[Nippur] One Hell of a Randsom Note

[Ash]

At some point, Skull-Face regretted this whole endeavour and if he wasn't sure the two that started this wasn't already dead he would like to kill them off himself. The weak woman he'd manhandled several times wasn't as mild or docile as she seemed to be, in fact, she was kicking his ass thoroughly enough. He was doing everything in his power to keep her away. He could see metal in her hand, but not the dimensions. He was far too busy dodging whatever deadly weapon she had in hand, which he was absolutely sure that she was just playing with him. Each jab felt powerful but not as fast as it could be by the way she was dancing around him.

On top of this, the little shit he'd tossed his daggers back at now laughed like a madman at something. Skull-Face wasn't prepared for the sight he received upon turning around. All the color escaped him as the dead came back to life. If the great Skull-Face could not feel confident in his ability to spear a man through with his lance, and the man stays down, then he had no hope to win. Of course, this realization may have come a little too late for the Boss Bandit. Daggers struck through his chest, then a second later the scantily dressed woman sent her electricity coursing through his entire body.

Smoke rose from his charred flesh as an after effect, his sweat amplifying the waves and waves of pain he'd experienced in seconds. His body had never felt heavier... He crashed to his knees, spreading some of the sand under him, his weapon dropping to the loose earth. His mind raced away like his body really wanted, but he remained kneeling before the primes that bested him. They had to be primes... No secondary has ever felt the wrath of his lance and walked away - much less dashed back into the fight.


Hundreds of bandits were trying to turn the chaos from the flying dead lizard back into something that resembled order. Wacin, the final of the trio that started all of this, bound ungracefully towards them, his eyes full of pure fear, his own color paled by the shit that he'd seen. "Guys!" His voice shrill and slowed.

As he approaches they roll their eyes. Wacin is a bit slow, as everyone quickly finds out. So when he came running around, concerned they all assumed it was because the even of the death lizard just caught up to his lower mind. "Yes, Wacin. We saw the lizard."

At this point, the lanky man looked around him and saw the carnage. Pure death and destruction. On top of a wagon, armored to fight against archers and their arrows rather than a gigantic fire-breathing lizard soring through the air. The wagon was in pieces, chunks strung out much like a lego towering being spiked against the hard floor. The Lizard was mostly intact, but the magma hot blood spilled out along the wood and caught it on fire. He could see shadows in the flames trying to survive the inescapable faith...

Wacin was struck suddenly by what had happened and shook violently as he pointed to the lizard. "The gods, guys. There is a giant fucking lizard on that wagon!"

The one he'd been talking to looked bored and pissed by this slow announcement of the obvious. He side glanced to a buddy who was helping him drag another unconscious body away from the fires. The other guy was the one that spoke up. "Wacin. What were you about to say before that?" Curious about what else was going on.

Wacin was still shaking, horrified by all the crazy shit that was all happening. It took the men to politely lay the unconscious bandit down near the collected few before the second guy could come over and grab Wacin. He shook him violently.

"Hey! Wacin! Snap out of it, dammit! What's going on with Skull-Face!?"

Wacin pushed away and fell into the sands on his ass, but then was immediately focused on what he'd seen happen to Skull-Face. His eyes went wider than ever. "Sk-Skull-Face! He... He killed a guy but the guy got back up! And that chick? She kicked Skull-Face's ass. She..." He stopped to point at the lizard. There was a red glare coming off of the hook piercing through the back of the lizard's neck. "She did that."

"Chick?" The first one asked, confused.

"Wait, you mean the bitch we were going to have fun with?" The second asked.

Wacin nodded dumbly.

"Bullshit."

"Bullshit, she could barely stand on her feet."

"Wacin, you better not be making shit up again!" The first one said, holding his hand out to slap the clearly impaired man.

"Wait!" He lifted his hand up to shield himself from the attack.

But the first bandit, the one that obviously had a problem with Wacin, looked up as a puff of smoke drifted into the air.

Wacin looked back and then pointed at it. "See, trouble."

