“Do you think if I bring him to justice you might find rest?”
“I don’t know, but knowing he was; I might find some peace. Would you avenge my death living one?”
“I will.”
“Thank you. You may take my pouch if that helps you bring him to justice.”
Torhan did and left. On his way back, he opened the pouch and found several platinum coins and a green emerald gem, which he figured must be worth a few thousand gold pieces.
He returned to Binder’s room and stopped at the edge of the hole. His gaze fell upon a twisted and broken skeleton wearing leather armor and boots. A bulky pouch was tied around his waist, and his jaw was set in a position which could have indicated that he must have died in some horrible fashion. When he was through studying the remains, he jumped down. As soon as he reached for the pouch, a spirit appeared in the shape of an overweight man wearing robes. The ghost groaned in a painful wail and stopped directly overhead, staring down at him.
“Mortal why I am here? I don’t recognize this place.” He looked around. “I should have found rest after I died, so why am I here?”
“Binder if you tell me what happened I might be able to figure out why you’re still here.”
“The last thing I remember was that I was with Shoel and the others, we came upon a grove and were attacked by this creature that was a cross between a horse and an ape.”
“I know of such a beast and the one who is responsible for your death.”
“You do?”
“He’s a hermit named Tole. Aplone is bound to another room, and I think that if I bring him to justice you will both be able to find rest.”
“Aplone is here? What about the others; Ruder, Trusten, and Shoel? “
“They are. Ruder and Trusten have already found peace.”
“Why them and not us?”
“I’m not sure, but I think they never realized they were already dead, so I convinced them to find rest. On the other hand, you, Aplone, and Shoel are all aware that you have died.”
“Help me please. I hate this place.”
“I will do my best.” Torhan said, and Binder faded away.
Torhan reentered Shoel’s chamber, and the room felt colder and looked darker than before, despite the glow of the torch. He ignored his discomfort and walked straight up to the grave and called the spirit by his name. The entity appeared within seconds and floated over.
“Mortal I sense that you have not completed what I asked of you.”
“Ruder and Trusten have found peace.”
“What about Binder and Aplone?”
“Like you, they are aware of their existence, so I don’t know how.”
“Then I cannot allow you to have the amulet.”
“Shoel, did a hermit named Tole kill you?”
“He was one of them. How did you know?”
“I figured it out after speaking to Aplone and Binder. Who are the…”
Just then they heard a low rumble come from somewhere above and then stop a few minutes later.
“What was that?” Torhan asked.
“It appears someone has closed the entrance to the tomb, and you will now be trapped here with me for all of eternity.”
Torhan’s face turned white at the thought of being trapped down there. “Is there another way out?”
“Why should I help you mortal? You failed my task.”
“Tole is up above and I think if he dies you might find peace.”
“You might be right mortal. Do I have your word that you will bring him here, alive or dead?”
“Yes.”
“There’s a small lever at the far end of the chamber. It will reveal a passageway that will take you to the outside.”
“You will have him before this day ends.”
Torhan ran over to the wall, found and pulled the lever, and quickly ran up the passageway. His path abruptly ended at another wall with a lever on his left, which he pushed down, causing the stone façade to slide open, revealing the outside world.
****
Shortly after Torhan descended below, Tole began plotting the death of Katara. He studied her intently while she was looking away, and every time she suspected something; he would quickly turn his head in another direction. He was pretty sure she was some sort of low level healer and the only problem he foresaw was from that mace of hers. His plan was simple. Conjure a Water Tirip from the black sludge and have it attack her. If she tried to stop him, she would have to deal with his pet. After she was dead, he would move the stump back into place and lock Torhan below and then wait for him to die of starvation. In time, he would send another fool to collect the stone off of his lifeless body.
After catching Tole eyeing her suspiciously on several occasions, Katara devised a plan of her own. She knew that she could kill him with her mace, but she wasn’t sure about the cat. She needed to even the odds, and since she couldn’t risk conjuring a Water Tirip, she began walking around looking for a few fallen logs to summon a Wooden Tirip. When she found the materials needed to raise her protector, she unhooked her mace and began chanting. She was almost through, when the big cat suddenly appeared ten-feet away.
His ears were pinned back and he hissed in warning at her, both were signs that he might attack. Her heart raced as she sped up the chant and then out of the corner of her eye the cat leapt at her. It happened so fast that the only thing she could do was whip her right arm upward, catch the cat in the side of the head and crack its skull. The lethal blow, however, did nothing to stop the cat’s momentum as it crashed into her, sending her tumbling to the ground. It took a few minutes for her head to clear, and once it did, she looked over at the wood and began chanting again.
Before the cat decided to attack Katara, Tole moved closer to the water and began summoning the Water Tirip. It was taking longer than he expected, but he knew that it would be worth it. He loved seeing the faces of his enemies as water filled their lungs and body parts were shattered and broken apart from the force of the spirit’s blows. The mad hermit smiled with each spoken word and when he was finished, the guardian took shape from the pool of stagnant water and looked at its owner, awaiting his command.
