El-Vador's Travels

by J. R. Karlsson

  The first merciful rains greeted him, pattering down upon his helm with a steadily rising intensity and ringing loudly in his covered ears. He would need to find shelter if he was to avoid the conditions from eventually deteriorating his armour.

  A small outcropping of rock suggested itself to him and he found enough cover to avoid the worst of the sudden storm, there was no sense in pushing on against such conditions and he knew the Elf would be doing much the same so there was nothing to lose from resting either. Hunkering down amidst the shale, Salvarius shut his eyes and prepared to wait out the worst of it.

  'The Brotherhood has need of you, Salvarius.' a choir of voices sounded from within his own head, causing him to rise swiftly and draw his blade.

  'Who goes there?' he called out to the falling water, thinking somehow that the voice had been thrown. 'Show yourself!'

  'We have no physical form, we speak to you from beyond.'

  He had seen this before, men speaking of voices plaguing their heads, usually after being cracked with a heavy blow that should have killed them. Had he pushed himself too far in his journey? He had marvelled at his own endurance and put it down to the emotion that had driven him, but he had lost count of the leagues long ago.

  'We are the source of your haste, we have a mutual enemy in the Elf. We wish to aid you in our own way.'

  'Who are you?' Salvarius repeated, pulling the helm from his head and rubbing at his temples. A burning sensation ran through them unlike anything he had previously felt, causing the unease he was experiencing to multiply.

  'We are the Brotherhood, Salvarius. We desire that El-Vador's life be extinguished, and through much searching we have uncovered your hatred, a hatred much akin to our own.'

  Salvarius was by nature a deeply superstitious man, and while the thought of such strange beings contacting him directly seemed odd, now that they had stated their claims it made some kind of sense. Then again, did he have a choice against that which he could not see or fight?

  'What would you have me do?' he finally asked them, curiosity overwhelming his fear of the voices.

  'Firstly we require a conduit, a being of flesh and blood to infuse ourselves within, from there we can further augment your powers. After this we shall forge an army, then draw the Elf to us, so it is written and so it must be carried out lest the forces that oppose us take root.'

  He did not question the need for an army, or whatever a conduit was. All he cared for was the opportunity for vengeance, if he need be a pawn in the game of some other force then so be it.

  The rain continued to pelt down upon the shale outcrop, and beneath that Salvarius listened to the voices and conspired to accomplish their bidding.

  LV

  They say that if you leave it unchecked, and do not savour every living moment, that time will eat up your life before you have even realised. That epiphany came to me as I hung helpless in that moment, trusting another as I was winged through the air. She could have dropped me at any given moment, with any ill chosen word. Instead she bore me as she had once before, stolidly and without question to the shores beyond. The shores that harboured another familiar face.

  The strange near-silent beating of her gossamer-thin wings now that she had been divested of her robe would have been hypnotic to El-Vador, were it not for the fact that it was masked by the storm as he was carried thousands of feet above the raging seas below.

  Brother Manilus had assured him under duress that escape from the isle of the Scarlet Brotherhood was entirely possible, what if the old man had lied?

  Time passed on without any reckoning and still there was no sign of any shore, and El-Vador could not help but notice that the distance from the watery depths was decreasing with every passing moment.

  They did not speak as she flew, shortly after their ascent from the isle she had informed him that any attempt at communication would be too much an expense if they had some way to travel. Apparently taking him any distance was a test of her endurance, and he knew that she would drop him to his grave rather than perish with him.

  Then without warning it appeared, a small promontory or isle jutting out of the heaving storm. He called out to her but clearly she had already seen it, weaving her way through the winds in its general direction with an all-too uncertain trajectory.

  For a time he feared that their impact with the cliff face would dash them upon the rocks, but with a final heave of exertion Aliana rose above that and landed unceremoniously upon the spray-soaked ground.

  El-Vador stood and spied the land before him, it stretched out endlessly in a fashion reassuring only to those who had seen nothing but water for a long time. He looked back to see the Pixie sprawled on the ground before him, and only then did a tinge of guilt touch him. The sight of land and opportunity had caused him to completely forget about the woman who had borne him there.

  'Are you okay?' he asked, offering her a hand and bringing her up into a sitting position. The rain made her fingers slippery and cold, they would need to find shelter soon.

  'I'll live, I'm just very tired. Looks like we made it to land at least, can your Elven eyes see much through the storm?'

  El-Vador cast his gaze out upon the landscape, igniting his night vision and studying the surface of the ground unimpeded by the darkness and rain. 'There looks to be a cave roughly five miles from our position, no signs of civilisation beyond.'

  She blinked at him, her face incredulous. 'You can see five miles from our current position in this weather?'

  'I have Elven eyes.' he replied, offering her a smile, she had earned much more for saving his life. Some sense of honour within him dictated that he now owed her, he just hoped that the price she asked for to repay the debt wasn't too steep.

  They traipsed through the rain as best they could, the constant water mostly ran off the surface of the cliff and made their footing treacherous at best until they finally encountered soil. From there it became a muddy slog through the grasslands that preceded the cave.

