Part V. The Spear
April entered the Bakshevan port city of Monterba on Thursday morning. It was a
hot, crowded, noisy bazaar of a place. It wasn't easy finding a guide to take her
through the desert to the ruins of Gorimon, and she had to pawn the Talisman of
Balance to raise the money. It wasn't likely she would need it again now that the
Chaos Vortex was gone.
The guides were two Dolmaris, a brother and a sister, named Bendigo and
Genhura Saldine. They had a troop of four Elgwan, which were desert beasts with
hides like sand turtles. Elgwan had short legs that ran well on the sand, and were
best known for their ability to find water from any distance. April found their
bouncing gait a rough ride. The goggles with narrow eye slits were very handy
against the bright sun.
"Bendigo, have you taken adventurers out to Gorimon before?" said April.
"Oh yes, yes, over thirty times," replied Bendigo.
"And back again?" asked April.
"Yes, yes, that too, about three times," said Bendigo.
"Why the difference?"
"Many venture into the ruins, but few return to the light of day," said Genhura.
"Oh, gee. That's so not encouraging."
Later, she asked them, "I've heard of Dolmari all over the place. There was an
innkeeper named Benrine Salmin in the Northlands, and there are some in Ge'en.
Is this the original country of the Dolmari?"
"Yes, yes, many moved from the Southlands to other lands after the Drought."
"There really was a Drought? This wasn't always a desert? I wondered if the legend
of the Spear just explained something that was always there."
"No, no, the Drought happened 18 years and four months ago."
"An odd coincidence," thought April. "That's about when I was born."
As they journeyed out into the desert, April became aware of a cry in the distance.
"Do you hear that? Someone calling, 'Daughter'," said April.
"No, no, I hear nothing," said Genhura.
"It's coming from that way. I get a strong feeling the ruins of Gorimon are in that
direction," said April, pointing right.
"No, no, we are heading directly for Gorimon," said Bendigo, quickly.
April became suspicious as the day's journey kept getting farther from the cry she
could feel inside. That night, she got out of the bedroll and sneaked close to the
tent where she could hear the two talking.
"She knows something is wrong," said Genhura.
"No, no, I don't think so," said Bendigo. "She doesn't know a thing about the
desert. She'll suspect nothing until we are in sight of the towers of Port Altaban
and by then it will be too late."
"How much do you think she will fetch in the slave market there?" asked
Genhura.
"Only one thousand aren, I think. She is too skinny and will cost much food to
fatten to pleasing plumpness for a master's bed."
"Brother, you underestimate her value. I have some Seer training and I sense
magic potential in her. You should ask for five thousand aren."
"If she has powers perhaps we should secure her more carefully."
"Where could she go? She can't get far without directions. She would leave tracks
in the desert we could easily follow on our swift Elgwan."
April felt sick disgust at the betrayal. She had to get away! She grabbed a water
bottle from the camp supplies and was ready to get out. The track issue was no
problem. She Shifted to a back alley in Stark, then back to the point on the trail
where she first heard the cry. Let them try to follow _that_ jump!
She began walking towards the direction of the call she could hear inside, louder
and louder as she got closer. She walked through the night and reached the ruins
just as the sun was beginning to come up. She stopped at a point where the cries
were the loudest. It was a large sand dune with chunks of ruined marble columns
sticking up in all directions.
She didn't have anything to dig with but the song the Banda sang came to her
mind. She tried to remember it and to sing it as they did. Whether she actually
succeeded in singing the same way she was never certain, but her Artisan ability
had the same effect. The mound of sand stirred and moved out of the way, reveling
a buried passage. It extended deep; the steps went down and down. April got out
her oil lantern and lit it (it had a built-in flint lighter).
April walked down the acrid-smelling corridor. Outside the small cone of light
from her lantern there was pitch darkness. As she walked through a ruined marble
corridor she notice strange regular marks scratched on the wall. There were even,
vertical lines grouped in sets of five.
"It's looks like someone counting the days, like in an old movie. 'The Count of
Monte Frisco,' or something like that."
