"That's what the message from Lothian said?" Imra asked. "That's all?"
"All that relates to Manaugh. There was also news that Queen Morgause has another son - and is fostering a son of Kiritan," Laoraighll reported. "Reep was not pleased by the news."
Imra nodded. "Any alliance between the Kentish Khunds and Lothian does not seem like good tidings." Changing the subject, she added, "So let's review what we know."
"The Pictish village of Angtough, according to the assassin, had a pledge from Auley to remain in Pictish hands, in exchange for help against the Khunds. Angtough was a key strategic spot on its peninsula, essentially blocking Scot colonization to the lands beyond, thus many Pict tribes no doubt supported this deal."
"So why would Auley sell them out?" Imra asked.
"Maybe he didn't," Laoraighll said. "But someone did. The massacre of the village was thorough and complete - whoever did it knew the village inside and out."
"How would the Scots know? A traitor among the Picts?"
"Maybe," the Ulsterwoman said. "Maybe I betray my own kin-ties, my queen, but I... I don't believe it was Scots."
"Go on."
"The massacre happened in the early winter. An entire village raided and scorched. Same methodology we've seen in Kent, Cymru and Lesser Britain. Not Scots, not Northmen, not Khunds. Roxxius," Laoraighll concluded. "James has not seen enough of his handiwork to know, but I would. So would Thom."
"And we can spare neither of you, with the raider's attacks growing more frequent and more brazen. Meanwhile, this assassin stalks Lot, Morgause, Auley's young children from his recent wife, all of Morgause's children..."
"And who knows how many of Lot's bastards?" the Ulsterwoman added. "Half of Lothian could be killed by misplaced vengeance."
"What was it MacKell said? Manaugh admitted gaining this strange power from the Cailleach?" the queen asked.
"Aye. IF the word of a murderer is an honest one."
"Then let's ask the goddess herself. Shall we?"
[ December 26, 2005, 07:04 PM: Message edited by: Hey you ]
From: Vancouver, BC, Canada | Registered: Dec 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Notes 118 to 124 and I-6 to I-10. Note: I've gone back and added "Book i" and Book II" descriptions at chapters 1 and 61, hence Book III at 121. Likewise Interlude sections now have umbrella titles. 118: In Arthurian lore, Lot did take part in the rebellion, but settled down and became ally for quite awhile. 119: I couldn't not make the subs knights, just as the pre-boot subs never made sense - you had guys like Chuck and Tenzil, but people with more useful powers were excluded? The inexperience/uncontrolled excuse only lasts so long, once they proved their mettle. 120: In Arthurian lore, Merlin is actually out pretty early on. The same does not apply, of course, to Mordru in LSH lore.. I-6: Aside from Vidar, these are all historical figures, and even Vidar's role he was historical, via Bishop Peter of Altinum. In a nutshell, Festus and his faction want stronger ties to what is becoming the eastern Orthodox church, while the larger faction wants the western church, the Catholic Church, to be separate. Guess which wins? Anyway, at this point, each faction has their own pope, a not uncommon practice at times when Rome was very factional. I-7: Whatever Rome looked like back then (and it was a period of shambles), I envisioned the Palatine Hill area of Rome as my inspiration here. If you're ever in Rome, it's an area of beautiful Roman ruins next to the Coliseum. I-8: Festus, as I've said before, was real. Other than his politics, not much is known about him, but a rural villa in Lazio (the countryside around Rome) isn't unreasonable, but his Tuscan origins are my own invention. I-9: Just can't separate that trio, can you? I-10: Kenzius obviously isn’t historical; the church bits are. 121: James' Arthurian counterpart may be more obvious by now. 122: Poor Querl. My kingdom for a force-field. 123: Nuff said, for now. 124: I've been meaning to get to Tinya's alienation ad back to the Green Knight. As previously promised, the latter's about to go somewhere different than just another slugfest, as is hopefully evident here. Lindum is Lincoln and Eboracum is York. I think I've said that before, but consider yourselves reminded.
[ December 26, 2005, 07:06 PM: Message edited by: Hey you ]
From: Vancouver, BC, Canada | Registered: Dec 2003
| IP: Logged |
"How can you say that after how you've treated him?"
