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+--- Thread: Ashen Pillars (/showthread.php?tid=4711)
Ashen Pillars - Kuzuru - 07-17-2016
Clouds of ash and soot swallowed the sky, casting a perpetual shadow across the Ashen Steppes. Charred black ash mixed with the dry earth and painted the cracked earth ebony. Distant rumblings of lava flows and seismic quakes echoed across the inhospitable plains of fire. Two men, both from Coruscant traveled across these barren lands, leaving a snaking trail of footprints in their wake. Around them the chaotic nature of the Ashen Steppes unfurled, and yet they trudged forth unabated in their quest. One dressed in a black trenchcoat and the other in a brown-leather duster.
“Let’s be bounty hunters, he says, it’ll be easy money, he says,” The trench-coat-clad man said, stopping mid-stride to catch his breath, “well Mal, stompin’ around in the Ashen doesn’t strike me as easy money.”
“Oh come on Charles, don’t start whining,” Mallory responded, taking the moment of silence to tap out a message on his cellphone.
“Whining? What do you mean whining? This is a legitimate fucking complaint Mal, I ain’t just taking the piss.”
“Right.” Mal nodded absentmindedly, his ash-stained fingers dancing wildly upon his phone.
“Oh for fuck’s sake, quit textin’ that Mandy girl, will you, and pay attention,” Charles threw his hands out in indignation.
“Mindy.”
“Mandy, Mindy, whatever mate, we’ve got more pressing issues than your love affair with that Camelot slag.”
“She ain’t a slag Charles, I love her,” Mallory huffed and pocketed his phone, “you’re just jealous cause I get all the ladies.”
“I’d hardly call them ladies Mal,” Charles sighed and kept walking, “at any rate, we was talking about this shit hole. Don’t get me wrong mate, ain’t got no problem with huntin’, an’ I can handle the 7th of Coruscant no issue there, no sir. No the problem comes from havin’ to travel through this dump, it does.”
“Jesus Charlie, if I’d known you were going to complain so much I’d have brought my earplugs,” Mallory responded.
The two came to the crest of a craggy outcrop. In the distance several ruddy and earthen tipis sat huddled together. Humanoid figures moved lazily between the camp. Soft clouds of smoke drifted from a few bonfires scattered around the camp. Scattered even further away from the camp black pillars of stacked stones stretched up into the heavens. Mallory held up his phone and snapped a picture of the scene that laid before them. Charles sighed and shook his head as the fellow bounty hunter sent the picture to his lover. “You ready to go Charlie?” Mal finally asked, setting his phone to silent.
Charles removed a hand-cannon from his belt and loaded a clip into it before saying, “right and ready mate, right and ready.”
RE: Ashen Pillars - Kuzuru - 07-24-2016
How long had the demon from the green been walking? Long enough to collect a thin layer of salty sweat and sore feet. His awakening and subsequent flight from Ambrosia left his body in a fog. A good fight and several days of rest should have rejuvenated him, but his pernicious host seemed bent on ruining his awakening. A deep scratching could be felt at the base of his skull, a caged animal was trapped in his skull and it wanted out. He was a boy at a dam, his finger stuck in a crack, keeping the flood at bay. However, with enough omnilium he could seal the dam, and build a better cage for his prisoner. Every action in this universe had weight, an almost imperceptible system of rewards for action. Every step, every breath rewarded him with an almost insignificant amount of that miraculous substance. And with every action he recreated his prison and forged even stronger cages for the souls trapped within his gut.
In his travels the demon Kuzuru stumbled through the charred gate of the Ashen Steppes. His wooden sandals collected ash and his bare feet became dirty and dry. Fatigue. Exhaustion was an ailment reserved for the corporeal, and it was an ailment that he had only just remembered. This body was not his own, and yet it still screamed at him with every step. How long had he been walking? Far too long. He came to a rest among several pillars crafted from stacked stones. They varied wildly in size, but all were deliberate in construction. The demon found a spire stacked upon a base of wide stones and sat on its edge, leaning against the body of the formation. Food and water were of no consequence to the prime, but even a demon must rest once in awhile. Unfortunately there was little rest to be found amongst the sacred spires. A voice, both powerful and demanding, called out to the resting demon, “This is hallowed ground outsider, you would do well to stand and show respect!”
Covered in sandy fur a half-dog half-human hybrid sauntered towards Kuzuru. The newcomer’s face looked more canine than human; a wicked snarl revealed rows of teeth in her muzzle and two pointed ears flattened themselves back. In her hand she hefted a bastard of a sword, almost as tall as her and more akin to a machete than any master-crafter blade. She wore little in the way of clothing, tight linens wrapped around her breasts and a loincloth were all that covered her body. Around her neck, wrists, and ankles sat rings of fur stained red. Twinkling amber eyes locked with the demon’s grey orbs and he laughed.
Taking a deep breath the demon asked, “who the hell are you?”
“My name is of no consequence to you,” she answered, “you sit upon a sacred site, outsider, stand and leave, I will not ask you again.”
“Tell me your name and I’ll leave.”
The dog-girl bared her fangs, but then answered, “Cinder Salt.”
Even in his exhausted state the demon found the strength to laugh hysterically. Between chuckles and gasps for air he managed to ask, “what kind of name is Cinder Salt?”
“You said you’d leave.”
The demon stopped laughing, but he kept his grin. With an overdramatic heave he hefted himself to his feet. Two swept-back blades erupted from beneath the skin on his forearm. Four feet of jet-black metal poked out from his forearm, each blade curved back towards their bearer. Kuzuru raised his arms and entered a defensive stance. “I lied.”
“Then I’ll force you to leave outsider.”
“Oh, I’d very much like that,” he chuckled softly, “bring it on Salt.”
