[Mkguild] MK story - 3 of a Kind 4th and finale part!

[Chris]

Here is the fourth and final part!

   Enjoy!
   Comments and suggestions are welcome!

   Chris
   The Lurking Fox


*************


   It began simply enough. Terrant needed a message taken to Nestorious and
wanted Stealth to deliver it. The old woman at the front door of the manor
was as rude and blunt as she had been the last time. "Why are you bothering
me again?" she snapped. "You know where the servants entrance is. USE IT!"

   It took Stealth ten minutes to find the servants entrance. Finally he
located a small doorway tucked in around a corner of the manor that
Nestorius called home. Slowly the cheetah opened the door revealing a
stairway leading downwards into darkness.

   After a few minutes of walking Stealth found himself stepping up a
tightly curving circular stairway. Soon he came to a small wooden doorway.
Stealth pushed it open slowly and found himself in a small hallway. The
floor was of bare wood varnished to a dull glow. The hallway itself was
lined with countless doors all looking exactly like the one he had just come
through. He looked up and down the corridor for a moment trying to decide
where to go next.

   "HEY! You're not permitted in this area!" a voice called out suddenly.

   Turning to the sound Stealth found himself looking at a tall, male wolf
morph dressed impeccably in fine a silk waist coat and pants. "I am looking
for . . "

   "I am Sir Hedgwick. Address me properly peasant!" the wolf growled
harshly. "And bow your head when you speak to me."

   Stealth suppressed the anger rising in him. "Sir. I am looking for . . "

    "Keep quiet," the wolf interrupted. "I will fetch the chamberlain. "Wait
here till someone summons you." With those words the wolf spun about and
stalked off.

   The cheetah morph made a guttural snarl revealing a muzzle full of very
sharp teeth. "That's it! I'M leaving this place! NOW!"


*********************


   Edmund could hear his friend muttering to himself and snarling as he
walked up the steps to the barracks. Terry had been waiting at the gate to
the keep when Edmund had arrived back from a patrol. All Terry would say was
that Stealth was upset and had been waiting to meet with Edmund for several
hours. Just the look of concern on her face was enough to set the paladin to
running across the courtyard and into the barracks.

   He walked into the barracks and looked around. In one corner he found his
friend. Stealth muttering and snarling as he packed all his possessions into
a backpack. "You are not permitted in this area, address me properly, wait
until summoned."

   "What's wrong?" Edmund asked. He had never seen his friend so agitated.

   "Use the Servant's stairs, don't enter that passage way, take your leave
in the servant's quarters..." Stealth snarled as he paced back and forth
across the room.

   "Relax Stealth. Please calm down and be more coherent," Edmund pleaded.
"Has Nestorius really treated you so badly?"

   "YES!" Stealth snarled baring his teeth. "Do you know what wild cheetahs
do?" He asked coldly, "When they see a carriage they take a dump on it for
some reason..." the cheetah said and continued pacing.

   When Edmund raised his eye ridge Stealth continued, "I hope I go wild
someday. I'll shit all over that guy's carriage. Extra points if I make a
mess on his mane." Stealth growled angrily.

   Edmund placed a hand on his friends shoulder. "Calm down Stealth! I'm
sure this is not intentional."

   "How would YOU know?! You're not the one being treated like a door mat!
I've had enough of this. I'm leaving," Stealth wheeled about and started for
the door.

   Edmund grabbed his friend by the arm. "I need you here Stealth," Edmund
said earnestly.

   "I . . ." Stealth stuttered and fell silent.

   "My friend. This mage has snubbed me as well. Not once but several
times," Edmund answered in a cold tone. "I have yet to actually meet him.
None of my people have. He has been deliberately avoiding me. It is time I
meet with this mage. I am tired of his silly antics. I will talk to him
today and correct these habits of his.

   "Do not leave just yet," the paladin asked. "Let me speak with Nestorius
first. See what this lion is truly like."

   "All right," Stealth said reluctantly.

   "And if he's still as arrogant afterward. Well. Then you can shit all
over his carriage."


***********************


   He found Marcia in one of the many storerooms in the keep. The woman
turned and smiled when she saw the paladin approaching.

   "I will see Lord Nestorius!" Edmund said calmly.

   "I'm sorry but ."

   "NOW!" Edmund said in the cold tones of a leader interrupting the
castellan.

   "But Sir Edmund . . "

   The paladin put his hand over the woman's mouth, silencing her. "That was
not a request," he said in a hard tone that was both surprising and
frightening.

