Merentha: Armageddon Prologue Chapter 2  |
Chapter One.....The storm that had spent the afternoon building over the North Altean Sea had long since settled over the city of Jewels as Gathil paced along the docks. He peered into the blackness muttering softly to himself. A flash of lightning shed an eerie glow on the forest of masts. Just beyond the mouth of the harbor, he could make out the shape of a ship under full sail, and then the blackness enveloped it once more. .....A second flash allowed him another quick glimpse. A small dinghy was being lowered over the side of the ship with two figures hunched in it; both wore large black cloaks to ward off the rain. The light vanished again and Gathil cursed, pulling his own hood further up over his head. .....Only a week ago he had gone on a hunting trip into the mountains north of the town and found the pigeon lying in the grass, shot through the heart with an arrow. It had been pure coincidence that he had stumbled upon the thing, or the message it carried: There are those who would not have us together. Take care. .....Written on a scrap of parchment in Cory's script. Anyone reading the message would see little of value in it. The Last Dragon was a restaurant in Lanerell, a town far to the south of Jewel. Gathil had seen the hidden message and now he was here. One of two people who knew that Cory was coming home. ....."Hail the docks!" ....."Hail!" Gathil shouted. There was a soft thud as the dinghy impacted with the beach. Gathil squinted into the night. Cory jumped out of the dinghy and shook like a large dog slinging water in all directions. Then again, Gathil had seen dogs as large as Cory. The Topaz Knight was not quite a meter at the horse shoulder, his head hardly half a meter above that. .....The other was shrouded so deeply in the shadows of his hood that Gathil couldn't see the face. Gathil bowed and Cory responded with a nod. "We found your pigeon in the mountains, dead, an arrow through the chest. What's this about 'Those that would not have us together?'" Cory glanced nervously towards the cloaked figure and Gathil quickly changed the subject. "The Queen sent me to meet with you. She's waiting in her chambers." .....Simoriah paced her study as if the walking could calm the quivering feeling in her stomach. Instead of her usual armor, she wore a red satin dress, a wedding present from an old friend. That thought made her stomach tighten and she quickly banished it from her mind. She idly fingered the hilt of her sword, because she was a Jeweled Knight as well as a Queen she was entitled to wear a sword, even at diplomatic functions. .....A knock at the door caused her to jump. Cursing silently she snatched the golden crown off her desk and sat it firmly in her hair. "Come in." Perhaps it was a servant paying a late night visit to ask if she needed anything. When would the palace staff learn she could take care of herself? .....The door creaked loudly as it opened and two men stepped into the room. She recognized Cory instantly, despite the hood of his cloak which was pulled forward to hide his face. The other man was taller, though that said little when she was comparing him to a centaur whose head barely came up to her shoulder. His face was totally hidden in the shadows of the hood. Was that a muzzle? She forced herself not to squint. .....Cory dropped to his knees and lowered his head, a gesture of submission among the centaurs of his clan. The other bowed more normally, but not an inch more than was necessary when greeting someone of her status. She studied him closely. ....."My Queen, this is Eol, of the Kingdom Hiemelia." Cory said formally. Simoriah tried not to beam. If Hiemelia had sent an ambassador to meet with her perhaps, they were ready to sign a treaty of some sort. Cory's time in the north had not been spent in vain. .....Eol threw back his hood revealing the face of a gnoll, an almost dog-like face. "I have come to discuss your offer." ....."The northlands are in turmoil, civil war has broken out among the factions." Cory was saying. "King Erp tries to hold the kingdom together, I hope he will succeed. Hiemelia would be a great loss in this time of trouble." .....Simoriah nodded thoughtfully. The gnoll called Eol had long since departed, his ship on the sea heading into the north. A treaty bearing her signature was the cargo of that ship and she meant to make sure it returned to the north in one piece. Four Jewelian Corvettes flanked the treaty ship so they would never be seen, but close enough to respond if the Hiemelian vessel was harried. "What other news?" She asked. .....Cory shrugged. "I heard rumors that some