Chapter Five
One will act insanities plea
One will be the monster it breeds
And in the confusion My mind is numb
Because I just might be the thing that feeds.
Baine looked out among the encampment of the Resistance of Order with a little pride. Everything was right where he had left off four hundred thousand years ago. No scratch that, he thought with a gleeful giggle, his damnable eternal father was no more. That was a step he had never been able to accomplish but somehow these ignorant ants had squashed the giant's foot. Not that Baine particularly cared who was responsible for the demise of his immortal father. With the Grim out of the way, he could ascend the Throne and take his rightful place as ruler of this pathetic ball of rock. 370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnwroclocQH
He was waiting for his little pet sorcerer Baine had chased two days past, to the black marsh, to recover enough to attempt the spell required to summon the 'Master' as everyone called this Lich. True enough, Master Delver was powerful in his own right, but when compared next to true immortals, he paled dimly. Baine in his true body contained more power the most powerful combined and he had not yet reached his full potential when his mother snuffed him from the world of the living. Somehow Baine would need to learn the other Purpose to this time. No matter how potent his powers were, they would be no match for someone who wielded the Purpose of Order and Death. This time they would offer him no quarter and no reprieve. There would be no rebirth. To be sure, this time they were coming to clean his stain from the passage of time.370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLzdvnkmPbm
In hindsight, Baine wished he had chased a more potent sorcerer through them infernal woods, Brandon was only of the Third Circle. You could throw a rock in a major city anywhere east of the Divide and find a Third Circle sorcerer, but the capability to store more souls became rarer after that rank. The more souls meant the more energy potential and the more power available for use. It would take almost all of Brandon's energy to perform the spell, and he would not be able to hold it long before the insignificant being keeled over but beggars could not be choosers. 370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRoypqf2VJt
The energy would rush from the chubby sorcerer's body like muddy floodwaters from a burst dam till all that would be left would be a lifeless husk. If Brandon do perish then another would have to be sought and sorcerers in these parts of the world were few and far in between. This pet was the subordinate sorcerer for the pair that had been operating out of Farthest Reach. Brandon had helped to implant a First Circle sorcerer into the Temple, but that one had been found out and slew by the Mother Matron within the Temple. Now only little fat Brandon was all that was left to ferment strife into Order's ranks down here, which is why the Resistance had its whole army parked right outside the walls of the city.370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL6KWd3jV65
Before Tharpe, Fredrick had been contacted by the Council of Sorcerers. They lauded him for his bravery and perseverance in the face of tyranny. The leader of the Resistance head would not have been able to grow much bigger after this and he gladly accepted their offer of help. Since the council had effectively manipulated the dull farmer and waged war in the East with the hopes of adding the Free Towns to their collective. After the failure of Tharpe, things went into disarray but Baine stepped in. He had yet to reveal his true identity to anyone but his new pet, but under his leadership, they had now grown from a mere eight hundred men that they were in the winter, to well over two thousand with the help of a little show of real sorcery.370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZSFcX0m8XV
Fredrick came strolling down through the tents towards the dark musing Baine. The side of his face was a mess of scaring from the fires that had ravaged Tharpe. His right eye was gone, now a rough leather patch covered it, and no hair grew on his head at all, not even eyebrows. The belligerent farmer was so revolting to look at that women screamed when he strolled by through the camp of the Resistance. 370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy85sKgr4Rm
Oh, Baine could have fixed him but where was the fun in that. He would miss the wails of fright and the weak-stomached men sounds of retching. Then he would have nothing to look at nor listen to, and that would be frightfully boring in the long run of things. Fredrick strolled up beside him and turned to look at the besieged city. He was trying his best to ignore everybody's gasp of horror or crude comments and curses. Fredrick had been in search of someone who could heal his disfigurement but the was currently a shortage of high-rank sorcerers in the East. Baine had steadfast refused every offer and returned the old man's threats with some violence of his own. Soon the leader turned to bitter resignation in his current condition that warmed the Originals heart with a certain joy that was only brought on by suffering.370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXJQf75z71e
