Chapter 2: Slumber
The crash of waves was the first thing he heard as the world reassembled itself around him. Cool, salty water drifted over him as light began to invade his closed eyes. Something tugged at his shoulders, pulling him from the waters and onto something that gave way to his weight. Stirred at the new forces moving him, the red haired man opened his eyes to see a blue sea and a bright sky stretch out before him. He glanced forward to see his boots collecting sand as he was dragged away from the ocean. He resisted slightly as his rescuer began humming a soft tune.
Once on dry land, the pulling stopped and he was allowed to lay on the warm sand. A figure hovered over him, putting it's head against his chest, and moving the hair out of his eyes. The hume's vision finally adjusted enough to get a good look at the woman when she pulled away.
She was something out of a dream. Brown hair flowed over her slender shoulders, with what looked to be war paint encircling her deep, chestnut eyes. A pink impatiens rested above her left ear, accenting her soft lips. The woman smiled as she helped him into a sitting position while he continued to hack up the sea's salty waters. Her skin had been bronzed by the sun, only covered by what she had put together from what was most likely the local foliage
She continued humming in song as the man regained himself, still exhaling the waters that had carried him to shore. Something about her seemed familiar, but he was unable to pin it down. The entire event seemed familiar, as if he had seen it acted out once before in a play.
The red haired man remained in her arms a few more minutes while he recovered. Feeling well enough to sit up on his own, the red haired man shifted in her grasp. She released him he rubbed his eyes and spit up the last of the salty water. Continuing to hum her song she moved a few steps away, down the long stretch of beach.
He could see nearly every muscle's moments in her well toned body move as she picked up the pace, her small garments leaving little to the imagination. She looked back at him, smiled, and broke into a sprint. By the time he was able to pull himself to his feet, she was gone. He debated chasing her for a moment, but considering how fast she was, he would never catch her in this state.
The sea stretched out forever in front of him, nothing but ocean as far as he could see. The red haired man glanced behind him at the lush palm trees that created a barrier between the rest of the island and the beach, preventing whatever came from the waters to see what the island held. The sun had just emerged from the waves an hour or so ago, the sky breaking dawn recently. A few bits of wood had washed ashore, along with what appeared to be the remains of a few crates and barrels.
The brush behind him shifted as something closed in on his position. The man turned and grinned, awaiting the woman he had met a moment ago to emerge from the wall of green. Something else let out a hiss and a croak as it exploded from the fauna, something grey-blue.
The sahagin held a curved blue blade with a gold trim, one that somehow seemed familiar. Desperate to find something to defend himself with, he picked up a two foot long piece of wood that had dried on the beach. The fishman sliced through the air in front of him, slowly approaching the hume. Mimicking the fish, the hume held his makeshift weapon like a sword, pointing the blunt end toward the sahagin. It charged toward him, swinging with a near miss. The hume tapped the sword with his board as it swung again, changing the projectile path just enough for
another miss.
The aquan swung heavier, his next swing cutting into the board. The blade followed the grain, nearly severing the board in two near the tip. While his parry had been a success, it had cost the hume about 4 inches of his weapon. Breaking the tip off, at least he had a point on his wooden sword now. The hume swapped the weapon to his left hand, then began to slowly approach the sahagin with a defensive stance. The fishman took his opportunity, stepping into his next swing. The hume latched onto the fishman's slimy worst with his right, then drove his wooden weapon into his opponent's stomach. Staggered, the fish dropped his sword as the hume gripped the wooden weapon with both hands and thrusted forward. The fish fell backwards with the thrust, landing face up in the sand. With an overhead swing, the hume slammed his fist down onto the blunt end of his wooden weapon, pinning the fish down on the sand.
It kicked and struggled for a few moments before resigning itself to its fate. When the movement stopped, the red haired hume levered his foot onto the fish's carcase and removed the improvised weapon. Pondering it for a moment, the man tossed it onto the dead fish, officially trading it for his gold trimmed blade.
He glanced over the remaining drift wood on the beach, and after seeing nothing else of interest, the hume began walking in the direction the woman had left in.
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Chapter 3: Dream
He had given up on tracking the mystery woman for today. If she didn't want to be found, it wasn't going to happen. There had been no footprints in the sand, nothing for him to follow. It was almost like she had never even been there. Since the beach had yielded nothing new, he had decided to try the jungle beyond it.
The plant life on the island was oppressively thick. The hume could not see more than a few feet in front of him, and soon, behind him. It was almost like the maw of the jungle had closed behind him, trapping him in a world where not even sunlight had difficulty piercing the canopy. A few errant growls and sounds echoed from around him, but nothing seemed to come too close. Maybe they were trying to feel him out before attacking, or maybe they already knew better.
As he swathed a path, his thoughts began to wander. The hume didn't remember exactly how he had come to rest on the beach. Something about an ocean, but nothing else. He had no idea where he was, or even who he was now that he thought about it. The only thought that bothered him more than that, was that the act of being lost seemed familiar in itself.
The jungle began to thin in front of him, and the crashing sound of waves now been nearly drowned out by the lush vegetation Pushing his way through a final patch, his eyes locked with those of another of the island's inhabitants.
The meek woman held a blade in her right, and the stem of a pine apple in her left. A woven straw hat shadowed most of her features, only the bangs of her golden hair and the bottom of her chin peeking out from the shade. "…Hello?"
Her voice was unsteady, nervous. But then again, someone who she had never seen before had just snuck up on her wielding a scimitar He set the weapon into his belt, glancing into the clearing beyond the woman as she spoke again. "I-I've never seen you before. How did you get here? Do you have a name?"
"I don't remember." He set his gaze toward the woman, still on her knees. She removed her hat, holding it over her chest.
"Which don't you remember, mister?"
"Either to be perfectly honest." Her gaze broke away from his several times, as if her script were written on her hat.
"Well….we have to call you something."
"We?" She brightened up slightly, climbing to her feet. Now that they were closer, he could see her burning blue irises. They were intense, a hue deeper than the sea itself.
"The people in the village. We need to call you something."
"Stranger's fine." She shook her head in disapproval.
"N-no one's a stranger here. Strangers are dangerous, you need a name…drift wood doesn't get a name, you're a person."
"Then that's good enough." She tilted her head slightly, like an animal hearing a sound they were unfamiliar with.
"W-what is?"
"Drift's fine."
A nervous smile peeked from the corners of her lips. "O-Ok…Drift. Let's go get you some dry clothes in the village." She slid the blade into a small sheathe on her belt as the red haired hume noticed a large basket containing the fruits of the woman's labor. He lifted it over his shoulder as she dusted her overalls off.
"I didn't catch your name." The woman jolted slightly at the question, now noticing that Drift was carrying her cargo. "G-Gale. My name's Gale."
"Gale huh? I like it, want to switch?" She slunk down slightly, like a child unsure of how to react to a complement. Before she turned away, Drift did get enough of a peek at her face to see her blush slightly. "So where is this place?"
"Well, we normally just call this the field. we get our food from here, and…and it's safer than the coast." He briefly remembered his encounter with the fish man who had taken his weapon.
"Oh, the sahagin. Are there a lot of them here?" At the mention of the beastman, the woman covered her mouth as her eyes went wide.
"Y-you ran into one of the demons? A-are you hurt?"
"It was just a single beastman. Besides, they're fish out of water on land like that." Her eyes lit up at his response, like she had just met some kind of hero.
"Y-you beat one of the fishmen? You, by yourself?" He nodded in answer to her query, only adding fuel to the woman's excitement "Wow…m-maybe you were some kind of hero? Before you came here?"
Drift shifted the basket to his other arm, locking his vision straight ahead in an attempt to avoid answering her as they walked the jagged path between the thick jungle.
"Drift? We're here." The woman stepped into an almost artificial wall of jungle, parting the foliage as a small village peeked back at them. There were less than a dozen structures, all made from whatever they managed to collect from the island itself. A few of them even appeared as if they had been built out of the carcass of a long beached ship.
"Gale, there was a woman that found me first, is she here?"
"You met someone else? What did she look like?"
Drift's gaze passed over those who walked in the village, the woman he sought noticably absent. "Brown hair, brown eyes, wasn't wearing a lot."
Gale shook her head, a look of confusion on her face. "I-I don't know who you mean."
Drift's frustration grew. It was a small island, how many people could there possibly be on it? "She was humming, and had an athletic build, how could you not have seen her before?"
The word 'humming' sparked a drastic change in Gale's mood. Color drained from her face as she bit her finger. "…You met the Sea Witch…"
last edited 604 weeks ago by Xelo
Chapter 4: Transition
"The sea what?"
"Sea witch…" Gale took the basket from him, setting it on the ground by her feet. "S-she's a horrible monster that came out of the ocean a long time ago…and she lures people to her lair and eats them whole." She began toying with a lock of her golden blonde hair in a childlike manner. "
"Sounds like a campfire story." Drift leaned against one of trees the lined the village as a small group began to gather around them. No more than four or five people, they were still probably almost half of the village's total population. Drift couldn't help but notice them looking him over while Gale continued to talk about the Sea Witch.
One of the others spoke up, a tall, red haired elvaan. "She's real you know. There used to be more of us."
Gale hesitated, then introduced him to the others. "Oh, th-this is Drift. He washed up on the beach."
"Like the Sea Witch?" A brown haired man resembling a tengu chimed in. "What if he's one too? A sea…man-witch."
"If I was the monster, I'd have already slapped your head off of your shoulders."
"Like you could, I could take you easily." The shrimpy tengu man stuck his nose into the air with an air of superiority. Drift popped his neck and stepped toward the instigator as he pushed himself off of the tree. After his aggressive motion, Gale stepped between them, putting a hand on Drift's chest as if to hold him back.
"D-don't fight you two. Drift fought one of the fishmen, he's ehre to help us, right?" She gripped onto Drift's ragged sleeve and tugged slightly to draw his attention. Even though she was taller than him, the act made him feel seven feet tall.
He opened his mouth to respond, only to be cut off by a scream from the other side of the camp. Drift jumped at the sound, looking toward the source of the cry while unsheathing his sword. Appearing out of the jungle, three more of the fishmen tore their way into the village.
"They found us! They followed you back! You LEAD THEM HERE!" The tengu man shouted in hysterics as Drift sprinted towards the intruders. A spear wielder, one with a club and the third with a pair of rusted swords. Excitement moved through him like a wave, a tingle of electricity moving up his spine.
Drift practically flew into his first opponent, his blade cutting through the rotten handle of the spear and into the fishman's face. He flailed for but a moment, then collapsed in a heap as Drift pulled the scimitar from his first opponent. The second approached, swinging his club wildly above him and hissing at his commrade's killer.
Setting his sword back into his belt, Drift steadied himself. He met the second target by locking his hands into claws as his next victim came into arm's reach. Swiping hysterically at the fish, his nails acted as razors. Each swipe tore bits of flesh from the beastman, spattering the sand with bits of blood and scale. What was left of the hollowed out creature crumpled into the sand.
Last one. Apparently unrattled by the current score of zero to two, the final sahagin approached. It scrapped the edges of its blades together, only making Drift grin in anticipation. They circled each other, both waiting for the other to strike first. Still unarmed, Drift pulled his fist back as the creature clumsily leapt at him, both swords raised above its head.
"Sickle Slash!" Thrusting his fist forward, it cut into the fishman's stomach just before one of the blades sank into Drift's left shoulder. Dropping the fishman and staggering back, Drift held his shoulder as the sahagin writhed in the sand. With a heavy step forward, Drift brought his metal boot down onto the fish's skull.
Robbed of a satisfying crunch, black smoke erupted from under his boot as it impacted the sand. The fish was no where to be seen now, nor were his comrades "What the…'
Two arms wrapped around his neck, and a cheek against the back of his head. "See? See? He took out three of them! He's going to protect us!" Gale's voice had taken on an utter delight that Drift had yet to hear.
"Easy Gale, he's damaged goods now." Turning his attention to the new voice, Drift pressed down onto his wound as blood seeped through his fingers.
"A-Aquais, he beat-"
"I saw, I saw." The woman had eyes like Gale's, an intense, almost glowing blue. She took Drift's right hand and pulled gently. "Come on, let's get that patched up before it gets infected." Not resisting, Drift followed the woman's lead as Gale continued to tail them. He glanced back for a moment, the rest of the unfamiliar group continuing to study them.
*********************************
Aquais had taken great care in cleaning his wound. While rubbing some kind of cream onto the laceration, she had spoken about the island and its people. They had lived here all their lives, and in that time had never had another visitor. She had spoken about their enthusiasm of having someone else on the island, especially someone able to fight.
While he had not considered his two fights so far anything to brag about, they genuinely seemed appreciative. It wasn't like HE was the one actually fighting anyways, his body seemed to be doing it on its own. Every move was a natural reaction, perhaps he had been well trained? No, his style was unnatural and awkward It was more like an animal fighting than a trained warrior.
"I am not saying you are incapable of protecting yourself, but there are probably even some places even you should not venture." She adjusted the bandage, wrapping it around his shoulder swiftly. "But…well, let's not take too many risks too soon, OK? How about staying near the village for now?"
