Forum of the Elder Gods (Grave;Cross)

[Mamono Assault Force]

The Cheshire cat decided to withhold her answer, floating around him in a circle before making her point. "I do believe you're asking the wrong person~ A place is a place, but for you, I think you should go anywhere, as anywhere but here would be a good place to go. Don't get too hung up on the details or you'll find that all progress thought of is unrealized. With that... I'll be taking a nap. Good night... Mushroom Prince~" She cooed, the title of Prince seeming to catch up with him as Cheshire waved at him while laying on her belly on top of nothing, fading out of view.

 

[cross_grave]

"...Could have spared me that last one." Grave muttered, irritated. Sighing, he considered the possibilities. Knowing his luck, no matter which direction he went for he'd have to face some kind of trial. Might as well get going, then. Starting with going north to see how bad that'd be. Probably would involve getting some warm clothes or other stuff to help survive the cold. Maybe. And then there was also the matter of the Queen being something of a nutcase and a raider. Well, all three of them made for quite the peanut gallery, honestly. One could only hope that the Queen would be as simple as the one he knew. Otherwise this was going to get very awkward.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

With Cheshire gone for the seeming time being, he ventured north. The smell of blood and death leaving him behind as he looked up... And saw a singular, daunting mountain covered in white. It looked as if it were a drawn painting, with no semblance of awe other than how massive it was... And his feet carried him towards that mountain...

Time: 3:00 PM - 2nd Day

The warm weather became cold, and cold quickly became what felt like chilling cold. Snow was falling even before the ground was white. Worse yet when he did step upon the snow, as it seemed like the mountain was a most bizzare kind of volcano. Its tip was hidden underneath a sea of white clouds, clouds he came to understand to be the snow raining down from above. The land was flat, rounding up towards the mountain. The grass became snow, and nothing blocked his view as there didn't seem to be a single plant growing. Tree or otherwise. Just a flat plain with nothing interesting. It felt unusually empty. Things that should be there, weren't. None of the wild plants or mushrooms. Just a walk through the most flat and uninteresting land that felt like it took longer than it actually did, despite also taking quite a long time. Only once he got to lands white, half blind by the terrible snow... Did a most comforting heat stroke past his form... As well as the smell of smoke, before out of the white mist, odd denizens mostly human, dressed in various colorful and unusual fabric of the winter land, were rushing towards and past him, in an absolute panic. "Don't go that way! The Queen of Spades, Paolo is attacking! I will let the red storm take me instead!" Said a passing denizen to Grave, rushing past in a panic. And indeed... As he drew further, he saw a sight he'd find familiar...

A town, much like the ruined town he ended up in first, long ago, before finding a sole goblin crying alone... Was on fire, swarmed by demonic looking goblins.

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As if each one were a copy of Club herself. They carried torches, blades and clubs, striking down defenders and burning the place down. It was as if they were recreating the scene he saw the end of long ago... And a singular entity was doing the impossible... She was flying through the air, holding a maddening unknown orb of magic in her hand that she flung at a building, completely shattering a two-story home into splinters. She grew another, and laughed as purple lightning crackled around her... The light from her terrifying form giving Grave a contrast view of the powerful creature...

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.

"Destroy it all! Take everything! Everything for me! Everything always for Don Paolo!" said the apparent Queen of Spades.

"Hail the Queen of Spades!" the goblins cheered, filling sacks of loot while outright butchering the townsfolk of this snowy mountain town before his eyes. A man that seemed to be a bipedal walking gray elephant man with a thick winter hat was running out of a building set aflame, holding onto what seemed to be his precious jewelry, before he fell flat to the snow when a goblin tossed a hatched that buried in the back of his gray skull. His trunk went flat to the side of his face... The strange denizen of this world was no doubt dead. The goblin that killed him ran up, and began dragging his jewels into her sack. "Imaginary mushroom man. Go away. Can't kill a ghost." Said the goblin, pretending Grave was a figment of her imagination.

 

[cross_grave]

Grave sighed as he walked. At least everything around here seemed to be within walking distance, though perhaps not as close as he had hoped. In fact, all this walking was eating into his precious time. He kind of wished he had his magic. Or at least appeared here in his monster half. It was stronger, after all, and could move faster. And perhaps wouldn't be bothered as much by that damnable cold. If there was one benefit to it, it was that it made him quicken his pace in an effort to stay warm as he made his way upwards, higher and higher. Through the snow. The damnable snow. And worst of all, there was nothing in sight. Even if the place was a volcano, that still didn't explain the lack of vegetation. Hell, volcanoes tended to be fairly fertile when not exploding. And yet, nothing grew here. Was it because of eternal winter or something? It wouldn't be suprising out here.

