Apostles of Doom

I am not a mind reader! I can mentally talk to you, but I can’t access your memories, at least not as far as I know, the sword told him.

That was actually something of a relief; Talarius had no desire to press that issue. Perhaps your father could tell you how it’s done. Surely he knows? he suggested.

In case you haven’t noticed, my father talks even less than I do! Ruiden replied.

Talarius sighed. He needed to do something to get back on his sword’s good side. He shook his head; he really could not believe he needed to keep a sword happy. Tom had seriously mucked up his life! Things were suddenly much more complicated. Perhaps you could speak with Tamarin, then? Talarius suggested. He was not thrilled at the idea of having his sword talk to one of the demon lord’s minions, but she was a djinn. Djinn were not a priori evil; they could be good or evil. At least, he believed that was the case. They were typically seen as neutral forces within the realms.

Very well. Set that up and we shall see how it goes, Ruiden finally agreed after several more moments of silence.

Astlan, Stone Finger Camp: Mid Fifth Period

Gastropé set his beer down and scrambled to his feet. “I need to deal with this,” he told the others. “I will be back as soon as I can.” He pushed his way through the tent flap to find Jenn standing with her back to the tent. Her stance told him she was angry. She glanced back to ensure it was he who had left the tent and then started marching away; fortunately not back towards the Nimbus party, nor into the orc camp.

Gastropé grimaced and followed.

“What were you doing in there?” Jenn nearly shouted after they had left the immediate vicinity of the camp.

“I was getting a firsthand account of the battle!” Gastropé said.

Jenn shook her head in frustration. “What? You just found a random orc and said ‘take me to the D’Orcs and tell me about the battle over a beer’?” She stopped suddenly and spun to face him. “You could have been killed, you idiot! These monsters killed about six dozen alvar and their hippogriffs!”

“Well, the alvar attacked them. They were just traveling in orc territory and were assaulted. They were defending themselves, no different than any travelers assaulted by brigands or an enemy. Or us when Oorstemoth attacked Captain Asmeth’s ship. Did you forget that we sank their ship and drowned their sailors?” Gastropé asked, raising his arms slightly in the air.

Jenn shook her head in vigorous denial. “Are you nuts? That is nowhere close to being an accurate comparison! D’Orcs are the minions of that reincarnated demon prince! They are clearly evil!”

“Why are you always so quick to call people evil?” Gastropé asked. “We have no proof that they are evil, just stories written by the victors in a battle that took place four thousand years ago.”

“Ugh!” Jenn slapped both hands to the sides of her head. “You are impossible! You fail to recognize the obvious.” She glanced up to the sky and finally dropped her hands to her side. “Ignoring that for the moment, how on Astlan did you manage to get so friendly with them?” She was nearly shaking with anger and frustration.

“Well, I–I had been going to tell you in Murgatroy, but sort of got distracted by your finding Hilda,” Gastropé said.

Jenn frowned. “What? You have been talking to the D’Orcs since Murgatroy? You found D’Orcs in Murgatroy and never mentioned this?” She waved her hands over her head in bewilderment.

“Well, no — I ran into Tal Gor, the shaman. There were no D’Orcs in Murgatroy, just some shamans trying to get home…” Gastropé trailed off. He might be telling her too much.

“What? You just randomly befriended a group of orc shamans traveling through Murgatroy?” Jenn asked, clearly having trouble believing him.

“Well, no. Tizzy contacted me and wanted me to open a gate for Tom,” Gastropé said.

“Tom?” Jenn shook her head in surprise. “You mean the demon that abandoned us in Gizzor Del? The one that later kidnapped that knight of Tiernon?” Jenn started pacing. “The demon that started this entire mess? Why would he contact you? This makes no sense, none what-so-ever.” She shook her head slowly from side to side to emphasize her last point.

“Yes — the one that rescued us from Exador, the archdemon that was trying to wipe out your school! Did you forget that? Exador is evil and Tom is his enemy,” Gastropé said.

Jenn sighed and rolled her eyes, but said nothing.

“Well, you remember I have that odd link with Tizzy?” Gastropé asked.

“Yes, and we have no idea why. Have you learned something on that?”