The landscape stretched on baren and unrelenting, gray earth, gray withered trees and a gray, sad, birdless sky. The only marker stood at the base of a cliff, a worn wooden sign pointed to a rickety staircase which led down the cliff face towards a river of black, thick water. There a boat waited, a menacing figure stood on the dock garbed in a hooded cloke.
A bolt of lightening steaked out of the sky depositing the first of our weary travelers.
"OOHFF!"
Max blurted when she connected sharply with the gravely earth. Choking on dust she wrenched herself off the ground and rubbed the gravel out of her palms. Brushing herself off she took a look at her surroundings. She saw the sign and then looked down to the river "Screw that." She said to herself and then looked around at the unforgiving landscape "Maybe someone spiked my weed?" There was nothing but jagged rocks and worn countryside for miles and that foreboding dude at the bottom of the steps. She decided to sit on the top step and wait for anything trippy to happen. "When in doubt, stay in one place. I'm not waking up naked in the trunk of someones car... again." She crossed her arms over her knees and resigned herself to wait.
The sky lit up again and with the thunder's boom
Abba landed on the ground with a heavy thud. Awkwardly he stumbled up, ripping his gun from its holster and spinning around, trying to get his barrings. As soon as he spotted Max he stopped. "Hey!" he barked, pointing his pistol at her as he dizzily swayed.
"WOAH!"
Max shouted startled and stumbling down a few of the steps. She raised her hands "Mister I ain't done nothing! I was just sitting there." She was prepared to duck behind the landing if he decided to open fire.
"What the fuck is happening? Where am I?"
Abba yelled, not lowering his gun.
Max backed up another step so just her head and shoulders where visible from the landing "I don't know Mister, I arrived in a bolt of lightening just like you." She kept her hands raised. "I-I-I'm a haunted tour guide from N-N-New Orleans, Louisiana."
Abba cocked his head and stared at her blankly before he blinked yelling, "What?! Lightening? What the... What's down there?!" he asked, aggressively approaching her and looking down at the river. His eyes grew wide and he backed up, looking at the landscape. He spun back to face Max, his gun slowly lowering. "Am I dead?" he asked, touching his chest.
"I don't know."
Max confessed. She saw now that she was closer to the ferryman than she wanted to be. She crawled up a few steps. "It looks to me like some adaptation of The River Styx. So I guess it's possible that we are. I'd rather not go down there though."
Another streak of lightening issued from the sky and connected with the ground several feet behind Abba.
A cloud of dust issued upward as
Golana stumbled into the ground, using the momentum she rolled to an upright position, scimitar poised and ready. Her long black hair was a mess about her head, apparently given character by the former lightening. She saw the two individuals and pulled a dagger for extra defense. "What manner of magic has brought me here?" she demanded in a loud and authoritative voice. She noticed the markings on the gril's arms "You, Witch, what have you done to me?"
Max held up her tattooed arms again showing that she wasn't in any position to defend herself "I don't know lady, we're just as screwed up as you are." She said "And I'm not a witch! I'm a tour guide from Louisianan."
When Golana landed,
Abba spun around, pointing his gun at her. His eyes darted back and forth between the two ladies as they spoke, looking horribly confused.
Golana kept a sharp eye on Abba, looking more at him then at Max when she spoke "What is this Louisiana you speak of?"
Max stammered some more, obviously this lady had some sort of malfunction, most likely sharing some strange malady with the dude. She thought of the best way to explain her answer in terms the woman would understand. "It's a far away land where people drive horseless carrages, work mundane jobs and throw a large celebration in the early months before Spring. We are a peaceful people... I'm a scolar of folk lore and legends. I arrived like you, unsure of what has happened."
Golana relaxed a bit but kept her sword on Abba and the strange wooden club he carried. "A scolar?" She asked "One not trained in battle or mistruthes." She lowered the knife pointed in Max's direction and looked to Abba "And you Man, what are your people? Did you arrive thusly?"
Abba squinted his eyes in confusion. "Ah... same horseless carriage deal. Where I come from, we're not so peaceful though," he said.
Golana tightened her grip on her dagger. "Must I be forced to keep a close eye on you?" She asked "Or shall we all work together in the spirit of solving this riddel?"
"Do whatever you want," said
Abba slowly lowering his gun. "I'm not promising anything."
"I see."
Golana said and put away her weapons once Abba did also. "What thus far have we learned of our surroundings?" she asked
"Well, there is that guy."
Max pointed down to the quiet reaper-like gentelmen standing in the boat below "But I've not seen him move so I guess there is a chance he isn't exactly real."
