Chapter 6:The Man from Gera'Sey

Chapter 6
The Man from Gera'Sey

Jonah was the leader of the fear clan, he had always been a leader of his kind. Much like Jack, Jonah had awakened in the human world. Surrounding him, the corpses of his own. He hadn't known what had occurred to kill all these Oni, and standing amidst them he felt only one thing. Fear. It was that emotion that he began to embody. Began to feed on. Despite this, Jonah himself was not a fearful man. Rather quite the opposite, he had seen the face of fear and knew all its tricks. That whilst it was sometimes a good friend with sound advice. It was seldom one that you want to always listen to. Otherwise. It would rule you. Jonah for others represented that little primal fear man have of the dark, the paranoia of secrets kept. He was for all intents and purposes. An assassin. He had no real strength of body, or great magical talent. A rule of averages in both regards. His real strength came in his talent to remain undetected. His sharpness of wit as keen as any blade. Able to spot the slightest mannerisms that would indicate deception, or secrets. And if so, he would use these talents to endeavour and find the truth. What is done in secret has great power. It was using this that Jonah had kept the fear clan, for the most part. At peace with the others. For no one wanted their secrets revealed. In the case of Jowan, Jonah already knew about his secret family. But the unfortunate thing was. It did not appear that his talents would be much good against the new leader of Pride. This. Jack. Slaughtering his entire clan. Taking the seat of power for himself. It seemed more the action of a madness demon than one of Pride. This one was ruthless. Merciless. And worse yet, his fangs were bore on Jonah and Gerren. The two had watched him slaughter his way through the traitors, and whilst he had felt no particular kinship with those of Sloth ( even if they weren’t traitors) it was a worrying sight. But it was nothing in comparison to what he had seen in the camp of the fear traitors. The dread wolf hadn't taken its revenge on any of those, rather it seemed that something else had emerged. Something that troubled both he and the leader of sloth far more than Jack.

A Glutton Demon.

it was documented that all demons of psyche exist in their respective clans. And are normally born with, or develop their powers as time passes. With certain demons though its events that trigger this new nature. In the general spectrum of things there were six kinds of psyche demon. Pride. Rage. Desire. Madness. Sloth, Fear. Of these the rarest and strongest was Pride. But there was one other, that trumped even Pride. However, was considered an abomination even among monsters. Gluttony. Jonah had only ever heard tales of Gluttons. Demons whose greed and lust for power drove them to kill and consume their own kind beyond what was considered normal in the underworld. Those for whom , this devouring of souls became as common place as breathing. Or sleeping. When drenched with enough blood and stood upon a mountain of corpses. This hunger would turn inward. Becoming a very part of their being. No longer a choice. But a requirement. They knew hunger. For they were hunger. A plague upon their own kind, one that would threaten to devour all of hell if not put to death. The story that Jowan had heard was in the first few years after the dawn. One of the few Oni Lords that had existed in those days, had taken to this very act. Committing atrocities, genocides of entire clans. And feeding on their corpses. Picking the bones clean. This Oni Lord became consumed by his hunger, and was the first of the Glutton. It went on a rampage, devouring countless thousands before the remaining Oni Lords gathered their forces and put the creature to route. Not before however suffering horrific losses. If one had emerged. They were all threatened. And now was not the time to be fighting amongst each other. Gerren looked up at him, Jonah back down at her. Despite being of Sloth, she never put on the lazy act like others of her kin. Always wide eyed and alert. Particularly now. She had saw what Jack had done, and it was only Jonah's abilities to remain hidden that were keeping them from Jack's senses. " Glutton or not, we can't reason with him". She whispered, Jonah could keep the noise buffered. But even then, they weren’t taking any risks. " He's unstable, unreasonable". Jonah never really spoke much but tended to be straight and to the point when he did. " Doesn't matter, unreasonable as he is. A glutton is worse. Its not a time to fight". Gerren shook her head. The woman knew the moment Jonah dropped this veil of deception Jack as going to know both of them were there. And he'd pounce on them like a wild animal. Just as he had the traitors of her clan. " Do as you will". She spoke. " But it'll be the death of us both". Jonah didn't like angering her like this. Their clans shared close ties through them. And one day, perhaps blood bonds. The two had met close by, both awakening oddly in the human realm. She had been sleeping amongst the corpses of the other Oni. And it had taken him forever to try and get her to wake up. She had in those days, gotten the idea that the world was merely a dream. And that her dreams were her reality. A common trait of new sloth demons. The two had travelled back to hell together, but had went their own ways afterwards. Forming their own clans, it wasn't before a threatened clan war that the two found each other again. And things got...intimate. Laying a hand on her shoulder, trying to display confidence he didn't have, he gave a light squeeze of reassurance and said.

