First Tale : Odin's Trust

Chapter VIII

"To trust someone is equivalent to giving a part of oneself to the person that one trusts. Trust is one of the most important aspects of human life and without trust and cooperation, human society would never progress and human beings would never evolve. But when the trust between two people is broken, then the bond of trust is also broken and in accordance with the rules of nature, the bond must be rebuilt again. A new trustee must be found!"

- The words of Alistar. M. Heimus, Professor, Glast Heim Central Church

Cursing his luck, the stalker made his way down the steps leading to the final explored level of the Glast Heim sewers. He missed the comfortable interiors of the Herald's palace. It was not the first time he had been sent out on missions. Tanjar Mordavir, Rodhan Impellar of the Herald Of Flames, usually ended up sending him out to investigate matters after a fit of rage, like he had done in this instance. The stalker cursed again as his foot sank knee deep into a puddle of slime. He had to force his way out of the puddle as the slime tended to cling to the feet and add to the weight borne by adventurers. It also gave off a feeling of being heavily burdened and was known to exhaust many an adventurer within minutes of contact. The stalker, on the other hand, had been trained by the Herald of Flames and he knew how to tolerate the sewer's slime. He quickly leapt out of the puddle and landed on a dry patch of ground. With his progress into the sewers the lighting had degraded, limiting his vision severely. Unfortunately, he couldn't light a torch since the flames would obviously give away his position…that is, if the sound of striking flint didn't warn the ones he followed first!

There was little he could do to help himself except continue and hope for the best. That, of course, was not something assassins and stalkers did too well. Their purpose was to fulfill planned operations to the letter, maintaining absolute secrecy and discretion in the process. Unfortunately, following Hijo Ramurao into the unknowns was not part of any elaborate plan or operation. As such, Tanjar had sent the stalker off on his own, to fend for himself while following orders. The Herald minion fingered the twin daggers attached to his belt and made sure the spare was neatly tucked away in his left boot. One never knew when the extra dagger would come in handy! The sounds of fighting had echoed throughout the sewers as the stalker descended the steps. More than once, he thought he had heard screaming, but his keen mind told him that was the sound of magic spells being cast in haste. Obviously, there was a wizard down there and that too, a wizard who was an expert in the sorcerer's arts.

"I must be careful now. The slightest mistake could give away my position! It is best not to be seen at all!", the stalker thought and stood with his back flat against the wall.

Suddenly, his entire body began to change as it became one with its surroundings. His clothes and skin color changed, like a chameleon, to match the background of the sewers and thus, the stalker cloaked to perfection! Another series of twists and intense concentration of the mind allowed him to move, but the stalker knew perfectly well that his movement speed had been slowed to a great extent. His cloak could not be detected by any living thing, but there were always loop holes to everything. That was one of the main features of the human race, the stalker knew well. They always found ways to do the impossible and those who achieved the impossible were often regarded as heroes. They were regarded as great warriors who descended from the Heavens to solve the problems of mankind. Although a lot of those beliefs were merely part of children's stories, the stalker still found himself admiring the tenacity of the human society. Those who dared to confront their problems rarely gave up and even in the face of extreme danger and death, they found ways to overcome their difficulties and conquer their foes!

"Thus the human race perseveres…", the stalker thought, "…and I now face one of its greatest warriors!"

The thought of Hijo Ramurao and the Crusaders of God sent chills down the stalker's spine. Of course, the Crusaders of God were not connected to Hijo in these modern days, but there was always the possibility. The stalker had heard those stories of the Grand Pecos and the crusaders that rode them. Each crusader had to tame his own Grand Peco and then train it to support him in battle. If he could not do that, then he could never pass the test to become a crusader. The Crusaders of God had even stricter induction tests and only the best ever got into that Order. Its missions were always the hardest and the risk of death was always the highest. They were given tasks, which were impossible to accomplish, and like true human beings they would overcome the impossible to reach their goal. They had destroyed many members of the Herald Of Flames and the stalker remembered the stories, which had been told to him as a child. No one had defeated the Crusaders Of God and despite the propaganda that the Rodhan Impellar advocated to his subjects, the stalker knew in his heart that it would take a lot more than super warriors to defeat the Order of God. And to make matters worse, he was up against one of their former members and as the stalker thought of that, he heard a loud roaring sound up ahead!

