Post by Baalbatos on May 25, 2016 18:57:19 GMT -5
(Thread PL: 35,967)
(Heavy weights on)
Baalbatos was back to studying Fornosia's scrolls. It seemed that the old sorceress still had much to say about the art of war magicks. And it interested Baalbatos greatly. The art of war, he thought, was most definitely one worth pursuing. Such knowledge might be the key difference between living and dying for Baalbatos. And he was very fond of living indeed, so it only made sense that he kept reading. The old demoness was rather direct in her writings. One such line, if he translated the old script correctly, said 'and so it is with this that you flay the skin from your enemies'. Baalbatos smirked. The old woman did not mess around, it seemed. Suddenly, he was very glad that he was learning from her scrolls and not the demon herself. He suspected tutelage under her was short lived and rather unpleasant. No, books would do well enough for this demon, thank you very much. His own training was harsh enough, with these every present weights of his.
For all the woman's cruelty and obsession with 'making ones foes bleed from every orifice', she really was quite the practical fighter. She even wrote of modifying one's magic so that it might set an enemy into a daze, though at the cost of some power. The idea of that stuck out to Baalbatos like a sore thumb. A stunning technique? That would certainly have practical applications. Why, he thought, it might even save his own skin someday. It was in that moment that Baalbatos was very ready to master it. And while he was certain that he could, he needed to be sure that he was doing it right. He needed a test subject. A live one, one who he could observe in the moment, see if the daze was really taking hold of his victim. It might cause them some pain, but he did not care. If it would advance his plans, he'd not second guess causing someone more than a little discomfort. After all, one needed to look out for themselves before others.
Luckily, he knew just the person to help him out with this matter. Baalbatos pulled himself up from his desk and made for the exit of the ship. Before long, his face was full of afternoon light as he flew through the air, making for the man who could help him.
...
"I see," said Xun Sun, "You want me to do what again?" The human man seemed intrigued, or perhaps a little disturbed. The lilac-skinned demon often had trouble telling the difference between the two.
"I want you to provide me with a test subject," explained Baalbatos calmly, "I have magicks that I need to experiment with, and they require a live test subject."
"Hmm, I see," said Xun Sun, the look of confusion still on his face, "So, uh, why did you come to me again?"
"I just said," groaned Baalbatos, "I need a test subject."
"Yes," said Xun Sun plainly, "I understand that part, quite clearly in fact. But I still want to know, why, emphasis on why, me? Like, specifically, why me?"
"Oh," exclaimed Baalbatos, "It's simple really. You're the most reliable man I know on Earth. You've never let me down before."
"I see. I appreciate you thinking of me so highly, Baalbatos, but..." said Xun Sun, trailing off.
"Well, I'm simply considering the moral quandaries of providing a human being to be the play thing of a demon with... violent tendencies," explained Xun Sun.
"Oh, come now," sighed Baalbatos, "When has morality ever stopped you before?"
"Hmm, you make a very good point," admitted the human, "Do you remember the time when we first met and I dumped that body for you?"
"Ah, yes. Good times," laughed Baalbatos, "The bastard tried to stab me and things got a little out of hand. What of it?"
"Well, I took the man's wallet," continued Xun Sun, "And in it, was a picture of a woman and a little boy. A family, I assume. So, you know what I did with it?"
"No," said Baalbatos, "Tell me."
"I took the money and used the picture to wrap my chewed gum," said Xun Sun, "So I suppose I threw my morals out a long time ago."
"And that's why I like you," said Baalbatos with a smile, "You never let something get in the way of profit or business. That's a quality that will take you far, Xun Sun."
"Thanks, Baaly-boy," chuckled Xun Sun, "Lemme make some calls. I can probably get you your test subject."
...
It did not take long. Xun Sun did indeed make his calls, and it was not long before the duo were stood out back behind his building. Before them was a man, a big burly man, down on his knees with a burlap sack over his head. He struggled against his boys, his voice muffled as he screamed beneath the sack. Baalbatos assumed he was cursing them out, and he could not say he'd blame them. Baalbatos would be upset too if he found himself in the man's position.
"Where'd you find this poor slob, Xun Sun?" Asked Baalbatos, eyeing the man with curiosity.
