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Around the CampfireWhere the good stories are told. |
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Around the CampfireWhere the good stories are told. |
"Excuse me. You said vampires, right?" I asked.
"Yes, they captured us and are going to use us as food. But when we combine our forces we should be able to defeat them handedly," the orc replied with confidence.
"You must have a good group of soldiers to have made it this far," the orc continued. "How large is your party?"
"Ah, I guess you could say two at best."
"What, only two of you. You must have had to battle your way down here and taken many casualties."
"Well, not exactly I came by myself."
"I thought you said there were two of you."
"I said two at best. It is a little hard to explain my companion."
"By Thor's blood how do..."
"I thought you believed in Uranus," I interrupted.
"To orcs -- Uranus is Thor," the orc started to explain.
"Whoa! What was that?" the voice of Mobius exclaimed behind me.
The orc jumped back from the cell's bars with a shriek.
"It's not what you think," I said to both Mobius and the orc at the same time.
I turned to Mobius. "She was explaining her gods to me."
"Oh good!" the skull sighed, "I thought for a minute she said..."
"I know," I replied as I turned back to the orc. "This is Mobius my companion."
"I am Mogutz leader of this doomed party," the orc replied tentatively returning to the bars.
"I am Gwendolyn rescuer of your doomed party," I began when I suddenly turned towards Mobius.
"Why are you here?" I asked.
"Oh yeah. I heard someone walking this way."
"Great!" I cried as I ran down the hall of cells with the skull tucked under my arm. I found a wooden door and quickly picked the lock and secreted myself inside.
It was not too soon; as I heard footsteps enter the room. I peered through the crack I left open in the doorway. I watched a tall-emaciated man walk into the room. His skin was sunken and cadaver gray. I did not have to be a High Elven lore master to know I was looking at a vampire.
"Pardon me," Mobius whispered.
"Shh," I hissed.
"Sorry I was just talking to..."
"If you don't clam up I'll use you as a bowling ball," I whispered harshly.
The vampire addressed the prisoners, "Tomorrow you will be taken into the old city. When the full moon reaches its zenith your blood will be spilled to summon the great lich-mage Zormandus. Then we shall feast upon your life's blood.
"Prepare yourself. You may want to send prayers to your gods."
The vampire then motioned for the servants who were waiting out of my sight to enter the room. They brought in bowls and mugs and dispersed them amongst the prisoners.
After the servants finished their tasks, the vampire ushered his minions out of the dungeon. He turned back towards the prisoners and said, "Enjoy this meal for it shall be your last. The gathering of dark mages, necromancers and the undead has begun."
With that, the vampire left the room. I waited a few minutes before I exited the sanctuary of my closet. I returned to the cell containing Mogutz with Mobius hovering just behind me.
"Looks like you guys stumbled upon something big," I stated.
Mogutz just nodded her head before sniffing at the bowl full of some type of stew.
"Rat stew again," she said.
"There is more here than just merely a conference of every evil baddie," a voice in the cell behind me said.
I walked over and looked at its occupant. He was a High Elf, with the telltale pale skin and the arrogant expression on his face.
"A Wood Elf, eh. Did you get lost?" the elf sneered.
"If I did it is a good thing for you because I'm your only hope of getting out of here," I replied hotly.
"Then we are as good as dead," the High Elf continued.
"Now that is not cricket, old chap," Mobius interrupted. "She's already freed me and she did make her way into this cell."
"Oh, that's rich I'm supposed to take the advice of a symbol off a bottle of poison," the elf shot back.
"Gandelf!!!" Mogutz hollered. "This is not the time for your uppity attitude. If you want we can leave you here."
That seemed to take the wind out Gandelf's sails. He muttered an apology and sat back down on his bunk.
"You mentioned that there is something more going on," I stated.
"Rather!" the elf ejaculated.
"Would you care to share it with us," I prodded. It was obvious Gandelf did not like being in the presence of such common folk as us.
