The Rebirth Of Evil

Chapter 2

New Places

The evening was cold, with the sun barely visible behind the barrier mountains as it slowly crawled down the sky. A couple of drunks were just leaving Atma's tavern when one of them was pushed aside by a man rudely entering the crowded doorway. Atma looked up at the intruder and sighed, Not another one, this will make the third one in an hour. The stranger walked up to Atma and eyed her curiously under his black hood that effectively hid his face.

"Do you know where I can..."

"No, I do not know where to find anyone fitting the description you are going to give me, nor have I seen anyone matching that description," she quickly spat back at the cloaked figure.

"Very well then, if I find out that you have, you will find your death most unpleasant," the stranger said as he eyed her contemptuously.

The stranger quickly spun on his heels and marched out of the tavern. Great, now they're threatening me, Atma thought with a sigh. She turned and slowly climbed the stairs to the upper level of her tavern, which served as her home. It had been a little over a week since Locke and his sister had been in Lut Gholien, yet they still came to her tavern every day. She knocked on the door and found it open so she gently pushed it, and was startled to find Locke sparring with his big sister Marianna, their blades covered with hardened leather training sheathes. She stopped and stared in fascination at the intricate dance of steel that they wove as they moved around the room with ease.

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"Give up little one, you can't beat me!" she said as she viciously made a sideways cut that Locke jumped back to avoid.

"You just don't want to admit that I could beat you," he retorted smiling. Suddenly, he lunged at Marianna. She deftly sidestepped it to the left and quickly whirled her longsword around in an uppercut and smashed him in the chest, sending him stumbling backwards, gasping for air. She quickly rolled forward and swiped around in a clockwise arch, sending Locke's feet out from under him and causing him to collapse to the wooden floor with a loud thud. Marianna got to her feet and walked over to where her brother lay clutching his leg.

"Looks like I bested you again, little brother," she said with a grin as she pointed her longsword at his throat.

He looked up at his sister with a fire in his eyes, "Yeah, you wish," he said with a grim smirk. Locke quickly rolled and swung his sheathed Moonblade counterclockwise, catching Marianna behind her right calf and causing her collapse onto her knee in pain. Seeing his opportunity, he rolled toward her, and vaulted over his sister with ease. He spun his blade overhead and smacked his sister in the back with the flat of his blade, knocking her face down onto the floor.

"Oh crap,"he said remorsefully as his sister groaned and collapsed back down onto the floor. He quickly rushed to her aide but was quickly waved off, receiving a smack on the side of the head in the process.

"Don't worry, you did what you had to... I am proud of you, Locke."

"Thank you, sis," he said as he picked her up and gave her a big hug.

Atma, at this point, knocked on the door and caught the surprised stares of both of the warriors. Marianna looked to be in bad condition, with her face red from exertion, her long raven hair tied up into a loose bun with ribbons woven through it. She bore a small cut on her arm from the battle in the desert, although it did look better today it still looked swelled and infected. Yet aside from a slight limp, she looked in no worse condition than you would expect. Locke however looked horrible, with his face predominately red and purple, due to a bruise forming on the left side of his head, just beneath his eye. He also had a two bruise forming on his right arm, which now hung limp at his side, and a bruise on his left calf where he had been smacked earlier.

"Sorry to disturb you, but I thought I would let you know that another one just stopped by," she said regretfully, hating to be the bearer of bad news yet again.

"Damn, why are they trying to find me? I haven't done anything!"

"Do not worry lil' brother… yet you lie, you have done something lately," she said playfully.

"What have I done, oh greatest big sister that I own?" he said with a smirk.

"Well, there was that one night with Marija," she laughed

"I did not do anything with her, Marianna!" he said defensively. Locke's hand shot out as he shoved Marianna down as she began laughing harder.

At this point Atma had caught onto their little game and began laughing herself. It is good to have such good company again, she thought for, at least, the tenth time today.

Locke stood up, staring aghast at his sister and Atma laughing hysterically at him. And for what? Saving a beautiful woman's life, and a sorceress at that. At least I could save her, he thought suddenly.

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"Why did you save me? You never really answered me."

"Well... I, uh..."

"You thought I was beautiful, did you not?"

"What!"

"Do not try and hide it, I know you did, you still do... I can see it in your eyes."

"I... uh, wanted to... save you because I figured that...that, uh... you could not be with those bandits by choice... you looked terrified on the battlefield."

