Malcor's Story

by Eric K. Barnum

  Jaga grinned at Sako, “You missed a chance to bed a fine warrior Sako.” They chuckled.

  “Have you ever fought with a Tanian like him?” she asked.

  “No, not like him. As a rule, Tanians are fiercely proud, as you would expect from people who revere dragons. He is more so, both for ferocity and pride. I don’t know about their infantry, but Tania quickly elevates and trains anyone with special skill or talent. Malcor probably is one that will rise quickly, if he survives this fool quest.”

  “I expected more evil and danger. But then Tanians in Ori were always all-business. I never spoke to one without it being about some kind of business deal.”

  Jaga nodded, "Even their merchants transact money as if war. But, this one," referring to Malcor. "There is something special about him. I once adventured with a Tanian from their thieves guild. Not like ours, they sanction their thieves to be more like spies. He brought the same attitude Malcor brings to combat, but to stealth and traps. He was amazing. Taught me how little I know."

  Sako listened but so talking, they drifted asleep. At one point, Sako awoke and imagined she saw Malcor smashing a skeleton against the wall, but he did not call for help and the clamor quickly died. When Malcor woke the group, the never-ending darkness of the tunnel tugged at their spirits but Malcor’s cheerfulness and disregard for a few slight wounds from guard duty, carried their morale back to the journey. Sako pointed to several smashed skeleton bones to Jaga. Apparently, it had not been a dream; Malcor had destroyed seven skeletons at least during his long watch.

  Chapter Forty Three - The Antechamber

  The passage opened wider and wider until the group could walk abreast. The ground changed from that melted gloss to tool-marked stone. From ahead and down side branches, the sounds of pick axes and drills echoed, turning the area into a noisy mess. A gradual bend turned to the left and eventually empty torch brackets gave way to dead torches in those brackets and finally bright flickering torchlight. Malcor signaled for them to stop and sent the thief ahead. The thief reported a group of ogre bosses supervising a mix of goblin and skeleton diggers working to either side of a giant metal door. “The door appears locked even to the ogres. It bears runes like I have never seen and two huge orcs in full armor stand guard there.”

  Jaga pulled out the map and turned it around. He pointed, “See this? Maybe the smudge indicated a door here. If so, the intersection is on the other side of the door.”

  Malcor ran his hand through his hair, “Five ogres, two orcs, and a mix of goblin and skeletons. Can we take them you think?” he asked the thief. "What about traps or an ambush?"

  “It’s a brightly lit area, perfect for their eyes. Okay for us. No advantage there really. If you give me time to sneak up on them and create a distraction, if Sako and the priest and the rest of you gain surprise. Yes. We could. I assume there are traps, but am not in a position to look for them."

  Malcor signaled for Jaga and the thief to lead forward and take a closer look. The passage opened even larger with the ceiling arching far up into darkness not illuminated from all the light by the grand doorway. Seven large and high steps rose up from the floor to the doorway, easily large enough for a titan pass through. The digging crews appeared to be carving equally sized side passages from the door. Malcor noted immediately that the two orcs were probably not orcs. For one, the ogre bosses stayed far away from them. Secondly, the “orcs” stood at rigid attention. "I wonder if they are some form of eldar undead," Malcor speculated. As for the rest, the skeletons would be problematic but once the ogres fell, the goblins would likely flee. He also noted that the skeletons appeared to be made from goblins.

  They retreated and Malcor shared his observations after Jaga and the thief failed to note anything not already reported. He decided to leave the orc question out of it. “Oh yeah, I wondered about that,” Jaga said when Malcor noted the goblins likely worked to death and then were raised as skeletons to continue working.

  “So, the challenge here is the ogres and possibly the orcs. The skeletons may continue digging away so long as we leave them alone. I doubt the goblins fight hard if at all. So, five ogres. Maybe a few goblins caught in the crossfire. I want to set a plan that allows a clear escape for the goblins, leaves the skeletons alone, and focuses on the ogres. We’ll need to be wary of the orcs. They trouble me.”