  It stood out from the rest of the land, a large rent in the earth that reminded El-Vador uncannily of the destruction he had left behind in the burrow. He did not spend long pondering over what had caused such a conspicuous opening in the ground, the rain waited for nobody's idle thoughts.

  As soon as he entered he knew they were not alone, there was a marked change in the temperature of the cave that he could not attribute to anything but life. The stench which presented itself as they made their way further into the shelter only clarified his suspicions.

  El-Vador was no longer the frightened interloper that timidly skulked into the entrance of greater creature's lairs, that much had been changed irrevocably by the actions of the voice and the Scarlet Brotherhood. Whatever lived in here would not do so any longer.

  Planting his feet apart, he motioned to the Pixie to stand back. She quickly caught on to what he was attempting and gave him as wide a berth as she could while remaining within sight.

  He channelled within himself then, bringing the power coursing out in blackened gouts from his extended fingertips, letting it pool and well upon the cave floor, spreading out over the surface like sticky tar and slowly rising into an undulating wall of darkness. It grew in stature even as he faded in strength, drawing deeper from his core than he suspected was wise in order to accomplish a feat of this magnitude. He could rest after, this needed to be done.

  Finally the towering structure pressed against the ceiling of the cave, wavering as if unbalanced and ready to buckle under the slightest miscalculation on his part. He pushed against its weight now, urging it with a singular command to go forth and devour. The dark wave spread down into the recesses of the cave, now entirely self-propelled. El-Vador crossed his legs and half-fell into position, drifting outward from himself and witnessing the extinguishing lights of whatever lay in the tunnels beneath them.

  Finally, when all was darkness, the Elf found sleep.

  LVI

  The overarching theme of my trials is
dispossession of the self, to be placed upon the whim of powers greater than your own. In his own way, none knew this better than Salvarius, I did not weep for where his lack of self took him.

  His steps were measured and controlled, even as his pace was not. The hot lash of his own insistence hounded him onward at speeds he could only imagine previously, and from memory he knew the destination long before he arrived.

  The storm had long since passed, outdistanced by a speed that even the fastest of his mounts could not have matched. He drew on the energies that were provided him greedily, revelling in this new-found capability and devouring the miles his feet had already wearily trodden prior to this.

  Even in the sweltering heat he felt nothing awry, the energies cooling him in his clanking armour and soothing his every joint from the impact upon his booted feet. They would bow to his wishes or they would suffer, the necessity of consequence brooked no argument.

  Finally he stopped, the burrow was before him, a less conspicuous design that hearkened back to the heartlands wherein the Orcish council resided in towers. He had no need for such a force, to acquire sufficient underlings did not take an army, merely a select horde from the outskirts.

  He removed his helm and hailed the first of the guard, bidding entrance to the burrow and the ear of the authority within.

  'You are the human.' the guard stated, clearly recognising both the armour and the face. 'Bring you tidings from Harg's burrow?'

  So they hadn't heard then. A pang of loss hit him square in the chest at hearing his adopted father's name, but he refused to let it show on his face lest the guard grow suspicious. 'Of a sort, yes. I cannot divulge the information to anyone but the chief within.'

  This seemed to satisfy the guard, who let Salvarius into the burrow with a grunt of acknowledgement and nothing more. Salvarius knew that this nonchalance was largely an act, receiving a high-ranking official from another burrow with news was a cause for commotion. He had no doubt that messengers were already running through the corridors of the burrow to alert the chief of his arrival.

  It was strange to be kept waiting on the surface, the aesthetics of the place were similar to the other burrow but somehow were lacking in ways he couldn't describe.

  Finally and without any great ceremony, two guards appeared from deeper within the burrow and led him down to greet the chief.

  It was not the first time that Salvarius had seen the great corpulent creature, a rotund and devious Orc by the name of Uglag. A more disgusting example of why Orcs should be hunted into extinction did not exist in the man's mind.

  'Salvarius!' he bellowed as he turned in his specially-made throne and affixed him with his squinty eyes. 'What tidings bring you from the border?'

  He ignored the intentional double meaning of the question. Uglag wanted to know why it was Salvarius who had come and not a simple messenger, he wasn't going to get a reason why.

  He felt the power well up within him, and perhaps in his own way the Orcish chieftain sensed it too, but before he could call for his guards to attack it was too late. It may not have been the vessel that the voices wanted, but it would suffice for their ambitions thus far.

  The piggish eyes of the chieftain glazed over, but his guards didn't catch the transformation. His voice was his own when he spoke, down to the very inflection of gluttonous pleasure. 'Well? What news have you then? Speak man!'

  Salvarius offered the possessed Orc a smile and a deferential bow to keep up appearances. 'Harg has need of your forces, a new threat has arisen that our combined armies need deal with.'

  Uglag waved away his guards, at any mention of war or combat it was important that the leader and messenger speak in confidence, so that the guards did not spread rumour of discord with their less than idle tongues.

  'We have taken control of this one's body.' the voices said, sounding strange coming out of Uglag's throat. 'We shall convince enough forces from this burrow to join your cause, from there you can explain our greater plans to them and they shall deliver the message for you.'

