For Old Time's Sake: Finale
#1 of For Old Time's Sake
I rolled over and stood up, picking up the torch as I continued down the hallway. There were a few branching paths that either lead to dead ends where the passage had caved in or that were blocked off completely by fallen rubble. My mind wandered as my legs carried me through the winding passages. I thought about the past. I thought about what had brought our group here. But most of all, I thought about Jeegan.
I had been a young cleric then, fresh from my studies in the church of St. Cuthbert. Back then, Illumia city was at its prime, full of bustling citizens and merchants. There were all kinds of people that frequented the city from humans to dwarves, elves to minotaurs. The city was the political center of the country of Lumos and the tall, white, stone tower that housed the church was the center of the city. I was on my very first patrol of the city streets. It was an exercise in faith. As clerics, we were to uphold order and peace in the city. Since Illumia was so large, it wasn't long before I encountered my first group of ne'er-do-wells, trying to rob a local tavern. I tried to stop them on my own, but I was still young and very inexperienced. I would have been killed if he hadn't stepped in on my behalf.
The human monk's brown hair and red blindfold fluttered behind him as he flew into the fray like a whirlwind of fists and feet. His hands shattered bones like they were paper even through the armor that the thieves wore. I stared in awe at him as he fought. His motions were fluid, unlike my clunky fighting technique. I envied his fluidity and his combat prowess. The thieves were quickly sent running without getting a copper piece from the tavern and Jeegan was lauded as a hero. I left quickly, embarrassed that I had been beaten on my first patrol of the city. Outside on the street, a human ranger stopped me and introduced himself as Shim Darker.
"You weren't bad in there," he said. "They had you out numbered, but you held your own for a while."
"I wasn't good enough," I replied stiffly. "Good day."
He grabbed my arm as I tried to leave.
"Wait, just a minute there. I belong to a group of adventurers and we would love to have a cleric of your talents on our journey."
"What sort of journey?" I asked.
"Crestus Azalus himself has asked us to retrieve some magical artifacts for him. We won't be able to succeed without a healer."
I remembered hesitating, but I agreed to join them. The call of adventure outside of the city and the confines of the church proved too great a temptation to pass up. It was then that I officially met Jeegan, Meritza, and Aldo. It surprised me to learn that Jeegan was actually blind and the blindfold he wore wasn't just for show and bragging rights. It seemed impossible that he could fight so well without eyesight, but he told me that his other senses were more than adequate in giving him information about a battlefield. The group proved to be good traveling companions at the very least. Shim and Aldo were fond of jokes. Meritza was fond of berating them for their crass humor. On the initial leg of our quest, I asked Jeegan to train me in combat. I felt my skills were lacking from only my priestly training. During that training, something inside of me blossomed. I was developing a crush on the blind human monk. Before long, I had to say something to him. The secret was eating me on the inside. Near where we discovered the first artifact, I called up the courage to speak. The entire group had finished supper and Jeegan and I had traveled into the forest a ways away to spar in private.
"Good!" he said as I blocked one of his blows with my shield.
I could still tell that he was moving more slowly than he did in normal combat. I swung my mace at his head in frustration, knowing full well that he could block it with ease. I didn't want him to go easy on me.
"Watch your form," he chided, "unless you want to end up on your back."
I ignored him, circling him slowly while trying to keep the noise my armor made to a minimum. He followed me with his ears however, always facing me as I moved. I growled in annoyance and stepped forward to swing again, but he was much faster than I. In one fluid motion he stepped forward as well, sliding his leg along mine. My heart leaped into my throat at the sudden, almost erotic maneuver. But instead of kissing me, like I wanted him to, he twisted his leg, making mine buckle and roughly struck my breastplate with his palms. I hit the ground with a loud thud several feet away, my chest heaving and trying to desperately get back the air that he had knocked from me. I lay there, for a while, gasping and looking up at the dark night sky. Part of me was angry at him for taking advantage of me, but another part wanted him to come and join me in the grass, gazing up at the countless stars and just holding each other.
"I told you to watch your form," he said, walking closer to stand over me and look down. "You provide too many openings for opponents to exploit."
I couldn't help but notice how handsome he looked in that moment. His square jaw smiled at me kindly beneath the red blindfold that he always wore. His brown hair fell about his face, not held to his flesh from perspiration like my fur had been. I had always wondered what his eyes looked like under that blindfold.
"Are you alright?" He asked with a hint of worry in his voice.
"Yeah... I'll live."
"Then why don't you get up and have another go? I'm happy to keep this up all night!"
