The War Without End – Episode 1.20
After a protracted struggle across the sandblasted wasteland of the Med-Jai prison, Ebon, Graffan and Korbin have found Shilaze’s broken body, half-buried in the dunes. The wind howls and buffets them with unrelenting fury as they try to come to terms with their grim discovery.
At the sight of her, Graffan recoils and Ebon steps forward, dropping to one knee beside the body. Having come so far to save his sister and friend it is hard to accept the fact that this is how their journey will end. And yet, hope remains. There are ways that even death can be overcome.
Korbin startles him from his thoughts by gripping his arm and shouting something to him through the howling wind. Even at that distance, the words are nearly lost.
“GRAFFAN’S GONE”
“WHAT?” Ebon yells back. He doesn’t need to wait for Korbin’s answer to confirm that it is true however. The cleric is nowhere to be seen. Everything around the two of them and Shilaze’s body is obscured by dust and swirling sand.
“WHAT HAPPENED?” Ebon demands.
“I DON’T KNOW” Korbin replies “HE JUST WALKED OFF. I TRIED TO STOP HIM BUT HE WOULDN’T LISTEN.”
“GRAFFAN” Ebon stands and shouts into the wind. The words are snatched away without reply. It is useless but he tries again. “GRAFFAN COME BACK… GRAFFAN.” There is no hope of the cleric hearing him.
Ebon curses. There is little chance of finding Graffan but they have to try. Quickly he pulls out a blanket and starts wrapping Shilaze’s broken form in its folds. Carefully he picks her up and rests her over his shoulder. As he does so her body shudders. Startled, he hurriedly places her back on the sand. He tears open the folds of blanket and she takes a rasping breath and coughs; life starts returning to her pallid features. It is a miracle for she was surely dead only moments before.
Shilaze regains consciousness with Ebon and Korbin leaning over her. At first she is disorientated. She starts struggling but Ebon reassures her.
“Shilaze. It’s alright. It’s Ebon AND KORBIN”, he yells to her through the gale.
His voice calms her. There are many questions to be answered but the howling wind makes it impossible to talk. Somehow Ebon manages to make Shilaze understand that the Med-Jai have granted her freedom, and that Graffan was with them but that now he has gone.
Shilaze recovers a great-sword from the sand nearby and puts on her armour, which they have brought with them.
They search for any sign of Graffan but all they find is his medallion of Heironeous lying in the sand. Is it possible that the cleric has some means of finding his way back to the gate by himself? They hope so. For without the compass provided by Armand they themselves would be lost.
The wind grows even stronger and they are forced to depart.
After many hours walking they reach the stronghold. To their relief, Armand informs them that Graffan has already passed that way some nine hours earlier. But they have no knowledge of where he is heading or to what purpose?
Armand escorts them through the gate and then takes them to see the Matriarch. She questions them about the time they spent in the prison and expresses concern regarding Graffan’s behaviour on his return. He was acting quite strangely and she now fears that he might have been under the influence of a possessing entity. She regrets not having detained him when she had the chance, but it is too late for that now.
She also explains that Shilaze’s miraculous recovery is no surprise to those who know the secrets of the prison. The very nature of the place does not allow those imprisoned there to escape their incarceration, even through death. With the next dawn any who have been slain are magically restored to life.
Lastly, she introduces them to Brother Silas, a representative of the Ninth Tribe, who will be accompanying them on their return to the Fortress of the Second. He is going there to participate in the impending “Conjunction”.
When they ask her what this is, the Matriarch simply states that it is not her place to tell them and advises that they ask Heiron.
They eventually leave the stronghold of the Ninth only to discover, to their frustration, that it is already late in the day and night will soon be falling. Not wanting to be caught in the darkness, and without Graffan’s magic to speed their passage, they are forced to find an inn where they can wait till morning.
It is there that they stumble upon Massingleigh.
“Thank Pelor you’re alright”, Massingleigh beams. “We should celebrate. Let me buy you all a drink and you can tell me everything that has happened since we parted”
Remembering the mental warning that Baratus’s sent him about Massingleigh being a Doppelganger, Ebon remains wary. Once they are sat down at a table he broaches the subject. Massingleigh laughs and then realises Ebon is serious.
“A Doppelganger? Oh! Come on Ebon, you can’t really believe that? It’s me, Massingleigh.”
Ebon eyes his friend suspiciously. He is unable to detect even the slightest indication that it isn’t the real Massingleigh. “How good could a Doppelganger be?” he wonders.
“Let’s just say I’m being cautious” he replies.
Massingleigh shrugs. “A wise precaution” he acknowledges. “I had hoped to keep this friendly but, in that case, let us dispense with deception and turn to cruder methods of persuasion. If you want to see your friend Massingleigh alive again you will come with me.”
Various exclamations of alarm and astonishment are uttered around the table.
A debate ensues about how they should respond to the Doppelganger’s demand. Shilaze believes that they must do as it says, but Ebon is torn between protecting her and rescuing Massingleigh. He reminds Shilaze that everything that has happened thus far suggests that it is she who their enemies’ are really after.
“All the more reason I should be the one in danger instead of Massingleigh” she replies.
Eventually they agree to do as the Doppelganger wishes.
They follow it through the city to another portal where it proposes leaving them.
“Your friend is on the other side”, it states.
Once again it is Ebon who raises concerns. They have no knowledge of the portal or where it leads. Stepping through it could mean instant death. He suggests taking the Doppelganger with them to ensure that the trip is not immediately fatal.
