SOI Chapter 8: Mission Impossible
A/N: Hey guys I'm very proud to be back with another chapter of the Shadow of Israphel! This chapter is split in two halves, one at Israphel's stronghold and the other of course at Jasper's residence - everyone's favorite scene from the series ;)
This one's a little shorter than the last two simply because I have not been in the writing mood so to speak at all this weekend. However I'm trying to keep to my promises so here we are.
The chamber was a quiet, roomy place. It had been built underground by a team of Dwarven carvers as legend told but its Dwarven roots were not apparent in its current state. At least, that was what was told by the history of the place. The chamber was barely lit, with piles of glittering glow-stone adorning the walls in glass cases providing most of the scarce lighting. The chamber had not been inhabited for hundreds of years, as it had been consumed a long time ago by the sands and thereafter had been abandoned. The floor of the chamber was carved marble; the ceiling was high, giving the chamber a very imperious and imposing look.
A table with two chairs adorned the center of the chamber, one had an occupant at the moment and the other was empty- although the occupant was expecting a visitor soon. The occupant was dressed entirely in black –he had not worn any other color. The occupant was a man, as far as anyone could discern, as he was certainly nothing else. However, his appearance set him apart from most men. The man had completely white skin- it was almost as if he had never set foot outside in his life. Nevertheless, that was not the cause of the man's unusual color. The man's eyes were red, with deep black pupils. If there was any feature of the man that caused onlookers the most terror it was the color of his eyes, the deep red had caused most to think him insane, a lunatic or evil. But the man wasn't insane or a lunatic. He was calculating, cold and above all smart, which was what he believed had set him apart from the earliest moments of his life. He was a nobleman as he had titled himself and had many subjects, zombies, living skeletons, creepers and even the horrible wraiths known as Ghasts at his command.
The man sighed, and took a sip from the goblet he was currently balancing carelessly in one hand. After a long pause, the man set his drink on the edge of the table and then picked up a white napkin, wiping his colorless lips with it gently.
"Asznog." The main called in a low hiss, his voice reverberating around the chamber walls. The man folded his dampened napkin over a spot of blood that had stained it and gently set it back on the table.
The door directly across the chamber, the only way in and out of the place, opened and in came a gaunt figure. The figure was dressed in a raggedy shirt and leggings- a belt adorned with what were apparently human teeth were slung across his chest. The figure was one that may have disgusted or frightened most onlookers but not the pale faced man. He had shown neither fear or hardly any other emotions before.
"My lord…?" Aszong asked, with a low bow as he approached his master. The man simply gestured to the emptied goblet, which Aszong hurriedly picked up. Aszong was a zombie as could be discerned from his decayed features, withered hair and the gaping hole in his side which only meant that the servant was undead.
"Aszong…your attire is most…unusual. What has brought on this change of dress?" The man observed.
"Death, my lord." Aszong said with a smile showing off the zombie's lack of teeth. The man smiled. "Indeed Aszong… indeed…you may go. But before you do- show John in, he has been waiting for too long now." He said flashing his red gaze at the door before looking back at his servant.
"Yes my lord." The zombie said, giving the man a final bow before disappearing outside. The man sat and waited for a moment before the door creaked open and another figure entered the chamber.
"Please sit John." The man said gesturing to the open seat far across from him.
"Thank you." John said with a similar hissing. John crossed the room and situated himself in the open chair far across from the man. John was a tall white haired man with a long twisted scar on his face, which gave him a frightening appearance especially when he smiled. His hair was slicked back as to cause as little interference as possible in his daily activities. John wore a black outfit with a small white marking near the collar signifying his former occupation as a priest, which he had been in the tiny town of Terrorvale. John was a man, although he had died once, he was one of the man's most faithful and powerful servants. "Master Israphel. I have news." John said upon situating himself.
"As I know you do John…let us hear it." Israphel said, putting his hands together looking upon John expectantly.
