Hi All
@zakludick left me in a fun position to screw with everyone's minds. I hope you all enjoy the update!
“You are a sight for sore eyes.” The old man bound down the stairs and all but threw his arms around the revenant’s neck to hug him.
Mortis raised his hands to stop the mage from bowling him over. He was pleased to see the mage, but he was confused as to how long he had been here.
“You’re going to need to have to explain what is going on here. The last time we saw you, you were walking off away from us riding an earth golem. How did you get here, locked in church in Clarprati?”
“I’m in Clarprati?” the mage seemed confused.
Just then, Derric and Anna came into the church, with their own looks of confusion.
Adiran? How?
The Mage stepped forward and petted Derric on the head and then helped Anna from Derric’s back. The old man looked so happy, which caused Mortis’s suspicion to spike. This didn’t seem normal. Mortis wanted to stand between the man and his party, but the mage stepped back and went to sit on the stairs close by.
Adiran scratched at his head and frowned deeply. He was muttering under his breath and seemed to be using his staff to draw in the dust before him. Mortis couldn’t stand the wait, he needed to know how the mage had gotten here. Adiran, sensing that the revenant was about to lose his patience, said, “I don’t know. I woke up here a few weeks ago. I had next to no power. The next thing I knew there was screaming from outside the church. With no power and severely exhausted, all I could do was cast a lock and conceal spell. After that, I fell into a deep sleep.”
A few weeks? We saw you a few days ago!
Derric was far more agitated than normal. He was pacing back and forth, steadily putting himself before Mortis and Anna.
“I was taken to a place outside of time and space.” The mage continued. “It would seem I was spat out at a tear in time that didn’t line up with the rest of yours. I remember starting the journey, being ripped through time, and then waking up here.”
“And nothing in between?” Mortis was suspicious but said nothing.
“I’d be suspicious too if I were you.” Sighed Adiran.
Derric turned to Mortis and growled.
How can we know he is who he says he is?
Mortis was wondering that himself when they were joined by the rest of their party.
“Did you really have to use magic to blast your way in here?” demanded Sebastian. “I swear the whole countryside…”
The King’s voice trailed off when he noticed the mage. Yet, before he could say anything, the twins barrelled past him and threw themselves at their uncle. There were cries of happiness and hugging, yet Mortis still could trust the person before him. This seemed too coincidental for his liking.
He was joined by Lucien, who seemed to be viewing this with some interest. The knight watched a grin spread across the Lifedrinker’s face. He wasn’t sure what it meant, but he still asked.
“Do you trust him?”
Lucien didn’t answer him but instead stepped forward to greet Adiran with a firm clasp to his shoulder as the twins pulled back.
“Just the man I needed for the next step.”
Adiran seemed to view the Lifedrinker with confusion, but soon, the light of realization dawned on his face. Then the colour drained away.
“You’ve perfected it. Haven’t you? It’s here? Were those Hungers I have been hearing?”
“One question at a time old friend.” Lucien grinned. “First, we must make sure your little friend is delivered safely to us. With some luck, he’ll arrive before the moon rises tonight, as afterward, we don’t have much time.”
Sebastian shared a look with Mortis, and the revenant wasn’t sure how he felt that he and the King were of the same mind at this point.
Was this Adiran or some kind of imposter, come from who knows where?
“We have a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it in.” Lucien lifted the mage and directed him up the stairs. “I have so much to tell you.”
Adiran didn’t even fight the Lifedrinker as he half dragged the mage up the stairs, leaving everyone else confused at the interaction.
“That was…strange.” Said Magna with a strained voice.
“You picked up on that?” Adrian was also frowning.
“His smell is weird.” Magna wrinkled her nose. “It’s him, but strange.
“But you’re sure that is our uncle?”
“As sure as I am you are my brother.”
Even that didn’t put Mortis’s uneasy feeling at rest.
“We can’t leave the gaping alley the way that it is.” Said Sebastian as he put the gear he was carrying down. “Revenant, come help me barricade it again, so we only have a single entrance that we need to protect.”
Unable to do much else, Mortis followed outside.
Over to you Zak!
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Mortis Custos
Sanguifex
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