The good news was that they were in time, and Amenos had insisted they bear cloaks as they scaled. The bad news was that William was halfway up a sheer cliff. He had no rope in the middle of the rain in the most desolate region of Haldren. The rocks were slick with seawater and sharp, even through his gloves.
A sense of vertigo went over him as he scaled higher and remembered what they were getting into. Lamech and two others were waiting on the top with weapons. It was nearly impossible to hear what they said past the wind.
All this to save some women he'd had about one conversation with?
William would love to say he was here to check Ran Telus. But he hadn't had to diverge to follow Arkan after he saw him, and that had been mere chance. He had just discovered who it was when he saw Lamech midway into the pursuit.
Now, the wind was whipping around their cloaks. Higher William scaled with gloved hands, and Amenos was behind him. Finding footholds in this darkness was hard, and both had a miracle. The rain was cold as it dropped onto his face, and he shivered.
Climbing down was even more brutal than climbing up, and he needed to learn the footholds.
"Not exactly what I was hoping for when I made port," said Amenos with a rare smile.
"What were you hoping for?" asked William, finding a rough patch and scaling up, moving his knee up to find somewhere to stand on. Unfortunately, it was a tough place to scale by.
"A nice inn, dinner with the wife," laughed Amenos.
At that moment, a flash of lightning was above as a bolt struck the rocks further down. The cliff suffered, and stones fell around them as the sea was illuminated. And above them was Lamech, who appeared as a silhouette, clad once again in armor. Above him, he looked like a menacing god of sorts. In his hands was a huge boulder raised skyward. "Greetings to you, Paladin."
Well, William was at a disadvantage.
"This is not as easy as it looks," said William. "So if you're hoping for a sword duel, you ought to be sporting about this." He was well past being surprised.
"No," said Lamech, smiling through his facemask of teeth.
And he tossed the boulder, letting it roll down the side while laughing maniacally. But it went too far to the side and moved to the left. The sound of it cracking on the stone was deafening, reechoing off the walls as sparks flew near him. Keeping his hand despite the heat and shaking rock, William scrambled upwards. But Lamech picked up another and hurled that, sending it bouncing down the slopes to the right. They cracked and broke, and rock splinters went everywhere as William neared the top, now in a mad dash. His hand hurt from a sharp stone, but the skin did not break. His foot slipped, sending tiny rocks down, but he kept going up.
The closer he got, the better Lamech's aim. The cliff was sparking and shaking with the strikes as lightning shattered the sky. Rain poured all around them, soaking them.
At last, Lamech hurled a boulder in a dead-center shot. William knew it would hit him and used his arms to throw himself to one side. The boulder shot past him, and its coursed missed Amenos, who was further down. William found a foothold and scaled up like mad, scraping his leg. Getting to the top, he saw Lamech approaching him with a sword, and for a moment, he was exposed.
But Lamech stumbled and fell to one knee from his labors in armor, tired from his throwing. William rose up, drew his sword, and stabbed for Lamech's face plate. But Lamech's white sword parried it, and the duel was on. He swung at William, and William leaped back. He felt the wind of the blade on his neck and realized he'd nearly lost his head. William jumped away and smote him on the head with the flat of his sword. The blade rang out, and Lamech grunted right before he lashed out.
An armored gauntlet hit William in the gut, sending him to the ground, and William fell to one knee, stunned. He saw Lamech's feet before him and rolled away on reflection. At that exact moment, the White Sword came down to cleave into the stone. As William stood up, sparks flew up and set fire to a nearby push.
Retreating back onto rocky terrain, William saw Lamech advancing. Behind him, a bush was struck by lightning and lit into an inferno even in the rain. Slowed by the heavy stones and rocks, William saw the city of Thrakmul far beyond. It stood beside them in ancient ruins. Once a place of terrible dark power, with many horrible spires rising upward. They reeked of dark energy, designed like Gel Carn. Yet in ancient days, long before the rise of House Gabriel, this place had been a paradise of darkness.
All the horrors and rituals seen in Antion had been there and more. And those who were called the Furbearer sacrificed infants upon it. Lamech saw it as well, and the idea seemed to please him. And he raised a hand toward it as William had before, and William saw in Thrakmul a vision of past and future.
A place where dark creatures flew overhead, and men were sacrificed on altars to the Shark Queen. Where fresh new horrors marched forth to plague his people. All to achieve the vengeance of the Furbearers. He saw a great rampage, a Jihad where Kata and Sokar or those like him led those in a bloodbath.
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Old men and women were murdered en masse, and children were slain in bloody tribute. The land of Antion made excuses for the atrocities of the sins of the past. The redemption of Antion for these atrocities would be looking the other way to new ones. And those who rebuilt this place would make vengeance their goal.
And Kata and Sokar and all the others would be damned for their atrocities.
Lamech smiled.
No, it would not happen.
William charged at Lamech, roaring in rage. Lamech was taken off guard, and his sword was knocked aside. William got him across the shoulder, and the impact sent him reeling. Another blow bit into Lamech's helm and caught him on the side of the head. But Lamech made a move with his own sword.
