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The Jester's Blood Chapter 2: Trap

Kail's eyes blazed. "What are you talking about? Baal is dead."

An ironic smile crossed Dire's face. "Is he, Necromancer?"

Moran frowned, her heart beating furiously as the blood in her veins ran cold. "Baal is dead…Tyrael sent a man named Marius to the Hellforge where he destroyed the soulstone – "

Dire laughed. "Tell me, Sorceress, do you think a man – a man as dim-witted and weak as Marius – could travel halfway through Hell and survive as you and the rest of your Heroes hardly made it back in one piece?"

Kail looked away. "I don't believe this."

"LISTEN TO ME!" Dire took two giant steps towards Kail and faced him. "Marius is dead, you fools! He did not even attempt to take the soulstone to the Hellforge – he wandered through the world and landed himself in a prison – with the soulstone in his hands! And a man visited him…a man he took to be Tyrael," Dire turned and looked at Moran, his eyes forming slits as his chest heaved in anger. "But it wasn't Tyrael. It wasn't him."

Dire formed a fist with his right hand, his shoulder shaking. "It wasn't Tyrael. And Marius is dead…killed by the man he took to be Tyrael…KILLED BY BAAL HIMSELF!!" Dire screamed his last words.

"You…lie…" Kail said after a moment of heavy silence.

Shaking, Moran grabbed his hand. "Kail, if Baal is alive, then we would've have heard something from Thorn. He's at Harrogath."

"Oh, yes, I've forgot," Dire said, rudely interrupting her. "You travel with a Barbarian, Kail. You travel with the very same people that took our lands away from us – "

"Kail," she grabbed his arm and looked at Dire. "Excuse us for a moment…"

She pulled Kail away into a thicket of trees, far away from Dire's eyes and ears. She roughly pushed him up against a tree. "Kail, listen, if Baal is alive, then we've got a problem."

"He's lying."

"Is your brother the type that lies?" She hissed. "From what I've seen, I don't think he's lying."

Kail looked away.

"You need to go see the Rogues," Moran said. "If Baal is indeed still alive, then Thorn would've sent word. He left two weeks ago – he'll be at Harrogath by now."

"I don't – "

"Kail, this is serious," Moran said, crossing her arms in front his chest. "I don't know what's going on between you and your brother, but if Baal is alive…" she bit her lip. "You need to go see the Rogues. I don't want to believe Baal is alive, either, but…"

"I know," Kail said, rubbing his forehead. "If Baal is alive…" He shook his head and took a deep breath.

Moran watched him walk down the trail until he disappeared. She returned back to the clearing where Dire was waiting for her, tapping his foot impatiently on the ground. He looked up at her.

"Where's the Necromancer?" He asked.

"Off to see the Rogues," Moran answered him. "And both of us do have names in case you haven't noticed, so you can quit being rude, and start calling us – "

Dire glared at her. "I'll call you what I wish…Sorceress."

Moran bit her lip. "It's Moran."

He stood still and Moran locked her eyes on his. Despite his aggressive and rude words, she didn't believe that he was a bad person. Whatever that happened between him and Kail was probably why he was acting the way he was. She took in a deep breath and placed her hands on her hips.

"Did you have breakfast yet?"

Surprised, Dire looked up at her quizzically. "What?"

"Breakfast. Baal be alive or not, we still need to eat," she said. "So did you have breakfast yet?"

Dire looked confused. "I…no."

"Well then, come on in," Moran walked past him and swung open the door. "And bring your weapons inside."

Still looking confused, Dire picked up his weapons and cloak, and followed her inside. The wolf halted at the door and lay down on the porch, watching their every move with large yellow eyes. Moran took Dire's weapons from his hands and looked for a place to put them.

"Sit," she said.

"Why are you doing this?" Dire asked.

"Doing what?" Moran set the weapons down on the stairs leading up the second floor after failing to find a better place to put them.

