“Brilliant little play. Full of poise and drama, wouldn't you say, my bard?” this from what appeared to be the leader of the group. He was a powerfully built figure that radiated competence and mastery in his every movement. Only several inches taller than the average warrior, he was no giant, yet he nonetheless radiated a terrible grace and vitality, and Alex knew even as he gazed into brilliant gold green eyes alight with almost inhuman energy how dangerous their situation had suddenly become.
Alex shivered, realizing at that moment that he was peering at the countenance of a man who had seen and danced with death many times, and had relished every moment of it.
His hair was a brilliant silvery white, though he looked to be in his prime. The man was dressed, Alex thought, exactly as he had pictured an adventurer would be. In exotic leathers covered with steel-blue scales that had no doubt been plucked from some strange beast killed in deepest, darkest Shadow. Alex had never seen its like before. Upon his left forearm, the Delver wore a powerful looking gauntlet. Though he was no smith, Alex thought it of scale and bone construction, not steel, for all that the gauntlet had jagged teeth of some sort jutting from the knuckles, even as the forearm guard flared just above the elbow, terminating in a wicked looking spike. Alex could well imagine how effective a parrying gauntlet like that would be, excellent for countering an attack like a shield of sorts, snap-grabbing a thrusting blade, or tearing into one's foe with a spiked fist or piercing elbow strike.
The man wore an odd falchion of sorts at his side, the hilt of similar exotic origin as his parrying gauntlet. In the right hands, it was a brutal weapon that could launch forth powerful, deadly blows, very effective when used in combination with a shield, and Alex had no doubt that the exceedingly dangerous looking figure before him could use it with his dueling gauntlet to deadly effect.
"Indeed, Del Morlekai. A most poignant scene," the bard enthused as he continued his fast scratching upon parchment with his odd little quill. Enchanted, Alex thought, before his mind snapped back to their present peril.
"Our young friends here appear to have just escaped from the very jaws of death. Exhausted and humbled, filled with sweet pathos, their love and devotion to each other rekindled by terrible trials barely survived! Oh, how I long to hear your tale, young adventurers!" The bard's friendly smile was disarming, and he gazed at the youths before him as if they were actors he wished to commend for a brilliant performance.
Morlekai nodded. “The young souls before us appear exhausted and weary from their no doubt daring feat. And for certain they will soon need to shelter someplace comfortable with warm beds and restful fare. We shall to see them safely to the nearest Guildhall, so that all their needs can be met with the haste and grace they deserve.”
“Indeed!” the bard agreed. “Only the finest fare for our young adventurers, and the softest of beds you could imagine to comfort you as you begin your sojourn to the realm of dreams once more, for a time, before coming back to us, hearty and stronger than ever! Though of course we wish to hear your story entire before you surrender to sleep's soothing susurrations, and so a banquet shall be held in your immediate honor, as you regale us all with the glory of your tale!"
Morlekai flashed a cool smile. “Absolutely. Of course, there is a small bit of business we must attend to, on behalf of the Guild, you understand, before we can escort you to our local hall so that you may rest and recount the glory of your adventure.”
“And what is that, pray tell?” Alex's voice was grim. As if he already knew what was next to unfold.
"The wand, boy. We've come for the wand," declared a stocky, powerful looking dwarf of a man. Alex blinked and shivered, realizing the man was not short at all, really, as he continued to approach. For he had merely seemed a dwarf in comparison to the width of his shoulders and massively powerful thews.
Alex trembled, too exhausted to hide his reaction. The man had muscles rivaling a bull's, topped with a shaggy beard of fiery orange, and wild hair of similar hue blowing freely in the fierce autumn breeze, only partially braided in the style of northern tribesmen. His teeth were large as he broke into a fierce grin. He wore no dueling gauntlet, favoring the war axe and a fearsome looking spiked shield instead, both the same steel-blue hue as the scales on his armor. His stance and grace, the knowing way he near instantly took in Alex's measure, all let Alex know that this monstrous warrior would be the savviest of opponents, able to take down most soldiers, perhaps entire groups, with ease.
