Brothers

by Viktor Zólyomi

  `See you in Hell, Danny Boy!' he said, jokingly.

  `See you in Hell!' I told him. Then we both went on our business.

  Surrounded

  Somewhere in Draconia, present day (7 hours after Twilightfall)

  Fucking ghosts! I fucking hate you all...

  I've been fighting them off for an hour by now. It worked pretty well in the beginning, while I had charges in my SMG 12000. The flames from the weapon's flamethrower shape weakened the ghosts, and then I was able to use my black magic to destroy their bodies. I took out around ten of them. Certainly no more than that. Then I ran out of charges...

  Now all I can do is keep them at a distance. I have no means to weaken them to a state where I could kill them. There's still more than two dozen of these assholes left. How in the fuck am I supposed to destroy them?

  I guess I should be pleased with myself though. I did waste roughly a quarter of them, all by myself. Ghosts are ridiculously hard to kill, even a single one poses a great challenge. Compared to that, I wasted a lot more than I expected I could.

  Not that it matters. There's still too many of them. I've got nothing left to destroy them with. I should be carrying fireball wands around for such emergencies. But fuck that shit, the Hell expected that I'd not be able to open a Portal to flee, or even fucking teleport my ass out of this mess...

  Well, I'm screwed now. All I can do is keep knocking them back with Doom and Chaos, and use my magic to down one of them every now and then. As strong as they are, it'll take an hour to destroy one of them. Let's see... Thirty or so ghosts, an hour each...

  Fuck!

  I'm fucking dead...

  But I won't lay down for them...

  `Is that the best you can do, you motherfuckers?!' I scream at them in anger, as I slash towards them with my blades. The fuckers don't even bother to reply.

  Suddenly a ball of fire explodes behind them and about half of them are blown away from me and set on fire. Where the fuck did that come from? No matter. Quickly I make a run for it before the still standing ghosts surround me again and I can't break out any more. I rush forward and run past the fallen ghosts. They're burning, but still moving. It'll take far more than that to destroy them.

  I hear another explosion behind me and hear more ghosts hit the ground. I glance behind me as I run and see that there's only six of them chasing me now, the rest are down on the ground, their manifestations on fire. They'll get back up soon enough...

  Then I spot a figure in the distance. In the air...

  At first glance it looks like a half-dragon, but no. It's something else. Looks like a human woman with bird wings.

  Who the fuck is that chick?

  Wait a minute...

  Her face looks familiar...

  Oh yeah, I know! It's the psycho with the torture chamber...

  Wait a minute... What's she doing here? How did she get here?

  `Irea?!' I scream into the distance.

  `You remember my name. That's good!' she replies. `Now stop running and face them, you coward! There's only six of them left.'

  `Even one of these would be too much!'

  `I'd have thought you'd have more guts than this.' she says, and then I see her point her hands towards the six ghosts chasing me. A short time later a fireball flies into the small group and explodes, setting them on fire and sending them flying. I slow down and stop, observing my fallen foes. They're all burning and still on the ground. But they'll be back up soon. Pretty soon...

  The little pyromaniac flies towards me and lands beside me. She frowns at me.

  `I believe there is a name for men who rely on a fragile woman to get them out of a sticky situation.' she says. `I wonder what that is?'

  `Ha. Ha. Very. Funny.'

  `I think it is truly amusing. I wouldn't have thought you were such a coward.'

  `Listen, darling, how about you turn around?' I tell her. She snorts, but turns around.

  `What...?' she asks, sounding genuinely surprised at seeing the burning figures headed this way.

  `You didn't think these were mere mortals, did you?'

  She glances at me briefly, and then looks back towards the advancing warriors.

  `What are they?'

  `Undead, basically, but pretty powerful ones. Ghosts.'

  She takes a step back as she realizes the odds we are facing.

  `Hang on to me, I'll fly you out of here.' she says.

  `No fucking way! I'm not flying anywhere! Help me kill these fuckers!'

  `Are you out of your mind?!'

  `I'm not going to fly!'

