Death Or Fortune (11 page)

     We stood
there at the opening of the tunnel for what seemed to be an eternity.
 Waiting for some sign from the other group.  Once it was clear that
they were really leaving I turned to Hetaron and asked the question we all had
on our minds. "
Who is Lakarus and what do you know about him
?"
For the first time I can remember Hetaron had nothing smart to say. At first he
did not say anything at all.  He just stood there, looking at his hand
wrapped around his staff as if it was going to meld with it at some point.
 I looked to the rest of my friends, who stood by my side, waiting
quietly.  Well truth be told Pare was poking around in what was left of
the troll.  I am sure he was paying attention though.
    
"I know you have not seen it but there is a
dark side to this land. Arcadia has its shadows and there are people who live
in them. There are more than a few people who are not pleased with what we did
Darmot. There are still a few people who are loyal to this Messiah. A week ago,
my master told me that he had a visit from this Lakarus.  Said he wanted
to kill me, he informed my master of this out of some kind of twisted
logic.  My master was fine with it as he seems to believe that it will be
a good test for me. There is a contract out on our heads Kromwell. It would
seem someone is eager to collect mine. You would just be a bonus to him, it is
me that he desires."
I tried to tell Hetaron that everything would be
fine but he would not hear me. He just seemed to pull his head deeper into his
hood. When it seemed he had nothing else to say I just asked Pare if he had
found anything good.
"Nothing good, this cave is a dead end, end of the
line."
     I made a mental note to ask Pare in private what he
had found later.  As we made our way back up the passage we passed a large
pool of blood where we set our trap.  It was very effective to say the
least. We started to explore the rest of the finished areas of the tomb.
Looking for a passage that would lead to the dragon. We found a few more undead
and carrion beast that seem to infest places like that. We found an empty room
that had no dead or anything else in it and figured it would be a good spot to
rest. I could feel something in the air. We were getting close to something, I
could feel the goose bumps on my flesh.  As if we were being drawn towards
something.  I didn’t pay any attention to it until Hetaron said something.
 He was feeling it as well. Hans and Michaels were both immune it would
seem.  Looking back I should have been paying attention to Pare, he was
being quiet.  Pare always has something to say, I should have known that
something wasn't right.

     As we
rested I asked Hetaron if he wanted to abandon what we were doing and deal with
this other group head on.
"They will find us soon enough and he will
find me ready."
The tone of his voice sent a shiver down my spine.
 I kept watch for most of the night.  I wasn't tired, I was feeling
energized and on edge.  To this day I do not know what it was that I was
feeling that night.  As if something had taken hold of me and opened up a
never ending supply of energy.  I could have run home and back in half the
time it would take us by horse.  Everyone else was out cold yet I was on
fire.  I felt as if I was about to jump out of my body.  It is hard
to put to words the feeling I had.  I knew something was coming and my
body would not calm itself.  If I tried to keep up like that today I would
fall over dead before the morning light.  That is just the cost of my old
age.

     I was
awake the entire night.  I could not have rested if I wanted to.
 Once everyone was up and ready I was eager to be moving.  For a
change, Hetaron walked with me at the head of our little line as we made our
way through the old dusty tombs.  Almost guiding me along our path.
 I started to feel a buzzing in my ears.  We were so close, when
Hetaron grabbed my arm I knew we had found it.  He stood looking at the
door, almost drooling at the thoughts of what might be on the other side.
 Had we known what it was, we may have turned away.  All I will say
is this. When I die, I want to stay dead.  I do not desire to see myself
continuing on as some kind of monster.  Why a man would do that to
himself.  It is beyond my ability to understand.  If not for Hans and
Michaels we very well may have spent the next hundred years under the control
of a vampire.  He could feel us in the tomb, was imposing his will on
those of us he could.  Drawing us towards him. As we entered the room my
mind faded to black, seeing nothing.

