Cabin in The WOODS!!!

Vie Souterrain

2017-06-07T18:07:00.002-07:00

Chapter 9: Dominance.

Location: Undisclosed Time: Undisclosed

"Bastards, welcome to your last Home", I could detect the thick Hausa accent in the Warders voice.
The black cloth finally came off my Face roughly, my eyes were still shut as I knew it would take me a few minutes to adapt to the light and all my senses to acclimatize to the new surrounding. I was no rookie at this, I had had long experience bagging other men's head and taking them to unmapped locations, technically I was a rookie as this was my first time on the receiving end. But I had prepared for this day cause like my Sunday School teacher told me when I was young "those that live by the sword will die by the sword". That day I had told Ogaga and he had laughed and said its not about what you die by, it's about how you chose to die by it, die like a man quiet and resolved.
After then I had evolved into a rock, senses heightened at all times, I listen and stay silent after all they both have same alphabets so they must go together. I counted down to 50 and opened my eyes slowly but my head remained bowed, according to my calculations I had been blind folded and in darkness for approximately 7 days, my other senses had sharpened up in this period. The thing with being blind folded is that you have to imagine what's out there, for the first two days I was scared and vulnerable. Being kept in a 3 by 2 feet room with only the keyhole as my light source, and rats I couldn't see as neighbors, my mind played games with me and I started to regret my decision to stay back after the our uprising.

The silence became my enemy and the Darkness my tempter, I paced and punched the wall till I fractured my knuckles and had to reset them. I was messed up, I was broken, my Life played out before me, decisions made and not made, I cried out to God for salvation I thought of my brothers, I masturbated and cried to thoughts of lustful pleasures I would most likely never see. Is this how the Strika would die, I had reached my breaking point that night and had promised myself that after resting and gathering strength I would smash my head hard into the wall and die before they came for me or fighting the smell of my Urine, Feaces and Cum (UFC) kills me.

As I lay on the ground singing Bob Marley's Redemption Song...life began to come back into me.

".... Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, non but ourselves can free our mind, have no fear for atomic energy, cause non of them can get you down... Would you help me sing this song of Freedom is all I ever had, Redemption Song... My song of Freedom".

In that moment my mind was emancipated as i glimpsed into what the possibility of my plan being a success held for me, the access to power, the money that would flow and the respect my name would enact when mentioned after this wilderness experience, hope flooded into me I rose up and grabbed the nearest rat I could find bit hard into it head, yanked it off and drank the blood, the thick blood rolling down my throat gave me sustenance and strength I ate it raw and was reborn.
Being moved to this new facility was a sign that my plan was still in motion. Now I've been unveiled but after so long with Darkness she becomes your lover and fills you with her euphoric beauty.

A Rust on the Box

2016-08-28T17:30:00.003-07:00

PRESENT DAY

Panic hit me! I've waited for this moment for 9months, and now it is here, but I'm at a loss as to what to do. I grab my keys and head to the car, open the back door so they can carry her in.

I arrive at the hospital, i can hear her crying, holding my hands asking me to be there for her. Of course I've been with you all these 9months, washing, bathing cooking and doing all possible chores, treating you like the queen you are. I admit I’m the one who has put you in this condition.

She has been taken into the delivery room, I begin pacing up and down the waiting room, and I know it’s of no use, but what do I care? No joke would be funny to me, i think of possible people I'd need to inform, but i decide against that, they are not doctors so they won't be of use right now.

What's happening in there, the doctors should have come out by now, how long has it been, I check my watch it says 15 minutes have passed, I think my watch must have stopped because it feels like 2 hours have passed.

The doctors comes out the delivery room with a smile on his face, I knew she had delivered and it was successful, I began blushing from end-end I’ve become a father. What a proud moment for me, i pray in my heart that it should be a girl. When the doctor broke the news to me, it wasn’t a girl, my prayers were not answered, it was a Boy. I was happy all the same, i wasn’t allowed to go in just yet to see my wife, some cleaning need to be done.

I began calling family members and friends to inform them about the good news. After several calls I checked my time and saw that its been over an hour since the delivery had taken place, my folks already confirmed they were on their way. I saw the doctors and nurses pacing up and down, I began wondering what’s going on? why the sudden panic amongst them? I kept hearing the doctor instructing the nurse to check the different wards, they needed to do a roll call and make sure everyone is intact, the doctor came up to me with some bad news,

‘YOUR BABY HAS GONE MISSING’ the word sounded like a loud alarm,

I went ballistic, said that can’t be possible, how could such a thing happen? I immediately ran to a near-by police station to report the case.

The officer walked in, he asked that i write a statement, like I could do anything, my entire body had gone limp, my wife had not been informed yet, she was put on bed rest and induced sleep. Our first child, our son is missing. I did not even get to see him, to hold him, what monster could have done this? What did the child ever do to anyone? The officer is asking the doctors and nurses who handled the delivery to come over to the station and write a statement, instead of him to arrest all of them in the hospital. In the midst of this chaos, my parents came in with smiles on their faces expecting to see their 1st grand child, hard it was for me to break the news to them, with tears in my eyes I informed them that someone stole that away from us, my mom went hysterical, she wanted to kill the doctors, my dad was asking for security footage of the hospital if they had CCTV cameras. All that was running through my mind was I have been lied to, monsters really do exist..

The search continued, no woman who had taken delivery had gone missing and their babies too. So how did this happen what went wrong, a search and interrogation of the nurses began, that was when they noticed that one of the nurses who joined them in the delivery wasn't a staff of the hospital.

The chief medical director was arrested for further questioning, what do I do next? Where does my search start from? I saw the roof above me spinning, and I was out....

******************************************************************************

YEARS BACK

'"Are you sure you are not hungry?" This was the 4th time in the last 30 minutes that she had asked. "Tesefe or whatever your name is, I am not hungry, when I am I'll go to the kitchen". I know I snapped but she was getting on my nerves, this new addition to the family, my dad said it was his way of bringing up the youths of this country but I don't see what difference he could make by sending just one person to school. Oh well I had better go apologise to her, I hate hurting women. As I entered the kitchen to say I'm sorry I notice that she's bent over writing a note, probably an assignment from her school, she was in her 1^st year at a federal university. I don't want to disturb her but I can't help but notice her figure, she's smallish with Moderately big C-Cups and a nice round but firm butt, from all the squatting to grind pepper in the village, the only thing is her arms are quite long but I don't seem to mind, infact I think it gives her a sort of graceful fineness. I'm staring from her legs up to her face when our eyes meet. For a second I couldn't breathe, her eyes are like a black river, I have to swim to shore before I drown in their depths so I break the gaze and look at the wall tiles instead, "Are you hungry now?" She asks. No I'm not, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for snapping earlier, I shouldn't have", "Oh no problem, you did not offend me at all" she replied "why are you so concerned about me eating now?" I ask "nothing oh, I just want to wait till you are eating so we can eat together, after all you are the boss around here, Master Bruce" The laughter erupted from my belly, I liked her immediately.

As I dished the steaming rice and okro for myself I asked, "So what is your name again?”She replied "why ask if you will just forget?" "I don't think anything you say to me from today will ever be forgotten" I replied. "My name is Tesefe" she said with a shy grin.

Things changed for me eventually, one day My friends, Nihil a sad Buddhist that was my neighbour and Erat my course mate from my university days came over to my place for a Call of Duty marathon. Whenever Tesefe passed by, I seemed to go on a long kill streak, finished a round at 75 kills to 10. When she wasn’t present I lost my form. Erat then said out of nowhere, "Are you given her the good D, because I think she was checking me out?" Nihil laughed, "Checking you out, forget it man, she was giving Me the 'I-want-to-fuck-you-because-you-are-a-hotcake-eyes' but I'm a monk so I didn't give her the answer she wants". "Shut up!!!" I didn't know why their words made me so angry, I just knew I had to keep her away from these monsters, especially Erat, in school they said he was using jazz because no sane girl would fuck a Yoruba jagaban like him, known for breaking hearts."Ahh, my guy done fall in love" Erat screamed.

Slowly I began making efforts to get her attention, I wanted more, and this was not the usual housemaid oga of the house relationship, and we treated her like she was a member of the family, had her own room equipped to her comfort and taste. My mum calls her the daughter she never had, but she fondly called me ‘Master Bruce’, ever since she saw Batman she won’t stop. I couldn’t think of a better way to express my feelings and letting her know other than writing a short note to her, I'm not the most expressive guy but that did not stop me.

‘I was a lifeless planet,

Wandering through the dark,

And like a broken arrow,

Could never hit the mark.

Until I chanced upon your fire,

And was captured by its might,

And although I may still wander,

You are never out of sight.

This you need not ponder,

For as I turn upon my pole,

I know my other side,

Is heated by your soul.

I eventually sent it to her but I didn't write my name. I slid it under her door and I'm sure she read it and she must have suspected me because she changed her attitude towards me, it was like she was avoiding me.

I got back from nysc camp, i had been away for 3 weeks. I was eager to see Tesefe, i got home, and it wasn't Tesefe who served me food and took my bags in. I had to do that myself. somehow i found myself fighting the urge to go to her room and check on her but i had to resist the urge. I just had to sound as casual as possible when asking about her, she's fine was the information i got.

I started making conscious effort to come across her, only once was i able to get a glimpse of her, she was cooking with my mum in the kitchen, i smiled in her direction, but she turned her face the other way. The next morning i tried to sneak to her room before everyone gets up. I got to her door, it was locked i tried knocking gently but no response. I went back to my room, scribble down some more words, ran and slid it under her door.

I’m thinking about you like

A thinks about being with C

And B thinks about seeing D

And E effing G

And H eyeing J

Like rain clouds think about pouring

Like thugs think about grass

And when I think about you the world makes cents

I noticed things had changed, all this notes and not a single response from her, instead shes keeping her distance. I felt maybe she needed time, even when my friends came around they noticed the change in her attitude.
We were the only ones at home, I did not see her coming but we bumped into each other, first instinct was to keep moving and ignore her, I lost control of my six senses. I did not know when I grabbed her and began kissing her I searched her mouth with my tongue, slowly and thoroughly and she tasted fucking amazing, my skin got tight it was so hard I ached with it, she pushed me away and exclaimed “master Bruce what are you doing?” she immediately slipped from my arms and ran off to her room shutting the door behind her, I wanted to chase after her, but I could hear my parents driving in, I left and went back into my room.

In the coming weeks things did not seem to improving between us, oh how I craved for a kiss from her, her kisses shatter me completely making me feel raw and exposed leaving me vulnerable, but she avoided us being home alone. I had begun working at a my place of primary assignment, the little bucks I got on me, I went and got a rose and a card, dropped it in her room, this time I put my name on the card, I woke up the next day, I found the same rose and card by my bedside.

Things got so bad I found myself volunteering and eager to do domestic assignments she was assigned to do, I had to put myself in check from time to time.

I was exhausted from trying, I had given up on the outside, but on the inside, I was in search of a chance an opportunity something extra that I can do..

Tweet to @Ned_Cruz

Bloody Matrimony

2016-02-05T12:50:00.001-08:00

Monday 5th March 2012

Esera

I won’t be expecting my husband back, till about 4:00pm today. I wonder how he made it to work, last night we had a really good time. So good I called in sick at work, because I know my energy level is very low. Its 12:35pm already, I have been in bed all day, grudgingly i get up from the bed. I wearily move my feet and find myself in the kitchen, i don’t think it would hurt to prepare a nice meal for the husband; as a reward for a job well done. I open the freezer, everything is frozen from the beef to the tomato I barely blended. I’d need to also get spices, but first i need the ice pick to get these things out. What could that be?! where did that noise come from? I hold the ice pick more firmly with my two hands, i'm not going to be an easy prey for anybody. I check around the house; nothing. After the scare; i get busy in the kitchen.

Detective Cruz

Its 3:20pm Monday afternoon. I am still at work, my buddy Frost won’t shut up and he keeps telling me all about his weekend. I don’t know how to tell him I need to leave. Suddenly he checks his watch and its 3:30pm already.
"wow!" he interjects.
Then it dawns on him, that it’s time for us to leave work; we grab our jackets and head to the his car. While we drove home he kept on bringing up one topic after another. I was drifting away in my thoughts, before I heard a bang at the back of the car. We both step out of the vehicle to check the extent of the damage, apparently some random bus driver used our car to bring his bus to a halt. i gave out a rather quiet sigh! I'm having a rather long day, this is the least of my worries, the damage isn’t too serious. Frost is already tongue lashing the driver, his about to pull out his ID, before I ask him to calm down, that we let the man go. Frost drops me off at my place, all I need right now would be to shower and sleep. I may stroll to a bar nearby later on. i drop dead like a log of wood on my bed exhausted.

Esera

3:35pm I am back home, my husband is around, why so early? I can see his car parked, I get to the door it is locked, I knock repeatedly no response, I get out my copy of the house key open the lock and rush inside.

“WHAT?! Onel!!”

I keep calling, but no response, he lays right there on the floor stiff like a log of wood covered in a pool of blood, he was stabbed several times in the neck and the abdominal region. I am confused what do I do? What could have happened? I look around for clues, I notice that his ring finger has been chopped off with the ring on it because he never took it off. We have been married for barely two months, we had our initials engraved on our wedding rings, and his own had my initials E.E, while mine has is O.E. Where is Captain Fluff? Yes silly, I know, but i call my husband's driver ‘Captain Fluff’. I get my phone out, with my fingers shaking and tears rolling down my eyes I dial the emergency number and request urgent medical attention. I can’t believe my eyes.

“Onel” you can’t do this to me! You can’t leave me! No! No! No! I won’t be a widow. This can’t be happening it must be a dream, Onel can’t be gone, my hands are shaking and covered with blood, Onel's blood as i dial 911, i can barely recognize my own voice

"Hello, i need an ambulance"

..still in tears, a few minutes later, i can hear approaching sirens blaring, the medical team must be getting close, i'm sure they would be coming around with the police.

Detective Cruz

4:16pm, my phone is ringing, sigh! It’s the head of homicide division, my boss Mr Nhill. What could it be? Just when I get home and let go of all the Monday stress, he has brought stress back and is sending me to a crime scene. Grudgingly, I grab my police jacket, get my notepad and things I’d probably need, put a call through to my partner Frost, he picks on third ring, i can hear a female voice in the background, it sounds like queent the new rookie in the office, i tell him details of our assignment and hang up. bloody savage! i get a cab and zoom I’m on my way.

4:35pm I arrive the crime scene, it's a big house, but there seems to be no staff around, just a woman in tears wailing loudly, there is blood all over clothes but no injuries on her, she could possibly be the wife. How do I even ask a woman in obvious pain questions, in between sobs she keeps saying "Onel", i assume she is the victims wife and his name is Onel, i take a deep breath oh well, I can go ahead and do a survey of the area before I start asking any questions, I bring my notepad and pen out, the house is in perfect order, asides the pool of blood left by the deceased. I take a deep breath, as I approach the wailing lady she becomes erratic, screaming;

“I DID NOT KILL MY HUSBAND!”

“Hi, I’m Detective Cruz and i never said you did; but I need to ask you a few questions”, I try to keep a sober face.

“I’m Esera, and he is my husband; his name is Onel” with tears flowing freely down her eyes, she must be in real pain, or its just pure drama.

I can barely hear what she is saying in the midst of the wailing and tears, but what I make of it is; she found him lying in a pool of his own blood when she got home and some other stuffs that she added, alright that should be enough, when she is in a better frame of mind I’d come back for more questioning, relatives have started arriving, the mourning is about to enter the next level, i do a quick inspection of the body, trying my best not to tamper with anything forensics haven't handled; hmm stab wounds everywhere. i see a bulge within the side pocket, what could be in it? oh it's an ice pick and a pocket knife, whoosh the ice pick has blood stain all over, but the pocket knife is clean, still inspecting and checking the body parts, oh his ring finger has been chopped off, I put the ice pick and pocket knife in my evidence bag to drop it at the forensics. I give the go ahead they can now take the body to the Cabina hospital mortuary. Frost is just getting here, as I am about leaving, he has a satisfied grin on his face. we both head for the bar, and there I’d update him on all that has happened.

leaving the crime scene, my thoughts plagued with the intricacy of this case, there is something i must be missing, my mind is made up on cracking the case. I could still see Esera through the window, she was all sweat and tears as we drove away.

Wednesday 7Th March 2012

Detective Cruz

8:00am Wednesday morning, as soon as I arrive at work, I head for Mr Nhil’s office to give him full account of the crime, having spent the whole of Tuesday writing the report and filing the case, plus submission of evidences, a man standing at over 6’4 inches tall, can be intimidating for the rest of the team in the homicide division, except for me and Frost.

9:20am me and Frost drive to Cabina hospital to see Dr Hephi she is the chief medical director, hot female, I could see Frost checking her out, we ask her and the pathologist Dr Klaws to perform an autopsy on the body of Mr Onel, and submit the report when done, or keep us posted. The result should be out within a week or two.

We on our way back to the office, I inform Frost of my suspicion of the young widow and on that note I put two undercover cops Karim and Niyi on her tail, I can wait to prove my suspicion,

“Frost let’s go ask Esera some more questions”

“Why don’t you let her be done mourning?”

I ignore Frost’s advice and insist that we still go. We arrive at Onel’s compound at about 11:00am, the place is crowded with sympathizers, we make our way through until we have eyes on Esera, I yell to her,

“Can we see you for a brief moment?”

Esera

Its 11:00am and I can see Detective Cruz and his partner approaching, I just wish these two men would leave me to get myself together before they begin to bug me with questions I don’t have answers to, I was thinking of sneaking into my room to avoid them, when Detective Cruz called for my attention.

“Sorry for coming back so soon to disturb you” with a rather feigned sympathetic face.

The last two nights I have barely had any sleep, can’t believe my husband is gone just like that, my eyes are sore and swollen from all the tears;

“It’s no problem, I’m here to help in any way I can” I say that with sarcasm, but obviously the detective is so unemotional, he won’t notice that.

“Exactly what happened on Monday? In full details please”

Slowly I begin to narrate, the events of the faithful day, my voice still shaking from the shock, I can see he is taking notes,

"I went to the market to get a few items, then also checked on the carpenter making a new furniture for us, his name is Ricky. I get back home, see my husband’s car parked, I’m surprised why he is home so early, so I assumed he was probably too tired and took the day off, I expected to see him and the driver inside the house…."

Then the detective cuts me short, he has drawn conclusions already i guess

“This Ricky fellow, can you tell us exactly where we can find him? And where is your husband’s driver right now?”

