Well At Least I'm Not Tired

"You ran all that way and this is how you die." People possessed by evil just have to gloat, well people have to gloat, me I just shoot people, talking is something I do after the fact or in this journal. I think specifically because I have this journal I don't feel the need to do the taunting after the fact, but I digress! Vontresa had the pistol pointed at my head, I could practically feel the bullet coming my way. It was at this point I decided it best to live rather than try and save Vontresa because well I like living and Vontresa had made her idiotic bed and would now have to lie dead in it. I gathered up some fire and launched it at the pistol. I mean I knew it was a god hand of sorts, it could not be defeated in a traditional sense, but Vontresa's hand could certainly be injured and that would at least stop the bullet temporarily.

The burst of fire hit her hand and didn't actually do anything at first which made my heart sink a bit thinking the weapon could some how eat magic, but then something weird happened the fire burst out of the gun in a flash and Vontresa dropped it and then collapsed. The weapon stopped glowing green and instead just looked kind of inert, like whatever was inside it died, which was unintended on my part but totally awesome.

I actually used the dead snake to try and see if the pistol was dangerous (finally the beast came in handy!) It didn't appear evilified anymore, but magical feelings are not 100% and so I was still leery of the weapon. Vontresa appeared flat out knocked out, whatever had happened to her had taken her all the way out of commission.

So there I was on the edge of a river in a foreign jungle with a passed out woman and a formerly evil pistol and a dead snake. Have to tell you, this is definitely one of the weirder situations I've ever run across.

In the Jungle Where You Flee Into the Night

You'd think I'd be better at fleeing while wounded (my legs were hurt from the fall not bad enough to stop me, but bad enough to slow me), but I'm still terrible at it. I leave way too many markers and indicators of where I'm going, I stop and crash into things. Basically I'm as coordinated as a drunken person fleeing imaginary booze demons (something I also have experience with). I could sense Vontresa was behind me as I stumbled into some kind of insect nest that left a lot of stinging beasts eating my face, at this point I almost considered turning myself over to her, death would be preferable to being eaten by whatever was in the jungle, but unfortunately/fortunately I slipped and fell down the side of a hill and into a rushing river. Which took care of the insects, but stuck me into a rushing river going gods know where.

Its like one of those good thing bad things that happens. "Oh hey no more insects, oh shit now I'm rushing down a river and oh god there is something huge trying to eat me here." Yeah the river as one could expect from a jungle river had a gods damned huge snake in it, that shortly after I fell into the water attempted to strangle the shit out of me. I fought it off using a combination of fire magic, necromancy, and just plain old I don't want to die. Eventually I struggled with the dead beast to shore, I didn't want to carry the snake ashore with me, but since it was wrapped so tightly around my body when it died it was more didn't have the energy to dislodge the beast. I was so tired I just flopped down next to the bank. I actually just fell asleep, I woke up to the sound of a hammer hitting back.

"Hello Trezlan." It was Vontresa she had some how tracked me down.

"I really hate my life." It was the only thing I could of saying, as far as last words go, its probably the most ironic.

Sea Travel Still Sucks

The tearing of metal is a sound I am all too familiar with from my time in the modern age. So when I heard the ship wrench itself apart I knew we were in trouble. I mean I already knew I was in trouble, but with the ship being sheared or whatever I was in more trouble (since I had basically rune trapped myself in my cabin, without the cabin being there I was boned. At least Vontresa was no where to be found, though I was pretty sure she was lurking somewhere, she looked now like the lurking type (yes there is a type). But since the ship was sinking I had to get out of my cabin and hopefully avoid drowning to instead die on the sea waiting for someone to rescue me. Basically I was choosing my method of death and having to live (or die) with my choice either way.

So I bolted out of my cabin running headlong for the outside. I figured if I could jump off the ship, I could take my chances on the open water (because that's worked out fine for me in the past, really it actually has) I didn't see Vontresa, but I did hear the gunshot she fired at me. It made a weird like coughing noise and I could see the green singe of energy zip on by me and impacted against the ship. It wasn't exactly a bullet, and when it moved by me it felt like the island's energy had felt, just an evil shiver, I shudder to think what would have happened if she hit me with one of those bullets. I couldn't think too hard on it though because I had to get off the ship, I couldn't see what it was grinding itself into, but I could hear it and oh gods the sound was getting worse. So I reached the rail and lept over the side.

