The wave of smoke hit him and he breathed it in, expecting it to lacerate his insides and leave nothing but ash in its wake. Silently he hoped that it went after Sarvacts and every cursed creature in this foul place, but he knew deep down that it was meant for him alone. He shut his eyes tight and waited for oblivion to come, it would not be long now.
Nothing happened.
Anacletus tentatively opened his eyes, he was still surrounded by the thick smoke but it seemed no worse than the steam of heated waters. Had he been wrong in fleeing this entity in the first place? Did it feel a kindred spirit of smoke and shadow nearby?
He laughed, it was a hysterical thing that echoed through the high corridors and into the dark, then he finally choked it off. What was this thing going to do now? How would Sarvacts respond to finding it in his domain? The cloud of dark smoke seemed now to wrap about him everywhere he went, a nuisance at best and a liability should Sarvacts decide to do away with it.
Anacletus continued to stalk down the corridors aimlessly. The smoke followed.
As they drew closer to the fortress the green melted away from the sky to be replaced slowly by a blue that seemed much more natural. Whatever magic had allowed them to pass this far was beginning to lose its hold, yet they had not penetrated the walls of the place yet.
They came now to the walls without any opposition but in spite of the lack of surrounding mountainous terrain they seemed as impenetrable and imposing as they had been to when El-Vador had last set his eyes upon them. How exactly were they meant to pass having trekked all this way only to find the same obstacle even under this spell?
He smacked the granite with his hand in frustration, there had to be a way in. It sank into it as if it were no more than slush, he quickly withdrew it in shock and then realised what he needed to do.
Pressing forward, El-Vador walked straight through the wall of the fortress.
The dark grey pressing into his eyes finally resolved into a corridor. El-Vador let out a gasp, not daring to breathe while immersed in the strange substance, Eihblin joined him silently.
He allowed his eyes time to adjust to the gloom and then proceeded silently down the corridor, knowing that it was the first step toward finding both Anacletus and Sarvacts.
'Where are we?' Eihblin asked, not having moved from her position.
El-Vador jumped at her voice, whirling round with his sword at the ready. 'Eihblin!' he cried, 'you can talk!'
She glared at him then. 'Care to offer me some kind of explanation as to what's going on?'
He looked around, an expression of confusion upon his face. 'Where's Phaedra?'
Eihblin stared about the corridor as if expecting her to materialise from a dark corner. 'I have no idea.' she replied, 'I still want to know how we got here, is this Sarvacts' lair?'
Though he wished to press on, the loss of Phaedra just as he needed her to guide them and the insistence of the now-vocal Eihblin gave him pause. He found himself briefly recounting the strange time he had spent practically alone in the oddly coloured land. This in turn led to an explanation of just how they got there in the first place, which invariably resulted in his having to speak of the past.
When he finally came to a halt, Eihblin had a thoughtful expression on her face. 'It's going to be very difficult for us to retrieve the heirloom and get out of here alive, isn't it?'
El-Vador shrugged. 'Getting the heirloom is your problem, not mine.'
He felt her bristling beside him, but she knew he had a point and remained silent for a time. They had journeyed together this far out of mutual interest, first in pursuit of Anacletus and then in attempting to divine a way into the fortress. Now their paths diverged for the first time since their meeting, was Eihblin going to hunt for the heirloom on her own or did she expect him to follow her?
'If we stay together we may yet prevail, two blades are better than one.' It had been the initial thinking that had resulted in their being brought together, where once it was reasonable it now rang hollow about these great walls.
'It would take a hundred blades to rid this fortress of its occupants, this is a job for stealth rather than steel.'
Eihblin glared at him. 'How do you propose we leave this place without getting caught? Assuming that we somehow retrieve the heirloom without being seen and manage to murder both a dangerous shadow assassin and his master, a powerful conjurer that has eluded you once before.'
She had a point, curse her but she had a point.
They may be able to get to their targets by stealth but there was no way they were going to leave this place without a fight. In a fight, two blades were better than one.
El-Vador nodded at her to follow and she offered him a curt one in return, together they set off in search of the hidden heirloom.
Sarvacts grew tired of waiting, he had given the Elf ample opportunity to attempt a breach of his defences and yet his keen-eyed watchers had reported nothing. He needed the Elf sooner rather than later, his power was waning significantly and many of his forces were passing into the ether that they had been summoned from. He knew he had must gather up the final remnants and send them forth to apprehend this Elf. Even if they were to slay him his corpse may still suffice, albeit not as potently as it would have been if taken alive. It was a risk he had to take if the Elf wasn't going to come to him.
The remnants of his forces were brought together into a large antechamber within short order, a much depleted group that he was beginning to lose all control over. Sarvacts stared at them from upon high and thought them a pitiful reminder of his failure to apprehend the Elf. There were just about enough to take a village, his visions of storming cities would have to wait until his power had been replenished. He cast his arm forth in a gesture of power, waving over the combined forces and willing them with what little he had left.
'Go forth and find El-Vador.' he said, using the last vestiges of his diminishing power to will the image of his hated enemy into their minds. 'Bring him to me alive or dead, it matters not.'
