Day 327 (305)

Day 327 (305):

I awoke feeling the presence of Rose, her sapling, and the four leprechauns from last night. They were all outside. I roused my sisters and we dressed quickly. Outside, the leprechauns still looked at us suspiciously, but the others greeted us warmly.

"Sisters, this is Willow, my sapling, and the one who has watched the palace the longest, over a decade. If anyone knows its activity, it is she," Rose told us.

While greeting Willow, I saw a dark spot floating in her otherwise clean aura. It was not apart of her, but looked added or parasitic. We listened to Willow's report which, like the dark spot, did not seem right. Her report made it seem like investigating or even watching the palace was a waste of time. She requested that Rose pull off her other saplings and leave it be. 

"Willow, why ask such? You know what damage all those spirits would cause if unchecked. Are you well?"

"No, she is not well," I answered, "I see a ball of darkness floating in her aura. It is not hers by nature and I believe it is influencing her."

Most of our assembly just stared at me. Leo gave me an encouraging nudge. I approached Willow, who took a small step back from me. I watched the ball float around. When it got to a place I could reach, I snagged it with my right hand, using my riding set to encase it. Before every one's eyes, I extracted a grapefruit-sized ball of darkness from Willow. She gasped as it left her, nearly going to her knees. The leprechauns looked at me in fear. I knew my eyes changed as I read this darkness.

"The lich is in this thing. He used it to manipulate Willow. It made her downplay his activities or forget something entirely. He wanted everyone to be 'in the dark' about his real actions. He could not afford to corrupt her completely, as that would draw too much attention. It was his idea to suggest removing the others, to allow him and his men more freedom."

The ball faded, its tale done, into nothing. Willow was crying on Rose, begging forgiveness for her weakness and the lies she had told. The four men were huddled, whispering and gesturing. My sisters told me that they, too, had felt something "off" about Willow, but could not specifically name it.

Recovered, Willow gave us an accurate report, "Including the lich, only three remain of the original twenty-four. One is a horned creature that seems to rage constantly. The other is a vampire. He is the one who harasses us the most, claiming starvation. Keeping everyone at least two miles away means he has little to prey upon. Also, the fences and walls are specifically warded against vampires as well as generally against spirits and undead."

"Is his device, the thing the lich uses to house his soul, in the palace?" I asked gently.

"No, it is not. I heard him tell the vampire that 'two armies' guard his device and a 'puppet' watches over them. He said he made his 'puppet' obsessed with spirits to insure he did not leave his 'tilted home'."

We seven gasped, which caused them to give us odd looks. Lisa began to stomp around, muttering, "I knew it. I knew it." as she got her anger under control.

"What is it? do you know this 'puppet' and these armies?" Leo asked, very concerned.

We told them about Sim and the battlefield he dismissed as "nothing". We also explained Lisa's anger about being nearly on top of it, asking about it, and accepting Sim's dismissal without question. Leo helped calm her by telling us that, if the corruption was well hidden, we had no reason not to believe Sim's opinion of the battlefield and its armies. 

"What now, Sisters? Do you still plan to attack the palace, knowing what you seek is not there?" Fionn asked.

"There are still souls to free," Alice answered, "We still have that task."

We spoke of Dawn's purging of Castle Night. Willow knew of no conditions set to release those spirits. We did discuss a cleansing. Perhaps enough "light" in the "darkness" could break his hold on them. Rose suggested, what she called "calling the quarters", a ritual that called the four elements to bless an area. It sounded plausible. She asked for Bo's and Dawn's assistance, as air and fire. Sarah volunteered to be water, but Rose knew a water nymph who lived nearby and hated the lich for several acts of  pollution.
Snagging a bite and leaving Leo, we followed Rose and Willow to a spring-fed creek. Rose called for the nymph in her wind-like language. Up from the spring, a girl rose. Even though she looked barely ten years of age, I could feel that she was centuries old. Completely nude, she stood boldly before us.

"Rose, what is it? Who are they?" she asked, a bit testy.

"Miram, these are the Sisters, their swords, and companions. They are going to help us call the quarters to the lich's castle."

Miram jumped from her spring, doing a cartwheel before landing on the ground near us.

"Finally! I am sick of his corpses mucking up my water. Let's go, the sooner the better."

With no concern for modesty, Miram began walking toward the palace.

As we followed, she told us numerous occurrences of undead splashing about, trying to corrupt her pure water.

Within an hour or so, we were at the perimeter Rose and saplings had established. The difference between inside and outside was stark. Outside was healthy winter. Inside was hellish and twisted. Rose told us seven, Set, and Echo to stay outside while she, Miram, Bo, and Dawn did the ritual. We agreed.

