Lassara - Shards of Neril - Story Thread

Frijyk wondered how he had got himself into this mess. Things seemed to be looking so well the night before, but now he was in a situation where making the right choice could mean everything. He looked around himself, his eyes shifting first to the wizened old Morangul, then to the legion of red eyes staring at them, and finally to the beaming, hopeful Alaria. He would hate to dampen that crazy girl's spirits, but he was not about to go wasting his time risking his life for some monsters that tried to kill him. At the same time, trying to challenge them here would be unadvisable; there were simply too many, and he would have to deal with Alaria protesting as well. He looked at Morangul flatly.

"Are-we really considering this? Go back to Leon to-save a bunch of monsters?"

Before Morangul could answer, he laid out his case.

"I-am not saying we should-fight them now. But if we get-back on that road, even if we go to-Leon, I have no-intention of rescuing more of those... things. Besides, did-not you say Vayne has an army of demons? We should be-going south, not north."

Alaria made a childish, sour face. Both looked to Morangul to cast his own vote and resolve this dispute before they were all eaten by spiders.

The demon was past the point of annoyance now although one could easily misread this as he was laughing again, like a lunatic he was giggling while he lifted himseld up, the muscles and sinews in his legs reconnecting and rebuilding themselves already.

Crack

...

His teleporting ability was obviously still under this mage's influence as the demon was still standing there, eyeing Thomas who was slowly coming back to his senses. "Now it'sss time for thisss to end." Enego pointed out his left index finger and with his long claw he scratched symbols into the planks underneath him. A soft giggle escaped him when he lifted his eyes up again and was viewing Thomas, standin up again, ready to kill this beast once and for all when suddenly another Enego appeared right next to the demon. A third one appeared on his other side and before long Thomas was facing six of the sort, all laughing, obviously amused, especially after back-right-corner Enego stepped on the toes of the one beside him and earned himself a retaliatory slap to the helmet.

"Now what?", they all exclaimed with one voice and immediately circled the squire. Now, they might have been a little careless and overly depending on their numbers as two of them were quickly pierced by Essa and immediately vanished but the remaining four were attacking in a more coordinated way now, leaving Thomas almost no time to breathe in between defending himself against their deadly blows. One of the swords brushed by his face at a dangerously close distance and soon the squire was looking for Gilford or his mage again.

If the lack of sleep or the persistence of the fey's magic were affecting Tawariell, the elf showed no sign of it to her feline companion; little time had passed since the pair had been roused by the dawn chorus and resumed their journey, but they had made the sort of progress that may take others the best part of the day to achieve.

It was thanks to this blistering pace that Tah and Raina now stood at the edges of the forest, mere paces away from where they had made camp a few days ago; the elf noted several animal prints in the soil, suggesting that a small group of animals had passed through this area recently, probably scavengers hedging their bets on an abandoned meal or two. Tah shook her head sorrowfully as her gaze turned to the long-extinguished remains of her campfire; it was standard practice for her kind that if they took something from nature, they would return the favour, yet she had forgotten to leave some food behind as thanks for the firewood. She recalled being distracted by the soil's plea for help, though she refrained from cursing the lich on this occasion.

Raina ensured that Tah's attention returned to the task at hand, nudging her head against the elf's legs; nodding in agreement, Tawariell continued towards the road, though she was soon stopped in her tracks when she heard her companion growling at her side.

An eyebrow raised, the elf turned to see that Raina had become statuesque, her ears rigid and eyes narrowed as she silently scanned her surroundings; needing no encouragement, Tah sank to her knees and lowered an ear to the ground... hundreds of thudding footfalls responded in time with one another, steadily drawing closer and closer, louder and louder.

Cursing in her mother tongue, Tawariell climbed to her feet and scanned northwards; her gaze initially fell upon the town of Leon, but in the distance, a few miles beyond the settlement's walls, she could see it... a blackened mass hurtling across the horizon, like flies crawling over a carcass.

An army was on it's way to Leon; the truth in Morangul's words rang in Tah's ears and she was at a loss for her own.

The blows kept coming, even with a potion's effects he could only last so long. He retreated back a step and swung as one of the clones lunged at him, cutting it in half. It disintergrated before hitting the ground.

'If it's this easy to kill the clones' Thomas thought, 'I guess they arent as strong as the original.'

'They arent as skilled either' he thought as another clone rushed to take the last one's place only to be skerwered as it's overhead swing came down a second too slow.

