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‘BARCIUS, BARCIUS. WAKE UP.’ I whispered. I forced myself not to scream so I wouldn’t alert the cultists below. I shook him by the shoulder until I heard his shallow breath.
The tiefling opened his eyes, those grey orbs staring back at me, ‘I’m here,’ he said. His voice came out more hoarse than before. He sat up, rubbing his eyes as he crossed his legs. ‘I didn’t expect those people to be here. The Luminary Nine-’
‘Are clearly otherwise engaged,’ Tarasque snapped. ‘Put them to the back of your mind. They’re not here, at least not from what I can glean.’ She peered back down to the antechamber below and grimaced. ‘If we don’t hurry, more blood will be spilt.’
Barcius looked taken back by the fire genasi’s admission. I would’ve felt the same if someone had told me to give up on the only family I had left in the world.
‘Those cultists are the only ones standing in our way,’ the tiefling said. ‘The demon they’re calling to, is the one my grandfather banished years ago.’
‘Why are they calling it back?’ I asked.
Barcius turned to me, looking grim. ‘That’s what I’d like to find out.’
‘Then, if we’re all in agreement,’ Tarasque said, getting up from her hiding place with the help of the greatsword. A primal scream escaped her lips and her tresses ignited as she threw herself over the balcony.
Mitztail looked at me, his golden eyes widened. ‘Oh, we’re really doing this, okay.’ He squeaked, glancing at his rapier then back to me. ‘Here goes nothing.’ With a yowl, he followed the fire genasi, leaping off the balcony, riding a purple haze in a spiral motion downward.
‘Guess that leaves us,’ Barcius said, giving me an awkward smile.
‘We should probably join them,’ I replied, shuffling over to the edge of the balcony and looking down at the drop. I stood, my legs buckled under me as I considered my options. I clutched onto my crook and took a deep breath. ‘You coming?’ I turned back to my comrade.
Barcius was back on his feet, holding his spellbook before him. A summoning circle appeared beneath him and a skeleton figure emerged from his back. ‘Ready.’
I swallowed hard, and awkwardly hummed to agree. Around me I felt the little air in the space, drawing it into my being until it swirled around me. I climbed up onto the edge of the balcony then jumped with my eyes closed, trusting my instincts to work with the wind to carry me down. I landed and almost cheered, until my hooves stumbled and I fell down with a thud. I looked up to see Barcius gliding down from the balcony with a pair of bone wings holding him up. Once at my side, he helped me get back onto my hooves.
Tarasque and Mitztail were already standing off against the cultists. One hooded figure had an obsidian blade in his hand, ready to slash his own flesh.
‘Don’t you dare,’ the fire genasi bellowed.
None of us knew what this ritual was, we only speculated they were attempting to summon the demon Barcius referred to as Tharizdun.
‘Stay back all of you,’ the cultist hissed, wielding his knife before us.
Tarasque grunted, bumping her greatsword into his wrist, causing the cultist to release the blade and sent it clattering onto the ground. She smirked, ‘You were saying?’
He looked up at the towering figure before him, trembled in fear at the fire radiating from her body. ‘N-nothing,’ he stuttered.
The rest of the followers stood frozen in their spots, each of them with their crimson hoods drawn over their faces. One by one they dropped their obsidian blades and held up their hands.
Mitztail strummed a single chord on his lute, his purple haze forming into a giant hand and scooped up the discarded weaponry. He gathered them up and dumped him inside his pack.
‘I’ll ask you only one time,’ Tarasque bellowed, driving her sword into the ground. ‘What is your business here?’
The cultist was taken back, ‘Our business?’ he asked, putting a hand to his chest in dismay. ‘You four are the ones trespassing on our Lord’s sacred land.’
Barcius cleared his throat, ‘If I may inject, you believe this chateau belongs to The Chained God?’ he queried, a laugh carried with his words. ‘How ill-informed you are. This is the residence of the Amrai family, and I, the successor. It is you who is trespassing.’
The cultists shuffled in their spots, looking to one another, seemingly unwilling to respond to the tiefling. A bellowing voice erupted throughout the antechamber, in a language unfamiliar to me, yet the cultists seemed to understand the words perfectly. They covered their ears underneath their hoods, lifting their heads to the ceiling and laughing maniacally.
‘What are they doing?’ Tarasque drew her greatsword, turning back to the tiefling to ask.
But Barcius didn’t respond. He stood wide-eyed staring at the army of cultist’s in horror. He knew the language. He knew the voice.
‘Hey!’ the fire genasi bellowed again. She walked over and grabbed him by the shoulder, but the tiefling wasn’t phased.
‘Tharizdun,’ Barcius finally said after a few minutes. His words were quietly spoken, like his mouth was dry like cotton.
