5

Tensions had never been higher, which is surprising especially where we’ve been, and what we’ve been fighting for so long. Though, the fact that it took this long surprised me. Raldnech kept pounding on the door. I’d never seen him this angry before, he’s not without his reasons, of course. That last attack made by Tyrannus and his lackeys did not help the tensions any less, So many people were hurt or even killed. Mendax was no exception, His mask broke, but not completely. Only his left eye was exposed to the world once again. I wasn’t shocked that people still didn’t know who he was, he had changed so much in a shorter time than I would have expected.

Raldnech pounded on the door again “Mendax, we need to talk.” He said.

“They ain’t going to walk out unless they’re good and ready,” I said leaning off the wall. Raldnech stared right back at me, with that burning passion. I hadn’t seen that look in years, and yet suddenly he’s got that fire again. Like something finally clicked. No doubt because of Mendax. Raldnech always put on that calm exterior, but I’ve known him for long enough to know that, upstairs, he’s running a million miles an hour. He’s got the whole damn world on his shoulders, that’s for sure.

I looked over at Winrad, he was leaning on the wall opposite of me, fidgeting with that new arm he’s got. Well, I call it new, but he’s had it for a long time now. Ever since Kaje up and disappeared. It had to be that gem in that hand. Last I saw Tyrannus had an arm on himself that was exactly like Kaje’s, must have been crazy enough to chop off his old arm, and stitch Kaje’s on there, and reanimated it. Sometimes I wished I was more magically inclined like the rest of them, then I might be able to understand how any of this shit even works. Still, being dead myself gives me some relations to that world of necromancy, Not that I really liked the relation much at all, but I’m stuck with it.

“How are you holding up kid?” I asked Winrad. He stopped fidgeting with the arm, and stared right back at me.

“Just thinking about, well, nothing in particular.” He said.

“Hey, tell me something, pass the time this way?” I offered him. He brought his stone arm up to his chin, and pondered for a moment. Honestly, before meeting Winrad, I’d never met a dragon before in my life. To me, they weren’t anything more than people with snouts and scales, but that didn’t make them better than us. Now, I’d wish I’d have met more of them.

“How much pain do you feel?” he asked. “Like compared to when you were living?” Of course, the one thing on the kid’s mind is a question, when is he ever not questioning things?

“Pain’s dulled over time, but I can still feel it, what’s even worse is when I gotta get all dolled up by those necros, the pain is almost unbearable, but only for a moment though, why?”

“Well, that breaks my theory, I was wondering if we could somehow keep pumping you with that magic, and see if it can do anything to bring you back well more alive.” Didn’t surprise me much that he was trying to think of ways to help me, A lot of Kaje really rubbed off on him, at least the good parts did.

I waved a hand dismissively. Sometimes I wondered just what would have happened if Winrad had taken over his sister’s role as the Queen, he definitely had a soft spot in his heart for just about anybody, well, not everybody, but most people! He’s always trying to think about how we might be able to improve our surroundings. Not sure if he’s feeling guilty for something or not, but I’m glad he’s putting that worry into thinking about others. “Kid, you’ve done more than enough to help me, I’m just glad I got a second shot at all of this,” I said. That brought a smile to that dragon's face, I missed those damned smiles. He only ever smiled that much when he was around Kaje. I looked back at the ground. Kaje, what the hell have you gotten us into now? I wish you knew exactly what Winrad thinks about you, how much we all care for you. I wondered what would happen now if he, hell if both of them knew.

“Why won’t she open the damned door?” Raldnech asked, walking back over to us. “We’ve proven time after time now that she cannot make these decisions on her own, now she is going to lock us out?” his voice was the loudest whispering I had ever heard before. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Raldnech this angered before. You’d never know it just by looking at him though. It was all the mannerisms. The rhythmic stomping. The darting eyes. Hell, when he didn’t even have a caked-up smile on you knew things were serious.

“Raldnech we just have to hold on a bit longer,” Winrad interjected. “We’ll find Kaje, and we’ll deal with Tyrannus and his cultists, though I can’t help but think about exactly what is going on in that room as well.”

“The world doesn’t revolve around Kaje, dragon.” Raldnech sputtered back. “I miss him too, but there’s more lives than just his at stake now.”

Winrad didn’t eye back at Raldnech, he just let him sit there. Something with the way that Winrad stared. He knew exactly what he was capable of, if it ever came to blows between these two, I had no idea who would come out on top.

Raldnech brought his gaze back down to the floor. “Sorry Winrad, it’s just that-”

Winrad brought his hand up. “It’s alright, we’re all exhausted right now, and we just need to start making a new plan.” That was the way to handle it. Raldnech would come to his senses, sooner rather than later. If he ever had an outburst, that was what you would do. I wondered if Raldnech had any reservations working with the undead, like I. Hell, I only ever knew him when my skin was rotting. Not all of these necromancers were bad, Kaje, and Alarotha were good, they cared about people. But it was these fucking other ones, Tyrannus and his goons. They did this to me. And I swear I would have my revenge, and slice their necks clean open.

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Winrad’s brows furrowed. “Wait, did you say ‘she’ when speaking about Mendax?” He asked Raldnech. “How do you know for certain?” Raldnech opened his mouth, then closed up. And he shook his head. He didn’t know. Hell, if there was anything Mendax was good at, it was hiding his identity. I don’t think anybody but Mendax and I know it. He did a good job of making sure nobody knew who he was, for better or for worse.

The door swung open. Mendax stared at Winrad, and his gaze softened slightly. He turned towards Raldnech and his face tensed up. He looked back at me, and I couldn’t even tell, even though that physical mask was somewhat broken, he had experience wearing a different type anyway. It amazed me exactly who was under there. That sea-green eye staring right back at me. Though, I knew exactly who those eyes belonged to, if you were to tell me, I wouldn’t believe you.

