Grimoire Bound

by Jeff Sproul

  Daxar's lips parted in a sneer, his pearly white teeth visible. "Some things are best kept secret," he said. "But yes, we have some idea of what they are. We call them spectres. As you saw, they are quite formidable."

  "What else do you know of them?" asked Deloris in an urgent voice. "How much do you know of these spectres? How did you have such a creature captured, or even brought here?"

  Daxar stared at Deloris, and then looked to the others in the area. "I know very little, but Lord Karnith can provide better answers than I. I merely do his bidding. When we return to Grittin, come speak with him yourself if you wish to know more. What I do know is that not many who fight a spectre live long enough to speak of it afterwards."

  Daxar diverted his attention to the opened sarcophagi, and then to the other which had broken through the wagon bed. Thankfully, the other one was still closed. He shook his head slowly and sighed. "Fix this mess, Politz. I hope for your sake nothing happens to the other sarcophagi." With that, Daxar turned and headed back towards another wagon. "Lessa, with me. The three of you, stay on guard," he said, in direction to his personal guards.

  Lessa, the armored guard who had spoken earlier, followed immediately after Daxar, while the three remaining full-plate soldiers, took up positions around the nearby area.

  "I can't believe that thing was right beneath us the whole time," Chaxin murmured. "And there's probably another in the other coffin, isn't there?"

  "I imagine so," said Kaiz, as Deloris slowly stepped back to join them. "Have you seen one of those things before, Deloris?"

  Deloris shook her head. "No," she answered. "But nothing that looks like that has any place around humans. You could feel its malevolence. Its hatred. It tried to free the other, but luckily Daxar's guards arrived in time. I have a feeling it would've been a tough fight to win on my own, given how it was able to easily avoid and deflect non-enchanted weaponry."

  "How exactly was it, that your weapon could hurt it, while Politz couldn't?" asked Chaxin, his eyes upon Deloris's blade.

  "Because my sword has numerous enchantments on it," she said. "I'd rather not go into great detail, but it could be that even the material of the blade was able to harm it."

  "Just a few of those dark bolts were able to break down a sword and shield," said Kaiz. "But you and Daxar's special guards didn't seem to have an issue."

  At that comment, Deloris turned her shield and looked at the front of it. There were deep pierce marks where the bolts had impacted. "Well, my gear is overall better than average armaments."

  "Sadly, I wish I'd been more prepared for this," said Politz, who slowly approached the three of them. "I'm sorry for getting you all mixed up in whatever the hell a spectre is. I've never seen such a thing, and to be fully truthful, Daxar hadn't said anything about monsters being in those coffins." He glanced back to the sarcophagi, as several new laborers had joined to help clean up the broken wagon and make way for a new one. Without the crane, it took some mechanical know how to leverage the two sarcophagi onto two other carts. "But if I could trouble you further," he continued, his gaze going to Deloris, "I could really use your help in guarding the rest of the cargo until we get it to Lord Karnith. I'm sure he'd be happy to reward all three of you for your assistance in this, despite my… fuck up."

  "I'll remain nearby," said Deloris.

  "I can only wonder how well my spear would be able to take some direct hits from those bolts," said Kaiz, looking to his prized weapon.

  "I've had swords break, but never like that," Politz said. "I need to go see if there's a spare somewhere. Not that it'll matter much if that creature strikes back," he all but growled as he stepped away.

  "Would that thing try and ambush us in the village?" asked Chaxin.

  "I suspect it's not going to stick around," said Deloris. "It knows we can fight it, and somehow, something trapped it in that coffin. Or maybe that's where those things sleep? Who knows. But I definitely hurt it, and the other armored guards were able to defend against its attacks. I doubt that it'll try anything, but who the hell knows? We'll just need to be cautious."

  "Speaking of swords," Kaiz spoke up. He looked down to Chaxin's weapon on his belt. "Maybe we can find you something better in Grittin. Not that you need something capable of fighting that damn spectre thing, but with whatever you managed to grab back in Kamber, and whatever reward we get for our services here, you should be able to gear yourself up a bit better. It's amazing you've survived this long, all things considered."

