She found Dame Levitia Volya already
stationed in barricade’s command.
“I’ve been sent to kill Doctor Visek.” Anneleigh said to the commander, who was
clearly not expecting her.
“Kain did not say he was sending additional
reinforcements.” She paused for a moment, and then sighed, “But it’s a good
thing you’ve come. Doctor Visek must
know by now that his defenses are falling and that we are on our way. If I wait for my men to assemble, he’ll
surely flee to repeat his atrocities again.
We must strike now while we can!
You must enter the Blighted Pit and find a way to destroy his creation.”
Anneleigh nodded, removed the Chain of
Command from her pocket and placed it around her neck, causing Volya to gasp.
“The sage priests were successful! This is a sign that this is our battle to
win. Hurry now, Anneleigh,” Volya said;
clearly warming up to her now that she has proven her worth, “the sooner you
cleanse Scarwood of this monster, the sooner we can return to Sanctum.”
“I doubt a successful completion here means
a respite.” Anneleigh laughed. “More
likely you’ll be sent to your next assignment.”
“Just go, you’re wasting time.” Volya
ordered, but Anneleigh could see the twitch of a smile in the corners of her
mouth.
As Anneleigh walked towards the cave,
taking care to stay out of the fray that would surely cost her more time, she
thought about her options. She could
walk into the cave and kill her way to the Doctor, but he would surely be alerted
to her presence. A better way came to
her in an instant as she watched the Shatterbone walk undisturbed through their
camps. She, once again, snuck into a cultist’s
tent and found a spare uniform. With no
wig or white face makeup to hide her Elvin ears and complexion, she teased up
her normally straight hair, and trusted the costume to do much of the work.
As soon as she passed by the first abomination
she knew she would successfully pass the test.
Although it seemed curious about her, bending its head to look more
closely, it did not challenge her right to be there.
She followed the winding cave upward to
Doctor Visek’s labratory and crouched behind a stone pillar to observe. A small raised dais centered the room. In front of it were two brass orbs, a larger
one completing a triangle further towards the outer wall. Beside the dais were two stone alters, on
them the unconscious, or dead, bodies of two Mathosian prisoners.
Anneleigh watched as the Doctor connected
each of the bodies to a sourcestone matrix machine and returned to the center
platform. He placed his hands on the two brass orbs, the
lights flickered, and he spoke.
“You can come out, my dear. Thank you for waiting for me to complete the
process before attempting to disrupt it. It was a very sweet parting gesture.” He said in a taunting voice.
As Anneleigh came out from behind the
pillar, the two Mathosian prisoners levitated a few inches off the stone alters
and then came crashing back down.
“I will save them!” Anneleigh said, trying
for defiance but sounding more like a terrified little girl.
Doctor Visek only laughed. He walked casually around the stone alters
and inspected the sourcestone matrix.
“You may try, my dear, but they are already
gone. Lost to you forever.” He said, his
voice becoming more dangerous as he continued to taunt her. “Now, let us see what we can do with you, Ascended. You will make just the finishing touch for
the vessel. It will be stronger because
of you.” He paused. “Think of it as your tribute to Regulos, your
peace offering. He may forgive your
attempts against him and let you die in peace.”
“I will never join you, never help him.”
Anneleigh spat. “If you’re going to kill
me, you might as well start now.”
She let fly the arrow she had been
adjusting on her bow as he spoke. It
grazed the top of his head, but did no real damage, other than make the Doctor
enter a rage. He jumped up onto the
stone Alter with surprising agility for one so old, and began to cast. She aimed another arrow, this time at his
throat – a favorite soft target – but missed and caught him in the jaw instead. The arrow bounced off the bone, but caused him
to stop casting. Seizing her chance,
Anneleigh loosed a third arrow and, as it was flying, dove toward the Doctor
with her daggers poised to strike. He
could not react to all the attacks sat once and her blade sank deep into his abdomen.
“You’re too late, Ascended. Their spirits have already entered Gnarlbone. The transformation is complete.” He said with a gasp, his voice beginning to
weaken. “You can do nothing now but wait
for Alsbeth to release the vessel from the prison. Until then, it is safe against your sabotage.
“
He took a final gasping breath and then
died, still on her blade. Anneleigh
braced herself against the stone alter and pushed Doctor Visek off her dagger
with her foot. He flew across the
labritory with such force that she thought he would fly over the boundary
wall. Instead he bounced off what
appeared to be thin air. It was only
then that she realized he was telling her the truth. The abomination, the golum, was indeed
protected.
Anneleigh searched the area for a release mechanism
but could only find his grimoire. In a
spidery scrawl, Dr. Visek speculates that this latest experiment may finally be
the key to resurrecting Aedraxis. The
notes revolve around a flesh golem named Gnarlebone and the focusing of energies
on a bound Soul Prism. Anneleigh looks
around and sees two crystal shards on the nearby table.
Unsure what to do next; feels the direction
of the Chain of Command and moves towards the Alters to pray for the souls of
the Mathosian prisoners. As she does so,
the braziers that rest on the Alters extinguish and the protective barrier separating
her from Gnarlebone fades.
Smiling briefly, she returns to the prisms,
raises them high above her head, and smashes them on the stone floor. At once the golem begins to crumble, leaving
in its wake a frightened prisoner.
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