"Will you two calm down! Luornu, you quit him. Lu, he did seduce her for her body with no regard for anything else about her. There's blame enough to share," Laurentia said decisively.
"Hmmph. She let him have her honour, and now claims foul?" Lu grumbled.
"Enough!" Laurentia barked.
Luornu sighed. "I guess I shouldn't complain if he takes after Zendak's daughter. I just thought better of him."
"Thinking better of men gets you alone and with a big belly," sneered Lu. Seeing Laurentia's ire and Luornu's welling tears, she added, "I mean that only as concern for your well-being, sister. Young women can't just lie around as they choose, not among civilized folk."
"I know that. I just thought..." she broke down into sobs.
"Sister," Laurentia said, with a sinking feeling. "You're not...?"
"Do we not feel each other's pains anymore? What do you think?" Luornu shrieked before resuming her sobs.
Lu, at a loss for words, just held her.
Laurentia paced, struggling for what to say. It was then that she noticed the red rash growing on her arms.
No, not just hers - her sisters,' too.
[ December 26, 2005, 07:08 PM: Message edited by: Hey you ]
From: Vancouver, BC, Canada | Registered: Dec 2003
| IP: Logged |
The kitchen staff gave Ayla odd look, as she scoured every nook and cranny of the palace kitchens.
There was no sign of the little faerie anywhere.
Despite her initial embarrassment and dislike of the faerie magic incident, she had come to understand that the little pixie meant to help. Unfortunately, she could not find her attempted benefactor to share these thoughts.
She went over all the stories Reep had told her of Saihlough. "If I were a faerie, I'd..."
She smiled, thinking of a tale Rokk had once told.
Ayla left the palace, and followed the streets along the river to the Druidic groves.
"Saihlough!" she called, navigating her way through the tall hedges. "Little faerie, where are you?"
"Saihlough's had enough of humans," said a little voice. Although disguised, Ayla knew it must be her.
"Then could you tell her I'm sorry? We're all sorry?"
"Sorry doesn't mend hearts."
"Yes it does, eventually. We were hurt by what Saihlough did, but with her 'sorry,' and some time to dwell on it, we realized she intended no ill."
There was no response.
"Will you tell her?" Ayla tried once more.
"You will go now," the voice responded.
Disappointed, she left, itching herself as she walked down the street. Do the Druids line their groves with poison plants? Why do I itch so? Please let it not be more faerie magic.
[ December 26, 2005, 07:09 PM: Message edited by: Hey you ]
From: Vancouver, BC, Canada | Registered: Dec 2003
| IP: Logged |
Jonah and the city guard fared reasonably well, but they faced a foe who had stealthily entered city walls, fought well in close quarters, knew where to strike, and had mastered an art of diversion.
For each company of city guard that engaged the enemy, there were six that were misdirected - sent down the wrong street. Some companies found themselves charging each other.
Jonah was among those who did find the enemy, but even after successfully slaying the first few of a large group of the raiders, he would turn to find himself alone with the corpses.
Three times he tracked and engaged, and three times the main cluster of invaders escaped him. By nightfall, it seems they had vanished as stealthily as they had come,
Jonah stewed; it should not have gone this way. Word was already dispatched to Londinium, and he himself had requested MacKell to join him here in Lindum.
"What will MacKell do that you cannot?" Tinya asked, trying to ease his mind.
"He can take over my duties here," Jonah told her. "Roxxius cannot be stopped from this side of the walls - no matter if he strikes Londinium herself!"
"What are you planning?"
Jonah smiled. "For this to work, you must tell no one..."
[ December 26, 2005, 07:12 PM: Message edited by: Hey you ]
From: Vancouver, BC, Canada | Registered: Dec 2003
| IP: Logged |
Rokk knocked before entering. He cautiously entered the ladies' salon, calling out for his wife.
"K-King Rokk!" Siobhan struggled to her feet. Every visible inch of skin was reddened from itching.
"Rest, lass. Pray tell, where is my queen?"