of the dragons have broken away from Hiemelia. If this is true it leaves them severely weakened." After a pause, he added. "What's new in the south?" ....."An Asmar invasion fleet anchored off the East Coast of Haven for starters." Simoriah replied. "We got an envoy today requesting our aid, I assume the other kingdoms received a similar request." .....Cory shuddered. He had been among the first to uncover a sinister plot by the Asmar almost a year ago that would have destroyed Atheria had it succeeded. Luckily, an invasion force launched at Asmar had subdued that mischief. "I suppose you want me to go then?" .....Simoriah nodded. "If the Asmar take Haven we will need someone with your skills in place. There is no need to tell you a mission like this will be dangerous." ....."No rest for the weary." Cory replied softly. "When do I leave?" ....."Rijer and Miaka will be leaving in the morning." .....Cory bowed his head once more and stood. "It has been a long time since I have seen this place, and longer yet till I see it again. I must go now." Simoriah nodded as he trotted out the door and down the tower stairs. .....Stifling a yawn, she shuffled some papers around on her desk, but she had too much to think about to do paperwork. Sighing she walked back deeper into her suite and out onto the large balcony that looked off across the entire City of Jewels. She could see Cory trotting across the courtyard and taking the street that led to the temple. He went there often though she didn't know why, and tonight when he needed to be sleeping the most. .....Yawning again Simoriah decided that she could use some sleep herself. Turning to go back inside she saw a man standing in the doorway that led back to her rooms, a very large man. ....."What do you want?" She snapped. "Don't you know how to knock?" .....The man just starred at her and then a huge grin appeared on his face. Without warning the brute produced a dagger and lunged. Shouting Simoriah reached for her sword and twisted aside to avoid the dagger. .....The assassin wheeled and slashed her arm drawing blood. Her sword caught the creature in his thigh and he grunted. Cursing flimsy decorative swords she leapt into the air and landed a flying drop kick against the monster's chest slamming him back into the balcony railing. .....He flailed wildly with the dagger as she kicked him again and then with a swift sidekick swept him threw the railing. She watched him fall screaming into the rocks below and snorted. She had been lucky she knew. The creature had seen her as a woman and had forgotten that she was a Knight as well. .....Who would send an assassin after her? She glanced over the railing at the man's twisted body impaled on a spire and grunted. Few men grew that large. She would bet all the jewels in Jewel that he was an Asmar. Yes, the Asma--- Simoriah collapsed on the balcony in a pool of crimson. .....The great monastery of the Jeweled City was quite a sight even when one had seen it a hundred times before. Everything seemed to glitter and shine in the light cast by the few lit torches. The monks had long since retired to their rest. .....Rijer entered with the first gray light of dawn. He glanced around nervously searching for Cory. At the far end of the monastery a huge dragon statue stood, made of pure gold, scaled with the finest details, with large emeralds for eyes and smaller gems glistening all over. Rijer blinked hoping to dispel the glow that came from those scales. .....Cory knelt before the dragon, head down in submission, starring at nothing. Rijer snorted. He had found his friend here often, though the why was a mystery. Rijer's hooves made loud clopping sounds on the stone floor, but Cory didn't look up. Rijer stopped to examine him for a moment. .....Cory wore a dark green cloak over his black chain mail and his usually topaz horse blanket had been replaced with a darker green one. Rijer couldn't make out the emblem stitched over Cory's flank, but he knew from past experience that it was a strange red boar charging towards an unseen target. .....Rijer stopped a few paces away from him wondering how to bring his friend out of this trance. He had almost decided to call for a healer when Cory muttered something under his breath. Rijer strained to make out the words but couldn't. ....."I will serve and obey." Cory said loudly. He stood and blinked seeing Rijer. "Is it dawn already friend?" .....Rijer glanced at the light beginning to show through the windows. "Long past." He replied trying desperately to determine what was going on. "Miaka is probably waiting for us." ....."I wish you would be quiet." Cory muttered causing Rijer