A Skeleton's Duty (Death Knight Series Book 4)

by Michael Chatfield

  “They will create a link to the tower. They can be used by Guardians to pass information to one another, or information broadcast through all of the flames. They increase the rate that Guardians can recover their power by being close to it. It can create a barrier around a village to assist in defense, though its most important aspect is that a Tribunal can be summoned to test people to turn them into Guardians, or it can be used to pass trial on people who are brought forward. It serves to bolster a city’s defenses and give the people hope.”

  “Huh,” Aila said.

  “It sounds simple on the outside, but these were created halfway through the war and their effect couldn’t be denied,” Claire said.

  “Who made them?”

  “A gnome, a dwarf, and me,” Claire said. “We have visitors.”

  “Hello?” A voice called out into the tower.

  The church’s edifices had been destroyed. The new tower had its four Guardian eyes looking over the land. Its purple fire flickered gently above the tower and on the main floor. Stones and dust covered everything, needing to be cleared out.

  “Do you want to…?” Aila asked.

  “My appearance will freak them out and I’m not a Guardian. This is your house now.”

  Aila couldn’t read Claire’s expression or emotions as she looked at the next enchantment that appeared in front of her.

  Aila smiled lightly. “Let me know if you need anything.”

  Claire let out a grunt and Aila turned around and headed out into the main area. She was on the third floor; she jumped off, falling on two bridges before she dropped to the main floor.

  There was a mixed group of several people from different races. They flinched back at her sudden arrival.

  “How can I help you?” Aila asked, making sure her hands were out and clearly visible.

  “Uh, are you a Guardian?” the beast kin woman who was part of the goat clan asked, her eyes wide.

  “Yes, I am. My name is Aila.”

  “I’m Lola,” the goat clan woman said.

  Aila looked at the group of people behind her. There were three other beast kin, four gnomes, five dwarves, and another elf with a despondent look in his eyes; a hobgoblin held onto his arm and had her hand on the elf’s back.

  Looking at them, Aila didn’t know what they had been through; she couldn’t fathom it. As she looked into their eyes, she tried not to shiver. “What can I do to help, Lola?”

  “We don’t want to be slaves anymore.” Lola screwed up her courage to speak up.

  “Your chains were broken and you were deemed innocent by the Guardian’s Judgement. You are free to do as you wish. I would suggest staying here until we can stabilize the rest of Radal and then Selenus,” Aila said.

  “Will you do to the other cities what happened here?” A gnome woman with flaxen hair stepped out.

  “Something similar, but it will take time,” Aila said.

  “Can we become like you?” a young man from the cow clan asked. He was still just a calf.

  “You can, but you will need to undergo a trial that is not easy.” Aila’s voice dropped.

  “I’ll do it,” the hobgoblin holding up the elf said. His eyes stirred as he looked at her.

  “Do not lose yourself for me, Mizzi.”

  “Who said anything about you? I am doing this for me. I saw as all those who killed my goblins were placed on trial. They will serve their lives paying for their crimes. I wished them dead for so long. Watching those trials, I learned something. If they were killed, then they would just leave another nameless tombstone on the land. With them working and helping others for the rest of their lives, they will never be able to pay for their crimes, but at least they might save others from the same fate or help out others who are in tough times.”

  The elf looked at her as she patted his back once again and stepped forward.

  Aila turned to the Guardian Flame and cast the activation spell.

  The flames grew larger and then sputtered a bit.

  Aila tried it again, and it failed again. She went up to the flame. “Damn thing.” She kicked the ground and cast the spell again.

  The spell ignited and the flames grew brighter. Motes of purple power spread out and created a courtroom, filled with all of the races.

  “Guardian Aila?” The dwarf judge then looked behind her. His eyes fell on the dwarves. Aila held her words as the judges looked at the people in front of them, their descendants.

  “Life has not been easy for you.” A sad smile appeared on the elven judge’s face. There was a motherly quality to it.

  “Are you sure you want to take the trial to become a Guardian, Mizzi?” the hobgoblin asked in a soft voice.

  “I might fail, I probably will, but at least I will have tried.” Mizzi stood straighter and the shaved-down nubs of her teeth just poked up over her lower lip.

  “Okay.” The hobgoblin raised his staff. Purple power flowed through the floor to a circle on the ground. Around it, the Guardian eye appeared.

  “Step onto the podium,” the hobgoblin said.

  Mizzi did so.

  Her eyes and the eyes of the Tribunal closed as they tested her.

  Aila saw the lives she had lived while she had been tried, the truths she had found out about herself.

  Mizzi opened her eyes some time later. Tears fell from her eyes. “Thank you.” She smiled to them all and bowed before she left the podium.

  “You didn’t become a Guardian this time, but in the future you might,” the human on the Tribunal said.

  The group tensed up and then relaxed slightly.

  It will take them some time before they can interact with humans without fear.

  “Judges, I have a favor to ask. I am just one Guardian and I can’t run this city by myself. Could you help me?”

  The judges all squirmed in their seats.

  The elf judge rolled her eyes.

