AC Finals: Cards Of Fate

[Silence Sei]

Apologies for getting this up late. You have two weeks from 12:01 PM CST to complete this thread. The 24 hour rule has been waived for the finals. Will Cards be dealt a good hand? Good Luck!

[Cards of Fate]

Vincent snarled as he swung his cane viciously. Before him, the head of a half decomposed man exploded into blood and brain matter. His sapphire eyes shot from his defeated foe to pick out his next victim. Three undead men clad in tattered flannel staggered forwards, dragging ancient rusted axes behind them. Grunting, he took a quick step back as one let out a gurgling roar and took a clumsy swing at him. He twirled his cane in his hand, jabbing it into the ghoul’s chest causing it to stagger back into the other two. He drew his sword from its sheath and with three quick strikes, parted their heads from their damned bodies. Fountains of black gushed from their necks drenching the young man in a foul smelling ooze.
“Men! On me!” he roared as he scanned the fight. Seven soldiers still struggled against the onslaught of undead. Surely this was the last of Pode’s armed strength; he could feel it in his bones. “We need to regroup and make a concentrated effort on surviving!”

“Yes sir!” they managed to respond between foes. Expertly, they finished off their targets and retreated to form a cluster around Vincent.

“Tobias, Status report!” Vincent called out as he and his men readied to clash against a ghastly group of ghouls.

“I'm holding up alright, Vinnie!” Tobias howled as he cleaved through three undead. “This isn’t anything worse than what I’ve faced be-”

He was silenced by a hellish discord bellowing through the air. Everything, even the horde of the damned, paused as all eyes turned to the edge of the clearing.

A crimson-furred wolf strode into the clearing, head held high as it scanned the fight. It was massive, standing twelve feet on all fours. Its muscles rippled through its body with each step. Behind it Dur’Taigen swarmed in a massive horde of hounds. It took one look at the small group of warriors and let out another savage howl.

“TOBIAS!” Vincent roared!

“Way ahead of you Vinnie.” The mercenary scrambled to the safety of the group as the hounds charged, tearing through the horde of undead between them and their prey. “What the fuck is that thing?”

“I have no clue.” Vincent responded as he readied himself.

“How the hell did we even get signed up for this…” Tobias grunted. Vincent shook his head disdainfully, he knew only too well how they had ended up in this situation.
…
The whole day had been a mess. He started out from the tent city that housed the Crimson Crusade, New Eluriand, in the morning still groggy from the hellish events of the previous night. After a dream filled with the undead, the witch deemed it appropriate to resurrect every corpse that festered in Lindequalme and made the scholars dream come true. Separated from his newfound “friends” the scholar made his way to the House of Cards to rally with allied forces in take a stand. Fate had other ideas in mind.


He found Alyssa Snow instead, and the following adventure in the House of Cards could only be described as a Scooby Doo adventure. The two had been separated in the fog-filled haunted house as the each dealt with the witch’s wiles and her gruesome traps. Ultimately, her plan succeeded to a point, for Alyssa mistakenly drove a knife into Vincent’s chest and ended his life. Clearly, he recovered, thanks to the healing hands of a magical statue-man who claimed his name was Ai’Brone. While the two certainly grew closer from the whole debacle, most people would find it very hard to eat chocolate ice cream with a young man whom they had just killed.

After more awkward silence than either could stand Alyssa excused herself to her room leaving her ice cream untouched. Vincent opted to shed his blood soaked robes in the library and replace them with a brand new dry set. As he walked out he pondered the flickering orbs of light in the hallways. It seemed they had expelled Pode from the base, but yet the damage she wreaked still lingered. A loud thud caught his attention causing him to draw his cane. He paused and listened intently for what it may have been and another thud soon followed. This time the scholar could place where it came from immediately, the front door to the Hierarchy.

Gritting his teeth, the scholar prepared for a fight as he strode up the hall. The booms continued to pick up in speed and loudness as he approached. The seal should hold, but he was not taking any chances on this day. Finally, the blows to the trap door seemed to stop, and the scholar breathed a sigh of relief.

“They gave up…” he mused to himself, turning around.

The trap door burst open in a display of sparks and lights, causing Vincent to jump and let out a slight yelp. He turned back brandishing his weapon only to find a familiar angelic figure floating down the stairs with a woman draped in his arms.

“Ioder?” Vincent asked in shock. He was under the assumption that the entire Hierarchy had long since abandoned the base.

