Master And Servant

Master And Servant
Date of Scene:	24 April 2013
Location:	Southern Continent - Tycoon Plains
Synopsis:	Exdeath's return brings new orders to his general! What will the King of Swords do?
Cast of Characters:	Gilgamesh, ExDeath

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Gilgamesh has posed:
ExDeath has returned from the darkness.

Gilgamesh doesn't need a messenger, and he doesn't need to be told. The immortal, eternal swordsman just knows. Whatever connection had been present when Exdeath first called Gilgamesh to him lingers still within the immortal's essence, reaching down to his heart of hearts, wrapped about it like a strangling vine.

Exdeath is perhaps the only thing Gilgamesh has ever truly been *afraid* of. He's run from fights, he's been cowardly before, but that's not the same as fear, at least not for Gilgamesh. That's merely, uh...self-preservation in the face of danger. That's different; it's an immediate worry, one that is present situationally. Exdeath is...different.

Exdeath is fear. Gilgamesh has seen what Exdeath is capable of. He's seen the Warlock in action, seen his Master do terrible things to those who dared stand up to him. Being bound to Exdeath as he is, Gilgamesh is fairly sure the Warlock King could eliminate him with nothing but a thought, dispersing him forever into nothing.

So Gilgamesh, right now, is looking for one of the sanest things he's ever known: his companion Enkidu.

Unfortunately, Enkidu seems to have buggered off somewhere. So Gilgamesh searches across the plains of Tycoon, hoping against hope that his Rock Hound buddy will show up before the chain wrapped around his throat is pulled...

ExDeath has posed:
At first, nothing is amiss.

Then, as Gilgamesh walks, the sky starts to rapidly darken. The horizon is slowly swallowed up by black nothing in all directions. In just a minute, the swordsman is trapped in a temporary veil of darkness; not even the grass he walks on is visible anymore, though he'll still be able to hear it crunch underfoot. Then, a familiar sound.

WA HA HA HA HA HA!

A glowing blue circle of arcane symbols appears before Gilgamesh, and springing up from it...Exdeath himself. Clad in ornate sky blue armor with yellow and orange highlights, taller than any mortal man, one hand clutching the pommel of a long, sharp sword pointed downward as if he was resting on it, the other hand on his armored hip. "Gilgamesh..." he says, voice deep and powerful like, of course, a tough old tree. "My 'general'," he sneers. "You have not flocked to my re-appearance like the rest of my minions...I am dissapointed."

Gilgamesh has posed:
Gilgamesh quails immediately as the sky goes dark. He doesn't even need to hear the booming, diabolical laughter that follows; just feeling the veil of darkness descend over him is enough to make Gilgamesh cower. The glowing blue circle is just the afterthought; the twelve-foot grey giant stumbles and falls backwards onto his backside as Exdeath appears, fumbling to fall forward onto his hands in a supplicative pose. Exdeath's terrible voice rings in his grey ears, and Gilgamesh suppresses the urge to run.

"M-Master, th-that iss..." Gilgamesh stammers hurriedly.

"Th-that is only because I have been acting out my role as your servant, Master! I have been k-keeping watch on the heroes of this new world, preparing for your inevitable reawakening! F-for me to suddenly appear before you and disappear before them would make them all suspicious, Master!"

"N-not, of course, that you care what they believe, of course, because your power is supreme! And you will destroy them! B-but nevertheless..."

Gilgamesh keeps his face pressed close to the ground. "My-my deepest apologies, my Master! I should have known better! I too felt your almight Call tugging at my soul! Forgive your foolish general, Master! Grant mercy on this pitiful self, that I might better serve you in the days to come!"

ExDeath has posed:
Exdeath lets Gilgamesh grovel and plead, while he remains silent. It amused him, to hear Gilgamesh supplicate himself like this. "Cease your blubbering! Else I might grow tired of your squeamishness and give Necrophobia your position!" he snaps, pointing his sword down at Gilgamesh's head. Then, he relaxes. "Now...rise, Gilgamesh. You have been spending time among the heroes of the worlds, this is true. Your insights on them will be useful to me."

He pauses. "That...is ALL you have been doing with these mortals, yes? Because it would not do for you to develop FEELINGS for one of them. Not that you WOULD...or am I wrong?"