"She and Laoraighll went to Mysa's quarters. To find answers, they said."
He lifted her, and carried her to her bed. Her sister Virginia was already bed-ridden, and just as red.
"Rest, lass," he told her.
Striding the hall with a hasteful step, Rokk saw MacKell and Thom, and snapped for them to follow.
He kicked open Mysa's door, to find Imra sprawled unconscious on a candle-lined floor, and Laoraighll poised obliviously at the window.
"Lar Chulain. My love," she said an otherworldly voice.
"Morrigu." MacKell replied flatly.
"I prefer Cailleach, here in Britain."
"What have you done to the women-folk?" Rokk demanded, reaching for his sword. MacKell grabbed his arm.
"A king you may be. For now. But I am goddess forever." She turned to face them for the first time. "These foolishe girls thought to force answers from me. Answers have a price."
"What price, my lady?" MacKell managed.
"That is mine to know, for now. This plague will run its course, and mayhap your little priestess-girls will think twice before summoning the Crone."
That can't be all she wants, MacKell thought, thinking the better than saying it.
"The rest shall be apparent in its own time." She walked over and kissed MacKell. "Farewell for now, my sweet."
With that, Laoraighll collapsed onto him, developing red splotches.
Imra, starting to wake, heard Rokk say, "My wife must be a queen, not a sorceress. I have been very tolerant of the way of Avalon, but she is banned form any form of magicks without my direct and expressed consent."
Foolish woman, Imra scolder herself. How quickly out-of-practice I have become! Maybe it's for the best, she thought. Why am I so itchy?
[ December 26, 2005, 07:15 PM: Message edited by: Hey you ]
From: Vancouver, BC, Canada | Registered: Dec 2003
| IP: Logged |
"Can you believe the word from Lindum? Sir Jonah -Gawaine himself- has turned traitor? He allowed Roxxius entry into the very citadel!"
"No, I can't believe it," Nura said, not letting on what she had already envisioned.
King Marcus paced about, absorbing the news. "Even luring MacKell to the north - and attacking him! What madness is this?"
A gusty wind buffered Tintagel and its castle. A storm was coming. Nura usually loved the intense beauty, passion and anger of storms, but she now shivered in anticipation. She knew something bad was coming - and even worse, she knew she was hiding something from herself about it.
Looking out to sea, they saw the village fishermen landing their boats.
"You hide yourself well, but I know you want to know if there is word of Thom," Marcus said with a sneer, misreading her apprehension. "You would do well to remember who you are wed to."
Nura was taken aback. She didn't have to ask about Thom -she knew all was well enough. "I have never given you cause-"
"SILENCE, woman! I'll hear none of your lies!" he shouted, smacking her across the face.
"Roxxius," she said, oblivious to the slap. Marcus knew what her look meant.
"What did you say?"
"Roxxius. He's coming," she said. "He's coming here!"
"With the storm looming?" Marcus said, incredulously. "Who in their senses would-"
Stopping himself, he called for the captain of his guard, barking orders to be ready, and to have the villagers flee inland.
Nura shivered with a fear she'd long wrestled, never knowing when it would materialize. A deep dread crawled up her spine, paralyzing her, making her vomit and shiver spastically.
"For God's sake, woman!" Marcus shook his head, and left her, to see to the futile defenses. Tintagel was strategically sound - but only against conventional foes.
"No, it doesn't happen here, and it's worse if there's no offering," Nura told herself, looking around the salon. She walked up to their bed chambers, and to the secret chamber beyond, where Marcus kept his most valuable treasures.
She lifted the orb Marcus had taken from Laoraighll's cache last spring. "You're not his main goal, but you'll be his soon, won't you? The Stone of Virtue."
Nura picked up a jeweled dagger - a gift, Marcus said, from King Jonn of Pasnic. She considered her options; none looked good. "No, I must survive intact. For Thom," she said, tossing the dagger aside.
She closed the door and waited, watching the battle as it neared, seeing it before hearing it.
In 10 minutes, Marcus' men would spy Roxxius' ships passing the rocky shoals, heading right into Tintagel Bay...
