Grimoire Bound

by Jeff Sproul

  A weapon he hadn't seen since his death.

  "Kaiz?" Chaxin spoke, barely more audible than a whisper, but the sound of the rain was far away and there were no other noises around him.

  The figure pulled the spear sharply into the air, then stopped for several moments before turning around slowly and facing Chaxin.

  He'd heard him? Chaxin wondered. He swallowed and took a step forward. "Kaiz?" he called out, but even as he did so, he got a better angle on the figure lying on the ground near the soldier.

  Chaxin froze. There was another armored figure at the man's feet. The man's helmet was off, showing his trimmed hair beneath, and a bit of a beard. His eyes were open, but he wasn't moving. In the center of his chest were several punctures, about the size of the spear-tip.

  "Are you Kaiz?" Chaxin asked, looking back to the man. "It's me, Chaxin. Did you make it out of Purgatory too?"

  The armored figure lowered the spear, but only to grasp it with both hands. "Who's Kaiz?" came his muffled voice from beneath the helmet. "The name's Takkis."

  Chaxin swallowed, still tense. He gripped his weapons, but didn't raise them.

  "Are you one of Grittin's soldiers?" Chaxin asked, then looked back to the dead soldier on the ground. It was then that he saw one of the bindlets on the fallen soldier's arm.

  "Not anymore," Takkis answered in a deep voice. "You part of this raiding party?"

  Chaxin wasn't sure how to answer. Should he give that information away so freely?

  Takkis took a step forward, and then another. The armor he wore made a metallic rustling and clanking sound with each step. "Doesn't matter, really," he said. "Was just curious. That's a pretty decent looking crossbow you got there."

  Despite the mention of his weapons, Chaxin didn't remove his eyes from the armored soldier. His thumb hovered just above the drawback activator on the mage-caster.

  Takkis came to a slow stop. He lifted the spear and casually aimed it right at Chaxin, while his hand went to the trigger mechanism.

  Chaxin's eyes went wide as the soldier took such a position. But he didn't act, not right away.

  The soldier's metal gauntlet clanged against the trigger mechanism.

  In those few precious seconds, Chaxin imagined that the soldier was guessing that he didn't know what the spear was capable of. His eyes watched as those metal-covered fingers squeezed the trigger lever.

  Chaxin pulled to the side and broke into a dash.

  Bang!

  The gun-spear's chamber ignited and shot a hot orange projectile in Chaxin's direction. Or at least, where he'd been.

  Takkis turned the spear only after he'd fired. He reached down and fumbled with a pouch on his hip.

  Chaxin spotted the pouch. The soldier must've had the weapon for a while to also have an ammo pouch.

  He stopped and drew the mage-caster up. With a thumb-press, he drew the string back, and with another, he set the bolt to corrosive. He took careful aim as Takkis grabbed a bullet from the pouch, surely imagining that his armor would protect him from ranged attacks.

  Chaxin pulled the trigger and shot the corrosive bolt.

  It smacked into the chestplate of Takkis's armor. The impact made him flinch and drop the bullet he'd picked from the pouch on his belt.

  His helmet turned back to Chaxin.

  Bang!

  An orange-hot bullet streaked through the air.

  The corrosive bolt struck the left side of Takkis's armor. The heated bullet from Chaxin's gun-saber tore through that very same section and struck Takkis in the chest.

  Chaxin had been hoping for a heart-shot, but he couldn't take the chance that he might've missed. After pulling the trigger on his gun-saber, he rushed the armored soldier, who'd flinched from the impact of the bullet, but still held the spear.

  Foot by foot, Chaxin closed in on him.

  As Chaxin neared the soldier, Takkis shouted and swung the spear in a sharp arc and jabbed at Chaxin.

  The movement was too slow. Chaxin ducked to the side and in a follow up motion, stabbed with his saber, right into the compromised section of Takkis's armor.

  His blade drove in, cutting through flesh with a sudden schlick sound. As Chaxin sunk the sword in, there was a momentary resistance, before his saber dug deeper into Takkis's chest.

