New Friends, New Beginnings(Open)

[Dedalous]

NO OTHER PLAYERS, PLEASE

I was heading back to the inn I was staying at, having just got my passport checked to enter the city. I stared and studied the city around me. I was amazed, baffled. I was just a poor country girl, having never been in a big city in my life. It was beautiful. My sensei had finally proclaimed me ready to explore the outside world, and I had jumped at the chance. I came from a small group of traveling people in the middle of nowhere, my sensei having picked me out of a group after I kicked a bully’s butt. I passed shop owners advertising their services, proclaiming that their products were better than all the others of the same type. I passed jugglers, performers, and instrumentalists performing in the street. I passed amazing buildings that were taller than anything else I had seen before. And I witnessed the evils of the big city, pickpockets, thugs, and crooks. Suddenly, because of my inattentiveness, I felt a small, sharp object pressed into the small of my back.
"Do as I say, and I might let you keep your spleen," a deep voice growled from behind me. He led me into an alley, dark, and damp. My martial arts training kicked in, and I just relaxed, letting him lead me. Options began running through my head, possibilities for me to escape with my life.
I could run, but what if the thing pressed into my spine was a crossbow? I could turn and fight, which seemed my only option, but what if he was stronger or a better fighter than me? I cursed my luck that I had left my Katana and bow in the inn. I could have easily beaten him if I had had them. I decided to go for it, to try to best this man in hand to hand combat, but I had to wait for the right moment. He led me deeper into the alley, until the bustle of the street was just a dim murmur in the background. I waited. He jerked me to a stop, about thirty feet into the alley. And still, I waited.
“Give me all of your coin and jewelry, now.” He grunted. As he said this, he began to back up, slowly, deliberately, as if he was just waiting for me to try something. I slowly put my hands up, spinning around. Now was my chance. A shot of adrenaline coursed through my body. I lunged at him, a void of emotionless, thoughtless space springing up, surrounding my mind. I noticed that he was holding a small stiletto dagger, just enough to be lethal. The thought skittered off the void, like a rock skipping on a pond.
I threw a punch with the heel of my hand, but he ducked. He went to slash at me, and I blocked, dimly remembering to use the outside of my forearm. His wrist stopped dead, and I took that split second to wrench his arm around until he dropped his knife. I came around with a roundhouse kick to the head, nailing him in the jaw. He dropped like a sack of potatoes, crumpling under the blow. I drew back, and snapped a punch at the base of his neck. He groaned, and fell into unconsciousness. I came up to a ready stance, already scanning my environment for the next threat, the adrenaline still pulsing through my body.

[Revenant]

The people that frequented Scara Brae’s dusty streets were some of the most friendly and tolerant people in Althanas, a trait born from the fact that people of nearly every race and nationality in existence at one time or another walked the same paths. That wasn’t to say that Scara Brae didn’t have its dark side. Like any major population center, Scara Brae hosted a wide conglomeration of ill-tempered thugs, and for every hero that rose from the streets of Scara Brae, an equal number of villains rose to meet them. Though he didn’t consider himself one of the villains, William Arcus had certainly committed enough atrocities in his life that some of Scara Brae’s denizens would.

Though he didn’t generally care about what other people thought about his actions, William tended to stay away from the general populace as a rule. William had only been in Scara Brae for a few months, and had spent most of that time stalking Brokenthorn Forest. He had settled into the familiar routine of spending as much time as possible fighting against his demonic urges until they snapped and he lost control in a mindless rage. He had been through the cycle a thousand times and thought that nothing would change it. His last rage, however, had finally upset his cyclical lifestyle.

While lost in his last rage, William had relived the death of his wife, Rebecca, only to find that during his rage fueled blackout, he had violently slaughtered a woman similar to her. Vowing that he would learn to control the rages once and for all, William entered Scara Brae to book passage on a ship to Corone, where he hoped to find help at the Citadel of Radasanth.

Unfortunately, it seemed that everyone in Scara Brae had determined to mill about in the streets today, and William was getting impatient. The close press of humanity would normally arouse him with black-laced promises of violence, but William’s will remained firmly clamped around the eternal pressure behind his eyes.

I wonder if this cuts through to the next street, William thought as he pushed through the crowd, heading for a small gap between two shop buildings. If not, at least I’ll be able to get some fresh air. Don’t these people ever bathe?

The damp alleyway provided no relief to William’s nostrils, however, as the smell of garbage, offal, and fish-rot from the docks only increased in the stagnant air that the street breeze never seemed to touch. To make matters worse, two figures, a winged fox-woman and a street thug, wrestled in the shadows thirty feet from him.

As if the smell wasn’t bad enough, William groaned inwardly, I have to walk in on a mugging. William adjusted his burlap shoulder bag as he let his eyes adjust from the bright streetlight to the dimmer alley illumination. He wondered if he should do anything about the fight when the beast-woman kicked her assailant, dropping him unceremoniously in the muck. She immediately fell into a ready martial stance and William could tell that she was still under the effects of combat high as her focus shifted towards him.

“Whoa,” William held up his hands in a non-aggressive gesture. “Let’s not jump into something we’ll both regret, lady.”

[Dedalous]

As I surveyed my surroundings, a man covered in thick clothes and with a mask over his face stood towards the end of the alley. He had his hands up and was saying that I didn’t want to do something we would both regret. I responded by sliding my feet together so that the heels touched, raised my hands to my chest, palms together, and bowed my head slightly, a symbol of respect that my race practiced. Other than the dark clothes and the skulking in an alley, he seemed to have no ill intentions. As I stood up straight, I sniffed the air, testing his scent in my nose, committing it to memory. There was no stench of fear, or violence, as far as I could tell. The faint stench of charred flesh lingered about him, though. It was barely at the edge of my perception, though, so obviously a human wouldn’t be able to tell it was there, unless they got right up close to him. I turned my back on him, thinking to myself that I should say something, but not knowing what to say. I examined my handiwork, noting the deathblow had been sloppily placed, something my sensei would have berated me for. I returned to face this new man, thinking that it couldn’t hurt to try a human tradition now. I walked up to him warily, sticking out my hand, feeling extremely self conscious.
“Greetings, stranger, my name is Dedalous. Would you be willing to wait while I rummage through this man’s possessions?”
I realized my hand had dropped to my side, and hid it by wiping my hand on my trousers. I turned around again, and searched the body. I took the stiletto, a nice steel sheath knife, and the sheath. I found no signs of identification, but I did find thirty gold coins on his belt. I took those as well. They could be helpful later. I had no qualms about taking from the dead, considering that he would have no use for them now... I turned back around to face this man.
“I’m really sorry, I’m just still pumped up from this man trying to kill me. Look, I’m looking for somebody to adventure with me, and I was wondering if you would be willing to accompany me. You look like you could hold your own in a fight, and you look like a creature of the woods, like me, we could get along very well.” I stuck out my hand again, and this time I kept it up until he took it.

[Revenant]

Once it became clear that the beast-woman, Dedalous, didn’t intend to continue her assault, William relaxed. He cocked a single eyebrow in curious amusement as he watched her sniff the air around him.

How she can smell anything through this stench is beyond me, he thought, then absentmindedly added, I wonder what what I smell like.

Body odor wasn’t really a concern of his. When he had become a revenant, he had lost the ability to sweat. What difference did the beating summer sun make when the power flowing through his veins would reduce his skin to ashes?

William was surprised to see Dedalous approach him after finishing her nasal inspection. People generally didn't approach him, something William fostered with his conscious effort to adopt an unfriendly stance. Regardless, before he could respond to her greeting the fox-woman dropped her hand and asked him to wait for her to scavenge from the thug’s corpse, as if his accidental intrusion upon her mugging bound him to her.

Not very focused, this one, William mused as he watched Dedalous retrieve the dead thug’s knife and coin purse before returning to him. I should probably just walk away now.

Again, before he could respond, Dedalous' made a proposal, stopping him cold.

The poor thing thinks I’m some starry-eyed youth looking to make a name for myself, William almost laughed behind his scarf. Despite his mirth, the pressure in his head suddenly urged him to slide his claws through her meat and sinew to show her what he truly was. The thought of it caused his blood to boil, and the heat surged under his skin for the briefest moment before he could clamp down on it.

“Listen,” lady? creature? meat? “uh, Dedalous,” William gestured uncomfortably for her to put her hand down. “That’s really not my kind of thing. I was actually just on my way out to book passage off Scara Brae when…” William’s speech trailed off and he flicked his wrist in a gesture towards the corpse before settling down to his own coin purse.

Well, settling where his coin purse would have been if it had still been there.

William's head shot down to his hip, and he snarled as he realized that he had been pick-pocketed. The sudden surge in his anger caused the fire in his veins to burn molten-hot and pain to spider-webbed throughout his body. The demon howled behind his eyes, eager for a release that William suddenly, desperately, wanted to give. The oblivion of his rage seemed such a sweet, inviting thing against the fire that lanced through him.

Grumbling a curse, William forcibly fought the temptation to give in to his violent desire and focused his breathing. With each calming breath he pushed the incessant buzzing back from his mind. When he was once again in full control, he turned back to the fox-woman.

“It seems my plans have been suddenly changed,” his spoke, his voice casting a bitter tone. “May I ask, exactly, what you had in mind?”

[Dedalous]

I watched with detached amusement as this man, who still hadn’t introduced himself, who hadn’t even taken my hand to greet me, flipped from mirth to rage, as he realized that he had been pickpocketed. He stayed there for quite some time, before he got it under control. But in the moment that the rage showed freely, there was something deeper, something there that wasn’t meant to be there. His eyes seemed to light on fire, and it seemed that this man had his own personal demons to contend with. But once he returned his anger to whatever vault he kept it in, he turned to me, and offered his services.
“About two days ago, I received a letter from a wealthy weapons collector here in this city. His and three other weapons seemed to have gone missing, and he wanted me to retrieve them. Apparently he is a good friend of my sensei, and I was recommended. I learned as much as I could, and soon realized that I would need more help. I have been looking for a while to find someone suitable, and I think you would be the best bet.” As I said this, I reached into my belt pouch and pulled out a crumpled piece of parchment, and handed it to this man.