Gilgamesh has posed:
Gilgamesh breathes out a sigh of relief he doesn't realize he held. He doesn't even realize how scared he is to breathe right now. Heck, he doesn't even realize that he doesn't NEED to breathe! Exdeath just has that effect on him. He springs to his feet as Exdeath bids him rise, mumbling something about Necrophobia being almost as useful as a broken sword, before Exdeath asks him a question that can't help but send a shiver down his spine.

"Well I...feel a great deal of hatred for a lad who goes by the title of Luso Clemens, Master! The perfidious child my Matamune from me!" Gilgamesh clenches his fists in what is very definitely real anger. "He used a filthy trick and cast me into the Void in order to rob me of it, instead of defeating me in a rightful duel as agreed! I would see the scurrious scoundrel struck down, my Master, and my precious cursed fishing rod - and the wastrel's own collection of blades - returned to the Genbu Gate where it - and they - rightfully belong!"

"But I shall not let my hatred for the rapscallion distract me from my truest mission, my Master! Whatever mission you may assign to me, I shall ensure that it is carried out without fail, as always!"

ExDeath has posed:
Exdeath did not move from his spot. "Kill this 'Luso Clemens' and make it slow; an affront to my minions is an affront to myself, for they are all extensions of my will." The warlock walks past Gilgamesh, expecting the grey giant to follow. "I feel the need to remind these mortals how vapid and sad their lives are; I believe an assault on their spiritual fiber is needed. There is a certain Church that is getting much too LOUD and RIGHTEOUS; I believe you might be familiar with them?"

Gilgamesh has posed:
"I will be absolutely certain to end his pitiful existence posthaste, my Master!" Gilgamesh proclaims, pressing his fist over his chest in a salute as Exdeath walks past him. he dares not look over his shoulder until he's sure Exdeath wants him to follow...and then he does so, following behind his master, hunched over like the servant he knows he is.

"The Glabadosians? A mere nuisance, my master, to your incredible and unbelievable might. But their Inquisition is doubtlessly irritating; the only god this world needs is you, my Master. Shall I don the mask of Ziegfried and infiltrate their nest to root them out? Or shall I strike them down with the power of the Genbu Gate?"

ExDeath has posed:
"Hmm, an infiltration. Yesss, I believe that will do," Exdeath says, pausing to tap his helm. "Find out their most sacred sites, their weakest links, so that I might show them how weak their pitiful God truly is. Phase 2 will be 'Genbu Gate'." He whirls around suddenly, without even actually moving his body. "Nothing else offends my sensibilities at this moment, so that will be my main priority. Otherwise, I will use you as I see fit in my 'outings' among the mortal world. Do you understand?"

Gilgamesh has posed:
"Then I shall become Ziegfried at once!" Gilgamesh replies - and he's already, literally changing into the treasure hunter, his mask growing across his face and his body shrinking to accomodate even as he speaks. Shortly, he is shorter than Exdeath; by the time Exdeath is facing him, the shapeshifting is already complete. Gilgamesh folds his hand over his chest and bows low. "I understand, my master! I shall commence my infiltration without haste, wielding all of my impressive skills to perform to the best of my abilities! Should you require my aid, my Master, you have but to call, and I shall be at your side, if it does not disturb your greater plans!"

Gilgamesh bows even lower.

He's still terrified, of course. But for now...well, there were worse things than digging around in the Church's dirty laundry dressed as a ninja with a ridiculous name.

Who ever heard of someone named /Ziegfried/, anyway?

ELSEWHERE:

Treasure Hunter Ziegfried, the fearsome ninja thief, looks down at the handcuffs being slapped on his arms.

"OH, COME ON!"

ExDeath has posed:
"Good, Gilgamesh. Do your duty and I will be moderately tolerant of your incompetence. Fail me...and, well. I think you know..." He utters that awful laugh of his again.

When Gilgamesh is finished bowing, he's standing back in the Tycoon fields, as if nothing happened.

Gilgamesh has posed:
Enkidu comes padding up behind 'Ziegfried' once Exdeath vanishes. Gilgamesh turns around, crouches down, and rubs Enkidu's ear as the huge dog transforms into a much less huge ninja dog.

"Well, Barmung...this is yet another fine affair we have become thoroughly embroiled in."

'Barmung' gives a sad bark.