Chapter 32

'I am not sure,' began Samaroh slowly, 'if you are all right, Valkron.'

The knight stared at him. 'What do you mean?'

'You've been humming.'

'So?'

'You? Humming?' Samaroh made an economical gesture the knight could see straight away. 'It doesn't link.'

The knight sighed. 'Yeah, I'm probably not okay. Is there something wrong about it?'

'Well, no, but for you to hum in such a situation doesn't seem to be your nature.'

Valkron didn't manage to answer him for quite a long time. When he did the priest hastily grinned apologetically and backed off.

'Does it matter?'

'Well...no., not really.'

Emeth coughed from behind Valkron. The knight turned and gave him a glare that had no effect on him whatsoever.

'I am sure,' he said, turning the glare back to Samaroh, 'that some of us have unfinished packing to do.'

The priest hurriedly scuttled off, clearly not wishing to be at the receiving end of a sword. Valkron turned around to face the wizard, who was leaning casually on the door behind him.

'When will you tell the rest?' he said, before Valkron had even opened his mouth.

'I am not intending to tell the others! Why should I?'

'Because they know it. We're just waiting for you to admit.'

Valkron gaped at him. 'How-- How did you all know that I was--'

'It was relatively easy. You like to be with her and talk to her. From the very start you were in love, weren't you?'

The knight buried his face in his hands. 'There must be some kind of newspaper that circulates around you all but never reaches me. I wasn't even aware that I was showing such signs and you noticed.'

'Comes of being observant, I guess,' said Emeth. He got off the door and patted Valkron comfortingly on the shoulder. 'Never mind, Valkron, we understand. Just admit in front of us and we'll just assume it's natural...well, for you. Since somehow you liking someone just doesn't quite connect in my mind.'

'I think I understand that,' said Valkron.

'So? Then let's get on with it!'

Valkron sighed and let himself get pushed outside the house where everyone was waiting. He had ordered them to pack the very moment they woke up, and within half an hour everyone was ready. Of course there were complaints, but Valkron was doing something reasonable - he had already wasted enough time recovering from his injuries. There was almost no time left.

He saddled his peco and then turned to the party. 'Right, are we ready to go?'

'You bet,' said Eni cheerily.

'For you, definitely,' said Nocturne brightly.

Valkron was now seriously wishing no one had known in the first place. He sighed for what felt like the tenth time that day. 'Look, I know you guys all know it, I know it, let's just get this over with, okay? I'm not having people sniggering behind my back over it. I...'

'Am in love with Iruna,' said Emeth.

There was quite a lot of tension in the air as Valkron gave Emeth such a ferocious glare that the wizard actually put up his hands to block it and backed off.

'All right, since it's out let's get going. I don't have the time to show my affection for Iruna and vice versa even if I'd like to, because if I'm not wrong we've got about one day and a half to get to the place and reach the portal to destroy it, according to our wizard.'

'Wait, I might be wrong,' interjected Emeth. 'I used Samaroh's watch to discern the time we need. As he said it wasn't accurate I'm not too sure if we're one or two days early...or late.'

'Emeth?'

'Yes, Valkron?'

'I hate you.'

'Thanks.'

The knight shook his head in exasperation. 'Let's set off now. And no talking about anything else until this is over. That's an order.'

He looked at Iruna. She was wearing her blindfold again and looked quite stately as she squeezed the sides of her peco. The bird let out a honk and thudded forward on the white snow. Valkron followed her some moments later.

He hadn't any idea of how romance had ever felt like in his life, excluding the one or two odd crushes he had had in his earlier days. They had been short-lived, but for Iruna there was a burning passion for her deep inside him. Now he understood why lovers always wanted to "live and be there for each other".

Valkron didn't want the feeling to leave him. He had never felt more complete in his life. It was as if something warm and bright had entered his cold, dark and empty life and filled him with a pleasant tingling sensation.

Is this what love does to you? he thought.

'Valkron, you're heading for a tree,' said Emeth from behind him.

