History of Legion of Amun Ra

[Maokhan]

The big Cimmerian jumps off his horse. He swears that he hears the poor steed breathe a sigh of relief being relieved of his weight.

The Wild Lands. He looks around, the rolling hills eclipsed by the shadow of the Sanctum. He had heard many stories of this very land, how it was plagued...how it was cursed.

Bull didn't care about that, not now. He had a girl to get.

He stood on the docks, watching her talk to the man he would soon find out went by Keyx. She handed the man some coin, and walked with her chin held high to her awaiting horse. Bull watched as she left town, the Watchmen and Guards nodding at her as she rode past.

At the first signs of the resting sun, Bull left the small village of Tesso. He had paid Keyx a nice sum of coin, all Bull had left, for the information on where the woman was headed. He followed the path, followed her...into the heart of darkness.

[Maokhan]

The campfire crackles and pops, sending bits of oaken ash into the night sky. It is dark, the only source of illumination coming from the campfire. Bull leans over the fire, stoking the coals with a stick as he watches Briesse stir. He had tied her up, at her hands and feet. He bound her to the base of a tree, ensuring that she was unable to escape what punishment was coming to her.

She was directly responsible for the death of his father. For the death of Revois. She was responsible for the death of his brother. For the death of Kreig. She would have to pay.

Briesse shook, her head wobbling. Bull reached out and touched her foot. She kicked at him, not sure of what was touching her. She winced in pain as her exertion pressed against her binds. She opened her eyes, and from behind the licks of flame from the campfire, she could see Bull smiling at her.

"Don't fight now girl, you'll need your energy for later."

She groaned in response, her eyes still opening. She lets out a small gasp as she recognizes the man in front of her. Bull continues to poke at the coals as he speaks.

"Look around you, you'll find you are in the middle of nowhere. What'sa girl like you doing in the middle of nowhere?"

She does not respond to him, her eyes darting around to confirm her predicament. She opens her mouth to speak, her voice cracking of dryness. Bull reaches into his pack, pulling out a flask, the liquid sloshing around inside. He offers it to her, standing up and hovering over her.

"Now, don't do anything stupid like try to bite", he says with a smile on his face. "Now tilt your head back and open your mouth."

She nods, her eyes mischievous in the firelight. She groans out something that sounded like an agreement as she tilts her head back, opening her mouth.

Bull uncorks the flask, tilting it above her mouth mere inches from her lips before he dumps the contents on her face. The cold water makes it mostly into her mouth, splashes reaching her clothes, hair and cheeks. She sputters a bit with the face full of water, not quite choking on the water supply.

For the first time since Bull was tied to a post, Briesse Bloodmane speaks to him.

"Th-Thank you."

He throws the flask behind a tree, it's metal casing making a dull noise as it hits a root.

"Comfortable?", he questions his captive. He steps backward and rakes the coals with his foot, watching her intently, surveying his catch.

She smirks, fidgeting in her binds in an attempt to loosen them.

"More comfortable then the last time I saw you."

The big Cimmerian laughs.

"Yes, it would seem I'm more hospitable then the people you left me with."

She stares at the man, her face filled with a complex set of emotions...fear...sadness...curiosity. He pulls a rag from his tasset, balling it up in his hand...he slowly reaches his hand out to her face. Her eyes are locked on him, unflinching at his slow movement. Like a mother to her child, he gently pats her face dry of the water.

"I can see why Kreig liked you so much."

She inhales sharply at hearing Kreig's name spoken. Bull drops the rag to his feet, squatting down to eye level with the woman.

"Do you know what they did to me?", he questions.

She locks eyes with him, shaking her head slowly.

With his left hand, heavy in weight, he slaps the woman across the face leaving a red stain on her cheek. His face is expressionless as she turns her head from the sudden impact.

"They, the Stygian wh*re and her apprentice took a blade to my magnificent cod piece."

He stands up, unbuckling the belt that held his tasset up. He slides it past his hips, his full glory within reach of Briesse. It is mangled, the once stoic masterpiece shredded...circumsized at the tip crudely. She turns her head away, then curiosity takes hold as she glances back, her eyes quickly darting up to his.

"Aye, look. Still glorious, girl, but dreadful to look at."

He pulls his trousers back up, buckling the belt. He resumes his position squatting in front of her.

"Why...why didn't you tell me when I last saw you?"

Bull raises his hand in the air to strike the woman again, the woman braces for the blow that never comes her eyes still defiantly locked on his.

"Kreig trusted you and he's dead. I trusted that you would come back, and instead that happened to me.", he said as he let loose his hand, it coming down hard on her face.

She grunts loudly, her face turning to the side. She snaps it back, a bit of blood trickling from her lips.

"Kreig is dead because of the Silver Dragons. The ones you saw take him. Not because of me!", she cried out at Bull.

He adjusts his necklace, his fingertips lingering over the fragmented tusks...his eyes growing darker the longer he holds it.

"And what do you mean you trusted I would come back? You told me what you would tell me, and refused to tell me what I needed to know.", she continued in defiance.

"Aye, I did. But we had company. I know my brother, and I know those walls had ears." Bull tugs on his ear as he continues. "I know Kreig's handiwork, I know what those walls were built for." He smiles at her. "Or did you not care for him as much as you say you did?"

Her eyes widen, almost in a fury. "Wha?" He head shakes in attempt to rid herself of the grogginess. "What do you mean? You mean back at the tree? Or do you mean Kashta's house of horrors that Kreig built?"

He strikes the woman again, for the third time. For the third time he hits her directly on impact of the other two. Her face is beet red, the slow swelling beginning to emerge.

"Stay with me, girl."

She sets her jaw with the blow, trying to hide the pain. She winces, relents and cries out.

"I'm...I'm trying."

Bull reaches out and wipes the blood from her lip.

"It's hard...I know. I speak of the Witches torture chamber."

"I..I know. I was trying to talk to you alone, but you wouldn't let me."

