Chapter Ten: 300 did you say?
"I can't believe we just left him like that to fight that golem alone"
"It is what he wanted. He gave up his own life to make sure that the mission for Tristain would be a success."
"First off I know he isn't dead! He wouldn't let himself get beaten like that so easily. Second he didn't stay back for the mission or for the country. He did it so that we wouldn't be hurt."
Wardes was about to cut in with some sort of remark when a loud explosion caught the attention of the crew back on the cliff side. It was too far away to see a clear view of what caused it or exactly what happened, but everyone aboard the ship could tell that anyone caught up in that blast was likely to be in a world of hurt. 'It would seem that the familiar has likely met his match this time. I wasn't aware that there was a high rank fire mage in the area though.'
"He's still alright you know Louise."
"How can you be sure? Did you see that explosion? I have never seen him cast magic like that."
"You and I both have a bond with him. That would tell us if something completely terrible happened to him. You should just go to sleep, things will be better tomorrow when we get to Albion."
"Thanks Kistna, you're alright when you aren't terrorizing me. "
"Just don't tell Therum when he gets back. I have a reputation to protect after all."
***BREAK***
The following day Therum is awakened from his coma of a nap by the sound of a cannon going off nearby. A few minutes later as he is trying to get his bearings in the dark store room, a group of heavily armed men barge in. Before long they notice the strange armed man sitting on a crate.
"Look here boss, it looks like we got us a stowaway."
"Remove his weapons and put him with the rest of the prisoners."
"Are you the captain of this ship, because I swear I paid my passage."
"I am a pirate here for this shipment. If you behave yourself we won't have to rough you up any. And you can go free when we ransom the rest of the prisoners."
"Have you seen a haughty little pink haired girl, a foul mouthed bird girl and an annoying nobleman in a hat?" The Boss seemed to think for a moment.
"Yes I am sure I saw a group like that when we were moving people into our prison holds. I can assure you they are just fine as long as you don't do anything foolish."
"I'll come peacefully if you promise to take me to them." He removed his swords and his pistol from his person and tucked them into a nearby sulfur crate that was apparently going to this guy's ship. "I wouldn't touch those swords if I was you though, they don't really like strangers."
After he was securely tied up one of the pirate underlings went over to his weapons. "Seems like a waste to leave such a fine looking blade to rust alone like this, I'll just look after it for you then." Therum smirked openly as the pirate took hold of the hilt of the sword and was blasted to the far end of the hold by the following bolt of electricity.
"I warned you lads, they don't like strangers. Try the other one it's even friendlier!" The Pirate gave an analytical look to both the stranger and his man twitching on the hold floor.
"Leave them alone for now and just move the cargo we can figure out the toys later."
***BREAK***
"What a fine situation we're in now. How do you plan to fix this mister mighty Mage Captain? Can't you blow a hole in the side of the ship and float us down to safety?"
"It doesn't work like that you little fool. I can hardly do any magic at all without a wand and I spent a lot of power charging the wind stones so we could leave earlier. Even if I could where would we go? If you remember we were off the coast of a floating island."
"I bet Therum would be able to figure out a way to escape."
"What would that idiot do cut down and entire war ship with his little swords? He is lying in a crumpled heap back in Tristain if he is even alive at all. He is definitely not going to come to your rescue aboard this ship." Sometime during the tirade a guard showed up outside the trio's cell.
"The Captain would like to talk to you three. Come with me and don't try any funny business."
***BREAK***
The pirate Guard led the group up to a luxurious cabin off the main deck of the ship. The cabin and the Captain were not what the travelers were expecting on a pirate ship. The cabin had a grand dining table in it stacked with an assortment of fine looking food. At the end of the table was a surprisingly well dressed man holding a cane with a large crystal on the top. Apparently this man was also a noble at some point in his life.
"Kneel before the boss and show a little respect you brat!" Louise remained standing with a fierce look of resentment on her face. "I said kneel."
