by Beaux Riley
Kimura turned to Talus. His eyes gave all the words Talus needed. The dwarf placed his hands on the bars, bringing the runes that were previously invisible to life. Like snakes carved into the surface of the iron, the middle four bars raised, allowing Kimura an entrance. The paladin quickly proceeded inside the surprisingly wide cell. Kimura reached out for the figure, seeing darkness at the back of the cell. He illuminated the room to see hundreds of runes lining the four walls and ceiling of room. They came to life and absorbed his Light immediately. Catching a glimpse Kimura saw a dirt-ridden and half-starved man.
“Aedrius?” Kimura said slowly. “Brother…”
The man raised his head up to Kimura. The face of Aedrius, looked up at his brother. Kimura stood completely dumbfounded. He reached out for Aedrius to hear his brother speak.
“Stop…The chains are…” Aedrius's voice was deeper and harsher, resembling a similar effect to a night's worth of drinking mixed with being sick. Kimura noticed that both Aedrius’s arms and legs were chained to the wall, having him hang from his arms and sitting on his knees with no room to move. Upon the chains were emblazoned runes, though inert.
“Talus, we need to free him. This changes everything. We have a chance now. We…” Kimura’s mouth could speak no words. The sight of something large, wearing all black and a hood approached Talus. Kimura tried to call out to see a large blade piercing the stomach of the dwarf. Talus coughed up blood. The dwarf gripped the blade with his leather gloves and then reached out to Kimura. The paladin pulled his blade and rushed at the figure, realizing who it was as he managed to get closer.
“Hello, Kimura.” The figure removed his hood to reveal the face of a younger Serict.
Kimura had his strike parried by the bloodied blade that was pulled from a dying Talus. Kimura tripped and fell against the cold floor. He tried to quickly stand when Serict raised his hand.
“YOU WERE FORSAKEN BY THE LIGHT!!” Kimura yelled out in anger. Instead of the usual illumination that Kimura had grown accustom to. A black fog enveloped Serict’s right arm and sprang out faster than Kimura’s mind could register. The fog pierced Kimura’s stomach and legs in multiple places as though he were being stabbed with several blades all at once. The fog vanished, leaving Kimura bleeding and crying out.
“No Light? The Light failed to save Zahn and it failed to keep you alive.” Serict said laughing. “I’ll watch your little group burn, one by one. Now...let’s see how they'll find you.” Kimura began to cough, looking over at his brother unable to move and Talus groaning. Kimura held his stomach close and could not speak. His blade fell from his hand and he tried to grab it only to have Serict kick it away. The paladin could not focus enough to summon the Light to defend himself. Serict lifted Kimura up and behind them a swirling black vortex sprang from the ground.
“Aedrius...find them…” Kimura managed to spit out. Aedrius lifted his head for a moment, seeing the vortex conjuring a location. The image of Midian Temple was ever present in the portal’s mirror. Aedrius pulled at his chains with no avail. He felt that his strength was being held in place.
Serict looked back at Aedrius and spoke out. "How's your chest doing? You seemed to heal up nicely..." Aedrius imagined back on the top of Stoneholt.
It all made sense to him now.
***
Serict walked through this strange creation with the lone paladin and they appeared at the base of the staircase of Midian. Serict threw Kimura hard against the ground. Blood seeped from Kimura’s stomach and legs and the paladin realized he couldn’t move his lower half. He was scared.
“I have to send a message to your followers.” Said Serict, as he bent down and looked at Kimura with cold eyes. The all black attire matched the now younger Serict’s hair. Half of his face was covered by his long hair and Kimura could only stare back at him as he turned his attention to the temple. He couldn’t stop Serict. The monks were now the next to face whatever monstrosity, Serict had become.
Kimura drug his body up the stairway. He continued to wonder why no one had come to welcome him back to Midian. Not a single guardian, protector nor student of the temple was around. He felt his body growing colder each as each moment passed. Words couldn't escape his throat. He tried harder and harder to call out for Lin to aid him. He needed someone, anyone to help him. Kimura groaned as he couldn't feel his legs. The image of a protector approaching Kimura made his worry begin to lighten. His vision began to blur.
