[Private] Hall of the Mountain King

[Tobin]

(OOC: And then, there was one. XD I hope this proves most entertaining a read. Edit: Forgot the name tags, so here you go Capsule kittygrey.)
WC:1109

In the darkness the eyes of the half stryder swept across the ruined town; the clues of it's absence of occupation apparent from the way that the airship had lain to rest not far off that the area soon after became unsafe and was simply abandoned by the people from whatever followed the fall. The gaze passed over this without thought as it scanned for the white headed hunter; a distant gaze preoccupied with but a single thought that tugged on his attention when it should have been undivided.

It was cold.

The temperature? Sure, the dark void or the autumn night was cold enough to make goosebumps form on his arms, cold enough to penetrate the thin fabric of his clothe fabric that passed for armour. Some days he would have had a good rant about this; or a witty joke yet this time it seemed distant, that kind of cold at least had the mercy of numbing the senses it embraced. Tobin could still his heavy motion of boot against pulverised pavement and the bite of cold all too fresh for it to be that. Yet something was still there, that ate at him. A lingering guilt.

-You killed her-

A jolt; suddenly he was back there feeling everything; the punch; crackling of twigs, course skin, that sharp crack. Squeal drew his glance sideways sideways, to meet the that terrified gaze of luminous green-

-She's judging you.-

-NO! QUIET-

The memory was kashed back and snapped shut into his vault of memory; gone; though the fresh pain of the memory still lingered. Tobin was back in the dead village, his companion had passed him; despite that murderous intent he drew the night air deeply into his lungs; to his surprise his muscles quaked with uncertainty as his forehead was peppered with perspiration. It took a great force of will to recompose himself as he drew the clawed hand away from his face, distantly aware of the fresh pinpricks of pain that took it's place as he wrenched his focus outward even as turbulent thoughts and that cold pain threatened his composure. Tobin, or rather the man beneath the dwarf had always fashioned, built himself up behind this bigger then life super hero facade, it had been the only way to cope. With being short, in a hostile world of uncertainties, yet he had betrayed even that core decency, he had become-

-You're just a beast that killed for you're own bloody glory, what makes ss-napping a little twig-gs ne-ck s-o s-at-isfy.in/f-

-Evaluate, Gavin.-

Only a few seconds had passed; the environment was still the same; a monotoned world of grey portrayal of an village abandoned; the pressure still there, strong. Despite the lapse of a few seconds nothing seemed to have changed; aside from the greyed hued Capsule's head bobbing through the tall grass and, after pushing down distant advice not to venture into the long grass, he pushed through to follow, thankfully avoiding any random encounter in pushing through the head height grass (for him at least, even with the lack of light he too spied the note with unerring clarity.

Instead, he emerged into a random encounter with the white pin, clad in a darkness that quivered with life.

The sharp pitch cut the Dwarf the bone, yet he found strength in the most unusual source as the first sign of warm bellowed within him as his neck tightened.This creature had dealt him a irredeemable slight, and as much as the odds were stacked against him his mind had settled on one task to redeem that little flame he snuffed out.

To burn the slanderman with his wraith.

Without delay, the -lightning straight- bolted him forward to catapult the blow to it's torso. An yielding, slippery core that wrapped around his fist. The deadening streak cut through the Dwarf like lightning as every fiber stiffened, the creatures attention seemed momentarily preoccupied with he more aggressive of the two humanoids, it's limbs gently curved around the trunk of his frame and held him firm.

Then Dwarf retaliated; skin erupted into crimson flame as the world of monogrey exploded into vibrant colour and, taking advantage of a sudden moment of hesitation the charge time finished, -bullet punch- activated, the first blow yeilding the second; before the air became filled with shimmering violence as the night shimmered with the flash of purple and red bolts, the screaming escalated to sheer white noise as the light burned at it's scaly skin as the last blow cast the motionless shape back into the house, it's loosened momentarily as Tobin swayed unevenly on his feet.

"Ah, ah, gah sh'."

It was with a loud crunch the Dwarf toppled unevenly onto his hands and knees, the cold sweat perspired from every pore as his sense of balanced betrayed him; everything hurt from that engage; he didn't need an enchanter to tell he was in a bad state, a crushing headache scattered his thoughts, deprived him of sensory control. The mere damage it's enchanting presence had dealt to Tobin was more crippling then any mortal wound.. Yet, a soft sound cut through the silence of uneven laughter, though the trickle of blood that erupted from his maw betrayed a tongue bitten through to the core.


