Death Or Fortune (20 page)

     The little
halfling stood in his room looking at all the things he had brought home with
him. A handful of odd rings, a few pouches of coins, a tusk like tooth from an
orc and a few other odd items. He held the tooth in his hand, inspecting it,
having half a mind to make it into a necklace for Darmot. "I am sure he
would love a reminder of the fight with Mangosh." He dropped the tooth
into one of his pockets and forgot about it for a time.  He then went
around the room, checking the traps he had left behind.  While he was sure
all of his things would be safe in Darmot's house, he just wanted to be
careful.

    
Finding nothing changed since he had left more than a month before Pare smiled
to his self. "This is the best home I have ever had, no one messes with my
stuff!" What the little halfling didn't know was that the lord of the
house told his people to avoid the Halfling’s room.  Not even Charles
would enter the room without his master at hand.  Even if the Halfling
asked him in. Lord Kromwell wanted Pare to feel at home, letting him do what he
wanted in his room.  Feeling a dry spot somewhere in the back of his mouth
and a powerful hunger coming on Pare took one of his coin pouches and set off
for the Red Dragon Inn.
     Waving at one of the servants in the house on the way
out the door he started to whistle while walking down the street.  He
placed his hand on the one single money pouch he had attached to his belt. The
other on his knife. "You can never be too careful, there could be thieves
anywhere." On his way to the inn he stopped at a jeweler to ask about the
rings he found. The jeweler was a twitchy sort of fellow but he did not turn
the halfling away. Pare had been in the store a time or two before and had not
given him any reason to. The jeweler gave him a price for all the rings and
Pare just let out a disappointed sigh, "Not magical at all?"
     "Well I don't know I am not a wizard!" he
said with no humor in his voice at all. Pare scooped up the rings and dumped
them in a pocket.  He then pulled out the Orc tooth and put it in front of
the man asking him to put it on a chain.   The jeweler told him he
would do it for five silver pieces.  Outraged in silence he paid the price
and told him he would be back to pick it up the next day.  It was for his
friend so the cost didn't matter to him.  He waved to the old grouch one
last time and went out the door.  As he walked down the street he kept
hearing a clinking sound.  Without even looking he reached down and slid
his two belt pouches apart, they were coming together with each step he took.
     At the Inn Pare never had to pay for a thing. He was
to be given as much food and drink as he wanted, for a small fellow he could
drink most humans under the table.  He sat at his favorite spot in the whole
place. Right in the center of the room in front of the dragons head mounted on
the wall. At times Pare imagined the life like eyes were watching him, cursing
him for killing its children. While part of him was sad for killing the small
beast, they were going to eat him so he ignored that part of his inner voice.
 Sometime after finishing his second plate of food and his third pint of
ale Pare noticed a familiar face on the other side of the room.  He
ordered another pint of ale and set off across the room to say hello to his
lady friend with eyes of blue.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     Hans returned to his small room at the temple to find
things just as he left them. With great care he went about putting away his
gear, looking fondly at his armor wondering when he would need it again.
"Far too soon I imagine." After he put it all away he took one last
look in the back of his small wardrobe, pulling out his sword. Well over five
hundred years old the blade had passed from father to son in his family.
 Hans let out a little sigh as he put it back in his place, hidden from
view of anyone else who might come in.  Hans felt a moment of regret as it
dawned on him that he was the last of his line. "I've never had time,
never made time. I do not have time for a family.  Now that I have devoted
my life to this, these walls and my god. There is no time for me." A knock
at the open door took Hans from his thoughts of family and endings.
     "Sir, the Bishop would like to see you when you
have a moment." Hans nodded his head and waved off the little messenger.
 It was one of the children of war that the church had given a home to.
There were so many of them and so little space for them all. While the church
and the kingdom did all that they could to find them homes, there were more
children than there were homes willing to take them. The donation Darmot made
from his winnings would feed and clothe them for months to come. Picking up the
small chest Hans went off to find the bishop in his small office.  Setting
the chest down outside the door he brushed the road dust from his robes,
swearing at himself for not changing.  Once he was satisfied he knocked on
the door and waited for permission to enter.  Once the word came he picked
the heavy chest back up and made his way in.
     "I was going to come see you sir, I have a
donation to add to the coffers from Lord Kromwell." He placed the chest
down on the bishop’s desk with a relieved sigh.
     "Very good, I will be sure to send him a note
thanking him before I leave." Hans looked at the man with a shocked look
on his face.  In the time he had been in Arcadia, the Bishop had not gone
more than a step or two off the temple grounds. "It has been decided that
it is time for me to move on. I don’t know what Solarth holds in store for me
but I have been summoned by the arch-bishop.  He is in Westheath.  I
have in my desk drawers the orders signed by him naming you Bishop of this
temple.  I told the Arch-Bishop that you were in Eystlund visiting friends
but would inform you of the good news on your return."
     "Sir, are you serious? I have never known you to
be a joker." Hans could feel the blood draining from his face as if his
body was taking on the temperature of the stone walls of the temple.
     "Yes I am serious.  There will be a small
ritual tonight, nothing formal but you will vow to Solarth that you will be the
care taker of this temple.  I honestly could not think of a better person
for the job.  You have seen the world, it is time that you focus that
energy into something that needs it.  It is a time consuming job but as I
said, there is no one better." Hans had to remind himself to breath.
 He thought he would just come home and fall back into his normal duties
until he was called away again.  He had even been thinking about going
with Darmot as far as Klassen.  It wouldn't be possible now, he would have
to stay behind for sure.
     "Well son, do you accept?" the bishop asked.
Hans hesitated for just a moment more.
     "It would be my honor sir." Hans fell to his
knees before the Bishop and gave his thanks to him and to his god. Once he was
on his feet again the color started to return to his face. Accepting of the
fact that this was really happening he turned and started to leave the room.
The Bishop told him to be ready at the altar just after sun down.  He
spent the rest of the afternoon in prayer in his room.  Just as the sun
was going down he got up from his knees and put on his best robe.  As he
approached the altar later he said to no one but himself, "I am alone but
I have this. This will be enough."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     The wizard Hetaron awoke in the middle of the night. A
cold rush was running through his veins.  His dreams had shown him the way
forward, yet at what price. For one small moment he thought about the actions
he must take to achieve what it was that he wanted most in the world. Nothing
mattered to him but the power.  He must have it, he would do anything to
have it.  He had seen a hundred possible futures for himself.  Most
of them pleased him deep down inside. He would need help getting what he wanted
but he had to be careful of who he trusted.  Not that he could afford
trust.  At times he did not even trust himself.
     When the morning light burst through the window of his
bedroom, Hetaron began to make his plans.  First he would have to go see
his master, Senjin.  It was a gamble but one he was sure that would pay
off.  If Senjin had taught him anything it was that trust was for the
weak. “Trust in yourself and no one else.” Hetaron had found Senjin at an early
age. Selling his magic trinkets to the common folk in Arcadia.  The black
hearted mage saw the potential power in the young man. He took him as an
apprentice that very day. Teaching him how to use the power and how to find more.
 How to grow within the dark arts and grown he had.
     Hetaron made quick work of his other business, the
business of his estate.  The lands and titles granted to him by that fool
Roderick.  If the king knew what Hetaron had been doing he would have him
removed.  Not just from his position as an Arcadian Lord but from life.
 If he could find someone willing to take on the task.  There were
very few within the kingdom that could best his power now.  When he
achieved his next goal, there wasn’t a soul on the planet who could stop him.
     Shortly after sun set later that night, Hetaron
arrived at the home of his master.  He took a moment to ready himself.
 He was uneasy in his presence as of late. Senjin could feel the power his
student held, Hetaron was never sure how he would react.  Yet he knew once
the carrot was laid out tonight, Senjin would follow.  He just had to be
careful not to give away too much information.  He was playing a dangerous
game but the rewards were worth the risk. Standing in Senjin’s study he waited
for his master to speak.

