1

The environment changed in a hurry. The soft muddy ground solidified, and returned to stone and mortar. The wide open space soon developed walls and shrunk to a normal thirty meter by twenty-five meter room. The distant sky lowered until it became a stone ceiling. The mist faded and the light settled more to normal illumination for torches. Soon, the only legacies of my epic battle were my injuries and the granite stone with my name. Obeying impulse, I limped over and picked the, headstone, I guess you'd call it, up. 'Strange.' The rock seemed not as large as I remembered. In fact the piece of granite could fit in my pocket, so that's where it went. I scratched at my belly and walked to the nearest wall, looking for a way out.

2

I found Lady Orwen at last. Even languishing in a filthy cell, dirty, with her hair matted and tangled and wearing a simple burlap shift, she still appeared regal.

"Greetings, Your Highness," I said with a grin as I peered through the bars at her.

She leaped to her feet, an expression of shock on her face. "Carter, is that really you? I'm not imaging your presence, am I?"

I laughed. "No. I am indeed here, Your Majesty."

Disbelief written on her face, she reached through the iron bars of her cell and touched my cheek with a rough, dirty palm. "Oh, thank Kellün! I thought I would never be freed from this infernal prison!"

"Hold on, Your Majesty. You aren't free yet. I need to find a key to the lock."

I first examined the bars, and discovered them to be dark with oil and whole. I wouldn't be freeing her the same way I had myself. I searched around the chamber. I spotted an old wooden desk, a bookshelf and a chair. A few dusty tomes on the top the bookstand, a set of silver goblets and four silver candelabras rested on the next shelf, the third shelf had a wicker basket with a couple of rolls, a sprig of some brown grass-like substance and two large grey eggs within and the bottom shelf had a collection of ceramic dinnerware, a small chest and a stack of silver coins. The whole arrangement had me think about the videogame company Bethesda Softworks for some reason, but I couldn't think of why. The desk had a silver plate, fork and a knife. The plate had an apple and a loaf of bread on it. 'Bread, and an apple are going to be eaten with a knife and fork? What the actual fuck?!' I shook my head and searched a bit further. Against the wall, behind the desk, sat an oak chest about two meters wide by one meter thick, and eighteen centimeters high. I went to my knees before the trunk, looking it over with care.

"What are you doing, Carter?"

"I'm checking for traps, Lady Orwen."

"Be careful."

I didn't need her to tell me that. Playing BattleHammer with Anderson's sadistic style had long ago trained me to be careful with opening strange boxes. I didn't find anything, so I tried to open the chest. Of course, the thing was locked. I peered closer, paying more attention to the joints and rim of the lid than I had before. I discovered that the lid didn't form a close seal; a two centimeter gap appeared near the hinges. I drew my sword and used it to move the chest with care away from the wall. I tensed, ready to leap away the moment something clicked. Fortune sat on my shoulder: the chest slid away from the wall without incident.

I soon had the knife in the crack and wiggling up and down. All I succeeded in doing was breaking the blade. I yelled in frustration, and hurled the broken utensil which lodged in the side of the bookshelf.

"I couldn't do that again if I tried," I said to no one in particular.

Lady Orwen laughed. "You doubt yourself too much, Carter."

I tossed a grin her way, then turned back to the chest. I decided to try to shove my sword into the gap. The tip of the sword slid in with no problem. I tried to push it in further, but nothing happened. I hit the pommel of the sword with the palm of my hand which drove the blade in another half-inch, wedging it in. I tried wiggling the sword, nothing, I tried pulling it back out, still nothing. I tried pushing the sword further into the crack: same results. I got mad, stood up and stomped on the blade. The lid broke free of its hinges, the sword bent and I now had a stinging foot to go with my bruised shin.

The contents of the chest caused me to forget about my pain. Inside sat a two foot flanged mace, three vials of a tan liquid, a purse of coins and a set of lock picks. The purse went into my pocket along with the lock picks. I approached Lady Orwen's cell with the mace and the vials. I wanted her opinion on what the tan liquid might be.

