Chapter 11 - Old Rivals
"Ugh..." Natsuki groaned as she slowly came to. She was physically drained, and couldn't move a muscle, a side effect of the spell casted on her. Cracking her eyes open was all she could manage, and doing so Natsuki was greeted by a view of the cavern ceiling, shadows dancing delicately across the craggy expanse. As she became more and more aware a prickling sensation started to stab at her stomach. With every breath she took, it felt as if a thousand needles were piercing her gut. Though the halfling had, had worse, and merely shrugged the large bruise off as a minor inconvenience.
"Ahhh...so finally you wake, and just in time to see the revival as well." Natsuki heard the voice of the lead mage sneer somewhere off to her left. Natsuki tried to speak, however she found she wasn't able to. As if reading her thoughts the mage started to speak again, "Can't speak hmm?" He said with a chuckle, "By now I assume you already know who I am, my dear Natsuki, so I must say... I have amplified the spell a bit since our last encounter. Though I'm sure you already figured that one out as well, considering you succumbed so easily." The hooded head of the mage appeared in Natsuki's vision, and try as she might she was rooted to her position. Completely at the man's mercy.
"You know..." The man said protruding two silver, ruby encrusted daggers from each of his robe's sleeves, "I was quite disappointed when I didn't meet you in Kahruhn." At the mention of the name, Natsuki tensed slightly, "I've touched a nerve it seems..." He laughed before clearing his throat, "As I was saying... I thought maybe you had gone and died on me before I could have my revenge." He continued, kneeling beside Natsuki, "But now..." He let out a small chuckle, bringing the tiny blade in his right hand to hover over Natsuki's face, gently resting the edge between her eyes. Despite her condition, Natsuki remained calm, focusing on breaking the spell over her instead.
"Now, You seemingly drop right into my lap. I must be graced with the favor of the gods." Natsuki felt the blade across her face bite softly into her skin, a small flow of blood trickling down her cheek but she ignored the pain, staying focused. She could feel sensation returning to her extremities and with some concentration started to move her fingers.
"You have no idea how long I've waited for this moment!" The man hissed in seething anger, a stark contrast to his previous calm demeanor, raking the dagger quickly across Natsuki's face, cutting a large gash from her brow to her jaw. Natsuki grimaced, letting out a muffled cry, as blood flowed freely from the wound. The concentration she once had gone, she fell back into a paralyzed state.
The man above her crackled insanely, "You know...Red's a good color for you my dear." He said disappearing out of Natsuki's narrow line of sight, "Though you know..." The man said thoughtfully, "That's not nearly enough to satisfy me." Natsuki felt the flat end of one of his daggers slide across her throat and rest there.
"I know that Necra will want to see you alive and well... But, I'm sure she won't mind if your a little beat up, eh?" The mage let out another laugh, withdrawing the blade from his captive's throat. Natsuki let out a silent sight of relief, though it was short lived as a searing pain wracked her body from her right shoulder.
The man above her laughed as he sank one of his daggers into the soft flesh of Natsuki's shoulder. He slid it in up to the hilt, giving it a small twist when it was fully in, earning a cry from Natsuki. He smiled, "What a great sound." He sneered, "How does it feel my dear. To know that you are at my mercy." The man's hooded head appeared in Natsuki's already diminishing vision. The halfling knew that if she didn't do anything soon, she would bleed out long before she was brought to Necra. Neither were promising events to her.
"Though..." The mage mused, "I'm a fair man." He said laughing at his own joke, meanwhile stroking the non bloody side of Natsuki's face, "And while I do so love seeing that lovely face of yours twisted with pain. It just doesn't feel fulfilling enough." The mage said right before he slammed an open palm down hard into her gut, exactly where she had been hit earlier by the mage's staff. Causing an otherwise minor hit to cause the halfelf an excruciating amount of pain.
On reflex Natsuki sprang up, bringing her arms to cover her stomach, only causing her more pain from the dagger in her shoulder. Despite the new influx of pain, she stilled her tongue, not wanting to give her opponent any more satisfaction over her predicament, then he already had been given.
