Tearlach (Chapter 33)

Template:Tearlach nav Tearlach and Klatu returned to the ice caves. Beyond lay the frozen summit of Mt. Arreat, where the Ancients awaited them. But first, they had to get through the caves. Bul-Kathos' icy bones! Why did the Ancients dig so many miles of mazes for them to stumble through!? Wandering in and out of dead ends, they found no way out to the peak. There were plenty of demons, plaguing them every step of the way; demon women, bull men, ice beasts, more stupid zombies than you could shake a stick at, evil urns, and the corpses of dead, tortured men and women. The demons even started trapping the bodies, just to spite them.

"This is a waste of time," Tearlach grumbled, throwing down a green breastplate. Even he could recognize it, he'd seen it so often. "Admit it! We're lost in these cursed tunnels."

"Yoo're lost?" Klatu said with a smirk. "I know where we are."

"Yeah? Then where are we?"

"We're in a cave, under the ice."

Should I punch him, Tearlach wondered? "No! Next, yoo'll tell me we're on Mt. Arreat! I need a smarter sword-brother."

"I know where we're going. I thought yoo were looting."

"I am! If there were anything worth having here. Say, yoo're a Crane! Why don't yoo use a pole-arm, then?"

Klatu looked at his sword. "It's a pole." He swung it in a circle overhead. "It's a long, metal pole, that's sharp up here. Yoo hold it by this end."

"That's stupid. Anyway, if yoo know which way to go, why don't yoo say something?"

"I didn't say I knew which way to go. I said I knew where we are."

"So where are we?" Tearlach fumed.

Klatu smiled. "We're in a cave, under the ice."

Eyes narrowing, Tearlach snarled, "Yoo also said you knew where we were going."

"I do. Through tunnels, in the caves, under the ice."

A short distance away, a group of Minotaurs heard a loud clang. "Rrrmmm?"

One's ear twitched. "Chainmail gauntlet," a deep bovine voice huffed, "hitting full helm."

They sniffed the air. "Smell raging testosterone."

"Babas!" Their leader snorted, the red light of fury filling his eyes. "We go! Avenge our heifers back home on Moo-moo farm!" Bellowing like the breaking wind, they charged off to their timely deaths.

Back in Harrogath, Anya had come to speak with Qual-Kehk and Cain. "As glad as I am that Nihlathak got his just reward, it means all our tribal elders are now dead. The wisdom of generations was not passed on. All was lost."

Qual-Kehk smiled. "Lass, not all is gone. Besides, the old ways were meant to prepare us for this time. When the day is done, we may have no further need of them."

"There is also the gift of writing," Cain said. "I was glad to see so many of your ancestor's words recorded, preserved for all time."

"Aye," Qual-Kehk nodded, "that has also done us good."

Cain smiled. "Qual-Kehk, I am a bit surprised to hear you say these things. I was under the impression was that you might be reluctant to change from the old ways."

"I am, outlander. But I have eyes to see, and know when I don't like what I see. Too many died fighting the old way. Even the clans may have done more harm than good. Yoo know, when I was younger, I thought of making a pilgrimage to Kurast and enlisting in the holy order of Paladins. Perhaps my defense of Mt. Arreat might have succeeded if I had."

"Well... Kurast was not what it should have been, even then."

"No matter. I have seen one warrior succeed where all others failed, and know he did not learn how to make battle here. I did not think much of his new ways at first, but see their wisdom now. Perhaps southlanders have something to teach us after all."

"I must agree," Anya nodded. "So many of our problems might not be, if we had asked for help from the neighboring kingdoms when we knew Baal would invade. Our own people did not heed the elders' call when the time came. I hate to think of how many died for the sake of our foolish, foolish pride."

"There was no way you could have known the battle would go so badly," Cain said. "But I must admit, I was amazed the Barbarian clans did not come together to fight Baal after your capital was destroyed."

"We prepared for war by making war on each other," Qual-Kehk said. "We knew no other way. Those centuries of fighting proved stronger than our bonds of kinship. In the end, it took but one betrayal to lay waste to our cause."

"Betrayal to Hell has plagued mankind from the beginning," Cain shook his head. "There will always be someone who seeks personal gain at the expense of all else. Speaking of gains, I wonder how the climb up Mt. Arreat is proceeding?"