  `Would you rather die? Are you afraid of heights, perhaps?'

  `What do you think, Birdie? Yes I'm afraid of fucking heights! Now will you please help me kill these fucking pricks before they fucking kill me?!'

  `So, you are a coward after all.' she says in a mocking tone. `I'll just have to fly you out of here against your will then. Don't worry, I won't drop you. If you cooperate...'

  `I'm not going anywhere! I'm gonna waste these motherfuckers even if it's the last thing I ever do!'

  `Once I faced a ghost. It wasn't easy to destroy it. Do you really think you can fight so many of them? Even the magical power we have combined won't be enough!'

  `Trust me, we can handle it. I already wasted about ten of these cocksuckers. Then I ran out of charges.'

  `Ten?!' she asks, sounding shocked. `You're not lying... How?!'

  `Look, I have no time for this. I'll just show you. But first, would you kindly torch these assholes? Come on! I wanna see the motherfuckers burn!'

  She looks at me oddly, but then she smiles with vicious joy in her eyes. She makes her bird wings vanish and turns towards the approaching figures.

  She waves her hands and begins to chant, and a while later a jet of flame erupts from both of her palms and they strike the ghosts. The flame sets them on fire, and then jumps on to other nearby ghosts. The fire spreads among them quickly, but it doesn't seem like it will weaken them enough.

  Irea sees that, too, and she conjures a fireball in the air in front of her. She points at the ghosts and the fireball flies towards them. It explodes, and sets a large number of the ghosts on fire. But it's still not good enough. She fires another fireball at them, and then a third one. Then a fourth. Then a fifth. Then a sixth... A seventh...

  Meanwhile the ghosts further back circle around the group she's been torching and attempt to flank us. She ignores them and sends and eighth fireball at the first group.

  Dammit, is she ever gonna stop doing that?

  `Having fun?' I ask. `How about you start torching the rest of them?! Before they flank us?!'

  She turns towards me and frowns.

  `Don't rush me... This is art. You can't rush art.'

  `Art or no, if they surround us, we're fucked! So torch them, fast!'

  `Okay, but I have to use something more powerful.' she says.

  `Yeah, yeah, just do it!'

  She looks at me raising her right eyebrow, and then she turns back to the ghosts.

  `Keep them away from me for a minute.' she says, and then she raises her hands to the sky and begins to chant.

  `Oh fuck...'

  I move towards the ghosts and attack the nearest one. Then I quickly retreat, trying to draw them away from Irea without getting surrounded. She chants on, gradually shouting magic words louder and louder, until suddenly, she stops, and flames envelop both of her arms. I rush away from the ghosts.

  She points to the sky above the ghosts in front of us, and her eyes briefly light up reddishly. A moment later, a gigantic, and I do mean, gigantic flaming rock appears high above them, and falls directly into the middle of the ghosts. As it hits them, it explodes into a tremendously large fireball, and all the ghosts in the vicinity of the explosion are set on fire.

  Then she points above the group of ghosts that's been trying to flank us. Another gigantic flaming rock appears where she pointed and falls into the ghosts and explodes, setting them on fi
re.

  `Good enough?' she asks, turning to me.

  `It'll have to do.' I tell her. `Now watch this!'

  I sheathe my blades and point towards the nearest ghost with both hands. I reach down to my reserves of black magic energy and begin casting the spell. I chant the words quickly and after a few seconds a gray beam is emitted from my hands and strikes the ghost in the chest. He begins to advance on me, swinging his weapon threateningly. After a few steps he slows down and eventually stops moving entirely. His body becomes glassy, and suddenly it shatters. The shards of glass fall to the ground and crumble to dust in a matter of moments.

  `I've never seen a spell like that.' says Irea, sounding surprised.

  I look at her and shrug my shoulders.

  `It's no big deal, hunny! You may be a pyromaniac, but I am a black magician. This is how you destroy these motherfuckers!'

  `Black magic?' she asks. `That makes sense. It is what makes them, is it not? Then it is what should break them, too.'

