The scent of bacon tickled Bash's nose the next morning as he approached consciousness. He could hear little except some sizzling from one side of the room and the occasional scrapes of metal on metal. Slowly, he opened his eyes, waiting for the pain of a hangover to stab at his mind, but to his pleasant surprise, none came. Above him hung the ornate ceiling of the Zen Manse, and below him a thin mattress padded his frame. Lifting his head, he glanced around.
Finwe, or someone, had moved him to a cot in the corner of the room along with his other companions. Ilya was nowhere to be found, but Finwe was cooking over at the bar. Enna sat at the table with her spell book open, muttering to herself every few seconds and occasionally counting on her fingers. Sometimes, her tongue would stick out the side of her mouth as she focused. Bash smiled.
William stirred next to him, and Bash stood to join Enna. He gave a light grin as he sat next to her, and she glanced up at him once before returning to her feverish preparation. It was clear that she was anxious about being ready for whatever awaited them that day.
Shortly after William woke, he offered help to Finwe, and a minute later, they were working in tandem to cook breakfast.
Eventually, the group and Finwe sat around the table eating sullenly. Turning an eye to Finwe, Bash noticed a deep level of exhaustion on his face.
"Did you sleep last night?" asked Bash, knowing full well the answer was no.
"I couldn't rest last night," began Finwe, "without knowing that Lady Ilya was safe. I took her somewhere where she wouldn't constantly need me at her side. I trust you all will let me keep that location a secret?"
In a few seconds, Bash had mapped out in his mind every possible safe house location in the city but tried not to think too hard about which one might currently be housing Ilya. The others all nodded in agreement with Finwe.
"Do you all have a plan?" asked Finwe.
"He's going to pay," replied Enna simply, still flipping through her spellbook, occasionally remembering to put a bit of food in her mouth.
"The Ghost?"
Enna nodded.
"What's your history with him? Clearly you all have some sort of vendetta, and it seems like you've met before."
"We've encountered him before, on our first night in town," affirmed William.
"Does this all have something to do with Rolen?"
Working together, the group explained their involvement with the Ghost, catching Finwe up to where they were now. He listened intently, though tired, and reacted appropriately in the right places.
"So, what is your next move?" he said finally.
"We have to go to the temple of Erathis," replied Bash. "That should be our next stop before the tournament today."
"How far is it?" asked William.
"About a thirty-minute walk, I should think," answered Finwe.
More like ten, thought Bash. Tourists.
"Is it alright if I tag along?" asked Finwe. "Ilya should be safe for the time being, and I feel that I'd be most useful going with you all."
"Of course!" said Enna.
Sooka shuffled over to Finwe with her silver spoon exposed and reached up very slowly to touch his face.
"Can… Can I help you?" he asked skeptically.
"Just let her touch your flesh," dismissed Aribis.
Realization dawned on Finwe, and he pulled off a gauntlet and held out his hand. Sooka tapped his hand with the spoon, and nothing happened.
"Satisfied?" said Finwe.
Nodding sheepishly, Sooka headed back to her seat and plopped down.
"This is going to be odd, meeting everyone with a spoon," remarked Aribis.
Sooka cocked her head to one side, questioning.
"If anyone says that it's weird, just tell them, 'It's a customary greeting where I'm from,'" encouraged Enna.
"It's a customary greeting where I'm from," mimicked Sooka.
Finwe guided them toward the temple of Erathis, but he soon took a turn that would cost them several minutes. Interceding, Bash turned them down an alley and through some side streets, and about ten minutes after they left, they arrived at the Azure Temple.
Impressed, Finwe asked, "Have you been here before?"
Shrugging, Bash replied, "Once or twice."
The large marble building loomed over them, striking with its grand pillars and reaching brackets. Far above them, the statue of Erathis stood with her ever-flowing pitcher of water that emptied deep below into the Well beneath the city. A few people were spotted going into the temple, but most of the crowds were still sleeping in the early morning hours. As they entered, they saw an expansive room, a giant pillar in the center supporting the roof, and the statue atop it. Surrounding the pillar was a wide spiral staircase leading down into the Well.
With determined and knowing footsteps, Bash led them downward. He eyed the pillar with a realization that he'd never been to the base, even as long as he'd lived in Agneward. At least he was learning something new about the city today.
