"I don't understand," said Jewel, dagger in hand as she stood over Enna and Bash, eyeing the corpse of Rolen. "This body looks like it's been dead for… a while. Where is…" She glanced toward the dead doppelganger. "What is going on?"
"I didn't get here in time," whispered Enna, voice cracking on the words.
Shaking her head, Jewel sighed, apparently deciding that this wasn't the time to press. "Was there a ring?" she asked. "Did that creature have a ring?"
Sooka stepped forward and held up a signet ring bearing a symbol of something like a dandelion. It seemed so familiar to Bash, but he couldn't quite place it.
"Give me that," snapped Jewel.
"Why?" asked Sooka.
"It's mine." Jewel took a step forward, hand outstretched.
Rather than handing it over, Sooka looked to Enna for guidance.
"I don't want to hurt you, little bird," warned Jewel. "Please, I've suffered enough loss today. Can I have my ring?"
Enna stood abruptly. "You will not lay a hand on her," she growled, and Bash quickly leapt to his feet beside her, ready to intervene.
"That ring is the only reason I'm here," insisted Jewel. "My friends died because of it. Please, give it to me! It belongs to my family!"
Huffing, Enna turned away.
Bash stepped forward, unable to contain himself any longer. "Who are you?" he asked.
"No one you should be concerned with," she spat. "I came here to get close to Rolen Delthorn. He ruined my family and stole my inheritance – that ring! That is why I came here! We are descendants of Bromwell, the Lord of Dandelions himself, and that is my family's signet ring."
Lord Bromwell? thought Bash. Were the Erim'Raes really connected to him?
Sooka's eyes turned to Bash, waiting for instruction. Slowly, he nodded, and Sooka handed over the ring.
Once it was safely in her hands, Jewel sighed in relief, grasping it tightly, before uttering her thanks. More tears began to fall as she pocketed the trinket.
"Who are your parents?" asked Bash.
"My father's name was Marcus," she replied. "We come from the line of Erim'Rae. This man, or thing, or whoever – Rolen… Through some form of trickery, he led my family into bankruptcy, and all we had left was this ring. Rolen threatened indentured servitude if my father didn't hand it over, and so he gave it up. Not long after, my father ended his own life."
"And your mother?" pressed Bash.
"My mother's name is Lucy."
He stifled a heavy sigh of relief. That name he did not recognize. Perhaps this was all coincidence after all.
As no one responded, Jewel glanced around awkwardly before asking, "How do we get out of here? And where is Kjelle? And Cyrus?" Then she muttered, "They probably took off."
Gingerly, Enna lifted Rolen's skeletal hands and folded them over his body before standing and wiping her face. Drawing back her shoulders, she pushed out her chin and turned to everyone. Her dress was now spotted with blood and sporting a few tears, but in that moment, she was the most beautiful that Bash had ever seen her. As broken as she had to have felt, as battered as she appeared, she was now strong and ready to do what was needed.
"Leave him for now," she said. "We have to go back to the party."
Grabbing Rolen's staff, she inserted it into a slot in the wall, and the gate lifted.
Bash's companions hauled away a surprising amount of loot for the number of them as they made their way back up the stairs toward the party. Jewel ran ahead, and Bash watched her with thoughtful eyes. Was that gait, that sway of the hand familiar? Or was he just projecting the hauntings of his past onto this woman?
Of course, she was related to Ruby. She had to have been. There had been no other heir to carry on the name.
He shook his head to dispel the thoughts and turned his attention now to Enna. The glint of tears still shined on her face, even in the dim light of the passage, though no more fell from her eyes. Her green dress waved and twisted about her ankles as her purposed steps charged toward a responsibility that she should never have had to carry. Part of Bash wished that he had been able to carry it for her, but there were a lot of things he wished that he could have done. This was just one on a list ever-growing the longer they stayed in Agneward. When would it end? When would this guilt lift from his shoulders?
It had been his fault. All of it. Agneward had been his responsibility for centuries, and the moment he had abandoned it, it had fallen into chaotic ruin. Along with a hundred others in the city slums, Aribis's and Enna's deaths hung heavy on his heart and mind. Only through the will of the gods had his companions been resurrected, and one could not cheat death for too long. Not without cost.
