The Crystals of Narlkant

Da[b][/b]mn, Cat beat me to it. Yes, I think Murdock might be a cameo from somewhere... A book perhaps? Anyway, yes, fight scene good, more elementals die, yes the spamocalypse is upon us in the form of those two moron's that Cat just banned, and:

"Before one of the Air elementals skewered him on its spear." Should be; Zaltan jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding being skewered by the spear. The way you wrote it, it sounds like he jumped to the side, only to get skewered. Good chapter though Expecting more at some point.

Sorry it took me so long to get caught up, my computer has been having... issues.

Anyway, great chapters. Pub brawl being broken up without Zaltan touching anybody? Win. Random elementals getting owned some more? Win. Mirror image warriors and the stealing of their magic gauntlets? Win.

@ everyone: For the record, Murdock is definately a cameo, but he didn't actually come from anywhere. Sotek wanted cameo characters ages ago, and I offered this one. I think.

Correct! You get a virtual muffin! For the record, and seeing as Pan's left, Ga'Rath is a cameo of Bartimaeus from the Bartimaeus Trilogy. Now, on to the fic!

Chapter 10

?The Ordos Magi was a group of scholars and warriors who wished to learn more about the ways of magic and how to use it. That was where I learned to use Strike magic. Anyway, one day the newest member of our order ? I don?t know his name or face; it was policy to reveal neither ? anyway, he had discovered evidence that once, long ago, a group of wizards created four spherical crystals and infused each one with one of the elements: Earth Air Fire and Water.
?Unfortunately, before we had uncovered much information, our order was destroyed. The man who I can only assume is Adzed?s master came into out headquarters, killing all but three of us. The only other survivor was a boy who had been gathering information for us. The four of us agreed to each go after one of the crystals, I headed for the Air crystal; the others went for the other crystals. I hope they are doing better than I am.
?Anyway, to cut a long story short, I managed to get find out that the crystal was in Rodolfo?s palace. I succeeded in getting inside and then I??
Sasha gave a slight laugh. ?Hold on, the only reason you got into the palace was that that was the only place with enough healers to stop you dying,? she looked at Murdock. ?He attacked a camp full of bandits single handed. He got them all too, surprisingly, but they mauled him for it. Sorry, carry on with your story.?
Zaltan rolled his eyes. ?Anyway, once I was inside,?
?You spent a week recovering before you regained consciousness.?
??yes. After I was recovered, I met with Rodolfo and he sent Adzed to show me the defences around the crystal. But the wizard betrayed both of us. He left me to die at the hands of his servant and murdered Rodolfo. The rest of the staff was killed as well, except for Sasha and two of her friends. We found out where Adzed had gone, and followed him. He?s at the shrine of Air at the top of this mountain.?
Murdock was silent for a moment, considering what to say. Eventually he spoke his decision. ?I will help you. If what you say is true, then my peace here will soon be shattered anyway. I saw the way you destroyed those things outside, and you seem like you?ll need someone to help you out when you get in trouble. I won?t be any help against those things though. Not unless you can enchant my fists and feet as you did your sword.?
Zaltan shook his head. ?No, the spell only holds on inorganic substances, so you?d need?? the mage looked down at his own hands. ?Metal gloves!? he finished. He pulled off the bronze gloves and placed them on the floor. Holding his hands over them and chanting under his breath he cast the spell of detection. To his surprise, the gloves still held a spell of repulsion. Any offensive blows taken on the gloves would be deflected, and they would reduce the effects of magic. Zaltan shrugged. That might be good enough. He handed the Gloves to Murdock and explained their properties.
The fighter nodded his thanks and put on the gloves. Although his hands were larger than Zaltan?s, the gloves still seemed to fit perfectly. He raised his eyebrows.
?These gloves, where did you get them? It wasn?t off a man with a gold helmet by any chance??
?Yes, why??
?Because one of them killed my family. There are two of them, brothers. They dress alike and are basically killers who answer to some mysterious man who no-one?s ever seen. If you killed them, then he?s not going to be happy. We should move on quickly, as soon as the sun rises.?
Sasha prepared a meal of boiled meat and dried fruits. She added several herbs from her pack to promote healing. After the food, they filled their packs with food and went to sleep.
The morning came too soon, but the three of them forced themselves to get going. Outside the hut, Zaltan searched the bodies of the guards, until he found the diary of corporal Sharp. He put it in his pocket as they climbed, saving the reading for later.
It was harder to walk now, and they had to stop and put on the furs they had bought. Murdock seemed unaffected by the cold, and when he was asked why, he merely grunted and said something about ?being used to it.?
By midday the peak was in sight. Zaltan called a halt in the lee of a large boulder, and they ate some salted meat with bread. The mage took out the diary and flicked through it. He saw references to the camp at the first store cabin, and the manner of the other soldier?s death.

