Part III

Glarald is still coming. Ominously, a torrent of force starts to surround the party. The entire church structure begins to unsettle, and stones that have stood for hundreds of years begin to shift. The hours are pressing in, shadows move above the clouds, and a black, dread mist pools from the tree line. The party starts to feel light-headed, like when the pressure drops right before a hurricane. Their feet feel like lead blocks as the presence of true terror washes over the cobblestones of the basement floor. Everyone glances nervously at Drexx as a smile breaks out over his face.

In his youthful vigor, Drexx looks out upon the gathered horde of adventurers. "You should know the truth," he begins. "It will give you peace of mind to know who has been your patron all this time. I am Alrud Rexxium Derimore, first son of the Godking Everbrude Derimore. My father was a conqueror of the sea god Caliph. He smashed the power of the orc hordes and scattered them in the great mountains that he himself birthed. The two of us stood together and faced down the mighty Red Dragon Ferroux-Maul. He never faltered in his fight against the Demon Goddess of the Underworld, Lloth. He only ever faltered in the face of love. I have no love in this world, so I cannot falter. Take heart, little ones. We will win this day... most of us. Now. Move quickly, my brother is looking to make an entrance!"

Alrud, once known as Drexx to the heroes, leads the way up from the basement and outside the church doors where the lich Glarald waits for them. The building shudders and falls down around them as they try to escape the falling rubble. Once they are outside, Keen Bill appeals to Alrud to behave kindly to them, as they've been nothing but amenable to all of his tasks that he's asked of them. Ignoring Bill, Alrud turns and addresses the lich who looms beyond the boundaries of the church. "Veisig! Today you have made your final insult to me. I would never seek to hurt you. But you have fallen so far, and your lusts I cannot fulfill. Leave now, and I offer you safe passage to any hole on the continent."

The lich, whose full name is Veisig Laral Derimore, lowers his head in consideration and turns to look back the way he came... In that brief moment when their eyes no longer lock, Alrud unleashes a flurry of somatic gestures and intonations. Four mammoth balls of fire appear high above Veisig, falling at a devastating speed. All four strike with pinpoint accuracy on the dessicated form of Alrud's younger brother. The dull duskblade in Veisig's hand rises to the magical attack, and one by one the sword deftly rends them apart. The blade cools and, undamaged, starts to scream in the minds of everyone who witnessed. Eli recognizes the toning screams from under the Tower of the Lily when their friend Vaaris fell to the dreaded gelatinous ooze. The soul of their comrade is once again bound to an implement of destruction.

Veisig raises his chin in defiance as he offers his own warning. "Brother," he drawls. "I see we are ever the coward. Striking only when you perceive weakness. Yet look how you surround yourself with weakness and fear. Are these mortals to intimidate me? I wield the blade of our mother. Our sister Cannus was so good to give it to me. Well, no, that's not right... Cannus was so accommodating to let me pull it from her bloody, dying fingers. It's just you and me now. I come for Mother. Give her to me, and I might let you live after I flay the flesh from your pets." Lightning arcs from the palms of the lich, striking and bouncing off of an invisible shield protection Alrud and chaining to hit Bill, Otsea, and Loci in turn. Veisig then drops shimmering glamours from four ogre skeletons. The inevitable moment has arrived…battle begins!

Keen Bill shouts out an order to everyone to concentrate fire on the ogres. Alrud immediately turns invisible, much to the concern of the entire party, but he also sends an attack at the ogres, along with the rest of the heroes. Ronin then steps forward with his Staff of the Python and cries out, "Come forth, Snuggle Pumpkin!" An enormous milk snake takes the place of the staff, and Ronin commands it to advance on Veisig. Nameless casts invisibility upon Zandor and himself, allowing the gnome to run up with the mirror and begin focusing his mental energies on channeling the portal into existence. Grabbing the edge of the mirror glass, he conjures an image of a cracked, desolate basin in his mind. The mirror begins to display a faint image of a place that once held plentiful water but now is barren, no life visible. Regrettably, as Zandor calls it forth, his strength fails him, and the plane does not open.

