The sky is a beautiful reddish-orange
as the sun sets in the background. On the second level bridge the silhouettes of
Clos and the doll can be seen fighting. Meanwhile beneath, Bacard and Valice
both take a step back as they defend against an attack, one from a blood goblin
and the other a human mercenary. Their backs both touch. They both know who the
other is without looking. Valice says, "If I didn't know better I'd think you're
enjoying this."'
Bacard smirks, "Oh, and like you're
not? Stop kidding yourself."
Both step forward with a sword slash
finishing their opponents off at the same instant. As they do there is a
rumbling sound. Suddenly the stone wall near them collapses. Standing there is a
huge 12 foot monstrosity. Ilsa, who is standing on the other side of the two
swordsman gasps at the sight. "By the gods, what is something like that doing
here?"
Bacard looks and replies, "But it's
acting kind of strange."
Valice adds, "It's acting too savage
and direct."
Ilsa gives a moment's thought before
responding, "It must be under someone else's control. So that means ..."
Before she can finish the line both
Bacard and Valice call out, "It's mine!"
They both look at each other and
start to run towards it. Bacard blurts out, "Hey, I called it first."
"In your dreams," Valice answers
back.
Bacard grins, "Well you'll still have
to beat me to it."
"Not a problem. You always were the
slower one," Valice says as he starts to take the lead.
"Hey! Get back here," cries out
Bacard.
Valice is the first to reach the
demon. The demon brings a fist slamming down towards him. With speed and agility
he moves to the right with a light cut to its side. But this is a true demon,
not just some weak minor or sub class; it'll take a lot more than just that to
take it down. Despite its massive size the demon is still fast. It quickly
swings its arm to the side trying to pound the pesky bug. Valice ducks under the
swing.
As the demon shifts its attention
downward to keep up with the human at its side, it catches a glimpse of Bacard
sliding between its legs. Its massive size makes it easy to accomplish. The
demon bends over to look at the human now behind it. This thing is big and
powerful, but while under this mind control it's not very bright. While it's
hunched over Valice brings his sword up slashing it across its face. Its head
jerks up as it lets out a deafening bellow. As it turns its attention back to
Valice the crystal sword given to Bacard slashes across the back of its knee,
taking the leg and some of its size advantage out of it for a moment. The beast
swings its arm blindly behind it to try and hit the other pest. When it almost
reaches him Bacard he leaps up using its momentum with his own. He rolls over
part of the demon's back avoiding the attack and landing back in front. Both
Bacard and Valice stand side by side facing their opponent.
Clos is slammed against a tower wall
on the second story bridge. The doll is smiling as it stands a fair distance
from him. She plays the part of the innocent child as she asks, "Oh daddy, is
that any way to act towards your sweet little girl?"
"A monster like you could never be
her," responds Clos as he gets back into a fighting stance.
Acting like a hurt child the doll
says, "Oh daddy, how can you be so mean?"
"That trick won't work on me
anymore," Clos shouts as he leaps forward attacking. As sword and dagger slash
high and low to make it harder to dodge, the doll leaps back spinning sideways
for a moment to weave between the two blades aimed at head and legs. Clos
finishes his explanation, "Before I wanted to believe it, I allowed myself to be
tricked, but I'm not running from the truth anymore."
"Is that so?" The voice of the doll
takes a more sinister tone as it adds, "Then you should know the whole truth,
the truth of why your family really died; it is because 'I' wished it."
Shock is seen on the face of Clos as
he asks, "What? But how could --"
"I'm not surprised your little wolf
mind can't comprehend it. Remember back five years ago. Your son wasn't even a
month old when you left them. Do you even remember why?"
In a grim tone Clos responds, "I'll
never forget that day ..."
Five years ago ...
Clos is dressed in the exact same
outfit, but one then hasn't been tattered in battle. He is finishing packing a
bag. A beautiful female elf walks up behind him and affectionately places her
hands on his shoulders. "Do you really have to go?"
Clos, "I'm afraid so. The string of
recent murders is too much for me to ignore. Mauled by a large beast? I have to
know. If it's a pack member, then it's my obligation."
She places her head against his back.
"I know. I'm just going to miss you. Shal isn't even a month old yet."
He turns and looks at her. For a
moment he is lost in the beauty of her eyes. This fact causes him to smile. "M'lady,
you and the kids will always have my heart. But the Empire has my sword for now.
I have sworn an oath of loyalty. But even if I hadn't I couldn't just stand back
and let innocent people die while I have the power to do something about it."
