Pathcrossings. [Adonis, Jowita, Tod]

[The Carrying Blade]

Adonis has a fire in his eyes, he had easily decimated the rabble in front of him and now he was on the ground with another trying its best to hurt him. But the skeleton would have no such luck, Adonis lifted his dagger, holding it with both hands as he raised it up high above his head. With a yell he plunged it downward, to which the skeleton tried blocking with its arms but was ultimately futile given their weakness, causing the dagger to pierce through and utterly demolish the skull.

Breathing heavily he stood up, dusting himself off as he looked to the rest of the group. The woman had handled herself well, but the sounds of arrogant boasting was enough to tell Adonis he should expect her to be the cockiest and most rash of the group when it came to fighting which for a doctor like him meant she was going to be a nightmare to deal with. But then there was Tod, it was obvious he had given Adonis this power through some sort of holy blessing he presumed, though right now he had a skeleton still to deal with out of the three. But hopefully he could handle himself, the boy being both scared yet confident despite the complications this might bring.

[Unter]

It was finished as quickly as it began. Tod, stomping the skeleton to the ground and wrenching his crucifix away from the foul beast. Jowita, doing the same with ruthless efficiency and unneeded boast. Adonis, crushing the Skeleton's head with his dagger.

Salazar sighed. They had lost too much time already. He looked at the party, and didn't even bother to ask if they were injured. The skeletons were only rabble, after all.

"Be wary, Jowita. triumphant pride precipitates a dizzying fall. Onward then. We will head into the corridor. Don't bother with the other doors, we have already explored them. What interests us is at the end."

He didn't wait for the others to follow, and strolled through the corridor. It was awfully long. They couldn't get an outside look of the manor, but it didn't seem right for a corridor to be that long. And then, it started shifting, slowly beginning a descent into the black soil. It didn't feel right. The sunlight was long gone, for they had went away in the door. Then, the floor changed. The wooden tiles where replaced with hard stone, and a pattern of tiles started to emerge. First, an elaborate eye, in mosaic was presented. It seemed to shed a tear. Then, a pattern of parallel and perpendicular lines, all secant to each other started to repeat itself. Salazar was studying it. It must mean something. And Salazar must know about it.

At first, bones could be found in the corridor, but when they started the descent into the ground, nothing could be found. Doors that appeared on the left and right side started vanishing, the corridor shifting into only one purpose : A way to the massive steel door that could be seen. It was their destination. Salazar was eager, and excited. Finally ! The object of his search would be in this room. He smiled, his first smile since weeks, and said.

"This is the vault of the manor. It is a large room, and it may countain ennemies, or even treasure. We just need to open the door."

He looked at the torch he was carrying. No idle wind disturbed it. The air smelled stale, neutral. It felt wrong to upset the calm of this place.

[Kidney]

Tod felt a swelling of pride, an intense drive to continue filling him as his stress alleviated slightly. The dead remained dead once more. His emerald eyes shifted to stare at the man, and Tod turned to retrieve his coat, slipping the furred thing over himself again. He placed the iron sphere into a pocket, a new bone-powdered dent in the metal. 

He turned and jogged, crucifix in hand, towards Salazar, surveying the corridor with curious intent. The info nearly overloaded the boyish man, and as Salazar stood before the door, Tod stood next to him in the next few seconds. 

"Should the dead rise again, Salazar, I believe I should exorcise this place soon after the rabble is dealt with."

[rumsztyk]

"Hmph." She scoffed at Salazar's warnings, keeping the blade unsheathed. She took in the sight of the blockade ahead.

"Just open? These doors do not seem like a trifle." She observes.

[The Carrying Blade]

Adonis collected himself shortly, having a slight adrenaline rush that pumped the odd feeling of utter excitement inside him. He was usually calm and sturdy but whatever that spell Tod used got him to feel what he hadn’t felt in a couple years. He followed the group, amazing at the textures and area changing and transforming before his very eyes, whatever accursed magic held here was powerful, and when they came upon the giant steel door the feeling of dread overcame him.

“Opening the door will probably be the easiest thing to do, whatever awaits us inside will most likely be disastrous. Get ready to fire alright? We won’t have any element of surprise once we move this, just Incase we fight more skeletons or worse. Come on Tod, let’s open it.” Adonis remarked, moving towards the door with his usual quickness, moving to push the door first given he had no clue which was it opened.

[Unter]

Salazar looked at Tod and laughed at his face. Exorcize this place ? Was the clergyman blind as well as a fool ? The manor was enormous, and filled with abominations. They would need an energy or a catalyst powerful enough to shatter realities to exorcize them rapidly. For they had no time, Salazar knew this. He scowled at Tod, and said.