The pirate was about to kick Louise down before the pirate captain interfered. "She is no little girl my friend. She has clearly shown that she is a spirited young woman."
"I demand that my party and I be treated like ambassadors. We are here on official Royal business."
"Did you say Royal? I am afraid that you are sadly mistaken miss. This is a pirate ship; the royal family will be gone tomorrow so your demand holds little weight here."
"I, Louise Francois le blanch de la Vallière, have an important message from the Crown Princess of Tristain that I have to deliver to Prince Wales of Albion."
"Sorry to disappoint you but I am afraid that that is going to be quite impossible in your current position. I don't think you will ever make it to land again unless you are willing to forget your mission and deliver that message to me instead."
"I would rather die first than betray Princess Henrietta to a bunch of mangy pirates like you!"
"Is that your final answer? I will not ask you again." The small group was now staring down the end of the captain's cane as it started to glow slightly." Apparently this guy was a mage of some sort too.
"You heard her you dumbass none of us are going to cower to traitorous filth like you."
"Don't you have quite the mouth on you little one? Tristain sends the most interesting of nobles as their messengers to a battle field. Who are you then Sir this girl's tutor or something?"
"I am Viscount Wardes the captain of Her Majesties mage guard, and this young woman's fiancé."
"I seem to have collected myself quite the interesting group of guests then. I suppose that I should go ahead and introduce myself properly." The Captain removed a curly black wig, his eye patch, and a fake beard, to reveal his blonde hair and young aristocratic features. "I am Wales Tudor Crown Prince of Albion. I welcome you aboard the last remaining ship in the Royal Navy 'The Eagle.' Shall we now discuss this message you have for me?"
"How can I be sure that you are really the prince and not just another imposter?"
"You are quite the clever girl and I respect that. Will the Wind Ruby of the royal family be enough proof for you?" Wales extended his hand with the ring on it towards Louise. When the ring got close enough to the one from Henrietta on Louise's hand they started shining to produce a rainbow.
"I am so sorry for my previous words Your Majesty, if I had known it was you I would not have spoken so harshly to you."
"Off your knees Miss Vallière, I hold no ill will towards you. I had to be sure that you were completely loyal to the Royal Families. A new friend of mine already told me how you would likely react I just had to be sure myself. His story was quite a remarkable one. Speaking of which, why don't you join us now Sir Magnus?" A familiar figure stepped out from behind a curtain at the end of the cabin.
"I told you she's a feisty one and the littler one has one hell of a mouth."
Louise had to fight very hard against an equal desire to cry for joy and faint. Eventually the tears won out as she rushed to embrace her troublesome familiar. "I was so worried that you would have been badly hurt by that awful woman. What did you do to get away from her?"
"I agree mister familiar, do regale us with you epic tale of heroism." Wardes was doing a very poor job of hiding his sarcasm and hot fury at having to deal with this guy again.
"There will be time for story telling later right now Louise has a letter to deliver and we have a small feast to tuck into. I for one…" The rest of his speech was cut off by a dose of winged fury.
"You stupid fool, how am I supposed to help you in tough situations when you keep running off to fight without me? Do you have any idea how worried I was about you? If I had my sword right now I would kill you myself and end my troubles."
"Has anyone ever told you that you have one hell of a left hook for such a small girl?" Despite her only being around a foot tall the little Avorian left the man rubbing his jaw where she hit him.
"We Avorians have always been stronger than our human counterparts. Now if you will excuse me, I am starving."
Wales ignored the commotion around him as he read the letter he had received from Louise. The letter seemed to fill the prince with a mixture of joy and sorrow. Eventually he folded the letter again and put it into his breast pocket. "I was going to have your wands and weapons returned to you all but after that commotion, I think I'll just give them back when we get to Newcastle. We can deal with the rest of the official business then too."