Within the half-hour, the first raiding party would surprise Marcus’ men, still watching the ships. The battle would go poorly...
Within the hour, Marcus would receive the wound that would ensure that Thom was his sole heir... but wait! Geraint? A name, no more. A usurper? Too far into the-
"-Future, I'd suggest you awaken and cooperate," said the figure before her. As she expected, the secret chamber was breached, and a half-dozen raiders stood before her.
"You are Roxxius," she said, quietly.
"I am. Hand me the stone, and I spare your life."
She complied.
"Now. Where is the San Graal? Aid me, and I shall spare you any other permanent harm."
"And shall your men so spare me?" She saw through his escape clause.
"And my men," he smiled. She is wiser than most.
"I can see that what I consider harm, you do not," she winced in anticipation.
"Perhaps. But I think we can both agree that scarring that pretty face would be a permanent harm. Temporary... inconveniences are less traumatic. The priests tell me it's not a sin if you don't enjoy it," he snarled.
Unbuckling himself, he said, "Now, the Graal? Can I put away my dagger?"
"I know not. But I can tell you that Sir Jonah -Gawaine- does know."
"And where do I find him?"
"...He fled Lindum a week or more ago. They say he aided your conquest."
"Where is he now?" He held the blade closer.
"I-I... Orkney. His family has holdings there."
"That wasn't so hard, was it?" he smiled, stoking her cheek.
True to his word, he sheathed his dagger.
True to his word, what followed was not permanent - physically, at least, and Nura's only solace that with Marcus wounded, she'd not have to suffer any unwanted touch for many years.
Again, the name came to her. Geraint.
She reached out into the future, to a time when Thom, shy and uncertain, would finally kiss her, pull her robe off... No, his caution and gentleness did not fit Roxxius' brutality.
Further ahead - angry words were said, and reconciliation with Thom was a passionate fury. Yes, here, she could hide herself in. The future could be safe, and she no longer had to dread when the stranger in the treasure room would appear...
[ December 26, 2005, 07:17 PM: Message edited by: Hey you ]
From: Vancouver, BC, Canada | Registered: Dec 2003
| IP: Logged |
The woods of North Cymru are dark and deep, but Balan found them not deep enough to hide from himself.
His iron helmet, which he never once removed at court, was tossed aside, rusting a little more in each morning dews and drizzles.
Each morning, he washed his face in the brook. But one morning early in the spring, he'd seen one of the Bean-Nighe, the faerie-women who wash the blood-stained clothes of those about to die. She washed the one of the identical tunics that he and his brother wore.
"I shall never again leave these woods," he vowed, "else my brother find me, and one kills the other on account of my madness. Let my ugly face scare off any who would trespass here."
And so he passed the weeks: hunting, fishing, mending his cloak as best he could, and sturdying the little hut he'd made for himself, that he could winter in it. The few people he'd see, he'd easily scare off, and his hut was well-hidden than none knew where he slept.
So it came as a surprise, washing his hideous face this morning, to see a reflection of a beautiful woman behind him.
"Haaarrggghhh!" he shouted, turning fast to scare her off.
She smiled. "Good Sir Balan, you need not play the ogre with me," she laughed.
"If you know me, you know that I am a villain."
"You struck down an evil sorceress that has ensnared the soul of King Rokk," she said. "You are to be commended. True Christian soldiers are not many on this isle."
He knew his deeds had been wrong, though, as tempting as it was to hear her excusal.
"Leave me be, lady. I deserve no charity."
"Charity? No. I'm offering you a chance to prove yourself to your Lord and God."
"My lady? Forgive me for saying, but you look like no sister of God I've ever seen."
She smiled. "Your eyes are a-right. I am no nun; I am a queen. Come with me to my island-nation, and help me build a strong Christian kingdom in this sea of paganism.'
"Y-Your isle? Eiru?"
"Nay, nothing to grand," she laughed. "The Isle of Man."
He backed away. "Then you are the sorceress Glorith!" He reached for his sword.
"Aye. But I've found Iesous, and repented. If you believe me not, then strike me down, that my redemption may be judged by my lord."
She knelt before him, with hands outstretched, as if to welcome his sword-strike.
