 
# Tall Tales and Shiny Stories

# By Clayton Blanchard

#

# Published by Clayton Blanchard at Smashwords

#

# Copyright 2014 Clayton Blanchard

#

#

# Smashwords Edition, License Notes

# This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you would like to share this book with another person, please have them download their own copy for tracking purposes.

# 

### Table of Contents

1) Authors Foreward

2) Lost Tomb of Elmir

3) A Darkest Knight: Battle at Cabel Mine

4) Waver: Cold Shoulder

5) The Dark Carnival

### Authors Foreward

First and foremost, thanks for taking a chance on my work here. I have been writing, on and off, for years. Most of the time I simply write reviews and other non fiction informative things on my personal blogs, generally about the things I enjoy such as gaming, books, movies, ect.

However, I have long wanted to get into actual writing. I find myself drawn to writing short stories about characters and their adventures. Simple things. I have no want or need to really write a novel, as it were.

Contained herein are the 4 stories I still have from the last time I wrote. Most of my stories end up destroyed by me simply because I am a harsh critic. Further, I will warn that these stories are not proofread and my personal grasp of grammar is pretty bad. I tend to write as if I was telling a story in person.

Hopefully you will find the stories enjoyable. Thanks again, and feel free to visit my personal website.

Clayton

### The Lost Tomb of Elmir

This is an excerpt from the journal of famed explorer and treasure hunter Argoth Steelsoul. I do not confirm or deny the validity of anything written here, nor has anything been altered or omitted

A single cricket chirp pierced the stillness of the night and I paused. Not out of fear, mind you. I knew what a cricket sounded like. But rather out of caution. I was on the edge of the map as it were, in an area left alone for supposedly centuries, and I was not certain what that chirp could attract. Given that until then the only sound was that of the wind, I wondered if it was even a normal cricket.

Through the trees and the gloom I could see my goal ahead of me. A deep black cavern. The enchantment I had cast on myself as night had fallen, a simple Vision Spell, was still active, heightening my sense of vision so the little bit of light from the moon was enhanced to that of a torch. The trees were close, and the branches felt as if they were reaching out to me. All in all a very unnerving feeling.

I stopped and sat on a rock for a moment, staring at the opening through the leaves and the subtle moonlight. Nothing stirred in the forest, no sound, no motion. Nothing.

Several months earlier I had ran across an old book detailing information about the lost kingdom of Elimr. In that tome it had hinted at a hidden crypt, deep in the Unnamed Lands, where one could find the resting place of the first King of Elimr (and all his treasure of course). Originally I had scoffed at such a notion, but I am nothing if not curious. So I loaded up on provisions, grabbed my gear, and headed out into the wilds.

And here I was, staring at the opening to a cavern, which according to the book led to the entrance to the crypt. I pondered setting up camp for the night and making a go at it in the morning, but decided against it as my burning curiosity made it hard to stay settled. Perhaps if I had waited till morning I could have avoided some of the unpleasantness that was to follow.

The moon hung in the night sky, only a sliver visible, bathing the open ground between the edge of the forest and the cave in soft silver light. I stood hidden at the edge of the forest, trying to figure out how to cross without being seen. It then occurred to me that I was probably being a bit too cautious.

"Argoth," I muttered to myself, "stop being a twit and get over to that cavern!" I admit I talk to myself sometimes. Doesn't everyone?

Confident that I was safe for the moment, I strode out into the clearing and made my way to the cave. It was DARK. I mean that sort of absolute darkness that seems to absorb light. Sadly, this meant that the enchantment which allowed me to see in low light would be of no help in that deep darkness. I stopping concentrating and felt the enchantment drop and the world got dimmer. With that, I stepped into the blackness.

To say it was black would be an understatement. This is what I imagine the color black to be in its purest form. It's what I imagine being blind must be like. It made the hair on my arms stand up and I knew it was nothing natural. I have always had a sense for magic. As I had no walking stick, I unhooked my scabbard from my belt and began to use it to feel my way forward. Several times this saved me from falling into pits, and once from running headfirst into what appeared to be a column or pillar of some sort. The path seemed to twist and turn, and the only sound in that blackness was the scuffing of my scabbard on the ground and the thumping of my boots.

After what felt like fifteen minutes of stumbling around in the dark, I suddenly stepped out of the blackness and into a well lit antechamber. The transition was very sudden. It threw me momentarily off balance and I had to steady myself on a nearby wall. After a moment of rest I straightened, buckled my scabbard back on, and began to take stock of my surroundings.

The first thing to catch my attention was the walls. This makes sense as I was touching them at the time of course. The walls were smooth, but not that rough smoothness that comes from the passing of time and the action of water wearing it down. They were smooth in the way that only tools can do, perfect and unblemished. Adorning the walls were what appeared to be murals. Once they would have been bright and cheerful, a riot of color. Now however they were very faded and I could barely make out a few of the scenes. A man with a sword and crown leading a charge against...something. Another with what seemed like the same man sitting on a throne, this time with a scepter, presiding over a trial? I couldn't really tell. And many more that I could not make out.

Next my eyes fell on the other side of the chamber, where a set of double iron doors with an ornate lock stood. Next to the pair of doors, on either side, were globes that glowed with a bright unwavering light. As I neared them I felt the faint telltale signs of magic emanating from the both of them. Everburning Lights, of course. The people who built this crypt would want to provide the very best for their king and show him the proper respect in the afterlife.

I quickly checked to see if I would be able to remove the lights as they could fetch a fine price, but alas they were firmly (and I do mean FIRMLY) attached to the wall in a way that would prevent me from removing them without damaging them. And so I turned my attention to the door.

The very first thing I saw was the inscription. It was written in ancient Elimr, which I only have a basic understanding of as it's one of those dead languages that only scholars and explorers bother to study. Roughly translated the inscription came out to the following.

Here lies the first divine lord of Elimr, Divine Triviurm, 1st of his name, Lord above All. May he rest for a thousand thousand years till the time comes for him to be reborn.

"Well, looks like I found the right place after all." I smiled to myself. For once, things seemed to be going easier then usual. Then I saw the lock.

To say it was large would be a gross understatement. The lock took up a good three foot square block in the center of the two doors. It appeared to be made of solid bronze, and shined as if it was brand new. What startled me the most however was the fact that it was not a standard key based lock. It was a combination lock.

A four piece combination lock.

I had seen regular small combination locks in a few shops back in the city. The locks had not caught on yet, as most people who could afford them did not want the trouble of having to remember a code just to open them. I roughly knew how to crack them of course, what self respecting treasure hunter doesn't know a thing or two about locks, but I was better with key locks.

To see a combination lock with 4 distinct tumblers though? That was going to be a problem. A big one.

So the first thing I did was try my Open spell. A simple thing, I learned it just in case I came across something that I couldn't open through normal means. Just like anyone else, using magic drained my strength, so I tended to avoid using it unless it was absolutely needed. And not being a professionally trained mage made it worse. However, I felt that this was the exact situation for which I had spent my time learning the spell so I concentrated, muttered the incantation, and pointed at the lock.

I really wish I had not done that.

Instantly I felt a backlash of power slam into my mind. A counterspell, I should have realized it. The sudden surge of power ravaged my brain, and I clutched at my head in an attempt to still the throbbing. Thankfully the Open spell was a small one. The backlash that hit me had given me a splitting headache, and I suspected if I had tried another stronger spell I might have killed myself with the backlash. This sort of thing is exactly why I prefer to rely on my wits rather then magic.

After the ringing in my head stopped and the throbbing went down to a dull roar, I began the tedious process of cracking the locks by hand.

I won't bother with the tedious details, but I will say it took me the better half of four hours to break the combination, and I am pretty sure I simply got lucky near the end. Turns out I had to get each of the four locks open in a specific sequence, and to make matters worse, attempting to open the lock cause all the tumblers to reset if it was the wrong combination.

But crack it I did, and the door I did open.

A hallway stretched before more, with more of the Everburning lights attached to the wall at regular intervals. The hallway went on straight ahead and then branched off to the right and left. I couldn't see any doors along the walls. I stepped into the hallway, and then had the bright idea to use my scabbard again to prod along in front of me, just in case any traps lay in wait.

It was a good thing I did that, as I had made it halfway down the hall when I felt my scabbard hit something in the floor that moved. I pressed lightly, and realized it was a pressure plate. I had no urge to find out just what manner of painful and most likely lethal surprise that plate triggered, so I hopped over it. The rest of the hallway was clear, and I soon found myself at the end, where I could go left or right. More of the Everburning lights were on each hallway, and to the right I could see several doors, and far down the hallway made a left turn. The left hallway curved around to the left and I could not see anything of interest that way.

I went right first, checking the doors carefully and prodding the floor ahead with my scabbard. I was rewarded with locating two more pressure plates. The doors I found led to small chambers that held what appeared to be the king's belongings. Furniture, clothing, some food that had long since rotted but nothing that resembled a real treasure though. I did make sure to mark down which room held what though in my logbook, just in case I could find a collector back in the city who would be interested. You never know with the old stuff.

I should probably explain this before I go further. A logbook is something most licensed treasure hunters carry with them. In my case, I generally had one book specifically for each site I explored. Logbooks are used to catalog items in the site that we treasure hunters cannot take with us, so at a later time we can reference back and see if there is anything worth hiring an excavation team from the Adventurers guild to go and extract.

I continued until I reached the end of the hallway, and found myself facing a short little hallway to the left which ended at a door. I checked the door quickly, noticed it was made of wood bound in iron and appeared very sturdy. I decided to check the other side passage before heading through there.

Avoiding the pressure plates I walked down that passage and found that it curved to the left constantly, moving me in ever shrinking circles. After a few moments I found myself staring at an altar. Made of what appeared to be solid gold. Glancing at it, I didn't recognize what god this might have been an altar for.

The altar was a solid square block, unadorned. Behind it stood an idol that I did not recognize. I tried to lift the block, just to test its weight, and found that I could not. It was extremely heavy. It was clean though, so obviously whoever this was dedicated to did not believe in ritual sacrifice. Always a good thing. It's hard to sell an evil altar.

I then took out my Logbook and made a notation in it, as the altar definitely warranted it.

I quickly made my way back to the iron bound door then, and opened it carefully. And I found myself looking at a stone spiral staircase going down.

"Well," I said, "looks like there is only one way to go! Onward, to adventure!" I chuckled at my own joke, as stairs were hardly an adventure. However, after I took two steps down the stairs there was a whirring noise. I felt the stairs drop out from under my feet and as I fell flat on my rear and slid down into the darkness, I cursed loudly.

I am not sure how long or far I slid. The stairway was not lit, and when I hit the end of the stairs I was shot out into a dark room and slammed into a wall. I slide painfully down the wall and hit the floor. After a few moments of shaking out the cobwebs I stood. Noticing the darkness I then got a torch from my pack and reattached my scabbard. I lit the torch with a quick Flame spell, and took stock of my surroundings.

I looked down and saw that the floor was clean of debris. Above me I could see the hole where the stairs were, at least ten feet above the floor. "No way am I getting up that way" I said. I then noticed that the walls here were bare stone, and set in the wall in front of me was a simple wooden door. I walked over and found it locked.

Normally this would have been a problem. Normally I am much more cautious of locked doors. However, this door had been down here unattended for countless centuries and showed signs of rot and decay. I was, and am, a strong well built man so I simply raised my foot and proceeded to batter the door down. After the slide and the fall I was not in a great mood, but kicking that door made me feel a bit better.

In front of me a hallway stretched out into the darkness and with no where else to go I started walking. I gently checked for pressure plates as I walked with the tip of my boot and was happy to find none as I progressed. The dust was thick here and as I walked I noticed more murals lining these walls, faded to the point where I could only make out the colors but nothing else.

Eventually I started to hear a noise. Considering this was the first noise I had heard since I had entered the tomb that was not of my own making I perked up. It was a rhythmic, steady noise. As I went farther the noise got louder, and more distinct.

It sounded like... _breathing_.

Eventually I found myself facing a door where the sound came from, and it could have only been made of gold. Thankfully it was not locked however and I gingerly opened it. What I saw will stay in my memory forever.

First, there was the treasure. Mounds of gold, heaps of silver, piles of diamonds, rubies, emeralds. Weapons, armor, and all manner of other strange objects. It was beautiful. Secondly, there was the sarcophagus. It stood in the center of the massive cavern that housed the treasures, standing tall on a tiered platform. High above a large hole was cut and through that hole moonlight shone down, ringing the sarcophagus with a pale silver glow.

And finally, there was the source of the noise. A fully grown blue dragon. The pictures in textbooks and things all try to show what a dragon looks like, but I have seen several in the flesh and let me say this: The books are wrong.

For starters there are the scales. This dragon was a deep blue, like the ocean. Along its back a row of black spikes stood, following its spine down to the tip of its tail. At the tip of that tail was a large spiked ball, almost like a mace. If one can imagine a mace large enough to put a hole in a house that is. Its wings were folded and more of the spikes ran along the outside of them.

And its face. Its face was...beautiful. But not in the way a woman is beautiful to a man no. It's the beauty of a predator. The grace of a mountain cat. The fury of a grizzly bear. It was breathtaking. Thankfully the dragon appeared to be asleep.

However, the blasted thing was sleeping right on top of the biggest mound of treasure, dead in on the middle of the pile.

I knew there was no going back. Even if I made it up to the hole where the slide was, trying to get back up that way would take forever. And it would mean leaving all this treasure! Those who have met me will tell the world that there are two things that others should be aware of in regards to me. One, I am stubborn as a mule. And two, I am as reckless as a child when there is treasure to be had.

