Oath and Kingdom [The Swordbreaker Archives]

Chapter 27: On Ends, We Tread Lightly

Maylorn waited in that room for a long time while Amrila resided in the other.  They decided to take a break and wait for someone to collect the bounty and take the three others with them.
It took a full day for that person to arrive.  Maylorn never saw him, as Amrila collected each person for him, leaving Maylorn to watch the others.
After they were gone, Amrila offered the entirety of the bounty to him.  He looked up at her in surprise.  "Wait.  You helped me you get half."
Amrila shook her head.  "I am not hunting them for bounty.  You are.  I am simply here to prevent them from screwing up our future."
Maylorn sighed, but took the coin purse anyway.  He counted it, a habit he took when he restarted his life in this country.
Amrila watched him, her head bent somberly, knowing what he was going through.  "I did not want him to see you.  He would have recognized you.  He is a bounty hunter too, so he would have seen your bounty within the last year."
Maylorn looked up at her.  The sincerity was clear on her face.  "Thank you.  I did not realize that."  He put the money into his bag.  "We should probably get going.  Hopefully they are not too far ahead."
Maylorn stood to gather their things, but Amrila did not move.
"There is something I need to mention before we do," Amrila stated.  Maylorn turned to her, waiting.  "I put a truth spell on Larson while he was asleep last night.  He said they were planning to meet at a shrine today, then they would continue on from there."
"A shrine?"
"Yes.  But they planned to meet this morning, so I am certain they are long gone.  We should at least check it out.  It is not far from the ruins, maybe a few hours."
"So why not meet at the ruins instead?"
Amrila turned away, shifting her focus on gathering her supplies and the items she took from Larson and the other mages.  "They suspect someone is after them now.  If he did not show at a certain time, then they were meant to be quick about their visit to the ruins, then move on to the next place."
Maylorn nodded.  "How many of them?"
Amrila looked at him, uncertain she should answer.
"How many?"
"At least a dozen mages.  More historians and servants.  Their group could be close to fifty now."
"How are we going to handle that?"
Amrila inhaled deeply as Maylorn watched her.  Her fists clenched at her side.  "I really do not know.  At least, I might have a failsafe if it comes to it."
"Your magic?" Maylorn could feel the dread sink into him.  She looked nervous too as she nodded.
"I may not be able to control it, but I am powerful enough to handle a lot.  Just promise me you will not be there if I need to use it."
Maylorn nodded, but he could not promise it.  The situation they could be placed in could kill them all, and he needed to be sure she survived long enough to stop them.  He would make an effort to keep both of them alive, but that was all he could manage.
"Let's get going.  This is our chance to find them.  If we meet them today, then I will be ready."
They gathered what remained in both rooms, made their final payment to the Innkeeper, and made their way outside.
Their horses were already tied up outside, waiting for their arrival.  Amrila untied the two of them as Maylorn scanned the streets, looking for anything suspicious before they made their way north.
A few hours later, the small city was behind them, and the cold winter forest lay ahead.  If it had snowed recently, there was no sign of it, but Maylorn could feel the chill of the coming winter in his bones.
"Feel that?  It is going to start snowing soon," Amrila stated.  "Hopefully we can at least get to the shrine and on our way to the ruin before it starts."
"How do you know it is going to snow?"
Amrila glanced at him from her horse beside him.  "Vespera can sense weather changes.  I mean the temperature just dropped a lot too.  Did you feel it?"
Maylorn nodded.  "I did.  But that does not always mean it is going to snow."
Amrila looked up at the sky, a large grey cloud hovering in the distance.  "No, but that might."

When they arrived at the shrine, it was abandoned.  You could see the breaking of foliage where many people gathered, but nothing was left behind.  Maylorn dismounted his horse to get a better look at the shrine Amrila described to him.
She wandered off momentarily to see the path they took northwest, abandoning her horse and Vespera who quietly sat in a tree above Maylorn.
He looked up at Vespera, curious of something.  He wondered if Amrila was watching him through Vespera.
He shook the thought away and bent toward some small statues, their previous state unknown.  Maylorn thought they may have been stone statues of deities at some point, but with weather and time they became nothing but smooth slabs of rock about half of his height.
Some, though, held some smudged-out black markings.
