I awoke some time later, surrounded by empty bottles, and faced with a new suit of gleaming black armor. I had no recollection of anything. From the appearance of the room, and the way my head was pounding, I suspected it was pretty safe to say that my drinking was out of control. I was hooked on the booze even more than I was hooked on power, cruelty, and the gods alone know what else.
"Master Golbez? Are you awake, after, such a long nap?" Rubicant stood over me, arms folded, gaze disapproving. "Since you were hardly in any condition to do it yourself, I took the liberty of having a new suit of armor made for you. Your old one was… I suppose destroyed is the best word for it."
"Thank you." I sat up, wincing as my knotted muscles stretched out for the first time in what must have been days. "Have you… been keeping track of the paladin and his allies, and what they are up to?"
"I have, Master Golbez. They have been stranded in the overworld, and are attmepting to climb down the tower of Bab-il. I have a sneaking suspicion that they will succeed, and return the the World of Shadow soon."
"I have a sneaking suspicion that you're right." I coughed, turned my head and vomited on to the crystal floor. "Damn hangover. I suppose I should sober up and show up just as they're leaving, to give them a little scare."
"Good idea, Master. They'll be trying to get their hands on the last crystal soon, the one that's sealed in that cave."
"Excellent. I will use the opportunity to get the crystal, and bring Cain back to me. Two birds with one stone, as those humans would say."
"Are you sure that bringing Cain back into the service is a good idea, Master? He left us once, and may very well do so again."
I turned my angry, bloodshot gaze on to Rubicant's face. "Are you questioning my judgement, Emporer of Fire?"
"No, sir."
The next couple of days whizzed by in a blur, and before I knew it, I was hiding in the tower of Bab-il, just as the Paladin Cecil and his allies were about to leave. Where had the time gone? I didn't know, not anymore.
"You all have greatly amused me," I murmured, putting a slight malicious chuckle into my voice. "Amused me very much indeed."
"Golbez!" Cecil spat.
I laughed. "With all the breath you've wasted saying my name, it's anybody's guess why not everyone in the world knows who I am. But this is just all for play. Farewell, young ones!" I then proceeded to set fire to the bridge, and it began to burn out as they scrambled for the ground ahead of them.
They never made it, and indeed, they were flung into the basements of the tower. "Go kill them, Rubicant," I told the man standing next to me, somehow resplendent in his red cloak. "Kill them all. They bore me."
"As you so desire, Master." The last of my Emporers left me, but even as he did I had the sinking feeling that his fate would be the same as those of his colleagues.
Indeed, so it was to be. Rubicant, with his twisted but existent sense of honor, and he insisted on casting his healing spells on Cecil and his allies before fighting them. They were a bedraggled lot at the time, and there would have been little success to be counted for defeating them, but Rubicant would have made short work of them given the circumstances. But no. He, with his honor, insisted on casting healing spells, so that a victory would be a true victory, not some half-assed job of crushing weak little things.
Of course, being who they were, they took advantage of the opportunity, and much as I hated to admit it, rose to the challenge of fighting Rubicant very well. They killed him. They killed my last Emporer, my last remaning officer. I felt some slight stirring in my chest that might have been loss had I allowed it to grow, but I didn't. being who I was, I stifled what little bit of feeling I felt.
I lay back on my bed, that had gone through so much with me, the floor, so recently cleaned, and a fresh bottle of vodka. I bit off the top of the bottle, chewed it and swallowed. The glass cut my throat as it went down, and sat like a rock in my stomach. My throat felt like it was burning as I sloshed the vodka down my throat. That was all the effect it had on me.
I was becoming completely immune to the effects of alcohol. I drank another bottle, again eating the top, and another. And another. And another. I lost track of how many bottles of the stuff, almost pure alcohol, sloshed past my bleeding lips and tongue into my stomach. My throat burned, my stomach felt like the inside of it was covered with glass-it was, really-and blood dripped from my lips and tongue.
I wiped the blood from my mouth off on a clean white sheet, and instantly red stains spread across the white fabric. My blood was just as red as everyone else's. Who was I really? I didn't know anymore. I just knew that I was an angry, bitter, murderous alcoholic with four dead officers and some sort of obsession with a dragon knight who wanted me dead.
Cain. I missed him. I indulged myself in a little bit of emotion and admitted that I felt a bit empty now that he was gone. Damn that Barbaricia… if she hadn't talked me into letting Cain live, then I would have been able to avoid all of these emotional complications. As things were, I was stuck, and Barbaricia was dead, so there was no point in blaming her for anything.
