Chapter 29: On the Edge of Darkness and Light
Loganos was laid to rest in the earth in the early morning hours following the events that led to his death. The search for Wagnard, his murderer, went on relentlessly for two days. Ashram and his men searched every room of the Palace and then all the homes in Blade from top to bottom.
Amidst the search, Ashram's men found elements of a Flaimesh resistance group in its infancy. It was promptly crushed, but to no one's surprise the hunt turned up no sign of Wagnard or Salu. Ashram assumed the treacherous wizard knew enough to get out of his immediate reach.
At the end of the second day Ashram decided he would mobilize his troops and expand their search to other Marmo territories until they found some clue to Wagnard's whereabouts. He already had a pretty good idea where to start, but having been awake for nearly two entire days he decided to return to his chambers to rest before proceeding on the journey.
Pirotess joined him as he rested and comforted him as best she could. With her snuggled up next to him he sunk into his bed and fell fast asleep, still plotting his revenge on Wagnard.
"Welcome back Ashram." A familiar voice addressed him as he slept. Ashram looked up to see Beld sitting on his ruined throne in the dark landscape of his all too familiar dream. Loganos was now sitting on the ground next to the throne at Beld's feet. Ashram mostly tried to ignore him, but couldn't completely.
"Why didn't you warn me about Wagnard?" Ashram asked, wasting no time with small talk.
"At the time I didn't know." Beld replied. "He was dead after all. It was only later that he was raised from the dead and resumed his position as Kardis' acolyte." Ashram stood there silent for a moment.
"I would already have that traitor's head on a lance, but I can't seem to find him." Ashram growled.
"Finding him is easy, you only need ask yourself where he's going to be, not where he is." Beld suggested. "Think about it for a minute, where will he go?" Ashram did as Beld asked.
"I've already considered this, if his goal is to resurrect the Dark Goddess…" Ashram thought out loud. "…then he'll probably need to return to the Temple of Kardis on Marmo to do so."
"Bravo Ashram." Beld applauded. "Now that you know where he will be, the question is what to do about it."
"Easy." Ashram answered with a cold expression. "I go there and separate his head from his shoulders."
"Hhmmm… not so easy as that I would surmise." Beld snorted. "Overconfidence will not serve you well here Ashram. You will need to call upon every resource at your disposal to answer this threat."
"Wagnard is not so mighty…" Ashram started to argue stubbornly.
"But he has a Black Goddess backing him." Beld interrupted. "Forget whatever notions you have about his strengths and weaknesses. He is a pawn, a corrupt tool, an instrument of destruction. He's no longer mortal, not even your sword can slew him now. With his new found powers he can call upon unimaginable forces to aid him. The only way to stop him is to remove his power and to do that you will have to defy a God. Not a task to be taken lightly."
"So how am I supposed to even begin to do that?" Ashram inquired impatiently.
"I really have no idea." Beld answered. "Perhaps the witch could tell you. Best of luck Ashram, it's time to wake up, farewell." Beld teasingly waved goodbye to him.
"Yeah, a lot of help you were…" Ashram murmured to himself.
With his latest dream as a motivator, Ashram got to work mobilizing his forces in Flaim. He intended to take nearly all of his men back to Marmo. He sent a messenger to Baltus in Raiden that instructed that he was to break off his attack and return to Kannon with best possible speed. He was to come with his men and the fleet.
Sadly, Ashram also informed Baltus about the death of his nephew in the message. He wished he could have told Baltus in person, but there just wasn't any time. If there was any truth to Wagnard's boasts then even a single day's delay could mean the end to all life in Lodoss. He could have waited to tell Baltus when they rendezvous back in Kannon, but he thought he should know as soon as possible.
Ashram left Flaim with Pirotess as ever at his side. He left behind just enough men to protect his newly won prize. The rest started the long journey across Lodoss heading to Kannon and the port city of Rood. He intended to rendezvous with Baltus and the fleet in there.
From Rood Ashram could organize and consolidate his forces before sailing on to Marmo. If Beld was right, this fight would decide the fate of their world as they knew it.
The army marched southeast the entire day. Ashram led from horseback at the head of the grand column with Pirotess. As they rode, they came upon a graveyard. It seemed to sparkle in the distance and as they approached it became clear why.
There were silver and gold swords sticking out of the ground marking individual grave sites of fallen knights. There were perhaps as many as a hundred swords in all; they reflected the mid-afternoon rays of the sun glimmering brightly.
