Chapter 48
Mikel flipped to the back of the notebook and began to read.
“Twelfth of Bescart – The rains have left and our land is now dry. It has been over three months since I was diagnosed with The Rot and the signs are now visible on my body. I've lost feeling in much of my right arm and piece by piece my body is shutting down. Both the Doctors and Mages agree I have less time than originally thought – and now, all hope seems lost on the Panacea. Sylix worked her wonders once again and found a hidden crypt within the cemetery which wasn't a crypt. It was a staircase descending into the earth for hundreds of feet. Within I found a reliquary and a message written by Mistar Raithson – the last Paladin in our families line and the man who took the Panacea from this place to Helgate and the realms within – his aim not far off from my own, although a bit grander in scope and scale.”
“He went to 'cure' the Hel Realms and meant to use the Panacea as the balm to enact the great change he sought - to put a stop to the endless flood of evil erupting from the gates torn into our realm. The note he left, in the place of the Panacea, was brief and crumbled into fragments as soon as we exposed it to open air above the crypt. I was lucky to have read it in a moment of clarity and retained most of the information. The gist of the note was that he'd taken the Panacea, and taken a party of fellow Paladins to Helgate and that he meant to return once the corruption of the realms had been purged. Knowing our family's history, we see that Mistar did not return from his adventure and he, along with his party and the Panacea were considered lost while storming HelGate. No other news of him or his party exists – and thus the Panacea passed from our shared knowledge and into legend.”
Mikel regarded the final page a moment longer before snapping the book shut and winding the leather strap back around it.
“So, we've got to get to the HelGate to find the Panacea. I'm hoping once we've gained access to the first door we'll be able to pick up on Mistar's holy Essentia signal.”
“Pick up on it?” Helsket scoffed, “It's been nearly five hundred years since Mistar vanished – you're hoping we'll be able to track something like that?”
“In a corrupted place like Helgate? I'd bet my life that his holy magic persisted in some form or another and we can track it further into the realms and find his resting place.”
“And if he never made it to HelGate? The world was much more dangerous five hundred years ago – even a legendary paladin like your ancestor could suffer a grim fate simply by stepping into the wrong bog – for all we know he wasn't lost as the histories say, but was sucked into quicksand and dragged to the bottom of a swamp by his heavy plate armor.”
“I’d wager my life he made it to Helgate and found his doom within,” Mikel said quietly, “I'll wager everything I have to find out what happened to Mistar and to find the Panacea.”
A long time passed then, as the sun climbed hot and heavy into the sky, boiling the mist from the land and trapping all below in a skein of dull misery as the heat and humidity settled onto their skin and suffocated the pouring sweat out of them.
Helsket broke the silence as Mikel moved to stash the now hot leather book, within his bag.
“And other's lives as well?”
“Only if they volunteer,” Mikel said, “I'd never lie to anyone about this mission.”
“It sounds more and more like a suicide mission to me,” Helsket said, scratching the side of his nose, “Mistar was a storied warrior and someone who wouldn’t fall without a fight… Despite what I just said, I do believe he probably made it to HelGate. But that begets many more questions than answers! If he did make it with the Panacea, why are the Hel Realms still active? Why didn’t he return? What was the purpose of the whole adventure if it accomplished nothing? Maybe, just maybe the Panacea didn’t work as advertised, and he gained entry to a Hel Realm, only to have it collapse on him and swallow him and his party. Bah,” Helsket spat to the side and wiped his brow which bore a thick skein of sweat, “I hate magic and Essentia. Wizards bull crap.”
Mikel smiled and sighed in agreement.
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“This is a fool’s errand. You know that, right?” Helsket locked eyes with Mikel and Mikel felt the deep concern the older man held.
“Are... you still with me?”
Helsket shifted and scowled at Mikel, “Don't insult me, boy, of course, I'm with you. I wouldn't let you walk into the maw of Hel alone. Like I said - I’ll ensure you have a party that’ll keep you safe. Calcifer is a good start. I wouldn’t be a real man if I let you wander in there alone - What kind of Retainer would I be if I let that happen?”
“You'd be a devested retainer,” Mikel said with a grim smile, shifting his gaze, “You'd be a sane man who has no attachment to a corpse-king, riddled with Rot and settled on a throne of sallow wood.”