   
“You have been gone longer than I expected, I see you have news to share with
me.” The older wizards voice was sharp and drawn out.

     “Yes, I
have very interesting news. I got home as fast as I could without giving myself
away to the fools who follow me. First though I have a gift for you.” Pulling
his hand from his robes he held a fist sized diamond. “I assume this will work
for what we talked about? I have two of them, this and one just like it at home.”
The older mage picked the gem up to the light and started to inspect it. After
a moment or two he nodded his head, satisfied that the gem would work.
     “Yes, it appears to be flawless. It will serve as a
fitting vessel for my soul. Now tell me what you really want on this night.”
     “I saw it, The Rod of the Arcane! It was close to me,
I could have had it if not for the fools who follow me. They have held me back
for the last time master.  I know where it is at now, I know how we can
find it.  It was hidden in Eystlund, the fools there were looking for a
way to destroy it.  Instead of using it for the power. Cowards, the lot of
them. Come with me master, we can take the rod for ourselves and destroy anyone
in our path.” When the mage finished both his hands were on the table, bent
over at the waist. Senjin could see the lust in his student’s eyes.  It
was something he understood very well.
     “What is to stop you from destroying me with it as
well? I know what the rod is able to do in the right hands.  While I doubt
you have the power to control it in full, you have the gift and desire. You
would learn the control over time. Once you learn to unshackle the rod, there
isn’t anything that could stop you.”
     “Don’t you see, together we could rule! From coast to
coast, they would all answer to us. Answer to our power.  Soon, the entire
world would answer to our power. Not overnight but we could sunder the ground
we stand on now and rule this kingdom to start. Then make an army out of the
men, women and children we just destroyed.  We would be gods.”
     “Hetaron my boy, you still have not answered my
question.  What will stop you from turning on me or from me turning on you
for that matter?” The fact that Hetaron stopped to think on his answer
convinced him that while they may work together in this, betrayal was on each
other’s mind.
     “A death pact, binding our souls.  Should one of
us die by the others hand, it would destroy us both.  It would take some
time to do the spell research but I know it has been done in the past.”
     “This is a dangerous thing, yet I do not believe you
care about the danger. You only care for the power, great things we will do,
yes many great things. There is one last thing, you will have to kill your
friend.  He will try to stop you.”
     “He is nothing; he would be nothing without me.
 He would have died a long time ago if not for me. I can crush him any
time I wish, we have nothing to fear from Darmot Kromwell.”
     “Very well, I will take your word for it. I will begin
to prepare for the journey. We will leave in three weeks. That should be more
than enough time for you to finish your research on the spell for us and I want
you to find someone to guard our sleep.  Someone who will obey commands
for coin. Without question.”
     Hetaron took three steps back from the table and bowed
deeply to his master. Three weeks was more than enough time. Time to find the
rod, time to make the spell, time to find a replacement for that fool Kromwell.
He would not understand what the mage was trying to do. He would only stand in
the way. No one was going to stand in his way anymore.  Not the priest,
not the halfling and for sure not Kromwell.

