Living Dangerously ((OPEN, mods please delete/close other thread))

[Whiteshadow]

Dweia purred as Eternium stroke her, lost in thoughts and the depths of his, as the local tavern master had called it, "special". While really a cheap brew between alcohol and wine, the man enjoyed it immensely. It was like washing your body in a cold shower after a hot day, he thought to himself merrily. While it may give you shivers at first, it would quickly satisfy your needs. The albino took another huge gulp of his drink, as onlookers and betters looked on with amazement and concentration. This was his 5th drink so far, and to onlookers he wasn't even near drunk. Which explained the bettings.

Even the tavern master was impressed. "Once saw a lad bout your age down 12 glasses of this stuff and walk out of here completely sober." The older man said as he took up a seat near the albino. "I never thought I would see the day when another would come."

Eternium simply winked merrily at the tavern master and replied, "Ah, I am simply relaxing." To prove his point he leaned backwards and gulped the rest of his drink down in one mighty swallow. Wiping his mouth off politely with a napkin nearby, he said to the tavern master, "...ah, that was good. Can I have another?"

The man simply smiled with joyful glee and sat up from his place by the experiment. He personally wondered how much more this stranger could take, and was about to make a wager of his own when a booming voice erupted from the back of the tavern: "What ho! A challenger, eh?"

All eyes turned to see a hulking barbarian of a man carrying twin axes and clothes that would make a prostitute blush come in through the back door of the bar. He was huge, and Eternium guessed that the man must have some giant blood in him for the light way he carried himself. The giant man sat on another chair next to the albino and it creaked in protest but did not break. " 'Ello, Jered Dickson! Its been far too long!" the giant spoke to the tavern master, who had to look up at the giant's face even though he was standing and the giant was sitting.

"Garathnok." the tavern master responded curtly, but inwardly groaned. Last time this big fellow had been in here, he had gotten so drunk that he proposed to eleven different women and destroyed half the furniture. However, the giant man was polite and even intelligent when sober, which made for good conversation. However, it didn't look like the giant had come over for conversation, as he hungrily eyed the drink in Jered's hand. "What brings you back to Scara Brae?"

"Ah, simply some bodyguard work for some rich merchant who is too lazy." Garathnok replied with a wave of his hands that suggested the matter was unimportant. However, this conversation had sparked up the experiment's interest. He himself had not had a job in months, and was, admittedly, a little broke. Maybe...

Eternium turned to Garathnok. "This job...can you tell me about it?"

The giant eyed the strangely dressed albino with a crooked smile. "Yeah, and I reckon you would like the job yourself, ay?"

Eternium blinked. This man was smarter than he appeared to be. He set Dweia down from the bar and onto his lap, where she curled up in a tight ball and fell asleep. "Well, yes."

The giant laughed, a huge booming sound that left many bookers and onlookers stunned. "Ah just as well. I was inclined to decline the job anyways."

Just then, Garathnok's eyes widened slightly, then narrowed in concentration. In one move, he pulled out a giant purse from his side and looked through it. A smile crossed his lips as he obviously had an idea. "But, " he began slowly. "In order to get that info, you have to beat me in a drinking contest. Loser buys."

Eternium smirked. This sounded like his kinda game. "Your on." he said rashly, and grabbed the drink in Jered's outstrectched hand.

[The Writing Writer]

" Oh dear smithy, so bold and so witty,
Won't you have pitty on gritty little me?

My stomach, it grumbles, my mind, it crumbles
My mouth, it mumbles and fumbles for tea.

But alas, no cash. No money, you see.
I'll ask, dear ass, some money for me? "

The bushy bearded blacksmith's face was painted with pure confusion as he stared blankly at the pale young man who hung upside down from the ceiling of his small shop. The smithy had no idea when the young man had entered his shop. He hadn't heard anyone come in, but here he was; some crazed loon spitting out poems while hanging by his legs from the roof.