"Forget this fool's errand, clergyman. We are here, and you came here, all of you, for one purpose only : Assist me in investigating something. It is behind that door. I will do what I must and then we get out of here as quickly as we can, and with anything that you should desire. Now. Let us go."

He approached the enormous steel door. It seemed designed to... keep thing inside somehow. The locks were outside, big iron bars locked into a mechanism that would take too much time to break. Salazar felt a thrill, and a lingering fear that startled him. He didn't know what was behind the door. His search of the previous expedition taught him how to open it, but what was beyond... he realised that what was probably beyond terrified him. Cold sweat trickled on his brow, as well as on his back. Darkness below was it unnerving to feel fear again. Was this a sign ?

"I... I must warn you now. I don't know what's behind the door. What lies there is a complete mystery, and I only have a vague idea of what I must find. But there is no going back."

In the down left corner was a tiny hole. He inserted his finger in it, and twisted a mechanism in a uncountable number of time. Seconds, minutes, dozens of minutes stretched and Salazar was still trying to open the lock with his finger. It started to hurt under the stress, but after a time of trial and error, he managed to get the door open. It wasn't the massive door, it was just a tiny way into the room that was probably used by the scientists before. What were they doing in such a place ? No matter. Salazar entered the room, followed by the party.

It was a big room, maybe 200 square meters. However, it was hopelessly bare of the shine of gold. Drawers were disposed on the walls that could be pillaged, and on the walls were drawings. In fact, the drawings were on the wall. There were so many drawings that the colour of the stone behind it couldn't be observed. But the pattern it formed was clear. Lines. Intersecting lines, intersecting others, on, and on. A kind of... Pathcrossings. 

What were the scholars studying here ? It seeped of evil and unknown. In the middle of the room, there was a table. On it, multiple pile of papers waited there. It seemed written in a rigorous fashion, but someone had deliberately poured ink on the scholar's notes. Who in the nine hells would do this ? Salazar starved for the knowledge that awaited him here. He examined the table further : A metallic shape lied there. It was the same metal that Tod displayed in his ball. It was surely a trinket of his. But, on the table, an odd shape vomitted an aura of similarity with Tod's weapon. But.. it was a metallic penis. Why would it remind him of Tod ? And why in the nine hells was this thing here ? A metallic dildo ? Why ? 

Salazar looked at the clergyman with obvious confusion in his eyes. He pointed to the object on the table and asked.

"Is this yours ? It looks... it feels like it's yours."

He was unnerved. There was no other word. He had to control his hands. They would be shaking right now if he didn't do anything. O Darkness below... what was he to do now ? He didn't have time to finish thinking that he finally spotted the object of his search, and he started walking toward it.

[Kidney]

There was a period of silence after Salazar's comment on the exorcism, as Tod attempted to keep his mouth shut. He swallowed what glinting pride began to gurgle from his gut back down, remaining positive as he entered the room alongside the man who doubted him. 

Tod's eyes immediately shifted to the walls, searching for a clue to uses and reason for being among the patterns. Tod found many, in such a grandiose room, it couldn't have all been unique. But, the usefulness of the patterns was slim, and open-mouthed awe became Tod's current state. 

Before long, Tod turned to Salazar as he spoke to him, concerned with what may have been his in this infernal place. He turned towards the desk and saw the phallic construction standing nearly proudly there, before averting his gaze. It made him uncomfortable, and a quiet shift in his stomach as he imagined his own member disembodied on the desk forever. 

"Oh, god. Who would make that?" he spoke, concerned, but intrigued. He slowly approached it, getting uncomfortably close before meaning to push it over with his knuckles.

[The Carrying Blade]

Adonis observed the walls heavily once they entered, it had instantly caught his attention. Walking up to the wall to his left, he let his hand rise up and gently glide over the lines, following them. He was so preoccupied with this he didn’t notice the very weird circumstance happening with Tod and Salazar. He was simply trying to see if the lines made some kind of pattern, something he could follow and see if he went on long enough that something would shine as a beacon to his mind.

[rumsztyk]

Jowita scoffed at the unlikely finding. And the man of faith approaching it was even more amusing. She witheld a crass joke, instead focusing on other things.

"Hardly a vault, mister Salazar." She observed, her voice dry. A hint of disappointment.

She stepped forward and began to investigate the papers. Jowita could hardly contain her own curiosity.