Day Two: Last night was scary. We camped at the first of three supply sheds, and during the night we heard noises. I went over to investigate, and found Corporal Jones being strangled. There was a glowing green figure lifting him into the air by the neck, and before I could do anything it dropped him and rounded on me. I saw its ghastly face, and then it vanished. I woke the captain, and he ordered us to break camp immediately. It?s lunch time now, and we?re at the second supply store. I thought I saw another ghost earlier but maybe it was nothing. I hope so. The sooner we reach the end of this cursed trip the bet

There was no more writing, but there was a stain of dry blood on the page. It looked as if Corporal Sharp had been one of the first victims of the massacre. Zaltan sighed and passed the diary to Sasha. ?Nothing useful in there, but it does say how that other guy died. Apparently he was called Corporal Jones. Ring any bells??
Sasha looked through the diary, all two pages of it. The first page was written at the first camp, before the attack, and said no more than they already knew. She shook her head. ?No, I can?t remember any guard called that. He was probably a conscript, one of those who couldn?t afford to pay his taxes.?
Murdock sat in silence a few meters away. He looked thoughtful, but alert. So when Zaltan saw him stand up and stretch, he drew his own sword and went to join him.
?What is it??
Murdock looked at him. ?I was once a monk you know. I took a vow of non-violence and spent my days in prayer to the gods. Then my family was murdered. I renounced my vows and fled to the mountains; I?ve have been here ever since, seeking an opponent who might slay me in combat. I think that time has come.? He pointed further up the slope, and Zaltan saw an enormous man. He gasped.
?An ogre! What?s it doing? Apart form drinking I mean.?
?I don?t know. Guarding something most likely. Sasha??
?Yes?? The healer walked up behind them. Zaltan noted how out of place the thick fur coat looked on her. Healer?s robes suited her better.
Murdock faced both of them. ?I?m going to see what that thing?s doing. Apart from drinking. If it?s guarding the way into this shrine of yours I?ll engage it in combat. While I distract it, you two head into the shrine. Wish me luck!? The ex-monk walked out from behind the boulder and approached the ogre. ?Hey, you there!?
The creature looked drunkenly towards him. It dropped the giant flagon it was holding and balled its hands into fists. It is a curious thing about ogres that any possibility of violence will overrule their drunken state and cause them to become sober, at least for a while. During this time they are surprisingly nimble for something as heavy as a cow.
?Graah! Da boss sed summit about anna tack, but I fought ?e was bein? over safe! Turns out ?e was rite! I?ll turn ya inta so much red paste!?

"Graah!"

How very eloquent.

Lol, good chapter. Can't wait to see the next. Ogre versus former pacifist... should be entertaining.

Lol, drunk ogre. And seos beat me to a chapter? Suprise surprise. Good chapter, not much to comment about... Keep it up!

Yay, more fic!

