"Welcome, mortals," the tallest of the shadow judges spoke. The other two judges continued to watch Austin and his friends through indifferent eyes.
"W-who're you?" Austin stammered.
The leader of the judges answered, "As your friend has stated, we are the Shadow Court. Usually we ignore those who stumble into our realm. However, circumstances that are beyond our control have prevented us from blindly ignoring you." He raised an arm and gestured to Jean. "It seems that one bearing Reaver's flesh and blood has wandered into our domain."
Jean tensed up but continued to stand her ground. She wasn't about to cower in front of the Shadow Court. Austin saw this small act of defiance and said, "It's not her fault we came here so leave her alone."
"Hah hah," the judge laughed. "She does not bare the Dark Seal, so no harm will come to her."
One of the other judges spoke up. "May I show them?" The voice of that judge was clearly feminine.
The leader paused, considering his options. "Yes. You may. Send them back, all of them, to one hour prior to our arrival into this world," he answered to his comrade. Then he turned to Austin and the others. "We will not harm you. There is nothing to gain from it. However, we will educate you some. You see, ever since you first arrived into our territory, we have been watching you. Or, rather, watching her," he glanced in Jean's direction. "I'm sure you've heard Reaver talk about us," he stated.
Jean nodded, "Yes. I know about you. All about you."
The feminine judge glared at Jean. "Clearly he has not told you everything about us. Come now." She vanished from her throne and reappeared next to the group. "Let me educate you." A dark light surrounded the band and they felt themselves being lifted from the ground. In a matter of seconds, they found themselves standing outside. The judge spoke again, "You are inside of a memory. You can only witness. This is one hour before Reaver summoned us. Remember, you have one hour to explore. Make the best of it." With that, she stopped talking.
Austin looked around. They were standing in a meadow. He turned and saw the giant stone wall. There was no door that would lead them into the darkness that was the Shadow Court. In fact, there was no darkness at all. Bright sunshine greeted them. "Where are we?" He asked.
Erik touched the bark on a very much alive tree. "I think this is supposed to be Wraithmarsh. I mean a much nicer, greener Wraithmarsh." The armor that he wore gleamed in the sun.
Jean went ahead of the group and walked toward the road. She turned left and, where there had been water, a village sat. She gasped, "This is Oakvale!"
"No way. We just went past here and it was all destroyed." Cody also looked left. "But that shadow judge did say that this was a memory. We have one hour to see what we need to see. Let's get moving."
The group moved away from the meadow and crossed under the covered bridge. The town of Oakvale was full of life. People could be heard, talking about the news from elsewhere or just gossiping. One group of old men could be heard discussing the fall of the Hero's Guild.
Austin looked around. Oakvale had once been a port. He could spot the beach down the hill from the town square. "Well I think splitting up is a bad idea. Where do you want to explore?" He asked, glancing back at his friends.
"I guess we can eavesdrop on people. Try to learn some juicy information?" Cody suggested. When Austin gave him a dirty look, he protested, "It's not like we didn't do that at the Hero's Academy! I mean, yeah, the information we get here would be less than useless."
Clarissa turned and looked around. She listened carefully. "You're not going to believe this, but I think I can hear a familiar voice."
"Here? Who do we know that is alive now?" Cody wondered. Then it hit him. "Oh yeah, I nearly forgot that he was almost immortal."
Jean also heard the very familiar voice. She followed it and stopped suddenly once she found the owner. On a bench, under a large oak tree, was Reaver. Jean had to blink several times to recognize him. It was indeed Reaver but this version did not have the cruel eyes or the sarcastically arrogant voice. This Reaver had youthful blue eyes and a kind smile. And he was with a lady—the same lady that Jean had seen floating dead in the water.
The lady wore an engagement ring on her finger. She turned her lovely green eyes to Reaver and said softly, "Soon we will be married and spend the rest of our lives together." Her voice was gentle. She flipped back her long red hair.
"Oh darling, I would do anything just to keep us together forever."Reaver gave her a small kiss on the cheek. "I wish you and I never had to age. I don't want you to see me like that—decrepit, fragile. If only I could find a way to stop the aging process. Oh, Amy," he held her hand.
Amy laughed, "Reaver, you are so funny. You can't stop the aging process. It's impossible." He scowled at her and she laughed even harder. "Sweetie, if you want to stop aging, you'd have to either live in a fairy tale like the ones we tell our children or shoot yourself."
Reaver sighed. He looked like he wanted to tell her something important, but decided against it. The sounds of a violin rang out in the background. He perked up. "I'm in the mood for dancing. What do you say?" He offered Amy his arm.
"Oh, Reaver," she took his arm and they walked away.
Jean looked amazed. So did the others. It was Austin who broke the silence. "I never knew that Reaver was such a gentleman."
"Yeah, I guess the next time you hear music, you can ask Reaver to dance," Cody suggested. Everyone threw him a dirty look. "What?"