***BREAK***
The remainder of the trip passed fairly uneventfully. The most exciting part of the final stretch was when The Eagle was forced to dive under the continent itself in order to avoid unwanted attention from the rebel flagship the Lexington. Even someone as crazy as Therum doubted that they would survive a head on confrontation with a ship like that. Fortunately those that manned their ship were truly expert sailors. They near effortlessly guided the continent around any obstacles into a secret port on the underside of the continent that the Rebels apparently had never discovered. There was a small procession on the docks to greet the royal Frigate. The leader of the group was a very old looking mage.
"I trust you had some great success Your Majesty?"
"Indeed we did Paris; rejoice we now have plenty of sulfur for the honor guard!"
"Sulfur will make little difference at this point milord but when those cur attack tomorrow we will show them what happens when you back us into a corner."
"Indeed it will be a glorious death tomorrow. With our dying breath we will put their soldiers to great shame."
"Who are these people you have with you Sire?"
"These are valiant ambassadors from Tristain; she comes on important business from my cousin Henrietta. "
The old man gave Louise and the others a small sad smile. "So you are an ambassador. Paris Chamberlain at your service, madam. It's nice that you came all the way to Albion. Though it might not be much, we will have a small feast tonight. We would be honored if you would attend."
"It would be our honor to attend your farewell feast good sir." Much to Louise's shock, Therum actually gave an elegant bow to the aged man."
***BREAK***
From the dock the Tristain group followed Wales up the flights of stairs into the castle proper. Wales' room was located off towards the kitchens. The first thing that struck Louise was his room was surprisingly Spartan. Other than a bed, a desk and a table with a couple of chairs, the room was almost completely empty. The only decorative thing in the room seemed to be a small ornate lockbox that Wales went over to. He removed a necklace from around his neck and opened the small box. There were only two things inside the box, a portrait of Henrietta, and a single piece of folded paper. The paper looked extremely worn from what probably amounted to scores of readthroughs. Wales read both the letter he got from Louise and the one in the box once before sighing slightly and putting the two in an envelope.
"This is definitely the letter you came for Miss Vallière. I will trust you to see it safely back to Henrietta tomorrow. The Eagle will take you and anyone who wishes to leave back to Tristain tomorrow."
"What was in that letter that was so important that it couldn't have just been burnt? You act as if it contained a proclamation of love." Wales looked away slightly at the other man's observation. "That's it isn't it? The two of you have a relationship that goes far deeper than any political or family bonds don't you."
"If you are asking if Henrietta and I have a romantic relationship with each other then I feel that I can let it be known that we do indeed have such a bond. We have never come public with it because of the troubled times we live in and the controversy our relationship may bring up."
"How closely related are the two of you?"
"We are third cousins. We are distant enough that there would not likely be any problems with children if we had ever gotten as far as consummation, but close enough that some would still frown upon us." Therum took one of the chairs and sat in quiet contemplation.
"Won't you come back with us? Surely there is something in the letter the princess sent you that asks you to do that. Love has to be worth more than staying to fight a useless battle."
"I am sorry Louise but on my honor there is nothing in that letter that asks such of me. Henrietta is a leader first and a woman second. She would never ask me to abandon my country in its final hours."
"Surely there is more to the letter than that she must have at least implied that she would rather you live with her."
"I am afraid that there is no such passage. Even if there were I could not in good conscience step foot on Tristain soil. That would be all the excuse the rebels would need to invade Tristain with all the might of the former Albion Air force. They may not be the sailors that my men are but they have more than enough fire power to make up for it. Tomorrow my remaining army of 300 soldiers and I will do all that we can to inflict damage upon their forces. We will hold them off while the rest of you make it to safety."
"You are a true noble sir, if the circumstances were different I would be proud to stand at your side and do battle tomorrow. My place, however, is with Louise so I will only be able to offer my best wishes to you."
"Thank you Sir Magnus, it appears as if it is time for our little party let us be off before Paris drinks all the best wine."
"Prince Wales may I make a request of you?" Wardes leaned in and whispered something into the prince's ear.