"Your Highness, do you have any idea as to what these might be?" I asked, holding out the vials of liquid.

"By Kellün's eyes, it's alchemical fire! That is a rare and deadly substance, Carter."

'Oh, yeah, this is the BattleHammer version of white phosphorous.'

"Doesn't it ignite when exposed to the air?" I asked.

"Yes. The fire created is so potent, water cannot extinguish it."

'Yep. White phosphorous.'

"We'll use this on the lock if this mace doesn't do the trick," I said. "Unless you know how to use these."

I held up the set of lock picks. Lady Orwen reached through the bars, plucked the picks from my fingers, inserted one into the lock, gave a quick twist and swung the door open. She then dropped the lock picks back into my hand. "No," she said in a cheerful and relaxed voice. "Not a clue."

I guffawed. "Excellent, Your Majesty. Do you mind if I hold on to the mace until we are able to locate another sword?"

"Give me the alchemical fire and we have a deal."

I handed her the three vials and we headed back to the elevator. "Your Majesty, why did you not call on Azriel to free you?"

"I cannot call on him to aid myself. Only others," she said without embellishment.

"That's harsh."

Lady Orwen smiled. "Not at all. One of Kellün's tenants is that one should help themselves before seeking aid."

"Hunh. Still strikes me as pretty harsh, but okay."

We soon made it to the elevator. I slid the grate back and we stepped on. I pushed the control lever forward and we began to rise. 'Odd we haven't encountered anything since I freed Adora.' No sooner than I had this thought, the corridors began to fill with the sound of something immense growling. 'This isn't going to be pretty.' As the elevator rose further, the growls grew louder. The beast sounded hungry.

"Any ideas as to what this thing might be, Your Highness?"

"Sounds like a Lyxo demon," Adora said.

"Ominous. What is a Lyxo demon?"

"They are hard to describe. Each one looks different, yet they all sound the same."

My left eyebrow went up. Incredulity filled my voice. "And how is that?"

She smiled at the quirked eyebrow. "They each have three heads."

'Great. Just what I needed to hear about: a three headed demon waiting on the other side of the elevator grate, ready to snack on us.' "Your Highness, how disappointed in me would you be if I told you I did not want to get off this elevator?"

"Truthful answer? Pretty disappointed. But I wouldn't be too surprised."

I nodded as I slid the grate open. "I figured as much. Stay here."

"Where are you going?" Adora asked.

"To clear a demon from our path," I said as if discussing the weather.

3

I moved away from the elevator and into a shadowy hallway. The growling ceased as soon as I had stepped off. The silence was oppressive and heavy. 'The demon is stalking me.' I moved with as much quiet and caution as possible. My mouth was open wide to minimize the sound of my breathing; my steps ginger and as light as feasible. My strained ears detected no noise at all. It didn't help that my heart was racing in my ears. I got closer to the opening the light came from. The hallway hadn't brightened as much as I had thought it would.

'Oh. That's why.'

4

The Lyxo demon crouched above the doorway, its three wolf heads turned to look at me. It had the huge upper torso of a wolf and the lower body of an enormous spider. When the demon saw I was aware of it, it growled which sounded like someone blowing bubbles into a thick stew and then amplified twenty times. The fiend showed me three sets of huge, yellow saliva covered fangs, then leaped at me. I dove under the monster and rolled to my feet, spinning back to face the Lyxo in time to spot the middle head's upper lip shiver up into a snarl, then spit a line of greenish webbing at me. Dodging to my right made the demon squeal at me. The piercing noise went right through my ears and rattled around in my brain. I wiped tears of pain away and the demon charged at me.

