Battles
Before Wilein could react, the figure outstretched his arm and spoke.
"Do not move. If you do, I will destroy you and half of the wall behind you." The voice was barely above a whisper, but Wilein could hear it clearly. "I am guessing you are…yes…you are the Yarnar boy. I knew I should have stayed and killed you when I could."
Wilein found his voice, laced with hatred. "There is an army headed this way, Vydyrn." Wilein blinked away a few tears and looked at the figure. He could see him a bit more clearly now. He was only able to see part of the face, but it was very pale. The most noticeable part of him was a dark grey chain around his neck that, at the end, had a small red rock in it.
Not even a hint of surprise came upon the face of Vydyrn.
"I know. And what do you take me for? A fool? Nay, I am much to powerful to fear them."
Wilein replied, "They aren't coming for you, Vydyrn, They are coming to kill the Krag. I am the one coming for you."
A low rumble shook the ground. It came in sync with Vydyrn laughing. "You? A peasant boy. Come to fight the most powerful being in all of Theotril?" The rumbling stopped, and so did his laughing. "Hardly. I should kill you now and not have to bother with your monologue." He started an incantation, but before he could finish, Wilein unsheathed Elandari. The tingle ran through his body again, and for the first time Wilein noticed a red stone in at the root of the blade; a red stone similar to the one hanging around Vydyrn's neck.
The cruel smile disappeared completely from Vydyrn's face. "Ah. You were the one who took the sword. I should have guessed. And that ranger-turned-failed-sorcerer freed it from its death lock. No surprise there. But I am surprised that you even know how to unsheathe it. I had figured that you would come at me with a pitchfork."
Wilein rushed towards Vydyrn with the sword pointed forward. As soon as it ran through Vydyrn, another rumbling shook the ground and Wilein heard in his head, "Fool. You really thought that I would put myself out in the open? You will have to search for me harder."
Wilein spat out a curse under his breath, then sheathed his sword and headed towards the tower in the centre of the courtyard, where the main tower rose. As he approached the door it swung open. He stepped in cautiously. As soon as he had cleared the area for any enemies, he headed towards stairs to head up to the next floor. His eyes drifted upwards and he noticed an oddity in the ceiling; there was a three by three meter square in the ceiling that was different from the rest. Where the rest of the ceiling was stone, this was wood. He looked down and noticed the floor was the same - a square of wood in an otherwise stone floor. He climbed up floor after floor, five in total, before he saw anything different. A shadow was in a corner of the room. Not a regular shadow, but a shadow from which no light escaped. The shadow stood up, and Wilein could see then silhouette of a man. The shadow stepped out of the wall, and was the dark lord. Wilein unsheathed his sword immediately and jabbed towards Vydyrn. Vydyrn in turn took a step off to the right and unleashed a "Nara". Wilein shot off to the right and came down-rightwards in a slice to Vydyrn. It went straight through him. Before Wilein could rejoice, he heard a rustle behind him and turned around. Vydyrn had been crafting a master spell and a deadly sphere of shadow was held between his hands. Wilein ducked, but too late. The shadow burnt off a good bit of Wilein's clothing around his shoulder. Vydyrn was drained from the last attack and Wilein took the advantage. He swung his sword downward towards Vydyrn, but Vydyrn lifted his hand and the ground dropped out from under Wilein. In surprise Wilein let go of Elandari before landing on his back on the next floor. It landed next to him. But before he could make an attempt at taking a breath, the floor dropped out from below him again. He landed on his back again and his vision started to dim. Again, and darkness came over him.
***
When Wilein awoke, he was laying in the dark on his back. His head hurt dully, and his head buzzed when he sat up. Elandari lay a meter away. He struggled through the pain and got up to get his sword. When it was in his hand, he felt strangely stronger. The ground shook again, but it wasn't Vydyrn laughing. Wilein was able to see a little from the light coming in from the square in the ceiling. A beast approached, taller than Wilein and ten times as nasty. It had two curling horns emerging from its head, powerful front legs with razor sharp claws. It clawed at him and Wilein dodged it. He struck with the sword, drawing blood, but instead of weakening the beast, it made it angrier. The throbbing in his head made it hard to focus on the fight. He slashed, ducked, and parried the claws until he found an open spot and plunged his sword deep into the creature. It let out a bellow and turned its head to look at Wilein. In a last feat of strength before it died it flung a hand at him. He didn't have time to react before he flew back four or so meters. Wilein struggled to stand up, and pressed a hand against his side and grimaced at pain. When he brought back his hand it was covered in blood. When the beast struck at him one of its claws must have cut across his side. And to top things off, his leg started hurting again. He limped towards the beast. It lay still. Wilein reached for his sword and pulled it out, covered in dark-red blood. Wilein took a rag out of his pocket and wiped off the sword as best he could. Words that Irdan had spoken to him after he got Elandari whispered through his head; "Take care of your sword and it will take care of you." He sheathed Elandari and started looking for a way up through the hole in the ceiling. He didn't see any, and climbing was out of the question because there was an overhang of stone before the opening. The only way he could go was where the beast had come from. He felt a small draft coming from that direction. But there was no light. He took a torch out of his pack and, after several tries, lit it. The flame sputtered slightly in the dank air. Stepping carefully over the carcass, he walked with the torch in his outstretched arm. While the cave was hardly clean, it looked safe. He continued walking through, hand on the hilt of his sword.
