THE GHOST CLUB #3: Hemlock Jones & the Mystery of the Purloined Bones

( PART THREE )            
              
‘Twas after ceremony was tested, tried & true, that brought ol’ Toxin to his normal form.  A moment’s celebration with Hemlock giving out a mighty tiger’s roar!, to gaze upon her recognizable friend.  There would be time in nearer future’s light for sporting raised broad-handed meet in palm-to-palm.  But now ‘twas off upon the path again ‘tween winding forest thick in dappled sun above in apex high.              
               
And as they trotted, side-by-side, across an open field where vista stretching wide, could be seen the mountains where legend of a different kind awaited where their next stop of hopeful fortune was well met.                
               
Indeed, ‘twas when they breathless came upon the one of tattooed arms of pagan ink engraving bulging muscles of one known as Kendrake, who held a mallet in one hand and reached with other beefy grip to shake the Warlock Toxin’s hand.  The tiger Hemlock hesitated, eyeing him for strength a bit suspiciously.  The man whose longish locks of waving sandy hair and flowing beard, reminded them of Viking warriors they had seen in younger times. Before their powers had been given once they’d reached the age when Toxin’s Warlock heritage began, as well as his dear friend Hemlock, who then became a Witch of first level status.                
               
Kendrake, Master Forger of Weaponry                
               
Not much is known of childhood, origin.                
A very private soul; one might ask why.                
Of secrets of another hidden life,                
or simply no one’s business to begin?                
               
His eyes of jet sometimes give him away,              
though product of his craft is matched by none.              
The more intoxicated he becomes,              
 the deadlier ability to slay.              
               
He can be heard pounding metal in half              
In his shop for hours after it’s shut.                
But you could swear you’d seen him at the pub;              
when at his best, the evil drunken laugh.                
                                
The Armor              
               
The armor created withstands thousands                
of pounds of pressure, and then when it’s reached                
its limit, absorbs what it can’t reflect.                
Turns negative energy magical,                
as it grows, making it glow a bright blue.                
               
Made from many tusks of woolly mammoths.                
The energy used in a knowing hand                
Is fused into a weapon as it’s known              
by the wearer, or bolts of ice to be thrown.                
               
The shield and the sword, made literally,                
thousands of sharks teeth pounded together,                
over and over till melded into                
an almost indestructible weapon                
that only has magical properties                
if kept together in the bearer's two hands.                
               
Also needing a knowledgeable mind                
can unleash a floating school of vicious shark                
that will attack the target and not stop                
till it be dead and filling their bellies.                
Both can be used by anyone, but it                
takes a real mind in the heat to unleash                
the hell of these weapons increased.                
               
Of course, the ultimate end when wearing                
everything together is the spell:                
“Ice Sharks of Wrath”.                
               
Toxin's Spell    
     
And now the time when Toxin stood with pride,    
adorned with body girded with the sheen    
that shone like northern lights across the sky,    
and holding in each hand the sword and shield.    
     
The Warlock warrior stood to face the dell,    
to utter solemnly his Toxin’s Spell:
    
“Let rise forgotten spheres in arcane signs,    
The force and grace that’s borne in Ankh, Wadjet.”    
Where Toxin stands his hands begin to twist,    
With bend and fold the air begins to burn.    
     
“Come Ged and Nut, your joining’s sacred lines,    
Osiris Scarab torn and Isis’ Tjet!”    
The flame and spark bring shapes of gods exist,    
Assume his form and enter him in turn.    
     
“As Seth brought chaos forth so fill me here,    
Let scepter WAS invoke the Rays of Ra.”    
His armor glows in red and purple shade,    
As arcs of ancient fire strike every joint.    
     
“Anubis born to bind the dead appear,    
And bind to me your Hell Hound’s fearful maw.”    
A moment’s flash, his mouth in wolf’s remade,    
With geometric hands bends fire’s point.    
     
“Let powers meld the battle comes ahead,    
Let all that was in Egypt’s heart sustain.”    
The armor now in yellow sulfur flames,    
As Toxin’s eyes in molten lapis boil.    
     
“As Isis raised Osiris from the dead    
That Horus might regain immortal reign.”    
Great lightning bolts as final power claims,    
His voice like thunder, Earth itself recoils.    
     
“My body, Nun, to Ra-Atum present    
And bring the hoard before all must relent”    
In dark steams’ wisp, in banks of scarlet light,    
Now Toxin’s guise – the armies of the night."  
   
The woods around this mountain site that rang with Kendrake's pounding marks, now silent fell while Viking forger stood to watch the Warlock and his tiger sleuth begin to make their way down craggy slope, to start their trek with hard-pressed brows to where they know that life and death awaits.  
 
<><><><><><><><>END OF PART THREE<><><><><><><><>  
 
Hemlock Jones (a Tiger & shape-shifting Witch) = Jade Pandora  
Toxin (a Cat & shape-shifting Warlock) = Hepcat6  
Kendrake, Master Forger of Weaponry = Ken