The light streamed down through the branches of the high trees as the three travelers worked their way through the underbrush. For days they had wandered without finding any sign of civilization. The three adventurers were badly in need of supplies and rest, but it seemed they would go another day without it. Their water had run out a day before and their food a day before that.
Adin, who was leading, was the first to pass over the small hill they had been climbing and stopped to rest against a tree as the others met with him. As he was looking through the nearby branches, he saw what appeared to be smoke, nearly a half mile away.
"Juliana, Llathos, I see what could be a village not far from here. We should try to reach it soon. They may have food."
Juliana, who had just caught up with Adin, looked in the direction he was pointing. "Yes. Yes, Adin, I see the smoke, but that may not make it a village. Llathos, can you check it out?"
Llathos, pulling his robes up in front of him so as not to trip, finished hauling himself to the top and glanced in the direction the other two mentioned. "Well," he said through small gasps for breath, "I can try. Just," big gulp of air, "let me catch my breath."
While they waited on Llathos to prepare his divination spell, Adin pulled out his sword and whet stone. As he sharpened, he began to think.
"What do they wait for? If it's not a village, it's at least a fire. Whoever is there must have food. We go and ask for it. If they don't give it up, we kill them and take it. And what's with Llathos? He's barely climbed a hill and he's out of breath. I could run for hours up hill and not grow tired. Amateurs, I hate amateurs."
Llathos leaned his head back against a tree for a short break. Once again, his use as a mage and healer were coming out again. The question was, would he be able to stand up to the task yet again? He had gone for a long time without any form of nourishment and was exhausted from their hard travels. Much of the usage of his magic relied on his strength to control the energies around him. But he would try. He slowly lifted himself from his perch and moved to the edge of the knoll.
"I think I'm ready," he announced.
"Do your best," encouraged Juliana.
Llathos gave a light nod and began his concentration. He closed his eyes and with his mind, he began to reach out towards the smoke. He pushed gently past the leaves on the tree branches and worked around the small woodland creatures. Finally, he could see just ahead the image of living creatures. One of them came close enough to his thoughts that he latched on and tried to see more.
From this person's mind, he found that the fire was coming from several houses in a small village. The villagers were all human--no wait, there was a small family of elves--and were milling about doing everyday work. The important thing was that they had food.
Slowly, carefully, Llathos began to ease his mind back from the person. He had to take his time. He didn't want to risk letting the person think anything was out of place, a task made harder by the fact that he was already weary and grew more so from this exertion. Finally, he was free of the villager's mind.
From there, he slowly drew his thoughts in from the forest. He remembered his first master telling him to imagine his thoughts were on a fine string. If they were brought back to quickly, they could get snagged and cut loose. Mental projection was a slow and delicate thing.
He had almost completely gathered himself together again when a voice broke through his thoughts.
"Damn it, Llathos, hurry up! Have you found anything?"
The abrupt change in his surroundings caused his hold to slip and his control of his mind collapsed. Fortunately, he was nearly done, so everything came falling into place in his head and the worst that happened was that he fell to his knees.
"Adin!" cried Juliana as she rushed to support Llathos. "You are such a dolt! You have been told countless times never to make loud noises when he's doing magic. You could have killed him."
Leaning on Juliana's arm, Llathos managed to move into a more dignified and comfortable position.
"I'm all right, Juliana, I'll survive."
"What did you find, elf?" demanded Adin.
With a curt glance to the fighter, Llathos responded. "It is a village. There are about twenty people or so, mostly human, a few elves. The smoke comes from cooking fires. I couldn't tell much else."
"All right then," concluded Juliana, "we'll wait a few minutes to let Llathos rest again and then I'll lead. We'll want to approach with care, just in case they're hostile to visitors."
Llathos leaned back against a tree again to gather his strength. "Adin. That boy's brains must have all been washed out and turned into muscle. How many times have we had to tell him NOT to disturb me during my magic? It's too dangerous. Juliana's right, I could have been killed by his stupidity and then we'd all be out of luck. Amateurs, I hate amateurs."
Juliana Huxley decided that a direct approach would attract less suspicion than trying to sneak in. Though she was better suited for surprise attacks and stealth, if Llathos was right about them being simple people, they might be easily startled. The trio was more likely to get help and supplies if they could gain trust quickly and keep the villagers calm.
However, approaching straightforward didn't mean showing all cards at once. She decided to go in alone and leave Llathos and Adin hiding in the trees. If most of the people were human, an elf might not gain enough trust. But Adin was a hulking brute and might scare too many people. That left only herself. Fortunately, it didn't take her long to find a good place near the town where the two men wouldn't be noticed.
"Now, remember, don't make any loud noises and don't come out until I call for you."
The frustration was apparent in Adin's voice. "Juliana, we know. Don't talk down to us. We are not small children."
"Adin," she snapped back, "get over it. I've already told you why we're doing it this way and why you can't be the one to go in first." Well, there's also the fact that you have the tactfulness of a porcupine. "Besides, if something does go wrong, I'm going to have to rely on you two to get me out. Understand?"
