Death Or Fortune (22 page)

    
I rode into town just before noon.  As there was only one inn to be found,
I assumed I was going to find the others there.  After talking to the
innkeeper I discovered that no one matching their description had been there.
 I figured that they would be along soon so I paid for two rooms for us.
 After I put my horse in the stable and put my gear in one of the rooms I
decided to explore the town.  There was a small shrine to the water
goddess Nemai'Een, which I expected for a town so close to Darknight Bay. While
the town was not on the bay its self, it was less than few hours ride.
 The town of Rohloff was right on the bay, three or four towns like
Klassen were all about the same distance away.  Fear of the deep discouraged
people from wanting to live so close to there in days gone by.  I could
smell the market before I could see it. The market was loaded with fresh fish,
smoked fish which I found interesting and about any other thing you might pull
out of the deep water.
     The town constable was also the kingdoms
representative.  His home was a walled complex, he and his family lived
above the jail.  There was an outer office where people could come in to
file complaints, on the outside of that was a wall of wanted posters.  I took
a moment to look at a few of them. Two of the men jumped out at me right away.
They were among the bandits who tried to rob me on the road. I looked deeper
then, trying to see them all. While the artist who drew the posters wasn't the
greatest, none of them looked like the leader. After I looked at each posting
only two of the men I fought were there. I pulled down each posting and walked
in the office door.  Inside the office was well lit, the floors were being
swept by a small boy, no more than ten years old.  I looked to my left and
saw one single desk with a man sleeping behind it. The young boy started
yelling at him to wake up.  He looked at me with a blank look on his face.
This one was closer to my age but still young.  When I held the posters up
for him to see he rubbed one hand across his eyes and got to his feet.
    
'Dad, there is some bounty hunter here'
he
yelled into the back room he was moving towards. When the older man came out I
could see that he was father to both the young boy and the man who was
sleeping. He wore the seal of office around his neck and an odd pin on his
breast.  I later learned it was the crest of the lord who was responsible
for this part of Arcadia.  I often wonder if he had ever been there. The
man who only went by Sheriff Tomas took one look at me and started yelling at
his sons.
'You idiot, that is no bounty hunter. He is a military captain for
the kingdom, Brell put that broom down and get our guest some water.'
I had
forgotten my cloak pin again. I felt no need to correct the man but soon as I
was done here I was putting it away.  I did not want to give too much
about myself away.
'How can I help you captain?'
     I put both posters down on the desk and told him about
the ambush and showed him on a map where it had happened.  I told him
where to find the bodies and to have his men watch for the horses.
'Well, I
would have to hire a few lads to go out there. Once they get back with the
bodies I can give you the reward. If I know anything about the others I will let
you know once I get my eyes on them.'
I just nodded my head and told him
that would be fine. When he asked me for my name I only told him Darmot. To
this day, I am not sure why I never told him my last name. It just didn't seem
like the thing to do.
'I have a room or two here in my home if you need it.'
I thanked him and told him I had already paid for a room at the inn.  I
then told him if he needed me, he could find me there.

     On my way
back to the inn I just looked around the town.  Not paying attention to
anything at all other than the buildings.  Most were older and in need of
repair. I doubted anything new had been built there in thirty years.  I
made notes in my head about the cost of shipping lumber that far and if it
would be worth it to open another inn in such a small town.  That night as
I sat and dined on a creamy fish stew I told myself that I would head towards
Rohloff in the morning to take a look around if my friends had not arrived.
 I expected them to walk in at any moment yet for some reason I feared it
was going to be awhile.  I sat in the common room of the inn until well
after dark, the ale was watered down but it had a good taste. When I was ready
to give up and go to bed for the night, Tomas walked in the door.  I raised
up my hand and waved to him.

