Grim Views

Zuhkinjo's Solution

Zuhkinjo, July 7, 2006

He greatly enjoyed killing the scourge, as well as destroying the
cystals that seemed to portal the endless amounts of them in,
because he could feel Grugdish weaken. As scourge fell, the demon
seemed to spew the same filth in the troll's mind that
Kel'Thuzaad had exclaimed time and time again above the cities of
the horde:

"Imbecile! You destroy one shard, and another will take it's
place! You fall in battle, and we strengthen!"

The troll had heard something in Grugdish that he had never heard
before:

Desperation.

"Why doesn't he just take control of me like he has before?" Zuhk
wondered. Although barely noticeable at best, Zuhk detected a
diminishing in the demon's interference as the shard broke.
Finally a solution to rid Grugdish of Zuhk's mind was in sight.

Zuhkinjo firmly planted his foot on the fallen scourges chest and
yanked out his spear from it's rotting gut in satisfaction.
Zuhkinjo's body was becoming increasingly stronger, but his mind
remained weakened by the demon, he was pained to know he was a
threat to his Grim brethren in this state. With this feverish
purpose now set in his mind, he would assault the next shard,
however Zuhk's new-found optimism suddenly became fear, as
Grugdish spouted his next words:

"Rotten troll bastard! ...You think you are winning?! I am your
EYES, Zuhkinjo! If I die, YOU DIE WITH ME!"

The hunter's eyes once contained the wildness of a beast, however
the demon had tamed him. Zuhk stared down at the arrow-filled
body with tired half-open eyes, and craned his neck back up at
the army that surrounded the shard. The scourge never seemed to
stop comming through. He lazily plucked an arrow from his quiver
and pulled his bow taught, however he failed to release it.

In that moment, his feelings betrayed him in the worst way. His
eyes met with his target scourge, however it did not charge him
as the others had. The two looked at eachother in mutual respect.

Both minds rotted, tortured, controlled.

"They are now your brethren. Do you understand? Embrace your
gift, it will be what spares you when the living falls."

Grugdish spoke to him softly with a higher sense of confidence,
as if he were speaking to a child.

Zuhkinjo's eyes widened as the trance snapped, the scourge
immediately began to run forward. He let the arrow go, and
watched the rotting body fall limp to the ground after it plunged
deeply into it's chest.

The burdoned troll's eyes became tired again, his stare fixated
forward into nothing as he sat down heavily in thought. The few
he could kill alone no longer seemd to push Grugdish out of his
mind, but his next step was clear. He needed to either call upon
the Grim to help bring down the the masses of scourge, or destroy
himself along with Grugdish before he became one of them.

"One ah dem..." He flinched at the thought.

The scourge had been pushed back, and for the most part,
Kel'thuzaad's minions returned to the plaguelands. Except for a
small few.

The troll's eyes and the area around them were blackened, seared
by the demon. The smile Zuhk was known for remained, although
there was something insincere, even sinister about it. Grugdish
had broken the stalemate for Zuhk's mind, and so their roles were
traded. The demon now maintained the body without the twitching
that Zuhk had always failed to mask. He commanded the mind with
ease, with the exception of Zuhk taking control for short
durations, much like Grugdish did in the past.

"First thing is first." The troll's voice contained much greater
confidence when Grugdish used it. "All that oppose must die."

"You speak ah da Grim?! One controlled body cannot bring dem
down, idiot!" The troll's voice rang loudly in Grugdish's mind.

Grugdish smirked, his answer in a mocking tone. "It was a matter
of time until you were on the other side of 'the mind.' Tell me,
how does it feel to be helpless?" He laughed cruely.

"And you're right, troll. It is not that simple...such a thing
must be done from within... although it would be more enjoyable
if I didn't have to mimic your ridiculous accent....

...one soul at a time..."

[Warneshi]

Warneshi watched the troll from the distance, it was odd the way
this one delt with his demon. Chavies had laid dormant for some
time, only every now and then could Warneshi feel the soul of
another in the little corpse. But this one, this one's soul was
tied up with the invader, almost as if it was simply part of what
this troll was.

Warneshi waited for a bit, watching the troll slay scourge, he
was good at it, that was for sure. It was when he stopped slaying
them that Warneshi took an even greater interest, the scourge
were well aware of the crazy one's presence, but they did not
move at him. Watching and waiting, Warneshi thought he saw a
reconization of kinship in their eyes.

