Tomorrow, the final chapter of this huge adventure.
Thank you Li, for your kind comment.
He looked down at the chess board in front of him. His pawns and knights were scattered about the board but he smiled as he could make sense of the chaos. After all, it was his board.
He stroked his beard and moved his piece.
To a bystander, it would seem that Necromancer Stane was playing chess with himself. If there were any bystanders. Whereas once the Castle of Cumbria was a bustling court of the land, it was now a dusty tomb. And the thought made him smile.
"Who would have thought? Who would have thought that the butcher's boy from Moria, would become the king of a kingdom?"
His voice echoed in the large throne room.
The he rolled his eyes as a deep, serpentine chuckle filled the silent, cobweb-filled throne room.
The voice in his head began to whisper sarcastically, Sitting on a dead woman's throne fills you with dreams of grandeur... My, my, you humans are to be pitied. Obsessed with being the king of the mud pile when... the room began to shake slightly, when there is heaven above you, waiting to be destroyed!
Stane closed his eyes as he felt the Serpent slither closer and closer. He knew it was there because the temperature in the room decreased drastically, all of a sudden.
"Serpent, I was merely..."
You were merely thinking of far you have come along... how much you have accomplished... admirable sentiment... but there is still much more to do, my friend.
It opened its mouth, its forked tongue glittering in the dim light. Soooo muccchh morrree, it ended on a deep hiss.
He laughed now. "Really Serpent, what more is left? The Iron Knight has passed all our tests. So has the Lady, for that matter."
The Serpent and him always had conflicting opinions on their chosen candidates. He was intrigued by the sheer resilience of Lord Stark, formerly a noble knight who had been known for his prowess on the field as well as in the bedroom.
But in the two years since they had met, Stane was now impressed by the way the knight had turned his life around, becoming a savior of sorts. His exploits had made him renowned as the Iron Knight.
The Serpent chuckled again. Goodness and valour, no doubt instilled in the man by Ryunn... Ha! Noble intentions indeed. Now my candidate...
Stane sneered. "A mere sheltered waif who ran away from the first conflict she came across. Or rather, that came to her."
The Serpent tsked at him loudly. Now, now, Stane, it is not what they start as, it is what they become, how they evolve... the red haired one ...
It hissed happily the waif has turned into a warrior. What was in her for so long, stamped down and controlled... Has finally stepped out...
The lidless eyes glowed red as its voice thickened. Red glorious eternal fire!
Stane nodded absently. "All to open a gate."
One minute the Serpent was a safe distance away, the next it was in his face, flicking its tongue maliciously at him.
Don't you see Stane... its voice deep and slithery, the girl opens the gate to untold power... and whoever controls the gate. ..
"Controls the power." completed Stane.
So we must... we must control the girl. She must be ... it licked its fangs slowly. She must be mine, body, spirit, mind... all mine to control.
Stane raised his eyebrows at the Being. He had heard all this before. The Serpent loved to hiss about how he was going to break the red-haired girl. Then Stane decided to tease him, knowing he was poking a dangerous beast.
"You can play whatever games you want with the girl but... how are you going to break her?"
He thought back to the slender flame haired girl on the rainy night. Glaring at him with anger and fire streaming from her fingers.
"She's not going to come along easily."
The Serpent lazily slithered around him. She is a spirited one. I saw that, I admire it... if she didn't have spirit, I would have let her be... but she has so much fire... and she has developed an unfortunate weakness.
"She is insecure."
No Stane... you haven't been listening to the reports of the spies. You haven't been listening to the Necklace.
The orange Orb around the Serpent's scaly neck began to pulse. The Serpent tenderly caressed it with its tongue.
Orb of Fire and Light, soon... soon your power will be set free... by a disciple from your noble house... and then together... we will unlock the door to everlasting might!
Stane huffed loudly. "This is all very well and good but stop taking in riddles, Serpent! How should we attack the Lady and the Knight?"
The Serpent chuckled at him. Butcher's boy, we separate them and bring her to us. In our stronghold, in our fort.
It waved a large scaly claw over the chess board and Stane suppressed a loud groan. The Serpent had moved all his pieces around, destroying his game.
Now look here, Stane. We are in black. The Bishop and the Rook. All the way on this side.
