Presenting The Guardian

Introduction;

It took me about a week and a half to write this, and this is going to be part of a larger book that I'm planning to put on a website that is dedicated to some of the role playing games I enjoy, the d20 system, Vampire The Masquerade, and the Unisystem games. The premise of this is a superhero from our modern world who was transported a fantasy world. He was brought here and altered by magic that gave him superhuman abilities, mostly superhuman strength and resistance to damage.

There is an overall plot to his being here. The idea is that the humans of this world are the survivors of an ancient holocaust where thousands of dragons annihilated their world and they escaped to this one, rebuilding society. There is no deities on this world, but all magic is fueled by a liquid called mana that is found in physical form in lakes around the world. The world is a hostile one, and humanity is in constant threat of warfare with the goblins and other monsters that make their home here. despite incredible odds, they have survived.

He will eventually find the greatest secret this world has to offer, and that secret involves the origin of mana.

Here is the first issue:

 

Issue One
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1
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Michael was jerked awake. A bucket full of ice-cold water in the face hit him. It felt like a thousand tiny needles were being inserted into his skin, which caused him to be jerked awake. When everything came into focus, he could feel the cold water dripping off of him and his dirty, moldy old torn up clothes. A dry wind chilled him even further.
It took a few seconds for his disorientation to wear off. He still didn’t know where he was save that he was in a jail cell of some sort. Aged walls were just as moldy as his clothes. They were stark gray and almost to the point of crumbling apart.
“Come on, get to your feet.” A soldier said in a serious manner.
“Where am I?”
“In the king’s dungeon and the Captain Of The Guard has summoned you. Now get to your feet sir.”
It was not easy to stand up. Stiffness pervaded his body from sleeping on the cold stone floor with only a thin mat to protect him. When he stood up, he stretched. He felt like a layer of concrete was breaking off.
“What’s going on?”
“You’ll find out when the Captain speaks to you. Now, please, come with me.”
Michael commented under his breath, “Well, as long as you don’t say walk this way.”
The guard led him out of the dungeon, up a flight of steps and into an office space. The Captain Of The Guard was seated behind a table.
“Are you ready to give me your name yet?” The Captain asked him. The Captain of The Guard was a small man, wispy looking despite the chain mail armor he was wearing. His red and blue tabard displayed the Heraldry of his castle, an eagle with a sword over a crescent moon. He wore a chain coif and a steel helmet.
“My name…. is… Michael.”
“Very good.”
“Why am I in jail?”
“For using a weapon that is forbidden to anyone but a knight to use. It’s a fine punishable by two months in the jail.”
“Two months? What weapon was I using?”
“Sir Godfrey’s sword. Swords are available only to knights. Are you dense?”
“No sir. I just don’t remember doing that. Everything’s a blur to me.”
“Quite. Now, you’ve been here a week but because of what you did I have an offer for you.”
“I’m sorry sir, but what did I do?”
“You single-handedly repelled an army of a thousand goblins.”
“What?”
“You don’t remember that?”
“N-no sir.”
“Not surprising since you fell out of the sky. The impact must have damage your head.”
“I guess so sir.”
“And stop calling me sir. Only knights are called sir.”
“Sorry, captain.”
“That’s better. Now, are you interested in that offer or do you want to spend the rest of those two months in jail?”
“What’s the offer?”
“Quite. There’s a tavern down by the waterfront that’s been having trouble with a rash of brigands doing the usual protection racket. They need someone to end the threat to their business or they’ll be driven out eventually. Are you game?”
“What are the rewards?”
“An early release and twenty gold to go out on the town with.”
“I don’t know what I can do but I guess we’ll see.”
“Quite. Take this letter and show it to the proprietor and she’ll get you set up with a room and board until you handle the problem..”
“Free room and board huh? Sounds good.”
The captain signed a letter he’d been writing and put it in an envelope, sealed it in wax, then gave it to Michael.
“There you go. Now get out of here.”
“Uh, where is it and what’s its name?”
“It’s down by the waterfront and it is called the Ebon Flame.”
“Nice.”

 

2
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Well, he had to admit it to himself, he was lost. This was a huge city and it took him a couple of hours to get to the waterfront. He found himself walking around the docks. Large towering ships were being built here in dry dock so he was careful to avoid getting in the way. Some of them were fifty feet tall and a hundred feet long,. Wooden support beams prevented them from falling over. Scaffolding surrounded them and dozens of men worked on them.
A horrible wrenching sound filled the air. Someone shouted “The support beams are cracking! Get Out of here!” Workmen scramble to get off the scaffolding. Others rushed to get out of the way of the ship as each of the support beams splintered and cracked.
Michael heard a voice in his head. It was a dull whisper, but it was there. It said “You have one chance.”
He sprinted over to the listing hull and put his shoulder against it. It stopped tipping over. Holding it there gave the workers enough time to get out of the way and he held it there long enough for the workers to set up new support beams. Nearly two hours passed of him holding the hull while the workers set up the support beams to prevent it from falling further.
When the ship was stable, he let go. People applauded and cheered his efforts for saving the worker’s lives. Not to mention saving the costs of rebuilding an expensive ship. The foreman walks up to him.
“I just want to shake the hand of the man who’s a hero.”
Michael thought about it for an instant and shook his hand.
“What are you doing down here anyhow?”
“Well, I’m trying to find the Ebon Ring inn.”
“Oh, that’s just up the street. Go four blocks, make a left, you can’t miss it.”
“Thanks.”

 

