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Living, Fuming Cargo [ Open ]

Started by Seasalt, July 22, 2017, 03:05:33 PM

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Seasalt

The creature, they said, had been found on the coast of an island. Chewed up and spit out of the Tuor, a group of smugglers had snatched it up quick, even before reports of a 'red devil' began to pass around portside. An imp was a lot of worth to sell to dark mages, who could bind it to their will or grind its horns down to use in a potion. While hearsay spread of a strange creature sighted along the coast, they threw it in a cage, enchanted its containment until it was suitably magic-resistant, then set out towards the Hivan. Serendipity was their goal, their cargo hidden under a black tarp so no passerby would take note.

Their only fear was the magically inclined. Magic users were said to detect other magic users. Even over the open sea, a Serendipitian vessel full of mages could scent the power radiating off their boat. So the smugglers' own magician, a weak urchin they'd hired off the street, did his best to continuously bolster their ship with cloaking spells. Every pulse seemed to weaken him more and more, but he continued his incantations in the cargo hold, next to the covered cage.

From outside, the ship passed along, as if innocent of the deed being done within it.




Fury could still hear the hypnotic voice of the siren in his mind, though his memories of the incident were fuzzy. All he remembered was choking on saltwater, feeling a tail curling around his legs, the sensation of being pulled under when he'd just managed to find freedom. Other than the suffocating sensation of being drowned, he didn't recognize anything. All he knew upon waking from his stupor was that he was no longer underwater.

First he noticed the cold and how dark it was. Under his body was a cold, metal surface. Above was a ceiling and on his sides bars. The bars radiated with a soft, golden glow. Both that magical light and his own furnace-like stomach created enough light to see that, between each bar, black fabric blocked his vision of the outside world. His body felt heavy, sluggish. It was like he was being kept down by a whole lot of force.

Meanwhile somebody was blathering on in tongues outside. Fury cracked an eye open, sneering. The chanting droned on in his ears, making his body feel chained to the floor of his cage. He wanted to say something, snarl and rattle the bars, but he found he lacked the strength to do so. It was enough to make him furious, but unless something happened in his favor out there, he was trapped.

Eckhart_Von_Musel

"This is fucking retarded"

Aahva Chatterjee didn't realized how briefly the ship would be stopping in Kelei- if he had, he wouldn't have snuck aboard. He had seen a foreign boy boarding the vessel, and Aahva, being Aahva, decided that he deserved to be taught a lesson- he hated foreigners. They were slow and liked pointing at things, and worst of all most of them couldn't even speak Thanati.

So here he was, stuck in the cargo hold of a boat in the middle of the ocean. He didn't want the crew to know he had stowed away- even if they turned the boat around to take him back home, the captain would probably want to speak to Aahva's parents. This made that option totally out of the question. If there was one thing Aahva feared, it was his mom and dad directing their anger at him rather than at each other.

Hiding behind a wooden crate, Aahva quickly snuck a glance at the boy he'd followed down here. "He's still standing by that box like an idiot! It's been like, an hour!" Aahva slumped against his crate, pouting. "What's even in there that needs him to watch it?"

A wicked grin appeared on the Thanati boy's face. "Let's find out!" Pulling his slingshot from his pocket, Aahva rummaged around for something, anything he could shoot the boy with. Finally finding a rock in his back pocket- "Why do I even have this?"- he popped out from behind the crate and fired it at the Serenian child.

"Suck on this, you pasty fuck!"

Seasalt

Whispering spells took a lot of work on the young mage. He thumbed through every spell he'd been taught, opening and closing his fingers as if he were manipulating the very air around him. Sweat clung to his pale skin, both because of how hot and stuffy the cargo hold was and also because of the mental strain it took to keep this up. But whatever the smugglers had stowed away, it was fighting back. He didn't know how long his magic could hold on. So he continued to frantically chant in a slipping effort to stifle the 'demon.'

He was in the middle of a particularly old spell when something hard smacked into the side of his head with a sharp crack. The mage tumbled to one side, a hand pressed to his ear. He screamed, tears already spilling down his face, raising his hand to see blood. He shot a look of alarm to the boy who'd done it. It quickly changed to utter rage.

"S-Shit. Get back! I'll-I'll kill you for this!" Although off-balance because of his ear, the Serenian scrambled to his feet, preparing an offensive spellcast in one hand while clutching his ear with the other.