The quartet headed to the slapped-together building. Taking positions, they began calling their elements. The four powers formed against their side of the building. When they met at the corners, they erupted in a swirling mass of energy. Above the building, a spirit storm rose. It went high into the air, then stopped. The souls beat upon an invisible barrier. Willow and the other saplings could not explain it. Their perimeter was only on the ground, not above the palace. 

"Something is missing," Anna told us, "A fifth power is needed."

As we thought, the souls continued to bash against the barrier.

For reasons I cannot name, I blurted out, "Death!"
"What?" came a unified remark.

"These men sought to cheat Death. They defended against it. We need to call on Death to break the barrier and take the souls."

Taking hands, we called to Death and any who ruled the land of the dead to break this barrier and take the souls to their rest. Even the saplings joined our call. Above the barrier, a dark cloud formed then began to swirl. A stream of dark birds flew out of the cloud to attack the barrier. Soon, the barrier was marked by white souls on one side and black birds on the other. An enormous "crack" nearly interrupted our chanting. The barrier was breached, allowing the black birds to enter and the souls to pour into the swirling cloud. Inside the barrier, the birds ignored the streaming souls. They began picking spirits who were not flowing up. These seemed unwilling to leave, but Death had been denied too long. Before long, the willing and unwilling spirits were gone, the birds back through the swirling cloud, and the cloud disappeared. Our companions and friends returned to us, asking how we did that. As we explained, the cloud returned and floated down to us.

In front of us, a tall, dark-haired woman with very pale skin, dressed in elegant black clothing, emerged from the cloud.

"The other gods said you helped and heeded all deities, even those not of your race. Now, I believe them. I have called upon clerics, monks, knights, and kings, yet none of them achieved one-tenth of this. That man and his crew have denied me my due. When you destroy them, I have a special place for them."

"Were they not taken by the birds?" Sarah asked.

"No, the lich is not here and ancient agreements prevent me from taking demon-blood and vampires. Those two are inside. Send them to me, Sisters, and I promise none of you will see my land for a century at the least."

We agreed to send all three of them to her soon. She nodded and returned to the dark cloud. It rose and vanished.

"Do we go after them or wait for them to come out?" Lisa asked.

"It is not yet mid-day," Rose began, "The vampire may be asleep, unaware of this event. The demon-blood could be awake. Let us go to the building and see if you can sense him."

Agreeing, we followed Rose and were followed by Willow and the other saplings. Before reaching the building, a great bellow rumbled from within. We heard several more as we got closer. The one doing the bellowing also seemed to be getting closer to us.

Out of the doorway, taking the door with him, the demon-blood burst into the winter sunshine. Puffing, he looked at us all.

"YOU!! You did this?! Sanctified this palace in the names of your false gods. Stole the souls we struggled to bring to his glory. Now, you stand before me. I shall crush you all and present your heads to the Chosen when he returns."

He gave us no time to ask anything before he began gathering demon magic. We quickly agreed upon the hybrid demon spell and began a counter chant. His began to fall apart as ours robbed him of his power. It fizzled into formless smoke as he collapsed, more human than demon. Laying on the ground, the demon power left, leaving behind all that was still human, which wasn't much more than a skeleton. His soul rose above his body. He had only a second to enjoy his new state when a large bird came out of nowhere and seized the soul-form. It flew off with the spirit screaming for help. The skeleton quickly turned to dust and was blown away. The treants were amazed.

"Only the vampire remains, let's get him," Lisa said, taking a step towards the doorway.

"Wait, we have all day," I reminded her, "besides, the lich may return while we are fumbling around an unfamiliar castle."

We agreed to go rest, get something to eat, and discuss a plan of action. We told Leo to let the leprechauns know what had happened. He told us all of Bainne had stopped to watch the aerial part of the palace's cleansing. He told us Fionn and his group had remarked about "misjudging" us. We asked him to join us after he passed our report to them.

While Rose and company ate dirt, they did help us find nuts to eat. Our companions hunted for themselves. Miram returned to her spring, skipping like the young girl she appeared to be, although still nude. 

Leo arrived a bit after our companions returned from their meals, "Well done, everyone. The leprechauns are thrilled and look forward to a 'spring without being haunted or hunted'. So, any ideas about the vampire? Has the lich returned?"

"The lich is still gone. The vampire is in a sub-level on the north side, still asleep. Fortunately, Willow remembers a door leading to that sub-level so we will not have to search the whole place," I told him.

"I see. There is something I am most curious about. What did Death look like?" Leo asked eagerly.

We all attempted to answer at once. After a minute, it became obvious that most of us had seen different things. The Treants had seen another Treant with black leaves and ravens in it branches. Set, Bo, and Echo saw dark versions of Brimagor. Dawn saw a black phoenix, one who drew light instead of giving off light. The seven of us girls reported both men and women in dark clothes with black hair. Just like Fate, Death appears to everyone as they can best understand.

