He was a marvel to behold now that Hern was fully conscious, his sloping gait devouring the uneven dunes at a great pace. Yet at the same time Hern felt secure, Re'tak needed no saddle and the combined balance and poise of both of them off-set any potential jarring effects from traversing rocky outcrops and sliding down the higher dunes.
The increasingly hidden depths of the desert held a strange fascination for Hern, they were devoid of life and there was utter silence aside from Re'tak's breath and the padding of his feet across the surface. The lack of wind gave the air an odd texture as it passed across his face, there was no sense of stifling atmosphere and the sands did not whip about them in clouds as they did in Je'dara.
He gauged the passage of time from the enclosing darkness, the visibility grew poorer and Hern's other sense rose to compensate. He could feel the reverberations of Re'tak off the dune floors as he continued his ceaseless march forward, the sound of his breathing was consistent rather than laboured which suggested that he wasn't going flat out. While the night may cover their presence, it could do nothing to disguise their smell.
Re'tak eventually started to slow, a brief dip into his mind revealed that they were drawing close to Greyhawk now. The time for planning had arrived.
The fluidity of their thoughts was astonishing, they were both surprised by the other's tactical knowledge and soon plotted out the best course of action for their assault on the fort. First there was the guard at the door to deal with.
Hern leapt off Re'tak's back, landing lightly on the sand and cresting the dune at a crouch. His friend had been correct in his assumption, this was the last dune before Greyhawk. They had debated attempting to approach from a different angle but the palisade was quite a task to scale and only Hern was an adept climber. No, this would be a very direct entrance. If he got it right.
He shut off his fears and considerations and any trivial thoughts floating around in his mind at that given point, he felt a touch of acknowledgement from Re'tak at his going dark for this moment, like so many things it had been discussed in detail prior to their arrival.
Creeping forward outside of the light of the guard's torch, Hern circled round the circumference of the light, giving a wide berth in case of genuine vigilance. He had heard that this guard posting was more of a punishment than an actual duty as nothing living ever approached Greyhawk at night.
He made it to the base of the wall and pressed himself spine-first against it, angling his head so that he could keep an eye on the guard at all times. Slowly edging forward into the light, he made doubly certain to stay outside the line of the guard's sight, it would do their cause no good if he sounded the alarm.
This was the precarious moment in their ploy, where the guard was within sighting distance of Hern but was too far away to dispose of. His wandering mind had been wishing pointlessly that he had a projectile long before they came to the final dune. Re'tak had seen them as a pointless irritation at first but upon understanding their lethal nature towards humans he had to concede their value.
He was almost there, he could hear the man's rattling breath, clearly the cold was doing him no good.
Now.
Hern was surprised at the subtlety of the sound, he had expected a loud noise to grab the guard's attention, instead it was the softer sound of something scuffling just out of the range of illumination.
The man took a few paces forward, peering pointlessly into the darkness as if his eyes could adjust. It was the only opening Hern needed.
Racing forward with a series of short steps, Hern clamped his hand over the man's mouth and with a twisting motion snapped his neck.
It felt oddly satisfying, feeling the limp body slide away from him. Re'tak wandered forward out of the darkness to inspect his handiwork.
Was killing him necessary?
Hern nodded, Re'tak understood that gesture now amongst many other things.
It was entirely necessary. I am sending a statement, we are sending a statement. Together we shall kill every living thing in this fort.
He motioned them forward, entering the unguarded gate as it lay wide open. A massacre in the dark awaited.
109
Ella
It was growing dark as she made her way back toward the room that El-Vador lay recovering in, the same room they had spent the better part of their time together at the very start.
She wondered if the wound that had been inflicted upon him would heal, or whether he would succumb to whatever dark force had kept it open and seeping.
Alissandra's words echoed in her head remorselessly, they filled her with doubt about the intentions of El-Vador in bringing her here. His intentions in general with regards to her being of his race but not of his sex still confused her. He shared a bed with her, yes. He still made no move to touch her though, was she that unattractive to him?
She blinked at the thought. Did she really just consider whether he was attracted to her? Was her desperation not to be alone interfering with her perceptions of him? Was this rising resentment a result of his refusal to acknowledge her as a woman?
Why did she resent him at all? She had been rescued from imprisonment and death, or worse, at the hands of the seemingly tyrannical Justice Kelgrimm. Should she not be thankful that he chose to defy such a powerful man on her behalf? He had spirited her away and kept her safe from harm in Levanin and even gained the consent of her father in his actions through remarkable means. Was this not praise-worthy? Why was she questioning his motivations when he had dispelled her doubts with such tender honesty?
It was there, a seed of doubt had remained planted within her in spite of her best efforts to ignore it. She didn't know whether it was Alissandra's words that had provided her with such concern or if they had simply woken up something that had previously been sleeping peacefully in her current pipe dream.