As they reached the bottom of the stairs several minutes later, the group stepped onto the walkway that led into the warehouse district of the city and peered over the railing only to see the pillar's base plunging into the subterranean lake.
"I guess this is my time to shine," said Enna with a smile. She handed the key to Bash, and he pocketed it.
"Go become a fish," he encouraged, grinning.
"Maybe not something so trite," she laughed, and then she jumped off the railing and into the water.
"Now we wait," said Aribis.
"Let's look a little more natural than staring off into the lake," said Bash, turning their attention to the Well itself. "Look at all this: the industrial warehouses of Agneward. Over there, you can see…" And he dove into an explanation of each of the corporations of Agneward and their day-to-day warehouse operations. He highlighted which made easier targets and why, and eventually began to tell them about other parts of the Well, including a vague description of some of the winding tunnels that bored through the surrounding rock.
Eventually, Bash ran out of things to say without going into an uncomfortable level of detail, and they fell into silence.
"So…" Finwe finally spoke. "You were all in the Mireguard, right? I… noticed your cloaks."
"Aye," said Aribis.
"Formerly," added William.
"How long did you serve?" prodded Finwe.
"A few months."
"So your contracts were bought out?"
William, Bash, and Aribis nodded.
"Hm… Did you ever make it to Camwirt?"
At that moment, there was a splash nearby, and the group looked down to see a crocodile floating on the water, a shiny bit of gold in her mouth. Bash smiled again.
"Did you find anything?" called Finwe. "Wait… is that a crocodile?"
"Yep," said Bash nonchalantly.
"How do you communicate with her?"
A single click came from the crocodile, and Bash said, "That's a yes. She found something."
"Do we need to go down there?" asked Finwe.
Enna tilted her head.
"She's not sure."
"If we need to go down there… I can help with that."
"How?" asked Bash.
He muttered something and waved his hand, and suddenly Bash's mouth felt oddly dry, but he wasn't thirsty.
"Waterbreathing?"
Finwe nodded.
Shrugging, Bash said, "Let's go then!" and leapt forward, diving into the water.
Waterbreathing was a strange experience that Bash had only had once or twice in his life. His mind screamed at him to keep his mouth shut and hold his breath, and he had to force himself to open his mouth and breathe. Magically, of course, he could do that with no problem, no sputtering, no gasping. As no splashes followed, he resurfaced and looked up to see what was taking so long.
The others were all debating something on the railing, with everyone turned to look at Aribis. Enna nuzzled close to Bash, and he took hold of her rough, scaly tail to avoid treading water for too long as those above tried to convince the small bird man to join them in the water. He vehemently resisted, and finally Finwe shook his head and dove into the water.
An odd guttural growl came from Enna, and Bash translated, "She wants you all to come down with us!"
"You lot go ahead!" called Aribis. "I'm fine here."
"A buddy system would be a good idea," insisted Sooka with Aribis's voice.
"I'm not getting in that water!" said Aribis stubbornly.
William stepped forward and grabbed at Aribis, but he flapped and pushed himself back over the walkway before flipping around and kicking William toward the water, which did little to move him.
"Aribis," warned William.
"You couldn't pay me enough to get in that water."
"You don't like water?"
"No, I don't. I've almost died twice in water."
"But you can breathe under the water."
"I don't care."
Rolling his eyes, Bash left it to them and dove.
Sooka watched helplessly as the boys debated, but in the end, William conceded with only a wish that Aribis be safe. Sooka watched her dear friend dive over the railing, planning to wait with Aribis to make sure that nothing happened to him. He was the one, after all, who had been so insistent on staying in pairs.
She leaned over the railing to peer down at the group and noticed that Bash had already dived deeper. Then a lurching feeling caught her stomach as Aribis picked her up and threw her over the railing. She was so caught off-guard that it took her several moments to realize what had happened, and by then she had splashed into the water. Almost immediately, Enna swam up underneath her to support her weight. For this she was grateful, but her anger shifted to Aribis still up on the railing.
A buddy system, she thought. You were the one who said we needed buddy system! So flippant, so insensitive, using my lack of flight against me.
All she wanted was just to fly up there and join him, to be able to plant her foot and make a point, but she knew that it would be futile to try. Her heart yearned for the sky, or in this case, the cave ceiling, but here she was, stuck in the water, useless and voiceless.
