Jackal Among Snakes

Duke Rovostar crouched at the top of a hill, watching the Dragon Palace radiate shadow with morbid fascination. He, just as all his men, had felt the strange force that emanated outwards… and now witnessed what seemed to pull the world inwards. And as he did, he recalled the conversations with Traugott.

#####

“Why are you doing this?” Rovostar had asked, his scarred face dancing in and out of light as a single torchlight flickered.

Traugott, the dark-skinned Magister, had smiled. “You attended the Order. You know of forces beyond comprehension… but you’ve never experienced them.” His eyes wandered to the torch he held. “I had shelved trying to understand the gods, trying to bear witness… but I realize, now, I struggled on that field because I stared at a shut door. I have been enlightened, recently, by a chance encounter with someone who knows more than I do. Perhaps ‘encounter’ is the wrong word… but I was enlightened nonetheless.”

Rovostar recalled narrowing his eyes back then as they met in the loyalist camp. At the time, he’d thought this was just nonsensical ramblings.

“This realm is just as dangerous to the gods as the gods are dangerous to us,” Traugott said with a smile. “Spirits, gods, souls… all three are interconnected parts of a larger whole. One is transitory—a key. The other two are… symbiotic,” he explained. He examined Rovostar’s face, then laughed. “You don’t have any idea what I’m talking about, do you? Well, it doesn’t matter. Orion is the key to what we both want. I will distract him for your ends, which ultimately serves my ends. That’s the end of the matter.”

“This is a dangerous man we’re talking about,” Rovostar had cautioned. “He crushed the head of some pompous Magister with his bare hands. He makes a habit of brutalizing the arrogant. When he was on my side, it was reassuring. As an enemy, Prince Orion is nightmarish.”

“I’m not intending to fight. I’m intending to distract,” Traugott shook his head. “And I assure you… Orion will have his eyes on nothing else.”

#####

As Rovostar stared at the palace in recollection, Georgina walked up beside him. “I’m ready,” she declared.

“I’m not,” Rovostar said idly, questioning only now if he had too eagerly accepted help because of their desperate position. “But I never have been ready to fight, not really. Let’s recover His Majesty.”

#####

accuracy was off, and his general situational and spatial awareness were not especially high. The only thing enabling this combat to last more than a minute was

Orion became. Even despite calling upon the blessings he loathed, glancing blows alone were a rarity. Perhaps Orion should’ve realized that something was wrong with this strange tactic of his opponent. But under pressure from both Vasquer’s pantheon speaking to him and the Magister’s constant attacks,

this all you’ll amount to?” he questioned calmly, his breathing only slightly uneven. “I

hands along the ground and waved them forward as though he splashed through an ocean. In response to

him. He had expected his fingers to meet stone… yet instead, they sunk through. Shocked,

for the first time in recent memory… what he grabbed resisted his strength. And unlike normal, the darkness Traugott had fallen into persisted like a puddle of abyssal ink. Orion put his feet to the ground firmly and pulled with all

we have it,” came Traugott’s voice from behind Orion. “I was

whipped his head around and prepared to attack as needed, yet suddenly a great scream pierced his ears. It had no source. The prince fell to one knee in shock, and for the first time he could remember,

“You will get

Orion said, not able to say anything more as the screaming echoed through his head. It was a chorus of voices, each and all in extraordinary pain. He released

Traugott said calmly. “Yet you, parasite-ridden host that you are… are a

into pulling his arms free. His back, his legs, his arms… all fought to no avail even as a hundred voices screamed in agony in his ears. Then, without warning, he felt a sudden deprivation. His mind felt like a hourglass turned over—as each grain of sand fell, all of the other grains scrambled to fill the space left, each and

border. I was right.” The Magister watched in a self-satisfied

to wrest his arms out somewhat. Slowly, he gained momentum. As the last scream became an echo, Orion came free and collapsed back onto the stone with heavy breath. Most of his fingers were missing, yet they

Orion barely recognized it as a gargantuan colorless finger with a long uncut nail. It tried to widen the opening,

opening created by the spirits…” he kneeled down. “The

in fascination. The Magister widened his eyes and tried to step away, but the prince thrust his hand out at his chest. He managed to get a ward up, but Orion broke straight past it and punched the man in the shoulder. He heard cracks and pops as Traugott’s shoulder twisted unnaturally. The man barely grunted in pain, but a

them, and Orion’s armor had been torn to

coughing up some blood—perhaps the blow had damaged his lungs. “It doesn’t matter. I’ve proven a theory of mine with your help,” he said as his shoulder corrected back into place. His eyes glanced back at the opening on the ground, where a full hand started to

mind. The whispers that had troubled him… they were gone, completely and utterly.

Orion started to walk forth, feeling that whatever tried to escape from this opening could not be allowed to do so. He raised both

it, all of the color and sensation in his hand drained away. Panicked, he released it. That gave the creature time enough to free itself. As soon as it came through, the opening shut, disappearing into