The air tasted like despair,fear and
Bacon.
Things with no name skittered and
crawled about.
The night Clung to the sides of walls
like a Lover.
Somewhere a dog barked, somewhere a
Woman Screamed, somewhere something ancient stirred.
In other words it was a normal morning
in CROSROADS.
Crossroads, if the World had a center,
then this was the Town farthest from it. It was a town of last
chances and lost souls. The final stop before the WASTELAND.
No one came to CROSRAODES because they
wanted to, they came because they had no where else to go. Some came
to prove them selves, some to escape them selves. Some came to hide,
others to seek, and some came because they had herd the call of the
Lost god demanding they come east. East, always east. They came to
this place, some stayed, some kept going, many died.
It was the way of things.
She had come to CROSROADES because no
place else would have her, the body of an Eight year old, the mind of
a genius and the soul of, well that’s the thing isn’t it. If
MELODY DRAC had a soul it was not wholly hers, she shared part of it
with the Thing. She had not been born, more like made. An instrument
to bring about the Apocalypse, destined for great and horrible
things. Yet when the time came, the elder chaos that had molded her
changed it's mine.
Basically immortal, forever trapped in
the body of an eight Year old Girl. She had wandered the world, her
moment of destiny long past and thus, she found her self just another
inhabitant of Crossroads. No longer special, just there to spend the
rest of her time on this world doing.....
“Anything, just give me something to
do! Mallik.”
“What do you think I have for you to
do Little God?”
“I don't know, just anything. It's
been so dull around hear lately and you always seem to have a bit of
trouble that needs doing.”
The burly blacksmith took a moment to
glance at the Small Child standing in his Shack of a Shop. On the
Surface she appeared to just be an Eight year old girl with Black
Pigtails, pale skin in a cute dress. It was only when you looked in
her Black Eyes that you saw a glimmer of the terror she almost was.
“I don't what you expect of me, I am
just a Blacksmith.”
She stamped her foot.
“Your no more Blacksmith then I am a
School Girl. I'm Bored!”
“Your always Bored Little god, we
had this talk a week ago.”
“Yes and you gave me something to
do”
“If you mean the matter with the
Hanged man and the Missing River pearls, I only suggested you might
look in the hut of Ol' Mama Grim.”
“Yes, see and that was exciting. I
had to fight a Naga, it had huge teeth Bit a hole in me the Size of a
human fist. Bleed for hours.”
“You seem fine to me.”
“I heal fast and bore quickly, I
cant help it. Its how I was made. Come On Mallik, I know you have
something. It's so bloody hot this season and no one wants to play
with me.”
“Maybe they do not like the way you
Play?”
“That was One time and the Goblins
got the Green fire out, eventually”
“It burnt for Three days.”
“I said eventually Look, ill sweep up the shavings that’s how bored I am.”
“I said eventually Look, ill sweep up the shavings that’s how bored I am.”
She moved towards the Broom hanging
from his wall, knowing full well that the Burly Blacksmith could not
stand any one cleaning his Shop but him.
“Fine, fine. I did hear one thing.”
She almost quivered with anticipation,
and to say the Blacksmith did not take some degree of pleasure in his
ability to manipulate her would be a lie.
“You know Qwelip, the Ogre guide?”
“Of course I do.”
“He's late coming back from his last
run.”
“How late?”
“Day, maybe to. Istavan is going to
be angry.”
There are those who still believe that
beyond the Waste was a Ancient land of great beauty and even greater
Wealth .Year after Year a handful of Brave and often foolish
Adventures would come to Crossroads seeking a way to reach that land
so as to claim there share of its fabled Wonder.
Qwelip the Ogre was one of the few beings who “Claimed “ to know the way to this fabled land and would offer his Strength and Skill as Guide and Guard to any One willing to pay his Price. He had never failed to return from his Voyages, the same could not always be said about those he traveled with.
Qwelip the Ogre was one of the few beings who “Claimed “ to know the way to this fabled land and would offer his Strength and Skill as Guide and Guard to any One willing to pay his Price. He had never failed to return from his Voyages, the same could not always be said about those he traveled with.
A few weeks Ago, Istavan had trusted
Qwelip with a mission in to the Waste, what it was no one had dared
to ask. There were several reason why this was Interesting to Melody
Drac, first off anything powerful enough in the Waste to slow down or
even-God's forbid-kill an Ogre was a threat not to be taken lightly,
but far worse then that was if Qwelip was late, then Istavan would be
mad. Istavan being mad was never a good thing, most if not all the
Inhabitants of Crossroads avoided the Old Lich Istavan if they could
out of Fear and respect. It was Istavan's power that often kept the
City safe from the things in the Wasteland.