Golana peered down the staircase at the figure guarding the boat "Wraith." She whispered, her hadn immediatly going to the hilt of her sword. "Treatcherous magics have brought us here." She looked around at the landscape "But this looks not like Mordoor or the Mountain of Doom..."
A bright streak of lightening ignighted the space between Golana and Abba and gave birth to Diji, sending them crashing into the ground im much the same way the storm had brought the others.
The little 11 year old rubbed her head, "Ow..." She opened her eyes and looked around. The hair on her back stood straight up.
Diji had no clue where she was or who these people were. She hustled backwards and was as twitchy as a squirrel. Opening her mouth, Diji growled and showed her fangs, trying to be defensive.
Another large bolt of lightning struck the ground. Leaving behind a slight crater. From that crater first rose a sickly looking individual wearing a military-esque uniform.
Spellborn hops out of the hole looking around before looking down in the hole and jumping back scrambling a bit.
Another figure arose from the crater. This one, however, was much much larger covered in armor wielding a very very large axe. Stepping up out of the hole
Grim immediately sees Spellborn. A snarl forms on his face as he steps towards him. Letting out a earthshaking roar he charges the little one bringing his axe to bear down on him, aiming to cleave him in two.
Spellborn leapt off the ground and out of the way of the axe. As soon as he got his footing he started throwing flaming orbs at the orc to no avail as they all bounced of his armor harmlessly.
Grim grew furious as the little man threw the fireballs at him. He quickly swung an arm out, catching Spellborn and sending him sprawling on the ground. Before he could get back up Grim put his rather large hand on him holding him down. Raising his axe to deal the final blow he looked around and noticed they were no longer in the forest...and there were other people around.
Taking the chance,
Spellborn created a sudden force lifting Grim off of him. Pulling out his Dragon Pistols he trained them on the orc before realizing what the orc already had...they werent where they were supposed to be.
Abba's arms where limp with surprise. He watched this all with his mouth hanging open and his brow raised. He looked over at Max, who seemed the least dangerous and the most normal of them all. He then looked back and inched away, thinking he may take a chance with the guy in the boat.
Diji yelped like a little lost puppy and dove behind Max and Abba. Her tail tucked under her legs. She placed her hands on her ears firmly.
"WHERE YOU TAKE ME, ZOMBIE!"
Grim yelled at Spellborn.
"I didnt bring us here...where ever here is!"
Spellborn said in defense. "Maybe they brought you here." He added quickly. Decided that diverting the behemoths attention to the others around might save his skin.
Turning to look at the other people,
Grim asked them the same question. "Where are we?"
BAM! Yet again with the lightening.
Malachy landed, stumbled and rolled a few yards from everyone, eventually ending up on his back. He sat up, rubbing his head and then looked at everyone else, shocked.
Abba rolled his eyes, giving up on making any sense of this. He started down the stairs, deciding if anyone had answers, it was the boat man. He had had enough nonsense.
Grim spun around axe at the ready as the newest person appeared. Not sure what to make of this place.
Having her shield, Abba, walk off,
Diji followed, wanting to get away from the fighters. She kept silent for now.
Seeing the Orc
Golana snatched the small girl's hand and like a protective mother pulled her quickly behind her. Within a split second she sheathed her knife for a weapon of longer range and pulled out her bow. Knocking an arrow to the string and aiming at the Orc she said, "Scolar, since you have existed in this place longer perhaps it is you who should answer these newcomers."
Max had again stumbeled down a few feet of the stairs to seem less interesting to the more war like new arivals. "ME?" She asked blaitently "Why me?"
Golana snatched up the back of Max's shirt and hauled her up to the landing "Because, like I have said, you've been here longer."
"Great, just fucking great."
Max Cursed stepping forward a few inches. She had her hands raised in a submissive position "We didn't do any of this." She told the new arrivals "Bolts of lightening and faceplants in the dirt brought all of us here." She pointed down at the ferryman in the boat "If anyone is responcable I think it's him." Then she backed away from the steps if anyone wanted to see for themselves.
Abba grumbled to himself as he descended the stairs and walked up to the ferryman. "You speak english?" he asked him rather bluntly.
Malachy slowly stood up, his hand hovering by his falchion. He wanted to inch over to the ledge to see just who Max was referring too, but with the big monster man, and all the weapons, he just smiled nervously.
Diji jerked her hand back from Golana. "Let go!"
Golana looked at the girl Diji and spoke what she believed "You see the big one there?" She pointed at the Orc "He will eat you given the chance. Stay by me and I will see that he does not."
