Fate's Hand (15 page)

“
It's okay, Rylan. I was only playing. I did look terrible. And, no, the orcs didn’t.”

Rylan finally caught his breath and looked down at the ground as he walked next to her.  “You didn’t look that bad. You were the most beautiful orc slave girl I’ve ever rescued,” Rylan said.

“Oh, so this is your hobby? Rescuing slave girls?”

“
I wouldn’t say it’s a hobby. I make clay pottery as a hobby.”

Daria looked askance at Rylan, who was smiling from ear to ear. “Okay, that’s a lie. I save slave girls. You caught me.”

“So, what now?” Daria asked.

“
I’m not sure. We'll heal up the sick and injured until everyone can go their separate ways.”

A sound from behind them made Daria turn to see several girls hiding off the side of the trail. Rylan kept walking. Daria waved her hand to the girls to dismiss them and took a few quick steps to catch up to Rylan.

“I’m used to it,” Rylan said.

“
What do you mean?”

“
It’s okay. It’s a choice I make—to change. I knew that, even if I saved you all, I could still be perceived as a monster afterwards. People fear what they don’t understand. Please don’t be afraid of me. Whatever form I take, my mind is always my own. I would never hurt you or anyone else who didn’t deserve it.”

Daria stopped him and grabbed his hand. She smiled with a small tear at the edge of her eye. “Thank you for rescuing us and bringing my brother to me. I am forever in your debt, Rylan.” Daria threw her arms around his neck. He slowly put one arm around her with a smile on his face.
              “Thank you for that. Now, let’s go see the kid. He traveled a long way and killed plenty of orcs to get you back.”

Daria began walking with Rylan again, but he could see she was thinking hard.

“What is it?” he asked.

“
My brother, he isn’t a fighter. My uncle only taught him basic sword skills. But when I saw him square off against those orcs, he was…something else. He hasn’t ever moved like that. He has never…killed before.”

“
Your brother is no killer. People are pushed to new limits when their loved ones are in danger. Val did what he needed to get you back. Asher and I think his red hand has a mind of its own.”

Daria stopped again. “His hand?”

“You didn’t notice it?

“
His red hand? You mean the one covered in blood?”

Rylan didn’t know quite what to say, but tried his best. “Daria, his hand was not red with blood. His actual hand is red. His wrist is scarred and his hand looks like it’s been replaced.”

Daria’s brow creased. “Replaced with what?”

“
Something bad.”

Daria rushed into Val’s tent right as the women were changing his bandages. Daria’s eyes immediately went to his hand. Val smiled until he noticed the look on her face.

“Daria—”

“
What did you do to yourself?” The women in the room stopped their work. As they hurried out of the tent, Daria repeated herself.

“
What did you do, Val?” She marched over to the edge of the bed. He struggled to sit up until he began to bleed through his new bandages. He whispered her name as to calm her, but she stood next to him, fixated on his hand. Its long black nails clawed at the sheets. Her fist clenched in rage as she slowly traveled up his arm to her brother's face.               Her fist relaxed and tears formed in her eyes. Val was laying, helpless and defeated. Tears streamed down his face and he looked at his sister, depressed and ashamed.

“
I thought I lost you.” He closed his eyes and laid his head back. Daria lost all control and fell on her brother. She wrapped her arms around his neck and cried until both of them were exhausted.

Hours later, the two sat in the tent under dim candle light. Daria had changed Val’s bandages and they were served supper.

“So, you sent some of the men to take uncle. This man Jerib helped you. Then you traveled alone?”

Val nodded.

“Then what happened?”

Once again, he saw her gaze and lifted his hand so they could both get a better look in the light.

“I was dreaming. Uncle was screaming and there was someone there, doing things to him. It was so bright I couldn’t see what. And then I woke up. Things were blurry and I was in pain, but I realized my hand was changed. Before I could even get my bearings, I was attacked by goblins. I thought I was going to die, but this—” he turned his hand over. “This saved me. It acts with a mind of its own. There is no way I could have defended myself without it. The weird thing is, I couldn’t feel any of it. I was trying to fight the movements, but I wasn’t strong enough. I fought more orcs , and once again the hand saved me. It is ruthless, fast, and extremely strong. I don’t understand how I could use that greatsword in the pass. My arm should not be strong enough to swing it, yet with this hand I can. I can’t explain it.”