She gives him a reassuring smile.
"All right then. Go, and we will still be here for you when you return."
He embraces her in his arms and tells
her, "Before I go I just want to say I love you Catherina."
She closes her eyes just enjoying the
moment. In a few seconds he'll let go and leave, but for this instant, in his
arms, she feels like the most important person in the world.
The scene switches to a room full of
people. There are whispers amongst each other. Suddenly there is a loud banging,
wood against wood. Everyone goes quiet and looks at the front of the room. The
man in charge speaks, "Everyone settle down now. We've all heard about the
Esterlane
transformation. That is why this meeting has been called: to discuss how we
should handle the situation."
"What's there to discuss?! If you
admit the boy transformed then your admitting they're all a bunch of monsters,"
cries out a voice.
"Now hold on there," orders the
speaker in charge of the meeting. "While it is fact the
Esterlane
boy turned into a wolf in the light of the moon, he didn't try to hurt anyone."
Blurted out from the crowd, "Probably
because he was too small."
The head speaker glares. "All right,
that'll be enough of those comments. The boy's father Clos has served the Empire
for years now. He's always answered the call to duty and even gone above and
beyond to--"
A voice calls out, "Everyone knows
you're friends with him, Hogorin. You're just trying to protect him."
Another adds, "If he's trying to
protect the beast, then maybe he's in league with it!"
"Now hold it right there," shouts
Hogorin. "My friendship has nothing to--"
Again he is interrupted, but this
time it is by another man entering the meeting. The new individual looks to be
in his mid-thirties and out of breath at the moment. After a few seconds to
catch his breath he announces, "There's been another murder. The attacker was
... a large wolf! It must be
Esterlane!"
Hogorin responds, "No, Clos went to
investigate the --"
The newcomer shouts, "I saw it with
my own eyes!"
Hogorin now glances around the room.
It's clear he's lost control of the meeting. In a reluctant tone he says, "Very
well, we will do what must be done." Even as he says the words he hates himself
for it. He thinks to himself, 'I'm sorry my friend. They desire blood, and they
would not care if they killed me to get it.'
Clos walks down a gravely path at a
leisurely pace. His business has been resolved with his pack and now he's
finally returning home. Someone in the distance comes running up in his
direction. He takes a careful look to try and figure out who it is. Still from
afar the man calls out, "Clos! You have to hurry home! It's your family!" Clos
gets a look of concern. He drops the bags he was carrying and starts running off
down the road.
Clos moves through the city at night
at top speed. There is a full moon over the city on this night. He can already
hear the huge commotion from up ahead. When he reaches the edge of the second
level platform he comes to a stop. Down in the center of the city there is a
huge crowd of people. It looks almost as if at least half of the city is
gathered to see this. All the people are gathered around the stakes where his
wife and daughter are tied to wooden stakes above a huge pile of kindling wood.
Placed at their feet is their crying son. Lord Vunte stands at the front of the
crowd and raises his hand. As Clos watches in horror he mutters out, "Oh no, I
can't let this happen." He leaps off the edge of the second floor of the city
landing on his feet on the first level. With almost no pause he starts running
forward towards the crowd determined to try and stop it. Lord Vunte starts the
flames and the fire around his family starts to burn.
One of the onlookers suddenly notices
Clos coming at them. The terrified individual shouts out, "It's another
Esterlane!" A panic surrounding them starts to occur, but Clos doesn't concern
himself with that part. There is only one thing he has his mind set on at this
moment, trying to save his family. The commotion summons 5 nearby guards who try
to get in the way of the murderous Esterlane. They can't let him hurt the
people. As they take a defensive position, Clos charges right at them. One of
them takes a swing with his long spear. Clos manages to leap up and clear over
the guard's head. Had this been any other night, such a feat may have not been
possible. But on this night, the night of a full moon, he can feel its powers
even in his human form. When he lands he starts to try and make his way through
the crowd. Their fear of him helps make it easier. He can hear their anguished
screams as the fire is consuming them.
Faster, he has to go faster! However,
there is just too much room and too many people between him and them. It is an
impossible feat. As he tries to fight off more guards the screams of his family
vanish. He's unsure how long he's been trying; all sense of time has lost
meaning as he desperately tries to save his family. As he fights a spear is run
through his back. Clos goes silent as he stumbles, blood dripping from the
wound. It's a severe injury; any normal human probably wouldn't have survived
it. However Clos is still able to fight on for a while longer. The fight has
taken him into a different area of the city, he's not even sure where. The city
guards are fighting to try and kill him; that is their orders. He fights
valiantly, but it is a fight he will ultimately lose. They have numbers, an
entire city full, and he has already suffered injuries from his careless
fighting while trying to save the ones he loved.