  The soldier stumbled and lost his footing, tumbling back and smacking hard with a loud clatter of metal, landing right on top of the soldier he'd been stabbing earlier.

  With his saber lodged deep in the man's chest, Chaxin couldn't retain hold of it. It slipped from his fingers and traveled back as the man fell.

  With wide eyes, Chaxin brought the mage-caster up and aimed for the area his saber was sticking out of. He thumbed the drawback rune and then waited.

  Takkis lay there, unmoving.

  A second went by. Then another. Ten seconds.

  As armored as he was, Chaxin couldn't tell if he was breathing or moving at all beneath his armor. He kept his mage-caster trained on him and slowly crept closer. He swallowed, his chest rising and falling as his tension remained high. He walked slowly, making sure to stay out of the man's reach, until he'd fully circled around to his helmet. He lowered to a crouch, his weapon still trained on Takkis's chest. He reached out slowly, inch by inch. He grabbed the helmet by one of the curved horn sides and pulled it back.

  What he saw was a young man, with features similar to his own. He might've been five years older than himself.

  He had shoulder-length black hair and wide open green eyes, just like Chaxin did.

  Chaxin dropped the helmet and slowly rose. He couldn't pull his gaze from the man's face.

  Takkis. Who was he? Had he killed his commander? The man with the bindlet? Was he trying to free himself from his oppressors? If so, then why attack him? He would've happily left the man alone, to run off and live his life.

  But why? Why fight? Why die?

  Chaxin was filled with futile questions for the man he'd just killed.

  He shook his head and took in a deep breath, coming to his senses. He stepped in and grabbed his saber. He pulled it from the man's ribcage and slotted it into his scabbard.

  His attention shifted to the spear, now lying on the ground.

  Was it Kaiz's spear? Had Takkis taken it from Grittin's armory? Surely they would've looted Kaiz's body after his death. Had they felt the weapon was worth keeping around?

  Chaxin walked to the fallen spear and picked it up. He immediately stepped back from the fallen soldier and inspected the spear. He pulled a bullet from his own pouch and slotted it into the chamber. He had no idea if this was truly Kaiz's spear, but he doubted there were many such weapons around, since gun-weapon variants were native to Jari and nowhere else in Wake.

  He set his mage-caster on his belt and held the spear with both hands. If he ran into any tentacled horrors, this was going to do a lot better than his saber, if he was going to try and stab their hearts.

  He took one last look at Takkis, then turned away. With purpose, he headed for the steps that led up to the open door of the throne room.

  Chapter 33: Step Forward

  The doors to the throne room were open, but not broken. There was debris all around. Splinters of wood fell from the roof and stones from the nearby walls.

  Chaxin had expected most of the dead bodies to have been in the courtyard, as that had been their intended arrival point. He hadn't inspected each corpse, but so far, he hadn't spotted Boru, the man who’d led the charge. Was he somewhere around? Had he managed to break past the guards?

  After reaching the top of the steps, he passed through the throne room doors. Fires were lit on the sides of the tall stone pillars that lined the room up towards the throne. There were no guards at the base of the pillars. For that, he was thankful.

  However, there were numerous bodies, both guard and otherwise, strewn about the room. Streaks of blood painted the stone columns, the walls, the floor.

  What was he doing? There were so many dead. His eyes sc
anned the faces he could see. Most of the guards were still wearing their helmets.

  But there was one closer towards the throne that wasn't.

  He walked down a muddied gray carpet, heading toward the throne and the helmetless soldier. So far, except for Takkis, none of the bodies had so much as twitched. Was anyone still alive?

  As he got ever closer, all he could think about was that this place had been where he'd died. Had his blood stained the floor? Where was his body buried? Or had it been burned? Or had something worse happened to his corpse? He shook those thoughts away as he neared the fallen soldier in gleaming black armor. The metal didn't look worn or weathered, but there were several precise punctures on the left side of the front plate, right where her heart would be. It appeared that he wasn't the only person who'd targeted the heart. But he'd been able to utilize the corrosive effect of his mage-caster, which he'd been told was exceptionally powerful in weakening armor, to allow other weapons to strike through the vulnerable section.

