Seeing the crystalline and blood-veined weapon Pru slowly nods her head. "Not exactly. Excuse me a moment." Pru moves to another room and gets into new clothes, changing into dark priestess's garb. When she returns she looks quite different. Things are a bit more calm now at the Temple of Zoen. The rejuvinated Pru is still getting used to what has happend to her. "I need to return home, to Redcliff."
Alric lands on her shoulder. "So Pru? How are you doing?"
"I feel great," she says, looking at her hands still in disbelief. "My memory is shoddy, I have trouble recalling what happend." Waving her hands she looks around the ruins. "Many years ago the temple was attacked but the town's people defended it. Many were killed in it's defense, and I had assumed that Zoen was displeased with what had happend. I went to Redcliff to rebuild my life. I met a man, got married, and had children."
"Uh, how old are your children now?"
"Older than me. Much older than this body is now anyway."
Dril looks at the rather fetching woman and shakes his head. He's seen a lot of strange things in his travels. "So whatcha gonna do about that?"
The elderly young Pru just sighs heavily. "I don't know. I am the mayor of Redcliff now. Before that I was a Priestess of Zoen." Her gaze goes across the room, over the bodies of the fallen enemies still being dragged outside. "This battle is horribly familiar. That creature that took me over, that entity, what was it?"
"A Knight of Discord," answers Kazier.
Hearing that her expression becomes grim. "A fragment of the dead god Marg? I know what he was after. He was searching my memories to find out what had been hidden here at the temple so long ago. To reach it he had to control a person of good nature to get it. Evil can only go so far here at the temple, even a Knight of Discord has only so much power."
Maurice draws out the Hanji-Sha, his bloodsword, and shows it to her. "Was the thing hidden here look a little like this?"
Seeing the crystalline and blood-veined weapon Pru slowly nods her head. "Not exactly. Excuse me a moment." Pru moves to another room and gets into new clothes, changing into dark priestess's garb. When she returns she looks quite different.
"It has been a long time since I was last here but I still know where things are." Pru's mind slips back and she recalls the events of long ago, things she would rather forget. "Only three of us walked out of here after the battle was over. The people of the town called us the Stormriders. We were Zoen's warriors." Her eyes become filled with pain. "I thought he had put a curse on us by leaving the bodies here. Though they had been taken out from the temple they returned every night and we could not be rid of them. We had no choice but to go. The defenders of the town all died here.
"The only way to destroy a Knight of Discord is to kill them when they are in a host body. Though I am glad you didn't do it to me. They go to a shadow realm where they wait to return to this world to cause pain and suffering again. They will all try and go to Draman Del to find the location of the Guardian Sword and destroy it. When that happens nothing can stop them from bringing back Marg."
Hearing this Jinx adds her own perspective. "The Knights are different, but they all have a drive to re-unite as Marg. They must destroy the guardian swords. It was hidden after the battle of Draman Del long ago in a crystal table, but none know where it might be now."
Looking around Kazier sees the mess that is here. "Before we go any further, how do we clean all this mess up?"
Pru looks to Jinx. "Perhaps we might be able to call upon our respective powers and somehow bring peace here." The youthend woman glances at Maurice. "You are certainly a man of honor and courage to be able to wield the Hanji-Sha. Let me show you what these villains were after."
Guiding them back into one of the rooms with the defiled statue of Zoen Pru goes down on a knee. She puts her hand to her forehead and closes her eyes, as if in supplication. Then lightly her fingers brush across it's base. A faint rumbling is heard and the broken statue rolls back revealing a passage beneath it. As Dril and Kazier come into the room both feel a sense of discomfort being so close to a shrine to a benevolent deity.
Not hesitating Maurice goes over and climbs down the ladder into a chamber below. Alric buzzes after him, creating light with some of his magics. The room is made of stone and everwhere, lining the walls are many different types of weapons and armor. Leather, plate, chain, swords, axes, maces, staves, all covered in cobwebs and gray dust.