The knight veered his peco away from it, cursing mentally. This is also what love does to you, he thought disgruntledly. Distract you.

In the silence he rode forwards, looking for what he wanted. And soon he was the only one who saw it.

Sagna and Edell were riding at a regular trot through the forest towards Geffen when the falcon they had sent out to Payon returned, circling overhead as it waited for them to stop. They halted and it alighted on Sagna's arm.

The knight slipped off the silver cylinder from the falcon's leg and unrolled the slip of parchment. 'Devar wants us to follow Valkron's trail and become the backup. They have to stay in Payon to take care of the residents.'

'Ah, right.' Edell took the falcon from him and blindfolded it easily. 'Have you ever wondered, Sagna, what the odds of us standing up to Argath and his minions?'

'If I'm any judge, Edell, practically nil.' Sagna snapped his fingers and set the message on fire; it burnt to a few specks of ash which he dusted off his fingers. 'But then again let's just hope my bet is wrong. I make a lousy bookmaker.'

'You're not the only one.'

They rode on in silence for some time. Then Edell said, 'Sagna...why are you so willing to look for Valkron?'

'Why are you asking me that question?'

The crusader shrugged, his shoulder armour jingling. 'He was your old tutor. I still remember the day you stormed into the Chivalry and asked for another tutor. According to you he had been "working you like a mule".'

Sagna did not answer for several minutes. Then he said, 'I was being childish. Valkron was the best teacher I ever had.'

'Are you saying that because you think it's your fault if he dies?' said the crusader.

The knight stared at him. He looked back innocently.

Eventually Sagna said, 'Yes. And yes, I'm a pathetic fellow.'

'I didn't say that.'

'No, but I bet that's what you were thinking.'

'No, I wasn't.' Sagna could see now that he really wasn't lying. 'I just wanted to know.'

'I hated him a lot before,' said the knight quietly. 'To me he was just this pushy officer who acted like he knew everything. When he was assigned to the Mercenary Division I was so happy about it I actually went back to the barracks and celebrated with other like-minded friends. We got drunk and insulted him. I wish I hadn't done that now.'

Edell said nothing; he looked straight ahead.

'But now I see he really does know everything. He knows more than the knights who've never taken the mercenary job before. He knows that although people think of knights as courageous, valiant and fair heroes the real job actually warrants a lot of dirty fighting.'

'You don't get points for fighting fair,' said Edell.

'Exactly. Valkron knows it too, he's probably cheated dozens of times. But that's the life of a mercenary! And if knights didn't cheat in their fighting once in a while I guess they probably wouldn't be alive.'

'Valkron doesn't cheat. It's called the...the weakness point strategy.'

'That's just a nicer way of putting it.'

'Yeah, well, but Valkron does think of it that way. He simply aims for the weak point of the enemy. Besides, isn't that what the enemy's been doing to us and him? They've been directly attacking everything we fear and worry about, and terrorising us this way. Valkron's just...paying them back in kind. I don't doubt for a moment that he's been treated the same way by Argath as well.'

Sagna thought about this. 'But I still wish I had listened to him all the same. After all the trouble I caused him...he's going to remember me as the most bothersome, childish student he'd ever had.'

They listened to snowflakes falling.

'I don't think he thinks of you that way,' said Edell. 'Valkron isn't the kind of person to think like that. Yeah, you may have been some troublesome kid, but he probably used to be one too.'

'He's the only knight to have ever been under the Chivalry Scholarship in fifty years, you know.'

'Still. Not everyone's perfect.'

They listened to some more snowflakes.

'Then why are you so willing to look for him?' asked Sagna.

'Because I want to return a favour he did me recently.' Edell looked up into the sky. 'I can't just let it pass. I want to repay him.'

'Oh.'

Yet more snowflakes.

'I'm sure we'll manage to reach him in time,' said Edell, smiling at Sagna. 'He's not the kind to let himself die so easily.'

Sagna looked up at the sky. 'I'm going to be relying on your words for now because that's the only thing that's keeping me going now.'

