Woodland creatures

[Decimas]

Looking up at the starry sky, Decimas stood upon a large bone frame that surrounded a door sized whole in the slanted ground of a dirt mound a ways into the woods along the hillsides overlooking the city. Beneath him, from the tunnel entrance, came two large men of rotted flesh hauling a load of dirt from within the catacombs. Decimas looked down at them for a mere half second, distracted from the dark night sky by the screetching sound of the whellbarrels the carcasses pushed. That sound always turned something in his stomach, that grating sound of rustic steel that always got on his nerves.

Looking away from the grunts of his woodland task force, the necromancer peered down at the city lights just outside the forest at the bottom of the hill. Not much ever seemed to happen at night, not in the city anyways. There was always a certain calm look about Karador by night, when all its people slept safely in their homes or went jovioly out on the town for whatever amusements they may have. As much as Decimas needed his secrecy to buy his time, and keep the armies of Karador away from his various subteranian projects, he still couldn’t help but want to see the people and the armies of Karador kept on edge. The necromancer still wanted to be recognised as a threat and feared by the people he looked to terrorize.

After thinking on the idea for a few moments, Decimas turned to face the woods and started to walk pacingly through the bushes. As he looked about, the necromancer saw bunnies hiding away in the bushes and birds sleeping in their tree top nests, he saw deer tracks on the ground, and he saw a wolf stealthily stalking another creature through the woods. Smiling as he started to think of all these creatures’ deceased, Decimas looked up as he walked and raised his hands along his sides. “Adepto sursum , creatura quondam , quod spiritus meus donum di undecessus.” Decimas spoke confidently and laughed a bit to himself as he took delight in this idea.

“Adepto sursum , creatura quondam , quod spiritus meus donum di undecessus.” He spoke these words repeatedly as he moved faster, almost scurried about in the woods, almost tripping, at times, over the sticks and stones hidden away in the underbrush. Stopping to take a breather in his excitement, Decimas looked about the woods around him as all the dead animals from the bushes started to get up onto their feet and move out of the wholes where they had been starting to rot. Even the decaying carcasses of birds rose up to their limp legs and started to beat their wings as they lifted into the air. The sound of something large came from the bushes behind the necromancer, and so he turned to face what had been a bear of great size and might, now risen up and a half rotten beast of burden for the armies of death. Decimas grinned, almost sadistically, as he reached out his hand to pet the moving half alive bug infested flesh of this monstrous carcass that stood before him.

With a turn at the waist and a swift wave of his right hand towards the city, countless numbers of rotted and half decayed creatures moved from the woods where they had risen up and marched mindlessly towards the city of Karador. “Go!” Decimas yelled, as though he needed to, as he watched everything from bunnies limping or hopping away with worms through their teeth, to wolves striding off with the rotten holes through their sides. Near every creature in the march had maggots about their flesh, and all of their skins crawled in a most literal sence, with the life of a necromancers undeath.

Decimas walked back towards the tunnel entrance as the dirt haulling grunts tried to make their way through the swarms of dead animals flowing towards the city. Birds with worm filled eyes and rotted out wings flew by, some smashing against the undead workers on the way as the feathers of the newly arisen seemed to crawl, much like the skins of them, and the furs of others, squished about the decayed animal flesh.

Leaving the tunnel behind him, Decimas walked along with the creatures, though at a slower pace and falling behind them, towards the city of Karador where creatures of undeath soon flooded the streets before spreading apart to infest a wider area and the flocking undead flew about the skies, hauntingly scowering around any people they may see, and all these creatures, though some were small and generally thought cute and furry when alive, had become by grace of the necromancers power, just as tediously violent as any pest that would have your eyes or eat your guts.

[Kaldryn]

The wind rushed forward, bringing with it, a foul stench to his nose, a stink the likes of which Kaldryn knew all too well. Necromancer Kaldryn thought to himself, a most self-righteous smile turning up the corners of the most uncaring lips of the Mage. His red orbs searched the surrounding area until he caught sight of the deadened creatures of the forest, his dead creatures now prowling once more and a low, menacing chuckle came quietly from within the throat of this character. How fitting, and I might add, amusing all the same. He said quietly and then turned on his heal, the black cloak that always surrounded his form whipping about with a brilliance all in its own, the material undulating and reaching out to grab at the air almost as if it were alive and a part of the Mage it covered, a part that knew just when to act and when not.