Not caring why she had been freed from her bondage, Natsuki set to curing her wounds. First she focused on the cut across her face, not bothering with spell words she healed the wound with a quick thought, not caring if it took more power from her than if she had casted the spell with an incantation. The effects were immediate, both the physical and mental effects of the wound were gone in an instant.. The gash on her face taken care of, Natsuki turned her sights to the silver dagger in her shoulder. She grimaced as she gripped the handle, even the slightest vibration sent waves of pain through her; Without hesitation, she slid the blade out quickly, and while the pain was unbearable, the halfling managed to keep quiet as she casted another healing spell on the wound.
After her wounds were taking care of Natsuki stood shakily; Turning to face the robed man in the process. Behind the mage was Nathiax, still in his eternal slumber. However Natsuki was dismayed to see that out of the ten binding crystals that imprisoned the great beast, only two remained, and the other mages were still working tirelessly on breaking the seal. To make matters worse as she stared at the beast, one of the crystals seemingly phased out of existence, leaving only one left keeping the monster at bay. She also noticed that beside her lay the still unconscious form of Shizuru. The princess looked unharmed, which brought some relief to the halfling, for reasons she could not put a finger on.
"Ah, Like our handy work?" The Mage in front of her spoke with glee, and bringing Natsuki out of her thoughts. He turned his back to the halfelf before he continued to talk, "It won't be long until we have freed his greatness, and when we do we will be unstoppable. The land will be plunged into total darkness, and there will be no army that can stop us, especially after you and your kinds actions after the last war." The man turned back to face Natsuki, "Though...that is someways away, I'd much rather be focusing on the here and now, don't you agree my dear?"
Natsuki responded to the mage's question by throwing the silver dagger in her hand with a quick flick of her wrist. The dagger sailed quickly through the air, however just as the blade was going to impale itself in the mage's head, he snatched the weapon out of the air with inhuman reflexes. He gave the blade a few quick twirls before it vanished in a small flash of light, "Tsk, tsk, tsk, It's not nice playing with other people's toys you know." The mage said with another laugh.
"How did you break free?" Natsuki demanded more than questioned.
"Hmmm..." The mage mused, his right hand disappearing under his hood, "That's my little secret" He answered simply, and with a laugh, "Plus, you should be worried more about yourself, instead of others." He said with a shrug, "I'm going to make sure you suffer for the pains you've caused me!" The mage yelled, and without warning, rushed Natsuki with lightening speed. As he closed the distance, identical scimitars of an onyx black appeared in his hands in a flash of black mist. One glowed a fierce green, while the other sparked with a neon purple. As he neared the halfling he arced both blades in a sideswiping motion in front of him. From the two swords two waves of energy shot out in long trails. The waves the respective colors from their respective sword.
Natsuki quickly erected a magic barrier in front of her. The two arcs of energy connected with the barrier and fizzled out. However the barrier didn't stop the entire length of the dual blasts, and the magic impacted with the rock face behind her. Where the green wave of energy hit, the rock was instantaneously melted into magma; Where the purple wave hit, the rock was decimated in a small explosion. Natsuki watched with sheer awe at the tremendous power of her opponents weapons.
However she quickly returned her thoughts to the battle, and just in time too. The mage had fully closed the distance between them, and was bringing his weapons slicing down at her. The halfling executed a quick sidestep, unsheathing the kris she was currently holding with her right hand, and sliced at at the mage. Her opponent however stopped his current attack on a dime, and met Natsuki's weapon with his green scimitar. As they impacted an unearthly cry pierced the room, a by-product of the materials the two fighter's weapons were made of being clashed together.
The mage brought his other weapon down, aiming at Natsuki's head. Natsuki quickly dropped the sheath she was holding in her left hand, and drew her other kris, blocking the purple sword mere inches from her ear. As the two blades met, a few strands of the scimitar's purple glow sprang into the air, and touched Natsuki giving the halfling a significant jolt as electricity surged throughout her body. Surprised, Natsuki broke the weapon lock the two fighter's were in, pushing the mage back as she hopped backwards.