He hesitated, and she knew she had him.
"You speak truly, don't you?" he was still cautious.
"I am. Please, let me show you the churches we have built. My ship is not far."
[ December 26, 2005, 07:18 PM: Message edited by: Hey you ]
From: Vancouver, BC, Canada | Registered: Dec 2003
| IP: Logged |
"If you're not helping, then stay OUT OF MY WAY!" Dyrk shouted.
The seas were getting rougher, and Dyrk was steering them away from the coast.
"But Dyrk, we're heading out to sea," Garth insisted.
"The bay of Portus Magnus is wide indeed, but we shall reach the isle of Vectis. Must I remind you that King Rokk placed this effort under my command?"
So redressed, the knights returned to their stations.
Lu shook her head. "There is Vectis," she pointed. With the rocky waves and ocean sprays, it was difficult to see, but it did appear like a distant island.
Garth nodded. Helping Kentish Khund refugees of Roxxius' latest attack settle was one thing, and as unseemly the prospect of expanding Khund settlement west of Portus Magnus, the likelihood of being tossed by storms out in the open Channel was even less appealing.
Glancing back, the other boats still followed.
"Kent is under my watch," Thom reminded Dyrk, "and I say we turn for that island!"
"You're just jealous. Trying to undermine me," Dyrk snarled. "I want you all off my boat! NOW!"
The trio looked at each other. Did Dyrk really expect them to jump ship out in the bay?
"Calm down, all. Dyrk is right," said the priest. "We'd best do this his way."
"Thanks, nameless!" Dyrk smiled. At least someone appreciated-
As the priest put his hand reassuringly on Dyrk's shoulder, suddenly the knight grew drowsy, and could no longer stand up.
"He's been on too many duty assignments in a row, He needs rest," the priest said.
Garth and Thom looked at each other. They were grateful, but amazed at yet another magickal-seeming effort by the priest: he'd opened MacKell's cave, made a sword dissolve, made a sick child healthy - and now this.
Lu, in the meantime, ordered the boat around, that they could make landfall before the storm grew too fierce.
[ December 26, 2005, 07:20 PM: Message edited by: Hey you ]
From: Vancouver, BC, Canada | Registered: Dec 2003
| IP: Logged |
Imra asked herself that question over and over, as the fever burned her brain. Beren was the only one who could stand to be near her, as she projected her pain outward.
"Hush, child," he soothingly said, feeding her more of a honeyish elixir, the only thing that seemed to calm her.
All the other ladies of the court - and a number in outer Londinium afflicted - were now recovered. Except the queen.
Soothed by the honey, she drifted back into sleep - but not the sleep of fanciful dreams, but into a realm of True Dreams, a crystal-clear reality her teachers had spoken of. She was standing in the city. Londinium looked different - but Londinium it was not.
"Rome," she whispered to herself. But not the Rome since Vandal conquest - Rome as it had been, marble and pristine, perhaps in Augustus' time.
"Hello, child," said a voice.
"Who is there?"
An imposing figure in a purple robe, with face -if any- obscured appeared before her. "Welcome to my realm."
"You are master of Rome?"
"I am master of all. I am Terminus.
"Jupiter, Saturn, Apollo, Janus, Diana, the Caesars, all gods come and go, and bow before me as they fade. So shall the Christian's one-god, someday."
"Terminus, the Roman god of boundaries," Imra said, recalling her lessons.
"The Romans were the first to name me, t'is true, but I have always been here. I will always be here, at the end of all things."
"I am dying, then? I am entering your realm?"
"Not today. I just wanted to meet you. You shall be my agent in the world you know."
"And if I say, 'no?'"
"A choice, it was not. We will meet again."
Imra awoke in a start, the fever broken. What did he mean, I would be his agent?
[ December 26, 2005, 07:21 PM: Message edited by: Hey you ]
From: Vancouver, BC, Canada | Registered: Dec 2003
| IP: Logged |
"Absolutely. Three separate sources -all reliable- affirm that Roxxius has a stronghold at Oilean Ard Neimheadh - Newath's Island, in the south-west of Eiru," Reep reported.
