“Your friends can not help you. I will attend to them soon enough. I will come for all in the world. Just relax and let it happen.”
Ritter thought of the danger to his allies and a new determination settled in. He took another step.
“You can not resist me. I am stronger than you. If you try, I will make sure all of your race suffers.”
The thought of his race being tortured and slaughtered by that entity was unbearable. Ritter had come to save his race. He certainly was not about to let some strange spirit destroy the Halz. The dwarf's willpower shattered the hold on his mind and he found his footing solid and true. With a few bounds he reached the outside of the tower. His mind cleared nearly completely as he reached the outside world. However he could still feel that the creature within the tower had a tenuous link to him.
“Do not leave me,” it whispered, “Come back to me.”
Ritter saw that the other mercenaries had set up camp. Night had begun as the last light of dusk disappeared behind the mighty trees of the Tarvo Forest. Ritter wondered just how much time had passed within the tower. He turned to look and saw the sixth Tarvoni torn to shreds, leaving only one left alive. The Halz grabbed one of the mighty double doors and pulled it shut. The mechanism that had opened them had acted as a lock and seal upon the gates.
“No! You can not seal me in here again!” the voice yelled.
Ritter grabbed the second door and pulled it until it closed. He quickly worked the mechanism until the lock and seal snapped back into place. The voice squeaked out of the dwarf's mind as the seals completed.
“I... was... so close...”
Ritter felt as if a great weight had left him. He stumbled over towards the campsite, feeling an extreme exhaustion. He collapsed to the ground and his world went dark.
***
Ritter awoke to find his whole body sore. He had fallen asleep in his armor. It meant the Halz still felt fatigued as well. Suddenly panic filled his heart as he thought of the specter in the tower. He turned to glance in that direction and saw nothing but jungle. If ever a tower had once stood there, no trace was left of it. As the other mercenaries began to awoke, many questions filled the camp. Ritter told them of his harrowing experience.
“Weird,” Kava croaked, “If it wanted out, why didn't it just leave once the doors were opened?”
“I am not sure,” Ritter replied, “I do not know enough of whatever it was to make a guess.”
“Sounds like a fanciful tale at best,” Kava snorted, “If I had not seen the tower sitting right over there yesterday I would have thought you had made it all up.”
“Even so,” Eurysa hissed, “Not all of it may be true. Such powerful mental manipulation and hallucinations may have changed perceptions. The only truth we know for sure is that the tower was here, and now it is gone. Along with the Tarvoni that had come to investigate it. We have a long journey back home through potentially hostile territory.”
“Hey, at least we got paid,” Kava said, “As far as any dangers on the trip ahead, I say to bring it on. I could use a good fight.”
“Lets head home,” Ritter said tiredly, “If we have to deal with any foes, hopefully it is something my hammer can hurt. Something more simple.”
“Now that sound reasonable!” Kava exclaimed, “I knew there was something I liked about you.”
***
Seven dead Tarvoni laid splattered across the floor inside the unlit tower. The force that resided within the tower sighed.
“Seven souls for the seven clans,” the ghostly spirit said to itself, its terrifying voice echoing in the lifeless chamber.
“My payment received and taken,” the voice continued, “I am free of the bond that holds me, yet my cage remains. When next the cage opens I shall be free. I shall have my revenge on the dwarves. They trapped me again. They shall suffer greatly. But now I must wait for the time to come again. Another five thousand years to wait. They shall pay for each day spent waiting. I am death. Avoid me now, but not forever for I am always near. It is useless to run for I come to all. The final answer to all things lies within. Learn of me, just as did those immortalized in my hall.”
***
Escaping the Tarvo Forest had been surprisingly easy. The group had come close to a hunting party of Hirkans, but the barbarians had been busy pursuing Snow Elk as the herds made the migration south for the spring. The vodyanoi, of course, had been rather disappointed by the lack of action. Ritter had felt much better after getting a good night's rest. Even he had begun to have doubts as to what had happened in the tower. The specter had gotten into his mind. It was impossible to know what was real.
It was a new experience for the Halz. It made him question all he had done in his life. It made him think back on all the people he had met. He thought of his allies and his foes. He thought long and hard on his mission to the surface. He realized that he missed the companionship of his fellow stone-kin. As the group lumbered up to Enzi's wagon, Ritter wondered if it was time to leave and visit the Platinum Hall. His fellow Halz would welcome him back and he had learned much.
Ritter saw Enzi in a confrontation with a heavily armed man. The man glared towards the inhuman mercenaries and stormed towards them. A perturbed looking Enzi quickly followed.
“There you are you damnable dwarf!” the heavily armed man shouted in Nuvro, “Knew I would catch you eventually. Your threats are at an end!”
“Threats?” Ritter asked, “What are you going on about?”
“Don't play dumb with me! You've been threatening Gharaf Targata for the past several days!”
“Wow, you are good!” Kava said with a sly sounding croak, “How did you get here ahead of us, threaten a shopkeeper, and get back to us so fast? I want that ability!”
“As Kava just pointed out in her sarcastic way, it is as I was telling you,” Enzi said, “Ritter has been away from Center Point and could not be the person you are looking for.”
“Whatever. Just how many dwarves come by this place?” the heavily armed guard asked.
“They are rare, I agree,” Enzi said, “But not so rare that you do not know what they are. We will go and investigate this with you. Ritter, myself, and you can go talk to Gharaf and he can confirm that Ritter was not the one threatening him.”
Ritter left his warhammer at the wagon to appease the guard. With Enzi and Ritter unarmed, the three walked into the markets of Center Point. Soon enough the three arrived at the shop owned by the seedy Ravaleian. Enzi saw the door was broken down. The three glanced at each other briefly then rushed inside. Ritter's earlier thoughts about missing interaction with other Halz melted away as he viewed the scene before him. Gharaf was against the wall with the blade of an axe hovering menacingly near his throat. The dwarf that held that axe had his stony face contorted with rage. Ritter knew that face immediately.
Ritter growled out a single name in Nuvro, “Gierig Silveraxe.”
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Enzi's Irregulars Act I - The Calm Before the Storm Page 13