Chapter 11

Murdock looked around. Sure enough, the ogre was standing in front of a flight of steps which descended into darkness. He made eye contact with the ogre. ?So be it.?
The monster charged at him, swinging its fists. Murdock dodged the attack and struck out with one of the gloves. The blow caught the ogre in the head, but seemed to have as much effect as if it had hit an armour plate. A vicious backhand swipe caught the decoy in the stomach, knocking him to the ground a couple of meters away.
He got to his feet. The ogre charged at him and he dodged. As the creature sped past he grabbed its shoulder and swung himself onto its back. The thing roared in annoyance and tried to shake him off, but he clung on with grim determination. ?Zaltan! Sasha! Now! Get in there!?
Zaltan pushed Sasha towards the cave, drawing his sword again as he did so. She nodded once and sprinted towards the entrance. The mage turned and ran towards Murdock and the ogre. Murdock looked at him, while punching the ogre in the head at the same time. ?Don?t worry about me, I?ll be fine. You have to stop Adzed. Go!?
The mage sheathed his sword and turned back. There was no arguing with that tone of voice. He ran after Sasha and followed her into the cave. They ran down the steps and into a straight passage. After an age they came to a door. It was studded with metal and looked pretty solid. Zaltan leaned his ear against it.
There were no sounds from the other side, so he tried the handle. It was locked. Sighing, he took a couple of steps backwards, raised his sword, and performed an overhead swing at the door. Magically enforced, the blow smashed the door clean off its hinges, and left a split halfway through its centre. He smiled in triumph.
He kept grinning as he charged into the room, speaking the spell to dispel magic as he did so and casting it on his sword. The two Air elementals in the room didn?t stand a chance. They were disappearing into the atmosphere even as Sasha walked in. There was another door at the other side of the room, this time unlocked, and she opened it cautiously. On the other side was a dark passage, which faded into pitch blackness.
The room they were currently in was lit by flaming torches. Zaltan lifted one from its bracket on the wall and walked through the door. He stopped abruptly. ?Sasha, through here you must follow exactly in my footsteps. There are pits in the floor, and I think they?re lined with wooden stakes. Or sharp rocks. Anyway, you don?t want to fall down one.?
He carefully proceeded along the passage, testing the floor before each step. The holes in the floor became more and more frequent as they continued, until the passage became a foot wide bridge over a pit of spikes. Finally they reached the other end, and went through a door.
The room was lit by glowing pillars of crystal producing from the ground. It was massive, as big as a cathedral, with a roof which would have been hidden in darkness if not for the giant crystal hanging from the centre. The light they gave was a bluish white, and revealed the fact that the room had only one exit.
Zaltan walked into the middle of the room until he was directly underneath the hanging crystal. From that position he could see a strange object attached to it. It was a glowing green hemisphere. As he watched, a jet of air hissed out of the box and formed itself into an Air elemental. He reached out with his mind to destroy the box, but met some unknown resistance. As the elemental approached him, the box produced another one and then another. Activating the enchantment on his blade, the mage slashed the first elemental apart. Then he heard a scream. He spun around.
One of the elementals had cornered Sasha. It was attacking her with brutal thrusts of its lance. As messages from Zaltan?s brain got access to his legs, he began running. Sasha screamed again as the lance pierced her shoulder. The elemental drew its weapon back for the final blow.
It exploded. Wisps of air were all that remained. Zaltan lowered his sword and checked that Sasha was alright. She was, but she was concentrating all of her energy on healing the hole in her shoulder. She didn?t speak. The mage looked around the room, standing by Sasha until she was recovered enough to avoid the elementals. He looked at the crystals producing from the floor, and frowned. They were glowing green now, almost as though?
He concentrated on one of them, absent-mindedly destroying an elemental which came too close with a slice of his sword as he did so. The crystal cracked and splintered, and finally shattered into tiny fragments. The fragments returned to their original colour of blue-white, but kept glowing. The giant crystal on the ceiling shuddered. The half sphere attached to it became slightly dimmer.
Three elementals rushed at him. He couldn?t jump out of the way as that would have exposed Sasha to their attack. He couldn?t block three charges at once either. He swung his sword. ?Dispel Magic!?
A wave of energy flew out of the blade, ripping the elementals apart. It continued across the cavern, taking out any elementals in its path, until it hit one of the crystals. The rock shattered instantly into blue-white shards, illuminating the ground around where it had once stood.
Sasha clambered to her feet. She put a hand on his shoulder. ?Thank you? I thought I was going to die there. All I could think of was how painful it was going to be. I? Thank you.?
Zaltan smiled. ?You?re welcome. I couldn?t be letting Adzed have things all his own way could I?? The healer laughed. Zaltan focussed his energy on the third crystal; after a brief pause it shattered like the others. The main crystal visibly shook.
Two crystals remained, but they were at the far side of the cavern, out of range of Zaltan's Strike magic. And through a wall of Air elementals. Zaltan renewed the magic on his sword blade, then cautiously advanced.
The elementals moved forwards to meet him. Their ghostly features were twisted in hatred, as though he was the one at fault, not Adzed. They were each clutching a spear or lance in their ethereal hands, and gave the impression of not knowing what fear or defeat was. Well, he?d just have to show them. He brought his sword up in a warrior?s salute, and charged.
Sasha knelt among the remains of one of the crystals, examining the glowing shards. They were certainly mysterious, but there had to be some purpose to them. She looked up at the main crystal on the ceiling. The dome on it was still spewing out elementals, but they seemed to be coming slower now. There were cracks on the gigantic crystal, and the healer wondered how much longer it would hold. As she watched, Zaltan slashed his way to the fourth of the shining rocks and slammed his sword into it.
The magic in the blade dulled as it transferred itself into the crystal. It stopped glowing, but the light of the crystal returned to its previous colour. Zaltan focussed on his weapon, hastily re-making the dispelling magic on it. Just as he finished, one of the elementals swept its lance across and hit him in the head. The sword went spinning out of his hand as stars burst before his eyes and he collapsed to the ground, semi-conscious.
The elemental grinned down at him. Another one glided up next to the first. Then another, until he was surrounded by grinning, ghostlike figures. One of them smashed its spear butt into his stomach, and he curled up in pain. The others joined in, slowly battering him to death.
Suddenly there was the sound of the final crystal shattering. The sound seemed to be accompanied by a series of loud cracks, like stone under pressure. The elementals looked around, and then up. The giant stalactite of a crystal on the roof of the cavern was vibrating like crazy. Abruptly it stopped, and there was an explosion of crystal shards from where it joined the roof. It started to fall.
It moved as if in slow motion, the elementals fleeing away from the point of impact. The tip of the giant crystal hit the ground, and shattered into the same tiny fragments which the other crystals had broken into. When everything had settled down, the hemisphere which had been creating the elementals was lying in the centre of a massive ring of broken crystal. As Zaltan?s sight returned, he saw a white figure holding a sword above its head. With a loud cry, the figure drove the blade downwards into the dome. There was a sound of air escaping, and then the strange object boiled itself away to nothingness. The figure turned to the fallen mage, and he drew in a sharp breath of surprise. ?Sasha??