"And - he is paying hefty tribute to Coirpre mac Neill, the high king at Tara," L'ile added. "We can expect him to have Irish allies."
Rokk nodded. "I want Laoraighll and MacKell here as soon as possible, as our Eiru experts. Dispatch Genni to Lindum to send for him, and... bid Sir Derek to take his place in overseeing Anglia, as soon as he is able to take command.
"Send word by horse to Marcus and Nura in Tintagel, that we shall need to consult en route with Nura on Coirpre mac Neill. She'll know him better than Laoraighll, I'll wager," he continued.
"Have the fleet at Portus Magnus readied, and the cavalry stand guard here in Londinium. With the fleet dispatched, I want them ready for any Khund who seeks to profit from Roxxius' distraction."
Querl entered just as Rokk finished the last. "Ah, good, Querl. I want you to supervise the installation of your Computus on my flagship at Portus Magnus. We shall see how it fares against a most deadly of foes."
Irish allies? thought Rokk. Perhaps I can find another ally for our cause.
[ December 26, 2005, 07:23 PM: Message edited by: Hey you ]
From: Vancouver, BC, Canada | Registered: Dec 2003
| IP: Logged |
The palace seemed empty. Those who hadn't left with Rokk were either out at the coastal forts or drilling with the cavalry.
Even Laurentia, Tenzil and Carolus were tending to the field units.
Luornu never felt so alone.
She strolled the empty halls of the palace, absent-mindedly rubbing her hand over her belly. The sickness had cost her more than a nasty spell of itches and fevers.
She had not wished for a child, but now that it was gone, she missed it, and felt nothing but guilt - for everything. For her affair with Dyrk. For being unwed and pregnant. For the shame she would have brought on Guinevere's court. For wishing her own child dead and gone - and mostly, for getting her wish.
She quietly sobbed in the hall. There was no one to give comfort. No one-
"Lady Luornu? What ails you?" It was Zendak's brat, Virginia.
"Nothing I'll share with you. Please leave me."
The only other soul in this palace, and it had to be her.
"If you are jealous because Sir Dyrk-"
"LEAVE ME!"
The girl scampered away, near tears.
"Would you treat all as such, who wish to unburden your heart?" the queen asked.
"My lady! I did not hear-"
"Rokk complains that these halls too easily muffle footsteps," she smiled. "Would you tell me your ills?" she asked tenderly.
"I... have been the harlot. I let a knight get me with child. The fever took it," she sobbed.
The queen nodded. "I, too, lost a child. Now I have two infant souls on my conscience."
"You? But it was my sin-"
"Hush," the queen ordered, choosing her words carefully with such a devoutly Christian lady. "The plague could have been prevented... I failed us all. I... can say no more of it, but for all it's value, I am to blame, and if I can be so brazen, I hope to someday earn your forgiveness."
She wants my forgiveness? Oh, what burdens can she possibly bear?
"B-Before the king left, I strolled out late in the even to see Querl's Computus, that which almost took my sister's life. I stood before it, wishing it would take me. If I knew how to operate it..." Luornu trailed off into tears once more.
"You Christians place that as a grave offence," the queen stated. Luornu nodded.
"Do not give up so easily what so many have fought so hard for. You think you carry burdens? Let me tell you of two sisters, Guinevere and Jeka, and a third girl thrown into the mix..."
[ December 26, 2005, 07:25 PM: Message edited by: Hey you ]
From: Vancouver, BC, Canada | Registered: Dec 2003
| IP: Logged |
Querl frowned. "As I feared. The Computus must be anchored on land to be effective."
"Then do so," Rokk said. "We shall make landfall, and Thom's men shall secure the perimeter."
He wasn't about to send another team to make a frontal assault - not after Lar's team failed, and was slowly making its way back to their boat - sitting ducks out in the mossy terrain.
With the second boat landed and the Computus being moved, all appeared in order. Within minutes, Lar, Garth, Reep and L'ile could reach the safety that the rocky shore offered.
"Demons!" shouted Dyrk. "What magicks are these?"
