The Dance of Doom

[matthewkuch]

Closed to redford

Gavner hissed as the harsh light seared in his eyes like hot coals. The creature of the night scrambled to cover them as he leapt up from his bed onto the hardwood floor. Rushing to the window while forgetting his own strength, he slammed blindly into the wall which sent out an angry cracking sound. With nimble fingers, Gavner grabbed the curtains and ripped them shut without tearing them. His sense of urgency gone, the vampire groggily rubbed his aching eyes and began to notice a slight headache.

“Why did I even come to this god forsaken land in the first place…” Gavner muttered aloud. As he stared around at the plain wooden room, Gavner began to recall his motives for being here.

“Gavner! Are you listening to me??” Fintin said.

“Huh what?” Gavner said, “Yes, please continue.”

“You had better be writing this down.”

Years ago when he was fifteen years old, Gavner stumbled upon Fintin, a vampire who was passing through the town. The boy, who had no parents and nothing to look forward to, asked the vampire to make Gavner one of his own kind. From then on Fintin not only acted as a father figure for Gavner but he also was the young one’s mentor. Gavner’s mentor was a very highly esteemed vampire who was known among the creatures of the night far and wide. Right now Gavner was aspiring to rank up in the kingdom and Fintin was explaining to Gavner how to accomplish this.

“Yes,” Fintin said, “in order for one to gain respect in the clan, one must be a master at a particular fighting style. You must choose a weapon. Have you taken a liking to any particular one?”

Gavner snapped out of his trance as he heard a creaking noise on the other side of the room. It was now dark and Mavrik, one of Gavner’s close friends, was stirring in his bed. When Mavrik had heard that Gavner was making the trek through Fallien, he insisted that he came along saying something about how vampires only go to Fallien when they wish to die. Just then Gavner felt a tug on his pants. He looked down to find Eva, his baby wolf gnawing on his clothing.

“Aww,” Gavner said lovingly while crouching down, “Good evening.” Eva replied with a happy bark. “Let us go downstairs and get food before Mavrik wakes up.”

Gavner and his wolf cub strolled down into the tavern to find an empty seat at the bar. The sun had just set and oil lanterns illuminated the whole place. Gavner looked around at everything and felt like something fishy was going on. It was the beginning of night time but the tavern was almost empty. There was only one other person who was sitting down at a table.

Just then a man burst in the door screaming. His shoulder was stained crimson red against his white traveling cloak and he wore no turban. He collapsed on the floor just beyond the door.

“Help, help!” The man screamed. “They’re everywhere. One minute it was calm and the next they just swooped in from the sky, they are attacking!” The man was hyperventilating and losing a massive amount of blood.

Gavner and the other man in the tavern made it to the collapsed Samaritan in a matter of seconds. Eva was by Gavner's side. “What,” Gavner urged, “what happened? Who is attacking?”

“They’re-“ the man shouted, “they’re-“ the man shouted, “DANCING SWORDFISH!!!!!”

[redford]

John was making his way back to Althanas proper since his training in Fallien, having mastered the style of the nomads here, adapting and improving on it for his own weaponless use. He’d stopped here at this small town to sleep for the evening, and on the morrow board a boat that would carry him to the shores of the Tular plains, from which he would return to his home. He lifted his whiskey to his lips, the liquid itself sat in a pint glass because he was so large. The whiskey bit at his throat again and he looked over to the bartender again. He was a gruff man who almost seemed cliche as he held a rag and wiped a glass. He shot a nervous glance over to John every once in a while. It was understandable, since John was usually the largest person in any room by over a foot.

Just then two more people entered the bar. A bloodied nomad through the front door, and a deathly-pale man with a puppy strode down the stairs from the inn above. The wounded man collapsed, John and the other stranger appearing beside him. He shouted, and the stranger replied, followed by one of the strangest statements John had ever heard.

“They’re DANCING SWORDFISH!”

Before John could form a thought in response, the bartender slammed his fist on the wood, making the cups and glasses on it jump for a split second.

“I will NOT live in fear of these swordfish any longer!” He exclaimed, pointing a finger at the two of them. “You two! Five hundred gold pieces for each of you if you stop them!”

John met the eyes of the stranger. Five hundred gold pieces was a lot, and it hardly seemed troublesome to get rid of some superstition that these people had. he stood, looking out the window. The failing light of evening was being replaced by an overcast sky. Quite ominous, since Fallien partial to a desert climate. But, John had never put much stock in superstition.

He spoke to the bartender.

“Yes, we will. Make sure he’s alright,” John said flatly as the bartender rushed around to give help to the injured stranger. John turned to the open door, ducking his shoulders through it. John’s gauntlets grew up up his forearms and his eyes narrowed. Felt like a storm approaching.

[matthewkuch]

Gavner smirked as the other man stood up. He was over a foot and half taller than the vampire, and it appeared as if he was nearly a quarter of a ton. Fancy silver plates covered his arms and legs, protecting his body and muscles from any harm that could have come. Golden hair flowed from his head as the same color stubble sprouted from his face, giving his square, box-cut jawline extreme definition. His shoulders looked close to four feet broad and his left bicep alone was the size of a half of a ham. The man had to turn sideways and duck through the tan colored wooden doorjam just to fit through. The vampire rose to his feet and followed the walking muscle mass out into the newborn night with Eva on his heels.

The oppressive heat of the Fallien climate descended on the creature of the night, enough to suffocate those who had not adjusted to it. Gavner's vampric eyes instantly adjusted to the darkness as he noted his surroundings. A hardened eight foot dirt path under his feet led to a broken, brown sandstone road that was most likely only used by people on foot. Camels and horses were usually kept outside in the stables near the well that yielded plenty of fresh water, so they could recuperate from journeys and stay out of the sun. Sand surrounded the roads and all of the paths, but Gavner rarely walked on it because sinking in was so irritating. There were several permanent buildings in this town but there were mainly tents set up as residences to avoid the wear and tear. The streets were busier than ever, as activity in the town was far more common at night than during the day in the extremely overwhelming heat.

Angry thunderheads rolled in from the distance, creating even more darkness in the town. Suddenly a bolt of lightening flashed across the sky in the distance and thunder rattled the window panes of the inn. Gavner saw a grey blurb fly from the sky and fall, soaring towards his and the other man's position. As it descended more and more, it took shape and looked like some sort of fish. As it reached the ground about twenty feet away it swerved upright, totaling about eight feet tall. People screamed and shouted and began to scatter, and more began to fall from the sky. Gavner could not believe his eyes, but it actually looked like a swordfish. It began to wriggle right and left, bouncing up and down in the air- almost as if it was dancing. It leapt up in the air and plunged its pointy sword into the nearest passerby, who was screaming and squirming in agony in the now crimson stained sand. People were screaming and running around, some in circles, all with their hands thrown up in the air. There was no order, and utter chaos.

Gavner looked up at the He-Man who was staring at the bizarre scene, too baffled to speak, just as confused as the creature of the night was.

"You take the ones on the right, I will get the ones on the left?"