Bull toys with his necklace again, a black cloud enveloping the whites of his eyes.

"Kreig's last breath was screaming out your name.", he said emotionless to her.

She fought back tears, her eyes welling up.

"How..how do you know?", she swallows hard her own question.

"Some things are better left unexplained.", he replies sternly. "So you ask why I wouldn't tell you?". The woman nods as Bull continues. "Would you have told me?"

She shrugs slightly. "I... I don't know. I guess so? It would depend on what I already knew, I suppose."

"If you knew everything, and accepted the way things were going to happen. What business do I have fixing fate?", he asks her.

She looks into her eyes, confusion evident. He raises his hand and slaps her again, full force, reaching the same spot as the previous blows. Her head falls forward at the blow, she raises it to meet his gaze, the pain, frustration and anger evident she held evident now.

Anger screams from deep within his body. "As I told you before...you don't know what you got yourself into." He growls out, "Þegar illi andinn kemur í draumum þínum, hlusta þú, að þú reynir ekki að breyta því."

Her eyes widen at the alien words coming from his mouth. Her voice cracks, her tone angered. "Why don't you just tell me then."

"Stupid girl. When the demon comes to you in your dreams, you listen, you don't try to change it."

"Who..what are you?", she questions the big man.

He shrugs lightly, a smile creeping across his face. "Judgment."

She narrows her eyes, the defiance returning. "Judgement of who? For what? And by what authority?"

His smile fades. His jaw locks as he stares deep into her. "Hero, Martyr, Judgment, Youth and Sin. The five of us." He pulls the necklace from his body, his eyes turning white for a moment before the necklace falls flat against his body.

Briesse's defiant eyes fade, replaced by curiosity. "So Cach... Kreig, but now Kashta... you? and ... who else? What are they? What is happening?"

He smacks the woman again, straying from his initial targets, it lands squarely on her ear. She cries out, the tears now coming in full flow. She tries to lock eyes again with him.

"You know better than to ask me who they are.", he says. "What Kreig did was try to break fate. It forced Cach to do what he had to do, and it forced the rest of us to come out of hiding." He sneers, his teeth baring like fangs in the shadow of the now dim campfire. "Your man has brought the end of everything to us."

He smacks the woman again, not evident if it is frustration of what Kreig did or frustration with his 'prisoner'.

"How? Why? What do you mean the end of everything?", she questions.

Bull growls at her, "Hvað kemur úr öskunni muni koma aftur til ösku., 'What comes from ashes will return to ashes.'"

She cries out in frustration. "What do you want from me!?"

He laughs, a deep guttural laughter that shakes his frame. "I don't want anything from you. I already know the ending. I know you'll die, we'll all die." He pauses, locking his stare to hers. "I want you to feel the pain that Kreig felt. The man you introduced to him, that put the thought in his head that Cach was wrong."

Her face is covered in confusion again, that and blood. "Who? What man? What are you talking about?"

Bull balls his fist and punches the woman. His heavy blow strikes her collarbone sending her body into the tree trunk. The cracking of bone on bone echoes in the wood. She cries out in pain, it too echoing throughout the forest. She falls forward, doubled over in pain.

"Satetka, the false prophet of Stygia.", he spits at her feet. He reaches out and lifts the woman chin up, his eyes meeting hers. He stares into her pain as he speaks. "You know why Kreig went to the rift, yes?"

She shakes her head, the tears pouring down her face like a tiny river. "No. Things were so confused, so complicated during that time. He tried to tell me some things, but we just.. we never got the chance."

He smiles sweetly at her, still holding her chin up. "One of us had to go. One of us had to bring the essence to these. He chose to, ever the martyr.", he let go of her chin, her head remaining in the spot. "Thus the curses, Cach's sickness, Kreig's body slowly turning to stone. The boy's voices, my sight."

She bites her lip as she speaks. "But it was important - what he had to do? He gave his life as the martyr for something important?", her questioning is hopeful, desperate even.

He slaps the woman's swollen face with his bear-paw like hand, striking her on the side of the mouth. "He died to save you from a similar fate."

She grunts in pain, spitting the blood from her mouth. "What do you mean? And who is the boy?"

He extends his hand and gently caresses the side of her face. He pushes her hair behind her ear, an emotionless stare on his face. "Don't worry about the boy, he's the most dangerous of us all." He strokes her ear with his thumb as he speaks, "Kreig died at the hands of fate, in order to see you live."

She pauses. Here eyes are locked on to his. No longer defiant, no longer pleading. She fights back more tears, the painful resemblance Bull has to his brother tugging at her heart strings. The familiar face and all the memories flooding back to her.

"And.. you said there are five necklaces? But you only mentioned four people?", she asks quietly prepared for the merciless blow that came with her questions.

The blow never came. Bull just nodded. "Aye, sin..the Locust." His expression turned grave, a frown almost appearing on his face. "He wishes to use the temple for the exact reason Kreig thought Cach was going to. To bring back the Devourer. The second coming of Acheron."

She shakes her head, trying to clear her mind of the fog, "I still don't understand... anything I guess. What are you supposed to be doing with these necklaces? And why is this Locust trying to do something different?".

He raises his hand, he holds it hovering above his head, his frustration evident. "Either you play coy to impress me, or Kreig never told you anything." Her expression softens when she hears Kreig's name, but her eyes plead with Bull.

"He never told me anything", she says with a reluctant sigh. "Mostly he seemed to want to keep things from me - to protect me? But even when he did try to tell me.."

He bring his hand down slowly and gently strokes her hair, "It's best that way then."

She sobs, the deep emotional pain coming from her very being. "Things were going crazy everywhere. Everything was going wrong. There was so much chaos - and I was so preoccupied I didn't listen."

Bull hold his fingers to his lips, gesturing for her to be silent. "I know what has to be done.", he says as he continues to stroke her hair and now-swollen face.

