“Lovely,” he said, before turning to make his way to the back of the building.
While Joey was busy attending to his attire, the fairy and the former lich took up the task at hand. The doorway inside the vault was edged with a number of small, rune etched stones that were currently glowing with magical power. After a brief discussion with Myra, Nyssa flew up and moved one of these stones out of place. Instantly, the portal was filled with solid rock.
The two young ladies worked together; rearranging the glowing runes into a completely new pattern. The door would appear in a new location the moment the last of these was snapped into place. The last time they had moved the portal, it had taken days for the magical stones to recharge. As a result, it was very important for them to get it right the first time.
“How do I look?” Joey asked with a sigh, slowly approaching the rest of his companions.
The entire company turned to see the young man dressed in the rich red robe, and holding the dark metal staff in his hands. Paul silently thought to himself that he had never seen anyone who looked more like a wizard in his life. That's not what he said aloud, however.
“You look great,” he said with a wide smile. “You just need to find a handbag that goes with it.”
“Oh, that's funny!” Joey exclaimed. “That right there, that's a real riot is what that is.”
“I'm just teasing ya.”
“No! Really?”
“I think it suits you,” Nyssa asserted, flying up to the young man for a closer inspection. “You don't seem nearly as clumsy or awkward as you normally do.”
“I think I agree,” Alena smiled. “I just hope you can learn to be as useful as you look.”
“Thank you, Madam Cow,” he replied with a bow. “I'll do my best. Of course, it's going to be a little demeaning having to run around fighting in a dress, what with me being a man and all.”
“It's not a dress,” the fairy replied. “Besides, there's something attractive about male magic users.”
“Is there?” he asked, a smile instantly spreading across his face.
“There is,” Nyssa asserted with a slight blush. “I mean; when they're not gigantic, obviously.”
Having added this important qualifier, the miniscule maiden once again turned her attention to the glowing runes.
“You know, bro,” Joey said slowly as he watched the beautiful fairy work, “maybe I can get used to wearing a dress.”
“I'm glad,” Paul replied with half a smile. “Because it really goes with your eyes.”
“I know,” Joey agreed, ignoring his friend's sarcasm. “Anyway, I'm gonna go flip through that spell book. It strikes me that there has to be some kind of shrink spell in there somewhere. Or some kind of anti-shrink spell. I think I could work with either one.”
“I can see that,” his companion chuckled. “And, it seems like a good use of your time.”
“Oh, it is.”
“Being able to shrink our enemies could certainly prove useful.”
“What?” Joey asked with a distracted tone. “Oh... Yeah, I guess it could.”
“Either way,” Paul replied, laughing once again, “I wish you the best of luck.”
“I sincerely appreciate it.”
Chapter 6: With A Rebel Yell
“Done!” Nyssa cried triumphantly as she pushed the last glowing rune into place.
Instantly, the stone filling the portal vanished; revealing a small chamber containing worn weapons and armor on the far side of the doorway.
“That was fast,” Joey observed, glancing up from the spell book in his lap. “It didn't even take you half-an-hour.”
“Well, we'd done it before,” Myra explained. “So, we already understood the coordinates system. And, since we'd worked out our destination in advance, it was just a matter of putting the runes in the right order. Now that we're here, I should let Thaelen know.”
“You do that,” Darek nodded, climbing to his feet and making his way toward the door. “While you're taking care of that, I'll go let Gregory know that the gods have brought him that help I'm sure he's been praying for.”
“I'm coming with you,” Nyssa asserted, vanishing from sight.
“I'll come along too,” Joey added, raising himself from the floor and closing his book.
“Actually, it'd be best if the rest of you just stayed here,” Darek asserted. “I want to attract as little attention as possible.”
“I can see that,” the young man nodded. “But, you can never tell when you might need a wizard to back you up.”
“You're not exactly a wizard,” Nyssa's disembodied voice pointed out.
“I've got a robe, a staff, and I can cast spells,” Joey retorted.
“Most impressive,” Paul said, doing his best Darth Vader. “But you are not a wizard yet.”
“You just keep getting funnier,” Joey replied, gazing at his friend from under a single raised eyebrow. “I hope you know that.”
“Join me,” Paul continued, balling his left hand into a fist, “and together we can rule the galaxy as paladin and man in a dress.”
In response, Joey merely rolled his eyes and shook his head in silence before stepping toward the door.
“I appreciate the offer,” Darek said, moving between the young man and the doorway, “but honestly, Joey, you'd just attract some of that attention I'm hoping to avoid.”
“Nyssa could make me invisible,” he replied.
“She could,” Darek agreed, “but, there's no need. This won't take long. You guys just hold down the fort in the meantime.”
“Alright, I guess,” Joey sighed.
“Good man,” Darek smiled. “If we're not back in twenty minutes, you can come looking for us.”
Having said this, he stepped into the adjacent chamber, opened a perfectly concealed door, and moved instantly into the darkness beyond it. The moment he was gone, Myra began chanting in a sing-song voice before whispering, seemingly to no one in particular, that the vault was now safely in Kafmara and that they were attempting to contact the Warriors in the city.