In the center of the room is a stone pedastal. Atop it is a crystalline axe, and within it are veins of ruby. It is another divine weapon, very similar to the blade Maurice now carries. "I think we found what you were guarding," says the honorable but unbalanced orc.
Climbing down Pru looks about the room, seeming sad. "The Knight of Discord that had controlled me was trying to get to the Axe. The presence of Zoen prevented him coming close to it. It would have had me come down here and retrieve it for him to certainly be destroyed or eliminated. If the Knights of Discord are roaming the land someone needs to use it. I can tell you are good natured people."
Dreznat looks at the axe and moves towards it, hands hesitantly out stretched. "Let me check it out." The axe is crystalline with etchings on it. It looks almost like red steel, a beautiful, deadly, double-headed battle axe. With two fingers she finds it's balance point and lifts it into the air, almost as light as a feather.
"Can we, uh, take this stuff Pru?" Asks Alric not wanting to seem like a looter.
"Yes, take what will aid you in destroying the Knights."
After taking a few swings through the air with the axe, Dreznat looks over the armor. She finds a very lovely set of leather armor, studded with a chest piece and leg chaps. Alric flies around, checking things out but finds nothing pixie-sized to fit.
Up top Kazier practices his knife throwing, not wanting to try and go down there. There is something that repels him, and he knows what it is. Dril psyches himself up and manages to climb down the ladder to get to this hidden room. Several times he almost loses it, but he overcomes his nausea. Down there he finds some sprig-sized chainmail but realizes he can't really use it effectively.
After an hour or so, they get back up top, move the statue back into place, and prepare to go back to Redcliff. Pru is calm but nervous about all of this. "I wonder what the towns people will think? How will my children, my grown children react?"
They go back to the inn and group back up with Amy and Ganam who are eating supper. Pru then goes over to her son Marn with Kazier and Dril at her side. He looks at them and then at her and has an extremely quizzical expression. "What happend up there?"
Pru smiles, fighting back tears in her eyes. "It's me. I'm your mother. I'm Pru."
This revalation provides a bit of an immediate uproar around the bar and many eyebrows are raised. While Pru talks to her disbeliving son, Maurice fills Amy and Ganam in on what hapend at the ruins of the temple, while Alex sits down and starts to drink some.
Marnor grills the very young-looking woman again and again, asking very personal questions to this person who claims to be his mother. Again and again she answers and as time goes on it becomes very obvious that she is who she claims to be. He sits down and has a few heavy drinks, trying to absorb all of this. Before long Vera her daughter also comes in and they all have a strange, but still nice family chat.
Everyone goes upstairs to rest. Maurice and Alex get passionate in their room, while Alric tries to not hear anything by hiding in a drawer. It is good since this is the first real beds they have slept in in over a week. Most are too tired to do anything but clean up slightly and collapse. Still, it is comfortable and they have all had a long and strenuous day.
In the morning the return of Pru is the talk of the town. Talk ranges from "Wow, that old Pru sure is hot!" To "She must be possessed by the forces of Evil!" There is much rumor and grumblings and suspicious glances.
While eating a delicious breakfast down at the inn, a familiar figure comes walking in through the door. He is a bit tired and bedraggled but everyone knows who it is.
"Methos!" Cries Alric. "What are you doing here?"
"I was following you guys, just a few days behind you. Sorry it took me so long to catch up." The fighter-sorcerer sits down and gets something to fill his belly and is filled in on all the most recent events. Between drinks and gulps of food he listens to what has been going on.
In her dark and rather fetching robes, a beaming Pru sits down with them. "Marn and Vera are very happy to have their mother back. I am so blessed. I have another daughter that isn't here that needs to be informed of what has happend. She took after me in my youth and serves Lord Ashen in Draman Del."
"We can always take her a letter," says Dreznat.
It is decided to try and go to the temple to remove the curse that is there. As they travel out of town many eyes are on them, the people are very wary now. Dreznat decides to stay back in town and get some supplies, and also to make sure no trouble starts brewing that might come their way. You never know what could happen.