  “You’re staying—what else do you have to do? Sleep?”

  They had awkward expressions on their faces.

  The elven judge turned to Aila. “We will assist in helping to stabilize the city. There are plenty of those who are guilty who have work to be done to pay back for their crimes.”

  “Thank you.” Aila bowed and sighed.

  The judges stood. Their court disappeared as they stepped on the ground and headed out of the tower.

  “All right, names, please. Strengths and weaknesses. Residence or location where you are staying. Wounds, or other issues?” a diminutive older monkey kin asked the group. A sheet of paper and a piece of charcoal appeared in their hand as they adjusted their spectacles with the back of their hand.

  On the fourth day since Ascen’s trials, the purple figures appeared once more. This time, instead of judging, they looked to build.

  With the church’s massive treasury, they were able to make sure that people were paid a fair wage for their work. Some were put to work in the fields that underwent an upgrade to improve the working conditions. Slavery markets were destroyed, and residences built. Guardians of old appeared in the training spaces of the troops who lived within the city. They started to train people how to fight. It didn’t matter their race as they were all pushed into different units, recreating the United Army that had fought beside one another centuries ago. People, finding that they were free to go, started to leave Ascen. Merchants fled; with them were people among their group carrying Guardian Flames.

  ***

  “We must head to Ascen to remove these defilers! They have attacked the heart of the church! What does this war matter if the church is lost?” Bryce yelled.

  “If we leave, then the beast kin will come over the border, attacking our camps, our villages and our people as they wish,” Fysher said.

  “Dammit, are you not human!” Bryce slammed his hand into the table, causing it to creak. The green power of his familiar started to appear in his eyes. “Are you not of the church?”

  “Is it not said that the church does not nee
d a building—it just needs to be held in the hearts of the people? We still don’t know what happened in Ascen,” Fysher said in a calm voice.

  “Are you in league with them?” Bryce hissed and pointed a finger at Fysher.

  The room chilled.

  Fysher raised an eyebrow. “If I was, then I would not have this position.”

  “I think that we have been too relaxed in rooting out the corruption within the army!” Bryce sneered as he saw the generals and officers squirm, gaining control of the room.

  “I agree.” Fysher’s words caught Bryce off-balance and made the others in the room look at him. “If the church was to fall, the heart of our religion, doesn’t that mean that there must have been people assisting them from the inside?”

  “That is—” Bryce started but he was cut off.

  “Was it not your forces that had creatures of the darkness in its ranks? Saints, your most powerful warriors, turned into those creatures. The stain of their power made the rest of the armies’ blood run cold. Then your people led them back to the camps. As if it were a plan to weaken our forces. We had to stop our plan that would have secured our southern line and allow us to attack through the north. Now the enemy know our first plan and we need to come up with another. They might be beasts but they learn how to adapt,” Fysher said.

  “The Army of Light is a divine power and not under your control!” Bryce said.

  “Then use them to take back Ascen. We do not need the power of darkness that lurks within your army weakening the army of Radal, of humanity!” Fysher slammed his hands into the table as the moving eyes on his armor focused on Bryce.

  The room turned against Bryce.

  Pushed yourself into a corner with your threats—if you remain, then all of the commanders here are liable to have their commands purged. If you and your army is gone, then we don’t have to look over our shoulders. Instead of wasting our lives to gain the church back.

  “As you said, is it not your duty? Or has the Army of Light started to forget their vows?” Fysher’s words were the last nail.

  “The emperor was attacked as well!” Bryce yelled out, standing there imperiously.

  “Then it’s a good thing we thought of contingencies.” A simple-looking officer took off his helmet and pulled out a token.

  The token marked him as a successor to the emperor.

  “The emperor knew that if he died that the military would need to continue on and put securities in place. I am Third Prince Markos Bouros. I hold my mother’s name so that it is hard for any spies to find out my identity. I know that the emperor had full support for General Fysher. We will hold the line as the Army of Light leads the successful liberation of Ascen. With us in place, the Army of Light will not need to fear an attack from the rear. As the church rises once again, we will have regained all of our strength and more—clearing out the defilers that hide within our cities.”

  General Fysher turned and dropped to his knee to the commander.

  The other officers in the room did the same.

  “We are yours to command,” General Fysher said.

  “We will indeed secure Ascen and clear out the Agents of Darkness!” Bryce growled like a vow, turning and leaving the meeting room.

  “Rise,” the third prince said and everyone stood. “General Fysher, what is our next move?”

  “We need to find out what is happening in our rear. In the meantime, we should defend. The army is uneasy. As word passes through the ranks, it will destroy morale. Our attacking strength will falter. Once we know what is happening in Ascen, then we can act accordingly. If everything is fine, then we can continue with our plans. We will lose more people in the initial stages, but there should be no issue with the second phase,” General Fysher said.

  The third prince held his chin, his eyes distant before he nodded. “Very well, General Fysher. You command the armies of Radal.”

  “Thank you for your faith,” Fysher said.

  “Call me Third Prince Bouros. I believe my father is still alive,” Bouros said.

  “Yes, Third Prince Bouros.” Fysher bowed his head slightly.