You ever heard that phrase "look before you leap?" Yeah that should be something you do, unlike what I did. See I lept over the side of the ship, about 15 to 25 feet above the ground, and yes there was freaking ground underneath me. See I expected water, I did not expect the ship had managed to hit gods damned land, but it certainly had, and it had ground itself into the land by well over half the ship's length. So instead of hitting water and having to swim, I hit a beach and damn near broke my legs. I didn't have time to think though, because I had to run from Vontresa, so I lept, smashed into the ground, noticed it was ground, cursed, and then ran away from the ship as fast as possible.

This would ordinarily have been pretty amusing if it had of course happened to someone else. Thankfully the beach was right next to a jungle and I quickly ran into it to lose Vontresa. Unthankfully (its a word now gods damn it!) the jungle was full of horrific monsters. I tell you its like even when I win I lose. In this case though "winning" was injuring my legs jumping off a ship as it plowed into land while being chased by a former colleague wielding an evil god weapon.

Oh Look At That Evil

"Trezlan, Trezlan come on out Trezlan." It was Vontresa sort of, the voice was still her aristocratic bitch, but it was higher attempting to be seductive I think. I could see her on the other end of my wards just looking at me something glowing and evil looking in her hand. It looked like a pistol but I couldn't make it out from the glowing green aura around it. Honestly it reminded me of the hand of the fire god, but whatever god this pistol was from clearly wasn't a nice one.

"I'm shocked, shocked that what was in that box was evil, I mean so surprised." I'm not actually that surprised. In fact I believe I said multiple times that what was in the box was evil, I was kind of shocked to see it was a god weapon, but not too shocked.

"Drop your wards Trezlan let me bathe you in the light." I figured the rest of the crew was dead (I was right they were) and I was not going to drop any of my wards, at all ever. In fact I planned on creating others (which I did) of course I didn't have any food, the ship was now adrift in the sea, and Vontresa had a god weapon, but you know I was willing to wait things out, the alternative was terrifying.

And so things went, Vontresa tried to get me to drop my runes and I kept telling her I wasn't going to do that. I figured things would have continued like that until all of time except we hit something about a day into our little dance. But that is next entry you know it is because of course it is, it always is!

Ship of The Probably a Trap

Coincidences are just traps that are harder to see coming. You see most people go "wow this is an amazing coincidence." Not me! I know I just know this a trap that you couldn't possibly have set up but I now know it totally is a trap because I'm smart! And not like totally crazy after years of bad shit happening to me completely with no way of seeing it happening well in advance.

So with this in mind a steamer ship arriving on a deserted island that had no reason for a ship to ever come to magically pick me and Vontresa up despite neither of us calling for help was immediately a trap to me. Sure the people on the ship were nice, they seemed like nice people, but they were totally evil jerks who were somehow in league with what was in the box. I still hadn't seen what was in the box at this point, and apparently no one else but me was entirely concerned about two stranded people alone on an island, one of them coveting a box, the other with a fresh black eye who didn't talk (look part of a trap is getting people to speak, and so I knew to avoid talking so they couldn't do to me whatever they planned on doing!)

Still for all their connection to evil the people were at least nice and invited me and Vontresa on to the ship and even gave us separate quarters (I got shoved in a supply closet, Vontresa got a huge cabin once again proving that this was no coincidence). After getting my quarters I strung up runes all over the place. I knew the evil would come for me, it probably already would have tried to kill me had the ship not arrived, so I knew whatever was in the box would come and I made my preperations. And I was totally right, like usual!

Nope Totally Normal, FOR EVIL!

It felt like we'd been descending for hours, but I'm pretty sure it was only a few moments. It was like swimming in a sea of evil. I can't express how awful that ruin was. Outside of all the evil in the air it would have been fairly boring, just simple traps to avoid, some hidden walls, the usual for ancient ruins. But the evil? Oh man it was vile, it soaked into me like a bad smoke cloud. Everything I did seemed to make it worse. Like trying to swat nats you couldn't see. And the worst part of it was Vontresa did not seem to be affected by it at all! Completely oblivious to the dark energies swirling around us. I learned my lesson about saying anything, after I mentioned again I didn't to be there and Vontresa pistol whipped me (bad enough that she closed my left eye entirely, which made seeing some of the traps a pain in the ass let me tell you).Eventually we came to a dias literally swirling with evil energies.

