. He seemed unwilling to give up his prize.
"Yes I know what you mean, I should have slit that man's throat, on
principle alone! Imagine him characterizing us good sins as ruthless
killers who slit people's throats for the slightest infraction!
Harrumph!" She pouted a bit, miffed at the missed opportunity to draw
blood "Maybe we should see if we can find any kind of clues around the
house before we ask questions. I'd love to get out of here without
talking to the rest of the village idiots any further."
"Sounds like a good idea, Fu-cutie." With that they walked into the back
alley next to them, and then snuck to the back of the house, the same
way they had gotten in the last night.
The back door looked same as they had last seen it, and Fu tested the
knob. "That's odd, I think we forgot to lock it when we left last night,
and now it's locked again!"
Muad'Dib replied, "Whoever did this was a real pro... He locked the door
behind him to mislead the police into thinking the point of entry was
somewhere else. Most likely in the front of this house there'll be a
broken window or two. What's this…." A shiny object in the back alley
caught his attention. "Holy crap! I know who did this, sweetie!"
"Someone who forgets to put things back in their place after they use
them?" Fu asked, teasing her love. One lovely, amethyst eyebrow peaked,
sarcasticly.
"Well, perhaps, I don't know him that well, but this knife… See this
inscription of a venomous snake in the hilt? Well, leaving this sort of
knife at the crime scene is surely the work of a man I worked with once.
His trademark. We did a job together, the kind of job that most merchs
don't take unless they are nuts, or very skilled, or both. This guy is
both, he enjoys killing and is always quite deft at it. The last time I
saw him, he was slitting the throat of some poor old woman who may have
seen us eliminate the target.
"After that I got in an argument with him and well….Let's just say that
I left him bleeding in the street, I assumed he was dead at the time. I
should have made sure. Now, we're working against a psycho with a grudge
against me." Muad'dib gritted his teeth, disgusted.
"Thank you, Captain Exposition. Let's hope they shorten that in the
manga version!" Fu said sarcasticly, breaking the 4th wall.
"OK. Still in a bad mood I suppose? We should go off and bop some
monsters before hunting down the man who hired Steve the slayer. The
client must have been quite well off, Steve demands a high price for his
bounties, and is worth the money."
"Well good! That narrows our search! The wealthiest man in this region
is Baron Von Claustbrussel. He has an eccentric mad man castle thingy
going on up in the hills. What he'd want with an amulet related to
Necromancy is beyond me, though.. My father had dealings with him in
the past, and my father does not suffer Necromancers well."
"Who does, my little sweetums? I think we all loathe the undead, and
those who conjure them."
"Well, some people do fancy that necromancer Naga the Serpent. But those
people are perverts most likely." Fu referred to the infamously
ineffective, and quite mad foe of the legendary Lina Inverse.
"Right. Hon, I've just got to tell you, sometimes it seems like you are
from another astral plane and have been sent by the Gods just for me."
Muad'dib stated as he walked off down the alleyway off to the mountains
to which Fu must have reffered to earlier. She smiled slightly, as she
stalked along after him, taking two steps to for each of his long
strides.
After much walking, a picnic lunch, and some more walking, they found a
large castle tucked away in the mountains
insert thing with other party of heroes
Chapter 3
"YOU FOOL! How DARE YOU come back here telling me the amulet was not in
its proper place! My spies reported it as being there! and my spies know
better than to report falsely. I demand an explanation at the very
least!" The Baron shouted from his huge throne which could easily seat 2
men. The room was huge, words echoed into the darkness which encompassed
the walls. The weak light from the candelabras gave off some soft
lighting in the middle of the room, setting off the vibrant thread of
gold weave in the foreign rug before the throne. Steve studied it,
pricing it. It was easier on the eyes than the quivering girth of
Claustbrussel.
"Oh, fancy my rug, do you, Steve? It came to me at some cost, from a
merchant who had traveled all the way from Morroc, it came from lands
beyond our own... Now the explanation is in order!" The Baron barked
again, then took a long sip from his wine goblet, soothing his throat
which had become sore from all the chastising of servants all the day
long. His fleshy face darkened with displeasure. He had no time for such
incompetence.
"I'm very sorry sir, but the amulet was not there! However, there were
some slight signs of intrusion, and by the looks of it that person had
most likely taken the amulet, perhaps only hours before I came into the
site where it was supposed to be", Steve stated. In his mind he was
thinking about how the rug was more likely to be a cheap imitation
purchased from Pier 1. What a joke this man is! He thinks he's so
refined but really, he's just some shabby little kinglet!
"DAMNATION! HELL FIRE! I demand the head of the disco king! Bring me the
head of the disco king!" Baron shouted impotently, his rolls jiggling.
"The hell are you on about then? What is this "disco" you speak of?"
Steve asked, sincerely puzzled by the fat man's odd reference note:
bring me the disco king - david bowie.
