Death Or Fortune (56 page)

     As he
pushed open the massive temple doors he remembered the first time he went to
visit Zender at the temple in Eystlund.  Off to the left was a door, in
Arcadia Hans had made that room his official chambers, where he conducted all
temple business.  To the right of that door was a hall way that lead to
the living quarters for the temple.  Directly in front of him was the main
door to the temple area where the priest would gather each day for worship.
 As he closed the door behind him, he stopped to listen.  Listening
for the sound of footsteps or any other signs of life in the temple.  When
he turned towards the door on his left, he saw the cat come out of the hall way
from the living quarters.  As he looked at the fat orange tabby cat, a
surge of forgotten memories came back to him.  Cleta was his father’s
familiar when he was a child yet, the cat was older than him, how could it
still be alive.  Windfall watched as the fat cat approached him, standing
still as it rubbed against his boot and walked around his legs.  After one
pass around his legs, the cat walked back towards the hall from which it came.
 Stopping short it turned and looked at the half elf.

     
“Come this way please. The master is expecting you." Windfall was in shock,
he had never seen a talking cat.  While he knew many things were possible
due to the power of magic, this he did not expect.  The half elf just
stood there, looking at the creature. "Are you coming?"

     "What
are you and how do you know who I am?"

     "Long
has it been since I smelled your scent.  While you could use a bath, you
are still the master’s child.  Now come!" The cat turned away and
started to walk.  Shaking his head, Windfall followed after the cat.  He
was looking at the first creature that Argon had tried his experiments on.
 He followed Cleta down to the end of the hall where it ended in what
seemed to be the temples dining area. On many of the tables there were various
bottles and jars.  It reminded him of his father’s study at home.  He
had only seen the inside of that room a few times but he committed it to
memory.  This is where Argon did his work now, where he studied.
 Outside of the elf woman laying on one of the tables, it looked much like
he expected it would.  Ignoring the cat, he quickly moved to the elf
woman, checking for signs of life.  She was breathing normal but did not
respond to being touched.

     "I
will wake her soon enough, I can only keep her like that for so long without
feeding her." A chill ran up his spine at the sound of his father’s voice.
 It had not changed at all in the fifty years since he had last seen him.
 When he turned to face him, the chill deepened as he had not changed at
all.  Not even his raven black hair showed any sign of his age.

    
"White robes father? I thought there were rules about things like that.
Wake her up now!" He said pointing back to the elf woman.

     "Let
us talk first.  It has been so long my son.  Priestess Kandella will
be just fine.  Tell me, how you have been?  Tell me of your
life?" Windfall looked as his father and raised a single eyebrow.
 Something wasn't right.

     "What
do you mean, do you not know?"

     "Son,
my bond with you only lets me feel you.  So that I know you are doing what
I intended for you.  So that I know you were still alive. I can see where
you are in the world and that is how I knew you were getting close.  I've
known for over a year that I would see you here. You have made quite the name
for yourself and I had heard your name even before I left to live on my island.
 Yet there were times over the last few years, you have pushed the
boundaries of the bond.  Risked terrible pain, you did to do so. What was
so important that you had to hole up in Eystlund for so long without going on
the hunt?"

     "My
family, I have a wife and two sons." he said with a bit of fear in his
heart. He was afraid that this would be used against him.

     "What
are they?" he asked his son.

    
"Lucinda is human.  Her father owned the farm near our old
home."

     "T'is
a shame my son, you have had children without thinking about the dark taint in
humanity.  If you wanted a family so bad, you should have found an elf
bride."

     
"My sons are good men." Windfall said as he started to move closer to
his father.

     "They
are still human, the darkness is there. Waiting for the right time to take
hold. They are all the same."

     “You are
human father!" he shouted.

    
"Which is how I know, it will take them, just as it took me. They will die
with all the others so we may drive that corruption from the world."

     "My
son, Zender is a priest of Solarth.  One of the most powerful clerics to
walk the lands. He is a force of good in this world.  He is pure, unlike
you."

     "Well
then, where is he?  He shall lead the army with you on our march to
victory."

     "I
wish I had brought him, he would have liked to show you a thing or two."
Windfall said thinking about his son's temper and his fondness for the war
hammer he carried. "Do you honestly believe that I will lead this army for
you? Was this your goal all along?"

     "Yes
it was. While you were just the first of many steps along this path.  I
knew that you would not be enough to stem the tide of evil so I raised an army.
 First, Eystlund will fall, then we march to Toryth Vol. From
there..." Argon stopped to look at his son who was taken with a fit of
laughter. "What, what is it?"

