End with a bang

I spoke briefly with Prince Thrommel in the hall today. We were going to have lunch together, but lunch has turned into dinner. My guess is he has a job for the newest Knights of Veluna (that's me too you know--I'm a frickin' knight!) and he wants to go over it with us. He won't give me details just yet.

You know, he looks a lot like, well, Prince. I mean the Prince. Little Red Corvette, Kiss...you know. Imagine Prince with large muscles and you got the image. He even sounds a little like him, just with a little more of that command presence you see in leaders. I keep expecting him to do that little screech that Prince is famous for.

Great, now I'm going to have Purple Rain going through my head all day. Yeah, I'm a knight and an adventurer, but I'm still a freak.

The rest of the story:

-----------------

The chair rose to the top in less than a minute. My ears popped when we reached the top level. Around us were the familiar scenes of depravity (depravity--that's Flanaess speak for pr0n and Doom-like violence, only really disgusting). And that wasn't the end of it.

Bodies littered the hall. Mostly it was the bodies of humanoids--trolls, ogres, orcs, and others--but along with them were the bodies of humans bearing the symbol of the elemental temple. And amongst them were a few others bearing another symbol.

"Is that what I think it is?" I asked.

"Yes," Audry said. "It looks like Prince Thrommel has returned.

In the distance we heard fighting. We dashed off the throne and across the multi-colored tile to the front of the temple. We dodged bodies, most of which were in fact bad guys. Bodies littered the floor from back to front. One of the side doors to the temple had been torn from its hinges. The massive, golden doors covered in runes stood stoically, still eminating raw fear. After everything we had been through, it had little affect on us.

We poured outside the temple and were greeted with a battle. Humanoids and some humans, all wearing the symbol of the elemental temple, fought humans, elves, and even dwarves. The last bunch wore the symbol of Veluna. In the front, fighting like a tiger on steroids, was Prince Thrommel himself.

We didn't bother to announce ourselves. I drew my sword and charged for the group of humans who directed the humanoids. They stared at me in complete horror. One of them started shouting orders to the humanoids, many of whom turned to face me. I cut them down without a thought, my sword whistling through the air. I danced and turned, using techniques that I thought I was incapable of. The magic sword I found in the air node added to my skills, and I became a one-man blender. Behind me Saul and Audry fought more humanoids. Anna pelted bad guys with arrows like the little Legolas she is. Marc launched artillery magic into the body of the humanoids.

It was complete chaos. We had rushed up on their flank. The had Thrommel and his troops on one side and us on the other. They had only two choices--fight or die. They chose the former, but they'd get the latter anyway.

God knows how long we fought. I carved up ogres and trolls. When a troll fell one of Thrommel's wizards would set afire by magic, and I'd move on to the next. The human servants of the temple fought valiantly, some of them were even pretty good. In the end, nearly all of them died. There were maybe a couple of dozen humanoids who fled, many of whom were pounded by arrows and spells as they ran. Three humans surrendered, all of whom were low ranking warriors. To their credit, the temple priests fought to the death. Even so, I doubt Zuggtmoy or Iuz would grant them any leniency.

When the last humans surrendered, a cheer went up. The elemental temple had been defeated. I wanted to cheer, I really did, but I knew it wasn't over yet.

"Good to see you my friend," Thrommel said. He extended his hand. We shook vigorously.

"Just in time," Saul said.

"Indeed," Audry said. She moved close to Thrommel. For a moment, I thought she would embrace him. She checked herself at the last second. "It is good to see you."

He raised an eyebrow and smiled at her. "And I you, Lady." He faced us all. "I am sorry we could not arrive sooner. We fought our way here from Verbobonc. The roads are full of bandits." He shook his head. "Bandits that fight to the death."

"More soldiers from the temple perhaps," Marc said. "Or from elsewhere."

"Like the Pomarj?" Anna asked.

"The Pomarj?" Thrommel asked. "Why there?"

"Someone important," I said. "Look, my Prince..." I hesitated, I never knew what to call royalty. "Uh, we have a larger problem."

I held up the skull. Some of Thrommel's men gasped. They carried what looked like holy symbols. No doubt they could feel the evil as did Audry.

