It Was all Part of the Plan

The coin never had a chance to fall

“Man I love it when I come back and find money falling from the sky.” Han stepped through the still glowing gateway made by the solider singing. In one hand held high he clasped the coin with the other he supported the still week Quinten. They both came through the gateway followed by Kol supporting Quinten on the other side and staring back the way they had come holding a throwing knife in his free hand.

No sooner than they had crossed the threshold than Ireselan came followed by the rest of his men at arms. They immediately went to the corner were the rest of his the men at arms were huddled. Their undead guards still very intent on their duties let them through without seeming to notice. When they reached the center of the group of men at arms they collapsed and the other men at arms surrounded them from view. Heljah came through the gateway with a face of murder looking the way that Iresalen went followed closely by Valasar caring the wounded soldier.

Sorn rushed over to Kols group to see if there was anything he could do. They were all pale and white washed. Their skin looked lifeless and Sorn was afraid that he was just seeing more animated ghosts. He noticed they were all covered in blood. Kol and Han looked like they still had steady legs but it looked like it was taking all of Quintens willpower to stay awake. For some reason the skeletons were still standing to attention waiting. Not thinking about it too much Sorn commanded one to go off and find a medical kit. Sorn than directed Kol and Han to the opposite corner of the room followed closely by an ashen looking Heljah and a very gray looking Valasar still carrying the wounded man at arms. The rest of the skeletons moved in creating another wall of bone bodies between them and the men at arms.

“Get out of my way that’s my brother.” Tomas said trying to push past the skeleton guards. They paid him no mind, just stood there waiting for Sorns command. Tomas was the only man at arms not with Ireselans group in the corner. “Let me through.”

“Let him pass.” Sorn told the white guards. Kol and Han had sat Quinten down leaning him up against the wall then sat down on either side of him. There was now a slight tinge of health in there cheeks that Sorn had not noticed before. Heljah went down onto one knee and took large grateful gulps of air. Valasar sat the Man at arms that he was carrying against the wall and started to look at his leg. By that time a skeleton came forward with a heavy medicine box. Sorn dived into it grabbing bandages and cleaning supplies and set about helping his friends with their wounds. Tomas came through the undead guards and knelt beside the wounded man at arms.

“What happened to my brother? Is he ok?” Tomas asked. Valasar looked down at him with a confused expression.

“Is this a kind of human joke?” He looked over at Heljah. “I do not understand.”

Tomas looked at Valasar as if seeing him for the first time. A look of pure terror was on his face. Sorn was not surprised by that most people looked at Valasar like that. This was about the most Sorn paid attention to their conversation. He unrolled the bandages and started to bandage up Quintens arm where he had just wiped away the blood. None of the wounds looked very serious or deep but there were dozens of them. Han and Kol looked shaken and gray faced but Quinten looked ready to pass out. Quintens eyes kept fluttering open and closed and he looked like he was only half aware of what was going on.

Sorn noticed Valasar insert his claw into the hole of the soldiers pant leg. He quickly made a perpendicular cut around the thigh so that the excess pant leg bunched up around the soldiers boot. That’s when the soldier’s older brother took over for Valasar almost pushing him out of the way to get to his fallen brother. Valasar didn’t seem to mind he just went into a crouch and looked at the young soldier as if at a puzzle. Heljah the least hurt of the whole party, manly due to her heavy armor, started to bandage up the gash running down Valasars side.

“whats wrong with Quinten what happened to you on the other side of that gateway?” Sorn asked as he took care of them.

Han and Kol shot nervous glances at Quinten and then over at the group of Ireselans men. Loud cursing and heated talk came from that side of the room. Then they begin to tell their story and it was all Sorn could do not to listen with an open mouth. They asked about what had happened here and as Sorn began to explain he noticed something very strange. The skeletons still stood to attention waiting another command. According to the lich they should all be gone released from their curse. Sorn became aware of his hand tightening on the bone scepter. Fully aware that he did not want to see them go and be left in a room with hostile men at arms and more than half of his friends out of commission.

Kol leaned his head back against the wall taking large breaths before he talked. “What are we going to do now?” he asked no one in particular. “And how did we even end up here.”

There was movement on the other side of the room that drew everyone’s eyes. Ireselan was getting to his feet starring in their direction. A cold smile played across his face as he saw there predicament. “If you want to know how everyone ended up here why don’t you ask your fearless leader? It was Quinten who came up with this whole idea to begin with.”