Llathos cut in before Adin could continue the argument. "Juliana, we get it. Just go, we're all hungry and tired and not in the best of spirits. The sooner you can change that for all of us, the sooner we can be in your debt."
"I'll call for you soon, one way or another." With that, she slipped through the trees with the nimbleness of a cat and was gone.
She passed the low bushes on the outskirts of the town like a breeze. As yet, no one had seen her, but there didn't seem to be many people about. She was nearly past the first few houses, when she rounded a corner and was face to face with three roughly dressed townspeople carrying clubs. They were all human, and the two on the outside were both shorter than she with unkempt brown hair. The middle one was only a few inches taller, but was twice her build. In a fight, she might be able to take him, alone, but not with these other two goons. It looked like diplomacy was her only choice. The one in the middle was the first to speak.
"Just where do you think you're going, little lady?"
"I'm, uh, looking for an inn. Do you happen to know where one is?"
"An inn?" he roared. "What do you think this is, a big city? Honey, we don't have inns here and we wouldn't let you stay in one if we did."
"Well, why not? What did I do?"
"You wouldn't happen to be working for him, would you?"
"Working for -- What are you talking about?"
"We saw the way you were sneaking around in those bushes. You're not a spy, are you?"
"A spy for whom?"
"Don't play dumb with me. You're obviously scouting out this town for some sort of invasion from him."
"I don't even know who or what you're talking about!" The two shorter ones started to move forward. "Don't come any closer."
The one on her left attacked first. He was faster with a club than she would have given him credit for. She managed to jump to the side and avoid his blow, but this made her run right into the second man. He grabbed hold of her and tried to pull her to the ground. She screamed and kicked backwards into his knee. Letting go, he found himself next meeting the backside of Juliana's hand as she spun around to face him.
Before she could do anything else, the first man hit her in the side with his club and she doubled over. Rising again, she landed her left fist in his jaw just before being pulled to the ground by the second man grabbing her ankle.
Where are those two? They should have gotten here by now. Amateurs, I hate amateurs.
And then she went unconscious as the tall man's boot collided with her head.
Adin decided that if he couldn't go in yet, he'd at least make himself comfortable. While Llathos paced back and forth deep in thought, Adin slumped down against a tree. He couldn't sharpen his sword any more than it was so instead he contented himself by gazing off into the forest. He was pulled out of his near trance by what could have woken the dead, if any of them were near at least.
"Juliana," breathed Llathos, just before darting off toward the town. Adin, being stronger and faster, jumped up from his resting place and soon overtook him. He almost drew his sword, but then realized that if he really needed to start killing, it wouldn't take him long to get it out later. Better to not start slaughtering if he didn't need to.
He rounded the corner of a building and realized he was on main street, or at least what appeared to be the main street of the village, if it was even a street. Ten yards away were three men surrounding Juliana. On of the men, the one with his back to Adin, pulled Juliana to the ground and another one, the tallest one, kicked her. She didn't move after that.
That's it. They die, he thought, unsheathing his sword. With a fierce battle yell that caused a nearby bird to fall over dead from heart attack, he charged the three men. The one that pulled Juliana down was also lying on the ground and was just beginning to get up. He clubbed him in the back of the neck with the hilt of his sword and then took a wide swing at the tall man. The man was more than a little surprised, but not enough to keep him from blocking the blow with the club he carried. This, of course, cut the club in two.
The last man wasted no time in jumping on Adin's back and trying to strangle him. This caused Adin some problems. He was larger and stronger than all of these men, but not strong enough to hold off one of them while trying to get another off of his back. He began to wonder where Llathos was.
Suddenly, he heard someone chanting behind him. He didn't have time to turn around before a ball of red opaque energy flew past him and struck the tallest man square in the chest. The man fell backwards, dead, with a large burn mark on his now exposed chest.
"Took you long enough," shouted Adin.
"Sorry, I don't run well."
Adin didn't respond. He instead turned his attention to the man on his back who apparently had noticed what happened and didn't like it. But instead of jumping off and running, he became livid and started clawing and biting at Adin. Adin dropped his sword and used both hands to get hold of the man. Finally, he managed to throw the man forward over his shoulder. Upon hitting the ground, the man looked from Adin to Llathos, screamed, and ran as if the very hounds of hell were after him. Adin let him go.
Where did these people learn to fight, a fairy glen? They're such amateurs. I hate amateurs.
Llathos came panting up to Adin.
"Are you okay?" he wheezed.
"I'm fine," said Adin, as he turned to face the elf. "Can you help Juliana?"
There was a pause while Llathos caught his breath. "Certainly. Just help me move her over here."
Together they dragged the rogue out of the street and between two small buildings. Llathos stretched her out flat and face up. He then knelt next to her shoulder and placed his hands gently on her cheeks. As he chanted to himself, he began to feel her life essence. He followed its pattern, the slow ebb and flow of her breathing, the light thumping of her heart. Her spirit was at once at peace and violently disturbed.
