Post by Hellwalker on Feb 25, 2012 9:17:03 GMT -5
It had been a quiet day. The only movement in the wilds below could be attributed to animals going about their lives, and the occasional member of the savage species passing through. Those foul, vicious savages! Originally Hex cared little for any of the inhabitants of the Prime Material Plane, but it was clear to him now that he would have to be wary of those filthy, brutish savages.
It was a task quite to his taste assigned to him by his master, serving as a scout from the skies above the ruins where his master dwell. If not for the warm air, he would indeed genuinely enjoy calmly soaring through the skies of the Prime, seeing the sights of this unfamiliar world, watching the land dwellers below. Still, it was a welcome respite from the usual reason he was summoned: To stand between his master and those violent, merciless savages.
He knew it was time to report once more, and that meant suffering the wizard's rants once more. The mere thought of it evoked a yawn from the little mephit – a perfectly camouflaged speck of ice blue in the sky. Hex knew, however, that his master's rants would turn sour indeed if he was late to report, and he did not particularly care to draw the wizard's ire at this time. His master had a much too short fuse for the mephit's liking; shorter still since they moved into these old ruins in the wilds.
With a dive the scouting mephit descended, bat-like wings hardly moving. He preferred to put in as little effort as possible – especially when he was forced to cooperate by another - and so he would simply let himself fall. A graceful twirl brought him upright as he was nearing the ground, and a few flaps of his wings brought the mephit slowly floating down to perch on top of the wall of the ruins lacking a roof. His master, a pale human clad in thick black robes with circling patterns the color of bone, stood calmly waiting for him already in the center of the ruins' main chamber. Those eyes settled upon the mephit. Those pale, emotionless eyes. The thought almost amused the little mephit, but he could only describe them as cold – familiarly so.
***
“Well?” The wizard uttered simply, offering the first hint of what was going through that unreadable mind of his. Impatience? Frustration? Hex couldn't quite tell, but he suspected it did not bode well.
“Nothing out of the ordinary... as usual.” The mephit let out a bored sigh, his chilling breath quite visible in the relatively warm air.
“Tell me everything, and do it quickly.”
Hex let out another sigh instinctively, frost clinging to the air at the discharge of cold, knowing full well he'd have to. The mephit proceeded then to tell his master about every insignificant animal passing through; every orc, goblin and occasional traveler on the road a fair walk southwest. As the report ended, the wizard simply nodded.
“That was not so difficult, was it?”
“Is there something else?” The mephit dared ask.
The wizard's eyes narrowed dangerously.
“You would do well to remember that I have bound you, mephit. If you fail to alert me the moment a potential threat draws near, the first spell I utter shall destroy the threat, and the second shall send you in flames screaming back to your pitiful little corner of the multiverse.”
Hex thought of making a rude gesture and flying on his merry way, but the little he knew of the wizard and his kind caused the little creature to reconsider.
“I expect you to make yourself useful in the coming days, little Hex. Enemies plot and scheme all around us; meddlers seeking to disrupt my work. It is always the same, no matter where I go. I have defeated them each and every time in the past, however, and I shall do so again so that I may return my attention to more important matters.”
Hex pretended to pay attention to the wizard's rant. He really did. Out of respect for those haunting pale blue eyes.
“Whatever you say,” he offered in reply.
“You will refer to me as 'Master'!” The wizard snapped, and a short incantation sent the mephit tumbling backwards off his perch as an intense wave of heat washed over his face, blinding and stinging his eyes. With a thud the little mephit landed on the ground on the other side of the wall, groaning pitifully.
“For your insolence you shall have no respite in your home plane! Return to the skies at once, and alert me the moment someone draws close, be they friend or foe!” He heard his master hiss from within the ruins.
Taking a moment to clear his head and rub the pleasant cold back into his face, the mephit shortly rose, and with a graceful leap he flew into the sky; to watch, to wait. It was better than suffering the wizard's torment, he decided.
From the ground, Eldrick watched his servant scurry away into position. Things were hardly going exactly as planned, but he would turn the tide in his favor as he always seemed to. He smiled to himself.
