Forbidden Places
By Richard LeBlanc
Chapter Twenty: Black Mage
It had been almost four hours since the departure of Lord Arachnid and their former guide Markys. And almost since that time - the three had been repeatedly been beating back hordes of black creatures. Creatures that were undoubtedly held at bay by wards in the fallen Lokaan's castle.
"You think this is Arachnid's doing?" Enchanter asked as a spell wave knocked four huge thrulls aside. Toy Maker looked over at Enchanter and then refocused his attention to the swarms of creatures around them.
"No - this is too much power for him to be in mastery of. This was some other wizard that was most likely released when I dealt with that castle. Tuly - stay within the circle," Toy maker replied. Tuly looked around at the chaos around them and then looked at the circle of protection that was keeping the hordes of monsters away from her.
"I don't like this - my spells - they aren't affecting these creatures like they should," Enchanter muttered. He tried to use a Binding Grasp spell to ensnare a Wretched Imp - but the spell fizzled. All it seemed to do was make the imp angry.
"Don't try to control them! Try to kill them," Toy Maker shouted. He quickly chanted and opened a portal. From it Clay Statues, Brass Men, Yotian Soldiers and every other type of artifact creature capable of fighting stormed from the portal to keep the swarming forces at bay.
"There's too many of them. Where are they coming from?" Tuly asked hesitantly.
"A good question," Enchanter muttered. Blue mana surrounded him as he jumped straight up. It was then that he saw where the horde was filtering from - four breeding pits. Behind them - was a black mage - standing behind a familiar looking alter.
"Toy maker - we should pick up our pace a bit - these things aren't the main course," Enchanter stated.
"These masses are meant to be sacrificial?" he asked.
"I believe so," Enchanter replied. Green mana swirled around him as he used calming magics to destroy the magical breeding pits.
"You are too late. He comes," the black mage smiled. The air all around them began to turn black. Enchanter watched as a black mist began to take form - the form of a Juzam Djinn. The huge monster roared out and looked over at Enchanter.
"A Jazum? That doesn't make any sense. There is no sacrifice in dealing with him - pain yes - but sacrifice?" Toy Maker muttered. Enchanter was going to agree - but then he noticed that the evil djinn was enchanted.
"Sadistic glee - many times over," Enchanter muttered as he looked over at the horde of thrulls that were being held at bay by Toy maker's constructs.
"Call your creatures back!" enchanter called out. But it was too late. The enhanced thrulls crushed clay statues and smashed the Yotian Soldiers. He looked over and watched the Djinn - almost double in size.
"The heard - shall be culled," the black mage said softly. Enchanter looked down and saw a black fog seeping outward from the wizard.
"Pestilence," he muttered. The two wizards watched as the army of thrulls began to spasm and fall dead to the ground. Enchanter looked at the Djinn that was now standing as tall as a small mountain.
"Toy maker - suggestions?" Enchanter asked hesitantly.
"Can you control it?" Toy Maker asked, Enchanter shook his head.
"Too powerful," he replied.
"That mana Sword?" he asked.
"I used up too much power - give me some time and I can cast that spell," he replied.
"Time you will not have!" the black mage hissed. He waved his staff made of skulls and bone - an army of zombies began to rise up from the corpses around them. Enchanter looked to the sky and saw dozens of Wretched Imps flying their way.
"That's just super," he muttered. but much to his surprise - the imps flocked around the Jazum and began to attack him.
"This is bad - those things will get slaughtered and that thing will get even bigger," Enchanter muttered. he looked over at Tuly within the circle of protection - then at Toy maker who was fending off dozens of zombies.
"Hmm. Maybe I am going about this the wrong way," he muttered. he closed his eyes and began to concentrate. Toy maker looked up at the floating mage and was less than enthused by his lack of activity.
"Enchanter! If you do not do something I will feed you to that damn Djinn!" he shouted out.
"Hush! I am concentrating! There - I found it! Toy Maker - get rid of the cannon fodder quickly - I believe I have a way of dealing with our huge friend," he replied with a wicked smile.
"Deal with? What do you think I've been doing since this mess started? Enough fooling around - power of the Meekstone - come to me," Toy maker replied. a large yellow jewel appeared in the air before the artificer and began to spin. As it did - waves of mana rippled outward. The zombies staggered as they tried to get closer but fell twitching to the ground. "Have a care Enchanter - the power of the Meekstone may affect you," he warned.
"I know - I can feel it from here," he muttered as he felt the artifact trying to bring him down. "Can you deal with the monsters below?"  he asked seriously as mana throbbed around the floating wizard.