" Listen boy, I ain't got no idea whatchur babblin' about, but if'n yer askin' for coin yer outta luck. I ain't carryin' none on me. "

Jacob tilted his head, staring menacingly into the blacksmith's eyes. He glanced from the blacksmith to a small brown sack that rested on an anvil in the corner of the room. The blacksmith noticed the boy's eyes and immediately understood that he was caught.

" Alright boy, I ain't got nothin' fer ya, so ya best be on yer way fer things get ugly. "

The blacksmith slowly reached for a nearby repair hammer, gripping it tightly, ready to crush Jacob's skull at a moment's notice. Jacob smiled, releasing his grip from the ceiling. He landed on his hands and supported his body with his arms. He turned about and walked his way towards the open doorway with his hands. Before he reached the door however, he turned about to face the smithy once again.

" Silly little man with your hammer in hand
You know not what you've done.
You've asked for death with your lying breath
And oblige I shall...for fun. "

Jacob rolled out of the shop and onto his feet in the street. He quickly made a mental note of the man's face. He would not forget. In a month's time, the man's skin would be dangling from his shop's door, as a lovely little poem written in blood.

Jacob strolled, with an awkward bounce in his step, down the streets of the dusty little town in the dusty little land called Scara Brae. It was a genuine pile of shit on the face of Althanas. At least when compared to Jacob's home town, Radasanth. He ached for it's long, dark alleyways that made abduction little more than child's play.

Unfortunately for Jacob, however, all the big bad sword wielding adventurers that often wandered Radasanth's cobblestone streets were off fighting in the war. Oh how Jacob mourned when the most challenging prey left the city limits. That is why he was here, in Scara Brae. He had left Corone, and his ' lair ', if you will, in Radasanth, to search for new victims in foreign lands. He was, thus far, unimpressed.

The Scarabrians were a bland people, boasting no extraordinary attributes of any kind. They were mostly human, with some dwarves, elves and other minorities thrown into the mix. The land had forests, it had mountains, it had rivers, it had seas, but what did it have that no other land had? What individuality could it offer? Jacob had grown tired of all the faces. The same old, greasy, bland, boring, middle class, dull as dishwater people were enough to drive the craziest of the crazies up a wall, into the sky and off the face of the fuc--

And then, something caught Jacob's eye. Something very unique. There, in the window of this ordinary, run of the mill tavern sat two very unusual figures. One was an outright giant with enough skin to write a novel. The other was as pale as the moon. His skin was flawless. The ultimate parchment. Jacob pressed his hands against the glass of the tavern as he stared at them with hungry eyes. He stared for only a moment before making his way inside, for his breath on the glass created a fog that blocked his view. Once inside he would watch. He would observe the two and decide which was the best, which one he should kill...

[Whiteshadow]

The giant sputtered once, his eyes glazing over after his 12th glass of alcohol, and suddenly his body groaned and tipped, falling to the floor with a booming crash that echoed throughout the tavern. The many onlookers gasped or screamed, while Eternium only ruefully smiled. The big man should have known better than to challenge someone who could not lose. The tavern keeper only looked on in amazement as the albino finished his seventeenth glass and set it down on the table, wiping his mouth with a hankerchief before sighing dramatically. "Poor man." He mused as he reached for Garathnok's purse and looked inside of it. He took out a few gold coins and set them on the table. "There, that should be enough to settle for the cost. By the way, do you have any place to put him? I still want to hear about this job when he wakes up."

Jered smiled and nodded his head. "Boy, will he be shocked. I'll put him upstairs in the master bedroom for now, its the largest one we have and I'm not using it for the time being.

Eternium nodded. "Alright. You need any help?"

"Nah." Jered whistled twice, and immediately five muscled men came in wearing weapons and armor. Eternium cocked an eyebrow at the tavern master and Jered explained. " Personal guards. They look after the place when i'm gone or I'm in trouble."

"Ah."

Eternium simply watched as the men struggled to bring the giant up the stairs, and was about to turn to the rest of the crowd to see how much longer he could drink when he noticed there was no crowd. Eternium laughed and rolled his eyes and was about to order one more drink before he went upstairs to wait for the big guy to get up when he noticed something in the corner of his eye.

