(A/N) First off, thanks to Stevetheloser and Ramaon for answering my pleed
for help, not to mention previous support. And actually, no, I'm not using
Microsoft Word/Works, I'm using this really odd MS clone and another dinky
word processor off ZDnet. Perhaps that explains why saving as a web page
dosn't work for this site....ah well. Here is the true Chapter 5:
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Akakios squinted dimly at the landscape through the bits of stained glass. Although Ros had fixed them quite a bit, they still obscured and discolored his vision slightly, and it was hard enough to make out anything in the darkness. "How much further? the demon called out.
"Not to long," called back the captain. Akakios shrugged. The paladins had transported themselves to the Rogue Monastery via ancient, deeply inscribed runes called Waypoints. The closest one, that they knew of, was located in an area called the Stony Field. Akakios knew why; his horse had nearly tripped over twice.
Slowly, but surely, the band of five paladins made their way to the mountain path, the surest way to climb through the hillside. Each of the other five paladins had ignited a separate aura, but that was merely to prevent overlapping. Akakios had asked which aura was the best, and was quickly met with an argument from his comrades. All that the young demon had been able to pick up was that it depended more on your fighting style more than anything.
"Let's try another question then," Akakios began, trying to be heard over Balrog's shouted declaration of strength enhancing auras. "Why am I here?" This was greeted with abundant silence. "Does anyone know?"
"Because you were selected," replied one paladin slowly. Akakios turned and squinted at him. The paladin couldn't see this of course, so the effect was lost.
"Yes, but why?" Akakios shivered against the chill of the night, as he waited for a response from his companions. The group captain suddenly started mumbling softly to himself, then turned to the demon.
"All right," he said, turning his horse around. "I guess you have a right to know."
"Captain," urged another paladin. "He isn't supposed to find out until we're..."
"I know," Captain Calrisen replied. "But there's no reason not to let him know now. Akakios," began the captain again, "It is believed you may have some experience in the area were about to divulge in."
"What area would that be?" replied the demon. "I hope it's not mental discipline..." This earned a short, nervous laugh from his companions.
"The rogues have given us reason to believe that there is some kind of demonic interference in their monastery," informed the captain, not even smiling at Akakios' joke. Akakios sobered up very quickly.
"What are you implying?" asked Akakios slowly, fear starting to crawl up his spine.
"We need to know if demons are infiltrating the mountain path to the east," replied the Captain. "And you're going to tell us." Akakios felt his mouth go dry.
"You're...you're going to use me as b...bait?" the demon choked out, hoping this was a mistake.
"Huh? Oh. No, that's not it. But as a demon, you'll be more likely to sense any of your brethren within the strong hold, because the...Yes, what is it Silth?" the captain turned towards a lanky paladin who had been trying to gain his attention.
"Sir," replied Silth, "Did you hear that?"
"Hear wha..." Calrisen was cut off by a scream of attack. "What the blazes?" shouted their leader, drawing his sword and preparing to defend against the charge. He held his weapon high over his head in one hand, while tugging at the reigns with the other. He was unseated when three beasts rushed at him and plunged their spears into his horse, crippling it.
"Attack!" screamed Balrog, who quickly began bashing down upon the beasts with his scepter, protecting his leader. Silth had already dropped the reigns and was in the process of stringing his bow. The last paladin stretched out his arms and summoned spinning hammers out of his bare hands that spiraled around the group, striking down more beasts that came to attack. Akakios was frozen to his seat.
Akakios was forced to make a decision, however, when something lurched up from the ground and grabbed him, pulling him off his horse to the earth. He tried to keep the razor like nails from clawing him, grabbing each of the...hands? Akakios peered as carefully as he could at the growling, snarling face and realized with a sickening sensation that it was a woman. Unable to comprehend anything that was going on, he let go of her hand, a truly fatal mistake. She lifted her hand into the air, and brought it down to slash into his neck. Akakios was to terrified to even perform the simplest of blocks, but he didn't need to.
