Return To The Dead Swamp
October 10th, 2005 by Salem
Chapter 5 – The Gemini Twin HexBlade Masters, Salem and Selene arrive at the edge of the secret place known only as the Dead Swamp. The two suns were at their highest, hitting everything with a powerful light. Christina lands nearby as the twins dismount their horses. All the animals were very uneasy being this close to the swamp for they could feel the evil that dwells in its black waters and lifeless trees. “You will stay here with the animals and wait for us to return.” Instructs Selene to Christina as the GullBlade transforms back to seagull form. “But!” began Christina only to be cut off by Salem, “No buts about it. Selene and I are the only ones who can safely enter and leave the Dead Swamp. You will die the moment you touch the waters. It is best you stay here with the animals.” Christina nods her head in agreement. “And can you please clean the mud off Syntax.” Salem takes the shaking Pawn from her shoulders and puts him on Skyclap’s saddle. “We need the LightBlade and the KeyBlade, Pawn” requested Salem. Pawn takes a moment to think about the things his owner asked for then starts to yawn, opening up the small void to the sound of falling sand as both the LightBlade and KeyBlade exit and land on the ground with their tips in the soil. Selene pulls the LightBlade out of the ground as Pawn closes the void. Salem grabs the KeyBlade and places it on a hook on her belt next to her GunBlade in its leather scabbard. The twins have learned long ago that they cannot talk while walking in the Dead Swamp, so they say Good Luck to each other and start to walk into the darkness where not even the sun light will go. Christina and the animals could not do anything but watch the twins as they walk into the darkness and then vanish from view. Christina looks at Syntax, “How do you feel about a haircut?”
It has been an hour since they left Christina and the animals behind. It was bad enough to come to the swamp every four years; here they were again only after 5 days. Selene with the map leading the way with Salem following behind, but this time, Salem does not have a ten pound pack on her back. Selene stops without warning causing Salem to bump into her. Selene points on the map to show Salem a drawn picture of 2 odd shaped trees. The twins look around for trees that match the picture. Selene waves the LightBlade around so the light would spread over the area. Salem finds the trees and turns to tap her sister on the shoulder who turns and checks with the picture as Salem grabs the KeyBlade and aims at the spot between the trees. Salem turns the KeyBlade as if it were in an invisible keyhole and starts to turn as the space between the trees starts to do the same. It appears to be a very realistic painting turning until it folds up like a paper fan showing a fancy wooden door. Salem puts the KeyBlade back on the hook as she grabs for her GunBlade. The twins approach the door with caution and step on the solid ground before the door. Selene grabs the doorknob as Salem takes aim with the GunBlade ready to fire at anything that might come flying out. Selene pulls the door open as a blinding light from the other side meets their eyes.
The twins’ eyes adjust to the new light as they step into a large room. The room was not like anything the twins have ever seen. Looks kind of like their room back at the temple but the temperature was cool and very relaxing. The scene outside the windows was not the swamp, but of a beach with clear blue water continuing all the way to the horizon. There were very wide chairs in this room and another room could be seen with a lot of small doors in it. The twins continued into the main room when a small round creature making a strange sound suddenly comes from behind one of the very wide chairs. Salem brings her GunBlade up into a defensive position ready for any attack the small circular animal might do, however it just continues to move around on the floor as if it had not seen them continuing to make the strange noise. “Somehow I do not think that thing is dangerous,” observes Selene as she watches it move head on to a wall and continues to hit it as it slowly turns and continues to travel around the room. Also in the room were things the twins had never seen before. There was a glass covered thing holding 3 discs with pictures on them and on a very low table in front of the wide chair was neatly cut parchment put together to look like a book with very lifelike paintings of naked women on it. Salem touched the parchment but could not figure out how the paintings were made. “There are no brush marks or raised ridges of paint. Never seen paintings this well done before,” continued Salem as she put the parchment down. Also on the parchment were symbols in neat rows. “That is obviously parchment from one of the other worlds Death visits,” concluded Selene. On the wall was a frame with no painting in it. “I guess he enjoys black enough to have a picture of it,” joked Salem as she looked at the frame and waits for the small round creature to pass by her foot. The waves of the ocean could be heard clearly but somewhat muffled. Selene approached a window and found a very clear glass was there with no flaws nor did it distort the view like the glass on their windows at home. “Yes. This place is full of things not of our world, Salem” said Selene as her sister took a closer look at the thing with the discs.
