The Raven was tired, and oh so horribly sore. The chains around his wrists weighed heavy as he limped onward, his foot throbbing from the break he'd suffered from that damned human ape! Ferow would find him for what he did, next time Hoplite wouldn't defy reality and live despite the Raven having come for his life! Suddenly his chains were tugged forward, and Ferow nearly fell forward with a curse, the deep pain in his bruised shoulders protesting the motion. Night-watch captain Muro glared back at him, those pale green eyes of his angry and filled with irritation.
"You're seething again." Muro said, "Focus, we have about two-hundred Watchers to talk to before today is done, scum."
This is all they had both been doing since Ferow's incarceration… Walking about this stupid forest, speaking to every single Watcher they came across and sending out orders for even more to report to Muro for questioning. Right now they were trudging around the Bastion, the long roots leading to the Ilum Tree separating the tree city off into sections not unlike how the Shots split the continents of Ahkoolis.
The hot sun beat down on him from above, having turned his skin a bright lobster-red. Muro was fine of course, or at least it seemed as if he was. Muro had been burnt as well, yet he didn't seem to care about his own crimson-burnt skin. To be fair to himself though, Ferow considered the redness to Muro's flesh not nearly as horrid as his own. There was absolutely no way Muro's skin hurt as badly as Ferow's did at that moment in time… Oh what he wouldn't do to be back in the shadows where he belonged.
The shadow's with his companions… companions that Hoplite had taken from him. They would all be avenged in due time, Moony especially. In all his long years in the business of assassination, Moony had been the best co-killer he could have ever asked for. That was until Hoplite had put an early end to Moony's short life.
Ferow would avenge him, as well as his other companions. First he needed to escape the Faewood, recover, and prepare for a second attempt. It wasn't about the contract anymore, Ferow needed Hoplite dead. That was something he would take care of once he got out of here… If he ever got out of here. Ferow knew that as soon as Muro was finished with his investigation that he'd be executed for killing a fae of the forest.
It had been an accident, the moxvenom had been meant to kill Hoplite… but Ferow knew that such excuses would get him nowhere.
Ferow sighed, and looked around at the sparse forest; well, sparse compared to the Faewood proper at least. The density of trees in the Bastion were nowhere near as thick as the forest outside the root wall. There were long pockets of empty grassy fields where his pale flesh had been exposed to an unhealthy amount of sunlight…
He was an elf of the night, a damned assassin! He had no tan to protect from his hated enemy's rays! It seemed that today Muro had decided to drag Ferow to a large field of grass, the occasional stray bush here and there to break the otherwise flat landscape. Precious shade was far off in the tree line, where faekin citizens gawked at him from their tree-houses. Those eyes constantly stared from windows or balconies embedded in the living trees, some going as far as to open their doors and point in his direction. Ferow glared at them and bared his teeth, briefly considering which out of all of them could be his parents before shaking his head. That part of his life was over with, he'd not seethe over his abandonment any longer, it was wasted effort.
Before Muro and Ferow stood a large gathering of about a hundred day-Watchers, and Ferow's head hung in despair. Muro wanted Ferow to talk with each of these morons to find out which one hired him, the purple Sanctioning band around his neck bearing a twin that replicated its effects. Ferow had told Muro that the elf that had hired him to kill Hoplite was capable of entering mist-form, but the night-captain was still intent on questioning every Watcher, rather than just the ones capable of building the House of Kyria.
Muro didn't say why, but Ferow thought that the night-captain suspected that Hoplite's assassination was some kind of conspiracy, with multiple players involved. Ferow didn't know for sure, nor did he care. All that mattered was waiting for an opening to escape, for if he didn't, he'd be killed soon after the culprit was found.
The Ilum tree stood tall overhead, looming like a dark uncaring executioner. What he wouldn't give for the sun to disappear behind it for a while. Unfortunately, in the mornings the damnable ball of fire was facing this side of the tree. No escape from the sun could be found in this accursed faekin hold.
Muro cleared his throat, and all the present day-Watchers ceased discussion, standing straight-backed, their faces going pale above their color shifting cloaks. They looked like disembodied heads floating in the air, an unsettling sight, even knowing that it was just those enchanted cloaks that gave them that appearance. One of those cloaks had been his, then he lost it. So many jobs he could have done oh so easily with one of those cloaks…
He could even kill a Block-Lord and get away with it, which Ferow knew people were willing to pay him for. Most people in Akan-Dar hated the Block-Lords, that, and there were always rich folk fueled by pure murderous ambition that would pay him handsomely for the job of taking one out. Ferow had done it once before, though it had taken great effort. That job had allowed him to sit pretty for ten years before he had to go back to doing jobs. If he ever made enough coin, he would just like to find a place to settle down and be lazy for the rest of eternity… If only he wasn't so bad at managing his finances! He might have been able to make the gold he received for killing Lord Hezeke last longer than a decade.