"Well my lord- as you know the world has changed, the Templars are few and their forces are weak. I believe, my lord that the plan is almost ready. But my lord you should know those heroes might interfere-" John said, pausing for a moment as if he was expecting affirmation from the man across from him. When none was forthcoming John visibly gulped and continued "-with our plans. They have returned recently from that…little vacation of theirs. But there is a way to stop them. We have captured Peculier and taken him to the abandoned castle outside Mistral. In several hours we hope to lure them into a trap whenever they reach the castle to save him. The place has been properly fortified of course…and Finbar has been notified."
"I have watched the affairs of the world for a thousand years John, and in that time little has changed. Humanity is a race of fools. They are despicable creatures, caught up in emotions and vendettas, especially the Antiochs! Now the only thing I am to the world is a bedtime story used to frighten children." Israphel said dismissively "These… heroes," Israphel spat "bested you in Terrorvale. The capture of Peculier is very good news indeed, I will grant you that John. However… but our progress of late has been slow. What makes you believe you can handle them this time?"
John did not speak for several moments "You have given me great powers my lord. I will make proper use of them. And of course I did not have such powers during the first encounter…"
Israphel looked at his most trusted servant for a brief period before responding. "You will make certain that no one, not anyone interferes with our plans. Is that clear John?"
John gave a bloody smile before continuing, "Yes my lord. It is very clear."
"Your mission at the abandoned castle is an important one. Far too much time has been invested in setting it up..." Israphel hissed "Yes..." Israphel's eyes gleamed "How is our little blacksmith John?"
"Diffcult my lord." John scoffed. "She is resistant. She believes that she will be rescued someday by that innkeeper of hers." Israphel traced a finger along his chin for a moment.
"Peculier…" Israphel murmured. "He has been taken
"My lord?"
"You must deprive them of all hope John. As long as there is hope…" Israphel started "all our efforts will have been for nothing…surely you are aware of this? Someone with your experience?"
"Yes my lord." John said hanging his head "I will redouble my efforts."
"No. Do not simply try harder John…you must remove all hope, in any way you see fit." Israphel replied standing up and pacing around the table. His black and purple cloak trailed behind him on the floor. "Hope John, hope…" he started "It is what caused the construction of the walls, the creation of the crimson cross and the sand wars. Hope." Israphel said with irritation "Tell me John how you would deprive a prisoner of hope?" he asked turning away from the undead reverend.
"I-" John started "I would keep them imprisoned, give them no chance of escape." Israphel nodded giving John his approval for him to continue. "I would show them that there is no possibility for their rescue left." He finished.
"A ten year old child could have told me as much." Israphel said flashing a red glare at John. The reverend bowed his head. "But…by all means continue."
"Capture their heroes and torturing them in front of their eyes, making them do our bidding." The reverend paused for a moment, "The options my lord are endless and naturally, vary between people…" John hissed. Israphel folded his hands behind his back and slowly walked back to his chair where the Dark Lord situated himself. "Then by all means John put your words into practice."
"Practice my lord?"
"Yes John- the blacksmith. Break her. Scars and pain will not break someone- they must be shattered. Anything and everything they care about must be twisted, warped, and destroyed... We are engaged in a war John." Israphel explained "A war which we could lose as long as there is hope. As long as there are heroes there is hope." John seemed to register what his master was saying. "Whether they are driven insane or dead does not matter John, as long as they are no longer a source of faith."
"Yes, my lord. I will do so, at the first chance!" John said eagerly. Israphel gave a twitch of the lips which may have been a smile. However, the dark lord was always pleased to see such eagerness in his servants.
"I suggest you make good use of your servants John. As you know it is rather difficult to clone a human from memory alone."
John smiled "Yes my lord. They were helpful in Mistral."
"Good. You are able then to see where I am leading you with our prisoner?"
"Yes..." John said "It hadn't occurred to me. Thank you my lord."
Israphel nodded and snapped his fingers. The chamber doors opened "That will be all John." The undead Reverend gave a deep bow and slowly made his way out. The doors slammed behind him with a low boom.