" It'll be fine".

Before dropping the veil of illusion. The moment he did. The dread wolf snarled. Turning on them.

II

" And as the witch continued to feed him. Hansel grew fat"

" And when the third seal was broken. The living creatures said " come!". And came forth another rider. His horse black. In his hand a pair of scales. "

" He shall march the lands, and his hunger shall know no bounds".

" Please Jack". Spoke Jonah, placing both palms in front of his chest, a gesture of non aggression. " We're not here to fight". To Jack, this meant nothing. His awareness of the situation was that he had been attacked before by two demons of sloth and fear that had been trying to kill him, for all he knew under the orders of the two that were now in front of him. Yet, he was curious. One of his distinct weaknesses. In this form however he knew that he was more prone to outbursts of instincts rather than logic. And so, he took it on a risk. Darkness surrounding him, his body changed, warped back into the typical spiritual form that looked more human than anything else. However his eyes were still that distinct blood red colour that indicated his heralding. " I'm going to regret this I know it, but hurry up and talk". Jonah wasn't one to pick and choose, and immediately got into it, trying to keep it as short and sweet to the pride demon as possible. " We weren’t the ones who were responsible for that attack you suffered". Jack raised an eyebrow. Curiosity increasing, but at the same time he was doubtful. Very few clan members within their kind ever stepped out of line when the leader requested it. Then again, he had to remind himself that whilst unlikely it was plausible. Simply down to the nature of Oni themselves and down to the very fact that. He was actually a living representation of this fact. An oni of his breed that had gone renegade. " I see, and if not you then who?". Gerren stepped in at this stage. Feeling that she couldn't merely let Jonah do all the talking. " Traitors, rebels. For a long time we had an...arrangement with Jowan, the leader of your clan. Or. Once leader. Some elements within our clan didn't agree with that, and when they saw you at a weakened level". Jonah but in. " They went from on the side fringe elements to a separate renegade faction". Jack placed a finger on his chin, he thought. Was it true? The way the two carried themselves, body language didn't really indicate that they were lying at all. But then gain his kind had a reputation for being good liars. " Say I believe you". Jack's eyes flickered onto the male. Purple eyes, amusing. The boldest one happened to be the leader of the Fear clan. " Then what?". Jonah looked at Gerren. " Fear has no quarrel with Pride". Gerren folded her arms. " So long as you do not hunt down our loyalists...Sloth has no quarrel with Pride".

Jack spun his cane slowly in a singular rotation. Moving it between his index and middle fingers. " Very well then, I'll call off my hunt. But if you are lying to me, I'll make sure none of you live". Jonah's face didn’t change, just remaining passive. Not blank, just, uncaring. " Then let us both hope I am not". All three nodded. At last. Some kind of agreement. Jonah however didn't let it remain quiet, odd for him. But then, business was required to be taken care of. " Now that’s out of the way and we don't have to worry about killing one another...we have another problem". At which stage, Jack himself cut into the conversation. " The glutton correct?". Jonah's face broke passiveness, but only for a second. Still that brief second said something. The man was never usually surprised. An yet, it did happen. It was rare, but it did happen. Here now he had it figured that the new leader of pride was all power and no true experience or brains. And yet. He knew about Gluttons. A secret that very few knew about within the underworld. The fact he knew about thisw as either a show of luck, a shred of information in the passing or. Perhaps this one was more worthy to be leader than he had given him credit for. " Yes". Said the leader of fear, still thinking on the possibilities of this new twist of events. Gerren felt a bit of an odd thumb here. She had only really been clued in on the situation when Jonah had explained to her about them only hours ago. " This thing needs to be taken care of, but do you think we can really deal with it on our own?". Jonah shook his head, Jack...he wasn't so sure. Jack knew about the clan of Gluttony. Well, to call it a clan was saying something. Considering in the years after the dawn there had only ever been one recorded instance of one existing. It was a monstrosity. True. A real show of the dangers of indulging the natural demonic drive to kill. Gluttons were ruled by their hunger, they didn't really live per say.