"You already know why I've called you all here." Muro announced loudly, taking Ferow from his thoughts, "You will all wear this Sanctioning band around your necks and will be dismissed when the questions I ask you are answered."
Ferow sighed and shook his head. Fat chance that the faekin who had hired Ferow would still be here in the Bastion now that word about Muro's rabid questioning had spread… but then again Muro must surely know that. The night-watch captain had sent word for nearly all the Watchers to return for questioning. Any who didn't were to be treated as if they themselves had committed the crime.
Safe to say that most had already come back for the interrogations, but Ferow's employer, if he was smart anyway, had likely left the Faewood to find a life somewhere else. That was what Ferow would have done, but elves were strange about their woods. Ferow didn't understand the obsession with trees, sure, he was an elf, but he had never shared their infatuation with the forest. Guess it must be a learned trait, after all, Ferow himself was far more comfortable with tiled rooftops and the floating city blocks of Akan-Dar than he was in nature.
The first of the elves walked up after a long silence from the group, a particularly nervous looking fellow. Muro then put up a hand and shouted for him to halt ten paces away from him. Ferow watched as Muro then tossed the band to the elf, face as hard as always.
"Put that on and stay right there. Open up your cloak to show that you hold no weapons ready to be used against me. If you do, lay it at your side now." He ordered sternly, "This goes for all of you, the one I search for is likely to attempt a violent escape, which is why I insist you put the collar on yourselves." He explained as the elf complied, opening his cloak to reveal the thin cotton clothing beneath, discarding a long thin blade along with a hand-crossbow before clamping the collar around his neck.
Muro then stared daggers at Ferow, turning his head and asking loudly enough for the group to hear, "Is this the man that hired you to kill Hoplite?"
Ferow groaned and shook his head before answering, "No."
Muro then looked back to the day-Watcher and asked loudly, "Did you hire Ferow the Raven to kill Hoplite, a man protected by the Oath of Shelter? Are you in any way involved with the disappearance of five color-shifting cloaks?"
The man actually breathed a sigh of relief at the question, and answered, "No my lord."
Muro however, stared suspiciously at the elf. Ferow himself wondered why Muro hadn't moved on to the next Watcher, this one had just said he wasn't involved in the assassination, with a Sanctioning band on no less! It was impossible to tell a lie with one of those things clamped around your neck.
"What did you do to act so nervous about the sanctioning band, Watcher?" Muro asked, eyes narrowing at the startled elf.
The elf went pale and shook his head quickly, "N-nothing sir!" He stammered, Ferow able to read the terror in his eyes. He'd been getting better at reading people's emotions lately, what with all the eye contact Ferow had been forced to make these last few days.
Muro seemed to pick up on this as well and narrowed his eyes on the elf further.
"What was it that you did?" Muro asked, "No crime can be tolerated from Watchers, now speak!"
"I-" The elf stammered, his face going red, "I- I- layed with my friend's sister under his own roof!"
The air fell still as all went silent. After a moment, Muro shook his head, pinching his brow as he waved for the elf to remove the collar.
"Give it to the next elf to step forward…" Muro said with a short sigh, "From now on, I will stick to the questions that matter." He announced, before pointing to the elf before him "Grab your weapons and go stand over there. Be ready to give chase should I find the betrayer."
The elf gave a quick nod to Muro and looked back to the crowd with his eyes wide, lips drawn tightly. It was then that Ferow noticed another elf in the crowd, glaring fury at the faekin before Muro. That must have been his friend, Pillars save the poor fellow. Around an hour passed of Muro repeating the question, with each elf taking turns confirming that they indeed hadn't hired Ferow. It was an agonizing process, having to stand in the open sun as his flesh peeled and wounds throbbed.
It was a process that lasted until the very last elf to be questioned wore the band.
