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Post by Tokrochiru on Jun 17, 2014 22:23:14 GMT -5
The collective consciousness known by a select few as Miasma defies almost all traditional definition. One can not merely claim it is a weapon, a disease, or a realm of existence in and of itself. The one thing that is certain regarding its state of being is that it is alive. Alive, and aware.
Like a living being, it hungers, though not for nourishment. It possesses an insatiable desire to expand itself; to gorge grossly and endlessly until its mass encompasses everything.
What hope is there in defeating an abomination of such magnitude? I believe the answer has been in front of us all along.
To kill an abomination, one must use another kind of abomination.
The dry, hot wind jabbed harshly against the Sojourner's temples. The slowly setting sun still illuminated the orange badlands of Holgraff, at least for now.
She couldn't pinpoint precisely what it was that brought her to this place. She only knew that she was pulled here spiritually, as if a tether had attached itself to her soul and was forcefully tugging her towards her destination. The tether led her to a human-designed vehicle fuel depot on the side of a rural highway. "P-I-T-S-T-O-P 1-0-1" the big painted sign in front of the establishment read in human characters. Sojourner couldn't understand what words they spelled, but she recognized the shapes of the letters at least.
This was it. This was her destination. Whatever was pulling her, it came from here. She passed several pillars with complicated machinery attached to them and made her way to a poorly washed window. The glass gave view to what appeared to be some kind of store-room or store. However, there was no one inside attending to the various colorfully-labeled objects within.
She checked the pull. It didn't lead her inside the storeroom. Instead, it seemed to be gesturing her to the side, towards a parked automobile. No sooner did she look upon the the boxy orange carriage than did it roar loudly, expelling foul-smelling gasses from its rear end.
"I love the smell burning oil in the evening," she heard a muffled, accented voice say.
Through the darkly tinted windows, she could see a bipedal figure in the carriage's front left seat. As soon as she looked upon him, the creature seemed to take notice of her as well. The vehicle's growling ceased, and the door on its side open. Out came a male, blonde-haired human in orange and blue, lightweight clothing. The human raised one of its eyebrows at her, and spoke.
"Hell," the man exclaimed as he scratched the back of his head. "I didn't even hear you pull up. Well, whatever. Where's your car, and how much gas do you need?"
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Post by BloodValkyrie on Jun 17, 2014 23:27:06 GMT -5
It was truly an abhorrent stench. Made even worse by Sojourner's heightened senses. She could deeply smell the fumes coming from the vehicle's rear, finding it impossible to resist grimacing. She moved some of her black hair out of her way and held her arm up to her nose, partially shielding it from the stench with her sleeve. Her yellow eyes focused on the man before her.
"Ah, right...a car...and gas."
She was a bit stuck. She knew what a car and gas were thanks to absorbing knowledge from the white maiden before. But she did not have one and, therefore, was unsure of how to respond to the man. Frankly, there was no real point in lying about this. This man was also a citizen of this realm, so telling the truth had the possibility of benefiting her.
"I do not have a car. I came here because I felt...drawn here. I felt as if I were being guided, and so I followed. You happen to be here when I arrive. Perhaps this has meaning of some kind?"
The last part of Sojourner's speech was mostly a question to herself. But regardless, she undoubtedly sounded like a very strange woman.
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Post by Tokrochiru on Jun 17, 2014 23:55:04 GMT -5
The man's already stretched eyebrow soared to greater heights when the Sojourner expressed how she was 'drawn' to the area.
After several seconds, the man slapped a single palm against his face. He gave the Sojourner an awkward grimace that expressed irritation, embarrassment, and sympathy all at once.
"Look, I don't know what tell you, missy. I already denied one tribe of druids the rights to this lot of land. I don't care what tribe you're from, how many of you there are, or what rights you had to this place before the Trade League moved in. I bought this lot with my own hard earned money, and I sure as hell ain't putting it up for sale. Sorry if that irks ya."