This time, rather than dodging, I charged as well, readying my mace at the same time, prepared to slam the heavy weapon against one of the demon's heads. That would have worked to perfection, except the damned thing swatted me with one of its forelegs. I flew across the room, slammed into a wall, and slumped to the ground, a little dazed yet somehow holding onto the mace. I came upright in time to see the Lyxo flying through the air at me. I brought the mace up and into its chest with both hands. Its pounce of victory turned into an ungainly splash attack which smashed me against the wall while hairy spider legs squirmed over me. The Lyxo squealed and mewled as it attempted to get its limbs back under its control. 'Three pounds of steel slamming into its sternum must have scrambled its central nervous system.' I fought my way out, and had almost gotten all the way free when one of the demon's flailing limbs crashed my head into the wall. I blacked out for a few seconds, but came to again when I smelled burning demon flesh. 'Oh my god, that's putrid!'

The Lyxo demon was focused on Lady Adora Orwen who had ignored my advice and came to my rescue, herding her back into a corner of the room, swatting at her with alternating forelegs and snapping at her with all three wolf heads. Brown flames licked along its back. I bellowed a battle cry and leaped to the attack, mace gripped in both hands. The demon never looked around at me, just thrust its rear most left leg in my direction and bulls-eyed my family jewels. A brilliant white light flashed behind my eyes, all the air left my lungs in a rush and nausea swept through my body. I collapsed to the ground, holding my damaged parts. My stomach ached as I struggled not to puke my guts up. I was lost in my own world of agony until Adora's scream of terror cut through the clamor in my head.

I rose wobbly to my feet and cast around for the flanged mace, fining it not far from me. I bent to lift the weapon, feeling as if my intestines were filled with sharp rusty nails poking them with every breath. I hefted the mace and swung it with all the force I could muster. In my condition, it wasn't much. I got lucky and the three pound weapon found a sensitive part of the Lyxo demon to collide with. The demon let out an ungodly yowl and whipped around to face its tormentor: me. The beast did its damnedest to chomp on my body, leaving me to backpedal like mad. In my fright, I forgot all about the flanged mace in my hand.

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In my peripheral vision, Adora wound up and threw one of her remaining vials of alchemical fire at the Lyxo demon's head. The glass tube crashed right in the center of its middle skull and exploded into flame. She could have pitched for the Baltimore Orioles. The demon screamed in pain and panic as its head burned. I stepped up and began to hammer at its legs as the monster whirled in circles, panicked. The Lyxo spotted me through what must have been a haze of pain and lunged, all three sets of jaws opened wide. The last vial flew through the air as I swung for the fiend's left most skull. The timing couldn't have been more perfect: the last vial entered its mouth just as my mace slammed against the bottom of its jaw. The teeth of the left most head crushed the vial as they broke.

The Lyxo roared in pain as the alchemical fire in its mouth and throat burst into flame. Burning demon flesh fell in chunks around me. The stench was almost overwhelming. The Daemon slumped to the floor, defeated. I stood, bent by the weight of the mace and the spent adrenaline of the battle. The mace got snatched from my hand as the demon snarled once more.

"AZRIEL, LEND ME YOUR STRENGTH!" Adora bellowed as she slammed the flanged mace onto the top of the remaining head of the Lyxo demon.

The head of the mace glowed white just as it smashed in the demon's skull. Black ichor splashed up into the air and fell on the two of us. The demon's legs gave one final twitch and were still. Lady Orwen dropped the mace with a hiss of pain. To my surprise, the weapon smoked a bit. Adora had her fist clenched tight. I took her wrist in my hand and was gentle when I opened hers which was red and blistered.

"By all the hells," I whispered, "What happened to your hand?"

"I channeled Azriel's power through the mace."

I remembered what had happened in her father's throne room when she summoned the angel to battle the Crimson Walker and grinned at her. "Well, at least you aren't naked."

She gave me a weird look. "What are you talking about?"

"When you summoned Azriel to battle the Crimson Walker, the power burned off all your clothes."

"Crimson Walker? They only exist in legend."

"They are quite real. I've seen one. You did, too. You summoned Azriel."

"I've never summoned Azriel. How did you even know I could?"