The last clone's charge was easily side stepped and resulted in it falling over the rail and into the dock water. 'Or as smart if that's even possible'.

The real Enego seemed to be posibly seething at this point but he didnt have much time to sulk as a severely ticked off Gilford came charging in battering at Enego's defenses with his Greatsword. Enego easily dodged Gilford's somewhat slow swings and leaped backwards whistling for more demons, but this time before they could land the two demons were litterally plucked out of the air by two great disembodied hands and plunged screaming into the water. Thomas looked on as Enego found himself in the middle of a semicircle with the ship rail behind him and a cresent composed of an annoyed knight, a wizard and the remaining members of the crew.

“Afraid of you? I am terrified out of my wits by demons and flying citadels, you and your guards are quite possibly the only people stopping me from screaming incoherently and running around in rags. Given the circumstances, you are probably the only person I can talk frankly with, but I genuinely have nothing else to tell you.”

They are the ones who should be afraid.

Drax paused, before continuing: “Anyway, shouldn’t you question the mercenary too? He most likely has actually murdered someone in cold blood.”

The captain had to laugh at Drax' response and nodded as he was talking about Rufus. "Oh he sure has and that's one of the reasons you should be able to sleep at night, knowing that right now he will most probably rather use these skills against the demons than against you. The thing is, I am aware of what he is and I have a good idea of what he is capable of doing, both of his skills and his morality, what makes me nervous is uncertainty not danger. And you, Drax, you are the one I'm not so sure about." He smiled again. "Don't take it personally, I don't mean to insult you, I'm just telling you why it's you that is being questioned and not Rufus. In fact I'm happy to have both of you along."

Kyran cursed himself again for letting the encounter with the lich slow him in the morn. He'd slung himself through the canopy for the better part of a couple hours, but was not sure he was making progress in his pursuit. This was complicated by the increasingly hilly terrain which was stunting the growth of the flora, which encouraged Kyran to abandon his catapulting in favor of a safer, but more plodding trek. It was to the point where he was questioning whether he was on a goose chase- the woman likely knew terrain well, and traveled quickly, even if stuck on foot. Kyran stopped for a second, and clambered his way to the tallest tree in the area, and lifted himself up once more. Gazing east, he could see the surprisingly abrupt end to the forest. 'A bit too abrupt,' Kyran thought to himself. That meant a human settlement was likely nearby. He was all to aware of their tendency to cannibalize the world around them without care. It also meant his chase was close to an end. There was no way he was going to find that woman out of the forest.

With a sigh, Kyran lowered himself into the shade of the canopy, and set off for the eastern edge of the forest. Hopefully he would find some hint of her location, or her direction. Something concrete. He trotted through the boughs as briskly he could.

About twenty minutes later, he found himself hunched over on a sturdy limb, a scowl adorning his face. The forest had officially ended, and in his consternation, Kyran decided to spend a good few minutes glaring at the human road, just so it knew his displeasure. It was only after a few minutes of this fruitless endeavor that Kyran noticed something. Or, more accurately, a lack of something. For a road, it was extraordinarily quiet. It was not even that there were not humans traversing it. Kyran figured a good number of fauna would frequent the area to sneak food from passerby travelers. The quiet was almost eery. Where were the birds? 'Surely,' Kyran thought to himself, 'Even humans would not do this. They might burn and destroy, but theses trees here are intact, yet life has abandoned them. Humans cannot do this, right?'

Kyran's musing was interrupted when a faint sound from the north broke the silence. His eyes lit up. A voice! Female! Angry! Had his journey not been fruitless after all? With reckless abandon, Kyran leaped to the nearest tree and slung himself into the boughs again. His eyes stayed plastered to the ground, desperate for the source of the lone voice in this bit of forest. Unfortunately, Kyran lost himself so in scanning the ground that he lost track of the actual forest he was traversing. His grip inadvertently slipped, and he tumbled downward. Kyran's scrambled mind managed to move the nearest tree to lend a low-hanging branch at the last second. Kyran grabbed for it, but momentum was unkind, and the branch snapped after a second's give. Kyran managed to save some bit of grace with a tumble as he fell on his side to the grassy turf. Embarrassed, but otherwise unharmed, he stepped out to the road, and gazed north. Haha! There she was, gazing north. The feline had noticed his awkward entrance, so Kyran stayed where he was. He wondered how to address her. She seemed preoccupied gazing northward at the town. The last time he'd seen her, she seemed to prefer an elven tongue he was not familiar with. Still... perhaps she knew some of his clan's. He started to give it a try.