"Gah, ha, didn't evan git ta bonk the cheerleader. tis is the worst 'orror movie I've evar bin in."

The words were horse as he pulled the pile of notes out of his pocket, his eye focused on the shadows; though it didn't come back yet it was still out there, getting over the shock of being harmed he figured. Yet the fire that sheathed Tobin waned with every passing moment. It would get over this downside, it would be back. The retaliation made drew a sigh from his heaving chest as he directed that piercing gaze up.

"Capsule, I'm done fa, like it or loath it ya the heroine of this tale, so don't let me go to waste, ja? Don't bugger off lik' ya did at henge, otherwise more childr-"

The Dwarf left that sentence unfinished as a cold shiver cut through him, ripping the note from the wall he slapped it together with the other key item's and shoved it into the chanters chest.

"GO! CAPSULE, GO!"

The shadowed lunged out of the darkness with a shriek as it grabbed the Dwarf, yanking him into the shop; as he disappeared inside the light flared up once last time as a shock-wave blew the windows out in a final, futile resistance.


Another little flame was snuffed out, leaving the enchanter the darkness and that droning, high pitched tingle. The debris of faint black scales the only sign of the momentary struggle. His party status faded to grey, the letters themselves seemed to flicker like a stutter.

[Capsule]

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∝:
835

♪♫♪:
Feral Love

✏:
The end?

@:
kittygrey & Tobin

[attr="class","scrotum"]

The redhead shrank back from the pale figure in the black suit. It loomed over her, the shadowy tentacles eagerly waving through the air. Capsule, still with fright, could only gape up in horror at the monster. Would he take her, like he had taken the children? Surely she was too old for him, though that did not mean she could not serve a purpose otherwise. She closed her eyes tight as the world and air around her vibrated with an intensity that was disorienting. Even behind her tightly shut eyelids, she could see the blinding light, and the figure standing prominent as ever before them.

Forgetting her skills or even the will to move, Capsule opened her mouth in a silent scream. It was her last defense against the man, as surely it would draw help. Someone had to be nearby and hear her plight, right? Unfortunately, all she could manage to get out was a noise akin to the chirp of a young cat. Had it not been for the interference of Tobin, she might have ended up as another notch on Slendy's bed post.

Her body sagged forward as the light and ominous presence dimmed. Hope! She had another chance to get away from this monster, once and for all! Her eyes shot open, though they did not altogether see. She was blinded by her own fear and the overwhelming aura of the pale faced sex offender in the black suit. Like an animal of prey, she would bolt in whichever direction, and continue to run until she was certain she was out of the woods. But would she ever be? Her soul was now tainted with the mercy killing of a young girl, and the memories of the horrific being that stood before her.

She emitted a soft yelp of alarm as something was shoved into her hands. What was this, paper? The paper! Notes! She had to take these and… and what? Show them to the villagers? Kill Slender? No, that was not a feasible plan for this Enchanter. She lacked the offensive power, for one. But did she really need that? What if there was some other way to get rid of the man… or perhaps even trap him somehow? But the villagers wanted to see him dead, and their children returned, but so far they had already failed in one aspect. As much as it pained her…

Running. How long and when had she started to run away? Capsule had no clue, but standing still was dangerous. Tobin could only afford to buy her so much time, and now… Now Tobin was… A tear coursed down her cheek as she remembered the untimely fate of the dwarf. She had to get out of here, while she still could. The villagers needed to know. They had to know! There was no way they could reclaim the lost children, for the children were no longer of this world. They were broken and shaped into his image. They were lost, and lost for good.

There was only one thing Capsule could do, that might put a stop to the Slender man, or at least slow him down. This place doubled as a crash site for the air ship and an old village of yesteryear. There was plenty of flammable objects and structures lying around, as well as stagnant pools of oil. Would it really work? Who knows. All she could do was try. Without daring to look back, Capsule conjured up a fireball, and threw it into one of the oil pools.

There was a soft bang as it lit up with a surprising ferocity. The oil was still good for something, after all. She threw another fireball, this one landing closer to the collapsed airship. The monster was looming somewhere behind her -- Capsule ducked and rolled to the ground, right before the airship. It was burning now, and bits and pieces of it were beginning to rain down. From somewhere within, she could hear the soft cries of children. 'Oh God. I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry.' There was nothing she could do to save them, for their cries were barely recognizable as human. They were one with the beast now.

