Soul Stealer [Backdated 11/6] [Action] [Semi-Open; ask if you wanna tag in]

[youfool]

"Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats."
-H.L. Mencken

Bounty hunting is complex business. Got to know where to look, who to talk to, whose hands to grease, and so on. Having a good memory helps. Yet when he read about Everglade's latest criminal, he couldn't remember if he'd ever heard of a bounty so atrocious. It was a new low. He barely believed it was possible, and yet the newspaper had a strange, almost prophetic correctness about these things. A dark fury overcame him; only in Everglade could something like this happen. He had to put a stop to it. Ted doesn't know what he's going to do to his quarry once he lays hold of him. But he had to find him first.

Ted didn't waste any time. The three-star uniform, the armor and the weapon he dreaded to show anyone, was on in an instant. As he ran through the cobblestone streets, heart pumping with anger and anxiety, all most would see was the black silhouette of a man. Pitch black, darker than deepest midnight. He had no room to be shy about something so ugly; the situation was worse. Much worse.

The one thing that may have eased him was Namur offering to go along. Good. The more the...well, merriment was a million miles away. But anything, any weapon he could bring to bear against this abominable wretch was welcome. But it was a mild comfort, easily washed away as Ted approached his first stop: "The Blushing Book."

A euphemistic name whose amusement wore off once one figured who met in it. It fooled Ted, for a while, thinking it housed professors and dons and other bores. Not quite. It was a true hole in the wall, difficult to hear about, let alone find. But rumors spread all the more easily among a superstitious and fearful populace, and soon enough, Ted learned the way in amidst his travels. To get past the hidden enchantment, walk past a certain streetlamp, run your fingers along the wall, then tap six times against an uneven brick. A regular who's who of dark wizards and other ne'er-do-wells. Even when Ted found out about it, he kept away. He didn't want to see his beloved city's warts when he could help it. He'd be tempted to arson, for one, and they had an eye for who was against them, and none more openly than Ted himself.

The time for polite ignorance was over. He knew how these cabalists kept company. One of them had to know the whereabouts of his prey. He wasn't sure how far he would go to get the information he needed; he hardly cared. He'd have to go past the bouncer, at any rate: a hulking brute as an added layer of defense. The giant of a man was decorated in various charms. He must have been, to deal with arcane patrons like that.

The two stood before each other: the bouncer and the black humanoid. "Beat it,"he growled, well aware that whoever this black man was, he wasn't on the guest list.

If it's a beating he wanted...

Comments

[youfool]

Were it not for the horrible gasping of the purple-faced bouncer, Ted might have entirely forgotten about him. But his principles nagged at him till he, with vexed reluctance, retrieved him. "We don't have time for this," he muttered angrily. He had no idea what those warlocks might do to revive him, but he couldn't take any chances. He tossed a thread to stick to Namur. "Head towards the bridge. I'll catch up." He took the man in his arms, put him inside his form, then bounded over buildings towards Konoka's Omyoudo shop. She may be a magician too, but he trusted her relatively benign magic over these freaks.

A few minutes passed before Ted arose out of the thread, traversing the folded void-space the black string connected. He made no comment on the re-entrance.

An angry "What!" was the comment when Namur deemed it fit to halt their progress just to avoid a villainous pedestrian. What on earth is he worried about? There's no time! Ted was confident he could snuff out any trouble in seconds. They're avoiding, what, cultural tension? Now, of all times? Ted didn't even look human. And at that, he faltered just a little. There was definitely an inhuman air about all this.

He seethed, yet patiently waited until it were time to keep running towards the target. Along the way, a curious flickering of street lights punctuated their progress. Rumor has it those lamps only did that when danger was nearby; it was a handy, telltale sign Ted always investigated when he was on patrol, or out looking for trouble. But this...what did it signify? Were they the trouble? Or was the looming threat so expansive that it effected them far beyond its point of origin?

No time to think; had to keep running and jumping and loosing more threads to cover the distance. The only thing that arrested that reckless run was the atmosphere beyond the muddy rivers underfoot. There was life here, or at least...activity. Everglade, as degenerate as it was, found the haunts beyond too much to live with. He felt why. As he followed Namur into the faint and faded greenery, he felt a wroth, numinous presence. Something wanted them gone.

Not yet; not till they got what they came for. He looked around, head turning this way and that, looking for any hint of Digby. If there were children here, they couldn't possibly last, soul-stealer or not. Time was precious. Eventually, Ted would find something that notified they were close. An explosion.