  "Truly, it is," said Deloris. "Hmm, which reminds me," she muttered as she looked further down the shore to the rocks near the broken down mausoleum. "Kaiz, why don't you go and inspect the mausoleum with Chaxin? See if there's anything there that could've possibly given it enough energy to still work. If it's still functional, you should disable it. With Kamber gone, there's nothing nearby that could act as a safe refuge. Better to destroy it."

  "Aye," said Kaiz. "Let's check it out." He turned and headed in the direction of the mausoleum.

  "Hurry back though," said Deloris. "You should have plenty of time, but don't take too long. I'm sure in light of recent events, Daxar will have us heading back all the quicker."

  "Won't be but a few minutes," said Kaiz as he kept walking.

  Chaxin went after him.

  The two of them headed down the shore, and upon getting closer to the water, Kaiz instructed Chaxin to roll up his trousers and remove his boots, which he also did himself.

  They waded out into the water and stuck close to the rock-side. Chaxin noticed that the salty scent of the water was more prevalent this close, but it wasn't an undesirable odor. With all the merfolk passing through it, he actually imagined it might've smelled worse. But then, he didn't remember them smelling bad. He'd been a little too terrified of them at the time to bother catching their scent up close.

  The mausoleum was just as he'd left it. But now, he could see just how much in disarray it was. He'd never seen a "pristine" version of such a structure, but it definitely had seen better days.

  Kaiz tilted his head in and peeked around inside. "Yep, flooded inside too. Go back in there and feel around in the water, next to the dais. See if maybe a crystal is laying around somewhere or something."

  "Alright," said Chaxin, as he maneuvered past Kaiz and went back into the place he'd first appeared in. He stepped carefully, now that he wasn't in any hurry. He didn't want something sharp to jab his foot. He approached the partially slanted dais and bent over, feeling around through the water. Beneath his feet, there was just smooth stone. He slowly made his way around, and eventually, he just started using his feet to brush around against the base of the dais.

  Outside, Kaiz checked the exterior. "Doesn't seem to be any rune markings out here. A mausoleum can store power in any number of ways. Rune magic, soul crystals, anything that gives it energy."

  "I'm not finding anything in here," said Chaxin, having finally completed his circuit around the dais. He then proceeded to brush his feet slowly back and forth between the dais and the walls.

  "I think I might've found something," Kaiz spoke up.

  Chaxin turned to the entrance and slowly waded over. Kaiz was outside, staring up at the left corner of the roof of the mausoleum. Once Chaxin was outside, he looked up as well. "You see that, right there?" asked Kaiz.

  Chaxin noticed it before Kaiz pointed it out. There were streaks of oily black residue on the otherwise gray stone. It had dried partway down the edge of the roof.

  "We can't see up on the roof. So let me boost you up there, and you can take a look," said Kaiz.

  "Um, alright, yeah, sure," said Chaxin, as apprehension suddenly struck him. He took in a slow breath as Kaiz bent and positioned with his hands together.

  "Just put your foot here, and grab the edge. Then pull yourself up. Easy."

  "Right," said Chaxin, as he waded over. He reached out to put a hand to the outside wall of the mausoleum, and lifted a foot into the man's strong hands.

&nbs
p; "On the count of three," he said. "One… two… three!" Kaiz lifted Chaxin up.

  The young man grabbed the edge of the roof and pulled himself up to peek over it. Before he could start to hoist himself up, he spotted a strange lifeless mass. "I see something," he said.

  "Good, now get up there and check it out," said Kaiz, still holding his foot up.

  "Right, right," said Chaxin, as he was spurred into action. He pulled the rest of his weight up and crawled up onto the roof of the mausoleum. Once upon it, he stood up and looked down at the object. It looked to be some sort of sickly dark green tentacle. It was cut at the base, where it had leaked some of the dark ichor onto the edge of the roof, which had dripped down and dried.

  "Some sort of tentacle thing," said Chaxin. "Should I touch it?"

  "Is it moving?" asked Kaiz.

