“I feel the need to apologize, but do not feel that would really be enough at this point.” He opened the side of his bag and produced a burnt out stuffed animal. A cat. “Gretel... wanted me to give this to you. It was pulled from the wreckage of your house."
Aza took the thing and flipped it about a few times, stuffing slipping away with each and every turn or twist. He smiled, a small chuckle escaping him. “Of course this stupid thing survived….”
“That is not meant to make up for all you have lost, just perhaps help in some small...very, very small way.” The energy in his voice drained the more it dawned on him of just how hollow of a gesture this truly was.
The animal slowly spun as its owner stood in silence.
Han was unsure of how to take the response, opting to wait for him to say something before even attempting to go on.
Aza’s tired eyes scanned along the ratty old toy, memories swimming along its path. “You lied to us for your research or project or whatever it was. In your wake, you left nothing but death and misery.” His ghostly gaze then swung up to meet the scholar. “I have lost everything. My home, my grandpa, Luke, our dream...gone. Even my own life...a few weeks if I recall. I thought you might be lying, but…. I can feel it.”
“Oh...well…” Han leaned back, trying to muster some way to reply. “You…”
“But that all being said...I forgive you. ”
Han blinked a few times. “What?”
“I had time to think in that cell, on the stage, and on the way here. I wanted to be a hero, just like the ones in the stories. Luke did too. We didn’t like to think about it, but this was all bound to unravel one way or another. We restart the Nightwatch. Barnabee crushes us. We find a way to get around him. The witch crushes us. In the last few days we have learned more about the inner workings of this town, about magic, about the world then….well our whole lives prior. I would like to think things would have gone better had you never arrived, but that just isn’t realistic. This whole thing has just gone to the Abyss, but at least with you we have a shot. I mean….I lost the two people closest to me, but Tobias and the Mayor went down with them….” He started to trail off as he mulled over it all. “All in just a few days….”
“You left to be killed by Tobias...I would hope you have ...well I guess I hope you found the hope you lost.” The scholar wasn’t fully sure what to make of the last declaration.
His expression began to slowly morph from sad melancholy to determination, or perhaps anger. “Losing everything that I did...and knowing it was inevitable...no matter how far we got in the Nightwatch or….anything really...it destroyed me.” He took a deep breath. “Yet here you are. Yet somehow Tom killed his father for me. “He laughed. “I could have never guessed that’s how all that...all those years would end. Then when I saw you and near half the town. I realized that this wasn’t over. One way or another we still have a shot at winning this and I want to see it through to the end. Something of a last grand gesture before I die.”
Han nodded. “I sent Shaw to find the Paladins. Assuming we win this, there is a chance they can take you to their healers up north.
He shrugged and crossed his arms. “I’m not gettin my hopes up. So what did you all need me for anyways?”
“Ah, yes.” He adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat. “As I said before, the witch is using old magic. Now, this is all based on hunches...but well educated ones. The tower is a conduit designed to channel magic from another plane into a user or users. The original source it was connected to during the war has long since been cut off, so it is likely linked to the gauntlet. It, in turn, fuels her. The plan is fairly simple. Gretel and the rest will hold off the army for as long as they can and take out the Nightman, along with his lantern. You will head down to the witch’s lair with a small group of….well anyone you want really, and destroy whatever she has around the gauntlet. I am not sure what it will entail, but it should be obvious how she’s bringing it through.”
He nodded and turned to the east. “How are they supposed to stand any chance against the wights or the Nightman?”
“Mr. De Vone offered his aid. I still have no solid idea as to who or what he is, but he might be just what we need. Besides, we have old members of the Nightwatch coordinating, more weapons then is legal most places, and from what I heard, Hansel is quite the fighter.” He patted his bag. “Besides, they’ll have me to help guide them.”
Aza was silent as the threads of his mind tightened into place. “Ok...let's go then.” He straightened his jacket, brushing open a few of the strained stitches.
Han realised the puppetmaster was looking right at him. “You want me to go with you?”
“Yeah. Most everyone else will get themselves killed or would be better spent here. You came back to finish this, I’d think you’d want to be there when the witch falls.”
He laughed a little. “Aza...Azriel...that was all a lie. I am a scholar and nothing more. While I appreciate the offer, there is little I can do besides maybe provide a better understanding of some obvious contraption. I came back here to finish this sure...but I am not some noble Paladin warrior.”
“Whatever she’s doin to get the glove might be obvious to you, but not me. Then that’s just if you want a practical reason. I understand that you aren't a Paladin, but neither am I. At the end of the day, no matter what motive you had, you faced danger most in this town could only dream of. You braved the leviathan, enraged Barnabee, infiltrated an ancient tomb full of monsters, then came back for more when you could have just left it all behind.”
Han thought about it, slowly nodding. On the surface, he had imagined himself as a support roll. Aza would never work alongside him again, so his best bet was to stick by Gretel and do what he could from there. Yet, deep down, some part of him knew that it would come to this...and he was ready for it.