    
I spent my first full day back in Arcadia busy.  Between meeting with King
Roderick, visiting the lumber camps on my property and going over everything I
had missed in the last two months I did not have time for anything else. I
informed Roderick that I had been asked to join a group of others to retrieve
the rod of the arcane. While he did not understand why I felt the need to put
myself into the path of danger once again he gave me his blessing and wished me
luck.  As I was leaving he asked me if that is why Hetaron had asked to
see him the following day.  I told him that it was possible.  I had
not spoken to the wizard since we had arrived back in town.  When he asked
me when I planned to leave, I told him in just two days.
     On my way out of the castle that day I ran into my
friend Captain Turk.  He had already heard of my victory in Eystlund and
the dragon attack.  I've never questioned how he knew these things after
the attack by the Messiah he build a very impressive and very loyal spy
network. We have learned our lessons from the civil war.  I help the kingdom
fund it today.  Our men could be found in just about any nation on
Atalanxia.  They all have normal lives yet if they see any sign of threat
to our nation they can contact home in a matter of moments with the use of a
magic device created by one of the court wizards.  I spent far too much
time speaking with Turk, I had to ride out to the loggers camp before it got
too late in the day.
     While at the camp I spoke with Foreman Kaffis.
 He runs the day to day operations of the camp and files reports with
Charles each night. Since the dragon attack production had slowed down for a
time but they were now well ahead of schedule.  I made a mental note to
have Charles give the men a bonus.  I made it back to the city limits just
an hour after sun down. I stopped by the Red Dragon Inn to see how things were
going only to find that Pare had passed out drunk.  I picked him up and
took him home with me.  I would need to speak with him the following day
and did not have time to search the town for him should he leave before I woke
up in the morning. We passed the temple of Solarth on the way home from the inn
and there was for the first time in my memory a guard at the front gate. When I
asked just what was going on he told me that there was some kind of rites being
performed and they were not to be interrupted.  I just shook my head and
took my now semi-awake and babbling halfling home.

     The next
morning I started my day like many before and many since. Yet during the course
of the day, the way I see the world changed. I fear not for the better.  I
took a little meeting with a hung over halfling.  I gave him all the
information he would need while I was gone.  I made sure to tell him if he
needed anything to go see Turk.  After that I found my friend, now Bishop
Hans in my kitchen. While it crushed me to know that his days of adventuring
with me were now at an end, I was happy for him. He also brought me a gift that
morning.
"This will help protect you from the undead.  I remember
what that place is like.  If you do not move fast, they will notice you
and seek you out. This will grant you some protection but not as much as I
would like."
I thanked him from the bottom of my heart and embraced
him as my brother.
     It was well past afternoon by the time I arrived at
Hetaron's home. As his single servant led me to the room where he was working I
noticed that most of the house was not being used. He had no use for it. He had
a study and a bedroom that he used, nothing more. I was in a good mood when I
arrived there. I was honestly looking forward to going on a real adventure.
 Doing something that mattered besides just beating the hell out of people
for the fun of it. Not that it was going to be easy. As I stood in Hetaron's
study I watched him work on something in his spell book.  I knew well
enough not to speak until he was ready.  I stood there in silence,
thinking about the things we would need on the road, how many rations we would
need until we hit Klassen.  Once there we would re-supply and carry on
with the others.  When I watched him close his spell book I saw a look in
his eye I had not seen before or perhaps it had been there all along.

