The Dead Forest (Increased Orc activity due to skirmish)

[Eternal Dirge]

Damion nodded as Maximos mentioned one more bit of business, examining his hands as if expecting something to happen. What, he had no idea, but for some reason he expected claws or scales or...well anything really. Instead he was examining what seemed like overly dirty hands whose nails were in a firm need of clipping. He looked up as Maximos began cutting the gem, one eyebrow arching as no cuts appeared in the crystal, no fissures cracked its surface.

" Um....."
"All done. Shall we get some breakfast? I for one, am starving."
" Are you sure? Nothing...ah...nothing seems to be happening."

He waited, watching the crystal. To be honest, he had expected a light show, but tonight was full of the unexpected apparently, so the feelings of disappointment were less than could be expected. Despite the lack of drastic changes to his body, Damion knew something had changed inside of him. The world seemed duller around him. It was like someone had turned down the volume and set a filter over everything. Even the rough ground beneath his feet was barely a sensation, just pressure on the pads.

" Should something be happening?"  

[Uberwulf X]

Chen Ning

"Because exorcism takes time," he responded.

And if the orc did decide to throw a good square one into Chen's face, the cop would take it, but not without last second reflexes having him lean his head back to go with the motion. It wouldn't stop him from being struck to the ground, but it lessened the damage to some degree. Great, a struck nose and a wound to the right shoulder. His day was going pretty well for him, yep. Then he would just stand back up, holding his face, and moving to the side to let them by.

No, the orc didn't hit him. He might have WANTED to, but he didn't strike. Besides, the threat was over... and the human was still stupid. The world continued to turn at its slow pace.

As the orcs quickly but carefully placed a groggy Zaar into the wagon, the guard stood with folded arms as he stared Chen down.

"Want payment or something?!" It was very abrupt, and it would be the closest to thank you that Chen would be getting right now. Frustration and tension was still high.  

[Maximos]

"Something did happen." Maximos said, spinning on his heels back at Damion. He seemed rather cheery now that all the nasty bits of the job were done. Or perhaps he was just indulging in the glow of a night well spent. Either way, Maximos idly spun his scythe in front of him and spoke.

"Humans are rather sloppy at this line of work. Whenever they face an enormous life ending threat, they simply seal it away. It continues out of sight and out of mind for countless years and then it returns..." It was a graceful and fluid motion. Maximos guided the weapon out of spin and slid the staff of the scythe behind his back while using its down hanging blade to gesture toward the stairwell the duo had climbed at the break of dawn. Scattered along the rocky protrusions were dead. Formerly undead. Each villager bleeding green maggots from every orifice, as well as from several pustule boils where legions of the tiny worms had pooled together and broken through skin in a desperate attempt to escape. Like rats fleeing the ship, but instead of water they found only another sinking ship. No maggots were moving. "...and dooms them all."

"This scythe however..." Maximos flipped it again, it was utterly silent as it turned and flipped so that its staff was resting over one shoulder and its bladed end hung out past the opposite. Sunlight kissed the blade and where it did the light seemed to dance and sparkle as if passing through crystal. "...can cut through most anything that is. And some things that arent. Ysmidon, is quite dead."

At which point Maximos immediately whipped the scythe into a ready position, help between both hands and with a wicked sort of grin he said. "Care for a demonstration?"  

[Eternal Dirge]

His brow wrinkled up in confusion as Maximos talked, looking down on all the bodies with an almost detached look. To him, they no longer mattered, just corpses to rot in the morning sun, picked over by the carrion birds. The sound of a blade cutting the air drew his eyes back though, following the curved blade in its rotations like a child tracking a bit of candy on a string. His breath caught in his throat for amoment as the light split around the edges of the blade. Caught like a man in a moment of religious passion or sexual release, he stood frozen.