Victory
Irdan had led the company further that day than he thought he would be able to. They set up camp and made a small fire, enough to keep them warm and cook their food over, but not enough that it would attract unwelcome visitors. They didn't stay up very late, however. Everyone drifted off to sleep quickly. They woke up early the next morning, packed up quickly, and set off again. Seeing how they had gone further yesterday than Irdan had assumed, he told them that they should be getting to the castle by ten-thirty or so, so long that they didn't run into any Krag. Which they probably would. But with a small army of around seventy, they shouldn't have too much trouble with them. They trudged through the woods for around an hour and a half with no trouble. Then they ran into a group of ten or so Krag. The farmers brandished their pitchforks, and the lucky few of them who had swords unsheathed them. The Krag, cowards at heart, turned and fled. The company, eager for a fight, rushed after them and destroyed them. After this, they went back to trudging along under the trees. One of the more energetic youth that was in the group looked up from the ground and saw the black pyres of Vytril rising in the distance. The group, now excited to be getting closer to their goal, started walking faster. After walking for another hour, they came to the gates. They saw a square hole in it, just big enough for one person to climb through.
"Ha! I knew that paste would come in handy one day." Irdan said to Yven. The villagers, by this time, had started pounding on the doors to break them in. The already heavy oak doors were reinforced with iron, though, so their efforts were useless.
Irdan called out the group. "Let me try." He pulled out of his pack another lump of the acid, wrapped in cloth. He then walked up to the door, reached up as high as he could, and spread it out in a line. The acid quickly went to work eating through the wood. The group started pushing it, and soon enough it fell through. They were slowed to a halt when the found the portcullis, though. How did Wilein get past here? Irdan wondered. Then he noticed the rope tied to it and followed it up to the roof. I see. He didn't take the front door.
***
Wilein kept walking in the cave, but above him he heard tramping of feet. So the infantry got here finally. I was beginning to thing they weren't going to show up. Since his encounter with the beast, he felt grim.
***
When Irdan returned to the group, some of the huskier men had banded together and were straining pulling up the portcullis. Once they got it up, they stood while the others rushed past. Once everyone had gone past, they quickly dropped it and dashed out of the way. It landed with a deafening boom.
***
When Wilein heard the "boom", he nearly jumped. What are they doing up there? We wondered.
***
The "boom" hadn't only alerted Wilein that they had arrived. It also alerted the Krag. The group, led by Irdan, unsheathed their weapons. Coming at them was a group of one hundred or so Krag, however, their group of 70 would be able to handle it fine because the Krag were coming in a stream, not all at once. Irdan spied Yven sneaking around to where they were coming from. He set a few spells on them that would weaken them and make them sluggish. The villagers were doing well so far, Irdan estimated that around twenty Krag lay dead. Irdan sliced the head off a Krag he was battling then rushed over to one of the villagers that he saw laying on the blood-stained grass of the courtyard. He was conscious still, but was losing blood rapidly. Irdan pulled his body to a place where the fighting was less dense. Yven saw his efforts and ran over as discreetly as he could. He laid a spell on him to stop the bleeding, then took him by the legs and pulled him behind a tree, which would supply him with some amount of cover. Both of them then went back to their previous posts. After the group had shed much blood and sweat, all of the Krag lay on the ground either dead or wounded. Casuaties for the villagers was fairly good; nine were wounded and seven lay dead. The company tended to the wounded and made presentable the dead.
"There are more Krag then this." Irdan said. "I estimate around two-hundred and fifty are locked away in here." Already some of the group had started towards the doors into the main part of the castle.
Irdan finished, saying, "But I fear that Krag are the least of our worries right now."
He, walking next to Iana and Yven, along with the rest of the group, headed into the castle.
Reunited
Wilein had been walking for a long time. His leg ached, having been agitated when he fought the beast, in addition to its weariness for walking several hours. But, looking up from the ground, he saw a light. Not light from his torch, which was now barely glowing, but a light from an opening in the cave. His weariness melted away as hope was re-kindled in his heart. He walked though the passageway into a small room with a door that was open. He heard noises coming from outside. He walked through the door, following the noise. He walked for a moment in a narrow corridor before it opened out into a large room from which all the noise came. Crowded inside the room with only enough room to swing their swords and thrust their pitchforks was the group of villagers. They were fighting around a dozen black-robed wizards who were casting spells at people as fast as they could. They were skilled wizards too, as they had sent fifteen or so of the group sprawling onto the ground. When Irdan saw Wilein, he made an expression to let Wilein know that he saw him and that he would come over as soon as he could. He slashed at the wizard more vigorously than before until the wizard fell to the ground. Irdan hurried over to Wilein and clapped him on the shoulder.
