"Knock knock." I heard behind me during on of the few stops made.
"Whose there?" I play along the joke.
"Orange?" The sound of someone else that understood how this game worked.
"Orange who?" I step to the side and out of the way for those that were about to walk in.
"Orange you a comedian that going to die." The frist person that knocked, "I wasn't expecting a being that understood knock knock jokes." Walked in with a thin figure… inhumanly like twinged limbs and a trunk torso.
Has a nice seat toward the back with the gossiping gaspers. Next in is a 6 year old hieght girl, pallet white blue dress and navy ribbons all over. Hair back in a pony tail with a bigger dark blue bow as the fasen the hair on spot. Both nightmare creepers are white pale skin and hiding some very sharky headed teeth. Nothing else would best say then they are creepy, especially having eyes that don't look functional staring around. The little girl stands in the servant bay closet to me.
"Long time, hasn't it little blue tit." I commented to the girl when I closed the doors and she studies me in a slow fashion, "Hidding the wings around these mean Clothus, I don't blame you. I too have to hide my fashions." I traced my mask out to her and she giggles, "You would happen to have any local news or town talk?" she nods and waved to whisper, "Not planning to try to bite a ear that doesn't exist?"
I asked and wasn't planning it. Whispered a bunch of detailing to the local power moves and the issues Z (the demon that runs the creep side) been having with this slender tree rival. There being a boom in softer horrors and the growing population having to reorginize a new category factions system. But the overall rule of proxy master's is really taken seriously.
"I fully understand. Thank you." She smiles and pointed my finger to her and casted a little ice magic…creating a little butterfly to flutter and sit on her head. She giggled and it and thanks me. I smile back softly.
"say, where is the poacher these days?"
"I have been tied down with other things as of late, sticking around to protect those I promised." I loudly announced. It turned all eyes over at me by the door, "Since being kicked from the reaper lands, I had to stop trading for worms and such. Rare that I get any client birds like I used to."
"It explains a lot." The thin needle of a figure pointed to me, "You still permitted to hang the forests, you are aware."
"I had considered it. But the bucks there been getting hung by them demon twisters."
"It's the demon twister that need sorting there, Poacher." I hummed about it.
"Not a servant." Some asked the prince I am of obligation to protect, "That isn't your servant?"
"Body gaurds don't have to be servants. His more a hitch hiker some moments a parental weirdo."
"Poacher, right?" Another Clothus, "How are you able to cross over without gear?"
"By shape shifting to more suitable means." I sigh, "Whoever said I was one of you had lied."
"Not a Clothus but you could be a demon. Demons tend to have to wear gear too."
"I am a shape shifter, why bother with such annoyances?" I muttered, "You get the feeling that the Clothus just don't believe me, Blue bird." I can tell she listened and even nods in agreement, "How are you personally little bird? Has blood stain been healthy?"
"Started teaching me how to gut them." She laughed.
"You make sure not to pop the organs as you make the first cut. It's harder to collect the bits then."
"that's a good tip… but the skins like croc's skull thick." I nod with that being a complication.
The mini bus gets off at the crossing port terimals; all the gentleman and title folks off to have their gear combed through a last time. I stayed with being one of the last off the bus, flickering through one my books as I hop off. Fingers dancing about the many pages, turning through reading the newest versions of the laws for the nightmare lands and out from between the pages were things the Damned used to sneak into being among the society. I left some nightmare cash in payment for skimming through the lisenceses sections. The book placed away and back to the ether of which I took it from.
"Poacher, you do me a solid and cough out the Dark merchant a while?" The twigged man put a hand to my shoulder, "Need a little trade off with you."
"Not an issue…" I stepped around him to my storage arranged to fit a store and sunk him through for a little trade. He dropped off a bag of goods for some nightmare cash and its mostly things that restocks my magic supply. This was mostly stacking up the shelving and boxes of crystalized matter.
Back out to the light, we were the last two in the papers checks. But ll I needed was to flash four cards and they waved me away. I gestured about this fella's no return anytime soon and out he was from it. Basically, I flagged him as a out realm whom owns no land here – this clears a lot of the citizen checks that aren't needed for him. I slide my cards away and clicked my neck back a little… I do a last check over the prince for anything… they vacuum out the air from around the main body and that's how they are protected.
It's how I understood it (with making last adjustments to the over gear to be more comfortable).With crossing over the gates, I had to alter as if a mimic of one of them. Hiding among them for now, stood around the prince I have to protect. I seemed as if a minor among the minors, yet this was fine for how I wanted to achive until closer towards the realms we needed to be at.