Kol Han Soren Heljah and Valasar looked over at Quinten whose only answer to this accusation was to pass out.

Shadowland

In three quick strides Quinten reached Ireselan. Against the dead he might not be any use with a rapier but Ireselan was most defiantly living, for now at least. Quinten effortlessly block a feeble stab made by Ireselan using his momentum he put his shoulder into Ireselans stomach causing Ireselan to double up he then brought his free hand up to catch Ireselans chin knocking him flat on his back putting the tip of his sword against the elf’s throat. The men-at-arms were so taken aback by the sudden attack that they hadn’t moved until Ireselan was flat on his back by that time Valasar had positioned himself right in front of Quinten repelling any thought of coming to the elf’s aid.

“Speak clearly or it is your death what do you mean the shadowlands? Where is the Halfling what has happened to Sorn?” Quinten stared down at Ireselan Pain and furry making his face a mask. Ireselan looked up at him a grimace on his face as if he wanted to spit again looking at the steal pressed against his throat he changed his mind.

“Your Halfling could be dead for all I know or care.” The point of Quintens sword pressed down harder on his neck and he hurriedly went on before it drew blood. “Or he could be somewhere in this god forsaken land or he might not even have come here. That spell could’ve missed him in the tower. If you look around I am also missing men.” He gave a small shrug indicating that he didn’t care as much as Quinten seemed. To him they were all expendable.

“So now’s the time to tell us where we are.”Heljah said coming up behind Quinten. She gave a menacing look at Ireselan sprawled out on the ground and then directed a question at Quinten. “How did you and Valasar get over here so fast?” Quinten gave a start he looked back at where he had been standing when they first arrived here. He had been so mad that he didn’t realize that he covered a good forty yards in three steeps. He noticed the twins had flanked Valasar they had what could only be called determined looks on their faces. The men-at-arms felt something from their eyes and unconsciously took a step back.

“That’s all a part of this place time is twisted and warped here.” Ireselan said from his back. “You could cover a mile in a minute or if the fates really hate you hours.”

“What do you mean how is that even possible?” Quinten was staring into Ireselans eyes trying to catch any lie.

“I don’t know how it works ok I just know about it.” Ireselan yelled from his back his eyes were wild. “This is the shadowland. A land where death is the only reality. You think that necromancer and his dead army was difficult that was nothing compared to where we are at now. Every great army of undead was called from here because this place has that many undead and to spare. And when we die here after our body becomes cold we will join them. The dead feel the living they will not stop until we are just like them.”

“How do you know this how do you know anything about this place or about Talisor?” Quinten demanded bewildered at this new information. How could they ever fight through an army of undead?

“The same way that I know that the only way out of here is by the spell that brought us here. And that won’t stay open forever judging by the scale of it; it will be closed in three hours trapping all of us here with the dead until we become undead ourselves.”Ireselan stared up at Quinten challengingly before turning his head to look down into the valley were the purple glow of the spell that brought them here was still visible in the gloom of this world. “If any of us want to escape the dead plan we have to get to the tower.”

Quinten looked down at the tower nestled in the valley. In three hours it would be closed there was no lie in Ireselans voice or eyes, and indeed if what he said was true then it would take all of them to get to the tower. Three hours to cross at least twenty miles over terrain where time changed and the undead tried to spill their blood over the black rocks of the twisted landscape. He looked down at Ireselan and then up at his men-at-arms did he dare trust a man that had been sent to kill him. What about Sorn if he was alive and in this world could he just leave him here knowing what fate awaited him. He had taken the job he had led them all here it was because of who he was that all of this was happening. It was his entire fault, everything, because he wanted to be different wanted to escape and now and now and now all his friends would die.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into the eyes of Han and his brother Kol. He just realized he had said the last part out loud when Han said in a solemn voice “It’s not your fault and we are not going to die.” Han looked for once in his life very serious. “We all wanted to come with you, remember, besides who else are we going to blame for getting us into trouble all the time.” He gave Quinten a smile and a wink letting him know he was teasing again.

“You can tell us everything latter much latter if you want” Kol put in. Quinten looked down at Heljah who had a light and a promise in her eye that their talk would be a lot sooner. “But for right now you’re the captain.” Kol continued “and you need to tell us what to do and just to let you know Sorn would have told us to get our butts out of this world as soon as possible.”

