[h1]A Dastardly Day[/h1]
[hider=A Silly Goose]
After buying the book of dastardly magic, Tku found himself researching it with some fervor. He believes that its content may be greatly influential for his time in Palapar. Days of search led him to leaning on a questionable Zeno, Mathijs Wolter Van der Waal, for assistance. It was well known to those who partook in the dark arts knew his name well. He was also known to have a devious, mercenary like barring to himself but Tku was not one to judge purely on rumors. [i]I mean, maybe he would take advantage of me when I was a mere student on a scholarship but now that we are closer to colleagues, I should approach with less fear![/i] Tku thought as he entered the meeting room in the grand library.


He set to book in Zeno Waal’s hand and…Mathijs takes the book and disappears in a puff of smoke, cackling evilly.

”Well shit,” was all Tku could say. He simply went about his day with an air of shock.


A little over a week later, Tku still felt the sting of his most expensive possession being snatched by the most dubious of Zenos. While he was wallowing in his room, painting the visage of his dastardly book, he received a knock at his dorm. Answering with an artist's smile, he looked down to see a goose. 

”Are you here for a portrait?”

“Honk!”

”I see.”

And Tku did see! A satchel was attached to its back. He brought over his dinner, a nice fillet of white fish, and held it in his hand as he removed the parcel from his back. A message and a tube were found. Unrolling it he found… A bunch of gibberish in a language he was not proficient.

”Oh, a literal goose chase.”

“Honk!”

"Do you need a signature—” The goose left abruptly without a honk.

“—oh, well have a good Victendes, Eshiran be with you." He shut the door and thought about how to get hold of Kaureerah of the eeaiko Zeno. "Maybe she will send me swimming this time." He tapped his chin and considered, would she just take the book for legitimate concern? Probably, Tku speculated.


Tku went on his registry, attempting to find somewhere else who may translate Akiran for him. It was only a moment before he saw a tidbit from Roslyn. "Oh Kaureerah's sister has made it into town, I guess we could lend each other a hand."

"Ring ring, Keearah Hakeelah Wenhan. This is Tku, friend and artistic rival of Kaureerah. I have a piece of Illuminated script from your region and was wondering if you be willing to earn some money translating it." Tku placed the script on a podium. Might as well get some sketch practice in.

"Hy-dee-ho?" answered a chirpy little eeaiko voice that sounded just a bit like Kaureerah's. Then, Tku spilled out a whole bunch of words. "Oh, my seester." There was a pause. "Yoo coold heve left aut te rest. Yoo hed mee et 'mauney'." She provided him with an odd-looking address near Bath House and told him to be there at 2:00 HE.

"Okay, see you there and I assume you don't want your sister knowing so no worries on that. I heard of you through the cutest hendlish girl."

Tku, being a man of integrity, heads over there without telling anyone because why would he worry about that?

It was nearing sunset when Tku arrived in the area. There were the mansions of Bath House, the beach houses, businesses, and little shelters where people camped out for the day to hang their hammocks. It was still very warm, being early Rezain, and most of the beachgoers were now at the stage of lazing about, barbecuing, and getting in their last bit of sunbathing. Some were already heading back for the day. Some were in the Swirl, where Keearah's sister had worked.
[/hider]
[hider=72 3⁄4 Maritime Lane, Bath House]
[b][i]72 3⁄4 Maritime Lane, Bath House[/i][/b]

The first trick was to find this so-called 'Maritime Lane.'

Tku approaches 2 children on the beach, they always knew the going about, "Excuse me, may I have a moment of your evening?"

The children were busy playing 'sneaky shark' around a trio of scantily clad women when Tku asked for their attention. Though Tku was unaware of what they were doing.

They looked up annoyedly. "Now we're busted, old man!"

"Yeah! We waus eenveeseble aunteel nauw!"

"Whatchu want, unc?"

Ah the throws of youth! How creepy. "Unc? I am not an unc yet!" he wanted to argue but that is the definition of unc.

"I was wondering if you knew of this address, 72 3⁄4 Maritime Lane, Bath House? I don't come here very often."