It was a man, sitting all alone with his fingers clasped, and he stared at the albino with intense eyes that Eternium had often seen in the eyes of his "creators" when they had discovered his abilities. However, in this one there was a dangerous edge to it that made the albino experiment slightly uneasy.

Well, only slightly. Eternium got up from his place at the bar and walked over to the table where the man was sitting at, picking up Dweia and placing her on his shoulder. "Hello stranger, " he greeted the man as he approached. "How are yo-" he was about to ask when Dweia suddenly hissed and spitted at the sitting man, and her claws dug into his shoulders.

Eternium looked at her and frowned. What was with her?

[The Writing Writer]

The bigger they are, the harder they fall. It is a rather well-known saying, however it is commonly used as a metaphor. Rarely does one witness it in a literal sense. This day was a note-worthy day, for it had been full of suprises.

It seemed as though the two men had decided amongst themselves, which one of them would be Jacob's victim. There was no thrill in taking the life of a sleeping giant, especially one whose body proves to be almost too much for five muscle bound body guards to carry. Jacob was not afraid of a fight, he wasn't afraid of anything, but heavy lifting was beyond him.

As the body guards carried the giant upstairs, Jacob's gaze shifted to the pale man. He was sporting a rather unusual white coat. Jacob had once been a nobleman of sorts, but even then he never understood the world's fascination with extravagant clothes. They simply got in the way.

Jacob's thoughts were scattered when he realized the pale man approaching his table. Jacob fought to keep the twisted smirk on his face as nothing more. In his experience, greeting someone with a sadistic grin often lead to...complications.

The pale man offered Jacob a hello and surely expected one in return. Jacob would have been happy to oblige were it not for the hissing cat resting on the pale man's shoulder. Jacob had seen this before. Nearly all animals seemed to have a sort of sixth sense that alerted them to the presence of evil. Jacob preferred not to worry with trivial things such as good and evil, however the general public did not share his views on morality. In short, the cat was a problem.

" Dear friend of mine, would you be so kind
as to shoo that cat away?
Alergies, you see, often plague me
when a feline comes my way. "

[Whiteshadow]

This hadn't been the first time Dweia had acted like this, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. But when the weird man began speaking in rhyme and Eternium was able to see into his eyes clearly, the experiment could only feel one thing pulsing from the man in waves:

Death.

Not that Eternium was afraid, mind you. In fact, he was rather enthralled by the fact that he was sitting across from such a deadly man. The genetic experiment noted the way the man was dressed, how he held himself, his calloused hands, all things that contrasted his eloquent if odd speech.

In short, Eternium's logic could only come to one conclusion: the man was psychotic and he wanted Eternium for more than companionship. Even so, this struck no fear into his heart, and he smiled at the prospect of a new experience. As a viligante of Scara Brae he had to watch out for people like these, and eradicate them a.s.a.p.

And so the man felt a little sad when he came to the conclusion that this odd creature who spoke in rhyme had to die. He was simply too dangerous to be contained.

Eternium stood. "Why certainly, my good fellow." He picked Dweia up and was about to set her on the ground when he brought her face to face and looked her in the eyes. She was a rather intelligent cat, so he hoped that she got his meaning just from his look. When he set her down and she scampered away, he had a feeling that she did.

He turned back to the killer and felt a thrill of excitement and nervousness at what he must do. "My name is Eternium. Could you come with me for a minute? I have an offer that may intrigue you." He added in a little bit of a foreign accent to make the lie more genuine, and without waiting for another of the man's strange answers he stepped out into the light of Scara Brae streets and starting walking off in the direction of a small alleway, where the mid-afternoon sun cast a shadow that darkened the entire length of it. Eternium stepped into this shadow and began concentrating as he waited for the man to follow.

[The Writing Writer]

Jacob's eyebrow raised with intrigue. The pale man had introduced himself as Eternium, but it was not the mans peculiar name that had Jacob's interest peeked, it was the way he spoke.

