Do the Gods Give Us Hope?

by Jeff Henrikson

  Mestel knew in his heart of hearts that he had never been very skilled at archery or hand-to-hand combat until after his god brought him back to life. But now his aim was confident, and he was able to read his enemy’s body language and know his intent long before a blow ever landed. That was true even at this moment. The Krone ran at him hard with uncontained rage. Mestel’s arrow was still lodged in his back, penetrating his heart or close enough to it that death was assured. Mestel nimbly moved to the left and tripped the Krone with his right foot as he came on. As the Krone lost his footing, Mestel added insult to injury by hitting him in the back of the neck using his bow as a club. The Krone fell hard to the floor and struggled to get up. Mestel launched another arrow into the Krone’s back at point blank range. The Krone fell to the floor and moved no more.

  Mestel looked at the other Krone lying dead against the wall to the right, and then he brought his eyes up to look at Ellen. Ellen looked around the room at what had happened. She looked at one dead Krone and then the other. She looked down at her nakedness in fear and disbelief. Only then did she look over at Mestel with gratefulness and love. The two moved unconsciously toward each other until they met in a fierce embrace. Mestel stood quietly and let Ellen shudder in his arms.

  She sobbed and said, “You came for me.”

  “Of course.”

  “How did you know?”

  “We are linked together, you and me. I won’t ever let anything happen to you.”

  There was nothing left to say as the two held each other tight and Ellen cried into Mestel’s neck. After a while, Ellen began to calm down.

  Her crying stopped, and she whispered into Mestel’s ear, “What are you doing here?”

  “We ran into some trouble at the Old Shetley Fortress, so we came back seeking Austen’s advice. The Fortress was destroyed by the same portal that demolished Austen’s tower, and Valihorn has a cursed ring on his hand.”

  “Did you somehow open the portal that destroyed Austen’s tower?”

  “It was an accident, but yes, we think so.”

  “I haven’t seen my daughter since the Krone took me away. Do you think you can help me find Faye?”

  “Of course. Where did you see her last?”

  “When the portal appeared, she was out in the street playing. At first the ground shook like an earthquake, and there was a lot of noise as Austen’s tower came apart. I ran out into the street trying to find her, but she must have been on the other side of town. I ran through the streets crying her name, but there was so much noise and chaos that nobody heard me. The streets became more and more crowded as the people of Wessex sought shelter in the church cellar. The streets were crowded, but I refused to give up. Eventually, I started toward the docks on the western side of town. As I was running toward the dock, the two Krone you killed came at me quickly and knocked me to the ground. They were full of lust, so they dragged me into this house. This isn’t even my house! Oh, they were so vile.

  “They talked about what they were going to do to me and argued about who would do what. They hit me every time I screamed. I fought back, but I wasn’t strong enough.

  “Oh, Jefon, thank Martel that you found me.”

  “I’m not actually called Jefon anymore.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Mestel held Ellen out at arm’s length so she could see the truth in his eyes. “Ellen, I died.”

  Ellen pulled away suddenly. “Are you one of the undead?”

  “No, feel my hand. I am alive and well thanks to the love and grace of Martel. He brought me back to life so I could carry out his mission on Tellus. My name is now Mestel.”

  Ellen moved a step closer and took his hand in her own. “Mestel – that is a proud name. It’s similar to the name of our god. Can you help me find Faye? She’s probably in the cellar of the church with the rest of the town.”

  “Of course.” After Ellen got dressed, Mestel took her hand and the couple headed out into the street.

  *****

  Mestel suddenly found he could not move his arms or legs and his vision went black. While Mestel was sure he would never get used to receiving messages from his god or get used to the abrupt manner in which the visions came, he was far more accepting of them now than when he had been Jefon. He braced himself for what was to come, sharpening his senses and memory in order to take in every detail. After another heartbeat, the scene changed, and he was standing in front of the church to Sentinel. As he looked at the church, he saw Nero walking toward the chapel from the right. He had the dark skin and light hair of a Krone. Mestel looked around him in a circle and saw no less than five Krone closing in on the church from different angles. His vision zoomed in and focused on each Krone in turn. He made a mental note of where each was located, what armament they carried, and what they looked like.