A thousand curses flitted through her mind, but the best she could do was glare at him and channel Bash's voice.
"You walk like a chicken. You wanna go?"
Bash had never been very afraid of water, and he'd spent many hours pushing a boat across this very lake. In fact, he knew of several entry points to the tunnel system just a hundred feet to his left. But right now, his intrigue was focused on what lay before him at the bottom of the lake. This particular trek was something he'd never done before, given that most of his visits to the Well were either for information or targets found within the warehousing district, or else hidden deep within the tunnel system. A certain adventurous spirit grabbed hold of him, pulling him deeper into the dark water until he reached the base of the pillar.
Surprisingly, the pillar itself didn't seem to have been placed or built here. Bash thought that it almost appeared to have grown out of the dirt and sediment, pushing through the bedrock from below. Curious as that was, he quickly began to move around the base of the pillar, searching for whatever it was that Enna had found. He noted many scattered coins from people tossing them in from above and made a mental note to revisit this location sometime in the future. After a minute or two of searching, he decided to simply wait for the others.
The wait lasted longer than he wanted, but eventually they found him, and Enna swam up to a mark on the side of the pillar. Bash peered through the darkness and saw the symbol of Erathis carved into the wall.
"The key!" he reminded himself aloud, surprised to hear his voice instead of a muffled grunt.
Magic, he thought, shaking his head. Amazing how that stuff works.
Reaching into his pocket, he removed the key, and almost instantly, the symbol and key began to glow a soft blue. As Bash brought the key toward the symbol, the light shone brighter until he could see a small slot for a key. He inserted it and turned, and the outline of a door appeared around the keyhole, shining the same blue. He pushed lightly, and the door swung inward, revealing a shimmering reflective veil.
Without hesitation, Bash pushed himself forward until he fell through the veil, emerging into air completely dry. He stood within a white marble chamber, perfectly circular, and blue flames began to catch in sconces around him, illuminating the area.
"That's handy," he muttered before turning to see his companions file in after him. William, Sooka, and Finwe entered the room, also dry, but Enna stayed outside the door peering in at him.
"Come on," he called, but she turned to look up at the surface of the water and then back at him.
Aribis, that bloody chicken, he thought.
"No," he said.
She looked up again, pleading for help to retrieve her small bird friend.
"He made the decision to stay, Enna."
Shaking her head slightly, she swam forward and moved through the veil, transforming into her elven form as she went.
"We can't leave Aribis out there by himself," pleaded Enna.
"If he wants to get himself killed, that's his decision," said Bash stalwartly.
"He could be in danger!" she said desperately. "I'm not comfortable with this. We need him here."
Sooka tugged on Enna's arm and pointed to herself. She agreed.
"Fine, go back and get him," dismissed Bash.
"Don't do anything without me," said Enna, giving Bash an irritated look.
He held his hands up in surrender as she leapt back into the water and swam upward.
As Enna surfaced, she looked up, expecting to see Aribis waiting by the railing, but he was nowhere to be found.
Of course, thought Enna. We can't make this easy, can we?
She whistled and waited.
"Oy," came an unfamiliar voice. Enna sighed in frustration. "Did you hear that?"
"Ah, come off it," replied another. "We've got work to do."
"No, I swear, I heard something! It was down here!"
Silently as possible, Enna dove under the water and swam toward the railing, surfacing in case Aribis appeared but pressing herself against the wall. She quieted her breathing as much as possible just as two heads leaned over the railing.
"I swear, I saw something over there."
"Come on, man, we have work to do!"
The second man pulled the first away from the railing, muttering as they walked away. Their voices became distant, but there was no flapping of wings on the air.
Several moments went by, and nothing. Knowing full well the keen eyes of Aribis, Enna pursed her lips in frustration, knowing that she had to be more urgent with her message. Hoping it would attract only the right eyes, she threw up her hand, and flames sputtered out and lit the dark sky of the Well.
She waited another painful minute, almost exasperated enough to leave when she heard the movement of air above her. Glancing up, she saw the outline of a bird dive toward the water almost faster than she could track it, and there was a near-silent splash as he hit the surface.
With a grin, she dived down, following him back to the base of the pillar.
"So…" said Bash into the silence, his voice echoing around the room. "You think they're gonna come back?"
