He was not a man to give in easily however, and he knew that being trapped in this blackened purgatory would spell the inevitable doom for both the Elf and the Pixie, resulting in his own swift death, unless he was somehow prevented from that by his captor.
It had been a sobering thought, the prospect of being enslaved for all eternity, but it was not a new one. Sarvacts had got his hooks into him and he knew the hopelessness that he must prevent washing over his plans.
The important thing now was that he had plans, however flimsy and fanciful they may seem to him in his current dire predicament. This left his situation slightly more tenable than when he had been a pawn of Sarvacts, mobility or not.
A piercing sensation lit up his skull, and the harder he pushed against it the greater the pain grew. He did not care for the agony, but more the promise of a response. The endless hours had threatened to drive him frantic in his search for a way out, but a tangible response from the darkness surrounding him suggested that he had done something worth noting.
'I don't see why you resist,' the voice called out to him, that same mocking tone in the depths of his inflection. 'You are completely paralysed and incapable of returning to your corporeal form. Assuming it hasn't already been buried that is.'
He knew that the voice's reasons for speaking to him were not simply to mock him, it was clearly goading him into ceasing his efforts. He pushed harder, and the pain became blinding, not that it mattered.
'It really is pointless, you're just going to cause yourself more pain,' the voice reminded him, but the tone had changed and despite his fuzzy hearing, Anacletus picked up on it and pushed even harder.
'Stop!' it wailed at him, giving up all pretence of authority or confidence.
'No.' Anacletus replied, and then everything went white.
He awoke upon the floor of the inn, gingerly raising himself and scanning his surroundings.
The Pixie had gone.
Casting his mind out, he caught no sign of her within his proximity, then again he didn't know how long he had been out for.
At least he knew the only place she could be headed.
Setting out immediately, Anacletus left civilised lands and made his way into the barrens.
LXV
It would be all too easy of me to underestimate my foes in this present form, but too many sobering lessons have been taught to me first hand of just how vulnerable I remain, even to this day.
They had arrived at the latest in a series of ruins, and much to the anger of an increasingly erratic Salvarius there had been no sign of the artefact he sought.
Mina could not help her diminishing usefulness to the man, what had once been a clear certainty in her words had melted away into confusion and a vague sense of where they were headed. She simply could not retain the memories her previous form possessed while this transformation occurred. Her one comfort was that she could feel her twin drawing inexorably closer with every passing moment, even if that had slowed within the last day or so.
'The artefact cannot be far now, master.' she reassured him. 'There will be time enough to recover it and initiate the bonding.'
'For your sake I hope you are right.' Salvarius replied, rubbing his temples as if in irritation. 'I have been harsh on you, Mina. I know that the task you perform is a difficult one, I'm sorry.'
Mina hesitated, not knowing how to respond to this simple apology. It sounded almost nothing like the words she had previously heard from the master, almost as if spoken with a different voice entirely.
Salvarius lay back in the wagon and sighed. 'I wonder to myself, Mina. Long into the hours when most are sleeping, hours like this night before us.'
'Yes, master?'
'I wonder if this is all truly worth it for the vengeance of one Orc. If I should really uncover such a great source of power and risk instability from the ether beyond simply to appease my own lust.'
'You do the world a favour by sating your desires, master.' Mina replied, slowly crossing the wagon floor to lie next to Salvarius. 'The Elf you seek undid the balance, you are merely redressing that.'
Her master drew her in close to him and she slowly began to unstrap his armour. She lay next to him in silence for a time, staring up at him with a reverence she couldn't quite understand any more.
'I feel the weight of expectation upon me, Mina. As if I have been transformed from a simple soldier into the figurehead for the Brotherhood.'
'Yes, master, I understand your burden.' she replied, running her fingers through his hair. 'But you are a great man, and the Orcs heed your call, they are willing to follow you even if they do not understand what it is you represent. Even if sometimes they are unsuccessful in their goals as your subjects, our greater goals shall be achieved.'
Salvarius turned halfway around as she started toying with the straps of his armour. 'The scouts for your twin never returned. Do you think it was greed that undid them or something else?'
'It is difficult to say, master. My sight weakens as the transformation continues. It is growing harder for me to channel the actions from afar to you.'
Her master mused over this for a time. 'First your defences were broken, then our scouts go missing. We are being followed, Mina, dreams or no dreams.'
'My dreams may be just that, master.' She didn't believe that for a second, nor did he, and Salvarius was proving hard to distract this night.
'Even without the bonding, you will be powerful with the artefact. Any who choose to oppose you after the acquisition will surely fail in their attempts.'
'Perhaps you are right, Mina.' her master replied, shrugging off the cuirass with a sigh. 'There are few ruins left to traverse now, and you will not fail me in locating the artefact when we chance upon the right one.'
Mina did not miss the ominous tone that crept into his voice, unspoken reprisal should her powers wane entirely before locating the mask.
Still, she had one more trap for them to stumble upon, one final effort into which she has invested a great deal of her previous energies.
She only hoped that they'd hold out long enough to ensnare the figure that followed them in her fevered dreams.