Cinder rushed towards the demon and he responded in kind. Her massive blade crashed into the demon’s weapons and sent him stumbling across the rocky terrain. Fatigue was the demon’s greatest enemy, and although his mind was willing his body was sore and exhausted. Another heavy blow sent his world spinning as he barely managed to block the attack. The demon fell to a knee and let loose a primal scream. Spit launched from his throat and he forced himself to stand on shaking legs. Surging ferocity he charged towards the infuriating girl, swinging his blades wildy. Cinder Salt dropped low and waited for his approach. With the force of a coiled cobra Salt struck out with an open palm. She lunged upwards, coming between the demon’s arms and clamping her hand tight around his neck. Pushing forward against Kuzuru’s momentum she lifted him from his feet and slammed him into the cracked and charred earth. His body turned limp and his blades shattered into hundreds of metal shards. With a huff Cinder released her grip and muttered, “you’re lucky that I’m not allowed to kill you.”
Several hours later Kuzuru’s eyes slowly opened. A jackhammer was pressed against his skull and turned on full bore. The phantom of Cinder’s grip still clutched at his throat and each breath brought pain. Thick ropes kept him bound to a large wooden stake. On the horizon the ashen sun was beginning to set, casting a red shade across the craggy landscape. Tipis surrounded him, as did a crowd of onlookers. Most of them canine-human hybrids, with the occasional human mixed betwixt them. No more than a few feet from him a dog-person sat cross-legged. He wore a cloak of red and black scales and had numerous trinkets and baubles dangling from his clothing and body.
“Hello outsider,” the dog-man spoke.
“Oh hell, what kind of bullshit do we have here?” Kuzuru responded, “forgive me if I sound a bit hoarse, that tends to happen when you get fucking choke-slammed into oblivion.”
“Yes, Salt told me about your little, eh, ‘encounter’” he said, “do you have a name?”
“Kuzuru,” the demon answered, “so what’s going on here? Are you going to kill me or what?”
The sage laughed softly, “oh no no no, we’re a peaceful people known as Coyotl, my name is Ahanu, and this is my tribe.”
“Your friend Salt didn’t seem very peaceful.”
“Ah yes, well she is one of the guardians for our pillars, you see those spires are not mere stones Kuzuru, each one of them represents a member of the tribe.” Ahanu told the demon.
“That’s ridiculous.” Kuzuru laughed before asking with a hint of venom in his voice, “so what would happen to your little tribe if I broke free and smashed those stones to gravel?”
“Every pillar represents a soul in this community, even outsiders, such as yourself, can build their own pillars and be welcomed as one of our own,” Ahanu glanced over at the humans within the crowd, “our religion forbids the use of violence, however, should your pillar be destroyed your soul is destined for a life of strife and warfare. You adopt a warrior’s name and defend the tribe to your last breath, such is the case of young Cinder Salt.”
“I see.” Kuzuru said and scanned the crowd. Soft and pathetic he thought their hearts are filled with complacency and weakness. Children shied away from the demon’s gaze, clinging to their mothers. Sheepishly they avoided the wandering eyes of Kuzuru, his bloody stare so foreign to their peaceful existence. However not all offered fear to the curious demon; indeed the few that carried weaponry and the red bands that Cinder carried met his vision with steadfast determination. Those would be the fun ones to kill. Civilians are hardly ever worth the slaughter, bringing out only blood tainted with fear. Blood of a warrior was sweet candy to the demon’s palette, sweet battle-hardened nectar. The demon’s eyes rested upon Ahanu and Kuzuru spoke, “seems to me that you all should topple those pillars, hell if you all were even half as strong as Salt… well you’d absolutely be frightening .”
“Difference of opinions I suppose, perhaps you’ll see things our way after the ceremony.” Ahanu spoke and smiled.
“Ceremony?”
“Oh yes, we can’t just let you go,” Ahanu spoke, “you are, after all, a very real threat for us, just as the other humans who stand before you once were.”
“What do you mean?”
“All will be clear in time outsider, but for now relax and breath deep.”
The coyotl sage removed a red-leather sack from inside of his cloak. He removed a handful of silver-speckled sand and took a deep breath. The sage exhaled and kicked up a cloud of the mystical detritus. Shard of silver glittered in the air and the setting sun sent a brilliant sheen through the fog of dust and magic. Kuzuru watched, entranced by the sudden explosion of colors. His lungs greedily inhaled the sandy-powder and his body began to sweat. The world began to twist and distort, colors bled together and everyone couldn’t have seemed more distant. Ahanu’s furry hand reached through the cloud, stretching to oblivion. He placed his palm upon Kuzuru’s forehead. With words distorted and murky the sage spoke from behind the veil of reality, “sleep now dear outsider, for you shall gaze upon the abyss of your own soul and only upon discovering harmony shall you awaken.”
And with those words Kuzuru’s world shattered. The crowd, the volcanos, the pillars, Ambrosia, Renji, everything melted and mixed together in his mind. Down this rabbit hole reality is only a point in time stretched across thousands of memories and splintered into fractals. He thrashed violently against the foggy stupor, but it was quicksand and struggling only pulled him deeper.
“So for now just go to sleep outsider.”
RE: Ashen Pillars - Kuzuru - 08-16-2016
“So they’re like fox people, are they?” Charles asked.
“Coyotes, the report said they refer to themselves as Coyotles,” Mallory responded before asking, “You did read the report right Charlie?”
Charles pursed his lips together and blew a raspberry, “Nah, s’why I got you, you fill me in on all the nitty gritty.”
“Course you didn’t read it,” Mallory sighed and pulled his phone from his pocket, “you never read the reports.”
