Chapter 8: In the House of Fergrin

As Garrett walked the desolate streets, he searched in vain for the third time for the address he was supposed to be at. So far he had walked the streets all along this general vicinity, and he had yet to find the home of this former Keeper. he heard a noise behind him. Whirling around with uncanny agility, he saw nothing. Walking once more, though warier than before, he had gone no more than three yards when he heard the same noise again. Turning sharply again, he caught a fleeting glimpse of a dark shape running into an alleyway. Pulling out a flare and his sword, Garrett followed down the alleyway, guided by the flare's green light.

The alleyway was small and narrow, and Garrett could barely fit. Continuing down the alleyway, he saw another flash of movement, this time being able to make out a short humanoid figure before it darted into an even smaller corridor. Garrett followed, his flare growing dimmer by every passing second.

The flare went out just as Garrett reached the end of the corridor. The thief had time to make out a rotting wooden door before his light source vanished. Testing the door, he found that it opened with ease. This got him nervous, for no one in their right mind would ever leave a door unlocked, ready for anyone to just walk right in. Either someone was expecting him, or Garrett was about to walk right into a trap. Deciding that the latter was much more likely, he removed a flash bomb from deep within his robes. Tossing the sphere into the room, he heard the poof! as the bomb went off. Hearing nothing, he walked in slowly, sword drawn and ready to strike.

The room he entered was pitch black. Lighting up another flare, he looked around the now lit-up room. While the door might have been merely a rotted slab of wood, the inside could have been mistaken for a nobleman's manor. Fine silk chairs and sofas were abundant, with a heavy oaken lounge table in the center, on which rested a pure golden vase. Taking a step into the room, Garrett winced as his feet hit the marble floor with a distinct clack! Looking down, the thief could see his own reflection on the meticulously polished floor. What kind of a person could afford this sort of luxury in a town like this? Garrett thought as he cast his eyes upon a set of 8-foot statues. This must have cost a fortune. Must be a person from outside the town…

Garrett froze as he realized what had happened. This was the house of Fergrin. The mysterious shadow was merely a lure to bring him to the correct meeting spot. And here he was…but where was his host? Garrett waited a little bit, fidgeting. Finally, he heard a noise…

And suddenly the whole foyer lit up with a bright flash as bright electric lights were suddenly turned on. The result was as blinding (and as painful) as a flash bomb. Garrett shielded his eyes with a cry, letting his sword drop onto the marble floor. Looking around, dazed, he tried to make sense of the blurs around him. Finally, everything came in focus, and he looked around. And there, in a doorway, was a tall man, dressed in dark robes. The man smiled, as Garrett tried to identify this new shape. "You-you're…"

"Yes, I am Fergrin," the man spoke, his strong voice filling the room. "And you are Garrett, I assume?"

"Yeah. But just remember that whatever you send me into, I hope you realize that I'm nobody's pawn, and if you treat me like one, then I'm gonna walk out right here and now."

Fergrin smiled, again, a slow, weary, but gentle smile. "Ah yes, defiant as ever." The man became serious again. "But I hope you realize that the situation we are in will affect you and me as much as this town, and the world at large. Come here. And Garrett followed him, unaware of another figure outside of the house that peered in through the window, and ducked into the shadows, intent on finding the thief and former Keeper.

A few minutes later, Garrett was beginning to realize how large Fergrin's house was. So far, they had walked down a winding stone staircase, gone through five rooms, and at least three secret passages. Finally, they entered a dark room. This room, Garrett could see, housed only a table in the center. No doors other than the one they had just walked through led to this room, though Garrett was sure a secret passage or two existed in the stone walls that surrounded them. Fergrin motioned him towards the table, which the thief did so. Then, with a wave of his hands, the surface of the table turned into a highly detailed model of a building that Garrett could tell was enormous, even though it was contained on an eight-by-ten-foot table.

As Garrett watched, the building took on more detail. Windows, doors, torches, and even the stone walls lay before the two men. Finally, the building, which Garrett assumed to be the necropolis, was finished. It was a circular structure, built around whatever evil devices the necromancer had in store. At the base of the building were two gigantic doors, easily as tall as the walls they were built in. Fortunately, Garrett saw many side doors, not nearly as massive as the front gates.

After Garrett was finished inspecting the building, Fergrin began to speak. "This is the stronghold of Tsiikaa and his terrible armies. Through various spying and mapping, we have determined the only side doors that lead up to the center structure are these three." As he spoke, three of the doors lit up. "From there, these doors lead to the center structure, which is where you will find his giant ground piercer. Somehow, you must sabotage the beam. Either kill Tsiikaa, destroy the beam, or somehow alter its angle so that it will not hit the ground." When Fergrin was done speaking, the necropolis faded from view, and then vanished altogether, leaving the bare table as it was before.

Garrett watched the model vanish, and then began to speak. "You want me to just waltz into a building, where this crazed maniac has raised who-knows-how-many undead creatures, find this gigantic laser beam, somehow destroy it or knock it off course, and get out alive? Have you lost your mind?"

Fergrin smiled. "Ah, yes, you always seem to think that the burden will fall squarely on your shoulders. But this time I have something planned." Tapping a button on the table, he waited as another figure walked into the room. Garrett turned to face the newcomer, and was surprised. The figure was of the general size and shape of a human, but his-no, her, he realized, upon closer examination-skin had a blue aura around it, which would occasionally curl away in a wisp. She carried an odd sword, which also had the same bluish properties as its carrier. Her black hair contrasted greatly with the rest of her form, yet it did not seem out of place. Overall, she was a beautiful creature, but she emanated a sense of cool hostility, one that would make any man, no matter how foolish, think twice about laying his hands on her.