Kimura raised his hand up towards the figure approaching him, until the figure fell beside him. Kimura tried to focus his sight, seeing Lin Kin's blank stare at his face. He tried to gasp. Nothing happened. Kimura wondered if his mind played tricks from the blood loss.
"You are a failure, Kimura. You couldn't even kill the Char when they left you the chance. Perhaps I can right your wrongs." Said Serict. Kimura continued to look at Lin’s empty eyes staring the paladin in the face.
Kimura's eyes became heavy. He let his hand fall to the warm stone stairway. He gave in to the blood loss and began to sleep. Kimura's body fell limp and the paladin would never again awake. The final images of the Paladine rising out of hiding, the Char being vanquished and Aedrius standing with him flashed violently through his mind. It was at that moment that Kimura died.
Above his lifeless body, the cloaked figure of Serict knelt down. Kimura's body had laid out on his stomach before giving in to his wounds.
"One final order of business, paladin. You have something that still resides in you, a property of the soul that yet belongs to me. I had to wait three years to get it." The Light that once illuminated Kimura's body seemed to be siphoned by Serict's hand and then in an instant, it stopped. Kimura's blood continued to flow out slowly from his corpse, draining down the steps where he first met Lin Kin.
Serict returned his hood to cover his head and looked at his handiwork. The protectors of the temple, while disciplined monks, fell like so many did to this new power. Lin's body had fallen only a few feet from where he had defended in his last stand. Serict said nothing, as the silence of the forest he once remembered in his trek to Worren, now matched the temple of Midian. He raised from Kimura's body and waved his hand to his direct right. The same swirling vortex that brought him miles and miles across the massive land of Ethra, appeared before him. He stepped into it and turned his head a final time, whispering at a ghost.
"I'll finish what you failed."
The vortex faded along with its maker. A breeze stroked Kimura's dirty long hair, bringing with it the familiar signs, of a storm. The heavens above began to cry on the body of the lost paladin.
Chapter 10- The Truth is learned
Asa woke beside a sleeping and rather unclothed Kilo. Whether it was the elven wine that brought them here, or their confessions, Asa didn't care. He was happily beside the woman he cared most about. They knew the moment couldn't last, as they had to leave to Midian as the sun rose. Asa continued to stare at a sleeping Kilo.
"Nothing can ruin this. Those eyes of hers will always enchant me." He thought to himself.
He reached out for her, feeling her warm breath on his palm, as her mind wandered in the deepest of sleep. Embracing the silver haired woman, he knew this felt right.
***
Talus grunted, feeling the stab of a blade that was no longer present. He had slumped his small body against the wall, right across from the still-hanging Aedrius. "This is gonna hurt like trying to catch a scared boar." In his pocket, a few runes had remained, with others scattered along the completely carved floor. He rummaged with his right hand, while his left hand held in what he assumed, his guts. The dwarf threw every rune that didn't meet his need to the ground. First a few red ones, a black one, the key to the gates that allowed them passage into Imrosyn, and finally his last stone, a green-leaf was engraved on either side of its surface. The small stone looked more like a moldy biscuit than an object of mystical power, but he tossed it, not like the other stones. This was thrown right in front of Aedrius and im
mediately, the chains holding the former-paladin went limp and broke apart.
"If you can move, help me. We got two scouts that are watching the tunnel." Talus said through several coughs. "I need to get to the Ela’syn, however I can." Talus began to feel light-headed. He saw the slender and half-starved figure of Aedrius make his way over to Talus. The dwarf fell in and out of consciousness and began to struggle to stay awake, just as a child would defiantly stay awake, until finally giving into the welcoming embrace of sleep.
"Got a name?" Aedrius asked, as he could barely carry the dwarf. Talus could feel Aedrius's feet struggling. Before Talus could answer, Aedrius corrected himself. "In fact, keep it to yourself until we find help. Where are these scouts?" Talus pointed towards the entrance, going the opposite of where Kimura and Talus had begun. This circular floor of cells would just go round, meaning the entrance to the tunnel was that much closer.