I quickly doused my torch to keep from waking the dragon, and gave the cave a good hard look. It took several tense moments but I finally saw a ladder, carved into the right side of the cavern, leading up to a hole. That had to be the way out of this place.

I decided then and there that I was not leaving that cave without something.

So, first things first. I started to slowly sneak my way around the piles of treasure, looking for something that I could lift without making a sound. I will be the first to admit that I am not the best at sneaking, but I am certainly not the worst.

Of course, sneaking is easier when you pay attention to your surroundings and don't miss holes in the ground. My left foot fell into such a hole that and I dropped to my knees on the ground, hard. I cursed loudly, automatically, and then quickly covered my mouth.

Unfortunately, the cavern had a nice echo to it, and the impact of my steel greaves hitting the stone floor, coupled with my curse rebounded quite loudly in the cavern. And the dragon woke up. It quickly uncurled and got to its feet and began to look around. I wasted no time in standing and beginning a dead run towards the ladder. It was an easy hundred or more feet ahead, but there was some cover between me and the ladder in the form of piles of coins. I heard the dragon begin to inhale and I dove behind a pile of what appeared to be silver coins.

The dragon breathed. Again, pictures do not do this justice. A huge blast of lightning shot from the creature's mouth directly at the pile of coins I was behind. It slammed into them and the force of the blast scattered the coins, causing them to hit me and knock me backwards. Good thing they did because the lightning slammed right into where I had been kneeling. I quickly scrambled to my feet and looked around, trying to find a place where I might be safe.

The doorway I came out of! It was still open. I stood and sprinted towards it, casting a Quickening Spell. This spell speeds up a person's reflexes and was one of the harder ones for me to cast. To maintain the enchantment would cost me dearly, but I needed the boost. The dragon however seemed to notice what I was up to, and like a very large cat it bounded forward and slammed its tail into the doorway causing it to collapse, barring it with rubble.

I stopped as I saw this and turned. It looked like I was going to have to face the dragon.

Let me be clear, I had fought dragons before when I was part of the Illtheium, or Kings Elite Guards. Generally however I was with a team of five or more, and we fought ones smaller then this. It was easily the size of a small manor. Its mouth looked big enough to swallow me and a horse whole at the same time.

I knew my only chance was to maintain the Quickening spell and strike at its soft underbelly. Thankfully my sword had been enchanted to be extremely sharp as well as return to my hand if I dropped it. That cost a pretty penny to do, but I considered it a good investment.

Time to see if it would pay off.

For a brief second I and the dragon eyed each other. It's hard for me to say who made the first move, me or it. Without warning I dashed forward, drawing my blade. The dragon snapped itself forward as well, its mouth open to swallow me. At the last possible instant I dove forward and felt the mouth pass over me, disturbing the air. The neck was within reach, so I planted my free hand on the ground as I shot forward and flipped myself up. Quick as I could I stabbed upward and was rewarded with a cry of pain and hot blood squirting out. I had no time to savor my victory however as the dragons left claw came flying out of nowhere. I dodged backwards and avoided the talons but was hit on the backswing, and I flew back and landed hard against a nearby stone.

The dragon wasted no time and leapt at me like a cat again. The Quickening spell was still active and I lashed out and cut the tip of its snout. It was superficial damage, but I knew how sensitive its nose was. Its head reared back and it let out a shrike of pain and a blast of lightning. Good, I thought, let it burn its fuel.

Fighting a dragon is all about movement. You have to dodge quickly and decisively. Even against a smaller one they can still tear you apart if you are not quick. I chose that moment to try something daring. My friends would later say it was crazy, but what do they know! I was the one fighting the dragon in the tomb of an ancient god-king!

I surged forward and jumped, and grabbed a hold of the dragon's scales. I felt them cutting into my hands, and I quickly scrabbled over and got on its back. It was starting to shake off the pain of the snout wound, and I began to run up the length of its neck. And then the bastard dragon began to writhe and wiggle.

Having never ridden a bull or a bucking horse or anything of that nature it's hard for me to describe the sensation of gripping on to a spike that sticks out of the back of a dragon as it writhes and shimmies and generally tries to throw me off. Thankfully it could not reach me with its claws, and could not slam me into the ceiling without hurting itself.

I managed to maintain my grip on the spine, but eventually the dragon shook me hard enough that I lost my grip on my sword, and it tumbled to the floor. The dragon stopped bouncing long enough to let out what I can only imagine is the dragon equivalent of a laugh. I growled but could do nothing more then hold on as it began to buck and writhe again.

As I clung grimly to the back of the wyrm, I felt my body beginning to feel heavy. A sure sign that I was overusing magic. I knew that I had to end this fight, and quickly. I began to slowly drag myself along the back of the beast's neck, using its own spines as a sort of makeshift sideways ladder.

As I neared the back of its head I gripped the lower spine with my legs, held out my hand, and summoned my blade. Sure enough after a moment the hilt appeared in my hand and I smiled. Yes, the enchantment on the sword was definitely worth the money.

After struggling a bit more I finally managed to make it to the top of its head and without waiting I slammed my sword straight into its left eye.

The scream it gave off was earsplitting, and I had to grab a hold of what I think was its eyebrow to hold on as the bucking and shaking became much more intense. I drove my blade as deep as I could, the shaking causing it to cut deeper into the eye. Blood poured from the wound, and the dragon began to slow down. It closed its eyelid in a futile attempt to get me to remove my arm but thankfully my armor protected me. I held tightly and did not remove the blade, but I could feel my body growing heavier as I held onto the Quickening Spell.

After a few moments the dragon fell down, panting from the exertion and the pain. I still refused to let go of either it or my sword. A few moments more, and the beast stopped breathing and sagged. I finally let go and fell to the ground limply, my energy spent. No longer having the energy to maintain it the Quickening spell dropped and I fell into unconsciousness.

I couldn't tell how long I was out. I only remember waking up next to the head of a very large dragon missing its eye, panicking for a moment, and then realizing that I was covered in its blood and bruised just about everywhere. I stood wearily, and began to inventory the room, my natural treasure hunter instincts taking over. This took several hours, and I won't bother to put down the boring details. I did include the dragon though. Its organs, and skin, are highly prized items after all. I made sure to grab some of the diamonds and gold during my inventory, knowing I would need to hire several excavator teams for a haul this large. I also made sure I stopped for lunch midway through, the food giving me a bit of energy back. After lunch, I made ready to leave the crypt.

Before I left however, I went to the sarcophagus and said a few words.

"Well Triviurm," I started, "I don't know if you will ever be reborn. But I do want to thank you. This money will set me up for a long time and help a lot of people as well. And the world should know about you, this tomb, and the history held here." I patted the sarcophagus for emphasis.

With that, I climbed up the stone ladder, entered the opening, and followed the hallway to another ladder. I climbed that ladder and found myself coming out of a hidden door in the altar room. I laughed a bit sheepishly for missing the door, and made my way outside, back through the deep darkness and into the afternoon light.

It took me a few weeks to get back to a town large enough to have an Adventurer's Guild outpost. I hired three teams and led them back out to the tomb. Over the next few months I spent my time cataloging pieces, putting gold into investments, selling some pieces, and giving historians who had heard about the tomb a tour. I had the dragon's head stuffed and mounted as well, to put in my home. That cost a pretty penny. But it was worth it. I hung that head in my study, so that I would always remember what I had to go through, the pain and the trials, to discover the Lost Tomb of Elimr.

### A Darkest Knight: The Battle of Cabel Mine

"As best we can tell the rebels are up in the Majir Mountains in the small mining town of Cabel." Cladius nodded, and glanced over at Gerron, who seemed to be intent on the map. "Alright then Captain. You want us to go there, find the rebels, and eradicate them. Do you have an estimation on the numbers of this group, and how sympathetic the locals are to them?"

Captain Betruga pulled out a small notepad and glanced at it. "The miners are local, and the ties between them and the capital are virtually non existent. They are more pragmatic then most country folk, so the church is also weak there...As such, I doubt you will find many supporters." The captain smiled crookedly, and Gerron sighed, then spoke up. "We better go incognito, and I assume that we will be alone..."

"Yes, you two will be going in alone, and in disguise. Best we can get there are twelve of the bastard rebels up there, lead by some sort of mage."

"Great, a mage. I hope its not a pyromancer. I hate having to clean soot off my armor."

"Ah Cladius, even now, your vanity is showing."

"Well don't you ever get sick of getting oil on your vestments Gerron?" Cladius pointed to Gerron's left arm, its gleaming metal and whirling servos open for all to see. "Layoff my cybernetics. I had no choice and you know it Cladius."

"Will you two quit arguing like a married couple?" Betruga said angrily. Cladius and Gerron both turned to face him. Betruga sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose and continued. "You two leave tomorrow on fast train to Cabel. The trip should take about two hours. You are dismissed." The two holy men nodded, saluted, and left the room.

It took the two men barely any time at all to pack. Being holy men, they didn't have many possessions to speak of. Cladius packed away his armor, holy symbol, and sword. He put on some travel clothing and had the barber of the monastery dye his hair black from its usual blond. Gerron disconnected his usual cybernetic arm and leg and replaced them with prosthetics, even though he hated to do so. He also wore a pair of sunglasses to hide his left eye and its cyborg implants. After a quick breakfast, the two men boarded the train and were off. They tried their best to look like new miners bound for the iron mine up at Cabel.

"Well Cladius, what do you think of our latest mission?"

"Truth be told I am not too comfortable with the subterfuge. Beyond that I am alright with it."

"So you are fine with the killing of these rebels? Why can't we just arrest them?" Gerron glanced out the window at the passing hills, sighing. Cladius looked at his friend and smiled.

"You know as well as I do that their magic is sin. Our church teaches us that. They rip their powers from the earth and nature, and twist it to their own ends."

Gerron sat quiet for a minute, staring at the green hills and farm that were whizzing by. "I know what our mother Church teaches us Cladius, I have been a priest longer then you have been a templar you know. I am well aware of our teachings, having preached mass at for the brothers. What I mean is...what if we are wrong? Our magic comes from God, you say? How can we be so sure?"

Cladius smiled and reach over to pat his friend on the shoulder. "Because God is in our power. I can feel him when we use it. We all have our doubts."

"I know, and I do have doubts on occasion. But doesn't our God teach mercy? Is it right for us to go and kill these people because they are different?" Gerron looked over at his friend, and found that his friend's face had darkened.

"Yes we must kill these people Gerron. Not because they are different, but because they hurt others. They bomb our churches, they hold people hostage! They claim our God is false, and that they are in the right, and we are wrong. I am sure our leaders would have us leave them be if they did not do the things that they do. But...we cannot sit by while they destroy our homes..." Gerron nodded, and sighed.

"I agree Cladius...I just...sometimes I just don't know." Gerron went quiet, and so did Cladius, and for the rest of the train ride they simply sat quietly. And waited.

###  \-------------------------------------------------

"Looks like we are pulling in Cladius, wake up." Gerron poked his friend with his foot, and Cladius awoke with a start. "Huh wha?"

"Look outside Cladius. Geez, you can fall asleep anywhere I swear." Cladius did as his friend bid, and caught a good look at the mining city of Cabel.

The first thing he noticed were the columns of steam and smoke rising from the mining area in the back. Sloping downward on the hill below the mine, small buildings dotted the landscape here and there. It was a quaint town, very rural looking. There was one large building off to the side, and as they got closer Cladius noticed that the building was in fact a wall compound. He noticed the bell tower and smiled. "Well Gerron, at least they have a church here so we can seek sanctuary if things get ugly!"

"Cladius, I hate to break it to ya, but I doubt the Arcanist Rebels will respect that..."

Cladius simply mumbled angrily "If they didn't then they really are heathens."

The two holy men disembarked from the train and found their luggage. They quickly determined two things about the city of Cabel. One, that the people seemed to be very dour faced, even the children, and two, that the city had a constant haze of smoke over it from the forge's up on the mine. Gerron began to cough almost instantly upon contact with the air, a very heavy hacking cough that brought the technopriest to his knees. Cladius was instantly at his friends side, and helped Gerron to his feet. "Are you ok Gerron?" Gerron shook his head, and tried to speak between the coughs.

"Its the *cough* smoke! Its clogging my *gasp* internals! I need to get out *choke* of here!" Cladius nodded, and with a quick hand gesture, cast a spell that would increase his physical strength. Then, he lifted Gerron up, backpack and all, and carried him off to their room at the hotel nearby to meet their contact.

The hotel room was dingy, with two mattresses on the floor that had been obviously stuffed with straw. Gerron had since regained his breath once inside, and sat down on one of the mattresses with his shirt off, working dials and buttons on his chest. "I have to calibrate my sensors and filtration systems to handle the smog. It was horrible!" Cladius nodded, but was paying more attention to the other man in the room. The man was filthy, his hair matted to his head under a felt cap, his eyes were almost black and he stood hunched over. He spoke to Cladius.

"Aye mate, I know of the people you are talkin bout. Why do ya care bout them though?"

"Look, you were told that if you had information about these people we would pay you, however, you have done nothing but ask me questions... You are trying my patience!"

"Oi! Come on guvner, I am just a humble miner! I need to feed mah family!"

Cladius sighed, and patted the miner on the shoulder. "I know that... but we need that information... Come on! You don't want to hold out on us do you? Think of the money..." With that, Cladius pulled from his belt a pouch that jingled gaily. The miner stared at it.

"The men you gents be looking fer have been hiding out in the deep part of the mines. They been paying mah boss a fair mount of cash so he don't care." Cladius smiled, and glanced over at Gerron who was still fiddling with his chest plate. "Good man. Here you are, fifty gold pieces, and our Lords thanks. May you go with God." The miner smiled, nodded, grabbed the bag and bolted from the room. Cladius sighed, and grabbed his robe. "Come on Gerron, we gotta get moving to the other base so we don't have to worry about that guy coming back to slit our throats." Gerron nodded, and smiled. "Almost done with the calibrating. Once I am done, the smog out there will be like sweet air to me." Cladius sighed and nodded. "Sometimes I wish I could just switch a few dials and not have to worry about the smell of things."