"That is a marvelous idea I would be honored to assist."
***BREAK***
The party was a final affair that anyone would be proud to have been a part of. Despite the finality of what was likely to happen tomorrow people were putting on a very grand show.
"Truly these are the bravest people in the world. They know they are going to die tomorrow yet choose to not let it bother them."
"It is not courage it is foolishness. Why waste the energy and effort on this elaborate show if it will all be wasted tomorrow."
"I am surprised to hear something like that come out of your mouth Sir Wardes. There is nothing foolish going on at all! Look at how the soldiers laugh and joke with the prince and old king. It is a thing of beauty. There is no prouder death than a free man defending his home and country from an invading force."
"You almost sound as if you pity the rebels."
"In a way I do. The men and women here will be fighting tomorrow for not only their lives, but their hopes, dreams, and beliefs. The other side only seems to be fighting for power and control. They will be victorious tomorrow of that there is little doubt, but it will be a very costly battle. One man defending his home is worth ten hired soldiers."
Louise was also having an interesting time at the party. Nobody seemed sad about their fate tomorrow. In fact they seemed to have few cares at all this night most of them were more interested in having the ambassador try a particular fine wine or a specialty dish of Albion. In truth, it was all too much for Louise. She could not help but notice that the whole thing was a big act the people's faces seemed cheerful but their eyes told a different story. She could see sorrow in their eyes. There was no fear for the following day, just sorrow that their way of life was coming to such a violent end. Eventually it all became too much and she was about to dash out of the ballroom until she heard a familiar tune. Over by the musicians her familiar had somehow got his hands on a fiddle and was once again playing his fast paced songs.
Understand what the familiar was trying to do the prince went over to Louise. "Might I have this dance lovely lady? I am sure your fiancé won't mind me having just one."
"Um, of course Your Majesty."
"Please call me Wales, there is no place for formalities on a night like tonight," he said as the two began to dance.
The party lasted a few more hours as Therum continued to lead the band through a number of upbeat songs. Slowly but surely, the people began to trickle off to get some rest before the battle the next day. Once he was done with his playing, Therum began to head over to where Wardes was leading Louise towards their chambers. Despite his best efforts, he was only able to get the room next to theirs instead of a bed in the same room. He almost made it to the pair before he was intercepted by the prince. Not being able to get away quickly, he sent an ED spell at Wardes. Not only would it keep his master's virtue safe, it was fun to mess with that ass.
"You play marvelously Sir Magnus, what songs were those you played?"
"They are folk songs from my homeland. From my experience, the people in this land seem to enjoy them pretty well too."
"I find myself in agreement with that statement. If I had more time I would get you to teach them to be. Alas there is another more pressing matter that I wished to talk to you about if you don't mind accompanying me to a slightly more private location. We can talk as we walk."
"I would be glad to talk with you Sir Wales."
"I was asked by Wales to perform a wedding ceremony tomorrow between Sir Wardes and Miss Vallière. Since her father is not going to be here, I was hoping that you might be willing to step in and give the girl away."
"I would be glad to do this service for Louise. I can't help but notice the irony in this request though. As her familiar, I technically belong to Louise so my giving her away is mildly humorous."
"I agree that is a humorous twist but I am glad that I have your cooperation. I have one final favor to ask of you if I might."
"Name it."
"I would like you to give this ring to Henrietta when you return to Tristain. I would also like you to tell her that I fought bravely and died with the honor of my country intact."
"I will do that for you if you're willing to do a small favor for me. I would like you to wear this necklace for her." Therum removed one of the two chains from around his neck and handed it to the prince. "That is known as a chain of fate. It is said to help men make their own fate in life and in death."
"I cannot possibly take such an artifact from you. It would be wasted on a dead man like me."
"On the contrary, it is exactly what a man like you needs. Besides they come in pairs. I still have the one that is special to me," he said as he showed Wales the chain with the locket on it. "If you don't wear it I will tell Henrietta that you could have easily chosen to fake your death and returned to her."
