No Good Deed (33 page)

“Excellent” Obidaan said and got off of his horse. “We shall take you into custody and decide your fate later.”

“Fine, but why? For the love of the gods, why are you doing this? I know I’m a tyrant but so what? I keep my people fed, clothed and housed, and they keep me rich. I let them do what they want, within reason. Rank does have its privilege, don’t you think?”

“No. Rank has its responsibilities. You keep them alive, but you don’t allow them to live. Thugs like you remove their hope and brainwash them into believing this is the best they can do. People have to be truly free to grow and prosper. Disputes over bullshit not because you can’t get along but because you don’t want to. It’s all about the power; someone has to have it so they can wield it over others. Well, you’ve been in power long enough. I will unite this world, even if I have to destroy it.”

There was brief silence then Gheriballi took charge. “Look, Obidaan, let me handle the mop up and restoration here. I promise justice will be done and the people will be free. Also, let me get some trusted people to cover your other territories, that way the Vanguard can be in tact when you go to your next stop.” No ping.

There were no victory celebrations. Gheriballi noticed Obidaan truly took no joy in his task. He felt he had a mission and was carrying it out. “Fine.” Obidaan agreed. “However, lock the former king in the dungeon until we get back.”

“Ok.” Gheriballi said.

It took a few more days to stabilize everything and get the team back together. During that time, Obidaan gave the people of the land pretty much the same speech he had given in Qualtar. The people seem to receive him well, however, when people who have been oppressed for so long are suddenly free, there are bound to be problems. They didn’t know what to do. They didn’t realize the freedom of choice they now had. It was going to take a long time to show them what they are capable of.

It didn’t take them long to reach Bocktaria. When they went to the city, it was strangely quiet. The gate was open and unguarded, the streets were empty and most places seemed closed. Upon closer inspection, people could be seen peeking out of windows. They continued down the road and soon a person on a horse, in the middle of the road, came into view. It didn’t take them long to realize it was Shuronda.

“Greetings,” She said evenly. She was very solemn in her demeanor. “We know why you’re here. Please, follow me and I will take you to the queen.”

“I see our reputation precedes us.” He said half jokingly.

“Yes,” she was humorless in her response, “Why? Why us. We’ve been good neighbors. You helped us once before.” She stopped and turned to him. “Do you know we have a holiday, Vanguard Day, to celebrate the return of the queen? We celebrate this day in
your
honor. Now you wish to conquer us? It’s maddening.”

“You’re right, Shuronda,” Obidaan began, “it is maddening. I am uniting all the kingdoms, whether they like it or not. Those who cooperate shall be rewarded. Those that don’t shall be severely punished. I hope to be reasonable with the queen.”

“And if she is not agreeable?”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” they continued on to the castle in silence. Soon they were walking into the chamber of the queen. There she sat her mother near here, the throne where the king once sat now empty. A silent exchange took place between Shuronda and Queen Darla; in just a glance, blink, and nod combined with her facial expression told Darla everything she needed to know. She nodded back and Shuronda who then bowed and dismissed herself.

Obidaan opened the dialog, “May I still call you Darla?”

“It would seem more appropriate now than ever, Obidaan.” She retorted, “The rumors of what you have been doing have reached my ears. A land that once hailed you as a hero now fears you. I hope you are happy with yourself.”

“No, Darla, I’m not. I have trouble sleeping at night. I don’t eat like I used to. I haven’t punned with my group in months. I don’t smile. I am the most retched and miserable man on this planet and it will only get worse.”

For a moment, Darla felt sympathetic to Obidaan. She was expecting him to be arrogant and full of bravado, to challenge her or kill her in her chair. She did not expect this. “Then it seems you still have a conscious. It seems the Obidaan I met those many years ago is still here. And what of the rest of your group?”

“They are the rest of my conscious. Their,” he cleared his throat, “misplaced love and loyalty are the only things that sustain me through this time. They love me unconditionally. It’s the only thing that brings me joy.”

Darla looked at the group and could see the pain in their eyes. It was obvious they wished Obidaan had not chosen this path but it was also obvious they would follow him to oblivion before giving up on him. “I see.”

“I will not ask you to abdicate or die, my group would not allow me to carry it out. However, I do ask that you subjugate to my authority. I am uniting these lands, whether they like it or not. Right now I have another paladin pulling the lands together. I want you to rule over all these lands. You are connected by the water. Because of that, the lands should be connected period and ruled by a single ruler. I offer you that rule, subject to me. Do you agree?”