"I am Gandelf. I am an archaeologist, and I have been researching the lost cities of the old elven empire. It was rumored that one of those lost cities lies underneath Imperial City. In fact, we can conclude that it is true. These vampires have excavated it and are now going to use it for their evil purposes.
"The elven ruins that Imperial City is built upon are believed to be Alhassar, the ancient city of lore. When the war between the united elven armies and the combined dwarven clans raged over the millennia, many cities were lost on both sides. So many towns and cities were razed that even we forgot where they were once located. We just had rumors and folktales to recall our ancient glory.
"I may add that if it weren't for the desertion of the lesser elves we very well may have won the war that raged for thousands of years instead of having it end in a stalemate. Even the dwarven High king Efdee Ore was quoted as saying ‘We have nothing to fear but fearless elves.'"
"If I remember right it was the arrogance of the High Elves that forced the Wood Elves to return to the Great Forest, the Dark Elves to their mines, and the Sea Elves to the ocean," I rebutted.
Gandelf just snorted, "In any event, as the two sides retreated to their remaining dwellings the humans over the years built their own cities upon the charred ruins of our old glory. The gods compensated the humans for their short lives by letting them propagate as if they were rabbits.
"So now after all these centuries I believe I have found the lost city of Alhassar only to find that its ancient libraries are about to be used for the dark purpose of opening a gate between our world and that of the Nine Hells."
"But that would utterly destroy our world!" I exclaimed.
Genghis Khan considered himself the ruler of the east, when he had defeated several surrounding kingdoms. His influence had reached to the Khwarezmian Empire. Instead of warring with them, a trade caravan was sent to Otrar, one of the boarder towns. The great Kahn wished greatly to become trading partners with this Islamic empire rather than having to fight them.
One of the merchants was the father of The Messenger, whose real name has been lost to us. However, the young boy of 12 was pledged to the daughter of one the commanders in the Mongol army. Hence, he did not join his father, but remained in Mongol territory with his young bride.
The Messenger would soon be of the marrying age of thirteen. During the winter hunt, he would get to show his skills to the rest of the military personnel. By this time, he would be of age, and he would then become a member of the army. He could also marry his arranged bride. However, currently he had to do whatever his father-in-law said. These things were very mundane and did not include going to exotic locations with his father.
Eventually, word came back that the caravan had been ruthlessly murdered and their goods confiscated by the governor of Otrar. This greatly distressed all of the Mongol people, and greatly upset The Messenger.
The great Khan did not want this to be a precursor to war. The Messenger's feelings not withstanding, every attempt would be made to prevent all out combat. After all, the Khwarezmian Empire was large and powerful. Their military greatly outnumbered the Mongolian forces. Nevertheless, it looked like Sultan of the Khwarezmian Empire was provoking the Mongols.
Thus, in Genghis's attempt to avoid outright war against that empire, an envoy was sent to meet with Sultan Ala ad-Din Muhammad. Among the members of this envoy was The Messenger's father-in-law to be. Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, The Messenger was also a member of the entourage. He disguised himself and stowed away on the diplomatic caravan.
The young man watched in horror as all of the official emissaries were shaved and beheaded. This Empire had now taken his father and his father-in-law. He burned for revenge, but he was a mere child and faced a large military force. He reluctantly returned with the remaining entourage to tell of the incident.
"This is not the act of a King, it is the actions of a bandit!" exclaimed Genghis.
"They must all die," responded The Messenger. "Future generations should not know of the Khwarezmian Empire! The city of Otrar should be lost to the ages."
"I share your sentiment young one," responded Genghis. "However, they are powerful. We must be cautious."
Genghis Khan retreated to the mountains to reflect upon the sultan's actions and to determine the next course of action. After three days he returned to assure the Mongol people that this affront would not go unpunished, and that God himself had assured him of victory.
By the time that the full force could be raised, The Messenger had become of age and was allowed to join the army. His desire to wreak havoc upon the Khwarezmian people had not waned. He was anxious to begin the battle.
By autumn, they had 20 tumens (200,00 soldiers) on the march, approaching the city of Otrar. The Messenger was anxious to wreak his vengeance upon the killers of his family members. He had shown great skill in the winter hunt, and many were impressed by his fighting skills.