Gerron grinned broadly, and then got a serious look on his face. "Believe me Cladius...I would give anything to be like you again." Cladius nodded, and put on his robe. "Come on, we need to get moving." Gerron finished his adjustments, put his shirt and robe back on, and the two left the dingy little hotel room and made their way down to the common room.

The common room of the Iron Horse inn was quiet, as it was still fairly early in the afternoon. A small fire was in the hearth, and cooking on a spit above it was what appeared to be some beef. Gerron glanced at it and sighed. Cladius heard him and turned around. "What now?" Gerron simply pointed at the beef. Cladius glanced over at it and laughed. "You know as well as I do we cannot eat meat to begin with! Even if you could you shouldn't!" Gerron nodded, and they began to walk out. Then, as they reached the door Cladius heard something. He realized what it was a split second too late, and felt a knife slam into his shoulder. Both he and Gerron spun around to find the barkeep and the grimy man who Cladius had paid, both with swords drawn. "Well now," the barkeep said, "what have we here? Churchmen coming to try to stop us eh? We can't have that..." The grimy man grinned and nodded. "Heh, you honestly thought you could beat us? Two unarmed men?" Cladius smiled as he watched the two slowly come around the counter. He grabbed the knife, and yanked it out of his shoulder with a wince and examined it. "You know...this blade could do with a sharpening.." He muttered under his breath, and the two men watched wide eyed as the knife slowly grew until it became a full longsword. "Ahhh thats better! A proper weapon! Now then, shall we gentlemen?" Gerron smiled, and dropped his pack to the ground. "Well I better get a proper weapon myself!" To the surprise of the barkeep, Gerron's left arm fell off, and from his pack Gerron pulled out a second arm, all gleaming metal and strange buttons. He attached it to his shoulder and the arm came to life with a whirling noise. "Now thats more familiar. I was wondering how long I was gonna have to wear that blasted fake arm." Gerron then pushed a button on the side of the arm and the area behind the wrist lifted up out of it. He pulled a small blue crystal from his pocket and shoved it into the top, and a barrel popped out of the front. "Say hello to my custom made mage cannon."

The bartender and the grimy man shared a glance, then charged. Gerron fired off his cannon, but missed and hit the bar instead. Both men stopped and turned when they felt the cold from the shot, and they both saw that where the shot had hit was now covered in ice. Gerron grinned and Cladius charged while the men where distracted. Before they could react Cladius ran the grimy man through the belly with his sword. The bartender turned around and opened his mouth to shout something but was instantly silenced as Gerron got another shot off. The bartender was quickly encased in ice, and both Gerron and Cladius stood there and looked around for any other trouble.

"Well, there goes our cover... I wonder if they had time to alert anyone else."

"I hope not Gerron. We need to get rid of the bodies, and quickly. Pick up your arm by the way, its giving me the creeps." Gerron nodded, grabbed his fake arm and stuffed it into his bag. He then removed the blue crystal and put a red one in, and glanced up to see what Cladius was up to. Cladius was moving the frozen bartender into the back room, which was not easy considering he was encased in a block of ice. Gerron moved and picked up the impaled grimy man, thankful that for once he couldn't smell anything. The two of them moved the bodies back into the kitchen and dropped them off.

"Now what do we do?"

"Well Cladius, only thing I can think of is to melt the bodies down." Gerron patted his mage cannon at this, then sighed. "Only issue is of course that might set the place ablaze. Otherwise we just run and hope no one notices the bodies till we make it to the safe house." Cladius glanced around the dingy bar and sighed. "Well...if we leave the bodies there is the chance that our presence will be alerted and the rebels will move their base."

"However if we burn the place down we could cause more trouble..." Gerron said.

"I am aware of that. But we need to figure something out before we have an angry mob of miners on our trail."

"Then I vote fire. We could almost make it look like a hearth fire, and if we do it right..."

Cladius nodded, and they began to get to work.

After about ten minutes the two men were running out of the Iron Horse inn, and thankfully the streets were fairly empty. They made it two blocks down the road and turned before they could see the smoke of the fire of the inn. They began to hear screams of "Fire Fire!" and "The old Iron Horse is burning!" They quickly made their way to the safe house that had been arranged for them. Once inside they locked the door, and walked up to the second floor and looked out the window. They had been given one of the only two story buildings in the city to be used as a base of operations, and from this point they could see just about the whole town. They were almost dead center.

Cladius glanced out of one of the windows, and from there could see the blaze burning from the Iron Horse.

"Man we did a number on that place. I feel kind of sorry."

"Don't feel sorry," Gerron began as he laid his kit down on his bed, "They did it to themselves. It was a front as best we could tell for the Arcanists."

"I know Gerron, but what if he had family? What if he was really just a miner who had been brainwashed into believing the Arcanists's tripe?"

Gerron shrugged, and began to work on getting sheets together. "I am trying not to think about that. I am trying to focus on our mission. We have to find a way to verify if the rebels are really holed up in the mine. And if they are, we need a map of that place otherwise we may get lost."

Cladius nodded his agreement, and glanced out the other window, up the hill and towards the mine. In the distance, the mine sat quietly, belching out foul black smoke and steam. Somewhere, Cladius thought, in those mines, sit the enemy. Gerron finished putting the sheets down on the beds and laid down.

"We better get some sleep my friend, because tomorrow we have a world of work ahead of us." Cladius nodded, and went over to his pallet and got ready for bed.

And in the window, the flames from the inn continued to dance across the sky.

The next morning, the two men woke up from their sleep slightly groggy. Cladius stood up and stretched, and glanced out the window towards where the Iron Horse Inn used to be. He noted that it appeared that very little collateral damage had taken place, and for that he was thankful. He was never happy with some of the things he had to do in the name of duty, but he would obey his superiors commands as if they came from God themselves. Gerron immediately started getting dressed upon waking, making sure to put his fake arm back on and storing his cybernetic arm in his pack. "Did the fire cause any extra damage Cladius?"

"From the looks of it, no." Cladius said as he put his armor on, and donned his cloak. "Best I can tell some minor smoke damage, but in a place like this that won't even be noticed."

Gerron smiled. "You do have a point. With all the smog this place produces its a wonder how people stay clean."

Cladius let out a booming laugh and grinned. "I know what you mean, I am gonna take a bath the instant we are back home."

"Well we won't be getting home unless we finish this mission. What do we need to do today?"

"Well," Cladius began, "we need to verify somehow that the rebel's have holed themselves up in the mine. We also need to do this quickly, because if they get a whiff of us being here they will go to ground and we will fail."

Gerron nodded, and finished getting dressed. He realized that he shouldn't take his pack with him and removed his cyborg arm and hid it as best he could under his cloak. "I need a holster for this thing."

Cladius just grinned and belted on his sword under the cloak, and felt the worn handle under his hand. It was warm to the touch, like always, his sword having been blessed by the Father of the monastery that both he and Gerron had been stationed at. It was an heirloom from his father, his brother having been given the shield and armor. "Well, we won't be getting anywhere just standing here Gerron. I think we should hit the mine itself, and just observe as best we can. Don't forget to bring your telescope attachment."

Gerron grimaced at this statement, and reached into his pack to pull out a large metal tube. "You know I hate this thing." He said as they walked out of the room.

Cladius grinned. "I know, but it is rather funny to see you with a tube coming out of your eye."

"Bah."

When they left the safe house, they found that the sun could barely penetrate the haze of smoke and smog that hung over the city. They also noticed the sound that came from the mine and seemed to permeate every part of the city. It was the din of machinery, and industry. A clanking crescendo as it were. The closer they got to the mine, the louder it became. It took the better part of an hour to walk up the roads to the mine proper, and when they reached it, the sound was nearly deafening. Gerron simply turned down his hearing, but poor Cladius was forced to put his hands over his ears.

"Sweet holy mother this is loud!"

"What Cladius? I can't hear you, I turned my hearing off till I can get the sound filters adjusted."

"Ohhhh how I envy you!"

"What?"

Cladius simply motioned with his hands for Gerron to forget it, and motioned for Gerron to follow him. The two men made their way around the edge the mine, making sure to stay hidden behind the rocks and debris that littered the edge. They found themselves, after a few moments, up in an area where they could see the mine clearly, but were safely hidden from view. The outcropping of rock that the two holy men sat in was also sheltered from the sounds coming from the mine, due to the position of the outcropping. Cladius sighed and smiled. "Now thats better. At least it doesn't sound like the screaming sounds of hell up here."

"And you know how hell sounds like how exactly?" Gerron began to fit the tube on his cyborg eye.

"Well I just imagine that hell would be loud, what with all the screaming."

Gerron began to focus his eye through the tube and laughed a bit. "Yes I am sure. Anyway, lets see what I can see."

Gerron began to focus his spyglass eye into the mine, and began to slowly scan it. The first things he saw were all the hard workers, moving iron ore with carts, carrying pick axes into the mine shaft, and various other bits of machinery. He noted the placement of the entrances to the mine shafts themselves, as well as where the main portion of the machines where located. Hm, that must be the forge, Gerron thought to himself, upon noticing a large building that was belching out hordes of smoke. Next to that, Gerron saw something that caught his eye. A man in a robe, with red hair, was talking to another man in a hard hat and a clipboard. He watched as the robed man gave the other man a sack of something, and the man with the clipboard smiled and walked off. Gerron nodded, and zoomed back out and disconnected the spyglass.

"Well, I think we found our wizard. He just paid off the foreman, I think."

"They are still down there then eh?"

"As best as I can tell yes. It doesn't look like they have been alerted to our presence yet either."

Cladius rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well then! Any idea's on how to proceed at this point?"

"Well," Gerron began, "we can attack at night. I am sure they will have lookouts. And they are probably centralized somewhere in the mine system itself."

Cladius nodded, and then grinned. "Hey, why not watch the wizard you found? I bet he will reenter the mine system...and we can figure out which entrance to use from him!"

"Now that's a good idea! Let me reattach my glass." Gerron put his spyglass back on, and turned back towards the mine. After a few minutes of searching, Gerron spotted the robed man with the red hair, and watched.

It took four hours before the robed man entered the mine. By that time, Cladius's leg was cramped, and Gerron was tired. The sky was darkening as well, the promise of rain on the air. The two men began the walk back to town as fast as they could. While Gerron's body was protected against water, he didn't like the risk of having a short. Halfway to the safe house, it began to rain.

"Blast, I was hoping we would avoid this." Gerron said, a look of anger on his face.

Cladius sighed. "Least it seems to be washing away the smell."

Gerron pointed down to the ground, where several bits of things were washing down the street. "I really don't wanna think about what else its washing away Cladius." Cladius gagged a bit when he saw bits of bone flow by. "I agree....lets get home and get ready. We have some dirty work tonight."

"I know. Being in a mine is dirty enough as it is. I hope I can keep my vestments clean."

Cladius laughed a bit, and then his face took a serious cast to it. Tonight was the night they would attack the rebels and, given the rain and what they faced, it was not going to be a good night.

The sky was dark and cloudy, and the rain was still falling hard. The mine was quiet, the workers having gone home hours prior and the machines having been turned off. The smoke that normally hung in the air was gone, thanks to the breeze. The moon seemed to be trying its best to shine through the clouds, and because of that, here and there patches of moonlight adorned the rocks. The night was filled with the sounds of raindrops hitting stone, a song of nature that Gerron stood quietly and listened to. It calmed him, the sounds of the rain. He then felt a tug on his robe, and glanced forward to Cladius, making a motion to be ready to enter the quarry pit.

The rocks on the ground were crushed under the boots of two men, who were for once open for all to see. Cladius's armor gleamed in the patches of moonlight they passed, his shield and sword at the ready, a silver cross swinging from his neck. Gerron's arm light up the area around them with strange colors, its whirling noises thankfully low enough that the sound of the rain covered it up. They sprinted across the open ground of the quarry and hid behind a large mine cart, and Gerron turned on his night vision sensors in his left eye and looked towards the opening they were heading for.

The opening in question was on the second level of the quarry, in the far back. A spot that would be hard to see from the front of the mine, but one they had been able to see from their reconnaissance earlier. Gerron noted that there were two guards, armed with what appeared to be rifles. The opening itself seemed to be slightly brighter then the rest of the area, and given the way Gerron's night vision system worked, he could tell that there were people inside there, or at least some light source.

Gerron whispered to Cladius, his voice low. "There are two armed guards. I can see a light source as well coming from somewhere inside that shaft. I gauge the distance to be about one hundred feet from here to there."

Cladius nodded, and began to cast a spell. His voice was muffled by the rain, but grew louder as the spell reached its completion.

Neilson and Tarmi stood silently at the entrance to the shaft. They were proud to be chosen as guards. Where they came from, it was an honor to be chosen for such a difficult position, and one that both men took very seriously. Tarmi glanced out into the night, and thought he caught the glimpse of orange and green light.

"Oi, Neilson, you see that?" Tarmi pointed out to where he thought he had seen the lights.

Neilson glanced out into the night, but could not see anything. "Nope, I don't see nothing."

Tarmi scratched his head. He could have sworn he saw something. The two men stood silently at their post. Then, Neilson began to hear something. It was different from the sound of the rain. It was the sound of what he thought was a voice. It started out low, then grew louder. Tarmi turned to face Neilson, and spoke.

"Ok now I know I hear something."