Once there Jinx and Pru touch hands and then start moving around the temple's grounds. They draw symbols and chant, channelling their energies. After an hour of this, with everyone else cautiously watching, they go inside. Their hands glow magically and it flows from them across the phantom images of the slain. Slowly they all fade away, revealing only broken rock and stone. The temple has been cleansed.
Dreznat joins back up with them, having gotten bored in town. Before leaving she gets some taffy candy to chew on for the journey ahead.
Pru stands there, looking around, her mind going back to that terrible struggle long ago. "They attacked us here because they had heard of the Hanji-Sha. They were driven by a lust for greed and attacked the towns people as well. We fought and fought, they pressed on and on. So many died here. Though they were gone their images remained.
"Now we can rebuild. It is obvious they no longer trust their mayor in Redcliff. I must prove myself to them another way."
"Why don't you come with us?" Asks Dreznat, starting to like this priestess.
"I'll stay. With the struggle coming to Corvel I need to be here to prepare for my people. Thank you all very much for what you have done for me. I will never forget your acts of kindness. Besides, you may need my services later, in the insuing war "
Pru writes a letter for Dreznat to take to her daughter in Draman Del. Her name is Bellor.
A last minute bit of scrounging gets Kazier some studded leather armor, Methos aquires an elegant shortsword, and Maurice takes a fine bow with 12 arrows.
They say their farewells and mount up on their horses. Pru stands by the side of the purified Temple of Zoen, and waves once to the group as they head on into the distance. "Some day we may meet again . . ."
Days pass as they go across hilly plains, and through small groupings of trees. The weather gets warmer and warmer, and much of the heavy clothing gets packed back up. Along to the side is the edge of the dreaded Cursed Woods. They camp, guard in rotation, eat and sleep. It is a nice outing now, that the temperature and climate are much more comfortable than the chill of Sigel. Through the lands of the Province of Reis they go, Amy Cedar leading the way.
A week goes by, and as they head through towns they get news of what is happening elsewhere. The war has escalated in Cirabur and Holaf with many fierce sea battles. There are rumors that Akrindor is building armies in preparation for an invasion as well. The Provinces of Green and Brudic are mustering their forces to prepare for fighting from the Cursed Woods.
All the while Ganam Oore continues his chronicles. He doesn't do a whole lot of talking, but writes almost everything down. Something historical might happen with this odd band of people and he wants to be the one to pen their tale.
When they cross the border into Brudic, Maurice is very happy to be home. Several more days pass as they travel the roads of Brudic, getting closer and closer towards their destination of Draman Del.
In the lead Amy stops her horse and looks with her keen vision ahead. She brushes aside her white hair and stares. Through the tall grasses she sees something. With a hand signal they approach cautiously, everyone preparing for a fight. It is a mangled body, probably that of a mercenary just a few hours old. The top half, their head, arms, and shoulders is gone. Bitten off.
Maurice dismounts and looks around the area. Slowly he moves ahead, and finds pieces of bodies here and there, arms, legs, torsos. It is as though something attacked a group of fleeing soldiers and ripped them to shreds, dropping their bloody remains to the ground below.
"Probably a dragon," says Maurice. This gets both Dreznat and Dril a bit on edge, having seen what those great beasts can do from their time in Kilmoor. Bows are nocked, armor put on, and everyone moves apart, not wanting to be an easy target in case what he said was true.
Following the trail of destruction and death, leads back to a campsite with even more bodies. There is a great pentagram etched into the ground, with a shrivelled corpse at each point. Of course, this is something they have seen before. Something bad has been summoned.
All around the area are bodies of men, women, mercenaries, all dead. Many have had their lifeforce drained from them, others have been mauled by a great beast. Back packs, swords, cooling embers from a fire. This happend not very long ago.
The horses snort and stomp in fear and out from the treeline of the nearby Cursed Woods a great figure bursts into the air. It has huge, leathery wings, a long serpentine neck ending in a head of horns and teeth, black scales like armor across it's entire body. With a crack of wings it propels itself into the air, bellowing across the land as it sees new prey to devour and kill. It is a dragon.