“Vincent we have a problem,” the angel replied grimly. “It’s Leona…something’s…wrong with her.” Both gazes fell to the comatose seer in his arms. Her skin was unnaturally pale, and a red foam was beginning to drip from her lips.
“Pode…” Vincent growled. “We need to lie her down and then you need to tell me everything that happened.”

Ioder blinked for a moment and debated mouthing a complaint before he turned to his left and stormed down the dark dusty hallway, kicking the ornate portal to Leona’s room open. Vincent followed behind, his robe fluttering behind him. The seraphim set the seer down on the red, silken sheets of her bed as the two began to scan her.
“What happened?” Vincent growled as his hands went to work. His left hand propped her chin up slightly while his right hand checked for a pulse. For a moment his breath caught in his throat, then he felt a slight beat of her heart. He sighed with relief as he turned to Ioder.
“Leona had Tobias and I escorting her to a meadow. Something about killing Pode. She got the drop on us though…” he paused and shuddered. “Some plant monster spewed red fog all over her and she just began convulsing and dropped. We freaked out and Tobias told me to bring her back to the base while he went to deal with Pode.”

Vincent’s eyes widened.

“Tobias is alone?” he asked backing up.
“Vince, don’t you even think-“The seraphim shimmered menacingly as he glared at Vincent.
“Watch Leona! Tobias needs help!” the scholar turned on his heel, sprinted out the door, and up the stairs that led out of the House of Cards.
“Vincent!” the scholar heard Ioder cry as he entered the clearing. “BE CAREFUL!”

[Cards of Fate]

Vincent burst from the trap door and flung himself forward. His foot sank into mud and sent him slamming into the ground. The forest floor was stained various tones of black and red where live and undead blood had flooded the clearing, transforming it into a quagmire of fetid blood soaked mud. The scholar slid through copper scented muck as he struggled to regain his footing.

After floundering for a moment, the youth righted himself and glanced around. The previous fight was devastating. Hordes of undead threw themselves blindly against the storm of razor sharp leaves that were Big Bertha. Those that met the smaller golems had simply found themselves torn apart, leaving limbs and entrails floating in the muck. Shuddering, Vincent began to slog forward. His legs buried to mid-calf, each step letting out a sickening slurping sound.
His stomach churned as the smell of rot and blood assaulted him. He scrunched his nose up and gagged slightly. He gritted his teeth and picked up the pace. With each quickened step, the ground belched and slurped until he finally reached the edge of the clearing where the ground was less…

Bloody.

Once his feet found solid purchase Vincent found himself flying down the trail at a blistering speed. Gnarled tree trunks with twisted branches faded into a scarlet blur as the scholar expertly navigated the familiar path. The scholar memorized the location of each root that jutted into the path, loose rocks that could turn his ankle, and every obstacle in his way. There was nothing that could stop him, except the zombie swinging a club into the path.

A sharp pain erupted through the scholar’s torso as the club shattered with a loud crack. Shards of wood splintered and shot through the air as the scholar stumbled, coughing. Three half decomposed men leapt from the branches above, swinging makeshift clubs over their heads. Stunned, the scholar clenched his eyes shut and burst into a flash of blue light, only to reappear several feet away. Growling, he drew his cane and twirled it as he assessed his situation.

Four undead, three armed with branches, one disarmed.

His other hand drew his sword as he dashed forward and slashed at the unarmed zombie. His blade cleaved through its torso and hacked the fiend in half. The other three groaned in unison and charged Vincent.

The scholar grinned and lunged forward, leading with his cane in front of him. Two strikes knocked the flanking fiends aside leaving only the center foe to fall to Vincent’s blade. With two quick slices the zombie’s head flew upwards with a fountain of blood gushing from its neck.

The other two swung blindly at a cloud of sparks as Vincent reappeared behind them with a smirk. His blade flashed and his foes fell before him in pieces. He grunted as he regarded the corpses with disdain before stretching and heading off in the same direction once more.

[Cards of Fate]

The red mist that lined the ground grew thicker and thicker until it was a wall of fog. He slowed to a stop and ran a nervous hand through his hair. He had never been this deep in the forest outside of the House of Cards. At this point, he was unsure of where he was heading. In fact, he was beginning to wonder why he had even taken this route.

“Hey listen!” A familiar voice chirped behind him. Vincent yelped and spun around to find Leona Stevvains standing before him draped in a crimson cloak.

