[shaman]

I come to bring you...

7) Reign of the murderer

Not more than a mile away, the capital’s high towers and pyramids stood silhouetted against the burnt orange evening sky. The jungles had longs since dissolved into the shadow of the late evening and were no longer visible. And the industrialist campsite lay silently in a clearing; waiting for the final push.

Inside, most of the inhabitants were busy chattering about the battle the next day. The veteran sligs stood in their small groups solemnly preparing themselves for whatever the next day brought them. Whilst the nervous new recruits huddled en masse; some were trying for what sleep they could get or asking more experienced sligs what they could expect.

On the far side of the camp a shadowy figure approached. The slig on guard noticed the intruder and lowered his weapon over the battlement.

“Stop!” He shouted. “What d’ya want?!”

Toko was hooded and cloaked; he was shrouded in total darkness. Ignoring the slig’s warning he continued casually towards a side gate.

“Stop or I shoot”! The slig shouted.

Toko, finally obeyed and stood totally still. Then with solemn ceremony, he removed his mask and looked up at the slig on the battlements. Staring into his face, he did not blink or move a muscle, just stared intently upwards. There was a quiet sound of a gust of wind rustling through the jungle and the slig nodded, put his head on the battlements and fell into a deep sleep.

“You can come out now!” Toko yelled putting his mask back on. There was more rustling
sounds and Murphy appeared behind him from the trees.

“Where’re we going?” Murphy enquired.

“That’s the capital” Toko said pointing at the looming buildings in the distance. And with that he walked towards a small door on one side of the camp.

“Are you crazy?!” Murphy whispered. “We can’t go in there they’ll kill us! I’m a traitor now!”

Without saying a word, Toko brushed his hand down the side of the door, and it gave a
short click and swung open.

Inside there were several sligs guarding cages with some captured natives inside – most were criminals handed over to them – there was also a mudokon and a Grub stood chatting to a slig Toko and Murphy stayed in the shadows to avoid attention.
“We’ve come to collect a bounty” the Mudokon said. With that he walked over to his large Elum grunting in the corner of the room, tied to its back was Ianto, Jimmy, Tony and marley - all unconscious. Toko smiled; finally he had managed to get Ianto and Murphy to the capital.

Now there was only one person left to find... The Murderer.
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At another part of the camp, there was a huge amount of unrest. In a surprising move some native leaders had attempted to bring peace with the industrialists and they had chose this place as a meeting ground, not all of them had turned up but even with a small number of them there was an awful lot of shouting coming from the tent.
Uther sat alone in a far corner of the structure, he was a wolvark. About thirty years old, he had dark yellow skin, looked slightly unkempt and was cloaked in a brown woollen garment.

He took a deep drag on his cigar and looked around the room. His tail waved behind him and he fidgeted nervously in the presence of so many dangerous individuals.
Uther was considered by some to be one of the best mercenary’s alive. Hailing from Western Mudos he had travelled quite a lot, now he found himself in The Old Kingdom as the instrument of a plot to assassinate several high ranking creatures.

Uther surveyed the tent with keen eyes. A security camera floated ponderously over a large table over which Mudokons and grubs were arguing furiously with Glukkons and vykers. Sligs were flanking all the exits, and strictly speaking it was only Uther’s false identity as a journalist which was keeping him alive.

Uther looked at his watch; it was nearly midnight and soon the rest of his targets would arrive. He counted the occupants of the room – twenty ... including Sligs. This would be straight forward enough, and then it was off to the temple in the centre of the capital to meet his contact and receive his vast sum of Moolah...

Suddenly there was the sound of footsteps and everyone stopped talking, the atmosphere at once became much thicker as two sligs guarding the main entrance stepped aside and two Glukkons walked into the room.

“Bingo” Uther whispered to himself.

One of the Glukkons approached the table. “Gentlemen” he said. “Let’s get this underway”.


“Uther”!? The other one said in shock.

Uther went pale; he wasn’t expecting one of his old contacts to be at the meeting ... he had no empathy for him of course. But the presence of one of Uther’s old contacts would almost certainly blow his cover.

