CH 11

Laurana was shocked that after Eric explained his plans to Sir Garth's council of knights, they all agreed. They were not thrilled about rebuilding the temple to Takasis, but agreed that it would help keep the peace.

With his demons help, Eric got the city gates opened, and Knights left to go get supplies. The two knights that went with the wagons met a few Black Knights coming into town with a wagon. They saluted each other and kept going on their way. In days, the temple to Takasis was being rebuilt. Eric went to ensure no trouble was started, since soldiers from the white Knights were there with the Black Knights and many people from the city.

Watching the construction with Tikez beside him, he noted the woman he met before approach him with a man in black robes.

The woman pointed at Eric. "This is him," she said.

The man in black robes smiled and bowed to Eric. "Sir I don't know how you did it, but we are eternally grateful to you."

"You should have the right to worship as you wish," Eric replied. "You also have the responsibility to respect how others wish to worship. With this cooperation, I expect you will reinforce peace with those who look to Paladine, so this city can recover. No fighting or inciting others to fight will be allowed."

The black robed priest took on a surprised look. "The White Knights are not leaving?"

"They got the same speech," Eric stated. "Follow whatever God you want, but don't bother others who wish to serve another God. You don't have to be friends with them, but you do have to live and work with them."

"But, our God says…"

"I don't care what your God says," Eric snapped, cutting him off. "Look at that woman there, these others. Tell me all this war is good for them. THEY are the ones who suffer most from these wars. It's time to stop that shit and take care of the people. Is not their welfare your concern?"

The Priest let out a huff. "It is," he agreed.

"Then help keep the peace. Instead of the constant fighting that harms your people, work to keep them from harm." Eric told him.

A knight came over, hearing them. "Are you this Eric Carvon?" he asked.

"That's me."

The knight raised a fist to his forehead in a salute. "You have done the impossible, Sir, and I thank you. My family here thanks you. It is hard to …not fight those White Knights, but I see your wisdom. While I do not fear dying on the battle field, I was fearing for my family. You have saved them and I thank you."

Eric nodded once. "I'm glad. Help all families, and work to help the common folk."

"We shall, sir." the Knight stated and went back over to the temple being rebuilt.

In a loud whisper, Tikiez asked, "So can we play ravish the headless maiden now?"

Eric eyed her. "You want to be headless?" he asked.

Tikiez nodded with a wide grin.

Eric didn't have his sword, but he had his boot knife. He put a hand in her shoulder. "Kneel," he commanded.

Tikiez did.

Eric then pulled out he top of her blouse a bit to look down on her cleavage. "Hmm, I see something more interesting to take," he mused and showed her the knife.

Playing along, Tikiez covered her breasts and squeaked out, "Please, NO!"

In a quick motion, Eric rammed the knife into her throat and began sawing her head off. Tikiez flailed her arms and tried to get up, then flopped limp, spread eagle as her head came free.

Everyone around them stared at him.

Eric put his knife way. He put her head down, scooped up her body and threw it over his shoulder, then picked her head up by the hair. Seeing everyone stare at him, he shrugged and said, "She asked for it." He then walked away.

Tikiez cried, "Hey, this isn't how we play! Don't you want my body?"

"Later, we go things to do."

"Like this?" Tikiez cried.

"You wanted it, not me."

Tikiez's hand thumped him in the back. "At least take me to our room!" she cried.

"Nope, we got things to do first. Work first, ravish later."

"Awww, come on!"

Eric thought maybe he was getting a little weird also. For some reason, he had to suppress a grin at seeing people gawk at him while he walked along, body slung over his shoulder and Tikiez complaining and grumbled about him 'not finishing' their game.

It wasn't long before her endless bitching got to him. Plus, he felt Lily coming. He stood her body up and put her head back on. Tikiez straightened her head in place and frowned at him. "YOU are a TEASE!"

"And you're not?" he asked. "We got things to do, like I said, work now and ravish later."

"You just better make it good," she replied in a haughty tone.

Eric pulled her close and gave her a deep kiss. She threw her arms around him and let out a happy moan as she melted into him and drew life force from him.

Parting lips, he asked, "Better?"

Wearing a crooked grin, Tikiez replied, "Better."

A loud cough got their attention. Laurana was coming with Lily. Lily was grinning a them, Laurana wasn't. "On the street?" Laurana asked in an accusing tone, eyeing Eric.

Eric shrugged. "I didn't start it."

Laurana let it go and firmly said, "We were to have a meeting, all leaders, to decide on details of this cooperation. We are still waiting for you and Kitiara."

