Chapter 6

The sun began to rise over the eastern mountains as the two guards standing at the castle gate switched positions yet again. It had only been a short while since they had been roused from their sleep and told to take these positions, relieving the two Fallen that had been previously standing watch. Well, it wasn't like the Fallen needed relief, anyway, but this sudden and early call to duty certainly was unexpected. They had received barely enough time to get their armor on before coming out here, but from what they could see there didn't seem to be any kind of emergency. Maybe they were testing their readiness? Who knew? The sun's rays began to shine a bit more brightly through the dark clouds that perpetually cloaked this region, and as the two guards switched places yet again both of them heard something strange coming from across the bridge, in the forest. It wasn't any wild creature, but it wasn't normal speech either. After a few moments, they could hear a distinct tonic scale, followed by progressive thirds in the same octave. The guards looked at each other for a moment, but turned back to see a lone figure walking slowly across the bridge. They reached for their weapons, but before their hands reached their destination, the lone man began to sing.

"Oh, when e'er I'm on a distant shore,

Weigh-hey, and up she rises!

I'm always thinkin' of the one I adore.

Weigh-hey, and up she rises!

Raise on up that sail,

To carry us cross by the mighty gale,

And though I live upon the sea,

At shore you'll wait a time for me."

The two guards stared intently at the strange man walking towards them. He was wearing a simple cloak that covered most of his body, with equally uninteresting boots on his feet. He did, however, have a striking, yet unkempt, head of red hair, as well as an eye-patch that covered his left eye. It was strange because, despite their presence and the castle's ominous exterior, the man just continued to walk towards the two guards, going into another verse of his song.

"Oh, it's true I'll take a drink or two,

Weigh-hey, and up she rises!

But when I do I'll drink to you.

Weigh-hey and up she rises!

Raise on up that sail,

To carry us cross by the mighty gale,

And though I live upon the sea,

At shore you'll wait a time for me."

Thoroughly confused by this situation, the two guards simply looked at each other and shrugged, each putting his hand to his sword. They watched the strange man closely, watching for any sign of dubious intent. The singing man with the eye-patch went into a third verse.

"And though I'd meet a pretty girl,

Weigh-hey, and up she rises!

She's the string, but you're the pearl.

Weigh-hey, and up she rises!

Raise on up that sail,

To carry us cross by the mighty gale,

And though I live upon the sea…"

During his last repetition of the chorus the odd man held out "sea" in a long, sustained note whose high pitch soon got to the two guards. As they drew their swords the strange singer continued to hold the note almost effortlessly. Deciding between themselves that this man had doomed himself from the start, they moved to strike him. However, before they could lay arms on the mysterious troubadour they were met by two bolts of energy, one a shocking bright yellow, the other an etherial blue, that sent them slamming into the castle gate, knocking them both out. After this sudden happening, the man on the bridge stopped his high note, looking curiously at the two unconscious guards. "Well," DeFrain said with an air of contempt, "they obviously don't appreciate the fine arts."

"Come on, pirate!" Ehud shouted as he ran towards the gate, his large polished plates of armor rattling slightly in response to his movement. Tigerclaw was right behind him, her face showing a focused determination while the strips of tanned leather composing the skirt portion of her light armor flapped about. Theodore brought up the rear, both hands holding tightly to The Clawed Staff. DeFrain meanwhile quickly removed his cloak, showing that he had re-adorned himself in his usual outfit with his epee sheathed at his side, and as he donned his feathered hat he called after them, "Right!"

…

Meanwhile, Mellek Xaos had easily become aware of the commotion outside. Waving his hands simultaneously he closed off his connections with the pocket dimensions holding the twin pearls. Then, slamming his palms onto the armrests of his throne he stood and walked towards the other end of the room. While his powerful strides sounded in the nearly empty chamber he called out to his minion, 'Kohain!' Obviously sensing the urgency in his master's voice, Kohain Ravime appeared beside Xaos, almost bowing before realizing Xaos's movement, then matched his pace. "What is the trouble, master?" Kohain asked.

"It is a wonder how you remained unawares, but the castle is being attacked," Xaos answered.

"Attacked?" Kohain repeated. "By the Resistance?"

"Who else would dare?" Xaos said simply. "Take command of the troops, Kohain."

"Me?" Kohain asked, bewildered.

"You doubt my reasons?" Xaos presented, stopping and turning to face the wizard.

"N-no, of course not, master," Kohain apologized.

"Just get down there," the Dark Lord commanded.

"Y-yes, master," Kohain said as he turned and quickly exited down to the lower levels of the castle. After the door to Xaos's chamber creaked shut he turned his head to seemingly look through the castle walls towards where the Resistance members were entering the castle, his helmet making a small sound as it contacted the collar of his body armor. This move, he thought, was quite unexpected, but even more foolish. What could Tigerclaw hope to accomplish with her numbers so drastically reduced by their last encounter? Why take such a risk? Yet, he couldn't deny that this was a convenient opportunity to wipe out the rest of the Resistance. His castle guard and Fallen troops were more than enough for such a task. And if not, his power would trample them to dust, here and now. After all, he only needed what was lying there at his feet, sleeping unawares.

…

"So, this is the lion's den, huh?" DeFrain commented, after which he made a quick aside to Tigerclaw. "Pardon the expression, General." He and the other Resistance members had, so far, encountered little opposition as they made their way through the castle. It was indeed strange that their sudden entrance wasn't met with a harsher response, but at this point nothing could deter them from entering deep into the castle's interior. They soon came to a large set of double-doors that were quickly burst open, after which the group moved into what would have been a courtyard if it didn't have a ceiling. Indeed, it was big enough in area to be a courtyard, but it's roof, held up by columns at regular intervals, made it otherwise. On each column there were a pair of lights. Not torches, but rather what appeared to be small balls of magical energy that provided the area with at least some illumination. Everyone proceeded cautiously into the large open space, as it seemed to be the perfect place to spring a trap.

