Death Or Fortune

by James Chesney

  “Yes, it appears to be flawless. It will serve as a fitting vessel for my soul. Now tell me what you really want on this night.”

  “I saw it, The Rod of the Arcane! It was close to me, I could have had it if not for the fools who follow me. They have held me back for the last time master. I know where it is at now, I know how we can find it. It was hidden in Eystlund, the fools there were looking for a way to destroy it. Instead of using it for the power. Cowards, the lot of them. Come with me master, we can take the rod for ourselves and destroy anyone in our path.” When the mage finished both his hands were on the table, bent over at the waist. Senjin could see the lust in his student’s eyes. It was something he understood very well.

  “What is to stop you from destroying me with it as well? I know what the rod is able to do in the right hands. While I doubt you have the power to control it in full, you have the gift and desire. You would learn the control over time. Once you learn to unshackle the rod, there isn’t anything that could stop you.”

  “Don’t you see, together we could rule! From coast to coast, they would all answer to us. Answer to our power. Soon, the entire world would answer to our power. Not overnight but we could sunder the ground we stand on now and rule this kingdom to start. Then make an army out of the men, women and children we just destroyed. We would be gods.”

  “Hetaron my boy, you still have not answered my question. What will stop you from turning on me or from me turning on you for that matter?” The fact that Hetaron stopped to think on his answer convinced him that while they may work together in this, betrayal was on each other’s mind.

  “A death pact, binding our souls. Should one of us die by the others hand, it would destroy us both. It would take some time to do the spell research but I know it has been done in the past.”

  “This is a dangerous thing, yet I do not believe you care about the danger. You only care for the power, great things we will do, yes many great things. There is one last thing, you will have to kill your friend. He will try to stop you.”

  “He is nothing; he would be nothing without me. He would have died a long time ago if not for me. I can crush him any time I wish, we have nothing to fear from Darmot Kromwell.”

  “Very well, I will take your word for it. I will begin to prepare for the journey. We will leave in three weeks. That should be more than enough time for you to finish your research on the spell for us and I want you to find someone to guard our sleep. Someone who will obey commands for coin. Without question.”

  Hetaron took three steps back from the table and bowed deeply to his master. Three weeks was more than enough time. Time to find the rod, time to make the spell, time to find a replacement for that fool Kromwell. He would not understand what the mage was trying to do. He would only stand in the way. No one was going to stand in his way anymore. Not the priest, not the halfling and for sure not Kromwell.

  43. Betrayal

  I spent my first full day back in Arcadia busy. Between meeting with King Roderick, visiting the lumber camps on my property and going over everything I had missed in the last two months I did not have time for anything else. I informed Roderick that I had been asked to join a group of others to retrieve the rod of the arcane. While he did not understand why I felt the need to put myself into the path of danger once again he gave me his blessing and wished me luck. As I was leaving he asked me if that is why Hetaron had asked to see him the following day. I told him that it was possible. I had not spoken to the wizard since we had arrived back in town. When he asked me when I planned to leave, I told him in just two days.

  On my way out of the castle that day I ran into my friend Captain Turk. He had already heard of my victory in Eystlund and the dragon attack. I've never questioned how he knew these things after the attack by the Messiah he build a very impressive and very loyal spy network. We have learned our lessons from the civil war. I help the kingdom fund it today. Our men could be found in just about any nation on Atalanxia. They all have normal lives yet if they see any sign of threat to our nation they can contact home in a matter of moments with the use of a magic device created by one of the court wizards. I spent far too much time speaking with Turk, I had to ride out to the loggers camp before it got too late in the day.

  While at the camp I spoke with Foreman Kaffis. He runs the day to day operations of the camp and files reports with Charles each night. Since the dragon attack production had slowed down for a time but they were now well ahead of schedule. I made a mental note to have Charles give the men a bonus. I made it back to the city limits just an hour after sun down. I stopped by the Red Dragon Inn to see how things were going only to find that Pare had passed out drunk. I picked him up and took him home with me. I would need to speak with him the following day and did not have time to search the town for him should he leave before I woke up in the morning. We passed the temple of Solarth on the way home from the inn and there was for the first time in my memory a guard at the front gate. When I asked just what was going on he told me that there was some kind of rites being performed and they were not to be interrupted. I just shook my head and took my now semi-awake and babbling halfling home.

  The next morning I started my day like many before and many since. Yet during the course of the day, the way I see the world changed. I fear not for the better. I took a little meeting with a hung over halfling. I gave him all the information he would need while I was gone. I made sure to tell him if he needed anything to go see Turk. After that I found my friend, now Bishop Hans in my kitchen. While it crushed me to know that his days of adventuring with me were now at an end, I was happy for him. He also brought me a gift that morning. "This will help protect you from the undead. I remember what that place is like. If you do not move fast, they will notice you and seek you out. This will grant you some protection but not as much as I would like." I thanked him from the bottom of my heart and embraced him as my brother.

