I look around and survey the carnage. It is surprising that no more wizards have come yet. The beast must have caused enough devastation to drive fear into their hearts. No doubt they are thinking hard on how to defeat me now. I should make my move before they get here. Once they realize what I intend to do, they'll rush to catch me. I must act fast.
`Since I've returned, I've killed thousands. Never have I killed for pleasure, never have I killed because I enjoyed it, never have I killed because I wanted it... I killed because I had to. Because this was the only way to force the demon back. The only way to keep it at bay. Never did I want to kill anyone, other than Jenathar and Th'Mesh. Until this day, until I have tried and failed to kill Jenathar... But today... I really wanted it...'
I turn back towards her once more.
`That's the way it is, Flora... I've come a long way for revenge, to kill the one who is responsible for me being what I am, and thus for having done what I have done. In the end, all I could do is raze this place to the ground, and destroy a bunch of his worthless footsoldiers. I did so relentlessly, and I would do it again, if I could. I am what I am, Flora... There is no denying it. I am exactly what my name means in an ancient language of Kh'Tal. I am the Rider of the Black Horse.'
`The... Rider? Don't be ridiculous! The Rider is only a legend...'
`The Rider is a symbol! A symbol! All my life I've done exactly what's behind this symbol: I've brought death to everywhere I went. As long as this demonic essence is inside me, it will always be this way. One way or the other, I will bring death to wherever I go. As long as I exist...'
I sigh deeply and look away once more.
`I didn't want this Hellish existence... It is Jenathar who made me become this creature. I will destroy him for it! I have sent him a message with this devastation here in Gatestown. I will come for him. I will end his life. He will never escape me. Ever!'
`Jason, I can understand your desire for revenge. You were there with me two years ago, you know I can understand you. But what will you do now? You said you can't simply follow him, but then what will you do?'
`I'll get him somehow. Not today, but sometime in the future. I'll find a way, but now... I must flee.'
`I suppose there is no other way. I guess you will disappear completely, won't you? Just like two years ago...'
I look into her eyes for a moment, then turn away and sigh deeply again.
`Flora, there is something else. You... You have to come with me.'
She steps close and puts her hand on my shoulder.
`Have to? Why?'
I turn to face her, and look into her eyes.
`Near me, you are in grave danger. But here, in this world, you are condemned to die. You have killed two of Jenathar's mages. Two of them! For this, and especially for helping me, Jenathar will hunt you down, he will have you captured, tortured, and brutally executed to set an example of you. There's no place in this world where you could hide from him. Your only chance is if you come with me.'
`But... where?'
`To the one place where Jenathar will never follow you. To the forbidden world. To Kh'Tal.'
She looks at me in silence for a while. Then she looks around and finally turns back to me and slowly nods.
`Alright... but how? Do you have the kind of magical power to travel between the Planes?'
`Not without a Gateway... but I have something that will transport us there. It just takes a while to prepare it. Can you keep watch while I do this?'
`Of course.'
She prepares an arrow for her bow and slowly patrols the ruins. She stays close though. Reaching into my magic pouch, I pull out the gift of Kurt Aurach and I begin to plant the five rune etched rods, making them form a pentagon. I plant the last rod, and turn them each such that the correct runes are facing the center of the pentagon. After the rods have nearly been set up completely, I hear her voice.
`Jase!'
She startles me. She used to call me that back then, on that night, when we were so happy, in each other's arms, in each other's care. After I left her, I never thought she'd ever call me that again, if we ever met. After this day, after she learned of the things that I have done, I especially wouldn't have thought she'd call me that again. Slowly I turn towards her, and see that she is signaling me to go to her. She seems to have found something.
I walk to her, and I see now what she found. An unconscious, but clearly alive dwarf laying under the rubble.
`Isn't this the dwarf you came here with?'
`Yes, it's Aaron.'
`He's still alive. Come on, let's help him out... Hold it. What name did you say?
`Aaron.'
`Aaron Chraem?' she asks with narrowed eyes. `That filthy smuggler?'