Ted, in haste, had tripped a faint sketch of a magical fire rune, detonating him in a pillar of conflagration. The life-fiber uniform didn't take well to fire, as he shot like a flare into the night sky before landing on the ground, rolling and trying to douse himself. They had gotten close to their target, and it was clear he did not wish to be disturbed.

[om_nom_namur]

Well an explosion was definitely one way to catch someone's attention. Namur skidded to a stop, and without thinking, whipped his hand out toward Ted, palm down. He spoke a single, foreign word.

And nothing happened.

Namur scowled at his hand as he pulled it back, grunting as he bounded over to help put out the flames. "Damn it, Ted! Now ain't the time for a buncha shitty fireworks!" He scooped up handfuls of dirt to slap on whatever still burned.

[youfool]

"I'm not the one to worry for!"

[Ted would secrete water or some other flame retardant chemical through the pores in his suit. He appreciates the aid, really, but he's become completely single-minded. Only now, he couldn't afford to be. The evening had been accommodating enough, so far, giving plenty of air and empty rooftops to bound across. Not anymore; Digby clearly had the place lousy with magical traps spanning unknown yards. Ted's progress was arrested, and he was forced to think, lest he get himself killed barreling into another mystic noose.

This was indeed Everglade's historical site. A few houses were scattered around the grounds, most choked with ivy. It was clear they hadn't had much in the way of upkeep for years, if not decades. He just had to find which one their target was in. But then, it is a magician. Goodness knows if he hasn't got an invisible house or something equally bizarre. Ted's train of thought was arrested itself when a wraith appeared from the mist.]

"Go away; I want to be alone. Stay and you'll die or be used."

[Used as part of their quarry's necromancy, no doubt. This red-eyed, black-billowed specter was acting as a medium for their target. Kind of him to issue a warning, at least.]

[om_nom_namur]

[Ted... that's definitely weird. And it makes Namur's skin crawl again. He pulls back quickly and scratches the back of his head. How does Toady Ted sound? Catchy? Or kinda trying too hard?

Hm.

Namur turns a moment before the wraith arrives, narrowing his eyes in the darkness.]

If y' wanna be 'lone how come y' nabbed all them pups, dumbass?

[He stalks forward, his foot glancing off the side of another fire rune. Ted's little display made him wary, so he'd been ready for an explosion, both in terms of disposition and with Armament Haki as a shield, because he rather likes having all his limbs intact, thank you. As the rune explodes, Namur steps back and kicks the column of flame at the wraith, which seems that much darker and larger with a bit of light flickering around it. The rune flies right through, the wraith continues unharmed. With a grunt Namur charges, magical fire bombs be damned. He takes a few steps to get up speed and then leaps high, fist pulled back, a faint purplish glow beginning to form around his body. As he releases his punch, the glow instantly flashes, becoming brighter as it focuses around Namur's fist and shoots forward into the wraith in a blast of energy that enhances the force of the blunt strike. On contact, Namur feels a bit of Life sucked out of him, but even so, the haki infused punch more than overwhelms the wraith, which dissipates quicker than the light's afterimage. Namur hits the ground in a crouch.]

Bastard. Least send out someone worth fightin' if yer gonna make someone else throw shade for y'.

[youfool]

[Namur, this is no time to be thinking about nicknames. And this is coming from him.

Foremost on Ted's mind is, once again, the most expedient path towards the enemy. Did that wraith have any clues in or about it that would point towards Digby's location? Or did they just have to keep triggering traps until they hit pay dirt?

It was quite the light show, both with the other triggered rune and...whatever it was Namur just did. Well, thank goodness punching ghosts came naturally to him. Ted had to buy a special powder for that. The other recourse is using Gengar, who's a ghost-puncher par excellence. Alas, he had left him in the shadow of the snitch.

"...Do you smell him? Anything at all?"

[Ted would've scoured the ground for hours, but he couldn't bare to think what would happen if they wasted time. Still, he thought Namur's nose would know the way. It's the only lead he has in this sinister and spiritual land, growing heavier with gravity by the minute.

To that end, he extends a thread with a drape hung over it: the hexproof cloak. It would stuff any magic it came into contact with, including--Ted supposed--the arcane traps they'd rather avoid. Using that, they could clear a path through this mystic minefield and find their mark all the quicker.

That's the idea, anyway. If not...well, one more fire rune wouldn't kill them.]