  It was well past afternoon by the time I arrived at Hetaron's home. As his single servant led me to the room where he was working I noticed that most of the house was not being used. He had no use for it. He had a study and a bedroom that he used, nothing more. I was in a good mood when I arrived there. I was honestly looking forward to going on a real adventure. Doing something that mattered besides just beating the hell out of people for the fun of it. Not that it was going to be easy. As I stood in Hetaron's study I watched him work on something in his spell book. I knew well enough not to speak until he was ready. I stood there in silence, thinking about the things we would need on the road, how many rations we would need until we hit Klassen. Once there we would re-supply and carry on with the others. When I watched him close his spell book I saw a look in his eye I had not seen before or perhaps it had been there all along.

  "There are still people who want you dead Kromwell, yet you go about town with no armor or weapon. Is that wise?" I gave him a slight chuckle, there are hundreds of people who would kill me. I then told him that I refused to live in fear. "Yet you should have fear. Fear has kept you alive this long. Fear and myself that is. Do you know how many times you would have died if not for me?" I had seen these rants before. I just nodded and said that yes, I owed him my life several times over. Just as he owed me his. As powerful as he is, he has his limits. When the magic was gone, I was there to protect him. To guard his sleep, to guard his life. "Baaaa, I owe you nothing. I owe nothing to anyone. When I claim the Rod of the Arcane for myself, all who live will owe me. It will be by my whim that they live. All who wish to go on as they are now will pay tribute to me. Those who refuse will suffer and face complete annihilation." I then made perhaps my greatest mistake. I laughed at him and told him to be serious, we had plans to make.

  When I saw the magical energy form around his hand I was sure he had lost his mind. As the spell hit me I was blown back from where I stood into the door behind me. I looked down at my chest, my shirt was destroyed. Only the light chain mail I wore under kept me whole. It did not stop the pain tho
ugh. "Is this serious enough Darmot? You have never taken me seriously. You do not understand that in this pair, our group I am most powerful. You all owe me. The only reason I do not kill you now is this, you have saved me. I am not blind to that. After today, I owe you nothing. When I return with the rod I will start with this kingdom. I will be king of Arcadia, the other Lords and the king himself will fall to me. Then I will take the other sister kingdoms, from there the entire world. They will all bow to me or they will burn. Leave now, next time I see you, you will die Kromwell." I wanted to break him in half. I knew he could kill me before I got to him yet I didn’t care.

  I opened the door behind me and started to leave. I took one last look at the face of my friend. The Hetaron I knew was dead, this was a whole new being, a whole new threat. I told him good-bye and closed the door. Once I was in the open air I began to get sick. I could feel his knife in my back, twisting its way into my heart. When I began to vomit I was given a few strange looks. I was nearly out of breath and the pain of it was the only thing that kept me awake. I mounted my horse and rode home. The pain of every word, coming back to me. Then it dawned on me. I could not let him do this. I had to find a way to stop him. No one else could do it, it had to be me. I was not sure how I was going to do it until I arrived back home that night.

  I sat in my office alone and in the dark. When Charles came in and told me that I had a visitor I did not move or speak. He had started to leave the room, to send them away when I spoke up. I just asked him who it was, not caring who it was, yet at the same time I had to know. "She said her name is Cynthia my lord." I looked out my office window and thanked whatever god was watching over me at the time and told Charles to show her in. I lit a single candle and placed it on the desk, just off to the side. She was dressed the same as the last time I had seen her. Tight fitting leather, dark colors with a light cloak, the hood was resting on her shoulders, her long hair was hanging down. I could see the light of the candle reflect off her blue eyes. "Very well my lord, I am here. How are you going to make it up to me? You cost me a lot of money, this better be good." I looked her in the eyes and tilted my head just to the side. I just asked her how much she lost.

  "Thirty thousand gold." She told me. I then stood up at my desk and moved around to the side and called towards the office door, knowing Charles wasn't far away. When he poked his head in and told him to head down to the vault and to come back with the gold, I knew he had been listening to every word. 'Are you sure that is such a good idea sir?' I just looked at him and sent him on his way. When I turned around to face her again she was standing, very close to me. "All that money and you are not even going to make me work for it?" I then told her that it was just a down payment, that in total she could make more than a hundred thousand gold if she did what I was about to ask her to do. She slipped an arm around my waist and pulled me close to her. "Give me another thirty and make me your wife." I stepped back from her and for the first time since I left Hetaron I had a smile on my face.

  I told her that I already had a wife that I loved very much. "Fine, make me your mistress. I know she won't do the things to you I will." I just shook my head and told her that if she did what I asked, we would talk about other work but more than that was out of the question. She just nodded her head at me and said we shall see about that. "Now, what is the job." I could hear Charles coming up the hall, I returned to my spot behind my desk and sat down. He set down a small chest filled with gems and platinum coins. After he left the room I asked her if she remembered my friend the wizard who I was in Eystlund with. She said yes. I then told her I wanted her to kill Hetaron for me. It wouldn't be easy but for the greater good it had to be done. She stood up, dumped the contents of my chest into a bag. "It will be done and when I am finished, you will be mine." With that she walked from my office and left my home.