Search ye far or search ye near,
You’ll find no trace of the three
Unless you follow instructions clear,
For the weapons abide with me.
North past forest, farm, and furrow
You must go to reach the feathered mound.
Then down away from the sun you’ll burrow—
Forget life, forget light, forget sound.
To rescue Wave, you must do battle
With the Beast in the Boiling Bubble.
Crost cavern vast, where chain-links rattle
Lies Whelm, past waterspouts double.
Blackrazor yet remains to be won
Underneath inverted ziggurat.
That garnered, think not that you’re done,
For now you’ll find you are caught.
I care not, former owners brave,
What heroes you seek to hire.
Though mighty, each shall be my slave
Or vanish into the fire.
K

“The three collectors each received a copy of this letter, signed by this mysterious K. Andrew, the collector that summoned me here, thinks that this K is a powerful wizard known as Keraptis. And the feathered mound seems to be a volcano in the WindLacer mountain range. I would like to help, but I would need your help to complete this mission, and possibly get a monetary reward in return.

[Revenant]

So much for getting to Corone any time soon, William grumbled to himself as he listened to Dedalous’ explanation. When the fox-woman finally finished, William took the offered parchment and took his time looking over it, mulling through Dedalous’ words.

It was well known that the Windlacer range was wild and inhospitable. Dozens of adventurers braved the treacherous peaks each year, and most didn’t come back. If the volatile wind and biting cold didn’t claim your life, the hostile predators would. The few adventurers lucky enough to return from the Windlacers were changed forever, and not always in a good way.

However it wasn’t the dangerous reputation of the Windlacers that gave William pause. As a revenant, there was little in the harsh terrain and deadly beasts that could truly cause him harm. What really caused William to want to dismiss Dedalous’ mission was the knowledge that if he entered the Windlacers, his rage was certain to overcome him at some point.

It’s not worth it, he thought. There has to be a hundred ways that I can make enough money without letting the demon out. Things are almost certain to get out of hand up there and I just can’t take the risk. I’ll politely refuse and she can get someone else to help her.

Even as he told himself this, William knew it was a lie.

That far from civilization, the whispers in his mind argued back, what harm can I really do? This Keraptis shouldn’t be sending out invitations if he doesn’t want hell showing up at his doorstep. Dedalous has already proven that she can take care of herself, or is at least smart enough to get out of the way if I lose it. I wouldn’t be putting anyone in danger who isn’t expecting it.

Though he hated it, William admitted that he had a point.

But I promised Rebecca that I wouldn’t ever lose control again, William brought up his second defense. He had been successful in fighting back against the urge since making his vow, but it felt like an eternity since his last time he had given in to the demon and his very bones itched with the need for release.

It’s not like I’ll be losing control unintentionally, the voices shot back. It’ll be completely different this time. I won’t be losing control since I’ll actually be making the choice to let go. All I need to do is enjoy the ride.

Besides, his rationale continued, I’ll be getting it out of my system before I head to Corone. I’ll easily be able to control myself on the voyage after this.

It was getting harder for William to resist.

This Keraptis is supposed to be a powerful wizard, one last argument crossed William’s mind, surely he wouldn’t just open up his doors if he weren’t prepared?

But how could he prepare for me? No one knows just what I’m capable of except for Kal’Necroth. And if this Keraptis really is a powerful wizard, maybe I can find something in his lair to help translate the sorcerer’s book?

William’s thoughts turned to the tome which was hidden in his pack. Kal’Necroth had used the tome’s magic as a foundation to turn William into a revenant. He had taken the tome after the sorcerer’s defeat in the hope that one day he would be able to use its magic to reverse Kal’Necroth’s spell, but he had never found anything that could help to help him translate the arcane markings. Perhaps a powerful wizard’s treasure might prove useful?

On the last point, William made up his mind.

“Alright Dedalous, I’m in,” he finally responded to the fox-woman. Handing the crumpled parchment back to his newest companion, William finally shook her hand as if sealing a deal. “My name is William Arcus and I’ll help you get your weapons back.”

“When do we set off?”

[Dedalous]

After stating that he was with me on this adventure, I nodded. It was good to have someone to adventure with. I could definitely handle myself in the wilderness, but it would be nice to have some help in the battles yet to come. And even better if they were skilled in the wilderness, as this William seemed to be, strictly by the way he carried himself. And he seemed to have the skill needed to survive in a fight.
“We’ll leave in the morning, after we get a good night’s rest.” As I was saying this, I headed back for the mouth of the alley. I turned to him, and said “Oh, and by the way, I’m staying at the Leap of Luck, in the Travelers district. Meet me there just before sunrise tomorrow morning, and we will get on our way.”
I walked back into the hustle and bustle of the street, leaving William there in the alley. I headed back to the Leap of Luck, wanting nothing more than a warm bed and a hot meal. And to get back to my equipment. I was never going to make that mistake again. The sun was setting as I opened the door to the inn, the noise of the inn nearly drowning out the noise of the street. I walked to the barkeep, and ordered a meal. Venison and tubers. I finished the meal, and headed up to my room. I was asleep as soon as I hit the pillow, and up again before the sun had come even close to rising. I gathered my equipment, and dressed, examining myself in the mirror as I did so. I was young, but not so young that I would appear to not know what I was doing. I was dressed in my favorite shirt, a leather thing that showed a fair amount of cleavage, the closest I could get in this society to the total nudity that my race enjoyed while amongst themselves. I wore a tight fitting pair of denim, and my sword belt over them, hanging heavily to the side my katana was on. My quiver was slung on my back, the bow resting, strung, in the sheath the quiver provided. I brushed my hair out, leaving it silky smooth and perfectly straight. I preened the feathers on my wings, and brushed out my tail, which was protruding from a hole that had been stitched in my pants specifically for this purpose. I filed my claws, making sure they were in perfect combat condition. When I was finished with this routine, I headed down to the common room, paying the innkeeper ten gold pieces for the room and the food, and waited outside the front door for William.

[Revenant]

“Tomorrow morning then,” William nodded his understanding to Dedalous, “outside the Leap of Luck.”

Visions of blood and rent flesh danced in William’s mind as he watched the fox-woman disappeared into the crowd. His internal debate had fully roused the sibilant voices in the back of his mind, and he was forced to let the violent images play out a bit before he could calm himself enough to depart the stinking alley.

I’ve got to be more careful, William thought sharply as he pushed through the crowded streets. I got a little too worked up back there. Despite his internal warning, the pressure behind William’s eyes pulsed and within moments of returning to the arena of shrieking vendors and dusty, unwashed bodies, he had a throbbing headache.

“Tomorrow morning,” he grunted to himself, firmly clamping his will on the demon, “Until then I need to get out of the city.”

When he hadn’t been camping in the Brokenthorn forest, William had spent most of his nights camping in one of the clearings outside of the city walls. At any given time, a number of these clearings were used by adventurers and laborers who were too poor or were unwilling to shell out the coin for a room at one of Scara Brae’s numerous inns. They also proved a viable choice for people like William who couldn’t be trusted around others for an extended period of time.

William staked a camp site after a brief search, one where he would be left in relative peace. To an untrained eye, all of the camp sites looked similar, but veterans could read the signs that William wasn’t in the mood for companionship. Content that he would be left alone, William settled in for the evening.

The night couldn’t pass fast enough. More than once William was torn from sleep by violent dreams of blood and fire. Such dreams were commonplace whenever the demon was close to the surface, but William found these dreams to be more vivid and intense. It was as if the demon could sense William’s decision to release it and was rejoicing.

By the time the first rays of light began to light the morning sky, William had packed his camp and made his way to the Leap of Luck to meet Dedalous, eager to head out. Approaching the fox-woman, who waited outside of the inn’s front door, William nodded a greeting.

“Unless you have any further business to attend to,” William gestured down the street, nearly empty at this time of morning, “I’m more than ready to get out of here.”

[Dedalous]

I watched as William slowly materialized out of the pre-dawn gloom, his eyes seeming to glow gently from some unknown power within. He walked up to me, stating that we should get on the move, without quite saying it aloud. He was slightly harder to read than most of the humans I had met, being not entirely human himself, but he still wore his emotions on the wind. The pheromones his body was secreting, human or not, spoke of anxiety, a need to get moving and leave this place. I was more than happy to oblige. I was as anxious to get on the road as he, and I knew what was supposed to come. A long, dangerous trek, a perilous climb through the Windlacer mountains, and then the final confrontation with whatever minions Keraptis had left behind. I was determined not to let down my sensei, and in the process, myself.

I picked up my backpack, and moved into the light traffic of the early morning. I checked to make sure William was following behind me, and seeing that he was, said to him, “Meet me at the east gate, I need to check the conditions we will be dealing with today.” And with that, I spread my wings, crouching slightly so as to get the fastest liftoff. I leapt into the air at the same moment that I thrust downward with my wings. I began flapping regularly, powerful down strokes to gain altitude quickly. The wind through my fur and feathers felt great, and the cool air on my wings was pure bliss. I watched the ground as William receded to a small speck on the ground, but still discernable to me. Then I looked up, checking the weather, forecasting what it should be like today. It was slightly cloudy at the moment, which hinted at a clear day to come. Hopefully it would stay like this for the day. I looked back down, and saw William heading for the gate. I winged over and dove, performing minute adjustments with my wingtip feathers to keep on the course I wanted. The wind blew my hair back, my tail streaming behind me as I luxuriated in the adrenaline thrill of a total vertical dive. A hundred feet from the ground, I flared up, flapping hard to brake my descent. I landed lightly, feet first, and walked up to William.
“Looks like the weather is going to be fair, and should be sunny the rest of the day. Let’s get going.” I turned to the gate, and started walking.

[Revenant]

At least she knows her weather, William thought, glancing into the sunny, cloudless sky. Several hours had passed since they had begun their journey from Scara Brae’s east gate and the last wisps of cloud cover had burned away in the bright morning light. A light, warm breeze fanned them, smelling of fresh greenery and road dust. Altogether, a pleasant day to be out walking.

Ahead of them, waving in the breeze as if to beckon them closer, lay the verdant tree line of Brokenthorn. William had spent most of his time on Scara Brae in the forest, which covered just under half of the island’s total acreage, but had never gone deep enough to see the Windlacers. He knew that it would take them several days to reach the mountains on foot, even cutting through Brokenthorn as they were.

And, he thought, there’s also the slight matter of the things that live out here. Beasts, many of them two or three times William’s size, called Brokenthorn their home, and the deeper one went, the more likely they were to meet something particularly nasty. Only a matter of time until we run into something.

