Chapter 9
The long and short of why I was at the castle, was that Jorslan had gotten information about what my and my wife's gift had been from Pejoru. After admitting that it was true, that Pejoru had indeed gifted us with total access to his library of spells, Vostich instructed me to find a counter-spell to the curse on his sword.
Now why hadn't I thought of that? I guess it was the newness of the whole situation which had caused me not to think of it. The result was I was sent back to my office, where the gate to the library was located. I had been told what to look for, and I found it.
I thought about the spell I wanted, and it came to me. I was surprised at the complexity, and the power that was required to cast it. By myself, there was no way I could do it. But with Jorslan and Vostich powering it?
I memorized the spell, and made my way out, but not before I memorized a couple more. Call me crazy, but I wanted a few spells up my sleeve, just in case. Why? Well, Markus and Melissa were guesting at Vostich's castle right now.
So it was, that an hour later, I was back at the castle. I was preparing to do a spell to remove the curse from the sword. Vostich had shown it to us while in the room where he had retrieved some family heirlooms for myself, my wife, and my sister.
Vostich, Jorslan, Mirwanna, and I were all gathered in a room. It was an underground room which was made specifically for spell work. The walls absolutely glowed with containment spells, and other spells I was not familiar with. Since this was not in the library, nothing suggested itself to me about what they did.
The sword had been drawn from its scabbard. It glowed with power, and vibrated with... need. Vostich had not handled it with his bare hands. He wore silk gloves, which was a way of preventing magical connections from touch alone.
Silk was a very good insulator for magical items. After Vostich had draw the sword from its scabbard, he lay the sword in the exact center of a peculiar looking pentagram.
First, I thought of the spell. I nodded to the others that I was ready. Keeping the spell foremost in my mind, I felt contact from the other three.
We started. Keeping the spell firmly in mind, I did my best to impose it on the sword. The sword resisted! Jorslan slammed power into the spell. The sword still fought back, but it was slowly being overcome.
Vostick then added his power, as did Mirwanna. Still the sword held. We were at a stalemate. I concentrated harder, and added the power from my ring. Slowly, ever so slowly, the sword was losing the ground it had held.
Finally, without warning, the curse on the sword broke! As it did, the three souls that had been captured and held by the sword, were released. I had a moment where I saw their ethereal bodies, two men and a woman. They looked at us, then they dissolved. They were gone to wherever souls went, when released from their bodies. As the spell broke, our part was over, and we stopped pouring power into the spell. Since it had completed its task, the spell dissolved itself.
"Very good. The curse is broken, and now my family's sword is clean once more, and can be used for its true purpose. Killing demons," Vostich said solemly.
"I recall seeing this sword, named Demon Slayer, in the past. It was instrumental in killing off the half human half demons. It will be good to see it take the field once more," Jorslan said. He turned and left the room.
Vostich followed him, leaving the sword where it lay. Mirwanna looked at me, raised her eyebrows at me, and shrugged.
"It seems almost anti-climatic for some reason," she said. She turned and left also.
I was about to go when I felt a call. I stopped and looked around. I finally realized where it was coming from. The Sword! It was calling for someone. I tried to send it a message, but it did not seem to hear me.
I looked carefully at the sword. The hilt was a white ivory looking substance, with small reliefs carved on it. It had a gem set directly on top of it. The blade was a shimmery silver, with runes that seemed to waver and change even as I looked at them!
I was taken with one rune in particular and went closer to get a better look. Something in the back of my mind was warning me. I could hear Pao telling me to stop, but I still walked slowly to the sword.
I leaned down to look at this fascinating rune, but it went out of focus. I knew if I picked up the sword, I could get a good look at this rune. I could hear Pao now yammering warnings but I was not paying to much attention to him. I reached down, and grasped the hilt.
It felt like an electric charge going through me. I also felt a connection go between me and the sword. Finally it was over, and I was released. I gasped in realization of what I had done! I had bonded with this sword!
I actually felt the sword's smugness over the bonding. I also earned the wrath of Vostich. He appeared almost as soon as I had touched the hilt. What followed was a tirade of unheard of proportions.
He finally ran down, and sighed.
"Well, it would seem the sword has chosen. I should have taken it up as soon as we broke the curse, but I thought we had time before the sword's imperative took over," he said with another sighing.
I apologized yet again, but he waved it off.
"I am sorry, Paul. I should not have blamed you for the sword's abilities and needs," he stated then continued, " It obviously wanted you. I don't know why or how, but the sword chose you as its owner/partner," he finished with a musing tone of voice.
I still had the sword in my hand. I could see even without going to second sight that the sword shimmered with power. It was a sword that had one primary purpose, and that was to kill demons.
I reached down and got the scabbard and sheathed the sword. I could still feel the connection with the sword. It was like a friend murmuring and telling me it would always be there for me.
