Death Or Fortune

by James Chesney

  "Why am I going back to the city? I thought I would stay here with Jasmin." Pare asked

  "You know the city better than I do, you know how to find things I do not and you know people. They might not want to listen to or even help you but they will listen to me." The way Windfall spoke in a matter of fact tone Pare figured asking any more questions would be pointless. Resigned to the fact that he would be back on the road again he ate his breakfast quietly, only pausing to glance at his female friend. She was taking the entire thing so well, as if she had no fear of what was to come or what could be coming. It was then that he saw her fork, shaking ever so slightly as she was putting the food in her mouth. No, he said to no one at all, she is scared and is just keeping it hidden. Just before he got up from the table he reached over to her leg and gave it a little squeeze, smiling when she looked over to him. With that he returned to his room and started to collect his gear.

  Before long the little halfling was into his armor, weapons at the ready and headed out the door. He found Windfall waiting for him with a pair of horses. Without a single word they mounted up and headed back towards the capital city. The ride back to town was a silent one and the half elf seemed to be watching everything except for where he was going. As they arrived back in town the boredom Pare had started to feel went away. Windfall wasn't one for small talk and Pare was very close to pulling his hair out for lack of anything else to do along the way. Pare followed Windfall through the city, wondering why he had to come after all. He seemed to know just where he was going. As they passed by Darmot’s house in the Lords district Pare wished he could go inside and check his traps one more time. When they could see the wall outside of the kings castle Pare asked just where they were going.

  "First, we are going to see Captain Turk. He is the leader of the king’s guard and they are responsible for the Lords district. You do not rise to that position without knowing something of the underbelly of the city. Also, I want to get his permission to act here. Once I am given his blessing I will go to see the commander of the city watch, Captain Myers. I've spoken with him once but I want him to know that I did get full sanction from Turk, as he suggested. Once that is done we will head to an inn, get something to eat and once it is dark, the real fun starts." Windfall gave the halfling a large smile, it send chills down his spine.

  "What do you mean by real fun?" he asked with a bit of a hitch in his voice.

  "You are going to show me where the thieves’ guild is hiding this week. You are going to request an audience with the guild master. Once we are inside I will start cutting deals with him. See if I can pay for any information that will lead us to the one who wants Lady Kromwell's head. It will cost me a great deal, very great but if he can point us in the right direction it will be worth it."

  "I can't do that! I will get black listed, I may not be a working stiff any more but I can't betray the guild!" Pare was in a panic, his face went from a pale white to a sickly shade of green.

  "No, you will do just what I said little thief." The friendly tone in his voice went away along with the smile on his face. "Darmot, my friend and yours, is in danger of losing his wife. Who is also your friend and I will not hear 'I can't' from you. If you are not helping me, you are in my way."

  "You are right Windfall, I am sorry. I would die if anything happened to her. I will do whatever you ask of me." The two had come to a stop in the middle of the street. Windfall seeming to have said all he had to say on the subject just stared at the little halfling. Pare only stared back at him, kicking himself for not thinking things through. He didn't owe the thieves’ guild a single thing. Where he did owe Darmot his life, a time or two over. Now he had upset the one person who was there to help. He shook his head for being so stupid, gave the half elf a faint smile and kicked his mount. He knew the way to Captain Turk’s office, he had been there a hundred times. Yet even from behind, he could feel Windfall's eyes on his back. It was that or his guilt eating him up.

  Outside of Captain Turk’s office Pare jumped from the back of his mount and headed straight for the door. If not for the guard who stopped him he would have walked right in. "Hey, what are you doing? Let me go, I am here to see my buddy Turk. You know who I am."

  "The Captain is not seeing visitors, do you have an appointment?" the guard asked him all the while keeping his eyes locked onto the large half elf.