3
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Michael found the place he was looking for. It was a large three-story building with black marble architecture. Statues of winged lions leaping in the air adorned the front entryway. IF these people were so wealthy, why didn’t they hire their own bouncers.
He entered, everything was in dark purple. The seats had cushions on them. The tables were lined with gold. Tapestries depicting battles and heroes adorned the wall. He walked up to the bar.
“Hello, ah, I’d like to speak to the manager or owner please.”
“If you have a complaint take a number.” The burly bartender pointed to a number pad set behind a guillotine. The intent of course was to chop off somebody’s hand if they reached for a number.
“That’s funny, but I was sent by the Captain Of The Guard to handle your little problem. This letter is for him.”
He showed the bartender the letter.
“Hold on, I’ll go and get her. Have a drink.”
“Uh, do you have anything non-alcoholic?”
“Elvish tea. Milk. Fizzies.”
“Fizzies?”
“Strawberry, orange, grape.”
“I’d appreciate a grape fizzy then please. Thanks.”
The bartender poured him a fizzie while he sat at the bar. He tasted it and held it in his mouth a while to see what it tasted like.
“Hey, this is soda. They can do with some Pepsi. Pepsi, nectar of the gods, Pepsi is.” He tried sounding like Yoda but couldn’t quite come close enough. He looked around the place, it was mostly empty but it would probably be busy later this evening. A shapely lady with pointed ears came out when he was almost empty.
“Hello, you were sent by the Captain of the Guard?”
Michael looked at her. She was small and petit. Her dress was a milky blue-red low cut number. Her dark hair was wavy and shoulder length. Her pointed ears poked out of the hair.
“What is it?” She said.
“Oh I’m sorry, I’ve never seen anyone with pointed ears before.” Except on TV with Mister Spock.
“You’ve never seen a high elf before?”
“Where I come from they don’t exist.”
“Where do you come from?”
He thought about it for a while. Nothing came to mind.
“I. I don’t remember. Sorry.”
“That impact must have hurt your head.”
“What?”
“About a week and a half ago this city of Halina was being attacked by an army of a thousand goblins. We were losing, but then you came. You fell out of the sky. When you hit the ground you caused a huge crater and the force of the impact destroyed hundreds of goblins. Then you grabbed Lord Kinaran’s sword and started hacking away in a blind fury.
“We all thought that that you had gone berserk, and you had. You single handedly slew hundreds of goblins that day. None of us had seen anything like it.”
“You, you saw me?”
“Yes.. I was watching the battle from the High Wizard’s tower.”
“I just don’t remember that.”
“It’s no wonder. That impact probably caused some amnesia. Let me see that letter please.”
He handed her the letter. While he pondered what she said, she read it.
“Well, finally. Those bastards have been plaguing us for a month now. I hope you can handle the problem. If you do you’ll have free room and board for a month. After that it’ll be reduced rate. My name is Linidia, and I’m the owner of this establishment.
“Come with me and I’ll show you to your room.”
She led him to the second floor and to a small room. It had a bed, an oak desk in, and a small cabinet to put clothes in.
“Are those your only set of clothes?
“Yes.”
“I’ll have someone get you some new clothes. Those actually reek. You also need a bath. We have private baths if you’re interested.”
“Yeah. I’m interested. Thank you.”
“It’ll be a little while until it’s ready. A maid will come and let you know.”
“All right, I’ll be here.”
She left and he was alone. He looked out the window at the city. It wasn’t a spectacular view, but he could see out to the ocean. Ships were sailing in and out of the port. The sun was shining gloriously overhead.
He didn’t sit on the bed because he did feel rather filthy. It was as though he hadn’t taken a bath in a week and the jail he was in was quite grimy. He didn’t want to sleep in a dirty bed tonight.
There was a knock at his door, and a young woman entered. She was a large frame than his new but temporary boss and so bad looking with long red hair and a nice but simple dress.
“Your bath is ready.”
“Lead on.”
He was led on through the hallways to the bath. It was a private bath and the walls were lined with mirrors. The bath was full of hot soapy water. There was a stand for him to put his clothes.
“I am Melisandra. I will be your personal masseuse during your stay. I will provide you with anything you need.”
“Anything?”
“Anything. Please put your clothes on the stand and they will be taken to be washed.”
“Uh, could you give me some privacy please?”
She left the room. He took off his clothes then noticed his reflection in the mirror. There was no recognition of himself, yet that was his face. He seemed to remember his face being rounder. With glasses to cover his poor eyes. His face was now square. His hair was light brown and down to his shoulders. His eyes were green. And the rest of him, well, it was a dream. There were muscles on top of muscles on top of muscles. Before there had only been hundreds of pounds of fat. What was going on here?
“Wow. Just wow.”
Standing there, he studied his new body and didn’t notice Melisandra taking his clothes. She didn’t seem to pay him any attention to his naked body. After he finished, he got into the tub and began scrubbing.
“Singing in the drain. I’m bringing in the prawns! What a glorious feasting I’m really full again.” He sang. He didn’t notice Melisandra standing behind him, getting undressed because there was some soap in his eyes. She started massaging his shoulders, and he nearly jumped out of skin.
“What? What is this? You’re naked!”
“You’ve never seen a naked woman before?”
“Only in pictures. Look, I’m, I’m…”
“It’s okay. I’ve worked with shy men before.”

 

4
He spent a couple of wonderful hours with her. It was his first time having sex with a woman. It would never had happen if he was still fat. She slept peacefully on his bed as he looked out the window to the night sky. The stars were strange. He couldn’t recognize any of them at all. A meteorite flared overhead.
This was quite a world, but right now he was bored. Not being able to sleep was driving him to pacing around the room. Maybe he could spend some more time with the young lady. Or maybe there was something downstairs that could help him sleep. He put on his new clothes, a blue shirt, blue pants and some slippers, and went downstairs. Then he realized, he could see perfectly in the dark as if there were no lights. If he could do this, and he had superhuman strength, what else could he do? How else would he find out? And what the hell was he doing here in the first place? How did he get to be here? And why did his body undergo this physical change?
Questions. There were too many unanswered questions. It took some time but he was able to find the basement where the beverages were stored in tuns. He was able to read the labels and found one of milk. He got an empty bottle and filled it with the milk and was about to leave when the bartender who aimed a crossbow right at his head accosted him.
“Hey now, take it easy I just wanted to get something to drink.” Michael said nervously.
“You should be more careful I thought you were a thief.”
“Sorry.”
“Well, the Captain’s footing the bill for that so have a party.”
“He is?”
“Yes. He’s footing the entire bill for your stay here.”
“Including the, uh, my lady companion?”
“Even her. You must be some kind of hero to pull that off. He isn’t easily impressed.”
“Would you put that thing away before you hurt yourself?” Michael said, pointing at the crossbow. The bartender lowered it, unnotched the bolt, and then pulled the trigger.
“Thanks.”
“I’ll just put that bottle of…”
“Milk.”
“Milk on the list.”
“You mean the tab?”
“What’s a tab?”
“A bill to be paid later.”
“Why would I want to write something on a duck’s bill?”
“Never mind.”

 

