Act II

Prologue

Satya entered Jerryn's chamber, trailing behind her the hem of a transparent silk scarf of a deep purple colour. It almost covered her completely, ending just below her waist where the folds of the fabric hid what was beneath not all too modestly.

She smiled at the Sultan, playing with her dark hair that fanned over her shoulders and fell past her hips. Smiling softly at him, she put a foot onto the couch on which he lay and touched Jerryn's bare chest.

Jerryn merely smiled as the well-practiced girl did her work, unlike some of the other girls of the Harem Guild, he was not required to contribute to add to the moment. Instead he just lay there, basking in the pleasure and letting it well up inside him until it exploded in a fiery fervour.

She caressed the scarf, removing it from her body and draping it across his face. She then let it fall from her grasp leaving it in a pile on the floor

"You work too hard," Satya purred in his ear as she ran her long fingers through his hair. "Here," she said, putting her hands on his shoulders and straddling his chest with her bare legs. "I need to make you forget…"

Her words ended as she kissed his mouth, forehead and eyelids, she was just tracing her tongue down his neck when one of his servants burst into the room. At first, he ignored them, then when he realised they weren't going away he regarded the man almost lazily.

"Can't you see that I'm a little busy?" Jerryn said as Satya's tongue was nearing his navel.

"My Lord, there is a matter of extreme importance," the servant said.

"Who says?" Jerryn asked as Satya laid her head on his abdomen.

"Drognan the Sorcerer," the servant said.

"I'll see to this presently," Jerryn said, picking up his robe from the floor where he had discarded it.

"He is waiting for you in the library," the servant said. "Shall I conduct you there?"

"Nothing of the sort," Jerryn said as he tied the sash of his robe, he gestured to Satya. "See that this lady is well provided for until I return."

"Of course, My Lord," the servant said with a bow.

Drognan was studying a star-chart when Jerryn entered and only looked up when the young lord of Lut Gholein sat down. As always, Drognan had the maddening habit of making one aware that it was an honour to be in his presence when rather in Jerryn's case it was the other way around. All the same, Jerryn considered Drognan his most trusted advisor, even though Drognan was much, much more than that.

"What seems to be the trouble?" Jerryn asked finally.

"Examine this," Drognan said, gesturing to the star-chart.

"I'm sorry," Jerryn said, looking at the lines and calculations made between the planets. "But I don't understand this."

"For the past three nights Kreios, the Lord of War, has been advancing," Drognan said, pointing to a marked star. "It is set to correspond with Metis, the Maiden of Love in precisely three nights from now."

"So?" Jerryn asked confusedly.

"I've consulted our annals," Drognan went on, gesturing to the pile of books on the table. "And such an event occurs only ahead of times of calamity. The last was two hundred and sixty years ago when Tal Rasha imprisoned the Lord of Destruction, there were other of course before that but the ones that strikes most is the betrayal of Horazon to the Vizjerei."

"So what are we to make of this?" Jerryn said. "You informed me several months ago that Diablo was freed from his imprisonment in Tristram, and then we heard word last full moon that he was slain. I believe that a time of calamity is over."

"If these read correct," Drognan said solemnly. "It is only just beginning."

"I'll take note of your warning," Jerryn said, getting up and walking to the window. "But I can't let this get out, even if it does come true. I can't let them panic, you must understand that."

"Since when have you had to tell me to hold my tongue?" Drognan said lightly, gathering his star-chart. "If you want me, you know where to find me."

Jerryn stood at the window for a while, watching the sun set over the sea. Was what Drognan saying true? It was a possibility, after all what the old sorcerer said was not to be taken lightly. Still, it seemed improbably that trouble of that magnitude could come to this city.

"My Lord?" asked a servant, bowing as he addressed him. "Shall I serve your meal in here?"

"No," Jerryn said, stepping away from the window. "I'll be in the dining room presently, ask Satya if she might have the pleasure of dining with me."

"Of course," said the servant, bowing again then retreating.

Jerryn hastened to his chamber, he had matters of state to see to after he ate, before his looked forward to evening of pleasure with Satya.

"What was Drognan so anxious to see you about?" Satya asked archly.

"Nothing of your concern," Jerryn replied shortly, indicating that she shouldn't ask anymore on the subject.

Satya picked at her food, her large breasts which weren't completely concealed being much the focal point for the servants who entered with the food and wine. There were no visitors of state that night, which was quite good as Jerryn did not have to worry about what his guest's agenda was. He could just enjoy the food, and the company…

Satya crossed the room, a plate of pallam fruit in her hands, she sat on the edge of his couch and held a quarter of the pink fruit in her fingers.

"Here," she said, holding it out to him. "Try some." She pushed the fruit between his lips.