"Ummmm, nothing. You'll see in a few millennia. At any rate, have you
any idea to who may have the amulet at this time? Any clues left behind,
perhaps," the baron prodded.
"Why yes actually.." An evil gleam entered his eyes. "I have a pretty
good idea of who it is….OH HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!" He laughed, putting
his hand next to his mouth in a way not quite befitting of a man.
"Oh, I love a good laugh! OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO", laughed the
baron, just as ridiculous looking, in fact more so with his fat shaking
all about.
Later that night….
"Damn this is starting to become tiresome walking along this long
mountain path. Why do these eccentric rich people always have to live up
in the hills anyways? Why can't they live in a nice suburb where they
would be close to good shopping and jobs but not have to deal with the
inner city life?" Muad'Dib asked himself...not tired yet, his stamina
allowed him to walk much greater distances, but this didn't mean he
liked walking.
"Oh sweetheart, it's just their way. It probably helps keep them away
from the paparazzi, and the land prices are pretty cheap way out here.
You don't become rich by spending money, after all, unless you happen to
be J. Lo." Taffi explained matter of factly.
"Well that makes sense……" Muad'Dib's voice trailed off as his thoughts
were disturbed by the appearance of an old enemy. There he was, slick
and ugly. Steve.
"It seems we meet again, my old friend. And who's the young lady? Why
have you never introduced her to me before? It makes me feel like we
aren't such good friends. By the way, what a catch! I see you're really
robbing the cradle this time!" Steve haughtily stated all this with his
hands on his hips, looking overly confident, as always. He leered at the
pair, unbothered by their measuring glares.
"DAMN YOU! You were never my friend or ally, I simply had to put up with
you for a mission and even then you wore on my nerves," spat Muad'dib.
"I really thought you were dead but I made the mistake of not finishing
you off! And, by the way, it's not like that we are both very much in
love!" He glared at the oily little man. How was he still alive?
"Actually….you did kill me. I was cast down unto Hel and there I met
Loki. He would give me my life back as long as I killed you, and some
others, who would have an important role in the coming war which will
tear this world asunder. Needless to say I jumped at the chance of
doing the same favor you did for me so long ago. Now shall we posture
any further or shall we fight?"
The two duelists stared into each others eyes, one full of hatred and
evil from the world beyond Midgard, the other full of righteous
determination to protect his new love, and defeat his old enemy.
Muad'dib strapped on his faithfull katars, and assumed the crouching
tiger stance. Steve just stood there, like a moron, his short sword
remained in his sheath.
"What's wrong, afraid to exchange blows? Not willing to do any killing
anymore? You've gone soft. That wench has softened you up, hasn't she?"
At that moment Taffi-Fu got out some of her throwing knives and aimed
one for the fool's throat. Her breathing was ragged and her face flushed
with rage. She stood ready, muscles clenching. Her beloved leaped at his
foe, arms extended, deadly blades seeking warm flesh.
"DAMN YOU! I WILL NOT TOLERATE THAT SORT OF INSULT, FOR THAT YOU WILL
SUFFER!"
Steve quickly unsheathed his sword, and sidestepped to the left just in
time to meet one of Muad'Dib's katar with a ring of steel. Quick, but
not quick enough, he thought. There was a gash in the side of his
belly, just under the last rib. The salty sweet smell of blood filled
his flaring nostrills.
"You are much faster than I remember, much faster. I promise you that
strike will be the last you'll ever make!"
Steve rushed at Muad'Dib, ready to meet his foe in a crouching position.
Steve brought his blade down hard with a vertical strike, attempting to
cleave Muad'Dib's skull in two, his strike easily met by the swift
assassin's deadly blades. Steve struggled with him for several moments,
trying to overpower his old foe with sloppy blows. Lightning blow met
liquid strike as they danced. Steve had weakened in the years, he had
killed many men, women, and children, but he never went after the hard
targets.
"Damnation," he thought, ducking and parrying. "I'll never win like
this, he clearly is faster and stronger then me, I must find some way to
use my brilliant mind. WHAT THE HEL--?" Steve's voice drowned in the
gurgle of blood oozing out the wound at his throat, crimson liquid
cascading down the front of his leathers.
"ARgh…mghths." Steve last breaths fading as he clawed weakly at the hilt
sticking from voicebox.
"Forgot about me, did you? That is for trying to kill my husband…"
Taffi-Fu stated, obviously referring to the throwing knife stuck in his
throat. "And this is for calling me a wench!" With that she took the
knife out of his neck and shoved it with a sickening crack into his ear,
penetrating his brain and killing him instantly.
Muad'Dib was staring, aghast at what had transpired. He had seen her
kill a man before, but never so coldly. He was glad she had, Steve was
dangerous and there was no telling what he may have had up his sleeve.
His face was a mixture of dismay and pride.. certainly, she had learned
well, but at what cost? He quickly regained his composure to embrace his
Taffi-Fu tightly in his arms.