“Even her. You must be some kind of hero to pull that off. He isn’t easily impressed.”
“Would you put that thing away before you hurt yourself?” Michael said, pointing at the crossbow. The bartender lowered it, unnotched the bolt, and then pulled the trigger.
“Thanks.”
“I’ll just put that bottle of…”
“Milk.”
“Milk on the list.”
“You mean the tab?”
“What’s a tab?”
“A bill to be paid later.”
“Why would I want to write something on a duck’s bill?”
“Never mind.”
He won fifty gold in a card game.. People respected him and liked him. He wasn’t used to this kind of treatment. He was used to being shunned by people because he was fat. Now things had changed.
Linidia was more when he started paying for things. He bought some more clothes and a few books to read and learned the history of the realm. It was called Eggrevor, or home of the fallen. It seems that this is largely an unexplored continent that was settled here by wizards leading the entire city here through a gateway after their world had been ravaged by a flight of thousands of dragons. They came here five hundred and fifty years ago to escape the devastation caused by those dragons and no one had returned.
The main city was called Halintus, after the wizard who created the gate and brought these people here. It has a population of twelve thousand people. There were three other main cities called Kearne, Harnesi, and Anakanaral, each roughly five thousand people. There were numerous villages and hamlets all over the realms numbering only a few hundred. A council of wizards, essentially a magocracy, formed the government. There were three wizards sent from the mage’s guilds in each city to represent the people. They voted on laws and who’d be in charge of the cities when the time came. The head was called the Grand wizard.
There was more of course, but that was the gist of the land he was in. To the north were mountains, to the south were grasslands mixed with swamplands. There was a major lake and river, which nearly cut the land in two. The rest of the continent was unexplored, and they were willing to pay explorers handsomely.
About two hundred years ago they came into contact with the goblin tribes. The goblins immediately declared war on the humans, dwarves and elves and since then have been trying to wipe the Eggrevorians outs and have been trying to do so for the last couple of centuries. No one knows the reasons why, but a large project was underway to build a huge wall around it to protect the people from these monsters.
Melisandra sat up behind up and put her hand his shoulder and looked at what he was reading.
“I didn’t know you could read Elvish.” She said.
He didn’t know he was reading in the language. The writing appeared to be in English to him. Now he knew he could translate other languages. He closed the book, put it on a stand, and went back to bed with her.
The real trouble came over the weekend. There were six of them. Each of them were huge muscular men in spiked leather armor. They almost looked like they were trying to be punk since they each had a Mohawk, save for the man who obviously was the leader. He stood taller than them and his hair was in shoulder length strips and braided. Even his mustache was braided.
He grabbed the bartended and nearly pulled him over the bar.
“All right, where is she.”
“Who?” The bartender said.
“Linidia you dumb ass.”
This was Michael’s cue. He walked over to the guy, sized him up and said, “Why don’t you just leave these people alone. They haven’t done a damned thing to you.”
He released the bartender and glared at Michael.
“Who the hell are you.” He demanded.
“Michael. Michael Reagan These are friends of mine..”
“Well Reekin, since you’re such good friends with them, maybe you can pay me the two thousand gold they owe me.”
“Oh, and why do you think they owe you? Wait a minute, let me guess… ye olde protection racket, am I right?”
“Yeah. I protect this place.”
“Not from your damned stinky breath.”
The patrons were leaving in droves.
“You’re so funny I forgot to laugh.” With that he pulled out a huge mace and struck Michael on the side of the head. He didn’t even flinch.
“Okay, that’s it.”
Michael spun around with a kick and got him in the stomach. He flew across the room into the next wall. Crashing to the ground, he wheezed out “Get him! Get that son of a bitch!” It was time to go to work.
They surround Michael, wielding their weapons. Most had clubs, two had swords.
“Hey now, can’t we discuss this over a pint?”
The bartender notched a bolt in his crossbow Michael signaled him to stand down.
One of them brought his sword down on his shoulders. It nearly came out of the guy’s hands. The only thing it did was make a slice in his shirt.
“:That was a good shirt! You messed it up! Hulk smash!”
He gave the guy a roundhouse kick to the head and he went down. They all went into action, striking him with their weapons. He tried to avoid them but those weapons still connected. Michael was not a real fighter though. He either punched or kicked them one at a time. Some of them flew back into a table knocking over. One even flipped head over heels he backhanded him so hard. The last one still standing glared at him, then turned and ran. Michael picked up a chair and threw it and the guy. It hit the guy in the back of the legs, knocking him over.
The deed was done. They were all groaning in pain amidst the mess they caused of overturned tables and chairs. There was no real damage. He turned to the bartender and told him to go get the town guardsmen to take these riff raff away.
Linidia came out and hugged him. Melisandra gave him a really passionate kiss. Life was good.

 

7
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He set about exploring the city. There was a wide variety shops, a newspaper courier, and a marketplace. The marketplace sold all kinds of items. It occurred to him that thieves would be out and about today. In order to protect it, he decided to keep his pouch of gold in his hand to avoid it being stolen.
In one area a merchant was selling his swords. A contest was being run by him and he was advertising it. He stood on a stool behind a large clump of uncooked spaghetti noodles. They were about six feet in diameter by five feet long.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I now present to you a contest of strength. This is one nobody’s ever beaten. Nobody can defeat it! Nobody is strong enough to break all of these noodles is one strike! The prize for such daring is this absolutely beautiful sword!”
He revealed a beautifully made sword. The blade was a white metal with a bluish tint and ting golden symbols lined the entire length. Its hilt was a dragon breathing fire.
“For one measly gold you have can have a chance to win this sword! Its craftsmanship is superior to many swords and was made by a wizard! It’s been enchanted to provide more accuracy and can cut through stone! Are there any contenders?”
Nobody was interested. The merchant showed off the sword by having his assistant set up a huge block of marble, and cutting deep roves into. Still, nobody wanted to try.
“There are no contenders? Is there anybody who wants to try?”
“I think the price is too high. One gold?”
“The sword is worth far more friend. Do you want to try?”
“Sure, why not.” He flipped the merchant a gold coin. While standing in front of the spaghetti, he studied it.
“Well, we haven’t got all day.” The merchant said.
Michael jumped up, clasping both hands. As he came down he struck the spaghetti noodles square in the middle. All of them splintered and scattered everywhere. It was a huge mess. The merchant just glared at him, then handed him the sword. His assistant got him a scabbard to go along with it.
He stopped by a jewelry merchant for a while and brought a necklace for Melisandra. The necklace was an eagle in flight made of a gem that the merchant called a gold Amethyst. Instead of the purple color, here it was golden. Another name for it was sunny Amethyst.
Along the way back he was accosted by a guard demanding to see his permission to carry his sword. He showed the guard a ring the Captain of the Guard gave him. The ring was an ivory unicorn. It meant that he was a soldier who was allowed to carry a sword or other weapons not available to the general public. The guard profusely apologized and left him alone.
When he got back to the inn he gave her the necklace and she loved it. She gave him one of her most passionate kisses. He got excited and they went up to his room.

 