"Hehehe." The mage crackled, "In case you hadn't noticed, I've upgraded a bit since our last excursion. How do you like it? You're the first person I've encountered, since we were freed from out blasted imprisonment that hasn't died in a single attack. I'm grateful for that, you know. All my other fights have been so droll. I thought that once I got back to the surface i'd be able to test my skills freely." He said lowering his guard, resting the green glowing weapon on his shoulder, without any harmful effects, "I know back during the war, there was no end to worthwhile opponents, even a fair share of humans could last a few minutes with me before I finished them off. But now, not one single fighter in Kahruhn could meet my standards. I can't even tell you how many elves I slaughtered without even breaking a sweat." He finished with a laugh.
Natsuki had heard enough, she brought a spell to the forefront of her mind, and with a quick step on the ground, she was hurled forward by a massive amount of wind emanating from her foot. She positioned her blades straight in front of her, intent on finishing her opponent quickly. The mage just stood in his spot, waiting for the halfling to come to him. As soon as she was in range of his attacks, he ducked Natsuki's blow and casted his own spell, he shot a ball of black fire upwards, aiming for the halfling's chest. Natsuki quickly altered her position in mid-air, with a quick wind spell, so she was facing the mage, who crouched directly below her. She formed a barrier at the last second, the heat singing her hair a bit, but not doing any serious damage.
Natsuki continued on her new trajectory, preforming a full cartwheel before landing dangerously close to the edge of the stone island. Just as she landed the mage was upon her again. Natsuki barely managed to block the attack launched by her opponent. The two locked blades again.
"What's wrong Natsuki?" The mage sneered, attempting to send her of the island and into the water below, "Have the centuries had such a profound affect on you? I was hoping that you might pose some sort of challenge, you don't want to disappoint me now do you?"
Natsuki answered the question with a grunt, quickly withdrawing from the lock, and stepping around the mage. Before he had time to react Natsuki delivered a strong front-kick straight into the small of the mage's back, sending him over the side. She smirked when she heard a resounding splash below.
The halfling knew that her little stunt would only give her small window of time, and so she hurried towards the closest magic user, intent on killing him before Nathiax had been freed. She knew that every other member of the mage's order would need total concentration on breaking the wyrm's bonds, and could not do anything else. If one member was felled, the entire process would be broken and the undead creature would stay sleeping. At least for a little while longer.
However before she even got halfway to her target, a swirl of black fire formed in front of her, and a moment later she felt a foot connect with her face, sending the halfling to the ground hard. However before she hit rock, she caught herself with her right hand, and with a roundhouse was back on her feet. In front of her was the mage, not even a shred of his clothing damp from his recent incursion into the water below. However a visible trail of smoke rose from the man, a reaction from being submersed in the holy liquid.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk." The mage reprimanded Natsuki, waving his purple sword back and forth infront of him, "Your fight is with me my dear. Please leave the other's out of this. That is of course if you don't care about your little friend either." He threatened joyfully. Natsuki clenched the hilts of her kris tightly, earning a laugh from the mage, "I see you understand, good...good. Now then, where were we?" The mage said before attacking Natsuki again.
This time Natsuki was ready though, and ran to meet the mage. The two met in a frenzy of slashing, parrying and dodging. Both fighting on even ground. Attack after attack was launched, and countered by the other, in a deadly dance. Each time Natsuki's blades met the mage's fire and electricity filled the sky, accompanied by the insane screeching of the metal's clashing against each other. They were completely on even ground, neither willing to yield an inch as they circled each other.
"Hahaha, this is more like it Natsuki!" The mage yelled exuberantly as he slashed at the halfling's neck only for the blow to be deflected away forcing the mage to quickly sidestep the halfling lest he be skewed by an icy blue blade., "I knew you still had it in you."
Natsuki blocked another attack, this one a stab to her gut before she leaped backwards several feet, and with an uppercut of one of her blades, launched a crescent moon shaped shard of ice towards her opponent. The mage responded with an uppercut of his own, firing a similarly shaped crescent of fire. The two impacted immediately turning into a billow of steam.
The two paused for a moment, both breathing noticeably harder, though neither struggling to get oxygen to their lungs. Just then a noticeable cracking filled the cavern, and Natsuki watched as the last of the binding crystals shattered into millions of tiny fragments, the pieces disappearing into thin air as soon as they broke away from the core shard.