"Aaye. Oio naa el... " Kyran's greeting drifted off when he saw what she saw. It was not the town, as he'd thought, but some amorphous black mob some distance behind it. It seethed like a living organism all its own. Well, at least he had a decent idea why the forest was so quiet. Now, for the woman... it was at least polite to finish his greeting. "Oio naa elealla alasse'," he offered. He bowed his head for a response.

The elf's approach had not gone entirely unnoticed by Tawariell, his less-than-graceful landing having registered faintly on a mind that otherwise remained fixed firmly on the horizon; as he spoke, in an elven dialect that she was familiar with only at a conversational level, she found herself wondering why he had followed her, and for how long... but this was no time for questions.

Without turning to face Kyran, Tah raised her left arm into the air and clenched her hand into a tightly-closed fist; it was an old hunting command, signalling for one's partner to stop, and while she was unsure if he knew of it's meaning, she hoped that he understood the reason for it's use.

"Valeh", she whispered in his language, offering a curt nod of her head in acknowledgement of his own politeness; she wasn't particularly certain whether the word was a greeting, as she intended, or actually a slur against one's parentage, but it was one of the few phrases she could recall at that moment.

Kyran stayed his place as the woman raised an arm. The sign, he recognized from the days of his youth, which told him to halt. The phrase the woman uttered in response, however, was a touch strange, which caused him to raise an eyebrow. Kyran was unsure why she would issue a formal greeting to one's parent. He was quite sure he'd not fathered any children. 'Perhaps a language issue, maybe she's not spoken it in a long while,' he thought. 'Still, better than nothing, I suppose. Might as well get down to business' Kyran offered a quick prayer to L'athan, that the woman would understand his request for instruction.

"Amin sinta thaliolle e dagor. Ahmin irna tuall ruthaerea."

Tawariell did not turn to face Kyran as he continued to speak to her, which was probably a good thing as she would have failed to hide the confused visage she was currently sporting; he had stated that he was aware of her battle prowess, that much was clear to her, but she could have sworn that this was followed up with an off-colour remark about her bottom... she momentarily clenched her fist as to strike the man in her indignation, but relented as her attention returned to the horizon.

After what seemed like an eternal silence, but actually amounted to a minute or so, Tah responded to his comments in Lammirna, hoping to impress the difficulty of understanding his tongue by foisting her own upon him... it was a test of sorts, a measure of how willing the elf would be to break down the barrier and establish a common ground.

"Balun, il vena tor'ah malah nei."

Morangul stood there, Frijyk on one side of him, and Alaria on the other.
He still wanted to find out more information on Vayne, and the spider mother
gave him an easy excuse.

"Unless you want to be slowly eaten alive by hundreds of spiderlings, I suggest we head to Leon."
Morangul watched as Alaria's face brightened up, while at the same time Frijyk's face fell.
"Don't worry, we will only be there for a short while," Morangul said to Frijyk,
"Besides, I would rather have these spiders as allies, not enemies."
With that, Morangul looked over to Alaria, who was telling the mother spider the good news.

"Lets just hope Leon isn't overrun with demons....."

Suddenly there was a stir among the spiders surrounding the group, even the huge mother was feeling something and it seemed like she was trembling. The fear in their minds surely overwhelmed Alaria as she stopped talking to the spider and the next moment the arachnids were gone even more quickly as they had appeared. The lich and Fryjik looked at each other, clueless at first as to what would have stirred up such a reaction.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Distant, yet clearly to be heard, these sounds had to be what had driven the spiders away. The departure of the eight-legged creatures wasn't exactly an unwelcome turn of events, except for the fey maybe, but hearing what was coming their way the group now feared they might have been better off with the spiders.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

It was definitely drawing closer and sounded like the monotonous beat of a wardrum, spurring on the oarsmen of a galley. The trees around them seemed to tremble now, as if the forest was aching and in pain. Something completely unnatural was coming through these woods, even more unnatural than Morangul.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

It was close now. They could hear the cracking and bursting of wood among the monotonous beats now and with every muted stomping sound the ground was shaking. Footsteps... They finally realized what they were hearing and a few moments later it broke through the trees and right into the clearing in front of them. It was a moving rock or rather mountain, towering at easily twenty feet the creature was crashing through the trees, the ones in it's way bursting as if their were made of parchment. The giant's left arm was covered in plate, the shoulder armored and it was wearing some kind of spiked helmet which gave it an even more frightening look.