Austin watched Jean. She looked stunned. "Reaver was a nice guy. I could barely recognize him. He was just so nice." Her voice had a ring of disbelief in it.
"Hard to believe that you can't find your father from a crowd just because he looks nice," Erik pointed out. "I guess he never looks nice very often."
"Reaver is seldom kind to anyone," Jean admitted. She added, "Unless it's me. He's good to me. But that's pretty much it for kindness. Hell, he won't even admit that I'm his daughter."
"Don't feel bad, Jean. My parents pretty much abandoned me because I wasn't as violent as them. Being the son of mercenaries is not fun, I can tell you that much." Erik laid a massive hand on her shoulder. "At least Reaver never abandoned you."
The group saw Reaver and Amy near to where the violin was playing. They were dancing slowly, moving back and forth to the melody. "Well, looks like they're occupied for a while. Might I suggest we look around some more? We still have a good half hour before time is up." Austin startled everyone away from gawking at Reaver.
"Maybe we can get some leads on the Avo sword," Jean added.
Clarissa pointed out the problem. "We can't talk to anyone. How are we supposed to ask about the sword?"
"I guess we just eavesdrop, like Cody suggested," Austin grinned at Cody.
The group departed from Reaver and Amy. They began to walk into the town square. Many of the conversations were uninteresting ("How's the family, Bob?" or "Crops doing well?") but occasionally some would say something that would peak the interest of the group.
An old man stood in front of several kids. One held a doll similar to the one Austin found while exploring the flooded village. The man raised his arms up. "Settle down, kids. Settle down!" He called out to the youngsters.
"Which story are you going to tell us today?" One of the little boys asked.
The old man rubbed his chin. "I think I'm going to tell you the story of the Hero of Oakvale. He was very important to the history of Albion. Can anyone tell me what he did that made him such an important figure in our lives?"
A little girl raised her hand and said, "He killed Jack of Blades!"
"Right. He slew Jack, who had been a constant source of evil since the beginning of time itself. Can anyone tell me how he did it?"
"He used Avo's Tear!"The same little girl cried.
"Right again but next time, Lara, let someone else answer." The old man said gently. Lara crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. The old man spoke again. "Avo's Tear is the sword that stopped Jack's return as a fearsome dragon. It sliced through Jack's scaly armor and finally finished him off. After the death of Jack, the Hero went on one last quest. He had heard about the twin of Avo's Tear—Avo's Lamentation. The Hero had decided that both swords needed to be together. Once he gathered both swords, he came back to Oakvale, where he spent the rest of his days teaching young ones the ways of the Hero."
"Sir?" A boy raised his hand.
"Yes, Bennett?"
Bennett asked, "What happened to Avo's Tear and Avo's Lamentation?"
The old man answered, "Well, after the Hero of Oakvale died, two of his closest friends, themselves Heroes, decided to separate them and guard over the blades. One took Avo's Lamentation and hid it someone in Oakvale. The other took Avo's Tear and was never heard from again."
"We could find Avo's Lamentation?" Bennett asked in awe.
"Theoretically, yes. I suppose it is possible. I'm sure the two Heroes put some kind of protective spell on the swords, allowing only the most worthy to wield the swords. Sorry but I don't think they would allow children to use such dangerous weapons. Oh, hello, Reaver. Are you having a good day? How is Miss Amy?" The old man noticed Reaver was walking by.
Reaver jerked in surprise and answered quickly, "Oh yes. Fine day, indeed." His voice sounded polite but it was clear that he was in no mood to have small talk. He held a strange black book in his hand. "Amy is fine," he added.
"That's wonderful! You two make a cute couple," the old man said.
Reaver looked anxious. "Thanks. I need to be heading off. It was nice talking to you."
"And you as well, son."
With that, Reaver turned and returned to his stride down the road. Austin and the others followed him. "I wonder what that book is," Austin muttered to Jean, who was walking beside him.
"I'll check," she answered. She sped up her pace to match Reaver's and glanced at the book. With a puzzled expression, Jean returned to Austin's side. "I don't know. I can't read the title at all."
Reaver finally stopped outside of the village. He looked around and spotted the meadow. He opened the book and began to flip through the pages. "I will always protect you, Amy. No matter the cost…" Reaver muttered to himself.
Jean began to realize what Reaver was planning. "He's going to summon the Shadow Court and destroy everything!" She yelped, running toward Reaver. "No! You can't do this! FATHER!" Jean cried, forgetting that Reaver could not hear her.
Reaver paused. It was almost as if he could hear Jean's cry. However, he walked into the meadow and bent down to one knee. He began to read from the book. It was in a strange tongue. After several minutes of reading, the sky began to darken. A fiery red circle appeared on the ground. A shadowy figure could be seen standing in the middle of the circle.
"Why have you summoned us?" The judge asked in a booming voice.
Reaver was shaking. "I…I want your help. I don't want to age. Please, help me. I want to be immune to death," he stammered.