The mage laughed, "It is done my dear!" He continued to laugh, his weapons disappearing from his hands. As he did so, the other mages all congregated around their leader, all obviously pleased at there work.
The crystals gone, Nathiax stirred taking a deep breath. The noise clearly audible, as his huge lungs filled with air. As the beast exhaled , a long spout of black fire shot out from both the beasts great maw, as well as his nostrils, the flames melting the stone floor quickly.
Natsuki watched for a moment in horror before she came to her senses and quickly, yet silently made her way to the still unconscious Shizuru. Sheathing her one weapon, and picking up her discarded casing, sheathing that one as well The gap between her and the princess was closed quickly, and Natsuki scooped her up. She didn't want either of them to be around when the beast actually woke from his slumber. Though she was content with knowing that the mages were in for a rude awakening.
However her hope to escape unnoticed was shattered when a tremendous gust of wind, threatened to knock the halfling and princess off the edge of the island. Natsuki turned to see Nathiax stretching his wings, and starting to stand facing the only exit to the outside. Once up, the great beast let out a roar so loud, it shook large amounts of rock loose from the ceiling. When the sound was over some ten seconds later, Natsuki's ears were ringing, though she could still hear the lead mage talking.
"Lord Nathiax." He addressed the beast with a deep bow, the other mages behind him mimicked the motion, "It is good to see you well."
Nathiax didn't answer, he merely regarded the congregation in front of him blankly. Natsuki looked at the lead mage, she could tell he noticed something was amiss, and she silently laughed at his plight. A second later Nathiax struck out. With a surprisingly quick swipe of one of his massive claws he wiped out the entire group of mages, cutting them all clean in half. However the lead was quick enough to warp away, mere seconds before he would have been gored along with the rest.
"What did you do?!" The mage screamed in anger appearing directly in front Natsuki. Natsuki ducked just in time to dodge an attack from both of the mage's scimitar's, "What have you done?!" He yelled again this time waiting to strike until he received an answer.
"A failsafe." Natsuki responded, relishing in the mage's anger, "We thought something like this might have happened. Or maybe I should say my brethren." Natsuki uttered the word brethren with the upmost contempt, "thought something like this would happen. They destroyed his mind, he's just a mindless beast now. I just wanted to kill the thing, but they didn't seem to agree with me." She said with pleasure. Behind the mage, Natsuki watched as Nathiax turned his attention from the bloodied mass of bodies in front of him to them.
The halfling decided that it was time for her to make her exit, before she became just another body like the other mages. Quickly she fell backwards, falling over the side of the island toward the holy water below. Natsuki heard the mage above her scream in anger, immediately following was another loud roar from Nathiax.
As Natsuki fell through the air, she casted a spell towards the pillar of rock that held the island in place. With a quick wave of her hand, a large sheet of razor sharp wind whipped out and sheered through the rock with ease. Seconds later the entire island collapsed, plummeting into the water below. Natsuki then turned towards the ceiling, and with another spell, a large ball of lightening rocketed forth. The resulting explosion destroyed the ceiling causing the cavern to cave in, and sent out enough force to send both the falling island and Natsuki careening into the water. Natsuki was forced to shield herself and Shizuru with a barrier, to keep her back from snapping on impact with the liquid surface.
The water engulfed the two in it's icy grip. Natsuki had to act fast, lest the two catch any sort of cold-related illness. Natsuki tried to calm her mind down, in order to correctly pinpoint the destination in order to cast her teleport spell, so they didn't end up in a tree or under several feet of soil. However the chillness was affecting her greatly, and she couldn't manage to think clearly. Rather than chance freezing to death, Natsuki casted her spell anyway, praying to the gods that it wouldn't get her killed.
--
Wind whipped around Natsuki as she and a still unconscious Shizuru, whom was held protectively in the halfling's arms, fell quickly through the night air. Below them a sea of leaves rose rapidly to meet the duo, and below that expanse of green was an army of razor sharp branches ready to rip the two women to shreds without remorse.
