The Shockingest of Shocks!

"You sound in good health brother." The Marked one stepped forward, but guards moved in his way.

"Better than I've felt in hundreds of years." This was like seeing a very strange prefight ritual. Both parties knew what was going to happen, but they had their parts to play out in advance of it.

"You can not continue in this way the gods..."

"Screw the Gods, screw the way they have punished me for doing the right thing and stopping you all those years ago." He tossed off his robe and underneath was not a crippled old man but a young one muscular with fresh markings, I could see from where I was that the markings were necromancy, Gods damn Morley. "I have suffered for my people and gotten nothing, we continue to fight against my brothers and I grow old and weary, brittle! And you! You continue to exist long past when you should not have! You should be the one crippled and old and left to rot!" I had suspected my companion was not just a normal Marked One, it was not much of a surprise he was involved with the original brotherhood.  Well it wasn't much of a surprise for me, my cynicism borders on fortune telling with my ability to guess the horrible outcomes.

"You asked for this."

"I DID NOT!" He slammed his fist down and I saw it had left a dent in the railing. "I was told I could govern my people how I saw fit forever! I was told that this would prevent them from having to be slaughtered. I was NOT TOLD that this meant I would be an old corpse governing from a chair I could not leave. I was NOT TOLD the man who had brought the God's fury on us WOULD BE SPARED! So no I did not ask for this."

"And now you bring the wrath of the god's on you and yours, this was a dumb decision." I took note of all the archers, they had their bows strung, and arrows in hand, I never wanted to go out under a hundred arrows but that was looking likely.

"No a dumb decision was coming here with Lorentino, you should have destroyed him when you met him, now his taint is on you and the God's will destroy you. As for me? I don't follow them anymore they are not my God's my God grants me the life I DESERVE! And now I'll grant you the death you deserve."

And so the archers took up their arrows and I cursed how stupid I was for following someone who knew this leader had turned to the bad side. Honestly I wondered what I was even doing there, a question I frequently ask of myself.