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 ^{(it's beta!)}

"I'm gonna push through this shit

and show you for what you are

you bastard!"

.........................................................................................................

The last words of a dieing man, sucked down by the mud in the fen.

Ha what a fool.

No sympathy for the weak as they say.

Or I say....

hmmmm

I'm not even sure about that anymore....

Anyway that doesnt matter.

"what have I become? My sweetest freind..."

That damn Johnny bloody Cash song, eeking from the rusted metal speakers of my radio.

Ha at least he gave it some meaning....

Turning to the smashed window of my shack, I gaze out across my kingdom...

Its a good kingdom, despite a lack of contact with the outside world, it works somehow.

One of the somehow is out there now, tending to my garden.

Turning as he senses me looking at him, he touches his forelock politely and turns back to his work.

The dead are very nice people once you get to control them...

Ah well, back to the mire....

I pick up my bag and set off back across the swampland to where that fool died earlier in the day.

"Got thee, thous't heavy bastard that ye are" I mutter under my breath as I fish the corpse out with my hookstick.

The tarry peaty mud of the fens is perfect for the undead, as long as they regularly bathe in it, it preserves them excelently. None of this damn falling apart whilst doing the house-keeping buisness.

I take my knife and carefully remove his eyelids so that his hugely dialated pupils are fully visible. Nowhere to run.

Then I take out the small dirty cracked mirror from my pack and put it infront of his face.

"C'mon Legba thou git"

A sudden flash of dark flickered between the mirror and the eyes.

"ahbout tyme"

The dark eyes flicker back and forth for a moment, and suddenly the corpse leaps to its feet screaming in fury. Swinging its mud splattered fist straight at my face.

There is a noise very much like the sound of a bone snapping and the fist stops just before my face.

"Thous't mine now, ye dead git that y'are" I says to the poor sod.

"W h y? H www?" The corpse croaks and then throws up a surprising amount of mud.

"Thoust been stray'n in mine kingdom without so much as a "by your leave". Thas't a-being which some of us might call rude." I'm getting worried about this one, normally they cant speak straight after ressurection and binding, and now he's crying. Bad sign, he has control over his tear ducts already...

hmmmmm

I shoot him in the stomach with mine shotgun. He falls back into the mire from which I dragged him, organs and blood splattering across the mud, then I head back to my shack.

"I'm being in need of a drink" Says I under my breath.

............................................................................................................

Eight days later, the mire starts to bubble....

A mighty bell rings from the spire of Trollkyrka, from all across the woodland around, answering bells are struck in unison.

Within the massive main hall of the Kyrka, Jaette took to the alter of stone. His huge frame dwarfed the other Jotunn around him and he shouted above the clamour of the bells the ancient geeting;

"Troll kalla mik

tungl sjötrungnis,

auðsug jötuns,

élsólar böl,

vilsinn völu,

vörð náfjarðar,

hvélsvelg himins

hvat's troll nema þat"

The other Jotunn replied in kind, shaking the hall to its foundations with the thunder of their voices.

......................................................................................................

Someway south of Trollkyrka, Jotunn pulled himself free of the clutches of the mire. Pulling himself across the ground he began making his way back to the Kyrka whilst in his head, the dark filthy prescence of Legba raged at him, burning his memories and shredding his personality in its rage...

......................................................................................................

Back within his Shack, Soloman grinned a snaggle toothed grin and took a heavy drag on the long curved pipe he loved so much before settling into his chair and casting the teeth he had pried from Jotunns jaw earlier that month....

The radio crackled with mild interferance before fading into signal again...

"Moving/ I am moving closer to your side"

The enamel rattled and clicked across the table...

"Luring/ you are luring me into the night"

and slowly....slowly....

Stopped.

"plunging towards bereavement faster yet/ clearing thoughts my mind is set"

Soloman's laughter echoed out across the mire long into the night...

......................................................................................................

And in her small, sparsely furnished house in the village of Shakeston, Elissandre Videre screamed and leapt from her bed....

It was the morning after, in the woods around the wide clearing in which Shakeston was built, birds were whistling their merry tunes of sunrise. Around the village people were slowly waking, outside the bakery, Theodore was setting up the sandwich board signs advertising fresh loaves and the like. Some small traffic made its way along the village's single main road, none of them stopped, probably on thir way further west, to the major cities like Bjornberg and Kingston Vale.

Elissandre Videre was NOT a mornings person, particularly after a night like the last, her head felt heavy and painful when she moved....

Damn that was a bad dream...

Eventually she forced herself to get up and make some breakfast. Moving like a zombie she wandered downstairs in her nightgown and turned on the Augers hot plates. Then she took a seat by the window and waited for the things to get warm.

Whilst she was waiting her gaze wandered across the fields surrounding the Village and eventually, to the woods beyond them...

