Legacy, part 1

{{Fiction
 * author=Andrew Getting;
 * hasSetting=Larisnar
 * storyBody====The Lands of the Kabal, six months ago===

Everything Cal Blackborne knew told him that this could not possibly be happening. The wards, though less than a century old, were some of the strongest magic any mortal man had ever etched into stone. They had to be, to contain what the Kabal had entombed beyond those sigils. It would take some unfathomable power to shatter the bonds, something unheard of since the First War and the Dragon's death. That was the whole idea, and the reason Cal had graciously volunteered to keep watch over the presumably empty threat of the imprisoned. The wards were supposed to hold forever.

And yet, the sarcophagus lay broken and empty of all but a thin outline of dust. The dead man (who despite the stories, Cal noted, did not shamble so much as stride forth with great speed) now held him aloft in one ceremonially bandaged hand, the thumb almost gently pressing down on Cal's windpipe.

"Where is he?" the dead man demanded as Cal's chest suddenly burned with pain. "Where is Kerebrus?"

Baraxton. Today.
The people crossed the filthy streets to avoid him, Kumbani Apolo noted grimly. He wished he could believe that the guarded stares were simply because of his strange appearance or dress, or because of tales of his homeland. His well-trained ears would not grant him such solace.

"There he goes," he heard a beggar whisper to himself in an alley. "The last Dark Horseman."

Apolo grimaced. The words were not quite true, but close enough. Ever since Castle Blackthorn, the Dark Horsemen had drifted apart. Some left to join the Fighters' Guild, while others simply deserted the company for permanent contracts with the Accordlands' many warring factions. In a manner of months, Apolo recounted as he crossed the threshold into the Nest of Vipers, the Dark Horsemen had dwindled from a company large enough to stand against any nothrog legion, to perhaps two dozen members.

Apolo put such thoughts out of his mind as he scanned the tavern's grime-encrusted common room. He could not show weakness here of all places, in the purported serpent's lair. Such as these nothrogs and men were villains even for this city, and he had better things to do today.

Business, for instance.

"I'm glad the rumors were wrong," the client whispered as Apolo slid into the corner booth. The client traced one of the graffiti carvings on the table with a casual carefulness, and Apolo noticed the chatter elsewhere in the tavern suddenly quieted as the ward activated.

"Do not be overeager. We must be quick about this if you wish to hire us. Many of my comrades have sought their fortunes elsewhere." Apolo frowned as he studied the man across the table from him. Something inside the Dark Horseman found the other man familiar, and innately trustworthy. Despite this, he also knew he should be able to recognize the man, and yet while he knew the man's individual features, he could not place the face. "Besides," Apolo added, "we do not work for those who attempt to ensorcell us."

"It's not magic, and it's just a precaution," the client answered calmly. "This is a private matter, and some would wish it otherwise if they knew I had returned."

"'Some?'" Apolo repeated. "If you are looking for personal protection, I am afraid that I am not-"

"I can take care of myself," the figure interrupted. "My concern is simply that they would make my next few months more complicated. I would prefer to announce myself in a time and manner of my own choosing."

"Well, you know of our dwindling numbers. If this is not about hiring protection, then to what purpose did you summon me?" Apolo asked, leaning back in his chair.

The other man held up two pale, calloused fingers. "Two reasons. First, I am looking to hire you - the lot of you. You need a new leader, and I think you'll come to agree that I'm more qualified than anyone you have left."

"You do understand that we have no intention of serving you blindly." Apolo stared into the man's eyes as he spoke. "The Dark Horsemen are suffering badly enough that we do not need to suspect our own contracts, especially given what happened the last time we did."

"Of course, of course," the client said, nodding. "I have other business to attend to first."

"And the second?" Apolo asked.

"Something you want as well as I," the other whispered softly, and leaned in closer to Apolo. "I want to know what happened to Kerebrus."

"I know little more than the rumors on the street," Apolo answered. "Kerebrus accepted an anonymous contract, enough money to bring in most of the Dark Horsemen for one mission. He refused to say who had hired him, only that the party was trustworthy beyond reproach. Less than a quarter of us returned, and Kerebrus was not among them. Of those, less than a dozen were still here when I returned from my own mission days later. I only had time to speak to one of them, Kun Atoll, before he himself departed."

"Where were you?" the other man asked.

"If you wish to hire us," the havat-lahn began, "surely you understand the value of a non-disclosure clause."

"Understood. So, what did Kun Atoll have to say?" the client asked.

"Only that he himself was not sure what had occurred. He fidgeted as we spoke, and insisted that my knowing the specifics would not help bring Kerebrus back, that where he had gone, we could not follow." Apolo frowned.

"Kerebrus is dead?" The other man's lip pulled back slightly in a smirk.

"No, I do not think so. He told me of those who had died. He mentioned Lund by name. Atoll said only that something mythical had happened, and that the gods were not done with Kerebrus. He refused to say anything more. I believe he himself was unsure of what happened."

"So, Kerebrus did not die at Castle Blackthorn, but you do not know what did happen?"

"I did not mention Castle Blackthorn." Apolo's eyes narrowed. "Our business is concluded." Apolo stood, knocking the chair back from under himself. The sounds of the tavern suddenly returned.

"Thank you, Mr. Apolo, this has been most informative," the man said without rising. "I will make payment as discussed, and I suggest that you tell Mr. Atoll that I will be meeting with him shortly."

"I will do no such thing. I intend to arrange nothing further for you," Apolo said.

"Nonetheless, I will be meeting with him. Good day, Mr. Apolo," the figure replied.

Apolo was suddenly alone. He was not in the Nest of Vipers, but in the virtually abandoned camp outside Baraxton's reaches. Empty tents flapped in the breeze. "Kamatayon's legacy," Apolo whispered to the empty wind. }}