Da[b][/b]mnit Sotek! There is a discussion thread where you can notify me of chapters. How about using it? Good chapter, decent fight, along with enemy-spawning crystals and... crystal spawned enemies I guess. Decent fight... I'm surprised somebody other than myself has read the Bartimaeus Trilogy. Good job. And I'm just guessing that Murdock is a Murtugh cameo from Eragon? Wild guess, the name kinda reminded me. More

More enemies crossed off. But, will you feature an enormous three headed cow? I wonder.

Apart from the fighting, both chapters were enjoyable to read. I'm looking forward to the Adzed fight because... mages always rock in battles.

No, Murdock is a cameo from Seos, as he said. Although Murtugh is incredibly cool too. Riddle time!

Only one color, but not one size; stuck to the ground, yet easily flies. Present in sun, but not in rain; doing no harm, and feeling no pain. What is it?

A shadow. And is this a riddle that unlocks a new chapter?

« Last edited by King of Hell on Oct 24th 2007 »

On 24-Oct-2007 Sotek said:

No, Murdock is a cameo from Seos, as he said. Although Murtugh is incredibly cool too. Riddle time!

Only one color, but not one size; stuck to the ground, yet easily flies. Present in sun, but not in rain; doing no harm, and feeling no pain. What is it?

Now, usually I just search your questions on Google and return with the answer, because I'm like that, but for once, I'm making a serious attempt. Is it a rainbow?

KOH: Yes, but unfortunately I was on the wrong computer by the time you posted the answer. Well done!

Cat: Wrong answer, and I'm making them up from now on!