He glanced back at Aribis, currently stuffing Heath's cloak of displacement into his bag. Bash almost laughed; the cloak had to be twice as tall as Aribis himself. But as his beak poked at it to fit the long tails into the satchel, Bash grew somber once more. Something had been different about Aribis since his death, and nobody understood what it was. Not even Aribis.
What had Bash's mistakes cost them?
He feared to learn the answer.
Arriving back in the main room, Jewel made a dash for the exit, her companions nowhere in sight, while the Natural Misfits sauntered into the waning party crowd. After speaking to Archibald, Enna dismissed the guests, gathered the heads of staff, and informed them of Rolen's death even as she wept before them. Upon hearing that their lord was killed, many of the staff grew suspicious, and Enna looked to Bash in exhausted fear. After he encouraged her to be candid, Enna did so, revealing the truth of the rakshasa and the doppelgangers before having Rolen's body fetched to offer evidence and clear herself from the list of suspects. The doppelganger and Rolen's decaying body dismissed all suspicion, and the staff dispersed, having sworn their silence about the matter until Enna could get everything resolved.
The tired group debated on sleep, but in the end, they decided to visit Rolen one last time. As they stepped into the room that now housed the bodies of Rolen, Heath, Kragg, Adria, Cordon, and the doppelganger, Bash felt a measure of awkwardness. The bodies had all been covered respectfully, but he couldn't help the feeling that none of them deserved such deference, except perhaps Adria and Cordon. And even then, these two deaths only reminded Bash of his inability to eliminate the Ghost. Enna slowly approached Rolen's body and removed the covering, revealing his lifeless face, still bearing the withering scars of her ancient rage. Her hand trembled as she pulled away the sheet, and Bash sighed to see the hesitation. Stepping forward, Aribis reached out a hand and whispered several words as a golden light flowed forward and surrounded Rolen's body. Bash watched the magic linger, protecting the body from the decay that even now tried to eat it away.
"That should keep him fresh for a while," muttered Aribis.
"Thank you," whimpered Enna, voice wavering as fresh tears fell.
Reaching out, Aribis offered a hug, which Enna received gratefully.
Suddenly, a muffled voice ruffled through the room, changing their attitudes immediately, and they all turned to Sooka. From her pocket reverberated an all too familiar voice.
"Tonight. One hour," it said.
They exchanged glances as Sooka retrieved the sending stone.
"I'll meet you there," replied Sooka, mimicking Ourt's voice flawlessly.
Everyone held their breath as they waited, and a few moments later, another message came from her pocket. Sooka jumped lightly as the Ghost ordered once more.
"I require you at the graveyard. Be there in one hour."
"Very well," said Sooka in Rolen's voice.
The Misfits stood frozen for one more long moment, waiting to see if there would be any other message, but none came.
"One hour," said Bash breathlessly.
"One hour," nodded Enna.
The only one showing anything other than anxiety was Sooka, who stood with eyes shining, face glowing, watching the sending stones in her hands.
"You're not useless," she quoted in Bash's voice.
"We have to leave now," said Bash.
"We can't possibly get to Sunburst Hall in time!" protested Enna.
"We can if we fly," inserted Aribis.
"How do we all fly?" asked William.
"Aribis and I have that covered pretty easily," said Enna.
"Sooka and William can ride on eagle Enna," thought Bash aloud. "I have Hoo, and Aribis can fly."
"We need more than just us, though," added Enna.
"Kayl and Finwe would be helpful," agreed Aribis.
"And the soldiers at the Bastion's Crest," nodded William.
"Kayl could send them a message," offered Aribis. "Whether he can convince them to come at this time of night…"
"We have to try," said Bash.
"How do we carry them?" asked Enna.
"Kayl can fly," replied Bash.
I can turn Finwe into a mouse, offered Sooka on her book.
"That could work, but either way, we have to hurry," said Bash. "If Kayl can't convince Lord Kirin to send his people, we have to go there ourselves, and that will take some time."
"This will work," encouraged Aribis.
"We'll get there on time," agreed William.
"Okay, we all have our assignments," said Bash. "We have to hurry."
After Enna had changed into her armor, the group rushed out of the room and onto the manor grounds as Bash pulled out his owl figurine and whispered the magic words. Tossing it, it transformed into a giant owl and turned to watch him with its wide eyes.
