Chapter 4

The two wolves raced over and around the hills near the Deathfist citadel hoping to make it to the back side before dusk. They knew their time was short as they started late in the afternoon in order to take advantage of the lengthening shadows. Tamalain led the way with William following close behind, constantly looking and sniffing for anybody that might have seen them as they ran. They raced hard and soon both were panting hard from the extended run, they also had to reach the end point of the run before the SoW spell wore off. The cool down time after the cancellation was over an hour and they didn't have that much time to spare.

With less than an hour to go, they crossed the open area between the two separate ranges of hills making it in the rocks and cover before anybody spotted the two dark forms out in the open. They made there way around the back of the massive stone edifice, searching for a certain pile of stone and wood in a small hollow by the waterline. Neither wanted to enter the fetid morass that served as a moat; it stank of rot and corruption, and things floated in the murky mess that neither cared to think about.

It was nearly fully dark when they found a rotted and rusted chest in a partially water filled depression. The lid fell in as they sniffed at it, causing both to retreat a few yards a smell of rotted flesh assaulting their sensitive noses with a nauseating scent. Tamalain dropped her wolf form and engaged camouflage, becoming invisible in the half-light to any observer on the walls. Using her sword she moved the corpse in the box to the side and saw a large black iron key in the bottom of the chest. She carefully reached for it and soon had it in hand, but was not sure about it being the actual key for the doors in the water. She shifted the corpse around to the other side and there was another key, this one smaller, but it was clean and glittering with power in her eyes.

She pointed at it and William dropped his wolf form and carefully touched the key, nothing happened so he picked it up and activated his camouflage. They both dreaded what they would have to do next, but knew there was no way around it if they were to complete the mission. They both slowly waded out in the murky mess and settled by a mostly submerged stone archway. In the failing light they could see the upper edge of a very heavy looking metal door. As could be expected in these conditions, it was covered in muck and rust. Neither had spoken and had made as little noise as possible up to this point.

"Which key is it Will, Iron or magic?" she whispered.

"I am betting on Iron," he replied. "This key is making my skin crawl, like it is alive..." He shifted a little and pulled a small collection bag out of a tunic pocket and dropped the key into it. "A mimic maybe?" He put the bag back in the pocket and closed the button so it would not be lost.

She shrugged and made ready to move as soon as they heard the battle horns sound. They didn't have to wait very long either, soon the horns started blowing so they moved together and reached down to find the handle on the door, if it had one. Now she lowered her head into the water, keeping her eyes tightly closed and felt for the keyhole. She found it right where a keyhole aught to be on any human built door. The citadel had at one time been part of the village in Jagged Pines before the fall. She slid the key in by feel and turned the key first left, it didn't turn, then right. It turn easily and all the way around. At completion of the turn, the bolt opened with a loud groaning and squeaking of rust metals, she was able to move the handle now. She pushed and opened the door slowly against the pressure of the water inside the building.

The room beyond was also flooded, causing them to stop and consider, knowing even a short swim could get them killed without air. She opened a soaked pouch and pulled out two large, silver colored fish scales. She handed one to William and cast Water Breathing on both of them. This would get them into the build she hoped, and let them see as well. The spell changed the eyes while in the water so you could see better than any fish, so visibility was not an issue yet. Looking ahead in the dim light, they could see that the water filled this part of the basement completely to the ceiling, making Tamalain glad that she had prepared for this possibility. They started swimming slowly down the corridor when something sticking up from the floor caught Williams attention, he stopped swimming pick it up. It turned out to be a leg bone from a large hominid. A quick examination showed it had been heavily chewed and crushed before being deposited in this area.

As they moved forward, the water conditions continued to become worse with each passing yard. When they reached the first submerged room they stopped and looked at the center of the watery chamber in horror. They could see faint light coming down from a hole in the ceiling, and in the middle of the room, bones, thousands of broken bones. This was a dumping ground for bodies from above. They both became even more alert than they had already been, they could see that something, or several something's had torn the bodies apart before rot ever had a chance to set in.