  44. Dusk

  I spent the next day getting ready to leave, spending as much time with Jasmin as I could. Yet my mind was elsewhere. The incident with Hetaron had left me numb. Nothing felt right. I stood looking at the equipment I had to pack. Most of it I could set aside as it was all things I carried for Hetaron. He never had a mind for what to do on the road. He always seemed to forget the simple things. Things he never thought of until we needed them, yet he carried dozens of things we never needed. I was always happy to carry his share. As I started to close up my pack I noticed the bottle of potion I had used on my items during the tournament in Eystlund. I was not sure why I packed that away but I figured it may come in handy at some point.

  Once I was finished packing, I was ready to leave. Yet I told Jasmin that I would not leave until after dark so we could spend the day together. My mind was on everything except for her. I was like a coiled snake ready to strike. I did not relax until I was putting my armor on and getting ready to mount my horse. I gave my wife one last kiss and started to ride away. I looked back at the house one last time, seeing Pare hang out of his bedroom window by a rope. Both feet firmly planted on the wall under his window he was yelling as loud as he could, waving good bye. I often wonder if I had made a mistake leaving him behind yet I know how hard the trip would have been on him. Not even the trip itself but how it all ended. It may have been more than his little heart could take. As I charged out the gate of my estate I put my head down and just tried to enjoy the night ride. I was three days away from Klassen if I rode all night and the next day.

  The first night passed without incident, stopping only to water my horse. The city fell behind me and soon it was nothing but open road ahead of me. While I was in a hurry I did not want to abuse my mount or risk her breaking a leg. A little past noon the next day I passed the last manned out post that stood on the border of the capital city. Sgt. Cartwright, was in charge of the post. I had met him after the war on the field sorting out the dead. He told me that it was a hard road between there and the next town. "If you stop to make camp over night, I wouldn't make much of a fire. There are more than a few bandits who would love to knock you over for all that tin you have on." I gave him a little laugh and told him that they were welcome to try. I took his warning a little too lightly. Something about being there on the road again made me forget the troubles that were behind me and the danger ahead of me. Some of it was much closer than I had realized.

  As the sun started to set to the west of me, I started looking for a place to sleep for the night. There was a dense wood on the east side of the road I was on. It was a good hundred yards off the road but it would be a good place to hide. While I was not worried about Sgt. Cartwright's bandits, I wasn't about to lay myself in front of them. As I moved into the tree line I looked above me for spider webs or any other beast that may make a home in the tree tops. Once I was sure I wouldn't have anything large pounce on Emily and I during the night I tied her to a tree and started to feed and water her. Emily is my horse, she has served me well for many years now and I hope many more to come. Once I took all my gear off her back and brushed her down I took out some snare lines. While I had plenty of rations to last me, if I could find fresh meat the rations would last me all that much longer.

  Once I had three snares set around the area I went back to Emily and backed myself into a tree to rest for a few hours. Other than the sound of nature and my horse chewing it was quiet. I almost fell into a deeper sleep that I am used to when on the road. It is a dangerous thing to do when you are alone. When I closed my eyes the western sky was on fire with the sun setting in the distance, when I opened them I could see The Eye of Myrrdin hanging high and full in the sky. I knew then that I had been sleeping for four or five hours, maybe more. I stood up and started to work the stiffness out of my body that had gathered there over night. I only had a couple more hours to rest before the sun would start to come up again. Then I heard a noise, odds are it was the same noise that had woke me up. Something had found its way in to one of my snares. A quick check of the area showed that I had caught not just one but two thing’s.

  The first was a large fat r
abbit. When the snare caught it, it slipped around its neck breaking it quickly. The second thing I found wasn't so nice. I could hear him grunting, trying to break free. When I found the young goblin he was hanging from one foot swinging back and forth on the snare line, trying to reach one of the weapons he had dropped onto the forest floor. When he saw me he did not scream, growl or anything else I would have expected from a goblin. Instead he spoke in common, 'Help Trull?' I looked at the creature; he could not have been more than a few years old. 'Please help Trull, Mistress be very angry if I don't come home soon.' I looked at the odd creature, sword in hand yet he showed no fear. I asked him who his mistress was. 'Mistress is Mistress, help Trull now. Trull bring weeds for Mistress, Mistress very sick, need weeds.' I looked down at the ground and saw next to an old tin blade was a bundle of plants all in a sack. Any other time I may have gutted the creature but I saw no profit in this. There was no challenge and for some reason I was fascinated by Trull.

  I lowered the young goblin to the ground and watched as he grabbed his little knife and cut himself free. He then got up, grabbed his bag and started to run off. I called to him to stop, drawing my sword. He just looked back and told me to come. I followed him for a good half hour before we got to the clearing. It looked to be an old farm house. Part of the roof had caved in but the stone walls were strong and still standing. Trull waited for me at the door, waving for me to hurry. I could see fire light inside as soon as I got close Trull opened the door and ran inside, screaming 'Mistress I back, bring friend.' I looked in the door to just in time to see the little goblin drop the bag of herbs in the middle of the floor and jump up into the lap of an old human woman. I stood just inside the door way, watching the two hug each other. The woman looked at me with hard eyes, looking from my face to my hand. I was not about to put my sword away, not yet.