Section Four: The Crimson Road
The Lantern that agreed to teleport them was a young woman, and she seemed quite intrigued by the group. They said nothing to her about their mission, however, and only minutes after paying found themselves on a sand-swept road.
"Be careful." The Lantern warned before she left. "A Silk Road, this might be, but the Silk is Crimson." And with that, she was gone.
"Crimson? Crimson Road, I imagine?" Bill looked to Falco.
"I'd infer so." Falco nodded. "Which means, ladies and gentlemen, that we are in raider country."
Fox sighed, looking up at the sun absently. "I do not even care as long as they are smart enough to leave us be."
"As large a group and as well armed as we are, we must be ready." Falco insisted. "I've known members of the Crimson Road, and they are nothing if not cunning."
"What do you think?"
Cobra, the leader of the band, crouched at the top of a hill, watching through a spyglass as the party rode by in the distance. "Thirteen. Bad luck."
"True, that, so why do they travel in that number?"
"Maybe because they are strong enough to create their own good luck." He stood, collapsing the spyglass. "One of them is riding a hippogriff, three or four of them seem to be magic users, all of them look armed. This is not a party that most followers of the Crimson Road could walk away alive from." He shook his head. "Have Soft Rain follow them from a distance, and we will be even further away. Attempting a raid on this party will be very difficult, if possible at all."
"From here on out it's just a lot of traveling and some cross-country hops. This is where all the time of the journey hits us." Said Elgar, holding Fox's map. "Hopefully it will not take as long as it took us, though, because we aren't dodging raider country now."
"Presumably, we'll be able to cut off a few days." Said Julian, holding a more normal map. "But it really depends on other conditions as well."
Peppy, who had been silent this time period, craned his neck back to look behind the group, frowning.
"Peppy, you've been staring over your shoulder a lot lately." Fox remarked, lifting an eyebrow as he took a drink from a canteen. "Perhaps if we were in a forest, I would be more informed, but in deserts my senses are smothered. So, you sense something. What do you sense pray tell?"
"Nothing." Peppy shrugged, turning back.
"Right. Now tell the truth."
The rest of the party turned to look at Peppy curiously.
"Well to be honest, I got an itch on the back of my neck that says there's someone following us."
"Near? Or far?" Falco snapped his head up from the map he was looking at.
"Well, far, it's more of a feeling then anything."
Fox rubbed his chin, staring off into the distance, but unable to feel anything. No, all that was here was hot and dust, or that was all his senses told him was there. Peppy had been in this country many times, and so had Julian. Best to rely on them, then.
"Any way you can tell intent?"
"No, not from this distance."
"We keep moving." Fox decided. "Fara, go higher and try to keep a lookout. Tonight we ward the campsite."
"They're smart, damn smart." Cobra shook his head after listening to the report from Soft Rain. "Now, what was this about a pendant?"
"At one point I did get close enough to use my spyglass, and well… I think the leader was wearing a pendant of Heironeous."
"We've got problems." Scarab shook his head, stabbing one of his huge, notched scimitars into the sand. "There is no way we'll be able to take this group, boss. No way."
"They're perfect." Cobra laughed very softly. "Just the kind of people we need."
The entire group looked at him. There were only eight of them, tired and worn, their desert steeds wearing battered tack, their weapons having also seen better days.
"You didn't want to attempt a raid in the first place, did you, boss?" Asked Soft Rain.
"No. Not hardly." Cobra swung into the saddle of his black Arabian. "They've set up camp, correct?"
"Yes, but there seems to be spells cast on the site."
"That won't be a problem. When I signal, approach the campsite, and don't come charging in like the devil himself is on your tails. I wouldn't want our new friends to be startled into panic fire." And with that he rode out.
"We have company."
Fox stood and walked over to where Falco stood. The group had camped off to the side of the road, and hadn't bothered running a cold camp. There was enough warding spells up that it would take a major sorcerer to break through. "Just one?" He hazarded.
"Yes, and no one following him. Coming in slow and easy, too." Falco crossed his arms.
"What do you think?"
"Not sure yet."
The party, having heard this, had weapons at hand, but were continuing their business, many having delved into Slippy's tomes for the evening while the others worked on evening meal or discussed further travels.
The rider stopped just outside the circle of light, directly across from where Falco and Fox stood. "Evening." He called in the local language. "What language?"
"Do you speak Common?" Fox inquired.
"That I do." The rider switched languages, voice heavily accented. "May I approach?"
"You may."
Cobra grinned to himself and urged his horse forward into the circle of light, swinging out of the saddle even as his horse walked and leading his steed further forward. "Thank you kindly for your hospitality."
"No, glad to put a face to a presence. Would you be the one who was following us a good part of this day?" Fox eyed his new guest. A desert cat in his late twenties, perhaps, with large sheaths containing a pair of scimitars at his sides.
"One of my people, but don't worry, we have peaceful intent." Cobra held up his hands in treaty.
"We'll see." Fox gestured, and let the visitor remove the tack from his horse and join the circle around the fire. "And who might you be?"
"I might ask the same of you, you hardly seem like a local."
"Fox McCloud, under several titles." Fox held out a hand.
"Call me Cobra." He smiled. "So, who are your friends?"
The party shared glances and stood as one, going through the gamut of names. Cobra took it all in stride, going through a rather complicated handshake with Falco.
"I have some friends waiting, may I call them in?" He turned to Fox, tilting his head to one side absently.
"Go ahead."
Cobra bowed with a flourish, then pulled a horn and blew. The hollow, lilting tone echoed through the desert, then a return note echoed back. A few minutes later the rest of Cobra's group rode in easily, pulling their steeds to a halt just outside the fire and dismounting, nodding easily to the group.
"Aren't you all followers of the Crimson Road?" Julian asked, watching the whole group of visitors with a somewhat leery expression.
"That we are." Cobra nodded. "But we have no argument with you folks, and I daresay that we would be rather stupid to even attempt a raid."
Falco laughed. "True that, we are quite able to defend ourselves. Some members of this party have even taken on dragons and walked away alive."
"If somewhat worse for wear." Bill said somewhat sourly.
"Even so, being able to fight a dragon and live…" Scarab smiled, then clasped his hands and bowed to Fox's party. "I'm honored to be in such company."
"How is it then that you all speak our language?" Fara asked, stepping over. A few members of Cobra's party lifted eyebrows, line of vision lifting up and down. She saw this and stepped closer to Fox.
"Oh, well…" Cobra shifted. "A bit of a story, and one I hoped to share with you. I didn't come here to raid, oh no. I came here because we need help, kind sirs and ladies, and I thought you might be able to do so."
Fox's party shared a glance, and Peppy wove an arm. "Share our fire, by all means. Tell us more."
Cobra smiled and nodded.
"Really, this whole thing started decades ago, before any of us were born.
These territories are run by Sultans, much like your Kings, I imagine. And like Kings, the kingdoms are passed on from generation to generation, through one family. That's where the trouble came in.
Seventy or so years ago, there was a rather large war across this country, and the Sultan made a deal with a demon to end it. The demon's blood now laces the family line, and while most of the royalty wasn't aware of its presence, some were bent by it, and every time one that was bent took the throne, the villages felt it. The local royal line is in trouble, it is whispered that murder plagues the palace, murder and lies. It did not become apparent until very recently, at least for some of us.