And walk they did. William and Dedalous maintained a brisk pace through the morning and into the early afternoon, neither one speaking to the other.

Wonder how long that will last? William thought. He was accustomed to spending several days at a time without speaking to anyone else, but he wondered if Dedalous shared similar experiences or if she was just playing off his silence and being polite.

Hell, I wonder if her people even understand the nuances of human complexity. he snorted, Not that I’m really human anymore.

Knowing that the thoughts of his lost humanity would only serve to drag him into a morose stupor, William instead focused his thoughts on Dedalous. He had never seen a creature like her before. Lacking, as they were, in intimate conversation, the only things he knew about her were from his physical observations.

Where is she from? How much can she smell with that fox head? If I split her open and dig around, will I find human viscera?

William clamped his eyes shut and shook the last thought from his head.

No! he mentally clamped down. I’m in control, and I will not think those thoughts. Despite his guard, dark thoughts kept creeping into his head, and each time it took a little longer for the whispers to fade.

I’ve never held on for this long, he thought. I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up. The constant struggle against his desires was mentally exhausting, and it wasn’t getting any easier.

So focused was he on his internal struggle, that William never even noticed when they crossed into Brokenthorn Forest.

[Dedalous]

It was late afternoon, and William and I had walked the entire time in silence. We had passed the boundary of the Brokenthorn forest about two hours ago. I began looking for a place to set up camp for the night, hoping for a clearing out of the way, away from the road somewhat, so as to avoid any unwanted encounters in the night. When I found one, I nudged William and motioned him over to our campsite for the night, pushing through dense undergrowth to get to it. I walked to the middle of the clearing, and began scuffing a dirt patch for a fire. When that was done, I walked around the edge of the clearing, gathering wood and tinder for a fire. We continued in silence until I had a roaring blaze, and I took some rabbits that I had caught on the trail out, cooking them to a tender medium rare. I looked towards William, and said “I think that this would be a good time to get to know each other now. What would you like to know about me?”
No sooner were these words out of my mouth than I heard a pained, rumbling scream. Out of the underbrush came a beast, seeming to absorb all light that fell upon it, its pelt the deepest black of night. It’s sinuous feline body was severely disfigured, with and extra pair of legs seeming to sprout out of it’s chest, seeming to be a natural part of it at the same moment as seeming to be tacked on haphazardly. A pair of lashing tentacles extended from it’s bulging shoulders, lumpy and malformed. It’s dripping fangs were covered in a venom that seemed to poison you just from looking at it, and it’s claws were long and wickedly curved. And it was focused on one thing. Us. What was I to do? I rapidly drew my Katana, bringing it to bear on this malformed abomination.

[Revenant]

Lost in brooding thought, William visibly jumped when Dedalous stopped and lightly nudged him. It was obvious that he was fairly unused to being around other people, and extremely unused being touched. Despite this, he recovered quickly and helped Dedalous gather wood for the fire.

What the hell? he scolded himself as he worked. What if I had lost control there? I need to seriously get my act together if I don’t want to tear her apart. Of course, William did want to tear her apart, but it was a point he didn’t want to admit to himself.

Soon enough Dedalous had a large fire roaring and within half an hour handed William a fresh skinned and lightly seared rabbit. It had been a long time since William’s last cooked meal, his abnormal physique requiring him to eat fairly infrequently. What little he did eat, he usually just ate raw. Still, he understood the gesture and politely accepted the offered rabbit.

“What would you like to know about me?” the fox-woman asked as they ate, echoing William’s earlier thoughts. He wondered if she had somehow read his mind, and, if she had, what she thought of them. Would she understand the unholy desires that tugged at every corner of his being?

As he opened his mouth to respond, he was cut off by a howling mass of darkness that hurtled into the clearing. He had barely registered the feline abomination before Dedalous was up with sword in hand and striking. Her slash should have cleaved through the beast’s misshapen head, but the creature somehow evaded by flickering between the long evening shadows. In reply, the thing lashed out with one of its tentacles, driving the fox-woman back.

William was on his feet and moving forward by then, his screech of joy oddly mirroring the creature’s otherworldly scream. The transformation happened so fast that William had no chance to fight it, his body reflexively dropping the mental barrier that held back the power that coursed in his veins. Demonic power surged within him, though the charred skin and raw meat it exposed remained hidden behind the layers of heavy wool cloth and bandages he wore.

At the same time as the creature lashed out to force Dedalous back, William struck at it with claws of his own, wicked spurs of blackened bone. Like Dedalous, William’s swipe was well aimed but seemed to swipe through nothing as the creature flickered between the shadows once again. Unlike Dedalous, he did not shirk back from the creature’s retaliatory strike.

A single tentacle wrapped around him, immobilizing his arms. When it squeezed, it did so with tremendous pressure and the camp site echoed as several of William’s ribs cracked in response. Not content to leave William broken, the beast continued its assault by rearing up and slashing with four of its six paws, shredding William’s flesh in ribbons.

William howled with bloodlust as the shadowy feline’s claws tore into his charred flesh the heavy scarf that normally covered the ragged maw which his demon-form possessed falling away under the assault. Doubtless, the beast hadn’t expected William to continue to struggle, and the time it registered the threat that William’s shark-like teeth presented, it was too late to flick back into the shadows. Given the opportunity to strike back at the creature, William locked his vicious teeth on the thick, meaty tentacle that held him, raggedly severing it.

The beast screamed again, and this time it was a scream of pain. It flickered back into the shadows as William dropped into the dust and began extricating himself from the now useless tentacle. The beast continued to flicker back and forth between the shadows for several moments before it braced itself once again, refusing to retreat.

[Dedalous]

I hit the ground in a jumble of fur and wings, barely having time to react to the swipe of the tentacle before being hit. The moment I saw it start moving towards me, I had tucked my katana so that the razor sharp steel would not cut me. I rolled and jumped to my feet, just out of reach of the creature’s tentacles, readying my sword again, arms in front of me, sword ready to fend or slash at a moments notice. I felt something grind in my chest, realizing that the thump had broken my ribs, and cussed. I saw William picked up by this beast’s crushing tentacles, and just barely heard ribs cracking over the unearthly scream of pain he released. But it didn't stop there. The abomination then reared and rended Williams flesh with it's two front sets of claws. "NO, William, Hang In There!" I called, screaming to be heard over his roar of pain. It no longer seemed human. I advanced rapidly, my katana at my side, ready for a slashing strike, in position to be moved for a thrust after the first. William seemed to be hanging in the air with the beast to the left of him, the tentacle crushing some unseen object. But it wasn't unseen, I realized with a start. It was William. The monster was actually about four feet to the right of where it appeared. I moved, and slashed at where the creatures head should have been. And winced. The free floating rib had shifted. I banished the pain from my mind for the moment, and looked to my left, seeing a gash across it's taut skin, and it howling with rage. I looked back to where William should have been, and saw a stump of a tentacle wrapped around him, which he was extricating himself from, while he sat on the ground. It looked like it had been bitten through. I moved in for the kill, noticing as I did that it’s shifting ability had somehow been shut off. It was exactly where it appeared to be. I slashed at it’s head, decapitating it. It continued to move, though, so I swept my sword up, spun it around in my hands, and brought it point down into the beast’s heart. The creature vanished in a puff of dust. I walked over to William to help him with his injuries, and get help treating mine. And immediately stepped back. He was no longer human. His eyes glowed with an amplified version of the anger I had seen in the alleyway, his skin charred and raw, his mouth the gaping maw of a shark, teeth covered in a black, sticky blood. His fingers ended in a charred and blackened set of claws, and he glared at me with pure hatred. I got the feeling that if it weren’t for the tentacle, he would have sunk his claws into my flesh. I spread my wings in a panic, and took off, soaring into the air before he could do anything. I had to get away until he could get control of himself. This couldn’t be the William I knew, it just couldn’t. He was too caring, or so he seemed, but the evidence spoke for itself. I would just let him get control of himself, and come back when he was himself again. I stayed aloft for about an hour before I came back down, just to make sure he was back. When that was accomplished, I swooped down and landed back in the clearing, noting that the fire still blazed. I sat across the fire from William, also noting that he was in a dark and brooding mood. I decided to try and lighten it.
“So, since we were so rudely interrupted by that beast, I bet your interest in me is even stronger. What do you want to know about me? And hopefully, we don’t get sidetracked again.”

[Revenant]

Hatred and anger washed over him like waves breaking on a rocky shore. Throbbing, pulsing beats pounded a staccato drum beat behind his eyes. Nothing existed outside of the red haze that filled his world. There was no resistance against it, no fighting it, only existing in the mind-numbing flood.

But somewhere, someone was screaming.

As he listened, the haze faded from all-consuming to merely overpowering. He could see shapes and forms coalescing in the red now. Colors that had never before existed pushed their way through the tide. A wet, heavy feeling invaded the edges of his mind, incessantly urging out the drum beat in slow, measured strides.

Where was that screaming coming from?

The world was cold and alien, and he closed his eyes, willing the tide to take him once more. But the tide continued to abate, flowing back into the dark recesses of his mind. When he reopened his eyes, he was able to recognize the mangled chunks of flesh and bone strewn on the ground around him. The heat of the bonfire behind him reminded him of the outside world and slowly crept back to the forefront of his consciousness.

After a few more moments, William was able to stop screaming.

William took stock of the campsite while he waited for the last vestiges of his rage to vanish. As was so often the case, the world around him had become an abattoir. The creature, whatever it was, was had been ripped apart and strewn about the clearing in unidentifiable chunks.

I hope Dedalous ins't in there somewhere.

Several swigs of water washed the last of the thick, black blood from his mouth. Once clean, William took stock of his injuries. His labored breathing could only mean that his ribcage had been crushed, and the flesh of his torso was gouged and torn. The injuries were bad, but he had had worse. He knew of nothing that could truly kill him and, despite the severity of these injuries, his body was already at work repairing the damage.

I’ll be good as new by morning, William thought, finding a comfortable place to sit and pulling a fresh set of wool bandages from his pack. It was a familiar routine, and it kept William's mind off of Dedalous and what he had likely done to her. Too many innocents already stared accusingly at him when he closed his eyes and he didn't need another. It galled him that, despite his promises, despite the internal struggle, he still had no control over the demon.