  "An appointment? Did I need an appointment to win the war? Did I need an appointment to kill the evil wizard that was planning on killing the city? Did I need an appointment to kill a red dragon that was eating lumber jacks up in the hills? Did I need an appointment to save the Kings life when he was attacked, in his own hall while we were eating dinner?" By this point Pare was screaming out his questions to all that could hear him. Including a slightly amused Captain behind the door who could be heard laughing, shouting for the guards to let the halfling in. The guard opened the door and stood aside while the ranting halfling walked in. "Geesh Turk, I go away for a couple months and everyone forgets what I did for you guys." Once the door closed behind the half elf, the ranting stopped. "Captain Turk, I would like to introduce you to a friend of mine, Windfall."

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  "No one ever told me being Bishop meant I was going to spend all my time doing paper work" Hans said to no one at all. While the idea of spending his remaining days hunched over his desk reading scroll after scroll wasn't his idea of doing the good gods work. "Yet it must be done, no one else will do it." he remind himself. While the work he did as the new bishop kept him busy, he felt as though something was missing. "Let's face it, there are no heads to bash that will solve the temples problems. It has suffered wounds that I cannot heal. Only time and hard work can do that. Not that I mind hard work, anything to take my mind off being stuck here while my friends are in mortal danger." Hans mind slipped back to his small bedroom and the items he had stored away there. His armor and weapons were now retired, much like he was. "That is unless the temple is attacked." As his mind started turning to trying to budget in fortifications on the temple grounds a knock came at the door, removing that thought from his mind all together. With an exasperated sigh he told whoever it was to come in.

  "I am sorry Bishop, something has happened in the lower vaults. I think you should come see this." Hans could see the young man looking around the room. Looking for who the Bishop could have been talking to. Hans was often found talking to himself. There were rumors in the temple of a hidden spirit that he spoke with or perhaps he held private chats with the god. Not a single one of them assumed or would even dare to imagine that he was only speaking to himself.

  "What is the problem? Is anyone hurt?" he asked, thankful for the distraction from his paperwork.

  "No Bishop, nothing like that at all. Some of the boys were playing down there and well, you had best come see this for yourself." Hans nodded to the young man and pointed out the door as he started to walk. He followed the young man down into the lower levels of the temple. Remnants of what was here before, before the fall of the order of Solarth. Perhaps they were even hundreds of years old. There was a storage room for any goods the temple needed, off this room was a single door that led to the crypt were clerics of days past were laid to rest. Now Hans could see part of a second door, one that had been covered with mortar.

  "The boys were horsing around down here and they crashed into the wall. You can see the part that came lose. I was an accident, I am sorry this is all my fault. I should have sent them outside instead of letting them play down here." Hans could only wave his hand at the young man, looking at the hole where there was once part of a wall. He walked forward and put his hand against the exposed wood, it was cold to the touch, very cold.

  "We need to get you out of here, right now. I want you to guard the entrance from upstairs. Allow no one other than myself to enter, go now." Hans followed the young man up the stairs and closed the door to the lower levels behind him. "You will guard this door with your very li
fe, do you understand me? The lives of everyone in this temple could be in danger." With eyes as big as the moon the young man could only nod his head. Hans then went to his private room. Thinking only to himself as he walked, he knew he was the only one that could deal with this. He knew he was the only one prepared for something like this. "I still pray to you every day as if I am walking into battle, do not let me down now, not here." Hans stood before his wardrobe with his hands on the doors. As he opened the doors he saw it there, just as he had left it. His armor was on its stand, polished and gleaming. Next to it, standing on its head was his hammer. Removing his pristine white robes Hans reached inside and once again prepared to do battle in the name of Solarth.

  The young man could hear the bishop before he could see him. Shield and weapon in his hands the bishop came to stand in front of the young man, he could see the plate armor under the robes now. "Do not allow any one down these stairs until I return, if I am not back by night fall take everyone out of the temple. Everyone, leave no soul behind. Once you have done that send for the city watch, tell them to summon help to deal with the undead in our vaults. Do you understand me?"