He punched the air a few times at full speed; his fists almost moving too fast to see. If only he would go all night with me... I gritted my teeth and decided that then was as good a time as any to come clean.
"Maybe I like being on my back..." I said.
He raised an eyebrow at me.
"Like this?" he asked, with a grin as he dropped and sat on my groin.
I blushed heavily as butterflies invaded my stomach and he laughed.
"Was I that obvious?"
"You were obvious to my heightened senses," he replied. "I don't think any of the others know."
"You are not upset at me?"
"Why would I be upset that a large, muscular cleric such as yourself finds me attractive?"
"Well... You're a human."
"And?"
"And... I'm a gnoll-"
"sh," he said, placing a hand over my mouth. "I know. And that doesn't change the way I feel about you."
When his lips first touched mine it sent chills down my spine. We arrived back at the campsite to find the others already asleep. Jeegan took me into his tent and we shared a passionate night in each others' arms. I still remembered the feel of his smooth skin against my chest and how his salty sweat matted my fur. I remembered his scent, so exotic and almost sweet. We moaned together for hours that night, rubbing and pressing against one another. He felt wonderful under me and I loved making him whimper. It was a slow love we made, each of us trying to get as close to the edge of climax without going over it. I loved Jeegan so much. We shared vows of eternal loyalty under Cuthbert's steady gaze only weeks after that night...
I was pulled from my memories of the past by the sound of someone walking down the passage toward me. To my utter surprise, Jeegan materialized out of the shadows.
"Karex..." he said.
"You... This can't be real. You're dead."
"Why would you say something like that?" He replied, walking closer. "I love you, Karex. Don't you love me?"
I had nothing else to say. I stood in bewilderment as my former lover pressed himself against my chest. I panted in lust. I wanted him back so badly. His face moved closer to mine and I leaned down to meet him. But something wasn't right. I stopped inches from the kiss and sniffed. He had no scent. I gripped my holy symbol tightly in my fist and growled.
"Leave me alone!"
A flash of light erupted from my symbol, but when it cleared, the ghost was still before me. Though it looked nothing like Jeegan; more like a rotting corpse, it hovered there with a stupid expression on its disgusting face. My powers should have annihilated it. Why then was it still there? I howled in anger at being played for a fool.
"Why do you still torment me!?"
My mace, wreathed in magical energy, crushed the spirit's head and it screeched in agony as it faded away. I was sick of this place. I wanted to just find Aldo and destroy whatever it was that he was carrying. I continued down the passage with newfound fury.
After a while of walking down the twisting path, I could hear what sounded like small explosions coming from somewhere above me. I hoped that Shim and Maritza were alright. As I walked, the sounds became louder until I was faced with a fork in the hall. One path diverged to the right and split into two paths farther down. The other to the left was similar to the bland one I had been walking. I could see two shapes approaching from the right and I readied my weapon to combat whatever evil the ruin would throw at me next. But Shim and Maritza appeared instead.
"Rex!" Maritza exclaimed happily. "I'm so glad you're okay!"
"I... uh... Me too," I managed to say. I was still unsure if they were real or just another illusion. They at least had a scent; even if they smelled like bile from an ooze monster.
"What's wrong," Shim asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
I chuckled dryly.
"I did see one. Then I killed it. How did you two get down here?"
"Well..." Shim began, but Maritza cut him off.
"Just like you, we fell. After getting caught in an asinine trap."
"I see. Well... good to see you're both still in one piece."
I turned away from them to continue down the passage I was on before.
"Wait!" Shim said. "Where are you going?"
"To find Aldo and kill him."
They started to follow me as I walked, still talking.
"You want to actually kill him?" Maritza asked.
"Evil must be punished," I said as we rounded a corner.
"Well yeah, but with death?" Shim said. "We traveled with him for a long time back in the day. He was a good friend back then, wasn't he?"
We stopped moving. I didn't answer. I didn't know how to answer. I did want Aldo dead, that much was true, but I wanted him dead because he had betrayed us. His actions had nearly killed me; would have killed me if it hadn't been for that strange cleric in the pit. It was revenge I desired. The cleric had merely given me a purpose; a direction on which to focus all of my anger and hatred for crimes that weren't even the halfling's fault. I shut my eyes in frustration, trying to clear the vengeful thoughts from my mind.
"Rex?" Maritza asked.
I took a deep breath in an attempt to wipe all evil from my soul through shear force of will. After a moment I spoke.
"We will find Aldo and make him answer for his treachery," I finally said. "I will not kill him; not unless he gives me a good reason."