Tamalain and William both pulled out their swords and continued on past the bone room, hoping to find a way up and out soon. The breathing spell only lasted a little while, a half hour at the most, so they hurried forwards along the next stretch of tunnel. It took another five minutes before they hit a set of scum cover stairs leading up and down. They moved up, only to be stopped by another metal door at the top. They now had a foot of air above them, but the smell indicated it was not safe to breath it was so lethally odiferous.

William pulled out the small bag and took out the second key, hoping it would be the one to open this door. It didn't fit the lock, so Tamalain tried hers, no luck for her this time either. "Now what Will," she whispered.

"Maybe the way out is down instead of up. Let's recast the water breath and try down." She pulled out two more fish scales and recast the spell, it took and they would be safe for another thirty minutes. "I only have four more scales Will, after that we are going to be in serious trouble if we haven't found an exit by then."

"I wish I had thought to load up on items of this sort, you have the older style spells that needed them, I can cast the newer versions, but recast time is longer than the use time, lets go."

They submerged and went back down to the tunnel were the stairs went down. They had only gone down a few feet when the first Caiman darted in behind them and attacked Tamalain from behind. It's teeth large and razor sharp, grabbed her by her pack and started shaking her, trying pull her back. She reached down to her boot and pulled out her large dagger and started stabbing at the creature behind her. William slid up next to her and singled for her to grab a rotted wood post along the wall, She did and he glided to the Caiman and drove his dagger in the spot behind the head that was not heavy leather armor grade skin. The dagger went in and the beast twitched and shook, it couldn't move after a few seconds and died, jaws still locked on her pack. She slipped it off and helped pry the jaws open, when two more of the creatures swam up and attacked the corpse of their former companion. They managed to get the pack loose before the two creatures were able to drag it back up the corridor.

With William's help, she reseated the pack and they followed the carnivores to their lair, these were air breathers, so they needed a room that would be high and dry. William also wanted to recover his dagger rather than risk it being found by any that might check on these. It was well he did, the room that they surfaced in had a door that was not rusted, but solid and clean. The lock also was intact, with a faint sparkling effect, as of magic. He snatched the dagger as the two tore their companion apart for lunch.

He gestured at the lock and pulled the key out, she had her weapons drawn and was ready if there was anybody on the other side. They didn't have any way to peek under or around as this had a solid jamb all the way around. It also opened towards them because of the jamb, so as soon as the door moved, anybody on the other side would know about it and be ready for them. He slid the key in the slot and the bolts slid open, allowing them to move the lever that kept the door shut even when unlocked. He held up three fingers and counted down and she dove through the narrow opening at full combat speed, nothing on the other side would be able to cope with her in that state, at least he hoped that would be the case.

Seconds later, "Come in Will, nobody home, not for a long time either from the looks of it." He entered behind her to see what she meant. What he saw made him gasp in surprise. The room was a small square, ten by ten, with a solid sheet of rock over head. On the floor were at least six Orc skeletons, long rotted and dried. The bones had the look of something that had set out to long and spoiled. A sort of mold covered them, smelling evil and looking like it wanted to get up and come after them. They both moved away from the pile when the mold did just that. It flowed off the bones and formed into a cube a few feet across on each side. Both rangers charged their swords with fire, hoping that would keep the mold away from them. It didn't, it closed on Tamalains leg, getting ready to climb on and eat. She swung at it and the flames cut deep into the foul mass. It recoiled for a few seconds then closed in again.

Both started cutting into it, reducing it in size and shape quickly, but it just kept coming until the body of the mold caught fire and burned. The smell was actually worse than the water they had just left behind. Without a word, they slowly opened the next door and not seeing any light in this room either, they left the foul smoke behind by closing the door after them. Now they paused to catch their breath and take stock.

