Chapter 37

Ghost of the Castle

Emeth patted Valkron on the head.

"Oi!"

"Ready for it, mate?"

Valkron glared at him, but there was nothing in the glare. "What do you think?"

"You look fine to me," replied the wizard happily. "Just like how you did when you went off to face Baphomet."

"That means I don't look fine?"

"Why are you asking me?" asked Emeth, with a grin so wide his head was in danger of falling apart into half.

Valkron sighed, and, much to the wizard's astonishment, buried his face in his hands.

"I'm a fool, aren't I?" he said, half muffled.

"That depends on what you think of it."

Valkron lifted his face and looked away. "I'm going to try my luck, in any case. Bamboo Grove Hill is probably a once in a lifetime thing."

"Oh, hell yeah, once in a lifetime if you don't surrender or if you don't win."

Valkron gave him a look. "You're not exactly helping, you know."

"Since when do I ever get told by you that I did manage to help?" asked Emeth casually.

The knight made a strange "aaaaaarrrgghhh" sound and buried his head in his hands. Emeth panicked slightly.

"Okay, okay, I didn't mean that!"

"Stop torturing the poor man," said Iruna,as she walked towards them. "He's had enough already."

Emeth sighed and shook his head. "Well, he should have said."

Suddenly the horns blared. Emeth jumped two feet into the air in shock.

"Off you go now, Valkron," said Iruna, prising his hands off his head and pulling him upright. The knight had gone white.

She gently pushed him to the gates of Repherion, where his peco was waiting for him. He turned to mount, still quite pale, but she pulled him back.

"I'll be waiting for you," she said softly to him, looking into his eyes. "Promise you'll come back. We need you."

Valkron stared back into her eyes in apprehension. Then he relaxed a little. "I promise, don't worry. I will come back."

He kissed her on the cheek, before turning and mounting his peco. Iruna watched as he galloped away, towards Hlin, who had obliged to warp him to Payon before she left for Geffen to wait for the war to end.

The Kafra employee cast a portal right in Valkron's peco's path. As it thumped straight for the portal, Iruna saw the knight look over his shoulder and wave at her, before disappearing into the white-blue light. When it had faded he had gone.

Iruna clasped her hands together and briefly prayed for him before turning to go back to Repherion to defend it.

The horns blared across Greenwood Lake. Adiemus hefted his pike in his hands, feeling the weight of it.

"Think we're going to get attacked by the Black Cross today?" asked Raven, checking the sharpness of his dagger.

"Not too sure, but I'm not going to let it pass."

"Well, we've got Apocalypse Ultima watching our backs," said the rogue. "If the worse comes to the worse, S will charge in. He's not too happy with the Black Cross either - he talks like they don't bother him, but I know for a fact he's been wanting to kick some Black Cross a--"

"Raven!"

"--rear since they took his castle through the Seven Eyes," said Raven coolly, without any break in his speech.

Adiemus gave him a look. "You do have to remember there are women and teenagers here."

"Yeah, but I bet they know more than I do in terms of 'words'." Raven laughed at Adiemus' expression. "Younger generation. Don't hope they're still innocent."

"Whatever."

They watched as several small guilds attacked the Legionnaires' gate defences, not far off. From where they were they could hear the clashing of weapons and the enraged shouts of warriors on both sides.

"Looks like small guilds are trying to prove they're not being a financial burden on the kingdom either," said Raven. "They're not being very good at it, though. Someone didn't have a marc card in his clothes...heh, easy bait for people to pick off--"

"Raven?"

The rogue turned, Adiemus was staring in another direction.

"Who's that down there?"

Raven had a look.

"Looks like someone on a peco, moving very fast in this direction," he said, at last. "You can't see that? Whoever it is isn't that far off--"

"No, I can see," said the crusader. "Just...not very well. My eyesight is blurring if I look too hard."

Raven took a look at Adiemus. The crusader frowned at him. "What's with your face right next to mine?"

"Just having a look at your eyes," said the rogue, frowning. "They seem a bit cloudy to me."

"Are you sure?" Adiemus raised a hand to his eyes in alarm. "Why?"

"I don't know, how can I tell? Hey, wait a minute - that's Valkron!"

Adiemus spun around to see Raven pointing at the little dot heading straight for Scarlet Palace - or had been. It had now changed course and was charging straight towards the silent, unoccupied castle between Bright Arbor and Holy Shadow.

"Where the heck is he heading for?" asked Adiemus ludicrously, squinting to keep the little dot in sight. "The Seven Eyes has not been having a good time! He can't be thinking--"

"He's not heading for Bright Arbor, Adiemus," said Raven. "He's going for...Bamboo Grove Hill."

