Darkness
Chapter 72 The Raging
… I’m going down in flames
I’m falling into this again, yeah
I’m going down in flames
I’m falling into this again
Cause I don’t really want to know
Don’t tell me how this game ends
Cause we’ll just see how it goes
Catch me when I fall
Or you’ll need me when I’m not here at all
Miss me when I’m gone again, yeah … Going Down in Flame, by 3 Doors Down Darkness Chapter 72 The Raging He burned two or was it three whole floors of the fortress to purify it of all signs of evil. And of course along with it, any number of the disgusting gray cloaked ones that dared to come across him and try to stop him, but yet there was still no sign of the one Key truly wanted destroy the most… the very confused, damaged, and spent young wizard finally realized he was descending into the lower floors of fortress, rather than an ascending like he should be. Which was a mistake, for the vampire elf lord usually spent most of his time in his fancy throne room that was almost at the top of the fortress and took up one whole floor. So quickly he reversed his direction and turned around and found the first ramp leading upward thus correcting his direction in order to seek out his tormentor. Exhaustion from Key’s various wounds, gradual blood lose and over use of his fire magic, was swiftly taking a detrimental toll, and ultimately it slowed both his mental and physical progress, but somehow he managed to rally his strength for his need for retribution much out-weighed his need to rest, so he pushed onward and upward his fists clinched tightly in a deadly unholy rage! ~Ooooo~ Two floor down, unaware of how close they were to the one individual they sought above all others, the party of Dwarves and humans moved steadily ever upward through long empty corridors that were so heavily filled with smoke and heat, along with it came the consistent Smokey scent of repeated lethal supernatural combustion. They were several times delayed along the way and forced to cover their faces with wet scarves to keep from choking, as they blindly felt their way slowly through dark densely smoked filled corridors. Looking for rooms they might enter and explore, but they found no rooms, just smoke and more smoke.
The Dwarf queen’s party and Darkness and his companions continued to push nervously ever forward and upward. The first of two flashes of magical bracer was do any time, to let them know that the advanced party had reached the main gate of the fortress and then thirty minute after that a second flash of bracer would mark the beginning of a distracting attack on the Gate. They needed to be ready to fight, and far enough up in the fortress to be in the right place to make difference.
Soon all in the party noticed the frequency of scattered piles of ash becoming more numerous as did the tiny remnants of small tuff of gray of fabric, even an occasional iron weapon partially melted was left unconsumed by the fire. It was as if a mysterious enemy of their enemy swept along just before them through the long hall of the fortress, taking out the perverse diabolical elves guard before they could get to them. It seemed like a good thing initially, but was it really? Or was it merely in the end only another mysterious threat to their efforts, which would add to their long list of challenges that might delay their progress.
~Ooooo
The party hurriedly turned the next corner, and headed up a ramp to the next floor instantly causing the alarming and revolting rustling sounds of tiny scuttling feet, as numerous rats fled wildly out from beneath their feet and out of their way. Immediately they found that the odor of burning choking smoke was less, but in its place came an even worse stench, the smell of many rotting corpses. It was then, the companions looked up in horror and saw what was hanging in nice even rows on iron hooks along the walls on both sides of them as far as they could see down the long running corridor. There were corpse after corpses in various states of foul dripping decay, while some of the dead had been there so long there was only white bleach bones left. Each of the corpses was carefully spaced out evenly between the lit fire torches as if, by the hand of some morbidly gruesome decorator. Some of the fresher corpses even had small furry bodies eagerly clinging to them and industriously chewing on putrid decaying flesh.The sounds of sick retching was soon heard, and Darkness found himself staring back his eyes focused on collapsed bent over Feles, whose failing stomach only further added to the reeking odor in corridor. Unlike most warriors who had some familiarity with many vile states of death, it appeared the boy’s stomach was much too delicate. So what was new… may be they ought not to have allowed the lovely bed warmer to come with them after all, but simply let him remain safely at the dwarf hub. Yet Darkness couldn’t forgot too that the boy had on several occasions come to his aid…even after the way he had so badly abused him in the past … so to be truthfully, perhaps weak pretty Feles had been of some use after all.