Startled, the Rokk and the others turned to see bolts of fire flying out at their comrades.
"Madness!" Rokk shouted. "Ready the archers. We must provide cover!"
Several volleys of archers proved ineffective. A wall of fire now stood between Lar's force and the boats - and the blasts were getting loser to hitting the boats.
"King Rokk!" Lu blurted. "If we faked a frontal assault, it could distract the fiends long enough to-"
"-Let Stigandr get the knights across the fire, aye. But I'll go alone. I cannot ask anyone else to risk themselves." Rokk said. After giving Stig his assignment, he drew his sword, ready to charge - only to find Thom and Lu ready and waiting.
"No! I forbid it!"
"Three make a better distraction than one," Thom rebutted.
Rokk nodded, reluctantly accepting the truth. "We charge for 50 yards, and stop. By then, either our distraction will work, or it won't serve anyone to go forward."
They nodded. Joined by the camp in a battle cry, the charge began - only to be met by a bolt of fire.
"King Rokk is down!" Berach shouted.
A second bolt hit the Computus, knocking Querl and Loomius down.
"It's up to us then," said the Northman, eyeing the tower. I pray this is not suicide, he thought.
[ December 26, 2005, 07:26 PM: Message edited by: Hey you ]
From: Vancouver, BC, Canada | Registered: Dec 2003
| IP: Logged |
I've had Roxxius' boat land not far from where Cradelmant surrendered, Jonah noted, hoping any sentries noted the symbolism.
"How far to Londinium?" Roxxius growled. He still didn't trust this supposed 'rogue knight,' but this was the first man he knew who could lead him to the San Graal.
"If we had horses, we could arrive within the hour. So it shall be by afternoon," Jonah replied. Long enough for King Rokk to set a trap, he mentally sneered.
"Maybe slightly less," said Roxxius, as a strange mist enveloped them.
Is this how he enters fortresses unseen? Jonah wondered, following his employer.
The terrain around seemed blurry. When the blur faded -if not the mist- they were within Londinium's walls!
"Which way is the palace?" asked the raider.
Jonah looked around. "There!" He pointed to the Mithraeum, the most impressive building within immediate sight.
Taking advantage of the early morning quiet, the party avoided the market square and toward the temple. The mist let them through the walls, and into a large chamber.
"This is a temple, not a palace!" Roxxius bellowed.
"Aye, it is," replied a voice.
Even Jonah was surprised - it was the enigmatic nameless young priest.
"I understand you've been seeking me? The let your plundering of shore towns and villages end. I am yours."
"Yes, you are," Roxxius smiled. "Have Sir Gawaine killed," he told his men, before returning his attention to his quarry. "Without a guard? You are brave, if not smart."
He pulled the lad into the mists, leaving several of his men behind to fight Jonah.
"King Rokk left to lay siege to your lair in Eiru, but I knew you'd come here," said the priest. "Now I ask information of you. Why do you seek me? I am but god's servant."
"You are a wizard who can make me gold. Some say you are of God's bloodline, but I care only for gold."
"Sang Real? The holy blood? T'is true I have been gifted by God, but-"
"-Enough. You shall make me gold. You shall surround me in gold, and I shall at last rest!"
They arrived back at the boat, and Roxxius ordered it out to sea.
An hour out, the boat began to sink.
"Bail! Turn about! We shall return to shore and mend!" the raider bellowed.
But the bow was descending below the waves, and the oar-men complained that the oars were heavy, and falling apart.
"What have you done?" Roxxius bellowed at his captive.
"I gave you your wish," he said. The morning sun was finally clearing the clouds, and the entire boat glistened as only one metal does.
"You've killed us all!"
"Nay. I followed your wish," said the priest, walking away - atop the waves. "Rest well," he said, before turning away.
Roxxius opened his pouch of mists - but it. too was full of gold dust, not the magicks his love had given him. His boots weighed heavily as the salt water overtook him.
[ December 26, 2005, 07:27 PM: Message edited by: Hey you ]
From: Vancouver, BC, Canada | Registered: Dec 2003
| IP: Logged |
Hyperpath: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic | Subscribe To Topic