 
    
'Captain, I sent out three lads in a wagon to pick up those bodies after you
left my office. They should be back sometime in the morning or the afternoon
depending on how much they loaf around out there. Come to the office when you
wake up and I will get you a proper meal while we wait.'
I told him I was
looking forward to it and started to offer him my hand. At the same time he
started to salute me, fist over heart.  I told him that wasn't something
he had to do.  I was no longer part of the military and I only fought
during the invasion.  He stuttered a bit and said something about the
cloak pin I had worn earlier that day.  I told him that I still wore it to
honor the men I fought with, the men who died under my command and to honor a
friend. Tomas sat down and had ale with me. While he had known of the war, he
was
'a bit fuzzy on the details.'
I don't know if it was the ale or
something about him that made me open up.  It was really the first time I
had spoken about the war with anyone who wasn't there.  It was the first
time I had spoken of Arturo in ages. Tomas looked away while I wiped the tears
from my face.

      As I
crawled into bed that night I was more than a little drunk.  Talking to
Tomas about the war had taken its toll on me. It brought to mind something else
that I was out here on my own. Without my friends. They were an everyday part
of my life for over a year. I hated the fact that they were not with me. A part
of me wished things were different between Hetaron and I. It was too late now,
we had both done things that could not be changed. I could abandon the others
who were counting on me and return home. Try to fix the damage that was done.
Yet I knew then as I know now nothing could change what happened. You would
have more luck changing an arrows path after it has been launched.  After
I fell asleep I dreamed of dead men chasing me only to be saved by a goblin who
believed he was a great ranger. When I awoke the next morning I was covered in
sweat and all my bedding was on the floor.  I don't know if it was the
dream or the ale that made me that way.
     Once I was clean and dressed I made my way to see
Tomas. I checked with the inn keeper on my way out the door, there was still no
sign of Zender and the others. While I knew they were more than able to take
care of themselves, something wasn't right. By all rights they should have
beaten me to Klassen. At the time, I thought they may have had trouble locating
the rod.  I know today it was due to Zackary refusing to enter a forest
near the border of Arcadia and Eystlund, they had to go around the entire area.
It took some time before they would give me a reason why they chose to go
around. When I arrived at the sheriff’s office, I saw the wagon outside, its
cargo was covered with a heavy tarp. Remembering my dream from the night before
I stood there for a moment, just to see if there was movement. I wanted to kick
myself yet I could not shake the feeling, something wasn't right.

    
'Good
morning Captain Darmot!'
I looked in the door to see young Brell standing
there with his broom in his hand like it was some kind of spear.  I
returned his greeting and gave him my best smile.  When I asked him where
his father was, he told me to wait and he would go get him. I stood and looked
out the window at my dead cargo as I waited for Tomas.  When I heard the
sound of heavy boots on the floor I turned away and watched the door at the
back of the office. When he came in he had three men with him, all of them
armed and armored.  I had to resist the urge to place my hand on my sword.
'We found the bodies you told me of but you seem to have miscounted. Not
that I can blame you really. I can tell you that all of the men were wanted
criminals.'
I held up my hand and asked him what he meant about
miscounting.
'The lads here only found five men. They looked around a bit
for a blood trail or drag marks, they found nothing. Other than the trail you
made when you dumped them all off the road.'
     My blood started to run cold. I knew that there were
six men in all.  I also know they were all dead, I checked more than once.
 I turned away from Tomas and went outside to the wagon.  I could
smell the bodies under the tarp yet it did not slow my hand.  I reached
down for the corner of the tarp and yanked it off the bodies.  I stood
there and looked at them all lined up side by side.  I started to wonder
if they were playing a joke on me.  I knew there had been six of them and
yet here were five.  I turned to the other men and asked them for myself.
 I asked them if they were sure one of them were not eaten or dragged away
by an animal.
'No sir, the area was clean other than the mess you made.'
I turned back to the wagon and started to count again.  Five, there were
only five still. The leader of the bandits was missing and I did not know where
he could have gone.