William's brooding was interrupted when he noticed Dedalous cautiosly making her way back to camp. He breathed a visible sigh of relief and flashed her a sad, world-weary smile. It was the first true positive emotion he had shown towards the fox-woman, and with his scarf still out of place it was readily apparent.

“So, since we were so rudely interrupted by that beast,” Dedalous said, retaking her seat across from him, “I bet your interest in me is even stronger. What do you want to know about me? And hopefully, we don’t get sidetracked again.”

William was incredulous. The fox-woman had completely brushed the incident aside as if it were of no consequence. The absurdity of it was too much for him and, despite his shattered ribs, he broke out in laughter.

“I’m glad to see that,” I didn’t slaughter you, “you’re unfazed by all of this, but frankly I’m more interested in what the hell that thing was,” William finished laughing and inclined his head in the direction of the largest remaining mass of the creature, his serious demeanor returning.

[Dedalous]

I watched as surprise, and then acceptance, flitted across William’s face. This was definitely the William that had been traveling with me since the city. And then, he laughed. Finally, he schooled his face, and looked at me.
“I’m glad to see that you’re unfazed by all of this, but frankly I’m more interested in what the hell that thing was.” I stared at him, stunned, and then I realized that not everybody had grown up in the forest like I had, with constant attacks from monsters. For me, this had been commonplace, but for him, it could be the first time he had had to fight for his life at the hands of some demonic beast.
“It was a ShadowSlink, a pure evil, manmade abomination. I don’t know who sent it after us, but I have an idea. Only problem is, he’s supposedly three hundred years dead.”
I shrugged, dismissing the idea as something to study later. I stoked the fire with my katana, burning off the clotted blood and flesh and fur, and then wiped the soot off on my cloak. Immediately after the last of the mess had been burned off, I pulled out my whetstone and began stropping the blade, not that it needed it. This was my usual post battle ritual, and I had postponed it long enough. I rolled out my ground pad, and sat on the thickly woven, padded wool sheet, staring at William. I opened my mouth to speak, and then thought better of it. If I could teach William to control his emotions like my sensei had taught me, but I dismissed that thought, for the moment. I ran over the battle in my head, analyzing every move. And then my mind moved back to helping William. It seemed the best thing to do, for both of us, and the people that he would encounter in the future.
“Would you like me to teach you to how to control that demon inside you? I could certainly help you with some exercises my sensei taught me.” I smiled at him, hoping that the smile didn’t show too many teeth.

[Revenant]

Dedalous’ description of the beast that had attacked them was both enlightening and useless. William had been correct in his assumption that it was no natural creature, but that only left the question of who had created it. His mind wandered to the piece of parchment Dedalous had shown him, and the riddle that had started this fool’s quest.

Either you’re wrong on who sent that message or you’re wrong on him being dead, he thought.

The two companions lapsed back into their routine of silence. The relief of finding Dedalous alive quickly faded as William’s thoughts turned back to resisting the urges that once again tugged at him.

She won’t be so lucky next time, the thought rose from the back of his mind. He wasn’t sure if it was a threat or a promise.

“Would you like me to teach you to how to control that demon inside you? I could certainly help you with some exercises my sensei taught me.” William’s attention shot to the fox-woman, who was grinning a toothy grin at him. William sat unresponsive, weighing her words.

She has no right to pry into my business.

Bullshit! How many times have I been this close to gutting her.

What can she do? I know how to control it. I should have headed to Corone.

“Its not exactly something that meditation can control,” he finally responded. Thinking of the Tome of Kal’Necroth in his pack, he continued, “The man who made me into this used his magic to merge my soul with a demon.

“He also bound me with the essence of the undead,” William gestured towards the wounds on his torso. Even through the bandages that obscured them, it was easy to see that they were getting smaller. As he continued, his words were no longer directed at Dedalous.

“He used his forgotten magic to turn me into a living weapon. I’m an unkillable creature created for the raw purpose of bringing as much death to the world as possible,” William’s voice was low and rumbled like the growl of a bear, “and the worst part is, I crave it. Every part of me desires to fulfill my purpose, to give in to oblivion. I live for the moment when the power surges forth and the wave crashes over me, drowning it all out.

“I fight against the urges every waking minute, but when the wave comes,” he gestured towards the gory mess strewn around the camp, “There’s no fighting it.”

William rose from his seat and paced. His agitation was visible in the blackened lines that scrawled across his skin like a child’s charcoal drawing. The fresh bandages over his chest were soon smudged grey with soot and firelight glowing in his eyes reflected his inhumanity.

Realizing the closeness of the demon, William slowed to a stop, closed his eyes, and willfully slowed his breathing. The burnt lines in his flesh sealed and faded, and once they were gone he returned his gaze to Dedalous.

Now she understands.

“We’ve got a couple more days of walking before we get there. We should get some rest.” William grabbed his cloak and left the camp, heading into the dark woods to be alone.

[Dedalous]

I watched as William walked off into the wilderness, obviously upset about something. I really hoped it wasn’t my fault, and really hoped that he learned to control that demon inside him. Shrugging, I rolled onto my side, sleeping in my traveling clothes, in case another attack came in the night. It was a habit I had picked up from my sensei. While the rest of my clan’s people had slept in their traveling wagons, a select few warriors had slept on the ground, under the stars, to fend off any attack that came in the night. And I was finding use for those habits now, in a strange and deadly forest, where attack wasn’t just likely, it was imminent. I closed my eyes, but sleep refused to come. Whys and What-Ifs were running through my head, keeping me awake, keeping me worrying. What if William didn’t come back, What if he lost control and killed me? Why had a centuries old, supposedly dead wizard come back to steal three powerful and magical weapons, and then send for adventurers to come rescue them. And why had he been trying to kill us, if he wanted us to reach the mountain. These dilemmas danced in my head, and guided me into sleep, shaping my dreams.
I was battling the ShadowSlink, again. Again? It had just come out of the underbrush. But there was something familiar about this. William screamed, trapped by the beast’s tentacle, but it wasn’t William, it was Pendar, my sensei. I screamed, rage filling me, that this beast dared even look at him, much less try to crush him. My sword moved of it’s own will, flying out of my hand and into the beast’s tentacle, severing it. But Pendar still hung there, the tentacle seeming to float on it’s own. He was trying to speak, but he couldn’t get the words out around the mass of stringy flesh still crushing him. I flexed my fingers, and worked my jaws, getting ready for a hand to hand fight. And then, I lunged. I slashed with my right hand, severing the portion of the limb that wrapped around Pendar’s throat, freeing him to speak. But he still couldn’t. Well, he could, but not much.
“Kill the, beast, and set, me free,” he gasped.
I moved to heed his words, claws at the ready, prepared to die to save my sensei. I slashed at the beast’s face, drawing blood. It screamed, and retreated, preparing to lunge at me, but I moved too quickly for it. I dove, angling for the soft spot where the jugular was. I clamped down, felt my teeth slice through skin, sinew, and muscle, felt the bitter, hot black blood start pumping into my mouth, felt the life slowly draining out of this beast in time with the pulses of blood. It’s last defiant act was to shake me free, serving to only quicken it’s demise. It collapsed, dead, the heart still trying feebly to pump blood that was not there. I turned around, seeing Pendar on the ground, extricating himself from the severed and useless appendage that had bound him. I looked closer, and noticed his eyes glowing, not the harsh, flaming glare that was possessed of William’s eyes, but a pure, blue white nimbus of energy that seemed to pulse with his heartbeat. He turned that power filled gaze on me, opened his mouth, and spoke.
“Hurry to reach the mountain, hurry to rescue the weapons, Hurry to kill Keraptis, soon to save the world.”
I bowed my head, and placed my hands, palms together, thumbs on my breastbone, in a salute of respect.
“Yes, Sensei, as you will, I shall do.”
And with that, the dream faded into nothing. I awoke, and the light of a false dawn illuminated the clearing. I looked around, trying to find William, hoping that he had not abandoned me. And realized that my dream had not dissapered like dreams normaly did for me, but stayed fresh in my mind. The only time I had remembered a dream before, Pendar had been trying to contact me, to warn me of something. Was that what had happened last night? I would talk to William about it, if he was still around.

[Revenant]

Being alone will help, William thought as he left the camp and began walking. When the campfire was only a dim glow through the foliage, he began to pace around the camp’s perimeter and letting the cool night air siphon away the last of his agitation.

Physical activity always seemed to help him clock out the whispering in the back of his mind, as if he could drown out his violence by keeping himself occupied. The dying light of the campfire was barely visible by the time he was calm enough to even think of sleep. Dropping his pack, William lay against the shelter of a thick tree and wrapped himself tightly in his traveling cloak. He didn’t want to go to sleep, but he knew that he needed the rest.

Sensing his hesitance, sleep came begrudgingly to the revenant. A whirlwind of thoughts barraged his resting mind, and though he willed them to be still, they remained to greet him every time he closed his eyes. Dedalous was foremost among those thoughts.

Again and again, he replayed the experience of coming out of his rage and thinking Dedalous dead, another victim of his lack of control. The dark part of him snarled that it was the only inevitable result of her decision to journey with him. The other part of him resisted those thoughts, knowing that Dedalous had no knowledge of what he was when she asked for his assistance.

How long will her luck hold out if she stays with me?

Not for the first time, William mulled over the option of leaving Dedalous and returning to Scara Brae.

Would she continue on alone? he questioned.

Regardless, William knew he could not abandon Dedalous. His decision was not born out of some misguided notion of loyalty or honor, but by the fact that only Dedalous knew the way to Keraptis’ lair. Any chance that he had of discovering a way to decipher Kal’Necroth’s arcane tome had to be pursued. Until then, he would have to hope that Dedalous could stay out of his reach.

She needs to understand what I am and the violent death that I represent. She needs to understand, William thought as he finally settled into a troubled sleep, that I’m going to kill her.

Screaming woke William almost immediately. He reacted swiftly, jumping to his feet in a readied crouch and shaking his head to clear the cobwebs. A thick blanket seemed to be wrapped around his brain, making the world sluggish and indistinct. Gritting his teeth, William tugged at the edges of reality, bringing the world back into focus.

Light from the nearby campfire illuminated the shifting form of another shadow slink, once again grappling a human figure with its tentacles. Something about the figure was intimately familiar to William, and he knew that he would have to assist it. Answering the creature’s howling cries with a shriek of his own, William propelled himself forward with a roar of pain and frustration.

