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+#REDIRECT [[Tearlach (Act I)#Chapter 4]]
-Further up in the Rogue's pass, Tearlach found a broad, stony field.  Along behind him was a Rogue scout, whose name he hadn't caught.  The fields were full of foes: more corrupted Rogue sisters, and strange hawk-like birds.  Killing the Rogues was not gratifying: they'd forgotten what little they knew of combat when the demons took them.  Of course, even if they remembered, they wouldn't have been a challenge.  A shame to see all that naked female flesh, completely wasted... whoever took the monastery had a lot to answer for.
-The bird-things were bizarre.  They had teeth in their little skull faces, obviously unnatural.  Instead of soaring free as birds are meant to, they flapped around sluggishly, close to the ground.  Their did not nest in trees, but tall fabrications of filth and rotting meat, with only-the-ancestors-know-what holding it together.  Each nest had dozens of little things inside, moving under the skin.  Seeing that gave him the idea of bashing the nest to the ground, with the birds still inside.  Sure enough, they were crushed under its weight.  The strategy was good and pleasing, but that Rogue had to start asking questions.
-"So you figured that out, huh?  Don't want to take them all on?"
-"I fear them not," Tearlach huffed.  "They are an annoyance, not worth my time."
-"He finally heard me!" the Rogue proclaimed aloud.  "That's the eighth question I've asked you, you know?"
-"I am not here to answer questions.  Those who cannot make war are also not worth my time."
-"So who killed those guys, huh?"  Behind the Rogue, Tearlach saw a group of men... no, goat-men he hadn't seen before.  All were dead, their bodies full of arrows. "Maybe you should start paying more attention?"
-The goat-men were big, certainly bigger than any Rogue (except maybe that smith girl.)  A little clumsy looking, maybe... but more worthy foes than skull crows.  "Hmm."
-The Rogue waited.  "Yes?"  But Tearlach had seen another corrupted Rogue, and run off.
-Tearlach kept hacking his way through the fields, taking down foe after foe.  Occasionally, he would stop, and hear more questions being aimed at him.  He ignored her; battle is not a time for talking, but for doing.  But every now and then... he would glance over to see what she was doing.  Usually, she wasn't far away, shooting arrows from that tiny bow of hers.  Once in a while, she made a strange motion.  Those were the times when his vision cleared, and Tearlach could see every move his foes made, even in the darkest night.
-"Witch!" Tearlach snarled, "are you casting sorceries on me?"
-"No, I'm casting sorceries on them."
-"I do not need the help of foul magic!"
-"It's just light.  The Sightless Eye is a beacon in the darkness."
-"I forbid you to use sorcery!"
-"Suit yourself.  Hope I don't shoot you in the back in the dark, though."
-Back in camp, Tearlach went to see Akara.  "Witch, and leader of witches!  You did not tell me your gathering of whores is really a pit of sorcery!"
-Calmly, Akara asked her Rogue, "Visala, what is he talking about?"
-"He thinks the Blessing of Sight is sorcery."
-"I should have known.  Young man, we follow a goddess.  She bestows her blessings upon us, and we may call on her power when needs be.  No sorcery is involved."
-Tearlach spit on the ground.  "Goddess or demon, I care not.  A warrior needs to stand on her own two feet!  His feet!  Er..."
-With a smile almost too faint to be seen, Akara replied, "Child, we all call on powers higher than ourselves.  From what I understand, your people call animal spirits to aid you."
-"That is completely different!  Wild places, untouched by evil, are our strength.  The spirit of the world is incorruptible!"
-"So innocent wild animals, like hawks or the gentle Sasquatch of our mountains, cannot be turned to evil?"
-Tearlach opened his mouth... then closed it again.  "Hmm."
-"He says that a lot," Visala observed.
-"That was one of the wisest utterances I have heard today," Akara said.  "Though we do not call on the same power as sorcerers, even they can be wise in the ways of the world.  This is why I believe we had best seek out --"
-"There is nothing to seek out, except a stronger bow.  If you're going to use one of those stick-and-string things, get a decent one!  One of those merchants may have one for sale, though he'll part with it dearly to line his own purse."