“Right.” Quinten said his voice sounding husky in his own ears. He turned his attention to Ireselan and made his voice hard and as cold as ice. “Much as I hate to admit it I’m not a murder and we are going to need every available hand to make it down there in time but I promise if anything happens to any of my men you will be the first to die”

Peekaboo

Han lead the way into the dark corridor holding the everbright lantern high trying to get all the effects of the dim light. In Han’s other hand he held a knife ready to throw. Kol positioned himself nest to the everbright lantern protecting Han’s now vulnerable side. Quinten followed them impressed again how the twins always seemed to work well together. Everyone else fell into place behind him with Sorn bringing up the rear with the second everbright lantern. Everyone stayed close to each other occasionally throwing sharp glances at the darkest corners of the already bleak hallway it was all a testament to what they had recently been through.

As they walked farther into the shadows and away from the light of the open door the more alive the darkness seemed. It became oppressive almost solid pushing at the feeble light of the everbright lanterns. They all continued to go deeper taking comfort that they were near things living. As they continued to walk into the gloom Quinten looked back at the dim light at the end of the hallway slowly getting dimmer. Something wasn’t right about that something was off about the slowly fading light suddenly realization hit him like a hammer and he ran back to the door shouting to the rest of the group.

“The door is closing. We are going to be trapped in hear.” They wear now all rushing back to the fading light. Quinten realized that they would never make it in time no matter how hard they ran. Frustration knotted his stomach “Halt, stop running, come back we would never make it anyway.” The light turned into a sliver and then disappeared altogether. ”we’ll find out how to open it after we find what we came here for.”

Quinten knew his voice was tight but he had to keep strong as he saw silent resignation on his companions faces. They continued down the bleak hallway each taking up their original positions but this time with an added air of glom and a hunch to their shoulders. It seemed as if nothing had disturbed this tower in some time. The dust hung heavy everywhere and the air carried the smell of a newly opened grave. Quinten was looking at the ground so he was the first to spot the small trendal of fog seeping through the cracks of the stone floor.

“Stop everyone don’t move.”

“What is it?” Heljah asked peering around him. “I don’t see anything.”

“It’s the fog its back.” Now everyone looked down and saw the fog getting thicker. They all made a circle with their backs to each other and readied their weapons. They waited and the fog got thicker. Soon their knees wear hard to see and only Sorn’s shoulders and head wear visible. As quickly as the fog appeared it left almost as if it was blown way or sucked quickly back from wear it had come from. Everyone stayed were they were not sure what to expect and expecting anything at the same time.

Quinten was desperately trying to see past the circle of their light. Desperately trying to have some kind of extra warning if it was at all possible. As he looked off into the darkness he heard a small giggle in back of him. Which one of his companions thought this was funny to him he could see no humor in the situation. Suddenly he heard again and quickly looked in back of him. A small ghost of a little girl looked back up at him, she couldn’t be older than six, she giggled and disappeared. He was left staring into the wide eyes of Kol strait across from him.

“You saw that to right?” Kol nodded and started looking around again.

“What was it what did you see?” Sorn asked looking around expectantly.

“It was a little girl she giggled and then just disappeared.” Now everyone was looking around. Valasar had his strange collection of odds and ends out again and began rubbing them and muttering looking worriedly from left and right tail twitching and the frill on the back of his neck going up and down. Suddenly the little girl was back running around the group and laughing. She ran up to Valasar and grabbed at his tail. Valasar was so frightened that he nearly jumped out of his skin. The little girl giggled, laughing she ran around Heljah peeking out every once in a while at the frightened Valasar and giggling. This sent Valasar into a fit of bowing and continued rubbing and more mutterings under his breath. The ghost girl loved it, throwing her head back and laughing, she ran around the group using each one as a shield to peek out at Valasar.

“She is playing with you Valasar.” Quinten said in amassment he had never seen anything like it. The little ghost of a girl seemed infatuated by the tall lizardman. The group just stared at her as she ran around and used each one of them for protection.

“This is not playing. This is what you do when stalking pray.” Valasar continued to look nervously at the apparition obviously afraid for his soul. With that he started praying fervently for any other death besides the one at the hands of a three foot less than solid girl. The little girl jumped out from behind Han and made a pickaboo face at Valasar, at this Valasar jumped again; she giggled and ran in back of Sorn who was just slightly taller then her. Sorn white knuckled stood still, he was handling this no better than Valasar.