The two boys considered. "Hmm," pondered Kebaub aloud.
"Well, Maritime is just what we call anything that's right on the sea. It's like..."

"E feke road!" Kebaub interrupted.

Luuras nodded. "Just so."

He furrowed his brow. "That number is pretty wacky, though."

"Thees ees..." Kebaub began counting on his fingers. "Ebaut 40 here."

"Yeah, that lil beach shelter," Luuras added helpfully.

"72 woold bee weeeyyyyy aup there." Kebaub pointed north. The two boys looked at each other, eyes widening. "Near Shipwreck Bay," they both whispered, in their different accents: Mycormish and Keeleeakuan, if Tku had to guess.

Tku nodded his head, "I see, that's quite the ominous sounding place. I guess that is where I'm heading?" He scratched the side of his head, "Well thank you, take this for ruining your shark hunt," he handed them an incantor. "Take care!" we waved to them as he left.

"WHOAAAA!!!" the boys exclaimed. "Unc is loaded!"

"Thenk yoo!"

"Good luck!"

"Hey, let *mee* see eet!"

"Okay, but just for a second."

"Hey, weyt e meenoote -"

The waves and the breeze, and the sounds of distant revelers took the rest of their words away. Tku soon found himself in an area where the beach narrowed to a small ledge at the base of great cliffs. The shelters were, indeed, numbered, but Tku had failed to notice it. He continued on his way for quite a distance until he reached an area where there was no reliable beach at all. Large waves rolled up the narrow band of sand to thump against the base of the cliffs.

There was a great deal of debris scattered about and, in the near distance, the skeletal frame of a shipwreck, and a second one in the distance.

"How can I still be this bad at directions? You think I started traveling because I took the wrong boat. Twice." He laughed at his own inadequacy.

"Do I call? Is it there? No harm in looking in." Tku set forth into the shipwreck.

Inside of the shipwreck, he found a small plaque: 72 ¼.

"So they are numbered," Tku nodded in surprise before heading off to find the actual address. Somewhere between was a sea elephant trying to come for him and he simply avoided. He had no time for such distractions.

Finally, he came upon the plaque. It was marked 72 3⁄4. Deliverance!...? It was a brick wall that looked to have once been part of the foundations of a seaside mansion that had perched on the cliffs above before collapsing with this section of the cliff. The plaque looked... relatively new, however. 

"I should offer to repair the cliff side, I would hate for this to fall into the ocean... Oh, it already fell. Shame." The plaque caught his eye. It was known that everything else was rather old and was off putting. But who was he to judge someone sprucing up their plaque?

He stood there. The waves rolled in. Gulls circled overhead. The sun inched towards the horizon.

"Maybe it is like the groove," he tried pressing through it, most likely like an idiot.

For a moment, it seemed like he might be right. There seemed to be more to this. However, it seemed like he couldn't quite make it through, so he ended up just kind of walking in place, forehead pressed against a brick wall.

“Maybe... more momentum?” He thought out loud. "Time to just go for it," Tku went back a few paces and prepared to run into the wall. "If someone is here I ask that you stop me if I am going to smash against the wall, I bruise like a banana." He started to take off, having believed in the wall.
[/hider]
[hider=The Hokey Pokey]
Tku nearly lost his balance as there was momentary existence. Then, he tumbled through the wall. It was... some sort of illusion. Inside was... a home. There were stacks of books, and some magic junk, and a lot of candles and incense sticks burning. There was a small natural pool converted into some kind of tub. An octopus rested inside of it. There appeared to be some sort of low-backed wicker chair covered in blankets, and it was right beside a large comfortable-looking sofa. On the sofa was... a woman. Well, not quite a woman. She was a girl, upon closer examination. Rather young and rather eeaiko. She was sipping tea. There was a second mug, steaming, right in front of her on a small round table sculpted from driftwood and some glassy material.

"It's amazing how hard illusions tend to be nowadays," He shook the sensation of running into a wall off him as he took in the majesty of the room. "How rather cozy, are you the owner of this space?" he waved at the octopus before taking a seat with the young girl.