The tears come again from Briesse, her head falling forward as she sobs into her chest. She felt alone, more alone then she had ever felt before. Bull lifts her head up, bringing his face close to hers. Even though the woman stared into the eyes of her attacker, the familiar face..the resemblance of her dead lover flooded her young mind with emotions. His lips barely touch her as he speaks, "Ég mun koma þér á hann, og þar sem þú munt fá svör. I'll take you to him."

She gasps, "take me to who?"

He kisses her sweetly as he brings the full force of his clenched fist down on the side of her head. Briesse Bloodmane had enough. Her body slumped over, at the base of the tree. Her face badly swollen, turning as purple as the night sky. She lay their motionless, blood pouring from her mouth and nose. Her left eye swollen wholly shut. Bull unties her binds, gently laying her on the ground.

"Slík hola þú varst fyrsta sinn, such a pity you were his first."

He covers her in blankets, hoisting her on to his shoulders. He carries her to a nearby wagon, gently placing her amongst the boxes and other wares. He covers her body dutifully.

"It will be over soon Briesse Bloodmane."

[Maokhan]

Briesse was stubborn. Most people hated that about her, but she always considered it a strength. It protected her so much in her life. Sure she got beatings of one kind or another her whole life - plenty of 'em. But her body was as stubborn as her mind. She wasn't a skilled fighter - her slowness and clumsiness brought her much frustration - but she was tough. Tougher than her delicate-looking build would lead you to believe. Take the beating, endure the pain, survive, heal. Come back stronger and tougher.

Pain is pain - it's nothing to fear. It comes - it goes.

How long had it been going on like this? He would hit her. That was something she could take. Then he might give her some useful information that she needed, answer one of the many questions eating at her, provide a piece of the puzzle that might make some sense of the nightmare of the past few months.

Pain is pain - it's nothing to fear. It comes - it goes.

But then came the worst part. The part she feared she wasn't strong enough to take. He was so much like his brother Kreig. He was bigger even than Kreig. Shaved head, so she couldn't compare to Kreig's hair. His cheekbones and chin were different. But his eyes and mouth - ah yes, definitely Kreig's. Whenever he struck another blow, she recovered, forcing her eyes to lock defiantly with his, even though it made her heart ache to look into those almost-familiar eyes, seeing those lips just like her lover's.

Pain is pain - it's nothing to fear. It comes - it goes.

The physical pain faded from her attention. He was clearly not trying to truly hurt her that way. Her face would be badly swollen and bruised, lips swollen and bleeding, possibly one or both eyes swollen almost shut. Her neck would likely be stiff and strained and aching as well. But so far nothing was broken. And she was even getting answers to her questions.

Pain is pain - it's nothing to fear. It comes - it goes.

"I want you to feel the pain that Kreig felt."

He hit with the hardest and most brutal punch yet. A heavy fist, hard to her collarbone, knocking her to the ground, crying out in pain. She braced herself, focusing on the physical pain, trying not to think of Kreig's death, the nagging questions of her role in it - could she have prevented it, should she have been with him, could she have changed anything? She tried to toughen her mind - Kreig didn't tell her anything, wouldn't share his burden with her. Bull refused to answer her questions, refused to give her any information in finding the necklace. She was sad, but Kreig's death and Bull's torture were not her doing. She refused to accept the blame for them. Of course he is trying to break me. It's what he does. He is as good at it as Kreig was.

Pain is pain - it's nothing to fear. It comes - it goes.

Then - he gently lifted her chin, caressing her swollen cheek. She was forced to once again look into his almost-familiar face. Those eyes - her lover's eyes. Those lips - his lips.

She couldn't fight it any more. The tears flowed. It didn't matter anyway. The only thing he wanted was for her to suffer. And the only thing she wanted was to somehow get out of this with some useful information and to be intact enough - mentally and physically - to make use of it. She was going to have to endure this emotional torment, to get out of this bizarre reverse interrogation.

"I'll take you to him." His voice was soft as he stroked her hair and swollen face.

Pain is pain - it's...

Briesse was sure she couldn't take any more. She was breathless as he brushed his lips against hers, a sweet kiss - but different from Kreig's. Then all went black. For the moment, Briesse Bloodmane was mercifully free of questions.

[Maokhan]

Bull knelt beside Briesse, checking on her injuries. All seemed fine. He smoothed her hair, then lightly played with the hair behind her ear. "Wake up, girl. Þú ert þar sem þú þarft að vera. You're where you need to be."

Lying on her side on the hard ground, Briesse's face clouded over as if in a bad dream, her head turning from side to side as she woke. She opened her eyes and looked up at the handsome and achingly almost-familiar face.

He held a flask of melon juice to her mouth. "Here drink this."

Her face was a mass of swollen, purple flesh, her lips swollen and bloody, left eye swollen shut. Wincing slightly, she gingerly sipped the juice he offered. "Thank you," she mumbled, nodding her thanks after she is done. She watched him, frightened by his violence and confused about his intentions.

He ran his finger down her bare arm, gently. "You're in Cimmeria, deep into the Border Kingdoms. Do you know why?"

She shook her head, silently, looking into his eyes, watching for some sign of his intentions.

He ran his finger back up her arm. "Kreig was taken to Stonehammer, where a former captive of your former Commander killed him. Know of the man?"

Briesse nodded. "We called him Meat but I think his name was Maark. I don't think I knew him, but apparently he knew me. He approached me one day in Tarantia - with lots of guards around so all we could do was talk. He told me that he killed Kreig." She paused and swallowed hard a moment. "He also told me he died quickly and quietly, without torture or unnecessary pain. I - I was relieved to hear that."

Bull continued to play with Briess's mane of red hair, gently, lulling. "Yes." Suddenly, he grabbed a handful of her hair, twisting her head forcefully, twisting her onto her back so that she was looking up at him. "Still, a Priest killing a man? Don't you find that...ironic?"

