[Mkguild] MK Past Present and Future part 7

[christian okane]

   Nestorius turned in the direction of the snarl and peered intently into
the shadows. At first all he saw was darkness, cobwebs and worn, old walls.
Then he spotted two pinpoints of light that he realized were eyes staring at
him. The eyes were those of a ghostly lioness whose shimmering form was just
barely visible behind the rusted bars of a cage. In the back corner of the
cage he could make out a pile of bones and dried skin that might have once
been a living body. This poor lioness had been trapped here body and soul
for centuries. The idea of being trapped like that for so long made the lion
shiver. It struck at some primal, animal core of his soul.

   Nest made a swipe at the bars with his paw, it's sharp claws extended.
The corroded and rusted metal shattered easily. With a few quick swipes of
his paws he created a large hole.

   The ghostly lioness stepped through the hole easily, placing each
spectral paw carefully. She paused for a moment and looked at Nest. Her eyes
were two points of soft light in the darkness. They twinkled and sparkled.
He felt a warm touch along his leg and a soft whisper of a purr in his ears.
Then she was gone to whatever final resting place awaited her.

   He walked along the corridor moving past cell after cell. At each he
would pause and peer inside. Some held the remains of a creature and some
didn't. At each one regardless of its contents he would smash the bars and
rip open the doors. Nest diligently searched each room and hallway, being
sure to peer into the darkest corners so that no cage was missed.

     A high pitched rattling noise came to him. The sound sent a cold shiver
down his spine and filled him with a primal fear that made his whole body
shiver. His sensitive ears traced the sound off to his left. But then he
heard the sounds off to his right and then behind and in front of him.

   Nestorius had to fight the rising panic in him to keep from bolting and
running blindly into the darkness.

   The sound grew steadily louder and louder. Ahead of him he saw the floor
itself shifting and moving. His shifted his light towards that area and saw
that the entire floor was covered with a seething, roiling mass of insects.

   Nest moved his hands in a complex motion and spoke in a low tone. A small
ball of flame appeared in the palm of his right hand. He tossed the ball at
the floor in the midst of the advancing swarm. The ball exploded with a roar
spreading flames over a wide area. The flames enveloped a large part of the
chittering. The flames died away as quickly as they had appeared leaving a
portion of the floor scorched and covered with small bits of burning debris.
The horde simply flowed around the flames and kept on advancing.

   The mage muttered a half a dozen curses in as many languages as he
hastily stepped backward.

   The feline caught a flash of movement off to his right and turned to see
a large spider web on the wall just at eye level. He saw a large spider
sitting there, seeming to look at him. An idea came to the mage. Nestorius
concentrated and in his mind pictured a spider. He gathered magic to him and
started to mold and shape it to the desired form. A large spider about the
size of the palm of his hand appeared on the floor at his feet. It resembled
a spider in all ways but one; this new creature had a shimmering, blue glow
to it.

   The one spider became two as a second one appeared by the first. Two
spiders became three, then four, then five. In moments hundreds of the
glowing spiders were gathered on the floor around the lion. These new
insects weren't real living creatures, just creations of magic but for as
long as he could maintain them these spiders would act and attack like the
real thing.

   Nestorius pointed a finger at the advancing horde of insects. "Get em!"
He snarled.

   A wave of shimmering spiders rushed straight at the horde of deadly
insects and the two groups collided. The spiders ripped into the insects
tearing them apart with fangs and poison. Each of his spiders lasted only a
few seconds before being ripped apart by the insects but as fast as a spider
was destroyed Nest replaced it with a new one.

   for a long time the fight went on like that without change and without
either side gaining an advantage. Then, slowly at first the battle started
to shift as his spiders gained the advantage and started to push the
chittering horde backwards.

   As suddenly as the insects had appeared they vanished. The last
disappearing back into the darkness.

   Nestorius stood there for a moment unwilling to lower his guard. He tried
to understand what had happened. Had he been attacked by some living enemy
or had he triggered some long dormant trap or ward?