As he marched further, Cynder finally felt some source of heat not far from here. Relief flooded him, only to quickly turn into confusion and bemusement as he saw people running in the opposite direction to the one he was walking in. Fleeing. Fleeing in panic from an attack. Once more he quickened his pace until he finally saw what they were escaping from. A burning village... And a horde of raiders, a horde that seemed horrifyingly familiar. Grave stared at the sight in front of him with wide eyes, shocked by the horror taking place in front of him. People running, screaming, dying as they were butchered by uncaring, cheering enemies. And above them all... A single figure laying waste to everything before her. Demanding more and more. He could hardly see any similarities between the goblin he knew and this demon floating up above.

Grave didn't notice when he neared the village. His feet carried him forward automatically. He only realized how close he got when an elephant-man nearly rushed past him, barely managing to get close before being felled. That fool. That poor fool. If only he hadn't stopped to try and save his riches, he would not have lost his life. The young man stared at his corpse for a while, his attention turning to the goblin that killed him once she spoke. Slowly, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, ignoring how the smoke stung his nose and throat. His hand reached up to his hand, fingers touching the rim in a gentle grip. One that grew more and more firm as the half-blood slowly shook himself out of the stupor, a deep frown appearing on his face as he opened his eyes. Gaze burning with a rage he couldn't quite define.

Grave wasn't sure what pushed him into doing what he did next. It was some impulse he couldn't name. He took off his hat, holding it in between his fingers and thumb, like one would hold a piece of paper. Then, in a single move, he cut through the goblin's sack right beneath her grip, making her drop it. Slicing into the haft of the hatched with the returning motion before bringing it back up to put it on his head once more, though not letting go of it. Keeping his grip on it, readying for the next attack. Eyes glowing with cold fury as he turned them onto her, staring her in the face. "I'd start running if I were you." His voice was calm, almost quiet. But the undertone of lethal threat was unmistakeable. "Preferably before I separate you from your arms. Unless you with to find out how deep this ghost can cut."

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

The goblin took one moment to register that her bag was torn, before running in a panic, straight towards Paolo. "Queen! Queen! It's terrible! A mushroom man! With a terrible looking mushroom blade!" she cried, before the warped figure of a different club pointed her hand at the panicking goblin and...

Grave saw the goblin he instilled fear into vaporize before his very eyes. As if she turned to dust from the magic she held in her hand.

Then, her eyes set on Grave... Slowly looking up from the fearful goblin she just made turn into dust.

And she grinned... As a voice suddenly whispered from what sounded like far behind, yet if turned, nothing was there.

'Run away!'

But that minor distraction was enough for escape to no longer be an immediate option, as the figure of his perhaps former friend was now levitating over him, laughing as she pointed her hand at him, dark magic gathering.

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"Hee-hee-hee! Ah... HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! One last Mushroom to SLAUGHTER! Die-die!" She laughed, her eyes full of wanton lust for destruction.

"DIE!"

 

[cross_grave]

Grave's eyes widened as he saw the goblin disappear in a blast of magic. Was she for real? Was she seriously just going to blast one of her own minions for no goddamn reason? He didn't have much time to ponder that. Because the damn monster was now focused on him. As he pondered his decision, he heard a voice call out to him... Urging him to run. Glancing around, he tried to locate the source, only to realize he had just made a critical mistake.

He took his eyes off of an enemy.