"Will, this place is foul and evil even without the Orcs. I wish we had time to burn it out, but we have to hurry to be out before dawn."

William took several shuddering breaths, gagging at the smell of the burned mold, "I agree as to burning this pace out, but you're right, not enough time tonight. That water was awful love, I need a bath."

"So do I, but that has to wait until we are free and clear of this, lets go." She slowly looked over the room they had entered and realized it was a disused storeroom. Several of the rotted crates seemed to have held weapons and cloth at one time. Now the rotted and rusted masses held more rot and rust. They spent a few minutes studying the door and found they could see out a slot near the top. The next room had a little light from a slit window near the ceiling, about seven feet up. They could see quite well by the moonlight shining in from outside the walls.

They remained silent and lit no lights, they could hear Orcs outside the window. Slowly moving through this room proved to be a problem. Broken crates and rotted out corpses littered the floor all the way to the next door. They first stopped at the slit window, he lifted Tamalain up so she could peek outside and get their location. "I think we under the outer walls still." They did make it across the room without incident, but the feeling that they had eyes on them was now noticeable. William looked around the room then up, he saw the eyes in the near dark, bats. Bats with faintly shining eyes had watched them the entire time but did not attack, smart bats.

The door was barred from the inside and Tamalain was able to open it without any problems. It was a problem though that the hinges were outside and most likely rusted. They would make lot's of noise when they went to open the door to the next area. William went into camo, and Tamalain slowly pushed the door open a few inch's. She froze as soon as the torch light entered the room, hoping nobody on the other side noticed the sudden opening of this old door. She needn't have worried, the room didn't have anybody in it at the moment, and the hinges had been oiled and cleaned. She didn't stop to wonder about that odd fact, she didn't have time. Engaging her camo they both moved out to find the Emperor and his crown.

Out side the battle had been short as the plan had called for. By the time Tamalain and William had been dealing with the first caiman, the Greenhoods had already fallen back and headed into the hills away from the fortress. The Orc Forces tried to follow but soon began taking heavy losses as dozens of traps had been laid in wait for the Orcs to follow. The neutered leader soon sounded the horn to return to base and call it a night. These Orcs had little drive or ambition to excel in life, for they had nothing to live for after the Emperor had their nuts removed. He was to be the only breeder alive in his kingdom.

William examined the door, but didn't find any traps, and it seemed to have been taken care of. no rot or rust was in evidence. He did manage to see a little bit under this one though and didn't see any light on the other side. Tamalain stood to the side, ready for the entry and he slowly pulled the handle to give her the room she needed to go through.

( Muse: Why her first? She is faster and deadlier than he is, that's why.)

As she slipped through the opening, she looked around but didn't see anything, even in infra and ultra-vision. She saw that this was a corridor, Cut and fitted stone, the floor a smooth sheet and the ceiling a solid slab of stone as far as she could see in the poor lighting. The left ended with another door just ten feet away, to the right, it extended over one hundred feet before fading into the gloom.

"Clear out here, come ahead."

William slowly exited the room, closing the door behind him. You never could tell when it had last been used, but best not to chance discovery that by leaving to many clues. She pointed to the near door and moved to examine it. She didn't find any traps either, but this one was tight to the floor so there was no gap to look under. She listened, but the heavy wood of the door blocked any sounds that might have been on the other side. She carefully cracked the door a fraction of an inch and looked through the opening. She saw it was to the outside and facing the inner fortress. There were crates and boxes, a small market awning and garbage. That is all she could see.

They both engaged Camo and she opened the door just wide enough for both of them to slide through and into the open. The air here was not the fetid mess they had been breathing and both took the chance for a deep cleansing breath. They didn't see any Orcs, but they could hear a lot of screaming and shouting in the distance. What had seemed like an eternity while below ground, had been less than twenty minutes in reality. They could hear the fall back horns sounding and the Orc forces marshalling to repel the sudden attack.