William shot him an exhausted side eye right as Aribis and Enna splashed through the veil, Aribis nearly twitching with irritation.
"You know, I was going to offer to turn you into a fish," she said. "So you didn't have to get wet."
He didn't deign to answer.
"Aribis, you have joined us," said William, almost happy, it seemed.
"We couldn't let you stay alone," added Enna. "The city is too dangerous right now."
"I was perfectly fine," protested Aribis. "I was up on a roof. No one could see me! Then you had to trick me and convince me that someone was hurt!"
"That wasn't my goal!" replied Enna, clearly offended. "I was just trying to get your attention!"
Aribis let out a heavy sigh. "What are we doing here?"
"Good question," said Bash, eyeing the walls carefully.
He began to walk around, running a hand along the walls, eyes focused carefully on every detail. His well-trained eye, however, saw nothing more than the dark bands in the marble.
A loud crash sounded as the door shut, and Bash spun to see it as Enna's doing. Then the entire room began move. Bash tried to stabilize himself as they shot upward, his weight compounding at the motion, until they came to a rest. To Bash's right, a section of wall rotated upward until a doorway fell into place, and beyond it, a waterfall glistened and gleamed.
Curiosity overcame him, and Bash stepped up to peer through the doorway, straining to see what was beyond the shimmering wall of water. Whatever was behind was distorted, but it seemed to be another lit chamber.
"Do we just go through?" asked Finwe.
"Hang on a moment," said William, pushing forward and reaching out a hand to the water. As his finger met the flowing liquid, it separated to flow around it, but he did not recoil. A moment later, he stepped through.
As far as Bash could tell, William had emerged unharmed on the other side, but it was difficult to tell. But he raised a fist, indicating his safety, and Bash ushered the others through, keeping his eye on the door behind them. Enna, Aribis, Sooka, and Finwe charged forward in a line, and Bash thought he might have seen Aribis hesitate for a moment. But he followed, and the group of six stood dry once more on the other side.
A short hallway led them to another chamber similar to the one they had just left, but in the center of this room was the statue of a beautiful, angelic woman. She was armed with a mighty hammer ready to fall on a circular altar that stood before her. A beam of sunlight shone down from above and illuminated the altar.
Slowly, the group approached, peering at the statue as it peered back at them. As they reached the large round plinth, Enna reached out her hand and touched the smooth marble, only about two feet in diameter.
"Fascinating," she muttered.
Scanning the entire structure, Bash waited to see some kind of indication as to the "testing" they were to receive. There appeared to be no writing on the statue or the surface of the altar, but then something caught his eye around the edge. He knelt to get a better look at the text that wrapped around the plinth.
"What is that?" asked Enna. "What does it say?"
"Good question," remarked Aribis.
"'To the heroes of Agneward, a gift to protect the city,'" Bash read aloud. "It's celestial."
"You speak celestial?" said Enna, surprised.
Bash shrugged. "I learned a lot back in the day."
"A gift to protect the city," repeated Sooka.
"Maybe this is a place to grant a weapon of some kind," said Bash. "Remember Erza's story?"
"But nothing's happening," complained Enna. "We have to do or give something before we can receive."
"What about Aribis's ingot?" asked William, receiving a glare from Aribis in return.
"That might work, actually," agreed Bash, realizing William's idea.
"Wait," said Enna, holding up a hand. "Let's try something else first. We don't want to give that up unless we have to."
Aribis muttered a quiet thanks as Enna unsheathed her scimitar and placed it on the plinth. They collectively held their breath and waited. But nothing happened. A flash of black flames shot from Aribis's hand, scorching the marble, but a moment later, it was clear as it had been when they arrived.
Frustrated, Enna pursed her lips and retrieved her scimitar.
In one fluid motion, Bash leapt onto the plinth and stood with his hands out mockingly.
"O Erathis!" he called out into the empty void, his voice falsely pious. "Please help us dispel this foe! Thank you!" He bowed, and the words echoed around the room, lingering in the air for a moment before dissipating. "Well, maybe she's not real." He shrugged and jumped down only to be struck lightly by William for his blasphemy.
Rolling her eyes, Enna said, "Except for that last part, you might be onto something. Let me try."