Nevertheless, they had to siege the city. It could be quite a while before actual personal combat would occur. It would take a while to get into the city.
The great Khan had spread word throughout the area that those that did not oppose the approaching army, would obtain leniency. However, if they did not submit, they, their family, and all of their worldly possessions would be destroyed. Several emirs joined the fight against the sultan on word of this proclamation.
While many thought it was just words, Genghis Khan was true to his word. Those that showed they were loyal were treated well. However, those that betrayed trust were treated very harshly. Entire families were killed upon the actions of just one member.
The siege of the city took several months, but they had finally breached the city's defenses. However, the governor, who ordered the deaths of the merchants, made it to the citadel with 20,000 soldiers to continue the fight.
Since the fall of the city was immanent, Genghis Khan left it to continue his pursuit of the Sultan Muhammad. Nonetheless, The Messenger remained in Otrar. The young soldier showed his bravery and skill in the street fighting.
Like all Mongols, he was very proficient with the bow. Children learned to ride and use the bow at a very young age. Thus, when the young boys joined the military, they were highly trained bowmen. However, The Messenger was also very good with the pike and the spear even at the very young age of 13.
His desire for vengeance spurred him on to kill as many citizens of Otrar as he could manage. He would often engage in groups of 5 or more. During this particular campaign, his martial skills became greatly tuned. While he was still quite green, his skills easily overcame the groups of farmers that were recruited to save the city.
It took the remaining Mongol army a month to finally take the citadel. The governor was captured alive. The Messenger stated he would have killed him on sight, but he was elsewhere. After a brief interegation, he was executed.
When the group had reunited with Genghis Khan, The Messenger told the great leader that he personally poured silver into the governor's eyes as a means of execution. While Genghis knew that this did not really happen, he understood the meaning.
The beginning of the payback had begun. The Sultan would be next. For the next year, the Mongol army chased after the Sultan. They sieged city after city, but the sultan continued his retreat. The Messenger's fighting skills improved with each encounter. Soon, many soldiers drew lots to see who would fight next to him. It was thought to be the safest place in battle.
While the main force brought the Khwazemian Empire under its control, Genghis sent a force of 20,000 to search for the sultan. Naturally, The Messenger was part of this force. They followed every bit of intelligence to track down the sultan. They did encounter some resistance, but they fought less often than the main force.
To their dismay, they discovered that the sultan had died on an island in the Caspian Sea. While they did not discover if it was murder or natural causes, they were not involved in the death. This greatly disappointed The Messenger.
They returned to join the main force and they conquered the empire shortly afterwards. The Messenger had earned a name for himself, and he was a most respected warrior. He often volunteered for the most dangerous missions. Since being an emissary was fraught with danger, he often was sent to meet with opposition leaders. He always returned; thus, he earned the name of The Messenger.
My grandma has this really old vacuum. It's the kind with a tank and a hose, not the stand-up kind. It sounds like an airplane. I've seen it suck up socks, plastic bags, spare change – even a dead mouse once.
I stayed with her for two weeks last summer. Grandma vacuumed every morning. She walked around with the hose part while I pushed the tank. "That thing is so heavy," she said. "I don't know what I'd do without you." She must vacuum all the time by herself, when I'm not there.
One morning there was a loud banging on the door. It was two guys with long hair.
"Hey, old lady," one of them said. "We were wondering what the deal is with the vacuum."
"I like to keep things tidy," she said.
"Well, do you have to do it at the crack of dawn?"
"I have more energy in the morning," she said.
"It wakes us up," he said. "We live right upstairs."
"Well, I'm sure you have to get up for work anyway," she said.
"Look, lady, stop it, or else," the first guy said.
"Yeah," said the other guy. He flexed an arm to show grandma the tattoo of a big snake with blood dripping off its fangs. "No more vacuuming until after noon," he said. "Got it?"
They slammed the door and grandma sat down, scared and shaking.