Reaching the writhing figure in an instant, William reached up to pull it free from the shadow slink’s tenacious grasp, but what he saw there left him speechless. The figure he tugged at was the lifeless body of Dedalous, and now that he was closer, he could see that it wasn’t the shadow slink holding her flayed corpse, but his own bloodstained claws. In shock he dropped Dedalous’ limp form and as the body crumpled in the dust, he could sense a presence behind him. Whirling on this new threat, William found himself face to face with a legion of the dead.

The world around him had become a flat, dusty plain, reaching as far as the eye could see. Red clouds, thick and angry, roiled in the sky overhead and cast a ghoulish glow over the horde of ripped and tortured souls standing before him. Each of their faces were recognizable to him as people he had killed, and they stared accusingly at him, silent and condemning. William was overcome with the enormity of it all and fell to his knees in the dust.

Several minutes passed as William languished under the scrutiny of the dead. Finally, after an eternity, the wall of flesh parted, forming an aisle. The ranks remained motionless as William regained his feet and hesitated for only a moment before stepping through the crowd. The bodies reformed ranks behind him, blocking any hope of escape. Ahead of him, he a single figure sat upon a dais and calmly watched his approach. It was a figure that he knew well, thought not someone who had died at his hands. The figure looming over him in judgment was his wife Rebecca.

“Rebecca,” he managed to choke out, but could get no further. He dropped to his knees again under the weight of her unwavering gaze. Finally with a voice that rang out a hollow dirge of condemnation, Rebecca spoke.

“How can you save anything when you cannot save yourself?”

The words jolted William, who suddenly found himself back in the forest. The light of the dawn just starting to pour through the holes in the forest canopy. The early morning sounds were drowned out by the pounding of his heart in his ears and the fresh morning air was soured by the smell of ash from his agitation.

“Just another dream,” he whispered to himself, “nothing to worry about.”

Then why, his mind questioned, did it feel so real?

William gathered up his gear and returned to the campsite, where the look on Dedalous’ face told him that he wasn’t the only one who had been dreaming.

Perhaps Keraptis did this, he thought. If so, we’re in a worse position than I thought.

“We should be on our way,” he said, thinking of his wife’s message.

[Revenant]

The rest of their trip to the Windlacer Mountains passed quickly, no further attacks by magical abominations and no further nasty dreams. By the end of the third day, the two of them had made their way out of the Brokenthorn Forest and had joined on one of the supply roads leading to the Windlacers. Disturbed by internal conflict, William returned to his silent shell, and Dedalous, despite her choice of traveling companion, enjoyed the camaraderie of the frequent supply caravans on their way to one of the many Windlacer ore mines.

The generous weather that had blessed the start of their trip held out for the rest of the trip, though the cloud cover had picked up by the time the two of them made their way into the foothills of the Windlacers. Eyeing the low hanging afternoon sun on their arrival, the companions agreed to wait until morning before heading into the mountains proper.

“Don’t get many of you adventurer types out here,” commented one of the nearby wagon masters, a stocky, bushy-haired man who introduced himself as Ferrel Jhorgen. “Sadly, too many of the ones we do get ain’t going home anytime soon.”

“It’s like every fool one of you thinks you’re the next Sir Pallotan,” Ferrel’s driver, a man named Sligh, snorted derisively. “Amatuers, the lot of you. Ignoring all of ole’ Windy’s dangers for a bit of glory.”

“And what exactly might those dangers be?” William’s asked in a voice that ground like dry stone from the days of disuse. The annoyance in his words was overwhelmingly evident. Long days of walking had allowed William to tuck away his violent urges, but arriving at the foothills had woken them again and he didn’t appreciate being talked down to my wagon drivers. But if either Ferrel or Sligh had picked up on it, they didn’t seem to care.

“Rock slides, wind shears, mountain cats, take your pick,” Ferrel answered with a laugh. “Worst of the lot though, are those damned harpies.”

“Harpies?” William questioned. “I’m unfamiliar with the term.” William’s eyes shot Dedalous a questioning look, as if trying to gauge her knowledge.

“Bird women,” Sligh enthusiastically elaborated. “Thought your friend there was one of ‘em at first, but they look more human than she does.” It took a second for his brain to filter what he had said.

“Not that there’s anything wrong with you, uh … miss,” he hastily added.

“So why are you headed into the Lacers anyways?” Ferrel jumped back into the conversation, steering the attention away from the foot in Sligh’s mouth.

“Personal reasons,” William grunted, fighting against the rising desire which urged him to gut Ferrel and toss the corpse in the bonfire.

To his credit, Ferrel finally seemed to understand that the conversation was at an end and with a “goodnight and good luck,” the two men retired to their own camp site.

William’s hands unconsciously twitched as he watched the wagoneers head away. He was helpless in stopping his mind from conjuring up the feeling of cracking bone under his fingertips.

Soon it will all be over, he told himself. Just hold on a little longer. And with that, William turned in for the night.

[Dedalous]

After the wagon drivers left, I looked to William, and said, “I’ll fly ahead from now on, to make sure we are not surprised. Harpies are no match for me when I know that they are there. If at all possible, I’ll keep them low to the ground so that you can dispatch them, while I strafe them from above. That way your demon is sated for the next few days, and I am not in harms way.” With that statement, I began laying out my equipment for it’s nightly maintenance. Oiling my bow and sword, sharpening my katana, polishing the scabbard, rubbing fat into the leather of my quiver, and checking my arrow fletching, all done in under an hour. I filed down my claws, making sure they were still sharp, and brushed out my hair, removing any debris that had accumulated during that days travel. I also brushed out my tail, and preened my wings, until finally, my tasks were done. I looked over at William, and silently prayed that he could keep in control long enough to get to the mountain. Finally, I rolled over on my side and fell asleep. When I awoke, the area surrounding our campsite was foggy, limiting visibility. I walked over to the breakfast fire, and started ladling the breakfast stew into a small bowl, and sat down to eat it by the fire. When that was finished and William and I had packed our gear back up to leave, I informed the wagon train leader that this was where we parted. As William and I slowly made our progress up the slopes between us and our destination, we talked, I sharing my history, my views on the world, and things that interested me, while he mainly stayed quiet, listening. About a day into the trek, I started seeing signs of the harpies that seemed to call this mountain their home. The signs became more and more frequent as we progressed, past the summit of this particular rise, onto the summit of the next, ultimately leading to the smoking mountain that was our destination. They seemed to know where we were going, and were heading there trying to beat us, maybe ambush us, but I wasn’t going to let that happen. About four days into our trek, it began snowing, the white fluffy stuff covering everything. My fur protected me, and I assumed the raging elements inside William were what kept him from freezing.
That night, as we were setting up camp, I heard a hawk cry, strangely distorted, and thought to myself We’re getting closer, and they know we are. I kept a wary eye all of my watch, with nothing but the stars and the sleeping form of William to keep me company. About midnight, I traded with William, waking him up gently, and explained to his groggy form that it was his turn to take watch. That’s when they decided to strike, swooping out of the sky like midnight wraiths, and tried to rake us. The nearly two weeks since the last major encounter had seen my broken rib mended and back to normal, with some help from the healer in the wagon train. I jumped up from the crouched position I had been holding while talking to William, and pulled my bow out of its quiver. I loosed an arrow at the nearest harpy, striking her in the wing, bringing her down. I immediately put the bow away and took to the air, extending my claws, and lunged at another harpy, raking her face. I looked down from where I was just long enough to check on William.

[Revenant]

The freezing snow of the Windlacers was bothersome, but thanks to the molten power flowing in William’s veins and the heavy woolen clothes he wrapped around himself, the mountain’s icy temperatures were nothing more than an annoyance.

Still, William noted as Dedalous woke him, the cold always makes me sluggish when I sleep.

Hawkish cries from unseen assailants fought their way through his sluggish mind, though it took several drawn out seconds for his consciousness to filter their meaning.

The harpies must finally be making their move, William finally reasoned. The cries that he heard now were completely different from anything he had previously heard from the ever-present bird-women. Packs of the filthy humanoids had been trailing William and Dedalous since the two of them had first journeyed off the mountain paths. Their ascent would have been long and arduous on a normal day, but the trip had been slowed to a crawl by the unusually inclement weather, which seemed to have waited for their entry into the Windlacers to pounce on them. William suspected magical influence in the weather’s erratic patterns, but had no way of proving his hypothesis. Perhaps it was the same magical influence that had kept the packs of harpies at a respectful distance from the pair of adventurers.

Why would they attack us now? William questioned as he scrambled to his feet, shrugging off the last of sleep’s warm embrace. Unless we’re close to Keraptis’ lair.

Taking stock of the events around him, William saw that Dedalous had reacted much quicker than him to the harpy assault. One of the bird-woman already lay fallen, its wing pinned by his foxy companion’s archery. Though the creature was still alive and thrashing in the snow, Dedalous had already turned her attention to more capable prey, engaging another harpy in a mid-air grapple. From the echoing cries that reverberated off of the surrounding peaks, it was apparent that even more of the creatures would be closing in on their position in short order.

I guess it’s up to me to play clean-up, William thought, turning his attention back to the wounded harpy not ten feet from him. The violent thrashing of the grotesque creature only seemed to further injure it. One of the its arms and both of its wings had been twisted at unnatural angles beneath the creature.

William pulled his sturdy hunting knife out of it’s sheath as he approached the fallen harpy. Though he rarely used it anymore, the hunting knife was well maintained and wickedly sharp. The whispers in his mind were aroused again and urged him to release the power within him rather than take the creatures life in such a mundane way, but William refused to give in to the nearly overwhelming desire.

Even if it survives, it’ll never fly again, William thought, summoning up every ounce of mercy that he could to combat the bloodlust that was bubbling up rather than letting the demon free.

The decision was torn from him as he approached the thrashing harpy. The creature opened her snaggle-toothed maw when he arrived and loosed a powerful, earsplitting shriek at his looming silhouette. Pain erupted throughout William’s body as the inhuman wail tore at him, bursting through the dam that held the red tide at bay. William once again found himself drowning in the red waves that flooded his mind, and everything else was lost.

The revenant surged forth, plowing through the harpy’s attack, and latched onto the mottled, leathery skin of the creatures throat with blackened bone claws. Pulling upwards with practiced ease, the revenant separated the meat of the dead harpy’s head from the rest of the corpse, cutting off the creature’s death-wail. The wailing in William’s head, however, could not be ended so easily and the revenant roared at the circling creatures that flew just out of reach, eager for further slaughter.

