ThirdWizard
First Post
They weren't exactly sure what they expected to see on the other side. Whatever it was, it probably was something like, but totally different than, what the actually found. The room was large and outfitted much like you might find any run of the mill warlock lair. There was a table with strange ingredients in jars forming a line around the side, with glass beakers and Bunsen burners and what not scattered about. There were dead bodies, in itself not so odd, except that they were mummified with some kind of holes in their foreheads. Those were on the far side of the room, and beside them sat a woman, perhaps in her late twenties or early thirties, expressionless, maybe sedated. Also, presumably Richard Hall was there, an emaciated unshaven man in dirty clothes with large rings under his eyes who looked like he hadn't bathed in weeks nor slept in perhaps half that time. None of that was too unusual.
No, the thing that troubled them was the tall figure inside a silver and iron constructed circle. And, the fact that he was green-blue with the flesh hanging off of his bones, an almost insolid mass of muscle that had no trouble moving its frame. Its face hung off of its skull, drool dribbling down its mouth and onto the floor. Red eyes with pinpoints of black looked at each of them one at a time. The demon smiled upon their arrival, much a different reaction than that of the unkempt Hall.
Hall, you see, started to lose it.
"Who are you?" he yelled at the top of his lungs. "How did you get in here?" He started backing away from them, toward the creature in the circle.
Max tried to hold onto the ruse, although it was obvious this guy was coming apart at the seams. "We're working for Tony-" he started.
Hall didn't let him finish. "Tony can't get through the wards! Who are you?!" His voice moved to a shrill scream at the are you.
The gig was up, so they moved onto Plan B: Take out the warlock.
Hall saw that coming, and his eyes widened as they went for their guns, if such was possible. "I'll pay double... triple the price! Kill them and the black court vampires! All of them! Kill all of them!" He ran toward the demon, leaping toward it and breaking the circle, the only thing holding it at bay, with his own body.
Released, the demon smiled wider. "Of course, mortal. I will kill all of your enemies. The price... we will come to." At that, he looked toward the intruders.
The intruders didn't hesitate for a moment. Well, maybe a moment. He was damn intimidating after all.
Emerald saw Hall trying to slink away to a door on the other side of the room, and she was having none of that. The bastard wasn't going to escape. Summoning as much power as she felt she was able, she created a gale blowing directly at the door with such force that it would hold it closed and poured even more energy into it to keep the spell going for several minutes. The power of such a spell, however, wasn't small, and she immediately felt the warmth of blood oozing out of her nose and an almost concussed feeling in her head. Shaking off what she could, she stumbled back to a more defensive position behind Max and Jack.
Max stepped forward, PDW held up, and unloaded at full auto onto the demon. It smiled as it walked into the bullets. Many of them ricocheted off of its body - the soft flabby looking flesh in actually much more resilient than it appeared. A few pierced the flesh, but the demon barely looked perturbed. Max looked on in shock as it reach him and backhanded him in the chest with a loud crack, sending him flying through air against the bulkhead behind him, his head whipping back against the hard metal as he hit. He landed with a sharp pain that shot through his chest, and he gasped for air as he tried to pull himself up.
The demon laughed. "Pity. I thought perhaps three of you might be interesting. I will just have to find my joy in killing against the vampires. They will prove sufficient sport, I'm sure." His eyes fell on Jack, and he started toward the already injured man.
At this point, they knew they were outclassed. The automatic had done nothing to the demon, and with one blow he had broken Max's ribs and who knew what internal bleeding was taking place.
Jack eyed the bulkhead. "Emerald, it's about to get wet."
Her eyes widened. But, it was the only way. She was feeling weak, having already called up a lot of power in that day. But, she would have to get enough power for one more spell. With all the energy she could muster, she manipulated the air in the room, forming swirling winds to surround her, Max, Jack, the woman, and the warlock. She tightened the airflow, saw it coalesce and envelop the five of them in her mind, and held it.
Jack ran to the bulkhead. On the other side was the sea water that the barge lay in. He didn't know much about barges, but he figured the wall to the sea was thick. It would take the power of a moving bus to cut through to the water on the other side. He pushed himself as far as he could go. His stomach ached, and pain shot through his entire body. He felt his stitches burst, but still he pushed energy into himself, and with one stroke, one punch, poured everything into the bulkhead. It exploded, shrapnel flying out into the water, which gushed in around them, but around the bubbles of air that Emerald had created.
