No Good Deed (22 page)

“The king.”

“And where do we stand on the food chain?” he was motioning to indicate himself and Obidaan.

“We do not answer to rulers; only to our gods.”

“So then, can you explain to me why I would want the position of a vizier, when the person I’m advising answers to me?”

“The goodness of your heart?” Obidaan said facetiously.

Lou burst into laughter again, “That’s a good one. I’ll have to remember that.” He went over to the king, grabbed his face under the chin with and squeezed his cheeks, forcing his lips to pucker. He then began to speak to him as if he were speaking to a baby, “Remember kingy, I’m doing this out of the goodness of my heart, yes I am. Aren’t I?” he forced the king’s head to nod. “Good boy.” He then shoved his head into the back of the thrown. “Pu—lease.”

“He’s your puppet. You run this place, hence the name Vandicore and not something like Ironsides.”

“You catch on quick. Yes, I’m in charge around here. All that crap you hear about paladins ‘advising’ countries is pure bullshit. Why the hell would we be bothered with such mundane activities? Let everyone think he is in charge, and let him have his way, until I tell him to do something. Now that’s advising.”

“I get it. Now, what are we going to do about our impasse? We can’t fight each other. Care for a different type of challenge?”

“Oh no. No matter what, if I engage you in some alternative contest, the results are still binding, and I don’t want to loose what I have here. So here’s what you’re going to do. You can go. I will guarantee safe passage out of here for you and all the members of the caravan.”

“What’s in it for you?”

“You will swear on your oath as a paladin that you, nor anyone else in your caravan, will mention what has happened here. You will make no mention of this land, how it is ruled, or what we are discussing.”

“You’re out of your mind. I can’t agree to that.”

“You don’t have a choice. You can’t fight me. If you kill the king, I’ll simply get another puppet, I really don’t care. You on the other hand do care. You care about your group. If I gave the word, the people watching the caravan will be slain before you leave this room. And you don’t want that.”

Obidaan was fuming at his prospects. It seemed he had no way out, “What about the people of this village? Can I take any of them with me?”

“Of course not. I guarantee, even if you compelled them not to talk, they would kill themselves to tell what’s going on around here. No, I’m afraid you have very little choice. Take your time before you make your decision.”

Obidaan was beside himself with rage now. How could this have happened? “Why didn’t I get a premonition or something to let me know to avoid this place?” He thought to himself. “Why have I been put in this situation, it makes no sense.”

Then he heard a female voice in his head. “We can’t tell you everything. Know this though; you needed to come here so you would know to come back. Pick your battles. This is not one to win.”

Obidaan nodded to himself, took a deep breath and turned to Lou, “Ok, you win.”

“You swear on your oath as a paladin?”

Obidaan gritted his teeth and shot Lou such a look of hate. All this power and still he could do nothing. He could feel the power in Lou as well and knew that he was no slouch. A precarious balance of power was going on. He couldn’t win, but then again, neither could Lou. Lou would not have his spoils this day but Obidaan could do nothing to change the situation. This sickened Obidaan but he realized he had no choice.

“I swear, I, nor anyone in my caravan will tell tale of what has transpired here,” he said through his gritted teeth.

“Excellent! And the pained expression on your face says it all. If there is one thing I love more than physical pain, it’s psychological. It cuts so much deeper and even better, it’s self—inflicted. Your morality and guilt is eating you up right now. I’m loving every second of it. Now, be on your way,” he said with a menacing laugh.

Obidaan made his way to the antechamber where the others were waiting. They could immediately see he was not happy about the situation. “Let’s go,” was all he said.

“How’d the negations go?” Relina asked.

“Later,” he was clearly holding back his anger, “Right now, let’s get the hell out of here.”

“Can you give us a hint?” Alister asked.

“Yeah,” he turned to Alister. “Shut up. Pack up. Mount up.”

Everyone was concerned and upset at Obidaan’s behavior. They had been together too long, been through too much to start second—guessing him now, no matter what the reason. It was obvious whatever had happened wasn’t good.

They headed toward the main gate. At the stables, they stopped to hook up the wagons and gather the last of their people. The Foxwealths weren’t sure what was going on but told the guards to be silent and just get the wagons hooked up.

As they headed out of town, Obidaan looked across the street to the inn. In the window, he saw the waitress staring out at them, a desperate look on her face and she was biting her lower lip. He looked at her, then closed his eyes and moved his head down and forward before opening them again. A tear began to fall down his cheek. Obidaan’s expression told her everything she needed. She began to cry in the window. Obidaan looked back to see a hand placed on her shoulder and move her away from the window and close the shutters. Obidaan held his head low as they left the city.