to start. "Not you." Cory continued. "Runt. Runt is raving again." .....Rijer frowned and glanced at the windows. "Who's Runt?" .....Cory sighed deeply. "I went into the diplomatic corps to get away from him. I thought..." Cory shook his head. "You don't know? About Runt?" Cory laughed. "No you don't do you? I never told anyone." .....Rijer shifted nervously on his back hooves. Cory had never acted like this before, at least not when he was around. .....Cory laughed again. "You remember when I became a centaur?" .....Rijer nodded. Cory been a human once, long ago, but an annoying giant had managed to take him out. "A nice dragon named Alonzo resurrected you." ....."Nice dragon." Cory was laughing harder. "They just didn't want to let me off so lightly. They found this body." Cory pointed at himself. "It was a runt but it was the only dead centaur they could find. So they used it." .....Rijer wondered what Cory meant by letting him off lightly. Questions could wait though. His friend had finally opened up. He was talking about things he had never spoken about with anyone. ....."Only I wasn't dead." Cory laughed again and then frowned. "He wasn't dead. He was in a deep coma and when they resurrected me, he came back. He is a lunatic Rijer. A raving, insane, blood-thirsty, savage and he's in here." Cory tapped the side of his head. "In here, with me, all the time. He goes crazy in combat. Sometimes he even manages to take control, for a time at least. It's sickening the things he does." .....Rijer frowned and wondered if they really needed a healer. Abbess might know what to do. He would speak to her when they got back. "We need to go. Miaka is probably throwing fits by now." .....Cory starred at the dragon for a moment muttering and then seemed to become his old self once more. "Yes, yes. The mission." With a final glance at the dragon statue, Cory followed Rijer outside. .....Miaka was waiting for them in the square. "Finally." She snapped as they entered. "I thought you two had chickened out." .....Cory muttered something causing Rijer to glance at him. Was he even fit to be going to Haven with them? What was that mission he'd talked about? Sighing Rijer dug around in his pack until he found a small rolled up scroll with the word "Haven" written on the outside. .....He unrolled the scroll and read the magical words inscribed on it. The scroll vanished in his hands as a large circular portal appeared in the air before them. Before he even realized the portal was large enough Cory leapt through and Miaka followed. Frowning, Rijer hoped the Asmar wouldn't hack them up before he could get there, as if Cory couldn't take care of himself. .....Could he? A small part of his mind asked. What if there really is something wrong with him? What if that insane story about the centaur called Runt was true? What was that about missions? And that the dragons were letting him off lightly in death. There were far too many What's in those thoughts. .....Sighing, Rijer trotted through the portal as it closed. .....The first rays of the sun broke through the gray of dawn and shone down brightly on a pair of imps riding along a sun-baked plain. The leader was vastly over-weight for an imp, though that would hardly be 50 pounds. He wore a kilt of fine chain mail and a bulky blue robe of the magi marking him as a sorcerer. His skin was a strange olive color and large horns sprouted out from the sides of his head, very big horns for an imp. .....The other was a good deal smaller in the waist, though taller than the first. His horns were painted bright blue to match his robes. His large bat-like wings flapped in irritation. "You know that the reverse polarization of a well formed mind-surge is sufficient to obliterate even the most vexatious creatures." .....The fat imp snorted. "Do you even know the meaning of those big words you spout off or do you just string them together so they sound pretty." .....Richard Nixon glared at the back of Outlook. "Of course I know what they mean! If you weren't such an idiot you would know what they mean as well!" ....."Richie you're a miserable, rotund, bog-trotting, witless, lummox!" Outlook spat. ....."You've been studying your thesaurus again eh?" Richard laughed. He changed the subject rather quickly when Outlook returned the glare. "Where is this city you were talking about. We have been here for days already and I haven't seen a thing. This sun is driving me mad." .....Outlook stopped for a moment and glanced around. Off to the west he could make out a huge stone carved to look like a man starring out to sea. To the east, a vast expanse of prairie and to the north a large dust