El-Vador checked the Orc's bonds with a scowl of distaste. He'd secured the creature's hands behind him as they had marched through the barrens, now that they had come to a halt for the night he bound its feet to a makeshift stake he'd driven into the ground. He checked over everything multiple times to make sure that he would not be stabbed in the dark. He knew that the Orc would do anything in his power to escape as they slept, even if there was no possible method of escape.
Aliana watched him patiently as he went about his work. 'The night draws in, is the captive secure?'
El-Vador curled his lip in a snarl. 'Your captive wouldn't be a problem if you had let me bleed him dry for information.'
'He would not have spoken had he known you would kill him anyway.' She turned to face the direction they had been heading, her back to both the Elf and his burden. 'The Orcs have a rudimentary honour that prevents them from betrayal when they face certain death.'
'Orcs are without honour.' El-Vador muttered, kicking the one before him in frustration.
She spun, eyes sharpened. 'If this Orc is truly my captive then I would advise you to treat him better, lest you want the information we seek. Your powers are weak this night, it would be unwise to anger me.'
'She speaks the truth, Elf.' the Orc's breath hissed from between discoloured rotting teeth. 'The mistress desires her power greatly, and you are weakened.'
El-Vador dropped to a knee beside the Orc and pressed the drawn blade to his throat. 'You will keep your silence or I shall end you.' he hissed, not keeping the frustration out of his tone.
'Maybe so, maybe not.' the Orc replied indifferently. 'My life is in the hands of the mistress who accompanies you.'
El-Vador looked back at Aliana. She was staring a hole in him, waiting to see what he would do. He pressed the blade even closer, then with a sigh let it
fall.
Aliana nodded in recognition of how difficult the task of staying his hand had been for him.
'We shall not kill you, Orc. Not if you can prove your use to us, we require more answers this night. Tell me what you know of your other mistress.'
The Orc stared up at her, clearly he had been preparing this answer all evening. 'The mistress seeks you to perform a bonding of some sort, a lowly grunt such as myself does not know the specifics. She needs your power and in some way it is linked to what the master is doing.'
Aliana's eyes were steely, it was clear that the Orc needed to do much better than that. 'That is not enough, Orc. If you value your life then you will provide me with more information.'
'I heard the master speaking of augmenting himself as soon as the bonding was complete, I do not know what those words mean though, I swear to you.'
'Not good enough. You my dispose of him, El-Vador.' the Pixie replied, appointing her companion as the willing executioner.
'No, please, master. If you were to bring her to the mistress you would be well rewarded.'
The Elf smiled grimly. 'If I did, Salvarius would kill me. Even if I had wanted to, what makes you so certain I could?'
Orc licked his thick lips, clearly running out of answers 'Salvarius would not kill the one who rendered to him such a mighty prize.'
El-Vador smiled, and assumed that the Orc's corresponding smile meant that the captive imagined he was dreaming of gold and jewels.
He leaned down toward the Orc while the Pixie still had her back turned. 'Very well then, you may travel in bonds but she shall be the true captive.'
'A wise choice, very wise. I will arrange everything. I shall be your agent. I shall ensure that the master does no harm to you.'
El-Vador stood and returned the blade to its sheath. 'Yes, you will.'
He walked over to where the Pixie was crouched, making a fire out of some brush wood in the dirt. 'The Orc believes I plan to capture you and turn you over to Sarvacts.'
She straightened up, making no attempt to hide her anger. 'And do you, Elf?'
El-Vador chuckled, which irritated her further. 'Of course not.' he replied, folding his arms over his chest. 'I would not betray a companion to an Orc for all the jewels in the world.'
'Is that all you care for then? The extermination of all Orcs?'
'Yes.'
'Yes?' She raised an eyebrow. 'You have an entire world to explore and discover and you care only for vengeance to the exclusion of everything else?'
El-Vador shrugged.
Aliana scowled at him in return. 'What did you do as a child?'
'I cut wood.'
'I mean with others of your race.'
'My father was the only company I needed in the woods of my home. He is dead now.'
She sighed. 'Have it your way then.'
'Have what my way?'
Aliana started to answer sharply, then thought better of it. 'There is more to life than simply killing, El-Vador. I doubt my words will reach you before it is too late though.'
The silence stretched out for a long time as they made camp, El-Vador constantly shifting his gaze back to the bound form of the Orc that was their mutual captive now.
The Elf met her gaze across the live fire and knew he had to say something to break the quiet he had enforced with his reticence. 'We shall stop whatever is drawing you to Salvarius.'
She nodded, stirring the fire. 'I saw what you did to the Orcs in the mountains, together we can end this.'
El-Vador nodded, smiling back at her. 'It could be much worse, you could be paired with the Orc.'
Her smile faded slightly. 'You are aware that I will do my utmost to destroy you if you ever betray me, correct?'
El-Vador's smile broadened. 'Of that I have no doubt, you may even succeed if you persist enough in the task. When last I looked you were not Orcish though, so I have little reason to betray you.'
El-Vador turned from her and looked away to the north. 'Besides, it's good to have some company again. Everyone I know ends up dying or betraying me, or both. I'd like that to change.'