"I'm sure I can handle whatever your island thro-YAAAA!" As he responded, she tightened the bandage as it strangled his shoulder
"Let's NOT take too many risks? OK?" Her voice was firm, like that of a mother scolding a child.
"Alright, alright. No risks."
"Promise me."
"Sure, I promise."
"Alright then." She gave him a peck on the cheek and then rubbed his good shoulder as she walked behind him. "It'll be nice having someone like you arround, Mr. Hero." Drift caught a glimpse of Gale puffing her cheeks out at Aquais' slip of affection. The red haired woman then collected Drift's top, looking over the damaged garment "We'll need to find you some new clothing though, you can't walk around in torn rags for the rest of your life."
Something rung wrong with what she said. He couldn't stay, he had to get back to…where ever it was that he had to go. Drift rubbed his forehead as he fought to remember. "I can't stay, I need to get back to…" To where wasn't clear yet, but he still felt the air of urgency in that thought process. Aquais' face took a grim turn at his response.
"I'm afraid that isn't going to happen, Drift. Once you're here, you're here." Her tone wasn't as threatening as it was apologetic.
"What do you mean by that?
Gale pushed herself up from the bed she had been lying on. "N-nothing can leave the island. The sea won't let you…it'll break whatever you build, and wash you back onto the shore." Her eyes never met his, only looking out the window as she lamented.
"You said you were on the beach this morning, right? You can even hear the waves from in the jungle. The sea is always violent, it only takes from us…." Her gaze wandered around the room, then onto him. "Except for you, that is."
"The sea what?"
"Sea witch…" Gale took the basket from him, setting it on the ground by her feet. "S-she's a horrible monster that came out of the ocean a long time ago…and she lures people to her lair and eats them whole." She began toying with a lock of her golden blonde hair in a childlike manner. "
"Sounds like a campfire story." Drift leaned against one of trees the lined the village as a small group began to gather around them. No more than four or five people, they were still probably almost half of the village's total population. Drift couldn't help but notice them looking him over while Gale continued to talk about the Sea Witch.
One of the others spoke up, a tall, red haired elvaan. "She's real you know. There used to be more of us."
Gale hesitated, then introduced him to the others. "Oh, th-this is Drift. He washed up on the beach."
"Like the Sea Witch?" A brown haired man resembling a tengu chimed in. "What if he's one too? A sea…man-witch."
"If I was the monster, I'd have already slapped your head off of your shoulders."
"Like you could, I could take you easily." The shrimpy tengu man stuck his nose into the air with an air of superiority. Drift popped his neck and stepped toward the instigator as he pushed himself off of the tree. After his aggressive motion, Gale stepped between them, putting a hand on Drift's chest as if to hold him back.
"D-don't fight you two. Drift fought one of the fishmen, he's ehre to help us, right?" She gripped onto Drift's ragged sleeve and tugged slightly to draw his attention. Even though she was taller than him, the act made him feel seven feet tall.
He opened his mouth to respond, only to be cut off by a scream from the other side of the camp. Drift jumped at the sound, looking toward the source of the cry while unsheathing his sword. Appearing out of the jungle, three more of the fishmen tore their way into the village.
"They found us! They followed you back! You LEAD THEM HERE!" The tengu man shouted in hysterics as Drift sprinted towards the intruders. A spear wielder, one with a club and the third with a pair of rusted swords. Excitement moved through him like a wave, a tingle of electricity moving up his spine.
Drift practically flew into his first opponent, his blade cutting through the rotten handle of the spear and into the fishman's face. He flailed for but a moment, then collapsed in a heap as Drift pulled the scimitar from his first opponent. The second approached, swinging his club wildly above him and hissing at his commrade's killer.
Setting his sword back into his belt, Drift steadied himself. He met the second target by locking his hands into claws as his next victim came into arm's reach. Swiping hysterically at the fish, his nails acted as razors. Each swipe tore bits of flesh from the beastman, spattering the sand with bits of blood and scale. What was left of the hollowed out creature crumpled into the sand.
Last one. Apparently unrattled by the current score of zero to two, the final sahagin approached. It scrapped the edges of its blades together, only making Drift grin in anticipation. They circled each other, both waiting for the other to strike first. Still unarmed, Drift pulled his fist back as the creature clumsily leapt at him, both swords raised above its head.
"Sickle Slash!" Thrusting his fist forward, it cut into the fishman's stomach just before one of the blades sank into Drift's left shoulder. Dropping the fishman and staggering back, Drift held his shoulder as the sahagin writhed in the sand. With a heavy step forward, Drift brought his metal boot down onto the fish's skull.
Robbed of a satisfying crunch, black smoke erupted from under his boot as it impacted the sand. The fish was no where to be seen now, nor were his comrades "What the…'
Two arms wrapped around his neck, and a cheek against the back of his head. "See? See? He took out three of them! He's going to protect us!" Gale's voice had taken on an utter delight that Drift had yet to hear.
"Easy Gale, he's damaged goods now." Turning his attention to the new voice, Drift pressed down onto his wound as blood seeped through his fingers.
"A-Aquais, he beat-"
"I saw, I saw." The woman had eyes like Gale's, an intense, almost glowing blue. She took Drift's right hand and pulled gently. "Come on, let's get that patched up before it gets infected." Not resisting, Drift followed the woman's lead as Gale continued to tail them. He glanced back for a moment, the rest of the unfamiliar group continuing to study them.
*********************************
Aquais had taken great care in cleaning his wound. While rubbing some kind of cream onto the laceration, she had spoken about the island and its people. They had lived here all their lives, and in that time had never had another visitor. She had spoken about their enthusiasm of having someone else on the island, especially someone able to fight.
While he had not considered his two fights so far anything to brag about, they genuinely seemed appreciative. It wasn't like HE was the one actually fighting anyways, his body seemed to be doing it on its own. Every move was a natural reaction, perhaps he had been well trained? No, his style was unnatural and awkward It was more like an animal fighting than a trained warrior.
"I am not saying you are incapable of protecting yourself, but there are probably even some places even you should not venture." She adjusted the bandage, wrapping it around his shoulder swiftly. "But…well, let's not take too many risks too soon, OK? How about staying near the village for now?"
"I'm sure I can handle whatever your island thro-YAAAA!" As he responded, she tightened the bandage as it strangled his shoulder
"Let's NOT take too many risks? OK?" Her voice was firm, like that of a mother scolding a child.
"Alright, alright. No risks."
"Promise me."
"Sure, I promise."
"Alright then." She gave him a peck on the cheek and then rubbed his good shoulder as she walked behind him. "It'll be nice having someone like you arround, Mr. Hero." Drift caught a glimpse of Gale puffing her cheeks out at Aquais' slip of affection. The red haired woman then collected Drift's top, looking over the damaged garment "We'll need to find you some new clothing though, you can't walk around in torn rags for the rest of your life."
Something rung wrong with what she said. He couldn't stay, he had to get back to…where ever it was that he had to go. Drift rubbed his forehead as he fought to remember. "I can't stay, I need to get back to…" To where wasn't clear yet, but he still felt the air of urgency in that thought process. Aquais' face took a grim turn at his response.
"I'm afraid that isn't going to happen, Drift. Once you're here, you're here." Her tone wasn't as threatening as it was apologetic.
"What do you mean by that?
Gale pushed herself up from the bed she had been lying on. "N-nothing can leave the island. The sea won't let you…it'll break whatever you build, and wash you back onto the shore." Her eyes never met his, only looking out the window as she lamented.
"You said you were on the beach this morning, right? You can even hear the waves from in the jungle. The sea is always violent, it only takes from us…." Her gaze wandered around the room, then onto him. "Except for you, that is."
Chapter 5: Nightmare
The raft had made it about 200 yalms off of the island before it vanished below the water. Not 30 minutes later, it arrived back on the shore in tatters. If he had rode it out, coming back to the shore would have been the best case scenario It was almost like something had pulled it down, chewed it up, then spit it back out. Absolutely unreal.
Drift had went back to the village with Gale and Aquais after that little test. While he felt as if he were being watched on the return trip, nothing else of notice happened. Aquais had prepared some fish for them, with two more men joining them for dinner. A solemn man named Burnie, and a large blonde man named Terrance. Their brother and father apparently, oddly the only family quality they shared where their eyes. Otherwise, they looked nothing alike.
They spoke about what he had mostly expected. What they had caught today, Gale mentioned her pineapples, and apparently a storm was to come soon. It must have been obvious Drift had not been in the mood to talk, since as soon as he tired of it, he might as well have vanished from the table. It was almost odd how in tune everyone seemed to be.
After the meal, they had spoken of his quarters for the night. Apparently there was an empty hut, who's previous owner had been taken by the sahagin. One conveniently right beside Gale and Aquais'. That was what had lead him up to this point, staring at the ceiling of a construction made from half of a ship and half thatch woven together. Outside it was unnaturally dark, as if moon and stars did not exist here. Drift got dressed, and exited the hut.
The village was dead quiet at night, not even a lookout patrolled the dirt roads. Drift began by circling the village, each pass making is route grow wider. Upon reaching the outskirt of the thick jungle that enclosed the town, a long tail slipped into the surrounding foliage
It reminded him of something else, a pillar of flesh towering above him on a stormy night. Just as the thought crossed his mind, something rustled in the foliage just beyond the edge of the village. Breaking off from his distraction, Drift removed his blade from his belt, stepping into the absolute darkness of the jungle.
The combination of his oppressively claustrophobic surroundings and the absolute darkness of the night made traversing the jungle a near impossible feat. That is, if it were not for the sounds of something moving in front of him. If he slowed, so did the invisible leader. Though the sound was less like footsteps, and more like something being dragged along in front of him.
Once again, the exit was sudden onto the beach. This time he had not ever heard them from inside of the jungle, as it it had grew tired of of him and decided to let him free earlier. Whatever had lead him to the beach appeared to be absent, possible fazing out of existence just as he stepped through the blanket of foliage that separated the beach from the rest of the island. The sky remained black, an ocean of ink spreading out past the sands.
He stood still for a moment, waiting for some kind of signal on where to go next. The beach seemed vaguely familiar, but it was difficult to tell considering the lack of light. As he listened carefully, another sound began to rise out of the crashing. At first it was difficult to decipher, Drift having to strain to hear it. Whispering perhaps? The sounds appeared to be coming from further down the beach, in the direction he had not continued earlier this morning.
The voices grew louder as he continued along the jungle, though they did not change from their hushed tone. Something in the distance ignited, a small flicker of fire at 100 paces. At 75 paces, another two of either side ignited. The closer he came, the more small flames that appeared. Spreading out at first, then doubling back a distance away, making a large circle. There was a space for about 3-5 more when the voices grew angry. Their hushed whispers became angry hissing. They dared him to proceed.
Drift took one more, spiteful step forward. The flames erupted in fury, the intensity of a bonfire appearing from behind the long figure the small embers had been surrounding. He gazed upward, the figure that had not been visible a moment ago now towering over him at less than 20 paces. Stiff and motionless, an effigy of sticks, blue rotting cloth, and dried grass hung above him. At least 4-5 feet taller then himself, it hung from the top of one of the palms that dotted the sands.
Two arms dangled down from the scarecrow, one ending in a wooden claw, the other in a familiar blade. The head appeared to be carved out of a gourd, half of face crudely detailed into its surface. Drift continued to approach, setting his fingers on the cold blade and he tugged it out of the effigy's arm. It was exactly like his other blade, the two much have been a matching set. He set it into his belt and made his way around the fire as it began to dim. As they did, so did the whispers.
As the flames completely flickered out, something behind him hit the ground with a heavy thud. Drift turned, removing his swords from his belt as he did. Unable to see more than a couple feet in front of him, he began to slowly back away. A figure began making its way down the beach towards him, picking up its pace with long strides. As it came closer he began to recognize the height difference, one of several feet.
Drift wouldn't stand a chance in the dark, he wouldn't even know what he was swinging at. The tall figure quickly closed the distance as another flame in the distance ignited, one on what appeared to be a short pole. A shark-like grin crossed Drift's face as he saw the woman thrusting it downward into the sand. The flames reflected in her eyes as she continued to hum the song from when she had met him on the beach, barely skipping a note when the figure that was chasing him came into view. The tempo of her song increased as she made haste and lit another torch and jammed it into the sand, then another.
Upon reaching the light, Drift turned and took a defensive stance. He heard the woman cry out as the creature lunged forward. It swung its long, lanky appendage as Drift as he rolled under it. The force of the scarecrow's wooden claw snapped the pole in two with a heavy crack. While the top of the torch hit the sand, it continued to burn and illuminate the beach. Seeing as the straw man left his left open, Drift cut into its left arm. Wood splintered as the useless forearm fell to the sand, a black sap dripping out of the effigy's severed limb. It shrieked, then collapsed into a heap once more. Turning to see the bronzed beauty smile at him, Drift approached her.
She held out a hand to him, which he took. She tried to pull him along to another destination, but Drift pulled back. The woman seemed surprised by his reaction, but did not resist any further. Drift took his free hand and brushed away a lock of the woman's hair from her eyes, a strange tranquility overcoming him. "I know you….I don't know from where, but I remember you. Do you remember me?"
