El-Vador's Travels (21 page)

If
the creature was still under the dominion of Sarvacts and possessed
the trinket then it would lurch its way out to the fortress, he could
lay in wait and reacquire it from her, leaving enough evidence for
the Elf to carry on following him.

If
it were not in the thrall of Sarvacts there was no determining where
it was going or what it was doing, though there would also be little
sense in it acquiring the heirloom in the first place.

He
would have to hunt down this automaton and put an end to it, whether
it had the heirloom or not. Then he would take up the search for
El-Vador once more, a long night of tracking awaited him.

As
the false dawn neared, Anacletus finally discovered his quarry
trudging along the trail directly toward him. It had been a long and
punishing night, stretching his senses forth in an attempt to find
the permeation that the automaton would cause in the natural ebb and
flow of the world, yet he had located it eventually.

He
lay in wait now, undetectable to all but those with the sharpest of
sight. His prey seemed weary and ponderous in motion, though that
could just be the natural gait for the creature. Anacletus didn't
plan on spending enough time around such things to make that sort of
determination.

He
readied his blade and lowered his haunches into a crouch, soon he
would spring forth and drive the simple knife deep into the necrotic
flesh. Then the heirloom would be his once more and the pay he earned
for his duties would also come, regardless of whether this minion
belonged to Sarvacts or not.

As
the beast passed the boulder that served as his concealment,
Anacletus leaped out at the thing and thrust his knife expertly under
its ribs. It threw up one hand to protect itself, but the gesture was
utterly futile against a practised assassin. He had been witness to
such shocked reactions a thousand times and his path need not deviate
any. The blade plunged home and stuck there, she toppled to the
roadside and he smiled in triumph

Anacletus
bent over her prone form and retrieved the pouch containing the
heirloom. Luck was on his side this day, it would appear that he had
picked the right target. He aimed a kick at the corpse that turned
her face-down into the road, the knife sinking deeper into her beyond
the hope of retrieval. No matter, he could easily procure another
with what little coin he had left.

For
a time he thought of dismembering the corpse, then decided better of
it. Should this one really serve Sarvacts he could choose to
reanimate it himself. Anacletus had no desire to make his Orcish
employer's life any harder. He had what he came for and in these
inhospitable parts it would be unlikely that another would chance
upon her corpse before Eihblin and El-Vador, assuming that they still
worked together.

He
turned and left the body for the crows, his chuckling slowly receding
as he made his way down the path.

El-Vador
spotted it far quicker than his reluctant companion. Some poor soul
had been the victim of either the cold or bandits, he suspected the
body had been stripped clean of any useful possessions and judging
from the circling birds it would be stripped clean of flesh long
before it froze.

As
he drew closer he noticed something decidedly odd about the
positioning of the corpse face down on the side of the road. Here was
a kill that had been made some time ago yet still it twitched as if
freshly disposed of.

Touching
the cold shoulder of the robed figure he turned it over and heard
Eihblin gasp in recognition at the face. It was Phaedra, the very
woman they had been chasing. He quickly palmed through her robes but
there was no sign of the heirloom, the bandits must have made off
with it.

That
was when the woman began to shake, at first it was the faintest of
tremors as he searched her body, these broke out into outright shakes
and he took a quick step back as her arm rose and pointed at the ugly
wound the buried knife had inflicted.

Without
thinking of the consequences, El-Vador reached forward and yanked the
weapon from the woman's sternum. She took a gasp of air that made
both Eihblin and El-Vador cry in disbelief, somehow this woman wasn't
dead after all.

She
picked herself up off the frozen ground slowly, eyeing the drawn
weapons that faced her.

'What
manner of creature are you? Explain yourself now.' the Elf demanded.

Phaedra
looked up at him. 'You are the one I seek,' she stated quietly, not
answering his question. 'I stole your trinket in order to get your
attention. You would not have heard me out otherwise.'

El-Vador
frowned, he considered himself fairly reasonable even in the face of
such sorcery. 'Why do you think I would not have heard you out?'