There was silence. The two of them looked at each other.

"Not Bamboo Grove Hill!"

Valkron got off his peco once he arrived at the castle. Like its name suggested, it had been built atop a hill, in the middle of a clearing surrounded by nothing but bamboo. Mosquitoes buzzed around Valkron as he tied his peco to a bamboo tree. He patted Evlor and went off into the bamboo.

After a few minutes of walking through the green calmness of the bamboo grove he came out at the base of the hill. He looked up at the peaceful castle above him and sighed.

Valkron walked around the base of the hill until he found the gates. He made his way up the hill to the gates and stood in front of them.

The gates were heavily rusted - so rusted that they stood open. Valkron licked his finger and held it up to the air briefly. He then licked it again. It was a method that Emeth had taught him, on how to detect if there had been any magic.

If there was, there would have been a tangy taste to his finger. But there wasn't. Valkron looked worried. The other guilds had abandoned Bamboo Grove Hill to the point that it had reached a stage where it had been forgotten. He recalled reading notes in the Guild Liaison Office the day he had sneaked in as a merchant.

"If a castle is not surrounded or occupied by humans the spells around it will progressively deactivate over time until the magic is completely dormant. The only way to reactivate the spells of a castle is to break the Emperium that resides deep within its heart, but this is often a difficult task due to the large number of monsters that move into the castle due to the lack of protective spells."

Valkron frowned. He didn't have a choice.

He walked up to the doors of the castle and saw, on the wall next to the door, the bronze plaque Adiemus had mentioned.

Whoever worthy of me will gain my trust.

There was algae growing on it. Valkron shook his head and went on.

He had to use all his might to make a gap big enough for him to pass through between the doors of the castle. Before he stepped over the threshold into the darkness beyond, he caught his breath.

Then he walked in.

The interior of Bamboo Grove Hill looked just like any other castle, but this time the architecture was more Southern. The carvings on the walls depicted Southern warriors in the past, while the windows had, instead of wooden shutters, blinds made of bamboo strips.

Valkron walked slowly into the hall, looking warily around. His scythe was slung over his shoulder; the blade had been carefully wrapped in black oilskin. Valkron did not want to risk decapitating himself.

He was still gazing around when he heard a creak from behind him. The knight turned around just in time to see the heavy wooden doors shut. Not slam shut - just close behind him, with a soft clunk.

Then there was a ghostly combination of voices that merged into one - a male voice that sounded dry and old and threatening. Valkron felt the chill in the hall, and the hairs on the back of his neck rose.

"Who dares to venture into my hall?"

Emeth stood atop the battlements of Repherion with Kushana and watched as a small guild attempted to break through Merseitzdeitz's gate defences.

"They seem very spirited in their efforts to throw us off the ladder," remarked Kushana, also watching the fight. "How many people do we have now?"

"About seventy, coming to eighty," replied Emeth. "I'm glad we've got Iruna and those three helping out over there."

From where they were standing they could hear Kumahar's music playing. There were flashes of light from where Iruna was fighting. Emeth, who was sensitive to energy and magical presences in the atmosphere, could feel the surge of physical energy, albeit faintly, whenever Silas used one of his combos. Considering that Merseitzdeitz had not been built close to Repherion, this was impressive.

"Zak's having fun," said Kushana. "Look, there he goes-- oh, he's gone again."

"He appears and disappears like it's easy for him," said the wizard, turning to watch him. "That's why it's hard to find him...unless someone casts Ruwach or Sight."

Nocturne, who was also in Merseitzdeitz, was firing arrows furiously into the thick crowd. After a while the crowd began to thin. People were running off from the main body; they had just experienced the cursing ability of his hunter bow.

Suddenly Khan was next to them. Emeth jumped a little in shock.

"I thought you were in Eyorbriggar," said Kushana, surprised.

"We've got company," said the assassin. "Albrecht's Eyorbriggar-based patrol division has just spotted a large group heading this way. He's now finding out who they are."

"And how are we going to find out if you're here?" asked Emeth.

"Don't worry, we figured out how. Ah - there they are."

They turned to look. Across the river, behind Repherion and Merseitzdeitz, there was a bright light blinking merrily at them from the highest tower of Eyorbriggar.

Khan watched the flashes intently, before saying, "It's the Legionnaires."

"That's a good system," said Emeth admiringly. "Although it wouldn't be useful if we sent messages across guild areas, judging by the fact that they're so far apart."

"We've been thinking out a way to do it, but I'll only suggest them to Valkron when he gets back," said Khan. "Now's a good time to test them, though. Get ready, both of you."

