Chapter Fifteen
[Admiral Mendoza]
IDM yawned and look down at his feet again.
Guard
duty sucks...I wish I had gone with the others. He gripped his staff
again with both hands, clutching it tightly. I'd show them all, I'm
as good a "warrior" as any of them! He then started to twirl the wooden
staff with one hand, like a baton. Then he put it in his other hand and
did the same thing. After a few minutes of doing increasingly difficult
stunts, he turned to a nearby tree and started doing different staff attacks
on it. He hit it with one side, then another, then he would grab it with
both hands and ram the middle of it against the tree, like one would do
to knock an enemy down. Wish this was a real enemy; then I'd finally
get a little excitement.
"IDM? IDM, you here?" called out 2 dope. IDM decided
to play a little trick upon hearing the voice come closer and repeat the
same question. Heh...this should be fun. He then yelled, upon hearing
the third inquiry, "HELP, 2 DOPE, SOMETHING--" Then he broke off, making
gagging sounds and pretending to struggle with an attacker. When he heard
running footsteps coming up the hill, he ducked behind the same tree he
had waged battle on, and hid. He kept absolutely quiet.
"IDM?! IDM, WHERE ARE YOU? ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?" hollered
2 dope. No response. He tried again, this time getting really worried when
he heard no response. He was about to try a third time when IDM came out
from behind the tree and quietly but quickly approached 2 dope; 2 dope
was facing away from the tree. 2 dope was about to turn around when IDM,
disguising his voice, shouted behind 2 dope, "If you wanna live...you won't
turn around, boy!" He had put his index finger up against 2 dope's back,
like it was a knife.
"Where...what...what have you done to IDM?" stammered
2 dope. He was shaking a bit.
"The one you call IDM is dead..." IDM broke off.
2 dope was crushed by this news.
"YOU SCOUNDREL!" shouted 2 dope, and he turned around
quickly to see IDM laughing his butt off.
"He's dead all right...dead tired of pointless guard
duty!" IDM fell to the ground, laughing.
"Why, you little..." began 2 dope, but he stopped
and just fell on top of IDM and started to hit him. "You stupid jerk, I'm
going to kill you! How could you pull a stunt like that?! Damn it, you
freaking scared the crap out of me!" 2 dope resumed beating IDM. After
a few blows, IDM used his bigger body size and threw 2 dope off. He got
up, but was still red in the face from laughing, and a smile could still
be seen on his lips.
"Man, you should have seen your face! That was classic!
Man, thanks for the relief. I needed that. Guard duty sure can be boring.
We should have gone with the others after they went to storm the castle.
But no...you volunteered us for guard duty. I thought you had woodsmen
that could do this..." IDM trailed off, looking at what he thought was
a shooting star...a fist-sized stone with a fire-red outline...
"Jerk. And are you mad? I'm not risking my life
on a suicide mission, I mean...the plan was hardly sound. I hate to admit
it, but they've probably failed...and either are dead, or imprisoned. And
if that is true...then Marley will be sending his goons to come after us.
We need to prepare ourselves."
"No! They will...no, HAVE succeeded in their mission.
I bet Marley is lying in a pool of his own wretched blood in his own wretched
throne room right now. I bet they're fine! Soon, they will come back and
declare victory. Then the restoration will begin!"
"Think about it...they've been gone for days now,
face it...they've failed. And there is no point in a rescue attempt...no
point in getting ourselves killed. Maybe Crippy had the right idea...maybe
we should join with Marley and beg for forgiveness while we have the chance!"
2 dope was adamant.
"WHAT?! Never! I'll never join with Marley. And
I hope Crippy rots in hell for his betrayal...if he isn't already dead,
I'll get him myself! And we expected it to take a few days for this to
pan out. Maybe we should go to the castle ourselves and find out what has
happened. You have more than enough people to watch the woods and fort.
Come on...I need something to end this boredom." IDM was still watching
the strange shooting star; it was rather close, and it looked like it would
hit a few miles from here. The strange thing though, was that it seemed
to be slowing it's descent...like it was alive or something. Odd...was
IDM's thought.
"What? Are you nuts? Look, I wanted them to succeed
too, but it just didn't have a chance. I liked those guys too, but face
it...they died...in vain." 2 dope was rather depressed.
"Oh come on, you pessimist...let's go, I'm bored!
I want to see if they did succeed...which they did, because they're just
too good to get killed. Now come on, let's go." IDM grabbed his staff off
the ground, and started walking in the direction that led to the castle.
"IDM! No, I won't go!" shouted 2 dope.
"Fine, you stay, I'll go by myself if I have to."
IDM continued walking...still looking at that shooting star; it was going
very slowly now...Hey...maybe I can check out that thing if it is on
my way.
"IDM, come on...please! Fine...see if I care,"
shouted 2 dope to the fading IDM. "But, if they did succeed, which I doubt,
then come on back. OK?" he added, expressing his concern.