As Captain Calrisen pulled the devil woman off him, he shouted at Akakios to run, to find a safe area. The shameful memory of the fact that he was already scrabbling for safety would haunt the demon for the rest of his life. He crawled as quickly as he could, then stood up and ran for cover, ducking and weaving between more demonic women while he covered his head with his arms. Once he had hidden himself behind another outcropping of rocks, he turned back and squinted to see how his companions were doing. He watched in horror as it became more and more obvious they were going to loose this fight.
Calrisen's arm had become a blur, striking his enemies faster than the eye could follow. Silth's arrows flew strait and true, the flickering red aura enhancing his aim. Balrog decimated an enemy with every swing of his powerful axe, his slightly spiky aura boosting his already considerable might, and all of them benefiting from Calrisen's aura, a firey orange one that gave them the zeal and strength of a true fanatic.
Despite their efforts. the women (or at least woman like creatures) continued to swarm the paladins with lances and maces, as skeletons off further in the distance launched a continuous hail of arrows. The forth paladin, whom Akakios never knew the name of, was the first to go. The last hammer he had summoned killed his murderer even as he fell. Calrisen was suffering many hits, the blood streaming down his armor in small beads and flying off his arm as he continued to strike with riotous ferocity. Balrog looked exhausted, and even though his thick armor protected him from many of the blows, it was clear he would soon ware out. And it appeared that Silth was about to be carried right off his horse and into the crowd.
Akakios was rooted to the spot, unable to act or comprehend the images before him. The training, the discipline, the lectures did nothing to prepare him for the mind numbing terror that held him tight within its grasp. He watched as one by one, his companions and leaders were struck down, their mortal life ripped from the physical shell by the sheer mass of the attack.
Akakios stared with wide eyes as the devil women prowled among the bodies, some even beginning to feast on the dead. One girl, apparently their leader, turned to another and said, "There were five."
Akakios backed away from the scene in disgust, when his heel struck some kind of stone and he went down. The racket he made returning to earth was easily heard by the rogues, who turned to him and growled. Panicking, the demon picked himself up and did the only thing he could think of doing: he ran.
******
"Are you sure it was a good idea to send Akakios off so soon?" Morgan asked Alvis, strolling up next to him in a moonlit corridor.
"Are you questioning my judgment?" Alvis replied, a steely tone in his voice.
"Not at all, it's just unusual. Protocol says that it's not advisable to send anyone on a mission until they've reached their eighteenth year..."
"That's for humans!" snapped Alvis. "And what's the matter with you? Have you lost faith in the beast?" Morgan turned to Alvis, his right arm slowly, almost imperceptibly moving closer to his sword.
"You know, ever since your trip to the Kurast monastery, you've been shouting at people and accusing them of crimes we don't even have laws for. What is this really about?" Alvis, without warning, reached up and grabbed Morgan by the throat, pulling him down eye to eye with his ancient face.
"You listen to me," spat the elder, "my business is none of your concern." Morgan's shock was quickly replaced with rage, as he wrenched the claw like fingers from his neck and grabbed Alvis by the collar and shoved him against the wall.
"It very well IS my concern, and you are required to answer any questions regarding ..." was the beginning of the lecture that Morgan was planning on giving. He got as far as "IS", when he was thrown across the width of the hallway and slammed into the opposite wall, before slumping to the ground. He looked up at the elder, who was usually quite frail. Now however, he looked tall and powerful as a strange light surrounded him, though it was no aura that Morgan could recognize.
"Never. Touch. Me. Again." spat Alvis, seeming to quiver with wrath that anyone could possibly consider questioning his authority. He then swept away from Morgan, seeming to half race and half stroll down the hallway to his chambers. Morgan picked himself up, promising to report this incident in the morning.
*****
Akakios couldn't run fast enough. He could still hear the women behind him, not to far from the clinking of the bones of the walking dead. Every time he felt he had escaped his pursuers, he was met with a new group of them. Every nightmare Akakios ever had was pulling at his brain, as everything from demonic little beasts to huge behemoths that towered above his small frame gave him chase.
