Duke Grandfather- The Whole Story

by James Maxstadt

  “Let’s go,” he said. “Where’s the suit?”

  “In my bedroom, why?”

  He put his hand on my arm and steered me in that direction. “Time to get moving, pal. Let’s go.”

  “I don’t need your help getting dressed, Jessup!”

  “Nope, but I’m going to make sure you don’t put your pants on backward or anything. You’re not the smartest on your best days, Duke, and today your brain is mush.”

  I opened my mouth to spit out a clever retort, but nothing came to me. For the life of me, I couldn’t think of a single witty, or even not witty, reply. Instead, I stood staring at Jessup, my mouth hanging open like a fish about to swallow a fly. Bryer and the others chuckled.

  “Yep, like I said,” Jessup said, and gently led me away.

  I managed to get dressed all on my own and didn’t need any help getting my pants on. Although, there were a few moments when I would pause, as it hit me all over again what I was about to do.

  “Yes, Duke, Lilly is amazing.” “Yes, she really does love you.” “Yes, you’re a very lucky man.” These and others like them became a running commentary from Jessup, while he sipped his ale, then my forgotten mug, and watched to make sure I didn’t mess up and embarrass both myself and Lilly.

  Then, it was time to go.

  The five of us walked from the house to Magnus’s temple, a trip which took a good half hour on foot. We chatted as we went, or rather, chatter was going on about me and continued all the way up the steps and into the interior, where Father Magnus patiently waited.

  “Duke,” he said warmly, and shook my hand. I suddenly felt calm, and that everything was going to work out as it should. If Father Magnus was involved, and was giving our union his blessing, then it must be right.

  “Father,” I said. “Thanks again for doing this for us.”

  “Don’t be silly,” he replied. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. Now, come with me. The rest of you, please take your seats.”

  He led me around the edge of all the long benches where people sat to hear him preach. Several of them were occupied already, and I couldn’t help but take notice as I went by.

  Minerva, Camelia and several other witches were there, smiling and whispering to themselves.

  General Daken and Dabney were there, seated in one of the back rows, so that he wouldn’t block the view of those behind him, I was sure. He nodded solemnly at me when he saw me notice him, and Dabney waved enthusiastically.

  There were several members of the Watch, including a bunch of men and women in red robes that matched what Lilly wore to work, and near them sat both Gulston and Wulftin, the two Watch wizards that I worked with at times.

  Ivar, the head of the NHLF, was there, along with Hock and some others. Nearby, were Jarl and Selvi, the orcs from the feuding clans that I helped some time ago. The same time that I first met Raven.

  Speaking of…I looked around and spotted him. Trying to be mysterious and coming off merely as odd, at least to me, he stood off to the side, near where a few shadows lingered, trying to blend in. He spotted me also, and nodded, then turned away. He was only there out of respect for Lilly, and he wanted me to know it.

  Up near the front was room for family, and Bryer and the rest settled there, leaving room for their spouses who were still with Lilly. Jessup planted himself there as well, and made eyes at some of the female necromancers and witches in attendance. More than one eyed him back, and I laughed to see it.

  Brindar and Sarge were right up front as well. Sarge with his own lovely wife, who was making conversation with the dwarven Nuisance Man. It was nice to see.

  And then they were gone, as Father Magnus led me around a corner into a corridor and gave me a good once-over, in case Jessup had missed anything.

  “It’s a good day, Duke,” he told me. “A great day.”

  I smiled. “I know.”

  “Stay here until I call for you. Are you alright?”

  I nodded and leaned against the wall.

  “Was it necessary to bring that?” Father Magnus asked me.

  I looked down to see what he was talking about. There, under the black over-jacket that I was wearing was my gun. My Ultimate Weapon. I hadn’t even realized that I had strapped it on when I got dressed.

  “I think I’d feel weird without it,” I said. “It’s like it’s a part of me now.”

  “Hmm. Well, as long as it stays put away.” He patted my shoulder and walked back into the main part of the temple.