One by one the cultist’s eyes began to glow like rubies, staring directly at us. They moved in a similar way to the shadow beasts we’d faced in the courtyard, eerie and broken, dragging their limbs behind them, like they’d no control of their own bodies. Several of them produced new obsidian blades from their sleeves. They took the blade to their throats and severed their necks, dropping to the floor with a thud. A puddle of crimson liquid pooled around the bodies. A wicked laugher erupted from the remaining cultists, inching closer to our party.
‘Run,’ Tarasque bellowed.
I clutched onto my crook, scooping my tabaxi comrade up under my arm and started running. I’d no location in mind, I just kept running. Behind me my other comrades joined, with the fire genasi holding the cultists back at the rear. They were no longer men, but beasts controlled by a distant demonic presence. We only needed to locate the source to prevent this.
‘Saria, can mew put me down?’ Mitztail asked, clawing at my arm. I accepted his request and placed him onto the floor once we reached a dead end.
Barcius joined us shortly afterwards, leaving Tarasque to fend off against the cultists. ‘Tell me one of you has a plan.’
‘I have an idea, but it’s a little crazy,’ the tabaxi smiled slyly. ‘These beings are controlled by that voice, what if I was to mimic it and lure them away.’
The tiefling thought for a moment, ‘That would give Saria and I time to locate the demon, ensure its bonds are secure at least.’ He directed the suggestion at me, and I gave a single nod to agree. ‘Just direct us however you see fit.’
Mitztail hummed to himself quietly, the same purple haze circling around his body. He tipped his hardee as the force lifted him up and in a flash he disappeared with his lute readied in his paws.
‘Do you really think his plan is going to work?’ I asked, feeling slightly uneasy.
Barcius shrugged, ‘It’s Mitztail, he’s a crazy tabaxi who does what he likes,’ he replied.
Together we shuffled back towards the antechamber, the scuffle between the cultists and Tarasque had died. She stood alone, still holding her greatsword up, readying to defend if necessary. But the cultists had gathered around the tapestry once more, gazing up at the spectre figure before them. A feline-like figure morphed from the purple haze holding a lute in his paws.
‘It is I,’ he bellowed. The voice, an almost perfect replica of the one we’d heard previous but this time spoken in common so we all understood. The cultists didn’t seem to notice the difference. ‘I, your Lost God, has returned.’
The cultists erupted in a chorus of prayers, kneeling before the bard and bowing with their entire bodies. They hung off his every word, obeyed every command, transfixed on the lie that their God had returned to this realm.
‘Will you keep an eye on this lot for a moment?’ Barcius said, tapping Tarasque on the shoulder. She tensed, close to striking the tiefling, but stopped at the last second when she realised he was friend not foe.
Tarasque cursed under her breath then replied, ‘I don’t care what you do, just be quick.’
I watched Mitztail command his audience, noticing my presence in the distance he winked at me, signalling he’d everything under command. I kept the faith he’d see this through.
My mind drifted for a moment, I can’t believe I doubted him.
Barcius hurried past me, gesturing me to follow and I did. We hurried behind the tapestry, finding a door. After a small pinprick of blood was applied to the knob, the door allowed us to pass willingly. Once we were on the other side, I mended my comrade’s wound. We entered a nook, bookcases piled high from floor to ceiling and covering every wall.
‘What is this place?’ I walked into the room, gazing at every inch of the room. An once fantastical place that held countless knowledge and magic, yet now it seemed devoid of both. Books littered the floor, several of them with pages torn and covers clawed through by some unknown beast. Someone had been here and had been looking for something.
Barcius came up beside me, picking up a single book from the desk and ran his fingertips over the embossed cover. ‘This is my grandfather’s study,’ he said, struggling to speak with a lump in his throat. He moved through the space like a ghost, stroking book covers and peering at every curious item that littered the space. ‘He’d spend hours locked up in here, pouring himself into his work. All to keep the realm safe. To keep me safe.’
‘I-’
‘You don’t have too. My grandfather knew what he was doing, he was successful in removing that demon from my soul. Even though he knew it would cost him his life, he saw it through to the end,’ the tiefling said, picking up another book and scoffing at the contents. ‘He was the only family I had left in the world, and in his absence I was under the ward of the Luminary Nine. I was a mere child still finding my way in this world when I posted at the head of a secret society.’
‘I can’t begin to imagine the hardships you’ve faced,’ I replied, keeping my voice soft. ‘You knew your grandfather better than anyone. Surely somewhere in this clutter, there’s an answer.’
‘Then let us make haste before Mitztail’s facade fades.’
We poured through the study, looking through the disarray of strewn books and rolls of parchment. Some were mere scribbles, quickly drafted notes or crude diagrams, none of which made any sense of me. Barcius seemed to understand the language fine though, reading aloud a few words at a time in a foreign tongue. After a short time, my comrade called out to me. I’d climbed down the steps from the bookcase, carrying several books under my arm.