"Oh honey, you do me proud, I've never someone with such skill with the
throwing knives, save for myself." He grabbed her low and pulled her to
him. Squeezing her in his strong arms, he felt her heart hammering
against him.
"Well I couldn't let you die, and I saw a good chance to get this whole
thing over with quickly, so I took it, my love." With that she gave a
little shrug and kissed him passionately, then reluctantly let him go.
Muad'Dib cleaned off his blades, but left them on, as there was no
telling what dangers lay ahead. The baron would surely have some
henchmen around if he was as rich as Taffi had said.
They walked arm in arm, grasping each other's hands as well as you can
when both people are wearing claws.
Chapter 4
"Well this is the place, if memory serves. Not bad digs, eh? Little bit
too gothic for me."
"Yeah…definitely gothic (note: referring to the german style of
architecture, not the style of clothing you buy from hot topic before
listening to a Marilyn Manson CD). Not to mention big. My neck is
strained from trying to see the tops of the towers here. Yeesh."
The Baron's castle was huge. The walls were at least 50 yards high, and
the parapets were taller than that, two near the front. This was a
mighty fortification indeed. But not a soul to be seen. There must have
been guards somewhere, must have been some kind of soldiers to protect
this fortress of doom, but neither Muad'Dib nor Taffi-Fu could see any
soul stirring. (NOTE: Help with the architecture description please? I'm
drawing a blank here….maybe later on I'll do it…)
"That's odd, it seems like no one around. I find that highly illogical."
Muad'Dib wondered aloud. This total lack of life disturbed him.
Certainly, such a rich man would have serfs.
"Damn it all, Spock, always going on about logic! You vulcans are a test
you are!" Taffi teasingly scolded Mu.
"Spock? I know not of him. Is he somewhat like those long lived and
always logical Elves?" Mu was sometimes puzzled by Taffi.
"Yeah…something like that. Anyhow, lets go ahead and go in, since noone
is here to welcome us!"
With that, Taffi-Fu pulled the wide and aged doors apart with a creak,
they had not been used often and most likely wouldn't even work if it
hadn't been for the fact a visitor had just left earlier that day. (ED
NOTE: see last chapter)
"Lets run this last bit! WEEEEEE," yelled fu as she ran along in the
typical ninja/assassin really fast person kind of way, leaning forward
with hands trailing along. Muad'Dib had to run fast to catch up but soon
was running along side his life partner. As they ran, he noticed the
mushrooms growing all over the place. Mushrooms were a sure sign of
decay. People had once lived here but now there was only death. This was
surely the habitat of a necromancer, one who summons the dead, one who
lives with the dead.
Finally they reached the entrance to what must have been the anteroom,
where they would most likely find the Baron von Claustbrussel. The
knocker was large and quite decorative, in the shape of a lion's head.
Muad'Dib figured what the heck and knocked twice firmly. The sound of
the knock could clearly be heard by both Fu and Mu, resounding within
the room on the other side. It gave the impression that it was quite a
large room.
After a moment, the door opened on its own.
"Oooooh, cliché but still creepy, right folks?"
"Who are you talking to anyways? At any rate I find bewitching of such a
sort to be creepy but we must go on, surely we have found our query"
Muad'dib answered her as they walked on into the room. The whole space
of it could not be seen, but there were large, plain stone colums in
rows in the center, creating a sort of path to the center of the room,
where there was a dais and on top that, a large and ornate throne. Not
to mention in front of the dais was an ornate rug made to look like an
expensive Persian, but was obviously purchased at Pier One for a
reasonable cost.
"I was expecting you two. Taffi-Fu, I can't believe you've come to
associate with such rabble, your father would be most disappointed. Well
at any rate, I suspect you two have something that I would like to have.
An amulet which wouldn't mean much to you but I could put to good use.
I'm willing to pay handsomely for it, and will leave you two in peace
forever more. The amulet is all I wish."
"How much are we talking about here, 10 million zeny maybe? 20 Million?"
Muad'Dib asked, dollar signs in his eyes.
"HONEY! NO! Baron, I don't know what kind of monster you are or what you
have planned but you will NOT be getting this amulet, not now nor ever!
So long as we stand you shall not have it!" Taffi exclaimed, baring her
claws in front of her.
"Very well then, if you wish to do it the hard way, then we shall do
this the hard way. Iway ummonsay ouyay, arkday orcesfay ofway ethay
eyondbay, otay ightfay orfay emay! Ouryay astermay ommandscay itway!
ARKDAY ORCESFAY, ASSEMBLEWAY!"
The ground shook, bits of rubble from the ceiling of the anteroom fell
upon the ground, and dust was rustled. Out of the darkness surrounding
them, hordes of Zombies appeared on all sides. Decrepit creatures, green
rotting flesh, some missing arms or eyes, some without all the flesh in
place. Abominations against nature, walking fleshy creatures which
should have stayed dead appeared to serve the great necromancer. The
smell was unbearable.
