The Sarevok Story
Chapter 2: Ruining of Peace
"No no no!" said the man with the long cape, slamming his fist on the table. Sarevok was startled. "It's 'my name is' how many times have I told you this?" the caped man said. "Sorry Ligk..." Sarevok mournfully said. He was learning the strange language slowly, he was 8 now, and much larger than before. He had proven his strength many times, as he would work in the mornings and learn in the afternoons. The evenings he was allowed to roam the streets of the Docks. Ligk started teaching him again... "now, lets get this right. Repeat: My name is Sarevok, I am eight years old and I am a slave" he said to Sarevok. Sarevok looked at him and twitched. Everyone said his was strong and greatly minded, but nobody ever accused him of being a Good person. "Sarevok! SAY IT!" Ligk said. Sarevok, startled again, moved his lips and said "Me name es Sarevok, Ey ame eight yeares ald..." Ligk sighed and bent his head over. He knew Sarevok could say it, but he was being stubborn. Again. "Right, that's enough today, I can't be bothered with you." He said, looking up. Sarevok knew most of the language already, and understood him perfectly, he just refused to show it in front of his teacher. Sarevok remained seated and waited... Ligk looked up at him, "You're free! Go on out!" he said, and pointed to the door. Sarevok ran for the door and outside, smelling the fresh sea air gave a change from the dank smell he could never get used to inside the boathouse.
He ran off to the houses and sat. This was his usual waiting place for his friends. He had many other slave friends around the docks, all of them were from Baldur's Gate, but they all liked Sarevok because of his massive strength. He could lift all sorts of things up for them to get under. Today was going to be special. Tom was the first to come up to Sarevok, he ran up and looked around. He was the shyest of all the slaves. He didn't say much but was incredibly brave. Sarevok knew it was pointless to say anything to him, as another boy ran up. This boy was Erthes, he was a strange elf-child who, surprisingly, had harnessed power of a mage at a early age. Whilst the power was incredibly insignificant, it was great for chasing off other non-slaves and lighting up dark tunnels they may explore. He was a extremely gifted child. "Hi Sarevok, Tom.." he greeted, Tom looked up and nodded, but didn't say anything. Sarevok barely said "Hi" and looked down at his feet. The last to come was Doomhammer. He never said his real name, but everyone thought it was a great name to say. It suited him really because he always carried around a rusty old runehammer he found years ago. Its old imbued powers had worn off years ago, but it still bared its runes that glowed in darkness. He nodded at everyone, Erthes said "hi!" but nothing special. Conversations rarely started when they were with but 1 or 2 others. Now there was 4 of them, they felt much more safer from non-slaves and conversations started to spark. "Where is this exciting place we are going to today anyway?" Asked Erthes, curious about everything as usual, "we're going to the Tomb of Raka! I know a secret way in!" said Doomhammer, he was pretty excited by the idea, but Tom didn't look too impressed. He opened his mouth, for a change, and his unused voice came out rather croaky and sounded like he had been breathing dust. "We cant go that way." He said. "It's too dangerous!"
Doomhammer laughed as Tom said this, combined with Erthes' scared look, it was quite funny to him. Erthes decided to back up Tom, "He's right, we cant go that way," He said, "Really, its full of traps and all sorts!"
"It's ok!" Doomhammer replied "I heard they are doing a sermon in there tonight, so all the traps will be disabled."
Tom looked down again, and said nothing. Erthes didn't know what to say. So, Sarevok spoke up. Sarevok didn't talk much, but when he said something it usually made a lot of sense, "I say we go in." He said. Tom looked at him, he looked a bit angry with him, but Erthes had to agree. He always seemed to agree, "Sarevok's right, we can go in if I use a bit of magic light." He said, shrugging a little. Doomhammer nodded and jumped onto a smallish boulder. He always seemed to act like the leader, he was rather charismic in nature, so everyone accepted it, except Sarevok, who never really accepted anything. Doomhammer often liked to be higher than everyone else, realistically and socially. After standing, viewing them from above for a while, he said in a strong tone: "Lets go!!" and jumped off to run towards the Graveyard area. Everyone, but Sarevok, followed him quickly.
When they got to the Graveyard area, the night had already become apparent, a few wolves were already howling around the area. Doomhammer, as always, clutched his rune-hammer desperately. His hammer was the only weapon they had, and he could use it as a fearful weapon anytime. Tom, as usual, had become very quiet. He had a apt ability to easily disappear into the shadows. Sarevok boldly walked through the graves, whilst Erthes was attempting to conjure up some stronger light but it wasn't working well. Even though he could use magicks, at his age it would be very hard to do it properly. When they finally reached the tombs, they blew off all the dust on the inscriptions to find Raka's. It took some time, but at last the tomb was found, a larger tomb with some rusty old silver linings on the entrance. They all suddenly became reluctant as the dark tunnel ahead of them seemed to hum with something unidentifiable. Sarevok, as in his nature, was interested and walked straight in. "Sarevok!" Doomhammer whispered loudly into the entrance, as the darkness of the tunnel swallowed him up. Tom shook his head in doubt and backed off a little. Doomhammer looked at him and closed his eyes in thought. Erthes was also reluctant, and murmured a little as he followed him inside. "Right... are you coming Tom... Tom?" He asked as he looked around. Tom had already ran off into the night. Doomhammer looked solemnly into the dark tunnel and shakily stepped inside.
