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Isræd's Will

Once a group of legendary adventures, this band of heroes has long since retired to live the rest of their lives and nurse their wounds in peace.

But when Brent "The Demon" McKinney discovers a piece of the same puzzle that almost killed them all last time, will he bow to the will of Alicia, a powerful paladin of the goddess Isræd? Or will he reassemble the group for one last shot at the greatest treasure in history?

The lost Tomb of Raz Al'Gah.

http://www.furaffinity.net/user/artiamus/

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Chapter 1

"Come on, it'll be fun!"

Alicia sent a prayer heavenward but didn't take her eyes off of glass she was filling. Brent could wait until she had tested this vat. If it was anything like she hoped, the Great Cup Inn would make quite a tidy profit selling it and was thus much more important then anything old Brent McKinney, a traveling companion of her's from the southern jungles, would be wanting her help for.

Brent's entreaties for help continued as he fiddled with something behind her as she held the glass where the light from the window could fall on it and studied it intently. Finally she brought it to her mouth and inhaled deeply through her nose, holding the breath for a moment before letting it out slowly. Satisfied with that, she sipped at the brew and held it in her mouth, shifting through the different sensations and flavors. Finally she held the glass out to Brent.

"Taste this," she simply said.

He took the glass from her, holding it like it was going to bite him and stared intently at its contents. "What is it?"

Alicia leaned up against a nearby table and just looked at him. "What does it look like? It is a drink. Taste it."

Brent looked at it some more before trying it like she had. "It's good," he said, handing the glass back to her. "What is it?"

"Something I have been working on. I am hoping that this will spread the Cup's name around more beyond the local towns."

"Lettin' your customers do your advertisin' for you. You absorbed Daven's lessons pretty well."

Alicia wrapped her arms around herself, her symbol of Israed, suspended on a chain around her neck, catching the light streaming in through the window and sending small rainbows around the room. "He was a good teacher," she looked away from him, staring at a spot on the wall. "I miss him."

She stiffened for a moment then relaxed as Brent's arms suddenly surrounded her and held her close to him, his olive-dark skin such a difference from her naturally egg-shell white skin.. Like always she was reminded by how short she was, especially compared to him, her head barely coming up to his shoulders. "We all do darlin'. Missin' him and all the others who have passed on during the fightin'."

Alicia leaned back and looked up at Brent's face, his white teeth standing out vividly against his face. "Too true darkling. Now let me work, I need to get things ready for the testers coming in in a few hours."

Brent's grin got wider and his arms tightened slightly around Alicia. "Not until you agree to help me."

"With what?"

He looked shocked. "With what?" he asked in a hurt tone, though his amusement could clearly be heard beneath it.

Alicia pushed at him in a attempt to get him to let go, and when he didn't move she stepped firmly on his toe, taking pleasure in watching him dance backwards with a yelp. She turned and started setting up the area for the testers. "Now really, what was it that you wanted my help for? I was not fully paying attention to what you were saying earlier."

"I found the tomb of Rahj Al-Ghar."

She started at that name, almost upsetting the glasses on the table as she bumped into it. She froze and her head slowly rotated towards where he leaned against a table, his omnipresent grin for once gone, his face somber. "Do not joke with me about that Brent."

"I'm dead serious this time:"

"This time!"

"I'm sorry that we went off on that wild goose chase last time, but I was sure that info was good!"

Alicia threw the glass she held to shatter against the wall as she spun to face him fully. "You are sorry? Sorry? Blood and brimstone, that quest nearly cost all of us our heads! Mikel and Ren are both dead because of your 'info'!" Her voice slowly rose until she was yelling across the small space at him. "And I don't even want to think of what they are doing to Eva down in that hell pit she sealed behind us. And you are 'sorry'?"

Brent held up a hand in an attempt to ward off her anger. When she did nothing but stare at him, hands clenched tightly at her sides, he lowered his arm. For a long moment they just stared at each other, then he reached into one of the many small pouches at his hip then tossed something from it that glittered towards her.

Alicia caught it without taking her eyes off of him, then looked down at it and nearly dropped it. It was a small golden seal, a faintly glowing magic symbol visible to even the naked eye. "This...this is one of the 13 seals of Ganta, is it not?" She stared at him, dreading what his answer would be. After a moment he nodded and she returned her gaze to the seal, her eyes unfocusing as she gave that little mental twist that let her see auras. "But, how did you get it?" she finally asked, shaking her head and shifting her vision back.

He pushed off from table and walked over to stand in front of the window, looking out at the green fields outside the building. "I found it in a viper's pit, let's just say that. No way I could leave somethin' like that little toy there. No tellin' what they'd do with it."

She stared at it, remembering how much trouble one of these seals, a lump of wood and gold barely bigger then both her clenched fists together, had caused their small group a few years ago. "I will hide it. And I will then take where it is to my grave."

"What?" Brent spun around to face her and had to grasp the window frame for a moment as his vision grayed for a moment. No, she didn't just say she'd hide it, did she? But what did he expect her to say? Pretty much just what she had, though it still shocked him to hear her say those words. He shook his head slightly to clear his vision and cursed in his head. He just had to show the seal to her, a paladin of Israed, but what else was he to do? Unless he got her to join him on this, none of the others would even consider the idea after how badly he screwed up last time. Finally his vision cleared enough for him to take a step forward. "What do you mean you're going to hide it? We need that to get into the tomb!"

She gave him that look again. That look that just screamed 'paladin'. He resisted the urge to yell at her like she had to him. He knew it was dangerous but that was part of the job for his line of work. There was nothing he could do to change her mind when she looked like this, at least, nothing directly he could do. He could still talk her around to seeing things his way, so long as he made it seem like it was her idea. He took another step towards her, hand held out towards her in entreaty.

"Look, will you at least come talk to the rest of the group about it? This is way to big for both of us, you know it!"

Alicia looked doubtful at this and Brent jumped on the opening while it still existed. "Look, there's nothin' either of us can do by ourselves anyway. Katrina is only a few days away by voiddarter at her farm. We can make it out there and back in a week. At max. You can deal with your testers today, then let your help finish preparin' for what needs to happen while you're gone. What do ya say to that?"

Alicia sighed and hung her head in thought. Brent tried to hold his breath in a attempt not to disturb her while she thought it through. Finally she straightened and nodded once.

"Fine, we will go see Kat. From there we will see what we need to do. Now I have got tasters who will be here shortly. Best if you are not here then, 'Demon' McKinney."

She turned away from him as he let out his breath in excitement, his standard grin returning to his face finally. He stood there for a moment, just looking at her. She was a tough women despite her age, that was for certain, 25 years in the service of her goddess of the future and flame, a goddess that did not take such service lightly and drove her paladins endlessly. As he moved towards the door he paused as she spoke again, her voice flat and empty.

"When this is over, I do not want to see you again Brent. Never darken my doorstep again."

He looked over his shoulder at where she stood at the work table arranging, pouring and mixing, seeming as if she was unaware of his presence still in the room. His grin faded again as he stared at her for a moment, then simply shook his head and left.