El-Vador's Travels (63 page)

She
didn't even know the silent creature's name as she bore down upon
her, she neither wanted nor required it, the being that inhabited was
a waste product of the merging, discarded and overpowered through the
will of the strong.

Their
conversation was not of the physical realm, their mouths need not
open and the words need not be spoken, their very thoughts were so
attuned from the desire of the joining that they need only convey
them as such.

'You
are a vessel, that is all you are to me. We will merge and your power
will be greeted by mine. The augmentation of the teachings of the
Brotherhood you betrayed with my own powers will drive the artefact,
and from there the ether shall be split and the Brotherhood shall
rush through. There will be nothing that the opposition can do to
quell them, and Salvarius will be the figurehead to reign over all.'

The
powerful opposition to her sentiment was registered in her mind. 'I
will not let you.'

'You
have no choice.'

The
chamber door opened and Salvarius entered. A smile on his face and
confidence in his stride.

'I
see that the bonding ceremony is under way.'

Mina
turned toward him with a tired smile playing upon her lips. 'She is
not being very cooperative, master. It tires me to keep having to
push against her.'

'She
will cooperate eventually, Mina. Of this you have already assured me,
it is simply a matter of time. For now we must use what remaining
power has been gifted to you and return to the burrow. At least there
your pursuit cannot harm our plans.'

'Yes
master.' Mina replied docilely, tiredness touching her eyes. 'I shall
work harder upon the twin, she will submit to my will eventually. I
would feel much more comfortable doing this while heavily guarded, my
own defences have weakened substantially.'

Salvarius
offered her an appraising look. 'Good. I expect it to be so, do not
disappoint me Mina.'

He
reached out for her with his hand, running it gently across her
cheek. 'You shall have the protection you require, fear not. Soon the
merging shall be complete and your power will imbue this artefact.
After that, nothing shall stop us.'

With
that they left the dusty confines of the final ruin and with Aliana
in tow they returned to the burrow in a haze of pulsating power.

What
they did to her and just how much it cost her over the ensuing years
is something that frightens even one such as I. In a way it makes me
thankful for the darkness I have within me, there can only be room
for one such corner of the mind.

H
e sensed the Elf long before he was spotted, and
knew as he traversed the cloud of darkness that this was a pivotal
point in the already strained alliance he had held together.

Judicael had been his usual reluctant self when it came to power and
it had taken a great number of threats to convince him to come on
this journey. There was no other option left for the assassin, if
they had set out on foot or even mounted the swiftest of steeds they
would not have reached El-Vador in time.

The surge of power had upset the dynamic that Anacletus carefully
monitored between the two forces, it was clear now that Salvarius and
his benefactor had returned to the burrow to initiate the bonding.
Meaning that the Elf was travelling in entirely the wrong direction.

He could feel the continuous complaints from the thief permeate his
every thought but resisted batting them down, there was no sense in
making the man frantic by suppressing him. Instead he continued to
focus on just what to say to El-Vador, knowing that by losing the
Pixie he had most likely forfeited his chance at a civil
conversation.

The smoke slowly subsided from his vision to reveal the Elf with
weapon drawn, outlined by the harsh glare of the sun-streaked
barrens. This wasn't going to be easy to explain.

'You.' his target hissed, advancing upon the assassin with darkness
pulsing from a clenched fist. 'I told you to guard Aliana, now she
has been taken!'

This stopped Anacletus in his tracks, he had not expected the Elf to
know of her ensnarement. At least he need not explain that it had
occurred now, which was one small saving grace when dealing with an
angry and lethal foe.

Judicael's appearance out of the smoke was enough to catch El-Vador
off guard, and Anacletus used the momentary hesitation to his
advantage, keeping his hands firmly by his sides and speaking in a
clear voice. 'The forces that seek to prevent us from destroying
Sarvacts did their utmost to waylay me, as a result I was taken away
from the Pixie for a time and unable to prevent her capture. They
could not risk holding me any further without causing an imbalance in
the ether, so I return to you with aid.'