Charles laughed and waved his hand-cannon in the air, “I’m the muscle, you’re the brains, ain’t ya?”
“Yeah whatever.”
Above them the sun began to slowly set, casting a ash-choked red haze across the Ashen Steppes. Still, even as the sun ended its daily journey, geothermal activity provided more than enough heat to the verse. Short of the Underverse, this place was the closest to hell you could get. Slowly the shadowy figures and animal-skin tipis grew ever closer as the bounty hunters trudged forward. Soon enough the animalfolk took notice the approaching hunters. Several warriors, striped red and carrying massive blades, collected around the edge of the camp. Despite Ahanu’s almost naive acceptance of outsiders, the warriors readied themselves for blood.
“Looks like the natives are restless, aren’t they?” Charles asked, casually pointing his gun at Mallory.
“Jesus Charlie, careful where you point that thing,” the other hunter responded, “and yeah, they’re generally a peaceful group, but the ones with red stripes are part of a warrior caste.”
From behind the crowd of onlookers Ahanu stepped forward to greet the newcomers. His ruddy cloak of scales glowed in the evening sunset. The elder smiled vacantly and smoked a pipe, releasing verdant vapors from his muzzle with every puff. Warriors clustered around him, no doubt acting as bodyguards for their venerable leader. Soft murmurs and rumours cascaded through the crowd, offering varied explanations on just who the outsiders could bring. Whispers of the empire hung in the air like a bad joke.
“Greetings!” the sage exclaimed, “I am known as Ahanu, and these are my people.”
“Neat,” Charles responded in a mocking tone, “I am known as Charlie, and this bloke is my better half Mal.”
“Yo,” Mallory said without looking up from his phone.
“Well you certainly both look weary, we’d be more than happy to have you both as our honored guests this evening,” Ahanu offered, spreading open his cloak and extending his arms in a gesture of goodwill.
“Well, about that,” Charles began to speak, pulling back the hammer on his pistol. His companion glanced upwards and scanned the crowd for a moment before putting his hand on Charlie’s gun. Mal pocketed his phone and lowered his companion’s gun.
“Ehhh, can we have a moment?” Mallory asked, draping an arm over his gun-toting friend and pulling him close.
“Take your time,” Ahanu nodded.
In an almost cartoonish fashion the smaller of the two bounty hunters pulled his companion away from the crowd. The hulking Charles muttered a few profanities to himself as his stockier companion dragged him. After a moment of silence between the two Charles finally asked, “Thought we were gonna go in gun-bam style?”
“Did you see how many of them had weapons, no chance,” Mallory said.
“Bah, me friend here would’ve sent them running, he would.” Charles responded, waving his massive pistol around.
“Look, I say we stick around as guests, get our bellies full, and take their leader as a hostage,” Mallory schemed, “we trade that Ahanu fella for our mark, and get the hell out of here, sound good?”
“Sounds devious,” Charles let a dry grin stretch across his weathered mug, “I'm in.”
RE: Ashen Pillars - Kuzuru - 08-24-2016
It was later that evening that the festivities truly began. Tonight marked the night of some vague spiritual ceremony that the Coyotles celebrated with a drunken fervor. In the center of the camp a massive pyre roared, sending embers into the night. Around the fire most of the tribesman sat in small clusters, sharing spiced pemmican and chatting amongst themselves. Overall it would have been a rather reserved celebration had it not been for six or seven dancers, one of which was a young human girl, whirling around the fire at a frightening pace. Three drummers egged the dancers on with a beat so rhythmic that one would be hard pressed not to tap their foot along to the rhythm. Red-striped warriors dotted the perimeter of the gathering, their ever watchful eyes scanning the horizon for potential threats. Ahanu would move from cluster to cluster, speaking to each member of the tribe and offering them each a blessing from the heavens above. Since their arrival the two hunters had gone their separate ways within the tribe. Mallory, ever the social butterfly, had successfully mingled his way into the largest of the groups. It wasn't because he was interested in making friends that he was acting so amicable, no it was pure unadulterated lust that drew him in. A caramel-skinned human woman was the target of his desire. Her goth-black hair and lithe, but firm, body immediately grabbed his attention and he made it his mission to worm his way into her heart.
Charlie, however, had no interest in fraternizing with the locals. He wasn't sure when Mallory would pull the trigger on their plan, but given that Mal had a propensity for lecherous activities Charles figured he had time to kick back and relax. Reaching into his coat pocket the burly bounty hunter produced a half-burnt stogie and a silver zippo style lighter. After gripping the cigar with his lips and making sure the end was burning well he pocketed his lighter and shed his trenchcoat. Charles easily stood six feet tall and looked as though he was carved from granite. A sweat-stained white wife beater clung tight against his bulging muscles, and a mosaic of tattoos clung even tighter against his flesh. The hunter purposely chose to wear a shirt one size too small, as it made him seem bulkier and therefore more intimidating. That wasn't to say that Charlie wasn't actually built, quite the contrary, where Mallory was the brains of their outfit Charles was most definitely the brawns. Strapped to his hip sat a holster holding his handcannon and a half-empty canteen. Dark blue jeans and black combat boots completed the ensemble. On missions he preferred to travel lightly, carrying only several cigars, his lighter, his gun, and a canteen. He figured the less knick-knacks he had to worry about, well, the better. In between puffs of his cigar he gazed around the campsite, making eye contact with every warrior that watched him and his friend. Even though Ahanu had welcomed the duo with open arms, the warriors had not. Ever since they had arrived the red-striped warriors had been careful to keep at least two sets of eyes on each of the bounty hunters, ready to pounce should their guests prove hostile.