I write down Ricky’s address and phone number and also that of Captain Fluff and hand it over to Detective Cruz

“I have not heard from him or seen him, since yesterday, I tried to contact him but no response”, all these questions, I wish he would come back and ask at a better time.

“That would be all for now, thanks for your cooperation”,

i walk them out, he and his partner get into their patrol car, they pull out of the driveway and zoom off.

Detective Cruz

As we zoom off from Onel's compound, I ponder on how we must find a way to locate ‘Captain Fluff’, could he have something to do with it? But first let me get to Ricky.

“Frost, we are making progress I believe” I said as he drove to the address Esera wrote down.

“No! Cruz I see no progress in what we have done so far, but the lady sounded innocent”

“Innocent until proven guilty” I reply with sarcasm.

We are arrive at the Carpentry workshop belonging to Ricky.

“You must be Ricky, I’m Detective Cruz”

“Sir, I no do anything, I just dey try to survive”*in Nigerian Pidgin*

“Do you know Esera?”

“Yes! In fact she come my side on Monday, but no too tey before she commot, she bin dey rush” *Nigerian Pidgin*

“Ok, that should be enough for now, we may come back if we need anything”

“Anytime, I dey” *Nigerian Pidgin*.

we have done enough inquiry into the Onel's murder case for today, about time we head back to the office. i get into the patrol vehicle, off we go.

Friday 9^th March 2012

Esera

My in-laws are already talking about burial preparations, while there is an ongoing investigation, and my husband’s body is being used, so all burial plans has to be on hold I explain to them, my mother inlaw has begun to throw tantrums at me, every passing minute I spend with this lady makes the pain I feel worse. Somewhere in my head, I believe Detective Cruz is looking for what to hold on to, but I am confident he won’t find anything linking me to the murder.

My phone is ringing, who could it be? Ricky? He calls to inform me on Detective Cruz visit to his workshop, I knew the Detective would do that. what next? has Captain Fluff been seen already? how come he hasn't even tired to contact me.

Detective Cruz

Word has been put out there on the street, that captain Fluff’s attention is needed by the police in connection with the death of Mr Onel, hopefully he turns up before we declare him most wanted.

There is a knock on my door, I don’t need any interruption now.

“Come in, how can I help you?”

“I have information on the whereabouts of Captain Fluff; but I am not snitching for free”

Erat the street thug, has always been useful to us in the police department giving us vital information, I consider him an undercover cop without a badge, that’s why we haven’t locked him up yet, and he keeps coming to ask for favor for favor.

“What do you want in exchange for the information?”

“My gran pa Ema OD, is locked up for possession of cannabis, you know what to do”

“Consider it done.”

Finally we have a lead on the whereabouts of captain Fluff.

I put together a patrol team, together we follow the lead, we arrive at a shabby looking ghetto, something like a small town, the kids and everyone disperse as we drive through, we have the warehouse in sight,

“HALT!” I order the drivers of the patrol vehicles to stop

“We are going to round them all up, every one of them, nobody escapes, beware of friendly fire”, at my command the teams disperse, we have the warehouse fully covered. We break the door to the warehouse down, what a surprise there is only one person in here, and I brought the full team here, just for one man! Sigh! Erat definitely gave us “lamba” i thought I’d meet a group of thugs and hooligans.

As I squat in front of him, he calls out.

“I am not running from the police! My sister was sick and I was only taking care of her”

I look around the place, can’t see no sick sister lying anywhere around, such a wimp.

“Oh, so how did you hear about the death of your boss? And your sister, she fell sick the same time your boss died?”

“Yes sir... No sir!”

He has lost his coordination, and was finding it difficult to make complete sentences.

I have had enough of the back and forth, time get to the actual matter at hand. I have to find out why he ran and the last interaction or dealing he had with Mr Onel.

Having asked all possible questions, apparently he was warned by his boss to stay off, until he heard from him, which he never will. Mr Onel had sent him to the bank to cash out a cheque and asked that he doesn’t return unless he hears from him, which implies Mr Onel drove himself home. Captain Fluff still has the cheque on him, clearly he could not cash the cheque, because he was not with his driver’s license, which was a perquisite to cash the cheque.

i guess i'd just take him to the station with us, to write down his official statement, we get him into the back of the van, no need for handcuffs, and drive with him to the station.

Tuesday 13th march 2012

Esera

My phone won’t stop buzzing, right now I need peace and tranquility to mourn my husband. He did no wrong to anyone, who could be calling? Strange number, hmm I’m not the type to answer unknown numbers, but there is an itch to pick the call, I wait till the phone rings a second time then I pick and slowly I bring the phone close to my ear, to see if I’d recognize the voice,

“Hello”

“Hello, Esera”

A familiar voice, and he even calls my name with such familiarity,

“Who are you?”

“OG”

The words hit me like a knife, do I hang up? What does he want? No not now, he is going to rub it in my face. How come he has heard so soon?

“Sorry about the death of your husband, but he wasn’t the right man for you”

“Who made you a judge of what’s wrong or right? Please if that’s why you called, goodbye!”

CALL ENDED! I’m mourning and you are telling me what? So you happy he is gone? Argh! Such guts! after hanging up, i try to take a nap, now that i can.

Detective Cruz

After the interrogation of Captain Fluff forensics have just gotten back to me with their report, alas, progress they just confirmed that the finger print on the ice pick matched that of Mr Onel, I spin on my chair, I need to contact Dr Hephi and hear what she has for me, I inform Frost and he grabs his keys and off we go to the hospital.

If only Frost can put himself in check and stop starring at Dr Hephi’s cleavage, oh well his lust, his business.

“Doctor, what do you have for me?”

“Hi, Detective”

“Can we skip the pleasantries?”

She smiles in Frost’s direction before turning back to reply me.

“Yes Sir, so from the autopsy done, I can confirm that there is nothing more to it, he died from the stab wounds, and the stab wounds damaged his wind pipe in the neck area, and also did damage to his pancreas and many other organs around the torso region.”

“Thank you, I guess that would be all, I’d be taking the autopsy report with me”. I see Frost is still lost and not ready to leave yet, I have to tap him on the head for us to leave.

Friday, 16^th March 2012

Esera

We are gathered for the funeral service of my late husband, seated among the crowd is no else but OG, well dressed for a funeral he wasn’t invited, tailored suit and bow tie, I feel like asking the guards to walk him out. He should not come an inch close to me, because I’d embarrass him.

Watching as they lay my husband’s body into the ground, to return to the dust from which it came from.

“Esera”

A voice from behind me, I turnaround to see who it is,

“Oh detective”

“Sorry once again about your loss, I’d like to discuss with you at a later time”

“Thank you, I could come around two days from now”

“Great, see you around”....

......................to be continued

The Thousand Mile Meadows

2015-12-11T13:29:00.001-08:00

eserted. Miles and miles of deserted land dogged our march and more stretched before us. A strange and unsettling thing it was to behold…the absence of life. Of human and animal presence there were none. Abodes and communities once crawling with life lay vacant and desolated. The company had gone silent over the last half mile, our voices lost in the oppressive and eerie stillness of the thousand mile meadows. We had planned to make camp on the second leg of our march but the Captain had had the order rescinded. A hundred other soldiers and I couldn’t help but agree with her decision. There was something terribly wrong about this place. The air hung too heavy, the fog too still. Tarr had once grunted that we walked through a painting, I agreed. Everything was too still. A group of our most talented magi had undertaken a questing to uncover the spell that held this place bound. They had returned ashen faced and a shade paler. They could detect no malaise or sinister arfa at work but they had all felt something. Something so utterly alien they risked their sanity trying to uncover it. They all agreed however that it had no interest in us but rather than reassuring us, their comments served to buttress the strain on our frayed nerves. Mutiny was fast becoming an option entertained by some squads. I could see it in the eyes of the men, could hear it behind every footfall dropped harshly in our march. Supplies had depleted faster in our haste to leave the haunted meadows behind. I had to talk to the Captain before it became too late, but about what? We had covered half the distance already, turning back now was suicide. Our food reserves were already being rationed our only salvation lay in the camp of the main army that awaited us at the end of the meadow. Our only choice was to push forward through this nightmare reality. I still felt I had to let the Captain know something. I decided to pass on my concerns to the Lieutenant. She was in the best position to approach the captain seeing as I was but a mere grunt. Needless to say, I wouldn’t be doing myself any favors should things fall through with a mutiny and I was caught in the vicinity of the Captain’s tent. We were already in a precarious position because the Captain damn her pretty head, had played favorites with her squads.

I strolled warily down the flanks searching for my squad, hating myself for always straying away from them during the day marches. I found them soon enough. They were barely keeping up with the stragglers. The trio of the Dune brothers, Frost, Ned and Reki led the squad, Nep and Tarr came shortly behind, Nep was perched on the big Nords’ shoulders clutching a bottle of that foul smelling stuff he brewed. Leoni and the Lieutenant walked abreast of the Nord. The warmagus was unusually quiet but then again so was the whole army. I guess it had more to do more with what he had sensed than with the solemnity of the company. The Lieutenant on the other hand had her short blades out and was making a show of flicking them between her fingers with blurring speed. Deyija was unquestionably the most deadly blade holder I’d had the displeasure of meeting. Her sanity was possibly the only questionable aspect of her character but if anything she was a good team leader and also had a good nose for trouble. Klaws and Ifae brought up the rear. Ifae was our newest addition to the squad since our last squad healer decided to bail on us and transfer to the fourth. The scarcity of healers among the squads was no new development. The healing arfa arts were extremely difficult to master and their services did not come cheap. The most talented of healers were often human-fae half breeds. Ifae had joined our squad on high recommendation from Efae Harvern, squad healer of the sixth. They both had attended the same war college in the far northern region of Eurani situated on the outer provinces of Kharvina. Apart from that she was like every other halfae, golden haired and blue eyed with inhuman grace, strength and beauty. Frankly I was glad for the addition as the only other female in our squad was an unhinged psychopath with an unhealthy penchant for cutting things. The halfae was more than a welcome addition amongst the guys which said a lot.

I passed the Dune brothers who were engrossed in some inaudible argument no doubt about which of them had the bigger pee shooter. Nep threw his foul brew at me but his aim was horrible. The bottle smacked against Reki’s head and its contents spilled over the trio. Nep was shortly nowhere to be found. A few seconds of cursing and spitting passed then the brothers were hot on his elusive tail, the stench from the putrid brew parting crowds in their wake.

The Lieutenant watched them go, a bored expression on her face. She finally seemed to notice me waiting.

“What is it now Nhil? And this time it better be worth my time”

I was hurt; I didn’t think I was that much of a bother and certainly not to the Lieutenant.

She played her signature mind reading trick, her face transforming to an expression of extreme sadness and worry..
“Aww did I hurt the little soldier’s feelings?”

I didn’t give her the benefit “I’ve got some concerns regarding the march sir”

Not waiting for her to prepare another verbal barb, I pressed on “Moral is in the pits and I think the Captain needs to do something about it. I have a strong feeling that Gedler’s second, Hienza’s fourth, Sedah’s fifth and that big Gite up at seventh are gearing up to make a move before sundown"

The Lieutenant cocked her head. I had mentally steeled myself for her notorius tongue lashing that I was near disappointed when it failed to come.

She replied in barely a whisper “You’re mostly right Nhil except on one thing, the second, fourth and seventh aren’t the only squads with turncoat ambitions”

For a second my heart stopped. Had I overlooked something? Could Deyija be planning on turning against the Captain herself? If so just how many in the squad would fight with her? Tarr, Nep, Ifae? The Dune brothers, Klaws, the magus Leoni? I had no answer. Any of them could have reasons for betraying the Captain. If so…I had already damned myself. I stepped back, my hand reaching for my blade.

The Lieutenant chuckled, “don’t be so hard on yourself Nhil. You have little to fear from us. You know as well as any that we swear absolute fealty to the Captain”

She turned to Leoni and nodded. The Magus made arcane gestures and I felt the air around our squad grow heavy. My ears popped, this was war grade conceal arfa.

The Lieutenant spoke freely “We have little time; I already sent the Dunes ahead to strengthen the first squad and…”

I was interrupted “But you just saw them… they left now, trying to get back at Nep for throwing his…oh…I see”

How could I miss it? Nep could be a little eccentric with his pranks but they never involved throwing away his precious brew. He loved the foul poison like a child. It had been a ruse to keep potential watchers off their real aim. I couldn’t help but be saddened, if the company had become this dangerous, there was nothing the Captain could do to hold it together again short of offering her head and even then blood would still be spilled before dusk and not a drop of it would belong to the enemy.

The Lieutenant let me run through my thoughts then continued “As it stands, the Captain just has the first, we the ninth and parts of the Nhoner’s sixth. However, it would be impossible for the third, eight and tenth to remain neutral once the fighting starts”

Klaws snorted and spat, his face twisted in disgust “I say she cut them off right now, the thought of bleeding someone always excites me but I’ve shared many a campfire with many a soldier from other squads”

Deyija nodded “As have many of us, cutting them off would have been best but there’s the problem of location and supply. We are more or less in the last half of the thousand mile meadows. By my guess,going forward we have roughly five hundred miles between us and the next supply depot. Even more miles lay behind us in land empty of water or food. We cannot forage of the land for there is nothing of it, it is no secret that the meadows are bereft of all that should supports life” pausing she tossed a short blade into the earth. It sank to its hilt.

Leoni spoke, his tone as if quoting from a tome long ancient "barren, the land lies dry of moisture yet the plants thrive but not on water...never on water"

I fought back a shiver

The Lieutenant continued, but even she couldn't hide well the edge that crept into her voice “The only way they can survive if the Captain cuts them off is if they take a substantial part of our supplies with them and we both know that would doom us long before we arrive at the ressuply depot”

The Lieutenant had uncharacteristically spoken at length and she wasn’t one known for her brevity, I guess she was as badly shaken as we were. None of us signed up to kill our brothers and we had no illusions how the day was going to end up.

A quirky voice broke the silence that stretched after the Lieutenant had spoken.
“Well, glad to see everyone’s hale and hearty, almost expected to find you lot as crow fodder”

We all turned to watch Nep make his was towards us, he carried a large bag and grunted from its weight. Grudgingly, Tarr helped him ease the load off his back. I stood aside to give the Lieutenant room as she made her to the mystery bag.

“Took you long enough” said the Lieutenant as she reached down and proceeded to open the bag.

Curiosity got the better of me and I edged closer for a look. Within lay a king’s ransom of jewels and gold.

“By the sweet tits of the godess Galloran!” I swore softly, a low whistle emanated from Tarr and even the usually stoic warmagus had his jaw betray him. The Lieutenant seemed satisfied. She closed the bag and frowned when she saw disappointment in our eyes.

“This here is to buy the services of the fence sitters, the third, the eight and the tenth respectively. Courtesy of the Captain herself”

I disagreed “There’s no guarantee that they won’t take the gold and still attack us”

The Lieutenant sounded pleased “That’s the idea, Nhil dearest. They take the gold and whatever happens next happens”

Ifae long silent seemed to understand the Lieutenant’s train of thought. She smiled, shaking her head softly, she mused “The Captain is a very scary person”.

She and the Lieutenant shared a smile and chuckled.
I couldn’t help but think that the scary ones were right in front of me.

The Lieutenant paused. Cocked an ear as if listening for something “Shit! it’s starting! Nhil and Tarr take vanguard, Klaws you form a wall for the warmagus, Leoni you do what you do best but don’t hurt them too bad, we once called these men brothers. Ifae and I will cover the rear. Nep get this loot to the appropriate hands before it’s too late then meet us at our predetermined location like we discussed”

Nep nodded, Tarr helped him with the bag and he vanished into thin air. One could trace his movements through soft footfalls and the dust he kicked up as he scuttled away.

Tarr took point, his twin broad great swords leading like metal appendages.

I followed in his wake with my single edged tapered long sword. Its weight was finely balanced and rested comfortably in my grip. Leoni walked behind us, the air around him hummed with barely contained power and his eyes glowed a haunting shade of scarlet. I hate to admit it but he was one of the major reasons I wasn’t abandoning my post at vanguard.

Apart from the ninth only one other squad in the whole company had an apostate of the supreme order and that was the third. Last I heard, they were still neutral, I prayed the remained so. Havinar Do’rathi put the fear of magi in the heart of the talentless. Leoni Vartrasi was her polar opposite, the young warmagus was mostly daydreaming when he wasn’t conjuring fire imps to wrestle each other for his entertainment. Although new, everyone in the squad had quickly warmed up to him. Presently he did not look anything like the calm aloof warmagus we had come to know and taunt. I preferred him this way, all doom bringing and death dealing. Klaws strode along his flank occasionally switching position from his right side to his left. Ifae and Deyija brought up the rear which was fortunate. If they had picked vanguard, our eyes no doubt would have assaulted their jiggling rears until we were blindsided.

Together we set out, members of the ninth. The light of day was almost gone but our journey into darkness had yet to begin.

The RIFT 3

2015-11-12T11:41:00.001-08:00

4:45am,
Cole stood at the secluded end of the Golden gate bridge. He thought of Iraq, Kuwait, Nairobi and Borno...."ahh, good ol' Borno, the black op that was accepted by the world in general, thankful the team had assassinated the leader of a jihad group that almost brought a whole country to its knees....one of the toughest missions..." . " That's the same look you had when we found out that secret in Nigeria, seen it once and we faced a damn son of a bitch, seeing it now means this must be a damned son of the devil" Brody said as he walked close with a grin, " Hello Cole", the two men fist bumped and hugged, Trey and Grimsby are running late.....airport traffic I presume. Cole sighed and just then the wrrrr of the BMW i8 filled the air and out came the Brit and the Brat but nonetheless pals.
"Now that we are all here, let's get down to business shall we??. Boys there is a battle coming, this could be WW3 and the thing is we are right in the middle of this, its time to go black".

.............................................
In the White House, the Commander walked into the oval office..." Mr President, RIFT is a go sir!.....They have been activated" . " Good, good, commander and did the colonel respond positively?...." Better than expected Mr President, he only needs more time to understand his abilities Sir". "Goddamit Collins, we do not have that time, Jokaeiv is already making moves in eastern Europe, Ukraine is being taken over as we speak, we do not have the opportunity called time, let him figure it out the hard way, that's why you are there aren't you?.."
Commander Collins sighed and saluted all at once, and with a turn he was out of the oval office.