Curiosity overcoming the fear of death in his soul, he ran forward with both hands grasping the hilts of his daggers. Many a time his cloak almost disappeared due to the forced pace of his movements and he was compelled to stop and correct his mistakes. Thus, he was rather late in reaching the spot where Hijo Ramurao and the wizard, David J'Ragon Heimus, were engaged in mortal combat. He did, however, reach the spot just in time to see a massive wave of water descending upon the wizard's head! Judging by the electric currents surrounding the wizard's body and the ball of lightning above his head, the stalker knew what was about to happen next. Whoever initiated that move had to have a first rate brain for he had judged the elemental opposites, and their consequent effects on the wizard, to perfection! The stalker recalled the various elemental forces of magic. The power of fire, controlled by the fire spirit Efirital, could be countered only by the power of water, commanded by the water spirit Rundine. Rundine's power could be countered by the power of wind, which was monopolized by the wind spirit, Lafaerial. Golemar, the spirit of Earth, could order the power of earth to counter Lafaerial and Golemar, in turn, could be defeated by Efirital. Thus, the four elemental powers countered each other and maintained the balance of the elemental plane of the universe. The elemental plane was, like a human city, a residence of sorts to the various elements. Wielders of the arcane arts could summon elementals and their powers from the elemental plane, as could other people who possessed credible potential to control magic.

Each elemental could be wielded in many ways and throughout the history of the kingdom of Rune Midgard, various spells had been crafted, mastered and forgotten, by the many wizards and sorcerers that roamed the realm. Some people thought that the spells of today were the most powerful versions of magic, while others contended that the deadliest of spells were sealed away and forgotten to prevent the destruction of human civilization. Either way, the stalker knew, the elementals would decide the outcome of this clash of spell and technique. The wizard had not reacted in time and his Jupiter Thunder had clearly originated from Lafaerial. It could easily counter the wall of water that was coming down on the wizard, but the magic caster had obviously failed to realize a very important point.

"He will, of course, become aware of his folly in exactly… two seconds!", the stalker muttered under his breath as the wall of water crashed into the wizard with full force!

The rules of the elemental plane came into force as two opposite elements clashed. Lafaerial's magic was, of course, much stronger than that of Rundine and a majority of the water instantly dissipated as it struck the field of lightning surrounding David. Unfortunately for the wizard, the swordsman had judged perfectly. The remaining water splashed all over the wizard, drenching him from head to toe! As ordained by the Gods of Midgard, the rules of the elemental plane came into play once more, but this time the tables had been turned on David J'Ragon Heimus. Rundine had left her mark on the wizard through the water on his garments and Lafaerial turned her wrath on her current master. Jupiter Thunder… the very spell that David had intended to use on Hijo Ramurao… turned on its master, attempting to destroy every single particle of water on his body! The stalker was forced to momentarily cover his eyes as David's body burst into flames. Puffs of smoke rose into the air and the stench of dry, rotting skin quickly spread throughout the sewers. The stalker managed to force his eyes open to see the remains of a once powerful wizard. The portion of his body, above the torso, had been entirely melted by Lafaerial's fury and the portion that remained was a disgusting sight.

Suppressing the need to vomit all over the place, the stalker moved forward… slowly… very slowly indeed! Sewer rats had already begun to gather around the corpse, or whatever remained of it. They would take away the bits and pieces of rotten flesh. For them, it was a rare chance to find a decent meal. Their arrival, however, made the entire scene all the more gross for the eyes to behold. The stalker had been witness to many acts of violence in his lifetime. The Herald Of Flames regularly conducted sacrifices of all sorts and the stalker himself had shared parts of the 'sacrifice' with his fellow comrades. However, the sight of two elements clashing and destroying… nay… obliterating a wizard was too much for the Herald minion to absorb! Still dealing with the ringing in his head and the heaviness in his stomach, the stalker stumbled forward. Struggling to keep the horrendous scene in focus, the Herald minion barely noticed a figure rising to its feet. His brain took a fleeting note of it, simply regarding it as some sewer monster running away from the scene. The same brain also disregarded the shiny, thin, metallic blade that suddenly appeared in the figure's hand.

"Blades don't appear out of thin air.", the stalker thought, "I must be imagining things. Yes, that is it! I am imagining it all. This horrible sight is also a mere dream. I will be awake soon."

Thus the Herald minion thought as the graphic nature of the scene took its toll on him. He was still praying for his dream to end when that shiny, thin, metallic blade sliced off his head with one single, neat stroke!

"MASTER, ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?", asked a concerned Riyu Kikame as Hijo Ramurao sheathed his katana blade.

"We must leave this place before the atmosphere affects us…", Hijo said, pointing to the headless stalker's corpse, "…like him."

Riyu nodded, sheathing his own blade and turning his attention towards the Crusader seal, "Master, do you know how to get rid of that thing?""

"You know about the seal as well?", asked Hijo, quite surprised as he had never told Riyu anything about the Crusaders or his past.

