Chapter 29

We walked through the barrier of shadows surrounding the town feeling the dark power of the curse wash over and around us like walking through a waterfall. The town was as predicted old, rusted and abandoned with the black, green hue of the curse covering any surface that was once filled with life. The stone walkways were also ripped up and destroyed by blackened roots, so much so that we had to climb over them as we made our way to the House of Healing. The building was made of light bricks, greyed by time and the curse, and the structure of it made it look more like a church than a hospital with stained glass windows and statues depicting figures of great beauty and power. Gods of healing would be my guess. In a world like this, healing magic was probably just as fundamental to medicine as surgical skills.

Walking through the large wooden doors, I looked around the front room. Wooden chairs and benches lined the walls, a desk with the words waiting area carved into the front of it was on the left side of me and in front of me was a staircase that went down to a large wooden door. I heard muffled sobs coming from the door. I walked towards the foreboding sounds when a figure popped up from behind the desk. The figure was female and seemed to be wearing a medieval nurse's outfit, except the hood was fitted around her whole face only leaving a hole for the mouth, covering her eyes. The skin left unhidden was a sickly grey and the veins showed underneath as they glowed a dark purplish colour. The nightmarish nurse spoke to me in a strained whisper like she had permanently lost her voice.

"Here to see the doctor? Are we poorly? Are we desperately poorly?" The nurse said, looking me over, "Not so well, but well enough to wait. Join the line; and you will be seen."

There wasn't anyone else here. The nurse must be stuck in some sort of delusion thanks to the curse. I reached out towards the women with my magical senses. There wasn't even a spark of life to the figure, just a barren mix of shadow and echoes of memory. The zombie thing was just playing out the routines of the woman it once was. Only way past it was to play along.

"Please miss, I'm in urgent need of care and it can't wait," I said in my best desperate child impression.

"The doctor has his hands full. So, you must wait." The zombie nurse insisted.

"But there's something wrong with my mind. I keep seeing things. Impossible things. Carriages pulled by fire and oil rather than horses, metal boxes that speak to me like angels from above, and worst of all, I can't feel any pain." I said, desperately trying to keep the laugh out of my voice.

"No pain?" The nurse asked in a curious and hungry tone that had nothing to do with medical concerns. "That is… most fascinating. The doctor will want to see you. Down the stairs and through the doors." The rotten nurse said, pointing towards the door.

We went down the stairs and through the door and walked into a massive operating theatre. Seats lined the walls in a U shape and centred on the single patient being examined. That patient was the source of the cries I had heard. The patient was a man, unmarred by the curse, but covered in blood and fresh cuts. He was whimpering in pain as four of the zombie nurses gathered around him. Behind him a towering figure emerged from the shadows. The man was at least seven feet tall and had the same greyish skin as the nurses. He was grabbed in a black and gold waist coat, a black upturned hat and goggles that had a magnifying glass on the top of them. His hands were the most notable thing about the man, as they weren't flesh but sharpened claws made out of metal. He held a scalpel in his hand up high as he spoke in a clearer, more focused voice than the undead nurses.

"The objective of the scalpel, sisters, is to soothe, for the scalpel, indeed is an extension of Shar." The undead doctor mused as he stared dramatically at his scalpel, "See how the patient reacts when I but stroke the right nerve." The doctor said as he slowly made a new cut on the man's chest, "Hear it's comfort. Hear the very melody of mercy." He said as the poor man grimaced in pain.

"I think you might be skipping a few procedures there, doctor. The Hippocratic Oath, for instance." I quipped to make myself known.

The doctor smiled in an expression of puzzled delight that would have been charming on any other face. On his greyed and purpled mug it only looked creepy and foreboding.

"Ah, we have an audience. Come. Step forward. You are no sister, but that matters not none. Every student is welcome. I am Malus Throm. Head Surgeon and Scalpel of Shar." Malus boasted.

"Funny. I didn't think the Lady of Loss had any interest in healing. You torturing this man hasn't convinced me otherwise." I said calmly while shifting my blasting rod to my hand inside my coat.

"Behold, sisters, the very face of ignorance- one who mistakes tenderness for torture. Go on. Acquaint the face of ignorance with the true object of our studies." Malus said inviting the nurses to speak

"Absence." The nurses all said at once.

"Absence. No other word captures the heart of Shar so very perfectly. It is the scalpel lead journey that leads from pain to peace." Malus said as he used his clawed fingers to poke out his patient's eyes.

"A stinging truth. But a truth nonetheless." Shadowheart remarked.

I gave her a harsh, 'not the time' glance as I faced the mad surgeon, "Stop this. The curse has twisted your purpose for healing into nothing but a pension for cruelty." I said trying to reason with what might have been a good man once upon a time.