'You
are in grave peril, the forces that seek you demand vengeance most
foul in order to sate their lust for power. Would you not have
considered me a mad woman had I told you that?'

'Does
she have the heirloom?' Eihblin asked, a frantic tone in her voice
that concerned El-Vador.

'I
do not have that which you seek,' she replied, causing the other
woman to deflate. 'Anacletus followed me and took it, undoubtedly he
continues toward my former master's lair.'

El-Vador
threw a hand up in frustration, though he kept his sword arm extended
outward at what he assumed was a woman, but wasn't entirely certain.
Eihblin was after an heirloom that belonged to Anacletus who
presumably was trying to kill him, yet continued to evade his
pursuit. Now this Phaedra had taken the heirloom only to be ambushed
by Anacletus who she somehow knew already while searching for him.
While it was all too interwoven to be coincidental, he couldn't
figure out the link.

'He
will return the heirloom to Sarvacts in an attempt to lure you to his
power.' she said.

El-Vador
blinked. 'What did you just call him?'

She
seemed hesitant given the Elf's recognition of the name. 'Sarvacts,
he is the dark power that dwells in the fortress south of here. You
know of him?'

El-Vador
said nothing for a time, staring south as if in shock, his hand
gripping his sword so tightly that it shook. 'you said that this
Sarvacts was your master?'

She
told him everything she knew, of the captivity and the reanimation
and the snatches of conversation she had been privy to between the
Orc and Anacletus.

'Now
you want me to deliver myself into his hands in the hopes that I can
kill him and restore you to that which you once were.' he said. 'I
came here to avenge a friend, not my entire people. It seems that I
will have to do both.'

'You
can save what is left of your people, there are bound to be some of
us that you once knew from the occupation of the north. You are Elven
as I once was, you cannot have been unaffected by such a thing.'

He
sighed. 'We were the first village that he torched to the ground. I
was the one that destroyed both him and his forces.'

'You
did this alone?' Eihblin asked, disbelief clear in her voice.

'I
did this alone,' El-Vador said.

'Then
how did this Sarvacts survive if you destroyed him as you claim?'

He
thought about that for a moment. In truth he could not know how such
a phantom could rise from the grave to haunt him once more. It had
been bad enough that his dreams had been plagued by the sounds of
burning and the massive Orc's grin, to know that he was somehow still
living was an affront to everything he had fought for.

He
felt the noose of fate closing in on him once more, there was no
choice here. He was compelled by his sworn oath to destroy all the
Orcs, he must venture to this fortress and do away with Sarvacts,
even if in coming there he was playing directly into his hands.

'Well?'
Eihblin demanded.

'I
do not know.' he said, trying to keep his cool and not swing his
blade at this persistent woman. 'Perhaps it was much in the same way
as Phaedra survived Anacletus' lethal thrust. Sarvacts may not be
Orcish at all any more.'

'The heirloom and Anacletus both lead to the fortress of an enemy of
yours.' Eihblin said. 'I think we know where we must go to with all
haste.'

El-Vador
stared at Phaedra now. Yes, they had to depart quickly if they were
to catch Anacletus, but what of this reanimated creature before them?

I have long espoused that in order to kill an enemy you must gain
an understanding of their offence. Be wary when making your
observations, as often to use the tool of your foe is to become akin
to him in ways you cannot revoke.

A
nacletus
was slumped by the side of the road, gripping his head in
frustration, how he hated these communications with his employer. He
was no minion to be ordered about as bidden, Sarvacts would do well
to remember that. No creature was master of Anacletus, he would bow
to a person's will in exchange for coin and no other reason. At least
now perhaps he may discover whether the automaton that had assaulted
him had been in the service of his employer or not. He hoped that the
lack of swiftness in his return would not be chastised, he loathed
senseless conflict with those who held the purse strings.

His
eyes swam with tears and a ringing voice echoed through the confines
of his skull at a volume much too loud to be tolerable.