As Snuggle Pumpkin advances on Veisig, the lich steps up to the snake and reaches out with a paralyzing touch toward the serpent. Snuggle Pumpkin instantly freezes, unable to reach the lich to restrict his movements and buy Zandor more time to open the portal. Veisig locks eyes with Bosnun, and the others can see his lips moving but hear no words. Inside Bosnun's mind, he can hear Veisig whisper, "Good sir, make all of your friends bleed. Thank you." The fighter feels compelled to attack his friends lest his mind become wracked with unbearable pain. The heroes now must deal with a deadly goliath in addition to the lich and ogres.

Invisibly, Alrud yells out, "Fools! Open the portal!" Ronin casts a wall of fire around Veisig to halt his impending approach. As the fire swirls in and surrounds the lich, everyone can see the shimmering damage hit a duplicate, and Veisig steps aside, unharmed. While the other heroes take out the ogres, Zandor makes a second attempt to open the mirror. He reaches into his mind to find plumes of fire, and the portal begins to glisten and grow. The gnome can feel heat pouring around him as it opens, and plumes of toxic gas flood onto the field. From the other side of the portal, shadows turn dark eyes toward the battle. A sense of urgency to send Veisig through to the demi-plane rises in the heroes, as they do not wish to encounter any of these dark creatures should they decide to enter the material plane.

Veisig casts a spell, winking out of existence, then steps through a dimensional door beside Bill. Otsea uses her gift from the Oracle to teleport Zandor holding the mirror, dropping him and the demi-glass on top of Veisig. In an extraordinary display of dexterity, the lich dodges out of the way at the last second, and Zandor crashes to the ground. Eli rushes up to Veisig and strikes him with his ambient sword. In response, Veisig paralyzes the halfling. Ronin uses his own dimensional door to drop Zandor, again, onto Veisig, but the lich miraculously dodges once more. Veisig draws the duskblade that he stole from Silk, who turns out to have been his sister, Cannus, this whole time. With a powerful swing, he thrusts the blade into the mirror, shattering it to pieces. As the heroes collectively stare in dismay at what they believed to be the only way of defeating Veisig broken upon the ground, Alrud shouts out, "You're doing great, guys. Keep it up!" His encouragement does little to ease the bewilderment of the heroes, who begin to wonder what Alrud's true plan is. A shattering sound rips through reality, and cracks in space and time appear all over the battlefield. Loci, Bosnun, and Snuggle Pumpkin are unlucky enough to be standing too near a rift and tumble into the fissures. Ronin casts a second dimensional door to save Loci and deposits the minotaur right next to Veisig. With a mighty swing of his greataxe, Loci slashes the blade into the lich and then uses his horns to shove the lich toward a nearby rift. Veisig's balance falters for a moment before he digs his heels into the ground with legendary athleticism to resist the minotaur's effort.

Suddenly, a shimmering veil appears behind Nameless, and Queen Silk appears, well and alive. Her true name is Cannus, sister to fraternal enemies Alrud and Veisig. Shaking slightly with fear, Nameless turns his upper body toward Cannus and hesitantly stretches out a hand, his palm open to her. Cannus takes the outstretched hand in her own. Drawing close to his body, she takes from Nameless' bag the matte circlet crown recovered from the dragon hoard and places it in his other hand. Standing regally, Nameless places the crown upon his head. His body shines with a radiant aura, blinding everyone on the battlefield. All present avert their eyes due to the intensity of the light. As the light fades, a man emerges from Nameless as a snake shedding its skin. His appearance is a paradox, ancient and youthful, his skin retaining a glow. Stepping free of his former shell, he bears thick, finely-crafted and heavily-used armor upon his person. It seems impossibly heavy, yet he moves forward effortlessly, every step with intention, radiating tremendous power. On his belt, swings a small figurine, a miniature Nameless. His intense gaze surveys the scene around him. "Alrud. Veisig. Cease this nonsense. I live."

Veisig stares in disbelief. "Who…who are you? Surely not. Cannus, why are you standing with that creature?! How? How is this possible? Father?"

"Veisig, you were so young when I left you. Your mother and I did what we could to keep you safe. But you have let your siblings' anger at your mother consume you. Let it go. Lay down your blade."