Chapter 12

Sasha smiled as she touched Zaltan on the forehead. Healing power flowed out of her and into him, clearing his vision and healing his wounds. She proffered the sword. ?Here, this is yours. I?m sorry I borrowed it, but I figured that if the elementals weren?t distracted then they would kill you. I didn?t expect those results of course? it would appear that they were tied to that weird hemisphere which created them. When I destroyed it they all vanished.?
Zaltan took the weapon and smiled back at her. He opened his mouth to speak, but she got in ahead of him. ?Look at that!? He looked. She was pointing at the point where the crystal had hit the ground. There was now a narrow beam of light producing from the spot. As they watched, it expanded, and then faded to nothing. In its place was a spiral staircase, wound around a single pillar of crystal. The shards remaining on the ground morphed and melded together, until there was an entire floor of glowing crystal. They stared open mouthed.
This time Zaltan got his words in first. ?What? I guess this is the first room of the shrine of Air, and this is how it?s supposed to be. If so, we ought to continue up that staircase. Ready for a showdown with a dark wizard??
Sasha nodded. ?As I?ll ever be. Let?s go.? Zaltan stood up, and they walked over to the foot of the spiral stair. The mage stepped onto it, the healer following on behind.
They had only climbed a few steps when a voice called out ?Wait!? They turned.
Murdock staggered across the floor. He stopped at the foot of the stairs, clutching his side. There was fresh blood on his white clothes, and they were even more torn than before. His face was contorted in pain. Sasha immediately placed her hand on his temple, searching for the source of his injury. Locating it as the point he was holding at his side, she focussed as much of her power as she could spare on healing the wound. Murdock let out a hiss of breath and sank to the floor. The flow of blood from his major wound stopped and his features relaxed.
Sasha removed her hand, and Murdock sat up. His wounds were healed. He had been cheated of death yet again. He sighed. ?I won. The ogre didn?t last long after I broke its neck, but it managed to stick me with one of its knives. I didn?t realise the git had any. I see you?ve managed to get the way open, though I won?t ask how. I assume it was guarded. We?d better move.?
The three of them climbed up the staircase. It continued up through the solid rock of the mountain, lit only by the glow of the crystal column. It seemed to go on forever.
Finally, after an age they reached the top. Thighs burning, they found themselves on the very summit of Mount Stormbolt. As Murdock climbed out of the pit which they had climbed up, the top of the crystal column expanded blocking the staircase and trapping them on the plateau. It was small, only about twenty meters from the staircase in any direction. Standing with his back to them, his sword pointing to the heavens, was Adzed.
Zaltan drew his sword and stepped towards the wizard. The layer of snow on the peak was surprisingly thin, but it still made a dramatic crunching sound with each step he took. A few paces from the wizard?s back he stopped. ?Adzed, you have nowhere left to run. You won?t get off this mountaintop alive. Why not simply save yourself the trouble and surrender? It?ll be a lot easier for both of us.?
The dark wizard turned slowly. He drew his sword. ?Nowhere left to run? If you truly believe that, then you?re more stupid than you look. I see that I shall have to teach you a lesson. Maybe you?ll survive it, but I doubt that very much. After all, you only beat Ga?Rath last time because you outnumbered him. You?ll never beat us together!? Adzed snapped his fingers. Ga?Rath appeared at his shoulder, still holding the greatsword he had used before.
The familiar was smirking. ?Remember me? You won?t find me such an easy win now you don?t outnumber me!? It swung its greatsword in a complex pattern, making use of the fact that it was airborne to swing the blade underneath itself.
Adzed took a step towards Zaltan. The mage backed off slightly, raising his sword to the guard position. He glanced back at his friends. ?Sasha, Murdock, you ready??
?I?m ready if you are!?
?Ready to go down fighting!?
Adzed slapped himself on the forehead. ?Of course, I almost forgot! To make this fair, any elements which I don?t have you shouldn?t have either.? He raised his hands to point at Sasha. ?Like healing.?
Zaltan?s eyes widened as he realised what the wizard meant. ?No!? He jumped forwards, sword swinging. Before the blade could impact with Adzed?s head, it was blocked by five feet of silver. Ga?Rath held his blade in place, blocking every blow the mage tried to make against the wizard. Getting annoyed, Zaltan backfisted the familiar in the face, sending it spinning away. He turned back to Adzed. But he was too late.
?Dark Flare!? A massive beam of darkness blasted out of the wizard?s hands, forcing him backwards slightly. The beam sped towards Sasha, a continuous discharge of dark energy. She raised her hands as though to ward off the incoming attack.
It never hit. Before the impact, Murdock leapt out in front of the healer. The beam crashed into his gloves, and he began straining to turn it back on its creator. ?Sasha? Move!? He roared out his rage at Adzed, then looked at Zaltan. ?You? avenge my family? for me. Good? luck!?
With a crackle of energy, the gloves exhausted the last of their power. A second later the torrent of darkness engulfed Murdock, destroying his body so instantaneously that he didn?t even have time to feel it. The dark attack stopped. He lowered his hands. ?What the??? It took a few seconds for realisation to hit him. ?Aw ****. I?m a ghost!?
Zaltan took advantage of Adzed?s momentary exhaustion to stab him in the head. He lunged, but at the last second the wizard shouted out a word. ?Zerris!?
A gust of wind knocked the mage off balance. His thrust missed its target by mere inches, and he had to brace himself to not fall over. Adzed used the time to ready his sword and get into a combat stance.
The blades clashed; the green wind blade and the steel longsword. The slashing winds cut Zaltan?s face, but he continued to fight as though there was no blood in his eyes. He hacked at Adzed?s upper body, holding his weapon in both hands. The wizard backed off slowly, giving up ground reluctantly. Suddenly he tripped. Zaltan held his sword to his opponent?s throat, but Adzed merely chuckled.
A force hit Zaltan in the side, knocking him to the ground. Ga?Rath gripped onto him, pummelling his head with both fists. Adzed stood up while the mage was occupied, and slammed the point of his sword into the ground. A circle of runes appeared and he stepped into it. There was a flash of light and he vanished leaving only the circle behind.
The sudden absence of its master caused Ga?Rath to lessen its assault and retreat to just out of range. ?Hey, the idiot?s gone! I have no idea where! So that means I?m free for a bit. Until he summons me again anyway. You should go through that portal he went through if you want to find him. Me, I wouldn?t follow him for vodka. Not that I expect you to know what that is. Well, see you around!? The familiar flapped its wings; threw an exaggerated salute with its greatsword, as though it weighed nothing; and flapped away down the mountain, laughing like a crazy thing.
Zaltan watched it go, then turned his attention to Sasha. The healer was kneeling beside the patch of ground where Murdock had died. She was crying. The mage walked over to her and knelt down next to her. ?Hey, are you alright??
She sniffed and made an attempt to stop crying. ?It? it?s Murdock. He saved me and? and then? that monster killed him! He could have stopped but no. No; he had to prove his power. Zaltan, we?re going after Adzed. And when we find him, you won?t be fighting alone. I?m going to kill him, even if it costs me my life. Because I know just how evil he is now.? She started to cry again, the brief moment of rage extinguished by the built up emotions which she had been storing for several days now.
Zaltan put his arms around her, and she gratefully cried into his shoulder, sobbing out all the feelings which had been bound up tight in some far off corner of her soul.
When she had run out of tears, Sasha stood up and purposefully strode over to the ring of symbols. Zaltan followed her, realising that he was feeling the same as she was. Too much had happened, and his head was overflowing trying to make sense of it. Wherever Adzed had gone, they would find him. And when they found him, they were going to kill him, in whatever way they could. As revenge for Murdock and the rest, all of the dark wizard?s victims.
He felt something, and looked down to see Sasha?s hand interlocked with his. He looked back up into her face, and smiled. She returned the expression, and together they stepped across the boundary of the rune circle. There was a double flash of light, and they vanished, leaving nothing but still air behind
Murdock grinned to himself. With dedication like theirs, there was no way they could fail. As Zaltan and Sasha stepped into the circle, he darted forwards. The blade of Zaltan?s sword looked like a good place to stay. He settled into the cold steel, and watched. He wouldn?t miss this for the world.

