The Gargoyle King

XXI

An ominous stillness hung over the ogre capital, so noticeable that even the most stalwart ogres remained in their domiciles despite the constant threat of their surroundings being wildly altered at Safrag’s whim. Something was in the air.

The only ogres visible were the guards on duty, and their grim expressions betrayed their desires to be somewhere far away. Those standing watch by the palace were the most unsettled, for they knew that anything that happened would surely involve the Titans and, thus, the palace.

All could sense the imminent danger, though they did not know in what form it would come. Nor did they know how much time remained of the calm before the storm, which as it turned out, was no time at all.

Morgada materialized in her chamber and let out an uncharacteristic gasp at what she found. Atolgus and Wargroch lay on the floor of the chamber, obviously slain in battle. The female Titan gritted her teeth at the sight then noticed more bodies beyond the hole that someone had blasted in the wall leading to the corridor. There were several guards beyond, all lying as if asleep, yet certainly dead. The smell of blood, generally intoxicating to her, instead repelled the sorceress.

“Falstoch is no more.”

She spun to find Safrag standing behind her. “Great one! What do you mean about Falstoch?”

The lead Titan, the Fire Rose nestled in the crook of his arm like a beloved infant, casually pointed to a moist spot on the floor. “That’s all that remains of Falstoch, who was most loyal. I learned of his death from the guards who, failing their initial duties out of misplaced loyalty, I killed a moment ago.”

Morgada could not refrain from shivering. “But how? What happened here?”

“The mongrel and his pet wizard. How else, dear Morgada?”

“We must avenge Falstoch!” she quickly responded. “Let me be the one to deal the fatal blow.”

Safrag shook his head. He looked to the Fire Rose. “Falstoch’s death is a minor note. What matters more is that I sense the game has reached its end. He’s come for what belongs to me, fool that he is.”

“Golgren is here?”

The lead Titan sneered. “I’ve only just realized that the great mongrel himself is only a tool! No, Morgada, I mean the master of the winged watchers! He has come! Shall we go to meet him, you and I?”

She immediately moved to join him, standing on the side where he held the Fire Rose. “I am honored to serve.”

“Yes, you should be.”

In the blink of an eye, their surroundings changed. They were still in Dai Ushran yet outside-indeed, atop-the palace.

And moreover, so were the rest of the Titans, every one of them.

One bowed, an act that the rest quickly imitated. “We have come at your summons, Safrag, though you now leave the realm’s borders filled with marching Uruv Suurt, mounted humans, and hundreds of foul gargoyles.”

“My lord-” Morgada began, confused. “Hush,” Safrag quietly ordered her. To the other Titans, he said, “Let the fools savor their moment of triumph. They won’t have it for long. Besides, we are here on a far more important mission than a matter of a few insects with swords and claws.”

He turned to Morgada and, to her surprise, handed her the Fire Rose.

The other sorcerers looked at one another in surprise and, for some, consternation. All coveted the artifact for their own purposes, and all had considered ways by which they might convince Safrag to let them use it, if only for a brief time. But he had given it to Morgada as if it were nothing.

Her face lit up. “My lord! I–I am honored! Truly, I didn’t think myself worthy of this!”

“No one else is more worthy of this, dear Morgada,” he replied with a fatherly smile. “Come now! Isn’t there something you wanted to do with it?”

Morgada’s expression was caught between anticipation and confusion. “What-why, of course-yes!”

“Then do as you please.”

With those words, a change came over the female Titan. Gone were all traces of worship for Safrag. Instead, Morgada leered at him. Those sorcerers who could see her face muttered among themselves and did their best to edge away from Safrag.

A sudden wind whipped up, shoving the reluctant spellcasters back to where they had been standing. Still seemingly ignorant of the change coming over Morgada, Safrag politely commanded, “Remain in your places, all of you.”

“Yes,” interjected Morgada, both hands tightly holding her prize. “It’ll make it easier to get rid of you all!”

Before the other Titans could react to her declaration, Safrag shook his head in mock sadness. “Dear Morgada, you made the wrong choice.”

The Fire Rose flared but not as it ever had done previously. A black radiance spread from the artifact to Morgada’s fingers. She gasped and tried to let go but could not. The female Titan’s face twisted from triumph to fear.

“Did you think me so befuddled by your beauty that I’d stay ignorant of your plans of betrayal?” Safrag grimly asked her. “If there is one thing I’ll not tolerate, it’s betrayal. I gave you a chance to redeem yourself, but you chose to stay aligned with the master of the gargoyles.”

“You-you could not have known!” Morgada’s arms and much of her upper torso were bathed in the black radiance. Despite her legs being free, still, she did not move … or perhaps could not.

“I am Safrag. I always know. Unlike Dauroth, I did not accept the dreams and ambitions suddenly thrust upon me as divine! Every urge, every gift, bears a price. I discovered that price the moment the first of the winged watchers appeared, and I knew then that your unique presence could hardly be a coincidence any more than some of the advantages that came my way.”

Morgada could no longer respond, for her entire body was encased in the radiance. Only her frightened, golden eyes remained visible.

