The room was large with an unreasonably high ceiling held up by pillars in the form of weirdly elongated people holding a heavy burdern racks of weapons lined the walls and the figure at the table hadn’t yet acknowledged her, it was squat and ate loudly reaching over the table it brought a jug to its face and glugged and spluttered while another gauntleted hand grabbed a piece of flesh and loudly began to devour that. The persons hair was thick and red
Meredith moved silently her eyes never leaving the persons back a loud crunch as it bit through something hard, she tried not to breath and placed one foot on front of the other.
“I can hear you you know.” Meredith stopped.
“Every single breath, every step even your heartbeat, everything.” The person turned to face her the top half of its face was Erek’s the bottom half was a set of mandibles reminicent of the giant milipede. She could see now that his arms were covered in interlocking plates of metal, his torso was protected by a brigandine the studs where the rivets were held together were clear to see on the black leather.
“What are you doing here?” Erek asked as he began to stand.
“What happend to your beard?” She tilted her head.
“You have to give some things up to transcend.” He spread his arms as though worshiping the tower.
“I think you got a bum deal” She shrugged.
“Bah, you wouldn’t understand, you should already be out on the front line, why are you here?”
“I could ask the same thing, though there are a few more questions I have.” Meredith drew a blade and focused on Erek. Apart from the new jaw line she couldn’t see anything else unusual.
“Well, I’m preparing to head out onto the front lines.” Erek began to walk over towards a rack of weapons.
“Frontlines?” Meredith began to put a bit of distance between herself and Erek.
“Yes, of the invasion.” He picked up a spear and checked it for weight giving it a spin.
“Invasion?” Meredith tensed and watched for every little move.
“Did you get Primela and Gilnar over the bridge safely?” He turned to her eyes wild.
“Pardon?” She frowned.
“I’ll take that as a yes. You always were so reliable Meredith. But.” He stopped and then in an explosive burst of speed began closing the distance with here spear driving towards her, Merdith swiftly dodged and brought her blade down a loud clash as he produced a dagger and spun the spear one handed falling back to take up a new stance.
Meredith instantly leapt into a new bout of attacks their blades roaring as impact after impact was blocked or dodged, Meredith spun effortlessly away from another attack and Erek’s spear shattered.
“Tsh” With that he dashed towards one of the weapon racks, Meredith in chase her cold determined killer instinct matching his burning bloodlust in equal measure she let out a flurry of attacks that he barely deflected with a mix of blade and his heavily armoured gauntlets. His hand rested on a new spear and he launched into a fresh round forcing Meredith back fatigue was begining to set in but Merediths moves were still crisp the as she was pushed back past the middle of the room.
One jab after another tore the air that she had just been in a clang echoed as the spear knicked her own brigadinne armour she retorted with a number of explosive attacks pushing him back only slightly his responce was a number of lighting fast strikes forcing her back again, this time past where the table covered in food had been she glanced at it and then she kicked it in in between Erek’s legs and he clumsily attempted to avoid it.
“Bitch!” With that her knife shot forward at his moments distraction wedging in his throat her short sword then thrust up through his crotch into his torso some where that she pulled upwards with great force. All this in a matter of moments following up with a kick that pushed her away from Erek who stumbled back a moment and looked down, his biganndine came apart and then a dozen worm like things fell from his now gaping stomach and started to wriggle towards Meredith.
“Shit!” she exclaimed and put more distance between her and the unpleasent worms.
“Damn it, I suppose this is why I’m only a captain.” He coughed and spluttered and tried to gather up his worms and muttering to himself.
She kept her distance from the now rambling Erek and she tried to control her breathing and she wiped the sweat from her face.
“What did you mean when you talked about the other two?” Erek didn’t answer her but instead continued to crawl around the floor collecting his worms and putting them back in his stomach.
She left the room, rested her back against the wall and slowly slid to the ground, her fingers ached and her arms and legs felt like they had had hot lead pumped through them. She leant her head back and looked at the macarbre walls, she felt like she was floating for a moment and she could feel herself drifting away as everything caught up with her.
“There’s no time for this” she said to herself trying to force her eyes awake as the adrenaline left her system and her breath became normal.
“You’ll end up on someones surgical table or floating from a wall, or with giant monster maggots eating you.” She opened her eyes again and then stood up refusing to let exhaustion get the better of her.
She returned to walking through the corridors, room after rooms she readied herself for battle and to be assaulted by some horrifying scene she would become so silent that she questioned whether she existed at all and if this were just some confunded nightmare brought on by her mountain of sin. Every room had monstrous occupants but most seemed to take little interst in her waving her on futher down into the depths like a trap that the more you struggle the deeper into it you descend.
