Chapter 2: Unbound
Raunst strained to open his sore eyes as they adjusted to the bright light. His vision focused on a young, dark skinned girl in a chair across the room. The child was knitting something that had yet to take shape. She looked up and gave a pleasant smile.
"About time you be waking up." The girl said.
Raunst struggled to clear his thoughts. A heavy ache in his temples alluded to his injury. Then he could feel the bandages wrapped around his head. Raunst moved his hand up to confirm, sliding it around the soft silk. "Where am I?"
"You are in Blackport." The girl continued her knitting.
"How did I get here?"
"Any friend of Psydra is a friend to us. She dragged you down here needing a bed for you to recover. When you first appeared on our doorstep, I swore you was dead," the girl answered.
Raunst shot up. "Is she still here?"
"You should take it slow, you looked pretty beat up."
The young man swung his feet free of the bed, he was still in his clothes. "I've had worse," Raunst twisted his neck back and forth to loose the stiffness. "I'm okay."
Bertha, an older woman with wavy silver hair, entered the room and looked at Raunst.
"Glad to see you." Bertha said. "If you’re hungry I have some stew on that I can share with you. Shadow Myst will be back for you soon."
"Shadow Myst?”
“Yes.” The lady’s wavy hair danced as she shook her head.
Raunst nodded. “Thank you for the hospitality."
His confusion only grew, who was Shadow Myst? Xero's words crept through his thoughts. Raunst had heard stories of magic and demons, but never come across one. They had been defeated ages ago. Had his father truly been an ally to one? How could Raunst have never known any of it?
Bertha tipped her head and departed the room. Raunst accounted for his belongings; they had been placed by the bed in an orderly fashion. Gathering his arms and travel bag, he headed out. The crowded house teamed with children. In the kitchen, Bertha spooned out small portions of stew into worn bowls at a crocked table. The kids began to swarm around.
"Why are there so many children here?" Raunst asked, hesitant to grab a bowl before any of the kids.
“I run an orphanage. Some of these children were made orphans by the dark demon who threatens us now. Xero must be stopped.”
“What can you tell me of this man?”
“Oh he is no man, I can’t say what he is, but a man he is not. The fire buried in his eyes speaks of his black soul. When he appeared twenty years ago in the southern continent, my husband and I were there. We fought with the resistance then. Shadow Myst was just a baby.” The woman trailed off.
“What happened?”
“Are you going to sit around here all day?” Psydra leaned in the door from the outside, the sunlight behind her illuminated her blonde locks.
"Good morrow, Shadow Myst." Bertha said.
Raunst didn't know what to think of her return, there were too many questions. “Where are we going?”
“There is a stronghold, not two days from here on foot. That is where you will get your answers.”
“And my father’s killer?”
Psydra was hesitant to respond. “Yes, he is there. I warn you bringing your vengeance now would only play to Xero’s favor.”
“I don’t know that I care.”
After he finished eating, the two exited the orphanage. Raunst gazed upon the town as they walked. Closed shutters, empty streets, it was a ghost town. Blackport had been a bustling trade city for many years. When Raunst had visited no more than a year before, the streets had been so crowded he had to push his way through.
“Around the same time as our encounter with that specter, the real Xero was seen in the southern hills. Riders reported that he’s got some kind of army, but they don’t know of what.”
“He's coming here?”
“Maybe, it’s just as likely that he’s come for us, and you,” Psydra's tone had more certainty than her words.
“Shadow Myst, I don't understand, why me?”
Psydra stopped and turned to him. “Please, call me Psydra." She looked over Raunst. "Did your mother ever tell you anything?”
“Nothing about this. She died when I was nine, before that I hardly remember her.”
“I’m sorry. She was indeed a fierce woman.” Psydra started along the path once more.
“I do need to know one thing before I take another step.” His tone was resolute.
“Very well, ask me and I will try to answer.”
Raunst took a deep breath. “Why, did he kill my father?”
There was a long sigh. “I never wanted it to come to this. Your father used to be on our side. Things changed for him after your mother died. Chris was strong for a while, but time without her, changed him, weakened him. By the time Talin found out that he was sharing information Xero, it was too late.
“Many people died at Xero’s hand because of the information your father provided. It was part retribution, part self defense. He eluded my father-”
“Your father, Talin?” Raunst’s hand was on her shoulder, the two were now standing still in the street.