The message was passed on to Merseitzdeitz. Soon all three castles were bustling with activity, especially around the gates. Emeth had to coordinate all the troops in charge, and running from castle to castle was something he was not used to. Hlin had great presence of mind to teleport him from Repherion to Eyorbriggar.

"I can't believe...Valkron has...to put up with this," he panted, stopping to catch his breath for a moment at Repherion. Kushana was helping him stand. He had nearly collapsed after visiting both Eyorbriggar and Repherion three times in quick succession in order to check that everything was all right.

"Well, it's tough being a guild leader," she replied. "But as Valkron always tells people - when the going gets tough, the tough gets going."

"Yeah, but right now he's fighting in Bamboo Grove Hill!" Emeth coughed a little. "If he doesn't come back from that fight, I swear that when I go to Valhalla I'm going to kick his butt every day until the end of the world."

Valkron took a few steps back, away from the apparition in front of him.

He had turned around to find the ghost in front of him. Like Adiemus had said, it had a skull for a head, although its hands were covered in flesh. Thin patches of skin remained on the skull, where wispy strands of long white hair were still attached. The sockets of the skull were glowing with a dim, eerie white light.

The ghost was wearing simple clothes - a baggy shirt and trousers - and a pair of clogs. Its left hand rested on a long Payonese sword in its scabbard.

Valkron stared at it for a couple of minutes longer before he bowed low to the ghost.

"My name is Valkron," he said, still bowed, "and I have come to battle you for the ownership of Bamboo Grove Hill."

"Another contender?" said the ghost. It threw back its head and laughed an eerie, ghostly laugh that echoed through the hall.

"Many warriors have sought to defeat me and claim this castle as their own," it continued, as Valkron tried to block out the ringing echoes of the laugh without moving. "Many have died, or surrendered in their attempt. I warn you, warrior, that you are in grave danger if you wish to persist."

"I will not change my mind," said the knight, still bowed.

"You will not change? Are you so confident?"

"Yes." Valkron straightened up. "I am confident."

The ghost stepped back, appearing to look Valkron up and down.

"I sense fear," it said. "Fear is around you. And yet you will fight it to fight me?"

"Yes," said Valkron. He was, in fact, on the brink of forfeiting the battle...but the guild's future depended on this. The kingdom depended on this.

"Very well." The ghost drew its long sword and pointed the slightly curved, beautifully tempered blade at him. "If you wish to withdraw at any time, you may do so, and I will let you go alive. If you forfeit now, I will let you go alive. Apart from that, this is a duel to the death. Agreed?"

"You have my word and honour as a knight," Valkron answered.

"Very well."

The ghost blurred. Valkron was caught unawares, and only managed to deflect the sharp blade with his scabbard. The ghost pressed down on him with strength that no ghost should have.

Valkron threw it off and backed off. The ghost watched him, its skull head turning to follow him. The knight drew his sword.

They met in the middle of the hall. Blades crashed together, the sound echoing loudly. Dust began to rise from the floor, as a pair of metal shoes and a pair of wooden clogs scuffled, while their owners tussled between each other.

The ghost lunged forward. Valkron only managed to jerk his head back. The blade passed his face one inch away; he watched it pass in shock, before he ducked and jabbed with his sword.

The ghost was quicker than he had thought. It leapt away from him and landed some way away, its clogs at the end of two trails of dust. It crouched for a moment, and then sprang forward.

Valkron leapt aside. The ghost turned and brought its sword down on him. The knight swung his up to meet it and threw it off.

There was no time to rest, no time to take a breath. Valkron wasn't even aware that he didn't breathe several times, for a short while. The ghost was fast. The blade was almost always a blur of light, or just a flurry of metal. Valkron had to be as fast as the ghost to parry its attacks. It never left any opening for him to try.

He ducked as the ghost lunged forward again, barely missing his head by a few inches. Then he swiftly skidded behind a wooden pillar, and heard the wood splinter as the blade sank into it.

Valkron was breathing heavily. Sweat was pouring off him. He tried to think. Surely there was a way to defeat the ghost?

But how could he injure a ghost?

Valkron suddenly ducked. The blade swung above his head and bit into the pillar a few seconds where his chest had been.

The knight shot forward, out of the way. The ghost ran after him, its clogs clacking on the stone floor. Valkron skidded backwards as he tried to stop running, and tripped. He felt himself lose his breath.

As quickly as he had lost all his breath. he gasped and rolled. The blade hit the floor where he had been a few seconds ago. Valkron kicked out, and surprisingly caught the ghost's ankle. It flailed; he leapt to his feet and lunged out at it.