The night was perfect though the smell of, and screams of death seemed to interrupt the quietness that was about as some of those dead creatures made their way through the gates of Karador and into open windows of the sleeping residences. Oh, this Necromancer was brilliant. Such a rare trait in a Necromancer Kaldryn thought as he headed back towards the woods where he knew he would find the man he sought out.

“Ignarus mihi” Kaldryn said in a low, demanding tone as the mass of undead creatures approached him, once looking to harm him but now, turning aside and allowing him to pass unscathed through their disgusting crawling masses.

His feet continued on their course until he was once again amongst the darkened shadows of the trees, his red eyes scanning the area, having no difficulty in seeing through the shadows, not even the darkest corner was left unseen by his cold gaze, until he found what it was he looked for, and once again, that same, grating and near bone chilling smile graced the face of the evil man as he now spotted the cause of the foul smell in the night, the Necromancer.

Kaldryn knew if he had been patient he would eventually run across the very human he wished to meet, this Necromancer, the one he considered to be of the most intelligence he’d met yet. As far as Necromancers were concerned that was. Kaldryn had never had much like for their race, though had to admit they had the right idea as far as using the dead to create armies, especially when in war, there always seemed to be an endless supply of corpses to aid one in a fight. He however found them to be pompous and rather rude, self-centered and a bit hung up on themselves.

Kaldryn stopped a few feet back from the Necromancer and crossed his arms, the black cloak that enveloped his frame closed about him once more, almost making him seem a shadow himself, though Kaldryn wished this man to see him, he would.

“It would seem you have found a use for my dead creatures Necromancer.” Kaldryn greeted in a near friendly tone, near friendly.

[Decimas]

Screams of pain and agony filled the night sky as the dead animals from the woods made their way into the city of Karador and into the streets and homes of the living. The stench of rotten flesh was sure to linger in the city that night, with creatures big and small roaming the streets, and with decaying birds flying the skies above.

Decimas continued to walk casually towards the city with a rather proud posture and a sadistically pleased grin on his face. Noticing the dark figure of a man aproach him, the necromancer slowed his pace drastically and turned at the waist to look at him. “Finders keepers.” Decimas said calmly. “Theyre my dead creatures now.” He grinned at the shadowy looking figure and then turned around completely to face him, walking very slowly backwards for a few steps before finally stopping in his tracks. Decimas obviously had to wonder why this man refered to the dead animals as his, for one, but moreso, why he was able to stand amongst the hords of decaying creatures as they marched for the city, and not be even so much as attacked by them.

“I take it you killed many of these creatures then?” Decimas said, coming to that conclusion about the mans choice of words. “I guess I should thank you, or something,” he continued a few second later with a peculiar grin. “For giving me these pretty dead bunnies.” The necromancer had to assume that the man under the hood had to be one of great power, since he so easily stayed the paws, claws, and jaws of the rabbid creatures from the deadened woods. He couldn’t sense him though, his power. Peculiar, he thought, that he wouldn’t have sensed the presence of this so obviously dark force. Either he was slipping, or this man was very well practiced and was hiding his strengths well. Decimas of course, chose to believe the latter.

“Who are you, you magic man,” Decimas finally asked, looking straight at him. “to save yourself from the mindless fury of my furry pets?

[Kaldryn]

Kaldryn stood patiently and awaited the Necromancers speech, he didn’t move, not even his dark cloak seemed to move as a small wind swept up and attempted to make it dance, his red orbs just simply looked out from the darkness of his hood with an eerie quiet behind them until the Necromancer had abated his words and was once again altogether, quiet.