Sitting on top of the dias was a simple box, wooden in construction. The walls of the room were written with all kinds of dire warnings and bad shit. Like a history of horrific conflict was etched into that stone, in what seemed like dried blood and bone (literally someone etched bone in the walls). The stories they told were all bad, I mean I knew we were in some trouble when we got there, but honestly the walls were covered in "please do not let this box leave here" and yet Vontresa ran right up and took it off the pedestal. In a sign of things to come the rest of the evil went right into the box when she did. Like one moment we were swimming in it, and then the next the air was fine, the room was just covered in blood and bone writing (which while creepy isn't like evil in itself maybe uhh ok still pretty awful).

I would have said something at the time like "What's in the box?" Or "What do we do now?" But my thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a steamer ship blowing its horn. I thought somehow Vonresa had planned this, but thinking back on it, something else had clearly set this in motion and we were just the unwilling (well I was unwilling Vontresa was hella willing) participants. The ship was a sign of even worse things to come, but hey at least I was off the island.

No No Don't Thank Me Or ANYTHING!

I was sitting on a stone step admiring the architecture of the ruins. Well "admiring" as much as one can when surrounded in a nasty soup of evil. I was sitting there because my attempts to assist Vontresa, the entire reason I was there. HAD BEEN REBUFFED! Yes she literally had asked for my help to ignore it. I was in such a blinding rage I just sat down stupefied. STUPIFIED!!! Like thinking back to it now years later I'm still pissed off she had me sitting there while she dumbed her way through some kind of puzzle using a map and muttering. And she was dumbing it, like she didn't understand the language (I did) and she didn't understand what it was asking for (like I did again I tried to help she ignored me!)

"This just doesn't make sense to me." I asked to see the map and she looked like I kicked her in a sore point.

"You do not need to see the map, if I need your help I'll ask for it, sit down and shut up." I was so angry at being treated like this, me of all people! She kept fudging with the door to whatever horror was down below that I eventually cut my own hand and threw blood on the door and spoke the words of sacrifice the door wanted. The stone locked back and opened immediately.

"There see all you needed was the ancient words and blood, good lord can we move on." She was elated, like gone was her anger from a moment ago and in its place was almost an orgasmic joy. I was really getting worried though, because when the door opened evil rushed out of it like a gaping wound. It was bad before, it was awful afterwards, and I knew she wanted me to go in.

"Well come on necromancer, if you insist on doing things for me, lets get this done."

"I'm not going in there, whatever in the gods name is down there should remain down there." She stomped up to me and locked an arm around my neck and put a gun to my head.

"You will come in, or you will die, now follow me." I felt our relationship was really plummeting, like we started kind of poorly and it only got worse. Sadly this was a slope and we were at this point mid way down.

It's Deserted I'm Already Suspicious

The island was completely deserted. Like no animals, no people, no anything. There was a ruin which I assumed was where Vontresa wanted to go, but I was leery of the place, and not just because I hate treasure hunts (despite all my previous entries about them they are inherently dangerous and never worth it! Unless of course they are, in which case its totally worth it). The area was filled with bad magic, I sense it from the moment we touched feet there. I want to say that was the reason nothing was alive there, whatever remained had killed it/driven it away.

"Vontresa whatever is here is evil beyond words." She looked at me like a child who just told you they are afraid of the dark.

"You did not want to come to this, and now you are complaining again, I sense nothing." I was taken aback, first that she would accuse me of complaining (total bunk I wasn't complaining I was stating my educated opinion!) second that she couldn't feel the evil. Now I know I've dealt with more evil than anyone else ever, but the place radiated it like pavement on a sunny day, it permeated everything. I'm not even joking, just being on the island I felt the evil seeping into me like sewage.

"You are either blind or dumb, I'm trying to decide which one." She hit me hard, my jaw cracked from the impact.

"You will not insult me necromancer or I will end you here and discover the treasure for myself." Her tone had shifted, for me the evil felt untwoard unwanted, but with her I swear it was fueling her, guiding her.

"Well you won't get my help being so rude about it." I flinched expecting another hit but she just walked on towards the ruins. I knew we were doomed at this point, from what I couldn't tell you, but we were doomed and not just because we didn't have a way off the island.

Falling For You

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" When you wake up falling from the sky screaming is a natural reaction. The other thing of course is wondering what in the gods that happened that cause you to fall from the freaking sky, but the screaming thing is the first thing you do. Vontresa was behind me she too was falling but she was enjoying it more than I was, I did notice I had a parachute on, so at least I wouldn't be killed immediately, I could see below us was our gear shoot already popped gently falling to back to the ground.

"Trezlan you should enjoy these moments, its like you're a bird." She shouted it at me because falling is loud.

"Bird's don't plummet from the sky after previously been asleep!" At least I don't think they do, I'm not a bird researcher.