She grunted with surprise and annoyance as he wrenched her around. Looking up at him, maintaining eye contact, the hard defiant edge returned to her face even through the bruises and swelling. "The priest is still but a man, and Kreig was good at being brutal - when his job called for it. I can see any man breaking under that brutality. But I do wish Meat had found that witch Kashta instead of Kreig."

He released his grip on her hair and quickly straddled her. "Oh, so the breaking point is brutality?"

She flinched, already off balance and confused by his actions and manner. "There are many ways to break someone I think? I am a novice in that. I simply deal with death usually, or beating someone to the point where they can be bound and dealt with. There are others more adept at breaking the minds. Cach, Kashta, Arwyne, Kreig too I think."

Bull smiled - was that a smile? - as he leaned in hovering over her body. "Do you want to see what brutality gets you?"

Briesse met his eyes, trying to focus on his threat and ignore the closeness of his body to hers, the aching familiarity of his features. "Does it matter what I want? Ah, I suppose it does. That is what you are trying to read in me. How to break me."

His smile disappeared. "I don't need intimidation to break you, girl." He sat back up and reached for his rucksack, producing a small spade. "Do you want to see your man one last time?" With his free hand he ran his finger down her chest to above her navel. "I can give that to you, one last time."

Her expression lost its hard edge as conflicting emotions danced across her face, a brief instant of hope replaced by realization and fear. Her mouth started to form words, but she couldn't quite decide what to say or how. "Wh... wh... " She closed her mouth giving up the effort with a small moan of fear and helplessness.

He rolled his finger about on her stomach. "I'll cut you loose so you can dig, but I warn that you fight or run, I will make the last thing you ever see in this world the bottom of your own grave."

"Why? Why would you make me do this? Why would you disturb his rest? What do you want from me?" She fought to maintain a focus on something reasonable, to avoid thinking of Bull's closeness, his tenderness that was keeping her off balance, trying hard to avoid the lure of thoughts of her lost lover.

He shrugged. "I told you I would give you answers. Dig or don't dig, your fate is yours."

She nodded her acceptance of his terms, watching his movements and his face. He moved off her quickly, forcing her to roll on to her stomach. She spat out a bit of dirt and grass as he rolled her over, face down. She lifted her head, watching him, as she raised her bound hands an inch or two away from her back toward him.

He straddled her left leg and pulled a knife from his belt. After cleaning the knife off on the calf portion of her right leg, he very gently trailed the knife up her thigh and over her ass. "Remember what I said - fight or flight, you will die."

Briesse's body tensed, with a slight shiver, as he continued to force her awareness to their bodies and their closeness - and her helplessness. "Yes, I understand."

With his free hand he grabbed hold of her hands, tightening the small amount of slack in the bonds before bringing the knife to them. After cutting her bonds, he slid off her body and stood over her. He extended his arm to grab her, lifting her to her feet. Catching her to steady her, he handed her the shovel.

"Dig."

He stepped back, leaning against a wall as he watched her dig.

She dug for what seemed like forever. Occasionally he pushed himself off the wall and sauntered over to her.

"You enjoying this?" She looked at him, exhausted, but still with a slight smirk.

He smiled. "Keep digging" was all he said and returned to lean against the wall.

Finally, they heard the dull sound of the shovel hitting wood. He reached down to take her hand and pull her out, tossing the shovel to the side.

"I have something to explain to you. It's important that you listen."

He spun her around with her back to his body, pressing firmly against her. "I'm going to bring you to a place that is very real to you. You will not know the difference between this place and that one." He wrapped his arms around her, his body pressed close against her back. "You will be alone there and you will be alone when you return."

Briesse tried to turn her face back around to look at him as he spoke. "I don't understand. What is going to happen?"

He whispered to her. "You'll understand in a moment. Stand still." He let her go and quickly took off his necklace, placing it around her neck. As soon as it touched her skin she fell limp, and he eased her body to the ground.

Bull squatted beside her and stroked her cheek. "Good luck" he said.

Her worst memories and nightmares, real and unreal, played out inside the mind of Briesse Bloodmane.

[Maokhan]

Briesse tossed fitfully, her swollen face twisted in emotional pain, whimpering in her sleep "no" and "why?"

She felt a gentle touch, stroking her face, and grew still and quiet, slowly waking and opening her eyes. There, still gently stroking her face, was her beloved. She gasped his name and sat up to face him. "Kreig! What - how..."

He knelt beside her, smiling, calm, as if everything was as it should be. "Good to see you too."

Taking his face in both her hands, she smiled, or tried to, looking into his eyes. "Crom! Kreig, I've missed you so much." The realization that this can't be real poked at the corners of her mind but she pushed them back for the moment.

He just smiled at her a moment, indulging her in a few moments of pleased, stunned surprise before asking "Did you find the flower?"

She ran her hands over his face, down to his shoulders and chest, trying to determine if he was real. She nodded in answer to his question. "Yes, I did. Kreig, what is happening? What's going on? I thought you were dead - wait, you ..." She shook her head not wanting to face reality just yet, not until she could figure out what to do about it. She tilted her face to his, kissing him passionately.

He held her close, returning the kiss, stroking her hair.

After a few moments, she spoke again. "Oh Kreig, I'm so sorry. Things were so crazy at the end, and I was so caught up in my own problems. You tried to tell me, but - but I was too busy to listen." The words came out in a frantic emotional flood. "I'm so sorry," she ended plaintively, looking into his eyes.

"It's ok, it's ok. I should have told you sooner." Still maddeningly calm.

"I don't know what to do now. Everything has gone crazy. I need you. I don't know what's happening and I don't know what to do now." She couldn't take his calm understanding gaze just now and looked down, watching as she trailed her finger lightly down his chest.

He laughed, drawing her eyes back to his face. "Everything was always crazy. But what do you need to do that you don't know how?"

"Cach. The necklaces. Your brother Bull. The five, eh, whatever - necklace bearers? Curse bearers?"