Should the Elf arrive a corpse he could only hope it would still provide him with enough power to send his summoned army forth to take the next Orcish life. If he could somehow manage that, he could then quadruple his power within the next strike against the heartland of his people, there were many there that had defied him for too long. Once he had taken the heartland there would be none left with the power to oppose him, he would take control of his kin and guide them into a glorious age. Finally he could lay this ghastly summons and its enthralling power to rest.
Let them go out and find the Elf, he was done waiting for Anacletus' ploy to come to fruition, his failure would be dealt with soon. It was not enough to hold payment, not enough even to subjugate the hired assassin for his failure, he needed to become an example. An example to all those who would stand in his path.
Anacletus reluctantly filed out of the great hall surrounded by the monstrosities that Sarvacts had conjured up out of the depths of his fortress. He had watched the man from his overlooking podium with nothing short of contempt, fighting desperately to shoot forth into his shadow form and throttle the Orc that had enslaved him. No matter how hard he tried he remained impassive until given his marching orders with the rest of the automatons. He could not bend Sarvacts' will in the slightest and for the first time since his initial enslavement he felt genuine fear. He had tried to tell himself that the previous attempts to break the hold could be put down to his lack of understanding or tiredness, yet even with his greatest mental alacrity he found it impossible to do anything but that which his master desired. He cursed himself for admitting that he was now a slave to this man. The plan had gone poorly, the Elf for some reason had not attempted to sneak into the fortress and be apprehended, nor had Anacletus had the chance to get the boy on his own with those women at his side every waking moment. He relied largely on stealth and while he could potentially take all three of them in the dark of the night he did not want to risk fighting an automaton. He very mu
ch doubted that a blade would kill them and the few he had seen appeared to not need rest. All this hesitancy had cost him the ultimate price, a loss of self-control in the grandest order and enslavement to a tyrannical being.
The one unknown in all of this was the swirling smoke that was his constant companion. He had made to explain the oddity to Sarvacts but the Orc appeared to be entirely unaware of it, this made him wonder even further about where it had come from and its intentions.
Lost in his thoughts, he barely noticed Phaedra walking straight up to him.
'You!' he exclaimed, powerless to take action against her without Sarvacts' express permission. 'What are you doing here?'
She didn't offer a response and continued down the hallway in the direction of the chamber he had just left, moving slowly against the tide of her fellow automatons.
'You were under Sarvacts' control all this time?'
She offered him a chilling smile that answered his question.
'Why then do you not return with the Elf?' he asked, realising now that Sarvacts had multiple plans for capturing his prize asset.
'He went to a place that I could not follow.' she replied, seemingly pained at having to admit her failure to the likes of him.
He managed to will his way into falling in line with her steps. 'How can he do this? I thought he was but a creature of flesh and bone. Do these Elves possess powers beyond mere mortal ken? '
She shrugged. 'I know not the answer, I must report to my master. Leave me be.'
Anacletus found that the more he attempted to stay in the fortress instead of following the herd of automatons, the harder it became. Finally, he said, 'Very well then, go to your master. We shall see what cruelty he will inflict upon you for failing him as badly as I have.'
'If the automatons do not find him, he will eventually be forced into making an attempt on the fortress by Eihblin. She still seeks her heirloom.'
'Foolish wench, does she not realise that is a mere bauble for Sarvacts to toy with? She will undoubtedly get caught in her actions. Our mutual master must be killed before any attempt to recover property could be made.'
'So you wish the death of Sarvacts.' came a voice out of nowhere..
Anacletus froze. He knew that voice, it was the sound of death and release. Phaedra looked as shocked as he did, stopping in her tracks. 'El-Vador!' she said, 'how did you get beyond the defences?'
But El-Vador only had eyes for Anacletus, approaching the former assassin with his blade drawn and a tension emanating from him. 'I have come here to kill you, assassin.'
Anacletus stiffened, his potential saviour was of no use if he wanted to kill him too.
'What say you to that?' the Elf asked, noting the silence.
'I murdered your friend to will you into Sarvacts' grasp. I have conspired to murder you and in turn found myself enslaved to his whim.'
The look in the Elf's eyes told him he wasn't going to find any pity here. 'That you are but a pawn in his game does not exonerate your actions, cur.'
Anacletus now looked at Eihblin, who in turn was eyeing him with a murderous glance. 'I can take you to the heirloom as a show of good faith. I swear that I will not harm you should you manage to slay Sarvacts.'
Eihblin considered his words, then spoke to El-Vador. 'It is a trap, he is a snake El-Vador. Do not listen to him.'
'Indeed he is a serpent, but he bares not his fangs and his venom may have practical uses for our cause. The man you slew was no great friend of mine, I swore your death but if you can aid us in destroying Sarvacts then I will forget the matter.'
'You would let me go free after the deed is done?' he asked his would-be killer. 'I swear that I will do everything in my power to fight the Orc if it means my freedom.'
El-Vador looked at Phaedra, ignoring the assassin for the first time. 'What of you? Where did you disappear to on our journey to the fortress? Why do I find you here now?'
'Whatever you did,' she said, eyeing his blade. 'It meant that I could not follow, one moment you were at the inn and the next you had vanished. I assumed you had gone where an automaton such as I could not follow.'
