(I did a few calculations, and I've found that if the Shadows of Darkness was put on paper, in a novel, it would be 273 pages long. Congratulations, people, we've got a full length novel on our hands!)
(Here is part of the last post. Merlin, Ping, if you guys had any of this written up already... too bad . Actually, if you had anything signifigantly different from what I have, tell me. There's some places in here that could use improvement, and since this is one of the last posts, I'd like to get it right.)
Where the foreboding fortress of Bazaal's once stood was now simply a vast and flat land. Gebohq saw that several of the people who had been in the fortress now stood in random places inside the area where the fortress had been. Gebohq thought that perhaps it was Antestarr's doing that the living victims inside Bazaal's stronghold would emerge from the destruction. Lost and confused, those that lived simply walked away, into the village nearby. Gebohq was depressed to see that the battle between Bazaal's undead forces and Orca's army were still fighting, some distance away. To take his mind off that situation, he turned his attention towards the others with him.
Gebohq saw his friends in a little bit of shock, but believing the battle over, were finding peace within themselves. Dragonfly stood with Shawn and Lina, and as they were comforting each other, so were Tessa and Jessica, who were discussing their own worries. Jason stood with Kogi, muttering about things dark and sinister. Krig, Scout, JK_Meteor, and bug stood uneasily in a group, warily going over what had just happened. Bug, though with them, seemed rather detached from the conversation they were having. Instead, he was staring through Scout and into Orca's direction, who was standing alone, apparently gazing at the horizon. Reyuan and Ji'Tory held each other, standing motionless in each other's arms. Gebohq turned to his left to find Merlin in deep thought. Merlin then turned his attention to Gebohq.
"Now is the time to face Bazaal," Merlin spoke. "I will open the way to an ancient stairwell that leads down to his present location. Gather the others, and follow me."
Gebohq did as he was told, and soon the group followed Merlin until he had stopped in the middle of the new and vast wasteland. With a simple and somber wave of his hand, the ground began to rumble and shake very slightly. A crack appeared in the ground before Gebohq and Merlin, widening, revealing a cracked stone staircase descending into the depths of the earth. Merlin started solemnly down the stairs, and Gebohq followed directly behind him.
The others hesitated a moment, looking to each other as if to ask who should go first. Ji'Tory broke the pause, and slipped down the stairs, holding the Concilum eX Deo before her. The remaining members of the party followed single file, until only Krig and Orca were left. Krig squinted at Orca quizzically for a moment, then shook his hairy head and stumped down the stairs.
Orca stayed a moment longer, until the horns of Krig's helmet had dissapeared below the ground, then almost painfully tore his gaze off of the horizon, and the raging battle. He descended into the depths, leaving his minions to fend for themselves.
Gebohq stepped briskly behind Merlin, feeling like a small child trying to keep up with his father. As they walked the dark, dry hallway widened, and Gebohq sped up to walk beside Merlin. Merlin began speaking.
"The last time you saw Bazaal, he was a twisted, malformed creature with a black heart, but he was still largly human. That is the case no longer. He will not be swayed by anything you can offer him, nor intimidated by anything you can do. His only desire now is power, and that is his only weakness, such as it is.
"He was human once, and he does still have a seed of good in him, however small. If he were to turn from his evil ways, and beg forgiveness, he could be redeemed."
As Merlin fell into silence, Gebohq thought upon what had been said. Why was Merlin telling him this? What was going to happen?
As he thought, they reached the end of the staircase. Before them stood a large door of solid black oak, engraved with various runes. Behind Geb, the rest of the group filed into the small anteroom before the door, Orca bringing up the rear.
Merlin waited until everyone was in the room, then spoke.
"I'm afraid that this is as far as I can take you. Remember all that I've taught you, for you now face a danger greater than any other. "
bug spoke up. "What are you talking about? We need you to defeat Bazaal!"
Merlin smiled sadly "I wish that I could do more for you, but it is not God's will. I must leave you now. God bless you all."
With that, Merlin seemed to glow slightly, then fade away. As he faded, the room was plunged into darkness, a dark so black that the group could not see their hands before their faces. It was an unatural dark, and with it came a sense of evil, a sense of hopelessness that washed over the party like a wave.
After a few moments, puffs of flame began to ignite around the room as the magic users came to their senses. The flames didn't light up the room as much as Merlin seemed to have, but it was sufficient to see each other's faces. They huddled into a crude circle within the cramped anteroom, and held an impromptu meeting.
"What should we do now?" Dragonfly queried the others.
"Maybe we should turn back. Without Merlin, we have no chance against Bazaal!" Shawn replied, a worried look on his dimly lit face. Lina nodded in agreement.
Tessa shivered. "We have less than a chance. Even
with Merlin, we would only have had a slight chance at victory. Now..."
Gebohq spoke up. "Merlin wanted us to face him. He knew what he was doing."
"Even so, how do we know Bazaal hasn't blinded Merlin? I think we should make a strategic retreat, until we have the situation properly assessed." Kogi spoke, breaking his habit of silence.
"I agree." Jason put in. "I have no desire to see Bazaal, especially since I turned on him. He would probably kill me on sight! Jessica and I should probably leave right now, we're putting you all in danger."
Krig growled his assent. He didn't like being underground.
The group stared at each other in silence. Though he had declared his intention to leave, Jason made no move for the stairs. Scout shifted her weight uneasily, glancing around at the people with her. Ji'Tory clutched the Concilium eX Deo like a lifeline, and Reyuan held Ji'Tory.
JK broke the silence. "I think Merlin is playing games with us. I'm not going along with it, I'm leaving."
Suddenly, Orca began laughing. The others stared at him like he was insane, but he continued.
"Don't you see it? This is all some trick of Bazaal's! You're all under some kind of fear spell!"
The others looked at each other, considering the new possibility. Orca began pushing through the others.
"Enough of this talk. Let's just get it over with!" He strode over to the door, and gave it a shove. To everyone's surprise, it creaked open, flooding the the anteroom with a pale, warmthless light...
[/very long post]
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Oft evil will does evil mar.