He frowned. "Cach found all five necklaces then?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. But he was sick, dying. He sent me to find yours. I found the flower, and then the one you had. Cach and Kashta took the two necklaces to the temple, they went into a portal, Kashta came out but Cach stayed inside. He's stuck in there. Bull is mad at me about something. I don't know what's happening. They only mentioned two necklaces, and that's all they had when Cach went in the portal."

Kreig shook his head. "If Cach went with two, then Locust was wrong. That means Cach wasn't lying to me, and that Satetka was wrong and that Locust is the one that's going to set the world on fire."

She narrowed her eyes at the mention of Satetka, but continued to listen carefully.

Kreig scratched his chest, and Brie couldn't help smiling at the familiar gesture in spite of the necklace being gone. "So if Cach is inside the temple, that means he died."

"Died? No, please not that. Kashta and Arwyne - they both went in the portal with him. But he remained behind and they both came out. They didn't say he died. Arwyne talked as if it was some kind of, hm, place outside of time?" She shrugged, realizing how useless her explanation was when she didn't understand it herself. "The necklaces - Cach wore his, Kashta wore yours. But I don't think she had it when she came out? I don't remember. I was sort of fighting for my life at the time. Still am."

"If Kashta wore mine then she..." he paused, interrupting himself. "Fighting for your life?"

"Kreig - Cach thinks I betrayed him. He banished me from Acolytes. He told the Hellhounds I betrayed him and they attack me. He said I was absolved when I returned the necklace, but those hounds, they won't accept it, not without him around to enforce it. I have a little protection, a few remaining friends from - from unlikely sources. But..."

He shook his head listening to her news, but then nodded. "Good, protection."

She shrugged and whispered plaintively. "I don't want to be hunted by the people I was loyal to. What do we do? What is going to happen? Cach is lost, Bull is angry about something and trying to take it out of me somehow. What is happening now and what do we do about it?"

He frowned, shaking his head in dismay. "I don't know. I was wrong. Bull? If he's around then they came out of the woodwork. That means the boy too, that means they aren't far from summoning the Locust."

Taking his face in both her hands, Briesse kissed him tenderly. Her face still inches from his, she looked into his eyes, speaking softly. "Kreig. Tell me everything you know please. Everything you thought you knew before. What you were supposed to do. What Satetka told you that made you change your plan. What you thought was supposed to happen. Everything. Please."

Kreig sighed. "I don't know much, Bull and the boy are the ones that know everything. Remember when I told you that I was looking for something Cach gave me that I lost in the swamps?" Briesse nodded, not interrupting him. "In the swamps, at the shrine, I summoned Anwusmonataqa, the Demon Child. That's why I was gone, that's what I was doing. The child sent me to where the Locust is, but I never got there. The Locust found me first, came to me after our first..." He paused, his face turning red.

She smiled slightly but didn't interrupt except to touch his face as he speaks, still looking into his eyes. "He told me that Cach would be using the relics to open a portal from this world to another one to bring the Devourer and command him to destroy the Acolytes enemies. He told me if I wanted proof, to ask Satetka. So when Cach had Satetka taken prisoner, I thought that was the beginning of the end. Especially when I spoke to Satetka and he told me the visions of Cach burning down villages."

Briesse inhaled sharply remembering the nightmare that was Satetka. "It was the beginning of the end for me, my love. But visions? Of Cach burning down villages? Of course he would burn down the villages of our enemies. I'm not sure why that would trouble you."

"Not Cach. He wouldn't do that unless something possessed him to do so." He continued. "So during the explosion and the chaos, I freed Satetka."

Briesse closed her eyes, with a slight shudder of horror, remembering the night of Satetka's mysterious disappearance from Abydos, and all the turmoil and personal tragedy that followed.

"Knowing Cach would take his anger out on me I thought it best to run. I wanted you to come with me, but you wouldn't have any of it. You were always more loyal to Cach than anyone else. I managed to switch the necklaces days before, but" he looked down at his blackened arm, "it has side effects. So I hid the real relic in our... your house and ran for Bull. Bull wouldn't help me."

"Our house," she gently, quietly corrected him. "You went to Bull asking for help in - in betraying the plan?"

"So my last effort was that you would, so I buried the flower hoping that you would remember and figure it out. Before I could hide, the Silver Dragons found me and captured me." He shook his head, remembering. "Bull just stood there and watched. The child in the swamps told me it would happen like that. I thought Bull would listen to me, but" he shrugged "guess not, eh?"

[Maokhan]

Briesse began to worry her lower lip with her teeth, then winced in pain and stopped, shaking her head sadly. "I wish I could have listened to you. We could have figured things out. Bull wouldn't help me when I came looking either. And now he blames me. He blames me for you turning against... whatever the plan was supposed to be. And he blames me for your death. And for his.... " She shook her head and, remembering what happened to Bull, decided not to continue the thought.

Kreig stroked her face gently, lifting her chin with his fingers. "Bull can be tough, but he's no different than me." He laughed. "Only more stubborn."

Briesse sighed softly, looking once more into the eyes of her lover. "Yes, I've seen that resemblance. We need to fix this. We have to. You, and me, together. Who is this child you speak of? And this Locust? Tell me all you know."

He kissed her passionately, then after a moment, lips still brushing hers "I can't leave here."

A pained expression crossed her face as she realized again the reality of their situation, but she brushed away the thought a bit longer.

He pulled away. "Anwusaomataqa, the Demon Crow. Cach told me it was a demon in a child's body. Locust - I don't know. I know he's a prophet, or at least Cach calls him a prophet."

"What does the child look like? Where might I find him? Do I need to summon him again, as you did?"

He frowned. "Unless you have one of the relics, you can't summon him."

"Bull..." She offered after a moment. "Bull has a relic. He can do it?"

He shrugged. "If you can convince him. Bull accepts what's going to happen."

"What is going to happen? What is all this about anyway? What are you five supposed to do? Or prevent? Or whatever?"

He hung his head. "I don't know." Then, looking back up, into her eyes "Cach was given the relics to prevent the Locust from opening the temple."