"Yeah, whatever was holding onto me just suddenly let go, and I just could not believe where I was... I nearly collapsed out of fright."

"Well... I am just glad that you're ok now."

"Yeah, so am I... but you will not deflect me! Now answer my question, and no lies this time."

"I did n... ok, I rescued you because you were beautiful, happy?"

"Yes, and for your honesty you get a present..."

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Locke snapped back to reality as Marianna and Atma stopped laughing and returned to their feet. He looked at them and smiled to himself. "I swear, nothing happened," he muttered.

"Well, I'm beat... I'm gonna get some sleep," Marianna said yawning.

"Yeah, me too," Locke drowsily muttered.

"Ok, I will close the tavern and be up in a little, goodnight you two," she chuckled.

"Goodnight Atma," cried two voices in unison as she shut the door and headed back downstairs.

As Locke bedded down for the night he could not stop thinking about Marija. He had left her with Cain at his small house, thinking that she would be safe there. Now he wondered about the wisdom of his judgment. Oh well, he thought, nothing I can do about it now. He quickly dressed down to his woolen pants, lethargically climbed onto his cot, and pulled the thin sheet over him. "Good night sis," he said as he rolled over and shut his eyes. If she replied, it fell upon deaf ears, as Locke quickly fell asleep.

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The sun was suddenly very bright for him, as he arose from the soft grass he had been laying on. He looked around and saw he was in a beautiful meadow with a massive tree shading the spot he had been napping on. A dazzling river flowed as far as the eye could see, gently curving as it passed the tree and shimmered when it hit the sunlight. Gently rolling hills encompassed the small meadow, giving the impression of perfect isolation and serenity. A hushed shout reached his ears as he turned toward the source of the noise. He saw Marianna running toward him, waving her hands over her head. He waved back at her, although he got the impression that she was not just waving in greeting. Suddenly a dark flash echoed from behind the hill she was running away from. Suddenly he got a horrible vision of a vile wind eroding a beautiful palace to nothing, like a giant leach sucking the life out of everything. He shook his head and yelled out to Marianna, yet was mortified to realize that he was on top of a snowy plateau, with an unnatural storm raging around him. He could faintly hear the din of a huge battle raging over the detestable driving wind. He noticed a dark, horrible winged apparition approaching him from a distance, slowly stalking forward like a predator approaching its' kill. It wore black robes underneath twisted, dark gray plate mail. The apparition's glowing red eyes were the only discernable feature of its face due to it being hidden under the thing's huge hood. Yet the wings are what troubled him, those huge black wings that seemed to pulse with an eerie unnatural light. Suddenly the dark phantasm was swinging his seemingly huge black sword at him, and he blocked it, yet the sheer force of the blow knocked him down onto his feet. Suddenly he was exhausted, too exhausted to do anything but raise his head to look at his executioner and accept his fate. Suddenly Marianna burst from the storm and placed herself between him and that vile specter. Suddenly she was floating in the air, a wretched black blade protruding from her chest. He noticed her eyes, and the pain and sorrow that they carried as something was ripped out of her very being. He screamed in rage, horror, and utter disheartenment as his only support line was severed by this infernal phantom. He abruptly noticed a glowing red crystal shard sticking from the thing's chest and decided that it should the focus of his rage. He drew in all the energy around him, more than he could ever hope to skillfully wield, and focused all his hate at this thoroughly nefarious being and that wretched shard and just let go...

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"Wake up damn you!" Marianna cried as she held her younger sibling down as he continued to convulse on his bed. Atma ran into the room holding a pail and quickly heaved it's contents onto Locke and his distraught sister.

Locke quickly returned to reality as he sat up from the sudden shock of being instantly chilled to the bone. Soaked and shaking, he looked around the room frantically, still trying to discern fantasy from reality. He spotted his sister with tears running down her face, soaked and sobbing, kneeling next to his cot. He quickly swung his legs over toward her and embraced his hysterical sister, whispering in her ear in a futile attempt to calm her down. He glanced up at Atma and nodded his head in sympathetic thanks. She nodded her head in return and went downstairs to return the pale, shutting the door and letting them have some privacy for a while.

"You had another nightmare... didn't you?" Marianna asked sadly.

"Oh sis... I am so sorry," he said breathlessly

"It's ok, I just don't like to see you like... that," she muttered.