Israphel folded his white fingers for a moment and flashed his red eyes around the room. It was very good news that John had managed to succeed, Israphel almost felt pure joy emanating from his insides a feeling that he had not felt since the defeat of the accursed Antiochs. The family had always been a bane too him since the earliest days of his life. He still remembered seeing his entire family, dead at their hands. He remembered laughing at their pain and the shock he experienced when they had managed to kill him. Israphel had survived off the energy of the sands alone for many years and had slowly and agonizingly managed to recreate his body. John had helped him a great deal with his recovery and had treated him as he would a son. Israphel flashed his red glare towards the fireplace and raised his right hand and clenched it into a fist. The fire promptly went out in a puff of smoke. Yes, that would be how he would exterminate the Antioch line, and he, Israphel would have his vengeance at last.
In another chamber a young woman sat against a wall shivering against the cold of the desert. She had been in that same spot for many months; taken from her pleasant home and the work she did there. The chamber was dank, cold and had no amenities save for a small bench and a hole in the floor which served as a toilet. There were many other cells similar to hers which housed many other prisoners. The dungeon was a place far out in the desert which as she had heard was called Mon St. Mikal and had once been a castle used by the Templars before succumbing to the sands. At least that was all that John had told her about the place. Her name was Daisy Duke and she had been imprisoned in the stronghold for nearly a year.
Daisy sat against the wall at the far right end of the cell. It was the only place in the cell which was bearable to sit in for a long period of time. The toilet stunk and was teeming with bugs and other foul creatures as the woman had discovered early in her incarceration. The bench was made of metal and was therefore even colder than the hard dirt which she was currently lying on. The ceiling of the cell was high, there was no opening in the ceiling and like the surrounding walls it was made of solid stone bricks. There was no way to scale up any part of the prison walls as they were made out of smooth stone with few cracks and no outcrops to latch onto. The only way in and out of the cell was through the iron door across from her.
Daisy was young, green eyed, blonde haired woman and appeared to be in her late twenties, although she was actually thirty one. She was dressed in a simple, worn, white gown which fell just below her knees- it was the only clothes she had which were given to her upon her arrival at the dungeon. Daisy also sported several cuts and bruises along her legs and arms from the duration of her incarceration. The cuts signified her important status in the prison. Many of the other prisoners had been imprisoned and simply forgotten about – their cries for help and freedom ignored by the undead guards who patrolled the place. Daisy however, had been given the attention of her captors nearly every day, in the form of consistent torture. From the first day of her arrival she had been put on nearly every kind of fiendish device and had been forced to drink multiple potions by her captors. She had been subjected to hallucinations and had been forced to watch people she cared about die one horrible simulated death after another.
At the moment she was examining one of the cuts on her arm, a replica from the last torture session two nights before. It was a long black and red scar, one of several. She paused for a moment and felt her face something she did on a regular basis. Daisy traced her fingers along her forehead and chin; there were a few long lines there which she distinguished by the rough lump each cut created in her skin. She sighed and leaned back against the wall tapping her head against it several times. It was frustrating, she didn't know what her interrogators wanted – she had told them many times she knew nothing – but that didn't seem to bother them. Each interrogation session was more unnerving than the last one as the more she told them she knew nothing the more they tortured her. It was like they were torturing her for the sport of it.
But what was by far the thing that had unsettled Daisy the most was who her torturer was. She had known Reverend John in Terrorvale; she had gone to church there at St. Creepers and had even hosted him at dinner several times. Now he was her torturer he seemed to enjoy tormenting her with a sick lust. Daisy shivered to think of their first session, his words had haunted her for the entirety of her stay. For a moment Daisy drifted off into the dream world as she had done many times in the prison. Their initial exchange slowly floated into her head.
"Why it looks like we have a new visitor…" the voice of Reverend John drawled. Daisy whirled around and faced him. He was smiling; a small trail of blood ran down his lips. John was standing on the landing and had just noticed the newest prisoner.
"No! It can't be!" she screamed. John looked at her with mock pity as he paused for a moment to wipe the blood off with a handkerchief.
"Miss Duke I must ask you to calm down. I'm afraid screaming…. will really do you no good while you are here." She shrieked as she was grabbed by two zombie guards and slowly drawn away.
"You betrayed him! How could you!" Daisy yelled as she was dragged away. John looked back at her his eyes gleaming red. A sickening smile covered his face, one of great pleasure at her anger.
"Yes Miss Duke. I did."
"I trusted you!" she screamed. John looked away and walked down towards the end of the hallway before responding.
