Author's Note: Hello again. I've decided to try a little experiment. You will quickly become aware of it as you get to the end of the chapter. Enjoy.
xtenchix: I'm not sure as to why the princess would be in the paladin stronghold instead of her quarters, but perhaps later, when the Overlord besieges the keep. As for minion antics, there are a few, but this war will be quite long and there will be many more opportunities.
General Herbison: I'm glad I guessed correctly. The minions of war will be unleashed soon enough. ;)
Xeno Tyrant: I keep wishing that Capture the Princess would be a game mode in Overlord multiplayer. Imagine it like a four-way capture the flag combined with a free-for-all deathmatch for the princess. That would be fun.
Disclaimer: My characters are mine, Overlord is someone else's
Chapter XXXI: Showdown in the White Tower
As the Overlord began to show the paladin residents of the White Tower his particular band of justice, there was a commotion at the town square. Leandros' head had been found in the saddlebags of a white stallion by a particularly inquisitive stable boy who was rewarded with its grisly contents. The stable boy and most of those around him threw up, decorating the cobblestones with the remains of their breakfasts.
Under the boiling heat, the head of William's best general and brother began to stink awfully. The women bemoaned the death of one of the kingdom's greatest warriors (Leandros was well-known for his…extracurricular activities) until at last a sergeant of the city guard threaded through the crowd to see what all the fuss was about.
The sergeant, a veteran of several conflicts, placed the head inside a leather bag before carrying to the front gates of William's keep. The townsfolk followed behind, curious to find out what had befallen the king's brother.
Meanwhile, Hanson and his minion horde were happily slashing their way past any and all paladins that dared stand in the vengeful being's path. After a particularly stubborn pair of paladins had been felled, the Overlord awoke form his rage-fueled bloodlust to find himself on the very top floor of the tower. He looked around in disgust. Despite their professed humility, the paladins had chosen to furnish their outpost luxuriously, with soft carpets and expensive furniture being commonplace.
"I sense powerful magical energies behind that door on the left sire," Gnarl said through the mental link. "There's no telling what could be behind it, I advise caution."
Hanson could feel the magical energy in the air as well. It felt like the deep thrumming of a hibernating rock giant. The hairs on the back of the Overlord's neck went up. Whatever was behind the door, it certainly wasn't friendly.
Hanson slowly opened the door, the First Overlord's sword at the ready. The Overlord opened the door fully, only to regret it instantly. He felt himself being flung forward by an unknown power. As he flew, Hanson heard the door slam shut behind him, cutting the minions off from him.
The Overlord rose to his feet, head on a swivel as he surveyed the chamber he was in. It seemed to be some sort of throne room; the floor, walls, and windows were made of the purest white marble and inlaid with gold. Expensive banners hung from the ceiling and in the center of the room, there was a throne. With the curtains drawn on the windows, it was shrouded in shadows, but Hanson could see a shape sitting on the throne.
With a gesture form the mysterious being, the curtains flew open, momentarily stunning the Overlord and revealing the stranger. A man of interminable age sat upon the throne, clad in shining gold armor and a helmet that revealed little besides his eyes and mouth. The man seemed relaxed, friendly even, as he lifted his gaze. The paladin's mouth became taught and his eyes bored into the Overlord as the rest of his face became overcast with a scowl of pure rage.
"YOU!" he spat. "I killed you an entire millennium ago! Yet, you still haunt me. Perhaps you are nothing but a phantom."
"It seems he has mistaken you for the First Overlord sire," Gnarl murmured. "I can't believe that Lord Garrod is still alive! How could this be possible…unless."
"I am not who you think I am," Hanson began to advance on the paladin, who remained sitting.
"It is of no consequence who you really are. If you wear the armor of that light-forsaken Overlord, you will die by my hand, just like he did!"
With that, Garrod leapt forward from his throne, bringing his mighty hammer to bear. It was ancient, made of some stone and mounted on a grip of wood that was inlaid with gold and runes. The paladin swung horizontally, but Hanson caught the hammer with his blade and almost casually turned it aside. The hammer slammed into the floor, ripping through the marble and pulverizing the wood beneath.
"Sire, in case that demonstration wasn't enough, that hammer will kill you if it hits you with sufficient force," the minion master told the Overlord. Hanson made a mental note to kick Gnarl when he returned as he dodged another blow that pulverized a column and sent chunks of marble raining down on the two combatants.
"Stay still coward!" the paladin shouted as he swung once more, but much faster than before. The Overlord turned his black blade sideways and managed to deflect the blow back at his opponent.
"Sire, according to The Evil History of the World the description matches. That truly is the progenitor of the entire paladin order. I wonder how he survived for all these years," Gnarl said after a delay.
"Noted," Hanson grunted as he ducked under another vicious swing.
As Garrod readied himself for another strike, Hanson leapt forward, slashing at the paladin from multiple angles. To any normal opponent, it would have seemed as though the Overlord wielded a dozen blades instead of one, but the paladin managed to deflect every strike, although some were very near misses.