  "No, it's just laying here. It doesn't look as though it was like, a single entity. Looks like it might've been part of something larger. It's a few feet long, about a foot wide. Dark green… looks mostly dry now, but the fleshy outside seems almost oily."

  "I don't know what the fuck that could be," said Kaiz. "And it looks like it's just cut off?"

  "Yeah. I'm not seeing anything else," said Chaxin.

  "I've only got a couple loose theories," said Kaiz. "But… how about you stab it with your sword, and hold it over the edge? I don't wanna touch it, but if it's somehow responsible for activating the mausoleum, then we need to get it off of it.”

  Chaxin pulled his sword and stabbed into the center of the otherworldly appendage. He then lifted it up and lowered it over the edge of the roof. It was heavier than he imagined it being.

  Kaiz stabbed his spear into it at a different angle. "Alright, pull the sword out and drop back down."

  Chaxin pulled the sword free and carefully dropped down into the water. Once down, he dragged his blade through the water and sand, trying to clean any ichor from it.

  "Damn, look at this thing," Kaiz murmured, as he began to walk from the mausoleum further up the shore. Chaxin followed as he wiped his blade on his trousers to dry it off before sheathing it. After walking up along the stone-side, Kaiz lowered the tendril and pulled his spear from it. He crouched down and began to dig in the sand. "I'm not sure if this is the right thing to do, but we're just going to bury it here. That way it won't wash up into the mausoleum."

  "Alright, sounds good," said Chaxin, who knelt nearby and helped dig out an adequate hole in the sand. Once it was large enough, Kaiz used his spear to push the tentacle piece into the hole. Then, with Chaxin's help, he covered it back up and packed the sand in around it.

  Kaiz rose and shook his head. "Let's head back, grab your boots," he said, before heading over to where his own pair were sitting in the sand.

  Chaxin went with him to retrieve their boots, and once they were on, and his trousers unrolled, he spoke up. "So, what do you think it was?"

  Kaiz was silent for several long seconds, but finally, he spoke. "There are some monsters that are so powerful, that even their blood can contain power… or energy, whatever you wanna call it."

  "And you think whatever that tentacle was a part of was such a creature?" asked Chaxin.

  "If someone had used rune magic," said Kaiz, "the runes would've dissipated, once their energy was used up. So that's still technically a possibility. There's the chance that someone hooked up a soul crystal, to have its energy… I don't know, siphoned off? I guess that's possible, but soul crystals are only really used for writing scrawl, so I'd count that out. The only other possibility is that the blood from that creature somehow empowered the mausoleum enough for it to draw you to it, causing your arrival."

  "So, you're saying that my very presence is from some monstrous creature's blood?" asked Chaxin.

  Kaiz rolled his shoulders. "Who knows. I wouldn't dwell much on it. It's not like that really matters, does it? A mausoleum is a mausoleum. They draw people to them through being empowered, and people wake up inside them. That's all I know, and that's all that really matters. Doesn't matter what was powering it."

  Chaxin listened, but he couldn't help but feel as though it did matter. He kept quiet for the time being.

  They returned to Deloris, who was still guarding the wagons which had been loaded with the sarcophagi. The two coffins had been roped up many times over, and both were closed.

  "So?" asked Deloris, as the two of them neared.

  Kaiz went on to explain what they found.

  Deloris watched the sea as she listened to the explanation. When Kaiz had finished, she spoke up. "I think you're right," she said, agreeing with Kaiz's assessment of how the tentacle might've empowered the mausoleum. "It's very plausible. I've never actually seen such a thing, but there are more than a few rumors about beings so powerful that their very blood can empower things, much as we use soul crystals to create scrawl. When I cut into that spectre, it didn't even have blood. It was as if its very essence ebbed out when I maimed it. So who knows what its blood, or essence, or whatever you want to call it, could be capable of."

  "I just don't like the prospect that I'm here because of a monster," Chaxin finally spoke up, after having been silent for several minutes.

  Deloris watched him and nodded. "I can understand how that may be disconcerting, but don't dwell on it. You look human, you act human. Hell, I saw those merfolk attack you just like they'd attack anyone else. You're just like me and Kaiz. Save for the fact that we've got a few years on you, and higher stats," she said, smiling just a bit.

