by Marty Myers
He returned his wondering attention once again to the search instead to find they had traversed quite a ways. Their viewpoint finally settled upon a stretch of water that looked just like any other to Hank, before it sunk below the waves and continued on down deeper and deeper. Hank saw a few fishes swimming here and there but nothing much else of interest came into view.
He sensed the depth where the murky dimming light finally gave up and true darkness took over. He could also sense somehow that whether the light or darkness shared the space with the sea it made no difference to the Lord of the Seas. He was truly neutral regarding all other aspects and essences as part of the natural order and not as invaders unless they obstructed the seas own flux and flow. It seemed to Hank as if balance might be the key to understanding what was going on here with this enigmatic Lord.
Again though he brought his mind back to the task at hand. His attention really was wavering a bit more than usual. Hank thought this might be a result of pushing himself too hard. He would need to meditate and pull himself back together after all this. He might need to stop practicing his magics back at home now and solely be here if drifting off like this continued to happen to him. He chose to consolidate his attention now while he was still thinking about it before something else distracted him again. The dark essence around them fortified him further and his senses and his mind sharpened.
He felt around as they descended trying to find signs of the ship. Finally, there was something coming from below them. A feeling of despair, frustration, and rage came to Hank. He warned the others, “ something is nearby. It feels like it could be dangerous,” he said. As if they had heard him the sediment stirred and several figures rose up disturbing the muck. “ Who so ever approaches the Dark Brotherhood,” a voice said in their minds, “ abandons the Light.” Hank said, “ Hail Dark Ones. I have come in search of your brotherhood.”
He brought their view closer attempting to get a better idea of who or what he was dealing with. A jagged bolt of Darkness hammered into Hanks scrying circle, startling him. Luckily it took little actual damage from the bolt as his construct was attuned to and powered by the same darkness the bolt was made up of.
“ I say again,” Hank said, “ I am a fellow Dark One who wishes to parlay with you.” “ It has to be a trick,” another voice said from below. Hank replied, “ what kind of trick would this be.” “ Well,” said the voice “you could have come here to trick us into… Into failing the Darkness.” “ I am not here to trick you,” Hank said. “ I wish to get you out of here so that you may serve the Darkness once more. I didn’t actually expect to find anyone capable of discussing this with when I came. I am called Hank of the Graves and I have come to retrieve the remains of the dark dead lost at sea.” The first voice that had spoken said. “ So the Darkness has sent for us at last. Praise be his name, it has seemed like an eternity down here awaiting this day.”
The second voice interrupted the first, “ ah hah! That’s it, just the kind of tricksy words I would expect someone to say.” “ Look,” Hank said, “ my understanding is that you were sunk while crossing the seas to fight for the Darkness cause before the second ban. That time has long since passed but the Darkness once again schemes to usurp the Light’s rule of the realm and is gathering its forces. I serve the Darkness and am highly placed within his latest plans. I need doughty warriors to serve in my dungeon of the dead. Let me take you there and on the very morrow you can meet the Lord Darkness himself as he comes to me to prepare his means to dominate in the latest upcoming battle.”
There was mumbling and grumbling from many voices at hearing Hanks speech before they quieted back down. “ We can not allow our dead brethren to join your horde. Though we serve the Darkness we still believe the dead need to be laid to rest honorably by being returned to our living kin.” Hank said, “ I understand your reluctance, but it is my understanding that your kin have been completely wiped from the realm. There is no one left to do you the honor amongst the living anymore. In the rites involved in my creation as a dungeon, there was a dwarfish stone master mason sacrificed so that I would have all his memories and knowledge to take his place in designing and crafting my halls and chambers. As he spoke the voices below grew so loud he had to draw upon his power to project himself louder and talk over them. “ He knew of your kind only as a dim legend used to frighten their young ones into obedience.” There was a great din of denial and anger at their hearing his words.
He spoke even louder over their voices in the ancient dwarvish tongue reciting a litany of secrets only the dwarfs knew as proof of his claims. Then he added in the bedtime tales he had spoken of. At last, as they began to quiet down he tried appealing to their warrior spirit. “ I would instead renew the dwarfs fear of you, their ancient foe. Their dark brethren long thought vanquished once more could take the field opposing them in glorious battle. Yes, it’s true your dead would not lay resting as living kin would have laid them long ago. But think, instead of eternally rotting here deep within the lightless Sea Lords realm, instead they may stand yet again beneath the mountains and at last when the Darkness commands we march they could fall instead upon their enemies on the fields of battle. Fighting for the cause they took up so long ago. And at long last find their own battle graves ringed around by their worthy enemies they themselves have had a chance to lay low.”
There was a single moment of silence and then from below a roaring hue and cry came that shook the very seas as throats long gone gave voice to desires too long denied. The shout was accompanied by a powerful blast of Dark essence which blew away all of the sediment that had obscured the wreck and covered the figures which stood upon it. Revealed to him were over two dozen dwarf warriors clad in armor ringed in potent dark enchantments. Hank could tell by their auras they were all powerful wights which had probably arisen during their ships trip to the bottom of the sea.
