by Philip Blood
Von Dracek had left some Tchulian soldiers at his disposal, so the necromancer used them to remove the contents of the storeroom. Next, he had them bring in some items he desired: a stone table, a brazier with coals, chains with ring attachments, which he had servants mount into the walls. He also had them bring candles for hot wax, six different knives, two hammers, leather strings, a bucket of water, three pairs of tongs and a stool for his comfort. He had surveyed his accomplishment from the door and thought, Well, it’s rather crude compared to the comforts of home, but it will have to do.
Now he approached his new room to use it for the first time. A colonel from Jatar’s old military staff waited inside, chained to the stone table. He was shaking in fear, his head turned to stare wide-eyed at the approach of the necromancer, though he saw him as Lord Jatar. CAracusS immediately went over to the shaking man and recognized him as the colonel who had been found tied up under his desk. After he had been released he had come to CAracusS to expose Becaris and the others that he considered traitors. CAracusS had listened and then decided that since the officer had read Elizabeth’s letter he could not be trusted, and had him locked up in solitary confinement until now.
He looked down at the man’s fearful face almost kindly, CAracusS often felt a kindred spirit for his victims. He spoke to the shaking man in a pleasant conversational voice, “Well Colonel, we meet again. You should know that I didn’t specifically ask for you, but now that you are here we’ll have to make the best of the situation. It’s nothing personal, but you couldn’t be allowed to live to talk to any of the other commanders anyway, knowing what you know. I would have given you a quick death for your help in coming to me with the information about the traitors, but it just slipped my mind. Now it would waste time to get another prisoner up here to be tortured. The truth is I just can’t afford to wait, so I'm sorry, but it’s a busy time.”
Behind the gag the man tried to speak, but only an unintelligible high-pitched squeaking issued from behind the cloth binding his mouth.
“No, it won’t help to argue, my mind is made up, so we’ll just have to make the best of it. We’ll start simple and work up to the more excruciating elements.” As the necromancer spoke he picked up a candle and lit the wick from a nearby torch and opened the man’s shirt to expose the white skin of his quivering stomach. After a few moments to let the flame melt the wax, he tilted the candle to let the hot liquid pour out onto the soft white skin.
Out in the Gellern forest Corporal Bante reached the splitting of the paths, he was supposed to continue back to Lindankar, but he considered making a change in his orders. He knew that there was an Inn not far down the southeast path, and there might be the chance of obtaining horses. If he hurried the men and could procure horses at the Inn it was still possible that he might overtake Lady Elizabeth and her knights before they escaped.
He contemplated his options: he knew that with Von Dracek out of the picture he was in charge; however his commander had left him with clear orders. He considered the consequences of disobedience and the rewards for success. If I get the sorceress, he thought, I will get the glory, and perhaps a promotion. If on the other hand, I go back empty handed I’ll have a black mark on my record for losing all the men in my first command. I need a victory to offset that defeat.
Having decided that the move would benefit his career, he ordered the men to double time it down the southeast path toward the Inn.
CAracusS determined that the tortured bloody body of the officer had reached its maximum potential of pain and despair. He concentrated and tore open the rift between the planes, calling out into the darkness. “I, CAracusS, call forth Baron Qyrmswav; speak with me as was our bargain.”
There was a foul disturbance on the other side of the rift and a smell like rotten meat wafted into the room. Some time went by, and CAracusS figured they must have summoned the Baron. Then suddenly he heard words that sounded like the sucking pop of eyeballs being gouged from their sockets which formed words within his mind that said, “I am here necromancer, what is your bargain this time?”
“Would the great Baron be interested in the spirit energy of a full Kirnath sorceress adept?”
“What is the catch, necromancer? The soul of an adept is a rare find and so you would not offer it lightly,” the disgusting voice noted.
“There isn’t much of a catch; she is fleeing from us in the Gellern forest. She is severely spirit wounded and low on aura power, ripe for the plucking with her normal defenses against you in a weak and easily breached state. You can just follow a path I will describe that will take you to her general area, and once there I assume you can track her by the taste of her wounded spirit. Once she and anyone protecting her has been eaten, you must then return to the Dark Plane,” finished CAracusS, with a merchant’s smile painted on his face.
“Which adept is it that I follow?” asked a voice that sounded of ripping and snapping tendons from a knee being forced open backward.
“Lady Elizabeth Ardellen; now do you accept the bargain?”
“Yes, she will be mine! Long have I lusted to taste the life force of a Kirnath female. Tell me where to find her and I will feast,” Qyrmswav agreed.
“Take the southern path out of the city that enters the Gellern forest, follow the southwest turn at the fork; she will be somewhere along that path,” CAracusS instructed the foul creature. Then he opened the rift wide enough for the Baron to enter the world and begin his chase through the night’s cloaking darkness.
Elizabeth was up with the dawn light contemplating the future when she suddenly turned and walked swiftly back to rouse the knights. She hurriedly began to roll up her blankets as she explained, “We must leave for the Kirnath School immediately.”
“You don’t wish to train a little more on combat this morning?” Hetark asked.
