Jump to content


Bhaal's Youngest: Chapter 64


  • Please log in to reply
6 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_Dadri_*

Posted 11 September 2007 - 06:52 AM

Critiques/Comments welcome. Warning: Gore. Sorry to cut it off where I did, but the next part really needs to be in Bhaal-o-vision.

A light sliver of the waning moon peaked over the horizon. The gritty ground under their boots lay sandy brown and dusty red over every bit of ground, as far as the eye could see. Bits of mountainous terrain lay like shattered pottery, in jagged shards scattered around otherwise flat landscape. They trekked between two such low craggy mountains, where a thick, clingy shadow lay over the landscape. A deep Damaran accented voice shouted in the wind.

"-our great master Cyric, the center of the universe! It is his will that there be fools to test our cleverness against, so that he might see which of us is worthy of his presence!"

"Here, Xelda." Xzar pressed the yellow lightning wand into her hands. "For when the fluffly white rabbits bubble up from below to eat our souls." He said, terror evident in his whisper. "But for now, we get to play with skeletons!" He cried out happily. "Smiles everyone, smiles! This like some kind of great fantasy!" Xzar clapped his hands and bounced enthusiastically. "We're off to kill the priest, the terrible priest of Cyric!" He giggled. "Trahlalala!"

"Ye two take them walkin bones, tha bone stealer be mine." Montaron growled. Phoenix noted that he sounded like he was dividing loot, pocketing the best bit and daring anyone to call him on it. But the loot was not gold; it was the right to kill. She hadn't realized how much she had been looking forward to attacking the man until Montaron had declared him as his. She tucked the wand into her pack.

"Race you!" Xzar said over his shoulder, running through the darkness, towards the voice. The sound of boots hitting the ground and even sliding in places seemed to echo, but couldn't possibly be noticeable to the voice calling out the virtues of backstabbing and carefully placed lies.

"Wait! Xzar!" She said, then realized he hadn't stopped. So much for surprise. Though really, why should they stop and discuss their strategy? They had discussed that when they'd memorized spells together. She ran after him. Her heart pounded with her feet. Her breath sped up, but she still controlled it, just much quicker. Her legs burned from the sudden exertion. As she drew close enough, some of the darkness solidified into almost recognizable shapes.

A large man over a...table? Had to be an altar, but it looked lumpy. Six skeletons. Xzar's dark silhouette only a few feet in front of her now, she slowed in her pace. She caught her breath.

She spoke a word and called the energy to her hand with the proper gesture. Black negative energy twisted over her fingers and palm. It made the darkness around her look gray in comparison. She gave it the last special magical twist that would usually drain strength from the living and must be the reason that it frightened the dead. The energy over her fingers glowed luminous blue, like the fool's magic mushroom, and then she held it out in front of her. Through the meager blue glow, she could see more detail. The skeletons walked towards Xzar.

"Oh, do you want a treat? Yes? Who wants a treat?" Xzar dangled a bit of rotten looking gibberling meat in front of the nearest skeleton's face, and its gaze transfixed on it. "Oh, what a good boy!" Xzar tossed the meat into that skeleton's mouth. The skeleton's eyes flashed for a moment, then he turned around to face the priest. "Why don't you go give that lovely priest a piece of his own mind? Won't he think that's tasty, hmm? Good boy!" Xzar clapped his hands, as if he were proud of the skeleton for being controlled.

Bassillius, clad in chainmail and nearly as tall as Xzar and three feet thick, stood over the altar. It had only appeared to be lumpy because it was built of skulls and bones and had a small, blond haired boy tied to it. Bassilius' growled. He held up his mace. Cyric's jawless skull formed its head, and there was a purple aura around it for half a foot.

"Behold the power of the dark sun!" Bassilius called to the one errant skeleton. That skeleton shivered with dark energy, and then cowered.

Xzar called his own negative energy to his hand, then turned it blue and grinned.

"Now kill those intruders on the sacred blood rite!" Bassilius called. The skeleton got back up and started walking towards Xzar.

The pocket of luminescent blue energy over Xzar's hand touched the insides of the skull of the first skeleton as it stepped forward, blue energy crackling up it for a second. An ear splitting sound issued from the skeleton and it turned around and ran right past the priest.

"O mighty Cyric, protect me from the naive power of those who believe in Goodness!" He called out.

The second skeleton reached for Xzar and he met its hand as though to shake it. Blue energy lit it up for a moment, and then it ran in exactly the other direction as well.

Phoenix stepped forward to keep the third one from touching Xzar from the other side. She shoved her hand into it's ribcage. When the strength draining twisted negative energy touched the animating negative energy in the skeleton, she noticed there seemed to be a pulse in her hand- one that had nothing to do with her heartbeat. She pushed the pulse out at the skeleton. The skeleton turned and fled, screaming. She found herself laughing. She may not be able to control the skeleton directly yet, but she could make it run away. At the moment, that was control enough.