...................................
"Tarev !!!! ...you bring me good news, yes?" ....Tarev was a man with connections, being the second in command to Jokaeiv was no mean feat, a dark man clearly not Russian but abandoned by a German mother and found by a teenage Jokaeiv back in Sputnik and as a vow he's been loyal ever since. "Yes my leige, but the American 4 have gone dark.....that is not a problem just let's take out mind off them now, they will emerge, I advice to hit our first mark now, they will never know what hit them" ...." I trust your judgement Tarev, get on to it...this western scum will feel the wrath of a Russky"......

The Last Kiss 2

2015-09-26T00:30:00.000-07:00

....After much debate, she finally let me in, she then explained why she had denied knowing who I was based on strict instructions from her sister, who knew that I'd one day wake up and say I'm going in search of her, i shook my head, consoled myself that I'm only searching for her because she's now a widow. I asked the sister about Tonia's whereabouts but she was unwilling to give out information until i shocked her with the information that Payne was a married with two kids adding to the fact that he is now dead. That's when she began spilling beans, she informed me, that in all honesty it was her sister who contacted her, and in over a year she has not heard anything from Tonia, she was aware of the fact that Payne was a doctor and her sister claimed they travelled often for humanitarian acts, so they won’t have a permanent residential address and a steady phone line.

'What about your parents?' I asked,

She replied,

'I thought Tonia told you all about them'

'Nope'.

She informed me about how their father had fled when they were young because Tonia's mum went mentally ill, i put up a sober face, requested for the address of the psychiatry hospital. She then pleaded that if i do go get in touch with Tonia i should inform her.

After leaving Tonia's sister's house i did not see the need to visit the hospital, Tonia'mother could not possibly have anything tangible or useful to me. I called up my friends who had been helping to know if they had any update for me, but they had nothing for now, even though Enil sounded like had something cooking but nothing of note, they suggested we go to a bar and grab a few bottles, i told them I'm not supposed to be drinking since I'm on medication, but I'd be there. We got to the bar, Erat came along with a student from the university where he lectures her name was Keik, she was a final year student, rounding up on her project, after initial refusal, i found myself on the 3,4,5th bottle.

Tonia was in my arms, kissing me passionately, her boobs laid bare on my chest, ever so soft and sizeable but this time they felt bigger, I could not help myself but grab and squeeze on them, she began to slowly kiss me from my neck, down to be abdominal region, as I lay my back on the bed, slowly she unzipped my pants with her teeth, put her hands inside my pant and brought out my wiener, placing it slowly on the edge of her lips, I shivered, cause the touch was enough to give a grown man chills, she sucked slowly but steadily, I knew the distance between heaven and earth had been shortened, I was suddenly in heaven.

Head banging, everywhere seemed dark, I could not seem to get my eye lids to part ways, one thing I’m sure of is the fact that I’m lying down on a bed, but whose bed? Was I dreaming or was I with Tonia for real? Had she suddenly come out of hiding just to be with me for one night? Finally my eyes could open and the bright light of the sun was the first thing that came rushing in,

HUH??

I knew the moment I looked around that I wasn’t in my apartment.

‘Where am I?’

‘How did I get here?’

I noticed I had no clothes on, saw my shirts and pants on a couch nearby, while putting on my pants with urgency, I heard footsteps approaching the room, I saw an above average height lady standing at about 5’10, with a nice curve at the hip, slim waist, thick thighs, her mammary glands made my jaw drop, still trying to put together the image that had walked in, my thoughts were interrupted

‘Glad you are awake’

She continued by saying,

‘You need to shower, you passed out last night’

I was about to ask who she was, then it all made sense, she was the student Erat came to the bar with Keik,

‘I'm sorry’,

Those were the first words to come out of my mouth

‘For what?’ she asked as she sat on the couch.

‘I don’t know what I’m doing here, and whatever happened i….’

‘shhhh…’

With her finger to my lips, she continued by saying,

‘I hope we get to finish what we started one day’

‘I need to leave, right now’, shyly I said.

‘I’ve some painkillers’, she insisted that I take the painkillers before I leave, I conceded. The only thing at the back of my head was getting out of there as soon as i can, i just wanted to get home and clear my head, i got dressed up and did the walk of shame, from her hostel to the campus gate, with students looking at me, like I had a ‘JUST HAD SEX’ stamp on my forehead.

Shocked, puzzled, what more could i use to describe how i felt? What next? I'm not done with the search for Tonia now this. I did not bother to collect keik’s contact, I don’t need it, whatever happened was a rookie mistake by me, but somewhere inside of me i wanted to see her again, those words ‘I hope we get to finish what we started one day’ kept on repeating itself in my head over a few times, snapped out of it real quick, this was asides the fact that i was pissed with Erat for not taking me home instead.

Enil called me up,

'Dude you got yourself in a mess'. Those were his very words.

My mind immediately went to keik, like in a nollywood movie could she be pregnant already?, was she underage? Is she in trouble with her school? A thousand questions ran through my mind.

He continued by saying,

'You need to leave town, but before then i need to see you'.

Goose bumps all over my skin, what could be so serious that now requires me to also go into hidding?. I began regretting every sip of the alcohol.

We met up at a secured location, i was about to say the word,

'Ke….'

He cut me short by saying,

‘Tonia…. Mob’

That’s all i picked. I asked that he repeats himself, he said its a long tale and a puzzle but if we sat down and put the pieces together, we would figure it out soon enough, then he asked if i had my bags packed and had a destination in mind, i lied, but in truth i wanted to know what's going on, before i jump on the next bus to nowhere.... to be continued Tweet to @Ned_Cruz

The Last Kiss

2015-09-25T22:30:00.000-07:00

There i was sitting on a pew at the chapel, watching her get married to the supposed love of her life, a man with a clean shaven beard, which was an offence to the beard-gang nation. Just 3months ago i was the love of her life and now the story is all changed, i could not bear to watch, the more i looked into her eyes the more i had flashes of my immediate past. I stood up and walked out the chapel door. Just outside, the priest was done with the wedding ritual and whatever commitment needed to be done by the alter and the new couple were outside taking pictures with well wishers or so they seemed, i heard a familiar voice call my name, who else could it be but Tonia, the 1st thing i said to her was,

'I still love you'.

She asked why i was there, i told her,

'Just to let you know I’ll always love you'.

Such powerful words huh? I know right, anyway as usual she warned me to stay away from her life and that I should make a promise to never look for her that she wanted a happy home and you know the rest of the babbles.

Oh i forgot to mention details about me, I'm just a regular pressman, what i mean is I'm a journalist, work for some crappy Nigerian news agency, that’s basically all there is about to know about me.

Tuesday morning while trying to piece the news together which i had gotten the previous week and forward it to the editor, i stumbled upon an obituary that was about to be published, familiar face i said to myself, where have i seen this face before? Could not seem to place a finger on it, i skipped and looked down to the funeral arrangement and to see if i could get any relevant information about him, saw that he was survived by a wife and 2kids and the venue for all the burial ish. To cut the long story short i assumed he was Tonia's husband, i laughed, the last time i saw her was at a wedding and now I'm planning to go for a funeral just to see her again? Mixed feelings, did not know if i was to be happy or sad? that the guy she dumped me for was now dead, should i call her up laughing? i felt like a prick at the thought of that. Just over 5years ago she dumped with a note and her wedding invitation card, what a chance life has given me for payback, so i imagined.

I arrived at the funeral uninvited once again, a desperate pest i must really be, tried to pull a poor man's disguise, sat down and listen to people praise the late husband and all, that was boring to me, why was i really there? If i could mock up a wife an a kid it would be a perfect payback at this scenery, and many other mischievous thoughts kept crossing my mind, every eye in the chapel seemed wet except mine, so i got a little saliva and rubbed it on my eye just to blend in.

Eulogy upon eulogy, until a teenager was called out, to my amazement he was the late husband's son. I looked around for a recognizable new widow, but no sign of her. When the service was over and it was time for the body to be moved to its final resting place, I saw a lady and two kids get in the car, with mourners all around, tried to get a glimpse of her face but it wasn’t a familiar face, or not the person I was hoping to see, i began to question myself if i was at the right funeral or not? I left the funeral after making a few enquiries; found out that he was shot and murdered in cold blood. I never did ask or pay attention to his last name at the wedding, i drew up another assumption maybe he had married Tonia secretly or something that's why she could not make an appearance at the funeral.

I thought how else I could reach Tonia at least to offer my condolence, then I came across her sister's phone number, we had spoken a few times over the phone. I called and it proved abortive, she claimed not to know who I was and gave a stern warning that i should never call back. That act raised my curiosity level an all-time high, I had become an undercover/detective/007 all in one, I went online to see if the social media or google search had something on her but nothing, so i took the time out to go visit places we had visited together just to see if they had any recent update on her. During my search for answers i went to chapel where she had gotten married to her now assumed to be late husband, the priest was still the same, oh how i was glad, finally someone with an answer, i approached him and to my uttermost shock he said he never officiated such Ceremony before, we went through the chapel records, i remember the date like it was my dob, but we found nothing.

After i left the chapel, i made a few calls to see if i could source for help from friends and colleagues who were good at digging up people from the underground, because the task was seeming a tougher task than I had imagined.

Sunday evening as i was doing my routine checks and gathering all the information i needed to submit to my editor the next day, i got a mail from a spam like email address, normal reaction was to ignore and delete, but since it had no subject and i know I'm in dire need of answers concerning Tonia's whereabouts i clicked and opened it, to my amazement it contained just 4words that pierced through my heart: ‘YOU MADE A PROMISE’. I quickly hit the reply button asking if she was ok, waited patiently for a reply from her, instead i got a reply from maildaemon saying the address doesn't exist, i reclined on my seat shattered.

But wait how did i even meet Tonia? Let me not bother you all with the details of how we me: truth be told it was in a real cliché manner nothing spectacular to the meet asides from the fact that the sun was at its best that particular day, when i saw a nigerian young lady use an umbrella, i looked to check her behind, not what you thinking, but to see if she was carrying a baby on her back or there if was an actual need for the appearance. I was at the police station trying to gather information about a crime that had occurred and the police did solve, while she was there to get a police report on a missing ID card. I've always had my way with ladies and my friends knew me for that, so it wasn't so complicated getting Tonia to be my heartbreak kid. Basically that's how we met and began dating for about 3months that was from March till a day before she was about to get married in June.

My investigations continued, this is a classic case of a journalist turned detective, i won't admit it but the truth is I'm doing this for love. Sitting at a bar with a few friends: Erat was a professor at a Nigerian University, Ricky was let just a random guy who could pull strings here and there, Enil was a retired detective, yes we have Nigerian detectives at least they are paid for that. Erat then asked me why i never introduced her to any of them all i kept doing was talking about her to them every time we met, but they never met her in person, why was that? Enil was quick to draw up conclusion that possibly she did not exist, since i was the only one who knew about her existence, even the priest that officiated at the ceremony did not know her. I was distraught took a lot of convincing for them to agree to join me in the search of course not without a promise of a little favour in return.

Thursday night i was at a bar to watch soccer match, Europa league, won't bother you with the details or information about soccer. I stayed there till it was a tad bit late, because i could not come to terms with the fact that the girl i once dated for 3months and saw get married had suddenly become a ghost. I left the bar at about 11:25, then it happened, i was kidnapped by 3men who were armed. Long story short i was buzzed, i was wondering what's going on here? Was it the fact that i refused to keep to my promise of staying away?, the very first thing I was going to say in my defence was ‘I won’t search anymore’. The first guy gave me dirty slap sort of bringing me out of my thoughts.

He asked 'where is Tonia?'

I was stunned!

Such a question. Another slap to my face and a few curse words.

I responded with 'I've no clue'.

The slap seemed to have been in my favour because the alcohol began to clear from my eye and my thinking was getting a bit straight, too many movies watched and stories heard, i felt if i could pull a few stunts I'd be able to get out of the car probably with a few bruises. I fought my way through, i was stuck in the middle of two guys at the back seat, at least my hands were not tied, though they had guns on them, I figured they needed me alive, i went straight for the driver with a big punch to he's head, that was good enough to knock him off balance, car began to swerve, which gave me ample time to dodge the nozzle of the 9mm pistol heading straight for my head, used my elbow to jab the guy to my left who had the gun on him, his gun fell to the floor of the car, now all three of us at the back seat were struggling to get the gun, I was getting punched from the guy on my right, but I was determined to get off that car anyway I could, I somehow managed to get the door opened, pushed the guy close to the door out and I jumped after him, rolled on the coal tar, and almost got my head squashed by an oncoming vehicle but the other guy wasn’t so lucky. They never stopped, a Good Samaritan took me home, I had sustained a broken arm and few bruises from my face down to my feet. I called the office the next day after I was done with the hospital to inform them of my ordeal, I was given permission from the office to stay at home and get better.

For a fact, i knew i saw Tonia get married to Payne, now a certain Payne is dead, if it’s the same guy Tonia got married to? I don't know. I got in contact with Payne's widow (not Tonia) i told her that i wanted to have an interview with her, i reckon her husband was well known and she would have a lot of things she wanted millions of people out there to know about Mr Payne. it wasn't difficult to convince her, and since I’m a journalist for a reputable newspaper. She agreed and a date was fixed, venue was their private residence.

Perfect! I thought to myself.

I got to the residence right on time, i had a thing for keeping to time and due to the importance of this interview, i had no reason to be a minute late. I got in, she was the only one at home all the kids have returned back to school after their dad's funeral arrangement were done with. She welcomed me properly as an African woman offered me strong eba and Okro, i declined politely for fear that the food might be too heavy and I'd probably lose concentration. Here i was with a widow who has not fully recovered from the death of her husband and the only question I'm eager to ask is

'How did he die?'

I was trying to compose myself and put the words in the right way to avoid being thrown out,

She then asked,

'Can we begin?

‘Where is your pen and your notepad?'

I replied by suggesting we make it a bit less formal that way she'd be more comfortable and at ease, she was fine with that. I muttered some words, then she completed it for me by saying,

'You mean how did he die?'

I nodded.

'It wasn't a robbery, they did not take anything from us, but they hurt him, real bad, kept hurting him like they were trying to force an information out of him and when he won’t give in they... ',

She paused,

I saw that she was weak and her lips had begun shaking i wanted to move closer to offer solace but that won't be appropriate, i changed the question and asked what he did for a living,

‘He was a doctor, he travelled a lot to help out poor kids in other parts of Africa, giving free treatment and attending conferences’

Next question,

'Where was your husband 5years ago around may/june?'

She said he travelled to Ghana, as was his yearly tradition, for medical conferences. I told her i knew her husband,

‘Personally?’ she asked,

‘No and Yes’ I replied,

‘Can you describe him?’

Of course not, I could not accurately describe him, my description was faulty, as he had a different look on the day he was getting married to Tonia, he had a clean shave, which was different from how he looked every other day, the pictures of him I saw around the house he kept his beards at a decent level.

She then asked

‘Where did you ever met him?’

'At a wedding to my ex-girlfriend'

She was stunned!

‘That can't be possible!’ she exclaimed.

She got a tissue to wipe her tears, as tears were slowly trickling down her eyes, she asked me to walk out the door, that the interview was over and she doesn't think she's ready for this. As a gentleman i stood up, but as i got close to the door, about to turn the door handle i saw a picture frame on the wall with something like a ‘thank you’ message on it. I turned back to ask about the frame,

She responded casually,

'He got it from one he's patient'

‘Can I take a look at it?’

‘Sure, you can’

I got close to the frame, i saw Tonia's signature right at the bottom of the frame. I immediately informed her,

‘That’s my ex-girlfriends signature and that i bet she was the one who gave the frame to your late husband’

She slumped on her seat for there was no strength left in her.

I decided to try once more to get in touch with Tonia's sister, but this time around not via phone, but to actually go there in person. I got there, when she saw me at the door, i asked,

‘Are you still going to continue to act like you don’t know or remember me?’........ to be continued

Tweet to @Ned_Cruz

Khavinar: The Last Wars

2015-09-20T18:10:00.000-07:00

The

Last Wars

A Book of Khavinar

J.R.R.Trollan

NEW ARRIVALS

The cold woke me as sure as any noise would. Shivering, I reached across for my cloak. It was damp with the onset of dew...I swore, the sound loud in the predawn silence. Daylight was still a few hours away and trying to go back to sleep was next to impossible. Maneuvering through the still sleeping forms of my comrades, I managed to leave our tent without waking anyone.

It was a close thing. Woler and Eseri were propped next to each other at the entrance, their naked figures still entwined from their latest rutting session. Peeved, I made certain to step roughly on Eseri's fingers as I stole past. Her sleepy complaints music to my ears as I made my way out.

Naturally outside wasn't any warmer, we were deep in enemy territory and couldn't afford the luxury of a camp fire. We had been camped out here in the sticks for a week.

Everyone was on edge to join up with the main army and tempers had flared the night before. The squad scout Nep had gone crazy and stuck a knife in the squad healer Efae. She in turn had tried to claw his eyes out with near success.

A beautiful thing courtship is.

The Dune brothers, Ned, Frost and Reki had gotten into a row about a card game. Apparently Ned had conspired with Frost to cheat Reki and also with Reki to cheat Frost, they had both let him win and then found out he was playing both of them.

Ned's face would be needing treatment for a while but he had more coin in his purse.

Sighing I drifted towards the pickets and almost stumbled into a squatting figure near invisible in the moonless night.

A blade was at my throat in a heartbeat. It bit and drew blood, I froze and tried not to swallow.

A soft chuckle ensued as the figure straightened. My eyes adjusted enough to barely make out a slender feminine figure.

"uhh Deyija its me" I croaked.

"That's Sergeant to you soldier" the blade seemed to hesitate for a second then after a heartbeat it withdrew slowly.

"Knew it was you all along just killing boredom" she seemed disappointed.

I suppressed a shiver....evil bitch. My fingers traced the valley of my neck where I'd been nicked by the blade. It singed.

She cocked her head, assuming an inquisitive posture.

"Too cold, couldn't sleep" I offered.

Talking hurt and the wound throbbed. She seemed satisfied and the blade vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

"Should know better than to sneak up on a lady, soldier".

I ignored the bait, the Sergeant was anything but a lady. When I had signed up as a recruit for the Empire's host, I had not expected to find anyone from my town and I hadn't. My luck ran out when I was transferred up north following the near annihilation of my company in the campaigns to the far south.

I encountered the Sergeant and a bunch of other recruits that served in my platoon at the war academy. It had been hell.

The Sergeant was a nasty piece of work. Known more for her looks, threats and her blades than for her company.