     "Do
you honestly expect an army of Orcs to march into Toryth Vol?  Even Orcs
are smart enough to stay away from there.  Father you have lost your mind?
 Xcavere will destroy them without so much as lifting a single
finger."

     "I do
not know that name, who is he?"

    
"Father, you have been gone from the world for too long.  King
Xcavere is an arch lich.  He captured the crown of Toryth Vol about
fifteen years ago.  Even the air there is tainted now.  He has entire
legions of undead at his command.  He would applaud your efforts in
Eystlund as it would give him just the opening he needs to expand his base of
power.  I think he would thank you just before he killed you." Argon
appeared shaken at this news.  He looked at his son but soon his resolve returned.

     "Kandella
did not tell me this.  I must wake her up as she will tell me the truth of
the matter." The wizard rushed past his son to the table where the elf was
laying. "Ex'cito" he said as he waved his hand over her body.
Windfall watched as the elf returned to life.  First taking several deep
breaths and then opening her eyes.  He then watched as she struggled to
move.

     "Is
it my feeding time?" she asked the wizard.

     "No,
tell me about Xcavere, now!" he shouted at her while slamming his hand on
the table.

     "So,
you know about him now?  The one creature in this world that is worse than
you."

     "Why
did you not tell me about him?" Still shouting, he put his hand on her
face, turning her face towards his.  As her eyes shot around she stopped
at the half elf, they grew larger for a moment.  It was long enough for
Argon to notice. "Ignore my son, tell me what you know."

     "That
is your son? Did he tell you I had met him before? It is nice to know that in
this case, the apple fell very far from the tree." Argon turned to look at
his son, never once taking his hand off the priestess.

     
“Xcavere!" he shouted at her again.

     "He
is the current king of Toryth Vol, a lich of all things.  He destroyed the
great Toryth Grove.  I was just a child the last time I visited there.
 All those beautiful trees, gone. Destroyed by his taint."

     "So
it is true." he said as he pushed her head away. "There is a way.
 The item in the crypt below.  I will change the plan, we will go to
Toryth Vol first." Turning back to Windfall he started to shake his finger
as he walked towards his son. "Your son, you can find him if you had to
yes?" Windfall said nothing, just looking at his father, the chill he had
felt before started to freeze the very blood in his veins. "Only a blessed
cleric or paladin of Solarth can use it.  With it he could destroy a
lich."

     "And
destroy him in the process.  Do you not remember the story, he would die.
 Solarth would demand the sacrifice to impart that much power." For
one small moment Windfall remembered the story from the scrolls.  The
story of Keltor the Peacebringer.  From the story of the island and how
all of this started.  He could see it, Zender with the weapon in hand,
standing face to face with the lich king Xcavere, with the power of the god on
his side.  He would do it in a heartbeat.  Even if it cost him his
own life.  Windfall could see it in his mind, the power of the god flowing
through his son, leaving him dead when it was over.  Gone was his father,
gone was the elf priestess.  Their voices could not make it past the
barrier his mind had erected.  He was at home, at the funeral of his
wife's brother.  The memory was so powerful to him, he could almost feel
the tree under his hand as he put it out to help himself stand.  He
remembered the rancid breath of his wife's father as he spoke to him later that
day.

     "Pray
son." he told Windfall. "Pray to any god who will listen. While man
has to accept many things we see on the road of life.  Pray you never have
to bury your own child.  Pray you never have to feel what it is that I am
feeling right now, on this very day." A few days later, Windfall was at
the funeral for that man.  While he knew in his head that William was old
and sick, he knew what caused his death. The man died of a broken heart.

     "IT
WILL KILL HIM!" the voice of Kandella ran in his mind. Yet it did not draw
him back, could not stop the vision in his mind, he could smell the volcano he
was standing on.  The heat alone from the lava below was sapping his
strength.  Falling to one knee, he could see his son ahead of him.
 Just beyond him was the arch lich, Xcavere. Every spell he cast at the
cleric in white failed, nothing would stop him.  Zender glowed with a
power beyond all thought.   He saw his son reaching out with one
hand, grasping the lich as lightning flashed in the sky.  The very world
shook under their feet.  Windfall saw himself crawling forward, trying to
get to his son's side.  The glowing hammer raised in his hand, Zender
strikes a blow.  Like a black smith pounding out a blade, sparks fly when
the hammer strikes the target.  He can hear the lich roaring in pain with
each blow.  Closer he crawls, the shaking gets worse.  Soon, the
light around his son is so bright that he can no longer see him.  Only the
shining hammer as it continues to pound on the helpless lich.  Windfall
tries to see past the light, it is hopeless.  As the last blow is struck,
a wave of force erupts from the lich.  Rocks and dust pelt him in the face
as he tries to see what has happened. When the light is gone, there is only a
pile of crushed bones and a hammer.  Gone is the body of his son.
 Called home by the good god, where he has earned his rest.

