Plans made
Meridion had just made it in to the thrown room himself when Gurg appeared with the Duke in tow. Before Meridion could say anything, Gwyndion briskly approached the Lord Cymrian saying, "Meridion, what the hell is going on around here."
Suddenly Meridion's greatest fears were relieved. That was defiantly Gwyndion and not another Demon.
"Gwyndion, I can't tell you how glad I am that you're here," Meridion said as he grabbed the Duke in a quick embrace, completely throwing Gwyndion off guard.
"Meridion," he said confused. "Please, what is going on? Where is Achmed and Rhapsody? And where the hell have you been? You just disappeared one night from High Meadow and no one has any idea where you went to."
"It's a long story and I'll have to ask your forgiveness in telling you the short version, but there is little time."
Nodding, Gwyndion walked with Meridion to take two seats by the cold fireplace. Apparently no one had bothered to light it with not a single monarch or second in command around for the last few days.
"First of all," Meridion began. "I need to know why you are here." It was still a questioned that bothered him. He had had no hint that Gwyndion was on his way when he had looked into the future and couldn't figure why he would appear now.
"I was in Navarne about two days ago walking with Melly, as I usually do in the afternoons, when I suddenly felt a change in the wind. I felt as if I was being called to Ylork, though I wasn't sure if I was just imagining it or not. But I had to find out. I have never heard the Kinsman call before, but I was afraid that it might be it. I knew that Rhapsody was supposed to be in Ylork by now and I was afraid that she may be in trouble."
Meridion sighed, it wasn't what he had expected, but nothing ill seemed to be going on. "No, it wasn't the Kinsman call, Gwyndion, but it was a call for help all the same. I think that you sensed through the wind my need for help when I was looking into time towards the mountain. I had seen some things come about that would ruin all and didn't know how I was ever going to be able to stop it. Your arrival may just be the extra help that I needed."
"Meridion, again, I ask what is going on?"
"Nearly a week ago, Achmed was kidnapped from Ylork by myself under Thrall of F'dor," Meridion held his hand up to stop Gwyndion from asking about the details. "I'm sorry, but as I said before, there is little time to fill you in on everything, just listen to what I have to say. Rhapsody arrived here shortly after and took Omet with her to bring Achmed back. She was able to rescue him and myself but Omet was killed in the process." Meridion paused for a moment and Gwyndion let out a startled gasp.
It was the first time that Meridion had had any time to reflect on that moment and realized that none of them had had any time to grieve yet.
Shaking himself, Meridion continued, "During his capture, Achmed found out that there were three F'dor working together. We killed one on our escape and we hurried to the Nain capital to destroy another, which we did with the help of Grunthor who meet us on the way. But Achmed became ill and Rhapsody had to take him to the Veil of Hoen,"
Gwyndion could hardly contain himself, he dearly wanted to know what it was that could have made King Achmed ill enough to need to go to the Veil. But Meridion pressed on, leaving the duke no opportunity to ask questions.
"That was when I discovered that the third demon was already here, in Ylork."
Here Meridion paused. He wondered in Gwyndion had even suspected that Rial was not who he seemed to be.
Before Meridion could tell him who the F'dor was, Gwyndion said, "Rial… The F'dor in Rial, isn't it?"
Meridion nodded. "I wondered why he was here. He said he was looking for Rhapsody, but there was something about the way he said it that didn't sound right. It was almost as if he had known that Rhapsody wouldn't be here."
"That's right. It had been the F'dor's plan to take my mother as host and kill both myself and Achmed in the process. I don't think that Rial's demon knows that the plan failed yet. I was hoping to catch him off guard and possibly use his lack of knowledge against him."
"But what can we do?" Gwyndion asked. "Without Achmed, there's no way that we will be able to defeat the demon."
"Peace Gwyndion, there is a way; I am just reluctant to share it… yet. I have a plan, but I believe that it has much more of a chance now that you are here. The Archons should be arriving here any minute and then I will say what we are to do."
The following morning, Rial entered the thrown room to confront Meridion.
"May I ask what the Lord Cymrian is doing here in Ylork?" he said with just barely continued furry as his escort left the two alone.