She looked up and down the wall. The lines went on for a great distance.
"If those are days... No, couldn't be. It's gotta be a wall decoration."
The corridor ended in a brass door, unlocked. It was decorated with scenes of gory
executions, and at the side ran the words "Thus perish all the Parech's enemies!"
in a twisted script. The door creaked loudly as she pushed it open but nothing
stirred inside.
The call "Daughter!" came stronger than ever from across the room.
The room was originally huge but heaps of sand and broken masonry had choked
off most of it. She crossed the room to the far end, where a dead figure sat on the
throne. It was desiccated as a mummy and its right hand was clutching a tall spear
that glowed with an evil red light.
"This must be the emperor the legend spoke of, who tried to kill Mother with that
spear and ended up entombed in his own palace," April said aloud. Feeling queasy,
she walked up to the corpse.
"Sorry, Parech guy, but I need that Spear more than you do."
Suddenly its eyes opened and its withered hand grasped at her wrist! She screamed,
jumped back, and dropped the lantern, which went out. The only light remaining
in the room was the blood red light of the spear.
"So you're the daughter of the White Dragon!" croaked the creature, "At last
you've come to me!"
"Wha-what!? You're alive!?" gasped April.
"Yes, with the life-force drained from your mother, trapped in the spear. It has
kept me alive all these years, though I couldn't get out. But you got in, and you'll
lead me out, won't you my darling?" The eyes that stared at her were mad.
April decided to keep him talking while she tried to think how to get out of this.
"Y-you mean, that the Silver Spear of Gorimon drains life from dragons?"
"Yes, my darling. I quarreled with her about your hand in marriage. She would not
relent. Actually I planned to kill her anyway so that her life force would be mine. I
had my sorcerer Aos enchant this spear, made of the silver of Mt. Tireney in the
North. It traps the life force of dragons so they may be slain. Your mother died, did
she not?"
April debated lying, but decided to stick to the truth. "Yes, eventually."
"Heh heh heh. Good. Dragons are immortal otherwise. But I have her life now...
heh heh heh.. and I will live for ages of ages."
"What do you want from me?"
"As I said, I want to make you my queen. Together we shall revive the Bakshevan
Empire and rule forever!"
"You haven't looked outside recently, have you? Your 'empire' is a dust bowl!"
"Then we will conquer another empire together, my darling. What do you say to
ruling Ge'en, or the Northlands? Nay, we will conquer all of Arcadia in time!"
"What if I say no, I won't play Bride of the Zombie?"
"You have no choice. You will yield to me or die. If you trust to your own
immortality to keep you safe, remember that I hold in my hand the one thing that
can kill you. If you try to run, know that this spear is enchanted with a sure-aim
spell that will guide the weakest throw straight to its target."
"Me? I'm not immortal!"
"You lie. Nothing can kill you, but the Silver Spear of Gorimon can and will if you
refuse me. Be reasonable. Come, I smell water about you. Give me it, my darling,
for I have had nothing to drink here all these years, and my thirst is a constant
torment. Only the Spear has kept me alive. Only the Spear."
April got out the water bottle, but in the darkness she was able to slip in the
sleep-root that she was given in the Banda tunnel. "I hope this works, I hope this
works," she thought.
The monster drank deeply of the water. "AAAAH! I have never tasted water so
sweet! When I have enough fluid in me, I will possess you in love as I have longed
to do all these years, my darling. Your beauty is all I hoped for."
"If he touches me I'm going to be sick," thought April.
"The empire will rise again, and I will ruuule foreverrrr..." said the Parech,
slumping forwards in sleep.
April had to have the spear but it had been clutched so tightly for so long that now
it was practically welded to his skin. If she pulled too hard he might wake up. But
the broken lantern at her feet gave her an idea. It was full of oil. She dipped it up in
her hand, and carefully lubricated around the spear handle, moving slowly and
cautiously. Yes!
Now the spear came free. And when the end of the handle left the Parech's hand,
he instantly crumbled into dust!
Now that it was over the shock hit her, and April dropped the Spear and was
violently sick.