-"Gee, you think so?" Visala asked.
-"Aye, 'tis the way of these gold-leeches.  Nothing else matters to them, not even their own skins.  And a strong byrnie of chain, if one is to be had.  That little dress is fetching, lass, but nightclothes are poor garb for battle!  Why weren't you outfitted properly?"
-"Didn't we tell you the attack came from inside, at night?  We were all asleep."
-"Aye, maybe you did.  Let your guard down, did you?  No matter!  I've gold to spare, and know a thing or two about bargaining with a fat cash-sucker!"
-"Wow, you're so smart.  I have to see this."
-"That is very good, young man.  Now, about Deckard Cain..."
-"That sorcerer you were blathering about?  Who needs him?  All that's called for to defeat this enemy is a strong arm and a heart of steel.  We go, lass!"
-After they'd left, Kashya went to speak with Akara.  "I can't believe you're doing this."
-Sighing, Akara asked, "What is it this time?"
-"I used to respect you!  Now here you are, sucking up to that... that..."
-"Kashya... this is something I am afraid you never understood.  It is called compromise.  In many ways, you don't know how lucky you have been to serve under me."
-"What?" Kashya screeched. "The Goddess' vision is not about compromise!"
-"But surviving in the world is.  The sisterhood, as you well know, has only a few farmlands to support itself, which do not produce all the things we need to function as a martial order.  We must be friendly with the neighboring kingdoms, as far as we can without betraying the will of the Goddess.  As head of our order, it falls to me to be nice to the nearby kings and nobles, most of whom are brutes, thugs, idiots, or worse.  As you well know, many of them find our very existence offensive, but they hold the power we need to serve as a beacon of light for the women of the world.  We cannot get this power from them if they do not let us have it, so there is a need for compromise."
-"Akara, we have power!  We control the only pass through the mountains!  Every caravan north of Westmarch has to go through here!  We can tax as much as we like!"
-"No one can do that.  Our neighbors tolerate us because it costs less to pay our fees than it would to attack and dislodge us from these mountains.  Kashya, as war leader, it is to our advantage for you to appear uncompromising.  I do not have that luxury.  If I can stand to 'suck up' to that utter toad King Uthric to get what the order needs, I can treat a Barbarian better than he deserves in our most desperate hour."
-Kashya stared silently, breath panting through gritted teeth.  Finally, Akara said, "That's better.  You may go and punch the wall, if you feel you must."
-Meanwhile, Tearlach and Visala were back on the stony field.  That slick-tongued bastard Gheed talked him into gambling his money away, but Tearlach figured out the score on that little game quick enough.  That ring was completely useless, worth nothing near the 50,000 he paid for it, but Gheed wouldn't give his money back!  After an education in the ways his people deal with cheats, the fat, quivering coward was much more reasonable.  Tearlach got the ring, and a two-day warranty!  Visala was impressed.  She'd better be grateful, buying a pot helm for her took most of his remaining cash.  Ok, it wasn't magic, but he put some of his own gem chips in the sockets!  What more could she want?
-"Oh, yeah, this is a great helm.  Orange is really my color."
-"What does the color matter?  You southlanders are spoiled, you'd throw away Bul-Kathos' own ring of power because it doesn't match your eyes."
-"I thought you said you'd buy a bow?  Like a longbow, maybe?"
-"Silence, woman!  Where I am from, women know better than to talk back to their betters.  You want a finer bow, I'll find you one.  Here, see what this demon was hiding?"
-The magic short sword Tearlach held was coated with blood and foulness.  Nose wrinkling in disgust, Visala said, "I'm not even touching that."
-"These demons are even greedier than you.  Anything to keep their treasures, even in death!  This one had it shoved all the way up into his --"
-"My, what lovely weather we're having!  Look, that's an interesting rock!"