Alrud interjects, "You great fool, Veisig! That isn't Father. Father is dead! For hundreds of years now. Cannus has always been soft. She would cling to a pretender."

"Alrud, you have always been so impulsive. My mind warms at remembering the boy you were, sheltered behind me, slightly singed, but no worse for the wear after your foolhardy solo charge at a great red dragon. Behold! Your father stands before you! See the jagged scar from your mother's drow blade. Now, please hand me my lovely flower. My beloved Be'llosh."

Alrud screams, "NO! No, no, no. I was there! I saw it happen… her blade. The witch stole everything from us. Don't you see? I have to punish her."

"Many have perished for me to find this torn strip of vellum." Derimore pulls a small slip of scroll with writing on it from a pocket and closes it tightly in his hand. "Read it and understand."

Alrud then opens his own hand to find the missing piece of the letter that describes how his father was cocooned in a veil as he lay dying, neither passing nor returning. "Hahahahaha, it's too perfect. Too perfect. The scar, the stories. Cannus and Veisig. Lies, all lies. You had me for a moment, I admit. But you dare beyond your depth. ALL OF YOU ARE TO BLAME! ALL OF YOU WILL DIE FOR THIS DECEIT. I would have all of you join Be'llosh in her eternal torture. But instead the worms will help you feed this field." A thin green ray emits from Alrud's finger, a force of death and disintegration amplified over and over as he raises more fingers, every one tipped with the green light. The focus of each ray one of the Heroes of Hilvada. The raw damage of this level of spell would guarantee each adventurer an instant death as their component atoms separate and fall as grey dust to the earth.

"De se, plurimos erunt!" Derimore creates eight clones of himself, each one grabbing a party member. "Tempus tuam!" Time freezes, and green rays of death stop just short of hitting the heroes. Everyone who Derimore touches is able to move and hear his words to them. "Greetings. My time is short for, despite a century since my awakening, I'm only at about a third of my strength, and these spells are quite taxing. I am Everbrude of House Derimore, the Dread GodKing! But you, my friends, may call me Bru. I am sorry you have been pulled into my family's sorrow." While addressing the group, Bru walks over to Veisig and takes the duskblade from his now inanimate hand. As he wipes his hand down the length of the blade, a shimmering soul lies in his hand, and he whispers, "Vaaris. Go. Be free." Next he walks over to Alrud, speaking. "A ruthless warrior mage, I conquered the continent you know as Hildan with little regard for those upon whom I tread." He takes the flower, Shelbol, and walks back to Cannus. The group hears the mutterings of the flower as it waves, under its own power. As Bru moves, the light shining from his skin seems to be waning. "The gleeful slaughter of my enemies and cruelty of my rule left a great debt to pay to the gods. They sought my life through their servant, my great love, Be'llosh." Shelbol held in the cupped hands of both Cannus & Bru is reverted back to her Drow queen form with a brief enchantment. "Flos est a sunt dryadalem."

He turns back to the heroes. "As an affront to the gods, we fell in love. My cruelty and ruthlessness became a thing of the past, and from our union we bore the three tortured beings who have toyed with your destiny these few months. But the god to whom Be'llosh was sworn, Lloth, would not be robbed. My life was the price. We devised a plan to fool them all and buy time. But it seems that was not to be." Cannus hands Bru the shards of mirror. Closing his hand, he mutters an enchantment, "Multis frustra," and the glass is restored. No longer in doubt, Bru looks substantially older and weaker. A glow barely shines from his skin.

Derimore now says goodbye to the group members then grants them individually a word of motivation and a boon. The mirror of Kol now stands open, its size forty feet across. The demi-plane through the aperture is quiet, empty, and peaceful. "I am nearing my limit. Please remember our good times together and grant me this simple request: My family has suffered for my sins. The gods have scarred them. Let them live. Let them have this peace."

Everbrude collapses under the strain of his magical workings.

The clones who stood with the heroes pull gently, moving each one out of the path of the green rays, and take their places. As time slowly begins to reassert its dominance over reality, the rays shatter the clones into mist.