At last, when he felt he could run no more, he fell to the earth gasping for air. It turned out this was a stroke of luck, as had he stayed in his erect position, he would have been pierced by the arrow that sailed by him and struck one of his pursuers. Looking up from the ground, he saw a woman several meters off. She drew another arrow and let it fly. To the demon's amazement, it sailed over him again and continued to strike down another creature giving him unwanted attention.
After the unusually helpful woman had slain the last of his pursuers, she walked over to examine his body. She walked slowly, the arrow tightly clenched between her fingers as she moved to examine the armored person laying before her. Was this a demonic being as well?
Akakios gingerly raised both hands to where they would be visible. The fact she pulled the arrow back even further as he did this was not encouraging. He decided to try his luck verbally. "Please do not shoot!" he called to the woman. There was a pause.
"Why not?" Akakios considered this.
"Because I don't want you to."
"Are you a traveler? A merchant?" Akakios didn't dare look up, but if he did, he would notice her easing off the bow slightly.
"Uh...I guess you could say the first one. Me and my companions were heading for the Rogue Monastery."
"Why?"
"We were supposed to be looking for something. Er, demonic infestation, I think the captain said."
"Demonic infestation? Would you, for the love of all that is holy, look around this place and tell me that we need someone to tell us there is demonic infestation?" Akakios very slowly lifted his head and looked around.
"All I know is we were supposed to check for some kind of infestation at the monastery, we got ambushed, and I'm the sole survivor," Akakios said, hoping that would clear everything up to her satisfaction.
"And what makes you think you and your buddies are qualified to sense a demonic presence, at least when it isn't really fricken' obvious?"
"Well, most paladins are..." replied Akakios, wondering why she was asking.
"Wait, now you're telling me that you're a paladin? Now I really ought to shoot you."
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(A/N)*The author approaches the reader, a pair of blood teeth slipping down from the upper gums* Come hither, mortal. Gdog hath a need and thirst for thine sweet, young...Reviews! Why, what did you think I was going to say?
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Akakios squinted dimly at the landscape through the bits of stained glass. Although Ros had fixed them quite a bit, they still obscured and discolored his vision slightly, and it was hard enough to make out anything in the darkness. "How much further? the demon called out.
"Not to long," called back the captain. Akakios shrugged. The paladins had transported themselves to the Rogue Monastery via ancient, deeply inscribed runes called Waypoints. The closest one, that they knew of, was located in an area called the Stony Field. Akakios knew why; his horse had nearly tripped over twice.
Slowly, but surely, the band of five paladins made their way to the mountain path, the surest way to climb through the hillside. Each of the other five paladins had ignited a separate aura, but that was merely to prevent overlapping. Akakios had asked which aura was the best, and was quickly met with an argument from his comrades. All that the young demon had been able to pick up was that it depended more on your fighting style more than anything.
"Let's try another question then," Akakios began, trying to be heard over Balrog's shouted declaration of strength enhancing auras. "Why am I here?" This was greeted with abundant silence. "Does anyone know?"
"Because you were selected," replied one paladin slowly. Akakios turned and squinted at him. The paladin couldn't see this of course, so the effect was lost.
"Yes, but why?" Akakios shivered against the chill of the night, as he waited for a response from his companions. The group captain suddenly started mumbling softly to himself, then turned to the demon.
"All right," he said, turning his horse around. "I guess you have a right to know."
"Captain," urged another paladin. "He isn't supposed to find out until we're..."
"I know," Captain Calrisen replied. "But there's no reason not to let him know now. Akakios," began the captain again, "It is believed you may have some experience in the area were about to divulge in."
"What area would that be?" replied the demon. "I hope it's not mental discipline..." This earned a short, nervous laugh from his companions.
