Chapter 6

Gluttony and Pride

"Come then Garth…show me your power," Deresa uttered as Hebi slithered up to her. She stood on a ledge of the volcano, flame, molten rock and ash spewing behind her. The demon dropped the Queen, who was tied up and gagged on the ledge, then transformed back into his human form. Hebi bowed dramatically to her.

"Mistress…"

"I know you failed to deal with Reaver and Garth, are the others dead?"

"No...unfortunately not. The Samarkander woman…she wields some sort of holy weapon. I think she had one of the ancient legendary weapons."

"Why are you useless Hebi…wait…Samarkander woman?"

"Yes, she looked in appearance very similar to Garth. She also had apparent hero blood."

"What weapon did she have?"

"It was a glowing sword, marked with the head of a balvarine in its crossguard."

"Avo's Lamentation! You should be thanking the stars you still draw breath."

"My lady?"

"That's one of the weapons which can slay your people. Avo was a false god, but the power of goodness and love imbued in that weapon makes it incredibly dangerous. Especially to a demon of a great sin like yourself." She laughed, joking with the fact that Hebi had almost been killed. Hebi simply stood and waited for her to quiet down. She suddenly leaned forward and grabbed his collar, bringing him close to her face and seeing the great darkness leaking from the scar across his face.

"Hebi, three things can kill you demons. First, you can kill each other, which means you could also kill yourself. Had to make sure I could turn the others on a rebel when I summoned you all. Second, you can be killed by weapons of extreme light or goodness, which just comes with being a demon. And finally…"

"You can kill us?" He muttered. She brought his face inches from hers, which appeared quite threatening despite the fact she was blind.

"Yes, but that because things of pure evil can harm you too. Which is why Garth's ultra-light spell is dangerous, but so is Reaver. The pistol he wields reeks of malevolence, and his cane is no better. If you are touched by them…"

"I could be cut. But that means that the last one's weapons are not a threat to us." Hebi said, pondering. Ombra's dim, black form appeared from the shadows behind the two, looking rather perplexed.

"Why has the castle become a volcano?" He asked.

"Because fighting in a castle limits my potential and is a more than a little cliche for my taste. Fighting on the side of a volcano allows me to exploit my full potential. So cease your questions and tell me what it wants!"

"I have calmed the Corruption, but it says that if all its generals are killed, it will find and destroy you. It does not approve of you so foolishly killing its creations." Ombra simply floated quietly as Deresa retorted angrily.

"How dare it challenge me! I will destroy you and your damned master Ombra! You don't scare me!" She threw her arm out and blocked a fireball that was cast at her. She turned and Garth stood before her, flames licking one hand, and electricity shooting out of the other.

"Theresa… so it was you. I will kill you and your damned generals and end you once and for all!" Garth yelled. Deresa rolled her eyes then looked at Hebi.

"Fine, Ombra, if one of you has to survive, come with me to the top of the tower. I'm going to use the summoning chamber to take the will of their precious Queen. Between our combined power, your majesty, I'll be invincible." Deresa yelled, then pointed at the heroes, "Last chance Hebi! Kill them, or be killed." Hebi nodded and drew his katana. Deresa grabbed the Queen's arms and dragged her toward the edge of the volcano, where a faint grey wall was visible. Garth pointed at it but before he could say anything, he was sent flying by a strong kick to his chest. Hebi swung quickly to his right, cutting the top of Reaver's hat off. The Immortal drew his sword cane in a dramatic challenge, but they only crossed blades a few times before Hebi punched him with his left hand and sent the hero of Skill sprawling. He raised his weapon to finish the immortal, but heard a scream.

"Demon of Gluttony! We aren't finished!" Page yelled, rushing up the volcano.

"No we aren't," the demon said. He raised his katana and readied himself as Page tried to slash at him several times. Hebi spun in dodging one and caught her in the face with a kick that sent her to the ground. He grabbed Ben again, then transforming to his true form, held his head right next to Ben's with his sword against the man's throat.

"You three might be able to harm me, but this one has nothing to threaten me. So I'll just hold him hostage until my lady is done. And don't you dare think of that spin flourish again, Samarkander!" Page groaned, and lifted herself slowly off the ground. Garth stood with flames in one hand, wind in the other, Reaver with his pistol trained on the demon.