     Later that
day, when trying to remember what happened, his mind would not let him leave
that volcano.  The waves of heat and ash were all he could think of as he
took the first step forward.  His mind was gone, his body was no longer
his own.  The screaming voices, both in common and elven did not awaken
him and they did not draw him back into himself.  As he took his second
step forward, standing at his father’s back, he saw his son striking the lich.
 Over and over again the blows came.  Xcavere stood no chance under
the brutal assault from the power of a god.  He knew this would come to
pass if he did nothing.  While in his mind, he was reaching out, trying to
claw and pull his way ahead.  In reality, it was his father that he had
reached for.  Over a hundred years ago, Argon began his work. Working his
enchantments on his only son.  Giving him strength, speed and agility.
 Over a hundred years of work, to bring them all to this very moment.
 As Windfall the bounty hunter reached out to his father, to save his son.
 Using the gifts he was given, the half elf put one hand on the chin of
his father and the other was on the back of Argon's head.  It was not
until Argon the Dark lay dead on the floor with his neck broken did Windfall's
horrible dream end.

     It took us
some time to find the saddles we needed but we did find them.  I checked
with Bryce one last time, making sure he understood the plan.  While I
trusted him, I couldn't afford to leave any stone unturned.  
'Build a
bridge, burn bodies.  If you don't come back we high tail it to the ship
yard. Anything else I need to know?
' I could only shake my head.  I
wished the man luck and told him I hoped he wouldn't have to leave without me.
 With that out of the way we made ready to leave.  I mounted up on
one horse with Pare behind me.  Michaels, once again with his banner held
high was on the second horse.  I wanted to tell him to put it away but by
that point, I had lost any desire to argue with the man. Before we even made it
to the road, Ebbit was there, blocking our way.
     'Hold up lad! I know ya be going to find that
blasted half elf. I am coming with ya.'
I looked at him for a moment and
considered just riding wide of him. I then told him I needed him to stay and
help Bryce.
'Ohhhh no. That pointy eared bastard owes me money. I am not
going to wait here while he gets himself magicked to death.
' I looked at
Michaels and he could only shrug,
'Ride with me sir dwarf.
' What
happened next was something I can only call a small bit of magic. Pare was
standing behind me as he liked to do when we rode together. While Ebbit was
rather slender for a dwarf, he was still a dwarf.  Michaels reached down
to pull up Ebbit with his left hand while holding his banner in his right hand.
 I am not sure what happened but as Ebbit went up he did not stop. Flying
over the top of the horse, all the while still holding tight to Michael’s hand,
the pair went crashing to the ground.  As the giggling started behind me I
couldn't help but let out a little laugh.  I tried asking them if they
were alright but could not do so without laughing harder.  By the time
Michaels and Ebbit managed to get back on the horse Pare was laughing so hard
he could no longer stand behind me. That little halfling laughing was like
music to my ears.
    'I fail to see what is so funny halfling!
' Michaels
shouted at us. This only made things worse. Unable to catch his breath while
laughing, Pare tumbled off the back of my horse.  Jordan, one of the dead
squad came over and helped get Pare back up behind me. When I thanked him he
just waved his hand.
'Don't thank me sir.  That was the funniest thing
I have seen since we left home.
' All I could do was smile.
'Good luck
sir!
' he said to me as we started to ride away.  It was all Pare could
do to keep Pare holding on.  He had still not stopped laughing.  He
settled down after a good hour or so.  By that time I had to dig into the
mount a little bit.  Michaels unable to hear Pare's laughter any longer
had started to ride way ahead of us. While I knew that Pare was not over the
death of Miri, this went a long way towards making him better.  Gone was
the carefree friend I had known for the past few years but this was a bit
closer the Pare I knew before Miri died.
     The farther north we got, the worst I felt.  I
was sure something happened to Windfall, I was worried and we saw no sign of
him at all.  Not for more than an hour anyway.  Pare was pounding on
my shoulder, how he could manage to stand behind me while we were at a full run
is beyond me.
'There is something in the road up there'
he shouted.
 Michaels and I both slowed our pace as we looked ahead.
'Is that a
wagon?'
the paladin asked. We had expected more than one wagon with the
company that arrived at the farm that morning.  Not that any of us
questioned it when they only arrived with one.  As we got closer we could
see that the wagon was missing a wheel.  We saw that at about the same
time we saw the body in the road.  An Orc was bound and out cold in the
road.  I thought he might be dead but when Michaels checked, it was still
breathing.  Then we found the one near the rear of the wagon.  Its
head was nearly severed, I then watched as Ebbit inspected the wound.
'Blood
isn't flowing out, he’s been dead a while now. Couple hours at the most.'
I
watched as he pulled out a dagger and started on the creature’s ear.  I
told him to forget about that and to get moving.  We had to get to the
temple.
     'What about the one that is tied up
?' the dwarf
asked while handling an axe.  Before I could even say anything Michaels
spoke up.
'Do not even think about it.  That creature is subdued and
bound.  We will not kill him while he is helpless.'
While the dwarf
wanted to argue, he was smart enough to know that the issue was settled.
 From there we mounted back up and headed towards the tower.  On foot
it would have taken us more than an hour to reach it from there.  From the
wagon, we could only see the top of the tower.  As we rode, it continued
to grow, as if it was rising from the ground instead of us getting closer to
it.  When we could see the temple itself, we started to slow a bit.
 Making sure we were not about to ride headlong into an Orc company