    
I stood there just looking at the wagon.  I knew Tomas was standing there
holding something out to me but it took a moment for me to focus on him.
'The
reward is reduced because of them being dead and all. Are you feeling OK sir?'
I just shook my head a little, trying to clear the cob webs from my brain and
told him I was fine.  I then told him to keep the reward, to give it to
the men who brought back the bodies.  I didn't want anything to do with
it.  He clapped me on the back and turned away. While I am sure he thought
it was just me being weak in the stomach, I knew there was something wrong.
 There should have been six men in all.  I had killed enough men in
my time to know when one was dead.  He should have been among the bodies.
     I then told Tomas I was returning to the inn.
 Perhaps it was the ale from the night before but I doubted it.  I
only wanted to return to my bed and perhaps I would wake up from this strange
dream.  Before I left I pulled out my money pouch and gave Tomas two heavy
coins.  I told him that all the men must be given a proper burial.
 He gave me a strange look and nodded his head. On my way back to the inn,
the haze in my brain started to clear.  As if I was walking out of a fog
into the sun.  It was then that I saw him.  Standing outside the
little shrine to Nemai'Een with one hand on his hip, the other was on his chin.
 He had not changed much since I had seen him last.  His armor was
different and he carried a massive two handed sword on his back.  I
stopped about five feet away from the man and watched until I could do so no
more.
     "You are not going to attack it are you?" I
asked my friend.  Michaels turned towards me, it was then I could see the
change that had come over the man, if only for a moment.  His eyes grew
large and a smile broke out on his face.
'Lord Kromwell!'
he shouted for
all to hear. The troubles I had seen in his eyes melted away and I was once
again face to face with my former second in command, my friend.  He took
two large strides towards me and embraced me as a brother again.
'It is good
to see you Lord Kromwell, is Hans with you? What of little Pare and that cursed
wizard?'
As his voice boomed around the area I felt the need to drag him
away. There were too many eyes on us and I did not want it known who I was.
 Though it would seem that it was too late for that now.  I told him
to just follow me and asked him to just call me Darmot.  I took him back
to the inn where we could have a meal and talk in private.

     Once we
had eaten more fish stew I asked Michaels where he had been.  It was then
that I saw the darkness, the pain in his eyes once more.
'I was sent on a
mission by the head of my order. It seemed a simple task so I agreed, not that
I would have told them no.  In southern Westheath, the remains of a temple
to our god Solarth had been found.  A team of clerics were sent to explore
the ruins with the intent to find some of the old writings.  So many of
the old text were lost, they thought this would be a good area to find
something of them. When they failed to report their findings after a month I
was sent to check on them.  I arrived at the camp where the ruins were
found.  The tents were still there, everything they owned was there.
 As far as I could tell, nothing was missing.  I thought that
perhaps, there had been an accident in the ruins. So I found a torch or two and
made my way down.'

 
    
'After I lowered myself a good hundred feet down on a rope I stood in the main
hall of the temple. The temple was in good shape for having what I assume was a
mountain of earth dumped on top of it. Which is what it looked like from the
inside, the walls were whole and outside of the fact that it was underground,
it appeared normal.  I could see some signs of the clerics who had been
working but they had been gone for a while.  I then began to explore the
lower levels of the temple.  It was when I found the tomb that I began to
worry.  I saw signs of a battle, blood on the floor and some of the walls
were blackened from fire outside of the tomb door.  I started to leave
when I saw what I thought was a light coming from the tomb.  While I did
not want to enter at first, the light continued to grow brighter.  I was
drawn into the tomb by it and I am blessed to have gone in.'

 
    
'There I stood in the blinding light, warmth flooding my body with the holy
love of Solarth. Once my eyes adjusted to the light I could see a sarcophagus
with the body of another holy warrior laid to rest on top. I could not read the
writings on the side of the stone but when I saw him rise I knew something
wonderful was about to happen. As the great warrior put his feet on the floor I
fell to my knees and lowered my head to avert my eyes from his greatness. When
he spoke, his voice came from every part of the tomb and filled my soul.'

 
    
"Rise Paladin of Solarth for I will look on the face of a savior, rise and
face me."

 
    
'I did not move, I stayed where I was and told him that I was not worthy of his
presence. When I felt his hand on me I felt all the gods love flow into me. It
was then that I stood up and faced this great warrior. He did not speak but I
looked deep into his eyes. It was then he showed me the evil that had happened
outside of his tomb door. Minions of evil had come, each wore the symbol of
Soranus. Among them was a wizard who commanded them all. They were able to
capture the clerics and took them away. Five men and one woman, all of them
were taken by these evil creatures. When my vision cleared and I could see
again the holy warrior was back in his resting place. Where he stood was a
sword, the one I carry now. He told me to take his weapon in order to battle
the evil I must face. He then told me where I must go. High into the mountains
in Toryth Vol, he said I would find a castle there, wrought from the stone of
the hills.'

