Nightmare Crusade

Chapter 12 - Back from the Dead

Jack opens his eyes and stares up at the ceiling.

"Is this... The libosimen dungeon?"

He sits up and sees his cracked helm lying on the broken stone floor with Norman coiled up next to it.

"Oh my god!" Jack shouts, waking the dragon. "We're alive! We made it out of Hell!" Jack howls with joy and does a little dance.

Norman squints at him before becoming fully conscious. Jack grabs him, squeezing him into a tight bearhug. Then, the reality hits Norman, and his lips quiver into a tiny smile. But the moment is halted by the sound of footsteps from above. The noise sends Jack into a fighting stance and he pushes Norman back to the floor and picks up a dead libosimen's meat hook. They watch the staircase intently. Down from the top floor descends Selvira, in the flesh. Norman smiles at her, and she at him. Jack lowers the weapon and lets out a relieved chuckle. The three of them gather around, and Jack's smile fades.

"Oh shit," he remarks, pointing to the Revenantial Blade in Norman's hand. Norman looks at it in horror. He hadn't even noticed he was still holding it. "The revermental blade, it's here, in the living world. You... didn't destroy it then, did you, Norman?"

Norman looks away in shame. Jack just stares at him, unsure what to think or do next. Then he lights up.

"Duh, stupids!" he quips, "Let's just use it to warp back to—"

He is interrupted by a calamitous quaking. All around, the floor and walls of the dungeon shake for a brief moment.

The trio turn to face Quorthon standing in the entrance.

"Hey Quorthon," Jack says, "Shut up. I was in the middle of telling my friends here a cool idea I had, and you weren't invited, bitch."

Quorthon says nothing and pushes Jack aside. He heads straight for Norman and delivers a left hook right to the side of his head, knocking him to the floor.

"Hey what the hell!" Jack yells.

Visibly dazed, Norman tries to crawl away—but is stifled by a kick to the ribs from Quorthon. Norman squeals and lies still. Jack attempts to shove Quorthon, but his arms go right through him.

Quorthon pushes hard on Jack's face, sending him flailing backwards. Selvira arches her back and hisses at the phantom.

"Come on, man, get a hold of yourself!" Jack pleads, "We can fix this! We'll find another way!"

After picking the Revenantial Blade off the floor he sends another kick to crush Norman's ribs, forcing him to cough up blood and glass.

"Another way?" Quorthon spits, aggressively sheathing the magic sword. "There is no other way. Fenter most likely has every damn demon in Hell on the lookout for us, your dragon friend is no longer useful, and of course you used the power of the sword like I told you all not to! We had one shot at doing this and it's gone to shit. Boogly was gravely misinformed. The dragon even thought to go back and save you from the burning pub." He rubs his masked face in frustration. "Even if somehow, by some goddamn miracle, there was another way, Norman is bound to be ruthlessly torn from every ligament by the same demon who..." he stops himself and shakes his head.

Jack butts in, "Killed one of your fellow necromancers who helped you craft that sword?" Both Selvira and Norman look up at Jack, puzzled. "Yeah that's right," he continues, "Explain yourself. Why would you create such a horrible weapon that's not only put us through literal hell, but is also going to destroy the world??"

Quorthon glares back at him, clearly ready to snap once again. "I thought I was helping to create something that would do some good in the world. The sword can literally bring people back to life, as you've clearly seen. I only came to realize much later on that I had tampered with something that shouldn't have been tampered with. So many lives were destroyed in the process. Simply put: I made a mistake and I'm doing everything I can to correct it. I don't know how much of my background I would need to tell you to get you to trust me, but I no longer care. We're through."