   "MORTIS MONSTER TURPIUM!" A voice shouted from the darkness.

   Nest spun around and almost instinctively raised his arms and spoke a
word of protection. There was a bright flash and searing heat enveloped him
for a moment. The light and flames vanished leaving the feline unharmed.

   The lion mage snarled and brought his hands up. Then he spread them out
in a broad fan. A wave of pure force swept outwards racing through the
darkness. His sensitive, leonine ears picked up a grunt and the soft thump
of a human body hitting a wall.

   "Monstrum damnare!" came a voice from the darkness. That was followed by
a trio of arrows that flashed past the keeper. Another sank into his arm and
he winced at the pain. The arrow quickly vanished as the magic that had
created it was used up.

   Nestorius looked in the direction the voice and magic had come from and
he could just make out a figure standing some thirty or forty feet away.

   "Mors omnium barbarorum!" The mysterious mage said and launched a glowing
green ball at Nest.

   The feline mage easily deflected the magical green projectile with a
small amount of magic. "Mors omnium barbarorum? Death to all barbarians?"
Nestorius thought to himself. "No Lutin would ever use those words." A quick
jolt of lightning raced out from his hand as the smell of ozone filled the
air. The bolt was barely the width of his finger but it raced across the
darkened room in an instant and struck the figure dead square on the chest.

   "Non accipies Maractania!" The shadowy mage shouted. Seemingly unharmed
by the animal like mages attack.

   "Maractania!" Nestorius said out loud and cursed several times. No one
had called the valley by that name in centuries. Only scholars and the dead
still used that name. 

   Nest spoke some soft words and briefly his eyes glowed a deep blue. A
lions natural night vision was greatly enhanced. Suddenly an area of deep
shadows and darkness became clear. He could make out the far corners of the
room he was in. Where his opponent was the feline mage could make the figure
of a man wearing clothing that hadn't been used in centuries. He could also
clearly see that the person was not radiating any body heat or any life
signs. The person had no real body and was merely a wispy figure of smoke
and energy. Nest's attempts to kill this enemy were futile as he had been
dead for centuries.

   He saw movement off to his right and spun in that direction as he waved
his hands in the gestures of a spell. Nestorius saw two figures barely
visible standing some twenty feet from him. In spite of the darkness he
could make out some details. The mage noted the bright red clothing they
were wearing had a variety of bits of metal, feathers and other things.
Several human skulls dangled from their belt. Their short stature and the
green/brown skin color confirmed that these were Lutins and undoubtedly
shamans. He also noted they were as dead as the empire mage. One of the dead
lutins waved a hand in the air. A ball of red light shot from the hand and
raced over to the dead empire mage. Just short of the ghostly magic user the
light flared up for a moment and then vanished.

   For a moment Nest stood there watching the battle going on. He suddenly
realized what was happening. He had stumbled into a battle between specters.
Ghosts that been fighting the same battle for centuries. The lion wondered
if these three had really been fighting the same battle for the last five
hundred years? That was a question for another time. Nestorius slowly backed
away from the fight and headed back towards the doorway he had entered
through.


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


   The group was some twenty feet down the corridor before anyone spoke.

   "That was far different from what I expected," Rickkter said calmly as
they walked.

   "It was," Misha added. "I never expected him to be so well repaired."

   "That's all?" Caroline asked. "He was a lot more friendly."

   "He wasn't tossing spells at us and saying we would die," Misha
commented. "What do you think of him? What he said?"

   Caroline shrugged. "I'm not sure. He seemed sincere and apologetic about
what he did."

   "Indeed he did," Charles added, a curious glint in his eyes. "But how
much was genuine and how much was pretense?  Still, Bolva seemed genuinely
happy that you were using automaton magic."

   "He's truly dedicated to automaton magic," the fox said. "Any increase in
it delights him."