  Chapter: Gnominator

  It was the second day of traveling and it would take just another day to reach Laisa. In the distance, to the east, they could see the line of camps. Below was the largely untamed land of Radal with cities and villages that had appeared with time.

  They were flying lower over the land so they wouldn’t get spotted on their giant golden dragon.

  Everyone was quiet. To calm his nerves, Tommie tinkered with a small collection of parts. Working them together, he was able to make a simple bot.

  It doesn’t have a power source, and it is too small for a person to pilot it, though if Aila were able to animate it, then it would just be a mana power cost. I wonder how I can reduce the mana required on her part.

  “What’s that?” Damien pointed to the ground.

  “Looks like—crap!” Anthony yelled as a powerful formation activated below them. The forest twisted and changed, corrupted by the power of the spell formation hidden in the forest. A beam of power shot up and another formation activated around the first, nearly five times the size.

  “Mana disruption!” Anthony yelled as the spell of focused chaotic power covered Dave, Damien, and Tommie.

  Dave shimmered, losing substance, and then disappeared.

  Tommie was falling, losing his tools as he screamed out.

  “No!” Damien yelled.

  The formation below locked onto Damien and Anthony and started to draw them toward the formation below.

  Anthony and Damien started to gather their power as it seemed to be stunted and then stopped. Their familiar tattoos disappeared and they went limp.

  Tommie saw it and fear filled him.

  The only other things in the air were the boxes for his Gnominator that were tied together.

  Fear gripped him. He was going to die.

  He didn’t know what he did or why, but he aimed for the boxes and pulled his arms in close, heading for them. He opened his arms and legs at the last second and snatched onto the boxes. He went into a spin as he fought blacking out. He forgot the distance to the ground and put his hand into a hole in one of the boxes. He turned something and pulled. The boxes fell apart and wires shot out of the different blocky metal components. They hooked into one another and started to come together.

  Tommie spread his body open. The components fit together, locking into one another. Gears clicked and the wires pulled the parts together, fitting around Tommie. A large sheet appeared behind Tommie, a parachute that jolted Tommie. His head hit the metal bars framing his head as his legs and arms rotated into place. The Gnominator started to come alive; its heart started to rotate and pick up speed, powering all of the limbs and the gears.

  Steam hissed out over his shoulders and across his body. He looked at the ground. His speed had been greatly slowed but he found a flaw of the parachute.

  I can’t guide this damn thing.

  He covered his face with the Gnominator’s arms.

  He crashed through trees, feeling them slamming into his masterpiece. After some time, he came to a stop. He moved his arms that were covered in parts of the trees he’d crashed through. He looked down at the ground below. It was another ten meters. His parachute had been caught up in the trees.

  He reached up and positioned his arm in the right place and checked the ground below. He pulled on a lever near his pinky. A sword swung out of his arm and cut the wires above.

  Freed, he dropped to the ground. He took the impact with his legs and rolled, coming up unharmed.

  Tommie breathed heavily, starting to clear his head.

  I need to find Damien and Anthony. This has to be some kind of trap—someone had to plan this out. The formations were made to counterattack their weaknesses.

  Tommie moved around and pressed the different levers inside his Gnominator, checking that everything worked.

  He started to jog towa
rd where the formation had been. He stumbled a bit. He had finished the Gnominator but he hadn’t tested it completely.

  Getting his feet underneath him and gaining some more control, he started to speed through the forest, as fast as a stallion in the open fields.

  He saw a light appear in the sky and altered his path toward it. It was farther than he thought it would be.

  ***

  Gerald looked at the two “creatures” that had slammed into the ground just a few seconds ago. He and other groups of chaotic agents had been sent out into the forest to create several trap formations. They had worked day and night, completing them in record speed.

  He pulled out a flare gun and shot it into the sky.

  “They dead already?” Rosaline came out of the trees with him, looking at the landscape that had been twisted and mutated.

  “They said that we need to use the power given to us to completely destroy them,” Gerald said.

  “Why don’t we kill them before the others get here?” Rosaline asked, her eyes dancing with different colors.

  “They said to wait for us to all gather before attacking. You saw his familiar, right?” Gerald hissed.

  Ever since she took on the power of chaos, her mind has been changing faster and faster. Gerald looked up at the sky and turned his head side to side. A sadistic pleasure emanated from deep within him; he wanted to bury his blade in their backs.

  That power, how strong must they be—how strong would I grow from absorbing their power?

  The heady rush made him take a step forward before he let out a powerful breath, recovering his senses and opening his eyes.

  “We wait, grow the power of our cause,” Gerald said.

  Rosaline twisted her head side to side, letting out a groan at being stopped from letting her desires take over.

  The others didn’t take long to appear. Using their powers of chaos, they were able to transform into different creatures that were much faster than humans.

  They arrived in twos and in groups until they were all there. They looked at one another, growling or complaining in their various ways toward Gerald. They transformed, taking on half-human forms. If they were in their chaotic forms for too long, they could lose their reasoning and the backlash could leave them as powerless as a newborn.