He began to probe through her with his mind. The problem was in her head. She had been hit hard and her skull seemed to be dented where something had run into her. First, he concentrated on pushing the dent back out. Gently, gently, he didn't want to do too much too fast. If he wasn't perfect in his maneuvers, he would kill her faster than she would have died normally.
Piece at a time, Llathos moved the dent in her head back to its normal resting place. Then the only problem was reviving her. That would be easy. He gradually removed himself from the connection he had forged with her life essence, moving back out like a snake in the grass. Soon, he was seeing her with his own eyes again. Adin was staring at them impatiently.
"Are you done yet?" he demanded.
"Adin, when will you learn that you can't just rush these things? Haggis, man, back off and learn that I can help you guys, but you have to let me help you and you have to let me do it my way."
"Fine," Adin conceded, "I'll leave you alone." And with that, he turned and strolled back towards the main road where he waited and watched for other people to come.
Dammit, when will he learn to not rush me? We've been working together for what, five months now? Really, he acts like such an amateur to this adventuring business, as if he's never really done it before. If there's one things I've learned it's that you don't have the veterans without the amateurs, but why did I have to end up with one. I hate amateurs.
Juliana opened her eyes to the sight of a man with pointed ears smiling at her. She almost jumped up and started clubbing him before she realized that it was only Llathos.
I must be more tired than I though, she said to herself.
"How do you feel?" asked the mage-healer.
"Like someone dropped a boulder on my head." She sat up and clutched her head with one hand.
"No, no, that was last month, remember? Steady now, you took a beating, you need to go slow."
She took the hand he offered for support and like a new horse learning to walk, stood to her feet.
"Where's Adin?"
"Over there, sulking." He pointed to the end of the building.
"Oh. Right now, I don't care why. What happened to those men?"
"One's dead, one ran away, and the other's lying over there unconscious."
The disorientation left in a flash. "You just left a guy lying in the streets unconscious? What if somebody sees him? They'll come after us with more people." She looked at the man lying there and saw nearby the tall one, too, dead. "And you left a corpse, too? What are you two thinking?"
"We're thinking," shouted Llathos, "that we don't want you to die just yet. Now, if you think you're ready to move about again, you can help us deal with the next problem of the two bodies."
Juliana looked at her feet. "I'm sorry, Llathos, you're right, thanks for saving me. I think they would have killed me." She looked into his fierce eyes. In them she saw the weariness that comes from days without food or decent rest. But beyond that she saw something else. She saw a fierce fire that burned inside him, a driving energy. What was that? It was as if he were possessed by some other power she had never know in him and had only heard of in children's tales. It wasn't his magic, it was something else, almost...And then it was gone.
"Thanks," she said again and moved toward Adin to help him move the two men.
"Adin, can you help me move these two bodies out of the street?"
He turned to glance at her. "Sure." He spat on the ground to his other side and then looked back. "Sure, no problem." Together they hefted the men into the alley where Llathos was waiting.
"I wonder where everyone is?" remarked Juliana as they moved the dead man over. No sooner had she asked this, but the unconscious man started to stir.
"If we're lucky, he went to announce our arrival," said Adin as he moved to hold the man down.
The man opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was Adin and he quickly realized that sudden moves could cause sudden pain or sudden death in this case. Juliana spoke first.
"Why did you attack me?"
"You work for him. We were only protecting ourselves."
She heard Llathos mutter, "Him? Who is he talking about?"
"You know who I mean," announced the man, emboldened by Llathos' display of ignorance and weakness. "Him, the dark mage creature that terrorizes our town and steals our crop and livestock. The bane on all our lives. Him. He subverts people and sends them into our town to help him. We've been fooled by them before, but we won't be again. You work for him."
Slowly reality drew on Juliana. "Sir, what's your name?"
"Teegan," he said weakly.
"Teegan. Well, Teegan, I want to share something with you. I have never met this person or creature or whatever that you're talking about and I'm sure neither have my friends here. We are but weary travelers and we're looking for food and a place to stay and rest up for a bit. That is all. We do not know this mage person nor do we want to. What can we do to prove to you that we are not out to hurt you, only to ask of your help?"
Teegan lay still for a few moments thinking. He seemed to be trying to determine whether or not Juliana was telling the truth. Finally, he spoke.
"Very well, I will trust you for now. But I don't know what the village elders will think. If you will let me up and don't make any sudden moves, I'll take you to them and you can plea your case before them. But if I find that you do work for him..."
"You won't. Because we don't work for him, whoever he is. Adin, let him up."
He looked at her sharply. "Are you sure that is wise? He may try to attack us again."
"Adin, if he does, it's three against one. Do you think he'll get far? No. And he realizes that. Now let him up so we can get moving. I'm hungry and I'm tired."