And sure enough, when he looked back at the demonic goblin, she was staring at him once more, aiming a blast of dark magic at his face. Cynder reacted instinctively, hat coming off to slice through the power that was gathering, the young man hoping that Jabberwocky's claw worked on threads just as well as it worked on matter as he tried to cleave and scatter them. He needed a distraction to let him slip away... And she was floating close to him. Within arm's reach. Well, there was one thing he could try that worked once. Kind of. While his right hand wielded the hat to hopefully fend off the incoming attack, his left hand snaked around to try and tickle some of the exposed flesh, going for the places he remembered to be Club's weak spots. It was a really long shot, but even if it didn't work, it could potentially leave her stupefied that someone actually tried that. That could be his opening to disengage and rush out of sight. The smoke and debris from ruined buildings, not to mentions the huts themselves could provide visual cover. And if she chose to blow them up... Well, as long as he kept moving away from the stuff she blew up, he'd hopefully be in the clear. Though he'd have to keep an eye out for her magic to avoid being blindsided.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Making a slice, his hat did surprisingly well, slicing clean through her magic as her cataclysmic blast went in two, carving deep into the ground on either side of him as she vaporized the ground with hardly a sound. Then, his hand reached out... And of all things, he tickled her. A stroke of familiarity came when he heard her begin to laugh and react. Her body movements the same, her laughter the same. For a split second, he recognized her... And it seemed something in her changed as well.

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She floated backwards as if making a large leap, before she stared him down from afar.

"... Paolo don't like you, Mushroom Man. Paolo will kill you, next time I see you. Don't feel like fighting anymore." She said, before turning, and floating away, her goblins gathering around her as it seemed like she was going to unceremoniously float away with all her ill gotten gains...

... Leaving him behind in the flames, and snow together with the scattered corpses...

Time: 3:30 PM - 2nd day.

 

[cross_grave]

Grave somehow managed to keep his expression neutral as the massive surge of magic carved trenches in the ground around and behind him. The shock of managing to avert imminent destruction via a well timed slash of his hat helped him save face even while screaming internally. Why the fuck did he just keep running into all those overpowered monsters? This was bullshit! If he had to keep dealing with shit like that, then he wanted to have his own doom beam too, damn it!

As he managed to complete his sneak attack and tickle his enemy, Cynder was ready to leap away. The reaction, however, stopped him in his tracks. The way she moved, the way she laughed... This was Club. It had to be Club! Hell, she even aborted her assault entirely! "Wait!" He called out as she moved away, stepping forward to follow after her. "Wait up! I came here to look for you!" Like it or not, she was not ditching him so easily. Even if he had to follow her on foot.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Hearing him chasing after her, the goblins all turned to him with savage, angry eyes. Paolo's was the most furious of all, as she reached her hands out with power he couldn't hope to match anymore, and lifted the debris from the ruined town around her, and hurled it at him. With sudden projectiles flying at him wildly, instinct told him to crouch into a fetal position and aim his cap at the projectiles... The cushion seemed enough to block all harm, as he was buried underneath the rubble... Forced to struggle and shove his way out of it...

"Is he dead, Queen?" asked a goblin.

"Don't care. Better if he is. Annoying weakling." Paolo replied... Before he could hear them drifting away.

When he finally emerged, all that remained was... The Ruins, and the remaining flames torching the town to the ground... And the faint recollection of how time seemed to oddly slow when she was hurling the debris at him like it was nothing. As if the universe gave him the pinch of extra time he needed to react and use his cap to defend himself... Which was somehow completely unscathed...

But alas, the demonic goblin and her following was gone. Paolo's warning left behind in his memories.

Paolo will kill you

Time: 4:00 PM - 2nd Day

 

[cross_grave]

Grave's eyes widened as he suddenly found himself the target of hostility once more. His first instinct was to go for the hat once again, but this time the demon didn't use a magic blast. This time, she simply lifted all the rubble and threw it at him in an effort to crush him. It was too much to stop with a slash. Acting in pure survival instict, he gave in to the sudden impulse and hunkered down, shielding himself with the hat instead as she avalanche engulfed him. And as the debris finally settled and he dared to take another breath... He realized he was alive. Unharmed, even, despite the fact that the force behind the strike should have sent him flying. He was not going to question that. It was probably another strange effect of his strange condition and it worked to his benefit. He was not going to question that.

Of course, he still had to dig his way out. It was a difficult and tiring task, and by the time he finally managed to get out of the pile, tired and panting heavily, the goblin was gone. Damnation. All that was left was the ruined town. Grimacing, he quickly began to move, ignoring the protests of his body. He had to see if there was someone or something that could still be salvaged among the wreckage and the flames. The question of how he managed to somehow find the time to defend himself pushed to the back of his head. He could not answer it. He could either assume it was another example of local weirdness, some unknown ability he just used instinctively or someone had aided him. Given the voice from earlier... He assumed the latter.