Fury could hear the scuffle from outside. His long ears twitched. The hold on his body was beginning to weaken. With some effort, he could raise his head off the ground, staring in the general direction of the fight, though he couldn't see past the fabric covering the cage. His power radiated malice, and was most likely the reason the emotionally sensitive mage had decided to fight instead of flee.

The young Serenian pointed the growing electric ball in his hand at his opponent, attempting to fire a badly aimed shot at the Thanati boy.

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Aahva laughed as the boy cried out in pain. "HAHAHAHA! Take that you fart-sniffing tard! Stay off of Kelei! The boy responded by threatening to kill him, to which Aahva put on his smuggest grin. "What was that? Don't stutter so much, or- AH!"

The boy launched an orb of electricity at him, missing him by inches. "You cocksucking little shit!" Aahva yelled angrily. "You're through!" Not wanting to be shown up by the Serenian, Aahva rushed forward and aimed a punch squarely at the boy's jaw...

Seasalt

It connected hard against the mage's chin, who only had enough time to jerk his head up in surprise after the boy rushed towards him. He bit his teeth and tongue hard, stumbling backwards and falling on his butt due to already being off-balance. The Serenian turned to the side to spit out a wad of blood, looking dazed but not yet down completely. He gazed up, towards the trapdoor that lead outside.

"Thomebodyth, helpf me!" Somehow the mage yelled, his mouth already swelling from the punch.

Fury grunted, having trouble lifting his arm. It felt like dragging a bucket of lead. He propped it under his body and pushed up, raising himself until his horns brushed the top of the cage. Sliding his legs inwards, he managed to lower himself into a sitting position. "Ugh... much better." Fury was surprised at his own voice, how gravelly and hoarse he sounded. That whole drowning experience had done a number on his vocal chords. He cracked his knuckles, feeling the magic around him sap away. Even the glowing of the cage's bars had dulled down.

A low, dark laugh came from the cage. A couple lantern lights around the room flickered.

The mage froze, going paler than before if that was even possible. "Oh... Thisth ish your fffault!" He started chanting loudly, attempting to work out arcane magics with a swollen tongue. It wasn't going to work. His spells were mangled and dying on arrival.

Eckhart_Von_Musel

The punch connected, and it sent the boy stumbling backwards. Aahva smirked. "Yeah, that's right. Don't fuck with me." The Serenian cried out for help, causing his smirk to turn into a full fledged grin. "Oh? What happened to you killing me? Come on, I'm still-"

A sinister laugh reverberated around the room, and Aahva froze. "Wait, what?" he thought in a panic. "Was that little queer actually doing something important?" Aahva took a step forward, now standing next to the box the boy had been guarding. "H-hey, what's g-going on?" he asked, frightened. The lights began to flicker, and Aahva got very upset. "What are you doing?" he yelled at the boy. "Stop! It isn't funny!"

"Sweet Inima, this is so fucking gay."

Seasalt

All the bars ceased glowing completely. It was the most sudden blackout of energy Fury had witnessed, and for a second he wasn't sure if he'd actually done that. Overpowering his captor would've taken one shackle off to snuff that quickly. All that pressure, all that force, just floated up and away. Fury grinned, though it wasn't out of mirth.

Oh what he was going to do to the person who put him in here.

The Serenian had felt his own influence fizzle and pop. He didn't even have time to move. The cage's top practically detonated, flinging up straight through the ceiling, possibly into the clouds. An open hole was left in its wake. The sounds of swords being unsheathed and loud exclaims from the smugglers above could be heard. If the mage's yells hadn't caught their attention, the explosion certainly did.

Fury rocketed like a missile out of the cage, slamming fist-first into the mage and sending the poor kid flying through several crates. Steam rolled off his knuckles, his hand fire red with heat, and he paused to take in his surroundings. It looked like a dump. Yet somehow these idiots had managed to keep him down, at least until that sudden power surge. The imp-like creature was trying to figure out where that boost had come from. He felt amazing right now, like he could capsize the whole ship. And he wanted to try that!

But first, there was the matter of the armed men coming down the trapdoor, and of course the boy who'd been standing in front of the box. Fury snarled, leaning down as if preparing another swing. "Outta the way kid. Unless you're with them?"