"Not really.", Riyu said, finding himself in a slightly awkward situation, "I overheard that wizard saying something about it and then referring to you. I didn't understand any of it, but…"

"You thought I would be able to open it.", Hijo finished for him with a smile, "Correct?"

Riyu nodded quickly, "Yes, Master."

"As a matter of fact…", Hijo sighed, "…I can open it. That is, of course, providing I still remember how to do it correctly."

Riyu cocked his head, "There is an incorrect way to do it as well?"

Hijo smiled wickedly, "Seals are made to keep people away, Riyu, from something that needs protection. I believe the purpose of using a seal would be destroyed if the seal itself could be tampered with. Hence, most seals, especially of this kind, have safeguards to keep the curious and the wicked folk away."

Riyu nodded slowly, carefully taking into account that wicked smile. His master had his own kind of mood swings. In his teaching mood, he would never joke and would rarely smile. Making him angry, at that time, would be extremely hazardous to any student's health! His fighting mood, however, was even worse. During such times, he adored dramatics and the tension of combat. From the smile on the sword master's face, Riyu knew that something terrible would happen if his master did not open the seal using the proper methods. His curiosity slowly overcame his fear as he watched his master finger the seal carefully.

"Master, may I ask you something?", he said softly.

Hijo had been anticipating the question, "Go ahead."

"What exactly happens if you…umm…well…", Riyu stumbled, wondering how he could pose the question without offending his master.

Hijo Ramurao, however, finished it for him, "If I do not remember how to open the seal and end up doing something very wrong, you mean?"

Riyu nodded quickly, glancing left and right for some deep dark corner to hide in.

Hijo, however, laughed and replied, "If I don't remember, Riyu, this entire level of the sewers will be completely destroyed. Other than that, nothing else."

Riyu's jaw almost dropped, but he controlled himself quickly. His master had always told him to control his facial expressions and Riyu quickly made himself appear calm and contented. On the inside, however, he was reciting every prayer and devotional song he knew, hoping that his master would open the seal correctly! Fortunately, Hijo Ramurao's memory was a whole lot better than he made it out to be and Riyu watched as the seal split in half in a blaze of light! He was slightly dazed, but Riyu was still able to make out the gap that was opening in the wall. Slowly, it grew wider and wider and the sword master and his student watched as the unexplored levels of the Glast Heim sewers were thrown open to them!

Riyu rubbed his eyes a few times to make sure it was not a dream, "Master, what is this?"

Hijo replied, a bit awed himself, "This is the entrance to the sealed levels of the sewers. A long time ago, these levels were sealed off to prevent people from accessing them. Joshua brought this to light and we were talking about it at the dojo. It was he to told me about some plot that is being hatched by the Herald Of Flames and their minions who are pulling the strings in the Glast Heim Churches. Unfortunately, Joshua did not live to see this, as you already know."

Riyu whispered, "May the Lord keep his soul. He must be happy now master because you are uncovering this plot as we speak. He must have wanted you to stop these people from controlling the Church."

Hijo chuckled, "Well said, Riyu. Unfortunately, this scheme of the Herald has nothing at all to do with the Church in particular. It is true they have issues with the Church and the Crusaders of God, but I assure you that their plans are deeper than we can imagine. The Herald has access to a great deal of resources and I doubt their power hungry leaders will settle for small fry like the Glast Heim Church."

Riyu nodded, "So what you are saying is that the Church is simply a step on their road to something much bigger."

Hijo replied, "Yes. In a manner of speaking, we are simply a small thread in their web. A thread I am sure they are keen on getting rid of. Unfortunately, they cannot cut us out yet. There is much to be learnt here, Riyu, for these sealed levels of the sewers hold something of great evil. Something that the Crusaders of God brought here a long time ago."

Riyu was slightly puzzled, "Since you were a Crusader once, did you have anything to do with it?"

Hijo smiled, "It is a rather long story Riyu. A very long story!"

Riyu was overcome with curiosity, "I would like to hear it, master. Your adventures are always an inspiration to everyone."

Hijo replied with a grave face, "Inspiration, Riyu? I failed in my task, my student. I failed because I forgot the trust that had been placed in me. I remember it now, at least as much as I have been allowed to remember. Gods help us all, I have blundered so!"

Riyu watched, completely stunned, as a tear flowed down his master's cheeks. Hijo Ramurao glanced at him through the corner of his eyes and began walking through the unsealed entrance. Riyu wanted to stop him. He wanted to question him. What had his master done to harm them all? What had he forgotten? What was this trust that had been placed in him? Riyu could not understand. But he held his peace. His master would reveal everything in time. For now, all that Riyu could do was follow in his master's foot steps and that…that was one thing that Riyu Kikame was proud to do!