The Tears of Kas̆dael

Ihra smiled at him, a teasing look in her eye. “No offense, fire-boy, but I assume this wasn’t primarily your handiwork.”

Jasper laughed. “Nah, they have a runic mage.”

Her eyes widened. “Really? I thought the Barracks pretty much gang-pressed all of them into service.”

He shrugged. “They did? Well, clearly, Koāhu escaped their grasp somehow.”

Their conversation was cut short by a sound like thunder. Jasper turned around just in time to see Ga’on clap his hands again, the impact rumbling through the courtyard. The streets fell silent again, as the small group clustered around the guild leader. “Alright, guilders. Let’s get out of this hellhole while we can. Omez, take Nissaba through first, please. After that, the mages should go through next. For the rest of you, please help with the supplies and mounts.”

The brawny priest disappeared into the inn, and returned a moment later, cradling a woman in his arms. Her head hung limp - unconscious - and her right arm and leg had been reduced to little more than stumps. Despite the healing potions she had undoubtedly consumed, it was clear that she was barely hanging on to the land of the living. Omez crossed the threshold quickly and his form soon disappeared into the hazy sunlight of the Sanctum. Koāhu and Yariha followed behind, but Jasper hung back. If Ga’on noticed the young fire-mage hadn't joined the others in safety, he didn’t care.

Then came the arduous task of transporting supplies back into the sanctum. The hardest part was getting their mounts through the glowing arch. The horses were terrified of the portal, rearing back on their hindlegs, and stubbornly digging in their feet as their masters tried to pull them through the portal. Ultimately, Jasper was only able to coax Dapplegrim across with the promise of a whole bag of sugar cubes if she would just follow him for a few steps. The little pony finally, begrudgingly, crossed through the threshold. As soon as she stepped into the sunny meadow, she zoomed through the tall grass and wildflowers, whinnying with joy.

After giving her a handful of sugar cubes, Jasper headed back to the inn for another load of cargo, a wide smile on his face. A line of guilders walked past him into the sanctum, their arms piled high with the spoils they had gathered in the city. When he crossed the threshold, his eyes inadvertently were drawn to the maddening void above. Flinching, he quickly averted his gaze with a shudder. Ihra sat on one of the few remaining boxes. She mopped the sweat dripping off her brow with the edge of her sleeve, and waved him over. Ga’on and another guilder approached the portal entrance, hoisting a heavy cauldron between them. Jasper quickly stepped to the side to let them pass and casually jogged towards Ihra.

But his next step never reached the ground.

Jasper's foot plunged forward, feeling nothing but air. His stomach dropped with the sudden sensation of falling, and he looked down in panic. His foot hovered a foot above the ground. Time seemed to stand still, as he slowly drifted further and further above the ground. He thrashed his arms about, trying to propel himself down, but ended up merely spinning in the air. As he slowly flipped head over heels, in the corner of his vision, Jasper saw Ihra floating in a sea of boxes. The panicked shouts of a few other guilders echoed somewhere around him.

And then, gravity returned. He smashed into the ground, the breath driven out of him in an instant. The earth trembled as dozens of cracks ripped through the cobblestone courtyard. A hoarse cry rang out behind him. Picking himself up slowly, Jasper turned just in time to see the guilder who had been helping Ga’on with the cauldron jump through the crumbling portal. The arch leaned to one side, and a steady stream of small rocks and dust fell from it. Jasper watched in horror as the light flickered, then died. We're trapped.

Ga’on lay pinned beneath the cauldron, one of his arms wedged deep beneath it. He groaned as he struggled to lift it off himself with only one arm. Jasper glanced back at Ihra, who was pulling herself from the wreckage of wooden crates. Behind her, he saw two other guilders laying on the ground, not moving. She waved him off. “I’m fine, I’m fine. Got a few splinters but nothing serious - help Ga’on and I'll check on these two.”

He ran over to the man and grabbed hold of the cauldron. “Hold still, Ga’on. I’ll get it off you.”

Ga’on grabbed hold of Jasper's leg with his one free arm. “Wait.” He croaked out the words, wheezing in pain. “You need to lift it up off of me. If you try to roll the cauldron off my arm, my arm will get pulverized.”