"You wouldn't dare do such a thing to a beautiful flower like her."
"You aren't the only one who cares for that girl. If I had a reason to think that you caused her as much pain as your death is going to without doing everything in your power prevent that, I would kill you myself."
"I am glad that you are not among my enemies. I will wear the necklace to appease you and save my love from further heartache. I hope you take care of her when I am gone."
"We are not romantic like that I assure you."
"I believe you my friend, but your words are not those of a casual friend. Part of being a prince is the ability to read people; I can see what even you might have overlooked."
"My last relationship didn't end much better than yours is about to. I bid you a good night Wales Tudor."
***BREAK***
Later that night after Louise had fallen asleep; Therum was stirred from his meditation by a knock at his door.
"Mister Magnus are you still awake?"
"Yes Wardes I am still awake you may enter."
"I just got through with a final meeting with Prince Wales. He told me that you have agreed to stand in for Louise's father tomorrow at the ceremony. I felt that I should try to end some of the animosity between the two of us."
"That is very commendable of you Viscount. Does this mean that you will give me at least the minimum amount of respect I have no doubt earned from you?"
"Yes I will admit that while you are not a noble, you are not truly a commoner either. If my Louise sees fit to call you by your given name I feel that I should do the same. I would offer a toast to what will likely be a very long term partnership for the protection of that girl." Wardes produced a bottle of wine and two metal cups from his satchel. He then opened the bottle and poured two full servings.
"To Louise," they said in unison. Therum waited for Wardes to drink a sizable portion of his glass before deciding that it was safe to drink. After that he happily drank the whole glass. Few people know it but the familiar is a bit of a wine snob and this was a particularly good bottle.
"I just want you to know Mister Magnus, I will never be your ally and you will not live long enough regret making a fool of me. The poison in this drink is one of the strongest known to man I would be with you on the floor if I had not drunk the antidote outside your door." The next thing Therum saw was blackness. Wardes signaled to two hooded men who were waiting in the corridor. "Hide the body somewhere it will not be found until after the battle tomorrow. Try not to touch those swords of his, I hear they are cursed for anyone but him. "
***BREAK***
"There you are Wardes I was afraid you were going to miss your own wedding. Have you seen Sir Magnus? He was supposed to be here to give Louise away during the ceremony."
"I ran into him on my way here, he said that he could not bear the pain of having to give Louise away. He intends to go with the ship to offer it protection and then meet up with us back in Tristain."
"I can't believe he would just abandon me like that."
"What about me? I work for him and he didn't tell me anything either. Sure I passed out during the party and spent the night in one of the decorative plants. That still doesn't mean I like being left out of the loop."
Louise was so distracted with her own thoughts that she failed to catch the rest of Kistna's rant or most of the ceremony for that matter. She kept reliving the last couple months of her life over and over again trying to figure out how she got to this point. She was finally snapped out of her trance like thoughts when Wales reached the final part of the ceremony.
"Bridegroom, Viscount Jean-Jacques Francis de Wardes. Do you take this girl as your wife, and swear to respect and love her in the name of the Founder Brimir?"
"I swear by the founder."
"Bride, the third daughter of the Duke de La Vallière, Louise Françoise le Blanc de La Vallière, do you take this man as your husband, and swear to respect and love him in the name of the Founder Brimir?"
Louise didn't know what to say right then. She knew that this is what she should want but for some reason she knew this was the wrong thing to do right now. "I am sorry Your Majesty and I am sorry Wales, but I cannot go through with this."
"Louise you cannot be serious. Are you sure that you know what you're doing?"
"No Wardes I do not know what I am doing right now but I know it is the right thing to do."
"That saddens me greatly to hear Louise. After I worked so hard to capture your heart you still reject me. I suppose I will just have to give up on this goal for the time being. I will still be able to complete two of my goals today though." Faster than either of them could react, Wardes took his sword and put it through the heart of the prince.