They just moved from place to place, thinking of nothing more than their next meal. Nothing at all. Not happiness. Not sadness. Not anger. Not despair. Only hunger. Like a screaming man in a room trying to shout over blaring white noise. Any emotions that the thing would have felt were drowned out by the hunger of the gluttons nature. In that, Jack had to pity the creature who had become it. Such power was something to be strived for. But not at the cost that had to be paid for the glutton to emerge. Suffice to say however. Jack had little interest in trying to kill the glutton. After all it had done nothing to him. Well, yet. Rebuilding pride's power base first was a cert. " I'm afraid however we are getting a bit ahead of ourselves, I have no obligation to defeat this creature or stand along side you.... there is no real gain in it for me". Gerren looked annoyed with this last statement. Jonah on the other hand, face passive as usual. The leader of fear had expected this much from the new leader of pride. For the simple fact that, A) he was a demon and B) he was right. There was no obligation. Jowan had been kept in place using the secret of his family in the human realm. But this Jack, he had no such endearment. Nothing to use against him. At least. Yet. For now all Sloth and fear could offer him was a payment of some kind. But there was little enough that they knew about him for anything to be of worth. From what Jonah had dug up about him. Jack wasn't interested in material possessions. Keeping what he had when he needed it. Little else. The only one other thing that was interesting was Jacks apparent expertise on the subject of blood magic. Not just expertise but curious interest. There was after all a unique set of powers and effects that could be put in with different kinds of blood. So, Jonah offered the one thing that he thought might interest the demon. " Solidify a peace agreement between us again, an alliance. And I'll provide you with the blood of my clan members". The odd twist of a smirk on Jacks face, and light in his eyes indicated to Jonah that he was interested. Which he was. The blood of a fear demon. How interesting. No bodies of course, but the blood itself could be useful in his experiments with the magic. " Good....and Sloth?". Jonah had expected this too. Gerren wasn't happy, that much was radiating from the woman. But she folded her arms. And folded herself. " Very well, I present the same offer, but no bodies". Jack clasped his hands. " Good. Deal accepted. We have an arrangement, provide me with the blood once a month to the Seat of Pride, and I will ensure peace, and good relations with our three clans".