"Same here...its coming from that mine cart over there!" And as Neilson pointed, a man rose up from behind the cart, his voice growing louder with every second. His armor gleamed in the moonlight, a brilliant silver hue. The sound was almost like a song, and both Neilson and Tarmi were confused. Then, they saw it. A blue light began to cover the man and next to him another man rose, this ones left side gleaming with multicolored lights on it. He too was covered in a blue light. Tarmi and Neilson looked at each other as the two men began to race towards their position, leveled their rifles and fired.

The way the spell of Protection worked is that it was based on the willpower of the person who cast it. The more willpower the caster had, the longer the spell would last. This was a good thing for a templar like Cladius, who had buckets of willpower. Another thing that was needed was a strong mind in general, as the level of protection was based solely on the strength of mind the caster had when he cast it. A side effect however was that every blow to the shield would cause the caster to feel horrible pain, and so it was with Cladius. Every bullet that impacted the shield that surrounded him and Gerron felt like someone took a hammer and slammed it into his forehead. Thankfully, he had a high pain threshold.

"Gerron, would you shoot one of them please? My head can't take much more of this!" Cladius yelled. Gerron nodded, and leveled his arm towards the two men. He had pre-loaded it with a purple crystal while Cladius had been casting, and was primed and ready to go. Tarmi and Neilson were very surprised when a bolt of what appeared to be bright white lightning suddenly shot from Gerron's arm. They leapt to the side to avoid the blast, and watch as it slammed into the right side of the doorway and left a huge scorch mark. Gerron cursed under his breath as his arm began to rev up for another shot.

"You had to pick the lightning crystal Gerron?"

"It seemed like a good idea at the time! I forgot how long the blasted thing takes to charge!"

The two guards were quickly back on their feet but during that time Gerron and Cladius had made their way up the ramp to the entrance, and the fight was on. Cladius drew his sword and swung at Neilson, who attempted to block the blow with the shaft of his gun. His face took on a surprised look as the blade cleanly sliced through the barrel of the rifle. Before Neilson could react he found the same blade in his stomach, and feel to the ground as Cladius removed it.

Gerron was having a bit more trouble with his guard, Tarmi. Tarmi had been smart, and had packed a knife and was trying to slash Gerron. Fortunately, Gerron's arm was well armored and he was adept at using it like a shield. As Cladius turned to come help, Gerron spat out a spell, the sound of the single word he had spoken reverberating through the quarry. Tarmi immediately fell to the ground, racked with pain and sobbing, and as he curled up into a fetal position Cladius ran him through.

"You had to use the Word of Pain eh?"

"Yes, and you know how I abhor using it. It's very inhumane."

Cladius nodded. "What's done is done. Now we need to finish off the rest of em. Thats two down, and ten to go according to the numbers we have."

Gerron nodded and the two men entered the mine.

The inside of the shaft was lit by a few lamps which appeared to be made out of glowing glass. Gerron quickly realized that they were filled with fireflies. Slowly the two men walked down the shaft, the gravel on the ground making crunch noises beneath their feet, the dim light of the lamps barely enough to illuminate the walls. The hallways they walked down had some tracks laid out on the ground for the miner carts to go back and forth, carrying the loads of iron ore. After about ten minutes of walking, they came to a fork in the shaft.

"Left or right Gerron?"

Gerron put a finger over his lips for silence, then slowly began to turn up his hearing. After a few moments he began to hear the sound of voices from both tunnels. The right side seemed to be the loudest of the two, and the left only seemed to have two voices and after a few moments Gerron turned his hearing back down.

"Well there are voices on both sides of the tunnel. The right side seems to be the loudest. The left side seems to only have two distinct voices..."

"Hrm, lets start with the louder of the two and see where that goes."

"Right then, to the right we go!" Gerron grinned and the two men slowly began to go down the right hand corridor. It gently curved to the right as they went, and after a few moments the sound of voices started to fill the corridor, and Cladius could hear it without the augmented hearing his friend had. Then they found themselves at a doorway that was open just a crack, and the voices seemed to be coming from within the room. They stood for a moment outside and listened into the conversation. Cladius was sure he heard around seven different voices from within the room.

"Ivael is wanting to move out soon."

"Thats what I heard. Looks like our agents in town haven't reported back either."

"Didn't you hear? The inn burned down!"

"Oh my...do you think they were hurt?"

"I have no idea. Ivael is furious though."

"I would hate to be on his bad side.... Did he decide on where we are going to hit?"

"I think he said he wanted to hit the church in town first."

Cladius and Gerron shared a look at this statement, and their faces both took on a look of determination. Gerron lifted up his arm and took out the purple crystal, and switched it out for a red one, and Cladius drew his sword. Gerron motioned towards the door, and mimed himself shooting it down. Cladius nodded, buckled his shield on and got ready.

\-------------------------------------------------

Inside the room, the eight rebels sat around a table talking and eating. Next to each of them sat a rifle and a sword, and in the room itself were eight pallets for sleeping. It was a very spartan sort of room, with one door in the far wall. The men sat and chatted about various things, chief among them being the subject of their mission. Then, one of them, a man with unkempt gray hair sat up and held up his hand for silence.

"Do you all hear that?"

The men went silent and listened. "Hear what Gray?"

Then, before any of the men could react, the door was blasted into the room off its hinges, golden red fire billowing out from behind it, and the yell of "For God and the Church!" following it.

###  \-------------------------------------------------

Cladius ran into the room shouting "For God and the Church!" with Gerron following behind him. Cladius quickly charged into the main group, shouting out the words to the Spell of Protection. Cladius focused the spell just on himself, so as to save energy. The fire seemed to disorient the rebels, and Cladius quickly downed two of them. As the smoke cleared, he did a quick head count and realized that with the two he had just killed, there still were six. It seemed that the numbers they had been given were off.

"Gerron, quickly, fire a blast into that far group over there!" Cladius pointed to a group of three men who seemed to be getting over the surprise and were trying to find their weapons. Gerron pointed his arm out and fired a blast of red flame, quickly incinerating the three. By the time this was done, the remaining three rebels had found some weapons. Two had picked up swords and one had managed to grab a rifle. Cladius faced off with the swordsman, leaving Gerron and the rifleman to square off.

The two men faced Cladius, who simply smiled. "Gentlemen, I hate to interrupt though, but I had to ask: thinking of attacking a church? I thought I should let you know that I do not approve of this, and neither does our holy lord God."

"Shut yer yap, you filthy templar! What do you know of anything?"

Cladius struck out quickly at the speaker, who barely dodged in time. The other man swung at Cladius thinking to cut him, but found quickly that the templar was an experienced combatant who smoothly blocked the blow and impaled the man. The first man, the one who spoke, stared at the speed of the heavily armored holy man. Cladius quickly realized his position was not the best he could be in as the remaining man swung out at him. Cladius dodged as best he could, but took a grazing wound to his sword arm, which was left unarmored to help with his speed.

Gerron on the other hand was hunkered down and exchanging fire with the rifleman. He was holed up behind the table, and the rifleman had used a nearby chair as a defense and was laying down a hail of bullets. Gerron just waited. He knew that the man would run out of shots eventually. Besides, thought Gerron, my gun never runs out of power! After a few moments the constant fire ceased, and Gerron sat up and looked over the table edge to see the man looking for another clip. Without wasting any time, Gerron fired his arm, bathing the man in orange flames, vaporizing him. The fire also hit the nearby pallets, which started to burn.

Cladius was still dealing with the last swordsman. This one had proved to be an apt opponent, playing defensively and not allowing Cladius any killing blows. Instead, Cladius was wearing his opponent down with constant string of blows. Over and over Cladius continued to swing his sword at the man, forcing him to move and block as best he could. The man had several gashes on his arms from where he couldn't quite block Cladius's blows, but he refused to back down. Then, after a few moments, Cladius saw an opening. He rammed his shield forward, causing the man to misstep and start to fall. Then, before the man could react Cladius shoved his sword forward, point first into the mans chest, killing him.

"Well that was bloody work. That should be most of them, but we need to check the other hallway."

Gerron nodded, and the two men began to walk out of the room and back towards the fork. Behind them, the fire that had caught on the pallet began to spread, engulfing the bodies and the rest of the chamber.

They went down the left side of the fork this time, and found themselves in a much darker and older looking tunnel. The sides of it had been stripped clean of iron, and most of the track had been removed from the area. The path below their feet was worn smooth from the passing of people. The voices that Gerron had heard earlier were absent, and after about five minutes they found themselves entering a large open chasm. It was one of the underground quarries, an area where a huge load of iron ore had once been, and was now mined clean. They had come out on a ledge about one hundred feet above the ground, and they saw no people.

"Well, this is anti-climatic now isn't it Gerron."

Gerron said nothing. He could sense something, and after a few moments of quiet concentration he knew, instantly, it was magic. And not the priestly magic that he and Cladius used. No, it was the magic of the Arcanists. He felt it coming from the left side, and he dove to the right, knocking Cladius down. Right above them, where moments before their heads had been, shot a blade of compressed air, visible only as it passed over them.

"Well! Looks like I found the people who burned the Inn down. How novel."

Gerron and Cladius stood up to find a man flying over their heads. "You must be Ivael."

"Ah, you have heard of me! And who might you be, so I know what to carve on your gravestones?"

"I am the templar Cladius!"

"And I am the priest Gerron! And we are here to deal with you. We heard about your plans to destroy the towns church, and of course we disagree with that."

"Well you would of course, being churchmen. Your inner eye is blinded by your faith." And before either of the two holy men could react, Ivael suddenly thrust his hands out in front of him, and another blade of compressed air fired out. This time however, Gerron shouted out the Word of Dispelling, its power rippling through the air and causing the very walls of the cavern to shake. Both the blade of air and the spell that was causing Ivael to fly failed, and Ivael began to plummet. He recovered quickly however, and shot out past them and into the hallway, laughing.

"Come face me outside fools! If you dare!"

Gerron glanced over at Cladius, who face was the picture of anger. "You know Cladius, we go out there, into the open, and given that he seems to be some sort of wind mage, he will have the advantage."

Cladius nodded, then turned to face Gerron. "It is our duty, and our mission, to put a stop to him, and all like him. You know that."

"I know Cladius. We need to be careful. I can only use the Words every so often you know. They are extremely dangerous if used too much."

Cladius nodded again, and the two men slowly began to walk out of the cavern and back towards the mouth of the mining tunnel.

When they reached the mouth of the tunnel, they could see that the storm had kicked up greatly. The mage who called himself Ivael was standing out in the middle of the quarry, a sword in his hand and a smile on his face. The rain pounded into the ground and steel of the machinery, creating a cacophony of noise, as if a multitude of drums where being stuck. Cladius and Gerron stepped out into the rain, and stared down at the mage. Gerron quickly checked to make sure his arm was ready and active, then realized that the rain would stop the fire crystal from working well. He looked at Cladius and mouthed "Stall him." Cladius nodded, and then with a yell of "For God and the Church!" charged down the ramp towards the mage, and Gerron quickly began to look for a very specific crystal.

"Come mage! Let us battle as God wished us to!" Cladius shouted as his sword met the mage's in the air.

Ivael parried the blow and then with a surprising amount of speed struck forward, attempting to stab Cladius in the face. "Your god is a fool, and is a false god! The only true law is that of nature!"

Cladius was barely able to block the blow with his shield, and then swung his sword in an overhand motion in an attempt to chop Ivael. "My God is the True God! You are nothing more then a terrorist, trying to disrupt the peace we have here!"

"Please," Ivael said as he leapt backwards to avoid the chop, "your church invaded my land first! We were peaceful!" Ivael then used his free hand and thrust it forward like a spear, causing a blast of wind to slam into Cladius and knock him down. Cladius gasped for breath and looked up at the mage.

"You lie! We did nothing! You attacked first!"

"Believe what you want little templar. It matters not here."

Cladius began to try to get up, and found Ivael standing over him, sword raised. "Goodbye little templar. Next I will be dealing with your friend."

Before Ivael could begin to swing however, a flash of light illuminated the quarry, blinding both Ivael and Cladius. Ivael rubbed his eyes and quickly realized that he no longer held a sword. He looked up and found Gerron staring at him, his arm raised and the barrel smoking.

"You know, I never thought I would find a use for this crystal."

Ivael raised his hands, and began to gather power to himself. Gerron simply smiled and fired his arm again, right at Ivael. Ivael dodged to the side, releasing the spell he was trying to cast and looked to where the bolt hit. It left nothing more then a hole, around two feet in diameter in the center of an sheet of iron.

"What the devil is that?!"

Gerron grinned and walked over to join Cladius, who had finally managed to get to his feet.

"This is my void crystal. I never thought I would have a use for this thing. Its too dangerous to use normally."

Ivael scowled and dove to the side, grabbing Cladius's sword on the way. He quickly dropped the sword however with a howl of pain. "What in the world?! The sword is enchanted?!"

Cladius smiled and retrieved his blade, and stood over the prone mage. "Yes, this sword was my fathers. He enchanted it so that only those of our bloodline can wield it." Then, without another word, Cladius drove the sword straight into the mage, ending his life.

"Well, now I am wet, bruised, and tired. Can we get out of here Cladius?"

"Yes, I think we can. We need to clean up this mess here however." Gerron grinned, pointed his arm down at the body and fired, instantly making the body vanish without a trace. "There, problem solved."

Cladius smiled, and the two men began to walk back into town, the only sound in the air that of the rain.

###  \-------------------------------------------------

"You finished off the group, but you couldn't find out who that second voice was eh?" Captain Betruga said.

"No sir. We only located the mage Ivael, who as best we could tell was an Aeromancer. He seemed more reluctant to use his spellcasting however. It was rather strange." Cladius stood at attention, Gerron sitting down in a chair nearby. "In fact, the group of them seemed rather undermanned for any sort of real threat."