Grim his eye trained on the woman with the bow pointed at him, reluctantly looked down to where Max had pointed. Upon seeing the man he let out a low growl. Setting his axe in its holster on his back he made his way down the slope.
As Grim moved away,
Spellborn relaxed. catching himself getting ready to wipe nonexistant sweat from he brow he scoffed at himself. He then began a detailed inspection of the others that were there.
Max scrambeled away when the Orc came barreling toward the stiars and watched as his lumbering form diminished as he came nearer to the ferryman.
The menacing figure in the robe made no attempt to answer Abba other than raising his ling emaciated arm to point a gnarled finger at the boat and relax it again.
Grim walked up to the cloaked figure and looked him once over before reaching down to pick him up and get some answers out of him.
Grim's hands passed right threw the figure as if he where compiled of smoke. He pointed to the boat again and held out his hand.
Max watching Grim and the robed figure below. "Wait a second...." She said and stepped cautiously down the steps to where she was mid way between landings. Just encase she'd need to flee. "Try giving him a coin." She told Grim, if this worked she'd consider telling the others about her hunch.
"What are you supposed to be?!" Diji asked, still pulling at her wrist. She was tempted to bite her way out of this.
"I'm an elf... mostly."
Golana told the girl "I will not hurt you, I just wish to keep you from blundering into peril."
Grim looked at Max for a few seconds before starting to look through a few of his bags. Reaching into one he pulled out a little gold coin, looking at it for a second as if he didn't want to part with it. With mush reluctance he handed it to the ghastly figure.
The black clad figure took the coin, bought it up to the darkness that shrouded it's face and bit into the coin before depositing it in a purse wrapped around his waste. He held out his hand, gesturing to the boat so Grimm could get in.
"Oh my god we're all dead and this is the River Styx."
Max said watching the display. "We're dead! OMG WE ARE ALL DEAD!"
Spellborn heard the girl's sudden proclamations which immediately caught his attention. Walking down towards the boat he began shouting. "You stupid, ugly, smelly, caravan robbing, behemoth!" he directed this towards Grim. "You killed me! You freaking killed me!"
Grim glared at Spellborn. "If you no attack me we would both be alive."
Golana's attention strayed from the little jungle girl when she heard the tattooed girl remark on their all being dead. "What?" She asked joining Max on the stairs. Spellbourn and Grimm's argument was of little concern at the moment. "Speak up scholar. What say you about this creature and his boat?"
Max began to stammer "It's the River Styx." She said in a shaky voice "It's the dividing barrier between Earth and the Underworld." She took a breath to steady herself "You pay the ferryman and he takes you into the underworld..."
"I don't wanna! I don't wanna!"
Diji squirmed, tears coming to her eyes. She had been kidnapped away from her group and taken high up into a cave where-- Diji shook her head, crying. She was never going to see Theo or the others again. "They never came to save me!" Diji pulled her wrist back. She wrapped her arms around her torso, shivering in fear.
"Regret not little one."
Golana said placing her hand on Diji's head. "You've been left with a new group and if any of the stories I heard in my youth are true we may just have a chance out of this." She turned to Max "What do your lands legends say about that?"
"About escaping hell?"
Max asked "Uh... Well.. actually... I can recall at at least two cases where a Greek legend ended with someone coming back from Hades. But they usually end with some sort of deal or bargain being struck."
The Ferryman tapped a long gruesome finger on Grimm's armor and pointed to the boat. Then he pointed at his left wrist to indicate that he was loosing his patience.
"I knew it,"
Abba said to himself and crossed his arms. He quietly stood there for a few moments before he shook his head and walked to the side, trying to contain a rage.
"I wanna go back. Send me back!"
Diji asked the lady. "Please?" she sniffled.
"I shall try little one."
Golana told Digi earnest. "I figure to not spend more time in this place than at all possible."
"Good, cause where crazy warrior lady goes, I go."
Max said. This elf chick had seemed to be the only one interested in keeping an aye on the poor defenseless shlubs lost in this wretched place.
Grim turned and growled at the cloaked figure. Turning back to the still raving Spellborn, he reached out and wrapped his hand around the others head, silencing him somewhat. "If I go then you go to." He said as he walked onto the boat. "He with me." he said as he tossed the ferry man another coin.
A quick ghostly hand reached out and snatched the coin, pocketing it he motioned for the others.
"You don't have any spare change do you?"
Max asked "I used mine on the bus."
Golana brought three coins from a small purse hidden safely in the pocket of her greatcoat. She paid the ferryman and ushered the two girls on board. Taking care to keep Grimm in her sights.
Diji hopped up onto the boat and clung to a guard rail, backing away from Max and the others.
