Montoya Valley, chapter 10

Caine and Flynn paused before the other hidden door, somewhere in the cellars of the castle. "Listen, ghoul. Stay here, and make sure none of the soldiers find this entrance. If I can get what I need quickly, then we get to start killing people. If that nephew of mine has moved it," he clenched his fist in anger, "then we have to wait until nightfall, when I can bring up the zombies. Got it?"
Flynn scowled, but as Caine started to reach for the brand energies, he nodded his assent. The ghoul could almost sense the humans nearby, and how he wanted to spread their blood and pain and fear! But it would have to wait ... for now. Caine would be gone someday, perhaps soon, and then he would have the opportunity he so desired.
The exile paused for a moment, then opened the door and started down the hallways of the abandoned cellars. Other than the treasure room, and a few cells, there was little down here of any interest. Even though he had been gone from the castle and the valley for fifteen years, he still remembered the way. After all, it was down here he found Pureflame, and hid the sword.
Soon the door to the treasure room appeared on his right, and Caine stopped. He remembered what the traps were, and what it took to disarm them. But the bar across the door, with a sign and the seal of the Duke, this was new. Carefully, he pulled the wooden beam off the wall, and set it next to the door. Then he traced the invisible symbol on the door, which only one of the Montoya family could use.
The door swung open silently, and Caine surveyed the room. The strange marble golem was lying on the floor, one foot hacked off. Many of the chests had been rearranged, but he knew well the one he wanted. With a whispered word, bands of magical energy chained the golem to the floor, and he ripped off the lid. There was the sash of gems, indeed, but the topaz was missing. Where was it? Caine cursed silently, inside his mind, and carefully scanned the castle above him.
The only brand that showed was hidden behind many layers of magical shields, and the only one he knew with the brand was his niece, Irini. As he held the scan, he realized something else -- she was holding the topaz! He cursed again, this time out loud, before he turned and strode from the room. Not only did his niece hold the gem, and likely had the knowledge of releasing the magi, she had detected his probing through the brand.
Caine threw open the hidden door, almost knocking Flynn sprawling. "Move, ghoul. Tonight, this castle will fall." Without pausing, he strode past the undead, heading through the tunnel back towards an opening in the forest. Flynn simply watched for a moment, his mouth of fangs open in a grin. Anger was good, he thought. It brought mistakes.