  Well now... She sure doesn't make a big deal out of me being a black magician... That's a nice reaction I get for a change...

  Anyway...

  `Basically, yes.' I tell her. `Arcane magic can break them, too, but it takes much more effort that way.'

  `Can you destroy them all?'

  `Yeah, but it'll take a while. I'd appreciate it if you could keep up the heat while I finish, if you know what I mean.'

  `Certainly!' she says, and she faces the ghosts. She raises her hands and prepares to cast some spell. I smile knowing that I get to have the last laugh over these motherfuckers after all...

  The secrets of planar travel

  Daniel Keehmor's house, Ashkel, around three hundred years ago

  What can I say, fighting off hordes of zombies and almost getting flattened by tons of rock is not the most common way of starting a friendship, but that's how things started with me and that reckless wizard. I told him he could look me up any time if he needed me, and he sure didn't waste time. Mere days after we had successfully survived that dungeon, he looked me up at my place. I had nothing to do, what with still being banned from the Guild Hall. So I went with him, and once again, he almost got us killed...

  But we had fun, haha!

  Needless to say, that was not the last time we did something like that. I don't know why, but he kept jumping into the fray without thinking. Every time we ran into a room full of undead, he just barged right in and started shooting lightning from his wands. It didn't exactly help our chances of survival much to attract attention like that. But somehow, we always managed to survive.

  I enjoyed our adventures. I had a chance to use my fighting skills, and I felt that it helped me improve a lot.

  We explored countless ruins and dungeons which dated back to the times before the Great War. In the beginning, we just explored in the forest around Ashkel, but later we ventured much further. Sometimes we found some interesting stuff, but always we found something that wanted to kill intruders, so fighting was always in abundance. All in all, we had fun.

  Five years passed like that, until one evening Zack came to my place and made my day, shall we say, extremely interesting...

  It was a calm spring day. It had rained in the afternoon, but by the evening the sky was clear, and the crescent moon was shining bright. I had actually invited someone over for the night, but my guest hadn't arrived yet. I was greatly surprised to hear Zack's characteristic knocking on my door.

  I opened the door and greeted him. Before I could even finish saying `Hi, Zack!', he was already through the door and motioned me to close it. He had some kind of book with him.

  `Well, what can I do for you?' I asked. Then he looked at me, measuring my clothing with narrowed eyes.

  `Are you ready to do battle, Danny Boy? You're not quite dressed for it, you know...'

  `No, I'm expecting someone.'

  `Who?'

  `Just Mandy.'

  `Mandy? Who's Mandy?' he asked, surprised.

  `Errr... You don't know her. I think.'

  `Last time I was here it was Carmen.'

  `No, actually that was the time before. Last time it was...'

  `Never mind. Listen... When is she coming?'

  `Errr... I don't really know. Within the hour, I am sure.'

  `We need to talk. Now.'

  `Sure, let's go sit down in the kitchen.'

  As we sat down, he dropped the book on the kitchen table, and then started to talk.

  `Do you remember what I told you of the Five Trials of the Magi that I need to pass in the Mage Guild?'

  `Sure.'

  `Yesterday I spoke to Matuak about doing my Fourth Trial. And do you know what he said? That I'm too inexperienced for it.'

  `Are you kidding? Isn't that what he said five years ago?'

  `Yeah. That's right.'

  `I can't believe it. How can he doubt...'

  `He knows I can pass, he just doesn't want me to get the privileges that would accompany my rise in rank. He thinks I'm too young.'

  `So, what will you do?'

  `I'm getting off this rock. Tonight.'

  I was suspecting he'd be there because of this. He had often told me how the Mage Guild of Ashkel was restricting his development too much. As I had heard from other people, that was very much true. Zack had been intent on leaving, traveling to another world. But he always said that he wouldn't rush it, that he would be smart and bide his time, and leave when it was most opportune.

  `So, you came to say goodbye?'

  `It depends. Wanna come?' he asked, with a wide smile.

  `Well, where are you going?'

  `To Kh'Tal.'

