The Ascent of Zariel, Volume I, Chapter 2 - Part Two

''Continued from The Ascent of Zariel, Volume I, Chapter 2 - Part One


 * The Commons - 


 * An open cobblestone plaza in the midst of Whisperwood Hold, surrounded by a tavern and other low buildings. Broad thoroughfares lead off in several directions. Castle Row angles north toward Whisperwood Keep, the seat of power in Cataract. Temple Row takes travelers toward the marble-domed Temple of the Shining Ones. Hanging Row, to the south, is where criminal punishments are meted out to the wicked and unworthy. Market Row, with its stalls and shops, extends to the west.


 * It is a cool night. The air is stagnant, not stirring with the slightest breeze. The skies are perfectly clear.

Medea just blinks. "None of my business? Well, no, but when has -that- ever mattered to me?" she asks, giving a laugh. "And would you make quick with the fire?" she calls to the priests, even as she raises her sword to swing at Zariel again, this time coming in for a low, upward slash. "I'm getting -bored- here." The rink-tink-tink of crossbow bolts against her armor is largely ignored.

Once again, Linnael casts his ice shields, deflecting most of the spears again, and ignoring the ones that merely graze him. "Do me a favor and finish /rescuing/ him so I can lower that shield please?" he calls to Zariel, befor icy water whip shoots out again, aiming for the joints of his own assailants, hoping to freeze them.

Again - absolutely nothing hits Zariel. Not even a 'tink' off of his armor. Nada. Untouchable. Not even Medea. "/You're/ bored?" he remarks, "Seriously, these guys are total pussies. And /you/ can't even hit me. Try the Stronghold, the Shining Ones there are much stronger. I bet you could take on Kazmazran all by yourself, strong babe like you." He winks, before looking over to the Guards. "Chill out, will you, I was protecting your King. The mage was helping me, and this one -" he jerks his head Medea's way- "is probably going to leave pretty soon here."

The guards may be ineffectual, but darn if they're not doing their best. Six try hard to keep Linnael busy, however many he swats down, and a dozen more fight the demons....

But the Shining Ones have broken through the King's icy entrapment. And there's little but a surprised royal yelp and some sulphuric smoke as the King and six of the Shining ones disappear.

"Old what's-his-face in the basement," Dea agrees cheerfully. She blinks innocently at Zariel then, even as a couple crossbow bolts are deflected by her armor -- seems she's just ignoring them completely by now. "I think you're right, you know. It seems like an awful good time to leave. Toodles." She fingerwaves at the other demon, then spreads her wings and takes off, skimming toward the throne room's exit.

Linnael deflects the attackers coming after him with ice, cursing under his breath as he pulls on a cloak and... disappears. A tiny rodent running for the exit practically blossoms in ice, freezing any guards that don't get out of the way.

That plain courtier with the brown eyes and brown hair appears in the door of the throne room, eyes wide at the chaos. He draws the longsword hanging at his hip, for all that it seems largely decorative, and demands of everyone at large, "What in the world is going on?" He holds his ground there at the entrance, evidently not prepared to give way until he gets an answer.

"The king!" shout a few of the guardsmen, abruptly deprived of a mage to try and hit. There's melting ice structures *everywhere*, from spears to walls to very slick floors. There's even an ice wall around the throne, with a small hole melted into the back of it. And four of the Shining Ones are on the floor, apparently with broken knees, while six swordsmen and twelve crossbowmen are trying to take down any foreigners left in the hall. "These demons have taken our King!"

"Son of a BITCH," Zariel plants his palm on his forehead with a growl, "This is complete /bullshit!/" He spots the courtier, then, "The Shining Ones just kidnapped your King! Get out of here before you're caught in the confusion!" His wings are out, by the way - looking like he usually does rather than his human form. He's also completely ignoring all the crossbow bolts that either miss him or bounce right off of him (with a metallic 'tink' sound even though he doesn't /appear/ to be wearing metal). He makes to grab one of the broken-kneed Shiny-guys by the throat and lift him. "Where'd they take him?" he demands, utterly pissed off.

The little (well, relatively speaking) priest grins maniacally at Zariel, even as he dangles. "You think...I could fear you...more than the Father, false betrayer?" he asks, trying (albeit rather uselessly) to get free, as the eighteen guardsmen keep determinedly attempting to arrest the remaining intruders.

"The Bloodwalk!" Linnael calls out in an absurdly tinny voice, trying to run by the courier. "Try the Bloodwalk!"

Medea, on the other hand, is skimming toward the exit to the throne room, necessarily low because of the ceiling and all, her absurdly large sword still in hand. She's still got enough space to go over people's heads, but probably isn't anywhere close to out of their reach.