The man crossed his arms. He had made several assumptions about the Sojourner, none of which were correct. Perhaps he lacked the necessary information to truly comprehend what the outsider truly meant when she said she was pulled, but it was most likely much more than that. His slightly leaned-back posture was indicative of a creature that was stubborn to the core, and more than a little defensive. It was clear that this person wasn't going to be of any help so long as his guard was up.
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Post by BloodValkyrie on Jun 18, 2014 0:21:22 GMT -5
Sojourner's right eyebrow moved up as she gave the man a quizzical look. Druids? Tribe? What was he talking about? She had nothing to do with any of those and she did not even know what a druid was. Whatever he had assumed of her from what she said, he was obviously wrong. Perhaps this man was a normal everyday citizen of this realm? Someone who just went on with their life, never bothering to delve deep into the many layers of the world's mysteries?
If he was that kind of person then he would be a complete bore and utterly useless to her.
But Sojourner was not going to dismiss the first person she saw in miles so quickly. She decided to be blunt and simply tell him everything.
The dark-skinned woman took a deep breath.
"That is not correct. I am not part of any tribe. I am not from around here, I am from a land completely different from here. I was stranded some time ago and, after finding out who originally stranded me here is no longer among the living, this feeling, this guiding light within me is the first thing to give me any semblance of a direction."
She took a step closer, looking the man directly in the eyes.
"Please think long and hard. Is there anything about this area that you possibly think could have drawn someone like me? Anything strange or unusual going on?"
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Post by Tokrochiru on Jun 18, 2014 1:21:51 GMT -5
The man placed his left handon his hip as he gently bit his cheek, seemingly deep in thought. He silently nodded to himself before placing his right hand gently on the Sojourner's shoulder.
"I know exactly what you're going through, and there's a place you can go to find help."
The young man smiled.
"It's called rehab."
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Post by BloodValkyrie on Jun 18, 2014 1:47:53 GMT -5
A silence overcame the area upon that statement. Sojourner's expression slowly shifted from partially friendly, to neutral, to a frown. She was not a savage though. Her first instinct was not to strike the man, despite the insult, but was to calm down and think of what to do next. After a few seconds she took a few steps back from the man.
"Very well. If you don't believe me then I will simply have to show you."
Her body glowed with a bright purple light, her brown dress, shirt, and black boots vanishing within it. Pink-tipped horns grew out from her head and a bone-like exoskeleton covered her breasts, arms, and shoulders, but left her well-built stomach area exposed. Red strands of hair, similar to antenna, appeared rolling out from under her ears. Her ears themselves became pointed while her hands changed into having only three fingers and her feet vanished, simply becoming large pointed stumps of exoskeleton below the knees. Her transformation ended with a belt of inhuman skulls wrapping itself around her inhumanly thin waist.
The light faded, leaving Sojourner hovering a few inches above the ground in her true form; her brown cloak billowing in the wind behind her.
"As you can now see for yourself, I am not from around here. My tale is one of truth, and I am beginning to grow tired of speaking to you about it, so please stop being so uncooperative and give me an answer."
This was the inhuman woman's last resort. If there were anybody else around she would have simply moved on from this man and talked to them. But there was not. This man in front of her was her only source of information at this time. But she was beginning to not mind having to wander around and simply damn the guiding feeling within her to oblivion.
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Post by Tokrochiru on Jun 18, 2014 2:37:54 GMT -5
Any normal human should have been shocked, terrified even, to witness such a transformation. The Sojourner was indeed not only foreign to Holgraff, but foreign to the world itself. A scream, or at least a gasp, would have been an acceptable response.
Instead, the man pursed his lips and took a deep breath in through his nostrils.
"Huh."
With that simple word said, he pulled a square-shaped electronic device out of his pants-pocket, and turned around until his back was facing the Sojourner. He placed the device next to his ear and started to speak.