"I've seen it." I told her everything that had happened with the Crimson Walker.

"Carter, that's impossible. I was captured by Belial soon after we met."

"How soon?" I said.

"Right after Mordecai and I left you watching the soldiers training."

"But, that's—"

'Carter, have you rescued the princess yet?' Weijia sent.

'Yes. I'm speaking with her now.'

'Good. Get yourself to the throne room now! I need your help!'

"Your highness, our memory differences will have to wait. I have friends near Belial's throne room that need our aid. Are you ready?"

"Of course."

5

The throne room was opulent, yet macabre. The walls were worked stone, etched with skillful images of dwarves. The floor was worked to a mirror-like sheen and had a thick, plush carpet that created a path from the elaborate doors Adora and I had just walked through to a large throne. The ceiling had bas relief sculptures of Morgrid and what I assumed were other dwarf gods. Filth was everywhere and on everything, evidence of demonic occupation. We approached the area where the throne was and I was brought up short by what I discovered. The throne wasn't a normal big chair. This was a lot more grotesque, made from bones and body parts. A few decaying remnants gave evidence the construction was an ongoing project.

A commotion to the side of the throne caught my attention. Weijia and Adora were struggling with Durrgedenn, trying to keep him from tearing at his beard. I looked to figure out what had set him off and had to fight my gorge back down. Three dwarves hung from the wall. They were dead, but it was evident they had died in a horrible way. Blood and shreds of skin lay on the floor beneath the bodies. I guessed they were his children.

"Let him grieve," I commanded.

The women stopped and turned to me, shocked at my tone. The sounds of my friend's grief gave me chills. Weijia and Adora came up to me. They spoke in low voices.

"Carter, we should stop him from harming himself," Adora said.

"Now isn't the time to be losing our minds," Weijia said.

"He needs time to grieve for his children. We will allow that," I said.

The women were aghast.

"Those were his children?" Adora asked.

"How do you know?" Weijia asked, puzzled.

"When a dwarf tears his beard out like that, it is because of a terrible heartache," I said.

"Have you spent a lot of time among the dwarves since I saw you last?" Adora asked.

"No. Let's go to the tower. I want to check something."

6

We made it to the top of the tower without incident. The room we were in was just beneath the roof and was circular in nature. Based on the glass ceiling of the room, I assumed it had been designed as an observatory. I walked over to a large window in the wall and looked through the glass which offered a wonderful panoramic view of the dawn. The countryside came into sight as the sun rose higher in the sky. Soon, I was able to spot the army that had followed us from Glitterhame. The dwarves, Snebbli, elves and humans looked pretty sharp in their polished dwarf craft armor. Sunlight glimmered and sparkled from their armor and shields. Pennants snapped and waved, proud in the early morning breeze.

Like a dark tsunami, a horde of demons swarmed out of the trees and tore into the unsuspecting army before it. The men and women who had accompanied us fought with courage, but it was to no avail. They were outnumbered and caught off guard. Within minutes, our army was slaughtered to a man.

Belial strode to the front of the demonic horde and bellowed in triumph at us. I had no doubt he could perceive us with ease where we stood. His horde consisted of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of demons and monsters.

I turned to my companions and perceived they were already looking to me. Both women had scared and worried looks on their faces. I knew neither wanted to be captured by Belial again. I sighed.

"We're gonna need some allies."

"Yes we are," Lady Orwen said.

I kept my eyes on the horde of demons for a few moments longer then turned to the women. "We have to get out of here. Let's collect Durrgedenn and try to sneak out."

"Good idea, Carter."

7

As we raced through the hallways, back to Durrgedenn's secret entrance, a metallic gleam from behind a door caught my eye. I stumbled to a halt, then jogged back, escape slipping from my mind. I felt as if something called to me. The plain stone door was only closed a little. I pushed it the rest of the way open, dislodging a cloud of dust, and entered the room.

