Greetings all
I am so glad this week is over. I get to have a three day weekend starting tomorrow. Sadly, this is marred by a client dragging their heels with paying for a project. Sigh, wish they realised how their indecisiveness affected my budget every month.
Anyway, enough about me complaining. You're all here for the next update! Hope I do the tale justice with this update. There are so many secrets coming out.
Adrian stood beside his bed and watched Rhyn flicker in and out of transparency. The odd lizard seemed to be viewing him with the same curiosity as what he was it. They remained in silence for some time before the young man finally asked.
“What was that thing?”
Rhyn was taken aback for a second before he muttered, “He stands before an ancient and he asks about rotting corpses. Adiran, why have you never taught the boy anything?”
The lizard sighed heavily and said, “It’s an undead colossus. It guards this place, and it is looking for you.”
“You’ve been here all this time, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then why the hell haven’t you helped me!”
“Chaotic neutral, I do what pleases me.” Snorted Rhyn.
Adrian could only stare at the lizard as he started to laugh under his breath. Rhyn, realising that the boy didn’t find his joke as amusing. He stretched out between the two flicking young men and said, “I can’t leave this room, Adrian. If I do, I may sever the link between you and this young man. This is the only link which is keeping your soul from leaving.”
“You mean dying?”
“I know what I meant.” A puff of smoke bellowed from Rhyn’s nostrils.
Adrian seemed to think this over a bit before he asked, “I’m not whole, am I?”
“Ooh, Adiran doesn’t give you nearly enough credit. Tell me, Adrian, what do you think is happening?”
“I think part of my soul was stolen. By keeping me grounded to another person, it prevents my soul from going to where the other part is.”
“Why do you think the smaller part can call the bigger part?”
“It’s trapped?”
“It’s trapped!” the lizard cried triumphantly.
Adrian sat down heavily on the ground. It wasn’t the shock, he was simply too tired to do anything else. Rhyn peered down at him and smirked, “Adiran should have prepared you better.”
“For what exactly?”
“Oh…you don’t know then.”
“Don’t know what?”
Rhyn shrugged, or at least shrugged as much as he would as a large lizard, “Pointless in telling you as I already sense Adiran is close.”
“My uncle is here? How? Why?”
“To get you back, and he isn’t alone. He seems to have a few companions with him.”
“My sister is with him, she must be. I have been dreaming of her. But it’s not dreaming, it’s like I see her, but she doesn’t realise it’s me.”
Rhyn crossed his claws before him and yawn before saying, “I just need to keep all of you safe from…”
The ground beneath them shook violently.
Magna stared back at her brother in disbelief, “You did what?”
“I bound your twin’s life force with another, so it gave us time to get to this point. I had no other option but to do it. The quicker we retrieve Adrian’s soul, the better it’ll be for both of them.”
“But if he’s missing part of his soul, then how?”
“You let me worry about that. For now, we need to get into the castle, and it won’t be easy.”
“I can’t abide by your secrets Adrian!” she yelled at him.
“Adiran, Magna, call me Adiran.”
“I will not! You’re my twin, and you owe me the truth with what you’re going to do to our brother.”
Adiran looked pained; it was the same expression he reserved for Adrian when he badgered the old mage to teach him magic. He sighed and tried to make a complex problem sound easier.
“I need to patch his soul to bind it back to his body. The only way to do that is from this side of the veil. I will need time and silence to do it, but the moment I start, the one who stole Adrian’s soul will know, and he will send his minions after us. I need the four of you to defend us as I work.”
“But how are you going to patch his soul. It’s not like you have a spare soul lying around.”
“You don’t need to concern yourself with that for now Magna, this is something I have been training myself for. I know what I am doing. Can you trust me? Please, I need you to trust me.”
Frustrated, but knowing she wasn’t going to get any more answers from him, she nodded her head.
“Good. Let’s return to the fire and gather our companions. It’s time we move to the castle and save Adrian.”
Adiran gripped her arm and steered her back to the fire in silence. He didn’t have the heart to tell her there was only one of two ways to repair Adrian’s soul, and that was to use his or hers.
Mortis had long since thrown the disgusting, rotten hand away. It turned his stomach, and he was unable to bring it up to his lips to feast on it. He knew he had to; it was his lot in life. It was his curse, his salvation, but now he couldn’t even bring himself to look upon dead flesh. He wasn’t hungry, and in his veins ran the power granted to him by Magna. Her willingly giving him her blood had somehow changed the curse that lay on his old bones, and he wasn’t yet sure whether it was a good or bad thing. He looked at his hand and knew what Derric had said was true, his was starting to revert, something he thought never possible.
“Mortis!” Helga’s voice cut through his thoughts, and he looked up.
“Get your armour on. Adiran and Magna are returning.”
“Why stay?” he asked her before muttering the spell to have his armour fit itself to him.
“Why not? I was cursed to be a guardian, and now I’m free. As I see it, I owe Adiran and you guys for freeing me. Also, been a while since I got to see real combat. I miss it.”
Mortis wanted to ask something else, but he was interrupted by a howl in the distance. Derric had finally finished his scouting mission.
“Looks like we’re clear to get into the castle. This should be fun.” Grinned Helga.
And that's that. Let's see what @zakludick does with this.
Here is an explanation of Chain Stories and here is the current Chainstory Library
Mortis Custos Parts
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