Maybe it was her wandering mind, but she swore there was someone standing, just under the eaves. That was nothing strange in itself, however, this figure looked to be seven foot tall!

The hissing of the Auger made her look away for a second and when she looked back, the appirition had gone...

She got up, pulled herself together, filled the kettle with water from the bronze tap and put it on the Auger. When she turned back to the table she almost leapt out of her skin, she was still sitting there! Looking at herself with her eyes in her face on her body!

Screaming, Elissandre ran from her house, still in her dressing gown, and straigt into the tall and solid figure of Mr Thohannesson.

"What ARE you doing Ms Videre?!" He shouted in surprise, grabbing her arms and holding her still.

Sobbing she told him what she had seen.

Straightening up, he stroked his long beard thoughtfully, turned and simply walked off, leaving Elissandre gaping after him in the road! The rudeness of the man!

Fuming, Elissandre stormed back into the house and slammed the door.

She was still sitting at the table.

"If you run away again I shall have to kill you." She said with a smile.

.............................................................................................................

HAHAHHAHhahAHAHAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Foolish Jotunn! They think to usurp my Kingdom so easily? With their pretty little gods and ridiculous Shamanism?

The idea is a joke in itsself!

Right, it's time I made a move back at them. Bastards that they are.

Trying to force my hand so obviously. For the sake of Loco who do they think I am?

hmmm

This shall require some thought...

I turn on the radio again.

"I know the peices fit/ cuz I watch them fall away..."

ha thar it be!

I'll show them!

Crossing to the door, I take down my hammer, chisel and blood bag.

Then I leave the shack through the back door, slamming it heavily behind me...

"T'has been to long, so It hath" I says to meself as I make my way to the Monolith.

Once there I set to work, muttering under my breath;

"golem be good fer this un, gitcher good yer bloody Jotunn barstuds"

I may be here a few days, so I gets me Somethings to build a small shelter fer to keep us dry, it's rainin season soon, and I does like me warmth so I does....

"I could be stereotypical and say I need you for a sacrifice because YOU are special. Only YOU have the sacred blood of the seventh queen of cumbria or some other rubbish. But then I would be lying. You are not special, you are not different, I could have claimed anyone else in this runt of a village and they would be exactly the same for my purposes. However, I have chosen YOU, girl, so think yourself lucky."

Elissandre shut her eyes.

thisisnothappeningthisisnothappeningthisisnothappening

She opened them again.

She was still looking at her, with the same expression of mild amusement and faint smile playing on her lips.

She opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, she rose from the chair and knocked her uncoscious with a single blow.

...........................................................................................................

"DONT TOUCH THAT!" I yelled at the bleeding mire hobb who had wandered in out of the cold.

He jumped back, strangely oversized arms akimbo and bulging eyes spinning.

I snatch the stone head back from the blighter, cursing the rain that was beginning to fall quite heavily now.

"C'mon, getst thine hind awa' o' here thou stupid bleeder thet y' are!"

The hobb gurgled at me.

Right.

I takes me cane to the beggars small grey head, and yelping he flees into the rain.

"Tis done my lads" I says to me somethings.

"Right y'are" they chorus in unison, and lift the large stone head onto the rest of the pile.

Then I takes outta me bloodbag the small satchell of Jotunn blood I had procured from that corpse earlier on.

"'Ere we be" I says, pouring the thick dark ichor down the hole in the stone head.

"Take it away, Maestro"

Theres a slow gurgle, then a thump, I always likes this bit, where the unreal heart starts up chuggin away like that.

The lights are on in his eyes now, all set to go.

I pins the parchment on which his catechism of hunting is writ, and he launches off into the night.

Fantastic!

Back to the shack fer me then, it'll be nice to get in by me fire and light up me ol' pipe....

.........................................................................................................

Several miles north, Jotunn hears the thump booming through the roots of the earth and, for the first time in his life, feels fear.

To the east of Shakeston, amongst the trees, a broad river wound its way south all the way from the mountains to the mire and then further still. At its widest point it was almost a mile across, and the water was very fast flowing during the rains.

In the darkness and the downpour a single light bobbed.

As this light gets closer it can be seen to be tied to the prow of a small rowing boat, skimming over the water at some speed. At the oars sits what must be assumed is a tall young man, however he has no face or features from which we can derive gender, so it will be assumed that he is male. In the back of the boat lies the unconscious body of Ellisandre, still in her dressing gown, and now soaking wet.

"LONG TIME NO SEE, SCRAW MAN!" (ah, it is male anyway) Bellows a deep voice from the mists as, chugging into view, comes Mr Thohannesson at the helm of a large steam barge.