   Marcia removed the feline's hand gently. "Perhaps an appointment could be
arraigned," Marcia answered slowly. There was a look of surprise and fear on
her face.

   "If I do not see him before nightfall my troop and I will leave. And I
will report Nestorius's rude and arrogant behavior to Duke Thomas
personally," Edmunds snarled.

   "Edmund, what's so serious?" she asked.

   "His arrogant behavior is to stop now. He is commander of this fortress
not some mysterious mage living on a mountain top. It is time he start being
a commander and commanders lead in person!"

   "You wouldn't leave over something so trivial," the woman said.

   "TRIVIAL?" Edmund snarled. "He has constantly insulted me and my people,
treating us like low mannered servants. And his treatment of my friend
Stealth is unacceptable."

   "Sir Edmund we can work this out . . " 

   "Nightfall," was all Edmund said.

   "You are bluffing," Marcia countered.

   "I am a paladin. I don't bluff and I do not lie," Edmund said calmly.

   Marcia nodded slowly. "All right Sir Edmund. Follow me please."


********************


   "Lord Nestorius Sentilus will see you now," Marcia said. "Please follow
me." She turned and walked out of the room.

   Edmund followed after her and into the next room.

   This room was a lot larger then the previous one and a lot more lavishly
furnished. Expensive tapestries lined the walls and valuable carpets covered
the floor. The furniture was of a zebra striped wood and lavishly carved.

   Nestorius was standing with his back to Edmund and was looking out a
small window. He was dressed in a silk robe of dark red that was covered
with elaborate runes and sigils. His mane had gold and silver rings and
ribbons woven into it. But the lion morph's clothes were almost unseen by
Edmund. All he had eyes for was Nestorius himself. He had seen many lions in
his life and had even seen several keepers who had that as their curse given
form. But what was so unique about this lion morph was his coloring.
Nestorius was entirely black. Not just his mane as all male lions were but
his entire body. Every single strand of fur on his body was as black as ink.
No feline he had ever seen had such coloring except for the panthers in the
southern jungles.

   "My apologies for bothering you Sir Sentilus but there is the matter of
your treatment of my people," Edmund said in a calm, firm voice.

   "You mean the messenger," Nestorius answered in a haughty tone without
turning around.

   "Stealth is a good friend of mine. I do not appreciate your misuse of him
or any of my people," Edmund said in a cold tone.

   "Your people," the lion snarled. "You and your people will be gone from
here in another two weeks and be replaced by another group. And in a month
they will be gone too! Groups like yours come, eat our food, drink our wine
and then ride a few circles around our home and then complain of how hard
your duty is. Leaving my people and me to do the real patrolling and
guarding."

   "My people are not like that," Edmund countered. "I am not like that. I
serve the Duke but I serve the Great One first. I came here to fight the
evil I've seen. My oath is to fight evil not drink wine and take casual
rides through the woods. My oaths forbid it."

   The lion nodded. "Your people have done better then I have seen in a long
time." He turned to face Edmund and cast his cold, calm gaze onto the
paladin. The lion's calm demeanor vanished in an instant and he recoiled
from Edmund as if the paladin had sprouted tentacles and attacked. "You are
a holy warrior and a cheetah!" Nestorius stuttered slowly as he took a step
back.

   Edmund looked down at his thin spotted cheetah body and nodded. "Yes I
am. So? Why are you so upset?"

   "I  . . " The lion shook his head, his mane flapping around. He smoothed
the front of his robe with his hands for a moment. "I was caught off guard.
I was aware that you were a paladin but not that your species was cheetah."

   "If you had met with me when I arrived this surprise would not have
happened," Edmund commented coldly.

   Nestorious shook his head. "I did not think it important enough.
Sometimes I forget who I am and think only of the power and my position.
Pride is a failing of myself and many mages. It has gotten me into trouble
in the past and it still does."

   Edmund shrugged. "We all have our failings."

   Nestorius slowly nodded and extended his left hand. "I do apologize for
my poor treatment of you and your people. Especially Stealth."

   Edmund grasped the mage's hand with his own and shook it. "You seem well
on your way to controlling your pride. It is an evil we all must fight
daily."

   "Thank you. I do have something very important to show you and Stealth.
Please follow me and I will explain." The lion turned and moved towards the
far wall on which hung a massive tapestry. It showed the image of a far off
snow covered mountain.