  There was music playing softly and I listened to it as I waited. But before I could get too relaxed, it changed, becoming louder and more dramatic.

  I heard Father Magnus start talking, and call my name. I made sure my clothes were straight, tried to moisten my suddenly dry mouth, and walked into the temple proper. The benches were even more crowded now, with people that I didn’t even know, but I assumed were friends of Lilly’s or her family’s. My eyes scanned over everyone, turning toward Father Magnus and back, looking for Lilly, but there was no sign of her.

  But Magnus was smiling at me, so I kept going. He stopped me when I stood in front of him, and gently indicated that I should turn and face everyone. I did, with my heart beating in my ears. There was still no sign of her, and I was beginning to panic. My palms felt sweaty and I was getting a little light-headed. I knew it! I knew that she would come to her senses!

  Father Magnus made a motion that I half-saw out of the corner of my eye, and the doors to the temple opened again, flooding the aisle with light. There was a figure silhouetted against that light. It moved forward, the doors were shut, and there was Lilly, walking slowly up the aisle, her eyes fixed on mine.

  Did I say my mouth was dry and I felt light-headed before? That was nothing. Lilly has always been, and would always be, beautiful. But that day…that day it was as if the heavens themselves reached down and touched her. She was radiant, beautiful in a way that I can’t describe, and most wonderfully, she was coming to be with me.

  Her dress was long, and in the normal red that she wore, but much, much fancier and finer. It showed off her figure and set off her hair, and her eyes. She walked sedately along, glancing and smiling at those around her, but her eyes stayed mostly focused on me.

  I smiled, because, despite the radiance and the almost overwhelming beauty, she was still my Lilly. Those eyes that I looked into so often were still the same and they were speaking to me as surely as if Lilly herself was talking. “What the hell are we doing here, Duke?”

  She smiled back when she saw me do it, and that was it. Everything from that moment on was fine.

  Father Magnus performed a beautiful ceremony, although I couldn’t tell you a word of it. I said the right things in the right places, and so did Lilly. We held each other’s hands and kissed when he told us to, accompanied by the sounds of cheering from those in attendance.

  Then we walked out, and climbed into a white carriage that Lilly’s father had arranged, which whisked us away to the Rose Petal Room.

  We didn’t do much talking on the way there, although we did occasionally come up for air, and to smile like idiots at each other. The ride was over way too quickly, so I asked the driver to take us around again. He smirked, but did as I asked.

  Which meant that everyone was already there by the time we reached the Rose Petal Room and the party was in full swing. Mr. Charles insisted on introducing us as “Mr. and Mrs. Duke Grandfather!” which we laughed over for the rest of the day.

  The party was a grand time, and Mr. Charles earned every penny of the money that we paid him. The food was amazing and there was plenty of it. The wandering minstrels kept our guests entertained, and knew when to pull back and perform quietly in the background. The ale flowed freely, and for those who enjoyed it, my choice of using the stuff from the Barman’s Choice turned out to be a good one.

  Both Lilly and I had mugs of ale and goblets of wine pressed into our hands several times, but we would usually take a drink or two, then set t
hem down on a convenient table and forget them. Don’t get me wrong, I love ale, and normally would have drained every one of those mugs. But today, it wasn’t important.

  As the evening wore on, I noticed Brindar sitting at a table with Sarge. That didn’t strike me as unusual, but the fact that Raven was also there, including himself in the conversation did. I walked over, leaving Lilly to talk with some of her childhood friends from the countryside.

  “Grab a seat, Duke,” Sarge said, and slid a chair out with his foot. I sat, and amazingly, Raven slid a mug of ale over to me.

  “Congratulations,” he said.

  “Thanks.” Then, to change the subject, turned to Sarge. “Hey, not that I want to talk shop today, but what happened with that piper guy you were going to send some men to get out of the sewer?”

  “Oh, him. We’ve got him. He’s still locked up, while some of the higher-ups are talking to him. From what I hear, he’s being very cooperative.”

  “Any idea what his story is?”