Argath stood in front of his liege and watched for some time, blood running down his face.

After a while he turned and walked away, flicking his bleeding hair out of his face. His second plan was having a transition stage. He was not used to it but he ended up having to wait around for the stage to end.

For now he was tracking progress of Valkron's party. There were no fancy tricks to do this - no floating eyeball, no pool of mercury (or blood or water or ink), no third eye, no Second Sight. He just knew.

That was what made him so fearsome.

And, waiting for orders, stood a million-strong army at his command and disposal. Men would kill to have the Blood Judge's position.

But Argath was not satisfied. The fools who had resurrected him years ago had left him incomplete. Assimilating souls had not been enough for him. The blood that ran from his scalp was the blood of the people he had sentenced to death without trial, and he wanted to get rid of it. There should be no memory of the Old Empire left, his master had said. Except for both of them.

In his mind he could see the party heading towards where they were situated. He smiled grimly as he watched. It would be time to fight against another knight. He disliked the way the humans had worshipped the knights of the world, and he loathed the way they worked.

He knew why there were knights in Rune-Midgard. During the Blood Ages he had some of the empire's finest warriors under him. They had been once tasked to collect taxes and were in charge of the people's welfare, but under him they had become feared enforcers of the emperor. After the empire had fallen the new kings decided to resurrect the noble profession of the knight again...but this time they were never to revert to the horrible face their profession had once taken during the Blood Ages.

Argath laughed at this. He knew Valkron, even with his willpower and ideals, would never be able to defeat him. He had been once commander of those feared knights and he was now the commander-- no, the general of the dead. He savoured this position, for no one could take it from him without killing him first.

But as for the party behind Valkron...they were strong as well. The red-haired wizard was a powerful magic user. Argath had known many wizards in his time, but he had never seen such a powerful one as this. And there was the crusader. She was not as strong as a fully qualified male counterpart but the strength in what she believed was frightening, even for the Blood Judge. He had dealt with a few difficult crusaders - or should have been if they had not been so shaky in their beliefs. This crusader was like an anchor to a ship in a storm.

Then there was the hunter. Naive, yes, innocent, yes, but his eyes could not be veiled. He always saw the truth, the big picture of everything and told it for what it was. Argath had known humans to tell themselves lies to comfort themselves but this boy took refuge in the truth! This was not a good thing for him.

The blacksmith and the assassin had an extremely strong friendship. Argath knew that whatever he could do would not separate them. He had to think up of something else. The priest was probably not that hard to deal with but his fighting spirit would pose a problem to the Judge. The alchemist would be easy enough.

Argath stopped walking and thought about this. The thought of killing them immediately was attractive, but it wasn't fun. He wanted to have some fun with them, as well as have them prove themselves worthy of fighting him. He wouldn't want prey that were easily bowled over by the simplest of his attacks.

After a while he smiled grimly. He had the answer. Someone who was weak, someone who would give in to the darkness in the heart...someone who was in Valkron's party.

He couldn't wait to play with his newfound toy.

'That's a first,' said Samaroh. 'Who ever heard of Baphomet lifting a curse from a human? I thought he hated humans.'

Valkron had related everything he could remember about the battle with Baphomet. Samaroh's remark was the first to break the silence that followed the story.

Valkron continued riding. Samaroh was actually sitting sidesaddle behind him. On the other peco Eni sat huddled with two blankets and Iruna's cloak wrapped around her.

'I'm amazed,' said the priest, aware of the silence. 'What did you do to old Bapho?'

'Don't ask me on that, please,' said Valkron. 'Because I have absolutely no idea and I can't help you there either. Don't make me think about it.'

'Ah,' said Samaroh.

'Baphomet actually has the power to lift an undead's curse?' said Khan in disbelief, as he strode through the snow. 'Did he completely remove it or did he just leave, say, half of it to torture you?'

'That's a good point actually, Valkron,' said Nocturne, leaping lightly over a few small humps of snow. 'You just took his scythe and left with it. He'd be angry with you.'