“Have a nice day,” one of the guards said with a smile. Whether or not he was being sincere or was taunting, Obidaan neither noticed nor cared. He hopped off his horse and glared at the guard. He was about to say something else, perhaps apologize, when Obidaan reached into his mouth with his hand. His hand glowed for a moment, releasing a spell. The man then lay on the ground writhing in pain and bleeding profusely from his mouth. Obidaan looked at him with contempt for a couple of seconds before dropping his tongue on the ground near his head.

Obidaan continued to look down at the guard. No one moved, except for Relina, who leaned over her horse and lost her lunch. She could not believe what her loving husband had just done. Without looking up or moving Obidaan addressed the other guard, “You got any smart—ass remarks, bitch?”

“No sir,” he said smartly.

“Good boy,” Obidaan turned, got back on his horse and led the caravan as they headed out.

They continued in silence for ten minutes before Relina broke the awkward silence. “What is going on? Why did you rip that man’s tongue out? Please.”

Obidaan’s anger still had not dissipated “I ripped his tongue out because he forgot his place. I am a paladin, no piss—ant lackey talks to me like that, ever!”

“And what are we?” Relina contended. She pulled her horse next to him, “Are we piss—ant lackeys too, now? Are you going to rip our tongues out when we say something you don’t like?”

That somehow seemed to get to him, or at least calm him for a moment. He stopped, which stopped everyone else. He reached to Relina and hugged her. He held her tightly in his arms. He squeezed her tighter than she had ever been held before and she squeezed back. He whispered to her, “No. No, my love. I wouldn’t, I could never do anything like that to you. You are everything to me,” he let her go. “Please, everyone, I must apologize for my behavior. I have something very important to tell you. Let us briefly make camp. I suggest you break out your strongest liquor. Coffee and tea will not do for this announcement.

A few minutes later they were standing around the caravan when Obidaan began. “I have learned too much today. Things I wish I didn’t know. Firstly, the paladin in that town is not an advisor; he runs the town and uses the king as his puppet.”

“That’s not the way it should be,” Alister said. “Paladin’s advise don’t they?”

“Apparently not. He basically said why should someone who answers to him be in charge?” People began to nod in understanding.

“Didn’t you mention,” Don said, “that Gheriballi said paladins couldn’t rule, that it would cause them to loose their status?”

“That’s right, however, technically he isn’t ruling, he’s ‘advising’ and there is a legitimate king on the throne. Evil just needs to adhere to the letter and not the spirit of the rules. I have more bad news though. We… made a deal. It was the only way to get the caravan out of the city. He didn’t care about the people but he knew I did. The only way I was able to get out of there, with us was to swear on my paladin oath I would never speak of that place again.”

“Obidaan, that’s terrible,” Relina said, she stroked his hair gently.

“It gets worse. I also had to swear y’all would never speak of it again also,” he said.

“What!” Relina
couldn’t believe it.

“I don’t believe it,” Beatrice said, “that other paladin has to be out of his mind.”

“He knew this would cause me pain. That’s why he did it. I hate to do this but I must get a solemn oath, from all of you that you will never speak of this place again.”

“So we’re going to let this maniac off the hook, so he can continue to snare people into his city?” Terry said, “You know that isn’t right, Obidaan.”

“I know, but there was no other choice. Your lives were on the line and I wasn’t going to play with them. I can tell you one thing though, Lady Seer spoke with me and said I will return to the city. Perhaps I can help then.”

“What does it mean to be divine? To you I mean,” Don brought the question from out of nowhere. There was an uneasy silence.

Obidaan took a deep breath, then took a long drink as he mulled over an answer. “It doesn’t mean what you’re thinking, brother,” Obidaan started. “Remember, the person I just made the deal with is equally divine. What it means is we are in touch with a higher…” he had trouble finding the words, “order. I don’t run out of energy, I don’t fear, but obviously, I still get angry. I don’t question my purpose or place, but I get frustrated when others can’t see what I think is obvious. You’re right about one thing,” it’s as if he were reading Don’s mind, what Don was really asking was for him to justify his recent actions, “it has made me short with people, especially those who work on the side of evil. It’s as if something says, ‘don’t they know I’m a paladin? Why are they challenging me? Don’t they know what I can do to them?’ then an answer comes, ‘Obviously not, let’s give them a demonstration.’ I never felt like that before and I admit I don’t like it when I do it. But it feels…necessary, like I have to. I don’t get it.”

“I think I do,” Don replied. He had taken in everything Obidaan said. “You seem to have a fascination with ‘place’ now. Everyone has a placed. Yours is just below the gods, then everyone else falls somewhere below that. Those that challenge your place challenge the order. If someone lower than you can get the better of you, then it is as if you are diminished and they are exalted by the experience. So, to make sure that doesn’t happen, you take extreme measures. That’s my guess.”

“You may have a point, Don,” Obidaan agreed. “However, we still have another matter to deal with.”