Enna changed quickly into an eagle only slightly larger than Hoo, and William leapt effortlessly onto her back. Bash moved toward Hoo, but Sooka grabbed his arm, and he turned back to her in curiosity. She held out the cloak of invisibility.
"I am the Ghost," she said in his voice.
He exhaled as he understood her meaning and gratefully received the item.
"Thank you," he whispered.
"Sooka," she nodded back.
Was he the Ghost? He wondered as he stuffed the cloak into his bag and hopped aboard Hoo. He had thought so for a long time. Now, he wasn't so sure.
Soon, there would be no question. There would only be one Ghost who would survive this night.
The eagle, owl, and aarakocra lifted into the sky and shot like an arrow to the Zen Manse, where they explained everything they could as quickly as possible to Kayl and Finwe. Both understanding the urgency, they agreed to the plan, and they all waited breathlessly as Kayl contacted Lord Kirin. Thankfully, the panic was evident enough in Kayl's message that he nodded his success even as Sooka cast a spell on Finwe. The blue glow surrounded him, and his body shifted and morphed until he was only the size of a frog. Kayl picked him up, muttering something about food, and tossed him up to Bash. A moment later, they were in the air once more and headed toward the Sunburst Hall.
Even with all haste, hearts bursting in terror and anxiety, they still reached the Sunburst Hall with what they judged to be about ten minutes before the arrival of the Ghost. Bash quickly released Finwe the frog, and Sooka dismissed her magic to return him to his former self. Shaking off the uncomfortable feeling, he recovered in only a moment or so and was ready to do what needed to be done.
Bash rushed to the door and banged as hard as he could, but received no immediate response. Deciding that Hestia would not be able to join them in time, he waved the idea away, and the group rushed around the hall until they reached the graveyard.
They must have been a comical sight, had anyone been awake at the time to see them. Two large birds, two man-sized birds, a halfling-sized bird, and three men all hopped, walked, flew, and jogged down the street and around the building. And had anyone been able to hear Bash's heartbeat, they might have thought him a hummingbird in disguise, so quick was his pulse. Despite everything, despite his skills, despite his friends that now surrounded him, he was terrified.
Just before they left the street, they were joined by the three guards promised by Lord Kirin, and Bash breathed a sigh of relief. At the urging of Enna, Finwe stepped forward and began directing them to the graveyard, and they quickly adapted to this new leadership. The soldiers, two men and a woman, followed them with steel in their eyes.
Still, the Ghost would be arriving any minute, and they needed to be in position. Surprise was their best weapon right now. That and Daemonsbane.
The graveyard was expansive, various graves and obelisks dotting the landscape, all of them surrounding the great mausoleum - the tomb of Lord Bromwell – that rested in the middle, keeping watch over these final resting places. Each of the faces of the mausoleum was decorated with a great sun, and about the edges of the nearest wall were etched words in celestial. Surrounding the graveyard were towering buildings that offered them various perches but limited their escape routes. The only way in or out was the way they came, a tunnel through the first level of the Sunburst Hall, guarded by a wrought iron gate.
"Everyone in position," commanded Bash, nodding to Enna and wrapping the cloak of invisibility around his shoulders. As the magic took effect, he marveled to see his hands and feet disappear into a dim haze, and grinned. This could have come in handy many times in the past.
If only it gave him more confidence now.
Sooka cast a spell, and a moment later, once she was past Bash's range of true sight, he noticed that she had transformed her image into that of Dr. Heisler, Ourt's disguise. She stood before the mausoleum, a vial of denr resin gripped tightly in her hand, and Bash took his place just around its corner, waiting to spring into action. As Bash approached the tomb, he eyed the celestial words that he attributed to Lord Bromwell:
The descent of understanding can be a slippery slope. One must pause halfway to be sure of one's footing.
Penitence is tantamount to reaching your goal. When you cannot walk upright, you must crawl.
Gold is harmless, but its desire is hollow, for if gold is all you desire, gold is all you will be.
He sighed in his nervous energy and glanced around to watch the others reach their destinations. Kayl, Aribis, Enna, and Hoo all perched atop the buildings toward the street, hiding as best they could. William crouched atop a wall on Bash's right, and Finwe and the soldiers hid opposite the graveyard entrance, hoping to be out of sight and hidden by the great tomb. Sooka quickly muttered a spell, and Aribis disappeared.