Fergrin waited until Garrett was finished with his evaluation, then began to speak. "Garrett, this is a Nueran, which means 'Holy Warrior' in our language. They're extremely well trained in their deadly arts, and despise the undead, which will work to our advantage. This one is General Jiarel, who will be leading an assault against the necropolis as a diversion for you, along with twenty other Nuerei." Jiarel was silent through the whole talk, instead standing perfectly still as the former Keeper finished. Meanwhile, the twenty other fighters had gathered around, none of them showing more emotions or motion than the other. Garrett felt like he was standing at a statue exhibition. He shifted uncomfortably Finally, he asked Fergrin, albeit reluctantly, "Alright, good enough. Now when do we start?" Fergrin smiled broadly, glad that Garrett had joined their cause. "Once you are armed to your satisfaction, we shall come back here." With that, he walked out of the room, Garrett following. Jiarel and her warriors stayed, as still as they were when they entered.

A little more walking later, they found themselves at a steel door. Withdrawing a rather ordinary key from his belt, Fergrin slid it into the lock, which slid right open, leading into the armory. Garrett couldn't help but snicker and point out the simplicity of the key that had just unlocked vast stores of weaponry. Fergrin smiled at Garrett's ignorance. "This key is magically enhanced. If you can find a lockpick that can match one thousand different signatures that you can't even see, then it is a simple lock." Impressed, Garrett stepped into the room. The armory was huge. Running about 30 feet down, shelves and shelves of various items made Garrett eyes widen in amazement. "This is bigger than the City Watch armory," he commented. Then he snapped himself back into gear. Scanning the shelves, he found a few holy water vials, which he pocketed. He had some water arrows with him, but he took some water crystals anyway, in case he needed some more against the zombies he was bound to encounter. Noting that zombies were equally affected by fire, he took about ten fire arrows and a couple of mines. Feeling his massive equipment weighing him down, he signaled that he was finished. The two men walked back to the war room, where the Holy Warriors stood exactly as they were. Fergrin pushed a button on the side of the table. Suddenly, with a giant whooshing noise, one of the walls fell away revealing a glowing, swirling red portal. Garrett looked, at the portal, and then, with a touch of exasperation, at Fergrin. "You know how I hate these things," the thief almost whined. Fergrin smiled cynically, which soon transformed into a much warmer one. "The necropolis is 20 miles away. How else do you plan on getting there?" Garrett rolled his eyes and began to walk into the portal.

But a movement in the corner of his eye made him turn around, and as he turned something flew by his face, making an awful noise that pounded in his head. Garrett collapsed as the thing zoomed on towards and through the portal. On the floor, and with a massive throbbing in his head, the thief crawled to see what had happened. There, in the doorway, stood an odd man, who held a pulsing red staff…but he looked familiar. Garrett's eyes opened wide in shock as he recognized the man as the innkeeper, who saw Garrett and smiled cruelly as he prepared to send another missile at the thief. Not being able to move, he was helpless to stop the innkeeper/sorcerer. This is the end…Garrett thought as he saw the discharge of energy almost ready to fly. I've finally run out of luck…

The end of the staff crackled. Garrett closed his eyes and waited for his death.

It didn't happen.

He wasn't wholly disappointed.

Getting up from the floor, he saw what had stopped his death. The general warrior, Jiarel, had swung her sword at the staff at the last moment, throwing the end of the staff away from it's intended target. Not stopping to look where it went, she then began to attack the sorcerer, her magical sword leaving a wispy arc as it flew through the air at speeds that no human could accomplish. The sorcerer, who clearly was outmatched, could do little except flail his staff around. But even that failed, as with an almighty swing, Jiarel brought the sword down on the staff and split it cleanly in half. The man let out a shriek of terror as the Holy Warrior ran her sword through his heart. The sword slid right through his body as if it were butter. A deafening cry of pain pierced the air, and the sorcerer collapsed in a blinding light. When the light dimmed, there was nothing but a pile of ashes where an evil man had once stood. Garrett, relieved at still being in the realm of the living, looked around to see where the odd missile had hit. But as hard as he looked, he couldn't find where the shockwave had left its mark. Then he saw Fergrin.

The former Keeper had gotten the shockwave, and its effects were clear. While there was no large wound, the man's chest was pummeled and bleeding from a thousand small hemorrhages, all of them leaking blood. Garrett rushed over to the man, trying to steady him. But Jiarel was there first, laying her hands on the afflicted area. The rest of the warriors circled around, watching as where Jiarel touched, the hemorrhages simply faded away. In spite of his anxiety, Garrett was amazed. The woman's a healer…and one that works, too! But it seemed that no matter how hard she tried, the general could not repair the internal bleeding that was slowly consuming Fergrin. The man turned to Garrett. "Better…me than…you," Fergrin smiled, and then coughed up an unhealthy amount of blood. "Garrett…good luck." Then the man's head tilted back, a glassy look came to his eyes, and he slipped away. Jiarel stood up, saying something in an odd language Garrett didn't recognize. Then she turned to the thief. "We must go," she spoke for the first time today, her words coming out strong and clear. "Only Fergrin could open the portal, and it will close in 2 minutes. Go!" Garrett stepped away, then walked to the portal. Stepping in, he felt a tug from within his body, and he was pulled through, feeling the typical vertigo-induced nausea as he swirled around in a vast red space. Finally, after a minute or so, a small spot appeared in the distance. Gradually, that spot grew bigger, and bigger, until it was a hole that Garrett was thrust through and dumped unceremoniously on the wet grass. He looked up. A massive building stood in front of him, circular in shape. From the center of the circle a purple light shot up into the night sky. Garrett stood in front of it, with vengeance on his thoughts. Someone in particular was going to pay for the death of Fergrin.

Chapter 7 / Chapter 9