"My men have met fierce opposition on the high frozen tundra. Baal's forces are in retreat, concentrating themselves higher up around the peak of the mountain. Yoor friend and Klatu have not joined them. They must have become lost in the glacial trails."

"That should be easy enough to remedy," Cain said. "There are many who know the way, all they'll need to do is ask for directions."

Anya nodded. "I don't know why they wouldn't."

Wandering along a frozen river, hopping from one patch of ice to another, Tearlach and Klatu stubbornly pressed on. It felt like they'd been wandering down there for days, guided only by a few flickering torches and fires glinting among the crystalline drifts. The demons kept coming and the loot had grown plentiful, so they must be on the right track, but Tearlach still wondered if they were missing the whole battle. They hadn't seen another living Barbarian for a long time, and very few dead ones.

At the bottom of a tunnel that should have gone up, they finally found a tunnel that took them to the surface. The sky was cobalt blue, and only a few scraggly pines grew near the thick layers of clear ice hanging over a nearby cliff. Blinking against the sunlight, Tearlach noted five burial chests within view; this must be a very important holy place, high up the Mt. Arreat. Most likely the enemy was strongest here. After a bit of looting, they made their way onto the frozen tundra.

To say the enemy was "strong" here might be a misstatement. There were hordes of little big-heads and a few armored riding beasts, but little else. One of the last walls stretched across a narrow point. The ancestors built so many of those things... if only they had built them stronger. No, who was he fooling? The sons of Bul-Kathos would never be content to sit behind walls and wait for the enemy. Even if they had the patience, how would they feed so many this high on the mountain? The enemy could simply sit down and wait for them to starve. The walls were useless. Aye... maybe the seeds of loss had been sown by their own ancestors long ago, as disrespectful as it was to say such things.

Another Barbarian was inside the wall, chopping through a gate. Tearlach killed a big-head who'd been annoying him and shouted, "Hail! What news of the war?"

"Where've yoo been?" the other man called over his shoulder. "The demon army is climbing the mountain and gathering around the peak! Their master's there, and he doesn't want to be disturbed at his business."

"Disturbing him is our business," Tearlach grinned.

"Not many of us made it this far," the man went on, kicking through the gate and charging a tower inside. "My sword-brother died! I'll mourn him in time, though he was a Bear."

"You had it easy," Tearlach said as he chopped up an armored riding beast. "I got stuck with this Crane! Bastard can't do anything right!"

"Could a' been worse," Klatu said. "Could a' been a Wolf. We'd never get the smell out."

"Yoo want smell? Cranes, they stink fierce! Big smelly birds, with long stinky legs."

A small sphere crashed into the wall, scattering lightning bolts everywhere. Tearlach grunted, "More of those damned catapults?"

"Aye, they're up there. It's funny watchin' the demons try to drag 'em around."

Only a few catapults remained, propped up precariously against the walls, barely lashed down securely enough to fire without flipping themselves over. There weren't even any slaves to guard them, just endless supplies of the little big-heads. Where in Hell did... the other one get so many of those things? They were so numerous, you'd think they grew on trees down there, except that there weren't any trees down there. Along with the catapults, they'd hauled cages up the mountain. Even now, they wanted prisoners to kill and eat. After one last hell-pit (full of nothing but big-heads and a few slaves) they came to the last ice cliff which blocked the way to the summit. A cave led to the Ancient's Causeway.

A large group of bull-men met them inside. It was a nasty fight, but it told Tearlach they were on the right track, with the fiercest minions closest to the demon lord. Earth demons and ice demons filled the rest of the caves, with demon women standing guard over some huge piles of gold in the cellar. Unlike the other caves, the Ancient's Causeway was short. At the end, a narrow stair spiraled up through the living rock, to the summit.

The air was thin and bitingly chill. The howling wind quieted instantly. Here the Immortal King ruled, with his retainers girded for war all around him. Their spirits suffused the rock and glittered in the ice; their voices sang in the still air. There stood the gate to the Worldstone Keep. The mightiest heroes of the highlands, those deemed worthy by the ancients, were within. The gates were closed. By sacred pact, only two things could open them. One was lost. The other could never be lost: the word of the Ancient Ones themselves.