"Cruelty? No. No no no. It is the light that is cruel. It is the light that allows us to see the very laceration of being. If light is the symptom, then darkness is the cure, for in light there is presence, but in darkness there is absence." Malus said, utterly confident in his belief.

"In light is presence; in darkness, absence." The nurses chanted.

"In absence there is nothing. No joy. No contentment. Absence is not peace. It is just the removal of everything that matters." I argued.

"You are a fool. So painfully present that you cannot see the truth." Malus said in a pitying voice.

"If you think I'm such a fool. Prove me wrong. Let that man go, send your nurses away and show me the peace offered in Shar's absence, and I'll show you how my presence will stop you. Unless you're not confident enough in your beliefs to face debate." I challenged.

Malus Throm clapped his metallic hands in glee, "Oh how I love a good debate. Reminds me of my days in medical school. Sisters release this poor unfortunate to my challenger's associates and make yourselves scarce." They did as he commanded, releasing the man's binds and giving him over to my companions.

Shadowheart stared at me concerned, "I got this, help him. Please." I said giving her a small smile.

She returned it before pulling me into a quick but deep kiss, when she pulled away she said, "Don't die Harry. We still have things to discuss."

I gave her what I hoped was a reassuring smirk before turning to face the good doctor.

Malus flashed a manic smile at me as he moved away from the operating table, revealing his legs were also mechanical. "Soooo, how will our debate begin?" Throm asked, pulling a long, thin blade from the back of his coat and stroking it lovingly with his equally sharpened fingers.

"First a question. Did a band of soldiers come here, say about… a century ago?" I asked like the time frame was simply a few short months rather than a full lifetime.

The question seemed to shake the man out of his revelry. He squinted at me confused, before focusing on the question. His face suddenly broke into a delighted grin, "Ah yes. The dastardly Flaming Fist. They tried to take the sisters from their studies before Shar's gift was dispensed on the land. They were too late, of course. Most were taken by the shadow beings. One foolishly thought running further into the darkness would save him." Malus cackled in fond remembrance, "I kept a little memento of his as a nice reminder of my lady's power and the foolish notions of resistance people have to her eternal darkness."

"Interesting story. How about this, if I win the debate, you give me the memento. A fitting prize I think." I said trying to sound genial.

"Hmm. Very well, but what do I get if I win?" Malus asked

"Malus. Buddy. I'm whoever wins this, won't be in a position to refuse anything." I said flatly.

Malus's cackle reverberated off the walls of the operating theatre as he said "An excellent point young man. Now let's give our opening arguments." The abnormally thin man suddenly jumped right at me, blade and claws primed for my throat. I dodged out of the way but only by inches and I felt a light prick as his claws grazed the spell-armored leather of my duster.

I returned the blow with a lance of force which only sent the mechanical manic a few steps back. Malus's manic grin grew maddened as he slashed at me. I was able to block or dodge most of his attacks, but he was too fast, his robotic limbs too precise. He finally landed a genuine blow, cutting across my wrist and then my chest, causing me to drop my staff. I didn't feel the pain, but the surprise pressure made me step back. Thankfully I had my blasting rod at the ready and hit the quick bastard with a fiery blast while he revelled in my pain. The blow knocked him off balance as he patted down his face and threw the incinerated hat off his head. Despite the burn marks on his face, he seemed more angry than hurt and charged at me again with unchecked fury.

I blocked his next attack with my shield bracelet, and he continued bashing and slashing at it with mechanical and maniacal rage. My wrist grew hotter and hotter, the bracelet would give out or my concentration would, then he'd only need a few more missed steps or tired dodges to cut my throat open. I needed to lock down those shears he called hands. Then an idea dawned on me. I let down my defences and dodged around his next slash. Malus screamed a high-pitched wail as he came to slash at my throat again. But before he could I cast, "Venteferro!" The man's mechanical hands were forced to his sides, the sharpened ends digging into his flesh as he fell to his knees. Magneto eat your heart out.

"I believe this concludes the debate, Edward Scissorhands. Say hi to Shar for me."

The undead maniac smiled, far too satisfied to be at my mercy, "You are just as formidable as my Lady warned. Oh, that hypocritical traitor will fall to you, oh mighty wizard Dresden." Malus said bursting into an almost painful sounding cackle.

"How do you know my name?" I asked alarmed.

Instead of answering, Malus suddenly broke out of his magnetic restraints and plunged one of his claws into his right eye. Too grey blood trickled out of his visor as he fell to the ground.

I stepped back, stunned. So Shar didn't just know I was in her cursed realm, she was anticipating my arrival. Clearly, she's been blabbing to her cronies. Does that mean Ketheric knows I'm coming? No. Malus called Throm a traitor, so I guess he switched up on Shar after all. A dangerous endeavour pissing off a goddess of darkness. I searched the body of the doctor and found a worn lute, hopefully belonging to Art.

