"Something feels off here." Lorissia stopped short of the stone building that was the house of worship for the followers of fire. I noticed no smoke was coming from the top of the building which seemed odd for fire worshippers (and it was odd, that flame is always supposed to be burning). There also wasn't anyone on the outside to greet people.
"A stone building in the middle of nowhere that a bunch of martial fire worshippers cloister around? What could possibly be odd about that?" Ok so sometimes my dickery gets the better of me. I was prepared for a physical rebuke (we had been riding pretty close to side by side since leaving the cave and she'd demonstrated she was a puncher earlier when I made a joke about getting lost on the way to her own church (which admittedly she had gotten lost, thats hilarious), when an elder Red Hand Judge emerged from inside. He had dark black hair and wrinkly skin, but wasn't coated in blood so that was a positive for those inside (unlesss of course he magic'd them all to death in a none bloody manor). Lorissia hopped off her horse and bolted for the entrance, I followed though my running was a little ragged (look I've never been in that great of shape, especially post prison, not like they have a jogging ring or something in there).
"Murderer!" That Lorissia always jumping to conclusions.
"Calm down heathen no one is murdered everyone is inside and they are fine, go look for yourself." He waved his arm and Lorissia ran past inside, I huff puffed my way to the judge and hung my head low trying to regain the oxygen (in retrospect riding my horse up there would have been the smarter move).
"So I guess *deep breath* that just leaves *coughing* me and you old man." I'll admit my bravado didn't sound so good broken up by my out of shape breathing problems.
"Old man? A young upstart untrained little speck bothers to insult my age when he can hardly run?" Ok he had a point.
"Yeah well if things go south this untrained little speck is going to be kicking your ass." And yet I ignore any points I don't agree with.
"Please, you and your friend are as much at fault as that child in there, if you hadn't pursued him as you did this might have come to a more peaceful solution earlier." I hate when people lie, doubly so when its obvious, and triple when its coming from someone whose a total dick (yes all of these can be applied to things I do, I hate myself if that isn't bleedingly obvious).
"Oh a Red Hand judge magically is down in Ronerawth territory with a loose corrupted child he managed to pacify? Right I wasn't born yesterday." I gathered my power a little bit, trying to keep it on the low side so as to not alarm the Judge.
"Oh sure a Necromancer is going to talk to me of morality, I smell the taint on you boy." Damn that taint, you wash and you wash, but it never ever comes off.
"Yeah well..." I threw fire at him, he easily side stepped the spell and didn't return fire, I was wondering what he was going to do when I heard his voice again, it was changed, soothing almost like a song.
"Come now boy don't you want to sit down take a load off, you look awfully tired." You know the fact he put an entire church of martial war worshippers to sleep should have been an indication of what kind of magic user he was, alas for me paying attention to the little things is not something I've ever done. I hit my feet, my eyes slowly started to close, I choked out a you suck before I laid on my back. I saw him coming up to me a dagger in hand, the wicked kind (not like theres a nice kind or anything, but this blade was the twisted kind of makes wounds that don't close type). I was just wondering what the afterlife would be like when an arrow punched out of his chest, he turned around to say something when another emerged lodged in his throat. His body hit the ground like a wet sack and I could see Lorissia behind him at the entrance of the church, she had another arrow notched just in case he wasn't actually dead.
"Get up Trezlan you're embarrasing me." I felt the haze wearing off, though it would have been nice to have a nap, I got to my feet and made my way to Lorissia.
"Everything all right inside?"
"Everyone's asleep, but look mostly unharmed, the corrupt is there, he's wearing some kind of collar I need your help." I didn't say thanks for saving my life, though I felt it, I'm sure it was implied, probably. The church was a ciruclar building with a lone branch off hallway (a set of stacked double stone doors served as the entryway in that hallway, probably used in case of defense). Circular stone pews surrouned the smouldering remains of what looked like a bon fire, everyone was asleep, closest to the fire was the corrupted. The boy was all the way gone, blackened and twisted he hardly resembeled a child at all, let alone a boy. Around his neck was a collar I hadn't ever seen before (nor had Valrya, not very surprising she did her best to avoid direct red hand confrontation). The boys mother was near by, but thankfully had not embraced the thing.
"Can you do something about him?" I figured the magic would wear off shortly now that the caster was dead (depending on the ability really, could have been something he maintained to pacify them, or just used all at once), I had no idea what the collar did though, could keep the boy subdued without magic. Or merely subserviant to his now dead master. I knew that Valrya had brought me back from corruption using necromancy, but I also know I wasn't as far gone as this child, and I don't think Lorissia was really that fond of the idea of ritualistic sacrifice to save the kid.
"Yes I can, stand back, this could go bad." She withdrew, I took the child up on my shoulder and brought him outside, Lorissia followed (despite me telling her to stay back). I placed the boy on the ground and took out my sword, I cut across my palm (ouch ouch ouch, this is the easiest way to get blood for ritual magic, its also damn painful, I tend to use my right hand so that I'm at least not entirely incapable afterwards), and scrolled some sigils on the boys flesh. I could hear Lorissia's breathing from where she stood even though I'd moved away from the entrance of the church and she stood near the doors (I figured in case the spell turned explosive she'd have something to hide behind).
"What are you doing?" No one ever just takes these things on faith honestly, especially the church folk.
"Releasing him." I willed power into the sigils and the boys eyes lit up, his chest thrust upward and he screamed, the scream was terrible, a long drawn out beastly thing. In a moment it was over, his body slumped to the ground, no movement came at all. The magic locked in the child dispersed in the air, I could see it just drifting away like smoke from a large fire.
"You killed him?"
"Wasn't that what we intended anyway? There was no other way, what I did was merciful compared to what he did to others Lorissia, I will make no apologies, there was no coming back." She turned from me and went back inside. With her gone I gathered some power and torched the body, no mother should have to see her child like that, no one should see any child like that. The body burned to ash easily enough (magic is oh so efficient like that), the collar still remained though, the metal able to stand up to my fire, oddly enough it was also still cool to the touch (though I didn't trust my eyes like some idiots would, I held the back of my hand to it first). I went to my horse and got some rags I used for washing and put the collar inside them, whatever the damn thing was I was intrigued. My "prize" secured I made ready to leave when Lorissia came back out alone, I could see smoke had once again resumed from inside, so either she lit the fire or the followers had awoken.
"Leaving so soon?"
"I have business elsewhere, I did before, and I have to get to it, or bad things will happen, or should I say worse things." Yeah its kind of hard to use the bad things line while the body of a corrupt young boy is still laying close by.
"Well then I shall join you Lorentino." She mounted her horse before I could even say no.
"And what of your duties?"
"My duty is to the fire god and her followers, you may not believe in her Trezlan, but I know she'd want me to keep an eye on you, both in fact, at the very least you can use my help as I thought I showed today already." I couldn't exactly find fault in that belief.
"Well just don't slow me down with your whining, you're so high maintenance." I could hear her laugh as I bounded off away from the circular stone building and the followers within. I didn't exactly know what we'd find where we were going, but I couldn't exactly be upset that I had company for the journey.
No comments:
Post a Comment