She placed herself on the altar and knelt before calling out, "Erathis, you've tried to have this creature defeated before. You are a god of justice, but there is nothing just about this. Our goals might not be perfectly aligned, but I believe that you share our desire to see the end of the rakshasa. It has brought only terror and death to your city and your people. We need to stop it, but we need your help."
They all waited, and yet again, nothing. Rolling his eyes, Bash began to pace back and forth, wondering if Erathis even cared about everything that was happening. If she had, surely she would have said something by now. Maybe he'd been right all along, and the gods didn't exist.
His arms swung back and forth, and one of them chinked against his jacket pocket, reminding him of what lay within.
"Oh!" he exclaimed, withdrawing the key. "I'm such an idiot!"
As Enna jumped down, he approached the plinth with the key, and his suspicions proved true. A blue circle began to glow, and within the circle opened another small keyhole. He placed the key and turned, eliciting a click.
The plinth began to glow, and he stepped back with mild fear as the statue's face turned toward him. She floated forward and alighted before him, nearly fifteen feet tall, menacing with her mighty hammer as her skin changed subtly from white marble to metallic flesh.
"She heard you, Bash," she said, her voice an oddly distant whisper.
He froze, regretting his blasphemous display, but unable to do anything else about it.
"Why have you come?" she asked.
He thought for a moment, conscious of his friends behind him and the importance of what he would say. This was the trial of which Erza had spoken. He knew that a lie would not serve him here, but he also believed his intentions to be true. Despite his callous exterior, inward he harbored deep pain and hurt, sorrow and grief, all brought about by the disgusting intruder into his city.
"To kill the Ghost," he said.
"Which Ghost?"
He took a sharp breath, choosing his words carefully.
"The rakshasa."
"As long as the distinction is made," she replied. And was that a hint of a smile? Bash shivered. "What will you give to defeat him?"
Certainly not my friends, he thought indignantly. Then he chided himself; of course, that was not the type of sacrifice she sought. This angelic being was good, a protector of Agneward – just like he was. No, she required something personal. Something close to his heart.
But what? His possessions meant little to him, except a few trifles of decent value. All his mountains of gold had already been stripped from him, and he had next to nothing to his name.
My name, he considered pensively. My name… What is my name?
His fingers reached up to his neck, where an old chain hung over his chest. Extracting it from beneath his tunic, he turned his eye to the signet ring dangling there. A simple gold ring, stamped with the symbol of his family. This ring was a symbol to him, though he thought of it seldom. It represented a life that he had escaped to become who he was today. The challenges he had once faced were now so distant that his memory could hardly recall them; that was why he kept this trinket.
Reaching up, he unlatched the necklace and held it out toward the statue. Taking it in her hand, the sentinel of Erathis eyed it carefully before turning her gaze back to Bash.
"Why do you give this to me?" she asked. "What does it mean to you?"
"It's a reminder of where I came from and what I've gone through to get where I am today," he answered honestly.
Her hand extended and dropped it back in his hand. Surprised, he replaced it around his neck, tucking it back beneath his tunic.
"Why do you fight?" she pressed.
He'd always hated quizzes. Many answers flitted through his mind. My safety. Money. Job security. But beneath it all rose the true answer, something sitting within him since they'd arrived in Agneward.
"For my friends," he said.
"Then prepare yourself."
She began to lurch forward, baring her hammer at him, and he stepped back quickly and drew his sword. The sounds behind him told him that his friends also readied for battle, but William needed no time to ready. His light footfalls rang throughout the room, and he appeared on Bash's left, striking at the statue with his fists, the final blow landing hard enough that even she was forced to stagger backward. Taking advantage of the commotion, Bash lurched forward and ran behind her, eyes trained carefully on his prey as he swung around and pierced deeply with his sword. As he extracted his weapon, it was stained with silver blood.
With a forceful push of her wings, she rushed to meet the others. Aribis waved his right hand, but the magic bounced off useless as he waved his left and a jagged magical dagger appeared on her left. It jabbed at her as she swung at him, striking Aribis on his arm and releasing a flash of light. Enna's hand reached out and grabbed onto a conjured blade of flame. As she sliced at the sentinel, a ray of magic shot from Sooka's hand and William pushed forward again, aiming to make contact once more.
