Chapter Eight
Legolas looked uneasily at the fog-bound bridge, keen eyes and ears straining for anything that would have been out of place.
"We might as well start our way across. King Ashram is waiting." Deedlit said, also uneasy, but knowing that staying in one place wasn't going to help matters any.
"Aye. Forward march, and all that." Gimli said, getting a slight smile from Legolas for that remark.
"For you, a march for us would be a good jog, Sir Dwarf." Sheen teased, good-naturedly, seemingly unfazed by the darkness around them.
"You're an impudent dog! Be a little more respectful to those who have come from the Undying Lands!" Yasha hissed, from the back of the group. Sheen shrank back away from the Oni, fearful of the elf that wore the red and blue tattoos across his face and over his golden eyes.
"Lighten up, Yasha! Sheesh!" Kage muttered.
"Any more arguing and I think Lina will Fireball us. Parn, we must ride now. I get the feeling that something is happening on the other side." Link said, with deep-rooted concern in his voice. Parn nodded, and, with a silent command, urged the rest of the riders forward onto the bridge. All was silence as they crossed over; even the seabirds were oddly quiet.
"Something doesn't feel right. This fog isn't natural." Kage muttered, as they rode.
"This feels……………..familiar, somehow. But where have I felt this presence before?" Legolas thought, as his acute senses picked up on the dark presence. As they approached Marmo's side of the bridge, Kage suddenly shouted for them to stop.
"Hold up, everyone!" Kage shouted, red eyes suddenly lighting up in alarm.
"What is it, Kage?" Lina asked, as the Shadow Elf's ears twitched nervously.
"If we had gone any farther, we would have been shot so full of arrows that pincushions would look bald. The archers of Marmo's gate were about to loose their arrows on us!" Kage said, as the fog lifted and revealed the gate. To their shock, the rest of the riders could see that Kage had spoken the truth. A few seconds before, the archers on top of the gate would have loosed their arrows onto them, and they wouldn't have been the wiser. But now they lowered their bows and stared in shock at the suddenly arrived mixed company of knights and elves.
"Sir Parn! Sir Parn of Lodoss is here! Open the gate!" the men on top of the gate announced, as the gate itself was thrown open.
"I smell blood. You were right, Link, something has happened here. This does not bode well at all." Yasha murmured, as they were allowed through to Marmo. Upon looking back, Parn looked up at the gate guards.
"What happened here? Parn asked.
"It's hard to explain sir, but we'll explain as best as we can." One guard said, as he got onto his own horse and rode alongside Parn and Deedlit. As the tale was told, several growls of outrage and anger at the riders came from the travelers, especially Lina.
"Damn! Those Dark Riders must've been as strong as Mazoku Dark Lords in order to have done that to King Ashram!" Lina said, as her companions grimly agreed with her. Within moments they were escorted into the castle.
"They must have been. The Witch King especially. Sheen, Amelia, Neese you three go up to Ashram's room and see if those healers up there need some help. Link, Legolas, Gimli, Deed, Cecil, Lina; you six come with me. The rest of you remain here and see to it that nothing else attacks this place." Parn ordered as he and his chosen companions went directly to Ashram's room after the three young healers. When they got there, Shiroi the White Priest met them.
"Sir Parn………….Deedlit………..I'm glad you are here. This is a dark day for the people of Marmo and their king." Shiroi said, tiredly, his silver eyes dull with exhaustion.
"How is he, Shiroi?" Parn asked, noticing when Amelia turned and gave Sheen and Neese a hopeless, tearful look.
"Not good, I'm afraid. Even though we have managed to heal the king's body, his soul is damaged beyond our ability to repair. He is fading, and he will eventually become like the one who did this to him. There is nothing any of us can do." Shiroi replied.
"But what about Ashram's connection to Pirotess? Has that been severed as well?" Deedlit asked.
"I do not know. Yet I can assume that it hasn't. It will only buy him time, and nothing more. What he needs is a new soul sword…………..an enchanted sword that would have the ability to heal Ashram's soul and restore him fully to the land of the living." Shiroi said, with much despair in his voice.
"There must be a way to save him. It would be unjust if we gave up on him now." Amelia said, as she dried her tears on her sleeve and put on a brave face.
"For once, Amelia, I think we can all agree with you on that." Lina said as they all looked on the still form of the Marmoan king, their hope growing dimmer with each passing moment.
Meanwhile, Zelgadis, Kage and Sheik walked along the beach. Xellos was ahead of them, scouring the land for any traces of Orcs.
"Zelgadis, what do you know about the Dark Riders?" Kage asked, sitting down when they had finished their patrol and had found no sign of Orcs.
"There isn't much that I can remember reading of them offhand, Kage. My grandfather, Rezo the Red Priest, once had many ancient documents in his collection. Most of those were about the Ages of the Great Kings. But one of those described King Ashram's attacker exactly." Zelgadis said, as he gazed out to sea.
"The Witch King?" Xellos asked, as he joined them. Zelgadis nodded.
"These are evil times we are living in. the Nine have returned and now they seek to revive their dark master." Sheik murmured, in despair.
"But how will they do it? It would take an Elven smith to forge a new Ring of Power." Xellos said, quietly.
"How do you know this, Xellos? Did the Mazoku keep better records than men did?" Zelgadis asked, sounding skeptical and expecting Xellos' usual response.
"I'm not going to lie to you, Zelgadis, when I say that even when I was young, the memory of Sauron the Great was dimming. Yet, as you thought, the Mazoku kept very good records of what went on in the Third Age. I only remember the tales because I took the time to read when I wasn't causing mischief." Xellos explained, patiently.
"And to think I'd thought that you would never give anyone a straight answer." Zelgadis said, shaking his head in wonder as he said that.
"In this time of war, there need be no secrets. It's dangerous enough at this time as it is without my adding to it. My secrets are laid bare; ask of me what you will and I will answer as best I can." Xellos said, seriously. Zelgadis nodded, then looked up.
"There's a boat approaching. I can't see who is in it, since it's still a good ways off, but it appears to be a man and a horse. Xellos, Sheik, alert everybody at the castle. I think we're about to have some company join us." Kage ordered. With a nod, both Sheik and Xellos teleported themselves back to the castle, leaving Zelgadis and Kage to watch the stranger approach.
"I hope he's a friend and not an enemy. We could use some more friends right about now." Kage muttered, as he felt for his sword.
"I know. I hope he's a friend as well." Zelgadis agreed, grimly, as the boat drew ever nearer to the beach.