keeping guard.  As it turns out, other than the one we left in the road,
the closest Orcs were in the slave camps a full day away. The tower itself was
interesting.  It wasn't like a mage tower but more like just a big torch.
 From the ground below you could see a set of stairs winding up the
outside of it. There looked to be an observation platform near the top and
under where the flames were supposed to be.
     The four of us stood outside of the gate, looking at
all the grave markers.  Dozens of stones marked the resting place of all
the clerics who maintained the temple since it was built.  Each one was a
simple white stone, engraved with the name of the cleric and which clan they
came from.  We all looked to Michaels as we all waited for him to lead the
way.  As he reached out his hand paused just over the gate, perhaps he was
waiting for an invitation or some kind of sign.  It wasn't until he put his
hand on the gate that the sign came.  He had started to pull the gate open
when an explosion of fire could be heard and felt from above.
'Wow! Close
the gate, see if it goes out
.' Michaels looked at Pare with an annoyed look
on his face but I thought for a moment he had considered it. It was then that
we heard the scream from inside the temple.
'That was a woman!'
Michaels
said as he flung open the gate and charged up the path.  We were all
behind him, moving as fast as we could.  When Michaels threw open the
temple doors, the muted screams came to life with a vivid clarity.
'Why!
'
she was screaming.
     Three of us started towards the sound, Michaels
however just stopped cold.  His eyes were locked on the doors that lead to
the main temple area that contained the altar. I called out to him as Pare and
Ebbit continued on, following the sound of the screaming.  He just waved
his hand at me.  He took a single step forward towards those doors as I
turned away to follow the others.  I saw Pare and Ebbit ahead of me, at
the end of the hall, they were stopped in the door way.  I ran down to
them as fast as I could.  It was the temples kitchen and dining room.
 I saw the elf woman, standing there screaming at my friend and mentor.
 Windfall was sitting on a bench, his eyes fixed on the body on the floor
in front of him.  I pushed past the dwarf and halfling, calling out to
him.  He turned his head towards me, I could see tears were running down
his face. The elf woman looked at me and tried to compose herself.  From
her cleric robes I assumed that this was Kandella.
'Who are you?
' she
asked.  I told her that my name was Darmot Kromwell and that I had been
sent by Bishop Hans to save her.
'The lord Kromwell? Why would he send you
of all people?'
     It was a question I had no answer for.  I could
only shake my head at her.  I then moved to Windfall and got down on my
knees in front of him.  I tried to ignore the ghastly sight of the man on
the floor with his head nearly twisted all the way around.  I could see my
friend’s eyes were open but he wasn't there.  I put my hands on his face
and called out to him.  Telling him to talk to me.
'I ended it. It is
finished. My life is now my own. They will be safe now.'
Dropping my hands
to his shoulders I gave him a little shake, telling him to snap out of it,
asking him to tell me what had happened.
'Why don't I feel any different?'
I saw the cat out of the corner of my eye but I never thought anything of it.
 I turned to Kandella, asking her what had happened, who was the man on
the floor?
'That is Argon
.' I was shocked and everything else she said
to me was lost in a haze.  I looked at the man on the floor.  While
his body was face down, I could see his face.  The resemblance was there,
both to Windfall and Zender.  If I didn't know better, he could have been
Zender's father.  The cat was on the floor next to the body, pawing at
something, some kind of cord that was around the dead wizard’s neck.
     I couldn't afford to have Windfall like this so I did
the first thing that came to mind.  Sliding the metal gauntlet off my
hand, I let it drop to the floor before I pulled him up to his feet. While he
stood up for me, he was still off.   I shouted his name one last time
before I put my own life on the line.  I held him with one hand and I then
smacked him with my bare hand.
'Ohhhh!'
the elf woman sighed as the
sound of my hand hitting him filled the room.  I watched as his head
rocked back, a small trace of blood escaped from the corner of his mouth.
 A clear red imprint of my hand now stained his face. I saw the spark of
anger in his eye as he looked at me,
'if you were anyone else.
' I let my
hand fall that was holding him,
'thank you'
was all he said to me.
'Hey,
can I try that?
' Pare asked from the other side of the room.  We both
turned to look at the halfling, he only shrugged at us.
'I had to ask.
'
 Ebbit only nodded at his friend and waited.  Windfall then told us
his story, of how he chased down the Orc commander on the farm, his run in with
the wagon on the road and what had happened.  All the while, the strange
orange cat continued to work the cord over the head of the dead wizard.
     'I expected to feel something when he died.
 The curse lifting, fifty years coming back to me all at once. Yet nothing
happened, I feel just the same. I still carry the curse.'
Kandella was
still in some kind of distress but kept her cool while we talked.  When
Windfall was finished I turned to her and asked her if she was ok, asked her
why she was screaming.
'He was the only thing keeping those Orcs from
running wild over the island.   When the Flame of Hope re lit, I knew
we were in danger.
' I asked her what she meant by that.
'The giant
cauldron of flame at the top of the tower! Did you not see it? The flame would
not burn with him in the temple, last time he left the temple was to show me
his army.  He wanted me to see it, to see how well they responded to his
conditioning.  They will gather on the Plain of Hope. If he is not there
to command them, they will know something happened to him. They will follow his
final order.'
I asked her then what that order was.
'They are going to
march to the south half of the island and slaughter every living creature they
can find. When that is completed, they are to kill those slaves that are still
building their ships and set sail for Eystlund.
 