"You have a knack for theatrics! Are you perhaps Keearah?" Tku inquired.

"I em perhaups Keearah eef yoo aur perhaups Tekoo."

"Well, I am Tku so you are Keearah, wonderful place this is." he gestured to the rest of the place. He took up the cup, detecting for poisons and the like before sipping, "Now, how much are you looking for translating the piece of illuminated script or is it a case by case situation?"

She did not rise, but rather stayed seated, quite snuggly under her blanket. "Eet eesn't poisauned," she assured him. "Yoo're meking e concentreteeng fece. There's oonly waun reesaun too doo thet befoore dreenkeng tee." She placed her cup on the end table and smiled, pushing up with one hand and holding the other out. "Pess me thet toobe. Eet looks lyke e good waun."

"My apologies, being a Tan-Zeno comes with some extra precautions according to my superiors. Here you are," He pulled out the tube and handed it over to her. He found himself jealous of how comfy she was. It was a lovely day for such blankets.

Keearah's eyes lit up as it touched her fingers, and she brought it quickly up beneath her nose and ran her fingers along it. Her pupils and fingertips flicked back and forth as she read. "Thees ees rere." She shook her head appreciatively. "Dengeroos." She furrowed her brow and glanced up at him. "Are yoo soore yoo waunt too caunteenue?"

Tku stopped to think. Many thoughts came and went but his question was to her, "Would it be dangerous for you to translate?" Tku was willing to risk himself on this adventure as one must when dealing with dastardly magic but he would never risk a young girl's life.

Keearah smirked. "Seet dauwn besyde me." She patted the open area of the sofa. "Yoo cen protect e helpless fer meyden."

Tku set his cup down and took a seat next to her, "I will do my best." Tku was rather comfortable but he was starting to draw to excite his manas to ready them for what might happen.

"Yoo knoow daurk megeec, ryght?"

"A little," Tku confirmed.
"Thees ees e gyde too hauw too open e daurk megeec tome." She held it up to the light that filtered in through a natural window, now covered with glass. "Eet seys you maust caumplete e speciel saummauneng dence end yoo weel be geeven e key." She cleared her throat. "Aur yoo redy?"

"Weyt!" she exclaimed after just a moment had passed. "Foorst, eet sesy yoo maust meke te speciel saumauneng coorcle." She pointed to an open spot on the smooth stone flooring that was covered with a round area rug. "Jaust moove thet. Yoo cen doo eet there."

Tku stood up, taking off his satchel and setting in next to her, "If it is dancing than I was born ready," He smirked and let out small laugh...

"A summoning circle, how large exactly?" Tku said as he moved the rug and went back to his bag to start getting his painting supplies. The Devil's brush should do for this application.

"Ebaut the syze auf the raug thet waus there," she confirmed.

She swallowed. "Thees ees... e rether strenge dence." She looked excited, but increasingly nervous. "Bee... cerefool."

He followed what instructions she could give for the creation of the summoning circle and readied himself for the dance, "I will be but we can stop if you feel to nervous, Keearah. You're safety is more important than a dance."

Keearah nodded bravely. She... began.

[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FU8gSz8EZNw&list=PLPJny5xpzQqS0uk4bb_Q5wPjnsQRaFKgW&index=8]♪[/url]

"Eye weell try too seeng et, baut eet weell moostly jaust be nerretioon, Eye'm efreid." She cleared her throat and began.

[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lZwy_yGVeM&list=PLPJny5xpzQqS0uk4bb_Q5wPjnsQRaFKgW&index=9]♪[/url]

Tku readied himself.

"Foor reference, eet seems too be taulkeng ebaut the saummauneng coorcle." Then, she began.

"Yoo poot yoor ryght aurm een," she chanted solemnly. "Yoo teke yoor ryght aurm aut."

