Under the Hill - Third Circle: Gluttony

[Rosesong]

"Ixidor and I worked together to get to this circle before parting ways," Rose replied carefully. "And he's saved my life before, so I would hope that makes us friends. These are all my... friends," she said, ignoring the fact that she had no clue if she could trust Alex or Morris. "Are you a friend to us... err, I think your name is Panik?"

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"Panik, is friend of Funny man, if you his friend I am your friend." The giant man-beast said. "You needs to be quiet, other Giantsss maybe headed this way." he said placing his finger to his mouth. "Those sssouls were being very loud and Giants hear noise and come to hunt them. Giants also make many traps, Panik safe from those, but funny ones are not."

[Supernovae]

Mr. Taylor licked his lips. He couldn't say he was all too happy about Phantom's decision, but again he wasn't too disappointed. Perhaps it was best not to act at this time, the plan was dangerous and could backfire easily. No for now he'd travel with Phantom, perhaps one of the strongest warriors they've encountered thus far. And he was certainly a good man. Mysterious. But, he could be trusted.

"Well then lad," Mr. Taylor began, "Perhaps we should avoid heading in the same direction as the rest of the group. They seem to always bring trouble about and to be honest with you, I'd like to move through this level as quickly as possible. Now, you have quite the gift and it doesn't seem to have as many negative consequences as mine. If we travel in short bursts through your 'Phantom zone' than we can make our way through without getting in to any fights. With my sense of direction we should be able to move through swiftly. As an aside, if necessary, I can use my ability to heal our bodies. Though, there is quite a cost that comes with that. If such a thing happens be prepared for my memory to lapse. I haven't used it enough to know the extent of what happens to my mind, but be prepared for anything." Mr. Taylor's face grew more serious, "Be prepared for me to act in any way. There are parts of my past that are ... less than honorable. And of course if you find it necessary, put me down. I won't blame you when I awaken."

[SithBaker]

Morris was very suspicious of the giant, but with it having proven its good intentions outright, there was nothing much he could say. "What a freakish sod." He just thought to himself. "Just how many adventurers has it eaten so far?"

Morris looked at the boy "It was a fluke that we made it in time boy - ugh, Ixidor? Once one of them bites, they all bite I reckon. They get excited quite easily. It s like opening a bag of crisps to them."

He grinned, turning his eyes to the giant briefly before setting them onto Ixidor again. "So now the cat is our pal, and the mouse a foe. Interesting. Never struck me it could be this way."

[Sutoratosu]

Ethic's blade blazed with light as he saw his moment of opportunity, putting more energy into the saber and extending it outward, forcing it the grow longer and malleable. within seconds, the blade had changed into the same whip-form that Ethic had used against Quincy. He smirked as he took aim... the spot where he'd have to hit inorder to fully paralyze this thing, was the upper spinal region, near the base of the neck or so. he flung the blade-whip out, controlling it with his will. the Thing arced through the air towards the side of the nape of the Titans neck, then banked a hard right as he directed it to strike, putting even more power into it and cutting deep into the back of the Giant's neck, more than deep enough to have severed the spinal cord. He withdrew his saber back into his life reservoir, standing on the wall and surveying his handy work, waiting for the beast to become fully immobilized and fall to the ground so that he could finish this thing.

Edited August 23, 2014 by Stratos

[Ragnar]

"Yeah thank God you guys showed up" Ixidor looks at the stranger."i know right? well not all giants are friendly according to mister Panik here." The boy said. "By the way haven't seen you around, who are you? it seems you know the place."

[SithBaker]

"Name is Morris; yours apparently Ixidor. That s a strange name, you know. How do people even call you?"

Morros offered Ixidor a handshake, keeping his expression mosly neutral, which made him look a tad menacing considering his mismatched eye and scars on his cheeks.

"I ve been stuck here for a while. I kind of lost any hope you would show up at all. I mean, some folks I could proceed with. Didn t have to be you, personally."

[Ragnar]

Ixidor gets a closer look of the man, noticing his facial features.The boy was a bit shaken from it as he extend his remaining hand and hides his amputated one behind his back. "Yeah, just call me Ix" he quickly ends the handshake and coughs.

"Uhm how do.." Ixidor hesitate. maybe i shouldn't ask how he got his scars,its kinda rude. the boy though to himself and quickly change his question.

"Uhm, i mean,... i'm sure you got some unique ability if your able to survive this long with those giants and starving souls around this place, what is it?"

[SithBaker]

"Argh, nothing much. I was fairly good at taking care of myself before I got here... just of myself though."

