[Mkguild] MK Story Part 11

[Christian Okane]

Here is part 11 of my Metamor Keep Story!


Chris
The Lurking Fox



Next Morning, before dawn

   The group that gathered near one of the larger gates of the Guild hall
was surprisingly small. Just Demarest, Carlisle, Joeline and three clerics
including Father Marchal.

   "Sir Brightleaf is not coming?" Father Marchel asked. The father was
dressed for the road and his horse was waiting patiently next to him.

   "Misha is occupied with personal issues," Carlisle explained. "And he is
not allowed into the vault." The mage was wearing a good, wool cloak over a
simple pants and tunic. Tough and sturdy traveling clothes. In one hand was
a bow as tall as he was and on his back was a quiver full of arrows.

   "It's only a short trip," Demarest said. "We should reach the forest
before nightfall."

   "How long will it take to retrieve the item?" Marchel asked. The priest
had the sense to not mention the culua by name.

   "About a day," was the guild masters response. "The security must be
dealt with cautiously."

  Madog walked around the Guild master with an odd stiff legged gate. "Hi
ho! Hi ho!" Madog sang cheerfully. "It's off to work we go!"

   "Is he coming?" Torry asked pointing to the metal fox.

   "Evidently yes," Carlisle answered.

   "Is that a wise thing to allow?" Marchel asked.

   "No," Carlisle answered. "But who's going to stop him?"

   A woman walked up to the group who Marchel recognized as the Lightbringer
priestess Azaelle Ferame. She had her hair tied tightly behind and the heavy
cloak and plain, wool dress she was wearing told the priest that this woman
would be their traveling companion.

   "Lady Ferame," Guild master Demarest said as he walked up to the two new
arrivals. "Thank you for coming."

   The priestess smiled and then pointed to her companion. "I will be
accompanying you today at Lady Delminie's behest." 

   The guild master pointed to a middle aged woman wearing a simple, tan
dress. Her hair was cut short and did not contain the usual ribbons that
most women in Marigund usually wore. "This is Mother Cassandra, she is here
on father Harson's behalf."

   The Rebuilder priestess gave a curtsy to the Lightbringer. "Welcome Lady
Ferame."

   Azaelle smiled and curtsied in reply. "Thank you. I'm pleased to meet
you."

  Standing next to Cassandra was an man wearing the black and white clothing
of a Predecessor priest. Demarest pointed to the rabbi. "And this is Andrew
Glinder who represents rabbi Arstein."

   "Now that we're all here we can start," Demarest said. "We've a difficult
journey ahead of us. I must emphasize that we must all keep our silence
about this. Speak to no one and try to act normally to avoid attracting
attention."

   Thankfully the city was still asleep at this hour and the group's journey
through town was quiet and quick. Once clear of the city the small party was
quickly joined by an unexpected guest. A black spider the size of a wolf
scuttled from a grove of trees and joined the group. Azaelle stepped out and
patted the creature on the head.

   "My apologies," the priestess said in way of explanation. "But I thought
it best to bring along some extra protection. This is Thadius. My families
trained, watch spider."

"Extra protection is always welcome," Demarest said and smiled.


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


   Thankfully the journey to the forest was short. The sun was barely
peeking over the horizon when the Forest of Tol Doron loomed up ahead. The
morning birds were happily chirping away as the group reached the end of the
road. In front of them was a tall pillar of grayish brown stone. As they got
closer he could see that the stone was covered with symbols and writing so
weathered and worn down by time as to be unrecognizable. Cassandra
recognized it as being an old Centli ritual place. Such standing stones were
common in some areas.

   Behind the pillar the forest loomed suddenly. Tall, old trees towered
over everything, their broad leaf covered branches put the world beneath
into a permanent gloom. Demarest pulled his horse to a halt suddenly. He
wheeled and faced the group. "We are now in Tol Doron. Do not stray from the
group and do not attack anything you see. We are guests here so mind your
manners."

   "Are the woods filled with these Dolmen?" Cassandra asked pointing to the
stone monument.

   "They are common," Carlisle answered. "The Centli honored these woods
long before the empire did. You've never been here before?"

   The Rebuilder priestess shook her head. "No. We've only recently arrived
in Marigund and never had the chance."

   "What do you know of this place? The automaton mage asked.

   "An old place, a small forest located entirely in Marigund," the woman
answered. "Possibly the center of a magical locus. Best known as home of the
Doron wolf. Legend has it that a great forest once covered all of the
Midlands in the distant past. Now all that is left is Elderwood, Aelfwood,
Herstel Forest and Tol Doron."

   The mage smiled. "I'm impressed, most visitors don't know even that
much."

   The woman blushed. "Thank you but my family have been mages for centuries
before coming to Marigund two years ago."

   "I see," the mage answered. She did not need to explain that her family
had fled to Marigund to avoid being killed.

   There was a quietness about the forest that muffled all sounds and
dampened all conversation. Leaves crunched loudly under each footstep.
Echoing all the louder because of the silence from all else around them. She
realized they were in an old place, somewhere that had seen the millenia
roll by unchanged.

   "I can feel a presence here," the woman said slowly as she looked up at
the trees that surrounded them. "This is not an Aelf place but it feels as
old as them."