Psydra looked at his hand then directly into his eyes. “Yes, my father. He eluded my father for over a year. He was a changed man by that time.”
“How so?” Raunst pressed.
“Xero’s darkness had infected him. He wasn’t the man you knew.”
“No matter who he became, he was my father.” Raunst held his tongue from speaking further. The matter was now answered, but far from settled.
Silence accompanied the two for the rest of the afternoon. They made camp up a hillside backed against a rocky outcropping. A well made fire pit made it clear this was a favored spot for travellers.
That night, by the light of the small fire, Raunst deliberated over the story. The distance between them after the loss of his mother had been great. When his father died it may have been two years since Raunst had seen him. Even that time he had seemed sad, maybe a bit colder. But they both had.
Psydra sprang to her feet well after the dark had set in. “Be still.” She kicked dirt over the last remaining fire embers. Keeping low behind the brush she peered out toward the road. Raunst had propped up on his elbow and looked the same way. Along the path a single figure slinked along. It moved with a drunken stagger, easily a farmer heading home after a few too many rounds at the pub.
Still, something odd existed in the silhouette. The low clacking of hooves emerged. A drunken horse, with no rider? When the head turned his way the dim flash of its glimmering white eyes glinted in the moonlight. Raunst had no name for the monster that he could now clearly render. Its gaze lingered only a moment before it moved along. The creature was roughly the same size as a horse. It had four heavy legs. The forelimbs were longer than the rear legs causing the uneven walk. The silver moonlight masked the true color of the scales covering the monster. Sharp fangs hung free of its open maw, glistening with moisture in the lunar glow.
It passed down the road. Psydra waited until she was certain it was clear before she spoke.
“One of Xero’s hellish minion’s, they are scouting now, but soon they will exist like a plague.”
“I have seen wizardry in my time, but this is like nothing else.”
“His power is very real, the specter we encountered was merely an image cast to distract us. The real Xero is a much more lethal threat, as are the creatures he summons.”
“And you believe he is one of the fabled demon lords, returned intent to enslave us?”
“I don’t believe, boy, I know. You better start believing it, too, no matter whose side you think you’re on, or you’re a dead man.”
“I appreciate the advice, but I’m not here to fight your war. I’m interested in a confrontation with Talin, not Xero.” Raunst settled his head
on his hands lying back on the ground.
Psydra looked over at the confident young man. Seeing the demon creature had not caused him alarm. Foolhardy. The lady wanted to reveal more, that she had followed him long before he had ever tailed her. Seeing him hunt high and low for leads on her father’s whereabouts, wanting terribly to share the truth. The order had forbade it.
The allegiance between Xero and Raunst's father was never revealed enough to know if Christopher’s weakness had betrayed more than his country and his companions; had he given away his secret? Xero knew of the boy either way now, her own tongue had spoken it plainly in the specter’s presence. Xero would come for him, just as they had. It was a thought she hesitated to accept, could Raunst really play such a large part in all of this?
The girl realized suddenly that he was gone. Between her watch and her straying thoughts her guard had lapse. The hill was silent, the thick trees and brush masked much. Without the fire’s light he could be a stone’s throw away and perfectly hidden.
“Raunst?” Psydra spoke low with her first call. The lady stood for a better vantage over the brush. She picked up on the dark shape in front her right away, relieved he was still nearby. Horror stuck as the large silver eyes rose from the thicket. Her sword was on the ground, the creature drew back to spring. There was no time.
Psydra dove to the ground and grabbed the blade’s handle. Behind her came a terrible crash. Debris scattered from an explosion of branches shattered from the monster's charge. She lifted the sheathed weapon over her, prone on the ground, yelling, bracing for the crushing weight of the demon as it sprang to tackle her.
Raunst’s shadow hovered at the treeline. he had watched the beast approach, and positioned himself to strike. Raunst swhis saber. The blade whistled through thr air. The beast’s let loose a terrible screech as it leapt. Raunst's strike caught the monster’s throat at the apex of its jump. The head separated. Its velocity carried it over Psydra crashing into the brambles behind. The gigantic, scaled body crumbled onto the ground.
Raunst looked up from the creature's body to Psydra. “You, okay?”
The nasty head had landed just behind her, the body in front. Psydra stood and dusted off her pants. The man walked up out of the thicket and looked her over. The beast hadn’t had the opportunity to inflict a wound, and his stealth strike didn’t appear to have caused any collateral damage. A satisfied nod ended his review.