"Fallen warriors from another time." Pirotess spoke as they got closer. "What do you think happened to them?"
"Don't know, but I'd bet smart money that Karla had a hand in it." Ashram added. Pirotess looked over to him.
"She was likely pulling the strings." Pirotess agreed. "You know, there's an old superstition amongst my people that says when you slay an enemy, a part of them is bound to you forever."
"That's a very strange saying Pirotess..." Ashram looked back to the graveyard. "… but if that's true, then that old crone carries a great deal of weight with her."
"Those swords are so beautiful." Pirotess observed as they rode past the graveyard.
"Yes, it's a wonder that none of them have been plundered. We should keep it that way, wouldn't you agree?" Ashram asked.
"Yes." Pirotess replied.
"Lieutenant!" Ashram turned and called back into the ranks.
"Yes my Lord?" The officer quickly rode up from behind.
"See to it nothing here is touched." Ashram commanded.
"Yes my Lord, it shall be done." The officer slowed his pace, falling behind them and beginning to pass on the word from the top of the ranks on down.
"That was noble, but may have been unnecessary." Pirotess pointed out. "I think that graveyard already has a protective spell on it."
"Oh, what kind of spell?" Ashram asked.
"I'm not certain, but the effect will make you forget what you are doing if you enter the grounds." Pirotess explained.
"Effective against looters I bet." Ashram smiled. "Hopefully we don't lose anyone along the way, eh?"
They continued to ride for a while. With the knights' graves so near and his recent dream, Ashram's thoughts settled on Beld. He thought about him for a long while until eventually he noticed Pirotess staring at him. Her expression asked what he was thinking.
"Pirotess, have I ever told you how Beld got the large scar on his face?" Ashram inquired.
"Didn't he get it from the Demon King at the final battle of their war?" Pirotess ventured a guess.
"No, but that is the popular theory." Ashram smirked. "And that is the way Beld would prefer to have the story remembered. What actually happened is somewhat… less heroic." Ashram paused. "In fact, he more or less got that scar from a woman."
"Really…?" Pirotess asked raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, in a manor of speaking." Ashram replied. "Apparently in his youth he was a bit womanizer. He frequented pubs in pursuit of his various conquests. Now on one particular occasion he got more than a little drunk. And that night he had set his heart on a particular beauty. She refused him, giving him a slap for his trouble, and left the pub. He pursued her outside, but in his intoxicated state he tripped on a stone, fell, and sliced open the side of his face on a hoe that was carelessly left on the ground. He was found out-cold shortly there after and stitched up. He changed his ways after that night, but the scar never faded."
"I never knew." Pirotess almost chuckled.
"There are few that do." Ashram noted. "It was not one of the things Beld was overly proud of, so when the rumor about him getting the scar from the Demon King came up, he never denied it."
The march to Rood continued for three days before the army was far enough east to turn down a road that took them south. The road south would take them directly towards Kannon. It would also take them close to Valis' border, but not close enough to alert them to a possible invasion. When it got dark, they set up camp for the night. With a couple more good days of marching, they'd be in Kannon.
Sharing a blanket with Ashram, Pirotess snuggled up to him. They lay next to a small fire in the center of their tent. She rested her head against his bare chest, feeling him breathe in and out with her eyes closed. His arm was wrapped around her back, running his fingers up and down her smooth tan skin. He watched the smoke rise to the vent at the top of the tent.
Ashram liked to think he was a man who feared nothing, but there was indeed something he feared. It crept into the shadows of the back of his mind at that very moment. He looked down at Pirotess and realized he had never had anything so fine as what he had with her. With such a radiate elven maiden by his side everything felt as it should be, except he knew that it wasn't. He also realized he had never had anything that he was so afraid to lose.
He recalled how near he came to completely succumbing to despair when he thought Pirotess was dead at Fire Dragon Mountain. Even with the hope of her resurrection, the anguish was almost more than he could bear. With that in mind, how could he even be thinking of bringing her closer to another desperate confrontation? He decided from that moment on he would never again put her in harm's way. He felt compelled then to speak.
"You know, ever since I was set on the path of a warrior I thought I could handle anything." Ashram began. "I thought that if that if I just always applied myself and remained strong I'd be up to any challenge life presented me. I never doubted it. That is, not until Fire Dragon Mountain."