"Heya, there's a demon at my gas station. Can you folks send someone to take care of that?...No, for real this time....Look, just because I called you guys one time and it turned out to be a false alar-....Oh, come on! She is literally standing right in front of me, horns poking out of her head and everything!...Yeah, well fuck you too, buddy!"
A beep sounded from the small device in the young man's hand. He placed it back in his pocket, muttering under his breath as he turned back to face the outsider once more.
"Look ma'am I don't do favors for demons, mutants, necromancers, or anyone that's liable to set my gas station on fire if he sticks around long enough. I don't know what you are, but I can tell you don't plan on buying gas, or anything from my store. So, for your sake, you'd better turn around before I fill you with so many holes you'll think you're a pincushion. You gettin' me?"
The young man topped his threat off by flicking the outsider sharply on the upper sellion of her nose, right between her eyes. The convincing sneer on his face either meant that he wasn't afraid of her in the slightest, or he was hiding his fear phenomenally well.
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Post by BloodValkyrie on Jun 18, 2014 16:48:04 GMT -5
This was an outcome that she knew was possible. She was well aware there was a chance that this man would not take her true form well, but she gambled anyways. Sojourner turned around and simply hovered away, preparing to disguise herself with her cloak once again and continue wandering.
Or, at least, she would have done that if the man had not flicked her nose. That little gesture, that obscene action, changed the entire plan.
"Such disrespect..."
Sojourner turned to the side, keeping her eyes upon the man, and held out an arm towards his store. A large burst of purple energy flew out, forming into a large hand, and crashed through its window. The hand stopped just before destroying anything else inside, floating in midair and tethered to the woman's arm by a long beam of energy.
"No more insults. No more fooling around. Give me a straight answer. Give me something I can use. Otherwise your store will be decimated."
She was a good listener. She caught the man threatening to fill her with holes. From that, she assumed he had some way of fighting and kept her guard up. It would be far better for her to overestimate her opponent than to underestimate.
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Post by Tokrochiru on Jun 18, 2014 19:02:17 GMT -5
The young man's eyelids looked almost stapled open as he hyperventilated. He was grinding his teeth together hard enough to make it friction-heavy rubbing audible.
He was ready for a fight, no doubt about that. But something was holding him back. Perhaps his concern for the upkeep of his store got the better of him? No, it had to be more than that. The man seemed apprehensive in spite of the fact that he wasn't sweating.
...But a moment later, that apprehension disappeared. It was replaced with a cold scowl, and raw determination. It was the look a predator gave to its prey before going for the kill.
He took a few steps backwards. There was something abnormal about the way he moved. His steps were awkward and slow. He allowed his arms to droop lazily as he shambled.
"Tell me something, missy. What if you find what you're looking for here, and you don't like what you wee? What'll you do?"
The young man leaned forward so far that his chin almost touched the ground, all the while maintaining eye contact with the Sojourner. The position his body was in couldn't have been comfortable for any normal human being.
"There's only one thing I can think of that could draw a creature like you to this place, and I can guarantee you, you ain't gonna like it one bit."
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Post by BloodValkyrie on Jun 18, 2014 19:34:37 GMT -5
Sojourner narrowed her eyes at the man, her arm still outstretched towards his store and her energy limb still embedded in its window. This man was acting strange. The stance he took was more befitting of a savage beast than an intelligent being. Regardless, his words pointed that he had an idea of what she was looking for. But why was he trying to hard to hide it from her? What could it possibly be?
"I do not want a fight. Simply tell me what you know and I will leave. Only the glass plating of your building is damaged. I have yet to touch anything within it. If you force me into a battle, I can't guarantee that the level of damage will not increase."
The inhuman woman was not one to back down from a fight, but she did not like to fight when it was not necessary. It was a waste of time and energy when a much less costly option was available.
"As for me not liking whatever drew me here...well I can't see the future. I will cross that bridge when I come to it."
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Post by Tokrochiru on Jun 18, 2014 20:40:59 GMT -5
The abnormally flexible fuel-depot owner seemed surprised by her response.