William pointed at the crates, even though they could not see one another at the moment, and moved to them. He didn't try to lift one, but did manage to stand on the edge of one of the larger crates. From here he was able to gain a hand hold on a stone lip and pull himself up. He heard the faint sounds of his wife as she joined him at this halfway point on the wall. He reached over enough to fell her, then leaned and whispered, "I will lift you to the next level." She gave a near silent hiss as he turned towards her and felt for her waist. He need not have bothered, she jumped up and landed on the wall ledge without any help. "Showoff," he thought.

William jumped and she grabbed his arm as he came up short and pulled him up. He had forgotten one very important fact, she can see him, even in camouflage. Both remained frozen in place for a minute to make sure they had not been detected, no alarms sounded and nothing seemed to have taken notice of their presence yet. they know though that that would change before to much longer. Tamalain nudged William in the way to go and he led the way, slowly as he didn't want to disturb the sand and debris on the wall ledge they were following.

By the time the horns in the distance had gone silent, the pair had made it to the center wall section. this should, they hoped, give them access to the inner courtyard and the Emperor. Rather than being an open courtyard though, they found it mostly enclosed and covered over. This was not a courtyard they quickly discovered, but the entry way to the citadel itself. With the rope they had brought along, they lowered themselves to the floor as far from the center as they could get, then pulled the hanging rope far to the side so that it would be harder to spot.

This area was a mystery, two hundred feet long, one hundred wide and fifty high. The floor was covered in sand and soil. It also had dried grass of a type not found on Zek scattered about. In the center of the chamber was a device of unknown purpose. It consisted of a metal and stone ring thirty feet in diameter on a raised dais with a short ramp leading down to the floor level. Behind it was a large bench of wood, stone and metals. The two devices had metal rods joining them. Eight rods in total, on closer examination, they turned out to be gold, silver and the power metals from the mines.

On the face of the ring facing away from the bench, the ring had eight large gem stones embedded in its surface. Each was of a different color and type. The rods met the ring right behind each gem. The bench had a series of levers and handles on it, each with location symbol on it. Above each lever was a hole about an inch in diameter, with a small hinged cover that would flip down and cover all the holes at once. What the holes were meant for wasn't immediately clear, until they found a few burned metal rods on the floor under the bench.

"Will, these are pure power metals, yet they are drained of power. How could they have done that." She turned it over in her hands a few time, then had an idea. She lifted the cover and was able to slide the rod into one of the holes. It fit perfectly, only sticking up enough so the lid would hold it down.

"They must have powered this device with these rods. These would explain the need for the metal in such great quantities Tam. Towards the end we were pulling more out of the ground than at any other time. Question is, what did this do?"

"A portal, that's what it was Elven," said an angry voice behind them.

They both spun, only to see a very large force of heavily armed and armored guards standing around the largest Orc they had ever seen. He was even larger than the mine foreman. "So Elven, you escaped the pit did you, maybe you can tell us what happened to destroy it so completely." He saw they were bracing for battle, "Foolish little children, did you really think we didn't keep a full watch on the back door? I allowed you to come this far to show you the futility of resistance against the Deathfist Empire."

Tamalain wasn't in the mood now to deal with the emperors ego in a polite manner. She laughed at him and said, "So said Emperor Crush of the Crushbone Empire. Look what happened to him and his tribes. Slave you fool, slaves to the dark elven, that will be your fate as well. Actually, give me the crown with the stolen gems and I will allow you to continue living, you misbegotten piece of bear crap."

The emperor was not phased by her insult in the least. "Really child, you think you can just walk in here, steal my property and walk back out unharmed?"

"Think it, no, Know it, yes. That is exactly what I intend to do." William looked at his wife in sheer disbelief at what she was doing. "Tam, are you mad, stop now before you get us killed for nothing." She just grinned even wider. "In fact, you will give me that crown with the locator gems right now, Or I will cut out your worthless heart and feed it to you still beating!"