I walked out of the operating theatre and was greeted by my companions and the man on the operating table, now healed and twitching ever so slightly.

I walked up to him slowly, "Hey man, what's your name?" I asked gently.

"James. James Squire." The man said quickly in a small voice. "I was sent by the Flaming Fist, investigating the area. Rest of my men are… Only I'm left, those bastards thought I'd be a 'good learning opportunity'."

"Alright James. We'll get you back to Last Light." I assured the traumatised man. He nodded before going back to staring at the wall.

We guided James back to the inn and he fell into the bed Maggie once occupied. The muttering Art was lying in the bed next to us, Halsin watching over him. He turned to me and pleaded.

"He keeps saying Thaniel's name- he must know more. We need to rouse him."

"I found this lute in the House of Healing. I think it might be his." I answered hopefully.

"Good. It's music might restore him. Show it to him." Halsin responded.

I pulled out the weathered instrument and plucked a few notes. Instantly the muttering man sprang up to a sitting position and yelled, "Thaniel! He's still trapped there- he needs help!"

"Calm. Breathe. You've been trapped in the Shadowfell for a century- take a moment to clear your mind." Halsin said trying to soothe the frantic Fist.

"A century… you're Halsin. Thaniel said to find you. You must help him please."

"I will, but I need to know where Thaniel is. If I venture into the Shadowfell blind, I will never find him."

"I'm not sure I can put it into words- the landscape there shifts and changes."

"Is there anything there that's concrete? Something that doesn't change. A sound. A smell. Anything?" I asked.

"Lavendar. Wherever I saw Thaniel, I always smelled lavender." Art said weakly, clearly losing his strength.

"I can work with that. Rest now." Halsin said before turning his attention back to me, "Meet me by the lakeshore. I have what we need to proceed, but I'll need your help. Be ready, this may prove… perilous." Halsin finished as he walked out of the room, expecting us to follow.

We did, but I lagged behind. I pulled out a small dog whistle from my pack and with a small effort of will, blew into it. I couldn't hear the sound, but the spell I wove into it should allow it to travel a great distance. Hopefully he'll get here in time.

We walked to the lakeshore, which was just at the edge of Isobel's protection. I felt the darkness lashing at the dome of light, a sense of rage in the absent horror of the curse at the inn's refusal to succumb, as we moved past the defences. We met Halsin on top of a stone platform.

"Now we can begin." The druid said sagely.

"Begin what exactly?" I asked

"Thaniel is trapped in the Shadowfell, but thanks to your efforts, I know where to look. Now I must go there- alone." Halsin said emphasizing the last word like he was speaking to a misbehaving child.

"Not gonna happen. You can't go jumping through shadows without any backup. Especially with what's at stake." I argued.

"I'm fully aware what's at stake Harry. That's why I can't waste this opportunity. It must be me who restores the natural order to this land." Halsin said using a tone of authority to hide the desperation in his voice.

"The natural order isn't the only thing on the line. Maggie's best hope of waking up again is Thaniel. I'm not letting you go alone just to soothe your ego." I spat.

"I beg your pardon." Halsin barked, irritation coming through his grandfatherly mask.

"Ego. Look I get it. You couldn't save the land or the people when Ketheric let out the curse, so you figure getting Thaniel out will make up for that. But if you go into this alone you could die in there and our best hope is gone." I said trying to reign in my temper.

Halsin let out a frustrated breath, "Even if I were to consider this, you can't navigate the Shadowfell and only the scent of lavender can guide us."

I smiled knowingly as I heard a basso woof coming from behind me, "I never said we'd be going alone." Mouse jumped up beside me, mouth dropping into a doggy grin as he looked to Halsin.

"The hound is very impressive, but…" Halsin rumbled

"But nothing, Mouse's nose is better than a dozen greyhounds put together and he's already proven he can shield people from the curse. You need him, and he's not going without me." I said.

Halsin made a frustrated sound, rubbing his face with his hand before saying, "Very well. But only us and the dog. The rest of you will be needed on this side of the portal."

"What for?" Karlach asked.

"The monsters of the curse will be attracted to the portal, you must defend it at all costs until we return."

"You got it. Don't worry Harry. We'll keep you safe and while you get your girl the help she needs." Wyll assured me.

I smiled appetitively at my friends before turning to Halsin, inviting him to open the portal. Halsin nodded and started chanting, "Oak Father, hear me, aid me. Force open the jaws of darkness. Make passage for your vessel of light."

In an instant, a glowing portal appeared with a burst of leaves and the smell of honey. The portal itself leads to a dark place, darker than the curse. The Shadowfell, Shar's domain. I took a deep breath and stepped into the portal.

Right, this will be my last entry for a while. I'm going back to university. To anyone still reading my little side project, thanks. I'm not abandoning the story but I need to focus on uni work for a while.