And so posed, they waited.
The graveyard was eerily silent beneath the werelights. Even the sounds of the city seemed to be far away, leaving Bash nothing to cling to except the sensation of his boots on the soft ground, the rough shards of the granite mausoleum on his fingertips, and his shallow, tense breathing that he hoped was quieter than it seemed. Sooka shifted in discomfort, and Bash began to wonder if they had come at the wrong time.
At long last, shadows formed in the tunnel, slowly emerging into the light that revealed the Ghost of Agneward.
Taking in a sharp breath, Bash fought his compulsion to flee. The Ghost's glowing eyes peered before him, watching this way and that, ever at attention. At his hip hung the fateful rapier that had stolen so much from them all. Bash nearly collapsed in his terror, but soon behind that crippling fear rose a seething rage, his hatred of this foul and accursed being. This creature had stolen his name and murdered two of his closest friends. It had taken his city captive and threatened it like no other ever had. Erathis herself had raised up Sebastian so that this fiend might be destroyed, and he would fight to his death to ensure that it happened.
He would kill the Ghost. He had to.
As the creature sauntered forward, soon it became clear that he had brought lackeys with him. Five people shuffled along behind him, each of them lean and bedraggled, clearly chewers, limping along after the one who fed their addictions.
That makes things more complicated, thought Bash. He glanced up again to his companions high above, hoping beyond hope that they had enough people for all to come out alive.
The Ghost pushed on the gate, and it let out a loud and piercing creak as it swung open. He moved forward, eyes fixed on Sooka, barely stepping into the graveyard. Not yet within Bash's reach.
"Well?" he prompted.
She held out the vial.
"Good," he muttered, taking a few steps forward. "Do you know where Sirx is?"
"No," replied Sooka in Ourt's voice.
Hissing, the Ghost reached into a pocket and withdrew a sending stone. Sudden panic came over Bash, and he glanced back and forth between the Ghost and Sooka as the enemy sent out a message.
"Where are you?" he asked.
Less than a second later, the Ghost's voice echoed out of Sooka's pocket. She glanced down in fear, and a terrible wrath overcame the Ghost's face.
"Where is my brother?" asked Sooka, but her deception was no match for the Ghost's paranoia.
Unfazed, the Ghost growled and ran forward, leapt onto a headstone, and paused. Drawing his deadly rapier, he pointed it at Sooka.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
Holding up her hands in surrender, she took a step back and cried, "Okay! Okay! I don't know how to prove that I'm speaking truth. Just please don't hurt me."
Sooka's use of Ourt's voice was impressive, but the Ghost snarled again, clearly disbelieving.
Realizing that the ruse would no longer work, Sooka pocketed the vial, flicked her hand, and her spellbook appeared behind the mausoleum, casting a dim light. The Ghost's eyes flickered to Sooka's hand and then the light, and Sooka shifted again, clearly waiting for Bash to strike.
But what kept him back? Such anger boiled within him, and yet terror stayed his movements.
Motion caught the corner of his eye, and he glanced to William, who now blurred his way toward one of the chewers.
It was now or never. The play was over. The fight had begun.
Steeling himself, Bash darted forward and planted himself firmly behind the Ghost. Then taking Daemonsbane, he plunged the blade deep into the Ghost's back.
The dagger flashed a blinding white light, illuminating the whole of the graveyard. The Ghost screamed in surprise and pain as Bash felt his own life force pulled away from him, entering the dagger as its glow turned bright red, as if Bash's own blood were amplifying its power. As his invisibility dissipated, Bash watched his hand appear before him, still wrapped about the hilt, his veins pulsing a dark purple as the ache of decay flew up his arm. He gasped, tears pricking his eyes, and he stumbled backward, cradling the pulsing pain in his forearm even as the Ghost stumbled forward, grasping in vain at the dagger that now bound him to their plane of existence.
As sounds of battle began to ring around them, the Ghost sauntered forward in wrath and confusion, eyes flicking wildly this way and that as he realized what had happened.
Three thwumps of Aribis's bolts landed in the Ghost's shoulder and back in quick succession, and Bash glanced over to see the ranger rushing forward to join the fray, Kayl following closely behind. Hoo squawked from somewhere behind him, almost in sync with the beating of William's fists against the chewers, but Bash could not keep his eyes off the terror that now rose before him. Enna swooped down as a giant eagle, swiping with her claws and grazing the side of the Ghost's head just before he ducked to avoid her piercing beak.