Dire shook his head and sat down at the circular table. Moran opened the large cupboard and pulled out several leather packages of dried meat and two round pieces of bread. She set them down in front of Dire and with a mental thought, sent the dead embers in the fireplace alive and burning.

"Flashy magic," Dire muttered.

Moran ignored him and sat down opposite the Druid. "What is it that you have against Dire?" She asked him.

"Do you love him?" Dire asked, pausing in the process of tearing a chunk of meat in half.

"What?"

"If you love him," Dire said. "Then get his side of the story. Because if you get mine, you might not love him anymore."

Moran's hands shook. "You called him the Betrayer. What did he do?"

Dire said nothing and looked away, casting his eyes away from hers as if he was tired. Moran savagely bit into the bread and meat, and they ate in silence. Moran tossed a rather large piece of dried meat at the wolf, but it ignored it.

"Leave him," Dire said. "He's a spirit wolf."

"I don't…understand," Moran said.

"A spirit wolf," Dire said again, retrieving the meat. He threw it into the fire and both of them watched as sparks flew from the flame.

"Was Kail a…Druid before?" Moran asked.

Dire snorted. "Sorceress, ten years ago, his hair was as red as mine."

Moran gave up trying to ask Dire any more questions about Kail's past. He was unwilling to talk to her, and even less willing to tell her of anything she wanted to know about Kail. She cleared the meat and bread off the table, leaving a significant portion for Kail when he came back from the Rogues.

"Dire…" she said, and the red-haired man looked up at her. "That ice spell you used to counter my Inferno…what is it?"

"It's not a spell," Dire snorted.

Moran took a deep breath and kept her temper down. "Then what is it? Enlighten me, Druid, because I don't know of your ways."

"We have learned the secrets of nature long ago," Dire said. "We've long since learned to talk to plants and to animals, and even to the unseen forces. The spell that I used to counter yours is called the Artic Blast – a simple summoning of ice with the aid from the North Wind."

"You speak as if the other arts aren't worthy of your Druidic skills, Dire," Moran licked her dry lips.

"Tell me, Sorceress," Dire said. "Is summoning the dead that are suppose to be at rest, cursing your enemies, and calling forth the spirits from the realm of the dead worthy?"

Moran clutched at the table. "Kail does it for a good cause."

"Oh, does he?" Dire snarled. "Oh, here he comes."

Kail emerged at the doorway, pausing to give Dire a look of resentment before coming to her. He took her hand and pulled her up from the stool. Ignoring Dire, he led her up the stairs into the bedroom and shut the door behind him. He placed a folded piece of vellum into Moran's hands

"It arrived this morning," Kail said solemnly. "Akara and the Rogues didn't want to tell us."

With her fingers shaking slightly, Moran unfolded the soiled piece of sheepskin.

To Moran and Kail,

I pray that this note finds you in time. Although my heart breaks to bring you unhappy news at this time, I must tell you this: Baal is alive. He has taken siege of Harrogath of the Barbarian Highlands, and is determine to corrupt the worldstone that lies beneath the summit. Know this: you MUST come to Harrogath. Baal's minions have captured many of our people, and much worse, he has sought to corrupt the Worldstone – the only thing that prevents earth from being overrun by the forces of Hell.

I cannot say more. I have already written to the Druidic tribes of Scosglen, asking for them to send a representative to you. I have not yet informed this matter to Nikan and Ollan. You must do it. Come quickly to Harrogath – the Druid will lead you.

Thorn

Moran covered her eyes and let the vellum fall down on the ground. "So it's true?" She whispered.

"Thorn sent us the message by a hawk," Kail said. "He must not be able to leave the city – because if he could, he would. I've already sent word to Nikan and Ollan."

Moran took a deep breath and slid down on the floor. The dark, cruel memories came back to her and she felt every scar from the battle she had fought burn on her body. Even though she knew from the start that Dire wasn't lying, a small part of her had refused to believe that Baal was still alive. But now that the evidence was in her hands, it hit her hard and painful.

