Death Or Fortune (31 page)

     
"You will be mine priest!" she said to him as she lashed out at his
head with the blood stained weapon. Reaching out with his hand he caught her
wrist mid swing, blocking it from ever reaching its target.

     
"No child, I will not." Feeling his strength return in full while
holding her wrist in an ever tightening grip, Hans got to his feet. While still
holding her one arm at bay, he reached up with the other hand and gripped her
face. "I do not know what you are but you are an abomination before the
good god." Warmth began to flood his body, small tendrils of light
drifting from his hands. "I pity you creature, tormented to walk the land
of the living while your soul was taken from you." Hans could no longer
see his fingers on her face, the light was now too bright. "I will pray
that your soul is granted its rest in the afterlife." Soon the light began
to spread from his hands to her body. "May Solarth bless you my
child." The silent scream of the creature one only drew the attention of
two men.  One who was far off in another land, too distracted by his own
troubles to care about the loss of another one of his creations.  The
other man witnessed what happened that day as the light completely enveloped
both the cleric and the creature.  He fell to his knees in awe of what he
was seeing.

     As the
light faded away, Hans was soon seen again, unharmed and alone. Nothing
remained of the soulless woman but old and tattered white robes in a pile of
worthless bits of armor. Saying one last prayer for the soul of the woman who
had died long ago Hans did not see the witness right away. When Hans heard the
sound of armor though he turned towards it to see a smiling face rushing
towards him.

     
"Hans!" Michaels said as he embraced the stunned priest. "That
was incredible, how did you do that? I never thought disintegration would work on
one of those creatures. Did you really steal my horse?"

     
"Michaels? What are you doing back here?" he asked the paladin who
had not let him go yet.

     
"Believe it or not I was tracking that creature.  They made you
Bishop, this is wonderful!" Michaels at last let go of Hans and stood back
to look at him. The grin seemed to be stuck on his face. The two friends soon
began to laugh and leave the darkness of the alley behind.  They returned
together to the temple of Solarth with Emily in tow.  Giving thanks to
their god for the victories of that day.  In the quiet hours that followed
later that night, deep under the temple in the tomb of the old elven cleric
they exchanged their stories.  Michaels told him of his journey to
Westheath, to Toryth Vol and then back home.  He told him of meeting their
friend Darmot in Klassen and how he gave him the horse.  Hans told him
about everything that had happened at the temple since he had been away. They
talked all night as old friends are bound to do from time to time. With the
coming light, came the duties of being a bishop once more. Michaels no longer
feeling compelled to hunt the soulless creatures stayed at the temple for some
time to come.

    
I remember looking up at the sun just before being escorted down into the
dungeon under the spire.  I wondered as we were going down the steps if it
was the last time I was going to see the light of day.  With every step I
took down into the earth I could feel my anger growing.  General Malkov
was behind me, speaking to one of his men but I could feel his eyes on me.
 When we got to the bottom of the steps, the hall in front of me was well
lit by what I assume were magical globes.  Wrought iron doors lined the
hall as far as I could see.  I thought one last time about trying to
fight, I still had all my weapons.  In that narrow stair well I could have
held off an entire army by myself.  The first cell on the left was open
and ready for me.  I waited for them to take my gear, I hoped they tried
so I could at least smash one of them before they closed the door on me.
'Lord
Kromwell'
Malkov said.
'We are going to allow you to keep your weapons
and armor. You may need them down here. Also know that we have your friends up
stairs and if there is any trouble with you, they will suffer for it.'
     I could not believe what he said then my mind raced
back to what Michaels told me when he was captured and taken to this very
place.  He said that they could not take away his weapon.  I then
remembered the shield I had on my back.  It may have been that they could
feel its power. Not that it mattered in the end. They could have locked me up
with the entire Arcadian Royal Guard and I would not have started a fight. They
did have my friends and knowing they would pay for anything I did kept me
bound.  Little did I know that they were being escorted into large and
lavish rooms with plush beds.  I walked into the bare cell and looked
around.  Solid rock wall all the way around and the iron door to keep me
contained.  I accepted my fate at the time and took a seat, resting my
back on the wall.  There were no guards in the halls, once my door closed
I was alone down there or so I thought.  I dug out the last of my personal
rations from my bag, choked it down the best I could and closed my eyes.
 I figured I may as well catch up on my sleep while I could.

