And so the hunt begins...

[SpectreShawn]

The wind was lacking upon this brisk morn, quite cold, with the morning dew dancing upon the grass and dripping from the trees. The sky was only partly cloudy, the sun peeking from over the horizon to make it's gradual climb upwards. It's blessed caress hugged the landscape, covering in a delicate blanket and a warming embrace. It was a pleasant addition to the chill the morning gave, especially the morning of the hunt. A day to strike back. It was time to return the favor.

It was quiet, perhaps a little too calm for his liking. CROSS had been very specific in their orders. Seek out and eliminate the remaining evil that had forsaken the land not so long ago. He seemed like a giant atop his mount, not just a steed but a mountain of a horse - a warhorse. It's armor was pristine in ivory and gold, covering it's head and hooves. It's hooves rose and fell to the earth with a thunderous roar, scraping at the dirt with a huff of impatience.

A hand covered in a stretchable fabric fell slowly to stroke upon it's silvery mane, the beautiful white horse showing barely a sign of growing calm. It stirred with anticipation much as it's master did, a deep breath at the same pace of his steed would exhale in a puff of steam to signal their duality. Hands let loose the reigns as cloven feet met with the earth; the man seemed far less towering off his horse, though his agility was something of note. Even the giant hammer on his back did not seem to jar him, his balance impeccable. Two hands rose and touched on the face of his helmet, guiding it to reveal a stoic visage. A hiss came as though releasing steam as it rose, locking itself into place above his face. He was handsome, though very plain. As if you could leave your home and see him walking down the street just as you could anyone else.

The man lowered himself close to the ground and inspected the earth, making note of how the grass bent still as though trampled by heavy footsteps. "They have definitely come through here. Close, too." The horse bumped gently into his shoulder with it's head, making note still of it's impatience. It clearly did not like this mission, though not wholly unafraid, it was obviously uncomfortable. Taking the reigns in hand, the man would glide effortlessly up and over the giant steed's saddle. "Come, Thunderhoof. Let's be off."

Like the sound of a hurricane, the horse galloped mightily along the path the creatures traveled. The mask found itself back down upon the man's face, taking the brunt of the breeze so eyes could stay open enough to see. It wasn't long until he found himself in front of the entrance to their home, a cave entrance agape like the feral maw of a monstrous creature. Already the man was uncomfortable with the thought of going down there and away from the light of the sun, though he could grant himself the light to see, it wasn't entirely comforting.

Thunderhoof knew it, and now he did too. Something wasn't right. And something definitely wasn't right about going down in there.

[soulbrand]

A horse thusly named for the shards of Jove that hung upon its hooves, would gallop with a thunderous rage across the subtle breast of the terra; stealing the attention of a man who sat with legs upon his chest and his backside to a whitened rock. To his left and likewise resting upon the ground was Bacchus, drunken and merely thrown amongst the grass. As the horse drew closer, noted by the rumbling dust, the man would stand slowly.

Hands pulled from the upward extensions of his shoe, away from the bunched portion of his fitted slacks that hung absently and sagged gently from his hip. The vibrant sleeve of ink that adorned his arm glimmered, nostrils flared twice; the air was stale and the scent of death that leaked from the womb of the terra had rancid. As he adjusted the v collar of his shirt he would smile softly, the horse had drawn close and fingers began to coil and lock against their kin.

From the left Souban would approach the man and his horse, they had arrived before Souban could work himself from the ribs of bone that stabbed from terra, yet, he was pleased to see them finally. Leaving Bacchus he behind to sober up the man took rest a mere fifteen feet from the man’s side, a distance in the event he was wrong about the intentions of this man. “Uh, hello—are you the one bearing this cross?”

Hands that remained locked were then placed to the backside of his head, rubbing lightly about the ivory mane; Souban was ready as the stench of death burped once more from the maw of a poisoned terra.