She walked through the archway and found him sitting up in their bed, his bed, waiting for her.
'You're awake,' she said, stupidly.
'I am awake.'
The tone sounded ominous to her, a wave of anxiety travelled through her body. She didn't want an argument with him, not now.
'I'm sorry that I took so long, Levanin is a fascinating place. Belesdair was showing me more of it.'
He looked at her, the accusation plain to see on his face. She had said the wrong thing.
'You don't have to lie to me, I know you were with her. I know that she is trying to turn you against me, I hoped it would not happen but her webs span far.'
The way he spoke of Alissandra conjured up images of some bloated creature of malice, had she not shown every kindness and courtesy? Why would El-Vador speak so poorly of her?
'She has been nothing but honest and caring towards me, I plan on seeing her again.'
Ella knew the words were inflammatory but she felt a strange kinship with the woman she had just visited and the man's opinion of her seemed vulgar at best.
'So she has got to you then, as she does with everyone and everything else. I wish this could be easier on you but I don't think it can be.'
He leapt up out of bed, the wound didn't seem to slow him down. His hands clasped the sides of her hair and she screamed more in shock than fright, she had no idea what was happening or what he was saying.
'Your thoughts, give them to me. I need your thoughts, they give me strength.'
Everything was wrong with what he was saying, she tried to back away but his hands held her there in thrall. She couldn't pull away without damaging her own neck, she wasn't quite panicked enough to attempt that yet.
He planted his forehead against hers with jarring impact, what was he going to do to her?
'I need to know what she has done to you, even if I must take that by force.'
She felt her head splitting open, her defences torn asunder and violated in a way she had never thought possible. This caring man had transformed into a monstrous creature sucking away at the insides of her head. She watched as fleeting memories rose
and fell in the churning pools of thought, watched as he snatched at them frantically in search of some unknown answer.
All that she thought she knew of him, everything that had once been apparent in spite of her cynicism and weariness was now washed away. The cruelty of it was staggering, her illusions of the man were exposed for the pathetic and vain hopes they had always been. Whatever this thing truly was she knew she had to get away from it.
The overpowering sensation ceased and she found herself lying upon the bed, had he placed her there while defiling her?
'I cannot see anything, I cannot find what was done to you. Her webs are too strong, even for me.'
She wasn't paying attention to his words, she was paralysed by a familiar fear.
He pinned her down mercilessly and whispered almost gently in her ear. 'You are mine now.'
It was the last thing she recalled.
110
Hern
Although they had split up, Hern could still send messages to Re'tak if necessary. Relative silence was maintained in spite of this so as not to break their concentration on the task at hand.
He had no doubts about the monumental effort that would be required to do away with the inhabitants of Greyhawk, anything less than perfection would result in his death. He wouldn't have it any other way, if he was incapable of dispatching of the fort with his own hands then he had no business returning to Je'dara to challenge the masters.
It felt uncomfortably like testing a muscle that had just recovered. Hern felt like he had been fully healed but could he trust to Re'tak's mysterious methods? What if his strength should give way at the key moment?
He pondered over their plan and the potential shortcomings as he made his way inside the fort unopposed.
Upon hearing the approaching footsteps Hern compartmentalised his roving mind and heightened his senses in concentration. There was only one guard, possibly coming to relieve the other of a long shift. Hern was getting rusty, he didn't usually let humanising thoughts slip out like that, it had been too long since his last sanctioned exhumation.
It was fairly routine in the end, the guard was never going to suspect an intruder and the element of surprise combined with a well-timed chop saw the man sprawling to the ground. Hern took his short sword and broke his neck, deciding not to try and hide the body. Nobody would be alive in the morning to stumble upon it.
He proceeded down the corridor and gently pushed open the next door he came across, sneaking into the pitch darkness and straining his ears. Nothing, not a trace of breathing.
Hern smiled to himself, he had started his murderous rampage by attacking a storage room.
The next door he came across was locked from the inside, apparently whoever made this dusty corner their abode had a healthy mistrust for their fellow man.
He worked his fingers around the edges of the door, as he suspected they had decided not to tightly fit it to the frame. Whoever had placed these doors had done so long after the original construction of the fort, they were ill-suited to preventing his entrance.
A quiet bit of blade work coaxed the bolt from the door in gentle increments, he pushed the head of it down and slipped inside.
There were three bodies inside, all of them soundly asleep from the patterns of their breathing. It was too easy, they lay together in a tangled embrace as if their arms could protect each other from the terrors of the night.
A deft stroke from his blade cut open the throat of the first. By the time the third man was starting to wake the other two lay dying in welling pools of blood. He had no chance to utter a cry before he joined them in their fate. Hern relieved the man of his armament, he would not need the knife any longer.
