Chapter One: From the Wastes to the Dusts
"Hey, open up in there! Don't even think about running ether, we've got you surrounded!"
Oh, now isn't that a treat, She sent some royal guards to come and collect me... "Ha! Mind you, I have yet to kill one of your kind, but don't think that I won't start with you lot out there!" I shouted back. Little did they know I was already planning my escape.
And no one shall be harmed...
But that is assuming they don't attempt breaking down my door...
Knowing full well they would do no such thing, I rolled my eyes as I made my way over to where I kept my lovely twins. Deathdealers, as English Bill himself named them. Rightly so, for they made putting down anything that could be put down a walk in the park. I quickly fastened the holsters around my waist, careful not to cut the harness like the last few times with my claws. I had gotten used to them quickly, but still had a nasty habit of cutting things with them if I wasn't careful. I tightened it until it felt comfortable, then walked over to where I kept the Windstone to Cool Ranch.
I was planning to take a trip there today anyway, and these guards are just what I need to finish up what I was doing here and get going. As I picked it up off the pedestal, I stopped to take a quick look at an old photo that I kept near by. It was when I had finished building this house. High above a deep crevice, and right on the wall of the other side. It was made after I had sunk that massive dreadnaught, it's hull cutting a deep grove into the earth, and uprooting whatever was nearby. It jumped before it exploded, my guess being a last ditch effort to salvage what was left so those tin cans that were flying it could build another.
I took a closer look at my house. It was much like a huge ranch house, only that it was standing about a thousand feet above sea level. Thats not even including the depth of the crevice. It extended quite far below the surface. Then I took a good look at the bird in the picture. Eight feet tall, dark, covered in feathers, and sported some wicked red glowing eyes. Ebonus the Crow. Me. He Who Brings Death...
I chuckled at that one. Not quite as good as The Duck of Death, which has quite a nice ring to it, but good enough to scare those away from the Black Scar. A good name for this area too, considering that is the color of this place after my ghostly fires finally finished burning everything away.
Before I set the picture down, a thought occurred. The guards outside had said they had me surrounded, which would imply that...
"You all out there best get a move on out of here, unless you enjoy being crushed like a raccoon caught under a four-wheeler's tire!" I warned them.
I heard a lot of whispering after that comment, and all the while, I was calling for some help...
Farther up the walkway...
The cracking of stone could be distinctly heard as some odd figures began to slowly stir. They looked like a mishap with a boulder and a fish. They are large, scaly, and most of all, heavy. Each one weighed nearly a ton, all accept one. This one was released from his stone slumber far more quickly than the others. He was massive, his leathery skin was barely containing his muscles and looked like it was electrified, and his scales were, quite literally, crackling with anticipation. He is The Deep One, a terrifying Lagoony, twice as big, twice as heavy, and stronger than ten Lagoonys combined.
He flexed his muscles as the rest of his brethren slowly returned to normal. He was just about to let out a menacing roar when a familiar voice harshly stopped him.
"What is it with you and always making a ruckus when I release you? Keep it down!"
"Sorry Ebon..." He grumbled. "Who we need to crush?"
"I have some unwanted visitors at my door, and I need you and the other Lagoonys to chase them away. Now, I want none of them harmed, understand? Just roll down the walkway, and they will run, got it?"
"Okay Ebon." Deep One mumbled. He turned to the others and quickly relayed their orders to them. They nodded and turned towards the opening in the wall. They marched out, squinting and covering their eyes as the setting sun bore down on them. After their eyes adjusted to the lighting, they looked down the ramp to see them.
"Such odd creatures..." Deep One thought. They looked much like the horses they hunt when Ebon lets them, only they stood on two legs and came in a few varieties. He could see a few with a strange thorn protruding from their head, and some with wings. The rest were just standing horses, and each of them had an unrecognizable, yet unique symbol on the back of their hands, and on their armor.
"Hmm... wonder what they taste like... No! Ebon said no harm them. Me no want to see Ebon angry again..." He shuddered at the thought. Last time one of his minions failed him, he shot him in half. To think he could shoot so fast...
He pushed the thought aside, turned over to the others and nodded. They returned the motion, and lined up near the edge of the ramp. Getting on all fours, they pushed off, pulling their bodies in to form a ball shape, and barreled down the walkway...
Back in the house...
I began to chuckle as I heard a slight rumbling sound. "It's like bowling! The guards are the pins, and my Lagoonys are the ball... but this time the goal is to not hit the pins... Hmm, easier said than done, but i'm sure they can handle it." I just grinned and shook my head. The look on their faces when they see them coming down...
"ROCKSLIDE!"
I started to laugh heartily when I heard that. A rockslide! Poor fools must be color blind, because last I checked, rocks are not purple, blue, and green. Long before the Lagoonys reached them, I could hear them running for their lives. I was practically rolling around on the floor, gasping for air as I continued to laugh uncontrollably. Those screams! I thought they were elite guards, not school girls!
"Ohhhhhhh, it's too much! I can't..... I can't stop!" I managed to say in-between breaths. It was hard, but eventually I managed to calm myself down. Wiping tears from my eyes, I walked over to the Transportalator, a machine that could use a Windstone to act as a personal Stormgate. Setting down the Windstone in the amp, I threw a lever down, and watched as the stone portal began to whir to life. No later than a minute later, it was at full charge, thundering away as bolts of lightning occasionally piped out of the portal.
"Goodbye grey and black, hello orange and red!" I said, a grin spreading across my beak. As I got closer, I could feel it pulling me in, at first gently, but when I stood right in front of the portal, it was almost shoving me in. Not wanting to delay my trip any longer, I jumped right in the portal, greatly excited to return to a less dreadful and boring place...
At Coopers Roost...
"Ah, it's good to be back!" I said, stretching as an attempt to work out the kinks in my joints. Transportalating really does a number on the body, what with all the stretching and pulling, squeezing and compressing...
"...Oh yea, that was a good one..." I mumbled as a loud pop resonated from my neck. Feeling much better, I took a quick look around. There was the occasional Sky Rattler flying over head, and tumbleweed bouncing about, but otherwise everything was quiet and dusty. I looked over to Cooper's house, expecting to see him sitting on his favorite rock jotting down ideas in his notepad, but instead I saw just a old orange rock.
Hmm... their was definitely something going down around here...
"Heya Ebon, what are you doing standin' round in the open for? It's not safe to be out right now! Move on over here quick!" A familiar voice called out from behind a boulder... a very familiar voice...
I turned to see probably the only one I would ever consider being my friend poking his head out from around the side of the boulder, waving me over frantically.
"CC? What is going on here?"