"Hey a group of Clothus, a pair of nightmares… and maybe a damned?" quite a high ranking demon steps around from the between realms paths just as we stepped off the Clothus realm. Here laws aren't existing on the path itself – only agreements between neighbour's to not upset each other. With the political changes in the gods, the shift of power in realms as also been a little if like.
"What do you want?"
"I need the one that doing the poking around the nightmares… you lot have been the most…" The comment is cut short with how I shifted to a nightmare version of my poacher… the scythe that eats people at pressing matter on their neck, "Wow, your not what you seem." The demon was about to reach for something, of which it was thrown by their foot as a warning.
"Why are you nosing, demon? I know you're on here for a sing along and beer." Hissed at him in the fitting langage, "I have obligations to protect folks, your threaten them and I will carve you up like a roast pork."
"I was hired to kill." He admitted.
"You have a choose, leave or be meat."
"I will leave with my head handed over to my employer."
"I can honour a duel to you if that a better honour of pride."
"No. I would rather vomit."
"Fine. Take this as a warning for if you want to continue that route of murder. I will chop a limb at a time for each attempt. When there isn't any arms left, it be organs in alphabetical order." I tossed him through a door to the between of hell. I altered back to fade to a mimic of them. Give a little straighten out and bow in their direction of things being fine.
"See, the poacher is quite a protective. The point of knowing if anyone has good or bad intentions." My prince chattered and walks on. The rest take a little longer with doing so, "They always been a shape shifter."
"Any idea of where the demon went?"
"Between hells." I told little blue bird, "Next time is his left arm."
"Cool, if you had to make a bet n who you would follow would it be z or slender?"
"Neither. I would behead either if their intent was ill towards me." The little bird snickered to the thought of I seemed with her. Maybe this was to pry any bias from me; so the fact that I am not would make things very interesting.
It's what her soul mutters over the hills about; how the injustice of the realms bring about issues that ripple in their society order. This push of angel types are the 'good' and the monsters being further mistreated as worse then scum. It's a landscape that isn't doing well for what it should have represented as. The detraction of the afterlife is fast hitting in places I never expected.
In passing through this path, all I could see was that places I once travelled are either forgotten and ruined. There is a given of though towards the new places as replacement of those that had been lost; chaotic realities that exist because of the vacuum placement of soul of the life to death cycles. It seemed very distracting to hear voices of those through those realms; folks not happy with the change of the politics.
There is a war of religions going on and humans can't help but the enhance these issues as they sub-concially aren't aware that they are. There is not direct god contact; baring the few follower that made god agreements to spread the blessings. Follower are living that are soul contracted by their lords to spread the word.
"Hey before you pass here. Paper checks." Id cards flashed… I did too and wasn't bothered as I walked through this new realm pocket. Realm pockets that are miniverse that don't have many reasons of existing and often get turned into bypass trading posts for realms that types can't cross to. This one is connected to the nightmare's, a few hells and the between pathway.
In this particular one is a small barrels drinks trade, crystal gems and the odd matreals gather point. Fitting to the realms it is between – it looks like the inside of a abandoned manor house that seems to be broken in some very important spots. Say the voild abyss pouring like thick mist out the few windows that do exist, the floor holes of lost wood panelling and overall lacking any air movement. No doors in and out; the void has what made the entry possible.
"Someday, someone going to behead you. Poacher." I heard when putting my card away.
"I know. It would be the frist time to loss a head either." My mutter back had this paper checker snarl, "I wish anyone luck to trying it again. These days I can't even do myself." He frowned without need to continuing this snarl game. I moved away to play around with my own powers.
I lifted a table out the voids and matching chairs… suiting the dusty furniture around here. I offered the prince a seat and he does ignoring the gasps of others. I bowed with knowing he wanted to be left alone, moving off to a stall trades area… lifted a small trades counter. My hand sinks through the table and lifted up small things to the top surface; my wares of trades. Things I had left.
"I like this, trade for a crystal." Someone already hovering over things. In sort of a automatic framing, I asked for id and show of trade back. They flashed a civil service card for one of the hell small town places. They paid in that town's coinage and crystal. I take the trade in the exchange and gave a little extra. Happy with it, they hover off somewhere else. My ears heard a clicking of a angered demon and my eyes scanned around. My tail fromed and hovered over the piece in front, poking about them in checks and counting. Seeing no wrong and seeing the whole group with the table I dragged up . I made a small notation of what was traded and scanned over the next folks to hover around me.
"Note." Another nightmare sort… bones of many things and mist, "You take note." I had my tap stab the note from them and be disappearing from sight, "I think I get note back."