     Hans was
once again, incredible.  How he could ever question his own faith is
beyond me. Truth be told I do not remember the fight.  The creature was
somehow able to hold me at bay yet he could not stop Hans or Michaels.  He
kept me in a haze, unable to move, see or do anything at all.  When I
could see again the creature was dead and I saw the vast room we were in for
the first time.  I was once again feeling that pull.  Something was
calling out to me. I locked eyes on a large stone sarcophagus and then I could
not look away.  I could hear Hans talking to me, yet I was gone.  I
had to see inside, I could no longer resist.  He said something to me
about warnings, I did not care.
"This room is covered by a foul curse,
we must leave."
I ignored everything he had to say. When Hetaron
started screaming, I just ignored him. To this day I still do not know what
caused it. From what he would tell me, he was locked in a battle of wills, much
like my very own.  I always wondered where he found that staff.

     From the writing
I was able to read on the lid there was a great warrior inside.  I looked
down to see Pare by my side and asked him to help me open the top.  He
just looked at me and said
"Ok Darmot."
By the time we had the
lid open, Hetaron had stopped his screaming.  It was just in time for me
to start my own.  I could feel the evil of this dead warrior, rolling out
of the sarcophagus as water rolls up on the shore.  Perfectly preserved
the warriors face showed the pain of all his evil deeds, in constant torment he
spent his living death.  Encased in obsidian black armor he held a sword
in both hands on his chest. While I know my mouth was screaming, I could not
look away.  When his eyes opened, the world started to fall away. I stood
there at the side of his sarcophagus, seeing all the evil he had committed on
his face yet he was commanding me to do something.  No words were spoken,
just his mind and my own.  Locked in silent combat.  At first he
tried to take control of my body yet something kept him from doing so.
Something else I have Hans to thank for.  I could feel my hand moving. His
voice was in my mind, speaking to me.

    
"Sword"

     I was
slowly sliding my own blade back into its scabbard.

    
"Sword, red death."

     I could
see my hand reaching into the sarcophagus. Many hands tried to stop me but
Hetaron stopped them.  Said that if they tried to interfere that I could
be lost.

    
"Take my sword."

     I saw my
hand grasping the handle of his sword.  He held on for just a moment then
his cold dead hands let go as I pulled the blade out.  My mind and my body
was now my own. The blade was incredible.  It gleamed as if he had kept it
polished during the time he was dead.  I could feel the power of the
blade, the magic of it. I knew what this was for and I would not waste it. We
all stood back as the lid of the sarcophagus began to close all on its own.
 I could not look away from the blade in my hand. It felt as if it was a
part of me now. Just as the lid returned to its resting place one last thought came
to my mind from the old warrior deep inside.

    
"Redemption."

     “I
don't know what just happened and I am sure one day I will find this funny but
that was a little too strange for me."
For once it seemed Pare was
speaking for all of us.  The room held nothing else for us and I knew it
was time to find the dragon.  From the small map Pare had been keeping,
there was only one hall way we had not explored yet, that had to be the way.
 There was no other way if we were going to do this.  Going in the
same way the dragon did was not an option.  If I was going to be eaten, it
was going to be on my feet, not hanging from a rope like some kind of tin
plated treat.  Hetaron also advised that using his carpet was a bad idea,
we all just took his word for it.

     I took one
last look at the sarcophagus before we left the room. I still don't understand
what happened to me, all those years ago. I have never had anything like that
happen to me since, for which I grateful. I looked around to my friends, gave
them all a nod and started to lead us out of the room. Having spent so much
time with Hetaron I knew a thing or two about magic users. I knew what to look
for, knew when a spell was coming. When I saw him standing there at the other
end of the hall I knew who he was right away. An older thin man, showing more
skin on the top of his head than hair, draped in robes of gray and black
holding a thin rod of glass. I could see the men behind him but they did not
matter, what did matter was Lakarus was slowly chanting as he raised his hand
with the rod towards me.