I felt tears well up in my eyes, eyes that I thought were permanently dry. I wiped them away angrily with the bloody sheet and slugged down two more bottles of vodka. I lurched to my feet, suddenly full of energy, then saw my vision go black. I do not recall ever hitting the floor, so I must have blacked out beforehand.
"Master Golbez…" whispered a voice in my ear.
"Lord Golbez…"
"Master…"
"Get up, damn it."
I opened my eyes slowly and looked around. My Four Emporers were standing by me. "What… aren't you all dead?"
"Of course we're dead." Scarmiglione snorted. He was wearing the undead form I had given him to use if Cecil managed to defeat his original one. "We're not even really here. We're hallucinations. You're imagining things, because you're in a drunken stupor, stupid guy, you really are-"
"Shut up!" Cagnazzo sent a tide of water to lash Scarmiglione back against the wall. "Never address Master Golbez in such an insolent manner!"
"No…" I said. "Let him be. He's right. I've turned into a drunk, pathetic human with you guys gone. If you hadn't gone and died, I'd still be glorious and powerful."
"We apologize, Master Golbez. It will not…" Barbaricia trailed off.
"A joke. It was supposed to be funny." I flopped back on to my bed. "I'm changing, my Emporers. I don't know how or why, but I'm not who or what I used to be. I'm not sure I like what's happening, but it is happening nonetheless and I must live with it."
"You can bring us back to you, Master Golbez. By the blood of our master, and the blood of our enemy, we will live again." Rubicant had a look on his face that I could not identify in terms of emotion.
"Easier said than done, Emporer of Fire."
"Cain. He can bring us Cecil's blood. You want him back, do you not, Master Golbez? Have Cain bring it, and the Shadow Crystal of Earth at once. Two birds with one stone, as the humans would say."
I sighed. "You remember everything I say, don't you?"
"Indeed." Rubicant smiled, but there was no mirth in it. "Indeed I do. But it is not always a gift to have such a retentive memory, Master Golbez. Indeed, it can be a problem at times."
"I wish I had your problem, Rubicant."
"If you drank less, you would not have a poor memory."
"I won't give up my booze, ever."
"Sleep, Master." He pushed me gently back on to my bed. "Sleep, and bring back Cain in the morning."
"Master Golbez? Are you awake, after, such a long nap?" Rubicant stood over me, arms folded, gaze disapproving. "Since you were hardly in any condition to do it yourself, I took the liberty of having a new suit of armor made for you. Your old one was… I suppose destroyed is the best word for it."
"Thank you." I sat up, wincing as my knotted muscles stretched out for the first time in what must have been days. "Have you… been keeping track of the paladin and his allies, and what they are up to?"
"I have, Master Golbez. They have been stranded in the overworld, and are attmepting to climb down the tower of Bab-il. I have a sneaking suspicion that they will succeed, and return the the World of Shadow soon."
"I have a sneaking suspicion that you're right." I coughed, turned my head and vomited on to the crystal floor. "Damn hangover. I suppose I should sober up and show up just as they're leaving, to give them a little scare."
"Good idea, Master. They'll be trying to get their hands on the last crystal soon, the one that's sealed in that cave."
"Excellent. I will use the opportunity to get the crystal, and bring Cain back to me. Two birds with one stone, as those humans would say."
"Are you sure that bringing Cain back into the service is a good idea, Master? He left us once, and may very well do so again."
I turned my angry, bloodshot gaze on to Rubicant's face. "Are you questioning my judgement, Emporer of Fire?"
"No, sir."
The next couple of days whizzed by in a blur, and before I knew it, I was hiding in the tower of Bab-il, just as the Paladin Cecil and his allies were about to leave. Where had the time gone? I didn't know, not anymore.
"You all have greatly amused me," I murmured, putting a slight malicious chuckle into my voice. "Amused me very much indeed."
"Golbez!" Cecil spat.
I laughed. "With all the breath you've wasted saying my name, it's anybody's guess why not everyone in the world knows who I am. But this is just all for play. Farewell, young ones!" I then proceeded to set fire to the bridge, and it began to burn out as they scrambled for the ground ahead of them.
They never made it, and indeed, they were flung into the basements of the tower. "Go kill them, Rubicant," I told the man standing next to me, somehow resplendent in his red cloak. "Kill them all. They bore me."