“I assume I have little choice.” She said.

“Your only other choice is death.”

“Didn’t you just say that your group would not allow you to kill me?”

“Yes, however,” Obidaan flicked his wrist as if to throw something. Mystic appeared and the blade embedded itself in her thrown about 2 inches from her right ear and then it disappeared, “they cannot stop it.” Everyone gasped at his demonstration.

“Then I accept your terms.” A palpable sigh of relief was heard on both sides.

“Excellent,” Obidaan said and produced a sheet of paper and began writing on it. When he was done, he attached his seal using his paladin symbol. “Take this writ to Gheriballi, Paladin of Justice, in Qualtar. There arrange to rule these lands. This writ recognizes you as ruler of these lands, under me.” He walked up to her and handed it to her personally. Before he left, he grabbed her and hugged her tightly. She wanted to slap him, she wanted to kill him,… she wanted to hold him. So much anger ran through her. She wanted to pull away, but he was too much, she felt herself overwhelmed by him. In the end all she could do was shed a tear and return his hug. She cared about him but hated the situation. While hugging her he whispered in her ear. “Please forgive me.”

“Not today,” she whispered back.

He let go of her and headed out.

“Shall we cancel Vanguard Day this year?” the queen mother asked.

The queen though for a moment, “No,” she said, “It’s a celebration of the past. Let us use that day to continue to remember what was. Besides, with the way things are about to be, the people will need some type of recreation. Now, prepare my chariot. I have to assist in the running of an empire.”

Obidaan continued his
conquest of lands, with the help of Gheriballi, Gunther, and the Vanguard. This attracted more followers to him, including other paladins. Those he had fought with previously, the Paladin of Strife, Paladin of Knowledge, and Paladin of Seekers. Other that joined included Paladin of Mischief, Paladin of Thunder, Paladin of Hope and Paladin of Futility. He managed to gain an eclectic group of paladins and followers, some good, some evil, but all interested in what he was doing, creating a unified world.

Just prior to all of these people joining, he and the barbarian horde, made one special stop. When asked where they were going he’d only say “To visit an old friend.” He went to Vandicore to confront Llewellyn Vandarcathden. Since this was off of his normal path, there were no real preparations made to guard against him. He noticed extra guards at the gate but nothing more. The Vanguard and barbarian horde had no opposition to entering the kingdom. Llewellyn confronted them on the streets.

“What brings you back here?” He asked knowingly. “According to your rampage, you shouldn’t be here for another couple of months.”

“I decided to take a side trek. Besides, I have to keep another promise a friend.” He looked over at Gunther.

Llewellyn was confused but didn’t worry about it. “So, what are you going to do? Have your barbarian friends attack? You know as well as I do I could take all of them down, even if they berserk.”

Gunther didn’t like that, “Why you little punk! I’ll show you!” Gunther summoned Thumper and charged Llewellyn. Quickly Llewellyn pulled his axe in preparation for the attack each began to cast as the attack progressed. Gunther came down on Lu, aiming for his head. Lu put his axe up in defense. To everyone’s surprised, the axe bit into Thumper, causing a gouge in the seeming indestructible weapon. Staring at the gouge, Lu retracted the axe and swung it across Gunther’s midsection, slicing him soundly in the gut, causing blood to fly wildly. Gunther let out a yell as he used the momentum of the axe to spin him around and hit Lu squarely on the side. Lu moved as he felt the brunt land on his shoulder. He could also feel his bones crack under the pressure of the attack, he couldn’t hold his feet and went about 10 feet through the air before landing on the ground. Gunther however howled in pain and felt his shoulder crack as though he had hit himself with Thumper. He did not go flying through the air but did drop to his knees. He began to get back up when Obidaan yelled “Stop, enough. He gets your point.”

“Good,” Lu continued to heal himself, something Gunther couldn’t do. “Now where were we?” He stood up completely healed.

Obidaan walked over to Gunther and healed him. “We were negotiating your surrender.” Obidaan said callously. “And you will surrender, or I will fight you.” Gunther released then resummoned Thumper. Thumper came back like new.

“You? You can’t fight me, remember: Paladin will not strike down paladin?”

“I will in this case.”

“I don’t think so.” Lu challenged.

“Ready yourself.” Obidaan said. He summoned Mystic and headed for Lu. Again the same clash, but this time Lu’s axe was split in two. Dodging, he barely avoided the blow.