Diego awoke suddenly, sitting up on his bunk. It took him a moment to realize he was still in the barracks in the castle. Romero, sitting up two bunks away, tossed a small pebble in his hand. "You feeling alright, Diego?"
He scrubbed his eyes with one hand, then nodded. "Yeah, but I would like some more sleep. What's the problem?"
"You were calling out in your sleep." Romero dropped the pebble to the floor, and Diego noticed half a dozen on his bed. "You kept saying something about the curse and the symbol."
Diego paused, carefully rising to his feet and stretching. He had been dreaming about something, but like most dreams, it fled from his waking mind as he tried to grasp it. "I don't remember anything about my dream," he said, then paused, as a symbol floated before his mind -- the six pointed star, enclosed in a circle. "I don't know why I was calling out."
Before he could say anything else, the door pushed open quietly. Charmain gave a faint smile to the two Scouts, before gesturing to Diego. "I came to remind you about your reading lesson, Diego." The healer gave a wide yawn, then shuffled back outside. The two Scouts exchanged a look, before Diego straightened out his clothes, and left the barracks headed towards the castle.
The sun was slowly setting in the sky, a brilliant fiery orange ball of the summer season. He admired the glowing clouds for a few moments, before turning towards the castle's main gates. Servants were hurrying everywhere, passing gossip about in brief sentences as they passed. Diego ignored most of it, almost in a daze as he climbed the stairs towards the second floor and the library. The slate and chalk were on the table, along with a thin book, but there was no sign of Irini yet. He sat down at the table, picked up the slate and started sketching for a moment.
It was a few minutes later before Irini entered. Diego looked up, and jumped to his feet, bowing. She was dressed similar to before, except for the dark shadows under her eyes. She gave him a faint smile, and started to wave him back to his seat, before she saw what he had been drawing. With a gasp, she grabbed up the slate, and Diego froze in fear.
On the slate, he had been mostly drawing nonsense, but in one corner he had put the strange symbol from his dreams, the brand on Lenk's shoulder and the ward to protect Flynn from his zombie. The rest of it was a cave, with some man facing off against an ugly short creature wearing a crown. He wasn't sure why he had drawn it.
Irini slowly placed it on the table, then walked over to one of the shelves. After scanning the titles for a moment, she pulled down one plain looking book, and flipped open to an illustrated page. When she set it down on the table, it was Diego's turn to gasp in surprise.
There, in far more detail was the same scene on the slate. The man pictured was blond, large and powerful, facing off against a kobold. The queen, he realized after a moment, the story of how the first Montoya drove out the kobold queen and became a Duke. "How did you know about this, Diego?"
He was silent for a moment, looking between the slate and the book. "I dreamed it, I think. Before Erana's garden was destroyed, I started having strange dreams there. But the only thing I could remember was the symbol." He pointed at the star and circle on his slate. "I didn't know what it meant. I'm not sure where I got this picture from, either, but I've never seen that book before."
They stood in silence for several moments, before Irini closed the book. "If you've been dreaming about my ancestor, and the kobold queen, then I should probably tell you the whole story.
"The first Montoya was a common soldier. Back then, the King of El Marid was preparing for war with the King of Fince. The mountains here were so full of monster tribes, goblins and kobolds and orcs and ogres, that most of the battle was expected to be fought at sea. Montoya's regiment was sent north, to watch the few open passes between the country, just in case the Finch tried a surprise attack.
"The captain in charge of the regiment marched them into a valley, guarding the most important pass. They fought off several groups of kobolds, and soon built up a rough wall for their encampment. Then one night, an old kobold, wearing a bronze crown, came up before the gate, and demanded to speak to the leader of the soldiers. When the watch demanded to know why, the kobold informed them that they owed a tribute for camping in her kingdom.
"The soldier laughed at the queen, and told her to run off before the other soldiers came out to kill her. In return, the queen cursed the man, that all of the soldiers would wither, becoming monsters themselves, until one of them had the courage to bring the tribute to her lair. The soldier laughed again, and the queen vanished.
"Over the next several days, her curse started to become true. The soldiers, one by one, started to change into orcs and goons. The captain, fearing the same fate, fled with the other officer. Montoya knew that something must be done, so he and one of his friends left the encampment, heading for a group of caves. At the entrance to the cave was an ogre, who demanded their name and their business.
"Montoya told the ogre they were looking for the kobold ruler, to bring her the tribute she demanded. When the ogre heard this, he moved aside, and gestured for them to enter the cave. It was large, and dark, but soon they reached the queen's throne room of sorts. The walls had been altered magically, and a stalagmite beside her throne was covered with gems. When the kobold queen asked them what their tribute was, Montoya approached the throne.
"He reached under his cloak, and brought forth a small box, which he gave her. The kobold opened the box, and a cloud of dust covered her head. 'What is this?' she shrieked. 'It is your tribute, Queen of Kobolds,' Montoya replied. 'As you cursed my friends to become monsters, so you shall become a human, and lose all your magic.'
"The queen shrieked in anger, but her magic was already starting to fade away. In desperation, she cursed Montoya, drawing that symbol in the air. That would be the symbol of his curse, and his family would never be free of the symbol."
Irini glanced at the time candle, a bit surprised. Her tale had taken only half an hour to relate? Diego shook his head before speaking. "What happened to the Duke's friend?"
She paused for a moment, thinking in surprise. "I don't remember, actually. Let me see if I can find it." The book was opened again, and she read to herself for a moment. "Well, after the queen cursed Montoya, she then turned to his friend. 'Until your friend and his line abandon their greatness, you and yours shall be his servants and helpers.' Then her transformation to a human was complete, and Montoya stabbed her with his sword. The other kobolds, lacking their powerful queen, were easily driven away from the valley. Since the officers had left, and Montoya had shown such bravery, the King of El Marid granted him the valleys and passes and a Duchy."
They sat in silence for several moments. As Irini reached over for the slate, the door burst open. "Irini, Diego, the castle is under attack by zombies!" Without another word, Gerard dashed away, down the hallway, leaving them to follow.

Caine and Flynn waited in the tunnel until the sun dipped below the western mountains. Within a few minutes, they were standing at the cemetery gates. Caine marshaled his necromantic powers, reaching out for the dormant spells that were laid on the sleeping undead. Soon, the ground started quaking, as the decayed remains from centuries of history rose from the ground, rotting fingers and bare bones clawing up to the surface.
Flynn flexed his claws, eager for the coming battle. "Flynn, you get that group of zombies over there. See if you can keep the town militia busy. And feel free to kill as many people as you can." The ghoul threw his head back, mouth open in a silent howl of glee. As he loped off, half the zombies stomped forward, following him towards the town.
As they vanished from sight, Caine reached towards the shadows. Night gaunts flowed forth, darkness giving birth to the creatures as magic called them. With a death-head's grin, Caine led forth his zombies and the night gaunts, towards the castle. Tonight would be victory. He would not allow any other option!

