“Why is the druid securing the outside of the tower?” Sajiix asked. The Magi emphasized Ro’byenn’s title, letting them know how uncomfortable he was having a druid help them betray his extended family.
“Says he heard noise,” grunted Dorn.
“Where is Ayce?”
The barbarian could only shrug.
Sajiix turned to Tienn; his eyes alight with purple flame. “They know we are here.” The Magi walked briskly toward the raised portcullis, but Tienn stepped in front of him.
“We are not leaving without the rest of the Guildsmen,” he said.
“You are not leaving, at all.”
Four Palidiamos, their armor shining with a bluish-white light from the diamond dust, marched from either side of the tower exit. One of them pushed Ro’byenn into Tienn’s arms. The druid collapsed to his knees as a thin trickle of blood oozed over his right eye.
“What have you done?” Tienn said angrily as he examined the druid’s wounds.
“You must forgive the enthusiasm of my men,” stated a smug Chancellor Tevic who strolled along the gravel path up into the tower. With him was a squad of six clerics, each ready to protect their divine leader through prayer and battle. Each man held different weapons at the ready, but all wore the chain coif and shirt bearing the tabard of the white diamond. “They are only doing what they feel is in the best interest of Diathanos.”
“Attacking a fellow priest?” Tienn was still aghast at the idea.
“We saw only a figure lurking in the shadows near the temple gate,” spoke the monotone voice of the same paladin.
“A regrettable occurrence, to be sure,” said Tevic sincerely. “Do you require healing, brother?”
Ro’byenn stood with the aid of Tienn, adjusting his brown robes and touching his forehead with a slight wince. “That shouldn’t be necessary Chancellor, thank you,” the druid returned.
“Very well,” Tevic smiled. “Perhaps we can all return to the cathedral, have some wine, and talk about this slight misunderstanding.”
Sajiix had to admire the man’s acting ability. He was the perfect host: gracious and accommodating; but the Magi knew the danger that lay beneath the surface. He saw the clench of Tevic’s jaw, the way he stroked his platinum medallion. He wanted nothing more than to use the power of Diathanos to smite them all.
“I have no intention of returning to the temple,” Sajiix said warningly.
“Oh, but I insist.” The Chancellor’s voice lost all pretense of civility. “I wish to know how you escaped. I am assuming the Draaken had a shadowy hand in it. I am also guessing the lycanthrope is somewhere nearby, hiding in the darkness. I must say I am surprised at these newer initiates to your Guild. I thought Cassius had them properly cowed.”
Dorn let out a deep rumble in his barrel-like chest, but Tienn held out a hand to keep him at bay. “That is the essence of the Defender’s Guild, Chancellor. We do not train others to be soldiers. We train them to be heroes; men and women of free will who recognize how gracious a gift that can be.”
Tevic rolled his eyes. “Such noble sentimentality coming from one whose blood is as dark as the land he hails from.”
“Call it what you will,” Tienn returned, “but I am agreeing with Sajiix. The initiates and I will not be joining you at the temple.”
“How unfortunate,” he sighed. “I was truly hoping this would end peacefully.”
Behind them, the four paladins unsheathed their swords in unison, the ringing metal echoing loudly within the tower.
“Think carefully upon this, Chancellor,” Tienn warned.
Tevic’s face went livid. “You entered the Temple of Diathanos unbidden! You snuck in like thieves and released a known agitator of all seven houses of Vasalius and you have the audacity to question my decisions? As far as I am concerned, you are all under arrest!”
Tienn nodded, his fingers tightening upon the hilt of his rapier. He then felt a touch on his arm and was surprised to see it was Sajiix. “Do not do this for me,” he said flatly.
“I do not do this for you alone, old friend,” he said determinedly. “I do this for what we once stood for.”
The Magi could not help but smile. It felt like eons since the last time he smiled so, but there it was. The same giddiness he felt so long ago before a battle, the same excitement that only came from being along side his friends. Crackles of arcane energy began flaring around the Magi in a surging rush of purple, mauve, and deep violet.
“Remember,” Tienn reminded, “no killing.”
Sajiix laughed. “You take the fun out of everything.”
The Magi shot a pulse of energy at Tevic, but the magic bounced harmlessly off of a transparent globe that surrounded the Chancellor and struck the outer wall of the tower. Sajiix’s strike was the cue that set the paladins and clerics to attack.