[SpectreShawn]

The man looked down from his towering steed if only to heed the words of the man before him - given his garb and presence here, not to mention his question, he was either a member of CROSS or the Order. And had he been a member of CROSS, L'jos would have recognized him. He sat for a moment, letting the question linger before moving to dismount from the warhorse. Even from that height and with the massive hammer on his back, the grace the masked man displayed seemed to shadow something far greater of him.

He stood, then, fifteen feet from the man as a breathy exhale brought mist from the visor. Voice came, then, resonating as if echoing off steel, deep and meaningful in that which he spoke. "Aye. I am L'jos Olibu, Agent of CROSS. What of you, sir? What business have you here?" He was straight and to the point, posturing somewhat with his back straight and arms at his side. L'jos was not sure if this man would be a threat to him in one way or another, so he would need to be ready all the same. L'jos did not always get along with members of CROSS, never mind the Order as well. His personal ideals often clashed, especially in situations such as this where there is the possibility of killing innocents. Something he was strictly against.

It hit him out of nowhere - the stench of death lingering through the air, filling his nostrils. Almost enough to make him gag, he had to do all he could just to avoid losing face before this mystery man. L'jos remained stoic in his composure, staring down the man from within his visor. He would not be held back in this mission.

[soulbrand]

A yawn, a shrug had continued from the point his lips had closed, as his left hand twisted towards the lush that lay upon the foliage; a flick of his index and the drunken Bacchus lifted and wobbled to become composed alongside that of Souban. “My arms don’t quite feel right so far stretched outward, no cross here.” A faint smile as he would turn on his heels towards the hive, kneel as the spin had commenced.

“I was simply enjoying a meal nearby when I caught wind of something, following it I was lead to this hole, and while I was not quite moved enough to neglect my meal; this turned my stomach some.” Souban would nod and give a soft shove to that of Bacchus as he tumbled once more to the foliage, though, as they drew closer to the hive they would find less dirty and more mud. Mud caked in crimson and riddled with the marks of dragged heels, those who entered had been forced. Yet before the Devil’s Maw, two stood ready to enter the depths of the terra.

Reaching again he would take the hand of Bacchus and return to his stance. The curved portion of his companion’s spine would rest along his shoulder, hung upside down, as he would turn again towards L’jos. “The Skyline has sent me to provide some aid to you, is all, though I suppose to some degree you were as expecting of me as I was you?”

A single step forward was all it took to begin the descent into the maw, a long path drove towards the heart of the terra, the scent of death and limbs hung on what appeared to teeth and fingers that riddled the rocky walls. Souban would casually twist, weave, and step over those granite appendages that provoked his path to change.

[SpectreShawn]

L'jos was growing more ill at ease, the presence of dirt soaked in blood left an even greater unsettling feeling, especially the way the ground sucked his feet inwards. It was as though the evil that he sought was already pulling at him, threatening to overwhelm and consume him deep within the earth. He listened as the other spoke, taking each step in stride, woefully moving towards the jagged den which awaits.

"Indeed, I didn't wholly expect to be alone here, but I had hoped..." his voice trailed, ducking and weaving through the spikes that lined the cave walls. It was true, if he was alone, he felt far more comfortable when having to deal with a large quantity of enemies by himself, rather than with others. The feeling of judgment falling upon him, the feeling of being a guardian, needing to protect those was with...it was all a burden he felt. After a moment, L'jos would speak as if his voice never broke off. "I haven't caught your name, sir. It seems strange to move so freely into this place with someone I know nothing about."

[soulbrand]

A pinky bore lightly into the ear of Souban. As he twisted the digit as well his shape, both to peer back at his comrade as well as avoid another jagged rock, he would smile faintly. “Oh, right—well if you think a name will tell you all you need to know about me, then you may call be Souban.” That smile remained, growing widely, as he dropped Bacchus from his shoulder perch and held him firmly to his chest. Timed well enough it would keep the foot end of his companion free from a low hook, one that Souban himself would duck under and then stop.