I felt bad, but what could I do? I'm only eleven.
Later that afternoon, my grandma went to vacuum the hall.
"If I don't do it, nobody does," she said.
"Do you need help?" I asked.
"Oh, it's nothing," she said. She wheeled the tank out, and shut the door behind her.
She was gone for a long time. I heard the vacuum roaring, and some banging and hollering. I guessed people were just trying to be heard over the vacuum.
"This place is so filthy," Grandma said when she came back. "It's better for now, at least." She shoved the vacuum back into the hallway closet. The machine was off, but it was still making little rumbling noises. It almost sounded like chewing.
We didn't hear from those men upstairs anymore, but the last day I was there, there was a knock on the door.
An older man was there, wearing a tie.
"Oh, it's you," my grandma said. "I sent you the rent check last week."
"I know," he said. "Do you know what happened to the two guys upstairs? They never seem to be home."
"Oh, my," said my grandma.
"I figger they ran off," the man grumbled. "They owe me two months rent."
"I'll let you know if I see them," grandma said.
"That's the fourth time this year some tenants disappeared," he said.
"Kids these days," my grandma said. She closed and latched the door. Then she stopped by the vacuum and gave it a friendly pat, just like it was a pet dog. She loves that thing.
I froze momentarily as I noticed in the dark two flaming red orbs rising from the box I held in my hand. I do not need to tell you that freezing in horror like this can be very unhealthy for a thief. I completely forgot to finish my spell and could only stare in fascination as the two orbs rose up to the level of my eyes.
"Sorry, I didn't realize you were female. Well, in any case I can't thank you enough for finally freeing me from that beastly chest," the voice said.
I slowly realized that the red orbs were the "thing's" eyes and it was now looking at me face to face. I still had a hard time regaining my composure and the first words out of my mouth were not to summon my dark sight spell, but instead a simple, "Who are you?"
"Why I guess you could say I am nobody," the thing said and then began to laugh.
The laughter put me enough at ease that my mind finally relaxed and I was able to function. Before the voice finished its laughing, I summoned the dark sight spell again.
There standing in front of me, or more accurately floating, was a disembodied skull.
"Get it? Nobody, because I have no body," the skull explained.
"Yeah, I get it," I replied dryly. "How did you end up as...?" I trailed off, for I could not figure out how exactly to phrase my question.
"As a disembodied floating skull that has two flaming red orbs in its eye sockets and can talk?" the skull finished. "Well, I wasn't always in this state. I used to be an apprentice to a mighty mage. Being ambitious, one day I found a tome hidden by my master.
"I asked myself, ‘Mobius, (for that is my real name) what arcane knowledge does this book contain?'
"I knew that if I could find some secret spell that would allow me to attain greatness in a hurry my boring internship would be at an end. So, I opened the book and began to read.
"The words were captivating. But, not in the usual sense. They literally capture my mind and I could not stop reading. The words tumbled out of my mouth and an enchantment began to build. First, I noticed that my skin began to dissolve. I did not feel any pain for my entire focus was on the words that I could not tear myself away from speaking aloud.
"Then my legs disappeared, yet I did not drop to the ground. I kept on speaking and I tried to force myself away from the book. It was not long after that my torso and then my arms vanished. Yet the book did not drop. Finally, in a last desperate attempt, I ushered up every ounce of willpower and I tore my eyes away from the book.
"So here I am a floating skull because I was able to quit while I was a head," the skull started laughing again. "Get it? A head, because I am a head."
"Yeah, I get it," I replied dryly. "That isn't what really happened was it?"
"Well, no. I used to be a jester and I pissed off a wizard," Mobius replied.
"And the chest?" I queried further.
"He figured he would use me as a bookend. I can tell you that being a bookend is rather dull, so I used to tell jokes to amuse myself. I guess he did not have much of a sense of humor for he boxed me up and dropped me down a privy," Mobius said. "Imagine dropping me down the toilet like that and in a box that only he had the key to. How rude!
"Thank the Gods you were able to open the lock. I can't tell you how long I've been down here. I also can't tell you how many people have tried to open the box and failed.
