Die Hafen, Act II

"Why do YOU have HIS staff? Or, maybe we can wait with that question... But I really have to ask, who are you? Have I seen you before or is my mind playing tricks on me?"

Liz got to her feet, and leaned on the staff.

"Hello to you too, warrior. My name is Liz, and though I'm sure I haven't met you before, I will not exclude the chance that you have seen me. After all, you've been around for quite some time, have you not?"

"If you want a nice place to bury your friend there, have you considered waiting 'till we get to heaven? Or maybe even cremate him in the fires of hell, if that's possible. Hah, amusing thought."

Liz shifted her weight and looked at the staff.

"As for the staff, I carry it because I am the only true neutral of this revenge-seeking party. When Friedrich died, we decided it would be best like this."

She looked at him for a while, and then said jokingly: "What, do you have a problem with that?"

 

"Well, yeah, I do. I mean, Friedrich was the ONLY person who ever listen to me and my stories. I've lived for more then 2000 years, I got lots to tell, but no on want to listen. Can you possibly imagine how it feels? Now, suddenly Friedrich dies and I find an unknown woman with his staff, which he caried almost every time I saw him. Is there any reason why I shouldn't react, even just a little? " Tanaros gently put the body down on the ground.

"I don't think I should bury him in Heaven. First of all, I'm not sure if they will let me do that, and second of all, I would rather bury him "on the surface" since that was his home. That's at least how would like to have it if I ever die..."The last thing he said in a low voice, almost as if he said it to himself.

He wasn't tired but he just wanted to take it easy, to relax. He put his backpack on the ground and sat down. The ground maybe wasn't so comfortable but since he couldn't feel it, he just closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

"Guess you don't mind me ignoring everything around me... If you have something to tell me, then just poke me or something."

 

The Imp was throwing himself on the ground for some reason, and then got up just as fast. Realizing he now had a mission, he said, Alrighthy then, masthur. Leth's geth goin' then, everyon'. Ahn don' fall behind; I can'th garanthee yer safethy. From 'ere, we'll run.

Then off he ran, saying something about wasps? Vile Imp! wait for the rest of us!...

Samiel tucked his wings back tight and yelled, Quick! We dont want to lose him! And ran off into the brush and straight into a small group of wasps hanging out near the entrance. The bugs started to bite him as he kept running, swatting away the bugs as he went, cursing loudly as he went.

 

Liz poked the greek with the staff.

"Alright, warrior", she said and sat down next to him. "Funny how relaxing this place is, eh?"

 

Damned imps...damned wasps!
Drach put up a small shield of fire, trying to keep the wasps from contacting and stinging him. It didn't really work.
Why won't they die?! Right...they live in Hell. They're probably just as resilient as the Demoness from the cave.
Drach began simply swatting the wasps aside, and gradually increasing his running speed. He didn't want the wasps to catch up with him, but he wanted to catch up with that loathsome imp and not be left trapped in the ever changing forest.
Does anyone have some sort of dominion over wildlife or plants? Or would that be too convenient?

 

Vile wasps! stupid imps!
As the rest of the party did, Potiri to cusred the wasps and the stupid imp running away. But as he was bigger then the others in his demon form, he had a bigger problem getting up in a high speed, so the awsps cought up with him farily easy.

Begonefoul creatures! he screamed,
and made a gesture in the air and the wasps where pushed back by a wall of air.

Stupid imp! He will burn when were done with this...Potiri mutterd and then he sat off to catch up with the rest of the group.

 

The others seemed to be perplexed by the survivability of the wasps. Jared did not know how to deal with them either, but he would not start cursing. With a quick gesture in the air he made a group of wasps freeze in the air. There were worse things in the forest. He continued to follow the other ones as they proceeded trough the forest, keeping up.

 

Ky'Nareth smiled broadly as he progressed through the forest. The wasps were irritating, but only truly agressive if you disturbed them. Ky'Nareth knew exactly how to identify and avoid their nests, so he had not recieved even a single bite this far.
But he had forgotten something about the forest... There was more creatures as you got deeper. Most of them were maggots and alike, and only dangerous if you were really big or moved really slow.
But there were quicker beats in here, too.

Then, it struck him.
He'd forgotten to warn them of the Hounds;

They were natural scavangers, hound-like creatures with green scales instead of fur, and a barbed tounge used to saw their victims flesh and drain their blood.
Not only was their sense for smell adequate, but they were also stubborn persuadors, and quick as Hell.

Ky'Nareth stopped for a split second, turned in mid-air and shouted to the others:

Oi! You loth! Wathch outh for them Scavangehrs houndies! Don' leth them foulies bithe yer; ith mighth be yer lasth misthake! Hurry, they've picked our thrail already!

 

Samiel kept running, occasionally snagging a feather on a branch or twig. The wasps had decided to chase after some of the slower moving people in the group, and had quit bothering him for the moment.

Then he noticed something running along side him, behind a wall of brush, something green. Then a partial bare spot in the brush revealed what it was, a Hound. Probably one of the ugliest dogs imaginable, its scaly hide glistened with the dew from the rising fog. It looked hungry and it had friends... three more could be seen trailing along behind.

Ky'Nareth yelled, Oi! You loth! Wathch outh for them Scavangehrs houndies! Don' leth them foulies bithe yer; ith mighth be yer lasth misthake! Hurry, they've picked our thrail already!

Samiel pulled twin swords from thier sheaths and prepared for combat, but continued to run after the Imp.
We've got company! Ready yourselves for a fight!, he yelled back to the others, just in time to see the lead hound leap from the undergrowth straight for him.