Abba turned around to see everyone in the boat. "You all just giving up?" he yelled angrily. "You letting him take you? Are you fucking serious?! I'm not going. For all I know, I could be in a coma. I'm not gonna die, no son of a bitch, no matter how creepy-" he said gesturing to the ferryman. "Is gonna kill me!"
"It is not in my disposition to quit."
Golana told Abba "If there is a way out of this place I intend to find it and I jest to think there is some escape root beyond those cliffs and jagged rocks above. I have faith in the scolar to show us the way."
"Woah, I never said anything about knowing the way."
Max said in her own defense. "I said I heard of people escaping."
The cloaked figure held out his hand towards Abba, seeking payment.
The little ten year old went to the end of the boat and looked down into the suspected water, wondering if she could swim away.
Diji leaned over the railing.
As Diji peered into the dark water a subtle movement could be seen amidst the algae and black weed lazily swaying to the ripples the boat was making. Suddenly the vegetation was disturbed by an ethereal figure as it swept by. Others followed, their lazy movements allowing glimpses of their features, gaunt and gruesome from eons of torment. Then one of them noticed the girl staring and came close to the boat to investigate. Giving Digi a good look of it's decayed and rotting image.
Diji, now standing on the other end of the railing, held fast to it. "Ahhh!" she shouted, shuffling along the outside rim of the boat, too scared to flip around to the other side. She tried to think of some spells that she had been taught, but nothing was there.
"I doubt going that way-"
Abba pointed his gun across the water. "Is going to get any of us closer to freedom."
"Do you have a better idea?"
Max asked "Cause I'm sure he accepts refunds. I can still be convinced if you think you've got a better way out."
The grim figure still standing on the dock tapped his sithe against the ground twice and in a puff of black smoke a sign dangled from the hooked blade that read: No Refunds. Again he pointed at Abba, then at the boat and held out his hand for payment.
Diji leaned in and dropped a leg down. She tipped her toe into the surface of the water, testing safety. All the grown ups were preoccupied anyway.
Abba looked back up the steps and recalled the mountains beyond. He wondered if someone could die of starvation after they were already dead. He ground his teeth together and then reluctantly dove his hand into his pocket. He pulled out a hundred, sniffed and then handed it to the ferryman.
Grim hearing the little girl scream looked over at her. Seeing that she was about ready to get in the water he quickly reached over and grabbed the little girl, putting her gently back in the boat. Then he shook his head and finger letting the girl know she shouldnt do that.
Spellborn sat brooding in the boat.
"I shouldnt be in this damn boat." he thought to himself. He was going to have to find a way out of here..at any cost.
Diji sniffled and looked up at the enormous orc. "Y-your really big." she said blankly.
"And you really tiny."
Grim said in return.
Diji grumbled and crossed her arms, looking away, "Not THAT tiny.."
Grim leaned in, "And I not that big. Not for my people." he said in a sagelike way.
The Ferryman gave Abba enough time to get situated in the boat before stepping in and pushing off the dock. There where no ores, or pole to guide it. He stood at the back like a figure head as the boat tooled threw the water calmly.
The hair on the back of
Golana's neck stood straight up as Grimm pulled Diji from the back and they spoke. She didn't like orcs and had killed her fair share but never before had she seen one interact with a child without intent of eating it. Perhaps the kind of his land where different, she decided to ask "From where is it you hail Orc?" The word fell off her tongue as if it had a bad taste.
Max had come to notice the spirits and faces in the water. Her already pale complection shifted to a more greenish tint.
Abba moved towards Max. "So," he said. "What do you know?"
Grim thought about the question. One would think that it would be a simple question, but for Grim it wasnt. "Me have no real home. My tribe nomadic, never in one place long."
"Aww... he is an orphan."
Diji frowned up at the large green man. She wrapped her arms around his hand. It was huge in comparison to her frame. Diji looked to Golana like a mother, "Can I keep him? Please?!"
Grim, shocked at the sudden attachment of the child tried to remove her by lifting his hand up and away from her.
"So long as he has no greef towards elves or little girls."
Golana said giving Grimm a studying look. He certainly seemed like a gentle beast. She was slightly reminded of the large shaggy rock callers of her homeland mountains.
"What I know is that I was about to win a perfectly good set of night vision gogels off eBay when suddenly I'm lightening bolted into Hell."
Max said, as if she'd already gone beyond the point of falling apart and went straight for the anger. "What do you know?" She asked turning the question back onto Abba.
"Naw," said
Abba. "That's not what I want to know. You knew the name of this river. You said you heard of people escaping. Where did you hear this stuff? What do you know about what's happening right now."