"You sure you're not trying to lull me into a false sense of security? I mean, that's what demons do, isn't it?...Heh. I guess it doesn't matter."
The man stood up straight, and casually walked through the broken window leading into the store.
"We'll talk about this inside!" he shouted back to her. "Just in case anyone might see us."
The Sojourner was wary to follow him into the establishment, considering how strange his behavior had been so far. There was no way to tell if he planned on attacking her once she was inside. Still, she wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, so she ignored her common sense and followed him inside.
She found the man standing on top of one of the shelves that carried various goods. He was bent backwards with his arms crossed. He looked her straight in the eyes, his chin pointed towards the ceiling, and his hair drooping downward.
"You see, missy-"
As he spoke, his head turned clockwise until its position was completely reversed. His head was upright, while his body was still bent backwards. Sojourner was certain that human bodies didn't naturally bend that way.
"-there's only one thing in this gas station in the middle of nowhere that might ping off your spirit-sense, or whatever you call it."
The bizarre creature placed one hand on its face and tugged at its own skin. The flesh stretched, as if made of rubber.
"That thing...is me."
In one swift motion, the creature tore every bit of flesh, hair and cartilage off of its head. With the human mask removed, the Sojourner was able to behold the monster's real face. A bare skull with over-sized molars and sharp canines. Blue, ember-sized orbs dimly shined within the skull's eye sockets. Countless creased lines symmetrically were carved into the skull, as if someone had ritualistically cut into the bone matter with a sharp knife.
A single horn made of bone suddenly materialized on the skeleton-like creature's forehead as four pointy spikes grew out from the back of the skull in a similar fashion.
The freakish fiend spoke in with a pair flanging, scratched voices.
"Is this what you came to see!?"
Indeed, the pull seemed to be coming from the creature itself, and not from the store. With its mask removed, the pull seemed even stronger somehow. But why?
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Post by BloodValkyrie on Jun 18, 2014 21:43:16 GMT -5
Sojourner's eyes widened as she saw the man tear his head apart, revealing his inhuman skull. Bone-like spikes then popped out of his head, looking as if they formed some kind of hairstyle. The whole thing was a genuine surprise for her. She expected this man to be odd, but nothing on this level.
"And you called me a demon?"
She started at the skeletal man silently, pondering what to do next. The pull was definitely coming from this man, more so now. It seems revealing his true form increased the tug she felt within. But that still did not answer why there was even a pull in the first place.
"The feeling is coming from you. It feels as if your very nature is attracting mine. But that does not answer the question as to why this is even happening. Has this happened to you before? Have you attracted other beings such as me? If so, what causes it? I could leave here and return to my business, but this constant nagging within my soul is a nuisance."
Sojourner sniffed the air a few times and her yellow eyes moved to the side, focusing on a small shelf of colorful treats in bright bags.
This had nothing to do with anything important though, so she returned her gaze to the man and ignored the sweet smell.
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Post by Tokrochiru on Jun 18, 2014 22:59:48 GMT -5
"I don't intentionally 'draw' anyone." The man said "draw" while making upside down air quotes with his fingers. "If I wanna find trouble, I'll go looking for it myself. Now, if you don't mind, could you please get the hell out of my gas station? I'm trying to run a business here, and horned creatures other than myself are bad fo-"
The creature stopped speaking suddenly. He turned his head to the broken window.
"You hear that?" He asked. "It sounded like-"
Sojourner couldn't clearly remember what happened after he said those words. It all happened so suddenly. Faster than she could have possibly reacted.
Her vision had gone completely dark, and her thoughts became clouded. She couldn't feel anything. It was as if everything around had suddenly vanished along with her senses. Was she even awake at this point?
Slowly, her senses returned to her, one by one. First, her sense of smell. Her nostrils were clogged with the scent of smoke. Next came her body, the left half of which felt incredibly hot. After that, she regained her hearing. The crackle of fire and the whine of bending metal irritated her lobes. Finally, her sight came back to her, and she was able to fully comprehend where she was.
