Chapter 27 - Kjillak, Capital City Of Terror

Sierra’s eyes opened slowly, at first she stretched out her muscles and then knew something felt wrong. There was something constricting on her leg and as she brought her leg up to her hand she heard the rattling of a chain along the stone floor. Sierra had a iron clasp on her right leg, at first she tugged at it, using all her strength to remove it, then she ran her hand along the chain, wondering where it led. After Sierra had run her hand along the chain for about a meter of it she grew impatient and yanked at the chain hard, the response was a yelp of pain. Valandt jumped awake instantly, the last thing he remembered was being thrown into a strange black hole and then darkness overcame him and he became drowsy. Valandt instantly felt something tight around his left leg, he began to feel for it as Sierra spoke. “Its a chain you fool” she said “designed to keep us together” Sierra sighed “this must be hell then” she added.
“Well if you hadn‘t thrown me into the black hole, maybe you wouldn't be here. How did you get here anyway?” Valandt responded.
“Sneak attack” she said, anger clear in her voice.
“So, what is this place?” Valandt then asked, thinking aloud.
“How should I know?” Sierra replied “the real question we should be asking is why are we here”
“Well that's obvious, to keep us out of Goreoth’s way”
“Just doesn't fit with me, Goreoth likes a fight, he relishes the hatred. And if we‘re all supposed to be out of the way, where are Imunzo, Zvire, Calandria, Enzaghe, need I continue?”. Sierra was mystified as to even be talking to Valandt, but she had no other choice and as much as she hated him they were both in the same predicament. Valandt began to pace and the sound of the chain rattled around the otherwise empty and dark cell. “What happened to Presto and Astral?” he then asked Sierra.
“They ran into the black hole after you. Do you like leading people to their deaths?” she said spitefully. “Not my problem if people care for me whereas no-one cares for you. What does that tell you?” Valandt then said.
“It tells me that you‘re a manipulator” she replied.
“Can you two children quieten down for a while?” the voice was familiar, it was Presto’s only much weaker. “Presto?” called Valandt “Where are you?”
“We‘re in a cell opposite yours” came another voice, Astral’s.
“What‘s wrong with Presto?” Valandt then asked.
“I don‘t...” Presto struggled to speak so Astral continued for him.
“He woke up like this. He is under some sort of spell” she replied. `I am very worried about him Valandt, he is not well at all` she then said to Valandt telepathically. Valandt wanted to turn and hit Sierra for the constant trouble she was causing but he instead got his mind thinking of a way out. “My sword!” Sierra exclaimed suddenly.
“Well you didn't think they were going to let you in with it did you?”
“No, but I like that sword. Besides, I have this” Sierra pulled up her leggings to reveal a short sword tucked into her boot and removed it. “Now you had better watch your step, I don't want a corpse attached to my leg but if you cross me I wont hesitate” she said to him, making sure he knew that she had a weapon by prodding him in the chest with it. “How did you get that?” Valandt then asked. “You don't think I'd go to a meeting with you with only one weapon did you. I didn't like you much before I found out that you killed my father” her tone was becoming more aggressive and Astral on the cell on other side became increasingly worried for Valandt’s safety. Sierra gave a glance into the darkness, looking in the direction of the cell opposite then relaxed the sword she had pressed against Valandt and stuck it in her belt. “As much as I wouldn’t hesitate to kill you, I don’t want your loathsome corpse chained to my leg so for your sake you had better hope this chain stays on” Sierra said as she walked toward the faint light coming from the window of the cell. Valandt turned his back on Sierra the made his way to the bars of the cell, the sound of the chain that linked them began to rattle against the stone floor. Valandt began to shake the bars, testing their durability and they refused to budge. Valandt bowed his head to the floor and just as he was about to let out a sigh of despair he heard the sound of the door to the far right of the room be opened. Through the door came a shadowy figure, the bad lighting and the fact that he was covered head to toe in a hood and cloak making it impossible to make out a face. The strange figure made its way to Valandt’s cell and opened the door. “Follow me,” it said in a rasp that was its voice. Valandt made his way out of the cell, slowly followed by Sierra, who when she was directly behind the strange person that had opened the cell knocked him out with a brutal elbow to the face. Sierra then walked around the man and looked for a set of keys that would open the other cell, something that caused the chain around Valandt’s leg to bind his legs together. As Valandt unwound the chain banding his legs together Sierra found the keys to the cell and then opened it, allowing Presto and Astral to exit. Presto however was crouched by the wall of the cell and could not move, his body drained of all energy. Sierra walked over to Presto and helped him to his feet, stopping only as the chain became taut and then allowing Valandt to come into the cell. “I can tell you’re going to be a lot of help,” Sierra said as she and Valandt lifted Presto to his feet.