"All right, sure you don't want to come?" replied
IDM.
"Yes, I'll hold down the fort..." was 2 dope's answer.
IDM looked back at 2 dope, and saw him wave. He waved back. When he turned
back around to check on the star, he saw that it was gone. Damn...must've
crashed...oh well, maybe I'll see it on the way. And on he walked into
the fading light.
"Ah...this is much better...now I can finally be alone
with my own thoughts, without that big goon scrutinizing my every move,"
said the Xythar stone, which was hovering above the ground near a huge
tree. Suddenly, he shot down into the ground and after a few seconds, a
shadowy form jumped out of the hole that was created. It leapt nearly twenty
feet into the air, hit the ground rolling, and stopped...kneeling on one
knee. Then, it stood up, and started walking towards the town near Marley's
castle.
"Now that I have my body...and an increased knowledge
of the book...I have a plan of my own, Zarrivex. I'm tired of listening
to you...you are too cocky for your own good...I'm gonna show you. I'll
take the book for myself, and then I'll become a god. Then we'll see what
is what. But doing that will not be easy...not at all...I will need much
power before I can challenge those rebels, and Zarrivex should he find
me out. But that will not be a problem...for I will use this neat little
toy that Zarrivex gave to me. One of his own creations will be his undoing!"
spoke Xythar, emphasizing himself by waving his fist. "Yes...we will see
who the true master is...and Tiamat...well...I'll just see what happens
first."
Xythar walked on...heading towards the town and
Tia's house...and unbeknownst to him, IDM.
Mendoza cocked his head, and tried to understand what
this merchant was saying. God, I hate Lopit...Lopit being Smalzick's
native language. I wish I had some linguistic skills...
[You pay, you pay now, you pay now or I get cop!
You disturbing peace, you scare customers away!] was the merchant's reply
to whatever Mendoza had said.
"Yes...me want buy this...how much? H...O...W M...U...C...H?"
Mendoza slowly enunciated the words, in a vain attempt to get the merchant
to understand. Then he pointed to the item, and then rubbed his fingers
together, then shrugged questioningly.
[That? That is 20 dolts! 20 DOLTS! YOU PAY, OR YOU
LEAVE!]
"How much?" asked Mendoza again. He knew a little
Lopit, and he managed to catch "20" and "Dolts." He waved his hand to silence
the merchant.
"All right...20 Dolts? Fine, here..." Mendoza handed
the merchant several reddish coins, and the merchant greedily grabbed them,
shoved them in his pockets, and shoved the item (a small wooden box, with
a gold outline) towards Mendoza. Mendoza grabbed it, and put it in the
sack he was wearing around his waist. "Thank you, pleasure doing business
with you," said Mendoza politely.
[Leave now, you get, you get...now you go, you scare
customers! You ugly!]
"Good-bye, merchant, I hope we do business again!"
Mendoza shouted over his shoulder, and he trudged away slowly back to the
inn where he was staying. He navigated his way in and out of the daily
traffic of people doing trading and bartering. For such a smallish town,
they sure do a lot of business... He walked up to a small, two-story
building, and walked in.
"Good evening, Mr. Mendoza. Glad you made it in
one piece," said the innkeeper.
"Yes, Gustup, me too," replied Mendoza. "Any news,
letters, something like that?"
"Why, yes...something big in fact; should I tell
it to you in a gossipy fashion, or hand you the newspaper?" asked Gustup.
"Paper, please...I'm rather tired, and I'd rather
just go to my room and rest."
"All right then, here's the paper...and here's your
letters. You got three of them again...you're quite the busy man, aren't
you Mr. Mendoza? Busy for a junk trader anyway...and what kind of junk
trader gets a letter with the official seal of the Arillacus Navy, hm?"
"Didn't anyone ever teach you it's rude to go through
someone else's mail, Gustup?"
"I didn't open them, I just looked at the outer
seal. I know my symbols, and that is the official navy symbol of Arillacus.
Maybe they're trying to draft you or something, eh?"
"Yeah, Gustup...that must be it. Goodbye for now,
Gustup."
"So long, Mr. Mendoza."
Mendoza waved his hand, and made a slight inclination
with his head, and then walked up the flight of stairs, hooked a right,
and using a key which he extracted from his pocket, unlocked the second
door, opened it, and went in. Then he shut the door, and sat down on his
bed. "Three letters...it's been like this the whole five weeks. Maybe it
is some good news for once. Nah..let's just read this paper." Mendoza looked
down and saw the main headline:
KING MARLEY ASSASSINATED BY REBELS
"Aey? Marley dead? Good riddance to bad rubbish.
Maybe now they'll get a leader with some sense and a heart...or maybe set
up a new form of government. Maybe now, finally, there will be some peace
with Marley's kingdom and Arillacus. Oh well, let's see what I got."
