TRA: A Scarlett Tale

Chapter 7

Grall

Grall's sword cut through the magic like a hot knife through butter. It had amused Grall when he had first seen a creature made up of pure magic at first, but now it just annoyed him.

Is this all that death has to offer? Grall thought as he walked further into the layer. Fighting and death, or is it even death? How can one die when they are already dead?

Grall flicked his sword, more out of habit than to rid it of anything and sheathed it in his makeshift belt. It had already been several years, maybe well over a hundred, Grall couldn't tell. He had long lost track of time, much like the shadow world, time moves differently in the spirit world.

Sighing, Grall continued forward. He had a purpose for being here, one that he couldn't let anyone know, not even Grodak. He had sensed this purpose when he first visited the shadow world as a soul and again when The Reaper had kicked him out of his own body. It was a purpose he had thought impossible until now.

Grall approached a silver archway, one that had gold that ran along and below its surface like veins. This was perhaps the sixth or seventh archway he had approached and, if luck would have it, the last, but Grall didn't hold his breath. He knew better than anyone how his luck held in these situations and just resolved to push through.

As he approached, a group of boulders began to move. Grall paused and watched, he had expected as much when he approached. Just like the past five or six archways before this, there was a guardian present that would hinder his travels and try to keep him from pushing forward. Grall didn't mind fighting these "guardians" because unlike the creatures made of pure magic, they actually posed a real challenge, each one getting harder to beat.

This was a first, however as he had yet to face any golems. Is that the proper name for them? Grall thought for a moment as the pieces lined up to fully form the creature. I mean they are artificial life forms so I guess they wouldn't get offended by what we call them, but I feel like "golem" is just... a slave name?

Grall banished the thought as the now fully formed golem stood up and faced him. "Hey," Grall shouted to the golem, "is calling you a golem ok?"

The golem gave Grall no indication of it being right or wrong. With a sigh, Grall unsheathed his sword and leapt into battle.

Grodak

Grodak was aroused by a loud knock on his bedroom door. A groan escaped him as he slowly pulled himself into a sitting position, sleep had done his body little good. His wounds from the battle still ached, the dull throb of pain a constant reminder of his failure. If this was his punishment for thrusting all of his pain onto Grall, he would accept it. Now, more than ever, he felt responsible for what Grall had turned into.

Grodak's attention was once more pulled to the door as another loud knock ranged from the wood. He was about to call out to whoever was on the other side when he remembered Xierma had visited him in the middle of the night and now laid in his bed naked. Grodak grunted as he pushed himself into a standing position and moved to cover Xeirma's sleeping frame.

The knock came a third time and Xeirma began to stur. This annoyed Grodak, what could be so important that they would disturb his sleeping wifes rest? Without bothering to dress himself, Grodak strode to the door and pulled it open just as the orc on the other side was getting ready to knock again.

"What is it?" Grodak demanded with a growl.

The orc looked Grodak up and down before looking away. "My lord," the orc said in a loud voice, "you have a visitor, a female Pyroniam who wishes to work."

Pyroniam? Grodak thought, a hint of amusement played at the back of his mind. Last Grodak had heard, all of the Pyroniams, excluding Jaxale, were locked up in Imp's kingdom so that they could be rehabilitated after Imp found out about some cannibalism. For one of his kind to be free... It changed a great deal of things.