Locke ungracefully got off of his bed and pulled his sister closer to him, "It's ok now... don't worry, everything's alright." As he said this she brushed a tear away, and looked up at him with sad eyes. He glanced down at those eyes, the same eyes that had haunted him in his nightmare, and sadly shook his head in despair. He wanted so badly to tell her what he had seen, but that would upset her too badly at the moment judging from what she had just endured. He simply hugged her tighter to him, "Everything's all right now... don't cry anymore, ok?" he whispered hopefully. She mutely nodded and curled closer to him, se arching for comfort she desperately craved.

"I'll be ok now, I think... I'm gonna head back to bed," Marianna said quietly.

"Ok... hey, don't frown, it could get stuck that way," he smiled.

She abruptly began giggling, then looked at him and smiled, "You remember when Mom used to say that, don't you."

"Yeah, and it never fails to make you smile," he said chuckling.

She walked over to him and gave him a big hug, "Love ya, Locke."

"Love you too Mari."

Marianna playfully shoved him upon hearing this, "You know I hate being called that, now get to bed before I have to beat you up again," she said cheerfully.

"Oh, like that could ever happen," he said sarcastically.

"Don't make me," she said playfully threatening as she half turned and pointed at him.

He smiled in return, "Ok Mari," he whispered.

Locke rolled over and smiled in spite of what had just transpired. He eventually fell asleep, long after Atma and Marianna had drifted off, but all that he could think about were her eyes...

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Locke awoke the next morning and the dread of what had happened the night before was finally sinking in. Damn it, he thought, why is this happening to me? He cautiously got out of his cot, careful not to awake his still sleeping sister. He quickly donned his gear and belted on his Moonblade, checking that his armor was securely fastened. He glanced over at her when he had snuck over to the door and smiled, she looked so peaceful when she slept with her hair splayed all out over her pillow, and a slight smile twisting her lips.

He gently descended the stairs to find Atma playing barkeep to the early morning drinkers that had somehow stumbled into her tavern. He gave a quick wave as he headed out of the tavern into the near empty early morning streets. He paused for a breath of fresh air. I gotta talk to Cain about these dreams, he thought sadly as he began to wander toward Cain's home. Locke wandered the lonely streets, passing a few people, who just nodded and hurried on as he passed them. He unconsciously slipped his hand in his pocket and felt something cold. As he halted and slowly pulled the object out of his pocket, he was startled to find a beautiful amulet in the palm of his hand.

Oh damn, Marija must have slipped this in my pocket when... The memory came flooding back to him. He was having a chat with her in the small room that he had taken her to on the first night they had arrived, when she had brought up the fact that he had avoided answering why he had saved her. She had playfully pried the answer out of him, and had given him a very nice present. He reached up with his right hand and touched his lips. He could still feel them tingle just as they had when she had leaned toward him, her beautiful hair falling past her shoulders, her deep brown eyes sparkling as she stared at him. That and the feeling of his hand pressing on the back of her neck was still enough to cause him to shiver, even now.

Oh well, Locke thought as he stared down at his left hand, the amulet still innocently laying on his palm. The amulet was quite striking, with a beautiful sapphire shaped like a heart set on the bottom, while it had two masterfully sculpted wings jutting out from the sides of the gem, as if it were in mid-flight. Above that was a small mystic-fire topaz lined with silver, being supported by an intricate weave of gold, silver, and sapphire that gave the appearance of an hourglass with millions of blue grains of sand inside of it, some in mid-fall.

He carefully took the amulet and secured it around his neck, and felt a cold chill run through him. Must have been the cold, he thought dismissively as the amulet quickly warmed to the touch of his skin. I wonder if Marianna will like it... oh crap, Marianna. At the thought of his sister he remembered his dream and remembered what his urgent errand was. He began walking at a brisk pace toward Cain's humble abode, when he heard a shout echo through the chilly, morning air. He glanced around quickly and determined the direction the shout had come from. He set off at a run, but froze when he turned a corner and saw what had disturbed the lazy morning.