"Go that way...tunnel...find Mal'ka...get medicine." Talus said coughing violently. The dwarf was in terrible condition. Possibly less from the man that was carrying him. "I sense a darkness about you, Aedrius. Your brother made this quest, hoping he’d find your lost friends from that battle that happened in Vathra. He had little hope he’d find you. But I feel that you’re not like him…” Talus coughed blood onto Aedrius’s shoulder and back.
“He came here for me?” Asked Aedrius.
“…and made every effort to do it alone. What was that man’s power? What happened?” Asked Talus.
"We both probably thought one another were dead. I can’t begin to tell you how relieved I was to see him.” Aedrius said. “There is so much in motion right now. Focus on staying alive.” Aedrius dropped Talus near the entrance, the dwarf and Aedrius both grunted. Mal’ka approached both, gasping at the state that Talus was in. She placed her bow on her back and helped Talus up.
“Where is Kimura, and who are you?” She stared at Aedrius, half expecting the similarly dressed paladin to appear from the doorway at any moment. The half-starved man could barely get up. He rose himself on his hands and knees, near Talus. His clothing appeared tattered. It was a simple white shirt and dark pants that look as though they’d never been washed. To the elf’s eyes, he faintly reminded her of Kimura. “No, it can’t mean that Kimura was right to come find you here?”
“What brought him to this hellhole?” Aedrius asked weakly. Mal’ka pulled a flask from a pouch she’d been carrying. A salve was poured from it right on to Talus’s gaping wound. The sight of green bubbling and whatever had been in the vial, was now adapting itself to Talus’s insides. The dwarf cried out in pain as he felt the effects of this strange healing tonic. He cursed in a tongue that neither Aedrius nor Mal’ka could translate.
“It was a man by the name of Serict. Kimura believed you were still alive, after so many years…” Mal’ka’s voice trailed off. She couldn’t understand her confusion by Aedrius’s presence. His shadow acted as though it were a living being. It moved about him as his hungry-looking eyes tried to keep contact with the elf. She reached back into her bag and threw what seemed to be a small bit of bread to Aedrius, who instinctively caught it. He had not a second thought to devour the food and felt as though his life returned to him. He wanted to summon the Light to imbue down the dark tunnel, as neither of the three could see very well. Only the glow from the hallway gave them any insight to the appearance of the person they were speaking to. Aedrius stood, slightly renewed and approached Mal’ka. She was not immediately trusting of Aedrius. “Where you stand is fine. Where is Kimura?” She asked again, concernedly looking at the man.
“He’s been taken by the man you just mentioned. This entire place was a trap for the Paladine. I don’t know how I ended up here. My mind has been…gone. It was just when I finally heard my brother’s voice that I could recollect myself.” Said Aedrius. “I can get us out of here fast if you can trust me long enough to do it. We might be able to save him.”
“What are you wanting to do, exactly? Talus can’t be moved and my sister is at the end of the tunnel, we’re in a terrible situation.” Said Mal’ka. Talus seemed to no longer be at the end of his life. His breathing was still raspy and he seemed to have passed out from the pain. The dwarf rested on Mal’ka’s lap while she thought of what to do.
“We can move with the shadows. I know… it sounds crazy, but I can see all the way down to the elf at the end of the tunnel. She looks like you, doesn’t she?” Said Aedrius. His tired eyes started off into the distance of the tunnel. Shaeth seemed to be sparring with herself, throwing daggers into the ground and generally filling her boredom. Mal’ka wanted to believe it was a trick, but she nodded ever so slowly. “Take my hand, it’ll feel odd, like being carried...on a fast cloud." Mal'ka was hesitant at first. From the looks of it, Aedrius was too weak to cause her any threat, but as with many potential enemies, looks were always deceiving. She reached out for his dirty hand and in an instant, the three were flying. The sensation was as if she was pushed off the edge of a ridge and was falling to her death. She could not feel Talus, only the weak grip of Aedrius as they were being dragged by this mysterious power. She was blinded, not from any wounds, but the complete darkness that enveloped the old dwarven tunnel.
Mal'ka felt sick. She landed just outside the tunnel's outer entrance into a mound of grass. Her confusion left within moments as she looked around, she sat up and saw Shaeth running over to her. Mal'ka had been thrown nearly the length of three men from where the entrance of the doorway. Aedrius had fallen just at the very edge of the shadows of the tunnel. As Aedrius tried to stand, with slightly renewed vigor, he noticed that Talus had now been resting against right side of the tunnel. His hair covered his face and his right arm covered his green-goo covered stomach.
