Dark Warlord Chronicles
Deception of the Soul
Part 10
"An eye for an eye"
They sat quietly, watching the figure as it walked in. The figure closely examined the two bodies closely. Then a hideous creature came in, and one man almost cursed at it. As the thought slipped out, the creature raised its snout, almost seeming to sense it. After examine a little while, it walked back out with the figure.
"So far we haven't been able to brake his will. We are no closer to the armor." The figure said with a male voice.
"It'll take time, but the value of this will be proven in the end." The dragon demon looked around the cell again. Finally, after long moments, it turned around and walked into the darkness.
After minutes of sitting, the two men outwardly sighed. "It sensed me!"
"Yes that demon can somehow hear us in our dream sight."
"Good thing I didn't summon my armor yet. That and the flute I was given is hidden under my body armor, if it truly is useful."
"I know you doubt many things Dais. You must see through this. When you learn how to work through your kanji, all that would deceive you will vanish."
"What are those other creatures? I know them from when I was trapped."
"Dark elves hidden in their hooded cloaks no doubt. I recognize the tongue."
"They just want any mystical armor they can grab their hands on huh?"
"No, mostly ours." Dais looked at the elf, thoroughly confused. Mekira decided to explain more thoroughly. "The dark elves respect and revel spiders above all things, even their own lives. Disturbing a spider's web requires a stern punishment. Woe to the one who actually kills a spider. Our armor not only looks like a spider, but has qualities one associates with spiders and webs. This makes it extremely desirable to dark elves. For a while I debated giving them the armor if I still had it. It would create a civil war as the dark elves bicker who should get it."
"What do you mean 'if I still had it'?"
Mekira sighed. "I didn't have the Armor of Illusion. It's one reason why they caught me so well. I already gave the armor to you."
"Wha.. but?"
Mekira cut him off with a raised right hand. "The last battle we fought together before I disappeared, I know you must remember it. You fell unconscious due to the length of battle and the wounds you took. I changed back to my normal self after that. I became enraged that you were hurt so much. Since you were unconscious, I knew I could chance abandoning my Japanese boy look I used. I won the battle, but as I gathered you to carry you away, I spotted an army of dark elves. Somehow they escaped to Earth and had found you. I was too weak for another battle so I carried you to a cave. I remember the scene well.."
"Forgive me Dais for I could not do I swore." He lowed the body of the man in Samurai armor down on the ground. The elf regarded the man, debating something. Finally he banished all of his Armor of Illusion for his mage robes. Medium length golden brown hair flowed down and hung a little in front of his face. Mekira reached out a slender right hand and touched Dais' forehead. A mystical glow, the same color as the majority of his armor, appeared from under his hand. "Perhaps one day you'll learn what really happened today. I give the armor now to you, as I swore I'd give it to the next, centuries ago. Talpa will probably take you in, saying he found the armor, saying that you belong with him. Perhaps that is for the best. At least you'll be safe in the Nether World. The dark elves won't find you there." After looking at his friend and protégé one last long time, Mekira stood and turned around. He walked back through the snow as the wind whipped his hair around and over his pointed ears. The blizzard covered his original tracks, and the dark elves followed the new set they found. It was during the night, in the elfin lands, that they caught up with him.
The dark elves surrounded the elegantly robed mage. They fought him, and soon Mekira took repeated blows. The light elf fell to the ground, bleeding and bruises in several place. His clothes, hair, and robe were covered with dirt and leaves. The attackers slowly realized what was happening. "Where is the armor," one of them demanded, raising an arm to stop the fight.
The elf raised his bruised face, blood running down from his mouth. His pinkish purple eyes sternly locked on to the one who asked the question. "Some place where you'll never find it." They cursed the light elf, and his resistance, as they started attacking him again.
Slowly. Slowly. Come on you big lug. I wonder what's worse, your intelligence or your smell. Finally the key ring came off the belt. The black creature flew best it could to keep them from hitting the ground. Thanks for the loan. The creature flew down the hallways, sticking near the ceiling to avoid being seen too easily. Finally it reached somewhere it sensed it needed to go. It landed slowly, trying not to make too much noise. It looked into the room. Hey! Hey you! Wake up! An image of a man appeared in a cell and walked to the creature curiously. The raven walked closer to the bars, pushing the keys near his hand. Another man appeared and walked up.
"What is this?" Dais looked at the raven. "A trap?
"Don't tell me I came all this way, this far, for nothing!" The first man backed up in surprise as his one eye locked on the creature.