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Aahva yelped and fell over as the box promptly exploded, leaving a hole in the deck above them. "W-what is going on?" he thought, emotions running wild.

"Captain! The demon has broken free!" a voice from upstairs cried.

"Arm yerselves, men! It's not escapin' that easy!" a second voice yelled.

That's when it happened- whatever was in the box decided to come out. Immediately it slammed into the mage Aahva had been fighting, sending the boy flying. Despite the intense fear he felt, Aahva let out a giggle- in his eyes, it was karma. The monster turned and growled at him, allowing Aahva a better look at it.

It was bigger than he was, although Aahva wouldn't exactly call it "tall". It's skin was bright red, and it's arms were shackled together. For some reason it had a fireplace in its chest- Aahva couldn't really make sense of that bit, so he tried to ignore it. Quickly stepping away from it, Aahva looked up at the monster with stars in his eyes.

"That was awesome."

Suddenly, men began to come down from trapdoor. Leading them was one of the largest men Aahva had even seen- an Essyrni man wearing a fancy wool jacket and a feathered cap. The man raised his musket and pointed it at the beast. "I'm afraid the fun ends here, demon. I'd prefer to keep you alive, but you'll make me just as much money dead."

Seasalt

Fury had to agree, that was awesome. His hits, while powerful, didn't usually do this much damage. He unclenched his fist, shaking off some of the steam still sizzling off his hand. That kid... he recognized his voice from the cage. Definitely not the whimp who'd been chanting the past hour. Plus, this kid had seen sunlight, unlike the mage.

"Wait." It'd taken him a moment to pinpoint where the magic buff was coming from, "You-"

A clattering of swords and heavy footfalls caught Fury's attention away from the child. Blotting out the light from the trapdoor was a parade of men, all coming in at arms. The leader was big enough to splinter a crate with his boot. The fact he was taller than Fury absolutely agitated the hell of the anger god. If his shackles were off, well he'd be taller than a dozen of him. And then he called Fury a demon.

"You think I'm a fucking imp?" Fury hissed, the green fire in his chest flaring up. "I'll kick your ass down to hell and back for that you limp dick!"

Fury lunged. Maybe it was because of the power surge. Perhaps it was simply his temper being riled up. Most likely it was because he didn't know what a gun was. He would jump straight at the large man, attempting to land a flaming right hook in the side of his head.

Eckhart_Von_Musel

The monster was about to address him when the men came down the hatch. Aahva swallowed nervously- they were all bigger than his dad was! The largest one had one of those fancy fire sticks he'd seen in his school textbooks- Aahva was pretty sure they were called "gunnes" or something like that.

Then the monster called the man a limp-dick, and Aahva burst out laughing. "This guy is great! A real champ!" he thought as he cackled madly. Pointing at the man, Aahva joined in. "It's no wonder you use that gunne- you probably can't shoot your other one without a potion!"

Momentarily distracted by Aahva's insult, the Essyrni man failed to react in time to dodge the monster's punch. It connected head on, and the man staggered backwards. Dropping his musket, the man fell to the ground. The men behind him were visibly frightened, though two would rush at fury with their swords drawn...

Seasalt

Fury felt his fist finding solid flesh, the punch sending the man reeling backwards. Once he was certain he'd gone down for the moment, Fury twisted to engage his approaching assailants.

"So you want some of this too?" The angry red creature bared his fangs. His eyes turned to the kid, "And you, have anything heavy to hit with?"

He put up his shackled wrists, chain swinging back and forth rhythmically as he took on something similar to a boxer's stance. Once the swordsmen made their move, Fury would use his cuffs like wristguards to deflect them. If it worked, he'd keep it up until he could find an opening.

Meanwhile, the mage slowly inched around the crates. His movements were extremely slow and cautious, everything hurting as he went. Purely out of a refusal to go down, the Serenian was attempting to sneak up on the Thanati boy, clutching a shredded piece of cloth that he hoped to slip around Aahva's throat.

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Aahva watched in awe as the creature began to parry the men's swords with his cuffs. "This is so fucking cool! It's like Inima knew I was in trouble and sent him to help me!" The monster's movements were swift, and the two swordsmen couldn't seem to break through his defense. One of them began to panic and swing his bade more rapidly- and clumsily. The three sailors who had chosen not to attack began to rush back up the hatch to the top deck.