El-Vador took a step forward and to his surprise it was Judicael who
came to the assassin's defence. 'Think for a moment, I implore you.'
the thief said in his stuttering voice. 'Why would Anacletus return
to you after having betrayed you if he did not intend to make
amends?' he stepped forward with arms raised and was clearly doing
his best to play the negotiator. 'Why would he bring me here if he
did not intend to aid you in destroying Salvarius?'

The words were enough to pause the advance of the Elf, and for that
Anacletus was thankful. He knew not what the Brotherhood had taught
him but what he had seen in the cave suggested that he was much more
powerful that when they had last met. He hadn't lived this long by
testing the resources of every powerful being he came into contact
with.

'So you are claiming that powers beyond your control prevented you
from honouring the promise you made with your life?'

Anacletus nodded. 'No further fetched than the idea of my returning
to face your retribution, or my employing Judicael to witness it,
no?'

The Elf continued to waver, clearly unconvinced at the idea of the
assassin speaking the truth. Anacletus couldn't blame him, he
wouldn't trust himself if the roles were reversed.

'Very well then.' El-Vador finally replied, sheathing his blade and
relinquishing his hold on the power. The tension across the plain
dropped immediately and the protective edges of the smoke Anacletus
was wrapped in receded. 'Why have you brought the thief to us now?
What purpose does he serve in all of this?'

'Judicael is a former associate of mine whose primary skill is the
unlocking of Orcish burrows, a capability that renders him most
effective as a companion in our endeavour.'

El-Vador stared out across the barrens and stretched his arm out,
gesturing. 'I see no Orcish burrows in this wasteland, Anacletus.
Give me answers, now.'

Seeing that his intractable ally was losing patience once again,
Anacletus was quick to reply. 'Aliana no longer resides within the
barrens, they have taken her back to the heavily guarded burrow by
using powers from beyond the ether to transport them. I felt the
surge myself, and was able to pin-point its destination thanks to the
negligence of the foe that detained me.'

It was enough, the Elf grunted in acknowledgement and the last
remnants of tension between them evaporated into a studied and
professional acceptance. They were mutual allies once more, though he
suspected that El-Vador fully intended to make him pay for his
unintentional betrayal once Salvarius was dealt with. He needed to
deal with that now, before it was too late.

'Do you expect me to step into your smoke-filled grasp and simply let
you take me where you wish, assassin?'

Anacletus dampened the rage that was beginning to build when
confronted with the Elf's continually defiant tone. The logical half
calmed the beast within him with simple statements and observations,
now was not the time to lose his cool.

'This smoke-filled grasp as you call it is the only way to reach the
burrow in time. Judicael has passed through it and may testify as to
its safety, should you still not believe that I am entirely genuine
in my efforts to prevent our utter destruction.'

He cursed inwardly at himself for the sarcastic tone that laced his
words, but the Elf did not rise to it, seemingly swayed by the logic
behind them.

His momentary ally cut a frustrated figure, pacing back and forth
across the dusty land, torn between his distrust and his duty while
hopefully realising he had no choice at all.

'So be it.' came the words in that strange mountainous accent of his.
'How do we go about getting inside the burrow?'

Judicael stepped forward and began outlining the preliminary details
as quickly as he could, and Anacletus was relieved to see the Elf
listening. For the Brotherhood to have one of them in captivity was a
desperate situation, for him to have to kill the other would probably
doom them. He sank into himself then, thinking back to his previous
encounter with the nameless enemy that stalked him from beyond. How
could he put an end to such interference without causing a rift to
form in the ether that would destroy all purpose in his plans?

'Your plans are detailed and reasonable, much better than when I
first came to Harg's burrow.' he heard the Elf conclude, 'I shall go
through with this, now how do you get us close enough without their
sentries seeing us?'

The assassin stepped forward and let wisps of smoke exude from him,
not enough to startle his on-edge companion but a serviceable
demonstration of his capabilities.