The halfling cursed at her stupidity, she should have known better than to try warping without focus; As a result she was almost entirely drained of her magic, and she was free falling hundreds of yards towards certain doom. The air didn't make her problems any better, her soaked clothes combined with the chill winds assaulting her, caused her to shiver uncontrollably.
But she quickly pushed out all other thoughts from her head, as the ground rushed up to meet the pair. She knew she had only one shot at salvation, given her current condition. When the halfling judged that they were close to thirty yards from impact she released a strong fire spell, incinerating the area immediately below her, though making sure that nothing except the bare minimum was destroyed. Her elven blood, making sure she harmed the forest as little as possible. After the coast was clear, Natsuki casted a wind spell, and a tornado sprang up from the ground. The gale of winds caught Natsuki, and brought them to the ground safely and slowly.
As soon as her feet touched solid earth Natsuki immediately fell to her knees in exhaustion. It took all her energy to even continue carrying Shizuru, whom just minutes before was like carrying a pillow in her arms. Natsuki gently placed the still unconscious girl on the ground, before she rose shakily to her feet.
Once Standing she looked around the area, trying to get even the slightest idea of where she had ended up as a result of her randomly casted teleport. The halfling quickly noticed that the trees surrounding her were the same as the ones she had sensed were tainted earlier. Which also meant that she was still in the boundaries of the Artain Jungle. However here there was no evidence of any kind of magical taint to the environment, meaning that the two women were far from the academy ruins. Which also meant that they were far from any sort of rescue from the other knights that had accompanied them.
Natsuki wondered what had happened to them, and what they might think of the duo's dissapearing act. No doubt they had come back to find them gone more than half a day ago, since it had been before noon when they had arrived, and now it was closing in on midnight. She wondered how long the others would look for them, and what would happen when they didn't find them. Though Natsuki was fairly certain she would be more than able to get them back to Fuuka safely by morning.
However a quick breeze reminded the halfling that now wasn't the time to think about matters out of her hand. She and Shizuru were still soaked to the bone, and needed to find some semblance of a shelter, and quick.
Natsuki slowly sat down, cross-legged and slowly eased her weary mind. She focused on the surrounding forest, and the life that flowed around her. She let her spirit meld with those of the forest, from the ancient trees, to newborn cubs, and even to the grasses. She saw, one by one, through the eyes of each of the spirits of the forest, each image flashing by rapidly, much to fast for a normal person to make any sense of. She continued to shift through the flora and fauna of the forest until she found what she had been looking for; a large cave to provide the two protection for the night. She was ecstatic to find that the crude shelter was barely a five minute walk from where they had landed. Happy with her find, Natsuki slowly let herself out of her trance-like state. Once back to her own body, Natsuki quickly made her way to Shizuru. She knelt next to the brunette and tried her hand at lifting her, but to no avail. Natsuki was still much to drained.
Sighing Natsuki looked at the plate mail arm-guards and greaves that the princes wore. The halfling could tell that they were wonderfully crafted, at least by human standards. Which also meant they were most likely outrageously expensive, which in turn made Natsuki hesitate for a moment. But when another quick gust of wind attacked the halfling. She quickly moved into action.
"Peil" She said strongly, using the last bit of her magic to shatter the princess' armor. With the extra weight gone, Natsuki easily lifted her up, activated her elvish sight, and started towards the cave.
--
The trip to the cave taxed Natsuki more than she had wished, but they had nonetheless arrived relatively intact. Though the halfling had managed to gain her fair share of cuts and bruises, from the very dense foliage.
The cave itself was set into a large cliff, that rose more than fifty feet upwards. To the side of the shelter was a rather large river, complete with a waterfall. Though Natsuki would have liked the cascading water to not have been there at all. The noise the falling water made would make it impossible for Natsuki to hear any sort of enemy that might cross their path. Though, the halfling judged that the cave was so far into the jungle that any sort of human contact was slim to none.
However that didn't mean that animal contact was impossible. Immediately after crossing the entrance to the cave, Natsuki was greeted by the piercing gaze of a dozen pairs of yellow eyes. A pack of wolves. Natsuki stood at the cave mouth, completely still. She knew she was in no immediate danger, but she was still surprised fact to walk in. Shortly after the silent exchange the pack, conveying that she meant no harm. Satisfied the wolves quickly lost interest in the new comers, and even went so far as to shuffle over, to accommodate the two women.
