Neuroth
[10] Knight
Something I cooked up, just for kicks. Maybe I'll make a CAS based on this guy. Enjoy.
* * * *
They call me Aslan. They tell me it’s Turkish for lion. I guess under some circumstances it’s more or less appropriate. I was about to be used as a circus animal, after all.
You should know first of all that I hate being underground. The place was wet and bitterly cold and it reeked of incense burned to stifle the smell of human waste. Everything around was shaded green by the flame of bewitched torches.
It was an arena but it looked more like a torture chamber, all grimy stone that’s never seen daylight. Around the ring hung stripped, decapitated bodies. They strung the poor bastards up by the ankles to drip dry. By the look of them they’d finished dripping a long time ago. Crusty pools of congealed blood ringed the floor. I imagine they meant to hang me up with the rest when they were through with me.
Across the arena from where I knelt bound and gagged, these black-robed cultists chanted in unison in front of their golem. The thing was huge, green–skinned, muscles on top of muscles. Some kind of mechanical rig stuck out from its back. Little sparks of electricity flew from it, spidering across the thing’s immense frame. The chanting of the cultists grew louder, more insistent. Behind its skull mask the eyes slowly flickered to life.
The cultists all took a hasty step backward. They formed a half-circle between the creature and me, still chanting. One of them stepped forward, raised his arm to point at me, the condemned. His eyes were glazed over. Religious ecstasy, I guessed. His buddies looked equally out of their minds.
“Awaken, Astaroth! Awaken, Azr Ss Trzaous! In the name of Kunpaetku, in the name of Fygul Cestemus, accept the blood sacrifice given by your faithful servants! Rage, rage! Very soon the world will know your wrath!”
They were a fun bunch of guys. Really.
A cultist came up behind me and undid my bonds. As I stood rubbing out the soreness in my wrists, one of them tossed Shishi-Oh to the ground at my feet and I bent quickly and retrieved it. They’d taken good care of it. The blade was still perfectly sharp, polished to a mirror shine. Maybe they were hoping to keep it after this, thinking I’d be easy meat for this monster of theirs. I smirked at the cultist who threw me Shishi-Oh and inclined my head slightly toward him.
Not tonight. These freaks were about to become travel-sized.
The thing they called Astaroth, or Azzur Sis whatever, rose to its feet and the cultists hauled out a giant two-handed axe. They handed it to him and backed away. The creature hefted it in his massive hands. Damn thing looked taller than I was. One blow from that and they’d be cleaning me off the wall with a mop and bucket.
The cultists formed a circle against the wall, standing in the gaps between their bewitched torches and strung up sacrifices. A couple of them betrayed their exitement, looking between their creature and I with more than a little bloodlust. Why waste time, I thought. I’ll go for first blood. If this thing even has any.
I flew forward, whipping Shishi-Oh out of its sheath. My stroke would have sheared the thing across its belly if not for the axe-handle raised to block me. The thing was faster than I thought. I had to duck a second later as it swept its axe over my head. I dipped to his left, aiming a cut as its hip. I scored. The thing howled, enraged, turned toward me and swung directly overhead. I jumped away as its weapon came down, cratering the stone my feet occupied a second ago. The second’s respite gave me time for a glance at the little wound I made.
No blood. And he could swing that damned axe around like a willow switch. Taking risks wasn’t going to be an option.
Astaroth hoisted his axe in challenge. “Pathetic!” He boomed.
We circled each other watchfully. Every few moments I got brave and darted in for a quick exchange of blows. Most times I ended up leaving another bloodless gash on him somewhere. He got his hands on me a couple times, tossed me around the room like a ragdoll. Luckily I hadn’t yet been touched by that axe, though it wasn’t for my opponent’s lack of enthusiasm. He certainly had the advantage of reach. That axe was a wheel of death. There wasn’t one place in this arena that was safe from it.
Oh, if only old lady Setsuka could see me now.
The axe came at me again like a guillotine. I had to roll out of the way, well out of range for a counterattack. This thing was going to keep me at the end of his reach until I made a mistake. It was coming. My luck was going to run out at some point. The creature was fishing for my most basic panic induced responses. What a bully.