“Indeed, I have it seems abandoned the chance at having a most unsatisfying and probable irritating night with the undead creatures you have chosen for the nights amusement.” He stated with the same, quiet calm as before, his eyes, as well his entire being still not moving, his mouth concealed in the dark, making it seem as though the Necromancer was speaking with a dark shadow instead of an actual being. If at any moment the Necromancer would have felt just how powerful the Mage standing before him was, it would have been an incredible feat as yes, Kaldryn was blocking and had every intention of continuing that block, maybe allowing tad bits to escape from time to time, just to show he wasn’t insufficient in power, though, being able to stop an attack from a Necromancers puppets, was show enough of power in and of its very own. But he hadn’t exactly stopped them from attacking now had he? No, he had merely not allowed them to notice him and that was all, as a matter-of-fact, and unbeknownst to the Necromancer, The Necromancer was indeed the only living or non being who would have noticed him at this moment, as he was the only one he was allowing to do so. Of course, whom was Kaldryn to admit to the Necromancer that he hadn’t exactly stopped them form attacking. Let the man believe that he had in some way controlled the dead creatures, all the better.

“Who am I? That is a great question in an of itself I would return to you, as I know you to be the Necromancer Decimas that the Queen is ever so peeved with, might good job there, I might add.” He started, now allowing a sinister grin to show, and appear on his dark, shadowed lips. “I am but a Master Mage, seeking the same end as you, a simple magic being with power to spare, looking for company on the way and you have peeked my interest.” He continued, now clasping his thickly nailed hands behind his back as he began to circle the Necromancer slowly, his feet not seeming to touch the ground beneath him, making him seem to float soundlessly as he moved though he did indeed walk, his eyes never seeming to peel away from the Necromancers self, almost as if the red orbs had permanently seared themselves to the others gaze, even when he was not in a position to be looking straight at him. It wasn’t until The Mage had come full circle that he stopped, brought his arms about to his front, moving one up, the elbow resting on the forearm of the other, to his chin where it rested in a thoughtful position after his little scrutiny of his seeming subject. “Yes, you will do nicely...” He seemed to muse out loud. “Allow me to introduce myself, I am known simply as Kaldryn the Dark Mage, to the world... nothing more, nothing less than, the servant of the Dark Lord and his transmitter to this world…” He told Decimas, inclining his head to him slightly and then as he brought his head up from its slight incline, she chuckled a most dark and evil sound that seemed to make even the air about the two of them recoil in fear. “As well the destroyer of Kiara Karador and he who banished the foul Sorcerer Otho, so long ago…”

[Decimas]

Decimas stood perfectly still as Kaldryn walked slow circles around him as though inspecting something before purchase. The necromancer was somewhat perplexed at the curiosity and forwardness of the man in the cloak before him, but also definitely most insulted by the way he looked him over. Decimas looked the man up and down as he inturn looked him over, walking circles around him. The necromancer didn’t move from where he stood, only turned and twisted at the waist to always face the man that was so belittlingly inspecting him.

“I will do?” he said to him, raising a brow at the form in the hooded cloak with an unseen face. “What?” he continued, looking him up and down once again, a disgusted curl to his lips as he looked the mage in the eyes again. “Like im some tool or puppet off the shelf that suits your fancy enough to use?” he paused for a mere moment taking in a breath and shaking his head before speaking again. “No,” he continued, shaking his head some more. “I think not. I am not some merely acceptable sidekick for you to simply put up with. No, im the Master necromancer of this land, as you’ve already acknowledged, and I have more power than you seem to give me credit for. I will do?” he finished, asking again, or moreso repeating the comment that Kaldryn had previously made about him. “You look at me like a shopping trip, like im simply good enough.” Decimas shook his head again as he continued to look the dark mage in the eyes. “I’m more than that and if you want my help in youre workings here in this land, youll have to give me a little more respect than a fine steed.in the stable.”

Decimas realised by the introduction that the dark mage had offered him that he was certainly a force to be reckoned with. Decimas knew history well enough, had even spent a large amount of time in the city libraries in his younger years, bordering on obsesive compulsive in his yearning to learn more and more. Decimas knew of this mans strengths but all the same, he was still unwilling to be looked so down upon and looked at like he was a piece of meat simply good enough to eat, a mooing beast of livestock acceptable for purchase. He was certainly no tool or puppet, and would demand more respect than one should anyone want to work with him, as he was definitely not just a subordinate.