Sighing in relief Natsuki set Shizuru on the surprisingly smooth cave floor, and went to work. Without a second thought, Natsuki stripped both her and the princess of their damp clothing, leaving them both bare-skinned. The halfling took a moment to spread out their clothing along the mouth of the cave, hoping that they would dry by the morning.
Her work finished quickly, Natsuki turned back to the inside of the cave. Ready to call an end to
the day. She stumbled her way through the darkness, to tired to even use her elvish sight to get her through. Finding her way back to Shizuru, she positioned herself against one of the cave's walls, and propped up the princess against her front, and while she knew that this was all for survival. Natsuki couldn't help but blush at the bare contact between the two.
As a method of escape, more than anything. Natsuki, with the last remaining bit of magic, conjured a small flame in front of them, to ensure their warmth through the night. The spell cast, Natsuki sank into a deep and comforting sleep almost instanly.
--
The streets of Artai were unusually bare. Though it was not uncommon for the streets to be empty during the winter months. Where the snows fell early, and the cold white would bury the city in it's icy grip; But the first snows were still several weeks away, and at this time of the year the many brace souls who called Artai their home would be stocking up for the long snowy siege.
Yet, there were no merchants peddling their wares, nor the common folk purchasing them. There were no children roaming the streets and alleys playing their games, nor attempting to liberate a fresh meal from the street stands. Not even the deep piercing barks of dogs, or the shrill neighing of horses pierced the still quiet.
However, while the city was in fact a ghost town. A small influx of activity broke the eerie calm. In the city square, a lone figure appeared in a plume of black fire. He landed on one knee, gasping for breath, fury in his heart. But the feeling was quickly quelled, and the man rose to his feet, anger would do him no good, and if he was to break the news of the great Wyrm's condition he would need to be as calm and reposed as he possibly could.
But no sooner than he had risen, the area around him burst into a frenzy of action. From the surrounding houses and shops burst dozens of monstrous beasts. Like a well-rehearsed play, the legion of creatures surrounded the mage, snarling through long, razor-sharp teeth big enough to force their mouths perpetually open. Each of them measured almost double the mage's height, and were covered in a thick spine covered carapace, harder than any steel. Their arms, which measured close to the entire length of their body, ended in a set of five claws made for gutting their victims. They were in fact, bred to kill, and nothing more, their eyes did not betray that fact. They glowed a blood red, and had no iris' to speak off, and while they did not show any trace of possible intelligence. It was made up by the fact of the sheer terror just glancing at the red sockets could instill upon a man.
One of the creatures stepped forward from the ring that surrounded the mage. Many of the spines across his body were broken, and a large scar ran across his face. Scars from the many battles it had to fight to be leader of the pack of bloodthirsty creatures.
The mage sighed, he did not have time to waste on these pathetic beasts. Every time he came back to the capital, he had to deal with them again and again. It was such a hassle, and he wondered how the stupid things could not learn their lesson, and leave him be. It would be so much easier if he could warp to the castle itself, but the city square was the closest he could magically enter the city, due to the large barrier that had been cast around a greater part of the inner city.
The lead creature let out a loud howl, silencing the rest of the beasts, who had been roaring and growling constantly at the mage. The beast lumbered towards his supposed prey. The mage looked at him straight in the eyes, not breaking contact for a moment. The creature let out another loud howl, this time riling up his brothers into a frenzy. As soon as the creature got within swiping distance, he launched a slow, yet extremely powerful overhead slash.
The mage waited for the moment that the deadly claw was about to strike him before he summoned his fiery blade with his left hand, and blocked the massive weapon with the flat side of his own. He then summoned his other sword, and with a quick thrust sank it straight into the beasts stomach, without so much as cracking the surrounding shell. The mage gave it a quick twist, wrenching it out of the creature to the side, leaving a large swath. Black blood oozed out of the wound, as the creature fell hard to the floor, a look of shock splayed over his face.