Kiwin and the others in the bar all quieted down in surprise for a moment. The steady rumble sounded for a moment like thunder, but the sky had been clear, no sign of a storm. Then a soldier burst in the door, shouting out "Zombie attack!" The off duty soldiers bounded from their seats, running out the door, trying to get to the castle or their homes for weapons. The farmers, and the families all went for the ready pile of broken wood. Torches were set aflame, and Higgins hefted his axe grimly.
Kiwin stroked his flute nervously, and tried to think about what Canaan had told him. The flute strengthens your emotions, he thought. So if I play the right songs, with the right attitude, maybe I can keep everyone going. They streamed outside, heading south towards the open break in the wall where the militia was already fighting. Quickly he scanned through his mind, before choosing the right song. As he started the melody, the bartender picked up the words.
"Now, young lad, let me sing ye a song
About a man who knew the right from the wrong
And never did he lose to his fear
The hero known as the Prince of Shapier!"

Along the walls, Canaan watched over the gates, as militia walked their rounds, torches and lanterns throwing back the darkness. He bent down to scratch around his ankle where the silver foot attached, before he realized why he was nervous. Something very bad was coming, he knew, but he couldn't see it, he couldn't sense where it was!
Then a soldier down the wall screamed, and the northern man turned. As he watched, the shadowy night gaunts swarmed over his body, draining his life away. With a mighty war cry, he ran forward, swinging both sword and foot. From inside the courtyard, the other soldiers saw the night gaunts and the fight going on up above. Then came the hammer blow of fists against the portcullis, and the common soldiers turned their attention to the zombie army outside the gates, with Caine looming large behind them.
Marco and Charmain dashed out of the castle, taking in the spectacle quickly. "Marco, run over to my house, on the other side of the wall there. Go inside, on the shelf to the left is a brown bag, filled with blue pills. Take those, and a large water skin. They will refresh your magical power. Go!" With a shove, the healer took off running herself towards the gates, to do her best to keep the soldiers fighting for as long as they could.
Marco ran as fast as he could, almost breaking down the door when he stopped. Quickly he found the right pouch, and grabbed another one of red pills as well, then picked up two waterskins hanging on a peg. Dashing back outside, a night gaunt swooped down on him. A burst of fire, and the shadow fell apart. The boy allowed himself a brief moment of fear, then ran for the ladder up to the wall.

Flynn smiled, as the zombies slowly but surely battered the militia to pieces. He was having a bit of fun himself, jumping over the wall at different points, destroying torches and shredding flesh. Then from behind him, he heard a very distinctive whoosh of flame. With a snap of his head, Flynn turned to see who this new opponent might be.
Haloed by the blue flames, he looked both grotesque and powerful. Flynn recognized both the sword, and its wielder. "Hello, ghoul. Ready to give up your undead life?" Lenk's mouth was set in a grim frown, and the ghoul bared his fangs in an evil smile. Then the battle was joined; Flynn dodging the flames while Lenk avoided the claws.

Diego and Irini both came out the front door at the same moment. The portcullis was starting to splinter from zombies, while the soldiers inside did their best, with pikes and torches, to drive the undead away. Canaan and Marco alone guarded the battlements, destroying the night gaunts with magic and strength. Romero came dashing over, throwing a sword belt to his friend.
A moment later, from another part of the wall, zombies came pouring over the top. The zombie in the lead was what held Irini's attention for a moment -- her father's corpse, still dressed in the yellow and green family colors. Then her attention was broken, as Diego and Romero went running past her, clambering up the ladder. From another part of the courtyard came Gerard, torch in one hand and sword in the other.