   "That which reside here is fairly benign so long as you respect the
forest and its boundaries," Demarest answered without really explaining
anything.

   "Are these woods always this gloomy?" Cassandra asked trying to drive
away the oppressive atmosphere.

   "Not this gloomy," the Guild master replied. "But the woods are not happy
about our being here.."

   "Why is that?" The Rebuilder asked.

   "It's the place we are going," Carlisle answered without actually naming
the vault. "They do not like it being here."

   "I can understand that," the woman responded. "But it must be somewhere."

   "The forest understands that as well but it's still not happy with it
being here," Demarest explained.

   "I'm not happy with it being anywhere!" Azaelle commented.

   "I'm curious," Marchal asked. "Why here? Why not in the city on Guild
property there? Where it can be watched over more easily."

   "Do you really want all the most deadly pieces of magic in the Midlands
concentrated in a city of over ten thousand people?" Demarest said calmly.

   "Excellent point," the rabbi said. "But placing it so far from the city
almost feels like we are dumping our problems onto someone else."

   "Perhaps it is," Carlisle commented. "But there is no simple answer to
the problem. These items must be stored somewhere."

   The guild master suddenly stopped cutting off any further conversation.

   In front of them was another pillar of grayish brown stone that looked to
be the twin of the one they seen upon first entering the forest. Resting on
the ground next to it was another stone that looked to be a duplicate of the
first. This one covered with earth, grass and leaves telling of it having
rested there for many years.

   Guild Master Demarest walked up to the standing stone and spoke in a low
tone as he touched the pillar in a complex series of gestures. The stone
laying on the ground slowly started to shift and shake. After a moment one
end rose silently off the ground revealing a deep, black hole.

   "Let me be perfectly clear on this," Demarest said in a cold hard voice.
"Touch absolutely nothing without my explicit permission."

   Thadius stopped at the opening and stood there chittering loudly.

   "Smart bug not go into the hole!" Madog said cheerfully.

   The guild Master smiled. "He's smarter than the rest of us. He can stay
here," Demarest offered. "So long as Thadius stays within thirty feet of
Dolmen he'll be safe." The guild master turned and walked down into the
darkness. The rest of the group followed.

   Cassandra found herself standing at the top of a flight of stairs that
disappeared down into the darkness. She stood there for a moment before
cautiously continuing. She found herself in a cold and damp stairway lined
completely with stone.

   The group traveled downward for many minutes with each step echoing
loudly in the dark confines of the stairway. The steps ended in a small
level area in front of a stone lined doorway. They filed through the opening
and into the room beyond.

   In front of them floating in the air in front of them was a single sword.
It was a common looking blade devoid of decorations other than a faint up
sweep to the tips of the hilt. Its point was aimed toward the group and it
was floating three feet off the floor. There was nothing else in the room.
Even the walls were of bare stone and devoid of decorations of any sort. 

   Demarest walked past the floating weapon without giving it a second
glance. In moments he was though the doorway on the opposite side of the
room. The group quietly filed past the blade keeping a good distance away.
The weapons silently rotated to keep it's point aimed at them.

   The new room they were in had walls and floor covered in art. Everywhere
she looked Cassandra saw finely made mosaics and murals done in bright, bold
colors. She didn't recognize the style of clothing the painted figures were
wearing but all looked to be from ages past. She spotted the figure of an
elven woman wearing only a skirt, the figures bare breasts were covered with
flowing decorations in dark blue. In one hand the elven woman held a bow.
The other hand was reaching for the quiver that hung from her hip.

  "Be careful of the floor," Demarest warned. "Step only on the floor stones
that I step on." With that the mage started walking across the floor,
placing each foot carefully.

   Cassandra looked back at the even archer and the figure had changed! She
was still holding a bow in one hand but now the other which had been empty
now held an arrow. The woman tried to ignore the painted figures and paid
attention to exactly where the Guild master was walking.

   Another look at the figure showed that the painted elf now had the arrow
to her bowstring and seemed to be caught in the act of drawing it back. The
woman wasted no time and quickly crossed to the other side of room being
sure to step only on the correct stones.

   Cassandra paused at the door a moment and looked back at the archer. The
figure was back to the way she had been when the woman had first seen her.
She turned around and found herself standing in front a stone wall. Looking
at it Cassandra couldn't see any trace of joint lines and it seemed to be
just a single massive block of stone.

   Demarest walked up to the wall and touched it in three places. Then he
quickly moved backwards several steps.

   At first nothing happened but then a faint crack appeared in the wall
down where it met the floor. Quickly the crack ran up the wall, then across
and back down to the floor again forming a rectangle about six feet high.
The crack widened into a deep fracture as the stone inside it shifted and
started to push outward in the shape of the door it obviously was. The
massive door started to swing open, moving with a slow ponderousness that
was matched by the total silence. Its movement revealed a surprisingly small
chamber beyond lit by a bright, white light. There seated in the middle of
the room was Madog. "You late!"


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


   "How did you do that?" Demarest snarled. "How did you get in here?"

   "I let in!" Madog answered cryptically.