  Then Mestel’s consciousness moved through the front doors of the church and into the sanctuary. He could hear talking and movement in the room off to the left. He flew over the pews and passed through the open doorway to the back room. Evisar, Xander, and Valihorn were trapped inside the room by three more Krone. Behind the altar to Sentinel was something else altogether. On the surface, the creature looked like any other Krone, except this one had a flawless appearance and glowed with his own inner light. Mestel focused on the angelic Krone, but as he looked deeper, the pristine exterior features began to fade away. The Krone grew into a horrible monster with three heads and scaly skin.

  The beast stood behind the altar, proud and confident. It said in an unearthly voice from his childhood nightmares, “Give me the ring and you all may live.”

  Valihorn answered, “I cannot give you the ring. Even if I wanted to, it is cursed and will not come off of my hand.”

  The scene continued until Valihorn offered the ring, and his hand, as a sacrifice to save young Cameron’s life. Evisar tried to stop his friend, but Valihorn turned to Evisar with a grit Mestel had never seen in the young wizard.

  “This is my town. I have known Cameron since before she was born. Who are you to say what I will and will not do?”

  Valihorn turned toward the beast and marched proudly forward. He bent down on his knee and put his ring hand on the altar.

  His voice filled the room. “Take the ring and be quick about it.”

  Mestel watched in horror as the three-headed beast drew a huge two-handed sword and moved to strike off Valihorn’s hand. Mestel’s visions usually ended abruptly, but this one was different. The picture before Mestel slowly turned darker and darker until everything was gone. As the scene faded, Mestel saw the Krone raise his sword and bring it down in a sharp cutting motion. There was a sickening smack as the blackness overcame him, and Valihorn yelled out in pain.

  *****

  Mestel’s consciousness returned to his body, and he awoke to find Ellen kissing his lips. He responded in kind. Ellen pulled back a moment later when she saw him responding to her.

  Mestel said, “What was that for?”

  “You stopped moving and I couldn’t get you to wake up. I tried everything else.”

  Mestel smiled and then turned deadly serious. “You have to come with me now. Valihorn and your daughter are in danger.” He grabbed her hand and ran down the empty streets toward the church.

  Ellen went along willingly, but said, “How can you possibly know that?”

  Mestel did not answer as he concentrated on his task. As he approached the church, he let go of Ellen’s hand and readied his bow. Mestel remembered with perfect clarity where the five Krone were hiding in the shadows. The Krone were waiting for the right moment to ambush and kill everyone in the church. Only that wasn’t going to happen. He approached the rear of the church from the right side. As Mestel walked silently from shadow to shadow, he looked to his right between two houses at where the first Krone should be, and sure enough, he was there. Mestel walked another few steps as if he hadn’t noticed anything. Then, he brought up his bow and loosed before the Krone had time to react.
The arrow flew over a log pile, and Mestel watched the Krone stagger out of the shadows and fall into the alleyway. Mestel looked behind him to make sure Ellen was still there. She looked from the alleyway to Mestel and back again. She had wonder in her eyes and clearly had a number of questions, but she said nothing. Mestel took her hand again and continued to move among the shadows. They finally came up to the back corner of the church on the right side. The church was roughly rectangular, with the main entrance on the opposite side, off the main street. The rear portion of the temple formed a semicircle. Mestel led Ellen quietly around the semicircle in the rear of the church. As they walked slowly down the side of the church toward the front, Mestel looked all the way across to the other side of the main street where the second Krone should be hiding – and there he was. Mestel again let go of Ellen’s hand and nocked an arrow on his bowstring. Once that Krone was dead, Mestel continued down the right side of the temple, with Ellen in his shadow.

