Death Or Fortune

by James Chesney

  Once we had eaten more fish stew I asked Michaels where he had been. It was then that I saw the darkness, the pain in his eyes once more. 'I was sent on a mission by the head of my order. It seemed a simple task so I agreed, not that I would have told them no. In southern Westheath, the remains of a temple to our god Solarth had been found. A team of clerics were sent to explore the ruins with the intent to find some of the old writings. So many of the old text were lost, they thought this would be a good area to find something of them. When they failed to report their findings after a month I was sent to check on them. I arrived at the camp where the ruins were found. The tents were still there, everything they owned was there. As far as I could tell, nothing was missing. I thought that perhaps, there had been an accident in the ruins. So I found a torch or two and made my way down.'

  'After I lowered myself a good hundred feet down on a rope I stood in the main hall of the temple. The temple was in good shape for having what I assume was a mountain of earth dumped on top of it. Which is what it looked like from the inside, the walls were whole and outside of the fact that it was underground, it appeared normal. I could see some signs of the clerics who had been working but they had been gone for a while. I then began to explore the lower levels of the temple. It was when I found the tomb that I began to worry. I saw signs of a battle, blood on the floor and some of the walls were blackened from fire outside of the tomb door. I started to leave when I saw what I thought was a light coming from the tomb. While I did not want to enter at first, the light continued to grow brighter. I was drawn into the tomb by it and I am blessed to have gone in.'

  'There I stood in the blinding light, warmth flooding my body with the holy love of Solarth. Once my eyes adjusted to the light I could see a sarcophagus with the body of another holy warrior laid to rest on top. I could not read the writings on the side of the stone but when I saw him rise I knew something wonderful was about to happen. As the great warrior put his feet on the floor I fell to my knees and lowered my head to avert my eyes from his greatness. When he spoke, his voice came from every part of the tomb and filled my soul.'

  "Rise Paladin of Solarth for I will look on the face of a savior, rise and face me."

  'I did not move, I stayed where I was and told him that I was not worthy of his presence. When I felt his hand on me I felt all the gods love flow into me. It was then that I stood up and faced this great warrior. He did not speak but I looked deep into his eyes. It was then he showed me the evil that had happened outside of his tomb door. Minions of evil had come, each wore the symbol of Soranus. Among them was a wizard who commanded them all. They were able to capture the clerics and took them away. Five men and one woman, all of them were taken by these evil creatures. When my vision cleared and I could see again the holy warrior was back in his resting place. Where he stood was a sword, the one I carry now. He told me to take his weapon in order to battle the evil I must face. He then told me where I must go. High into the mountains in Toryth Vol, he said I would find a castle there, wrought from the stone of the hills.'

  'For many days I traveled to find this castle. If not for my faith, I would have been lost in those high peaks. I am ashamed to say I arrived too late to help the clerics who were taken. All of them were young, bright with a full life ahead of them. The wizard and the minions of Soranus did something to them my friend. He stripped them of their souls, corrupted them to their core and made them into unholy creatures of darkness. They still appear to be human but that is where it ends. This wizard was able to capture me when I tried to break in. Though they were unable to take my weapon from me, they could not touch it. So he had his minions lock me in a cell deep under the earth. One night the female cleric came to my cell. I thought she was there to free me. I could not see the evil inside of her. The young woman tried to seduce me with her flesh. It was then that I could feel it, the wave of hate and evil around her. I nearly did the unthinkable. I could feel the hate in me coming out just by standing next to her, the vile thoughts I was having. It was worse than any time before Hans and you pulled me out of my bottle. The wizard failed to understand the strength of my faith. Even if I failed my god at that moment. I drew my weapon and struck down the creature as I then saw her.'