Tole spoke only one final word to it. “Kill.”
The Tirip rose to its full height of eight-feet, scanned the area until it saw its victim, and then sent a few water balls at Katara. The dense water would’ve hit her, but she was positioned in such a way, they hit a log instead.
She finished her own chant and when her guardian stood erect, she uttered the command of protection. Instinctively, the Water Tirip recognized its mortal enemy and advanced. Katara crawled behind her protector to the sound of Tole’s curses for not conjuring the right spirit. If he had summoned an Air Tirip instead, it would’ve made short work of her puny protector. Disgusted, Tole walked over to the stump and pushed it in the opposite direction. With a mighty rumble, the crypt moaned and lowered into the earth, sealing Torhan below.
The battle raged on a few yards away as the Tirips clashed with each other. Every time the Water Tirip attacked, the Wooden Tirip blocked and countered with massive swings from its thick arms, splitting the water creature apart and damaging the spirit.
Katara scampered further away and watched her guardian slowly winning the battle, but something strange was happening as well. The Wooden Tirip, on several occasions, turned towards her and started advancing, but as soon as it did, it was struck by the Water Tirip and turned around again to embrace its enemy. Her worst fears were taking shape, and she was sure that if it wasn’t for the Water Tirip, her own guardian would have turned on her by now. Katara began backing away while digging around in her backpack for her flasks of oil, just in case it happened.
Tole knew what the outcome would be, and walked away until he found an open area with a large ditch and did the unthinkable. He was warned early in his training that conjuring another Tirip while one was already under his control could be disastrous, but he was so mad that he di
dn’t care and began chanting once again. Once he finished, a massive swirling wind appeared out of nothing and formed a deadly Air Tirip. The creature blinked its two small dots that were eyes and as soon as Tole gave the command to seek, the Water Tirip disengaged its assault against the Wooden Tirip, and began rolling back towards Tole with hatred for being summoned into this plane.
After the Water Tirip left, the Wooden Tirip fought hard against the constant pull of its alignment changing, until the draw was too strong, and it now saw Katara as an enemy and advanced on her. When Katara lost control, she was left with two choices. Destroy the Tirip or pledge her loyalty to evil and change her alignment. On one hand if she destroyed her protector, she’d be too weak to conjure another one, and pledging evil would be even more disastrous, especially if she conjured another Tirip, and wasn’t true to her new alignment. The Wooden Tirip closed in, and she made up her mind.
Meanwhile, the Air Tirip swirled past the Water Tirip, on its way to kill Katara, while the Water spirit rolled towards its former master. Tole saw it coming straight for him and when the Water spirit was close enough, it sent a wave of water after Tole. Fortunately, for him, he was positioned in front of a deep trench and shortly after, the wave poured harmlessly into the ditch. The Water Tirip followed and became trapped. Tole still possessed enough control over the spirit to stay its water balls and easily walked past the helpless entity, knowing that the spirit’s host would eventually dry up and dissipate.
Except for the flasks of oil, Katara was defenseless against the Wooden Tirip. She knew that her mace would serve no purpose against its hard bark, so she lit the flask and threw it at its trunk. It shattered against the surface and ignited the tree. She added another flask to make sure it would die and then caught a glimpse of something swirling in her direction.
****
Torhan entered the forest, quickly figured out where the crypt was and ran in that direction. When he came upon the area, he saw Tole and ducked behind a tree. He couldn’t believe what was happening. There was a Tirip on fire, another lapping helplessly against a ditch, trying to reach for Tole, and something that looked like a pair of eyes, suspended in midair and swirling toward Katara. He had to do something about the hermit. He took the bow from around his shoulder and notched an arrow. Taking aim, he fired. Tole sensed Torhan’s presence too late and when he turned around, the arrow pierced his throat. Before the fateful impact, he uttered only one word, “Impossible,” and then fell over, clutching the gaping wound until he died.
While Katara frantically ran looking for some place to contain the Air Tirip, she was hit in her back with a gust of air that sent her to the ground in pain. The Air Tirip took up position just above her head, swirled counter clockwise and began drawing the air from her lungs. Katara began gasping for air, and her lungs began burning like the fires of hell, until she couldn’t breathe any longer and passed out. The Tirip continued to swirl, and as it was in the process of removing the last bit of air from her lungs, Tole died, causing it to dissipate.
Torhan found her unconscious and was relieved that she was uninjured. He lightly slapped her on the face until she opened her eyes.
“Where’s Tole?” She asked, almost in a panic.
“Dead.” He replied and helped her to a sitting position.
He told her what had happened in the crypt and how Tole was responsible for the deaths of the spirits. She was amazed at what he’d accomplished. After he helped Katara to her feet, they retrieved the amulet off of Tole’s lifeless body and carried him down into the crypt below. Torhan told her what to expect from the spirit and for her not to be afraid. Despite his words of caution, she still prayed to her god for good measure.