Why did the epic fight have to end with no Adzed death? Please tell me. Other than that, someone good was killed, and that's makes up for everything, so well done.

"Aw ****. I'm a ghost" = second best death line ever!

Oh, and I also reckon that you are going to be a complete prick now and move on to the next crystal! Don't!

If he does, so help me I will rip into him with his own mod axe, seeing as I haven't presented it to him yet. Don't do it! And now, yay, Adzed has the crystal and is using it. I like the wind-word. I also enjoyed how Murdock bonded with Zaltan's sword. New attack like "Soul Slash" anybody? Sasha is going to be a good fighter I reckon, and Gar'eth is a great Bartimaeus. This is also the first error I'm pointing out in a long time in this fic:

"Standing with his back to them, his sword pointing to the heavens, was Adzed.
Zaltan drew his sword and stepped towards the wizard. The layer of snow on the peak was surprisingly thin, but it still made a dramatic crunching sound with each step he took. A few paces from the wizard?s back he stopped. ?Adzed, you have nowhere left to run. You won?t get off this mountaintop alive. Why not simply save yourself the trouble and surrender? It?ll be a lot easier for both of us.?
The dark wizard turned slowly. He drew his sword."

He already had his sword out.Moar!

Thanks for pointing that out, I'll change it to "Waving his arms about and mumbling like crazy" or something. In regards to what happens next, you'll have to wait until tommorrow to find out unles you can think of a convincing argument for me to post the next chapter today.

In that case: BUMP.

And here is your mod weapon. Feel free to chop noobs up. And don't forget who made it

Hmm, bribary sounds like a good enough reason to me. New chapter!

Part 3: Fire

Chapter 1

The Morningstar hummed as it whipped through the air. The spiked ball impacted with its target, breaking the man?s leg. He fell to the ground, whimpering in pain; and the weapon came slamming down onto his head, cutting short his death cry.
The two remaining would-be muggers backed off slowly, looking from the dripping Morningstar to the boy who wielded it. They avoided looking at the mangled corpse which had only five minutes ago been their leader. How could they have known that the dark haired, pale skinned youth was able to use the weapon he was carrying? It was impossible! It took years to master a Morningstar, and the boy had wielded it like an expert.
The boy sneered at them, challenging them to try anything. The men turned and ran, thoroughly scared. The boy reduced his expression to a blank face, used the dead man?s shirt to clean his Morningstar, picked up his bag of food and continued down the street. So far it had been a good night.