She was lying down in the dirt. A short distance away from her, she saw what appeared to be a corpse engulfed in flames. A quick survey of the area revealed that the gas station was almost a quarter of a mile away, and was in pieces, many of which were on fire. More interestingly, however, were the silhouettes that surrounded the ruins of the now-decimated establishment.
They were emitting some sort of focused light source. Perhaps they were carrying torches of some kind? The glare of the sun made it difficult to make out just what they were, or what they looked like. She could tell they were searching for something though.
The Sojourner had a feeling they were searching for her, or perhaps the skeleton-man. They seemed to be unaware of where she was at the moment, however.
There was some relatively sizable debris nearby if she wished to hide. Then again, there were also enough pieces of smaller debris she could make use of if she wished to get closer to the mysterious silhouettes without being seen.
Whatever she planned on doing, she had to make a decision quickly, lest she risk being spotted.
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Post by BloodValkyrie on Jun 18, 2014 23:50:07 GMT -5
Sojourner groaned in both pain and annoyance, her head ringing from a combination of being tossed all the way out here and the assault upon her senses. She looked towards the flaming corpse behind her, wondering if it was the skeleton man. She would have checked if the silhouettes in the distance were not near. A direct confrontation with them ran across her mind and, while she was confident in her abilities, she was not stupid and lacking in tactics. It would be best to get a tad bit closer and observe her foes, gain some kind of information before attacking them.
Sojourner slowly moved forward, using the debris as cover until she was close enough to get a view of the assailants. Thankfully, her enhanced vision allowed her to see them clearly after only getting a tad bit closer. She sat behind a large chunk of metal, covered with a few pieces concrete. Her right eye glowed purple and a small eyeball of energy appeared next to her, curving slightly around the corner of the debris and looking out towards the silhouettes. The inhuman woman's abilities allowed her to use this artificial organ to see just as clearly as if she were using her own biological eye. This posed a significantly lower risk of being spotted than poking her head out of cover.
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Post by Tokrochiru on Jun 19, 2014 4:22:57 GMT -5
The Sojourner's spiritual eye was able to see beyond the irritating glare of the setting sun, turning the silhouettes into recognizable human bodies. They were a group of 16 or so heavily armored men. The helmets they wore were fully equipped with respirators, and goggles that emitted an eery red light from within. They were holding firearms of various sizes and types, though they all had similar elements in their design, meaning that they were all likely developed by the same manufacturer. There were also several technologically advanced tools hanging from their belts, though it was anyone's guess as to what their use was.
Most notably, they all bore the same insignia on their shoulder pads. A red emblem of some sort of a fanged beast's open maw, with the letters S.A.F painted in white letters in-between its parted teeth.
The well-armed mercenaries searched the wreckage thoroughly. Muffled, low pitched voices could be heard from a distance. A normal person wouldn't have been able to decipher what they were saying from such a long distance away, but Sojourner's enhanced senses were just strong enough to pick up on it, albeit only barely.
"Negative," one of them said as he nudged a pile of ashes with his (or maybe her) foot. "My scanner's not picking up any bodily remains amongst the debris."
"The arcane configuration on our equipment might not be capable of registering their presence." Another one of the soldiers knelt down and checked under a pile of melted iron.
The apparent leader of the group (signified by a pair of white stripes painted on the top of his helmet), raised his voice a little higher than the others who had spoken so far. "Seth, Franco, you stay at ground zero and keep looking. Everyone else, spread out. Pattern Gryph-Sentron.
With that, the soldiers split up into groups of three to explore the area, checking behind objects both large and small as they did so. One group in particular seemed to be headed right in the Sojourner's direction.
There was no doubt about it. She was going to be spotted if she stayed where she was right now. It was up to her to decide if it was best to remain hidden and attempt to move behind another suitable source of cover, or take the attack them before they could react.
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