  I stared at him for a while, not willing to believe what I had heard. Kh'Tal... I knew all about the reputation of that world. I was no mage, but I knew of Kh'Tal just like everyone else did. Councilor Jenathar made sure that all would know the name of the forbidden world, to where no planar travel was ever allowed. And there came Zack, telling me he wanted to go there... Like I said, he made my day extremely interesting...

  `Where?' I asked after a while, slowly.

  `Haven't you ever heard...'

  `Of course I heard! We all know of the ban on black magic, and the name of the forbidden world! You want to go there?!'

  `Yeah. Those idiots at the Guild won't let me advance, well, I'm through with them. Screw those guys, I'm going to Kh'Tal! Are you coming?' he asked, so casually that if I hadn't gotten used to his demeanor after five years, I'd have fallen off the chair in my shock.

  `Oh boy...' I told him, going through my hair with my fingers. `Just how do you want to do this?'

  `Well, I've been planning this for years. Much of the magic trinkets I sought out with your aid were meant to enable me to open a Portal to another world. I have everything I need. All that's missing now, is the incantation that will get me to Kh'Tal.'

  `How will you get that?'

  `It's right here.' he said, tapping his fingers on the book. `On page one hundred and thirty-seven.'

  `Oh... You have access to such books?'

  `I do now.'

  `What do you mean?'

  `Now that I took it, I have access to it.'

  `Took it? Wait... You don't mean this is one of those tomes in the library of your Guild that you are not supposed to see because of your low rank?'

  `No.'

  `Ah, good.'

  `This is one of Harvey Matuak's personal spellbooks.'

  I started coughing as he said that...

  `What...?' I asked, when I felt I could breathe normally again.

  `It's Magister Matuak's spellbook.'

  `He gave it to you?'

  `Are you kidding? That fuckhead? Hell no. He doesn't know that I have it.'

  `You... you stole a book from Matuak?!'

  `I'm just borrowing it.' he said, smiling.

  `You stole a book from Matuak?!'

  `Yeah, yeah, I stole a book from him, so what? He doesn't know it yet. But if you say it just a
little bit louder, he might hear it.'

  Silently, I repeated my question.

  `You stole a book from Matuak? Are you out of your fucking mind?'

  `No I'm not! But what if I was? Madness isn't such a bad thing... On the contrary. It's a good thing. Madness extends the boundaries of one's freedom. Anything that extends the boundaries of one's freedom is a good thing!'

  `Cut the bullshit, Zack! What if he finds out?!'

  `He will never know I took it, and he will never catch us. Don't worry... Did you think I didn't figure this out ahead of time? I did. I've got a plan! A plan that is fullproof! All I need is fifteen minutes to create the Portal. I'll do it right here. We step through, and he's fucked. He can't very well follow us without his book, now can he? Not to mention, I don't think he'd seek anyone's help. I doubt that he'd like anyone to know just what kind of incantations were written in one of his personal spellbooks...'

  I sighed deeply.

  `If he finds out that you came here with that book...'

  `By the time he finds out, we'll be gone. Or do you want to stay?'

  I sighed deeply again, but of course, Zack was right. I had heard a thing or two of Kh'Tal that made me curious of that place. I didn't care about the black magicians or the eternal darkness of that world, but I had heard a lot of things that I'd have liked to see. I was always up for adventure, and Kh'Tal certainly offered plenty of that. I'd have been a fool to miss this chance. Even as I knew that it meant I'd have to leave Ashkel behind forever. We'd be wanted criminals in Ashkel after this... But I was willing to pay that price. By then, I felt I had learnt everything the Fighter's Guild could teach me, I didn't really need them any more. All I needed were opportunities to use my skills to improve, and I knew well that Kh'Tal would provide that.

  `Alright... When do we go?'

  `Now. I need a large enough room to conjure the Portal, and while I do it, you should get dressed for battle. You know... Armor, sword, the usual stuff.'

  `Right. Well, this house is fairly small, I couldn't afford a bigger place. I guess my bedroom is the best choice. We just need to get the bed out of the way.'