The judge glared at Reaver with his red eyes. "Oh? You are asking a great deal of us. What will you give us in return?"
"My heart and my soul," Reaver replied nervously.
The judge paused, considering Reaver's offer. "You are offering your heart and soul, hmm? Very well. We shall discuss any other terms and conditions of this agreement once I have my first payment. You will return here when I am finished. And you shall continue to do so as long as there is breath in your body."
Reaver looked confused. "First payment?"
"This is a massive undertaking that you are asking of us. The first payment is always greater. Any future offerings shall be minor. Do you understand?"
"I guess so," Reaver answered. Confusion ran across his face.
The judge raised his arms and called, "I shall claim Reaver's heart and soul as my own!"
A strange fog began to seep into Oakvale. Reaver turned as the fog turned the leaves of the trees brown. Then the fog slowly made its way into the town. Screams shortly followed. Austin looked at Jean. Her face mirrored Reaver—they both showed horror.
"NO! What have you done?! I don't want the village destroyed!" Reaver yelled at the judge.
The judge spoke calmly, "You said you wanted to give us your heart. Your heart is Oakvale and all of its residents. Now as for your soul…"
Reaver did not stand and allow the judge to finish his sentence. He was running back toward Oakvale. Austin and the others raced to keep up. Once they all made it back, Oakvale was a scene of chaos. Screams could be heard everywhere in the village. "AMY?!" Reaver shouted, cupping his hands against his mouth. "AMY?! Where are you?!"
Austin felt a great deal of pity for Reaver and the diary page that he found in Bloodstone began to come back to him. Reaver did not know that this was going to happen, he thought bitterly. Now that I can truly see Reaver's reaction, I understand his diary.
Reaver continued his frantic search for his fiancée. "Reaver. Help me," the boy named Bennett stumbled toward Reaver. The boy's face was snow white and blood emerged from his eyes like tears. "Save me," the boy collapsed in front of Reaver.
"What have I done?!" Reaver gasped in horror.
Cody looked down at Bennett. "Poor boy. He never even got a chance to live," he said somberly. He turned to Jean and shook his head. "I know Reaver is a monster, but I really don't think he would purposefully destroy his own home. This is just awful."
Jean looked horrified at the destruction. The elderly, who were resting on benches, continued to sit. Their bloodstained eyes were the only indication that they were not sleeping. The bodies of children could be seen scattered throughout the village. They were out playing when the deadly fog crept into Oakvale.
"AMY!" Reaver finally saw Amy lying under a wilting oak tree.
She was still alive, but only just. "Oh, Reaver. I am glad you are still alive," she whispered. Blood oozed from her eyes. "How? How did this happen? Oh, Reaver. You have to escape. This fog…it is killing everyone."
"Amy," Reaver bent over her body and kissed her. "I never meant for any of this to happen."
She smiled weakly. "It's not your fault…." Her voice faltered. Amy gasped for air and struggled against an invisible force. After several seconds of thrashing, she stopped moving.
"Amy? Amy?!" Reaver yelled. "Oh, what have I done?! Amy!" He sobbed over her body.
The feminine shadow judge spoke to Austin and his friends. "Time is up. But first…" The scene changed. The fog that had consumed Oakvale vanished and a new town appeared.
Austin recognized the clock tower. "Bowerstone Market? Why are we here?" He looked back at the faces of his friends. All of them looked puzzled. Then they gasped when they saw Jean standing under the clock tower. "Jean?" He glanced back. Jean was standing right behind him.
"I have no idea what kind of joke the Shadow Court is pulling, but that is not me," Jean answered Austin's amazed expression.
The Jean that stood under the clock tower had a small black book in her hands. Her eyes turned red and, in a matter of seconds, every resident of Bowerstone fell. Everyone, from the meanest guard to the most innocent of children, died.
Jean ran out into the vision and yelled, "That will never happen!" She looked at the evil Jean, who was laughing like a maniac. Jean blinked. Her evil incarnation blurred slightly. Jean could see her own features altering somewhat—until she was staring at a red eyed Reaver, still laughing like a maniac.
"No. I will never allow this to happen. I am not Reaver! I am NOT Reaver! It doesn't matter if he is my father, I am not him! You cannot control me, Shadow Court! I am not your puppet! I will never submit to you!" Jean grabbed her longbow and pulled an arrow from her quiver. "You bastards! Leave me alone!" She fired an arrow at the evil incarnation.
The vision shattered. Austin blinked. He and his friends were back in the horror of the Shadow Court. The three judges stood in front of their thrones. "Very well. You have passed our test. We know that you seek the legendary Avo's Lamentation that resides in this very tomb. You may remove it from our domain. It lies below us." The judge raised an arm and a staircase appeared that would lead Austin from his platform and down toward the waterlogged floor of the Shadow Court.
"Jean," the judge said in a stately voice. "You have proven yourself to us. We will no longer bother you. Farewell." The trio of judges vanished.
Austin cleared his throat. "So let's go down into hell, shall we?"