Chapter 31: Divine Intervention
"This cant be!" proclaimed The King as he paced around his craggy island in the Dark Realm. His fingers thumbed through a multi paged binder containing a document script. "I am the Big-Bad-Evil-Guy of this story. How is it that I only have a few scenes in this poorly written story? I mean come on? Its so unfair! I should have those writers flayed alive for putting me in such dribble."
His vile servant sat on the arm of his throne. Her leg swinging back and forth as she watched The King pace around his floating island. She watched his outrage with a soft amused smile.
"To be fair, My Lord." Cooed Sarama "I believe the creators are trying to attempt a bit of a Lovecraftian aura around you. It is supposed to add to the mystery and how the other characters are powerless to your influence. Even Great Cthuhlu is only mentioned slightly before his reveal."
The King stopped mid rant. "This is true. And what does that tentacled, hentai demon have that I don't have?"
"A cult following. Both fictitious and fan based."
The King tossed the manuscript aside and took a his place on the throne. "Sarama, do you hear something?" he said tugging on his ears
"No, my Lord."
The King's ears rang in a shrill ringing. He shot from his seat and grabbed ahold of a nearby buttress. Again and again he bashed his head into the stone till a black slime rolled down the column. The wounds on his forehead sealed shut in an instant, but the pain still continued. The King hunched over grabbing at his head to wail in his misery.
"I CANT STAND THIS PAIN!" he roared clenching his crowned head
"My Lord. I'm sorry to see you in such discomfort. Perhaps scrying can take your mind off the ache.
"Fine! Whatever." The King said taking his seat on the throne and dug into his ear with a pinky finger.
Sarama raised the mirror portal with a hand and the scenes of a civil arrest were underway.
"Hmm…it appears my dagger has a new host. This should be interesting."
The King crossed his arms and pouted his lips. "Oh poo! I liked that dwarf. He had such great recipes for devouring children and drinking blood milkshakes."
Sarama watched the scene unfold as two humans fought for the dagger. "It appears that the new Host is... a cleric."
"A cleric you say? Which deity? Is it me? No, wait. I don't have any followers. Is it Slaannesh? Tiamat? Ooh! Is it Asmodeus? That little scamp is such a cutie."
"I'm afraid her deity is Oghma, My Lord."
This news didn't sit well with The King. He pouted deeper in his throne "How is it that a pompous bookworm can get a follower, but I cant?"
The ache in his ears increased to the point he collapsed to the floor "SARAMA! Find the source of this annoying sound at once!"
"Yes, my lord."
Through the mirror the world focused on a small room. Red tears rolled down the cheeks of a pale beauty. Her skin as fair as alabaster and curly hair as red as a stag.
The King frowned with a look of genuine empathy. An expression Sarama had seen on only a handful of instances.
"We must help her." The King said rolling back the sleeve of his robe and bit at his wrist. More black slime pooled under his feet as the king bit cleanly through his limb and tossed his severed hand through the portal. He smiled as his black bloody stumped hand sizzled and bones slithered forth to regenerate a new hand.
The woman took a final sip from a glass chalice. Its thick red syrupy trailed down the side where she tilted the goblet. She picked up her quill once again. With a finger she wiped a bloody tear from her eye and continued to write.
'I cant go on anymore. The pain of loss has hurt me to the point I cannot go on. I thought that in my immortality I many a face would fade by. But with the death of a fellow undead. I cannot fathom this ache. By the time you read this, I will have walked into the day, and my body will become the dust in the hourglass of time. Farewell all. Raine, I shall soon see you once again.
-Lylla'
The woman lowered her quill next to a note. She leaned back in her chair and looked to the clock on the wall. 4:30 in the morning. By her guess the dawn was just starting to break over the eastern horizon. In another hour or so she will walk out into the light and great her death.
"Why do you weep, sweet child?" came a voice from the shadows
The woman jumped in fright. Not much scared her in her centuries, but this voice. Could it have been death? The spirit of death mortals clain visits them just before their demise?
"Who are you?"
"Me? why, I'm your father."
The woman's jaws opened and a pair of long fangs were brandished. "Impossible! I buried him long ago. Who are you? Show yourself!"
From the dimly lit corner, a shade in the shape of a two long-legged figure emerged. Its body was translucent black boiling smoke. It had no face, no eyes, and no mouth. But the shade looked straight at Lylla.
A thin arm raised from the mass of smoke and went to wipe away one of her bloody tears.
"What has saddened you, my beautiful daughter?"
"I-I cant go on anymore. As a vampire, I should be use to people dying. I...l-lost a close friend earlier this month. The others tell me not to worry about a pathetic ghoul like her, but...but she was the only friend ive ever truly had. And she was murdered in the street! By a monster!"
"I'm so sorry, daughter." Hissed the figure "Tell your father how he can hep."
Lylla's bloodshot and teary eyes locked on the figure as it circled around her. She didnt know what magic was behind this. But she couldnt pass up a chance. Even a slight chance at that.
"Revenge! I want revenge against the monster that killed Raine!"
"Raine? I know not this name."
"She was a Night Child. A ghoul. And my dearest of friends. She was taken. Murdered in the street like some...animal. I want the head of the monster that killed her!"
The vampire could tell the specter was smiling at her in some unseen way. A soft chuckle echoed from the smoke.
"My sweet daughter. I can do this. I will tell you who killed the ghoul. But as for your revenge. That is all up to you."
"Who? Tell me! Tell me who killed her!"
The figure stopped to Lylla's left and before dissipating into nothing, it's final words echoed back into the void from whence it came.
"It was...a ranger."