She continued to hum her song, nervously turning away. He gently took her chin, turning her face back toward his own. "What's your name? What's my name?" Their eyes locked as he could feel her breath on his lips. He moved forward, his lips touching her's. Her's were cold. "…Drift?"
Breaking out of the trance, Drift spun around to see another familiar woman behind him. "…Gale?" Out of the darkness, another figure approached, a red haired woman with her arms crossed.
Aquais shook her head. "You promised not to come out here…but now you can see the sea witch for what she is." The humming had stopped, and Drift could hear someone, or something breathing heavily behind him. Against every impulse and rational thought in his being, Drift turned around. Where the bronzed beauty once stood, was now a pale, ghostly figure. The reflections of the flames on the torches danced chaoticly in her deep red eyes. Her slender figure sparked something in the back of his head, a thousand thoughts that came rushing to the front in an instant. "Chimera?"
But just a moment ago she had been a beautiful, bewitching-…it had been a trick…a charm spell. The serpent slowly backed away from him as he snarled, then looked back toward the two women who stood just within sight. She backed away as the straw-man once more erupted to life, shrieking as it did only moments ago. The red haired man turned and took a deep breath, a manticore's fire pouring out as he exhaled. The straw-man began dancing furiously as flames began to engulf it. Envy was, unfortunately for everything on the island, back.
Now that he had gotten a good look at the two of them within his right mind, he recognized them immediately as Lust and Sloth. But they would not be out here, no, someone, or something was toying with him. “What the hell are you, really?” As the straw-man continued to flail and dance, the fire now bright enough to illuminate the rest of the beach. At the edge of the darkness, something else was coming. A lot of somethings. Several other figures entered from the pitch black surroundings, approaching from behind Gale and Aquais. Gale's voice took on a harsh, unearthly tone.
“You lied to us Envy, Y̤O̙̼U̧͖͚͎ ͚͈̺͔͉͡L͙̪̮͈͎ͅI̗E̘͉͢D̗̣͍̩ ̻̲͍T̡ͅO̩͓͕͇͈̼͚ ̺̱̰̯͍̫̻͡Ụ͓̱̰͍̥̮S͙͈̫͖̗͞!̝̮͔̩"̯̪͖
The raft had made it about 200 yalms off of the island before it vanished below the water. Not 30 minutes later, it arrived back on the shore in tatters. If he had rode it out, coming back to the shore would have been the best case scenario It was almost like something had pulled it down, chewed it up, then spit it back out. Absolutely unreal.
Drift had went back to the village with Gale and Aquais after that little test. While he felt as if he were being watched on the return trip, nothing else of notice happened. Aquais had prepared some fish for them, with two more men joining them for dinner. A solemn man named Burnie, and a large blonde man named Terrance. Their brother and father apparently, oddly the only family quality they shared where their eyes. Otherwise, they looked nothing alike.
They spoke about what he had mostly expected. What they had caught today, Gale mentioned her pineapples, and apparently a storm was to come soon. It must have been obvious Drift had not been in the mood to talk, since as soon as he tired of it, he might as well have vanished from the table. It was almost odd how in tune everyone seemed to be.
After the meal, they had spoken of his quarters for the night. Apparently there was an empty hut, who's previous owner had been taken by the sahagin. One conveniently right beside Gale and Aquais'. That was what had lead him up to this point, staring at the ceiling of a construction made from half of a ship and half thatch woven together. Outside it was unnaturally dark, as if moon and stars did not exist here. Drift got dressed, and exited the hut.
The village was dead quiet at night, not even a lookout patrolled the dirt roads. Drift began by circling the village, each pass making is route grow wider. Upon reaching the outskirt of the thick jungle that enclosed the town, a long tail slipped into the surrounding foliage
It reminded him of something else, a pillar of flesh towering above him on a stormy night. Just as the thought crossed his mind, something rustled in the foliage just beyond the edge of the village. Breaking off from his distraction, Drift removed his blade from his belt, stepping into the absolute darkness of the jungle.
The combination of his oppressively claustrophobic surroundings and the absolute darkness of the night made traversing the jungle a near impossible feat. That is, if it were not for the sounds of something moving in front of him. If he slowed, so did the invisible leader. Though the sound was less like footsteps, and more like something being dragged along in front of him.
Once again, the exit was sudden onto the beach. This time he had not ever heard them from inside of the jungle, as it it had grew tired of of him and decided to let him free earlier. Whatever had lead him to the beach appeared to be absent, possible fazing out of existence just as he stepped through the blanket of foliage that separated the beach from the rest of the island. The sky remained black, an ocean of ink spreading out past the sands.
He stood still for a moment, waiting for some kind of signal on where to go next. The beach seemed vaguely familiar, but it was difficult to tell considering the lack of light. As he listened carefully, another sound began to rise out of the crashing. At first it was difficult to decipher, Drift having to strain to hear it. Whispering perhaps? The sounds appeared to be coming from further down the beach, in the direction he had not continued earlier this morning.
The voices grew louder as he continued along the jungle, though they did not change from their hushed tone. Something in the distance ignited, a small flicker of fire at 100 paces. At 75 paces, another two of either side ignited. The closer he came, the more small flames that appeared. Spreading out at first, then doubling back a distance away, making a large circle. There was a space for about 3-5 more when the voices grew angry. Their hushed whispers became angry hissing. They dared him to proceed.
Drift took one more, spiteful step forward. The flames erupted in fury, the intensity of a bonfire appearing from behind the long figure the small embers had been surrounding. He gazed upward, the figure that had not been visible a moment ago now towering over him at less than 20 paces. Stiff and motionless, an effigy of sticks, blue rotting cloth, and dried grass hung above him. At least 4-5 feet taller then himself, it hung from the top of one of the palms that dotted the sands.
Two arms dangled down from the scarecrow, one ending in a wooden claw, the other in a familiar blade. The head appeared to be carved out of a gourd, half of face crudely detailed into its surface. Drift continued to approach, setting his fingers on the cold blade and he tugged it out of the effigy's arm. It was exactly like his other blade, the two much have been a matching set. He set it into his belt and made his way around the fire as it began to dim. As they did, so did the whispers.
As the flames completely flickered out, something behind him hit the ground with a heavy thud. Drift turned, removing his swords from his belt as he did. Unable to see more than a couple feet in front of him, he began to slowly back away. A figure began making its way down the beach towards him, picking up its pace with long strides. As it came closer he began to recognize the height difference, one of several feet.
Drift wouldn't stand a chance in the dark, he wouldn't even know what he was swinging at. The tall figure quickly closed the distance as another flame in the distance ignited, one on what appeared to be a short pole. A shark-like grin crossed Drift's face as he saw the woman thrusting it downward into the sand. The flames reflected in her eyes as she continued to hum the song from when she had met him on the beach, barely skipping a note when the figure that was chasing him came into view. The tempo of her song increased as she made haste and lit another torch and jammed it into the sand, then another.
Upon reaching the light, Drift turned and took a defensive stance. He heard the woman cry out as the creature lunged forward. It swung its long, lanky appendage as Drift as he rolled under it. The force of the scarecrow's wooden claw snapped the pole in two with a heavy crack. While the top of the torch hit the sand, it continued to burn and illuminate the beach. Seeing as the straw man left his left open, Drift cut into its left arm. Wood splintered as the useless forearm fell to the sand, a black sap dripping out of the effigy's severed limb. It shrieked, then collapsed into a heap once more. Turning to see the bronzed beauty smile at him, Drift approached her.
She held out a hand to him, which he took. She tried to pull him along to another destination, but Drift pulled back. The woman seemed surprised by his reaction, but did not resist any further. Drift took his free hand and brushed away a lock of the woman's hair from her eyes, a strange tranquility overcoming him. "I know you….I don't know from where, but I remember you. Do you remember me?"
She continued to hum her song, nervously turning away. He gently took her chin, turning her face back toward his own. "What's your name? What's my name?" Their eyes locked as he could feel her breath on his lips. He moved forward, his lips touching her's. Her's were cold. "…Drift?"
Breaking out of the trance, Drift spun around to see another familiar woman behind him. "…Gale?" Out of the darkness, another figure approached, a red haired woman with her arms crossed.
Aquais shook her head. "You promised not to come out here…but now you can see the sea witch for what she is." The humming had stopped, and Drift could hear someone, or something breathing heavily behind him. Against every impulse and rational thought in his being, Drift turned around. Where the bronzed beauty once stood, was now a pale, ghostly figure. The reflections of the flames on the torches danced chaoticly in her deep red eyes. Her slender figure sparked something in the back of his head, a thousand thoughts that came rushing to the front in an instant. "Chimera?"
But just a moment ago she had been a beautiful, bewitching-…it had been a trick…a charm spell. The serpent slowly backed away from him as he snarled, then looked back toward the two women who stood just within sight. She backed away as the straw-man once more erupted to life, shrieking as it did only moments ago. The red haired man turned and took a deep breath, a manticore's fire pouring out as he exhaled. The straw-man began dancing furiously as flames began to engulf it. Envy was, unfortunately for everything on the island, back.
Now that he had gotten a good look at the two of them within his right mind, he recognized them immediately as Lust and Sloth. But they would not be out here, no, someone, or something was toying with him. “What the hell are you, really?” As the straw-man continued to flail and dance, the fire now bright enough to illuminate the rest of the beach. At the edge of the darkness, something else was coming. A lot of somethings. Several other figures entered from the pitch black surroundings, approaching from behind Gale and Aquais. Gale's voice took on a harsh, unearthly tone.
“You lied to us Envy, Y̤O̙̼U̧͖͚͎ ͚͈̺͔͉͡L͙̪̮͈͎ͅI̗E̘͉͢D̗̣͍̩ ̻̲͍T̡ͅO̩͓͕͇͈̼͚ ̺̱̰̯͍̫̻͡Ụ͓̱̰͍̥̮S͙͈̫͖̗͞!̝̮͔̩"̯̪͖
last edited 601 weeks ago by Xelo
Chapter 6: Insomnia
There was no time for thought, only reaction. The first three figures that leapt toward him were dispatched with a few quick blows. Each slice spilled out a inky syrup that fell onto the sand in clumps. The wall of creatures began to advance, clearing a way for the burning effigy as it continued to flail and run through the dark crowd.
One of the initial three clutched the ground, dragging itself along the sand to its closest downed ally. Upon reaching one of the others, the initial creature liquidized, combining itself with the remains of the other. Envy gritted his teeth as he watched it reform into a larger creature, which began staggering toward the third that he had dispatched.
{"Well that's not fair at all."}
Envy snatched one of the torches from the ground and darted past the pale chimera. He did not look back at the army of shadows, realizing that every inhabitant of the island together could, quite possibly, give him a little bit more trouble than a few fishmen.
Glancing to his left, he noticed the chimera had caught up with him. Her gnarled claws wrapped around a second torch, she sway back and forth as she slithered through the sand alongside him. The Lamia quickly managed to overtake Kirious, making a sharp turn into a cavern. He staggered against the gravel, making an unexpected hard left into the stone maw.
The narrow hall of the cavern eventually opened into another beach. The chimera continued to a damaged structure that broke the surface of the water. "Into ship!" The chimera dove into a small open window in the side of the partially submerged ship. Following her, Kirious ran through a few yards of knee deep water, then hastily climbed into the open window. Only musty sea water prevented his face plant onto the hardwood floor.
The chimera set her torch onto the wall, illuminating what was at one time a very luxurious room. A large bed with red velvet blankets was the center of the room, the lower corners dotted with spots of black mold. A large dresser sat in the furthest corner, slightly more water pooling at it's side than where he had landed. "Zhey vill not enter. Zhey do not like zhe vater."
Wiping the foul water from his face, Kirious stood up to better take in his new surroundings. The room was off center, the depth of water differing but a few inches easily. She handed him a bucket filled with the foul water, which he passed to the window. Dumping it outside, he glanced through the circular window to see several figures standing just at the water's edge a few feet away. Their burning azure eyes staring intently at him through the darkness.
"What the fuck are they, and who the hell are YOU?" As he spoke, the chimera opened a second window and began scooping water out with a second bucket. Envy launched the bucket across the room as it clashed against a wall near the chimera. "You…you were HER! You made yourself look like HER!" The lamia turned, her face twisting in disgust.
"Only saw vhat yooh vanted to. I hrrave no control of vhat you see vhile singing. Besides, vhat vould hrrave done if I hrrrad not. Kill? Run?" Her unapologetic tone only fueled his seething rage. Envy's hands began to quake as he longed to wrap them around her neck. She seemed somewhat taken aback when she noticed the intense blue gleam in his eyes, but soon continued pouring water from the ship's bottom. "An Immortal vith a child's tim-per. Vhat company yooh vill make."
"I'm not an Immortal, and if you had just said something to me initially, MAYBE we wouldn't be in here, trapped by whatever's outside! And I'm not going to be 'your companion!' I'm getting off of this rock if I have to sink it myself!"
"Do not lie, yooh breath fire. Only zhey do zhat."
"Just because I'm a blue mage, doesn't make me an Immortal." Forcing himself o calm down, he picked up the bucket that had floated back to him and continued to remove the water from the room.
"Is new?"
"Is what new?"
"Blues vho not Immortal."
