One Man's Will

Halberd and Nyke began to head back to Dinav. Halberd took · another look at the blue seashell. He couldn't quite place · where it came from. "Nyke, do you know anything about shells?" He · asked his companion. · "No, not really, but I think a friend of mine might be of · some help. She doesn't mind visitors," smiles Nyke. · Halberd nodded at the prospect of information, but he didn't · like the way Nyke was smiling. He shrugged it off as nervousness · from his encounter with the Roc. · Nyke began to think to himself. "The sword will get a good · price in the undermarket. The money I get should be able to pay · off my debts. I hope there is some left over for me. I'll be · needing it for a night of entertainment with Nariss. I wonder · why Halberd wants to know where the shell came from. I might as · well tag along. There might be money in it for me," he thought · why staring at the clouds. He gulped once as a cloud seemed to · form a Roc's beak, then he took a deep breath to calm himself. · The encounter with the Roc had shaken his confidence. He wouldn't · mind fighting orcs or goblins, but no more giants or Rocs for · a while. · Dinav came into sight as Maitak, the white moon, was slowly · reaching its apex. Halberd followed Nyke to an old house. Nyke · knocked twice, then knocked three times. Halberd decided to keep · quiet. He didn't like dark dealings, but he needed information · about the shell. · The door opened to show a very old woman. She looked at · Nyke for a few moments and motioned for them to enter. · "How can I help you?" asked the old lady. · "My friend here would like to know about a shell," said · Nyke. · "May I see it?" asked the woman. · Halberd handed the shell over. The woman took one look and · The expression on her face was disbelief. · The silence was unbearable for Halberd. The woman seems · engrossed in finding every single crack and curve of the shell. He · finally asked, "Do you know where it came from?" · The old woman looked up and said, "You are an impatient one, · aren't you?" With that, she returned to examining of the · shell. · Nyke stood by watching several different objects in the · room. He looked at the woman who was occupied and pocketed a · small silver-lined box. · Halberd took several deep breaths to calm himself, then · waited for any response from the woman. · "The shell comes from Lake Falyn. The best place to look · for more of these shells is at West Falyn," replied the old woman · after very close scrutiny of the shell. · "How can shells be found in a lake?" Halberd asked. · "Lake Falyn is connected to the sea by a large underground · cavern that any dwarf would be proud to call their creation, · though it isn't. It is a wonder that no creatures enter into the · lake," she mused. · Halberd asked for the shell back. "The information I gave · You are with a price," she said. · "What is the price?" · "I want the shell," she said, still staring at the shell in · her hands. · "Thank you for the help," said Halberd and turned to leave. · They were both at the door when they heard the old woman's · voice once more saying, "Nyke, would you please return the box · you took? I would appreciate the thought of keeping it safe, but · I do so hope you would ask me the next time before you take · anything into safekeeping." · Nyke reached into his pocket and placed the box where he · found it and left the place flustered. · Halberd and Nyke went their separate ways to sleep. They both · agreed to meet in the morning at the village square. · By morning, Halberd had talked to a caravan master. The · caravan master, Dubin, took them on as extra guards in return for · passage to West Falyn. Dubin also told them that the trip would · take about three and a half weeks. · "This is going to be one boring ride," thought Nyke to · himself, silently cursing himself for deciding to follow Halberd. · He didn't even have the time to sell the sword he was given. He · brought the sword along in case he might be able to sell it · at another place. · "Three and a half weeks," thought Halberd. "That should give · me enough time to think about what I might do when i get there. Nyke · seems to be in a silent mood. I hope he isn't beginning to regret · his change of life." · Danea stared into her fireplace. It had been two weeks · since Halberd has left the village. Everyday, her thoughts would · return to her daughter, Jaila. Jaila was the reason that Halberd · wasn't around. Jaila had been abducted. No one, not even · Halberd knew who the kidnapper was. · The logs in the fireplace crackled as it burned. It seems · to laugh at the situation that has risen from the abduction of · Jaila. Danea silently prayed to the gods to keep her daughter · safe. Danea stood up and looked around her home. The house · seems empty without Jaila. She walked to the window and stared · at the white moon. · By morning, Danea was missing from the village. Those who · came to check her home, found