  “A little. Seems like he was in the employ of that crazy guy you fought off down there. He and his friends were hired to cause some chaos in the city, which you already knew. But when you and Lilly ran them off, he stayed, seeing if he could get more work. He did, and apparently, it was him who first drew those poor rat-people to that guy. But then, when he saw what was happening to them, he protested. Crazy guy told him that if he didn’t like it, he could leave.

  I guess he tried, but found out that he couldn’t. He couldn’t physically make himself leave the sewers. Instead, he went back to the guy who hired him and stood there, watching helplessly, while the guy cut off his hands. He said he could feel everything, and he could scream, but he couldn’t move. Ain’t that something?”

  “Yeah,” I said, looking down at the table, and remembering the piper the Palace Guard took. He was under a spell much the same. “It’s something. And we think that guy we killed was behind all the attacks, right?”

  “What guy that you killed? There was no one else down there except for some very scared, but grateful, rat-people, and that piper guy.”

  I looked at Brindar, who was staring back at me. “No, down under the torture room. In that other tunnel I told you about. We left his body there.”

  “We found the tunnel, Duke. But there was nobody, and no body, in it. Are you guys sure you killed him?”

  “Positive,” Brindar said.

  “Well, he wasn’t there. Maybe someone came and got him.”

  “Maybe,” I began, but then Lilly came over.

  “Enough shop talk, or whatever you guys are doing. Come on, Duke. Let’s take a walk.”

  A walk with my new bride? Yes, please! And all thoughts of the rat-men, the piper, the missing dead guy, or even my friends went away.

  For the next hour, we danced, we ate, we drank, and we had a great time. I saw Jessup dancing with Camelia, and watched as Sarge and his wife put us all to shame with their moves.

  The evening was starting to wane, and Lilly and I were beginning to discuss how we could make a polite exit, when I noticed that I could see her breath as she was talking. Like on a cold, winter’s day. Once I noticed that, I also noticed that the temperature in the room was dropping rapidly. People were shivering, and looking around as men took off jackets and draped them over the women they were with.

  “Lilly,” I said. “Is this something you’re doing?”

  “No, but I feel something…oh…yuck. Duke, it’s like that day with the birds…foul…nasty.”

  There was a loud noise from the entrance of the Rose Petal Room, like the doors had been forcibly thrown open, or cracked right down the middle. Then I could hear what sounded like shuffling footsteps, interspersed with a heavy stomp.

  The doors to the room we were in flew open with such force that they broke when they hit the walls behind. And there, framed in the doorway, was the crazy guy that Brindar and I already killed. But he was changed.

  His one leg was huge and swollen, and he dragged it behind him as he moved slowly forward. His other leg made a loud sound when it hit the floor, as if he were heavier than he appeared to be. Death had come for him, there was no doubt of it when you saw the ruin of his face. His eyes were filmed over and his cheeks had dark splotches on them. His hair was falling out, and his tongue lolled out of his mouth as he looked over the room.

  But most disturbing was the feeling that came over me. Lilly was right, it was like looking into that other world where the hideous birds came from. He had the same sense of wrongness, of decay and evil, that the floating man from that world did, only stronger, more intense. Here, that world had come through and invaded our own.

  Before I could move, two huge battle axes hurtled through the air toward the intruder. One was Biter, and the other was General Daken’s. Brindar and he took no time to wait to see what would happen, but their quick action did no good. As the axes reached him, there was a flare of sickly, yellow light, and both weapons dropped to the ground in front of him.

  He looked down at them and chuckled, in a gurgling voice that sounded like he was drowning.

  It was chaos after that. Minerva and the other witches stepped forward, casting spells that sizzled and spat in the air. The Watch wizards and necromancers threw magics at him that sounded like they would end the world. Raven threw his knives from the side, hoping, I’m sure, to find an unprotected vulnerable spot.

  I fired my gun, although I didn’t know who or what he was. I didn’t set it to anything, hoping that I would find out what to name him later if need be, but it didn’t matter. Lilly stepped forward and hit him with spells that made everyone’s hair stand on end, not only her own.