The demon howled. The water rushed all around him, filling the room. Running water, which breaks down and cancels out magical energies. As a summoned being, that's what the demon was made from. And it was mere seconds before his body was simply gone.
Emerald continued controlling the spell, and she could feel herself almost losign consciousness, but she held onto it. They had dealt with the demon, but now they were in a sinking barge with the only thing keeping them from being thrown against the steel walls and drowning the presence of mind she could maintain to protect them.
Max managed to grab the woman by the arm and pull her out, her state of mind still unfeeling and unthinking. The warlock decided to follow them out instead of dying horribly. They found their way out, onto the dock, and Emerald fell in a heap, exhausted. Max and Jack weren't well off either. Max held a gun to Hall's head, just to be sure he wouldn't try anything stupid. The hired thugs were gone. They probably heard the water rushing below and booked it.
"Why?" Tears fell down Hall's face. "After all I've done to summon him. Why? They deserved it! They deserved it!" His disposition was less and less evil mastermind by the second. He collapsed on the ground. "It was the only way to kill them all!"
"Kill who? Black court vampires? Was this about vampires?" Emerald demanded.
"They turned my sister! They killed her and made her a monster..." His voice softened. "It was the only way to kill them... I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it myself..."
"There are other ways to go about your revenge than killing innocent people," said Max. He had no compassion for the man. Hall was a killer, and he had lost.
Hall just shook his head. "They're powerful. They were looking for me. I had to act quickly. I needed to take a short cut." He blubbered something incoherently.
"We should call the wardens. They'll take care of him," said Jack.
"Do we need to involve them?" asked Max. "I'd rather just be done with this."
"We need to involve them. It's what they're for. I can get a hold of them. Plus, they'll need to help her." He pointed to the woman still looking out into space and not moving. "I think he did something to her mind. Even they might not be able to help her, but we have to hope..."
Max took a deep breath. It hurt. Bad. "Okay. Lets get out of here for now, though."
"One more thing," said Jack. "I think the ghoul was working for the vampires."
"I figured that," said Emerald. "That's why he was hunting Hall down."
"Yeah," said Jack. "Where does that put us?"
"Does it matter?" said Max. "Now come on. We've got to leave before somebody asks why a barge is sinking in the middle of the docks here."
They climbed into the van and drove away.
No, the thing that troubled them was the tall figure inside a silver and iron constructed circle. And, the fact that he was green-blue with the flesh hanging off of his bones, an almost insolid mass of muscle that had no trouble moving its frame. Its face hung off of its skull, drool dribbling down its mouth and onto the floor. Red eyes with pinpoints of black looked at each of them one at a time. The demon smiled upon their arrival, much a different reaction than that of the unkempt Hall.
Hall, you see, started to lose it.
"Who are you?" he yelled at the top of his lungs. "How did you get in here?" He started backing away from them, toward the creature in the circle.
Max tried to hold onto the ruse, although it was obvious this guy was coming apart at the seams. "We're working for Tony-" he started.
Hall didn't let him finish. "Tony can't get through the wards! Who are you?!" His voice moved to a shrill scream at the are you.
The gig was up, so they moved onto Plan B: Take out the warlock.
Hall saw that coming, and his eyes widened as they went for their guns, if such was possible. "I'll pay double... triple the price! Kill them and the black court vampires! All of them! Kill all of them!" He ran toward the demon, leaping toward it and breaking the circle, the only thing holding it at bay, with his own body.
Released, the demon smiled wider. "Of course, mortal. I will kill all of your enemies. The price... we will come to." At that, he looked toward the intruders.
The intruders didn't hesitate for a moment. Well, maybe a moment. He was damn intimidating after all.
Emerald saw Hall trying to slink away to a door on the other side of the room, and she was having none of that. The bastard wasn't going to escape. Summoning as much power as she felt she was able, she created a gale blowing directly at the door with such force that it would hold it closed and poured even more energy into it to keep the spell going for several minutes. The power of such a spell, however, wasn't small, and she immediately felt the warmth of blood oozing out of her nose and an almost concussed feeling in her head. Shaking off what she could, she stumbled back to a more defensive position behind Max and Jack.
