It's all fun and games...

[Varos Talantos]

The old man saw the fire encase the phlegm-like substance that he had spewed towards Sol. The Demon was reckless to do such in this public place when he could've easily moved out of the way without risking nearly as much attention. Strange decision. He turned to Dex and nodded soberly. "Ya, I in a pim. I jes like gittin mine dippered when I kin." That's when Forgery noticed a cockroach crossing the floorboards towards the three men. It wouldn't have caught his attention too much if that'd been all of it, but Forgery sensed life outside the pub. A lot of it. Flies, roaches, crickets, fleas, ants, termites, and all other sorts of creatures that were small and possessed traits that most Humans found undesirable were all making their way into the structure Forgery was in. His old, wrinkled eyes narrowed at the doorway as tens came in every second and then it was a hundred... all coming his way. "Wert tha bloody night!" He said in surprise. Something was going on. He turned and looked at Dex. Nothing too odd there. He turned to Sol. His cells smelled of herbs and sugar. "Accursed..." Forgery whispered, just loudly enough for the other two to hear. "Whattaya done, son?" He inquired to Sol as he pulled his own legs to the floor below him. If Sol was going to keep from being killed by his curse he'd better be making his escape now, so Forgery was ready to follow the boy to find out what happened. A good story was always worth pursuing, after all. [/color]

[Dexter Pendragon]

Dex noticed too with some alarm remembering back to Egypt when Sol hd revealed his true form. He remembered how the insects had come forth from the sand eagerly until he had shapeshifted again. Dex wondered if it was caused by the use of his powers. He had never considered that Sol was one of the accursed before but he had heard of those who had angered the God of Nature falling privy to the insect’s bite.

“Accursed...” Dex mulled in his mouth silently looking at his friend. Had he been this way for the whole time he and known him? Why hadn’t he noticed in Egypt and called him on it? More importantly, what had Sol done and why? Did he want to associate with those who had angered those supremely powerful beings of the Universe?

Something clicked then. Had that old man just said that? Who was he to know such things? A supernatural? A Shapeshifter? A God? Dex stood “Who are you?” He demanded sniffing at the man finding only the smell of an old man about him. He was good but this only meant he was skilled in shapeshifting. It meant nought else. “You aren’t just an old man to talk about such things freely” People were staring now but Dex did not care. He would kill them all if he had to.

[Solemn Creed]

Sol twitched when he heard the sound. The sound that had become all to comon recently. It was the sound of bugs and Sol hated it almost more than warm climates. Sol began to move towards the door knowing that when they came to his attention they must be gathering for a swarm. He spotted a roach crawling along the floor and he stopped on it with enough force to crack the surrounding floor. At this point Sol was no longer paying attention to what anyone else was doing, he was just trying to escape before he reverted to his natural form. The bugs began poring out of every crack and crevice within the bar, all headed towards Sol. He turned to Dex and the old man, sweat running freely over his face which only made things worse.

Sol shrugged at them and then the enclosed space of the bar was quickly engulfed in flames as Sol began producing them as quickly as he could. The walls exploded outward and the roof became less then ash as the flames flared up with a taste for oxygen. In the middle of the large blackened crater where once stood the bar was Sol standing in his true form. With one beat of his massive wings he shot into the air and began to fly as far north as fast as he could. Only then did he wonder about Dex's fate. The old man was probably dead but he did seem a little strange...

[Varos Talantos]

The old man opened a wrinkled, foul mouth to answer the less-odd Demon when Sol smashed a foot into the floor loudly. Too bold. Forgery turned his shaggy head at Sol just as he was turning his to look at them. His face was sweating like crazy, obviously nervous. If one searched hard enough to get past the scent of sugar and plants that was now prominent throughout the pub, they would smell the fear that had obviously overcome Sol. He was afraid.

It made sense, though, really. To be devoured and shredded by bugs as you fought to survive would be an awful end and Forgery had seen it happen before. The pain itself was bad enough, but the thought of being eaten alive by insects while it was occuring made it all the worse. Those who fell victim seemed to agree.

Sol, though, was obviously willing to do anything to keep from being one of those victims. The entire establishment was engulfed in flames and a series of crackling noises came from the wood as it began to give to the pressure and heat. In between the cracklings, pops came from the bugs as they exploded from the intense fire. Then, all you could hear was screams and the swooshing noise of the fire. Forgery watched the fire swarm past his person, bringing a hot sensation to his flesh that was like being sprayed by a garden hose that contained warm, red water. A loud boom pushed through the building as the ceiling and roof disintegrated and the walls launched from their places in the floor. Shrapnel from the tables, chairs, bar, glasses, bottles, and whatever else was there filled the place with a deadly spray of wooden fragments. Sol had thrown himself from the building before the explosion had reached its most deadly, leaving the old man and Dexter to what would likely be their death.

The old man growled, turning to look at the remaining Demon and time crawled past at an eerie pace. Dexter was going to die because of the other Demon... there was no avoiding it now. He'd survived the flames and the concussion hadn't done a great bit to his strong Demon bones, but there was countless shrapnel flying fast as bullets at him and it was far too late to move. Forgery watched to see exactly how it would happen, what it would look like, and how Dexter would act in his final moments.[/color]

[Dexter Pendragon]

Accelerating mass can only be stopped if acted upon with an equal or greater force.

This odd fact came to Dex as he was faced by imminent death; as he was faced by such purposeless death for someone who had fought in many wars and survived many tragedies; so decidedly unimpressive for one who had survived a Russian interment camp and liberated three Nazi camps; so boring for a demon.

A great explosion rocked the bar for a second time as Dex tried to do just as Newton had stated but it was too late. Several pieces of glass racked his body like machinegun fire. He fell to the floor of the pub as he blacked out.

His eyes flickered open a moment later. They looked but did not see. He was blind to the world for a moment; blind to the world as he lay in an expanding pool of his own blood. He was blind until he saw the old man. Dex saw and all was clear. The old man was the reaper here for his soul; the herald of his death; the messenger of his doom. His dreams were a premonition. Sol, the fire, the desert; all signs; all clear. It was his time.

“Forgive me.” Dex whispered trying to seek some last solace, some atonement, for the many atrocities he had committed in his life; a selfish life. He had walked the path of life like a blind man strolling through fire and now it was time to walk the valley of death he could finally see.

Dexter Pendragon was suddenly consumed in flame never again to be seen by the living.


What’s the morale of this story kids?

It’s all Fun and Games until Dex dies.