A second blow of the axe struck the wall inches from my shoulder. As Astaroth tugged its weapon free of the fissure it made in the stone I dashed in, landed a clean cut across its abdomen, ducked the grab of a giant hand, rolled bac k out to safety.
This wasn’t getting me anywhere. I had a feeling I could carve it up like a turkey and it would still be coming at me.
The neck? No.
That rig on his back!
I stepped around him to the left again, carefully. Needed to bait him into exposing his backside. More arcs of steel headed my way, gave me an excuse to slip to his side a little more. Then I went for it; I ran flat-out for his flank.
But the damn clever beast knew what I was up to. He’d already turned to face me. For my trouble I got shoulder-rammed straight into the wall behind me. Twice. It felt like kissing a charging elephant.
I was down on one knee, panting. I coughed, spraying blood onto the grimy stones. The thing above me laughed triumphantly. It was raising its axe for the kill.
Once again I rolled to the side a half second before being chopped in half. The head of the axe was once again buried in the stones.
Now or never.
With what little strength I had left I sprung to my feet, jumped on the head of the axe and ran up its shaft and over the shoulder of its wielder. As I came down the other side Shishi-Oh flashed from its sheath to cleave the mechanism on his back in half. I curled my back, hitting the floor, and rolled into a crouch facing away from it.
There were a few sparks, a gurgled cry. The thing behind me crumpled and slammed to the ground.
Shishi-Oh whispered back into its sheath. I looked up slowly, grinning at the cultists.
They didn’t feel too much like sticking around to congratulate me, as it turned out. I rose to a standing position, watching with a little amusement as they fell all over each other trying to get out the door. Once the sound of their footsteps died out I followed them down the single hallway leading from the arena, figuring there would be some way out of here.
It occurred to me that I had no idea where I was, even. Hopefully I could find my way out.
About a minute later I thought I’d found myself an exit. I’d come to a pair of massive wooden doors. Tentatively I gave them a push. They hadn’t been barred. I pushed them the rest of the way open.
Yeah. There was a way out. It’s just that it was at the far end of the room. Five more Astaroths stood between the door and I. The cultists grinned back at me.
It was like a bad joke, I’m tellin ya.
* * * *
They call me Aslan. They tell me it’s Turkish for lion. I guess under some circumstances it’s more or less appropriate. I was about to be used as a circus animal, after all.
You should know first of all that I hate being underground. The place was wet and bitterly cold and it reeked of incense burned to stifle the smell of human waste. Everything around was shaded green by the flame of bewitched torches.
It was an arena but it looked more like a torture chamber, all grimy stone that’s never seen daylight. Around the ring hung stripped, decapitated bodies. They strung the poor bastards up by the ankles to drip dry. By the look of them they’d finished dripping a long time ago. Crusty pools of congealed blood ringed the floor. I imagine they meant to hang me up with the rest when they were through with me.
Across the arena from where I knelt bound and gagged, these black-robed cultists chanted in unison in front of their golem. The thing was huge, green–skinned, muscles on top of muscles. Some kind of mechanical rig stuck out from its back. Little sparks of electricity flew from it, spidering across the thing’s immense frame. The chanting of the cultists grew louder, more insistent. Behind its skull mask the eyes slowly flickered to life.
The cultists all took a hasty step backward. They formed a half-circle between the creature and me, still chanting. One of them stepped forward, raised his arm to point at me, the condemned. His eyes were glazed over. Religious ecstasy, I guessed. His buddies looked equally out of their minds.
“Awaken, Astaroth! Awaken, Azr Ss Trzaous! In the name of Kunpaetku, in the name of Fygul Cestemus, accept the blood sacrifice given by your faithful servants! Rage, rage! Very soon the world will know your wrath!”
They were a fun bunch of guys. Really.
A cultist came up behind me and undid my bonds. As I stood rubbing out the soreness in my wrists, one of them tossed Shishi-Oh to the ground at my feet and I bent quickly and retrieved it. They’d taken good care of it. The blade was still perfectly sharp, polished to a mirror shine. Maybe they were hoping to keep it after this, thinking I’d be easy meat for this monster of theirs. I smirked at the cultist who threw me Shishi-Oh and inclined my head slightly toward him.