“We wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for you” Valandt replied as Sierra turned to Astral.
“Since you’re the one chained to him, it would be best for you to carry him” she said to Astral, who nodded acknowledging her. Astral took Presto out of Valandt’s hands and put his arm around her for support while Valandt fought off the jealousy he was feeling. “Any idea how we get back to Legia?” Valandt asked Sierra once his arms were free.
“None whatsoever” she replied, forgetting for an instant her dislike for talking to him
. “The orb” Astral chipped in, trying to get used to carrying the weight of Presto.
“What?” Sierra instantly asked.
“I think I know where we are, the same place I was taken to when Kaiazal took me through the same black hole. Kjillak” Astral explained, prompting another question
“Kjillak?” Valandt asked.
“When Kaiazal and Orscyar were banished from the real world, their last act before storing all their magic in Lijitman was Kjillak. A city of the damned where evil reigns supreme”.
“Well how do we get out?” Valandt asked.
“There is a building, it looms over everything else in the land. In that tower there is a room from which there lays the black orb. The orb is no bigger than a fist, however inside it is stored all the power that Kaiazal and Orscyar originally put into it. Destroy the orb and we destroy Kjillak, however there are risks and consequences”
“When aren’t there?” Sierra sarcastically added.
“The power of the orb once it is released will, if it does not kill us all, unleash all the evil of this world upon Legia”
“So the only way to get back home is to possibly destroy it?” Valandt asked.
“Not necessarily” a weak Presto began. “I could channel the black magic safely” he stopped mid sentence, unable to say too much at a time.
“Well where is this tower?” Valandt asked.
“We get out of this place and look for the biggest building” Sierra threw in. Silence then settled in the cells, Sierra then began to look out of the cell window, in the distance was the murky outline of a building standing over all the rest. “Anybody else think that this was too easy?” Sierra asked.
“What was too easy?” Valandt asked.
“Sending one guard when Kaiazal himself cannot kill us, it makes no sense.”
“You heard about the orb, Kaiazal wants us out so that we can unleash its powers upon Legia”.
“Maybe.. but it just doesn't sit with me” Sierra replied, leaving her dislike for Valandt behind, for now. “Valandt is right” Astral added “Kaiazal does want us out, but not because of the orb”
“Why?” Valandt then asked.
“Because in these cells at least we are safe from the terrors of the outside” Astral concluded, her voice now filled with fear. Valandt and Sierra then both looked at the window once more before going to leave, both of them wondering what dangers they would encounter and unaware that they were being watched. “I don't like this, we should kill them now, hoard upon hoard of demons they wouldn’t stand a chance. Don't you agree?” Orscyar said, turning to Kaiazal, reflecting on what they had just seen.
“Goreoth wants them alive, for now at least. I want to see them release the dark magic of the orb upon Legia, if they make it to the orb alive”
“What makes you so confident of our guards being victorious over them, they have defeated almost everything we have given them so far”
“The greatest threat to Valandt and Sierra is not anything we can conjure, but each other and likewise they are our greatest threat. If they can find a way to put aside their hatred and work together it would mean the end of us“ Kaiazal turned to Orscyar and then gave him an order “make sure it does not happen”.