Almost all of us here didn't start out where we are now. I myself was a Captain of the Guard, at the capital, in fact. The others? Many of my fellows were high-rank soldiers from good families, hence why we all know Common well enough to talk to you. Those of my fellows that weren't soldiers were apprentices and such forth, good standing all.
The government tumbles into corruption. All of us have paid the price of it doing so. All of us here are legally dead, our names erased, and in some cases… Our families slaughtered. Don't act surprised, this has been happening locally for quite some time.
I imagine some of you have been through this area before. Do not worry about the fact that you never noticed such treachery, foreigners never see it because the Sultan does not want it seen. He wants to maintain the trade routes, and thus, he attempts to keep those that are angry silent, and often, he does so with brutality you cannot imagine.
And that is why I have come to you, to your party. My friends and I have been surviving as we can for over a year, and we fear we cannot take this much longer. Rage can poison, and we have choked on enough. We need help, and you seemed like more then likely candidates."
Fox's party, which had been quietly listening to this, shared a long glance. Elgar felt himself grow resigned, it was becoming obvious to him that if there was some way his traveling companions could help people, they would, even if it did slow down their travels.
"You do seem to have a rather critical problem on your hands." Katt said slowly, tapping her fingertips together. "But why come to us? What can we do?"
Cobra spread his hands. "You can do more then we can, I imagine. We have the motivation, the rage, but we have spent over a year slowly starving in the desert. We are worn and we need direction. We were hoping you could help provide that direction, and either cure or replace our corrupt government."
"But how can we do that?" Bill spread his hands. "We are but travelers."
"I doubt that." Soft Rain suddenly said, looking at Fox over his laced hands. Soft Rain was one of the youngest of the group, the most shaken by his family's death, the most angry. "I have heard the name Fox McCloud before."
Fox sighed. "Yes, I have completed some amazing tasks in my life, with the help of my friends. But I agree, I am not sure how we can help. We are hardly diplomats, or assassins."
"Nor are we on terms with your Sultan. For all we know, we could be killed on spot for wanting to talk to him." Falco said.
"You're Guild, friend, you figure it out. We need help. Are you willing to help us?" Cobra asked.
There was a very long pause, then Fox stood and held out a hand to Cobra. "I think we have to."
Cobra smiled and stood, taking Fox's hand and shaking it. "Thank you friend. Thank you."
"That is one big city." Said Cade, looking through Julian's spyglass.
"And a large palace. That one building must be a quarter of the city's bulk." Falco said, looking through his own spyglass absently. "Not to mention the whole place looks rather worn."
"It is." Cobra said, crouching on his toes, looking down at the capital. "Tired, worn, and downtrodden, like we are. The Sultan does not seem to understand that his subjects are the soul of his cities."
"What would it take to talk to him?" Katt asked, rubbing her chin, looking at the slowly rotating, magnified imagine that floated in front of her.
"Royal papers, most likely." Said Blade frankly. "I used to be a guard in that palace, so I should know."
"Royal papers." Bill repeated. "How so?"
"Sultan only holds audience with diplomats, royalty themselves, and thus forth. Important traders, every now and then, entertainers even more rarely." Blade crouched beside his leader, tail waving. "He's handsome, dashing, and conceited as anything."
"Well, that sounds like most princes I've known." Fara remarked. "Maybe it's typical for royalty. How old is this Sultan?"
"He's still a young man, and the demon blood in him has already started to twist his mind." Said Cobra. "He does have his personal weaknesses, though."
"Oh?"
"Good wine and fine women." Said Soft Rain, voice bitter. "He thinks he can take any beautiful woman for himself, and does, quite often."
"A drunken lady's man. You'd think life would be a bit more fun in this city." Alan huffed out a sigh, then saw the Crimson Road members look at him strange. "Oh, I am of the Blood Bayou, friends. You would have to meet the leaders of the Bayou to understand, I'm afraid."
"The question is, can those flaws be worked to our advantage?" Slippy asked. "Trying to do so would be risky, very risky, more to some of us then others."
"Rita, would curing the Sultan's family of the demon blood heal the members?" Fox asked, tapping his fingertips together.
Rita, who had been in silent contemplation for quite some time, nodded very slowly. "Yes, but it is a long and hard ritual to perform, and I must be there in person to do so."
"Of course." Falco shook his head. "Maybe it would be easier just to kill him."
"That would just throw the country into war." Peppy shook his head. "Unless someone can immediately take the place of the Sultan who would be a vast improvement and who would be accepted by the people."
There was a very long silence.
"I say we ride into town for now, and try to pick up some information before we act. Falco, Alan, that will mostly be your department." Said Fox, swinging into his saddle. The others of his group followed suit.
"We can't come with you." Said Cobra. "We're exiles, do remember."
Slippy fished around in a belt pouch, leaned over in his saddle, and deposited a ring in Cobra's hand. "We'll be in touch." He assured Cobra with a smile, and with that, the party started down the hill.
"This place seems sick, somehow." Rita remarked as they slowly rode down a main street. It was very busy, a marketplace. It was now midafternoon, and the streets were packed, the crowds slowly parting for the riders, recognizing them as foreigners. "Bright, intense, and energetic, yet tired, listless, uncaring."
"I've noticed that too." Falco said, cuffing up the collar of his cape absently, watching the crowd with sharp eyes.
"Let's find an inn for now, and work from there." Said Fox over his shoulder. "Julian, can you read this language?"
"The townsfolk are restless." Said Bill, shaking an eating utensil at the surrounding throng, downing some of the local spicy food absently.
"Everyone seems tense and worried." Rita shook her head. The party had stabled their horses and split up, walking the streets, picking up information.
"Ho, boy." Julian remarked, looking up from his bowl as shouting echoed down the street. "Looks like Alan's in trouble."
Still carrying their food, they worked their way down the street, and were less then surprised. One of the local street musicians seemed to be under arrest by Imperial guards, and Alan was between the guards and the musician, shouting in the local language as the guards shouted back. The street musician, who was in fact just a young boy, was cowering on the ground, clutching his flute to his chest absently.
"What's going on?" Bill asked Julian, swallowing the last of his food.
"Looks like the child was singing of the Emperor being anything but nice, which is of course treason, which is of course punishable by death. Alan didn't like that, apparently." Julian shook his head, tapping his ring and lifting his hand to his mouth. "Fox?"
"Yes?" The voice emanated just inside his ear, carrying more background noise with it.
"We have a problem."
"I'll be right there."
One of the guards made a grab for Alan, who sprang fifteen feet in the air, grabbing the child and effortlessly pulling him up, landing on the ledge of a roof effortlessly and setting the child down next to him with a smile. The guards shouted and shook fists, and Alan's sugar-voiced replies angered them even more.
"Ho, boy." Falco said, looking up at this when he, Fox, and Fara arrived. "So, what's the punishment for this, pray tell?"
"Oh he'll be beheaded, naturally." Julian rubbed his eyes. "Him, and that child."
Fox reached up, sliding his circlet on absently, then snapped his fingers. Several of the watching crowd leapt and cried out when his clothes changed in a blink, from commoner to minor lord. Flexing his arms against the vest he wore, the stepped forward, settling a hand on his katana. "Is there a problem?" He asked simply.
The guards spun and stepped back when they saw him, starting to reply in the local language. Fox wove Julian forward absently.