"The rogues have given us reason to believe that there is some kind of demonic interference in their monastery," informed the captain, not even smiling at Akakios' joke. Akakios sobered up very quickly.
"What are you implying?" asked Akakios slowly, fear starting to crawl up his spine.
"We need to know if demons are infiltrating the mountain path to the east," replied the Captain. "And you're going to tell us." Akakios felt his mouth go dry.
"You're...you're going to use me as b...bait?" the demon choked out, hoping this was a mistake.
"Huh? Oh. No, that's not it. But as a demon, you'll be more likely to sense any of your brethren within the strong hold, because the...Yes, what is it Silth?" the captain turned towards a lanky paladin who had been trying to gain his attention.
"Sir," replied Silth, "Did you hear that?"
"Hear wha..." Calrisen was cut off by a scream of attack. "What the blazes?" shouted their leader, drawing his sword and preparing to defend against the charge. He held his weapon high over his head in one hand, while tugging at the reigns with the other. He was unseated when three beasts rushed at him and plunged their spears into his horse, crippling it.
"Attack!" screamed Balrog, who quickly began bashing down upon the beasts with his scepter, protecting his leader. Silth had already dropped the reigns and was in the process of stringing his bow. The last paladin stretched out his arms and summoned spinning hammers out of his bare hands that spiraled around the group, striking down more beasts that came to attack. Akakios was frozen to his seat.
Akakios was forced to make a decision, however, when something lurched up from the ground and grabbed him, pulling him off his horse to the earth. He tried to keep the razor like nails from clawing him, grabbing each of the...hands? Akakios peered as carefully as he could at the growling, snarling face and realized with a sickening sensation that it was a woman. Unable to comprehend anything that was going on, he let go of her hand, a truly fatal mistake. She lifted her hand into the air, and brought it down to slash into his neck. Akakios was to terrified to even perform the simplest of blocks, but he didn't need to.
As Captain Calrisen pulled the devil woman off him, he shouted at Akakios to run, to find a safe area. The shameful memory of the fact that he was already scrabbling for safety would haunt the demon for the rest of his life. He crawled as quickly as he could, then stood up and ran for cover, ducking and weaving between more demonic women while he covered his head with his arms. Once he had hidden himself behind another outcropping of rocks, he turned back and squinted to see how his companions were doing. He watched in horror as it became more and more obvious they were going to loose this fight.
Calrisen's arm had become a blur, striking his enemies faster than the eye could follow. Silth's arrows flew strait and true, the flickering red aura enhancing his aim. Balrog decimated an enemy with every swing of his powerful axe, his slightly spiky aura boosting his already considerable might, and all of them benefiting from Calrisen's aura, a firey orange one that gave them the zeal and strength of a true fanatic.
Despite their efforts. the women (or at least woman like creatures) continued to swarm the paladins with lances and maces, as skeletons off further in the distance launched a continuous hail of arrows. The forth paladin, whom Akakios never knew the name of, was the first to go. The last hammer he had summoned killed his murderer even as he fell. Calrisen was suffering many hits, the blood streaming down his armor in small beads and flying off his arm as he continued to strike with riotous ferocity. Balrog looked exhausted, and even though his thick armor protected him from many of the blows, it was clear he would soon ware out. And it appeared that Silth was about to be carried right off his horse and into the crowd.
Akakios was rooted to the spot, unable to act or comprehend the images before him. The training, the discipline, the lectures did nothing to prepare him for the mind numbing terror that held him tight within its grasp. He watched as one by one, his companions and leaders were struck down, their mortal life ripped from the physical shell by the sheer mass of the attack.
Akakios stared with wide eyes as the devil women prowled among the bodies, some even beginning to feast on the dead. One girl, apparently their leader, turned to another and said, "There were five."
Akakios backed away from the scene in disgust, when his heel struck some kind of stone and he went down. The racket he made returning to earth was easily heard by the rogues, who turned to him and growled. Panicking, the demon picked himself up and did the only thing he could think of doing: he ran.