8
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Some nights he couldn’t sleep. Unable to close his eyes, some nights he just laid there staring at the ceiling, or he’d look out at the city. Other nights he’d get restless and wander around the place. It had become a home of sorts.
One night his eyes opened. Melisandra wasn’t there, and sat up in a sea of swirling mist. When he stood up, the ground he walked on was spongy and wet. It didn’t feel all that good between his toes.
“Outlander.” Someone said behind him. He turned around to see a shadowy figure in plate armor. The helm obscured his face but he could see two red glowing eyes.
“Outlander, heed me. You have something that belongs to me and want it returned. I am Kyrane the Paladin. Seek out Hiram for he knows where to find me. He has the mark of three tails. That is how you’ll know him.”
When he awoke he sat up, pondering the dream. The sun had just risen. Melisandra was still asleep. He gazed at her wondrous naked body, thankful that he had her. At least for now she was his, but he wondered how long that would last. She was a prostitute after all. Maybe he should marry her?
He went downstairs and found the bartender holding his crossbow. It was notched and his hands were trembling.
“Hey. What’s happening?” The bartended was startled and accidentally pulled the trigger. The bolt sailed right for Michael’s face. It hit him square in the forehead, but bounced off harmlessly. They both looked at the bolt on the floor.
“You know if I were anybody else that could’ve killed me.”
“What are you doing down here?”
“Couldn’t sleep. That milk of yours seems to help. What are you doing?”
“Going out of my mind.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think this place is haunted. I, I hear strange footsteps at night. I try to follow them but I don’t find anybody.”
“There’s no such things as ghosts.”
“Oh yes there is. The temple to Honorius was haunted for a time by a Paladin’s spirit named Kyrane until his sword was returned to him. I was a boy then and I even saw him when I was in the choir.”
“You sang?”
“What’s singing?”
“Well it’s a kind of music that human’s can make with their vocal chords.”
“Like chanting?”
“I’d have to hear this chanting to see. But it sounds something like this.” He took a breath and sang a verse of Kenny Roger’s The Gambler. “of course, where I come from there are people who have a much better voice than me and have even gone to school to improve it.”
“I’ve never heard anything like that in my entire life.”
“So, there’s a Paladin named Kyrane? Tell me about him.”
“Well, he’s best known for defeating the Lord Of Flies, a man who was trying to become a god. He ended up in control of all the ghouls and zombies of this land but Kyrane defeated him with a white blue sword with gold lettering that was made for him by the church of Honorius in Halintus.”
“How did he die?”
“He was killed by a Bloodknight.”
“Bloodknight?”
“They serve the god Ungrefal, lord of the underworld, and are enemies of the Paladin.”
“Anti-Paladins, so to speak.”
“You use such strange terms. But you’re an outlander.”
“Thanks. About that milk?”
“Help yourself.”
Michael got himself some of that sweet milk.
“Where does this milk come from anyway?”
“The Aboras tree. We squash its fruits to get it.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. Milk from a tree?”
“The only tree in the land that gives milk.”
“Nice.”
After the bartender filled him a bottle, he went back upstairs. Melisandra woke, sat up and stretched.
“Can’t sleep again?”
“No. Did you know milk comes from trees?”
“Yes.”
They kissed.
When the sun came up he was ready to go. He got dressed in his red silk shirts and pants and put on his boots, folding them down at the knee. The look reminded her of a pirate when he strapped the sword to himself. She smiled.
“Where are you heading to today?” She asked.
“I thought I’d go to the temple and have them take a look at this sword..”
“Can I come along?”
“You’re religious?”
“Aren’t we all?”
“Here in this land, probably.”
“You’re not?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Well, because there’s no real proof to support the existence of deities where I come from.”
“That sounds awful.”
“It’s not. Where I come from there are all kinds of religious beliefs.”
“Are you the only one who doesn’t believe in gods?”
“No. There are lots of others who don’t. If they exist in my land, they don’t interact with us.”
“That’s sad. Our gods do interact with us. They give our priest miracles to perform for us, and that is how we know our gods exist.”
“Well, let’s get something to eat.”
They both got dressed and had breakfast downstairs. After they ate they left and she took him to the temple. It was a large four-story building. In front of it was an obelisk that had images of soldiers and warriors fighting mythical winged beasts and demons on it. In front of the huge double doors was a fountain with angles pointing to the air. The entire building was made of ivory and trimmed with gold.
In front of the door were two seven-foot tall obelisks made entirely of bronze. There were carved with symbols of all sorts and men, presumably soldiers, fighting monsters. On one of the could be seen a dragon. Other monsters of legend were carved on the obelisk as well. It gleamed in the sunlight.
“I never tire of seeing these.” Melisandra said.
They went in. It was dominated by white. Statuettes of the gods lined the walls. There were six prime deities but they were represented in many ways for they each had their facets. The six deities were Honorius the god of Justice, Ungrefal, Lord of the Underworld, Nathias Life mother, Kinara the god of War, Opellin the tyrant, and Nelantu the god of the down trodden. These six served the master god, which was only represented by a circle of a snake with a gem in his mouth.
This was just in the foyer. The room of worship was three times the size. It was nearly fifty feet tall and a series of six pillars of bronze, each of them one of the gods, held up the ceiling. Dark oaken pews could seat around a thousand people. There was a stage where the priests could give their sermons. At the entrance to this room was an offering box. He put in ten gold.
Within a space of a few minutes, a priest came out to see him. He was not dressed in robes but wearing a shirt and pants. He wore a medallion, presumably a symbol of one of the deities.
“Hello. How may I help you?”
“I’m looking into some information regarding a sword.”
“Ah. Then you want to go see a blacksmith.”
“This is about the sword of the Paladin Kyrane.”
“Ah, if you’ll please wait a few minutes, I’ll go get minister Ferrinam.”
Michael took a seat in one of the pews while Melisandra went to a statue of Honorius and offered a silent prayer. Then she came over and sat down with him.
“What is it Michael?”
“Oh, I was just thinking that you people use unusual names.”
She just looked at him. After a while, an older, thin looking man came to see him. He was wearing the same clothes the other Priest had. Michael stood up.
“Hello. May the sun rise on your long journey.”
“Thank you, may your horse never buck you off into the mud.”
All three of them had a puzzled look on their faces from this rather awkward moment.
“Ah. Yes. You’re looking for Kyrane’s sword?”
“No. I have it. I’m looking for information on where his tomb so I can return it to him.”
“Why would you want to return it to him? It’s a powerful sword and it would suit a warrior such as yourself well.”
“I’m no fighter. I like swords though. But this doesn’t belong to me an I think there might be a curse on it.”
“Yes. Indeed there is a curse. His spirit will forever haunt the person who wrongfully owns it.”
“You mentioned it’s magical?”
“Yes. It is a powerful holy sword given to him directly from the deity Honorius to the church he serves.”
“What is it doing out of his tomb?”
“Somehow it always finds its way into somebody’s hands.”
“Can you help me find this tomb?”

 

“Can you help me find this tomb?”
“No. I only know that he is buried somewhere in the Cowled Canyon. Only Hiram can show you.”
“Where can I find him?”
“At the Gorgon’s Key Pub, in the Ale district..”
“Ale district?”
“It’s where the breweries are.”
“Nice.”
“Ale is one of our most important exports. Our most well know Ale is Danika’s Ember, a dark green Ale that has a taste that has a hint of Stirge honey and Aboras milk.”
“Stirge honey?”
“Yes. Stirge is a kind of avian that feeds off of the blood of humanoids. It prefers human blood. Very fragile creature.”
“Sorry, but from where I come from honey comes from an insect called a bee.”
“We have those too here outlander. Our ways may seem strange to you, but I’m sure if we were in your land your ways would seem strange to you.”
“Hey. When in Rome.”
“Quite. How do you know who I am?”
“I saw you fall out of the sky. You’ve done a great service for us when you decimated those goblins. I have no doubt your services will be needed again, such is the nature of this land. When you need it, you come here for free healing.”
“Um, thank you. I don’t know if I’ll ever need it though.”
“I’m sure you will. Power is relative, especially in a land where gods walk the earth.”
“So, I have to find this guy Hiram, right?”

