Feel free to jump in with a character who's interested in ancient artifacts with supernatural powers. There's art that goes with this but haven't finished it just yet.
"Hello darling." A familiar voice spoke to Sacrilege piercing the silence of his dreamless rest. It was low and raspy with a cockney accent - he'd recognized that voice anywhere.
"Great. What the Hell do you want now?" Sacrilege barked harshly, his jaw clenched into a furious snarl.
"Now now, is that really any way to treat an old friend?"The other spoke as a figure began to appear from the smokey darkness; his body was red and flowing like silk under water, his eyes were glowing yellow orbs that cast a reflection on the uneven smokey apparition.
"Please...you? A friend? That's rich. You really are dumber than you look coming to me after what you did." Sacrilege began to stand ready to attack. With a snap of his fingers the red demon slammed Sacrilege into the ground as he clicked his tongue and shook his head.
"I came here to negotiate Dorian. If I wanted a bloodbath I would have looked for sweeter tasting victims." The red demon sighed but held Dorian down.
"See I'm in need of a guard dog and well...lets just say; you're the best one I know." He smiled showing pointed pearly white teeth under black lips. Sacrilege struggled against his restraints groaning and cursing the other under his breath even when he knew his fighting was pointless. The other demon hadn't always been able to best him but in his current condition he was no match even for a lowlife like him.
"Keep talking asshole and I might just be interested enough to not rip your throat out!" Sacrilege spat towards his captor knowing his threats fell on deaf ears; he could tell his adversary was enjoying his forced submission. His grip on Sacrilege's throat tightened choking the last words before they were even spoken, a sadistic smile painted itself on the red one's lips as the shine in his eyes intensified briefly and died back down like a flickering flame.
"Glad to see you're interested in my offer. This will explain everything you need to do." As he said so he threw a book towards Sacrilege, it slid across until it was next to his head causing the smoke that had been covering the ground to float up like vapour and dissipate.
Sacrilege gasped for air and his eyes shot open. Pupils contracted and he snarled loudly -
back in this damn forest he thought to himself as his eyes adjusted to the light of day. He looked straight ahead thinking about the strange encounter he just had; his gaze fell to the ground where he caught sight of an old leather bound book. From the looks and feel of the material he deduced it was most likely human leather, how appropriate considering who had given him the thing to begin with.
He shut his eyes and turned his gaze towards the sky inhaling deeply. The one good thing about the Forest was the crisp clean air that always helped him concentrate. Sacrilege knew he had no choice but to play along for now, do what he was told. He needed to plan. His eyes opened and he turned his attention towards the macabre book and used his jaws to delicately open it -
Enochian, what a pain in the ass to read.
The white demon spent most of the morning combing through the book. It was filled with instructions on how to identify and neutralize various anomalous artifacts.
What, am I suppose to be a fucking archivist now? he growled to himself as he poured through page after page of detailed instructions. When he was nearing the end he found a small folded note between two paged, he picked it up in his mouth and unfolded the parchment.
"Glad you made it this far pup, it's me your new master. The one, the only, yadda yadda, you know who I am. Judging by how stupid your face looks right now I'm sure you're very confused, you were never known for your brains after all, so, I'll make it simple. Collect and keep as many of these artifacts for me - once a month I'll send someone to collect them from you and bring them to me. If you do well I'll give you a hint on how to get back home."
Sacrilege growled and ripped the note to shreds before pushing himself off the cold ground. He grabbed the book in his jaws and set off towards the pond — maybe someone here knew something or had seen something related to one of his artifacts. As he neared the water he dropped the book in the tall grass and stepped closer to the edge of the pond lowering his head. He took long gulps of fresh water some of which slid past his teeth in small streams to rejoin pond.
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Items list:
Cintamani Stone — Location unknown
Mythical stone thought to be a relic of Buddah - capable of granting wishes. It's thought to represent Buddahs values and teachings.
Seven league boots — Location unknown
Boots that grant their wearer the ability to travel seven leagues ( roughly 3 miles) per step. Rather limited information has been recorded on this artifact.
Ring of Gyges — Location unknown
This artifact grants the wearer the ability to become invisible. There have been reports it may also corrupt the wearer the longer it's worn but this theory has yet to be proven true. It's considered safe.
Hand of Glory — Location unknown
Fashioned from the severed hand of a condemned criminal this artifact is the product of extremely dark magic and should be treated with caution. The wielder has the ability to unlock any door as well as temporarily freeze people in place.
Book of Thoth — Location unknown
Written by the Egyptian God of magic and wisdom this myterious book is thought to contain two spells; one for understanding animals and the other to understand the minds of the Gods. According to legend whoever comes across this book and tries to read from it will experience extreme misfortune. Handle with care.
Helmet of Invisibility — Location unknown
The mythical helmet that helped the Ancient Greek hero Perseus to defeat Medusa by rendering him immune to her petrifying gaze.
Dragon's teeth — Location unknown
The teeth of Ares' dragon who was slain by Cadmus. If the teeth are planted in soil they will sprout into soldiers. The teeth can be replanted once it's sprouting has been killed to regrow a new soldier. The soldiers grown in this fashion are fiercely loyal to their leader and ruthless in battle with no notion of mercy or compassion.
The demon's icy eyes scanned over the surface of the pond as he sat under one of the aging willows. His legs neatly folded beneath his bulky form as the vines whipped gently across his back and sides as they were pushed by the breeze. With his eyelids half closed and his mouth hanging half open he looked quite relaxed, very obviously lost in his own thoughts. A sigh escaped past the jagged teeth that lined the demon's bony mouth.
You know this is a trap. He said to himself turning towards his body to scratch an annoying itch on his belly.
Then why am I even considering doing this..? Am I really this desperate to leave? His gaze lifted from the muddy earth towards the treeline, grass waving in unison with the leaves on the trees. Their carefree dance only served to annoy him further as it conflicted with how he felt. The turmoil inside his chest was threatening to rip him apart if he didn't make a decision. In reality Sacrilege was aware that he really had no other choice but to follow along and see where things took him but his distrust of the Red Guard kept him from fully committing to the task at hand.
With a labored grunt he pushed his body off the ground, bits of mud and grass still clinging to his body even as he shook and stretched out. Sacrilege began to make his way towards the Great Oak for a quick nap before beginning his search. The heavy uneven footsteps along with his defeated looking posture betrayed his true feelings. As he got closer to his favorite spot he finally had had enough and let out a drawn out half growl in frustration and collapsed under the tree's roots with a thud that rippled through his body.
