The Twilight City by Gregory Mattix

Author:Gregory Mattix [Mattix, Gregory]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-11-17T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

Malek and Arron sat at a table against a wall inside the Zombie. The inn was packed, and the smells from the kitchen were much more appealing than those from the Wet Warrior. The two had polished off a tasty meal of smoked pork with carrots and leeks, a loaf of black bread, and a wedge of sharp white cheese. They were into their second round of wine and ale, respectively.

Two aging warriors were bragging loudly at the bar of their past heroic deeds and monumental conquests. Malek listened idly for a time as they awaited Nera’s arrival.

“A mind-bender lass, ya say? Hah, I bet they can do some tricks with their bodies.”

“Aye, you wouldn’t believe it, Jacor. The shapes she could twist herself into…”

The two were silent for a moment, reliving their glory days. Jacor took a long swallow of ale and then spoke up again.

“You ever seen a Warder, Harron?”

Harron shook his head. The room grew quieter as heads turned to listen to the next tale.

“Well, be glad you haven’t. Must’ve been thirty years past, now… Me crew was coming back from off plane, and we stepped right into the thick of a battle out on the Ashen Planes. Two nasties from the outer planes—I reckon the Abyss and Anhur knows where else—were mixing it up, just whaling on each other and firing off magic all around. We thought that we might get pulled into the fight and have to unleash some punishment on those unholy bastards ourselves when all of a sudden a pair of Warders appeared. One of them raised its hand and roared at them to stop fighting… Only, the creature couldn’t have spoke, for its mouth was covered.”

“How can that be?”

“Well, it’s said the Pale Lord himself speaks and acts through these Warders, like they’re his puppets or something.” Jacor’s voice dropped a notch at the mention of the name of Nexus’s ruler.

Malek looked around and saw the whole bar was listening. He thought back to the freakish giant that had appeared after he had unleashed his magic inside the prison.

“Anyway, the voice booms out as cold as anything you’ve heard, like straight from the grave, I reckon. The beasts stopped to regard the Warders then turned on them.” The old warrior took a pull on his ale and wiped the foam off on his sleeve. He shook his head and chuckled nervously. “Worst mistake they ever made. Those Warders just stood still as statues as the claws and teeth shredded their skin. I saw chunks of flesh torn off but no blood. In frustration, these creatures hit them with magical attacks—flames and cold—but the Warders didn’t budge. After withstanding the assaults, each just raised a hand at the beasts, coordinated at the same time as if someone was pulling strings, and blasted them into oblivion. Some kind of dark magic that turned them to ash. Just like that.” Jacor snapped his fingers loudly. “That’s why the stories are true—you never want to upset the Lord of Nexus, or he’ll send his Warders to unmake you.

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