"It's not my fault you're a sound sleeper." This seemed like a poor excuse for strapping a parachute on someone and tossing them out of plane. A very poor excuse, she basically blamed my ability to sleep through situations for sleeping through her throwing me out of a freaking plane! Who does that? Vontresa apparently.

I could see down below was an island of sorts, because treasure maps always lead to islands, its one of their features in life. Why we couldn't have taken a boat and therefore have a way off the island? I'll never know. I would have asked Vontresa she who throws that slumber out of planes, but shortly after landing we got into a little bit of trouble. Yeah shocking I know you'd think parachuting on to an island to hunt treasure would be safer.

I mean you'd think that if you're an idiot.

A Treasure Hunt, I hate Treasure Hunts

"This is a treasure map!" I was shouting we were in a prop plane that was very loud, I was sitting on my supplies because apparently seats were a premium in the plane. Even with the shouting to be heard I was trying to shout to shout because, again TREASURE MAP!

"Its not a treasure map, its a map to an ancient location that may or may not have treasure at it." I glared, I really tried to glare as hard as possible, but it was difficult because the plane was jumping up and down like a child throwing a tantrum.

"So basically a treasure map."

"You just want to be angry, but I'm giving you the opportunity for an adventure Trezlan, unlike your usual fixing problems you created, this is completely a new opportunity to make a profit, you should thank me."

"Oh yeah this plane trip has been fantastic, I'm just not as high on the in flight meal." There was not an in flight meal, or seats, or basic human comforts! In fact read that sentence as high sarcasm! Vontressa just closed her eyes clapped with her hand like a mouth (I guess to tell me to keep yapping?) and then went to sleep. I thought I too wouldn't go to sleep either, but eventually I dozed off to the sound of the drumming engines. I actually slept so soundly I didn't notice when I wasn't in the plane anymore. No we didn't land, yes that surprised me too.

NEXT ENTRY!

The Answer Was No From The Moment You Arrived

Sitting in my office pondering what I should do with my life I was startled out of my reverie by a knock (more of a huge thump, but still I'll be polite and call it a knock) at the door. I looked over and could only see bulk, which could have been several people, the next knock almost took the door of its hinges and so I decided it better to open the door than to lose it.

"Yes?" The knocker was Vontressa looking no worse the wear from the last time I saw her, well aside from looking mildly crazy, but you know everyone I deal with is mildly crazy.

"You'll help me." It was frank and to the point, I could almost admire it, if not for what the phrase implied.

"Yeah no thats not what I'll agree to right out the gate." I've learned a valuable lesson hundreds of years and hundreds of agreeing to things before I've heard what they are, a lesson I frequently forget. She grabbed my throat and hoisted me off the ground and towards my desk, it was surprisingly easy for her.

"You'll help me Trezlan or I'll snap your useless neck." It didn't seem to be a fair negotiation in my opinion.

"You realize I can destroy you with a simple thought."

"And you realize I too have magic, magic you never saw that you don't know what it does." It was a fair assessment of my lack of knowledge of her abilities.

"Fair enough you win I'll help." She let me go and I landed on my desk with a thump.

"Excellent, meet me at the airfield in an hour, pack heavy I'm going to need all of your expertise and it will be fairly dangerous."

"Airfield hour gotcha, going to sit here for a moment get feeling back in my throat." She smiled and left and I sat there wondering what in the gods name I'd gotten myself into.

Still Very Creepy Mr. Hanlon

"And so you say these people share their souls with another to keep themselves alive and yet not alive." Hanlon was almost wistful at what I was letting him in on.

"Weird right?"

"Well I am talking to a necromancer, so somewhat weird." We were at Hanlon's office, he had sent me a message upon me arriving back in the world of the not underground. I swear he has a supernatural way of knowing exactly where I am, even though I get in danger and he seemingly leaves me there, which shows me how he feels about me I believe.

"Shame about the bullet though, I'm sure it had some use." I was mainly saying that to be nice to Hanlon who I was sure wanted the bullet for whatever purpose.

"What do you mean didn't get the bullet." He tossed the glowing metal object up from behind his desk and caught it. I didn't even want to know to know.

"Every time I think I have you figured out you do something else to surprise me." He smiled.

"I think the same of you Trezlan, I mean you have no idea how long I had what was going on down there, just simmering waiting for this moment, and now I have it."

"You planned this?"

"Naturally, you play the long game, so do I."

"So you always intended on helping me."

"Don't I always."

"No."