   "By who?" Demarest snarled angrily.

   "You. You open door, I walk in."

   "What?" The leading mage asked, confused.

   "What he means," Carlisle responded. "When you opened the door he slipped
past you unseen."

   "Silly mage so busy watching door he not see me walk past."

   "How was that possible?" Cassandra asked. "Are all automatons that
powerful?"

   "Don't forget that Madog is over a thousand years old," the automaton
mage explained. "He has learned a lot of tricks."

   The room they were in had walls floor and ceiling of a dark stone she had
never seen before. Spaced evenly along the walls were a series of alcoves
and several open doorways. Everywhere she looked were runes, emblems and
symbols of magic. Most she recognized and some she noted were very powerful.
All were used for shielding, warding and preventing something or someone
from getting past them. What truly unnerved her was that the magic was all
aimed inward. These were not intended to keep people out. They were meant to
keep something in!

   In one of the alcoves rested a spear. It was almost casually leaning
against the wall. This weapon had a shaft of gold inlaid with silver and
ivory. The blades themselves were made of mithril hammered, smoothed and
polished to a high glossy finish. The final addition was a red metal worked
into the very point of the blades. To someone observing it the points looked
as if they were covered with blood.

   Cassandra's face lost its color and she pointed to the weapon. "Is that
Tanach Terea?"

   The head mage nodded in response. "Yes, that is City Slayer. How do you
know of it?"

   She took a deep breath and recovered her calm. "It is hard to not know of
a weapon that's killed whole cities. I am from Ilturan which is built over
the ruins of Ilturu a city destroyed by that weapon. There are still places
blighted by that thing that have never healed. It's said the poison will
last for a hundred thousand years."

   "I cannot reveal all the details," Demarest said slowly. "But four
thousand people died before the guild was able to slay its last wielder. And
another forty were slain before it was finally safely placed here."

   "I will admit to hearing all the tales of the weapon as a child but never
did I expect to actually see it," the woman said. She had to suppress a
shiver as childhood nightmares came back into her mind. "Let's get the culua
and be gone from here. I'm not curious to see anything else that's here."

   Demarest turned and walked along the walls of the vault pausing for a
moment at some of the alcoves before coming to a stop in front of a
particular one. "Here we are. Item 337."

   The group clustered around the Guild master and looked at the alcove.
Resting on a stone shelf was a heart shaped object about the size of a large
melon. It was all of silver, gold, brass and bronze and was exquisitely
decorated with a swirls, circles lines all intertwined into an intense
pattern. So tightly were they interwoven that it was impossible to tell
where one symbol began and another ended.

   "That's it!" Carlisle said flatly. "It matches perfectly."

   "Now what?" Joeline asked.

   "Now you pick up the item," Carlisle said.

   "I have already removed the wards placed there by the guild," was
Demarest's comment. "But the culua itself has very powerful wards on it."

   "Which is why it's in the vault," the automata mage added. "But if
Salona's body accepted you Joeline then her Culua will as well. I sense the
same wards and spells on both."

   Joeline walked up to the alcove and stared at the item. The young woman
took a deep breath and then calmly reached out and picked up the Culua.
Nothing happened. "That was easy."

   "Hardly," the guild leader said. "The last person to try and touch it was
badly burned and almost died. "At that point the item was moved to the
vault."

   Carlisle walked up to Joeline with a small, gray cloth in his hands.
"This is made of the Asural and protected with automata spells. Wrap the
cloth around the Culua."

   The woman took the metallic cloth and carefully wrapped it around the
metallic heart bunching the loose edges together in a knot. When the culua
was completely covered the loose edges vanished leaving it completely
covered by a cloth that was seamless.


   The automaton mage smiled. "Good. That will protect it and keep anyone
short of a very powerful mage from getting to the culua."

   "Good," Demarest commented. "Everyone out. Let's get back to the
surface."


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


   The bright sunlight streaming in through the open doorway was a welcome
sight for all of them. Eagerly they all exited the passage and stepped back
into the forest. Demarest touched the upright stone column and watched as
the entrance slowly lowered back to the ground and sealed shut. The earth
and leaves around the stone shifted by themselves and covered the stone. In
moments the stone looked as if it had never been moved and lain untouched
for centuries.

   "We're not alone!" Joeline said slowly.

   Carlisle spun about as the words for a powerful fire spell came to mind.
He spotted a large shadowy figure standing next to a tall elm tree. The wolf
was staring at him with the calm detachment of a hunter choosing it's next
prey.

   "My God!" Carlisle said in a whisper. "They're Doron wolves!"

   "It's a good luck sign!" Someone said.

   "It's a bad luck sign," someone else countered.

   "Where's Thadius?" Azaelle asked looking around frantically.

   Her question was rewarded with a loud chitter from above. Perched on top
of the dolmen was the giant spider. Who happily leapt to the ground and
crowded close to his owner.

   "What do we do now?" Cassandra asked without taking his eyes off the
ghostly figures.

   "We leave," Marchel responded. "We cannot stop here. Not with the item so
dangerously exposed."

   Slowly and nervously the group made its way forward as the ghostly wolves
walked along with them.

   It was a long, slow trip home.


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


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