Captain Betruga smiled. "Had they been able to subvert the town to their cause, then we would have had a real fight on our hands. That town is one of the major suppliers of Iron to the kingdom. If the Arcanists had controlled that town..." Betruga let it hang in the air.

Gerron nodded, and spoke up. "Sir, we made sure to clean up the mage's remains, and I am pretty sure the fire that had started in the chamber where we fought the rebels themselves dealt with the remains there. I am however displeased that we had to burn that inn down."

Betruga nodded, and smiled. "That inn was owned by the town, and I will make sure a small sum of money is sent to the mayor to rebuild it, as well as an explanation of what happened. Does that make you feel better Gerron?" Gerron smiled and nodded. "Indeed Captain. Thank you."

"Well then," Betruga began, "You two better get cleaned up and bathed. You smell horrible and look like you spent your day playing in a dust pile."

Gerron and Cladius nodded and left, each thinking about the events that had happened, happy that they had helped styme the efforts of the Arcanists yet again.

### Waver: The Cold Shoulder

"Lady this is a robbery! Fill the bag with the money and no one will get hurt!"

The teller behind the counter eyed the man disdainfully. He brandished no weapon visibly and was dressed in a shabby overcoat, black baseball cap, and smelled like he had not bathed in a month. His blue eyes, the color of a deep ocean, were bloodshot and a bit wild. She sniffed slightly and wrinkled her nose, unconcerned.

"Sir, if you do not leave this instant I will be forced to call security." She then began to turn away, but something on the man's hand caught her eye. She turned back and began to pale, as she noticed his hand slowly starting to glow a deep blue. Shards of ice began to form on his hand and the rim of the bag. Several of the other tellers took notice, each of them going wide eyed at the display. One surreptitiously tripped the silent alarm.

"You're a Waver." the teller muttered. The man smiled grimly and shook the bag.

"I told you this was a robbery. Now play nice if you all want to make it out of here alive!" He eyed the other customers as he glowed blue.

Within a few minutes several police cars arrived at the Orange City Credit Union. The man inside looked out upon hearing the sirens and cursed angrily.

"You tripped the alarm didn't you!" The temperature began to drop around him as the glow deepened. The teller backed away slightly.

"I...I don't know what you are talking about..." She glanced wild eyed around. The man growled, and without warning dropped the bag and pointed at her. A blue beam fired from his finger and hit her, and within seconds she was encased in ice.

He turned and addressed the remaining people in the bank. "Now listen here! If you all don't want to end up like this bimbo here, you will come here one at a time and put your valuables into this here bag!" He picked his bag back up and placed it on the counter in front of the frozen woman. "No one else needs to get hurt here." Ice had begun to form in the air around him as the temperature continued to drop. He grimaced.

"First I gotta deal with those pigs..." He said as he walked towards the glass doors.

Outside the officers stared. All the police had seen the blue flash of light and knew that it meant something beyond their ability to deal with. They took up defensive positions behind their cars and kept glancing over at the bank. All was quiet. After a few moments, one of the officers stood and started to slowly work his way towards the front of the building.

Without warning, a beam of blue light shot out through the glass doors. Ice formed where it touched the glass, and it hit the officer dead on. Within a few seconds his was frozen solid. The other officers stared. Sure enough, a Waver was involved. One, a quick thinking youth named Carter grabbed the radio in his car and called Dispatch.

"This is Officer Carter, badge number 2542! We have a situation at the Orange City Credit Union on Park and Aspen. A Waver is involved, and seems to have some sort of ice or cold manipulation ability! Send back-up!" Carter glanced up and noticed that none of the officers were moving from behind the protection of their cars.

"Roger that Officer Carter. We will radio for special assistance."

Carter nodded, and watched as another beam fired out of the window and hit a police cruiser, encasing it in ice.

A few blocks over a man in a skintight black and gold unitard stood silently on a roof. He had just gotten off the phone with the local police dispatcher and was getting ready to head over to the scene. He sighed, and stretched slightly.

"Well Kinetick, time to get hopping!" He concentrated, and felt himself lift slightly off the roof. He then focused and shot forward, almost like he was riding a skateboard. He glided down to the street and began to weave in and out of traffic, heading straight for the bank.

The police stayed behind their cars as the beams continued to be fired out. Each time one hit a car it became frozen almost instantly. Inside the bank, the terrified customers had begun to deposit their wallets, rings, and other valuables into the bag. The man's glow was highly visible now, and it seemed like he was surrounded by snowfall. It would be almost magical if it didn't surround a very smelly and disheveled man. The man realized that the cops were hiding behind their now frozen cars and growled.

"Need to figure out how to get rid of them." he muttered to himself. He glanced around at the assembled customers, now huddled together in one corner, and saw a small girl. She could not have been more then eight years old. He stalked over to her, his eyes full of menace, and without preamble grabbed him by the arm. Where he touched her, the area began to cover with ice. She cried, and a man in the crowd began to beg "Please! Don't hurt my little girl."

"Listen pal," the man said as he hauled the girl up. "If those pigs don't leave, you all will be in for a world of pain."

With that said the man dragged the girl over to the doors, and pressed her up against the glass. He then punched a section of the glass that had frozen over from his rays, and shouted out from the opening.

"Listen pigs! Leave now, or this little girl and the rest of the folks in here are gonna become like flies frozen in ice cubes!" For emphasis he shook the girl, eliciting another sob.

It was at that moment that several things seemed to happen all at once. Out of nowhere a streetlamp suddenly streaked towards the glass doors like a spear. At the same moment a man in black and gold appeared to slide out in front of the frozen cars. As the lamp reached the glass the man reached out with his hand and made a pulling motion. The door that the girl was pressed against flew out off its hinges and soared out over the cars.

As the lamp spear reached the other door where the mans face was peering out through his hole, he let go of the girl and dove backwards. The lamp grazed the top of the mans head as it sailed into the bank and crashed into the back wall, sticking out of it some giant toothpick.

The girl quickly ran over the man in black, who then ushered her over to the nearby officers. The robber stood and snarled.

"So, you're some sort of Waver like me eh?" The robber said angrily.

The man in black and gold let out a laugh. "Well something like that, only it's obvious that I have the better fashion sense between the two of us. What's your name?"

The robber eyed the new Waver. "Call me Chiller. And you are?"

The man in black took a bow, never taking his eyes off Chiller. "Kinetick. So, how bout we end this peacefully, with you letting the other hostages out and giving up? I would hate to have to hurt you..."

Chiller barked out a laugh, and without another word fired a beam straight at Kinetick. Kinetick however had been waiting for such a move, and with a thought flipped up a manhole cover into the beams path. "Now now, that was not very nice!" Kinetick chided as he flung the now frozen manhole cover at Chiller with enough force to break the robbers knees.

Diving out of the way, Chiller concentrated hard. The air around the bank began to grow colder, and suddenly a nearby fire hydrant burst open, spraying ice shards everywhere. "Lets see you stop that hero!" Chiller laughed and came out of his roll.

Throwing out both hands Kinetick concentrated and imagined a large sphere in the air. Instantly a barely visible dome of force surrounded him and the officers, and the shards deflected off it. However, while he was doing this Chiller fired several more rays. Kinetick's eyes widened as they went right through his barrier. He dove to the right and called out to the officers.

"Look I will distract this guy! You guys get inside and get the people to safety!" He then concentrated, and a wall of force slammed into Chiller, shoving him into the side of the building. The officers wasted no time and quickly ran inside.

Chiller and Kinetick both stood and eyed each other. Chiller's glow had deepened, and Kinetick was panting slightly. "So boy, you got some sort of weird force field power or something?"

"Its actually Telekinetics. I can move objects with my mind. You seem to have Cryokinesis!"

Chiller cocked an eyebrow. "You are using fancy words there. I just freeze things....like stupid heroes!" Chiller brought his hands up and fired a large beam of energy. Kinetick shoved himself up into the air with a push of force and hopped over the beam. Quick as he could he then concentrated and slammed a ball of pure force into Chiller's stomach. The man doubled over, and Kinetick wasted no time in ripping out a tree and flinging it at the man. To his surprise however, Chiller held up a hand and generated a shield of ice, stopping the tree. With a wave of his hand Chiller then flung that wall of ice directly at Kinetick, who cleaved it in two with a blade of force. Chiller growled and concentrated. Suddenly several blades of ice appeared in the air and shot forward. Kinetick dove under them and focused his mind. He grabbed a hold of the sidewalk and shoved upward. The expression on Chiller's face was one of surprise as he was flung backwards by the sidewalk under him heaving upward, slamming headfirst into the wall of the bank. He slumped down to the ground, unmoving. Glancing over, Kinetick noticed that the police were leading the hostages out of the back door of the bank. He smiled, and walked over to the seemingly unconscious Chiller. He checked the man's pulse, found it steady, and pulled an eyelid back. The man lay there, breathing but still.

"Well, you were a bit of a workout, but overall, I give you a C minus." With that, Kinetick radioed dispatch asking for a Waver Containment Team to come pick up Chiller. A few moments later the team arrived, and using specialized equipment they bound Chiller and hauled him off. Kinetick smiled as his radio hissed to life. Another call was coming in. A hero's work was never truly done.

### The Dark Carnival

The campfire crackled in the still air, the light from it illuminating the two men sitting near it and the clearing they sat in. The dark seemed to hang back near the trees, almost oppressive. One of the men, a human, stirred a pot full of stew while the other, a dwarf, sat and smoked a pipe. The pungent pipe smoke hung in the air, casting a hazy pall over the grove where they two sat. After a few moments, the human spoke. "So, Gungrier was it? We have been traveling together now for a few days. What brings you to these parts if you do not mind me asking?"

Gungrier put his pipe down and looked into the fire, the light reflecting in his grey eyes. "I don't think you will believe me lad."

The man smiled slightly and used his free hand to push his black hair out of his face. "My name is Argoth remember? And try me, I might surpriseyou."

The dwarf nodded, and motioned with one stubby hand towards the pot. "What are ya cookin lad?"

"Oh just some stew. Beans, carrots, salt pork, potatoes. That sort of thing." Argoth stirred the pot and took a sip. "Its almost ready. How about this: You tell me your story, and I will tell ya mine?" The smell of the pot began to fill the glade, and Gungrier felt his mouth begin to water.

"Alright laddie." Gungrier got his waterskin out and took a drink, and then began. "I believe I already told ya that I come from the northern mountain tribes, aye?" Argoth nodded. "Well, about three months ago or thereabouts, a strange carnival came to town."

"What made it strange?" Argoth asked as he tasted the stew, and then took out two bowls and began to spoon the hearty meal into them. He offered one to Gungrier, who took the bowl and continued. "It was the workers lad. Most of the time when a carnival comes to town, its a time for celebration and the people who work them tend to be happy folk. These people seemed to have a sort of forced happiness. I didn't get a good look at them though as I was on my way out of town to visit the nearby trading post."

Argoth nodded and re-adjusted his seat on the ground, and as Gungrier continued he got his bedroll out and layed it down.

"As I was saying, I was leaving just as the carnival was setting up. It took me 4 days to go out to the traders post with my wares and come back. When I got back I found that my wife and son where missing. Now I was right mad I tell you, but the worst part of it was that no one remembered them, or the carnival. In fact, my own clansmen began to think I was crazy."

Argoth nodded as he finished laying out his bedroll. He then began to eat his stew in silence as he contemplated the dwarfs story. Both men sat quietly, the sound of chewing and the crackling and snapping of the campfire the only noises. Finally, after he had finished his stew, Argoth spoke. "I believe you Gungrier." The dwarf's head snapped up suddenly, his red hair flying back behind his head.

"Why lad?"

"Cause your story is very similar to mine, thats why." Gungrier stared at the young man. To him, Argoth seemed too young to be married, but Gungrier was never very good at judging the age of humans. "You seem a bit young to be married lad, no offense."

Argoth laughed, a deep vibrant sound. "No no, I'm not married. In fact, I was a soldier in the kings army and not a bad one at that if I may say so. I was home on leave and a carnival appeared. I didn't pay much attention to it at first, and I had to leave town as well. I was asked to go grab some supplies from a neighboring town. It took me 3 days to return and when I did, a found that my sister was missing, and no one had any memory of her, even my own mother. And just like you, no one but me remembered the carnival."

The fire continued to crackle as Gungrier sat in silence, absently refilling his pipe. Argoth took stock of the dwarf, carefully noticing the axe, shield, and plate armor that he kept close to him. Finally Gungrier spoke. "Well lad, thats the first I have heard. So why are you out here?"

"I was on my way to the town of Aldaern. Its the nearest town in this region and if anyone else has the same situation we have, I figured that they would be there."

"Would ya mind if I continued traveling with ya? I don't believe in fate but meeting out here has to mean something."

Argoth smiled. "I would be honored." Then Argoth pointed at Gungrier's axe and said "You any good with that?"

The dwarf gave Argoth a level gaze that spoke volumes, and the human laughed. "Alright, alright. Forget I asked. Lets get some sleep, we should be at the town by midday tomorrow."

The next morning the two men awoke to the sound of birds chirping. The morning air was cool and there was a light breeze. Argoth stood and stretched, letting the wind caress his face. It had taking some doing to get an honorable discharge from the his division, but Argoth had shown exceptional service in the last war and they were willing to let the young man go. He glanced down at the sleeping form of Gungrier, and pondered. The dwarf seemed so sincere, but Argoth found that the two of them meeting just a little suspect. Time would tell of the dwarf's true intentions. Argoth grabbed his waterskin and the pot then walked a little ways into the forest, where he knew from his travels that a stream was. He then washed the pot and filled his waterskin, and splashed a little water on his face. He felt the growth of stubble and sighed. It was going to be time to shave again.