"Well ok be that way Trezlan, you can see yourself out." I did and vowed yet again for the hundredth time to avoid the crap out Hanlon, but I knew we were inexplicably linked like Morley and myself, except Hanlon was for me in the way Morley was against me. I think, I still have no idea since he says he plays the long game.

The Always Late Forces

I was allowed free from my interrogation room (well as free as you can be escorted around a place full of armed anti magical guards). The complex was clearly underground (I hadn't noticed before because they put a bag over my head), which made sense for a covert organization. The walls were all lined with anti magical stuff, it was kind of frightening the level of runes they were using (mostly because I knew all of the runes and some of them were necromantic in nature). The people walking in uniforms were of all shapes and sizes, women, shorties, ugly people, it was really multi cultural. The agent escorted me to a main room full of desks and walls with maps and pins placed (I assumed for possible magic issues).

"So this is the heart of your operation?" She smiled at me, it was unsettling how much the other personality was coming out.

"One of them, we keep un centralized, makes it harder to take down should one of you go rogue and try and wipe us out."

"As opposed to you magic hunters trying to kill or capture all magic users." The people around us didn't seem that concerned I was there, probably because they had enough wards to lock magic ability down to the completely useless level.

"We don't want to kill you Trezlan, most of us who work here are just like you, we want you to be under control, regulated, safe. This place is a sanctuary, designed to rehabilitate and assist those in the magical community into being loyal citizens." It was a nice speech, but a prison with nice furniture is still a prison.

"You know Telrrax I've known all kind of necromancy, I don't know any that lets you change your appearence."

"Finally figured out where you remembered me from? Well you can try and pretend you've unlocked  a huge secret, but this organization is run by people just like me. And we aren't necromantic the way you are, we transfer our conciousness and work in conjunction with the new entity. Unlike you who just kills them and moves on."

"You make it sound like a gift."

"It is a gift! I have knowledge and years, this person has youth and vitality, we combine to be a formidable force."

"Sounds like a mockery of death to me."

"Coming from you that's pretty weak argument, but I'm not here to convince you of anything, only to tell you we'll be watching. And to take your little bullet since you won't be needing it anymore."

"That's it, you don't want my help or anything?"

"Oh gods no, we want you to stay as far away from everyone you can. You're like a walking bad luck charm." I frowned and they escorted me out. I tell you the only thing worse than being asked to help someone, is being told they don't need you to do the helping. Sort of. Look my ego is weird ok deal!

A History of Not Paying Attention

"You know I spent fifty years in prison I can handle this!" I could not actually handle this, I didn't want to spend another fifty years in prison, or five, or anything! I hate prison, I hate having to eat food set out for me by assholes, and I hate being locked up. That this seems to be my routine in life just makes me sad for how my life has become (not sad enough of course to stop doing things that get me locked up though, I have to be me). My jailer emerged again she styled her hair differently and didn't bring the file, instead she brought the still sparkling bullet, though it was contained in a really thick glass jar.

"What is in this bullet Mr. Lorentino?"

"Oh we are speaking again, well how are you, my name is Trezlan and you are?"

"Asking you a question." Her uniform remained the same aside from the hair.

"I have no idea what's in the bullet, something evil, something dark, and hopefully something dead for good." I figured dead, I mean it got hit with a horrible dark spell that was the worst of what Morley and I could come up with and the power of possibly hundreds of dead people fueling it, and then trapped in the bullet that Hanlon had give me. If something could survive all that, well shit I dunno what we could do to kill it.

"So you didn't know what it was, but you killed it anyway?"

"I knew it was evil, it wanted to start the apocalypse."

"Or so it told you, how do you know this wasn't its plan to start the apocalypse?"

"Oh don't start this shit with me lady that's exactly what the creature did to me." She frowned at me and I frowned back.

"Who are you people anyway? Some kind of anti magical group? I thought you were disbanded."

"Why would you think we disbanded? Are magical people suddenly not a threat to the guard?"

"Well no, but you know with the ability to cancel magic out and magical people in general being weakened I thought maybe you guys gave up?" It seemed like a perfectly normal thought to me. She laughed, it was unsettling, in more ways than one. The primary one being I'd heard that laugh before, but the person who had it should have been long dead.

"Trezlan," The voice had changed and I was entirely creeped out by the switch. "You my old friend have a lot to learn about how things have changed and remained the same." And this is where I knew I had gone from the frying pan and into the fire.