“So, do you two work for the Empire?” the doe-eyed vixen asked Mallory. He had learned that her name was Esther, and that she used to be a soldier for the empire. In fact, most of the humans present within Coyotle society had been part of an expeditionary force sent to establish an outpost in the craggy mountains of the Ashen Steppes. They had stumbled upon the Coyotles and, contrary to what the empire believed, had been persuaded by Ahanu to shed their ties to the empire and join the free-spirited society. Mallory’s thought drifted back to the mission files, apparently a few soldiers chose not to stay in the Steppes and reported back to the Empire.
Those that returned to the Empire had lied for the ones that stayed behind, they said that the expedition had been slaughtered by the Coyotles. A foolish gamble Mallory figured, they were banking on the fact that the Empire was stretched too far thin to care about retaliating against a tribe of savages. What they hadn’t taken into consideration was how much the Empire was willing to pay in order to send a message, and although Mallory was the messenger he was only half lying when he said “No.” The two did not work for the Empire, they worked for whoever had the most money and the Empire was willing to pay them handsomely for some wetwork.
“That’s relieving to hear, Ahanu says not to worry, but I...” Esther said, before allowing her voice to trail off.
“You’re not so sure?” Mallory finished the sentence for her.
“I was a soldier for them,” she said pausing briefly, ”I know what they do to people that betray them. I know how ruthless the Empire can be.”
Mallory knew as well, or at least he thought he knew how underhanded they could be. While he wasn’t loyal to the Empire, he was a soldier for a similar regime in his home universe. The Darien-Tucker Combine was a political and economic powerhouse that held an iron grip over several planets rich in resources, and in another world a younger Mallory served them. He operated as a bio-shell operations officer, known colloquially as a BSOO. A bio-shell was more or less a human-like robot controlled through a neural interface. Mallory would act as a field advisor for teams of bio-shell operators in combat operations. Without having to worry for the lives of their own soldiers the Darien-Tucker Combine demanded nothing but ruthless efficiency from the BSOOs. Having been ordered to commit his fair share of war crimes Mallory knew all too well the cruelty that mankind was capable of.
“So why haven’t you guys packed up and moved to a safer place like Camelot?” Mal asked, snugging slightly closer to Esther.
“This place is sacred to us, the coyotle were brought into existence here and they view this region as their land,” she responded.
“Well,” Mallory responded, taking a moment to lock eyes with Esther, “if there’s one thing I’ve learned while living here in the Omniverse, it’s that sometimes you have to take a chance and try something new.”
“Is that so?” Esther smiled.
Not even a half mile away Kuzuru sat, still restrained to a large wooden pole staked into the ground. Even though his muscles ached from sitting in the awkward position for so long, he felt good. Fizzy thoughts danced through his head and endorphins pulsed through his body in tingling waves. He had spent the better part of the last few hours drifting in and out of a euphoric high. It was night by the time he finally became lucid enough to grasp the gravity of the situation. In the distance a large fire was roaring and shadowy figures could be seen dancing around it. This would have been a good time to escaped, had it not been for the fact that he had an armed guard watching his every movement. Cinder Salt sat on a rock nearby, silently chewing on a strip of dried meat and eyeing him carefully. With an airy tone Kuzuru asked her, “don’t suppose you’d be willing to just let me go would you?”
Salt raised an eyebrow and responded as if it was a very stupid question, “no.”
“Good, you’re a smart girl,” Kuzuru said and then laughed drunkenly, “but, just between us, the second I break free - you’re dead."
RE: Ashen Pillars - Kuzuru - 08-29-2016
That night the trouble truly didn’t begin until Ahanu approached Charlie. The towering ex-convict exhaled smoke through his nose and eyed the doting sage. Two warriors dragging along their heavy blades flanked either side of Ahanu, a fact which he seemed oblivious to. Having shucked his scaly cloak in favor of an almost see-through tawny brown poncho, the sage carried a basket of pemmican and waterskins. In his mouth he suckled on a pipe and exhaled a soft blue smoke. Charlie’s cherry-scented cloud of smoke mixed with Ahanu’s blue haze. “Here,” Ahanu said, offering Charlie a block of pemmican and a waterskin, “please, you must be tired from your journey here, certainly you’re hungry.”
“Not particularly,” Charlie sniffed at the air and responded, “you should let me take a puff of that herb, you should.”
One of the warriors stepped forward, pointing a finger at the outsider, “you should show more respect to our venerable sage.”
Charlie snorted, “I’d like to see you make me, I would.”
“Now now, no need for that on such an auspicious occasion,” Ahanu said, pressing a hand against his warrior’s chest. With a huff of hot air the red-striped coyotle stepped back, but hefted his sword onto his shoulder in a show of silent intimidation. The sage removed the pipe from his mouth and with a quick movement sprinkled some sparkling dust into the end of it. He offered the towering man a puff. After wiping it relatively clean on his wife beater Charles wrapped his lips around the pipe and inhaled deeply.
Nirvana.
Or at least he had found what he had thought to be Nirvana as the drug sparked across his brain. His pupils dilated and his muscles turned to butter, this was a sort of heaven he had only dreamed about. Normally held down by gravity his new smoke-filled body felt weightless, and he rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. A soft smile curled across his lips as Ahanu retrieved his pipe from Charlie’s mouth. He looked up to the sky and was lost amongst the white pinpricks in the backdrop of night. Briefly he wondered how Mallory was doing with the girl of his desires, but the thought was quickly whisked away as another wave of serotonin flooded his body. “Well, this is right pleasant.” he said.