  They set aside any items that would interfere with the ensuing combat and made ready. Sako cast an invisibility spell on the thief, who Malcor finally learned was named Hiroshi. She also cast a silence spell on the area just beyond visible range to give them some extra time to close distance. The archer and others moved into position while Hiroshi crept to what looked like the strongest ogre. If everything went as planned, Hiroshi would backstab the ogre at the same time several arrows and Sako’s magic would hit it. Assuming it survived, Jaga would open a path for Malcor to finish the ogre.

  They held their breath waiting, eyes straining for any telltale sign of where Hiroshi might be. They felt too close to the diggers. Sweat and tension began taking a toll until at last, the targeted ogre screamed out and Hiroshi darted like a shadow away from the mark. On cue, arrows and gleaming magical darts shot towards the ogre as Jaga and Malcor charged through the area of silence.

  The closest ogre seeing a huge fighter bearing down on it, stepped aside to confront Jaga. Malcor slashed at the ogre and jumped past it as did Jaga. Malcor’s afterthought attack ensured that Jaga dodged and just as Malcor thought he’d have to finish the largest ogre, another arrow struck through its throat and it collapsed. Without missing a beat, Malcor and Jaga turned on the next largest. Its shock and surprise at finding two enemies so close and its boss dead welcomed it to death as both Mal and Jaga scored critical initiative and hits. The slower cleric now joined the fray, his holy order of Imperius symbol raised towards the skeletons and his heavy war mace gleaming brightly. As Malcor had predicted, the goblins fled. In all the chaos, Malcor called out his thanks as Hiroshi scored another backstab against his next target. In just moments, the last ogre had fallen.

  The skeletons cowered back away from the Imperius’ symbol’s bright light. The two orcs by the door did not move except for their heads to follow from one party member to another. The archer and Sako brought up their gear as Malcor and Jaga considered what to do next. The two orcs radiated a fell evil that made Malcor’s skin crawl. Something most certainly different than an orc stood before them. He thought about shifting to the ether and seeing what they might be, but an inner voice cautioned him to avoid doing it. Instead, he prayed to the Queen asking for guidance.

  Hiroshi walked around looking for any sign of traps, as did Sako and the cleric. Malcor continued praying. When they reported they had found nothing, Malcor picked up a piece of debris and tossed it at the steps. At about the third step, the object hit an invisible wall of energy and fell as if striking stone. He walked up to the first step and tentatively touched it with his foot. The orcs regarded him, their faces dark voids beneath their helmets. As he stepped onto it, he felt a tug at the back of his mind. He looked back at Sako to see if she had cast a spell, but she just nodded encouragement. He paused and prayed again asking for guidance. In answer, he heard a voice roil through his mind like a shadow in the sunshine. It called to him, “Show me your power, your true power. Show me your anger and rage. Bring me your fire. Glory, fame, and fortunes await on the other side of that door.”

  He steeled himself recognizing the voice as not being the Queen’s. “Sako, priest, do you feel the voice?”

  They shook their heads no. He stepped up again and reached out his hand to the force wall. When his hand touched it, the orcs both moved their hands to the pommels of the dread-looking swords at their belts. Malcor steeled his grip on his sword and began calling to it, Coming Undone…

  He pressed through the force wall, which caved before his will and barely managed to pull his sword through in time to deflect and parry a vicious overhead chopping attack from the closest or
c. Like a machine, the second attacked as the first blocked Malcor’s counter. The orc’s blade cut through Malcor’s armor drawing a wound that would have been far worse had he not twisted aside. He jumped forward, trying to gain the topmost platform and a hoped for tactical advantage. The dark green and gray metal sword began to frost white and crackle where Malcor’s sword had caught it. Though he yearned to step out of the River, that cautionary feeling prevented him. He took another awful wound but not before his own blade slammed into the helmet and neck armor of the second orc. He noted the rest of the party moving up to help. They would not be there in time.