The elf that stood before Muro now was tall, un-elvenly so even. He could have been of a height with an orc… why had Ferow not noticed this giant before? Likely it was because he was wearing the hood of the cloak while he waited for his turn... Did Watchers recruit elves with gigantism? It was hardly the optimal build for sneaking about, Ferow himself certainly wouldn't have hired anyone this large. The massive elf then approached, only the lower half of his square jaw was visible. Was the large elf sick? His skin was a sickly pale green hue…
He opened his cloak when instructed, revealing a pair of massive veiny arms that stretched the cotton shirt he wore near to bursting. Inelvenly indeed… He watched as the band physically stretched itself to allow the fellow to fit it around his bull-neck. Many items infused with Kyria's magic always operated in such a manner when they were worn, stretching to fit the user. Yet, for it to stretch so far for a supposed faekin's neck… Ferow had a bad feeling about this. Once he clicked the sanctioning band in place, the giant faekin gave a wide smirk, his full set of white teeth on display. He had a pair of long lower canines for an elf…
"Did you hire Ferow the Raven to kill Hoplite, who had been given the Oath of Shelter?" Muro said, his tone turning somehow more suspicious as his eyes narrowed.
"No." The large elf said in a low, guttural voice before he began laughing maniacally.
Muro shook his head before he put a hand on the blade at his waist, letting Ferow's chain fall to the dirt. Why had Muro dropped the chain? Should he try and make a run for it? Even with a broken foot, he just might be able to outpace these Watchers while they were busy dealing with whatever was about to happen here… Why did Muro go for his blade? To make Muro react this way meant that something had set him off… What could it have been? The attitude couldn't be it, Muro hadn't put his hand on his blade whenever Ferow had given insult. No, the older elf had simply given Ferow a taste of his shoe, much to the Raven's humiliation. So what provoked Muro to show open hostility?
It was as he had that thought, that Ferow caught a glimpse of the blood red eyes beneath the hood of the faekin's cloak, reading the emotion on display there. Ferow felt a small tremor of fear at what lurked in the large faekin's eyes. Sheer, unadulterated madness and a hunger for violence. The faekin then removed the hood, revealing a full head of long bloody-red hair that seemed to writhe in the wind. At a glance… they almost looked like bloody worms, wriggling to escape his scalp.
The pointed ears confirmed that the stranger was indeed an elf… or at least that he possessed elven blood. Orcish tusks jutted up from a wide protruding jaw, tusks that Ferow hadn't seen the full length of until the hood was completely removed.
"You…" The half-orc said with an amused growl, "Are the night-captain of the watch… right?"
Muro drew his blade to its full length, dropping down into a defensive posture "I am. How did you infiltrate this place?" He asked firmly as the rest of the surrounding day-Watchers drew arms.
Ferow read amusement in the half-orc's eyes. The deep yellow sclera served to bring out the bright red iris, further cementing the idea that this man was certainly not sane.
"I just climbed the wall." The half-orc answered with a laugh.
Ferow stared. Surely that was a lie, though he could not see it in the half-breed's eyes. Ferow himself hadn't braved the root wall, it would have been suicide, the roots would have torn him asunder. Yet this giant oaf of a half-orc had done it? Impossible.
"I'm looking for some folks, a band of travelers… I don't suppose they passed through here, did they?" The freak asked, waiting for a response from Muro. When the half-breed received none, he smiled, "You may be wondering how I myself came across this cloak," He said, flourishing the nigh invisible cloth, "Once I got across the wall, one of your Watcher's spotted me and attacked, therefore consenting to Tomah between us. I crushed his skull and took the cloak for my own, as Tomah dictates."
Tomah? He was from the Blood-Lands? Battle-crazed lunatic Shimani dogs all of them, but what else could be expected from the homeland of the Tongues of Zodd? Muro then drew his blade fully, the point poised to pierce Tuji's throat.
"Oh? You wish to engage in Tomah? Very well… I had hoped for a fight between us, I've heard much about you Muro." The half-orc grinned, "In truth, I didn't think you'd know where my quarries had gone, but it has been a long time since I've had a proper challenge, so I indulged my impulsiveness and sought you out." He admitted with a small shrug, "I will give you this one chance to back down, to break Tomah between us before it truly begins."
"You will not leave the Bastion alive," Muro growled, "How dare you strut up to me wearing the cloak of a Watcher you slaughtered!?"
Ferow then began backing away slowly as the other present Watchers began closing around the half-orc. This could be his chance to escape Muro's clutches.
"Excellent!" The beast shouted, his voice echoing across the field "You will know me, I am Tuji… The Son of Zodd!" He declared loudly, freezing the blood of every individual who heard it.
Ferow screamed as he fell to his rear, trying to scramble away from the monster before him. The surrounding day-Watchers all took a step away from the elf- no, the demon that seemed to tower even over the Ilum Tree itself. A monster of legend, a bringer of the End Times.
"Pillar-Born!" Ferow screamed in terror.
He needed to get out of here, broken foot or no! It was the end of Decuma!