Jasper nodded. “Alright, I’ll do my best.” He crouched load and grabbed hold of the two sides of the cauldron. With a mighty heave, he tried to stand up, the muscles in his back tightening as he pulled with all of his now-inhuman might. The cauldron moved slightly, but he couldn't straighten his legs. His fingers lost their grip, and the cauldron rocked slightly on Ga'on's arm, as the leader whimpered in pain.

Jasper frowned. "I don't think I can lift it all the way off you, Ga'on. If I can get it high enough for you to pull yourself free, can you do that?" The guild leader nodded mutely, and Jasper bent down again. I can do this - just got to dig deep. His muscles screamed in pain as he slowly inched the cauldron up again. His fingers bit into the metal sides, refusing to let go, as he managed to lift about six inches above the ground, just high enough for Ga’on to drag himself out of the way. “You clear?”

“Clear.”

Groaning in relief, he let the cauldron slam back into the ground. Jasper shook his arms out, feeling the burn of his muscles. “Damn, that was way heavier than it looked.” He glanced over at Ga’on. “You okay, man?”

The guild leader stiffened slightly at the informal address, but nodded curtly. “I’ll live. Thanks for the assist.”

“No problem.”

“Uh, Jasper? I think we may have a problem.”

He turned to Ihra, shivering with cold as a snowflake drifted past. A second followed a moment later, burying itself into his cheek. Ihra was backing up slowly, her eyes trained on the two guild members lying on the cobblestones. Their bodies writhed on the ground, their mouths covered in foam. He approached them slowly, Ga’on following behind them.

“What the hell?” Jasper watched in horror and disgust. “How do we help them?”

“You can’t.” The leader's voice shook with rage. “Look up.”

Jasper tore his eyes away from the two troubled guilders, and his mouth fell open. Great mountains rose around them, and the sky hung heavy with clouds as the first flurries slowly floated down. We’re no longer in the void.

“They’re already dead, or close enough. The ritual has clearly failed, just like it did when this whole strategy started, and now they’re turning into one of them.” He limped forward, anger burning in his eyes. He spat on the ground. “That damned elf did this. I told the guild that she was up to no good, but they wouldn’t listen, and now we’re the ones paying the cost.”

He strode forward, fumbling as he drew his sword with his good hand. He knelt down beside the two men and whispered some prayers. Then, with two quick thrusts, he stabbed each of them in the heart, twisting his sword around until their convulsions ceased. He staggered to his feet, a grim look on his face as he gazed down at his crew members. “I’m sorry, my friends. I failed you.”

He turned to face the two of them, a glare in his eye. For a moment, Jasper feared that Ga’on was going to attack them, and he tensed, his mind reaching for his spells, while Ihra’s hands fell on her dagger. But Ga’on merely glared at them, sorrow and rage overflowing, before dismissing them with a contemptuous snort.

“What’s the point in killing two pawns,” he muttered. “The guild would have my head if I lost them one of their precious mages.” He limped to the ruined entrance of the courtyard, and peered out into the streets, before staggering out. He paused after a few steps and looked back. “Well,” he demanded. “Are you coming or not?”

They exchanged glances. “What do you think?”

Ihra twirled her hair between her thumbs in a nervous tick, before whispering to Jasper. “I don't think we have a lot of options. The city seems quiet enough now, but I don’t want to be here when night falls.”

Jasper watched the thick clouds above them, heavy with snow. The light of day was already fading as the shadow of the mountain stretched over the city, an unnatural fog creeping through the streets again. “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” he admitted. “Why not follow the guy who wants to kill us?”

The three made their way through the empty city streets. When the expedition had first arrived at the city gates, Jasper had marveled at its almost immaculate preservation. But now the streets were buckled and ruptured, large cracks making the walk more difficult than before. Many of the buildings had been damaged, and chunks of rock littered the ground. Why is the city so much more damaged this time? Was something different about the way we left the void?

The inn the guild had been camping in was not far from the city gates. One of the giant gates hung on its side. Its top hinges had been ripped out when the city fell. The other lay in the field, almost fifty feet away from the gate, as it if had been thrown free by an angry giant. How did that even happen?