The Fire Rose transformed, suddenly becoming a cylindrical tube made of some black, gleaming metal.

Safrag held up his hand. In it materialized yet another Fire Rose. “The true one. Did you think I would ever let someone else even touch it?” The lead Titan’s eyes blazed. “Anyone?”

If that last comment disturbed the other sorcerers, none dared show their true emotions. All had only to gaze at Morgada to see what could befall them.

“The spell was forged with the Fire Rose, so you should be honored for that much, dear Morgada. Set to unleash if you proved your loyalty to any other but me. I am fair, after all.”

He held the Fire Rose toward her. The energies within swirled furiously.

The black cylinder crumbled to dust. Morgada’s hands followed suit. The female Titan watched in silent horror as her arms also turned to ash. The dread spell overtook her body, her legs, her head.

Morgada managed a faltering gasp just before she collapsed into a pile of black dust. The pile of ash then swirled around, re-forming.

In her place stood a lifelike onyx statue of Safrag.

“You honor me with your presence,” he remarked with a chuckle.

But as Safrag laughed at Morgada’s folly, a sound like roiling thunder caused the Titans to look up. However, it was not thunder; rather, it was the beating of countless wings.

The third and largest of Xiryn’s flocks had been unleashed over the capital.

Grinning, Safrag spread his arms as if welcoming the creatures. The Fire Rose burned brightly.

“It is time to put my empire in order!” he shouted not only to the other sorcerers, but also to the gargoyles, even. “It is time, don’t you agree, oh Grand Khan?”

And Golgren, who materialized but a short distance behind him, bared his teeth and responded, “Yes, sorcerer. I agree.”

Frustration mounting, Stefan urged the elves forward. The refugees were moving as fast as they could, but that was not what piqued the Solamnic.

“I should be there,” he muttered to himself as he paused to watch the column progress. “I should be there.”

“A battle is won on many fronts,” commented someone next to him.

The cleric did not show any surprise. He had become used to Kiri-Jolith’s abrupt appearances. “So I understand, my lord, but I yearn to be there to give my all! Rather me than her! What good is Idaria in this situation?”

The bison-headed god went unnoticed by the elves. Like other deities, Kiri-Jolith could choose at whim who did and who did not see or hear him. “She may be doing the most good of all. A battle is won on many fronts, and many of those fronts do not involve swords and axes. Thoughts and emotions are also powerful tools and ones that even the gods cannot ultimately control.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Now you know what it is like to be a god of Krynn.”

Kiri-Jolith gestured. Ahead of the column, a figure appeared. He was a perfect likeness of Stefan.

“The conjuration will suffice for them at this point,” the deity remarked. “The Titans are paying no mind to their sanctum. Their leader has other interests at the moment.”

Stefan went down on one knee in homage. “I’m grateful for this last boon, my lord!”

“Do not be. This is the only help that I can grant you, just as I have been able to give the Grand Khan one last hope. From here, you and he must find the path to victory. I already have overstepped my bounds. Because of that, for Sirrion and I, there must be a reckoning of sorts, whatever the outcome.”

“I don’t understand.”

Kiri-Jolith frowned, though it was obvious that his frustration was not with Stefan. “This is the Age of Mortals, Sir Stefan Rennert. However much we gods still interfere and desire to interfere, it is you and yours that ultimately will tip the balance. How you do that will help determine which of us-Sirrion or I-is at the disadvantage when we make our case to the others.”

The Solamnic rose, suddenly troubled. “My lord, I fear to ask … but Chasm had to fly after Idaria after the medallion would not work to send me to her, and-”

“Because you were needed where you were.” The bison-headed god’s deep brown eyes stared into Stefan’s. “Do you think I would raise up this conjuration of you only to leave you without the means?” When Stefan hesitated, the god chuckled. “Yes, you are wise not to trust even me. My kind has a habit of leaving mortals caught in the midst of things!”

Kiri-Jolith gestured and Stefan vanished. Still invisible to the elf refugees, the god of just cause surveyed the conjuration for a moment longer as it led the refugee column forward. There was an immense exhaustion in Kiri-Jolith’s face that had not been evident when he had spoken with the human. The deity had done his best to hide his weary condition.

“May you fare well,” he whispered, speaking not merely to the column or the departed Stefan. “May you all fare well … if it is still possible.”

Chasm’s powerful wings bore Idaria along at a dizzying pace, but still Garantha looked distant. The elf grew impatient.

“Can we go any faster?” she asked him, feeling guilty for asking.

The gargoyle grunted and exerted himself all the more. Every muscle showed strain. Idaria flushed, a sign of her guilt at making such a demand. Chasm obviously was weary. The gargoyle’s breathing was rapid, and sweat dripped from him.

“It is beginning,” the elf muttered to herself. She had whispered the same words more than once over the past several minutes. Somehow, Idaria sensed that the confrontation between Golgren, Safrag, and the gargoyles’ lord was already starting.

She felt a warmth on her chest: the griffon pendant.

Idaria finally understood. “You are what tells me that? You?”

As if in response, the pendant grew warmer. Clutching the High Ogre artifact, she stared at the landscape ahead. “If only you could do something to help me get there swifter.”