He eyed her suspiciously but said nothing more on the matter. Anacletus thought that this merry group seemed distinctly divided. He knew he couldn't afford to exploit that division with his life in the Elf's hands. Instead he would observe, and see where their strife took matters. He found it most interesting that Phaedra had not mentioned that she was still in the services of Sarvacts. He would need to keep an eye on her.
'Take us to the heirloom, slowly.' El-Vador said, sheathing his weapon and instead stringing his bow. 'One false step and I shall put an arrow in you, understood?'
He nodded at the Elf. 'I understand the gravity of our circumstances. You will be brought to the heirloom and we will overcome any obstacles in our path.'
Without further word, the uneasy allies proceeded down the corridor with Anacletus toward Eihblin's heirloom.
XXIX
To disregard a snake is dangerous, to trust one is fatal. Yet it is always the hidden snakes that are the most lethal of foes.
'When last I paced these corridors there were fellow automatons.' Anacletus said, his billowing black cloud trailing in his wake. 'I do not know if Sarvacts has sent all his defences forth to apprehend you, but if he has not then we can expect his treasure room to remain guarded.'
'I do not wish to risk my neck for an heirloom, I came here to kill you.' El-Vador said. 'I require all the help I can get in defeating this Orc. So let's make this quick for Eihblin's sake and then get to destroying Sarvacts.'
Anacletus nodded and they continued toward the treasury unopposed. El-Vador silently wondering how long it would take for Sarvacts to realise that he was inside the Orc's domain.
The empty corridors continued for a seemingly endless length of time, it was difficult to maintain constant vigilance on Anacletus and the surrounding fortress. Was the assassin really that against Sarvacts that he would aid a former target in destroying him? Thankfully he wasn't alone in keeping a close eye on matters. Phaedra and Eihblin both scouted out every inch of the area they passed through with their sight. The assassin wasn't going to get the slip this time, though from the looks of things he didn't seem to want to.
They rounded a corner and a large door stood before them with three guards. They drew their weapons immediately and advanced, there was to be no deception this day.
The shadows sprang from Anacletus like serpent, twisting their way through the air and forcing themselves into the gaping maws of their attackers. Distrustful and shocked at the sudden movement, El-Vador let loose an arrow that thudded into the assassin's back. He then drew his sword to face the remaining threat with both Eihblin and Phaedra at his side.
Only there was no remaining threat, and Anacletus still stood.
He turned to them then as the cloak of shadows surrounded him once more, swirling angrily about as if thinking of striking him further. There was a clink of wood hitting the floor, then Anacletus scooped up the arrow and offered it back to El-Vador.
'I trust that you will not attempt to shoot me further, Elf?'
El-Vador refused to comment further and Anacletus turned and strode through the door.
Anacletus led them down a flight of steep stone stairs that winded their way further into the darkened reaches of the fortress. Having failed in his attempt to kill him, El-Vador sincerely hoped that the pawn of Sarvacts did not prove to be precisely that.
Behind them came the pursuit of many feet, apparently in killing the guards Anacletus had roused those few forces that still remained in this vast place. For once the sheer size of the building aided them in their ventures, for the creatures did not track them down immediately.
'It will not be long until more automatons come our way.' Anacletus said, looking hurriedly behind him as he picked up the pace.
'How far are we from the heirloom?' El-Vador asked.
'There is some distance yet to travel, though from
this door it is mostly straight on.'
The assassin halted.
'Why do you tarry here?' Eihblin asked, suspicion lacing her voice as she addressed her nemesis.
Anacletus ignored her, much to her infuriation. He was focused entirely on El-Vador, even though the Elf could do little to harm him should he choose to turn against them now.
'They are gaining upon us, I do not know how they returned to the fortress and found our trail so swiftly. Possibly it is a machination of Sarvacts, I shall hold back to stall them as long as I can. You take the heirloom and then Phaedra shall guide you to the Orc.'
Eihblin spat at him. 'We cannot trust his words, he means to lead the enemy right to us.'
El-Vador shook his head. 'No, if he wanted to capture us he could have done so already quite easily, if he can take an arrow then my blade would have little effect against him.'
He proceeded down the hallway a little further, half expecting Anacletus to turn and stab him in the back. Instead the assassin turned away from them to face the sound of the approaching horde of automatons.
'Let's go, your heirloom awaits you.' El-Vador called to Eihblin.
It was then he noticed that Phaedra had vanished for a second time.
XXX
I do not deny the terror, but I need not document it at every turn. In those youthful years those very feelings that you would embody should you suffer the same fate as I were often present. Does that mean that I need expand upon them constantly for the sake of a realistic narrative? I choose instead to focus on other details, you may fill the gaps with your own internal monologue should you desire. I will undoubtedly be misconstrued at many points regardless of how intricate I am.
El-Vador couldn't find out whether Anacletus had stayed true to his word or not, for they had encountered a few forces coming the opposite way and had hacked them down swiftly at the knee. Their blades could not extinguish the life of these automatons but they didn't need to, all that was required was to cripple them so they could not follow.
El-Vador's Travels Page 22