The fact that Tuji wore the Sanctioning band during his proclamation was meaningless. Even had Tuji declared divinity without the collar, there would have been no doubt that he spoke the truth… Mortals could not declare themselves as the children of gods. Tuji was, without a doubt, the son of the Pillar-God of Might!
"Watchers to me!" Muro shouted as Tuji gripped the cloak and his shirt with one hand, ripping both away to leave him shirtless.
Tuji's flesh was seemingly nothing but corded muscle and scar tissue. The demi-god bore every kind of scar imaginable, old wounds received from blades, jaws, claws, and burns to name only a few. They pulled taught against his flesh as he stretched his arms out wide, seemingly to invite all the Watchers to come attack him. His feet were bare, and his long trousers were black and baggy, though despite the bagginess of the trousers, Ferow could still tell that Tuji's legs were built like tree-trunks.
The Pillar-Born smirked, "It wouldn't be a fair fight if only you attacked me Muro. I hereby challenge all present to Tomah!" He shouted, his grin widening to show every single tooth in that accursed mouth.
"Kill the Pillar-Born!" Muro shouted with a snarl, darting forward with his slightly curved steel blade.
An intricate pattern of a leaf was engraved onto the hilt of the sword, marking Muro as a blade-master in these lands… Ferow knew in his bones though that it wouldn't be nearly enough to take on a Godling though. Muro swung his blade, his arm like a whip as the sharp edge approached bare flesh. Tuji caught the blade with a lazy hand, quirking a single red eyebrow. Muro gasped, and the surrounding Watchers all froze, faces going pale while Ferow tried desperately to get to his feet.
Muro tugged, likely hoping that the blade would shift in the Godlings grasp and sever his fingers… yet the blade didn't budge an inch in Tuji's steely grip. Muro would have had better luck pulling his blade out of a rock, rather than the hands of a Pillar-Born.
"Nice knife." Tuji said in an admiring tone before giving the blade a squeeze.
The blade shattered beneath the force, and Tuji grinned as Muro backed away, dropping the useless hilt to the dirt with a curse before raising his fists. Tuji again raised a red eyebrow at the gesture, but did the same, lifting both of his fists right up beneath his own eyes. The day-Watchers still stared in sheer fright at the monster before them, and Ferow couldn't blame them for their cowardice… If only he himself could be a better coward to get away from this freak!
Simply standing of his own power seemed to be too much effort, his aching shoulders and shattered foot proving to be banes to his escape. So he did the masculine thing, and began to slide backward on his rump, using his unbroken foot to speed him along. No one moved to seize him.
"I broke your sword Muro… yet you still wish to fight." Tuji said with praise "Truly, you are the bravest of the Watchers!"
"Kill the Pillar-Born you cowardly wretches!" Muro shouted, "Think of what he will do to the Bastion, to the Ilum Tree if he's allowed to live!"
Muro then began throwing punches, controlled and expertly placed, yet Tuji didn't even move as he received blow after blow, blood flying from Muro's knuckles as he refused to cower away from the Pillar-Born.
"Your families," Muro screamed, "Your honor, it all must be upheld and defended here!"
That seemed to catch the day-Watchers' attention and several began to steady themselves, readying to charge Tuji. The Godling seemed willing to allow the elves to completely surround him, taking the time to dig a shard of Muro's blade out from beneath one of his finger-nails. Even as Muro continued to strike at him.
"I'm ready whenever you are…" Tuji told them all with a grin.
That was when they all charged, blades drawn and eyes wide with fear and determination for what they were about to attempt. Muro backpedaled to avoid the storm of blades that descended on the Pillar-Born, his knuckles torn to the bone and dripping blood. Tuji then braced himself as every blade struck him at once, flexing each muscle and somehow managing to trap the tips of the blades beneath his now bulging musculature. The muscles seemed to undulate beneath the skin, shifting to let the blades sink deeper within or catching their edges to stop their motion completely. Somehow, no blood seeped from the flesh where the dozens of blades were caught.
The day-Watchers had struck at his legs, arms, torso and his neck, yet the many blades proved to not be enough to hurt the son of Zodd. The elves all jumped back in terror, leaving their weapons stuck in the Godling's skin. Tuji's face contorted into a disgusting leer as he flexed once more, his muscles seemingly ready to tear free from his body like taught steel wires.
The swords sunk deeper within his flexing flesh, until only the hilts remained visible. It was as if the Godling were being inflated like a balloon made of stone… Until finally, Tuji let out a loud grunt of effort, and the blades… by the Pillars, the blades shattered beneath the strain! A rain of glinting steel exploded from the half-orc, the shards launching from Tuji faster than Ferow could track them. The shards flew into Watchers, blood raining down atop him as faekin groaned in agony… That was if they didn't just fall down dead.