"So, when can Brandon summon the Sorcerers?" Fredrick asked without looking at Baine. He had found out early that this was no longer little Sedrick in the body that he could bully. That this was, in fact, something more close to a demon or God, Fredrick had not decided which one yet, but he would not cross him. Baine had come close to killing Fredrick a few times with sorcery that went far beyond anything displayed by Sedrick over small slights until the old man now treated Baine with the respect that the former reaper felt was due him as the future God of this Planet. Baine wanted groveling but he felt that would be a little premature. Fear induced respect would be fine for the moment.370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhhw7aaXkh3
"Maybe ten more hours. I do want to make sure I can communicate to the Delver fellow. I can't make the connection myself having never met the man though he sounds like a fine chap." Baine said with an off-handed, urban manner. He twirled a knife absently in one hand as he stared intently at the distant walls. They stood a good ways back, barely being able to see people on top the battlements between the marlins. Absently he gave a wave towards Brandon's direction, "Might want to have some men start to dig a hole somewhere. Make sure you get some measurements. He is a little hefty."370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDNqommbWQy
Fredrick's face paled at first and the tinged red at the callousness of the man before him, "You don't care for him, do you?"370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡElG1rCkP45
Baine smiled in amusement, madness evident in his eyes, " Should a hunter worry for the goat when bringing a wolf to bay? Do you worry about the horse when chasing the prize? No, goats are replaceable and he is not exactly a prize horse. If he lives, he will be useful again but if he dies, at least he did one useful thing is in his worthless life. Just hope you can claim the same."370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRz9vkoWPNh
Fredrick swallowed hard as he turned to look at the walled city before them. They had all traffic into the city cut off but still did not have the men to take it. The siege went on day after day and month after month, with no end in sight. Each day would begin the same with the inside forces attempting to pick off some men with arrows, occasionally getting a few that strayed to close to the city. Then, the Resistance would respond kindly by hurling boulders and flaming oil into the second-largest city in the East. There had been no breaches as yet though a good portion of the Western flank of the city had suffered fire damage. Smoke curled slowly for behind the battlements as the people inside worked inside to snuff out this mornings bombardment.370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0zvjYFx2UF
Across the field, in front of the city, more catapults and trebuchets were being constructed by bored men. Fredrick shuttered in fear as he thought about that boredom. They had already had fights nightly inside there camp as men had nothing to do. Boredom was their enemy now. This army was not regulars. It lacked in discipline and they wanted action. Most joined on promises of looting and women and since they joined, all they did is look at walls. Occasionally they would do a foray to keep the defenders busy, but they did not have near the numbers to take the city by force.370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdvRqLwFLIL
Baine gave his knife an absent flick of his wrist, and it streaked through the air out of Fredrick's sight. Baine watched the walls intently, and a few seconds later a scream emitted from the walls as a person fell from between the marlins to plummet to the ground. Baine smiled maniacally as he flicked his wrist and a knife sailed back to his outstretched hand, covered in dripping blood.370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5DDWN4dTYx
"You could end this siege here and now, couldn't you?" Fredrick asked with a little edge to his voice.370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMXAdODjtcd
Baine turned to him as he was licking the blade, the blood dribbled down his chin into his unkempt black beard as he nodded, "But what good would it serve the cause to end it now? The people see us struggle against the unfair odds and the evil oppression of the necromancers and they flock to our banner. If I blow up the city, well it seems a little counterproductive to the cause don't you think?"370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ81OjD49IuQ
Fredrick looked at the man before him and realized he had underestimated him. He thought him to be nothing but a mad man, crazy thoroughly through, one who had lost his wits to the power offered through sorcery. But here sat a man with meticulous thought and cunning that begged to be taken serious. Here sat the single most dangerous enemy he ever had, and he sat in his own camp by Fredrick's personal invitation.370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7zzHDMMRiW