The little girl ran out from behind Sorn and made another grab for Valasar’s tail. Already put of Valasar took a couple of steps back tail flicking back and forth before coming to rest on a stone in the hallway. All the warning they had was a tinny click and then a spear was hurled across they path that they would have taken. The little girl looked frightened and disappeared only to reappear clinging to Valasar’s leg. He was to freighted to do anything and just stood there looking down at the little ghost seeking his protection.

“No one move. This passageway is trapped no telling how many are ahead and how many are behind us.” Quinten looked around for signs of more traps; everyone else did as well except for Valasar, he was being preoccupied at the moment. The little ghost girl run up to Han and tried to take the lantern away from him. When she couldn’t get it way from him she ran over to Sorn and started blowing on the lantern he held as if trying to blow it out. She looked frightened and started to try to take the lantern from Sorn, making throwing motions as she did. Quinten put everything together fairly quickly.

“Destroy the lanterns.”

“What are you crazy we won’t be able to see it’s to dark in hear as it is.” Heljah yelled back.

“Do it now.” Both the lanterns shattered against the walls plunging them into darkness. It seemed like hours as they waited in the darkness and Quinten wondered if he had done the right thing. Slowly the walls began to glow and the ceiling and eventually the floor. Along the floor there would be an occasional stone that refused to glow and stood black against the floor one of these was the same stone that had set of the trap. “It was all magic even from the beginning. The darkness who would want to go in that without a light. Only you have to go without a light to see the way.”

“Darkness light.” Heljah said quietly. “Its part of the rime, Darkness light, I never thought about it like this.”

“No matter we have to continue on.” Quinten said starting forward he would be the first to catch a trap if the glow missed on he had lead them on this mission it was only right. The little ghost girl appeared before them skipping ahead of the party carefully dodging the darker spots on the path. Soon they came to a staircase and again the ghost lead them up occasionally she would skip a step and Quinten made sure that everyone else did as well. As they neared the top the little ghost ran down a short corridor and through a broken door Quinten followed her being followed in tern by the rest of the party.

It was a good sized room close to what Quinten guessed was the top of the tower. It looked like a study full of books and scrolls and in the center of the room was a high backed chair. A Skelton sat in it its face in its hands almost as if had died in the act of weeping. It still wore the rich robes of a high wizard faded with time. Cluching tightly to its leg was a much smaller skeleton. The little ghost ran over to it or beside it and picked up a stuffed animal, to Quinten it looked like a lizard, she ran over to Valasar holding it by the tail. She lifted it up as high as she could and made movements indicating she wanted Valasar to take the old thing. Very carefully Valasar took the offering and gently placed it in his sack a small tear made ring in the dust at Valasar’s feet. After Valasar put the sack back on his back the little ghost giggled running around the room and dancing.

“I suppose you would like to know what happened here?” a tall ghost walked out of the shadows and strode across the room to stand next to the skeleton eternally weeping. He was wearing the same robes of a high wizard but they fit him a little better. The little ghost girl run over to him throwing her arms around his leg smiling.

The Bodies

“This belonged to the others we heard screaming?” Quinten asked.

“I believe they may have been the men that Sorn reported to you two days ago.” Valasar nodded to the Halfling.

“What were they doing so close to us?” Han asked.

“Probably trying to make sure we don’t poach on their territory,” Quinten answered absently, rifling through the pouch. “Three men aren’t any serious threat to us, but maybe they would have been looking for ways to discourage from going further.”

“Probably bandits.” Heljah spat on the ground.

Quinten pulled out a single small scroll, a few battered copper coins, some herbs, and a small, rotund figurine in dragonstone- A fat merchant, the symbol of the god Kor-Anan. “They could have been woodsmen, seeking to defend their territory.”

“They had swords.” Sorn pointed out, “And some light armor. I doubt they were merely hunting.”

“Whoever they were, they’re dead now.” Quintens’ voice had a curious flat quality to it.

“What’s that coin- the larger one, with the half-compass?” Heljah suddenly grabbed the coin, holding it up to the light. “This is the mark of the-“ She stopped speaking, suddenly, glaring at Quinten.

Quinten shrugged, “It’s Aurum.” He glanced at the others in the party. “A band of thieves in high places.”

“We’ve had a run-in with them before.” Heljah was glaring at Quinten, but he returned the stare with one of his own. Sorn wondered at their reaction, but kept quiet.

“If those men Sorn saw were from the Aurum, then we’ve got a lot more competition for this little excursion than I had anticipated,” Quinten replied lightly. He stood up abruptly. “Let’s take a look at the bodies.” Quinten directed Kol and Han to the south side, down the steep path. He sent Valasar and Heljah to the east, where Valasar said the body was a little harder to discover. Sorn and Quinten took the west, the closest to the clearing. Nobody said anything, but the suddenness of the attack, the screams before hand, it was all a little unnerving.