"To - to prevent him from opening the temple? Then why was Cach so interested in opening the temple? Was it only to stop the curse that was killing him? What brought on that curse?"

He shrugged. "I thought Cach wanted to open the temple to open the portal. But you need all five relics to do that."

Briesse, nodded, listening, trying to put the fragmented information together. "And Cach has one, or maybe two, in, ah, that place with him. But Bull has one. Do you think this child you summoned is still in the world? Do you think I might find him?"

"No, the child leaves when he is done."

She touched her now-bare neck, remembering that Bull's relic is what brought her to this place. "What about here? In this place, whatever it is? Is there something we can do here?

He shook his head. "Once you leave there is no coming back."

Briesse inhaled sharply, holding her breath a moment, then swallowing hard as she fought back tears. "I miss you so much. I want you. I need you." Finally losing the battle, tears welled up in her eyes. "You can't come with me? I can't stay here? Or return?"

He gently wiped away a tear. "I miss you too, Briesse. But that's the rules."

"So Bull let me come here, presumably to learn what I need to fix things rather than simply to torment me..." she paused, thinking through the situation.

"Knowing Bull," he interrupted, "both."

"Well the torment works - or will when I have to leave you here." She took a deep breath, trying to compose herself. "I feel like only half of me without you and your strength. If we don't fix this, I die hunted as a traitor, Cach dies or is trapped forever in that place, whatever disaster you were supposed to prevent happens..."

He brushed her hair away from her face. "I don't know what to tell you."

She bit her lip softly, then stopped, setting her mouth in a determined line. "How and where did the Locust find you? What did he tell you?"

He shrugged. "He came to me in a dream, said that Cach was going to use the relics to destroy the world."

"Do you think I might summon this child again with this necklace of Bull's? Or Bull if he agrees?"

"Yes. You have to have the relic or someone who does. Angwusonmataqa, at the shrine in the swamps. Behind the big temple. You have to say the child's name, then he will come to you."

Briesse looked almost hopeful for a moment. "Do you think he will have more answers? What did he tell you when you summoned him?"

He smiled. "He's the one who gave Cach the relics."

She sighed with frustration. "I'm sorry. I'm just trying to understand what to do. And - and I don't want to leave you."

Having told her all her could, Kreig laid back, resting his head on Briesse's lap. "Remember when we used to have fun and didn't have to run around saving everyone?"

She nodded with a soft smile. "You - you brought so much lightness and happiness to my life. You teased me so much about being so serious, about control." She grinned. "And I hoped that you would just grab me and take all ability to control away from me."

He smiled as she stroked his hair. "You always had to be the strongest when sometimes you could use your own weaknesses to your advantage."

"All I ever wanted was security. Safety. The feeling of being protected and not being constantly under attack. I never even looked for love." She leaned her head down to kiss him sweetly.

He looked into her eyes. "You let yourself be taken advantage of. If you'd accept who you are and what you stand for then you wouldn't always have to be in control."

"I don't understand. I'm being taken advantage of by... who?"

"You said you were being hunted, taken advantage of. Before I was gone you'd always stand up to that, what's different now?"

"I'm alone now. No city, no rules, no army, nothing. Only me against them. And they have all the power, they have Cach and the Acolytes behind them. I have only my wits, which don't seem to be up to the job."

She took a breath and continued. "I could probably take any one of them on in combat - maybe. But not all of them. I'm no brawler, no fighter. I'm a soldier. Or was a soldier. Now I'm a soldier without an army. I've been brought down. My enemies say it's well deserved and long overdue. I'm not willing to admit defeat but," she paused, thinking. "I have to admit something."

"Stand your ground, like always. You're still here, which means they don't have it in them to kill you."

She nodded. "It's all I can do. I just," she choked slightly, "I just want what we had. What I thought I had the last time we were together, when I thought we had everything." She inhaled sharply, remembering that night, and exhaled with a long slow sigh. "That night, I said to you 'you're mine'. What I didn't say, but I hoped you understood, is that I'm yours."

He nodded. "But I'm gone now, so surely you've found someone else."

She shook her head. "No, there's no one else. Others try," she shrugged. "But no one understands me the way you did - do. They always misread me and try to impress me with all the wrong things." She laughed softly, and he laughed with her. "There may never be anyone else. I didn't look for love before, but you caught me by surprise."

She gently brushed a bit of hair out of his face as she continued. "I can live without love. It's security I need. And that comes from... oh never mind." She sighed with frustration. "Again I spend our time together talking about my problems. Tell me what you want me to do, love."

He smiled and answered simply. "Get me out of here."

She gasped slightly, holding her breath before speaking. "Is it possible? Can I?"

"I'm not sure. I mean, I don't know how all of that works. Do you?"

She laughed. "You're talking to a woman who can stare a demon in the face, but only because I refuse to contemplate what they really are and represent and can do. Fearlessness through deliberate ignorance." She laughed, but her laugh had a dark edge.

"Then I'm stuck here," he frowned slightly, "which is ok, I did it to myself."

She gently slipped his head off of her lap and rested it on the ground. Lying down beside him, she rested her head on his shoulder. "I will try. I will learn what I can and I will try to get you out of here. How do you feel to be here? Before I came, were you just here, alone?"

"Aye. Just walking around with nothing."

She spoke slowly, hesitant to even utter the words that follow. "So even just ordinary death - ceasing to exist..." She inhaled sharply again, pressing her lips together thoughtfully, "that would be better than what you are in now?"

"It might have to do with the curse. Maybe I can't be gone until it's gone."

"I wonder - I wonder if this is the same kind of thing Cach is stuck in? I wonder if you two could meet here in this place somehow? Oh, but maybe you wouldn't want to." She frowned, thinking of being stuck in eternal limbo with an angry someone you betrayed. "Well we have a problem to solve, and it may free you as well."

She turned her face toward him, pressing her lips against his chest and her body close against his. Then she raised up on one elbow, leaning down over him and kissing him passionately. As he slipped his arm under her body, supporting her, she kissed the corner of his mouth, whispering. "What do you want from me now, love? If this is your last time with another person, what do you want?"