EXP:2653

III

It was almost a bit of an insult to her to offer him even that much. Gerren had her own pride even if she wasn't consumed by it. And Jacks actions, and requests were enough to drive that off a cliff into a high octane CGI explosion of outrage. Jonah had been out of line when he offered that without discussing it with her. After all Pride had been strong, but they were all dead now. All that was left was this man. Was he worth the blood of their people? What Jonah suggested was merely the withdrawing, siphoning of blood. Not killing. But still, it was an entropic task in on itself. Jack, was quite happy with the arrangement, new blood. New powers. He had to wonder if the abilities of fear and sloth demons still remained in their blood even after extraction. He almost couldn't wait to find out for himself. The man Jonah seemed if nothing else, smart, clued in. Reasonable. The female on the other hand. He could already tell there was going to be issues with keeping her under control. Just like all women in his mind, unreasonable. overly emotional. Says the man who killed his entire Clan!. He stopped for a moment. That had been his own thought, it sounded like his inner thoughts and yet didn't! hee hee hee . Ok laughing in his head. That defiantly wasn't normal. Jack at that point hazarded a guess as to just who or rather what was adding those thoughts into his head. " Ceila". . More giggling inside his head. Telecommunications, a whole new meaning on the word. Keep out of my head He thought. And with a sound of a pop. She seemed to either fall silent. Or switch off. Sometimes the leader of madness was little more than an annoyance over an asset. Jonah meanwhile was looking into Jack, he was acting...oddly. Or at least that’s what his face betrayed. Something was going on in his head, and it didn't look as if it pleased him too much. Regardless, they had their deal with Pride. He was likely to be getting it later on from Gerren by the feel of her. But he knew that it would be worth it in the end. For now they would keep up the deal of blood. But he didn't plan for that to be a permanent solution to the pride problem. He would do a little digging on this Jack Wiseman. Find out just what skeletons, or hopefully. Grave yards, this man kept in his closet. If there was anything, Jonah would find it. And he'd exploit it. Blackmail him and stop the blood trade. Just like he did with Jowan. " I suggest if everything there is taken care of that we start our hunt for the Glutton". Gerren and Jack looked at Jonah curiously as he said this. Gerren being the first to bring up the point of. " I thought you said that it might be too powerful for just us three to contend with?". Jonah blunk as if he instantly thought the two would understand his meaning. " I didn't say anything about challenging it". The leader of fear spoke in a low gruff voice. " I simply meant that we keep on its trail, see if we can find just where it is calling home. It may have a hunger to fill a mountain but every creature requires somewhere to rest. Personally I suspect the cave systems".. Jack nodded. The man wasn't stupid. He agreed with both statements, the caves did seem like a likely place for such a monster to hide. And keeping track of its movements would help them to defend against attacks in the future. Well, would help sloth and fear defend against attacks. Considering his kin were all slain already he had no need to fear attack on the clan of Pride. As, if the glutton did attack. It would be himself that faced it. And he'd be able to deal with that then, he would liley die, but having a rough idea of where it was wouldn't help prevent any loss of life on his side. But still. Knowing where it was would help when it came to killing the thing, and other than this little deal with fear and Sloth Jack had another reason for wanting to hunt and kill the glutton. These things were rare, and that meant that the blood of one was going to be a very, very rare blood type for use in his magic’s. The opportunity to get such an ingredient could not be passed up.

Eating souls, and other demons was what caused the power of gluttony to emerge in a demon. But it was also the easiest way of gaining power. One that many demons did on a regular basis. Few were ever strong enough to kill so many as to awaken the hunger of gluttony. But for those that were, Jack included. It presented a problem. A road block. A risk of gaining power. Although Jack was a demon of pride. If he gave into that hunger it could all change. The man, or demon he was would be wiped out. Consumed by the hunger of the glutton. Such a thought was, to put it plainly. Terrifying. If he had the blood of a glutton though...he might be able to find just what it was that caused the hunger. To find a way to beat it. And perhaps. Harness it. A dangerous path no doubt. But blood magic in general did not come without its own risks. Risks and costs that Jack was willing to accept. Everything for power. Everything for ambition. " I suggest then that we head back to the camp of your rebels". Jack said to Jonah, the answer from the silent sentinel was merely a court brief nod. " Gerren will head back and inform the clans of our task".The leader of Sloth spun around, shocked. Her eyes seemed to tell Jonah just where he could stick that idea. However the mans face, intense eyes and body langage merely gave her a " We'll talk later" indication. By the looks of things she merely accepted that. Well. It was one way to bring a woman under control.

EXP:1120

IV

" I'm not leaving you with that lunatic!"

" I'm not giving you a choice in this Gerren, what do you expect me to do? Leave our people without a living leader? What good will that do any of us?".

" And what if he kills you?"

" He won't"

" I refuse to be left"

" Listen, you are a spare body. You can't help us. His senses are far greater than ours. He can track the Glutton and sense when its nearby. I can track and pick up a trail, and keep us safe and hidden from this thing ,all you can do is fight. But that isn't what we need in this task".

" So I'm useless then?"

" Don't get like that".

" How do you expect me to get precisely Jonah?...you are heading off with a mad man who killed his entire clan, who wants blood from US as payment for him NOT killing us, to hunt a creature who wants to kill and EAT everyone?".

