The Dark Order 1.9: Jubilee's Lifeline

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Maggie's the perfect mixture of embarrassed and upset. "You're unbelievable."

She sizes up the hunters. The one farthest left stands out the most. The purple skinned orc, standing at five-seven, bone spikes protrude from the top of its head. Due to his feral presence and starvation, his skin is practically gray. His facial structure has lost its mass but his jaw is powerful, his bite can easily crush bone. His lips are large and severely chapped. He licks them, exposing his jagged, partially rotted teeth.

The blue glow in his eyes grows brighter from bloodlust.

The hunter on the far right is the youngest. He looks like a young man caught up in a situation he doesn't belong in. He's a six-three, malnourished, White male. He's timid. He has a slight tremor, a constant flicker of his eyesight, and is unable to focus properly.

He looks at Jubilee, who's barely able to stand. He and Maggie lock gazes. She can sense that fear. He can tell. He subconsciously steps back. The blue glow in his eyes is barely visible.

The man in the middle. He's cross-eyed due to a cancerous tumor just behind his right eye. Pressed against his right eye, it pushes its view inward, though he'd still be blind. "We aren't interested in a drunk, we're here for the bounty." His voice is hoarse.

He steps forward.

"Claiming this bounty will get us promoted."

He and the feral heathen get a laugh out of this. "And you just made it easier for us, old man."

"Is that right?" He moves Maggie behind him, "Well then." He motions for them to attempt, gladly accepting the challenge, "Come and claim it."

The two men look at each other with endomorphic smiles. The orc lets out a monstrous scream. Maggie's still looking at the younger hunter. "Alexis, let me help."

"I've got this."

"You're in no shape to be fighting!"

"What did I tell you?" He smiles at her, his pupils green. She steps back. "Gentlemen." Turning his attention back, "Why don't we-"

A flame of blue magic BLOWS him back nearly ten yards, he crashes to the ground. His chest burns, and his clothes are smoking. He goes still.

"ALEXIS!"

The feral orc cackles, "This power is unreal!"

The middle man, their leader, steps forward. Maggie is entrapped in blue mana before she pulls her blade, struggling to break free. "Get off me!" She looks to Alexis, who is still lying there motionless. "Alexis!"

The hunter approaches. "You said you wouldn't let anything happen to me!"

He's right up on her, caressing her cheek as tears begin to stream down her face. The tumor behind his eye throbs. "There, there- We aren't going to hurt you too much." He continues his manic laugh. "We'll play with you first… Then- well, you know what they do to witches." He shrugs.

"I’ll make sure we siphon every single essence of magic from your dead--"

BLOOD SPLATTERS ALL OVER MAGGIE'S FACE.

THE HUNTER'S EXPRESSION AND SMILE DIE AS AN EXSAPERATED GASP ESCAPES HIS LIPS.

MAGGIE'S VISION IS SHAKING, SHE'S IN SHOCK AS SHE LOOKS DOWN AT A SHARP-EDGED BRANCH PIERCING THROUGH HIS CHEST CAVITY.

Behind her, Jubilee stands to his feet, wiping himself off... He’s sober.“That was completely unnecessary.” Unconcerned with the situation, there’s a more serious issue…

"Dammit! This was my favorite shirt." Without acknowledging the action, he swipes his hand, and the now-deceased hunter's corpse is flung away before a bone shattering collision with a textile machine. The body slides to the ground, lying in a pool of blood.

As the magic holding her crumbles away, Maggie struggles to wrap her head around what's happening. "H- How are you alive?"

He walks up with that same smile of confidence and lack of concern. "Are you okay?" She happily nods yes.

"Good." He cracks his neck. He watches the other two hunters panic, backpedaling, hoping to escape. It’s too late; they back into a WALL OF WOVEN ROOTS.

The orc scrambles for an escape, deserting the young man as he runs. He bulldozes through the door of the building to their right, vanishing into the darkness.

"Shall we?" His eyes burning a deep Emerald green.

Maggie wipes her face and pulls out her blade. An Autumn orange tint overtakes her pupils.

"Atta' girl."

Alexis approaches the remaining hunter, finally noticing he's just a scared kid. He sighs and shakes his head, "Please, I'm sorry... I didn't want to come, I tried--" A clean, right hook to the jaw knocks him unconscious. He falls back into the root wall and is subdued.

They turn their attention to the building of the final hunter, walking over and crossing over the threshold, disappearing inside.