There was silence for a moment. Then Relina was the first to talk, “I swear.” She said. Soon others followed and as they were going around one of the workers said it but pinged Obidaan. Obidaan got up and walked over to him. “This is no game. If I can’t fulfill my oath, I shall be stripped as a paladin.”

“I said I swear, and I mean it, I swear, I won’t tell anyone. Cross my heart,” said the caravan worker. He pinged again.

“Didn’t you just hear our conversation, are really this stupid?” Obidaan was growing angry with the young man.

“I
swear
!” he said. Only his tone was sincere, again he pinged.

“Apparently you are,” he said without hesitation.

“No, look, really. I mean it. I won’t tell a soul,” he pinged again.

“Stop lying!” Obidaan screamed. The man began to back away but it didn’t help. Obidaan grabbed him and placed his hand on top of his head. As his hand glowed, he stated, “You will be unable to speak about this place or this situation, for the rest of your life,” Obidaan released him. The young man was speechless. “Ok, now that that is done, let’s pack up and head out. Terry, I’m taking the lead, you cover the rear” Obidaan seemed to have calmed down to his normal self.

“Ok.”

They packed up in silence and continued on. It was getting near dusk when the road forked off. Obidaan continued straight.

“Hey,” Terry said, “We need to take the fork in the road. We’ll reach a village just after nightfall.”

“Maybe so, but we need to make a different stop first and for that we have to keep going straight.” Obidaan said.

“For how long?” Wayford asked.

“Till dusk. About ten more minutes,” Obidaan said.

“Then what?” Wayford asked.

“It’s a surprise, but I guarantee you’ll like this one,” Obidaan looked back with a sly smile on his face.

After that conversation, Don moved his horse next to Terry and began to whisper to her, “Since when can Obidaan detect lies like that?”

“I guess he had a spell up or something, to make sure everyone was sincere,” Terry retorted.

“He cast no spell, said no prayer when he started talking. He should not have known that young man was lying, yet he did.”

“Should we confront him about it?” Terry asked.

“No. But do remain aware of it. When the time is more appropriate, I will mention it to the others, especially Relina,” he continued to stay next to Terry. They both pondered their newfound knowledge.

When dusk came, Obidaan closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths and then opened his eyes. The caravan then moved out of the woods, in to a clearing that could easily be called the middle of nowhere. As they cleared the trees, there in front of them stood a magnificent structure, with an open drawbridge and no guards.

“Welcome to the Hall of Paladins,” Obidaan said. “We’ll be spending the night here.”

“Wow,” Alister said as they rode to the entrance, “this place is amazing looking. No description does it justice.”

“I thought it was in the other direction?” Don said, “Much further away.”

“One of the things I discover spontaneously.” Obidaan said. “I finally realized, it’s not anywhere, per se. If you want to get to it, you must ride in one direction till dusk, for at least an hour.”

Relina said, “I’m curious about this place and anxious to meet Cecilia.”

“Just remember, she’s just a celestial being and can’t leave the building,” Obidaan tried to console her.

“Right,” the jealousy was obvious.

They rode into the hall and toward the main area. As they did, they passed the hallway with paintings of paladins doing heroic and horrific acts. They were not all the same pictures as before. There was a picture of Lou taking over the town.

“Hey! There you are Obidaan, and us.” Alister said. It was a picture of him obtaining his soul weapon. There was also a picture of the Paladin Charge. “Wow, so that’s what a paladin charge looks like, not pleasant.”

At the end of the hall, servants came and took the horses and caravan. They were going to set a watch when Obidaan piped in, “No need for that. Everything is safe here.” They agreed and walked to the main counter. The caravan staff stayed back and admired the scenery. As they got closer the manager appeared, seeming out of nowhere but it was as if all he did was turn around.

“Greetings Mr. Grailann, Mrs. Grailann. Mr. Straif, Miss Waystar, Mr. Foxwealth, Mrs. Foxwealth,” he intentionally saved Alister for last, he was having a hard time reading him, “Mr. W.. C.. Mr. … Alister. It is always a pleasure to see you Mr. Grailann and we are delighted you have brought guests. I have your usual room for you and the Missus. I also have individual rooms for every member of your party. Except you Mr. and Mrs. Foxwealth, I’m assuming you will also be sharing a room.”

“Um, yes, thank you,” they were caught off guard by the efficiency of the place.

“Excellent,” the manager replied, “for you new people, understand you are the guest of the paladin who brought you. If he leaves, you too will have to leave, unless prior arrangements are made. This does not extend to immediate family. While here, you have complete run of the place. Everything is free. Anyone can help you with anything, at any time.” He handed keys to each of the people and a handful to the Foxwealths. “All the rooms are on the same floor in the same section. I do suggest you read the pamphlet of information you will find in each rooms. I have valets to help you find your rooms and to help with your bags. Any questions?”

“Where’s the book?” Alister asked.

“Can you be more specific?” the manager asked.