“
So, this thing is a gift? You would have died, and we would never have been reunited if it wasn’t for your new hand.”

“
Yes and no. I can’t control it. And only since the fight in the pass have I been able to feel it at all. The night before we found you, it tried to…kill me. I think. I don’t know what happened. I woke up paralyzed, and the hand tried to stab me. It probably would have succeeded if it wasn’t for Asher.”

“
Hey, Asher, can you come in here?” Val called.

The tent flap opened and Asher stepped in, holding several straps of leather.

Val said, “I figured he wouldn’t stray too far at night. Not with a rogue hand in the camp.”

Asher kneeled beside the bed and began to wrap the leather around Val’s fingers, tying them to a separate leather belt attached to the support of a worn-out root in the ground between the boulders.

“Looks like you have been taking care of me while I was out. Thanks again.”

Asher nodded and turned to leave the tent, but stopped. “Rylan and I have talked it over. You can’t live your life like this. If you want, we will accompany you while you search for a cure or an answer.”

Val looked at Daria before responding. “Thank you, Asher, for everything. But I think we want to just travel home and—” Daria cut him off.

“
Yes, Asher, thank you for everything. I mean that with my heart. And yes, we would love your company while we figure this thing out.”

Asher nodded once again and left. Daria shot Val a disarming smile.

“What did they say? Can we go with them?” The two heard Rylan whisper loudly outside the tent. Daria stifled a laugh and Val grinned.

“
I think he likes you,” Val said.

“
And I think Asher was right,” Daria responded. “You can’t live like this.” They looked at his hand, wrapped up and bound in leather.

Drask stood on the balcony, as he did each morning, to survey the process of the building. The initial spirited build had ground to nearly a halt. Resources, man power, and planning conflicts were brought to his lieutenants in masses. Drask put a quick end to the issues by throwing a foreman from the top of the tower. The demon was then immediately summoned from the abyss and put back to duty. Very few problems reached the top of the chain of command after that. As his labor force arrived, Drask relieved his army from working to begin training. He quickly found that his army did not work well together.

Fights broke out constantly, so he decided to segregate them. He apportioned them as any commander would: archers, cavalry, and infantry. Except in a normal army, the spearmen don’t eat the archers during a fight. Drask spent a lot of time trying to think about how to best manage his force, with little luck. His thoughts wandered from the topic once again when he was interrupted by one of the newest assets to his troops.

Lar, the large and intelligent gnoll, waited patiently, having given a low growl to let his presence be known. Drask waved the gnoll to come beside him. As a leader, Lar had been given the privilege of sorting through the armory before the troops. The large gnoll had chosen a set of deep green, spiked armor that covered his broad chest. The armor was heavily enchanted to give the wearer greater strength. The gnoll was already an imposing figure, even with his body still healing from the burns he had received from his altercation with Yusar. But with the armor, the beast looked even more fearsome.

“Lar, you are an enigma to me.” He waited for a response but the large beast gave none.              

“
It means a mystery I can’t figure out. Anyway, what can I do for you?”

The gnoll looked out over the work site as he responded. “I see you segregated the army as I suggested to Sirash. A wise choice, my Prince.” Drask studied the gnoll's eyes. He showed no signs of malice or sarcasm, only deep thought and intelligence.

“Yes, well, it did seem like the best choice. Did you come to gloat or did you actually need something?” The gnoll smiled, showing a long row of sharp fangs.

“
No, my Prince. I thought since you have allowed me to be part of your commanding force, it was my right to ask you a question.” Drask watched the gnoll's smile turn very serious.

“
Do you plan to use my clan as fodder in battle? Or will the others—giants, orcs, and gnolls—be considered equals in your command and kingdom?”