Satisfied for the moment, they walked with me for a long while. We stepped over piles of rubble and around traps that had been sprung before by unluckier adventurers, eventually coming to the entrance of a large room. It was clearly a temple of some kind. There were large stone columns on either side of the room that ran for the entire length of it and more of those disfigured elf statues along the walls. Wall-mounted torches were in between each statue, casting eerie flickering shadows across the stone floor. An empty, marble pedestal sat at the far end in between the last two columns. This room was much better taken care of than any of the other rooms in the ruin. A short figure, dressed in black slid out from behind one of the pillars as we entered and started making his way up to the pedestal.
"ALDO!" I called.
He stopped, startled, and turned to look at us. I could see him mouthing the word 'impossible' as he stared. I drew my mace. Maritza and Shim stood ready behind me.
"He has an artifact on his person that we must destroy," I said.
Aldo's hand flinched and I instinctively dodged the nearly invisible dagger that came whizzing toward us from his palm. I took cover behind one of the pillars and started to slowly make my way to the pedestal, keeping the Halfling on the other side of the stone as best I could.
"I didn't want to have to do this!" Aldo screamed. "You all should have just died like you were supposed to!"
I slipped behind the next pillar while the little man was looking the other way. I suddenly wished my armor wasn't so loud when a dagger bounced off of the stone inches from my nose.
"You know us better than that, Aldo!" I heard Shim yell from the opposite side of the room. He was attempting to cause a distraction. I moved when he spoke, but I underestimated the Halfling. A stab of pain erupted from my shoulder as I hid behind the next pillar and I silently cursed my eagerness. The dagger had pierced my armor through the shoulder joint and it was dripping blood down my right side. Thankfully I could still swing my weapon without too much pain. I angrily gritted my teeth.
"Nice try, Half-man!" I shouted.
My outburst was short-lived, though as I heard the quiet pitter-patter of the halfling's stealthy feet behind me. I whirled around barely in time to throw up my shield to defend against Aldo's attempted backstab, but his little hand grabbed my shield and jabbed the dagger into my left side, under my ribs. I howled in pain as I swiped at him with my mace, but he leaped from me, laughing as he ran around the pillar. I turned again to see him trotting into view a huge grin on his face. I backed up, into the open of the room. Maritza and Shim came out of hiding as well. One of Shim's arrows clattered off of the stone floor as Aldo deftly side-stepped it.
"It's funny isn't it? A big, angry gnoll like yourself is afraid of a tiny little 'half man' like me."
"I want to ask you," I growled at him. "Why fight us? Why go through all of this trouble?"
"Trouble? HA! You lot aren't trouble!"
He moved faster than I could see. I felt my legs buckle under me and I fell backward. Only after I hit the ground did the pain from the daggers in my calves flood my brain. I roared in agony on the floor, unable to defend myself from the encroaching Halfling.
"Rex!" Maritza cried, waving her hands in front of her.
A ray of blue energy erupted from her finger and struck Aldo in the torso. She must have been casting silently. The Halfling flew backward a few feet, but quickly bounced back up and onto my chest. I tried to fling him off, but the dagger pressed into my neck stopped me from struggling.
"It all should have been so easy, Rex," he said. "But you of all people had to survive that room. He's using us, you know. Can't you feel him in the back of your mind? Don't you have powers that you didn't have before? Let me end this, friend; for old time's sake."
"Aldo..." I let my voice trail off.
He narrowed his eyes at me as I stared at him. My left hand drew a symbol in the air next to his ribs as I pushed my finger into him.
"Venenum," I whispered.
Aldo's eyes went wide as he recognized the spell moments too late. His dagger fell to the floor next to me as he clutched his stomach, doubling over in pain. He slid from my chest and spasmed on the floor as the magical poison sapped his energy. I yanked the daggers from my body and held my hands over the wounds, healing them with my magic. I stood gently, watching Aldo twist in front of me. As he writhed on the ground, a silver chalice fell from his cloak, clattering against the stone floor. It was designed similarly to the rest of the statues in the room with macabre figures around the base. It felt as cold as ice when I picked it up and lifted my mace to destroy it.
"NO!" Aldo screeched. "Can't you see!? That's what he wants us to do!"
Echoing laughter filled the room suddenly and I lowered my weapon. Shim knocked another arrow and Maritza gripped one of the pearls on her necklace. The sound focused on one of the pillars near the pedestal at the end of the room and the cleric that I had seen before stepped out from behind it.
"Why do you hesitate, Karex?" He asked, his voice filling the entire hall. "Do what I asked of you, and you will be richly rewarded!"
I looked down at the silver cup in my hand and back up at him.
"Not until you tell me who you really are."
The cleric laughed again.
"That is a secret," he said. "But I think it should be obvious by now."