Enzaghe stood and stared blankly at the mound of freshly dug and replanted earth that was the grave of his nephew. Moments after Valandt entered the room to talk to the newly unmasked Shadow, Kaiazal and Orscyar entered and massacred those inside. Enzaghe was forced to watch as the soldiers in the main hall, the soldiers under his command were sent to their deaths. Kaiazal created a force field around the door which Enzaghe could not penetrate to get through to Valandt. While all this was going on, Astral and Presto ran around the castle trying to find another way in. Enzaghe surrendering hope of getting through to Valandt made his way out of the castle, where he later met up with Imunzo and Zvire. Then he found the body. The castle was aflame by now and the figure of Orscyar walked through the flames with something in his arms, he then tossed the scorched body of Calandria. Enzaghe closed his eyes and fought off the tears with as much strength as he used in battle. Imunzo and Zvire had respectfully left Enzaghe alone while he dug a suitable grave for the young soldier. “Shouldn’t be you in here, should be me” Enzaghe had said as he dug. Enzaghe never was an emotional man, he had been brought up on the principle that men die every day but this hit him harder than any weapon ever could. Calandria had been under Enzaghe’s wing virtually since his first day out of the training academy. They had grown closer over the years and Enzaghe had almost grown to regard Calandria as a son. Now he was gone. Enzaghe felt a strange emptiness that he had never felt before and frustrated at the fact that he could do nothing about it. Enzaghe had always thought that Calandria’s burial would have been one of a decorated war hero. However there were no trumpet fanfares or parade upon parade of grieving comrades, all that stood for the funeral of Calandria were Enzaghe, Imunzo and Zvire. Calandria was not lifted into the ground in a masterfully crafted coffin with the shiniest of brass handles and a golden plaque listing his numerous achievements, Calandria wasn’t even sent to the afterlife in a coffin. Enzaghe had his sword pressed firmly into the ground and was leaning his bulky body onto it as he stared aimlessly at Calandria’s grave. Enzaghe sighed and took his weight off the sword and pulled it clear from the ground and walked toward Imunzo and Zvire. Zvire had been on the second floor when it happened. Orscyar appeared to him and demanded to have his sword, when Zvire refused Orscyar went to burn him alive in the building, setting the whole room on fire almost in an instant. Imunzo came to Zvire’s aid, bursting through the door and tackling him toward the window, to which they both fell out of. The fall had severely winded Zvire but he was by now recovered. During Enzaghe’s vigil next to the grave of Calandria, Imunzo had told Zvire that with the sword of Drakahor at least temporarily gone if Orscyar or Kaiazal got their hands on the sword of Chalhor it would mean the end for all life on Legia. “The two swords” Imunzo had told him “Chalhor and Drakahor are the swords of light. It is these swords alone which can kill Goreoth. When Lijitman was forced to craft the axe, a weapon of complete evil which turns its barer into a bloodthirsty animal, he crafted the two swords with his remaining powers and on his death bed they were blessed with all that is good” Imunzo had explained as Zvire attentively listened. “Chalhor is blessed with love, honour and joy, Goreoth knows these to be more powerful than hate, shame and sorrow. Drakahor however is blessed with the embodiment of goodness itself; Goldrache, the golden dragon of Paix. If these two swords can pierce Goreoth’s apparent skin, he will be destroyed, never to return” Imunzo had concluded as Enzaghe approached them.
“Where to now then?” Zvire asked upon Enzaghe’s rejoining with them
“The port towns of Seaena and Wajem” Enzaghe replied instantly.
“Why there?” Zvire asked.
“The people of Legia are leaving in their droves. There are hundreds that have been forced out of house and home and have lost countless family members. Wajem has the biggest concentration of soldiers so we would be safe.” Enzaghe paused “And I am to make sure all the remaining people across the waters get to the relative safety of the continent of Ajazeus. You two need not travel with me if it shall inconvenience you” Enzaghe looked at Imunzo and Zvire eager for a response.