She had started hearing a low moan that slowly grew into a collection of screams the futher down she went and finally opening a door that led to a room that was fmiliar to her the large floating thing called Ela that claimed to represent God was pottering about with some of its appendages while a couple of its eye stalks looked to be studying some arcane tablet that were propped on tables.
“Ah you’ve arrived, and just on time!” The hollow alien voice rang out through Meredith’s mind once again.
“What are you doing?” Meredith stood streight and faced the grotesque ball of flesh as it turned all its eye stalks to focus on her.
“Not quivering with fear anymore I see.” Meredith glared at it as it approached her. It hadn’t seemed to occur to her how big it was until it was hovering over her.
“Good, to be expected. We tend not to make mistakes but when dealing with the material world you can never be too sure.” The eyes seemed to inspect her head to toe.
“Answer my question.” Meredith squared up to the grim construct.
“Hm, I am laying the ground work for the deliverance of your world into the hands of God.” Ela stated coldly and slowly backed away from Meredith.
“What kind of god would do such things?” She followed it keeping no more than a couple of arms lengths away.
“Not a god, God. The only God.” It stopped and its alien voice snapped in Meredith’s mind/
“I thought you were a god?” She sneered at it, hand on her short sword.
“No, I am an angel, one of God’s chosen to deliver God’s message to your plane of existence.” It looked down at Meredith as though it were weighing her worth.
“A, what?” She glowered back at it.
“An angel, a member of God’s holy chorus, I deliver God’s word to those who have not yet embraced God’s way.” The began to explain slowly.
“And what way is that?” Tapping her finger on the hilt of the blade her palms begining to sweat as she slowed her breathing.
“To sacrifice everything to be one! To understand the God is the master of your fate and that we are all but instruments of God’s glorious will!” If it had been able to express itself like a humanoid it would no doubt have spread its arms at that point, Meredith muttered to herself.
“That’s lunacy.” She shook her head.
“That is God’s will.” Ela exclaimed and then lowered itself.
“Now, you must continue to play your part thank you for taking our children across the barrier.” The cold voice seemed to be quite pleased forcing Meredith to grimace.
“Barrier?” She tilted her head while tracing shapes on the hilt of her sword.
“Of course, you carried two of our Cherubs across the boundary of the worlds.” The entity rested a claw on a tablet.
“While we can influence the material planes it’s very hard for any of us to actually transcend the walls between worlds, even if God wills it.” It explained and moved its whole focus to the tablets.
“Not much of a god then.” Meredith scoffed.
“And what influence has your pathetic worship of your little Pantheon ever yeiled?” The entity snapped at her and looked for a responce, Meredith shrugged her shoulders.
“Nothing hm? Indeed.” It was pleased with itself and its focused flipped from tomb to tomb.
“Where’s Flacidious?” Meredith streightened and brought her hands together.
“Hmm, oh him, well he’s leading the army, he wasn’t my first choice but he’ll do.” It said with a mental shrug.
“Army?” Meredith frowned and looked down.
“Yes, of Angels, in the material plane.” It turned and looked at Meredith mocking in its tone.
“What?” Merredith slowly looked up at the vile blob of floating meat.
“Now now, we have work to go, now come over here.” It indicated the stone tablets.
“No.” Meredith finished preparing.
“Don’t think that you have a choice.” It sneered.
“Die!” With that an explosive blast of chaotic energy sprouted from Meredith’s arm and enveloped the eyeball for several moments. Screaches and the stench of crackling flesh which as it stopped Meredith began hacking at the creatures appendages and eye stalks as it tried to back away black ooze sprayed every where and Meredith redoubled her violent assault. A feroicious intensity focused at the end of her blades as she carved chunks out of the hideous mound of rotting flesh. When she finally stopped she was covered head to toe in gore and surrounded by pieces of whatever had made up the grotesue monster.
She stood up and wiped her mouth and looked over at the tablets it had been studying they were written in a script that meant nothing to her and in a fit of rage she smasehd them to pieces.
As she did a swirling votex appeared before her, she rolled her eyes.
“Of course, more magic contrivances.” She scowled and then walked through, a feeling that she was simply following a script tugged at her as she tumbled forth a moment later she was stood outside the ruins of the temple she’d entered some time ago fires were bellowing smoke into the sky and she could hear the sounds of combat in the distance.
The doors and windows of the tenements had been borded up and there were signs of battle all around her there were scorched bodies and debris. She tutted and headed towards the Black Fangs headquaters.