Mallory was damn near ready to give up his hunt and any ties to civilization to go roll in the hay with Esther. Unfortunately the caramel-skinned vixen had other ideas. She had interest in Mal, sure, but she had just met the man and while he was charming she wasn’t the kind of girl to give it up to a guy she had just met. So, with a broken heart, he was left to kick rocks while the natives danced their hearts away. At least there was still Mindy. After sending his other lover a quick text message Mallory sauntered over to Charles and patted his companion on the back. “You ready to get this road on the show, chief?” Mallory asked.
Charles said nothing, but instead removed the stogie from his lips and let out a cloud of smoke. The burly man turned his head from the stars and looked at Mallory with a shit-eating grin. “You, uh, you okay there?” Mallory asked, taking a step back to appraise his fellow hunter.
“Right as rain,” Charlie said.
Mal raised an eyebrow, “alright, well, you ready then?”
“Sure.”
“I’ll call ol’ Ahanu over here, and if his guards move an inch you blast ‘em,” Mallory motioned for Ahanu.
“Sure,” Charles chuckled softly and sucked on his cigar, “sure thing buddy.”
RE: Ashen Pillars - Kuzuru - 08-31-2016
If their plan could’ve failed harder Mallory would’ve been impressed. The moment he grabbed Ahanu and wrapped his forearm around the coyotle’s throat the warrior’s leaped to their sage’s aid. Mal had been hoping that Charlie’s beast of a handgun would be enough to scare them off, but the big oaf was too busy star gazing to react. Mallory let loose a string of curse words and kicked his companion in the leg. Before the mountain of muscle could even think to act a coyotle threw a set of bolas at his feet and, with a push, forced him to the ground. Not that Charlie minded much, the new position gave him a great view of the stars. The remaining warriors bumrushed Mallory and tore him from their leader. He was pushed to the ground and with a skull-rattling strike he was rendered unconscious.
The rising sun shook the duo awake from their respective slumbers. Heat mixed with a headache worse than any hangover and left Mallory in a dizzying ache. The drugs in Charles’s system finally started to wear off. His mouth was dry and he felt a vague sense of failure as he tried to piece together what had happened. Their arms were bound to a massive stake in the ground. Both hunters could sense the presence of a third person tied to the wooden pole.Mallory let loose a groan and asked, “where the hell are we?”
“Welcome jerkweeds!” Kuzuru answered, turning his head to better project his voice, “welcome to the retard magnet!”
“Well that wasn’t very nice, was it Mal?” Charlie said.
“No it wasn’t,” Mallory shuffled to get a better look at the third man, “sides it looks like you’ve fallen victim to the retard magnet yourself.”
“True, but I’ve at least got my good looks to fall back on you ugly fucks,” Kuzuru said, paused a moment, and added, “sorry if I’m being a bit abrasive, but that tends to fucking happen when you’ve been strapped to a fucking pole for a day and a half.”
Mallory sighed and looked around. The sun had just begun its slow crawl across the sky, which meant that it was early in the morning. Mal figured most everyone was fast asleep after the chaos of last night. Everyone, save for the the pair of sleepy-eyed guards left to watch the prisoners. If they were going to escape, and Mallory was damn well ready to leave, they’d have to act before everyone woke up. “Hey can you fight?” Mal asked Kuzuru who chuckled in response.
“I don’t know, I can probably fight about as well as you can eat dicks, and judging by the looks of you-”
Charles interrupted him, “hey, now you’re just being rude.”
“And what are you going to do if I don’t stop, Lenny?”
There was a moment of silence as everyone processed the insult. Mallory broke the silence, “was, was that a fucking ‘Of Mice and Men’ reference?”
“So what if it was George? You got a fucking problem with it?” Kuzuru said.
“No, fuck, listen,” Mallory spoke, taking a moment to collect his frazzled thoughts, “I can get us out of here, but I need to know you’re going to be on our side okay? We’ve stepped in the same pile of shit and right now we’ve got to clean each other's boots.”
“I ain’t cleaning shit,” the demon’s voice dripped with errant spite.
Even this early in the morning the heat was damn near unbearable. Large droplets of sweat rolled off Kuzuru’s brow and splashed against the thirsty dirt. However, it wasn’t the heat that was making him irritable. No, it was the absolute absence of substance that his imprisonment brought. After all he barely even had a chance to play around in his new body and he was already tied up. Ahanu’s constant pandering to peace and harmony also grated on the demon’s sensibilities. With a dejected sigh Kuzuru spoke again, “alright jerkweeds, I wanna get out of here let’s start over. Hi! I’m Kuzuru, a soul-swallowing demon of battle, nice to make your acquaintance!”
“Fucking finally,” Mallory sighed.
“I’m Charles and the other bloke’s name is Mallory, we’re bounty hunters, we are.” Charlie said.
“Great,” Kuzuru said, “now how the fuck do we get out of here?”
There was a moment of shuffling as Mal wiggled against the rope binding them. An audible snip and the ropes around Mallory fell limp. With a careful eye on the half-asleep guards Mal reached over any untied Charlie’s ropes and then Kuzuru’s. Mallory began to speak, but was interrupted by his two companions unleashing their respective battle cries and bumrushing the startled guards. A flash of blood leaped into the air as Kuzuru impaled the first one on his arm-blade. Charlie’s massive body enveloped the other guard; his meaty hands grabbed the coyotle’s wrists and with a sickening crack he slammed his head against the poor guard’s skull. The demon grinned and licked a bead of blood from his weapon.
“Preciate the help kiddos, but I’ve got a score to settle with these assholes” Kuzuru said before turning his back on the two, “you two better stay the fuck out of my way.”
Charles waited for the demon to leave earshot before he remarked, “what an absolute wanker.”