"It's your familiar!" The elf turned to the man. "It's like your equivalent in the animal world. It tries to always accompany and help you. Everyone who wears the armor has one. Some have been your friend since childhood, others appear much later in life. I figured that, when you backed up, you heard it talking right?"
"Yes in my mind."
"I thought so. I didn't. Only you can read his thoughts and vice versa."
"So are you taking these keys, or do you actually like being in there?" The raven asked.
Dais grinned as he took the keys slowly. "Yep. Definitely my familiar!" The Warlord chuckled in his thoughts. He juggled them in the keyhole as silently as possible. "You know I hate to think this, but this seems too easy."
"We'll surely find out what they're up too soon enough." Soon a click echoed, and Dais quickly grabbed the metal lock to stop the vibrating sound. "One problem. What about our bodies? We can't just relock this. They'll soon find the keys missing."
"I can help you. Just let me try." The two men shrugged as they returned to their bodies again. The raven flew to the chains and poked his small talon in the lock. Eventually the lock undid, and the bird went to the next one. Minutes later the chains were undone, and both men crashed to the floor. Dais groaned as he looked around. His vision was fine, but his body was so limp and slow to react. "Come on you two big lugs! A turtle can move faster than you!"
"You try this out for a while and see how you feel." The bird flew and ranked his talons through the man's curly white hair. "Cut that out!"
"Come and make me you big doofus!" The raven flapped up and down.
"Doofus am I?!" Dais pulled himself up, then helped Mekira to stand as well. "Look out cause I'm coming to get you for that remark!"
"Doofus! Doofus!" The raven taunted. The Warlord helped carry the elf, who had been there too long to walk well. He focused on the bird and walked to it. As he reached it, he went to grab the bird with a dark green armored hand. The raven just flew away before the right hand came, and went into the hallway. "Doofus!"
"I don't suppose you have a name so I can write it on your gravestone."
"I don't suppose you remember yours!" The raven teased back.
"My name is Dais and.."
The raven laughed hysterically in his thoughts. "Dais the doofus! Dais the doofus! hahahahahaha!"
It continued much that way. They carefully avoided guards. Most of the time the raven distracted them. It teased and clawed at them, causing the guards to chase the bird. Agonizing slow, they made their way back, the bird taking the lead. The affects of the drug were starting to wear off just a little, enough to be noticeable.
The sunlight painfully hit their eyes as they walked out of the cave. The strange music once again floated in the air. Mekira took in a long deep breath. "I almost forgot what the outside was like. The smells, the sights, sounds, tastes, touch, feeling..." He sighed again. A familiar voice chirped with a familiar word in Dais' mind.
"Let's get going." The Warlord tried to ignore the now irritating black colored bird. The two men trudged painfully through the forest, back to where they both hoped the dirt path was.
"Leaving so soon? I thought our hospitality suited you well." Both men cursed at the familiar voice. They took defensive stances, back to back, as they saw the dragon demon standing in a tree. "Dear, dear, is that all you ever do?" The creature seemed to lovingly run a clawed right hand down its folded left wing as it regarded them. Dais hoped to see something behind that gold mask, but the creatures eyes were unseen and the area was black.
Mekira felt something and quickly turned to push the other man aside. "Dais!" A force hit the elf knocking him several feet away. The Warlord had fallen to the ground. As he turned to look back up, the demon landed with a clawed foot on the Warlord's chest.
"Fine I'll just take it if you're so stubborn." It reached up its right arm for a fatal slice across the face and neck of its victim. The raven dived, but the demon waved its left wing, the air sending the creature to land heavily against a tree. The black form fell to the ground motionless.
"Pheonix song sing!" A musical feminine voice cried out. The dragon howled in pain, its swing missing its mark a bit. As the creature shrieked and stumbled to the ground, it knocked Dais around.
The Warlord coughed and looked up, spitting dirt from his mouth. Both Mekira's and the raven's body lied on the ground. He looked to see the dragon demon now going after the new threat. Dais gasped as he recognized the new person who appeared. Light green hair flowed as the light caught a few silver highlights in it. The familiar gown also flowed around the elf as she seemed to levitate in the air. The dragon flew to join the new fight. The Warlord then looked at something closer to him as he lied on his stomach. He reached out a body armored right hand to grasp it. It was torn to shreds, work that the demon's claw managed to do. The Warlord just sat up, amazed at what happened. There, in his hand, was what was left of his eye patch! Memories of the past flooded Dais as he gazed at it with both perfectly matched blue eyes.
To Be Continued...