"Now, see if you can deal with these creatures! OH
HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO," the Baron laughed, his girth undulating with evil
glee.
"Damn. There's a load of 'em. Lets fight back to back and hope for the
best." Muad'Dib coldly stated as he steeled his nerves with the litany
against fear. His heart was pumping as he went into a crouch.
"Right. We can take them honey, together." She feared nothing save for
being separated from her life's love, and would fight by his side, and
die there if need be. Not even death would sever their bonds...
The first wave encroaching upon them, they came into blades length, both
spurring into action, "SONIC BLOW!!!!" Fu yelled out as she struck the
first one in front of her so quick the eye could not see, ripping the
creature to shreds. Meanwhile Muad'Dib did his best, swiping side to
side as fast as possible. Keeping them at arms length, making sure to
never let them close enough to do any damage, severing one's head,
cutting off another's arms, cleaving another through the mid section.
"Damnation, these creatures keep on coming, how many are there?"
Taffi-Fu cried out in frustration as she neatly sliced two heads clean
off one after another.
"I lost count after the first 20, my dear. It seems like we may have met
our end, they are in endless supply and we will tire at some point."
Muad'Dib was beginning to sweat, it had been a long time since he had to
fought so many foes one right after another. The undead staggered forth
in endless, rotting waves.
"HAHAHAHA, you will die! For everyone one you kill, two more are
summoned. You see, although I do not have it in my hands I am able to
tap into some of the power of the amulet of hel. YOU WILL FALL! When you
do I shall have the amulet, and then I shall overrun the world with my
armies of the undead! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The baron laughed maniacly,
apparently undecided about what kind of evil laugh he wished to use
regularly.
"Honey, if what he says is true, this is the end….I love you, and I
always will." Muad'Dib said what he thought would be his last words.
There would be no better place to die, than at the side of his beloved.
"I love you too honey, but lets not give up hope quite yet, we still
have a lot of fight left in us!" Taffi sidestepped a walking corpse and
lopped off the head of one fresh enough to still have blood. She was
bruised and bleeding from a dozen scratches and gouges, indeed, they
both were. They were getting tired, arms leaden from fighting foe after
unded foe. They would make it. She bared her tiny, white teeth like a
cat as she launched herself back into the fray.
Just then a portal opened right next to our heros, blue and shimmering.
From the glittering orb stepped a priest, two wizards, and then finally
the priestess who had opened the warp portal, joining them in the space
between them and the zombie horde.
"Anyone need a heal around here?" The mysterious priestess asked,
reaching down to both Fu and Mu. Her kind face looked down on the with
concern as she began the incantations. Meanwhile, the Priest was busy
whacking at one zombie, and the wizards had started on some type of
spells.
"FIREBALL LVL 5!" said Cid, as he finished his casting and a large ball
of fire into the ocean of zombies, leaving a blackened swath of charred
and twitching corpses.
"YOU….SHALL NOT PASS! FIREWALL LVL 10!" yelled soul siphon as he thrust
his staff down mightily. Walls of fire erupted around the heros, leaving
only one side open which the assassins quickly faced and began to tear
apart any zombies encroaching on their position.
"I thank thee for the help, good adventurers, it's nice to have some
breathing room amongst all the stink of these foul creatures. Have you
any other tricks to assist us?" Muad'Dib questioned his mysterious
saviors.
"Why yes, we do..," the priest, Azmodie stated with a serene smile on
his face "MAGNUS EXORCISM……..LVL 10!"
The room was bathed in a glorious blue and white light of power, wiping
any and all zombies from the presence. New ones spawned as the others
shriveled to dust and fell, but even these were no match the glorious
aura of the Gods summoned by the mighty priest.
"Damn you all, don't think I won't forget this! I've just begun
to….fight…….." The last bit struggled coming out as the Baron fell to
the ground, exhausted, magical energies drained. His face was sweaty,
bulk, sunken.. As if he had poured all of his soul into the casting. He
lay there on his counterfiet rug, shuddering and gasping.
Muad'Dib and Taffi-Fu rushed to his side, trying to figure out what
would be done next.
"Don't think I'll go easy on you, you tried to kill us and that isn't
something I soon forgive." Taffi-Fu told him, anger causing her to
shake, her voice to become unsteady. She gripped him by his filth
encrusted robe and shook the fallen fat man like a dishrag. "WHO SENT
YOU??" Each word was punctuated by particularly hard shake.
"Well, would you spare me if I revealed….who….I was working for? It's
someone you... know. Someone... from your past." The baron managed to
force out of him, thoroughly exhausted. His froglike eyes and piggish
nose were bleeding from the strain of casting. His smile was smug as he
rasped at them through blood and spittle.
"I am curious to find out. Ok then, tell me. Who is it you've been
working for, building this grand army for?" Taffi felt cold.. Noo... she
could feel something coming.