 

9
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After they left, Melisandra went back to work while he went to the Ale district. It was a section of the city comprised of breweries and warehouses to store the drinks being made here for shipping. Buildings looked old, usually wooden but there were brick structures. Kids played in the streets so he held his pouch of gold coins in his hand just to be on the safe side. It wasn’t a bad part of the city, just run down with the occasional smell of some sort of drink on the wind.
With an hour and a half of walking, he finally found the Gorgon’s Key Pub. It was pretty busy. Patrons included many dwarves, humans and a few big half-orcs. It was not quite full though. Michael expected them to immediately stop what they were doing and stare intently at him. Nobody paid him any attention. In one corner a dice game was being run. Another a half-orc was Indian wrestling another one.
He went up to the bartender.
“What’ll it be pal?”
“Information.”
“It’ll cost ya.”
He forked over a gold.
“Yeah. What do ya want to know?”
“Hiram. He has the mark of three tails.”
“What do you want him for?”
“A job.”
“What kind of job?”
“That’s for me and him to discuss.”
“That’ll be two more gold.”
He forked the coins over.
“He’ll be in tomorrow evening around sundown.”
“I’ll be there.”
Michael left. He went back to the Ebon Ring for the evening. The evening was spent breaking up a drunkard getting violent with one of the maids. Michael threw him out. The guards arrested him.
He came back to the Pub the next evening and waited for Hiram. After an hour of drinking a few patrons under the table, he showed up although Michael didn’t notice him because he was wearing a dark hood that obscured his face. He wasn’t a big man and kind of thin but scruffy looking. After talking with the bartender, he approached him.
“I hear you’re looking for me?”
“Are you Hiram?”
“Yes.”
“Please have a seat.”
He sat down.
“Would you like a drink?” Michael asked him.
Hiram motioned for the waitress. “Bring me an Old Stout Ale.”
“all right, let’s get down to business. I need a guide to take me to the tomb of the Paladin Kyrane. They tell me you’re the only one that knows how to do it.”
“Yeah, I can do that. It’ll cost you though.”
“How much?”
“A hundred gold a day plus expenses plus a hundred gold up front.”
“What if your price can’t be paid?”
“Then I want a full share of the treasure.”
“We are going into a tomb. Doesn’t that disturb you?”
“Why should it? The stuff is useless to a dead person.”
“What about curses?”
“They can be removed. Do you want my services or not?”
“What kind of skills do you have?”
“I’m good with traps and locks.”
“Ah. A security consultant.”
“Ha! I like that. Well, what’s it going to be?”
Michael thought about it, and plopped down a hundred gold. Hiram quickly gathered it and put it away.

 

“Give me a day and we can me here day after tomorrow at sun up. It’s a two day journey there and back so you might want to get some supplies for yourself.”
“Got it.”
They shook hands and Hiram got up to leave when Michael was approached by a huge and really tall dark skinned man who looked as though he could barely stand. While waiting for Hiram, he’d drunk several guys under the table during a drinking contest and this guy was one of them. This drunk poked Michael in the shoulder.
“You’re not even drunk.”
“No. I’m not. I have a very high tolerance for alcohol.”
“Or more likely you were cheating.”
“Oh come on man. You saw me drinking.”
“You’re not even drunk. The bartender was giving you milk!” he shouted at the top of his lungs. He grasped his huge spiked club with both hands then brought it down on Michael’s head hard enough to shatter a thick oak table. It broke in two on Michael’s head.
The drunk just looked at the club, then looked at him with an “Oh crap” look on his face.

 

“Oh screw it.” Michael said and launched himself at the drunk. Hiram knew there was going to be a big fight so he put himself in a corner. He watched Michael take the big guy out with a roundhouse kick only to be jumped on his back by one of the patrons. Another guy struck him in the stomach with his club. And when one of the patrons came near Hiram would swiftly cut their coin pouch off of their belt and pocket the change.
“Everybody pile on him!” somebody shouted. More than a dozen people climbed on him. Another person kicked Michael in the back of the knees. He lost his balance and fell to the floor with these people dog piling him, and kicking or hitting him.
This was just what he needed, a test of strength. This was something he’d always wanted to do. He flexed all of his muscles and threw them all off of himself. People flew in all directions. Some hit the walls, others hit the ceiling, but they all hit the ground hard. All they could do was writhe in pain. Michael took a look around, shook his head, and left. Hiram started picking their belt pouches while they were gone and left in a big hurry.
The next day Michael gathered up some supplies for camping out in the woods. These supplies brought him down to his last two gold but he was able to get himself a backpack, crowbar, shovel, some rope, enough food to last a week, a tent and a sleeping bag and a few warm blankets for the trip. Never been out camping before, he was looking forward to the trip.
Telling Melisandra made her sad that he was going to be away for a week, so she gave him one of the best nights he would have. The next morning he met Hiram at the Pub and they left as the sun was coming up. Hiram had brought a friend who was wearing dark blue robes with a design that looked like Celtic patterns along the sleeves. A dark leather belt was around the waist with several daggers in it. His face was obscured by a hood.
“Hello.” Michael said.
“This is my partner. We’ll need him because he’s good with magic and can cast spells. Kiln, this is the man who hired us, Michael.”
They shook hands.
“You didn’t tell me you had a partner.” Michael said
“You never asked.”
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The woods were unexpectedly bright despite how thick the trees were. Songbirds filled the air with their music. Insects of all kinds buzzed about. From time to time grazing animals equivalent to deer dashed about. It was an uneventful trip.
They arrived at the Cowled Canyon. It was a deep gash in the ground more than a hundred feet deep that was curved in a crescent shape that went from north to east. Trees lined the edges and their vines crawled down the dirt sides.
“The tomb is at the north end.” Hiram said.
“So this place is where they buried heroes and Paladins?”
“Yes.”
“Why isn’t it guarded more?”
“Oh, it’s guarded. About two hundred years ago there were all kinds of grave robbing going on so the church got fed up with it. So they decided to perform a ritual that would invoke the undead. Lots of those beasties roam around there to discourage tomb robbers roam around down there.”
“But we’re not tomb robbers. We’re returning something that was stolen.”
“They won’t see that distinction. We should head to the north side of the canyon. That’s where he’s buried and it’s the easiest way in.”
“Let’s go.”
They went to the north end. It was a steep but climbable dirt slope. Michael went down it quickly but Hiram had to help his friend. Clearly his friend was not in good physical condition for he was breathing hard when he got down the hill. They were next to an entrance to a tomb. It was obviously a door but there were no handles. A design of spiraling circles was carved into it. An unlit brazier stood to the left side of the door.
“That’s not the tomb.” Hiram said.
“Will he be all right?”
“Yeah. He’s just not cut out for this kind of thing.”
“Okay, where’s the tomb?”
“Follow me.”
“Well, as long as you don’t say walk this way.”
Hiram gave him a confused look.
“Just a joke. Lead on.”
Hiram took him to the entrance of the tomb. Two doors sealed it. Into them was carved a pattern of swords that formed an eight-pointed star. In the middle of this star was a carving of a knight holding a sword.
Michael studied the picture. The sword looked like the one he was carrying. He unsheathed his sword and placed it on the sword image on the door. Everything began to glow. Bluish white light spread throughout the images. The brazier lit up with a bright red smokeless flame.
A ghostly image appeared of a man in full plate armor. It was transparent and luminescent. It raised its hand and pointed at Michael.
“Outlander. You have what is rightfully mine. If you do not return it to me it will mean your death.” It said.
“I am here to return your sword.” Michael said.
“Then you may enter. The way is dangerous and will test your soul. This is not a task to be taken lightly. If you survive the tests within, you will receive a prize.” With that said, the apparition vanished. Metal grinding upon metal could be heard, and the door lowered itself into the ground. The way was clear for them to enter.
“I’ll take point.” Michael said.”
“You’re a real take charge kind of guy. No, I should take point in case if there’s a trap.” Hiram chimed in.
“Yeah, but I doubt it’ll have anything that would damage me.”
“But it would make it easier for me to spot the trigger to a trap.”
“All right take point.”
Hiram entered first followed by Michael then Kiln. Kiln lit up a lantern to reveal a huge hallway that was about fifty feet wide and maybe twice that tall. When they entered, the door closed behind them. The walls and floors were tiled with ceramic tiles. There were bones scattered all over the place. Michael stepped on one, unable to avoid stepping on them.