"Put your right arm in and take your right arm out" he mumbled as he followed the instructions with surprising grace. It was suppose to be a dance, after all.
Keearah nodded solemnly and continued. 
"Yoo poot yoor ryght aurm een, end yoo sheke eet aull ebaut. Yoo doo the Hokey Pokey end yoo toorn yoorself eraund, thet’s whaut eet’s aull ebaut!"

[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpharBeg9XA]♪[/url]

He shook right arm wildly, as expected of the ritual. He spun on his heels to finish the next part of the dance.

Keearah looked genuinely unsettled, but she continued. 
"Yoo poot yoor left aurm een, yoo teke yoor left aurm aut. Yoo poot yoor left aurm een, end yoo sheke eet aull ebaut. Yoo doo the Hokey Pokey end yoo toorn yoorself eraund, thet’s whaut eet’s aull ebaut!"

He followed them, they were rhythmic and rather simple but it must be the 3 components coming together that will summon the key giver. He followed her words the best he could but the hokey pokey was a challenging dance without the beat to guide him well.

As if she could sense his distress over the complex ritual, Keearah began tapping on the table top with her free hand that wasn't holding the lyrics. Why she wasn't tapping a foot wasn't quite clear. 

"Yoo poot yoor ryght foot een, yoo teke yoor ryght foot aut. Yoo poot yoor ryght foot een, end yoo sheke eet aull ebaut. Yoo doo the Hokey Pokey end yoo toorn yoorself eraund, thet’s whaut eet’s aull ebaut!"

A dark and formless smoke began to manifest in the centre of the room.

Tku finished with a flourish as he saw the smoke rise. He moved a few steps back, blocking Keearah somewhat. "It seems the call has worked."

"Yoo poot yoor left foot een," she continued, still tapping. "Yoo teke yoor left foot aut. Yoo poot yoor left foot een, end yoo sheke eet aull ebaut. Yoo doo the Hokey Pokey end yoo toorn yoorself eraund, thet’s whaut eet’s aull ebaut!"

The smoke began to coalesce into something smaller and more solid and... perhaps vaguely humanoid in shape?

The ritual was long, he should have worn better clothes for this event. When he could make eye contact with Keearah, he nodded to her that he could continue the ordeal. Was summoning a demon always this embarrassing? No wonder cazenax don't have good eyesight.

"Aulmoost there," the eeaiko murmured under her breath, bringing the song to its climax. The figure in the smoke began to radiate a fearsome demonic aura.

"Yoo poot yoor whole self een, yoo teke yoor whole self aut. Yoo poot yoor whole self een, end yoo sheke eet aull ebaut. Yoo doo the Hokey Pokey end yoo toorn yoorself eraund, thet’s whaut eet’s aull ebaut!"

Oh Lords of heaven above, he thought to himself as he dove into the smoke. He shook it off for all he could. The shaking was key!

Tku felt a burning sensation and the smoke swirled around him. For a moment, he could see and hear nothing. The moment stretched into eternity and yet was no time at all. Then, behind him, where Keearah was staring, there was… Levidan the Accursed. In miniature. Next, it was a giant toe. Then, the toe grew sharp teeth. It became a small sad man with a large 'L' hovering above his head. Keearah regarded it with horror in her eyes. She scrabbled back with her hands but didn't rise.

Tku gulped before settling his nerves the best he could, "Hello, may I ask if you have a key?" Tku was internally shitting himself but he couldn't show that because if he screamed and and then everyone would scream.

The tiny man screamed, and then he looked just like Tku. "I AM A KEY!" he shouted.

Tku froze for a second as he looked at himself, a little jealous of its scaling abilities. It took him forever to scale down models in the past he joked with himself to persevere. "So I need to acquire you?" Tku stood more confidently, all of it was an act but he needed such armor right now.

The small man nodded, and then he turned into a vaguely anthropomorphic key. Keearah's eyes widened and the jig was up. She floated free of the couch unsteadily, blankets sloughing away, and the sheets on the low-backed chair fluttered away to reveal the wicker wheelchair she presently seated herself in. She put hands anxiously to wheels. "Thet *theeng* ees Achmaladorax, the vendemaun auf -"
[/hider]
[hider=Shenanigans and Tomfoolery]
"Catch me if you can!" the tier six demon giggled. "Hoo hoo hoo!" With that, he took off out the door so quickly that he was a blur, leaving only a little puff of dust behind.