"They're saying the boy committed treason, and that Alan prevented the arrest and apparently would be guilty of treason… if he was from his area." Julian told Fox absently. The guards got more energetic and loud in their comments, drawing a ripple from the crowd, and Julian grinned. "And they also think that Alan is insane."
"Well, they certainly got that thought correct, didn't they Alan?" Fox looked up at his friend, resigned.
"That they did, fearless leader!" Alan shouted happily.
The guards saw this exchange, and their voices got even louder, stepping toward Fox.
"Well, now they're blaming you because you obviously know Alan." Julian translated frankly. "And they'd like to throw you in jail as well."
Fox held up a hand absently, drawing himself up. "Yes, that man is a friend of mine, but that is really none of your business."
Julian translated, and the guards seemed unsettled, then replied.
"They want to know if you are royalty."
"Tell them that I am a Lord from west of here."
Julian did, and the guards took another step back uneasily.
"Come on down, Alan, and bring the child with you." Fox called up. "I do not think they would dare do anything."
Alan scooped up the young boy and leapt down easily, touching down effortlessly then setting the boy down. "Talented little servant of Olidammara, he is." Alan remarked, ruffling the boy's fur, drawing a timid smile from the boy. "Kind of like I used to be."
"We'll discuss this later." Fox turned back to the guards and made a general gesture of dismissal, and though unhappy, the guards went. "I would ask if that was necessary, Alan, but I know it is. I would have defended the child as well." He sighed and snapped his fingers again once the guards were gone, reverting to more normal clothing. "So, what's the boy's name?"
Alan crouched on his heels and spoke to the boy, then looked up. "He says people just call him Scrap. Looks like he's on the streets."
Fox rubbed his chin. "Alan, take him back to the inn, get him something to eat. And for the sake of all that is holy, try to stay out of trouble."
"You got it, fearless leader." Alan stood and held out a hand to the boy, who nodded and took it, and then the two disappeared into the crowd.
"Do you suppose this is more bad Karma?" Falco asked absently.
"I suppose that is Alan being Alan." Said Peppy, and Falco laughed.
"The palace is impossibly well guarded." Said Slippy, manipulating Fox's map. He had borrowed it from Fox for the day, and had somehow managed to get the general city and palace layout mapped. "There's no way we could sneak in really."
"And even if I managed to, there's little I could do while I was inside." Said Falco. "Unless we decide to kill the Sultan, in which case, I could take care of that rather quietly."
"That, my friend, is a last resort, and we are far from that." Said Fox, looking at the map of the palace. "And the gates?"
"Heavy duty. Nothing short of a battering ram… or Jordan, maybe… could get through them, and no, they don't have pickable locks."
"Any enchantments at all?"
"Basic alarm and guarding, but that seems to be it." Slippy said.
"Rita, any comments?"
"Whole place seems to bleed with illness. The demon's blood well coats that building, or at least, in a spiritual sense." She shook her head.
"Deliveries are made by the same people at the same times, when they're made at all, according to locals." Said Julian. "And unannounced visitors have to be royalty or better, basically."
"This place is a fortress. We're not going to be able to get in unknown." Said Fara, looking at the map. "It's just too well built."
A piping voice reached the others, and Alan reached down and sat Scrap on the table. Further discussion had revealed Scrap to only be ten years old, and very barely that.
Scrap poked the map and continued talking, Alan translating.
"He says there are ways in if you know how." Alan said. "There's apparently a servants entrance in back as well as hidden weak spots in the walls."
Scrap nodded eagerly, noisily swallowing a hunk of bread, then continued talking.
"He'd like to know why we want in so badly." Said Alan slowly, then replied, translating his reply. "I told him we want to help the people by helping the Sultan."
"True enough I suppose." Said Peppy, looking at the map. "But is sneaking in even necessary? Why not try just speaking to him?"
"That's something to try tomorrow, then. I'll see if I can hold a direct audience." Fox said, rubbing his chin absently. "But you all have to remember, I'm only a minor Lord, and barely even worthy of that title. It would be a small miracle if I was able to talk to him for any amount of time."
"Like miracles don't happen around this group." Falco rolled his eyes. "Do you want anyone to go with you?"
"Julian, would you mind?" Fox looked at his friend. "I'd like to believe the Sultan will be able to speak Common, but knowing our fabulous luck," he allowed sarcasm to drip into his voice, "there's a possibility he won't."
"Sure, if you really want me to."
"Thank you." Fox looked around at everyone else. "And if the rest of you could continue to try to gather information, I'd very much appreciate it. I'm still not certain of what to do."
Everyone nodded, and the gathering broke up.
"You would think of all groups that royalty would be on the most guard against corruption, but no, we seem to invite it." Fara sighed, leaning on the windowsill and looking down at the street.
"Absolute power corrupts absolutely." Fox settled his chin on her shoulder from behind, pulling her back into his grasp. "Hate and greed only make it worse…"
"True I suppose." She leaned back into him with a sigh. "Be careful tomorrow, all right? If this Sultan would allow a small child to be beheaded, no matter what he sings, I fear your meeting may go a bit awry."
He laughed. "I'm well able to defend myself, love, but I'll be careful."
"McCloud is trying for a direct audience?" Cobra repeated, contemplating the ring as he spoke. The mage Slippy's voice echoed in his ear, even though Slippy was somewhere in the city that still sprawled below them.
"That's the current plan. The rest of us are still canvassing the area for information, of course, but the current idea is that we try to cure the local royal family. Unfortunately, this situation doesn't open itself to many good plans." Slippy replied. "And since Fox does carry the title Lord, he figured he would try to see, ahem, if his luck was dancing."
"Well, that's progress of some sort, I suppose." Cobra huffed out a sigh.
"Don't let it bother you, we said we'll help, and we will. It's just finding a way to. I'll talk to you again later." And with that, the ring stopped glowing.
"Interesting spell, that is." Scarab remarked, rubbing his chin. "I take it that they haven't made much progress?"
"Some, but it might be some time before we see any effects." Cobra admitted. "But I have no doubt that they will stay until they've at least improved the situation, if not solved it."
"Desert cities. It seems that we always end up in such places." Katt remarked, looking around.
"I know. At least this time we're fully supplied, unlike the last time we were unceremoniously dropped into a desert." Fara smiled sourly. The pair was strolling through the market, having not much better to do. Katt was only barely familiar with the language, and Fara was completely left out of the conversations around them.
A shout rippled through the crowd, which started to hastily part. Fara and Katt glanced at each other and were also quick to step out of the way, leaning forward slightly to see what was going on.
A rather handsome young man on a large black Arabian was riding down the cleared path, flaked by a pair of guards. He sat tall, and surveyed the market crowd with an odd look of veiled annoyance.
"That would be the sultan, I'm betting." Fara shook her head. "No one but royalty could act like such."
Katt smiled a bit.
The Sultan drew his horse to a sudden halt, looking around, then Fara almost stepped back when she felt his gaze land on her. She made a mental note to buy clothing more typical of the area, because her sword-fighter's outfit made her stick out almost as bad as Alan typically did. The sultan only smiled though, riding forward and coming to a stop in front of her and Katt, bowing from the saddle.
"I thought that I heard someone speaking in the language of the west." He said in well-accented Common, smiling down at them. Fara uncomfortably crossed her arms over her chest, looking up at him. "What are two beautiful women like yourselves doing here, unescorted of all things?" He swung down from the saddle, tossing his reins to one of his guard escorts and taking a few steps forward, studying them.