  'She was not armed, she posed no threat to me yet I did it without thought of why. I fell to my knees and prayed at that moment for the god to forgive me. It was then that I got to my feet and made my escape. I was lost in the mountains for some time but the wizard sent people after me. I fell asleep one night and let them get too close to me. It was then that I saw her again. She was still alive, still out to bring me down. The other clerics were sent out into the world to help this wizard build an army. He seeks to dethrone Xcavere. I then fled back to the ruins in Westheath, to return the sword to its owner. As I sat there on my knees before him it was then that I knew that the god had not turned from me. Rather I had been blocked from hearing his voice while I was in that evil place. The god told me I must hunt down these five clerics and stop them. He told me that I must purify their flesh in order for them to be granted their final rest.'

  I did not see the other men come in the room, one in black robes while the other was in white. They stood there silent as could be and listened while Michaels told me his story. I sat and thought about the leader of the bandits, wondering if he could have been one of the clerics that Michaels was looking for. When I asked him if that is why he was in Klassen he only nodded his head yes. I looked him in the eye and told him about what happened with the bandits on the road and how to find the spot where it happened. I then told him if he found himself back in the capital that he should go see Hans at the temple for guidance. He offered me his hand one last time and said that he would be leaving right away. As he got up I asked him if he knew this wizards name who seeks to overthrow Xcavere. It was then that Lomark spoke. 'His name is Ramanthus and he once wore robes as white as Zender's. He sought a way to destroy evil, not seeing that he had become that which he sought to destroy.' I turned at the sound of his cool, even voice and saw them all there Lomark, Zender and Zackary. I stood and greeted them each in turn. All Zackary had to say was, order me some ale.

  I gave the big man a slap on his shoulder and told him I would be right back. I followed Michaels out the door. I thought I might be able to ask him along, to see if he would go back to that castle to help us fight this evil at the source. As we said our goodbye's I knew the answer already so I never asked him the question. I watched as he tightened the straps on his armor and started to jog down the rode out of town. I yelled at him to stop, asking him where his horse went. 'I lost him on the trip here. I managed to get a boat across that bay but a storm took my mount.' I told Michaels to follow me as I lead him to the stable. I took Emily out of her stall and put my saddle on her back. I told Michaels that she was a good horse and if anything happened, she would know the way home. I had a feeling that where I was going, she would only slow us down. 'Solarth bless you Lord Darmot Kromwell, bless you and your house.' he said to me at the top of his lungs as he rode away. I waved at him one last time. I would not see him again for a year. A year later we departed on our last adventure together. A year later we set out on the road that would lead to his death.

  47. Parting Orders

  The little halfling stood in the shadows, watching the men come and go. He knew that the person he was waiting for would be along soon. Part of him wanted to go inside, yet another part of him said that was the old Pare. Pare the thief, not Pare the war hero and all around good guy. He stood and thought for a moment about that, trying to pin point when he changed. He just shook his head as he could not afford to be distracted right at that moment. Cynthia would be along soon, he wanted to see her before she left town again. She told him where she would be but it was well past time for her to arrive. Perhaps she wanted to tempt the halfling back into his old life. Having her meet him outside the hidden thieves’ guild. Soon the scent of roses came to him and he knew that she was there.

&nb
sp; "I am sorry I am late my little friend, I had to finish packing for my trip. I doubt I will be back in Arcadia any time soon."

  "Why is that? Where are you going? Are you going after Darmot, Hetaron wants to kill him. It makes me sad, my friends wanting to kill each other. It is all my fault, I should have done something." Pare pressed the palms of his hands to his face, really believing he could have done something to change what had passed. He told himself that he still had Hans to pal around with but he was always locked away in his temple. Doing the work that needed to be done.

  "Listen, I have to tell you something. Someone took out a contract on Darmot's wife, Jasmin." The halfling was stunned.

  "What?" he shouted. "Who would want to hurt her? She has not done a single thing to anyone. She is the kindest woman alive next to my own mother, where ever she is. Tell me who wants to kill her?"

  "Some noble, word is out that Darmot is gone on some dangerous mission. Some do not expect him to make it back. If Jasmin is gone, there wouldn't be anyone who could hold his title. This noble believes that if the seat is vacant, he will be awarded it by the king."