  He still had not gained the top step and so turned to focus on the first orc. Another strike would shatter its sword but his fight would not be won by disarming his foe. He cut straight at the orc’s armor hoping to blow and shatter it away. Coming Undone… A terrible cut ripped through his back as his armor tore apart. He steeled his will against the pain and cut backwards aiming for the same place he had struck the second orc’s head. Whether by the Queen’s will or luck, his sword hit close enough and the shattering cracked armor blew apart. Black and red dots danced before Malcor’s eyes. The orc inside the armor, as he had thought, turned out to be a shadowy wraith-like creature full of chill and death. It seemed to enjoy Malcor’s pain and realization. “Not an orc….” he imagined it jeered. "Wraiths!" he called back to the team. Exposed to the other one, it cut at him but its weakened blade broke on Mal’s remaining armor and reminded him of his worsening circumstances. The rest of the party appeared stuck at the force wall.

  The first orc-shadow dropped its ruined sword and the gauntlet holding it to reveal its dark hand. The other readied its sword to attack. Malcor realized that he could die, without Tembri, without a priest to bring him back. He thought he’d feel fear. Instead, he felt anger. Just like those other times he had felt pressure to perform, his blood boiled. He grabbed that edge of raw emotion and recited his favorite verse from the Book of Fire in draconian. It gave him calm and he centered his anger there. He felt a blade cut into his side and his remaining armor tore free. A cold icy hand grabbed his throat and breathed hate at him. Though it turned his insides cold, it fanned his anger and he let it wash over him.

  Berserk now, Malcor grabbed the wraith’s hand and he drove his sword up into the wraith’s center. At the same time, he spun holding the wraith in front of him like a shield. It caught the second orc-shadow’s next attack. It cut into the wraith and Malcor drove his sword through into the other, where it bit deep into breastplate armor. He felt his vitality draining but the rage had him now. He swung the wraith back and off his sword ignoring the claws ripping against his throat. Without hesitation, Mal unleashed an onslaught against his new foe. Coming Undone ripped through the orc’s armor, shattering it to pieces and bit several times into its blade as it tried to parry. Disgusted with its sword and realizing it was ruined, the orc threw it at Malcor and reached out to grapple him. The shadow hands tore into Mal’s flesh but Mal screamed back, “You, not me, shadow!”

  It hissed back as, like the other, Malcor grabbed onto the wraith against the burning chill, and drove Coming Undone through its torso. As its shadow form disintegrated, Malcor dropped to one of his knees and looked at the growing pool of blood spilling out from him. He saw the frustrated looks on the rest of Jaga’s group stuck on the other side of the force barrier. He screamed back at them and threw his sword point first at the wall. The force of his throw spilled his body down the blood-wet steps and darkness took him for a time. He saw Sako scream at him in silence as his sword tip shattered apart the magical barrier. From that small shatter point, an explosion knocked Malcor back into the door and he fell unconscious.

  His dreams felt strange. He heard a seductive female’s voice speaking to a stilted Imperic and he remembered one of those voices saying, “Did you know he would be a shadow, or even a berserker?”

  “No, the children of Kell are not known that way. They surprise us always, but mostly they die before we see their gifts.”

  Malcor awoke on Sako’s lap. They were on the other side of the door. A dull thudding sound drew his attention to the door, which had been braced with scavenged gear from the slain ogres. Something on the other side was hitting the door with a battering ram. Jaga looked down and smiled at him. The cleric laboring over Malcor sat back, hot and sweaty and shaking. “Jaga, this is as good as I can get him. He was easily beyond death but the holy god lent me strength.” He collapsed back.

  Malcor’s stomach growled and before he could say he was hungry, Jaga helped him sit up. Food waited for him. “How are you feeling Malcor?” Jaga asked.

  “The fog of war takes me sometimes. It leaves me hungry. I see we made it past the door?”

  “Yes, you defeated those demons and shattered the barrier. Surely, you are no mere infantryman.”

  “I want to be a knight,” Malcor said in reply. “You never asked me what I wanted in life." He chuckled. "A poor armorer needs to draw attention somehow. So, after I blacked out, what happened?”

  Jaga, Sako, Hiroshi, and the others explained that when the wall shattered, hidden doors all around the large room had burst open with orcs rushing in, as well as several likely wraiths and shadows. While the priest, who Malcor learned now had a name too – Noboyuki – took care of stabilizing Malcor… “Malcor, you were cut to pieces. To pieces! I have never seen a man so horribly wounded and yet you kept fighting. It was amazing!” the cleric Noboyuki said at one point.