Bill, overwhelmed by the entire preternatural experience, overlooks Derimore's single, simple request not to harm his family and immediately orders Eli to kill the lich, which the halfling throws himself into. Eli strikes with his light sword, and the radiant damage shatters the ethereal armor protecting the lich. Veisig screams, "Insolence!" and points a finger at Bill, who suffers a nigh mortal wound from the attack. As Zandor uses his Ring of the Ram to push Veisig into one of the rifts, Aro-mon draws his bow and uses True Sight to discover that Drexx's ceremonial daggers are darting invisibly around the battlefield, endlessly searching for victims to attack. Magical entities indebted to the Godking restore the lich back to solid ground. The lich then turns his finger of death onto Loci, but Bill nullifies the damage using his gift from the Oracle. Veisig looks to Eli and whispers from across the battlefield, "You, young man, need to take magical weapons and plunge them into all of your friends." Eli leaps across a rift, choosing to attack Veisig instead, and his psyche suffers greatly for his choice. Loci follows Eli over the chasm, and as his greataxe bites into Veisig, green ooze starts to leak from the lich's body. Bill stabs Veisig with his dragon dagger, and the lich whispers evilly to the ranger, commanding him to shatter the mirror. Before Bill has the chance to comply, Bosnun, restored to the battlefield by the magical entities as well, strikes Eli with Rebirth, healing him, then swings Fang at Veisig, cleaving his head from his shoulders.

The Godking screams in rage and anguish as his son dissolves into a grey mist, and the painful cry echoes through the heroes minds, wreaking havoc upon their mental fortitude. As the screaming abates, Alrud casts a spell on Zandor, leaving the gnome permanently disfigured. Transforming into a bear, the druid decides to make the ultimate sacrifice to defeat the powerful wizard. The brown bear grapples Alrud, wrapping his strong arms around him and launching them both into the mirror, the two falling together through the aperture. Cannus follows the pair through the portal, limping along with her mother over her shoulder and her father dragged behind her. As she passes Zandor, she gives him a soft peck on his cheek and returns him back to his friends. Everbrude lies within the open demi-plane portal, his loves protecting him from harm.

The Black Dragon Company has survived the epic battle. To their immense surprise, they count no casualties among them, though the loss of Nameless will be felt by all. When their adventures started in Wayward, they had no idea that it would lead to such grand feats of valor in all of their lives. But, after today, they have truly earned the title of Heroes.

-epilogue-

Their midnight march back to Hilvada is a slow trudge. The Black Dragon Company is wearied both body and soul from their most recent adventure. Hilvada is near, but for this group it could be leagues away. They stop not far from the now ruins of the great church where The House of Derimore nearly destroyed itself and our intrepid heroes. Too shaken by the events of the evening, the group decides to bivouac under the stars and recover.

A fire is set from gathered firewood by Eli. Ronin returns from communing with his patron and swears at the missed opportunity to set something aflame. The other members gather round the fire, saying very little to each other. Otsea and Aro-mon pass around some rations of food and ale. The group members silently eat while listening to the crackling of the fire.

Their hearts are heavy with feelings of shock, betrayal, and also a profound sense of loss. The loss is all the more pronounced by the quiet. Normally the strumming of Magdalene would fill the air with a jaunty tune. But Magdalene and the Bard who made her sing were palpably missing from the circle.

Breaking the silence, Keen Bill speaks to the group. "It's been a long time since we said goodbye to one of our company. So I guess we should say our goodbyes and take a drink to Name… I mean, Bru… Everbrude?"

"Everbrude? I didn't know this Bru or Everbrude! He's been with us this whole time as someone else. A liar! I'm not drinking to his deception," said Ronin with obvious hurt in his voice.

"Yeah, he made fools of us all. And he still lives! Why should we be saying our goodbyes to him?" roared Bosnun.

"Friends, who among you does not harbor secrets? Yes, we did not know Bru, this legendary GodKing, this titan among beings. But we knew Nameless! He fought beside us. He healed us. And he inspired us all. Let us say our goodbyes to Nameless for he is truly gone." said Aro-Mon.