“Leona!?” he exclaimed, taking a step back.

“But you-Pode poisoned- wait a minute…” his voice trailed off. “Nice try Pode! What are you trying to pu-”

Leona’s knuckles met his face with violent force, sending him staggering back.

“Questions Vincent.” she quipped, cracking her knuckles. “But if you must know, I am not Pode, but a mental projection of myself I am transmitting you via our connection as the leaders of the Tarot Hierarchy.”

Vincent, who was massaging his injured face, paused at her last remark.

“Excuse me? Leaders? As in plural?” He saw the punch coming and ducked out of the way to avoid another blow.

“Yes, Leaders,” she growled. “Plural. Have you really not noticed the change yet?”

“Change?” Vincent asked, taking another leap back to put space between him and his abusive employer.

“Look at your fucking chest Vincent.” Leona sighed turning away from him. “Why in the hell did Jomil see it fit to elevate you of all people…” She raised her hands to cover her face.

Vincent, in turn, reached for the sash at his waist and opened it to reveal his bare olive skinned torso. On his chest an ornate card shaped tattoo glowled slightly, proof of his station as Hierophant, head scholar of the Tarot Hierarchy.

Or... it used to be anyways...

Instead of an ornate “V” signifying him as the Hierophant, it had changed to an “IV,” the Emperor.

“Excuse me?” Vincent exclaimed in disbelief. “When the fuck did this happen?” He looked back at her as he fastened his robe once more.

“When you died,” Leona replied. Turning around, she shrugged her hood off to reveal her face. Red lines seemed to originate from her mouth, spiralling all over her face in a web like design.

Vincent hissed and took a step back.

“Pode’s poison?” he asked. He cringed, realizing he had broken her cardinal rule: no dumb questions. Leona didn’t bother raising her arm to punch him, instead opting to frown.

“Yes, and it’s taking its sweet time,” she muttered.

“Will killing her stop it?” Vincent asked, scowling.

“Yes, but are you able to kill a goddess of evil Vincent?”

“I…” Vincent paused for a moment. “I’m not sure, but I have to try…”

“That’s the spirit,” Leona quipped while chuckling. “Head to your right.” She pointed. “You’ll find some troops lost in the fog who will help you make it to Tobias.”

The newly crowned Emperor nodded and took off in a light jog. He kept alert as he strayed from the beaten path into the heart of the woods.

[Cards of Fate]

His pace began to slow as the crimson fog grew thicker.

“This looks like something straight out of silent hill…” Vincent muttered under his breath.

“Definitely,” Leona chimed as she walked behind him, matching his every step.

“So you’re just gonna follow me the whole way to go kill Pode?” the scholar asked scanning the fog for any traps. Anything could be hiding out there but much to his surprise, he had yet to be attacked.

“Well Alyssa is waaay too busy with her own meadow to chat.”

Vincent paused.

“Alyssa? She’s the…” he trailed off. “Right, stupid questions.”

“It’s a pretty good policy to have, I recommend you adopt it when I tell the others about your promotion.”

“It’s a very violent policy to have,” Vincent quipped back as he ducked under a branch.

“Well it works,” Leona scowled. “Look at you: You practically have a pavlovian reaction to asking me about anything.”

She stopped in her tracks and glared at him.

“That’s not a good thing for a leader to have, Leona.”

Vincent paused as he heard noise in the distance.

“I’m guessing that’s our cavalry?” he asked, turning to find an angry blonde glaring daggers at him.

“Just because you’re the Emperor, doesn’t mean you can sass me, Vincent.”

“It’s not sass. It’s an observation.” Vincent shrugged. “I mean you know everything...sorta. So your idea of a stupid question is practically every question. When you discourage people from asking questions you stunt intellectual growth.”

Leona sighed.

“You possibly have a point but at the same time, that’s why you’re the Emperor.”

Vincent chuckled.

“You were just complaining about being stuck with me!” He turned and continued walking, picking his pace up to a light jog.

“That was a joke, Vincent.” Leona smiled slightly as she quickened to follow him.

“Your sense of humor sucks, Leona”

“Does not!”

“You had me put on a red robe and go for a lovely stroll where a crazy motherfucker was waiting to sic his fucking wolf on me...like fucking Red Riding Hood!”

“That’s a classic joke! You laughed, I laughed…”

“I spent five months doing physical therapy because he put an arrow through my knee...”