When the man greeted Jacob, he had no sort of inflection in the words he used, nor when he agreed to dismiss his cat. However, when the man asked Jacob to accompany him, hoping to entice the madman with some sort of proposal, he without a doubt had an accent. Why would he do this? Why would he change his pronunciation all of a sudden? He was obviously not plagued with a madness of any sort. The only possibilities were that he did it purely for his own entertainment, or more likely, it was a subterfuge.

It seemed this pale man, this Eternium, was aware of Jacob's true nature, though this was not so uncommon. After all, it wasn't exactly ' normal ' for one to speak in rhyme. But this was simply the Writing Writer's way. He was a poet. A poet whose mind was like a shattered mirror, but a poet none the less.

As of right now, Jacob could not be sure of the man's intentions. They had barely even started a conversation and already this Eternium had some sort of proposal for Jacob, a man he had seen for the first time only moments ago. Jacob would need to be careful. This man could very well be some sort of bounty hunter. But how could that be? No one knew the face of the Writing Writer. If they did, he would not have been able to walk the streets of Radasanth so easily when he had stayed there. What was going on?

Against his better judgement, Jacob followed the pale man out of the tavern and into the streets. But when the pale man took a turn down into a dark alleyway, Jacob knew that the man did not have good intentions. That, or the matter the man wished to discuss was not for the ears of the public, though they could have spoken privately back inside the tavern, or could have rented a room. No, it was not right. The whole situation wreaked. Jacob did not know who this man was, but he knew that he had no desire to talk.

Jacob stood firmly in the street. He would not be moved. Jacob kept his eyes locked on his deceptive new aquaintance's. Jacob spoke not a word, but the message was clear. He would make no move towards that alley. He would not play the pale man's game.

[Whiteshadow]

Eternium felt a jump in his chest as he saw the man follow him into the street. Did his ploy actually work? He wondered, and steeled himself for whatever may come. However, he was stood up by the man when he saw his pale pink eyes focus on Eternium's form, and the genetic experiment got one message clear from his expression. That he would not be tricked. Somehow the man knew that in the darkness Eternium would have the advantage.

Even though the experiment hated the dark.

Nonetheless, he finished gathering the shadows around him until his clothing was woven into a cloak of blackness that sorrounded him like the wind itself. Mentally holding onto this cloak, Eternium stepped back into the light, where both he and the madman could see each other plainly.

"Ah, I guess you couldn't be fooled." Eternium said, smiling with a rougish grin and flipping his long silver hair into the wind. "But that would be too easy, wouldn't it?" He looked around him and saw several people standing wide eyed and opened mouthed at the visage he created, as the cloak of darkness had begun to sorround him, a cocoon of shadow. Let them watch... He thought to himself arrogantly. He had the power of both light and darkness on his side.

"Well, lets get this started then, shall we?" He called out to the man, then flung the cape around him and dissapeared. After a few seconds however, the cape opened above the pale madman and Eternium stepped out into the air, and immediately three swords of light appeared about him. Grabbing onto two of them, he shot the third straight down at the man, using gravity itself to increase the blade's speed.

I would like to make a note that the "cloak of darkness" thing is not a new ability of any sorts, but is in fact Eternium's Shadow Step ability from the original profile. I just wanted to clarify this.

[The Writing Writer]

No worries. I've read your profile several times through, so I understand what you're capable of.

Arrogance was a trait that seemed to be more and more common these days. Even Jacob had his prideful moments, though he never boasted so boldly as this Eternium did. He had attracted alot of attention from the on-lookers, including the town guard. His shadow act had managed to arouse their concern, and that was enough.

Before Jacob could make a move, the shadow dancer vanished. Jacob's heart rate began to climb slowly as his eyes darted left and right, searching for any sign of his opponent. He took a few steps back to try and widen his view of the surrounding area, but just as he finished his last step a beam of light shot down in front of him, just inches from his face. Jacob's eyes would have widened to the size of saucers were it not for the brightness of the light in front of him. His eyes narrowed as he jumped back, trying to hide the from the strange light.

