Yup, I am back, with a new chapter for you!
05.09.2005: Answers to reviews removed. Reasons in chapter 3.
Current Music: Anime- and Game-OSTs, again... Today's specials: "Kizudarake no Tsubasa" (Violinist of Hamelin), "Inner Universe" (Ghost in the Shell – Stand Alone Complex) and "Radical Dreamers" (Chrono Cross)!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own David Eddings' worlds and characters, and I do not intend to make a profit off this fic.
CHAPTER 24
Three days after the incident in Paler, of which no one but Aphrael and Bevier knew, the two Younger Gods and their friends had crossed the border to Zemoch. It had been cold in the mountains, and the landscape had been changing from rolling green hills to bleak, cold and ragged-looking rock formations with only the occasional weed growing in the cracks between the stones.
By now, they had passed Vileta. First, they had planned to spend a night in the run-down town, but the suspicious and partly greedy looks of the Zemoch patrons of the only inn had quickly ensured that some members of the party refused to stay there – especially since the place seemed to be fairly pest-ridden and, of course, overpriced.
So, it had been tents for the group again. Polgara had muttered some rather impatient remarks about going into a fight without a bath, but, considering the alternative of a Zemoch bathtub, she had to admit grudgingly that trying to find a small stream to wash up in was the better choice.
While they were continuing their trek into northeastern direction, Dorgatan's face exuded excitement and unrest.
"We are getting closer," the Styric Messenger God said, his face serious. "I can feel another focus point coming up, and something tells me that this time, it will be the real one. I wonder why Zoltach has not tried to stop us any more since the incident near Alaris... He won't have abandoned his ambitious plan to make a run for it because Sparhawk is coming, that much is certain. But what is he planning? It must be something elaborate, otherwise he would not have allowed that much time for it. I cannot say that I enjoy this prospect."
Aphrael nodded sternly at her relative's comment.
"The danger is greater than ever, now that we are that close to Zoltach and his hideout. He has to be somewhere in this area, if he hasn't found a way to hide in the Sea of Zemoch. I wish there was a way to prepare for whatever he is going to throw at us, but as we don't know what he is up to, the old saying of keeping one's eyes peeled applies. Let's hope that his plan does not work out as well as he probably thinks it will."
Polgara and Belgarath exchanged a look at the two Gods' talk. Of course. Even if Zoltach was as dumb as this Cyrgon the others had told them about, Ctuchik certainly was not. And he knew they were coming. So, Aphrael's and Dorgatan's worries were not to be taken lightly. Even Zandail whinnied nervously; the stallion could feel the sense of tension within them, as well.
Thus, the whole group moved rather warily through the rough terrain which would gradually flatten out toward the coast, an eye out for any potential traps...
Zalasta grinned when he heard his personal nemesis Aphrael and the unstandable airhead Dorgatan advising caution to their so-called 'friends'. He of all people knew that the Gods, neither the Younger nor the Elder variety, NEVER truly made mortal friends. They used men as pieces on their private chess board, for they considered themselves too elated to truly bond with mortals. He had seen it in Aphrael, when she had taken over Sephrenia's life to reign in it ever since, for more than 300 years. But now, his arrangement with Zoltach would make her suffer. First, he would kill Sephrenia and her pet Elene Vanion, then, when Zoltach had drained this special world they had told him about of all its magical energy, he would obliterate Aphrael himself – slowly and painfully. The Elder God had promised him that on top of all the other benefits for his services.
Behind him, the other renegade Styrics who he had brought out here sported similarly nasty grins. Most of them were not in the business of killing people and orchestrating riots for the money – they liked inflicting pain, and in this case they would be rewarded all the more, the more pain they caused. They were twelve in all, a dozen of the mightiest magicians you could buy with money and power. Among them were Amargath, Deraltra and Woruth, the much-feared Triplets of Doom, as the average Styric knew them. They had acquired this nickname by obliterating whole Styric villages alone, with natural catastrophes and summoned creatures from the Elder Dark. If one had a quarrel with one of the Younger Gods, one sent out the Triplets to destroy his worshippers until the God faded away. They had been the ones to lead the campaign against Aphrael's worshippers – the only known time they had failed in an assignment. They had been unable to react when the other Younger Gods gave her some of their worshippers to keep her alive... But the three women made a nice addition to this particular team of Elene pest control. The remainder of the group was male, formed from the most experienced summoners and necromancers Zalasta had been able to find. Together, they would kill those humans once and for all.
He was the first to spot them in the distance; they came riding out of a crevasse between two small mountains, moving closer and closer towards the small rock formations in the plain that would eventually lead them to the lighthouse Ctuchik and the spirit of Zoltach now occupied, if they continued in this direction.
"Get ready. They won't have much to throw against our creatures. Hit them with all you got, fast and hard. If you see that they can't fight back, torture them – but if you feel resistance, kill them. The reward for suffering sounds nice, but trust me, those people have something up their sleeve to often to toy with them for too long..."
The sound of the horses' hooves came closer and closer. The renegade Styrics awaited them silently, hidden behind large stones to keep the element of surprise on their side. Zoltach's power shielded them from being spotted by the Gods or Sephrenia before they decided to show themselves. With a little luck, their adversaries would never know what hit them.
Finally, the moment had come: The horses had all stepped in the path between the large boulders, and the group of Styrics surrounded them. Upon a barked command of Zalasta, they unleashed their magic. Sephrenia's eyes widened as she caught sight of her friend of old, who had turned into her deadliest enemy because of the love she had for her Goddess, as the effects of his spell sizzled towards her in a lightning from the dark-clouded sky, a flash of an unnatural greenish color. Now she would feel his revenge...
Cliffhanger! Sorry guys, but I'll let you hang out to dry for a while... ah, no, the next update will come soon, and until then you will survive for sure ;-)
Until then: Comments, as usual, are appreciated!