  Salvarius nodded in assent. Two of the voice's plans had been completed by providing it with a conduit and an army, now all that remained was for the death of the Elf.

  'You are mistaken.' the voices replied to his thought, now firmly within his head rather than vocalised. 'this Orc is insufficient, you must find and capture the one we require.'

  There was a shimmering light then that engulfed the form of the Orc, blinding Salvarius with its blaze and causing him to recoil.

  'I am Mina.' the figure said as the light receded. 'I am sworn by the voices to aid you in finding my twin.'

  Sight slowly returned to his eyes, and he found himself staring at a pair of gossamer-thin wings.

  LVII

  Few allies have I had in any age, my powers do not lend themselves to friendships. People of all races come and go like the washing tides, lapping occasionally against me before departing as nature dictates.

  When El-Vador at last opened his eyes it was to the sight of booted feet. He shot up into a couch and drew his blade, which in turn elicited a familiar chuckle from the man who had disturbed his sleep.

  'A most impressive display of power you put on in cleansing this cave for your rest. A little over-exuberant for my tastes, as it screams for miles of your location and can attract all kinds of unwanted attention.'

  'What do you want from me, Anacletus?' El-Vador asked, weary already of the man's smoke-ridden presence. He looked briefly to the side, wondering why Aliana hadn't warned him of an incoming presence as she maintained watch. The sleeping sounds of the Pixie in spite of the assassin's arrival informed him of an enforced unconsciousness of some kind.

  'With your actions you have caused a prominent shift in the balance for power, leaving many to wonder what it was that motivated you to do so.' Anacletus said.

  'And are you here as their spokesperson?' El-Vador shot back, knowing better than to trust this snake's words.

  Anacletus raised his palms in a gesture of peace. 'I am not here officially as a spokesperson or arbiter of any sort, I merely feel that our mutual cooperation with those who oppose the Brotherhood may benefit you as much as it does me.'

  El-Vador stared at him suspiciously. 'When last we spoke you suggested that we may well be enemies upon our next meeting. Why would you seek to cooperate with me now?'

  'The question on the proverbial lips of those in attendance was whether you would control the Brotherhood or destroy it. I knew not whether you would resists the temptations of such a command, think of how quickly you could have destroyed the Orcs had you a Brother to send to every burrow.'

  El-Vador nodded in acknowledgement of the possibility he had chosen not to undertake. 'Instead I destroyed the Brotherhood, because vengeance in my name by another hand is not my vengeance.'

  Anacletus traded nods at this assessment. 'Precisely, you are much more personal with your killing than that. Even the trappings of the Brotherhood held no great allure for you in the end. By destroying their sanctuary you have shifted the balance of power in favour of the forces I now represent.'

  He sat down on the floor of the cave then, palms still outward and legs crossed as if making himself comfortable. 'It will not be long until they come into this world, Elf. You had best pick a side, and from your actions I would suggest throwing in your lot with me, the remnants of the very Brotherhood you destroyed will be hard to convince.'

  'What is it that you offer me?' El-Vador replied, musing over the situation but keeping his blade trained on the assassin.

  'My first task is to exterminate the Orcish race from this land. I feel this may be of interest to you.'

  El-Vador found himself agreeing, those were words he could get behind. The man had been wronged unbearably in the service of Sarvacts, he had a legitimate grudge against Orcs as a result.

  'My second task is to keep your friend safe from apprehension.'

  Aliana continued to lie upon the cave floor beside them, sleeping pea
cefully as if Anacletus had not made a sound.

  'Why do you care about the welfare of the Pixie?'

  'I could ask you the same question, Elf.'

  That stopped him cold. He owed her a debt, that was what he was going to tell Anacletus, but something stirred in him that suggested this wasn't the reason he stayed.

  'Yes, you enjoy the thought of a companion, inextricably bound through mutual experiences. It is that, and the debt you owe her, that our opposition from the Brotherhood looks to use against you. If they manage to do so then their remaining forces from the ether will return to kill us both.'

  El-Vador offered him a crooked smile. 'That sounds more like the Anacletus I remember. You care not for prophecy or the undercurrents of powers or even the people before you beyond saving your own hide.'

  'And you, Elf, care nothing for anyone beyond your own vengeance, which is why you have never returned to the mountains from whence you came.'

  The naked truth of the man's words struck home harder than any steel could. He was right, after all this time El-Vador had never thought of returning to the mountains to find out if any of his people had survived the Orcish occupation. The thought had lingered in his head ever since Sarvacts had planted it there, but he had always pushed forward, always moved on. The possibility that his race was extinct had only briefly been considered when he had spoken to Chlodochar in the Brotherhood sanctuary, even then he hadn't truly believed it.

  'Fight with me, Elf. Destroy the Orcs and sate your needs whilst also saving a world from much greater harm.'

  'What's stopping the Brotherhood from simply finding their way back without seeking to kill me?'

  It was Anacletus's turn to smile. 'They are locked in a constant struggle with the forces beyond the ether, they will not leave that struggle for anything but a certain goal. To use and absorb the powers of those trained by the Brotherhood to further their cause is the only goal worth returning to this plane for.'