"Go ahead, kill him, and see if I care." The immortal said, cocking his pistol.

"Fine…" Hebi said, the sword biting deeper into Ben's neck.

"Stop! What are you doing Reaver?" Page yelled. Garth grabbed the immortal's gun and pulled it down.

"Minimize casualties!" Garth yelled. Meanwhile, Ben finally drew his pistol. He flashed a look at Page and caught her attention.

"So, Hebi, Tell me, why are you the demon of gluttony? You seem to be of such small stature to be a glutton."

"I am a snake, I consume a great deal, even if it does not show in my human form. I am also glutton for admiration, and if I serve my lady properly and kill you, she will give me all the praise I could ever need."

"Glutton for attention huh? Well, you've got my attention, time to get yours!" Ben suddenly shot the monster in its face and ducked to avoid its sword. Hebi roared as he drew away from the man.

"That pistol!"

"It is Kirean's pistol, a weapon of light!" Ben yelled, holding it again to the monster, "Consume this, demon!" Ben fired several shots sending the snake creature reeling. Page then jumped forward, brandishing her sword.

"I'm finishing what I started, Hebi!" Page yelled, bringing her sword all the way around her body, and slashed the monster's hand out of the way. It drew back more, hissing, then jumped forward like a cobra, teeth wide. Page spun, avoiding the lunging demon and swatting him on the head with the flat of her blade. He turned to strike the woman but was hit with another gunshot from Ben, forcing Hebi to lean on his hands to keep him stable. Page drew her weapon back and, with a roar, stabbed Hebi right through his shoulder, toward his heart. The monster let out what sounded like a weak sigh, then changed to his human form. He was on his knees, and his face was one of surrender. Page held Avo's Lamentation in Hebi's shoulder, even pushed it a little deeper.

"Mistress…They were too strong…I have failed…to earn your praise..." As Page drew the weapon out, Hebi fell forward, and burst into what appeared to be white petals that faded from existence after a few moments. Page grabbed Ben and held him, oblivious to the erupting volcano which starting to really go off. Page and Ben kissed deeply until Reaver tore them apart.

"Enough of this sickening romance! We have to stop that damned witch from killing the Queen. I've been strapped to one of those things, and I promise you, it's no fun!" Garth was already trying to form a path toward the edge of the dreamscape. He formed a wind tunnel and cooled the lava into a small corridor to the walls of the dream world.

"Come on, follow me!" The heroes started down this path of cooled stone, but before they could escape the volcanic nightmare world, they found the shadow of Ombra floating menacingly in front of the wall. However, the shadow seemed less battle ready and more annoyed.

"Well, that's just fantastic. That witch leaves me here to burn in this brazen ash, takes that damned Queen up to the upper levels and is going to suck her life and create a weapon she can use against both my real master and your ships."

"What?" Page asked, the first to lower her weapon.

"You heard me! That woman is going to betray me, and try to rule the world with my master as her slave."

"The Corruption…that's what she called it right?" Garth asked, lowering his hand. Ben lowered his pistol too, and only Reaver held his gun up.

"Yes, the Corruption simply wanted to expand itself, and allied with her for that purpose. But now it's lost all but one general, a great deal of its power, and its purpose. We wish to return to the void again."

"Wait…you're…"

"Of the same breed as the Jack of Blades, yes. The corruption is the remnant of a plague placed upon William Black by Jack of Blades. Black ousted the plague from him in the Void, and so it existed, floating, waiting for its chance. After it failed to capture Albion time and again, the "Mistress" offered the Corruption a way to take the lands, using a seven pronged attack strategy."

"Ah…I think I understand. That's what Hebi said." Page said, "First, the Crawler would come from Aurora."

"The Life-Eater from Samarkand…" Garth continued.

"The Dueler from Francia, that lion from the Northern Wastes…" Reaver surmised.

"The lizard from the Southern Islands, Hebi from the Cities of the West." Ben added.

"And I was for Castile, and all the eastern kingdoms. I was known there as the Ravager. My name is Ombra, the shadow." Ombra shifted into a human form. He was tan skinned and with a thin layer of facial hair. He appeared very sad and very tired. He wore the armor of a Castilian captain, and a bastard sword was in the hilt on his hip.

