by Dawn Chapman
Gestal called us in, and I entered with them both. I tried not to look at him but his bulk at the desk was more imposing than before. I really had been under a spell, hadn’t I?
I shivered when he looked at Denny and Keld.
“Get out,” he demanded. They moved so fast, I didn’t even have time to blink before they’d left the room. I was alone, and he knew it.
“So,” Gestal started as he stood from his desk. “Tell me what happened. How did you accomplish your job?”
I’d been thinking of the many ways I could lie to him without it needed to be too elaborate and so I used my original plan.
“Poison. I used my abilities to earn their trust. Then I slipped it inside her food when she wasn’t looking and waited for it to take effect. I even helped her to her room.”
“But the poison wouldn’t have killed her, right?”
He knew what a strong and powerful person Maddie was.
“No,” I had to adlib here. “She was only mildly affected, enough to make her pliable to me.”
He slid across from his position, almost ghost-like towards me, his energies were sparking about his person with an intensity I’d never seen before. He intended me to see it. I guessed he knew the truth, no matter how good a liar I thought I might be.
Gestal laughed. “Who would have thought it could be so simple.”
He reached for my hand, taking it gently in his. This time, when my nostrils sucked in a breath, I could smell him. There was nothing to mask the rotten stench of death. I forced myself not to gag. This was difficult, of all the things I could do. Fight, run, lie. The fact his real smell got to me, was like a slap in the face.
“Come,” he said, starting to exit the room. “We have an audience waiting to see whether the bearer of the ring really can call down the Tromoal.”
I had no clues here. I’d no idea what a Tromoal was. I needed some serious help if I was going to hold out while the Guild got into position to attack the Hamu.
The courtyard at the centre of his buildings seemed larger. What had I missed while I’d not been here? It seemed there were lots of new faces. Gestal led me out, almost like a lamb to the slaughter, which was where I was heading if I couldn’t do something with this damned ring.
The wave of creatures before us parted. The sea of the dead and damned. I tried to look for Keld and Denny and eventually saw them, waiting for us at the centre.
I tried to hang back, but I felt slight jabs, arms and pokes from the terrifying creatures around me. I stumbled and fell into a half rotten orc, who helped me up. Its rotten breath blasted my face as it chanted out Gestal’s name.
I pushed myself away from it, forced myself to stand upright. Denny waved me on. Gestal’s stance told me he wasn’t too happy.
When he finally looked around the courtyard, every creature around us quietened. There wasn’t a breath out of place. Not a sound.
“Our newest protégée has done the impossible! We are here to witness her outstanding rise to the next level.”
I heard several pings go off in my head.
QUEST UPDATE – YOU HAVE PROVED LOYALTY TO YOUR MASTER.
REWARD – 1000 GOLD COINS
I felt queasy as music played around me. Gold stars appeared out of thin air.
YOU’VE BEEN AWARDED 3 KARMA POINTS.
I couldn’t believe it. They’d not seen me do anything. My stomach churned and bile settled at the back of my throat.
“Today will mark the retaking of this city!” Gestal raised his arms to the air, and I turned a full circle. I’d noticed the sheer amount of people; of course I had. But I’d not seen their weapons, or the fact they were armed and ready for a fight.
Maddie and the others were not only heading into a trap—this was citywide. They’d been waiting, training, keeping a low profile so no one knew the plan.
The city would fall to the dark side, and not in the way that Gestal had always portrayed. There was nothing here that spoke of balance. It was pure evil.
How could I?
The ring tightened around my finger, or was it because I was just so hot, and sweating. I looked to it, its beautiful shimmering pink glinted back at me.
Gestal took my hand and brought me forwards, turning me in a circle like some parading model at a show.
The bile inside me threatened to burst free. I coughed.
“So.” Gestal turned to me. “Let us see what you can do.”
“Way to put me under pressure!” I said, knowing my scowl wasn’t really going to convince him to empty the courtyard.
I could hope, but his jaw clicked. He was as impatient as the day I’d first met him, after killing his precious dungeon creature.
I did the only thing I thought I could. I moved towards the edge of the circle and sat down, cross-legged.
Maybe this would buy me some time. Somehow, I hoped that Alia or Noc could see through the Necromancer’s wards, through me and know what was going on.
It was the only hope I had.
Chapter 13
I listened to what was going on around me. There were conversations and a lot of anger. Getting deep into a meditative state wasn’t so hard, not with all the training I’d had with Shin but also because I loved to listen to my inner self and let it take away the exterior nerves that came with this horrific situation.
I had no way of doing what he wanted. It wasn’t my ring, and the bearer was very much alive.
That’s when I heard her voice, like a whisper in my ear. Just be careful. We’re aware of what’s going on. We’ll be ready for you. You must show him though, we need a distraction. We need him to think he can take the city.
How? I thought to her.
Maddie’s voice chuckled in that way she did, and I could almost see her long hair bobbing along with it. He just gave you Karma. You’ve amazing skills, put them to use!
Oh. I never thought about this being the best opportunity to stack up my skills! If I could have, I would have slapped my own face for stupidity.
