Filth and Finery

Ego · 2006-08-08T08:08:17Z

Ezekiel uttered the final word of his arcane spell, the last syllable ending in a sharp cutoff. His outstretched hand glowed for an instant. Zeke's mouth turned up in a confident smirk as three bolts of arcane power shot from his fingernails and streaked toward the onrushing goblin, the tiny missiles weaving about erratically as they searched for their target. The nimble creature dodged aside, but squeaked in surprise as the three glowing bolts swerved to meet it, taking it in the throat and chest. For a moment the creature stayed on its feet, then, with a small sigh, toppled backward and slid down the hewn stone wall, lifeless. The young sorcerer snapped his fingers enthusiastically, then turned to Seira, his feline familiar. The large panther caught his eye, then relaxed her jaw, releasing her hold on a goblin corpse. As the goblin hit the floor with a small squish, Zeke would have sworn the panther winked at him. "Enjoying yourself?" he asked. They scurry like mice, but they taste of slugs, Seira lamented, her purring voice echoing slightly in the mage's head. Zeke chuckled to himself and knealt down beside his most recent kill. As he placed a hand on the stone floor to balance himself, his fingers brushed the hilt of the creature's small sword. He wrapped his fingers around it, then held it up to his eyes. The weapon was made from a single piece of iron, the blade itself sharpened to a point, and the hilt wrapped in animal hide and leather cord. In comparison to the fine dwarven craftsmanship of the longsword strapped to Zeke's back, it was scrap metal. He discarded the blade, drawing a displeased growl from Seira when it clattered noisily to the floor. Giving the goblin's corpse a quick scan, Zeke's eyes were drawn to a small pouch tied around the goblin's neck by a leather thong. Raising an eyebrow in mild interest, he wrapped his hand around the top of the pouch and slipped it over the goblin's head. Loosing the drawstring that sealed the fur-lined pouch, Zeke overturned it into his gloved right palm. Using his thumb to separate the filth from the finery, he found himself looking at three silver coins, a tiny agate, and a small pile of shiny but worthless pebbles. He dropped the pebbles onto the ground, then slipped the coins and gem back into the pouch and tucked the whgole package away into the satchel at his side. "Looks like the goblins are buying drinks tonight," he muttered to himself. He stood up from the looted corpse and strode casually toward Seira, who was now sprawled across her kill, grooming herself. "Care to move?" Zeke asked his comanion. Seira merely looked at him as only a feline can, with complete slothfulness and utter nonchalance that showed she had no intention of getting up. "I see. I guess we do this...the hard way." Zeke reached out and grasped one huge ear in each hand, then pulled her face until she looked him directly in the eye. "Will THIS convicne you to move?" he asked, scratching he ears vigorously. Seira purred with pleasure, her eyes half closing and her body going quite limp. She half rolled over, exposing her belly and partially uncovering the goblin she was atop. Zeke let go of her ears, then quickly moved to her belly, scratching her and rubbing her muscled stomach. Satisfied after a moment, Seira climbed to her feet and quickly nuzzled Zeke before turning and padding over to the other goblin. Zeke patted her haunches affectionately as she strode past, then turned his attention to what really interested him. An amulet hung around the goblin's maimed neck. A small, flat disk of Electrum dangled from the bloody mass, spattered with gore. Zeke picked it up and wiped the blood from the surface of it, then examined it curiously. A silver chain ran through a loop at the top of the disk, forming the necklace for the amulet. The amulet itself was inscribed with a shield emblazoned with an icon depicting two crossed battle axes, and dwarven script was written around the edge of the piece. With Zeke's faint knowlege of the dwarven language, he could only make out the word "defense," in the series of runes that covered the entire edge of the amulet. His slightly lopsided smirk grew into a smile as he had an idea. Shoving his naked left hand into his spell component pouch, he rummaged around a moment before withdrawing it. When his hand reappered, his thumb and forefinger were both tipped in a bluish moss powder. He raised his fingers to his eyes and muttered a quick incantation. He then opened his eyes and passed his palm over the amulet. It glowed a slight blue under his enchanted gaze. Picking it up once more, he again looked at the dwarven script. He saw now that the characters did not read "defense," but "shield." "A fine addition." Zeke's smile had morphed into a wide grin. He made a mental note of the amulet's runes, then tucked it into a small pocket in his satchel. When he turned back to see if Seira was ready to move, he saw her ears flatten back against her skull and her lips pull back to reveal yellowed fangs. VERMIN-- The door on the opposite side of the room exploded outward, splintering into a hundred pieces and more.

Bazoo

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Points 890

Reviews 25

Mon Aug 14, 2006 2:53 pm

Bazoo says... · Mon Aug 14, 2006 2:53 pm

The thing that bugged me most about this was the transition between "Ezekiel" and "Zeke." These names are close together, but I was immediately confused because I thought they were separate person.

So basically...I was confused as to what was going on.

This was decent, though. It takes the path of modern Fantasy Fiction, it'll go somewhere.

Wow...I want to thank so many people for being here...well of course, God...and um...Nate...let's see...Liz...Brad...Chevy...Satan.

They're all cool.

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Duskglimmer

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Points 2340

Reviews 447

Tue Aug 22, 2006 1:13 am

Duskglimmer says... · Tue Aug 22, 2006 1:13 am

I liked it.

I do have to say, that I agree about choosing a different familiar than a panther. The first thing that I thought of when I read it was Drizzt and Guenwhyvar. I think you can actually get away with it, because Siera (love the name, by the way) seems to have a fairly different personality than Guen, but I'd still probably make it a different feline.

Other than that, my only comments is to watch for those typos.

I love the littler random facts that you throw out. they make the piece so much fuller, like you could just walk into the room and see Zeke and Siera battling. Keep it up.

The robbed that smiles, steals something from the thief. ~William Shakespeare, Othello
Boo. SPEW is watching.

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Lil Dono

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Points 890

Reviews 25

Fri Aug 25, 2006 2:22 am

Lil Dono says... · Fri Aug 25, 2006 2:22 am

I like this side of Zeke, not blood obsessed in this one I see, but I am surprised you stuck with Meridia...excuse me Seira. (love the name change) It was a nice touch as the relationship between the two shows Zeke's not all smartass but actually has a heart. I was thinking "awwww" when I read the action and dialogue between Zeke and Seira. Nice job once again Dono.

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