Morlekai nodded. "That we have, my dear Alacabar. That we have. And it appears that our young neophyte adventurers have successfully managed to recover said item. And perhaps other trinkets, as well?" He flashed a bemused smile even as he gazed with appraising eyes at Jess's brilliant mithril hauberk worn by her otherwise naked form. The hilt of her exquisitely crafted longsword was also quite obviously made of that same incredibly rare and precious material.
Morlekai's eyes then widened in startlement and wonder, appearing almost haunted as he stared at Jess's form for some moments before giving his head a fierce shake, his eyes firmly locking upon a trembling Alex once more.
Alacabar let loose a powerful laugh. “They've profited mightily indeed, I'd say! And survived to tell a glorious tale, no doubt. 'Tis fortunate for them that only the wand is in play.”
Alex forced himself to stand tall, for all that he wanted to slump over in exhaustion and despair, gently stroking the side of their fierce wolf companion, even now growling low in its throat. "So. Do you mean to rob us, then? Is this how the famous Guild of Adventurers conduct themselves when the bards aren't trumpeting their glory?"
The bard before them blinked, expression of rapt interest suddenly replaced by horror. “Of course not, my dear young lad. Nothing of the sort! How could you even think that?”
Alacabar's face reddened in sudden fury. “Are you calling us thieves, boy? Do you have any idea who we are? Or the code we live by? You know nothing, you stupid whelp! We would have leaped straight into that rift to save your sorry hides, had you not managed to pull yourselves free! Who do you think Lute sent your way?" The fierce looking warrior spat in disgust. "Were you not all but ready to keel over, I'd knock you flat myself!"
“Be at ease, my dear Alacabar,” soothed the hauntingly beautiful voice of the third adventurer garbed in similar armaments as her companions. “These are but children. I doubt they know aught of our ways, or the code we live by.”
Her warm smile and gentle words were no doubt meant to be reassuring, and Alex gasped at the intensity of her gaze, his heart hammering mightily as her flawless beauty and silky blond hair took his breath away.
Her voice was like the sweet trickle of forbidden whiskey to an abstaining monk. Smoky soft, promising sensual delights with every whispered word.
Alex shuddered, even as he felt Jera gripping his arm so fiercely it hurt.
“Be at ease, child,” the hauntingly beautiful woman soothed. “I make no claim upon what is yours.” Surprisingly, Alex could feel Jera loosen her grip with a sigh of relief. He blinked, awed by the potency of her words.
“How did you do that?” Alex whispered at last, to which she laughed throatily.
"The power to sway, to ease needless fears, to lull one's foes to a stupor, to heighten one's passions to new heights of bliss? Let's just say that it is a memory of a very old skill, lost to all, save in the realms of dream and mystery.
Alex nodded, feeling some sense of control as he was able to quantify and categorize his opponents, however fearsome they might be. “The Delving has unlocked the calling and power of the Siren within you.”
Her brilliant gray eyes twinkled, almost appearing to shimmer a haunting silver in the odd afternoon light. “A bit of the scholar, I see. More abilities than simply those of a gentle voice do I know, young lad. For I am a useful ally to have, I assure you. And an enemy one would best tread lightly to avoid.”
Alex shuddered and nodded, feeling sick waves of dread wash through him, sending him to
his knees as her words turned stark with warning. He could feel Jera whimpering beside him, and he held her close.
The woman's gentle, forgiving laughter immediately put Alex at ease once more, the overwhelming dread of but seconds ago, gone as if it had never been. "But fear not, my dear children. Fear not. We mean no harm to you or yours, and we make no claim over that which you have won by fair trial in the madness of Shadow."
"Precisely, my dear Lucienda," Morlekai soothed. "We make no claim upon arms and armaments found and recovered by virtue of your triumphs in the Dreamrealms. No. Such would break the code of the Guild, and we have far more honor than that." He then gave Jess's still form a second careful look, nodding solemnly, eyes appearing haunted once more. "If, once she is recovered, she were to desire to sell her armaments, I can promise you the Guild would offer her a king's ransom, should she desire it. Far better than any lord could offer. For we have more use for it, within the Guild, than any noble, and far more gold to spare." He chuckled softly. “Which brings us to the bone of contention at hand. May I say that? For the bone wand you have seized from the maw of Shadow is, after all, the Wand of Nightmares. And that item, my young adventurers, is indeed very much in play.”