" We'll talk when I get back".

" If you get back".


The two picked up the trail from the camp of fears outsiders. Those who had betrayed Jonah to bring war amongst them. Bodies remained as they were, darkly arranged in what looked like an orgy of cannibalism. They just couldn't stop eating one another, or indeed. Themselves. Jack looked around, this time it was a more clean cut search, picking through the remains of taint in the area. " Glutton wasn't here". Jack said at the end fo it. Jonah merely nodded. The people hadn't been attacked by the glutton per say. However it was an effect of its presence. The glutton seemed to inspire those around them to inact the same hunger that it itself was consumed with. Like a poison it corrupted the mind and drove the victim into a frenzy. By the looks of things the mountain pathways the camp was based on had kept it hidden from the gluttons direct line of sight.However it hadn't helped them from its passing effects. It was a horrible way to die. But, perhaps not as horrible as what a direct confrontation with a glutton would have been. Jack managed to pick up the residual taint in the air that led out of the camp. Following it onto a mroe direct line. Where Jonah managed to bend down and pick something up. Jack raised an eyebrow. To him it looked like a piece of old fruit long past its sell by date. " Just...what is that?".Jonah looked at it up and down, then sniffed it. " Rotton flesh, looks like the glutton was here". He traced a hand across the ground. " It went this way, towards the caves system, just like we thought...". The caves went deep. Very deep. Most of it was old magma tunnels that had long since poured out and hardened over. But just because the magma was gone didn't mean the danger had passed. The real danger of those tunnels was what lived inside. In this case, the glutton was one of its denizens. But there were more. Hungry things waiting in the dark to punce on the unsuspecting traveller. Within the caves however also lay ancient treasures and relics. Tempting to the adventurer whow as willing to brave the danger of threat of being eaten alive.

EXP 597

The trail was still followed. Just entering the caves at a random location wouldn't be enough. The tunnel system was broad. Expansive. One could go mad trying to find their way in there without a guide. But thats precisely what they were going to risk. Their entrance happened to be south of the woods. A huge crater. Jack wasn't quite sure what had caused it. And, neither did Jonah. It had been there since the dawn. Another scar upon the land scape of whatever had happened during that time. The two made their way inside. Following the trail of the beast that they hunted. Some would have thought it enough they knew it existed in the caves and emerged to hunt. But it wasn't, they needed to know where in those tunnels.Otherwise anything else they learned was irrelavent. A target was needed. A point to strike when the time came. So together, they ventured in.

It was dark inside. Most cave systems you find are wet, but in hell its the opposite. Dry as a bone. And hot to boot. The magma was long since dried but there were still flows around and about, like veins in one great body moving around. He didn't doubt that the further they ventured in, the hotter it would get. And the more magma pools would be showing up. Oddly though it wasn't long after entering, perhaps about half an hour heading down and south that they managed to find what looked like some kind of population centre. Jack, and Jonah both were. Shocked. Entering inside and getting closer though revealed that it wasn't any kind of population. Just an escavation site. A dig zone. The people at the zone were just as surprised to see them, as they to see people actually down here.

The question in Jacks mind was however, mostly lay with the Glutton. Had they taken a wrong turn somewhere? If this thing lived down here, and these people were here at the dig site. Why wern't they all eating one another?

-----

" You have to clear out, this place isn't safe. Theres a glutton demon nearby. I'm surprised you all haven't died yet!". " Sorry honey, not happening, we got important research to do here". "Just whats so important that it could cost you your lives?". " Our dig site, its part of an old city, some of the things we've managed to find and decipher, indicate the archdemon who ruled this place was trying to make peace with the humans, and bring order to hell".

Short sweet. And more importantly. To the point. An archdemon who ruled a city attempting to bring order to hell. And establish a lasting peace with humanity. It was a goal so monumental that Jack couldn't even wrap his head around it. Just how could there be any kind of lasting order in hell? The place he knew was beyond such things. Here the only order was survival of the fittest. Only the strong survive. And thats the way he liked it.

EXP: 561