"That's good," Jerryn said, relishing the combination of sweet and bitter tastes.

"Try some more," she said, placing some more on his tongue.

"I can feed myself, you know," he teased.

"Not like this," Satya said, placing a piece on her tongue and plunging it into his mouth.

"Mmm," Jerryn said with the miss finished, he licked his lips. "Very good," he said, he then signalled for a servant to pour him a tiny glass of styvel, a strong liqueur that was derived from a plant that lived in the Twin Seas.

As he examined the blue and gold liquid in his glass there was a flash of lightning and the crash of thunder outside. The shock of it made him drop the glass, sending it smashing on the floor.

"What was that?" Jerryn said, getting off the couch and walking to the window. "The rains must have come early this year, very odd."

But that wasn't all that was odd normally rain clouds came from the east, from the sea. But these clouds were massing in the west, and approaching the city rapidly.

It was going to be a wild night and Jali was touring the town, making sure everyone was prepared for it. Market stalls closed early fastening their shutters before heading home, Preshna the owner of the Harem Guild was heading from house to house making sure all her girls were back in time. Jali stopped at the Desert Rain before heading back to the public house, the Jewel of the City which he ran with his wife Atma.

"Everyone here and accounted for?" He asked Elzix.

"Yes, and I sent Hara home a short while ago," the former bandit said. "He was hanging around several of our travellers until I told him what you would do if you found him here."

"I'll have a word with my son when I get home," Jali said sternly. "Have a good night."

"Same to you," Elzix said, following Jali to the door and shutting it firmly behind him when he left.

On the way back home he passed Drognan who was putting the last of his wares inside, being a chivalrous sort Jali stopped to help.

"Do you know why this squall has come up suddenly?" He asked the old sorcerer.

"No, it's very odd," Drognan said as they placed staves on a table in his house. "You'd better get along now."

"You sure you don't want to shelter with us at the Jewel?" Jali asked over the din of the wind.

"I think I'll be a lot safer here on my own than with a roomful of beggars and drunkards," Drognan said lightly.

"There you are," Atma put her arms around him after she opened the door. "You're just in time, what kept you?"

"I was seeing to everyone's welfare," Jali said as he slammed the door shut and bolted it.

"You should start worrying about your own welfare," Atma said, kissing him on the cheek.

She was very beautiful his wife and could very well contend among the women who frequented Jerryn's palace. The Jewel had been in her family for generations and it was purely by chance that he had met her on his way east. She had made him very happy even if the fifteen year old Hara was to be their only child.

"Have you seen Hara?" Jali said, getting behind the bar and checking the supply of wine and ale.

"He's…somewhere," Atma said, casting her eye across the room. "He should be here, he was a while ago."

"What?" Jali slammed the tankard he was holding on the bar with a bang. "He isn't here? Elzix last saw him and sent him home."

"Well he said he had to go out," Atma said, heading for the kitchen to check on the soup. "He should be back by now. Or he would have found shelter, perhaps he is staying with Fara."

"I don't think so," Jali said, coming out from behind the bar and going to fetch his cloak. "I'm going to find him."

"Jali," Atma said with a tremor in her voice. "You can't possibly go out in THAT?" She gestured to the window to the pouring rain and blowing sand coupled with lightning and thunder.

"It's not like I have a choice," he said, kissing her cheek and heading for the door. "I won't be long," he promised, closing the door behind him.

Hara ran ahead of the caravan with a torch in his hand, behind him the merchant led his camels at a pace slower than walking. Yet their only chance lay in the city ahead. He had heard from Elzix that a caravan was expected that evening and he had just spotted it from the walls of the city just as the storm was coming in. On either side were Nefar and Polrax, two of Griez's mercenaries who had willingly volunteered to help him intercept the caravan.

They were just nearing the gates of Lut Gholein when a lone figure in a dark cloak approached them.

"Idiot boy," said a gentle voice very much like his fathers. "Your mother and I have been worried sick."

"Well would you let these poor people die?" Hara said, gesturing to the merchant and his assistant quickly entering the city.

"Come home and have some dinner," Jali said curtly, pulling him along the street. "Nefar and Polrax can see to the caravan."

Once inside Jali insisted that his son change clothes before they all sat down to eat in their dwelling above the pub. The serving maids could handle the mob below and would call the moment it might become rowdy.

"That was a foolish thing you did son," Jali said. "Brave, yet foolish."

"Aren't many brave things foolish, father?" Hara asked with a smug smile.

"Yes," Jali said. "But before you think of running out into the desert in the middle of a storm, you should perhaps think of your poor mother back home."

"Jali, you're exaggerating," Atma said gently. "I knew Hara was fine, I wasn't worried at all."