She stood up and walked to the large closet opposite the canopy bed. She threw it the heavy doors open and reached inside. Her hands brushed against the soft folds of the cream colored silk dress that she wore at the sacrificial ceremony just the night before and an unexpected feeling of her heart sinking overcame her.

She reached in deeper until she felt the hard leather and metal of her armor.

She stood at the top of the hill overlooking the Rogues' Monastery and tried to control her chattering teeth. It was barely five in the morning and the sun wasn't up yet. Moran's only source of warmth was the light cloak she had thrown over her shoulders hastily after Kail woke her up.

She shivered and moved closer to Kail as a gust of wind threatened to chill her to her bones. She leaned into him and pulled the cloak around her shoulders. "It's too early and cold for this," she muttered.

She could almost feel Kail grin. "One needs to get up early to save the world."

She tried to smile back, but only succeeded in shivering again. She saw Dire looking at them at the corner of his eye but quickly looked away when he caught her eye. Frowning, he turned his back to them.

Moran gasped and pointed as she saw the white light at the bottom of the hill. "There she is!"

The white light in the distance was actually a pure white stallion that no less than seventeen hands high, and the contrast between the light coat and the dark forest seemed to make the horse glow against the shadows. Nikan sat high on the saddle, dressed in a full-plate armor covered with gold. Her head was left bare and her blonde tresses braided down her back. Her saddle was ornately carved and covered in gold as well. Ollan was behind her on a dark horse of an unidentified color, so the two must have met somewhere along the way. The Paladin wasn't garbed as elaborately as Nikan was, but his jeweled helm and banner of his order gave him a noble look.

Kail whistled at Nikan's ensemble. "I can see that her Sisters treated her well when she returned. That's pure gold covering her armor."

Moran threw back her cloak and ran to Nikan who dismounted so fast her horse hardly had time to come to a full stop. Nikan held her in a tight hug and despite the circumstances of why they were here, she was happy to see her friends. She slipped away from Nikan's hold and took the Paladin's hand.

"One could hardly believe it's been over a month since we've last fought together," Ollan removed his helm and kissed her lightly on the forehead. He solemnly looked at Kail over his shoulder. Moran saw Kail reach over and gripped his left shoulder, holding onto the area where he was impaled on a long piece of bone in the dungeons of Kurast, and Moran knew he was remembering the Paladin's sacrifice for him. Ollan placed a hand on his other shoulder.

"Brother," Ollan said.

Kail nodded.

"Kail," Nikan said and wrapped her arms around him, beaming. "I wish I could see the both of you in happier times."

"Don't we all?" Kail said.

"Should I introduce myself or should I play the part of a garden ornament?" Dire suddenly spoke.

Both Nikan's and Ollan's faces bore the same looks of confusion and bewilderment when they saw Dire.

"My brother," Kail mumbled.

"My name is Dire and I am here as a representative of the Druids of the Scosglen Forest," Dire said. "And also as Chieftain of my tribe," he stared hard at Kail as he spoke the word "chieftain".

"We welcome you," Ollan said. Dire looked at him and nodded. If the two of them wanted to ask questions on how Dire was related to Kail, they showed no signs of it.

"We need to ride to Harrogath as soon as possible," Kail said. "Harrogath is under siege and Baal seeks to corrupt the Worldstone. I don't know how long it took for Thorn's message to reach us…"

"It's not that simple, Kail," Dire said. "Harrogath is under siege – the mountains will be crawling with his legion of hell spawn and monsters. We can't just waltz in there - "

"If I remembered correctly, we did waltz through hordes of monsters before, Dire," Kail answered his brother coolly. "We waltzed so far that we went into Hell itself and made it back."

"Harrogath's only dangers aren't just the demons Baal released," Dire said. "The land is covered with steep cliffs, frozen lakes ready to break, and an avalanche could happen at any second. And I hardly think that any of you are familiar with the territory."

"Are you saying you are?" Kail snapped.

"The tribes have sent scouts to the Barbarian Highlands ever since the news of Baal's return have reached the shores of the Scosglen forest," Dire said. "And they have made a safer route for us to travel to Harrogath."