“So, if I could find out what
happened to Qwelip, then Istavan would be in my debt?”
“I never said such a thing, simply
told you what I herd.”
Melody Drac flashed a smile and went
running off, the blacksmith went back to his work happy in the
knowledge that he had once again manged to manipulate the her.
Melody began her quest at the Home of
Qwelip in an attempt to search for Clues to where the Ogre had gone
and what the mission had been.
Home is not quite the right word for
it, it was more like it was a Large box made out of Iron, Spikes and
the Skulls of slain enemies The Iron Hut of Qwelip One of the few
buildings in Crossroads Melody had yet to sneak in to, so she took
double joy in ransacking the Home, and if a few of the Ogres
possessions fell in to her Pockets? Well it was his fault for not
guarding them better.
Ten Minutes latter, she surveyed the
devastation she had caused to the interior of the iron hut and
stamped her foot in frustration.
“Nothing, not a darn clue.”
She was down but not out, she knew
that the Ogre always got his provisions for his Journey from Rodger,
one of the Towns resident Traders.
Slamming the door behind her she
walked to the Shop, as she did she sniffed the air. It smelled the
way it always did, of Misery and Death.
Sometimes she missed the Tropical
Breezes and Sunlight of the place she had been “born”. Sadly she
could never return to that place, they still had not forgiven her for
the “Green Fire Incident.”
Rodger was a Muleskinner by Trade. He
was one of the only places to acquire Beasts of Burden this far north
and somehow always had a healthy stock of Donkeys and Mules on hand.
Like all of the other Buildings in Crossroads his Stable was a
cobbled together structure made out of whatever materials the
builders could find at the time. The stench of hay and Animals
assaulted her nose as she stepped under the awning to speak to
Rodger.
Rodger was a thin, dark skinned human
with long stringy hair and beard. Rumor had it that his reasons for
coming to Crossroads had something to do with an unhappy marriage ?
It did not pay to ask people there past's in this Forsaken place and
Melody frankly did not care.
“Qwelip is missing, I need to find
him! Where did he go?”
“Hello to you to, you strange Little
girl. Tell me, how is it you always have the same dress on and it is
never dirty?”
“I don't ask you your secrets, you
don't ask mine! The Ogre, where did he go?”
“Why would I know?”
“Qwelip always got his supply’s
and Donkeys from you before he set out, so you must have an idea?”
“Well I assume he went the same way
he always goes. Taking the old Spice road north to the Pale temple ,
then east to Volsak and across the Mountains”
“He's never been late before, he
should have been back two days ago? You must have some idea what was
different this time?”
The thin man rubbed his beard and
thought
“Well come to think of it,he did
take an extra donkey and two coils of Rope instead of one. “
“And?”
“Oh, and Three pairs of Slave
Chains, Weird thing to ask for.”
“No, I can think of a lot of reasons
to ask for Slave chains. Holding someone against there will being
Number one.”
“Well that’s all I know, try the
old Spice road. If there are signs of him anywhere, it would be
there”
“I'll give it a look. Thanks.”
“Will you be wanting a Mule then,
traveling Supply’s, food?”
“Nope.”
“It takes 2 days to get to the Pale
Temple, three if the Fog is in. You just a Little whip of a thing!
You will need supply’s”
A look of anger came across her face.
“No, no I wont.”
She turned and walked out.
As it turned out, despite looking like
a Child, Melody was not in any way shape or forum a Human child. Her
Aberrant origins granted her many strange Blessings, such as not
needing to eat or drink. She could consume food and had quite a
fondness for Limes, but she did not need to. Also she hardly ever
slept, she could go days with out needing to rest. Walking from
Crossroads to the Pale Temple was no more a burden to her then
walking down the Block was.
The wasteland was the home of a
multitude of Beasts both Fantastic and Horrid, any one foolish
enough to travel this Nightmare realm would do so With good Armor and
a sharp Blade.
Melody Drac took nothing with her but
for the cloths on her back, a lantern for when it got dark, SA few
bits of food in a basket and a Knife. Many a Savage eye watched her
as she walked down the Old Spice Road but none chose to attack the
child. Perhaps the sensed the Dark malevolence that lived within her?