"Lord indeed," Meridion scoffed, trying to use the hollow voice that he had heard himself use when in Thrall by the F'dor. "Don't worry brother; the plan went as we had hoped. I just altered it a little."
"Then the Lady is ours?"
"She is. It was all too easy. I wonder if we even needed to kill the Bolg king to gain her, but, no matter, she is now one of us and there is no one left alive who can stop us."
"And the Lord?" Rial asked, eyeing Meridion critically.
"Makes a perfect puppet."
Rial stared at Meridion for a moment longer before relaxing and continuing. "I do believe you are right. These monsters have been awfully difficult. Apparently at least some of them know that there is something important here to protect. They haven't let me out of their sight for a moment."
"Yes, a few of them are aware what is hidden. But they trust the Lord. I should have no problem getting you to the child."
"Then you know where she sleeps?"
"I know what the Lord Cymrian knows," Meridion answered.
"Then let us go to her," Rial said with a wicked grin.
Nodding, Meridion passed by the demon, leading him out and into the cauldron. He led the demon down many twists and turns, down many darkened and rarely used passageways until they came to the Hand. As they Paused for a second in the palm, Rial said, "It would have taken me years to find this place."
"Of course it would. Do you think that the King wanted someone to just be able to stumble upon the Child?" Without waiting for and answer, Meridion pressed on, choosing the finger of the hand which deadened in Finder's vault. They had just entered the room when the heavy door clanged shut behind them.
Spinning around, Rial demanded, "What is this?"
"I believe it is called a trap," Gwyndion said as he stepped from the shadows where he had been hiding.
"This place is just about the only place in the mountain that can be locked from the outside and has no way of escape once you are in it," Meridion said, dropping his act as a Thrall.
As Meridion said this, they could hear the bolts from the outside sliding into place, sealing any exit.
You fools, what do you hope to accomplish by trapping me in here? I am an immortal being, where as, though you Lord Meridion are long lived, are still mortals. I will kill you both and when your friends open the vault to let you out, there will only be me."
"Who said anything about ever opening the vault?" Gwyndion said as he drew his sword.
For the first time, a sense of fear shown in the Demon's eyes. "You can't be serious? Two of the nobles of the Cymrian alliance, one being the Lord himself, would allow themselves to be locked inside a Bolg Vault for all eternity?"
"That's the difference between us and you. We understand that there are greater things than ourselves and if sacrificing our lives is what will rid the world of one more demon, then we are ready to do so," Meridion replied, drawing his own sword.
"So what do you plan on doing now? Kill me then wait for your slow deaths of either hunger, dehydration, or suffocation? What good are your pitiful little swords going to be against me? You have no Dhracian; you have no way to kill me. Strike me down and I will only take you, and send your souls to the Vault."
"We may not have a Dhracian, but that doesn't mean no one here has control of the wind," Gwyndion yelled as the air in the Vault began swirling, catching up the dust and dirt that had collected there over the centuries of neglect.
The demon froze as he realized what the Duke was doing. He could physically see by the swirling dust that the man was building a crude replica of the wind cage that a Dhracian would make in a Thrall ritual. It may not be nearly as strong and exact, but it just might be able to hold him long enough for them to destroy him.
Running out of options, the Demon drew his own black sword as he prepared to release his hold on his body before the Duke could tighten his grip.
Suddenly, Meridion rushed him, knocking the black sword from his grip before the demon had time to react. The air now pressed against the F'dor, keeping him from releasing his metaphysical ties to his body. He was trapped both metaphysically by the wind and physically by the Lord who had him braced against the wall with his own body.
The Lord glared at him for a moment, sensing that the F'dor had no where to run now. "Go ahead boy, strike me down. Kill me!" the demon screamed.
"I have better plans for you," he said, pulling something free from his shirt.
All the demon could see at first was that the Lord was pulling a long leather thong that hung around his neck up. There was some heavy weight that was being drawn up at the bottom of the loop.
Suddenly the dimly lit vault flashed with a blinding brilliance as the weight came free. The demon's eyes bulged with unbelieving fear.