Unfortunately for the male and occasional female trooper she wasn't hard on the eyes. She had a face that would be at home with the nobles up in Arciala and the attitude of a Borman gutter rat in heat.

The Sergeant was talking..

" and seeing as you are wide eyed and all, mind taking watch?"

I couldn't see it but I could imagine the sneer on her face, the evil bitch was pushing again. She was still a couple of hours away from relief.

She never requested anything, everything was really an order no matter how sweetly she coated it, she just made it seem amiable so she'd have a reason to cut you.

"Sure why not?"

I forced cheer I did not feel into words that struggled to form past lips long accustomed to lying. Hopefully she'd get an arrow in the eye when we gave battle eventually.

She snorted and strolled into the dark naturally escorted by the most unsuitable obscene gesture I could muster.

"You wanna keep that finger soldier or should I take it?"

My jaw dropped, another chuckle in the dark.....evil bitch.

Sometime before dawn, I spied two figures on horseback making their way to the camp. It was still too dark to tell who they were and I felt outmatched so I did the normal thing any soldier worth his salt would. I ran to camp to get help.

Unfortunately, my salt isn't worth much. Only Tarr agreed to come with me but he was enough.

The guy was a brute of a man, square jawed, broad shouldered and heavy browed. The perfect specimen of a senseless killing machine. I had gathered he was a descendant
of the northern berserker tribes of Cabinar.

His people had migrated from the tundra wastelands that bordered the lands of Wildonia. Big, scary and quiet, the man was a genius with a blade. I had seen Tarr split a dwarven war hammer
in halves, heard he dispatched a Scitern wraith lord with a backhand slap and that he cleaned his arse with a switchblade.

This guy was tougher than a desert cockroach with dragon armor. I walked behind him, longblade in hand. My preferred combat weapon looked like a toothpick next to his two-handed bastard great-swords. Yes I said swords, one in each giant sized fist...like I said tough bastard.

Together we stood sentinel as the riders pulled up. I tried my best to look scary next to the big northerner. I'd like to think I was successful.

The riders pulled up, their mounts snorted. The lead rider sat high on his horse, his features hidden within the shadows of a hood.

From within the darkness of his cloak, his eyes glowed an eerie silver, my hair stood on end.

A nether blasted sorcerer! The bastard was a practitioner and as he considered us with those eerie eyes I couldn't shake a feeling of dejavu.

I suppressed a shudder and tried to muster up my previous bravado.

"who the hel.."

I never finished

"At ease soldier"

The voice managed to come from everywhere and nowhere.

Mind-speak. I'd heard of it but never had it used on me, the effect was nauseating at the least.

The only reaction from Tarr however was a slight shift of the brute's golden bangs by the wind...like I said cockroach in armor.

The sorcerer didn't seem to notice my discomfort or maybe he just didn't care. I hated him already.

The bastard went on, his voice pronounced in my skull.

"we were sent here by the Ambassador".

A missive appeared in my hands and I almost dropped it. Stupid wizards and their party tricks. It was a thick roll of paper and had the Ambassador's seal - a fat cherub gorging on pastries.

I opened it and read.

                                   " To whoever receives this, these guys are hereby assigned to your company"
                                                                                                                     yours forever
                               Ambassador Odiar V.II
    p.s. Let Sergeant Deyija know I still await
                        her reply, it has been a year.
   oh and forgive the waste of paper, don't
    know why they don't make these things
     smaller

I shook my head softly. It was him alright, the political benefactor of our little outfit.

The stupid fatarse probably was too lazy chasing imperial whores to utilize the appropriate communication channels. A dove carrier would have been suitable enough for liaisons.

I tucked the missive away and nodded to Tarr. The big northerner stepped aside, making way for the riders.

Guiding them to the Captain's tent I couldn't help but consider the implications of their addition to the squad.

With the advent of the Sorcerer, we now had four mages in our outfit. Our previous cadre count already exceeded the allotted squad mage requirements. We were now two mages above the norm. I must admit it felt pretty good. I waved at the rider and his companion to wait outside and paused to watch them dismount. It had skipped me before but now I sensed there was something odd about the Sorcerers companion, something in his movements was off. Putting that aside I walked to the tent and spoke to the guards acquiring details of the Captain's disposition.

The Captain was awake and in a foul mood, the events of the night before had tested her and she was nursing a hangover.

Dawn arrived and soft sunlight bathed the inside of her tent in a warm golden flood of light. She sat on a stool and ran a comb through unruly locks of blood-red hair. Her glacier green eyes regarded me dispassionately and I swallowed. She was naked but for a half worn chemise that covered her lower body, her breasts stood firm and pronounced in the amber glow of the tent.

I quickly found myself having to deal with two lumps on my own body. I swallowed and was left with one. The other I gave free rein, maybe she'd be impressed, just maybe...

"I'm assuming you have something to report soldier?"

It took near heroic effort to remember she had a face and I, a message for it.

"oh s-sorry Ma'am, I-I mean Capt" She wasn't amused.

I handed her the missive, calling upon my iron will and years of intense training to maintain eye contact while I did.

She took it, took a look at the broken seal and arched a brow.

"Had to make certain it was authentic before I let them in Capt" I explained

She nodded in the affirmative, I felt no small pride.

"Bring them in" she drawled.

I swallowed again....damn thing was becoming a habit.

"Forgive my boldness Sir, but you may want to meet them adequately dressed" I suggested.

No way I was gonna share this gift with a couple of wet behind the ear sorcerer bastards.

She seemed to realize her state for the first time and groaned
"give me a few minutes and send them in"
I nodded and had started towards the entrance when she said

"oh and soldier" her voice was sweet and honey laced.

I managed to turn without betraying my eagerness. My bastard eyes however found their targets on her chest.

"yes Capt?" I croaked.

"you are on latrine duty today" her smile was captivating.

Bitch..my bastard eyes burned holes in her chest...I saluted "yes Capt!"

I gave her a few minutes to ensure that the Captain would be fully dressed before I brought in the Sorcerer and his companion.

Her long hair was packed neatly into a bun and rebel strands ran across her face. She stood at ease, easily towering over the average man.She was an amazon, they were already a fair minority of them in the army to make her an oddity but the Captain was a rare one. She had been raised in the wastelands by her exiled mother. Her pale white skin was a silent testament to her time in the badlands.

Once again I felt no small pride in my squad. We had the most beauties this side of the war and...

"Soldier?" Her voice broke me out of my reverie.

"Y-Yes Sir?" I managed.

"I believe you were asked a question?" Liquid green eyes held mine.

Uh oh, she was getting edgy must be that time of the month. I made a mental backtrack

"Yes Sir, we have been ready to move for sometime, preparations to break camp are well on the way".

She closed her eyes and nodded softly. Her attention turned to our new recruits.

The sorcerer had thrown back his cloak to reveal startling white hair, a hawkish nose and a youthful face with angled features.

This bastard was a halfling! A mix between human and something else. My guess was faeish but his features were leonine at most.

His eyes still held their silver glow and he bowed slowly as he introduced himself

"My name is Leoni Vartrasi, apostate of the supreme order of fire and warmagi of the fourth circle" he used mindspeak

My eyes grew a few more inches in my skull. There were only five circles achievable. The bastard was both a bloody highmage and warlock. He seemed to like my reaction because he smirked and gestured at his companion.

I watched as the other figure threw back his cloak and stepped forward.

"Stand down soldier!" the Captain's voice came like a slap.

When had I moved?

Everyone was stared. I had my short knife out and was breathing hard, my eyes were dead set on the just revealed figure of the sorcerer's companion.

He..she had snow white hair. A stark contrast to her ebony dark skin. Amber hued eyes radiating with echoes of power regarded me with amusement. Almost as tall as the Captain, she stood regal and elegant with a slight air of unmistakable authority. Her features were too perfect to be human and a slight smile played across her lips.

I was in the presence of a dark elf.

..........................................................................

THE 13TH DETACHMENT

Her name was Faeina Volatris, A dark elf native to the gray lands on the far reaches of northern Kharvina. She was here as an envoy from the Faeina Priaera the great dark queen herself.

The alliance between Deortha and Khavinar was barely a century old, but it was only till about a decade ago that the darfae of Deortha had deemed it worthy to join their mortal allies in the field of battle against the ever present evil of Wildonia.

Even so, sightings of darfae were few and far between. Details of her assignment were on a scroll she passed to the captain. I had never seen a dark elf before but I'd heard enough tales about
them to stay my hand on my blade. I was sure she'd forgive my slack jawed stare. The warmagus however didn't seem to appreciate my enthusiasm towards his companion. Grunting he looked pointedly at the captain and nodded my way. The captain misread his intentions and proceeded to introduce me.

"This is Nhili Trinii Arta, sub lieutenant first class. Forgive his manners, he's native to the red wastes of kharvina and evidently has
never seen a darfae before"

With the introduction, the dark elf seemed to focus more on me to the chargin of the warmagus.

"Trinii Arta" she at least, communicated with her natural faculties. Kreia was the common language of all cities in Khavinar and her command of it was impressive. The words seemed to roll over her tongue in a way both eerily unnerving and equally enticing.

Ember red eyes fell fleetingly on me and then returned to the captain.

"a rather peculiar name to be borne by a mortal".

The Captain snorted. "Then that's perhaps the least peculiar thing about him"

I had a vague perception of hidden undertones in her statement, I preferred however to brush it aside and focus more on my ogling. Her heavy cloak and under armor had done little to blunt the edges and curves of her feminine features. The twin waterbag sized mounds on her chest almost put the Captain's to shame. My lust however was shortlived, our eyes met again and in them for just a moment I saw whispers of unhinged insanity. ..great.

One would think we already had more than our fair share of capricious characters.

The warmagus grunted again. I suggested a drought of wine to clear his throat. Ha!...If looks could kill.

The captain meanwhile studied the missive from the Priaera with a slight frown on her face. She caught me watching her, sighed and returned the missive to Volatris. The missive now in the hand of the darfae burst aflame with ephemeral blue witchfire. There remained no ash to mark its existense.

So somebody didn't want the contents of that missive to be known? Interesting.

The captain dismissed us and gave me orders to see to their settling into camp. Great, as if latrine duty wasn't punishment enough.

We exited the Captains' tent and proceeded to make our way into the heart of camp, my plan was to dump them off on another poor sop but I was sidetracked before I got the chance.

Gathered around the edge of the camp in a roughly drawn circle marked by what looked like the hilt of a blade was a group of noisy troopers. In their midst three figures stood. My eyes grew wide as I realized who these trio were.

The duel was about to begin. I hurried towards them.

The tallest of the three was Klaws Runt of the ninth squad, he was a company oddity. The man claimed he was a hybrid of some ancient werebeast creature and a Romire. The Romire is a rare family of demons, they survive mainly by feeding on the life force of other creatures. Legend has it that they were exiled from Truun, a world of all things dark and twisted. Hated and hunted by their kind, they fled into our world at the dawn of humanity. Being the weakest family of demons did little to discourage them from attempting to dominate mankind.

Mankind however had something alien to the demons. Mankind had its gods. These deities granted humanity the ability to fight and destroy the Romire, further reducing their already dwindling numbers. It wasn't long until the Romire faded into obscurity and myth, becoming nothing more than phantoms in scary stories told by housewives to naughty children. Sometimes I amaze myself with how much I know having had no memories of an education, it is to say the in least frightening.

As far as anyone could tell however, Klaws was as human as they came. From the ground he stood a few lengths away from a metre and its half.
He had a shock of dark brown hair that he let run uncombed, and pale gray eyes on a face that would have been pleasant but for the rugged beard and battle scar that gave him a wild and manic visage. Today he wore nothing from the waist up and stood with his legs apart and a fighting blade in each hand. For all his mental shortcomings, Klaws was a fine warrior, his reaction and flexibility in combat were only second to Deyija. You wouldn't want him to be with your enemies on any day. This time though, I had a feeling he had bitten on more than he could chew.

Efae Harvern of the sixth and Nepiroth Zilo of. also the ninth stood facing Klaws. Barring the fact that Nep had tried to stick a knife in Efae the night before, the two were inseparable and not in a romantic sense.

Unlike her opponent Klaws, Efae Harvern was a true hybrid. Although details of her past were murky, several things were evident. She had the healing magi of an arfae, she spoke faeish like a second tongue and she looked like a spoilt nordic lass. Her hair was flaxen and her
eyes a cold hue of blue. Needless to say I'd like to have met her mother. Efae was more or less the conscience of the her squad the sixth. At least she was when her queen bitch attitude was at bay. Today however was not one of those days.

Although not a pure fighter, due to her non-human persuasions Efae is able to harness strength enough to rival Tarr the great dragon armor wearing cockroach himself.

It was rumored even that she was infact a bimorph. A jaguar looking fiend her alter form. She had done nothing to support the rumors but she hadn't outrightly denied them either.

Then there's Nep. Nepiroth Zilo Khartakas Daeolithara, Although we go some ways back I've come to realize that there's very little I really know much about Nep. What I do know is this...If Nep wasn't with us, he'd be somewhere else conquering cities and raping babies. He has that feel. He is also the nicest guy you'd never know. Nep cuts a dimunitive figure and is probably the smallest guy in my squad at six foot one. He insists on wearing a ridiculous multi-colored cloak he claims is a family heirloom. Nep's a minor mage but a fun guy to be around when arrows and spears rain down on you behind a shield wall.

The wave of susurrations amongst the crowd had ebbed.

Someone was making a move.

Efae moved first.

Her fist flashed lethal blows straight at Klaws. He ducked and spun, throwing a leg forward in a bid to catch her shin. She anticipated the move and leaped forward. Her momentum brought her down heavy on Klaws who had yet to recover from his errant kick. Knees connected hard with the back of his head.

Nep became boisterous.

"One point to Efae! Can Klaws get one in return? Place your bets you bastards! I bet the queen throttles him the whole round!"

The soldiers became charged with the thrill of the bet. Everyone knew Klaws didnt stand a chance against Efae in unarmed combat.

Nep went around collecting the copper coins that passed for money in these lands and stuffing them into his rainbow cloak.

His path brought him near where I stood and I tossed him a silver.

"One silver crown on Klaws! I say he gets one in before the round goes out!"

Nep snatched it from the air with a sneer.

"Your pocket Nhili not mine"

The warmagi and the elf closed in. I could sense their thinly veiled curiosity but I wasn't going to offer anything.

Finally they couldn't hold it in and the warmagi asked in mindspeak.

"The Volatris wants to know why your people fight each other"

I smiled and without looking at the warmagus I explained in the most pedantic tone I could.

"Every once in a while especially in an army of this size there's certain to be a variety of characters who don't play well with each other. We've got troops ranging from the furthest reaches of Khavinar to the very heart of the capital itself. Following so far?"

The warmagi and Volatris nodded in understanding.

I went on "Due to this collusion its hard to not discover the occasional slit throat or garroted corpse rotting amongst the trenches. An army can really eat itself up from stuff like that"

"A human army you mean" The Volatris chirped.

I grunted an ascent and went on "After a few unfortunate incidents, our Captain came up with what we are witnessing"

The crowd went wild as Nep collecting bets had strayed too close to the circle and Klaws had seized the opportunity to give him a good whack for his concerns.

It was up to the scout now to either ignore the attack and blame his carelessness or to join in on the duel and make it a lynch.

Nep wasn't a big fan of lynches, but he wasn't entirely keen on the idea of letting physical harm go unanswered. We are really all villians. The scout was up immediately, a wicked sneer flashed across his face and he stepped into the circle.

The crowd cheered and roared for blood.

I sighed heavily, looks like I had just lost a silver crown. There was no way Klaws would get a hit on Efae now with Nep in the way. Nep wasn't exactly the strongest of warriors but something about him made dueling him a bad idea. I'd seen Nep take on three of the camp's strongest warriors at once without batting an eyelid. He was totally uncanny in combat. Never an agressor, he preferred to provoke attacks then react accordingly. He was the worst sort of opponent for Klaws.

However, it wasn't entirely bleak for Klaws. There was a flaw in this matchup that Klaws could exploit. For all his many talents, Nep didn't play well with others. He grew significantly stronger when facing stiffer odds, and weaker when given an advantage. Efae would eventually get in his way. When that happened, Klaws could get a hit in on Efae and I'd get to keep my silver crown and make a killing.

I rubbed my palms together and cheered.

'Isn't that against the rules?' Mindspeak. The warmagi.

I didn't feel it was fair that I had to use my mouth to reply so I feigned a state of mental deafness. Almost immediately I felt an alien prescense brush my thoughts, leaving me with faint notions of amusement.

I looked at the Volatris, her features where still hidden within her hood but I was certain she was smiling. Creepy. Try as I might, i couldnt shake a feeling that I'd just been mind raped by a darfae

The warmagi seemed to get the message.

'What happens now?' His accent was clipped in the manner of the Western Cape cities.

I could see why he preferred mindspeak. Not many people were fond of mages, but even fewer were fond of the citizens from the Western Capes.

I was not entirely keen on being around him anymore.

'Well now, the wild haired one you will come to know as Klaws will have to face down on the the colorful bet keeper and the blonde halfae'

'And this is acceptable?' He pressed

'To some extent yes, if a duelant chooses to, he may assault anyone from within the circle. The assaulted party may then choose to walk away from the duel or partake just like bet keeper did. It really just comes down to egos at the end'

'I see' Mindspeak again. The guy was an addict.

I didn't think he did so I went on to explain.

'We aren't animals here but we do our damned best to pretend otherwise. The risk of calling for a duel is exponential' heheh exponential I liked that word, Eseri had thought me a few big words since coming to camp. Exponential was my favorite.

'and?' The Volatris herself had addressed me indicating I had piqued her interest. 'Why is it of great risk to hold one of these duels?'

'Lynches' I gave it to her straight. 'Depending on your popularity or notoriety within the camp, the chances of you getting lynched or assisted vary'

I pointed at the circle 'Klaws there, is always picking fights with any and everyone. He has been lynched more than once but that doesn't discourage him, the halfae is more or less the same. She however always has allies so an all out lynching hasn't occurred yet. It's in the air though, any day now she'd step in there and find no one to cover her back. Scary thing is, I don't think she minds. Nep there thrives more in lynching than he does in solo duels'

The Volatris giggled 'you sure know alot about these things don't you?'

'Every detachment needs a know it all, I found the position vacant when I was dispatched here. It's also quite lucrative'

The crowd groaned in unison.

Nep had cornered Klaws in-between himself and Efae. He was in the process of stringing together a complex series of feints and kicks that would have certain to take down the tired Klaws when Efae seething with impatience had managed to interrupt with a poorly aimed attack from Klaws's blindspot.