“How far is Wajem from where Legia castle stood?” Imunzo asked
“Just over a days ride, no more than two but it depends on the route” Enzaghe replied.
“Then we will go with you, will we not Imunzo?” Zvire said, turning to Imunzo.
“Indeed, we will travel with you to Wajem and make sure that all the people are to safety before Goreoth makes his first appearance” Imunzo replied. The three then made their way around the castle to where four horses stood, their fear of what was happening in the castle next to them had scattered them about the land but they had by now calmed and all munched carelessly on the black grass that was everywhere. Imunzo, Zvire and Calandria rounded up the horses and then began to mount after having to reshuffle around the saddles which had jumped out of position or in some cases fell to the floor. The three then pulled in their reins and began to ride off in a westerly direction toward the port town of Wajem.

A smell which was a mixture of rotting corpses and burnt wood hung heavily in the air as Sierra, Valandt, Astral and Presto made their way outside. Astral was still having to use all her strength to keep supporting Presto upright and was beginning to get used to the extra weight. The sky was a fiery red in places, dulled over mostly by masses of black clouds. The silhouette of a skyline could be seen in front of them, the prison which they had been taken to was embedded inside a series of complex caverns which had taken the four of them some time to traverse. Sierra, looking into the distance at the outline of the town in front of them sighed and sat on the edge of the path which they were standing on. “Problems?” Valandt asked sincerely, noticing the solemn look in her face. Sierra opened her mouth to answer him honestly but instead gave him a quick “Yeah I've got problems, like the fact that im chained to you” she said spitefully, getting to her feet. Sierra began to approach Astral, who was sitting on a rock outside the entrance to the cave, temporarily having a rest from carrying Presto “Is that the building you were talking about?” Sierra asked Astral while pointing to a tall shadowy figure of a building, “They all look fairly small from here” she said, squinting her eyes “But its possible”. There was then a short pause which soon became an eerie silence the longer it went on. Suddenly the ground below them began to shake and several rocks from the top of the cave came falling down, narrowly missing Astral and Sierra on two occasions. Valandt jumped to avoid a tumbling rock and lost his balance causing him to fall over the edge and pulling Sierra off her feet and toward it in the process. Pain surged through Sierra’s body, the iron clasp on her leg was virtually pulling it out of its socket as the weight of Valandt dragged her closer toward the edge. Sierra stayed strong as she lay on her back and dug her heels into the ground, getting a decent footing for leverage. Sierra leant forward and pulled at the chain, pulling it toward her with all her might. Valandt meanwhile had banged his head as he fell over the edge and was now hanging upside down. Valandt groggily awoke from his momentarily lapse from consciousness and used all his strength to try and get up right again. Valandt pulled himself upright and grabbed randomly at the cliff face, trying to find something he could use to climb up but his progress was hindered as he kept feeling something tug at his leg. After a relatively long period of climbing and Sierras unintentionally hindering pulling Valandt managed to get to the top and get a hand on the edge of the cliff he had earlier fallen from. Within moments Sierra leaned forward grabbing Valandt’s hand and pulled him forward to safety, however she was doing this to put a stop the pain that the chain was causing in her leg rather than a concern for Valandt’s safety. “What the hell was that?” Valandt asked as he got to his feet but not before rubbing his leg which was also feeling sore. Sierra drew the sword she stashed in her belt and looked all around frantically “I don't know, but I've got a bad feeling about this” she then focused her eyes on what appeared to be nothing, studying it intensely and hoping to find something out of place. Suddenly Sierra leapt at what appeared to be thin air, but Valandt watched as the thin air became the from of a man. “Orscyar!” Sierra cried out, just before he broke free of her tight grasp. “What are you doing here?” she said, pointing the blade of her sword directly at Orscyar’s chest.