"I was on my way," Eric replied defensively. To Tikiez, he said, "See, there's work to do."

Laurana turned and walked away. Eric followed. Lily and Tikiez walked side by side, quietly whispering to each other. Eric ignored the giggle he heard from them. Laurana slowed to let Eric catch up so they were walking side by side, the demons behind them.

Glancing at him, Laurana asked, "Are you adopting the … antics Tina is known for?"

Eric frowned briefly. "Not really … OK maybe a bit. She did deserve to be headless for a while to teach her a lesson."

Laurana cast him a scowl. "Will Tanis also adopt these very rude quirks in behavior?"

"No, Lily's here with us." Eric replied, which earned him another scowl.

"I don't like them!" Laurana stated.

Eric huffed. "I didn't save them because I like them. They were each trapped in a prison. No matter what they are, I couldn't leave them like that. They are what they are, no one can change that. Believe it or not, they are getting better at behaving."

The building where this meeting was being held was in sight up the street when Saphrin appeared in front of them, wearing a look of shock. Eric just notice her as she dove into him, grabbing his shirt in her fists.

"Master!" she cried. "Someone stole Kitiara!"

Stole her? "Who?" he asked the frantic demon.

"There was nothing I could do!" Saphrin cried. " Three men in robes appeared behind her. The middle one did some magic on her, she dropped in pace. The other two aimed their magic at me. I tried to attack, and I couldn't move! They grabbed Kitiara and disappeared. I looked, I can't find her anywhere!"

"Shit!" Eric spat. Trying to think of why what sounded like her own people grabbing her, Eric looked at Laurana and Lily. "OK, OK, Lily, go check on your Master, make sure he's OK."

Lily nodded and disappeared.

"Sally, until Lily gets back, keep a close watch on Laurana. Tina, you know what Kitiara's brother Rastlin looks like, right? Go tell him what happened. See if he knows anything."

Tikiez shook her head. "No, Master, I am staying here with you."

"This is no time to argue," Eric growled at her.

"This is no time to be sending me away!" Tikiez growled back. "What if you're the next target?"

"Tina, I need you to let Rastlin know!" Eric said firmly. "Or do I use your real name and Command you to go."

Tikiez balled her fists, glaring at him with black eyes. "FINE!" she barked. "Do not move from this spot!" She then disappeared.

Eric had Saphrin stand behind Laurana. Kitiara had been taken from behind, Laurana wasn't going to be.

Laurana said in a thoughtful tone, "It would appear Kitiara was abducted because someone didn't like the idea of peace here."

"My thoughts as well," Eric agreed. He scanned the streets for danger as he said, "That means we are targets also. You do know I have to go find Kitiara. If we let her die or be imprisoned, then this cooperation will most likely fall apart."

Laurana turned to Saphrin. "Sally where did this happen?"

"Just outside the city gates. Skie has gone looking for her. I didn't sense her around, so I came to tell Master," Saphrin explained.

"We have to tell everyone to keep the situation contained," Laurana stated.

"We do, let's go," Eric agreed.

.

Tikiez moved though the ethereal plane, focusing on Rastlin's soul. He was easy to find, he radiated a very strong power. She moved back into the material plane inside the room with a single desk and many shelves that Rastlin was in.

She was immediately hit with a lightning bolt. Rastlin looked up from the scroll he had to eye her.

"Oh great!" Tikiez spat. "I come to tell you your sister's been kidnapped, and you hit me with lightning. That was very rude!"

"What do you want of me, Demon?" Rastlin replied flatly.

"Kitiara was magically way-laid outside the gates of Sanction by men in black robes," Tikiez told him. "Do you know who it might be, or where they may have taken her?"

Sitting in place, Rastlin cocked his head slightly. "Why would I know? Your Master is upset this happened?"

Tikiez threw her arms up and let them drop. "That's why I'm here. So, is there anything you can tell me? Or do, besides hit me with a lightning bolt?"

"You appear unharmed," Rastlin noted. "You set off a defensive spell I made to warn me of any intruders. Since I did not invite you in, you are an intruder. I know nothing of what Kitiara is doing. I have my own goals. Go tell your Master that my help is very expensive. A pile of steel will not be enough."

"Hey, golden eyes, I'm only here to see if you know anything," Tikiez stated.

"Of Kit's kidnapping, no." Rastlin then shifted in place. He put a finger to his lip then pointed it at her and asked, "I am curious why she was kidnapped."

"I don't know. Master thinks it has something to do with her and Laurana making a truce in Sanction. Master wanted the fighting there stopped, they did, and now Kitiara has been stolen by those men in black robes."