 

“Dang. It looks like lots of people have tried to rob this tomb.” Michael said.
“How did you know that the sword was the key?” Hiram asked.
“I just had a hunch.”
“What is a hunch?” Kiln asked
“A hunch is a strong instinctual reaction. For example, have you ever gotten the feeling that something was not quite right or was out of place somehow?”
“Yes. Ah, I see. We call it being unfounded.”
There was a noise. It sounded like something skittering across the floor.
“Quiet.” Hiram said and motioned for them to stop. More noises could be heard.
“What’s going on here?”
“We’d better run.” Hiram said as a small group of skeletons reformed themselves and stood up. They stopped, and Hiram stood behind Michael.
“After you since you’re the big bad warrior.”
“I’m no warrior.” Michael said. More skeletons reformed and stood themselves up. Soon the hallway was filled with a small army of them.
“If we had a cleric he could turn those things!” Kiln shouted.
Michael took a deep breath and launched himself at the skeletons. Some he kicked, others he punched, and some he simply tore apart with his bare hands. They made their way forward through the sea of skeletons. At times he grabbed on and tore it apart. It took a lot of work but he finally destroyed the last on. He took a breather and signaled for his companions to meet up with him.
Michael took a step for then nearly tripped on a rope. Hiram said “Oh no. Duck!” And he and kiln dropped to the floor. Michael turned to look at them.
“What are you two doing-“ a large spiked steel ball swinging from the ceiling that slammed right into his back cut him off. He was sent flying back to the beginning of the tomb. Standing up, he was winded but unharmed. The ball was still swinging when he caught up with his partners. They had crawled back to a point to where the ball wouldn’t hit them.

 

Michael stepped forward while the ball swung away from him and braced himself. The ball had lost its momentum so it didn’t wind him when he caught it. It was stopped from going any further. When it had lost all momentum, Michael let it go and it just hung there.
“See what I mean by traps?” Hiram said.
“Yeah.” Michael said. “Let’s go.”
They continued further down the corridor. After nearly an hour, they came to an intersection, and they could only turn left or right. In front of them was a huge sword engraved into the wall that looked like the Paladin’s sword.
“Which way now?” Hiram asked. Michael thought about it.
“Right.”
They walked down the right corridor for about fifty feet and it came to a dead end. At the end was a winch. Nobody had a clue what it was for.
“Well, there’s only one way to find out what it’s for.” Hiram said. Michael grasped a hold of it and turned it. They all heard a grating sound as if something was being opened. Hiram went to look and found a hidden door was being opened. As it slid open, a shadowy robed figure with a featureless face appeared. Hiram ran back to Michael.

 