 
    
"There are still people who want you dead Kromwell, yet you go about town
with no armor or weapon. Is that wise?"
I gave him a slight chuckle,
there are hundreds of people who would kill me. I then told him that I refused
to live in fear. "
Yet you should have fear. Fear has kept you alive
this long. Fear and myself that is. Do you know how many times you would have
died if not for me?"
I had seen these rants before.  I just
nodded and said that yes, I owed him my life several times over. Just as he
owed me his. As powerful as he is, he has his limits. When the magic was gone,
I was there to protect him. To guard his sleep, to guard his life.
"Baaaa,
I owe you nothing. I owe nothing to anyone. When I claim the Rod of the Arcane
for myself, all who live will owe me. It will be by my whim that they live. All
who wish to go on as they are now will pay tribute to me. Those who refuse will
suffer and face complete annihilation."
I then made perhaps my
greatest mistake.  I laughed at him and told him to be serious, we had
plans to make.

      When
I saw the magical energy form around his hand I was sure he had lost his mind.
 As the spell hit me I was blown back from where I stood into the door
behind me. I looked down at my chest, my shirt was destroyed. Only the light
chain mail I wore under kept me whole. It did not stop the pain though.
"Is
this serious enough Darmot? You have never taken me seriously. You do not
understand that in this pair, our group I am most powerful. You all owe me. The
only reason I do not kill you now is this, you have saved me.  I am not
blind to that. After today, I owe you nothing. When I return with the rod I will
start with this kingdom.  I will be king of Arcadia, the other Lords and
the king himself will fall to me.  Then I will take the other sister
kingdoms, from there the entire world. They will all bow to me or they will
burn.  Leave now, next time I see you, you will die Kromwell."
I
wanted to break him in half.  I knew he could kill me before I got to him
yet I didn’t care.
     I opened the door behind me and started to leave. I
took one last look at the face of my friend. The Hetaron I knew was dead, this
was a whole new being, a whole new threat. I told him good-bye and closed the
door.  Once I was in the open air I began to get sick.  I could feel
his knife in my back, twisting its way into my heart.  When I began to
vomit I was given a few strange looks. I was nearly out of breath and the pain
of it was the only thing that kept me awake.  I mounted my horse and rode
home.  The pain of every word, coming back to me. Then it dawned on me. I
could not let him do this.  I had to find a way to stop him.  No one
else could do it, it had to be me. I was not sure how I was going to do it
until I arrived back home that night.

     I sat in
my office alone and in the dark. When Charles came in and told me that I had a
visitor I did not move or speak. He had started to leave the room, to send them
away when I spoke up. I just asked him who it was, not caring who it was, yet
at the same time I had to know.
"She said her name is Cynthia my
lord."
I looked out my office window and thanked whatever god was
watching over me at the time and told Charles to show her in.  I lit a
single candle and placed it on the desk, just off to the side. She was dressed
the same as the last time I had seen her. Tight fitting leather, dark colors
with a light cloak, the hood was resting on her shoulders, her long hair was
hanging down. I could see the light of the candle reflect off her blue eyes.
"Very
well my lord, I am here. How are you going to make it up to me? You cost me a
lot of money, this better be good."
I looked her in the eyes and
tilted my head just to the side. I just asked her how much she lost.

    
"Thirty thousand gold."
She told me. I then stood up at my desk
and moved around to the side and called towards the office door, knowing
Charles wasn't far away. When he poked his head in and told him to head down to
the vault and to come back with the gold, I knew he had been listening to every
word.
'Are you sure that is such a good idea sir?'
I just looked at him
and sent him on his way. When I turned around to face her again she was
standing, very close to me.
"All that money and you are not even going
to make me work for it?"
I then told her that it was just a down
payment, that in total she could make more than a hundred thousand gold if she
did what I was about to ask her to do. She slipped an arm around my waist and
pulled me close to her.
"Give me another thirty and make me your
wife."
I stepped back from her and for the first time since I left
Hetaron I had a smile on my face.

     I told her
that I already had a wife that I loved very much.
"Fine, make me your
mistress. I know she won't do the things to you I will."
I just shook
my head and told her that if she did what I asked, we would talk about other
work but more than that was out of the question.  She just nodded her head
at me and said we shall see about that.
"Now, what is the job."
I could hear Charles coming up the hall, I returned to my spot behind my desk
and sat down.  He set down a small chest filled with gems and platinum
coins.  After he left the room I asked her if she remembered my friend the
wizard who I was in Eystlund with.  She said yes. I then told her I wanted
her to kill Hetaron for me. It wouldn't be easy but for the greater good it had
to be done. She stood up, dumped the contents of my chest into a bag.
"It
will be done and when I am finished, you will be mine."
With that she
walked from my office and left my home.