[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIWI3NyF9Nw&list=PLPJny5xpzQqS0uk4bb_Q5wPjnsQRaFKgW&index=24]♪[/url]

"Oh shit!"

"The Vendemaun of Mauckery!" Keearah finished, rolling forward anxiously. "E beeing auf aunfethaumeble pauwer..."

Tku will give chase because this was his mess. "I am so sorry and you have nothing to do with this." He grabs the tube, figuring it might be needed to catch him. He hands her a bag of Magus. "If you want to help, You'll get paid even more but no need!" his face said he very much needed help. 

"Get back here you little rat!" Tku took out, banana at the ready.

Tku was falling behind the damn demon.

[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnHmskwqCCQ]♪[/url]

Achmaladorax decides to summon marbles to trip Tku. They are chaos marbles. 😄 "Hoo hoo hoo!" he exclaims. "Better run faster, speedy Black man! Don't trip, miss cripple! Hee hee hee!"

"OH GOD OH GOD! Come here you, I have candy if you come back!"

"Wouldn't wanna... break your back."

With a little bit of an extra push, Tku dodged the potentially apocalyptic tripping hazard.

"I've trained to dodge marbles!" Tku laughed manically.

"Nimble!" Achmaladorax laughed.

Tku leaped the second.

"Tall athletic Black guy has da hops!" the demon taunted.

"Oh yeeeeaaahhh! Does his partner?" An evil smile split the lower half of his face.

Keearah did not, in fact, have the hops, because she was a paraplegic. However, She swerved out of the way.

A set of glowing coins appeared above Tku's head. "First level passed!' the demon exclaimed, and a pair of disembodied clapping hands and a laurel appeared there too, momentarily. "Great job!"

“You won’t get away for long!” Tku slid the banana and it transformed into a peel.


The demon was forced to dodge the banana peel. Tku fell a tiny bit further behind. Achmaladorax stuck out his tongue. "Nyah nyah nyah nyah booo-boooo!" he teased.

"Let's see how you like the same thing right back!" He pulled out a mirror and it... reflected the banana peel? It hurtled straight for Tku's feet.

Tku leaped the banana! 

"But how about the missus!?" Achmaladorax laughed, making a kissy face.

A small bird, pretending to be a butterfly flew by, "Best trade I have ever done."

Keearah popped a wheelie and avoided it."I was takin' it easy on her 'cause she ain't gawt no leeeeygs, I tells ya!" the demon exclaimed. "Who says we demons is heartless, huh?" 

"Much obliged," Tku thanked with a little bit of frustration. Why was he so fast?

“Catch me if you can!" he giggled. "Ha ha haaaaa!" the Vendemon taunted as they approached the outskirts of Morrento now.

Keearah started to pinch Tku, telling him that they needed to turn so she could still help in the future. Tku knew what to do though, he knew the streets of Morrento like the back of his hand. 

“This is my area!” Tku taunted back for the first time.

"Ooooh, it's a real photo finish, ladies and gents!" Achmaladorax exclaimed.

Tku glanced at the back of his hand. It... had changed, somehow?
"Hoo hoo hoo!" the vendemon laughed. "You've done well so far," he taunted, "but, up to now, I've only been using five percent of my power. Now, let's see how you fare against my...." His voice grew in volume. "Biden... BLAST!"


"Biden what?"

A giant laser blast came straight for Tku's head.

"Biden deez nutz-"

[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCkPunuEnFQ]♪[/url]

He dipped and ducked, dodged and dove. Only to drive the oddly named attack square into his chest. This was it for Tku, he would loose his life to a shit eating, mother fu—

Over his head, he saw three hearts. Before his eyes, one disappeared.

"You lose all three," came Achmaladorax's mocking voice, "you DIE. Hee hee! Hoo hoo!"
He took off again. "Gotta go fast! Oh, and you, hot wheels!"

