Thirty Nine
Gladius and Fletcher, Brookhaven Village Outskirts
As the fires burned around him, Gladius tightened his grip on his sword and extended it forward in position to charge the Wicker King.
This was no simple tournament jousting contest, the lives of Brookhaven Village, his friend and Geally were on the line.
"Cymerwch hwn!" Geally cried out with another complex gesture of her hand as she channeled her people's magic into a fiery augmentation. She ordered the nearby troops into the best tactical positions.
The blade of Gladius' extended silver-steel sword was illuminated in her magic once more.
"I'll clear a path for you!" Fletcher launched a volley of arrows to drive off Wicker Beasts that could stall Charger.
Gladius could feel the confidence of his friend's support, the fiery power of Geally and the faith of The Tabernacle in his heart as he clipped his reins and bolted forth to clash with his fiery demonic opponent.
The two horsemen clashed in an eruption of steel and fire.
The Wicker King on one side, the powers of his evil goddess and heretic masters with him.
Gladius the Tabernacle Knight, Leader of The Golden Sun Order on the other side.
Gladius conviction burned fiercer than the Wicker King's flames.
The blades clanged off each other, neither side landing a killing blow.
But then the two combatants' weapons locked together, now they leaned it to break the stalemate.
The sword fight became a contest of strength as both riders tugged at their interlocked weapons.
"Your sorry league of misguided whelps cannotcontend with True power!"
The Wicker King leaned in to spill his venomous words into Gladius' ears.
As the Wicker King leaned in closer, his once-mortal features, scarred and rotted as they were, had become visible.
Old Drwgi tribal facial tattoos lingered on limp flesh, piercings tugging at the rotting husks of the once-proud Drwgi warlord Milwr Tywyll 'The Fury of the Drwgi.'
"I see a broken shadow of the past before me, beast," Gladius taunted the horrific monstrosity he wrestled control with.
This only enraged The Wicker King further, the black fires in his eyes and mouth swelling.
The rosary beads wrapped around the hilt of Gladius' sword began to glow, surely a divine boon.
The light overpowered Geally's fiery enchantment and replaced it with a luminous gold light.
The Wicker King's raw flesh was beginning to corrode away from the radiance.
Gladius knew what to do next.
He ripped his illuminated sword away from The Wicker King and returned with a thrust.
He plunged the blade deep into the Drwgi beast's heart filling him with a holy power lethal to his evil.
"Eicio te, daemon!" Gladius felt a wave of serenity wash over him, calming his battle rage and filling his actions with divine purpose.
In his youth as a squire this connection to The Maker was tenuous at best and rarely lingered. But now he felt his full strength restored.
The hollow shell of The Wicker King erupted with a pillar of light, his foul presence spooked Charger, who reared and tossed Gladius onto the ground.
With their anchor to the mortal realm- their master, destroyed, the Wicker Beasts dissolved away in windswept ash. The battle was over.
Fletcher's shoulder ached from the tension of his bow; he had emptied his entire quiver into the minions of The Wicker King since the battle began.
With a groan, Fletcher fished one of his arrows out a Wicker Beast, now a lifeless pile of ash. He was feeling older today, the fights wore him down more and more over the years.
He reached for the wine-skin in his cloak but groaned in disappointment when it proved empty.
Gealladh raced forth to calm Charger, then reached down to ease Gladius onto his feet with gentle care. "Impressive work, fy caru," she smiled at the tired hero.
Gladius had felt it before but was uncertain if her old feelings lingered, but her silvery eyes were fixed on him. She grinned to the victorious knight.
Gladius winced as he reached to brush a stray hair behind Geally's tall ebony ears.
She welcomed the loving gesture for a moment, but then averted her eyes shyly. "I should go check on my father..." she insisted abruptly.
Geally ran to her father's side.
Magister Lunaris was exhausted, expending all his magic and stamina to repel The Wicker King's assault, douse the spreading flames and safeguard his allies.
"Father, I'm here now." Geally embraced her exhausted father.
Lunaris was definitely not a spry two-hundred-year-old anymore, now almost seven-hundred with his best years long behind him. He took a deep breath accepting the loving embrace of his daughter.
"Douse y fflamau! Let's put these fires out!" Lunaris called to the weary survivors before he readied himself to assist with the healers.
Sadly, most victims were beyond saving, the best Lunaris and his healers could do was grant them a peaceful passing in Ileuad's name.
Fletcher leaned over Gladius' shoulder. "You are a crafty one, boss. But isn't she a little old for you?" he japed.
Gladius rolled his eyes.
"Hilarious. Let's see if we can get you something to drink," Gladius put his battered arm over his friend's shoulder.
Geally returned to them flustered, sweating from hurling many bucketsful of water onto the dying fires. "Father works too hard. He isn't a young elf anymore," She paused when her eyes met Gladius.
Fletcher ducked past the awkward pair and started towards the villages only remaining inn. He was happy for his friend, willing to give him some space.
Gladius and Geally sighed in relief, the present danger finally over.
As morose as the mood of the recovering village was, there was still cause for rejoice. The ancient enemy that had plagued them relentlessly was finally gone.
"Brookhaven will endure, it always has," Geally assured her weary knight.
"I worry once The Demonic Legion heads south Myst City won't hold out for very long," Gladius fretted.
Gealladh finally had a reason to reach out to the human kingdoms. She was tired of the fighting over resources and greedy West Venture Company antagonizing them.
"Perhaps it is finally time to leave Darkwoods and make peace with Myst City," the prospect something she had contemplated ever since she met Gladius.
For most of her life Myst City had been hostile or indifferent to the affairs of the Moonsworn, but if good men like Gladius existed in that city there was hope.
"Gather some troops and topple that hideousstatue of Drwg" Lunarisordered an Ileuadi banner man. "What you can't burn, uproot and shred!" he added to the departing soldier.
The Magister beckoned over Gladius and Geally. "I am in your debt, good knight. Name one boon and I shall grant it," Lunaris bowed to Gladius, not in the Moonsworn custom but the form that Tabernacle purists bow to First Cleric Maria.
Gladius explained the plight of his home and the looming threat of The Demonic Legion in the north.
As it turns out Lunaris was friends with Chronicler Astralode back during the Forth Crusade but lost touch over the centuries.
"The Magisters of all Darkwoods are calling a Caernarfon council in a few days," Lunaris explained. "I can rally on our behalf to have a garrison of our best Moonsworn sent to Myst City. I will have Gealladh lead them personally." He nodded to his daughter.
"Your aid will be welcomed. Our quest calls us further west to Plateau City," Gladius explained.
"To the Al-Plazir Sultan?" Geally took a deep breath. "The Tabernacle is not welcome in the Sultan's lands if I recall."
Ever since The Tabernacle had split from The Sanctum in the west, tensions were high, but this problem was bigger than a religious squabble, The Demonic Legion were a threat to everyone.
"The Sultan is a man of honor, he won't refuse a call to arms from The Grand Alliance banner," Gladius reassured them.
Fletcher was undoubtedly drowning in mead at the tavern so an immediate departure was impossible. Gladius weighed his options as Lunaris departed.
"Do you have a place to stay tonight?" Geally inquired, her eyes fluttering.
Gladius pointed over to the seedy tavern his cohort was staying. "Probably a single room with a roommate that snores loudly," he sighed.
Purist devotees did not indulge in luxurious lifestyles, a single bed under a straw roof was suitable lodging.
"I'm not sleepy to be honest. There is too much to do," Gladius confessed.
He lamented the prospect of having to apologize to the barkeep about his friend's drunken antics in the morning.
Gealladh had another idea."Come with me. We must visit the ancient grove before you depart."