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Enter Sandman (Emeraldknight)

Started by Eckhart_Von_Musel, January 12, 2018, 04:00:59 PM

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Eckhart_Von_Musel

Wallace stared at the man, eyes bright. "He is so cool!" he thought excitedly. "Heroes never like me!" He scratched the back of his head, beginning to feel a bit embarressed. "Well, I can raise dead humans too... I did it in front of the mayor, so that's probably why..."

Wallace snaped his fingers. "Oh! And then there's my family name..." The necromancer's voice got quiet halfway through saying this, as if he'd been caught doing something unflattering.

"Why did I say that out loud? If he liked me before, he probably won't now..."

emeraldknight

"Yes, the name, I've heard of it before, but I'm not quite..." It hit him hard, draining the color from his face in a matter of seconds. It was so clear now, without the distraction of bitter loss! "Ah... Uh..." The books had told of a necromancer named Alabaster Hope. He slaughtered many, using his undead army to try and conquer Darken Vei. They had also told of a child. The shock of realizing exactly who he was standing in front of felt almost darkly humorous, like a theater show. And it was usually at this point in the show where the evil warlock horrifically murdered the other man.

"A necromancer who goes by the name of Hope", he squeaked, desperately trying to be polite without compromising his values. "Are you, by any chance, not related to Alabaster Hope? The madman who killed a bunch of people? That Hope?" Diamond was having a small breakdown, unsuccessfully attempting to remain courteous, while also attempting to not soil himself. It took mere seconds for him to snap. "I won't tell anyone! I swear on my honor, you aren't a bad person, why would I tell, I'll forget all about it, just please don't kill me!"

"Hysterics" was an understatement.

Eckhart_Von_Musel

"Of course..."

The warm glowly quickly disappeared from Wallace's face, being replaced by a look of bitter acceptence. "It's... it's not..."  he began sadly, but the look on Blood Diamond's face prevented him from going any further. 

"This always happens. Why can't people just forget?"

Swallowing, Wallace turned away. "I-I'm sorry for causing tyou trouble... I should just go." The necromancer's head drooped slightly. "Just forget you saw me..."

"I was so close too..."

emeraldknight

Seeing Wallace so hurt snapped Blood Diamond back to reality. "Wait, I'm sorry!" He looked at himself with shock as he realized how atrocious his behavior was. If he was judged by his father... Well, he looked up to his father, so it wasn't a fair comparison. But he knew it was unfair to judge Wallace on actions that weren't his own, especially after he'd been so forgiving. "I panicked, I'm sorry. I was no better than those townsfolk."

Eckhart_Von_Musel

"Make up your damn mind..."

Wallace sighed, turning around. "Look." he said sharply. "I appreciate it, I really do." The necromancer rubbed his brow. "But I don't think one man can do much good to pesuade an entire town. Do you actually have a plan? Or is it just empty words?"

emeraldknight

"Damn!" Diamond had to think quick, realizing that if he were to have one more chance at doing anything somewhat heroic, he'd need a plan, and he'd need it now. In order to stall for time, he strode around the house, rummaging through drawers and shelves for some paper, and a quill and ink. Finding both implements sooner than he'd like, he ushered Wallace over to the dust-coated table in the corner. Smoothing the paper over the table and dipping the quill in, he drew a deep breath. He still had no strategy. "Okay, so, we are here". He dabbed a spot on the paper, then sliced the quill downwards from it twice, creating two lines to represent the road they'd turned down to get there. Regaining some confidence as his mind worked through something resembling a plan, he continued, mapping out the streets they'd passed through all the while. "Show me where that construction project is, and you will show them exactly what you can do with that magic!"


Eckhart_Von_Musel

"Okay, okay."

Wallace looked at the map, hand on his chin. He nodded slowly before dipping his own finger into the ink. "Going by your map..." he said, hovering his finger over the parchment. "It would have been about..."