“Yeah, and look how much stronger you’ve gotten!”

“You could have just told me to go work out…”

The two spent the entire trek arguing and didn’t notice the noise of battle until Vincent almost jogged into the clearing. He skidded to halt.

“Is that…” he muttered.

“Ogre!” a soldier shouted as he sprinted past Vincent.

“Fuck me…” Vincent muttered and drew his sword and cane.

[Cards of Fate]

To call the beast ugly would be an understatement. Its long powerful hind legs carried it upright as it lumbered about slowly. Arms swinging mindlessly as it smashed the ground with tremendous force. Tattered rags that clung to its body swayed with each earth-trembling shake. Gnarled canines jutted out of its pronounced jaw in some form of rudimentary tusk, leaving the beast's maw slightly agape as a black sludge dripped from its lips. Each and every step seemed labored as it stomped around randomly, chasing the scattered host of troops that seemed to swarm it like ants.

“Holy fuck…” Vincent breathed as he quickly scanned the scene. The fiend snatched a heavily armored knight from the ground, leaving about twenty troops in close combat with it. Seven additional men stood in the cover of the forest armed with crossbows, taking whatever shots they could at the beast’s exposed flesh. Very few found their mark and those that did, only seemed to make the beast angrier.

“Toooony!” one of the crossbowmen roared. “He fucking got Tony!”

The beast roared as he ripped the knight limb from limb, causing fountains of blood to spray out over its body. It grunted and stuffed the limbs down its gullet, biting its own hands as it pulled them out of its gaping mouth. Blood sloshed down its maw, sticking to its already stained rags.

“That thing just killed Tony…” Vincent found himself muttering. “Wait, who the fuck is Tony? Why do I care?”

“Doesn’t matter Vince. That thing is killing your troops. Help them,” Leona chided in his head.

“How the fuck am I supposed to kill that thing?”

“You’re the Emperor Vincent, act like it. You aren’t Atlas, the world isn’t yours to shoulder alone.”

The youth faltered for just a moment, racking his brain for anything he may have read on such a beast.

Its mean, its green, its Shrek…?

He snapped his vision back to the beast. “That was completely useless.” He chided at himself. “Of course it’s Shrek. What am I going to do? Hire a talking donkey to annoy him?”

“Maybe you should get the soldiers out of his swamp?” Leona quipped.

“Grade A idea Leona. Remind me to hit you when I get back to the base.”

“Hey! Maybe it will work.”

“Yeah… and every woman in the Hierarchy wants to sleep with me...”

“How did you know?”

“I don’t have fucking time for this Leona.”

The scholar quickly took off in a sprint and closed the gap to the crossbowmen on the outskirts of the fight.

“MEN!” he roared sliding into cover with a cluster of three of them. “Listen up! We need to kill this motherfucker!”

“Who are you?!” one growled as he shot his crossbow, sending a bolt flying only for it to whistle by the creature's malformed ear.

“My name is Vincent Cain, I work for Leona Stevvains, the woman you were supposed to be supporting on your mission.” Vincent barked as he scanned their faces.

“Wait,” another man quipped as he took off his helmet. “You’re Mr. Cain? We were sent to give YOU backup.” The three stopped firing and turned to look at him. “What the fuck are you doing here? We were supposed to be en route to you!”

Leona… Vincent growled in his head.

Yes? Leona replied coyly.

Did you get yourself poisoned just to drag my ass out here to fight Pode?

Maybe... Questions Vince.

“Never mind that,” Vincent dismissed their concerns with a wave of his hand. “I was informed you guys were hung up here and needed to give YOU the backup. Listen up, that thing is mean and evil and really angry.”

“Tell us something we don’t know,” one of them hissed.

“For starters, tomatoes are a fruit, not a vegetable,” Vincent quipped sarcastically.

They gave him nothing but quirked brows and silence.

“That thing is a fucking powerhouse.” Vincent turned and glanced at the beast as it swung at another man smashing him into a paste of blood and bits of bone with its powerful arms. “It’s ridiculously dangerous up close, it ate Tony like a fucking kebab, and it just made man pudding out of another person. A close ranged battle is suicide.”

“What the fuck do you think we’re trying to do?” one of the men spat. “We’re trying to turn the motherfucker into a pincushion.”

“I think you’re trying put as many fucking bolts into it as possible, and you’re missing left and right. What are you, stormtroopers?! Fucking take your time and make sure your shots hit. ”

One of the men paused.