"We're with a larger party that has split up for now." Said Katt.
"Ah, I see." He nodded easily, tilting his head to one side. "Are you a sorceress, dear lady?"
"That I am." She said flatly.
"Indeed. And you, fair one, you are a soldier?" He turned to Fara and lifted an eyebrow. "How crude, someone as stunning as you fighting instead of making the courts jealous of your beauty."
"I prefer fighting to the courts." Fara replied, eyeing him, getting an odd sense of déjà vu. In an odd way, this young sultan seemed familiar, even if she had never met him.
"Why is that?" He took a step closer. Fara took a step back in reflex, and he laughed. "I'm not going to bite, fair beauty."
"It's not biting that worries me, Sultan."
He laughed again, tilting his head the other way. "Oh, come now, am I that horrible to behold?" He held out his arms with a smile. "How would you like to live at my palace, instead of on the road as a simple traveler?" He stepped forward again, she started to step back again, but he reached out and caught her arm. "Life at a palace is much better then life as a simple soldier, I can promise you that."
She pulled at his grasp, felt the unnatural strength there, and felt something like panic forming. "I regret to decline, but I am already married."
His smile thinned. "That, fair one, is very easily remedied."
"Enough." Katt broke in, voice sharp and acidic. "My liege, she obviously wants nothing to do with you, please let her go." She tightened her grip on her staff as she said that, eyes narrowing.
"Silence." The sultan looked at Katt. "I was not speaking to you, and I advise that you do not threaten me with that stick you call a staff."
'Fox!' Fara's mental voice practically shrieked, and knew the impact hit him like a slap across the face. But he knew she was in trouble, and was on his way. "It is not necessary to be cruel with my friend, Sultan." Fara finally said. "And please, let me go. I have said I am already married, what more do I need to say?"
He just smiled, and something about it was thin and cruel. "I am accustomed to getting what I want, and I do not understand why you resist. I can get you anything, fair one, and you would live in my palace. Most women would die for such an offer."
"Anything she wants, except the freedom she loves." Fox's voice blasted over the market, and the Sultan looked up, an expression of shock passing over his face as the bright-white unicorn charged through the crowd, plowing right by the Sultan's two guards and stopping, tossing sand up, eyes glowing. Fox easily dismounted, wearing his royalty-style clothing, arms crossed and gaze hostile. "And I suggest, Sultan, that you let her go. I have no fight with you but I will very shortly if you do not release her."
"How is this your business, whoever you are?" The young Sultan demanded.
Fox smiled grimly. "It is my business because she is my wife, Sultan."
Fara twisted free and leapt to Fox's side, allowing herself to be held, quivering slightly.
"Ah. I see." The Sultan stepped back, rubbing his chin. "And who might you be?"
"Lord Ivellios Siannodel of the Elven Courts west to here, also known as Sir Fox McCloud, Knight and Battle Mage of King Phoenix's Army." Fox stood tall and defiant, eyes narrowed. "And the young lady I hold is Princess Fara Phoenix. We have no quarrel with you, Sultan, please do not create one."
"Lord McCloud… ah. Did you request an audience with me for later today?" The Sultan crossed his arms. "Now is as good a time as ever." He swung back into the saddle of his Arabian, gesturing for Fox to follow. "And by all means, bring your wife." He remarked over his shoulder. "I wish to discuss that as well."
Fara swung up behind Fox once he had swung back into the saddle, wrapping her arms around him. 'I don't like this, Fox.'
'Neither do I.' He admitted. 'But what choice do we have?'
Katt watched them leave, oriented herself, and made time back to the hotel, activating her ring as she went so she could contact the others. This was definitely a development that may complicate matters…
Fara cast a side-glance at Fox as the pair walked down a long, airy corridor to what was apparently a throne room. Fox had given up his reins to a stable boy, just his look enough to warn the boy to treat the unicorn with care, and now they were inside the palace itself, the heavy doors having closed with a frightening finality behind them.
She still felt fear edging through her system, and she supposed in a way she was allowed. This young Sultan had apparently decided that she would be the next woman he would take, and just the thought of that made her stomach ill and unsettled. She knew Fox felt the same, but it wasn't fear influencing him, it was anger, which only made her worse.
He reached over and caught her hand, laced his fingers through hers absently, surprising her. Married or no, he was usually reserved about demonstrating affection in public, holding it to be a very private matter, which she usually didn't mind. Now though he was troubled, and she understood the gesture.
A huge set of doors boomed open in front of them as they approached them, and the young Sultan laughed, striding easily down the red carpet and taking a seat in the throne chair, gesturing for two other chairs to be brought to the dais also, making sure one was set closer to him. Fox rearranged the chairs when he got there, pulling the wayward chair closer to the other so Fara sat close to him.
"Well, Lord McCloud. You requested an audience. About which would you like to speak?" The young sultan prompted easily, accepting a glass of chilled wine from a servant. The servant also held out the tray to Fox and Fara, they gracefully declined.
"Several things, actually, but first I imagine you'd like to know why my friends and I are here in the first place." Fox pressed his fingertips together absently, regarding the young sultan.
"That would be nice. Friends, you say, and not servants? Interesting."
"Yes, friends. I have no servants, nor am I a practicing Lord. I carry the title, but I stay away from the courts." He shrugged. "No, it is my other profession that carries my honor. But regardless, we are here because we have some… pressing business to the east, a bit of a favor for a new friend, and we were going to be in this city only briefly, to seek the services of the Lanterns."
"The Lanterns? Making use of magical travel, then? Smart of you." The sultan wove a finger. "And I imagine that you are not willing to speak to me of your 'pressing business.'"
"I would rather not, or at least, of that particular business." Said Fox very carefully. "However, now some other …concerns have risen, and we feel something is very wrong in this city. I hoped to speak to you in that we might help heal the illness that hangs here."
"Illness?" The sultan rocked back, blinking, then shook off. He was a desert cat, and his ears swiveled in bewilderment as he looked at Fox. "Are you talking a plague, perhaps, that I have not been informed of?"
"No, not that sort of illness. This is, in the words of the priestess that travels with us, a spiritual illness, a strange, clinging wrongness. We cannot in good mind leave this city with it being in such a horrid state."
"I was riding through market, and things seemed perfectly fine to me." Now annoyance and borderline anger came into the young sultan's voice. "Perfectly fine."
"But things are not." Fox's voice became very, very soft. "Just because you cannot see such facts is not to say that such facts do not exist."
"And just because you see such facts is not to say that they DO exist." The sultan snapped.
Fox held up a hand. "I do not mean to anger you, I just wanted to approach you. And these facts are true. This is hardly my first journey, nor the first of any of my friends. When something like this screams at us, we listen. Sultan." He bit off the title on purpose, accenting it.
"Who do you think you are, even if you are a Lord?" The young sultan spat.
"I do not find who or what I am to be any of your business." Fox said in a cold, cold voice, tapping his fingers together. "I came to you with a problem in YOUR city, how do you intent to correct it? Do you intend to ignore it, to let your citizens rot as their souls fade?"
The young sultan, in a fit of rage, threw the empty wine glass across the room. It shattered on the wall, a harsh, horrid noise, as he stood. "I could have you beheaded for such insolence, Lord McCloud."
