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. (pg. 12)
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| DuMonde TrAnCeR |
The stink of things not fully alive and not fully dead permeated the air as Duncan crept around the foyer of the stone tower. He had learned from experience that most traps were laid right in the middle of where one walked which is why he kept his back to the wall on his right. Duncan could sense traps in the floor at different intervals but someone of his skill found it easy to skirt such dangers. Crossbow in his left hand, sword in his right, senses heightened, eyes peeled, Duncan continued around the perimeter of the wide, open space ready for action.
Glowing eyes peered from semi-hidden places watching Duncan make his way around the room towards the large, single flight of stairs. Duncan noticing whenever he got close the eyes would retreat by drawing a curtain or quietly closing a door. He sensed no intention to attack from these creatures and thus continued on the only obvious path before him. Every now again Duncan would catch glimpses of Lido darting here and there but the halfling’s superior skill at keeping hidden is one thing Duncan is still unable to grasp even after all these years. At least he’s on my side, pleasantly thought Duncan to himself, tensing as he stepped on the first stair, pausing to look around before starting the climb before him.
Up and up the stairs continued with various landings leading to identically engraved doors no doubt containing hidden treasures or unknown dangers. Up and up Duncan continued until he reached the final landing that ended in a single door that stood open at the end of a short hallway. Slightly out of breath from the long climb, Duncan sensed a slight, pleasant breeze coming from beyond the door. Duncan stepped forward determined to bring an end to this unpleasant journey on which he had been led.
The room was irregularly shaped, neither square nor round, but on further inspection Duncan identified it as pentagon shaped. Duncan recognized the inscriptions covering the floor and walls to be in languages not known to the common man. The purpose of the inscriptions he read as ancient formulas with the sole purpose of drawing on both the powers of dark and light. Except for the occasional bookshelf, and a single worktable full of various indescribable contents, the room was bare of any clutter. Gazing up, Duncan could see that the ceiling went up another thirty feet from the floor. In the center of the ceiling stood a round, open hole from which the elements outside pushed the gentle breeze he was feeling.
Opposite the door, the far wall of the room formed the topmost point of the pentagon, in which stood a large wooden chair with a robed, bearded figure watching Duncan intently. The man looked old, except for eyes that crackled with magical energy only visible to those with magic sense like Duncan. Flanking, what Duncan surmised to be the wizard of the tower, were the remaining two mercenaries he had been tracking. They definitely looked worn from their fierce ride these past three days as they stood with hands on weapons glaring at Duncan.
“Guess we know which of the rumors are true about the Desert of Illusion. Since you didn’t strike me down with lighting I guess that means you baited me here for another purpose,” stated Duncan as he slung his crossbow on his back and moved just inside the doorway to his right so the wall was again behind him.
“I’m not the only one from which myths are made, Duncan Trilock: Captain of the Ancor Guard; General of Lord Yallen’s Armies; Defender of Armathon; finder and, possibly, Guardian of the Amulet of the Four Winds; rumored Keeper of the Tome of Borathan and supposed Dragon Friend,” said the wizard with a wave of his robed arms and a smug smile as if he had just guessed the secrets of the universe.
“What!” shouted the mercenary to the wizard’s right before Duncan could form up a reply.
“You only said it was a nobody farmer’s wife we were to kidnap. You said nothing of General Trilock,” stammered the second mercenary as true fear formed upon the mercenary’s dusty features.
“What can I say, you were used,” nonchalantly replied the wizard without moving to defend himself against the swords that were now aimed at him. “I suggest you point those the other direction as I get the feeling that our nobody farmer isn’t taking it to lightly that you kidnapped his wife and ruined his well.”
Looking between Duncan and the wizard, indecisiveness rooted the two thugs to their spots. Suddenly the one on the wizard’s left charged Duncan in an attempt to feign an attack and run past. The hired sword nearly made it to the door next to where Duncan stood. Duncan easily parried the feigned attack and sliced the assailant with such fury that the man slammed against the doorframe with such force that wood splinters flew in all directions. All that remained was a lifeless corpse sprawled out in an unnatural direction.
The second hireling tried a different tactic. Flinging his sword to the floor and falling prostrate before Duncan, the said, “Sir, if I had known it was you that we were sent to bait I would not have taken this job in a thousand years. It was the deceit of this conjurer that led me to do something so foolish. I beg your forgiveness.”
Not looking down at the prostrate man midway between himself and the wizard, Duncan watched the wizard closely. The magician simply sat with that same smug smile watching the proceedings obviously not concerned if the prostrate man lived or died.
“Be gone with you. I am a forgiving man,” said Duncan as he pointed his sword down to the ground in a non-threatening manner.