'I want you to try to see me, Elf.' he replied, letting the smoke
coil about his arm in a pleasing fashion.

'See you?' the Elf said, suspicion plain on his face.

'Observe.' Anacletus said, lifting his smoke-curled hand and dashing
it upon the ground between them.

A wall of darkness welled up in the space, obscuring all sight and
preventing the Elf from penetrating it with his keen eyes. The
assassin stared through it as if the air was untouched by
obstruction, studying the Elf's features slowly change from confusion
to understanding.

'You are right, I cannot see you through the smoke, and I believe I
understand your plan.'

Anacletus smiled. 'Then we shall go onward to the burrow, though I
will not be able to join you inside.'

El-Vador's eyes narrowed, he clearly had been expecting more aid than
simply Judicael when they had appeared before him and suggested this.
'So you can take us all the way to the burrow in this smoke of yours
but you cannot enter? That sounds awfully convenient, Anacletus.'

'There are complications, Elf. When last I attempted any use of my
power beyond simple travel I was pitted in a duel against a fiendish
foe from the ether. I fully suspect it shall attempt to use my
approaching the burrow as justification to halt my aid and retain the
balance.'

'For someone so determined to protect myself and Aliana from harm,
you're doing a terrible job.'

The assassin bristled uncharacteristically, raising his voice. 'I am
doing the best that I can, okay? There are forces here beyond my
control and understanding and I cannot simply waltz into Salvarius's
heavily fortified burrow and kill everyone within. To do so would
result in a cataclysmic chain reaction, meaning that I have to rely
upon you.'

'Fine.' muttered El-Vador, somewhat mollified by the genuinely
strained tone of the man before him. 'We had best be travelling then,
let's do this.'

Anacletus nodded, taking a deep breath to compose himself. The Elf
had nearly got the best of him, he'd almost lashed out knowing that
it would destroy everything he was working toward. Knowing that to do
so would cause him endless torment only frustrated him further.

'Close your eyes, Elf. This shall be painless.'

It was.

After
all the wandering through the barrens in pursuit of Salvarius it had
been for naught. He had the Pixie and presumably he had found the
artefact sought for in the ruins. All that was left for El-Vador to
do was trust Anacletus this one last time and use Judicael to enter
this burrow without arousing suspicions. A seemingly impossible task
given his track record with these matters.

This
burrow differed greatly from that he had first met Salvarius in,
there were not attempts at hiding the location, with two large towers
sprouting directly out of the ground and monitoring the dusty plain
around them. As Judicael and El-Vador picked their way from cover to
cover, he wondered how long this strange smoke would hold and what
concealment it really offered. The two men headed for the large
outflow pipe that stank of things noxious, a familiar trip that
El-Vador was not looking forward to.

Of
Anacletus there was no sight, he had left a blanket of smoke to
prevent them from being spotted by sentries at least, perhaps that
had taken too much power and now he was paying for it. Assuming that
the struggle he had spoken of with the creature beyond the ether was
ongoing. All they could do now was carry on without him and not hope
for his aid should things turn sour.

They
crept through the sewers without any obstruction, it would appear
that Salvarius wasn't expecting any opposition this far into Orcish
territory. That was until they came to the gate.

Judicael
crouched in the shadows observing the structure silently for some
time before remarking. 'This iron gate is new, it does not have the
same stench as the rest of the sewer.'

El-Vador
nodded. 'It looks as if Salvarius has learnt paranoia since my
previous infiltration.'

The
sewers had no turnings or alternate routes, they either passed
through the door or gave up, it was the only way in.

Judicael
mused at the seemingly impenetrable object. 'Give me but a moment to
study it. Anything that can be built can be unmade with the right
hands.'

The
thief carefully drew a small vial he had secreted in a hidden pocket.
Unstopping the sandy-coloured vessel, he proceeded to approach the
door with a look of extreme concentration.