It was several moments before he realised Maximos had addressed him, and even longer to realize that the blade had moved into a fighting position. An eager smile spread on his face and his mouth opened of it's own accord to speak the words that would likely start a veritable firestorm of pain. " Y-.....no....no I think for safety's sake no." It was a struggle to even form the words! something inside him seemed repulsed by the sudden cowardice, urging him to accept the Reapers challenge, pushing him to fight. Adrenaline hung on a cliff in his system, fighting to crash through his system.

The fingers of his hands curled up into fists, muscles tightening as he struggled with his own intense feelings, caught between wonder and fear. He had always enjoyed the sensation of anger, the rush of energy and sensation it brought, but this was beyond anything he had ever experienced in past memory. Suddenly even the light was painful, but so far he had kept from doing anything too stupid.  

[Maximos]

" Y-.....no....no I think for safety's sake-" Swish. The scythe passed in front of Maximos in a blur of silver and multicolor blackness in its wake, as if light was fighting to fill the divided void.

"-no." Damion would be able to hear his last word simply fall from his lips soon after exiting. Fall, as opposed to carry. The elemental would even be able to hear the word traveling downwards, and when the "o" was pronounced, it was said as if being very very weakly spoke up at him from the ground. It had simply been cut off the end of the sentence.

Maximos looked at him grinning from ear to ear. "Its very sharp."

A fight? No. Not with this, he would never. A Reaper's scythe was not for fights. To fight with it was to sully its purpose. A fight was an open thing with many possible endings and an undecided victor. This scythe however stood for one very definite and decided end. It was a killing tool, not a fighting weapon. Maximos flipped the weapon up and back over his shoulder and then with a bright smile he said. "How about that breakfast Mr. Hedley? I doubt the townspeople will be getting much use out of their kitchens."

And Maximos began making his way down the staircase.  

[Eternal Dirge]

He could only stare, gape mouthed, at the ground, half expecting the words to sit there looking up at him like a stack of money in a Geico commercial. But his beleif wasn't grounded in anything and the words did not stare up at him with googly eyes, " I....see." Yes, a fight against that would undoubtedly lead to some very interesting new wounds. Or just one really big one.

But Maximos had suggested breakfast, and regardless of how hungry he was...." I think I'd rather wait boss....catch something or something." His face turned the slightest bit green at the prospect of eating the villagers food, especially after what happened the last time. Twice fooled is twice fooled after all.  

[Maximos]

"Understandable, understandable." Maximos said with a series of nods. The steps seemed more fantastic on the way down. Danger had provided a sort of blockade over the beauty of the intricate carvings and designs. Maximos' steps slowed so that instead of leading the descent he was now a step or two behind Damion. His face was smiling and yet distant as he passed over the blood stained pillars and depictions. He was something like a scientist visiting an archeological dig and wondering about what civilization had created such greatness...

...And yet at the same time he had dealt this civilization its final blow. The separation between both sentiments was not very strong, as made evident by the occasional dip in the upturned crescent on his face.

After a few minutes of walking, the two were all the way down the stairway they had raced up before. They stood now in the villages main lane. The freshly dead corpses were way and far behind them on the stairwell, behind a turn or two and just out of view. Before them lay bits and pieces of Damion's once awesome riding machination that was no spread out in several completely in tack and completely disassembled pieces. It was here that Maximos spoke up again and said.

"I believe this is the part where I am obligated to inform you of the secrecy of what you beheld tonight." There were a few barely audible whub's as the scythe was sent into a set of spins and twirls around the shadow's body.

"My...occupation, is one of the greatest and darkest secrets in the world. In all the worlds. In all of Life itself. You understand that, yes?" The scythe silently stopped, resting beside Maximos like a tall walking stick, or like a mage might hold a magic staff, its blade was forward and yet there was no threat in its presence.

"And so, I think it may be best if you simply just forgot all about this nasty business. Dont you?" They were beside Ivan's tavern now, and everything was silent. Fog permeated the area in a thin veil, and the somewhat less smiling Maximos said.

"Actually, Damion, would you do me the honor of sharing a celebratory drink with me?" Smoothly he added on a wave toward the Tavern, "I know, I know, its a faux pas to drink this early, but just one. Alcohol is naturally anti-bacterial and it would be a shame to let Ivan's stockpile go entirely to waste."  