“I know several places not far from here that will mask our camp for the night.”
Raunst poked at the warm carcass with his sword. “Not interested in staying here?”
Psydra took the lead out. She led them along a route off the roadway. The second camp was secluded as promised. A rain carved bowl in the rock provided ample shelter from the night breeze. The clouds disperesed in the sky above, reavealing a handful of stars before Raunst shut his eyes to rest.
They were up before first light. The two traveled west on and off the roads. It was midday when their course brought them to a ravine at the base of a mountain. Psydra circled the edge until she came to a thatched covering composed of dry shrubs and brush. From a distance, it may have provided some camouflage, but just a few steps away, Raunst could clearly see the cave behind. Psydra pushed the cover aside. Together they entered the dark passage.
A short walk in the dim light of the cave brought them to a door of solid metal. Psydra knocked once, waited, knocked again, waited, and then knocked three more times. They heard a latch behind the door being lifted and the door slowly opened outward. Light poured in from the opening revealing the man’s white beard and hair. Adorning the black mail armor and wrapped in a loose wool cape, Maldrake Durees’s eyes twinkled at the sight of the girl.
"Hello Maldrake," Psydra said.
Maldrake nodded to her and motioned to Raunst.
Psydra responded. “Baltir’s boy.”
“I have a lot of respect for your mother. Hell of a fighter.” Durees bowed his head to the boy in recognition. Raunst responded in kind. “You just made it back in time.”
"What happened?" Psydra asked. The two travelers entered the hollowed chamber. The room was lit by a series of candles lining uneven shelves carved from the stone wall. Muffled sounds could be heard from beyond the heavy oak door on the far side of the room.
"Scout party was ambushed last night, Maesys is dead, six-more wounded. They were attacked just south of Lion’s Ridge," Maldrake spoke with a soft sadness.
Psydra's hand covered her mouth. “That’s just a day’s ride out.”
Maldrake’s solemn nod echoed the fear in her statement. “Talin has ordered everyone to pack up. We’re leaving soon.”
"Where is he?" She asked.
"He was in the meeting hall." Maldrake set the bolt on the metal door.
Psydra motioned for Raunst to follow her. She walked straight across the candle lit room. Beyond the heavy door, there was narrow hallway. The hall led them into a great chamber. Dark stained, round oak tables were placed in rows. A group of seven sat around one of the large tables. Five men and two women. Raunst singled out the large man on the opposite side as they approached. The man had short, curly black hair that held close to his head, and a full thick beard.
In the sparse torchlight, it was hard to make out all of the details, but it was enough to match to what he had learned on his quest. Raunst’s spark of recognition ignited the kindling of his rage. There was no doubt to him this was Talin. Raunst kept his face even as they approached.
“Welcome home, Psydra." The man’s voice was deep, echoing off the walls of the chamber.
"Thank you, father," Psydra said. "I found him."
"I see that." Talin spoke with a flat tone. He turned to the others at the table. "Make the final preparations as we discussed. I need to speak with the boy, alone."
Raunst stood in place while the others left through a side door. Psydra looked over her should as she walked out. The door sealed behind her.
"I knew your father and mother very well. Good people. "
Raunst approached the man slowly. His right hand was ready to grasp the blade at his back. Talin stood up from the table, the man towered over Raunst. The black mail armor peaked through the tunic covering his ox-like frame.
"You killed my father."
"This may be hard for you to understand. Your father had been taken from you long before the night I struck him down. Sit.”
Raunst didn’t yield an inch. Talin approached the young man. Raunst embodied both of his parents well in his looks. His mother’s hazel eyes and is father’s square cheeks. Talin began to pace as Raunst stood.
“I never wanted to lead anyone in my life. Your father was my inspiration. I always thought it would be him in charge. Your mother was incredible, too. Lucky kid.”
“How can you?” Raunst was enraged. He could hardly believe the man would toy with him.
Talin spoke with a delicate seriousness. “I was living in Sola Terrace, down south. It was there I first met Xero. I lived in the service to a lord there, and managed the occasional thug off his lands. It was a good enough life. I had a wife, and we had been fortunate to have two daughters.
“Xero was brought to me as a criminal. He killed one of the farmers in my lord’s care and refused to give cause. There was a brutality to the crime that I will spare you, but it was an easy call for his execution. I beheaded him.”