Erthes finally got some light to shine around him, his skin starting to glow a vibrant orange. The tunnel was lined with webs and holes where bricks had fallen out. "Why do they make these things so damned long?" whispered Doomhammer, trying to cover up his panic washing over him. Sarevok already knew he was scared, but didn't care as he walked further into the darkness. Erthes followed behind him. Doomhammer looked behind him, the tunnel was curving and this was his only chance to get out... He ran. "Doomhammer?" asked Erthes, turning around. He could be seen running out of the entrance. He turned around to look at Sarevok again and shrugged as he followed him. Sarevok sighed, he could tell that most of his friends had already left. He walked further into the tunnel and started to get a bit frightened as a chant could be heard deeper inside. Erthes' light started to struggle to stay alight. Sarevok looked at him hastily. "I can't!!" Erthes whispered, his light dying quickly. "There's some kind of magic wards here!" Sarevok shook off his fear, and Erthes saw him walk off into the darkness beyond his dying light. He backed up... He couldn't bring himself to follow him as he ran for the entrance.
Sarevok continued feeling his way through the passage. and finally saw some light ahead of him, he started to copy the way Tom would sneak his way around when he was afraid, and inched down the passage. The chants got louder. Strangely, he could recognise the language of the enchantments. It was his home-language, and so he got as close as he could and listened. "Or thou the maidens shall perish, and with them shall come the children. So shall it be... The..." The man chanting stopped. "I... no... the... the... I... I sense a bhaalspawn in this place!" He cried out. Sarevok had heard that word before. He was called one a long time ago when he was only four. He had thought that a since the people from this city were called the Baldurian's, he thought that he was a Bhaalspawn, like it was his city. It seemed he was right. "A bhaalspawn... here?" another person asked,
"I sense him."
"The bhaalspawn were meant to be killed! The entire reviving of our God Bhaal was in this!"
"If a Bhaalspawn is here, then something has gone wrong."
"If the sacrificed were interrupted, we must round up all the 'spawn we can find and kill them ourselves!"
"Ok... our ceremony here is pointless without the sacrifice... That Stavel always makes a mistake."
Stavel... Bhaal... Sacrifice. Sarevok was confused. He was a Bhaalspawn, he knew that, but it appeared it was not what he thought. Bhaal was a God, as he just found out, and a spawn was a baby, as he had always known... was he a child of a God? Sarevok pushed himself against the wall as he felt the rush of air as several men and women ran past him, their shoes rattling down the long corridor. Sarevok emerged from his hiding spot and walked into the chamber they were just in. "THERE!" a voice cried out, and he was jumped. Attempting to fight back, he tried to push against the man that just jumped on him and suddenly all the people that had left returned. "He's only eight. He cant fight yet. But we cant allow these children to get any older, they can develop unique and powerful Bhaal abilities. We must kill this one now."
They placed Sarevok unto a altar and a person unsheathed a knife, Sarevok yelled for help in vain. Then, just as all seemed hopeless, in his veins he suddenly felt a rush of pure evil, he was sure of it, evil rushed through his arms, legs and body and he suddenly felt stronger. His arm trusted onto the person in front of him, getting out of his grip and took the knife off him. His sudden rush of strength purely surprised him. He moved through the room with finesse with the knife, and felt prepared to kill. "Get him!" screamed one of the people and they ran for him. Sarevok plunged the knife into someone's neck and they rushed away from him in extreme pain. Bloody gushed from his throat like a waterfall, he tried to speak but only gargles were emitted from his blood-entrenched mouth, and soon collapsed on the floor in a lifeless heap. Sarevok, astonished by this had last the knife in the mans throat and had no way to protect himself from the others. He was being beaten up easily. He stood no real chance at all.
Sarevok could no longer move. The men had savagely beaten him up and was sitting against the wall of the chamber, tears leaking from his eyes. The apparent leader of all the men walked towards him. He was wearing nothing but black, and most of his face was covered by black cloth. and only his eyes were totally visible. "Now, you will die bhaalspawn." Sarevok's mind filled with questions, as he lay there incapable, but then, as luck would have it, voices were heard nearing the chamber. All the men and women in black suddenly started talking fast. "We can't kill him now, these people down there will see us!"
"they wont see us! He must be killed!"
"We cant kill him!"
"Just give me the damn knife!"
"No! We can't..."
The voices down the tunnel got louder and they suddenly stopped as two people walked into the chamber. "Oh god..." whispered one of the men in black. The two new people walked right into the room and looked around. "What's all this...?" Questioned one of them,
"Err.. My lord... This child was found severely beaten up..." said one of the blackened men, the other man raised his eyebrow and looked at the child, and then at the blood on one of the men's feet. He laughed at little and said "I am no fool, Bhaal cleric. Begone with you, and hope the next person that meets you committing a crime is not so gracious."
The man in black sighed in relief, then looked sharply at the quivering child on the floor. His eye twitched and he started walking down the tunnel, the other black-dressed people soon following him. Grumbling and mumbling could be heard down the trouble as the two that stayed picked up Sarevok and took him down the tunnel again