The train just jumped. I'm sure of it. The Zipsum is still chittering in a panic and the others begin climbing outside the train car to deal with whatever it is that has the Zipsum so spooked.
A voice like a thousand tormented souls resonates through everything in that car, including my own body.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are..."
Moses begins, well, tunneling through the roof. There's no way I'm dragging my creaking bones through a window. As if to answer my thoughts, a terrible howl, like the voice of the void beyond fills me with a terror I had only ever expected to feel once; the split second before my untimely death. The roof of the car is torn open like wrapping parchment, and I see the source of my doom. The body of a woman hangs suspended in the body of a creature that defies everything in existence. To gaze upon its grotesque form was to know the face of malice. Kiyoshi bares his sword, roaring his challenge into the demon's face, and his courage brings me back to my senses.
The tone was set, and the battle raged for what felt like an eternity. It repeatedly attempted to pull the very souls from our bodies, throwing our forms about like rag dolls while everything we threw at it seemed to only make it stronger... and larger. Hordes of eyeless dead hounded us from all sides, aiding their creator in its attempts to destroy us. A little green fireball seems to take care of them rather effectively... isn't that the Zipsum? No matter, it's too fast to focus on anyway.
The battle climaxes as the demon tears the car free from the rest of the train and hurls it, with us ON it, into a nearby building. As the car impacts, my body is thrown clear- through a plate glass window. Darkness overcomes me.
Water. Its raining. The water burns my whole body. Why? I'm covered in lacerations... some of them still full of glass shards. The memory of the battle with the demon floods back into my mind. The car landed lower than me. Go down. I slowly rise to my feet, barely noticing the screaming people running all around me. I make my way to a stairwell, jammed with panicked people. Best stay out of there old man, you're libel to get trampled. And so, I wait, bleeding.
Then, a figure runs up the stairs. Kiyoshi? Then a pink-haired girl. I know her from... somewhere... A heavy tromping heralds the passing of Moses, hot on the tails of the first two. I look down at my blood-soaked clothing, wondering just how bad the damage is. Well, at least they were courteous enough to clear a path. I ascend the stairs after them. Kiyoshi says something about "The Enemy" which stuns the pink-haired girl. Is that what we face? The girl looks at me over the shoulder of Moses as he scoops her up. She looks stunned, confused, and... terrified?
The battle rages on on the rooftop. It seems every time we strike it, the creature grows in size. The building starts collapsing, taking the demon and Moses with it. A voice on the wind calls to me, beckoning me. I listen, then a flash of light, the crack of thunder, and the smell of ozone fills my senses.
I'm standing in a snow-covered courtyard with a fire and a teapot in the middle. A feathered face appears in the smoke of the fire, and asks me to sit down and have some tea. Wasn't I just in a battle? Am I dead? The face and I begin chatting. It tests my resolve, tempting me with the easy way out.
The easy way out? Aren't I already dead? Hmph, I guess not. In any case, the riddle of peace is one I intend to solve.
"Yes, the riddle of peace. Your companions are important pieces of the puzzle, Mokuzai."
My companions. Are they alright? Has the demon destroyed them? Have I failed so soon?
"You could bring them here, Mokuzai. A priest would bring even unworthy souls to a holy place if they needed help and shelter."
A point well made, spirit- face- whatever you are.
"They are marked Mokuzai. Marked as you are. Take them to the chantry. Learn of the Kata Kariana, if your people have not forgotten."
My pride stings at the comment. We would NOT have forgotten.
A flash, the crack, the ozone- I am standing on a different rooftop next to Una. Good, she is safe.
In the distance, Goshi's armies are bombarding the demon with everything they have. Still it lives?!
The rest of my companions are scattered about around me in various states of repair. Kiyoshi and the Zipsum look like a pair of mis-matched corpses. No, there is life in them yet.
Rei looks at me suspiciously, "Where did you go? And how did you get here? Did your staff... eat you?"
I shake my head no. Dear child, there is so much you should learn.
The atmosphere fills with a sense of looming doom, drawing my gaze back to the demon in the distance. We must leave, NOW!
Moses begins tearing into a nearby wall, looking for an escape route. "Wait!" He stops, looking at me confused. I look at my companions. "Will you trust me?" Only Moses answers. "Take my staff Una, fly to the southern forest. I will safeguard the rest of us." With that, I open my will to the staff again, drawing all my compaions save Una with me.
The blinding light, the deafening crack, the stink of ozone.
Sages please, let this work.
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Ruins
Cities
4 comments:
Very nice job Mario! You've got a knack for getting the important bits in while keeping the pace up and giving us Mokuzai's perspective. I especially like the last line.
Mokuzai is definitely a good add to the party. We didn't really have anyone 'wise' in the group. It fills an important niche and balances the feeling of the group out nicely.
I concur wholeheartedly. We were desperately in need of a curmudgeon!
Everybody needs a little curmudgeonity sometimes.
Yeah, we're sort of short on good decision-makers...for any number of reasons. As usual, I think all the posts are great.
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