Higgins' dwarven axe swung back and forth, carving zombies into pieces and dissolving their enchantments. Somewhere behind him, Jack was shouting about more torches, and the bard's flute could almost be heard over the sounds of battle. It seemed kind of funny, Higgins thought, that he wasn't feeling the least bit tired right now. Then another zombie lurched forward, and his attention was again back to the enemy.
Jack had managed to start a fire, and was helping two farmers pulling forth tables, chairs, chests and beds, anything wooden that would burn. Lighting the new torches, they passed them forward to the fighting soldiers and farmers, as others were knocked away or burned out. Then he had a sudden idea. "Keep this going!" Jack shouted, over the battle, as he turned and ran back towards the tavern. Shouts came from behind him, but he ignored it and ran inside the Black Boar, behind the bar. Quickly he sorted out which kegs he wanted, and pulled them out from behind the bar.
One of the farmers came running in behind him. "What in Erana's name do you think you're doing?" Jack calmly rolled one keg towards the man.
"Come on, help me get these down to the battle. I think a keg of Dragon's Breath should burn pretty well, don't you?" With a triumphant smile, they started pushing the kegs down the street. As they drew closer to the soldiers, they started shouting. "Move! Get out of the way!"
One of the soldiers turned around briefly to see what was going on, and saw the keg rolling towards him. With a frightened yelp, he jumped backwards, pushing his friend the other direction. One of the zombies stared, not comprehending, as the fast rolling barrel crashed right into it. The powerful alcohol splashed backwards over some of the zombies, and a torch was tossed into the middle of it. With a giant whoosh, the entire zombie army went up in flames. The soldiers and farmers stumbled backwards, beating out the flames on their own clothes, watching as the zombies quickly turned to ashes.

Lenk and Flynn had moved away from the zombie army, into the edge of the forest. Pureflame left a brief curtain of flame as it swung back and forth, but the unnatural speed of the ghoul more than matched it. Branches fell from the trees, as both combatants tried to hinder the other. Though Lenk was bleeding from a minor wound on his arm, Flynn had small flames sputtering up from a nick on his leg. "You will die here, ghoul!" But the paladin's opponent merely bared his fangs again, lunging forward and being blocked again by the sword.

Marco and Canaan were back to back on the wall, almost surrounded by night gaunts. While the young mage was blasting fire everywhere he could see, Canaan's foot was glowing, kicking out at the shadow monsters whenever they drew close enough. Below them, the steel bars of the portcullis had been bent away, and the zombies were slowly pushing their way into the courtyard. Charmain stood near the back, healing anyone who she could reach.
Gerard, Diego, and Romero battled the zombies above on the wall. Romero had doused the outside of his shield with oil, and set it aflame, using it to push back the zombies. Diego and Gerard hacked the undead to pieces, swords in one hand and torches in the other. Then, to the sudden surprise of the two scouts, Gerard let out a cry of anger, and jumped over the wall. They didn't have the attention to see the Duke running forward to challenge Caine, his uncle, who stood at the edge of the trees, surveying the whole battle.
Irini managed to climb up the ladder to the battlements, and reached for one of the new spells she had learned. A bright burst of light, almost light sunlight, illuminated the entire courtyard. With a cry, the night gaunts all faded away, caught without any shadow to protect them. The zombies seemed to hesitate for a moment when the light started, and the soldiers wasted no time fighting back. Marco sagged against the wall for a moment, mechanically reaching for some of the blue pills.
At the trees, Caine drew further back into the forest, leading Gerard on. "Come, you little brat. The throne and this valley will be mine!" Heartbreaker swished forward, but the smaller Gerard was out of its reach. Caine brought the hefty sword back to a guard position, and smiled at his nephew. "Why prolong it, Gerard? Today is the day of your death!"

Jack steadied the other barrel, as the militia quickly scanned the area. "No more zombies out here, but Flynn vanished during the fighting." A discussion quickly sprung up, and the soldiers started running towards the castle. Jack looked around, nodded to Higgins, and started rolling the barrel the other way.
They came upon the mass of zombies rather quickly, since not very many could fit through the small gate into the keep. Several of the soldiers dropped back with Jack, and as they came up, the barrel shot through the air, shattering on the wall and spraying the zombies with the alcohol. Then the sunburst of light appeared above, and a thrown torch caught the wall and the zombies.
Higgins grinned, as the bard started into the next verse of his song, the powerful magic a melody of the flute rising above the noise of fighting and dying.
Irini ran along the battlements, arrows of fire and acid springing forth from her hands, attacking the zombies along the wall. Canaan came running from the other direction, his sword and magical foot throwing zombies backwards over the wall. Marco leaned over the wall, and despite the flames crawling up the wall, launched bursts of fire into the group of zombies below.

Diego leapt over the wall as well, as soon as a pause in the fighting came. He dodged another zombie, and saw a glint of metal in the forest. Abandoning his torch, he loped off into the trees, moonlight and magical light showing him where to move silently. Soon, the fight between Caine and Gerard was in full view.