Fortunately it didn't seem to notice them as it continued without ever stopping or slowing down but then they saw the red form upon the giant's shoulder. Standing atop the beast, with one hand holding on to one of the helmet's spikes was an incredibly skinned... thing... almost completely covered in a strange red armor. it's body being the complete opposite of the muscle-mountain, yet it's presence was more frightening than the giant could have ever been. It's gaze went over them, one by one and it halted on Morangul, looking at him closely as it's 'vehicle' was passing by. The lich felt these eyes percing through him as if his deepest soul had been exposed to the demon. Right when he thought he couldn't take it anymore and was close to throwing a fireball or something similar at the strange couple, these eyes finally turned away, the creature looking onwards again as the giant crashed into the treeline, leaving a path behind on it's way southwest.

As the mammoth figure and its rider passed by, a chill ran down Frijyk's spine. Which was unnatural, because Frijyk was rarely, if ever, chilly.

Even as his mind tried to fathom what the two beings could be, in his heart he knew all two well. These were the demons. The same ones who had slaughtered his people a thousand years ago and driven them into the mountains, hiding in fear. The same demons whom Frijyk swore to himself to destroy, if they still existed, to secure the future of his tribe. Frijyk grasped the shimmering, glittering sapphire that hung around his neck, and remembered the shame he had caused his family to endure. If he returned to the settlement now, with demons still roaming the land- if he allowed these beings to retake the lands the Lassarans drove them from- it would prove, in his people's eyes, that he was a fool after all, to hope to leave the mountains.

Besides, the smaller demon had looked right at him, no doubt marking his unusual skin tone. If word got out to Vayne that the Borians were still around... his people would be in grave danger.

Frijyk's road was crystal clear. His path had been built on uprooted trees. He looked back at Morangul and Alaria.

"I'm following them. I would-prefer it if you came with me. But if you must-go to Leon, then we must-part ways."

His two companions looked unsure for a moment. They no doubt believed he was somewhere between determined and insane.

"I can-not wait. There is-no time to waste. Follow me if you-wish."

The road that had been so clearly laid out for him beckoned. Frijyk turned away from his new friends and began walking briskly toward the southwest. Even though the pair of dark creatures were long-gone, he would be guided by the unbroken chain of uprooted trees. Frijyk hadn't the faintest idea of how he would overcome a massive demon like that. But with a clear goal in mind, he was able to set his mind to work. He was no longer wandering, but traveling with a purpose.

Morangul watched the lumbering giant slowly make its way to whatever destination it had.
He recalled the power of the demon riding the golem.
That has to be one of Vayne's associates....

"I shall go with you. It is time we learn what this is all about."

Drax managed a weak smile: "That's comforting. Though if you still don't trust me, you can keep me in the middle of the column, surrounded by your men. I doubt even a thrice-blessed mage-king can escape from twenty Royal Guards." It would also be the safest place when there is an ambush, but the Captain no doubt knew that Drax was a craven coward already anyway. As an afterthought, he added: "When we reach Leon, it may be a good idea for me to... stay outside of the city. Lord Nias probably has enough men loyal enough to try take me even after his city surrenders. He always was a popular one with the commoners."

As they crossed the street, Guantano craned his neck to take a look at a small building that lay inconspicuously off the main path, its darkly colored wood blending into its shaded environment. Good, its still open, thought Guantano. Continuing on the path, the group turned a few corners before eventually arriving at a brick house, enclosed in a small compound with green walls that matched the well-kept grass in the garden. There to welcome them was a thin tall man, middle-aged, who opened the bright purple gates for them. "Greetings young master and mistresses, welcome to The Enclosure of Knowledge, if it pleases you I shall lead your horses to the stables at the back where they shall be watered and taken care of," said the man, who bowed slightly. Without hesitation Guantano brought up the reins to the man, who led the coursers to a small sheltered shack by the side.

Strolling towards the door, Guantano reached forward his hand and grasped the handle, turning it, only to have it remain shut. Chuckling, Gunther walked up and said, "silly me, I've forgotten to teach you how to open a door." Brandishing his stick, Gunther raised it high, before rapping a small carved crevice at the top of the door thrice, before he brought his stick back down. "Open says me!" He cried in a booming voice. To the surprise of the group, the door swung open by itself and Guantano's eyebrow rose, briefly making eye contact with Alyssa who was likewise surprised by such odd happenings. Seeing their expressions, Gunther turned and a broad smile was on his face. "Nifty huh? I had a mage enchant it for 20 silvers only!" Whistling a merry tune, he spun around and continued walking into the house.