Wallace marked an area on the map rather far from where they were currently. He looked at the smudged fingerprint, grimacing. "I, ah, was running for maybe half an hour before you showed up." the necromancer said sheepishly. "If we're careful and sneaky, maybe we'll get there in forty-five?"

emeraldknight

"You have got to be kidding me!", he thought, palming his forehead as he did. "You were running for half an hour?" Those townsfolk certainly were persistent!

"Fear not!", exclaimed the hero, sweeping his arm across the table, "We shall brave the night and win back the hearts of these humble folk!" Blood Diamond was beginning to get truly excited about the prospect of such an adventure. And he finally had a complete plan.

"We'll start from here after sundown, before trekking through the darker streets 'til we reach the building. I'll keep lookout while you use your powers of, uh, summoning to finish their project, and they will see..." He put his fist to his chest and stood tall, "You are a hero!"

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Wallace grinned, beginning to get excited. Diamond's enthusiam was contagious- and in all honesty, the necromancer's immune system was never very good to begin with. He began to laugh, a deep awkward sound. "Hahaha! Oh- oh gosh! Really?" Wallace could picture it in his mind- the cheers of the townsfolk, the mayor apologizimg for organizing the mob. Maybe he'd even get a permanent job! "That sounds great! I can't wait!"

The necromancer glanced out the window at the sky. It was still mid-afternoon- quite s few hours until sundown. Looking back at his new friend, Wallace frowned. "So... what do we do until then?"

emeraldknight

Blood Diamond scratched behind his ear, unsure of quite how to answer. "That's a good question". He scanned over the room, looking through shelves for some way to pass the time. After digging around through a few musty books and assorted items, he came across a wooden box, coated with a thick layer of dust. brushing as much of it off as he could (some of it was caked on remarkably hard), he managed to make out a word. "So, Wallace, do you know how to play Chess?"

He opened the box to check the contents, and jumped back in surprise as a group of large spiders crawled out and began skittering around the room. He drew his blade and chased down the nearest target, smashing steel down on it repeatedly and yelling "Die, evil bug, die!" Once the thing was thoroughly eviscerated, he sheathed the sword and exhaled.

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Wallace's face perked up slightly. "Oh, yeah, I know how to-" he began before apruptly stopping, watching in shock as Diamond chased the spiders that came out of the box. "Wait! Don't!" he said, motioning with his hands for the man to stop. "You don't have to- ugh, really?"

The necromancer stepped forwards rubbing, his arm timidly. "Man, you don't gotta go killing spiders like that..." he said, looking at the dead arachnid on the floor. "Just 'cause they look creepy doesn't mean they're bad. They're actually helpful, get rid of the actual pests for you..."

emeraldknight

Once he had finished shaking in fear, Diamond walked over to Wallace, ready to lecture.

"My dear friend. Spiders embody evil in it's purest form. They have eight legs to help them chase after unsuspecting prey, and eight eyes with which to scour the room for the first sign of movement. We, as humans, only require two of each, because we contain no such inherent treacherous desires. Of course, spiders do have only two fangs. Why? Simple. Because a spider with eight fangs all stuffed into one tiny mouth would look ridiculous, and a ridiculous-looking spider would lack the secret weapon of its brethren: Fear. Spiders prey on the fear of the people. To put all this simply, spiders scary, scary bad, I kill scary and save us both."

Feeling his explanation to be satisfactory, Blood Diamond moved on. "So, you say you know how to play chess? Good, because I don't."

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Wallace stared blankly at Diamond, a dumbfounded smile on his face. "I... what?" The necromancer blinked twice, trying his hardest to comprehend the armored man's logic. "But... huh?"

He finally gave up, shaking his head. "Um... right. I, ah, knew how to play that game when I was little, my dad used to make chess metaphors a lot when talking about his plans." He looked away, rather embarressed. "I kinda avoid it now. Bad memories..."

emeraldknight

Diamond simply smiled, feeling safe in the fact that his explanation wasn't being argued.

Suddenly, he was reminded again of Wallace's past. "Oh, yes, right. Apologies. Um... Oh, I'v been meaning to ask you, how do you do all the fly-raising stuff? I've been trying to learn some magic myself, but I don't really even know if I can."