"Enough of this madness!" the courier yells fiercely. "What are you -doing-, guardsmen? Your first duty is to the safety of your king, not wasting your bolts on foes beyond you. Stop this at once and go -find him-." He eyes Zariel with more than a little distaste, sneering at the demonic visage. "...Anyone who opens their eyes in this rotten kingdom knows the Shining Ones are vicious and cruel. Perhaps these are in league with them, but they hardly need anyone else's help to commit nefarious deeds. Go find your king, and I'll handle -this- one." He points his sword at Zariel.

"Fine," Zariel drops the Shining One on his broken legs and turns. "I told you to leave before you get hurt," he growls at the brown-haired man, "Buzz off." He fwuffs his wings, "You can't take me any more than they can, and I'm trying to SAVE your King." He takes to the air and makes for the exit in the same fashion as Medea.


 * Cut ahead to Catacombs (Hey, the pose was there, don't ask me)

Down at the bottom of the Bloodwalk, Linnael is standing, three inches high, atop the head of a Shining Fanatical popsicle. Licking it. "Doesn't taste very good."


 * Cut ahead again to Black Lake


 * Bloodwalk - 


 * Stalactites like bloody daggers hang from the ceiling of this broad cavern. The jagged stone teeth are engraved with glowing purple sigils, which are reflected in the softly rippling surface of a black lake.

This vast cavern is relatively empty...perhaps because all the acolytes and demon keepers were out trying to keep the adventurers from getting this far. Only two remain; Lightsake, and his lieutenant Kalam. And the black lake around which they stand, which tonight is giving off a rather unpleasant looking purple-greenish glow.

Through the passage, Linnael walks in, still rather under-sized. He has a confident walk as he approaches despite that, however. "Oh, hello there. We're needing to talk, fellows."

"That's an understatement," Zariel remarks, a soft growl behind his voice and his eyes solidly black as he, too, approaches, "We /really/ need to talk." He's got his bat out, firmly holding the handle and leaving the end resting in the other hand. He peers at the black lake for a moment, quirking an eyebrow at it.

Medea, sword in hand of course, scoots in at the tail end of the group. She doesn't have any comment to make, evidently, perhaps just following along for the heck of it. Again.

Last of all, a lone man dressed in the uniform of the king's guards runs in, panting and wide-eyed. He's been chasing the group, at a distance, the whole way from the entrance of the catacombs. "Where's His Majesty?!" he demands, of... well, seemingly the entire room at large. He's a rather nondescript fellow with a tangle of sandy blond hair, notable really only for his considerably muscular size.

Father Lightsake takes a golden goblet studded with garnets, and dips it into the surface of the lake. He dips his fingers into the water, approaching the group. "Indeed, we do need to talk," he says, flicking water with ritualized gesture at every member of the group in turn. "Cudgels...how simple. Why do you seek the King in the sacred caverns?"

"Because you know where he is," Mini-Linn says, stopping the water that's about to land on him and sending it flying back toward Kalam, like a loogie. "So, are we going to do this easy or hard?"

"He'll pick the hard way," Zariel remarks, sidestepping the water, "I already got a dose of your unholy water earlier, thanks, don't need any more burns tonight. So where'd your boys take King Trueguard? And how hard am I going to have to bash your skull to get the real answer out of you?"

"...Hey..." Dea says, but just blinks as the water's flicked on her, and waves a hand vaguely, as if to fend off further dousing. "No wet t-shirt contests here in the sacred caverns, alright?" She blinks and looks down at herself. "...Okay, so I'm not wearing a t-shirt. So sue me."

The guard quickly jumps out of the way as well, scowling bemusedly at Lightsake. "That don't look like no normal water to me," he suggests suspiciously. "What -is- all this? This man has the King?"

Lightsake waves a hand around the caverns. "I am sure you will see we have no kings here," he says, as Kalam steps forward. "And as you saw, the young lady was quite unharmed. A blessing, no more."

Linnael sighs and shakes his head, before raising a hand. "We choose the hard way, then," he says as a glob of water lifts from the lake and heads for Lightsake's legs, in order to try and freeze them there.

"Medea's evil," Zariel points out, "Of course it didn't hurt her." He smirks at Linnael's tactics, then, "You covered my targets in ice, Tiny Tim. How am I supposed to systematically break him if I can't start with his toes and work my way up?" He shakes his head with a sigh, "Your Shining Ones kidnapped the King. You're bound to know where they took him. Somewhere else in the Bloodwalk? The Stronghold out in the desert? Somewhere else entirely? Come on, boys, spill it before I start swinging." He steps closer to Kalam, seeing as Linn has claimed the other one, patting his bat on his hand, "Or don't. I'm kinda pissed off, could do with letting off some steam."