“Those are your commands, sir?”

Vincent hesitated and nodded. “Wait for my mark to fire.”

“Yes sir!”

[Cards of Fate]

After a final few words of encouragement, Vincent stalked from cover and began to go about his work. He methodically scrounged through the brush, gathering as many rocks as possible sliding them into his pockets. After arming himself properly, he broke from the underbrush armed with a jagged rock. Digging his feet into the soil, he flung his arm forward, willing energy into the stone. It rocketed through the air and stuck true, smashing right into the beast’s bloody teeth.

The beasts staggered back and let out a howl of agony. This was met, however, with more rocks to the face. The first three were boosted, doubling the launch speed of the stones as they flew through the air. Most hit their mark, smashing to dust against the ghoul’s face. Some simply whistled by harmlessly. Eight warriors surrounded the distracted beast and charged.

“No, get away from it!” The scholar boomed. “Fall back and keep it distracted!” The soldiers stopped their charge and looked at the newcomer skeptically before backing up.

“Archers! Fire!” Vincent howled. The men burst from their cover and let loose a storm of bolts at the beast. Each found their mark in the fiend’s rotten flesh as it staggered back. One struck true in its eye, causing the beast to wail as its powerful hands went to its face.

“Now!” Vincent roared dashing forward. “Charge it while it’s hurt!” The men quickly closed the gap between them and their prey. The troops buried their spears into the fiend’s knees causing it to collapse backwards. Vincent capitalized on this and climbed up its torso, swinging his cane overhead. With a mighty crack, he smashed the ogre’s face open like a rotten watermelon.

The stench of the beast’s fetid beast’s brains caused everyone the clearing to retch slightly as they took stock of their losses. Countless corpses lined the clearing, an odd mix of lightly clad rangers and heavily armored knights. Seven crossbowmen divided their bolts evenly whilst the warriors checked their armor. Very few seemed to pay attention to the scholar as he contemplated the scene. Theses troops’ lives were in his hands, one small mistake and he would be once again alone in the forest.

“Vincent,” Leona chimed as she appeared out of thin air. “We need to get moving.”

“Which direction is Tobias?” he asked.

“Excuse me?” one of the men inquired as they all turned to him. The scholar blushed bright red as he tapped his ear.

“Uhhh...having a magical conversation with some back up here. Don’t mind me.” he turned to the seer as his face turned beet red.

“You can think what you want to say to me, and I’ll still hear it.”

Vincent paused and shot Leona an exasperated look.

That would have been nice to know, he murmured mentally.

“Anyways,” Leona began out loud, as if to taunt him. “Tobias is that way.” he pointed east.

“Men!” Vincent turned to face them. They all snapped to attention and faced the man who saved their life. “We have our heading.”

[Cards of Fate]

Their march through the forest was a quiet one. Not a single person dared to speak as they jogged briskly through the forest, the troops following Vincent in three lines of five where the trail permitted. The trees and the fog seemed to grow denser in proportion to each other. Soon, it was almost impossible to see, leaving everyone to take nervous steps forward while Vincent tapped out a path before him with his cane.

“The blind leading the blind” Leona quipped from Vincent’s left...somewhere. The scholar had no idea where she was actually, the fog was much too thick. He grumbled and fished through his robe for a few moments and pulled out a simple glass orb and grunted.

“Illuminate!” the orb shimmered to life with blue sparks and let out a massive blast of light, burning away the fog to reveal the path. The men all gasped and took a step back, rubbing their eyes. Vincent grinned and glanced around to find that Leona was nowhere to be found.

I’m in your head, goofball.

The scholar sighed and gazed ahead. He couldn’t make out much in front of the light, but got the feeling that Tobias could not be much further ahead.

“Hromaghs Balls!”

Vincent’s ears perked up as he heard his friend's favorite expletive. Without a word, he began to charge forward blindly. Tobias was in trouble. The troops were taken aback by his sudden burst of speed but quickly picked up their pace. They reached the end of the trail in a few moments and found the sellsword deep in battle in the middle of a clearing.

Vincent burst into the clearing with his troops and charged. They were met with a horde of undead. It seemed Pode intentionally pooled all of her remaining forces in one place, just to block Vincent from his path. Vince and his melee fighters took the lead, forming a protective “wall” between the archers and the oncoming horde.