******
"Are you sure it was a good idea to send Akakios off so soon?" Morgan asked Alvis, strolling up next to him in a moonlit corridor.
"Are you questioning my judgment?" Alvis replied, a steely tone in his voice.
"Not at all, it's just unusual. Protocol says that it's not advisable to send anyone on a mission until they've reached their eighteenth year..."
"That's for humans!" snapped Alvis. "And what's the matter with you? Have you lost faith in the beast?" Morgan turned to Alvis, his right arm slowly, almost imperceptibly moving closer to his sword.
"You know, ever since your trip to the Kurast monastery, you've been shouting at people and accusing them of crimes we don't even have laws for. What is this really about?" Alvis, without warning, reached up and grabbed Morgan by the throat, pulling him down eye to eye with his ancient face.
"You listen to me," spat the elder, "my business is none of your concern." Morgan's shock was quickly replaced with rage, as he wrenched the claw like fingers from his neck and grabbed Alvis by the collar and shoved him against the wall.
"It very well IS my concern, and you are required to answer any questions regarding ..." was the beginning of the lecture that Morgan was planning on giving. He got as far as "IS", when he was thrown across the width of the hallway and slammed into the opposite wall, before slumping to the ground. He looked up at the elder, who was usually quite frail. Now however, he looked tall and powerful as a strange light surrounded him, though it was no aura that Morgan could recognize.
"Never. Touch. Me. Again." spat Alvis, seeming to quiver with wrath that anyone could possibly consider questioning his authority. He then swept away from Morgan, seeming to half race and half stroll down the hallway to his chambers. Morgan picked himself up, promising to report this incident in the morning.
*****
Akakios couldn't run fast enough. He could still hear the women behind him, not to far from the clinking of the bones of the walking dead. Every time he felt he had escaped his pursuers, he was met with a new group of them. Every nightmare Akakios ever had was pulling at his brain, as everything from demonic little beasts to huge behemoths that towered above his small frame gave him chase.
At last, when he felt he could run no more, he fell to the earth gasping for air. It turned out this was a stroke of luck, as had he stayed in his erect position, he would have been pierced by the arrow that sailed by him and struck one of his pursuers. Looking up from the ground, he saw a woman several meters off. She drew another arrow and let it fly. To the demon's amazement, it sailed over him again and continued to strike down another creature giving him unwanted attention.
After the unusually helpful woman had slain the last of his pursuers, she walked over to examine his body. She walked slowly, the arrow tightly clenched between her fingers as she moved to examine the armored person laying before her. Was this a demonic being as well?
Akakios gingerly raised both hands to where they would be visible. The fact she pulled the arrow back even further as he did this was not encouraging. He decided to try his luck verbally. "Please do not shoot!" he called to the woman. There was a pause.
"Why not?" Akakios considered this.
"Because I don't want you to."
"Are you a traveler? A merchant?" Akakios didn't dare look up, but if he did, he would notice her easing off the bow slightly.
"Uh...I guess you could say the first one. Me and my companions were heading for the Rogue Monastery."
"Why?"
"We were supposed to be looking for something. Er, demonic infestation, I think the captain said."
"Demonic infestation? Would you, for the love of all that is holy, look around this place and tell me that we need someone to tell us there is demonic infestation?" Akakios very slowly lifted his head and looked around.
"All I know is we were supposed to check for some kind of infestation at the monastery, we got ambushed, and I'm the sole survivor," Akakios said, hoping that would clear everything up to her satisfaction.
"And what makes you think you and your buddies are qualified to sense a demonic presence, at least when it isn't really fricken' obvious?"
"Well, most paladins are..." replied Akakios, wondering why she was asking.
"Wait, now you're telling me that you're a paladin? Now I really ought to shoot you."
-----
(A/N)*The author approaches the reader, a pair of blood teeth slipping down from the upper gums* Come hither, mortal. Gdog hath a need and thirst for thine sweet, young...Reviews! Why, what did you think I was going to say?