He pulled her closer to his body, kissing her before answering. "All I ever wanted was for you to be happy, here now and out there too."

Laughing softly, she kissed him again, stroking his body, her hand moving lower and lower down his chest. "Do you know how happy it made me when you would just take over, leaving me with no ability to control, nothing to figure out, no decisions to make?"

"Right now there is nothing, no one has control and no decisions."

She moved her hand lower, fiddling with the fastening of his tasset, not bothering to wonder why he needed clothes in this place. "And you, my love, are just as infuriating as ever."

"Oh?" He pulled her over on top of his body where she straddled his hips, leaning down over him, kissing him passionately.

He pulled at the straps on her top. "Never saw this one before," he laughed.

"Maybe you just didn't leave it on long enough to see it," she grinned as she slipped out of it, tossing it down beside them.

It's impossible to know how long she remained there. They made love, sweet and tender, savoring the simple beauty of their touch; passionate; frenzied with desperation and longing. Finally they slept, holding each other.

When Briesse awoke, she was alone, her things on the ground around her. No Kreig. No Bull. A horse was tied to a nearby tree.

[Maokhan]

Bull left her there, deep in her dream. She could find her own way home, and if she couldn't...well to bad for her. He took the caravan back to Tarantia, boarding the ship headed for Khemi. It was a long journey, one that Bull spent most the time sleeping.

When he arrived in Khemi, the air was hot, uninviting of the Cimmerians return. He stepped onto the dock, his sea-legs trembling on the steady cobblestone.

"BullBullBullBullBull....BULL!", the boy screamed out of joy. He was jumping. Outright jumping for joy at the base of the steps. Bull dropped his pack and with a smile on his face he greeted the boy.

"Oi, boy. What'cha doing in Khemi?" He scooped the young man into his arms, a bear hug on it's way.

"I came out here looking for you but no one tell me where you were but then I had dream that you were with the fire hair lady and that you would come back and that we could go fishing!", the boy spurted out all at once as he hugged his Cimmerian friend.

Bull just smiled, running his hand through the boys hair. "Aye, lad. I saw the fiery haired lady."

Almarus gleamed. "You called me lad! That means boy! And lass means girl! Because they have different parts. Fynres taught me that! He say never call girl lad and never call boy lass otherwise they might get upset and then they try to hurt me." He frowned quickly, nodding his head. "Hurt." He smiled again in the arms of Bull. The big Cimmerian set the boy down on the stone.

"I hunger like a lion, boy'o. Let's get some snake surprise or whatever other type of critter they sell here."

Almarus smiled, and nodded knowingly. "Pie. It doesn't have vermin in it. Stewar-t says it has no river rat, that it only uses buffalo for it." The boys face turns serious for a moment. "But you have to get it from boy-loving Nemedian. He smells like old bread." He nodded quickly. "Old Bread." Bull laughed, remembering the fat man from the Inn. "I guess we'll go get pie then." Almarus nodded. "Pie!"

As they entered the Inn, Bull laughed to himself. He was certain he would never step foot here again. But he felt a calling back to Khemi, he wasn't quite sure why, but he wasn't going to argue with fate. Almarus hurried to the table, speaking rather loudly at the Nemedian (like he spoke a different language). "Pie you fat-boy loving Nemedian!", Almarus slammed his hand down on the table, a serious look on his face. "Or I'll cut your tongue off and feed it to alligator." He nodded quickly at his statement. "Off."

From behind, Bull smiled. Anger crossed the tavern-keeps face, but the presence of Bull with the boy quickly erased any thoughts of hurting the kid. The two of them walked into the Inn, devoid of any patrons. Almarus pointed to the corner by the steps. "That were black-bird stand. She is fox in her fathers field. She say that rabbits can't stand in field because her father not like them.", the boy shrugged at his own statement as the waitress delivered the pie. "No vermin, like Stewar-t say?", he asked the waitress. She offered him a smile, patting him on top of his head. "No vermin, Almar."

Bull took a slice of the pie, devouring the piece in two bites. Almarus picked at the piece he took, trying to assure himself there were no river rats in it. He took a bite, talking with his mouth full.

"I sawf you comin' Bull!", little bits of the pie spit out from his mouth. He swallowed hard, talking with a clear mouth. "I saw it, draw it from my head. I say to them that you get fire-haired lady and you take her away. Then I say you come back."
Bull nodded. "Aye, boy. I'm back."

Almarus frowned. "But not for long? I draw other picture that show you in Swamp and that fire-hair lady stand over hole and that Fynres have no eyes any more well less one eye than he has now cause he only have one eye...I ask him about it but he just tell me not to worry about it I think he lost it in a fight with a bear.", the boy spits out quickly making a bear-claw gesture with his hands. "Bear."

Bull raised an eyebrow. "You drew all of that? Show me."
Almarus quickly went through his pack, pulling out a crumpled up piece of parchment, handing it over to Bull. The boy took another bite from his pie, not saying a word as he chewed. Bull sighed. "Aye boy, I have to go to the swamps." Almarus nodded. "When you come back we go fishing!" Bull looked at the boy. He didn't want to disappoint him.

"Yea, yea Almarus. We'll go fishing."

They sat there the rest of the meal in silence. Enjoying their river-rat free pie. They washed it down with melon juice, Almarus drinking down his glass like it was last flavor of juice left on the continent. He walked with Bull to the docks on the River Styxx. He gave Bull his very own bear hug and they said their goodbyes.

Bull stepped on the boat, turning around to watch Almarus skip away. "Aye, boy'o. I won't be returning. This is the end for me.", he said nearly silent. He didn't have the heart to break the boys spirit and tell him that Bull would be no more. He sighed as the boat shoved off from the pier headed into the Lotus swamps.