But it was not to be taken by surprise. The ghost blocked his sword and pushed forward. Valkron gritted his teeth as he was pushed backwards. With a surge of strength he shoved it off and dived for the ghost's midriff.

It whirled aside and jabbed at him, making him leap away. Valkron steadied himself, his chest heaving. He had never fought so intensively in the recent years, apart from his battle with Baphomet...but this time he had a choice.

He could withdraw any time he liked. At least he would be alive.

"Well?" said the ghost, its teeth grinning at him. Its jaws never moved when it spoke; it was more like a voice that came out from the skull itself.

Valkron turned his head and spat. "You wish."

"Very well, then."

The Legionnaires were giving the Raulus a hard time. The Guardians of Geffen's army's numbers were incomparable to what the Legionnaires had brought along for the ride. Emeth mentally called it 'ride', since it looked like that.

They were attacking both castles. Both. Iruna was taking care of Merseitzdeitz. Albrecht was sending in reinforcements - the merchant himself was now fighting hard, somewhere in the crowd. Emeth was defending the Raulus, but his most successful spell so far - Storm Gust - had been rendered completely useless.

"Damn...marc...card..." he said, through gritted teeth, casting Lord of Vermillion and Quagmire repeatedly.

A rogue dashed up to him and leapt into the air. Emeth only just managed to throw him off with his staff.

"Get the hell out of here!" he yelled ineffectively, casting Cold Bolt at the rogue automatically.

But they wouldn't, and they were not going to. The Legionnaires found that Iruna meant serious business - she effectively knocked out about fifteen people with one Grand Cross - so they switched to Repherion. Albrecht's backup was preventing them from going to Eyorbriggar from where they were.

So it was not surprising that Emeth suddenly found himself holding back an entire attacking force of three hundred.

"What the heck is wrong with you?" he shouted, as they began to force their way in. "Get lost! You're picking the wrong time to fight with me!"

But of course they didn't listen.

The knights and blacksmiths charged in, their battle cry growing louder and louder. They slammed through the remaining groups in front of Repherion, and met a wall of fire.

When the fire dissipated, there was a line of blackened, somewhat stunned, fighters standing and staring. However, even if they had wanted to move onwards they wouldn't have dared. No one would have.

Emeth was standing in front of them, his staff in front of him. Although he had not cast any fire spell it was as if there was an unseen fire blazing around him. His eyes were glowing.

"I've had enough of this," he said, in a quiet voice that was more threatening than his normal one. "That's it. If you think you can play with me, you're wrong."

They looked at each other. They looked at Emeth.

Emeth's eyes narrowed. Four ellipses appeared around him, each a different colour - the colour of the four elements all wizards manipulated.

"And I've had enough."

There was an almighty blast of wind from Emeth. His magical aura had suddenly amplified. People shielded their faces, nearly stumbling as they were pushed backwards with the force of the almost solid magic whirling around him.

The wizard raised his staff, his eyes glowing like embers.

Clangs and crashes echoed throughout the hall as Valkron and the ghost battled furiously. They danced a complicated, strangely coordinated, fast-paced waltz amidst the stone-wood pillars of Bamboo Grove Hill, whirling aside and lunging forward, jabbing, dashing, ducking, parrying...there was no end to their moves.

Valkron no longer felt his brain, or anything else. His whole body was no longer responding to whatever he thought - it had become nothing less than a fighting machine, programmed to do what it did best. It was during this time that he fought well, but he hated the state. However, he didn't have a choice here.

Suddenly the ghost kicked out at him. Its wooden clog caught him in the midriff. He gasped in pain and staggered backwards, his brain momentarily shaken out of its frozen state.

The ghost did not attack him, but watched as he fell to his knees, his arms wrapped tightly around his abdomen as he wheezed slightly. He sat there, gasping for air, his eyes tightly shut; his sword lay on the floor next to him.

What am I going to do? he thought, amidst the pain. This isn't going anywhere. I'm not doing what I'm supposed to do. I'm fighting, but that's the problem. I'm just fighting.

He looked up. The ghost wavered in front of him; he shut his eyes tightly again.

I'm dead meat for sure if I don't give up, he thought. Or should I just surrender? At least I come out in one piece, and alive.

Valkron coughed. Then he slowly got to his feet, picking up his sword as he did. He looked up at the ghost again.

"Still not giving up?" said the ghost. "You will still have a chance if you forfeit now."

Valkron coughed again. He had a choice. He had to make it now.

"I don't think I can do it," he said at last. "But...I don't have a real choice. I can choose to leave now, but...what I want...what I really want..."