Klaws had anticipated Efae would attack first. My guess was he had obviously baited her into lunging for him by placing her in his blindspot. Attacking from a blindspot was never a bad idea, the opponent more than often would never see it coming. However, attacking an opponent who intentionally places you in his blindspot is naive.

Efae realised her error a fraction of a second too late. Klaws leaped backwards into her attack, just as Nep realized the ruse and tried to salvage the situation.

The result was comical. Klaws's' elbow caught Efae full on her face. I smiled, I was gonna eat like a king tonight. Efae temporarily disoriented, threw out a palm that caught not Klaws but Nep who had showed up in time to land a well placed blow to the jaw of Klaws, instantly knocking him out. He was rewarded for his heroics by an open palm backed by faen strength. The blow threw him out of the circle and into the crowd where he collided with a bunch of unfortunate troopers. He didn't get up again

Efae had won the duel but Klaws had gotten a hit in so my bet had paid off.

I was a decidedly happy man as I showed the recruits the rest of the camp.

...............................................................................

It was almost noon when I had finally dumped the recruits on the camp quarter master. The camp was now a beehive of activity. Messengers ran in and out of command tents, soldiers gathered what scant belongings they called theirs and the war engineers set to taking down our pickets.

I set out to find members of my cell.

Although being already a small contingent of motley soldiers, the Captain had deemed it fit to break us up further into cells. I suppose she did this to enforce some sense of security and bonding amongst the troops. Can't say it wasn't effective.

Tarr and Nep sat by our usual hangout. Nep was sporting a fresh bandage over his left arm.

A rowdy pile of old tents and other camp gear surrounded the makeshift camp circle, giving us some near element of privacy or the illusion of it.

Wasn't gonna be surprised if we discovered some camp spook like Deyija or Taryaw hidden amongst the rag pile just for the hell of it.

Tarr raised an arm to me. In his grip was a metal cup, I accepted it and took a sniff at the swirl. I recoiled.

'What on Favel's planet sized balls is in this!?, Demon fucking piss!?' Nep chuckled.

'Don't be such a stiff Nihl, that's my latest batch of swigorama!' Kings would sell their kingdoms to get at this stuff but I'm stuck pedaling my skills to you ungrateful sods!'

Struggling to get on his feet with a chargined expression, he continued.

'I can see genius is naught but a thing amongst lesser men!' He took a large draught of the evil liquid and the whites of his eyes turned red. Staggering, he made a series of gagging noises and fell face down.

Poor guy, had to wonder how much damage Efae had done to the wretch.

The camp's trumpets blared a short note. The hundred man company moved out on its March to the thousand mile meadows

Ubosah: The Songs of the Forest

2015-07-10T07:39:00.001-07:00

Prologue

The old man drew in a deep breath, inhaling the intoxicating fumes of whistling powder. With his exhale came a relaxed and lucid expression and smoke pinkish with blue accents. The old man briefly fell into a deep sleep. The little boy noted he had increased the usual amount of powder in the ceramic keg steadily over the last few weeks. The little boy was worried for the old man but the scars and bruises on his back held his tongue against voicing his concerns. The whipping the previous day had been particularly memorable. The boy had ventured once again towards the forest following the soft whispering calls. Before he had successfully broached the edge of the thick forest, the old man had found him.
The calls had been increasing in duration over the years. First they had started as a slight murmur on the wind, their call heard by no one but him. When he had told Oghona about the calls, the old man had had a pained look and grabbed his arm, pulling him into a tight embrace, trembling slightly he had whispered fiercely that the boy never give answer to the calls. Oghona had promised to give him something called 'name', but since the calls started the old man had decided not to and asking him for 'name' only resulted to more beatings or silent trips to the Amaku river. An occasional gust of dry wind blew into the hut and the boy shivered in the resulting chill. The harmattan had come earlier than usual he mused silently. Cocking his head he could barely make out the annoying chirps of the ugly big head birds that migrated with the season. Their meat usually tough but he had learned how to soften it with some herbs he'd found near the river bank. Later he would take out his catapult and catch one for dinner but he would not give the old man any he decided. A slow drool crept down the side of his mouth as he reveled in his gluttonous thoughts which were halted when the old man broke into a series of dry coughs. The coughs were becoming bad, they didn't usually begin this early in the day. The boy straightened, his little feet padded noiselessly across the mat covering the floor of the old hut. The man was old, the air was old, the hut was old, the trees around them were old, everything here was old. The boy kicked at a lizard as it scurried away from his path, he could bet the lizard was old also. The Old man won't let him go to the village and play with the other children, the old man won't let him play in the forest, the old man wanted him to be an old man too, do old man things. Tears dripped down along the boy's cheeks and he grit his teeth against the pain in his chest. The bruises on his back hurt even more and absently he found his gaze drawn towards the evil forest. The forest was immense, its trees where as tall as the mountains and a certain pressure could be felt from it. The boy day dreamed about what it would be like to answer the call, explore the f...

'Boy'

The sound startled him, the old man had come behind him and was stroking his long grey beard.

'Did you hear me call you boy?' His tone was flat and he had a strange look in his eyes.

Unconsciously the boy took a step back towards the entrance of the hut. He nodded his head guiltily, his little heart thumped hard against his chest. There was something wrong with the old man's eyes, as if there were many old men in there.

'Very good'....'Come here child' bade the voice.

The boy took a step towards the old man and stopped. The old man's features were warped, his eyes had sunk deep within his head and from his head grew things that the boy had seen on the man-mountain goats. His smile slightly obscured by the thick beard, sported strange teeth. Outside the wind had picked up and a steady chill had crept into the hut.

'Come here child' came the voice again, through words rough and mangled by the old man's teeth.

The boy could not move, he stood rooted and words could not escape the sudden pressure on his throat.

The old man who was not old man took a step towards him stretching out an arm..

The little boy screamed suddenly finding his voice against the horror. The sound of his own voice woke his legs up and he fled from the hut.

Behind him he heard an animal bellow that echoed around the hills but he wasn't afraid.

The wind was calling him again, this time he answered

Rage of The Invaders Chapter 2: Dust Devils and Sand Storms

2015-06-23T03:03:00.001-07:00

Tarey bellowed out an order to his squad, it fell on deaf ears. The demon had come out of nowhere. Already it had ravaged the vanguard of his forces and even now it tore through the Wildonia forces, attacking friend and foe in a mad frenzy. He had watched it grow new limbs where old ones had been hacked and slashed away.

Every mundane effort to harm the creature had proved futile and without arfa present they had quickly run out of options. Presently, it was occupied in chewing down its latest victims. Its giant maw opened and Tare spied an ugly collection of fangs the length of a small adult's forearm. The demon was the size of a Wagorian great bull, it stood three man heights and was twice as wide across.

He had lost his mount to the first charge of the demon, its barbed tail scoring deep on the left flank of the horse, almost pinning his thigh. A dull rage echoed behind his glacial eyes, and he advanced slowly on the demon only to be pulled back by a firm tug on his cloak.

Snarling he turned to see Nep Zilo standing a pace behind him. The look on the warlock's features distracted him from his advance on the demon.

'What is it!?' He growled

The warlock turned to study him as if just realizing his presence. In a voice heavy with barely concealed fear, he managed to mutter the word 'Hu'tian Netheri'.

Tarey started, his face loosing color. Turning to study the demon more intensely, several markers on its body stood prominent, the third horn that grew out of the bridge of its nasal cavity, the barbed tail, the patterns on its scaled hide.

He felt his sword arm go limp, these wildonia fools! They had summoned a netherian demon high lord!

Nep shifted nervously pulling at the leather wraps on his blade handle.
'We need to get Deejah to reverse the arfa negation and fast'

Tare grunted what could be an ascent, his eyes trailing the creature as it continued its carnage.

'Does it bleed?' His voice was barely audible through the screams of the wounded and dying.

Nep stared at Tare, a curious expression on his features. 'Yes, under extreme duress it will bleed and die like any other living creature'

'Good'

'But!' Continued Nep, looking back at the demon with a frown 'You will need a blessed weapon or an item of equal or more innate arfa energy to get through its wards talk less of punching through that thick hide'

He turned to Tarey, a mocking undertone to his voice 'is it my understanding that you have any of such items on your bullish person?'

Tare raised the broad sword to rest on his shoulders. 'Forget Deejah, the creature will obliterate us immediately we begin pulling out and even if we could, I will not yield ground my troops bleed to win'

The warlock shrugged, 'I have a few arfa crystals I could use to keep it at bay, we could buy sometime but the end result will be the same'

A low rumble erupted from the demon, both men watched as it turned its attention on the Cabinians. Its large muscled arms tensed, blood and grime coated the length of its forearms and dripped grotesquely into the ridges of its paws along curled serrated talons to pool on the cobbled street.

Nep blinked and the demon was airborne descending on them.

Rage of The Invaders Chapter 2: Dust Devils and Sand Storms

2015-06-21T04:21:00.001-07:00

The blade slid along the length of the leafblade spear. Its razor edge bit deep into the wrist of the defender and onward effectively severing the weapon from the guardsman. A sharp jab to the throat with the hilt of the blade crushed the man's windpipe killing the beginnings of a shriek. Ned eased away letting the body slide down the wall.

He had to hurry, beyond the walls of the inner court, the assault had began. The Cabinians would begin a push for the gates of the inner court immediately, they had to meet an open gate.

The inner gates were protected by a full garrison of ietherendi Wildonia special forces. Prior reconnaissance had provided him with the total number of ietherendi present at the garrison at any given time. Fifty men...a task far too difficult for any man, even a nox assassin would be hard pressed to face down a dozen ietherendi.

He weighed his options carefully. Years ago T'roll had deployed several spies to infiltrate the ranks of the Wildonia military. A few had been discovered and executed, but Nep knew of two still operating within the ranks.

The names came easy to him
'Leon O'latile and Frost Kilin'.

Frost he knew like a brother, well as far as assassins could call each other brothers.
Leon he only knew by reputation and what he knew sent chills down his spine.

Problem was, both were in deep cover and he had seen how that could change the loyalties of a man. Ned had maintained crucial contact with the Cabinians throughout the period, a testament to his renown in the darker arts of espionage. He had made his way into the ranks of the Ferai, Chosen honor guard of the Queen herself but so had Leon and Frost.

Leon had remained a shadow to Ned while Frost had invoked ratai juka, effectively severing all his memories as a spy of Cabina to effectively operate within Wildonia. It fell on Ned to trigger karatai juka and awaken him to his memories.

Looking back Ned didn't think it was such a good move. Frost although a maverick with the blade had never truly been an adept at subterfuge and without the effects of ratai juka, he would have been found out within the first month, yet the man's pride had not let him say no to T'roll's offer.

Separating Frost from the Ferai was one thing but getting him away long enough to perform a successful karatai under the current conditions would endanger the success of his mission.

Ned sighed deeply as he edged around a marble pillar, twin blades slick with blood. A guard bearing a missive rushed by his position and he froze. The guard had obviously not been alerted to his presence so he eased into his wake and stalked him down the halls.

The assassin decided he had to throw his lot in with Leon. Truth was he didn't know anything about the man but he did know about the d'ataikin, the skindancers and he knew that Leon was one.

The guard hurried down the hall and Ned edged his way into an adjoining corridor. Going dead still, he waited to make sure he wasn't followed. A few heartbeats later, he rapped lightly on the wall next to a large oakwood door.

The door opened immediately, soundless and turning inward. Ned edged forward into the room and shut the door. Within the room, books of all colors and sizes lay littered on the ground and a figure stood amidst the sprawl.

Leon O'latile was tall and of impressive build, he had the amber hued eyes common to the d'ataikin. His features were rugged and his straw-blonde hair cast a look of eccentricity. He stood with his back to Ned but Ned could swear he felt the man's eyes on him.

'Well if it isn't the diminutive Ned D'idivic of the nox slayers. I figured I'd get a visit from you today'

Ned swore silently pulling out his blade and edging backwards to the door. Leon had ignored the code entirely, was he compromised?

Leon's baritone voice echoed lazily around the walls 'Rest easy friend, I see no need to voice such a ridiculous code'

Ned didn't change his stance and Leon shrugged his frustration tossing aside a book he had been reading.

'The lay of the land is a valley, and on it twin hills rise, the apex of both a nipple'

Ned relaxed and answered 'The rod of the gods divides the valley, and with the separation comes rain'.

Leon chuckled lightly and Ned shook his head sliding back his blades. There was no time to waste so he pressed on.

'The assault has begun, we must secure the opening mechanism for the gates of the inner courts'

Leon nodded his understanding. 'How many at the garrison?'

'Fifty ietherendi' came the reply

'I see' chuckled Leon 'and the other?'

'ratai juka'.

'So just us then?'

'I'm afraid so'

Leon rolled his huge shoulders, paced the room for a second and seemed to reach a decision.

'You should head to the other and perform the 'karatai juka' we need all the help we can get against the ferai'

'You mean to go against the ietherendi alone!? That is suicide!'

Leon smiled lazily 'Don't worry about me, just know I'd be waiting for assistance from you and the other, don't take too long'

The assassin stared at the man for a moment, bowed and left the room. Leon strolled around the room for a few moments and left through a different door.

Walking down the halls that lead to the outer gardens of the palace, he heard a deep rumbling roar just beyond the inner walls, the sound stopping him cold.

A low animal growl was his instinctive response.

'Demon' he spat and hurried down the halls.

A second roar broke the night.

Rage of The Invaders Chapter 2: Dust Devils and Sand Storms

2015-06-06T10:04:00.001-07:00

Dust and blood in the air, the distinct metallic odor of alchemies burning flesh and stone hung rancid within the confines of the castle walls. Through the breach poured the forces of Cabina, their vanguard an arrow of human flesh biting deep into the outer courts of the castle. Amid the destruction he rode, an apparition of war given breath, storming through the debris and chaos, Tare Erathos charged his war mount onwards. The scene before him was expected, the defenders were scattered amongst the rubble and wreckage of the southern gate. Those present on the battlements had been hit the worst. Bits and pieces of body parts strewn grotesquely across the court gave testament to their previous existence. The surviving defenders were already rallying to an organized defensive position. They would advance at any moment, the telltale signs of a capable commander present.

Any hopes of widespread panic amongst the ranks of the defenders quickly faded. Someone had assembled them into squads, there would be no disorganized march to engage his troops as they poured in from the breach. No, they meant to make this a war of attrition. They would yield no quarter. From the dusky gloom between the streets he could make out barricades on the pathways and figures darting amongst the rooftops, the occasional glint of metal caught his eye and a thin smile split his features.

'Guerilla tactics' he grunted

A fair strategy surely, he had come seeking a war, looks like he had found one.

Sword in hand he steadied his mount, guiding the beast around with a tug on the reins as a trio of riders arrived.

T'roll, Klaus and Nep pulled up along his right flank. The young warlock's face was flushed, his eyes briefly scanning the destructive aftermath of the alchemies, he seemed to struggle with something then sighed.

'Arfa would have been.....cleaner'. He fixed his stare on T'roll who shrugged and absentmindedly picked at his nose.

'The path is open Nihel, follow the main streets from here to the inner gates, we cannot aid you further, whatever resistance you encounter will be yours to deal with. I will join you at the inner courts when I see to this' Tarey said, lazily gesturing at the the rallying defenders.

With that, the commander urged his mount onwards, promptly joining up alongside his men who were now mostly through the breach and preparing to engage the defenders.

Nep grunted and followed in his wake, some incoherent curse trailed the warlock's departure.

T'roll smirked, his face bunching up as he made faces behind the man. Klaus sighed, realized his sword was still in his hand and sheathed the longblade.

'Okay Klaus, that was the easy part, I fear we are tasked with the most dangerous of missions'

The warrior looked bored but said nothing earning his irritation.

'I would not fault you if you had an urge to turn away now and ride to hide between the fleshy thighs of those heavyset pig women you often frequent at that despicable Horer's tavern.

Klaus turned, a bemused expression on his face

'For all you say, it was you who recommended those heavyset pig women'

A wicked smile flashed at him from T'roll 'and how did you find my suggestion?'

The warrior's face flushed heavily and he sighed deeply 'by the gods man, I almost made one of them a countess'

T'roll smirked triumphantly

'Oh ho? You did now!? You'd think damned old Horer would give me some discount seeing how much business I bring him?but no! Stingy old miser!'

'Perhaps if you stopped trying to steal peeks at his other customers during their err...transactions, he'd reconsider' countered Klaus as he kneed his mount forward.

'I wasn't born blind G'arroukin, its my god given right to see what I want, when I want and stop riding ahead of me I'm the damned leader here!

The warrior tensed at the name but said nothing.

Together they rode into the main street that led away from the outer courts and into the inner walls. Behind them a cacophony of roars erupted as Tare Erathos and the Dark Brigadiers charged the Wildonian forces.

The main street was deathly still, the iron shod hoofs of their horses echoed loudly on the granite cobbles as they made their way towards the inner gates.

T'roll ground his mount to a halt, his breath fogging in the chill that had descended since the breach.

'I don't like the looks of this' He turned around peering into the gloom. Torches burned slowly between the buildings casting lazy dark shadows into narrow alleyways.

Klaus grunted his ascent

' too deserted, surely they would evacuate the citizens once our war banners alighted on their horizon but this i fear has a feel of a town deserted for years'

Dismounting, T'roll walked to a building. One hand on his sword, he edged up against the wall to the front door his free hand found the knob and turned slowly.
The door gave way with a creak that tore through the silence of the street.

Edging forward into the doorway he found his path blocked by a thick skein of webbing. An arm through it met sufficient resistance to suggest that the doorway had indeed been unused for quite sometime.

'You are right Klaus, this was long before us, I fear we may have come too late'

Wiping down the webbing, he approached another house, the doorway yielding the same result. A bitter metallic taste now lay at the back of his tongue and he spat to rid himself of its presence.

'We must make haste my friend, I fear the .....'
A lengthy roar tore open the silence of the night plucking at heartstrings of the horses and drowning T'roll's words, Klaus an experienced rider was mounted and so struggled to gain control of his steed as it shied and bucked. T'roll could do little to stop his as it tore away into the gloom of the night.

'What on bloody Aertha was that!?' Klaus had his sword out and an arm wrapped around the reins of his mount. Eyes fixed on T'roll as he stood facing the direction his horse had fled.

Staring into the gloom he said sotto voce ' You told me there would be no sorcery at play!'

'Actually I didn't, the witch did, why does everyone try to blame me?