The woman's head slumped forward as the hooded figure wrenched his blade from his poor victim's back. As she fell to the ground, the murderous thing looked up at Locke, and let out a powerful whistle. Locke covered his ears, yet the whistle reminded him of a dream he had almost two weeks ago. He quickly drew his Moonblade and ran toward the perpetrator. "You are the one that we seek," the hooded creature whispered as it drew its' glowing obsidian longsword and snapped it into a guard. All of a sudden the ground began to shake, and everywhere around the enclosed market they were in, a great dust cloud rose into the sky, threatening to block out the sun. Locke quickly turned around and was startled as he faced a host of big, brutish creatures that stood as though human, yet resembled nothing of the sort. They were mostly covered in fur, except for their doglike faces and razor clawed hands. Their beady black eyes were set deeply above their long snouts which held four curved fangs. The inner pair facing toward the ground, and the outer pair facing skyward. "Attack my wretched Kragouri, rend him limb from limb!" The Kragouri host let out a long, blood chilling howl as they dropped down till all four feet touched the ground, and began their advance toward Locke.

"You will regret this, you foul creature," Locke spat at the hooded figure.

"You will make a meager meal for my master's pets, you sniveling little worm," the thing calmly stated.

"You can tell your master personally that I will survive to pay him a visit."

"I do not believe that he would wish to see you, now die you pathetic wretch!"

At this Locke broke into a run, fleeing from the approaching Kragouri. They beastly host howled and took off in pursuit of him. Locke quickly darted out of the marketplace around and corner and quickly tried to deduce the quickest way back the mercenaries' quarters. No, Marija is there, he thought in distress as the beasts pursuing him rounded the corner and yelped as they spotted him again. The docks! he thought suddenly, I can lure them into the water there, and with this mindset he suddenly bolted to the right, once again causing his pursuers to lose sight of him. He glanced behind him and coldly realized that with the rate the beasts were gaining on him, he wasn't going to make it to the docks alive.

Locke began muttering a spell causing his hands to begin glowing, quickly guessed at the range of his spell, and flung two fireballs up into the air ahead so they would arc forward before dropping. He glanced back at the rampant mob chasing him, and invoked a spell to help him gain some ground on them. Every time his feet hit the ground, silver sparks flew and a blue bootprint was left behind. Locke turned a corner and the Kragouri were about to follow him, when the fireballs Locke had launched earlier rained down on two unlucky beasts causing them to fall, tripping or lighting on fire those unfortunate enough to be behind them.

The bests howled in protest and pain as they stamped out burning fur and picked themselves up off the ground. A slightly larger Kragouri with a patch of fur burned off of his left shoulder, and a golden amulet set with a flawless ruby hung around his neck, let out a harsh bark. He started off with the other four beasts whom had fallen from Locke's magical ambush, either from being hit, or tripped.

Oh shit, Locke thought as he turned another corner and came to a dead end. A large crack in the wall showed that the other side held the way to the docks. He quickly glanced behind him and felt a cold pit in his stomach as the ravenous mob rounded the corner not twenty-five feet away from him. As he approached the wall an idea dawned on him and he leaped into the air. Locke slammed into the wall, yet somehow managed to grab the lip of the wall instead of crashing down to a most certain and horrible doom. He swung his legs and vaulted over the wall, and when he hit the ground his feet were already moving. About three seconds after that the Kragouri blasted through the wall, reducing it to rubble by a stampede of rampaging beasts.

The Kragouri barked and yelped in surprise as they tumbled off the docks and into the crystal clear water of the ocean. Several blue shafts flew in rapid succession at the floundering mob, causing a few to vanish underwater. Locke looked to his right and spotted Marija with Marianna wielding her bow and a couple of city guards, loosing another volley at the beasts. I tried to keep her safe too, and look what happens, he thought as a bolt of thunder arced down at the drenched wretched beasts. He glanced down as the beasts shook in the water from the phenomenal amount of electricity coursing through their bodies.

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Marianna had awoken to the sound of the second-story door closing. What... she thought absently as she sat up and glanced around, her long raven hair falling past her shoulders just long enough to barely cover her breasts. I hope Locke's alright, she said as she noticed her brother's cot vacant, with the sheet halfway thrown on the floor. She got out of bed, and stumbled to the bath, nearly falling in. A nice long bath, then I'll go looking for him, she thought as she remembered what had transpired the night before. Marianna was tired, because after Locke's episode she had gotten some broken sleep, constantly being awoken by her own nightmares. She slowly eased herself into the steaming tub of water after it had finished filling. Thank you Atma, she thought graciously. Atma had taken it upon herself to heat and bring food and hot water for her every morning, not that she couldn't do it herself, but because Atma was trying to repay her for saving the world from the evil clutches of Baal. Locke had blatantly refused to be pampered, preferring to go and eat his meals with the mercenaries or with that peculiar girl Marija that held his fancy. And if he is not with her, then I will have to go and talk with her. With that decided she finished her bath, taking her time of course, got dressed, donned her gear, and headed out for the mercenaries quarters.