Light came from what appeared to be a pool of liquid gold, revealing the chamber to be a plain stone room. Dust coated the floor. No one had been in here for an age. The ceiling was only a few inches above my head, the walls within reach of my outstretched arms. The size of the room reminded me of the third floor bathroom back home. The unexpected memory sent a pang of homesickness through me. It had been so long since I had thought of home, my cheeks burned. 'What must have been going through my mother's mind? Did she think I'd been kidnapped, or that I'd run away? How was she coping with my absence?'

I blinked and a golden being was before me. The lower part of his body flowed into the pool of gold. Waves of the glowing metal cascaded over his rough features. "Hello, Carter. You have questions," he said.

"How do you know my name, or that I have questions?"

"This is my nature."

"Your nature is to know my name and that I have questions?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because this is how I was made."

"What is your purpose?" I said, growing frustrated .

"My purpose is to know."

"Son of a bitch." I groaned. The golden being just watched. At least, I think he did. He possessed no eyes, so I couldn't tell for certain. Running my fingers through my hair, I sighed. The others must not have noticed I was no longer with them. I heard nothing from them. "Tell me what you know of my questions."

The golden being raised an arm. A curtain of gold streamed down. The glow brightened, then became white. A moment later, my mother, sleeping in her bed, flashed before my eyes. She looked so peaceful. According to her alarm clock next to her bed, it was still the same night I had left. My forehead wrinkled.

"That's not possible."

The scene became of myself and Dearbhaile. She was tugging on my arm as I pulled at something on the ground. A light flashed and we were thrown. A clock was shown with the hands going counter-wise. A calendar was superimposed over the clock face, days ticking backwards. I counted, wanting to know how much time reversed. To my surprise, sixty days ticked back. Before I could ask what it meant, the inside of a bedchamber appeared. Lady Orwen was readying herself for bed. Unknown to her, Mordecai was watching her preparations. Lucas Rumpff's face appeared, superimposed over the whole scene. He was laughing, triumphant.

The images faded from view, leaving me staring at the gold curtain dripping from the arm of the being in the pool. I blinked then shook my head.

"How did you do that?" I asked.

"This is my nature."

"What else can you show me?"

"One other thing."

This time, the other arm was raised. The light that appeared was green. I spotted a man with long, dark hair. He was broad shouldered and clad in a form-fitting and silvery, purple-green armor. A head band of the same color crossed his forehead. Another man came up beside him and clasped the first in an embrace. This newcomer was clad in brown leather. He had sable hair and a mischievous glint in his hazel eyes. Seconds later, a woman in a white costume, with glowing sapphire eyes and a lean male clad in a black armored suit appeared. They greeted the other men with hugs and backslaps. A young woman with curly brown hair strode up and kissed the big guy in metal armor on both of his cheeks. I couldn't hear any words the group spoke, but the girl calling the big guy, "Carter," was as plain as day.

The scene shifted, showing the outside of a crimson stoned tower. What appeared to be the Grim Reaper stood in front of the edifice. Lucas Rumpff stood next to him. All too soon, this imagery faded. As it did, Mordecai's voice came through, clear as crystal.

"Soon, all will be ready, my lord." Somehow, I knew he wasn't talking to me.

I turned my attention back to the golden being. "How do you know this?"

"This is my purpose," came the stock response.

Fuck. "What are you?"

"The Seer."

"What do you see?"

"Questions and answers."

This was getting frustrating. I hated not getting straight answers.

"Ask your questions the proper way, Carter."

Great. A huge demonic army has annihilated the company of dwarves, Elven, Snebbli and humans that had accompanied me to rescue Lady Orwen from the clutches of Belial, the son of Lucien the Demon King, and this being formed of liquid gold decided to get snarky with me. I paused to get my breathing and irritation under control. "Where did you come from, Seer?"

"I was created by the ancestors of Durrgedenn Silverhame."

"Why?"

"They required answers."

"Tell me your story. The short version. I don't have much time."