"So in gratitude I, Mobius, King of the jesters and jester to the king is at your service."
"I believe I've heard someone else use that line before," I said.
"Stole it from me I'm sure."
I soon started my travels down the corridor again with a floating skull now following me. The one advantage of a floating skull is that they generally do not make noise. Well, I guess the average floating skull does not. I really do not know how many floating skulls there are but I can only assume that not all of them chatter incessantly as Mobius does.
It took me quite some time to press upon Mobius to be silent before I returned him to the box. I guess that did it because Mobius just hovered there for a moment with his mandible agape before he finally clapped it shut with an audible click.
Soon, we again encountered torches lighting the corridor. I took advantage of every shadow and obstacle as I made my way down the hall. I probably would have been less conspicuous if I did not have this floating skull hovering over me everywhere I went.
Fortunately, we did not encounter anything, not even a giant rat. Eventually, we found a stout wooden door set into the side of the hallway. The door boasted a barred window that usually spoke to the fact it guarded a gaol or dungeon. As quickly as I did with the box containing Mobius, I had the lock on the door picked.
I swung it open slowly and started to creep in when I suddenly stopped.
"Ah, you know Mobius, we need a rear guard here. Do you think you can handle it?" I inquired.
"Not a problem, mate. I'll keep my eyes peeled," again the skull started to laugh. "Get it? Peeled, because my eyes have no lids and are peeled."
"Yeah, I get it," I replied dryly. "Just keep it down so no one can hear you and warn me if you see or hear anything coming this way."
"Right-o. Cheers," Mobius replied as I started down the hall.
I did not have far to go before I came upon a large room lined with cells. The first few cells contained a person stripped down to her undergarments. It was curious that there was no guard on duty. Nonetheless, I crept up to the first cell containing a female orc wearing only a dirty shift.
Thank the Gods for that, because no one should ever see an orc in anything less than a shift. Well, unless it is another orc I suppose.
I peered around the bars and studied the orc for a while. She was sitting on the edge of a wooden cot stuffed with filthy straw. Her mottled green head was in her hands as she grumbled below her breath.
"Psst," I hissed to get her attention. The orc's head shot up and stared at me in surprise.
"By the blood of Uranus!" she exclaimed.
"What?!" I replied in surprise.
"Huh?" she replied in turn, "You do not know of Uranus the god of the sky?"
"Oh," I said, as I finally understood what she said. "Sorry, thought you meant something else.
"I'm here to save you and your party."
The orc ran over to the bars in excitement, "That is wonderful. With my group and yours we should be able to defeat the vampires who have taken up residence down here."
"What is that crack suppose to me?" Ben asked me.
"Oh! Nothing," I replied.
"Do you want to hear the story or not?"
"Yes -- please continue..."
"Because I didn't ask for your help, and I don't need your help."
"I know. I'm sorry."
"So, where was I?"
"You were explaining how the voice seemed like it was trying to tune in your brain."
"Right!" responded Ben. "It went on for weeks, and I was beginning to get the feeling that it would never happen. However, one day it was clear as a bell. The voice and I could finally communicate both ways."
"What did the voice say?"
"Patience my friend -- patience -- I'm getting to it."
"Once again, I apologize."
"Naturally, the voice is not a valid name because it occurs completely in my own brain. Hence, at first I asked fairly mundane questions. Things like 'what is your name?', 'where do you live?', and the like. Simple questions allowed my new friend to get a handle on the technology on his end."
"His?" I asked.
"While I don't know if his or her has any meaning where they are, the voice was male in my brain. Thus, I use the masculine. In any event, the name question was more difficult than either of us thought. I still don't have a handle on what his name is. It just goes to show how much culture has an effect upon names. Thus, I called him 'Hank' and he was okay with that. You may have noticed that I spoke aloud to Hank. We found it easier for him to know what I was trying to say by speaking out loud."
"Why was that?"