It flaps high into the sky and dives, moving at incredible speed. Alex, Amy and Ganam turn and ride hard while the rest prepare to fight. The great beast zips by Alric, who is buffeted in it's wake. In a blur it comes right for Kazier who does the smart thing and dives from his horse. Almost humorously he tries to jump on it but just falls off it's neck and lands on his back. His poor steed alas is then speared by long fangs and carried up into the clouds where it is then shaken and dropped hundreds of feet to the ground..
Methos gets off his horse, stands in the grasses, and starts firing arrows. One just shatters on impact, another sticks in just a little bit. Alric tries a few zap spells at it as it speeds like black lightening about, all to no effect. Maurice stays on his horse, bloodsword in hand, waiting.
Dril also dismounts and prepares to fire his bow, but he knows the weak spots on such monsters. The eyes and the belly are particularly vulnerable areas. He nocks an arrow and waits. Dreznat also prepares a spell, hoping to use the powers of the air against it at the proper moment.
The great serpent-like beast comes speeding downward again. An arrow from Dril flies from his bow and across an incredible distance hits it in the eyes. The dragon bellows in pain and rage. Alric cranks up his energy and blasts through the flap of one of it's wings and Dreznat slams a wall of air into it. The dragon twists and turns in the air, roaring monstrously. In a thunderclap it hits the earth, sending chunks of dirt everywhere beneath it's great talons. It's spiked head turns, remaining eye filled with incredible hatred.
"Come here you stupid fuck!" Yells Kazier, running at it with claws and draenam blades in hand. "You ate my horse!"
With the dragon grounded, Dreznat reaches for her elegant crossbow. Behind her, over her shoulder, she hears the axe whispering in her ear. "Fight.. in the name of Averness . . ."
Spurring his steed onward Maurice charges across the short distance and slashes the bloodsword across the monster's side. It's scales split and dark blood gouts from the wound. Likewise Dril leaps onto his warg and rushes in for close combat as well, hacking at one of it's back legs.
The roaring dragon breathes flame and a wave of fire vomits forth from it's fanged mouth. The fire washes over Methos and Dreznat, Kazier managed to dive out of the way only getting his dark cloak singed. Both collapse, waving their arms, horrifically burned by this breath weapon. Methos's horse screams and runs a ways before collapsing dead, it's flesh a charred ruin. The nearby grasses have burst into flame, but both warriors are in no condition to do anything but shudder in absolute agony.
Legs pumping madly Kazier and stabs his claws deep into it's belly. The dragon howls, rearing up on it's great back legs, wings out-stretching and blotting out the sun. On the other side Maurice whirls around in his horse and hacks again, the hanji-shah biting deep. He roars out "Averness!" as he strikes.
From his warg Dril tries to leap onto it's back, hoping to grab a hold of some of it's back spines. As he jumps it's tail whips through the air and baps him aside, sending him rolling into the grasses, arms and legs askew.
The dragon, tries to feebly strike at Kazier, who is ripping across it's underside as he goes. Wet organs press at the open wounds, glistening red. It tries to howl in rage but only blood gushes from it's jaws. It half turns and then collapses, it's great bulk crashing to the earth. It's claws try to reach out and rend anything but touch nothing. It's tail shivers and it goes into it's death spasms.
Maurice helps it along by getting off his horse and chopping at it's neck. In three swings of the Hanji-Sha the dragon's head is severed. The dragon is slain.
Immediately Alric flies down to the injured Dreznat and casts a spell of healing on her. Her face is blackend, her hair mostly gone. Cracked skin with trickles of blood seeping from where the fire had charred her. The small pixie's powers work and in moments the burned flesh begins to flake off, repairing much of the terrible damage that had been done.
In similar condition, Methos rolls to his side, and uses his own abilities to stop his pain. He too has been badly singed, on his hands, neck and face. His leather armor fared better than his exposed flesh. Methos does what he can, and sadly realizes his horse has been killed in the attack. If it had not been nearby he would have certainly died, having taken the full brunt of the flaming breath.
