Chapters In a run down tavern dead in the center of the city of Pandevra, everyone was drinking, being thrown out and being merry. All except two figures in the corner at a small table. They had been there all night, drinking and mumbling between themselves, they seemed to be complaining about taking a new "job" so soon, whatever that meant. The waiting girl had noticed their choice in drink to be expensive, but they didn't even flinch at the over blown price. Though, she did not wish to stay, or cared if they COULD pay.
The first, and most intimidating of the two, was Acillatem. A huge Gnoll with light gray fur, clad in black leather armor with creases on the chest that made it look as though a mouth was screeching like a devil from the nine hells. Wrapped around his left fore-arm over his vambrace was a spiked chain, and at the end of it, a ring with 4 knives looped into it. Upon his back sat his bow, a twisted thing of red metal and a string made of silk from a tomb spider, and strong enough to hold all 260 lbs of the Gnoll if needed. He was a seeker, a tracker, a master with the bow, and able to imbue it with properties both magic and demonic. He was relatively free of scars unlike most gnolls, due to him being...Ejected from his pack soon after his birth.
The other, and equally unusual, was a Drow, a dark elf with silver hair and red eyes. The name he adopted was "Black Shook", after a ghost dog with red eyes. On his right arm, affixed to a gauntlet, were four light green blades about 16 inches long at a backward angle, and drenched in the poison of a green dragon. He was a druid, a speaker to and controller of nature,and as his catalyst he carried a staff of white wood with a moon inscribed on the tip. Upon his lean build was a light chest piece made of well kept bones, held together by runes of binding, but it was concealed with a black cloak with silver lining the edges..
At the other end of the tavern, was their third member, looking at a job board, was their leader, Cyto. A dragon born of tan scales and huge build. He was adorned in red armor of overlapping scales, that ended in razors. He carried two heavy weapons. The first, a black great sword with a web design across the blade, which imbued it with a thin and wickedly sharp edge. The other, a massive trident of red metal and the blades of the trident arched inward slightly, with a large serrated blade in the middle. He fought with one weapon at a time, to add as much force into the strikes as he could. usually enough to cleave a drider's carapace clean in half, or launch his trident 100 yards.
"Hey boys!" he called out, startling everyone in the bar. "I got one, easy money, so stop your bitchin' "
The Drow and Gnoll turned to each other "That's exactly what you said about the barbarian tribe in the north! We didnt finish that job until 2 weeks after!" The Gnoll resigned first, and with a sigh that turned into a wicked grin "So what do we get to kill?"
"Nothing to special, a few orcs and kobalds deep in a cave not to far from here. HA! The same one Snaggle Tooth was thinking about staying in to skimp on paying for a room" Cyto replied with a chuckle and a swig of the drink 'Snaggle Tooth' paid for. "The buggers are really deep though" and with a glance at shook, he asked "Can your cat and mutt find 'em", referring to a panther and wolf shook...kept around
"Most definitely"
"Great, we leave tomorrow morning, and last one ready has to carry the loot back" Cyto called with a wave of his hand as he walked for his room. at the top of the stairs he called to Acillatem "Don't go and give all the pay to some girl who thinks you are doggy again"
Shook smiled as he similarly went to his room. The Gnoll could not help but chuckle as he remembered the face of a modified mother, then a .....grateful one
The cave was unspectacular, and they arrived soon after they got up. As soon as they got there, Shook summoned his wolf, to find the freshest scent, and Acillatem went to work on tracking in the sand.
"Something isn't right" he said with a whiff of the air, "I don't know this smell, and the hoof prints are to small to be a horse, and to big to be a goat, what the hell is down there?!"
"Doesnt matter, we are here to kill orcs, thats it" Shook said as he patted his wolf. All three of them were looking for a fight, so they soon forgot about the hoof prints.
Cyto was at the back of the pack, examining the map they had gotten and the location the targets were supposed to be. On the map it was a circular dug out, with 3 entrances, all of which were accessible from their location.
"Shook! you keep going strait and wait for us to attack! Tem! You are going to the right, same for you. Im goin' left so when they try and run..." He emphasized his point by taking out is great sword. The two nodded to him and took off.