'Because you brought her here and assured us she could hold the Wilde's sorcery at bay!' He stated accusingly

T'roll sighed as he stroked his beard, 'I guess you have a point but so do I!' Lazily he pointed at himself, do you think I'd ride a mere horse on any day without enchanting the beast?

Klaus frowned not getting the point.

'Argh, that sound, whatever it came from that scared of my mount would never even make it lift an eyebrow if I had my enchantments working. Do you see my point?'

Klaus accepted the argument, 'That still doesn't explain whatever that thing was'
Haven't heard the likes of it since your last experiment with nethericths' he swore making the sign to keep evil at bay.
T'roll paced for some moments, stopped and swore slowly.

'That nether-tainted bitch!, she summoned and bound some netherspawn on these lands before we arrived, so they went under Deejah's arfa negation. My guess is this was done before the Cabinian threat of invasion!'.

Klaus frowned deeply, amber eyes blazing bright 'So what you're saying is that we are stuck in the outer walls with whatever demons the Wilde's Queen has released without the hope of fighting it with sorcery?

T'roll glanced at Klaus and seemed to look past him, 'We must return the way we came, I fear the commander might be in for more than he bargained for'

In the darkness of the wild, another roar rent the stillness of Castle Wilde

..........................................................................

The Departure of a Legend

2015-02-27T12:12:00.001-08:00

Countless galaxies will mourn, billions of people will shed tears, you who took us from galaxy to Galaxy as the second in command of the greatest starship know to mankind...... Have a good night's rest and take your place in the stars, the real ones now not some star etched in stone.
RIP Mr Spok..

The RIFT... Ep2

2015-02-27T01:02:00.001-08:00

Down the lane of the street, parked an unmarked van, within two sinister figure engaged in a conversation, " I don't think the Captain wants this guy, he specifically said kill the wife and child, make Brody suffer, so you are not taking him into this vehicle with us". " Don't get all your panties in a bunch bro, I think I have a plan that would benefit us both".

From the window, Brody could see the truck, his instinct kicks in, he calmly walks to the kitchen; he thought " Thank God Claire and the kid ain't around for this, he dials a number and waits for ringing while he pulls out his sabre from underneath the counter, "pick up dammit, hello, yeah, hello, Trey we got a code 3".

Mid afternoon in Narita, Japan, Trey was speaking to someone in the phone as he got into the Maybach and drove off, hardly but precisely spotting an Escalade SUV parked across the road from his building, " I know Brody, have you tried getting a hold of Cole?, listen get to base contact Grimsby and tell him he should get to Heathrow in 4hrs i'll pick him up and we'll head into the states, besides i'm being followed" *click*. Trey and Brody knew a time like this would come, it was the warning that scared the shit out of their crew, this crew of four hardened spec ops soldiers, who had seen war and blood and death, who could put fear into these men nobody else but the leader of the WILLOW the man they called the Captain or as mere humans or civilians would call him Jorkaiev Malovich.

......................
No 10. Downing Street, within these walls of one of the most secure buildings in Britain, Harold Grimes aka Grimsby received the news and had begun packing, he took only the few need necessities and calmly walked to the oak door that was the entrance to the office of John Alcott the British Prime minister when he heard, " A squad??... Mr President what kind of squad are you going to send against a man that actually controls the whole of Russia, you know that would be a goddammed invasion?.... Ok... You have something in mind... Oh i'm sure i'd love to hear what you crazy Americans are planning doing this time around..... Ok Richard get back to me i have a meeting".... "Come in Harold you don't always have to stand by the door moping like a stranger". "Sir, i came to tell you i'll be off for a while personal reasons", "Take all the time you need ol' chap, where if i may ask do you think you're going by the way? The Americans might be in a fix and as usual we have to be by them to bail them out", a slight smile played across Grimsby's lips and that was rarely seen, he took things serious way too serious, "That Sir, is my secret", "Alright carry on, but do keep in touch", a nod and with that Grimsby got into his jaguar and drove on to Heathrow, Trey would be landing in 20mins, good time, he thought, good times.....

........................
Back in the secret facility Cole just got his briefing, "Colnel, this time we have to get that bastard, get your crew together before they are in danger" .... Danger?? Pfft.. He scoffed, those mitches don't know danger, But this wasn't bravery either, from this report their worst fears where coming through, the USA or even the whole world was in danger of a nuclear terror plot. His team, his brothers-in-arms, team R. I. F. T (Rapid Infiltration Fire Team) were back in service Black ops no doubt, but back, but the serum why just him, he beat the question back and walked out the door of the room which had been his prison for a week and now his friends must know.

..... To be continued......

THE LIE DETECTOR - EPISODE THREE

2015-02-24T00:54:00.001-08:00

PREVIOUSLY ON THE LIE DETECTOR...
John had to rush his partner to the hospital ... Annabel had a one night stand and is struggling to push the images of her beloved John from her head...

AND NOW THE STORY CONTINUES....

3 MONTHS LATER...

The deafening silence of the courtroom was broken as the Judge brought down his Gavel hard. He was ready to give his judgment.

John had been the prosecution's leading witness for the murder of detective O’Connor. After the grueling arguments, motions and counter motion, the defense and prosecution counsels had just finished their closing remarks.

The thoughts of jail time ran through her head like a high-speed train.
"What if I am given the death penalty", Varela thought aloud. Her palms were wet, her forehead damp, her skin cold because the judge was to her as Zeus on Olympus; ready to decide the fate of mere mortals.

ORDER! The gavel hit down hard again on the great Oak wood Table. The judge shifted forward on his chair, he adjusted his Gold framed antique spectacles.
"Having gone through the testimony of the witnesses, the evidences brought forward and the proving of the prayer of this county's attorney beyond REASONABLE DOUBT ", he shifted again in his seat.

"I hereby find the defendant Varela Kravecki guilty for the second degree murder of Detective Shawn O’Connor"

John had an Epiphany.

He saw a woman walking in the courtroom - the same woman that has been haunting his dreams. Who was she?

Memory bouts.
Flashes of his past no doubt.
A past he can hardly remember.
The doctor had told him he would be able to connect the dots soon... But he has been like this for months.

And here she was again in the courtroom like a wisp of smoke disappears.....

"And sentence her to", the Judge's voice boomed dragging him back to full consciousness.

"75 years in a Federal penitentiary with possibility of parole after 25 years".

John felt relieved; O’Connor had been his partner for a year. They shared a mutual respect for each other but that was all. They did not get personal. But he really liked the guy and he enjoyed working with the man.

The Court rose.
His past was still a mystery to him; he could not remember events beyond the last year after he woke up in the private ward of the Los-Angeles medical center. It was like some part of his brain's jigsaw puzzle had been wiped off completely.
And, who the hell was the goddess that kept appearing in his mind's eye?

Meanwhile, 33,000ft over the pacific...

Annabel had had enough. She was going to make the most of her life and stop crying her eyes out for a man that wasn't coming back.
So here she was on delta airlines flight 682B non-stop from St-Lucia to Los-Angeles seated next to a man that looked like he swallowed a pie whole and it got stuck in his throat. His ID-card read H. Kravecki and it looked like he was on a very important business trip.

Dr Goldmeir had called her the other day.
"Hello Annabel my anniberry", he still had the thick Jewish accent.
"Come over to the studio next week and I might have a starring role for you in my upcoming movie ".

She had said an emphatic NO that day.

But here she was on a plane heading to the City of Angels determined to move on with her life and forget about John Hardison.

THE LIE DETECTOR - EPISODE TWO

2015-02-22T07:09:00.003-08:00

John was interrogating a suspect and she got aggressive. O'Conner was knocked out in the ensuing tussle causing John to react. John managed to knock the suspect out and O'Conner needed to be rushed to the hospital ... Find out what happens next!

Meanwhile somewhere across the world....

He always brought her flowers, John was such a charmer, and Annabel mused still in bed. That last shot of brandy really took its toll on her. She was going to be late for work but she smiled, stretched and allowed herself to indulge.

Besides her, someone stirred,' she turned towards the body with a smile that quickly turned into bewilderment.
She jumped out of bed clutching the bed covers and screaming.
"Who the hell are you?”, She quizzed him as he got up in shock . It was hard to believe he had been asleep a few seconds ago.
"Lady, chill out! Don't you remember?”
"Remember what ", She retorted.
"We came back last night, you were too drunk to drive and I brought you home”.
Her eyes opened in shock because she wasn't much of a drinker. So she tried to recall the events of the previous night. But her head hurt like crazy. She shook her head trying to clear her thoughts.
"And then what happened?", she asked him .
He was still lying down naked with an annoying grin on his face.
Gosh, He looked good! , she thought as she allowed her gaze to linger for a few seconds before reluctantly dragging it back to his face.
"Well, you asked me to spend the night and emmm... You kept calling me john ", He said laughing.
"You were pretty wild yesterday", "Whew", he exclaimed. "Best night of my life” he said with a wink.
"Talk about a woman on a mission”, he added.
Oh God! She thought, “What have I done?".
"Okay, mister…"
"Ralph", he supplied.
"Yeah Ralph; please get your things and leave. I have to get to work and I am not in the mood to handle all of this”, she said gesturing to the bed and waving her hands in exasperation .
He looked like he was going to argue but something in her eyes apparently warned him against it .

He dragged his body out of the bed and started dressing up slowly.
"Hurry up", she said without thinking. Something she regretted immediately. "I mean I have to get going ", she added hoping it would offer her some form of respite.
He finished dressing and she started walking him to the front door.
All around her little apartment, her clothes were scattered everywhere. Her apartment had been turned upside down. Her panties were on the refrigerator.
"Jesus”, she muttered under her breath.
They got to the door, he turned around and said ,"Call me" with a smile she was sure she would have done a round house kick were her heart under a different circumstance .
She replied calmly and said "Sure, why not? “ And then she slammed the door before he could say another word.
She turned and sped into her bathroom, scrubbing and cleaning herself furiously trying to wash away all evidences of last night’s encounter. She broke down in tears in the shower, curled herself into the fetus position as the water streamed over her body.
"John”, she whispered.
"John".

Somewhere on the shores of an unnamed beach, the waves had washed a little red box ashore with the words inscribed boldly on the surface of the golden circle inside it .
"To Annabel, 'Love you forever ‘, John

THE LIE DETECTOR - EPISODE ONE

2015-02-22T06:33:00.004-08:00

From the sound of her voice, I could tell she was lying.

I watched her intently from behind my dark shades trying my best to spook her.

She kept on explaining as I focused on the emotions spewing from every sound she made.

‘Desperation’, ‘anger’, ‘fear’, 'confusion'

No Scratch that ... It was something else ... Something I couldn't place my hands on but I could bet my last dime she was hiding something.

The way she shifted her weight unconsciously where she sat, the way she struggled with her words catching her breath every now and then as if heaving a sigh of relief

She was actually doing a pretty good job with all the theatrics .If only she knew I couldn't actually see her.

The door opened and detective O’Connor entered the room.

"How's it going john?", he clipped.

I smiled and said as calmly as I could, “she’s lying”.

The lady sprung up knocking back her chair.

I could tell she was angry... O’Connor reaches for his gun almost immediately.

"Get on the ground now”, I heard O’Connor speak with authority.

I remained seated trying my best not to look alarmed.

"Ma’am, don't force me to use this”

“Get on your knees", he repeated.

The lady paused weighing her options, I could feel her staring me in the face .

"Ma’am, I’m warning you”, O’Connor repeated.

She stood there and all of a sudden let out a scream and lunged forward.

The gun went off as I heard a shrieked sound.

My senses began tingling as they went into overdrive.

I searched for my stick as I turned on my hearing aid

In the tussle, someone must have knocked it to the ground. Instinct prompted me to get on my knees and start searching but the soldier in me warned me to stay put.

‘Click’, I heard the sound of the gun as its heated nozzle was pressed against the back of my head filling me with pain

I didn't have to second guess as I figured O’Connor was on the receiving end of the gunfire.

I spun around swiftly knocking the gun from her and knocking her out in one move.

I reached for my special handcuffs as I chained her to the edge of the table... "You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law ‘, I said.

Outside the door, I could hear the bomb squad struggling to get in.

"I need a medic!"

"I need a medic!” I screamed as I checked O’Connor for his pulse.

Rage of the Invaders: Chapter 2 Dust Devils, Sand Storms Cont.

2015-02-22T03:59:00.001-08:00

A figure stood on a balcony, the amber hued streaks of Dusk's fading light bathed it and cast long shadows across the marbled terrace of a dimly lit room. Looking across the expanse of land that was Castle Wild, it held in its gaze a scene of despair. Arrayed over the southern walls of Castle Wild on the barren plains camped the host of an invading army... that's if you called standing still for days camping..the figure mused silently. Their dark armor glistened lazily in the dissipating rays of sundown, banners danced wildly in the dusty wind as a westerly blew across the plains. Their discipline was remarkable these Cabinians, for two suns they had stayed in those columns - wind whipped and sand blasted yet not a sound had escaped their ranks, no envoy had been sent either, whoever headed these forces was obviously not here for small talk...perhaps the Queen had overreached herself? Shrugging off the blasphemous thought the figure turned and stepped into the room, its back to the light, the dimly lit room chased away the shadows on its features revealing a lithe curvaceous figure clothed in boiled leather the color of night.

' Checking out the competition Ezay?' Came a voice from the darker recesses of the room.

Ezay tilted her head, the motion dropped away her cloak and exposed a lock of hair the hue of blood partially covering her pale but refined features. Recognition flickered through amber hued eyes,

'Harkon Frost, I knew I smelled a rat'

A figure stepped out from the gloom, bleached white hair and steel gray eyes regarded her with a bored look, a ghost of a smile lingered on his bearded mug,

'You do me much honor comparing me to such noble creatures Ezay, alas that I had the time to flirt with you but the queen requests your person, perhaps we can shift our romance for some other day?

She was by his side in a flash, a hand on his shoulder, no time to react her unusual strength forced him to his knees.

'You might have the queen blindsided, but make no mistake, I know what you are Harkon Frost'.

Frost chuckled softly, 'Your sadistic self is also equally stimulating my dear firebird, I'd love for this to go on but you must make haste to the queen lover'

The hand left his shoulder, a grunt of disgust and she was gone. Frost straightened slowly, the place where her hand rested on his shoulder smoldered and crackled as a small fires begun to erupt on the treated leather harness that held his bastard sword. Shaking his head, Frost walked across to the balcony and gazed across the walls where an invading army massed in the evening gloom. He unbuckled the harness and let the sword fall to the floor....Such beauty wasted he mused but such was the way of things wasn't it?

A shame really that everything wasn't what it seemed....a smile broke slowly upon his lips as he once again stared at the invading army.

... ... ... ...

When Haras was a child growing up on the streets of Wildonia, every dawn she would run to the base of the great walls and stare up at the lofty heights..waiting, anticipating the yellow flag hoisting that would signal the procession of the High Queen from the castle to the city gathering where surrounded by her Ferai, she would undertake the morning rituals of cleansing. Haras would then speed along the Queen's route, trying to catch a glimpse of the Queen and her legendary Ferai. It was on one of such days when she sped along the streets, her little feet kicking up dust and echoing from the walls of the old city that she had run into a Ferai. He towered over her in an armor of shinny ebony and mail fittings, a wicked scar ran from the base of his neck to rest on his chin, although just twelve blue suns herself and petite of stature Haras felt that this man was definitely the tallest human she had laid eyes on. Flat greenish eyes watched her from deep within the pits of a pronounced forehead. In a voice that sounded like grating stone he said
'The Queen will see you now'

Her life had changed that day, on this same day a few fourteen blue suns ago. She had been adopted by the Queen, made a heiress and now she sat upon the throne of Castle Wild, her once great city now a thing of mockery to the great cities of the east, once an impenetrable fortress of lore now dared to be out under siege by a riffraff army led by peculiar elements of her past. What she failed to acknowledge however was that perhaps it was her very actions to bring the Castle Wild back to its lofty peaks amongst the eastern great cities that inevitably led to its present predicament. Failing to win over the favor of the city deity, she had resorted to dark arts to bind its will to her commands, even resorted to communion with forces of the nether. For a grander cause she told herself for without the blessing of the city deity the Castle would not flourish. Mostly blinded by her efforts to resurrect the glory of the once great city, the citizenry failed to question just why the deity refused the new Queen. Wasn't she rightfully chosen by the former Queen? No it had fallen to outsiders to ask the right questions and now the hand that knocked on the door had finally given way to a shoulder charge. The infant empire of Cabina had decided to make its move after refusal of several inquiries to the throne. She saw through their false promises of aid and support, they wanted her throne! Just another battle amongst numerous campaigns, just another city to crush and absorb, but she wouldn't let them, she would rather take her city to the gates of nether than suffer occupation.

Haras Evid D'Gartaine, sat upon the throne, a dozen of her Ferai knelt before her in the throne room, each of them easily worth a hundred seasoned veterans, her calm demeanor reflected in their solid presence. The city would hold, it had to...until she was ready.

'Any news on our friends beyond the gate?' She drawled, helping herself to fruit marinated in sour wine.

Efay O'zernice stood slowly, brushing her mane of long golden hair from her face, she faced the queen.

'As you suspected, they are Cabinians..our forces on the wall say they saw the standard of a black Vorian bull leading the vanguard...more intelligence now available to us gave us a name...Tare Erathos'

A slight frown flashed across the Queen's flawless features but was quickly replaced by a bored look. She eased another fruit between her lips and bit into its juicy innards savoring the explosion of sweet nectar.

'If Tare is here then another is close by but we need not fear anything from him...he has no hold here.

Efay gave a sharp nod and another figure stepped forward Osab en Kar, his gray armor shimmered betraying sorceries invested in its forge-foundations.

'The matter about the' - a distant explosion cut him short, rushing to the windows were several of the Ferai, Gaskl Puo turned to the Queen a disgusted look on his face.

'They are upon us'

Rage of The Invaders: Chapter 2: Dust Devils and Sand Storms

2015-02-20T06:46:00.001-08:00

Across the desert plain a westerly wind had picked up, it whipped sand and dust in a frenzy coating armor and sword in a thin layer of dust and mixing with sweat to become grime. The would be battlefield of Wildons stood still, the scene sparked a feeling of deja vu forcing an image of a painting from Tare Eratho's childhood upon his thoughts. He remembered sitting across the large parlor of his family's manor in the highlands of Northern Cabina, the sound of his sister's singing drifting through the cracks of the tempered oil wood lining the walls and his mother's cooking supplying its usual rich aroma sent pleasant smells wafting up from the pantry...he sat in the parlor staring at the oil painting of a battlefield, an artistic portrayal of the doom skirmishers arrayed in several ranks against the chaotic dark forces of the nether, the artist had captured every single detail in his work and Tare could just make out the expressions of many a man and the feral grins of the nether demons..a hand on his shoulder roused him from his reverie, he turned to stare into the eyes of Nepiroth D' Zilo.. barely twenty two blue suns, the youth's eyes were flat and cold - the look of a seasoned veteran that had crawled through the queen of nether's own arsehole...and with Nep, who could really tell?
' Any word?' he asked..