After entering Shoel’s room, Torhan dropped Tole’s body into the shallow grave next to Shoel’s skeleton. A few minutes later, Shoel materialized and moved closer.
“I never thought that I would see him again.” Shoel said and floated around Tole’s body, inspecting the corpse. “Torhan you have done well.”
“Did Aplone and Binder find rest?” Torhan asked.
Shoel paused and then said. “They have, because the one that killed them is dead.”
“What about you, will you find rest?”
“No.”
“Why not?” Katara asked.
“Because he wasn’t the only one that took my life.”
“Who was the other?”
“I cannot say.”
“Why not?” She pressed.
“The laws that bind me here do not allow it.”
Katara had an idea how find out who did or to at least get a clue. “Shoel, will you tell us what happened to you and how you ended up here?”
The spirit looked at her and then spoke. “Many years ago when I, along with my brothers and sisters, roamed your plane of existence; we were trackers. We traveled to many towns offering our services and help right what was wrong. One day, we came to the town of Snowdrift and were hired to capture a suspect and bring him to justice. We found him and his accomplice, Tole, inside of a grove and together they murdered us and placed our bodies down here behind the locked doors.”
“Shoel what did he look like?” Katara asked
“I’m sorry living one, I cannot say.”
“Shoel was it a priest?” Torhan asked.
“Torhan you are wise, but no.”
“Shoel we will figure out who did this, and you will find peace.” Torhan stated firmly.
“Torhan the just, if you should eliminate those who did this to me, I will be eternally grateful. Now for your reward. The combination to the chest is as follows. Press the numbers six, five, four, and then press the letters A, P, and L, and finally the number two.”
“Shoel I have one more question. How did you come to guard this chest?”
“I don’t know, but after I died, the chest was in my grave, and I was bound to protect it.”
Torhan climbed down and pressed the numbers and letters in the order Shoel suggested and opened the chest. There was only one item inside, a silver amulet with a medallion. Etched on the round circle was the image of a male human’s face with his eyes closed. Without even thinking, he placed it around his neck, felt dizzy right away and passed out.
Upon seeing him fall; Katara jumped down and removed the necklace from around his neck. A few seconds later, Torhan woke up.
“What happened?” He asked.
“I don’t know.”
Shoel floated closer. “It appears your mind is too weak to wear the amulet.”
“Let me try.” Katara said.
Before Torhan could stop her, she placed it around her neck. Instead of succumbing to the same effect Torhan went through, her mind began filling up with images of life and death, visions so strong that she fell to one knee. Torhan was about to remove the item when she waved him off, indicating that she was okay and stood up. “I’m fine. We should go.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” She took off the amulet and put it away.
“Shoel, we will do our best.” Torhan said.
“Good luck Torhan.”
****
After they were gone, Shoel said an ancient chant. The room filled with smoke and a foul poison that would fell any mortal exposed to it. The smoke shifted and eventually took the shape of a person wearing a robe.
“Tole my old friend it’s nice to see you again. Please take your rightful place.”
Tole’s spirit floated and hovered towards the entity and then screamed at the realization of what was happening.
“Did you really think that you would ever own that amulet again? You made a wise choice in picking those two; he's clever, and she has the mental capacity to don the item.”
Tole’s spirit just floated and was unable to speak.
“Now you will remain here with me.” Shoel began to laugh, and Tole’s spirit was sent to one of the other chambers to stay there for eternity
Chapter 26: The Truth
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br /> By the time they left the crypt and were headed back to town, the sky was dark, the weather colder, and a light snow began falling. They were each lost in their own thoughts when Katara suddenly spoke.
“Did you think a few months ago that you would have done something like that?” She asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Speaking with the dead.”
“Before this journey, I never really believed in the hereafter; let alone, ghosts.”
Katara smirked. “Keep the faith because there’s more to life than what we are.”
“What do you think the amulet of Insight does? I’m sure it doesn’t have anything to do with Tole’s family history.”
“Given his lies, I agree. I think it might contain some sort of power.”
“I wonder what though. Should we test it out?”
“Maybe later after we make camp. Where are your furs?” Katara asked realizing for the first time since they left the crypt that he wasn’t wearing any.
Torhan stopped and looked back in the direction from where they’d come. “I think that I left them inside of the crypt.”
“Do you want to go back we’re not that far?”
“I should be fine as long as the ring stays active.”
“Are you sure?”
Torhan nodded, and they continued.
It was around mid-evening when they stopped and lit a small fire. The temperature grew even colder and Torhan felt a slight chill. He knew that the ring was losing its charge. Upon seeing him shiver, Katara opened her coat and sat close to him, wrapping her furs around the both of them.
“You’re going to get cold.” She said.
A Demon's Quest the Beginning of the End the Trilogy Box Set Page 74