They will burn the
entire island from one end to the other.'
     'Hey, what is that cat doing with that huge gem?'
I looked at Pare then to the cat.  It had managed to free the cord from
the neck of the wizard and at the end of the cord was a diamond about the size
of my fist.  It was holding the gem between its front paws, licking one
side of it.  The five of us were transfixed on the cat now; a strange wisp
of light was drifting from the stone.  It was then that the cat spoke,
saying a single word.
'Home!
' Blinding light rushed from the gem. When
we could see again, both the cat and the body of Argon were gone.
'NO!'
was the only sound in the room, Windfall had seen what it was too late.
'He isn't
dead! That is why I didn't feel any change.  His soul was still here, on
this plane.
' I looked at my friend and mentor.  I could see the pain
on his face but to tell the truth I was more than a little lost.  I told
him I was sorry but we had bigger problems at the moment.  Such as the
fact that the entire Orc army was going to march on us.  I asked Kandella
how long it took for the army to arrive the last time the flame was lit.
'Two
days is all it took, if that. He had me bound and gagged but I saw them
marching in, we should hear the horns of war soon. There are lookout posts all
over the north side of the island. Their only job is to watch for the flame
.'
     We did not have long but it was more than enough time.
We still had the mission to think about. We also had to warn the others, tell
them that the plan had changed.  I asked Windfall how long it took him to
reach the tower on foot?
'I walked the rest of the night after I killed the
Orc commander, about an hour before the sun came up I was passed by the second
company headed to the farm. It wasn't more than an hour or two after that.
 If they push, they can be here in eight hours.'
It was then that I
asked Ebbit if he thought he could handle one of the horses by himself. He
squinted at and just shook his head.
'Why ya always trying to get rid of me
lad?
' I told him that wasn't the case but I needed him to go just the same.
He was to tell Bryce to bring the Dead Squad and himself.  They were to
tell the Melkor people to get ready for an all-out war should we fail. Tell
them that they should run and hide.
'I'll be back before ya know it, find
the pup some water will ya. I know he will be wanting some.'