Tired Of Death

Red and black bunting had been hung around the walls, which clashed with the purple and silver balloons hanging from the ceiling. Several large banners were interspersed amongst them, proclaiming Harold's excellence. Long tables were laden with food of all kinds, whilst other tables gave the party goers a place to sit and rest. Sunlight streamed in through the large windows, rendering the magnificent lights above unnecessary for the moment. To one side a band of musicians blew, strummed or did whatever was required to make noise with their instruments, whilst groups of revellers in the middle of the room did their best to move with the beat, with varying degrees of success.

Miles pointed to a door near the other side of the room. "That leads to the dungeons," he said.

"Come on then." Dreth prodded him. "Move with confidence, make it look like you know what you're doing."

The two set out, keeping near the walls and trying to remain inconspicuous.

They were nearly at their destination when a voice boomed out above all the noise.

"You two! Stop right there!"

"Crap," said Dreth. He looked towards the source of interruption as the music ground to a halt, and all eyes turned towards them.

Like the magical parting of a sea, the crowd had moved aside, leaving a clear passage to the middle of the hall. There, dressed in black robes of the highest quality, and with a sparkling golden crown on his head, stood a small, slightly stooped over man. His thinning dark hair only served to emphasize his pale complexion and narrow, cruel lips. He could only be Harold the Hedonistic. He passed a long glass of red liquid to a flunky by his side and pointed at Dreth.

"You," he commanded. "Come here."

Dreth scowled. "So be it," he said, and stalked over to the man, hand on Darkblood's handle. Several large men with swords, obviously bodyguards, started to impose themselves between him and the king, but Harold waved them back.

"You. You are Dreth," the ruler stated, once he was closer. "I've been told about you." He walked around Dreth in a circle, looking him up and down imperiously. "You don't appear to be anything special."

"What's it to you?" asked Dreth. Several members of the crowd gasped at this lack of etiquette.

The ruler moved close and spoke in a low voice. "We have a mutual… acquaintance. He's very interested in seeing you don't get to where you want to go. I'm interested in why. Maybe you can enlighten me?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Dreth replied. "I'm just here for the wizard and the man. Let me have them and I promise to leave you alone."

Harold smiled. "Oh, I don't think you are in any position to make demands."

"I was threatening actually," said Dreth.

"You're in the middle of my city, surrounded by my army," replied the king. "Do you think you can fight your way through all of them?"

Dreth shrugged. "I'm willing to give it a go," he said. He felt his temper begin to rise. "Let me have what I came for."

"I'll make you a deal," replied the ruler. "Tell me what I want to know, and I'll spare the prisoners."

Dreth snarled and stepped forward, coming face to mask with Harold. "No, let me make a deal. How about you die, and I get to walk out of here?"

Harold frowned for a moment, and the room went still, waiting for his response. Then he chuckled, barely audible at first, but growing until it was full blown, evil dictator, head-thrown back maniacal laughter. After a moment the Ruler of Real city calmed down slightly and dabbed at his eye with a kerchief. "Oh Dreth, how predictable. How very, very predictable you are. I tell you what, why don't you discuss it with my good friend here?"

He stood back and gestured to one side, at a bunch of onlookers, who swiftly parted as a large teddy bear stepped forward.

Dreth glared at the bear questioningly, but then raised a thin eyebrow as it brought its paw up, to reveal a long black blade, the twin of Dreth's weapon.

"Your end is…" the bear began in a muffled voice. It stopped, and reached up to wrestle with the headpiece, eventually removing it to reveal the visage beneath.

"You," said Dreth. "Nice costume," he added.

"They told me it was fancy dress," the Violator scowled. "So, we meet again mine enemy. You look surprised. Did you think my little fall would be the last you saw of me? I'm not so easy to dispose of."

"That's something I can still remedy," Dreth said, drawing Darkblood smoothly from its sheath.

The sword hissed, sensing its brother blade, which growled in return. Sparks of hellfire crackled up and down both weapons, and a low breeze sprung up.

"Any final words?" asked Dreth, moving forward slowly. A circle opened up to allow the two room. "After all, that's what you do best. Talk."

The Violator grinned. "I do everything well," he said as the two faced each other, weapons held in front of them. "But what I really do best is… KILL!" He leapt forward, swinging his sword down in a vertical blur.

Dreth blocked, and the weapons shrieked with pent up magic as they clashed. The air around them rippled with small bolts of lighting. Dreth countered quickly, and was blocked in turn, and the two stepped back again, watching each other warily.

"Not bad," said Veronica, "but not good enough. You will rue the day you crossed me Dreth. I am your nemesis, you doom, your end."

"Oh shut up," Dreth spat, and lunged.

Metal rang upon metal, and the swords howled, clashing off each other as Dreth launched attack after attack, moving so fast the swings and cuts were barely visible. He pushed forward, grimly intent on his prey, but the Violator held him off, retreating several steps in good order as he concentrated on thwarting the vicious assault.

Dreth didn't let up, but sped up his strikes, so the blades were little more than black blurs in the air surround by a hail of red sparks. The wind turned into a gale, and a low m.o.a.ning filled the room.

Still the Violator held him off, and now he countered, striking back at Dreth, who was forced to duck a brutal swing that would have cut him in half had it connected.

The Violator skipped onto a chair as he was pushed back again by Dreth, who roared in anger as he beat at his enemy ferociously. The Anti-Paladin avoided a low horizontal cut by doing a neat backwards somersault, an impressive feat in the bear outfit, landing on the floor near the buffet table with the grace of a cat.

"Your showy moves won't save you," Dreth said, advancing. "You're not facing some innocent villager now you know."

"Oh, believe me, I don't make a mistake twice," Veronica said. He scooped a bowl of salad off the nearby table and threw it at Dreth, showering him with cuc.u.mber slices and lettuce.

Dreth shook his head, throwing off vegetable pieces and bringing Darkblood up to block the Violators' swing. The two traded strokes, both standing their ground as they pounded at each other with the devil blades, which wailed and cried at each contact, sending pulses of evil energy outwards into the room.

"Die damn you!" roared Veronica, all artifice gone as he strained to kill his enemy.

"Die yourself!" shouted back Dreth, moving as fast as he'd ever done.

The howling of the wind grew as the two hammered at each other, neither retreating nor advancing. All pretence at showmanship gone now, they simply tried to kill each other with all their being. The rising wind blew the windows in with a crash of breaking glass. Scattering furniture across the room it whirled around the combatants in a vortex of debris. The onlookers shied away as smaller items were picked up and carried into the air, while the screams of the swords rose to an ear-splitting level.

Veronica somehow found time to throw a dagger at Dreth, which hit him in the shoulder. Dreth ignored it and kicked out at the Anti-Paladin, who blocked with his leg.

The swords were glowing a dull red, and the noise of the wind and their cries was deafening. The room around them had been reduced to chaos by the gale, and the few remaining onlookers watched from the doors, shielding their eyes.

"I… will… kill… you," raged Veronica, sweat visible on his brow.

"You… won't… be the first to… fail!" shouted Dreth back, and he launched a huge overhead blow. The Violator fell to one knee and blocked it, holding his weapon with two hands.

The black blades let out a fantastic cry at this latest contact, and there was a massive explosion of hellish energy as critical mass was reached, blowing both fighters back like leaves in a hurricane, and smashing the buffet table into splinters.

Dreth flew through the air, landing on his back on a chair and breaking it in two.

Then the building fell on him.