   The lion pulled aside the tapestry revealing a metal door set into the
wall. The door itself had no handle or lock. Nestorius placed his hand on
the metal and the door slid silently into the wall. "Do not touch door or
the door frame." And with that the mage stepped through and into the room
beyond. Cautiously Edmund followed being careful of what he touched..

   This new room was smaller then the previous one. It had no windows and
the only door was the one they had entered through. The walls were lined
with shelves and cupboards that held all manner of things. In the center of
the room was a large table made of a sand colored stone.

   The lion moved to a small chest that rested in one corner. Edmund could
not see exactly what Nestorius did but after a few moments of whispering and
hand gestures the chest opened. The mage removed a small metal tube and
closed the chest.

   Nestorius moved to the table and placed the tube on it. Edmund saw that
the tube was made of a metal that looked to be bronze and deep brown colored
wood tube about two feet long with caps on both ends.

   "This fortress fell to Nasoj's forces eight years ago just before the now
famous battle of the Three Gates," Nestorius explained. "Seven years ago I
was privileged enough to help free the ruins and restore it back to the
Duke's control. During the fighting a good friend of mine discovered this
tube. I believe it was deliberately hidden for us to find."

   "Us?" Edmund asked. "Meaning you and me?"

   "Meaning you, young Stealth and me," Nestorius added.

   "By who? And what makes you think it was left behind for us?"

   The mage didn't answer at first but removed the cap from one end of the
tube. He pulled an impressively large amount of documents and scrolls from
the tube and placed them on the table. Nestorius removed one document, the
largest of the group and unrolled it slowly. "I believe this will answer at
least some of your questions. And probably raise several more."

   The paper was large, about a foot wide and twice that long. On it was a
detailed map of Metamor valley done in color and in great detail. It was a
fantastic work of art. Every road, town and village was listed in great
detail.

   "Look at the figures on the top, above the map," the lion ordered and
tapped the top of the document with a clawed finger.

   Edmund's eyes wandered up the paper till they came to the top and he
spotted three figures at the center at the top, standing side by side. The
paladin gasped. Two of the figures were cheetahs! Standing on their hind
legs. The other figure was a lion. There was no doubting that mane and long
tail. He looked closer and saw details that unnerved him. The lion figure
was completely black in color. One of the cheetahs was clearly wearing the
robes of the Order of Protectors and carrying a Follower cross.

   "It seems these papers were meant for the three of us," Nestorius
commented dryly.

   "Who created all of these?" Edmund asked as he glanced at the papers.

   The lion shrugged. "I've no idea. The papers are complete in all respects
except their author. That is not recorded nor have I been able to discover
that fact."

   "Very odd," Edmund commented. "This is a monumental work that must have
taken years." The paladin unrolled a page and found a detailed map of a
Seuilman city.

   "Is this a map of the capital?" Edmund asked surprised.

   "It is. There are several maps of the city along with maps of the entire
valley," the lion explained.

   "How accurate is this?" Edmund asked as he lightly tapped the map with
his hand.

   "I have yet to find any inaccuracies in any of these maps. But I haven't
been able to fully check the details of the city. It still possesses some
formidable defenses. The spirits that still haunt it are a further
hindrance," the mage answered and paused. "And there is the shadow that
still guards the ruins."

   "I've met him," Edmund said trying to sound casual. "Several times."

   "You have?" Nestorius commented. The surprise plain to hear. "You are
lucky to have survived."

   Edmund shook his head. "Not luck. We have reached an agreement. Of
sorts."

   The lion stiffened. "It is dangerous to deal with creatures like that."

   "I am a paladin. A warrior of the Great One," Edmund said with pride. "We
deal with such things all the time."

   "I understand that," Nestorius snapped back and curled his lip in a
slight snarl. "But it is still dangerous."

   "Agreed but with the oath and gifts from the Great One comes many
responsibilities."

   "The ghosts," Nestorius stated calmly. "You are trying to free the
ghosts."

   "Indeed. They all deserve a final peace and not that vile torment,"
Edmund explained.

   "A noble undertaking," the lion said and relaxed. "Have you met with much
success?"

   "A little. I have explored portions of the ruins and the shadow has
passed along much helpful information."

   Nestorius nodded as his tail whipped back and forth. "Good. Have you
taken Stealth to the ruins?"

   Edmund shook his head vigorously. "No but if this document is correct it
seems both of our fates are intertwined with the spirit's."

   The mage pointed to the three figures. "The three of us."


   The end