A group of bandits took up arms and headed over the sandy hills to get a better grasp of what was happening.


Skull-Face's mind was back in the sands of Vasty Deep. On an island out there was a village he'd once called his home. He had a family once before... He had peace and love. He had a life worth living. A good life. Then he'd watched his peaceful village burn up in flames, his family turned to ashes, his life before this scattered to the winds. A woman with raven black hair and a sorrow-filled face haunted his mind as she screamed for him to stop, to stop him from...

Oh wait, this wasn't his life. Skull-Face was imagining a memory of a time when he'd been a pirate and was raping and pillaging upon high seas.

Because he was a badass, who earned this fate. And be damned if he was going to throw it away for the honor.

Skull-Face grabbed two of the daggers in his chest, ripped them out and began to attack again! The priest first, the traitor next, and finally he'd have his way with the woman! He raised his hands to attack the younger male, only for Sand Hawk to tackle him! The Dagger Hero put all his weight into! Poisoned and shocked, Skull-Face went down hard! The Boss Bandit twisted and turned, and began to stab violently at the boy wrapped around his waist!

This was cut short by Erik's metallic spiked tendrils wrapping around the lengths of his arms. "Let go, Sand Hawk!" He demanded, and his partner did so as Erik picked the stronger male up and tossed him over his head. Slamming Skull-Face into the sand, face down. He brought Mageslayer over his head next, and in a sudden and anti-climatic end, Skull-Face was no more. Two halves of his head fell apart to reveal a clean cut brain.

Ash watched, biting her lip a little. With Erik's display of precise brutality, she suddenly had a taste for a tall cold glass of him~! Her attention, however, was snatched easily by the group of men coming over the hill to watch their brave leader be taken down by a small rag-tag party. She twisted so that her floating hair whipped around to the other side of her head and gave them a delicate wave. "Oh, hello boys~! Did you come to collect your prize? Tsk, tsk. It hasn't even been two hours, yet." She brought her weapon up to her lip and licked the clean blade.

With speed unimaginable, the blade was shot towards the group. It landed square between the eyes of the highest rank of the group. He didn't even know he was struck. His brain still functioning for about five seconds before he lost his balance and eternal darkness embraced him...

Everyone who had been around him tensed up. They saw the blade hilt deep in his skull. Scared that that wasn't the only dagger she had, they backed up slowly before four grown men cried out and began to flee for their lives. Word spread quickly and when Ash went to retrieve her dagger she watched all the men that had been eager to fuck her an hour ago flee like children. A satisfied smile graced her full lips before she let the Dark Eco rest once more within her body. Her hair fell back around her shoulders while the dancing blue electricity sparkled out. The Storm Demon turned to face her improvised allies and she grinned before coming back to their side.

"Good job, guys." She said, then reverted to a more sweeter version of herself, trying to look modest as she tried to wrap her arms around her exposed body. "Now... Where can a girl get some clothes?"

Erik's attention was forced onto her before he looked away and considered what to do about that. "We can find you some clothes in Nippur, but first who are you?" He asked, straight to the point.

"Ash." She began, quickly cut off, however.

"Ash The Storm Demon!" Sand Hawk said proudly, standing up, tall and chest exposed! "Here M'lady!" He offered his own shirt. A scrap of dirty rags, but it was better than the half-burnt shredded clothing she wore.

Ash smiled brightly at him, and then after taking the shirt, she gently brushed his cheek off again and gave him another kiss. "Thank you."

Erik watched and gave Sand Hawk a colder than normal glare. "Thank you, Sand Hawk. But that doesn't answer my question." He turned to Ash when she'd managed the shirt. It covered her, barely. "Who are you, why did they think you were Gilgamesh's woman?"

Ash ignored the smell of the garment she was handed, though her nose wrinkled just the same. "I don't know why. I don't even know who this Gilgamesh is. They caught me while I was at this oasis in the desert and just started making all kinds of wrong assumptions." The offended look that this statement alone received put any look her mother gave Ash to shame. It was as if she just insulted his faith and his god at the same time but seperately as well.