"Not exactly, I'm rogue. Envy. Maybe you've heard of me?"
"No."
"Fine, then what's your's?"
The lamia's bucket scraped against the bottom of the wooden floor as the water level began to recede. "Do not remember number."
Envy continued to pump out the water as he tried to continue the conversation. "So you live here?"
"Iv yooh call zhis living, yes." The lamia continued to silently labor against the water. With only the sounds of their buckets and the trickle of water, Envy could hear an occasional drop making its way through the wood, continuing to fill the boat even as they emptied it. "Yooh are not bozhered by chimera?"
"I lived with a bunch of your kind for awhile." Her face twisted in confusion as she stared at Envy. This was the first time he had gotten a good look at the chimera's face. Both eyes had a scar that extended an inch straight down, as if something had attempted to blind her and fell short on its swipe.
"Lamia are…free now? No longer veapons?"
Envy shook his head, and dumped the last bucket out the window. The mass of shadows remained outside, still waiting for him to reemerge "Not exactly. There are some that hide in the reef, me and them, well, we have a similar history with the Empire. The whole enemy of my enemy thing leaves you with some weird allies.
" Tossing the bucket into the quarter inch of remaining water, he glanced out the window once more. "So what are we going to do about them?"
"Vhat is zhere to do? Yooh tried to fight zhem, cannot. Ve are hrrere now, live hrrere. Vill not be bad. Vorse alone. Zhey cannot cross water. Will not bother us hrrere. Wait, zhey get bored."
"I mean in the long run. I don't know what you did to piss them off, but we can't just stay here." Envy turned back to the lamia, "Can't they just shoot a flaming arrow in here or something?"
"If zhey could or vere villing, vould hrrrave already. We are only entertainment. If not necessary, zhey vill not kill."
"So the what are we afraid of?"
The lamia's claws brushed against the scars under her eyes.
"Kill yooh, no, hrrurt, torture, yes. Ve live as long as ve are entertaining. Ve are safe hrrere zhough."
The sloshing of water once again regained rule over the room.
"I've never seen a charm spell like that. How did you manage it?"
"Zhe illusion? Practice. Hrrere, hrrave nozhing but time."
"And you were just going to sing forever? I'd have found out eventually."
The lamia's bucket slowed. "Maybe by zhen yooh vould hrrave not fled. Last one only saw as monster."
Now scraping against the bottom of the ships' floor, Envy dumped out a final bucketful and set it against the foot of the bed. While he wasn't in a particularly good mood, his anger had mostly subsided. "And how'd that turn out?"
"Other monster get bored, kill him."
"How long do you think I'd have lasted?"
She smiled slightly, a glimpse of one of her fangs creeping out from behind her lips. "Yooh are…much more interesting. Perhaps while." The lamia set her bucket inside of Envy's, the water mostly scooped out of the room.
In one fluid motion, she managed to move herself to the bed, sitting on the edge of it.
"And how long have you lasted?"
"Longer zhen can remember…Envy, yes?"
"Yeah."
The chimera glanced over her shoulder and out through the window, their unwanted visitors now at least out of vision. "Zhey are gone."
"So what the hell are they anyways?"
"I do not know. Zhey hrrave always been. Perhaps 'it' is more correct. But it can see into you. Zhoughts, memories. Hrras access to all. Zhe faces vere familiar, yes? It can see vhat yooh fear."
There was no time for thought, only reaction. The first three figures that leapt toward him were dispatched with a few quick blows. Each slice spilled out a inky syrup that fell onto the sand in clumps. The wall of creatures began to advance, clearing a way for the burning effigy as it continued to flail and run through the dark crowd.
One of the initial three clutched the ground, dragging itself along the sand to its closest downed ally. Upon reaching one of the others, the initial creature liquidized, combining itself with the remains of the other. Envy gritted his teeth as he watched it reform into a larger creature, which began staggering toward the third that he had dispatched.
{"Well that's not fair at all."}
Envy snatched one of the torches from the ground and darted past the pale chimera. He did not look back at the army of shadows, realizing that every inhabitant of the island together could, quite possibly, give him a little bit more trouble than a few fishmen.
Glancing to his left, he noticed the chimera had caught up with him. Her gnarled claws wrapped around a second torch, she sway back and forth as she slithered through the sand alongside him. The Lamia quickly managed to overtake Kirious, making a sharp turn into a cavern. He staggered against the gravel, making an unexpected hard left into the stone maw.
The narrow hall of the cavern eventually opened into another beach. The chimera continued to a damaged structure that broke the surface of the water. "Into ship!" The chimera dove into a small open window in the side of the partially submerged ship. Following her, Kirious ran through a few yards of knee deep water, then hastily climbed into the open window. Only musty sea water prevented his face plant onto the hardwood floor.
The chimera set her torch onto the wall, illuminating what was at one time a very luxurious room. A large bed with red velvet blankets was the center of the room, the lower corners dotted with spots of black mold. A large dresser sat in the furthest corner, slightly more water pooling at it's side than where he had landed. "Zhey vill not enter. Zhey do not like zhe vater."
Wiping the foul water from his face, Kirious stood up to better take in his new surroundings. The room was off center, the depth of water differing but a few inches easily. She handed him a bucket filled with the foul water, which he passed to the window. Dumping it outside, he glanced through the circular window to see several figures standing just at the water's edge a few feet away. Their burning azure eyes staring intently at him through the darkness.
"What the fuck are they, and who the hell are YOU?" As he spoke, the chimera opened a second window and began scooping water out with a second bucket. Envy launched the bucket across the room as it clashed against a wall near the chimera. "You…you were HER! You made yourself look like HER!" The lamia turned, her face twisting in disgust.
"Only saw vhat yooh vanted to. I hrrave no control of vhat you see vhile singing. Besides, vhat vould hrrave done if I hrrrad not. Kill? Run?" Her unapologetic tone only fueled his seething rage. Envy's hands began to quake as he longed to wrap them around her neck. She seemed somewhat taken aback when she noticed the intense blue gleam in his eyes, but soon continued pouring water from the ship's bottom. "An Immortal vith a child's tim-per. Vhat company yooh vill make."
"I'm not an Immortal, and if you had just said something to me initially, MAYBE we wouldn't be in here, trapped by whatever's outside! And I'm not going to be 'your companion!' I'm getting off of this rock if I have to sink it myself!"
"Do not lie, yooh breath fire. Only zhey do zhat."
"Just because I'm a blue mage, doesn't make me an Immortal." Forcing himself o calm down, he picked up the bucket that had floated back to him and continued to remove the water from the room.
"Is new?"
"Is what new?"
"Blues vho not Immortal."
"Not exactly, I'm rogue. Envy. Maybe you've heard of me?"
"No."
"Fine, then what's your's?"
The lamia's bucket scraped against the bottom of the wooden floor as the water level began to recede. "Do not remember number."
Envy continued to pump out the water as he tried to continue the conversation. "So you live here?"
"Iv yooh call zhis living, yes." The lamia continued to silently labor against the water. With only the sounds of their buckets and the trickle of water, Envy could hear an occasional drop making its way through the wood, continuing to fill the boat even as they emptied it. "Yooh are not bozhered by chimera?"
"I lived with a bunch of your kind for awhile." Her face twisted in confusion as she stared at Envy. This was the first time he had gotten a good look at the chimera's face. Both eyes had a scar that extended an inch straight down, as if something had attempted to blind her and fell short on its swipe.
"Lamia are…free now? No longer veapons?"
Envy shook his head, and dumped the last bucket out the window. The mass of shadows remained outside, still waiting for him to reemerge "Not exactly. There are some that hide in the reef, me and them, well, we have a similar history with the Empire. The whole enemy of my enemy thing leaves you with some weird allies.
" Tossing the bucket into the quarter inch of remaining water, he glanced out the window once more. "So what are we going to do about them?"
"Vhat is zhere to do? Yooh tried to fight zhem, cannot. Ve are hrrere now, live hrrere. Vill not be bad. Vorse alone. Zhey cannot cross water. Will not bother us hrrere. Wait, zhey get bored."
"I mean in the long run. I don't know what you did to piss them off, but we can't just stay here." Envy turned back to the lamia, "Can't they just shoot a flaming arrow in here or something?"
"If zhey could or vere villing, vould hrrrave already. We are only entertainment. If not necessary, zhey vill not kill."
"So the what are we afraid of?"
The lamia's claws brushed against the scars under her eyes.
"Kill yooh, no, hrrurt, torture, yes. Ve live as long as ve are entertaining. Ve are safe hrrere zhough."
The sloshing of water once again regained rule over the room.
"I've never seen a charm spell like that. How did you manage it?"
"Zhe illusion? Practice. Hrrere, hrrave nozhing but time."
"And you were just going to sing forever? I'd have found out eventually."
The lamia's bucket slowed. "Maybe by zhen yooh vould hrrave not fled. Last one only saw as monster."
Now scraping against the bottom of the ships' floor, Envy dumped out a final bucketful and set it against the foot of the bed. While he wasn't in a particularly good mood, his anger had mostly subsided. "And how'd that turn out?"
"Other monster get bored, kill him."
"How long do you think I'd have lasted?"
She smiled slightly, a glimpse of one of her fangs creeping out from behind her lips. "Yooh are…much more interesting. Perhaps while." The lamia set her bucket inside of Envy's, the water mostly scooped out of the room.
In one fluid motion, she managed to move herself to the bed, sitting on the edge of it.
"And how long have you lasted?"
"Longer zhen can remember…Envy, yes?"
"Yeah."
The chimera glanced over her shoulder and out through the window, their unwanted visitors now at least out of vision. "Zhey are gone."
"So what the hell are they anyways?"
"I do not know. Zhey hrrave always been. Perhaps 'it' is more correct. But it can see into you. Zhoughts, memories. Hrras access to all. Zhe faces vere familiar, yes? It can see vhat yooh fear."
Chapter 7: Night Terror
Even the musty, king sized bed had not been quite big enough for the two of them. Envy had awoken with a claw on his face, and a tail draped over him. His stirring had awoken his nameless roommate, who proceeded to make her way outside through the small window. Kirious rubbed his eyes, then squirmed his way through the ship's only exit. The beach outside was once again bright, the sun shining over the golden sand and azure waves. It he hadn't been chased by an army of shadows, Envy might actually consider this a decent place to vacation.
The chimera immediately made her way up the side of the partially submerged ship. She pulled up what appeared to be a trout line, a handful of fish fighting for freedom as the line pulled them from their watery homes. "Hrrungry, yes?"
Envy rubbed the back of his neck, then glanced back toward the jungle. "You know how to cook?"
"Of course. Not eat raw." She removed the fish from the line, tossing them down onto the shore as they struggled against the sand.
It only took about 30 minutes for them to roast, gutted and skewered on sticks Envy had sharped with his blades. And while they were not terribly large portions, it was enough to make the hunger pains recede. "So chimera, how long did you live with the shadows? Clearly they don't like me being around you, but what did you do to piss them off?"
The lamia took her kebab stick, and began to draw something in the sand. It appeared to be a misshapen circle within a misshapen circle. "Island like zhis. Outside is beach, jungle is inside." She drew an X at the tip of the island, just off the shore and into the water. "Zhis is boat. Boat is safe zone. Near center of island, is village. And just outside village…" She drew a triangle in the very center of the island. "Zhis is temple. When I find temple is vhen shadows chase out."
"Well don't you think there's something in there that they don't want you to see?"
The lamia glanced at him, a clearly unimpressed look on her face. "Obvious, but vhat to do? Cannot beat shadows." Upon that sentence, a low growl sounded from the jungle.
"See? Shadows hear all. We should stop conversation."
"That sounds a awful lot like a threat from them. Now think to yourself, why would an all powerful being not want you to go into one little room?" The growling grew louder, three large tigers slinking out of the forest, less than 100 yards away. "Maybe there's something in there that it doesn't want us to find? Some kind of sword that can kill it? An airship? A scrap book? Who knows. Could be anything." Envy rose from his seat, pulling the swords from his belt.
"I for one, think I'm going to take a walk though."
"A valk through monsters?"
"A very enthusiastic walk." The false predators charged toward them, determined to make an example of the man's form of rebellious thinking. Once again Envy cut through them easily, but once again they reformed into a single mass. Something that more closely resembled a behemoth, in both size and shape. The beast let out a lour roar, to which Envy responded by sheathing his swords.
"Alright, so swords are worthless. That's unfortunate." The beast lunged forward, the muscles covering it rippling at it landed with a heavy thud. Envy dodged to the side, circling the large beast as it turned back toward him. There didn't appear to be any obvious weak spots on the creature, nothing puppeteering it. Attacking it would be like attacking water itself.
That off hand though triggered something in Envy's brain, the wheels beginning to spin. He took a deep breath as the beast reared back for another lunge. Just as it began to shift it's weight forward, he exhaled. The beast's face got the worst of it, quickly turning black as a thin layer of ice covered it. The creature's head fell from the rest of it's syrupy neck, the body backing up and leaving it's frozen head on the sand.
Envy wiped his mouth, nearly choking on a layer of frost while he began to chuckle. Glancing back at the lamia, she looked on in awe of the retreating beast. While he didn't manage to kill it outright, he has made it retreat.