Lila, Maddie said. You’ve got this, we know you have.
Okay, give me a few minutes. I’ll sort this.
I shivered and called up my character sheet. I could surely make my odds better in many things, and I didn’t want to just throw four Karma points into just anything.
I would need my pure fighting skills to help get me out of this sticky situation no matter what. I would be in the middle of the shit heap.
Thinking about it, my Aspects wouldn’t have changed, but I might be able to alter them to better the outcome here.
Aspects -
Advantages -
Aptitudes -
Affiliations
I clicked Aspects
Body — 1
Mind — 2
Soul — 1
Scrolling across with my mind, I clicked Advantages, that would be too easy. There was no way there was going to be anything that could help me here.
Advantages — 0 – You have no available options.
I wasn’t worthy to the AI I guess.
There was a little buy button, but it needed Karma points. I clicked on my Karma bank and it read.
Karma — 7
I hadn’t forgotten they were hard earned and given to me. I made my decision quickly though, and allocated all seven points.
Aptitudes
Combat (Body) —2
Diplomacy (Mind/Soul) — 1
Endurance (Body/Soul) — 1
Faith (Soul) — 2
Subterfuge (Body/Mind) — 5
Logic (Mind) —1
The rush I felt was something I had to hide. My internal gamer really wanted to squeal. Energy poured through me; I felt much stronger, and much more capable of doing this.
I folded my hands against my lap, making sure that Gestal’s eyes were following the ring finger.
I breathed in, out. Changing the way I looked at the world around me, the way everything felt. I sought solace in meditation just like I had many, many other ti
mes when stressed.
I really needed to call forth a Tromoal. How could I when I didn’t even know what they were? Were they monsters? Something that was going to be so terrifying that I’d be scared for life?
What vision appeared in my mind though was not of monsters, but of huge airborne creatures. Tromoal were dragons, the dragons of Puatera.
I heard something in the distance; the beating of wings. The cry of a beast.
It was me imagining it, surely.
There was a voice too, a deep and bellowing one. “You have called for a leader of Tromoal. The one you really seek cannot answer your call, so I am.”
There were murmurs from the creatures around me and I looked towards the sky.
“I am going to land beside you, young one, do not be afraid of what you see.”
I wasn’t trying to be afraid. The whooshing sounds of the gigantic wingspan of this creature blew my clothes, my hair—all those who surrounded me were not screaming for joy anymore. They were terrified. I thought for one split-second as to why, but the approaching beast came into view and I had to look away.
I’d seen my sister’s love of dragons for years. They were everywhere in her room. From stuffed toys to hand-drawn books. Adorable and some might have looked scary—I say might with bated breath, because what was descending from the heavens was nothing like our worldly imaginings as kids.
There were deep gashes, and bones on display. Why was everything in my area of the world rotten? The smell washed over me and there was no way I wasn’t parting with the contents of my stomach. I leaned over and heaved.
All hell broke out around me as the crowds started to scrabble for cover. Gestal grabbed hold of my hand, pulling me to him so I couldn’t run. Making sure we were clearly at the centre of calling down the Tromoal. Shouts, screams and blood curdling agonising deaths.
The Tromoal wasn’t coming into land just yet. I must clear him some space. But, it also looked like he was clearing it himself. Powerful blasts of icy fire rained down on the crowds around me. They scattered, just like I wanted to, but found I was mesmerised.
“Protect the master!” Keld and Denny screamed. But Gestal’s face was stuck watching the traversing monster.
The shouts and screams around me, made me wipe my mouth and reach for my weapon.
Gestal didn’t let go of my hand. “You’re going nowhere. You will end this, when we finally have the Tromoal here. The other Guild will not go against us with him under our control!”
The wings grew in size, the gust sending up much more debris than I wanted. It was shocking, then I saw the fiery red hair of Alia with Noc by her side as they fought at the far side of the courtyard. How did they get here so fast? Why? Had they known it wasn’t going to end well, after all the planning. The creatures were giving them everything they had. But they were dying. Gestal knew his subjects didn’t stand a chance.
I turned to him. “Why? Why did you do this?”
“You can’t see the why, Lila. You Visitors know nothing about this world. Or what’s going on inside it.”
“So tell me!” I yanked my hand from him and drew my daggers. I wasn’t going to let him torture me or anyone else again.
He stood before me and laughed. A horrible belly chuckle that made me hate him all the more.
When he went for his own weapons I knew he was humouring me. I’d no chance of killing him, but I would trade blows. The burning desire to hurt him was overwhelming.
He let me make the first move, and it was nothing but a test. I wanted to see what he would do if I went for a strike. Would he hit me hard, or wait till there was nothing else for him to do but swat me away like a fly?
The move was easy, a quick slip and change angles and I would be inside his zone.
The thought crossed my mind, what if I did land a strike?
I risked it, positioning myself where I needed to be and landed a blow to his side. He screamed in rage. “You traitorous, insignificant creature.”