As the seconds go by, there are several sporadic flashes of ORANGE, BLUE, AND GREEN.

Orange mana blades rip through the structure. Its power explodes causing building fragments shoot out randomly, destroying the immediate vicinity. The windows SHATTER from the magical pressure. Soon after…

THE SPLINTERED BODY OF THE ORC CRASHES INTO THE ROAD.

The road has been broken; there’s a small crater left over. Moments later, the duo emerge from the building.

The root wall releases the young hunter before they snap and crack, as they retract and slither their way back beneath the Earth. Standing behind the wall is a TOWERING, MUSCULAR MALE who slowly comes into view. Alexis must squint before a chuckle escapes. "Dakota!... Ha-ha, what are you doing here?"

This is the seven foot three, forty, expert herbalist, and former high-ranking SSA Knight, Dakota Burns— User of Plant Magic.

He's wearing denim jeans and a loosely fit blue T-shirt that fails to hide his exceptional physique.

He has a resonant voice. “I felt a surge of Earth magic and thought maybe you could use some assistance, but it appears you've already handled things."

He looks at Maggie, a realization in his eyes that Alexis quickly notices. "I'll explain later."

"No need. I'm sure you have your reasons." Dakota extends his hand, "Dakota Burns."

Maggie's unsure what to do, looking to Alexis before she slowly clutches his hand. "Magnolia- Magnolia Barker... Everyone calls me Maggie."

"It's a pleasure, Maggie." He's trying to get a read on her. "How did you find yourself accompanying such a troublesome fella?"

"Honestly, I think I might be more trouble than he is... It seems to be what I'm good at." A slight smile fills her face.

Alexis interjects, "I told you I'd arrive tomorrow."

"Yes, well, I’d rather not be home while the Banshee Lily's are misbehaving."

Alexis pats Dakota on the back, "Yeah... I'm sorry about that." Dakota looks at the unconscious hunter. "I guess this one is coming with us?"

"Yes- We need to extract some information from him."

"Oh, interrogations- The golden SSA days."

Maggie cuts a look at Jubilee, "He wor--"

Cuts her off. "Indeed- but times have changed. Did you find what I asked for?"

Exerting little effort, Dakota throws the young hunter over his shoulder, "Yeah- about that."

.

..

...

....

Dakota's house sits just outside Tramble, in a secluded wooded area, which might be for the best. One might consider his house an overgrown circular hut, consumed and covered by Kudzu.

As for the inside, it's a studio greenhouse, filled with plants, making it damn near impossible to move around. However, it offers comfort with a nature-filled beauty one can only appreciate. There's a bonus room just off to the right of the kitchenette. Looking around, she notices a wide range of herbal books and papers.

"Someone loves gardening."

"Do me a favor, don't say that too loud, otherwise, he'll never shut up about it."

Dakota leaves the room with the young hunter. "Let me drop off our friend."

"Do you still have those Viper Flytraps?"

"You don't even have to tell me!" Excitement fills his expression as he exits the room. With Dakota gone, Maggie leans over, "This place is... Uh- Beautiful, in its special way."

Alexis looks around, uneasy. "That's one way of looking at it."

Maggie wanders around the room, admiring all of the plants. Some are alive and rather aggressive. Snapping, spitting, and howling at her. Others are so beautiful, with vibrant colors that they almost look fake. She desperately wants to touch them. As she reaches for sun-yellow catnip, Alexis must pull her close, "Listen to me, I'm happy you're intrigued by it all but try and stay close... And don't touch anything, especially that."

"Why not? It's so pretty."

"Precisely. The prettier, the more likely it is to kill you."

"WHAT?!"

"SHHH!"

From the other room, "You two okay?"

"Never better!" They whisper.

"Why would we come here?"

"Because... Dakota's the only person who can save my life."

She's completely caught off guard. "Wait... What?"

Dakota walked back into the living room. "All right! Now, we can get down to business. Come on, let's see it."

Maggie's still out of the loop. "See what?"

Alexis struggles, but he's finally able to remove his shirt. Maggie's eyes widen. "You've been like this..." Pointing in disbelief, "THE WHOLE TIME?!?"

She's ignored. He pulls the black fang Constance gave him from his pocket. "I was told to get this to you."

"That's perfect. Needed two for the cure."

He refocuses on the infection that has now spread ACROSS HIS ABDOMEN. The skin blackened, and there's pus leaking from the bite site. Dakota puts on his glasses and gets right up on him for an examination. From over his frames, "They did a number on you.