Scraw man makes no reply, he merely extends one long slender arm slowly towards Thohannesson. As it moves the skin of the arm shifts strangely, warping across the bone underneath it draws back quickly to reveal a long tubular Radius and Ulna. The boat rocks back in the dark waters as fire explodes from the end of the bone, the projectile catching Mr Thohannesson on the shoulder, spinning him around and down to the deck of his craft.

The skin where Scraw man's mouth should have been splits and pulls back, revealing a set of long sharp teeth and in a voice like the shrieking of a thousand tortured souls he speaks;

"We See You Still Be Weak, Old One" Scraw man crows, his massive fanged maw grinning horrificly in the baleful light of the small lamp.

"No," whispered mr Thohannesson quietly to the deck of his boat, "just slow, thats all..."

Twin balls of white light burst into life either side of Scraw man's boat, revealing what looked like all the monks of the Shakeston Kyrka.

"...which of course, allows me time to plan ahead."

Pulling himself to his feet Thohannesson shouldered his own rifle, wincing slightly at the wound in his arm, and fired a single round....

............................................................................................................

Sitting by my fire, I must say, everything seems to be going rather well!

I have all the warmth I could ask for,

I've fixed the roof,

and those bleeding Jotunn and their stinking Kyrka shal'nt be a-bothering of me for some time I does imagine.

I turn to my radio again, flicking the on switch using one of my canes....

Damn, its the bleeding news an all...

"And the Shakeston Kyrka has been commended this afternoon by Jaette himself, who is coming south from the Trollkyrka personally for a special ceromony of honours and bringing with him expansionist forces for the Jotunn garrisson stationed in our small community!"

What.

"In a statement issued earlier this day Jaette commented that the more 'other-worldly' and 'heretical' creatures caught the better and he is extremely thankfull to our community leader, Mr Thohannesson for bringing in the EXTREMELY dangerous 'Scraw man' late last night."

BASTARDS

Not one seconds peace those fools do give me, NOT ONE!

I meself am starting to tire of this sad state of affairs.

It is time to take more....Permanent measures.

..............................................................................................................

thud

Thud

"Almost there..."

THUD

"oh, no..."

RIGHT

Theres been to much of this Kyrka Jotunn rubbish about by half now

Maybe I can get rid of them and expand my kingdom at the same time?

haha

those silly bleeders

wont know what hit 'em!

The dead can be such a useful resource....

.............................................................................................................

"oh no"

THUD

Jotunn can hear the infernal heart now,

THUD

its thunderous boom reverberating throughout the woods

THUD

drowning all other sounds

THUD

Everything was turning red and dark in the woods

THUD

as a bleak terror overtook him

THUD

he crawled into a hollow

THUD

and Screamed.

.....................................................................................................

Elissandre was worried.

She had been saved by Mr thohannaesson that night.

She was sure of that....

But she was almost certain he was more intent on capturing Scraw Man than on saving her.

Oh well, its not polite to think like this.

So she didnt think about it, and whent back about her business as usual...

But she couldnt lose her persistent doubts....

And also

She couldnt shake the nagging feeling in the back of her mind. She was being watched....

.....................................................................................................

In his dungeon under Trollkryka the Scraw Man lay limp and docile, he could be taken for any other of the defeated 'heretics'.

Untill you look closer....

see?

He's still grinning....

"Off we go a-summoning and a-summoning we be goin" I sing, leaping across the moss covered stepping stones of the mire.

Finaly I reach it. My shrine.

Havent been here in far to long. It used to be a mausoleam before the Kyrka gained power and proclaimed all other faiths heretical.

They didnt realise whom this mausoleam housed.

The hated spirits of the first Jotunn. The Fenrir. Necromancers. Sourcerours.

Implacably powerful.

Fortunately dead.

Not for long.

haha

I push the large granite doors back with some effort.

Its definately been to long since I paid my respects to daddy.

Ah well, like it or not, I'm here now.

I decend into the crypt down the long spiral staircase.

Its not dark down here, my ancestors remain powerful even in death and power like that casts a glow.

Light shines from the mouths of their open caskets, it is blindingly harsh and white. Pure.

I make my way to the central alter, raised as it is on a bed of Albion bones.

Then, I wait....

............................................................................................................

.

..

...

THUD

Jotunn shivers in fear, the redness was closing in, blood condensing from the air and pooling on the ground

THUD

He screams again, then coughs. There was blood in his cough.

THUD

...

THud

....

Thud

.....

thud

The air cleared.

Where had it gone?

...........................................................................................................

Elissandre screamed, dropping the plates she was washing to the floor with a mighty crash. She fell to her knees, blood running from her ears...

...........................................................................................................

In his cell, Scraw Man burst into hideous screeching laughter, bringing the guards running. Then he collapsed into the dust, huge grin still fixed on his face...

...........................................................................................................

In the kingdom of Soloman, a red mist gathers slowly....