cloud. "Horsemen coming." He said. "At least a dozen." .....Richard muttered a few words and a glowing shield formed around him. Outlook did the same, though his shield was several times brighter than Richard's. Both imps drew staves from their bedrolls and waited. .....Twelve huge men on shaggy horses burst into sight coming strait towards them. "Get ready." Outlook said. "And if things get too bad run. You can't take much of this." Richard nodded. .....At five hundred paces, all twelve horsemen's skin began to crack. Purple fire shot through their wounds tearing new gaps. A second wave of purple fires followed. ....."They're closing too fast!" Richard shouted steadying his horse. More purple fires ripped through the men and then the wave of horsemen washed over them. Richard's horse screamed as the first blue waves of psychic arrows began to fly. One of the horsemen swung at Richard with a sword tearing his right wing. Screaming Richard pointed at the man whose body began to spasm uncontrollably. Blue ripples slammed into the Asmar dropping him to the ground. .....They were all bleeding from thousands of small wounds caused by Outlook's annihilation spell, but on they came, six to one. Richard shot psychic arrows until he felt that his mind would explode. .....Outlook bashed an Asmar over the head with his Flaming Staff throwing it down. Two more Asmar took its place slashing imp and horse. Outlook slammed his staff down on one of their heads and blasted the other with a psychic arrow. Blood spewed from his shoulder where his left wing had once been. Screaming in agony, he ripped off another annihilation spell. .....Richard came into his field of vision, blood pouring down his face, pursuing an Asmar beating it with his staff. A second Asmar slammed into the horse knocking it over and throwing Richard off. .....Both Asmars converged on him with their swords. Outlook flinched and crushed an Asmar's skull with his staff. Purple fire tore through the remaining Asmar killing a few. There were still too many. The Asmar attacking him whirled bringing its sword down hard on his thigh. The sword shattered when it encountered the kilt. Grinning Outlook kicked the Asmar in the face. .....One of the Asmars attacking Richard exploded in a brilliant blue fireball slinging limbs across the battlefield. The remaining Asmar fled with Outlook's annihilation tearing at their flesh. He saw another go down before they vanished. .....The feral grin on Richard's face was almost enough to make him wish the Asmar were still there as the other struggled to his feet, blood staining his blue robes black. "I told you that a reversed polarity mind-surge works wonders." Outlook grunted and he changed the subject. "I think we've seen enough of your Asmar for awhile. You can stay if you want but I'm going home." .....Outlook nodded thoughtfully and began opening a gateway. King Swiftblade would not be pleased with their report, but he wasn't planning on staying here any longer. They had seen enough to know that most of the Asmar soldiers were either in the city or gone, but where had they gone? Perhaps someone else had found something. Meanwhile halfway across the world someone else was finding something: .....Abbess wandered into the kitchens whistling to herself. She smiled at the cooks and selected a pastry from the tray waiting to be taken out to the dining hall for the Knight's breakfast. ....."Have you seen the Queen this morning?" The cook asked. .....Abbess shook her head. "She hasn't come down yet?" ....."Maybe she is sick," the cook replied. "I will send someone up with her food." ....."I'll go." Abbess replied. "If she's caught something I can help her." .....The cook nodded and motioned towards the tray containing Simoriah's breakfast. Smiling Abbess took the tray and started up stairs. Simmy had probably celebrated something a little too strongly. She did that sometimes. Abbess checked her pockets to make sure she had some of her hangover remedy ready. .....She stopped at Simmy's door and knocked. There was no answer. She knocked again. No sound came from the other side. Maybe Simmy was sleeping. Abbess pushed the door open quietly and went inside. There was no sign of the Queen in the entrance chamber. .....Still whistling Abbess walked deeper into the suite. As she entered Simmy's sleeping chambers she gasp and dropped the tray causing it to clatter loudly on the stones. The Queen lay on her balcony at the center of a large crimson pool. Gasping, Abbess ran over, knelt to take her pulse and breathed a sigh of relief when she felt a slow but steady pounding. 
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