“Yeah,” Mallory agreed. He turned his thoughts towards their bounty. They couldn’t leave just quite yet, Mallory figured, Ahanu had confiscated Charlie’s gun and more importantly his phone. So they’d kill two birds with one stone. First they had to find their gear, and then they’d tear the camp apart to find their mark. It was a straightforward, and hopefully easy, plan. The hunter silently thanked Kuzuru, he’d provide a nice distraction while they scrambled to collect their gear. “Come on Charlie,” Mallory said, patting his companion on the back, “let’s get going, we’ve got work to do.”
RE: Ashen Pillars - Kuzuru - 09-07-2016
It was only a matter of minutes before Kuzuru had roused the sleeping coyotles. He made his way near the center of the camp. Through a combination of belligerent shouting and outright attacking anyone who got close he managed to summon a crowd of warriors. Kuzuru had no interest in what he viewed as fodder. Only one warrior caught his interest, the one that got him into this mess - Cinder Salt. “Where is she?” he shouted, “that little bitch Cinder Salt, I’m not leaving until I kill her!”
The demon had stripped away his shirt, revealing a red-tinged and toned body. Four long blades protruded from his forearms, three of them on his left. He moved in twitchy and short bursts of movement. Every step he took forced the warriors to make room or chance being brought low. Already he had slain three warriors, not counting the one he killed to escape. Their corpses sat bleeding and baking in the rising sun. Intoxicated on the scent of blood Kuzuru felt unstoppable. A primal roar escaped his throat and he kicked up a swirl of ashen dust. For the first time since his awakening he felt as if this body was his own. With a flash of metal Kuzuru struck out towards a coyotle that strayed too close. The red-striped warrior managed to avoid the attack and scamper away. “Well?” he asked the crowd, “are you not the champions of your people? Fight me already, show me your ferocity!”
“They will not,” the well-worn voice of their sage answered the marauder. Red and black scales glistened in the light as their bearer stepped out from the crowd. Kuzuru was no longer having fun, he lowered his weapons and stalked towards the elder. Ahanu spoke once more, “I’ve ordered them to stay their blades, and I have sent young Cinder Salt far away from here. I know what you want demon and we will not play into your hand.”
“You,” Kuzuru said as he stepped ever closer, “I’ve long tired of your naive platitudes, do you not understand where you are? This is the Omniverse baby, absolute fucking darwinism in action; and, despite what your foolish beliefs tell you, the meek do not inherit the earth, only the strong rise to the top."
“We still will not fight you Kuzuru,” Ahanu responded.
“Then you will perish.”
Kuzuru raised his right arm and swung for Ahanu’s neck. This damned coyotle had ruined his fun and although killing him would be cathartic there was no joy to found in slaughtering a noncombatant. However his weapon found no flesh and instead clattered against another’s blade. Cinder had emerged from the crowd at the last moment and, much to his surprise, protected Ahanu’s throat. “You were supposed to leave,” Ahanu
“I’m sorry sage Ahanu,” Cinder spoke as Kuzuru disengaged, “but I cannot stand idle while our village is destroyed.”
“Smart girl,” Kuzuru said.
The two warriors sauntered towards the center of their makeshift arena. Several of the red-striped warriors pulled their leader back into the crowd and despite his protests Cinder readied her blade. Kuzuru wasn’t someone who could be reasoned with, he was here for blood nothing more and nothing less. The demon’s smile had returned. This was what he lived for, this was his purpose in life. “Just as a warning to you Cinder, I’m not as tired as when we first met so if you hold back,” Kuzuru threatened and pointed a blade at her, “I will fucking kill you.”
Cinder said nothing but slowly started to edge towards her opponent. Her massive blade was perched upon on her shoulder, ready to strike at almost any angle. Kuzuru wasted no time and pounced towards her, slashing forward with his left arm. Crunching metal echoed across the air as Cinder’s massive blade smashed through the first two blades on his arm before glancing off the third. Using his free arm he took a swipe at her, cutting a line of blood up the side of her chest. They two jumped backwards and disengaged. The two shattered blades protruding from Kuzuru’s arm sunk back below his flesh only to be replaced by two fresh swords. So that was her limit, she could break through two of his blades, no more than that. He licked the fresh blood off his weapon. He felt alive.
“Where d’ya think they hid our gear Charlie?” Mallory asked after exiting another tipi. Most everyone in the village was watching the fight or moving far away from it, either way it gave the two bounty hunters ample time to ransack the place. Not that there was much to ransack, the locals had little in the way of wealth. Still they played needle in the haystack in hopes of locating Charlie’s missing handcannon and Mal’s phone.
“Fuck if I know,” Charles responded, “though if I had to guess I’d bet my money on the ringleader’s tent.”
“Well if only we knew where the fucking thing was, course it might not matter if our ‘friend’ over there kills everyone,” Mallory said.
The duo looked towards the ring of tribespeople surrounding the two combatants. Kuzuru was doing more than just holding his own, hell he was practically smacking Cinder Salt around. Upon catching a glance of Cinder Mallory said, “well holy shit, that’s our mark ain’t it?”
“I’m not sure,” Charles responded, “remember I didn’t read the docs, I didn’t.”
“Right, well I’d bet ten to one that’s our girl, same tats and everything,” Mallory said, “she ain’t doing so hot, we gotta get our shit before ol’ boy there rips her apart we don’t get paid unless we bring her back alive.”
“Oi, we’ve got a guest,” Charlie said, turning Mallory away from the fight and towards the newcomer. Esther had came back to her tipi to retrieve a keepsake, it was by pure luck, or misfortune, that she ran into the two killers. Before the girl could run Charles had snatched her wrist and almost lifted her off the ground. She thrashed and tried to pull away, but the man’s considerable bulk made her escape next to impossible. Mallory smiled at their good fortune and said, “settle down darling, we ain’t gonna hurt you s’long as you help us out.”