Valkron didn't answer for some time. When he did eventually, they stared at him.

'I think he understands what he represents in this world. I've always thought he was there for a reason, and maybe he is. He probably knows we're here for a reason as well.'

After listening to some wind, Eni said, 'Could you...explain that, please?'

Valkron sighed. 'If we lived in a world without him what would there be to fight for? If he lived in a world without us, what would there be to fight for? Nothing. It'll be boring. A perfect life, but boring. In my personal opinion, he is siding us - for now.'

'Siding us? Unbelievable.' Samaroh shook his head. 'Really, I don't know where you get all these ideas...'

The knight elbowed him in the ribs. 'Just accept it.'

'It might not sound logical,' said Emeth, for the first time after Valkron had finished, 'but I think he's right. Baphomet isn't a stupid beast. He's old, and he didn't get to where he was by being friendly with humans but not necessarily hating them all the time. He probably sees us as a necessary part of the world.'

'Whatever he said,' added the knight. Emeth gave him a one-eyed glare, but the corner of his mouth was twitching.

'Well, I thought you'd have a better way of explaining it,' said the wizard.

'The only thing I can say about this is balance.'

'Balance?' said Eni. Valkron nodded.

Samaroh took off his cap and dusted the snow off it. 'And you intended to maintain it all along?'

'Hey, I'm not completely ignorant, you know,' snapped Valkron.

The priest patted him on the shoulder. 'Relax. I just wanted to know.' He leapt off the peco lightly, and Emeth took a running jump to land behind Valkron. The peco squawked in protest.

'Careful there.'

'Sorry.'

Valkron shook his head at the party behind him and turned to look at what he was seeing again. Although he had been talking to them he had never wandered off the track once. The others probably hadn't observed a thing, but he knew what they were heading for.

As Nocturne and Samaroh got into a friendly argument about maintaining balance and its ideals Emeth leaned forward and said in a low voice, 'So where are we heading for?'

'You'll see,' said Valkron calmly after the initial shock of Emeth's breath tickling his ear.

The wizard sat back and said no more, but the knight suspected he had guessed. He said nothing. It was best if he said nothing, because mentioning the place would send almost everyone into an absolute panic.

He also had a feeling he wouldn't be able to hide it any longer. The bare trees around them had just looked empty and desolate, and the snow was crisp and white. But as they made their way towards the place their surroundings were changing...and drastically.

Valkron rode on, looking straight ahead. He did not show any sign that he had noticed the bottle trees starting to replace the general vegetation - twisted, haunting bottle trees, with great gaping holes in their swollen trunks like mouths and outstretched branches overhead like talons greedily reaching out towards them as they passed.

He also did not show any sign of seeing the snow turn from white to grey and then to black, before giving way to blackened ground. There was no snow in the area for some reason, but he did not say anything.

After a while Eni said, 'Is it me or is it getting colder?'

'I have no idea,' said Iruna.

'Of course you don't, you're wearing so much armour.'

Valkron turned to Iruna. 'Stop here.'

The crusader did so, no doubt puzzled at this. The others stopped as well.

'All right, I'm going to scout ahead and see if it's clear. Don't follow me or I'll wallop your head off.'

At this Emeth got off the peco hurriedly and stood by the side, watching rather bewilderedly as the knight rode off towards wherever he wanted to go. He disappeared into the twisted trees a few minutes later.

Valkron rode towards the place. The others would not have noticed that they had been walking on a path all along. He did, because he remembered the way clearly enough.

As he rode on a voice came into his head - a memory that wasn't very old. He smiled to himself. Yes, he had been here before, he had made a name for himself in that very spot. Although fighting wraiths had certainly not been his forte.

He came to what he was looking for a few minutes later. After several minutes of looking at it and reminiscing about the place he turned his peco back and returned to where the others were waiting for him.

'Let's go, shall we?' he said.

'Go where?' said Nocturne.