"It can't be," he gasped.
Meridion grinned as he pulled the pendant free from his head and threw it around the demon's. "A live Diamond; a living piece of starlight. I believe it's the only element that you are susceptible to and the only vessel that one of your kind is able to be trapped in," Meridion gloated as be backed away.
He could tell that Gwyndion was losing control over the small amount of air that he had to work with inside of the vault. There was no more time to gloat over this demon.
"Oelyndra!" Meridion called, bringing a blinding white flash from the diamond that now hung around the demon's neck. In the moment of blindness, Gwyndion and Meridion heard the demon howl in agony.
When their eyes were once again cleared, they watched him slump to the floor, with a now brilliantly red jewel appearing to sear itself into his chest.
Meridion rush forward and used the edge of his blade to pry the heated gem from the man's flesh, leaving behind a red burn that was quickly blackening around the edges. As the jewel came free, the man screamed in pain; not the same demonic scream that they had heard when flash blinded them, but a pure human cry of pain and anguish.
"Rial!" Meridion called as he dropped to the floor and caught the man up in his arms. He placed his hand over the wound that still smoldered on his chest, using his water lore to quench and sooth the burn.
Rial now hung in his arms, sobbing. "It's alright now Rial, the demon is gone," Gwyndion said, coming up next to them.
"I… couldn't stop it. I tried, I really did. It was just too strong," Rial was saying through his tear and pain filled voice.
"We know… We know," Meridion was saying. "It wasn't your fault Rial. You're free now. The demon is gone."
It was some time before either Gwyndion or Meridion were able to get Rial to calm down. Not surprising given all that the man had gone through. Eventually they were able to discover that he had only been host to the creature since the Moot; The Nain king had introduced him to Gyrlyth who had somehow gotten him alone and drugged him.
That was the last thing Rial could remember until he was able to sense the demon. Apparently the demon didn't make an effort to destroy Rial's mind like other F'dor do. He had just simply allowed him to watch through his own eyes helplessly as he went about his mission.
"Rial, do you know if that was all of the F'dor?" Meridion asked. He knew from Gyrlyth that there had originally only been the four, Heiles, Jewel, Gyrlyth and Rial. But if Rial had only been a host for a short time, the other one had to have come from somewhere and it was always possible that another demon could be out there.
"If you have already seen to Jewel and Gyrlyth, then mine was the last," Rial confirmed.
"At least of this little group," Gwyndion muttered. "There always seem to be more."
"Yes," Meridion said. "But as far as we know, they are not of an immediate threat."
Suddenly Rial gasped and became very agitated, "The Queen!" he cried. "What about Queen Rhapsody, your mother? Is she alright? She didn't come back with you!"
"As far as I know she's fine, Rial," Meridion said. "It was King Achmed that was injured and my mother took him to the Veil of Hoen."
"That's why you had to find another way to kill the demon," Rial whispered as he settled once again. "What happen?" Rial asked.
"It is a long story," Meridion said.
"Well, it looks like we are going to have time to tell it now, My Lord," Gwyndion smile sarcastically. "After all, it was you who told Grunthor not to open the vault until Achmed returns."
Rial looked at the Lord Cymrian with a look of surprise and mild awe, "So you really did plan on remaining trapped in here?"
"It was the only way that we could ensure that the demon couldn't give us the slip," Meridion answered. "If Achmed makes it, he should be able to tell if any of us has become the demon or not. And then there would be a Dhracian around to finish the job."
"Of course there is no way of knowing if Achmed is even alright or if he'll be able to get here before we die of starvation or suffocation," Gwyndion said.
Meridion sighed, "I know, but it was the only way."
"I not blaming you, just pointing out the flaw in this plan," Gwyndion grinned. He had no doubt that they were not going to die in there. Rhapsody would show up if nothing else. After all, her own son was trapped inside. He would like to see Grunthor try and stop her from opening the door.
It was the last comforting thought he had before he caught sight of the eerily glowing red diamond that lay a few feet away from him. Suddenly the thought of being trapped inside a sealed room with demon nearby didn't seem very appealing anymore.