“Dammit, let go of me,” she snarled before speaking to Mal, “and to think I thought you were a nice guy.”
“Dawh,” Charles mocked, “don’t worry dear, plenty of people think we’re right angels, they do.”
“Yeah, it ain’t nothing personal, just trying to get paid is all,” Mallory said, stepping close to the girl, “you’re gonna lead us to where they took our gear and we’ll let you go, simple as that.”
Kuzuru had, for the most part, remained unscathed in their exchanges. Cinder had only managed to catch him with a few counter swings, and that was only because his bloodlust made him overeager. Blood mixed with her red stripes and her breath turned ragged. Still, despite her wounds she stood upon shaky legs. The demon had to commend her discipline. Not many could continue fighting while actively bleeding out, especially when their opponent was just getting warmed up. He smacked his blades together and spoke, “you’d better get your head into the game, at this rate I won’t be satisfied with just killing you.” Of course even if she did put up a decent fight he doubted he’d ever be satisfied. Cinder Salt crouched down low, entering a stance not unlike the one she used to defeat him in their first fight. Kuzuru chuckled, “now now I hope you don’t think I’d fall for the same trick twice do you, what kind of second rate fighter do you think I am?”
WIthout another word the demon charged towards the defender. Her muscles tensed in preparation. The two locked eyes. The crowd stood silent. Kuzuru came within striking distance and she swung her blade upwards towards his neck. A sinister purple glow enveloped his weapons and he aimed for her weapon. Asunder. Flash of blue lighting. The tip of Cinder’s sword went spinning through the air, end over end. The demon raised his knee and slammed it into her stomach. She dropped her weapon and fell to her knees. Kuzuru reeled back with a single blade and swung.
RE: Ashen Pillars - Kuzuru - 09-12-2016
Charles switch off the safety on his pistol and raised the weapon. He squinted one eye shut and took careful aim. The sun was towards his back. With a quick exhale he squeezed the trigger. Hammer struck powder and released a deafening thunderclap, followed by a small plume of smoke. The hot chunk of lead carved through the air and headed for its target. The bullet smashed into Kuzuru’s armblade. Hundreds if not thousands of metal slivers erupted outwards as the blade shattered. Cinder Salt had been saved. Before the demon could even process what had happened another slug tagged him in his abdomen. It made an awful noise, similar to poking a hole through a sheet of wet plastic. The hot lead slipped between the eighth and ninth rib, cutting straight through his body and painting the ashy dirt with gore.
Kuzuru stumbled and looked into the direction of his attackers. Charles kept his barrel leveled at the demon. It was still smoking. Mallory stood next to his companion with a dry smirk on his lips.
“Sorry chief,” Mal said, “can’t let you kill that one, she ain’t worth anything to us if she’s dead.”
The demon laughed. His chest rattled as he sucked in a deep breath and started laughing again. Blood was pouring from the wound like sand in a sieve. He winced and pressed his palm tight against the wound, but he kept chuckling. Cinder watched in stunned silence as the angel of death laughed to a joke unbeknownst to all.
“You think I hit his funny bone or something Mal?” Charles asked.
“Not sure,” Mallory said, “you can kill anyone you like, hell burn the village to the ground, I don’t care, but we’re taking the girl.”
Kuzuru’s body straightened and began to shake with… pain? No, excitement. “How much is she worth to you?” he asked the two.
“Quite a bit of omnilium for the two of us,” Mallory answered.
“No, let me rephrase the question,” the demon said, staggering like a drunkard towards them, “is she worth your lives?”
Another shot echoed across the Ashen Steppes. This one however did not connect with soft flesh. Kuzuru swatted the bullet from the air with a sudden slash. Ethereal trails of demonic energy seethed from his blades. He did not wait for another shot. The demon rushed across the ashen fields towards the newcomers. Charlie and Mallory split apart, hoping to divide Kuzuru’s attention. The demon followed Mallory, as he was the closest of the duo. A ruthless butcher was threatening to paint a bright red picture upon the grey soil. Mallory could hear the air behind him being torn asunder with every slash. He did not turn back. Charles stopped running and took careful aim at the red whirlwind of swords. He fired, missed, and finally swore before taking aim once again.
“Stop running you damned coward,” Kuzuru shouted, almost catching Mal with a swipe.
“Bite me,” Mal responded.
After making sure that the three combatants were properly distracted Ahanu rushed to the aid of Cinder Salt. Her body shuddered with every laboured breath. A puddle of slick blood had pooled around her and she had fallen on her hands and knees. The sage removed a small wooden jar of salve from his cloak and set to work treating the girl’s wounds. She still grasped the handle of her broken sword, now not much more than a long shiv. Her muscles tightened and she tried to stand, but found no strength. Defeated she whispered, “I failed the tribe and I disobeyed you, I’m sorry.”
“No need to be sorry young one,” Ahanu responded, “you did what you believed was right and you tried your best, there is no shame in defeat so long as the spirit remains unconquered.”
Cinder found little respite in his kind words. She pushed off the ground and rocked back onto her hindquarters. Her arms hung limp at her side as she sat there and watched the ensuing conflict. It was a strange feeling watching the three fight over her. If the demon won she was dead, no doubt about that. But, if the other two proved victorious, she’d probably wish she was dead. Either way the strife and chaos that fell upon them this day was her responsibility, and so she stood. Blood slithered down her body and pattered against the ground. Her legs were shaking and fatigued swallowed her, but still she stood.
Ahanu spoke, “what do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m leaving,” she said, “they’re only interested in me so I’m leaving.”