And here... equally small... are our good opponents... the Knight and the White Queen, the fairest of them all. All the way across the board.
Stane exclaimed, tired with the Serpent's playacting. "Exactly! We are far away from them! So far! Why would the red haired girl come back?! She was chased away by her own people!"
The Serpent raised his claw. Patience, my friend, patience... the Queen, it emphasized sternly has fallen in love with her Knight. It guffawed evilly. Hopelessly in love.
Stane was confused. "Surely Lord Stark is the King?"
The Serpent hissed at him. Stane! The Knight piece is more powerful than the King. But of course, it is second to the Queen.
It whispered thoughtfully, The waif started out as a lowly Pawn but look how far she has come... she is the Queen... the real prize... we capture her and the board is ours... I have digressed, where were we?
Stane said slowly, "You destroyed my ongoing chess game because you were going to tell me, how we going to capture Your Queen!"
The Serpent hissed. Yesss now I remember. She loves the Knight. So we use that against her. She needs to lose confidence in her Knight. She needs to see, he can't protect her. Once she sees that and gets scared... she will run again and this time... we will be waiting in the shadows... and will chain her once and for all.
Stane mulled it over. "I know she will run when scared. But you said it yourself, we need to shake her security... how do we do that? The Iron Knight is ... well, he is a force unparalleled."
The Serpent hissed jeeringly. He is indeed. But I wonder.. is Lord Stark a match for your Knight?
Stane grinned with maliciousness. "Good heavens! I'd forgotten about him."
Out of thin air, the Serpent conjured up a black Knight piece on the board. It placed it in line with the Rook and the Bishop.
On its own, the Black Knight piece moved towards the white side of the board slowly.
The Serpent hissed slowly, its tongue darting about its fanged mouth. We send our Black Knight of Horror. To square four where the Iron Knight sits.
The black chest piece hovered above the white Knight piece.
Black destroys White.
Suddenly the black chess piece smashed the white one viciously into the board, grinding it to a fine powder.
Angry at his candidate being dismissed so easily, Stane objected. "Lord Stark can just be broken. He has his uses as well. There is no need to waste the Flame of Ryunn!"
The Serpent raised its evil eyes to him and he gulped at the yellow triangular pupils focusing on him.
Then It said in a threatening manner, Do not speak to me of that power! I only care for the White Queen, not for some tin man with a flame in his chest. My sole objective is to separate them and if killing her Knight does that... so be it! The White Queen is scared and feels alone.
The board began to shake lightly.
So she runs away again...
The White Queen moved backwards to a black square on the shaking board.
Then the Serpent hissed with happiness. She runs right into our trap and we take her...
The Black Bishop rose above the board and flew down over the White Queen.
The Serpent grinned a toothy grin and hissed slowly, Bishop takes White Queen. Game over.
The Bishop chess piece disappeared and the White Queen piece slowly started to change color.
Stane stared at the now blood red Queen piece, still vibrating slightly on the still chess board. "May I ask Serpent, what are your long terms plans for the girl?"
Of course you may. I will show her the extent of her power and then turn her into the living incarnation of Ninea. the red witch queen. She has the skill, the power... all she needs is the temperament and I will teach her that...
It bowed its scaly head reverently to the red chess piece and hissed deeply. Summon your Black Knight, Stane, from the depths of this castle. He has a job to do.
Stane clapped his hands and one of his minions appeared, bowing deeply.
"It is time to awake my champion. He has a job to do. Bring him to me now!"
The minion disappeared and returned, carrying a glass goblet filled with a black ash.
He handed it to Stane, who emptied the ash on the ground. Then he cut himself lightly using the edge of the glass and let his blood drip onto the ash.
As the ash congealed with the blood and began to simmer, the Serpent slithered around the simmering mass and hissed evilly.
Go forth. Black Knight of Horror. Go to Lorinthia. Find the Iron Knight... and break him to bone and blood. Do not harm the girl. The girl is mine...
The black mass began to bubble and the Serpent turned to Stane. Send a few foot soldiers and only one of my Dark Legion beings. I do not want to attract a lot of attention.
Stane rubbed his hands together. "The door to power will soon be opened."
Yes, my friend... soon...
I know it seems like I have revealed the entire plot of the next adventure but all i can say is... even the best made plans are meant to be thwarted.