“Is that it?” Paul asked the moment she stopped speaking.
“That's it,” she replied with a smile. “I put a charm on Thaelen before we left that simplified the process.”
“That was wise.”
“I thought so.”
This detail attended to, the companions, led by Alena, began making pallets out of what seemed to be the softest magical materials held within the vault.
It seemed very probable that they would need to spend the night where they were. And, as they hoped to initiate their attack first thing in the morning, they wanted to get as much rest as possible during the night. Fortunately, their task was greatly expedited and their makeshift beds were made much more comfortable by the large amounts of magical cloth the chamber contained. As a result, they managed to finish minutes before Darek and Nyssa returned, who were followed immediately by Gregory.
“Well, I’ve got to say this,” he said, glancing around the room, “I'm impressed.”
“I knew you would be,” Darek smiled. “So, you think this'll give us the edge we need to overthrow the garrison?”
“I do. I absolutely do,” Gregory nodded, before stepping over to take Paul by the wrist. “I'm certainly glad to see you again. If Kafmara ever needed the It, it's now.”
“That's why we're here,” Paul replied.
“You're not a moment too soon,” Gregory asserted. “I'm not sure how much longer we could have held out. So far, no one's admitted to knowing anything about us, but it was only a matter of time before somebody cracked. We're lucky there aren't very many who know enough to betray us. If there were, I'm sure we'd already be in the good baron's hands by now. He's made things rather unpleasant since he arrived and, honestly, I think the only thing keeping some of the would-be informants quiet is fear of reprisals.”
“That's horrible,” Myra replied, shaking her head.
“A little,” Gregory agreed
. “Still, it's one of the things keeping us safe at the moment. And, in all truth, that fear is mainly unjustified.”
“Mainly?” Alena asked.
“Well, I can't speak for every Warrior in the city,” Gregory replied. “I realize the people of Kafmara are between a bit of a rock and a hard place, but this is war. Sometimes bad things happen. If anyone were to talk, I couldn't swear that there wouldn't be some kind of retribution.”
“The Warriors of Dawn aren't street thugs,” the ogress said, her voice edged. “We don't attack people for trying to protect themselves - not even if they inadvertently cost us our lives.”
“Ideally, we don't,” Darek agreed. “But, this isn't some theoretical ethical situation, Alena. People’s lives are on the line and, if anyone were to betray the Warriors...”
“The citizens of Kafmara can't betray us,” Myra interrupted passionately. “They aren't allied with us! They've been drug into this struggle against their will and now you expect them to be willing to die for our cause!?”
“I don't expect them to be willing to die for anything,” Darek replied, shaking his head. “I expect them to do their best to protect themselves. In this case, they believe that means keeping our secrets. Personally, I'm rather pleased about that.”
“That's despicable,” the former lich said, glaring at him as she spoke.
“What would you have, Myra?” he asked, raising his hands. “Would you rather someone had betrayed us? Would you rather that the Warriors, their wives, and their children were all offered up as a sacrifice to appease the undead? Do you honestly think the killing would stop after they were all dead? It's continued uninterrupted for hundreds of years!”
“Yes, it has!” she agreed. “But, that doesn't give us the right to risk the lives of the innocent! The people of Kafmara have done nothing but be victimized by the undead. And now, because of that, they're being victimized by us.”
“We haven't victimized anyone,” Darek replied, at touch of temper in his own voice.
“That's where we disagree,” she replied. “If we had just left these people alone...”
“They would have eventually been harvested by the undead,” Sarrac interrupted. “That's the simple fact of the matter, Myra. Our actions may have caused people to die at the hands of the undead a little sooner than they otherwise would have, but that's all. No one in Zanoth dies of old age. You know that. We can't hold ourselves responsible for what the undead do.”
“No, we can't,” Paul agreed solemnly. “We can't blame ourselves for what these monsters do, no matter what they claim their motivations are. We're doing our best, not only to save these people, but to save this entire world. The undead are the aggressors. They're the ones that started and fuel this war. And not only are they solely responsible for the countless murders they commit, any death and destruction we cause by opposing them is also their fault. You can't blame a victim for any crimes their attacker may commit while trying to persuade them to be victimized without putting up a struggle. That's just not rational. We can't blame ourselves because the undead are killing innocents because we won't quietly turn ourselves in to be slaughtered.”
“The only thing people have in this life is time, Paul,” the maiden said, turning her tear filled eyes to the paladin. “And, because of us, innocent people have lost some of that. They've lost time with fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters. Every mortal dies. All we've done so far is speed them toward their graves.”
“That's not all we've done,” Alena asserted. “And, even though I hate what the people of Kafmara are going through right now, eventually our struggle will make sure that everyone gets all the time nature intended them to have.”
“Maybe. But, I wonder how many childless mothers that thought will comfort in the meantime,” Myra replied before turning to make her way into the deepest recesses of the chamber.
“Wow...” Joey said quietly the moment the maiden was out of earshot. “She's a lot of fun sometimes, isn't she?”
In reply, the rest of the party simply glared at him in silence.