"Wizards?"

"I guess. Sally said they appeared, Ko'd Kitiara, grabbed her and disappeared."

Rastlin rubbed his chin and was silent for a moment, looking at nothing. He finally said, "Tell your Master I suspect the Takasis Guild came to punish Kitiara for agreeing to a truce with the White Knights. They are wizards, and since my sister was not killed on the spot, they are most likely interrogating her as to why she made this truce, and possibly to snare any conspirators that come to retrieve her."

"Do you know where these wizards might be?" Tikiez prodded.

Rastlin shook his head. "If I knew, telling you would make me a target if they capture you or your master."

"Gotta protect yourself above all others, huh?"

"Indeed. MY ambitions go far beyond this material plane. Your master came and dealt fairly with my sister, that is why I have told you as much as I have," Rastlin stated, then waved his hand and said, "BEGONE"

Tikiez found herself on the street in Sanction where she'd left from. Master, Laurana and Sally weren't here. Letting out a grumble that she'd been forcibly kicked out of Rastlin's place and her Master wasn't here. She flew off to where she felt him at.

.

Some Black Knights had witnessed Kitiara's abduction. Two of the Knights came to inform Sir Garth they wanted their leader back.

Laurana and Eric came in as one of these Knights stated in a hard tone, "Is this cooperation a farce so you could grab our commander?"

"We did nothing of the kind!" Sir Garth replied in the same tone. "Is this your excuse for threatening to cancel our agreement?"

The Black Knight gripped the handle of his sword. "You accuse US of treachery?"

Both men took a step back, Sir Garth grabbing the hilt of his sword. All the other Knights in the room followed suit and squared off.

"THAT's ENOUGH!" Eric bellowed as he strode in. He pointed to the Black Knight who'd spoke and asked, "Did you see Kitiara get kidnapped?"

"I did!" he announced. "Three men in light gray robes attacked her and took her!"

"I saw it too!" Saphrin told him. "They were wearing black robes. I was there."

The knight leveled his eyes on her. "Yes, you were there. Why do you lie about the color of their robes?"

"I'm not lying, your imbecile," Sally shouted. "I'm a demon, I can't lie!"

"Hold on," Eric said, holding his arms up at each of them as he got between them. "These guys had to be wizards, they probably made you see what they wanted you to see. That tells me they want you to continue fighting. The real question is, where did they take Kitiara."

"We will continue the fight unless our Commander is returned to us," The Black Knight stated.

"We will!" the other stated.

Eric frowned at them. "So, a third party wants to cause trouble, and you readily fall for it. Is that what you're saying?" he asked.

"We only know what we saw!"

Eric saw Tikiez fly in. She flapped to a stop beside him. "What did Rastlin say?" he asked.

Ignoring everyone else but Eric, Tikiez said, "He doesn't know anything about it. He also will not become involved. He agreed they were Wizards, possibly a group he calls the Takasis Guild. He didn't know for sure. He then kicked me out."

Eric shifted his gave between Sir Garth and the Black Knights. "It appears we need some wizards to help with this. Any either of you got, have them come down to the gates where it happened. Maybe they can help figure out who those guys really are."

"This seems to be a Black Knight affair," Sir Garth stated.

Eric eyed him unkindly. "Someone has been kidnapped in your city. That makes it your affair also."

Laurana spoke up. "Sir Garth, have our wizards come to the main gates."

Sir Garth shifted in place, then relented. "As you command."

To the Black Knights, Eric said, "If you want your Commander back, your wizards need to be there too."

"And what will you be doing?" one asked.

"I'll be there, gathering any information these wizards can find out," Eric stated. "Once I know where Kitiara is, I'll go get her and deal with those who took her."

The one Black Knight nodded. The both strode out.

.

Cyrus Grym planned this well. His ten wizards had performed their abductions in perfect unison. The three he sent after the Black Night Commander had retrieved her. The four he sent after Carvon's family had returned with Carvon's son, Carvon's girlfriend and a maid. The last three had made sure all the abductions happened at the same time.

Upon arrival, he had Kitiara, Tahthalas and Elanza tied to standing X frames in his dungeon. The maid was chained to the floor. The one thing he had not counted on was a demon appearing in his dungeon. Caught unawares, the demon killed three of his orcs and a wizard before a pair of his wizards locked her in stasis.

Coming down into the dungeon himself, Cyrus eyed the demon frozen in place. In his raspy voice, he asked, "Why did this one come, I wonder?"

"We don't know. Only a stasis spell stopped her. Any attack on her did nothing," a nervous wizard said.