 

As Potiri ran through the forest alongside the bothering wasps, he saw a glimt of green before it disappeared. Then he heard Samiel shout;

We've got company! Ready yourselves for a fight!

Ah...Enemies..Potiri thought and extracted his sword from it's sheath and was trying to see what was out there. As he knew that the forest wasn't very safe for the lonley, note even for the mighty one, he speeded up in a try to catch up with the rest of the group.

 

Hounds... Jared thought. Scary beasts, but easy avoided. But was this normal hounds? Could normal hounds keep up with demons? He didn't know, he had been in hell for far too long.
Well, either way, if the imp was skilled we should arrive soon enough, they would not have time to attack. The wasps was completely filling the air now, but he had stopped bothering. They were no more than a mild sting anyways. And if they were getting too close he could always just freeze them.

If the hounds would attack, I will just unsheat my whip.

 

Uriel saw Jared freeze some of the wasps.
Ah...it looks like Kapitän Bestrafen has some interesting skills...what?!
The Hounds were closing in, and quite a few seemed certain that they had a fresh meal on their paws.
Their eyes...they seem to exhude intelligence and cunning...
Uriel brandished Gungnir in his left hand, the flaming sword in his right, and lowered his fire-shield; the hounds were far too large and far too numerous to even be slowed by such a barrier, so there was no point in wasting concentration on such a vain effort.
One of the younger beasts made a brash move and lunged directly at Uriel, mouth agape. In response, Uriel threw Gungnir down the hound's throat, evaporating it and making a resounding thunderclap, as if to signify victory. As the mighty spear returned to Uriel, he spoke:
They'll not try that again...unfortunately.
The hounds seemed startled at the sudden flash of light and the resulting blast of sound, but kept on the heels of the party. The older hounds seemed to speak to the more inexperienced, apparently cautioning them to not try what their kin had.
Suddenly, the hounds seemed to disappear from around the group, and the forest fell silent.
I think we might be in trouble, here...! Ky'Nareth, some insight?!

 

The hounds seemed to desapear from the partys side. That could only mean trouble, in the master scouts book. It meant they were gathering help; help from the ancient hounds.
These creatures weren't as big as their newer cousins, but they were almost as powerful as a demon. A high-rank demon.
The reason Ismael had stopped creating these vile beasts was because their slaughtering of his other demons and creatures in the forest. They were supposed to be hunted down, but the hunt had never been succesfull; just try to find and kill a beast who can find its way through an ever changing forest, and you'll see how hard it is.

Er... Guys, yer bethher speed uph a lithhle; them houndies'll be comin' back, ahn thaths for shureh. Hurry!

The imp, who didn't want to die, increased his speed.

 

"Hm? Relaxing? Well, that maybe wouldn't the word I use, but it's definitely more relaxing then Berlin. On the other hand, I really think it's worse futher down." When he said that, he realised that things weren't so bad. Maybe he could find a place, not too warm and not too cold, maybe in the montains, were he could bury Trevor and watch over his grave. Maybe plant some nice flower and a tree and see them grow up. Maybe life did have a meaning after all...

"Sooo, just a little more exactly, who are you? Not your name, since you told me what your name is, but more about your history, things you have seen and similar...or am I going too fast? I'm not so good at this "conversation" thing..."

 

After impaling the lead hound in mid air and flinging him back into the forest, Samiel noticed that the hounds had backed off. Not good, as that could only mean the Ancient Hounds were coming to get involved. Their attack wouldn't hurt him to much, but some of the others might have a harder time dealing with these. He started slowing down a bit to allow the others to catch up, as a group offered more resistance and better odds than going it alone.

The first one to reach him was Uriel, with Potiri and Jared close behind. We're almost there!, he yelled and pointed to the looming white castle directly in front of them, its alabaster walls rising in the distance. The entrance was still obscured, hidden somewhere under all the trees. The hounds could be heard in the distance, closing fast. Almost there....

 

Jared hurried after Maximus, slightly panting. Where were the hounds going? He tried to keep up, but lost a few paces due to stumbling. He had to maintain his dignity. He tried hurrying up again, and caught up with the others.

 

Aerth was a little dissapointed because of the batle ending so soon but he tried to follow Jared.

"Wonder what this little fellá is up to?)

 

Uriel scanned the group's surroundings, trying to spot a flash of green.
It would seem the hounds had given up.
How long has it been? One minute? Five?
As quickly as the scout lead everyone through the forest, it didn't seem quick enough to escape the ominous sense of danger permeating every foot of forest passed.
As much as I don't want those dogs to come back, I think the wait is even more excruciating!

 

Samiel burst from the woods into a clearing, and there before him stood the white castle, gleaming against the grey-black background of Hell. Come on! We're almost there!

He ran across the clearing to the moat and jumped onto the drawbridge which was raised ten feet off the ground, then turned to watch the others scrambling across the clearing as well. Then he moved into the gatehouse and started tryng to get his bearings, he had'nt been here for over a millenium.

There were no guards here, as these people were considered virtuous. The purity of the place caused most sinners to revile in fear and loathing, though a solitary stone sentinel stood watch should he ever be needed. He tried to ask some of the inhabitants where he could find Socrates, but they shyed away and hid in their homes.

 

Ky'Nareth was waiting for the others at the clearing. They had to hurry; his master was already inside, and the gates were closing. And, of course, the Hounds were still after them. They wouldn't give up, just because they left the forest.
He blew his horn, and then shouted at the remaining party:

Oi! We're goin' intho the casthle now, so 'urry! Lasth chance!

Because he was the partys' guide, and because his master'd told him to guide all of the individuals to the castle, he couldn't leave until everyone had done so. They had to hurry.