Finwe and the knights appeared, but the Ghost held his rapier out and whispered some oath of ancient evil. The glowing red jewels upon the hilt flashed and then went out, and the gashes along his face disappeared. One of Aribis's bolts fell to the ground as the skin healed beneath it, and Bash watched with panicked heart and mouth agape as the five chewers in the tunnel, two now dead and three alive, each began to writhe and twist and form into foul, bloody, bony monstrosities.
The Ghost's eyes turned to Bash, and he froze, barely able to garner breath. His eyes darted to the rapier, now hungry for another soul, and he took a weak step backward. But faster than he could blink, the Ghost's form flickered and appeared directly before him. It was all Bash could do to keep from screaming, and he was only barely able to move himself away from the deadly rapier; it sliced across his arm, and Bash sidestepped the deadly claws that slashed again at his chest.
"What did you do?" the creature hissed.
Sooka threw her hands out, and her glowing spellbook appeared on the other side of the Ghost. A bluish magic shot out from it, striking the fiend so that he hissed in pain, and then she darted around the mausoleum, out of sight.
The Ghost's claws glowed suddenly and slashed once more, this time striking Bash uncomfortably close to his old scars, and that familiar, deathlike curse oozed into him, sapping his strength and keeping him from any future rest. Terror overcame him, and he eased back before dashing to the side and tossing bolts of magic over his shoulder. The first whizzed harmlessly past, but the second struck the Ghost's arm, causing much less of a reaction than he would have liked.
Hoo shrieked again, and Bash was pleased to see him fighting furiously against the monstrosities, but then he watched in silent horror as a different one struck at Enna, grabbing her from the air. Her eagle form shifted, and she became an elf once more. The image of her death assaulted his mind, and he cried out to her, nearly collapsing in relief when he saw her moving, struggling to break free of the creature's grasp.
Losing focus on Bash, to his great relief, the Ghost turned his eye instead to Sooka. He phased out of Bash's sight, following her around the mausoleum just as a thundercloud swirled ominously a hundred feet in the air. Bolts of lightning crashed to the ground, cacophonous thunder rattling eardrums as the monstrosities were struck with Enna's druidic strength.
The battle became nearly impossible to follow as swords danced, birds flew, and monstrosities flailed. Finwe, Kayl, William, and the three nights berated the disgusting, detestable creatures that the Ghost had conjured while Aribis fired bolt after bolt at the Ghost. Bash tried desperately to determine where he was most needed, but he became disheartened to see Hoo disappear, much like Enna's eagle form had diminished, and the tiny serpentine figurine fell to the ground.
What if it's hopeless? he thought. What if we fail? What if Erathis chose the wrong person?
His mind met Sooka at that moment, the current target of the Ghost's demonic wrath. After all she had done, she could not cheat death as her friends had. Any deaths this night would be irreversible.
No, he would not let the Ghost succeed. Bash's fear had overcome him, but he would no longer flee. His friends needed him, and Agneward needed him. Erathis had chosen him to defeat the Ghost, and she had given him the Daemonsbane. He felt as if fate itself were leading him to the inevitable moment that he would defeat the Ghost, reclaim the title for his own, and save his city from utter ruin.
The battle raged, electric energy crackling in the sky above them, shouts of the knights, William, Kayl, and Finwe ringing out with the clash of blades meeting flesh and bone. Flashes of divine power struck the fetid creatures, and a cry from Sooka echoed throughout the courtyard. Bash's urgency increased, but as he was about to move, a massive explosion erupted before him, fire enveloping the knights, Finwe, Kayl, and three of the monstrosities. Screams of terror rang out, and a sudden shaft of light burst across the graveyard from the other side of the mausoleum, no doubt a conjuration of Sooka in retaliation of the Ghost's attack.
William leapt into the still-smoldering circle and began distributing his fists among the enemies, focusing his ki and freezing one in place, pincer still hanging onto Enna but unable to squeeze any tighter. Turning to another, he disposed of it in a bloody mess that splashed across the grass and headstones in artistic fashion.