Damn this boy. Kill, kill, kill, mistrust, he's no better than the people that attacked me. You'd think he'd never been out in the world and see how things worked. He's such an amateur when it comes to diplomacy and trust. I hate amateurs.
"Give us one good reason that we should trust you. You killed one of our men, and not only that, but with magic, the power of the creature. He is within you and you work for him. So, I ask you again, strangers, why should we trust you?"
The three of them stood glaring at the man behind the table in silence for a moment before responding. After following Teegan down the street, they were taken into a fortress where most of the people were holding out. It turned out that Teegan and the two others were simply part of a routine patrol of the temporarily abandoned village. Once inside, they were led to a large room with a long table. There were people standing and sitting around it and most of them looked important. One of them, the group recognized as one of the men on patrol with Teegan.
They were in the Elder's chamber and it didn't take long for them to be noticed. The elders and other officials at the table looked at them expectantly and after a short introduction from Teegan then relayed their tale. It wasn't taken well and the head elder was the most opposed to them. He was also the one that had asked the big question.
Finally, it was Adin who spoke. His voice would make a brave man wet himself and cry for Mommy. "Are you calling me a liar, old man?"
There was a brief silence. Llathos put his hand on Adin's shoulder. Juliana said his name, but no more. The could both feel the tempest coming and didn't want to be a part of it. They knew they were the only ones who could stop it, but they also didn't want to be anywhere near it. When Adin got mad, well, he broke people and killed things.
"Mr. Nonac, I am simply pointing out that --"
Steel flashed and wood splintered. Then there was Adin standing with his sword resting on the floor in front of the head elder and the long table sloping upward from that point in either direction.
"Oh, crap," whispered the elder, looking with large eyes upon the large metal blade. He wasn't entirely sure he had even seen it move.
"Old man, I'll tell you why you should trust us. You should trust us because you have no other choice. We have no way of proving that we do not work for this...creature. We killed your man because he was stupid enough to attack us. It was self-defense.
"Now, we're not just trying to come along and take your food and bum a place to stay. We have a little more honor and respect than that. We have been travelling for days and need the rest. If we must do something to earn this rest, then so be it. Name your price and we'll discuss it."
There was a long pause. One of the men at the table leaned over to the high elder and whispered something in his ear. The elder thought for a moment. Finally, he spoke.
"Very well, Mr. Nonac. Since you insist so strongly that you and your friends are not working for him, then you will have no problem accepting this job. Rid our town of him. Be sure that he never comes back. If you can do this, then we will give you whatever supplies you need and allow you to stay here as long as you like. Do you accept?"
There was another pause. Llathos grabbed Adin's shoulder and turned him around. Juliana joined the circle.
"I think we should accept," said Llathos. "We really don't have any other choice. If we refuse, they'll kill us, I know it. And we can't fight them all."
"I think Llathos is right," said Juliana. "But we need to add one condition. They have to give us food and rest for the night before we go out to do this."
Adin looked from Llathos to Juliana. Then he nodded his head and turned back to face the high elder.
"We will accept your terms on one condition," boomed the great warrior.
"And that is?" The high elder began to shift in his seat just a bit.
"We will require food and rest for at least this night before we can attempt to rid your town of anything. Give us a place to stay and something to eat and we will depart in the morning to do as you ask."
"But what evidence is there to make us believe that we can trust you for even one night? This quest is to save our people, but also to prove your trustworthiness to us."
"Tell me, old man, if you can't trust us, who can you trust?"
There was another short pause.
"Very well. Teegan will show you a room and bring you food. I suggest you rest up while you can. You have a big day ahead of you tomorrow."
The three of them turned and followed Teegan out of the room as if their quest had already begun. Juliana turned back to Adin as they walked down the hall.
"You did well, Adin. I'm proud of you."
He brushed her comment aside. "It was easy. He didn't know what he was doing. He's such an amateur at this leadership thing it's laughable."
They continued on in silence.
"Well, here you are." Teegan opened a door that led into a small dark room. There were three beds along one wall and an old table with four chairs sitting at the far end of the room. Just above the table was a window looking out to the back part of the town. The light was dim, but not so much that they couldn't see their way around easily.
"I'll return soon with some food." He stepped back in the hallway and closed the door.
Llathos was the first to speak. "I think we ought to work out some kind of plan for what we're going to do." He sat down at the table. "I know we don't have much information just yet, but any ideas?"
Adin turned a chair around backwards and sat down with a sudden force. "What do we need a plan for? They take us to the castle, we go in, we kick some butt, we make sure he never comes back, and we leave. These people give us what we want and that's the end of it."
"Llathos has a point, Adin," said Juliana as she slipped into a third chair. "We need some idea of what we're doing. Do we have to fight him, or is it possible to reason with him? Things like that."
Adin gave her a quizzical look. "You want to reason with him? How can we do that? He's been tormenting townspeople. He has no honor and he deserves to die."
