Hell's Bane (COMPLETED)

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Devil's Call

Hugo, still not entirely sure if Kazim was telling the truth, continued asking. "How come nobody found the place before? Even if it's in such a desolate place, I mean."

"That's the beauty of the artifact and the critical amount of thought behind it. Without the knowledge of the map, the area is practically invisible. It's a small area anyway, but calculated so that the blast that the Blade gives off when it releases the magical barriers won't kill anybody."

Now Joss asked: "Wait, what?"

Kazim didn't seem to be bothered by the onslaught of questions. He just continued to answer placidly: "Once the Blade removes all the magical barriers, they have to go somewhere, which, in this case, is in the Blade. Imagine it as a magnet that attracts things to it."

"So... it gets stored in there, but what did you mean by releasing the magic?"

"The Blade can't contain all those spells. Once everything is consumed, the bearer must shatter the sword on the ground before the magic consumes him or her, and when the Blade shatters, it releases a blast that wipes out everything in its path until the magic dies down. The Brimstone Faction made sure that everybody would be far away enough so that the blast would die down before it hit them... as long as they're out of the grove."

Joss wasn't sure what to feel after hearing the latter part. "How do you shatter the Blade, exactly?"

Kazim also seemed skeptical about his answer. "They say you smash it on the ground, and all the magic already renders it as fragile as glass. Don't worry, though. We won't have to be nervous about shattering the Blade – it's dodging the blast that concerns me." Kazim gave a grave frown. "And it's something we should be concerned about – the brothers did not intend for all who step into the grove to return alive."

Joss swallowed.

"Anything else you want to ask me?"

Hugo raised his hand, instantly feeling like he was in the Claimant's schoolroom-trainingroom again. "Let me get this straight – we go off the map, and then we'll see a grove in the middle of nowhere?"

Kazim studied Joss' replica of the artifact. "It says the Crown is in a giant cave... you'll see it looming over the trees... and if you keep going east, you'll see it. Not hard to miss, I suppose."

Hugo seemed to be unsure of something, but didn't press is concerns. "What do we do when we actually find Oswin?"

Kazim turned stone-serious. "If he's still making his way through the cave, shoot him. If he's not in the cave yet, shoot him. If he's in the cave, shoot him. If he has the Crown-"

"Shoot him?" Joss suggested.

"If he already has the Crown, he has control over death and is therefore immortal. If he actually as the Crown, try to take it from him and then shoot him. We've got twenty men and only one of him, plus there's only one way out."

"Why didn't we bring more men?" Hugo asked.

Kazim eyed one of the people that was going with them. "Because if my brother already has the Crown and control over hell before we even reach him, the Scavenger soldiers that stayed here will spread the word to the world. Besides, too many numbers also mean inconvenience. The point is that if Oswin doesn't have the Crown, we'll outnumber him easily. Joss, I'm sure you let go of everybody in the dungeons?"

Joss nodded. "I don't know what else can go wrong today. Off to the carriages we go, my suicidal friends."

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