Upon hearing this, Aaron opens his eyes.
`I'm just a simple merchant! Come on, somebody help me outta here already!'
Flora frowns.
`The great Aaron Chraem... Finally you bit off more than you could chew, I see.'
`Just help me out, dammit!'
`Why should we? You're a thief! You stole so much from Endarryn that...'
`I didn't steal anything! Okay, maybe I bought the wares of your people at a lower price than they're worth, but they didn't seem unhappy at the time.'
`You're a bloody scoundrel, dwarf! You cheated a lot of elven merchants out of their livelihood.'
`Listen, girl, I'll gladly talk this over with you, but would you mind getting me out of here first? Please?'
She sighs and then looks at me.
`I'll raise the log, you pull him out.' I tell her.
She nods and grabs Aaron's arms. I grab the log that he is trapped under and raise it as much as I can. She begins to pull the dwarf free.
`Hey, take it easy, will ya? My foot is stuck...'
`Shut up and be glad we don't just leave you here...' she says as she continues to drag Aaron out in a less than gentle fashion.
With some effort I raise the log even higher, and soon Aaron is loose. He slowly gets up and thanks Flora for the help.
`Thanks a lot, girl...'
`The name's Flora, and don't thank me!'
`Flora, is it? Well, thanks, Flora! I am grateful, even if you take me for a scoundrel.'
`You are a scoundrel!'
`I'm just a simple merchant, girl! Wait... Where is that huge monster? That thing... Did you see it? It literally demolished the whole town!' He looks around cautiously. `Is it still here?'
`It is gone now. It shouldn't be back anytime soon.' she says, looking at me.
`Likely not...' I tell her.
`Good, good!' says Aaron, then he narrows his eyes as he looks at me. `Is that you, boy? What happened to your voice? What happened to the scars on your face?'
`It was an illusion.'
`Illusion, huh? And the story about having killed demons?'
`That part is true.'
`You know, I've seen you fight, so I believe you, as weird as it sounds. Well, let's get moving. The mages will probably get here soon. We need to get through the Gateway quickly, my customer is probably eagerly waiting. Unless he was one of the wizards that got killed here. I sure hope he's still alive enough to pay me...'
`Perhaps... but you probably don't want to sell it to them, Aaron...'
`What do you mean with that? I came all this way for a nice business deal, we were ambushed by all sorts of assholes on the road and a big ugly demon right here at the gates, but we live to tell the tale! Why should I turn back now?'
`Aaron, you most certainly know that I came with you so I could kill a mage...'
`Seemed pretty obvious, yes. Why else would she send you here? It's your business, but... if you're so deep into confessing things at the moment... just who were you supposed to kill?'
`Jenathar.'
`Wh-what? Jenathar? The Archmage Jenathar? The Supreme Councilor Jenathar?'
`Yes.'
`Ooooookay...' he nods slowly. `Why in the Hells would Meliorath want you to kill him
?'
Before I could answer him, Flora interrupts us.
`Meliorath? You mean, the Dragon Queen? She sent you here?'
`Oh yes, she did.' says Aaron. `She sent him here, to get into the city as a mercenary in my service. I've had dealings with the Dragon Queen before, and she's a good customer, so I agreed. She never told me that it's Jenathar she wanted to have killed...'
`You don't know half of it, Aaron.' I tell him. `I only accepted this job because I want to kill Jenathar for personal reasons. Meliorath sent me to kill all five members of the Supreme Council, not just Jenathar.'
`What?!'
`I don't suppose I need to tell you what would have happened afterwards. Need I tell you who was going to buy your merchandise, and what they were going to do with it?'
He stares at me for a moment, but then recognition sweeps across his face. Walking up and down and cursing without a break for over a minute, he expresses well that he understands the situation.
`Bitch! She played me for a fool all these years! I brought all these weapons here for her lackeys to eradicate the mages of Re'Cas, so that the Ess'yerian Alliance would fall, and she could conquer Ess'yer! Treason! You can't trust anyone these days! Not even your best customers...'