"So you think little girl, so you think. I have another offer, fight all my champions at once. If you are victorious, I hand over my crown. If you have even a scratch, I will personally rape you to death. How's that sound you little elven slave," he sneered in reply.

Before anybody, even William realized what she was doing, she had closed on the giant Orc and cut his chest open. She reached in and ripped out the beating heart and held it before the eyes of the Emperor, and crushed it. She dropped the bloody pulp and snatched the crown from the head of the dead Orc before he had even begun to fall, and was back to her husbands side before he hit the ground. "Your offer is refused. Come husband, we need to make sure he doesn't have anything else that we will need, say a few hundred plats once we get back to civilization."

"Now we can have fun killing these animals Will, unless of course they want to just let us walk out. I am in the mood for a good killing tonight." She flicked the blood from her sword and moved towards the inner courtyard, away from the exit. As they moved, most of the Orcs, mainly the smaller types moved out of their path. Those that didn't had pulled out weapons and appeared ready to fight them. "Are you sure you want to challenge us?" Her hair and eyes now had the flowing flames and green hell glow that signified she was ready to do battle with all that dared challenge her. William stood behind her, watching for any attacks from the sides a rear.

"This a bad idea Tam, we should go now." He was scared now, she was not following the plan. What is she doing he kept thinking. He watched as those behind closed ranks, blocking their only exit to the outside. She continued a slow steady pace towards the main citadel, menacing those that did not fall back.

With a roar, all the largest Orcs charged in to attack the pair. William went into his full battle mode, and from the sudden burst of energy, his wife had gone into full overdrive. Three Orcs closed in on him, one swinging a massive two handed sword, the other two with clubs the size of small tree trunks, four feet long and six inch's wide at the business end. He dodged to the right to avoid the one club and the sword, while driving his elven blade at the nearest club holder. He managed to slash across the arm holding the club by he wrist.

That Orc howled in agony, dropped its weapon and charged him. William ducked down and spun under another sword swing. The swinging sword came around and connected with the neck of the injured Orc, severing its head in one hit. This allowed William to slip in and cut at he third Orc. This one backed off and didn't try to attack right away. It instead allowed its swords swinging companion do all the work. William began to fight in earnest as more seemed ready to join in the fight now.

Tamalain on the other hand was slashing to all sides, slicing and dicing as fast as she could move. As she pushed harder, she drew on even more power and she began to change. Her body took on the silvery white glow and her hair and eyes intensified in effect. Waves of pure terror now washed across all the Orcs in front of her, causing all the Pawns and Grunts to flee, leaving only the warriors to fight this creature out of nightmares. Her sword and Si both glowed now, sparks flying and flames spurting with every hit on a target. Orcs didn't just die as she cut them, they nearly exploded as the energy release would cook them whole.

When she turned to see how William was fairing, she went insane in her own fury, no outside help needed. William was hurt and down, and two of the big Orcs had their weapons pulled up for the final blow. They never had a chance to strike though. She had pulled her bow and had started shooting flaming arrows and lightning bolts at every Orc in sight. The battle quickly came to a close as the last Orc died trying to escape from her fury at seeing her beloved down and hurt.

William looked up at her and his mind went blank, his seeing her in this form was more than he could handle. He knew in his mind, he was seeing what a god looked like in its true form, and the sight of it was going to drive him insane. He closed his eyes and yelled, begged, pleaded for her to return to her mortal form. At first she didn't understand, then when she looked at herself, she understood what had happened. She felt the source of the power and saw it was all her, not the reality energy as she feared. She directed a strong flow to her hands, then focused her limited healing spell on her husband. She ran her hands over his body, healing all of the cuts and bruises in one pass. The healing energy also washed over her and healed minor bruises she has suffered.