The Gnoll reached his location first, and readied his bow. The arrows he crafted were particularly nasty, if he said so himself. They were made of a green dragons scales, jagged and would feel as though they were acid. The orcs, 8 of them, were around a small fire and the kobalds were in a small cage, waiting to be eaten. He noticed Shook get into place next, but he seemed distracted. Was he holding something?! The hell is that color orange with green mixed in it? 'It doesn't mater', he thought. He still had his "pets" to fight for him, and he was creating a wall of thorned vines as thick as the mast of a small ship. Was that thing moving?!
The gnoll saw Cyto get into place, and with a nod, was cleared to fire, and he savored their screams! The first arrow caught an orc in the throat, ripping it to shreds. The second and third were fired before the orcs knew they were being attacked, and took another one twice in the back. The scales worked their magic, causing the wounds to foam poison and bleed profusely. The kobalds were cowering in their cave, and something darted past them, the panther. The 200 lbs animal flung itself at the orc closest, and began raking out its innards as Shook fired thorns and whipping vines from the very ground they stood on.
As predicted, the remaining 5 orcs fled to the one place they weren't being attacked from....Until they noticed a 300 lbs wall of metal, scales and rage open its mouth. A cone of blistering cold fired forth, killing the first 2 by freezing them all the way to their hearts. He rushed forward, cleaved though the ice and continued into the third orc, making it half way though him. The last two turned around and tried to run again, only to run into knives being flung on the end of a chain at eye level, but not blinding them before the noticed green blades pierce their sides. They began to jerk violently as the poison went to work
The kobalds didn't know whether to celebrate or piss themselves
"I did nothing!" shook pleaded "im just as shocked as you"
"Bull shit!" the other two yelled, angered by his lie
"Remember when you made that crow talk? It wouldn't shut up!" Tem yelled, and began holding his ears. two jobs before, they were looking for cockatrice in a mountain pass. no one knew where it was, only statues remained of those who did, frozen where they stood. Shook had cast a minor spell to allow others to understand animals, and so, they asked a small crow. the thing had a shrill and scratchy voice, and ranted on and on about its flock and other nonsense.
"I WANNA GO HOME! I HATE THOSE STUPID DOGS!" The filly continued weeping.This, caught the attention of the other two, and Cyto, puzzled asked "What dogs?" In between sobs the filly said "The..Diamond... Dogs" She was beginning to calm down
"Do you have a name little girl?" at least Cyto thought it was a girl, by its voice
"Yes..im..Orange Seed" She said, only sniffling now
" Hello miss, i am called Black Shook, and this is Cyto" he waved his hand "and that's Mutt" he said with a snicker
"I heard that!" Tem said, he was going though what the orcs had
"That's Acillatem, where are you from?"
"Ponyville" she answered with no hesitation, "in Equestria"
"oohhkkaayy, and where is that, how did you get here? Cyto asked
"I don't know" she hung her head "it was those stupid dogs"
"Which way did you come from then" Shook asked sitting next to his panther, who was grooming herself
"From a tunnel near where you found me" she said with a smile and a little blush of embarrassment
"Then lets go that way" Shook said while scooping her up, before setting her on the panthers back, who they passionately named 'claws'. Cyto had gathered up the heads of the leaders in a sack and was following. Tem was still looking for SOMETHING worth his time, oblivious to the fact that they left
"What about mutt?" Orange seed asked "Why are you leaving him, isnt he your friend?"
"He'll catch up" Shook replied,annoyed
She did not stop asking questions the entire way back. With 'whats this, whats that, which way is up, how can you walk on two legs, why does the kitty follow you, why are there webs on your sword, why is that around your arm'....Tem was more than annoyed, suggesting to leave her and collect the bounty.
"We can not do that! and leave a little girl?! No way!" Cyto said, and Shook nodded. Cyto had the best sense of right and wrong, due to his race not naturally being evil. Shook was absolutely hell bent on getting her home, which surprised the others, because he was usually the most cruel. gnoll are viscous, but even they FEAR drow, who's entire culture is about clawing for power though sacrificing others and causing pain, with no sense of remorse
But this little 'pony', she called herself, had him wrapped around her fing...hoof.
'Whats gotten into him' Cyto thought as he watched Shook, a being he knows to be cruel and heartless, play with this 'pony' like it were his child. He had watched him burn the bodies of his dead family, without even flinching. Shook had moved to the surface around when Cyto was born, and they were friends from the start. cyto prepossessed becoming a sell-sword group, after shook lost his family to an illness known as mummy-rot. He had nothing left to loose, so he came.
