SAGA - Curse of the Shadow Page #2

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You bear the mark, yet you murder

your own Shadow brother.

Did he speak before you killed him?

I know you are cursed with the mark

by the Orc Shaman,

who calls himself Fang-Tor.

Right before I cut off his head.

Release her to me!

By authority of the Prophetess.

Tell no one Maggut Guilbrow is dead.

Burn the body.

Death, death is upon you,

wandering warrior.

Step aside!

The stain of spilled blood

leaves a mark, does it not?

I speak of you, Keltus.

How do you know me?

I have seen you before,

near the temple.

You've come a long

way to play at riddles.

Riddles?

I meant to speak plainly.

A hero is known by his deeds

but judged by his heart.

Who has your heart,

Keltus, wanderer?

Friend of yours?

Come on,

there's a long way ahead of us.

You know I can help but I'm

gonna need your help first.

I don't need your help, Human!

- Really?

I freed you from execution.

I work alone and my work is

far from finished. I go South.

You know, the priestesses of the

Order can remove the mark.

It's your choice.

Maybe you'd rather see yourself decay

as the undead contagion festers in your blood.

Which it does as we speak.

- What priestesses?

Where are they?

- I serve my mistress

the Prophetess of Ari-Alia,

I am their ambassador.

What do you want with me, Ambassador?

- You have the mark!

But unwillingly. That makes

you special, maybe even unique.

I need you to infiltrate the Shadow

and bring me information.

And you'll see to it that

I'm cured of this?

Yes.

Cure me first and then I'll help you.

- The priestesses are days from here.

I need your help now.

The rat-faced human

that I killed in the prison

told me to go to the Bleeding Stone.

The Bleeding Stone?

What did he want you to do there?

I'll tell you when we get there.

That's more than a day on foot.

You said you work alone.

Unusual for an Elf.

Where are your kin?

- I have no kin.

Your fighting style is Elahrian.

- Yes.

A High Elf then. From the Garuun-Dan.

- Yes

But surely too young to have fought in the Orc wars?

You are a survivor.

You know, I read the history,

the whole clans were starving.

Forced them to your forests. There was a famine.

- Bite your tongue, Orc lover.

Hey, I am no fan of the Orcs.

But I am no fan of Elves either.

You and I have no friends,

we share that at least.

The Bleeding Stone is on that far ridge.

What?

Well met, brother of the Order.

- Not so well for you, it seems, Kullimon the Black.

You're the one they call 'Wanderer'.

You're younger than your reputation implies.

Was it not so long ago you were a

commander of a horde of Orc raiders?

I may have the lost the battle

but not yet my last breath.

What's this? Your consort?

Surely your prophetess frowns

upon her henchman befriending an elf.

Enough.

Now, you have the habit of killing prisoners before

I have a chance to question them.

What news from Warspire?

- Hard times, Human.

Good raid targets are

not easy to come by.

Rumor has it the monastery

was sacked just two days before.

Leaving many dead.

Sounds like a certain someone I know.

Cut me down and I'll tell you about it.

It was the shrine of Noc Benari.

They are monastics.

They have taken a vow of poverty.

They have nothing of value there.

Nothing of value to me or to you,

but beneath the shrine

is the tomb of Odus the Tall

and in that tomb were some artifacts.

One of which was very eagerly sought

after by an agent of the Shadow.

Which artifact?

Cut me down.

Which artifact, Kullimon?

The Bone Vessel is what they call it

- The Bone Vessel?

It's said it holds the Ashes of Amun Khan.

It's a fake, like most relics.

Fake or not, delivered into the right hands

it's worth a small fortune in gold.

Where will the exchange take place?

- I will take you there.

With your wounds you are too slow.

Go back to Warspire. This is my affair now.

I too have unfinished deeds.

I go to face the horde one last time.

Kill me if you must.

I will not tell you the place.

Go on, kill him. It is at Garret's

Crossing at new moon.

The girl speaks truth, but there

are details of which she is unaware.

If it's the vessel you want,

you'd be fools to refuse my help.

I care nothing for this so called Bone Vessel.

I would rather saw my left arm off

and be done with the both of you

than work with this pig faced scum

Your curse! Your days

are numbered, Shadow child.

It is I who shall refuse to accompany you!

She is not controlled by the Shadow of Death.

Yet she would kill an unarmed,

wounded, kneeling opponent.

The goddess sent me to each

of you, all for a noble purpose.

It is no coincidence we will

go together to meet our fate.

Had enough?

There may be a time and place

for you to kill each other

but it is not here and not now.

I do not serve your Goddess and I

do not live or die by goodwill.

So long as her goals and my own are aligned

I will go with you.

I care nothing for the gods. I do as I please.

But I will travel with you two fools to

the Bleeding Stone and no further.

That's for my part. Keltus will see to it

that his priestesses remove my mark.

And if I again choose to end

the life of a worthless Orc

do not get in my way or it

will be yours that I take.

.

To the Bleeding Stone then. We'll march

through the night if Kullimon can handle it.

Even dripping in blood

I out walk you, pale-skin.

There's movement out there.

I can sense it.

Yet I see no warmth

and hear no beating heart.

Not all that walks has a beating heart.

A weapon.

Thanks for your help.

- It was a puny lizard.

No match for Keltus the Wanderer.

The Bleeding Stone,

was a meeting place for the Warlocks.

Ancient worshipers of an Elder God.

Nemyt, what was it Maggut wanted you here for?

He told me to wait for the Moon Zyneth

and then to collect the blood from the stone.

This is not something my raiders care about.

It was not needed for the exchange.

Only the Shadow wants this blood.

We should leave it be.

The Horde was to be paid in gold.

- How much?

A thousand coins worth.

- Which we don't have.

Nemyt, it's time to tell us everything

Maggut Guilbrow said to you in that prison.

He became suspicious of me when

I asked where the Bleeding Stone was.

He couldn't tell me anything

more so I killed him.

You should have left him for me to question.

We wait here and see if the Bleeding Stone

lives up to its name, then collect the Blood.

We may need Nemyt to pose as

a true Shadow agent before long

and the blood may

make all the difference.

In the meantime get some sleep.

We won't stop again before we reach Garret's Crossing.

Where is the brat?

- She left in the woods only moments ago.

Looks like she knew just when to leave.

Which way out of here?

If we can cut them down

I guess we can outrun them.

Cowards run, warriors fight.

Then we fight.

Too many of them!

Killing gets us nowhere!

Killing is all I can offer.

Let's not be too nice.

Attention!

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