| The Hunt The call had gone out and Mp had answered. Six criminals of the basest natures had escaped their captures. Fleeing righteous wrath they scattered to the vilest dungeons to hide from the hand of justice that dogged their every step. Stouthearted heroes from the area immediately took up the hunt. Through omens and signs they searched for clues to their locations. The Hands of the Divine were ever in the forefront of such quests. Mp opened his rune book of darkness. Locations vile and evil were listed within. Only the brave or foolhardy would venture into such places. Mp was a regular. In dark places evil thrived. Abominations great and small festered and eventually boiled out into the world to destroy and kill. This was the refuge of the people he was hunting. This was what he lived for. Knowing that Despise being the closest to Britain, would already be targeted, Mp recalled to the lesser known bastions of evil. He started at Covetous. Dodging skeletons and harpies he happily slaughtered the denizens while he searched for his prey. There he was. Hiding behind walls of gazers and stone harpies was Sherwood. He was a bandit wanted for raiding caravans all around Vesper and putting their people to the sword. Riding a swell of anger Mp placed a wall of fire on top of the bandit and fought hammer and staff against his minions. When the smoke cleared Sherwood was but ash and the bodies of half a dozen gazers and stone harpies, along with many undead, lay smoldering. Picking through the corpses Mp found a strange box. In it was a key and a book. “You must brave the orcs of cove to find this treasure.” He chuckled to himself. Orcs were his personal unfavorites. This would be enjoyable. But more criminals awaited first. Striding through Deceit, he hunted Lancaster. This man was a murderer in the worst sense of the word. Rumor places the deaths of no less than five Yew families under his knife. The hottest place in hell was waiting for slayers of children. Crossing through stagnant waters and giant webs in the dungeon of Deceit, Mp felt it a fitting place for one such as his quarry. He belonged with the undead and unfeeling creatures of the night. Immediately he was swarmed by hordes of undead. By the score they came. By the score they fell. There were just too many. Swallowing his pride, Mp kicked Silver Princess into a gallop and tore an opening in the undead ranks. Lopping off the head of a wraith he stormed through the steel doors and slammed it behind him. Breathing deeply he then hunted slowly. It wasn’t much. A torn web here, a scuffled rock pile there was all the stone allowed. The dead barely moved until someone approached them so a living creature had to make such signs. Intent on his mission Mp was nearly beheaded by a Viking sword from behind him. Instinct or magic forced him to duck and cut at the exact moment. The many notched blade took the head off a stalagmite in one sweep. Lancaster had trained all of his adult life to fight. He was the pride of his company and had honed his skills in no less than a dozen major battles. He was the cream of the crop. He lasted almost a minute.. . His clue pointed to a well known brigand camp west of Britain. It seemed no matter how many patrols combed the area the brigands always still preyed on the travelers between the cities. It was time to harvest a few souls for the Divine to judge. Continuing with his mission Mp approached Shame with caution. It seemed whenever he came through here a different species of creature inhabited it. There were gazers once, then ettins, and even rat men. This time saw trolls and the very powerful ogre lords. This was not going to be easy. He cautiously entered the lair of the notorious black mage Keir. This evil man was known to sacrifice victims in his quest for power. He wasn’t even allowed in Buc's Den because he held no loyalties. That boded well for Mp. The less people that supported this man, the easier the battle would be. Something was wrong. The dungeon of Shame was nearly empty. Following pools of blood and noting that the creatures of the place did not attack him, Mp came to a conclusion. Keir must be truly powerful right now. He must have sacrificed many of the creatures in here to boost his magic. Even evil creatures do not deserve such a fate. Keir did not even try to hide or ambush. He stood there looking smug and triumphant. Then Mp saw why. Half a dozen earth elementals strode from the walls intent on making him so much decoration. Then the magic came. You can dodge rock fists. You can hammer away at rock bodies. But you just can’t dodge magic. The physical attacks were doing almost nothing. But they kept between him and the mage. And the mage wasn’t holding back. The remaining battle was a blur as pieces of elemental flew in various directions. As the wall of bodies fell the impediments to Keir’s magic diminished as well. But Mp had a secret. He was a mage as well. Keir’s eyes betrayed his surprise as Mp sent a flame strike right back at him. Now the battle was on for real. Energy bolts tore into both opponents and poison wracked their bodies. Fire burned between them and summoned creatures battled throughout the cave. But while Keir was a very powerful mage, Mp not only studied the martial arts, he also practiced the healing arts. Damage was healed and poison drawn from his system without a potion or spell being cast. Keir slowly gave ground as his resources dwindled. There was no remorse in his eyes when Mp’s staff nearly caved his head into his chest. He was bitter to the end. Following his clue lead to a tiny cave in the middle of Snake pass. The mission was half over. Emerging from Shame quite a bit worse for the wear, Mp dizzily took stock of his injuries. From mystical connections reports came in of his once guild mate Maggi destroying a coven of creatures including the dark elf Re’Keap and the arch mage Kul'cura. That left only Sam the self styled executioner. Knowing him for the barbarian he undoubtedly was, Mp decided he would need help. He called on the one person who could go sword to sword and snarl to snarl with this mad man. He called another ex guild mate Jason Walker. Jason was often called Daemon Lord because even they backed up when he went into his berserker fury. A single mystical communication later and Jason was beside Mp as they happily hunted infidels. They started with Ice. Though they swatted several elementals and even a couple of powerful Ice Ogre lords, they found no trace of Sam. Jason suggested that Fire would be the place where one of such blood would hide. Mp always figured people like that just wanted to get a feel for hell before they were forced on their way. HoD always liked to help them in that. Having gated the two of them there, Mp took a moment to meditate and regain his magical power. He knew he would need all of his abilities if he and Jason were to defeat the final criminal and bring justice and a fresh start to so many. His peace was interrupted by a near telepathic call from Jason. They were waiting for them. Mp quickly donned his armor and rode across the bridge to see the corpses of several hell hounds and lava lizards. He could only imagine the amount of fire Jason had had to soak up to win through. Splitting up they each thinned the numbers of fire creatures as they went along to avoid another massive retaliation. Mp opened a door and saw the face of pure rage. Sam came at him with an executioner’s axe and wasn’t stopping to use any strategy or spells. Mp cunningly slammed the door in his very face, eliciting a painful yelp as he heard his nose crunch. That wouldn’t stop a berserker though. Mp called up Jason and they formulated a plan. Jason would tear him apart and Mp would watch. Having seen his friend wear a daemon down in hand to hand he had no doubt of the outcome of the battle. What he had not reckoned with was the sheer ferocity and lack of self preservation in the barbarian. Mp watched his friend wear down little by little as the two men tore into each other with reckless abandon. It looked as if Sam was going to capture one more head before he undoubtedly would have fallen to Mp’s magic. But Jason had a secret too. He had trained in the healing arts as well. Just when it looked like the end Sam stepped back in fear as Jason regained his strength with no spells. The shocked look, perhaps the only time in his life, remained on his face as Jason casually lopped off his head. Digging in his pack, Jason found the clue pointing to the Yew crypts. More undead apparently desired final rest. Mp and Jason slapped backs. It was just like the old days with HoD. Another day, another nameless evil thwarted. Back then there would be rounds of ale in the guildhouse along with retellings of the stories, each one larger and more impossible than the next. Mp must be getting old. All he wanted was a good meal and the knowledge that justice had won the day once again. That is, until tomorrow. |
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