Morris averts his gaze from Ixidor, seemingly looking at the giant. The he comes a bit closer and whispers furtively

"You used your ability to dominate the giant, right? Job well done, I must say."

Edited August 23, 2014 by SithBaker

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"Panik help Funny Man of free will." the Giant cut in. "Panik no longer want to listen to Big Snake Judge, because Panik wants to do what he wants. Panik no want to hurt people anymore." The man-beast said. He didn't near the man as he thought it would startle him and he tried to keep his hands close to himself. His Claws were only made for killing so he didn't want to accidentally hurt one of the people he had just met.

[Rosesong]

Rose turned her head slightly, catching sight of Alex. "Oh, Ixidor," she began, "This is our new travelling partner, Alex. We... met him shortly after arriving." The woman didn't think that mentioning he was accused of murder was the best course of action at this point in time.

[Ragnar]

"Yeah its his choice, its kinda a funny story actually." the boy added to Panik's remark."Alex? Okay, the more the merrier i guess, i guess i'll hang for a while." Ixidor said to Rose, anxiously to meet this mysterious man.

[Notus]

Ethic & Annie

The titan couldn't react to Ethic's surprise attack. It fell to it's knees, and then face first in the floor, making a huge noise that echoed through the whole structure.

[Flux]

Phantom stared back at Mr. Taylor for a short time after he finished speaking, before slowly nodding.

"...Okay."

He walked down a path that led away from the other group for a ways, before extending his left hand. The air shimmered and distorted as the portal formed in front of him. He stood to the side, waiting for Mr. Taylor, so they could begin moving through the place. It was likely the man would need periods of rest between the times in the "phantom zone," as he had called it. Even Phantom himself would not be able to shift back and forth between dimensions forever.

[Supernovae]

Mr. Taylor stood up and placed one hand on Phantom's shoulder, while the other held his cane in place. He looked over and gave the masked man a nod.

[Flux]

Phantom strode through the portal, closing it as Mr. Taylor entered beside him. He could already feel the pressure of the place as it rejected them, but it was easily manageable right now. He walked down the path, rounding a corner and awaiting what the next passage would look like.

(((I guess it's up to Notus from here as to what the corridor looks like, and when we do have to leave the "phantom zone," what enemies we encounter.)))

[Notus]

((Ok Flux, I'll assume you went down the corridor Annie just come out from.))

Phantom & Mr.Taylor

The unconventional duo walked through the corridor, (which seemed pretty much like the one they just left) for some time before spotting a huge door completely open in the wall at their left. Inside, they could stop a giant sized wooden table, and they could also divise that there was something over it, although they were too low on the floor level to see what. The rest of the room looked clear, and well lit.

[Rosesong]

Rose turned. "Alex, are you going to come out?" she called, annoyed. The man had already accused sweet Mr. Taylor of murder and had possibly murdered him. She didn't trust him, but she'd play nice if she had to.

[Sutoratosu]

Ethic Withdrew his blade as the Goliath of a being fell before him... Actually... Goliath... that sounded a bit interesting... and everyone knows what David to Goliath's corpse after he had defeated him... a cold grin spread on his face as he held his palm out, His blade again ignited as he walked down the wall and back onto the floor, doing away with the spikes he was projecting from his feet. they had no use now. He eyed the head of the Titan, charging more power into his blade, the Glow intensifying as it again took on a Whip form. Still engulfed in the subconscious relishing of violence within himself, he cast the shining construct through the air, willing it to loop around the Titan's neck in a complete circle. He began to reel back his arm, about to constrict the loop and decapitate the seemingly dead giant... when he stopped mid-motion. The eager glint in his Eyes went away.

"Thank God..." he muttered, panting for some reason. "I... managed to stop myself this time... but Christ, was that hard..." He recalled his saber, then looked up at the ceiling... something in the back of his mind had just started nagging him to do it... but for what reason, he didn't know, since nothing was visible except for the darkness above. He looked at Annie from the first time since he'd... entered his little episode.

"well..." he said "Maybe it would be a good idea to travel in numbers for now...considering that thing..."

******

Up on the ceiling of the corridor, far too high above Ethic's head to be noticed, stood Maxwell and Lucian. The two men stood upside down, their hair hanging into both their faces, though their clothes somehow remained perfectly in place.

"Seems that he has a completely different side to him," said Lucian "though is honestly the first I've seen of it... Back when I was with him, he always fought with a...a reluctance almost. he only did it if he had to in order to defend himself or someone else. I'm not even sure if this is the same Ethic from back in the Gardens..."