“The first sacrifice has been made, and the second will soon follow. I wonder... do you feel death's cold clutches closing in, its harsh whisper in your ears, promising oblivion? I shall ensure that promise is fulfilled, for each and every meddling fool who seeks to get in my way; and in the final hour, they -will- fear the Reaper once again.”
It was a task quite to his taste assigned to him by his master, serving as a scout from the skies above the ruins where his master dwell. If not for the warm air, he would indeed genuinely enjoy calmly soaring through the skies of the Prime, seeing the sights of this unfamiliar world, watching the land dwellers below. Still, it was a welcome respite from the usual reason he was summoned: To stand between his master and those violent, merciless savages.
He knew it was time to report once more, and that meant suffering the wizard's rants once more. The mere thought of it evoked a yawn from the little mephit – a perfectly camouflaged speck of ice blue in the sky. Hex knew, however, that his master's rants would turn sour indeed if he was late to report, and he did not particularly care to draw the wizard's ire at this time. His master had a much too short fuse for the mephit's liking; shorter still since they moved into these old ruins in the wilds.
With a dive the scouting mephit descended, bat-like wings hardly moving. He preferred to put in as little effort as possible – especially when he was forced to cooperate by another - and so he would simply let himself fall. A graceful twirl brought him upright as he was nearing the ground, and a few flaps of his wings brought the mephit slowly floating down to perch on top of the wall of the ruins lacking a roof. His master, a pale human clad in thick black robes with circling patterns the color of bone, stood calmly waiting for him already in the center of the ruins' main chamber. Those eyes settled upon the mephit. Those pale, emotionless eyes. The thought almost amused the little mephit, but he could only describe them as cold – familiarly so.
***
“Well?” The wizard uttered simply, offering the first hint of what was going through that unreadable mind of his. Impatience? Frustration? Hex couldn't quite tell, but he suspected it did not bode well.
“Nothing out of the ordinary... as usual.” The mephit let out a bored sigh, his chilling breath quite visible in the relatively warm air.
“Tell me everything, and do it quickly.”
Hex let out another sigh instinctively, frost clinging to the air at the discharge of cold, knowing full well he'd have to. The mephit proceeded then to tell his master about every insignificant animal passing through; every orc, goblin and occasional traveler on the road a fair walk southwest. As the report ended, the wizard simply nodded.
“That was not so difficult, was it?”
“Is there something else?” The mephit dared ask.
The wizard's eyes narrowed dangerously.
“You would do well to remember that I have bound you, mephit. If you fail to alert me the moment a potential threat draws near, the first spell I utter shall destroy the threat, and the second shall send you in flames screaming back to your pitiful little corner of the multiverse.”
Hex thought of making a rude gesture and flying on his merry way, but the little he knew of the wizard and his kind caused the little creature to reconsider.
“I expect you to make yourself useful in the coming days, little Hex. Enemies plot and scheme all around us; meddlers seeking to disrupt my work. It is always the same, no matter where I go. I have defeated them each and every time in the past, however, and I shall do so again so that I may return my attention to more important matters.”
Hex pretended to pay attention to the wizard's rant. He really did. Out of respect for those haunting pale blue eyes.
“Whatever you say,” he offered in reply.
“You will refer to me as 'Master'!” The wizard snapped, and a short incantation sent the mephit tumbling backwards off his perch as an intense wave of heat washed over his face, blinding and stinging his eyes. With a thud the little mephit landed on the ground on the other side of the wall, groaning pitifully.
“For your insolence you shall have no respite in your home plane! Return to the skies at once, and alert me the moment someone draws close, be they friend or foe!” He heard his master hiss from within the ruins.
Taking a moment to clear his head and rub the pleasant cold back into his face, the mephit shortly rose, and with a graceful leap he flew into the sky; to watch, to wait. It was better than suffering the wizard's torment, he decided.
From the ground, Eldrick watched his servant scurry away into position. Things were hardly going exactly as planned, but he would turn the tide in his favor as he always seemed to. He smiled to himself.
“The first sacrifice has been made, and the second will soon follow. I wonder... do you feel death's cold clutches closing in, its harsh whisper in your ears, promising oblivion? I shall ensure that promise is fulfilled, for each and every meddling fool who seeks to get in my way; and in the final hour, they -will- fear the Reaper once again.”