Amy, Alex, and Ganam quickly ride back and stomp out the small fires that have sprung up. Alric quickly moves over to Methos, doing what he can for his friend. Like Dreznat his hair is burned off, skin blistering and coming off in great swaths. However he too will endure.
Before too long everyone is around the great body of the dragon, amazed at it's size and by the fact that they managed to kill it through a combination of luck and skill. Dril says "Its only a small one." Amy laughs some, a smile on her face. "We'll eat good tonight."
The dragon is butchered. It's teeth, claws, and skin is taken as well as it's meat. Much of it is put into Kazier's handy pocket dimension, and stored there for safe keeping. Maurice makes a necklace of it's claws.
It is apparant that something evil went down in the mercenaries camp. Most believe that one of the Knights of Discord must have come back and somehow called for a dragon to come to their aid. This is all very disturbing, for these warriors were no fools but were quickly and easily destroyed. But then again, they didn't have magic or two of the Hanji-Sha blades with them.
That night they feast on dragon flesh. Most of them anyway, Amy, Alex, Alric and Ganam decide to not eat anything wary of what might happen. The dragon's heart is cut out and cooked, and Maurice, Dreznat, Dril, Methos, and Kazier eat it, raw.
Alric looks over to Maurice, preparing to devour the flesh. "I thought elves don't eat meat?" He asks in his pranksterish voice.
The oddly dressed orc just laughs at him. "Tonight, I'll make an exception."
They eat the heart and it tastes delicious. It is not long before the metaphysical qualities of the creature's flesh begin to seep into their minds causing them to hallucinate. (The music to "White Dragon" starts to play on the audio track now.) The stars whirl overhead and forgotten gods thunder beneath the earth.
To Dril he is on a flying warg. Beneath him is an army of savage orcs. With a blade in either hand he stabs and hacks, killing them left and right. It is a good feeling.
To Methos he is back home in his castle, surrounded by naked slave girls. His brother is there glaring at him, and yells "Traitor!" He attacks with a knife.
To Dreznat she is running through the woods unclothed, running on all fours. Fur covers her arms and legs and she has the senses of a wild animal. A flashback to her bout from lycanthropy.
Maurice dreams of beautiful women, followed by waves of dead bodies. He sees Earil Gania, Maurice and . . . Himself? People appear and throw rocks at him, and stop when a Knight of Discord appears.
In the morning they are all feeling poorly, with aches and cramps. Mostly, their visions is what bothers them. None of those who ate the dragon's heart feel like having anything else right now.
As they break camp, Alex comes to Maurice and touches his arm. "Last night, when you were the way you were, you spoke of Gashnak, Earil and Maurice. It was strange how you talked . . . Like you were watching something terrible happen."
With a sigh and grim smile, Maurice turns to her and lightly touches her chin with his finger. "Earil and Gashnak were my friends who served with me in the Cursed Woods with the Wardens. Thirty of us got attacked and only three survived . . That was a long time ago."
Both Methos and Dreznat are doing much better. They still seem badly sun-burned but their hair is even regrowing at an incredible rate. Such is the wonders of healing magic.
Dreznat pairs up with Amy, riding behind her on the horse now while Methos takes hers. They travel down the road and see more groups of mercenaries here. There are some professionals, and many more are not. The vast majority are heading in the same direction, heading towards Draman Del. That is where the action is going to be.
They skirt alogside the mountains and rumors come to them of the barbarians gathering their forces, preparing to attack Corvel. All the while the Cursed Woods get closer and closer, and eventually they take the only road into it. Maurice goes quiet, looking into the haunted, dark trees, remembering.
The road goes up and down and on one high hill they see it . . . Draman Del. The city is ancient, a fortress, huge, much bigger than Bird Keep. It has seven ringing walls, each twenty to forty feet in height. The architecture is incredible, of designs and styles that haven't been seen anywhere else in Corvel in centuries. It there where they have to go.
Ganam shakes his head in amazement. "My god, it's wonderful." He immediately takes out a sketch book and starts working on a picture. "It's like stepping into the past."
TO BE CONTINUED . . . .
Chronicled by Ken Paynter aka...Maurice leChevalier
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