Cyrus told his minions, "Get glass jars and chop her up. Head, arms, legs, split her torso in half, put each piece in a separate jar so she cannot put herself back together."

He then turned to his captives who were still unconscious. He waved a hand and Elanza groaned as she woke up.

.

Elanza came around and tried to move. In a fit of instant panic, she snapped her head around to see she was tied to a heavy frame. Taking in the room, she saw she was in a stone block room lit by torches. Gasping in fear, she saw orcs dragging bodies of other orcs out. Lily was standing still. Orcs were cutting her arms off. Another cut through her neck to sever her head. Then they began to saw her in half across her middle, just below her ribs. They one standing in front of her was a horror. Basically human, the thing wearing a multicolored robe that was painful to look at and seemed to shift colors by itself had a misshapen head, one large eye and a small one. She belting out a scream and desperately tried to free herself.

The thing in front of her laughed at her feeble twitching. "You cannot escape," it said in a scratchy voice that was as rough on her ears as the color of it's robe was to her eyes.

"Who are you? Why do this to us!" Elanza wailed out.

Pointing his longest bony finger at her, Cyrus said, "You are bait. The Black Knight Commander beside you is here to be mutilated then returned. The one on your other side is to be tortured when the time comes. Possibly you also. The one on the floor will be used as a sign post."

Elanza shut her eyes to block out the horror of what she was seeing and hearing. "What do you want?" she snapped.

"Chaos, as it should be," Cyrus said with a grin from half his mouth. "True peace and order are threatening the land. My God demands it be stopped. It will be. Armies are made to fight each other. The innocent are made to suffer, steal from others and stay down where they belong. You are going to make that happen."

"I will do nothing for you!" Elanza spat.

"You already are," Cyrus said with his lopsided smile. "Bait for the one who is trying to remove Chaos from the world. I will be by to kill and torture later."

The horrid looking thing then walked out. Elanza watched as Lily's pieces were put in jars and carried away. Even a demon had no chance against that thing. That thing was after Eric. She broke down and cried.

.

Cyrus had the jars with Lily's pieces brought outside the jumble of rock and blocks that was his keep. Although it looked like nothing but a big hill of rubble, it was solid, and now shielded by anti-magic spells that would repel any magic or attempt to magically get inside. Once his minions were inside, Cyrus shattered the jars and went back inside himself. That demon would go and tell this Eric Carvon where they were. Just to be sure the human didn't miss this place, he had the maid brought to him into his first chamber bracketed by Orcs that bore long serrated knives in their hands that were not dragging the maid.

Cyrus had her chains removed, then woke her up. Once she was conscious, he told the Orcs, "Hold her arms."

Betty came awake. Seeing where she was, she screamed and flailed trying to get free. Cyrus let her twist and kick until she tired herself out.

"Are you done yet?" he asked.

"Please don't hurt me!" Betty cried.

"I'm not going to," Cyrus assured her. To the Orcs, he said, "Take her outside, strip her then cut her up. Don't damage her face. After she stops screaming, impale her on a pole by the entrance."

"What, NO!" Betty wailed. "PLEASE! I didn't do anything!"

"You will be my sign post for Mr. Carvon. He will know where to come and die," Cyrus told her.

Betty spit at him. In a loud growl, she said, "Eric gets here, and he'll kill you all!"

She was dragged outside, fighting for her life to get away. An orc stabbed her deep in the side. She screamed and went limp.

"Outside, not in here!" Cyrus barked. He noted the smeared blood trail left as the orcs dragged her out. OK, maybe it wasn't a bad thing she bled on the floor. It would help show this Carvon where to come for his doom.

.

Free of the jars, Lily began to put herself back together. Thankfully, her arms and hands were still attached. She moved them over to her upper torso and reconnected them. Her torso then crawled over an got her head in place. Next was her lower torso, then she crawled over to get each leg back together. She then tried to get back into that mess of a structure where her Master was. She bounced back. Her teleport didn't work. She tried invisibility, then shifting planes. Each time, she ended up back outside.

Damn it!

Hearing a moan of pain, she went to the entrance and found a pair of orcs drawing their knives down Betty, slicing clothes and flesh. Betty moaned in agony as she was being cut open. Lily flashed over and sliced both orc's heads off then threw them to the sides.

Bleeding all over, Betty was still alive but losing consciousness. The human would bleed out soon. Kneeling over her, Lily said in a frantic tone, "I killed them. How do I get back in? Tell me!"

Betty opened her eyes partway. In a weak voice, she whispered, "Tell … Eric…." Her mutilated body then gave up. She died lying in her own blood.