"Miss Duke, didn't you know it's unwise ever to trust?"
Daisy panted as she awoke from the memory. She was breathing hard; and by the look of it had scratched her arms leaving an angry red rash over her cuts. Slowly Daisy managed to calm herself down, after a few minutes her breathing returned to normal and her head cleared. It had taken weeks but slowly Daisy had been able to get over the initial shock of seeing John as her torturer. Daisy wasn't about to break like others had- she had heard their cries for mercy as they had all been driven into insanity by John and his fiendish guards. Instead Daisy had tried to set her mind to escaping from her dungeon- the thought of eventually doing so was one of the things that kept her sane. She had examined every nook and cranny of her cell, there was no way out. As for the torture chamber, there were guards at every entrance and she was always under the supervision of John during each session. Although she was reasonably skilled at fighting Daisy had long ago eliminated any chance of gaining a weapon and battling her way out. Any idea of doing that was further sullied by the presence of the pale faced git also known as Israphel.
Suddenly, in the midst of her thoughts of escape the door burst open and a familiar figure slowly stepped into the cell. It was Reverend John, which was made even clearer by the long twisted scar near his mouth that never seemed to heal and his combed back white hair. Daisy had briefly wondered about his scar and how he had attained it, but for the sake of her sanity she did her best to ignore it.
"Good evening Miss Duke." John said cordially. For some reason, John insisted on pleasantries such as Miss, or Mr. Truthfully, it almost made Daisy sick to be called Miss Duke.
"John." She replied stiffly looking down, avoiding his face. There was a silence; John appeared to be ready to announce something. Daisy braced herself; it was most likely they would be changing the method of torture again.
"You have a visitor." John said. Daisy merely shrugged. "Didn't you hear me Miss Duke? You have a guest, an old…friend." He flashed Daisy the same maniacal smile as he had upon her arrival to Mon St. Mikal.
"I heard you." Daisy responded.
"Here he is. He'll be sharing the cell with you- I'm afraid the others are full at the moment." John explained. Suddenly a loud thump followed signifying the arrival of her new cellmate. When Daisy didn't respond John turned and left, the iron door clanging in his wake. Finally alone and her torturer gone Daisy raised her head and looked at her cellmate. He was lying face down in the cell. The newcomer had motley brown hair and was dressed in a gray over-shirt and tattered pants. A scabbard, which may have once contained a sword, lay limply at his side.
Suddenly the man stirred, slowly but surely he awoke. It was then that Daisy glimpsed his face. He had deep brown eyes and a worn but energetic face. It was her love from long ago, back in Terrorvale.
"Peculier!" she cried in complete shock trying to reach for him. Peculier jumped back against the wall, looking as surprised by her presence as she was by his.
"Who are you?" he asked looking around wildly.
"I'm Daisy! Daisy Duke! Don't you recognize me?" she asked looking at him with great concern. "My love, where- h-how did you get here?"
"I-" Peculier said before he glanced down at the floor again. "I don't know who you are…" he muttered "I don't know…I don't know why I'm here – to be honest." Daisy sighed in exasperation,
"I don't know! What happened to you? Are you okay?"
"I-" Peculier started "It's…it was horrible Daisy-I-I…I don't know…."
"What are you saying!" Daisy exclaimed in exasperation. Peculier just looked at her sadly. "Don't just look at me like that! You can tell me what happened- please Peculier?" she begged.
"It was one night…I can't remember whether it was ten nights or twenty nights ago. But the heroes- H-honeydew and Xephos…they're not how they seem Daisy…" Peculier begun as he slowly told his tale. The woman called Daisy was listening attentively; she seemed to care greatly for him. Perhaps she would believe him, but maybe she would not. However, the longer he talked the more convinced, and distressed she seemed to become. She kept calling him things like 'dear' and 'my love'. It almost made him gag. But he kept talking and saying the things he had been instructed to say. Peculier forced a saddened face as he reached the climax of his story,
"Xephos-they're…Daisy they're with Israphel…I saw it."
There was a loud scream followed by a feminine wail. John paused and looked in the direction of Daisy's cell. He smiled; eliciting human emotions was something he never tired of.