The mage did not stop there however, he knew that the death of their leader would only infuriate his brethren into a maddened frenzy. So stopping the impending assault upon him, he conjured a wave of blackened fire, that engulfed the ring of creatures closest to him. Each one let out a howl of sheer pain, as the fire burned them from the inside; Their thick carapaces serving as a shield to outside burns, but also serving to trap the intense heat inside of them. Those that were not covered by the flames, were quick to abandoned their dying brothers. Intent on their own survival. Satisfied that his work was complete, the mage killed the raging fire, and proceeded down the empty streets, without another bother.
--
The Artain Castle loomed over the city. The ominous obsidian structure kept the city in line with a vice-like grip. Yet, while it was never a happy place, it was always a bustling place. With maids, servants, cooks, and the like doing their respective duties. But now, like the rest of Artai, it was a building of stark silence.
The mage walked the halls in annoyance. The silence ate at him like a ravenous wolf. He had been entrapped in silence, like the rest of his brothers and sisters for more than a millennium. Imprisoned in the cold darkness of the underdark. Now all he longed for was the sounds of battle, the cries of his victims as he killed them one after another. The look on her face as he ran her through. Yet here he was, traversing a deserted castle, doing menial tasks that were so very far beneath him. Though he was not ungrateful that he was the the Dark Lady's most trusted servant. That he was granted the honor of rousing Lord Nathaix, but at the same time he was quite angered. He was a fighter not some sorcerer, like so many of his kind, who had nothing better to do than break bonds. He should be tracking down the High Elven city, and slaughtering their ilk like he and his kind did with the Wood Elves. For what they had done to them.
Sometimes he wondered if his master really did trust him at times. But he quickly quelled his continued thoughts, it would do him no good to question his master. He was a loyal servant, and he would trust her guidance, no matter how much it did not make sense to him. He would trust that the fighting would come soon, and he would look forward to that day longingly. Ready to savor every minute of it.
The mage stopped his walking, as well as his thinking. He had arrived at his destination, a rather massive pair of obsidian doors stood in front of him. Each inlaid with patterns of fine gold, and jewels. A waste of such exquisite treasures, the mage thought as he stared at the gems. Beside the doors stood a pair of men, eunuchs, standing vigilant. The first souls the mage had seen since coming to the city. Both men were garbed in rather unprotective clothing, and held halberds in their hands. They stood looking straight ahead, not even acknowledging the mage's presence. He knew that they were only there out of decoration, rather than actual guards, and so he paid them no heed.
The mage walked forward. As he did the doors glided open noiselessly as if knowing the mage was present. The doorways opened up into a massive throne room. However, while it was once a room lined with golden statues, and magnificent decor. Now it was only a shadow of it's former glory. The once pearly white walls were now a black so dark, it made one think they were looking into an impenetrable void. The statues of lions, tigers, and other great beasts, which once were proud animals, now were horrendously vicious. Looking like they were ready to attack anyone who's gaze lingered to long. The long, floor to ceiling sized windows were all tinted to the point that the room was cast in twilight.
On the opposite side of the room sat a large throne, once made out of gold and velvet, now was made out of the skeletons of those who had once called the palace their homes. The stairs themselves, the skulls of the departed. On either side of the pearly white throne, sat two women, in the peaks of their youth bare skinned. Both with looks as blank as the two men who stood outside the throne room.
The mage walked down the center of the room, straight towards the throne. Upon reaching the seat, he fell to one knee and bowed his head. All was silent for a moment, but the mage kept his ground, unmoving.
"Amal..." A raspy female voice called out from in front of him, "Your back early. Why?" She asked suspiciously.
"Lady Necra." Amal addressed the voice's owner, "I am afraid that I come bearing bad news."
"I see." Amal could tell that he was already off to a bad start, "Very well, what is it?"
"It seems that the elves took great care in sealing Lord Nathiax." Amal paused for a second, mentally preparing himself to break the news to his master, "It seems that they warped his mind, to the point of madness. He was just a mindless beast when he awoke, and slaughtered the others that I had brought with me. I am sorry, but I have failed you." He finished, prostrating himself before the Lich.
There was silence for a moment before Necra spoke, "Raise yourself Amal, that is unnecessary." In a tone, that was surprisingly anger free.