Tare grunted a negative,

'we might as well be fish in a barrel'
came a counter to his left, turning around he lazily acknowledged the presence of Ned D' Cruz. The man had a disturbing trait of being there without being there, a testament of his shady experience in assassination arts. Tare weighed the tension present on the lad's face and shrugged

'we stick with the plan', muttered Tare - his voice gruff and dry from the harsh weather.

Ned sighed audibly and a ghost of a smile traced Nep's features. Standing behind the three, like sentinels carved from granite stood twenty thousand men of southwestern cabina and four hundred of Tare's elite group, the Blacks...their dusk black armor stained with dust, their eyes fixated on a single target to the north where an architectural behemoth rose to pierce the very heavens...Castle Wild, last great fortress of nether ancestry, where the Queen of Wildonia waited and perhaps glory.

A rider sped towards the three figures waiting at the vanguard of the western hosts, deciding that it would be unwise to pull more dust over the field commander, he disembarked and proceeded to walk the last few yards, Tare turned on him before he could give his report.

'let me guess, he wants a direct assault after all?'

'Y..yes sir, he said to tell you on his signal'...
Tare spat a thick wad of phlegm and looked past the rider to the eastern flanks,
'what signal would that be?'

Before the courier could say another word, a piercing wail echoed across the battlefield, followed by an earth shaking explosion of dust and sand. The skies above the plains now glowed a pulsing sickly green hue.

Gathering himself, Tare turned on his elite vanguard,

'Choose where you stand on this day, I deliver to you a blank script in history, write your legend with courage and steel or with piss and fear....your choice!He bellowed

An answering bellow resounded amongst the ranks...

'Nether's balls'!!! Exclaimed Ned as his mount shied and involuntarily took a step back from the raging ranks,

'What on earth did you feed them!?' He hissed, putting a hand on the horse to calm it.

'Focus' came the muffled reply,

Tare had his helm on and in a second had begun charging his mount towards the gates of Castle Wild. Ned and Nep fell in behind him, whipping their mounts in his wake, the idiotic grin of battle lust a permanent stain on their features.

........................

A few leagues away from the vanguard, Troll Nihil stood coughing, covered in fumes.

'Damnit woman! Can't you aim that thing properly for once!?

Deejah Dessark, yawned and resumed picking her nails with a slim dagger. Irked, Troll shook off the colored fumes while nursing the notion that the witch might really be trying to kill him, Klaus Vergo stood aside suppressing a laugh, Troll noted his failing efforts

'It's good to see you're in good spirits Klaus cause we'll need a happy hand for rearguard duty'.

The humor promptly drained from the commander's face.

Heh, that will teach the bastard. Troll looked back towards the castle and could make out through the dust the charging figures of Tare, Ned and Nep leading the vanguard followed by the main army.
Mounting his horse, he took a moment to check his weapons and bindings, his sword rested secured on his back and the numerous fighting daggers he carried were tucked firmly in their sheaths along his thighs. Assured that everything was in order he pulled up next to Klaus and Deejah casting a charming smile

'Well what say you we join the fray?'

Deejah chuckled, 'I'm fine where I am glorious leader, my job is to ensure this battle is free from mage influence'.

Cocky hag... 'Right', he looked at Klaus 'let's go stop the crazy queen from loosing the gates of nether on the world of mankind shall we?',

Klaus looked to make up his mind about something then affirmed his cooperation with a lazy shrug.

Poor fool probably still thinks he has a chance with the enchantress. Troll bit back a suggestion and urged his mount forward.

Together they rode pulling up behind the attacking horde of Cabina's host.

Klaus had that worried look that said he had a question but didn't want to look ignorant asking it so as usual it fell on Troll to guess at his doubt and attempt to clarify them. So speaking aloud Troll said to no one in particular

'Frost and Leon are already within the walls as we speak, we can tear down the southern gate but the inner castle gates will be given to us, Nep and Frost should give us at least that much'

In the horizon Castle Wild pulled closer and the skies suddenly became a flurry of red fiery dots, Troll distractedly muttered,

'brace yourself'.

Nep felt before he saw it, a million quarrels set aflame descending upon the horde, spurring his mount onwards, he caught up with Tare and motioned upwards, Tare spared a glance at the descending volley and shrugged. Sighing, Nep slowed his pace and gave the signal for shields and watched as column's of the charging infantry pulled up their shields above their heads, not a pace lost in their charge, Nep pulled across his own shield, a leather-metal concave construct of Spotorian design. With one hand on the reins, he managed to bring the shield to bear...a pity he couldn't do much for the horse, if the beast survived the volley he wouldn't have to continue on foot. The whispers of the quarrels slicing through the air was now clearly audible across the plains, Nep spared a second to glance at Ned and realized the assassin was no where to be seen but his mount remained charging on oblivious of the absence. Ned swore silently...'damned assassin'. Half a heartbeat later, the first screams of pain tore through the steady monotony of the charge, men fell where quarrels had found their way through gaps in the shield cover, several horses shied and tumbled tossing lucky riders into the air, the unlucky ones fell tumbling with their mounts but the charge tore on becoming a creature of itself like all mad suicidal dashes are wont. Nep grunted as a series of quarrels pelted against his shield, the impact slightly jarring his arm with every hit, miraculously his mount still tore on having received no wounds from the barrage, smiling for that small mercy and feeling the battle lust rise again he let out a bellow that was caught and echoed by the maniacal vanguard columns. Riding ahead Tare turned his head at the war cries, a feral grin just visible underneath his dark helm marked his dark features and cast an unhinged look into his eyes...his voice thundered over the din of the charge

'Keep your gods close men but your blade closer!!!

A cacophony of roars and cheers rippled through the charging columns. Nep tried to fight against the madness that threatened to engulf him as it had the entire vanguard, his heart beat roared within his chest, he found he was holding his sword in his guiding arm, his mount thundered onwards as if the beast itself needed no guidance to its destination, an alien feeling swept over him then, he felt detached from reality but this was nothing new to him or to any veteran of the Dark Brigade, arguably the most ferocious infantry warriors south of Cabina but the Darks were just glorified grunts without their war leader......Tare Erathos, a legend amongst warriors. it was said, worshipped as a war god. A mortal manifestation of the god Borukai.

Nep chuckled besides himself, true Tare was the finest swordsman he'd ever known but a god? No...that title belonged to someone else.

The castle's main gates rose quickly into view.

'Seige Squad' roared Tare and the leading vanguard column in arrowhead formation split into two - from the separation emerged a special unit 'Tier Zero'. They cradled an alchemic weapon in their hands, the maw of its dark barrel glowed a faint greenish hue..Nep reflexively closed his palms over his ears and not a second too soon, a high pitched explosion sucked all sound from the battlefield.....ahead the southern walls of Castle Wild shivered from the impact and Nep could make out figures dive, screaming from the battlements and walls...the southern gate was a thing of broken timber and stone.

'Charge!!!!' Came a bellow from behind him and he turned to see Troll and Klaus mad grins on their faces bearing down on him. Turning, he spurred on his mount, they were maniacs every one of them.

The RIFT

2015-02-20T02:38:00.001-08:00

Crack !!!..... That was all he remembered. Cole opened his eyes to the dim light of a cold mouldy room, struggling to his feet he tried to get his bearings right, his head throbbed crazily his assailant must have really done a number on him. "Box 252" came the call from the loud speaker over head and the the sound of the door opening. Something's up, Cole thought, he felt different more alert, he has always been an alert person having been the youngest person to get to the rank of colonel in the army at 32, the head of the special forces 35, yes Cole Rogers was special extremely special. But now things felt way different, entering the room was a man he had only known as commander, heard of him while on a mission to the Negev to free French and American tourists from the hands of some terrorist group that called themselves WILLOW, He headed this small but special group of soldiers brought from special forces around the world, his mind wandered.... OK now he was back into the room, the commander walked in and dropped a file on a table, "how did that table get there?", he wondered. "Cole...!", he was instantly jolted back to reality... "Yes?... What am I doing here?.... Where is this place?" he asked in quick succession, " It will one to you in due time, son, for now we just need to check your vitals, you seemed to have gained more muscle mass since I last saw you after the serum was administered"... The serum??? He thought... What serum?..."Son, I know you're wondering what serum, like I said in due time for now let's check your vitals".
Thirty thousand feet above the Indian Ocean, lunch was being served on a white G650 owned by the Windsor Family and Trey the adopted and only surviving heir to the Windsor Holdings was on his way to Tokyo. He remembered when Jason Windsor and the wife saw him as a 3 year old on a beach abandoned and crying, this was the 6 richest family on the face of the earth, how lucky could a guy get, Jason and Marilyn didn't have or couldn't have a child so to them this was a blessing. "Don't let them sign that deal James, I'll touchdown in 2hrs....yes yes I know... Stall them!! " he was speaking on the Sat phone, Trey had a nack for getting what he wanted he went for it, joined the army after High school, entered the special forces at 27 through influence, but showed great wit and endurance and that was what gave him the respect of not just being a spoil sport in the special forces after all he was the only person to hit a target 3000yards out. In a few minutes the G650 touched down in Narita International Airport.........

To be continued Next week Friday

A Mans' World

2014-08-15T03:35:00.002-07:00

A Mans' World

A Short Story by The Southern Cross

Published by Troll

Man, Cafe is hot today oh.

Everyone here is sweating. Good thing I’m wearing just this tee shirt. Thank God dad bought it for me when he went to Yankee. It’s so fresh!

Those chics are standing near that Ice cream girl again. Don’t they ever have anything better to do? That tall yellow one that is always forming like she doesn’t see anybody. See her shakara. Nonsense.

So what do I do now? This Cafe sef. I don’t even know why I keep on coming here. I guess joblessness can be a bitch in heels sometimes.

Should I buy food? Hmm...

I won’t lie, I’m tired of that stupid mixed rice. Bashan? Maybe that tall yellow girl will see me buying it and notice me. Chai! O boy, what are you saying? You only get 700 naira for pocket. If you chop Bashan because of woman, you know say na garri for two days.

Ok, ok, maybe I can buy a drink. Limca might make brain right now. Wait first. If I buy Limca, that other babe standing at the drinks place wearing a djellaba would see me and think I’m broke. But if I buy Chi Exotic –

Come on, boy, MOVE! Those ice cream chics are staring at you like you’re a werewolf baby. How long have I been standing here? Chin up, chest out! No, no, don’t look at them. Damn it! I think she caught me looking. Oya, just walk.

Easy, easy. Just pull the swagger, hand in pocket. Nice one. O boy, you look fly, no worries. Good, I can’t see them again. Whew. Why was that light-skinned one looking at me like that though? I’m sure she was feeling my shirt. Hmm! Guy, you’re just too fresh. Ehen, where was I going again? Maybe –

Oh my Gosh!

She’s here! She’s here, next to the drinks place! Oh no. Why now? For the past one week I’ve been wearing my best combos, and the day she now decides to show up is the day I’m wearing this useless tee shirt, looking terribly scruffy. Did I use perfume? Okay, yes. Just imagine if I hadn’t randomly decided to brush my teeth this evening.

See how my heart is beating. This girl oh. And she has no idea what she’s doing to me. I’m always forming I can’t see her when she walks past me in college. Even when our eyes meet, I don’t even smile at her. I hope she doesn’t think I don’t send her oh. But wait, isn’t it better if she does...?

Ah, she hasn’t seen me. She’s smiling at something. Oh, look at those perfect pearly whites! She’s so fine, and she doesn’t act like she has even the slightest idea of this. I must talk to her today. I must say something.

Man, you’re getting closer to her. Is my heart beating faster? Maybe this isn’t such a good idea. I mean, I could always see her again at the college. You know, talk to her there. It might be better...

Guy! Your liver don dey fail oh! Just go and meet her! Talk to her. It’s you now. You can think of something witty to say.

Wait, slow down. Who’s that boy standing next to her? Maybe he’s just standing really, really close to her by mistake.

Omo, I think he’s talking to her. Chai, she’s smiling at him. Did she just touch his cheek? Ah! In Cafe?! That must be her new boyfriend. See? I knew I should have talked to her since. See how they’re laughing now. That could have been me. Instead, I am here standing in the middle of Cafeteria One like an imbecile. Fuck me! I better go and jeje-ly buy my mixed rice and two beef.

But wait oh. Who’s that girl joining them? She’s hugging the guy! Ode, that’s her guy. Look. They’re walking away hand in hand.

Okay, she’s alone now. Hands in pockets, look cool. Slow down though. Don’t rush to her. Take your time. You’re a big boy, remember?

Jesus! Did she just look at me? Oh my God, let me die now!

Guy, get a hold of yourself. You’re a man, and you’re twelve feet from an impossibly beautiful Greek goddess in human flesh. Hang on. That thought’s not helping. At all.

Yowzer! She’s smiling in my direction! No, it can’t be at me. There must some fine, rich boy next to me that she’s smiling at. No one on my left. No one to my right. Omo, it’s you she’s smiling at oh.

Smile back you moron! Not like that. God, I must look like a starved hyena. I better close my mouth before I make her run away. Walk straight; she can’t see you walk anyhow oh!

Ye! What am I going to say? I can’t be dumb enough to say something as boringly stupid as ‘Hi’. No, think quick, you’ll be in front of her in about 3 seconds.

(Hey you) No, too boring!

(I saw you standing by yourself and thought I could keep you company) Too long!

(I couldn’t resist the charms of an angel) Kai! No be Nollywood you dey!

(Fine night, isn’t it?) No it’s not, it’s HOT you idiot!

(You’re the sky and I wish I could be your sun) Hahahaha! Ode.

(I love you so much) Are you crazy?!

Open your mouth, she’s here. Say something. Anything! She’s smiling at you, waiting for you! Okay, okay, I know what to say. Perfect. Take a deep breath –

“Hi, Adannaya.”

Ah fuck.

^v^v^ Southern Cross ^v^v^

The Killers' Mirth

2014-07-30T09:16:00.003-07:00

The Killers' Mirth

Guild Wars of Cabina

By J.R.Trollan

Pale rays of moonlight cut through the storm clouded night of Cabina, breaking the foggy darkness of the Deadwood night but doing little to the ghastly chill that clung to the forest like a parasite to its host- an eternal cold, the ever present reminder of the legacy of Deadwood. A thousand atrocities committed eons past had led to the morbid present of Deadwood; an ever present silence haunted the forest, the trees- frozen in time, a mere mockery of life once present, all life had fled its borders and only the Guild remained screaming a muted defiance to all that Deadwood represented. In the dark of night, a shadow cut silently through the static mist that blanketed the grounds of the Guild. Cloaked in shadow, blade in hand, Ifay Frost strode through the night mist- the chill sleeping into his bones and his body registering its presence and ignoring it- there were far more trivial things to attend to. Heightening his senses by a subtle twist of carnus and shade afia, he was able to see clearer than most would in cloudless midday. Frost was a mystery in a guild full of other mysterious elements; a man with virtually an untraceable past, he was rumored to have been trained as an assassin from the very moment of his birth by the Northern Queen, it was also rumored that he hailed from the old relics of Martius Deinan: an Assassin Guild more myth than truth. To his credit, Frost had held no claims to truth in such rumors but then again….never did he reject them.

Being one of the two who had returned with Troll Nihilis from the wastelands, no questions about his loyalty were in doubt and as with Frost, no answers were offered. A sudden flick, the faintest of sounds brought Frost to a halt- his prey had been wonderful so far, he almost felt sorry that they’d made a mistake-probably a rookie amongst the group- so far, he had struggled to pick up their trail for twenty parts of a minute since splitting with Cruz. That was a record time for anyone to put him off for-they should be proud-. Casting off his shadow cloak, he unsheathed his ebony clad long sword, felt its balance sit comfortably in his calloused palm, let his fingers find their notches in the horse-hide grip and slashed downwards – cutting through the mist as the blade hummed a hollow tune. A satisfied smile crossed his dark features- Wrath felt good in his arms tonight, the sword was not sentient but it lusted after blood like a northern fanged Faethra Wolf.

Silent as the wind and as deadly as what it could conceal, Frost tore into the night.

.............................................................................................................................................

The Falling Sleep...Odd name for a technique mused Ned. A millennia of secret shadow afia assassination techniques known only to the most elite of Shadows' children, swift in execution and ruthless in precision. Ned Cruz D'la Grey had met a Shadow spawn once before and not on congenial terms, he hadn't been impressed. A side step let him evade the multiple shadow blade illusions that caused the same mental damage their physical counterparts effected. His hands in a blur of motion pumped twice and two figures dropped to stone, a coal dagger embedded in between now lifeless eyes. He had to hand it to these guys, between their sloppy team work and poor skill perception they knew their stuff. The Watcher had laid several layers of shadow afia bindings strong enough to immobilize a small Hedran bull but Hedran bulls didn't have his gift, he had spared the traps a few minute parts of his concentration just enough time however for the four Shadow spawn shade-lurking to emerge and carry out their technique. Noting the impending danger, he had acted reflexively, no that would be a lie, he had acted out of habit and he hated times like these when he had to depend on his cursed ability to rescue him from deaths' rotting clutches. However, those times had been on the recent increase since joining the Deadwood Guild, a constant reminder of just how dangerous the life he had choose to live could become. Once in awhile, he'd fancy himself buying a small cottage in the outlands, finding a wife and raising a goat farm or cultivating crops; the good easy peaceful life but no, he had to be born with these eyes. These accursed eyes that nothing could hide from, even now he had seen several weak points in their chosen pattern of attack- The cardinal execution techniques, a simultaneous attack from major cardinal points; north, south,east and west and depending on how good they were, their margin of error and deviation would be somewhere under zero point one percent. However, such margins and figures meant little to Ned as his eyes plotted out several shortcomings of the attack, his body had been in motion before his eyes finished their transmission. Dispatching the southern and eastern assailants with daggers, he dropped on all fours assuming a squat, sent a stream of afia energy pouring into his thighs and winced as muscles screamed their protest at the excess inhuman strength. Sights locked on the impending northern and western attackers, he released the pent up energy and felt the joyous relaxation of tendons and ligaments as they exploded in a wave of inhuman energy thrusting him forward in a furious blitz. Twisting his body while riding the wave, he was in their midst within a thought- his afia enhanced fists found poorly armored flesh and punched through, breaking bone to organs beneath. Still spinning, his momentum lifted the body along flinging it furiously into the path of the northern assailant, a sickening thump ensured as rapidly accelerating mass met accelerating mass in a fleshy collision of meat and bone.