"Yeah," I said. "You should try it from my end."

"The Orb of Golden Death." A man stepped forward. He wore a long robe. "The legend is true."

"Not for long," I said. "We need all wizards front and pronto, and we need a granite maul, and--"

"A moment," Thrommel said. "What do you plan here."

"We're going to destroy this," I said, holding up the Globe. "And with it the elemental temple."

-----------------

We had everything in place. The dwarves managed to fashion a granite maul. It wasn't pretty, but it was strong and it would do the job. At least I hope.

I had the wizards lined up, along with a dwarven priest weilding the maul. "All right guys, here's the deal. We gotta hit this thing in the right order and quickly. If we screw up, we have to start over. Got it?"

"Aye," the dwarf said. "Ye tell us what to do and we know. Now let us do it boy!"

"I like your attitude," I said. I set the skull on the ground. For a split second, a train of thoughts went through my head. Powers were being revealed to me, powers normally only reserved for gods. The power to influence armies. The power to cast spells the greatest mage could never hope to do. With the skull, I could unite all kingdoms under one banner. I could guide them to a better tomorrow. I could teach them technology. Plumbing, better irrigation...even penicillin.

The power to make any woman love me.

An image of Anna filled my mind. If you wish her, the skull said, she can be yours.

A harem of women at might disposal. All would love me forever.

"Tempting," I said, and released the skull. It pleaded with me, begged me. It didn't want to go back. Where "back" was I had no idea, but I didn't care. One legend of the skull I remembered from my old gaming days--in the long term, no good can come from it.

"Let's get it done," I said.

Marc got the ball rolling. He cast his spell quickly. A gust of wind blew over the orb. Nothing happened.

The dwarven priest stepped forward as soon as it was done. He heaved with great might and smashed the orb with the maul hammer. It made a resounding thunk. Pieces of granite chipped away with the impact, but the skull remained unphased. He stepped back quickly, looking at me. "Ye are sure, yes?"

"Yes," I said. "Keep going."

One of Thrommel's wizards stepped forward. He cast his spell. A fireball erupted across the skull. The flames disappeared quickly. Again, the skull was unharmed.

"Go!" I shouted.

Three men ran forward, carrying a large bucket of water. In the dead of winter, the water was ice cold, almost freezing. The ran forth and poured it across the skull. The affect was almost instantaneous.

A high pitched shriek filled the air. I covered my ears as I backed away with everyone else. The shriek only lasted a few seconds. When it ended, the skull shattered. Bits and pieces of it flew in all directions. Some of them pelted off of me. I looked down at a large piece that might have been part of a golden tooth. It lay on the ground briefly before disappearing into the cold earth.

"Is that it?" Anna asked.

The ground rumbled. Behind us, the temple of elemental evil shook at its foundations. Debris shot into the air as the main complex sank into the earth, as if the ground under had given way. Just as I remembered from the old game, the nodes and the lowest level had collapsed. And the upper levels fell in after it. Anything inside the temple was doomed.

The collapse lasted maybe ten seconds. Dust lingered in the air, but even so the air and land felt clean. The taint of evil had been destroyed. The gnarled trees and shrub around us would grow again. In time, the land would become clean.

Elven priests moved through the air, casting spells and blessings. "Wood elves," Anna said. "They'll make sure everything returns to normal."

"I hope so," I said. The clouds parted and the sun appeared. Just like in the movies. "By the way, thank you."

"For?"

"The wake up call. Very, uh, innovative."

"Innovative?" She laughed. "I don't think I've ever been described like that before."

Anna winked at me and went to join the celebration that had already begun. My mind felt clear, clearer than it had in a long time. It wasn't just the destruction of the golden skull that poisoned my mind. It was everything. I had done some good in the world. Real good. I had made everyone for miles safer. I fought evil and evil lost.

Yeah baby! Yeah!

I looked down at my sword. It gleamed in the sunlight. Nothing nicked its blade and the blood had run off of it.

"Couldn't have done it without you," I told it.

I started to sheath it, but stopped. I nearly soiled my pants at what happened next.

"No," the sword responded. "You certainly couldn't."