[Dedalous]

In looking down to check on William, I had become distracted, so that when the harpy let loose her mind freezing scream, I flinched. I had been trained to be impenetrable to mind affecting attacks, insulated in my emotionless void during combat, but I had left myself open. I immediately looked back up, tracking the harpy I had just engaged. I tackled her in midair, my wings beating in sync with hers. My legs wrapped around hers, my hands finding purchase on the back of her head. I felt the muscles in my arms twitch, and heard the satisfying wet snap of her neck. I released her sudden dead weight, watching her body plummet.

I turned, doing a pirouette in midair, searching for a new target. When I found her, I lunged, and she slashed. The razor sharp spines on the end of her wings slashed me, cutting a painful swathe through the thoughtless void of combat. I shrugged off the pain, and flapped hard, lunging directly at the harpy in front of me. We collided midair, and I swung with my claws out, and felt them connect with flesh and sinew, watching as she dropped to the ground for William to dispatch.

I noticed one final harpy materializing out of the snow. Jerking my arms forward and my wings down, I gasped as I dislocated my shoulder blades. I rotated my newly mobile wings, hovering in the midair as I reached behind me and removed my bow from its quiver. I slowly reached behind me and drew an arrow, nocking it and slowly drawing it back. I took careful aim, and loosed it, hitting the harpy in the chest, downing her in one shot. As I came down from the combat high, I looked over myself, noting that the harpy that had managed to nick me had slashed into the flesh over my left pectoral, cutting fairly deep. I flew off to an outcropping a good trek from where William was, and began ministering to my wounds, starting with the slash across my breast.

[Revenant]

William didn’t have to wait long for his next prey to arrive. One harpy’s body, limp and lifeless, landed in the snow several feet from the revenant. Despite the fact that the broken creature was already dead, William pounced on the corpse, ripping and tearing with all the fervor of a raging demon.

The arrival of another wounded harpy broke William from his mindless reverie of meat and bone. Hot blood steamed in the cold mountain air, oozing from a wicked slash in the creature’s shoulder joint. Dedalous’ aerial combat had left the bird-woman unable to regain flight, but on the ground she was just another wounded beast whose barbed claws still posed a significant threat.

William couldn’t care less.

There was no subterfuge in William’s actions, no tricks or feints, and no tactical maneuvering or shifting of combat postures. Sensing the warm blood of fresh prey, William simply disengaged himself from the unidentifiable wreck of stained meat beneath him and charged in a straight line at the wounded harpy.

Waves of the red tide rippled across William’s field of view as he sprinted towards this newest meat. Molten power thrummed through his body, and all world around him focused into a rhythmic patter by the falling beats of unseen drums. Blood, bile, and saliva flowed in rivulets from between the sharpened daggers of his teeth, broken only by the charred, snaking worm of his tongue. His prey was so close that he could feel it, smell it, taste it, and nothing in the world could stop him from digging his claws into the frail, wounded creature rushing to meet him. Nothing could save its miserable existence.

Until the creature screamed.

William had already suffered through one of the harpy’s devastating screeches. Its inhuman wail had sent searing waves of liquid pain roiling through his nerves and had hurt William enough to send the human consciousness fleeing from his mind. But the attack had been clumsy and poorly directed by the first thrashing harpy and had not done any significant damage. This time, the bird-woman dug in and unleashed her primal fury at William in a concentrated, and lethal, burst.

Despite being lost in the pounding swell of the red tide, William’s consciousness was reached by the harpy’s attack and he screamed in agony when his eardrums exploded. The revenant’s charred, cracked flesh pulled taut and tore under the pressure exerted by the compacted waves of sound, messily removing wet chunks of burnt flesh from the raw meat beneath. Several of the smaller, weaker bones in his joints gave way, cracking and splintering under the force of the attack. Nerve clusters throughout William’s body burst under the strain, and William fell in a spasming heap at the harpy’s clawed, birdlike feet.

Cawing with bestial delight, the harpy stretched out a foot and clawed at William’s squirming form. She deftly evaded the thrashing limbs he managed to haphazardly lash out towards her, and each time she replied by dodging back in and lightly clawing at his ruined form. The campsite rang with the bird-woman’s laughter as she toyed with the broken revenant.

[Dedalous]

I finished treating my wounds, covering over them with strips of cloth I had torn from my extra clothes. As I was finishing a flat knot to hold the bandage over my chest taut, I heard a piercing, rattling scream, coming from the direction of our camp. I dismissed it though, thinking that the demon that had been unleashed when William had lost control could handle the bone shattering screech. I was alive, and he was alive, so far, and I wanted to keep it that way.

As I just sat there shivering to keep my body heat up, I began to hear and feel a subsonic hum passing through the mountains. It seemed to come from everywhere, and was getting stronger. I instinctively looked up, trying to locate the source, and noticed something very out of place.

Materializing out of the clouds and snow was something very odd. It’s almost like a ship, I thought, soon realizing that my assumption was correct. It was one of the legendary airships.

The air was vibrating with the frequency of the pulsing antigravity magic, the great flaming ring of its elemental suspeded verticaly to provide thrust. The decks of the ship seemed bare, and with it’s distance from the ground, I could see that she was operating on a skeleton crew. Just below the main deck, a balcony filled with ten full sized seige ballistas opened fire, the twang of their great bowstrings only serving to add to the vibrations the ship was giving off. I tracked the arc of the bolts along their path, and realized that they would come down near where William and the harpy were still struggling. I immediately gathered up my equipment, strapping it on haphazardly. Two powerfull strokes of my wings later I was airborne and heading for the great airship. Small defence ballista and crossbows opened fire at me as I flew, untill I was out of their arc of fire and above the ship. I located the captain at the helm on the open air top deck, and made a dive for him. I flared at the last seconed, and landed hard on my feet.

“Tell your men to cease fire. My friend is down there. I need to help him.” And then I noticed the drawn swords, and what I looked like. “Im not a harpy, im an adventurer. And you’re firing on my friend.” With that, I spread my wings and took off. I flew in the direction of our campsite, drawing my bow and dislocating my shoulders on the way. Finaly, I saw why they had opened fire on our campsite. The single harpy that I had left alive had crippled William temporarily, and had been toying with him. She now had a very large ballista bolt sticking out of her stomach, dieing in the freezing wind of the mountain she had called home.

As I came down from the combat high, and moved a distance from the broken form of william while the demon was still loose, I heard the rattling of a chain coming from overhead, and noticed that the subsonic hum of the airship had moved closer. I looked up, and saw a chain ladder descending.

[Revenant]

The red tide had always been all encompassing, blocking out all other sensations with a pounding roar that resounded through the core of William’s very being. It was overwhelming, but it was comfortable, warm, and safe. Now, something lanced through the haze of red that colored the world outside. It was pain.

There was something out there …
thing, bird-woman, harpy
… that broke through the haze, flaying away the red tide with shattering sound and piercing claw. Nothing had ever done this to him, and the knowledge that he could not, would never, truly die made the sensation all the more torturous in the extreme.

As the red tide faded, clawed away by the harpy’s slashing taunts, William’s vision was blotted out by another shape. The blot, large and dark, throbbed in time with the lances of fire that pulsed behind his eyes, slowly expanding until it filled his limited vision.

The shape seemed familiar to William. Something stirred in the back of his mind, rational thought fighting an uphill battle through rage and pain. There had been someone else, a comrade, a companion who journeyed with William.

Is this them? Him? Her! Yes, the companion was a her. Dedalous was what he called her, a beast-woman with the shape of a fox.

Was this Dedalous come to save him?

Already filling his vision, the blot impossibly continued to grow in size, coming into sharper contrast now that it was closer.

No, not Dedalous.

It was a ship, large and buoyant not upon the wave of the sea, but the currents of the cold mountain air that pooled and eddied around them. The harpy, focused so intently on toying with her shattered prey, seemed to take no notice of the massive blot of buoyed wood that tore through the darkness above her.

Still, it didn’t matter to William. His mind couldn’t reconcile the ship that appeared in the air above him, it couldn’t reconcile Dedalous’ absence, it couldn’t even reconcile the molten rage which continued its retreat further and further into the dark recesses of his animal brain. The only thing that mattered, the only thing that existed at this moment was the broken, slashing pain that screamed and hammered at him.

And then, suddenly, the pain was gone. No, not gone, for it still resounded in the core of his being, wrapping around his consciousness like an oily serpent. But the source of the pain was gone.

William sifted through the fire that reached through his mind like a cracked spider web, to recall what stopped the pain and for an instant recalled the crashing thump, so large it seemed to shake the ground he was laying on. It had happened only a second before, but to his pain addled mind, each second lasted an eternity.

Finally freed from his tormentor, William could feel the spirit of life that shared his body go to work on repairing the damage that had shattered him. He knew that, given enough time, he would be restored to perfect form, but the urgency of his and Dedalous’ quest came back to him. They were already so close to their target, and William knew that without external healing, he wouldn’t be fully recovered by the time they faced Keraptis.

The last vestiges of his demonic form retreated into his skin as a chain ladder from the flying ship above him descended.

[Dedalous]

I heard the clanking of steel plated armored boots striking the steel rungs of the chain ladder that had descended near where William and I had camped. I smelled the captains leather armor mingling with the lingering scent of Williams rage as I struggled to set the shattered bones of the broken mans body. I smelled the worry mixed with fear and anger wafting from the captain, and the anger and desperatism coming from William. I felt the captains hand on my shoulder, gently drawing me away, and heard his voice, a soft, compassionate voice that I recognized, seeming to come to me from miles away.

“Master Pendar? What are you doing here?” I asked as I spun around to face him. He was wearing the tricorner hat of his that he was so fond of, and a heavy leather flying jacket. He had on a pair of heavy flying boots and gloves with slits in the fingers for his claws. The black fur that would have covered his muzzle had turned a silvery white to match the fur on his neck and chest. And he looked weary.

“Keraptis is gaining strength as we speak,” he said. “We must hurry. I tried dreamcasting, but I wasn’t sure it had reached you. We have little time. Will your friend be okay?” he glanced at he already healing form of William and then away. Cupping his hands to his mouth, he called up to the ship, “Arhelm, get your oversized muscles down here.” Not ten seconds later, a very large troll came scrambling down the ladder.