"Damn you Reconquista…" The prince had been just a little too slow in his incantation to stop his own demise.
"Wardes, what is wrong with you how could you do such a traitorous act?"
"I am a member of Albion's noble faction, Reconquista. Halkeginia will be reunited into one by our hands; we will restore the Founder Brimir's 'Sacred Land' once again. I can't have either of you spilling our secretes so it is with a heavy heart that I must dispatch you both." Wardes made to cast one of his favorite spells, Lightning Cloud when the chapel door exploded inwards. Standing there was the last person Wardes ever expected to see again. Acting on impulse, he sent the finished spell towards a very pissed off Therum Magnus. Instead of making an effort to dodge the attack or block it with his sword, Therum just extended his hand and took the full force of the blast.
"Thanks for the recharge mate; my batteries were nearly drained riding my system of that poison."
"I don't get it how can you possibly be alive now? Even if you magically found a way to overcome my poison, that attack should have killed you several times over."
"Once you rule out the impossible Wardes, whatever you are left with no matter how improbable is likely the truth. So I say to you, think back hard on all the things that have happened since we met and tell me what you think." Therum removed a small glass container from his pouch and drank the blue liquid it contained. Almost immediately he stood a little taller and his uncharacteristically pale face regained its color.
At the same time Wardes realized what his pride had been forcing him to over look and his face paled considerably. "You are a noble aren't you?"
"Half right, I am well versed in Arcanum. I am not nobility though. I am about to painfully kill a noble for threatening my master and my familiar though. Do you have any last words Wardes?"
"If I might know, how did you survive the poison?"
"I owe my life to my precious sword Aurora, as long as I have a decent supply of mana in my blood and this sword with me, I am almost impossible to kill. The sword noticed the dangerous impurity in my blood and used my magic to essentially destroy and replace all the infected blood and tissue. If you had tried to poison me the night I blew up that golem, you probably would have won doe to me being so badly depleted. Enough of that for now, my name is Therum Magnus, you harmed my friends prepare to die."
"Ubiquitous Dell Wind!" Suddenly there were four more Wardes to deal with.
"So you know how to cast an illusion spell, I am not impressed."
"It is much more than an illusion Sir, each of these replicas has substantial power as well."
"If that is how you want it then, how about I even up the score?" He reached into his bag and removed four shrunken swords before enlarging them and sticking each one effortlessly into the floor. He then cast a fairly lengthy incantation that created four copies of his self to match his opponent's duplicates. Each of the duplicates in turn took up one of the swords and marched off to do battle with their own opponent. Pretty soon the chapel was filled with the sound of battle as each of the clones fought each other. In the end the only ones left unattended were the girls and the two mage knights.
"That is quite the display of magic there sir familiar, I did not know you were a square class wind mage as well. I am especially impressed that you did all that with one of those swords as a focus."
"I'm not a wind mage and I did not use a focus. I am something far worse for your wellbeing. I am a very pissed off Venenatus knight. I am not even going to use a sword to kill you just to make sure there isn't another fluke." In one of his free hands appeared what looked to be a rolled up whip made of pure fire. "This is a spell was taught to me by another Venenatus knight. She trained alongside me for three years before her untimely death. I am going to slowly kill you with this in her memory.
Wardes was barely able to dodge the first strike from the fire whip. It came so close to scoring his face that the brim of his hat was smoking. Not thinking straight, he cast Lightning Cloud at his opponent again. The outcome was the same as it was last time. Therum caught the blast in his hand, but instead of absorbing it he cycled it through his body and cracked the bolt out the end of the whip at one of the Wardes clones. Apparently Wardes and his clones are not as lightning proof as Therum because it dispersed into nothing after being struck. This freed up an extra ally for Therum's other copies but cost him a lot of concentration so he took a glancing blow from a Breaking Wind attack. The familiar was pretty sure that his left arm was sprained if not broken.