“We’ll have to forego that today, we have need of speed if we are going to reach the school before pursuit overtakes us,” Elizabeth said, her voice carefully controlled since she didn’t want her fear affecting the knights.
“You located some soldiers back on our trail?” Drake guessed.
“Actually, I did locate a few groups of humans traveling the path behind us, ten men are just reaching the Targ’s Inn and one of them had a mind shield. No doubt they are the remaining Tchulians obtaining more mounts, but humans are not my concern or the reason for my haste.”
“More vorghouls on our trail?” Gustin guessed.
“I wish that were all,” she said quietly, and then spoke louder, “I sense the Darknull beast that I feared the necromancer might send, perhaps the very one that destroyed Jatar. The horrid creature is swiftly following our back trail. Right now it is seeking shelter for the day in a dark hollow a couple of bells behind us, but close enough for me to sense. If it had been just a little closer it would have reached us last night. Thank G’lan that the summers sun rises early or we would have been surprised by that thing,” she answered, her voice quivering slightly.
“It can’t pursue us in the day?” asked Drake.
“It could, but sunlight makes them uncomfortable, though it won’t kill a Darknull. They prefer the darkness of night as it is more like their own world,” Elizabeth explained.
“Well, at least now we know of the necromancer’s next attack,” Hetark put in.
“Yes, and it’s as bad as I expected, we cannot kill this creature. If I were at full strength I could protect us, perhaps even wound it, but I doubt I could kill such a beast. If three or four adepts all attacked at once, we might have a chance to finish this monster, or at least send it back from whence it came. Our only hope is to run for the Kirnath School.”
Hetark was concerned and said, “Milady, it’s more than a day’s ride to the school from here, won’t it overtake us once night falls?”
Elizabeth’s voice quivered even though she tried to keep it steady, “Yes, it will. I will attempt to fight it off, and may succeed if it isn’t too powerful.” , but the knights could
hear the hesitation in her voice.
“Is there anything we can do to fight it, milady?” asked Drake.
“Fire is the only physical thing that bothers a Darknull. Remember that you cannot kill it, but the fire could help to keep it at bay. When it gets near we must make torches and have them ready to light. I can give you a little notice when the thing is approaching now that I know it is coming. We’ll have to picket the horses some distance away or they will bolt in fear and be lost. Then we must try to keep it at bay until daylight comes once again and it retreats.
“Once it attacks, keep in a small group to protect each other’s backs, but don’t bother with your swords, they won’t do anything to the Darknull. Instead, put a torch in each of your hands and wave them around to make a barrier of fire. If possible, I will try to drive it away so that we can continue running for the school come morning.”
“There must be some way we can help attack the beast, I’m not afraid of this thing,” Drake said bravely.
“Don’t try it, Drake, the Darknulls are not of this world. If the Darknull attaches to your body it will destroy your immortal soul. Remember that the death of your body is a far better choice than the foul kiss of the Darknull beast as it destroys your soul,” Elizabeth said looking into the young knights' shining eyes and speaking in a low tone to emphasize the seriousness of the danger.
“I’m not afraid,” Drake said, with his chin held high.
In reply Elizabeth just said, “We had best be on our way and we must ride like the wind, the eater of souls will fly swiftly after us once the sun sets.”
Quietly they mounted up, but just before they spurred their mounts Drake muttered under his breath so that only Gustin heard, “Well you’re out of a job; we have a real enemy to try and kill me every mile, oh joy.”
Major Von Dracek was sitting at a desk in the Lindankar palace, the morning sunlight left a band of light across the desktop. Three sets of orders were lying in the light on the desk and all three were penned in Jatar’s handwriting. Von Dracek read them over again carefully. His thoughts were puzzled: “Why Jatar, why would you send your precious signet ring with one of these ambassadors? Or maybe I should say this ambassador,” he picked up an order. “The other two are unimportant, but Zinterdalin is a sticky piece of politics. You should have been there yourself; a substitute, even if he is your cousin, was not enough for that volatile of a situation. Did you send the signet ring with him to show the Zinterdalin ruler that your ambassador had been granted the power to make decisions? Perhaps...”
He picked up a blank piece of paper and began to write. The message was in code, but translated it read:
“Command: N. has replaced J.- War eminent between O. and P.- L. will support P. in the upcoming battles. Need commanders sent to L. immediately - Man named G’Taklar on embassy to Z, apprehend and search for J.’s signet ring, find it by any means possible. - Lt. V.D.”
Having finished writing and coding the message, the major went to the closet in the room and removed a small wicker cage. Inside there were three leathery winged creatures wrapped up into little cylindrical shapes standing on a perch. Each was about two hand spans tall, two beady red eyes and two large pointy ears projected above the wings that wrapped the bodies tightly.
Von Dracek carefully removed one of them from the small cage door, tied the message to its blue scaly leg and took it to the window. He placed the winged creature in the sunlight. Slowly the cold-blooded creature unfolded its wings and stretched, its wing span was surprisingly large, about two feet from tip to tip. After a short time, it bounced toward the window edge twice and then launched itself into the air as it took flight for its home in a far place.