“Yes, Pendar? How can I be of assistance this time?” He looked around him, and then noticed the crumpled form of William lying on the ground at my feet. “I assume you want him taken to the infirmary?”

“Yes, please do.” With that, the troll lifted William gently, in a manner that his great bulk would suggest was impossible, and carried him up the ladder. Pendar followed, with me right on his tail.

We entered into a bright room in the underbelly of the ship through an ornately decorated hatch. The room around us was decorated in hardwoods stained warm shades, and a door to the left led into a hallway that ran the length of the ship. The hum that had permeated the air down below was all but muted inside the ship, and once the hatchway had been sealed, it was indistinguishable from the wind on the superstructure. Arhelm was already twenty feet ahead of us in the hallway. Before I could follow, Pendar grabbed my shoulder again, and silently led me to his chart room.

“My crew and I will fly you to Keraptis’s mountain lair, and myself and a small group of my warriors will accompany you into the lair. Right now, you and your friend just need sleep.” He turned and walked out after that, and I decided to follow orders for once. I cleared a bunk of its various debris and curled up on it, not even bothering to take off my equipment.

[Revenant]

“Ugh,” was the first thing that came to mind as the edges of consciousness slowly pushed their way back into William’s vision.

Must have blacked out, he thought. And then, after remembering the harpy’s torment, added, no wonder.

Feeling like his whole body had been flayed, William opened his eyes and propped himself up.

“Oh!” exclaimed a surprised male voice that William was unfamiliar with, “you shouldn’t be up.”

William took a second to look around. It looked like the small infirmary that one would find inside of a sailing vessel, but that made no sense. The nearest body of water was days away, surely he hadn’t been out that long. Unsure of what was going on, William pushed himself off the bed and stood up.

“Wow! That’s really impressive,” the young man addressed William again, “being able to stand up after all of the punishment you took. Hell, the fact that you’re still alive is impressive. But I did just finish setting the broken bones in your legs and I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t undo all of my work.”

William gave the young man, a physician of some sort, a visual once-over. He was a fairly short man, only 5’4” with light brown hair and a dark complexion. He wore a stained physician’s coat and thin leather gloves, but carried no visible weapons. Determining that the man appeared to pose no threat, William relaxed.

“Don’t waste your time worrying about me,” William waved the physician off, “I heal quicker than a human does.”

“You’re not human?” the physician quirked an interested eyebrow. “That would certainly explain why you're not dead. And as for worrying about it, I just follow the captain’s orders, not that I should bother with all the thanks I get.”

William shot an annoyed glance at the physician, who was already returning to his duties.

Captain huh? William thought, So I am on a ship somewhere. Now just to figure out where ‘somewhere’ is.

Feeling the ache throughout his body, William hobbled over to a small, curtained window and peered out. The sight that greeted him was certainly not what he was expecting. Outside, the rocky terrain of the Windlacers slowly passed by, drifting like seaweed on the current.

A flying ship? William had no sooner thought about it than he remembered the massive thing that had blotted out his vision just before the harpy died.

“How do I get to the main deck?” William asked the physician, who had gone back to carefully mixing powders from three separate vials.

“Out that door, down the portside passage, and up the stairs, though I don’t recommend going up there. Not that anyone listens to the doctor. Regardless you’re a big boy, up, moving, and no longer my problem.”

The physician didn’t even look up as William painfully hobbled his way to the indicated door and paused just outside.

“Uh … thanks,” William offered and then made his way above decks.

The wind was colder and sharper in the air than it had been on the ground. William pulled his heavy wool cloak tighter around him to ward off the worst of the chill and made his way over towards the nearest figure, a man with a heavy leather jacket and tricorner hat.

“Who’s the captain?” William called out as he approached, “And where’s Dedalous?”

The man turned and if he held any surprise at seeing William up and about, he showed no indication of it.

“Not one to waste time on idle chatter, eh,” the man replied, “lucky for you then, that I’m Captain Pendar. As far as I knew, Dedalous is still asleep on a spare cot in the chart room. You were both in need of some rest following the harpy attack.”

Pendar looked over William’s battered form.

“And it looks like you could still use some rest. We won’t arrive at Keraptis’ lair until later this morning. I suggest you use all of your time until then to rest up. Once we enter into the lair itself, you won’t have another chance.”

“Once ‘we’ enter the lair?”

“Keraptis is a powerful opponent and should not be taken lightly. A group of my soldiers and I will accompany you and Dedalous into his lair to make sure that we end Keraptis once and for all.”

William limped to the side rail and spent a few moments in silence, watching the terrain flow beneath them and thinking.

“If this Keraptis is really as powerful as you seem to think he is …” William trailed off.

“He is,” Pendar confirmed.

“In that case, if you still expect me to accompany you, after Keraptis has been killed I expect passage on your flying ship to Corone.”

Pendar quirked an eyebrow, his amusement the first emotion William had seen on him.

“You seek to barter your assistance after coming all this way?”

William nodded, “transport to Corone or I leave Keraptis to you and yours.”

“Transport to Corone ‘and’ whatever spoils you plunder from Keraptis’ lair?” Pendar corrected.

William nodded again and Pendar scratched his chin in thought.

“For your assistance, I guarantee your safe transport to Corone and a fair share of the loot. Your transport may not be aboard my ship, but I swear that I will provide you some way to Corone.”

It was William’s turn to scratch his chin in thought. After only a short moment, William nodded his agreement.

“Then it’s done,” Pendar laughed, “though one would think that you would be a little more grateful for the assistance we’ve already provided.”

“I didn’t need your help,” William shrugged and then returned to watching the mountains.

Pendar left the revenant to his brooding.

[Dedalous]

I woke up to morning sunlight streaming in through the porthole above my head. I rolled over and stood up, examining my surroundings in the light of the new day. There was a large table strewn with airflow charts of many types of airships, topography maps of the entirety of Althanas, blueprints of many cities and buildings, diagrams for weapons, and ledgers showing fund flow. There were three other bunks in the room, all strewn with junk that was similar to what I had cleared off of my bed.

There was a knock at my door, shortly followed by it opening, and in came Pendar and a tall elf that he introduced as Felyn, who explained to me what we were to look for once the party reached the ground. Once that was over, he lead me to a room in the belly of the ship with a large purple disk in the ceiling. Two large clamshell doors sat open in the floor of the room, and a circular beam the same color as the disk on the ceiling. Pendar, medical officer Aqueero, and guard captain Orion were going on the expedition with us, and were already waiting for William and myself. When everyone was ready, Pendar stepped into the purple beam, and floated gently down to the snowy peak below. Aqueero followed suit, and Orion nudged William and myself forward, explaining that he needed to leave some final orders to his men, and that traditionally he was the last to leave the ship.

When we reached the ground, Pendar led us directly to a steaming vent in the side of the mountain, and immediately struck an alchemical torch, shedding light on a twenty-five foot square rough hewn room, obviously man made. After a short search, he discovered a trapdoor in the floor, leading to a spiral staircase that corkscrewed into the dark, damp depths. Pendar turned to me and Orion.

“You two have always had better night vision than myself. Orion, go first, and then you Dedalous. The rest will follow.” I shrugged, thinking “Into the dark I go,” and following closely on Orion’s tail.

[Revenant]

Following Dedalous’ lead, William began his descent into the dark pit of Keraptis’ lair. In surprising contrast to the blisteringly frigid winds outside the pit, the air inside the lair was warm and incredibly moist. The humid wetness rushed past William towards the open-air freedom of the lair’s opening and William couldn’t help but think of the spiraling staircase as the throat of some gigantic beast breathing steadily in its slumber.

Damn I hate wizards, William thought as he trailed the bright point of the alchemical torch winding its way beneath him.

The descending stairway ended at what William figured to be about a foot of dark, murky water. Orion was already well away from the base of the stairs and was studying the linked passage intently. The tunnel was roughly twenty feet wide, and every visible surface was covered in thick moss and hanging slime.

And I guess that's why it’s so humid in here, William thought, plopping into the calf-deep water. Sticky mud squelched in the water under his feet, mud that William assumed filled the watery tunnel.

Behind him, the medic Aqueero hopped into the water with a light splash, a loaded crossbow at the ready. As the man swept his weapon through the darkness, William noticed that, consciously or not, the weapon’s business end had a tendency to settle on where he was.

They don’t trust me, William thought as Pendar made his way down the shaft and signaled for the group to move forward. As they moved, William watched Dedalous, who marched stealthily in front of him and wondered if she still trusted him.

Well, at least she has backup if something happens, he thought. Through their time traveling together William hadn’t exactly become friends with the fox-woman, but he had grown somewhat fond of her and didn’t want to see her torn to bloody ribbons like everyone else who had been thoughtless or ignorant enough to join him.

The thought of dead friends and allies returned to William, once again weighing heavily on him mind.

If this Keraptis is as powerful as Pendar says, then he has to have a library or something that I can use to help me. Fifty feet or so down the passage, the swampy tunnel doglegged to the left and lost as he was in his thoughts, William failed to notice the warning signals that Orion and Dedalous were giving.

He had nearly stepped around the corner when Orion stepped up and pulled him back.

“Huh,” William started, surprised out of his reverie by the sudden contact.

“Watch where the hell you’re going,” Orion hissed, obviously annoyed.

Warm, dark words whispered in the back of William’s mind at Orion’s challenge.

How dare he.

Cut him! Slash him! Rip him!

Feel your hot blood on my skin.

William jerked his arm from Orion’s grasp with a growling snarl. The red tide was rising at the edges of his vision and William could feel the tell-tale sting that heralded the arrival of the demon. It would be so easy for him to push his claws out and through the flesh of this sack of meat in front of him. Every fiber of the revenant's being cried out with the desire to do so.

Just as he was falling back into the red tide, William caught a glimpse of Dedalous and the look in her eyes halted him. He forced himself to breath deeply, letting the red tide ebb back into the dark corners of his mind.

“I’ll be a little more careful,” William said.

Orion looked back and forth between William and Dedalous, as if to question Dedalous’ judgment in choosing the revenant as a partner. William knew that he had lost whatever leeway the guard captain had previously given him now that Orion had seen what lurked in William’s mind.

“Be sure you do,” Orion finally replied.

“What’s the hold-up?” William asked.

“There’s something up ahead,” Aqueero answered, “something magical.”

“A creature?” William desperately hoped so. The failure with the harpy and the near bout with Orion had rankled the demon’s ire and William wanted a chance to vent his rage on something.