Nothing happened. No wind suddenly rose up to carry Chasm and her faster toward the capital, nor was the gargoyle’s strength rejuvenated.

With some disappointment, Idaria let the warm pendant again settle upon her breast. She stared ahead, trying to draw the distant horizon toward her.

Then a hole opened in the sky ahead. A gold radiance framed it. Its width and breadth were just enough to encompass both the gargoyle and his charge.

Chasm instinctively veered. Idaria let out a belated protest.

“No!” she called. “We want to head towards it!”

The gargoyle issued a questioning grunt.

The elf held up the still-warm pendant. “I called it into being with this! It’s our path to the capital!”

“Smells not right.” Chasm growled.

“What did you say?”

“Smells not right!” The gargoyle veered more to the north, seeking to go around the hole’s side.

The magical gap swelled to more than ten times its original proportions. Only barely did Chasm avoid soaring headlong into it.

Despite her companion’s wariness, Idaria thought the gargoyle was wrong and struggled in his grip. The abrupt imbalance caused the gargoyle to involuntarily change direction again.

They swung toward the hole. Chasm growled, attempting to regain his balance. He turned from the edge of the astounding gap.

The hole swelled again. This time it grew to too great a size for the gargoyle to avoid.

Idaria smiled but a sudden coldness on her chest made the smile falter. She touched the pendant and found that it was the cause of the chill.

And the nearer the pair got to the hole, the colder the pendant became.

“No!” she cried. “No! Turn back!”

It was too late. Chasm and the elf plunged into the magical gap. Instantly, they were tossed around by powerful energies. The elf’s hair rose as if electrified. Idaria bit back a cry of pain as Chasm squeezed tighter to maintain his grip on her. They were surrounded by nothing but the swirling energy of a thousand different and constantly changing colors.

“Bad!” the winged creature roared. “Bad!”

Their surroundings crackled, and once more they were in the air.

But they were not alone.

The moment it became clear where they were, Chasm attempted to veer around and head back into the hole. However, before he could do that, the portal simply dissipated.

Undaunted, the gargoyle tried to rise higher into the air. As he did, however, a wide net fell upon him. Chasm twisted to escape the new danger, but in doing so, the gargoyle lost part of his grip on Idaria. The elf tried to grab onto him yet only succeeded in making Chasm lose the rest of his hold.

Idaria slipped free. She screamed as she plummeted.

A powerful paw grabbed her left wrist while another seized her right ankle. The halt was jarring; for a moment, Idaria lost consciousness.

Recovering, she tried to look around for Chasm. Instead, another gargoyle face, that of a dusky, beaked male, leered down at her.

“Master has need of you,” the new gargoyle rumbled.

She struggled, though to no avail. There was no sign of Chasm.

The gargoyle who had spoken took charge of her. He descended with her toward a place among the high rocks. As they neared, Idaria made out Garantha, not all that far away to the west. There was a strange and unsettling orange-red aura rising from the city and, more obviously, a vast swarm of creatures like her captor circling above the capital. The swarm was clearly attacking something within the city.

“Golgren,” she murmured.

The gargoyle made a warning sound. Around them, scores of his kind perched on whatever outcroppings were available. Even with so many attacking, their master still had more in reserve.

I have waited long, so very long. And gargoyles breed so quickly. the familiar voice murmured in her head.

The shrouded figure materialized before Idaria just as her guard set her down on the ground. Although she could not see the face behind the cloth, the pale eyes evinced pleasure.

Pleasure was an emotion that Idaria herself knew she would never feel again. “Why?” she all but spit at the horrific spellcaster. “Why bother letting me think I escaped only to play this game?”

She heard his laughter in her head. My puppet had to hear your earnestness! Even though he knew that you could not have escaped on your own, he still would like to recognize in you a desperate need to help him at all costs! You proved yourself! You proved that he could trust you in the end.

“And he can!”

And that is what we are counting on. As the gargoyle king spoke, around them formed the ghastly entourage from the citadel. That is what will restore us to the glorious forms we once wore, as well.

Idaria stared in shock at the monstrous assembly. She could sense the foul eagerness in the black pits that were their eyes. “You could not have planned for this … or for the Titans!”

He gave her a mock bow. What was not planned was adapted for, and the Titans have been almost as providential as our Golgren.

The pendant grew warmer again, so much so that the elf expected that the gargoyle king surely sensed or saw the relic. Yet neither he nor his ghoulish companions reacted as might be expected. Idaria was not certain whether to take hope in that or mark it as a sign that the pendant would avail her nothing.

He trusts you utterly, the shrouded figure went on, leaning close. He knows that you of all would sacrifice whatever necessary. He believes in you, and thus, your lie will be the final stroke that gives control of the Fire Rose over to me.

Idaria might have tried to deny his words, but her body would not obey her. She could not move. She could only look into his white eyes.

Do not be so crestfallen, elf. A chilling hand stroked her cheek, the sensation like that of icicles scraping her flesh. I will not kill him. I will be him, and then you will have both of us, and we will have you… and all Krynn.