"Note and tooth." I agree, "tooth your pay, thanks for deleivery." They shivered with how I spoke equal with it, "Hush hush… I am not interested in you as food. Trades and talk I say." They bowed with it.
Just a request from the few unseen locals of the events they watched of this slaughter. I gave a note that I be helping this investigation and protecting the Clothus; it how it reads. This was exchanged in a fancy envelope and a bag of bone bits for the message carrier. It jingled in a clatter of bone noises with this trade and left in a sink through a void. I hummed about that, unpleased with this attention. It a uneased omen to know.
"Bird." I cooed to a death bird and it lands to my arm in offer. I gave it a coin, "You tell the reaper that taking part in this slaughter investigation that I am of help and not murder."
"Yes friend." It flies off through voids.
"Are you a reaper type?"
"I lived there a short time… don't fuss about it." I tell a nightmare that got eyes on gems, "If you got any scales from demons or creatures, the gems with be for every 5." It hums, "larger scales may change that."
"From anything?"
"Anything." I nod and it places all sorts of things around a spot. My hand sinks the one's I wanted and a bag of gems is passed over when this exchanged happens. This little trade finished and off they hovered off else where. I tilt to the last thing left looking, a damned. Rare to see them here, "trades anything." I spoke to it in their language and it looked up surprised, "ally."
"ally." It nods and passes me a large backpack of many random things. my shadow goes through it with replacing somethings and exchanging things. Gave it them back… getting the chilled glares of those watching. The damned bows in thanks and leaves as they do through a door of their making. I hum lightly and scratched about that one, "Rare to see one them here. Not typical of this place for them. Very strange…"
"Craft!" I peered over with noting the wave over. My hand folds all this stuff to shadow storage and I walked through the table to step around to the prince's side. I peered down to a note, "You're a odd one for notes. You would happen to know how this one reads." I poke the paper with testing if it were aligment… which it is with the grey it turned, "Given by a angel." I nod and picked it up with altering to pure white… no message. I fade through other shades… other colours… hummed with not finding any writing on it.
"Plain paper… place intentions papers. Maybe the message is pondering the intent of thoughts." I place it down, "that or I have the wrong sight."
"So, what shape you going be around here?" he asked and I broken form a litte with a few more arms out to be hovering about, "Or you just going for what suits?"
"I may have to take my master form; the fitting nightmare I often can be for this place… fitting to the laws. Yet that means picking a gender… something I don't often care for."
"Oh? How is it like being a woman?"
"A right tease, so I heard." I slide glance over to another table with there being tapping morse code, "I might as well now that were of the boarder lands of the realms of dream."
I clicked joints and conformed to typical nightmare puppet mastery. That of a porclean lady of creaking and broken clay area… the void pours from such mocking gashing. If I wanted to be a presten complete, I would be so nightmarish. I back hand tap the child in check of his complexion, stepped around over to the tapping fool.
"Say, little doll." It too a doll figured type, "Got any bang for buck?"
"How about I sting you to a demon twist and laugh at your guts hanging out?" I took a seat across, "Or how about why you keep tapping?" I titled with being enduring to be flirty, "you little clay men are not that fragle, right?"
"I am waiting for someone… forgive my tapping." I nod and brushed a dress of black velet to hug around the shape I have taken, with sitting like this. My shadow pulls around as a second part of arms to take out a pack of smokes.
Passed to a clay hand, I place to gentle lips and clicked fingers to light. I waved my arm over my head for a elgent floppy hat with black lacing to flow to the same long lengths of my voided straight hair. A part of clay shattered to the table meanwhile standing up again. Huffed a little smoke through the doll and left, heels clicking and the occasional dripping of inked blood or shattering porclen. Smoke flowing through the gaps in my thin model shape.
"Madam Shadows, welcome back. I didn't realize you were around." The main holder of this pocket steps out from hiding, "What drags you here?"
"Someone called on my poacher. I needed to nose in the business to allow such deeds done. Afterall, whose to say I am the poacher anyways." I back slapped them as being right in there little face, "Say sweetie. You got any need for any fancy barrels of blood?"
"Mmm, that sounds nice." This freaks always a organs taker, "any lungs?"
"Depends on if you like demon or not?"
"I take demon guts any day, madam." I step around to their counter and passed over the trades… unnaturally rolling barrels of share over, "Hows a few bottles, large crystals and this stack of cash?"
"Good trades, pocket holder." I take them with wave, "Play safe."
I hover around back to the table and leaned back with them. Soon to be sitting on the edge of the table; finishing this smoke and listening to them nattering.