The baron caught his second wind, semi-rejuvinated by the presence of
the amulet about Muad'dib's neck. Filled with crazy energy, he
cackled,"Hehehehe, you heroes are all the same, so dumb. Why it's your
old step mother of course. In the past few years she's been marshalling
an army of the undead with the help of necromancers such as myself,
meanwhile she's been using your father's money to buy merchs, and
weapons. Come Ragnarok she plans to play an important part in the battle
of the Gods, and hopes to make sure her side will win. Thor, Odin,
Frigg, God-Poring, the gods which you worship shall be defeated at the
hands of Loki and his forces of darkness! For evil is strong, and good
is dumb!" He forced out a bloody cackle, spraying Taffi with spit and
blood.
"Thanks for the info, here's your REWARD!" On that last word, Taffi-Fu
thrust her katar into his blubbery chest and dragged it down, splitting
him open with her claws and exposing his entrails and marbled flesh to
the cold air.
"SHIT! But you said you'd spare me.....?" the baron said with what air
was left in his cleft lungs, just a hair away from death.. and then.
Baron Heinrich Von Claustbrussel, son of Anders, minor magus, major
madman was gone.
"Yes, I did spare you, I had no problems with letting you go. My katar
on the other hand, could never let you leave this place alive. Awfully
sorry about that." She taunted the man as he died. Quietly, she wiped
her soiled katar on what remained of his velvet robes.
"Wow, that was cool and uncaring and whatnot. Well, guess we have to
thank those people who came by to help us with those zombies…" Muad'Dib
turned to see that there was nothing save for a fading warp portal and
remnants of the symbols of power left twisting in the stale air. "Well.
That saves us from any uncomfortable moments. I suppose we'll be going
to your old home now." He was exhausted. Slumping, he settled on a pile
of rubble that had once been the dais.
"Oh, that's right." She spat disgustedly at the thought of that old
whore. "May God-poring have mercy for that bitch, because I'm sure as
hell not going to have any. So help me, if she has done anything to harm
my father, there won't be enough of her left to feed to the dogs."
"Well, I don't know if that will be necessary..." Muad'Dib motioned
towards the remains of the baron, which had turned to ash after his
passing. "If she's anything like him…"A neat trick, no doubt. "We'll
need to move soon, I'm with you on that. Lead me on, hon, I shall
follow!" She grabbed him around his wrists and pulled him up.
With that they left the ante room of the castle, which although still
old and stale, now felt cleaner. It was still dark, but the palpable
darkness and the stench of decay that had been lifted. Soon the clean
darkness of night had fallen, and our heroes decided that in spite of
the urgency of their quest, they would have to make camp on the lonely
dirt path etched through the mountains leading away from castle
Claustbrussel.
(END CHAPTER 4)
Chapter 5
After a good night's sleep in the cold mountain air, our heroes woke at
dawn. After a quick morning breakfast of bread and cheese the pair moved
on back to town. It was a brisk hike, not tiring in the least thanks to
the fact that it was all downhill, and in part because they were now on
a personal quest. One which would bring them to the small hamlet where
Taffi-Fu had grown up, and the house in which she had lived what seemed
like a lifetime ago.
Taffi burned with contempt for the treacherous whore, for all that Anya
was the lawful wife of Elder Vandorrson. The cold bitch who had her torn
from the comfort at her father's side the night her mother died. Oh,
Mama, I miss you. I miss Papa, too. Even if I'm only a bastard and a
girl, Papa was always kind to me. I won't let that hag hurt him.
A quick stop to the weapon shop to pick up some more throwing knives,
and then off to the butcher and the baker to get some more supplies, and
they were off to the town center to find a priest capable of warping
them. Luckily, they found a friendly wandering priestess by the name of
MidoriNeko, who was more than happy to warp them for One Thousand zeny.
It was well worth every bit, Gods only know what would have happened had
they not arrived there in time.
A few chanted words began their quick jaunt to the small town of
Aerith, then just a few rushed steps to the old home of Taffi-fu, the
Vandorrson estate. By anyone's account, it was the largest manor in all
of town, it sat on the northern edge, at the end of main street. Viktor
Vandorrson, lord of the manor, owned a good part of the town, and was by
all accounts the most powerful person in town, and perhaps for many
miles around. A wealthy land owner, he had begun as a prospector, buying
a claim of land near Geffin and striking a rich vein of Eluminum. He
quickly sold the land for 500 million to an established mining operation
. He used that money to invest in real estate outside of Prontera, over
time turning those millions into several billion.
The large manor didn't quite live up to what one would expect of someone
of such great wealth, but was still impressive nonetheless. The building
was two stories tall. Muad'dib counted the the ornate windows; it looked
like it had 10 rooms facing the south. A small front porch framed the
door, a twining honeysuckle canopy offering shade to those waiting to
enter. A rocking chair was sitting on the porch as well, although it was
dusty from lack of use in recent times. It was a simple facade, but the
woodwork showed loving craftsmanship.