Medea blinks at Lightsake and fans herself with one hand. "Quite refreshing, yes, thank you. I was a bit warm from the trip through the caverns." She grins at Zariel then, seeming to be unconcerned with the ice being slung around again. "I think what he's trying to say is... Thank you, Mario, but our princess is in another castle!" Laughter is stifled afterward.

The guard gives Medea a blank stare that is completely sincere in its total lack of understanding. "We en't looking for a princess," he points out, evidently not the sharpest crayon in the toolshed. "And..." Glancing between Lightsake and Zariel, he admits, "Kind of easier to believe the Father here..."

"Well done," nods Lightsake. "I do not have the King. I certainly would not have him *here*. This Walk is the work of centuries of patience. Kings are mayflies by comparison." He doesn't flinch as the water comes for him, but chants softly; not quite ice, but not quite water, what hits his legs is ...well, a kind of oddly glowing slushie. "The powers of our organization are quite strong here, mageling. And no one is going to be intimidated by torture, who has risen as highly as I."

Linnael frowns. "I'd knock you into that lake," he says. "But... that would do me no good."

"Risen to what, exactly?" Zariel asks, laughing, "Every halfway powerful person from our world comes here to smack you around about half a dozen times a shot. You're nothing. Just a stepping stone for people like us to gain power." When Linnael mentions the lake, though, Zariel regards it. "Linn...," he starts slowly, "Would you be able to move the water so we could take a look in the lake? Just in case, you know?" Medea's reference earns a snicker and a murmured, "Geek."

"Hey, I had to listen to that stupid freaking game six hours a night for two weeks straight," Dea replies to Zariel, snickering a bit herself. "I still get the music stuck in my head..." And then, what does she do? Right. She starts humming the aforementioned music, and just looking back and forth between Lightsake and the group she followed in. It's like a verbal tennis match, folks. The guard stands there, blinking stupidly at Lightsake's words. "Torture... risen highly? Uhhoh," he mumbles to himself. "What're you doing with that there magic water, Father?"

Lightsake shakes his head. "It amuses you to pretend you are something you are not. I know the guards quite well by now, you see. And a true demon has nothing to fear." He laughs, somewhat cruelly. "I have taught an angel to deceive. Truly you honor me. But let us speak of more important matters. You want something from me. What are you going to offer me?"

Linnael rolls his eyes. "What, do you want Goblin Gold?" he asks.

"An angel?" Zariel tilts his head, looking between Lightsake and the guard and regarding the latter for a long moment, "Riiight, anyway - I don't make offers. Just tell me what you want and we can work something out from there. But you have to deliver on your end of the bargain first."

Medea also eyes the guard curiously, her head tilting quizzically. "...He seems to be missing, you know..." She jerks her thumb at her wings. "Some plumage." A slight shrug's given.

The guard colors, looking down at his feet. Quietly, he murmurs, "..mebbe I'm not a real guard, but I'm no angel, sir. Angels are good, angels don't go bout thieving people's things. I just.. I wanna protect the king." Obstinately, the muscular man folds his arms over his chest. "And that's who this is about. You best give him back."

Lightsake smiles. "No. This is about the false demon, and about very ancient traditions. Will you receive my blessing, then?"

"Eat shit," Linnael says, shaking a tiny fist.

Zariel laughs and waggles a finger at Linnael, "That's my line, Teeny." He grins at Lightsake, then, "I'm afraid you're mistaken - I really am a demon. I'm just a demon who got aligned with Good. It's a very long story about how I got to this point, but I'd be happy to tell you all about it after you give us back the King."

"Good, evil, purple, cashew," Dea comments, shrugging. "Either way, I'm thinking the King isn't here, and I doubt the good Father is going to give any straight answers." She giggles. "It's in his contract."

"Blessing?" The guard backs up a step, casting a fearful glance around the hellish area. "Umm. If the King really en't here... maybe we should just go..." He licks his lips nervously.

Father Lightsake waves a hand. "Let me make this very simple," he says. "There are a few things I would like to determine. After that, I will name you a price. Pay it, and I will make your work much easier." A brief, unpleasant smile. "No one will be asked to bleed, or to die."

Linnael growls, then lifts his hand above his head. Water rises from the lake as he does this, slowly, as if he was trying to pull the entire lake was being pulled up. "Get out of here!" he yells. "You aren't fit for this, guardsman!"

"Oh, /now/ you mess with the water," Zariel rolls his eyes, before regarding Lightsake, "I don't have any control over the mage, so you might want to make this quick seeing as I have no idea what he's up to at the moment. What do you want to know, and what do you want for your price? And remember, once the price is named you have to give up the King first. You're the evil one out of the two of us."

"One can be evil and trustworthy," Dea offers helpfully, blinking innocently. "Just like one can be good and deceptive..." She eyes Linnael sidewise, one brow raising.