"You don't know how glad to see you I am. By the fact that you are alive, I am guessing you killed Vydyrn?"
"Nay, Irdan. It is good to see you as well. I fought him for a while until he dropped me to the basement. I had to battle a large beast down there. I then walked up the cave until I came up to here. I followed the noise and found you all in battle."
"That is a shame about Vydyrn. I am sure you did as best you could. Our story is a bit longer, I am afraid." Irdan then told Wilein about how they had come to Vytril, over the walls, and the fight against the Krag.
***
Irdan continued in his story.
"I led the group into the castle. That was my first mistake. As soon as we got in, all chaos broke out. Blades started swinging above our heads, spears were being thrown at us……. It took us a moment to find out that we were in a trap. While avoiding having anything cut off, I navigated a way out of it. The rest of the people followed me. We walked for a few minutes until our pathway opened into this room. We walked in, and everything was calm. Then, in from the door you came through, twenty well-trained wizards came. We have been battling them since. Speaking of which….." Irdan trailed off as he looked around. The room had slowly quieted. All the wizards lay dead on the floor. So did near-thirty of the villagers, too.
"Wizards don't wound. They kill." Irdan said grimly. They put the bodies off to the side before heading off again through an opening into a corridor. The party trudged along, Their disposition had grown bleak from all the killing. Still they walked on, wanting to finish what they had started. There were around forty of them now. After taking a few turns in the halls, they opened out onto a large banquet hall.
"Looks like all the Krag might be gone in scouting parties. I'm not seeing any more." Irdan said.
The words had barely escaped from his mouth before, flooding in from a doorway across the room, came Krag after Krag. The villagers, along will Wilein, Irdan, Yven, and Iana, leapt across the room, swords outstretched. The tore into the ranks of Krag. The Krag, thinking that they would ambush the group, were caught off-guard by the sudden attack. The Krag defended themselves as best they could, but the group had had a final rise of energy. Even though they were vastly outnumbered, the group demolished the formation of Krag. After almost half of an hour of intense fighting, the Krag lay dead on the floor. Irdan took a head count.
"They took another twenty-five of us with them."
Wilein was dismayed, but then his face turned to horror when he saw Iana leaning against the wall, hand pressed to her side. He rushed over to her when she pulled her hand back, covered in blood. Wilein helped her to the ground. When she spoke, her voice came out faint.
"…A stray sword got me…I will be fine. I should."
Wilein motioned for Yven to come over.
"Can you do anything for her?"
Yven answered, "Yes. I can stop the bleeding. That will help." He crafted a spell and laid it on her. The bleeding slowed until it stopped and Iana breathed a sigh of relief. Wilein pulled an apple out of his pack and handed it to her.
"Eat. It will help. And try to stay awake."
Iana replied, a bit stronger, "Don't worry about me. Just go kill Vydyrn."
"I will. Goodbye."
***
Irdan and Wilein left the room and walked through the halls, looking for anywhere Vydyrn could be lurking. Yven had stayed back to take care of Iana. They kept walking until they came upon an empty, cold throne room. Sitting in the throne at the far side was Vydyrn, a cruel grin on his face.
"I see my Tranfa didn't get rid of you."
At a questioning look from Wilein, Vydyrn continued. "The beast in the basement. I had him there just for such an occasion as this."
"Enough talk. We finish this now!" Wilein screamed as he ran forward, unsheathing his sword as he did so. Vydyrn, not even rising from the throne, muttered a spell under his breath and Wilein flew backwards.
"Your attacks are so futile!"
Irdan attacked Vydyrn, but was more careful than Wilein. As soon as Vydyrn spoke a spell he darted off to the side. Vydyrn stood and started spewing out incantations as fast as he could. Eventually one caught up to Irdan and he screamed out in pain. Wilein had recovered and was swinging his sword at Vydyrn wildly. Whenever he cut him, the flesh sealed back up, without a trace of evidence it had been open a moment before. Irdan’s head still spun, as it had hit the ground when he fell. He saw that Wilein was still fighting Vydyrn, but they were slowly circling away from them. Watching them closely, he noticed something odd about Vydyrn. Whenever Wilein cut into him, there was a flash of red light before Vydyrn’s skin healed itself. Focusing through his pain, he noticed that it was the red stone that hung about his neck that was making the flash. As soon as some of the pain from his head went away, Irdan reached back and grabbed his bow. He loaded an arrow and aimed it towards Vydyrn’s stone. He let the arrow fly from his fingers. It met its target, shattering the stone. Horror spread into Vydyrn’s face. Wilein lifted his sword in a final blow. He stabbed Vydyrn straight through where the stone had been, further shattering the remaining pieces. As soon as it got into Vydyrn’s flesh, the swords cracked and trembled in Wilein’s hand. It then split across and shattered. When Wilein pulled out the remains of Elandari from Vydyrn’s chest, Vydyrn’s hands and feet started evaporating into a black fog. It spread up his arms and finally his torso and head. As the fog dispersed into the air, Wilein heard a voice in his head.