  Someone else must've had a weapon that was similar, but then again, Takkis had been using Kaiz's spear to puncture the dead soldier outside. Were the suits of armor these guards were wearing not that strong?

  Even as he had this thought, his face went to the dead soldier's face. It was a woman. She had a scar running down from near her ear, all the way to her chin. Her skin was darker than what he remembered it being when he'd seen her back in Kamber some ten years ago. At least for her.

  He stepped in closer and looked down at the former council member of Kamber. Jeneth? Janeth? He couldn't remember. Apparently, she'd been caught up in Grittin's war. But as a refugee from Kamber, how many of those people really had a choice?

  Chaxin's thoughts returned to Tiris, Vol, Bavol. What had happened to them? Were they among the dead bodies around him?

  Chaxin glanced around, slowly walking further along the dirty carpet. He looked to the throne. It had been inlaid with new gold and silver. It didn't look all that comfortable, actually. But it had become grander, that was certain.

  As Chaxin inspected the throne, he noticed a key difference in the room that he hadn't seen when he was there previously. Behind the throne, about fifty feet back and against the far wall, was an open doorway. It was wide, with two large wooden doors. He could see into the open room beyond. There were heavy beams and more debris littering the floor within. He also spotted several more bodies.

  On both sides of the throne room were several doors. Some of them were open, leading to halls and other secondary rooms.

  Where should he go? There was no one to ask, no one to give him direction. He took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He moved, heading beyond the throne and towards the wide doors at the back.

  It didn't take him long to reach the doorway. There was easily enough space for ten people to stand side by side in the entrance itself. He slowly passed through. The doors looked to be in fine condition, but the long and open room beyond was almost in complete disarray.

  Wood groaned from up above, as if it was under some great weight. Chaxin glanced up, noticing parts of the rafters had fallen. Then, he remembered what he'd seen from the outside. The nameless pillar that had struck through the fortress came down close to where he was now. It had to be just a room or two over, but he wasn't entirely sure.

  He walked into the long room, noticing a stone structure that looked familiar at the far end. It was bigger, and made of gray stone that had runic lines running through it. At this distance, he couldn't tell if there was actual writing or not. But its shape was unmistakable.

  It was a gate.

  The same sort of device that Chaxin had stepped through to get to Grittin.

  With one foot in front of the other, Chaxin kept walking towards it. It was roughly fifty to a hundred feet away from the door's entrance, and he was almost halfway towards it. He passed by sizeable wooden beams and broken sections of the roof and rafters. Stones from the right wall had crumbled inward. He passed by two Grittin soldiers. Then, he spotted him.

  Chaxin came to a sudden stop, seeing Boru sitting against the left wall with his head bent at a horrid angle. A few feet away was another Grittin soldier in full armor.

  He turned and took several steps towards Boru.

  "Chaxin? Is that you?" came a familiar woman's voice.

  Chaxin froze mid-step. He looked around. "Minara?" he asked, scanning the nearby bodies.

  "Over here, quickly… there isn't much time," came Minara’s voice.

  Chaxin looked in the direction that the voice had come from. At first, he didn't realize where it had originated, but then he noticed a large fallen beam and a figure beneath it.

  He rushed over, his mage-caster smacking against his leg, as his scabbard jostled.

  Minara was covered in debris. Her hair was ashy from all the dust. Chaxin couldn't even see her lower body due to the square beam upon it. Only her torso was visible, with her bloody hands on the ground.

  "Are you alright?" Chaxin asked, as he arrived before her.

  She tilted her head, looking up at him. Blood seeped down the corners of her lips. "Afraid not. Not this time," she spoke, her voice becoming hoarser.

  "Can we get you out?" Chaxin asked, looking at the beam. He dropped his spear to the ground and stepped over and placed his hands on it. With a sturdy shove, he only managed to slide his own boots back. The beam didn't shift in the slightest.

  "It'd take too many people to free me," said Minara. "I fucked up."

  Chaxin turned and dropped to a knee beside Minara, so she wouldn't have to crane her head to look to him. "Tell me what I can do," he said. "Is there, I don't know, a potion? A scroll? Some sort of spell? I don't know. I need guidance."