 
    
'For many days I traveled to find this castle. If not for my faith, I would
have been lost in those high peaks. I am ashamed to say I arrived too late to
help the clerics who were taken. All of them were young, bright with a full
life ahead of them. The wizard and the minions of Soranus did something to them
my friend. He stripped them of their souls, corrupted them to their core and made
them into unholy creatures of darkness. They still appear to be human but that
is where it ends. This wizard was able to capture me when I tried to break in.
Though they were unable to take my weapon from me, they could not touch it. So
he had his minions lock me in a cell deep under the earth. One night the female
cleric came to my cell. I thought she was there to free me. I could not see the
evil inside of her. The young woman tried to seduce me with her flesh. It was
then that I could feel it, the wave of hate and evil around her. I nearly did
the unthinkable. I could feel the hate in me coming out just by standing next
to her, the vile thoughts I was having.  It was worse than any time before
Hans and you pulled me out of my bottle. The wizard failed to understand the
strength of my faith. Even if I failed my god at that moment. I drew my weapon
and struck down the creature as I then saw her.'

 
    
'She was not armed, she posed no threat to me yet I did it without thought of
why. I fell to my knees and prayed at that moment for the god to forgive me.
 It was then that I got to my feet and made my escape. I was lost in the
mountains for some time but the wizard sent people after me. I fell asleep one
night and let them get too close to me. It was then that I saw her again. She
was still alive, still out to bring me down. The other clerics were sent out
into the world to help this wizard build an army. He seeks to dethrone Xcavere.
I then fled back to the ruins in Westheath, to return the sword to its owner.
As I sat there on my knees before him it was then that I knew that the god had
not turned from me. Rather I had been blocked from hearing his voice while I
was in that evil place. The god told me I must hunt down these five clerics and
stop them. He told me that I must purify their flesh in order for them to be
granted their final rest.'

      I
did not see the other men come in the room, one in black robes while the other
was in white. They stood there silent as could be and listened while Michaels
told me his story. I sat and thought about the leader of the bandits, wondering
if he could have been one of the clerics that Michaels was looking for. When I
asked him if that is why he was in Klassen he only nodded his head yes. I
looked him in the eye and told him about what happened with the bandits on the
road and how to find the spot where it happened.  I then told him if he
found himself back in the capital that he should go see Hans at the temple for
guidance. He offered me his hand one last time and said that he would be
leaving right away. As he got up I asked him if he knew this wizards name who
seeks to overthrow Xcavere. It was then that Lomark spoke.
'His name is
Ramanthus and he once wore robes as white as Zender's. He sought a way to
destroy evil, not seeing that he had become that which he sought to destroy.'
I turned at the sound of his cool, even voice and saw them all there Lomark,
Zender and Zackary. I stood and greeted them each in turn. All Zackary had to
say was, order me some ale.

      I
gave the big man a slap on his shoulder and told him I would be right back. I
followed Michaels out the door. I thought I might be able to ask him along, to
see if he would go back to that castle to help us fight this evil at the
source. As we said our goodbye's I knew the answer already so I never asked him
the question. I watched as he tightened the straps on his armor and started to
jog down the rode out of town. I yelled at him to stop, asking him where his
horse went.
'I lost him on the trip here. I managed to get a boat across
that bay but a storm took my mount.'
I told Michaels to follow me as I lead
him to the stable. I took Emily out of her stall and put my saddle on her back.
I told Michaels that she was a good horse and if anything happened, she would
know the way home. I had a feeling that where I was going, she would only slow
us down.
'Solarth bless you Lord Darmot Kromwell, bless you and your house.'
he said to me at the top of his lungs as he rode away. I waved at him one last
time. I would not see him again for a year. A year later we departed on our
last adventure together.  A year later we set out on the road that would
lead to his death.