"I'm just trying tell him about the dangers that we face," Jali reminded her. "Now if we lived in Kurast or in the West we wouldn't have this."

"I know, you've told me many times," Atma said. "But I'm happy here, so is Hara aren't you? Can't you be?"

"You make it so much easier," Jali said, taking her hand across the table.

Jerryn stood at the top of the tower in his palace in the just before dawn, the storm had finally died down and the clouds had parted to reveal the breaking light of the dawn. He had left his bed and Satya's company to survey the damage on his city. It was minimal, despite a few old buildings that had suffered damage. Suddenly he spotted something on the horizon and called for a servant.

"Send for Vitran," he said to the servant.

"What seems to be the problem, My Lord?" His captain of the guards asked.

"There's someone out there," Jerryn said, pointing. "There, you can just make them out in the light. Two figures, I need you to intercept them."

"They could just be stragglers from the caravan that came in earlier," Vitran said sceptically.

"No, there were only two on that caravan," Jerryn replied. "They were expected and have been coming here for quite a while." He leaned over the side. "Intercept them, I don't like this. You don't have to detain them, simply ask them their business here"

"Yes, My Lord," Vitran said, bowing then retreating.

"Very odd," Jerryn said. "That any man, let alone two, could survive that storm we just suffered without shelter."

"Get up you sot," Atma shouted, poking the drunkard Geglash with the handle of her broom. "Get up!"

Geglash groaned and simply rolled onto his other side, tasting the sour liquid on his lips. In the end Atma had to call her husband and one of the serving men over to get the man to his feet and out the door.

"We gave him a long drink of water in the fountain," Jali announced when he returned. "How is everything?"

"Fine, now he has gone," Atma said, sweeping the grime and dirt of the evening before towards the door. "Someone came into the city early this morning, a man called Marrius called for food for his master."

"Who?" Jali asked, righting several chairs. "And who was this 'master' that he served?"

"He didn't say," Atma said, sweeping up fragments of glass. "He simply asked for food and he produced money, I gave him it and he left. He was from the West, I believe."

"From Tristram?" Jali asked, stopping in his work to glance at his wife.

"I don't know," Atma admitted. "He was very quiet, as if he had something on his mind. Have you seen Hara this morning?"

"No, I slept late and when I got up he had gone," Jali said. "What's wrong? You weren't worried last night when Hara was out in the storm."

"Call it what you will, but I am now," Atma said, putting down her broom.

"I'll finish helping you then I'll ask around," Jali promised. "Chances are he's at Elzix's, that's where he was all day yesterday."

Atma smiled weakly at him but she wasn't convinced.

Jerryn sat in his reception room, the traveller and his companion who had entered the city only a few short hours ago was already causing problems. Ever since the interview he had with him he sensed something…evil about this man. At first he had dismissed this notion as foolishness, then asked if Drognan could spare a few moments talking to their new arrival.

If Drognan's findings confirmed his own fears did this mean that his prediction could come true? That there were dark times ahead for him and all in Lut Gholein? What if…

His thoughts were cut off by Drognan entering the room, and by the expression on his face his news wasn't good.

"I don't know what to make of it," Drognan said bluntly without any formal salutations. "I think the best you can do is send them on their way."

If it had been anyone else Jerryn would have reprimanded them for lack of respect, but with Drognan he was lenient.

"That is exactly what I was thinking," Jerryn said. "Though I was acting within the bounds of hospitality to let Marrius and his companion into the city…I agree with you on not letting them stay. Tell me," Jerryn said thoughtfully. "Was this part of the prediction you told me?"

"Auguries are at best vague and suggestive," Drognan replied. "And any sage who tells you that this will be so and nothing can change it is both a liar and a fool. All the same," the old sorcerer said almost to himself. "I do not doubt that if this is not what was predicted, this may be what heralds it."

Jali found no trace of Hara in the town so he headed to the docks where he found Meshif in conversation with another sea captain named Asak. He knew Meshif as he had come around to the Jewel several times for supplies; he was anchored in Lut Gholein awaiting repairs while Asak was planning on setting sail as soon as he could.

"Meshif, you haven't seen my son, have you?" He asked after exchanging greetings.

"Aye, I saw they didn't listen."

"Thank you," Jali said. "I'll deal with him myself."

When Jali departed their conversation was interrupted again by a servant of Jerryn's approaching them.

"I come to ask a favour in Lord Jerryn's place," the servant said. "I suppose you have heard of our new arrivals, the man Marius and his unnamed companion?"

"I've heard several things," Asak said in a noncommittal tone.

"Lord Jerryn will pay you handsomely if you take them with you on your journey east," the servant replied.