"Everyone wants this castle," said the ghost, a tad disgustedly. "It seems that you are no different."

The ghost's words were like a cold shower, somewhere in Valkron's mind. His eyes widened in shock.

It's right, he thought. Why do I want this castle? To prove that the Raulus is not weak? I'd be on the same level as the Black Cross if that's the case.

Because you want to protect the world.

Valkron felt the darkness close in on him, and struggled to keep himself awake. However, when he looked up again, he saw the other knight - the knight that was the other side of him.

"You're a right wimp," he said, resting his hand on his waist and looking annoyed. "Charging into a battle without a purpose! You don't even know why you want Bamboo Grove Hill? Weak."

"What do you think I'm supposed to do?" said Valkron, slightly irritated by this. "I've got people to take care of, you know!"

"Yeah, but you're alone now." The knight spread his arms. "No one's here, see? You make your own choices. It isn't always about them either, mate."

"It's what I do for a living!"

"Calm down," said the knight. "I know. It's just...you used to be a lot more clear-headed than you are now."

Valkron looked down at his feet. "Yeah, well...I wasn't human, back then."

The knight said nothing.

After a few minutes Valkron said, "I want to claim Bamboo Grove Hill not because I want to show off my power, but to protect the people. I can't just protect Geffen, if anything happens. The guilds in Greenwood Lake won't fight together under any circumstance, considering their rivalry. I am a warrior of the world. I have to fight for it. I don't know why I consider myself as one, nor why I have to do it, but I just feel that it's my job."

"Really? Are you sure of yourself?" said the knight.

When Valkron nodded, the knight said, "Well, then, why don't you go out there and say so?"

The darkness disappeared. Valkron opened his eyes.

He looked at the ghost.

"No," he said. "I don't want this castle just to prove my power. There is another reason."

"Oh?" If the skull had eyebrows it would have raised them now.

"Yes." Valkron held up his sword. "And I'm going to fight for it."

"Interesting."

The ghost blurred. Valkron did not dodge, however. He blocked the ghost's sword.

Suddenly, somewhere in the back of his mind, he heard his own voice speak. It was not the voice of the other knight - his other side had a distinctively different voice - but it was his own.

I fight for the world. If you listen to me, if you know me...then answer me.

And, for some odd reason, he suddenly felt as if something was flowing into him through his feet from the ground. He felt it surge upwards, filling him gradually. He had never felt cooler, or lighter, before.

And then he was moving, moving so fast that the ghost did not even manage to catch him. Valkron hit away the incoming blade, and plunged his sword right up to the hilt through the ghost.

Emeth watched the crowds of people outside Repherion without any expression on his face. Priests were bustling around them, healing and calling out for more backup as they treated the wounds of the injured.

"You're emitting enough coldness to freeze the entire guild," said Kushana, who was standing some way away from him. "I certainly wouldn't want to be at the other end of those spells."

"I'm sick and tired of being pushed around," said the wizard coldly. "Fed up of being told that I'm nothing compared to Valkron. It's time someone was shown who's the boss here."

"Well, you already did," said Kushana. "Calm down."

She reached out for him. Emeth jerked a little as her hands touched him. He looked at her, and suddenly the coldness was no longer there.

They watched as the Legionnaires retreated. The Raulus, for the first time in their entire existence, had successfully defended their stand without Valkron.

However, it would not be their last.

Adiemus and Raven had to wait for the horns to blare out loud before rushing down to Bamboo Grove Hill. Since Adiemus' peco was faster the rogue rode behind the crusader.

They reached the gates of Bamboo Grove Hill. Momentarily distracted by the new flags fluttering atop the castle's battlements, they did not see the knight until they were at the top of the steps.

He was sitting, quite nonchalantly, at the doors and drinking a white potion.

"Valkron!" exclaimed Raven, leaping off the peco before Adiemus even stopped. "What happened? You actually...?"

"Mm," said the knight, nodding. "The ghost bowed to me and said, 'You are truly worthy of the castle. It is now yours to keep', and stabbed his sword into the ground before disappearing into the floor."

Raven sighed in relief. "You never fail to surprise me."

Valkron smiled. "I like it that way. Adiemus!"

Raven turned, and caught the crusader as he stumbled. "Hey, you okay?"

"My eyesight," said Adiemus, his voice barely a whisper. "It's...clouding over..."

Valkron looked into his face, straight at his eyes. At length he said, "I think you need to see our priest.

If you've noticed, I've used a Wanderer to represent the ghost of Bamboo Grove Hill, including the way it dies.