“Michael! We’ve got company!” He yelled. Michael turned around to see him barreling down the corridor at full speed. He slid to a stop.
“We’ve got a shadow coming down the hall!”
“A shadow?”
“Undead beastie. Drains life force with its touch. You can’t let it touch you!”
It appeared in the lantern light and Michael stepped up to it. It stopped and let out a repulsive cry of pain that sounded like someone was trying to talk underwater.
“You will go no further.”
It simply smiled then pointed at Michael. It touched him on the shoulder. He felt sick immediately and could feel his life force flowing from him into the shadow. It felt like he was in a hurricane that was driving thousands of pins right through him. He balled up his fist and struck it. It wasn’t a good idea. It just went right through it and created another conduit to which his life force can be drained even quicker.
Hiram brought out a small bow and notched it. He fired it at the shadow. The arrow went right through it but it winced in pain. Kiln began chanting.
“I call forth the power of light to do my bidding!”
Light was channeled into his hands, which then flew forth to strike the shadow. It almost looked like a missile. Four more of these magical bolts struck the shadow. The monster continued its attack on Michael.
Michael brought out the sword and swung it at the shadow. It pierced the spiritual substance with a burst of powerful golden magical energy. IT writhed in pain, crying out in protest, then shrunk into a ball of ectoplasm that fell to the floor. Kiln quickly took out a glass flask and scooped the substance. Michael looked at him.
“Spell components.”
“All right, let’s check out the other end.” When they came to the room that the shadow came out of, Hiram went in to check it out. In an alcove he found a locked chest. Out came his lockpicks. Within a few seconds it was unlocked and opened. There was a small book and several bronze disks inside that were about two inches in diameter. There were a total of six of them.
“You know, you really shouldn’t do that.” Michael said in protest.
“Why not? They aren’t of use to anybody. Might as well put all this money and knowledge to good use. That book might contain ancient and forgotten lore or even a spell that my friend can use. Are you squeamish about this sort of thing?”
“Yeah. No telling what kind of curse may be on that stuff.”
“We can get it checked out.”
“You should go ahead and put it back. But hey, go ahead and be a tomb robber.”
Hiram just gave him a dirty look, which disappeared when he pocketed his treasure.
“Let’s go see the other end.”
They marched on. They came to the image of the sword at the intersection. A part of it was opened. The part that was opened was a triangle shape and took up nearly half of the door.
“Hey, did that winch do that?” Michael asked.
“Yeah, I think so.”
They heard something come undone, then the part that was open closed again.
“Okay Hiram, I’m going back to check and see if that winch opened this part of the door. Stay here and keep an eye on it.”
Michael left them. When he left the light he didn’t realize he was seeing in total darkness. He came to the winch and operated it, then went back to Hiram.
“Yep. That winch opened part of the door all right.” Hiram said as the door closed again.
“So maybe the other winch will open the other part of the door.”
“Seems obvious doesn’t it?”
“Nothing’s obvious in this world.”
On they continued down the hall. They came to a huge circular room. In the middle of the room was a statue at least sixty feet tall of a warrior in the same full plate armor as the ghostly image in front. It was holding out a sword that matched the image of the sword on the door at the intersection. Hiram examined the statue. At the base were six round holes about two inches in diameter and about a quarter of an inch thick. Hiram looked at one of the bronze disks.
Michael walked along the walls and found another winch. Hiram looked at him and whispered to Kiln; “Watch this.” He then turned to Michael. “Hey Michael.”
“Yeah?”
“That winch should be safe to turn.”
“What makes you think so?”
“I don’t think there’s any traps in here. Or none that I can detect.”
Michael took hold of the winch and operated it. As he did so the huge statue turned on its base and lowered the sword, targeted Michael. When Michael finished turning it, the statue stopped. The sword glowed and a stream of lightning struck him, then ricochet off of him into another wall next to Hiram. The statue reset itself.
Michael was knocked to the floor. His shirt was scorched where the lightning hit him. Hiram whispered under his breath “That’ll teach you, you pompous windbag.”
Michael looked at the scorch mark on his shirt.
“I really liked this shirt. Let’s go check if the door was opened.” He pulled himself up. When they got to the door, it wasn’t opened.
“Oh screw it.” Michael said, then punched the door using his full strength. It made a sound like a bell that resonated throughout the tomb. Hiram and Kiln held their ears from the loud noise. He hit it again and didn’t even dent it.
“”Will you stop that!” Hiram shouted. “That’s not getting us anywhere! You stupid fool!”
“Watch it pal.” Michael said to him. He heard how serious he was. “Let’s just stick to the problem of opening this door.”
‘Fine, let’s get back to the statue room. I have an idea.”
They went back to the statue room. Hiram looked at the base again, then with a huge frown put the bronze disks in the holes in base. They fit perfectly. Michael turned the winch and the statue turned with it. When it brought its sword down, it didn’t fire a lightning bolt. “Goodbye wealth.” He said to himself.
Michael ran to the door at the intersection. One half of it was opened, but there was not enough room for them to slip through to the hall beyond. Then he ran to the other end and operated the winch. Hiram was at the door when it fully opened up. Michael met up with them at the door.
“Shall we go on?”
“You’re the boss man.” Hiram said.
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They entered the next hallway with Hiram in the lead, followed by Michael then Kiln. It was smaller, only about ten feet square and had a steep slope to it. If they were careful they could easily slip and slide down.
“How far does this go down?”
“About two hundred feet.”
“Why so long?”
“Why don’t you ask him.”
“Who? The Paladin?”
“Yeah. The Paladin.”
“No thanks. I’ll just be happy to return the sword.”
“I’ll expect my payment when we get back.”
Michael didn’t say anything more. As they walked down the corridor, there was an audible click.”
“Everybody stop!” Hiram said. They all came to a sudden stop. A panel underneath Kiln’s foot sank in the floor.
“Oh no. Guys, I think we’re in trouble.” He said. Behind them, another panel opened up in the roof. It was the entire width of the corridor but only about four inches wide. A torrent of oil dropped out splashing all over the floor. It ran down the corridor, coating the entire floor and their shoes.
“If we take any kind of step forwards or backwards we’re going to slide down the entire length of the hallway.” Hiram said.
“What’s at the end of the hallway?” Michael said.
“A trap I thought I’d disabled a long time ago.”
“What kind of a trap is it?”
“A spike pit.”
“Really.”
“Really really.”
“We’re going to have to go one way or the other eventually.”
“Yeah, but there’s only one way to go, and that’s down.” Kiln quipped.
“Then I’ll go first. You can use me as a shield.” Michael said.
“Are you crazy?” Hiram asked.
“Yes I am. But I’m probably the only one who can survive the spike pit.”
“Don’t be stupid.”
“Stupid is as stupid does.”
“What the devil does that mean?”
“I don’t know. It was just something I heard someone say once. Here we go.”
Michael spun around and jumped to put his back against the left wall. Because of the slickness of the oil he was unable to keep his balance. His feet slid out from underneath him and he was forced to the floor. It didn’t take long for him to slide down out of sight and into the darkness.
“What do we do know?” Kiln asked.

 

“We wait a few minutes then join him in the pit.”
“Where did you find this idiot?”
“He found me.” They waited a few minutes. Hiram was the first to go. When one slides down two hundred feet on frictionless oil one tends to build up a lot of speed. There was nothing he could do to slow himself, even though he tried to dig his feet in or put his palms against the walls. The pit loomed ahead. Knowing how deep it was did nothing to allay his fear.
Over the side he went. If he were to hit the spikes he was dead, pure and simple. Michael caught him and the force caused him to fall backwards onto the spikes. Hiram was protected. They did not pierce his skin. They stood up and were able to carefully step between the spikes.
“I don’t get it.” Hiram said, “I’ve never heard of anybody being as strong as you are or are able to do the things you do. How do you do it?”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t always like this. I was changed somehow before I came here.”
They heard Kiln screaming. Michael braced himself and caught him when he came into the pit.
“Okay, now to get out of here. How deep do you think this pit is.” Michael said while helping Kiln to stand to his feet.
“I’d say it was about forty feet.”
“I doubt there’s anything to attach a rope out there so we’ll just have to climb out.”
“And how are we to do that if we can’t attach a rope too anything?”
“Well, I’ll give you the rope and I can throw you up to the edge, then you can lower a rope down for your friend and I.”
“Throw me up there? With how strong you are?”
“Oh don’t worry, I won’t throw you that hard.”
“Oh, har de har har har.”
“Come on now. If I was an evil son of a bitch, there’d be nothing you could do to stop me from crushing your throat, now would there?”
“I wouldn’t count on that. I have many tricks up my sleeves.”
“Want to put that to the test?”
“If you were to kill me my friends would put out a contract on your life. You’d be poisoned and die. We have very strong poisons enough to kill a raging bull elephant in one small dose. You really want to reconsider that.”
“We can argue all day but that won’t get us out of this pit and return the sword so you can get paid.”
There was another audible click. A small one inch hole opened up on all four sides of the pit. A bluish liquid came pouring out.
“I think we’re in trouble.” Kiln said. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Okay boss, do your thing.”
Michael prepared to boost him up. When Hiram stepped in his hands he boosted him and overshot the edge by a few feet but landed safely enough. The bluish liquid was closing in on their feet.
“Come on Kiln. We don’t have time for a rope.” He hoisted kiln up and he nearly fell over but Hiram caught him. The liquid had reached Michael’s feet and was beginning to rise. Smoke appeared from his boots. He could feel the liquid burning them away. Hiram just looked at him, watching intently.
“Come on man, lower the rope.”
The water had risen just over his foot..
“I want to see just how tough you really are outlander.”
“What the hell are you doing! Lower the rope!”
“Where’s all that bravado now?”
The fluid reached over his ankle. His boot was gone where the liquid was. It was a powerful acid and it was burning his bare skin.
“look, you’ll never get out of here without that sword being returned. You’ll starve to death here!”
Hiram didn’t flinch. He continued to watch the acid rise up to his wasted. It ate away his clothes and the scabbard the sword was in.
“You’ll never get paid!”
Hiram didn’t budge. It took some time but the acid filled the entire pit. It destroyed everything but the sword. Michael wasn’t harmed by it at all, but it was very warm and felt as though it could burn him. The sword dropped to the floor, but he picked it up and swam up to the surface. Anger got the better of him as he climbed out of the pool. He was completely naked and covered in the fluid.
He walked menacingly towards Hiram.
“Okay now, just take it easy pal.” Hiram said in panic.
“You tried to kill me you son of a bitch. You’re luck I wont use this swod in cold blood, but I will do this.”
Hiram whipped out two daggers.
“These daggers are poisoned. One step and I’ll cut you.”
“Then cut me.”
As he came close Hiram sliced at him, but he could not cut open his skin.
Kiln started chanting. Michael struck him in the side of the face with a roundhouse kick that knocked him down, disrupting his spell. Hiram tried to run, he was tripped and fell on his back. Michael grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up a foot of his feet, striking his head against the ceiling.
“Let me go! Let me go!”
“Oh I’ll let , striking his head against the ceiling.
“Let me go! Let me go!”
“Oh I’ll let you go all right.” He walked over to the acid pit and held him over it!
“Don’t drop me! Oh god please don’t drop me!”
“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t.”
“Because my people will kill you in your sleep!”
“Wrong answer asshole. I’ll just track them down and destroy them.”
“Please don’t drop me in that acid!”
“Last chance.”
“Blood oath! I’ll give you a blood oath and I’ll serve you for the rest of eternityou go all right.” He walked over to the acid pit and held him over it!
“Don’t drop me! Oh god please don’t drop me!”
“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t.”
“Because my people will kill you in your sleep!”
“Wrong answer asshole. I’ll just track them down and destroy them.”
“Please don’t drop me in that acid!”
“Last chance.”
“Blood oath! I’ll give you a blood oath and I’ll serve you for the rest of eternity!”
“Why should I trust you?”
Kiln pulled himself up. “Because a blood oath carries a very powerful curse on him should he fail to hold himself to it.” He wheezed out.
“What does it entail?”
“The sharing of blood through a knife. A holy sword will make it even more powerful.”

