Apostles of Doom

“Talarius.” Talarius nodded.

“I can’t tell you how auspicious it is for Lord Tommus to arrive with a Knight Rampant of Tiernon at his side,” Stainsberry said.

Talarius tilted his head in pleased puzzlement. “You recognize my station?”

Stainsberry chuckled. “My training required me to memorize all the insignia of the various knighthoods.”

Talarius blinked in surprise. “You have trained as a knight?”

Stainsberry nodded. “I am a Knight Magus of the El Ohîm.”

Talarius blinked and shook his head in surprise. “Knight Magus of the El Ohîm? I don’t believe there have been any of those in Astlan in thousands and thousands of years.”

Stainsberry, or rather Sir Stainsberry, nodded. “We are a rare order, dedicated to defeating the Forces of Darkness wherever they may occur.”

“Do your vows not prevent you from swearing allegiance to Lord Tommus?” Talarius asked, suddenly curious.

“Not at all. Our first oath is to the Light. We are encouraged to swear to the Patrons of Light in the pursuit of the Light,” Sir Stainsberry said.

“And you are certain this Lord Tommus is a Patron of the Light?” Talarius asked.

Stainsberry looked at him oddly. “Clearly. For one thing, he has a Knight Rampant of Tiernon at his side. Arg-nargoloth, the patron of this village, regaled us last night about how you fought at Lord Tommus’s side against the Knights of Chaos, along with the goddess Sekhmekt, who is so powerful in the Light that she bears the Aten and is the daughter of Ra-Orûs, God of the Light.” He shook his head. “I can think of no greater recommendation. And, given that we also know and trust the D’Orcs who have stood with the Light for tens of thousands of years in Nysegard, and now that many of the greatest D’Orcs of legend — Arg-nargoloth for one — have returned and proclaimed Lord Tommus to be the Light Lord Orcus reborn, how could we doubt?”

Talarius nodded with a tight grin, not willing to argue the point at this moment. “You make a very convincing case.”

Stainsberry grinned. “It is good to have one’s certainties challenged, my new friend, and so I appreciate your desire to ensure my loyalty and expose any uncertainties I may have. However, I feel very confident.”

Talarius shook his head. “No, I did not mean to challenge your loyalty; it is simply that I am continually amazed at how Lord Tommus manages to so easily reclaim the mantle of Orcus.”

Stainsberry gave him a wry grin from the side of his mouth. “Well, walking around with the Wand of Orcus is also a pretty good indicator that he is who everyone says he is.”

“Indeed,” Talarius agreed. He did not quite see it that way, of course; he had been there when the Wand was found and Tom had since been at great lengths to assure him and the rest of his entourage that he was not, in fact, Orcus. So he was not really sure what to think or make of this situation.

Freehold, Council Chambers: Mid Fourth Period

Damien shook his head. His fellow councilors had been updating him on the chaos that had occurred in his absence. Quite the inspired wizardry, he had to admit. Given that the council and the city had survived, it would have been quite something to see. On the other hand, it was not every day one got to see a demon prince and a goddess wage war against Knights of Chaos, particularly when that demon prince was ostensibly one’s friend. That would take some adjusting to. Assuming, of course, that Tom actually was who he claimed to be. This whole throne-of-Orcus business seemed just a bit too convenient. He would, however, have to sort this out later with Antefalken — assuming his bard ever returned. For now, there was council business.

“Incredible, all of you, simply spectacular! We all owe you a great debt,” Damien told them.

Sier Barvon snorted loudly. “Please tell that to my brother-in-law and the other magistrates. They are not amused by recent events, and are even less amused about the costs. Both those of repair and those due to lost business.”

“Seriously?” Zilquar asked. “They should be glad we are here to defend them and keep them safe.”

“Keep them safe?” Davron asked. “You do know that all of this is due to Exador, yes? He brought in the demon army, and then he tried to destroy both the council and the palace!”

“I did inform the council that he was a danger to all of humanity,” Lenamare observed drily.

“No, you told us he was a danger to you,” Tureledor said. “I am sorry if I do not consider you and Jehenna to be the sum total of humanity.”

“Actually, that — specifically Exador — is the point of the magistrates,” Sier Bavron replied.

“Indeed,” Davron agreed.

“Exador was one of our own. We let an archdemon into our midst, we took him into our confidence and we were betrayed,” Sier Bavron told them.

“Quite true,” Jehenna admitted. “We have never gotten along with Exador, however, we never suspected him of being an archdemon.”

“None of us did,” Zilquar agreed.

“Yet they feel we brought this upon not only ourselves, but them and the city as well,” Davron said.