“You take the clerics, I shall deal with the paladins,” Sajiix ordered Tienn.
“I don’t believe we’ll have trouble with the paladins,” Tienn remarked, nodding toward the sudden rush of Dorn who, using the flat side of his axe, swept three paladins away with a horrendous crash of armor.
The two Guildsmen turned to see the six clerics rushing at them in unison. Sajiix knocked two of them flat with a blast of shadow magic while Tienn whirled about to trip one cleric and parry another’s hammer swing. The other three clerics came at Ro’byenn, who stood defenseless against them. Before they could reach the druid, however, they were met by the solid, squat mass of Morgath, who had been hiding upon the stairs. The Bornosian let out a battle cry that drew their attention and then dove straight into the trio. All of them went down in a jumbled mass of limbs and dropped weapons.
Sajiix saw that most of the attacking clergy were occupied and used his magic once more upon Tevic’s protective shield resulting in the same effect. He stole a glance at Tienn, who was dodging, parrying, and blocking the heated blows of two angered clerics. Morgath was engaged in fisticuffs with two clergy; the third had apparently been knocked unconscious and was lying facedown upon the stone floor. Dorn was still battling four paladins – the armor of the Palidiamos protected them from harm, but did not keep them from getting flung from wall to wall by the barbarian’s axe.
Sajiix knew it would not be long before the battle ended in their defeat.
“We must leave this tower!” he shouted to Tienn.
“Easier said…than done,” he panted as he gave a quick riposte to his opponent’s swing. “We still…do not have Ayce!”
“Ayce can take care of himself!” Sajiix murmured a word of power and flicked his wrist, sending a violet spark of lightning that dropped Tienn’s second challenger.
“ENOUGH!!”
The command was Tevic’s. The Chancellor brandished his holy medallion and with one word of prayer, flashed an intense explosion of white light that banished any and all darkness from the tower. The light seemed to burn into Sajiix’s brain, tearing into every crevice and curve. His eyes felt as though they had melted on the spot, the pain radiating from his head to his toes, bringing him and his companions to their knees. Through his pain, he heard the outer portcullis closing, sealing all of them off from any hope of escape.
Sajiix was grabbed roughly by the shoulders and dragged to his feet. Cold steel gloves bit into his skin as his foci was violently ripped from his finger. The Magi cried out, hoping his fingers were not broken. He was pushed aside as he heard the others being searched, their weapons also taken.
“Sajiix, can you see anything?”
It was Tienn, standing right next to him. Out of all of them, the Draaken’s vision would be hardest hit. Indeed, Sajiix was beginning to notice the white glare fading, the outlines of figures standing before them. “Barely,” he answered.
“Watch them,” they heard Tevic order. “If any of them attempt to escape – show them the error of their judgment.”
Sajiix could see Tevic’s blurred form step away from the main line of guards as he conferred with someone in a d
emanding voice. The soft bass of the person he talked to could only be one man.
“Cassius…?” Ro’byenn said with a hushed voice.
Sajiix felt Tienn’s body jerk in reaction to the initiate’s discovery. “Cassius…Are you certain?” he asked. His voice reflecting worry and hope at the same time.
Indeed it was. Sajiix could now see the Guild Master chatting with Tevic. They stood behind a line of paladins and clerics talking quite heatedly about this turn of events. Every so often, Cassius would turn to look at them, keeping his eyes neutral even as they slid over Sajiix.
The little Bornosian spoke next. “He’s talkin’ to Tevic. I think he’s convincing him to let us go!”
“Don’t hold on to that hope,” Sajiix whispered to himself. He knew he couldn’t say a word against the former knight. Not after what had occurred in the Guild. The group would never believe him.
“I see him,” Tienn said. “How did he know we were here?”
“He didn’t know,” Sajiix told him, blinking the last of the stunning light prayer from his eyes. “But that is not important right now. I must escape, Tienn. Cassius might be able to find a way to get you and the initiates out, but Tevic will not let me go.”
