Chapter Two
Alive and well! to my brother's surprise
Now, who's blood shall be sought
And whose head shall fall so I can rise
And my Father's throne be bought?
"Hey, he was going to be the Seed of Destruction whether or not he spent fifteen minutes trying on rocks and one frozen pile of sh—" Damon protested with his hands up.377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJNXaoJXCCd
"Enough!,” Faldo interrupted the bickering irritably, “What does this do for us at the moment? Anything at all?"377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvdRoHMHZnX
Faldo looked at each one of his fellow council members for answers. He had never actually met Baine. The bearer of power had still been making his way back slowly from his battle with Fredrick when the Seed of Destruction had a confrontation with Damon. Here, Faldo would have to follow the lead of the other, more knowledgeable people.377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPVk1hQn2Bn
"Actually yes," Jen nodded thoughtfully, considering what the seneschal of the Underworld had sent, "Let's listen to the news that this trader brought in with the first pack train and we will then talk. Sir please you have the floor."377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXKYWImlQ6l
She waved the road-weary trader forward. He was dressed in poorly cared for studded leather armor and had a battered sword scabbard belted on to his waste. He had been relieved of the said weapons at the gate of the City. A matter of council policy, till further notice, no arms were allowed inside Tharpe Proper by unauthorized individuals. Wallace raised his hand to ask a question until Jen cleared her throat to let him know to save it. The weary merchant gave him a scattered and frightened look and then began.377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1TWu08nLsp
"I come from Doldrom to trade at the Great City of the Lake. We did not know what had occurred to the good people here, but things do not fare much better there. Over the winter, the old Mother Matron Delfina received evidence that her own lower necromancers were charlatans. She tried and killed them herself. A week later, month after Grim-tide, two more show up claiming they were sent of Grim. Since then, the old Matron has fallen more and more out of the public sight, coming forward only to pass more and more questionable judgments. I fear before spring has fully bloomed, the Great Town of the Wood shall suffer a fate similar to yours. After seeing your town recovering, I sought out the Mother Matron and was surprised to find she was not the supreme power that ruled here. True, it is refreshing but fearful too, because a council can bicker while the City of Doldrom burns before Chaos himself.' We of the East change not'" The trader quoted the ancient saying before bowing and backed up respectfully.377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz9MabqOtXV
Jen came forward to stand before her friends. The Necromancers no longer wore the robes of Judgment except when in court. The rest of the time, they wore the armor they wore on the last day of Grim's existence, swearing to wear it every day till his return. The Matron's chain jingled softly, as she shifted uneasily under the scrutiny of the council. They had been meeting for five months, but none had yet grown comfortable with breaking centuries of traditions, some laid down by the All-father himself.377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkLGTKJKFuh
"I do believe our Master-at-Arms had a question for you before you began sir." Jen looked towards Wallace, trusting his instincts. The Master Sergeant's eyes burned with curiosity and an unasked question. He nodded a questioning glance at the trader's empty side,377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZmPJhGHipl
"Sir, I have dealt with traders for almost a decade in the Guard. I can never recall seeing one in armor. I am glad to see my men had the sense to disarm you before you were allowed in. What is on the road between here and Doldrom that is so fearful, to make you break that age-old tradition of trader's peace, if you don't mind me prying. I know it must hurt your peddling on the road if the common people see you armed just like any common brigand." He leaned forward resting his arms on the table. Behind him, two swords were crossed across a shield to mark the spot of the Master-at-Arms of the council.377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGd4KzYIoHy
"At that it does--” the Merchant sighed mournfully, “-- tis true, I sold not one thing on the road, and I have been reduced to naught but a common teamster. But it is better to do business purely in the cities than not live at all. Master, we had come up from Farthest Reach, where we attempted to trade at the city on our way from Traders Point. There is an army in the field, one led by one sworn to take down all Temples everywhere and a sorcerer accompanies him.--" The merchant visibly whitened at the mention of the sorcerer, "His name is Fredrick." The trader finished fearfully.377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6M5IcUfMPg