The Old Spice Road was nothing but a
few cobblestones lain into the Harsh Desert Sand, perhaps once they
stretched across this place like a Shining path leading to the fabled
Exotic Ports far to the North, who knew. Now they were just another
strange sight in the Wasteland.
Harsh winds and biting sand waged a
war with the small frame of the child as she trudged across the land,
driven by her restless boredom she kept going where a wiser soul
might seek shelter.
Eventually as the Afternoon became
dusk, Melody had to admit it might be good to did in and wait out the
wind. It's not like she was expected anywhere.
Seeking shelter she left the road and
found the Shelton of what might have been a Dwelling of some type, 2
Bare stone walls and the remains of a roof were enough for her. She
hunkered down in the Safety of the Corner, threw a hood over her head
and waited.
As night fell and the Wind showed no
sign of Stopping, she lit her lantern. Took a Lime out of her basket
and began to snack on the Sour Fruit. It reminded her of Home, that
strange island where she had been born. The Fated Chosen on to bring
about the end of all things. She had been a princes then, worship by
those who would see the end of all things. Madness was her plaything,
then when the appointed time came and went and the realization that
her Creator, apparently had Changed it's mind.
There was Little use for a Avatar when
the God fails to show and her followers quickly fled, seeking new
evils to worship.
Alone, she wandered the Streets of
that town, wallowing in all it had to offer. She loved the Ocean and
the salty air, the firelight, the laughter. The Boats, gods how she
loved the Boats. She was alone and alive, the child of Chaos
surrounded by Infinite Chaotic Possibility
Then she had to go get involved with
the Goblins and the Whole Green fire thing.
She missed the Ocean, but somehow she
had found a new home in Crossroads, the place where you go when you
have no place else to go. She had found employment of a sort, letting
her eternal curiosity and boredom drive her to one strange Adventure
after another. It was a purpose of sorts. Perhaps someday, maybe in a
Decade or Two she would find her way Back to that island but for now.
So lost she was in her Memories of her
past, she did not hear the thing till it wandered in to the
flickering of her lamp.
It appeared to be a Child, smaller
then her. Nothing but Rags hanging off its thin forum, but its Evil
toothless Grim and foul smell told her it was no child.
“Ghoul! Get they gone. You will find
no sustenance here this night!”
The Undead child thing just moved
towards her, drooling with hunger. It was fast and stronger then it's
small frame should be and the stench was foul enough to render a
normal human week with nausea.
Melody Drac, was of course no ordinary
Human.
In a split second she was on one end
of the Ruin, the Ghoul the other. Then in a Blink of an eye, she was
behind the Undead Abomination, holding it's decapitated head.
Dark Goo dripped off her Knife, the
corpse fell and she tossed the Head in to the Night.
She flicked her knife clean and walked
over to the remains. Kicking them with her feet.
“Hum, these rags look familiar?”I
know I have seen that blue before?”
She spoke to no one but herself and
the wind, but sometimes it was ok to think out loud yes?
The rest of the Night passed
uneventfully and She huddled in her corner and fell into what passed
for Sleep for her, random images flashed before her minds eye.
Sometime during her “rest” a small Hell Hound came in to the ruin
seeking shelter and sustenance, she paid the Dog Like thing no mind
as it devoured the corpse of the Undead Child.
Dim light woke her and she stretched,
devoured a Hard boiled egg from her basket and began her Quest anew.
Perhaps sensing a free meal and a fellow lost soul, the Hell Hound
bounced along behind her. To anyone seeing this, the Image of 8 Year
old Girl and her Puppy walking along in the Wasteland might seem
ridicules.
What was known of the Pale Temple was
part rumor , part tall tale and part history. The Bone White Ruin now
acted as a land mark to those walking the Waste, and story’s of
Treasure still locked away inside its Shape occasionally led to an
Tomb Robber to explore it.
The Story goes that it was Once a True
Holly place, a bastion of Light and Hope where mighty Paladins and
Knights camped before taking there Holly Quest into the Waste to
battle the Evil there.
Perhaps that was true, if so it was
long ago. Now it was just another haunted ruin in the Waste.
Melody and her new companion arrived
at the Pale Temple around 10 AM. She stood on a Dune watching it
while the Hell Hound playfully chased Scorpions. She saw no signs of
habitation?
“Hum?”
Strangely enough she had yet to visit
the Pale Temple so she was enjoying the new Sights and Smells of the
ruins. Her Black Eyes scanned the area, but still she saw no signs of
any one passing this way.
An Ogre would leave a trail, they were
just to large not to. Even One as familiar with the Waste as her
Quarry,. There should be some sign, smoke, the smell of cooked meat.