Pirotess starred intently at him as she listened.
"Everything changed after that, but it was not the dragon Shooting Star that caused me to loose heart there. It was you... when you fell." Ashram admitted. "I felt something then that I've only felt once before." Pirotess could see he was having some difficulty with the thought that was residing in his mind just then. "When you were stricken and lay dying in my arms I felt helpless, utterly and completely helpless. You were dying and there was nothing I could do about it. It was more than I could handle." He paused, looking for his next words.
"So, you are saying that my presence is weakening your resolve and thus making you vulnerable?" Pirotess asked softly.
"No, that's not at all what I'm trying to say." Ashram replied. "I'm sorry that I'm not better able to express myself. It's just that… Well, you realize it's hard for a man like me to admit to those kinds of feelings, don't you? By doing so I'm hoping to show you how much you mean to me. You make me want to be a better man and protect you always. And when I thought that you were lost to me there at Fire Dragon Mountain I didn't want to even face the thought of a future without you. And there would not have been if not for interface."
"What do you mean?" Pirotess asked apprehensively.
"Never mind." Ashram replied. He was quiet after that for a moment. She gave him a look that pressed for more information, but he stubbornly refused to speak on the matter any further. Pirotess didn't look at all satisfied with his answer and there was silence for a time until Ashram decided to fill it by changing the subject.
"It's funny…" He began to speak again. "…I had you checked out after our initial encounter all those months ago because I thought you might be a spy. I realize now that was wrong. In retrospect, I can see that you are probably the most loyal soldier I've ever had. You've followed me without question or regret into the jaws of death and have asked for nothing more in return but to continue to serve by my side. If I were to die tomorrow you would be the moment of beauty in the lifetime of pain that made it all worthwhile."
"You are overly generous with your words." Pirotess blushed.
"No, I give you exactly as I measure you deserve." Ashram insisted. "You've shown me through your actions what I mean to you, I only seek to return the favor through my words."
Ashram considered what to say next, but as it turned out he wouldn't get a chance to vocalize his thoughts any further.
"My Lord!" A voice shattered his inner thoughts. He got up and stepped just outside his tent to find one of his officers and two soldiers waiting outside for him.
"What is it?" Ashram asked in a displeased tone.
"Sire, someone has infiltrated our camp!" The soldier replied. "One of the perimeter guards was found dead at his post, it could be the work of assassins! I don't know if they are still here, but you had best arm yourself!"
"Lieutenant, tear this camp apart until you find them!" Ashram ordered. "I want them alive if it's practical; if not, kill them."
"Yes my Lord." The officer saluted and went to carry out his orders with his two men following quickly behind. He left two other soldiers outside the tent to stand guard.
'Whoever is out there tried to slip by our guards unnoticed, a dire mistake.' Ashram thought as he slipped back inside his tent and began to throw on his armor.
"What is it?" Pirotess asked.
"Trouble, someone has breached the camp." Ashram replied as he buckled his belt and sword scabbard.
A sword suddenly stabbed into the tent wall on the opposite side of the front flaps. It ripped a hole through the cloth as it was forced down, making an opening. A man rushed through and attacked Ashram.
Ashram swiftly kicked the man in the chest as hard as he could. The man stumbled backwards back out of the hole in the tent. Two more swords ripped through the tent wall and two more figures stepped into the tent.
"You…?" Ashram said angrily as he recognized the two mercenaries who had ambushed him on the Dragon's Claw.
The pair held their ground until the third man came back into the tent. Ashram recognized him as well. It was the all too familiar young knight from the War of Heroes and Fire Dragon Mountain. He was difficult to mistake, still wearing the faded bronze armor and green clothes underneath as he had before.
Somehow this young knight had done, in Ashram's mind, what no one had ever done before. He had crossed swords with him on two previous occasions and had come back for a third time, and with all his limbs still attached no less.
As Ashram watched the three intruders, waiting for them to attack, he decided he preferred not seeing the same adversaries multiple times. Putting them in their graves properly the first time proved to be much less annoying.
"How did you get here?" Ashram directed his question to the mercenaries.
"A little jail break can go a long ways." The young knight Parn answered in a cocky tone, staring at Ashram with his blue eyes.
"Pirotess…" Ashram smiled. "…would you be so kind as to entertain our guests for a minute?" Pirotess was hidden behind him and already chanting an incantation. He stepped out of the way just as she finished.