"Like a bitch." She turned back to the blue mage as he spoke, still unsure of what she had just witnessed.
"Magic? Does not like magic?"
"Apparently not. Didn't you ever try?"
"Am not caster, is dancer." Oh, that's right. She had managed to put a nasty little charm spell on him. Envy glanced at her as he removed the sword from his belt, flinging them blade down into the sand.
"In that case, you can use those. I'm going to play major defense, and you can support me."
The chimera glanced hesitantly at the blades, then back to the red haired hume. "Yooh got lucky. But cannot beat island."
"I think I did pretty damn good with that one. Besides, you really think it's going to just ignore us after that? I put some fear into that ink bottle, we had best try and strike while it's confused. Let's head over to the temple, stick our heads in, and have a look around. Worst case scenario, we have to come back here."
She eyed at the swords once more, knowing that picking them up would break the unspoken agreement she had with whatever it was that stalked the island. To take them, would be to stand against what had essentially allowed her continued existence.
"Don't make a dilemma of it now." His sarcasm did not help, but if she did not, and he died half way across the island, it would likely be another several years before someone else came along to keep her company. Perhaps, in some ideal best case scenario, they could severely weaken the black creature. That would certainly make day to day life easier. She wrapped her claw around the hilt of the worn blade, and plucked it from the sand.
"Chimera, yesterday you said we were the equivalency of entertainment, right? That kind of implies a…sentience with this thing. Animals don't do that kind of shit."
"Is true. And?"
"And I think it's going to be really, really pissed off at us in a moment. So get your ass in gear, we're turning this walk into a jog."
The red haired man's pace was easy enough to match. For as quickly as he moved in battle, his running speed left something to be desired. Moving to the thinnest part of the jungle, according to the lamia's sand-map, he stopped and examined the diversion between sand and foliage. he looked at her expectantly for several seconds before she realized that he was now without his blades. Cutting through the thickness of the plant life, she began a trail.
The jungle, oddly enough, did not appear to have the malevolence that it had earlier. Perhaps it wished for them to pass, perhaps Envy had managed to navigate himself into a circle. There was no trace of his previous trail, so both options were equally as likely. The lamia's breath grew heavy as she swung the blades through the thick grasses and plants the attempted to suffocate the two of them. Only a dozen swipes after her arms began to tire, did light peek through the thick vegetation.
The village was exactly as Envy had remembered it, sans the population. The lamia leaned against one of the walls, recovering her breath as Envy studied the town. "This must be an elaborate ruse to keep up. I mean, the building all have to be up kept, even when there's no one else here."
"Perhaps it pass time?"
Envy glanced over his shoulder as the lamia pushed herself off of the wall. "I guess. It's not like it has a hell of a lot else to do aside from scare you. But think about that for a moment, how did it learn to do this? You aren't just born with carpentry skills. This thing must be pretty damn smart."
The lamia rubbed her shoulder, then continued into the village. “Entrance near hrrere. Just past village.” The lamia arrived first at what she had referred to as the temple. It was not quite as large as she had remembered, merely a stone structure with some over grown jungle beginning to overtake it. What was once the door lay broken and scattered on the stairs, its pieces weathered from what was likely decades of wear. A dull hum emanated from the bottom of the stairwell, not one of a living creature, but of something artificial. Just before stepping in, something slithered between the two of them and down the stairs into the darkness. Envy grinned at the Lamia, who picked one of the torches off of the wall near the entrance. She held it up to him as he exhaled a flame onto it. “Sure yooh vant to do this?”
“Of course, unless you want to go back to your slowly flooding boat-house and just rot there for another dozen years.”
“Is not that. Ve have no plan, no stradegy.”
“We'll improvise.” The lamia frowned at his response. She wasn't sure if he was simply confident, or stupid. It was likely somewhere in between. Though admittedly, it was nice to have someone that could seemingly hurt the monster she had lived in fear of for so long.
Proceeding down the stairs, she spied a green light that crept around a far corner. Several orbs that lined the wall were responsible for the eerie glow, but they did provide enough light for the two to continue down the winding path. Not even cob webs lined the halls, there was nothing but dust and a faint smell of sulfer to accompany it. The humming slowly grew louder and more determined as she descended, like a warning to anyone that dared continue.
The stairwell gave way to a round, open room with a crumbling door on the far side. The black syrup oozed through one of the crevices in the door, and took two distinct shapes. Unlike the villagers, they remained black. One was a tall knight in what appeared to be plate, the other a small child.
“So it really can read my mind. And of all the things to pick, it starts with the Zilart Brothers.” Envy entered a grappling stance, the lamia behind him removing her borrowed swords from her belt. “Hold off the big one, the little one's a lot worse.” As he spoke, the two shadow figures began to circle them.
The taller impersonator leapt forward, the lamia managing to parry the attack with one of her swords. Dropping the torch tot eh ground, she retrieved her second from her belt. The smaller stood in place, his arms outstretched as if he were casting something. As if to finish the spell, the doppelganger pointed at him, then resumed the same stance. “Well that's lazy.” Envy leapt at him, spewing a poison sludge from his mouth as he landed. The childlike figure doubled over and clutched its face, before liquifying.
“Yooh said mine vas easy!” The larger shadows continued to swing violently at the lamia as she struggled to deflect his attacks.
“He should have been! Mine was the caster!” Envy sprinted toward the second opponent, slashing against his back in a sickle-shape. The hole quickly reformed, but did manage to get the creature's attention. It turned toward Envy as as string of diremite thread erupted from under his sleeve, catching the pseudo Zilart by the boot. With a yank of the thread, the knight landed on the ground with a heavy crash. As it struggled to regain its footing, Envy rained down a barrage of diremite webbing upon the creature as it struggled to break free.
“Something tells me oil slick here can't cast magic.” Liquifying much as it's brother did, the black substance quickly fled from under the lairs of thread. It slithered into the hole in the door it had previously emerged from. Envy set his hands on his waist as the chimera made her way to the damaged door. “This is gonna be a lot easier than I'd thought. When I saw it change into them, I figured we were in trouble.”
The lamia elbowed the damaged door as the stone gave way a little more. “Vern't yooh just mocking it? It can read your mind, it knows if you are vorried.”
“Yeah, but you don't. How would 'oh shit, we're in trouble' sound the first time we have to fight something?” A nervous look realization the chimera's face. She turned and shouldered the door once more as the broken stone finally gave way. Picking up the torch once more, she slithered through the door in front of Envy.
The staircase descended into a second open room, much to the chagrin of Envy. “Oh god damn it. Really? We're just going to do this song and dance again?”
“Do yooh zhink it vould hrrave retreated if it did not hrrave anozher attempt to stop us?”
Envy sighed as he glanced toward the door at the back of the room. “No, I guess no-” Before he could finish his sentence, something blunt struck him in the back. Flung onto his face, Envy rolled to his side. Narrowly dodging the monster's next attack, he staggered to his feet to face the next opponent.
The chimera backed up, holding her swords infront of her. She backed behind Envy, making her way to the door. “Well that's horrifying.”
A mirrored shadow stood before him, drawing its swords before approaching. Envy Took a defensive position as the chimera made for the door. She threw her shoulder into it, but it held solid. No crack or damage existed initially in the door, she would need to find another way to open it. She eased one of the blades between the door and the frame. Working it into the stone, she pulled on the hilt in an attempt to wedge the door open.
“Break the door, not my sword!” Envy leapt back from his attacking doppelganger. The air around of him distorted as several shadow images spread out from around him. The double quickly slashed through four of them, the last two rearing back. Sludge spewed from the breath of the image on the right, the monster slapping it away by detaching a wave of black from itself to catch it. Shit, it was learning.
The creature struck immediately, landing a heavy strike into Envy's chest with the force of a golem. Upon impact it spun him a full 360, only for the attack to be followed up with an uppercut. The blue mage tumbled backwards, quickly and clumsily regaining his footing mid-roll. Envy let out a wail, then charged the target again. The tip of the shadow's saber cut across his chest as Envy rammed his open hand into the monster's face. Clutching for something to grip, his open claw only sank in. It was like trying to squeeze pudding. Immediately after yanking his hand from the black creature's face, his attack was answered with a headbutt. But instead of soft goo, it held a consistency closer to stone now.
“This is bugard shit!” Envy staggered away as the shadow got another free swing in across his chest. “How's the door coming?!”
“Is not coming!” The lamia groped against the walls for some kind of switch, or push block. Nothing gave, nothing shifted. Frustrated with her lack of progress, she turned to see Envy on the defensive once again. The shadow lashed out at him repeatedly, most of the attacks either grazing or barely missing him. Pulling the sword from the door, she flung it at the shadow beast. Landing in it's back, it turned to glare in her direction. Envy tore the blade from its back as the monster charged the lamia. The sounds of it steps alluded to something much heavier, something much larger. Diving out of of the way, the shadow slammed into the door, cracking the stonework. Reorienting itself after the near miss, the shadow turned toward the lamia.
“Leaf storm!” Envy crossed his arms as the air pressure in the room changed. The shadow deformed as a the wind pulled at it, feeding from its surface. The shadow tried to charge into Envy, only to be pulled from its feet once it approached the storm. Ripped from the ground, the ink splattered against the back wall. Turning his attention to the puddle, Envy exhaled a breath of flame. The ink creature shrieked, attempting to take form once more as the flames lapped at it. It twisted and rolled, thrashing against the stone ground as it shot up the stairs.
“What is it gonna take to KILL that?!” The hume ran his hand through his red hair, trying to regain himself after exhausting his magic. The chimera's tongue darted into the air, tasting the stench of man's sweat and blood.
“Take it easy Envy, ve von.” And with one last blow to the door, the last barrier crumbled. Inside was only a stone pillar, holding a large orb. Energy crackled from its surface, the source of the humming. The lamia entered the room first, Envy following after her. “Vhat does zhis do?”
"̢͙̫T͈̤̝̭͎̣͔h̥̹͕̙̮e̴̳̰̰̰̞ ̯͍͈̫̹̝͍i̹̜͙͕̱͝s̖͙̟͕l̲̘͔a͈̞̯̝̜̤̺̕n̨d͉̳̮̙̜̜̫, ̦̳͎̱̭̹i͖̤̘͙̰̥͘t̵͔̲͓͉̮̺ͅ ̺͍͇̩͚́c͚̩̯̖̕o̟͜n̩͘t̢̻̣̣̥̭̜̺r̙͉o̶͎̹̟̺͎̱ͅl͏̲̼̰̪s͈ ҉̤͈̞͓̼͙ṭ̖͎̖̭̩͉h̛̤͇̰̗e̡̺ ̳͙̮̬͝i̙̹͕̳̖s̪̹l̝͍̯̥͎ḁ̼̯̱n̡̩̘d̤̙͖͇̻̠̝.͠"̲̙̹͈ͅ
Gritting his teeth, Envy turned back to the sludge as it formed a figure once more. This time it was of no shape he recognized, simply a feminine silhouette.
"̡̘̰̞̦̝Ẁ̼͔̠̞̗h̩͚̲a̛̜͇͉͕̻̠̗t̢̮̯͕ y̲̞̪̪͔̜̮͝o͈̻̤̻͔̰u̞̕ ̲̺̯̖̬̞s͢t̤̦̖̰a̗͓̪͎ͅn̪̦͍̝d̰͟ ̺̜̱̮o͕̺͡ṋ̹ ͖̖͈̖̣ͅḭ̟̦̲s̤̺ ̢ar͏ṱ͕͢ì̮͓̫f͓̠͡i̩̱̜͜c͈̗͓i͎̗̣͎a͚͉̝̹͘l͎͓̳̝̜ͅ.̜̼̣̫ ͖̺͙̲͢I̸t̛͇͎̖̞̞ ̥͔̲͡h͔̖̲a̖̩͍̳̝ͅs̠͔̪̯̫ ̸̺b̸e͖̹͎͇͠en ͈͈h̪̠e̮̩͙̻͞r͔̳͍̙͔̹̮è͓̺͓ ̘̜̱̗̦̘͖f̬̝o̝͉͢r͙̳͎͓̠̞ ̛͓̗̥͈͔̲͉l̷̝̩̝̜ͅo͈͓̬͍̝̬nģḛ͉͙̝̰͎r̭͍͍ ̣̰t̶͓̠̝̣͉͈h̠̠͇̘̬͈͎a̟̳̫͘n ͎͍͍͕̫̗͓y̫̰o̯̤͠u͕̦͔̬ ̗̼͔̺͎͘re͏̝͎̳͓̤m̤em̘̗͉̣b̯̪͔͓̱e͓̯̱̙r,͙ ̺̻̯a̯͎̺̬̱͉ṇ̥̠̳̺͎́d ̼̰̞̻͎̣ͅw̤̹͎i͎͝l̸̫͖̜̱̥͇ĺ̝̻̥ ̵̘r̪̗̼̪e͉̯̲m͏͍̪̺̭̹a̫̥͜i͙n̜̻͎ s͉͈̜͍̟̪̪͠o͈͓ͅ.̧͈ ͇͉̘̦͚I̲̝t̼̤͝ͅ ̳̬̦͕̞̻́ͅi͎͍͔͖̝̘͓ṣ̜̭̳͠ ͖͇͓̲̥m̼̙͕͙͇͓̯͠y͢ ̰͈͘p̩ṟ̷̮̺i͝so̧̝ͅn̼̯̙̯.̢̩͔̪̜̲̺ I̱f̣̱̀ ̭͙̗̫͔y̝̪͇̘̙͉o̷̼̻̦u҉ ̧̼̻̱̣̬͔͓d̫̼̟e̠̭s͏͎̼t̯̯͙r̮̹o̹͜y̤͉̯͞ t̸h̳̲͇̼͔̹͔at ͖̲̪͓̀ͅo̷̜̘̙͚rb̥̰̮,̢͍ ̫͎̠͝th̡͎̼̜e̝̪̩͕̗͉ͅ ì͎̬̻̝s̺̦͉̙͎l͠à̖͔̙̙ṋ̸͓d͙ ̴͇̹̩̩w̱͎̘͓̝͚̠i̵͕l̷̗̯̫l̖̺̩͔̫̳̺̕ ͖͜s̥̬i̘̹n̜͖̲̪̮k̩̩͚̬̗ͅ,̗̲͙̩͞ ͉͙a̮̦̗͍nd̹̲̣̩̙ ͜y̫̰o̯̤͠u͕̦͔̬ ̘͡w̭̯̹i͙̣ḽ̣̪͔̰l̠ ̲̩̮̟̹d̤̘͎̟ͅṛ̪̥̥ͅo͢w̻̝̭͖̺̰͙͘n͎͚̘ ̠̩͢l͔̘̖̗i͇̻̱̜͍̩k͓ͅe̡̩̙̤̖̠̹ ̲͇͔̜͈͇͠r̢̘̣̥̼a̤̗t̫̺͞s̴͓.̥ ҉̗̯"̷̫̻̣͚͚̫͕
The lamia looked at Envy hesitantly as he grinned widely. “Then you had best take a deep, deep fucking breath.” The creature remained silent, then set it's hand to its head. Envy cocked his head, his grin leaving his face. “Are you trying to read me again? AGAIN? Well then how about the unabridged version?!” He reached for his forehead, tearing off the blue ribbon wrapped around his head.