"Great, Just fucking great" A vein popped on his head. Oh he was so annoyed but thankful to be alive. 
"Don't think you'll get any special treatment because you can't go to the bathroom properly!" Another BIDEN BLAST was sent flying past Morrento towards the distance.

She was just able to dodge the Biden Blast.
"Just kiddin'! I'd never hit a goil, mama. Don't worry!"
His legs were a literal blur as he zipped around town.
He pulled up an old lady's skirt!
He stole candy from a baby, just to see it cry!
He ran down three squirrels crossing the street, just to see them die!
He tripped an old man at the crosswalk!
He peed on a fire hydrant right in the face of a dog on a leash!
He rescued a cat from a tree!

"What is a fire hydrant?"

Then, he put it back on a higher tree branch. "Ain't I a stinker!?" 

He yanked a gold tooth out of a prostitute's mouth
He altered a sailor's tattoo to say "Jimmy ♥️" instead of "Jenny ♥️".


"Why are you so petty? Did daddy not pay attention to you? If you come here we can make the sickest prank call to another Vendemon!"

"Hoo hoo hoo!" Achmaladorax chuckled. "Sure thing, buddy!"

He turned around and zipped straight towards Tku. "Catch me, you big hunk!" He leaped into the air. “Don't let me fall!" He batted his eyelashes and blushed. "Drop me and I destroy the world."

Tku had this, he was the best catcher in all of Ersand'Enise besides maybe Dory. The laws were on his side. 

"Weeee!"

Suddenly, it was a smallish Keearah hurtling through the air. She was wearing lipstick, blush, and eyeliner. She looked rather alarmed.

Tku quickly adjusted. If it was the demon, he could win. If it was Keearah, he would smash her face with a tube. He couldn’t do that to the girl.

Keearah tumbled into his arms. She batted her lashes. She smooched him on the cheek. Then, she leapt out, turned into a vaguely anthropomorphic pickle, and ran.

Tku thought, no, knew it was the demon but he just couldn't risk that. He would have to continue his chase for even longer.

[i]SHIT[/i] Keearah swore through pinch language. [i]YOU TURNED HIM AROUND[/i] she complimented Tku. Their chase would not come to an end just yet. They still played near Morrento. The Demon was quicker, its small body gliding through the air like a sparrow. Tku was not without his methods though. The ground turned smooth and white, becoming near frictionless as Tku sped up rapidly.

"Chew on this, sucker!" Achmaladorax called, making a funny face into the wind. Suddenly, there were tons of small sharp... blocks on the ground? They were hollow and came in a number of shapes and were made of a strange material, not unlike opaque glassflower.

"Back at you!" Tku sprung them back with surprisingly squishy dirt.

"No fair!" he screeches. Reality warped for a moment so unperceivable that only the demon knew what had happened 

"Hoo hoo hoo!" He swiftly dodged. "Let's try that again. How 'bout, you, wheels?"

Keearah rolled right over them. "Ow," she taunted, deadpan. "Ow, my wheels." She rolled her eyes and rolled right over the blocks, barely slowing down. "Soo penfool." 

"Maybe not my best-considered idea," he admitted, shrugging in a comically exaggerated fashion.

He clotheslined a kid wrestling with his friends.
One dropped a coin. The demon took it and split it in two. "Now it's fair, kiddos!"
He pushed a stroller into traffic.
"Better run, mom!"
He licked a notice pole right in front of some kids and then froze it. 
"You try!" he taunted.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WITH YOU AND BABIES" Tku cried out as he nestled the stroller to the sidewalk.

"I believe that children are our future," the vendemon replied solemnly.

[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYzlVDlE72w]♪[/url]

Tku was gaining but having to fix the chaos he was causing so close to the school had slowed him down on the straightaway. He was so close but just out of reach as if even this was purposeful.

"Sayanara, suckers!" As a parting gift, he tossed out a series of rolling barrels. They seemed to have... lit fuses.