Llathos cut in. "If we have to kill him, so be it. But we need to figure out how we want to go about that. How are we going to get to him? And what are his weaknesses that we can use against him? What are his strengths? We need to know what to prepare for."
At this point there was a knock on the door. Juliana went to open it. She looked outside and swung the door wide open. Teegan walked in with a tray and set it down on the table. Without a word he looked at them and then left, again closing the door behind him.
The talking stopped for the next several minutes as the nearly famished group dug into the first real meal they'd had in days. After they had satisfied their initial hunger, they slowed down and between mouthfuls resumed talking.
Llathos was the first to speak. "Let's start with what we know about him. He first appeared about two years ago. He started small, occasionally raiding the villagers' cattle herds. Typically, he confined his actions to the night. Eventually he moved from cattle raids to taking, and even killing, people. After a few months, they realized that he had taken up residence in an abandoned castle a few miles from the village. At this point, the villagers attempted to fight back, but learned to their dismay that he was much too powerful for them to stop. Finally, they built this fort and settled into a defensive position. Anyone that went to the castle to try and stop him never returned. After a short time, they stopped even trying. Any ideas yet?"
"Well, a daylight assault sounds best, since he seems to work best at night," said Adin. "Who knows, we might get lucky and catch him asleep."
"Ok, then how will we get into the castle? It's not like he's going to leave the front gate open," remarked Juliana. "We can't really plan anything about getting in until we see his defenses. I guess we're going to be forced to make it up as we go."
At that point the door was shoved open and crashed against the wall. An old man about as tall as Juliana staggered in and stood in the middle of the room. Adin jumped up grabbing a dagger while Juliana knocked her chair over turning to face him. Llathos didn't move.
"Do not face him," began the old man. "You do not know the greater evil you could unleash."
"What are you rambling about, old man?" asked Juliana. "Where did you come from?"
He didn't acknowledge her question. "You mustn't fight him. He will destroy you or you will unleash a greater threat upon the land. The pain, the horror!" He was nearly in hysterics.
Juliana simply righted her chair and sat down again. Adin put down his dagger. "Crazy old man," he said. Finally he sat down also.
The old man took a staggering step forward and looked to Llathos. "You must listen to me. You know I speak the truth. Do not go to him."
Llathos leaned away from the old man slightly. He gave a look of horror yet at the same time vague recognition.
"Llathos," accused Adin, "do you know this wind bag?"
There was a pause. "I'm not sure. What is your name, old man?"
"You know me, elf. You are one like me. Do not be foolish like me. Do not make my mistake. He is the lesser of two evils. Destroy him and destroy this village and possibly the whole country. Heed my warning!"
Llathos leaned forward. "Now just calm down. Tell me who you are."
"No! You know not the greater evil you will unleash if you destroy him!"
"There you are."
Everyone at the table looked to the open doorway. The old man just stood still. A woman stepped into the room and walked slowly towards the old man.
"Hindok, how many times have I told you not to wander off like that?" She looked at the three at the table. "I'm terribly sorry about this. I turn away for a moment and he just runs off somewhere."
"And you are?" asked Juliana.
"Oh, sorry. I'm Larah. I'm the only one who'll watch after Hindok here. He's a little crazy if you know what I mean. Now, come along with me, Hindok." Larah took hold of the old man's arm and started to slowly pull him away.
He was nearly to the door before he stopped her and turned around. "Do not forget what I have told you. It will be worse than you could imagine." And then Larah pulled him out the door and closed it behind them.
Adin and Juliana looked at the door for a moment and then returned to eating. Llathos stared at the wall for a moment longer.
What a strange old man. He seems somehow so familiar. But I don't think I've ever met him. Could he be another wizard, like me? No, I'm sure I would have heard of him. One thing is for certain. He knows something. He's no amateur to what's going on here. But what does he know? Nothing makes since with him.
Juliana looked up at the towering pillars of stone. They had been traveled for half the day. She hadn't given much consideration to the events of the night before. They had a job to do and they needed to do it soon. The faster they finished, the faster they would get their supplies and a long, much needed rest.
"Oh, goodie." Juliana cracked her knuckles. "Let's get to work."
Deciding that a direct approach would not only be fruitless but would attract unwanted attention, they opted instead for the unromantic passages of the castle's mostly disused drainage system. A little bit later, they were trudging through ankle high water in a dark drain tunnel. Shortly after that they had found their way into the bottom floor of the castle.
Juliana quickly took charge of the situation. The room they were in looked as if it were long ago abandoned. The dust on some of the ledges was several inches thick. Obviously, no one had been in this part of the castle in years.
"He's probably up in the higher levels of the castle."
"What makes you so sure?" asked Llathos.
"I just know. Follow me."
They didn't ask any other questions. She led them through a series of corridors and the dusty scenery didn't change much. Finally, they reached a narrow spiraling staircase. From her best judgement they were at the foot of the northwest tower. Juliana looked around for signs of anything moving but found nothing. She was about to move on when she noticed footsteps hidden in the shadows heading up the stairs.
