One last Rescue
"Your Mother seems to be cutting things pretty close," Gwyndion gasped. The air inside the sealed vault was becoming thinner and thinner. All three men were slumped against the wall right next to the door.
"Sorry to have done this to you Gwyndion," Meridion said. "I should never have asked your help."
"Stuff it Meridion," Gwyndion said, weakly throwing a handful of dirt at the Lord. "You needed me and that's all there is to it."
"It is I who should be apologizing," Rial said. He had been slipping in and out of consciousness for a while now. The two men never knew when the Lirin was actually aware of what was going on.
"This is none of our faults," Gwyndion stated flatly. "We have all been pawns of fate here and all left powerless to fight against it."
There was a long silence before Gwyndion put in his last two cents, "but it would be nice if fate could get us out of here."
Grunthor was pacing back and forth in front of the door he had locked several ours ago. He was becoming very agitated. Meridion was right; as soon as he had told Grunthor that he planed on having himself and Duke Gwyndion locked inside there with the demon, he refused to be any part in it.
It had taken a long time for Meridion to persuade him to agree to it. Grunthor had planned on opening the door as soon as he was sure that they had had enough time to take care of the demon, (of course he still wasn't sure how Meridion had planed on doing that). But Meridion had caught him just before they set their plan in motion and forced the Sergeant Major to swear on the Earth Child that he wouldn't open the door until Achmed showed up.
There was a huge risk. They weren't even sure if the King had survived, let alone if he was on his way or not.
So now he paced, just feet away from his suffocating friends, bound by an oath that he was loath to keep. But the one time that he had approached the door to let them out, against his oath, the Earth became like fire beneath his feet and the wind seemed have been kick out of him as the Earth screamed its displeasure. It appeared that the Child was going to hold him to his oath, weather he wanted or no.
"We're almost there," Achmed said to the fainting Rhapsody in his arms. She was barely able to stay awake from moment to moment, but Achmed knew that it was pure exhaustion. She had no hint of a taint from a demon and she had no injuries. She was just starved and weary.
"You'll be fine once you get a meal and are able to sleep for the next week," He told her, both for her benefit as well as his own. He couldn't help being reminded of the last time that he had ridden with her fainting in his arms. It had been a much more serious condition that time as she was near death.
But he knew that she was going to be alright. Though the faster he got her back to Ylork, the better… he hoped.
There was still the issue of the F'dor that was in his kingdom. After what happened the last time he used the Thrall to destroy a F'dor, he was justly worried about having to do it again. Now that he knew of the risk that there was to him, he was loath to go through it again.
He swore that he would never go through what he experienced in the Veil again. If ever he was taken by a F'dor again, that was it. He knew of many easy ways to end his own life and he wouldn't hesitate.
Rhapsody would be pained for it, but she would survive and it would probably be better for her in the long run to not have to see him suffer like that again.
Of course there was what the Lady had told him before he left the veil that made him having to end his life himself unlikely.
"This experience has changed you more than you might realize, child of blood," The Lady said to him one day after he had regained consciousness.
"What do you mean?" he demanded.
"In the process of removing the demon from your blood, much of that which it was able to bind to was removed as well."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning that you are not the same man who entered this Veil. Most of your Firbolg half has been removed with the demon. Had I not been so pressed with time, I may have been able to be more precise with the extraction, but as it was, I did the best that I could."
At first he didn't feel anything about this but as the thought that part of himself had been lost, he wasn't so sure how to react. He had always been ashamed of his Firbolg half; it had been a hindrance in his ability to perform the Thrall. It had been the cause of much of his nightmarish appearance. But it was being raised by the Bolg that had instilled in him his great sense of survival. It was the Bolg who he now ruled over and whom he now had all of his sense of responsibility tied to.
It suddenly struck him how much he had come to care for that side of him. And now it was taken.
"Just because you no longer contain as much of their blood, it does not make you any less of who you have been. It is our experiences and our hearts which make us who we are, not our blood. This may be a hard concept for you to understand, being so innately tied to blood, but some day I am sure that you will understand this."
Withdrawing into his now tumultuous thoughts, Achmed nodded absently to the Lady.
"But there is one thing that you must understand this also means," the Lady continued. "Because it was mixed nature of you heredity that kept you alive long enough for me to remove the demon, it is unlikely that I will be able to save you a second time should you ever become possessed again."