“As Luke used to say, feelin sorry for yourself aint gonna solve nuthin. It’s what ya do to fix everythin that matters.” Aza looked to the floor a bit, wishing his oldest friend could be with them
“So how do you want to get there then?” The scholar straightened his bag and tried to look determined. “We had a few ideas, but not enough time to elaborate on any.”
He slowly blinked, his mind drawn to the dark dreams.“It's called out to me my whole life. I think I’m just going to follow it. Though, we’ll need some horses and something for you to fight with.” His eyes darted around the shelves as if either could somehow be stored on them.
Han nodded, following as Aza strode to the back of the store and into Gretel’s office. She and the bickering people within drew to a stop as the two boys arrived. Most were old friends of Aggie, while others had stood by Tobias and still looked upon Aza with destain.
“So, are ya willin to fight?” Gretel looked on at the two, already knowing the answer from the looks on their faces.
Aza nodded. “We’ll need horses and something for Han.”
She smugly turned to a few naysayers before settling back on the two. “I’ll send a message to Hansel. He should be on the far inner side of Elm Road if you two wanna start heading for him. I didn’t think you’d want a team, but we left the option on the table.”
“Nah, you all are gonna need everything you got up here.” He looked around the familiar room and thought of who used to sit at the desk. “So how are you holdin up since gettin the news.”
“I had a cry, but it's hard to mourn when the whole world is crashin down around ya.” She looked to the impatient people around her. “Now both of ya get goin! If we spend the whole night talkin then we’ll lose and never even know it happened.”
She and Aza exchanged a look of understanding before the latter turned and began running out of the building. Both were drenched upon stepping out onto the streets as rain pounded down on all sides. Thunder shook the skies as they darted down the flooding roads. There were people all around them. The poor, the rich, the merchants, and even a few landowners all scuttling aro
und in the darkness, guided only by lamplight. There were barricades now blocking some of the streets, as rusty nails were hastily hammered into place. Men and women were gathering in the buildings around them, readying their supplies or trying in vain to give the children some refuge. Hansel was not indoors, but waiting by one of the bigger barricades as cold, tired men ran from one job to the next around him. The energy in the air was palpable, a pure drive for change not felt within this stagnant town in a very long time. Yet there was also fear. It slithered and struck out to any mind able to feel its hungry fangs.
“I’ve been waitin for ya!” Hansel shouted through the rain as a bolt of lightning struck down nearby.
“Gretel said you had horses!” Aza looked around, seeing no such animal.
The hunter grabbed the side of a man carrying wood and yanked him in the proper direction. “This damn weather spooked em!” He pulled someone else who seemed to be carrying rifles to the wrong house. “They should be just up the road if that no good salesman did his job!”
Aza nodded and the two took off again, running through the rain. True to his word, the two grey horses lay at the top of the crumbling cobblestone. Four men were holding the nervous beasts in place with rope, while a fifth was quickly calming them down. Upon their arrival, the fifth turned around and revealed himself to be Tom. He had been told to help catch the startled steeds but not who they were for. Seeing Aza was something...unexpected. Both groups jumped a bit upon seeing one another, but continued their approach.
“They should be good to ride now.” Tom spoke softer than he should have been, but just loud enough to penetrate the storm.
“Thanks.” Aza took the reigns. “Thanks for what you did at the stage.”
Tom only nodded, still reeling over the loss.
Aza turned to the horse but looked back. “Why did you do it?”
Another bolt of lightning tore through the sky as Tom looked all around, not quite able to meet his gaze. “He taught me to stand up for those in need and to fight the monsters in this town. I was just following his teachings the best I could...even if he didn’t quite live up to them himself.” He then looked to Han. “I was just a little late is all.”
There was a brief pause, but Aza stuck out his hand. He spoke calmly. Not any tangible enthusiasm, but lacking the usual venom their exchanges held. “Ya know I was really looking forward to kicking your ass one day. It’s a pity you turned things around.”
Tom could feel the dark humor at the end of his old adversary’s words as they shook. “You as well. Would have been a lot easier than what happened.”
“Isn’t that always how it is.” Aza gave a weary nod and broke away, pulling himself onto one of the horses.
Han nodded to Tom as well and hopped onto a steed of his own. He shakily rode up to Aza as the puppetmaster turned around to face the old enemy one last time.
“You all better not be dead when I get back!” With that, he pulled the reins and began charging off into the haze.
Tom just laughed as they sped off.
Lightning struck the flooding ground as they rode out to the mighty leviathan. Neither of them could hear through the wind or see through the rain, at least not enough to stay on any normal path. Yet that’s not what they were doing. Ever since touching the tower, a direct link to the gauntlet, he had felt its call. Faint, but present. Weak, but unyielding. Confused, yet absolute. Now it was Aza that cried out, that thought to his dreams of the inky darkness and what lie at its heart. He wanted to find the thing just as much as it did him. At first, he had felt nothing in return. His calls ignored or unheard. Yet as they drew closer to the gauntlet, and it closer to them, the stronger its will became. Despite the witch spending so many years trying to pull it back through into their world, the dark object had no loyalty to her. It merely wanted someone to wield it once more, no matter who or what that thing might be. That is why it whispered to him in the night, why it whispered to all the unnatural. Yet now, as the sharp rocks drew so very near, it was not beckoning but answering.
