Road to Obern
Road to Obern
You approach Darwin 'Shila tells me that you have an interesting
story to tell.' you say quickly, before you can change your mind.
Darwin looks at you, somewhat surprised. He looks back toward
Shila, who smiles reassuringly. Turning back to you, he replies
'If you would hear it, I would be willing to share it.'
He pauses, taking a deep breath, before continuing. 'It was about
a month and a half ago. I am originally from Obern, and my brother
and his wife resided in Lein. I received a message from him one
evening - apparently he had struck upon some scheme to bring
wealth to himself. He wanted to see me the next day. I thought
that I would go, if to do nothing but attempt to talk him out of his
idea. It was not the first time that he had attempted such a thing.
The year before, I had to rescue him and his wife, Beth, from the
High Barrier. He believed there were riches there, protected by some
demon. He didn't find either one, luckily. Sean, you see, has many
skills. He practices magic, as well as the sword. He has never been
able to keep a job for long...' Darwin shakes his head and sighs.
'At any rate, I made arrangements to travel to Lein the next morning,
and I arrived there that afternoon. My brother was waiting eagerly
for me in his home, and he could barely contain his excitment.
He spilled out his plan in one rush, expecting me to be as enthusiastic
as he was about his idea.
'His idea was to loot the Onyx tower.'
You stand and stare at Darwin, almost stopping in your tracks. Shila
runs into you from behind. 'Excuse me.' she says politely, smiling
back at you as she walks around. She is obviously enjoying
your shock.
Darwin continues his story. 'Of course, I tried to talk him out of it, but
he was adamant. His first mistake was to discount the stories of the
tower as 'meaningless superstition'. The next was his assumption
that the bracelet he wore that allowed him to pass through the High
Barrier would also protect him against any other sort of evil that
he might encounter. I could not dissuade him, and Beth was not
going to put up any resistance to his ideas - she never did. So I went
with him on his quest. I am - was - a user of magic, and it was my
hope that, along the way, I could talk him out of his foolish ideas.
I should have known better.
'We arrived at the tower late the next day. If you have ever been
there, you know what it looks like. It lies surrounded by the grasslands, but nothing
grows within yards of the structure. I knew, the instant I laid eyes
on it, that it was lunacy to even attempt what Sean suggested.
'Sean was not going to give up his goal, especially now that he
was so close. Even Beth seemed reluctant to follow him into the
barren zone around the tower. He ran forward, with us trailing
after him. The strangest thing happened, right before he reached
the door. I felt it. The Onyx was reaching out, trying to
drive us to the tower. I didn't know that at the time, however. All
I knew was that there was something of immense power confined
within that building, and my brother was about to set it free.
'It finally seemed to hit him when he placed his hand on the lever
that would open the massive door and damn us all. He looked back
at us, as though he had just come back to his senses. I took a step
forward, and it was then that the entity within the tower reached out.
The Onyx was sealed within that tower, and it could not escape, but
it could extend its will to a certain extent. It did so then - The magic
within me responded, but not quickly enough to save Sean. His
eyes glazed over, and before any of us could react, he had pushed
the lever. The doors to the tower swung open...'
Darwin stops for a moment. 'I do not know what happened to the
others. The last thing I saw was the doors opening. Then my sight
was taken from me, and I was fleeing. I don't know how far I ran,
waging my own inner war against the invader. My magic, which
had already been ready, was trying to ward off the Onyx to no avail.
It was my will, I believe, that eventually forced it into a submissive
state. I am in control of my destiny, for now. Occasionally, the Onyx
attempts to wrest control, but I do not allow it to do so. My brother
is entirely in thrall to it, and has been gathering people to him in order
to march once more on the people of this world.'
Darwin shakes his head. 'That is the story that your associate' he
smiles once more in Shila's direction 'found so compelling .'
You can't think of an appropriate response, but Darwin doesn't seem
to want one. He returns his attention to the horizon as you continue
on to Obern.
You continue your march
Home
This page hosted by