Unable to resist a perverse giggle and the need to follow it up with another snarky comment Darkness whispered out, “ Really Feles boy try to get a grip, I fear it’s only gone a get worse before it get better. Something tells me we’ll find even worse things before we’re done. Drakk hurry, give him a drink of fresh water and drag him with you… This damned bracelet is going to light up very soon now, and something tell me we’re running behind schedule… we need to be further along. ” Then coldly without another word, the wizard abruptly turned away and headed further down the reeking corridor, not even bothering to look back to see if his companions and the Dwarves were following after him.
At last they came to end or the point where bodies no longer hung on the wall, yet the foul stench of death got no less and for it still hovered thickly in the air. In the place of the dead bodies that hung along the walls there were now a series of cells on both side of the corridor. They quickly noted that each and every one the heavy wooden cell doors they past by had been burnt and furious exploded off his it hinges and reduced to a pile of splinters, as if by the same enraged potent magic. The cell’s interior and their once occupants were merely a faint residue of bones and ashes. Yet even Darkness feared to look into each of cells for fear of what he would find. He got Drakk’s attention and mouthed and motioned for the demon not to let go of Feles or let him look in the cells… the boy couldn’t handle it. Hell even Darkness wasn’t sure he could handle it, especially if found only a few remains of his own little Elf?
Darkness quick physical examination of a number of the cells by eye and a brief cast of limited magic hastily indicated that occupants were long dead before their recent reduction to ashes. He silently motioned for the others to hurry up and follow him up the next ascending ramp they came to. They had gone only a few feet upward toward the next level of the castle, when they came upon a consistent long trail of fresh red blood and the further they went up the ramp the blood trail seemed to grow heavier and stronger with each step, who every bled wouldn’t be able to last too much longer with that much blood loss.
All at once Darkness felt a burning heat on the wrist with the magic bracer, instantly he looked down and saw the gems flashing radiantly, which meant in thirty minutes time the other party of Dwarves would be attacking the front gate of the fortress with their crossbows in only minutes. Now for sure they had to get ready to fight too.
The party pushed on harder and faster up the blood stained ramp, with their weapon drawn and ready. They expected any minute to come across the body of the unseen one who was slowly bleeding out, as he moved forward ahead of them on the ramp. Finally the ramp and the corridor made another sharp turn allowing the party to see all the way down to the far end of a dimly lit corridor for there was only a single small torches at an abrupt dead end. Then came a faint swishing sound and swift movement from out of the shadows, as a reflection from the single torch bounced light off a shiny fabric. The bright purple and red flowing fabric caught their attention, just as its owner disappeared around the corner to the left, so the corridor wasn’t a dead end after all.
“Hurry damn-it let catch up to that robed one, for I recognize that silken robe… it is El’lissinor the Elf lord, even after all these years I’d recognize that purple robe anywhere. Let get him and then this fortress will be our!” Shouted Darkness loudly and he set off in pursuit of the fleeing one, with all in party following quickly after him. At the same time he readied a single weak fireball, letting it form in his right hand, he would use it to slow the Elf Lords progress and then he’d take him captive.
When Darkness reached the corner where the robed one disappeared, he quickly noted the terrible bloodstains on the ramp followed in the same directions. Could the evil immortal bastard El’lissinor really be that badly injured, it seemed almost too easy? Darkness decided the first thing he would do after he had the elf monster in his clutches was make him tell the whereabouts of little Keylyn. Then he’d sever his head from his body to make sure the evil creature bled out even sooner. Then he’d have insurance that he’d never have to deal with the creature ever again, for it was said that Vampire’s were so quickly reduced to dust without their heads, just the plan made the dark wizard smile, in utter anticipation of the deed!
Ooooo
The Corridor made another sharp turn and then suddenly it widened to twice its normal width. And then that’s when Darkness ran forward even further ahead of the others in party, for he saw the purple robe figure slump down flat on his belly as if his strength had totally given out from the blood lose. With-in several yard from quarry, Darkness saw the creature try to struggle weakly to rise to his feet to continue on. Darkness dropped to his knees and was prepared to the toss the small fireball to stop him… when all at once Darkness heard a loud shriek coming from behind him, which sounded very much like a loud infuriated “NO” then suddenly he was blind sided ruthlessly from the back and forced down flat on the floor with a heavy body on top of him. The small fireball flew wildly from his grasp and rolled harmlessly to a far corner, where it surprisingly it made a soft hissing sound and then gradually faded out to nothing, without even trying to detonate even a little bit.