The largest one in particular, the only one taller than Maylorn, held the most black markings on top of some carved inscriptions that were difficult to decipher.  They were half gone, just like the other statues.
Amrila returned from her surveillance to find Maylorn staring at the shrine.  "Can you give me any input on what this shrine was created for?"
"It was meant for protection.  There are quite a few scattered within and surrounding the city.  Each one for a different ancient god.  This one is specifically to ward off-" She stopped, caught up in her own thoughts.
"To ward off demons-" Maylorn rose his brows.  "So, if I had to take a guess, these black markings were to counteract the effects or to show this God that they did not need protection anymore."
Black markings?" Amrila rushed up beside him, examining what Maylorn mentioned.  "It does look like they were trying to use magic on it. But that does not really explain things.  Wait, actually it does make sense."
"What is it?"
"If I remember correctly, this diety is Alfrin.  He was not a god, but a patron.  He was a living elf who would attract the demons to himself to keep others safe.  At the time, there was no way to trap the demons, they would freely roam the world.  That's why this shrine is so far from the city.  When activated, it would attract the demons and draw them away from the city."
"So, Tennet reactivated it?  But why draw them away when they intend to discover things there?"
Amrila sighed.  "There could be a number of reasons.  Maybe they activated it to attract demons from their plain of existence so he could use them."
"Or there are demons within the city that will refuse his entry.  The city is in ruins, it would not surprise me if something took over the city in that time."  Maylorn's heart began to race.  "But that also means we will be in danger if we stay too much longer."
Amrila nodded and stood.  "Let's get going then.  The road there may also be a difficult one.  If the demons are being pulled from the ruin, then we will certainly see some on our way."
They rode swiftly for about an hour, hoping to catch up to them before the demons began to flood the forests.  They only slowed when the skies and the forest darkened.
Snow began to drift in through the trees, but it was not what made them slow down.
Shadows about the size of a dog began to swiftly run towards them.  They floated a few feet above ground, swiftly gliding towards them.
Maylorn's horse stopped, backing up in fear.
Amrila shifted her horse closer to his, pressing her hand against the horses neck.  A moment passed and the shadows moved past them, swiftly gliding in the opposite direction Maylorn and Amrila were heading.
His horse calmed with her touch, but the shadows continued to flee from wherever they came from.
"It looks like you were right," Amrila looked at Maylorn, concern widening her gaze.  "Let's keep going.  Hopefully we can do something before it gets worse."
"This is a lot more demons that I was expecting," Maylorn stated as they continued on, cantering at a persistent speed.  "How do so many live in one area without anyone knowing?"
"They may live underground,"   Amrila stated.  "Or they may have opened a portal to a populated part of their realm, and all of the demons started to spill out."
"What?"
Amrila looked at him, understanding how dire it sounded.  Demons flooding into their world could mean destruction of their own.
Amrila turned back to the path ahead.  "It is plausible these demons did not live in this realm originally.  I mean, they are moving pretty fast it seems like they are running from something.  They are ignoring us too, even though we are running towards them."
Maylorn grumbled under his breath, a larger shadow brushing against his leg.  He felt a shiver climb his body and his horse kicked out in fear.  His hooves went through the demon, but the demon did not seem to notice.
Amrila suddenly jerked her horse into Maylorn's looking ahead as a demon much larger than them hurdled towards them.
It was nearly the size of an elephant.  As it passed them, Maylorn could make out a pair of eyes, bright purple among the faded purple and black smog.
It disappeared into the forest behind them, completely oblivious.  "What kind of demon was that?"
"I think it was the same kind as the others, just ancient.  I do not remember what they were called, but they are harmless if not provoked."
Maylorn did not reply as They shifted forward again.  He was too startled to speak.  Vespera squawked as she flew past him, starting Maylorn.  His heart raced as he tried to control his nervousness.  He dealt with mages and shadow magic during the war, but nothing like this.
This was something entirely different.
The ruins became visible within the hour, some crumbling stone pillars scattered through the forest.  scattered displaced stonework littered the grounds of the forest, the trees taking root wherever they could find ground.  Some even grew on top of the stones.
"A few more miles before we get to the city center.  I just hope they are there."