Llammelan was a small town, a gathering place of thieves and villains of all kinds. Ironically it was famous for this, so bounty hunters made a habit of stopping by every now and then. Sometimes they even left alive.
The boy walked through the back alleys of the town. There were no guards in Llammelan; whenever somebody tried to clean up the town they found that it had a strange aversion to order, and that any patrols which were sent out had a strange aversion to life. Despite being only a few miles from the great city of Narlmark, the town was totally independent. There was no single leader, but rather a council of the most ruthless of the town?s inhabitants. The boy was there for information, nothing more. Although a little practice with his weapon had been fun.
He finally reached his destination; a small inn in the backstreets of Llammelan called The Blunt Knife. It had the best beds in the town, which wasn?t saying much; and the worst food, which was. The only reason that it hadn?t been looted and the owner killed was that he had ways of getting anything you wanted, whether it was information or a rare type of poison. The boy knew this. It was why he had chosen the inn.
He pushed open the door, and walked in. The man at the bar looked up as he entered, and grunted. That was Ryan, the barkeeper. He was a young man who looked like he spat in the beer glasses to clean them. Of course, that might account for the taste. The boy ignored him and walked into the kitchen. He put the bag of food on the table, helped himself to a bread roll, and walked out again. He could feel Ryan?s eyes boring into his back, but he refused to look at the man as he ascended the stairs to the next floor.
His room was one of the three in the building itself. There were other rooms in a small barn behind the inn, but the boy had declined them because of the draughts. The room he chose had no window. There was no chance of being aimed at from across the street because of this. He pulled the blanket back from the bed, and saw what he had been waiting for. There was a small box there. Slowly, he opened it. Inside was a small iron ring. He grinned. This was going to be too easy.
He put on the ring. It glowed brightly, then dulled to black and clamped around his finger. He pointed at a pile of clothes on the floor. They crumpled into a heap in the corner of the room. He picked up his Morningstar. Now he felt that he was ready to locate the? thing. And of course, the person who was also looking for it. He just needed one more thing from Jared.
Information.
He needed to know where the Crystal of Fire was. It was vital that he got to it before the other man, or else the world could go up in flames. Literally. He wondered briefly where Jared had managed to find the force ring, but then, that was why the guy was still alive. He got things, anything, no matter what it was.
The boy continued downstairs to find Jared. The man was usually in one of the small rooms at the back of the inn. The boy knocked and waited. Several minuets later the door opened. He stepped inside into the dimness. Jared was sitting behind his desk as usual, reading a book. He looked up.
?Ah, Seth. You found the package as requested I presume??
?Yes, thank you. How much is the price??
?I think one hundred gold. However, as I know where that came from I was able to get a discount. It will cost you fifty gold.? Jared raised his eyebrow. ?I am assuming you were not intending to simply kill me once you had what you needed. That would be? foolish.?
Seth smiled. It would have worried anyone else, but Jared seemed unaffected. The boy pulled out a bag of money. He had taken it from one of the muggers. ?Here, this is for you. There?s seventy gold in there, because I need some information.?
Jared nodded. This was usual. His customers often asked him to get something hard to find, just to test his worthiness. After he had acquired it, they would request what they really wanted. ?Go on.?
?I need you to find the Fire Crystal. It is a spherical gem, red in colour. I need it. If you manage to locate it, I will pay you anything you ask.? Jared nodded again. He had heard of the Crystals.
?Tell me, how will I tell this gemstone apart from any normal ruby??
?It allows the holder to control the power of fire. It is vital that I get to it first. If my rival gets to it first, the world is in trouble. Thanks for your time.? He backed out of the room, eyes never leaving Jared?s face. He was reputed to be a professional knife thrower.
Once in the bar, Seth ordered a mug of water. He could have had anything on offer, but he made a habit of not drinking alcohol. It dulled the senses and clouded the mind. Plus it tasted disgusting. Especially in this pub.
Ryan slammed the mug down on the bar. He leered at Seth, showing exactly what he thought of people too sensible to get drunk for no reason. The boy ignored him and drank the water. It had bits in it.
After his thirst was quenched, he stood up and left the inn. He wandered down to the market again, stopping occasionally to look at the stores. One of them was trying to sell fried gristle under the title ?Fresh Beef.? Technically it was true, but Seth thought that he could?ve come up with something a bit better. He sighed. This was Llammelan after all.

I swear, If i ever go to Egypt, I will strap you to a pyramid and leave you there without sunblock! But, it's the start of one of my favorite elements, so I'm alright I guess. In any case, the use of a morning star is greatly appretiated, as well as a force ring. A shady bandit town works as well, along with prying somebody for information. An uneventfull chapter by your standards, but still interesting and makes a good setup for the rest of Part 3, which I assume will be cut short according to tradition, thus pis[b][/b]sing everyone off. Moar

Hey, I remembered to post it!

Chapter 2

That evening, while Seth was eating his dinner, Jared approached him. The man was wearing his usual clothes, but he looked different somehow. It took the boy a while to notice why, but finally he realised it. Jared was scared.
?What?s up Jared? You look kind of worried.?
?You asked me to find the Fire Crystal. I contacted one of my informers, one who was part of a group of mages. At least I tried to contact him. He?s dead, and his whole order with him. I was hoping they would be able to help, but obviously someone else had the same idea. Their headquarters was apparently destroyed some months ago.?
Screams; explosions; sounds of magic; mad laughter. Seth gripped the handle of his Morningstar tightly. He was too late! The order had been unprepared, and now they were dying! With a grim resolution of vengeance lodged into his mind, he approached the ruined door. As he reached it, a man with fiery red hair fired a blast of darkness into the chest of the leader of the order, sending him crashing into the wall. Seth raised his weapon for the blow which would kill the intruder, but his opponent was too fast. The man spun around and sent a beam of darkness into the young mercenary?s face. Blackness took him.
?Are you even listening?? Jared?s voice snapped Seth out of his memory. ?I said that whoever you?re after must be tough if he could kill Yakima and a room full of his allies just like that. Of course, what this means for you is that I have no way of knowing where the Crystal is. What it means for me is that I fail for the first time ever, and I owe you twenty gold.? The innkeeper counted out the coins from his pouch and handed them over. ?I suggest you look in the library in Narlmark. It?s got the biggest selection of information I?ve ever seen, but I don?t know that it will help. Good luck anyway.? He turned and walked back into his room at the rear of the inn.
Seth frowned. He had no idea that the Jared had such important contacts. Yakima! The man had picked him at random from the three who had applied for the job of information gatherer for the order. He claimed it was because he looked like he had moral values, while the other two were clearly some of the small minority which gives mercenaries their bad name.
He could remember when he?d cone up with the idea of being a mercenary. It was when his village had been destroyed by bandits and they?d told him that the army used swords as their primary weapon. Swords were boring. Morningstars weren?t. Mercenaries could use their own weapons. It had been an easy choice back then. He?d been fifteen.
Shrugging, he finished his meal. It was disgusting, but he didn?t mind. Then he went upstairs to bed. It was an uneventful night. Only sixteen people died in the whole of Llammelan. One of them had even been ill beforehand.