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Wallace grimaced. "Ugh. Of all questions, why did he have to sk that?" He cleared his throat. "Well, most people who have more complex magic like mine are born with it... Necromancy is a like, a bloodline trait for me. You gotta have the spark before lighting a fire, I guess..."

"Ugh, this is the most boring topic I swear..."

He scratched the back of his head. "As for the bugs, they're easy. Understanding joints and and bone structure is key to being able to reanimate the dead. Bugs have skeletons on the outside, so they're usually the first thing necromancers learn to raise. They're really easy, especially since you don't need to dissect them in order to understand how their body moves...."

He suddenly shook his head, looking rather embarresed. "Ahaha, sorry, that was morbid..."

emeraldknight

"Born with it? Darn". Diamond had never really known much about magic. He was interested, but he never really had the chance to learn, so it remained mostly a mystery. "No, do not be sorry. I imagine it would be a rather difficult subject to talk of without straying into the realms of morbidity."

Suddenly, his subconscious sent another question to the front of his mind, which was instantly rerouted to his mouth. "How do I know if I have the 'Spark' or not?"

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Wallace looked at Blood Diamond blankly. "Man, I dunno!" he said, blinking. "I never went to school for this, I just... kinda learned?" He scratched the back of his head. "I mean, I suppose you could go to Connlaoth and hang around some Mordecai? See if you feel any different?" The necromancer shrugged. "Sorry man, I got nothing..."

emeraldknight

"Rats." Blood Diamond looked down to the dusty old floor, and up to the ceiling again. He wasn't used to feeling bored. Usually, he was constantly running around the continent, searching for the first sign of danger so he could leap in and save the day, something that was a bit difficult to do when you were stuck inside an old, decrepit house until nightfall. He really wasn't the best at waiting.

He threw a small pebble he'd found on the floor under a table. He walked over to it, then leaned down to pick it up, before then proceeding to throw it again, this time hitting a wall. He shuffled back to his newfound igneous obsession before once again tossing it through the air, though now in a different direction; Such was the monotony of the situation. After a few more of these repeated steps, he decided that, in order to keep his sanity, something more productive had to be done. He drew his sword and began practicing in the air, slicing and spinning and occasionally knocking something over. Time passed, and the moon rose.

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Sighing, the Necromancer sat down cross legged on the floor. He watched the mercenary for a few minutes, then closed his eyes and did his best to clear his mind. Meditation was something he'd picked up from his mother, as a way to cope with stress and pain. Taking deep breaths, he allowed his body and mind to relax...

Time passed, and Wallace opened his eyes. Standing up slowly, he stretched his arms over his head. Looking out the window, the man clutched at his staff. "Alright, we should head out." he said, sounding unsure of himself. "Let's do this."

He would open the door quietly, holding it open for his companion...

emeraldknight

Energized by his duel against the air, Diamond walked towards the door, peeking left, then right, before finally exiting out onto the street. He drew his sword, but quickly sheathed it again when he realized that the light from a gas lamp hanging on the outer wall of a tavern fifty meters away was shining brightly off of it. It was now his favorite part of the mission: Inspirational speech time!

"Well, Wallace, let us march forward through the dark air of this night as justice's minions, harbingers of all that is right and true. Seize the the dim light still reflected off the walls of the buildings of this misguided town, and course it through the hearts of its people! Let them see the sorcerer who helped expand their town, and so their minds. Long live the night of the reclaimed justice! Viva la... Viva?" At this point, making up cool-sounding metaphors was getting rather difficult. "Wallace..." He turned his upper body back to face the door (and Wallace), straining quite a few vertebrae in the process, and attempted to fully extend a hand towards him. As it turned out, he was nowhere near far enough away to do this.

And so, it had already become less "The night of the reclaimed justice", whatever that meant, and more "The night Blood Diamond almost poked his new friend's eye out". Immediately turning red in the face, he quickly turned and half-ran out into the street. "Let's go, we don't have all night!", he squeaked.

"Argh! I've really made a fool of myself today!"

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