A falling, flaming beam struck something out of her line of vision. A soft groan, adult and male reached her ears. The Slender man had been caught, but who knew for how long? Capsule shoved herself onto her feet and sprinted off again, going as fast as she could. The screams of the children grew louder and louder, almost as though they were howling directly in her ear. The airship continued to slide around until it was falling to pieces. Rod after rod struck the ground, with small embers pummeling the earth like rain of fire. The ominous hold that was once held over her head like the Sword of Damocles soon faded entirely, but the screams… the screams would haunt her nightmares for a good while.

coded by benetnasch of ET

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[Tobin]

WC: 1640 Capsule


Why do.... suddenly...... when you....... near.

Disjointed thoughts floated in the cold, black aether of consciousness unbound by a central complex of personality. How did these thoughts get here? None of them knew for none had a concept of time. They just existed, like ripples in time that gently rolled on the water's of the void. Yet even now the thoughts were aware. They were not alone in this space as the darkness was out there, watching, waiting. Yet somehow it was kept at bay long after they became unaware of being. Yet they couldn't sense thought from the darkness, it was just there.

Just. Me. we all. CLOSE TO YOU

Suddenly the coldness swept in over the thoughts, the final barrier that had kept them at bay gone. The thoughts began to flicker, this darkness it knew nought about yet they knew instinctively that it was wrong. So cold. Swept along the thought bubbles travelled through the aetheric sea, faster. Toward the other lights in the distance, different, yet company. All company good, right? Better then being out here. Same thoughts alone, what were those thoughts? The dark orb joined all thought together through tentacles of cold black.

London... burning... London... bridge.

Morbid song. Yet sung so sweetly. Young voices in the dark providing a sweet melody. Yet the unease lingered; it was sung too sweetly, the melody too smooth? Yet those clusters were snug over there joined to the blackest core in the centre of infinity, it was colder too. They needed to all be closer, perhaps that was war-

"London Bridge is burning down, burning down, burning down, LONDON BRIDGE IS BURNING DOWN-

Suddenly he felt it. A sharp heat that erupted from everywhere, they all felt it. They weren't singing at all, they were screaming. Too hot, too hot. The darkness seemed to shiver as the feeling cascaded out of all the distant shards of thought, the voices many, disjointed, but the voices spoke one line clearly.

"AND WE ALL BURN WITH IT!"

The intensity raidated outward in a scretch, one by one the lights flickered as if snuffed out by a gentle candle flame. It was then that Tobin could feel a shriek emulate out of the dark orb in the centre, with such a loud intensity that up to his point that it sounded little more than background static. Suddenly a cold push radiated out in a tide to cast he and the lights out in a single shove at a fast rate. Immediately the screaming faded, the flickering lights became distant as they dimmed as one by one they disappeared, one at a time until he was alone in the dark night. Alone, except for two sheer white pinpricks that sat within that blackest of orbs, and even as the darkness released Tobin's thoughts, the stare remained fixated in his mind until the light drowned it out.

---

The Dwarf awoke in stages, at first his awareness only extended to the facts, firstly that he was laying on his back against a firm, unyielding surface. Secondly that he felt terrible, his entire mind ached as though it had been shattered by a blunt toffee hammer.

Slowly, gradually, his senses coalesced enough to give a detailed sense of his surroundings, that it was cool, moist. Eventually, with great reluctance, he opened his eyes to the canvas of the night’s sky through the branches of a great oak tree, the heavens cloudless leaving the vast jewels of the sky exposed before him, a hint of red indicated that the sun had begun it’s slow assent. There he remained immobile as minute turned to an hour where he simply waited. It was no longer a matter of fear anymore, by this point he was emotionally spent to the extent simple fear didn’t move him.

Yet no matter how long he waited, the darkness failed to visit again, nor did that shriek linger. Without that tingling noise that threat hanging over him the world felt empty.

Eventually Tobin found the strength to roll upon his knees and rose uneasily, he took but a moment to brush off the leaves that accumulated on him before his hands sought solace in his pocket. Then he walked toward a light that shone through the trees, the light seemed too bright to be that of a village or to be that of the rainbow sky but a morbid curiosity captivated him. After ambling up the slope for scarce 100 meters to crest the outcrop, he finally saw the airship.