“You know him?”! One of the Mudokon chiefs said “The journalist.”

“Journalist?!” The Glukkon laughed, “He’s no Journalist, we got us a trouble maker”.

Uther swore under his breath. It was now or never. And calmly, without hesitation, , took the cigar out of his mouth and rested it on the arm of the chair. Before standing up and gripping two small pistols.

“What the fuck are you waiting for?!” A Mudokon shouted at a slig. “Take him!”

At once Uther clicked a stopwatch in his pocket, whipped out his pistols and fired. The Mudokon fell instantly backwards, the sligs raised their weapons but Uther was far too quick. Running round the tent, Firing steadily with every shot counting he tapped each one of the Sligs in the head before they could even get a clear shot.

Reloading in the blink of an eye; Uther now turned his deadly attention to the table.

“WAIT!” One of the Glukkons shouted.

Uther squeezed the triggers and amidst the screams of terror erupting from the crowd in front of him. He fired fifteen times with perfect accuracy, with the precision of a surgeon. One Vyker reached for his own weapon but Uther’s keen eyesight had caught him and the Vyker fell dead onto the table before he could pull his gun from its holster.
Silence resumed.

Uther clicked off the ticking stopwatch in his pocket.

“Nine and a half seconds.” He said. “Pretty damn good”.

In less than ten seconds, Uther found himself in front of a tent full of bodies. Each one executed as clean as the barrels of his pistols. Catching his breath, he put the smoking pistols back in his coat and gave the room one last glance for signs of life, before retrieving his cigar. Then clambering onto the table Uther reached up at the floating security camera and removed its tape; this would serve as proof that he had done the deed and also remove any evidence. Uther dropped the tape into his pocket and made for the main exit and out towards the capital.
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Toko was standing outside the detention centre where Ianto and the other Mudokons were being held. He looked at his reflection in the metal wall, looking back at him was the face of the slig he had managed to possess; Toko’s real body was on a gangway above him, chanting solemnly to keep his soul firmly in control of the slig, Murphy was up there too; protecting Toko’s body in case any security staff came into the area.

It was always unnerving to see yourself when possessing another creature, examining the slig’s body for any tell – tale signs of possession Toko straightened his mask, picked up the slig’s gun and walked to the door.

A slig voice lock greeted him as he approached the locked door, Toko put his mouth to the speaker and spoke; his voice now a low, crackling sound. The door swung open and Toko walked into the detention centre.

The room in front of him was large and dimly lit. And dominated by large metal cages, at the far end of the room Ianto, Jimmy, Tony and Marley were chatting quietly to each other.

Toko walked up to the cage, he was momentarily surprised by the Mudokon’s scared reactions. Before realising that he was in fact in a slig’s body and came across as very intimidating.

“Get back” Toko said in the mechanical voice of the slig.
Ianto obeyed, Toko aimed his gun at the lock and pulled the trigger, the lock shattered and the mudokons inside shouted in fear.

“Shut up dammit’ it’s me!” Toko ordered.

“Who?!” Marley yelled.

“Idiot, it’s me! Toko, I’m in possession of this guard! Now come on”!

The four mudokons inside looked dubious about following a slig anywhere, but with one more barked order from Toko they all clambered out of their cage.

“We need to get to the capital” Toko said through the mouth of the slig.“Follow me”. He led Ianto, Marley, Tony and Jimmy out into the main body of the camp.

“My body’s up there”. Toko said to the others, “along with another friend of mine”.

Looking up, Toko saw Murphy peer over the gangway and smile. In the background was Toko’s real body, eyes closed, and swaying rhythmically. Breathing slowly as though in a deep sleep.

“You may want to look away” Toko advised.

“Why?” Jimmy asked.

“Suit yourself” Toko said and at once de – possessed the slig; blue light flickered around the room for an instant, there was an ear splitting noise of tearing flesh and shattering bone as the slig exploded. The Mudokons gasped in disgust, and at once up on the gangway Toko’s body – now reunited with its master stood up.“I told you to look away” He smirked.