The orange sun was falling toward the horizon rapidly and long shadows of dusk fell across the path of Elizabeth and her knights as they galloped down the forest path. They had switched horses regularly all day to allow the horses to keep up this grueling pace. Suddenly Elizabeth reined in and she slowed her horse to a canter as she said, “We are still too far from the school, I cannot reach the Adepts in thought, and we cannot reach the school before the Darknull overtakes us. We must use the remaining light to gather wood for a large fire, the Darknull will catch us very quickly once darkness is here and we must be prepared.”
They did as she commanded. A few minutes later Drake and Gustin were out gathering wood and Drake said, “What do you know about these Darknull things?”
“Not much,” Gustin answered, “just things you hear, like old sayings, 'Uglier than a Darknull', or 'Don’t go in the dark or the Darknulls will eat you', that kind of thing.”
“Have you heard anything about what they look like?” Drake asked, concentrating on Gustin’s reply.
“Not really, only that they are the most hideous thing you could ever see,” Gustin answered, not really noticing Drake’s intense interest.
“They can’t be much uglier than those vorghoul, besides, I’m used to traveling with you, so I’ve built up my tolerance for ugly things,” Drake kidded, trying to lighten his spirits.
“Funny, little man. Do you need me to help you load up a couple more twigs? Obviously, a heavy branch would be out of the question,” Gustin replied, joining into the banter.
“This is kindling, I leave the lumber carting business to a dumb pack animal, like you,” Drake fired back.
“I can always tell when you are worried about something Drake, you start making large and dumb jokes. Don’t worry, I’ll protect you from the Darknull,” the big man assured him, striking closer to the mark than he knew.
“I’m not afraid of monsters, I can protect myself quite well, thank you,” Drake said, a little too forcefully as if trying to convince himself of his bravery.
Sometime later Drake stood around the fire with the others and said, “I hate waiting.”
All four of the humans waited in a circle facing out into the hostile darkness with the large fire burning at their backs. They had extra wood piled beside each knight at hand’s reach and spare torches stood in a pyramid close to their right hands. The firelight sent their shadows dancing to unheard music against the tree trunks surrounding the clearing.
“Are you sure the horses are far enough away, milady?” Hetark asked. His mind kept jumping from one detail to the next, looking for something that they had forgotten to prepare.
“Yes Hetark, the creature won’t be interested in horses, not when there are human auras to consume,” Elizabeth said from her position to Hetark’s left. Michael’s head poked out from the leather pack on her back, his arms, and legs projected out of holes that Hetark had cut in the bottom. This way she could protect Michael with both her hands free to defend.
“I hate waiting,” Drake said again.
“Well, then why don’t you just go out and find it?” Gustin asked from Drake’s right.
“I’m not a fool; I just don’t like this waiting. I wish it would just get here, and then I’d be fine,” Drake replied.
“The longer it waits, the less time there is until dawn, that's the way I look at it,” Gustin explained.
“You would, I just hate waiting. By the way, when you turn to throw more wood on the fire, don’t knock over my torches with your big clumsy arms, OK?” Drake instructed Gustin.
“There he goes again with the big man insults, now we know he’s getting nervous,” Gustin said to Elizabeth and Hetark.
“I am not getting nervous, dimwit,” Drake said scowling at Gustin.
“Temper getting a little ‘short’?” Gustin asked emphasizing the word short.
“Now who’s making stature jokes?” Drake asked.
“It comes,” Elizabeth said to an instantly quiet Gustin and Drake.
CAracusS was standing on a balcony in the palace and gazing off into the darkness of night when he said, “The Baron should have them by now, it was only a matter of time.” CAracusS contorted Jatar’s handsome face into a sardonic smile as he considered the destruction of the Kirnath sorceress.
/> From a pace behind the necromancer Von Dracek answered, “Good, that’s one less Kirnath in the world. It’s time to go meet with the other rulers and ambassadors and continue our plans of conquest, are you ready?”
“Of course, I know what to say,” the necromancer replied.
“Good, after you then,” the merc said and gestured with a sweep of his open hand.
The representatives of Pruta, Amak-Ta-Dol, Quisantia, and the ruler of Tazlany, Lord Pellev Welter, and of Belorn, Lord Verdew Kestle were all waiting when CAracusS entered the conference room. Von Dracek took a seat, but CAracusS continued up to the podium and turned to speak to the assembly.
“My esteemed representatives,” and he acknowledged Jatar’s boyhood foster brothers individually with a nod and added, “Lord Welter and Lord Kestle,” then he continued, “I have called you here to clarify some rumors that you may have heard. Yesterday, Lord Armal murderously attacked Lord Rinholt, they fought and both of them died. From the evidence that I personally inspected I concluded that Lord Rinholt was attacked and mortally wounded before he defended himself and struck down Lord Armal. Because this outrageous murder took place in my country, in my palace, in my very home, I am declaring war on Olsk and will support Pruta in their claim against their enemy, Olsk.”
CAracusS paused for a moment and enjoyed the looks of shock on the faces of Lord Welter, Lord Kestle and the two ambassadors of Amak-Ta-Dol and Quisantia. Before they could say anything he continued, “I’d also like to ask the aid of your countries in righting this terrible wrong that Lord Armal perpetrated on the people of Pruta.”