Well This Is a Surprise

I was waiting in a metal room. The metal was steel, the room was etched with a bunch of sigils that all meant "magic person do not try" and there was little furniture (just a table and two chairs) I could also see some kind of picture window but it was one way glass so someone was observing but I couldn't tell who (how polite). The authorities had picked me up slightly after I killed the creature of apocalyptic nature because no one ever shows up on time to save me from something (except when they do, in which case I still complain look I admit it so that makes it ok). They were all wearing shiny black uniforms without name tags which told me they weren't your usual grunt force. No one was in the room with me.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." The door had opened and a thing lady with raven hair had come in, her voice was aristocratic sounding, probably of a royal blood line in her past. Skin was pasty white spoke of not going out in the sun, her eyes were purple which was odd.

"No you aren't, if you were sorry you wouldn't have kept me waiting in the first place." Everyone always says they are sorry when they don't mean it, what they mean to say is "I'm trying to be polite to excuse me being rude even though I don't care either way."

"I'm glad to see the file we have on you is correct you are an obnoxious prick." She sat down and put her feet up on the table, her boots were that of riding boots but most people don't ride horses anymore.

"I aim to be myself."

"That you certainly do." She flopped a large file she had in her hands on the table, I could see photos of me and descriptions of actions I'd taken, it was a thick file.

"Is this supposed to scare me?"

"Nope I have a flare for the dramatic," She opened the file and flipped to the last part, "You know a man named Donel correct?"

"I might know a man named that."

"Right of course admit nothing, well he used to work for us, in fact he still kind of does, seems he didn't exactly trust you to get the job done, so he put in a call to our office, looks like he should have had more faith." Her voice seemed bored, but she was beating around the bush.

"And here I just thought he was a librarian who loved guns." I liked verbal sparring, it was a lot easier than physical.

"So what was the creature?"

"Which one, I don't know either, but bad, real bad." She frowned.

"Where did you get the bullet?"

"Oh that old thing? Kept it in my sock drawer for special occasions." I had no loyalty to Hanlon, but I also don't like giving away information I don't have to.

"You're just going to fight me every step of the way aren't you." I smiled and she shut the folder and got up from her chair.

"Now I'm not so sorry we made you wait, well when you feel like being more talkative go ahead and knock on the door." At this point I felt my verbal sparring probably wasn't reciprocated. I definitely felt that three hours later when I hadn't been fed. I still didn't talk though because I'm rude like that.

And That Is The Opportune Moment

"I have no idea why you were running Trezlan, I want to thank you not kill you." I felt threatened by the presence of the creature, it was now nicely dressed, but there was something behind the eyes, literally I could see black behind the whites of its eyes.

"You'll forgive me if I don't believe something that lied to me and will bring about the apocalypse!" I hate when people do this to me, and people I mean gods, and by do this to me I mean I let myself have these kind of things happen.

"Can't you at least appreciate the planning this took? I mean how many years I sat waiting inside of you hoping for a moment to come here now and take the shredded husk of this creature? And then when it was time for things to happen you weren't even in position, so I had to guide you towards the goal in several ways, it was exhausting."

"I still have necromancy." The creature laughed.

"And I know all about your abilities and tricks, there is nothing you can do that I can not counter and kill you with, and don't think about Hanlon's little pistol. Like you I have no idea what he is, but unlike you I'm not afraid of him because he is a mortal that much is clear to me even if its not to you." The pistol was in my hand all the same. I couldn't exactly read the creature, but for some reason I knew it was lying about Hanlon in both ways.

"Well you won't mind if I shoot you just to be sure." It lunged at me and I fired, the bullet knocked it backwards but didn't kill it. The creature chuckled at me.

"You were told to use that at the opportune moment, and here you are using it now like an idiot. Tell you the truth I'm glad to be rid of you Trezlan, you're such an idiot." I kicked the creature backwards into the necromantic wards. It was stupid of it to stand between me and a wall of horrific magic. The bullet which seemingly hadn't left its body seemed to be super charged by the necromancy spreading out from the impact wound and then sucking back in. The creature screamed in a moment of rage and was wiped out, all that remained was the spent bullet, glowing weirdly. My/morley, spell was gone all the power it accumulated now seemed to be trapped in the bullet.

Not surprisingly shortly after I canceled the apocalypse (again mind you this is like my fourth one) the army arrived because no good deed goes unlocked up for being a dangerous magic user. Need to work on that phrase.

Is There Another Speed After Flee?