What should have been another deterrent for Tku was only seen as an opportunity. A blackberry had been picked from the demon’s soul and given to Tku. He popped it in his mouth and his muscles swelled from one side to another as he lifted the street and whipped them back at the demon. 

[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xqf8jID9TsE]♪[/url]

"Shit shit shit!" He split down the middle to dodge but before he could Keearah sandwiched him in the middle

"Oh no yop don't, yoo leettle faucker." Keearah narrowed her eyes.

The barrel bounced and rolled and...

"Kaboom!" shouted Achmaladorax. There were three hearts above his head. He stopped dead in his tracks and little twinkling stars swirled around his head. One of the hearts disappeared.
 
The moment had presented itself and the young man was poised to take it. Out came his Banana Board gliding across the cobble in excess of 100mph. He lined the tube up for victory and chanted, “BRAVERY PREVAILS OVER RAT BASTARDS!” 

But just as he had caught Achmaladorax, something changed.

Then, the demon went very still and silent. His form turned pure black. His eyes glowed a blazing white as they opened.

"NOT FUNNY!" He trembled with rage.

"I LAUGHED" Tku smiled defiantly.

The sky darkened. Steam spurted out from his nostrils. Veins bulged in his forehead.

"Soo deed Eye." Keearah smirked in between catching her breath.

Achmaladorax ground his teeth. Out of nowhere, an instance of VOID appeared. The vendemon's hand shot into it. "I'll destroy this town for it," he rumbled in his throat.

"All of it, dust." Hesitantly, reluctantly, hating every moment of it, he withdrew his arm from the VOID.

Tku stood his ground, "You won't because then that isn't funny," he smirked.


In it was a single resplendent white key: ornate and old-fashioned. The demon's eyes snapped to him. "Why I oughta..." Beneath him, reddish cracks spidered across the pavement, and a hellish hot aura roiled through the air. People ran and screamed.

"I believe you have given me the best chase I ever had," he extended his hand for the key, "May we play another game next time."

"Haha!" Achmaladorax crowed. "You're right! Though... I took it easy on you because your girlfriend can't walk. Even demons have standards, you know." He held the key out.

"Oh, wait!" he retracted it. "We need to shake hands first." He nodded solemnly. "That's part of the deal."

"Your benevolence is not lost on me, Achmaladorax," Tku extended his hand to shake, what he hid was a rubber glove on his shoe. A Rikard specialty.

An incredibly cold pulse ran through Tku at the moment they shook hands. “I expected a warmer reception!" Achmaladorax laughed at the Tku ice-block.

"Well, toodles. I must leave. My planet needs me. We'll speak again soon." He entered a portal before turning around sinfully.

"Now... how quickly can hot wheels get here to warm you up?" He waved languidly.
"I hear it's uphill the whole way... both ways."

"Of course," he kept a smile as he visibly shivered.

With that, a second VOID portal appeared above the demon. He leapt into the air and disappeared through it, but it did not close.

A moment later, there was what could only be described as... a [i]bathroom[/i] sound.

Then, from the portal, fell something large and brown. It was... a book.

[b]The Book of Dastardly Magic[/b]: [i]This old tome is covered in demonic markings. It seems unusually heavy, in both literal and metaphorical senses. However, there is a space for a key. It is also bound by powerful sealing magics.[/i]

"Oh how grotesque," his face contorted into all sorts of shapes at the thought of reaching for the book.

"Whew. Been sitting on that one a while!" came Achmaladorax's voice. "Was prairie-dogging a bit." Then, the portal closed and he was gone.
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[hider=A Crush]
Tku has successfully got a key, a book, and 2 new friends? "Not the key I was expecting, maybe a counterpart? After all, things come in pairs." Tku headed back with Keearah. He had to go clean up what happened in Morrento and give those kids their own incantors to stop a deadly duel.

Tku paid Keearah 25 Magus for the translation and 25 more for catching the Vendemon. He complimented her magic skills and collectiveness, “come by zenobucks, I’ll treat you if I’m there.”