He walked back from the door, not saying a single word, and left it open. We all followed him in. This desecrated temple was the perfect housing ground for Mendax, as well as some of the elite guards. He had a map of the surrounding area on the table in front of all of us. With some parts marked in red. It was another damned attack plan, nothing about fortifications for the city. No rations for the people who were still living. Raldnech was going to fucking explode now. I fidgeted with the dagger in my belt. Not sure if I could even do anything if I needed to here, but hell, I ain’t going to be defenseless.

“Mendax what the hell is this?” Raldnech asked.

“Attack plans,” He said, Raldnech visibly recoiled from that. “I know exactly how to get into these places and deal with them, I could even go at it myself,” Mendax said.

“Mendax,” Winrad interjected. Mendax looked over at the dragon. I could see his face visibly tense up. He wasn’t angry though, I think at least. But maybe Winrad was going to tell him something he didn’t want to hear.

“No, you can’t be trusted to go by yourself,” Raldnech shouted at Mendax. Winrad turned toward Raldnech, with that dumbfounded look on his face. “The last time you did that we lost too many people, not even just combatants, civilians.” He hissed out.

Mendax got closer to him, almost right up to his face. “You think you can handle this?” He said.

Raldnech shifted. He had that calm exterior now, but fuck was it too calm. He was thinking of something to do, right now. Whatever that was, it was only going to make things far worse. “Not just me, but Winrad and a couple dozen soldiers as well.” He pointed toward me next. “Sisyphus will help you defend the city if anything were to come up.”

Mendax shifted back and walked away from us. That plan was never going to work, Maybe having Raldnech and soldiers go could work, hell even letting me go could be good too. But he would never let Winrad go out on his own like that. He needed to protect him. That’s why I think he never really let Winrad in on any of the plans he was making, or if he did, he would lie about his priorities. I think the worst part of it all was that I agreed with him. Winrad’s been through so much shit his whole life. Perhaps it was best if he was given some time to not even think about this entire damned war. But his mind would always keep wondering, always keep questioning. It was that insatiable lust for knowledge and innovation that drove him. Both comforted and burned him.

“Absolutely not,” Mendax said. “I cannot trust that you could even handle the few undead and cretins there, let alone hundreds of them.

Raldnech narrowed his eyes. “This is not a request, Mendax.” He brought out his hammer.

“Raldnech!” Winrad shouted. “We cannot do this! They’re the only one who knows where Kaje is.”

“Based on fucking what? How do you know she’s not just leading you along? If we want to find him, we’re better off finding him ourselves.” He looked back at Mendax. “This creature has no intention of telling you where he is, nor does she care about the lives she destroyed in her crusade.”

Mendax’s eye widened. Was that fear in his eye? He must have had the same thoughts that I did. Have we really gone this far now? Mendax stared back at me, and nodded. Really? I knew you for as long as I’ve known them! And this is what we’re doing now?

Shit, kid, you better know what the hell you’re doing! I pulled the knife from my belt, and stabbed it into the exposed part of Raldnech’s armor, right under the armor. I aimed the knife away from his heart. Mendax told me, if it ever came to this, we’re just going to incapacitate, not kill. Though they didn’t know that! Raldnech winced and yelped in pain. His eyes filled with haste, but something else too. Shock, and sadness, like he just lost a part of his life in that very moment. Raldnech swung the hammer around, back toward me. I ducked right under it. I yanked the knife out from him. Raldnech, I knew me and Mendax could handle, but not Raldnech and Winrad. How was I supposed to deal with Winrad? I couldn’t hit him, or stab him. No way for me to deal with him.

A bolt of ice shot toward Mendax, which he dodged. The room became a cluttered mess. If anybody were to enter this room now, there would be hell to pay. I backed up from both Raldnech and Winrad. At best all I could do was stab Raldnech in his thigh, and underarms. Yet Mendax glided across the room like he was a reaper, coming now to separate the wheat from the shaft. He clawed into Raldnech’s armor and stabbed through his left shoulder, forcing him to drop the shield. Winrad threw a punch at Mendax. Mendax, froze, if only for a moment. Both of their eyes locked onto each other. Mendax grabbed the arm and halted it, But that moment of hesitation was all the Raldnech needed. He swung the hammer at Mendax, hitting him square in the face. The mask finally shattered and knocked Mendax square to the middle of the room, blood now escaping from his face. He brought his hand up to his face.

Then. Winrad bucked and covered his own face, blood now spewing from it. Raldnech crouched down to Winrad. “Winrad!” Raldnech shouted. “What happened, did she get you?” Whatever happens now kid, you better have a good explanation, or we’re both fucked.

Winrad stood back up. His face now a swollen, broken mess. Mendax writhed on the ground more. I knew he wasn’t in pain. He didn’t want to see what would happen next. I slumped back down on the ground. Raldnech walked over to Mendax now. His breath, heaving, and heavy.

“Get up,” Raldnech spoke. “Get up now.” For a moment, Mendax sat still. Maybe he wanted Raldnech to think he was dead. Maybe. Winrad stood up now. The bleeding on his face stopped completely. And I could even start to hear him breathing through his nose now. Much to his own surprise. That type of healing didn’t come naturally at all.

Mendax finally stood back up, one hand still covering his face. The blood on his face now stopped flowing. Then, he finally left the hand fall from his face and stared right into Raldnech’s eyes.

At first, there was anger, then shock, then pure sadness. He dropped his hammer and got down to his knees. He was still staring right at the sight in front of him, not wanting to believe it was real, hell I still wanted to think it wasn’t real either. But someday, that mask finally falls, and what we see we might not want to accept.

Raldnech’s lips were trembling. “Are you fucking kidding me?”