Once he had gained proper footing he was able to get a better look at the strange light that appeared before him. It seemed to resemble a sword. A sword!? Jacob Looked up to see his opponent had been above him all along, and he had new toys to play with.

Jacob smiled with an arrogance to equal that of his enemies. This wielder of energies had made a grave mistake. He had attacked an unarmed man in public. Already he had done enough to be arrested. Jacob's gaze shifted to the guards emerging from the crowd. They carried spears, and were poised to attack. Jacob's sinister smile turned to a grin. He shouted out as loud as he could, ensuring that all around could hear him.

" Assault! Assault! Can you not see!?
This man! This fiend! He means to kill me!
Help! Help! I am unarmed!
Protect me! Protect me! Protect me from harm! "

The guards had heard Jacob's call and answered immediately. They rushed to his side and turned to face Eternium. Their spears in hand, they barked out orders at the foolish pale man.

" Stop! You have violated the law! Lay down your weapons immediately! "

[Whiteshadow]

Oops.Eternium thought ruefully. The very ones he was attempting to aid now were attacking him instead. Well, its not like I shouldn't have expected that to happen.

The genetic experiment landed just inches in front of the man himself and threw back a wicked grin. "Nice moves. I was really expecting that to hit, y'know." Ignoring the guards he threw back his hair and all three blades vanished, and he reached for the madman in what seemed to be a threatening manner. However, just as his hand reached the man's shoulder he spun around and turned to the guards with both hands up, his countenance innocent and smiling.

"No worries officers! Me and my friend here were just having a little game that we play from time to time." He gestured his head to the other man and threw him a glance that said; Say one more thing and your dead.

Throwing an arm around the man's shoulders he began leading him away from the crowd of people and to the gate. "Sorry for the inconvinience, we'll bring our 'game' somewhere's else." He smiled one last time at the stunned officers as he led the man and himself away from the square.

__________________________________________________ _______________

A little while's later...

The albino sat down heavily on the bed in the room he had rented for a bit in the same tavern that he and the madman had first met. He sighed, and ran one white-gloved hand through his silver hair as he eyed the man leaning against the door, his raving pink eyes staring at the experment hungrily.

"Well, we got off to a bad start, didn't we?" He chuckled, but immediately a sword of light appeared in the ray of sunshine that poured down through the window and pointed itself at the man. Eternium looked at it and then the man. "Don't worry. I mean you no actual harm, and I did have a proposition for you."

Actually, that was partly a lie. Back in the alleyway Eternium did have every intention to kill this man, but he was impressed by the man's reflexes and intrigued by the way this man's mind worked. Cunning like a predator's, but savage like a beast's as well.

About the proposition, well...it was up to the madman whether or not he wanted to believe the albino.

"Alright, lets start from the top." Eternium said with a conversational tone. "My name is Eternium. And you, my rhyme speaking friend, are...?"

[The Writing Writer]

The spectacle that unfolded in the streets was anything but a game, at least for most it wouldn't have been. In actuality, it was all a game to Jacob. He managed to bring a smile to every encounter he had ever had. The obvious exceptions being anything that had happened to him before his mind had forsaken him. Other than that, however, Jacob managed to find the fun in everything. From the most mundane, every day activities to the most twisted actions a human being could perform. Even when he himself was in danger. It was all just a game. Life...reality...was just a game.

Jacob grinned widely. The pale man was good at the game. He had Jacob in a rather inconvenient position. A sword of light hovered in the air, ready to pierce Jacob's body at a moment's notice. The door behind him was shut tight. Jacob could not open it quickly enough to evade the sword if it were launched at him. Jacob's sadistic grin was joined with an equally sadistic giggle. Checkmate.

For now, Jacob would humor the man. It seemed as though he had no other choice. In truth, Jacob had no interest in a proposition of any kind. He had no need for material things. It was all simply for fun.