Before them the narrowed path turned into that of a valley, hills of dull granite rolled into the peaks and shapes of marred and wretched trees; limbs of stone and diamond, they both stimulated and bored the senses. Atop one of the many hills within the underground stood a troupe, three creatures twice that of a normal man and adorned in armor several shades that of the abyssal stone. The Dyvreal stood with their backs to the narrowed opening, their masked faces contorted towards a pillar of light that spilled a grand entrance and tunnel, to their left the world of Muhir, bright and verdant—their entrance for they were giants—and to the right whips of light hung from the ceiling to mark the path into the depths.

Turning from the path and allowing passage for L’jos, Souban would again kneel and place at his feet a single coin, unassuming and without notable features, before standing again yet keeping himself low and hidden behind the various stones that ribbed from the chest of the terra, they would aim to claim her heart on this day.

[SpectreShawn]

A slight nod was given, still moving rather effortlessly through the cavern as they continued towards the source. Tattered clothes and tiny chunks of flesh could be seen adhering to the jagged stone, the captured people were definitely brought through here forcefully, and probably brutally as well. Alas, it would truly take the sum of their actions for L'jos to even think of condoning killing them, and a slaughter was something he had hoped to avoid. Evil or not, they are still alive, and life no matter how evil must be cherished. More over, were they truly evil, simply because one race thought them worthy of destruction? Too much thought into it, he told himself, knowing full well what he was doing was giong against his belifs. That was the summary of his existence, however, to dole out punishment on those who did not follow the will of the Mother.

"A name is better than nothing, Souban." he'd say almost coyly, perhaps making an obvious attempt to keep himself light-hearted instead of seeming so serious. Truth is, L'jos was only ever serious when it came to his duties. Introvertive, often finding himself lost in thought and causing more trouble than it was worth. Even as they made it from the path to the valley, L'jos almost didn't notice the three standing before them had it not been for Souban moving away. without wasting time for a word, L'jos stopped himself and moved, too, with Souban.

Souban had knelt and so too would L'jos, but for different reasons. The faintest whisper came from L'jos, mostly incomprehensible due to the volume of his voice, but it was obviously some form of prayer. He asked for forgiveness, for divine providence to befall these creatures and allow them to be redeemed in this life or their next. Then again he would ask for forgiveness for himself, for this time L'jos would take life. All the while he would hold the hammer before him, the massive thing that it was seemed almost weightless in his hands. Every now and again, the electrum alloy would surge with power and it would gloss with a brilliant sheen.

After his prayers had been said, L'jos spoke just loud enough for Souban to hear. "Do we have some sort of plan, or are we just going to run through this place like lunatics? Whereas I'm sure we could handle the lot of them, I would rather not have to worry about fighting them in such tight quarters." Truth be told, this was the reason he didn't often team up with others. Not because he was worried he would hurt them, but because he was worried they could hurt each other. Without any idea to the abilities of those around him, he would have to play far more cautiously than he normally would, especially against creatures that looked like they could crush a normal man effortlessly in their hands.

[soulbrand]

From their guard it was impossible to hear the words that reverberated from the ebon masks, yet, the guttural timbre that echoed. A set of footfalls had stopped suddenly as fists heavy as hammers beat upon breast—they were aware of something. From the luminous tunnel entered a pair of Mages, their voices in the distinctive duality as the grunts merely remained stiffened, corpses, until they pair had moved into the area marked by hanging wisps.

Bacchus groaned as he was placed against a jagged rock, a set in the mouth of the terra, and Souban likewise placed his back to the rock. Drawing in the dirt he would place another coin in the center of the picture, both appeared meaningless yet the man would smile as the copper hit the dull granite. “I figured we would just ask them to give up, I mean, they don’t seem like the overly vicious type.” A faint smile, of course his comrade was right, this area wouldn’t do well for the type of fighting likely to come from the giants; they were brutes and the weapons they bore were twice that of a normal man’s midsection.

Peering once more, he would sigh, “It seems unlucky they will let us pass if we ask nicely, and though I am sure we can be nice enough, it seems unlikely.” A few grunts before grasped Bacchus by the waist and stood once more, peering over the jagged portion of rock. The Dyvreal had remained as they were before the Mages appeared, marching with terra shattered steps.