What had just a moment ago been two voices, became thousands of screams. By the way the creature had clutched its head, he knew she could hear it too. Faces emerged from the inky black creature, each trying to chew through the think covering of its form. Orcs, humes, tigers, the undead, every single thing he had ever consumed. It shrieked as it began to tear at itself, pulling one of the faces from its form only for another three to take its place. As the creature flailed and convulsed, Envy readied another spell.
"̤̞̞́N̦̝͙͎̙O̧̺̼̗̘̻̲̼!͉̻̻̰̦̺ͅ N̛Oͅ!̳͙̠̲͙ N̙͙̳̕O̖̰NO̸̬̮̪̞̲̳N͎̣̩̖̬OŅ̯͔͕͈O͉͔͕͓N̲̹̹͎̪̕O̶̰̳̖̜̼̣ͅN͇̪̯O̬̩Ṋ̰̝̺͜O͔̼͓̤͙̥ͅN͉O̴̙͈̹͚̬̤N͢O͚͈̖͠ͅNO͔̘̟̙̰N̮͕͍̻Ǫ̞̱!̠̦́"̤̭̻
Exactly one thousand slivers of light shot from his hand into the orb. Each one blew sparks from the power source, a tremor traveling through the island on number 685. The last 315 were probably unnecessary, but the concept of stopping just seemed half assed at this point.
"̫͙̯WH̫̹͎̬̜̹Y̲̖̹͇̦?̩͖͠ ̵͇̣̮D̦O̶̳ ͎̩̟Y̜͈̦͉O̫̙͇̰̰̻ͅU ̶̜̟N̺͜O̗̞̝̜͙T̜̟̯̺ ͖E͈̙VE̢̝͔̩N ̰͔̘͝V̠̱̕A̢̗̬̩L̺͇̗̪U̞̻͡E̶͓ ͇̘̩̫Y҉̺͓͈O̞̣͖̼̞̗͞U҉̟̲͕̗R̗̰̝̪̼̦ ̠̪̬̣͉̥͙O̧̫̘͉̟͎W̘̝̯͓̳͕̱͞N͕̥͎̦̻̙͘ ̠͎LI͓̝͟FE̯̩̞̗̩̘͙͠?̗̟̪̱̱ͅ ͏͈̪Ỳ͚O͢U̸̪̰̰̹̣̟R͙͇͔̯͝ ̷͙O͉W҉̻̩̥̥N̗͈ ͓̦͚̟̖̬͞SE̛̘͙̮̻̩̱͙C͇̱͎͉͙U̲̙̪̼R̹I̗̮̻ȚY͢?̮̤̻̙͠!̩͘"̴͈͇̹̭̝͉͉
Envy lowered his arm and turned to the creature as it began to regain control of itself. It reformed into the feminine figure again, only a dozen or so faces bulging out of its sides at any given time. He looked at the orb on the far side of the room as it continued to spark, down at his hand, then back to the creature that had toyed with him the last two days. “…Because fuck you, that's way.”
The next sound of of the monster was the closest thing to the sound of pure fury. It leapt onto Envy, bathing him in its dark liquid. It entered every opening, every pore. It assaulted all five of his senses, and then…nothing.
“Are yooh, OK?” The island quaked once more, not giving him time to respond, let alone think.
“Slime bucket said the island was about to sink! We're going topside!” He was already in a run before finishing his sentence, tearing his way up the stairs. By the time they reached the first room, water had began to trickle down the stairs. The lamia was likely a good swimmer, he himself though, was likely not. The brief thought of channeling one of the marine animals he had consumed briefly came to mind, but considering his lack of gills it would probably not end well.
After trudging up the stairs, light appeared over through the entrance. The lamia had already managed to pass him, and was the first through. Her greeting was a wave of water that threw her off balance and into the inch of water that had already overtaken the land.
Envy stumbled on the stairs, five inches of water yanking his feet out from under him. Holding onto the side of the entrance, he pulled against the current as it flooded salty water into his eyes, nose and mouth. As breath became scare, he felt a claw wrap around his collar and yank him up from the deluge.
“Ve need to get higher! Vater rising!” Envy coughed some kind of smart ass response, but frankly the chimera could not, not cared to hear it. Throwing him over her shoulder, she made way for the village.
By the time she had reached it, the water was what would have been knee high to her hume companion. Envy struggled as she tossed him onto one of the sturdier looking structures, one that appeared to be made from the remains of a ship. As she scaled the structure herself, she saw something lurch over the hume.
"̘̥̝̰̙̝͖H͚̠̯͎̥I͞S̛ ̷͔̼͙̤̠̖̳Ḻ̥͘Ị̪͙ͅF̯̬͈E͝ ̟I͇̖͘ͅS̟̻͡ ̘̦͉̹͚̻F̹O͖͓R͏FE̗͈̮͠I̧̯̼̘̼̬̖T҉̯͍̹.͟"͈̱̤̖̹
Something hard struck the side of her face, sending her back into the water below. Dazed, the chimera clutched onto the next structure the current took her to. She scaled it to see Envy climb to his feet, the creature attached to him. Its face met his, taunting in a language neither of them could understand.
"̢͇͎͇̳ͅY͔͚ͅO̳̜̙U̫̠̦͉ ͏͉̮̻ͅB̩͈̮E̟L̀O̷͉NG̸̟͇̜̬̗̯͖ T͏O͞ ̩̣̜̺̳͉̰͜M̸̮̮̬E͡,̟͕͚̟̞͈͓ ̻̦H̭̦͉͚͘UM̦̩̦͖̲͖̦E̸̗͓̳̦.͍̰̥̱͈̠ ̫͙̹͎̀Y̠̣̫̭̙̼͞O̡̠͙̙̱̜U̠͖ ͈̩̪̟̥̳ͅA̷͎̪̥͔̭̟̗R̵E ̠̯͢P͇̞̬͇ͅĄ͖̥R͖̦͎̙͓͇͎T̖͕̯̳̞̮͓͡ O̢̲̲F̫͖̭̺̩ ͖̦̝̹͖M̢̬̝E͏̙̥̭̤.̖̩́ ̼͍̰ͅI̴̬͍͍͕F͔͔͝ ̩͕͠ͅY͙̝̭̯̻̥͜O̵̮̭͎̯̠ͅU͙̫̼̭ͅ ̩̘͓L̙̬̠͎͟I͎̭̘͇͚̤͔V̖͘È͕̭͕̜͚,͓̻́ ̤̻̤͎́ͅͅI̸̗̤ L̼̯̹ͅI͎̞̤̟̣̪ͅV̲̬̠̮͔E̤͍̹̘̠̗͙.̣̳"͇̫͘
Envy rubbed the water from his eyes, only as the buildings gave way from under them and his footing was taken once more. The chimera's followed suit, floating over the jungle as it scraped the bottom of their makeshift rafts. The hume climbed to his feet once more, swinging at the black creature as it ducked and dodged around him.
“Hey! Dorothy!”
“Vho is Dorothy?!”
“You said you didn't have a name, that's it now! You're Dorothy!” She cocked her head to the side slightly.
“Look, if you make it to the mainland, there's this spot in the marsh, it's a little island I want you to meet me there!”
“Vhy?” As she asked, a pale red glow began to emanate from Envy.
“Because I asked you to! Just do it!”
"͏̼W͓̫͖̖̙̹h̠̯ạ͔͕t̶͖̲ ͉̮̺͓̭̪͚͢a̺͈͖̮ͅr̫̖͎̺̱̤e҉̞ ̺̙̪̙̺y̷͎̙o̟̠̲̞͈ṷ ̧̪͕̟͔̼d͡o̫͇̬͡i̘͈̹̬͎̬̤͟n̯̬̫̮̻ǵ͈?͈ W̠̱̱h̗̻̩̩̠̝a̵t͎̯̙̜ ͚̣͘i̳͎͈͕̲̯̻s̪̙ͅ ̰͔͘t͕̟͝h̬i͉̯̱s̶?͖̬͙̬͜"̨̜̞͉͎͚̣
“It's your stop. Goodbye, bitch.” And with that, a second fireball appeared in the sea.
Even the musty, king sized bed had not been quite big enough for the two of them. Envy had awoken with a claw on his face, and a tail draped over him. His stirring had awoken his nameless roommate, who proceeded to make her way outside through the small window. Kirious rubbed his eyes, then squirmed his way through the ship's only exit. The beach outside was once again bright, the sun shining over the golden sand and azure waves. It he hadn't been chased by an army of shadows, Envy might actually consider this a decent place to vacation.
The chimera immediately made her way up the side of the partially submerged ship. She pulled up what appeared to be a trout line, a handful of fish fighting for freedom as the line pulled them from their watery homes. "Hrrungry, yes?"
Envy rubbed the back of his neck, then glanced back toward the jungle. "You know how to cook?"
"Of course. Not eat raw." She removed the fish from the line, tossing them down onto the shore as they struggled against the sand.
It only took about 30 minutes for them to roast, gutted and skewered on sticks Envy had sharped with his blades. And while they were not terribly large portions, it was enough to make the hunger pains recede. "So chimera, how long did you live with the shadows? Clearly they don't like me being around you, but what did you do to piss them off?"
The lamia took her kebab stick, and began to draw something in the sand. It appeared to be a misshapen circle within a misshapen circle. "Island like zhis. Outside is beach, jungle is inside." She drew an X at the tip of the island, just off the shore and into the water. "Zhis is boat. Boat is safe zone. Near center of island, is village. And just outside village…" She drew a triangle in the very center of the island. "Zhis is temple. When I find temple is vhen shadows chase out."
"Well don't you think there's something in there that they don't want you to see?"
The lamia glanced at him, a clearly unimpressed look on her face. "Obvious, but vhat to do? Cannot beat shadows." Upon that sentence, a low growl sounded from the jungle.
"See? Shadows hear all. We should stop conversation."
"That sounds a awful lot like a threat from them. Now think to yourself, why would an all powerful being not want you to go into one little room?" The growling grew louder, three large tigers slinking out of the forest, less than 100 yards away. "Maybe there's something in there that it doesn't want us to find? Some kind of sword that can kill it? An airship? A scrap book? Who knows. Could be anything." Envy rose from his seat, pulling the swords from his belt.
"I for one, think I'm going to take a walk though."
"A valk through monsters?"
"A very enthusiastic walk." The false predators charged toward them, determined to make an example of the man's form of rebellious thinking. Once again Envy cut through them easily, but once again they reformed into a single mass. Something that more closely resembled a behemoth, in both size and shape. The beast let out a lour roar, to which Envy responded by sheathing his swords.
"Alright, so swords are worthless. That's unfortunate." The beast lunged forward, the muscles covering it rippling at it landed with a heavy thud. Envy dodged to the side, circling the large beast as it turned back toward him. There didn't appear to be any obvious weak spots on the creature, nothing puppeteering it. Attacking it would be like attacking water itself.
That off hand though triggered something in Envy's brain, the wheels beginning to spin. He took a deep breath as the beast reared back for another lunge. Just as it began to shift it's weight forward, he exhaled. The beast's face got the worst of it, quickly turning black as a thin layer of ice covered it. The creature's head fell from the rest of it's syrupy neck, the body backing up and leaving it's frozen head on the sand.
