03-05-2010, 05:42 PM
Szar pushed himself harder, the muscles in his legs burning more painfully with each footfall. Just ahead of him was Solo, the ogre he'd first met upon arriving in Hell. Purgatory Szar corrected, reminding himself that Hell was just below him. He'd seen the staircase leading down on his second day, and had immediately elected to stay where he was. Besides, it wasn't bad here, a little humid but still tolerable. The blood fountains were a bit unsightly, too, now that Szar thought about it. And there wasn't much to do other than run laps and exercise. Then there was the fact that most of the denizens here were clouds, so he couldn't have intelligent conversation either.
Szar did a mental double take. How had he let himself adjust to "life" here? When he was alive, he'd always had the drive to succeed and push himself to his limits. Now he was content to spending his entire day running races with Solo. Races he couldn't win, no matter how hard he tried. Letting his pace slow, Szar waved to Solo's back as he surged further ahead, solely focused on winning. It was time for Szar to conquer his fears: it was time for him to go down into Hell. Solo had told the Icer that there were seven lavels, or "planes" to Hell, and that he would have to traverse them all before he made it to Dabura, the Overlord of Hell. Dabura alone had the power to return Szar to the living realm, and it was not a gift that he gave away easily. Only through a show of force or a sliver-tongued plea would the Demon King restore Szar to his mortal self.
He'd almost made it to the stairs, when he got the strangest feeling that he was being followed. Turning around, Szar was surprised to find a humanoid figure staring blankly at him. Aside from the ogres, he hadn't seen any other bipedal creatures down here, only the bodyless souls that fluttered around as clouds. The man looked odd, his face had sharp features but his eyes were dead, his expression blank. The Changeling didn't like this man, having been around long enough to know that he had bad intentions in mind.
"Szar. Race: Changeling. Greeting protocolls activated. Hello, my name is Ril and I come bearing an invitation.
"An invitation to what?" Szar inquired, paranoia settling into the back of his mind.
"Let's call it...a carnival." Ril said, pausing momentarily as it tried to decern the best word to describe what his master had planned.
"I have more important things to do that go to a carnival, I have to get out of here!"
Ril's lips turned into a smile, one that didn't look right on his face. "My master isn't holding the festivities here, they're taking place on the planet Earth."
Szar felt a wave of hope crash over him, but the feeling didn't last. It was impossible for him to attend, he had no means of returning to the real world. "How do you expect me to get there? I can't just walk out of here and come back with you."
"We have made the necessary arrangements. You are allowed temporary leave of this place to participate in my master's Carnival. He would very much like you to come."
Something clicked in Szar's brain. 'Participate'. "What do you mean by participate?"
"You will be made to take part in a series of events." Ril answered simply.
Szar wasn't convinced. "That's not enough to convince me, sorry but..."
"Make no mistake, participation is not optional. My master requests your presence, and he will have it." Szar noted a flash of anger playing across Ril's countenance, but it faded just as quickly as it appeared, his stoic expression falling back into place. The Changeling didn't like being forced into anything without proper intelligence on what he was getting into, but it didn't appear that he would get that from Ril. By cooperating, it meant that Szar would be allowed temporary leave from this place, and that offer sounded too good to pass up.
"Fine." the Icer folded, not having the energy or motivation to resist. "Let's get this over with."
"Excellent. Just close your eyes and relax."
Szar did as he was told, and in seconds they were gone, already on their way to Kill Town. What awaited Szar there, the Icer never could have anticipated...
Szar did a mental double take. How had he let himself adjust to "life" here? When he was alive, he'd always had the drive to succeed and push himself to his limits. Now he was content to spending his entire day running races with Solo. Races he couldn't win, no matter how hard he tried. Letting his pace slow, Szar waved to Solo's back as he surged further ahead, solely focused on winning. It was time for Szar to conquer his fears: it was time for him to go down into Hell. Solo had told the Icer that there were seven lavels, or "planes" to Hell, and that he would have to traverse them all before he made it to Dabura, the Overlord of Hell. Dabura alone had the power to return Szar to the living realm, and it was not a gift that he gave away easily. Only through a show of force or a sliver-tongued plea would the Demon King restore Szar to his mortal self.
He'd almost made it to the stairs, when he got the strangest feeling that he was being followed. Turning around, Szar was surprised to find a humanoid figure staring blankly at him. Aside from the ogres, he hadn't seen any other bipedal creatures down here, only the bodyless souls that fluttered around as clouds. The man looked odd, his face had sharp features but his eyes were dead, his expression blank. The Changeling didn't like this man, having been around long enough to know that he had bad intentions in mind.
"Szar. Race: Changeling. Greeting protocolls activated. Hello, my name is Ril and I come bearing an invitation.
"An invitation to what?" Szar inquired, paranoia settling into the back of his mind.
"Let's call it...a carnival." Ril said, pausing momentarily as it tried to decern the best word to describe what his master had planned.
"I have more important things to do that go to a carnival, I have to get out of here!"
Ril's lips turned into a smile, one that didn't look right on his face. "My master isn't holding the festivities here, they're taking place on the planet Earth."
Szar felt a wave of hope crash over him, but the feeling didn't last. It was impossible for him to attend, he had no means of returning to the real world. "How do you expect me to get there? I can't just walk out of here and come back with you."
"We have made the necessary arrangements. You are allowed temporary leave of this place to participate in my master's Carnival. He would very much like you to come."
Something clicked in Szar's brain. 'Participate'. "What do you mean by participate?"
"You will be made to take part in a series of events." Ril answered simply.
Szar wasn't convinced. "That's not enough to convince me, sorry but..."
"Make no mistake, participation is not optional. My master requests your presence, and he will have it." Szar noted a flash of anger playing across Ril's countenance, but it faded just as quickly as it appeared, his stoic expression falling back into place. The Changeling didn't like being forced into anything without proper intelligence on what he was getting into, but it didn't appear that he would get that from Ril. By cooperating, it meant that Szar would be allowed temporary leave from this place, and that offer sounded too good to pass up.
"Fine." the Icer folded, not having the energy or motivation to resist. "Let's get this over with."
"Excellent. Just close your eyes and relax."
Szar did as he was told, and in seconds they were gone, already on their way to Kill Town. What awaited Szar there, the Icer never could have anticipated...