  ________________________________________

  Evisar was paralyzed with indecision. He only had a few options and all of them resulted in either the innocent child dying, or Valihorn getting his finger or hand chopped off. This might be Valihorn’s town, but as his leader, Valihorn was ultimately Evisar’s responsibility. Could he really allow Valihorn to sacrifice himself? Not only would Valihorn be a cripple, but he would never be able to cast another spell as long as he lived. There was also the fact that Mortem would likely kill all of the companions once he had the ring. So Evisar hated himself for asking the question, but was the child’s life worth it? Evisar searched for the answer while Valihorn walked up to the altar. Did Evisar have the right to play the part of a god, deciding who should live and who should die?

  In the end it was a simple choice. If he did nothing, Valihorn would be a cripple. If he took action, the young girl might die. While he didn’t want the responsibility of life and death, the responsibility was thrust upon him. Either choice bore consequences. Doing nothing was the same as acting. Either way, a decision would be made. Therefore, Evisar made the best choice he could and thought on it no more. Looking over at Xander, it was clear that he had come to the same conclusion.

  Valihorn knelt down and put his arm on Sentinel’s altar with a grace and poise the young wizard had not possessed a few moons ago.

  He said, “Take the ring and be quick about it.”

  Mortem moved to the side with his sword in hand, but before he could bring it down on Valihorn’s exposed hand, the window off to Evisar’s left exploded inward. Glass shards shot across the room. Evisar shielded his eyes from the assault. At the same time, he heard Mortem yell out in agony. Evisar opened his eyes after the danger had passed to see an arrow in the back of Mortem’s head. The angelic Krone flailed about in a manner that suggested he had never felt pain before, or had not felt it in so long that he had forgotten the sensation. Mortem was dying, and he knew it. In his last coherent moments, he gained control of himself once again and charged toward Valihorn. Valihorn stood up from the altar at the same time he mouthed a single arcane word. As Mortem charged forward with rage, Valihorn stuck out his hand in a vengeful way and three energy bolts leapt to his command. The bolts slammed into Mortem and threw the angelic Krone back against the wall. As Mortem smashed into the wall, his body and the wall exploded simultaneously. Shards of wood showered into the street while Mortem’s body exploded into a million points of ethereal energy and was no more.

  Evisar stood holding Neverlost as he looked for something to attack. He scanned for the Krone that had been holding a dagger to the child’s throat, only to find him slumped over dead with an arrow sticking out of his neck. Evisar heard footsteps coming from behind and suddenly remembered the three Krone that had been standing guard at the sanctuary door. Evisar turned around in time to partially deflect the blade of a sword meant to split his skull in two. Instead, he deflected the crushing blow onto his shoulder. The chain links around his shoulder split around the impact of the sword and despite Evisar’s muscular might, he was thrown back and off his feet. The Krone charged him and took a downward swing with his sword. Evisar rolled to the right and the sword smashed through the floor. While he was on the ground, Evisar rolled back over and swung for the Krone’s knees. The magic of Neverlost ripped through the ordinary sword the Krone carried along with the plate armor protecting his shin. The Krone warrior staggered backward and fell to the floor, literally cut off at the knees. Evisar leapt to his feet and impaled the Krone through the chest with such power that Neverlost dug into the floor. It was only after this combat was finished that Evisar noticed the other two Krone lying on the ground, one with an arrow through his throat, and the other with two scorch marks on his chest.

  Evisar looked over his shoulder and found Valihorn walking toward him with the child holding his hand. The young wizard had a lopsided grin on his face and was apparently no worse for wear. He seemed very proud of himself for saving the child. Valihorn pointed to the floor in the back-right corner and said, “The door to the cellar is over there. I bet most of the town is holed up down there. We should go and see if they need help.”

  Evisar pulled Neverlost from the timbers in the floor and nodded wearily. He took a step in that direction before Xander asked questioningly. “Evisar, do you want me to heal your shoulder before we go any farther?”

  It was not until that moment that Evisar felt the constant throbbing of his left shoulder.