[Eternal Dirge]

Damion took the time to look around as they descended, taking it all in. It was amazing to him that in the heat of combat he had missed all this. Sure, he had been intent on living, but even then he shouldn't have missed all of it. He stopped at one pillar, leaning against it for amoment and looking down on the village proper, marveling at the similarities between his own home and this one.

" Secrecy?" Damion frowned at that, looking over at his employer for amoment, " But....this would make a fantastic story!" He didn't know why Maximos would want to keep such an event a secret, unless it was to hide the fact that he had made the key that almost killed Him. He pushed himself off the pillar, hands spread as if to go on before Maximos explained abit.

But then again he didn't explain anything, leaving Damion even more in the dark. Was his friends magic so important to the world that it couldn't be tainted in some fashion? He was even more in the dark than before! But he was being asked friendly enough, and he didn't want to get his friend in trouble, so it seemed best to just nod and agree, " Alright...if you say so. And I suppose a drink would be fine..."

That didn't answer the issue of how he was going to get home though, tapping the handlebars of his bike with a foot. It was far removed from where it should be.  

[Maximos]

Damion's excitement was not something Maximos was banking on. Yes, this would have been an excellent adventure...but his occupation was not something that was to be disclosed to the public. He had so hoped this would be easier...but he made no frown, no outward change in his appearance or mannerism.

Inside the tavern Maximos, still holding his scythe moved behind the counter and made a gesture for Damion to sit. The earth elemental would find that while the room still showed all the signs of his encounter with Ivan, Ivan himself was gone. He had returned to the earth from whence he came. A stain lay on the floor in the outline of his death pose.

"Well, I'm glad you agree. You have to understand that as excellent a story as this would make, should you decide to tell it...you would likely be dead before you ever had the chance." Bottles jingled and scraped across wooden counters, a few "Hmm"'s and "Ah ha!"'s escaped the other side of the bar where Maximos was fishing around the bartender's stock. Food rots. Alcohol only ages, and refines. After a few minutes, Maximos laid his scythe across the bar and then placed down two bottles. Their labels had long since been bleached into illegibility, and with a set of pops Maximos undid both caps and presented one bottle to Damion, and left one to himself and said. "A toast! To secrets! To dead worms! And most of all to a job well done!"  

[Eternal Dirge]

Damion nodded alittle as his employer motioned to sit, pausing somewhat as he went to grab a seat. Where had Ivan gone? His eyes cast across the blare floor, searching for the remains of the man intently, a note of distress speeding up his heart. As his eyes fell on the splotch on the ground, his heart sank and his shoulders slumped. Ivan had been the only villager amongst the masses he had some respect for, any care when he died.

" Just...dust." This seemed such a sorry end for the man, that his bar should stand and he himself was only a splotch on the earth. The earth elemental nodded his head to the dark patch of earth, sweeping his hand through the air and making a mound rise from the earth, a grave of dark earth where Ivan had layed. Not much, but what Damion could provide.

" Dead?" That caught his attention, and the frown returned to his face. What was it exactly that his friend did?

" Nothing that you need to know boy."

Damion started at that, the voice of the Dagon resounding in his head for amoment. Who was he to argue? But hey, booze!

" I'll drink to that."

He scooped the bottle out of Maximos's offering hand, holding it out for the Shadow to clink. Fancy fancy after all.  

[Chen Ning]

Ecks X

No, the orc didn't hit him. He might have WANTED to, but he didn't strike. Besides, the threat was over... and the human was still stupid. The world continued to turn at its slow pace.

As the orcs quickly but carefully placed a groggy Zaar into the wagon, the guard stood with folded arms as he stared Chen down.

"Want payment or something?!" It was very abrupt, and it would be the closest to thank you that Chen would be getting right now. Frustration and tension was still high.

Chen followed the orcs as they walked back to the wagon, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jacket. The orc's spoken words caused the inspector to chuckle.