Max stepped forward, PDW held up, and unloaded at full auto onto the demon. It smiled as it walked into the bullets. Many of them ricocheted off of its body - the soft flabby looking flesh in actually much more resilient than it appeared. A few pierced the flesh, but the demon barely looked perturbed. Max looked on in shock as it reach him and backhanded him in the chest with a loud crack, sending him flying through air against the bulkhead behind him, his head whipping back against the hard metal as he hit. He landed with a sharp pain that shot through his chest, and he gasped for air as he tried to pull himself up.
The demon laughed. "Pity. I thought perhaps three of you might be interesting. I will just have to find my joy in killing against the vampires. They will prove sufficient sport, I'm sure." His eyes fell on Jack, and he started toward the already injured man.
At this point, they knew they were outclassed. The automatic had done nothing to the demon, and with one blow he had broken Max's ribs and who knew what internal bleeding was taking place.
Jack eyed the bulkhead. "Emerald, it's about to get wet."
Her eyes widened. But, it was the only way. She was feeling weak, having already called up a lot of power in that day. But, she would have to get enough power for one more spell. With all the energy she could muster, she manipulated the air in the room, forming swirling winds to surround her, Max, Jack, the woman, and the warlock. She tightened the airflow, saw it coalesce and envelop the five of them in her mind, and held it.
Jack ran to the bulkhead. On the other side was the sea water that the barge lay in. He didn't know much about barges, but he figured the wall to the sea was thick. It would take the power of a moving bus to cut through to the water on the other side. He pushed himself as far as he could go. His stomach ached, and pain shot through his entire body. He felt his stitches burst, but still he pushed energy into himself, and with one stroke, one punch, poured everything into the bulkhead. It exploded, shrapnel flying out into the water, which gushed in around them, but around the bubbles of air that Emerald had created.
The demon howled. The water rushed all around him, filling the room. Running water, which breaks down and cancels out magical energies. As a summoned being, that's what the demon was made from. And it was mere seconds before his body was simply gone.
Emerald continued controlling the spell, and she could feel herself almost losign consciousness, but she held onto it. They had dealt with the demon, but now they were in a sinking barge with the only thing keeping them from being thrown against the steel walls and drowning the presence of mind she could maintain to protect them.
Max managed to grab the woman by the arm and pull her out, her state of mind still unfeeling and unthinking. The warlock decided to follow them out instead of dying horribly. They found their way out, onto the dock, and Emerald fell in a heap, exhausted. Max and Jack weren't well off either. Max held a gun to Hall's head, just to be sure he wouldn't try anything stupid. The hired thugs were gone. They probably heard the water rushing below and booked it.
"Why?" Tears fell down Hall's face. "After all I've done to summon him. Why? They deserved it! They deserved it!" His disposition was less and less evil mastermind by the second. He collapsed on the ground. "It was the only way to kill them all!"
"Kill who? Black court vampires? Was this about vampires?" Emerald demanded.
"They turned my sister! They killed her and made her a monster..." His voice softened. "It was the only way to kill them... I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it myself..."
"There are other ways to go about your revenge than killing innocent people," said Max. He had no compassion for the man. Hall was a killer, and he had lost.
Hall just shook his head. "They're powerful. They were looking for me. I had to act quickly. I needed to take a short cut." He blubbered something incoherently.
"We should call the wardens. They'll take care of him," said Jack.
"Do we need to involve them?" asked Max. "I'd rather just be done with this."
"We need to involve them. It's what they're for. I can get a hold of them. Plus, they'll need to help her." He pointed to the woman still looking out into space and not moving. "I think he did something to her mind. Even they might not be able to help her, but we have to hope..."
Max took a deep breath. It hurt. Bad. "Okay. Lets get out of here for now, though."
"One more thing," said Jack. "I think the ghoul was working for the vampires."
"I figured that," said Emerald. "That's why he was hunting Hall down."
"Yeah," said Jack. "Where does that put us?"
"Does it matter?" said Max. "Now come on. We've got to leave before somebody asks why a barge is sinking in the middle of the docks here."
They climbed into the van and drove away.