They ran on for quite some time before reaching the remaining city ruins, where streets and steps still remained relatively intact.  Even some of the buildings remained, including a large gate into the castle grounds, and the castle itself.
Maylorn could see it from a distance, both the gate and the castle towering over any trees willing to grow over the stonework.  The forest thinned as the stones took more space than the forest floor, eventually clearing into the streets.
They did not pause until they reached the top of the steps, entered through the gates and the courtyard.  They stopped in the center, Vespera scanning the surrounding streets.
"It looks like there is a single wagon hidden on one of the streets.  Two horses are tied up just outside one of the houses."
"Is there anyone around?"
Amrila shook her head.  "No.  I suspect they are inside the castle.  In the chapel specifically."
Maylorn nodded.  They dismounted, abandoning the horses on a side street, Vespera resting on top of Amrila's saddle.
The castle was more enormous on the inside.  At least it seemed that way.  They entered into a main hall.  It was so long and wide, the space echoed with every sound of their footsteps.
Amrila scanned the hall before they made their way to the right, where a large set of doors led into a large hallway.  Some of the rooms were open into the hallway, their frames and roofs crumbled inside.
Maylorn could make out what remained of a dining room and stairs down into a kitchen below.  There were some parlors and gathering spaces scattered through the hallway too, from what Maylorn predicted from the arrangements of each room.  Where the fireplaces were, and what remained of stonework furnishings.  Specifically spaces were furnishings were meant to go, like bookcases and tables.
No furniture remained, either stolen or turned to dust with the ever-changing forest.
They turned down another hallway with smaller rooms, possibly offices of some kind, then reached the end where a gaping entryway led into a wide open space.
It was what remained of the chapel.  Just as large as the grand hall, the ceiling crumbled into the space in most places creating a gaping hole, but some remained covered any remaining light from the sun shining through holes in the stone.
No one was there, but there was some disturbed stonework towards the front of the hall, where the alter remained.  Unlike the remainder of the room, its condition was near perfect.
Around it, some stone and debris was removed to reveal some writing in the floor.
Maylorn turned to Amrila, who looked as if she was trying to decipher it.  "Any idea what it says?"
"No.  There are some similarities to the elven language, but this is ancient.  Meanings were lost over time.  From these black marks Tennet's men drew over here, I suspect they may be spells meant to keep the demons out, and welcome the Gods in."
"What about the other way around?"  Maylorn suggested.  "Do you know anything of their religious beliefs?"
Amrila turned toward the wall behind the alter, scanning for anything that might give away where Tennet's men were hiding.  "They welcomed the importance of demons, but they did not worship them."  Amrila paused, spotting another hallway to the right of the alter.  "There may have been some interested in them though.  I am sure there were believers that used this place to study them.  I have heard stories of demons living beneath the castle, so it would not surprise me if they were true."
Maylorn followed her into the hall and towards a staircase.  They descended, finding a large wooden door at the end.  It was open slightly, a dim light at the end.
It was the only remaining intact room they saw so far.
They paused in the doorway, Amrila slowly adjusting the door slightly, reaching for her short sword.  Maylorn clutched the handle of his sword, but did not unsheathe it, afraid the sound would give away their position.
Amrila shifted into the room slightly, peering around the door.  Maylorn could not see what was on the other side, but he assumed anyone in there was not facing the doorway.  She moved further in, waving for Maylorn to follow.
Maylorn peered around the door.  There were two mages in black cloaks standing with their backs to the door.  They were chanting just outside a circle inked into the floor, one of them holding a book and reading from it.
The space within the circle was obscured.  Even the air held vibrations.
Maylorn did not understand what it was until a demon appeared out of thin air and left the circle, flying towards them and slipping out the door.
Maylorn froze.  There was no reason for the two men to be so relaxed, facing away from their only exit.  In fact, they would know they were being pursued by now.
It was a trap.
Maylorn tried to reach for Amrila to warn her but it was too late.
A larger demon appeared in the circle, this one taking shape, the shadows dense around its body.  It looked like a large wolf or a jackal with white teeth and red eyes.  It's front paws looked almost human-like, long claws raking the floor.
One of the mages turned toward them, speaking something to the Jackal.  It roared and darted towards them on all fours.