   "Bolva did have a good question," Rickkter said as they walked. "What are
we to do with him now? We cannot leave him there forever."

   "Agreed," Misha said softly. "What do you think Madog?"

   All he got in response was silence.

   "Madog," The fox said in a firm tone. "I know you're there and heard
everything."

   Still all he got was silence. He turned around and looked back they way
they had come. There, barely visible in the dim light was Madog. The fox
automaton was looking at the door, behind which Bolva was imprisoned.

   "Me think, long time on this," Madog said in a serious tone so unlike his
usually happy tones.

  "Fair enough," Misha said. "We all need to think on this."


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


   The two cheetahs stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked around. A
small lantern in Edmund's hand cast a thin light that illuminated a tall,
brick lined corridor. The paladin waved the lantern about revealing doorways
and corridors running off in to the left and right.

   Stealth pointed straight ahead to a stone wall that was still solid a
millennium after its creation. "Nest fell through in that direction. Which
way do we go?"

   Edmund shrugged. "The arena is in the shape of an oval so if we go left
or right we'll eventually wind up there."

   Edmund turned left and Stealth turned right.

   "This way," Edmund said and pointed through the doorway in front of him.

   "Why that way?" Stealth countered and pointed to the doorway in front of
him. "Why not this way?"

   "Why?" Edmund asked, a little confused. "We've already started this way."

   "No," Stealth said. "You start that way. I'm headed this way."

   "We need to stick together," Edmund countered. "So we'll go this way."

   "You're being bossy again," Stealth commented.

   "I am?" Edmund asked.

   "Yes you are!" Stealth responded. "You're dragging me that way the same
way you dragged me into this forest. Again!"

   "I did not drag you here!" Edmund countered.

   "I told you repeatedly I didn't want to come into this creepy haunted
woods and yet here I am," Stealth replied as he waved his arms about the
ancient corridor.

   "You . . . " Edmund started to say but stopped. "I mean . . " He shook
his head slowly. "Can you honestly tell me you aren't curious as to what
happened here?"

   "You're changing the subject," Stealth countered.

   "No I'm not," Edmund paused. "Not exactly."

   "Not exactly?" Stealth asked with a tilt of his head.

   "I'll explain but answer my question first. Aren't you curious as to what
happened here in these haunted ruins?" The paladin asked.

   "No," Stealth responded.

   Edmund leaned close to his friend. "Are you sure? I think that deep down
you really do care and wanted to come here."

   Stealth looked at his friend, surprised. "What?"

   "What I believe is that you do want to explore this place," the paladin
explained. "But you won't admit it to yourself. If you truly didn't want to
go you wouldn't be here now."

   "That's crazy! I think all the skulking around in the ruins has really
scrambled your mind," Stealth countered.

   ""Has it?" Edmund countered. "You say that you do not want to be here and
yet you ARE here."

   "You made me come here," was the reply.

   "Did I?" The knight asked. "No one bound you hand and foot and carried
you here. And did I ever threaten you? No. You walked here of your own
accord."

   "No you didn't tie me up and bring me here but you did almost everything
else," Stealth argued.

    "I'll admit I am have been too controlling and dominating if you'll
admit to actually being interested in these ruins and how to help these
people." Edmund stated calmly.

   "Whether I'm interested or not is irrelevant. You made me come here!"

   "So you won't admit it?" Edmund asked.

   "Yes, I admit it, but it doesn't matter."

   "Why doesn't it matter?" Edmund asked. Confused.

   "Because the fact remains that you made me come here, curiosity is just
an excuse for you to sleep well at night."

   "But could I have really forced you here if you truly didn't want to
come? You didn't seem to put up much of a fight."

   "Would you like me to? I could punch you in the chest right now if want."

   Edmund sighed and stepped back. "All right my friend. Never again will I
force you to go anywhere. I won't ask you to come to these woods again."

   The two friends continued forward into the darkness without another word
passing between them.


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

End part 7




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