Anything?
There was nothing.
She steeped into the Shadow of the
Pale Temple and the Smell hit her like a hammer!
Its Foulness, its wrongness assaulted
her and she felt dizzy for a second, it was a sensation she had not
felt in quite a while. She did not like it.
“Ghouls, a lot of them!”
Her lantern exposed the interior of
the Pale Temple. Ghouls, at least a dozen. Perhaps more? Most of
them, Children. It would seem that whenever evil was afoot, Children
were always the first to Suffer.
She noticed in the Flickering light of
the lantern, that at least Four of the Ghouls wore Slave Chains. She
did not have to take long to figure out where they came from.
“Oh Qwelip what have you done?”
She had no more time for idle
speculation, the Ghouls sensing a Fresh Meal fell upon her. Within
Seconds she was bombarded by Clawed fingers and sharp teeth. Tearing
at her clothing, her hair, her flesh. Pain was no stranger to her,
and she had always counted on her ability to recover quickly from any
wound. One or even two opponents she could deal with, but a dozen ?
The ripping, the tearing, the
screaming. It was to much, even for he, Blackness took her finally
after One of the Ghouls ripped off her arm.
She came to in darkness, the stench
was that of a slaughterhouse. Pain still wreaked her body and fear,
something she was a stranger to. She was used to causing fear, but
feeling it. Did she in fact, fear for her life? Was there some spark
of Humanity in her after all?
The slab she lay on was cold, the room
was dark. Not that she needed light, as she expected she was bound to
the top of a Sarcophagus. Ghouls moved about her field of Vision.
She herd the rattling of Slave Chains
and the unmistakable sound of a Blade being drawn across a Sharpening
Stone. A Dry chuckling echoed about the pale tomb.
Most of the damage the Ghouls had
caused had already begun to heal, the missing arm might take a bit
though. She marshaled what strength she had and waited for her “host”
to appear.
She did not wait long.
In Life Qwelip the Ogre had stood
Eight foot tall and was at least Three Hundred pounds of Mussel and
Gristle, in death? He was a gaunt figure, with folds of flesh hanging
off of him like Melted wax. His hair had grown long and Stringy, his
nails had become Claws and his teeth, already designed to fit the
mouth of an Apex Predator were now even more so, but it was the
Stench that came off the Ogre that convinced Melody that the Ogre she
had Known back at crossroads was no more.
“Oh pretty, pretty girl. You came
looking for Qwelip but Qwelip found you instead.”
The voice was coarse and Sing Song,
not at all like the Brutish Ogre
“Your not Qwelip, I don't know what
you are but your no Ogre?”
“No Ogre, do I not were this shape
well. Am I not tall, am I not Strong, am I not Scary!”
His foul face was suddenly inches from
hers and the stench was so powerful that for the First time in her
life she had to vomit.
With she did in a very unladylike like
fashion over the Side of her Prison.
“What are you, not a Ghoul? Some
type of Ghoul King?”
“Very good Girl. I was just a empty
spirit trapped in this Pale temple. A memory of what once was, until
this body. This Ogre came by. Oh I had seen him before, he had passed
by this place many time. Then for some reason he entered the Pale
temple, searching for something? He came in to my domain and I
claimed him as my Own!”
“Once his Spirit was drained from
this Fleshy vessel, it was easy for me to take it's place! The body
of an Ogre and the spirit of a WARGHOUL!”
“What do you want from me, and these
children? Where did you find them all?”
“Here, there. Your pathetic Little
Crossroads is not the Only oasis of life in this Barren Wasteland,
did you not know that?”
“Er , no I did not?”
“Humph! Well then you have been lied
to by the Lords of Crossroads, because I assure you there are plenty
of other tasty Fleshy bodies out ether!”
“News to me! You haven’t answered
me. Why children? What do you want?”
“Children are easy to corrupt and
there souls are the most powerful! I will raise my Army of Ghouls and
March on the Citizens of Crossroads, White Palm, Socket and the other
Bastions of Life and feast!”
“As for you, your diffient? You
should be Dead, yet hear you lay. Asking questions, barley scratched
after my Servants attacked you! How is this so Little girl?”
Melody took a breath, trying not to
gag on the stench. She looked about her prison, the huddled bodies of
the Children. Ripped away from there Families and turned in to this
Foul conglomeration of Flesh and Death. Something deep in her
stirred, some aspect of the Child she might have been had Fate not
chosen her Dark Destiny. Some Spark of Empathy perhaps, she did not
know? All she knew was she felt sadness for them. She felt a Longing
for her Island Birthplace that she may never see again. She felt for
all the individuals she had met at Crossroads, not friends because no
one in that place had friends, but still they were something to her.