“My oh my, the years with your father have taken a toll,” Helsket said with a whistle, “I would never dream of letting you walk into Hel without backup. And that's not even as a retainer – that's as a warrior with honor and a man. You sound like a half-sotted poet - you don’t stand a chance without me.”
Mikel’s gaze remained on the ground, “We need more help. A tracker, a mage, and another warrior. I'm alright with a spear or sword, but I'm no battle-hardened soldier, like you or any of the others.”
“I'd agree, and add a bowman. There's no telling when you need someone who'd got a good eye and a strong bow arm. If we find the twins, and they agree to go with you, you’ll be in good company.”
Mikel was not unaware Helsket had, with consistency, maintained he would only help Mikel find people, but not to go with them.
“So, you think there's a chance?”
Helsket nodded after considering, “There's a chance. There’s a chance you’ll get there, that's for sure. And your plan ain't half bad, tell you the truth. Hel of a lot better than some of the half-baked schemes your father drug us into. He barely thought beyond drinking at night in some run-down tavern!”
For the first time in a while, Mikel smiled and nodded. His heart swelled at hearing, even a brief snippet, about his father and his past adventures. He’d been raised on tales like the one Helsket had touched on, but it had been a long while since anyone had brought up a tale of the past without a bitter note in their voices.
“Then it's decided. We'll head north to Stennin and see if we can pick up Calcifer's trail. After that – we can find Sylix if we're lucky.”
“With how angry she was after I last saw her, I think finding her might be the unlucky outcome.”
“Be that as it may – we need to find her or someone like her to track Mistar's Essentia signature through Helgate. I know of no other mage of her caliber. Do you?”
Helsket shook his head, “No, I don't. But, if we're to be off we should get going before the sun gets too high. If we're lucky we can make it a bit further than ten miles today, which would put us about a third of the way to Stennin. If we press we can be there by the weekend. I’ll warn you though - the way there isn’t easy, especially at the pace we’re going to be keeping. There are things which… Are better left alone on the way - and we’ll be passing through a Sunken Folk City. If we’re lucky we can time it to pass through when things are… Quiet, but until we get there we won’t know what we’re up against.”
Something prickled the back of Mikel’s mind and he shifted before speaking, “Is that… something bad? That we’re passing through a Sunken Folk ruin? I thought these days they were little more than dusty relics of an age gone past long ago. Is there anything I should be aware of before we get there? You and Telgil spoke of Tar’Xet as if it were still a living city instead of a dead husk. Can you explain that?”
Helsket waved off the concern-filled inquiry, “Nothing we can’t handle. A few minor beasties that come out after dark. We’ll be safe - thanks again to your father, I’ve spent more than my fair share of time in those cursed places, and I’ve gotten decent at avoiding anything too dangerous.”
Mikel nodded, “Anything else you can think of?”
“Aside from bandits, monsters, or just plain bad luck on the road? Nothing at all.”
“The assssins?” Mikel asked as a shadow passed over his face, “Any idea if they’ll attack us again.”
Helsket shifted, “They will. I’m sure of that - They’ll try before we get to Kar’Xet if they can, within the city if they can’t catch us outside. Once we’re through and on the way to Stennin their chances slip to almost nothing as regular patrols venture out from the city. Once we’re in Stennin they won’t have a chance - Cal will tuck us within the library and won’t let us go. They’ll attack us again, and it’ll be before we reach Kar’Xet - if not within the ancient city itself. You can bet on it”
Mikel considered what Helsket had just told him - Some large part of himself had hoped the assassins would drop off after they failed. That was… Just a dream and he realized that as The Callisto Jewel shivered against his chest.
How could he forget about The Jewel?
Of course, the assassins would attack again - they could only be after one thing… How hadn’t he seen that before?
He clasped The Jewel through his shirt and sighed again - trying to muster up the strength to stand. He felt better after food, but there was still a long way to go. Longer if they stayed on the path to make better time.
“Then we're decided,” Mikel said as he stood and dusted off his pants before stuffing the rest of the things he'd taken out of his bag, back inside. He took great care with the maps and the copy of the journal. They were all keys to their mission's success. “We're off to Stennin and, once we find Calcifer, we find Sylix and then to HelGate.”
“Aye, then to HelGate.”
Helsket sounded less than enthused as he began to pick his kit back up and tuck it away in his pack.
Mikel didn’t have to ask to hear the discordant note in his friend's voice. The business of the assassins had unsettled him - not to mention the madness of The Time Demon’s return.