April entered the Bakshevan port city of Monterba on Thursday morning. It was a
hot, crowded, noisy bazaar of a place. It wasn't easy finding a guide to take her
through the desert to the ruins of Gorimon, and she had to pawn the Talisman of
Balance to raise the money. It wasn't likely she would need it again now that the
Chaos Vortex was gone.
The guides were two Dolmaris, a brother and a sister, named Bendigo and
Genhura Saldine. They had a troop of four Elgwan, which were desert beasts with
hides like sand turtles. Elgwan had short legs that ran well on the sand, and were
best known for their ability to find water from any distance. April found their
bouncing gait a rough ride. The goggles with narrow eye slits were very handy
against the bright sun.
"Bendigo, have you taken adventurers out to Gorimon before?" said April.
"Oh yes, yes, over thirty times," replied Bendigo.
"And back again?" asked April.
"Yes, yes, that too, about three times," said Bendigo.
"Why the difference?"
"Many venture into the ruins, but few return to the light of day," said Genhura.
"Oh, gee. That's so not encouraging."
Later, she asked them, "I've heard of Dolmari all over the place. There was an
innkeeper named Benrine Salmin in the Northlands, and there are some in Ge'en.
Is this the original country of the Dolmari?"
"Yes, yes, many moved from the Southlands to other lands after the Drought."
"There really was a Drought? This wasn't always a desert? I wondered if the legend
of the Spear just explained something that was always there."
"No, no, the Drought happened 18 years and four months ago."
"An odd coincidence," thought April. "That's about when I was born."
As they journeyed out into the desert, April became aware of a cry in the distance.
"Do you hear that? Someone calling, 'Daughter'," said April.
"No, no, I hear nothing," said Genhura.
"It's coming from that way. I get a strong feeling the ruins of Gorimon are in that
direction," said April, pointing right.
"No, no, we are heading directly for Gorimon," said Bendigo, quickly.
April became suspicious as the day's journey kept getting farther from the cry she
could feel inside. That night, she got out of the bedroll and sneaked close to the
tent where she could hear the two talking.
"She knows something is wrong," said Genhura.
"No, no, I don't think so," said Bendigo. "She doesn't know a thing about the
desert. She'll suspect nothing until we are in sight of the towers of Port Altaban
and by then it will be too late."
"How much do you think she will fetch in the slave market there?" asked
Genhura.
"Only one thousand aren, I think. She is too skinny and will cost much food to
fatten to pleasing plumpness for a master's bed."
"Brother, you underestimate her value. I have some Seer training and I sense
magic potential in her. You should ask for five thousand aren."
"If she has powers perhaps we should secure her more carefully."
"Where could she go? She can't get far without directions. She would leave tracks
in the desert we could easily follow on our swift Elgwan."
April felt sick disgust at the betrayal. She had to get away! She grabbed a water
bottle from the camp supplies and was ready to get out. The track issue was no
problem. She Shifted to a back alley in Stark, then back to the point on the trail
where she first heard the cry. Let them try to follow _that_ jump!
She began walking towards the direction of the call she could hear inside, louder
and louder as she got closer. She walked through the night and reached the ruins
just as the sun was beginning to come up. She stopped at a point where the cries
were the loudest. It was a large sand dune with chunks of ruined marble columns
sticking up in all directions.
She didn't have anything to dig with but the song the Banda sang came to her
mind. She tried to remember it and to sing it as they did. Whether she actually
succeeded in singing the same way she was never certain, but her Artisan ability
had the same effect. The mound of sand stirred and moved out of the way, reveling
a buried passage. It extended deep; the steps went down and down. April got out
her oil lantern and lit it (it had a built-in flint lighter).
April walked down the acrid-smelling corridor. Outside the small cone of light
from her lantern there was pitch darkness. As she walked through a ruined marble
corridor she notice strange regular marks scratched on the wall. There were even,
vertical lines grouped in sets of five.
"It's looks like someone counting the days, like in an old movie. 'The Count of
Monte Frisco,' or something like that."