"You really should pay more attention lad." A voice said from behind.

Argoth stood and turned to find Gungrier standing behind him. "How did you sneak up on me?"

Gungrier grinned. "We dwarves are a lot stealthier then you folk give us credit for." Argoth smiled, and began to walk back to camp. He called out behind him "Lets hurry up and get walking. We need to make good time if we want to reach Aldaern by midday."

The dwarf grunted and filled his waterskin. Then he too splashed some water on his face and washed his beard quickly, then returned to camp to find Argoth was already packed and ready to go. He packed his kit and shouldered his bag. "Ready when you are lad." Argoth nodded, and the two tromped their way east, towards the quaint town of Aldaern.

It took the better part of the day, but by midday the two slightly winded travelers found themselves outside the gates to the town of Aldaern. It had been a long time since Argoth had visited the town, and Gungrier had confessed to never having left his mountain home save to visit the trader outpost. As they entered, Gungrier seemed fascinated by most of the things that Argoth found mundane. Argoth watched his new friend with barely concealed amusement as the dwarf openly stared at the people who walked around them. Finally Gungrier spoke.

"Lad, how can ya stand the smell of this place?"

Argoth took a deep breath. "What smell? I don't smell anything."

Gungrier sighed. "Nevermind lad. I think maybe I am not used to being around so many humans." Argoth nodded, and then led the way to an inn he remembered from his last visit, a small place called The Iron Dragon. He was happy to see that the inn still stood, as it had been five years since his last visit. He motioned for Gungrier to enter, and then walked in himself.

The taproom was fairly empty despite it being midday, but it was light and warmed by a merry fire that sat in the hearth. Gungrier quickly found himself a seat and ordered an ale. Argoth shook his head and muttered under his breath "Dwarves and their ale. I guess some things are true." As Gungrier took his ale from the maid and drank noisily, Argoth walked over to the barkeep.

"Excuse me sir, mind if I ask you a few questions?"

The barkeep, a fairly clean fellow who was missing a few teeth, gave a grin. "Depends on what kind of questions young sir."

Argoth sighed and took out a single gold piece. It was probably more then the barkeep would make in a day. He watched as the man's eyes widened and a look of unbridled greed appeared in them.

"Answer my questions, and I will give you this. Agreed?"

The man simply nodded. Argoth quickly glanced back and found that Gungrier was flirting with a barmaid. He then turned back to the barkeep.

"First question, has a carnival been in town recently?"

The man shook his head, his eyes still on the coin. Argoth frowned, and then paused before speaking again.

"Ok, any strange happenings?" The barman shook his head and Argoth began to hand over the coin when the barmaid that Gungrier had been flirting with walked over. "There was that guy who went raving that his wife had vanished." she said brightly.

Argoth turned to face her, taking the coin back away from the barkeep. "Excuse me miss?"

The barmaid, a freckle faced woman with a large bosom laughed. "I was just telling yer friend there about old Horace."

Argoth smiled and handed the barmaid the coin He then walked over to Gungrier, who was just finishing up his fourth tankard of ale. "Putting it away eh Gungrier?"

The dwarf let out a loud belch and grinned. "Aye lad. All in a days work for a dwarf!" Argoth took a seat and ordered a plate of cold beef and cheese from the barmaid. Gungrier ordered yet another tankard of ale. As the food and drink came out, Argoth thanked the barmaid who winked at him. He blushed slightly and glanced down.

"So lad, find anything out?" Gungrier asked with a tone of voice that suggested that he knew something.

"Just that a man named Horace claims to have a missing wife but no one seems to remember him being married."

Gungrier's face fell. "Now why did ya go and ruin the surprise?" Argoth laughed and began to eat. Between mouthfuls of the tasty beef he said

"Did you find out where Horace lives in town?" Gungrier nodded and ordered a plate of beef and cheese. The two men finished their meals, and left, heading north towards the farmsteads.

It took a few hours once they reached the farmsteads to find the home of Horace. The farm itself looked well tended, the crops apparently rows of fruit trees. "Peaches.", Gungrier said as they approached the fields. Argoth pointed to the farm house, where a man sat on the porch. Gungrier nodded and the two men walked towards the porch. "Who is there?!" the man said. Argoth stopped and put his hand on Gungrier's shoulder. The dwarf stopped as Argoth yelled "Two travelers who would like to have a word with Horace!"

The man stood up and walked towards the pair, a knife in his hand. "Come to have a look at 'Mad Horace' have you? I bet the townspeople are laughing at me behind my back!" The man brandished the knife at the two of them, and Argoth felt Gungrier tense under his hand. "Calm down Gungrier." Then Argoth addressed the man. "No sir, in fact, we were hoping to hear your story. Not to laugh at you."

Horace sighed. "You won't believe me. No one else does. Why should I bother telling you?"

"Because we have had something similar happen to us sir." Gungrier finally said.

"Really?" The man arched an eyebrow at this. "Well then, why don't you gentlemen come inside and have some tea."

Argoth smiled and thanked the man, while Gungrier grunted out "Got any ale?"

The kitchen of Horace's home was well kept and clean. Argoth found this odd considering the man looked like he was more at home in the fields then doing housework. Argoth studied his host, noticing the calloused hands and sunburned skin. Horace also appeared to be in his late fifties from Argoth's estimation. Horace walked over to the stove and grabbed a teapot and then filled it, setting it on the stove to heat. "So, you lads want to hear my story eh? My 'crazy' story as they say?"

"Thats right sir." Gungrier said. "Although if its like ours I doubt its crazy. Unless all three of us fine folk are crazy!" Horace let out a harsh laugh at this. "I guess you are right." Argoth simply kept silent, watching the two men. After a few moments Horace mixed the tea into the pot and brought it over. "Sorry master dwarf, but no ale. I haven't drank a thing since...that night."

Argoth accepted his tea, and then explained his situation. Gungrier then explained his, taking a cup of tea as well and sipping it. "This is good tea sir. Where did you get it?"

"My wife grew it." Tears formed in the corners of Horace's eyes at this, and Argoth reached over and patted the man. "Its alright friend, let it out. What happened?"

Horace sniffed once, and then began. "I had gone out that night, alone to the woods nearby. I had got into an argument with Marrisa, and decided to sleep out in the woods and get drunk. We had a fight over me helping clean around the house you see. I said I shouldn't have to since I worked in the fields." Gungrier nodded. "Seems like a fine argument to me lad." Horace laughed. "Me, a lad?"

Gungrier smiled. "Compared to me, you both are young lads." Argoth laughed, and even Horace let out a chuckle. "Anyway, I took a bottle of wine that I had been saving out to the woods, to drown my sorrows and anger ya see. I never liked being angry around the wife. I don't abide men who strike women." Argoth smiled. "Good man" he said. Horace nodded and continued.

"Well, as I left I noticed that there was a carnival in town. I hadn't gone into the town proper for a few days as I had been working on bringing in the peaches. My wife had told me she was going to visit her sister in the city that night, and had asked me to clean. Thats what started the argument actually."

Horace cleared his throat and took a sip of tea. "So there I was, in the woods. I started to drink and well...drunk myself into a stupor. It was not a pleasant morning let me tell you. It was made all the more unpleasant when I got home and found that my wife had not returned. So I went into town to find her sister, and when I asked where Marissa was the woman looked at me like I had lost my mind. She said she didn't know anyone by that name." Argoth nodded as Horace took another drink. "After I argued with her for a while I asked her if she knew who I was. She said 'Sure, Horace the peach farmer.'".

"Seems pretty similar to ours doesn't it Argoth."

"Indeed it does."

"Well," Horace continued, "to make a long story short, I kept asking around and no one remembered my wife. Not a single person. They all thought I had gone crazy, and figured that since I smelled of booze I must have drunk myself silly."

Argoth leaned forward. "Did you ask anyone about the carnival Horace?"

Horace simply shook his head. "No lad, I was too busy trying to find my nonexistent wife. My wife did say she heard it was heading to Irigraed next."

Argoth said "Do you happen to remember how long ago the carnival was here?"

"About four days ago."

Gungrier let out a chuckle. "Well Argoth, it has all the same earmarks as our stories. Think we should go into town and ask about a carnival that probably no one remembers?" Argoth nodded, and then dropped two gold coins on the table. Horace stared at them. "Keep those, for when your wife comes home."

As the two men stood up to leave, Horace said "What do ya mean, comes home?" Gungrier simply smiled. "Because lad, me and Argoth aim to get to the bottom of this, and when we do we shall tell your Marissa how much you miss her." And with that, the two men left Horace sitting alone at his table, feeling hope for the first time in a month.

After Argoth and Gungrier reached town they came up with the idea to split up and ask around for information about the carnival. While they were sure that Horace's information regarding its next destination was accurate, they wanted to make sure that no one else had any memory of the carnival. After a few hours of searching, when the sky began to darken from the setting sun, the two men rendezvoused at the Iron Dragon. Argoth found Gungrier already sitting at a table, drinking an ale.

"I gotta ask: how many have you had while you waited for me?"

"This is my first lad." Gungrier smiled. "Find anything out?"

Argoth shook his head. "Nothing. As far as any of the people I asked, there hasn't been a carnival around here in over a year."

"Same here. Also, one kid asked me if I believed Horace. When I said I did he called me crazy." Argoth laughed and spoke. "So, should we pay for rooms or sleep out in the woods?"

Gungrier stood and put a silver coin on the table. "Why waste the gold?

We can sleep just as well outside as we can here." Gungrier stood and then walked outside. The dwarf lit his pipe and stared at the sky, thoughts of his wife and son on his mind. After a few moments Argoth joined him and the two walked out of town into the pasture, intent on finding a good campsite.

###  \-------------------------------------------------

A man in a robe ran up to a large fancy wagon. He stopped for a moment, as he always did, to admire the craftsmanship of the wagons design. Covered in carvings and paint, it was a riot of color. He stared at one image in particular and smiled. It was the image of a fire breathing demonic beast. The man knocked on the door, and after a few moments it opened. Standing in the doorway was a fairly nondescript man, wearing a bright red suit and top hat. In one hand he held a cane, and the other was propped on the door jam. He wore the expression of someone who knew more then he was letting on and he glanced down at the robed man.

"What is it Jurgen?" The man's voice was soft, almost like velvet.

"Sir, we have been scrying as you have asked, and found two people who remember the carnival."

The man waved his hand dismissively "And? What is so special about these two?"

"They are tracking us."

"What?" The man in the suit suddenly stood straight. "What do you mean, tracking us?" The man stared at Jurgen, who fidgeted nervously. "They have just stopped in Aldaern and spoke to a man who apparently also remembers us, but is too weak minded to do anything. Thats how I found out in fact. He was so excited that someone believed him that his mind almost shouted it to the heavens. They have discovered our next destination from him and seek to find us. However, I was unable to scry them directly. Something was blocking me." The man considered this. He knew that in order to block Jurgen, his best scryer, that powerful abjuration magics had to be involved. After a few moments, he spoke. "Send Davis, Micah, and Scarlette. Do not leave them alive."

"As my lord commands." The man closed the door, and Jurgen hurried off, intent on delivering his masters orders.

###  \-------------------------------------------------

The sounds of birds chirping awoke Argoth from his slumber, and he sat up and stretched. It was a fine morning, the sun was brightly shining and the sky was clear. Then, Argoth heard a horrible sound. Like that of a giant monster, come to devour him. He glanced around and quickly came to the conclusion that it was Gungrier, snoring. He stood up, and gently prodded his friend with his foot.

"Wake up. You're snoring loud enough to wake the dead!"

The dwarf simply mumbled and turned over on his side. Argoth grinned to himself and started a fire. He then got his pot out and filled it with some water and porridge. He sat the pot on the fire and then began to pack up his bedroll. As the smell of food filled the air, Gungrier stirred. "Hmmmm? Do I smell food?"

Argoth laughed. "Yes, yes you do." He glanced quickly to the town, which was still nearby. "Come on. We need to eat and then get going. I think we should head out as soon as possible. If we hurry, we might be able to catch up to the carnival. I think we should by some horses. It can take four days to go to Irigraed by foot, and the carnival cannot be making good time given its size."

Gungrier nodded as he stood up and began to pack his things. "So what about some supplies?"

"I bought some last night before we left, but just general food and such. How about this? I go get us a pair of horses, and you go get any specific supplies you think we need?"

"Sounds like a plan." Gungrier said as he packed up his bedroll. "Meet back here before midday?"

Argoth nodded and began the walk back to town, intent on locating a horse dealer.

It took the better part of the morning, but after some haggling Argoth had purchased two fine horses. They were a pair of mares, who the owner insisted were as fast as the wind. Argoth doubted they were that fast, but after watching them run in the corral he was sure that they would be fast enough. He reached the gate to leave the city and found himself looking at the back of Gungrier. He snuck up and tapped the dwarf on the shoulder, watching as Gungrier jumped slightly.

"You should pay more attention Gungrier."

The dwarf turned around and grimaced. "Nice one lad. I will remember ya doing this." Argoth handed a set of reins over to the dwarf and grinned broadly. "I have no doubt that you will. So, get anything useful?"

Gungrier nodded. "Some stout rope, a grappling hook, and a pair of extra water skins, which I filled at the well."

Argoth mounted his horse and checked his pack to make sure it was secure on his back. "Ready whenever you are."

Gungrier laughed, lashed his pack to the saddle and vaulted up into it. "Lets go lad. Time to catch a carnival." The two adventurers then put their heels to their mounts flanks and were off, racing into the distance.