Mendoza looked through the letters. One was indeed
from the Arillacus Navy. Great...another plea for me to return...they
don't need me to survive. One was from his fiancée...Awww...she
still loves me. And the other was a strange letter...encased in a blackish
envelope and with the word "Mendoza" on the front. Hmmm...let's open
up my Navy one first. As he predicted...it was another plea for him
to return to his duties. Mendoza sighed, and then opened up his fiancée's
letter. In it was just the usual lovey-dovey, "I'm fine, how are you?"
and "keep safe" stuff. I'm glad she is so happy...and safe...I hope.
Then he turned his attention to the strange letter. It was slightly bulgy...like
it had something other than a letter in it.
"Hmmm....odd." He opened it up, and out came a white
piece of paper, a small, three-pronged dagger-looking thing, and a small
sapphire. It glistened in the light...and struck his eyes. Nice...
He looked at the dagger-thing. Okay... Then he looked at the folded
piece of paper. He unfolded it, and read what was on it. It read:
You may need these. In due time, you'll figure out why.
Your enemy is closer than you think.
P.S. Have you read your newspaper lately? You should always keep
up on the current events.
--A friend
"What the hell?" Mendoza was baffled. He put the
letter back in the envelope. Then he put the dagger-thingy and the jewel
in his bag, which he had set on the ground. Have you read your newspa...per...
Mendoza suddenly snapped his fingers.
"I don't know who this 'friend' is...but it seems
I have no choice but to follow this up...whatever these rebels have to
do with Zarrivex though, is beyond me. But to them, I must go. But first..."
He got up, and walked over to the desk. He wrote a letter to his family
and the Navy explaining that he was going, and that it may be a while before
he came back. I'm sure Forton can handle the job for a few weeks more.
Forton was Mendoza's back up, and he took over Mendoza's duties when Mendoza
left on trips and such. He was a capable man. Then Mendoza packed up his
things, put the bag back around his neck, and went out. In the lobby, he
handed Gustup the key and the money, with an extra little tip. And after
that...he headed off to Marley's capital city. He had to talk to these
rebels. There, he decided...would be the answer to his question. The solution
to his problem. He would find Zarrivex there. And then, make him pay. Make
him pay dearly. And, as a bonus, stop him from hurting anyone else.
IDM was tired...he had been walking all night, and it
was almost dawn. He yawned and decided he could walk for a few more miles,
then take a break. He trudged on. However, he did not know of the dangers
ahead. Xythar was ahead of him. An angry and determined Xythar.
Xythar kept up his grueling pace, unaware that his
body was getting tired. He was focused on only trying to destroy Zarrivex.
And trying to get as much power from as many beings as he could.
"With this soul controller Zarrivex created, not
only can I gain the individual's abilities...but I can also control them
without ever actually having to leave my body. What a great creation!"
shouted Xythar loudly. So loudly that IDM, who was going in the same direction,
heard it. He went to investigate. It took him a few minutes to catch up
with Xythar, but when he did, he only saw a shadowy figure...which he followed
carefully.
"Who the hell is that? Maybe I should call to him?"
asked IDM to himself. After a few minutes of deliberation, he had decided
to approach the figure...but not with his guard down, just in case.
"HEY! You! Who are you? State your business in these
woods!" shouted IDM to Xythar. This made Xythar turn around, and Xythar
was not happy at being disturbed from his thoughts.
"I am who I am, and I can do whatever I want in
these woods. Who are you, the owner of these woods or something? I don't
think you know who you're dealing with, chump!" was Xythar's response.
He marched toward IDM, but stopped when he saw him raise his staff.
"My, my...aren't we rude? I think you should be
taught a lesson in manners, and I would do it...but I have to get to Marley's
castle and see if my friends are all right. Now, out of my way, or else!"
IDM raised the staff high. Xythar only chuckled. It was not a chuckle of
good will. It was a malicious chuckle. "Fool! You have just signed
your body and soul to me! Prepare to be enslaved! I've always wanted some
stick fighting skills!" With that said, Xythar raised his hand, and threw
out some sort of black ball...which struck IDM and leveled him to the ground.
He didn't have a prayer. Xythar then walked over to IDM and touched him.
He was now in complete control of his body and thoughts.
"Ah...a rebel...one closely associated with the
ones who killed my previous host. Excellent...I can use you to my advantage.
Now...I can be in two places at once. While I go tend to Tiamat, you can
keep an eye on those rebels. And when the time is right, you can bring
me the book. Now...slave...act normally, but keep an eye out. Spy, and
if the time is good, and you have the opportunity...seize the spellbook
and bring it to me. But until then, do nothing but watch and wait. I will
expect you to report to me...now go, Slave. Go. Go to your friends, and
help me end them all and Zarrivex alike. Soon, there will only be one true
great power standing. And it will be me!" Xythar shouted to the slave IDM.
"Yes, master," was IDM's response, and with that,
he resumed his course. And so did Xythar. And somewhere...in some distant
land, Mendoza was making his way toward the capital too.
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