The guardsman squeals at the sight of that tsunami. He demonstrates what he's made of by promptly turning and fleeing like mad for the exit of the cavern.

Lightsake and Kalam remain as the wave of unholy water rises to engulf them. One might guess that...perhaps, Lightsake meant it when he said torture and death had lost all terror.

Linnael pulls a hand back to undo the clasp of his cloak, shooting up to full size, before bring his hands together and spreading them apart, trying, it would seem, to lift the water far enough over head to see what is on the bottom. "Mm. See anything down theree, Zariel?"

"You couldn't do this when I suggested it?" Zariel remarks, shaking his head, "Really." He looks inside, "Nope, nothing. Guess the weird glow is from something else." He shrugs, looking back to Lightsake, "So, you were saying?"

Medea also peers into the bottom of the emptied lake. "...Wait, wait, don't drop the water yet, I think I see something," she says, waving a hand at Linnael absently, and continuing to study the bottom of the pool.

Linnael rolls his eyes at Medea, and has a bit of water spit out at her, harmlessly, before dropping it back into the lake bed.

Zariel blinks at Medea. "Right. And monkeys'll fly outta your butt," he says, before once again turning to Lightsake. "I don't want to be down here all night. Talk. You said you wanted to determine something and the you'd name your price. So get to it, would you?"

"Hey!" Dea says, again using her hand to try to ward off further watering. "I'm not a -plant-, you know." She giggles then. "And I did see something. I saw the bottom of the lake." Her head's tilted at Zariel, and she just -blinks-. "...Wow, I haven't heard that in ages."

"You have made certain I cannot," shrugs Lightsake. "Good luck finding the King. You have no chips left to bargain with me."

Linnael nods, then steps back. "Take care, then," he says a bit dryly. "Let's go, Zariel. "We'll search again, soon."

Zariel sighs. "I hate the Shining Ones with a passion," he grumbles, starting for the exit, "Really, I just want to..." He wrings his hands as though strangling someone.

Medea grins. "So do it," she calls after Zariel. "It's fun." She snickers, and lets the other two get some distance ahead before starting out herself.

Linnael shakes his head. "See you back in NEcro," he says, before disappearing.


 * City Center - 


 * The quirky architecture of the mist-laden city of Necromundus is distinguished primarily by the absence of many right angles. Wooden-slats climb walls that are rectangular cubes, but the lines from ground to gable form rather oblong angles, giving everything from the dominant clock tower to the Purgatory Tavern a rather unstable appearance.


 * Ghostly entities of many shapes and sizes can often be seen traveling the narrow, fog-shrouded streets, preparing to resurrect after a misadventure or accident beyond the great portals that lead to strange and distant realms.


 * The paths head out in four directions from here. To the north lies the Boneway, and the shopping centers. To the west, the residential districts. To the south are darker paths through Hard Luck Road. Finally, to the east is the portal plaza, the dim glow showing bright even here.


 * It is a quite cold night. The air is stagnant, not stirring with the slightest breeze. Dark puffy clouds hang low in the sky.

Zariel taters in, before tucking away the glowy blue spud and rubbing at his face as he walks westwards. "One week and five days," he murmurs to himself, "I'm totally fucked..."

Linnael shakes his head. "We'll find him," he says. "Don't worry about that."

"That's not my deadline to /find/ him, that's my deadline to save his soul," Zariel points out, "It's been two and a half weeks and my progress is going /backwards/..." His wings start to twitch, "You know how I said I have a lot of reasons for doing this? A lot of them are starting to look like they're not worth this. I just got a King kidnapped. God only knows what they're doing to the poor guy, and it's because I got distracted with the sword-wielding bitch."

Linnael rubs his forehead. "Say that and you've already lost," he points out.

"I lost before I started," Zariel says, "I just want to find the guy and make sure he's all right at this point."

Linnael smiles. "We'll do that, then," he says. "No worries about that."

"And then I'll fail my quest and everything will go back to normal," Zariel remarks with a sigh, "Except I'll be the Descendants' punching bag, but at least it'll be me instead of random people who got caught up in this shit."

Linnael closes his eyes. "You should get some sleep," he says.

Zariel shakes his head, "It's not going to happen. Not tonight." Another wing-twitch, "I feel like I'm shaking so hard I'll just fall apart like a card house."

Linnael nods slowly. "Then... go get drunk, maybe? That might help."

The demon laughs, "I've certainly got enough booze at the house. I'll consider it." Zariel continues on westward, "Thanks for the help, Linn. I owe you big time. You ever need anything from me, you know where I'm usually at. And if I'm not there you can pull me out of thin air. Take care of yourself."

Linnael gives the demon a grin. "I will," he says.

Back to The Ascent of Zariel, Volume I, Chapter 2 - Part One

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