Grunting as always from the use of Carnus-Shadow afia, Ned carried out a status check; he was at thirty percent, stained with blood and pieces of what he guessed was lung and kidney, a finger throbbed probably broken, where he had awkwardly applied Carnus afia to punch through the watchers' skull earlier and he was hungry. Grunting and surveying the carnage, he made a mental note to remind the necromagu that knew materials were available and he melted into shadow.

ORIGINS: Nepiroth Darioth Zilo

2014-06-30T09:44:00.000-07:00

ORIGINS: Nepiroth Darioth Zilo

Tales from Cabina

The forest loomed ahead as several dark figures tore through the early morning mist of eastern Cabina. They crossed a span of green forest vegetation before emerging on the edge of a large glade. Silent as shadows, they sped towards the ring of trees situated in the middle of the glade. This particular patch work of forest was unique in the sense that all the trees were stone dead; the locals had spun a plethora of tales about their origins; some said they had been dead since the beginning of time, others said a Ult-afia Mage had cursed the land and all who dwelt within, some even said it was the passage way for the dead into the underworld, whatever the legends, the dead trees stood- sentient, gnarled and glowing dull grey in the moonlight of Cabina. The infamous nature of theirs had earned this patch of land the name Deadwood and possibly even more infamous was the guild that called it home.

The guild house was a massive edifice that slowly rose amongst the taller trees of deadwood. It was built in early times by the original lords of the glade back when the land still breathed life. It boasted a large guild hall, forty and five living quarters, eating quarters with marble lined walls, and several underground caverns that could serve as training quarters.

The shadows sped between dead trees; their passage noted only by a soft rustle in the wind and their weapons bound with shade-afia to mute the clanking of metal and gleam of silver. A figure amongst them gave a signal and watched as they broke formation, fanning out into groups of twos; lethal as shadow, they were the lost guilds of Cabina, the dark secrets and untold heroes hidden behind the epic tales and ballads of all great legends of Cabina, always behind the scene, always un-witnessed but that was from a different time. Now they existed as shattered fragments; torn from the shadows by the very country they served, made to work for money and loosing whatever pride they had in their profession, they had been made vague- like a fleeting dream that sped from memory…but Osab En Kahr would see it all change-they would rise again! Not as the petty assassins they were now…no! They would become the night once more, the legends of old spoken to him by his grandfather Udmas En Kahrl the last testament to a forgotten people as he underwent his rites of passage, the wise one had grabbed him by the elbow, kissed his eyelids and in a ritual of old, placed upon him the shade-afia. Giddy from the memory, Osab sent out the last signal for the attack, he would usher in the new age of shadows and it would begin tonight.

Nep Zilo had always been a special case, born as the only son to the most powerful dark mage in Cabina; Carnes Nix, Nep was to be sacrificed by his father to the nether demon Lacirith in exchange for dark knowledge and power. The demon had claimed the child’s soul but returned no knowledge or power to his father. Consumed with wrath at this deceit, Carnes Nix flew into a rage creating a blind-afia that bound the demon to the empty flesh of his son while severing his son’s soul from the maelstrom within the demon. The demon had lashed back, killing Nix in the process but the afia took hold even after the casters’ death. The effect of this afia had unseen consequences as all afia born of unfettered emotion usually do; for the early periods of his life, Nep had shared his body with a remnant soul of a demon persona that called itself Alob. It wasn’t very long until he realized that the demon while granting him unlimited access to dark afia also took possession of his life force further entangling its soul with Neps’. Nep knew he had to do something and fast, he sojourned in the wastelands for three moon years and on his seventeenth moon year, he created an afia he called Uboros that bound the demon Alobs’ soul with his life force forcing it to feed from its immortal life span. Nep became immortal but the sheer power of using the afia had venomous side effects, he could barely walk and as he lay on the dry desert dying slowly, visions of the nether world driving him to the brink of sanity, he remember fragments of his mother Riha Zilo. Clinging to these memories for sanity, it was in this state that he was found by Troll Nihil who had ventured out to the wastelands years before.

A few years later Nep, Troll, Tarey and Klaus became the founding members of The Spot- a guild created by Trolls’ grandfather.

Something was wrong; Nep could feel afia alien to the wood. He sat cross-legged on a rug in a room on the highest point of the guild. Breaking his reverie, he stood and walked to a balcony that overlooked the western and northern plains of the guild grounds. Probing with a mental net of afia, he prodded the dead vegetation until he found what had triggered his interest. Moving like wind through the trees, where thirty shade-aspect afia energies, their motion depicted stealth and precision. He was impressed they had some skill coming this far unnoticed especially since Klaus was out on perimeter duty, shaking his head sadly he knew this was where their luck ended.; the guild had a full house today, all eighteen members accounted for and eager for blood-the fools could not have come at a worse time. Sensing no Omega level mage amongst them, he yawned and returned to his rug…it was going to be a long day.

Down a few floors in the guild, Ifay Frost and Ned Cruz, shared a knowing look quietly left their drinks and the rowdy guild hall where Leo Niel and D.L brawled, tossing chairs and tables in their wake. Outside they pulled on their hoods and vanished into shadow.

Rage of the Invaders pt.2

2014-06-23T02:56:00.000-07:00

Guild Wars

Rage of the Invaders

Troll

7/20/2114

‘One must not speak when silence serves one the same purpose’

-Anonymous-

……………………………………

Two figures sat on rot-eaten roof tiles a dozen man heights above the city. The building offered little respite from the rage of the incoming storm that slowly encroached upon the southern territories of Cabina this time every season. The chill of the wind did nothing to cool the raging fire resident in the steel grey eyes observing Troll Nihil.

‘Sometimes, the answers we seek are more confusing than the questions that birthed them old friend’

Troll spoke to no one and everyone at the same time, a speech disorder from his years in the wastelands or a feigned ploy at madness? One could not be certain; no with any of Nihil descent, one could never be certain. Steel grey eyes watched as Troll pulled closer his cloak, adjust his balance on the roof as a fresh chill crept into the wind, rattling loose tiles. Troll watched as one such tile slid towards the edge clipping others loose and soon seven more tiles slid in its wake each tumbling over the edge of the building into the dark alley below, their shattering sounds muffled by the roar of the wind. The eyes briefly registered passing amusement on the shadowed features of the guild lord. Grunting, the man they belonged to spat into the wind and cursed- Tarey Sorrin was not a patient man, used to having his way and raising havoc to establish it, diplomacy was the last thing on his mind but today Nihil had approached him after the war council, pulled him to a corner and told him of a meeting with leaders of the Wild Ones. The fact that Nep and Klaus weren’t even here made the whole affair reek of hidden intentions and a weakness that Tarey had suspected Troll possessed now lay ominous begging to surface.

Sensing multiple converging presences, his musing dispersed and dual silver blades caught on lights far below glistened half a second later- ‘Sheath your toys Tarey’ came Trolls’ bored reply as both turned and a shift in the wind heralded the presence of six more figures on the roof.

Tarey recognized two of them before they even spoke – Seras Haras alias Leanan Sidhe; High-guild priestess and founder of the Wild-Ones guild, Chief deserter of the now defunct Spot Guild, Seductress and Sorceress, Mistress of the Unbound and most importantly an old acquaintance of Troll Nihil, the second cloaked figure on her left would be Eszay Rei; Mistress of the High-Afia, Oracle of the Wild-Ones, word on the street was that relations between she and Haras were strained. Nevertheless, the fact that she was here was a major pain in the ass as far as Tarey was concerned. If Seras was here, then Southern Cross would not be far behind-definitely not among the cloaked trash shadowing Haras and Eszay-their sorry excuse for bloodlust could be likened to a pups’ hunger for the teats of its mother…no Southerns’ malevolence was of a darker oft indifferent vein, besides he wasn’t one for large audiences. Inadvertently, Tareys’ grip tightened on his blades as he cursed Troll once again for bringing him here. The newcomers regarded them a bit too clinically for Tareys’ comfort, he was about to speak when Seras Haras broke the silence, her voice pitched just enough to be heard above the raging storm but liquid enough to stir desires in lesser men.

‘Hello boys, I dare express my slight distaste for the waste of such a lovely night fit for more physical endearing activities than this rooftop convocation. I further reiterate on my distaste for your choice of location Troll dearest, I’d had thought one such as you would prefer a more clandestine meet for the both of us but alas I had foresight dare I say intuition that this would not be the case and so I made necessary adjustments to my retinue- she finished with a heart stopping smile.

'I swear'! Thundered Tarey ‘its either this cow has no tongue or there’s an afia for talking that much!’

Seras approached, a vicious grin splitting her faultless features.

‘Well if it isn’t the tyrant maggot of Deadwood! I was wondering what you were doing here but seeing as this roof is filled rot and decay; it’s obvious you came to feast.

‘just keep talking cow, your time is closer than you think! You and your ragtag band of misfits!

‘Enough!’ said Troll as he stepped between the agitators- Tarey sheathed his blades turning away to stand at the edge while Seras pulled over her cloak, her red-gold hair fell in healthy locks on her shoulders down to her full bosom. Troll made a mental note to find out if she used some sort of afia aspect to make them that big.

‘Well you sure took your sweet time getting here Seras’

‘My apologies Troll dearest, I had some internal drama to play a role in. You do know how much I love a good show’

‘Well whatever, let’s get down to why we are here…did you bring it?’

Troll swore as Seras; manicured fingers slipping into the valley of her gown produced a sealed scroll still warm and perfumed - winking, she handed him the scroll which he opened, memorized the contents and returned.

‘From what I’ve just read, it would seem we have very little time don’t we?

‘You have something mistaken Troll dearest’.

Seras flashed another bewitching smile as she walked back to where Eszay and her guards waited.

‘There’s no ‘we’, just you, the tyrant over there and the rest of the Deadwood guild. We at Wild Ones have more than qualified for the requirements stated and frankly we’re stronger so you’ll need nothing short of a miracle to make the cut.

‘The whore acts as if we are blind to other options’- Tarey spat as he walked to where Troll stood with a wide grin on his face.

Seras froze, a venomous glint in her eyes, her voice level and liquid ice- ‘you wouldn’t dare! That would be suicide!’

Troll smiling and in a similar tone retorted- ‘you don’t get to pick our dares anymore Seras, you lost that right along with whatever trust I had in you when you deserted. You’ve made it clear we are rivals and I believe it’s time we test the validity of that claim. Seras you made a misguided supposition that the Wild Ones were stronger, perhaps an illusion created by the size and bulk of its guild roster. You forget however that Deadwood is not the Spot guild. Goodnight Seras Haras and Eszay Rei we shall meet again’.

Tareys’ laughter tore through the rage of the storm as Troll opened a trans-afia portal and briefly stepped through. The Tyrant stared down the venom present in the eyes of the enraged guild head.

‘War comes whore, war comes'

Rage of the Invaders

2014-06-11T00:31:00.001-07:00

Guild Wars

Rage of the Invaders

Troll

7/20/2114

‘They came as ghosts and demons did they return’

Deviant Prime 92

The Latter Wars

Echoes

awns’ early light tore through the flimsy partitions of the command tent casting the insides in a pallid amber hue dulled by the lingering mist of a chilling night. Privy to the events of a night before, six hooded figures sat across a wooden table of spartan design. I am one of the six and this is not my idea of a pleasant morning. Events of the night before had ended my string of lazy days at the camp. My name is Troll Nihil and I am a member of one of the strongest war guilds in the Kingdom of Cabina.

A hundred years ago during the great siege of Anhilis on the outer territories of Cabina. A group of mercenaries were created by the then High Vozul of Eastern Cabina High Regent Anhilis Lorst. They were created to form a guerilla unit that would act as a thorn in the side of the besieging forces. The strategy worked, the attackers were caught in a war on both fronts- at night the annoying raids of the mercenary band and in daylight by the honor guard of Cabina. It wasn’t long before they succumbed and fled the lands. The High Regent was pleased, so pleased that he established an act - one that allowed the creation of registered war guilds to serve as security extensions of the military. In a few years, dozens of guilds had sprung up all over Cabina. However, these guilds grew so strong that Cabinas’ military might spread far beyond its borders…it wasn’t long before business became bad for the guilds. With the increased and famed military might of Cabina, wars became few and far between, more and more guilds disbanded due to insufficient funding from a Kingdom that was fast seeing them as a nuisance. With no wars to fight and few contracts coming from the wealthy citizens, guilds became embittered and turned their ire inwards amongst themselves. This opened the era of the Latter Wars, guild against guild, brother against brother. The High Regent did nothing to stem the bloodshed however, It didn’t take long for the violence to attract the usual patrons of chaos and blood within the Kingdom. The rich and powerful had grown fond of the ‘sport’ as they called the senseless slaughter of individuals formerly sworn to protecting the kingdom with their very lives. They pumped gold into the bloodletting and placed colossal bets on the side for battles between guilds. For the guilds however, things couldn’t be any better- they were being paid again and with more motivation they strove to better their skills. The stronger guilds soon absorbed the weaker ones to grow even larger. Battles between the strong guilds were always highly anticipated and soon guild wars were legalized and measures were created to lessen the mortality rate. It wasn’t long before the general public got in on the act and heroes were raised and songs made about their exploits in the wars.

My Grandfather Regis Nihil was one of such heroes. Celebrated throughout the five cities he single handedly brought down the twin guilds of Daertha- a demonic sect that used necro-afia on their members to deaden pain and whatnot but that’s a story for another time. I grew up worshiping him, I mean wouldn’t you? He soon retired from active guild duty and decided to buy a small guild located in his birth-town. I guess it was on a whim because no small upcoming guild came up for long without being absorbed or snuffed out by the power guilds. He bought it anyway and I can remember clearly that day out in the fields beyond the manor, I was playing guilds with Tarey Sorrin, Nep Zilo and Klaus Varen - we all attended the same war academy – Guilds was a strategy board game based on arc-afia, a movement spell that animated the wooden pieces on a board designed to simulate a battle field. I looked on in dismay as minute forces charged across the board to encroach on my territories. Nep had allied with Tarey in a pincer attack concealed by a veil card ruinously picked by Tarey and insolent obnoxious Klaus had not agreed to an alliance. It was my turn to draw a card and the outcome could very well determine the outcome of the game. The grin on their faces could illuminate a thousand planets- trying to ignore them; I steeled myself, reached into the deck with anticipation all the while mumbling a litany against ill luck and as my fingers brushed the surface of the card, my breath caught in my throat and with a subtle firm tug, flipped the whole deck over the board. The result was as I’d planned, the cards tumbled in stacks knocking over the forces arrayed on the board and simultaneously knocking over the memory globe while creating enough distraction for me to dive away into a roll and with gleeful rapture burst into a sprint with the furious duo of Nep and Tarey close on my heels and Klaus looking on. I’d been focused on jeering at them behind me when I ran into my Grandfather; the impact knocked both air and feet away from me, I suspect it was some shield-related afia because I was knocked back into Nep and Tarey as they came up behind me.

Later that day while the four of us sat around a campfire with full bellies watching the stars adorn the night, Grandfather told us a story; a tale of guilds great and small, magical lands leagues away and beyond the frozen mountains, an underwater kingdom and the four cardinal rulers, an evil land far to the north and unsung heroes. There we sat, as tears streamed down our faces for reasons unknown, awe and yearning gripping our tiny hearts threatening to hold them still, and a fire in our eyes that warmed our faces and stole our voices binding us to the immortal promise of adventure and glory and then the tale was at an end.

Grandfather looked to each one of us around the dying embers of the campfire with a smile and said ‘My dear boys you must always understand that dreams will always be dreams until we awake from them’.

The next day, we became Grandfathers’ first guild members and went into training as his little apprentices and since then we’d never had cause to look back.

Fifteen good years later, my brief musings are at and end and we are at war again. The little guild formed by an old man and four scrawny runts is no more. Today we are the infamous Deadwood guild, arguably the strongest guild south of Cabina, we’ve come a long way from fighting and sparring with sticks and third-rate afia.

The climb to the top was anything but easy, we lost Grandfather along the way but all great tales require some sacrifice. We’ve grown now, in size and strength; with three generals, three alpha-level scouts, an omega afia oracle, five honor guard and six acolytes we’ve made it far.

Today we face a dark guild, the Wild Ones, they are thirty strong and have been around for as long as we have. If there was such a thing as rivalry between guilds, they would be our nemesis…or so they would like to think.

I look back into the tent, adjust my hood and return to my place amongst age old friends as Neps’ voice breaks the palpable silence ‘let us begin’.

Cabin in The WOODS!!!

Vie Souterrain

A Rust on the Box

Bloody Matrimony

Monday 5th March 2012

Esera

Detective Cruz

Esera

Detective Cruz

Wednesday 7Th March 2012

Detective Cruz

Esera

Detective Cruz

Friday 9th March 2012

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Detective Cruz

Tuesday 13th march 2012

Esera

Detective Cruz

Friday, 16th March 2012

Esera

The Thousand Mile Meadows

The RIFT 3

The Last Kiss 2

The Last Kiss

Khavinar: The Last Wars

Ubosah: The Songs of the Forest

Rage of The Invaders Chapter 2: Dust Devils and Sand Storms

Rage of The Invaders Chapter 2: Dust Devils and Sand Storms

Rage of The Invaders Chapter 2: Dust Devils and Sand Storms

The Departure of a Legend

The RIFT... Ep2

THE LIE DETECTOR - EPISODE THREE

THE LIE DETECTOR - EPISODE TWO

THE LIE DETECTOR - EPISODE ONE

Rage of the Invaders: Chapter 2 Dust Devils, Sand Storms Cont.

Rage of The Invaders: Chapter 2: Dust Devils and Sand Storms

The RIFT

A Mans' World

A Mans' World

The Killers' Mirth

The Killers' Mirth

Guild Wars of Cabina

By J.R.Trollan

ORIGINS: Nepiroth Darioth Zilo

Rage of the Invaders pt.2

Rage of the Invaders

Friday 9^th March 2012

Friday, 16^th March 2012