Statues

Where Dead Men Once Stood

I am sorry for your loss CrIsis. I wish the events written here had ended better for everyone. I do know however, that they could not have happened differently for fear that Timiro would be a worn torn country forever if the king was not restored. Here is my account of the day the world lost General Gavin Mordox.

We were sitting in the bar. Nyodo and I had been there for hours. I watched people closely as patrons entered and exited quietly through the night. The room was filled with a gloomy sorrow so thick one felt as though I could feel it with each breath taken. We watched as the others looked at the door with the entry of each patron. It was though they expected guards to burst in at any moment and take the lot of them to the gallows. Then I saw a strange one. I have seen a few changelings in my time, but why was this one in the bar. He looked somewhat cheery compared to the others. His form was that of a young man ready to take his first wife. My eyes followed him as he grabbed a seat and ordered a drink. Interesting, a changeling who drinks, I guess things really are bad here. I sat and broke the silence with my friend, “When is this guy supposed to get here? We don’t exactly have time in our favor.” That was when I noticed the changeling tilting back to listen to us. He leaned a bit too much and his chair fell with a loud crash on the floor. His eyes met mine and with a shy chuckle and a smile he said, “Gavin Mordox at your service.” Well at least this chap has some humor in such a dark time. He got up and joined us as we filled him in on the status of Credia.
Priests of light were being taking off the streets and thrown into dungeons. Guards changed their tabards to the symbol of Manus and Anubis. Life was bleak. Gavin claimed the “curfew patrol” as he called them, had given him a hard time and that is what took him so long. We continued our strategizing for some time. We knew what awaited us and with that we headed out to inspect the keep.
Gavin was our guide. He knew the city much better than me or Nyodo. I looked as we passed statues that represented some heroes and some well less than savory characters. I had a feeling that we may be adding some statues if we were successful, and if we were not, well let’s just say one may find us in the ash of burned bodies. We continued until we saw the massive keep. It was truly magnificent and quite old. Gavin and Nyodo talked strategies. I told them I could cast flight, but I was busy counting the number we would face. There were so many and flashes were shown into the night sky constantly. I tried to find a rhyme or pattern to this, but it was to no avail. I remember Gavin speaking of a “jump” as he called it. I guess we were to fly extremely high and drop as fast as we could and Gavin would “catch” us. After all my battles and experiences in the past, was this to be my death? Then I remembered, I can make us invisible. So with that we became invisible and flew to the top of the keep. Gavin opened the ceiling door and we were in. I continued to fly down and spotted a large troll standing guard. I was barely able to fly past, but Gavin decided he had other things he wanted to do. I remember hearing Gavin whisper, “Your master wishes to see you immediately.” With that the troll ran down the hallway and we made our way to the first door. Gavin opened it slightly, but he made too much noise. A guard heard it and ran over. “Sorry to bother you sir” said the guard. We looked in and to our surprise we saw a raksasha. We waited for the guard to leave and made our approach. The battle seemed to be going well. That was until the rakshasa disappeared for a moment. We searched the room. Gavin claimed he could see a disturbance of energy in the room where it was and as soon as he had disappeared he reappeared once more. We continued to fight and the tides turned against us. I had but one desperate hope. I began casting my spell. It was one I have not had to use too often, but the teachings rang true in my head. With my completion of it he was gone to a different realm to not return for some time. Some guards came into the room only to see nothing. As I looked at what they were looking at I saw only the pillow destroyed from Gavin’s rage, but the guards saw what Gavin intended and they left shortly after.
We continued down the hallway and Gavin stopped us. He asked us to wait while he explored the keep. I could only assume he was entering the astral plane. I was proved right when he disappeared. We waited for a moment, and he arrived with a startled look on his face, “Yep, we won’t be doing that again. The place is crawling with shadow beasts.” He also claimed he found the king. We headed to the door and were ready to walk in the only problem was there were four guards. Gavin tried his mind trick again, but it only worked on one guard. The others questioned, “What are you doing standing aside for?” The guard replied, he told me to. The guards looked and saw nothing. They looked back at the man, and then they heard the voice, “Did you not hear me the first time? I said move aside I must speak with the king alone! Go stand guards elsewhere till I get you.” Gavin stood there in the form of the rakshasa we had just seen. The guards in shock gathered themselves and headed out at once. We see the king, and a giant axe coming down towards us. It was here we saw the treachery. A giant troll stood ready to kill us and there stood the nemesis of Gavin, Walrue. Gavin and I were instantly trapped in a sphere of psionic energy. We were greeted with another swing of the axe. Gavin was a true master of the sword. There was one point where the beast looked to cleave him in two. He lifted his sword with such ease and parried the full strength of his axe with just one hand. We made quick work of the troll, but then I looked outwards to see my friend Nyodo fighting against Walrue. He seemed to be doing well until he took several vicious strikes to the body. His life sadly left it. Gavin and Walrue continued their battle of epic proportions. In the end Walrue fled and Gavin was no more. I quickly joined the king and aided him. Together we went below and commenced the execution of Manus. The day was saved, but at what price.
I now look out at the statues from my window. The king is standing in the same room. He continues to prepare his speech. I can hear the crowds gathering. I know that with the reign of the King secure for the moment, good can finally triumph. It is time. I must watch the phoenix be reborn.

Posted by Ondemeira the White on the 23rd of Selestra in the 9th Year of King Gedro.

Image from Shutterstock.