"What you say makes sense. So how long do we wait then? Every day we lose a few to lucky shots, but we do gain more." Fredrick asked turning back to eye the second largest city in the East. It was a long-coveted gem of Fredrick's and one he meant to have after his defeat at Tharpe. He needed this victory to prove to his men that it was providence that guided and promised it was time to throw off the yoke of the Temple's oppression.370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡydvyIVV6cE
Baine waved with a skinny arm at the walls, "Weren't you listening? How long is it going to take you to knock over them walls --" the thin man waved a dirty hand at the ongoing siege, "-- or starve them out. Answer that question, and there you go. I just told you I wouldn't blow it up." He said irritably. He finished cleaning his knife with his tongue, seemingly relish each drop of the fresh human blood that had clung to the blade of the short throwing knife.370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRHyUHBel4w
Fredrick sighed, "That means a lot of men are going to die. That city has five thousand in it, not all of those can fight, but a lot will try too. We don't have the force yet to take down the walls. They tend to be rather irritated with you when you do that, and I would rather not have a repeat of Tharpe."370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ33W50ZpPEG
Baine held his finger up in front of the leader of The Resistance, "Ah you said the keyword, my friend, yet. The city isn't going anywhere; they can't up and leave. We have the gates covered, and men in ships are blockading the port. Let them starve. It will lower the number of men we need. Oh! Look, another one dead." He flicked his knife again off towards the wall again gleefully.370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4PO1ulAS5k
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Therese put back on the cursed black robes of the Necromancer again and strode back out into the cold, drafty halls of the Temple at Doldrom. They reflected her mood perfectly at the present, black and oppressed. She needed to go and find the young Renee', her aspiring apprentice again. The little twit was probably off on another conquest if she knew her girl well. Today they were going to revisit the elderly Matron. She was being particularly stubborn about issuing the latest edict. Delfina was old, as far as anyone knew, she was the oldest any Matron had ever made it to at seventy-five winters. Death Magic had a terrible price for its power. It caused an early form of dementia. If a Matron made it to sixty-five winters and still sane then, she was considered old.370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxk2BVHogyv
There was a rite to go through after a Matron had reached such a stage that she could no longer execute her office. Her second would take her into the portal room and summon the Grim. Then her second would terminate her gently herself, and the Grim would carry her home. It was called the Rite of Passage. The two apostates were trying to stir so much trouble in Doldrom that it would appear that old Delfina had finally lost the ability to execute the office of Matron and then they would kill the bitch and install Therese as Mother Matron. The Temple would then be entirely in the sway of the council. Their first edict would be to abolish the damn Temple, and it would be over before it began.370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBWa7oOtC0U
They had lost contact with Sedrick over in Tharpe, where they were attempting a hostile take over and decided that it was time for a change of plan. Here, they would use the Temple traditions against her. Therese knocked on Renee's door and heard soft giggling coming from inside. She growled and flicked her hand at the lock with a little mumble, and it unlocked with a sharp click. It didn't sap any power nor take thought for her. She hosted ten including her soul, not too many First Circles were left on the Continent of Ratar'. They had sent the entire First Circle to the East in hopes that all, or most of the East would fall sway to the council.370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzlU5lYB9N3
It was out of necessity that such a desperate gamble had been taken. The war that had started some thirty years ago had never officially ended. Soon, it would become common knowledge to the Mad King Rodrick that it was the Council that had planted advisors in what was now known as the Borderlands, the breakaway kingdom in the northwest section of Ratar'. It was under the Council's guidance that the proposals to limit the King's power had been brought before the Council of the Dukes with the knowledge that it would result in the war that had ravaged the Federation for the past ten years. The Free Cities and The Borderlands needed the alliance with the East to trap the Federation and finally break free of the rule of religion. The Federation ruled by faith, with the King firmly sat at the head of the Temple. It was thought that the Federation was too large to fall, a mountain impossible to surmount. Her Master saw a way to level that mountain into a flood plain.370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwDNVnDSNlx
The door swung in, and she saw Renee' under the covers with one of the acolytes from the Temple. She turned red in the face with fury contrasting her golden gray hair. Therese raised her voice a little with the next spell as she released the Purpose at the young acolyte. The girl turned into a little gray mouse next to the young Renee', who squealed in fear and turned white, as she turned to face her mentor and Master clutching a sheet around her lush naked figure.370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqknDComS9X
"How dare you!" Therese bellowed in rage, "We are here to accomplish a mission. We do not have time for your LUST, you little harlot! If you have hopes to TRY to INHERIT from me grow up!"370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRBf1kihDGO
The girl in the bed of twenty or so winters quivered in fear under the older woman's rage. Her usually well-tanned skin pale and dark brown eyes wide with fear. She shook her head in acknowledgment as she climbed out of bed with the rodent and got dressed obediently. The older woman coldly placed the squeaking rodent on the floor and crushed its head with a firm stomp of the heel of her leather boot as the young woman cringed.370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl4paRj7IQD
"You do realize that is the third one this month, right? What will it be this time?" Therese asked her shaking apprentice, pointing at the bloody rodent on the stone floor. Renee' glanced down at the bloodied corpse of the rodent laying shyly and shuddered in disgust.370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡntJzEpWZt7
"I don't know maybe she fell down the well and hit her head. Wells are dangerous you know." Renee' shrugged as her color returned then she added dreamily, "But she was adorable."370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgege2ULvk1
Therese snorted as she picked the rodent up by the tail and looked hard at her young apprentice. “Well, no going back now, time to go to the well and drop this thing in and transform her back before the reapers came to look at a mouse with a human soul.”370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqUIk4wc1CC
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The reaper climbed precariously down the well wondering how a girl of eighteen gets all the way down here. The stones were slick, and when one tries to climb with nothing but bones for hands and feet, they would quickly fall into the water. The thought of reassembling himself painstakingly in front of another soul again was a distressing notion, and he redoubled his effort in picking sure holds. He negotiated it to the bottom and found her soul weeping, connected to her bloated swollen corpse. A mighty blow had crushed her head, one whole side of the skull had caved, leaving a mutilated eye hanging from its socket. It took more than a fall into a shallow well to sustain such damage. He was wondering how an ogre had managed to get into the Temple.370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWoJwqvwEBJ
As the reaper gingerly set his bones down into the cold water, he set quickly to disconnecting the soul from the body and picked her up. He slung her shade over his shoulder and started370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT7kuiELNTd
the climb back up the mossy and damp stones of the walls of the well. He would have to let the necromancers know that there was a body in here or else the water would go bad and people would die making his life harder. He broached the top, heaving him and his burden over the edge and set his ward down, kneeling beside her.370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeepYlvJkqW
"Now my name is Marvin, and I am a reaper. I am sorry you are indecent at the moment, but that is the way the soul works--" The reaper went to explain the peculiarities of the souls. The shade wrapped both hands around his neck and brought his head even with her tear-filled eyes. She put her eyes even with his. The woman's eyes were on fire with anger and vengeance.370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOcPH3TG3E5
"I know how it works. I am Ulanda, an acolyte of Grim. I was murdered. I need a message delivered to Grim." She cried angrily, letting go of the startled reaper. Marvin stumbled backward as he struggled to regain his bearings.370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaTsTfaJ08w
"Well um, you see that's a problem." He stuttered scratching at the top of his bony skull in confusion.370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxmapziL0Gn
"Why's that?" She stopped crying and looked at him with a sniffle, trying to hide her ample breast from the reaper.370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHBB3c74ALm
"Well, the Grim is... Well, he's gone." The reaper said finally with exasperation. They were not supposed to be spreading this around, but she was a particular case. She had requested a message to the Grim specifically.370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcIHx7NanA2
"Oh no, then no one will remove the sorcerers that have invaded this house." The shade said sadly, starting to shake violently from the news. She leaned back against the well which had become her grave and let a mournful moan escape her parted lips.370Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1fs1RHlnmd
"Do what?" Marvin said, his attention fully caught by the ill tides of this young woman, "I think we need to have a more extensive talk."