    
Sleeping in a prison cell is not something I want to try again.  Each time
I started to drift off, I could hear a noise from somewhere.  When the
light globes winked out, I thought the entire place was going to come undone.
 I don’t know what creatures were being kept down there in the dark and I
don’t want to know.  The sounds they produced while wailing with rage made
my skin crawl. This continued for several hours, I was sure I was losing my
mind.  It was then that I saw something in the shadows of my cell.  I
jumped up and drew my sword, I nearly lost my mind when Lomark spoke.
'Put
that thing away, we have matters to discuss quickly
.' I asked him how he
got in and he only said
'do not question my abilities. We are meeting with
Ramanthus tomorrow. You are going to be summoned to this meeting, we need you
to go along with the plan from now on Kromwell. Zender was sent a vision by his
god, Xcavere knows of this place and knows the Rod is here. He wouldn't dare
attack Eystlund for it but here, in his own lands, he wants it badly. He is
coming himself and there is an entire army marching on this place with him. It
is important that he never gets his lifeless hands on that rod Kromwell.
Ramanthus is suddenly going to find himself in a battle we want no part of. We
have two days to get the rod and get out before Xcavere's first legion is
pounding on the gates
.'
    
'Ramanthus is going to offer us a position in his
army. We are going to smile and accept. I am going to make him believe I have
unlocked the rods true power. Once we have it in our hands, we will be leaving,
quickly.'
I asked him if he knew where the rod was and he just pointed up.
'In
the top of the tower. Where else would you expect a crazed wizard to keep an
object of ultimate power? You need to play along now. Zender will not leave you
here. Yet I will leave you all behind in order to keep the rod away from
Xcavere. Remember that.'
Soon the shadows that were Lomark left my cell,
much the way they came. I wanted to ask the wizard how they knew so much but it
all made my head hurt. While I am a simple man and aspire to do great things, I
do not have a mind to question the gods. I have seen many great and wondrous
things. Yet I have also been witness to great tragedy.  Were these events
all laid out as some god’s great plan? Watching my friends die, watching
innocent children slaughtered, were these the demands of some higher being?
Hans and I have discussed this as of late.  While he is a blessed man, I
sometimes think he is as lost as I am.
     The screams of pain and misery continued through the
rest of the night. At one point I was sure something was trying to come into my
cell door.  I spent the night in panic and in mortal dread of the things
outside my door.  I have fought both the living and the dead.  While
I am not afraid of either, there is something to be said about not being able
to see the horror in the dark. While I was sure I could have pounded my cell
door open to escape, I really didn't want to know what was on the other side.
 So I spent my time just trying to keep it closed.  After what seemed
to be an eternity the lights returned.  The screaming faded away and my
cell door was opened.  I was almost happy to see Malkov.
'I hope the
first did not bother you too much. They enjoy the taste of fresh blood. I am
surprised they did not come visit you. Imagine, a vampires hunger and none of
its power. Not to mention, they are mindless. Such a shame. My lord had such
high hopes for them. I assume you are not going to be a problem today?'
I still
wanted to kill the man but I was more than willing to smile and play along
after the night I had.
     The court yard around the base the spire had six
buildings. Two of them were filled to capacity with the troops Ramanthus kept
at the spire. An armory with a large black smith’s forge that Boris would have
spit on. There was a mess hall were they fed all the men and a large storage
barn for supplies. The last building looked like one of the homes from the
lord’s district in Arcadia, this is where they took me. This is where Ramanthus
lived. I was taken to a large dining room and told to sit down. Just before he
left me Malkov turned and grinned at me.
'I've read about the uprising in
Arcadia and about your part of the battle. I am looking forward to working with
you in the coming days. I was impressed at what you did with men that were less
than standard.'
I was almost insulted but I did not let it show. I told him
that a man fighting for his home is worth any ten hired mercenaries who are
only fighting for gold. He nodded at me as if I gave him something profound to
think about.  More than anything I was shocked that he could read.  I
guess that is why they made him a general.
     I looked around the room, while the furniture was nice
it was all random.  As if each object was chosen for how it looked by
itself.  The dining room table was a massive oak beast that must have
taken ten men to move.  It could have held twenty large men on each side.
 I started to wonder what else I could find in the house when servants
started to come in.  Each one carried large platters of food.  The
smell was incredible after days of nothing but water and dried rations. With
the food laid out they began to set out plates and pitchers of water.
 When my friends came in the room I forgot about my hunger.  Zender
came to me directly and told me he was sorry about what had happened.
'I
should have taken the time to tell you
.' he kept telling me over and over.
 When I asked if they had met our host yet they all just shook their heads.
 One of the servants told us to sit and enjoy the meal while we were
waiting for his
'lord and savior.'
By the time I had started to wonder
if they had poisoned our food I had already eaten enough to kill ten men.
 After we were finished eating it was then that we met Ramanthus.