Not tonight. These freaks were about to become travel-sized.
The thing they called Astaroth, or Azzur Sis whatever, rose to its feet and the cultists hauled out a giant two-handed axe. They handed it to him and backed away. The creature hefted it in his massive hands. Damn thing looked taller than I was. One blow from that and they’d be cleaning me off the wall with a mop and bucket.
The cultists formed a circle against the wall, standing in the gaps between their bewitched torches and strung up sacrifices. A couple of them betrayed their exitement, looking between their creature and I with more than a little bloodlust. Why waste time, I thought. I’ll go for first blood. If this thing even has any.
I flew forward, whipping Shishi-Oh out of its sheath. My stroke would have sheared the thing across its belly if not for the axe-handle raised to block me. The thing was faster than I thought. I had to duck a second later as it swept its axe over my head. I dipped to his left, aiming a cut as its hip. I scored. The thing howled, enraged, turned toward me and swung directly overhead. I jumped away as its weapon came down, cratering the stone my feet occupied a second ago. The second’s respite gave me time for a glance at the little wound I made.
No blood. And he could swing that damned axe around like a willow switch. Taking risks wasn’t going to be an option.
Astaroth hoisted his axe in challenge. “Pathetic!” He boomed.
We circled each other watchfully. Every few moments I got brave and darted in for a quick exchange of blows. Most times I ended up leaving another bloodless gash on him somewhere. He got his hands on me a couple times, tossed me around the room like a ragdoll. Luckily I hadn’t yet been touched by that axe, though it wasn’t for my opponent’s lack of enthusiasm. He certainly had the advantage of reach. That axe was a wheel of death. There wasn’t one place in this arena that was safe from it.
Oh, if only old lady Setsuka could see me now.
The axe came at me again like a guillotine. I had to roll out of the way, well out of range for a counterattack. This thing was going to keep me at the end of his reach until I made a mistake. It was coming. My luck was going to run out at some point. The creature was fishing for my most basic panic induced responses. What a bully.
A second blow of the axe struck the wall inches from my shoulder. As Astaroth tugged its weapon free of the fissure it made in the stone I dashed in, landed a clean cut across its abdomen, ducked the grab of a giant hand, rolled bac k out to safety.
This wasn’t getting me anywhere. I had a feeling I could carve it up like a turkey and it would still be coming at me.
The neck? No.
That rig on his back!
I stepped around him to the left again, carefully. Needed to bait him into exposing his backside. More arcs of steel headed my way, gave me an excuse to slip to his side a little more. Then I went for it; I ran flat-out for his flank.
But the damn clever beast knew what I was up to. He’d already turned to face me. For my trouble I got shoulder-rammed straight into the wall behind me. Twice. It felt like kissing a charging elephant.
I was down on one knee, panting. I coughed, spraying blood onto the grimy stones. The thing above me laughed triumphantly. It was raising its axe for the kill.
Once again I rolled to the side a half second before being chopped in half. The head of the axe was once again buried in the stones.
Now or never.
With what little strength I had left I sprung to my feet, jumped on the head of the axe and ran up its shaft and over the shoulder of its wielder. As I came down the other side Shishi-Oh flashed from its sheath to cleave the mechanism on his back in half. I curled my back, hitting the floor, and rolled into a crouch facing away from it.
There were a few sparks, a gurgled cry. The thing behind me crumpled and slammed to the ground.
Shishi-Oh whispered back into its sheath. I looked up slowly, grinning at the cultists.
They didn’t feel too much like sticking around to congratulate me, as it turned out. I rose to a standing position, watching with a little amusement as they fell all over each other trying to get out the door. Once the sound of their footsteps died out I followed them down the single hallway leading from the arena, figuring there would be some way out of here.
It occurred to me that I had no idea where I was, even. Hopefully I could find my way out.
About a minute later I thought I’d found myself an exit. I’d come to a pair of massive wooden doors. Tentatively I gave them a push. They hadn’t been barred. I pushed them the rest of the way open.
Yeah. There was a way out. It’s just that it was at the far end of the room. Five more Astaroths stood between the door and I. The cultists grinned back at me.
It was like a bad joke, I’m tellin ya.