"Are you telling me to give up my position as Leader here to you?" Kail challenged him.

A cruel smile spread across Dire's face. "Well, that's a surprise Kail, the fact that you're so unwilling to give up your position as Leader. And now I wonder why you were so willing to give it up before."

Before things got worse, Moran laid a hand on Kail's shoulder. "Kail, if Dire knows the way, then he should lead the way for us. We don't need someone to die on the way before we even start the real battle."

Kail made an angry sound deep in his throat. He flipped his wand from his belt and held it at Dire. "Very well. You can show us the way to Harrogath, but I'm warning you…if you lead any of us into danger – "

"Danger is always there whether you like it or not," Dire said.

"Fine," Kail bent his head down as he walked past Dire. "And if you know what's good for you, keep your hands off her."

"Off who?" Dire said, looking straight at Moran.

Moran tied the last leather cord on her vambrace and used her teeth to pull it knot tight. She looked at the mirror on the dresser. Her hair was pulled back and tightly braided away from her face. She wore a skin fitting leather suit lined with fur at the collar and the end of the long sleeves, and over that was a form-fitting brass breastplate. The leather and metal vambraces and brass shin guards over long leather boots completed the outfit.

Her weapons and other equipment was laid out on the bed, untouched since the Harrowing. The leather shone with a new polish and Moran knew that one of the Rogues had taken them in and cleaned them for her. The belt was filled with healing and mana potions, and even a few bottles of antidotes.

She strapped the belt around her waist and heard someone knock on the door. "I'm almost done, Kail," she called. "Come on in if you want."

"It's not Kail."

"Dire?" She quickly finished strapping the belt and crossed the room to open the door. "Do you need anything?"

Dire held out his fur cloak.

"But…Kail's getting them," she said lamely, bewildered at the fact that Dire would offer her anything.

"If you think the 'fur cloaks' Kail's getting is going to protect you against anything, you better think again," Dire said.

Moran quizzically took the cloak from Dire and looked up at him. By his stance and words, he wasn't giving her the cloak to try and gain a favor, nor was he trying to get her to think differently on him. It was more of something that a responsible caretaker or healer would do, even though they might dislike the patient.

But then, Dire was a chieftain, and even though there might have been people he hated in his tribe, he still knew he had to care for them.

"Thank…you," she said. "But really, it's all right – "

Dire went down the stairs without another word, leaving her standing at the door and holding the heavy cloak in her hands. Still feeling confused and slightly miffed at the fact that Dire thought it was she, not Nikan or Ollan that needed the most protection from the cold.

She placed the cloak down on the bed and picked up the jeweled spiked staff. The familiarity of the wooden base felt comfortable in her hands and she swung it in an arc and brought it down on an invisible enemy in front of her.

The door creaked open and this time she knew it was Kail. She gently laid the staff down on the bed.

"What is that…doing in here?" Kail asked, looking at Dire's fur cloak.

"He gave it to me because he didn't want Harrogath's climate to bring me down," she said in a teasing voice to prevent him from getting angry. "Do I really seem that weak?"

"Why did he give it to you?" Kail said dangerously.

"I told you," Moran took the parcel containing the fur cloaks from his hands and threw them on the bed. She placed her hands on her hips and looked straight at him. "I think you need to explain to me what's going on between you and him. That way I'll know how to deal with a situation that involves the two of you trying to slice each other open."

Kail suddenly looked more tired than she had ever seen him and he sank down on the mattress, running a hand through the loose strands of his white hair. Moran sat down next to him and tried to take his hand but he walked away from her and stood in front of the window.

"Dire and I were born to a strong Druidic tribe in the Forests of Scosglen," Kail said. "Our father was the chieftain, so naturally, the role of chieftain would pass on to either me or Dire."

"Both of us were nearly born at the same time – but Dire was older by two minutes," he continued. "And he was more of the leader in everything we did. He was better at summoning, better at communicating with the natural world, and more ambitious, while I was more of the passive player. It wasn't something I minded though, the fact that Dire was more of the leader."

