What Cuts the Wind of Change?

It wasn't clear when or why Alyssa began to think of him as a traveler, but she had no doubt that he was one. Supporting him on her shoulder, Alyssa was growing worried. He was getting paler and more incoherent with each passing second - Alyssa prayed she wouldn't have to carry him, as he was larger than her and presumably quite heavy.

Suddenly, something landed in front of them. Alyssa's hand darted to her dagger. It was a stick figure - and it seemed completely insane. It's eyes were big red X's, and its mouth was sewed shut with thread.

"Grbnxlywgjboo!" the creature stated, standing up. It had long curving daggers instead of hands, and its movements were fluid, graceful - like a dancer's.

"Who are you?" Alyssa said.

"Dat is a Crazyman, comrade." came a thickly accented voice behind them. Alyssa glanced back to see another stick figure, wearing thick boots and a wool cap adorned with a red star.

"Allow me to introduce myself" it said. "I am EasternBlocMan. We are followers of Chairman Happy, our glorius leader. We are here to liberate the toiling, oppressed lower classes of your capitalist society. As borgeois dogs of the privileged elite, I am take you to re-education camp to learn socialist ethic and cleanse self through back-breaking labor!"

"Ngbljcoop!" Crazyman said, swaying. "Atrmngrblgrzndlpnew!!"

"Stay back!" Alyssa said, drawing her dagger. "I won't let you hurt him! Do what you want with me, but leave this man alone!"

Grinning, EasternBlocMan took a step forward. Alyssa heard the man leaning on her emit a low growl. He stretched out his hand - and Alyssa gasped as a bolt of silverish energy struck EasternBlocMan in the face. He was thrown into the air, and spun off into the horizon, screaming something about land redistribution.

"Grmnabnatackoo!!" Crazyman whooped, suddenly launching himself toward them. The traveler pushed Alyssa away - she stumbled and fell down. Looking behind her, she saw Crazyman slashing at the traveler with strikes almost too quick for the eye to follow. He dodged each one - it seemed almost without moving, his form blurring backwards through the air. Suddenly Crazyman leapt back. His mouth cracked open to an unnatural 180 degree angle - and to Alyssa's disbelief a roiling, dark mass of energy pulsed out, snaking its way toward her.

Almost immediately the traveler was standing over her, his arms outward, generating some kind of shimmering forcefield against which the dark energy strained before finally breaking and dissipating. On its heels came Crazyman, spinning through the forcefield like a top to headbutt the traveler in the stomach.

They landed in a sick, twisted pile of human and stick figure. As Alyssa found her dagger and climbed to her feet she saw that the traveler gripped each of the Crazyman's arms as the stick figure struggled to stab him.

"Damn you!" the traveler growled. "I'll kill you... I'll kill you all!"

His body suddenly glowed with a bright purplish energy. Crazyman shrieked in a horrible high-pitched voice as the energy surged over him, and then everything was washed in blinding light. When Alyssa could finally take her hands away from her eyes, her mind reeled in horror. The traveler was standing up - and the lower part of Crazyman's torso was protruding from his mouth. Then the traveler slurped Crazyman up like a strand of spaghetti and belched violently.

"Wha..." Alyssa said.

The man was looking past her, at something beyond the horizon.

"I'll kill him." he said quietly, and then began to laugh.

"Darn it! We're too late!" came a man's voice behind Alyssa.

She spun around to see an incredibly old man in long flowing robes, whose eyes sparkled with vitality. Beside him stood a concerned-looking girl in a crimson dress.

"I'll kill him and all his friends!" the traveler chuckled. "If anyone gets in my way, I'll kill them too! Hya ha ha ha!!!"

And with that he vanished into thin air. Alyssa stood dumbfounded, looking back and forth from the old man, to the spot where the traveler used to be.

"It's too much power for him to handle on his own." the old man said gravely. "His mind... is being twisted by all he has experienced. We have to catch up to him and calm him down, or he will destroy this universe as surely as Happyman would."

"Let's take her with us." the girl said. "We can't just leave her here."

"Would you mind explaining just what..." Alyssa began, but the old man waved her to silence. "We're going now. You're going too. Perhaps you can help somehow."

"Look here, barkeep!" Happyman yelled, pounding the table with his fist. "I don't have any goddamn money! Gimme beer or I'll burn your goddamn establishment to the ground!"

"Kyaa!!" the skeleton brides shrieked, trying to grab the barkeep's face in their bony claws.

The massively built barkeeper remained impassionate. "Sorry there, chum. Can't help ya. I'm tryin' to run a business here. Why don't you go and get a job?"

A lightbulb glowed over Happyman's face. He grabbed it and swallowed it. "Allrighty then. I'll help out around the bar, and my three wenches will serve tables. Sound good?"

"Better work hard, or you're back out on your ass." the barkeep threatened.

"Awesome!" Happyman yelled. He jumped behind the counter and put on an apron. "You three, start taking orders!"

The patrons of the bar sat frozen in fear as the skeleton-brides shuffled toward them...

1. A single patron works up the courage to request a flagon of ale. Things soon return to normal after that.
2. Someone bolts for the door. A slaughter ensues.

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