  He nodded his head and said nothing more. Xander came over, placed his hands on the wound, and said a prayer to Fortuna. As Xander was mumbling words of healing power, Mestel and Ellen walked through the door to the inner sanctum. Some of the old jealousy returned to Evisar as he watched Mestel and Ellen move as a fluid pair. The human woman was unquestioningly attractive in her own way, but she was still only human. He continued to be baffled by his brother’s interest in her. What’s more, Mestel seemed to have a closer relationship to her than he did with his own blood. It wasn’t right, but it wasn’t his place to say anything. Not only that, but if he did say something about Ellen, it might drive a deeper wedge between them than was already there.

  Valihorn’s good cheer continued as he looked up at Mestel and said, “Good timing as always, my friend.” Evisar caught the implication that Mestel seemed to always be one step ahead of anything bad that happened these days. “If you had come any later, I would be one hand short. I owe you a debt, and unlike my debt to Malachite, I know you will use it wisely.”

  Ellen took one look at the child standing with Valihorn and said, “Do any of you know where my daughter is? I haven’t seen her since the Krone arrived.”

  Evisar said, “We haven’t seen her. Hopefully she’s down in the cellar.”

  Chapter 87: Secrets, New and Old

  Xander finished healing Evisar’s shoulder and then began to walk around the inner sanctum to Sentinel. He picked up a few relics and put them back in their proper place. He was particularly reverent as he bent down to pick up the silver scales of justice and placed them back on the altar. He even took time to locate the small golden weights that belonged on the scales. After he had paid his respects to Sentinel, he turned around and saw the other companions debating what to do next.

  Xander looked at Mestel and said, “Hey, lovebirds, now is not the time to worry about one little girl. With any luck most of the townfolk are trapped in the cellar and need our help. There could also be more Krone down there.”

  Mestel avoided Xander’s verbal jab and said, “Fine. You first.” Evisar and Valihorn watched as they opened up the wooden trapdoor and slowly headed down into the cellar.

  ________________________________________

  Evisar put Neverlost away and turned around to investigate the rest of the church. What he found nearly made his heart jump out of his chest. Standing not more than five feet away from him was Nero, Agent of the Crown. It was unnerving that Nero had been able to approach that close to him, well within striking distance if he had so chosen. Ner
o, for his part, stood there like a statue, unmoving except for the vaguely amused smile on his face.

  Evisar still didn’t know what to make of Nero. If anything, he was more secretive than Xander, and that was saying something. Though, to look at it from another point of view, Nero was a specially trained Agent of the Crown. His job was to accomplish missions no one else was capable of, and he had already saved their lives more than once.

  “So, did you find anything interesting on the south side of town?” Evisar finally asked.

  “No. Not at all. All I saw were empty houses. I see the two of you saw some action. I’m a little surprised to see that the Krone are here, but I’ve found it wise never to underestimate our enemy.” Nero walked past Evisar and knelt over the only Krone left alive after the battle. “This one looks to still be alive. We should stabilize him before he dies. That way we can interrogate him to find out why the Krone are in Wessex. Help me move him out into the main sanctuary where we can find better light.”

  Evisar helped Nero move the Krone into the sanctuary while Valihorn checked the Krone corpses for anything that could be helpful. They set the Krone down at the apex of the church in front of the main altar. Nero pulled out some rope and bound the Krone’s wrists and ankles. The large number of windows in the sanctuary did provide ample light. Evisar walked around the perimeter of the sanctuary looking for some sign of movement in the street, but there was still no sign of the townspeople. As he walked back down the main aisle toward the altar, Nero stood up and seemed to stare directly behind him for the briefest of moments.

  Then Nero focused back on Evisar and said, “Come and have a look. I found one interesting item on this Krone.”

  _______________________________________

  Nero opened the main door to the temple of Sentinel with an anxious heart. He was supremely confident in his abilities, of course, but his deal with the Krone was ambiguous at best. What if the Krone didn’t hold up his end of the bargain and simply ran away into the woods? What if the Krone decided to kill him along with the companions? These were both important concerns that would leave him flapping in the wind. However, he didn’t need to reveal his true intentions to the companions until the Krone attacked. Once he saw that the Krone had enough force to kill all of the companions, he could betray them, and his mission would be complete. Then he could take the diamond off Xander’s corpse and return victorious to the Guildmaster at Guild Headquarters.