As he worked his way through the ruined village, Grave's mind worked on the problem he was facing. Paolo would kill him. She would do her damned best to slay him. The way he was right now, he did not have the ability to face her and achieve his goal. He had to either find something that'd let him turn the tide. Maybe learning more about the Queen would be helpful. He could try following her, but... That seemed unwise. If nothing was left in the village, he could try catching up to some of the scattered villagers to try and learn something from them. If not... He'd have to reconsider his approach and try his luck with another Queen. If Hearts was anything like this one... Going to her would be unwise. Which would leave him with only one choice - the dead Mushroom Queen.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Alone in the snow, the sound of whipping wind his only companion in addition to the smoldering flames of the village before he left, following the footsteps of the villagers in the snow. Their footprints left behind heavily in their panic. Such that finding them wasn't hard or long... As he saw a campfire pillar of smoke in the sky.

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Time: 5:00 PM - 2nd Day

Following the smoke on the desire to find the survivors, he found two:

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enjoying a roast who easily heard the mushroom man coming. "... You can't be a traveler or tourist, to have come here." Said the smiling white haired woman on the left. Her crimson eyes looking at Grave as if she hadn't just been in a dreadful situation. "What madness possessed you to come to the lands where a madwoman reigns and starvation is the empress?" She inquired, while her cohort with the hat just stared him down, her weapon nearby. "Or are you just among the phantoms of the dead that walk this place, Mushroom Man?" she inquired, already considering him to be a false image of a living creature, given his race.

 

[cross_grave]

Grave sighed as he finally found something. First the fruitless search among the ruins, then the trek after the fleeing inhabitants. Actually finding something, even if it was just two women sharing a fireplace and some meat, was a relief. Even if they didn't seem to trust him entirely. "No, I'm pretty damn sure I'm still alive, despite my own stupidity." He replied dryly, carefully approaching, tipping his hat to the two. "Mind if I take a seat? Had a rather rough day. You two as well, I believe." He asked. "As for what brought me here... The whole story is long, convoluted and results from many people making very stupid decisions, I'm sure. The relevant part is that I require aid from the four queens. After obtaining the help of one of them, I decided to try my luck here." He sighed. "Unfortunately, it seems like luck isn't quite enough. I don't suppose you've any knowledge or insights to share about the raider queen?"

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

The white haired woman chuckled. "Aye, though there's hope for you yet if you realize your own stupidity for coming here. It means maybe you aren't so stupid. Just foolish." She declared. "You have a nice face. You're welcome to rest and eat. I heard that as long as it's moist, you fungal types would eat anything." She theorized. And indeed, what they had cooking looked wonderful to him. "Lonely women like us could use some company. Why not join us?" She inquired. "We can share with you all kinds of details about the Queen of Spades."

As if suddenly there, in the corner of his vision, or perhaps she was always there yet unnoticed, Grave would detect the Cheshire cat and hear her speak to him. "These two have a history between themselves and men. Not all victims are innocent~ Some are worse than what makes them victims. But, you'll be fine. Just fine~" Her voice came and went, as did her visage. As the moment he blinked due to the rushing cold wind, she was gone. And the two at the campfire seemed like they had no idea that the Cheshire cat was right in front of them.

 

[cross_grave]

Grave grunted quietly. Mysterious warnings were... Not as helpful as overt ones, really. Sure, he could guess the gist of what she was trying to tell him. But whether he was genuinely going to be fine or no was something he wasn't sure of. Would be easier to figure out if he could tell when Cheshire was being sarcastic. If she was ever sarcastic... Maybe it was just her own way of speaking. Well. It's not like he had many options to choose from aside of leaving. Shrugging, he sat down near the fire. "Thank you." He said to the two. "I'm really grateful. This place really can be rough on a person." And honestly, a nice meal was something he could probably use right about now. "I take it you've seen the Queen of Spades rampage around more than once, then?"

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

They nodded together, but it was the outgoing white haired ponytail that replied. "Many times. But her rampages will end soon. Not even she can resist the red clouds. When all turns to blood, and there's nothing left. Then it's all remade again. New Queens, new problems. Then everyone pretends that the world won't end, until it's too late." She declared her somber story. Yet, she didn't sound bothered by it at all.

Meanwhile, the quiet one in blue coat reached down, and took a kabob of cooked meat from the fire, and offered it to Grave. "... Eat, mushroom man." She declare simply. Her manner of speaking was straight forward.