The two boys drew to a halt at the leviathan's base. A tree had fallen, but the great split in the stone was no less visible. It would be a tight fit at first, but Aza knew that it would widen out...and that they wouldn’t be the only ones inside. The two boys disappeared into the unknown as the storm struck down around them. While their town felt the bulk of its wrath, its rage was felt for miles around. Even Shaw felt the slicing winds as he was escorted up a wide dock and into Fort Inscrad. The trip here had been one of the most dangerous and breathtaking of his entire career. There had been something under him. Some magic or creature that shot his vessel far faster than man had any right to travel. Time after time he nearly lost control, but as the hours sped on he had gotten a handle on things. It would have almost been disappointing had he not seen the great tower emerge from the endless tangle of trees.
It was like nothing he had ever seen. Towering walls bit deep into the coastline with a massive gate lying open where they touched the sea. Inside were two battleships bigger than any boat he had seen and armed with metal weaponry he could only dream of. Between them were many docks and platforms all set into the base of a great tower of grey stone. There were flags he didn’t recognize, people he couldn’t make out, and weapons becoming trained on him. By the time he set foot on the dock, there were already armed soldiers waiting for him. Some looked like full knights, while others had less armor but wielded tricorn hats and rifles. When one of them shouted, “Halt in the name of the Paladin Order!”, he knew he had found the right place.
Now the old man sat on a wicker chair in a very cramped office. There were two knights at his back and a desk laid out before him. A few game animals were mounted to the walls, but other than that it was just cold stone. He tapped his hands to his lap as he waited impatiently for someone called “Vice Admiral Canthus” to arrive. Any attempts to speak with the vigilant guards proved futile and he was left bored and irritated until the man of the hour finally arrived. He looked to be in his early forties, but having never slept a day in his life. His attire was also unique. All the others had bright steel or silver armor, bordering on white, that was near smooth as the inside of a clam. The Vice Admiral’s was tan and spiny, having only a single pauldron, two boots, and gauntlets like the soldiers with guns. Also similar to them, he had an overcoat, but no hat to cover his wild hair.
“So you would be the man from Dellathorn?” He yawned and looked the old man over, not impressed.
“From where now?” He squinted and tried to think whether or not he had heard that name before.
“Look, I’m a very busy man. That’s an academy ship with academy supplies. Just cut the routine and tell me why those snobs sent you here. If you don’t feel like cooperating, I’ll have the High Inquisitor force the answer out of you.”
“Ya should really mind your manners kid.” He kicked his feet up onto the desk. “That boat aint mine. A kid in silver sent me with this little thing.”
The Vice Admiral was enraged by the display of arrogance, but jumped back when a small journal was slid onto the desk. The guards lunged forward, almost stabbing the thing, but were waved away. “You do look more like a waste handler then a scholar.” He spat the words as the notebook was snatched up.
Shaw shrugged. “You’re one to talk. You should be grateful the kid gave me this...well if what I understood from the minute or two of skimmin is true. Code Twelve material is what he called it.”
The tired, frustrated man rolled his eyes and began pouring through what was clearly written in new ink. He was looking forward to sending this old fool away, smirking a bit as he imagined it. Yet the more he read, the more drawn in he became. With each passing page was some new and more terrible claim. The guards nervously watched as their commanding officer’s face began to twist with fear. Page after page was turned with each conclusion becoming more dire. After a few minutes, he slammed it shut and just looked around the floor in a daze. Then his eyes locked onto Sha
w, the look spooking the old man. “You have one chance. If what is written in this notebook is a lie... then the Fleet Admiral will have your head.”
“Kid, I aint sure all he wrote, but I know this. No one leaves Jacob’s Hallow. There’s somethin rotten there and something commin tonight to wipe us out. Now, if you have problems you can take it up with the kid...assumin he doesn’t get himself killed.”
Canthus took a deep breath and went over his options. Playing things safe was how he had gotten this far. It was his style...but if Ragnarok was there and about to be claimed by a witch...he had no choice. “Ben.”
One of the knights stepped forward. “Yes, sir?”
“Send word to the communications office...it’s a Code Twelve.”
Both knights recoiled, stunned by such an extraordinary demand.
“Are you sure…”
“Yes, now go!” He shouted, pointing to the door.
Shaw turned to see the two hurry out and then looked back to the reeling Vice Admiral. He seemed buried in his own thoughts and possibly on the verge of a panic attack. “What’s that...a Code Twelve?”
The man looked up, his emerald eyes tinged with mania. “It means an armada is coming. ”
Shaw pulled his feet back to the floor and leaned in. “Wait...you’re sending a fleet there?”
“Yes.” He pulled himself up and waved the old man to follow. “By tomorrow morning, at least one of the admirals will be there with nearly one hundred ships at his back.”
Shaw hopped up and followed. “To fight off the monsters right?”
The Curious Case of Jacob's Hallow Page 32