"Vecna?" I guessed.
He grinned, showing a mouth full of rotting teeth. The room was enveloped in a cloud of black mist, too dense to see through, but in an instant, it was gone as fast as it had appeared. Where the cleric had been, stood a lich that was missing its left hand and left eye.
Shim fired his arrow, but the lich deflected it easily. Maritza cursed under her breath and tossed six of her pearls into the air. They became beacons of light that grew in size and intensity as they flew toward the evil god, erupting into fiery explosions on the far side of the room. His laughter could still be heard above the cacophony of the fireballs and he stepped through the ensuing smoke completely unfazed.
"You are foolish to challenge a god," he said in a deep and gravely voice.
Shim and Maritza both cried out in pain when Vecna waved his hand, falling to the floor. I turned to help them, relieved that they were still alive.
"I won't take them from you, Karex," the god said. "That would be too cruel, even for me. It is a shame that you all had to come to blows, but I couldn't be sure that Aldo would uphold his end of our bargain. I had to make a new one. And since you proved yourself infinitely more valuable, Karex, I have no more need for this Halfling. You did want him dead, did you not?"
"No, wait...!" I began to say, but Aldo's scream of agony reverberated around the room, drowning out my voice as his head separated itself from his shoulders. I cringed in disgust as the lich laughed again.
"Now you need do only one thing. Place the cup on my pedestal and I will let the three of you leave unharmed. I may even let you keep the memory of this place."
"I thought you wanted the cup destroyed," I said.
Vecna chuckled.
"It matters little. When Aldo took my chalice from this room, he was cursed to return; cursed to bring me a worthy sacrifice. Destroying the chalice in this place will merely transport it back to the pedestal, where it belongs. Whether you destroy it or place it there willingly, the ultimate outcome will be the same. I can assure you that your experience afterward will be infinitely less painful if you place it there willingly."
I trudged toward the pedestal on the other side of the room.
"Rex, don't do it!" Shim yelled.
"I don't exactly have a choice. I doubt he'll let us leave with this thing."
"Ah! How noble. That has always been such a useful clerical weakness."
I approached the pedestal in silence, lifting the silver chalice toward it.
"Cuthbert help me," I mumbled under my breath as the cup clattered onto the marble.
I felt Vecna approach behind me and sudden darkness enveloped my sight. I was floating in a sea of darkness and all around me I could hear the lich god laughing maniacally. I felt so alone. There was no comfort, no pain, no feeling at all.
"Why am I so alone?" I said.
You are not alone! A bright white light erupted through the black and I heard Vecna's laughter turn to screams of rage. The light blinded me and I held up a hand to shield my eyes. Someone grabbed it, though and pulled me upward, toward the light. Vecna shrieked curses at Cuthbert around me, his voice slowly vanishing behind us as I was pulled into the bright light of the noon-day sun. My hand was empty, but I smelled something familiar on the wind, something exotic and almost sweet. Jeegan? I was sitting on a grassy field outside of the swamp we had entered to get to that cursed ruin.
Tell no one of this ruin and none will remember. Saint Cuthbert has seen to that. I will be waiting for you, my love. Live on for me.
The thought invaded my mind and I was suddenly overcome with grief for Jeegan's death. I remembered him dying from the poison in my arms; a poison that my magic could not cure. I had to fight back bitter tears as I sat there in the grass.
"Rex!" Shim's voice said behind me.
I turned to see both him and Maritza jogging in my direction from the edge of the swamp.
"Uh... Am I dead?" I asked as they came near.
"I doubt it," Shim said. "You look fine to me!"
"We were so worried about you!" Maritza said.
"Yeah, what happened to you in that swamp?" Shim asked. "You were behind us for a while and then you just disappeared."
I blinked.
"Uh... I got lost, but I managed to find my way back here. Where's Aldo?"
"We sent him back to town to look for you when we couldn't find you."
"Yeah we didn't even find any ruins in there," Shim said, rolling his eyes. "That'll teach us to listen to Aldo's contacts."
I nodded, standing up slowly.
"I think I'm done with this traveling around..." I said.
"Are you serious?" Shim replied.
I nodded.
"I'm getting too old. I didn't want to come out of retirement anyway. I want to live out the rest of my days in peace instead of wondering if the next fight I get into will be my last."
Maritza smiled.
"You should settle down, Rex. I think it would be good for you."
"Thanks," I said to her, smiling. "Who wants one last round in the tavern before I retire for good?"
"Don't have to ask me twice if you're buying!" Shim exclaimed, grinning like a child.
Some things would never change. I couldn't help but smile back.