The pale man introduced himself once again as Eternium, only this time there were no meddling cats to interrupt Jacob before he could speak. This would be interesting. The Writing Writer had never introduced himself to someone who had tried to kill him before.

" A one, a two, a twenty plus three.
The letters, THE LETTERS! Count them with me.

Buhrkheardt is eleven all on it's own.
Zachary is seven, as is clearly shown.

Jacob is five and sometimes called V.
You add them together and it's me! Twenty three! "

[Whiteshadow]

Eternium chuckled at the rhyme. The man, although unstable, was quite amusing. His words flowed as easily as if they were written on paper, and Eternium was reminded of a quill sliding across a piece of parchment rather than the harsh vocalizations of the throat and tongue. It was unnerving, and sent slight chills down the experiment's spine.

"Hmm, I wonder, then what I shall call you?" Eternium stroked his chin thoughtfully, but the sword in the air did not waver. "I know! I'll call you Jake, for short, as I don't know which of your names comes in first." He waved a hand at the mad man. "But in any case, I know you are eager to get out of here, so i'll get to the point." Eternium stood up and brushed off his coat.

"I don't really know you." Eternium voice turned deadly serious as his blue eyes focused upon the other man's pink ones. "And I don't know what your motivation to kill is. Normally, I would have killed you back there without a second thought." He jabbed a thumb out at the window. "But you surprised me, and, although I hate to admit it, you intrigue me. So my proposition is this: I have been offered a job as a body guard, which that giant of a man had earlier mentioned." He cocked a white eyebrow. "Although I don't think you were present at the time. However, I don't know all the details, and admittedly a cat isn't much for companionship."

"So, I was wondering if you would like to tag along." He held up a white-gloved hand to stop any rhyming words. "I don't know what you would be interested in, but I have a feeling that more than a little blood would be shed." Eternium's jovial attitude returned as he gave the madman a wink. "You can have a go at me afterwards. I'm really interested in seeing what you can do."

[The Writing Writer]

Jacob was indeed eager to fight, but he was not eager to die just yet. In any other case he wouldn't have even bothered with a response. He would have simply slaughtered whoever was foolish enough to offer him a job in the first place. But in this particular instance, he was trapped. He would surely be killed if he refused. And on the plus side, he had to admit, the thought of being allowed to kill without the interference of the law was an exciting thought indeed.

" A guardian? Me? Surely you jest.
You must think a heart beats in this chest.
My heart you see, is on holiday.
He left on a ship and sailed far away.

In spite of my heart, and his truancy
I think I shall go with you, Mr. E.
But do not think of me as a friend.
For if you do, you'll meet an early end.

Head these words pretty boy,
If you trust in me I'll make you my toy.
I'll pluck out your eyes and tear out your hair.
I warn you now, you must beware.

I waste not these words on idle threats.
If you turn your back, I will bring you death.
And with that, we're off! Into the bright sunset!
Let us make haste and pray we do not regret. "


Jacob held out his hand to shake the gloved hand of Eternium. It seemed as though they would have a deal. But what is the worth of a deal with a devil?

[Whiteshadow]

Etenium shrugged. "I wouldn't expect any less of you, Jake. I'm just glad you agreed. Makes things easier, for both you and I." The experiment shook the hand of Death complacently. "For now, I must take my leave and see what exactly Garathnok has planned."

He spared a glance out the window. "Hmm...meet me at the docks at 5 o'clock tommorow morning." He looked back at the madman with narrowed but joy filled eyes. "I'll expect you there. And don't even think about running off: wherever you go, I can find you. And you don't want to be if I do." With that thought Eternium suddenly launched the sword he had been controlling with his mind and it embedded itself deep within the wood of the door, spearing itself out to the other side. He could hear cries of surprise and shock from outside the door, and quickly pushed it open to step into the hallway, the sword of light dissapearing.

Before he left, however, he gave the mad man a blue eyed stare down. "Remember. Five o'clock. The docks." And with a swirl of his strange coat, Eternium the genetic experiment and viligante of Scara Brae was gone.