Madawc the Guardian stood before the gates, the advisor in war whose keen eye saw the enemy and its weaknesses. His words decided many battles, always in the Immortal King's favor. By his right hand stood Talic the Defender, fiercest of Bul-Kathos' brothers. The tribe of Thunder looked to him for their matchless speed and fury, breaking over enemies of the people like the howling mountain storms. To the left hand was Korlic the Protector, the most courageous and daring of the Immortal King's men. He was always the first to enter battle, and the last to leave, striking deep in the enemy's heart without thought of danger. But no battle had come to them for centuries. Snow and filth covered their bodies. Tearlach and Klatu sank to one knee, bowing in their presence.

"WE ARE THE NEPHALEM, THE ANCIENT ONES. OUR LIVES HAVE BEEN GIVEN TO GUARD SACRED MOUNT ARREAT FOR ALL TIME. WE KNOW WHY YOO ARE HERE. YOO MUST KNOW THE ONLY WAY YOU MAY ENTER, IS TO DEFEAT US."

Light flared, and the Ancient Ones stood before them, their magnificence restored. The gold in Talic's armor and shield shone like the sun; opposite him stood Korlic in silver; Madawc howled the order to kill. Tearlach bellowed the order to kill Madawc; it's a good idea to take the leader first. Then Korlic leapt in front of them, his axe thudding into Tearlach's shield. Very well, most courageous Ancient; you have always been first. So be it.

Klatu stopped when Korlic smashed into them, and half-heartedly swatted him with his blade. "Hit him, stupid!" Tearlach yelled encouragingly in his ear. "Kill or yoo're not worthy!" Talic came to Korlic's side, so Tearlach moved opposite him, taking blows on his shield while raining a berserk fury down on Korlic. Heartened (or perhaps deafened), Klatu found his fury and laid into Korlic, bashing the Ancient across the plateau. Throwing axes bounced off their armor. When Korlic vanished in a puff of silvery sparkles, they both gasped; it seemed the Ancients, though mighty, were only men after all.

With renewed confidence, they turned on Talic. He had scorched past them like a blazing whirlwind several times during the battle; they had not allowed it to distract them, but it was time to even the score. In even less time, he fell to their blows, and his body disintegrated in a shower of golden light. Madawc ran behind a column. No, Tearlach thought. One of the Ancient Ones, mightiest of mortal men, couldn't be hiding behind a rock. This must be part of some plan. But it wasn't; he stayed back there until they ran around to get him. After he died, the voices of the Ancients rose up again.

"YOO ARE TRULY WORTHY TO ENTER! BAAL HAS ENTERED BEFORE YOO; HIS TREACHERY HID HIM FROM OUR FURY, AND HE HAS MADE THE WORLDSTONE KEEP HIS OWN. HEAVEN ITSELF CANNOT HELP YOO NOW. THE ARCHANGEL TYRAEL HAS ALWAYS BEEN OUR BENEFACTOR, BUT BAAL HAS BLOCKED HIM FROM ENTERING THE WORLDSTONE CHAMBER AND HE CAN DO NOTHING TO HELP YOO. YOO MUST FACE BAAL ALONE. IF YOO ARE WEAK, THE WORLD AS YOO KNOW IT COULD BE LOST FOREVER. YOO MUST NOT FAIL!"

All right, Tearlach thought. Maybe they didn't fight as hard as they might have fought... the other one. At least he knew that. No Barbarian should engage in battle by hiding behind a rock, least of all one of the Ancient Ones.

In Aust's house, Cain and Anya were going over her father's books. "I must say, I find this absolutely fascinating... and yet deeply troubling. The few hints we have on the purpose of the Worldstone imply that its loss will have unimaginable consequences."

Anya nodded. "It may be that this is the last battle, the one that will destroy us all... or it may be that we will never need to fight again!"

"Prophecies are often maddeningly ambiguous. I find it is often best to ignore prophecy and rely on your own judgment. Fate has a way of working itself through your actions, and trying to oppose it only hastens its resolution."