Night was falling fast as they tore across the meadows as quickly as Ga’on could manage. It was clear the expedition leader was suffering. His pace slowed, and his cheeks were pale, as his breathing came fast and furious. But he pressed on silence, never speaking a word to them.

They were still far from the entrance to the mountain tunnel when day passed into night. As they pressed on down the road, the great horn rumbled again. When its sonorous rumble washed over them, its force was so great that even far from the city, Jasper felt like his very bones were being vibrated apart. The three stopped and turned to face the city. We should keep moving, he thought, but he couldn't bring himself to move. When the horn finally fell silent, they stood frozen, their eyes glued to the city’s gates.

The night was silent. Gusts of winds drove little pricks of snow into his cheek as the ground was slowly covered with a pristine white blanket, but no sound was carried on the wind to his ears except for the faint noise of his own breathing.

And then he felt it. The earth shook lightly. And again. And again.

And carried on the wind, the howls of the wraiths filled the silent valley as they marched out of the city gates. They no longer shambled aimlessly around the streets of Als̆arratu, but marched in array, clad in the armor of war, and at their head was a Queen. She rode on a great skeletal stag. Its bones gleamed like silver in the dim moonlight, and its horns glowed with an arcane light. Jasper squinted, his eyes peering far beyond the extent of human vision as he examined her. At first, he thought it was Aphora, but as he studied her face he realized the truth. It's her mother. The ancient queen seemed to notice his gaze and turned towards him, her eyes glowing with an eldritch fire.

He stumbled back, terror gripping him. “Let’s go.” The three ran mindlessly, racing towards the tunnel entrance. The ground beneath them shook as the mighty army continued to stream out of the broken gates of Als̆arratu. The undead gave no chase but continued their inexorable march.

They reached the entrance to the tunnel, Ga'on wheezing so loudly his breathing sounded like a battle cry. Jasper's heart beat wildly in his chest as he fled down the dark corridor. But the sound behind him ceased. Turning back, he saw Ga’on had stopped and was standing still at the entrance of the tunnel, facing into the valley.

“What are you doing, man? Come on!” Jasper shouted back at him.

Ga’on turned to look at him and dismissed him with a slow shake of his head. “Go back to Gis̆-Izum; warn the city.”

“Come on. We can do it together.”

A sad smile crossed the expedition leader’s face. “Even if I could reach the city - and I can’t - I still couldn’t go back. I can feel it within me, a change. I lasted longer than the others did, but my mind is slipping further and further into darkness." He spat on the ground, a touch of anger returning to his voice. "I'm turning into one of them.”

Behind him, Jasper could see the spears of the wraiths approaching fast, their heads reflecting the mana lights of the tunnels. Ga’on drew a potion out of his bag and uncorked it. He weighed it in his hand for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. “You know, I found this potion in my second year of adventuring. The expedition was a fiasco, but we found a cache of ancient potions that were worth more than any of our lives. I’ve carried it with me ever since then, more than a hundred years.”

He smiled bitterly. “I was starting to think I was never going to have to use it. Thought I'd pass it down to my grandchildren someday. But I guess I’ll get to experience it for myself after all.”

The guild leader threw his head back as he drained the portion in one go. He tossed the bottle on the ground, where it shattered with the tinkle of glass. He looked up at Jasper. “If I’m going to die, I’m going to die on my own terms. Go - warn the city. I’ll delay the creatures as long as possible.”

Ga’on dropped to his knees, an anguished howl erupting from his throat. His hands dug into the stone floor, leaving giant gouge marks from the razor-sharp claws that erupted from his fingers. He screamed again as his back exploded in a shower of gore. Two leathery black wings burst through his skin, brushing against the narrow tunnel’s walls as they slowly flapped. His arms turned black and scaly, and Jasper watched in horror as his mouth began to warp and stretch.

“Go!” The guild leader's last command, spoken from a mouth not meant for words, was almost incomprehensible.

Jasper turned and ran, his pace fueled by terror. The creature roared and charged toward the ranks of the queen's army. The screams and howls of the wraiths chased him down the dark corridors, as he blindly ran. Jasper swiftly caught up to Ihra and, grabbing hold of her hand, dragged her along behind him. The sounds of the combat slowly faded away as they fled deeper into the tunnel. But the soft tremble of the earth beneath them left little room for doubt.

The Queen was coming.