He shook off the memory. It didn't mean anything. If there was a demon in his kingdom, he had to destroy it, no matter what the risks.
This was the last thought he had before he finally caught a glimpse of his kingdom. He would know his fate soon enough.
"Sir," Gurg called, running down the tunnels of the hand to reach Grunthor. "The King has returned. The scouts spotted him and Lady Rhapsody on their way. They should be riding in any minute now," the runner gasped excitedly as he skidded to a halt in front of Grunthor.
"Stay here," the Sergeant said to Gurg as he strode purposefully out of the hand and towards the entrance to the cauldron.
Achmed came pounding right up to the entrance to the caves, vaulting from the horse while he made sure that Rhapsody was not going to fall off as he did so. As his feet hit the ground, Grunthor reached the entrance himself.
"It's 'bout bloody time," he called to the King.
Ignoring Grunthor's apparent agitation, Achmed reached up and hauled the exhausted Rhapsody from the saddle as he said, "Where is the beast?"
"The Duchess' stupid son trapped it an' 'imself alon' wi' Duke Gwyndion in the Finder's vault yesterday." The Giant replied rapidly.
"Hreken," Achmed swore, now holding Rhapsody in his arms.
"'Ee made me swear not to open the door until ya got back," the Giant continued, but was obviously now concerned with the state that Rhapsody was in.
"Wha' the 'ell 'appened ta 'er?" he demanded.
"She's fine, just needs some food and sleep," Achmed answered. "Is there anyone else down there right now?" Achmed asked.
"Oi left Gurg there when 'ee came ta tell me you were 'ere."
"Good, take Rhapsody and see that she's fed and in bed. Looks like I have another demon to take care of."
As Grunthor took the sleeping Lady from Achmed, a brief look exchanged between them. The Sergeant didn't have to say it, but he still did.
"Be car'ful sir. An' bring 'em out o' there."
Achmed nodded, and strode towards the hand.
A few moments later, Achmed stood before the entrance to the Finder's vault, full of dread. Never before had he been so fearful coming into a confrontation with a F'dor, but never before had he realized how dangerous it was. There was always a level of danger in it, but now he knew exactly how vulnerable he was in this situation and it made his blood run cold. He had spent his whole life making himself less vulnerable, and now…
Gurg stood, hands on the latch, waiting for the King's signal to open the vault. Achmed could faintly sense that Meridion was still barely alive inside. After all, he did have just enough Cymrian blood in him for Achmed to be able to feel his heartbeat. But beyond that, he had no idea of what to expect.
He wasn't even able to tell if the still living Meridion was the demon or not. He wouldn't know until the door was opened and he was able to get a clear scent for the F'dor.
Taking one last breath to steady his nerve, Achmed nodded to Gurg to open the hatch, it was now or never.
Rial had long been passed out after all that he had been through and was now breathing continually thinning air. Gwyndion and Meridion were now on the edge of losing consciousness themselves as they sat next to each other, drooped against the wall.
"I think," Meridion panted. "I remember feeling this way before."
It took a few moments for Gwyndion to respond. "Of course… you do… Right after you… were born… you nearly suffocated inside… your grandfather."
"Ironic… I nearly suffocated coming into… the world… And that's… how… I… le…" And he lost consciousness.
"Leave," Gwyndion finished for him as he felt the world fading from him as well.
Gurg heaved at the heavy door, swinging it open as fast as he could. Without a break, Achmed charged into the vault, searching with his senses for some sign of the demon.
He nearly tripped over the form of Rial, as he entered the room. Achmed bent over the still form, searching for some sign that he might still have the demon within him, but could find none.
"Nice of you to join us," A thin voice rasped from against the wall next to the door.
Shifting his focus, Achmed laid eyes first on Gwyndion and then Meridion who was slumped next to him. Neither of the men had any taint of demon to them.
"Where's the demon?" he asked.
Gwyndion kicked his foot a fraction, causing his toe to tap a slightly red hugged jewel.
Achmed's eyes doubled in size as he realized what he was looking at. "Where did you get that?"
"It's a long story," Meridion muttered as he slowly began to regain consciousness.
"Always is," Gwyndion said with a slight smile.