By this point it had become little more than a pile of twisted metal, the only flames now being of the trees and of the mana, spilling out of its accident vessel into the air. The Dwarf sighed deeply as he let his frame slam against that of a tree that rested along the ledge and gazed deeply into the intense heat of hell on earth, his mask a grim stare as his jaw remained locked. Though by this point the screams had long but fallen silent, it left little to the imagination as to why the vessel was set alight.

“Oh… Dear Lord.”

It was only then that the disjointed vision made sense, somehow, Capsule had done it! Yet that fact didn’t raise his spirits, nor remove that sickly sweet smell of freshly spent Amina that waffled into his nose. The gravity of the situation, that an innumerable number of young spirits had perished because they had fail-

-No, I have failed them. Capsule only did what she had to do.-

His throat tightened as the stark reminder cut off his avenue of thinking, the same token that allowed him to be proud of the things he had “almost” done cut both ways in that he couldn’t avoid taking failure. He was Gav- Tobin Stryder, he was the tank, the champion of Aeryn that sought the greatest threats and destroyed them to ultimately, despite the performance put on for his own ego, to protect the people.

Finally, the heat stung his eyes too much to look at the wreckage and turned away, letting his weight slide down the tree to rest as he cradled his eyes between his trembling finger and thumb as he let his emotions run raw, wet perspiration trickled down his cheek as he suppressed the muffled choke in his throat. Tobin had failed the children and his own word, but most of all he had failed Capsule, whom had taken it on herself to end it.

It was only when he slid his hand into the pocket that he felt a familiar, cool presence within his pocket. With a slight flick he liberated the small disk from his pocket and flicked it between finger and thumb with increasing speed until it became a bronze river as it flowed with his palm, the Dwarf stared with a mild amusement before he stilled it, there was a small coin that bore the Aeryn crest in nice delicate gold lettering. Commissioned some time ago as a little unofficial symbol of status, it was perhaps one of the few items he had left to remind himself of the membership of that gold, the founders had long since left and many members too had vanished. A slight rumble of the throat accompanied this, though the laughter was hollow, without real meaning.

“All this time I hav’ kidded myself. I thought tha’ I could just stroll out ‘ere ‘nd solve all tha’ problems with a wavin’ of my fists ‘nd bravdo would solv, I’mma bloody mess who’s lost sight of wha’ was really important. Pratin’ ‘bout in bars, messin’ with Guilds, fame, money…”

The Dwarf rose as he mumbled to himself, bringing him close to the edge of the outcrop as he peered down the slope and, after a momentary pause to glance down the slope flung the coin into the wreckage, letting his eye follow the glimmer as it clattered off various entanglements of metal to its final resting place.

“It’s all bullshit. Being an adventuar wasn’t meant ta be ‘bout all tha’, but protectin’ the people? Why didn’t I see tha’ sooner? Some superman I was.”

The Dwarf paused as though expecting a response from anything, yet the soft sound of bird song was the only reply, so he continued, as he spoke his voice grew louder, bolder until it exploded into shouting, casting it’s echo far and wide.

“Well, ya made ya ****in’ point so I’mma gonna make mine, just between ye and me. I’mma gonna take the kiddy gloves off now and take this business seriously, your days are numbered because I’m gonna start huntin’ down each and every one of ya bastards. Ya hear me? I’m goina clear up this frontier and I’m going to kill each and EVEN IF IT TAKES A DAMN ETERNITY! If my name aren’t Gavin Bextar. Rest in peace little ones, I might be a long time comin’ ta join ya but I’ll make sure they pay.”

Then ceased as his breath escaped him in a soft panting, the ruin’s themselves remained silent as the Dwarf levelled his gaze at the ruins before he turned and departed in a swift stroll. Leaving behind those that were lost to finally rest in peace, if nothing else, that bittersweet ending made this little misadventure seem better. Out of the three adventurers, only two walked away that day, that in itself was a call for celebration.

It was only then that Tobin noticed, as he opened the menu, that he was still in a party. Surely there was no such thing as party chat? Right? That would be a real mood ruiner on his part.

“Ahhh bollocks.”

In any case his fingers hammered out a quick message.

-Hey, are you well? You did it. By the sounds of things, they all rest in peace now. So don’t be too harsh on yaself, it’s my fault for not comin’ out here sooner. -

(OOC: Is it over? In any case, hope you found this little tale enjoyable. ^__^ Spoopy came for DWARF BOOOTY, just leaving this up for now until I can think a little more on an ending. Would it be weird if I said this was my muse. I hate songs that get stuck in my head. www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFkSMHle8-M)