Fox stood very slowly, and replied, "Do you know what a Hallowed is, Sultan?"
"Are you suggesting that you are one?" The Sultan laughed out loud and tossed a hand. "Ridiculous. This discussion is over. You go. She stays."
In the next instant, the sultan was pinned to the wall beside his throne, Fox's Katana to his throat. The sultan gagged in surprise, feet off the ground, finding himself staring into eyes of the deepest, holiest gold, like lightning of the gods. Strange, for the last time he had glanced, this strange foreign lord had had blue eyes…
Fox tightened the blade ever-so-slightly, lifting one eyebrow. Fara stood behind him, arms crossed and silently watching. It was, she mused, never wise to anger Fox. Such was hard to do, but once done, it was most prudent to get out of the way.
"You are young, and inexperienced. Apparently any diplomacy lessons over the years did not sink in, either." Fox's voice came out low and strange, distorted by the power of his god. "Slander to my name I can take though it angers me, but the slightest suggestion that you would do anything to the woman I love…" The blade tightened even more, and the sultan heard himself whimper. "No. I'm not going to kill you." Fox dumped him on the floor and sheathed the sword, eyes fading back to soft blue. "Because if I did that, you wouldn't be able to repent, now would you?" And with that he turned and walked away, taking Fara's hand as they walked side by side toward the huge doors. The guards standing there hadn't been able to bring themselves to react when Fox had pinned their ruler, and now meekly stepped away, knowing they were out of their league.
"Do you really think, fool, that you'll live twelve hours before caught and beheaded?!" The sultan shouted, still on the floor.
Fox looked over his shoulder, eyes flashing gold, making the sultan draw back with another whimper. "Twelve hours? I'll give you twenty-four to give up the demon blood in your veins, then I will be forced to take action." And with that, he was gone, leaving the young sultan to sit on the floor and gasp.
"Oh my god, I wish I could have been there." Falco laughed out loud and rocked back in the chair he sat in at the inn, tossing his head back.
"Entertaining as it may seem, that's a bit unlike you, Fox." Said Peppy quietly, tapping fingers on the rough-grained table.
Fox didn't as much as blink. "That palace is drenched in evil. It grated on me, made it hard for me to even breathe." He shook off. "And the sultan made one simple mistake, and that, on top of the demon blood he stank of…"
"Wait a moment." Fara held up a hand. "I'm the visionary here. Why didn't I sense any of this?"
Fox's look was amused. "Maybe because of what I am, and your talent is notably hard to control."
"Heironeous gave you a nudge." She stated, smiling a touch.
"Surprisingly yes. Corrupted rulers… ah, one of his most vibrant hates. And then he decides to attempt to take you? There is only so much one man can take." He sighed and sat back. "But I fear I may have made our presence here much, much harder."
"More then likely, but I doubt it's anything we can't handle." Slippy said, tinkering with his three-shot handgun.
"A few guards aren't a problem, but an entire city?" Falco spread his hands and shook his head. "Even I argue that."
"I've got a question." Alan said, sitting on the table, Kaji sitting on his head. "If you have such a problem with evil rulers, why hasn't the Jack got that treatment yet?"
"Well, for one thing, that wouldn't be the smartest thing to do." Fox said dryly, and Alan laughed heartily, knowing it to be true. "For the other thing, Heironeous really has no fight with the Jack of Tears, for whatever strange reason, and neither do I. No, I'd call the Jack my friend, if I was to be daring." He shrugged. "Returning to the task at hand, now what, since I seem to have made such a marvelous mess of the situation."
"Don't put yourself down, I imagine the rest of us would have had no better luck." Said Rita. "Do you think that curing the royal line is still a viable option?"
"I'm not sure. I think we'd have to kidnap him to make him agree to it." Said Fara, sparking a few tired smiles. "But by the same token, we can't just kill him, that'd cause more trouble then it would cure."
There was a pause, then Julian looked up. "I have an idea."
"If we're caught…" Cobra hissed as his group slipped into the hotel, the inn keeper ushering them in and closing the door as the last dark, cloaked form slipped through the crack.
"Don't worry, in this our friend here is on our side." Bill smiled, sending it toward the inn keeper. They had discussed what was happening, and the heavily-taxed inn keeper had happily agreed to help their missions, no matter how treacherous.
"And god only knows how many of the guards and militia are as well." Said Julian, falling in step as they went into the empty, mostly dark tavern.
On the far wall, a fire burned, and Fox's group had taken various poses of waiting around the room. Alan had gone so far as to perch on the mantle of the fireplace, looking like some huge misshapen crow, and one with four eyes, no less, as Kaji was still sitting on his head.
"A very boxy, poxy city, this is." Alan said into the silence, making Cobra's group look at him strange.
"I'm not going to ask what that means." Soft Rain decided as the group pulled up chairs around the fire, joining Fox's group.
"That's generally a plan of action when it comes to Alan." Peppy had to smile.
"So why did you call us here?" Cobra prompted. "We are exiles, how can we help you?"
"I've made a horrid mess of everything, and we're out of ideas." Fox bowed is head. "Of course, the Sultan had it coming to him, as Falco would say, but I fear I may have botched any plan that could be laid out."
"What happened?"
Katt, Fara, and Fox took turns explaining the events, and Cobra's party silently listened, looking a touch surprised when Fox explained in terse words that yes, he was a Hallowed. They didn't press the issue, though.
"I don't think I blame you for reacting such." Soft Rain said, voice low in an attempt to disguise anger that still shone through. "I have some personal experience with that end of the Sultan's tastes…"
Peppy broke the silence. "Not a wife…?"
"No. My sister."
"Pelor!" Fara shivered.
"Well, someone has to stop this, anyone have any ideas on how?" Bill asked in a drawling voice. "It's pretty obvious that the Sultan isn't going to negotiate with us, he wants us all dead, for Kord's sake…"
"I have an idea."
Everyone looked at Alan, still perched like a misshapen raven on the mantle.
"It's a bit underhanded though, I doubt our fearless leader will approve." He hastily added, shifting a bit.
"I don't think any of us have any decent ideas right now." Said Peppy. "So, explain."
"You're crazy. And I am crazy for going along with this." Falco growled, lifting himself onto the outer wall of the palace and holding down a hand for Alan, who took it.
"Now now, Guild thief." Alan shook a finger back and forth, his misshapen visage covered mostly by a cloak. "You've known that I am insane for quite some time. That said, who is the more foolish, the fool," He gestured at himself, "Or the fool that follows him?" He let that hang.
"Bah." Falco snorted, moving quickly along the top of the wall then leaping to a roof, tucking and rolling as he saw a pair of guards. Miraculously they remained unnoticed as they rapidly crept up the incline, eyeing windows.
"That one, I bet, with the large balcony." Alan pointed.
"You got it." Falco said, twirling one of his grappling hooks above his head then throwing. It latched on instantly and silently, the metal having been padded by Slippy. He swung over first, clambered up, then Alan caught the rope when Falco swung it back to him, easily flying up the rope and over the railing to crouch beside Falco.
"It seems our luck goes well tonight." Falco remarked under his breath, brushing the unlocked door open.
"Not quite, I guessed wrong. This is a lady's quarters, by my judging." Alan said, glancing around.
"Well, look at it this way, that means the Sultan's probably close by."