     With every
ounce of strength I could muster I pushed back into the room, yelling for
everyone to get back.  I had just made it back into the room as the
lightning bolt raced down the hall. I slammed the door closed and put my
shoulder against it I knew it wouldn't be long before we had a fight on our
hands.  I looked towards Hetaron whose eyes locked with mine.  No
words were spoken, he just nodded his head and came towards me.
"So he
wants to play with lightning, two can play at this game."
I could hear
men on the other side of the door, weapons were being drawn a single voice
shouting out orders.
"You have made a mistake Lakarus, open the door
Kromwell."
Hetaron was standing right next to the door and I thought
for a moment that he had lost his mind but it was no time to argue.

     I had no
intentions of saving a man’s life at that moment other than my own or my
friends.  As I opened the door an armored man was there, shield in hand
ready to rush into me.  Knowing I had to give Hetaron a little more time I
did the first thing I could think of.  I lifted my right leg and kicked
the shield in front of me as hard as I could.  It had the desired effect
as he was sent flying backwards where he slammed into the opposite wall and
fell to the ground.  He was not touched when Hetaron unleashed his spell.
The man who was next in line however was not that lucky. A solid bolt of
lightning left Hetarons hand and traveled into the hall, bouncing off the wall.
I watched in horror as it bounced back and forth in a zig zag pattern down the
hall, killing half dozen men in the process.  Some of them were hit more
than once.

      I
remember once as a child, my mother had just hired a new girl to cook.
 She seemed nice enough but she had a bad habit of drifting off and
burning things.  Needless to say, she did not last very long in our house
but the smell drifting out of the hall reminded me of her.  I looked at Hetaron
and told him to fall back.  Lakarus was sending more men our way.  I
backed away from the door a bit more and waited for the rush.  I never
turned to look at Michaels but I knew he was there beside me, sword in hand.
 Five men came in the door, two of them came at me and tasted death right
away. Two more were met by Michaels and Pare. The fifth however stood there in
the door with his mouth hanging open, sword pointing towards the floor.
"Lord
Kromwell?"
I nodded to him and he just shook his head.  He
returned his sword to its sheath, stepped into the room and dropped to one
knee. "
Forgive me, I just took the job for the coin, I did not know who
we were after. He told us you were wanted for murder."
I told him to
stand down and to move aside.  Hetaron was moving towards the door, going
to deal with Lakarus head on.

      I
rushed into the hall behind Hetaron just in time to see him fire off another
spell. The last three armored men were killed instantly by the fireball. The
smell of roasted flesh once again filled the air. I followed Hetaron to the end
of the hall where the bodies were still smoking. Lakarus was nowhere to be
found.  I never saw him again after that day, I do not know if Hetaron
would say the same. The man who surrendered to us was one of my men on the
field of battle.  He still used the armor given to him by Boris.  I
told him to check the rest of the men who came with him, if any were still
living he was to take them back to town.  Hans and Michaels said prayers
over the dead, gave them Solarths blessing in hopes that they would not join
the ranks of undead that infested that place. When all was said and done, ten
more men were laid to rest in the tomb with the old warrior.

     The five
of us followed the ones who still lived out of the tombs and out into the
night.  I watched as they walked away, sure they would not show their face
again anytime soon.  We spent the night in rest, out there under the
stars.  In the morning we returned back to the tunnels in search of a way
to find the dragon’s lair.  In the end Michaels was right, there was a
back way in and we did find it.  Rough tunnel walls led to a very large,
well lit cave where we found our target. I made one last mental note that day
to choke the wizard.  Not because of anything he did, just because he was
right.  We stood there, quiet as could be, watching not one but three
dragons sleeping.

     It was an
odd sight.  An adult red dragon and two young, laying in the sun.  A
single shaft of light filled the cave with light and warmth.  We were the
mice who found the cats at home napping in the kitchen.  In hushed tones I
asked my friends what we should do.  We had the advantage, we could strike
quick and do as much damage as possible before they wake.  Maybe even kill
one of the young without having it fight back.  Hetaron and Hans had their
heads together, wanting to time everything just right.  I took a moment to
look around and saw Michaels there, on his knees praying.
    
"Solarth, thank you for sending me this
challenge. I will prove myself worth of you today or I will join you in the
afterlife."
All of our plans, meant nothing to him.

