Soujiro
Seta SIN
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At the Gates of
Hell 2
Only her speed and reflex
had kept Zeal from getting impaled numerous times as she
progressed down the treacherous pathway. She had no idea where
it lead, but this time followed her instincts. Only recently
had it crossed her confused mind to employ her ever-useful
floating spell to hover ever so slightly above the ground,
thus avoiding the floor traps altogether. A Zeal-kabob would
certainly NOT be in her future, if she could do anything to
prevent it. As great as it was for avoiding floor traps,
however, it did not prevent her from being seen by the
denizens of the dark battleground. Though she had attempted to
mask her aura so as to go unnoticed on her trek, some areas
seemed to have vile creatures in such great numbers that
battle was unavoidable.
Unarmed though she was, Zeal
had developed magic that could be used efficiently in combat.
After all, if one was to truly be a master of magic, they
should be able to rely on it even to defeat armed foes.
Powerful nightmarish sorcerers possessed a powerful spell
which created a violent wall of flame, and only by creating
bubbles of water around herself had she escaped the inferno
relatively safely. Armed creatues, half-man and half-goat had
also marauded her with their axes and bows, but they were not
the menace that the sorcerers were, and she dispatched as many
as came at her. Having left a trail of incinerated demon
corpses smouldring in her wake, she continued onward. These
creatures were strong, but she knew that each contestant was
much stronger. I'm surprised I haven't run across anyone
else yet. Then again, in so bleak a place, maybe it's not so
surprising.
She passed a huge marble column, which
lay fallen across the floor. Something had to make this
thing fall, and I hope I never find out what it was. Some
time ago, a wind had started to blow through the corridors,
ever so slightly, almost unnoticeable. But now that there were
no enemies and no battles, she heard it more clearly. It was
almost as if it was speaking, but the words were not in the
human tongue. It was a message spoken in living thought, a
declaration that instead of using the limited scope of a
vocabluary, imposed itself on those capable of hearing it in
vivid mental images and emotion.
"It is too faint, I
cannot hear it clearly" Zeal whispered. Her whispering was
somehow magnified in the empty space as if it were a vast
cavern with vaulted ceilings. There was, however, a way to
hear it with certainty, but it involved a focusing session,
where outward senses receeded and inward senses were
sharpened. Though the dungeon was rife with all manner of dark
ilk, she had no choice. As it was going, she would end up
wandering aimlessly around the vast maze until Yume decided it
was time to pull them out for the next location.
Picking up a piece of stone from the ground, she
slowly drew an intricate symbol on the ground. Circles inside
triangles inside more circles formed the design of one
variation of one of Zeal Kingdom's special studies, 'Runes and
Magic Circles'. She had several books on the subject back at
her home written by Zeal Kingdom's best experts, and knew
exactly where they resided in her bookcase. However, it had
been a good deal of time since she had used one. Every so
often, she stopped and stood up to check the design, nodding
her head and bending down to make slight corrections. After
what seemed like an hour, she had completed the set of
calculated shapes. This was a magic circle of warding,
specially fortified against powers of darkness. While she was
vulnerable, she must protect herself.
Sitting down in
a meditational posture in the center of the intricate design,
Zeal closed her eyes, letting the world slip away. The
breathing exercises and steps were similar to those for
controlled visions and lucid dreaming, but she was not trying
to see, but to hear.
"...e......to......ot
compa........wer.....ck me if you can........rush your
soul....." Zeal could hear fragmented pieces of the wind's
whispering. She concentrated harder. "I see you....who has
come to challenge me. You cannot compare with my power. If you
can find me, attack me if you can. I will easily crush your
soul." Faint though it was, Zeal had heard the message, and
heard it again as it looped endlessly, carried on the chill
wind. Returning to consciousness slowly, Zeal pulled her
orange robes closer and shivered. What she wouldn't give for a
cup of Doreen's herbal tea now...
Standing up, she
felt an uneasiness about her. Looking around revealed only
broken marble and pathways stretching off into the limitless
darkness. As if to answer her uneasiness, a voice spoke to her
conscious mind. Yes...I SEE YOU! As if on a cue,
demons materialized from the shadows, forms more menacing and
vile than any she had yet encountered. Someone knew she was
here, and their power was vast. Can they break my
barrier? Zeal thought, a sense of dread growing slowly. A
gargantuan demon, tall as two men, hurled itself at Zeal. The
barrier's lines on the ground glowed, and the demon was
repelled by a shield of blinding light, thrown back into the
shadows among its comrades. Others followed, crashing into it,
each thrown back in turn.
It will
not last forever! Run, you fool! Escape while you still
can! Another voice, more clear than the whispering
darkness, pervaded her senses, pushing her actions to urgency.
With record speed, she cast her float spell and flew from the
magic circle with all the speed she could muster. As soon as
she left the barrier, the demons took after her like a pack of
hungry wolves, their eyes burning as torches against the
blackness.
Zeal turned just long enough to throw a
salvo of twelve energy balls at the horde. She heard impacts
and shrieks of vicious ferocity but when she turned about, the
horde seemed undiminished in strength and was drawing closer,
seeming to move as one huge visceral, undulating mass. Did I not tell you to run? Your power may be
great, but it is not enough! Now RUN, lest you fall victim to
the darkness!
Zeal could see no portal or
convenient pathway, and a teleportation spell in an uncharted
area which hung in the middle of empty space seemed like a
very bad idea. Suddenly, Zeal felt as if all time was slowing.
She snapped her head quickly to see behind her, but it turned
as slowly as if she was a bashful schoolgirl trying to sneak a
peak at cute boy. From the corner of her eye, she saw a small
figure standing before the gargantuan demon horde which was on
the verge of engulfing it as a tsunami crashes violently into
the shore.
YOU SHALL NOT
PASS! a mighty female voice rang out, the voice of the
small figure who stood against the charge of the nameless evil
army.
A light more all-consuming than the unshielded
view of a naked star grew from the small being's hand, and
Zeal thought she saw the evil titans melt away in the light
before she lost consciousness.
You
are strong, but you tend to bite off more than you can chew at
times. If you really intend to challenge the master of this
place, be prepared for an even greater challenge. You would do
well, though, to get other contestants to aid you.....
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-- this far-flung
segment inspired by the Lord of the Rings movie, Mines of
Moria. If you couldn't already tell that by my cheezy stealing
of epic dialogue, see the film! 
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