Alan snickered as they moved forward, at first cautious, then just walking. The quarters seemed vacant.
"Hee hee hee, does this mask seem familiar?" Alan suddenly said, picking up a mask and holding it up to his face. "The Jack has something much like it…"
"Quit dawdling, bard, we've got things to do." Falco hissed, then dove when the door opened, sliding across the marble to come to a stop behind a large pot, crouching.
Alan, meanwhile, merely froze, tilting his head and the mask to one side. The woman standing there, dressed as if she was a dancer and shielding a candle, froze in the doorway, staring at him. The pair remained frozen, then Alan giggled. "A very boxy, poxy place indeed! And who might you be?" He asked in the local language.
The woman jumped when he spoke, dropping her candle, then picked it back up, slipping into the room and closing the door, leaning on it and looking at him. "Who… who are you?"
"No one of great importance, dear lady, just looking for the sultan."
She lit a lamp, blowing out the candle, looking at him as she did. "Drat, you don't seem like an assassin…"
Alan found this phrase amusing. "Oh, no! No not at all. My friend and I just want to speak to him."
"Friend?"
"Oh, he's hiding somewhere behind me, his career makes him endlessly paranoid." He looked over his shoulder, switching to Common. "Show yourself, Falco, it's safe."
"Crazy, addle-brained, stupid…" Falco muttered, standing and joining Alan slowly.
"Be nice." Alan chided, then turned back to the woman. "You look familiar, have you a brother?" He asked, switching languages again.
"I, I…" She stared at him. "I did. Once."
"Oh, you still do." He assured her. "Truly."
She looked at him, one hand touching her lips, then slowly smiled. "Who are you? Why do you have my mask?" She slowly stepped forward toward him.
"Oh, just a passing fancy." He set the mask down on the dresser which he had picked it up from, knowing his face was well-hidden by the cape. "And my name is Alan."
"Alan?" She tested the word. "You're a foreigner?"
"Oh of sorts. Now, where is your friend the Sultan?" Seeing her face change, he held up his hands. "I apologize, I doubt you are friends with him."
"No, not hardly." She shook her head. "And I will gladly tell you where his room is."
"Are you sure this is going to work?" Falco asked.
"Bad time to back out, isn't it?" Alan replied. "Basic rules of the church. If someone doesn't want to repent, scare them into it."
Falco looked at him. "Had some bad experiences with the church?"
"They never liked me anyway. Have fun."
'I am crazy.' Falco decided with a sigh, perched on the end of the large bed, looking down at the sleeping form of the young sultan, who didn't seem to be alone. Even better, he supposed. 'But god, I've always wanted to do this…' With that he stood, letting his cape flap out around him like demonic wings, calling up his guardian force. Human, dragon, something in between, that was for the sultan to decide as he ranted later. What mattered right now were some suitably scary effects. And Alan, crouching hidden and casting spells of illusion so fire and smoke surrounded Falco, was nicely adding to it.
The sultan woke up with a start, and promptly shrieked, the voice of the girl joining him as they looked up at Falco, who was grinning behind the mask made by his guardian force. Of course, the dragon visage grinned as well, but he knew grinning dragons tended to scare people anyway.
"Who… what…" The Sultan sputtered, pulling a large curved knife from a sheath hanging next to his bed and brandishing the blade with a shaking hand. Falco knocked it away effortlessly, the knife flying through the air and clattering into the wall.
"Good evening." Said Falco quite cordially. "Am I interrupting?"
The young sultan audibly gulped, looking up at the dragon-demon-human that had materialized on the end of his bed. "Um, er…" He drug some of his wits back, and shouted angrily, "Who are you?! How did you get in?!"
"The guards are quite easy to get past, I'm afraid." Falco let himself laugh in the booming timbre of a dragon, the laugh increasing when the pair in front of him squealed and cringed. "And who I am does not matter. I'm here to give you a message."
"A, a message?"
"Yes, a message." He folded his arms. "You've been doing wrong, young one, some very intense wrongs, and there are parties who wish you to correct your ways."
"Parties? As in deities?"
"I'll leave that to you to figure out. The ultimatum is issued, young one. You get one more sunset, one more." He held up a finger, currently capped with a rather impressive claw that he wished he had outside his guardian force. "Do you understand?"
The sultan nodded rapidly. "If, if I can't correct… right myself… then what?"
Falco studied his claws. "A replacement can be found for a certain local ruler. If you catch my drift…"
The sultan squeaked in terror, and Falco took that opportunity to disappear in a puff of smoke, or rather slip out the door with Alan while the sultan and his current attendee wove at the thick smoke Alan had conjured.
The woman they had spoke to let them back into her room, grinning gleefully. "Mission accomplished, I take it?" She asked Alan gleefully. "My gods, I could hear him all the way from here."
Alan grinned at her, patting her shoulder. "Yes, mission accomplished."
Falco and Alan went back to the balcony, the woman following them, clutching a robe around herself. Falco was the first of the balcony, but she grabbed onto Alan right before he swung away.
"Take me with you." She pleaded.
He sighed, looking at her, then nodded.
"We've returned." Alan sprang into the tavern portion of the inn, leaping onto a table and taking a seat. Kaji leapt from Fara's lap and managed his gangly kitten legs over to Alan, who scooped him up cheerfully.
"I take it everything went well?" Fox asked.
"As planned." Falco agreed, coming in. "Well, mostly." He looked over his shoulder.
Falco hadn't been surprised when Alan had let the woman come along, and he didn't blame his companion much either. The sheer thought of any woman being imprisoned in that dreadful palace, much less a decent one… he shuddered. The woman sidled along the wall, looking at the large group which still for the most part filled the tavern of the inn.
Soft Rain looked at her, and rocketed to his feet with a cry. She also cried out happily and met him half way, hugging him, their speech slurring quickly into the local language, speaking in gestures, clearly siblings.
"Well, that is one factor of his rage nulled." Said Fox absently, passing a glass of mild wine to Cobra, then looking to Falco. "And the Sultan?"
Falco grinned wickedly. "Scared witless. But will that really work in our favor?"
"Well, we'll see tomorrow." Fox glanced worriedly at Rita, who had been sitting in a quiet trance for the last several hours. "Though this plan seemed as good as any, it still seems rough and risky to me." He shook his head. "Perhaps I've just lost my touch in leading."
"Oh, don't even contemplate thinking that." Falco shook his head. "Allow yourself some leeway, Fox, this is not an easy situation."
"I suppose." He stared into his mostly-empty glass. "But there is much bet on it."
"Are you sure you'll be all right?"
"I'll be fine." Rita smoothed what she wore, which was a fine silk robe, announcing her as a Priestess of Obad-Hai. "Priestess I may be, but I feel a bit out of place." She fingered the light green silk with a weak smile. "I am much more used to trees."
"Well, that makes for several of us, now doesn't it?" Fox smiled back. "Contact us if you have any problems at all. We'll be at hand."
Rita nodded, swinging astride her steed and riding up to the palace gates. It was just before nightfall; it had been in the wee hours of this morning that Falco and Alan had worked together to terrify the sultan. Now, she was seeing if they had been successful or not.