The sentinel's eye turned to Enna, and she recoiled for just a moment before the hammer came down to strike her on the arm, forcing her blade to dissipate. She dodged a second attack just as William reached the sentinel, and his fist made landing once more. Bash sheathed his sword and nocked an arrow as William focused his ki, but she didn't seem to react to it this time. As Bash raised his bow, a bright flash let out from the hammer, and he closed his eyes just as it reached the height of its intensity. Opening them again, he saw Enna holding her hands over her face, but the rest seemed unfazed.
Aribis flapped his wings and propelled himself backward. The sentinel turned to swing at him, but he held his hand up, and a tremendous thump sounded as the hammer hit an invisible shield surrounding him.
Enna muttered under her breath, and her clouded eyes cleared as she drew her scimitar. A spellbook appeared to hover over Sooka, and she began to shimmer with magical armor as the sentinel spun around and struck William on his side. He stumbled backward as a flash of holy light emanated from the contact point and radiated throughout his body. She threw her hand out in an arc, a faint light shooting out to William, Bash, and Aribis, and Bash felt his arms feel ever so slightly heavier.
Swearing, Bash raised his bow again to aim, and he saw William hold his fists together and focus for a split second. The shimmer of his ki shone through the cuts and bruises on his skin, knitting them back together until William was completely whole. He darted back as she swung at him again, making contact with his shoulder before turning and striking Finwe directly on his chest. A cracking of ribs rang out, and Finwe crumpled to the floor.
Bash fought to find a line of sight in the midst of the frenzy, and Aribis cast healing magic toward Finwe, whose eyes flickered open in bewilderment. Another flashing smite landed on Enna's shoulder, and her eyes flared and locked on Finwe. After a mumbled word, magic flowed toward Finwe again as Enna slashed at the sentinel. Stumbling to his feet, Finwe gathered his strength and followed suit as the sentinel moved toward William and struck him once more.
The monk retaliated with ki-powered fists, each blow landing consecutively and sending shocks through the shimmering body of the sentinel. He stepped back as she readied her weapon once more, blood dripping from multiple wounds, but instead of attacking, she merely lifted her hammer high and spoke. A bright flash spread out from the uplifted hammer, but this time Bash's eye was trained right at it as his fingers prepared to release his arrow. He, William, Aribis, and the giant owl all cried out as their vision blurred and then turned black.
The whistle of Bash's blind arrow rang throughout the room, followed by a rattle as the shaft bounced against the wall and clattered to the ground harmlessly. With the faint image of the room reflected weakly in his closed eyes, Bash ran up next to the sentinel and attacked from behind; his sword made contact, and he felt it pierce her metallic flesh.
A voice rang out in his mind: "You fight for more than yourself."
The battle became a clamor of noise to Bash, but he spent his efforts focusing on the sounds of the sentinel. She swooped behind him, and he turned frantically in an attempt to keep track of her. The sounds of magic rang out around him while metal sliced through the air. A screech came from the confused Hoo, but then a searing pain wracked his body while light brightened his vision for an instant. Almost brought to his knees, Bash heard a soft grunt from William and felt his body crumple to the ground.
"William?" he called out, taking a step forward, but his foot almost slipped in a slick substance on the floor. Instantly, Bash's heart started beating faster.
What could he do? William could be dying – or he could be dead. Wild thoughts ran through his mind, most of which were coupled with memories of Aribis's bloodied body. But there was no helping it. As much as he wished that he could magically save William, he knew that the best thing he could do to help was to focus his efforts on the sentinel.
Focusing all his wit on the enemy before him, Bash listened carefully, tossing his wish for vision aside. There was the swish of her hammer, the beat of a wing, and there – right there – was her heart.
Lunging forward, he plunged his sword through flesh. The room paused.
"So they were worth it…" came that voice again.
All at once, the terror in Bash's heart subsided as the sense of danger suddenly passed.
Sight returned to him, releasing a disturbing scene. William indeed lay bleeding just to his right, and his friends stood ragged and panting about him. Yet in the midst, the sentinel stood with her hammer raised, absorbing light and the dark of their eyes while reaching to William as a glowing light emanated from her hand. The blood seeped back into the monk's body, and he slowly opened his eyes and stood.
"Well done," rang the sentinel's voice in his head. A glance around the room told Bash that the others heard it, too. "I can see, Bash, that they mean a great deal to you. Tell me… what is it you wish to save?"