Alex closed his eyes for a moment and forced himself to be calm, to gain as much information as he could. "This wand is in play, you say. What exactly does that mean?" Even as he said that he heard a soft whimper from Jess, and felt the Malek's body quivering with suppressed rage and an anxious need to spring forth. Alacabar locked his eyes with the hound and unsheathed his terrible axe from its loop, even as Lucienda quietly gripped her own exquisitely crafted sword hilt.
"Dear Delvers, please consider!" the bard piped in breathlessly as his eyes flickered rapidly between the fiercely growling hound and Alacabar.
Alex immediately noted Morlekai's alarmed expression the moment Jess had moaned. It gave Alex a curious sort of comfort knowing that, however insane and deadly these Delvers were, Morlekai, at least, seemed somewhat concerned for their fallen friend, for all that they were complete strangers to one another.
Morlekai grimaced. "You do not have much time for idle chatter, so we must make this quick. Know that the bard Lute himself sent us as the vanguard to ascertain the nature of what he feared was a terrible rift forming. One that could perhaps doom Erovering entire, if we did not take all measures to close it." The fierce looking man took a moment to gaze at the quietly rustling field of wild grasses and shrubbery where once Pomell had sat, quiet and peaceful as an autumn day could be. Morlekai turned to give Alex and his companions a nod of what seemed deepest respect.
"And it appears that you four have already accomplished the highest calling of any Delver, whether of Spring or Midnight hue. To close rifts that threaten mundus when found, the sacred trust between Guild and the first queen of an ancient empire long since fallen to dust and forgotten, who chartered our order, thousands of years ago." His smile turned wistful, eyes filling with an odd melancholy he abruptly shook away. It was not lost on Alex either the odd looks his companions shown him, the bard among them blinking abruptly, scribbling as quickly as he could. "Newly forged, and already you have proven yourselves to be worthy of the Guild, not shirking from the most dire of threats, risking your very existence for the land we love. For that, I salute you." Morlekai then bowed solemnly at the waist, with the grace of a prince of old, his companions quickly following suit.
The silvery haired man then laughed abruptly. "I almost regret the lost opportunity to have embraced that mad adventure with you, my young friends, but at least I can do you the grace of teaching you the rules of Guild etiquette that we all live by. The code that keeps us strong and united, where near every worldly power would rather see us divided and weak, slicing our own throats, like those fools that make up the so-called Council of Erovering." He all but spat the words, and Alex gazed breathlessly at the man, wondering just how powerful he truly was, to freely give voice to such caustic sentiment and not fear reprisal.
Morlekai grinned as if he had said nothing of great significance. “The first rule you should know is it is against the Code for one adventurer to attack another with mortal intent. Such would weaken our numbers against all who would orchestrate our downfall if they could, and such a perpetrator would be hunted by all." He flashed Alex a warning gaze. "So calm your fell hound, adventurer, lest you'd invite a bloodbath you are ill-equipped to face. Your deaths would serve no purpose, and would be a foolish loss to us all."
“Easy, Malek,” Alex soothed, gently stroking a bristling Rage's growling throat. “You might survive the encounter, but the rest of us would surely fall. We are exhausted, and I fear Jera and I could do little harm to these Delvers.” Slowly, the fearsome beast eased his growling, though he continued to stare balefully at an equally glaring Alacabar.
"Much better." Morlekai nodded approvingly even as the bard gave a heartfelt sigh of relief, though this did not stop the anxious bard from scribbling in his journal at a frantic pace. "The second rule you should know is that all disputes between adventurers are to be settled by negotiation or nonfatal contests. It is also against the code for one adventure to steal anther's arms and armaments, or any other discovered artifact not in play, though such can be negotiated for normally."