"Yoor words have wisdom, but I fear them all the same. So much depends on making the right decisions, wise decisions." She bowed her head. "When my father and the other elders died, our wisdom went with them. Hoo will lead us now?"

"Child, I have spoken with mighty kings, powerful wizards, and some of the wisest men in the world. They are not always the same people, you know," Cain said with a wink. "I have neither met, nor heard of, any truly wise leader who thought himself up to the task of ruling men. Only a fool thinks he would make a great king."

Anya laughed a bit. "I have heard of someone like that. He seems to have grown wiser since then. Going to yoor world has done that."

"Well... trying to turn his ideas into actions did it, and that can be done anywhere. You should not underestimate yourself. Since your father's death, you have made several wise decisions and kept a cool head on your shoulders."

"Of course it's cool, my actions put it 'on ice'." She laughed a bit, then shivered. "Damn Nihlathak! I am still convinced he killed my father."

"I would not doubt it. Judging from what was found in his temple, his treachery ran deep."

"Vengeance was sweet, especially knowing he went directly to Hell to suffer the fate he deserved. If the world survives what Baal has done, I want to start my people on the right path, and find our way again. But I fear it is too much for me."

Cain patted her shoulder. "It is too much for anyone. But I can think of no one better to try. If I am any judge of character, you are stronger than you realize, and you will have the advice of more experienced minds, like Malah and Qual-Kehk. If you don't know where your decisions might lead, do not worry; even the very wise cannot foresee all ends."

"Yoo would not stay?"

"I fear it is a bit... wintry for my old bones. I prefer sunnier climes. Should you wish to visit them, I would gladly accompany you, but I do not think you need to to seek wisdom. I recognize wisdom when I see it, and I believe you have an abundant supply, which will only grow with time."

Anya smiled, and hugged the old man tight enough to make his ribs creak. "Yoor words are comforting. Thank yoo."

Meanwhile, Tearlach and Klatu were looking for Cain. "Damn it, he picked a bad time to look for a bush. I need this crap identified."

"Yoo do that," Klatu said. "I'm going to tell Anya."

"Oh, no you don't!" Tearlach caught up with him. "I'm going to tell Anya! I don't want yoo misrepresentin' my actions!"

Klatu shrugged. "I'll just say what happened."

"I know yoo too well to believe that! Yoo'll tell it to make me look like a fool, and take all the glorious bits for yoorself!"

"Just 'cause that's what yoo'd do..."

"I never lie!" Tearlach snarled indignantly. "Don't think I haven't seen yoo tryin' to turn her head! Yoo Cranes are famous for it."

Klatu smiled a bit. "All we ever say is the naked truth."

"I don't think so! Well, maybe the bits that serve yoor purpose, but not exactly the truth, the whole truth, and nothin' but!"

Shaking his head, Klatu sighed. "Yoo'll just never believe that she doesn't like you, will yoo? Yoo just can't see the signs. It's sad."

"There's a lie, right there! I'm her rescuer! The one she gives gifts to! Why, she offered to scribe my name into my axe all special-like!"

"Och, that's special. Have yoo gotten a ring from her?"

"No, and neither have yoo! I'm looking for one special enough for her. An angel deserves only the very best."

"Is that why you've been gambling with her for one? Buying a ring she doesn't want so you can give it back to her. That's smooth, that'll really impress her."

"Here's her house! We'll ask her right now!"

They turned the corner and looked inside. Anya was embracing Cain. They both walked past and around the corner, out of sight. "Och..." Tearlach said in disgust. "I didn't need to see that."

Klatu looked genuinely ill. "That was the most horrific thing I ever seen in my life!"

"I'd rather fight the Ancient Ones again than look upon such a scene."

"I'd rather crawl down into Hell, and face off with all the Three Evils at once!"

Both of them stood in silence for a while. Finally, Tearlach said, "Klatu, I forgive yoo for all yoo've said about me."

"Ah... I suppose yoo're not so bad yoorself."

"All that's left in life is killin'... uh..."

"Baal."

"Yeah, him."

As they watched, Cain left, hobbling away with his staff. They shook their heads in disbelief. "Hoo'd have thought the old fart had it in him?"

"Well, it just goes to prove something," Klatu said philosophically.

"What?"

"Yoo're never too old."