“Thank you. Thank you m’lord,” babbled the man as he hurriedly got up and began to sprint to the door. He only made it a few steps before he grabbed his throat in pain and fell to the ground kicking and choking. From the dying man’s neck protruded a highly polished, black knife.
“Impressive. I see farming hasn’t dulled your skills or resources. This is good, for this is why I have brought you here,” said the wizard rising to take a couple of steps forward. With a bow he said, “Let me introduce myself, I am Monglemot.”
“Yes, I’ve heard of you,” said Duncan as he stepped to the side a bit in order to avoid the pool of blood caused by the two dead men. “The latest rumor I heard was that you disappeared into the Void and have never returned. That was around thirty or so years ago I’d say.”
“Well, you know how rumors are…a bit of truth mixed with a lot of speculation,” shrugged Monglemot. “The truth is I’ve been back and forth between the places of the Void and our world hundreds of times over the years. It is for this reason why you are here. I need you to go into one of these places to get something for me.”
“What have you done with Grace?” asked Duncan in a tone that hinted he wouldn’t ask again.
“I have your wife imprisoned in a ruby,” stated Monglemot matter-of-factly pointing to fiery gem that stood in plain sight on the wizard’s workbench. “Until you help me get what I want she will remain so. Don’t judge me too quickly General. I am not an evil man, but as you see I will do whatever it takes to get what I want even if it means sacrificing lives…including that of the most pleasant hostess in all the land, Grace Trilock.”
Monglemot began to pace back and forth in front of the workbench, “Yes, I know much about you two as I was a welcomed guest in your home on several occasions. How else were these buffoons able to know exactly how Grace would behave and how easily it would be to ruin your well? Not to mention, I have all the advantage here in my own tower, you cannot harm me.” With that said, two black knives flew from one corner of the room striking and bouncing off the caster as if a wall stood between him and his environment.
“Guess we can’t do this the easy way,” sighed Monglemot looking down at the black blades at his feet. Pointing a lanky, wrinkled hand in the direction the knives came from, a ball of violet flew from his fingers to ensnare Lido in its agonizing grasp making him visible again. Duncan moving like a silent lion charged Monglemot the second the wizard’s attention was drawn to something else, or in this case someone else. Monglemot shooting up another hand easily engulfed Duncan in the same violet pain letting both halfling and human writhe in their own screams.
“You must stop this and hear me out. I thought you were a rational man. Maybe I made a mistake, but mistakes can be rectified,” said Monglemot with a trace of pity in his voice.
“Duncan!” shouted Lido through his clenched teeth, “I’m giving you the opportunity to do something before I have to save your hide again.”
Not as resistant to magic as his halfling friend, the fiery pain took Duncan’s breath away. Breathing heavily in order to do his best to speak Duncan replied, “I’ve…got…it…under control.”
This statement brought a curiously raised eyebrow to Monglemot’s leathery features. At the same moment, the gentle breeze coming through the unshielded ceiling turned into a rushing wind that drew everyone’s attention up. At first there was only the wind and a dark shadow that seemed to blot out the sun above. Then there was fear.
Monglemot faltered.
Self-preservation became the wizard’s sole focus as he loosened his control of Duncan and Lido in order to strengthen his barrier. The barrier now became visible, surrounding Monglemot in a cloud of miniature stars. Duncan and Lido labored to pick themselves up from where the wizard’s ball of pain had dropped them. Neither human nor halfling needed to look where the magician gazed transfixed for they both knew that Pranna had arrived.
Sunlight played through the webbing of golden dragon wings making them seem afire with power. Dragonfear cascaded in waves down through the opening as the beast looked through the hole too small for its current bulky form. For an instant the wind stopped as the dragon disappeared to be replaced by a golden haired woman falling through the opening above. Her hair wiped around her as if the individual strands had a life of their own searching madly to ensnare a passerby in their grasp. What started as a fall changed to a nice easy glide and ended with the woman’s feet gently touching the stone floor as if she were walking on water. With her landing, her hair came to rest around her unclothed, golden form.
Monglemot now crouched over trembling watched Pranna in horror through the slits of his fingers that covered his face trying to block out the nightmares generated by the Dragonfear. Duncan watched with a rekindled hunger in his eye as the power of the changeling dragon filled the room. Lido stood open-mouthed in amazement as always when Pranna made such timely and attractive appearances.
Pranna took a few steps forward, and with a hand back in the form of a dragon’s claw she slashed down at the wizard, piercing barrier and flesh alike. Monglemot howled in pain loosing all concentration, falling back against the nearest wall without any defenses. Ensuring there were no other threats around Pranna stepped to Duncan and helped him to his feet.
“You took awhile in contacting me,” chided Duncan in his mind as leaned on the smaller form for support even though he didn’t need to.