"But now our invasion had been beat back three times, hell, the Life-Eater couldn't even conquer Samarkand, much less take Albion. And now three of our other generals are dead. And with our mistress's betrayal, I'd say that we are done." Ombra held his hand out, allowing the group to leave the dreamscape.

"What are you doing?" Reaver asked, finally dropping his weapon.

"I'm not going to fight you and waste my life or more of my master's resources. Feel free to face her with no more interference from me." Ombra offered. Reaver, though still very untrusting, started toward the grey exit. The others were some distance behind him, and as he passed the demon, he dropped his guard completely.

"Well, thank you...ah!" Reaver was stabbed all the way through by a giant pincer, like the one on a scorpion. Ombra's hand had turned into one, and he was smiling darkly.

"Wow…you were much more gullible than I suspected, my dear Reaver!" He threw the once immortal body back into his allies, who gathered around him.

"But…she'll betray you!" Page yelled, trying to reason with a monster, which even she knew was foolish.

"Oh, I know, but that makes you no less my enemy!" Ombra roared violently, his other arm transforming to match his pincer. Four more eyes appeared on his face, and teeth became long spikes. His leg grew into two dramatic talons, and he grew a huge feathery tail on his back with a stinger on the end.

"A giant Scorpion! Ready yourselves!" Garth yelled, still holding Reaver, who seemed dead. Garth looked down to the immortal and shook his head.

"I don't know how we are going to win this without you," Reaver suddenly breathed deeply, and sat up.

"Well you won't have to. Damn that hurt…a lot. Who stabbed me?" He demanded, starting to pick himself up, the wound already starting to close.

"I guess he really is immortal," Page muttered with an almost disappointed sigh, holding her sword up. Ben aimed his pistol and Garth stood up from the recovering man. Reaver's wounds had no blood, and instead started to close up with sand flowing in to replace the lost flesh and organs.

"Hmm…sands of time," Ombra said, turning his head in wonder.

"Actually," Reaver started as he stood, his wounds closing up completely, "I am more interested as to why exactly a monster of pride is a scorpion. I know of no story involving…"

"I know how to kill you, immortal. If I sever your head, which contains your promise of immortality, from the rest of your body, the rest of you will die, and you will be an eternal dismembered head!" the monster yelled, ignoring Reaver's question.

"Is that how that works?" Ben asked. Even Garth and Page, who wanted to focus on the monster before them, had to look at the man, who shrugged.

"I haven't tried severing my head, I don't know, but let's not find out! And," Reaver started, turning his attention back to the monster, "if you aren't a scorpion then what…" Suddenly, a second tail formed from the demon's back, then a third. Soon he had a mass of tails, they were all perfectly straight up, and marked with a line of small dots.

"What in hell's name has twenty tails?" Ben asked, taking aim again.

"It's not twenty, its one giant tail! That's a peafowl, one of the showy birds of the Eastern Kingdoms!" Garth yelled.

"Very good Garth, you've solved the riddle…at least partially…" One of the tails split from the others and smashed into the ground in front of Garth, then rose again.

"There is something called a peahen scorpion in the Eastern Kingdoms. It has a small flap over its tail, which it can raise to intimidate larger predators. I'm a sort of hybrid created by my master, which I hope you will enjoy." Ombra open to giant wings from his back and became aerial for only a moment. He crashed violently in front of the heroes, and roared at them then slammed his all of his tails into the ground. Garth dodged between two, and Page cut one. Reaver rolled out of the way, but Ben was hit in the head by the middle of a tail. Page crawled to him and grabbed him as he was rubbing his head.

"Skorm's bones that hurt," Ben grumbled. Page dragged him out of the way.

"Be glad you weren't hit by a stinger." Page quickly drew her sword and blocked one of the pincers, which Ombra was swinging wildly.

"Come and face your doom little heroes!" Ombra yelled, sending all his tails into the ground again. Page could not slash this one in time, and the tail closest to her knocked her to the ground, the stringer inches from her head.