With that out of the way, we began to plan how to get the vampire. We sent Leo to Miram to get some blessed water. The Treants gathered fallen sticks to stake him if needed. We went through Sloth's mental exercise to steel ourselves against him. With Leo's return and a large container of blessed water, we followed Willow to the sub-level's door.

Like the rest of the building, this door was poorly constructed and too large for the doorway it blocked. Leo ripped it off. As he could not fit, he volunteered to keep anything from escaping and planted himself at the entrance. Rose was also too large and she took up a guard's stance as well. The six saplings went with us down the dark stairs. Dawn gave us light as we descended. In the sub-level, torches were burning, eliminating the need for Dawn's light. Anna found my hand.

"Kayla, there is so much evil history here. I feel it crushing me," she whispered.

"Share my shield, let Brimagor's gift protect you," I said, squeezing her hand a bit.

The riding set grew warm and I felt her pain slacken greatly. She took a deep breath with a slight smile.

"Alice, how fair you?" I asked.

"This place is nearly empty to me. Their personal history died when they became undead. Past a lot of people dying, I get nothing."

"Good, is everyone else well?" I asked the rest.

Callie reported an uneasiness due to the poor construction. Lisa and Sarah told of the illness of the place. Gretta said all was silent for her. It relieved me that none of them were suffering. I seemed to have taken the lead, being the one who best sensed the vampire.

Several hundred paces from the door, we found the vampire's crypt. No one and nothing guarded it. Besides evil, arrogance hung heavy in this place. The saplings made to open the doors, but I stopped them.

"He is awake. He also knows he is alone. Sanctifying the area has blocked his communication with the lich. He is out of his tomb and trying to prepare for any attack. The doors are rigged."

The saplings removed their hands from the doors. We all moved back. I called to the doors and, with some effort, they opened, springing the trap that would have cooked anyone opening them by hand. We waited until the fire stopped. Expecting victims, the vampire sauntered out of the crypt. He was extremely surprised to find no one dead, burnt, or even hurt. Seeing Willow, he became smug.

"What is this about? Do you bring sacrifices or offerings to join our ranks? Speak, little bush, tell me your reasoning."

Willow went livid, nearly charging the vampire. The other saplings held her back. The vampire made clicking noises.

"Broke your leash, I see. The Chosen will not be please."

"You call the lich 'Chosen'. That is Maalicus' title," I told him flatly.

"Was his title," he corrected, "Maalicus no longer walks this world. The other Baalocs are dead or traitors. Only we keep the true faith. The Chosen will rebuild the Baaloc Kingdom and sit upon its throne forever."

"And where will you sit?" Alice asked.

He laughed, "Where a loyal prince always sits, at his King's side."

Lisa stepped forward, "Neither of you will be sitting on any throne. Your 'reign' ends today."

He pretended to be scared, "Oh no! Seven little girls, their pets, and a bunch of sticks are going to kill me. I am so scared. Help! Help! Will no one save me?"

Becoming serious, he tried to stare us down, "Flee before I turn you all into my personal seven course meal."

It was our turn to laugh, which startled him. I spoke to him.

"Did you find out who killed Maalicus?"

"Of course we did, we had to know. He was defeated by the Seven Sisters ... of … the … Swords ..." his voice trailed off as the truth occurred to him.

We unsheathed our swords and pointed them at him. He fell to his knees, begging us not to hurt him. He began making promises, trying with all of his might to get us to not kill him, even begging for mercy. 

"You have a date with Death and you are late," I told him.

He continued to plead as we began. We poured out health and healing and warmth, things his evil body could not tolerate. The saplings showered the blessed water upon him, causing him to scream in pain. He got up and tried to fight, but only succeeded in falling flat on his face. He writhed as power and water continued to attack him. Soon, he stopped moving and dissolved into a pile of clothes and dust. His soul rose, a bit disoriented. He was still sorting it out when a large black bird flew pass us, snagged the soul, and flew away. Sheathing our swords, we ushered everyone back out into the evening sun. Leo and Rose were beaming. They had seen the bird and its cargo. Between Leo and Rose, we were carried back to Bainne because they could get us the five miles far more quickly. Just before sunset, we were greeted by what appeared to be the entire town. 

As we walked through the gate, a great cheer went up, making a deafening sound. The mass of leprechauns escorted us to the milk house. We went inside as Fionn told everyone that the full story would be told tomorrow and that we needed our rest. Leo parked himself next to the building and laid down, ending any attempts to get anything from him. Rose and her saplings retreated to the forest. We joined Fionn and the other three in the dining room. Their worry and doubt was replaced by joy and respect. We told them, in detail, what had happened. The fact that the lich was still at large did not dampen their spirits. The three left in good spirits and Fionn was smiling all the way to his room. We were so tired, most of us fell into bed without undressing.