 

“Yeah! What he said!” Hiram said. He was on the verge of crying.
“But will that sword cut my skin?”
“It’s a sword forged by the gods themselves. Of course it’ll pierce your skin.”
“Well Kiln, maybe you aren’t useless after all.” He threw Hiram down to the floor where he land on his rear end rather hard. Michael picked up his sword. Hiram stood up.
“Okay, let’s do this.”
Hiram cut his palm on the sword. It was a deep cut. Michael followed suit. They clasped hands at the tip of the sword.
“On my honor I pledge my life to you for all eternity. I am now yours to command.”
As the blood from the deep cuts flowed into the sword, it was absorbed into the sword like a sponge absorbs liquid. Electrical energy began to play about the sword’s edge. It glowed with a crimson light, burning their hands. It sealed their wounds, then the light faded away.
“I am now yours. Body and soul.”
“Good. Give me your blanket. I need something to wear.”
Hiram gave him a blanket and a knife. He cut himself a makeshift shirt out of it and ended up looking like a barbarian. At least he wasn’t naked anymore.
“How much longer until we get to the Paladin?”
“It’s about another hundred feet down the corridor?”
“Any more traps?”
“No. It’s clean.”
“You absolutely sure about that?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s go. I’ll take point.”
Kiln looked at his friend and shook his head. “I always knew that mean streak of yours would get you in trouble some day.”
Hiram punched him in the shoulder, hard.

 

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It wasn’t long until they came to the Paladin’s tomb. It was a hexagonal room about twenty feet in diameter. There was a wall with stained glass that represented the Paladin in a restful sleep. On the walls were two tapestries featuring the Paladin in different battles against the forces of evil. In one he was fighting a powerful red dragon. Another showed him fighting an army of goblins. In the center of him was a stone statue
of him with his feature carved on the lid. The carving showed him resting on his back with his arms folded around a stone scabbard.
Michael examined the lid. The scabbard looked as though a sword could be placed in it. He looked at the sword he was carrying for a long moment, then put it in the scabbard.
The light in the lantern went out.
“Don’t panic!” Michael said excitedly.
Another light appeared. It was a small sphere and glowed a brilliant greenish blue. It swirled then formed into an apparition of the Paladin. It bowed its head to Michael.
“Well done noble warrior. You have passed the traps and trials of this place. You have my thanks and my gratitude for putting my soul to sleep. This sword is for you and you only.”
A sword appeared in its scabbard and floated over to Michael. He looked at it with apprehension, then grasped its golden hilt.
“Now you may leave. You may take whatever’s in the chest for your reward.”
The apparition dissipated, and the lantern’s light came back on. The stained glass rendition of the Paladin sunk into the ground revealing a new passageway. Michael strapped his new sword to himself.
“Let’s get the heck out of here.” Michael said and started down the the passageway. They followed suit.
It was an easy task to find the chest. Hiram didn’t want to leave so he picked it up and took it with them. They saw sunlight in the distance, emerging into an open clearing.
“Holy crap I’m glad to be out of that.”
They opened the chest. Inside was a huge treasure haul. It was filled with bags of coins and smaller boxes. The boxes held gemstones of various kinds. There was a robe which he gave to Kiln and a couple of ivory daggers which he gave to Hiram. They split the money evenly. He kept a couple of boxes of gemstones and let those two have the rest. He opened a bag of bronze disks and counted out twelve of them.
“What are these?” Michael asked holding one up, examining it.
“Bronze coins.” Hiram told him.
“Bronze coins?”
“One bronze coin is equal to two hundred gold coins.”
“Wow. This is quite the haul. I believe I owe you five hundred gold so here, keep the change.”
“Wow. This is quite the haul. I believe I owe you five hundred gold so here, keep the change.”
He gave Hiram six disks and even gave Kiln four.
“What’s this for?” Kiln asked incredulously.
“Your fair share.”
“Thank you.”
“When we get back to the city I never want to see your face again Hiram. Understand me?”

Epilogue

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1
Michael returned to the Ebon Ring late in the evening a haggard mess. His makeshift clothing was tattered, his hair unkempt, and he didn’t realized he’d lost all of his hair until he saw his reflection in the glass. Melisandra was glad he was back and gave him a hot bath that would end all baths.
That night he sat up in bed again unable to sleep. She sat up and put her arms around him.
“What’s the matter?” She asked him.
He sighed and said “I miss Star Trek.”

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2
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The goblin lord was a huge brute standing twice the height of a normal goblin wearing furry hide. All other goblins feared him and scrambled to get out of his way when he walked for fear of being kicked or stomped into the ground. He was angry and he spared no one his wrath. He overturned the huge wooden tables like they were paper, sbellowing at the top of his lungs.
“How can one man destroy an army of one thousand fighters! How! How dare he thwart my will!”
“Calm yourself my liege.” A shadowy figure stated. A man stood off to the side draped in shadow substance.
“You can go to hell you flack hearted gorgon screwing son of a bi-“
He was cut off by the sound of a sword being drawn and put next to his throat. The blade was carved out of a crimson metal and had streaks of green in it.
“Don’t ever threaten me, my liege.”
“Yeah, yeah whatever you say. Whatever you say”
“He will be taken care of, my liege. You must have faith in the Lord of The Worms. I will see to it that this hero’s soul is taken to serve my Lord.”
There was no laughter, but the goblin lord knew this man was serious and would soon be hunting down the hero who fell out of the sky.
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End Of Issue One