The Archers, in turn, began to fire what was left of their bolts, downing undead left and right as they timed their shots. The fifteen soldiers pushed back a tidal wave of ghouls as they struggled to gain footing in the clearing. Once a position of power was established, Vince called to Tobias.

“Tobias! Status report!”

…

The hounds surged forth and were met with spear and blade alike. Fur and flesh parted as crimson tides washed over the clearing, drenching the soil with blood. A beast snarled, lunging for Vincent’s throat. The scholar growled and beat the beast down with his cane before driving his sword into its gut. He exploded into a flash of sparks as another hound sailed right through where he had previously been standing. A shower of blue announced his arrival over the beast as he brought his cane down to crush its skull.

He turned his gaze towards the rest of the fight. His troops were getting slaughtered left and right as the hounds pounced on their prey. He gritted his teeth, their blood was on his hands and he knew it.

“Vincent!” Tobias howled as he smashed a hound’s head in with a rock. “Behind you!”

The scholar turned find the gaping maw of a Du’Taigen clamping itself around his elbow as it pulled him to the ground. The scholar grunted as he was thrown to the blood drenched dirt, his cane and blade both dropping uselessly to the ground. He hissed and rolled to bring his free hand, clenched into a fist, into the beasts jaw. The beast yelped and released the scholar’s now bloodied arm.

Furious, the scholar rose to his feet only to find the massive leader of the pack staring him down with crimson eyes.

“Oh fuck.”

The beast let out a blood chilling howl as it charged the scholar. Vincent’s mind went blank, watching in horror as the hound closed the gap.

Move Vincent. MOVE the scholar screamed in his head.

“Vincent!” Tobias howled. The hound halted, entire body taut as if it was still trying to move. Behind the beast Tobias grabbed hold of the beast’s mangy tail and was holding the mutt back. The creature turned and snapped at the mercenary, who in turn stepped back to the dodge the beast.

“Come and get it y’big furry fucker!” he grunted taking a step back. A bolt hit the beast in the muzzle and the creature looked up to find three soldiers stood alone over a pile of its dead kin.

“OI!” one yelled. “Come fucking get some you Twat!” Another rose his crossbow and fired a bolt straight into the beast’s eye. It howled and stepped back, kicking Vincent in the chest and sending him flying

[Cards of Fate]

The hellish hound howled in anger as it chased after Tobias and the remaining troops, leaving Vincent alone in a clearing full of corpses. Grunting, he rose to his feet and checked himself over. Several shallow scrapes and cuts lines his torso and arms, leaving faint trickles of blood to flow down his body. Grimacing, he limped over to where his cane laid discarded in the dirt. Beside it rested the shattered remains of his steel sword. Hissing to himself, he picked up the crutch and turned to face the menacing wall of fog before him. Finally, it was time to face Pode.

“Vincent…” Leona chimed in his head.

“I’m guessing the result of this fight isn’t going to be good?” Vincent grunted as he began to limp through the fog.

“You need to go get help Vince...you’re in no condition to take on Pode.”

“I never was Leona. I’m out of my league.”

“Then why are you still doing this?”

“Because there’s still hope, and as long as there’s hope I refuse to walk away.”

Leona appeared before him, her pale skin stained with a weblike pattern of crimson ink. “Vincent you don’t have to…”

The scholar paused. He could see every ounce of concern in his leader’s eyes.

“If I walk away, will you die?” The question hung in the air as it left his lips.

“Don’t worry about me Vincent…”

“WILL. YOU. DIE?” Vincent gritted through clenched teeth. Leona’s lips quivered for just a moment before her gaze dropped to the ground.

“Yes. But don’t-”

She was silenced as Vincent barreled past her.

“Vince stop! You’re going to die!” her voice cracked and betrayed her panic. “The Hierarchy needs you...”

“The Hierarchy needs you too!” Vincent spat as he began to pick up speed.

“Vince you don’t need to throw your life away!”

“I’m not throwing it away!” he roared turning to look at her, fury in his eyes. “I’m paying you back for everything you’ve done for me. The roof above my head! The food! The friendships and family I’ve formed here. All of it was because of you and I’ll be damned if I just walk away from this and let you die. MY WHOLE LIFE HERE IS THANKS TO YOU.”

He began to shake.

“So excuse me while I go whoop Pode’s ass and pay back the favor.” He turned and stormed off. Suddenly, he felt Leona’s arms around his neck as she pulled him into a hug from behind.

