Flights of Fantasy - The Pub Fantasy Smackdowns

Dark Druid - Part 2

Part 2

Brendan ducked under a low stone lintel and stepped from the shadows into the flickering torchlight of the Long Hall. Favoured by Krandor to make an impact on his subjects and supplicants, the leonine form of the Lord of Under London brooded in studied pose at the far end of the barrelled vaults. A massive longsword was unsheathed and held loosely in one hand, the other elbow resting on the arm of his throne with one cheek resting on the clenched fist.

"Ah, Brendan, welcome back to my hall."

Penny flittered past the druid to alight next to Krandor and whispered something in his ear. Features darkening with rage, he stood and raised a hand. The diminutive figure of the faerie cowered and Brendan's staff flared in anticipation. The flash of blood red light caught the lion lord's attention and he dropped his hand, forcing a smile full of pointed teeth. "You will come back and see me later Penny, you are dismissed."

The faerie sped away from the towering form of her master, her size shrinking as she approached the druid. As she dwindled to a mere mote of light, "Be careful Brendan" was whispered into his ear as she flashed past him, and she sped away into the tunnels.

"What do you want Krandor? Penny said you had something you wished to show me."

"Indeed I do Brendan. Something which will finally turn the tide on the darkness we have fought for so many centuries. The Collector has excelled himself this time."

Brendan frowned and walked closer to the lion lord, his staff tapping out the rhythm of his approach on the massive flagstones of the hall floor. "This sounds horribly like something that could create more problems than it solves Krandor."

"Like that thing you mean?" Krandor sheathed his sword and stepped down from his dias, one finger pointing accusingly at the staff whose runes still glowed in the gloom. "You almost destroyed yourself."

"Almost. All magic has a dark side brother; you know that. I kept the darkness contained within me. I fought it and I won despite the changes wrought on my body. The question is, is the price you will pay for use of the magic worth the benefit to you and those around you? Penny alluded to an ancient magic, one which has affected you somehow."

The lion growled, a low rumble of discontent echoing around the vaults. "The faerie talks too much."

"So what she says is true? Are you strong enough to control this magic, or does it control you now? I know the lure Krandor, I have fought the addiction of the power as it flows through your veins, and you can see how it has changed me. I may still have the heart of a lion, brother mine, but I am all too human in appearance now. We  druids wade through the mire so others can live in the light, but all too few of us survive the darkness within.

"What is this magic and what hold does it have on you?"

Brendan paused, the two of them only a few yards apart. Krandor stood with his fists clenched, the massively muscled arms twitching with tension. With a visible effort, he calmed himself and held out a placatory hand. "I think there is something you need to see, brother mine."

~~~

The wind plucked at Brendan's cloak and ruffled Krandor's mane as they stood on the roof of a building overlooking Trafalgar Square. The area was a mass of tourists, commuters and traffic. Noise hit Brendan like a hammer as he looked over parapet to the tarmac below and he drew back as the stench of city life hit his nostrils.

Krandor swept an arm at the crowded pavements. "Look. You can see them Brendan, can't you? You can see the darkness infecting the scuttering mass of humanity, you can see what needs to be done..."