“Not sure,” Aqueero shrugged, “but it would be best to let us deal with it.”

William really wondered just why he had been brought down here.

Maybe it’s time for be to be a little distrustful myself, the revenant thought and then stepped aside to let the group do their work.

[Dedalous]

“I don’t see anything down there, but I definitely feel something,” Aqueero stated, watching the passage after the dogleg intently. “Whatever it is, it doesn’t feel malevolent. It’s just there.”

We had stopped just behind the dogleg, covered the torch, and were now waiting for Aqueero’s final verdict. I was soaking in the foot deep water, my paws squishing through the muck that coated the bottom of the passage, my tail floating on top. I was tired of crouching, muffling my breathing so that Aqueero could discern the purpose of the magical energy in our path.

Eventually, Aqueero turned to us, a triumphant gleam in his eyes.

“As far as I can tell, it is safe for us to pass. We will not be harmed.”

“Finally! You sure do take a long time on these things, Aqueero,” said Orion. We all moved up, walking in a ragged line about ten feet long. Suddenly, there was a deafening bang, and I couldn’t move for the life of me.

Standing in front of us on a large pile of bones, right in the middle of a crossroads, was a creature, looking similar to a mangy lion, with large, tattered wings, and a humanoid female face staring out at us from beneath the mane.

“I am Etrusca, and I guard these passages. Choose your path, and do so quickly.”

Pendar, when mobile again, moved to the front, and pointed to the right hand passage, saying “We wish to go through there.”

“Very well,” she said, “You must answer a riddle before you may pass.”
“My creator wants me not, and much in dread will I be bought, my cold embrace is fiercely fought, most all who need me know it not.”

Deep in thought, Pendar paced back and forth, muttering to himself. Aqueero closed his eyes and thought long and hard. Orion stood there with an annoyed look on his face.

“Oh, come on! That ones a coffin!” he shouted.

“Very good. You may pass,” said Etrusca, and moved aside. Behind her there was a passage that faded into the darkness after about thirty feet. We entered, and began walking, halting as we reached a corner sixty feet down. Looking around, I saw another tunnel, thirty five feet long, ending in a dogleg to the right. Five feet from the dogleg, a tunnel branched off to the left.

[Revenant]

Guilt was the first reaction William had towards the whispering voices that urged him not to trust his companions.

Why shouldn’t I trust Dedalous? he argued. She’s only ever shown kindness and acceptance towards me when I don’t deserve it.

That only means that she’s a fool, the voices replied.

Even Pendar and Aqueero, William countered, helped to rescue me from the harpy and watched over me while I healed.

Wasn’t it convenient that Dedalous left me so that her friends could conveniently swooped in to earn my trust, the voices shot back.

I refuse to let you fool me, William snarled at the demon, pushing back against the whispering urge in his mind, you exist only because I am weak.

But the voices didn’t relent as William followed the group through the tunnels Aqueero had assured them was safe. When the magical paralyzing effect gripped him, the voices gleefully pointed out that the medic had deliberately lied to him.

At the very least, they said, I can’t trust Aqueero.

William conceded the point but refused to give up on his other companions until Etrusca appeared. While William had understandably been caught off-guard by the sudden appearance of a massive beast with the face of a woman, Pendar’s reaction had surprised him even more. The man had approached the creature in a friendly manner without any display of guardedness or hostility.

It’s as if, the whispers pointed out, Pendar knew the creature would be there and told me nothing about it. I can’t trust him either.

With two companions down, and given the knowledge of how eager the guard captain had been to lay hands on him only minutes prior, it was easy for the whispers to slip Orion’s trust from William’s grasp. As William followed his four companions down the tunnel Pendar had chosen he was once more on guard for treachery.

When they do turn on me, the darkness snickered, I’ll show them how right they were not to trust me.

Soon enough, the group had come to a split in the end of the tunnel.

“Master?” Orion asked, turning to Pendar.

“Hmm …,” Pendar scratched his chin as he looked at the two tunnels. “I’m not sure. What do you think Orion?”

Pendar was obviously playing the mentor and putting Orion in a position to think for himself. The younger man smiled and soon enough the group was studying the two passages and planning the best way to proceed. Throughout the discussion, William stood quietly in the murky tunnel water, cold, aching, and miserable.

Already burning on a short fuse from the demon’s urgings, William refused to wait any longer and, with a suddenness that surprised the others, grabbed one of the bright alchemical torches from the fastening strap on Pendar’s pack and waded into the left branching tunnel.

“Hey!” Orion called as the rest of the group rushed after him, “What in the hells do you think you’re doing?”

William whirled on the man, a rabid dog on a short leash.

“What I’m not doing is standing around like a child too frightened of the dark to step outside.”

Dedalous looked like she wanted to respond, but Pendar put a restraining hand on her shoulder, a mentor again judging how his youngest apprentice would handle the volatile situation.

“You’re a fool who is going to get us all killed,” Orion stepped up to William, “Keraptis is a powerful wizard and charging around blindly will give away what little advantage we have.”

“Stupid boy,” William snarled, “if you think that any amount of planning will surprise Keraptis in his own lair then you’re the fool who is going to get us killed.”

Eyes narrowed with dislike for the revenant, Orion looked back to Pendar who nodded once.

“Alright then,” he relented and the group headed down the left path.

[Dedalous]

As William headed down the path to the left, I looked towards Master Pendar, and just shook my head.

“He wasn’t this way on the trip here, master. It seems that Orion’s beliefs are clouding his judgment, again, and he is grinding at Williams nerves. Would it be possible…?”

“No. We need him here. Orion is as important on this trip as you or I. Your friend will just have to learn to either ignore or get along with him. I will talk with him, however, when we get a chance. For now, focus on the task at hand.” As Pendar finished this statement, we began climbing a set of stairs that led out of the water and into a room about fifteen feet wide and ten feet long. Along the left wall were five large, corpselike Frankenstein monsters, each with a different number carved on it’s chest.

As Aqueero, who had been following behind Pendar and myself, stepped into the room, one of the amalgamations of corpse flesh opened it’s mouth to speak, saying “One of us does not belong with the others. If you can pick it out, we will let you pass. If not, we will kill you. You have one minute, and one guess.”

The numbers carved on the creatures chests, beginning to glow, so as to be seen better in the dark, were 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13. Pendar moved in front of the group, saying to William “Stay calm, we don’t want a fight, we just want to get through this.” As he was saying this, he walked past William, and began studying the glowing numbers on the amalgamations.

[Revenant]

Small room. Perfect for an ambush, was the first thought William had when he entered the next room. A single door, opposite the entrance, seemed to be the only way to go forward, but from the looks of things, the group would have to solve the corpse’s riddle to get it open.

The corpses themselves were huge, combined bits of various bodies grafted together into whole beings. They were certainly larger than any of the members of the group and if William had to hazard a guess, could reach nearly anywhere in the enclosed space with their powerful arms. Strangely, William caught no scent of decay coming from them.

“Magic,” he grumbled, following Pendar’s movements with his eyes as Pendar studied the numbers etched into the flesh of the various bodies. Quick glances towards the remaining members of the group showed them all to be lost in concentration.

Most likely trying to puzzle this numbers game out.

Or perhaps they are trying to put me at ease so they can catch me unaware?

William gave Dedalous a sidelong glance, hoping not to let her catch his look. She too seemed to be giving the riddle her full attention. Seeing her, a moment of clarity breached his thoughts.

No, it would be stupid of them to fight me here. The room is too small and they would have nowhere to run if they didn’t take me down quick enough.

William shook his head. The urging voices were muddying his thoughts, making every play of light or subtle movement from his companions seem like a sinister act.

What is wrong with me? he questioned. Dedalous wouldn’t lead me into a trap like this.

Moving so that the far wall of the room was against his back, William closed his eyes and concentrated on calming himself. Everything would be ruined, and all of this would be for nothing if he lost control at this point. He had to keep it together.

And as he concentrated, the seconds of the deadline for the riddle counted swiftly down.

[Dedalous]

I stood back as Pendar studied the corpses. Something tickled the back of my mind, but I couldn’t place it. I heard Aqueero muttering in the back that he didn’t need this. If we got into combat now, he would have to use his healing ability, which still wasn’t fully recovered from healing William. With the amalgamations of corpse flesh totally still, I moved up with my master, and began examining them. One number stood out to me.

“The answer is nine,” I said. Pendar nodded. And the Golem moved out of the way. As Orion tried to move ahead, itching to get this mission completed, Pendar put a hand to his chest and stopped him.

“I want to study these creatures a little,” he said aloud, and to Orion and myself, “And give William some time to cool down”

As he stepped up and started probing with his magic, I sat down and started drying my fur, then oiling it to lose the stink of the stagnant water. I brushed out my tail and hair, and then began maintaining my weapons. The damp heat of the air had warped my bow, so it was pretty much useless, but my katana was fine. I was just beginning to consider stropping the blade when Pendar stood up.

“Everybody up, we’re moving on.” He waited until all were up, and then began moving.

[Revenant]

“Finally,” William grumbled, shifting his pack and following Pendar’s crew out of the small, corpse guarded room. He pretended not to notice the guarded looks that Orion and Aqueero gave him as he passed, but the voices in his mind couldn’t help but point them out as hostile.

Following Pendar’s lead, William passed through the room’s now unguarded exit in second position. The air here, like in the winding entrance, was hot and wet, and the steady rising and falling from up ahead once again reminded William that this lair was more like a slumbering giant than a cold, lifeless complex. Tight darkness, narrow and confining, constricted more than William’s body, the weight of the mountain above crushing his mind in a vice-like grip until it was difficult to separate the demon’s paranoid urges from his own brooding thoughts.

William was, and always had been, a creature of nature and the outdoors, and understood all too well that he was completely out of his element in these crudely manufactured tunnels. As a human, William’s existence had been defined by the felling of trees and the ability to forcibly mold and shape them. Reborn as a revenant, his life was even simpler, constructed magically as a living engine of death and nothing more. Keraptis’ maze-like puzzle lair went against all of his natural inclinations and the trek, combined with his internal struggle to keep the demon in check, was beginning to wear him out.

Up ahead, the light from Pendar’s alchemical torch broke the plane of darkness leading into Keraptis’ next playroom.

“What the hell?” William muttered as the room came into view.

He had a feeling that things were about to get worse.