"Behold, the power of cheese!" Xzar demanded, placing his glowing hand upon the next skeleton's shoulder as it stepped forward to meet him. As this skeleton ran away, Xzar's hand was no longer glowing with spell energy. Xzar reached into his bag and withdrew...a hunk of cheese. He pealed off the wax outer cover. "Oh mighty cheese, protect me from the knave power of those who believe in gooeyness!" He brought the cheese up like an amulet, his wild green eyes wide enough to see even in the darkness.

Phoenix met the fifth skeleton with her still lightly glowing energy. But once she had the fun of driving off the fifth skeleton, she had no spell energy to meet the sixth. She stepped backwards, speaking the words to the spell again. She touched the last skeleton, sending it fleeing into the night. She now managed to contain her laughter, leaving merely a smile on her face.

"Fools! You will wet the altar of the Black Sun!" The priest abruptly leapt to the side as Montaron's blade dove up at him.

"Bloody right, we'll wet your altar for ye. With yer own juices!" Montaron growled, stabbing and sidestepping and stabbing again.

"You!!!"

"Miss me?" Montaron sneered.

"Not this time!" The man cried out a spell while dodging Montaron's blade. "Oh Cyric, show these wretches ho--huahgkf!" A spell that might of worked if Xzar hadn't managed to land his cheese in the priest's mouth at the perfect angle. Xzar praised the cheese.

Bassillius turned his back on Montaron, looking at Xzar with the sort of wrath that most devote believers have when confronted with blaspheme. Then he turned around suddenly and brought his mace down. Montaron's body fell to the ground. The mace was still lodged in his head, and little drops of blood had showered even Phoenix.

"Monty!!! Noooooooooooo!!!!" Xzar wailed, throwing himself to the ground, shaking his hands at the sky, then paused as if he didn't know what he was doing. "Monty...I never loved you?!" He said, as though his mind had personally betrayed him on this point for a moment.

Phoenix stood there, black energy still glowing blue on her hand, feeling the energy crawling over it at her direction. What had at first been rough, wave-like fluctuations in the energy smoothed out. She hadn't loved Montaron. But she had liked him. She couldn't let that affect her, she thought. She might get sloppy. And she wanted to be neat. She wanted to be precise. She wanted to take Bassillius apart, like a seam that needed to be redone.

She turned her scowl towards the priest, and her black eyes were wreathed in a hair fine crimson red corona. "May the rivers run red." She said, as though it were a monk's mantra rather than a battle cry that Montaron had used. "Red."

#2 Guest_IriaZenn_*

Posted 11 September 2007 - 07:47 PM

Yay! Good as always. Poor Monty! I loved Xzar reaction. Can't wait for Bhaal-O-Vision!

#3 Guest_Cel_*

Posted 11 September 2007 - 08:45 PM

:twisted: Oh my god, you killed Monty!

I loved how you worked in Xzar's comment about his death. And I loved the dialogue you gave Bassilus. And Xzar's way with the skeletons is absolutely priceless ;)

#4 Guest_Dadri_*

Posted 11 September 2007 - 09:43 PM

Yay! Good as always. Poor Monty! I loved Xzar reaction. Can't wait for Bhaal-O-Vision!


I've always liked that line from Xzar- I have no idea why. It's probably right up there with liking lunatics. :twisted:

I'm glad your excited! ;)

#5 Guest_Dadri_*

Posted 11 September 2007 - 10:03 PM

Oh my god, you killed Monty!


Sorry about that, but yes, I did. The gods have got to be able to raise someone sometime, right? :twisted:

I loved how you worked in Xzar's comment about his death. And I loved the dialogue you gave Bassilus. And Xzar's way with the skeletons is absolutely priceless


I'm glad you liked it. ;) Personally, I like this better than the family impersonation ploy. You can probably tell that I have a lot of fun writing Xzar. I probably make him far too out there, but I like him that way. :D

#6 Guest_Ananke_*

Posted 12 September 2007 - 04:23 PM

Oh, dear. I feel like I'm down several IQ points just after reading Xzar. :twisted:

Can you tell me what spell that was that Phoenix cast? Drains energy from the living and frightens the dead? Sounds rather useful...

She wanted to take him apart, like a seam that needed to be redone.

...but I don't understand this comparison, to tell the truth. That is, I get that Phoenix may wish to take Montaron apart. All right. But 'like a seam'? Is she going to put him back, then - redo the seam? Turn Monty into a zombie?

...now, that would be cool...

#7 Guest_Dadri_*

Posted 12 September 2007 - 09:44 PM

Oh, dear. I feel like I'm down several IQ points just after reading Xzar.


I know, he's rather silly at times. But he's still a genius, just a crazy one :twisted:

Can you tell me what spell that was that Phoenix cast? Drains energy from the living and frightens the dead? Sounds rather useful...


3.5 Dungeon's & Dragon's version of chill touch. Which is far more useful to a low level wizard than it's usually given credit for. ;)

...but I don't understand this comparison, to tell the truth. That is, I get that Phoenix may wish to take Montaron apart. All right. But 'like a seam'? Is she going to put him back, then - redo the seam? Turn Monty into a zombie?

...now, that would be cool...


It's Bassillius she wants to take apart. She wants surgical precision and the one area she's well versed in and very precise at this point in time is her sewing.




0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users

Skin Designed By Evanescence at IBSkin.com