  Minara shook her head. Her left hand slid over to her right, and that was when Chaxin saw something that made him tense.

  "Is that?" he whispered, staring at the metallic glove on Minara's right hand. The fingerless black threaded glove was the same as the one he'd seen on the spectre. Those images were ingrained in his head, especially since they'd only happened less than a week ago. At least for him.

  "It's a gate glove," said Minara as she slowly slid it off her hand, stopping a moment as she coughed against her exposed arm, leaving traces of blood on her skin. "Take it."

  Chaxin reached out and picked it up.

  "Chaxin, there's… too much to explain. And I'm bleeding out. Unless someone gets here—" Minara cut herself off, coughing again. "No, there's no one that can save me. I need to accept that."

  Chaxin stared at Minara with a furrowed brow. "I saw Cynthia, she might head here once she rounds up more of the strike force. She can—"

  "She's not that strong," said Minara, interrupting him. "Her mastery of healing and blood manipulation. None of that can save me. The nameless above is corrupting Grittin, minute by minute."

  "What of Karnith and Daxar?" asked Chaxin. "What about the mission?"

  Minara shook her head. "I miscalculated," she spoke, her voice softer. "He took his army through the gate. I don't know where they went, but he must've constructed a city for him and his army somewhere else. I only managed to obtain that glove because he left it with the commander of the remaining troops. I have worked so hard, for so long, to obtain it. It's been all I've thought about, and now… Karnith couldn't care less about such a device. I have no idea what all he's managed to collect, but he's an even greater threat now than I’d imagined. The evacuation… the nameless. Everything has fallen apart. I'm sorry, Chaxin. You have to go."

  "Go?" Chaxin asked, still trying to grasp everything Minara was saying. "Go where?"

  "Through the gate," Minara answered, as she slowly reached down to her chest. She winced and pulled a scroll from a pocket on her tunic. "Take this," she said. "Activate it now, before you go through the gate."

  Chaxin's mouth hung open. He was still holding the glove she'd given him. He reached out and took the scroll as well. "I… I don't know what to—"

  "It's a death scroll,"
she said. "Unroll it, place your finger to the X. Take the glove, put it on. Go to the gate, place your hand against it."

  Chaxin's body was shaking. This wasn't how this was supposed to work. What was she having him do? He understood her instructions, but to what end? He slipped the glove on, and it fit snugly on his hand. It had a strange texture. It appeared to somehow be both metal and thread. It was unlike anything he'd ever felt before. There was a small flat blackish jewel at the palm, perfectly inlaid into the center of the glove. Then, he unrolled the scroll. It was littered with rune magic.

  "Activate it, quickly," Minara instructed.

  Chaxin swallowed and pressed his thumb to the X at the bottom of the page. The silvery lettering on the parchment flashed a golden color, before all the letters faded entirely.

  "What happened?" Chaxin gasped. "It all went away!"

  "The knowledge is bound to you now," said Minara. "You'll have to consult a grimoire, but when you do, it’ll show you every bit of time magic I've ever learned, among other things. You have to go through the gate and bring help. It may take you a day, or a week to return. But Chaxin, whatever you do, you must return. You must take the knowledge I've given you, and that glove, and return. You'll understand why, soon."

  Chaxin's eyes were wide. "But… why give this to me? Isn't there someone—"

  "Shut up!" Minara hissed, wincing from the exertion. "Just shut up. Now, go to the gate, and do as I said."

  Chaxin shook his head. He wanted to help Minara. But she seemed resigned to her fate.

  He grabbed the fallen spear and slowly stood.

  "Go to the gate," she said again.

  Chaxin turned and rushed to the gate, about thirty feet away. It was so much larger than the one in the tavern beneath Kamber. If five people stood shoulder to shoulder, they could have easily stood within it.

  He turned his head back to Minara, then looked to the stone device before him. He reached out with the gloved hand and placed his palm to its surface.

  The moment the flat stone of the glove touched the gate, everything went black.

  He gasped and realized that he hadn't blacked out. He was simply… blind.