Forging of a Knight: Rise of the Slavekeepers

Chapter 11

The knights shivered, quivering with fear as the orcnes had displayed. They continued to walk, not pausing, not stopping, as if they knew their business. The giant guards looked down at them, and frigid cold seemed to surround them. They hissed malevolently, a blast of icy air that stank of decay, spitting out at the knights who quailed and hastened their pace. The guards turned to observe their entrance but did not prevent it. They continued through, entering a triangular corridor whose walls and ceiling were pitch black, yet the glassy floor glowed a strange white/green. The sculpture of the corridor was seemingly organic in nature, with bone-like protrusions and design.

Upon entering, the knights were suddenly struck with a feeling of nausea and dizziness. Their stomachs cramped, while their minds reeled. But the event passed, and they reclaimed their thoughts. They disappeared amidst rows of twisted statues that held blazing braziers high above their heads.

Deeper within the structure, standing tall in a secret room where no light penetrated, was a man. The room seemed vast, all sense of size and direction lost in its gloom. The man was nearly hidden by a black cape, yet hands encased in heavy gauntlets furled and unfurled, crackling with displeasure. His breathing was loud and rapid, the sound of a snarling beast. Strange effects played around him. One might think a snake slithered by his metal-booted feet, or that eyes stared out from the darkness of his cape. Was that a ghostly hand that appeared briefly by his side, or a single grasping tentacle that curled and uncurled around his neck? In an instant they were gone, as if they had never been, to be replaced by others. Hatred for all living things seethed from the body of the man, an angry defiance against nature and the established order of life. Yet was he truly a man, for what man possesses branch-like antlers upon the sides of his head? There was no hope in that shadow-filled room, or happiness, or cheerfulness, only a never- ending lust for the dark.

Slowly, grey mists began to swirl at his command. They formed around his feet and rose up about the room. Halos of smoke took substance, floating in great circles before the man, and became faces that peered down at him. His eyes, twin coals of red fire, bore into the giant faces that now surrounded him. His teeth were viciously barbed daggers that clacked loudly. When he spoke, the room itself seemed to pull back with apprehension. His words were like thunder, and the faces trembled before them.

“Tell me again your failure,” he rasped. The image he attended to was a Slth lord, and despite the tangled mess of horn and fang that was its face, the creature winced fearfully at the words.

“My, my lord…our base was made useless, and one of our outposts invaded by one lone human! He, he destroyed everything…”

“I warned you of him.”

“Yes, my lord, but we were unprepared for his power! He succeeded in freeing our slaves, although most were recaptured. Many Slth were brought to their deaths by this human; a Slth overlord was also killed when…”

“You were to capture him and bring him to me.”

“Yes, the Slth lord that died in battle had captured him, as we had promised you! He had been separated from his weapon, as you had commanded, but he…”

“One lone human…”

“My lord, he single-handedly destroyed our slaver base! He was able to traverse the deadly plains of our world, alone! It is unheard of! He penetrated our fortress, and led the slaves in riot with nothing more save the power of his arm and his sword! No Human-Kind has ever done such a deed before, and…”

“One lone human!” the man yelled. The Slth lord grew silent. “For all your vaunted might, you could not stop one lone human in not one instance, but two! He tore through your defenses like a child through paper, and this is the most you can provide me? I brought you opportunity, and you give me words. Words! You bring me words!