"I think we should go up."
"Fine with me," said Adin. "Just show me where he is. I want to kill something."
Juliana took the lead as they began their ascent with Llathos wheezing his way along in the rear.
"Hurry up, little man," snapped Adin.
"Quiet, Adin! Something up there might hear us," whispered Juliana.
As they ascended the staircase, the footprints became more pronounced. Finally they drew to a stop before a large set of oaken double doors. Nearly ten feet tall, the doors were stained dark with years of moisture. Crisscrossing their surface were a series of deep gashes from the claws of some huge creature. They couldn't have been more than a few years old.
Juliana turned to face them. "I think that we're here. So, now how do we want to go in?"
Adin's response was not long in coming. Drawing his huge sword, he started to move past her. "Like this."
Damn you, Adin, what are you doing? You amateur, you can't just barge in like this!
And then Adin's foot landed solidly at the break in the doors and they flew open revealing a large room beyond.
He had hoped that they would surprise the monster in his sleep. Unfortunately, that was not to be. As he strode through the swinging doors, Adin watched the hulking creature unfold itself from its sleeping place, a pile of rags on the floor.
"Juliana, Llathos, stay back. I want this one all to myself."
A look of horror crossed Juliana's face as the hulking brute rose from the floor. "Adin, no, you can't, you'll be killed!"
Llathos placed a restraining hand on her arm. "It is his choice to make. Stay here and keep out of his way. He can do it. We'll cover him if he needs our help."
Slowly Adin made his way into the large room. It must have been the great hall of the castle long ago. He could still see the tattered remains of banners hanging along the walls. These moments spent inspecting his surroundings nearly cost him his life. As the creature rose, its left hand snapped out, a brilliant flash of blue light erupting from its fingers. Only Adin's reflexes, honed by years of training in the school of battle, allowed him to throw himself to the side in time to avoid the spell. He glanced back just in time to see Llathos deflect the vile magic with some sort of magical barrier, then turned his full attention to the creature in front of him.
Adin knew that he had to force the creature to concentrate solely on him, and not on its magic. It was luck that had saved him the first time, and Adin learned years ago not to trust in luck during a fight. Rushing headlong towards the creature, Adin howled his battle cry. He feinted once to the left and brought his blade around to the right in a huge slash that would fell a tree. The monster was too nimble, however, and leapt back, receiving just a shallow scratch along its body. For his troubles, Adin was thrown across the room with one sweep of the creature's powerful arm. Grunting painfully, Adin pulled himself to his feet just in time to meet the creature's rush.
The monster bowled Adin over, falling upon him like an avalanche. As they grappled on the floor, Adin felt the life being slowly crushed out of his body by the thing's weight. I've got to do something. If this keeps up, this thing'll eat me for breakfast, and then have Llathos and Juliana for a snack. Adin looked about himself for some chance of escape. When the monster next rolled on top of him, he saw it. His sword was wedged under some rubble nearby with its blade facing up.
Gradually, the two combatants moved towards the sword. I hope this works. If it doesn't, I'll get the dubious honor of dying by my own sword. Finally they were close enough for Adin to enact his plan. Using every ounce of his prodigious strength, Adin heaved the fell creature upon his upturned blade. A shrill scream tore through the room as the razor-sharp blade passed easily into the creature's back. Adin quickly pulled himself back from its horrendous death throes. Eventually, the monster's cries and movements stopped.
Adin lurched to his feet, clutching at his sides. He could tell that some of his ribs were cracked, but nothing that would not heal with a little time. "That was too easy." Adin looked at the fallen body of their opponent. "What an amateur. You have no clue how to fight."
All of the adventurers expected to return to the village and receive a hero's welcome. What they found was so far from their expectations they barely knew how to respond. As they walked down the main street of the town, there were more people outside, which was to be expected. But the rejoicing and cheers they had hoped for didn't meet their ears. In its place was the sound of moaning, pain, and death.
Llathos stopped at one of the people nearest to the street. "What's happening? What's going on?"
"The plague," the man gasped. "It started late last night. No one knows how, but it's spread to half the town already. You must help us."
"Late last night?" murmured Llathos as he stood back up to face his companions. "That's when we fought the creature."
"So what's your point?" demanded Adin. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"I'm not sure. But I think they're related. Hold on." Llathos bent back to the old man. He put his hands on the man's chest and began to concentrate.
The magic working at the man's body was so strong he was amazed he hadn't noticed it before. What was more, the threads of magic within him seemed to stretch loosely to other people around him, other sick people. Things were starting to make sense at last.
"Do you two remember the old man from the other night?"
Juliana stared at the back of Llathos' head. "Of course, but what does that have to do with anything?"
Llathos looked up at her. "I can't explain right now, but I need to talk to him. I think he knows something and he's the key to solving this whole thing. You have to help me find him."