He hesitated. Save? He'd fought for many things, but rarely to save something. Once or twice, he'd fought to protect Enna. Was that his answer? Was this still part of the test?
He thought of the rakshasa, and his mind went once more to Aribis and his limp body in that alleyway.
Revenge? Was that it?
No, he told himself. Aribis, Enna's scars – these were only fuel for the fire. In the end, what he really wanted to save was his home, the place where he'd been for nearly three hundred years, the place he'd protected for as long as he could remember.
"My city," he said simply, a firm gaze set on the sentinel.
She reached out, and he allowed himself to be guided toward the plinth, where she placed his hand before retrieving the key.
"Bash, you have protected this city in your own way for so long… The Lawbearer has watched you as you've taken matters into your own hands over the many years. For this task, we grant you Daemonsbane. Give me your dagger."
From his right hip, he withdrew Andelvar's dagger, the ornate craftsmanship sparkling brightly in the blue light. The gold banding contrasted the steel hilt and blade, and almost reluctantly, he held it out.
Taking it in her hand, she said, "The weapon used specifically to end your targets will now be the tool used for this enemy as well."
Then in one sweeping motion, she plunged the dagger into the plinth.
For just a moment, Bash's heart almost broke, for surely it must have been shattered. But it was not so. Raising her hammer, she brought it down mightily on the plinth, crystal shards scattering as the hammer shattered. The dagger, still whole, began to glow blue as the sentinel slumped to one knee.
"You have three days," she whispered to them. "Make them count."
Her body started to glow and shimmer and then flake, and a moment later, she had disappeared into something like stardust, the key clattering to the ground.
Slowed by his own awe, Bash crept forward and wrapped his hand around the hilt of the dagger. As soon as the cold metal hit his fingers, his thoughts swirled about, and it felt as though he were in a different place.
He saw himself, as if in a memory, making his first kill. He recalled the cheap dagger, the scent of blood, and the anger on his father's face that next day. Then his first mark in Agneward, that filthy gnome with such a penchant for self-service and false piety. The lifeless body of a guard who had been a little too swift to deal judgment on innocents. Rolen's rage at delayed shipments. The smile of a child who had finally eaten for the first time in weeks. The light in Enna's eyes as the children delighted in her magic.
It had all been for them… for the children… for Enna… for Agneward…
A feeling pulsed through his body, almost an uncontrollable power. For a moment, he wrestled it, fearing it might overtake him, but then it erupted from him all at once, the explosion of magic bursting from his soul. His eyes were alight with fire, but at the focus of all his wrath stood the rakshasa, a sickening grin alighting his stormy red eyes.
And then it was all over. His hand was around the dagger, and his friends stood around him waiting. And yet, the power was still there, deep inside him. His fingers tingled with the possibilities of what he could unleash, but he felt… now was not the time.
He slid the dagger easily from its marble sheath. The hilt was as before, but the blade itself shimmered, almost liquid flowing, but contained to the confines of the blade. Gently, he touched it, but it didn't move or swirl. Waving it to and fro, he watched as the motion rippled through the metal.
Suddenly, a different swirl caught his eye, and he saw a flow of blue light emanating from the plinth before him. Instinctively, somehow, he knew that this was magic. Spinning, he took in his party members, but they were all as before save Sooka, whose mage armor glistened in white light around her. Past them, through the doorway, the waterfall also glowed, revealing its magic to his eyes.
"Whoa," he muttered, looking back at his dagger.
"Bash," said Enna cautiously, nursing a cut on her side. She inched forward. "Are you okay?"
He almost laughed at the irony of the question. Here she was, and her companions, bloodied and weak, and here he stood before them with a power unforeseen that he did not fully comprehend. He felt that with one word, he could envelop them all in some unearthly fire, but he held himself back.
With a comforting grin, he nodded to Enna.
"What… what just happened?" asked Finwe, stumbling forward, hand wrapped around a cut on his left arm. "Why aren't we fighting anymore?"
"We won," affirmed William.
"I need a nap," he exhaled, shaking his head.
The residual pain in Bash's body dissipated, and he glanced to Enna to see her muttering and making calculated motions with her hands. The spell was as normal, but he gaped at her, as for the first time, he watched a greenish essence depart from her hands, following the normal healing light, and flow into each of them. Something about that magic became even more comforting to him, and he smiled at her.