     No one saw
him stand up and start to walk until Pare was smacking me on the leg. We all
watched in horror as Michaels, sword and shield in hand began marching towards
the sleeping dragons.  None of us could move as I did not believe what I
was seeing.
"Foul beast, servant of the dark lords, rise up to defend
yourself. Your time of judgment is at hand."
The young were the first
to react to him.  Truth be told, I don't think they understood what was
going on at first but when they saw Michaels there, sword in hand they knew.
 When the mother opened her eyes she went from a state of peace to one of
pure rage in a blink of an eye.  As she rose up into a standing position
we could all hear her breathing in.
"Oh nooooo!"
Pare was, as
normal, the first one of us to speak.

     I broke
out into a run as the dragon unleashed its breath of flame.  Hetaron said
he must have had some kind of item protecting him.  Hans simply told me
that he has learned not to question the actions of the gods.  Michaels
stood his ground, shield raised high.  When the flames stopped he was
still there, unharmed and moving to attack the beast. The two young ones were
moving to attack Michaels from behind until I let out a battle cry.  One
of the young came straight for me, the other towards Hans and Pare.  I
took one last look at Michaels, he seemed to be holding his own.  Not that
I had time to think about it.
     The small beast was quick, all jaws and claws it
seemed at one point.  It seemed intent on backing me into a wall, not
wanting to give me room to move.  I scored a minor blow or two but nothing
to slow it down.  I started to press the advantage, making the little
beast move away from me.  He was so fast, I started to admire the small
beast when it dawned on me that if I did not end it, he would only admire the
taste of my flesh. The beast stood on his hind legs and grabbed my shield,
trying to bite my head over the top of it.  It was then that I got the
attention of the mother, cutting deep into the flank of her child.  I
pushed it back away from me and took a mighty swing, nearly cutting the thing
in two. With a great roar, the mother spread her wings, crying out in pain for
her child. She then jumped at me.

    
I saw the lightning bolt strike the creature in mid leap.  A gout of blood
and sparks erupted from the dragons flank as she sailed into me.  My world
exploded into a blood red haze of pain. The creature did not land on me as she
intended but she did manage to strike me.  I remember the taste of blood
in my mouth, it was my own.  My vision had started to fade, the world was
turning white.  My life was over, I was sure that I would soon see the
face of my friend Arturo.  Instead I saw the face of another friend.
 Hans was able to convince his god that I should stick around awhile
longer.  Hans pulled me to my feet and we both turned to face a wounded
beast.

     In the end,
we defeated the creature and both of its young. Not without some pain. I do not
know how long the creature had been living in that hole but she managed to
build up a large horde.  Piles of gold taller than I stood, gems and other
things.  Using Hetarons flying carpet and a large wagon it took us two
trips to haul it all away.  I had to argue with him to make one last trip.
 Using my sword I cut out a large portion of the dragon’s skin.  It
was made into a cloak for me, I use it every day.  We also cut the head
off of the great beast. Today it rest over the fireplace of The Red Dragon
Inn.  Jasmin does not care for it but it gives the guest of the inn
something to talk about.

     We split
up the gold five ways, Hans and Michaels gave most of their share to the
temple.  I still don't know where Hetaron stashed his share, all he really
cared about was the fist sized diamond we found.  Pare, well I see him in
his room from time to time rolling around in his share. He never really spent
anything as I gave him all that he wanted and more.  A week after we
returned home Michaels came to me in the early morning.
    
"Lord Kromwell"
he said with a bow.
"I
wish to thank you for all that you have done for me. Both you and Hans hold an
equal hand in what I have become. His faith and your courage have inspired me.
 I am now leaving Arcadia, seeking out my true purpose in life. Following
the path Solarth has laid in front of me, seeing where it all leads to."
I wished him luck and embraced him as a brother.   I did not see him
again for quite some time.   I will write more of that, later. All
things in good time. I am not yet ready to write of Paladins, gods and
monsters.  It is still too raw for me. Yet it is a story that must be told
on another day.