Ashram watched as small shards of lightening shot from Pirotess' fingertips. The electric bolts shot across the tent and struck each the intruders in their respective chests. They were knocked back four feet into the tent wall, which caught them and flopped them into the dirt.
"That will work just fine." Ashram smirked. Soon after, the entire tent collapsed under the weight thrown against its side.
Ashram and Pirotess scurried out from under the cloth of the collapsed tent. Their opponents did likewise, resuming their attack, but with far little less vigor than before. Parn and Orson went after Ashram, leaving Shiris for Pirotess to contend with.
Ashram was hard pressed to stay ahead of both Parn and Orson. They tried to keep him in the middle of them, dividing his attention and making it difficult for him to defend himself. This might have worked on a lesser man, but Ashram was a master swordsman. He managed to keep them at bay, but was having a hard time striking back at them. Ashram would have to be patient until an opportunity presented itself.
Luckily for Ashram it was not long into the fight before Parn got impatient and made a hasty lunge at him. Ashram made him pay in what was becoming the usual way, knocking the hilt of his sword against the back of Parn's head as he passed by. Parn fell to the ground, but Orson rushed in to prevent Ashram from continuing the attack.
Orson was a worthy opponent, he did not have the skills with a sword that Parn did, but what he lacked in skill he far made for with strength and patience. Ashram had never had any difficultly out-skilling anyone with a blade, but he was not used to anyone being able to put more power behind their blows than he was.
The disadvantage was an irritation to Ashram. Each time Orson attacked he was pushed back. That threw off his normal pace and rhythm and thus he wasn't able to react the way he would with a normal opponent.
Before long, Parn rejoined the fight and once more Ashram was caught between the two of them. Parn seemed to be fighting more passionately and clumsy than he had in their previous encounters. His skills had actually improved since their first encounter, but somehow he was even more reckless than before.
Meanwhile, Pirotess was battling with Shiris. Pirotess found that Shiris was skilled enough with her sword, but much like Parn, her weakness was that she allowed her passion to undo her form. Pirotess sensed this and used it to her advantage, taking every opportunity to taunt Shiris and disrupt her concentration.
During the fight, Pirotess swept Shiris' legs out from under her. Shiris was quick to rise to her feet again and was red in the face as she came after Pirotess. Shiris unleashed a fury of attacks, none of which landed. Pirotess kept smiling at her the whole time, provoking her even further.
Pirotess fought smart. She took her time, dodging attacks and waiting for the right moment to strike. The moment finally came; Shiris had grown so frustrated that she lowered her sword's guard slightly, leaving herself open to a higher attack. Pirotess struck quickly and managed to catch Shiris on the left upper arm, causing a deep cut.
The pain from the slash made Shiris clasp her hand to her arm, distracting her long enough for Pirotess to get close enough to drive her right knee into her stomach. She knocked the wind out of Shiris, putting her to the ground gasping. Shiris was left in the dirt bleeding and struggling to catch her breath.
A couple yards away, Ashram was starting to get tired. Parn and Orson were relentless with their attacks. From the corner of his eye, he could see his men had arrived and were forming a circle, surrounding the fight. They were closing in for the kill, weapons drawn.
Ashram however wanted Parn, Orson, and Shiris alive to question and he saw an opportunity coming to achieve that. He quickly sidestepped yet another inept attack by Parn, grabbing him by his armor around the back of his neck. Then he kicked Parn in the back of his knees, forcing him to the ground. Ashram put the tip of Soul Crusher to his neck in a threatening manor.
"Alright berserker, that will be about enough, unless you want to see your young friend here in an early grave." Ashram warned.
Orson looked over, just in time to see Pirotess pull Shiris up by the hair. She held a knife to her throat to reinforce Ashram's threat. Orson immediately dropped his sword without a word. Ashram men's moved in and bound his hands behind his back. They did the same to Shiris and Parn. More of Ashram's men brought three other prisoners into view.
"My Lord, we captured these three as they tried to sneak in." Ashram looked over to the prisoners. There was a Monk of Falis, a Priestess of Marfa, and a tall man wearing a plain light brown robe that had blond hair and carried a wooden staff.
"Bind their hands as well." Ashram ordered. "I want no less than twenty men to keep watch on these prisoners at all times until I decide their fate, is that understood?"
"Yes Sire." The officer saluted.