William leaped back on instinct, and Lamech's sword slashed the cloth on his legs. Now he knew how close he'd been to death. Circling one another, William saw Lamech was favoring his left side. Rushing to his right, he ducked under Lamech's sword and grabbed him by the left shoulder. Vaulting over him, Lamech grunted in pain before William hit him in the back. The blade of the blow nearly jarred his sword from him, but Lamech fell to one knee. William raised his sword to strike again, but a fist from Lamech got him in the gut. He staggered back, spitting out blood and feeling in agony. Lamech stood up as William readied to strike again.
Then Lamech fell to one knee, coughing up his own blood. He seemed unable to continue, and William stepped back to let him rise.
He would not strike a helpless opponent.
Gasping for air, William saw Amenos standing up, fainting with weariness. Then Lamech grasped a stone, and William ducked. It shot past where his head had been as Lamech roared and attacked. His sword now burned with an unholy flame as lightning surrounded the sky. Yet the lightning reflected off the Black Sword. As it shone, it illuminated the world for a single instant.
Now they saw it, a desolate and terrible wasteland of destruction. And Thrakmul no longer seemed the horror. The old ways of evil were done, and those who sought to resurrect them would fail. There would be struggles and battles. But the world would pass into greater enlightenment. A world where the old things were restored. But without the corruption that destroyed them.
A new and decent place where strangers could be treated with kindness and without fear.
Lamech thought it fit only for death.
William saw a new beginning.
Both charged toward one another, and their swords clashed. Hellfire met heaven's light, meeting on strength and strength. Straining against one another, William could feel the stones way beneath Lamech's might. Yet Lamech could not feel it in his armor. As he stepped forward, William fell to one knee so that his enemy stumbled and fell to the ground.
Lamech rose up, blade striking, but now William held the high ground and disarmed him with a riposte. Another stroke sent him onto his back, his armor cracking.
No more chances. William saw before him the manifestation of everything wrong with this world. It would not happen again.
"You die today, Blackguard," said William.
And he raised his sword to plunge the blade in through his faceplate. Even as he did, however, William screamed. A power surged down, and he felt agony in his flesh, covering his body. His limbs went weak, he couldn't breathe, and his vision was fading save for Lamech. No matter how he gasped, the air was not coming in fast. His heart was beating like a drum, and his vision blurred.
"Yes," said Lamech in dark joy. "You feel it, don't you?
"All those plagues you've been wiping out. All in the domain of Laevian. Did you think there wouldn't be any payment for it?" And he snatched his sword and rose. "It's ironic, you spend all this time putting the God Triumvirate back in power.
"And the first thing they do is let Laevian wipe you off the map."
William could hardly speak or breathe. He fought to heal the infection and diseases coursing through him. They became worse and worse by the moment and nothing he could stop it. "...You exaggerate."
"This is where you fall, Paladin!" roared Lamech. He raised his sword to stab him in the heart.
William mustered all his power and rolled aside while screaming in agony. Lamech's stroke stabbed deep into the stone; however, he could not draw it out. And as he was marveling at what he had done, William scrambled up. Then, rising, he smote him on the head and then the shoulder and hit him repeatedly. Every blow was like a thousand weary steps as he forced him away from his sword and toward the ledge.
But Lamech grabbed his hand and shook the blade from it. Then, snatching him by the cloak, he pulled him around to dangle over the edge.
"I will be the successor to Melchious!" said Lamech. "And you will be the first of many worthy opponents to die!" And he reached for William's throat.
He had only a moment before dark fingers closed around his throat.
So he snatched the claps of his cloak, loosened it, and slipped through. Catching himself on the ledge, Lamech looked down in surprise. William grabbed Lamech by the belt and pulled him forward. As he did, Lamech screamed in rage and pulled over the edge while William went up.
But Lamech grasped him by the leg and nearly pulled him down. Amenos grabbed William's arm, even as Lamech tried to scale up over him. Snatching up his sword, William swung with all his might. Unfortunately, the first blow cut straight into the steel.
"I've had enough of this journey!!" roared William, striking him again. "Die and be forgotten!!"
And he hit Lamech a final time. The Blackguard howled as his grip was loosed. He slipped from the cliffs, fell toward the raging seas below, and landed between the rocks. A great wave of water splashed away around him as William dangled. As thunder roared, William knew his armor would drown him. And you could not shed it so quickly. Yet even as he thought this, William saw what might have been an armored hand climbing up one of the rocks. Pulling itself up, Lamech emerged onto the stones, his every move in agony. So now he stood in the rain, shipwrecked on rocks alone.
From the failing darkness came a swift vessel, crewed by a minotaur and his men who came to him. So Lamech bartered passage with them and sold out his friends for means to survive. William stared at the unfairness of it. But he was nearly slipping himself, desperately trying to scale up. Then, a pair of hands caught him and pulled him up. A cloak was put around him, and William saw Amenos near him.
"Thank you, Amenos," said William.
"Well, you did most of the fighting thus far," said Amenos. "Let's see about this Princess of yours."
So they headed toward the only shelter they could see. And Old Mill of strange architecture, near the broken ruins of what had once been a good land.
The light began to break in the heavens above. But the rain continued for a time.