"Mal'ka! MAL'KA!" Shaeth cried out. Shaeth's twin sister groaned as she felt as though she'd been thrown about like a rag doll that was discarded from a bored child's interest. She slowly stood up and in a daze and made her way directly behind Shaeth, back to Aedrius and Talus. "Mal'ka, we need to get you back to the city, I'm going to see where Kimura is." Mal'ka waved Shaeth off behind her and slowly stood straight, stretching her back.
"Kimura is gone. This is the man he was after, his brother Aedrius." Mal'ka stated. "We need to get back to Ela'syn city together now. We'll do what we can for Kimura when we get the King's approval." Shaeth didn't immediately understand what Mal'ka had meant. But through the odd series of events, and seeing her twin being pushed out of a tunnel in the manner she had been, Shaeth was poised to listen. With those words, Aedrius struggled over to Talus and helped the unconscious dwarf's body off of the ground. He pulled the muscular right arm of Talus's over his shoulder. The elves, watching Aedrius, motioned for him to follow.
***
Asa rose from his sleep in an instant. The sun blasted him in the face as the trees were parted from the source of light in such a way, that Milla's room became illuminated in the morning's brightness. He was no longer lying beside Kilo, as the two had awoken nearly at the same moment. Half naked, she sat in the makeshift pallet that Milla had most likely made for them before they'd passed out in a drunken stupor. Asa's mind was racing, partially still realizing the wonderful night the two had spent together. His eyes were fixated in her unusual skin color. She was as gray as stone, yet her skin was softer than a pillow. Her hair covered most of her face, being a lighter shade of her skin. They could each feel the sensation of what seemed to be a body part being lopped off. It left Kilo speechless.
The silence had been broken by Milla, who was asleep on her small bed. Her snores were loud and forced Asa to stand, rummaging through the small home for his and Kilo's clothing. She was unaware of the sense that the two paladins had and still enveloped in the dreams that only sleep provided.
They dressed in silence, still suffering from the headaches that an ocean's amount of alcohol required. Kilo's beautiful figure dressed in the clothing they'd worn the previous night. She was red faced with Asa. They wanted to speak, but fear
ed what the other would say. It was Milla's continuous snoring and less than lady-like features that filled the room with any sound at all. Asa made for the door, waiting as he looked out at the sun, his head pounding and hung over. Kilo reached out for him and hugged him from behind. They understood what happened.
"It was Kimura. He's either dead...or someone else." Said Asa, unsure of what caused their sense to kick in. Kilo nodded on his back, nuzzling her chin against his spine. "Let's go meet with the others. I'm sure they’ll know too."
Kilo stretched out and jumped in front of Asa, landing hard on the grass below Milla's home. Asa, although concerned at first, made his leap, landing less gracefully and right on his rear end. Kilo helped him up with a hard yank of her right hand met with his. In the distance, they could hear what sounded like Lizoke calling out to them. Asa and Kilo ran towards her and the three met, slightly winded, only about a hundred yards from the royal stairway. Out of breath, Lizoke tried speaking, but she dropped to her knees. She held her arms, wrapping underneath her bust and shook violently.
"Did you feel it?" Lizoke finally asked, almost crying. Kilo knelt down to her best friend. She pulled Lizoke close and hugged her. Kilo shook her head, not really understanding if this was real or not. Kilo brought Lizoke's tear-ridden face up and tried to calm the delicate woman’s emotions down.
"We all felt it. What's important now is finding the others and then Kimura." Kilo turned her attention back to Asa. He seemed to be lost in thought, very much like Kimura had tended to be. A wave of cold air came over him, making his skin run with goosebumps. Kilo tapped his knee and pointed over to Cray, Angaea and Jaya. The three made seemed to come to the same conclusion of the odd feelings the paladins were not engrossed in. Cray approached, quickly followed by the others. Cray placed a hand on his cousin's shoulder. She turned and then moved from hugging Kilo to Cray, surprising the two. Cray looked around, then at Asa.
