Silah - You are overthinking this. I told him through our link.
Hakaar shook his head as if to chase away my words like a bothersome fly.
His heart raced and the blood in his veins was like fire. Hot enough to burn away the guilt and shame he carried at the loss of his mentor.
“I don’t think this is a good idea.” Floki said idly.
“We are doing this!” Called Tagaren in an attempt to end the argument before it could flare up again.
The chatter of the others was something I was unaccustomed to on a mission. Military units forced the hard decisions to the individual with the most experience. The others would fall in line or suffer it. By and large it was an effective way to manage the unmanageable.
I didn’t have to remind myself that these were not soldiers. They could fight and were a deadly group when they marshaled their collective will. Their trepidation eroded my confidence in the mission. Hakaar was distant too, distracted. His love for Duncan had turned to vendetta. If this was the fire in his veins, so be it, but I could not allow us to fail. If it came down to it, my mission was clear.
We managed to clear the first chamber, downing more than a dozen seasoned Orc scouts. The second chamber proved a greater challenge, but surmountable in the end.
I felt my old powers returning. With each felled opponent the feeling swelled. The haze that had encompassed me since the beginning of my bond was being burned back. My mission and my purpose have always been clear to me, but now the pieces were falling into place. Hakaar, the instrument by which I would complete my mission, was revealed to me in all his parts; greater and lesser. I understood him now the way few beings understand another. His last remaining mysteries were stripped away. I knew his mind as I know my own, knew his thoughts as he perceived them. At once, I loved and reviled him. His strengths and weaknesses, fears and desires. All these things were known to me. He was mine to create or destroy.
Bromm held the token that would stem the tide. He too would need to be managed if this enterprise was to succeed.
We wandered in the dark for a time. I pondered my new powers. He knew that something was different. Denial coursed through him like a spurned lover. A kernel of fear took root in his heart.
Be calm my beast. I cooed. Our great adventure stands before us.
Just as I resolved to ease his growing fears, I felt a presence. Felt the shadow of the tree before it came into view.
It has been a long time. Came an old familiar voice.
See, have you missed me? I queried playfully.
You know better than that, child of us. I have watched you in your absence. Frivolity has cast you about, delaying your arrival. The voice challenged.
My bond needed seasoning. I thought there would be more time. I protested.
Vigilance is our sworn duty. The affairs of mortals are not ours to indulge in. He huffed.
I, unlike you, I did not choose this calling. I will take pleasure when it suits me. I snapped.
Your petulance has allowed the contract to wither. Now matters are worse. Those without form have stolen the black cloud’s fury. What has happened here is but the harbinger of future ills child. He lingered on the last word adding a note of condescension. His words cut deep and there was truth in them; his truth.
I do not have your sight. I said. I do not see all.
I have my duty, you have yours. It will be worse for them and for you. He said with fatherly authority.
Now sacrifices will have to be made. Think on that, when next you decide to play at being a mortal.
You are just an observer! I said marshaling my strength. You will never understand the cost of the great bargain. I hope you rot in that tree of yours!
Hakaar and the others gathered at the entrance, the great tree before them.
Floki and Bromm were returning from the tree. I knew what they had seen there. Not the part about the Giant. I knew what he and his kind stood to lose. I knew how long they had waited. I knew they would not lightly give back what had been so hard won. Our only advantage was surprise.
In the hours that remained of this day friendships old and new would be tested. The price of neglect, paid by a company of friends.