Amal slowly rose himself from his position, rising to stand at full height. Necra wore a robe akin to the one Amal was dressed in, the same half-lidded eye embroider onto the fabric. Forest green hair adorned her head, cut in an odd fashion, with one side far longer than the other. Purple eyes, cold and calculating, peered down at Amal. Bone show clearly through holes in her still recovering skin, and her lower jaw was all but pearly white.
"I am afraid I am somewhat confused, your unholiness." Amal voiced his concern, "Are you not angry?"
"I was when I first felt his death." Necra continued, stepping down from the raised throne.
"You already knew?" Amal asked.
"You forget about the link that I had with Nathiax, Amal. I felt his state of mind, immediately after you had freed him from his chains. If you had not taken care of him, I would have myself." Necra responded, "It is not like it is the end of the world my dear. I have plenty of humans to make another sacrifice, once you have found my staff, and I have recovered, I can summon another from the abyss. It is not a hard task."
"I see..." Amal said, hiding his relief.
"Speaking of my staff." Necra proceeded to walk to one of the darkened windows, "Have you found any trace of it yet?"
"Regretfully, no." Amal bowed low in apology, the act going unoticed, "Though I have many of the order out looking for it."
"I thought you said that it was in Kahruhn." Necra asked, turning to stare down Amal, "Isn't that why you felt it necessary to attack it. I'm sure by now it has already circulated to the other kingdoms of elves. It was a risky move to make, and I would be sorely disappointed if you did not find it, at the cost of our cover."
Amal bowed again, "I am terribly sorry again. However it was not far-fetched that the wood elves would have taken it. Even you can admit that the staff would be a tremendous treasure to them. I was certain they would have been it's keepers."
"So then you did not find it." Necra's voice was still as calm as ever, yet Amal knew he was treading on thin ground.
"No." Amal said simply, "I am sorry."
"I see..." Necra turned towards the window again, "Is that all then?"
"Yes, That is all."
"Very well, you may leave. But before you do, I want to make it perfectly clear to you, do not come back until you have found my staff. And make sure it is before the winter snows start to fall." Necra's voice had a very sharp edge to it.
Amal gave a deep bow, "Of course your unholiness. I will take up the search myself."
"See that you are successful." Were Necra's departing words before she vanished into nothingness.
Amal gave a slight sigh before he started out of the throne room, the doors opening themselves up to him as soon as he neared. He walked the silent corridors lost in thought. Mainly on how he would track down Necra's staff. He was quite certain that the High Elves nor their sworn-kin the Dragons would not have taken up the duty of protecting it; For fear that it's magics would corrupt them. The sea elves would have made poor guardians indeed. The dwarves of the Northern Shelf, were highly unlikely to be keepers, since they could not cast nor maintain the spell that kept the magics staff from acting like a beacon to him or Necra.
Which only left the realm of the humans. Which was quite an impossibility to Amal's mind. All of the races blamed the humans for the past war. The Elves even went so far as to make sure magic was wiped from most of their kind, though there were exceptions. Back then, even a child could cast even the rudimentary spells, but now it was a rarety for even one who had studied for years to accomplish the same feat. So for any of the human kingdoms to be the staves protector, was as unlikely as the High Elves letting him waltz straight into their city, and meet with the king. However, it was the only trail he could follow, and so he decided to go with it. Despite how crazy it might have seemed to him.
Amal paused at an open window, a strong wind had started up. Judging from the weather, the mage guessed the snows would be falling even earlier than he could have predicted. He judged that he had at most a month before the onset of the winter season would begin. which meant he had much work to do in an increasingly short amount of time.
He put a hand under his hood, pushing the fabric off his head. A head full of golden hair caught in the wind, and the incredibly long locks blew gracefully behind him, and from beneath that hair sat two perfectly elongated ears, each ending in fine points. A long, and rope-like scar cut a swath diagonally across his otherwise perfectly tuned face. But while he was an incredibly handsome individual, his eyes, iris' and all were a raven black, a sign of his twisted being, marred that beauty into something truly terrible.
With one hand, Amal traced the cut across his face. He would find his master's staff, and then he would find her, and enjoy his long awaited revenge.
