and more

Jasper stepped back from the edge, pulling the faded leather duster from his shoulders and dropping it to the ground. He flexed his shoulder muscles and twisted his neck from side to side, grimacing slightly at the grinding and popping sounds the motion caused. His hands moved with practiced ease to the twin machetes he wore strapped tightly to each thigh and undid the stays that held them tight in their sheaths. That done, he reached to the small of his back with his left hand to unstrap the modified Beretta 9-mil he kept in a simple roto-belt holder. It wasn’t fancy, but it kept the weapon secure while he moved, and released with just a slight pressure on a thumb slide when he needed it quickly. It also kept a low relief so folks didn’t always notice he was packing, which had saved his life more times than he cared to remember. Slowly, Jasper cupped both hands in front of his mouth and breathed a long, slow, hot breath of power into them before quickly moving them down so that each hand cupped the pommel of a machete. The polished white stones beneath his cupped palms began to glow with a light so bright he could see the veins and muscles in his hands like they were lit up from within. From within the chasm came a distant sound like the crashing of stones, followed a few moments later by deep rooted trembling beneath the soles of his boots and Jasper gave a humorless smile. Seemed that his message had arrived and been received with just about the amount of happiness he’d expected. Now came the fun part.