Most of all she felt Disgust and Anger for this thing, this Warghoul.
What was she?
Perhaps it was time to show him, time
to remind them all as to what in fact she was.
“You want to know what I am? You
mean you don't know?”
“Tell me so that I may enjoy your
suffering even more!”
“My name is Melody Drac, I am the
last of the Drac family line. Heir to the Fortune of Xavier Gordon. I
am the only Survivor of the fall of the Ivory Throne, the Sinking of
Richter. Now I am just a runaway living in Crossroads, but before
all that. I am something else. Want to know what?”
“Stop your prattling Girl, my Hordes
hunger! How is it you lie there healing when you should be Dieing?”
“That’s easy. I am the Great Green
Fire!”
They still talk about the Great Green
Fire back on that Island, how it Burnt for Three days! They still
talk about it, those who survived the Burning of Richter. The Great
Green Fire, her “Birth right”. Deep in her, in the part of her
that was not Human. That part of her that had been forged to be the
instrument of the undoing of the World, the Green fire Awoke!
It moved like something alive!. It
gave off no heat but everything it touched burnt. It clung to things
like Glue and anything it burnt turned into small green ash! It could
be shaken off like droplets of oil, but any where even a spark fell
burnt. Burnt in the way nothing ever forged should burn, it was the
power of the Thing that had First called to her at the moment of her
Birth, crafted her to be the instrument of its wrath and then left
her behind when it Changed its mind.
Melody Drac was the Goddess of Green
Fire and around her the Pale Temple burnt. The Warghoul, it's Minions
and 150 years of History screamed out as everything her gaze fell
upon became nothing but Green Ash.
Those who saw it would talk about it,
but in a few days it became just another tale of the Waste
Melody awoke to the sound of Water and
the Smell of Mold and Ash. She opened her eyes to see that she had
fallen through the Floor of the Temple and into a small Cavern by a
slow moving Underground Stream. Perhaps the Water source for the
Temples Wells?
Around her danced small Green motes of
light that looked like Fire Fly’s. Patches of Yellow Mold clung to
the walls of the Cavern and seemed to pulsate at her presence?
She smiled.
In all things a Balance her Mentor had
told her after she had let the Fire lose that first time. A simple
thing like Yellow Mold, it fed of Heat, the greater the heat the more
it spread. It was one of the few things her Power could not touch and
while the Fire brought Death to so many, to this small thing it
brought life.
In all things a balance?
She ran her hand along the mold and
giggled as it responded to her.
Then she frowned as she beheld her
damaged and nude forum.
“Every time, every damned time!”
It took an Hour for her Arm to finish
regrowing and all her wounds to heal, but only a few seconds for her
to create a new Dress for herself out of the Green Energy. Over the
Years She had found many other uses for her Green Fire besides just
destruction.
It took her another half an Hour to
follow the Stream to a Well and climb out. She sat in the Shadow of
the Well House as the last of her Fire burnt the remains of the Pale
Temple and it's secrets away.
She felt bad for the Children, for
Qwelip. She felt a pang of Hunger, a hint of excitement but mostly...
“Bored now!”
She stood up and started Walking, the
Warghoul had mentioned other places where people lived in the Waste
besides Crossroads? An oasis he called them! A bastion of life!
She had no reason to go back to
Crossroads, the idea of informing them that Qwelip was dead, sort of
at her hands did not fill her with Joy. Perhaps she would seek out
these other places, or perhaps she would follow the Spice Road and
see if the tales of the great Trade Ports to the North were true.
It had been a long time since she had
seen the Ocean after all.
She picked at Random direction, smiled
as the Hell Hound pup appeared over the Rim of the ruins and then
she started Walking.
She had a sudden craving for Toast.
PERSONA
Melody Drac-
The Goddess of Green Fire, the last living member of the Drac family. She was "born" to bring about the end of the world, but when the time came the Ancient evil that had created her-Changed its mind.
Mallik-
Manipulative Blacksmith
Mama Grim-
Alchemist
The Hanged Man-A ghost
Qwelip- Ogre guide
Istavan- The
master of Crossroads
Rodger-trader,
stable owner and muleskinner.
Warghoul, Evil spirits that can possess
the living and create Ghouls
Ghouls-Flesh eating Undead.