The scourge charged, and Warneshi had seen enough. Even as
Zuhkinjo came to his senses and started loosing arrows into the
oncoming scourge, Warneshi was amongst their ranks like a
dervish. Spinning his blades two and fro, sending parts of
scourge soldiers in every direction. When the all the scourge lay
dead Warneshi made his to Zuhkinjo, this one now intrigued the
Tyrant, and he wished to know more.

"Now explain to Warneshi what it iss you are doing with thesse
scourge that makess them see you as a brother, and what iss it
you are mumbling about?"

[Zuhkinjo]

Zuhkinjo maintained his state of obliviousness, staring off into
nothing. He spoke slowly and whimsically:

"He's always been der...we share da same eyes..." The strange
troll snaps out of his short trance. Exhausted, he looks up at
Warneshi while still sitting.

"He takes more and more of Zuhk from himself...what he takes, he
nah know." He thinks to himself with a hint of confusion in his
expression, and then points at one of the many slain scourge in
front of him. "Mind...soul...whateva it is, it make Zuhk feel
like one ah dem. One ting is fah sua...Grugdish be winnin'. If ya
see him try ta harm any Grim, Warneshi must know ta put him down.
Until den...Zuhk hope killin dese scourge be enough."

Warneshi could tell Zuhk's last statement was that of false hope,
one that even Zuhk did not believe.

[Warneshi]

Warneshi smiled as the crazy troll spoke. It was an interesting
predicement he was in. It seemed the demon was more scourge in
nature then nether. Very odd indeed, Warneshi decided he would
watch this one very closely.

Warneshi listened to Zuhkinjo's request and leveled his eyes at
the troll.

"If you losse control, Warneshi will not slay you, but he will
take something from you, and keep it till control over your
worsse half can be learned."

Warneshi gave Zuhkinjo a wicked grin to further express his
intentions before calling Ses'Thur to his side and making his
long trip back to his embassy.

The wind howled in the night sky of the Desolace, whipping the
kicked up dirt into the possesed troll's hand as he shielded his
eyes, his other hand dragging the bloodied corpse of an elf child
by the leg. The body scraped against the ground roughly as
Grugdish walks, burning and tearing it's reddened skin. It's face
still stuck in an expression of extreme horror, although hardly
recognizable among any race. Through the storm, a silhouette of
an orc appeared, a young adult at best.

"Tank da Gods I finds someone! Hey, what yous got der?"

The orc frowned a bit upon seeing the corpse more closely, but he
still appeared desperate for help.

"Anyways, I's lost, you know way to Shadowprey Village?"

The possessed troll smirked at the orc, approaching him as he
spoke.

"Your mind is weak, like this one is. I will make use of yours as
well." The troll spoke clearly to the confused orc, who began
backing away slowly. The demon dropped the elf child, making a
loud thud against the dirt, and lunged at the orc, grabbing the
temples of his head tightly and pulling his head near his. As he
opened his jaw, a blue fog poured out into the horrified orc's
nostrils, forcing his eyes to roll in the back of his head. Zuhk
retracted his own head from the orc's, still holdin him by the
head. The orc became calm and spoke back.

"What would you have me do?"

The demon cackled loudly, his voice booming like the thunder of
the storm that surrounded them. It was Grugdish's first time to
control more than one body at a time. Yet, he stopped abruptly.
Zuhkinjo suddenly awoke, changing roles with the demon.

Zuhk became terrified, unable to register where he was, what he
was doing, and why he held this possessed orc by the temples. The
orc sneered as he struggled against the awoken troll, growling
something in a demonic tongue.

He could feel the orc's soul in confusion, trapped like Zuhkinjo
had almost permanently become. Tears streamed down the troll's
cheeks for the first time since he was a child. The orc screamed
to be released, and he would give the orc what he could not bear
to give himself.

Zuhk stood over the orc, his eyes grew wide and desperate. The
orc flailed at Zuhkinjo visciously as the troll took a tighter
grip of the orc's face, lunging at his eyes with his tusks. Blood
spirted wildly into the air, mingling a red mist with the flying
dirt onto Zuhkinjo's face. Swiftly, with his tusks still nearly a
foot deep into the orc's sockets, he jerked his hands to one
side. The orc's shrieks were instantaneously stifled, as his body
becomes lifeless.

Nearly a minute passed, and the troll remained holding the corpse
up by his hands and tusks, seemingly paralyzed. His eyes, inches
above the orc's scalp, stared into the sandy horizon. He let go
of the body, which slid off his tusks and slumped to the floor
heavily. He began to walk forward in no particular direction,
unable to look anywhere but ahead. His voice was weak, barely
rising above the noise of the wind.

"Ya be free... Free..."