the place to be in order. They · think she might have took off to look for Jaila. Some of them · hoped that Danea will be safe. · Danea woke up in a dark cell. She tried to move, but found · her arms bound to the wall by chains. Looking around, she can · only see that the place was dirty and reeks of sulfur and ages of · dust. The door opened and the light blinded her for a few · moments. At the door stood a man, a man with a mark on his · forehead. The mark of a diamond with an S at its center, the · mark of an Archmage. The last sound Danea heard as she fainted · was the wicked laughter that the Archmage issued forth from his · lips. · The Archmage sat in his study. He was reading a book in · front of him. He looked up and smiled to himself. He was glad · he found this book. The first book he read concerned the · sacrifice, but didn't say much about precautions. This book did. · "A virgin child must be used to calm the Lords of Night. After · the lord who have decided to enter into the realm appear, the · lord must be sated by warm blood. Blood that is close to the · sacrifice. The lord will demand the meal, before it will be · willing to speak with the summoner..." The Archmage sighed and · looked into the crystal ball showing the form of the woman in his · dungeon. The Archmage watched the figure for a few moments and · willed the ball to show him Halberd. · Halberd sat at the back of a wagon. Though his eyes were · closed, he was aware of his surroundings. A child thinking him · asleep, crept up to tie his shoes together. The child was · startled to see a smile on Halberd's face when he was done. The · child ran off, hoping he got away before Halberd opened his eyes. · Halberd untied the knots that the child did and mused at the · prank the child had thought up. He had been such a child before · his father decided to teach him of more important matters. · Nyke eyed a pouch of a merchant. He was about to close in · when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Startled, he turned around · to see who it is. Halberd stood there with his eyes trained on · Nyke. Halberd slowly shook his head sideways in a reproaching · manner. Nyke began to think that Halberd was becoming a pain. · It had been two weeks since they joined the caravan. The · caravan had made a few stops and it seemed that all is well. The · security was shattered that night. · Halberd woke up at the sound of screams. He quickly jumped · out of the tent to see chaos all about the camp. The hired · mercenaries were fighting masked bandits. Nyke was among the · guards. Halberd tried to move in to help when he was blocked by · a bandit wielding a long sword. · Halberd went into a defensive crouch. He watched as the · bandit swung at him, at the last moment he dodged the blow. He · swung his right hand out to hit the base of the bandit's skull. · The bandit collapsed with an audible crack. · Nyke swung his sword at a bandit and managed to strike home. · He couldn't believe that he was fighting with the guards. He was · about to take a walk, making sure that the jeweled sword was with · him of course. when all hell broke loose. A bandit took the · place of the fallen in front of Nyke. The bandit seemed skilled · with his weapon and Nyke was forced to lose his sword. He looked · around for a weapon, but the only one was strapped to his back. · he saw the bandit's sword swinging down towards his face. · Halberd tried to move closer to Nyke, but he was sidetracked · by the people pushing him towards where he didn't want to go. · Halberd managed to move aside to see two winged figures flying · overhead. Halberd stared at them only enough to know what they · were, as more bandits came at him. He fought hard. For each · bandit he fell, he took a cut. He stared at the three bodies in · front of him then looked back at the sky. The Wyverns were · circling to make a swoop. · Nyke didn't know what happened next. A sword was coming · down towards him, maybe it was desperation. Nyke managed to move · aside and unsheathe the jeweled sword. He swung at the bandit. · The blade cut through the bandit's armor. Blood started to seep · out when it burst into flame. The flame followed the course of · the wound, making the bandit howl in pain as he fell. Nyke · looked at the bandit then his sword. He didn't had enough time · to ponder his luck, for more bandits were closing in on him. · Halberd saw where the Wyverns were going to swoop. The · flying cousins to dragons were going to strike at the group where · Nyke was. Halberd quickly counted how many were with Nyke. The · count was four. Seeing the number, Halberd ran towards Nyke. · The bandits circled Nyke's group. The seem to be trying to · keep them at bay. Nyke didn't understand why, then he heard a · scream behind him. He looked over to see one of the mercenaries · missing. He looked up to see the man in the claws of a scaled · creature in flight. The man was dropped, and the creature was · circling around for another victim. Nyke gulped and looked back · at the faces of the bandits. The bandits' eyes were in laughter. · Another scream pierced the night air. Nyke was slowly losing · people who could help defend him. · Halberd saw two guards taken into the air and dropped. The · guards were dead, having been stabbed in the back by the Wyverns' · stingers. He was certain that the poison had killed them. He · jumped up a wagon then leapt into the air as a Wyvern was coming · down on Nyke. · Nyke pressed his attacker, when the attacker abruptly took · two steps back. Nyke wondered why, then he heard the screech. · He closed his eyes and prayed for an easy death. Death didn't · come. He opened his eyes to see the Wyvern in flight with · someone on its back. Nyke went back to thrust at the bandit. · The bandit fell and he went for another. · Halberd landed on the Wyvern and hanged on. The Wyvern flew · upwards. Halberd dodged as the stinger tried to stab his back. · Sluggishly, he crept up the Wyvern's back. · Nyke was killed another bandit and found that there was only · one of the guards left with him. They were both injured and · tired. They took a moment to breath and they heard the flapping · of wings. Nyke saw the Wyvern approach fast, from behind him he · heard a chanting. Nyke flattened himself to the ground. A · streak of light passed over head, striking the Wyvern. The · Wyvern smoked and flew away in pain. Nyke looked back to see a · mage standing there. The mage had a diamond mark on his · forehead. The mage smiled at him and checked his wounds. · Halberd looked down only for a moment. The wyvern he was on · was taking him higher and higher. He closed his eyes and · remembered a lesson from his father. He used his legs to hold on · to the Wyvern. He grabbed the neck of the creature and began · trying to force his fingers into the flesh of the creature. · The Wyvern felt certain that the man cannot hurt him. The · man didn't have any weapon. It tried to stab at the man with · it's tail, but missed the small target. The Wyvern was about to · make a loop when it felt pain on its neck. The Wyvern thought he · was being bit by another creature. It tried to crane its neck to · see what it was but saw nothing. It saw only the man grabbing · his neck with blood on his hands. It tried to continue flight, · but Halberd had made several such injuries and the creature was · weakening. · Nyke saw a figure falling. The figure was large. He · pointed the figure to the mage. The mage took a look at the · figure and his mouth opened wide with amazement. He quickly stood · up. "There's a man on the Wyvern's back," he said as he ran off. · "A man?" thought Nyke. "Oh, no. Halberd would be foolish · enough to ride that thing," he whispered to himself. Nyke forced · himself to stand and went towards the falling figure. Ahead was · the mage, waving his hands wildly in an incantation of a spell. · The Wyvern lost all of it's strength. It knew it was dying. · It resolved to take the man with it. · Halberd struck once more. The neck of the Wyvern went limp. · He breath in relief, then remembered he was in midair. He tried · to stay awake, but passed out from the pressure of the wind. He · saw only the ground fast approaching him, then total darkness. · Halberd woke up with the sun up. Nyke was sitting near him. · it seems Nyke had fallen asleep. Halberd sat up. · Nyke heard a movement and woke up instantly. He saw Halberd · sitting up. "What are you doing?" Nyke said as he pushed Halberd · back down. "The mage said that you were lucky to get out of the · crash alive." · "Crash, what crash?" asked Halberd, then he felt the pain of · several broken bones in his body. Groaning in pain, he kept · still. "What happened?" · Nyke told him that the Wyvern crashed and he was buried · underneath it. The mage casted a spell and lifted the creature · long enough for the people to drag you out. Halberd had been · asleep for four days. · A week later, the caravan pulled into West Falyn. The · caravan master bid them farewell with the hope that he would see · them again. The caravan master also gave each of them a pouch of · fifty gold coins. · Entering the city, Halberd felt some of his bones healing. · He doesn't want to continue in this condition and asked around · for a temple. After two hours in the temple, both Nyke and · Halberd were back to health. They were also almost out of money · as well. · They both entered the Blue Hyena Tavern. The people they · saw were mostly people of the city. There were some guards and · an adventurer or two. The bartender called them over. They · ordered ale and sat down. · "Nyke, I want to check the lake. There might be something · there that will help me look for what I need to find." · "What are you looking for anyway? I've been with you three · and a half weeks on a boring caravan, except for maybe that one · night of blood. Tell me what you are looking for and maybe I can · help, like