[Unter]

The pattern on the walls were hypnotizing. Adonis would follow on and on the lines, to find that none of them ended the way a line should. It was a literal pathcrossings of drawn lines, crossing each other on and on. Salazar, examining the wall briefly, knew that it was the symbol of a particular religion near Asia. The belief of rebirth and reincarnation. Curiosity tickled inside him, and the sweet call of knowledge lulled him toward the ominous object that awaited deep into the chamber. A big smile shone on the occultist's face.

"You are wrong Jowita. This is a vault. But there is no gold. Instead, there is something far more precious..."

The awe in his voice overwhelmed any other emotion. He didn't know if Jowita listened to him, for he was speaking in an increasingly softer voice, and she was examining the papers on the table. She would find that it is full of rubbish, with only one big word, written in a worrying colour of red, that is readable.

Worlds.

But now, Salazar approached the object. It was the object of his dreams, ever since he first came here. The books he read in his first expedition were clear. This is an object of tremendous power. And it was his ! He would be accepted into the ranks of the greater occultists... He would be powerful ! And knowledge, sweet knowledge, would fill his mind. The artefact was pretty simple, and didn't give a hint of its power. It was made of wood, with a single sphere on top of it. It was nearly one meter in diameter. The surface of the sphere looked smooth, and made of a material like glass, or a transparent ivory. Maybe both ? Salazar didn't know himself. His hands touched the surface of the sphere.

Nothing happened.

Why ? The books said that the energy inside of the ball would grant him knowledge in many ways but... what if...?
There was no energy. At first, Salazar thought fear paralyzed his body but the sphere had sent something, an energy, that made it so his limbs felt like they were in jelly. Too late. He couldn't even shout for someone's help. His thirst for knowledge was what killed him. It was fitting, in a sense.

Suddenly, like a coiled snake unleashing its attack, tendrils of steel with sharp points like needles burrowed themselves everywhere in Salazar's body. He didn't even shout, he didn't even cry. His life-blood was pumped from these tendrils, and the blood flowed to feed the sphere's hunger. From Salazar's eyes, something seemed to seep out. A white cloud-like energy... The sphere hungered for someone's soul. 

Like a lifeless doll -a very deshydrated doll made of flesh-, Salazar's body hit the ground. When the last drop of blood flowed inside the sphere... a flash of white of pure energy pulsed from the apparatus, that blinded the other mercenaries. A fog that wasn't a fog seeped into the room, and filled it, reducing the field of vision to a pitiful depth. If the other mercenaries weren't blinded by the spell, they could have seen that from the door, a flood of souls came to feed the sphere. It was the souls from all the undead that littered the old manor.

And when the mercenaries would finally overcome the pain of their eyes, they would find that something was stirring near them in the fog. Something that didn't really feel like danger. Instead it felt... similar. 

[Kidney]

Tod looked around soon after he knocked the phallic figure to the ground, and found nothing to happen. The clang was insignificant, and as the others made their rounds, Tod was left with his hands in his pockets. He looked around once more, staring emptily at the others once again. That was before he heard many small noises and the falling of Salazar's body. 

Tod turned mid-fall, and let out a panicked scream, followed by another as the light pierced his eyes like daggers. He fell to his knees, hands grabbing at his face, muttering curses in the language of the power words upon his skin. He continued to shrink, curling into a near sitting ball before he felt his sight return to him slightly. 

He looked up with squinting eyes, finding nothing but the fog. He sat in his ball-like position, tucking himself underneath the table the metallic penis had been sat upon. "JOWITA! ADONIS!" 

He could feel his heart begin to quicken, his breath faster, he began to hyperventilate."HELP! HELP! HELP!" He continued this chant, yelling for help in the fog, growing more distressed as something stirred around them.

[rumsztyk]

She didn't have a chance to complain loudly how utterly useless these papers were, instinctively grabbing her flintlock as soon as she heard Salazar's quick demise.

Trying her best not to panic, she didn't move while blinded and pointed the weapon upwards, blinking rapidly to regain vision.

She kicked the table blindly, turning it over for cover, and hid there in anticipation. Tod was under it, screaming - she slapped him. "Will you shut up?!" The woman hissed. "There is naught but us!"

Her face was tense and sharp as she glared at the clergyman intimidatingly.

[The Carrying Blade]

Adonis has been staring at the wall for the entire time, when the blinding light came his back was against it, allowing him to evade his eyes being burned with whiteness. Instead it of course allowed him to watch the souls head straight onto where Salazar’s body and the sphere was. He only caught a glimpse of his corpse before the fog overtook his eyes, averting them to the roof as he said prayers to cleanse his mind from this horrible sight. Then he felt the thing in the fog...