In the morning, Seth left the inn. He paid Jared ten gold for the room, and set off on foot for the capital. Normally he would have offered to guard a merchant caravan or a trader?s cart, but none of them ever came to Llammelan. It was because of the low chance of making a profit and the high chance of being dead within five minuets.
The walled city was only an hour?s walk from the town, so he set off. After he had been going for half an hour he got a feeling he was being followed. Looking back the way he had come, he thought he saw a figure darting behind a bush. He shrugged. They could follow if they wanted to. Just to be on the safe side, he readied his Morningstar. The spiked ball was as black as, well, really black metal. The chain was the same material, and the handle was the same, but wrapped in a strip of black leather. It was a frightening sight, especially when it was swinging towards your head at high speeds.
When he reached the city he paused. The wide open main gates were an impressive sight, and the guards were as alert as ever. Good. He clipped his Morningstar onto a specially designed belt, and approached the gate.
?Halt! What business do you have here??
Wow, the guards actually cared. ?I wish to visit the library.? That should do it. They just needed a reason to let you in. and it was the truth.
?Oh yeah, fully armed and all. You?re not going to get in on that excuse you know. The library is for scholars, not warriors. Push off, or think of something better.?
Hmm, okay, so they weren?t stupid then. Armed people didn?t want to use the library. Right then. ?I?m actually meeting someone in the city, but I thought that sounded more suspicious. Sorry. I?ll be late, can I go in now??
The guards looked at each other. Then they stood aside. ?Okay kid, you can go in. And a word of advice, tell the truth first next time.?
Seth sighed inwardly as he entered Narlmark. Guards really were a nuisance. He proceeded through the streets, heading for the centre of the city. The library was in the noble?s quarters, behind another set of gates. This was probably to stop people like him from getting in and messing things up. He shrugged. If they didn?t let him in, he?d just have to let them burn.
The inner wall was higher than the first, probably because it was the last line of defence. The gate looked stronger and was guarded by men in full plate armour. Nobody was using it. Seth approached slowly, making it very clear that he was not hostile. The guards were armed with spears, and they levelled them at him.
?What do you want? Only people with the noble?s pass may come through here. All others must stay in the main section of the city. Show your pass or get lost.?
Seth paused. He hadn?t expected this. ?I just wanted to use the library; I need to do some research for a friend. Please??
The guard shook his head. ?Sorry pal, it?s the law. You can?t come past until I see your pass. Governor?s orders. Lord Chalzan?s particular about things like that.?
Seth?s shoulders sagged. The guards looked like they actually knew how to use their weapons, and he didn?t want to fight them anyway. The city was going to need all the warriors it had. He nodded and turned away. It looked like he would have to find another way in.
He found his way to the marketplace. It was nothing like as interesting as the one in Llammelan. There were no stalls selling poison for three gold a bottle, or advertising the solid gold products of a raid. There was a stall selling knives, but most of them were kitchen implements. Seth sighed. This place was dull.
He wandered around the market, occasionally showing interest in some of the products for as long as it took him to realise that the ?Mystic Potion of Youth? was really bottled urine. Stale urine. After that he gave up.
The statue in the centre of the marketplace was of some famous idiot holding a sword. Probably an old king.
Finally he spotted a tavern he liked the look of and went in. It was a nice place, with only a few suspicious stains on the floor and real clean glasses. The patrons were quiet and there was no drunken singing. Amazing.
Of course, it was still the morning. The bar probably got more rowdy in the evening and at night. Seth walked up to the bar. The barmaid looked at him. ?Can I get you something??
?Yes, I?d like a mug of water please.?
?Water? That?s not the usual request from people your age you know. Are you sure you wouldn?t like a beer??
?No, just water thanks.? The barmaid shrugged and poured out a glass of water. It was actually clean, and tasted like it had been filtered. Not bad.
The mercenary looked around, and realised that he might have to stay in the city for a while. He wondered how much a room would cost. The inn seemed to be of good quality, but that was no indication of price. He had chosen this tavern because it was clean and the name sounded good.
The Soldier?s Arms.

ZOMG Plot twist! Okay, now, the chapter was univentfull, but still good as it advanced the plot more, and gave us backround information on how the protagonist is connected to the order somehow. It'd be cool if Shade met up with Seth, but it's not going to happen until later. So, I'll sit patiently waiting for the next one.