-------------------------------

A couple hours later...

"Well, that's the jist of it." Garathnok said to Eternium, rubbing his head in pain as he slowly recovered from his hangover. Eternium had come in expecting the big man to still be sleeping, but was surprised to find him wide awake. Hung over, but awake.

Eternium went over the details in his head. "So, we are to escort this....gambler to the island nation of Corone, bassically? And we are to expect a medium-to-high level of danger by the time we are out of Scara Brae?" He wasn't too worried about the danger himself, but he wanted to make sure that Jacob got his fill of the kills as well. After all, that's what Eternium thought would be the punchline in drawing him in.

The giant man nodded. "Ay. Oh, also, the gambler came over while you were gone. 'Is name is Selins al'Born, or somethin' or other. Anyways, he came over and 'inquired' about mah current status according to the job. 'Ah told 'im that I was givin' it up ta you, but he simply shook 'is 'ead and said that he needed me too, so it look's like ah'll be goin' with ya." Garathnok smiled weakly. "But if you keep on drinkin' like that I don't know if ah could be 'round ya much longer..." He chuckled.

Eternium smiled too, but inside he was worried. He had only counted on there being him, Jacob, and the gambler, but it seems like more variables had sprung up then. "I have a question then. Recently I just aqquired a...." the experiment searched for the right word. "...an aqquataince. And he was interested in joining as well. Would he--"

The giant waved a hand. "Don't worry 'bout it. 'E said bassicaly the more the merrier, and he's already recruited 'nother member, some magic user or somethin', I dunno..." the man grumbled, and Eternium had a suspicion that he was not fond of magic.

In that case Eternium had even more to worry about. He had not only to keep an eye on Jacob, but now had to deal with people he didn't know a thing about. "Do you think he'll be recruiting any more?" He asked the giant.

" 'Onestly, no. 'E is a gambler, after all, and even they have limited funds." Garathnok said. He then groaned as an obvious wave of pain hit his head. "Damn, that stuff was stronger than ah thought." He waved a hand at the white-coated warrior. "Leave me, now. We'll talk more in the mornin'." He groaned once more and collapsed upon the bed, it creaking under his heavy weight.

Eternium smirked and nodded, getting up and leaving the room. As he closed the door behind him his smirk went upside down as he contemplated these new variables. Finally, though, after realizing there was nothing he could do, he went to his own room and lay in his bed, staring out the window at the growing night.

After tonight, it would begin.

My conclusion post. No spoils requested.

[The Writing Writer]

The peculiar man, clad in white, exited the room with a sort of arrogant showmanship that was fit for a hyper active prepubescent boy. Jacob chuckled at his own thoughts, picturing the young man prancing out of the room, holding his cloak much like a dress. Jacob's chuckle quickly escalated into a rather discomforting bout of laughter that could surely be heard out of the room and down the hall.

Without any warning what-so-ever, Jacob sprinted across the room and jumped feat first out of the closed window, sending glass and blood into the air, both glistening in the sunlight.

He landed heavily on the ground beneath him, drops of blood and shards of glass following. He raised his left foot and found the source of much of the blood. A shard of glass had found a new home in the Writing Writer's sole.

" My appologies glass, but you cannot stay.
I've much to do and many to kill today.
Take no offense, but you'll slow me down.
So I bid you farewell, be with your friends on the ground. "

Jacob plucked the small piece of glass from his foot and placed it gently on the ground amongst the other shards. He grinned menacingly, grinding his teeth as he did so. The blacksmith who had lied to him earlier came to mind. Jacob had plenty of time between now and when he would meet the man in white. He would go visit the blacksmith, and repay him for the kindness he showed Jacob earlier.

Jacob strolled off into the streets of Scara Brae, hands in his pockets. He whistled a cheery tune as he made his way towards the smithy, blending into the still bustling crowd.

Final post. No spoils requested.