"Oh, he's the same, alright," Max chuckled silently. "That's the effects of Death on the mind. Turns folks bloodthirsty and eager to fight, turns em into Berserkers most of the time. Though it seems to be coming along in a rather fast pace within Ethic... which is perfect. It just makes it easier for me to sit back and let him take care of those buffoons." this commentary immediately drew Lucian's attention.

"How is it that you know so much?" he asked, a bit of suspicion in his voice "I've was on the council before you ever came along, and yet you're always spouting on about things I've never heard of before. What's your source for all of this?"

"Aw... starting to lose trust in me, I see."

"No, I just want to make sure that everything you say isn't a load of horseshit."

Maxwell shook his head as he looked Lucian in the eyes, almost disappointedly "Lucian," he said "That is starting to losing trust in me. But fine... I'll let you in on my sources. Afterall, if one wants to be trusted, one has to trust."

"I'm listening..."

"there was an Evoker before Ethic came along," Max explained, being rather cryptic about it. "Lets just say... I knew him very well." This response only got a confused scoff from the Magus.

"What are you talking about?" he demanded "I remember the Envoker who came before Ethic. He was before your time too. There's no way you could've possibly known him." Max said nothing in response, simply began walking away from the other man, smirking.

"Seems that they're completely stupid to what's really been going on..." He thought to himself. "How many men throughout history have been chosen to be Envokers of fate? how many men have built empires and conquered distant lands and carved the world into it's current shaping because the Council directed their attention on them and gave them the tools to form their own destiny? The influence of the Arcana in the World has always been more symbolic than it was tangible... the Things Ethic is capable of now... in this place, hell... not one of his predecessors was able to wield power like he's on the road to gaining... not even myself. all we ever had was the odds constantly staked in our favor. Most of us thought it was because of our own skill, but they were wrong. things were being manipulated in the background to make their success possible... and most of them never had any idea whatsoever. Then I came along... and I wanted to be the master."

He directed a glance back at Lucian "He's actually the one that killed me then... And I couldn't fight back...not like Ethic is going to be able to. there was no being able to turn my own life force into a weapon...no being able to manipulate fire... none of these nice little powers existed. All those little luxuries only came into existence when he stepped into this hill. And so those bastards could fuck around with me all they wanted, and I literally couldn't touch them, couldn't do anything but take it. And then the Bastards just went and completely forgot about me when they were done and I was dead and gone... acted as if I had never existed, that they had never chosen me... and eventually the ass holes began to believe it and I faded into the fog of obscurity. But that's alright... it's gonna bite them in the ass soon. They don't even realize that I'm back from the dead, as one of them..."

"Payback is a bitch, ain't it... Lucian?" He suddenly called out. The Mage was noticeably caught off guard by his words.

"Um...yeah," he replied "I guess..."

"Well, you won't have to guess soon..." said Max "No one will have to guess soon..." with that said, Maxwell disappeared into the darkness of the ceiling. Lucian, seeing that their little observation of Ethic was obliviously over, tore open a rift and withdrew himself from the scene.

[Ragnar]

"I'm sure he'll catch up.. eventually" Ixidor said to Rose. the boy turns his attention to the Giant "Okay, lead the way mr.Panik... you know the place better than we do.. " the boy said to the Giant.

[Rosesong]

Glancing at the giant, Rose nodded, uncertainty written on her face. "Ok... Lead the way."

[Supernovae]

Mr. Taylor looked over to Phantom and nodded as he headed into the room. The old man figured it would be safe to investigate while he was still in the Phantom Zone. The old explorer made his way to the table and pulled himself up in order to investigate.

[Notus]

Mr. Taylor & Phantom

The table had a full course meal over it, what wouldn't be so uncommon if it wasn't by the size of things. Shrimps the size of arms, loafs of bread as big as cars, watermelons that looked like air baloons. Between size and variety, there was an ammount of food enough to feed a small army, and yet it was all laying untouched over there. Suddenly the adventurers became aware of how long it had been since they last had a meal...

[Rosesong]

Rose glanced around in frustration. It seemed that they all would rather just hang out rather than move. Well, I'm not waiting around forever! she decided in her mind. Grasping Ellaria and Enya's hands, she whispered, "Let's go. We're wasting too much time."

[Notus]

Ellaria

"Uhmn, yes Rose." The girl thought back at the rest of the group, a little worried about them. Though, if that giant was really willing to help them, they should be able to handle any trouble.

They didn't walk long, however. From a corner just ahead of them came another giant, this one more human-looking than Panik. It still had a disproportionate mouth, and pointed teeth matching it. Ellaria couldn't see it, but the sound of it's steps was way too loud to be ignored.

"Oh. Just to check... We're in trouble, right?"

It looked down at them and opened a sick smile, and then proceeded to reach down to try and grab them.