“Vincent…” she mumbled, concealing a sob.

The scholar paused and simply let himself be pulled into her arms.

“I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have done this. I shouldn’t have forced your destiny they way I did...I just wanted…” her voice trailed off.

“It’s alright Leona. You can make it up to me when I get back to the House of Cards.” Vincent pivoted to wrap a free arm around her. “I promise.”

Leona pulled her head up just enough to look him in the eyes.

“You better come back…” she whimpered. “I don’t want to be painting your memorial portrait anytime soon.”

“You won’t be, I swear.”

“Good.”

With that, the two broke their embrace and Vincent ventured into the unknown. Leona watched as the scholar faded into the crimson fog, a single tear rolling down her cheek. She knew, without a doubt, that this was the last time she would see him.

Vincent limped as fast as he could through the fog, barely able to see an inch in front of himself. All he could feel was the dirt beneath his feet and a cold sense of dread the further he stumbled. Then suddenly, he stumbled into a clearing devoid of all smoke. Before him, a jagged crystal jutted from the earth, covered in ancient vines and spots of blue and green luminescence. The air before him smelt of ozone. He glanced around. Nothing.

There were no zombies, wolves, trees, plants, or dark goddesses. Only strangely green grass and the crystal before him. He strode forward as his eyes settled on the crystal.

“A Tap Spring…” he murmured extending his free hand as if compelled to touch the crystal. His entire body trembled as the font of raw energy beckoned him forward. Something deep within his nature screamed for the ancient power.

Pain erupted through the scholar’s body as a thorn suddenly pierced his right knee. Gasping me he attempted to turn around only to be met with several spikes in his back and a vine wrapping itself around his cane. The vine pulled, yanking it away from him. Screaming, he collapsed to the ground as the barrage of spikes continued to strike home, burying into his back.

A cackle erupted through the meadow.

“That was laughably easy,” Pode cooed as she melded into existence from the grass. “Here I thought the Emperor was going to be a challenge.”

“Pode…” Vincent grunted, trying to push himself off the ground.

“Nuh-uh sweetie,” the goddess growled as she stomped onto a spike in his back, burying it deeper.

The scholar screamed and sank back onto his chest.

“You’ve already lost, dear.”

Vincent grunted and spasmed as he tried to look up at his assailant only to find Alyssa’s familiar face staring down at him.

“Poor baby,” she cooed, grasping him under the chin and ripping him into the air to eye level. “Maybe you should have stayed in Skara Brae.”

“Maybe you should go fuck yourself,” Vince grunted with a slight grin.

“Defiant until the end. Just like your father,” Pode muttered, half grinning, half scowling. “Handsome like your father too. Shame I can’t keep you as a pet. Your father was wonderful in bed...”

Vincent’s eyes widened at the mention of his father, but had little time to react as Pode shoved him straight into the tap spring.

“Might as well send you off to your family reunion and be done with it,” she growled.

Pure energy coursed through his body as he began to convulse. Pode simply cackled as she watched the scholar’s body disintegrate into sparks

[Cards of Fate]

Vincent’s entire body screamed as it ripped apart at the seams, cast into the infinite void that was the Tap. He lost all sense of feeling as his consciousness raced throughout the vastness of infinity. All of eternity flashed before him as he became one with the font of energy.

Then there was nothing, no pain, no burning, nothing. The scholar opened his eyes to find a blinding bright light shining above him. He blinked for a few moments and glanced around. All around him was white nothingness. He snapped his hands forward and looked himself over, running a mental inventory of all his limbs. Everything seemed to be in order.

“So this is death huh…” he mused to himself. It felt odd. He was sure he would at least see Jomil and have some form of talk with her, or some galactic deity would judge his sins... or something. Instead, he seemed to be floating in nothing. “Kind of a letdown.”

“Well, actually,” a voice interrupted. Vincent snapped around to find a very familiar man standing about ten feet away from him. “You’re not dead...more like...visiting the other side for a bit.”

The man's tanned face wrinkled as he smiled. His blue eyes shone brightly with joy behind a mane of silver hair.

“Dad…” Vincent gasped in disbelief.

“Vinnie,” Victor Cain stated holding his arms out in an open gesture. “Come give your father a hug, and we’ll talk about what's happening.”

Vincent floundered for a bit before managing to will himself over to his father who simply pulled him into a warm embrace. Suddenly, their surroundings blurred and the void around them had formed into a simple white room with solid flooring and walls. In the center stood a simple table, two stools, and two tea cups filled with a steaming concoction.