the way I helped you find out about West Falyn." · "I am looking for a child. She was taken from her mother. · I believe that I am following the trail of the kidnapper." · Nyke shook his head. "If you are following the trail of a · kidnapper, then why the lake? Does he want to drown the child?" · "I don't know what he wants at the lake, but i want to see · it. We might find something that will help us to find the · child." · "Us?" · "You are with me, aren't you?" · "Why should I help you? The first time I'm with you, I · almost became Roc food. The second time was on the caravan. I · was either bandit target practice or Wyvern appetizer." · "I need your help Nyke. I can't do this alone." · "I think this is where we part company Halberd. I'm going · back home. Thanks for the sword, it helped me in the fight back · there, but I am still going home." · Halberd looked at him for a few more moments, then nodded. · Nyke downed his ale and left the Tavern. · Halberd went out of the city towards the lake. The lake was · tranquil and peaceful. Fishermen were on their boats spreading · their nets into the water. Some people were on the shore, · collecting clams and shells. Halberd walked among them. · The day went by fast. The people went back into the city · after a days work. Halberd stayed out in the sand, watching the · tide and the shells that gleam in the water. · Kaitar, the red moon, flooded the shore with a red light. · It looked as if the sand was blood soaked. Halberd walked on the · shore again. He wanted to find anything that might help him find · the child. He stopped as a cloaked figure stopped twenty feet · away from him. · Halberd stopped and looked at the figure. "Who are you?" · Halberd called out. · "Don't you know by now Halberd," the figure mused aloud. · "Abashi!" shouted Halberd. Anger rose in him and he ran · towards the figure. · The figure pointed at the water and walked away. The water · swirled and formed into a twelve foot tall wave. Halberd saw the · figure head into the woods. The wave blocked his path. The wave · moved forwards, rolling over the sand and struck at him. Halberd · flew in the air and landed in the sand ten feet away. The water · felt like it was made from the hardest stone. He wiped the blood · from his mouth and stood up. He began to breath deep. The water · elemental came forward to strike once more. Halberd dodged it · easily. · He struck at the creature, but his fist just passed through · the water. "How can I hit something that is made from water?" He · silently despaired. The elemental tried to strike him once more, · but missed. · Halberd jumped away at another strike. The elemental kept · coming. He joined his hands together and swung a double-fist · blow at the elemental. It seems to have no effect of the magical · being. The creature struck again, but Halberd managed to keep · his ground. · Halberd tried a different approach. He let his hands curve · like small hooks. The hands look like he was going to drink some · water. He struck at the creature. Some of the water came with · him. The creature struck once more, but Halberd had hope. · Repeatedly Halberd struck at the creature, slowly taking away · some of the substance that made it whole. The creature seem to · sense the trouble and reached out with its liquid hand and flung · Halberd several feet away. · Halberd took no time to look around. He ran into the forest · to look for Abashi. The man who killed his father. · The lake splashed about. A small pouch floated to the · shore. A hand picked it up. The hand poured the contents to its · palm. The pouch contained a small diamond. · Nyke looked at the direction of where Halberd went. The · water creature was chasing after Halberd's fleeing form. · Silently he cursed the day he met Halberd and followed a good · distance behind. As he walked, he didn't doubt that it was going · to be perilous. With his hand to the hilt of the jeweled sword, · he unsheathed the warming sword. · The water elemental felt motion behind him and hesitated. · He was summoned and ordered to block any pursuit. The man behind · him was following and the creature turned around to face him. · Nyke's face lost color as if he was ill. The creature raised its · watery arm up and struck at him. Using the sword to deflect the · blow as if it was a weapon, Nyke closed his eyes and hoped for · the best without thinking of the worst possible outcome. · The creature felt the pain as it touched the sword. Steam · issued from the sword, evaporating the water that was left · behind. The creature was unsure of attacking this new foe. · Single-mindedly, the creature lashed out again only to be met · with more pain as the liquid that make up the creature turn to · steam. Deciding that the summons was not worth its effort to · obey, the creature returned to its home. · Nyke gasped for breath, his face red from the steam. He · looked once at the sword and muttered to himself, "Halberd owes · me big."