Oakbrook - The Portal

The Fortress

The Fortress

They entered the stone doorway with care. The heavy studded oak door was shattered with only part hanging from its iron hinges. Sam strode forwards careless of danger. Lily paused, trying to extend her magic to sense if anything was waiting, but the residue of the blast that had shattered the heavy door was too strong. The echoes rang through the place, masking any trace of Kokare.

"Sam." She hissed, "Wait! I can't tell if he's here, or who's with him."

"He's here. He's alone." Sam sounded cold, disconnected, which worried Lily. Eyes unfocussed and blank, she strode off ahead, debris flying aside as she did so, with Lily at her heels.

Lily paused at a doorway, she caught Sam's arm, making her stop. She pushed the door open and peered inside. The floor was littered with bodies, twisted across the stone floor. Lily took a step into the room and knelt to look more closely. Some were human, but others were not, but they lay together sprawled, limbs tangled.

"Sam." She called softly. "They rose against him. His followers left him. He killed them. Feel the terror, the pain, betrayal?"

Sam nodded silently. She could indeed feel it all. It came from the corpses in waves almost as bad as the smell. She reached a hand out to Lily's shoulder. Their joined magic drenched them in memories of what Kokare had done. Sam pulled her hand away sharply and Lily looked round in concern. Sam's eyes were wide, her face white, and she gripped the door frame for support.

Lily watched her close her eyes, clench her jaw, and force it all from her mind. The colour slowly came back to her cheeks, and she set her shoulders as her eyes opened again. She drew herself up, and Lily felt the determination radiate from her.

"Let's go. There's nothing we can do for them now." Sam's voice was hard and firm as she took Lily's hand to haul her to her feet. Sam's mental walls were tight and closed, her aura impenetrable. Her face was set and hard but her eyes burned from within. Lily felt a shiver run down her spine as she glimpsed the raw power Sam held.

Sam stalked down the twisting corridor. The keep looked as if it had been grown rather than built. Lily didn't remember this, Kokare had built most of the fortress after she left. She let Sam lead the way. They walked further and Lily became more and more uneasy. She stopped.

"Sam." She called. "Stop a minute. Something's not right, it feels wrong." Sam paused and turned in mid step, spinning on her heel. The eyes that met Lily's were fever bright and glittered with held back power.

"What do you mean wrong?" Sam snapped, the fire burning through her blood was almost too much to control now. She could feel the pressure as tension across her back and shoulders, building slowly and threatening to burst.

Lily backed away a step, and gave Sam a careful appraising stare before replying.

"There's something not right. Can't you feel it?" Lily reached out and placed her hand flat on the wall. The wrongness poured over her. She tentatively reached out with her magic, only to be repulsed. She came back to herself as she sat heavily on the floor. "Kokare, what have you done?" She breathed in horror.

"Lily?" Sam squatted down, reached out, and her hands burned on Lily's shoulders. Lily gently pushed them away, Sam's magic clashing painfully with her own as it grew.

"Kokare has taken life force and aura and woven them into this. It's mostly illusion, but..." her voice faded. She wrapped her arms around her knees, drew them close. "Sam, he tore them apart and the brutality radiates from the construct. I can't see what to do or where we are. You knew this place, can you try?"

Understanding flickered over Sam's face as she thought about it for a moment. Her lips pressed together into a tight line. Sam nodded. "You're right, this isn't the fortress he built. We should be in his meeting hall by now."