"Impossible!" Yelled Faldo, shooting to his feet as a nearby window shattered. His usually blue eyes turned a glowing crimson as his face darkened with rage. Isobelle came over to him and put a calming hand on him and whispered into his ear. Slowly his eyes returned to their standard shade of blue, but his face was still the mask of towering anger.377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ZXcXVRGY2
"That is impossible," he seethed, "I ended his life myself when we fell into a burning inferno together last winter."377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwrEDTpKmHw
"Nay sir, I just passed there not a month ago. His men speak fondly of him, and they say his sorcerer healed him from the brink of death." The trader swore.377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwpuvxya0YE
"Sedrick?" Damon asked as he twirled a knife.377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf2Y0JiSR7u
"Yes, sir." The trader confirmed.377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf4sqIWwF4E
"Thank you, good sir," Damon motioned to one of the standing guards, "Make sure he and his men have what they need and pay them well."377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR9wERz4427
The guard nodded and escorted the man out. Damon turned around with a wry grin on his face, and Faldo returned the small man's amusement with a menacing look.377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7qFXv1sWlU
"What are you so happy about." He spat at his friend.377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK6rW8Y0Lqx
"Oh, I think we just found both of our problems at once. Sedrick's body was never found, and Fredrick's fingerprints are all over Doldrom. I believe if we looked at little Sedrick's soul, we would find a nice reaper hiding there. What do you think Jen?" Damon asked the Mother Matron.377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFobcx0rEvO
Jen shook her head, "I'm in new territory here, but if I had to favor a guess, I would say yes. We found a skeleton here with no soul attached. It would fit."377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdTrvOPYXWg
"Then I am afraid of one thing my friends," Faldo said ominously, his voice tinged with sorrow and regret.377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV0sbX07xC1
"What's that?" Wallace asked hesitantly as he got up to stretch.377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTRE8UE9d2l
"We might have won the Battle of Tharpe but Fredrick has started a war for the East, and as of right now, he is winning." Faldo looked at each of his friends in turn.377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJpbKEGyHqi
Damon giggled a little and walked over and laid a hand on his friend's shoulder, "That's easy to fix my friend."377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNR26Vg2YTY
"Oh yeah how?" He eyed his childhood companion.377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP2IvDyOnD7
"You win, duh." He slapped Faldo on that back of the head, laughing.377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEl7BTEe2am
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The sorcerer ran through the shadowed woods of towering ciphers and water willow, towering like menacing, dark ghouls, toward the direction of the Great Black Marsh. His breathing was harsh and ragged in his lungs as he channeled more energy to give his aching legs greater speeds, much higher than that of any normal human, in an attempt to outrun the beast that chased him. Never in his life had he seen such a demon before. Its eyes glowed red, and it stood head height at the shoulder. It had wings and flew darting in and out of the canopy and had glittering, obsidian black scales that ran the length of its sleek, muscular body.377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq5qeaKOeHj
The branches slapped at his bare face and tore at his rich clothes that now hung shredded on his plump frame. Through the blur of the forest, he saw a deadfall ahead of him, and he gestured at it with a breathless word, sending a shower of splinters with a jolt of telekinesis, slinging it out of his way. The perspiring sorcerer shook his head in despair as he brushed the fragments away from his sweat-drenched face. More wasted power, even that little, could mean the death of him. If he could make it to the Black Marsh with enough energy, he would sink into a beautiful, thick, watery hole and stay under for a little to lose the monster behind him. The ground was turning to a marsh, he was almost there, but his precious gift was waning. 377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAym12EaGt3
The blackness of night had descended quicker as the canopy thickened, forcing him to divert more of his precious energy to brighten his surrounding light through his pupils. That consumed more, but the alternative was to allow the creature, that horrendous monster, to know exactly where he was. 377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1GYaEK5qCU
He was tiring too quickly, the sorcerer's strength was flagging fast. His physique was lacking and his body hurt from being driven beyond human limits through sorcery. He missed a step from his weariness, and his ankle drove deep into a marshy hole. There was a snap, and his bone penetrated out his thick calf. He let out a howl of agony as he hit the ground solidly with his leg at a right angle. This wet swamp was the end of it as he felt the cold dampness touching the bare sores that he had opened as he ran. He didn't have the energy left to heal a wound of this magnitude. If the monster did not kill him, then infection surely would.377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2w2upkcWX1