Amrila was quick.  She spoke something incoherent and tried to slice through the Jackal with her blade.
It swiped to the side, clinging to the wall as she missed.  Maylorn took the opportunity to close the space between himself and the mages.
Both of them were ready.  One held his hands in the air, balls of fire erupting from them.  The other shouted something at him, rushing towards Maylorn.
The mage threw the fire at him, but missed as Maylorn dodged.  The other shifted towards Maylorn's escape, swift enough to place his hands around Maylorn's head before he could react.
Then they were gone, leaving Maylorn alone in the room.
Even Amrila and the demon were gone.  The only thing that remained was the portal.
The door was closed, locked by some sort of magic, the handle held some sort of aura.  It looked almost like rings of flame.
Maylorn watched the portal as something small bounced out of it, rolling across the floor toward him.  It bumped against his boots and came to a stop.
Maylorn took a few steps back and bent down to examine the object.  It was odd looking; nothing he had ever seen before.
Maylorn could not be sure of what it was.  It looked like a black ball, but it was covered in some sort of ridges.  The longer he looked, the more he recognized the surface of the object.  It was black fur and spines.  Long and thin spines with hooks at the end.
The object shifted, expanding and collapsing as if it was breathing.  Then it suddenly exploded, the spines erupting from it.
Maylorn shifted, moving his arms to protect his face as the spines pierced into him.  He could feel them prodding into his cheeks, arms and hands.  Some even split holes into his neck.
He collapsed backward as the object uncurled itself and ran around the room, releasing a shrill scream Maylorn never heard before.  It hurt his bones and made him feel small, the sound terrifying.
Maylorn looked around the room for whatever this thing was.  It scurried across the room, pausing to hide under a table before running back to the portal and disappearing into it.
He tried to pull some of the quills from his face, but they were already gone.  The holes remained, blood dripping from them.
Maylorn stood, stepping up to the portal.  He walked around it until he reached the side he saw the demon come from.
There was what looked like an opening, a ring of light surrounding it.  Inside the opening was black space, so black it looked like a solid wall.
"Maylorn," a familiar voice came from within.  He looked into the black void.  The person was blurry as he was too far away.  He stepped closer, the familiar man coming into view.
He could see blood.  A lot of it covered the man's armor and face.  What was left of it, torn to shreds from the attack.  He could see the gaping hole in his chest and abdomen.
"Commander Carson," Maylorn blinked and rubbed his eyes, unsure if he was just seeing things.
"You have finally come to join us."  He held out an arm to Maylorn.
Maylorn took a step closer despite the sinking feeling in his gut.  Something was drawing him in.  The blackness gave him a buzzed feeling, as if he spent a night drinking.  His face warmed as he drew closer.  Do not go, Maylorn.  This is not real.  His body fought with his mind.
"We have been waiting a long time for you."
He lifted his foot to step through, tranced by the darkness.  He suddenly noticed Commander Carson was gone, but that did not change the feeling he needed to join them.
"Maylorn snap out of it or you are going to die!" He felt a hand grasp the collar of his coat and yank him backward and off of his feet.
Suddenly the room changed again.  The two mages were on the ground beside him, both standing as they recovered from what knocked them over.  Maylorn turned and stood.  Amrila was next to him, sword still pointed at the jackal.
It's face was shredded, the jaw hanging at an awkward angle.
Maylorn turned his attention to the two mages.  He knew it was in their best interest to keep them alive, so he put his sword away.
He struck the first as he stood, rolling his foot behind the mage's ankles.  The mage went down hard, knocking his head on the floor.
He pulled the next to his feet by the collar, shoving a fist into his face.  He heard the crack of a broken nose then released him, swinging again and hitting him square in the nose again, knocking him down.
The other managed to stand in that time, grabbing Maylorn by the shoulders and shoving him back.  Maylorn shifted his feet so he remained still, pushing back at the mage.  He shoved a fist into the mages stomach so hard it knocked him over.
"Watch out!" Amrila screamed at Maylorn.  He turned and shifted to the side just in time for the jackal to pounce, missing him.  The creature roared.
Amrila quickly shoved the short sword into the demon's mouth before it could get its bearings.  The creature howled in surprise, the sound turning to a his as the dark aura around it started to fade.