Even as he said this Morlekai's eyes gazed tenderly at Jess's supine form, slumped over the massive hound's side, or was it the armor he gazed at so covetously? Alex felt chills down his spine as he watched the man visibly reign in some terrible hunger.
Morlekai shook himself, the mad fires in his oddly sparkling eyes somehow banked, continuing with his calm, friendly mask firmly in place, despite the tension of the moment.
"No, my young friend. You need not fear we will pluck your lovely mithril blade free of your friend's sleeping grasp, as delightful a toy as it might be. For we are warriors with honor!”
"Indeed, Del Morlekai," concurred the bard. "Glorious Delvers of noble disposition and legendary repute!"
Morlekai nodded indulgently even as Alacabar gave an acidic chuckle.
“Now, your wand, I'm afraid, is an entirely different issue. It is an item that is very much in play. A bounty on it that has yet to be claimed and we, you see, have every intention of claiming it!” Morlekai's companions nodded with firm resolution at that, all eyes now gazing at Alex, their frosty unblinking stares unnerving him terribly. “We could, of course, challenge you, the one member of your little band who is still human and able to stand on two feet.”
Morlekai grinned at the growling hound, and Alex felt himself pale. Somehow, he knew.
“My lord, are you sure?” The bard was brave enough to protest, gazing with barely held disappointment at the adventurer whose feet he obviously worshiped.
Gold green eyes flashing, Morlekai's outraged gaze quelled his bard to the core. The poor fawning man stumbled back. "Of course not! I am no jackal to nip and bite the heels of weakened prey like a cur! Such would not be the act of a true hero or a paladin. We came here to close this rift and save these whelps, not intimidate and terrorize them!"
"Of course not, my lord!" The bard perked up immediately, putting quill to parchment once again. "And the brave Del Morlekai resisted the treacherous temptation of unspeakable wealth laid upon a damsel of desperate beauty, nature's perfect fruit that the noble Delver was too honorable to pluck, however sweet its nectar.”
Alex just gazed at the bard. “Really?”
The bard grinned. “Why not? Your friend is easy on the eyes.”
Alex smirked and shook his head before turning once again to gaze upon the group's apparent leader, frame near bursting with inhuman energy, silver white hair waving in the gentle breeze. “So. What are you proposing?”
Morlekai's gaze was piercing. “I do not like to play the villain, child, and though your life I would have gladly saved, the prize you possess is still one I mean to claim.”
Alex shivered and nodded, not even knowing what to say to that.
Morlekai's
smile turned bleak. “I think it's time for truth now, young Delver. Who offered you this contract? How much were you promised, if you successfully recovered this wand?”
Alex sighed. “As to who, I'm afraid that is confidential. As to the amount? One thousand gold crowns.”
Morlekai gave a sharp little nod at that. “Very well. I accept. One thousand you were promised for your risk and toil, and that and more you shall receive.” As if the situation was already decided he strode confidently towards Alex, hand politely outstretched. “Bard. Please certify that these young adventurers have been promised a bond of... let us say... one thousand two hundred gold crowns, both as a boon for heroically closing this dire rift that had so foully threatened our fair land, as well as for recovering this item on behalf of the Guild.”
“But of course, my lord. A most noble solution to our little dilemma.” The bard hastily bowed and scurried into his pack-sack for the necessary documents. He then turned toward Alex. “What are your names, again, young adventurer?”
Morlekai turned his piercing gaze full on to Alex, and Alex found himself stepping back under the onslaught of the man's all too knowing stare, just barely catching Jera as she stumbled back with a startled cry. “That is, unless you prefer a trial by combat, after all?”
The bard blinked in alarm, his gaze a silent plea as he locked eyes with Alex. "Dear young sir. I strongly suggest you take the gold, and forgo a trial by combat. You are getting a twenty percent premium over bounty, and this way we avoid any grievous injuries. The Guild is all too happy to reward adventurers for their efforts, after all, and Del Morlekai has done all that's required of a man of nobility and integrity."
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