There was one exceptionally massive dwarf amongst them even mightier than the rest which he took to be their leader. Hank came closer to the powerful figure and manifested an image of himself. He debated appearing in his costume but some inner sense warned him not to try to sell himself to these warriors with a false image of something he was not. Instead, Hank appeared to them as himself.
“ Will you follow me now,” he said. “ Then take my hand and I will claim you and your men and lead you out from this place.” “ All that you have said had best be true or you will rue this day and what few others might remain to you Dark One,” the Dwarven Commander said. “ I am Thane Yngvar Vander Vegan and I lead this Warband of the Dark Brethren.” “ Hank Graves,” Hank said, “ a dungeon in service to the Lich Provoas who directly serves the Lord Darkness himself and I swear by the Darkness and Manuck the Lord of the Sea that all I have said is true,” as he put out his hand. The wight before him said, “ then I swear to serve you,” and reached out to clasp his arm instead in a warriors greeting.
As soon as the dwarf’s hand passed through his own, Hank felt the bond of service bind them together and he quickly teleported him straight back to his dungeon to the large empty Hall he had created directly beneath his Great Hall. At the same time, he created another copy of himself there with the ancient warrior. To the dwarven commander, it must have appeared that they had both just left the sea behind. “ Be at peace,” Hank said to the startled warrior as they arrived. “ I am transporting you and your men one at a time as moving everyone at once from so far away would strain my magics to the utmost.” Hank gestured and an image appeared showing the wreck from their scrying of it upon the wall of the hall like a tapestry. Inspired he carved the scene he saw of the wreck right into the wall behind the image while they waited.
Meanwhile, the next dwarf had stepped forward to introduce himself. “ I am Eskil Everaxe, Underthane of this Dark Warband. Where has our glorious leader got himself off to this time.” “ He is standing with me in one of my halls even now as we speak watching and waiting for us to join him,” Hank said. Then he stared deep
into the wight’s soul before sticking out his arm to the burly dwarf. “ And so you are able to speak to him even now,” Eskil said? Hank nodded, “ then what are his orders?” Hank replied, “ he says you are to bring the brethren forward and don’t forget his special keg of mead, the one with the pig branded on the side.” The dwarf said good and smiled, “ I was hoping this wasn’t a trick,” then he gave a sign to his men and went to clasp Hank’s arm.
And so it went as Hank ferried the dwarfs up one by one off the sea floor. The Line of dwarfs kept coming with each getting a deep scan into their souls and a handshake as they gave him their name swore into his service. There was Broddi Bergson, Bjorn Blightblade, Skoggi, Igfel, Kollstag, Valgard, Tryggi, Hakan, Skaulgrim, Ulvkil, Thorgiest, Haskell, Arlock, Grimi, Bardi, Skarolf, Kustven, Strykar, Volk, Hoarfrid, Vigcus, Egil, Hallstern, Brand, and Hadefel. As each wight swore to serve Hank felt a growing current connect them, strengthening himself and through him bolstering them all. He could feel with each one he took on that they were becoming greater than the sum of their parts.
When all of the ambulatory dwarves had been transported away Hank took stock of the Wreck and its remains. He could sense the bones of all the Brethren strumming with dark essence awaiting his call. He stretched forth his own essence and chanted a calling for them all to gather. And every one of them, even those who had been thrown clear of the wreck or lost earlier in the storm, or swept away since that time came to answer his call. To be freed of their plight at last.
When they had all been assembled Hank took stock of them with his power. To his satisfaction, there were some three hundred intact skeletons here! He then chanted a spell to fortify and strengthen them before teleporting them on to his dungeon. Then, at last, the last war band of the Dark Brotherhood had finally crossed the eternal endless seas and arrived to do battle for their cause.
When they were gone Hank took the time to search through the emptied shipwreck. He found the treasure they were hoping for as well as many weapons and a few pieces of intact armor which he sent back to his hall. The treasure he sent back to the Wreckers cave to be split evenly and then he prepared to go back himself.
Looking over the wreck one last time he found something he had overlooked until now. Not much of the original transport remained intact but he noticed the basalt ballast stones lay at the bottom of the wreck and were holding a very impressive charge of dark essence within them. It reminded him of the Altar stone back at his own dungeon heart. He suspected the altar was acting as a well of dark power that helped the Darkness in his rituals there and might even be boosting Hank himself while his body lay upon it. He decided to take them back with him to see if he could perhaps fashion them into mystical batteries to augment his powers or if anything else could be done with them.
Having finally finished scavenging here he and Alastor brought their scrying session back to Birches Mindscape and from there back to the Wreckers cave. There Hank released his tight grip on Birch and the young Robere. All of them then took a bit of time to relax and adjust to being separated back on dry land before they embarked upon any more searching.