“We might have to remove these three before we can enter the tunnel, they would surely catch is if we simply tried to break it, they have the vantage either way—any ideas?” It was a question asked as Souban merely twisted his pace around the wall of stone and headed for the crest the Dyvreal stood upon.

[SpectreShawn]

L'jos removed a vial wrapped in parchment, draining the liquid into the crevice of the head of his hammer, embracing the metal. It seemed to have no other effect than to appear as though the hammer was breaking apart, the head giving off a faint red glow. The other man had quite the sense of humor, prompting a light chuckle from within his helmet. They were about to engage these huge creatures and he was so calm, it was strange to see someone react as he had. Almost forgetting what it's like to be human, to just be a machine. It was nice to have something different, something that would break the mold of the norm.

Effortless ease in motion let him rise quietly, a silent study of the creatures from afar. They would be upon them soon, a dance of blades and blood - a game of death. "Either way we must engage them. I suppose a decoy would be plausible, we can take them out one at a time." A heavy sigh left him, and without giving the other man a chance to speak, L'jos continued. "I'll be the decoy, I'm already prepared to fight defensively. This open area is the best we have, but we must be quick about it. I can only assume you know how to handle that-" nodding to the sword, "-sword that you carry."

They were drawing closer, steps still quiet enough to not be heard and voices now barely above a whisper. This was going to get very, very interesting.

[soulbrand]

Footfalls that shifted the terra beneath the heavyset giants had slowed. The Dyvreal had become aware that they were no longer alone, aware that they had be joined by others—they didn’t feel the instinctive need to salute, they knew foes.

With distance closed, Souban turned towards L’jos and smiled, they would be wise to use a decoy but instead, the free hand of Souban lifted heavenward and offered an enthusiastic wave. “I, rather we, hate to intrude on your fancy marching but we seem to be lost, we are looking for whoever runs this place—can you help?” A hand that waved became a pinky once more towards the ear, twisting and working along the lobe as he dropped the feet of Bacchus to the dull terra; the darkened soil.

It worked. Swords twice the width of a normal man were lifted heavenwards. The guttural dialect shifted to harsh chants, free hands beat upon armored breastplates, swords swing high and then low, sparking as they sliced lines at their feet. And then, with all their might and hatred for man, they would stomp towards the duo. Souban, as relaxed as when he first appeared, would smile, Bacchus being slowly withdrawn from his robe.

Dyvreal, Titans, would descend with swift steps and before much time had passed, swords would be swung towards Souban and the company he kept.

[SpectreShawn]

Palm rose and clasped lightly over the visor, hammer held in his off hand, aimed down towards the ground. This guy is going to be trouble... L'jos couldn't help but laugh at this moment, the man he was with could most assuredly have them killed if he wasn't careful, but at least he would keep things interesting. It was hard to make light of death, since these creatures would have to die, but there was little L'jos could do other than to hope for the best.

One came straight for him, a towering behemoth whose sword sought to cleave L'jos in half. A hammer found way to both hands, right held towards the head while left lower to the bottom. Feet shifted, shuffling himself to the side and leaping into the air to bring the hammer crashing horizontally into the monstrous being's side. It would feel this impact so much more, for at that moment, the hammer burst a brilliant scarlet and the head shattered, floating together as if held by surges of crimson electricity.

The impact was likely enough to topple the creature, probably broke a rib or two. Definitely dented it's armor. The burst of magic at the point of impact could well have knocked it into the others, but L'jos's focus was on the monstrosity before him. Something had to give.

"You are a funny little guy, Souban." he would say, laughing a little while he said it. This was going to be a good day.

[soulbrand]

A broad sword hit on the mark—aimed for the side of Souban—yet it would not taste flesh or fabric; the robe of Bacchus sparked as the feet of Souban slid to accommodate the initial blow. Twisting to his side he would narrowly avoid a downward slash before shove himself backwards, not moving the Titan, as he smirked.