As the group walked into the hallway, the door shut itself abruptly and Gunther changed into another pair of lemon-yellow boots before waving them into another room. "Harkin will be back from the stables soon enough, and I can already smell the egg on the boil and the bacon sizzling on the grill." Looking at Guantano who remained at the doorway, Gunther spotted the expression on his face and sighed, waving his stick towards him. "Go then, run along, don't take too long." Grateful for Gunther's tacit understanding despite the years, Guantano tried the handle, and thankfully it opened normally from the inside. Racing down the footpath back to the streets, Guantano hoped that his hunch was right.

---------------------------------

Pushing past the door of the Leaky Tap, Guantano pushed his way through a group of people who were by the door, spying just what he was looking for, and he walked swiftly across the room and sat down at an occupied table. Facing him, was a man roughly his age, unshaven, his hand rubbing across his stubble-laden chin as he watched Guantano sit down. "Well I'll be, its Guantano you thrice da-:daisy: lucky son of a :daisy:, I haven't seen you in years, what brings you to Leon? Planning on going 'conquering' again?" The man said, winking at him. Laughing, Guantano replied, "its good to see you too Loren." Even as Loren shifted a full mug of ale in front of him, Guantano raised his hand, and said, "Its fine, I won't be here for long, I've just got to settle something." Sipping from his mug, Loren looked forward into Guantano's eyes and asked, "So what be it this time?" Breaking the stare, Guantano ruffled a hand through his dark hair, and began apprehensively. "Well... there's this girl an-" Guffawing, Loren broke in and with an amused tone, said, "I knew it! Brunette I'm guessing?" Raising a hand to silence the man, Guantano continued in a serious tone, unaffected by the joke. "You of all people know my history Loren, and this girl... well, she brought back memories. She's young, sixteen only if I guessed correctly, and seems to have some, issues."

Folding his hands, Loren eyed him and said, "What do you need Guantano? My sword always stands ready for you." His expression dead serious, Guantano stared back into Loren's eyes. "I want you to watch her Loren, a young girl named Meghghan, she's at Gunther's place with me and another before we'll head out. We'll have to part ways with her, and I want somebody I can trust watching her." Reaching out from his tunic and loosening a small pouch, Guantano placed it on the table, a soft jingle accompanying the movement. "Something to help out." Standing up, Loren reached forth his right hand, his hand touching the small pouch of coin, before he pushed it back towards Guantano. "What is my coin for if not for friends?" Standing up too, Guantano got out of the table, re-pocketing the pouch, before he tightly clasped Loren's hand and pulled him close. Whispering into his ear, Guantano said, his voice wavering even as he did so. "Thank you Loren. Keep her safe, keep her well, watch over her." Stepping back and releasing the grasp, Guantano said solemnly, "I will not forget this. I hope to repay you back some day." Placing his hand on Loren's shoulder, Guantano continued. "We leave in about an hour's time from the house, you'll be able to get a good look at her then." Tightening his grip, Guantano said, full of emotion. "Goodbye Loren." Walking away swiftly, Guantano did not hear Loren muttering under his breath, his mind fresh with the events of the day when the young foolhardy Guantano had charged in and miraculously saved the small band of surrounded mercenaries, escaping unharmed. "You already have, old friend, you already have."

---------------------------------

Reaching the gate again, Guantano stood waiting for a moment, before Harkin opened the gate. "Welcome back, the front door is already open." When he finally passed through the doorway once again, Harkin right behind him, Guantano walked back to the fireplace, and settled down into a chair. At Alyssa's questioning look, Guantano simply replied, "I had something to take care of." Pouring a cup of honey-ale, Gunther offered it to Guantano, who accepted it with thanks. Leaning backwards with an appreciative sigh, Gunther placed his walking stick in front of him and grasped its handle with his hands. "Its time I told you a story, a story that goes back for hundreds of years, about a man named Cantus, and those whom followed him..."

He then went on to recount to them the story of how Lassara came to be, how Cantus defeated the dark Lord Darganta and was in return slain by Vayne, before he and his demonic host could be banished into the Void. Most of it was already known to Alyssa and Guantano but they still listened with interest, especially when Gunther returned to the present and speculated on the more interesting parts of the story; the things they probably wouldn't know about.