The three were too busy fighting to notice the girl’s flight. Mallory tripped over a divot in the earth and came crashing down. He twisted his body and managed to land on his back, but there was no time to stand. Like a feral dog Kuzuru pounced upon his prey. Mal raised his arms to block the incoming flurry of blows. Much to the demon’s surprise, his blades did not carve through the man’s limbs. Instead they found steel underneath a half-inch layer of synthetic flesh. Kuzuru cussed and swung again and once again his weapon clattered harmlessly against the man’s synthetic arms. A small slot snapped open on Mal’s arm and it exhaled an acrid green mist. The caustic smog engulfed the demon and burned his lungs. This distraction gave Mallory enough time to scamper away and crawl to his feet.
“Clever bastard,” Kuzuru said coughing.
“Hey,” Charlie called to his friend, “the girl is gone.”
Almost simultaneously both Kuzuru and Mallory asked, “what?”
“Yeah, look around” Charlie said, waving his gun towards the crowd, “she took off while we were fighting.”
“Well fuck,” Kuzuru said, “looks like it’s your lucky day, you guys are kind of obnoxious to fight.”
Mallory jogged over to his friend and the two watched the demon with wary eyes. Jagged strips of synthetic flesh hung slack to the metal frameworks of Mal’s prosthetics. Charlie had somehow found the time to light a cigar during the fight and stood puffing on it. Every second they spent here was more time for Cinder to disappear into the Steppes. The Coyotles watched the standoff from afar, they had no interest in drawing attention to themselves. Kuzuru frowned and rubbed his still-bleeding bullet hole. He sniffed the air and could smell the faint whispers of CInder’s blood on the wind. WIthout another word he started off in the direction he believed she took.
“You better not follow me,” he threatened the bounty hunters, “piss me off enough and I’ll have a real reason to kill you.”
“Hey,” Mallory called, “how about we make a deal?”
Kuzuru stopped in his tracks and Charlie whispered to his friend, “what are you doing?”
Mallory ignored Charles and continue to speak, “we don’t really want to fight you chief, but we don’t want to give up the girl either.”
“Too bad,” the demon responded and kept walking.
“Listen, the Empire pays very very well for these bounties, that girl is worth an obscene amount of omnilium,” Mal stepped after him, “you’re a prime right? You know what that stuff does for you right?”
Power. Omnilium meant absolute power. It was pure unrequited potential in the form of swirling rainbows. Even now he was merely a Omnilium was something that he was most interested in. “Alright, I’ll admit you’ve enticed me,” Kuzuru said, turning around, “although, what is stopping me from killing you and taking the bounty for myself?”
“I suppose you could,” Mallory shrugged, “but you don’t have our contacts, I doubt they would pay you much more than a pittance.”
Kuzuru chuckled for a moment and spoke, “alright, alright you’ve convinced me, but we’re not splitting the bounty three ways, after all I was the one that beat her.”
“Not gonna happen,” Mallory said.
“I get fifty percent and you both get the other fifty,” Kuzuru clinked his blades together, “if that ain’t good enough for you, well you could always try killing me and taking it all.”
There was no argument there. Although the two thought they might be able to tangle with the prime, they didn’t have the time to waste. Kuzuru led the way, while he did want to have some more fun with the natives he figured that he could always come back if things got too boring. Tracking her was not difficult. Even though Ahanu did well with mending her wounds she still left behind a trail of blood. She did not have the strength to carry the remains of her sword so she instead dragged it along the ground. A long scrabbled line in the ash marked by pinlets of blood made for an easy chase. She didn’t even bother sprinting when the three angels of death crested a hill and spotted her. What would she say? What was there to say? She had lost.
They walked up to her and stopped only a few paces away. She had stopped walking and turned to face them. Her fur was matted and soaked with blood. There was fight left in her eyes, but her body was spent. Charlie raised his gun and pointed it at her, while Mallory spoke, “we ain’t going to kill you, but you’ll have to come with us darling.”
Cinder looked towards Kuzuru and said, “so you’ve joined forces with them.”
“Well I’d put it the other way around, but yeah I suppose we’ve joined forces.”
She paused for a moment, her eyes dancing between the three of them before looking back at Kuzuru. She said, “you’re a greater warrior than I, and I have failed my people.”
“Well I don’t like to brag,” Kuzuru shrugged, “well that’s a lie I love to brag.”
“Teach me how to be a great warrior like yourself,” she demanded, “you want a good fight, teach me and I’ll give you the greatest fight of your existence.”
Charlie, sensing the sudden shift in Kuzuru’s demeanor spoke up, “sorry princess, but you’re worth a lot of money to us there is no way we’re going to-”
Kuzuru cut him off, “you want me to train you so you can turn around and kill me?”
She nodded her head and he laughed. Laughing hurt his wound, but he laughed regardless. The two hunters shuffled about, exchanging worried glances. Charlie thought about blowing Kuzuru’s brains out, but the demon was fast and he doubted he’d be able to do that. The demon finally stopped laughing and glanced at the other two. The tips of his armblades poked out from beneath his skin. “Sure, what the hell I’ll take you under my wing,” he said, “you’ve got promise.”
“Christ,” Mallory whispered.
Kuzuru spoke to the other two before they could speak, “sorry, looks like the bounty is off the table. Though, I was thinking we should make a crew of mercenaries, you two have the contacts and I’m more than willing to fight.”
“For fucks sake,” Mallory said.
“Your choice jerkweeds, either way,” he said and extended his weapons outwards, “the girl is off the table.”
Charles looked at Mallory and lowered his weapon. He shrugged. The two knew that their bounty was lost, but perhaps this new arrangement was better.
“Fuck it Mal,” Charlie said, lighting another cigar, “I’m in.”
Mallory sighed, removed his phone from his pocket and pecked out a message before saying, “yeah, I suppose I’ll throw down as well.”