  All of it was for naught. The man, if that’s what he still was, stood and laughed at us, while that pale, yellow light flashed with each attack, and drank in or deflected them all.

  Finally, the room was quiet, as we all stood and panted, trying to catch our breath.

  “Are you quite finished?” he said, surveying us with his milky eyes. “You cannot defeat what’s coming for you. It’s taken me, and promised that I should see its glory, and that I would have revenge.”

  He moved forward, taking one heavy step, followed by the dragging of his swollen leg. His eyes searched out mine. “Ah…there you are. Now, where is…?” And he looked around again, smiling when he spotted Brindar. “Yessss…time to pay the piper, eh?” He laughed at his own wit.

  I raised my gun, determined that I wouldn’t go down without a fight, but then he turned his gaze on me. My hand dropped to my side, and my fingers started to open so that I would drop the gun, but I fought him with everything I had, and although I couldn’t raise my arm, my hand closed on my gun again.

  “Hmph,” he snorted. “It would seem that Griefmaker is attached to you. No matter, I’ll take it when I take your hand.”

  I began moving toward him, unable to do anything else. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Brindar do the same.

  “No!” Lilly shouted and raised her hands in that manner that meant a big spell was coming. But the man glanced at her, snarled, and Lilly was thrown across the room, crashing into the tables and landing motionless on the floor. Her mother and Bryer ran to her, and I wanted to, so badly, but I still couldn’t move.

  “If you’ve hurt her…” I growled.

  “What?” he said, mocking me. “You’ll cry about it? Don’t worry, Nuisance Man. There will be more to cry about than one dead necromancer soon enough.”

  His words sent ice through my veins. I heard Lilly’s parents trying to speak to her, their voices becoming more urgent. My vision started to blur as the tears came.

  “Good, good. Cry, little Nuisance Man. Misery and grief feed my masters.”

  The putrid light that flared around him with each attack started to pulsate now. It was radiating out from him, bathing all of us present in its glow. I felt sick to my stomach, and I heard someone behind me begin to vomit. I managed to glance at Brindar and saw the queasy expression
on his face that I’m sure was on my own.

  “Time to end this,” the dead man gurgled. “Time to open the portal up all the way.”

  “No,” a calm, deep voice said. “It’s not. It’s time to stop this nonsense.”

  Father Magnus walked forward, passing between Brindar and I, with absolute peace on his face, the pulsating glow not affecting him at all.

  “Stop there, priest of a false god,” the man spat. “Or I’ll open it now.”

  Father Magnus looked at the man with pity and kept approaching. When the sickly light hit him, it reflected, becoming a pure, white shine that illuminated the whole room.

  “Stay back, I say!” the man snarled, but moved back a step himself.

  “I am sorry for you,” Magnus said. “You bargained with powers that you didn’t understand. Powers that cannot come here. Not now. Not ever.”

  He continued to walk forward. The man began to whimper.

  “Go to your rest,” Magnus said gently. “It’s time for you to let go. I don’t know what reward or punishment awaits you, but it’s time to embrace it.” He stopped, raised his eyes to the heavens, and whispered, “Thank you, Father.”

  There was a brilliant stab of pure, white light that enveloped the dead man, with a loud crack like the noise of a lightning strike. I closed my eyes, but too slowly, and when I opened them again, I couldn’t see, but I could move. I blinked the tears away, and saw Father Magnus calmly looking at the spot where the man had been, and now nothing was. That horrible sense of wrongness disappeared as well, and the temperature started to climb back up.

  I turned and stumbled across the room, trying to blink my eyes clear enough to see my way to Lilly. I tripped and banged into tables and chairs, but I made it to her.

  “Lilly,” I whispered, kneeling down next to her. She was so still, and her breath was shallow.

  Her eyes opened, “Duke. What the hell was that?” Her voice was a mere whisper and blood flecked her lips.

  “I don’t know,” I said, my voice thick. “But remind me not to get on Father Magnus’s bad side.”