As he looked at the dark mage and ran over what Kaldryn had said to him, he was suddenly struck with the realisation,,, his name,,, how had the mage known his name? Running through his mind for any lose ends he may have left among anyone in the city, among anyone he had met, he finally came to one conclusion and a shocked expression came to his face. “Ashard!” Decimas said angrily, becoming quite anooyed yet again, with the ghost gravekeeper. “That bloody abomination of a misplaced soul, can’t fucking keep his mouth shut.” Decimas shook his head slowly, his eyes closed tightly as he mulled over the agrivation that the stupid ghost brought upon him. That blasted ghost was the one and only loose end that Decimas was never able to tie up. For as much as he worked on threats and blackmail, and as much as he would fully well carry them through, the ghost still couldn’t be physically stopped from blabbing his long dead mouth off. Ashard was quite effectively the single greatest anoyance, the single most enormous thorn in the necromancers side, as petty and insignificant as he may seem on the surface.

“Pardon my manner Kaldryn,” he said tilting his head slightly to the side as he tried to calm himself down. He realised that as much as Kaldryn seemed to look down on Decimas, having a mage of such power on his side would be more than handy, and Decimas was definitely in the market for any help or advantage he could get. “I have a history of being disrespected. And as for my little minirant about that nuisance of a ghost, well, he seems to be my prophetic thorn in the side, endlessly finding new ways to throw more stress onto my works and bigger and bigger wrenches into my gears.” He was swallowing his pride quite a bit, but he wasn’t simply accepting the mages dominence, no, he was biding his diplomatic stability with him. He realised that the dark mage would be no less stubborn and proud than he was, and therefore Decimas would have to balance his own pride with his better judgement, as much as he hated to have to follow such a trait, so that he could keep the Mages offered help.

[Kaldryn]

At first, the sound was near inaudible but as it rose in volume, one could make out the fact that Kaldryn was laughing, actually laughing. The sound seemed so much out of place in the figure of darkness that stood before the Necromancer just now that it may have even seemed amusing to others to listen to and witness. The darkness that surrounded the Mage seemed to relax suddenly as the Mage joyfully continued to laugh, the mirth-filled sound however, began to change to that of a manically deranged, insane sound that rivaled the joyous sound of only moments before and then, all at once, cut off entirely and Kaldryn himself remained silent, unmoving before a hand lifted to his head, and he removed the deeply set hood from his brow, allowing it to now rest on his shoulders, revealing his features, the red orbs where human eyes might have once been, now serpent-like, elongated pupils replacing round ones, and the deep crimson color of his eyes could be described as nothing less than blood-red. His overall facial features would be considered quite handsome, though cruel and as they seemed to represent a man in his mid to late twenties, one only need look into those red orbs to know that was not so. A set of merciless lips graced his features as well, and when next he spoke, Decimas would realize, he was talking directly to his mind, as those cruel lips, did not move, but remained set in an emotionless state, along with the rest of the Dark beings features.

“Awe yes, the ghost, that would be where I did indeed hear your name. You know, if one intends to remain anonymous, one shouldst never leave behind loose links such as that.” Kaldryn said to him, his crimson eyes set on the Necromancer. “Ghosts can be dealt with, though not ever quite rid of. As for that proverbial wrench you speak of, please, enlighten me as to the severity of its wrench throwing, may perhaps I might be of assistance to you.” He continued, his lips still unmoving, the expressionless condition of his features still apparent.

As they continued to talk, the dark, shadowy tendrils of the Mage’s cloak continued to move about, chasing away any light that they came across, and then where once again, drawn in by some unseen force, only to travel outward once more. To watch it, one might think his cloak was playing a game with the light, a sort of hide-and-seek.

“Tell me Decimas, hath thou perchance had the displeasure of gracing the Queen personally as of yet?” Kaldryn then questioned, this time, the emotionless features darkened, only to be replaced with a sinister, vile loathing so intense, that one would have thought Kalista should fall dead at his simple thought of her.