[Maokhan]

Chapter Four Looks Like We're in for Nasty Weather

The Cimmerian threw away the sun, venturing into the swamp alone. Days travel until he found the exact spot. He had no map, no compass, only the feeling within to guide him.

The fog rolled heavily off the small patches of water, filling in the gaps of moist air. Bull began to dig into the earth. His father had told him always to dig the hole first, for you never knew who would be coming by in the time it took you to dig the hole. If you weren't careful, next thing you knew...you were out there all night digging holes.

He didn't dig that hole for Cach, or for Kashta. He didn't dig it for Pashen or Fynres, Almarus or even Briesse. He dug the hole for himself. He chose this destiny, he chose his path..and tonight that path ended here in the lotus laden swamps of Stygia.

He inhaled deeply upon finishing his dig, climbing out of the hole and resting for the time being.

A day passed as Bull waited patiently in the swamps, next to his final resting place.

It was Briesse that found him first. Pleading with him to tell her all he knew, to help her free Kreig...to help her understand what happened to Cach. He refused, he told her all she needed to know.

Then, as the sun set that day, with Briesse still begging him for answers...Fynres found the camp. Fate compelled the three to the swamps, and fate compelled them to this very spot.

There would be no argument, no fight. Bull stood up, wiping the dirt from his body. He untied the necklace, his eyes weakening upon release of his relic...of his curse. He smiled at Fynres, for now the burden to be was his. Briesse continued to plead with him..."this wasn't the way" she would say. She tried to reason with what she could not comprehend...what she did not know.

"Save you breath", Bull said to her. Fynres had palmed the relic, his sword ready to strike Bull down. "You won't be needing that Zamoran", the big Cimmerian said calmly.

Bull stood between the two, their mutual distaste for eachother spilling over.

"Oh, Fynres?", Bull said in a deep tone. "Aye, lad?", Fynres replied. Bull winked at Fynres, a broad smile crossing his face. "I don't want to disappoint the boy.", the Cimmerian said as he drove his thumb into Fynres eye, sending the Zamoran to the ground in agony.

Briesse paused in shock, her jaw dropped as she looked down at Fynres' squirming body, his yelps of pain echoing throughout the swamps. She turned back to Bull, but he was already in her face, his warm breath speaking directly on her skin. She could see his skin lighten a sickly pale, his eyes growing white..his skin wilting before her.

"Kill me", he said.

"Wha-what?"

He grabbed her by the collar, pulling her to his body. "Kill me! You dumb sow!", Bull growled. It was fate that said she had to do the deed, and Bull knew he would have to force her pacified hand. He spit in her face, his saliva rolling down her cheek. "Do it!", he screamed. The first sign of anger flashed by her eyes, the pain of her lost love and Bull's treatment of her. Her hand clutched her sword tightly, the tension in the air building around as Fynres continued to scream out in agony. Bull put his hand on Briesse's, pulling the sword from it's cage. He whispered to her, "It'll be ok.", a wink headed her way. She drove the blade deep into his sternum...the dark blood oozing almost immediately.

The Cimmerian fell backwards into his grave, Briesse could have sworn she saw a smile on his face. She fell to her knees, the last person that could help her...was now gone too by her own hand. She looked over at Fynres' rolling on the ground.

"This is all your fault!", she said half-choked with emotion.

[Maokhan]

Almarus sat on the shore line, just beyond the pyre. He watched as Arwyne stared at void of any semblance of knowing where she was. The boy felt a sharp pain in his chest, and he instinctively clutched his necklace. He had felt this before, when the other Cimmerian died. He could hear the voices then, as he heard them now.

He tucked his head between his legs, the pain in his chest intensifying. He could almost see his friend, his big Cimmerian 'brother' die. He was now alone, the last surviving member. Tears streamed down his cheeks, forming a puddle beneath his legs in the sand.

Without notice his head shot up, staring at the horizon. He sifted through his pack, pulling out a smoothed obsidian rock. He looked it over, feeling it between his fingertips. He mumbled to himself incoherently, mostly the long-dead language. It was a prayer, a prayer for what was going to happen. He threw the rock across the glass sheen of the bay, it skipping across it quickly before sinking to the bottom.

He hadn't noticed Arwyne walk up to his spot, as it almost startled him. He nodded at the Steward as she sat in the sand, his face covered in dried tears.

"What are the rocks for?", Arwyne questioned the boy.

He sighed before he answered. "I try to tell but no one listen, no one ever listen to me."

"I'm listening to you now."

The boy nodded in acceptance of that. "Rocks are for Temple, you bring rocks to Temple and it make them whole again."

"Them?", Arwyne questioned.

"Yes, them. Like I say my father, and now Kashta...and Fynres."

"Where can I find more of these?"

Almarus turned his head back to the bay, pointing to the water. "You find them in pond by a shadow...near a dark castle."

"And we need more rocks?"

Almarus nodded.

The two sat in silence for awhile, until the sun set on Khemi. It was the last time anyone saw Almarus. He had simply disappeared without word that night. Not even a sign of where he was headed.

Dark days were coming...and the Locust had been summoned.

[Maokhan]

Part Three The Last Part



Chapter One Cause and Effect


The grey mist rolled down the river, like a tumbleweed on the streets of Khemi. The citizens of Abydos watched it curiously, not daring to approach it for answers. It had begun to rain, the yellow streaks of lightning illuminating the night's sky. As an omen of what was to come, the animals...the birds, the cattle, the house pets had all sought shelter elsewhere.

This was the Devil's Den, home to many people and many things. Most importantly, it was home to Kashta.

Something else lurked in the swamps that night. Something darker than her, more terrifying than any dream you could conjure up...

From the mist he came, on his dark horse he rode along the river's edge. The dark ones trailing behind him, their devil'd visage wilting the plant life as they rode by. He came from the shadows, where he resided. He did not belong to this plane, but to the fabled City of Shadows.

Here, in the swamps, he saw her. Spoken in the tongue of the Ancients, he commanded the dark riders. They came down on her like a swarm of locusts...