Louise and Kistna were huddled in a corner watching the battle take place between the two titans. Through one event or another, there was only one copy of each left with the two originals still trading spell fire with the other. That fire whip that he was using would have any decent fire mage salivating at the mere thought of mastering it. Wardes was having a hard time dealing with the attacks from the whip. His wind spells seem capable of blocking and disrupting the flow of fire enough to keep from being burnt, but since that one lucky shot he was unable to go on the offensive. The worst part was that he seemed to be running low on willpower with the continuous casting. If he didn't think of something quickly, he was going to be in trouble.
Suddenly he felt a tickle in his magic senses that told him that the last of his clones had been defeated meaning that there was the probability of two opponents coming after him. The distraction was all that his opponent needed to make his move. With an expert flick of the whip Therum caught Wardes' sword and sent it flying across the room. Wardes thought he was finally done for as he watched the searing flamed coming after him when they suddenly vanished inches from his face. It would appear that his opponent had also run out of reserves. Not surprising considering he had been constantly supplying a magical flame for nearly twenty minutes. Thinking as quickly as possible, Wardes seized one of the swords that the other cloned had dropped hoping that it was not rigged like the others his opponent carried. Not caring about keeping things fair, Therum picked up one of the other discarded blades and rushed in to meet his adversary.
Therum knew that he needed to figure out a way to end this battle quickly. With only one working arm and not much but a tiny puddle of his mana reserves, he was likely to be in trouble soon. Wardes was mildly his better at swordplay when he was fresh. Now that he was wielding such a heavy sword with one hand, things did not look good for the familiar. Wardes seemed to know that he had gained the advantage too because he attacked like a daemon. His form had deteriorated significantly from the duel but there was more than enough force to make up for it. If only his other arm weren't injured he could have drawn his other sword to use as a shield. The only thing keeping the tired familiar on his feet was the Gandálfr runes. Finally the inevitable happened and he was disarmed. Wardes made to go in for the kill when he was hit with one of his favorite 'Breaking Wind' spells from behind, sending him flying into a nearby pillar.
"It's about time you got the hell up Your Highness I hope we didn't interrupt your beauty sleep."
"I am rather thankful that this sleep was interrupted sir. I do believe that I owe you my life." He chuckled mildly as he looked at the broken chain in his hand. "Chain of Fate indeed."
"Did I say chain of fate? Silly me I meant to say change of fate. Those things are designed to heal a man of any single fatal wound short of beheading."
"Louise did you want to say anything to your ex-fiancé before I finish killing him?"
Any further gloating was cut off by the sounds of cannons and magical explosions.
"Your vengeance will have to be swift Sir Magnus the battle has started."
"Go lead your men Wales. I will see to this affair on my own."
"I am in your debt sir and I hope to see you again in the next life."
"We are more than even. I gave you your life back for a few hours, you saved mine for what I hope is a very long time. Oh by the way I would be honored if you would wield one of my swords through the final battle."
"I would be honored." Wales went over to where the sputtering Wardes was still slumped against the wall and picked up the sword he had been using. "Whatever he does to you will be more kindness than you deserve. Be glad that I don't have time to repay you properly for your treachery." The prince started to leave the chapel before stopping dead in his tracks and turning back to speak with the man who saved his life. "Therum I have decided to make one last declaration would you be so kind as to kneel for a moment?"
"Since this could be considered your dying request I am honor bound to comply my friend."
Wales Drew his new sword and lightly tapped Therum's shoulder with the blunt end. "For services rendered to the Nation of Albion I hereby name you a Knight of the Imperial Order and grand all rights and privileges that come with the appointment. I also name you an official member of the Tudor family for all the days of your life." Wales then removed his cloak and the pin that held them on himself and put them on the still kneeling man. When this was done a brief flash occurred around the two men that went largely unnoticed by everyone.
"Do you realize what just happened Therum?"
