The night was damp and dreary in Lut Gholein. The cold air rose from
the cobblestone street and through Atmas' slippers. An icy breeze
meandering through the alley stirred her purple robes. As she turned to go
back into her bar, she noticed a man out of the corner of her eye coming
towards her. The air seemed to bend around him, making him grow darker as
he drew closer. Startled and frightened, Atma didn't realize what she had
run into before it was too late. The putrid stench of rotting flesh filled
her lungs as an arm seized her by her shoulder. Her eyes opened as wide as
they could go, staring Death in its hollow sockets. The decaying rags
hanging off of the undead creature swayed gently with the breeze but it
never moved. Atma opened her mouth to scream but fear clenched her throat.
Remembering the first being she had seen, Atma writhed with despair and
tried to howl. With every breath she drew, still no sound parted from her
lips. Despite all of her efforts, only silence prevailed. With the
silence, hope died. The presence of the man of shadows at her back was the
same as last time. Mephisto... the Lord of Hatred. With a sigh, Atma cast
her eyes towards the ground and relinquished all hope of being heard. A
slight noise in the background caught her attention. A small bright light
in the center of the corpse exploded into sunlight, blinding her for the
moment. She instinctively flinched; little did she know her life depended
on it. Opening her eyes, she greeted a foot of steel with a fear that
chilled her bones. The walking dead crumpled to the ground and brought her
with it. A masculine voice boomed from the back of the room, "Coward, face
me! Leave the woman!" A tall, extremely broad man wrapped in thin mesh
armor stood at the back of the room. Atma could see the bright whites of
his eyes focused intently on the Demon standing above her.
That voice... the words ran cold through Atmas mind. "NO! Geglash, RUN! You don't stand a chance. Please. If not for yourself, than for me..."
Geglash hefted his spear and dropped his head. "Atma, I can't just..."
"NO!" she replied, "You know you don't stand a chance. Now, leave! Seek the man Cain, he will tell you..."
The Lord of Hatred spoke with a voice that filled the minds of the two with pressure and pain,
"FOOL MAN. YOU DARE DEFY ME? HA... SO BE IT."
The shadow surround the Demon convulsed and grew. Mephistos eyes burned with the mirth of a thousand damned soldiers. Geglash looked up, shocked, as the monster grew. He stared Mephisto in his eyes once again.
Atma crouched under the shadow of death that now filled the doorway and reached to the ceiling. Run Geglash, run...
The last thing she saw was a bright light encompassing the back half of the room, erupting into a violent spray of timber and flames.
Drognan woke startled by what sounded like a hundred smithies striking their anvils at the same time. Wrapping his cloak around him, he sprinted outside of his hut and right into what appeared to be the mouth of Hell. Atmas' bar, the remnants at least, lay in a smoldering heap straight across from his own house.
"Atma! Atma! Are you there!?"
Please... he thought Oh dear God no. He can't be back. Tal Rasha saw to that nearly a decade ago.
He ran to the back where Geglash had stayed that night. The cold desert air blew the smoke up and out of the city walls. Wishing he had more than slippers and a thin cloak, he picked his way over splintered chairs and tables to the side quarters. The door to the room lay on the ground and the inside was, for the most part, in tact, but there was nobody within. Turning out of the room to take in the scale of the damage, he noticed a slight movement beneath a few of the boards. Running over to them, Drognan bent down and lifted the splintered remains of a thick rafter from Geglashs' battered body. Hoping that he could walk was fruitless, so Drognan lifted him on his back and carried him to his place. The one room hut provided no light and little warmth, but it was better than outside. Drognans breath misted the air as he mixed vials of medicines to treat Geglashs' wounds.
Minutes turned into hours and before Geglashs breathing had steadied, daylight had broke, the sun once again bringing all of the warmth it could muster. Several of the mercenaries under Greiz had showed to begin clearing the rubble, under order of King Jerhyn, no doubt. They knew nothing more than that Atmas bar had burned, and as long as they got paid, could care less why.
Geglash opened his eyes letting the sunlight flood into his mind and try to cleanse it. There was a piercing pain in his ribs that kept him from tossing side to side, and kept him from rolling over to see the rest of the room he was in. He could sit up, but the instant he tried, the memory of what had happened promptly left him on his back again.
"Atma..."
The word caused bile to rise in his throat. How could he have let the Demon take her? He had to get her back.
"Where am I? Arrrggghhhh.... It doesn't matter. I must find her."
"Hold there, Geglash. You know as well as I you're in no shape to do anything."
"Drognan? No, I can't wait. Atma needs me, I must go to her."
"Geglash, you are physically incapable of going anywhere or doing anything, and don't worry about Atma, she wasn't there when the building collapsed."
Geglashs' eyes closed as he heaved a sigh of relief. So he hasn't killed her.