"Observe her carefully Aszong." John said as another wail rang out from the cell. The zombie nodded briefly and opened his mouth in reply. "Don't worry." John smirked "I will be back soon, however I sense there is some…unfinished business I must attend to in Mistral at the moment." And with that the undead reverend walked out the door of the observation chamber. From what he had just seen, John had no doubt in his mind that progress with their best prisoner would be soon to come.
Lysander led the heroes through the city blocks leading up to the Sky-Tower. After showing the guard – a different one than previously- his identification they made the group made their way to the upper city of Mistral. As it was now night the Mistral Lamplighters had apparently lit a number of floating lamps in the upper city. Their work gave the upper part of Mistral the appearance of a night sky dotted with multiple ember stars. Xephos was thankful for the lighting, it gave him confidence that he wasn't about to fall off one of the handle-less walkways.
"Hey, Lysander where are we going?" Honeydew asked after they had reached the upper city. Lysander was inching along the walkways occasionally muttering something as he went. "I could have sworn it was right here…" he murmured before glancing at the Dwarf "I'm looking for our entrance hero."
"Entrance?" the Dwarf asked "we're way above like…anything! His house isn't up here is it?" Honeydew asked looking around the skyline of dimly illuminated towers. Lysander sighed with mild impatience,
"No Dwarf it is not. His airship is though- however what I'm looking for is our way down."
"Our way down? Hang on- Lysander we're not just going to jump on Jasper's house or something are we? I mean, it wouldn't be such a big problem but we didn't bring parachutes or anything." Xephos asked giving the Skylord an odd look. Lysander smiled at this, his gray-brown eyes giving a dangerous twinkle,
"You're a good guesser hero. That's exactly what we're going to do…but don't worry Dwarf we're not going to actually jump." Lysander said addressing the Dwarf in particular who looked very apprehensive at the prospect of jumping thirty meters down.
"So then- hang on, so is there something we're climbing down? I mean I get that we can't exactly go up to his front door and say 'excuse me, could we rob your house for a moment?'" Honeydew said causing Xephos and Lysander to laugh.
"Yes hero that's what I had in mind."
"What does it look like?" Xephos asked "The spot with the way down."
"A waterfall hero, it runs into Jasper's house."
"Uh- wait a waterfall what?" Honeydew asked, clearly not sure that he had heard Lysander correctly.
"A waterfall hero, it should be around here somewhere. It goes through a hatch in Jasper's roof and provides him with running water." Lysander explained.
"Waterfalls, floating towers, crazy wizards, airships, and creepers as gunpowder vendors…wonderful…this place has everything doesn't it?" Honeydew muttered sarcastically.
"How do you know that? The waterfall bit?" Xephos queried. Lysander was getting awfully specific about it. It was like the Skylord had tried breaking into Jasper's house before.
"I've been to his home before." Lysander said simply as he ran his hands through his hair and began moving down the walkway in search of the mysterious waterfall.
"Alright let's help him look shall we?" Honeydew smiled.
"Yeah…let's do it pal." Xephos agreed as the two walked past Lysander and started scanning the skyline and the surrounding walkways for any sign of the waterfall. Xephos was a few meters ahead of Lysander and paced slowly forwards and then backwards again looking for the waterfall. "C'mon where are you…" Xephos muttered as he peered over the side of the bridge but there was nothing aside from the outline of several lightly snowed rooftops. Honeydew and Lysander by the look of it weren't having any better luck with finding the waterfall. Several minutes passed where the only sound was the shuffling of their feet along the walkway. Suddenly Xephos felt a light pat on his shoulder.
"What the…" the spaceman said spinning around. There was no one there. Honeydew? Xephos thought but the Dwarf was over four meters from him. Then what was that?
Xephos got his answer as he felt another pat on the top of his head. The spaceman glanced upwards and felt another small pat near his cheek. "Snow!" Xephos laughed. The sky was full of thousands of big white snowflakes and they were starting to come down steadily faster.
"Hey- uh Lysander! Honeydew! Have you found that waterfall yet?" Xephos called, walking through the increasingly heavy snow to his companions. Xephos drew his cloak around him tightly to shield his clothes from the weather.
"No, and the waterfall will probably be frozen by the time we find it!" Honeydew grumbled.