Without warning, an image of people appeared in the frame on the wall with a very strange noise, and what was really shocking was the people in the image were moving!! Salem quickly brought her GunBlade back up to a defensive position again as Selene activated her WitchBlade forming the gauntlet and long sharp knives on each of her 5 fingers ready to defend herself. “You think that frame trapped those people?” asked a shocked Salem to her sister. Before Selene could answer, a booming laughter echoed in the room coming from above them. The twins looked up to see Death holding a small black object and laughing. “You girls are so primitive, it is very, sadly, funny!” said Death as he continued to laugh. “Close your trap now, Death, or else we will have to destroy it!” ordered Salem. “A trap?!! Oh fuck!” Death started to laugh even more, “You poor things!! That is called a Television. It is meant to entertain, not trap.” Death was now laughing so much he falls over on the floor he was standing on. “Oh shit! My fucking sides hurt!!” laughed Death. Selene deactivated her WitchBlade and took a better look at the frame with the moving image. A strange language was coming out of it and the people who were on it before had been replaced by a man sitting in a room with more moving image frames behind him speaking to them in the same strange language and more symbols around him. Salem still did not drop her guard. She has no wish to end up as another prisoner of the frame. The images kept changing but the voice of the same man remained. “I had enough of the news,” said Death as he pushed something on the black object he held in his hand. The frame went silent and the moving image went back to where it was before. “If only you knew how stupid you two looked,” said Death as he made his way down the steps near where he was standing. “Welcome to my home ladies. I take it that you are here because you checked the KingBlade Chamber and found nothing there?” said Death with a smile on his fleshless face. “Actually, we already knew it was gone before we got your note,” said Selene as she checked the back of the frame trying to figure out how such a thing was possible. “What the Hell is that creature moving around the room?” asked Salem still waiting for an attack to come from anywhere. “That’s not a creature; it’s a robot vacuum cleaner. Intelligent people call it a machine. It’s from one of the more modern worlds I occupy,” said Death as he lifted up the black object again and pushes on one of the raised blocks that was on it causing the thing with discs on it to start making a noise. It was loud and it sounded as if some woman was singing using the strange language again. “Music, ladies?” asked Death, “No? I guess you are not music lovers.” Death uses the black object again to stop the noise.
“We are here to ask you to help us search for the KingBlade,” said Selene as Death set the black object down on the low table. “So you have no clue who might have taken it? OH WILL YOU FUCKIN RELAX SALEM! Nothing here will attack you! I love my place too much to wreck my stuff in a fight,” said Death. “We have one clue but we need to gather a party first before seeing Terra,” explained Selene. “Terra?” repeated Death, “That old crow? Let me see what you got.” Salem, with her GunBlade still in one hand, reached into her belt pouch and pulls out the stone. Death takes it without hesitation and looks at it making “Hmm” sounds. After 10 minutes, Death looks up at Selene with a look of shock on his skull face, “I do not believe it! This couldn’t be.” “What is it?!” asked Salem. “You girls fell for it again. I have no fucking idea what this is,” said Death as he throws it back at Salem. “Look, are you going to help retrieve the KingBlade or not?” asked an annoyed Salem. “Well of course. You think I like the idea of being some mortal’s slave?! You girls just wait here while I change for the trip. Can’t go out like this. I’ll get too many people wanting to take pictures with me and wanting my autograph,” said Death as he heads to another door to the left of the large windows “Feel free to get whatever you want from the kitchen.” Death stops short of the door he was heading towards and turns, “The kitchen is that room over there. You can find food there. None of those doors lead to any traps or other worlds. They are only cabinets for storing food or things for food,” Death turns back to the door and enters it. “Should we trust him?” asked Salem. Selene enters the kitchen with WitchBlade ready just in case.