Darkness was left momentarily stunned and winded by the attack from behind, and then he felt strands of familiar soft long red auburn hair brush against his cheek and neck, as a heavy panting breathe blow against face, which held the faintly pungent reek of vomit. Feles! Feles had attacked him and stopped him from taking down El’llissinor… what the fuck was going on why had the boy stopped him? Once again Darkness looked up again at the status of his fleeing quarry, only to find that once more that creature lay back down flat on the floor of the corridor with his hands covering his face protectively, his breathing weak and stressed, almost as if he was ready to spend his very last breath.
A blind rage suddenly took hold of the Dark Wizard at being denied his captive, and he fiercely grabbed hold of Feles and he pulled him roughly from on top of him…. all the while furious curses kept coming constantly from the wizard’s gasping mouth.
“What the fuck, Feles, why did you stop me…you really are a completely dumb little slut, I should ring your fucking neck for daring to stop me, let alone touching me!” Then Darkness’ fingers, as if they had a mind of their own started to circle and tightens slowly around the boy’s neck to emphases his fury at being stopped in the middle of his attack.
But Feles just manage to choke out brokenly a string of words and curses before the fingers tighten even more.
“You… Asshole bastard, that…that’s fucking Keylyn not the elf Lord, … see his… hair?” As the last word left his mouth, Fe past out limply when Darkness’ long fingers closed even tighter around his throat and cut off his air. Then hurriedly Drakk came to Fe’s rescue, for he abruptly struck a harsh blow to the side of the wizard’s face and then not gently at all, pried Darkness’ hands fiercely away from his lover’s tender throat making sure the boy was still breathing and then forcefully he pulled the boy away, completely from the wizard’s angry grasp. The demon protectively held him tightly in his arms, hoping that Fe would be able to get his strength, his breath, and his consciousness back soon.
Meanwhile Darkness, when Feles was torn from him grasp, seem to fall apart for he wilted powerlessly to the floor at the startling news, with a desperate pathetic groan, almost as if he had been momentarily devastated him, and left him stunned, numb, and in a state of utter shock at what he almost did… and to the very one he wanted to save.
Surprisingly it was definitely the Dwarf queen, who was the first to walk over examine the fallen slender figure in the violet robe. Instantly she knew it wasn’t El’lissinor this elf boy was much too young, frail, and certainly he didn’t have any long sharp pointed fangs like the murderous vampire. She quickly knelt beside him swiftly sensing his all over state of being, and let the distasteful and horrifying visual impression of his brutal physical abuse formed in her mind. Just as swiftly she took a potion bottle from her waist pouch and quickly forced the strong magical liquid down the boy’s bruised torn throat in an endeavor to give him strength and to help him endure the pain. The potion too would stop the unnaturally blood loss that came from the many cruel concealed wounds hidden by the long purple robes. She noted that the robe’s floor length hem was now nearly soaked through with wet pathetic scarlet. After that she knelt beside him and pored some fresh water on a piece of fresh cloth and wiped his ash, dust, and tear stained face as well as the front of his filthy long soiled fair hair free of debris, dust, and only the dark vile Gods knew what else too also clung to that fair hair. Dwarf queen dared not think upon it too hard, for it made her a bit ill.
When the boy’s large violet eyes flutter open briefly she stared into them, as she bathed his face, she was very distressed to see his beautiful violet eyes glazed with a trace of wild furious pain and suicidal madness, obviously a result of the terrible abuse he suffered. Yet she felt some where far back inside the boy’s head, she had a faint indication that there was still a magical part of him that was still retained a partial degree of sanity, that is… if only it could be reached soon. Somehow she felt only the nasty bastard of a wizard, would be the one to reach him, Yet the damn fool human fearfully stay away as if he appeared to be afraid to see what became of his lover. That would have to stop, and she would see to it right now, the foolish bastard needed to confront the boy without any further delays, battle or no battle. The boy needed to feel their shared connection; and it certainly wouldn’t wait until after the fighting… the fragile elf boy needed to know now that he was loved… no matter how cruelly he was most recently used … and it couldn’t wait forever… for mentally he was very very fragile!