Orkish Endeavours (Chapter 6)
A grimdark fantasy
Previously:
The Betrayal: Rudd leads the four orcs into the castle but betrays them to save his own skin. He warns Milamber of the attack, proposing a deal: Milamber kills the four orcs, and Rudd walks free.
The Murder: Milamber slaughters the four orcs. However, when the wizard turns his back to cast a cleaning spell, Rudd decapitates him.
The Aftermath: Rudd attempts a ritual to prevent resurrection (eating the heart) but botches it (eating the tongue instead) due to the darkness. He flees the castle, traumatized by the murder, only to find the Voice silent.
Chapter 6: The Fields of Darkness
The world shimmered. The hollowed oaks, the rocks—it was all floating.
Even Rask was floating. Then, the world came to a sudden stop.
“RASK, is that you?” Rudd shouted.
“Aye, Rudd—it’s me!” Rask said.
“It’s good to see you again, my brother. I thought you were dead,” Rudd said.
“Well, Rudd, I guess we’ll die soon,” Rask uttered.
“WHAT? What do you mean?”
“What I mean,” said Rask, “is that we are caught in this prison. HE fooled me, and the voice fooled you. He told me all about your second venture into the castle. Mighty clever, Rudd, but not clever enough.”
“Wait a minute,” Rudd said. “We aren’t trapped in any prison. I can see the oaks, the rocks, the sky—we are as free as the bird up there.” Rudd pointed upward.
“Free, you say?” Rask replied. “Well, try to run away then. You ain’t getting out. The nature you see is only an illusion. HE told me!”
Rudd started to run, but after just a couple of yards, he hit an invisible wall. “Goddamn, who is HE?” Rudd said, confused.
“He is the voice you heard a couple of days ago. He is just an ordinary goblin like you and me, but he has power—magic power. He says he learned it through years of training, but I don’t think it is he who has the power!”
“You don’t?” Rudd said, forgetting their situation for a moment. “Nope, it’s impossible. He’s...”
Rask suddenly fainted. A voice loomed in the back of Rudd’s head: “Second Commandment: Thou shalt not doubt thy master’s word.” Then, it was gone.
The Weight of Guilt
The image of Milamber’s horrid look still penetrated Rudd’s mind; it would not stop. It was not the first time Rudd had killed, but this was a murder he could not forget. He could see Milamber’s terrified eyes. Rudd felt guilty. If you kill a troll, people couldn’t care less—but if you murder a wizard, you’re doomed. Rudd knew that all too well.
Rask awoke and shook his head; it all seemed so unreal. One minute he was speaking to Rudd, and the next, something had hit him. He was sure there was no magic involved in that physical blow.
Rask went over to Rudd, who was lying by a giant oak tree.
“Rudd, get up,” Rask urged. “I’ve got something important to tell you.”
Rudd slowly opened his eyes and growled, “Go away, too tired.”
“But Rudd, I think I know how to get away.” Rudd’s eyes snapped open.
“You do?”
“Thrill me!” Rask quickly explained the blow to his head.
“I figure that when he is invisible, he must be using magic. If we knock the damned thing down, he might become visible again.”
“Yes,” Rudd said, “but the tricky thing is hitting him. How will you find him?”
“Easy,” Rask whispered. “I will go back a few steps and call him a liar and a cheat. When I’m knocked down, you ram him with all your might. If you don’t hit anything, just chop to my sides!”
The Breaking of the Illusion
As planned, Rask backed away and began his taunt. “You know, Rudd, HE is NOT a magic user!” “What is he then?” “He’s nothing but a—” Rask’s voice cut off as he fell. Immediately, Rudd swung his blade where Rask had been standing. With a giant yelp, something fell. Rudd’s short sword ravaged the empty air before coming to an abrupt halt.
The whole world shimmered and trembled. Then, the woods, the oaks, and the fresh water vanished. There was nothing left but the dark, damp stench of a cellar. On the floor lay a huge troll—or what appeared to be one—with Rudd’s sword through his stomach. The creature looked as dead as the stone floor. It was a horrible sight; for the first time in his life, Rudd felt disgusted. The creature’s eyes seemed to have jumped from its face, seeking a freedom they reached too late.
Then Rudd remembered Rask.
“Rask!” Rudd cried. “Where are you?”
He found Rask lying a few meters away, unconscious. But as Rudd looked closer, his heart sank. The blood at the back of Rask’s head was nearly cold. “No... RASK CAN’T BE DEAD!”
But Rask was dead. He was just another dead goblin—but he was Rudd’s brother. Grief turned into a cold, hard vow of revenge. Rudd went to the wooden door; it was unlocked. He was free from the cellar, but not from his fate.
The Auditorium and the Grand Wizard
Rudd climbed the slippery steps until he reached a hall of many doors. One was labeled “THE AUDITORIUM.”
He peered through the keyhole into a room filled with books and a strange device—a telescope—aimed at the heavens. He entered, unaware he was being watched.
As he reached for a book titled Resurrection and Reincarnating the Dead, a hard, commanding voice boomed: “EXCREMENT! That book is full of rubbish. Put it down, boy. Now!”
Rudd turned to see a wizard with a sweeping silver beard and eyes of coal that could leap into fire. It was the Grand Wizard. Rudd tried to lie, claiming he had been a prisoner for days and that his brother had been killed by a troll in the cellar.
“Boy,” the wizard said, “I do not have a cellar in this castle. The place you speak of is months away. And that ‘troll’ was a highly regarded, if senile, wizard.” The Grand Wizard’s eyes glowed red. “Did you really think you could fool me? You killed Milamber. You killed your companions. For murdering fellow wizards, there is only one penalty: banishment.”
The Eternal Punishment
“I, the Grand Wizard, banish you to the Fields of Darkness!”
With a spell, Rudd was torn away, bit by bit. He found himself in a wasteland of bones and absolute silence. Then, he saw it: a tiny light in the distance. It was the glowing eye of a hellhound the size of a horse.
The beast reached him. Rudd screamed. Flesh was ripped from his bone until the hound licked him clean. Silence returned. Then, slowly, painfully, the flesh began to regrow. Hours later, Rudd was whole again—only to see that tiny light in the distance closing in once more.
He heard a mad, screeching laughter in the back of his head. He closed his eyes, knowing the cycle would never end.
Thus ends the story of Rask and Rudd.
Epilogue
What truly happened to Rudd when he entered the Grand Wizard’s castle was likely this: after killing the wizard in troll-form (a troll-shaped wizard, Christ!), the Door of Time and Translocation revealed itself to him. It was simply a stroke of plain bad luck that he stumbled into THE MAGE’S DOMAIN.
Time alone will tell the identity of that evil and vile voice—the one who manipulated Rudd and stole Merlyn’s scrolls.
For now, I am laying down my blood-stained hands.
- Vane ‘91