"Welcome Prince's of Clothus and you little posy…" hands boomed of a master that owns the lands f the incedent, "Madam Shadows? Why isn't it been a while? You're here as poacher, right?"
"Body guard and a little poaching. Maybe a little tree breaking…. All innocent here." I snickered, "Life been safe, Squid?"
"Mmm…" the figure snarls a little, "We been having little small things that built up to this…. Tragic event."
"I understand. I am sticking around this lot, so you pest issues maybe dusty when I am gone with them."
"No pay?"
"no pay, mister Squids." This thing waved these folks to follow him. I shadow slide from behind them to the void they were using… being the frist out to pick off some unwanted soulless things. I have frozen from nearly taking someone I that I had thought being here. Backing off, "Z… you're not the type of demon to be walking around out the open like this."
"Madam shadow… a broken outsider." This demon of this realms creation dispite being the stereotype of top hissing god demon, "You good at poking people to death."
"not interested." I walked away back around to the folk I have a little takes with. Hovering to check their temps. All norm with them.
"Hey Dolly!" I leaned to a backward all four crawl over to a tree, "Will you get off?" Not tree. I snapped joint to land in a mess. Brokenly clicked bits and made my snappy noises with fixing up again. The slender child has moved well cleared from me… my inspecting of his reaction calls for another smoke. Gentle kiss a magiains trick for one to appear, and the click of fingers to light it.
"Hey!" I snapped my sight on a hollow and threaten with flames… it hissed and spat a note to my feet. I closed my hands and killing out that flame. Leaned down for the note and back up normally. Openly reading through it, huffed smoke at the hollow. Slide it away and back over to the clothus talking to the nightmare creeps about the laws here. My 2 cents was just a huff of smoke at the other two when they said things wrong. I even pulled a proxies ear to drag them away from the conversation.
"Hot lady of trades and hunting!" a child of sttripped clothing… little to no face. Black for eyes.
"What's up mock child?" I step around and huffed at them and even leaned on there shoulder, "What's a little lost you doing at place like this? You as stray as Z."
"Them two were are war a moment as you arrived. You broken the tentions enough to have them talking to the clothhus."
"Yup. But you're here to guide, aren't you?"
"yes." He expected that throwing my arm off would make me fall. Unnaturally I stay leaned even without him, "You fit that title of a nightmare's dark dream." I snickered and fixed up… even with covering up holes. Looking human at a glance, "Mmm… you're here to protect as I predicted." I bowed to the answer.
Stepped around with making sure that folks are shuffling as a group, passing to swat any annoying people away from them, my breath huffed over folks that didn't need to be in our way. Disappearing and appearing like a ghost and playing the magicians acts of light my hands for the more serious folks.
"You don't scare me." Someone very stubborn whom breaks down to a little shivered messes the moment my face altered to snap with several rows. Backed away with a doll face glaring blank over more like him.
"Dodge this!" the scythe that knocked my mask off, of which landed and shatters into dust over the floor. This reaper frozen with looking at the missing mask, showing nothing inside that body.
"Greg, the realm's new laws suit a spin fool like you." I broken into the wolf I was once renowned by the grim, "A fool is puppet threads, hows the new death treating you grim reapers?"
"You're dead, double or even triple dead. You have to be a fake."
"Fake? Oh little grim reaper. I never revealed my race." I snapped out of the mock human figure to have the extra arms hold and hug him, "I never shared my secerts to low grims like you. Only the leader and the bird knew… most death birds did, a honest lot they are. Unlike a slime criminal like you." I flicked his forhead and wipe on a face back.
"Good that I am not here for you. Here I am for the Clothus and the nightmares. No grims are bothering me. You lot cut ties with me, all your laws voided." I squeezed a little and then dropped them to the floor. Back into a doll lady, paper fan of beauty with the pattern mocking the elegent japan clothes… suiting a yoki for now. My jaw was readjusting. This mockng form suits this issue of my mouth lin passing around my neckline.
"Need moment." The grim picked back up and shivered… well leaving me be. I waved my fan to void the ash of my mask, shifting into a smokers pipe… lit at the end with a new ciggrete. My fan dances with hiding my neck, has while my feet danced around this place. No a moment of touching the slaughter. Blood bathed every corner of this lone standing dealers barn; known for the shady met up for shadier deals. I walked up a wall and hung up to the ceiling, fan fluttering with eyes dancing the placement of corpses.
"How does it do that?"
"Claw grip maybe?" the rude conversation over by the only place not blood, "I wouldn't dare try walking this pool of blood."