"My creatures for the most part are unaffected. Do what you must to end this farce," Toy maker replied as he sent his creatures to attack the paralyzed creatures. Enchanter looked down and saw that most of the creatures summoned by the black mage had been dealt with - save the mountain-sized djinn.
"That just leaves you," he said rationally. He closed his eyes and concentrated, green mana spun around him faster and faster until it slowly turned from green to pure white. Enchanter opened his eyes and smiled at the monster that was towering over him.
"Hmm. Experience - the Cloak of Mesa," he muttered. a single pulse of white energy shot out from the wizard and soared at the djinn. The black mage watched in horror and disbelief as the monster he had summoned - the creature of fear and legend - instantly was transformed into a pure white, normal sized hawk.
"Toy maker - shoot it from the sky - if you please," Enchanter offered. A rod of ruin appeared in his hand. He swung it in the direction of the stunned hawk. The two wizards watched as the bird recoiled as though a stone had hit it.
"That just leaves," Enchanter began. He looked over to where the black mage was standing - but both he and his alter were gone. He shook his head and flew down to where the artificer and Tuly were waiting.
"Who was that?" Enchanter asked.
"A wizard that was probably imprisoned by Lokaan and inadvertently released by me. Thank you for the circle of protection. I owe you," Toy Maker stated seriously. Enchanter sat down on a large piece of debris to collect his thoughts.
"Then let it end here," he stated calmly.
"What?" Toy maker asked.
"For all of our differences - I can tell that we are a lot alike. Believe me or no - the choice is yours. But if you stay out of my affairs - I will do the same for you," he stated calmly.
"Why the change of heart?" Toy Maker asked curiously.
"Markys - she plans to kill us all. I can deal with her. I can deal with that spider wizard - I am even sure that I could probably deal with you - but all together? In this place? Even I have limitations and so do you," he explained seriously.
"This I was not expecting," he replied quietly.
"Neither was I," Enchanter admitted.
"You - you are going to trust him?" Tuly asked in disbelief.
"Please - give me a moment," Toy maker replied softly as he looked over at an almost humble looking Enchanter. He knew that the man before him had a history of saying things with two truths - but something told him that he was being sincere.
"I know that there is little trust between us - I don't expect that to change. I am not saying this to gain you as an ally. All I want - is your noninvolvement. In my conflicts here - win or lose. What do you say?" Enchanter asked seriously.
"I - I don't know," Toy Maker replied seriously.
"I know that you harbor ill feelings for me because of Tuly and how I treated her. I can accept that. You dislike my ethics and how I play the game - fine. But ask yourself this - is that enough to merit starting a war between us - one that would dwarf what happened between the brothers?" he asked seriously. Hearing it worded like that brought back all of the memories of his accusers.
"You propose - that so long as you do not involve yourself in mine - or Tuly's affairs - and that I do the same - for you?" Toy Maker asked seriously. Enchanter calmly nodded. Toy Maker looked over at Tuly who looked uneasy about all of this.
"Not to be rude - but what proof do I have that you will be true to your claim?" Tom Maker asked. Enchanter closed his and cupped his hands together. Toy Maker watched as a bright light escaped between the spaces of his fingers. When the light faded - Enchanter opened his hands to reveal an old flower.
"A - Black Lotus?" Toy Maker asked quietly. Enchanter looked at the flower.
"Long ago - in my travels. I came across a field of them. I took one and I stored it away. When I came back - the field was in flames - barbarians as it turned out. I never was able to find such a field again," he said in a distant voice. He looked up from the flower and slowly extended it towards the artificer.
"Please, take it. If my word is insufficient to prove my sincerity - perhaps - this will prove my intent?" he asked seriously. Toy Maker hesitantly took the flower from the wizard and gazed at the perfection of it. It was real - and it was his.
"I never thought I would see one of these up close," he admitted.
"What do you want in return?" Tuly asked curiously. Enchanter sighed and looked away.
"I've had some time since I found myself in this - odd place.  Had some time on my hands. I've done some reading on you. The songs - ballads - poems. If what they said of you is true - not the dark stuff - your word - is something you would lay your life down for," he began.
"It is true. I have never broken a vow I have made - nor do I intend to," he replied calmly.
"Then - this is the trade I propose to you - take the flower - its power will aid you I am sure. And I have no doubt that your power will keep it alive - just as surely as mine did. All I ask of you - is that you give me your word - your oath - that what ill blood is between us - ends here. No vendettas - no grudges - no involvement good or bad - you go your way - I go mine - end of story," Enchanter offered.