"As you so desire, Master." The last of my Emporers left me, but even as he did I had the sinking feeling that his fate would be the same as those of his colleagues.
Indeed, so it was to be. Rubicant, with his twisted but existent sense of honor, and he insisted on casting his healing spells on Cecil and his allies before fighting them. They were a bedraggled lot at the time, and there would have been little success to be counted for defeating them, but Rubicant would have made short work of them given the circumstances. But no. He, with his honor, insisted on casting healing spells, so that a victory would be a true victory, not some half-assed job of crushing weak little things.
Of course, being who they were, they took advantage of the opportunity, and much as I hated to admit it, rose to the challenge of fighting Rubicant very well. They killed him. They killed my last Emporer, my last remaning officer. I felt some slight stirring in my chest that might have been loss had I allowed it to grow, but I didn't. being who I was, I stifled what little bit of feeling I felt.
I lay back on my bed, that had gone through so much with me, the floor, so recently cleaned, and a fresh bottle of vodka. I bit off the top of the bottle, chewed it and swallowed. The glass cut my throat as it went down, and sat like a rock in my stomach. My throat felt like it was burning as I sloshed the vodka down my throat. That was all the effect it had on me.
I was becoming completely immune to the effects of alcohol. I drank another bottle, again eating the top, and another. And another. And another. I lost track of how many bottles of the stuff, almost pure alcohol, sloshed past my bleeding lips and tongue into my stomach. My throat burned, my stomach felt like the inside of it was covered with glass-it was, really-and blood dripped from my lips and tongue.
I wiped the blood from my mouth off on a clean white sheet, and instantly red stains spread across the white fabric. My blood was just as red as everyone else's. Who was I really? I didn't know anymore. I just knew that I was an angry, bitter, murderous alcoholic with four dead officers and some sort of obsession with a dragon knight who wanted me dead.
Cain. I missed him. I indulged myself in a little bit of emotion and admitted that I felt a bit empty now that he was gone. Damn that Barbaricia… if she hadn't talked me into letting Cain live, then I would have been able to avoid all of these emotional complications. As things were, I was stuck, and Barbaricia was dead, so there was no point in blaming her for anything.
I felt tears well up in my eyes, eyes that I thought were permanently dry. I wiped them away angrily with the bloody sheet and slugged down two more bottles of vodka. I lurched to my feet, suddenly full of energy, then saw my vision go black. I do not recall ever hitting the floor, so I must have blacked out beforehand.
"Master Golbez…" whispered a voice in my ear.
"Lord Golbez…"
"Master…"
"Get up, damn it."
I opened my eyes slowly and looked around. My Four Emporers were standing by me. "What… aren't you all dead?"
"Of course we're dead." Scarmiglione snorted. He was wearing the undead form I had given him to use if Cecil managed to defeat his original one. "We're not even really here. We're hallucinations. You're imagining things, because you're in a drunken stupor, stupid guy, you really are-"
"Shut up!" Cagnazzo sent a tide of water to lash Scarmiglione back against the wall. "Never address Master Golbez in such an insolent manner!"
"No…" I said. "Let him be. He's right. I've turned into a drunk, pathetic human with you guys gone. If you hadn't gone and died, I'd still be glorious and powerful."
"We apologize, Master Golbez. It will not…" Barbaricia trailed off.
"A joke. It was supposed to be funny." I flopped back on to my bed. "I'm changing, my Emporers. I don't know how or why, but I'm not who or what I used to be. I'm not sure I like what's happening, but it is happening nonetheless and I must live with it."
"You can bring us back to you, Master Golbez. By the blood of our master, and the blood of our enemy, we will live again." Rubicant had a look on his face that I could not identify in terms of emotion.
"Easier said than done, Emporer of Fire."
"Cain. He can bring us Cecil's blood. You want him back, do you not, Master Golbez? Have Cain bring it, and the Shadow Crystal of Earth at once. Two birds with one stone, as the humans would say."
I sighed. "You remember everything I say, don't you?"
"Indeed." Rubicant smiled, but there was no mirth in it. "Indeed I do. But it is not always a gift to have such a retentive memory, Master Golbez. Indeed, it can be a problem at times."
"I wish I had your problem, Rubicant."
"If you drank less, you would not have a poor memory."
"I won't give up my booze, ever."
"Sleep, Master." He pushed me gently back on to my bed. "Sleep, and bring back Cain in the morning."