  "Yes Bishop, I understand." Hans had his doubts about the young man but he hoped that he was wrong. That he was worried for nothing and that this would all be fine. Yet he could not shake the feeling that this was a sign, a sign of bad things to come. As he stood in front of the hole in the wall, looking at the hidden door he couldn't help but wonder if he shouldn't just cover it back up, hide it away again.

  "No, there is a reason for this. A reason this happened now, I will not question it. The god has placed me on my path and this is where it has led me. To this hidden door in the basement of the temple I am sworn to protect. Solarth wanted me to find this, if he had to use a pair of children to do so I must not question it." Lacking the tools to remove the rest of the wall Hans did the first thing that came to his mind, he hit it with his hammer. With each blow, bits of the wall broke away and fell at his feet. Soon he could see the whole door and etched deep into the wood was the figure of a silver dragon. Below that was a round cut in the door, as if something was missing. "Or it is where the key is used to open the door but what key, where would I find a key like that." Hans hung his hammer back into the loop on his belt and started to think. He then reached inside his robe and pulled out the first thing that came to mind while looking at the rounded depression. "The medallion of Solarth, it has to be." he said to himself as he placed it into the hole.

  Hans watched in horror as it appeared the door was trying to eat his medallion. As if the wood was growing over it. With shaking hands he tried to remove it only to find it suck fast. It was then that he saw the faint blue light at the side of the door, the door that was now open and moving under its own power. Pulling his hammer out, Hans stood and watched as the door opened completely. A rush of air came out of the opening, instead of the smell of death Hans was reminded of something else. The door opened to a long haul way, at the other end of the hall Hans could see a blue light coming from the room at the end. Shield held high, weapon in hand Hans started marching towards the room with the blue light. Stopping only for a moment to see if he could remove his medallion from the door, it was still stuck there.

  As he moved down the hall he expected to feel half a dozen things, dread being chief among them. Yet he did not, instead he felt comfort and a cool breeze on his face. As he entered the scroll room, he then knew what it was that he could smell. The smell of old papers and books filled the air. Hundreds if not thousands of scrolls lined the shelves of the walls, alongside those were book after book. At the far end of the room was a bench, when Hans saw the figure sitting there he nearly lost his mind. He thought about calling out a challenge yet the words would not leave his mouth. As soon as the figure stood up Hans could clearly see the elven face, sad and care worn.

  "Who are you that disturbs my rest? Answer now or I will be forced to act."

  "I am Hans of North Hembers, Cleric of Solarth, Bishop of this temple. Who are you, friend or fiend?" Hans asked the question but did not feel any evil from this person.

  "I have been here for one hundred and seven years. Since The Fall when Asmodai had his followers attack the order from the inside. Destroying our order, burning our temples, killing the faith of not only our followers but killing us to nearly a man. I sense no evil in you, I sense that your words are the truth. You are a cleric of Solarth, you are Bishop of this temple. Why are you just now coming to me, why are you just now here?"

  "To be truthful, no one knew you were here." Hans said with a bit of amazement in his voice.

  "I have been here, standing guard over the collective teachings of Solarth. In this room is a complete record of the order from the foundation to The Fall. I have been the guardian of all our teachings and now I entrust you, Hans of North Hembers, Cleric of Solarth, Bishop of this temple with the entire knowledge of our order. I now stand down. Stand proud and receive all that the good god has to offer you."

  "What do you mean? All of this? The scrolls and books, I am a simple but dedicated priest. What am I supposed to do with all of this?"

  "Share this with those who are true to our order. There are dark times ahead I fear. Otherwise I may still be alone in here. Solarth lead you to me Hans of North Hembers. He has done this so you may find the answers you are looking for, to help prevent the trouble you are about to face. As you stand before me, I also know that he sent you to me to grant me rest.” The elven figure then began to walk forward, towards Hans. His hands opening against his own will, his weapon and shield crashed to the floor. "I name you Guardian Hans of North Hembers, long life I grant to you until a guardian is needed no more or another is found." The elven figure reached up and placed his hands on the face of Hans. He could feel the elven fingers on his flesh, cold and dry, forcing his mouth open. He was helpless to fight it. Hans watched as a blue mist drained from the elven figures mouth and felt a rush of warmth as it entered his own.