"Die!" Ombra yelled, stepping forward and stabbing with his pincers. As Page jumped out of the way, Ombra's tail knocked her down again.

"Dammit! He's a little better than the others." Page tried to stand up and the monster leaned forward and stood on its pincers.

"You've seen nothing yet," The monster drew up a breath and summoned a mass of dark magic in his mouth. It caught Page in the chest and sent her flying into Garth. He turned and shot his breath at Reaver, who jumped out of the way, only to be toppled by a tail.

"Good grief…" Garth summoned an electric spell and launched it at the monster. It went through him, but he didn't move.

"You magic doesn't affect me, mage. You'd best come up with a much stronger spell." Ombra opened his wings again and took off, landing near Garth. He stabbed his pincers at the mage a few times, knocking Page aside in the process, and stepping back, started slamming his tails, one after another, making Garth jump back and forth. Finally, Garth landed slightly off after one jump, and Ombra shot him with a burst of dark magic, sending him to the ground. Ombra took off and brought his talons down to Garth. Page, seeing the situation unfold, jumped forward and tried to push Garth away. In doing this, her cloth touched Garth's hand, and suddenly Garth was back on the Mnara. He shook his head and saw his father holding his hands up. Suddenly, Garth gained more strength than he'd felt in a long time.

"Take all of my power son. Fight, for Samarkand, and the fate of the world!" Garth closed his eyes, and on opening them, was back on the ground with Page. He raised his hands and released the strongest force push he'd ever used. Ombra flew wildly into the air, and pulling his tail down behind him, eventually opened his wings and started to actually fly. He circled the area then crashed and landed behind the group. However, the heroes were unconcerned with this giant demon and more concerned with the fact that Garth was floating and glowing.

"Garth what's happening?" Reaver asked.

"And why am I stuck to you?" Page demanded, her arm and it's holy cloth floating with Garth.

"I'm channeling the power of my father's tower…I'm…I'm channeling the Mnara's magic, through my body…Ahh." A beam of light came to Garth, and his good eye turned bright blue. Page was released and fell to the ground, however, her arm was still glowing.

"It is no matter Garth…you could not defeat me with the whole of your desert land's people, much less a simple…" Garth held out his hand and Ombra was sent flying toward a poll of molten rock. Ombra brought his tail and started flying again. He circled around and came toward Garth with talons bared. Garth held out his hand toward the volcano, which had calmed down sometime during the battle and brought a gigantic fiery rock out of out of the spout and launched it at the bird. Ombra barely dodged it, burning it's leg in the process. Garth started to float and launched the rocks like a machine gun. Eventually, one smacked into the demon and it fell toward a pool of lava. However, the lava was suddenly a grassy field, and the heroes all looked at Garth, who had apparently taken control of the dreamscape. Ombra lifted himself up slowly, then brought his tail up and fanned it. He slammed his claws into the ground and looked up at Garth, challenging him.

"I've got one last trick!" Ombra yelled. Each of his tails shifted, turning from a scorpion tail into a small cannon. Each cannon pointed forward, and they all fired at once, launching balls of evil. The balls were imbued with magic, however, and they followed the heroes, hitting each of them. Page, Reaver, and Ben where each sent flying in different directions. However, Garth simply flicked his wrist and the balls of concentrated darkness simply exploded in a burst of light. He popped his neck from left to right and looked at the demon.

"That's the best you can manage?"

"Not yet!" Ombra yelled. His tails suddenly combined into one enormous cannon, which he pointed straight at the mage.

"Die!" Ombra fired and the ball crashed into Garth, sending him flying. However, the ball suddenly stopped in mid-air, and then, Garth was visible as he held it over his head.

"What…no…he's harnessing…" The ball became stronger and stronger, until it was a massive ball of evil.

"Goodbye Ombra!" Garth raised the ball over his head then slammed it into the ground, creating an immense explosion which sent the other heroes back to the ground. As the shockwave receded, Garth was visible, floating over the remains of the demon, which broke into small purple pieces and faded. Garth was suddenly released and dropped to the ground, where Reaver caught him.

"Well, that's seven done. They've all been killed." Reaver said, holding his much weakened friend.

"And now…just one remains." Page said, turning to see the grey wall and beyond it, the top of the Spire.