`Now it's up to you to decide whether or not you sell your goods to her agents. They can't do much now, with the Council still alive. Especially right now, that Jenathar knows who sent me here, and that he's fuming about how I made him run for his worthless life!'
`Uh, what? You made him run? What's that all about?'
`He sensed my presence, and decided to greet me here. I never had a doubt that he wouldn't let me get into Re'Cas. He wanted to stop me out here. So he came for me. We fought, and then he ran away, fearing that I'd end his worthless life.'
Aaron smiles widely.
`Impressive, boy! Very impressive!'
`Not at all. I shouldn't have let him escape me. I should have killed him. I have failed...'
`Well, not many can say that they made a Supreme Councilor run for his life, heh! Be proud boy, you'll get him some day!'
`Yes... I will...'
`That's the spirit! Now, you say he knows that Meliorath sent you?'
`Yes, he knows. He now knows of Meliorath's plans. Her agents must lay low for quite a while.'
He walks up and down thinking for a while.
`They must lay low now, yes, but they'd still pay me well. All they need to do is wait for the right moment to strike.' he nods to himself. `They'd pay me well alright, but I won't deliver the shipment. They might pay me well for this shipment, but if Meliorath conquers Ess'yer, I'll go out of business...'
`You came here to smuggle weapons into Re'Cas?!' asks Flora in an angry voice. `Yet, you deny being a scoundrel?!'
`Please, girl, show some leniency! A merchant's gotta make a living somehow...'
`You're not a merchant! You're a smuggler and a scoundrel!'
`We have to hurry.' I interrupt them, before they could begin a neverending argument. `Jenathar's lackey's will be here soon. It takes time to conjure the Portal.'
`What Portal, boy?'
`Flora and I are going to Kh'Tal. The only place where Jenathar would never follow us. You could come along. I get the feeling you could earn a fortune there selling your merchandise...'
`Eh, why the Hell not? Sounds like it might be worth to check it out! Never been to Kh'Tal before anyway... I hear it's a fun place though. Some of my customers spent a lot of time there.'
Suddenly an idea strikes into my mind.
`Tell me, Aaron... How would you like to leave a little souvenir here for the welcoming committee that will soon arrive?'
`What souvenir?'
`A barrel. A single barrel...'
`Boy, you're out of your mind! This place has seen enough destruction already. I know the mages are assholes, but there were probably some innocent travelers around besides us.'
`Yes. Were. They're all dead by now. The demon showed no mercy to anyone...'
`Very well...' he nods slowly. `...but just one barrel!'
Somehow, I just felt that he was more concerned about losing merchandise than doing more damage to this place.
`Alright, I need you to position the barrel somewhere over there, just a few feet away from the rods. Lead a trail of the fluid close to the nearest rod, but don't let it reach the rod... Flora, could you help him, please? I need to finish this.'
Flora looks at me a bit surprised, she clearly doesn't understand what we've been talking about. She walks over to Aaron with a deep sigh, and the dwarf slowly pulls the mouth of one of his magic pouches wide open. When it is large enough, he asks Flora to hold the pouch. She reluctantly does so, then Aaron drags one barrel out of it, then takes back the pouch, seals it, and hangs it back on his belt. He makes a small hole on the bottom of the barrel with his dagger, and then they roll the barrel into position, leading a trail of the fluid as I asked.
`Yech, what is this stuff?' asks Flora, frowning.
`It's called napalm.'
`Called what?'
`Napalm. Or something like that. It's from another plane of existence.'
`Well, whatever it is, it smells horrible...'
`That smell, dear Flora, is the smell of victory...' he tells her. She frowns at that comment.
`In that case victory stinks...'
`Yes, girl, you clearly see it through.' he replies grimly. She looks at him, and suspiciously asks:
`What is this stuff used for?'
Aaron's reply is short and simple, and grim in the tone.
`Barbecues... Big barbecues...'
I can see that Flora doesn't like what she just heard, but she doesn't ask any more. Perhaps she decided that she doesn't want to know any more details. No matter, soon she will see it for herself anyway.