This particular day had already been a strange one, the city oddly quiet, waiting, and now thunderous clouds rode the horizon, slowly approaching. She spared them a glance and continued her ride, stopping in front of the palace gates and calling her name and title up to the guard in the tower alongside them. The gates were partly opened, and she rode in, letting a stable hand take the reins to her mount as she dismounted easily, taking a long look around. Fox was right, this place dripped of malignancy and evil. She murmured prayers automatically as she was escorted, her long robe and cloak brushing lightly along the sand-dusted stone path.
The palace was silent as well. No music echoed through the halls, no talk, no laughter. The guard escort led her to the throne room silently, and just as silently left her.
"A priestess, hmm?" The sultan lifted his head. He was sitting half-sprawled in his throne, a mostly-empty wine glass held limply in one hand. His eyes were tired and watery, distant. "Another westerner? Are you a friend of Lord McCloud?" His voice grew sharp.
"I am a member of his party yes, but that matters little." She replied, bowing to him. "I understood that there was a problem here I could perhaps help, so I came."
"A priestess." He said to himself, looking at her. "More is the pity. A beautiful woman trapped by the church is always a shame." He finished off the last of his wine. "Tell me, what God do you praise?"
"Obad-Hai, God of Nature."
He managed to lift an eyebrow. "Indeed. A neutral god, if I remember right. So how do you plan on helping me, if you must be neutral as well?"
"My preference of neutrality has nothing to do with my ability to help, Sultan."
"Indeed." He tilted his head back and laughed, it came out in short, wheezing gasps. The demon blood was choking him, ripping life from his veins. "Does your Lord McCloud make friends with dragon-men, pray tell?" He tilted his head to one side as he asked this. "I ask because one visited me early this morn, and the accent, though very mild, was clearly western." He tossed his hand. "And the dragon-man had the same ultimatum as your Lord McCloud."
Rita didn't let herself worry about what the Sultan suspected. "I'm here to help you, Sultan. Are you going to let me, or not?"
He looked at her, and burning red, like rage unchecked, came into his eyes. She took a slow step back, realizing then that the demon blood had not released him, but had tightened its grip even more. This poor boy was not just tainted. He was possessed.
"No one can help me. I don't need help." The young sultan's voice came out strange and warped, not human anymore.
"That isn't so, young lord, I can help you." She said firmly. "But you need to fight it for me to even have a chance."
The demon laughed, and behind the young sultan's eyes there stood a scream.
She felt the malice intended at her, and shouted hasty words, casting a holy bolt that lanced past the lunging sultan and struck the throne, burning wood and melting metal.
The sultan shook off, standing. "Leave me. Tell your Lord McCloud that I am sending a party for him, and I shall rip apart the entire city until I find him." He pointed at the door. "Go!"
Knowing she was out of her league, she ran, casting spell after spell even as she did, trying to fight the darkness that clung to this place. But even her most powerful spells seemed worthless, and moments later she was riding out of the palace, the building looming behind her as the storm came in.
"Possessed?" Cobra shook his head.
"And coming after us?" Fox rubbed his eyes. "And there was nothing you can do?"
"Not I alone, certainly." She shook her head wearily, muscles shivering. "I am powerful enough, in my own right, but I do not even know if the intervention of a god could help now. The taint has run far too deep."
The groups fell silent, Fox sagging where he sat. Fara set a hand on his shoulder, looking at him, but he only looked away.
"We can assume that he'll rip through the entire city until he finds us." Said Peppy. "And if he's possessed, he won't have any respect for human life. People are going to die tonight if he's not stopped."
Fox wrapped a hand silently around the hilt of his Katana, grip tight enough to whiten his knuckles. He had failed in what he had wanted to do, but he wasn't going to let people die.
Everyone around the tavern threw their arms up in surprise when glaring bright light filled the room for a split second, then Fox slowly stood, eyes glimmering gold through the soft blue of his irises.
"I'm going to go talk to him one more time." He said very quietly. "The rest of you, fan out around the city. See if you can turn his subjects against him, as well as the local guard and militia."
Fox's group slowly nodded, then Cobra's.
"Do you really believe that you can talk sense into him?" Cobra asked in an almost curious voice, following Fox up the stairs.
"I really believe that you were not captain of the guard." Fox remarked very, very quietly over his shoulder, opening the door to his and Fara's room and going to his pack, pulling out the chain mail shirt from his armor set.
Cobra looked at him, then smiled. "You, my friend, are almost too perceptive for your own good."
"No, it rather makes sense." He shrugged, sitting on the bed, shrugging out of his tunic and putting on the Mithral chain shirt, then pulling his tunic back on and standing. "Besides, I remembered something my father said to me about black Arabians."
"Oh? And what's that, pray tell?"
"Arabians aren't supposed to come in black. It's the rarest color, something like one or two for every million, and Arabians aren't that common overall." Fox pulled his Katana and ran his finger over the edge, very purposely not looking at Cobra. "But that there was a certain bloodline of Arabian that was employed strictly by a few of the royal families in the Middle East. All black." He lifted his eyes. "I seem to recall that both you and the young Sultan have black Arabians."
Cobra laughed out loud, rubbing his eyes.
"Then, of course, there's the simple fact that you are the same feline race as the Sultan, but that alone isn't enough to base a hypothesis on…" He sheathed the Katana and repeated the edge-test with the broadsword, then pointed the broadsword at Cobra's scimitars, the hilts of which were wrapped in cloth. "I imagine those have royal marks on them?"
"That they do."
"Then this mission was wrong from the start." Fox announced, leaving the room. Cobra followed, closing the door behind them.
"I hear that right?" Fara asked, having been waiting on the stairs.
"Yes indeed." He strode down the stairs and into the Tavern, looking at everyone, and repeated himself for them.
"Well, what is our mission then pray tell?" Slippy wanted to know.
"We're not trying to cure the royal family, or kill the current sultan…" Fox turned and looked at Cobra. "We're trying to push a younger brother back to his place of Prince so the real ruler can take over. Am I right, Cobra?" He lifted an eyebrow.
Cobra smiled. "You've made one mistake in your reasoning, Fox. I'm a bastard."
"So's the Sultan." Alan said, and Soft Rain had a quiet fit of hysterics.
"Which I imagine is the reason why the demon blood doesn't choke you." Fox replied evenly. "And I imagine the locals would like you much better as a leader." He held out a hand. "Shall we go deal with your brother?"
Cobra grinned full out and shook hands with Fox, and the others stood, gathering equipment.
"Fire. They must be burning part of the city." Slippy said, craning his neck. Smoke was blotting out the stars now, and even from where they were, the scent of the burning was almost nauseating.
Falco nodded, feathers along his upper arms spiked up as his city senses went off the charts. "Rather a form of siege tactic. The sultan wants us found, so he's willing to burn down the entire place until he finds us, with or without people in the buildings."
"That cuts our time considerably." Fox said, rubbing his chin and sharing a glance with Cobra. "All right. Elgar? Are you willing to assist?"
"We'll do what we can." Swore the elder mage, and his two apprentices eagerly nodded.
"All right. See what you can do about the fires. Katt, go with them. Bill, Julian, you too." The group split up as he assigned them. "The rest of you, do what you can. Team up, at least in trios, and stay in touch."
Cobra jumped in, assigning his people to combine with Fox's group. "We have to make sure there's at least one of you in each group that can speak the language." He said frankly. "Do what you can to keep the local citizens calm, and try to stop those fires from multiplying." He glanced at Fox. "Anything else?"