The golden being paused as if surprised. I guess no one asked for his story before. After a few minutes, he told me his story.

"Four thousand years ago, a war between gods was fought. Chokkan, Kandel Orwen and Briggen Silverhame lead their armies against Lucien and Samhain. The fighting became so devastating to the Realm, the Walker of Worlds intervened. However, even he was stymied because of a traitor within their midst.

"The wisest dwarven sages of the time came up with a plan to discover the traitor. The leader volunteered himself to be the focal point and I came to be."

'Something new.' I found myself with even more questions than before. "Who was this traitor?"

"A human telepath."

"Name him."

"I have been commanded to forget the name."

I felt my brow furrowing. "By who?"

"I do not remember."

My left eyebrow shot up. The telepath must have been the one who commanded the Seer to forget. Before I could ask him further questions, a hollow boom echoed through the clan hold and dust sifted from the ceiling and before my eyes. I had run out of time.

8

I ran from the room, debris falling from the ceiling as another resounding boom shook the fortress. I encountered Lady Orwen running towards me. I shook my head before she could ask me any questions. She skidded to a stop and hurried after me. I felt her warm hand take my icy one. The images I'd seen flickered through my mind as the two of us raced to catch up with Durrgedenn and Weijia.

They strained to open the heavy door, and I decided not to slow. Adora's feet kept perfect time with me, as she too, must have decided not to slow. Durrgedenn glanced over his shoulder in time to spot first me, and then the Princess, as we slammed into the heavy portal. The sudden impact knocked the air from my chest, but I continued to push at the door, and soon we made it out. The stone slab closed behind us with an echoing thud.

The four of us pounded down the dirt tunnel, swinging through twists and turns until we at last drew to a halt at the bottom of the ladder which lead to the surface. We leaned over to catch our breath. Durrgedenn slumped against the bottommost rung of the ladder, his face streaked with tear tracks, his beard, missing swatches. Trickles of blood oozed from the raw places where he'd torn his facial hair out. Lady Orwen slid down the wall to sit with her head resting on her knees. Weijia bent at the waist, her hands on her mid-thighs. I squatted, my hands resting on top of my head. Sweat rolled down my cheeks as I tried to slow my breathing.

A few minutes later, I rose, and beckoned for the others to come upright as well. "We can't rest for long. We need to find some allies, and avenge our fallen."

"Avenge? Have you become a Dwarf, then?"

"No, Your Highness. I've always been a believer in vengeance. I never had cause for such before."

Lady Orwen's cute nose wrinkled. "Always?"

I nodded. "Indeed. I think the belief stems from my childhood."

"Would you speak more of this?" She leaned forward.

"Perhaps later, Milady. As I said earlier, we can't stop for long." I glanced to Durrgedenn. "You should take the lead. You're stronger than me, so you'll be able to better aid the ladies."

Weijia cleared her throat. "Are you forgetting that I am half dragon, Carter? I think I'm stronger than the Dwarf."

Durrgedenn straightened, ready to object.

"Any other time, I might agree with you, Weijia. However, his body has not been tortured for the last few months. I don't want to risk your safety, nor that of anyone else if you're not all the way healed. Alright?"

"No. I can fight, Carter. Let me."

"Don't argue with me. This is a command decision. You elected to follow me, remember?"

"Yes."

"Good. I don't think less of you for what you went through." I tapped my collar. "I went through the same thing."

Lady Orwen came over and examined it. "Carter, what is this?"

"A shock collar, placed on me by L'Arc demons and used to control and punish me."

"Why isn't it being used now?"

"I don't know. I'm worried. Belial is up to something, but I don't know what."

"Odds are, he's tracking you," Durrgedenn growled.

"Comforting thought."

"Why didn't you mention it before?" Lady Orwen's voice was stern.

"No time. Big demon, and other things, remember?"

Durrgedenn snorted laughter at my words, turned, and scrambled up the ladder. I scratched at the pink moss on my belly.