Obidaan began to swing again when Lu screamed “Stop!” Obidaan held his position. “Are you crazy? That blow would’ve killed me! You’re about to strike down a paladin. Are you insane?”

“I do believe I am,” Obidaan said. “I will do what I must and deal with the consequences later.”

“I can tell. Hell, I yield. This hellhole isn’t worth dying for. It’s yours; do with it as you please.”

“Thank you. Leave this land and never return.”

“Gladly,” Lu was off.

Obidaan turned to Gunther, “I told you I’d find you a place, here ya go. And take good care of the people, otherwise when I come back what he did to you will be nothing compared to what I do to you.”

“Thank you. I shall do as you ask.” Gunther noticed Alister, while a distance away, was still fairly close, flirting with one of the female barbarians. Gunther walked toward him and tapped Alister on the shoulder.

“Yes?” Alister was unaware of who it was.

Without warning, Gunther swung Thumper, catching Alister square in the jaw and sending him flying 30 feet through the air. He landed on the ground and tumbled like a rag doll. “Now we’re square.”

Relina immediately ran over to him and began to heal him. It helped some but her powers were still weak. Summing every ounce of willpower and faith she had, she concentrated on the unconscious body of Alister. Obidaan was rushing over getting ready to lay on hands when Don stopped him. “Let her do it.” He said.

“Why? You know except for paladins, divine magic has been diminished.”

“Has it? I don’t believe so. I just think it takes more faith now. She must find that.”

“Why?”

“Call it a premonition.” Don quipped. “Teacher and I have been having some nice conversations.”

Reaching even deeper down in her soul she prayed and believed. Then it was as if she could penetrate the darkness. A pinhole prick through the veil and that was all she needed. She could feel the power surge back into her. Recommitting herself, she laid hands on Alister one more time. This time she not only completely healed him but he leaped to his feet. “Wow! What a rush” he said. “I feel like I can conquer the world.”

“Good,” Obidaan said, “Because we have plenty of it left.”

They went to the castle to find the puppet king, only to find him dead, preserved and with strung up like a giant puppet. Relina said a blessing over the body and Terry and Don took it out back to bury it.

“Ok Gunther, this is your spot. I’ll be back to check on you in a few months.”

“You won’t be disappointed. You have treated me fairly. I will do the same here. Feel free to take some of my horde with you. They will serve you well.”

“Very well.” Obidaan was off.

With the horde, new paladins, Vanguard, and other followers, they were finding it easier and easier to take the world. Many of the kingdoms did not resist him, those that did, were crushed unmercifully.

In a painful and agonizing moment, several of the more good lands decided to rise up against Obidaan’s army and fight him. He begged the rulers to stand down, that he would prefer they surrender rather than kill them. He even offered them the chance to rule even more land than they had. They refused, stating no one had the right to dictate their choices, even if they were on the same side. The slaughter was merciless and Obidaan took no joy in personally killing each ruler. The Vanguard tried to stop him but he shook them off as a dog shakes off water.

It was time to conquer Pinnacle, the last battle in this campaign. He had a plan and decided it was time to change the world forever. Still, through it all, the Vanguard has helped correct and deflect some of his transgressions. There was an incident where a commander had yielded on the battlefield but Obidaan did not care. He was about to do a killing blow when Don extended his staff to block Mystic “He yields.” Don said, “Show mercy.”

“Mercy? All who oppose me will die, he is no exceptions.” Obidaan chose not to shake them off this time.

“You’re right.” Terry said, “He is not the exception. We are. We are the aggressor. He fights to defend what is his, to preserve his way of life. We are the ones taking that away from him. What is he supposed to do?”

“Yield. Yield and allow me to finish my work in peace.”

“Your words are that of a madman.” Terry said, “If someone were to say those words to you, would you believe them?” Obidaan really had to think about that one

“No, I would consider him a madman and act accordingly. I would do everything in my power to destroy my enemy.”

“That’s all he’s doing,” Terry said, “Now, show mercy!” Terry gazed at Obidaan, showing her true anger at him. At that moment, she could have beaten him, but only for that moment. Obidaan understood and helped the man to his feet. Obidaan once again both liberated and conquered another territory.

Many battles or takeovers went on like that as they continued to reign him in when he wanted to go too far. They knew direct confrontation wouldn’t work. Each time he had to be talked out of it.

