Chapter 17
I had a bad taste in my mouth. I must have made a face, because Mirwanna asked me if something was wrong.
"Just my taste buds acting up. This is the third time this has happened since Shabasonti did her little thing with me, at the Fount of Chaos," I answered sourly.
"If this is all that happens to you, consider yourself lucky," Vostich told me as he shoveled a spoonful of vegetables into his mouth.
"Well, I still get a partial numbness to my face, and of course there is taste, which comes and goes. On the other hand, I have greater access to power since she had me drink that... stuff," I finished a bit grimly.
After I had told Vostich mentally what had happened, Mirwanna, Vostich, Mariel, and Fithian all gathered around me for support. It was rather nice... until I realized they were waiting to see if I died!
Finally my sense of taste returned, and I was able to enjoy the rest of the meal. So far, the side effects of drinking from the Fount of Chaos seemed to be loss of taste, and occasional numbness. Hopefully, those would subside over time.
Nothing the healers gave me seemed to affect them. Vostich and Fithian had been excited about my staff, the rings, and my cloak. The sword totally stunned them. Not only did it seem more intelligent, but it was much more powerful. And, if anything, it was even more bloodthirsty.
Mirwanna and Mariel tended to try to coddle me, even mother me a bit. At first it was nice, but I was never one to be comforted when there was something to be done. Markus had never really been the coddling type the few times I had been ill as a child. It made me uncomfortable to have this sympathy.
On the other hand, my sister and my wife were excited about the new baby. They quickly forgot me as they became engrossed in talking about the upcoming birth... which was NINE MONTHS down the line. I mean... COME ON!
Two days later, the demon Elpor and I were standing on the edge of demon territory. Vostich had teleported all of us there. He grasped my hand, and looked me in the eye.
<Remember, if you get a chance in there, call the Gods. They stand ready to repel the invasion of the demons, > Vostich told me in silent communion.
<Iunderstand. But if the demons are being invaded, shouldn't we do something about that? I mean, I am not a fan of demons, but Shabasonti told me a little about, 'Those Others' and it did not sound good, > I responded.
<We know. Just call as planned, ok?> he asked seriously enough that I nodded.
The demon had been watching the silent look we gave each other. I knew it knew we were talking silently, but it could do nothing about it.
Vostich turned to the demon and said, "You may remove the ring and the armband now," Vostich told it.
"Thank you. These items have been most annoying to me," the demons responded and bowed.
He removed the ring, and gave it to Vostich. He then removed the armband and sighed. As soon as the armband was off, he laughed an almost maniacal laugh!
"Ah, to be free again! I had not realized how low I had sunk with those cursed restrictive items on my body," Elpor said almost savagely.
Vostich looked at me and wished me luck, and teleported out. I sighed. Well, I was ready for whatever was to come, I hoped. I wore my newly treated cloak, rings, and my staff was in my left hand. My sword was belted and available to me, if I needed it. I had memorized several very powerful spells that had been beyond me prior to the episode with Shabasonti.
Although we took only a few steps, it was like walking from a nice sun filled garden into a cold winter's shadow. It seemed I could feel things out there, watching me, us. The demon laughed, and told me to relax.
I looked behind me, and saw the blaze of the sun, but it seemed blocked from here somehow. Oh, sunlight still got through. But the day seemed to have dimmed somehow.
It was only a bit brighter than dusk, and a feeling of despair was in the very air.
"How far do we have to walk? I would prefer to get started with this mission right away," I said with a shiver.
Elpor looked curiously at me. "You seem different somehow. There is something about you that is different. One of our seers had said you would be both a help and a curse to us," Elpor said.
I arched my eyebrow at him, giving him my best 'Spock, from Star Trek' look. We walked a bit further into this demon held land. I noticed that while light made it through, it seemed to lack any of the wholesomeness that it usually held.
The grass on either side of the road was turning a peculiar color. If I had been a human living here, I would have fled long ago. Finally, Elpor stopped.
"We are far enough. I will teleport us to the gate. I want your promise not to interfere. I mean, you promise you won't do anything to destroy the gate?" Elpor said to me.
It was as if he almost knew what I was going to do. Almost, but not quite. I frowned, then nodded. He almost had me, but he worded it wrong. Ok, I pay attention to lawyers. So sue me. The way he worded it, left room for me to do what I wanted to do, and would do.
"I agree," I told him.
"So be it," he said.
He then grabbed my arm, and teleported us to a large building. It was very dark here. I knew it was still morning, yet the sun seemed not to penetrate here. A red haze seemed to fill the air.
"The portal gate is within this building. A mere mortal thought to gain power from us. He was a fool," Elpor said in a mocking tone.
That was all I needed to know. I grounded my staff, hard. I sent out a silent plea for aid, to the Gods. Elpor looked at me in horror! I felt resistance to my silent call, but I had power. I broke through whatever was blocking me, and First one, then another Goddess appeared before us.