'Ahead.'

Emeth gave him a look. 'Why aren't you saying what this place is?'

'Actually, I'm assuming you'd know this place,' said Valkron.

'No, I haven't been here before in my life.'

Valkron's face stayed blank for a few minutes, before he said, 'Anyone else never been here before?'

As one the others raised their hands. Valkron buried his face in his hands and muttered something on the lines of 'Oh great' before looking at them again.

'Just come along. And when we get there don't panic, okay? I mean it.'

Edell was using a small compass to take their bearings when Sagna tapped him on the shoulder. The crusader had a large split in his shoulder armour where Argath's sword had broken through with its force, but the knight avoided it. Most people attracted a crusader's attention by making a sound on the shoulder armour and hoping they would notice the faint tink.

The crusader turned. 'Yes?'

'Oh. I thought you didn't hear it,' said Sagna, looking surprised.

'I did. People keep complaining to me about the armour thing. I just thought it would be better if I train myself to hear things like that.'

'Okay.' The knight looked slightly disconcerted but continued with whatever he wanted to say. 'Haven't you noticed something?'

'What?'

'That means you haven't. Sorry,' the knight hastily added as Edell gave him a look. 'Look up there.'

They turned to the great spell overhead.

After a few minutes Edell said, 'I don't see a difference.'

'It's bloody bigger, for Odin's sake! And it's glowing even brighter now!'

Edell tapped his nose. 'Well, I'm sure there's a reason for it. Come on, let's get moving.'

'How can you be so calm in the face of that?' asked Sagna, staring at him as if he was the most ridiculous thing the knight had ever seen.

'It's best to be calm than to panic,' replied the crusader, his eyebrows raised. 'But we should seriously keep moving. It's the best way we can keep ourselves and our pecos warm.'

Sagna's peco honked in agreement. The knight considered this and then sighed. 'I wish I could keep as calm as you.'

'It's not that difficult,' said the crusader quietly. 'Besides, you were like that when you dealt Argath that blow through the torso.'

The Blood Judge watched the spell above the world intensify in brightness and enlarge. He was smiling grimly, and for a good reason.

After a while a flock of darkwings flew into the underground cavern and circled him, chirping loudly. He listened to them before nodding.

'Exactly what I wanted,' he said calmly, lifting a hand. A darkwing fluttered down and alighted on the tip of his middle finger. It flapped its wings slowly.

Argath turned around and looked up at his charge. 'Is it not satisfying your need, honourable one? Thousands of souls are feeding into the spell above us. Once it is fully saturated it will convert the souls into the darkness that once befell the lands above and you will have power once more.'

The thin reedy voice whispered something. It sounded feral and ancient, and gave the impression that something close to a malicious imp was talking.

'Of course, my liege,' said the man smoothly. 'Of course you will rule. But you will be given a new body. I promise you that. It will be a body worthy of your soul, because it will be filled with hatred and anger, and you can convert that to what you were before, am I right?'

Something lashed out, but not at him. He laughed softly.

'Yes, my lord, I understand how much you want that body. You are all knowing and all seeing. Without you I would not be able to do what I can now.' The darkwing on his hand fluttered away as he went down on one knee and bowed to his charge.

Argath stood up a few minutes later and turned on his heel. As he strode of he could feel the hundreds of souls pouring into the spell he had created as in Al de Baran and Juno the armies he had dispatched made quick work of the remaining survivors who had taken refuge in the cities.

'Foolish knights,' he said softly, a thin smile playing around his lips. 'They think they can run from me.'

Although the eight Prontera Chivalry soldiers didn't know it, they were the last knights in the world other than Valkron, Iruna, Sagna and Edell. All the cities were deserted and empty, too - it was Payon that stood out from the rest, free from danger other than the odd enraged creature of the forest.

However they were not spared from the effects of the great spell above them. Even though it was moving away from Payon it was still casting its effect everywhere. It was the reason why Devar had fallen sick and was almost incapable of giving orders.