Once the group reached what appeared to be the center of the room, Tigerclaw signaled them to halt. Her sensitive hearing was picking up something nearby, but she couldn't quite make out what it was. It sounded somewhat like the wind that passed through small openings in-between the rocks of Ophei Canyon, but subtly different. Tigerclaw was left no more time to ponder, however, as suddenly a thick black smoke seemed to pour out of the small spaces between the stones that paved the room's floor. The smoke rose up and surrounded the Resistance members, isolating them from each other. A short distance away Kohain almost chuckled to himself as he saw the Resistance members fall straight into his trap. Pointing with his staff, he ordered a group of castle guards to enter into the smoke cloud and eliminate the pests that had intruded into the castle. The guards eagerly obeyed and only a short time later a series of muffled cries were heard, accompanied by the sound of bodies dropping to the floor. To this, Kohain immediately interpreted success and, with a wave of his staff, began to disperse the concealing vapors. However, when the smoke had dispersed he was met with a sight he didn't expect. Only one figure was standing, that of the pirate DeFrain, facing away from him. The other Resistance members, as well as the guards he had sent into the smoke were all on the floor. After a momentary pause the other Resistance members stood up, but his guards remained motionless on the castle floor. DeFrain turned about, his eye-patch lifted to reveal his all-seeing eye. He looked to Xaos's minion and shrugged, his epee wielded casually in his right hand. "So predictable, Kohain," DeFrain commented.

Kohain snarled in response to DeFrain's cutting remark and stepped forward. "Well," he began, "now that the… pleasantries are out of the way, why don't you tell me just what you scum are doing here."

"We just came to reclaim something of ours," Tigerclaw explained as she also stepped forward.

"If you think you can recover the pearls, General," Kohain countered, "you're sorely mistaken."

"So be it," replied Tigerclaw.

To this unexpected reply Kohain's expression slipped. The search for the two pearls was what had been the driving force behind the Resistance's plans in the past. What else was here that they were after? Not wanting to waste time, Kohain again smirked and announced to the room, "Everyone, get them."

Out of the shadows the rest of Kohain's castle guard made themselves known. The force was spread out to encircle the Resistance members who were isolated at the room's center. In a formal fashion they began to draw their swords as they neared the rebel group and as the blades grew near Tigerclaw and the rest knew that they were in for the fight of their lives.

…

It was at that moment that Elise Redd's eyes opened. In that instant she attempted to take in her surroundings, but another feeling quickly made its presence known in her mind. Pain flooded into her thoughts from a short distance away, and she was just able to recognize that her face was its origin. She wanted to cry out, but quickly found that she couldn't for she had no mouth to do so. Instead her eyes shut, and her clawed hands instantly moved to grip at her features. Elise's natural impulse to yell was transformed into a low, but loud his that seemed to echo around her. Soon she found that her tensed hands and arms weren't distracting her from the pain enough, and so she began to thrash and convulse on the floor, all the while hissing. In her mind Elise was struggling to take control. She was facing down the worst part of herself, trying to command it after it had been the one in charge for so long. Thinking back to her experiences, she recalled her own words, "Good and bad as one." She knew that these impulses were a part of her, but she needed to find somewhere to direct them. Something; anything to distract herself from the numbing pain she was experiencing.

Mellek Xaos, only a step away, was quite aware of Elise's strange behavior, but couldn't find a reason to explain it. This Fallen shouldn't have been able to break free of Kohain's enchantment on its own. Or, perhaps, had Kohain ended the enchantment himself? However, he hadn't felt the necessary magical energies required in such a feat. Seeking answers from his minion he subconsciously turned his head to one side in the direction of Kohain, the sound of metal-against-metal hanging in the air as the edge of his helmet contacted the collar of his body armor. He uttered, "Ko" That was all that he could say, for suddenly something was upon him.

Elise, in her search for something to direct her rage towards, had noted something from one of her senses that wasn't blocked by pain, her hearing. The recognition of that metallic noise had keyed a trigger in her mind, and in an instant she lashed out. Her body, curled on the floor, unwound into a pouncing motion as she simultaneously turned and leapt at Xaos. Her arms stretched out to grasp his massive frame, and as her head moved instinctively forward she felt one last burst of pain, a tearing sensation that allowed her to complete her attack. In-between the gap below Xaos's helmet and his body armor Elise had managed to bite down with her teeth into the neck of the Dark Lord. Mellek Xaos's eyes looked down to the face of his attacker and, although most of her appearance remained unchanged, he noted the intense stare of two bright red irises looking back into his own. In a moment that seemed like an eternity, Mellek Xaos was afraid of the thing that seemed to peer into his very soul.

Acting on impulse, the Dark Lord's hand reached up and grabbed Elise's midsection firmly. His fear quickly transformed into anger as he, with magically enhanced strength, pulled Elise off of himself. He could feel the flesh of his neck rip as Elise's teeth were forcibly removed. Ignoring the pain, he continued the swing of his arm, flinging Elise across the room. As she turned in mid-air to land on the throne room floor, she saw Mellek Xaos falter slightly and bring a hand up to his neck. The Dark Lord cast a quick spell to help his wound begin to heal, but he'd need something else to fully recover from such a grievous injury. Regaining his composure, his hand seemed to reach for something that wasn't there, and suddenly he was wielding the Sword of Shadows, pointed directly at figure on the other side of the room. Her eyes still glared at him with an unearthly intensity. "It seems that you were not content being my servant after all, Elise Redd. If that is the case, then you will perish alongside the rest of the Resistance."