  "You don’t know who it is do you? If you knew, I could do something about it. Captain Turk would help me or Hans. Hans wouldn't let anything happen to Jasmin."

  "I am sorry Pare, I don’t know. I have to go now. Lord Hetaron is expecting me. I will see you when I get back." A single tear rolled down the face of the halfling. He could not believe that everything had fallen apart for him so fast. All his friends were gone. One friend was hunting another and another was locked away from the world. Pare reached out to give his lady friend one last hug only to find that she had already gone. Pare cursed at the empty space and started to head home. It then dawned on him that all of his friends were gone, except for one. Jasmin was his friend and the wife of his best friend.

  "I am who I am because of Darmot. I can't let anyone hurt him like this while he is away. It is up to me to stop this." Convinced of this, Pare took off at a light jog. He had to get home to make sure everything was ok. Ducking and weaving past the few people on the streets he made his way back to the house. He stood looking at the home, guarded from the outside by a ten foot tall wall. 'Anyone could get over that' he thought to himself. He then opened the gate and walked inside. He looked around the darkness, thinking that he needed to do something about all of it. He then realized that he would need help so he went to see the one person who would not question him and had a good reason to help. He entered the front entrance and ran down one of the side halls to the servant’s quarters. Stopping at the first door he was about to start knocking when the door opened up.

  "Yes Pare, how can I help you?" asked Charles

  "Chuck, we have big problems and I need yer help. Someone wants to hurt Jasmin, I mean Lady Kromwell. Anyway, this person, who I don't know, thinks Darmot is going to die. They figure if Darmot is dead and Jasmin is dead they can just stroll in and take over. Which wouldn't' be good Chuck, not at all. So what are we gonna do? First I want to get some kind of lights around the house for night. Then we need to make the outside wall taller, maybe a dome. That would be kinda neat to have a house under a dome. We could start a new trend in building. Stone domes to protect your homes..." As the halfling continued to speak, Charles watched him pace back and forth in front of the door. The faster he spoke, the faster he walked. Charles knew the halfling meant well but he had no idea what the creature was talking about. He figured it was best to let him rant for a little while.

  "Very well Master Pare, we will get started on these things in the morning."

  "You promise?" he asked in a hopeful tone. Charles nodded his head yes and told him one last time that night, in the morning. Satisfied that Charles would keep his word he set out to inspect the house. He started in his room as he had to drop off some coin pouches in there as it was. Checking all the rooms on the second floor he found them empty. He was pleased with this until it dawned on him that Jasmin should have been in at least one of the rooms. Some annoying feeling crept into his chest as he started making his way back down to the ground floor. While he was in the kitchen he thought he could hear someone in the cellar below. Putting his hand over his dagger he quickly headed down that way.

  The cellar itself was one huge room. While there were various items stored down here in the cool air, Darmot had kept a large area cleared for his own use. Half way down the stairs he could hear Jasmin doing something. Once she was in view he came to a full stop. Dressed in bits of old armor Jasmin was attacking what could have been ghost with a sword in one hand and a small shield in the other. Pare watched her for some time thinking he had seen the dark steel blade before. It was Darmot's old sword; that he had bought from the crazy dwarf Boris. Pare watched her do the exercises that Darmot had started teaching her even before they left for Eystlund. He started to move closer, wondering if she could really fight a man with it. "It almost looks like you are dancing." he said to her as he came with in the light of the lanterns.

  "It is a dance." she said as she slid the sword into a scabbard that was hanging from a belt on her narrow hips. "Darmot once called it a dance of death. He would be upset with me if he found out I did not continue to practice while he was gone. He is a wonderful dancer." Jasmin let out a quiet sigh as she set down the shield and started to remove the armor she had on. She put a bracer to her face, smelling the leather lining. Her own scent had started to mix with her husband’s. It made her miss him all the more. Setting all the armor in a chest she then took the sword in hand. It would stay in her room that night and every night until her husband returned home.

  Pare tried a time or two to speak while watching Jasmin take her armor off. "What do you mean he is a wonderful dancer?"