"Oh, this guy? Pissed off one of the guys who owes me money. He brought him in, in exchange I forgave some of the debt," explained Xun Sun, "I'll just add that to your bill."
"Heh," chuckled Baalbatos, "Remind me to pay that. I'd hate to end up like this poor gentleman."
And with that, Baalbatos approached the man, and crouched down until his face was level with the man's. "Hello, friend" he whispered, "I'm so glad you could join us tonight. I have very special plans for you, yes I do."
The man screamed. Or at least Baalbatos thought it was a scream. It proved hard to tell through the sack and whatever gagged his mouth. "Silence," said Baalbatos sharply, "I'll not have you ruining my concentration."
The man continued his tirade, screaming and shouting, shaking back and forth like mad. Baalbatos's eyes narrowed, and his hand itched. In a flash, he drove it across the man's clothed face. A sharp crack resounded through out the alley. "I said 'silence'!" He hissed. And, this time, the man fell silent. "Good," muttered Baalbatos, "I suppose you can listen to instructions after all. Keep that up, and you'll come out of this in one piece. Hell, I'll even heal you after this if you play nice? Doesn't that sound great?"
The man said nothing. But Baalbatos continued, "Let's get down to it, shall we? I promise that this will be quick. Maybe not painless, but it will be quick."
And with that, Baalbatos began to channel his magic. Red energy swirled around him, his aura alight with the demonic powers bestowed upon him by his birth. They arced, rose and fell, and cast the world around them in an strange, red glow. His power rose and fell as he consciously manipulated it, trying to find that sweet spot of a spell where his magic would render the man immobile. Remember the readings, Baalbatos thought to himself, and he might just pull this off.
And then he had it! In a flash, he expelled the beam and it went sailing at the man. It crashed into him, raging around him. And when it cleared, the man was left kneeling, but that was not all. The man was tense, every muscle taught. Not wasting anytime, Baalbatos approached and tapped the man on the shoulder. As if on command, the man fell over, trembling on the ground, struggling to move.
"Well," said Baalbatos, "I think it worked."
(Learning [VT-1] Hell's Crimson Lance of Awe! I would like PL with this, with my weights bonus and LMB, please! Thank you!)
(Heavy weights on)
Baalbatos was back to studying Fornosia's scrolls. It seemed that the old sorceress still had much to say about the art of war magicks. And it interested Baalbatos greatly. The art of war, he thought, was most definitely one worth pursuing. Such knowledge might be the key difference between living and dying for Baalbatos. And he was very fond of living indeed, so it only made sense that he kept reading. The old demoness was rather direct in her writings. One such line, if he translated the old script correctly, said 'and so it is with this that you flay the skin from your enemies'. Baalbatos smirked. The old woman did not mess around, it seemed. Suddenly, he was very glad that he was learning from her scrolls and not the demon herself. He suspected tutelage under her was short lived and rather unpleasant. No, books would do well enough for this demon, thank you very much. His own training was harsh enough, with these every present weights of his.
For all the woman's cruelty and obsession with 'making ones foes bleed from every orifice', she really was quite the practical fighter. She even wrote of modifying one's magic so that it might set an enemy into a daze, though at the cost of some power. The idea of that stuck out to Baalbatos like a sore thumb. A stunning technique? That would certainly have practical applications. Why, he thought, it might even save his own skin someday. It was in that moment that Baalbatos was very ready to master it. And while he was certain that he could, he needed to be sure that he was doing it right. He needed a test subject. A live one, one who he could observe in the moment, see if the daze was really taking hold of his victim. It might cause them some pain, but he did not care. If it would advance his plans, he'd not second guess causing someone more than a little discomfort. After all, one needed to look out for themselves before others.
Luckily, he knew just the person to help him out with this matter. Baalbatos pulled himself up from his desk and made for the exit of the ship. Before long, his face was full of afternoon light as he flew through the air, making for the man who could help him.
...
"I see," said Xun Sun, "You want me to do what again?" The human man seemed intrigued, or perhaps a little disturbed. The lilac-skinned demon often had trouble telling the difference between the two.
"I want you to provide me with a test subject," explained Baalbatos calmly, "I have magicks that I need to experiment with, and they require a live test subject."