Envy wiped his mouth, nearly choking on a layer of frost while he began to chuckle. Glancing back at the lamia, she looked on in awe of the retreating beast. While he didn't manage to kill it outright, he has made it retreat.
"Like a bitch." She turned back to the blue mage as he spoke, still unsure of what she had just witnessed.
"Magic? Does not like magic?"
"Apparently not. Didn't you ever try?"
"Am not caster, is dancer." Oh, that's right. She had managed to put a nasty little charm spell on him. Envy glanced at her as he removed the sword from his belt, flinging them blade down into the sand.
"In that case, you can use those. I'm going to play major defense, and you can support me."
The chimera glanced hesitantly at the blades, then back to the red haired hume. "Yooh got lucky. But cannot beat island."
"I think I did pretty damn good with that one. Besides, you really think it's going to just ignore us after that? I put some fear into that ink bottle, we had best try and strike while it's confused. Let's head over to the temple, stick our heads in, and have a look around. Worst case scenario, we have to come back here."
She eyed at the swords once more, knowing that picking them up would break the unspoken agreement she had with whatever it was that stalked the island. To take them, would be to stand against what had essentially allowed her continued existence.
"Don't make a dilemma of it now." His sarcasm did not help, but if she did not, and he died half way across the island, it would likely be another several years before someone else came along to keep her company. Perhaps, in some ideal best case scenario, they could severely weaken the black creature. That would certainly make day to day life easier. She wrapped her claw around the hilt of the worn blade, and plucked it from the sand.
"Chimera, yesterday you said we were the equivalency of entertainment, right? That kind of implies a…sentience with this thing. Animals don't do that kind of shit."
"Is true. And?"
"And I think it's going to be really, really pissed off at us in a moment. So get your ass in gear, we're turning this walk into a jog."
The red haired man's pace was easy enough to match. For as quickly as he moved in battle, his running speed left something to be desired. Moving to the thinnest part of the jungle, according to the lamia's sand-map, he stopped and examined the diversion between sand and foliage. he looked at her expectantly for several seconds before she realized that he was now without his blades. Cutting through the thickness of the plant life, she began a trail.
The jungle, oddly enough, did not appear to have the malevolence that it had earlier. Perhaps it wished for them to pass, perhaps Envy had managed to navigate himself into a circle. There was no trace of his previous trail, so both options were equally as likely. The lamia's breath grew heavy as she swung the blades through the thick grasses and plants the attempted to suffocate the two of them. Only a dozen swipes after her arms began to tire, did light peek through the thick vegetation.
The village was exactly as Envy had remembered it, sans the population. The lamia leaned against one of the walls, recovering her breath as Envy studied the town. "This must be an elaborate ruse to keep up. I mean, the building all have to be up kept, even when there's no one else here."
"Perhaps it pass time?"
Envy glanced over his shoulder as the lamia pushed herself off of the wall. "I guess. It's not like it has a hell of a lot else to do aside from scare you. But think about that for a moment, how did it learn to do this? You aren't just born with carpentry skills. This thing must be pretty damn smart."
The lamia rubbed her shoulder, then continued into the village. “Entrance near hrrere. Just past village.” The lamia arrived first at what she had referred to as the temple. It was not quite as large as she had remembered, merely a stone structure with some over grown jungle beginning to overtake it. What was once the door lay broken and scattered on the stairs, its pieces weathered from what was likely decades of wear. A dull hum emanated from the bottom of the stairwell, not one of a living creature, but of something artificial. Just before stepping in, something slithered between the two of them and down the stairs into the darkness. Envy grinned at the Lamia, who picked one of the torches off of the wall near the entrance. She held it up to him as he exhaled a flame onto it. “Sure yooh vant to do this?”
“Of course, unless you want to go back to your slowly flooding boat-house and just rot there for another dozen years.”
“Is not that. Ve have no plan, no stradegy.”
“We'll improvise.” The lamia frowned at his response. She wasn't sure if he was simply confident, or stupid. It was likely somewhere in between. Though admittedly, it was nice to have someone that could seemingly hurt the monster she had lived in fear of for so long.
Proceeding down the stairs, she spied a green light that crept around a far corner. Several orbs that lined the wall were responsible for the eerie glow, but they did provide enough light for the two to continue down the winding path. Not even cob webs lined the halls, there was nothing but dust and a faint smell of sulfer to accompany it. The humming slowly grew louder and more determined as she descended, like a warning to anyone that dared continue.
The stairwell gave way to a round, open room with a crumbling door on the far side. The black syrup oozed through one of the crevices in the door, and took two distinct shapes. Unlike the villagers, they remained black. One was a tall knight in what appeared to be plate, the other a small child.
“So it really can read my mind. And of all the things to pick, it starts with the Zilart Brothers.” Envy entered a grappling stance, the lamia behind him removing her borrowed swords from her belt. “Hold off the big one, the little one's a lot worse.” As he spoke, the two shadow figures began to circle them.
The taller impersonator leapt forward, the lamia managing to parry the attack with one of her swords. Dropping the torch tot eh ground, she retrieved her second from her belt. The smaller stood in place, his arms outstretched as if he were casting something. As if to finish the spell, the doppelganger pointed at him, then resumed the same stance. “Well that's lazy.” Envy leapt at him, spewing a poison sludge from his mouth as he landed. The childlike figure doubled over and clutched its face, before liquifying.
“Yooh said mine vas easy!” The larger shadows continued to swing violently at the lamia as she struggled to deflect his attacks.
“He should have been! Mine was the caster!” Envy sprinted toward the second opponent, slashing against his back in a sickle-shape. The hole quickly reformed, but did manage to get the creature's attention. It turned toward Envy as as string of diremite thread erupted from under his sleeve, catching the pseudo Zilart by the boot. With a yank of the thread, the knight landed on the ground with a heavy crash. As it struggled to regain its footing, Envy rained down a barrage of diremite webbing upon the creature as it struggled to break free.
“Something tells me oil slick here can't cast magic.” Liquifying much as it's brother did, the black substance quickly fled from under the lairs of thread. It slithered into the hole in the door it had previously emerged from. Envy set his hands on his waist as the chimera made her way to the damaged door. “This is gonna be a lot easier than I'd thought. When I saw it change into them, I figured we were in trouble.”
The lamia elbowed the damaged door as the stone gave way a little more. “Vern't yooh just mocking it? It can read your mind, it knows if you are vorried.”
“Yeah, but you don't. How would 'oh shit, we're in trouble' sound the first time we have to fight something?” A nervous look realization the chimera's face. She turned and shouldered the door once more as the broken stone finally gave way. Picking up the torch once more, she slithered through the door in front of Envy.
The staircase descended into a second open room, much to the chagrin of Envy. “Oh god damn it. Really? We're just going to do this song and dance again?”
“Do yooh zhink it vould hrrave retreated if it did not hrrave anozher attempt to stop us?”
Envy sighed as he glanced toward the door at the back of the room. “No, I guess no-” Before he could finish his sentence, something blunt struck him in the back. Flung onto his face, Envy rolled to his side. Narrowly dodging the monster's next attack, he staggered to his feet to face the next opponent.
The chimera backed up, holding her swords infront of her. She backed behind Envy, making her way to the door. “Well that's horrifying.”
A mirrored shadow stood before him, drawing its swords before approaching. Envy Took a defensive position as the chimera made for the door. She threw her shoulder into it, but it held solid. No crack or damage existed initially in the door, she would need to find another way to open it. She eased one of the blades between the door and the frame. Working it into the stone, she pulled on the hilt in an attempt to wedge the door open.
“Break the door, not my sword!” Envy leapt back from his attacking doppelganger. The air around of him distorted as several shadow images spread out from around him. The double quickly slashed through four of them, the last two rearing back. Sludge spewed from the breath of the image on the right, the monster slapping it away by detaching a wave of black from itself to catch it. Shit, it was learning.
The creature struck immediately, landing a heavy strike into Envy's chest with the force of a golem. Upon impact it spun him a full 360, only for the attack to be followed up with an uppercut. The blue mage tumbled backwards, quickly and clumsily regaining his footing mid-roll. Envy let out a wail, then charged the target again. The tip of the shadow's saber cut across his chest as Envy rammed his open hand into the monster's face. Clutching for something to grip, his open claw only sank in. It was like trying to squeeze pudding. Immediately after yanking his hand from the black creature's face, his attack was answered with a headbutt. But instead of soft goo, it held a consistency closer to stone now.
“This is bugard shit!” Envy staggered away as the shadow got another free swing in across his chest. “How's the door coming?!”
“Is not coming!” The lamia groped against the walls for some kind of switch, or push block. Nothing gave, nothing shifted. Frustrated with her lack of progress, she turned to see Envy on the defensive once again. The shadow lashed out at him repeatedly, most of the attacks either grazing or barely missing him. Pulling the sword from the door, she flung it at the shadow beast. Landing in it's back, it turned to glare in her direction. Envy tore the blade from its back as the monster charged the lamia. The sounds of it steps alluded to something much heavier, something much larger. Diving out of of the way, the shadow slammed into the door, cracking the stonework. Reorienting itself after the near miss, the shadow turned toward the lamia.
“Leaf storm!” Envy crossed his arms as the air pressure in the room changed. The shadow deformed as a the wind pulled at it, feeding from its surface. The shadow tried to charge into Envy, only to be pulled from its feet once it approached the storm. Ripped from the ground, the ink splattered against the back wall. Turning his attention to the puddle, Envy exhaled a breath of flame. The ink creature shrieked, attempting to take form once more as the flames lapped at it. It twisted and rolled, thrashing against the stone ground as it shot up the stairs.
“What is it gonna take to KILL that?!” The hume ran his hand through his red hair, trying to regain himself after exhausting his magic. The chimera's tongue darted into the air, tasting the stench of man's sweat and blood.
“Take it easy Envy, ve von.” And with one last blow to the door, the last barrier crumbled. Inside was only a stone pillar, holding a large orb. Energy crackled from its surface, the source of the humming. The lamia entered the room first, Envy following after her. “Vhat does zhis do?”
"̢͙̫T͈̤̝̭͎̣͔h̥̹͕̙̮e̴̳̰̰̰̞ ̯͍͈̫̹̝͍i̹̜͙͕̱͝s̖͙̟͕l̲̘͔a͈̞̯̝̜̤̺̕n̨d͉̳̮̙̜̜̫, ̦̳͎̱̭̹i͖̤̘͙̰̥͘t̵͔̲͓͉̮̺ͅ ̺͍͇̩͚́c͚̩̯̖̕o̟͜n̩͘t̢̻̣̣̥̭̜̺r̙͉o̶͎̹̟̺͎̱ͅl͏̲̼̰̪s͈ ҉̤͈̞͓̼͙ṭ̖͎̖̭̩͉h̛̤͇̰̗e̡̺ ̳͙̮̬͝i̙̹͕̳̖s̪̹l̝͍̯̥͎ḁ̼̯̱n̡̩̘d̤̙͖͇̻̠̝.͠"̲̙̹͈ͅ
Gritting his teeth, Envy turned back to the sludge as it formed a figure once more. This time it was of no shape he recognized, simply a feminine silhouette.