"I came into this forest to stop that thing. Since you guys helped, I guess that's enough of a payment in itself."

He turned away and started to walk before stopping and looking back.

"However...being an inspector, I'm obligated to check vehicles to make sure nothing dangerous is being transported through this forest. Buuuut, since you guys have been such a help, as long as you show me your supplies, I'll let you go on. I don't like doing it, but we each have our duties, right?"  

[Maximos]

"I'll drink to that."

He scooped the bottle out of Maximos's offering hand, holding it out for the Shadow to clink. And Maximos moved smoothly in with one hand to let their glasses clink and then...

In a black blur he moved. Damion would see a swath of pitch darkness, as the Reaper's right hand lashed out grabbed the scythe and swung. And then he would feel something sharp touch the side of his skull and before he had words to describe the incredibly cold sensation that followed the demonic delivery boy's world would go black.

Outside, the blade of Maximos' scythe penetrated the other man's head, and as if Damion's head had been removed the elemental's body was falling. There was a thud as the scythe staff struck the other man's temple. The motion was fierce enough to spill his drink all over his chest and down his shirt.

In Damion's mind there the feeling of motion, and then a dull ache across his head. This would be coupled by utter blackness and then the feeling that the entire world was collapsing, and his head was ground zero. One phrase would repeat in the earthen man's mind.

This scythe is very sharp, it can cut through most anything that is, and some things that arent.

The words repeated themselves over and over, a whisper at first, and then a shout, and then a dull roar, and then a tearing thundercry there were absolutely deafening. The single sentence was intelligible, so very loud that it seemed to be the only thing he could hear and the only thing he could think...

...And then it was gone. Maximos hopped nimbly over the counter. He flicked his scythe in the air and it vanished. He peeled his cloak off his shoulders and then moved as if to hang it up on a coat rack only when his hand slid off the material it too vanished in a tuft of black.

In its wake all that was left was nothing, save for the dull ache across his head. His eyes were opening automatically, but groggily. His mind struggled to remember why it was opening its eyes. His senses were hypersensitive, as they clamored to take in where he was and explain how he got there. In the crater left by having a memory manually cut out of his mind, information was flooding in to fill the gap. His mind was recovering from an attack. Much like the mind recovers from being poisoned. It was a completely different and yet entirely similar experience to that of a hang over. But mostly, it hurt.

The islander's first sight would be Maximos kneeling down beside him. His first scent would be the smell of booze, spilled over his shirt. The taste of it was weak in his mouth from just a few splashes...but the flavor left by just a few splashes of ancient liquor is rather potent. Maximos spoke, his voice was barely a whisper and yet came in like thunder.

"You see Damion, this is what I mean. Your a good kid, but you need to stay away from the sauce." Maximos' hands were on Damion's arm, he was trying, it seemed to help him to his feet. It wouldnt be long before Damion beheld the ruined bar for the first and third time. "Yes...this is what happens when you shift in front of villagers. You've scared them all the way, thank Nocturne they paid in advance."

Maximos chuckled it was a lighthearted thing, purely innocent in nature.

"Its quite alright, you called me when you had problems with the delivery and we sorted everything out but...I think perhaps we should put off the after work celebrations from now on. Come on, come on, up with you." Max would, if Damion was agreeable, placing the other man's arm over his shoulder, holding his side and walking him toward the tavern door. It would be about then that the cut on Maximos' arm became clearly visible. Max winced as weight was put on the area and it tore open again. Damion would likely be feeling something like a zombie. "That was a nice clean blow you scored. Oh yes, you and I had a bit of a skirmish. A fun thing that. However you bicycle did not survive the encounter. However! I have arranged other means of transportation."

A flick of the wrist and the shadow slid his hand from Damion's arm, and produced two sheets of paper, about 4inchs wide and 11inches long covered in runes. "These will bring us back to the shop in no time. I'm sure Walter has a nice remedy for hang overs."