When running for your life you tend to wish your stupid legs could carry you faster. No matter how fast you're running you wish you were faster than that. As I ran up the corridor to my certain doom (because the necromancy spell was still in effect mind you). I had an occasion to think of Hanlon's pistol, which I still had with me, for some strange reason I felt compelled not to try and shoot it, perhaps it was Hanlon's advice to wait for the opportune moment. Or perhaps it was Hanlon's entire non committal attitude to the whole affair, I left the pistol in my jacket and ran. What had take me an hour to climb down was erased in minutes at the speed I was traveling. I didn't hear the dark creature whatever I had unleashed, but I knew he was down there. I knew it like I know myself, which is to say not very well and probably wrong. Wait crap.

Eventually I came back to my dark sigils, never before had a such a small group of space seemed so daunting. I tried to think of what I could do to disarm the things, or take the power (fight fire with fire as it were, except this would be dark power with whatever in the gods name remained down below). I was in the process of trying to figure out a disarm when I heard something behind me. I turned around to nothing there and then a tap on my shoulder.

"Trezlan why are you running?" At that point I knew I was boned. Well more boned, mega boned as it were.

A Victory So Easy It had To Be a Trap

To say I was skittish would be an understatement. I was jumping at every shadow possible. Like I held that single shot pistol in front of me like a primitive ward against the darkness. I probably almost wasted that shot several times as random vermin (wasted here of course being a matter of opinion, any vermin that could exist in that hole were probably awful anyway). Eventually I found myself to where the evil had been before, except instead of a pool of awful with a rotten decayed corpse waiting for me there was a large blackened crater.

The crater was very very deep, to the extent that I was afraid if I fell in I would not be able to get back out. What was creepy was the water wasn't there, I would have figured the water was run off from up above, but it had apparently been some kind of evil essence that leaked out of the horrific creature. Which made me feel all the worse for the few times I'd fallen into the muck. I called out in the darkness trying to find what it was I was supposed to kill (look I expected a huge subterranean beast not like a big empty hole). I didn't receive an immediate response and so I figured maybe the whole apocalypse thing was overdone, just a big misunderstanding. Until I turned around and faced down a half chewed corpse of something coming at me. My instinctive reaction was to burn it to death and I did. The underground shook a bit and then was silent.

"Seriously that was it? One half dead avatar of a dead god?" I said to no one in particular. At first I thought I'd defeated evil and could then focus on going back up and disarming my/morley's death trap when I heard a ripping. Except it wasn't like a ripping of my clothes it was in my own head. It was the oddest thing, like one moment I was fine, and then the next my mind was trying to dislodge itself from me. Eventually it did and that's when the room filled with a red purple light and I knew that I had stupidly kick started the apocalypse.

"Thank you Trezlan, now its time for you to die." The voice had come from a fully reformed creature that had taken the place of the rotten one. I tell you it's moments like this that I know the best option is to run. Because well running is always the best option! And who wanted to stop the apocalypse anyway! Certainly not me!

Fine Leave I got this, Probably

"What was that all about?" After I caught up with Hanlon I had to know what he meant when he said thank you to Morley. Like was he planning on killing me and starting the apocalypse or something? So many questions!

"Well I always new Morley would betray me given the chance, he'd mildly attempted to kill me a couple of times, but this was the confirmation I needed he'd actually attempt to kill me." Hanlon was smiling and as always it was very unsettling.

"I could have told you that!" I totally could have! Morley only cared about Morley, it's actually what's kept me alive all these years, if he actually cared enough to actually kill me he probably could have several times over. That is sad to admit to. There was a rumble deeper down and I stopped for a moment remembering the creepy creatures that were down there the last time I'd fought the creature. Hanlon kept walking.

"What did you stop for?"

"There were things down here that should not be alive the last time I was here Hanlon, I don't want to get murdered by them." Hanlon laughed.

"You worry way too much for someone as powerful as you are." I was content to believe Hanlon until he stopped, we were still a good distance from the chamber with the creature but I thought for a moment he heard something I didn't. He produced a single shot pistol from somewhere on his body and held it out to me.

"Just one bullet?"

"It's all you'll need, just make sure to use it at the optimal moment or it won't do the job." I was looking over the single shot pistol when I heard something behind me, when I turned back to Hanlon he was of course gone.

"Fine just leave me down here you dick, which implies you didn't even need me to undo the spell in the first place!" And so as I started so I became again, alone, in the dark, and tasked with a mission I wasn't sure I could complete. Also known as a Trezlan Lorentino sort of day.

I Knew I Should Have Seen This Coming

"Honestly Trezlan this magic is so slap dash I'm surprised you didn't blow yourself up setting it up in the first place." Morley got right back to being a dick like he never missed a beat. I really wanted the spell to blow up in his face, even if it meant it would kill me and Hanlon, it would do the world a huge favor.