Pao was impressed with it. I suppose Pao was in a better position to appreciate it than I was. Pao was a very old Drebasty, and a sword master at that. I was interested in seeing how the sword and Pao worked together.
As soon as I entered the main dining room in the castle, Mirwanna told me that she was sending me to help with the demon problem our neighbors were having. The Feronis kingdom did not have powerful magic users, which was probably why the demons attacked there.
Also, there was still that other area the demons had control of. Arch Angel (Michael, as I had named him) was already spying and gathering what information he could from that location, or as close as he could get. I had confidence in his abilities.
I was walking back to my apartment from yet another meeting between myself, Mirwanna, and the ambassador from Fenoris. I was just about to enter my outer door when I was intercepted.
"Your grace, I have some disturbing news," a steward said to me as he came running up a bit breathlessly.
I was immediately concerned, as he was assigned to the court, which Mariel had taken to like a fish takes to water.
"What is it? Is Mariel hurt?" I asked anxiously.
"No, my lord. Your lady wife is safe. No, the message is that the new lady you put in charge of health has restricted all persons from entering and exiting a small village to the southeast of here, called Mornwahl," he said in an outraged tone of voice.
I nodded, and decided I had better find out what this was about. I quickly did a location spell, and found her. Terry Shale was set up in an inn just a few miles north of Mornwahl.
I teleported there, and was immediately surrounded by a crowd of people demanding something be done with the upstart woman who had blocked access to their homes, families and friends. Words of slaves and other negative shouts were bandied about.
I held up my hand for silence.
"I am here to determine why the Lady Terry Shale has done this. Until I find evidence to the contrary, I am upholding her decision. When I know more, I will tell you," I told the gathered crowd.
With grumblings and several dirty looks, the crowd departed. Terry came up to me, and thanked me for my support.
"Ok. I have granted you power, now tell me I was not mistaken," I told her once we were in her room.
"Paul, it is a serious problem. I first noticed the problem a couple weeks ago. There were a few deaths, and always the common factor was this town, Mornwahl. So I got my bag together, and an escort, and came down.
"It is worse than I thought. There is something that is almost identical to the old plague. Also, something similar to small pox has developed. Not as deadly, but it causes sever illness, and a long recovery," she went on at some length.
By the time she was done, I had chills. I knew what it was immediately. Demons. Somewhere either in, or close to Mornwahl, was a demon, or demons. It was not obvious to her, but it was to me; particularly with my sword telling me in murmuring tones, that demons fought with diseases.
"Right. I am going to go in and check out this village. Don't worry, I will be fine. In the meantime, I have several spells of healing and general health that should fight the effects that the villagers are suffering," I told her.
She tried to talk me out of it, but I over ruled her. There were not many in this land who could tell me what I could and could not do. I was not going to let an attack of ill health happen to any of my people without taking action.
The first thing I did was borrow a horse. I then made sure I had spells at the ready, my ring was fully charged, and my new sword, Demon Slayer was loose in its scabbard.
It only took about 20 minutes to ride to the village. There was the smell of sickness in the air. I gritted my teeth. The sword sounded an angry whine, and I knew it too could detect something.
I moved to the center of the village. While I saw a few people, they quickly ran or hobbled out of sight. I saw several bodies lying where they had fallen, apparently. I dismounted when I got to what I deemed was the center of the village, and centered myself.
I gathered in power, and readied the first spell of health. This one was for general health. When I felt I could contain the power no longer, I released the spell. It radiated out in a circle, ever expanding, like a rock dropped in a pond.
I watched the spell ripple ever outward. I relaxed a moment, and started gathering power for the next spell. Even as I gathered the power, I could feel a darkness coming towards me. I looked towards the darkness and saw a shape within it. It was trying to hide itself, but I saw a manlike shape. It, well, oozed sickness. I raised a defensive shield, and drew my sword.
The darkness stopped. I felt it probe at me. My shield intercepted it, and when it got a little more power into it, my sword intercepted the tendril of blackness it shot at me. I felt it ponder me.
"If you leave now, I will let you live," it told me in a voice of death.
"I don't know how you managed to set foot in Landkur, but it is your last act," I told it.
I started moving towards it. It sent a wall of blackness at me. My sword moved up, and glowed with a brilliant silvery whiteness. I lifted my left hand, and shot a beam of white light at the dark center of the demons body.
The light was slowed and stopped, but I was now very close to the demon. It attacked me with something like a staff of blackness. I parried with my sword, and it clove the staff in two.
I followed it up with a body cut. The demon screamed. I know it must have been heard throughout the village. Where my sword had cut it, was now a light of silvery whiteness. It was slowly spreading throughout the demon.
I watched in awe as the demon was consumed in a silvery fire, and then vanished. My sword actually hummed a cheerful sound. I immediately cast the second spell of health I had been preparing.
The sword seemed to give the spell extra power, and also a silvery tinge. I watched the spell roll out and vanish into the distance. I could already feel a difference in the very air around me.
Edited By TeNderLoin