She then closed off the power and she quickly faded back to her normal Wood Elven red headed self. "Will, its safe, you can look at me now." She had tears running down her face, "I'm sorry Will, I didn't know that would happen again. I thought that was something only from the other power."

William opened his eyes, on seeing that his wife was back to normal, he reached up and pulled her into a hug. "Tama, I saw you changed, I thought I was losing you. What happened to make you change like that. I looked and it felt like my mind was being twisted inside out."

"The battle fury Will, I went to my full fury while fighting, then I saw you down, I went over the edge, not like I would have before, but close enough. Can you stand yet, we need to move."

"Wait," called a high pitched grunting voice.

William scrambled to his feet while Tamalain spun about to see what was telling them to wait. She saw a single Orc Pawn in the entry way from the main building. Behind it were several of the larger Grunts, holding spears, pushing the Pawn forwards. "Wait." It called again. "Give loot, you go. Big fight over who lead now, you take, you go." The small Or waddled over and dropped he bag at their feet and scampered away as fast as he could.

Tamalain lifted the large sack and grunted at the weight in it. She dropped it back down and opened the top to see what had just been handed to them. She gasped in surprise, Plats and gold's, several hundred of them. On top of he pile though was a small bag, she took it and looked at the contents, two small gems, one blue, the other green. They radiated power as she touched them, jerking her hand back from the shock. She looked at the crown she still held, the Pawn still waited nearby. "These are the real bell gems, yes?"

"Yes, you take, no more trouble. Bad things happen, you take."

Tamalain tossed the gold crown to the Orc, he caught and scrambled back to the entry. Once he was through, the massive stone doors slammed shut. "Well Tam, there's your loot, lets split it so we can carry it and get out of here. You can bet Irontalon will hear about this before long and come racing back to take over."

She just nodded and pulled off her pack. They loaded both packs with as much as they could carry, then used belt packs for the rest. They both jingled and clinked loudly as they staggered out of the courtyard, out into the keep area. The outer gates had been opened and two huge guards just watched as they staggered their way across the bridge out into the night. Once clear, they cast Sow, transformed into wolves and raced off into the night.

~Irontalon camp~

The runner arrived at the outer camps just as dawn broke. He was winded but able to call for the Force Leader. "I bring news, Emperor Deathfist is dead, as are all the commanded under him. The throne is bare, the crown unworn. Return in force and it is yours, for none that are left will be able to stand against you."

Irontalon stepped towards the messenger and demanded to know how this had happened. "Two invaders, just two, Wood Elven, but strange. One turned into a being of light and killed the Emperor and all his guards. They wanted the bell gems, they got them. I am sorry to say that the cowardly Grunts handed over much of the gold coin and to them along with the gems and let them escape."

"Sorry they escaped? This is good news, they can restore the bell then we will capture it and use it ourselves." He called out, "First company, we move in an hour, back to the citadel. Second battalion, remain on post, hold the passes. Let's go, I have a Empire to claim!" His troops cheered in a rather half hearted manner, but he let it pass. Those invaders had done his job for him, all of it. Now he just needed to get back before the fighting destroyed the place.

~Kelethin: Solitary Confinement~

Ginna was in misery. She had not seen nor heard another voice since the day the Fey Queen had paddled her ass black and blue. Gods that woman could lecture. For every hit, she made a point, none of which Ginna had been to happy about. It was when they had her ready to put in the cell that they burned the Blocking runes sets into her head. Four separate runes, each enough on its own, but the Queen wasn't taking any chances.

Ginna was alone with her thoughts, not a very nice place to be, her hate and rage had festered and grown to epic proportions and would have allowed her to kill thousands before she could be slowed even. But even that relief was denied, she just sat and rotted in her cage, alone. Hell, she thought for the unknown number of times, the cell isn't even big enough to properly pace back and forth in. She measured time by when meals came, today was dear and carrots, broiled, she hated broiled carrots and they knew it. But this time something was off, if she had it timed right, this was several hours early.