Amrila removed her sword and kicked the demon, its body falling through the portal.  Then she stepped back, sliding her foot on the floor.
The portal disappeared, her foot smearing the circle and rendering it useless.
The two mages moaned but did not try to get up as Amrila and Maylorn stepped up to them, dragging them across the floor until they reached the wall.  Amrila handed Maylorn some rope and they tied up the two mages.
Amrila stepped back towards the table she she was done.  She grabbed two chairs and brought them over for Maylorn and herself.  She also retrieved the book from the ground where one of the mages dropped it.
She started reading through what she could decipher, but the way she stared at some of the words made Maylorn believe she did not understand much.  Only when one of the mages spoke did she even acknowledge them.
"Amrila Nightfeather?  Why did they send you after us?"
It was the blood elf who spoke.  The human beside him remained quiet, watching Maylorn.
"Actually, they did not send anyone, Eolin."
The elf looked a similar age to Amrila, but Maylorn could not decipher his true age.  The human, on the other hand, looked like he was in his fourties.
The elf laughed.  "Really?  They were going to let us get away with it?"
Amrila sighed.  "They were going to send the militia to find you.  I talked them out of it."
"Why," he looked genuinely curious, even thankful that she convinced their superiors to let her find them.
"I cannot tell you my interests in it, but I explained that it would be wiser to keep this knowledge under wraps, and whatever came out of it could be kept in the Maester's knowledge, and used to take down whoever tried to do it again."
Eolin shrugged, seemingly understanding.  "Alright, Nightfeather."
"So, now that is cleared up, tell me what was just going on before we walked in."
Maylorn was surprised by the elf's agreeableness to be cooperative.  He supposed they may have known each other for a while, as they both knew shadow magic and possibly learned from the same teachers.
He opened his mouth to reply, but Maylorn cut him off.  "Wait, you are really just going to tell us?"
Eolin shrugged again.  "Yeah.  I see no point in fighting.  Hell, a non-magic human took me down with a punch to the face.  There is no chance for me to escape.  I am going to die within the hour anyway so what's the point of being stubborn."
Maylorn gave a disbelieving look to Amrila.  She chuckled.
"So, I suppose I should explain that last bit first.  The demons that left the portal are going to flood back into this room at some point in about an hour.  That is how long the portal has been open.  Since the portal is now closed, they will be trapped in this world and will frantically look for the portal.  As you see on the inside of the door, we were prepared for that."
They turned to look at an inscription on the door.
He continued when they turned their head back.  "You idea was to trap you in here and escape before the demons got out.  That backfired."
"So, you opened a portal just to trap us in with the Jackal?"
He nodded.  "The other demons were meant to remain in the ruins to be summoned later.  There is another ritual spot just south of the mountains.  They are going to try to control the demons like familiars."
Amrila inhaled deeply.
"We originally came here to find the book you now possess.  It was buried with one of the king's wives.  She was a necromancer."
Vespera swiftly flew through the doorway and landed on Amrila's shoulder.  She gave a loud squawk.
"You better leave soon, before you get trapped."
Amrila nodded.  She turned to the human mage.  "Have anything to say before we go?"
He stared at her for a long time before answering.  "He thinks he can bring back the thing that brought the prophecy to life."
Vespera frantically squawked again, flying from the room.
Amrila stood and followed, the book clutched in her hand.  Maylorn followed.  They left the door open as a scattering of demons entered through the doorway, just the beginning of the rush of demons.  It was enough to make the mages scream.
"Let's go," Amrila ran up the stairs towards the chapel.  Maylorn followed, quickly moving through the wide room.
He looked up at the open ceiling, where demons floated in from above.
They reached their horses in only a few moments.  The horses were getting antsy, afraid of all of the demons.  Amrila shoved the book in a bag and calmed the horses before they took off north.
They rode for a long time through the ruins, the stone thinning and forest thickening the further they rode away from the castle.  It took them nearly an hour to leave the ruins entirely, and they made their way down a stream towards a small river.
"Do you know where we are going?" Maylorn asked.
She stopped the horses, watching Maylorn carefully.  She looked panicked.  "I do, but the things I have heard about it are not particularly pleasant.  Many people died there, doing the exact same thing Tennet is about to try."