'Why
do you dally on the roads, Anacletus? The Elf should be in captivity
by now.'

It
sounded like Sarvacts had been expecting him to return, that must
mean that he didn't know about the rogue creation. 'I have been
delayed by unforeseen circumstances, my lord.' How he hated calling
him that. 'Fear not, the Elf still follows my trail, it will not be
long until we are at the fortress.'

'Fool.'
Sarvacts spat, causing Anacletus to wince. 'I know of your location,
do not trifle me with such pointless remarks. Do you still hold the
heirloom?'

'It
is still within my possession my lord, it continues to draw the Elf
and Eihblin unto me.'

'Good.
Continue to the fortress, we have many preparations to make for our
visitors.'

'As
you wish, my lord.' he managed to reply, he wasn't looking forward to
this but the pay he had been promised dwarfed his previous bounties.

Feeling
the contact sunder, he shuddered and rose to his feet once more,
hopefully that was the last time this dangerous fool of an Orc would
contact him. He did not appreciate his mind being invaded, especially
if it wasn't out of necessity. Sarvacts would receive that which he
asked for but absolutely no further service until he was compensated
accordingly. The Orc may be powerful but there was not a force on
this earth that could withstand a dagger to their vitals.

He
made no ceremony of the exhaustion he felt, instead setting a fast
pace toward the fortress. It wouldn't be long until he was free once
more to kill who he pleased. Sarvacts was looking increasingly
tempting.

'How
do we know that you are not in league with Sarvacts?' El-Vador asked.

Phaedra
nodded, as if the question was the first she had been expecting.
'there are no assurances that I can give you, I do not expect trust.
Rather, I feel that perhaps I shall earn it in due course.'

'If
you turn on us, we will gut you.' Eihblin offered helpfully.

Phaedra
smiled. 'Of that I have no doubt, it will not come to that though.'

'We
shall see in time.' Eihblin warned.

El-Vador
was beginning to grow weary of the companionship he had been laboured
with. Nevertheless he needed Phaedra to lead them to the fortress and
Eihblin would serve as a diversion should he require one. Although
the woman had acted as if nothing had happened between them since
letting Anacletus slip away, a companion that would draw arms against
you in the wrong circumstances was as bad as a foe.

They
came across small signs over the course of their journey indicating
that Anacletus had passed this way. The assassin had completely
abandoned stealth for speed and seemed confident that they wouldn't
catch him. Judging from the age of the tracks he left, El-Vador felt
that his target had reason to believe that.

By
night he conceded that their progress had been slow. Phaedra's wound
had slowed them considerably and he doubted that he'd catch Anacletus
before the assassin reached the haven of Sarvacts' fortress. No
matter, he would just have to find another way through.

He
gathered pieces of wood for a fire but was stopped stiff by a strange
hissing noise.

'What
was that?' Eihblin asked uncertainly.

El-Vador
shrugged, he knew not what manner of wild beast they were likely to
encounter out here. Only that the building of a fire may help in
preventing their being eaten at night. He suggested as much to
Eihblin and caused the woman to shudder.

Once
the fire was crackling merrily, El-Vador felt much better. They had
not heard the strange beast of before and assumed that its initial
curiosity had faded and it had passed them by. If they had been
mistaken then at least he could trust in his sword and a flaming
brand, the combination of which had kept him safe from harm on his
journey down from the mountains.

They
set a watch and the Elf finally found slumber.

He
awoke in the dead of the night to Phaedra's tugging of his shoulder.

'El-Vador,
something is out there.'

The
Elf's eyes flicked open in instant readiness, the woman hadn't been
exaggerating. Two red eyes gleamed in the shadows beyond the fire.
The hissing noise they emitted didn't seem promising, apparently this
was their friend from before.

It
came into the light then, some form of giant lizard, half snake and
half iguana, yet nearly the size of a wolf. Its skin flexed and grew,
the colours rippling over it in response to the fire, its forked
tongue hissed out at them again and El-Vador spotted a set of teeth
behind that cold, feral grin.