“You don’t know this for sure, Sajiix,” Tienn said with a faint glimmer of hope in his voice. “Cassius might be able to convince…”
Sajiix shut the Draaken’s voice out, concentrating on everything in the small tower. They were grouped together in the center of the structure with four armed paladins standing before them, watching their every move. Three of the six clerics stood clustered near the raised inner gate, eyeing their captives warily. The only way out was either through the throng of clergy (impossible without his foci) or up the stairs to the roof of the tower where he could jump and kill himself upon the clean cobblestone streets of Kaalé - an ignominious end to his illustrious career.
Tevic and Cassius were nearing the end of their conversation and Sajiix was out of options. He sighed deeply, irritated at being so helpless without his focal gem. Suddenly, he caught the whiff of sweetwater berries. The Magi nearly smiled, giving away his last hope of escape. He examined the wheel that controlled the two gates, noting with satisfaction that each gate had its own separate chain rising into the ceiling. He moved closer to Tienn and nudged the Draaken with his boot. Tienn continued to look straight ahead, but nodded ever so slightly to let Sajiix know he was listening.
“There is one chance,” he whispered. “Do not attempt to stop me. Follow my lead or get out of the way.” Tienn’s eyebrows came down a small fraction, telling the Magi that he did not like what he heard. “Just do it,” Sajiix hissed quietly. “Kaalé’s future hinges on my escape.”
The sound of Cassius’ss boots crunching on the white gravel signaled Sajiix that it was nearly time to act.
“Second paladin to the right,” Sajiix murmured to the air.
Cassius stopped just inside the gate. “Tienn…Initiates…you are to come with me back to the Guild. The Magi is being placed under arrest until the King decides what to do for his crimes against the House. Chancellor Tevic has graciously allowed you to be forgiven for the assault upon his men, as you were obviously under the influence of the Magi.” His brown eyes met Sajiix’s for a moment and there was nothing there – no emotion whatsoever.
“So you refuse to even acknowledge me by my name?”
“The Palidiamos will escort us to the east gate,” Cassius said with the same monotone voice, ignoring Sajiix.
Dorn, Morgath, and Ro’byenn walked out of the north tower, their eyes refusing to meet Cassius as he allowed them to pass the paladins and Chancellor Tevic. Tienn stood solidly by Sajiix, his scowl conveying his immense displeasure.
“Tienn, please…” Cassius urged.
“This is wrong,” the Draaken said with his white eyes boring into the former knight’s own.
“What is wrong is his return,” Cassius said angrily, pointing at Sajiix. “He comes back with these delusions that we are not allowed to start a new Guild without him? Then he acts out against the church, gets himself arrested, and you all have the nerve to rescue him? Tell me what is wrong with this scenario, Tienn?”
“He was chained to a wall, Cassius!” Tienn shot back.
“Be silent! As your commander, I order you to be quiet!”
Even Sajiix was surprised at his former friend’s outburst. Tienn looked as though Cassius had run him through and even Tevic had taken a few steps closer, his curiosity obviously peaked at what was happening.
“Then that shall be the last order you will give me,” said Tienn, his voice cracking.
“Master Draanyr,” Tevic said, his voice filled with empathy. “Look around you. The Magi is going to pay for his transgressions. Do not allow your fate to follow his. There is nowhere for you to go, no possible way to try to run.”
Purple light flared behind them, followed by a male voice crying out in pain. One of the paladin’s was on his knees, barely able to stay up. The remaining clergy were scanning the immediate area, their weapons drawn. Tevic realized it was the paladin that had taken the Magi’s ring. “Another one,” he snarled. “There is another Magi…oomph!!”
A huge shadow barreled its way into Tevic, knocking him and it to the ground inside the tower. The clergy ran to the aid of their leader, but another pulse of arcane energy erupted from thin air, striking one of the chains that held the counter weight for the inner portcullis. The paladins and clerics of Diathanos dove away as the massive gate came down with a crash that shook the north end of the compound.
Inside the tower, Sajiix smiled approvingly as Kaelyn materialized next to him holding her palm out with her own secretive smile. “This is twice in one night you have lost your foci, my Dhama.”
Sajiix took the ring and placed it back on his bruised finger with a slight wince. “We are not perfect, are we? I seem to recall ordering you back to the Arcanum.”
“Release me! Get this thing off of me!!”
Sajiix glanced down at Tevic who was pinned to the ground by a feral-looking Ayce. “I am pleased to see you finally found us.”