“I couldn't help overhearing your conversation about the orb” Orscyar replied
“Eavesdropping, I should have known. We‘ll find a way to destroy the orb without releasing the demons of Kjillak upon Legia” Astral chipped in
“Your kind amuses me, what with your constant presuming and notions that you are always right” Orscyar began
“What do you mean ?” Valandt asked
“You will not make it to the orb, you will not make it inside Kjillak. Kaiazal and I have decided to take no chances with you four, there are guards stationed outside all entrances to Kjillak and their orders are to kill on sight and with only one weapon your chances are pathetic at best. The only way you‘re getting in is in a coffin” Orscyar spoke with an sense of victory.
“Then what exactly are you doing here?” Sierra then put in.
“I have merely come to welcome you to your new home” said Orscyar, smiling.
“And what does this welcome entail?” said Valandt, stepping forward.
“So glad you asked” Orscyar’s smirk grew and he clapped his hands, the ground began to shake once more and giant worms with ravenous razor sharp teeth began to come out of the ground, one instantly closed its mouth around the chain binding Valandt and Sierra together. Sierra hoped that this would snap the chain but this was not the case as the worm continued to fly through the air taking Sierra and Valandt with it as it began to descend back down. Sierra saw that the worm was going to drag them underground and plunged her sword deep into its neck, causing it to roar with pain dropping Valandt and Sierra in the process. More worms began to appear as Orscyar disappeared into nothing, his laughter echoing all across the sky. Sierra dived and went into a roll, trying to get back to her feet like she had done so many times before however this time the chain became stretched tight and she was unable to execute it. She silently cursed at Valandt for being a burden to her for even the simplest of moves as she got to her feet, making sure to keep on her toes for any oncoming worms. Sierra’s alertness was forced to the forefront as a worm came directly for her and Valandt and she went to dive to the right, however she once again felt the strain of the chain as Valandt went to run to the left. She wanted to cut him there and then she held the blade tight in her hands but there was no time for this dispute and she dived to the right, avoiding the worm by the narrowest of margins and tackling Valandt to the floor as she went. “Can you stop getting in my way for just two seconds” Sierra snapped at Valandt before he had a chance to protest about being pushed to the floor. Sierra then got to her feet and looked around at the worms which began to close in on them, coming up from the ground then going back into it some metres ahead. Sierra took careful notice of how they moved and their timing and co-ordination before making her move, jumping into the air and spinning around five full turns with the blade extended before dropping to the ground a few seconds later while Valandt made sure to stay low and out of the blades reach. Sierra stood and admired her work for a moment as five worm corpses fell to the floor before Astral gave a scream of horror. Without realizing Sierra’s arm came up instantly as an immediate reaction to Astral’s cries and the blade flew through the air, directly into the body of the worm that was only a heartbeat away from sinking its razor sharp teeth into Astral’s body. As Valandt saw that this was the last of the worms he began to relax as Sierra kept her alert stance, then slowly he herself began to relax before she and Valandt walked over to Astral. Sierra retrieved her sword from inside the dead worm as Valandt hugged Astral, providing a comfort to her frantically beating heart. “Now what?” Sierra asked as she stuck her sword back into her belt.
“We go to the tower and the orb” Valandt instantly responded, parting from Astral.
“You heard Orscyar, there are guards all around and I can‘t fight for all four of us” Sierra replied.
Valandt paused and began to think, a smile soon descended over his face “no matter, we go to the guards anyway. Once one of them is dead I can take his sword” Valandt said, lost for anything of clever strategy “are you in then?”
“I‘m chained to you, what choice do I have?” she answered, cleverly avoiding his question.
“Are you in, yes or no?” Valandt persisted.
“Yes” she was reluctant and took an age to answer, Valandt then slowly extended his hand and Sierra looked Valandt in the eye and decided to put all hatred aside at least for now and she shook it.