  Deloris's words lifted Chaxin's spirits. He smiled back and nodded in return. "I guess you're right. I'm sure this weird feeling will go away by tomorrow." He paused for a moment and glanced around, as the wagons started to gather at a central location on the shore. Several laborers were coming around from the side of the ship. "Are we leaving?" asked Chaxin.

  "Looks like it," said Deloris. "Let's find out where we can hitch a ride."

  The wagons all came to rest around each other, still on the shore. Laborers and guards were still milling about, while others were checking the horses and the canopies.

  It wasn't long before Politz approached the three of them, holding a roll of cloth in his hands. "Here you go," he said, handing it to Deloris. "I'm sure you're all hungry, and it's going to be a bit of a ride back to Grittin, especially now that we're laden with cargo. It's not much, but it's better than nothing. Um…" he trailed off and glanced around. "There, that cart," he said, as he lifted his hand and pointed. "That one will be riding just ahead of the two sarcophagi carts, which will have two of Daxar's men on each. So if anything happens, you'll be in close proximity to respond. Hopefully that won't be the case. I'll be in the cart just behind theirs, not that I'll be able to do much… but hell if I won't at least try," he said, managing a half smile before giving the three of them a brief nod. "I'll see you when we get to Grittin."

  "See you there," said Deloris. "Thanks for the rations."

  With that, Politz headed off.

  Deloris slowly unwrapped the cloth and revealed three items. Green leaves were wrapped around bread, which appeared to have some sort of melted cheese in the center.

  Kaiz grabbed one and immediately bit into it. He chewed it a little and shrugged. "A bit dry, but the cheese ain't bad," he said, as he then took another bite and turned to walk towards their cart.

  Deloris handed Chaxin one of the loaves and took the last for herself. "Let's find our seats," she said, as she and Chaxin followed Kaiz. Her armor clanged with each step.

  Kaiz was the first to reach the wagon. There was a woman seated up front, wearing a pair of brown trousers and a grey tunic. She wore a shawl over her shoulders and head, and was of fair complexion. She seemed to be watching the surrounding wagons, as if waiting for the order to move out. She spotted Kaiz first, as he neared the side of the wagon. "Go ahead and hop in in the back," she spoke in a soft voice. "There's a crate back there, but there should be enough room for you and your friends."

  "Al
right, thanks," Kaiz spoke, before heading around to the back.

  The wagon had a wooden bed, and just as the woman had said, there was a crate taking up about half the cart space. Kaiz hoisted himself in and sat to one side. There was enough room to stretch his legs out, which he promptly did. Deloris was the next one in, and she sat on the other side and extended her plate-covered boots out beside Kaiz.

  Chaxin was the last in. He settled in on the same side as Kaiz, with Deloris's boots separating them. He leaned on the end of the cart and looked out the opening. From there, he could see the ship and its broken crane.

  He took a bite of the loaf and chewed it quietly. The green leaf didn't have any sort of crunch to it, and the bread was less fresh than what he'd had back at Kamber. The cheese wasn't bad, just as Kaiz had pointed out earlier.

  Within minutes, the other carts started to move. They formed in two columns so that each cart had another beside it. The wagon that had been damaged by the incident had been salvaged for parts and placed into one of the other available carts. From what Chaxin had seen down in the cargo hold, he didn't imagine that all the cargo had been taken, and with the broken crane, it was unlikely that they'd be able to salvage much more, unless another full caravan returned to the shore.

  Despite having woken not more than an hour before, Chaxin felt weary. The notion of a monster being the cause of his arrival continued to weigh on his mind. He finished his loaf of bread just as the caravan made its way through the abandoned village town. It was just as it had been when he and the others had taken their horses through it the day prior. There was no sign of Kalo or Jerem. What had happened to them? They were simply gone.

  The caravan left the abandoned village and headed for the tree line.

  "Guess the spectre didn't decide to ambush us in there," said Kaiz. "Hopefully the rest of the trip is as smooth. I could use a nap," he said as he shifted in place, and set his head against the nearby crate. His eyes closed after a few seconds.