"Apparently, the area of the brain used for speaking is easier for their technology to reach than if you just think the words. Once the communications problems were mostly ironed out, it was time to get to the meat of the reason he was reaching out to me.
"Hank is the intelligence officer for a mostly peaceful race, who happen to be at war with a particular nasty race. One of the tactics of this warring race is to take advantage of the peaceful nature of Hank's people and attack a neutral third planet. His department discovered that they were going to use this tactic upon our planet."
"Let me get this straight," I interrupted. "There were two races at war, and one of them was going to attack us."
"Right," Ben replied. "In that way, Hank's race would have to allocate resources to help us out. This tactic would work to his enemy's advantage."
"And you believed him?"
"Of course not, but I heard him out. Their enemy has this technology that allows them to enter a planet via a wormhole type technology. They pick a latitude at random and they have to be half way between the equator and the pole. Thus, they have to enter at 45 degrees north or south at the longitude that they select. It just so happens that my parlor is exactly 45 degrees north. Further, according to Hank, it was at their selected latitude."
"So, these aliens were going to invade through some sort of hole in your parlor?" I asked with a great deal of skepticism, but I tried hard not to sound sarcastic.
"That is about how I felt. However, Hank said there was an easy way to stop them."
"The plates?" I asked.
"Yes. There is something in ceramic plates that blocks their matter transference equipment. Further, if we have our shield enabled, when they enable their transference equipment, Hank's people will be able to knock it out. Thus, we won't have anything to worry about after that."
"So, why were you wearing the aluminum foil hat?"
"The plates also block some of his communication abilities; thus, I need some sort of amplification method."
"I guess that makes sense. I do have a question though."
"What is that?"
"Was this your first psychotic episode?"
"You think I'm crazy..."
"Perhaps it is stress, or something more serious. However, you have to realize that this scenario you have just outlined is impossible."
"So, you think it all happened in my head."
"Yes. No aliens. No invasion. None of it."
"So what happens now?"
"I cannot force you into anything, and it is simply my inexperienced opinion. Perhaps there is something behind this. You should see a doctor and get a checkup. Perhaps it is some sort of toxin localized in that room."
"Your localized toxins is just as crazy."
"Yeah, I know. I was just theorizing, but there must be some logical explanation for this."
"And, you think that what I just outlined is illogical."
"Honestly I can't think of any other way to put it," I said as we walked towards the parlor.
"Do you think it is the first step towards Alzheimer's?"
"I wouldn't think of commenting on that," I said taking a plate off the wall and examining it. "You *should* see a doctor, and he or she should be able to determine what is going on."
"I guess there is no harm in that."
"What?" I asked.
"I said -- I guess there is no harm in that."
"I heard that, I mean the other thing."
"I did not say anything else."
"You clearly said something about the plate."
"That wasn't me."
"Stop with your tricks!"
"I'm telling you -- I'm not doing anything."
"If you don't cut it out," I asserted. "I'll break this plate!"
"Honestly, I'm not doing anything," insisted Ben.
"Okay! Okay! Okay!" I screamed. "I'll put it back!"
I replaced the plate, and it stopped. I looked around, and saw Ben looking at me with great concern.
"Are you all right?"
"I'm fine, and so are you."
"What?" he asked.
"It is my expert opinion that you're fine. It'll be all over soon, and we can go on with our lives. You're fine, and I'm fine."
"You now think I do *not* need to see a doctor..."
"Yes. There is nothing wrong with you. Going to a doctor will probably only make things worse."
"Very good."
"Thanks for your time -- and the coffee -- Ben," I told him. "I think I'll be heading home now."
"Thanks for checking up on -- my animals," he replied. "Come back anytime."
I have gone back to see Ben a few times. The plates are now down, and his parlor has returned to normal. Neither of us speak of the incident, we just talk about his animals. I wonder if he saved the world, or if we both had an episode. In any event, that was one of my most interesting cases -- and days.
Green is the light,
I see no trouble ahead
Green is the light,
So get going before it's red
Green is the light,
A lovely mix of yellow and blue.
Green is the light,
Please hurry and get yourself though!