"It's no use! We need the artifact!"

Suddenly remembering that he'd be asked to find something for the monster to fight with, Aahva quickly turned around- just in time to see the Serenian attempt to slip something around his throat. Taking a step back, Aahva's eye's widened. "W-what the hell?" he thought as he took a defensive position. "Isn't this creep, like, my age? He's cool just killing somebody like that?" To say Aahva was unsettled was an understatement- the mage had managed to genuinely frighten him. "H-hey... there's no need to go that far!" Aahva said nervously. "I-I'm only playing with you, don't take it so personally!"

Seasalt

Each blade was met with a resounding clang, Fury holding a steady defense against the swordsmen who'd rushed him. He grinned, enjoying the fight. The anger that steadily came from his attackers fueled his own temper and simply made the deity energetic. One of the men had begun to either tire or freak out. His blade had slowed, and Fury spotted his chance. He focused magic into his foot and kicked out, aiming to collapse one of the assailant's knees.

Out of the corner of his eye, Fury spotted three men heading up. He overheard something about an artifact... He could only consider it for a second, as he had to pay attention to the other swordsman, still swinging away.

The mage crept forwards, his eyes bloodshot and a bead of red dripping from his nose. "You sh-think I haven't-sh killed before?" His mouth was still swollen, which was why he hadn't resorted to firing a spell at Aahva. By the looks of him, he seemed ready to crumple like a leaf. "I had one job-sh and thank-sh to you," He pointed one finger at the Thanati, red-rimmed irises blazing, "The smugglers-th think I'm weak! They'll leave me back in the sh-streets."

"No food... No family-sh. I can't lose-th them again!" At that point the mage attempted to rush forward, trying to use what little body weight he had to overpower the other boy. It was a very desperate move. The act of someone who had little left to give up.

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Fury's kick connected with the panicking sailor's leg, breaking it with an audible *SNAP*. The remaining swordsman took a defensive position and began to back away. "Y-you're a monster..." he said, breaking out into a cold sweat.

"Holy fuck, this kid might actually do it." Aahva thought in a panic. He wasn't used to people standing up to him like this, and this act of defiance made Aahva's hair stand on end. "C-can't you learn to take a j-joke?" he asked nervously.

"No food... No family-sh. I can't lose-th them again!"

It was at this that Aahva felt a rush of emotion pass through him. It wasn't compassion, nor was it pity- it was jealousy. "You absolute cuntmonkey." Aahva said angrily as the mage made a poor attempt at charging him. Simply sidestepping the boy's attack, he continued "You don't know how lucky you are. You had a chance to be your own person, and you're bitching to me about family?" Aahva's lips curled into a sneer. "The smugglers are right- you are weak"

Seasalt

"Ha," Fury gave a mocking laugh as he stepped towards his final attacker, "Now you're starting to get on the right track." He stood there, attempting to look as imposing as he could be. Honestly, he believed these men deserved every punch and kick for trying to keep him caged. First being sealed up for centuries, then being loaded into a box? It was unforgivable.

"You're going to crawl into one of these crates." Fury pointed at a few opened boxes, "You're going to curl up in there and you're going to get hauled off to who the fuck knows where. And you're going to enjoy doing it, because if you don't do it yourself, well, I'm going to have to load you... in pieces." He nudged the swordsman's boot with his foot, "Get moving."

The mage fumbled forwards, crashing into a barrel. His frail body couldn't take much more, and he didn't get back up. He simply allowed himself to remain there in the splintered wood, especially after the Thanati boy's send off. A very quiet sob could be heard.

Fury's eyes were still on the swordsman, but he called out to the kid, "Did you find something yet, boy?"

Eckhart_Von_Musel

The swordsman looked like he was about to wet himself as the creature addressed him. He nodded slowly, tears welling up in his eyes. "Y-yes sir..." he murmured as he found a crate large enough and crawled inside of it. He would remain there, unmoving, in fetal position.

Aahva laughed as the boy slammed into the barrel. "Ha! See, what did I tell you? You're nothing but a pussy!" Aahva stepped towards the boy, a look of determination on his face. He didn't like how the mage had made him feel, and to say Aahva was sore would be putting it mildly- so, naturally, he wanted to make the boy feel even worse. "You know, if I were you I'd-"

"Did you find something yet, boy?" the monster asked, cutting him off.