"Say… I can recreate the scene with this blood." Z input, "all the mixes of blood makes it hard."
"there is more blood here then the bodies around here." That is what seems to be true but I haven't worked out how many races of things got slaughtered around here. I watch as the prince looks in here and then left to unsettle that stomach. I walked around to the roof outside to watch the trees and around the nose of beings here. Fan still fluttering, paused with death arriving… the death that axed me from my home.
I gurgled in a low pitch and this scattered ever animal and low intelligence thing from here. My nose increased into a pitch that this fella knew, he froze and backed away. I jumped and landed not far from him… my sound is gone, but my eyes did all the talking altered to glare through him.
"Stranger…"
"Sire…." I have my voice echoing some old versions of many he once knew and some he will one day know, "sire…" he backs away all the more.
"Hunter!" I frozen with hearing my friend that is worse then death, "Don't go scaring my invite."
"Oh, just a little. It wasn't going far." I muttered in damned and backed away into clicking the jaw to hide away a normal looks again, "It was just a simple little request that I thought be a nice… pay back for kicking me out."
This chain covered damned was the complete person, glaring over me for a prolonged time.
"I leave him alone if that's your with End." I voiced normally, "I am not afaird of him but I do find you scary. I will honour your words as you have for me."
"Yes, I am glad we can be fence ground." He waves me away. I step back to hovering over the prince. Help him clean up, lowering down to clean up his face for him. Quick to guide this child back to where his needed and in close reach around him during this visiting time.
"Look at the aftermath of your chooses." End speaking to death, "this is what happens when you write off names like you did. These folks have exploded in just blood."
"There is more blood then bodies here." I added, "Like, we can't even tell how many died here and how."
"See." He jabs death on the side and this being the abnormal death huffed of what he had done.
"A few little hidden witness birds have been telling me things," I tell the prince, "you got the demon group of 20 face east, a pair of angels west, two waring prince clothus groups between them. The exact number can't be pried out from their lips. But that the information that I been handed about what they knew of what was going on." I peered to inspect his reaction, "I didn't ask them to tell me, they just wanted to tell me to tell you. Although, the langage and sight was the barrier to them telling you."
"More damned and dead folks from the beyond?"
"I think so… but I loss track of what counts as life and death here. Folks here are messy forms and there quite a blurr between reality here. What seems so fake is real here… so the real stuff gets hidden." I hummed about that when I said it, "Do you think that this place was poured of a barrel of fake blood to hide whats real?"
"It would be why there more blood then body." He sighed and looks far away from it as possible. I pat his shoulder, "Maybe it's all covering up a set up for something." He pointed to the walls, "Like the writing over there." I looked over there and pulled him away from it.
"It's a trap spell, don't touch it or read."
"Trap?"
"Maybe its what killed these folks." I whispered, "That's a half finished summons spell…. For a abyss worm summon? Maybe.Them things each people whole and exist here."
"Maybe one got summoned and slaughter here too." I peered at him, "What?"
"Do need to go find that?" I pout.
"No." I sigh with relief, "How would you?"
"Ugh, magic?" I looked around and tilted with someone lifting things out the blood. Things lifted and dropped… as the blood burned hands, "That looks terrible… the blood here death cursed."
"You can do something about it?"
"No. It's god level." I voiced, "But the folks that could are here debating what to do about it." I directed him to them, "I know you can't see them but they are there. One death and one scarier then death. Debating about the topic of using such a heavy curse." He peers prolong at the place of where them two were nattering… but there no sight of either bothering with each other. The prince dares to try to look around this floor again.
"Hey, can I borrow some of your shadow to see through?" he asked. I peered oddly and took off my mask. I place it on him. He looks through my eyes.
"Careful of my face and don't wonder off." I tell him as he peered around and backed away form the two (the god and god-like debating). He peers at how the fake blood isn't visible in normal sight… he had to stop a few times to calm his nerve down. I stopped him from walking into it, "Don't touch the death pool of blood. I don't want you cursed." He ignores and stepping into it a little pulled out a necklace and out instantly. I pulled him to the side to pour holy water to clean off they curse as much as possible.
My long nattering of counters to stop it spreading on him directly. So focused that I didn't see death pull the cruse off him. Just out of relief, I hugged the prince. Mutter my thanks to whomever helped this time.
"This necklace." He showed me and I pour water over it before touching, "It's a kings crest…" I took hold around it and insptected the gold gem embedded deck of cards necklace, "The very king of the rule, the one who players the white chess king." I can tell that his whispering was for the sake of not telling the others about it, "We have to collect all these personal items before someone else steals them." I directed him to the work of my shadows sweeping faster now, "Where is it being placed?" My hands directed his head to my shadow… as it twists in placing the pieces on a table within my storage… several with the remains laying out. In the poses they died in.
