Marianne and Berik of Stormrock pushed their horses on a fast wild gallop. They needed to catch up with Torentor. They had left Uhlheim since about 30 minutes. They didn´t talk a lot. Marianne was concentrating on keeping track of the source of evil and Berik was playing the confrontation with the mage in his mind. He remembered sacred incantations to banish demons even so he never did it before. He imagined situations and how to react on them. He also fantasised what he would do if he had to decide to give his life or the life of his mother to return the vessel of the King of the dead.
Suddenly Marianne stopped her horse. She looked irritated into the woods in front of them.
"It is gone. Impossible", she mumbled. She jumped from her horse and Berik followed her action. She fell on one knee and thrusted her sword into the ground. Berik did the same.
"Torqua, our beloved and great God. We were following the supreme evil of this world. But now it has vanished from my perception. You sent me here to be your faithful tool. I need your help to find the carrier. Please fill our minds with your wisdom. Show us the path. Enlight us about what had happened to the jar of the essence of the King of the Dead. "
She waited. Nothing happened. No vision came over her mind. She remained silently in this position with Berik at her side. But there came no enlightment from the God of Justice. She did not feel anything. After five minutes she stood up, quite irritated. She did not say a thing. Berik said, more to himself:
"It isn´t here anymore. It has left the world."
Marianne turned to him curiously: "What did you say?"
He turned towards his mother: "Yes, i don´t know how, but I know it is not here anymore. We did not fail. The agent had not fled succesfully. The jar is just not here anymore."
"Impossible. How should this turn out to happen? Where should it have gone to? And how should it left there? I felt the strong evil radiation quite clear and then it abrubtly vanished. Also it was moving all the time."
"Maybe it was taken away?"
"Taken away by whom or by what? What are you talking about Berik?"
"I do not know. Just when we stood up from the pray I "knew" that the jar left us. I can not tell you more. Maybe one of the seven took it? Maybe the situation became to dangerous and they interfered personally? Did this happen in the past mother?"
"This had happened very rarely and in very ancient times in the past. But there was always the involvement of demonic personalities when the gods interfered. Like the slaughter of angels in the snow grove. Or the tainting of the Great plain. But this were enormous situations of gigantic impact on the world.
"Wait!", Marianne whispered. She pointed into the woods. She lowered her position and sneaked into this direction. Berik followed her.
"Do you sense it again, colonel Stormrock?"
"No it is something else", she whispered, "but strange coincidence. We need to check it out for sure."
And then, there, against the moonlight, on a small clearing in this light oak wood, Marianne saw the silhouette of a woman with long dark hair, long dress holding something in front of her face then putting it away.
Marianne unsheathed her sword with a swift movement and pointed it up. "Hold, witch!"
Katlin turned around just to recognize 2 keepers of Mahjagoth approaching her. A wide dome of golden light emerged from the tip of the raised sword and had yet engulfed katlin too.
Marianne was sure that this woman was the woman on top of the bell tower in Uhlheim. She somehow managed to move here faster then her and Berik which again proves that she was at least a sorceress.
Katlin sighed and fear start to raise inside her. She was inside the golden dome of Torqua. Most certainly she would not be able to use her powers and spells. Any use of them would also most probably cause the two Keepers to attack her.
"Wait Keeper.", Katlin streched her arm into their direction in defense and slowly moved backwards. "I do no harm. I did not kill anyone. I am not your enemy."
Marianne laughed. "Who do you think is in front of you? A young blad girl? You are a fiend of evil. You helped the plague magician to escape and now you are here alone. Where is he? Where is the stone?"
"I can tell you. I can help you. Just lower your weapon. This light is painful."
"This light is the most comforting, most pure and strenghtening light on this planet. Your words unveil again that you are a vile creature of darkness. I will not ask you again or listen to machinations to talk us into a possibilty for you to flee. You are not the first demon I kill and you will not be the last."
Katlin felt that she became weaker, tired, something she had not felt for decades. She wanted to rest. She did not want to oppose this woman. Beside the woman there was a young man who guards the woman with the shield and also hold his sword ready to attack.
"Listen. I know who you are. I can help you, but you will never find the stone if you kill me. I think you can feel that it is not here, so you can not take it from my corpse."
Marianne stopped 3 m in front of her:"Go on demon!"
"Don´t call me like that! I do not like to hunt humans. I did not decide to become what I am! "
"And still the world suffers by your existence and we need to extinct you. And still you helped the King of the dead to be summoned back to this world, which is the most evil and also stupid act since he will not only kill the good humans but also you to swallow your power and get stronger quickly."
Katlin read that the King of dead also killed vampires, treants and all kind of old and magical creatures to attain more power. "I know! I do not want him to come back. Father wanted the stone. I just fullfiled orders. You know I have to. I know his return will be the end of all of us, of the world that we know. Promise you let me go and I tell you where it is!"
Marianne raised an eyebrow. "You want to make a deal with the sword of torqua? You think that I will let you exist for some piece of information which also may be a lie? We have others means to get to the knowledge in your head, even if your are dead."
"No.", Katlin said with a triumphing smile. " I am a Kaleno. As you know we dissolve into dust if we get killed. There will be nothing left of me to ask."
"Mo...colonel Stormrock, I think she will tell us the truth. Let her go and follow the stone! It may be moving to plague bay every second we talk.", Berik said in a low voice.
"No need to whisper blade", she answered serious,"she can hear you anyways. Okay I will let you live if you tell me where the stone left to. But if you lie to me I will kill you in an instant. You know we are devot servants to the god of truth and justice and will notice any lie."