"Ah! Here it is heroes!" Lysander called. And not a moment too soon Xephos thought.
"Brilliant!" Xephos and Honeydew said together as they jogged over to Lysander was standing next to a pool of water on one of the floating islands. Xephos glanced down for a moment; the water flowed out of the side of a building and straight down into what appeared to be some sort of glass chamber.
"We must jump in the water and float all the way down." Lysander explained.
"Won't we get soaked?" Honeydew asked, "The gunpowder could be ruined!" Lysander smiled at this.
"Not to worry heroes, this water has an enchantment on it to prevent such events. It's fine, I've been through this many times." The Skylord said calmly to Honeydew's and Xephos' looks of apprehension. "I'll go first- bombs away!" Lysander said jauntily as he slipped into the waterfall and out of sight. The heroes stood there for a moment and watched as the figure of Lysander slowly floated down towards Jasper's rooftop.
"Do Skylords say that? 'Bombs Away'?" Honeydew said "Sounds more like a thing pirates say doesn't it?" Xephos laughed "Come on Simon." He said. And with that the two heroes splashed into the waterfall and began their descent to Jasper's penthouse. Lysander was right; floating in the enchanted waterfall was like floating through air, although strangely Xephos didn't even feel damp let alone wet. This is weird! The spaceman thought as he slowly floated to the top of the penthouse where Honeydew was currently waiting.
Xephos slid out of the water and joined Honeydew on the roof of the penthouse. Sliding on the slippery surface, the spaceman landed on the roof with a loud thump.
"Where's Lysander?" Xephos asked curiously pulling himself back up.
"Uh…I think he might have fallen off." Honeydew said glancing over the side of the penthouse where the waterfall continued off the side of the building.
"WHAT WAS THAT NOISE?" a muffled voice called loudly from within the house. "WHAT THE HELL!"
"Oh cripes, now we've done it."
"Did you break a window or something?" Xephos asked in a hushed voice.
"Uh…" Honeydew started looking up at the spaceman from inside the penthouse. "You know you've got to get in somehow and there was no bloody hatch so I just made one." Xephos burst out laughing although as quietly as possible, wary that Jasper might hear.
Carefully Xephos lowered himself through the broken window taking care to avoid any shards of glass. "Welcome to Jasper's penthouse." Honeydew said in a good imitation of Lysander's businesslike voice.
"Stop- you're going to bore me if you keep talking like that." Xephos grinned.
"RUN!" a deep voice yelled from outside.
"That wasn't me…" Honeydew said in alarm.
"No- that was Lysander!" Xephos said.
"Quick! Start ransacking chests!" Honeydew exclaimed "You take these two and I'll take these." The Dwarf directed moving over to two chests to the right side of the room.
"LYSANDER!" Jasper's angered voice bellowed "I WILL END YOU! This is the LAST bloody time!" Xephos and Honeydew burst out laughing at the sound of him.
"Uh- yeah…D'you reckon Lysander's alright?"
"Yeah…he'll be fine…" Honeydew said as a loud crash came from outside followed by a yell of pain from Jasper. For a brief moment the two heroes wondered just what Lysander was doing to Jasper before refocusing on the task at hand. For Xephos' part he'd rather not think about it.
"None of these have a record in them!" Xephos exclaimed in frustration as he threw aside a couple pieces of paper from one of the chests. "Did you find a record Simon?"
"No-c'mon let's check downstairs." Honeydew said, rushing for the stairs on tiptoe. Lysander was evidently doing a very good job keeping Jasper distracted as several more exchanges followed as the heroes made their way downstairs. The room below the penthouse smaller and crammed with chests along the walls, there was also a neatly made bed and a jukebox near it. There was also a larger portrait of Skylord Jasper on a rainbow background mounted above the bed. Clearly this was Jasper's bedroom.
"Wow even the painter couldn't make the bastard look half decent could he?" Honeydew said looking at Jasper's portrait.
"Maybe he's Irish?" Xephos suggested.
"Irish?"
"Yeah, I was thinking of the leprechauns and the whole pot of gold thing…anyway that's not important! Jasper could be in here at any minute." Xephos exclaimed.