"It a needle in a hay stack to collect all the evidence, I say. Impossible to even find the bodies in this mess." I was coming up to only now collecting the lesser heads as they too (although lesser) were of titles or fame.
"Poacher, you do anything about the blood?" I am ordered around by the all might death and my ally in practice, "Or you just able body to pick around this cured blood? You're a thing not affected by death curses from death anyways." I seemed in shifted shape of a black scaled python… twirled around my duty of protections and glaring over them both in considering hand in all this mess.
"We promise to work within the laws of realms to properly investgate these unmarked missing souls." I backed the little prince away from them in a gentle slide, "What? What is got you all fussy over that one?" I snapped around death for even his dare of greeting.
"You can have your face back." The prince huffed at me, "We should allow them to help us if it means fleshing out the truth of the matter here." I have my tail take the mask gently and wipe it over my face. I do that motion of doubt, "You really hate him or something?" I slide off the prince and moved on to doing things I been told to keep up with, "I hired the… well we know that they are. I hired them to be my body gard and carer… however I know at times it's been around for more then just my promise on paper."
"Not soul bound?"
"It wouldn't want that. They been around the block a lot… I say that maybe enough to know the ways."
I larger became very focused in picking through the blood and seeking answers. The summons on the walls is what I mostly feared. I came to be glaring it coldly alone when finished with picking up the bodies. The very words and spell made me shiver, ruined and dripping.
"Unmarked dead souls?" I muttered, "They been ate by whatever came here." I try to disifer the names used around the edges… interrupted with the knife thrown my direction. Reflex in catching it and turning to bow to the prince hissed of me ignoring him.
"Is there anything else that you need?" He was suggesting something about the ceiling. I glared up to it and find nothing up there to suggest otherwise. My eyes changed several times in trying to sumise what he was yammering about fetching from up there.
My confusion unsettles the two yammering god figures; Death is much like me looking up confused of this fuss. The end… he broken into two bodies. One guarded death and the other climbed up to take care of the ceiling. In doing so altered the spelling that the end has casted over me, of which allowed me into seeing what he protected me from.
There were more bodies pinned around the place then just the floor. Most were illusions as the real creature is eating souls. I had also soon joined in breaking from and climding up to tear it's grasp off this place, that I diced up the little bits and throw it to a barrel bellow. Working hand to claws; we did pry out the souls… one no longer intact as it should have been. This one souls being ate by end to be repaired in their lifespan.
"I can't work out whose working for who at the moment." I heard commented with prying souls out the jaws of the very beyond lifeless thing.
"This is what was summoned here and used as a ambush trap." I hissed over to the end, "The walls, I was trying to understand what exactly they had summoned." He pauses to look at the runes I commented on, "Aren't you glad I have venmon that attacks the centre nervous system and makes gods fear death."
"For once I am glad you one and only that can be so human, in spite of not being one." He snarled a moment about the writing, "You make one in only three things that kills this thing… the universe must really had panic about this… as all three possibilities are here." He peers down at them from the ceiling we cling to in this messy work,"There is no more souls in it." I showed there being a little more n a pocket over flesh and he glared lightly for not noticing it before. He continues helping to peel more souls with me, "How could you tell?"
"My mask… I don't like making others upset or afraid. I know as a damned… by wearing this I have the same feeling of doing stuff damned practice like guilt. The very sense of prying into someone is more like being in a padded room of silence." He sighed with that knowing idea as he been put through the torture himself. I would be the universe tends to, for sanity checks.
"This doesn't belong here." He hissed with it's original soul recovered, "I have to take that back."
"I understand." I bowed and sort of continued with collecting the missing body parts so I may have the complete as I can find remains of everyone that was saulghtered here. I still haven't id 23 of the remaining folks found in body parts. Anything of rings or title exact items would be great right now. Sch focus for things to identity anyone for the matter, I have forgotten my shape. So clattering around happens as I stepped along t other sections.
"Poacher!" I paused with hearing and hung to eye level with everyone al the free arms crossed.
"They just weren't preapered for this shape you took, crafter." The prince sighed. I looked at mysef and gathered they were freakedd that I were a god eater. I hung all the way back to the ceiling to finish.
"Don't mind them, they work with you and aren't interested in eating people at random." The end to back me up but makes folk back from him and shiver in fear, "Nor am I here to do whatever you think I am here for. I came to sort the lost souls here. I even have death to watch to make sure I wasn't wrong to."