"Now... it seems that Vayne has returned but this was not his doing alone." The old man had gotten up and was searching for something in his bookshelf. "Ah, here it is", he exclaimed triumphantly and pulled out a book, skipping over the pages until he found a drawing that showed a long black sword, exotic in shape. "This is Darganta's sword and as you probably know, it couldn't be destroyed and was kept under high security in the palace. Well, it is the only key, the only way to open a portal to the Void and that means that someone from this side has opened the way for them, someone very human, a Lassaran." He sighed and put the book on a table, sitting down again. "Now listen, this is only my idea because no one has ever been to the Void but I don't think it's where these creatures originate from. They were too diffferent among each other. Accounts of the battles at the beginning of our kingdom describe many of the foes Cantus and his army were facing and there were so many variations that I think they must all have lived somewhere else, before going to the Void. Now the big question is: Why did they leave their worlds to enter the Void when obviously they don't want to stay there?"

"Now, to be honest, even my knowledge on this is limited but I guess your interest lies more in the area of how to defeat them anyway, right? You just want to be prepared when they come so I will tell you what I think. Neril, Cantus' sword, blessed by Lassa, has been broken into seven pieces and out of it seven weapons were forged. This blade has defeated the wielder of Darganta's sword once and it has tasted the blood of these demons. I would suggest finding yourself one." He chuckled and looked at his guests to observe their reactions to his little speech.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Crack

Crack

Crack.

“...Damn!”

Nothing, the wizard’s spell was still in effect. Enego tried to step away from the encircling crew but stopped as his back hit the railing with a thud.

“Not so dangerous without your friends eh?” One of the sailors called.

Enego said nothing and with one hand holding out his sword felt behind him for the rail and taking a grip proceeded to turn and vault over the wooden beam.

“Don’t run away, I was just starting to have fun”, the wizard’s hand was raised before Enego had cleared the rail. “Bugsby’s grasping hand.”

A shining purple hand about the size of a wardrobe appeared trailing smoke from some unseen portal and plucked Enego out the air and carried him back to the ship where it hovered, restraining the struggling demon. The rain had lessened somewhat from torrent to drizzle. Noting the situation had become a lot less deadly; Thomas walked over to the hovering hand and looked the demon in the eye.

“Right, good job... uh...”

“Ced.” The cheerful wizard replied

“...Seriously?” Thomas looked at the wizard who just gave a warm smile. “A wizard named Ced, I thought it was mandatory for wizards to have names like Methuselah, Zachary or Morangul.”

The wizard kept smiling. “You can call me Cedrick if you wish.”

“Ok then.” Thomas turned back to Enego. “Right, who are you and who are you working for?”

Enego looked perplexed. “You really expect me to anssswer that?”

“Yes, Cedrick give him a squeeze.”

The hand tightened and Enego started to hiss like he was stifling a scream.

“To hell with you human! You know nothing of the void and I'm not going to be your teacher!”

Thomas’s brow knotted “Again”

The hand tightened, the Demon’s armour started creaking under the stress and Enego hissed even louder until he could hold no more and let out a cry;

“More, more!”

Thomas looked to Gilford who shrugged then to the wizard who had stopped smiling, the sailors retreated a few steps as Enego started giggling.

“What the... Cedrick break his legs.”

The hand’s ring and little fingers squeezed and with a series of Snaps the demon’s wiggling feet went limp. Enego started to howl with laughter.

“Yes! YES!”
Thomas’ stomach started to turn, the sailors had started to make holy signs and Ced had started to mutter under his breath. Even Gilford was touching his the crest on his cloak’s clasp.

“I... I don’t think I want to know anymore, that’s enough Cedrick, Kill him.”

The hand Clenched with a Crunch as Enego’s torso collapsed and a dark liquid started trickling on to the deck. The head still lived. It’s laughing, while gurgled, resonated around the dock.

”What the hell” Thomas’ stomach clenched and it took some effort not to choke. He staggered forward, drew Essa and after a second to calm his breathing swung at Enego’s laughing head.

Tcha-
Thomas’ body froze as Essa was halfway through the demon’s neck. He couldn’t move, no matter how much he tried. It felt wrong, it was very wrong, every part of his brain screamed at him to move.

move.

He couldn’t even move his eyes, Thomas’ vision was frozen on Enego’s half cut throat.

Move.

The drops of blood and water were just hanging in midair, like shiny red and blue pearls.

Move!

There was no sound. The silence would have been maddening if not for the panic already occupying Thomas’ mind

MOVE!

Out of the corner of his eye he thought he could see Gilford, he wasn’t moving either

MOVE!!!