`All set! Come here, both of you, and step into the center of the pentagram.'
`What pentagram? I don't see no pentagram... Just these weird rods. Where'd you get these, boy?'
`I'll explain later. You'll see the pentagram soon. Just step right next to me, both of you... Closer... Alright, that'll do. Now stay put, and whatever you do, do not move away from me. Understood?'
They nod, and I begin to conjure the spell. A minute later, the runes on the five rods light up brightly, and two glowing red beams are emanated from each rod, towards their second nearest neighbors. The beams thus form a pentagram that we are right in the middle of.
`Nice trick, boy! Are you a mage or something?'
`I was...'
I pick up a wooden stick from the ground, and light it with a simple cantrip. Aaron grunts admirably at the little stunt. It is no big deal. It's something apprentice mages learn at the very beginning of their studies.
`Why the torch, Jason?' asks Flora.
`For the welcoming committee...'
Then I cast a spell from the more advanced studies. I conjure a protective magical sphere around the three of us, an Elemental Protection Sphere.
`What's this thing for, boy?' asks Aaron.
`To keep us alive in the barbecue...'
Mere moments pass and the magic of the rods brings us the visitors I expected to appear. Jenathar doesn't want me to get away, so he sent his lackeys to stop me. Battlemages teleport around us, and swiftly we are surrounded by at least two dozen mages. But they are now too late. Far too late...
`Jason Vogan! In the name of the Supreme Council, you are hereby placed under arrest! Surrender your weapons, and come with us!'
Great, that same crap again... But they are too late now. I only need one more minute.
`Leave now, or face the consequences, mageling!' I shout at him strictly.
`Don't threaten us, Jason! You have no chance! Your petty magic is useless against us. We outnumber you, and outpower you. What are you going to do? Make us laugh ourselves to death?'
`Perhaps. I could tell you my whole life, you would most certainly find it funny. How about we sit down and I'll tell you... b
y the campfire...'
With that final remark, I toss the torch into the puddle of liquid coming from the barrel. Then I witness the power of this peculiar extraplanar material. It only takes a second, and the barrel explodes into an enormous ball of fire, and we are swiftly surrounded by a raging firestorm. The Elemental Protection Sphere keeps us from being blown away, and from getting burnt, but the wizards are not so lucky. I hear several of them screaming in agony, I hear others casting some spells. It seems that only a few of them were prepared for such a turn of events, and even they are now busy just protecting themselves.
`I guess you don't like campfires...'
`I never imagined I'd one day see a curtain of fire around me and survive...' says Flora in a mixture of shock and amazement.
`Heh, we still need to get out of here!' replies Aaron. `Hey, boy! When's that Portal gonna be finished?'
`Soon...'
I keep admiring the carnage. I don't see beyond the fire, I don't see how far it extends, but if what Aaron had told me earlier was true, then all of Gatestown is in searing flames by now. Regardless, it extends far enough. I hear them scream, I hear them struggle for survival, and what I hear pleases me. We are still safe within the Sphere, but I feel an insane heat against my skin. Suddenly I think to myself, what if the Sphere doesn't hold long enough? And, what if the rods melt in the fire?
What if they do? Simple. I will likely die, and find peace at last.
But what of Flora? And Aaron? They should not die with me. All this was my doing, they had nothing to do with it, they are not supposed to die like this.
I feel genuine worry for them. But why? Why do I even worry?
I do not know. But my worry is needless. The rods are unharmed by the fire, and the Sphere can certainly last one minute in the flames, and that is all I need. Just one minute and the Portal opens. The flames keep the few surviving mages busy, they can no longer stop the Portal from opening. They are too late.
Slowly, a slight smile spreads across my face, for the first time in many years. I have failed, yes... But I have dealt a blow to Jenathar that he will not soon forget. Very slightly, barely noticeably, but I smile. I smile and I listen in satisfaction to the painful screams of the mages beyond the fire curtain, as even the remnants of Gatestown are consumed in the flames. The curtain has fallen...
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