"Crafter?" Death muttered, "The slayer that trades?" He asked the end and they have this very quick muttering match between them. I guess that this Death isn't the fool that took over the realm as I knew but someone else from another time or in the future. But like any Death, they inherit this recall of names of each being, the fact that I have never used my real name must have confused death for a moment.
"Apperantice for a time and then given the title for being around for the old man." I passed with walking down as a mocking human form as I can be at this time, "I quite miss the old man and I am hopful to continue to make him proud of my repeairs."
"He restores things too, more machines and clocks which is a specialization I don't have." The end passes to death, "It's been a interesting… time so far." The end offers across a pocket watch, I stare at the watch before even thinking of touching it. the runes over it were oddly glowing… I didn't like that.
It seemed the distraction that hadn't worked to scythe my soul from me. One my extra arms in reflex caught it and guides it away from touching anyone else. Away the arm goes, and my hand picked up the watch. Looking through the workings from the back of it. peered through for any isssues.
"Needs a good clean really." I closed it and ensured that it goes back to his hand alone, "Something that have to make me visit the larger version… sometime I have no obligation for a this time."
"Clean?" he peered to the clock, "Sure."
"The local cooking oil is good for the gearing." I commented, "wiping away with that and you have it prevented from rusting while removing any dust."
"good call." He must have already been doing that. The two figure ousiders leave as they often do, I glared back to the mess in here. Casted my own magic in washing away the blood and flowing it to a water tight barrel to storage. I consider what to do about it in a while, as it have to go somewhere to belong to. Total focus with the reconstruction of areas, I were very silent and still in the sight of nightmares and Clothus.
The click of something had me finish, stepped around to check the prince and the moment of where I could have whispered I had everything just ended up being that light shoulder pat without a word.
"The runes are gone." He spoken soft, "I am guessing you have everything for courts and official examination."
"Yes sir." He moved my hand off and walks on out of this barn at the edge of nowhere. I pause to listen a moment to the winds and the echoes of the woods outside. The proxies hovering around their terriroy for trespassing beings – loud in argument over whom gets to poke the barns frist.
"I have no problems with having visit to fix a few things."
This child is nicknamed evil in this universal nightmares land. He has several forms like this; often the creepy child that has this elder knowledge of everything of their lands concern. The library muesem of torture items is his to keep or use; items used in fan fictions to those inclined to write horror stories or urban myths (as the land of the living dictates this existence like that of the afterlife).
The real creeps such as 'It' or variations co-exist here. The creatures of the living's dreams that terrirfy the living exist with the terror of knowing that the living lands is their nightmare. The escaped souls that no longer want to exist in the normal come here to live out days as a nightmare. Passing here is walking through someone's true fears manifested into creatures. They even have categories suiting to types of sins they can be portrayed to be.
Those of murderer's nightmares. Those things created from the whom that are afraid of the little things; forced into form so they may stay as a phobia. Darkness and regret is championed to belong to the shadows of the damned; who openly exist among here too.
One of the few rare places that damned can pretend not to be the guilt or regrets that they are manifest of. A place turned on his head, where the things here fear the normal living – as I said before.
"Time to go back to where you belong."
My mind wondering in those prolong thoughts has blankly walked me through to wherever the prince was heading. Waiting for the adults of his group to hurry up; they were being slow on purpose. To ensure the evidence doesn't make it to the courts? Well that jokes on them as it already been there and is now being examined by real doctors and science types. The folks were of no rush to have this crime fixed, maybe due to the prince not telling them of the king of white chess being a part of this.
There was a pass of a letter handed to me by the prince, this being a permission to speak to the royals of white… I knew from how scared he was in handing it to me that he wasn't used to facing something this serious. My own way of calming came to be this awkward head scruff, which he at least laughed.
I got him to creak a small smile and bowed with getting the letter sorted. My mask directly taking it to whom will act on it. as there is a damend way of cutting the middle man to have a audaince with the high folks of the Clothus realms. It's a matter of knowing whom to go to.
In a physical sense, I stayed by the prince's side as my mask was helping the conduct of evedeince being handles. Slapping those hands that want to use it to their advantage. Everything is being watched by my mask. Every piece and part being guarded in the same faith and vain as the prince himself.
"Can we go home now?"
"You have a long wait in check up then a few court dates… then you can head home. As that is your realms law system." He sighs, "but the matter of this investigation could change a lot of things for us both. There possibility of the white and black chess sets breaking that norm." He stared blankly about me, "the fall of a chess piece is a serious matter, right?"