They continued their march, annexing lands along the way. Obidaan never recruited people or asked people to join him, but he didn’t refuse them either. Often they did not set camp but would sleep in the Hall of Paladins. This gave him a chance to catch up with Cecilia and Cecilia a chance to catch up with Don. It was this perk that attracted many of his followers. However, when they came in the night before they were to reach Pinnacle, Cecilia was definitely distraught.

Obidaan and Relina were relaxing in their room carrying on light conversation when Cecilia stepped into the room.

“Shouldn’t you knock?” Obidaan asked. “What if we were in a compromising position?”

“I don’t get embarrassed, remember? Besides, I have to talk to you. You can’t do what you’re thinking of. I’m serious.”

Obidaan sighed heavily and looked at Cecilia, “It’s the only way. I’m going to end this, once and for all.”

“Not like this!” She was emphatic in her plea. “It will change everything. It will have negative ramifications all the way around.”

“What are you talking about?” Relina asked.

“Your wonderful husband wants to…” she was cut off.

“Don’t tell her,” Obidaan said.

“It affects her too, don’t you think she should know?”

“Fine, but I’ll tell her.”

“Ok, go ahead.”

“Not now.”

“If you don’t, I will.”

“Fine.” He took a deep breath. “Part of the reason I plan on going back to Pinnacle is to confront Mordechi..” he took a long drink, “and to destroy our church.”

A chill ran down her spine, she hoped he was kidding. “You mean the building, right?” she knew that’s not what he meant.

“I mean the church itself. As you know, the central church is connected to all others, and Morechi is the energy that runs everything. By destroying the central unit, all the other churches essentially die and all the priests become ...”

“Nothing! You are ripping my very essence. Your very essence. What are you thinking?”

“Not to mention what you will do to me,” Cecilia said.

“What do you mean?” Relina asked.

“You may lose your abilities. I …may very well lose my existence,” Relina looked at her concerned. “We’re celestial beings. The faith of mortals is where our energy comes from. You destroy the church, I might cease to exist.”

“I won’t let that happen.” Obidaan said.

“Yeah right.” Cecilia said, “You’re going to destroy my source of energy and then tell me I’ll be ok? Let me blow up the planet and see how you do. That’s what you’re doing to me.”

“I wish I could change things, but I believe this is what has to be done. Our church started this; it has to pay the ultimate price to end it. That’s what this has been about. It took me long enough to realize it. I thought uniting the world would be enough, but now I realize that’s not enough. I’ve been making these tyrants pay, but I haven’t made the ultimate one pay, myself.”

“I don’t agree with you,” Cecilia said.

“I’m sorry. I’m not changing my mind. And don’t you mention it to anyone either,” Obidaan looked at her. He knew his powers didn’t work in the Hall but he hoped she would abide by him.

“Damn you.” Crying, she ran over and hugged him. “I still love you. Fine, you like to deal with things and their place. I know mine. I just hope you know yours.”

He returned the hug. “No, but I have a feeling I’m going to find out.” Obidaan said.

She then went over and hugged Relina, “I love you, too,” she said.

“And I love you, Cecilia.” Relina replied.

“Good night.” Cecilia said abruptly and ran out of room. She then ran into Don’s room, tears still running down her cheeks. He was meditating and had his eyes closed. “Don,” she said.

He opened his eyes and looked at who had called him, “I didn’t know celestials could cry.”

“Neither did I. We’re not supposed to show any extreme emotions, beyond love.”

“Maybe this is love, in another form,” he said evenly, yet caringly.

“It must be,” she wiped the tears from her cheek.

Don stood up. Almost resolved to what was going to happen he asked anyway, “What can I do for you, my love?”

“Hold me.” She said and she moved to be hugged by him.

“Ok. How long?”

“Till you leave.” She said.

“What about… um.” he was trying to say a polite way to say it.

“No,” she said, “just hold me.”

“I…can do that.” He went back into his meditative position, placed Cecilia in his lap and held her. She had her arms around his neck. They stayed like that for the remainder of the night.

Relina looked at Obidaan, now that Cecilia was gone, “So, when were you going to tell me this?”

“When we got to the gates,” he said, “I figured that would be the best time to let you know you might be losing your religion.”

“I can’t believe you,” she said. “After all we’ve been through, you still feel you have to keep secrets. I’ve supported you all through this campaign and this is what you think of our relationship? Haven’t you learned anything?”