Saturday, January 15, 2011

Amen

"Spinetap Publishing was a huge mill building that had been erected during the industrial revolution, and was originally used to process textiles. When the company died, a man by the name of Reginald Cathburn bought it at a low price and proceeded to move his small publishing company, Spinetap, into it. Cathburn named his first born son after himself and left the company to him.
Years later-"
"Tibias, would you please stop reciting wikipeadia and tell us which door?" Royal cut the rambling man off mid sentence. After ten whole minuets of walking down what he would have called the world's longest hallway, Tibias began telling his subordinates the history of the building. The hallway twisted and turned and wove in on itself, but there had yet to be doors until, finally they had reached the end. Three identical doors faced them, one on the left, one on the right and one in the center.
"I would say the one in the center, but that would be to easy." Tibias stated dryly, a bit irritated at being interrupted.
"Hey, it's not my fault we chose the door that led to the hell hallway!" Royal whispered harshly, then smiled at his own alliteration. He looked at Keera who only rolled her eyes. Tibias strode up to the center door, a plan wooden one, and knocked rather loudly. A second passed where both Royal and Keera held their breath.
"Tibias why woul-" Keera stopped whispering when a muffled voice on the other side began to speak.
"Oy? Who's out there?" Tibias could tell the man on the other side was simply a meatbag protecting the entrance to the actual business.
"I'm afraid to say, my dear man, that your goonish friends have been knocked out by their own doing. They smell strongly of booze and urine, if you could believe that," Tibias waited for the man to chuckle slightly before continuing, "I thought you might have wanted to know that they have left the entrance to the basement unguarded, and just about anyone could get in," Keera was staring at Tibias, trying to throw daggers at him with her mind. This would never work, it was simply to ridiculous to work, Tibias was bat shit insane, she changed he last thought to :an absolute genius when the door swung open to reveal a man about six and a half feet tall, and nearly as wide as the door.
Tibias exploded into action, punching the man in the solar plexus, then uppercut him in the jaw when he doubled over. While the man was still dazed from the punches, Tibias reached up with both hands to grab the back of the meatbag's head and brought it down to have a how do you do with his knee. Tibias coked his head to the side, reminding Keera strangely of Kole, when the goon stumbled back a few feet but still did not topple.
The man laughed at Tibias.
"You think that was enough to defeat me?"
"Actually, yes, unfortunately," Tibias answered calmly, placing a hand in his pocket.
"You are about to meet your god!" the man yelled making a dash on unsteady legs toward Tibias.
"Amen" Tibias brought his concealed hand up, curled into a fist around a pair of brass knuckles, glowing brightly in the dim light. The huge man did not have enough time to stop his charge when he saw Tibias's glowing hand before it connected solidly with his chest. There was a loud crack and the man was blown against the far wall of the room, turning the lone table into matchsticks. He crumpled to the ground and stayed there, eyes open.
"Holy mother of..." Keera trailed off as the body of the man convulsed a few times and a small black smoke leaked out of his nose.
"I think I may have just killed a possessed man," Tibias looked at the weapon in his hand and muttered "Amen". The light emanating from the knuckles dimmed and finally sputtered out, and he placed them back into his pocket. He looked at Keera and Royal with a cocked eyebrow and a slight smile, "Shall we continue?"
Royal shook his head and stared at Tibias, "What was that?"
Tibias smiled again, "A possessed man Royal, you should know these things already,"
"No," Royal said forcefully and completely serious for the first time today, "What did you use to kill him?" Tibias reached into his pocket, rolling his eyes and withdrew the knuckles yet again.
"Have you not seen brass knuckles before, Mr. Holligan?" Tibias asked, then glanced at a quiet Keera. He had just killed a man. She didn't think Tibias, the bookworm, the scholar, the human, would ever be as cold as Kole.
"But the glow!"
"A simple enchantment. They are inscribed with the "Our Father" Mr. Holligan. They were a gift from The Council, now may we go?" He gestured to the only other door in the room and Royal followed suit.
Tibias gave Keera a sad look and whispered, "We are the good guys, do not forget that Ms. Trean," before he turned and caught up with the still slightly confused Royal.

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