The white haired woman gave him a look up and down. "What about you? What's your take on all this? Do you have anyone special back home? Why aren't you spending your time with those you care about on the eve of red?" She inquired, her eyes looked like they were very interested in his answer.

 

[cross_grave]

"Ah... Thank you." Grave nodded with gratitude, accepting the skewer. From the sounds of it, these red rains were indeed the end... The end of a cycle. Everything dies, and the world is reborn. It sounded... Maddening, honestly. He wasn't certain if he'd be able to live in such a way. It sounded mad to him. But then again... Wasn't rebelling against the end of the world also madness? It made him think a little. Which madness was better? Living carefree while you could, before accepting the death of everything, or fighting back with everything he had? Hell, wasn't he technically doing the latter? Guess that answered that question.

"About me? Well..." Grave took a bite out of the meat as a question returned to him, chewing while he considered his answer. "It's rather... Complicated. Those I care about have been scattered, as far as I can tell. And trying to find them is one of the points of my journey." He admitted. "The other reason... I have to face a crazy girl with a really nasty blade on top of a clock tower when the clouds come. And I need to prepare for that." He sighed. "That's why I'm looking for the Queens, among other things." Honestly, that was probably an understatement. The easiest one was the Forget-Me-Not, and that one required going back in time. "So, yeah. Adventuring as the world breaks, with barely any idea what I'm doing. Sounds remarkably close to my life in general these days." He noted dryly, taking another bite.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

The two girls looked at each other. "Nasty blade? You wouldn't perchance be speaking of the vorpal blade, would you?" The white haired one inquired. "There was a girl with such a blade in the library just a few hours ago, in Labyrinth City." She declared. "She was in no tower. She was in there noon the other day as well."

The blue coat then spoke up. "It seems like she's there at noon, every day. She might be there tomorrow at noon as well." Her words seemed to make Grave's brain spark, as if they rung with importance. Or maybe something else was ringing.

 

[cross_grave]

"...Yeah, that girl." Grave nodded, raising an eyebrow. They were quite well informed, honestly. And that spark... Yeah, he was willing to believe it was important. If she was showing up there regularly, then clearly this was something worth investigating. "Well, I am not suprised she didn't go to the tower right away. It's not the time of our confrontation, not yet. Still..." He glanced at the two. "You have my thanks." He'd have to go back there and check out the library at noon. He could also check the winning numbers for that lottery at the casino on the way, too, if he had the time. Though just to be on the safe side, he also took a moment to glance around and check if there was anything else here that could be ringing. Couldn't be certain of anything in a land like this.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

When he turned, he saw the grinning Cheshire cat just inches from his face, grinning that wide, cresent grin that no living creature could mimic. Her bell jingled, then as he'd blink in surprise, the brief flash of darkness saw her vanish in that instant. Gone as if she were a hallucination.

"... You're a skittish one, aren't you?" Inquired the white haired girl, before she stood up, and sat next to him, close enough that their knees were touching. "Why not relax a little. We're all survivors of great perils." She spoke softly... Before he began to feel her hand smooth along his upper back, and touch at the back of his neck, rubbing and massaging his odd, fungal skin as if it didn't bother her at all. All the while, the girl across the fire, in blue coat, was staring him down wordlessly. Her eyes sometimes darted around, but her gaze was taking him in.

 

[cross_grave]

Grave blinked, sighing quietly. God damn it, Cheshire. Every time he thought he was beginning to get used to the thought of her being there, she just kept suprising him. Pulling shit like this... Honestly, maybe it was he was tired of it, but it was only due to a lack of energy that he didn't react too much. As if he just didn't feel like sparing any on being suprised. He just had this feeling it'd keep happening all the time anyway, regardless of his wishes.

"Ah, sorry. It's just..." Grave chuckled sheepishly glancing back at the girls. "Well. My life's kind of a mess and things happen to me all the time, so I can't really be sure of anything." He said, deciding not to go into details. Honestly, the whole story was just messed up. He didn't expect the white one to sit next to him, though, especially so close. Nor did he expect her to start massaging him, twitching a bit as she touched him, mostly due to the suprise. "Ah, um. Really, I'm fine. Sorry for bothering you." His gaze quickly turning to the blue one, meeting her eyes. Was she wary of him?