‘I think I’ve found something,’ Barcius said.
A large dusty tome sat before him on the desk, open wide with faded illustrations running alongside the text. I took the seat closest to the table and listened.
‘The language this is written in is old, even before my grandfather’s time, but there’s no mistaking the handwriting. He wrote this in code, in an ancient language he taught to me only. I can only speculate that he meant for me to find this,’ Barcius said, smoothing the edge of the page between his fingertips. ‘Forgive me, for I haven’t studied for some time.’ He cleared his throat then read the passage aloud.
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‘Twenty-seventh of the third Umbral moon. It is as I feared. My son and the heiress are unable to conceive a child, despite my best efforts to aid their plight. It seems no elixir nor spell in the realm can aid them. I fear they may result in more extreme measures for the Lady to bear a child.’
‘First of the fourth Astral moon. They have indeed a being, they’ve believed can aid their struggles but I fear it isn’t as they believe. I sensed a darker presence at work.’
‘Tenth of the fourth Astral moon. My son and the Lady have embarked on the journey for this mysterious entity despite my pleads for them not to go. I cannot help them now, not with my duties within the city walls. I pray for their safe return and that they get the answers they desire.’
‘Nineteenth of the fourth Astral moon. They’ve returned and with them the promise of hope. I can only observe from afar and pray it is as they say.’
‘Second of the fourth Umbral moon. The Lady is with a child. I should be overjoyed at the promise of a grandchild but I can not help wondering what it might have cost my family.’
‘Twelfth of the ninth Astral moon. I was given a grandson. Barcius. He’s just like his mother, but his eyes, there’s something off about his eyes. They lack colour, but why?’
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‘The dates on the following passages are too faded to read, but I believe they’re from my childhood. Unlike the previous entries, these are more sparse. Grandfather always seemed weighed down with work during that time.’ Barcius continued to explain to me.
I hang off his every word. He wouldn’t have called me over to read through this with him if he didn’t believe there was something of importance that could aid us in his trial.
‘What else is there?’ I queried, dumping the books from under my arm into my lap.
Barcius turned the page and continued reading.
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‘My grandson is growing up to be a fine young gentleman, I only wish I could see him more but my duties to the noblemen’s council are unending. He is a reserved child, hiding in his mother’s shadow, and refuses to be around children his own age.’
‘I visited my grandson today, and felt a strange aura surrounding him. When I questioned my son, he refused to delve into the secrets of his birth, only that he and the Lady were overjoyed with their brooding. But I cannot shake the feeling something isn’t right.’
‘The citizens are in uproar about a strange beast they’d seen in the woods, close to where my family resides. I believe they are planning an ambush to catch such a fiend, when they leave I plan to stay close to their heels.’
‘I found the fiend, the citizens passing in, escaping in fear of such a creature. When I came to the clearing I couldn’t believe my eyes. My son and his Lady were murdered, and my only heir drenched in their blood. But the child wasn’t of his own mind, his eyes were bright like rubies and the noises that escaped his lips were not of this realm. I used my magic to subdue him, bringing the child back to his senses before we buried his parents in silence. I’ve brought him back to my chateau in the hopes to monitor this strange behaviour.’
‘Months have passed and still my research yields little results. What could have caused my grandson to turn into that creature? Why did he murder his parents? Who is controlling him? I haven’t been able to locate the original documents or chartered any map in which my son may have visited. Who did they see before they conceived the child? This has to be their doing. What fiend has that power, unless it was not a gift but a contract instead.’
‘I’ve theorised that He of Eternal Darkness is responsible. My son sought out his ability to create new life after death, yet they were tricked. They weren’t giving a child, but giving the seed of the new God. Tharizdun, the fiend tied to my Grandson. I believe I’ve found a spell that can seal him away for good. It’s a dark art, and it’s unlikely I will return after I’ve enacted it. I pray my grandson never learns the truth. Regardless, if I’m successful at removing the fiend from his soul, he will never be whole. He’ll always search for the missing half. One day I fear he will find his way back to Tharizdun. If the fiend becomes whole once more, he’ll be unstoppable. Barcius will not be able to hold the Lost God back, he instead will become the Eater of Worlds.’
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‘So, it’s like that, is it grandfather. Even the Grand Warlock, Osim Amrai, couldn’t solve my issue,’ Barcius announced, slamming the book shut. ‘My parents made a deal with a demon so I could be born into this realm but it seemed it came at a steep price.’
‘What does it mean?’ I asked.
‘It means neither Tharizdun or I can live in the realm without the other.’
The tiefling’s complexion seemed paler than before.
‘In order to destroy him, I must become one with him.’
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