They searched for nearly two hours before they found the old man back in the main fortress. He was in bed and seemed to have contracted the same disease the other villagers had. Llathos walked up and sat in a chair next to the old man's bed. Adin and Juliana stood against the wall in silence.
"Hindok. It's me, Llathos, from the other night. Do you remember me?"
The old man didn't even look at him. "You didn't listen to me, did you? You were a fool."
"That's what I came to see you about. Something's happening and I think you know what it is. Tell me so we can fix it."
"How long have you been a wizard, boy?"
Llathos was slightly taken aback. "Just over ten years. Not long. Why?"
"Son, I was a wizard for forty years of my life before I lost my power."
Llathos' eyes grew wide. A wizard losing his power? It was unheard of. Once a wizard, always a wizard, or so Llathos had thought. This looked to be more interesting than he thought.
"Really?" choked out the elf. "Please, go on."
"Long ago, I joined an order of wizards. We were young and had high ideals. One of our greatest projects was to create an item to rid the world of diseases. We worked for years on our task, using the castle you went to as our home and our work area. It was mostly secluded, but self-sufficient. No one bothered us and we worked in peace.
"Finally, we were approaching our goal. After nearly thirty years of work on this task, we were near completion. We created a large spherical stone that would be used to cure diseases and aid mankind everywhere. We even decided to give it a form of life and made it sentient. That was our biggest mistake. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
"The night we were going to activate it was a stormy one. We should have waited, but that's what long work and near accomplishment does to you. It can blind you. As we cast the final spells and performed the final rituals we didn't realize just how distracting the storm was and how much it had affected our magic. Just past midnight, there was a magical backlash and we were all knocked unconscious.
"We woke the next morning to find that we had succeeded in activating the stone. However, the personality that we had endued it was not what we had intended. It was evil, dark. Instead of wanting to cure disease, this stone attempted to create new ones and spread them to people. It didn't take us long to learn this. The only reason we weren't affected was because of our magic protecting us and our close proximity to it.
"But we couldn't let this go on and destroy the rest of the world. That wasn't what we wanted, it was never our intention. So we came up with a plan. We tried something no wizard had ever done before. We took all of our magic and put it into one person in our group. This person's only goal was to destroy the stone and all the work we had done. It was painful to have to do, but it was the only choice. That is how I lost my power.
"The whole idea would have been effective except for another complication. The stone realized what we were trying to do and got angry. Using its power, it deformed the wizard we were sending our power to and destroyed part of his mind. After the rest of us were drained of our power, we had no further defenses against the stone.
"The one we had chosen to fight for us went slightly mad. He still knew he was suppose to destroy the stone, but due to the deformity and weakening of the mind, he wasn't able to do so. He also soon developed the thought that he was suppose to destroy anything else that got near him. Between him and the stone, it didn't take the rest of us long to realize that we were in trouble.
"In a matter of three days all but one of my colleagues and myself were dead, either from the stone or our former friend, and the two of us that were left already knew we had been infected with something. We decided to run while we still could. My friend died shortly after we left the castle and I was on my own. Soon after that, the disease set in.
"It didn't cause any kind of deformity or anything other than making me age rapidly. In the next few hours I had physically gained thirty years. I would have died shortly after that if it hadn't stopped. I still am not sure why it stopped. I think the creature we had created finally gained the upper hand with the stone and managed to dampen its powers. But because I didn't go back to normal I knew it hadn't been destroyed.
"I wandered along until I came across this village here. I tried to warn them of the danger nearby but they all thought I was just a crazy old man and eventually put me under the charge of a nurse and ignored me. That was nearly two years ago. Shortly after that, the beast started to raid the town and do all the horrible things you've heard of. When I heard you all had come along, I knew I had to talk to you, to warn you, but I couldn't remember enough at the time. They had called me crazy for so long, I had almost begun to believe it.
"And that's my story and the story of what's going on. When you killed that creature in the castle, you stopped the only thing inhibiting the stone from destroying us all. You must go back and do what you can to finish the destruction of that thing or all will be lost. Correct our mistake. We thought we were wise, it turns out we were wrong. We were such amateurs."
The old man then stared at Llathos for a moment longer and rolled over on his side away from the elf, thus signaling that the conversation was over. In a moment, the old man was asleep.
Llathos stood and motioned for the others to leave the room quietly. They did so and once in the hall with the door closed, Llathos turned to them.
"We've got to go back," he said. "Whatever it is that these fools made, we have to go back and destroy it."
Adin was incredulous. "You've got to be kidding. You don't honestly mean to tell me you believe the old geezer, do you? He's nuts!"
"Yes, he is. But he's also right. Trust me Adin, I know. I'm not new to magic; what he says is the truth and if we don't stop it now, it won't be long until we die like him or the others in this town."
The next afternoon they found themselves once again facing the large stone castle.
"Gee," said Adin, sarcastically, "doesn't this seem familiar?"
"Get over it, Adin," snapped Juliana. "At least this time we should be able to go in through the front."