"How much?" Asak asked, the servant named a figure and the man's eyebrow's raised in astonishment. "I'd be a fool not to say yes! Tell Lord Jerryn then that my ship sails on the next tide turn. I'll be waiting here at sunset."

"I will tell him," the servant said then left.

"Do you know why Jerryn wants these men out of the city?" Meshif asked.

"Probably some old fugitive or crime committed," Asak said with a shrug. "I'm not complaining, the gold is good and that's all that counts."

Jali was three levels below ground before he heard any trace of his son or his friends. What was Hara doing down here? Surely his son had matured further than looking for trouble as he used to do? Or perhaps it was his idle curiosity. Either way Hara was in for a stern lecture once he found him.

The unmistakeable sound of a child crying was heard near him, Jali took a few turns and found Hara's friend Taki, sitting by himself in the gloom. The boy's hands were covered in blood, his own.

"What happened, where's Hara?" Jali asked, wiping the boy's hands with a corner of his tunic.

"They've gone to rescue Ilo," Taki sobbed. "We were looking for her and Hara thought she was down here, we then followed her screams through the sewers and now HE'S got her!"

"Who?" Jali asked. "Who's got her?"

"That horrible man who spouts poison!" Taki said. "Hara said he wasn't afraid, but I stayed back when he slashed my hands."

Jali only just realised that the boy's wounds were festering with vermin. He took off his sash, tore it in two and bound the boy's hands up neatly.

"Get to the surface and see Atma," Jali told him. "Then get Griez and Vitran and send them down here."

"Yes sir," Taki said, running away.

Jali looked around for something he could use for a weapon, was there anything? He quickly grabbed a sword, the blade was a little rusty with the salt air but still sharp enough for his purpose. Before continuing he noticed something, there were many bones on the floor, more than the usual that accounted for drunkards who spent the night there and were eaten by rats.

Gathering up his courage he went into the darkness holding the sword ready.

Taki ran through the streets to the marketplace and almost ran headlong into Atma as she was coming out of the Jewel. She stared at Taki's bloodied hands and followed him into the square.

"What happened? Where's Hara?" Atma asked as Fara inspected the boy's wounds.

"This doesn't look good," Fara said seriously. "Where did you get this?"

"From a giant man with a large claw that spewed poison," Taki replied. "Jali said that he wanted Griez and Vitran to help him down there."

"I'll give them the message as soon as I'm finished with you," Fara promised.

"Taki, is Hara unharmed?" Atma asked.

"He is fine," Taki said promptly. "We went down there to save Ilo, they should be fine."

"Atma," Fara said, taking her arm gently. "I don't want to alarm you but I think your son is in danger. I'm going down with the men, you stay here with him."

"No, I want to…"

"You stay here with Taki," Fara said in a firm yet gentle voice.

Jali stood in the shadow, his sword ready as he peered around the corner. The creature that Taki described was in the next chamber, he had the bodies of Ilo as well as three of Hara's friends. Hara himself was crouching in a corner out of sight; Jali then noticed his son held a dagger.

"NO!" Jali shouted as Hara sprung on the creature, his weapon out. Jali wanted to help his son but his feet were stuck to the spot, he was paralysed by his fear.

At first the creature was taken by surprise and his son scored a few hit, but it took al of a few seconds for the creature to knock Hara to the floor and impale him with his single claw.

"NOOOOO!" Jali ran out with his rusty sword ready, swinging wildly in an effort to hit something, anything only harm the thing that had killed his only son.

The creature smiled and spewed a cloud of poisonous gas sending Jali reeling, almost blindly he lunged, wounding the being's torso and knocking him back. But the creature was faster, much, much faster than he was. With a stroke of his powerful claw he slashed Jali across the stomach and with his hand threw him from the room right into the path of Fara, Griez and the many others who had come to their rescue.

"We're too late!" Griez moaned as Fara tried to revive Jali.

"No, it's worse," Fara said, as the fiend began to construct himself an undead army. "We'd better get out of here."

"What about…" Griez said.

"RUN!" Fara shrieked as the undead army started towards them.

Some of the men tried to cut down a few of the skeletons but were quickly overcome. It was only a handful of others besides Fara, Griez and Vitran who emerged from the sewers.

Atma was there, wringing her hands and looking at the group hopefully.

"Let me," Fara said, dismissing the men. She put her hand son Atma's shoulders supportively.

"Where are they?" Atma asked frantically. "Where's my son, my husband?"

"Atma," Fara said slowly. "I'm sorry, there was nothing we could do."

"No! You are lying!" Atma said hysterically, trying to escape from Fara's vice-like embrace. "They're down there, you've got to."

"There's nothing we could do," Fara said. "They were both dead before we got there."

"No! NO!" Atma screamed, her whole body shook and she collapsed in Fara's arms.