"Then the time came when our father died, the energy of the natural world in the forest would pick the next chieftain for our tribe. Everyone knew it was going to be Dire – he was stronger, more ambitious, and he could communicate with the forest with more ease than even our father could – in fact, more than anyone could. And again, I didn't care. I thought that after Dire became chieftain, I would leave my home for a few years and study other variations of magic. Most Druids would frown upon this, having shunned other types of magic for centuries to come, but I was curious," Dire gripped at the ledge of the window.

"But when the time came for the choosing, the spirits chose me," Kail's hands shook. "Not Dire. Not the stronger twin, the one who should have been chieftain – but me. And after that, no one looked at me the same way again. The tribes didn't welcome me as chieftain, and they grew suspicious. They knew I enjoyed working with other forms of magic, and someone started a wildfire rumor about how I used my other arts to manipulate the spirits into picking me as chieftain. I couldn't go anywhere without someone giving me a dirty look, or shutting their windows and doors in my face. And because my father died on an unnatural cause, the others began to think that I had killed him."

"The only two people that believed the spirits had chosen me was Dire, and my grandmother," Kail said. "My grandmother would tell me that even though it would take time, the tribes would learn to accept my being the Chieftain. Dire however, kept me on his watch whenever he could, telling me how to do things and tried to teach me to communicate better with the natural world. It was as if he was trying to force his soul into me."

"And then, I couldn't take it anymore. I gave up my position as chieftain to Dire's, and left for Kurast, where I apprenticed myself to the Necromancers there," Kail said, turning around to face her. "Dire never forgave me for what I did – he said that I betrayed him for giving up my position, that I betrayed everyone. He probably also felt humiliated that he became chieftain because of an inevitable reason. After an extremely bloody quarrel between the both of us that ended up in Dire nearly stabbing me to death, I left for Kurast and apprenticed myself with the Necromancers there. That was ten years ago."

Moran bit her lip. "Ten years ago and you haven't forgiven each other yet?"

Kail smiled at her sadly and placed his hand on her cheek. "It's not that simple."

"What's the point of being angry at each other then?" Moran said angrily. "You both have the same goals – to kill Baal."

Kail tried to place his lips on hers, but she turned away from him. "Conflict between the two of you isn't going to help us. Look at what happened between you and Ollan."

A muscle jumped in his jaw. Kail turned his back to her and began putting on the rest of his armor. Moran ignored him and looked for something to busy herself. Then she turned around, and wrapped her arms around him, pressing her face into his back.

Moran mounted her horse, a heavy gray stallion so large that she was sure it could carry her, all of her equipment, and even Thorn. The horse shifted its weight as she settled into the saddle and she ruffled its white and silver mane.

She watched as Kail bid farewell to the Rogues and she caught Kashya's eyes. Moran raised her hand in farewell and the Rogue Captain nodded.

Kail rode up to them on his black horse. "Akara sends her blessings for all of us," he said solemnly.

"We'll need it," Dire grumbled and nudged his paint warhorse into a trot. "Let's go, we're wasting time."

Dire lengthened the reins and his horse broke into a fast canter that sent the other horses trailing after him. Moran gasped as she lost her stirrups and had to grab on the pommel of the saddle to prevent from slipping off. She saw Dire turn around and smirked at her. She gritted her teeth at him as Ollan came to her aid, roughly grabbing her arm to prevent her from slipping away from the saddle as she regained her seat.

They didn't slow down for nearly twenty minutes until they broke away from the thick forests into a sunny, bright area filled with smaller trees and shrubs. Dire held out a hand and they all slowed down to a walk.

"Curious…character isn't he?" Ollan said, guiding his dark brown horse next to hers, nodding to Dire. "I never knew Kail had a brother, much less one who's a Druid Chieftain."

"Surprising, isn't it?" Moran grumbled, glaring at Dire's back.