"Jeez I'm happy to see you too ancient enemy of mine. How did you know to come down here anyway?" It was a valid question. I was appreciative of Hanlon staying out of this, I didn't need an I told you so or anything like it.

"The gods do not just speak to you, apparently they thought you might struggle to get the job done, and they were right and you did." I flipped Morley off. "There you go undone, now gentleman lets stop the apocalypse." Morley held his arm out like a butler and Hanlon and I walked on into the passage, and then Morley turned the spell back on, because he betrayed us.

"Why am I not surprised."

"Because somewhere deep down you're not an idiot, though only after you've done something idiotic, Mr. Hanlon I so would have liked to have worked with you, but alas my masters would rather you die down here with the idiot." Hanlon was not surprised, he looked mildly amused.

"Thanks for this Morley." Morley's smug smile faltered, Hanlon stared him down like a predator with prey.

"For what trapping you?" Hanlon didn't say anything, he just turned around and kept walking, the smug smile was all the way gone now, I took solace in it despite of course my doom being up ahead.

"Say hello to all our old friends in whatever torment you wind up in Trezlan."

"Morley when I get out of this, WHEN, I get out of this, I'll be sure to end you one of these days."

"Always an optimist." Morley left and I ran after Hanlon, because I didn't want to be in that corridor alone, thankfully Hanlon was kind enough to wait for me, before he too left me... LIKE A DICK!

The Danger of Caring

Hanlon at least knew where he was going, but of course he would he's not human, he's probably not even there (I mean sure I'm pretty sure he's not a figment of my imagination, but you know, you never know, maybe he is...) he just glided through the muck to the proper spot and waited for me to catch up. I don't mean like literally glided, I just mean he seemingly navigated the sewers without getting on himself, it was kind of amazing.

"You are very slow."

"Its knee deep muck and I'm not whatever you are."

"Obviously." At this point I wondered why Hanlon was even there except to insult me. Which was probably the point. The entrance to the tunnel had accumulated quite a bit of bones and loose articles of clothing showing that my spell was doing its job and that people can't read. The sign I'd put up was still there warning people to avoid it.

"Now I'm trying to remember how to disarm this thing." Remember would imply I knew in the first place, and that was completely wrong. I hadn't actually intended on ever disarming it, let alone worry about it causing the apocalypse!

"You don't know at all do you." Hanlon was staying far back from the blast radius, I was at least proud that whatever he was, he was still afraid of my magical ability.

"Of course I know, its just that I want to do it in a way that doesn't start the apocalypse!" I think Hanlon saw past my lie pretty easily. Still didn't mean I didn't leave him sitting there for a couple hours while I tried to puzzle out a way to disarm the spell. Not because I wanted to stay where we were, I was just utterly terrified of trying something and frying Hanlon and myself to death. Thankfully someone else came along who knew how to disarm the spell, unthankfully it was gods damned Morley.

Everyone Runs Away, Only A Matter of Time

I was knee deep in muck under what used to be the capitol city of the Red Hand, but now was just a rundown regular city of the Guard (apparently during my time away they moved the capitol to a new place, which makes sense because yeah bad stuff happened in the original capitol). I was alone of course because Donel apparently only wanted to break me out of the nut house, he did not want to go and do something nutty with me. I couldn't blame him, much like his decision to avoid Hanlon this was a decision borne of intelligence. Fighting human enemies was predictable, fighting what was left in the sewers was not predictable, it wasn't even adviseable, if I wasn't such an idiot I wouldn't have even been down there to begin with.

If you're a long time reader of my journal (something I think is inevitable though I plan on living forever so explain that I have no idea) you can probably guess what I was doing down there. Yes my necromantic spell to keep people out of the corpse of a dead evil god was going to cause that god to be reborn as something truely horrific. Look actions have consequences, but this was not completely my fault! How should I have known that a spell designed to murder people from crossing a barrier would build up a lot of evil magic that could be used to resurrect something? You're right I couldn't, thanks for siding with me journal reader.

My issue at the moment was attempting to find the right sewer entrance. Crazily enough I don't have a great memory for this kind of stuff and I wasn't exactly trying super hard (look I wanted to stop the apocalypse, but not with actual effort). I was looking down the wrong tunnel again when I spotted someone I wasn't sure was actually there.

"Trezlan you are truly an idiot." It was Hanlon, he hadn't abandoned me! Well for the most part anyway.