Muad'Dib was still taking it all in, amazed by the beauty of the
building. Taffi-Fu mumbled something about killing that damn bitch, and
ran right in, slamming the door behind her.
"Wait for me, will you--?" The last bit trailed off as Muad'Dib saw her
disappear into the building. Frustrated with her lack of patience, as
well as lack of discipline, he tried to open the door. It would not
budge an inch. He pulled as hard as he could, and it still would not
budge. Judging by the sound it made when it slammed behind Fu, his
katars would do nothing to the solid mahogany slab. He quickly found a
window off to the left, and attempted to thrust his claw into it, but to
his surprise, the blow was deflected with a HWONG.
"Damn. Must be a magic force field of some kind. Whoever cast this spell
must have protected the entire house, or else it wouldn't be worth it.
I'll just have to wait and see if Fu can figure a way from the inside to
let me in. I hate this, but I know with what I've taught her she can
take care of herself. I just hope she doesn't let her anger take over,
and get sloppy." Muad'Dib patiently sat down, legs crossed, outside the
front door, watching it intently for any movement. After some time he
noticed a faint purple tinge around all the house, most likely a visual
sign of the barrier, he would have to wait for a weakness in the field.
Meanwhile, inside Taffi-Fu was not concerned with magic barriers, was
not concerned with anything except the destruction of her father's wife,
and saving the lives of her dear ones. If Lotty got in her way, she
would have to be dealt with as well.
It wasn't long before she met up with her half sister, Charlotte, on the
way up the stairs. Taffi-Fu was shocked to see her sister out of her
usual dress. She had always favored a demure and traditional garb.
Better to hide her true nature, Taffi sniffed. Instead, she was clad in
something a harlot would wear; a small, skimpy red top barely covering
her bossom and exposing her mid drift. Her shorts were red and leather ,
cut unseemly short, and extraordinarily tight. Her long, red leather
boots with 4 inch heels creaked as she sauntered up. There was
something.. wrong with her.
"Well, you always were a slut, dear sister," Taffi spat. "I'm not
surprised at all to find you here looking like this. Now if you don't
mind, please kindly move so I may kill your mother. If you haven't
figured it out by now, she presents a great danger to our father, and
possibly the whole world. Now move bitch, get out the way!" She gave a
vicious attempt to backhand Charlotte with her left hand. Taffi had
underestimated her sister, who had apparently become much less weak and
insipid over recent months. Charlotte grabbed Taffi's wrist, shocking
Fu, but not enough to keep her from twisting in her sister's grip,
slashing her in the arm in the process. Fu lunged to cut Charlotte's
hand, unfortunately, the sneaky little creature of darkness took a quick
step back with her right foot, quickly snatching her hand back from the
furious assassin.
"Dear sister, I shall not be defeated so easily, neither shall I back
down and allow you to kill my beloved mother. I care nothing of our
foolish father, he should not have gotten in her way, the same for our
idiot brother. If you wish to fight me over it, I shall kill you. I
would suggest you leave here now and forget about any of this if you
wish to live past the next few minutes." Charlotte punctuated that with
a flip backwards, landing herself in the upstairs hallway, where they
would have a bit more room to fight, and reached behind her back, baring
her dual tanto with a flourish before settling into a crouch, blades
pointing towards the ceiling.
Taffi-Fu leaped toward her demonic sister, reaching to her belt quicker
than the eye could follow to launch a throwing knife straight towards
her sister's chest. Without enough room or time to dodge, Charlotte was
forced to deflect it with the blade in her left hand, leaving her
exposed for just a moment, the moment Fu was landed in front of her. Fu
blocked the blade in Charlotte's right hand with her left claw and
kicked out to the right, loosening Charlotte's grip on the deadly blade
and sending it flying. Fu thrust out her right claw toward her dear
sister's chest…
Operating on reflex and near panic, Charlotte attempted to stop Fu's
claws by blocking with her weaponless left hand. She soon realized the
mistake as Fu's razor sharp claws slid clean through bone and muscle. It
bought her some time, but her hand was ripped to dogmeat as Fu swiped
back and to the right to remove her deadly claw from her sister's hand.
She bounced up, forcing her kneeguard into Charlotte's chin on her way
up to standing position.
Taffi regarded Charlotte with a slightly sad look in her eyes. "You are
badly injured, and will surely within moments. Because of the father we
share, I will give you an out. Give up now, Lotty, or there will be no
mercy." Fu quickly explained to her sister, who now had what remained of
her left hand tucked in her armpit, trying to staunch the flow. She
still had a good right though, armed and ready to strike out with her
last breath.Charlotte had bitten thru her lower lip, it too bled.