“Ah, my love. You know we dragons do things in our own time and our own way,” replied Pranna back into Duncan’s head with a musical voice that sparkled to match the smile greeted Duncan with.
“You both know how much I love the sense of adventure and the taste of the kill. Thus, I’m prone to complain when such opportunities are taken from me. But I want to say that I think your timing was just as perfect and as grand as always my golden vixen,” interrupted Lido with a courtly bow and a wink of his eye at Pranna.
“I thought you discarded this flattering, liar many years ago Duncan,” said Pranna out loud for Lido to hear. “And how many times have I told you not to call me a vixen. Can you still not get it through your thick skull that my race is so much more than that,” rebuked Pranna as she feigned insult.
The little banter between old friends was interrupted by coughs and curses from the wounded wizard. Turning, Duncan could see that the wound on Monglemot’s arm lay open to the bone with the edges boiling like acid. The magician looked so sick he barely had enough strength to hold his head up to speak.
“So the myth of my tower isn’t the only story with more truth than myth, aye Dragon Friend,” hissed Monglemot.
“Should I just kill him now?” inquired Lido as he deftly twirled a blade between the fingers of each hand.
Duncan remembering why he originally came here broke free of Pranna who was now clinging to him. Duncan snatched up the red ruby from off the wizard’s table and knelt down so he was face to face with the dying man, “Free my wife and we’ll do everything we can to heal you so you don’t die.”
“You called me her for that human wife of yours?” flared Pranna.
“Now is not the time,” commanded Duncan over his shoulder.
“You don’t get it,” chuckled Monglemot through a growing smile, “things haven’t changed they’ve only been delayed. I will be back to requisition your services again General. Maybe this time you’ll be more reasonable and less volatile.” Just then Duncan realized that Monglemot had been making inscriptions on the floor in his own blood. Too slow to react Duncan watched in fascination as the wizard finished the last line of the spell and slapped the blood-soiled hand hard and flat on the stone. A quick flash blinded Duncan and when he could see again the caster was nowhere to be found.
“By the Hands of Cathlan,” swore Duncan in frustration as he snatched the ruby off the table, grasping it firmly, trying to crush it in hopes of freeing Grace from her cell. With a pleading look, Duncan dropped to his knees before Pranna, “Can you do something? This is beyond my knowledge of the arts.”
Looking down at him with pity she began to run human shaped fingers through his matted hair, “I offered you once a life with me but you refused due to your love for this human who’s life is but a vapor. Will you come back one who can love you for generations and in return extend your life to love me back? Why do you think I left you thirty years ago? So you could hopefully get her out of your system.”
“There is not getting Love out of one’s system. By your talk you obviously know this better than anyone,” challenged Duncan as he rose to his feet to stand a head taller than the creature before him.
“Yes, I shall always love you which is why I didn’t hesitate to come when you called. I shall always be there for you, even if it is to save the life of someone that keeps you from loving me back. Love will keep me at your side if you will have me as you search for a way to free your Grace, for this magic is also not known to me.”
The two stood there for what felt like years as old emotions and new pains came together trying to break the walls each had built over the years in an attempt to dam up the flood that threatened them both.
It was Lido who broke the silence and the magic that held Duncan and Pranna, “Well you two seem to be hitting it off as well as you always do. I do need to say that before we start on a quest for knowledge we first get to deal with my favorite activity, killing.”
The two looked at Lido quizzically. ”I say this, because you obviously haven’t noticed that Monglemot’s tower isn’t done with us as you can clearly hear from the number of creatures coming up the stairs.”
“The answers I need may be here but it doesn’t looks like we’ll have the chance to look around anytime soon. Plus I could use some rest. Thus, our options look like we’ll have to fight our way out or we could fly out,” said Duncan as he winked at Pranna.
“No!” pleaded Lido as he backed away from the smiling duo that stood before him. “You know how much I hate flying even if it is with this golden vixen putting her paws all over me.”
“Oh, come on Lido,” purred Pranna as she winked at Duncan who fastened his crossbow and sword to himself and hid the ruby somewhere within the folds of his clothes.
“It will be like old times,” winked Duncan back at Pranna, who took her queue and changed back into a thirty foot golden dragon that nearly filled the room. She snatched Lido and Duncan up in separate claws just as the rush of creatures unknown came through the open doorway.
Springing from her powerful legs Pranna launched herself straight at the opening above this time not caring if the ceiling would fall on those below. With a crash like thunder, the trio soared out into the open wind overlooking the barren desert that stretched in all directions. Unsure of where this adventure will lead them, each in their own way were driven by Love in some form or another. |
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| DJ Mikey Mike |
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| zzleeper |
| ok, edit dumonde_trancer post |
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| jåcë |
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| SgtFoo |
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| r00tman |
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| inatrance |
| it, you are all too weird :P |
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