I think Flame might already have made off with your soul gems. Sorry about the delay, I've been out and about for a few days. Gnora's brother will be in the next update, I just couldn't think of a good way to transition to his arrival.
Lor Istbarsigun’s chest shuddered as she breathed out. The medics around her wrinkled their noses at the smell, but Thane had grown used to it hours ago. Lor’s yellowed eyes cracked open again, and she attempted a smile.
“Did... the others...survive?” she gasped. Thane blinked, then nodded.
“Nero, Ducim, Zasit, Thob?”
“They’re all fine,” Thane said. She didn’t even glance at the bodies in the beds beside her.
“Good,” Lor nodded. She clenched her teeth for a moment. “Is it true that Armok lets heroes live again when he creates a new world?”
“Of course it is,” answered Thane.
“...was I a hero?” Lor whispered.
“You were a great hero,” Thane told her. “They’ll write ballads about you.”
Lor smiled. She never spoke again.
*
There wasn’t an immediate response when she knocked on the door, so she waited for the sound to filter through whatever Tarmid was reading now. The door creaked open after a minute, and he finally peered out.
“I need to talk to you,” Thane said. Tarmid nodded.
“Come inside, won’t you?”
“Not here,” she answered. “I found out something recently, and I’m worried about how far it goes. I need to show you something, anyway.”
She walked away without looking back. Tarmid frowned for a moment, then followed her.
“I thought that there was something strange about the caves when we opened them again,” she said over her shoulder as they descended into the darkness. “There were just so many creatures down there, when normally you’d only get one or two a year... I thought it was just bad luck, or a terrible decision on my part, but then...”
“Then?” Tarmid prompted her. Thane turned abruptly, thrusting her torch into the darkness. She appeared to listen intently for a moment, then continued walking just as suddenly.
“It’s just a little further,” she said. They had finished with the stairs, and the bloodstained floor of the lowest cave opened out before them. “You see, during the goblin invasions, a group of undead... things tried to attack us from below. The traps took care of them, but I wanted to find out where they came from. There were a few notes about a strange structure in some of our Overseer books, but they were mostly hushed up. In any case, here we are.”
It was an unnaturally smooth wall made of a stone Tarmid couldn’t identify. He took the torch from Thane, lighting the rock as best he could, but it remained as black as ever. He tried to chip off a sample with his knife, but it shattered.
“It’s unbreakable, as near as I can tell,” Thane told him. “But someone must have shaped it. Me and my squad have been clearing the place out for a while now and we think we’ve gotten all the zombies, but there could be one or two lurking about.”
“Is this where you’ve been since Lor died?” Tarmid demanded. Thane nodded. “You can’t just abandon your duties to the entire fortress on a whim, Thane! What if you’d died?”
“Someone could have replaced me, I’m sure,” she shrugged.
“And Vladamir? What about him?”
Thane looked pained. “He’s got his own stuff to work through. He doesn’t need me around all the time.”
“What’s gotten into you lately, Thane?” Tarmid asked.
“I found out who’s been following us around,” she answered quietly. “It was Dan.”
“That’s ridiculous!” Tarmid exclaimed. “He was one of the founders of the fortress! If he was the spy, then...”
“Then anyone could be one,” nodded Thane. “He could be a ringleader or a pawn, and I don’t even know what his motives were.”
“Thane... is this why he’s dead?”
“What!? No! I just... I found out, and... I wanted to help him, but...”
Tarmid took pity on her. “Was there something else you wanted to show me?”
“Yeah, it’s just a little further down,” said Thane. She still seemed to be struggling with herself about Dan as they walked towards a blue glow.
“It’s just like...” Tarmid began.
“The sword itself is adamantine, as far as I can tell,” Thane said, indicating the weapon sunk nearly to the hilt in the strange rock. “As for this,” she continued, indicating the source of the glow, “I think this is more in your area of expertise. I need your help, Tarmid, but I need discretion as well. I want to know everything you can find out about this sword and what lies beneath it. Did the blade or the building come first? I know that there might be information the Knights have buried, but surely you can understand that the fate of the fortress could be in the balance if this is anything like some of the artifacts I read about in your books. I can understand if you need to speak with Brenzen about this, but no one outside your order."
Tarmid thought for a moment. "If it's so vital, surely you can ask some of the other people who live here about it? Thanatos, Flame, Fallen. They could all have valuable knowledge about it."
Thane snorted. "Sure, I'll let someone who claims to be a demon look at a weapon with unknown properties in a building full of zombies underground. You're the only one who might have access to what I need to know, and the only one that I think I can trust with a secret. So, you can report to the other knights if you really feel you have to, as long as I get the exact same reports on what you find. Do we have a deal?”
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Topic: Demongate: Wrapping up the Loose Ends. (Read 669897 times)