Ferow continued his slow inching retreat as shards whizzed past his head and embedded themselves in the grass next to him. His eyes bulged, and breathing quickened as he stared at the carnage now unfolding before him. Blood seeped from dozens of gaping wounds where the shards of steel had embedded themselves within elf flesh. Muro stood tall, ripping out a large chunk of steel from his shoulder with a curse.
Tuji was upon them after his muscles ceased their straining, a wide grin splitting his face as his hand found the head of a nearby elf. The massive hand squished the front half of the elf's head, and Tuji whirled to spear his arm through the chest of another that had been charging with a blade in his hand.
A heart lay still beating in Tuji's hand, and the Pillar-Born crushed the organ before twisting his body, the corpse quickly sliding off his arm in a spray of blood and gore toward another dozen Watchers. The corpse impacted with a series of crunches and cries of agony as Muro darted forward, landing a punch on Tuji's jaw which didn't make the creature's head move at all.
Tuji then quickly gripped Muro's wrist, crushing it flat in his grip and flinging the night-Watcher high in the air as the formerly stoic faekin screamed in agony. The Godling frowned up at the flying shadow, disappointment clear in those horrible red eyes. Another brave Watcher darted forward with a dagger, plunging it into Tuji's ribs to no effect. The Godling then grabbed that Watcher's wrist and… Ferow tried to kick away further as Tuji began beating the other Watchers with the elf's body, using the poor sod as if he were a pair of chain-sticks. Tuji's hands worked fast, switching between ankles and wrists in a perfect rhythm as he bashed away at the hopelessly outclassed Watchers, a blur forming around him from the speed he swung the Watcher about like a doll.
All that were hit were flung away violently, their bones shattering on impact wherever the screaming body connected. After two connections, the body stopped screaming, but Tuji was not done using the corpse, continuing to batter away at the Watchers that still remained to fight. It had been reduced to a clump of unrecognizable flesh and bone as it blurred in Tuji's hands, a dervish of blood and pain among the small army of elves.
At this point, the rest of the day-Watchers had begun to flee, dropping weapons to the grass as Tuji cackled, dangling the limp corpse of the Watcher he had been using above his head. Bones jutted from bloody flesh and limbs were bent at wrong angles… and at some point the skull had been completely destroyed.
Tuji's pants had been sliced to shreds from the earlier attacks, hanging limply from his waist as blood coated seemingly every inch of him.
Tuji then dropped the twisted corpse to the ground before letting out a long sigh "No challenges here to sate me…" He said wistfully before turning his head to Ferow.
The Raven froze beneath that hungry gaze, but Tuji looked to Ferow's swollen foot and chains, sneering with a shake of his head. Despite that, the horrid thing began to approach Ferow with casual steps as Ferow tried desperately to stand, rolling over onto his belly to try and rise-
A massive wet calloused hand then clamped the back of his neck, lifting him from the ground and setting Ferow on his feet.
"Go little bird." Tuji said, ripping the chains free from him, "You are the Raven… I had heard of you, surely you could be a challenge?" Tuji asked, looking him up and down. Ferow had been about to protest, to say that he was nothing but a little baby that hid in the dark, but Tuji interrupted him, "But I cannot claim your life now. Go, recover and grow strong! Then I will seek you out, and we will do battle!"
Ferow shook his head and shouted, "Hells no!" More in terror than defiance.
Tuji grimaced then, "Very well, coward." He said with spite, lazily waving his bloody hand toward the tree line, "Go free, knowing that you will never be great."
Ferow's pride didn't sting at that statement. Only a fool would try and fight a Godling one-on-one, and if Tuji was willing to let him get away, then that was a chance he was absolutely going to take! Did Muro still live among the mangled groaning bodies laying about the field or had he perished falling back to the dirt? Well, he'd rather not find out. Ferow turned his back to the monster, readying to limp as fast as he was able in case the Godling changed its mind.
But then, Ferow was struck with inspiration.
Despite his terror, Ferow turned around to face the Pillar-Born, trying to smile at the monster as he said, "I… do know someone that could give you a challenge, if you'll hear me, I'll tell you where you're likely to find him. He might even be with whoever you're hunting. He is the one who reduced me to this pitiful state…" Ferow said honestly.
Killing two birds with one stone, escaping the Faewood, and ensuring Hoplite's demise. He only hoped that Tuji would listen to what he had to say.
Tuji's face split in a wide grin before he replied with "You have my ear, Raven."