The 4th Horseman Rides Again (Darksiders X Claymore Quest)

Current Inventory:

- 5 Health Potions
- 5 Wrath Potions

- Twin Fire Scythes
- Twin Ice Scythes
- Twin Lightning Scythes

- 1 Crushing Axe
- 1 Twin Life-Stealing Claws

- Abyssal Armor (Not Equipped)

- Redemption (Strife's Gun)

- Death Grip: Grappling Hook that can pull you towards things and pull things towards you

- Voidwalker: Let's you create portals in specific places, and go back in time.

- Soul Splitter: Split your Soul in two. Two Deaths appear and act as one, alongside an immovable statue of Death's true form. Not useful in combat, as when one is damaged so is the other.

Status:

- Health: "I'm as Healthy as Death can be."
- Wrath: 1000/1000
- Equipped Main Weapons: Standard Twin Scythes
- Equipped Secondary Weapons: ???
- Reaper Energy: 15/100

Skills:

Harvest + Red Harvest (Maxed): Death's True Incarnation emerges, unleashing a spinning scythe attack that devastates surrounding foes. With Red Harvest, all enemies hit generate Reaper Energy. (350 Wrath)

Aegis Guard + Grave Defense and Enraged Guardian (Maxed): Death surrounds himself with a necromantic shield, significantly increasing his defense. With Grave Defense, Death's Arcane attributes are enhanced while Aegis is active, and Enraged Guardian increases Death's Arcane Crit Chance while active. (400 Wrath)

Murder + Heralds of Death (Maxed): Death summons a Murder of Crows that attack his enemies for him. With Heralds of Death, they replenish Reaper Energy with every strike. (200 Wrath)

Death thought about his objectives and what was asked of him. He gazed down the path Dust had indicated while weighing his options. If he followed Dust now, he could be done with this whole ordeal immediately. He would find his target, kill it, then hunt down the rest. A simple solution to this seemingly simple situation.

However, Death was the leader of the Horseman of the Apocalypse for a reason. He was the oldest and wisest out of them all. And one thing that has come to him in all his years in Creation is that nothing is ever simple.

If he were to rush headlong into battle with no information about this world whatsoever, it would only prolong his stay here. And he couldn't afford that. His journey to the Tree had already cost him time that could've been spent assisting his brother directly. Though he doubts any on this world could truly harm him, he should not be cocky.

No, it would be better to explore the land. Find some knowledgeable locals, learn how things work in this land, and gauge the combat ability of all possible foes. It wouldn't be any different from his time in the Forge Lands, after all. He needed the Maker's assistance to open the way to the Tree when the Guardian was corrupted.

Death stared after Dust for a few seconds longer. Then, he grabbed the reigns of his horse and moved it in the opposite direction. With a sharp call, he spurred Despair onward through the desolate, grey tree line. His steed obeyed without question and thundered through the foliage with no trouble whatsoever. Even as the branches of the tall trees smacked into the Rider and his steed, they never slowed down. The strong, brown bark of the branches shattered on contact with Death's skin.

He heard the familiar cawing of Dust as the crow began to fly ahead of him. It trailed feathers behind it that disappeared before they hit the ground, much like the burning green hoofprints that Despair left in its wake.

With his purpose clear in his mind, Death stormed on into the foreign land.

---

Despair shook its head and pawed the rocky ground beneath it. Death rubbed his steed's neck as he gazed over the edge of the cliff he was on. From this vantage point, he could see the openings in the forest that marked areas of interest. Each of them was either a place where something unnatural seemed to have occurred, where manmade structures or pathways could be observed, or where something out of the ordinary had happened or is currently happening. From his position, Death identified three places that met at least one of the criteria above.

To his left was a small gathering of squarish buildings. A human village based on the way they were arranged. The houses looked reminiscent of the earlier Dark Ages on the earth Death knew. He could see smoke coming out of one of them, and small dots that indicated mortals going about their daily business. This would be the most obvious place to go to acquire information on the land, but he doubts that any would be willing to speak to him. He would need to find another way to obtain the knowledge he sought.

Straight in front of him was a large blue stream that flowed down from a mountain nearby. It would explain the village, as being by a river meant easy access to fresh water. What made it notable to Death was how the mortals acted strangely around it. There was a clear path straight to the main part of the river, but the dots would take roundabout paths to out of the way areas to get their water. It could mean that something that frightened the mortals was in the area. If that was the case, then it would allow Death to gain some insight into the creatures that inhabit this place.

And to his right was something that Death normally saw after he had left an area, crows flying overhead in a circle. Scavenger birds only ever did that when there was something dead nearby. If that was the case, then it was possible a battle or otherwise had happened just before Death got here. Not only would it give him a chance to see how dangerous the more hostile locals were, but it would serve as good practice to make sure his skills hadn't gotten rusty.

Looking towards Dust, Death saw the crow flying towards the river and cawing as it went. It stopped when it had gotten to the edge of Death's vision and began circling like its brethren nearby. Death looked far below him and spurred Despair….

[] Towards the village. He would obtain information first, then he could go gallivanting to a battle.
- [] A disguise should be enough to get him inside the town. From there, he can simply listen to the local gossip or find the leader of the village.
- [] He would wait until nightfall then sneak into the village leader's house. They are sure to have something that would tell him what he needed to know.
- [] He would wait until one of the villagers left, then accost them in the forest. From there, he could interrogate them very easily.
- [] There is no need to be stealthy. He will simply walk into the village, find the leader, and get the answers he needs.
- [] Write in….

[] Towards the river in front of him. Dust has pointed the way, meaning this will lead back into his main objective. No point in postponing it then.

[] Towards the circling crows. A battle is just what he needs to shake off any dust he got from teleporting here. And finding survivors could endear him to the village, making it easier to gain information.