-Tearlach looked at the stone in question.  It was a monolith, 10 feet tall, standing alone on the plain.  There were many such stones, where he came from.  "Yes... yes that is a very interesting rock.  It is good that I have found it!"
-"You found it?"
-"Aye, it is the keystone of the circle which lies just beyond.  This is a place of power... and it is well-guarded, it seems."
-Another demon and his company stood jabbering inside the circle.  They were blue; Tearlach had seen blue ones before, they were tougher relatives of the red ones.  Not much tougher, of course... it took a bit more effort to cleave them in two with one blow.  After assessing the situation with a born tactician's eye, Tearlach leapt into the fray, scattering the crowd and slamming into the leader.  To his great surprise, at the touch of steel, bolts of crackling lightning shot out of the demon's wounds!  It stung a bit, but after the initial shock was over the lightning seemed no great threat.  He chopped and bashed them all to bits.
-Removing himself from battle for a while, Tearlach examined the circle.  It was small, defined only by 5 monolithic boulders.  Each stone had a carved runic symbol, in the old way.  Who would have guessed that the Ancient Ones had ever been here, to this forsaken place now abandoned to lowlanders?  He was pleased to note that the stones had not been defaced, as the demons had scribbled on the cave walls down below.  The power of the Ancients was too great for them, no doubt.  Heartened to know that his ancestors were with him, however distant, he continued his battle over the field of stones.
-Looking ahead up the pass, Tearlach could see the path went back and forth several times as it went up.  No doubt this was to ease merchant's wagons along, as even these gentle slopes would challenge their over-laden beasts.  Traveling up the pass would be a long and tedious business, but there was a better way: a cave at the base of the cliff.  His people carved many tunnels into the living rock of their mountains, to speedily reach distant places in secret.  If the Ancients had been here, perhaps they had done the same.
-Sure enough, the mark of the Ancient Ones was there in the caves.  Broad avenues, smooth dirt floors, and wide steps carried Tearlach high up the mountain.  Visala said the tunnels had always been here; foot travelers used them for rapid ascents and descents.  It was an insult to see so many demons and undead crawling over the work of the Ancients, so Tearlach chopped them to bits and tore their hearts out.  When these ones came to their next lives without any hearts, they would remember not to be so free with the work of those greater than themselves.
-The tunnels came out in a dark wood, much higher in the pass.  Almost immediately, Tearlach was set upon by a massive Sasquatch, which moved with surprising speed for so bulky a creature.  After killing it, he found a tree.  It was old and dead, but glowed with magic in the dark night.  Things had been carved into its bark... including a representation of the stone circle he had just left, with the word the runes made.  Ah, he thought... my glorious fate is catching up with me.  I am destined to destroy this great demon and free this land.  Perhaps when I am done, my people may return to their old home, and drive these southlanders out?  No, such a blessing would be too much to ask.  He carved the bark away from the tree.  It was his by right; his destiny was wrapped in it.  He also wanted to show the Rogues what fools they'd been by not realizing its importance.
-"... and you see there, the word of power!  The five runes have been arranged in the order they should be.  Any fool could plainly see it."
-"Your acumen is enthralling," Akara nodded.  "How could we not have guessed, after all those centuries of staring stupidly at those stones?"
-"Not many have the wit to see through the mysteries of the Ancient Ones," Tearlach proclaimed.  "Their ways were not meant for the weak-minded."
-"That must be true.  Perhaps it was simply that the symbols on the stones don't really look like Barbarian runes.  Now, touch the stones in the order given, and a gate will appear."
-Frowning suspiciously, Tearlach said, "How do you know that?"
-Akara put her hand to her cheek.  "Oh, did that slip out?  It was just a lucky guess.  At least, I've read stories where that happens.  I'd also guess that the gate will take you to a place of great power, where you must search diligently for an ancient wise elder."
-"Hmm..." Tearlach pondered this. "Many sagas describe this sort of thing.  You must be familiar with some of the ancient ways, priestess."