The fighting has somehow taken them
back to the second city level. Clos is near the end of his limits. He is pushed
back to the edge of the level so he has no where to retreat. Right now he looks
like a wounded and cornered animal ready to lash out at the first one who comes
near him. The guards very slowly move in around him, cautious, all worried who
will be the first to make the move and risk getting cut down. Their decision
never comes as an arrow zips passed them and into the chest of Clos. Then there
are two more. He goes limp and falls back. His momentum carries him through a
grid that leads into the city sewers. Above one of the guards can be heard
ordering a sweep of the sewers to retrieve the body and to make sure he's dead.
Clos picks himself up and slouches against the wall. He then starts to move off
down the tunnel using the wall to stay upright. As he walks away, the wall still
has a large stain of blood where he leaned against it.
Clos lies dead on the ground. Someone
moves up over him, "There he is. Quickly, let's get him up. Make sure to have
the silver shackles ready. He won't be happy when he comes to."
The fallen noble awakens in a bed.
The morning sun is shining in through a window. There is a young woman in the
room taking care of the place. He groans lowly from the headache, "Where am I?"
The woman looks at him, "So you're
finally awake? I'm glad. I know father said you'd be fine, but I was still
worried. You've been out of it for a few days now."
Clos glares at her. She looks
familiar, but his head is too scrambled right now to place the face. "I asked
where this place is."
She responds, "I'm sorry m'lord. This
is your summer home in the Old Kingdom. My father brought you here after he
found you. We think you should be safe here. They think you're dead back in the
Empire."
Clos struggles to remember, "Safe?
Why would I need to be --" He clutches his head as the painful memories start to
resurface. The sight of them burning, their screams of terror and agony, he's
starting to remember all of it now. It's almost a pain too strong for him to
bear.
Quickly the young woman moves over to
him and holds him. She holds him Clos to her as she had always wished she could.
Her family has served the Esterlane line for a long time now, and her very first
crush was Master Clos. For her, it was a crush that never went away. But right
now, at this moment, it is not about her feelings; it is about being there for a
man whose heart is in pain. Her petty feelings are insignificant compared to
that.
Sometime has passed since the
incident. Clos stands there as the young woman drops her outer robes revealing
her naked body instead of her under clothing as would be normal. He turns his
head to avoid looking even for a second. "What do you think you are doing?"
The young woman responds, "I just
thought you needed --"
He doesn't let her finish as he tells
her, "Put your clothes back on."
As she picks up her outer robe she
trembling tells him, "I'm sorry m'lord. I just thought ... I'm sorry." She runs
out of the room crying, both embarrassed she did something so stupid and ashamed
that she was rejected as if it were nothing.
Clos takes a seat on the bed and
sighs. Shortly after that an older gentleman walks into room. He has a full
white mustache and beard. The man asks, "Is everything okay, Lord Esterlane?"
"I'm no longer a lord, Cantrel. You
can stop calling me that."
"You will always be my lord,"
responds Cantrel.
"You're a good man, Cantrel. Even
though I've lost everything you've stood by me when no one else has. The entire
town took off except for you and your family. I don't know who you do it."
"It is because I believe in you lord,
as does all of my family. I apologize if my daughter did something to offend
you."
"That's not it. It's just ..." Clos
trails off without finishing the thought.
"Her feelings make you uncomfortable
because you are still in love with your wife? Yes, I would imagine they would.
She is young and foolish, and very much smitten. I will have a talk with her if
you wish."
"She thought she could heal my pain
with her body."
Cantrel gives a very light laugh.
It's almost odd to see such a reaction from the girl's father, but such things
are not always so uncommon in this area. "If you ask me Lord Esterlane, the
thought was ... very much, elven?"
"Amusing Cantrel," replies Clos.
A young female voice from a distance
responds, "I certainly thought so."
Both look to the voice to see a one
foot doll carved in the image of his dead daughter. There is shock from both of
them. The doll just looks at them and smiles sweetly. "Daddy, I've missed you so
much daddy."
Clos looks in disbelief, "No, it
can't be, can it? Can it really be ..."
Cantrel warns, "Be careful m'lord.