"NO! You promised! Are you then an oath breaker?" Elpor shrieked at me.
Ishla raised a hand, and POWER flowed from her and into this benighted land. Shabasonti did something similar. Pejoru then appeared and he lent a hand in cleansing this place.
I had felt the Goddess when she first appeared, as with the other two. Now I felt something truly horrible coming from the building. I actually started shaking. I had felt evil before, but this was on a magnitude that I had not dreamed of.
<Hold firm, you can do this. The ring will protect you, > I heard in my head.
I was unsure which Goddess said this, but I grasped my staff tightly, and watched as the door to the building opened slowly. It was a tall iron bound door, about 10 feet in height.
Finally, it was open. Inside, it was darker than pitch black. First one cowled and robed figure stepped out, then another. Both moved to either side of the door. The next figure out was almost a disappointment.
A young looking girl of about 18 to 20 years of age stepped through. I was almost smitten by her beauty. With dark hair and eyes, she had a grace and beauty that was mesmerizing. Shabasonti faced the newcomers as did I. Pejoru and Ishla continued to cleanse the land and surrounding area. Only the one pocket of darkness held stubbornly, close around the building.
The sun broke out of whatever was muffling it, and I felt warmth for the first time since coming into this demon held land. A circle of shadow held the building. It was a square building, and the door had been in the center of one wall. I was unsure of what the building had originally been used for.
Elpor ran forward a few feet, and threw himself to the ground in front of the girl.
"Lady! I was betrayed! He promised me not to do anything!" Elpor gibbered at her.
"Is this true? Did you betray an oath, Human?" a sweet voice asked me.
I felt a tug at my heart when I heard this voice. It was as beautiful as she was. I wanted to throw myself at her feet and ask her forgiveness. The ring that Vostich gave me pulsed on my finger, and the moment passed.
"Lady," I said bowing to her my most courtly bow, "I promised not to do anything to destroy the gate. The gate still stands, as you know. The Gods only came and cleansed the land of your land's influence," I said, bowing again.
I felt a touch on my mind. I flinched, as I felt a part of me exposed as never before.
"It would appear you kept your word. You are not an oath breaker. Well played, youngling," she told me.
Me? Young? I was over a hundred for god's sake. Well, maybe to her I was young. Not only did I feel the evil rolling off her, but she was POWER itself, albeit a dark power. I was also now getting conflicting feelings that she was young, and old also.
She looked at Elpor and he screamed. One moment he was there, the next he burst into black flames, if flames can be black. As he burnt, she sucked the residue that was Elpor into herself. I shuddered to see it. Soon, there was nothing of Elpor left.
"Thus do I deal with failures. You are very quick, to have tricked a demon of his abilities. I congratulate you, young one," she said to me, smiling.
I bowed again. I no longer felt the overwhelming feelings for her I had originally felt, but it didn't hurt to be polite. I silently thanked Vostich for giving me the ring, and sent my silent thanks to Shabasonti as well.
"I am Sheblia, and I will guide young Paul to his destination in my land. I promise to keep him safe from all of our kind. I will guide him safely to the gate of the Ancient Ones. I cannot promise anything after he meets with them," Sheblia said.
"Not good enough," Shabasonti said.
I was surprised. It sounded like this demon lady was promising what was needed to me. I looked at the Goddess.
"What will you do with Paul, after he gets to this gate? Your promise runs a good course until this point in the trip," Shabasonti said.
I was stunned! As I thought about it, I realized she was right. This demon lady promised to keep me safe until I met the enemy, hers and mine. After that, all bets were off.
What followed was bargaining such as I had never seen before. It went on for some time. Finally, all was finished. Oaths were sworn. I was safe from any demon while in the land of the demons, until I returned safely to my land. Sheblia also promised that no demon would try to harm me or mine for a specific number of years. I was amazed and impressed with the way Shabasonti bargained on my behalf.
Another God showed up about this time: Arkvon, the God of Death. I shuddered to see and feel his presence. He came to me, and looked me in the eyes. I wanted to scream. He touched me, and I felt a horrible thing enter into me.
"Thou shalt know when," was all he said, and then he was gone.
Everyone was looking at me. Some with concern, some with curiosity, and the demon lady with impatience.
"Come, Paul. While my kind has lost our foothold here in this land, you still have a job to do. The gate will remain until his return."
This last was said to the assembled Gods and Goddesses. They nodded, and were gone. I never felt so alone.
I walked over to Sheblia. She put her arm through mine, as if we were a couple, and she smiled into my eyes.
"This should prove interesting. If you like, we can have some fun along the way," she said to me, leading me into the building.
I looked ahead and saw the gate. The two cowled figures that had guarded her, outside, followed us into the building. We walked to, and through the gate.
Edited By TeNderLoin