I will return………………
Wilein looked over to Irdan. He had collapsed onto the floor. He went over to him and helped him up. After he awoke they, leaning on each other, went back to the banquet hall where the rest of the group still remained. While they had been gone, the group found the release lever for the portcullis, had lifted it, and were carrying the bodies of the dead outside. Wilein and Irdan helped them bury the dead and tend to the wounded. Those who were fine helped the wounded and started on the journey back to their village to spread the bittersweet news of Vydyrn’s fall and of those who had died in battle. By the time everyone had gone, leaving Wilein, Irdan, Yven and Iana, it was quite dark out. They laid out blankets on the dried-up grass of the courtyard and fell fast asleep.
Ardic
When they awoke they could barely move from stiffness. Fighting all day has its drawbacks. When they were able to move again, Irdan and Yven started a fire and cooked some food that they had stored away in their packs. They ate, then separately explored around the castle. Yven worked most of the morning on putting Wilein’s sword back together.
In the afternoon, Wilein and Iana sat side by side in the courtyard.
“It is really quite a nice castle, really.” Iana remarked.
“Yes, it is, now that the sun is shining and the shadow of Vydyrn is gone.” The memory of Vydyrn reminded Wilein of the final battle between the two of them, and what the spirit of Vydyrn had said.
Yven joined them.
“You could probably live here.” He mentioned.
Wilein and Iana both turned to look at him, stunned.
He went on, “Yes, because you killed Vydyrn, you could. I am sure of it.”
Wilein thought for a moment and said, “I will for the time being. Further than that, I don’t know.”
They spent the rest of the day wandering around and discovering hidden rooms in the castle. Once Wilein discovered a chest of treasure. In the evening the group gathered around a fire and ate a nice hot meal together. Irdan spoke.
“I will be going out tomorrow. I have some things to deal with. I should be back by the late afternoon.”
They slept soundly that night, and when they awoke the stiffness was gone. Yven already had a fire going to ward off the morning cold.
“Irdan left early. Very early.” He looked into the fire, absorbed in his own thoughts. After eating a hearty breakfast Wilein said, “Yven, could you help me hang the sword in the throne room?”
“So you have decided to stay?” Yven responded.
“Yes. I realized that otherwise I would be heading back to my farm. I don’t know if I could do that.” He sighed. “I would appreciate help, though.”
Yven stood up. “Well, the castle still looks dreary. I will help with that.” He raised both of his hands and spoke in the deep commanding voice of an incantation, “Yita Larana Uiloa!” Instantly the bleak castle brightened and shadows lurking in corners disappeared. After doing this, Yven fell to his knees.
“It isn’t easy doing that, you know. I will need to rest for a while.” He lay down in the grass under a tree and stared up at the sky through the branches and leaves. Wilein and Iana spent the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon sitting in the throne room talking about what they would do now. In the beginning of the afternoon, Irdan returned. He didn’t say anything about what he had been doing while he was out.
“You will see,” is all he said.
About an hour after he returned the group heard a pounding on the doors of the castle. Wilein opened the doors and the portcullis carefully, not sure what to expect. Instead of an enraged party of Krag, however, he was greeted by forty or so of the women of the village. One of them came up to Wilein.
“Irdan told us that the castle needed a woman’s touch.” After hearing this, Wilein glanced understandingly at Irdan. “We thought that it was a small repayment for what you have done for us.” The women brandished their brooms and feathers, used for dusting. “We will be out of your hair in a few hours.
One of the women, the one who spoke to Wilein, started telling the others where to clean. Wilein, Yven, and Iana stood speechless as they watched the women cleaning. Soon enough, they gathered up their things and left. Wilein, Iana, Yven, and Irdan walked through the clean halls of the castle.
“Do you all need to go anywhere? You are welcome to stay with me.” Wilein offered to the group.
Irdan, Iana, and Yven all agreed that they would.
Epilogue
In Kezal Opamn, Vydyrn appeared before Sei’tarn Teish. His fog floated in and a stone embedded in the top of Sei’tarn’s iron throne flashed suddenly. The fog partly materialized, so that Vydyrn was in a form resembling his former appearance, yet he wasn’t solid; he was a wraith.
“Master. I have failed in killing the boy. He and his band of ‘heroes’ slew all of the Krag and sorcerers in Vytril. Irdan, the ranger you warned me of, shot my Arkrai. Then the boy…the accursed boy…he destroyed my form. Coming to you was all I could do.”
A deep, gravely, shadowed voice spoke out from under Sei’tarn’s black hood. “It is the first time you have failed, Ai. Have you learned?”
The tone in Sei’tarn’s voice implied that the correct answer was ‘yes’.
“Yes, master.”
“I will sent you out again…in time. You must regain some of your power before then.”
Well that finishes it! What did you all think?