The two men finally stopped and made camp for the evening in a small clearing in a wooded area. Argoth estimated that they were only a single day's travel away from their next destination, Irigraed. If they kept up the pace, they would reach it just behind the carnival. Argoth chaffed at the delay. He was sure that this carnival had something to do with the disappearances. After searching for three months for an answer, and being so close, Argoth was starting to lose patience. He stood, thinking about his sister. "You alright lad?" Gungrier's voice brought Argoth back to reality. "Sorry about that Gungrier. Just thinking about things."

The two men were silent for a moment, and then Gungrier spoke. "How long has she been missing lad?"

"Three months. We're close, aren't we?"

Suddenly a new voice sounded into the clearing. "Close to what?" Gungrier and Argoth spun around quickly and found themselves looking at three nondescript travelers Two were male, average height, and of average build. The third was a female with bright red hair. They all shared brown eyes. Each carried a backpack and had no visible weapons. Argoth tensed slightly. "Excuse me, but who are you?"

One of the men spoke, one who had a crooked nose as if it had been broken. "We are simply travelers is all. My name is Micah." He bowed.

"I am Davis." The second man said with a smile.

The girl pushed her hair behind her ear. "And I am Scarlette."

Gungrier eyed the newcomers. Something about them did not seem right. He grunted and said "I am Gungrier." He glanced at Argoth who was staring intently at them.

"I am Argoth. What business do you have here?"

Scarlette smiled again, and pointed at the fire. "May we sit down? We have been walking all day."

Argoth nodded, still not taking his eyes off them. Gungrier nudged his friend, who shook his head. "You were staring lad. Its rude."

"Oh...right sorry."

The three newcomers sat down, and Micah pulled out some rations and handed them out to his compatriots. Gungrier and Argoth sat opposite them near the fire.

"So," Argoth began, "What brings you to these parts?"

Davis answered. "Oh we are heading to Aldaern. To visit a friend." He took a bite of his food. Argoth nodded, and Gungrier took a drink. "Oh? Might we ask your friends name? We just came from there."

"His name is Horace." Scarlette said. Gungrier narrowed his eyes slightly, and then gave a half smile. "Ah yes, we have met him. Have you met his wife?"

Davis' eyes widened. "He has a wife now? Thats news to me!"

"So where are you two heading?" Micah asked.

Argoth gave a half smile. "We are searching for a carnival. I believe someone who is a part of that group stole something very important to me."

Gungrier nodded. "Aye, me too. Its a very important item." The three travelers shared a look, and Argoth began to cook a stew of rabbit, carrots, and potatoes. The group then continued to eat, the three newcomers sharing some of the stew. After the meal was finished, Gungrier lit his pipe and began to smoke, and then suddenly the three travelers stood up. "Thank you for the meal!" Davis said.

"It was very tasty." Scarlette added.

"Its a shame we have to kill you now." Micah added, and then without warning the three suddenly began to change shape, and charged. Gungrier wastaken by surprise, and was knocked back by what used to be Scarlette. He rolled backwards and came to his feet, taking stock. He quickly glanced over at Argoth, and found that the human had not only dodged the charge, but had ended up parallel to him with his sword drawn. Argoth then threw something to Gungrier, who caught it in mid air. It was his axe. Gungrier then studied his opponents. Where three humans once stood, now stood things that could only be described as living nightmares. Creatures of spikes, bones, and fangs. Gungrier quickly noticed that the hands on each creature had lengthened into giant claws, their arms had extended out, and their faces had grown into animalistic things. Long muzzles held huge fangs, and saliva dripped from them. Their skin was a deep, almost blood red as well. It was then that Gungrier noticed the pain in his shoulder, and he stole a quick glance to realize that the creature who struck him had torn into him and gave him three deep gashes.

"You shouldn't have done that you...whatever you are." Argoth said. Then, to Gungrier's amazement, Argoth began to speak rapidly in dwarven. Gungrier recognized it. It was a rune cast. The creatures laughed, a harsh barking sound devoid of humor. The middle one spoke, a guttural grating sound that made Gungrier's head feel like it was being pounded on by a hammer.

"What do you think you are doing human? You cannot hope to harm us!"

Argoth quickly finished the spell by writing on the blade of his broad sword, and then held it at the ready. Gungrier smiled. He had recognized the casting, and knew just how effective it might be against these creatures.

"So, who sent you?" Gungrier asked, his axe held in front of him.

"Our master, of course. He sends his regards, but regrets that you will not live to meet him yourself." And with that, the one on the right leapt at Argoth with a display of speed that caused Gungrier to flinch. Argoth however, ducked under the leap and brought his sword directly up into thepath of the creature. As the creature hit the blade, it shrieked in pain. The other two creatures shared a glance as the blade cleaved straight through the screaming creature as if it was made of paper. The blade began to glow white as it finished its path. Argoth stood up and smiled, half of the creature on each side of him. "A Holy Rune. Highly effective against demonic creatures."

"How did you know we were demons human!" One of them asked. It had a more feminine sounding voice to Gungrier, and he assumed it was once the person called Scarlette. Argoth laughed. "I guessed. You know, big long claws, fangs, red skin? Seems like a demon to me."

Gungrier smiled. He then hefted his axe and glanced at Argoth. "Well lad, there are two left standing. One for you, one for me?" The demons growled, and then in tandem charged.

The one charging Gungrier was the one who had spoken, whom he assumed was Scarlette. As he blocked her furious blows with his axe, he had a moment of hesitation. This was a female, and there was no honor in striking one. Then, while he was not paying full attention, she struck him across the stomach lightly, scratching him again and bringing him back to reality. "Alright lass, no more nice dwarf." As she swung at him again, Gungrier ducked under the blow, and brought his axe up from below, slamming it into her stomach. He grunted as his axe struck her. It was like hitting iron. Thankfully, his axe had been made of mithril and was tougher then the hide of some demon. He pushed with all his strength and was rewarded with a scream of pain as his axe bit into her flesh. She tried to back off and he simply pulled back and brought it back up into her. She screeched again, and he stole a glance over at Argoth to see how he was doing.

Argoth and his demon faced off with each other. The demon not being stupid enough to charge the human with the glowing sword. "You know," Argoth said, "You should really do your research before jumping in like this." The creature growled, and swung at Argoth, who easily ducked under the blow. "Please, you are all rage and anger. You won't even touch me."

Gungrier turned his focus back to his target, who had backed off and was bleeding profusely. The she demon, as Gungrier now thought of her, growled angrily. "Alright lass, now I am going to finish this." He then charged forward, ducked under her claw as she swung it, and slammed his axe right between her eyes. Gungrier put all his strength behind the blow and was rewarded with the crunch of bone and then a quick scream. Then, the she-demon went limp. He pulled his axe out of her head and took a glance over at the fight between the remaining demon and Argoth.

Argoth took a stance, his sword held out in front of him level with his body like a spear, his right foot behind him, braced like a runner. The demon grunted, snarled, and then ran at him. To Gungrier's amazement, Argoth leapt forward, using the braced leg to propel him at a speed that Gungrier thought impossible for a human to reach. There was a scream, and then the demon fell to the ground, twitching. Argoth was behind him, the sword still glowing. He then quickly spun and struck downward, finishing the beast. Argoth looked at his friend, and quickly went to his bag. "I got some bandages in here Gungrier." The dwarf nodded and took a look at his wounds, then noticed that Argoth was untouched.

"How did you move so fast lad?"

"Training." Argoth said as he rooted in his pack.

Gungrier walked over and sat down. "Thats not much of an answer."

Argoth smiled and handed Gungrier a roll of cloth. "There, tend your wounds."

As Gungrier bound his wounds with the cloth, he said "So, can you tell me how you got trained to move faster then most people I know?"

"You know how I said I was a soldier?" Gungrier nodded. "I was part ofthe Illtheium." Gungrier raised an eyebrow at this. "You mean the kings special forces? The legendary Illtheium of Kenebori?"

Argoth smiled. "I was indeed. Each member of the Illtheium is chosen because of some unique ability. In my case, it was my speed. I simply move faster then most people. Thats all."

"But how did you learn rune magic?"

Argoth took out a water skin and handed it to Gungrier, who took a drink. "All of the Illtheium are taught a variety of skills. Some basic rune casting, stealth, thieving skills, and combat. We are also given endurance training. 'Always be ready'. That was our motto."

Gungrier stood and pointed at the bodies. "We need to move these lad or there is going to be a horrible smell." Argoth nodded, and added "And away from the campsite. Otherwise we are going to have wild animals here."

The two men each grabbed a corpse and began the work of dragging them away from their site. As they walked through the woods, Argoth commented "You know, at least we know we are on the right path."

"Oh? What makes you say that?"

Argoth grinned and tugged on the body as it got caught on the branch. "They didn't attack us until we mentioned the carnival."

They finally reached a point that they agreed was far away from the camp and dropped the bodies. As they walked back, Gungrier said "I will take first watch." Argoth nodded and they finished cleaning up their camp, and then Argoth went to bed. Gungrier simply sat and kept an eye out.

The next morning they ate in silence, absorbed in their thoughts. Argoth and Gungrier then quickly packed up and mounted their horses, and began to ride. They talked a little while riding. "So Argoth, you think our best bet is to catch up to the carnival, and investigate it before attacking?"

"Yes. We need to keep the element of surprise, and besides, we are still not one hundred percent sure that the carnival is behind this or even connected. It could be a coincidence."

Gungrier nodded, and they continued to ride hard.

After a half day of hard riding they came within site of Irigraed. The midday sun shone brightly in the sky, and Argoth thought it was a lovely day. As they rode up to the gate they heard people talking excitedly about a carnival. The two men shared a look.

"Looks like we got here right after it." Gungrier said.

Argoth leaned over in the saddle and hailed a nearby gate guard. "Excuse me sir. We keep hearing some of the people here talking about a carnival. How long has it been here?"

The guard scratched the side of his nose. "Oh since this morning. They are setting up on the other side of town, in a clearing. They say they will be ready tonight."

Argoth thanked the guard, and the two men rode into town, working their way through the midday crowd. All around them there was excited talk about the carnival. "It seems like this is a big event."

Gungrier nodded. "I would guess it would be. Its not everyday a carnival comes to town."

The two walked their horses further into town, and located a nearby inn. A decayed sign hung outside, and written in faded paint were the words "Hogird Tavern and Inn".

"Lets rest for a while. I think our best course of action is to visit the carnival during the evening with everyone else, to see if we can find anything out. Then we can go from there."

Gungrier smiled and nodded his agreement. "I think you are right. I hope that this wasn't some wild goose chase. For all we know it could be all coincidence" Argoth nodded.

"Here Gungrier, you take the horses to the stable, and I will get us a room." As Gungrier walked the horses over to the stable hand, Argoth entered the inn. He took a quick moment to survey the surroundings, noticing the fairly empty taproom to the left, and to the right a counter with a stout woman behind it. He approached the counter and smiled. "Hello miss.

She grunted and squinted at him. "What can I do fer ya?"

"I need a room with two beds. Do you by chance have one available?"

Reaching down, the woman pulled a large book out from under the counter. Argoth realized that this was the guest list. She quickly scanned it and said "I do indeed. I have two rooms that have two beds available. Its a gold a night, in advance."

Argoth nodded. "I need it for two nights." He reached into his pouch and handed the lady two coins as Gungrier walked in. "Horses are taken care of Argoth."

Handing the innkeeper the two coins, Argoth smiled. "And now are the rooms." The innkeeper held out a key which Gungrier took. "First door on the left, upstairs. Dinner served in the taproom."

The two men thanked the innkeeper and then walked upstairs. They found their door and unlocked it, and entered. Gungrier quickly commented on how spartan it was. Argoth smiled. "It is indeed."

Spartan was an understatement Two pallets layed on the floor, beaten and stained. There was only a wick floating in oil for a light source, and a dirty window overlooking a small alley. Argoth walked over to one of the pallets and layed his bedroll on top of it. "Might as well give myself a bit more padding." Gungrier chucked and did the same, and then layed down.

"So, shall we take a quick nap lad?" Argoth nodded his agreement, layed down on his pallet, and quickly fell asleep.

A few hours later Gungrier awoke with a start. He sat up and found that Argoth was over near the window, head stuck out through it and staring at something. Gungrier walked over quietly, and then jabbed Argoth in the side sharply. Argoth yelped, jumped, and banged the back of his head against the top of the window. "Ow! By the gods Gungrier you startled me!"

"That just makes us even lad." Argoth cursed slightly and moved back into the room. He then walked over and sat down on his pallet, rubbing his head.

"What where ya staring at lad?"

Argoth simply motioned to the window and continued to rub his head. Gungrier stuck his head out and glanced in the same direction that Argoth had been looking and found himself awestruck. In the distance, on the other side of town, he could see lights. A multitude of color. A breeze went by, and Gungrier could smell...something. He was unable to place it, but it was not the smell of a city. He also found that he could faintly hear music. He quickly glanced up in the sky and figured that it was not yet midnight. He pulled his head back in and look at Argoth. The two men said nothing. They both knew what it was time to do.

"Alright," began Argoth, "lets get to the carnival. Its time for us to have a bit of a rest don't you think?"

Gungrier smiled without mirth. "Aye lad. Lets go to the carnival."

The air was filled with the sound of laughter, music, and the merriment that everyone at the carnival experienced. Argoth and Gungrier smiled, but the expression was their faces was forced. The lights and sounds swirled around them, and Argoth turned to Gungrier after they were inside the boundary of the carnival and spoke.

"Ok, here is what I think we should do. Split up, try to find our loved ones. Once we do, free them and then meet back up where we entered the carnival."

