DD5 ~ Chapter 8!

“You dare to not only return, but to bring unvetted outsiders and a linked portal to our capitol?” Dale had thought that Tom was huge, but next to this man Tom seemed almost normal-sized. “You smash into our Wards, you bring a dungeon, and Amazonians?”

Tom was remaining remarkably calm for someone so massively outclassed. This brute, this giant of a man was shouting at Tom so hard that his hair was waving in the artificial breeze. He had an air of regality as he responded, so differently from the man Dale knew. “Stand down. I have returned to reclaim my position in our society, and I will not stand here and be shouted like a simple serf by a Squire. I know our rules, our laws, and I will take responsibility for them in front of the Warlord.”

“Our laws. Our rules. My Warlord.” The man nodded slightly. “Yes, you will take responsibility, but not as a contender to the ranks! As a trai-”

Tom moved so fast that Dale would have thought he was a Mage if he hadn’t known the difference. His Warhammer appeared in his hands, and he hit the huge man hard enough to send the remains of his corpse raining to the ground far below them. “Would anyone else like to break the law in my presence? Would anyone else like to call me a traitor?”

Toms last words had been roared, and his face was red with rage, but his hammer had once more vanished into his interspatial bag. A new man walked forward, his eyes locked on Tom. “Hello, brother. Honestly, I cannot tell if you passed or failed this first trial. He went too far, and I would have killed him if he had been acting as such toward me. Only the fact that you put away your weapon immediately gives me hope that you are sincere. Why did you really come back?”

“I wish to save our people. I have information and a plan of action.” Tom nodded to his brother, knowing that his harsh tone did not reflect his true feelings. “I also know that my words will not be heard unless I regain the favor of our King. It is good to see you once more, Aidan.”

“I had never expected that would happen either, Tom.” Aidan shook his head. “I cannot call you ‘brother, no matter how I wish I could. You know the law. In fact, remember not to call those of your blood ‘brother’ until you have retaken your rightful place. Otherwise, they will likely use your exile to kill you, citing that you are illegally claiming Royal status.”

Tom winced, taking a step back. “Ah. My thanks for not taking offence, General. I have been away… too long.”

 Aidan nodded deeply. “Many things have changed. I hope you survive the unfortunate changes long enough to see the positive ones.”

Without another word, the man turned and walked away. The majority of the others went with him, but a few of the Barbarians Waited to take Tom away to an undisclosed location. Dale looked at the marvelous Ward that had already repaired itself, thinking that perhaps the generalized term ‘Barbarian’ for this people was… erroneous. They were obviously highly developed in many areas, and were known masters of combat. Right then and there, he decided to keep his mouth shut unless Tom asked him to speak.

“Do you have a cadre that will follow and work on your behalf, Outsider Tom?” One of the Northman stood forward and impatiently questioned.

“I think so.” Tom looked back at Dale, who nodded. He glanced over at Hans, who also showed that he would come, as did Rose. Tom walked forward, and his three comrades walked into the unknown with him. There was faint amusement on Tom’s face as he looked at the others. “You are going to be the first outsiders to walk the halls of Fek’koff in several hundred years. You will see sights that I think only The Master has seen and is still alive to tell of it. Prepare yourself to witness true strength.”

Dale was still working out how to fly, and so needed to be lowered to the ground with the rest of them group on a mobile platform. As they approached the Ward, it peeled away and allowed them through, closing instantly behind them. Dale looked at the shimmering curtain and grimaced. “No easy, escape, hmm?”

“Already feel the need to run away?” One of the redheaded Northman jeered at him, tightening his grip on a double-bladed war axe. “You should have brought companions with more willpower, outsider.”

Tom didn’t even bother to look at the man, speaking gently to no one in particular. “Some would do well to realize that within a few days, this outsider may once more be a General of The People.”

The Northman who had spoken simply grunted and spat over the edge of the platform, but remained quiet afterward. The platform stopped a dozen feet above the ground, and all the Northman hopped off, which made the platform raise even higher. Rose looked down, then at the others with her. “You’re joking.”

“If you fear heights, or cannot handle the minor jarring a jump from here will inflict, you might want to leave now.” Tom sincerely informed her.

She scoffed and did a backflip off the edge, landing with an easy roll and hopping to her feet. Hans laughed and followed, doing several twists and flips before landing gently on his feet. Tom went next, landing with slightly bent knees. Dale went last, deciding to have some fun with it. He hopped off, spreading his arms and legs; belly-flopping on the ground and leaving a small indentation.

“I love being a Mage,” Dale laughed as he pushed himself off the ground. “I barely even felt that!”

“Dale.” Tom had a hand against his brow. “Please do not act the fool in a situation where it could cost me the lives of my people.”

“Right.” Dale stood up and shook lightly, removing the dust from his outfit. The Mithril equipment he was wearing was obviously undamaged, and in only a short moment he was fully presentable once more. As they walked, Dale looked around the area with barely contained excitement. The crater they were over was so deep that the base of it was lost to darkness now that the day was starting to creep to evening, but even so the view was breathtaking.

They were walking on a bridge that spanned the entirety of the crater without any discernible supports. There were two other long bridges that connected to this one at nearly the exact center, and this seemed to be their destination. As they got closer, they could see that there was a circular roundabout surrounding a hexagonal hole in the bridge. Closer, closer they came. One of the guards nodded at Tom, who used that cue to step off and into open air.

“Tom!” Rose gasped, lurching forward. Two swords appearing at her throat stopped her movement, but the huge men didn’t move any further; finding that Hans had a wetly glistening dagger pressed to their jugulars.

“Stand. Down.” Hans hissed at them. They slowly stood back, then spat at his feet when they were clear.

“So, he consorts with Assassins.” One of the men sneered. “This is good to know. I go ahead to warn the Warlord.”

“So, he ‘consorts’. That's what you sound like,” Hans mocked the man, eying him critically. “How about this: you threatened my wife and lived. Once. How about you pass that on.”

 Both of the Northmen glared at them before stepping  off the edge of the bridge into open air, leaving the small party alone. Dale looked at the couple, then at the drop off. “He did warn us that a fear of heights would be a bad idea. Hey, If I splatter on the ground, just go ahead and head back up.”

After saying this, Dale stepped into open air and plummeted toward the ground thousands of feet below. He had plenty of time to look around, noticing that the sides of the crater were intricately carved with mosaics and… ah-ha! There were Runes hidden among the artwork! He didn’t have long to study them, but he was nearly positive that they were what created the Warded dome around this area. He made a mental note to mention that to Cal, since he was pretty sure the dungeon would study that while it waited around.

In fact, he mentally reached out along his connection. “Cal. There are Runes carved along the walls of the crater.”

<That’s great, but I still can’t look at the pretty lights without something bad happening, Dale.> The scathing reply came nigh-instantaneously.

“Whoops.” Dale chuckled at the thought that he got to experience this and the dungeon didn’t. He wouldn’t let a location stop him from enjoying himself. Not today. Something else he noticed was that he fell straight down. He had fallen so many times that he knew that this was unnatural.

Typically, falling like this would cause you to drift around or something, but Dale instinctively understood that there was something pulling on him. Ninety feet off the ground, he started to slow down. At ten feet, he was barely moving. Then, whatever force had been holding him gave out and he flopped unceremoniously to the carved stone ground.