[Witchblade]

Storyline

Continuity: - 6 The story started off rather well, with a cute little drinking game at the beginning between Eternium and some random stranger that tends to actually have meaning to it for once! However, the reader has no idea of how or why Eternium is in SB, besides the fact that he thinks himself some great vigilante freeing the world of all the crazies. Jacob’s appearance in SB was actually explained and attributed to the war currently going on in Corone. There were a few other points in the story that seemed rather rushed and a little strange, but over all it was enjoyable. The ending left the reader a little wanting though, as I actually thought the two of you were going to go on this job. Instead you cut off right before and just leave the reader hanging.

Setting: - 3 There was a definite lack of setting throughout the story. The tavern was briefly described but not enough to properly give the reader a good picture of it. The alleyway the also described a little bit, but for the most part there wasn’t much at all in the way of setting. I do believe the majority of it came from Shadow, where as The Writing Writer really needs to actually work on including setting more in his posts.

Pacing: - 5 There wasn’t much of a climax due to where you guys actually left the story off, and I noticed upon reading the dates that The Writing Writer wrote his conclusion post after the thread was submitted for judging. Tsk, tsk. Besides that, the pacing of the quest was at times a little all over the place, especially where Shadow just skipped by an unknown amount of time, somehow convince the guards him and Jacob were just playing a game and then ended up back in his room. That’s rather close to bunnying a character out of the scene since Jacob could have easily said, ‘no, this isn’t a game. Arrest him.’ But Shadow you didn’t give him a chance to do that.

Character

Dialogue: - 7 The dialogue from Jacob is interesting to say the least. Unfortunately at times it does affect the clarity, but you’ll hear about that in clarity. Writing with poetry is something new and well, The Writing Writer is definitely good at it. But as the reader, I don’t think I could handle an extremely long quest filled with poems like that. Shadow, you have a good grasp of dialogue as well, the words from your character flowing rather easily, though sometimes he says some rather Earth-like terms. ‘You’re on’ and A.S.A.P are two good examples.

Action: - 6 Shadow, your actions were…questionable. Your character tells someone he clearly doesn’t know—and just decided he has to kill—that he has a proposition for him and then leaves the tavern and goes down a dark alleyway. I don’t think an innocent toddler would follow you down there! It was silly of you to actually think his character would follow you and then on top of that you attacked him in the middle of the town filled with guards. The Writing Writer, your actions seemed extremely true to your character, though that brief time where Eternium leads you off after your little ‘game’ really had me wondering. Jacob didn’t seem like the kind of guy who would so willingly follow Eternium into his room. (Bow-chicka-bow-wow)

Persona: - 7 The two personalities were extremely strong in this story and came out very well. I did question Eternium suddenly deciding he had to kill Jacob within the first, I dunno, thirty seconds of meeting him, but other than that, no problems.

Writing Style

Mechanics: - 6 Shadow you really need to work on your sentence structure. Sometimes they can be extremely awkward to read and a little bit confusing. Writer, you need to watch your spelling, you’re mixing up some of your words. You used feat instead of feet and head instead of heed.

Technique: - 6 Writer, you definitely have a very nicely developed writing style with this character. Occasionally you even throw that fluid poetry into your paragraphs, though you may or may not know that. Shadow, you need to work on your technique with this character a little more, but as I’ve previously stated in another quest of yours I judged, you’re doing quite well.

Clarity: - 8 Speaking in poems can sometimes be a bit confusing to the reader, especially one that isn’t very good at reading poetry. The part where Jacob was giving Eternium his name was a little bit of a ‘huh?’ Other than that, the actions I’ve already mentioned from Eternium and Shadow’s first sentence in his opening post, everything was nice and clear.

Wild Card: - 7 This was an enjoyable read, but I wish it had been longer and the two of you had actually gone on that bodyguard job. I get the feeling it would have been a rather interesting mission.

Total: 61

Reward:

Eternium receives 450 experience and 100 GP!
Jacob receives 490 experience and 100 GP!

[Karuka]

EXP/GP added!