  "Pare haven't you seen it, in the way he moves, the way he fights? There is no wasted motion. Fluid motion from once stance to the next, it is beautiful to watch him. I am not as good as he is but he tells me I am improving. I've even managed to strike him a time or two with the wooden blades."

  "Dancer?" The halfling asked again, lost in the mystery of his friend dancing. Jasmin laughed at the little halfling and tousled his hair as she started to make her way back upstairs. Pare stood there in the cellar as the lantern light started to fade away. He took a step or two and followed the wife of his friend. For a moment or two he thought of telling her what he had learned that day. Yet for some reason he could not bring himself to open his mouth. Not yet anyway, he had to be sure. Pare continued to follow Jasmin all the way to her bedroom. Her mind on other things she did not notice him walk in the room behind her. As she set the lantern down on a table she started to get ready to take a bath. She never saw Pare walk over to the large bedroom window. She never noticed him playing with the lock.

  "The trap will only hit someone outside the window it won't be a big deal if she opens it from in here."

  "What did you say Pare and why are you in here?"

  "Oh I put a trap on your window, can never be too careful. I am going to bed now as I have a big day ahead of me tomorrow. Don't open your window tonight. There are lots of bugs out, yea great big bugs." Before she could ask him why there was a trap on her window he ran out of the room and closed the door behind him. Jasmin did not mind how over protective the halfling was but he had an odd way about him at times. She would ask him to remove it the next day. For now she would just worry about a warm bath and getting some rest.

  --------------------------------

  "Be careful with that poison Mort. It will lock your body up like you were made of stone. You won't do me any good then."

  "I know what I am doing idiot you’re the one who forgot the rope Abe. There are six servants in that house. What were we going to tie them up with, huh? We are only getting paid for the woman. We will never get her out of the house if the servants are running around screaming their bloody heads off."

  "Why would we take her? I thought we were just gonna kill her?" Abe asked.

  "Have you seen that little ta
rt? Oh no, she might die later on but I am gonna have some fun with that one for as long as I can. Soon as that room up there goes dark we start the count. We give her an hour to get to sleep then we are heading in." The two thieves sat there in the dark watching the window. Never once seeing the eyes that were watching them. Even as they looked over at the spot where the eyes were now watching from, they saw nothing. All three sets of eyes watched the window as it went dark. Abe and Mort began their count, pulling out the gear they would need to get over the wall. Never seeing the large shape move out of the shadows. Never hearing a thing until he spoke.

  "I have some questions for you. Don't make this hard on yourselves." Both Abe and Mort turned to the sound of the deep voice, pulling out weapons as they looked. All they saw was the shadow of a man coming towards them. As it drew near Mort dove towards it, the point of his blade seeking the center of the shadow. He could feel as the tip of his blade was turned away by the armored man, he almost expected it. He was not expecting the rock hard grip to clamp down on his wrist. For one fleeting moment Mort thought of trying to pull away, trying to run but before the thought was fully formed a fist crashed into his face. Mort made no sound as his body fell to the ground below, no sound other than the crunch of his nose.

  "Who the hell are you?" Abe asked as he started to back away from the looming dark figure.

  "I'm the wind in the fields, I am the quiet before the storm, I am the shadow on the wall. Thank you for remembering the rope. I won't have to use my own tonight." It was then that Abe saw the illusion fall away from the man. Scale blue armor covered wide shoulders and a large chest. As the cloak was pushed back from the strangers face his long dark hair moved back just enough for Abe to the slightly pointed ear that fit the elven face he could not clearly see. "Come on Abe, don't make me hurt you." While Abe would never admit it to anyone else, at that moment he felt his blood run cold. He felt a heavy chill as his bladder let lose, soiling his new black leather pants. Dropping his weapon he turned to run, running for his life. He could hear the weapon behind him, parting the air just before the flat side of the blade smacked him in the head. Abe was only glad he did not get his face messed up like Mort. It was all he had time to think about before he passed out.