"If - I agree - would you honor this pact as well?" Toy Maker asked seriously.
"If - I break this oath - I free you from it. React as you must - and keep the Black Lotus - as spoils of a bad deal. You have nothing to lose from this - and so much to gain. And you must know that as surely as we stand here - Markys and that spider wizard are plotting against us. Surely it would ease your mind - to have one less foe to worry about. What say you Toy Maker - do we have a deal?" Enchanter asked seriously.
"To the terms you have spoken - I will agree. I just hope - that you honor it," Toy Maker stated seriously. Enchanter politely bowed to him and smiled calmly at Tuly.
"Despite popular misconception - sometimes people can change. I wish you the best of luck Toy Maker - and you Tuly. The road ahead - it will be more dangerous than anything you have ever encountered - for all of us. Take care," he concluded as he walked away from the two.
"Can we really trust him?" Tuly asked as she looked at the flower in Toy Maker's hands.
"I hope so. If not - we will be in big trouble," he replied honestly.
At that moment, in a dark secluded spot in the swamp, Markys and Arachnid were sitting by a fire resting from their nonstop travels.
"You - haven't said a word since we left," she commented. Arachnid looked deep into the flames before him and sighed. "Are - you mad at me?" she asked  hesitantly.
"What would you have me say?" he asked quietly.
"That you don't hate me? that you don't blame me for Nibbles' death?" she suggested. He looked over at her in mild disbelief.
"Why would I blame you?" he asked seriously.
"Because we didn't deal with them sooner like you wished to. If I had - perhaps," she began.
"There isn't any point in dwelling on that. what's done is done," he retorted.
"There is such hurt in your voice and heart - and you won't let me in to help you," she said softly. Arachnid looked over at her - void of any emotion.
"You are helping me. Helping me find the tombs," he stated. Markys sighed and moved closer to the fire.
"It's so cold. I'm not used to," she began.
"Please - lose the act," he interrupted.
"Excuse me?" she asked innocently.
"I don't claim to be the most worldly sorcerer around - but I am not stupid. I know that you were sleeping with Enchanter," he stated calmly as he looked away from her.
"You - know?" she asked.
"I am not as stupid as you think me to be. I may like you - maybe even love you - sick as that may be - but right now - I have one purpose - one goal - punish Toy Maker for murdering Nibbles," he stated seriously. Markys quietly sighed and looked down at the fire.
"Haven't - haven't you been able to raise him?" she asked.
"I tried. I don't know what that artificer did - but I can't bring Nibbles back," he answered.
Crafty artificer, you did nothing to him. it is his self-doubt that is preventing the spell from working. She thought as she made her way over to where he was.
"It is true - I did sleep with Enchanter. But what choice did I have? You don't know what it is like to be under his power - to feel helpless like that. When you left them - I left with you - and he did nothing to stop me. because he knew that my heart - was yours. And no matter what he tried to do to me - or with me - nothing was going to change that," she said softly. her hand touched his shoulder - he jerked away.
"Easy to say now," he muttered.
"If you do not trust me - why are we here? Do you plan to kill me?" she asked curiously.
"No. We are looking for the tombs and then the Spiders of Crae," he replied coldly.
"I see. And when you find them - then you will kill me. I guess it was foolish of me to believe you were any different from the others. You seek what you want - take what you want. And then when you have it - throw me aside," she said timidly.
"We reap what we sow. This whole place - just by the feel and smell of it is like an elaborate web. You lure people here - with the promise of forbidden power - knowledge - magic - and once they find it - you pounce. I would have seen it sooner - but I was deluding myself thinking you cared about me," he stated seriously.
"You are a piece of work. I actually opened up for you. I let you in because you were different - because you cared about me. but it was never about me - you were just using me to get to your precious spiders. And now - after everything I have been put through - at the hands of that manipulating bastard Enchanter - you sit here and judge me?" she scolded. He turned around and slapped her across the face. she fell to the ground as though she were punched.
"Go ahead," she began as she wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth. "Do it again. You aren't the first person to beat me," she said coldly as a tear rolled down her tense cheek. Arachnid quickly turned away.
"I will tell you something - something I have told no other man. when I found this place - for the first time - I was probably twenty years old. I could feel the presence of the powerful creatures that dwelled here - felt the power in the land. I cast a ritual that bound that power to me - but it went horribly wrong. I don't know what happened to this day," she began as she forced the emotion back. "The power of the land - the knowledge - everything funneled into me all at once. It overwhelmed me. I lost conscious for I don't know how long. But when I came to - I was trapped in the body of a child. A child just a little older -than  how I appeared at the abbey. To make matters worse - my powers were gone. I was alone - scared. You see - at that time - there were no humans here and the elves - weren't all that friendly to outsiders," she continued.