Jack panted, as he blocked another zombie arm with his torch. He wasn't used to all this fighting, he was a tinker! Higgins axe darted in a moment later, and the zombie tottered sideways as one leg collapsed. Quickly it was set aflame, and Jack ducked backwards out of the fighting for a moment. A soldier, makeshift bandage tied around his shoulder, jumped forward to take his place, a torch in each hand hammering the zombies.
Turning around, Jack caught a glimpse of blue flames, somewhere on the other side of the village. "Oh damn, Lenk must be out there fighting the ghoul!"

Up above, Irini screamed in pain as the zombie arm hit her. Flying backwards, she landed on another part of the battlements, curled up where the arm had hit her side. After a moment, she staggered to her knees, and removed her torn cloth belt. Leaning on the stone wall for support, Irini got to her feet, and carefully cast the most powerful spell she knew of. A large column of flame shot forward, bright scarlet flames consuming the zombies almost instantly.
The monsters on the wall vanished and died, blown away in a cloud of ash. But the moment the flames ended, the zombies still waiting below again began climbing up and over each other to reach the top of the wall.

Jack looked up in surprise as the sash fell from the battlement. He picked it up, and caught a glitter of blue -- the topaz! After a moment of knawing indecision, he put the gemstone in a pouch, then started running back towards the village. However much he might not like it, Lenk had saved his life.

Paladin and ghoul circled, both much slower now. A dozen minor scratches bled on Lenk's arms and legs, and small blue flames still guttered wherever Flynn had come too close to the sword. Pureflame darted forward with a feint, and the ghoul dodged sideways behind a tree, throwing up a cloud of dirt with his feet.
Jack saw the scene as he came running up, but before he could interfere to help, a grasping tree root caught his foot. The magi watched eagerly, as the topaz flew free of the pouch, towards the two combatants. A sudden twist of the flaming sword, and the gemstone bounced off of it, right into Flynn's open mouth.
The magi contorted in pain. The binding spells holding his life into the gemstone had been broken, but it needed the sacrifice of a living creature, not an undead! With a silent scream, his spirit was pulled forward. Flynn doubled backwards in pain, grasping at his torn throat, trying to claw free the stone. It burned, how it burned inside of him! The stone was pulling at him, and he would not give up anything without a struggle!
Lenk and Jack looked in surprise as the ghoul's body twisted, clawed hands clenching in reaction to the stone. Finally, the desiccated corpse fell to the ground, and they waited to see what was going to happen next.
The eyes opened, and gazed upon the new form. With a fighting effort, he drew in a breath, and almost screamed. "No, no! You ruined me! How can I ever undo my spell, and gain back my life, when I am stuck in the body of this, this, disaster?!"
In surprise, Jack and Lenk looked at each other as the mage, now possessing the ghoulish body of Flynn, staggered away into the forest, talking to himself in a strange tongue.

Gerard rolled backwards, fighting to hold his concentration. Heartbreaker thrummed through the air, shattering a bush, spraying branches and leaves everywhere. But the Duke was back on his feet in an instant, sword ready and waiting. Caine had stopped, though, staring off into the forest before turning back to face his nephew. "You're not so bad, boy. But I think there's someone else here to see you." With a wicked grin, the exile stepped back, and the zombie lurched forward.
Gerard's palms started to sweat, as he looked at the rotten face of his mother. The undead moaned softly, reaching out towards him with deceptively frail-looking hands. He fell backwards, scrambling away, his sword forgotten. Then, suddenly, his mother's undead corpse stopped, and fell heavily to the ground. Gerard looked up, staring at the look of shock on Caine's face.
The exile coughed up blood, then fell to the ground. Behind him, Diego looked down at the dead man, slowly lowering his bloody sword to rest against the dirt. "That was for killing my sister, you bastard." The scout hawked, and spit on the corpse, then wiped his blade clean. "Are you alright, milord? We should get back to the castle."
The Duke nodded slowly, picking up his sword and sheathing it. He stared at the two corpses for a moment, then followed the scout back towards the stone keep.
But before they moved more than a few steps, the sound of a horse stopped them. Turning around, Diego saw Thanatos there, bending over the corpse of Caine. Almost savagely, the Grim Reaper pulled loose the soul of the exile, and opened a small box. Flames leapt forth and the ghostly soul of Caine fought in vain to avoid being placed in the box. But it closed, and a faint howl of pain could be heard, before Thanatos mounted his steed and rode away.