“Sorry... Just trying to lighten the mood a bit...”
“Well, don't,” Alena replied. “Her feelings are nothing to make light of.”
“No... No, they're not... On the other hand, I think it's a good idea to try to keep our spirits up. I mean; Zanoth is basically a cesspit of a world, but getting all depressed about it isn't going to change anything.”
“You're right there,” Darek laughed. “And that brings us back to our next move. Gregory, how long will it take to arm the Warriors?”
“Not long,” he replied.
“Do you think we could have it done before morning?”
“Not a chance,” Gregory replied, shaking his head. “Shades and worse patrol the streets at night by order of our good Baron. Only a fool would go out after dark.”
“Hmmm,” Darek replied thoughtfully. “That will slow us down a bit.”
“Not much,” Gregory replied. “The fact is that most of the Warriors have been chafing at the bit to take some kind of action for days. All I need to do is get the word out and they'll show up here in droves.”
“Won't that attract attention?” Sarrac asked.
“Normally it would, but I don't think we'll need to worry about that at the moment,” Gregory answered with a smile. “Yesterday morning, Baron Dragmor ordered a large portion of the garrison off to parts unknown. As a result, we'll have far fewer eyes to avoid than we would have just days ago. At least, that'll be the case if they don't show back up here before we're finished.”
“Why would he do that?” Sarrac mused aloud. “With Kafmara teetering on the edge of rebellion that seems a little foolish, to say the least.”
“It would be,” Gregory nodded, “if he had any idea just how close the city was to open revolt. Fortunately for us, he doesn't. In fact, he seems rather confident that he's basically crushed the will of the people. He's even gone so far as to promise us something special for tomorrow. Whatever it is, you can be sure it won't be pleasant. He's had five people a day killed for almost two weeks now, just as a matter of course. And, that's on top of the harvests.”
“That seems to be asking for a rebellion,” Paul pointed out.
“If there was a way to fight back, it would be,” Gregory agreed. “However, that's hardly the case in Kafmara. As you may or may not know, Lord Grathis tripled the size of the garrison just weeks ago. Even with all the troops that are currently in the field, the Baron still has more soldiers in the city than he normally would have. Plus, of course, we lost a number of Warriors during the first uprising. All things considered, he doesn't seem to feel like there's a whole lot to worry about.”
“Well, he's wrong,” Paul asserted.
“Maybe,” Darek replied thoughtfully. “On the other hand, it could be a trap.”
“What do you mean?” Gregory asked.
“I mean; it seems a little strange that he would send half the garrison out of the city right before he intended to do something special,” Darek answered. “He could be hoping to start a riot or something. You have to admit, that would be a great way to flush the Warriors out of the shadows.”
“You could be right,” Gregory admitted. “But, if that's the case, he's in for a nasty shock. His men aren't prepared to face Warriors armed to the teeth with weapons and armor like this.”
“That's almost certainly true,” Sarrac replied, before grabbing Paul firmly by the shoulder. “He's not likely to expect the It to be here, either.”
“Or any of you, actually,” Gregory added with a smile. “It's a surprise I can't wait to give him. For the moment, however, all we can do is get some rest. I think it would be best if you all just slept down here.”
“We intended to,” the ogre replied.
“Perfect. I'll send a couple of the boys down to stand watch over you. That way you can all get a good night's sleep.”
“We'd appreciate it,” Darek said. “It's be
en a long few days.”
“I'm sure it has been,” Gregory chuckled before turning to make his way from the chamber.
Minutes later, the companions were joined by two of the Warriors who had helped them rescue Myra just weeks before. As soon as the pair were armed and armored from the contents of the vault, the party settled in for the night. Paul stretched himself out on his back beside the fair former lich before slipping his hands behind his head.
“You feelin' any better?” he asked with a slight smile.
“No, I'm not,” she replied, turning her slightly swollen eyes to him. “I wish they'd never brought you here.”
“What?” he asked, sitting up as he spoke. “Why?”
“A lot of reasons,” she replied, shaking her head slowly.
“Such as?”
“Well, for one thing, you'd be safe and happy back home.”
“I wasn't really happy,” he asserted. “I just didn't realize it until I came to Zanoth.”
“So, you're happier here?”
“I am.”
“What about this world could possibly make you happy?”
“You, for starters,” he replied with a grin. “Not to mention Alena, Sarrac, Nyssa...”
“I'm sure you have friends back on Earth,” she interrupted.
“Not like you guys.”
“Either way, I don't think our friendship is worth living in this nightmare.”
“It is, but there's more than that. Here, I have purpose, my life actually means something. Back there, I was just goin' through the motions. I was drifting along in the sea of life, not really going anywhere.”
“Well, the only place you're going here is the grave.”
“I'll take my chances.”
“It's not a chance, Paul,” she asserted. “Eventually, we're all going to end up dead. But, before we manage to do that, we're going to get a lot of other people killed along the way. That's not really worth being here for. You'd be a lot better off back home.”
“Would you leave if you could?”
“I don't know,” she said with a sigh. “Probably.”
The Fortress of Donmar (The Tales of Zanoth Book 2) Page 10