Garrod then lashed out with an armored foot. Hanson blocked successfully, but looked up to see the grinning paladin executing an overhead strike.
"Master!" Gnarl piped up. "Use a shield spell!"
The Overlord lifted his left arm and cast shield, but not on himself. Hanson generated a bubble shield in the path of his opponent's hammer. Garrod brought his hammer down, oblivious to the shield until it was far too late to alter the hammer's path. The hammer collided with the shield a noise akin to a thunderclap.
Both combatants were thrown backwards as the shield was obliterated by the force of the blast. The force of the explosion burst through the roof, shattering masonry put in place countless years before. Red sunlight streamed in through the newly-formed window and revealed the forms of Garrod and Hanson as they struggled to their feet.
The Overlord rose to his feet, ignoring the pain that lanced through his body with every movement and groped around himself for his sword. Hanson's vision was blurred from the rubble that had impacted his helmet, but with a swift shake of his head, the confusion was gone.
Garrod was going through a similar process, his gold armor now covered in dust. The two men rose to continue their titanic battle, arcanium clashing against stone.
"It seems you are more than a match for me in my current state," Garrod panted as he paused after a particularly vicious bout. "It seems so," Hanson said as he readied himself once more.
"No longer!" Garrod intoned as he read a prayer to the Light in his mind. A golden-white aura surrounded the paladin, making him brighter than the sun would ever be, even in its zenith. The Overlord had to shield his eyes from the glare, and that was when Garrod launched his decisive offensive.
Hanson managed to dodge the first strike, which obliterated the remains of the walls with its passage, as unlikely as it seemed, the door that barred the Overlord from his minions remained intact however. The fight was now finally visible to the world. As the shower of rock rained on both men, Garrod swung again, this time straight at the Overlord's head. Hanson barely managed to muster the strength to block and the hammer caused him to skid back a few feet.
As the hammed connected with the arcanium blade, the Overlord began to feel weaker and weaker. He looked up to see that the paladin seemed to be growing stronger.
"It seems his hammer absorbs the energy of other magical beings," Gnarl said unnecessarily. "That must have been what caused the death of the First Overlord and allowed him to live so long. You could try to pierce the hammer's head. The result could be you getting your power back, or a very large explosion. Both work in the end."
Hanson seriously doubted that a large explosion could be anything less than lethal, but resolved to give it a try anyway.
The sun had risen enough to become yellow instead of its dawn shade as Hanson spun away from Garrod. The Overlord focused all of his power into his blade, awakening some ancient part of the sword. A slight halo of black flame surrounded the onyx-colored blade, almost unnoticeable.
With a cry, the Overlord charged at the smug paladin. Garrod, who was formerly assured of victory, was suddenly forced to defend himself from the furious blows that rained upon his defenses. Hanson forced the paladin back with a fierce slash and readied himself for what he hoped would be the final bout in this duel. The fighters had swapped their position from the beginning of the fight. The Overlord's back was to the golden throne, the only piece of the throne room that remained other than the door.
"Let's finish this," Hanson said as he stepped forward and kicked the paladin in the shin. Garrod doubled over and the Overlord thrust forward with his deadly blade. Despite everything, the hammer came up to intercept the sword point. As soon as the point made contact with the hammer's stone head, the slight halo of flame became an inferno that surpassed the light emitted by Garrod.
The world seemed to darken as the blade hungrily drank the energy within the paladin's hammer. With every moment, the light faded and the darkness grew stronger. Hanson stared in wonder as the mighty paladin before him seemed to age a thousand years in a few seconds. Soon, nothing was left of Garrod except his armor and helmet. The hammer fell to the ground; its head shattered and the haft now a useless stave.
"That went better than expected," Gnarl voiced his satisfaction over the psychic link. "If my suspicions are correct, the Tower Heart's opposite is beneath that throne."
Hanson kicked open the throne room door to find his minions waiting patiently, playing with the corpses of the slain paladins, using their heads and limbs as game pieces in some macabre form of entertainment. The Overlord couldn't help but smile at the child-like actions of his most ruthless soldiers.
His minions quickly shifted the throne to reveal a pyramid-shaped crystal roughly the same size as the Tower Heart that glowed with white light.
"It seems my suspicions were correct sire," Gnarl said. "If you were to destroy that crystal, the paladin's power would be greatly reduced, which would give you a decisive advantage in the climactic battle you're sure to fight against William soon. Alternatively, you could take the crystal for yourself, which would allow you to legitimize your future claims on the throne as well as increase your power somewhat. The people of this realm would be only too happy to accept another 'paladin king' after the current one suffers an…unfortunate accident."
Author's Note: Now, the fun begins. You my dear readers get to decide what happens next. Domination or Destruction, what will it be? PM me with your votes (Destruction: destroy the crystal, Domination: keep it), and I will count them and determine the result. Until next time.
As always, please make comments and suggestions! R. Overlord