"Yes. Alan, Slippy? No demolitions." Fox said firmly.
"Aw. Damn." Alan kicked the ground. Slippy just laughed.
"Is it that much of a problem?" Cobra asked as the groups split up and he and Fox headed for the palace.
"You don't know Alan too well, so I'll just say with him, yes it is. And Slippy, well, things kind of tend to blow up around him."
"Gadget masters."
"Exactly."
The Sultan leaned on the rail of the balcony in his tallest tower, looking down at the city with a smile. The fires were spreading like a plague, and he had no doubt that Lord McCloud and his many friends would very, very soon be found. And once they were, he would see that most of them were beheaded immediately, hell, he would do it himself if need be. He would have to keep the girls around, though, he mused. Really a shame, that they traveled with McCloud's group…
His train of thought stammered to a halt, eyes widening, when an almost tornado-powerful wind blasted the city, and the smoke began to clear. Picking up a spyglass, he scanned that section of the city, and somehow was not surprised when he saw the Priestess of McCloud's group, standing on a rooftop, hands pressed together and head down, wreathed in a faint green aura. The burning fires roared in response, jumping as the wind hit them, and the sultan screeched angrily as a storm materialized from nowhere, centering over the fires and opening up. The fires dimmed and began to flicker out even as he watched them.
He slammed a fist to the balcony railing in fury, snarling. "McCloud." Clutching the hilt of his scimitar, he left the tower, heading for his throne room, still snarling to himself.
When he had left the throne room, it had been only softly lit, but when he opened the doors, he had to throw his arms up to shield his eyes. The light was like a thousand holy infernos, but there was no heat, no wind. Eyes watering, he squinted, and made out the form of Fox McCloud standing in the center of his throne room, also in the midst of a prayer, wreathed in a strange aura that made him want to shake and whimper, then he started forward in rage, drawing his scimitar and approaching Fox.
Fox heard him coming and looked at him, eyes the color of molten gold, then turned to face him, opening his arms and lifting them. The sultan heard himself screech and step back, one arm up to protect his face, when he saw strange wings and a true halo form around Fox.
"He is possessed, but the demon is not a powerful one." Fox said over his shoulder in a distorted voice, concentrating on talking. He had never had to channel this much power from Heironeous before, and was stunned he was being allowed so much. But when he had sent the one simple prayer, asking for the palace to be cleansed, Heironeous had heard, and responded by giving him enough power to do it himself. Fox was fairly certain that the minute he stopped channeling he was going to pass out, but ah well, it was a small sacrifice. "That is why he is scared of me."
"Anyone with a sane mind would be scared of you." Cobra replied, sitting on the throne, watching this through half-lidded eyes.
Fox smiled sourly. "Anyone with a sane mind and evil somewhere in their heart, you mean. Those true and good aren't scared, they're awed, typically."
"Not the first time you've done this then."
"Never on this scale." Fox looked back at the wings that had formed behind him, thinking back to his last quest with a small smile, remembering Wolf O'Donnel's remark about how he looked while channeling—'Would you kindly dim the halo? You are not an archangel, it does not compliment you.' True, he wasn't an archangel, god forbid; he hoped to actually have time to relax once he was dead…
The Sultan had drug his nerves back together, and with a screech of defiance lunged at Fox, swinging the scimitar. Fox turned to look at him, and as he did, Cobra's own scimitar intercepted the blade a foot from Fox.
"It is not him you want to fight, little brother." Cobra said in a heavy, firm tone.
The young sultan looked at his brother with eyes blinded by the demon inside him, and Fox wordlessly stepped back as the pair fought furiously for a moment, then the younger brother's scimitar flew across the room, and Cobra drug his brother to the floor and pinned him, settling his knee into the small of his sibling's back.
"Can you cure him?" Cobra asked bluntly, looking at Fox.
"I can only attempt to force him to cure himself." Fox admitted, not sure how much longer the power he held will last. "Do you want me to try?" Cobra nodded once, curtly, and Fox sighed. "All right. Close your eyes, Cobra. It is probably going to get even brighter in here."
Cobra obeyed after shifting his position slightly, but his younger sibling had lost the will to fight, staring at Fox and trembling steadily. Fox returned to his prayer, trying to find the right words, trying to map out the rite he needed. He made a mental note to ask Heironeous not to do this again, or at least to have the decorum to give him a hint.
Then, with the smoothness of a key in a lock, it all fell into place, and he felt his arms snap open as the power exploded from him, blasting through the palace and the city, scrubbing away the lingering illness and evil. He heard the young sultan's terrified screech, then the gates that had opened to allow him power closed, and he collapsed to the floor.
"You all right, Fox?" Falco asked, glancing down the table at his leader, who was slouched in the chair, holding a compress over his eyes and making a vain attempt at ignoring the world.
"I have never had such a headache in my life." Fox replied, managing not to moan. "How go things around the city?"
"Well, as you probably know we did successfully get the fires out, and the damage isn't as much as we thought, there was just a lot of smoke. Some injuries, but no fatalities." Said Bill. "One bad thing though, one of the buildings that burned was the local Lantern depot."
"Go figure." Fox grunted. When the rest of his group as well as Cobra's had arrived at the palace, they had found Cobra in charge, his younger brother timid and regretful, and Fox sitting on the throne, holding his head between his legs and swallowing whimpers. Fara had managed to help him back to the inn, which had survived, and he had slept late, though no one blamed him.
"All of the Lanterns more then got out in time. Teleportation is a boon when you're trying to escape guards." Said Falco. "They've agreed to take us tomorrow for free, because of what we did."
"Works for me, because I apologize, everyone, I am in no condition to travel today." Fox lifted part of the compress to glance at everyone, and was slightly relieved to see that no one cared.
"We came to the agreement that if you did try to leave today, I was to pin you to the bed until you agreed to stay and rest." Fara said frankly, smiling.
Fox had the sudden childish urge to stick out his tongue, but curbed it. "I'm not surprised." He finally mumbled, dropping the compress back and sagging into the chair, wincing as his sore muscles announced themselves.
A bell jingled as the front door to the tavern opened, and he heard the innkeeper's happy exclamation. A few minutes later, everyone started greeting Cobra, and he just lifted a hand in weak acknowledgement, not willing to move.
"Still tired?" Cobra said sympathetically.
"I'm not one to complain." Fox replied.
"That's all you did when you woke up." Fara remarked.
"You, I'm allowed to complain to." He grumbled. "Besides, I don't think anyone could go through that and not complain. I'm not exempt from everything." He waited out Cobra's laughter, hearing a chair being pulled up and drinks being passed, then continued. "How are things going, Cobra?"
"Still straightening out the local Militia and so on, rewriting laws and so on. I've set my brother to deal with a bunch of the paperwork of it, he didn't protest, maybe he considers it his punishment." Cobra shrugged. "I figure in a few months this place will be flourishing as much as a desert can."
"I'd wish you luck, but I do not think it's needed." Fox replied. "Don't make any deals with demons."
Cobra laughed. "No, believe me my friend, I won't, and my children will be taught the same thing. No, if someone wants help, I think the right place to look is people like you."
Fox winced, not protesting when this sparked laughter from the rest of the group. "Thank you, but if you have trouble finding knights of good nature, look to my superior."
"True. Why consult demons when you can consult gods?" Cobra grinned.