After opening a few doors, Salem decides to open the doors on the large white box. She opens the top door first to find something shocking. “Death found how to keep winter in a box!” she said out loud as Selene rushed to her to see this amazing thing. The door Death had entered 30 minutes before started to open, Salem and Selene’s attention moved from the box with winter in it to the door. A naked man walks out of the door and turns to the twins with open arms stretched out. “Like my new body? Took me a while to get it perfect, I bet you can already think of a hundred things to do with my third leg here,” said the man with Death’s voice. Salem, raising her GunBlade, “I can think of one thing to do with it already.” “I lost my appetite,” said Selene, “Would you please put something on.” “Don’t you like what you see? I spent a lot of time on the parts you would really want to use,” said Death as he turns with his arms still stretched out. “You mean you plan to travel with us nude?” suggested a shocked Salem. Death looks at her, “Fuck no. I’m not stupid. My clothes are up in my room. Not my fault you perverts want to look at me.” At this, the twins quickly turn away from him. “Then go dress,” ordered Salem. Instead they both heard Deaths fleshy footsteps get closer to them causing them to turn back to his direction to see he was now walking towards them. “What?…” said Salem as the rest of her words was lost in the shock of the human Death coming closer to them. “Selene, I always thought you were the better looking twin,” said Death as he closed the gap between them. Both Salem and Selene got their Blades and brought them up to attack positions. “OK, ok. I was only trying to scare you,” said Death as he turns and walks to the steps that lead back up to the second level.
More time had passed as the twins wait for Death to return, hopefully clothed. Salem had finally found the food and was making something to take back to Christina while Selene, the ever curious one, had picked up the robot vacuum cleaner to see how it worked and how such a thing was accomplished. “You know, it is not a good idea to be messing with things that are not of our world,” warns Salem as she puts the food in one of the containers she found in one of the other cupboards. “I just find it amazing that there are worlds that exist alongside ours that have mastered technology to this level. In the thousands of years we have lived sister, there have not been any real advances in technology in our own world,” said Selene. “I can only guess that different worlds progress in different ways,” said Salem as she reenters the main room and looks at the frame with images moving on it again but the sound was turned down. Selene figured out how to use the small black object with trial and error. Selene was very amazed to see the images of people riding in things with wheels and not needing horses. “I wish I could understand what they were saying. What wonderful things a technologically advanced people have to talk about,” said Selene as a black man appears in the frame holding a small object to his head and his tongue hanging out saying, “Wasssss uuuuuuup!” “My sister, the scientist,” said Salem as she sat down on the very wide chair. “Are you not amazed at all of this? The things man can do without the aid of Blades or magic?” said Selene as she found a way to look inside the small machine. “I am sure there are also worlds where man still walks the world naked and killing things with clubs and has only grunts to communicate with,” says Salem. “There are a few worlds like that,” said Death as he finally comes out of his room on the second level carrying a large strange object with a handle on top.
Death was dressed in strange clothing, the same clothing the twins seen worn by the technologically advanced people in the frame. “I had to do some shopping seeing that all I had was long black death cloaks,” said Death as he comes back down the steps. “And what is that you have with you?” asked Salem. “This? Well, most people would call it luggage. It’s for transporting clothing on trips,” said Death with a patronizing tone in his voice, “I think it’s best I choose a name other then Death. You know, just to complete my new image.” “What would you want to be called? Titan the Mighty?” suggested Selene. “Gin the Creator?” said Salem. “Astrid the Perfect?” guessed Selene. “No, no, no,” said Death. Then the room was filled with Death’s booming voice as he said, “You may call me!.” Then Death’s voice suddenly turned back to its normal level as he said, “Jarody. I can guaranty that there will never be another person in history named Jarody. It’s a perfect very rememberable name. So, shall we be off?” The death now known as Jarody carrying his luggage and the twins make their way out the front door as the small robot vacuum cleaner makes it way around the main room again. They exit and step once again into the knee high black waters filled with decay as the fancy door behind them is covered again by a sideways picture of the swamp then the picture turns right side up and becomes real again. The three start the hour long walk out of the Dead Swamp.