"Anyone even under their direct orders would be equally treated as such cases." He muttered quietly, "I hope my family doesn't screw anything for us."
"I made sure that no one is informed as such. They hear about it but no names are to be spoken… until the enquiry it properly finished." He nods glad of it and looks at the worlds we crossing out from.
I follow the traditions and passing offerings over to each master of the territories I have crossed; in those shapes they knew me as. Following through with being grappled out from the nightmare realms by way of shadow hands. A ceremony of where the between path's nightmare manifests into hand that wrap around and drag such being out from the realm. I greeted the prince in the butler uniform on the other side of his crossing. My arm resting across his shoulder, guiding in a close hug following out of here.
"Mr Crafter, is that right?" we take stop at a middle realm to allow folks for hell trading; this is a normal process with Clothus, "How long will you be contracted to stay with the prince here?"
"as long as he thinks." I pass back in a light mutter back to the prince of poking my free side. They eased from pestering us both, hovering over the prince as we walked through the hells and a short crossing to the land of the living for something and back out again.
"You think they are ready to receive us?" the youth asked after all the wling they were making, loud to be hitting them acros the head. I scrowl with what this was going to achieve and be knocked his elbow through my torso as a budge to say it.
"They have already identified the important folks from the 57 that were recovered there. The personal items have been analyised. They are coming up to finishing the id of the 21 unknown dead bodies without personal items on them." My voice froze everyone from walking, "The team of the centre city has taken over the majority of the investigation and is expected us yesterday. I have bbeen keeping them post with our movements." I pause to read a note from my shadows passing, "they will be making a visit with us at the hell gates between here and your realm." I fold the note away, "Is there anything else?"
"It there a hot drink waiting for me?"
"Here… a flask of tea, orange and honey." I pull the flask from shadow and the extra arms pour into a travel cup for him to have, "I can add milk if wished."
"No thanks." He sips it fine and see that folks glaring darkly over me and I waved in directing the team of white chess investigators over to our current place. They force orders that these whom joined s for our travel to have everything empty from the pockets… collecting more needed evidence from these thieves.
I bowed in grating and have my mask put to my face – as the sides came back as one.
"Thank you for your support and for reaching to us about your serious investigation. We will take a witness statement from you both and let you be informed of the progress of this investigation. You will be awarded for having helped us and being completely transparent." We both had this bow to the investigation team as they id checked everyone here. I had only to quick flash my cards to be left alone instantly.
"You hired him through law?"
"Just law, there no soul binding."
"Good." That out of they way, they didn't even want to take witness statents from us then. I seemed the anti-statement sort to them. Maybe laws or something, "Was there any divine intervenetion?"
"Death himself came to over watch the souls… well that what I guess what was going on with Crafter when he paused orders."
"Gods inteverened means that there would have been a pause for them to do what they need."
"This was allowed." I added, "That and another joined in with making sure no soul were left in the corpse of the thing that… well. Caused this."
"Which was?" I took out the cleaned of flesh skull of the creature, "A hollow slayer."
"I guess that what you call them." I placed it away but they asked for it, "Are you sure you don't need me to hold on it? You don't want it coming back to eat folks in your realm." They backed off with that, "I hand you the parts that will not be of any issue and as proof of it existing."
"Good enough…" the wanted that. So I gave a cleaned claw, "You very good at making things less deadly."
"Only the deadly can take out the deadly." I comment, "My race allows me to peel such things from whole to bones. No side effects." The snarled in fear of that, "Unlike those others of my race, I am among the one in the million to be a speaking and human-like thought process type." They took the claw and leave fast, "I do hate upsetting folks." I sigh an scratched under chin.
I slide a glare on someone looking this direct, whom backed off with me seeing them and pretended not to have. I give the prince a scan about as he nattering to the investigator about what he seen truthfully and what he is aware of at the time. He was nervous in say he didn't know I was ahead of the game with making sure the remains got back as soon as possible. I zone out from listening to him as I would be more concerned with the folks rioting around. Folks resisting to help into the investigation and fighting among themselves of what they going to do in all their power to make this be unheard. Thus, the shattering of glass over the realization of that never going to happen – eyes widen with the flash of badges and the words of those in charge.
"Mister Crafter, could you ensure that the thing that was used for the murder to be presented as evidence."
"I will make sure of it." I nod.
They quietly directed to the prince and myself, to follow through the clean through. I stepped into a dark closet room to have things sorted and shuffled through, this also for once allow people to walk in and out my storage. I hovered over anyone that walked in there for anything as I was fixing shelving and recasting seals over cursed items. Throughout the week of staying, I have reorganized and catolgue everything.