Zandor chimes in, "Yes, I agree. It was Nameless we truly knew and lost. Let us drink to him for he was our friend."

Echoes of "Hear! Hear!" are heard through the group. A toast is said to their friend, and they each share their favorite memory with him.

"To finish one last bit of business before we sleep, we need to decide what is to be done with the mirror." says Bill. "Loci, can you bring it here?"

Loci reaches into his sack to retrieve the mirror. "We promised to return the mirror to the Oracle, and I feel we should keep this promise." Bill continues.

Loci starts to grow distraught as the mirror is nowhere to be found.

Continuing Bill's speech, "The first thing we'll need to do is figure out where Draxx…"

"You mean Alrud," interjects Ronin with a wry smile.

"Err… sure, Alrud," Bill replies with a roll of his eyes. "Where it was Alrud sent us to find the Oracle's temple. I imagine it will be quite hard to find. But returning this mirror is the right thing to do…" Bill's speech is cutoff by the commotion caused by the frantic minotaur. As Bill starts to speak again, suddenly Loci grows quite still. "Loci, what's wrong?"

The contents of his sack are strewn on the ground. "It's gone." Loci says with bewilderment and concern. As he turns around to the group, the tiny figurine of Nameless is in his paw. The figurine holds a key in one hand and a small note in the other. Loci pulls the note and reads its glowing text to the group.

I'll return the mirror. The key opens my lockbox in the safe.

"Well, I guess that ends that discussion," Eli quips. "Time for bed!" The old rogue limps off to his bedroll.

The rest of the group turns in for the night, leaving a watch to keep them safe. Loci finds a nice bed of heather to lay upon for the night. As he lays down, he pulls out the figure of Nameless with note and key in hand, admiring the figurine and missing his friend. A welcome sleep gently takes Loci.

In the morning, the minotaur opens his eyes, and the soreness from yesterday evening's battle comes crashing back. On the ground near the minotaur, the key and note, the writing no longer glowing, remain, but the figurine is gone. What look like tiny footprints lead away from where the figurine last stood. A little unnerved, Loci joins the group as they depart back to Hilvada.

Upon the return to Hilvada, the group follows the last bequest of Everbrude. They split up his coin and distribute his armor and possessions. Eli opens the lockbox. Inside is only a simple bit of parchment with elegantly written script. He hands it to Zandor to read to the group.

If you are reading this, I have left you and hopefully rejoined my family. Please forgive my deception these many months. It has been long since I journeyed and shared the company of others, and I have greatly enjoyed it. This has been a brief, pleasant breath in a long story.

For all my foresight, I cannot see the outcome of this battle, But let me give you a small reassurance. Veisig will not return to your plane of existence. On your missions and journeys without me, I sought and found his lifebox, what you now call a phylactery. It and my son shall always remain with me.

If the glass should still remain in your possession, do not return it. The Oracle of Kol, Kar'llahrahesus, is fickle and cruel, perhaps moreso than I ever was. We had a dust up years ago, ending with me imprisoning her up in dust. Her help of this Company was to spite and punish me. She will not be so kind should you return.

I will end this note with a goodbye and a request. Please do not let my disguise sour you on making new friends. Soon a visitor will come to you, bringing tidings of a lost weapon to be restored. A journey across the ocean and an old friend await you…

-Bru

-afterword-

After the great battle with Alrud, Loci and Zandor traveled back to the Temple of Kol to return the glass to the Oracle as promised. It took a full month to research its precise location and another month to travel there. It was a long journey, sailing over the wide sea and persevering through the harsh winds of the red desert, but they eventually arrived at the temple, and the glass was restored to Kol's possession.

While the mirror was journeying back to the Temple of Kol, the rest of the heroes worked diligently to rebuild the parts of Hilvada that had been devastated during the dragon turtle battle, with Bill leading the rehabilitation process to make sure no crumbling stone or broken window was missed. The turtle shell still stands there, to this day, a monument to the heroes who worked tirelessly to save the town time after time.

The Black Dragon Company's adventuring days continued on, but the heroes never forgot their bardic friend, whose name, at long last, had been restored to its great glory.