"Hmm, I see," said Xun Sun, the look of confusion still on his face, "So, uh, why did you come to me again?"
"I just said," groaned Baalbatos, "I need a test subject."
"Yes," said Xun Sun plainly, "I understand that part, quite clearly in fact. But I still want to know, why, emphasis on why, me? Like, specifically, why me?"
"Oh," exclaimed Baalbatos, "It's simple really. You're the most reliable man I know on Earth. You've never let me down before."
"I see. I appreciate you thinking of me so highly, Baalbatos, but..." said Xun Sun, trailing off.
"Well, I'm simply considering the moral quandaries of providing a human being to be the play thing of a demon with... violent tendencies," explained Xun Sun.
"Oh, come now," sighed Baalbatos, "When has morality ever stopped you before?"
"Hmm, you make a very good point," admitted the human, "Do you remember the time when we first met and I dumped that body for you?"
"Ah, yes. Good times," laughed Baalbatos, "The bastard tried to stab me and things got a little out of hand. What of it?"
"Well, I took the man's wallet," continued Xun Sun, "And in it, was a picture of a woman and a little boy. A family, I assume. So, you know what I did with it?"
"No," said Baalbatos, "Tell me."
"I took the money and used the picture to wrap my chewed gum," said Xun Sun, "So I suppose I threw my morals out a long time ago."
"And that's why I like you," said Baalbatos with a smile, "You never let something get in the way of profit or business. That's a quality that will take you far, Xun Sun."
"Thanks, Baaly-boy," chuckled Xun Sun, "Lemme make some calls. I can probably get you your test subject."
...
It did not take long. Xun Sun did indeed make his calls, and it was not long before the duo were stood out back behind his building. Before them was a man, a big burly man, down on his knees with a burlap sack over his head. He struggled against his boys, his voice muffled as he screamed beneath the sack. Baalbatos assumed he was cursing them out, and he could not say he'd blame them. Baalbatos would be upset too if he found himself in the man's position.
"Where'd you find this poor slob, Xun Sun?" Asked Baalbatos, eyeing the man with curiosity.
"Oh, this guy? Pissed off one of the guys who owes me money. He brought him in, in exchange I forgave some of the debt," explained Xun Sun, "I'll just add that to your bill."
"Heh," chuckled Baalbatos, "Remind me to pay that. I'd hate to end up like this poor gentleman."
And with that, Baalbatos approached the man, and crouched down until his face was level with the man's. "Hello, friend" he whispered, "I'm so glad you could join us tonight. I have very special plans for you, yes I do."
The man screamed. Or at least Baalbatos thought it was a scream. It proved hard to tell through the sack and whatever gagged his mouth. "Silence," said Baalbatos sharply, "I'll not have you ruining my concentration."
The man continued his tirade, screaming and shouting, shaking back and forth like mad. Baalbatos's eyes narrowed, and his hand itched. In a flash, he drove it across the man's clothed face. A sharp crack resounded through out the alley. "I said 'silence'!" He hissed. And, this time, the man fell silent. "Good," muttered Baalbatos, "I suppose you can listen to instructions after all. Keep that up, and you'll come out of this in one piece. Hell, I'll even heal you after this if you play nice? Doesn't that sound great?"
The man said nothing. But Baalbatos continued, "Let's get down to it, shall we? I promise that this will be quick. Maybe not painless, but it will be quick."
And with that, Baalbatos began to channel his magic. Red energy swirled around him, his aura alight with the demonic powers bestowed upon him by his birth. They arced, rose and fell, and cast the world around them in an strange, red glow. His power rose and fell as he consciously manipulated it, trying to find that sweet spot of a spell where his magic would render the man immobile. Remember the readings, Baalbatos thought to himself, and he might just pull this off.
And then he had it! In a flash, he expelled the beam and it went sailing at the man. It crashed into him, raging around him. And when it cleared, the man was left kneeling, but that was not all. The man was tense, every muscle taught. Not wasting anytime, Baalbatos approached and tapped the man on the shoulder. As if on command, the man fell over, trembling on the ground, struggling to move.
"Well," said Baalbatos, "I think it worked."
(Learning [VT-1] Hell's Crimson Lance of Awe! I would like PL with this, with my weights bonus and LMB, please! Thank you!)