"Oh... right, yeah." Aahva said. He had almost forgotten that he was supposed to find a weapon. He took a final look at the mage. "Later, loser."

Aahva would disappear deep into the cargo bay, eyes scanning for something the beast could hit things with. After a minute or so, he found it- a large oar that looked like it was meant to be used with a rowboat. Struggling to lift it, Aahva slowly managed to drag it to where the monster would be able to see it. Setting it down, he tried to catch his breath before shooting the beast a grin. "Hey Chili Pepper, will this work?"

Seasalt

It didn't take much for Fury to lift it. Despite his size, he was pretty strong, perhaps a strength that was augmented by the same anger that fueled his magic. In any other situation, the deity would take great offense to being called a 'chili pepper', but the nickname hadn't yet registered. Fury tested the oar, swinging it slowly in a wide arc, then shot his own fang-filled grin to the young boy.

"If it knocks them flat, it'll work." In the center of his chest, green flames licked outwards, as if hungry for more. He could hear the busy clattering of smugglers outside. Come to think of it, they had mentioned some kind of artifact rested on board the ship. Whatever it meant, all of the commotion made it apparent Fury wasn't yet done. And he was eager to continue onwards and upwards.

Fishing around one of the unconscious bodies, Fury produced a dagger. He handed it to the boy. "If you want to wreck these assholes as much as I do, you should get on with it." Passing weapons around was the closest to teamwork the deity had ever reached. He didn't seem to mind the boy's help, although he wouldn't admit that out loud.

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Aahva watched in glee as Chili Pepper lifted the oar with ease and swung it. The monster than returned his grin, causing Aahva to go starry-eyed. "He is so fucking cool!"

His excitement only increased as Chili Pepper handed him a dagger. "Those retards won't know what hit 'em!" he said with a smug grin. "I bet those fuckers are upstairs pissing themselves right now!" Aahva looked around, taking in all of the chaos Chili Pepper had caused. "Why'd they want to put you in a box? You're so much cooler when you're punching stuff."

"My name is Aahva by the way."

Seasalt

"Huh," Fury leaned against the oar as if it were a sage's staff, staring intently at the kid in front of him. He still didn't know exactly what to make of the fiesty human child who'd managed to free him. Magic still leeched off from the child, as if he wasn't even aware of the fact that he'd given the anger god a hell of a power boost in the past hour. "They thought I was a freaking demon. Probably wanted to seal me up again, like a bunch of morons."

He grinded his teeth together, fuming with that statement. "As if I'm anything like those torch-wielding, impish hellions..." With that, the rising rage pushed him back into action. Shooting a glance at the human kid, he added;

"It's Fury. Best remember that name, because soon everyone on board this ship is gonna be freaking worshiping it." With that, the rather arrogant deity leapt up, bursting from the hole in the cargo floor to meet the rest of the smugglers upstairs. Light blinded him, the scent of seawater strong in the air. Without looking, Fury swung the oar in a circle around him, hoping to catch somebody in the back while his sensitive eyes adjusted.

Of course, he'd left himself wide open to attack in the process.

Eckhart_Von_Musel

The red guy gave Aahva a funny look- as if he was trying to figure something out about the boy. Finally, he spoke.

"They thought I was a freaking demon. Probably wanted to seal me up again, like a bunch of morons. As if I'm anything like those torch-wielding, impish hellions..."

Aahva had to hold back the urge to point and laugh. "Has this retard not looked in a mirror? He literally has red skin and horns!" He grinned when Fury introduced himself. "Not if they start worshiping me first-"

Fury proceeded to jump through the hole in the ceiling, cutting him off. Making a face, Aahva rushed up the ladder to join him on deck. Fury had managed to smash one of the sailors with the oar on his way up, knocking him off the side of the boat. When the monster's back was turned however, another sailor pointed his gunne at hi and prepared to fire.

"Hey cockwad!" Aahva yelled at the smuggler. "Eat this!" Loading the knife he'd been given into his slingshot, he launched it at the man... only for hilt to bounce harmlessly off the man's shoulder. The sailor turned, now pointing to gunne at Aahva.

"Shit! I thought that would work!"

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