Kanya watched him from the doorway of the house they had been given to stay in. No one knew what illness had befallen him. He had a burning fever and was far too weak to get up. For some reason his body rejected almost every food and liquid they tried to give him, accepting only water. From time to time they could hear his hacking, dry cough through the thin walls of their rooms.

As a result Redova, Kanya, Anox and the rest were unable to have a proper night's rest. Anox was the most senior crusader in their group and he had guessed the purpose of the spell as soon as he saw it grow bigger and brighter. The old crusader was fighting to keep Devar alive and not let him fall to the spell, but even then everyone doubted Devar would live.

As Kanya watched she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. She turned around to see Redova behind her. He signalled her to follow him. A few minutes later they were standing outside the house.

Kanya blinked. Although the spell above them was bright enough to illuminate their surroundings the people of Payon had set up torches everywhere. The resulting mixture of orange and purple light gave the surroundings - including the people - a rather haunted look. Redova didn't look any better.

'You need some sleep, Redova,' she said, before he could say anything. 'You look terrible.'

The knight stared at her. He had dark shadows under his bloodshot eyes and looked no more than a ghost to her.

'No, never mind about that,' he said at last. 'Besides, it's hard to sleep when your superior is sick and on the brink of death.'

'But still--'

'No buts!'

Kanya cringed. Redova squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath before opening them again and pinching the bridge of his nose.

'I'm sorry, I feel tetchy right now. I didn't mean it.'

'I understand,' said Kanya carefully.

Redova shook his head. 'I just want to know if your decision to send Edell to find Valkron was the right thing to do.'

'I'm sure Edell is fully capable of doing things on his own,' replied the knight rather defiantly. 'If you think I make a lousy tutor, Redova, I suggest you try to take on a student on your own. I can recommend you for it.'

'No! No thanks.' Redova turned away from her. 'It's not that. I'm...worried he might not have the experience to deal with his current situation. He's just a student, after all.'

'Don't forget you're just fresh out of the Chivalry, Redova. It doesn't necessarily mean other students are incapable of making their own decisions before they graduate. I believe in Edell.'

'He's passive for someone like him.'

'You just don't know us crusaders, do you?' said a voice they knew all too well from beside them. They turned to look at Anox, who was leaning against the wall of the house.

At the sight of him they gaped. Anox sighed.

'It's not a matter of whether they're capable or not, Redova,' he said. 'The two of them know that a very heavy burden lies on their shoulders, and they have to bear it. As knights of the Chivalry they will have to uphold their honour.'

'Whatever for?' said Redova. 'There isn't anyone left in this world to acknowledge their honour!'

In one swift, angry movement Kanya had stepped forward and given Redova a ringing slap across the face. Anox stepped back, looking alarmed.

'We're still here, Redova,' snarled the knight fiercely, 'so don't you dare say that!'

There was a stunned silence. It was only when Devar's cough broke it did anyone move. Anox slipped into the house, still looking at the two of them in alarm. Kanya was glaring at Redova, who still had his head to one side from the force of the slap. There was a red mark spreading on his cheek, vaguely hand-shaped.

The younger knight raised a hand to his cheek, still dazed by what had happened. Kanya huffed and turned away from him. She couldn't believe that Redova would have so little faith in what he believed, and in other people.

However, she too felt a little doubtful about Edell. She cared deeply for the young crusader and of course she would be worried if he fell into trouble. Still...it was time he had to do something to prove himself. He may have been quiet and reserved, but she understood that he had been waiting for a long time to prove himself. Even if it meant doing it during a time where no one would be able to acknowledge him if they failed, it would at least comfort him that he had tried.

Anox slipped out from the house, his brow creased. 'I seriously wish I could do something for Devar,' he said.

'We can't, except support him. All he can do is give orders from where he is,' replied Kanya, looking at him.

'He won't be doing it anymore.'

'What do you mean?' asked Kanya anxiously. Beside her Redova had looked up in surprise.