"No shit."

"Let me guess- Eight-year-old female?"

"I swear you two were meant for each other."

He presses against his abdomen. "Constance must have removed one."

"YES, and one will do!"

"I know she made you well aware of what will happen if the fang stays, right?"

Alexis is nonchalant. “Yeah, it's fine."

Maggie's trying to get up to speed. "What will happen?"

Dakota's very direct and stoic, "He'll die."

Dakota rummages around his workbench until he locates his scalpel and holds it over the never extinguishing flame of a Red dragon-scale candle. Alexis panics, "NO! I swear if you come near me with--"

Dakota grabs a dried, greenish-brown leaf and rubs it against Alexis’s skin, he immediately tenses up.

"Da... Kota, you motherfuc-" He goes completely still, a statue, though he's very much present, only his eyes move.

"It'll take but a second."

"What did you do to him?"

"Gorgon leaf. It secretes an oil that, in low doses, causes temporary petrification. It works wonders... Luckily, I've taken the antidote." He repositions, looking up a Alexis, "Okay, now hold still."

He bursts out in laughter, even Maggie finds the humor in it. He's serious now as he starts to cut into the bite wound. The bite is deep, almost consuming the blade. GREEN PUS OOZES OUT, and Dakota collects a sample.

"What happened to him?"

"He got bit by a spider."

"What kind of spider can do that?"

"The hellish kind."

He presses his tweezers into his abdomen. The blackened blood spills out, mixed with the pus, and he's able to pull the second fang.

"Is he going to be okay?"

"He is, for now. He won't be in about a week."

He moves away, walking around the room to a bookshelf. "Normally, a spider bite is harmless." He pauses, thinking before retracting his statement, "Correction, it depends on the spider. Usually, there's irritation, inflammation, maybe a little infection, but with proper care, the bite usually will heal."

He grabs a herbology book and flips through the pages. "In this case, it was a Black Diamond Spider, considered one of the most aggressive and extremely toxic species. Early on, it's always the same- The pain, the swelling, the discomfort... However, without proper medication, the toxin will spread. It'll start affecting his movements, then his senses, then his organs, and once it reaches his brain, he'll die."

Dakota returns to the table with a suture kit.

"Okay, well you're the expert, how do we fix it?"

"Well- That's the bad news."

She's baffled. "And this wasn't?!?"

"I have three of the five materials needed to make a cure. I have the two fangs and lemongrass... As luck would have it, the final materials can be found two towns over in Melox, a now abandoned town. When the town was overrun with spiders, they were forced to escape. You must venture deep within the mine to find a Brittle Oak."

"Brittle Oak?"

"Correct. It's a tree that only grows in the darkest, most putrid places, but its bark is responsible for many modern medicines, including Black Diamond Anti-Toxin."

"Fantastic."

"The last item is the most vital... And- most likely to get you killed, but without it, there's no cure."

He sutures the wound, "The Black Diamond queen stores a fluid meant to bring vitality to her offspring, which is why they live so long and grow to be so fucking massive."

Just as he's finishing the stitches, the petrifying oil wears off, causing Alexis to stumble and fall against the table. He pants heavily, "MOTHER- FUCKER! YOU TWO ARE MEANT FOR EACH OTHER, YOU KNOW THAT?!"

The plants throughout the house start to scream as his power takes over the environment around them. He GROANS loudly and SLAMS his fist against the table, "YOU AREN'T DRAGGING ME TO THAT PLACE! I'VE HAD IT UP TO HERE WITH SPIDERS!"

Maggie is frustrated. "Do you want to die?!"

There's no response. He holds onto his stomach as he storms out, SLAMMING the door behind him.

Maggie is worked up, "I DIDN'T THINK SO!" She refocuses. "How do we find these ruins?"

Once again, he starts rummaging around. He's walking around the room, searching every nook and cranny until... He holds up a box. "With this."

There's a loud hissing inside the box before something SLAMS against it. Dakota almost drops it, "Umm... What the fuck was that?"

"Your map."

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....

In the destroyed Sanctuary, on the podium, there's a "throne." Musi sits, surrounded by his followers. His eyes GLOW BLUE as he stares down with murderous intent, "Why have you come here, devil?"

His words fill the room with tension. He's looking down at Pyfir, who stands alone amongst an enemy. Her eyes GLOW YELLOW.

"There's a certain mage I'd like to talk to speak with you about."

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.... To be continued.