"If I'm not mistaken Louise I was just knighted by the prince himself. It makes me even more upset that I won't be able to stay and fight. I swear on my honor that I will do all that I can to do your memory honor Wales.
"If you never do anything else I am still more than in your debt than I will ever be able to repay. Sadly I must get to my men. I am sorry that I will not be able to aid in your escape any further."
When the prince had said his final goodbye and left to join the battle, the three remaining companions walked over to address Wardes. "Do you have any final words to say for yourself Sir? I am pretty sure that the prince's hit broke your spine so I don't have to worry about you escaping." Silence was the response. "Have it your way. These are some of my favorite swords I have ever made you know that Viscount? The enchantments I put on them are surprisingly easy to do while being extremely useful. I call it the Caliburn package. They never get dull, they almost never break, and they can be driven into stone with little effort. The kicker to this all is when you activate the conditional removal feature." Using the last of his magical energy Therum levitated Wardes up to around standing height and drove the sword through the man into the stone pillar behind him. He then called up some blood from the puddle Wales left and smeared it on the hilt of the sword. A short incantation later and the sword flashed slightly.
"I have no idea how long it will take you to bleed out like that but I can tell you nobody but one of royal blood will be able to remove that sword from that stone." He left the singed, broken, and bleeding man to a fate he well deserves.
"Therum there is a war going on outside and you are out of willpower how are we going to escape? The ship left ages ago."
"Do you remember when we dealt with Count Mott and I used your power to cast a spell later that afternoon?"
"Yes kinda, but what are you planning to do? I thought you said it is impossible teleport as far as Tristain with three bodies."
"That's true, but I do know a way to get back with our current power levels. You just won't like it is all."
"At this point I don't think there is anything you could do that would surprise me. I will do whatever it takes to see this mission to its end."
"Alright, come with me we need to talk to Wardes one last time before he bleeds out. Do as I say and remember you agreed to this. I am going to need you to give me your hand and concentrate on casting a spell. Any spell will work for what I need." Louise did as she was told and concentrated on casting the summoning spell he had taught her. Suddenly she felt something strange happening to her like she was continuously casting a spell without any visible results. At the same time she noticed that Therum had started speaking in a language she had never heard him cast in before. It was dark and choppy unlike the normally smooth flowing sound of his incantations. Somehow he was drawing glowing symbols in the air with his finger. When he had finished his drawing, he pointed at Wardes and started a different incantation. When he started the second chant she felt the magic in her swirl like it had before but instead of a near euphoria like the previous times, she felt cold and dirty. Suddenly she knew why she felt like that. There was a red stream pouring from the body of her ex-fiancé into the glowing symbols that made them start to shine brighter and hum slightly. As Therum chanted louder and longer the feeling got worse until it suddenly shut off. When the spell ended, it was clear that Wardes was no longer alive and a shining red gateway had been opened.
"There you have it Louise; this portal will take us directly back to your bedroom. All it cost was the life of one traitorous man to open it. We should get going before it closes. I don't know how long I can keep it stable in my current condition."
Silently Louise stepped through the portal followed by Kistna and finally Therum walked through it allowing it to close behind him as he went. No further words were said that night as the three companions tiredly changed their clothes and made ready for bed. Therum was out like a candle in a strong wind as soon as he hit the pillow. Sleep did not come as easily for the other two girls. Both stayed up late into the night thinking about what they had seen that evening. The man that they knew to be a kind hearted prankster had shown a darker side to his persona. He had saved their lives but he had used terribly dark magic to do so. Did the good outweigh the bad of using such a magic or was it an affront against her fundamental beliefs?
A/N Bwahahaha enjoy my sinister cliff hanger. I would like to thank all of you who have stuck with me so far into this story. The editing process for the older chapters is now complete. I changed a fair amount of how the final scene in this chapter played out thanks to me coming up with a borderline crazy idea. If anyone can even come close to guessing what I am plotting I will give you cyber cookies.