  "What in the nine hells was that?" Hans asked as the elven figure stepped away.

  "It is the essence of the guardian. It will ensure that you live long enough to find the next guardian. I will now leave you to your duties and rejoin Solarth. Beware of the followers of Asmodai. What came to pass could come again."

  "What do you mean, live long enough to find the next guardian? Who is the next guardian?" Hans stood and watched as the elven guardian faded from view, with him the blue light in the room faded leaving him in complete darkness. With only the smell of dust covered scrolls and books to remind him that what had just happened was real. "I will not question the will of Solarth but this..." The sound of metal falling to stone made Hans stop mid thought. Looking back down the hall towards the door he saw a glowing object on the floor. Pausing only to pick up his shield and hammer he rushed towards it. It was his medallion of Solarth, yet it had changed. Where there was once the image of the sun there was now a silver dragon. He had seen one just like it before. It was like the one that belonged to his mentor and friend Zender.

  52. Barren

  The four of us were dropped from the ship in the early morning. My first impression of Toryth Vol was colored by the fact that the sun had not yet appeared in the sky. The ground was hard packed and there was no vegetation to speak of yet I could not see the vast wasteland for what it was until the sun was high in the sky. Zackary and I took point while the other two followed behind. During our first rest stop I made a comment to them about how we could see someone coming for miles away. That was when Zender told me I shouldn't worry about the ones who were miles away and to worry about the undead under our feet. 'We are going out of our way to avoid Caer Toryth but if we are seen, pray that we are not standing on a bone field. Xcavere will not take too kindly to seeing a cleric of Solarth in his lands. If we are seen he will send them after us just for daring to cross into his lands. Even if we are not near a bone field, he commands armies that do not need to sleep, eat or even rest. It will take us mo
re than a week to reach the foot hills that will lead us into the mountains where this White Spire is located. So pray Kromwell, just pray that things go our way.'

  As the day wore on and the sun continued to pound on us I wondered if my new companions were just a slight bit mad. More than a week on foot in the hot and barren land. That was just to arrive at our location or so we hoped. We had no idea that it would take just as much time to find the White Spire. I tried to get them to rest during the day and to travel at night. Zender would not hear of it. 'We are too close to him' he would say. 'I can feel his taint on me, eating into my skin. Corrupting my soul as he has ruined this land.' Days later he would describe it as hundreds of needles pressing into his flesh. That first day we walked from the time the ship dropped us off until well after the sun had fallen from the sky. I was ready to collapse and never get up again when Zender called for us to rest for the night. A light meal of dried rations and small bits of water was all that we had that night. The only light we needed was from the moon, not even I would dare to think of lighting a fire. That first night on watch I thought about the things Zender told me about Xcavere. Thinking about wither or not we had a right to stop Ramanthus from taking him on. Toryth Vol is a constant threat to the rest of the world. From time to time they will strike out at their neighbors, a not so gentle reminder of the fact that they have not gone away. The only thing that keeps them at bay is the fact that they are surrounded by forces that will pounce the moment they try to amass a valid attack on another land. The forces of good have the ability to deal with the army of undead once they are beyond the reach of their own borders. While the armies of the light cannot sustain a prolonged campaign into Toryth Vol. It is a stalemate as things stand today. I fear what could or would happen the moment something changed. Relations between Arcadia and Eystlund are not the greatest at times but if there was war with Toryth Vol, we would go to the others aid. If anything ever happened to change that, I doubt anyone I know would live very long with the sister kingdoms reunited under the banner of one nation, the banner of Xcavere.