"More surprising is that Kail is a Necromancer," Ollan said, "and not a Druid. You do know that the Druids shun other types of magic?"

"Of course I know," Moran said, lowering her voice so that Dire wouldn't overhear them in the quiet surroundings. "You forget, Ollan, that I'm a sorceress."

Ollan smiled at her. "Despite how rude he seems, he does carry the aura of the legendary warrior-poet kings of the north, wouldn't you say so?"

Moran looked at Dire. He sat erect on the saddle, yet, he seemed relaxed and at ease. Even though he hardly wore anything that would make him look kingly, with his weapons, his stance, and the calm, but alert look in his eyes, he did fit Ollan's description.

She let Ollan ride ahead of her so that she could talk to Kail. She hit him on the shoulder. "You've been quiet. What's wrong?"

"I'm worried about Thorn," Kail said.

"If it's the same Thorn we all know and love, I don't see why we have to worry about him," Moran said. "But then, it's your duty to worry about the rest of us, right?"

Making sure that the others were out of earshot, she reached around him and brushed her lips across his eyes. "Don't worry too much. Nothing good will come out of it."

He gave her a half-hearted kiss before slipping back into silence. She smiled at him and gently brushed back a lock of white hair that was falling into his eyes. He took her hand and kissed it gently.

"Excuse me, but if the two of you are quite finished, we're ready to start riding hard again," Dire's voice interrupted the gentle act between them and made them jump. Kail glared angrily at his brother.

After about five minutes of cantering through the shrubbery, they broke out into a large meadow with dried, yellowish grass so tall that even Dire's warhorse that stood over seventeen hands was nearly drowning in the blades.

While she was concentrating on keeping her eyes away from any stray blades of grass that could whip her across the face, she caught something moving in front of Dire.

"Dire!" She shouted. "There's something – "

She felt something crackle, and fizz, like the sound of a live wire hitting water. Every hair rose on the back of her neck. Then she felt it – felt the lightning.

"KAIL!" She screamed as the hidden lightning trap in the grass came alive and a bolt of lightning came down from the heavens and charged it. A quicksilver bolt of energy ran past her, narrowly missing her horse. Seven or even ten other bolts exploded the trap and snaked away.

She wheeled her horse around and galloped towards Kail, but Dire was faster and closer to him than she was. He charged the warhorse towards Kail's and held out his arm. Kail grabbed it and swung on the saddle behind his brother, and the bolt of lightning struck his horse.

Dire pulled his paint warhorse down to a canter, and then to a trot. Moran watched them, and for a moment, she was struck with the same feeling that overtook her when she saw Ollan with his sacrificial aura. Both of them were looking down at the fallen horse, red hair mingling with white, both with the same look of terror that Kail had so narrowly missed death. Dire rode in a wide arc around the fallen horse and Kail quickly climbed off.

"Are you all right?" Nikan asked her as they ran towards the struck horse. Moran nodded and fell down on her knees to look at the steed.

"Not dead yet," Dire said. "That trap wasn't made for killing. It's either a poorly made trap or the person just wanted someone to get hurt enough to slow down our process."

He stood up and raised a hand towards the forest, as if beckoning for someone to come out of the shadows. After a few moments, a chilling sound of some sort of animal dying came from the forest, followed by another, and then another. Moran counted a total of five screams before Dire raised his hand again. Then from the forest, a very similar vine that Dire used to threaten both her and Kail came crawling towards them, but this time, it pulsed with a reddish glow rather than the sickly green of poison. It wrapped around the horse's neck, and pierced into the large jugular vein. The horse stirred, but did not move.

After about five minutes, Dire unsheathed his short dagger and sliced through the vine, killing it. The horse raised its neck and whickered.

"There," Dire said, standing up as the horse stood up and snorted. "It's still too weak to go at the speed I want to go, but I don't think we should move fast…"

Moran looked at the remains of the lightning trap. "Who would want to try and hurt us?"

Dire looked at her. "That's no ordinary trap, sorceress. It's an Assassin's."