They talked for a little bit afterward and Tku could sense she was rather far gone but not as far as Marci. Maybe it was out of pity of pure kindness but he gifted Keearah one of his few exploits so she could imbibe in a gray aberration. He would hate to see her lose more of herself. 

From Keearah’s perspective though, it was just kind. He promised to keep her safe and he did. He brought her on a grand adventure, struggling and persevering to the end. She got to smile in the face of a Vendemon and lived to tell the tale. All these conditions combined into a crush on the man.

They talked and got along quite well. Enough for Tku to spill that he was going to Palapar to support an uprising.

"yoo coold oose e tethered end there aur meny eeaiko there," Keearah openly offered

Tku was stunned, unable to respond to what she was saying.

"Eye woold naut be aut auf plece." She reinforced.

He thought about it thoroughly, weighing her participation like stones on a scale. Eventually he found it in him to allow it on a condition. "You're right, but you are learning Binding along the way."

“I em?" She blinked. "Hauw?"

"I am a Tan-Zeno, Keearah, I run seminars on binding and teach classes on limb regeneration. It's the best way to safe and be effective. I can teach you the same way a merchant did for me years ago."

Her eyes widened. "Yoo're e Tan-Zeno." She made a thoughtful face. "Thet explens e laut." She nodded.

"Eye weell loorn. Eye weell teech yoo Tethered peench lenguege."

"We can learn and improve with each other," He clasped her hand like a promise. "We'll have to figure out where your magic skill is."

"We Akrihans aulweys keep aur praumeeses."The sun was setting. The fields glowed golden under its light and a windmill creaked slowly.

"Yo unc!" shouted a small voice.

"Why you robbing the cradle?"

"Yoo cheseeng tet eeaiko tel."

Can eeaiko turn red with their complexion? Keearah certainly did her best impression. "He's naut - " she stumbled. "We're naut..."
 
He blushed and laughed it off. That is definitely what it would be like from the outside, "Run off before I slice your incantors again." 2 lines in the ground started to chase them.

"Whoa! Unc's a Tan-Zeno! Did you hear that!?"

"Wee gautte roon Luuras!"

"Eet's caumeng foor aus!"

"Enjoy your time together." Luuras couldn't resist one final tease. Then, the boys disappeared around a corner.

Keearah blinked, fiddling with her hair and the ruffles of her dress. "Aunc, huh?" she snorted. "Soo, aumm... aur yoo lyke thoorty?" She glanced up at him sheepishly. "Pleesedoon'thoortmeEye'mbedweethhoomeneges."

Tku put a hand on his heart, "You wound me Keearah, I only turned 19 2 months ago"

"Oh," she replied. "Eye'm seventeen." She turned a bit on the spot and tucked some hair behind one ear. "Cool, end saurry. Soo, eet's getting lete. Heve yoo hed deenner?"

"I have not, would you mind if I join you? We can discuss the trip over dinner," Tku offered, "I know a nice place for something quick."

"Ees et Zenobaucks?" she chirped, bouncing a bit in her seat. "Ees et? Oor doo yoo know saumtheng even better?"

"We can go there after for a treat for surviving a terrifying vandemon for but I know somewhere a little better my superiors have shown me," he looked at how bumpy and how long the path was to the city and started to level the path in front of them. "Shall we?"

She grinned. "Better then Zenobaucks!?" She let out a low whistle. "Thet's oh so very caultoored, Mr. Zeno. Saum reel good food before aur cappuccino. Teke eet ewey. Yoo've earned eet toodey." She was just a bit out ahead of him, and she twisted and shot him a wink over her shoulder.

"So very cultured," he laughed and continued down his way with her. A relaxing yet informative dinner and stepping behind the counter at Zenobucks to make her cappuccino, they were set for the night. He walked her home as the hours of Eshiran had waned into Dami's. 

"Goodnight Keearah, thank you for your company today. I quite enjoyed it, let's talk again another day." Tku saw himself off from there to start preparing lesson plans, ordering stock, and... "Oh I may need another coffee."

He had come one step closer to opening the book and secured a new ally in Palapar. It was a very sweet day.
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