However, the Doppelganger assures them that it will not be. It says that the portal simply leads to the Outlands, but obviously there will be a reception committee waiting for them. As for itself, it argues that it would be in their interests to let it leave. It was only paid to bring them there. Having discharged its obligation it has no wish to become embroiled in a conflict that would force it to side with its employer against them.
Ebon remains suspicious but, after questioning the Doppelganger for a few minutes, Shilaze is convinced that it is prepared to go through, so there is no benefit in taking it with them. In the end they let it go because, as it says, it would only be another enemy for them to deal with where they are going.
And so, moments later, Shilaze, Ebon, Korbin and Silas step through the portal and appear in a large, dimly lit room. Cautiously they investigate their new surroundings.
They have only been there a few minutes when a cacophony of unearthly moaning begins echoing around them. Ebon and Korbin recognise the cries of the molten flesh creatures that they encountered their first night in the city of St Cuthbert’s basilica.
Sure enough, a multitude of fleshy shapes begin lumbering into the room from the one passageway that can be seen.
Ebon and Shilaze rush forward, seeking to stifle the creatures’ advance at the threshold to the room. They stand side-by-side once again and cleave through the throng as it surges against them. As individuals the creatures prove to be ineffectual but their overwhelming numbers are a problem.
For a while the heroes hold, but then without warning a familiar Cleric of Hextor emerges from the nearby shadows and balefire erupts around them. Korbin rushes forward to intervene, breaking the cleric’s concentration by attacking him and then keeping him distracted so that he cannot make any more invocations.
Simultaneously a powerful metallic figure appears behind them. Ebon and Shilaze turn to face the Blood Golem but consequently the defensive line is broken and the flesh creatures pour in. Silas is surrounded and the others are all hemmed in. A prolonged battle ensues.
In the thick of the fighting Ebon and Shilaze exchange mighty blows with the Blood Golem, while fending off the flesh creatures that surround them. Their metallic adversary seems unstoppable however and continues to heal the damage it sustains while they begin to weaken.
With the press of flesh creatures threatening to overwhelm him, Silas uses magic to shape-change into a gargoyle and fly up above them. Beneath him, Ebon stumbles to his knees under the impact of the Blood Golem’s onslaught and Shilaze steps forward to protect him. Moments later Korbin is caught by a heavy blow from the cleric’s flail and staggers back, blood soaking through his jerkin. The tide of the battle is turning inexorably against them.
Shilaze cleaves into the construct’s armoured body. The damage regenerates, but it does finally cause the containers of blood on its back to drain empty. In response the Cleric, who is once again free to call upon the powers of darkness to aid him, utters fell words and, with a gesture, a black ray sears out of his palm and hits Shilaze. She staggers and drops her guard momentarily. While her defences are down the Blood Golem smashes her with its flails and she crumples and falls to the ground unmoving.
As the Blood Golem is about to finish her, the wounded Korbin valiantly dives in the way, throwing himself over her fallen body. For a moment the Blood Golem looms over them, and then Ebon stands and smashes his glaive into its torso with every last ounce of his strength. One of the empty blood containers shatters and a great crack appears across its armoured chest. The dark sorcery that sustained the construct is spent. It tries to move but there is a crunch and a grinding of gears and it topples to one side. Finally it is defeated.
Seeing the Blood Golem fall, the cleric snarls. Uttering a magic phrase he gestures and vanishes. As soon as he disappears the flesh creatures also fade out of existence. The friends had been on the brink of defeat but suddenly the battle has ended. Silas swoops down to heal the wounded.
Once they are all back on their feet, they discover that they are stranded. There is no way out of the room and there is no sign of Massingleigh. The passage that the flesh creatures emerged from leads to a portal for which they have no key. They can do nothing but wait patiently for someone to rescue them.
Fortunately, after a few hours, Heiron arrives, having used the magic of the Mirror of Triumphant Transportation to come and get them. He informs them that the Conjunction is upon them and that it represents a far greater threat than they can imagine. For the time being this must take precedence over the search for Massingleigh and Graffan. So saying he takes them all back to the Fortress of the Second.
Heiron explains that the Conjunction occurs around once every twenty years, when their reality becomes coincident with another dimension. When the boundary between the two worlds is at its weakest, a portal opens and a great evil from the other reality attempts to break through. To prevent this from happening, twelve champions, one from each tribe, are sent through to aid those who defend the far side of the portal. All the indications suggest that the Conjunction is at hand and so the champions are arriving. A champion of the Second Tribe must also be chosen, but before they make their choice Heiron warns them that it is a mission from which few return. They have until morning to make a decision.
Notes:
That evening, after Heiron explains the Conjunction, he summons Shilaze, Ebon and Blanca to a private meeting in his study and Shilaze is made aware of her parentage and her true relationship to the others.
Heiron also reveals that his daughter, their mother Grisa, was the last champion of the Second Tribe to go through the portal. Twenty years ago she fell in battle against the evil Daelkyr and was lost to him.
There is some debate as to who should be chosen as the Second Tribe’s champion. It seems that Ebon and Shilaze are the main candidates, but Ebon is troubled by the thought of either of them following in their mother’s footsteps, as it means they will be separated again after having only just been reunited. Blanca proposes that all three of them go, since she has no intention of letting her brother or sister go into danger without her, whatever the Med-Jai traditions dictate. In response to this Heiron admits that, although each tribe is only supposed to send one champion, he too is in favour of seeing his grandchildren stay together. Ultimately however they retire for the night without having arrived at a decision.
First appearance of Brother Silas (David Thewlis)