  Jaga continued, “We figured out how to unlock the door, Hiroshi and Sako did that, and then we secured it. We made it just in time. As we closed the door, something else came. A vampire maybe. He looked like one of us, an Imperic. We almost let him join us. Noboyuki almost lost you saving us from that thing.”

  The priest called Noboyuki added, "It was definitely a vampire. It still bore some of the tokens of Imperius. I'd guess it had been a monk."

  The thuds continued and Malcor tried to stand up. He saw his ruined armor and sighed. Scar serpents ran along his body from varying angles where he had been cut by the wraiths. His throat and chest ached and he noted claw tears of dead flesh that had not healed, places where the wraiths had torn him. Sako touched his shoulder and said, “You have more on your back. It looks awful. Does it hurt?”

  Noboyuki apologized, "I will not be able to totally heal you Malcor. Your life is no longer in danger, but as you know, natural healing will leave scars."

  Malcor picked up his sword and tried a few practice swings. It hurt and he grimaced. He tried walking and going through some simple kata. It hurt and while doing it, he slipped the regeneration ring on. He immediately felt better and began dancing through the katas in spite of the pain. At one point, he felt the cut on his back tear open again and he stopped. When Noboyuki finished the healing spell, Malcor had practically healed all the way with the ring and spell's help. He slipped the ring off before the scars faded entirely and complimented the priest on his skill and power.

  Chapter Forty Four - Calvin's Combat Test

  The skirmish field had a fall wind blowing through it and Calvin noted the other side. He and two others had been assigned to guard a member of the Mage’s Guild. The skirmish today would use illusion magic to simulate an actual attack. While Morbatten did not often play the role of defender, Tanian and Tanian-trained battle mages became instant targets in any combat. The Order of the Shield served to defend and protect these mages and other specialists like them. Across the field of combat, his classmates probably were reviewing things as well. Four mages, twelve paladins, and he had lost count of how many support personnel made up the skirmish. “So, this is a platoon,” he noted to the knight on his left.

  Their mage, an old veteran of many winter war engagements, ignored them. He had already made it clear to them that this whole thing wasted his time, "Unless you initiates pay attention, my whole day will be wasted. I have important work going on. I hate these pointless exercises.”

  Calvin’
s healer stood behind their position, shifting back and forth from foot to foot. Calvin noted a courier stop and give him a note. A moment later, the healer told Calvin that Seline and the Order of Fire would be leading the offense for the other side. As of yet, Calvin had no idea which order commanded their attack.

  Without fanfare and still lacking clear direction and leadership, the skirmish began when a barrage of heavy missiles catapulted towards them from their left. Calvin called for defensive positions and their mage reached out with a titanic magical hand and batted the missiles across the field of combat towards the other side. No sooner had that passed than heavy cavalry burst out of the right flank. Heavy chargers with gleaming armor and lances sprinted out as the sky overhead darkened with arrows. The mage group closest summoned an air elemental to deflect the arrows and gusted winds into the faces of the cavalry to slow them.

  “Lets move forward to our alpha point, and signal the start of the advance,” the mage ordered.

  Something felt odd about taking orders from a mage but Calvin shrugged it off and the moved forward to the alpha position. That and other points had been designated on the field as reference points. As they reached it, the mage ordered them to turn. From this position, they had a flanking advantage to the heavy cavalry and the mage scorched the attackers with chain lightning and fire. The light display called attention to them and they quickly came under attack as the other side summoned flying creatures to swarm them.

  Calvin ordered them to create a shield wall around the mage. From this protected position, the mage could cast his spell rising up at the last second to unleash spells as needed. Besides commanding the mage’s defense, Calvin needed to keep an eye on the heraldry banners signaling changing battlefield conditions and positions. He also noted a small group break off from the advancing rank of the enemy. It appeared to be Seline herself taking the lead. He smiled hoping she had fared well since they had last spoken.