Chapter 29
Back at the dungeon, Hank’s other self was sorting out the mess transporting so many soaked dwarfs had made of the hall. At Yngvars urging, he brought in coal and wood and laid a fire in the hall for the men to dry out. It was the first fire they had had since they had set sail all those many years ago. Meanwhile, he began sorting out the bones of each brother. With the help of the wights and a chant of the bone path he was able to reassemble and identify each one’s remains correctly and then inscribe their names in the old dwarven runic script upon their skulls. He then worked on the long process of raising each skeleton warrior as the brethren looked on to witness their reinstatement in service to Hank and the cause of the Darkness.
During this Lord Provoas entered the hall and surveyed all of the activity. He walked up to Hank as he was casting and said. “ The Darkness called to me saying he wanted me to come check upon you as he had felt a strong disturbance he thought was you far out to the east somewhere. It was just as he was finishing instructing me on his plans to have your dungeon fully completed quicker. I felt your return and a sudden surging in your powers Hank.” He looked over the wights and skeletons. “This is most unexpected, you have proven yourself very resourceful gathering these long lost minions to serve you. Dark Dwarfs are not something you find nowadays,” he said.
He also looked at those yet to be raised and studied the bones dark potency. “ Congratulations my boy these are most excellent. This is just the type of initiative and progress that will take you far in the Dark’s service. And with this as the core of your host, you will indeed be able to stay a dungeon of the dead as we had intended.” Lord Provoas was practically bubbling over with approval for him which wasn’t something Hank was used to. It felt good for his master to be pleased with him.
“ Do you have plans to unearth more like these,” he asked Hank? Your teleportation range is just extraordinary. The Darkness and I have exceeded our wildest hopes with the changes we made to you and Alastor during your ritual. I can also tell you have been busy practicing your necromancy as well. And I have seen you have cut out an impressive amount of additional dungeon space in a short time too, most excellent work my boy.”
Hank split off a third self to speak with His master while he continued getting the dwarven skeletons raised. “Yes my lord, thank you,” Hank said, “ I know I don’t have much time left so I am scouring likely sites to recover more remains of Dark Ones lost to the seas. I thought they would be unlikely to have been tampered with by the Light like so many of the others lost at old battlefields and cemeteries have been.” “ Yes, yes I see it now,” the liche said. “ Most unorthodox, but I cannot argue with the results.”
“ Carry on then, just be ready tomorrow for the Darkness to establish another gate between here and the Dark Citadel around midday. Oh and Hank, next time keep me informed before you try something new on this scale. If I am not occupied I may come to observe or even participate in the endeavor.” And with that Provoas departed.
“ So,” said Yngvar, “ it seems like what you said is true. The Lord Darkness really is coming to play a hand here. Thank you Lord Graves for retrieving us to get to play our part.” Hank said, “ you can call me Hank, and you should know it could get very rough here soon. Angels have been spotted in the area looking for me. If they find us here they and their allies will do their utmost to storm this dungeon and destroy me and whats in the altar room up on the next floor.” The Dwarven commander looked up and said, “ I can feel something massive and dark going on up there, can I ask what it is.” Hank said, “ its no secret to be kept from my own defenders. The Darkness thinks he has found a way to break the Bans and resurrect the Dark Prince thereby restoring his greatest general to this world. He is in the process of retrofitting my mortal body into a suitable vessel for the prince’s soul. It’s taking quite a bit of time and effort and during this, my body needs to remain safely in this one location upon the altar up there for the ritual to progress successfully and be completed.”
“ Otherwise it will fail and either the Darkness will need to start all over or it may even ruin his one and only shot at this. He has made it abundantly clear to us that we are all expendable in achieving this goal. He says that with the Dark Prince back he will once more have a good shot at conquering this realm. I know he expects us to defend the ritual to the very end and if we succeed he wants a full dark host formed here in my dungeon to march out and join his other forces in the start of the third Great War of Darkness.”
Yngvar Vander Vegan looked stunned at this pronouncement for a moment and then sprang into action. Ordering his men around with a bullhorn sized voice. “ All right men, you heard our master. The Darkness expects this dungeon to hold the key to winning the battles against the forces of the Light in the upcoming war and we and our new master are to be the very backbone of that effort. This is the
chance we have all waited so long for. I want every dwarf here to put his all into it.”
He assigned each wight to a task designed to return the dark brethren into fighting shape. Having several of them begin cleaning and repairing their companies weapons and gear and making a list of what they would need to have replaced entirely. He had Bjorn Brightblade begin preparing an area for a forge to be built and got others working on laying out other areas within the hall that they would need.
Hank offered to carve more rooms off of the hall for them but the dwarf waved him away. “ We can worry about amenities once we have actually gotten ourselves ready to serve you and the Dark Lord properly.” He turned to Hank and asked, “ when you are done raising the men will you give me and my dwarfs a tour of your dungeon so we can get acquainted with the place?” He said, “ I have heard of living dungeons but I have never been in one before now so I want to get more familiar with how you operate and memorize your layout.” Hank said, “ of course, I will also need to introduce you to the Black Guards stationed here around the altar room by the Lord Darkness. Some of them are a troublesome bunch, but we must work with them as the Darkness commands. I need to get you up to speed so you can handle things here as soon as possible. I currently have my attention split into three perspectives to juggle everything that needs to be done.”