Nothing moved, not Thomas, not Enego, not Gilford, not even the rain.

MOVEMOVEMOVEMOVEMOVE---------!!!

“You failed Enego.”

A voice.

“I can’t say it was a surprise but I thought you would last at least one assignment”

I know that voice.

“You’re not getting a second chance.”

Who is it?

“The first said I should rely on you-”

First?

“-but I left a curse on you that will kill your killer, just in case.”

Curse?

“At least this way you can be somewhat useful.”

I remember that voice.

“Goodbye Enego”

The palace it was-

-ack

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.”

Alyssa bit her lip. Seven weapons in all this world can stand against this? Only seven?
Guantano didn't seem to have grasped the full implications of what had been said, not yet. Alyssa had.
"They're all going to die. Everyone who stand in their way until these weapons are found, they are going to die."
Guantano was shocked to see tears threatening to roll from her eyes. She looked at Harkin. "Have our horses been tended? We'll need them, and soon. Please make them ready."
The man left the room and Alyssa looked first at Meghghan, then at Guantano. Silently, she mimicked, we can't bring her along. Then she turned to the old sage again.
"We need to know where we can find these shards. Do you have any idea where they might be?"

Kyran frowned. Her clenched fist, and a response in her native dialect hinted his prayer had indeed gone unanswered. Or was it offensive to request instruction in the clan she hailed from? As far as her response went, he only picked out a small bit of it he was fairly certain of. He thought she'd referred to him as 'bold friend'. The rest was, sadly, a mystery. And the "bold" bit, he had a hunch, was not entirely complimentary. His mouth tweaked a bit before he sighed a bit. So perhaps trying to converse in elven was a poor idea after all. Well, if one method would not succeed, try, try a new one.

"Fair huntress, would common be preferable? I think we misunderstand each other."

Tawariell pondered the offer for a moment; her knowledge of Lassara's common language was worse than her grasp of the elf's dialect, and she wasn't particularly fond of speaking in the foul human tongue anyway... but the elf was insistent in both his words and his actions, and so she conceded defeat, at least to hear him out.

"Manka lle merna, taur'amandil", she responded in his language before settling with his choice of common, "what do you want?"

"How would I?" the old man appeared to be amused by the question even though his eyes looked sad when he shook his head. "I am not an adventurer, my dear, and I have always relied on books for my knowledge, not the direct approach to go out and hunt treasures, search dungeons and discover ancient ruins. What I know is, most of them are lost. They seem to have the inherent quality to spur their bearers to significant deeds or it is just a coincidence that they have always been put into the hands of those who sought glory and adventure."

He looked through his books again and picked out two. "Look, these are legends about the history of the shards. We don't know too much, most are myths as the weapons have been lost centuries ago. We don't even know what kind of weapons they were, at least for most of them. It seems some were lost in the northern realm of Tarania; some seem to have been carried to the west and for some we have no clue as no one knew where they bearers were headed when they were lost. We only know of one: Essa, the pale beauty, the royal sword. I fear it is now in the hands of Vayne or whoever is commanding him. It was kept in the palace, in the capital."

"In that case, our first priority is survival and stealth. Guantano," Alyssa said, turning to him, "I think we should be heading further south. We cannot linger here, but I imagine that Leon will last longer than Lassara did, being prepared for an attack and having walls for protection. We will have time to seek out stories and myths when we have more distance between death and us. We should leave immidiately." She turned back to Gunther.
"Sire, your assistance has been much useful. Is there any reward you would ask of us? I fear we have little money, and only horses enough for the two of us. I would advice you to leave this city while you can, as well, if you hold your life dear."

Gunther did not answer at first but the expresion on his face turned even more gloomy for a moment before he returned to his usual state of amusement. "Ah well, this is my home and I am too old to travel. Besides, you cannot escape fate, no matter how far you run so what's the point in running? But take these", he handed them both books, "they'll be of more help to you than to me, I fear."

Right at that point Harkin entered the room again, hastily. "Sir, something is going on outside, the soldiers are runnig to the walls, they are manning the defenses." He turned towards Alyssa: "Your horses have been made ready. You should leave soon if you want to escape this."

"Go quickly now. It has been a pleasure seeing you again, Guantano," the man prodded the mercenary with his stick, "try not to get into more trouble than you can handle." He was joking and seemed genuinely amused but he did show signs of worry. "If you hurry you might still make it out of the southern gate before they close it."