Drask held Lar’s gaze for several moments and let the question linger. “I am a Devil, you are a gnoll. Of course, my kind will hold a certain preference; there is no denying that. But you are no fodder, Lar. Your gnolls will be welcome among us for as long as you like. I had to force you to come here, to see my plans, and hear my ideas. You have had time to think about it, so now I will give you a choice. You can leave and take your clan with you. Neither I, nor any other here, will try to stop you.

“Or you can stay. I will make a kingdom; there is no question in that. And I’m sure, at some point, the humans will try to stand against my rule. Your gnolls united behind me might be the weight that tips the scale. But I will fight for it either way. A kingdom where giants, orcs, demons, gnolls, and other creatures can exist by their own free will, as equals.”

He finished by putting his hand on the shoulder of his gnoll and smiled.

“Let me take twenty of my men and two of your demons. In two weeks' time I can have you four more clans,” Lar said.

Drask straightened up, smiled broadly, and nodded his head. “Thank you for your confidence in me.”

Lar tilted his head down in acceptance and walked away. Drask listened as the gnoll walked off the balcony and could not contain the large smile that broke out across his face.              

“
Equals?” Arihem asked.

“
That gnoll is intelligent. I would dare say more than most demons I have under my control. His gnolls and their allegiance to him as a major asset. We just have to keep him happy. He turned to the demon. “I want to see your face.”

Arihem ended his invisibility and stood before the prince. Drask immediately looked up to meet Arihem’s eyes and chuckled. “I always forget how tall you are. Arihem, you know what this is all about. Freedom. Freedom from the abyss. The constant decay and stink of that hell. I am going to make us free. When I have my rule established, I will not force any creature, demon or otherwise, to stay here. You will have freedom of choice. My actions will change this world forever.”

As Drask looked away, his point made, Arihem re-established his invisibility and stood by. Drask looked at his human hand in disgust. “But before my reign can begin, I need this hand to work. Without it, we are a force without an end. Where is the Cerberus?” He looked back to the air where Arihem was standing, but didn’t expect an answer anyway.

Temo stood before the few he had called to his room in secret. The last two people he invited slipped in quietly and shut the door as he began to speak.

“Everyone has been asking what happened to Jora and me. I have thought long and hard about this, and I am ready to tell my story. He looked around and made sure he had everyone's attention. Temo started at the beginning when Yusar came into their guild. He told of his travels and encounters with the red wizard. Many of the men had lost friends and companions in the fight against Yusar, so the story stirred up bad feelings.

Then Temo told them about the mysterious new foe, about the battle he played out in his mind, and of the mass of demons in the tower. Temo finished by telling them about his escape with the help of Virmire and the imp visiting him. Some men looked around nervously as if demons would jump from the shadows at any moment.

“I have ensured to the fullest that no creature or man can see what is being said in this room right now. But the wards will not last forever, and I am sure if they are watching they will be suspicious now. We need to figure out our plan here and now. If a devil has come into this area, I would say that’s great for business, but I have been watching extremely closely. In the last few weeks, we have had a massive drop in work. Even the guards and city officials have recognized a drop in crime outside the city.” The men looked around for someone to clarify. One of the cloaked men from the back stepped forward and took down his cowl.

“
The orcs and goblins did not just die overnight. They are not hiding. And I’ve checked the surrounding cities. They did not move on to give someone else trouble.”

The men in the room eyed the unrecognized stranger.

“This is Arctus Emanu. General Emanu. I invited him here. This is beyond our guild.”

The room was quiet except for the few candle flames cutting the air. “You believe this time of peace is because they are gathering under the rule of this devil? To what end? What would a devil want with orcs and goblins?” the general asked.

“And gnolls.” Everyone in the room looked to the corner as Virmire appeared from the shadows. The woman seemed to have materialized into the candle light.

“
Reliable sources say several gnoll tribes have disappeared. They would number in the hundreds.” The group looked at General Emanu, then back to Temo as the battle mage shook his head. “I believe we are standing in the calm before the storm. And we need to prepare to meet the storm head on.”