Before Wilein could react, the figure outstretched his arm and spoke.
"Do not move. If you do, I will destroy you and half of the wall behind you." The voice was barely above a whisper, but Wilein could hear it clearly. "I am guessing you are…yes…you are the Yarnar boy. I knew I should have stayed and killed you when I could."
Wilein found his voice, laced with hatred. "There is an army headed this way, Vydyrn." Wilein blinked away a few tears and looked at the figure. He could see him a bit more clearly now. He was only able to see part of the face, but it was very pale. The most noticeable part of him was a dark grey chain around his neck that, at the end, had a small red rock in it.
Not even a hint of surprise came upon the face of Vydyrn.
"I know. And what do you take me for? A fool? Nay, I am much to powerful to fear them."
Wilein replied, "They aren't coming for you, Vydyrn, They are coming to kill the Krag. I am the one coming for you."
A low rumble shook the ground. It came in sync with Vydyrn laughing. "You? A peasant boy. Come to fight the most powerful being in all of Theotril?" The rumbling stopped, and so did his laughing. "Hardly. I should kill you now and not have to bother with your monologue." He started an incantation, but before he could finish, Wilein unsheathed Elandari. The tingle ran through his body again, and for the first time Wilein noticed a red stone in at the root of the blade; a red stone similar to the one hanging around Vydyrn's neck.
The cruel smile disappeared completely from Vydyrn's face. "Ah. You were the one who took the sword. I should have guessed. And that ranger-turned-failed-sorcerer freed it from its death lock. No surprise there. But I am surprised that you even know how to unsheathe it. I had figured that you would come at me with a pitchfork."
Wilein rushed towards Vydyrn with the sword pointed forward. As soon as it ran through Vydyrn, another rumbling shook the ground and Wilein heard in his head, "Fool. You really thought that I would put myself out in the open? You will have to search for me harder."
Wilein spat out a curse under his breath, then sheathed his sword and headed towards the tower in the centre of the courtyard, where the main tower rose. As he approached the door it swung open. He stepped in cautiously. As soon as he had cleared the area for any enemies, he headed towards stairs to head up to the next floor. His eyes drifted upwards and he noticed an oddity in the ceiling; there was a three by three meter square in the ceiling that was different from the rest. Where the rest of the ceiling was stone, this was wood. He looked down and noticed the floor was the same - a square of wood in an otherwise stone floor. He climbed up floor after floor, five in total, before he saw anything different. A shadow was in a corner of the room. Not a regular shadow, but a shadow from which no light escaped. The shadow stood up, and Wilein could see then silhouette of a man. The shadow stepped out of the wall, and was the dark lord. Wilein unsheathed his sword immediately and jabbed towards Vydyrn. Vydyrn in turn took a step off to the right and unleashed a "Nara". Wilein shot off to the right and came down-rightwards in a slice to Vydyrn. It went straight through him. Before Wilein could rejoice, he heard a rustle behind him and turned around. Vydyrn had been crafting a master spell and a deadly sphere of shadow was held between his hands. Wilein ducked, but too late. The shadow burnt off a good bit of Wilein's clothing around his shoulder. Vydyrn was drained from the last attack and Wilein took the advantage. He swung his sword downward towards Vydyrn, but Vydyrn lifted his hand and the ground dropped out from under Wilein. In surprise Wilein let go of Elandari before landing on his back on the next floor. It landed next to him. But before he could make an attempt at taking a breath, the floor dropped out from below him again. He landed on his back again and his vision started to dim. Again, and darkness came over him.
***
When Wilein awoke, he was laying in the dark on his back. His head hurt dully, and his head buzzed when he sat up. Elandari lay a meter away. He struggled through the pain and got up to get his sword. When it was in his hand, he felt strangely stronger. The ground shook again, but it wasn't Vydyrn laughing. Wilein was able to see a little from the light coming in from the square in the ceiling. A beast approached, taller than Wilein and ten times as nasty. It had two curling horns emerging from its head, powerful front legs with razor sharp claws. It clawed at him and Wilein dodged it. He struck with the sword, drawing blood, but instead of weakening the beast, it made it angrier. The throbbing in his head made it hard to focus on the fight. He slashed, ducked, and parried the claws until he found an open spot and plunged his sword deep into the creature. It let out a bellow and turned its head to look at Wilein. In a last feat of strength before it died it flung a hand at him. He didn't have time to react before he flew back four or so meters. Wilein struggled to stand up, and pressed a hand against his side and grimaced at pain. When he brought back his hand it was covered in blood. When the beast struck at him one of its claws must have cut across his side. And to top things off, his leg started hurting again. He limped towards the beast. It lay still. Wilein reached for his sword and pulled it out, covered in dark-red blood. Wilein took a rag out of his pocket and wiped off the sword as best he could. Words that Irdan had spoken to him after he got Elandari whispered through his head; "Take care of your sword and it will take care of you." He sheathed Elandari and started looking for a way up through the hole in the ceiling. He didn't see any, and climbing was out of the question because there was an overhang of stone before the opening. The only way he could go was where the beast had come from. He felt a small draft coming from that direction. But there was no light. He took a torch out of his pack and, after several tries, lit it. The flame sputtered slightly in the dank air. Stepping carefully over the carcass, he walked with the torch in his outstretched arm. While the cave was hardly clean, it looked safe. He continued walking through, hand on the hilt of his sword.
