Wandering Warrior: Judge - Prologue

Prologue

Magical flames crackled in the fireplace, casting harsh unnatural blue light across the room.  They lacked any heat, but that made no difference to the inhabitants of the chamber.  Arched windows overlooked beautiful snow capped mountains, where no human had stepped foot in living memory.  The altitude made it impossible to survive for long, the air too thin to support life.  Unnatural creatures that called the barren mountaintops home would have cut short any expeditions foolish enough to try.

Four figures huddled over a table covered in maps.  They were unnaturally still, despite the chill.  A living person would shiver uncontrollably if they were subjected to such extremes, but the four had long since left such trappings behind long ago.

“Sir, the battle at the second entrance resulted in a cave-in.  We don’t have a way to get through in time.”  The speaker was the shortest of the four, but he was as broad as any two of the others combined.  A thick, pale finger shifted a wooden flag on the map several inches.  “If our team repositions to the third entrance, there’s still a chance.  It’s a longer route, but we know the way is clear.”

The lone woman of the group picked up the pair of wooden flags in the center of the map the group was focused on.  Her long silver hair reflected the blue firelight, giving her an ephemeral appearance that carried more weight than her slight stature would suggest.  “It seems to me there’s no point in throwing more troops at a lost cause.  We overplayed our hand, and the demons took advantage.”  Setting them to the side, she pointed at a map that had been shoved off to the side.  It showed a large city surrounded by smaller villages, with population numbers scrawled in the margins.  “We can replace our losses in a few weeks, and try again.”

It isn’t that easy.  The third speaker was almost skeletal, barely more than skin and bones, wearing a worn, moth-eaten robe.  Instead of an actual voice, its words entered the minds of those around it like an insidious whisper straight from a nightmare.  Their eyes glowed with a green eldritch fire that scorched the sunken sockets of its skull.  Handing them pitchforks and wood axes won’t be enough.  He motioned to the short figure.  Even the Duergar can’t produce weapons and armor at the type of speeds you’re asking for, and opening a portal to their world already costs more than you’re willing to pay.  You’re talking about throwing away our best-equipped units like it’s nothing, and I for one won’t–

Off to the side of the room, a rune-encrusted marble orb carved to mimic a globe on a wooden stand started to grow warm, giving off wisps of steam in the chilly air.  The fourth figure, who had yet to speak, snapped his head around the moment he noticed the change.  All conversation cut off, and the man slowly walked over to observe the device.

“What’s happening?  Are the demons making another incursion?”  The woman took a tentative step backward, putting the skeletal figure between herself and the magical artifact.

“No.  This is something different.”  The man concentrated, holding out a hand and nearly touching the surface of the globe.  “It feels like a portal is being opened somewhere on our continent, but not like anything I’ve encountered before.  Perhaps a new faction making themselves known.”  His voice was deep and resonant, which matched his classic noble features and proper attire.  While he watched, a portion of land started to glow.  The heat was causing the runes on the globe to deform, and the man hissed in annoyance, displaying elongated canines.  “Someone is interfering with the location spell.  The runes can’t lock on to where it’s opening.”  His frustration caused his composure to slip, and the force he contained within himself made the other three in the room shift in discomfort.  He held up a hand, quickly forming a series of symbols that left lines of vibrant red light in the cold air.  “We’ll see if they know what they stand against.”

As the vampire’s spell finished, it drifted toward the globe.  The moment it touched, a catastrophic reaction resulted in an explosion that obliterated the orb, blowing out the windows in the room and allowing the arctic air to blast through the chamber, throwing the whole area into disarray and extinguishing the magical fire.

“Milord!”  The shortest of the four ambled forward, afraid that the man had been destroyed in the spell backlash.  As the smoke cleared, and the winds scoured clean the room, the noble was still standing.  A faint red shield surrounded him, shooting out sparks that scorched the stone floor, as if they were a direct reflection of his anger.  “You-you’re okay?”

“I guess they knew what they were doing, wouldn’t you say?  Using a fixed runespell in place of a willpowered conjuration was foolish.”  The woman’s smirk was laced with equal parts humor and scorn.  Her elegant features were revealed to be cruel by her twisted smile.  She displayed a set of elongated canines almost as fierce as the noble’s.  “What are you going to do for an encore?  Perhaps destroy our stronghold below?  Collapse the cavern holding my ship?”  She tapped her lips with a perfect finger.  “I know.  You could challenge the dragon to single combat again, since that worked so well last time.  I’m sure the demon hordes would love to cheer the two of you on.”

The noble snapped his fingers, dismissing the shield.  His displeasure at the woman’s sharp words were ignored as he focused on the more pressing issue.  “This is direct interference from the other side.  We have to answer this incursion immediately.  A new set of interests can’t be allowed to intrude at such a… delicate time.”  He pointed at the skeletal figure.  “The spatial distortion is located nearest to your territory, and you will enforce my will.”

What would you have me do?  The skeletal figure took a few steps to separate himself from the other two.  He had been singled out, and didn’t want to squander the opportunity this represented.

The noble looked at the table where his maps had been before the wind had blown them away, and waved his hand.  An exact carving of the lands far to the south quickly took shape in the expensive wood, and the two stepped close to look over it.  “I wasn’t able to pinpoint the exact location, but the portal must’ve opened somewhere near here.  Flood the region in undead.  Twist the living to our purpose, if you see fit.  Force whoever this is into the open.  And when you do, end their interference however you prefer.”  The skeletal figure turned to leave, but was stopped by the heavy hand of the vampire on its bony shoulder.  “As I said, however you see fit.  But they will meet their end.  Or you will.”

It will be as you say, Destitute.  The green fires left the eyes of the skeletal figure, and flew out of the open window as the now inanimate body collapsed into dust.  The noble figure, known as the Destitute, turned back to the other two still in the room with him.  There were more immediate issues that needed to be resolved.