She looked up and down the wall. The lines went on for a great distance.
"If those are days... No, couldn't be. It's gotta be a wall decoration."
The corridor ended in a brass door, unlocked. It was decorated with scenes of gory
executions, and at the side ran the words "Thus perish all the Parech's enemies!"
in a twisted script. The door creaked loudly as she pushed it open but nothing
stirred inside.
The call "Daughter!" came stronger than ever from across the room.
The room was originally huge but heaps of sand and broken masonry had choked
off most of it. She crossed the room to the far end, where a dead figure sat on the
throne. It was desiccated as a mummy and its right hand was clutching a tall spear
that glowed with an evil red light.
"This must be the emperor the legend spoke of, who tried to kill Mother with that
spear and ended up entombed in his own palace," April said aloud. Feeling queasy,
she walked up to the corpse.
"Sorry, Parech guy, but I need that Spear more than you do."
Suddenly its eyes opened and its withered hand grasped at her wrist! She screamed,
jumped back, and dropped the lantern, which went out. The only light remaining
in the room was the blood red light of the spear.
"So you're the daughter of the White Dragon!" croaked the creature, "At last
you've come to me!"
"Wha-what!? You're alive!?" gasped April.
"Yes, with the life-force drained from your mother, trapped in the spear. It has
kept me alive all these years, though I couldn't get out. But you got in, and you'll
lead me out, won't you my darling?" The eyes that stared at her were mad.
April decided to keep him talking while she tried to think how to get out of this.
"Y-you mean, that the Silver Spear of Gorimon drains life from dragons?"
"Yes, my darling. I quarreled with her about your hand in marriage. She would not
relent. Actually I planned to kill her anyway so that her life force would be mine. I
had my sorcerer Aos enchant this spear, made of the silver of Mt. Tireney in the
North. It traps the life force of dragons so they may be slain. Your mother died, did
she not?"
April debated lying, but decided to stick to the truth. "Yes, eventually."
"Heh heh heh. Good. Dragons are immortal otherwise. But I have her life now...
heh heh heh.. and I will live for ages of ages."
"What do you want from me?"
"As I said, I want to make you my queen. Together we shall revive the Bakshevan
Empire and rule forever!"
"You haven't looked outside recently, have you? Your 'empire' is a dust bowl!"
"Then we will conquer another empire together, my darling. What do you say to
ruling Ge'en, or the Northlands? Nay, we will conquer all of Arcadia in time!"
"What if I say no, I won't play Bride of the Zombie?"
"You have no choice. You will yield to me or die. If you trust to your own
immortality to keep you safe, remember that I hold in my hand the one thing that
can kill you. If you try to run, know that this spear is enchanted with a sure-aim
spell that will guide the weakest throw straight to its target."
"Me? I'm not immortal!"
"You lie. Nothing can kill you, but the Silver Spear of Gorimon can and will if you
refuse me. Be reasonable. Come, I smell water about you. Give me it, my darling,
for I have had nothing to drink here all these years, and my thirst is a constant
torment. Only the Spear has kept me alive. Only the Spear."
April got out the water bottle, but in the darkness she was able to slip in the
sleep-root that she was given in the Banda tunnel. "I hope this works, I hope this
works," she thought.
The monster drank deeply of the water. "AAAAH! I have never tasted water so
sweet! When I have enough fluid in me, I will possess you in love as I have longed
to do all these years, my darling. Your beauty is all I hoped for."
"If he touches me I'm going to be sick," thought April.
"The empire will rise again, and I will ruuule foreverrrr..." said the Parech,
slumping forwards in sleep.
April had to have the spear but it had been clutched so tightly for so long that now
it was practically welded to his skin. If she pulled too hard he might wake up. But
the broken lantern at her feet gave her an idea. It was full of oil. She dipped it up in
her hand, and carefully lubricated around the spear handle, moving slowly and
cautiously. Yes!
Now the spear came free. And when the end of the handle left the Parech's hand,
he instantly crumbled into dust!
Now that it was over the shock hit her, and April dropped the Spear and was
violently sick.