Origin of Legends

Beginning: The Old Monster, Pt.1

"Mako! I applaud old friend, you took him out with a single swing!" said the grizzled dwarf ranger. The small group came together. A Large man named Mako stood tall over the corpse of a cultist that had been cleanly split in two. His clothes were tight as his muscles bulged, and scars littered his body. A large axe hung at his side, glowing runes were engraved into the blade and down the shaft.

"If I didn't have the Brave Edge I don't believe I'd be able to keep up with the rest of you to be honest." Mako exclaimed, rolling his shoulder, feeling the kinks in his aging bones.

A small and graceful elven woman named Grisania walked up, putting her spellbook into its case at her hip.

"Nonsense Mako, You certainly aren't old. You're only... 50 correct? I know you humans live to be much older than that." Said Grisania.

There was a slam as the 4th member of the group slammed into the ground from the wall. His long arms scraped along the floor until he was standing almost at his full height. Nearly his entire body was covered in dark gray fur, and he carried a large glaive at his side. Ver'ahn the Bugbear, cleric of Hruggek.

"Good to see you come out of the shadows Ver'ahn." said the ranger, as he put the arrow he'd been carrying intk his quiver before he looked down the passageway to the main hall that they were expecting to find the remaining cultists getting ready to perform the summoning ritual.

"We need to move Maruk." said Ver'ahn with his near growl of a voice. He began walking towards the door and the rest of the group nodded to eachother. Maruk and Grisania both wanted to get this over with so they could get to the tavern and head home to see their families. Mako however had a wave of unease hit him. Something was wrong and he didn't know why. His instincts were sounding the alarm and as his eyes were drawn to the door. In a split second decision he sprinted at it, knocking the party aside as his mind nearly clouded in his adrenaline kicked into high gear.

Smashing through the door he came face to face with a single man holding onto something with his back turned, standing inside a circle that was cracked by fissures in the ground. Surrounding him were hundreds of corpses, the remaining cultists they had been tasked to hunt. Then something washed over Mako, piercing his adrenaline focus as his pulse quickened. It was fear. The man inside the room seemed to be death himself as unnatural green eyes locked onto him and he saw what the man was holding on to. A single corpse was in his grasp, the face and front of the skull completely chewed off.

The cultists had summoned a demon into the man.

Mako couldn't move any closer. He tried to step towards the demon, but he couldn't even twitch a muscle in his direction. He watched with creeping dread as the Demon held up a single finger, the mouth curling in a bloody sneer as blades in the room began to levitate into the air and pointed their way behind Mako.

Absolutely not, Mako thought.

He may not be able to muster the courage to take a step towards the Demon yet but he could step away. Turning around he scanned behind him to find the old temple hall was shoddily constructed, especially near the doorway. Two braces held up the sagging wall above the doorframe. The stone was barely held in place. A pained look crossed his face as he looked up to see the terrified faces of his party members but it was as if he was seeing them in slow motion. Grisania was still on her knees but she already had a signature energy at her fingertips as she was getting ready to cast a spell. Maruk the Ranger had rolled onto his feet and already was drawing back the longbow of his with an arrow. Ver'ahn was using the glaive to stand faster, his long arms beginning to channel the energy of his God.

None of them would make it in time and Mako knew that. Standing in place he crouched, feeling his massive muscled legs tighten as he launched himself forward and took out both pillars holding the wall with a single swing. Instantly the wall caved in on itself and Mako threw himself back, narrowly avoiding the slew of debris.