He then remembered when Tem came into his life as well. They were both 15, but behaved very differently. Cyto had been brought up with discipline and honor. Tem, had grown up on his own, in the wild, and it had shaped him into a twisted and uncaring thing. Cyto had just finished training for the winter season, and was returning home to find a hyena jumping through Shooks freshly smashed window. he went to confront the beast, and when he entered the house, it stood on two legs and shrieked "my house, MY HOUSE!" as it charged.
he took a step to the side and put his arm around its neck, and putting his other arm under the crook of it arm, he swept his foot under its, and sent it flying with its own force. as its back collided with the ground, he jumped on it, restraining its arms behind it. it was weak, as if malnourished and it wreaked of garbage. it trashed like it was being burned. " you are not going anywhere, now calm down, i want to talk with you" he said. it stopped, "dont lie to me" it said, its tone sad. "i be told that first. they lie, they put i in cage, and use i to train dogs to hunt gnoll scent". Cyto didnt know how to respond. he released the skinny gnoll, and rose saying "stay in the house, ill get its owner".
They had started their way down the path Orange said she came from. Acillatem nodded that she was correct, which was all the information they needed. The passage sloped downward slightly, and there were a few ruts in the floor. After and hour of walking the came across, cart rails?
"The hell is this?" Tem asked
"They are rails mutt, i knew you were dumb, but not this blatantly so" Shook snickered, he was still cradling Orange, who had gone to sleep some time before, saying she came strait. Tem began sniffing the ground around the shoddily built cart, along with claws and the wolf.
"So many new scents...I cant make up from down, but it smells like wet dog and leather"
"Then we keep going, the new sell may be those dogs she had been talking about" Cyto replied, checking his weapons. These dogs sounded like slavers to him.
Shook's eyes narrowed and his shoulders went up in anger. He wanted them dead, eviscerated, tortured in front of their families for doing this to Orange, taking her from her home, on one of their holidays!
"Speed up" he said, quickening his pace in wanton revenge. He would make sure she was asleep for this though, not to traumatize her even more.
Then everything was black, with a sound like that of a sail unfolding, and Shook and Orange had been engulfed by a darkmantle. A hideous squid-like creature 10 feet across at its arms with webbing between its tentacles. It had clung to the ceiling, to drop down on distracted or weak prey. That's all it took for it to bring its mouth into play directly on its preys head, which it tried, only to be stopped with a screech all together demonic and full of fury.
Tem began howling, and his armor, began to screech with him, drawing upon the fury of the nine hell's it had been imbued with, to immobilize the beast with the most primal of fears...of being burned alive. Tem then enacted the magic he had been saving all day. His hands began to throw flames around his bow, and it began contorting the flames into hellish faces, and the arrow he had knocked,began to crack, and then exploded to be replaced with something entirely different. It looked like and arrow, but the tip had been replaced with hell fire in the shape of a dagger, 17 inches long. The shaft was long, black, and had runes of fire and anguish carved into it, and the feathers seemed to be made of smoke. A twisted grin began to spread across his face, which flickered in the elemental fire. He let fly, the arrow struck, and the beast screamed, then he finished his spell. Barely audible, he whispered a single word 'Asche' and the darkmantle violent became engulfed in flames hot enough to melt metal.
"Damn....I love that one" Cyto said, he rested against the wall when he saw Tem draw his bow, for he knew too well what was to come
The gnoll smirked "primal hell fire and fear, give physical form as an arrow, only harming those I wish to harm". He finished to see Shook get up from the pile of ashes, covered in soot, and he did not look happy. The cave was full of the sound of crackling fire and weeping. The power Tem used was not a quiet one, and it had startled Orange to the point of tears.
"Uh oh" the said as the drow approached
"Didn't you have anything quieter?! You scared her half to death!!" Shook screamed loud enough to be heard over a crying orange.
"Back off 'im shook" Cyto said, moving away from the wall. "Scared is better than dead". At this Shook seamed to calm a little, and he walked over and cradled and rocked orange until she calmed down.
"The hell has gotten into him lately?" Tem asked Cyto.
"Buddy, i couldn't tell you" he said, as he began leading them down the passage.