Ayce’s appearance was frightening. His face was somewhat elongated, his teeth sharpened at the points. His eyes were wider and glowed with a supernatural gold sheen. His black beard now seemed to encompass his entire face and his hair had grown longer, wrapping the nightmarish visage in a thick, black frame. Hair had also grown on his hands, the fingers of which ended with long nails of brownish-white. One such hand held Tevic down by the collar of his robes.
Ayce’s yellow eyes met Sajiix with an intelligent regard. “I was only waiting for a decent opening,” he said through a mouthful of teeth.
“And a well executed one it was,” Sajiix smiled. He looked to the gate where the paladins had gathered to try to lift the portcullis to aid their leader. Others had run off to find assistance. “We do not have much time.”
“You have no time!” Tevic shouted. “I will see you hang by your neck for this, Magi!”
The Chancellor’s rant was effectively choked off by Ayce.
“Not unless he rips yours out first,” Sajiix retorted.
“Stop this,” spoke the booming voice of Cassius, whom everyone seemed to forget was even in the tower. “Release him. I will not let you murder him, Ayce.”
“Yes, we did have an agreement,” Tienn reminded the Magi.
Sajiix shook his head irritably. “Come, help me with the outer gate wheel,” he said to Tienn. Both of them began to turn the counterweight and the outer portcullis began to slowly rise.
Both men stopped when the sound of slowly drawn steel echoed around the tower. “I will not repeat myself Ayce. Let…the Chancellor…go.”
Tienn locked the counterweight in place as Sajiix faced the former knight. He had his sword drawn and had the tip resting on Ayce’s shoulder. “Now you draw your sword against Ayce? Who will be next, Cassius?”
“You’re lucky I don’t run you through right now!�
�� Cassius shouted at the Magi.
“I suppose I am,” Sajiix replied. He then took Kaelyn by the hand and bent under the portcullis, stepping into the boulevard that led away from the church and into the warehousing district.
Tienn threw a wistful glance at his lost sword on the other side of the ruined gate and then stepped closer to Cassius. “I cannot honor this Guild if it cannot honor my own values. Farewell.” The Draaken then turned to Ayce, who was still holding the Chancellor down. “Are you coming?”
“How? The minute I let him go, he’ll hold us into place with his diamond mumbo-jumbo.”
Tienn gave his friend an exasperated sigh and then swiftly yanked the Chancellor’s medallion from his neck. Tevic’s face went red, his eyes flaming hatred at the Draaken who then tossed it to Cassius. The Guild Master caught it with one hand while still holding his blade at his friends. Ayce then rolled off of the sputtering Chancellor and followed Tienn out of the tower.
“I will find you all!” Tevic shouted as Cassius helped him stand. “I will have justice for this outrage!”
“You are making a mistake,” Cassius said. “You have no idea.”
“That is an understatement,” Tienn told him. “Until this night, I had no idea how far you had gone to favor the church over your friends.”
Tienn and Ayce disappeared into the dark. Sajiix, however, stepped back to the gate, his foci generating a strong flare of arcane energy.
“So, you have decided to kill me?” Cassius asked, lowering his weapon.
Sajiix shook his head. “I only wish to keep you from following us.”
Fire the color of violet spewed from the ring, licking the chain of the outer gate until it began to melt. Cassius and Tevic jumped away from the heat as the magic finally chewed through the massive chain. The outer portcullis came down with a dull thud, trapping Cassius and Tevic within.
“May the Guild be kinder to you than it was to me,” Sajiix whispered.
21
The morning sun rose over a blanket of iron gray clouds that released a dull, steady rain. The inhabitants of Joram’s Bend called the rain a blessing as it helped put out the lingering fires set by the Zyn Beasts. A pallid fog of smoke from the smoldering ashes of the nearby fields clung to the air, sticking to everything that walked through it. Tair’Lianne stood near the river’s edge, trying to remove the smoke smell from her leather vest. The sound of rushing water was eclipsed by the creak of wood and rope from the lift being constantly raised and lowered nearby. Laridiya’s stone gateway now blocked the switchback road and the rope bridge connecting to the other side of the river was gone, leaving the lift as the only way into or out of Joram’s Bend. Nearly everyone was out, fighting fires, collecting livestock, and assessing the damage.
Rage of the Diamond's Eye (The Guildsmen Series Book 1) Page 23