"Hehe...."
Diji jumped up to reach his arm but it was too high. Like a squirrel climbing a tree, she went up his back and sat on his shoulders. "I will call you...Buttons!
" she smiled.
"Oh..." Max said then tried to think of how to explain it best to Abba "I've always been into paranormal and mythological stuff. I'm a haunted tour guide in New Orleans, it's part of my job description to know weird things normal people don't. I remember reading a book in high school about Greek Mythology and this place sort of fits all the requirements for the River Stix. If we're in the right place that guy," She pointed at the Ferryman "Is named Charon."
The Ferryman looked at Max as if she's spoken out of turn. Though his expression was hidden suddenly the air around them became thick with dread.
Grim tried repeatedly to stop the little girl and get her off him, but failed. Looking over at Golana, his eyes looked almost like he was asking for help.
Golana smiled, he certainly didn't seem like one of the mindless blood thirsty Orcs of her homeland. "I think she's taken a liking to you."
Diji giggled as she sat on the orc's shoulder. "How did you die, Buttons?"
Abba looked at the ferryman, his eyes narrowing with the atmosphere shift. "What else do you remember?" he asked Max. Abba couldn't stand being in the dark about anything. Even now when he was apparently dead, he was still busily planning how to save his hide.
"It's been so long since I read it." Max said "But I remember reading about people who'd performed a specific task or killed some sort of monster and they where able to escape." She suddenly got all tense and sat up higher to check the banks of the river "I bet there's a Cerberus around here somewhere, maybe we kill it and get to go back home or something..."
Grim looked at the girl the best he could. "Me fighting zombie." he said pointing at Spellborn, "Me bout cut him in half then sudden explosion. Then me here." he finished.
"Oh I'm sorry! I don't like explosions either." Diji started, "This one time...at the school hut, I was practicing my magic and Destik pushed me and made me mix the wrong ingredients! It started the entire hut on fire! Then this other time.." she rambled on.
"What is your tale?" Golana asked noticing that Spellborn hadn't said anything since Grim paid his fare.
Spellborn looked over at Golana for a second before responding. "I was hired to bring Big Green here back to the zoo he broke out of. When I finally tracked him down he proved a little more challanging then I thought. I used the explosion to try and stun him so I could get away...I made it a little more powerful then I planned."
Grim listend as Diji rattled on with her stories. Not really sure what she was talking about half the time, but figuring it is getting her mind off the fact that she is dead.
"Something tells me that your explosion did not cause you two to be here." Golana said "As I have heard it from the others they did not die. Your spell may have been mere coincidence."
Spellborn let out an undignified "pfft!" before replying, "Im pretty sure I died. Unless Satan wants to have a face to face conversation, and even then you would think he would have fronted the bill." He finished, gesturing towards the boatman.
"Nothing in life is free." Golana said "Or so I have been told."
The boat ride took them down the river. It was unearthly quiet along the banks, save for a momentary splashing at the water's edge or the rustling of vegetation. The landscape had begun to change, the dead gray rocks rose up in a canyon around them; gouged and cracked in places, lights from deep within the crevices glowed red. There where no birds in the sky or no hint of wind but as the river began to wind threw the canyon whatever light cheeped threw the clouds began to diminish, leaving the party lit by the eerie red glow emanating from within the rocks. Finally the river came to a fork and the ferryman directed the boat left. As the landscape began changing again the river emptied them out into a delta where aside from the small parcels of land separating the river from the canyon the canyon rose up into a massive structure. Torches flickered along the collums and from windows high in the rock face, it seemed that the building it's self had been hewn from the very rock that cradled it. The boat birthed silently against the dock and the ferryman stretched out a gaunt arm, directing them to take to shore.
"This looks promising ." Max said sarcastically as she stood to exit the boat.
"A-after you." Diji stuttered, still clinging to Grim's shoulder.
Grim looked up ahead of them. With a sigh he stepped off the boat and started up the path.
Spellborn sat looking at the others, waiting for one of them to move. Other then Grim.
Golana stepped out of the boat and took notice of the dancing lights along the cnayonside.
Max's boot got caught in the mooring line but after a few awkward stumbles she was on dry land.
Abba stepped out and checked how many bullets were in his gun. If he had to kill a monster, he wanted to know how many shots he had.<h>
With a sigh Spellborn stepped out of the boat behind the others. With a few spells ready on his mind he figured he was more prepared then anyone else.
"You wouldn't have a spare one of those would you?" Max asked Abba, she was feeling more than vulnerable with only a butterfly knife stuffed down in her boot.
Stumble!