On the road once more, to some end or another. Rufus wasn't really caring about a destination, just whether he'd get a chance to escape and make good, or whether he would stay. He could quite easily kill the princess or the captain, but his chances of surviving were not something he would like to consider. He thought about the other companions, the young man with them was obviously under some kind of mental duress. He'd seen enough of it during his life to spot someone inexperienced at hiding it. Glungard probably wouldn't let him kill the princess though, he's certainly taken a liking to her. The two guards were just bricks.

With these thoughts in mind, Rufus rode his horse along the path, the captain Alain and the psycho behind them, having a private conversation. He noticed a shadow hiding in the grass near the group of the princess, including him. Rufus was unconcerned, but cautious. The group passed by, and the ambusher came out, his halberd pointing at the princess. The man had army clothing, turned to rags but an eagle insignia was still visible, marking him as a member, or at least former member of the scouts.

"Give me what supplie you have and the missus don't get hurt," he said in a harsh bark.

Rufus however, had noticed who the man was from his clothing, his appearance, bad as it may be, and his voice. The man was Dietrich, his former scout leader.

"Dietrich!" he yelled, and rode over to man's side, "This man is my friend, he is coming with us." Rufus said to the group.

Alyssa threw Guantano a single serious glance and hastened out of the door towards her horse, leaving him with his concerns about Meghghan. From outside, she shouted, "Are you coming or not? I'm leaving!"

Taking one last look at Meghghan, Guantano reassured himself that he was not abandoning her. She would not have been able to survive for years in that condition if she did not know how to take care of herself.

Locking gazes with Gunther, Guantano replied with a sad smile. "Likewise, stay safe and alive Gunther, I'll be back one day to challenge you to a rematch."Smiling back, Gunther said. "I'll hold you to that promise Guantano, now go! Time is of the essence!" Waving Guantano off, Gunther stood by the porch, looking there as Guantano raced after Alyssa, Meghghan slowly following them to the gates. There, Alyssa and Guantano mounted their horses, Alyssa kicking her courser into motion. Glancing one last time at Gunther, Guantano bidded him farewell, before continuing at a moderate pace. Looking at a small dark corner, Guantano spied Loren there, watching. Nodding once at him, before gesturing behind him, Guantano waited for the acknowledgement, before he whipped the reins once and with a cry, the duo were off once more, their mounts galloping down the streets heading for the Southern Gate.

They would have to get some distance on the approaching army, before they examined where they needed to go. Refreshed anew the race of their life was.

Glungurd had experienced quite a few new things recently, all of which he did not like. And horse riding was the latest. He was glad that the pace had now slowed to a trot. When the Princess asked him about the experience, he grumpily replied, "I'd rather walk."

Glungurd looked around at the company that he had decided to follow. But he wasn't just following; he was one of them now, a guardian, a protector of Amalia. In the idleness of the slow ride they were now taking, it occurred sharply to Glungurd that he did not really know anything about any of his companions. He was curious about their pasts, wondering what had brought them all together in this seemingly dire situation. But perhaps their pasts didn't matter so much; Glungurd's own past certainly had no connection to his current situation. Maybe they had all been thrown into it unwittingly. Royal guards were not familiar roles to Odgloks. In their society, the government did not control the soldiers (or much of anything, for that matter), and royalty was a vague concept to begin with. Glungurd's own burrow did have a king (or at least it was widely speculated that one existed), but his position wasn't hereditary to anyone's knowledge.

At least one person here had certainly not found their present situation by accident, and that was the princess, Amalia. Glungurd decided that if he was to be protecting this human, he might as well know why she was so important to everyone else. "Amalia," he said as he poked her shoulder with his thick finger. "You are the princess here, right? So why do those other people want to kill you?"

Amalia couldn't answer the question anymore as suddenly this bandit jumped out of the bushes, waving his weapon at her. One of the guardsmen had instantly readied his bow and had an arrow facing Dietrich while Alain and the other guardsmen drew their swords. Confused Alain rode up to Rufus, his gaze still locked on Dietrich. "What do you mean,he's your friend? If you're a friend there are better ways to introduce yourself", that last part was directed at the ambusher. "Speak, who are you and why does a member of the army dishonor his service to the king?"

The ragged man smiled. "It wasn't me who was dishonourable. The King's own men tried to kill me and my troop. We were a band of scouts in the desert..." He trailed off as he saw the recognition in the man's eyes.

"You've heard this before? I was the leader of the troop. And if you don't want the missus dead, you'd best be getting your dogs to lower their claws, or this halberd's gonna bite before I die." The man said grimly.