"Well, do you know where she is now," Marianna inquired of a grisly mercenary sitting at a table drinking their sixteenth beer of the morning.

"Thee, uh... purty un?" The drunk slurred.

She shook her head in frustration "Yes, the pretty one, where did she go."

"Thaet frend uv yurs tuk herr to thaat... Caines howse..."

"Thank you ever so much," she said in disgust as he belched and abruptly passed out, making a loud thud in the process of causing himself even more brain damage.

Just the place I wanted to spend my morning, she thought sadly as she wandered out of the mercenaries quarters towards Cain's house. She heard a shout and vaguely wondered what it could have been. It sounded like it came from over there, she thought glancing over toward where Cain's house lay. Might as well check on the way, she thought when suddenly a huge dust cloud rose up like a huge creature blotting out the sun. Dry thunder shook the ground, Locke, she thought suddenly. She quickly sprinted forward toward the source of the disturbance. When she had reached the place she turned a corner and looked around a small marketplace where the event had transpired, yet she only saw a woman facedown on the ground, still and unmoving. She also noticed the puddle of blood she was laying in. Marianna ran over to the woman and knelt down beside her. She rolled the corpse over and was saddened to see a beautiful girl lying with a look of shock and emptiness splayed across her face. She also noticed a horrible stab wound and quickly assessed the cause of death. I must find Marija... she must be with Locke, she thought hopefully. Once again, she sprinted off in the direction of Cain's home.

She never stopped running as she blasted through the door. Cain and Marija looked at her as though death had darkened their doorstep, yet quickly realized it was Marianna.

"Locke's in trouble, come with me Marija!" she said quickly as she turned to leave again.

"Wait..." Marija said with a confused look upon her face.

"No time, hurry!"

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Marija was startled by Marianna busting down Cain's door and demanding that she leave immediately because of Locke. Even her attempt to try and get an explanation from her only resulted in her yelling a response as she sprinted out the door.

"Now remember Marija, you must precisely speak every word or the spell will backfire, killing you and anyone remotely near you." Cain said cautiously as Marija got up and quickly began gathering her things.

"I know Cain, and thank you for spending you time with me," she said hurriedly as she rushed out the door.

"Once again, the pleasure was all mine." he said to no one in particular, for Marija had already fled his dwelling as though Sand Maggots had suddenly risen from the floor.

Marija quickly caught up to Marianna, "Where is Locke?" she said breathing irregularly.

"I don't know, I was hoping that you would know!" Marianna said with a slight pang of distress.

"I was hoping that he was with you!" she said with the same tone of voice as her companion.

"Well, lets ask Meshif is he's seen him," she said hopefully.

"Ok, lead the way."

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"Finally!" Marianna cried as she spotted Meshif wandering along the docks, hollering at a group of lazy dockworkers, most of whom sulked away back to their tasks mumbling unhappily.

"Hey Meshif, have you seen my little brother anywhere?"

"You mean Locke? No I haven't seen him, why do you ask?"

"Well..."

At that moment a horrendous crash sounded off to their left. They all turned to see a mob of huge furry brutish creatures running headlong into the ocean. Marianna quickly drew her bow, grabbed a handful of arrows, and skillfully loosed them at the squirming figures in the water. Several shafts struck heads and throats, causing more than one beast to gurgle as they disappeared from the land of the living. Suddenly she heard Marija chanting and gesturing toward the floating creatures, and quickly covered her ears right before a thunderous crack split the air, like a giants whip cracking overhead. She saw the creatures convulsing in the water, shaking from the sickeningly immense amount of electricity frying them from the inside out.

She heard a roar from behind her and turned just in time to see a huge beast, larger than the ones in the water, swat her aside like a tiny insect. Her body slammed against a crate, shattering it while burying her under the rubble in the process. She struggled to sit up, and she noticed the behemoth advancing upon her brother, who just stared at it in brave defiance. She wanted to scream at him to run but her head suddenly became very light. The last thing she remembered before darkness took her was a strange glowing amulet hanging from her little brother's neck...

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I'm deeply sorry for my story temporarily being offline. I have posted the reason why on my profile. Plus, I would just like to remind everyone that I feel bad for not having Chapter 3 done by now. I have just had a lot of stuff come up lately.