BASED OFF THE OWL HOUSE CREATED BY DANA TERRANCE AND SPAWN CREATED BY TODD MCFARLANE…
Bonesborough Plaza
Bonesborough in the night hours was a dangerous place to be. Scammers, thieves, and other unsavory figures crawled out of the shadows during these times, away from the eyes of the police. The alleys in particular were incredibly dangerous as the said unsavory figures tend to congregate there like flies to dead flesh.
Even with the increase of Coven Scout patrols during the night hours, it seems that the crime has worsened. The criminals have gotten more and more discreet, seemingly knowing every patrol route and pathway, every manhole location, every alleyway entrance. They practically know the city layout inside and out.
The increase in criminal activity has led to many citizens triple-checking to make sure the locks in their homes and businesses were shut tight. The only ones unaffected by them were the vendors in the black market as their businesses of illicit goods were booming. Legitimate businesses, however, were losing more and more.
A group of figures approached a potion shop. Most were hooded to conceal their identity. One of them, a large one with a toothed maw, raised his hand and formed an organic hammer construct. He used said hammer to smash in the locked door, giving them free access.
"Nice work, big guy," one of the figures said as he entered the building, his crescent-shaped head noticeable under the hood, "now, let's get to work, boys."
Without another word, the others took out pouches and sacks, heading to the shelves and dumping in the many concoctions that were now free for the taking.
"Careful, my friends, you're handling fragile objects," the Crescent-Head said as he bent down to find a safe under the checkout desk. He summoned a spell circle with a gesture that shot a stream of ice that froze the safe door, allowing him to shatter it and find the Snails inside.
After a minute or two of looting, a Triclops came up to him, "Rooker, we took whatever was valuable in the main displays, we're gonna have to check the back to see if there's any more."
Rooker acknowledged the Triclops with a nod as he was busy counting the Snails, "someone better go out and keep an eye out while you do that."
The Triclops nodded as he turned and looked at the Mawed Demon who simply grumbled in response as he walked outside.
"Not bad for your first heist, eh, rookie?" Rooker said with a smirk towards the Triclops.
The Triclops rubbed the back of his head, "to be honest, I didn't think we'd make it past the breaking in stage."
Rooker chuckled, "we've been playing this game for years, kid. We know what we're doing," he then hopped over the counter and headed to the back area, a hand on the Triclops' shoulder, "let's go help out the others."
Outside the shop, the Mawed Demon leaned against a light post with his arms crossed out of boredom, occasionally looking around him to ensure the coast was clear.
Too bad he didn't check from above as a chain snatched itself around his neck and raised him upwards so fast he couldn't even react in time. Only settling for a simple grunt as he was yanked into the unknown above.
Back inside the shop, Rooker held a potion in his hands before putting it in a sack with a slight grumble, "for one of the most popular shops in town, you'd think they'd have more valuable stuff here."
"There's another potion shop a few blocks from here," Three-Eyes said, "we could try that one."
Rooker only nodded in approval as he snapped his fingers to get everyone's attention and gestured to the door. The gang then took whatever they could and tied up the sacks full of potions, being incredibly careful not to drop any of them.
The party exited out of the shop, noticing no one was there.
"Hey, boss, where's the big guy?" asked one of the thieves.
Rooker looked back and shrugged his shoulders, "he must'a gone out to take a leak, I dunno," he responded, a hand on his hip in frustration, "irresponsible of him to do that. We have a job to do," he thought as he looked around for the big guy.
Just then, the sudden sound of chains clinking behind one of the thugs caused all of them to turn around… And saw the Mawed Demon's limp corpse hanging from it like a ragdoll.
A few gasped, one covered his mouth as if trying not to scream too loud or vomit, and another, in an act of blind fear, dropped the sack he was carrying, letting it slump to the ground. Glass was heard breaking and the multicolor glow of various concoctions that were not meant to be mixed together began to intensify. Everyone still holding a sack were then paralyzed seeing this.
For Rooker and Three-Eyes, mere seconds became hours. Reactions dragged to a near halt as the world suddenly became muffled.
"RUN!" yelled Rooker to Three-Eyes, both of them turning at breakneck speeds as the glow of the mixed potions began to expand behind them, the other thugs tried to run but they were too little too late….
KABOOM
A massive explosion, loud enough that the entire city probably heard it, covered the front of the store, the great flame rising and roaring like an uncontrolled beast. A few more explosions followed suit, almost in unison, adding to the flames.
The shockwave of an explosion suddenly sent
the two flying. The heat scorching their backs and the sound rupturing their ears. Despite the pain, they were still alive. By sheer astronomical luck, they survived.
The other thugs? Not so much. Their potions were engulfed in the explosion. If the first one didn't kill them, the ensuing explosions did.
Three-Eyes lifted his head, a pulsing pain reverberated throughout his body. The skin on his back felt numb to most feelings, and all he could hear was ringing in his ears.
While his vision was regaining clarity, he saw Rooker raise his head as well, confirming he was still alive, thankfully…
Then, a chain wrapped around Rooker's leg behind him and dragged him into the blazing fire, the Crescent-Head barely having enough time to scream before his body was hidden and engulfed behind the orange veil.
Three-Eyes was now beyond terrified, letting out a scream he couldn't hear. He tried to get up and walk, but couldn't as he didn't have the strength to do it. He then crawled as fast as he could before feeling a hand grab him by the back of neck and lift him up like he was a mere doll.
He was suddenly turned around by whoever was holding him, now grabbing him by the throat. The fire behind the figure forced the front of its body to be covered in dark shadows, but there was enough detail for him to pick up. Features that would haunt his nightmares for the rest of his possibly soon-to-be-cut-short life.
A red cloak that completely covered its tall stature, from neck to toe, seemingly moving as though there was always a breeze. Then there were those eyes. Surrounded by white patterns that reminded him of bone white skulls, with green, glowing eyes that spoke of pure malice and hate.
Those eyes would be burned in his memory forever.
Unable to handle such an image, or maybe because of the lack of oxygen, Three-Eyes felt the weight of the world on his shoulders and his eyelids getting heavy… He blacked out.
"He's waking up."
The next morning, he woke up in an alleyway, surrounded by Coven Scouts and Guards. Demons in fireproof gear were using ice spells to cool off the now smoldered remains of the shop.
His hearing was back to normal, so he heard the chatter of quite the sizable crowd. He met the gazes of the lawmen, with two simply grabbing him under his shoulders and dragging him away.
"Take him to the Police Station, they'll do the questioning" he heard one of the Guards say to the ones carrying him. A minute later, he was unceremoniously tossed in a cage aboard a carriage.
"Don't these jokers come in groups?" one of the Guards asked his contemporary.
"Yeah, but this one's group is literally all over the place," the other Guard replied, barely a hint of sympathy in his voice as he shut the gate on the wagon.
As the carriage started to move, Three-Eyes curled himself into the corner of the cage, rocking himself almost in sync with the small bumps the carriage made traveling to its destination.
"Horrible eyes. Horrible eyes," he muttered to himself, refusing to blink as he said those words. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw those green eyes staring back at him in the black void….