"̡̘̰̞̦̝Ẁ̼͔̠̞̗h̩͚̲a̛̜͇͉͕̻̠̗t̢̮̯͕ y̲̞̪̪͔̜̮͝o͈̻̤̻͔̰u̞̕ ̲̺̯̖̬̞s͢t̤̦̖̰a̗͓̪͎ͅn̪̦͍̝d̰͟ ̺̜̱̮o͕̺͡ṋ̹ ͖̖͈̖̣ͅḭ̟̦̲s̤̺ ̢ar͏ṱ͕͢ì̮͓̫f͓̠͡i̩̱̜͜c͈̗͓i͎̗̣͎a͚͉̝̹͘l͎͓̳̝̜ͅ.̜̼̣̫ ͖̺͙̲͢I̸t̛͇͎̖̞̞ ̥͔̲͡h͔̖̲a̖̩͍̳̝ͅs̠͔̪̯̫ ̸̺b̸e͖̹͎͇͠en ͈͈h̪̠e̮̩͙̻͞r͔̳͍̙͔̹̮è͓̺͓ ̘̜̱̗̦̘͖f̬̝o̝͉͢r͙̳͎͓̠̞ ̛͓̗̥͈͔̲͉l̷̝̩̝̜ͅo͈͓̬͍̝̬nģḛ͉͙̝̰͎r̭͍͍ ̣̰t̶͓̠̝̣͉͈h̠̠͇̘̬͈͎a̟̳̫͘n ͎͍͍͕̫̗͓y̫̰o̯̤͠u͕̦͔̬ ̗̼͔̺͎͘re͏̝͎̳͓̤m̤em̘̗͉̣b̯̪͔͓̱e͓̯̱̙r,͙ ̺̻̯a̯͎̺̬̱͉ṇ̥̠̳̺͎́d ̼̰̞̻͎̣ͅw̤̹͎i͎͝l̸̫͖̜̱̥͇ĺ̝̻̥ ̵̘r̪̗̼̪e͉̯̲m͏͍̪̺̭̹a̫̥͜i͙n̜̻͎ s͉͈̜͍̟̪̪͠o͈͓ͅ.̧͈ ͇͉̘̦͚I̲̝t̼̤͝ͅ ̳̬̦͕̞̻́ͅi͎͍͔͖̝̘͓ṣ̜̭̳͠ ͖͇͓̲̥m̼̙͕͙͇͓̯͠y͢ ̰͈͘p̩ṟ̷̮̺i͝so̧̝ͅn̼̯̙̯.̢̩͔̪̜̲̺ I̱f̣̱̀ ̭͙̗̫͔y̝̪͇̘̙͉o̷̼̻̦u҉ ̧̼̻̱̣̬͔͓d̫̼̟e̠̭s͏͎̼t̯̯͙r̮̹o̹͜y̤͉̯͞ t̸h̳̲͇̼͔̹͔at ͖̲̪͓̀ͅo̷̜̘̙͚rb̥̰̮,̢͍ ̫͎̠͝th̡͎̼̜e̝̪̩͕̗͉ͅ ì͎̬̻̝s̺̦͉̙͎l͠à̖͔̙̙ṋ̸͓d͙ ̴͇̹̩̩w̱͎̘͓̝͚̠i̵͕l̷̗̯̫l̖̺̩͔̫̳̺̕ ͖͜s̥̬i̘̹n̜͖̲̪̮k̩̩͚̬̗ͅ,̗̲͙̩͞ ͉͙a̮̦̗͍nd̹̲̣̩̙ ͜y̫̰o̯̤͠u͕̦͔̬ ̘͡w̭̯̹i͙̣ḽ̣̪͔̰l̠ ̲̩̮̟̹d̤̘͎̟ͅṛ̪̥̥ͅo͢w̻̝̭͖̺̰͙͘n͎͚̘ ̠̩͢l͔̘̖̗i͇̻̱̜͍̩k͓ͅe̡̩̙̤̖̠̹ ̲͇͔̜͈͇͠r̢̘̣̥̼a̤̗t̫̺͞s̴͓.̥ ҉̗̯"̷̫̻̣͚͚̫͕
The lamia looked at Envy hesitantly as he grinned widely. “Then you had best take a deep, deep fucking breath.” The creature remained silent, then set it's hand to its head. Envy cocked his head, his grin leaving his face. “Are you trying to read me again? AGAIN? Well then how about the unabridged version?!” He reached for his forehead, tearing off the blue ribbon wrapped around his head.
What had just a moment ago been two voices, became thousands of screams. By the way the creature had clutched its head, he knew she could hear it too. Faces emerged from the inky black creature, each trying to chew through the think covering of its form. Orcs, humes, tigers, the undead, every single thing he had ever consumed. It shrieked as it began to tear at itself, pulling one of the faces from its form only for another three to take its place. As the creature flailed and convulsed, Envy readied another spell.
"̤̞̞́N̦̝͙͎̙O̧̺̼̗̘̻̲̼!͉̻̻̰̦̺ͅ N̛Oͅ!̳͙̠̲͙ N̙͙̳̕O̖̰NO̸̬̮̪̞̲̳N͎̣̩̖̬OŅ̯͔͕͈O͉͔͕͓N̲̹̹͎̪̕O̶̰̳̖̜̼̣ͅN͇̪̯O̬̩Ṋ̰̝̺͜O͔̼͓̤͙̥ͅN͉O̴̙͈̹͚̬̤N͢O͚͈̖͠ͅNO͔̘̟̙̰N̮͕͍̻Ǫ̞̱!̠̦́"̤̭̻
Exactly one thousand slivers of light shot from his hand into the orb. Each one blew sparks from the power source, a tremor traveling through the island on number 685. The last 315 were probably unnecessary, but the concept of stopping just seemed half assed at this point.
"̫͙̯WH̫̹͎̬̜̹Y̲̖̹͇̦?̩͖͠ ̵͇̣̮D̦O̶̳ ͎̩̟Y̜͈̦͉O̫̙͇̰̰̻ͅU ̶̜̟N̺͜O̗̞̝̜͙T̜̟̯̺ ͖E͈̙VE̢̝͔̩N ̰͔̘͝V̠̱̕A̢̗̬̩L̺͇̗̪U̞̻͡E̶͓ ͇̘̩̫Y҉̺͓͈O̞̣͖̼̞̗͞U҉̟̲͕̗R̗̰̝̪̼̦ ̠̪̬̣͉̥͙O̧̫̘͉̟͎W̘̝̯͓̳͕̱͞N͕̥͎̦̻̙͘ ̠͎LI͓̝͟FE̯̩̞̗̩̘͙͠?̗̟̪̱̱ͅ ͏͈̪Ỳ͚O͢U̸̪̰̰̹̣̟R͙͇͔̯͝ ̷͙O͉W҉̻̩̥̥N̗͈ ͓̦͚̟̖̬͞SE̛̘͙̮̻̩̱͙C͇̱͎͉͙U̲̙̪̼R̹I̗̮̻ȚY͢?̮̤̻̙͠!̩͘"̴͈͇̹̭̝͉͉
Envy lowered his arm and turned to the creature as it began to regain control of itself. It reformed into the feminine figure again, only a dozen or so faces bulging out of its sides at any given time. He looked at the orb on the far side of the room as it continued to spark, down at his hand, then back to the creature that had toyed with him the last two days. “…Because fuck you, that's way.”
The next sound of of the monster was the closest thing to the sound of pure fury. It leapt onto Envy, bathing him in its dark liquid. It entered every opening, every pore. It assaulted all five of his senses, and then…nothing.
“Are yooh, OK?” The island quaked once more, not giving him time to respond, let alone think.
“Slime bucket said the island was about to sink! We're going topside!” He was already in a run before finishing his sentence, tearing his way up the stairs. By the time they reached the first room, water had began to trickle down the stairs. The lamia was likely a good swimmer, he himself though, was likely not. The brief thought of channeling one of the marine animals he had consumed briefly came to mind, but considering his lack of gills it would probably not end well.
After trudging up the stairs, light appeared over through the entrance. The lamia had already managed to pass him, and was the first through. Her greeting was a wave of water that threw her off balance and into the inch of water that had already overtaken the land.
Envy stumbled on the stairs, five inches of water yanking his feet out from under him. Holding onto the side of the entrance, he pulled against the current as it flooded salty water into his eyes, nose and mouth. As breath became scare, he felt a claw wrap around his collar and yank him up from the deluge.
“Ve need to get higher! Vater rising!” Envy coughed some kind of smart ass response, but frankly the chimera could not, not cared to hear it. Throwing him over her shoulder, she made way for the village.
By the time she had reached it, the water was what would have been knee high to her hume companion. Envy struggled as she tossed him onto one of the sturdier looking structures, one that appeared to be made from the remains of a ship. As she scaled the structure herself, she saw something lurch over the hume.
"̘̥̝̰̙̝͖H͚̠̯͎̥I͞S̛ ̷͔̼͙̤̠̖̳Ḻ̥͘Ị̪͙ͅF̯̬͈E͝ ̟I͇̖͘ͅS̟̻͡ ̘̦͉̹͚̻F̹O͖͓R͏FE̗͈̮͠I̧̯̼̘̼̬̖T҉̯͍̹.͟"͈̱̤̖̹
Something hard struck the side of her face, sending her back into the water below. Dazed, the chimera clutched onto the next structure the current took her to. She scaled it to see Envy climb to his feet, the creature attached to him. Its face met his, taunting in a language neither of them could understand.
"̢͇͎͇̳ͅY͔͚ͅO̳̜̙U̫̠̦͉ ͏͉̮̻ͅB̩͈̮E̟L̀O̷͉NG̸̟͇̜̬̗̯͖ T͏O͞ ̩̣̜̺̳͉̰͜M̸̮̮̬E͡,̟͕͚̟̞͈͓ ̻̦H̭̦͉͚͘UM̦̩̦͖̲͖̦E̸̗͓̳̦.͍̰̥̱͈̠ ̫͙̹͎̀Y̠̣̫̭̙̼͞O̡̠͙̙̱̜U̠͖ ͈̩̪̟̥̳ͅA̷͎̪̥͔̭̟̗R̵E ̠̯͢P͇̞̬͇ͅĄ͖̥R͖̦͎̙͓͇͎T̖͕̯̳̞̮͓͡ O̢̲̲F̫͖̭̺̩ ͖̦̝̹͖M̢̬̝E͏̙̥̭̤.̖̩́ ̼͍̰ͅI̴̬͍͍͕F͔͔͝ ̩͕͠ͅY͙̝̭̯̻̥͜O̵̮̭͎̯̠ͅU͙̫̼̭ͅ ̩̘͓L̙̬̠͎͟I͎̭̘͇͚̤͔V̖͘È͕̭͕̜͚,͓̻́ ̤̻̤͎́ͅͅI̸̗̤ L̼̯̹ͅI͎̞̤̟̣̪ͅV̲̬̠̮͔E̤͍̹̘̠̗͙.̣̳"͇̫͘
Envy rubbed the water from his eyes, only as the buildings gave way from under them and his footing was taken once more. The chimera's followed suit, floating over the jungle as it scraped the bottom of their makeshift rafts. The hume climbed to his feet once more, swinging at the black creature as it ducked and dodged around him.
“Hey! Dorothy!”
“Vho is Dorothy?!”
“You said you didn't have a name, that's it now! You're Dorothy!” She cocked her head to the side slightly.
“Look, if you make it to the mainland, there's this spot in the marsh, it's a little island I want you to meet me there!”
“Vhy?” As she asked, a pale red glow began to emanate from Envy.
“Because I asked you to! Just do it!”
"͏̼W͓̫͖̖̙̹h̠̯ạ͔͕t̶͖̲ ͉̮̺͓̭̪͚͢a̺͈͖̮ͅr̫̖͎̺̱̤e҉̞ ̺̙̪̙̺y̷͎̙o̟̠̲̞͈ṷ ̧̪͕̟͔̼d͡o̫͇̬͡i̘͈̹̬͎̬̤͟n̯̬̫̮̻ǵ͈?͈ W̠̱̱h̗̻̩̩̠̝a̵t͎̯̙̜ ͚̣͘i̳͎͈͕̲̯̻s̪̙ͅ ̰͔͘t͕̟͝h̬i͉̯̱s̶?͖̬͙̬͜"̨̜̞͉͎͚̣
“It's your stop. Goodbye, bitch.” And with that, a second fireball appeared in the sea.
Epilogue: Awakening
I was in the process of being fished out of the water when I woke up. Apparently I had managed to pin myself to a barrel with one of my swords. What luck, huh? I didn't lose either of them either. I had been MIA for over a week before Quote fished me out of the water. She let it slip that she had given up on me after the second night, and I just happened to be on the route in the water when she came by on another run between Al Zahbi and Mhuara.
I told her about this island I found, and asked if she'd seen anyone with me when she pulled me out. I didn't think it was possible, but I managed to make her think I was even crazier. She said there was nothing between the two continents aside from some little bits of the undersea ruins popping up, but not an island. I went to see the Doc in Jeuno, he thinks it was some hallucination brought on by dehydration and the sun. I guess it's possible. Blowing yourself up takes a lot out of you, you know?
I'm not going to submit this report, I'll just stick it on the shelf once I get back to Windurst. It's not like I need Raka thinking I'm any crazier. But you know, there's a lot of weird stuff in Vana'diel. Is it REALLY that impossible for something like that to exist?
Before I finish, I did hit up that island in the marsh. It looked like someone had been there recently, but I guess it could have been anyone. If I didn't just imagine all of it, maybe I'll find her. But if I never do, the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence. Oh, and I think I picked my new code name for the Al Zahbi stuff. For now, I'll go with 'Drift.'
-Filed by
Envy Kirious
I was in the process of being fished out of the water when I woke up. Apparently I had managed to pin myself to a barrel with one of my swords. What luck, huh? I didn't lose either of them either. I had been MIA for over a week before Quote fished me out of the water. She let it slip that she had given up on me after the second night, and I just happened to be on the route in the water when she came by on another run between Al Zahbi and Mhuara.
I told her about this island I found, and asked if she'd seen anyone with me when she pulled me out. I didn't think it was possible, but I managed to make her think I was even crazier. She said there was nothing between the two continents aside from some little bits of the undersea ruins popping up, but not an island. I went to see the Doc in Jeuno, he thinks it was some hallucination brought on by dehydration and the sun. I guess it's possible. Blowing yourself up takes a lot out of you, you know?
I'm not going to submit this report, I'll just stick it on the shelf once I get back to Windurst. It's not like I need Raka thinking I'm any crazier. But you know, there's a lot of weird stuff in Vana'diel. Is it REALLY that impossible for something like that to exist?
Before I finish, I did hit up that island in the marsh. It looked like someone had been there recently, but I guess it could have been anyone. If I didn't just imagine all of it, maybe I'll find her. But if I never do, the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence. Oh, and I think I picked my new code name for the Al Zahbi stuff. For now, I'll go with 'Drift.'
-Filed by
Envy Kirious
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Xelo Dual Member replied
608 weeks ago