“Jowita! Tod is right, there is something in the fog. I am going to find the door...I will yell when I get to it.” Adonis called out, clearly seeing that this was the time to escape while there was still time. He wouldn’t even dare go to Salazar’s body, whatever killed him was too dangerous to try and retrieve, their only hope was escape while they had their lives intact. Using the wall, he travelled to his right with his back to it. Knowing full well he should reach the door in no time if he did this.

[Unter]

Too late. Far too late. Jowita tried to knock out the table, but it was nailed on the ground. Apparently, the scientist got tired of his table moving. But it really shouldn't be Jowita's first preoccupation. Something was calling to here. Now, footsteps could be heard in front of the woman. The fog seemed to moved around the figure...

It was a man. He had thin lips, and stood at a good 1.7 meters. His shorts pants allowed his scars to be seen on his legs. In his eyes, a cold arrogant shine could be seen, the man surely thought highly of himself. He had a sharp nose and sharp cheeks that gave him a predatory look. A sabre and a flintlock were holstered at his belt. Around his neck hung a golden chain, but the lack of a locket was a surprise. It felt like it should be here. The man spoke, with an arrogant voice. His sharp polish cut-glass accent cutting the fog around him.

"So you are the me here. Pfeuh. A weak woman is no match for my skills. Or maybe are you ?"

A rotten smile, albeit a pretty one, welcomed Jowita. She would have to deal with this arrogant man.



For Tod, it was different. The man was clearly panicking, and we was right to do so. Was he the one here that made the most sense ? Ironic. It wouldn't be any different here. Another figure in the fog approached him. A hand littered in tattoos grabbed the metallic dildo near Tod, and in the same movement forced the clergy-man to get up. The man... woman... now appeared in all of its grandeur. Breasts poked the simple fabric of its clothing, but a buldge could be observed through the loincloth. It was an abomination, both man and woman. Its simple clothing was very crude : A band of cloth protected the breasts, and it only wore a loincloth. The thing wanted to show its tattoos. Sexually-themed tattoos were dispersed on the thing's body. Man on women... men on men... every salacious thing that could be imagined were used here. And the thing was proud ! It caressed its body while watching at Tod, and it took the metallic dildo to make an obscene gesture. It was really interested in Tod. It spoke, in a sensual voice, while pointing its metallic apparatus toward Tod.

"So... I couldn't ask for someone sexier fu fu fu~. I always wanted to meet someone that looked as serious as you, although we need to work on that courage of yours... No woman likes a cowardly man~"

It could be either hell or paradise for Tod.




And so Adonis tried to find the door. It was a meaningful decision. It could have work if something or someone didn't appear in front of the door. Just like the other, Adonis would be acknowledged. The smell came before Adonis could even see the cause of the presence near him. A rotten smell... if Adonis ever came to the Weald, it is exactly the smell that could be found on the rotten corpses there. A dangerous smell of a mushroom's spore. The figure that appeared in front of him was a freakish one. It was somewhat small, nearly 1,6 meters, but its height was augmented by the sheer weight of mushrooms that sprouted on this one's skin. The clothes of the thing were simple, black in colour, with a mushroom pattern spread across a vest. He had a cane in hand, it was made of a single solid fungi. The thing had a ragged mask, and only his eyes could be seen under the fungi construction. At his side was a brown satchel, were the thing must have its tools. The vestige of a gray cross could be seen on it. It spoke to Adonis, with a ragged voice. It was like that he allowed the mushrooms to grow even in his throat.

"Don't you even think to escape, you tiny man, else you be struck by the might of my fungis !"

[Kidney]

Tod accepted the slap, letting out a pained yelp as he touched the now reddened hand-shaped print on his cheek and face. "S-sorry, Jowita..." he whimpered, looking around, listening to Adonis's voice. "Okay! Protect yourself!"

He sat under the table, looking around before he heard footsteps. And the horror that addressed him touched his soul with lustful, black fingers. As they spoke, Tod remained silent, a gurgling broth of vomit developing as he stared at their...everything. He let out a squeak as the creature pulled him from under the table, pulling his arm away, scraping it on the long nails of the FeMale. 

He took a step back, bumping into the table, looking in horror. "You. Stay away from me!" 

Tod's mind fell back to the library back at him, the nun's smothering hands, her wide, fat form slowly descending upon him. Her moans of lust, her exploring mouth, and his own pitiful first orgasm. Tod's vomit flew to the front of his mouth, splashing against the back of his teeth as he kept it there, ripping forth his crucifix. He brandished it, opening his mouth as hot vomit smacked the ground. 

:"Don't make me do this!"