'Devar...just slipped into a coma. I can't wake him up.' Anox had never looked so despairing before. 'He's fighting the battle to stay alive all by himself now. It depends on him.'

There was a silence. Kanya couldn't find any words to say, and by the looks of him neither could Redova. They stood there in silence, all thinking their own thoughts but each reaching to the same thought in their own time.

It all depends on Valkron now.

The party were beginning to glance at Valkron, as they walked on towards wherever he was leading them. At first this was not so obvious, but as time wore on and they began to notice their surroundings the glancing became more and more frequent. Valkron, leading everyone ahead, did not appear to notice the glances and the looks he was getting. Even Iruna was starting to turn her head towards him even more, clearly worried about where they were being brought.

After a while, Nocturne, who had been hopping from foot to foot in nervousness as he had walked, finally voiced whatever the entire party had been thinking. 'Valkron,' he said, 'where are you taking us? This place isn't nice.'

'That took you a long time to observe,' replied the knight.

Nocturne rolled his eyes. 'I know that. But seriously, none of us know where this is. Could you...drop a hint, at least?'

'If I told you now,' said the knight, still not looking behind, 'you would all panic for your lives and run. Which is what I'm not intending because I don't wish to step into this place and battle alone.'

'We know that too, Valkron,' said Iruna. 'But we're not going to just abandon you. Not after your battle with Baphomet.'

'Yeah, I still can't believe that you did that on your own,' said Samaroh dryly.

'Look, in a few minutes you will know,' said Valkron tiredly, keeping his eyes fixed on one spot. 'Just wait, please. Don't keep bugging me endlessly for me to tell you. I'm the leader here. I choose to tell you what I want to tell you.'

'This had better have a good reason behind it,' said Khan.

'It does.'

After a while they rounded a corner on the blackened path they had been walking on until now. Valkron stopped his peco and turned to look behind him. The rest of the party were staring upwards. Even Iruna had pulled down her blindfold.

'Like the view?' he said casually.

They stared. And stared. And stared some more.

Valkron dismounted and tied the reins of his peco to a nearby tree. 'Iruna, I suggest you tie your peco here too. They won't go in, they can sense whatever's here. Arm yourselves and get ready. We're going to start fighting.'

After a minute or so Emeth said, 'Start fighting?'

'Yes.'

'Is it going to be...a war?' asked Eni.

'Yes. You could put it that way.'

Valkron was hoping against all odds that none of them would run. They were still gazing at the view before them. He turned around and looked as well.

A great black wall stood in front of them. It was heavily cracked and there were holes in it where the supporting stones had fallen out, but now, against the darkened gloomy skies it loomed far above them. The lookout towers on the wall seemed grim and menacing. And above all the great black gates that stood before them gave out an aura that reeked of evil.

The knight strode up to the gates. He gripped both rings and heaved at them. With much puffing and grunting he pulled the gates open until there was a gap large enough for all of them to pass through in a single file. As the gates creaked open a gust of cold wind blew out past him, stinking of dark magic and blood.

Valkron dusted his hands after he had got them open. The grinding of the gates had brought back memories for him - sinister, haunting memories. Some of those memories were quite horrific and he couldn't help squeezing his eyes shut in order to stop them from filling him with disgust and horror. It had to be done.

It must be done.

He turned around to the waiting party behind him. They were staring at him, all of them whiter than a sheet.

'You're sure we're going in there?' said Nocturne, his voice quaking in fear.

'Yes,' answered Valkron. 'Everything's here. The portal, Argath - they're all here. We have to stop them now.'

After a few minutes Samaroh said, 'Somehow I know what this place is, but could you just...tell us what it is?'

Valkron shook his head. 'Just follow me. We'll have to do it, and you can't deny it. Get your weapons, leave anything unnecessary behind here and let's get going. I know the way to the old palace, so I'll guide you there.'

'How did you figure it was here?' said Emeth.

The knight had turned away already, but he stopped. 'Because this was the capital of the Old Empire,' he said quietly. 'Glast Heim.'