-"There have been a few books written on the subject."
-"Your shame at having forgotten the old ways must be double what I thought, then.  To hear the old tales, and yet ignore them, is worse than never hearing them at all."
-"Oh yes, it's simply dreadful.  You have set such an excellent example, young man.  Now, let me meditate on my folly for a while."
-A loud thumping sound had become audible by this point.  In the dim light, Tearlach could see Kashya pounding on the wall... with her head.  "What a woman... I used to do that when I was a child as well."
-"That explains a lot," Visala said.  "Is that why your head is flat on that side?"
-"Aye!  I decided either I'd give, or the wall would, and the wall gave first!  That was the first and best thing I ever learned in my life: my head is thicker than any wall!"
-As he strode off, Visala stopped to speak with Akara in a hushed voice.  "Why is she using her head?"
-"I stopped healing her knuckles after the last time."
-"Oh.  Yes, ma'am."
-"Visala... when you arrive, I want you to be sure to do something..."
-At the stone circle, Tearlach touched the stones in order.  The word flashed in the air, and amid peals of thunder and lightning strikes, a red gate appeared.  Tearlach charged through.  On the other side, he found, not high mountains or great feasting halls, but... a dead cow, rotting in a field.  He poked it with his axe, and it exploded with putrid gasses.  What is this?  This was no place of power, it was nothing but some southlander town, on fire and full of skeletons and goat-men... a fray!
-To their credit, the goat-men were not incompetent, perhaps the hardest fight Tearlach had yet.  The skeletons came with sword and bow, but fell to pieces quickly enough.  Crowds of little demons were everywhere.  The worst of all was a single zombie, the corpse of a huge, muscular man with a bald head.  His features were familiar.
-"Och, yoo were one of my countrymen, weren't yoo?"
-The zombie replied, "Uuuuuunnnhhhhh..."
-"'Tis a shame, to see yoo reduced to such a state by darkness."
-"Uuuuuunnnhhhhh..."
-"Yoo fight well, as only the children of Bul-Kathos can!"
-"Uuuuuunnnhhhhh..."
-"Let me bless yoo with death, to escape the chains these demons laid on yoor soul!"
-"Uuuuuunnnhhhhh..."
-"Men should be free, free to leave when death takes them!"
-"Uuuuuunnnhhhhh..."
-"So stop fightin', already!  Nah, what am I sayin'?  Yoo only want to go down in glory!"
-"Uuuuuunnnhhhhh..."
-"'Tis a glorious death yoo want, I'll give it, but yoo'll have to take it when it comes."
-"Uuuuuunnnhhhhh...."
-"LAY DOWN, ALREADY!!"
-Finally, the zombie dropped.  After saluting him, Tearlach dragged the body into a burning building.  It was a poor funeral pyre, but the best he could offer.  The little town offered up many worthy foes, one after the other.  He lost himself in combat, taking arrow after arrow.  Fire scorched him, swords cut him; it was the most glorious fight he'd ever had.  When all was done, Tearlach stood alone, the only sure sign of victory.  Visala was standing next to an iron cage, watching a portal wink closed.
-"What was that?"
-Visala smiled. "Oh, hi there.  You were having so much fun, I knew you wouldn't mind if I looked for survivors.  There was this old man in this cage being tortured, so I thought I'd let him out and send him back to camp."
-"Ah," Tearlach grunted.  "'Tis a good thing, I suppose.  But not important.  Look, here you are!  A new bow!"
-"Yeah," Visala said, "a nice hunting bow."
-"What's wrong with that?  Ah, you want some more gems, do you?  I'll put some in there, don't worry.  I know how fond you ladies are of your sparklers."
-"Wow.  Thanks."
-Tearlach grinned. "Unless you think I should be putting something else in your sockets?"
-"No, gems are great.  Knock yourself out."

Difference between revisions of "Tearlach (Chapter 4)"

Latest revision as of 15:51, 12 February 2017

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