A diamond dog lieutenant walked sluggishly down a hall, he hated giving bad reports. The last lieutenant gave one, the day he died, his body was still in the room, it was just yesterday. The lieutenant slowly pushed the door open, a massive red and gold thing, and bowed his head and stared at the ground immediately, the king was above them all, and his guards always watching
"What is it" a voice called, aggravated and un-amused. "You are interrupting my pleasant mood"
"Im sorry sir, but I bring bad news" the dog managed to squeeze out. The kings eyes narrowed "WHAT?!"
"THE LITTLE ONE WE CAPTURED, SHE GOT AWAY" he pleaded She managed to get in between the bars of her cell and... made it to the gate" the king had gotten up, his feathers ruffled. he was a diamond dog, but a very unique one. He stood above the rest, about 5 feet tall, and his skin was layered and red as a rose, and he possessed wings dark as a crows. In the middle of his skull sat two horns, the front one being larger and arching forward in a jagged line, he was a dragon half breed. He smiled, crooked teeth showing, as he murmured "Good...a hunt" under his breath he had been looking forward to using the gate, he needed an excuse to...expand..his kingdom, which now numbered in the thousands.
"Get a team together !" he yelled at the whelp " Invade and bring back a slave"
"YES SIR!" the dog yelped, his voice cracking as he ran from the room.
A crooked smile spread upon the kings face, before he yelled "The kingdom of Soprahn expands today!"
"All hail Soprahn!" his guards called in unison.
"Is this it?" Cyto complained, they had reached a dead end, but at the end was a large piece of pitch black stone, that reflected light as though it were a mirror.
"Yes, i came from that" Orange said, pointing at the obsidian.
"Oh....Of course...Nothing can make sense" Shook said
Tem had begun to froth at the mouth, cackling like a hyena the way only his race can. "What's near us!" Cyto asked as soon as he saw Tem doing that. That was what he did whenever he smelled a battle.
"The dog smell from earlier! Oh how i want to eat one!" he cackled, and he wasn't bluffing. Gnoll's can eat almost anything that was once alive: shell, organ, and bone.
He was right, as dogs began to pour out of little holes near the roof, but still on the wall. They were about the size of goblins, and they had weapons like that of humans, which meant the either could work a forge, or were good at stealing from something that could. They continued to pour out, surrounding the company 16 to one, orange included. finally, the largest of them stepped out of the crystal, he was about 5 feet tall, but of scrawny build, but had a head looking like it belonged to a gnoll it was so massive. It screeched "Kill and return the slave!" and the little things rushed the group
"Realy?" Cyto asked as he simply stepped on one, reducing it to a pile of broken bones and blood with a satisfying 'crunch'. The others kept coming at him, though and their little weapons did little against his heavy armor,some even getting caught and cut in the razors . He laughed at them, and picked one up with one hand and watched it try and swing at his snout.
"Is this the best you got?" he said before crushing it in his hand "Tem! Eat as many as you like!" he yelled before launching the carcass at the leader, almost breaking him in half as it made contact. "Puny, fragile things" he said, as he started rampaging
Tem was having a field day! His chain whipping hither and tither in his dance of mayhem and blood lust , covered in blood and little limbs that were caught in the blades. At the top of his lungs he shouted " louder! I want your families to know of the slaughter! i want to drink your children's tears!" all the while.
Shook was being surprisingly tame, restraining them on thorn branches. When his were all caught, he ducked behind his cloak and told orange "Block your eyes and ears" and she did, just before the sound of flesh ripping and blood splattering filled the room
The leader was still alive, though he was paralyzed, and watched in horror, as his troops were literally ripped limb from bloody limb. His head was so big because of an augmentation his king gave him, a telepathic link that allowed his master to see though his eyes, and the king was shocked
Outrage would come to mind, as the diamond dogs watched their king, stare through they eyes of his "visor" ,as he called those particular gifted. He began yelling orders none of his men fighting could hear, and swing at the air. He hammered the arm of his throne, an ornate thing for a dog, and tore it off. He began chewing on his hand, as he watched the ending moments of the fight.
There were twenty of the dogs still alive, and they huddled in a semblance of a defensive line. Cyto was watching and leaning on a wall, both covered in blood. Shook was playing with Orange, away from the area. Tem....he was in a frenzy, the taste and smell of fresh blood driving him. He wanted more, much more. What he also smelled excited him.....Fear, pure terror. They tasted like dirt and sweat, but he wasnt going to eat them any more. He was going to have fun. he put away his weapons, for natural ones, his claws and strength. the ones he used his entire life.