“You, know, the ‘book’ of um, …” he was making grinding gestures,

“Ah yes, the book of available escorts,” he reached down and pulled a book out and placed it on the table. “Take your time, say the name of the one you are interested in and she will appear in front of you.” He looked over at Terry, who looked like she had a question but wasn’t going to ask. “We have a male version as well,” he said and placed it on the desk. She sheepishly picked it up and began to thumb through it.

“I knew you’d be back!” A voice came from across the hall. It was Cecilia. She ran to Obidaan. Relina moved between them, to block her, but it was pointless, Cecilia simply went incorporeal and jumped on Obidaan and kissed him, “You poor baby, I had to write all about what happened between you and Lou,” she kissed him again.

“Excuse me!” Relina was very jealous and angry now, “would you mind not slobbering all over my husband?”

“Oh, sorry,” she let go of him, “Relina, you’re looking radiant.”

She then jumped on Relina and gave her a huge hug, kissing her on both cheeks. Her celestial presence removed the jealousy filling Relina with love; she stopped worrying. She hugged Cecilia back. “Um, yeah, it’s ok, really. I just had no idea. Are you all this warm?” she asked.

“To you, yes. Have you ever been really nervous then all of a sudden a warm and comforting feeling comes over you? That’s one of us holding you. Since paladins feel that all the time, we have no real affect on them.”

“Oh,” Relina said, she was very relaxed. Cecilia moved on.

“Terry!” she hugged her, relaxing Terry as well.

“Don!” she hugged him. Though he tried to resist, he couldn’t.

“Wow!” he said, “I’ve never felt such a feeling. So warm, so caring so…loving” he hugged her very tight. Don was all too happy to let his feelings show right now. He had never experienced anything like this; it was pure bliss. She gave him a great big kiss.

“Wayford and Belinda,” her hug immediately calmed them down.

“And finally, Alister,” she knew what Alister would do, so she saved him for last. Sure enough, he took advantage of the situation, but she didn’t mind. “Just as I imagined,” she said when they got done. She then turned to Don, “Mind if I show you to your room?”

“Me?”

“Oh yes.”

“What about me?” Alister protested.

“I’m not worried about you. The way you act. you’ll have an orgy in your room. I’m not really interested in that.”

“You’re not all the same?” Alister asked out of total ignorance.

“We’re just like humans, except we’re celestial beings,” she didn’t seem at all offended by the question, “So Don, you ready?”

“Um, ok,” he said awkwardly. He was a bit standoffish but very glad to be going with her. Something about her made him feel very good, very special. He liked the feeling.

She smiled and grabbed his hand, “follow me,” and they were off.

Soon other valets were there showing people to their rooms. All of the hired help went through the book of escorts before going to their room.

When everyone was settled, Terry came sneaking back into the place. The manager was at the desk.

“Are you always here?” She asked.

“I appear when needed.”

“Oh, well um…”

Without a word, he took out the book of male escorts, placed it on the desk, and then disappeared.

Terry opened the book, and flip through it. “Keith” she said, “he looks like he’ll be fun,” she thought to herself. A beautiful, short dark hair, and deep red eyes, completely chiseled man appeared in front of her.

“May I be of assistance?” he said in a silky masculine voice.

“Um I’d like someone to show me around.”

“My pleasure.”

“One more thing?”

“Anything for you.”

“Can you look like an elf?” at that he slimmed his figure and made his ears pointed and softened his face.

“Better?” he asked.

“Perfect.” She said, and put her hand in his. The warmth was intoxicating as he walked her back to her room.

Relina was amazed by the accommodations, “All of this is yours?” she asked.

“Yes, it is darling,” he said, dropping his armor and clothes on the floor.

“Hey, honey,” she started, “I know this is your place and all, but you should still try to be neat.”

“Just watch,” he said with a wry smile as he stripped to his underwear. He began to walk upstairs to the loft when his clothes disappeared.

“Where’d they go?” she said with a gasp.

Making his way to the closet, he opened it up and pulled out the shirt he was just wearing, now clean and perfectly pressed. “Right here,” he said. Putting it back he grabbed a robe “Beer,” he said, and one appeared on the table in front of him. He took a large swig, finishing it all at once.

“So, I take it if I want something, I just need to ask for it?” she observed.

“You got it darling. I’m going to take a nice long hot bath in the hot tub up here, wipe away the slime of today. Care to join me?”

“In a little bit.” she said, “I want to check this place out. Roast chicken and rosemary potatoes,” she said to the room. On the table next to her appeared a plate of chicken and potatoes. She noticed she got a breast and a wing. “Dark meat.” She said and the meat turned into a leg and a thigh. She sat down and took a bite. “By the gods, this is the best chicken I’ve ever had. White wine,” she added. A goblet appeared. She took a drink. “This is grape juice,” She said.