They proceeded across the drawbridge and through the main gate in silence. When they were across Juliana turned to Llathos.
"Are you ready?"
Llathos took a deep breath. "Yes. But be certain not to disturb me until I tell you I'm done. This will be delicate."
"Take your time."
Llathos took another breath and closed his eyes. With his mind he began to search outward. He was looking for traces of magic, anything that might lead them to the stone's location. If he could find any kind of pockets of magic, that would have to be where the stone was. But it would be dangerous. If he wasn't very careful about it, he could land right on the stone and have his mind get trapped in it.
But he wasn't going to think of such things. He had a job to do. Slowly he stretched his senses to find the stone. After a few moments, he had it. He made note of where it was and then like a snake in the water, withdrew his thoughts back to himself. Hopefully the stone hadn't noticed the intrusion.
"Got it. It's on this floor, far back of the castle."
"Did it notice you?" asked Juliana.
"I don't think so."
"Good. Then let's go. Quietly."
They walked down another corridor and made a right turn. At Llathos' direction they turned left again and proceeded until they reached the end of the hall. There was a door there, no different from most of the others around them except that it looked to be more used. The wood planks could use a replacing and the lock was so rusty it probably didn't work anymore.
"Are you ready, Llathos?" asked the rogue.
"You don't get to be ready for something like this. Open the door."
She reached forward and turned the knob. It nearly broke off in her hand. She pushed the door wide open with the care of someone handling a priceless antique. The room beyond was small with only one small window letting light in. In the center of the room stood the stone they had searched for. It pulsated softly with a faint red glow. As the trio stepped into the room they could almost feel the thing turn its attention to them.
Comparing sharply with Adin's battle with the creature, all three people knew that this would be a battle of wits, and it lay entirely in the hands of Llathos. If he couldn't do the job, no one could.
Juliana and Adin moved to either side of the stone while Llathos stood in front of it, between it and the door. Not seeing any reason to wait, Llathos dropped into a deep concentration.
He looked with his mind at the room around him. He used his senses to see the physical and they insubstantial. Magical energy permeated the room, but it was most concentrated where the stone was. It was so powerful there that Llathos could not see a physical shape, only the red glow of the stone's power. He saw Juliana and Adin's life force. So far the stone had left them alone, but for how long? He didn't have time to wait and find out.
With his mind, Llathos plunged into the energy that was the stone. He would have to fight through a veritable maelstrom of chaotic magic to find the root of its power. It was not easy. The stone quickly realized what he was doing and knocked and battered him more than Llathos would have thought he could stand. In the end though, the elf forced his mind through and found himself within the stone's center of power.
There was no time to waste. If he could knock out this, the rest of the stone would be destroyed as well. He looked at the small hourglass shaped orb that hovered before him and considered the best way to do this.
"You have worked hard to get here."
The voice was emanating from the orb. Llathos looked back at it and responded.
"I have good reason to. You cannot be allowed to continue what you are doing. You must not exist."
"Strong words for a weak one such as you. I'm afraid you underestimate me. It took more power than you could imagine to create me. What makes you think you could destroy me?"
"One of the ten rules of wizardry states that it takes less power to destroy than it does to create. I just might stand a chance."
The orb was silent. Finally, "Try. But if you do, you're friends will be destroyed as well."
Llathos paused. Then he realized that if he didn't act they would be destroyed anyway and all would be lost. There was only one quick way to end this and be sure no one else got hurt. Well, almost no one else.
He moved forward to the orb and slowly began to wrap his mind around it. He enveloped it, took on its shape, nearly became it. But he kept enough of himself about him to remember the purpose he had there. When he was sure the orb was encased he closed in upon it. The orb fought back. But it wasn't ready for what Llathos was doing. Fighting will all his might, Llathos crushed in upon the orb, the central point of power for the plague stone. Finally, the orb could resist no longer. Llathos crushed it causing a brilliant explosion of light to burst forth and through him. In the last moment of existence for both himself and the stone, he though out one thing.
"It is you who underestimate me. I am no amateur to magic. You are. It is unfortunate you cannot learn from this experience."
Thirty minutes had passed since they entered the room and still Llathos did not move. Juliana was wondering if he would succeed or not when there was a bright surge of light in the stone and it exploded. Llathos fell to the ground and when the dust cleared, Juliana realized that the stone was no more.
She rushed over to where Llathos had fallen and tried to wake him.
He wouldn't move.
She listened for breathing.
There was none.
Finally, she checked for a pulse.
It wasn't there.
Llathos was dead.
"How is he, Juliana?"
She paused for a moment and then finally looked up into Adin's face. It was surprisingly passive and caring, something she had never noticed in him before.
"He's dead, Adin. I'm sorry. He died saving the rest of us from the stone. At least he was successful."
"There is nothing to be sorry for. He died a warrior's death, with honor. There is no greater glory. I guess he's not the little amateur I thought he was."
"No, Adin, he's not. He's a hero."