He heard crashing coming through the canopy as the beast landed in a clearing just out of sight. It came forward on all fours, weaving through the dark tree trunks of the swamp to stand before the trembling man. It was long and sinuous, with a reptilian snout that had a tongue loled out of. There was a slight amount of smoke rolling out between its long dagger teeth, as the acidic saliva dribbled to the ground. It rumbled as it loosened its jaws and reared its snaked head, the neck muscles rippling as the head lifted higher. The man whimpered and closed his eyes, fearful of the death out here in the swamp.377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb5vkkD9BBo
The beast stopped and gave a grumble that sounded like laughter. The laughter slowly changed to a man's chuckle, who was howling with mirth.377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1KpEWa75hT
"Oh, I had you going, absolutely had you going." The man in front of him with a black goatee laughed merrily, "You thought you were going to die."377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡslsZlw2YMM
"You're insane!" the sorcerer spat back at the mad man, he was gathering his last shred of energy. He was dying out here and outmatched by this insane Sorcerer, but at least he would die trying. He did not like being anyone's laughingstock. He could feel the man's power emanating but thought with a decisive blow, could rid the world of this monster.377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9zmYjHnAy6
"Oh I am, and I wouldn't do that." The insane sorcerer said in a somber tone with no sign of entertainment now. The man's unusually green eyes fixed on him intently. "I take it you have never seen a dragon before?"377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa8jMAnj9av
The mad sorcerer walked idly around looking at the odds and ends of the swamp. Occasionally he seemed to stop and listen with his head cocked sideways, ear in the air. Then he would continue his random examinations. But never once did he seem to lose his place, as some with his condition did.377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy2ev9ni6BI
"No, no one has," the man returned in a pained voice, "Not even Master Delver has. They have been extinct for tens of thousands of years."377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTKgyLeSFem
The mad sorcerer turned his back and looked off at the horizon where Farthest Reach was, "Well you see I have, that is why you saw one tonight. It was hilarious," he chuckled again turning to look at the man with a full tooth grin on his face, "But despite all my knowledge, there is one place I cannot find right now, and I need his help. I am far too old and this world is far too young and that is why I need to contact that Delver fellow."377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmWnZZ3NlyZ
"And why should I help you." The sorcerer shot back, "you just chased me through the damned woods for three leagues for the fun of it. Clearly, you have taken complete leave of your senses. I would tell you to go see the Grim, but it wouldn't do any good. I hear he's not in at the moment."377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyKGwKTtViT
The insane man walked up and idly touched the man's leg and healed it back to its place with a snap. He did not even give an incantation. His dark green eyes twinkled with insane delight.377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKNqphdfvGP
He looked at him directly in the eyes, "I am a powerful ally or," he snapped his fingers, and the man's back cracked and he screamed in agony as from his chest down went limp.377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu08Lhjr7K6
"I am a terrifying enemy." He finished with almost a roar to equal the dragon of whom's form he had taken. As the echo died out and the crickets quietly started to chirp again, the insane man touched the man again murmuring an incantation, and the sorcerer took in a shuttering breath of relief. With tears in his eyes, he looked in wonder at the man who could perform such feats.377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKUuJITrWsz
"And who should I say needs to talk to him, Master." The sorcerer asked in a shaky voice of awe.377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjJLygqx8hq
"Baine, you know the whole son of Grim thing and that." the man said with a giddy smile on his face as he gave a flourished bow.377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMhhP9gUjZ3
"May I ask what you need from my Master Delver?" He asked getting to his knees looking to the man most in sorcery revered as close to a god as they worshiped.377Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbHPm6D1Rcr
"I need to know the location of my real body. This one is a little small if you take my meaning." He said giving it a rueful thump on the head with his fist, "I think I am starting to hear voices."