Carefully shutting the door behind him, Hern proceeded to the next one. This room contained four men, much the same as before. There was a certain monotony as this time Hern utilised both blades in the same manner as before, slicing open the throats of the outer two before proceeding with the inner victims. Again there were no cries beyond a faint gurgling that would have been imperceptible to the unfortunate residents of the next room.
This was the grunt work, the sheer numbers of men that Dyson had promoted to the position of guard made Hern's task harder. These men slept together and if there were even larger domiciles Hern would struggle to deal with all of them without the inevitable cries raising suspicion.
The next room was unlocked and contained only one person, this doubled his caution. Anything that seemed out of the ordinary warranted immediate suspicion, it was how someone in his line of work stayed alive.
He slipped in under a shroud of darkness, patiently listening to the sounds of the man breathing. It was entirely natural if a bit congested, at least the element of surprise was still his. A single dispatch and he would be on his way.
Leaning forward to make the quick incision he was startled as the man's arm shot out and gripped his knife hand with crushing strength. He blocked out the pain and brought the second blade across in a broader stroke than he had intended. Patiently he waited for the man's fingers to lease their hold as the blood poured out of him, he could smell the coppery tang of it in the dark.
Flexing his numb fingers, he retrieved his fallen blade and redoubled his efforts at caution. If one man could cause him such shock then what would those better-trained than he manage to do in a struggle?
The self-imposed state of focus that the conflict had jogged him out of was reinforced, he became detached from the emotions and worries that pervaded his every thought. There was only the action and the consequence that required dealing with. If the action was correct in execution then there would be no consequence to concern himself with. The cold logic struck at the heart of what he was attempting, it nullified his doubts and fears and insecurities. They could impose themselves only upon the ending of his endeavours, they would betray him otherwise.
Another room with four men, another four throats cut. Two men, three men, then the final room of that particular section of the fort.
The door was unlocked, inside there were numerous breathing sounds. Hern edged his way in and let his eyes grow accustomed to the darkness as he listened.
There were at least seven of them, possibly more, he'd need to scout around the perimeter of the room to be certain. The efficacy of his previous technique had come to an end, this presented an entirely new challenge.
With the limited light from the window as his guide, he evenly stepped across the room, timing his movements with the heavier breathing to mask them.
A man rose from the near side of the room, then another. They stood there facing him in the darkness, fully aware of his presence.
'Lights.' called one of them. A lantern was produced and Hern had chance to see the room he had entered.
His instincts had served him correctly, there were seven of them and they were all facing him now in various states of grogginess.
'You are armed,' the man said to him. 'State your purpose here before we call the guards.'
It was in that simple statement that Hern's mind began to race. This man would not refer to the guards in third person if he counted himself amongst them, it would appear that these men were slaves.
'I am Hern,' he said. 'I came here to kill you, it appears I don't need to.'
'You were the one that fought The Hermit in the arena, the one that talks to lizards,' another one of the men said. Hern had been recognised, from the tone of the man's voice it didn't sound like a positive development so he chose to ignore it.
'You are not guards, I have no quarrel with you. The rest of the men on your floor are dead, I plan to continue killing men until I come to Dyson. Do you really object to that?'
The man's eyes narrowed, he seemed to be the leader of the group.
'We are B-Company, what's in it for us?'
The potential reason came to him as quickly. 'I will kill the guards and the members of A-company. You will assume control of Greyhawk to whatever end you please. You may want to consider
ambushing the Urtaka pulling the cage and ride back to the Empire.'
He let the offer hang in the air, if these men were B-Company then their life still wasn't worth living in this terrible place. He just hoped they'd snap up the opportunity.
They all seemed to look to this battered man that was speaking on their behalf, he seemed a leader of sorts. The silence as he measured up Hern was palpable, he couldn't risk cutting off his emotional reception lest he come across as untrustworthy at this crucial moment.
'If you can kill A-Company and the rest of the guards, what's to say you won't come back for us?'
He smiled back at B-Company's leader in what he hoped was a reassuring way, he sensed great mistrust coming off him in waves but it had been dampened by the hope that still lay in the man's heart. He need just dangle it a little closer.
'Should I succeed I will mount my lizard and ride off never to bother you again, killing Dyson and his cronies is a matter of honour to me, there is no honour in killing slaves.'
He worried that his use of the word slave may turn them sour, there was a resignation in his voice when he had said it, many of them had caught that.
The man smiled back at him. 'Come back here covered in blood, then we'll talk.'
Hern nodded, he'd come back and kill them later.
111
Jimmy
He froze at the sound of his door opening, turning in his makeshift bed so as to confirm it wasn't his imagination, a small trickle of light bled into the room and then the door shut. The resulting noise was barely audible, someone clearly didn't want Jimmy to know they were there.
Anxiety gripped him as he listened to the man breathing, he tried his best to mimic sleep without knowing why. The intruder took a quiet step forward, causing Jimmy's heart to leap.
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