[Decimas]

“If I had had the opportunity to hold audience with the queen of Karador, I’g have done something about the hayness wench by now.” Decimas said to Kaldryn who had finished with his obsured laughing fit and had lowered the hood of his cloak, showing Decimas his face. Decimas’ own face had of course been uncovered the whole ime, his hood hanging down over his shoulders, not having ever expected a visitor to walk up and chat with him amongst all the wandering dead animals. Kaldryn would be the only person besides the ghost gravekeeper who would have ever seen the face of the necromancer; not that Kaldryn seeing his face would be a liability. It was clear once the Sorcerers face was in the open he spoke without moving his lips, that the mage was in the necromancers head. Decimas certainly didn’t like that; thought of it as an afront to his personal space as well as a great disrespect. No man deserved the right to impose on the necromaners mind, and so Decimas did what he could within himself to block the invasion of his thoughts.

Decimas had looked Kaldryn up and down with a sarcastic look on his face while the dark mage was laughing hysterically at what really wasn’t very funny at all. He found the man to be quite bizzare, maybe having lost a few screws in his head in all the time he’d spent working his magic. That kind of thing did afterall have an effect on a persons mind. Whatever the case, Decimas could still use his help; an advantage he hadnt ever hoped to have.

“That damned post mordome incaration of a pestilent nuisance never fails to get in my way.” Decimas said, a rather aggrivated tone to his voice and a good deal of annoyance apparent on his face. “He comes into my tomb and needlessly toys with my workers. I have things to do and that blasted ghost cant ever help but put snags in my workings, flailing the corpses arms and legs at each other, pushing each other around. Theres really nothing within my magics to deal with the blasted ghost and so I’m limited to threatening him, blackmailing him. That’s the only reason he’s kept me secret.” Decimas paused for a moment taking a few breaths befor continuing. “As petty as his deviant schemes have been, they are less than welcome among my work, and im certain that damn knave will take whatever chance he gets to screw me over as much as he can. His deviousness never ceases to annoy me, and as im sure you can imagine, there are a fair few people who don’t like me.”

Pausing to look the mage over again, Decimas thought a little more on what Kaldryn had said. “What could you do for me?” he asked with a wonderous look upon his face, “About the ghost. Help me with him, the one loose end I cant tie up, and I’ll be better able to do my work, which im sure is of benefit to you as well.”

[Kaldryn]

“You sound awfully confident my friend, Kalista isn’t as easily pushed aside as many might think... you don’t honestly believe that the foul creature has lived this long because she is so easily taken care of do you?” Kaldryn stated to the Necromancers rather hasty reply to his question. “But, alas, you are young yet, and will learn soon enough just who to respect.” He finished, his tone neither chastising nor friendly still, but all the same, it contained a bite to it that was like he’d just swallowed poison. His statement though praising Kalista for her strength, as it would have seemed, was not meant that way, Kaldryn simply knew what they would face when the time came, and wasn’t all together certain, after The Necromancers remark, that he knew quite exactly what they were up against.

Kaldryn took a long breath, his mind still working on the Necromancer and his not so eager friendship with the ghost in question. “Ashard, is a ghost that needs attention Necromancer, and to ignore him, only makes matters worse I fear. As well however, agitating him does no good either, he is one of those beings that needs to be handled one of two ways, either with force or with tactful politeness that borders on being friendly.” He paused, his blood-red orbs looking out over the quieting forest as the dead animals made there way out of the forests canopy and into the town of Karador, his shadowed cloak continuing to undulate and consume any light that came its way.

“Ask not what I can do for you Decimas, but what we might accomplish together, it would seem that would be more the question at hand here, would you not agree, yes, I could take care of that annoyance without a second thought as to what it would look like to Kalista, but for you, having him disappear suddenly, would perhaps not be so good, might raise questions in the Queen’s mind, and she just may start poking her rather sharp sword in places you wouldn’t want it to be.” He finished, his red orbs continuing to look about the forest, searching the shadows as he ‘spoke’ to the Necromancer, still continuing to send his thought into the man’s mind. It was more of a habit than for any other reason, he simply didn’t actually talk out loud often, as for the most part of his life, he’d been closed up with his magic, talking to demons and such through rifts he had created for such purposes in gaining power over the many centuries, he simply had no use to communicate as the ‘normal’ human might. In point of fact, Kaldryn was perhaps no more human, than a vampire was, his humanity was lost centuries before.