Victory
Irdan had led the company further that day than he thought he would be able to. They set up camp and made a small fire, enough to keep them warm and cook their food over, but not enough that it would attract unwelcome visitors. They didn't stay up very late, however. Everyone drifted off to sleep quickly. They woke up early the next morning, packed up quickly, and set off again. Seeing how they had gone further yesterday than Irdan had assumed, he told them that they should be getting to the castle by ten-thirty or so, so long that they didn't run into any Krag. Which they probably would. But with a small army of around seventy, they shouldn't have too much trouble with them. They trudged through the woods for around an hour and a half with no trouble. Then they ran into a group of ten or so Krag. The farmers brandished their pitchforks, and the lucky few of them who had swords unsheathed them. The Krag, cowards at heart, turned and fled. The company, eager for a fight, rushed after them and destroyed them. After this, they went back to trudging along under the trees. One of the more energetic youth that was in the group looked up from the ground and saw the black pyres of Vytril rising in the distance. The group, now excited to be getting closer to their goal, started walking faster. After walking for another hour, they came to the gates. They saw a square hole in it, just big enough for one person to climb through.
"Ha! I knew that paste would come in handy one day." Irdan said to Yven. The villagers, by this time, had started pounding on the doors to break them in. The already heavy oak doors were reinforced with iron, though, so their efforts were useless.
Irdan called out the group. "Let me try." He pulled out of his pack another lump of the acid, wrapped in cloth. He then walked up to the door, reached up as high as he could, and spread it out in a line. The acid quickly went to work eating through the wood. The group started pushing it, and soon enough it fell through. They were slowed to a halt when the found the portcullis, though. How did Wilein get past here? Irdan wondered. Then he noticed the rope tied to it and followed it up to the roof. I see. He didn't take the front door.
***
Wilein kept walking in the cave, but above him he heard tramping of feet. So the infantry got here finally. I was beginning to thing they weren't going to show up. Since his encounter with the beast, he felt grim.
***
When Irdan returned to the group, some of the huskier men had banded together and were straining pulling up the portcullis. Once they got it up, they stood while the others rushed past. Once everyone had gone past, they quickly dropped it and dashed out of the way. It landed with a deafening boom.
***
When Wilein heard the "boom", he nearly jumped. What are they doing up there? We wondered.
***
The "boom" hadn't only alerted Wilein that they had arrived. It also alerted the Krag. The group, led by Irdan, unsheathed their weapons. Coming at them was a group of one hundred or so Krag, however, their group of 70 would be able to handle it fine because the Krag were coming in a stream, not all at once. Irdan spied Yven sneaking around to where they were coming from. He set a few spells on them that would weaken them and make them sluggish. The villagers were doing well so far, Irdan estimated that around twenty Krag lay dead. Irdan sliced the head off a Krag he was battling then rushed over to one of the villagers that he saw laying on the blood-stained grass of the courtyard. He was conscious still, but was losing blood rapidly. Irdan pulled his body to a place where the fighting was less dense. Yven saw his efforts and ran over as discreetly as he could. He laid a spell on him to stop the bleeding, then took him by the legs and pulled him behind a tree, which would supply him with some amount of cover. Both of them then went back to their previous posts. After the group had shed much blood and sweat, all of the Krag lay on the ground either dead or wounded. Casuaties for the villagers was fairly good; nine were wounded and seven lay dead. The company tended to the wounded and made presentable the dead.
"There are more Krag then this." Irdan said. "I estimate around two-hundred and fifty are locked away in here." Already some of the group had started towards the doors into the main part of the castle.
Irdan finished, saying, "But I fear that Krag are the least of our worries right now."
He, walking next to Iana and Yven, along with the rest of the group, headed into the castle.
Reunited
Wilein had been walking for a long time. His leg ached, having been agitated when he fought the beast, in addition to its weariness for walking several hours. But, looking up from the ground, he saw a light. Not light from his torch, which was now barely glowing, but a light from an opening in the cave. His weariness melted away as hope was re-kindled in his heart. He walked though the passageway into a small room with a door that was open. He heard noises coming from outside. He walked through the door, following the noise. He walked for a moment in a narrow corridor before it opened out into a large room from which all the noise came. Crowded inside the room with only enough room to swing their swords and thrust their pitchforks was the group of villagers. They were fighting around a dozen black-robed wizards who were casting spells at people as fast as they could. They were skilled wizards too, as they had sent fifteen or so of the group sprawling onto the ground. When Irdan saw Wilein, he made an expression to let Wilein know that he saw him and that he would come over as soon as he could. He slashed at the wizard more vigorously than before until the wizard fell to the ground. Irdan hurried over to Wilein and clapped him on the shoulder.