"If you killed him, then why is he still here?” Raunst asked.
“It was a month after his death that I met him again. He invaded my home. He killed my wife and my younger daughter. I arrived just in time to save Psydra's life. I killed him again that day, and that wasn’t the last time.”
“I met your father that same year. Your father was hired as a mercenary by my Lord. We were just a band of hired men, not at all prepared for Xero’s third appearance. Xero’s minions were few, but powerful. Dark ter
rors called from the depths of nightmare.”
Raunst thought back to his encounter with the beast the previous night as Talin spoke on.
“They came in the night and attacked us. The keep could never have prepared for that size of an assault. Xero and his monsters bested us and claimed the keep as his own. Many died. A few of us managed to retreat. From within that keep, Xero plotted and waited. His power and army grew further.”
“But where did they all come from?”
Talin faced him from across the table. “What do you know of the name, TecDemon?”
“Never heard it.”
“An ancestor of yours, on your mother’s side. The history of your family was recorded in Enfirus. It speaks of your bloodline, and of further of the demon Xero. There were dark creatures in the old world.”
“I know the stories. Ancient times when men and women spun magic spells and annihilated the monsters,” Raunst said. It had been more than a thousand years since the last demon walked the earth. If such things were true.
Talin continued, “Not all the demons were annihilated. They live on, in one form or another. By the tomes at Enfiris, we learned that Xero was expelled with ancient rites and magic. But somehow he found a way from exile to our world.”
“Why can’t he be sent back?” Raunst asked.
“We looked. The ancient rites have disappeared over the ages. At first we were able to fight him with just our steel and arrows, but as he grew stronger, this changed. Your mother was very helpful in this matter. She was the one that led us to Enfirus.”
“I didn’t spend a lot of time with my mother.”
“She loved you so. Seline talked about you to no end. Once Xero was gone, once it was safe, it was going to be all about you, Raunst. Your father too, you had good parents. If Xero had known about you sooner, you would not be alive.”
“What about me?” Raunst took in the information, all of it rushing through his frenzied mind. How could he even trust the man who, by his own tongue, murdered his father?
“The texts at Enfirus, some were penned by TecDemon, he spoke of another demon. A demon manifested here, in our world. The monster’s power was channeled through a medallion. This power was enough to defeat an entire army of ferocious demons. Such a power could be strong enough to defeat Xero.”
“Where is this medallion?”
“No one knows. TecDemon’s writings referenced much about the greater demons, he wrote that the thoughts of the monster and his own would sometimes intermix. He wrote of some of the demon inside, Peros. He also spoke of other demons such as Xero, that been presumed defeated in ancient times. His last entry spoke of the greater demon Gaunich.” Talin gave Raunst the chance to speak.
The young man had lost all certainty. Raunst thought much on what to say next, but his mind could not provide him anything. Thinking over the story, he sequenced out each part of what Talin was telling him.
“Why wasn’t I here with your band before?” Raunst asked.
“Your mother knew of my loss, she wouldn’t risk having you meet the same end. Especially after the things we learned at Enfirus.”
“Psydra told me that my father gave Xero information.”
“Yes.”
“People died?”
“Yes.”
“Was that all?”
The dark haired man took a deep breath. “After your mother died Raunst, his sadness never went away. One of the books at Enfirus talked about demons commanding enough power to restore life. Christopher had this idea that he could get leverage on Xero in some way. He became misguided, I have no doubts Xero was leading him on. After a while, Xero raided several of our hidden outposts, many died. At first, I didn’t know Chris was responsible. When I finally learned how the information had been leaked, he had vanished.
“I followed him for a long while, but your father, he always stayed one step ahead. I knew he was descending further into darkness, his dealings with Xero had been tainted. The demon’s poisonous magic was unraveling his mind, he wrote to me of his pain.”
“He wrote to you, as you stalked his life?” Raunst shook his head, it didnt make sense.
“Chris was ready to die.”
Raunst wanted to reach for sword on his back, “Lies.” He held firm.
Talin stepped closer to Raunst. “Your father loved you. The demon’s power called to him. Forcing Chris to surrender his will to Xero. Your father and I knew others that had succumbed to the spell, and that they became mindless slaves to the dark one. Before he lost all control, he wrote to me in desperation, asking me to spare him this fate. He confided that he had yet to share your secret with Xero, but didn’t know that he could for much longer. You had to be protected.