"Damn you, you don't know my Mother. Anything you can do to me would be
a pleasant afternoon compared to what she would do to me if I let you
pass alive….We must finish THIS!" Charlotte struck out with all the
energy she had, attempting to slice open Fu's throat, but Fu easily slid
to her right, catching the blade in her left claw, then took a step
forward. Her beloved sister was no more with a horizontal slice to the
jugular. A bloody mess, Charlotte fell to the ground in a pool of her
own blood, there was more outside of the body than there was inside, by
now.
Stepping over the crumpled body of her half sister, and avoiding
stepping in the pool of blood around the body, Taffi-Fu pressed on. The
house was dark, a foul darkness, much like the darkness they had felt in
castle Claustbrussel. Fu was not thinking about the past though, she was
barely even thinking about the present, or she would have noticed that
Muad'Dib was nowhere to be found. The rage was still over her, hot and
sharp, growing with each step. She slowly walked down the corridor, feet
pounding the floor, blood still pumping behind her eyes. She went
straight to the end of the hallway, to the large master bedroom suite,
which she correctly guessed would be Anya's lair.
Hoping to take her by surprise, Fu kicked the door down and rushed in,
to find a darkened room, shades drawn, several candles were burning,
surrounding the bed on which Anya sat. While her sister's appearance was
simply whoreish, her step mother's was worse. Her skin seemed to have a
red tinge to it, it looked to be smooth and leathery, her ears were
pointy and impish, her nails were small black shortened points which
looked more like claws than nails. She also wore short black shorts, her
legs were completely hairless, and on her feet were the same claws as on
her hands. In fact, the only hair was on her head, long black hair which
went halfway down her back. Her face….she had always had the typical
anglo features, a small nose, a pointed chin, but now those features
seemed…more accented, perhaps it was the ears but it seemed there was a
v shape formed from her chin to the tips of her ears. If she was not a
demon, Taffi-Fu didn't know what one was.
"The fact you are here tells me that my daughter has failed me. She was
my most valued follower, and for her death you will suffer. You will
wish that you had died at her hands, for now you shall see your lover
tortured at my hands. I have some new ideas that even I have yet to use
to torture you pitiful beings, and I think they shall be quite
effective."
At this point Fu realized that she had not seen Muad'Dib behind her, he
must not have been able to get inside….her step mother must have
bewitched the house to keep him out. DAMMIT! I have failed….I shall
still fight as hard as I can, I need to keep her from harming the love
of my life. We still need to make a life for ourself, we need to have a
house and children and the whole deal.
"DAMN you to the hell you came from bitch, I will never allow you to
touch my husband so long as there is breath in my lungs, come, stand
Anya and feel the fury of my claws!" Fu crossed her arms, the claws in
front of her face.
"Just so you know, the name is Melalchacanth, and you will not have a
choice in the manner!" With that, Melalachacanth sprung from the edge of
the bed, reaching out with her hands, hissing with saliva dripping from
her mouth. Fu stared right into the demon woman's eyes, full of fire, as
she ducked down, avoiding her step mother's claws, and jabbed up into
her warm belly.
Had Anya been a mortal being, the claws would have ripped into her,
emptying her intestines onto the ground. But her demonic armor deflected
the hit with ease, bending Fu's blades back.
"OH HOHOHOHOHO, you silly little cunt, you cannot kill me so easily!"
The ancient demon woman hit Fu in the back of the head hard, knocking
her out. The last thing Fu thought was not of her own fate, but of her
husband's. "Oh god….what have I led you to…please God, help him…."
A few minutes after Fu had been knocked out, Muad'Dib noticed the door
had lost its purple glow. Muad'Dib, a man who knows the tools for the
job, had on his katar of the cold icicle, a single bladed katar
enchanted with the water element. He had to guess at the element which
Anya may control, but he knew the single blade would be needed if he
wished to pierce a demon's skin. Closing the door behind him, Muad'Dib
ran as quickly as he could, hoping to find Fu before she could be
harmed. He found the body in the hallway on the second floor, and was
proud of her work. The fight had gone in Fu's favor, as neither of the
enemies tantos had any of Fu's blood on them. He knew this dead girl was
a servant of Anya's, and he thought it prudent to take one of the
blades, just in case his katar failed, perhaps the tonto would not, if
imbued with the demon's own magic.
Muad'Dib knew he must be close, he could feel the powerful demon must
have been hiding in one of these rooms. He found the doors to the master
bedroom, it was the grandest looking doors out of all the whole
upstairs. There were gold inlays in the shapes of vines and flowers,
altogether a disgusting display of wealth. Muad'Dib did not like
entering closed doors, there was no knowing what was on the other side,
and it left him exposed. He had to do it though, he could hear no
struggling on the other side, so he was scared for Fu. Back to the door
on his left, he turned the knob on the other door, and pushed it in, he
waited a second for flying arrows, then slid over and ran into the room.
He was a bit shocked to see a demon there, in all her evil trappings.