“Oi, well I suppose that means you don’t intend to just tell us?” As the handle of Bacchus was once more griped by the iron coil of Souban, his frame would suddenly be rocked to the side as a concussive blast echoed from the hallway of the wisps; the Mages had heard the initial commotion and returned. Groaning as hit the wall of the cave with enough force to cause a visible wince, Souban would turn so that his back found the cracked wall his ribs had caused. Bearing his companion in all the sky clad glory, Souban sliced once as the wall to his right and left splintered and cracked along its length. Another blast from the Mages, this time however foiled, as he barely had enough time to deflect a swipe for his shoulders. The blade bore itself into Bacchus causing the frame of Souban to drift, the sound of loose change echoing as he made his way to the side.

As the brutish Titan pursed the left hand of Souban would snap, those coins exploding upward with a series of blades that pierced and maimed the flesh of the Dyvreal. In that instant the hasted steps of the Titan would be his downfall. Adjusting himself, as well as shaking the stars from his eyes, would turn to reassess the landscape; hopefully L’jos was doing just as well.

[SpectreShawn]

A bright flash, echoed only by a thunderous crash - a deafening clap as a gale of force ripped through the cavern. The sound was mute when compared to the sickening crash of armored carapace smashing through stalagmite, stones crumbling within the cavern. L'jos rose slowly with his vision blurred, everything was in triplicate, like there was an army of these things upon them. Several appeared to be doubled over, clasping hands to ribs in a faux effort to ease pain and suffering from shattered bone, it was likely to die from such a thing if bone punctured lungs.

It came again, the sudden force shot out with an invisible hand to swat L'jos away effortlessly, letting his body flail and roll through several other spikes of stalagmite before coming to a halt. Casters. There was nothing he hated more than artillery-style casters. Using the strength within himself, L'jos rose with hammer in hand - though pressed to the ground to aid in his ascent - ready for round two.

Diving to the side, L'jos managed to avoid another magical hand only to find the crushing force of a mighty two-handed sword barrelling down upon him. Quick thinking brought the shaft of the hammer up to intercept the blade, but the force was crippling enough to send L'jos to his knees with the ground splintering in the wake of his fall. Two arms braced and extended with enough force to send the sword reeling, but only for the moment as the Titan's massive foot blasted him square in the chest. Tumbling and rolling, the world just kept spinning as he moved. Injured already and beyond annoyed, L'jos slammed the hammer into the ground to halt his momentum and right himself all in one motion.

"Enough!" he shouted, erupting in an aura of light. A single hand moved the hammer to deflect the mystical force heading for him, splintering it around him as it destroyed more stone and debris. The Titan was already upon him, but it's overhead smash was matched only by the sudden resurgence of L'jos's foot which slammed heavily into the sternum of the Titan, causing grip to loosen on the sword and drop to it's knees in just enough time for the massive hammer to rip downwards and crush the Titan's skull down between it's shoulders.

Annoyed, L'jos was not planning on holding back anymore. Souban better keep up, this place was going to quickly become a bloodbath.

[soulbrand]

It hung in his mouth, the coppery tasted of his enemies ploy, as a backhand swept and altered the river of crimson that twisted from the left side of his mouth, and Souban would lift well his drunken comrade. Sparks ignited as the massive broad sword descended upon the slender frame lifted to revolt—as the arm and frame that supported its cause would dip into the granite and dullness of the stone.

In the confusion and the turmoil another set of the armored Titans had swept down from the catacomb hallways. They unlike their comrades were not as swift to join the battle, instead their blades were lifted heavenward and angled; a darkened aura shifted along the three parallels—that darkened steel groaned and whistled. “Well, that certainly looks to be ominous, eh?” Spoken through pearls that remained pressed tightly together, the focus of Souban was on that of the edge that hung mere inches from his bangs.

Hand free of the burden of providing aid to the drunken populace would dip into the shallow depths of his pocket again, twisting about the minor region before withdrawing a set of coins once more; flicking them upward into the chest of the Dyvreal. A thunderous clap reverberated the chasm before the coins exploded with an azure haze. Frozen in place the flattened side of Bacchus would claim and shatter the Titan, his attention bore itself sharply to the trio and their darkened weaponry.