“Son of Seline, as a descendant of the ancient line of TecDemon, are able to wield the power of this medallion. I swore to your mother that I would keep you safe and not reveal you to Xero until we had it. There is little time left to find it. Xero’s armies were coming; we could wait no more.”
Raunst absorbed everything about his father as well as his own existence. The weight of his sword became apparent, he was so close to the man that had taken his father’s life, but had it really been Xero’s power that did him in?
“Why should I believe you?” Raunst asked.
“Come with me." Talin led him to a marked passage with no door. The narrow tunnel had no light of its own and soon the darkness fully overtook them. Raunst followed the echo of footsteps.
“Just ahead, now.” Talin’s voice carried loudly in the space. Raunst stumbled and collapsed over a soft but sturdy object.
“Sorry, this will only take a moment.” Talin sounded no further than arm's length.
The room illuminated with cool yellow light. Talin stood several paces off holding a glowing orb as thick as the width of his hand. Talin placed the orb atop a silver holder where it rested perefectly. He crossed the modest space to engraved wood cabinet. Talin’s hand pulled open the large door. The cabinet held a vest of black chain mail, a blue cape, and a sword. Raunst had never seen a sword like it. The weapon had a uniquely ornate craftsmanship. The handle of the weapon had been modeled after a dragon; the dragon's head open mouthed at the base of the hilt. Nestled in the open dragon mouth rested a small red gem. Its crimson hue glowed, saturating the air around it. The razor this blade had been constructed of the same black crystalline material as the other swords he saw others in Talin's order carry.
Climbing to his feet, Raunst walked forward and pulled it from the cabinet. It was almost weightless. His fingers ran down the length of the smooth blade.
“This belongs to you.” Talin's words fell on deaf ears.
Raunst spun the weapon slowly to see both sides of the black blade. His arm extended and the edge came to Talin’s throat. Raunst waited for the fear to show in the man’s eyes. He could not find a hint of it as he watched.
Raunst held the man's gaze. “You killed my father, why shouldn’t I kill you?”
“Xero is on his way here to kill all of us. I will make my stand here. By your hand or by his, I am a dead man today. There is nothing more that I can do for myself. But my daughter, Raunst, she deserves more,” Talin said.
The weight of the sword balanced perfectly. To slit the man’s throat would have taken little effort. Raunst caught the glint of a tear in his eye. From behind, a door creaked.
“Raunst!” Psydra shreiked.
His resolve and his weapon collapsed at the sound of her voice. Psydra pulled the black blade from the sheath at her waste. She charged him. Her sword came down hard. Raunst parried. The crash of colliding metal echoed in the small chamber. The two held their posistion, their eyes locked.
“It’s okay, Psydra. Leave him be.” Talin ordered.
Psydra’s shoulders expanded and contracted with each heavy, nostril flaring breath. Her intense glare held strong on her father’s would-be
assailant. She pulled away her blade at a cautious speed.
Talin nodded at Psydra and then turn to Raunst. “I cannot ask you to forgive me, but you must understand we are running out of the time. He only gets stronger with each passing day. He may be unstoppable, already.” His own words weighed in his mind. So many lives lost, and so many more hanging in the balance.
“What would you have me do?” Raunst asked.
“Xero is almost here. You must escape him and go the old kingdom of Enfirus. That is the best place to keep looking for the medallion. Hunting high and low we have found much about TecDemon and his lineage, but not the medallion. Psydra will show you the way.”
The walls of the room shook loudly. Talin shuddered. The door sprang open. Several armed men led by Maldrake Durees rushed in.
“Sir, Xero and a force of minions were spotted at Ginsimmon Crossing, they are headed this way.” Maldrake said.
“Psydra, get him out of here, we’ll hold them off as long as we can,” Talin ran passed Raunst brushing his shoulder. He grabbed his daughter in a strong hug and then was out the door.
Raunst grabbed the armor from the cabinet. He slipped the thick black chainmail over his tunic, it like the sword was incredibly light. Raunst seized the cape in his arms and placed the sword over his shoulder, leaving his old blade behind.
Psydra stood in the doorway. Another loud rumble shook the cave. Fragments of the ceiling sprinkled to the ground.
“I guess we should be off then.” Raunst said.
“I have horses waiting for us out the back way. It’s a hidden passage, but we still must hurry,” Psydra turned to lead him out.
The Demon Legacy Page 2