"I was expecting you. I'm sure you know now I had been keeping you out
until I had restrained your life's love. Now I shall beat you, then I
shall torture you to death in front of her. Of course I need not say I
shall kill her later on. You both shall suffer fully before death,
before being separated in the afterlife." She allowed herself a small
cackle after motioning to the now helpless Taff-Fu, as she was chained
to the wall, arms and legs spread out. Next to her were some manacles,
waiting for another captor. Waiting for Muad'Dib.
"The hell you will, you psycho bitch, I'll eviscerate you like I've done
so many times before. I give not a fuck that you are a demon, demons are
mortal creatures too, and thus shall die as any other mortal creature
that has raised my ire. You had better make your peace, for you shall
soon be at peace!" Muad'Dib rushed into battle, rolling then springing
up, katars swinging up with him. Mel's great strength overpowered him
easily though, grabbing him at the wrists, she pulled him up helplessly
as his legs dangled, she kneed him in the groin. She dropped him on the
ground as he writhed in pain.
"Come now, don't force me to hurt you any further, I want to have as
much fun torturing you as possible. Now be a good boy and give up."
"Never, you crazy hell bitch, I will kill you soon enough!" Muad'Dib had
recovered from the severe blow, and did a sweep kick to her behind her
knees, dropping the foul creature onto her back. "The bigger they are,
the harder they fall." Muad'Dib lept up and landed katars first onto the
demonic creatures chest. The blades penetrated her deeply, glowing blue
with their elemental enchantment as they drew the wretched creature's
green blood, spilling onto the ground. She was genuinely shocked as she
looked into his eyes, she had never been harmed so badly by a mortal
man. How did he know she could be harmed by a water elemental weapon!
Now she was pissed.
Melalchacanth was now in a fight for her life, she pushed him off of her
with all the force she could muster, Muad'Dib flew into the ceiling, the
dropped straight to the floor. His entire body ached. He surely had some
broken bones. He had no feeling in his legs. His arms…..didn't work
quite right. He….he couldn't get up. His body would not allow it. All of
it was over now. His entire life had been pain until he had met up with
Fu, the only kindness, and the greatest kindness. Now so soon after
being united, they would be split. He would die here at the hands of
this demon woman, he knew this because he was not one to give up until a
situation was helpless, and this situation was.
"Now, you wretched little insect, I will torture what is left of your
body to death, and then I shall kill your dear sweet little Fu. You two
shall never see each other again, you shall be damned to the pits of
hell which I am from, and Fu shall go on to the halls of Valhalla. OH
HOHOHOHOHOHO!"
"The hell….are you…..talkingabout…I've done so much good….the gods must
favor me…" Muad'Dib sputtered, blood running out of his mouth.
"Oh that is rich. You have any idea how many innocent people you've
killed, just to make a quick buck? How could the Gods ever forgive you
for such deeds? I'll see you in hell!" Melalchacanth taunted him as she
turned him over to rest on his back and began to tear at his skin
lightly with her nails. The pain was horrible, the small injuries burned
with fire as if they had been poisoned. Most likely there was poison
involved.
Muad'Dib now went into the recesses of his own mind, he prayed to Frigg
to keep him and his love together, to give him the strength it would
take to kill the vile beast. The patron of marriage and motherhood, the
goddess of love, surely she would help him if any of the race of Aesir
would. All he could do was ask for help to help himself as the demon
woman further tormented his poor body.
His chest a mess of scars, all aching, it looked like it would be the
end for our heroes…but then Muad'Dib's pain began to wane, he could feel
strength coursing through his legs, his arms, his wounds closed….he
glowed with a blue white light, his eyes were nothing but light blue
glowing orbs, glowing with a flame of justice, a power granted from the
great wife of Odin. She spoke to him "You will only have this power a
short while, my son. It will allow you to achieve what would not be
possible without my help, now you may slay this foul abomination and
send it back to Hel."
Muad'Dib stood up slowly, full of righteous anger, his entire body
surrounded by an aura, hair standing straight up. He pointed one finger
towards the now awed and cowering demon woman.
"The time has come for you to die." With that, Muad'Dib moved faster
than the eye could see, and faster than Melalchacanth could respond, he
got in close and began a flurry of jabs to her chest, more than 100
strikes within less than a second. Her insides torn asunder, green blood
splattered all around the room, Mel reeled in pure agony. Muad'Dib wound
up with his right, and followed through with a huge blow, the likes of
which no mortal man could normally be capable, as her head was separated
clean from her body and spiked upon Muad'Dib's jur.
Little more than a second after the head was separated from the body, it
all disintegrated to ashes. The demon woman Melalchacanth, known by some
as Anya, would hopefully never be seen by a man again. Muad'Dib then
used what was left of the power from the gods to destroy the manacles
holding Fu in place, and she hugged him close and apologized and
promised to never venture off without him again. Of course no apology
was needed, he forgave her immediately. The important thing is that they
were together again, both safe…..for now…