And then the runes would ignite purple, and the world would go black again. In moments two would have found themselves back in the shop. In a few hours Damion remember what had awakened in his blood, the Beast that would never sleep again. But before then, and forever after Maximos would remember the events of the night...and so would the Dagon. It existed to remember. It was born to learn, and secret, and never forget. But even it would dare not cross the Reaper who had earned it such a wonderful new host.  

[Liquid Lights]

"This is far enough, Pagoda."

Because Mopar was so wide and soft, Jex had ridden most of the way quite comfortably and without fear of falling. The panda bear's back was like a mattress to Jex, used to sleeping with his back against the trunks of trees.

The wound in his gut was still bleeding, though much less. Did he have much more blood to bleed? He spoke with strength enough, and it was hard to tell if that midnight blue face could go pale.

It was in his voice, in his spirit. Jex Thoth carried himself in such a detatched, spacey manner that most of the time one had to wonder if he was even really there- but he was filled with so much vibrance in seeing whatever he saw. Now he seemed almost entirely hollow, drained. Like a tree in the dead of winter.

When the bear stopped just upon the sparsely wooded verge of the Dead Forest, Jex rolled off it's back, letting Nagayina preceed him down on to the firm, ancient ground. He landed on his hands and knees almost without a sound, the polearm at one side and Mopar at another.

"I thank you," He spoke as his voice faded and he closed his eyes, bringing his forehead to the ground, the claws and feathers hanging from his headress pooling around his head on the ground. His mane of hair completely hid his face from the world, his antlers stood proud, motionless. "If you two could give me a moment," His voice seemed to come from far away, as if he'd sent them in a bottle from somewhere deep in his mind, "just a moment..."


There were a few moments of silence before the sound of breaking soil came from beneath Thoth. Brownish grey roots older than Thoth, Mopar and Pagoda combined grew rapidly around his torso in a delicate tangle- they didn't stop coming, either. More and more of the roots broke soil and rose up to envelope the Horned Sage entirely, all the while Jex remaining motionless, silent, until he'd completely disspeared in a bulbous weave of roots.

It all happened in under a minute, leaving Mopar and Pagoda outside the deep, dark, Dead Forest with a teardrop shaped mass of innumerable, grey roots, and no sight or sound of Jex Thoth.  

[Liquid Lights]

"Gnrrrack!" Gorch let out a snarl and gnashed his chompers, "T'was a good day to walk the eastern verge."

Fock send a dirty, scabbed fist into the shoulder of his orcish comrade and let out a gutteral, hushed chuckle, "Brughughagh, one is so supple..."

"...and the other so fat..."

"...and the other?"

"............the other is...."

Gorch and Fock exchanged puzzled, apprehensive looks.

"The other is stuck for now."

"Grrrgrlmthenweshoud act!"

The two orcs were lightly armored in old, flimsly leathers and cloth. Despite their gruff and, well, orcish nature, the two of them were expert trackers and could penetrate through even the Dead verge with drawing little attention to themselves, even though cover at the edge of the forest was not in abundance.  

[Orchid Panda]

Hearing him speak she slowed her pace to a complete stop in accordance with his wishes. Her attention was captured by the vast ancient wood that stood before her. She'd never stood before anything so old before, it took her aback a bit as she absorbed their sheer stature.

Quote:

"If you two could give me a moment,"

Blinking as his voice brought her back to the present she turned to the side to see that Jex had already dismounted. Mopar seemed to be just as aloof as usual, sitting on his large bottom as soon as his passenger had been removed. he looked no worse for wear other tan the stain of red trailing down his side, he didn't seem to mind though.

"Oh alrigh-"

She gasped as the ground exploded around Jex, instinctively causing her to step back. Mopar on the other hand simply yawned hardly effected by the disturbance.

As Jex was engulfed she could only watch in silent horror with the most comical expression upon her face.

"THE TREE ATE HIM!"

As his sudden disappearance set in, she slowly calmed down enough to remember one thing.

"Guess I'm out of luck for that ticket..."