"Elves rarely are," Arachnid stated without moving.
"The animals of the forest - they scared me away. That was when I though the mountains would be safer. Showed how much I knew. What little possessions I had - were stolen by a pack of goblins. They beat me up and left me there. My clothes were reduced to tattered rags. That was when - I had the misfortune - of being found by orcs. They used me - like a slave. I worked from when the sun would rise - until the moon reached its peak. Of course they tortured me for fun - it helped pass the time for them. the scars healed of course - by I still feel every spot where they whipped me - beat me," she continued.
"This going somewhere?" he asked unimpressed. Markys lowered her eyes.
"That was when - I was - sold - to the Mountain King," she began. That part got his attention. He slowly turned around and looked at the serious look on her sad face.
"You - are his slave?" he asked seriously.
"It - is more complicated than that. you see - it was while I was - his property - that - my powers - started to come back. Very slowly - but they were returning. As they did - by body began to return to my normal age. He sensed that this was happening almost as soon as I did. He had me tortured - raped - beaten to the point of unconsciousness, but my power continued to grow. And when my body returned to its normal form - the form you see before you - my power was restored - only ten fold. I shook the mountains. I humbled the man that claimed to own me - that had done so much to hurt me - and I had all of those things - done to him," she said coldly - with both fists clenched tightly.
"He is your slave?" he asked unsure.
"As I said - it is more complicated than that. because after a short while - my body reverted back to a child - and my powers were gone. The King - now knowing what I was - tried to kill me - for I was too great a threat to be allowed to live - but higher powers than mine protected me. so the sick - twisted cycle started all over again," she said quietly - not looked at the face of the man before her.
"How long did - that cycle - go on?" he asked hesitantly.
"Give or take - four thousand years. For as much as we wanted each other dead - some power kept us alive. What - I have no clue. That was when I realized I had to escape. I used my magic to conjure up a boat and I sailed away. but as I did - my body - changed back into a girl. I thought that it was just part of the cycle I was trapped in - but it was more than that," she continued.
"How so?" he asked.
"I didn't age. I was - trapped as a child. In time - I was able to attain a minute portion of my power - but it drove me mad. That was when people started calling my - unbalanced. The power of the land had tainted me. I could live elsewhere - but I could only be my true age - here - and only for a short period of time. Then my body betrays me and becomes a helpless child," she continued as she wiped her eyes
"So - your choices - were stay a child," he began.
"Or risk coming back here. But coming back here - it wasn't really my choice. You see - other wizards heard rumors of the land I had found. They forced me to guide them there. On several of those occasions - when my body grew to an age their liking - they would take me - use me. That was when I snapped. I couldn't take it anymore. These weren't the orcs and demons - these were humans doing this to me. People I lived with and trusted. People that protected me. So I lured each away - one by one - and used my powers - powers they never suspected I had - to kill them - and take their power for my own. I had hoped that after I dealt with them - that - that would be the end of it. But more came. More forced me to take them there. That was when I decided to stop being the victim. I leaked out secrets to people and sent them out to tell stories - and yes - one of them was the person that told you of the spiders native to this place - to bring you to me," she stated seriously.
"You planned to kill me," he stated in disbelief.
"You planned less for me? I figured - that if I dealt with the wizards first - they wouldn't be able to hurt me. Then - I met you. I saw how you were - so alone - so different - and I couldn't do that to you. I - I made the mistake of thinking that you - you could care about someone like me. I'm sorry I wasted your time," she said softly as she began to get up. His hand shot over and gently grabbed her wrist.
"You are more like a spider than I thought," he stated calmly.
"Is that a good thing?" she asked - void of emotion.
"I - am sorry. It is just Nibbles - he was the only family I had for so long. And now he's gone," he said quietly. Markys calmly knelt down beside him and held his hand between hers.
"I can see that hurt in you. I am not asking to replace Nibbles - but I would very much like to have some place in your heart to call my own - unless - you don't want me anymore," she said softly.
"I do. I do want you," he replied without hesitation.
"I'm glad," she said softly, red flames rose up from beneath her and transformed her clothes to armor. "This is who I am - who I really am," she stated seriously.
"I know," he replied.
"From this point on - we go as equals. Not me pretending to be your slave - not you pretending to be my master - us," she said as she lightly kissed the hand she was holding.
"Us," he repeated as he leaned forward and lightly kissed her on the lips.
To be continued...
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