     He was
escorted into the room by General Malkov.  Ramanthus was younger than I
expected, much younger.  Long flowing dark hair with just a touch of gray
at the temples.  His robes were a pristine white and he carried a simple
staff in his left hand.  I watched Lomark out of the corner of my eye to
see if he had any reaction at all.  If he had been thinking anything, it
did not show on his face. Each of us stood up to show a small amount of respect
to our '
host
'.  He eyed each of us in turn, he seemed to linger on
Lomark as if there was something there.  Again, Lomarks face was like
stone and without expression.
'Sit down gentlemen. I never expected you to
get this far. I can see I placed too much faith in the abilities of my pets.
Still, I am not one to hold a grudge. I do not believe in wasting what might be
a good opportunity. Since Xcavere came to power I have fought to restore my
home land to its former glory. I honestly believed that if Toryth Vol were
given the chance we could be the light that illuminates the entire world. I
have traveled the entire world seeking out those who would help me over throw
the powers who control Toryth Vol. Then came Xcavere, he took all that was
possible and destroyed it. Corrupted the land and with a wave of his hand
turned this into a wasteland. Three years ago I set out on a mission to purify
this wretched land. I soon learned that no matter what I did, as long as
Xcavere was in power it would end in failure. When I learned that The Rod of
the Arcane had been recovered, I knew that was my chance. So I began to build
my army, General Malkov has been a valuable ally in this. While I never would
have thought to use dragons to recover the rod, it did work out very well.'
    
'Then I learn from a spy that the very men who
found the rod to begin with, were going to attempt to take it from me on the
order of that fool Darius. His kingdom sits in the shadow of evil yet he does
nothing but hide. The work I am doing here is far too important for anyone to
interfere so I sent out my pets. Little did I know just how determined you are.
I saw as you destroyed the giant and then took apart my men. It was then I
realized that I had been going about this the wrong way. Instead of trying to
stop you, we should work together. Together we can destroy him. We can remove
the blight from this land and build it into the nation it should be. Together
we will do the impossible.'
I cannot describe the feeling he gave me. It
was almost as if he had cast a spell over me, I wanted to believe him.  I
wanted to stand up and cheer.  Only when I looked at my friends did the
feeling start to fade.  When Lomark spoke, reality came back to me.
   
'You know he is coming?'
he said
   
'Yes he is coming, it is a little sooner than I expected
but with your help I can destroy him.'
    
'He is the most powerful magic user in the world
and we are here in the middle of his seat of power. Where his powers are
absolute and you have pinned your hopes on a magic item you do not fully understand.'
    
'This is why we need each other Lomark. You have
had a chance to study the rod for more than two years, you know all that it is
able to do, yet you do not have the ability to control it on your own. While I
do have that ability. You just have to give me the key to unlock it.'
Lomark turned at looked at Zender for just a moment, more unspoken words
between then.
    
'Lord Ramanthus'
Zender said.
'I am only
going to advise this once. If you do not listen to me now, tomorrow will be too
late. Send your men away. Flee before the power of Xcavere while you still have
a chance. My God has shown me your death at his hands, you will suffer long and
service him well after you are dead. He will destroy all who serve you. With or
without the Rod of the Arcane you will fail.'
His face had started to turn
red while Zender spoke. When Zender sat down again, Ramanthus nearly exploded.
'NO!
'
he shouted slamming his hands on the table.
'NO I SAY! This is the
culmination of my life's work, this one moment I have been working toward for
the last forty years. Even before Xcavere came to power, I sought to change
this land, it is within my grasp.  I will destroy him, you will help me or
I will destroy you myself. I have ways to make sure you do help me. Even after
you are dead. I would rather have you alive, with your gifts intact.'
His
breathing started to slow, his face returned to its normal color.  I
looked to my friends, Zackary looked lost and I understood how he felt.
 Zender and Lomark, eyes locked with each other at last both turned and
looked towards Ramanthus.
'Very well,'
Lomark said
'We will help you.
We will require this day to rest, tomorrow we will prepare for the arrival of
King Xcavere and his defeat at your hands.'