"You don't know how glad to see you I am. By the fact that you are alive, I am guessing you killed Vydyrn?"
"Nay, Irdan. It is good to see you as well. I fought him for a while until he dropped me to the basement. I had to battle a large beast down there. I then walked up the cave until I came up to here. I followed the noise and found you all in battle."
"That is a shame about Vydyrn. I am sure you did as best you could. Our story is a bit longer, I am afraid." Irdan then told Wilein about how they had come to Vytril, over the walls, and the fight against the Krag.
***
Irdan continued in his story.
"I led the group into the castle. That was my first mistake. As soon as we got in, all chaos broke out. Blades started swinging above our heads, spears were being thrown at us……. It took us a moment to find out that we were in a trap. While avoiding having anything cut off, I navigated a way out of it. The rest of the people followed me. We walked for a few minutes until our pathway opened into this room. We walked in, and everything was calm. Then, in from the door you came through, twenty well-trained wizards came. We have been battling them since. Speaking of which….." Irdan trailed off as he looked around. The room had slowly quieted. All the wizards lay dead on the floor. So did near-thirty of the villagers, too.
"Wizards don't wound. They kill." Irdan said grimly. They put the bodies off to the side before heading off again through an opening into a corridor. The party trudged along, Their disposition had grown bleak from all the killing. Still they walked on, wanting to finish what they had started. There were around forty of them now. After taking a few turns in the halls, they opened out onto a large banquet hall.
"Looks like all the Krag might be gone in scouting parties. I'm not seeing any more." Irdan said.
The words had barely escaped from his mouth before, flooding in from a doorway across the room, came Krag after Krag. The villagers, along will Wilein, Irdan, Yven, and Iana, leapt across the room, swords outstretched. The tore into the ranks of Krag. The Krag, thinking that they would ambush the group, were caught off-guard by the sudden attack. The Krag defended themselves as best they could, but the group had had a final rise of energy. Even though they were vastly outnumbered, the group demolished the formation of Krag. After almost half of an hour of intense fighting, the Krag lay dead on the floor. Irdan took a head count.
"They took another twenty-five of us with them."
Wilein was dismayed, but then his face turned to horror when he saw Iana leaning against the wall, hand pressed to her side. He rushed over to her when she pulled her hand back, covered in blood. Wilein helped her to the ground. When she spoke, her voice came out faint.
"…A stray sword got me…I will be fine. I should."
Wilein motioned for Yven to come over.
"Can you do anything for her?"
Yven answered, "Yes. I can stop the bleeding. That will help." He crafted a spell and laid it on her. The bleeding slowed until it stopped and Iana breathed a sigh of relief. Wilein pulled an apple out of his pack and handed it to her.
"Eat. It will help. And try to stay awake."
Iana replied, a bit stronger, "Don't worry about me. Just go kill Vydyrn."
"I will. Goodbye."
***
Irdan and Wilein left the room and walked through the halls, looking for anywhere Vydyrn could be lurking. Yven had stayed back to take care of Iana. They kept walking until they came upon an empty, cold throne room. Sitting in the throne at the far side was Vydyrn, a cruel grin on his face.
"I see my Tranfa didn't get rid of you."
At a questioning look from Wilein, Vydyrn continued. "The beast in the basement. I had him there just for such an occasion as this."
"Enough talk. We finish this now!" Wilein screamed as he ran forward, unsheathing his sword as he did so. Vydyrn, not even rising from the throne, muttered a spell under his breath and Wilein flew backwards.
"Your attacks are so futile!"
Irdan attacked Vydyrn, but was more careful than Wilein. As soon as Vydyrn spoke a spell he darted off to the side. Vydyrn stood and started spewing out incantations as fast as he could. Eventually one caught up to Irdan and he screamed out in pain. Wilein had recovered and was swinging his sword at Vydyrn wildly. Whenever he cut him, the flesh sealed back up, without a trace of evidence it had been open a moment before. Irdan’s head still spun, as it had hit the ground when he fell. He saw that Wilein was still fighting Vydyrn, but they were slowly circling away from them. Watching them closely, he noticed something odd about Vydyrn. Whenever Wilein cut into him, there was a flash of red light before Vydyrn’s skin healed itself. Focusing through his pain, he noticed that it was the red stone that hung about his neck that was making the flash. As soon as some of the pain from his head went away, Irdan reached back and grabbed his bow. He loaded an arrow and aimed it towards Vydyrn’s stone. He let the arrow fly from his fingers. It met its target, shattering the stone. Horror spread into Vydyrn’s face. Wilein lifted his sword in a final blow. He stabbed Vydyrn straight through where the stone had been, further shattering the remaining pieces. As soon as it got into Vydyrn’s flesh, the swords cracked and trembled in Wilein’s hand. It then split across and shattered. When Wilein pulled out the remains of Elandari from Vydyrn’s chest, Vydyrn’s hands and feet started evaporating into a black fog. It spread up his arms and finally his torso and head. As the fog dispersed into the air, Wilein heard a voice in his head.