The world around me was blasted by freezing cold winds. I glanced to the sky in time to see the Tromoal making one last pass. Not with a fiery breath, but frozen icicles. They slammed into the critters, taking off heads, slicing through bodies, and exposing innards. Gore splashed my face and neck as the Tromoal finally came into land, right beside me as he’d promised.
Sheer terror plastered Gestal’s face. But he kept tight hold of me and I kept on trying to wriggle out of it, but he was strong.
When I finally took my eyes off him for a moment, I realised there was someone on top of the Tromoal when it lowered its head to bare its teeth at Gestal.
“This fight, my dear, is not for you.” The massive man or monster slid down with such grace that landing on his feet was nothing but a hop, but to me it would have been a fall and a broken leg or something. The darkness surrounding this creature was like nothing I’d witnessed. His muscular upper half shone in the moonlight. Wait, since when had it gone dark? I looked around. Yep, we were fighting in darkness now. How could that much time have passed? No wonder they were getting miffed about me meditating.
“This is my fight,” I said. “I want to kill him.” It came out almost with a growl.
The demon walked towards me, he didn’t need to say anything else. His presence was enough to make me step back.
Gestal’s grip tightened on his sword, and the new demon drew his.
“You’re challenging me?” Gestal asked.
“I could take everything you have, right here, now. But that would be against the terms we abide by on Puatera.”
Gestal’s eyes lit up. “Challenge accepted, my lord.”
My lord? Was he joking? The beast before me was a Demon Lord! What did that make Gestal?
Something tugged at my sleeve. I looked down into Denny’s face. He was covered in blood. “Lila, we should go. This will not end so well, with Kamaal here.”
I noticed the way the energy around the two demons was pooling. I wanted to stay. I needed to see this out.
“No,” I said. “I’m not leaving.” The glint in Denny’s eyes changed and I almost saw regret. “This is your time to get out! Go.”
Just like that, he backed away slowly, never taking his eyes from his master. But, then he turned, and bolted off, never looking back.
The energy the Demon Lord was giving off was enough that all ties to Gestal were loosening. His minions had stopped fighting and were looking around as though they’d no clue what they were doing. Alia looked at me, and then the Tromoal.
“What the hell?” she mouthed at me.
I turned to see what the Tromoal was doing. Its huge head was resting on the ground beside me. Its eyes staring directly in my direction.
You really are a little one, the voice said in my head.
I shrugged off the comment. That’s just you being mean, right?
It chuckled.
Who is that? I asked, looking to the two demons as they circled each other, two animals about to go into battle, for what? For this city? Why was it so important? I didn't understand. I looked around once more.
Maddie was heading my way with Noc in tow. She approached with care, but held out her hand for the ring.
I took it off and passed it back to her. “Thank you.”
“No,” she said. “Thank you. I never even thought that he might have been baiting us both.”
Maddie turned to the Tromoal and placed a hand on his nose, as rotten as it was.
I couldn’t help but notice then how much darker it was getting. I looked back to the demon fight, though it was hard to see them they moved so fast.
The Tromoal moved his tail, curling it around us all. “For protection,” Maddie said. “The energy the demons are going to give off will be toxic.”
I tried to follow it, but I just couldn’t.
Maddie placed a hand on my shoulder, and I glanced up at her. “You brought him here, how?”
I pointed to the ring. “I asked for help. I didn’t know if it would w
ork.”
Maddie smiled. “The Tromoal are amazing creatures. But I never thought the demon lord would have ensnared some.”
The voice that came back, rumbled through my very soul.
“There are many of us who crossed the line,” the Tromoal said. “But we are free to roam where our souls desire.”
I had no clue what he was going on about, but I could see the fight was turning. Though Gestal was strong, at least compared to me, he had nothing on Kamaal. It didn’t even look like he had broken out a sweat, toying with Gestal. He was on his feet at least till he couldn’t stand anymore and then he dropped.
I saw the light in his eyes fade. Kamaal stepped forward, raising his sword, towering over Gestal, about to take his head.
It was like my body wasn’t my own anymore, and I ran out from the protective stance of the Tromoal, right in front of Kamaal as he was about to land a killing blow.
“Don’t,” I said. “Please.”
He looked down at me, and I cringed. I thought I was going to be re-spawning any minute. But there was pity in his misted eyes. “Why should I not kill this insolent pathetic creature?”
“Because we need him.” I looked around at the creatures of the city that hadn’t fled. Those that were gazing on with hurt on their faces. “Well, they need him, I don’t. I just want to find my sisters.”
The demon lord touched the side of his face. “Sisters?” He stared at me, and grinned. “You look a lot like her actually.”
“Dahlia?” I mumbled. Behind me, Gestal was rising. I turned to him and ordered. “Stay down!”
QUEST UPDATED – RETURN WITH KAMAAL AND MADDIE. UNITE WITH YOUR SISTERS IN THE WAR FOR MAICREOL.
Maddie approached us, her ring glowing in the darkness. “Your Tromoal told me you came through the same portal we did. Do you think you can find it again?” There was something about the way she stared at me.
“What’s wrong?”