Gungrier nodded, his head constantly turning this way and that, ever watchful. He then turned and walked away, disappearing into the crowd. Argoth sighed, and then focused. He looked around and then headed the opposite way that Gungrier went, which as best Argoth could tell was east. He passed several stalls, each hawking wares such as trinkets, food, and in one cause toy weapons. Argoth was impressed by the size of the carnival. After traveling for a while he paused to examine a few good luck charms at a stand when he heard a familiar voice. "Sir, would you like to purchase a leg of mutton? Only one silver piece!" He turned slowly and say a blond haired girl, carrying a heating box and holding out a massive hunk of mutton on a stick. She wore a ragged dress, and had grass and dirt stains over most of her. But Argoth didn't see any of that. He saw his sister. He quickly walked over to her and said "Cassandra? Is that you?"

The girl turned to him and said "Hello sir, would you like to buy some mutton?" She smiled, but there was joy in that smile. Argoth shook his head.

"Cassie, its me, Argoth! Your brother!" The girl's smile vanished and was replaced by something else.

"I think you have me mistaken sir for someone else."

Argoth grabbed the girl who he knew to be his sister by the shoulders. "What have they done to you! Don't you remember me? We used to play out in the fields near the farm! You have to remember!"

The girl screamed. It was ear splitting and Argoth let go of her. Suddenly he heard a voice shout "Hey! You there!" Argoth spun around to see two very large carnival workers heading his way. He wasted no time. He turned, and dashed as fast as he could through the crowd, heading back towards where he left Gungrier. It took him mere seconds to reach that point, and he turned and double checked that he had lost his pursuers. He paused to catch his breath and then went to find Gungrier, shaken by what he had found.

The moon was high in the sky by the time Argoth found Gungrier. The dwarf was leaned up against a nearby cart, sobbing quietly. Argoth had never seen the dwarf cry in the time he had known him. Argoth walked over and quietly said "Gungrier."

The dwarf turned up to face him, and Argoth patted his friends shoulder. "Lad...I found them. I found them and they didn't even remember me. Here they are, and I could do nothing."

Argoth nodded, and the two men sat down against the cart. "The same thing happened to me my friend. I found my sister, Cassandra, selling mutton. What is going on here?"

Gungrier sniffed once, and then wiped his eyes. "Foul magic is my guess lad. And I aim to get revenge."

"I am with you my friend. If we cannot save our loved ones, then lets make the ones who took them pay."

Gungrier nodded. "Whats the plan then lad?" Argoth handed Gungrier a bit of cloth, and the dwarf thanked him. "Where did ya get this lad? Do all human shoulders carry around handkerchiefs?"

Argoth let out a laugh. "No. I keep that around in case I need to wipe my nose." As Argoth said this, Gungrier had been in the process of wiping his face. He quickly took another look at it and put it down. "Uh huh."

As the two men sat there, quietly thinking, a hush fell over the carnival. Gungrier quickly glanced around, and then looked up. His eyes widened and he nudged Argoth. "What?" Gungrier simply pointed up in the air, and Argoth followed his finger. He stared. There, on top of a high-dive platform in view of everyone, stood a man. He was dressed in what appeared to be a red suit, with a bright red top hat. He carried a cane, and began to speak. Argoth was surprised to find that he could clearly hear the man.

"Hello and good evening ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for joining us this evening for a night of merriment and pleasure! I am your Ringmaster, Bargul, and I heartily welcome you to explore all that our carnival has to offer. Perhaps you will find something...surprising!" He then dove off the high dive board and gently floating down as if a feather, disappearing into the carnival.

Argoth smiled grimly. "I say we pay the ringmaster there a visit. If anyone knows whats going on, it would be the man in charge don't you think?" Gungrier nodded and then said "We are gonna want to make sure no one else is around when we come back." The two men stood up and quickly left the carnival. They did not head back to the town however, but to a small group of trees they had seen on the way in. Once inside, they hunkered down to waited.

It had begun to rain lightly, a cold mist that covered the ground. Two dark shapes slowly worked their way into the carnival, ducking behind wagons and tents. The mist shrouded everything in a dampness, and Argoth shuddered as some condensation trickled down the back of his neck. The mist obscured vision, making it difficult to see. The two men had managed to sneak their way into the center of the carnival, and to one side they could see what appeared to be a lantern hung up on a door to a wagon. The wagon itself was ornate, and Gungrier whispered "I think thats the one." Argoth nodded.

Across from it, near the two, was a large tent. They could hear voices inside of it, and they quickly skulked their way over to it. Argoth put his finger to his lips, and then gently lifted the edge of the tent. Gungrier quickly peeked in, and then stood back up, his eyes wide.

"What did you see?" Argoth whispered.

"A large number of people lad, including my wife and son. It looks like a holding cell of some kind!"

Argoth nodded, and then pointed at the ornate wagon. "Lets go." As the two men crossed the clearing between the tent and the wagon, a voice called out. "Now where do you think you are going?"

They quickly turned to voice the voice, weapons drawn. Argoth held his sword at the ready, and Gungrier put his shield in front of him. The speaker was a man in a robe, and with him stood two normal looking humans. Argoth assumed however that none of them were in fact human. "So," the robed man said, "just who are you?"

"Lets just say we are a few concerned citizens." Argoth said.

The man smiled. "Of course. Well, since you are trespassing, I will be forced to deal with you." Suddenly the two men without robes shifted and changed, becoming red skinned horrors. They charged, and Argoth had no time to cast a rune. He dove to one side while Gungrier leapt at one of the demons. Argoth watched as the dwarf deftly brained the creature with a single axe stroke while blocking its strike with his shield. Argoth then turned his focus to the robed man. "Gungrier!" He called. "Deal with the other demon!" He noticed that the robed man began to incant something, and Argoth shot forward. The man stopped incanting as Argoth's blade slammed home into his chest. The man gurgled, then went limp. Argoth yanked his blade free and turned to face the remaining demon, finding that Gungrier had hacked its neck open. It lay on the ground, bleeding. Gungrier had suffereda minor scratch on his face. Argoth smiled, and the went to the wagon. Gungrier followed.

"Here goes nothing." Gungrier said. Argoth nodded and then opened the door. Their eyes went wide as they saw what appeared to be a normal wagon. Sparsely furnished and apparently empty. "Huh. Well we better search this place." Gungrier nodded, and then two men entered. Once they crossed the threshold however their vision swam and everything went dark.

Gungrier was the first to wake. He quickly sat up and grabbed his axe, which he found lying next to him on the floor. He took stock of his surroundings. Next to him on the right was Argoth, still unconscious To his left was a door. The room was bare, made of a dull grey stone. There was the sound of water dripping in the distance. Gungrier stood and checked the walls. There was only the one door. He prodded Argoth with the toe of his boot. Argoth stirred and said "What...?"

"Looks like we are someone else lad."

Argoth stood up and glanced around. He then grabbed his sword from the ground and walked to the door. "Well there is only one way in or out it looks like."

"Think it might be trapped lad?"

Argoth shrugged. "Only one way to find out." Then, much to Gungrier's chagrin, he grabbed the doorknob. As he touched it however the door vanished, and appeared on the wall behind them.

"What the..." Argoth muttered. Gungrier was staring at the new door.

"I think there is magic afoot lad."

Argoth swore. "Really? I wouldn't have guessed."

"Be nice."

Argoth walked over to the door and tried to grab the handle and the door switched again, this time back to its original location. Argoth then had an idea.

"Ok Gungrier. You try to grab the door there, and when it shifts I will grab it here."

Gungrier nodded and walked over. Then he quickly tried to grab the handle. As the door vanished and reappeared in front of Argoth, Gungrier spun to see Argoth quickly grab the handle. Then, with a click, he opened the door. Beyond was a hallway, which was lite by an unseen and unearthly white light. It was made of the same featureless grey stone that the room was, and seem to disappear into the distance.

Argoth stepped over the threshold before Gungrier could react, and disappeared from view. Gungrier ran over, and then Argoth reappeared.

"What is wrong with ya lad?!"

"Nothing." Argoth said. "I had to see what would happen. It leads to another room. Not a hallway. And there is a stairway there."

Gungrier nodded, took a breath and then stepped through. Argoth followed, and they found themselves in a room with a stairway leading down. Gungrier glanced down the stairwell, and found that the darkness was impenetrable. "I don't suppose you have a light?"

Argoth shook his head. "I neglected to bring one. I mean, the moonlight was enough." Gungrier sighed. "I guess we should be careful. Let me go first lad, I am a bit better armored."

Argoth looked at his leather armor. "What? This protects me just fine."

"I know, but my armor is made of mithril, and is nigh untouchable." Argoth nodded, and the two men slowly made their way down the stairs.

The two men where not sure how long they had been walking, but it seemed like hours. The stairs seemed to go straight down, and there was soft dull glow that barely lit them up. However, several times Argoth looked behind him and found that he was looking at a curve. He was unsure as to how the stairs curved without him knowing, and it made him nervous. Gungrier kept his eyes forward, watching the staircase. After awhile Gungrier saw a light, and nudged Argoth. "Light." The dwarf said simply. Argoth said nothing, but motioned to keep going. After a few more minutes the two men reached a door where the light was seeping out from around it. The door was unremarkable, and as Gungrier reached for the handle a voice sounded from behind it.

"No knocking? How rude!" The door suddenly swung open and the two men could see into the room. It was large, circular, and unadorned. There was a few bookshelves inside against the back of the room, along with a bed and table. Standing in the center stood a man in a bright red suit and top hat. His black hair was cut short, and he leaned on a cane.

"Come in, come in." He said.

Argoth quickly recognized him. "You are the ringmaster, Bargul." The man smiled, and there was no warmth in it.

"Indeed I am child. Indeed I am. And what has made you invade my humble home hmm?"

Gungrier frowned. "You are some sort of wizard aren't you?"

Bargul laughed. "Indeed I am...some sort. You still have not answered my question."

"Because your carnival has taken something from both of us and we want it back!" Argoth said loudly. He held his sword at the ready, prepared for anything. Bargul laughed, a cruel haughty sound. "Ah yes, you want your dear sister back I assume? And the dwarf wants his wife and child?" The two men shared a quick glance. "How do you know?"

"Because I watched you two. With the help of my scryer of course."

Argoth laughed. "So, you were the one who sent the demons out for us then?"

"Indeed I was. Pity that they were unsuccessful. Ah well, I will have to get my hands dirty it seems." Then Bargul began to change. Gungrier tensed up, gripping his axe tightly as he watched the ringmaster grow in height, his skin changing to match the color of his suit. The suit itself melded into Bargul's body. Bargul's face changed to something which could only be described as demonic. It held an expression of pure hate. Spikes covered the chin, and his hair became thin and bony. Two long horns grew backwards off his head, looking like long goat horns. Bargul's hands grew into long claws, and he continued to grip his cane. The creature stretched and then spoke again, his voice sounding much like metal grating on stone.

"You will pay for this intrusion humans. You do not know whom you face. I am Bargul, the Ringmaster! Master of Illusion!"

Gungrier grunted and charged, Argoth quickly following. The two men split up, each heading for a flank. Then, suddenly the room swam and began to look like a field of roses. Argoth stopped short. He couldn't see Gungrier. "Gungrier, you there?"

"Aye lad! Where are ya?"

Before Argoth could answer, the demon was upon him, rushing from behind a bush. The ringmaster swung his cane out at Argoth, trying to use it as a weapon. This made Argoth wonder what use the cane was, as he parried each blow. The demon was fast, nearly as fast as Argoth was. Then, the demon grunted and turned, and Argoth saw Gungrier. The dwarf had slammed his axe into the back of the creature. Argoth took the opportunity and swung his sword into the back of the knee of the demon, hoping to bring it down.

"Fools! You cannot hope to defeat me!" The room swam again, and suddenly there were four demons between the two men.

Argoth swore and got into a defensive position, and Gungrier did the same. The demons laughed in unison. "Which one which one?" One of them said. Gungrier growled and leapt at the speaker. His axe cleaved through it cleanly, and it disappeared in a puff of smoke. Argoth simply watched. He then noticed that one of the demons was limping slightly. He rushed forward as fast as he could, a blur to the human eye, and struck at the creatures leg again as hard as he could. He was rewarded with the snap of bone and a howl of pain. The images vanished and the demon fell to the ground, unable to hold his own weight up. The two men leapt on the fallen creature and with a fury hacked it apart, their blows raining upon it, a testament to their rage. Bargul spewed insults till the end and as the final blow fell from Gungrier's axe, the room swam and changed. The two men found themselves back in the wagon, the demon dead at their feet.

Argoth sighed, and saw that the cane was sitting untouched near the demon. He reached down to touch it and felt a horrible shock run up his arm as his hand grabbed it. He fell to the ground convulsing, and Gungrier saw and quickly swung his axe at the cane. As the cane snapped, a shockwave hit them and threw them up against the sides of the wagon. The door blew out, and the morning sun shone into the space. As the sun's rays touched the corpse it began to burn, and slowly turned to ash. Argoth picked himself up and began to hear voices outside. The two shared and look and rushed outside. The voices came from the tent where the captives were held. The two men ran over, and found the door and broke the lock off. The people inside ran outside, crying in joy. Argoth quickly found his sister and hugged her. "Cassie, do you remember me?" She cried, and hugged him back. "Oh Argoth, I knew you would find me!"

Gungrier walked over to the two, his wife and son with him. "Well lad, looks like whatever was wrong is fixed. My wife and son remember me now." "The curse of the demon is lifted my friend." Argoth said. He smiled, and then shouted to all those assembled. "Friends! You are free! Lets all go home!" And with that, the two men and their charges walked off into the morning sun.

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Hey there, thanks again for taking the chance on this little collection. I hope you enjoyed it and regardless of whether or not you did or didn't I hope you will leave me a review so I can slowly but surely get better at this.

Thanks again.

Clayton

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