| "How naive I was to trust a child's mind; I should have been aware that they would have been impatient. While I slept, one of those children crept through my window and took the blade and made off with it! I spent a great deal of my morning looking for it; I was still feeling highly motivated to discover what the runes meant. Unfortunately, I never saw it again, and gave up. So much for trying to educate all those wonderful young minds. "When I woke up the day after that, I found that no one else was stirring. No children played in the river that day, and no other adults like me were to be found. But when I came down from my home along this path, I noticed that all life had been stripped from this area; no one was to be found, not a single article of clothing, or a staff, or any sign of life. I was the only one left, left alone in this wilderness. "I was so horribly depressed that I couldn't even sleep. How could a person survive by himself? It was terrible enough that the woman I wished to marry was gone, taken from me so suddenly. But I did try to find everyone. "One night, a few weeks later, I was walking home from the river, taking an unfamiliar direction. I lost my way for a moment, but I came across a cave, with a height not much taller than I was; I actually entered it, bending my knees a bit so as not to let my head hit the top. As I wandered, the cave became considerably warmer. I still do not know what the source of the heat actually was, but I continued on, undeterred. "As I continued further into the cave, I knew that I was not alone. Suddenly, from behind a corner in the cave's corridors, I was attacked, first slashed in the face by a claw or some sort of blade. I staggered back, holding my hand to the right side of my face. From behind the wall came strange, almost faceless demons. They held no weapons or sheilds, but they certainly had enormous, silvery claws on their hands and feet. They chased after me, clawing at my legs and abdomen, trying again and again with intense physical resolve to rip me apart. Not prepared to fight, I ran from the cursed cave, narrowly escaping my assailants. I was bleeding so horribly, I thought I would die running home. Fortunately, the blood that ran down my body was soon frozen by the bitter cold night, and seized up all my cuts and scrapes. I bandaged myself later, but I was forever scarred, as you can see here...." Relnor placed his hands up to his face and drew away the hood of his robe. Kat and Clara shuddered as they saw his mangled face and head; eight or nine long, bloody scars marred his otherwise handsome, middle-aged face. They extended from the right corner of his mouth all the way back to his ear and neck. "So horrible!" Salem exclaimed. "Indeed," Relnor said. "And look at this." Relnor lifted the bottom of his robe to expose his legs; like his face, they were torn by claw scars. "My torso is also mangled. That's why I wear this robe; even though no one is here, it is still a shame for me to let anyone to see me this way. I'm glad you understand." "We all understand you," Kat said, "and thank you for your story. You've been of great help to us." "Where is this cave?" Clara asked. "It's not far from here, only about half a mile," Relnor said. "Those demons in there must have been the ones who dragged all the people to their doom. They may have taken the sword half with them." "We must retrieve it," Kat said, "no matter what the cost." "Wait," Relnor said, "don't go just yet, I have something for you that might aid you on the road ahead. Wait here for a minute." Relnor left the room and retreated to his quarters. He soon returned holding a strange headpiece. "What is that, Relnor?" Salem asked. Relnor revealed what turned out to be a mask made out of bone. The mask seemed to be a hollowed-out modification of a big cat's skull. It would strap behind the head with a pair of old black straps that buckled like belts. The "forehead" of the mask appeared to be decorated with some exotic rune; it seemed to be a downward-pointing triangle with its sides slightly pushed inward towards the center, with two wavy lines running over it. "What can this mask do?" Clara asked. "This is a magical artifact," Relnor replied. "I found it one day after everyone disappeared. To me, it just seemed like an ordinary mask, possibly used for entertaining others or scaring people away. So, that day, I came home, and I tried to cheer myself up by putting it on. But after I buckled the straps and looked into my mirror, I found that I did not wear a simple bone mask. Instead, I looked horribly deformed, but only my face was affected. I had glowing red eyes, my mouth continually drooled and bled. When I screamed at my horrible reflection, my tongue stretched from my mouth, forked as a serpent's would be. I had great fangs, which dripped with yellowish-green venom. Horrified, I quickly unbuckled the straps and pulled the mask from my face and looked back at myself, but I was normal again. Again, I placed the mask back upon my face and looked again into the mirror; again, I saw the horrible demon there. This time, I raised my hands to my face and felt. I felt no venom, nor blood, nor saliva. My tounge was not forked; it was how it had always been. So I discovered, after removing the mask, that only those who could see my face would see the horrible image of my torn and deformed face. It could be that the wearer of this odd mask could hold great power over others, simply by intimidation....Or, maybe, the wearer could be one with the demons." Kat was stunned. "Are you trying to tell us," she began, pointing at the mask in Relnor's hand, "that you want one of us to wear this mask?" "Of course," Relnor said. "Particularly, I want you, Kat, to wear this mask." Next page >> |