The bright sunshine and birdsong were harsh counterpoint to the violence that had so recently occurred. Soren and Quinten moved quickly through the underbrush, skirting a few boulders and ledges, to where Valasar had indicated the third body to be, on top of a small rocky outcropping with a clear view of the clearing a hundred or so yards away.

It was clear the skeletons wraiths had done it. The flesh was scored and bruised with a brutal efficiency, and the horror on the man’s face was still evident. Rigor mortis was setting in. In the cool mountain air, the scene was all the more stark, the wet blood bright in the sun.

There was something strange about the body.

"This look like one of the bandits you mentioned earlier?" Quinten asked, squatting down and ignoring rank smell.

No stranger to the battlefield, Sorn also bent over the body. "Yes, but he was different before. He had on half-plate leather armor, Aruldusk cut, and carried a bow, arrows, and a sword." He touched a finger of the right hand. "See here, this man was clutching a pommel when he died."

"Where's the sword?" Quentin took a quick scan of the surrounding countryside. The treetops closed in around them, the clearing was the only open space to be seen.

"Check his hand." Soren picked up the limp member. "See how it is powdered white?" He gestured to other points on the body. "There and there, bruising from wearing armor, but again, all I see is that white powder."

"Like the skeletons. They turned to powder. But somehow I doubt they were working together.”

"I think I’ve seen this before.” Sorn wracked his memory. “It was a Karnathi Death-Spell. Anyone killed by the undead soldiers were raised by fell magic as more wraith-warriors.” He shivered. “Nasty stuff. Bet you wish you had that elf cleric with you now, instead of a half-bit lousy old scout like me.”

“Sorn, the attack was a magical- I doubt you could have predicted it. You had already spotted these men; you shouldn’t feel bad about the ambush.”

“Maybe.” Sorn tried to sound cheerful, but guilt gnawed at his gut. He should have been closer to the party; he should have seen this coming.

"The Thrane Inquisition is very diligent about rooting out old burial mounds," Quinten said. “That was one of their big issues with Karnath during the war- the use of undead. I wonder why this crypt, wherever it is, wasn’t found?”

"But what about this town we are going to. You said it was destroyed in the War."

"A Death-Curse? Massive enough to level an entire village in one go?"

"I've seen stranger things." Soren bent down. A strange tattoo had been sliced in half by a particularly nasty blow. "What's this?"

"Mark of the Aurum." Quinten said grimly. "So it was them." To himself he muttered, “Not going to like this.”

"You sound bitter." Soren looked up at his larger companion. There was something strange in his expression, but he couldn't quite figure out what it meant.

The half-elf was about to reply, but a shout from the direction of the twins made him turn. They jogged quickly to meet up with the others.

There was a little farm stead. It was gone to ruins, grown over by ivy, saplings shooting up in the back plot where a garden must have been. The stones were torn from one side of the building, but it mostly looked deserted. Chalk-white powder was everywhere on the ground.

“Look at this! I think we may be near the outskirts of the town.” Hal gestured them over.

“It looks like it’s been deserted for some time.” Kol remarked. “Since before the end of the War, even.

“Looks like you were right, Sorn.” Quinten gestured to the ground, where the powder lay. “The skeletons resting place. If this was part of the town, it makes sense that the death-curse would extend this far out.” In one part of the wall was a small hallow, a little shrine area. Quinten reached inside his pack, and pulled out the little statuette, replacing it in the alcove. It slid into place as if it had always been there.

The air around the little house shivered, and abruptly the chill in the air lifted. The sun beat down on their heads again, and brightness came back into the air. Somehow, the sudden brightness after the previous events was even more foreboding.

Kol was the first to break the silence. “Let’s head out.” He said.

Sorn whistled for his Soariel companion, worry nagging his bones. He should have been there to warn the band- as scout, it was his job to watch out for dangers like this. It didn't help that no one else blamed him. Death-spells were notoriously tricky to spot by mundane means, but still.

Sorn pushed his goggles down. It wouldn't happen again, not on his watch. There was a rocky cliff face near the abandoned cottage. Taking a running leap off the edge, Sorn spent a breathless three seconds in free fall before Tera was under him. Together they labored upward, to gain altitude, a grim new determination in their eyes.