Shifting his focus to Enna, Bash prepared to intervene on her behalf, but the open wounds on his chest suddenly began to sear in pain. Collapsing to one knee, he clutched at the lacerations and watched in horror as drops of his own blood floated away from him to unite with the Ghost, no doubt healing him once more. The pain was almost unbearable, and he quickly retrieved a potion and gulped it down, pleased to feel relief as his wounds began to heal over. Looking up, he saw the Ghost phase into his view on the other side of the graveyard, poised and ready to attack a knight, and Bash clenched his jaw.
Sooka's radiance had burned the rakshasa, and he now bared his teeth in frustration. The battle wasn't going his way. And was that… a hint of fear in his eye?
With determination, Bash circled the raging battle, trying to ignore Enna's predicament, and trained his bow on the Ghost, focusing his aim at the fiend's heart. The arrow sailed past William and one of the monsters before thumping directly into the Ghost's heart, forcing him to stumble backward.
At that moment, two of Aribis's bolts, shot from twenty feet high, struck the ground exactly where the Ghost had been standing. Bash swore to see the missed opportunity just as another bolt of lightning came down and struck three of the foul creatures, and one of them collapsed. Another swiped at Enna and grasped one of her legs, tugging at it and biting down on her calf.
He couldn't bear to lose her again, but Bash knew that in the end, the real threat was the Ghost. William, Finwe, Kayl, and the knights could handle these last two enemies.
The light of Erathis burst out from a knight's greatsword as it struck a monstrosity while the other two knights stabbed at the Ghost with their spears. Easily sidestepping both attacks, the Ghost swiped up and sliced across one's arm before grabbing his neck. The Ghost squeezed, and the man's cry stopped short as his throat was crushed, and he fell limp to the ground. Bash moved to the right as the Ghost clawed again at the other two knights, leaving them both with seeping wounds, the magic of the curse oozing into them.
Sooka ran forward and grabbed onto Enna's exposed hand before stamping on the ground. A loud pop resounded, and the two appeared, free of the creatures' grasps, in the corner of Bash's vision. As Sooka handed Enna a vial of red liquid, the Ghost held out his rapier once more, and Bash halted in his tracks as more of his life force was pulled from him. He, Sooka, and the two remaining knights shrieked, their blood rushing to the Ghost and sealing his wounds once more. He grinned in satisfaction as the female night seized and slumped to fall face-first into the grass.
William, having destroyed the beast that had held Enna, rushed toward the Ghost before striking him three times, the last so forceful that the rakshasa was lifted and thrown fifteen feet. Recovering quickly, he snarled as his essence shifted again, appearing another thirty or so feet from William, crouched behind a headstone. Bash fired a shot, but the arrow glanced harmlessly off the marble.
Aribis, however, had keen avian eyes and hovered safely above the battle. Two bolts found their way past the headstone and lodged in the Ghost's shoulders, eliciting a hiss. Kayl, Enna, and Finwe all warred with the bloody creatures in the middle of the graveyard, but Bash stayed focus on his prey.
As the last remaining guard tried and failed to land a blow on the rakshasa, the Ghost brushed past him and struck his claws at William. The monk cried out as the curse took hold of him, but he still managed to strike the Ghost as he darted away and landed a similar blow on Kayl.
He's trying to take life from all of us! realized Bash. We have to kill him now!
Bash leapt forward, but once more the Ghost held out his rapier, speaking that infernal language, and absorbed the life force of his victims. Four people reacted; one of them fell.
As the last of the knights collapsed to the ground, Bash felt an undying fury rise within him. William, however, somber as ever, shook off the pain and rushed the Ghost once more. An almost endless succession of blows pummeled the Ghost into sheer terror, and he glanced around, searching for a way out of his situation.
Turning toward the tunnel, the Ghost suddenly flickered and disappeared.
"Coward!" shouted Bash into the night air.
He searched frantically for only a moment before charging forward, abandoning the battle altogether, mind focused solely on the Ghost. He had to die, and he had to die tonight.
Bash came to the end of the tunnel and saw the open street before him. He looked this way and that, eyes searching desperately for any sign of his quarry, any shifting shadow, any glowing eye.
But he saw nothing.
He screamed into the night sky and hurled his remaining dagger at the wall beside him, where it struck, sparking as it glanced off the stone, and fell uselessly to the cobbled street.