The slight noise of expelled air betrayed the hint of laughter. 'So there is more to the mysterious El-Vador than simply Orc-slaying after all.'
The Elf tapped his nose. 'Don't let the Orc find out.'
Aliana stared at him, then shook her head. 'You are impossible, Elf.'
'So my enemies have discovered.' El-Vador smiled happily. 'I hope that you are never one, Aliana.'
On those final words and exchanged smiles, they settled down to sleep.
LXVI
There are times when the trials seem too great, that the anger I cling to for strength won't be enough to see me through. I'm so far away from all that I once knew was my own self, looking back seems like a lifetime unlike any I suspected living.
El-Vador shuddered as consciousness teased him with its return. The world span him about endlessly, but resolved itself into a steady, rhythmic throbbing. The dust that whipped about him told him that he was still in the barrens, but the aching of his head felt as if he had overslept. He sat up gently and stared about him before remembering that the barrens looked identical no matter where they were. Still, something felt decidedly off about the world around him and he couldn't place his finger on what.
As more of his senses returned, with them came an awareness of aches and pains, and a general stiffness that should have subsided by now. His conflict with the transparent creature was long passed, he shouldn't be suffering from it now, what had befallen him? He checked his body and found himself sporting wounds that he didn't know had existed before, all freshly sewn up and cared for with diligence.
A gentle hand pushed his head back down to the earth to rest, yes, he was getting dizzy from sitting, it would be better to lie there for a time.
When he opened his eyes once more, the harsh sun burned them. He began to tear up, and tried to rise once again, only to have the same hand push him back down.
'Don't speak, El-Vador. Don't move. The poison gave you a fever. It's only just broken.'
He blinked, irritated by the dust. 'What poison? I don't understand.'
'The Orc broke free of his bonds in the night, you would not rise to fight him, would not wake at all. I had to deal with him accordingly.'
'How long have I been like this?' he whispered, barely having the strength for anything else.
'You have been out for three days.' Aliana replied. 'Anacletus has returned to us, he said that he had other errands to attend to but would not explain further.'
El-Vador shook his head and tried to sit up. 'Anacletus...'
She restrained him with a light hand again. 'Will not harm you in this state, he remains committed to our protection and feels aggrieved that he was not here before.'
El-Vador sighed, he wanted to grill the assassin about why he had let the Pixie free in the first place, and what it was he had done that was more important than their protection.
But weakness betrayed him. He surrendered to her ministrations and exhaustion, the world went accordingly dark once more.
He woke later that day, feeling the power unconsciously coursing through him, mending his ills and tending to his wounds. He was far from healed though and rose in spite of Aliana's protestations, he needed to speak to Anacletus about his conspicuous absence up to this point.
He straightened up and walked over to the hooded figure who sat by a blazing fire, warming his hands.
Anacletus spoke without looking at him. 'So the dead have finally risen.'
'Why did you leave the Pixie to be chased by Orcs across the barrens?'
'It is complicated.' Anacletus shrugged. 'I was attempting to prevent the forces seeking to kill you from passing through the ether. I could not maintain my hold on the Pixie's spirited consciousness whilst doing so. Nor could I follow without letting the Brotherhood expand through the ether and onto this plane of existence.'
El-Vador sighed, not knowing how much of t
hat explanation to believe. 'So now you plan to aid us in reaching Salvarius before he gains hold of the artefact?'
'For a time. I may be called away once more, there are other matters than Salvarius that I must attend to.'
The Elf knew better to rely upon Anacletus, he could see that the man wasn't telling the whole truth. 'What of the Pixie being drawn to Salvarius? Can you do anything about that?'
'I make no promises, Elf.'
El-Vador shook his head. 'I expect none from you, assassin. If you cannot stop her from becoming a pawn to some hideous scheme then who can?'
'If I cannot prevent it then it falls upon you.' Anacletus waved a hand toward the distant land beneath the starry sky. 'The Pixie is of secondary consideration, simply stop Salvarius while I hold off the rest of the Brotherhood, that is all that is required of you. If I can lend you aid I shall, but continue to expect nothing of me.'
The Elf's head ached. Anacletus seemed to be teasing aid but withdrawing it in the same sentence, and the Pixie seemed both incredibly important and surplus to requirements. Ultimately it did not matter what the man thought, because it still pointed to the same necessities. He needed to get to Salvarius and prevent the man from recovering the artefact and the Pixie from being merged with whoever this mistress was that the long-dead Orc had spoken of.
'You need more rest if you are to do any of those things, Elf.' the assassin said, reading his mind. 'Sleep, I will keep camp until you wake. So long as the Pixie remains in our hands it matters not what Salvarius does.'
El-Vador did not argue, stumbling back to his resting place and too tired to think.
Another wasted journey to a tomb had Salvarius cursing with impotent rage. Mina's diminishing powers meant that her sensing of the artefact's location had subsided, leaving them travelling back and forth between a seemingly endless series of dig sites with her dark helpers.
'This is intolerable!' he bellowed, hurling another useless piece of stone into the dusty wall of the latest site. 'How can you lose your powers now when we need them most to divine the location of this...thing?'
El-Vador's Travels Page 42