1 Oh Atma… If only I had been stronger. Wait… "Drognan, have you heard of a man by the name of Cain?"
"Eh? Cain? Can't say that I have. You may want to ask the traveler Warriv. He stays at Elzixs inn at night, but he normally stays at the southern part of town, telling stories to King Jerhyn."
"Thank you, Drognan. I must go speak to him immediately."
"No. Heed what I say, I'm not here for my health, headstrong warrior. You must stay in bed, least 'til the next 'morrow comes."
"Heh, you always were the doctoring kind, even though you would never admit it. Aye, that I will do. But you must tell this Warriv to wait for me and not leave town until I speak to him tomorrow."
"Alright, friend. Now sleep. If you are going to do anything anytime soon, you must first rest. I have a few questions of my own for you, but not now. Sleep well, Geglash."
That voice... the words ran cold through Atmas mind. "NO! Geglash, RUN! You don't stand a chance. Please. If not for yourself, than for me..."
Geglash hefted his spear and dropped his head. "Atma, I can't just..."
"NO!" she replied, "You know you don't stand a chance. Now, leave! Seek the man Cain, he will tell you..."
The Lord of Hatred spoke with a voice that filled the minds of the two with pressure and pain,
"FOOL MAN. YOU DARE DEFY ME? HA... SO BE IT."
The shadow surround the Demon convulsed and grew. Mephistos eyes burned with the mirth of a thousand damned soldiers. Geglash looked up, shocked, as the monster grew. He stared Mephisto in his eyes once again.
Atma crouched under the shadow of death that now filled the doorway and reached to the ceiling. Run Geglash, run...
The last thing she saw was a bright light encompassing the back half of the room, erupting into a violent spray of timber and flames.
Drognan woke startled by what sounded like a hundred smithies striking their anvils at the same time. Wrapping his cloak around him, he sprinted outside of his hut and right into what appeared to be the mouth of Hell. Atmas' bar, the remnants at least, lay in a smoldering heap straight across from his own house.
"Atma! Atma! Are you there!?"
Please... he thought Oh dear God no. He can't be back. Tal Rasha saw to that nearly a decade ago.
He ran to the back where Geglash had stayed that night. The cold desert air blew the smoke up and out of the city walls. Wishing he had more than slippers and a thin cloak, he picked his way over splintered chairs and tables to the side quarters. The door to the room lay on the ground and the inside was, for the most part, in tact, but there was nobody within. Turning out of the room to take in the scale of the damage, he noticed a slight movement beneath a few of the boards. Running over to them, Drognan bent down and lifted the splintered remains of a thick rafter from Geglashs' battered body. Hoping that he could walk was fruitless, so Drognan lifted him on his back and carried him to his place. The one room hut provided no light and little warmth, but it was better than outside. Drognans breath misted the air as he mixed vials of medicines to treat Geglashs' wounds.
Minutes turned into hours and before Geglashs breathing had steadied, daylight had broke, the sun once again bringing all of the warmth it could muster. Several of the mercenaries under Greiz had showed to begin clearing the rubble, under order of King Jerhyn, no doubt. They knew nothing more than that Atmas bar had burned, and as long as they got paid, could care less why.
Geglash opened his eyes letting the sunlight flood into his mind and try to cleanse it. There was a piercing pain in his ribs that kept him from tossing side to side, and kept him from rolling over to see the rest of the room he was in. He could sit up, but the instant he tried, the memory of what had happened promptly left him on his back again.
"Atma..."
The word caused bile to rise in his throat. How could he have let the Demon take her? He had to get her back.
"Where am I? Arrrggghhhh.... It doesn't matter. I must find her."
"Hold there, Geglash. You know as well as I you're in no shape to do anything."
"Drognan? No, I can't wait. Atma needs me, I must go to her."
"Geglash, you are physically incapable of going anywhere or doing anything, and don't worry about Atma, she wasn't there when the building collapsed."
Geglashs' eyes closed as he heaved a sigh of relief. So he hasn't killed her.
1 Oh Atma… If only I had been stronger. Wait… "Drognan, have you heard of a man by the name of Cain?"
"Eh? Cain? Can't say that I have. You may want to ask the traveler Warriv. He stays at Elzixs inn at night, but he normally stays at the southern part of town, telling stories to King Jerhyn."
"Thank you, Drognan. I must go speak to him immediately."
"No. Heed what I say, I'm not here for my health, headstrong warrior. You must stay in bed, least 'til the next 'morrow comes."
"Heh, you always were the doctoring kind, even though you would never admit it. Aye, that I will do. But you must tell this Warriv to wait for me and not leave town until I speak to him tomorrow."
"Alright, friend. Now sleep. If you are going to do anything anytime soon, you must first rest. I have a few questions of my own for you, but not now. Sleep well, Geglash."