I will return………………
Wilein looked over to Irdan. He had collapsed onto the floor. He went over to him and helped him up. After he awoke they, leaning on each other, went back to the banquet hall where the rest of the group still remained. While they had been gone, the group found the release lever for the portcullis, had lifted it, and were carrying the bodies of the dead outside. Wilein and Irdan helped them bury the dead and tend to the wounded. Those who were fine helped the wounded and started on the journey back to their village to spread the bittersweet news of Vydyrn’s fall and of those who had died in battle. By the time everyone had gone, leaving Wilein, Irdan, Yven and Iana, it was quite dark out. They laid out blankets on the dried-up grass of the courtyard and fell fast asleep.
Ardic
When they awoke they could barely move from stiffness. Fighting all day has its drawbacks. When they were able to move again, Irdan and Yven started a fire and cooked some food that they had stored away in their packs. They ate, then separately explored around the castle. Yven worked most of the morning on putting Wilein’s sword back together.
In the afternoon, Wilein and Iana sat side by side in the courtyard.
“It is really quite a nice castle, really.” Iana remarked.
“Yes, it is, now that the sun is shining and the shadow of Vydyrn is gone.” The memory of Vydyrn reminded Wilein of the final battle between the two of them, and what the spirit of Vydyrn had said.
Yven joined them.
“You could probably live here.” He mentioned.
Wilein and Iana both turned to look at him, stunned.
He went on, “Yes, because you killed Vydyrn, you could. I am sure of it.”
Wilein thought for a moment and said, “I will for the time being. Further than that, I don’t know.”
They spent the rest of the day wandering around and discovering hidden rooms in the castle. Once Wilein discovered a chest of treasure. In the evening the group gathered around a fire and ate a nice hot meal together. Irdan spoke.
“I will be going out tomorrow. I have some things to deal with. I should be back by the late afternoon.”
They slept soundly that night, and when they awoke the stiffness was gone. Yven already had a fire going to ward off the morning cold.
“Irdan left early. Very early.” He looked into the fire, absorbed in his own thoughts. After eating a hearty breakfast Wilein said, “Yven, could you help me hang the sword in the throne room?”
“So you have decided to stay?” Yven responded.
“Yes. I realized that otherwise I would be heading back to my farm. I don’t know if I could do that.” He sighed. “I would appreciate help, though.”
Yven stood up. “Well, the castle still looks dreary. I will help with that.” He raised both of his hands and spoke in the deep commanding voice of an incantation, “Yita Larana Uiloa!” Instantly the bleak castle brightened and shadows lurking in corners disappeared. After doing this, Yven fell to his knees.
“It isn’t easy doing that, you know. I will need to rest for a while.” He lay down in the grass under a tree and stared up at the sky through the branches and leaves. Wilein and Iana spent the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon sitting in the throne room talking about what they would do now. In the beginning of the afternoon, Irdan returned. He didn’t say anything about what he had been doing while he was out.
“You will see,” is all he said.
About an hour after he returned the group heard a pounding on the doors of the castle. Wilein opened the doors and the portcullis carefully, not sure what to expect. Instead of an enraged party of Krag, however, he was greeted by forty or so of the women of the village. One of them came up to Wilein.
“Irdan told us that the castle needed a woman’s touch.” After hearing this, Wilein glanced understandingly at Irdan. “We thought that it was a small repayment for what you have done for us.” The women brandished their brooms and feathers, used for dusting. “We will be out of your hair in a few hours.
One of the women, the one who spoke to Wilein, started telling the others where to clean. Wilein, Yven, and Iana stood speechless as they watched the women cleaning. Soon enough, they gathered up their things and left. Wilein, Iana, Yven, and Irdan walked through the clean halls of the castle.
“Do you all need to go anywhere? You are welcome to stay with me.” Wilein offered to the group.
Irdan, Iana, and Yven all agreed that they would.
Epilogue
In Kezal Opamn, Vydyrn appeared before Sei’tarn Teish. His fog floated in and a stone embedded in the top of Sei’tarn’s iron throne flashed suddenly. The fog partly materialized, so that Vydyrn was in a form resembling his former appearance, yet he wasn’t solid; he was a wraith.
“Master. I have failed in killing the boy. He and his band of ‘heroes’ slew all of the Krag and sorcerers in Vytril. Irdan, the ranger you warned me of, shot my Arkrai. Then the boy…the accursed boy…he destroyed my form. Coming to you was all I could do.”
A deep, gravely, shadowed voice spoke out from under Sei’tarn’s black hood. “It is the first time you have failed, Ai. Have you learned?”
The tone in Sei’tarn’s voice implied that the correct answer was ‘yes’.
“Yes, master.”
“I will sent you out again…in time. You must regain some of your power before then.”
Well that finishes it! What did you all think?