Katlin was again close to panic. If she tells them the truth and gives them the stone there was no reason for them to let her live. Despite her promise the keeper might kill her. If she will tell them a lie they will most probably recognize that and kill her too. She then could just tell nothing and try to run but that was also foolish because both of them looked athletic and strong and since she could not use her vampire speed, which also was not very much developed in her, she had to rely on her natural speed. Forget this option. The only option that she might live tomorrow was to tell them the truth and give herself into their mercy.
Katlin mustered both of them and then spoke. "You know I helped the black mage to escape in Uhlheim. I needed him to leave the city to kill him and take the stone from him. I caught him here above the trees and dissolved his demon. He fell and on the ground I try to drink his blood but he managed to fend me off. Then in two seconds while I was not upon him he teleported himself out of the world."
Marianne looked at Katlin in doubt:" No way, where shall he leave to? There is no "other" world to move to!" Even though Marianne did not believe in any other worlds she also felt no lie in Katlin´s words. "What shall that mean?"
"Let me explain. There is a quite unknown spell to create a "side" world. It is very small, like a room. It is a summoning more then a movement spell. You know most certainly that the demonic sphere is changing to the will of the lord, especially the one of..."
"Don´t say his name!", Marianne shouted upset. "Do not ever say the name of one of the dark deceivers! They should be forgotten for all times."
"Ok, ok. Anyways this spell "borrows" a very tiny part of his realm. The black magician used this spell any vanished to such a space.....with the stone."
Berik said suspiciously:"You want to tell us the stone is gone with the man in some side world and we cannot go there to retrieve it? This information is worth nothing!" He raised his sword.
Katlin thought she might be able to hide the existence of the stone and it´s meaning but these keepers were not easy to fool.
Marianne added:"As far as I know about the demonic realms it is not possible to leave them to this world by magic. The gods prohibited it to make sure demon can not enter the world by sheer use of magic. So how should he return. He probably fled you but planned to return here since the stone has no use in some side world."
Katlin gave up and nodded:"Yes you are right. To be able to return to the world the magician needs to enchant a focus in advance which works as an anchor to the place he left." She pulled out the white stone. "This is the anchor. He can only return to him by his will"
Marianne sensed the tainted magic in the stone:"Hand it over!"
Katlin presented the stone her:"Here it is."
As Marianne took the stone Katlin cautiously asked:"As you now know everything and you have the anchor can I leave?"
Marianne curiously looked at the stone then passed it on to Berik. "Keep it save blade." Berik nodded exited. Such a great responsibilty she ordained him with. Marianne then look firm into Katlin´s eyes and then said:" I promised you I let you live. Your existence is no live. In fact you are yet dead. You are mere "animated" or "existing". You can only live if Torqua cures you of the taint of your mere existence."
Katlins eyes opened wide:"What do you mean?"
"If you really feel sorry about your sins and want to !live a life we will ask Torqua to life the curse from you and cleanse your soul of the dark force that keeps it in it grab."
"I do not know. I did not understand you plan to do that.", she slowly moves back from Marianne. Then she remembered that Marie has vanished from her mind and with panic the idea came into her mind the she maybe was also "cleaned". "No, please no. I do not know another live. I will leave far to the ends of the world. I will harm no one."
"You obey the father. He attacked blade Berik not even an hour ago. You will do what he tells you and he is a vile and bloodthirsty monster. The cleanse is your only option. Generally I will not offer this option and just kill you, but I gave you my word to let you live." Speaking so Marianne reached into her pocket and pulled out the blue stone of Zhuge.
In this very moment a loud crack from the sky above those three person in the woods ended their speech and a large gargoyle litterally fell to the ground, breaking branches and landed on Marianne Stormrock, smashing her to the ground. With a loud growl he faced Berik, the body of Marianne in his claws. The golden dome dissolves.
"Father!", Katlin said in relief and ran to him. The Gargoyle took her arm in one claw and while Berik was recover from surprise and raised his holy symbol the gargoyle jumped into the air and flew away, the vampire katlin in his claw.
Berik fell to the ground over the body of his mother. He shaked her. "Mother, mother!" He felt a very thin breath of her nose. One leg of her was unnaturally bend to the side and it was broken for sure. The armor of the woman was pierced at the shoulder and the long claw of the gargoyle had pierced deep into her flesh. Then he saw that she was still holding the blue stone which was now glowing bright. Berik exhaled in relief. His highness Zhuge will be here soon and just some moments latter a golden line appeared at the ground close to Marianne and the lifted up forming a glowing door. Justiciar Zhuge and 4 knights walked through the portal with drawn weapons. Zhuge looked around then saw Marianne and kneeled down beside her:"Marianne!" he whispered and kneeled beside her. He checked her breath and then pushed his palm on her breast. "Do not be afraid my little nightingale, Torqua will heal you.", he whispered with troubled eyes. Warm light left his palm and flooded inside Marianne. "Report blade Berik", Zhuge said calm.
Berik rose:"Yes your highness. We followed the black mage your highness. Close to the place colonel stormrock left contact with the stone but perceived another dark essence. We sneaked up a vampire at exactly this place. She told us about what happened to the stone and the wizard. Lady Marianne to promised to let her live if she wanted to repend for her sins and do the cleansing ritual. Before the colonel could call you the vampire lord appeared. He broke our barrier and smashed colonel stormrock down and fled before I could even start to recite the prayer for the barrier. Then you came through the gate."
Zhuge nodded slowly_ "It is good. Get the horses ready. You and Paladi will ride them back to Uhlheim." Zhuge very carefully pushed his arms below Marianne´s back and lifted her from the ground. Berik had never seen his highness carrying someone or something before. Silently he left through the portal and his knights after him. Berik was alone. Then he remembers that there was a gargoyle vampire lord around that might hate him and mounted his horse. Paladi followed his example and the both rode silently back to Uhlheim.