"Pot of gold? Where did that connection come from?" Honeydew laughed.
"That's not important!" Xephos scowled, "Anyway he's got a jukebox so you can check that and I'll check the chests – there's got to be a record in here somewhere if he has a jukebox."
Honeydew checked the jukebox but there was no record in it. Xephos checked all the chests as well but while there were no records the spaceman did discover two diamonds which he quickly pocketed.
"Damn it! Where's the record?!" Honeydew said in frustration, banging on the jukebox several more times but no record was forthcoming.
"Maybe the record's hidden somewhere…" Xephos murmured.
"Yeah I think I figured that one out for myself thanks." Honeydew said sarcastically.
"Well it's got to be in here somewhere…some secret door…a secret room maybe?" Xephos said poking around the room. Honeydew shrugged and walked outside, Xephos followed him, they hadn't checked there yet. To Xephos' surprise another chest adorned the dock and he quickly checked it finding yet another diamond. Xephos smiled as he pocketed the third jewel, three down and four to go he thought.
In the meantime Honeydew was checking Jasper's airship which was landed at the dock at the moment. The Dwarf was walking all over the airship, checking everything but after a few moments he walked off and rejoined Xephos on the dock.
"No diamonds, no record or anything?" Xephos asked.
"No I couldn't find any chests on the ship." Honeydew said sadly. "Damn!" he swore before walking back inside with Xephos. There must be something we didn't check… Xephos thought as he glanced around the room again. For many more minutes the two heroes fruitlessly ransacked Jasper's bedroom, there was no record, nothing.
"Did you check the bed?" Honeydew asked, taking a rest on a nearby chair.
"No, but I'm checking it now." Xephos said as he grabbed the end of the bed and positioned his arms under its frame. The bed rose several inches and came back down very quickly causing a muffled crash. The heroes froze in paranoia for a moment listening for the sound of Jasper's voice but none was forthcoming. Honeydew grinned in relief "I guess he hasn't heard us – need some help pal?" he asked.
"Yeah – I'm failing to negotiate this bed." Xephos admitted. Honeydew smiled and walked over and with one arm upended the entire bed sending it flying against the wall causing another muffled crash.
"Oi! Keep it down." Xephos hissed. Honeydew just grunted in response.
"Are you that weak? That was easy." The Dwarf taunted. "Maybe you should start working out more – you know get some of those electrolytes." Xephos just shook his head as he wiped an uncooperative hair out of his eyes.
"We've found it!" the spaceman smiled as he looked at an exposed chest which had been cleverly concealed under the bed. Quickly, knowing Jasper could appear at any moment Xephos unlatched the chest and pulled out a single encased record from within it, along with a slice of cake.
"Oh brilliant! You got the record- and is that cake?" the Dwarf asked staring at the two items Xephos was holding. The spaceman chuckled quietly "C'mon let's put the bed back and get the hell out of here."
"Alright but first are you going to eat that cake?" Honeydew asked.
"I don't know- it might be expired." Xephos said taking a small bite out of the slice. "Mmm! Never mind – this is really quite good."
"You're not really going to eat all of that are you? There could be germs…and stuff."
"Yeah but- it's cake. Honestly would you pass that up?"
"Maybe it's got some preservatives in it." Honeydew wondered "I heard they were adding those in foods…makes them last longer apparently… alright alright, just gimme a slice already!"
"You've earned it." The spaceman smiled, handing him the remainder of the cake. Honeydew set the bed down as gently as possible and took the cake and ate it in one quick gulp.
"Alright c'mon let's get the hell out of here." Honeydew said, quickly making for the penthouse. With the record case in one hand and his sword in the other, Xephos followed his Dwarven friend. They climbed over the smashed bookcase and out the window into the snowy night sky unaware of the peril they and their companion were in.
A/N: I know some of you may be wondering what on earth is going on. This is a long story, and like any other story of that nature things will gradually be revealed and tied up at the end. If you have any suggestions on how to make The Shadow of Israphel even better please let me know!
We have finally made it through the first eight episodes of SoI. Whew! Chapter 9 – Fumblemore's Magical Cure all for Maladies and Illnesses will be out in a week from today.
PEACE!
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