Something is not right here."
It is night time in the small town.
Cantrel and his family are in their home for the night preparing to eat dinner.
The doll suddenly walks in through the front door. All of them stop and look
uneasily. It gives all of them the creeps just by looking at it. In its childish
voice it says, "Cantrel, why can't you accept I'm not really his daughter come
back? You keep warning him to be on guard day after day. It's almost as if you
don't want my daddy to be happy." Then it blinks innocently like a cute little
child.
Cantrel answers, "It is because you
are not his daughter. I do not know what you are, but I have no intention of
letting Lord Esterlane be used by anyone."
The doll gives an evil grin. "I
warned you not to get in my way. Now I'll just have to show you why you should
have listened." Suddenly the doll starts to transform. A giant shadow of the
creature can be seen on the wall as the home fires still burn. The screams of
Cantrel and his family are heard in the night air.
Clos is heading down the stairs and
sees the doll in his way. It asks him, "Where are you going daddy?"
"I'm looking for Cantrel. I'm worried
about him. Something in the air feels wrong."
"I'm sorry daddy, but he left. He
said he had to do what was best for his family, and taking care of some
impoverished lord wasn't it. They left in the night."
"What? No, Cantrel wouldn't do that.
After all this time he wouldn't ..." The mind of Clos struggles to try and make
reason of it as the doll's subtle influence takes further root.
The present ...
In a gloating tone the doll tells
him, "Your precious wife was so stupid. She didn't even really understand the
risks! It was easy to convince her to take your son out that night. What a
fool!"
Regrettingly admits, "It didn't
happen with our daughter. She didn't realize the trait would be stronger in our
son since it was the father who was a werewolf. I never thought to tell her."
"The House of Vunte was even easier
to manipulate. Once the head learned you held two of the keys he couldn't act
fast enough."
"But I didn't have the keys until
after ..."
"That's right, not until I gave them
to you. Since the beginning you have all just been puppets in my play of chaos."
"I'm going to make you pay for that."
"Well then, why don't you explain to
me what you intend to do. Your simple attacks haven't been able to touch me so
far."
"That's because you haven't noticed."
"And what is that?"
"The sun ... has just set." The last
rays of the sun disappear over the horizon.
The doll glances at the fact and then
back at Clos. "Oh very clever, Moon Child, stalling me until night to try and
give yourself an advantage."
"Tonight is the night of a full
moon."
"Excellent. That means you'll be at
your strongest. But I'm afraid you don't know what you're up against. I am the
moon and the stars. You don't stand a chance."
"I'm afraid you're mistaken. You're
the one who doesn't stand a chance. I'm fighting in the memory of my family."
"Let's see if that'll enough." Both
race in to attack.
An elven male soldier runs into a
building. The elf is attractive, as most elves tend to be, and wearing black
armour with red highlights. When he enters, "Commander, something major is
happening in the city. We have to act fast!"
The commander is an older looking
human with a well trimmed beard. There are streaks of gray marking his black
mane as well as his hair. He looks at elf and answers, "Easy 2nd Echelon N'Raus,
what is the situation?"
N'Raus responds, "Sir, there are a
large number of demon sightings and the Guild of the Second Order is making a
move in large numbers. There is fighting reporting throughout the city."
Suddenly the pointed ears of N'Raus twitch. He suddenly runs towards his
commander and shouts, "Sir!"
From outside the building a series of
fire balls hit the building causing it to explode. Standing on top of a roof are
several warrior mages from the Second Order. One looks to the others and says,
"It is done. Let's move on to phase two." All of them quickly move off.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the
burning building N'Raus is holding the commander. He narrowly managed to grab
him and get out a window just in time. The commander looks back at their
destroyed building and then orders, "All right, round up enough stragglers to
form a squad and get to work immediately. I'll deal work and getting the
Imperial Forces to help out. Now get moving!"
N'Raus snaps a salute, "Yes, sir."
Back at the mansion of the Vunte
House, Zira carries young Bacice in her arms. She enters the room of Elegon.
However, much to her surprise, the new Lord Vunte is not present. The covers on
the bed are thrown off and the window is open out into the courtyard. The
curtains flutter in the night breeze. In her slurred words she mutters aloud,
"El--e?" She walks to the window and looks out. The city looks to be in chaos
and there is a large fire that can be seen burning in the night sky off in the
distance. This fire is the burning former headquarters of the Janissary. "Be ...
safe ... lit--tle ... bro--ther."