“Have a seat son,” Victor urged. Vincent nodded and found himself sitting down. He did not walk there, but by simply willing himself into the seat, he had arrived there. His father appeared before him, cup gently cradled in his hand as he blew on the steaming liquid.

“So where do we start dad?” Vincent mused as he glanced down at the amber drink in his cup. “Also, what is this?”

“Well let’s start with the drink then,” Victor chuckled, his sagging face brightening for a moment. “That is Ambrosia, a very powerful healing elixir used by the gods to maintain their physical forms. In this, case it’s allowing us to talk while your body is rebuilding.”

Vincent nodded as he took a tip, letting it spill over his tongue. His entire body shuddered at once as it seemed to fill every fiber of his being with warmth.

“This is delicious….” he muttered looking up at his dad. “Now let’s get started. Where the fuck have you been for the past nine years?”

Victor Cain sighed and set his cup down.

“Well it all started when you were ten and we found your heart donor,” he began, frowning. “I knew you would end up spending a lot of time in the hospital, so I went looking for board games for us to play. It was during my search that I found the game that brought us both here, Althanas.”

He closed his eyes.

“Being the cautious man I am,” he continued. “I went and did some research on the game and found nothing, so I decided to go through it first. Nothing seemed wrong at first, it was Dungeons and Dragons, and I thought you’d love it so I hid it away. When you went under for surgery, I started setting it up so we could play the moment you woke up and then…”

Victor trailed off.

“You know the story. I was sucked to this world. Leona found me in Eluriand where I was an explorer, constantly looking for ways back to Earth-”

“Wait, Leona?” Vince interrupted. “Leona Stevvains?”

“Yes. She’s a lot older than you’d think,” Victor replied smiling. “Doesn’t act her age one bit though.”

“Tell me about it.”

Vince nodded, a faint grin playing across his lips.

“Anyways,” Victor continued. “I was recruited as the Emperor for the Hierarchy. As you may know Persephone- er Pode was the Empress.” He paused trying to determine how to continue. “We spent a lot of time together. Over the years, memory of your mother faded and...I made a few bad decisions. In the end, she betrayed us and killed half the Arcana. Those of us who remained fled and waged war on the Forgotten Ones on our own, falling one by one until Leona was forced into hiding.”

“So you were around for the War of the Tap? How does that make sense?” Vincent asked.

“Time moves differently in different dimensions. Althanas moves faster than Earth,” Victor explained. “Now then, I need to tell you something important.”
The elder leaned forward.

“You and I are special in a few ways. For starters, we are the Emperor- er I was, you are. This is an incredible honor, but you must be prepared to make many sacrifices for the sake of the Hierarchy. Secondly, we are not normal human beings. We are known as Locus, people who are tied to the Eternal Tap. We can manipulate much higher amounts of raw Tap energy than most. In fact we would have been able to use magic before the Thaynes had created the Eternal Tap.”

Vincent nodded. “That would explain a few things.”

“Indeed! This is a blessing and a curse, however. When we die, we do not move on to the afterlife, we fade into the Eternal Tap.”

Vincent paused for a moment and chewed on his lip. “Don’t you mean the Shattered Tap?”

Victor chuckled slightly. “Ah yes, I forgot about that. The Tap is not truly shattered Vincent.”

The scholar frowned. “How can that be?”

“Well, for starters, the Tap is a massive font of energy. Wouldn’t it shattering do infinitely more damage to the world than it did? The Tap was not shattered, but the...doorway to it was.”

“The doorway?”

“Think of it as a valve. The Thaynes had created a way for humanity to utilize the Tap. They opened the valve and energy began to flow out. When the Tap “shattered”, the valve was simply closed. The Tap springs that exist in the word we know are “leaks” of tap energy from the pressure of the closed pipe.”

Vincent nodded. “It sort of makes sense. Basically, the Tap was locked away from abusive hands but still allowed to exist so that others could use it.”

“Exactly,” Victor replied. “Only one issue.”

“And what is that?”

“What happens when you shove too much pressure on a pipe?”

“It bursts…”

“That’s why the Hierarchy needs to open the valve once more.”

“But the Forgotten…”

“Should be long gone by then if you do it right.”

Vincent frowned. “Interesting, but how do I go about killing false gods?”

“Well, we can start with Pode now can’t we?”