He darted forward with a twisted grin, and put his claws strait through one of them, up to his shoulder, and grabbed the one behinds throat. He squeezed with twisted glee until the vertebra pushed down, and it felt like a rag. He then stepped on the legs of the new rag doll and pulled, ripping its head off, and coating everything in a fountain of blood. He then swiped his long arm to the left, tearing three of them in half. He continued around in a spin and caught another one, trying to swing at him in his jaws. Its weapon was as sharp as a butter knife the humans trusted children with and didnt help. He chomped and spat the remainder out. the others began to surround him in a defiant last hope.
We can do this, we have him outnumbered, we will surround him and strike at once like in training. I hope he doesn't get me. Hey, what the one with the stick doing? Is he trying to touch the cieli...
Vines shot from the black stone walls, impaling the remaining dogs, before long thorns shot out, then everything retracted and a body pile was left, leaking onto the stone floor and pooling into indents. Rats had already come to enjoy a free meal
Tem became furious, Shook's plants had taken his kills! "BASTARD!" he snarled as shook walked up, Orange hiding in his cloak.
"Taking to long, we need to get her home." shook replied. as he walked right into the obsidian, and bounced off, perplexed
" HAHAHAHA THATS WHAT YOU GET" Tem cackled, and Cyto chuckled with him.
Orange felt embarrassed, she should have told him about the phrase to open the portal. She couldnt help but laugh though.
"I got a phrase to open the portal listening on a pair of gaurds, they were acting funny. They were tripping on themselves and said alot of bad words. All you gotta say is 'by the power of my will, this world i shall make mine"
At that, a whit ring formed around the edges of the obsidian, and shook tried again, with the same effect.
"What the hell?!"
"That on is still breathing"
Tem then promptly picked the leader up by his face with one hand. "I have little patience right now" he put his face closer "So, open the door before my magic friend forces it open, and I hunt down your family from your scent. I bet they will scream like mice!"
"And we promise to end you, instead of leave you here to be eaten alive of starve" Cyto chimed in.
"TRAITOR" the king screamed, startling his already nervous advisers. The room had been silent, as the king angrily looked at the wall, focusing on his visor .
He then suddenly got up, and walked towards the barracks, at a swift pace. "They have disrespected my forces. I will bring an army to bear to fix that." This king was a prideful and arrogant one. When he reached the barracks, he'd instruct the general to ready the troops. but first, he see to his mother. T that thought, he smirked. "Yes, let me wake mother. It will be a splendid surprise for her to spread her wings again"
A pile of dead orcs, ice and frozen meat, and thorns. That's what was in the middle of the room.
Watching behind a wall or thorns, was a filly. She was small, even for her age. Her coat was orange and her mane was a light green. She had gotten lost, after she got away from a pack of diamond dogs that captured her, oh how she hated them! They took her while she was playing in a field.
But this....Thing found her, and strangely, she trusted it at first sight. She had no idea what it was, or why it had a HUGE dog and cat. It just picked her up, and cradled her, like a scared child, which she was. He started to walk deeper into the cave, which scared her. He put her down when he saw these ugly things, that looked like pickles with hairy arms and legs and teeth. Then, out of no where, these vines shot up, and a massacre began. He had two friends, at least that's what they looked like. One looked like a dog that decided to walk upright, and the other one...Looked kinda like Twilight's friend Spike, but covered in spikes..they scared her...and they started yelling. She could understand them, but never let her talk
"Guess who got the most kiiilllls!" Acillatem mocked the other two " I DID !"
"That's 'cuz i let you mutt!" Cyto said, matter of factly.
" I get the most loot!!"
"What loot?! They are orcs! Everything here is rubbish!" shook yelled back.
"We need the leaders head, same for the kobalds..." Cyto said..looking at his distant kin.
"Yes!! More blood!" Tem hissed with delight. He was the most violent out of the three, being the closest to his nature and instincts. He started walking to the pile of bodies, then stopped.
"Wait...Whats that over there Shook? I saw you holding it earlier. You didn't find a gem did you?!"
"No, its some kind of....horse" He said walking back, and the other two followed.
Tem was still going on about his kills, in detail. To everyone's surprise, the horse started..crying.
Then they were more unsettled by what happened next.
" I WANNA GO HOME! I WANT TO SEE MY MOM!"
The three of them looked at each other, and in unison, Tem and Cyto
"Care to elaborate?"
