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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 2

When the sun rose the next day they were already at the station loading their things onto a voiddarter. Brent's mechanical horse, while suited for the long trips he normally took, not to mention the fast getaways that he always seemed to need, had been left behind in order to reduce weight and save fuel during the trip. They themselves only carried light packs with some food and a few changes of clothing in them.

The voiddarter itself was a slick, long nosed craft with a set of stubby wings on either side. Made of a unknown blueish-green metal by a empire that once spanned from the northern arctic wastes all the way to the southern ocean, the sparrow shaped vessel had a slightly slimy feel to it despite its glossy finish. Some of the smallest crafts that lost empire had created, they were also some of the most common ones, to the point that despite the sudden catastrophic event that had caused the empire to vanish from the face of the world the stations where they could be docked and refueled were readily prevalent and easy to access.

They finished storing their own items along with the fuel crystals the vehicle used as fuel for the trip and buckled themselves in, Brent at the controls like always. He settled the control helmet onto his head, the brass and silver stripes that made it up glowing from within with a soft blue light. When the signal light for their dock lit up a piercingly bright white his fingers flew across the few buttons in front of him as he took a deep breath and held it. The ring the fuel crystals were slotted into it rotated a full circle, before the first crystal slide into place with a soft clunk and the ship suddenly dropped out of the dock, falling a good ten feet before coming to a slow, wobbling halt in midair. Brent leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes, his hands taking a good grip on the arms of his chair.

With a deep breath Brent sent the ship out of the station, bringing their height up to well above the tree line, staying between the floating signal lights that marked both the lane out and the edges of the station. Soon they passed the final set of green crystals and were out in the open. The craft wobbled for a moment before smoothing out and making a wide, lazy turn to the north, accelerating to cruising speed quickly.

Brent slowly relaxed as he got used to flying the voiddarter again, his breathing deepening and evening out as he fell into the half-trance that was normal for standard travel with the craft. Alicia watched the scenery pass them quickly, the flying ship moving faster then a horse at full gallop. There was no point in talking as they followed the widely spaced beacon lights to their destination.

Two days passed in this manner, the duo only stopping when Brent became too tired to continue steering the craft, his control over it improving by the hour as he remembered more of the tricks that made him one of the best void pilots in the world. They exchanged very little chatter as they went, keeping mostly to themselves during the few hours they were berthed at one of the temporary docks setup every day's flight to aid travelers and the military of the area, Alicia's status as a paladin of Isread getting them access to facilities and storage they otherwise wouldn't have seen.

Early on the fourth day the pair arrived at the full dock outside the town of Greenburg. Shaped like a giant metal tree, the dock was a smaller version of the one outside Rhymestair City. Like the voiddarter itself, it was made of that unknown material that the ancient Empire of the Mark had used in all their buildings. Unlike it's larger cousin which was shaped like a half opened rose, this dock had only a dozen berths, most already filled with voiddarters belonging to the local areas governors and army units.

After retrieving the few items they needed from the craft, the pair mounted a few horses rented from one of the local stables and began the half day journey out to the farm where their former traveling companion lived and worked. The trip was uneventful, the weather pleasant for being late in the growing season, the two passing only a single patrol of soldiers along the way, the quiet laughter and chatter they were putting out as they scanned the hillsides bringing a smile to Alicia's face, something that increased in size when the group noticed them and the symbol on her chest, immediately falling silent and making room for them to pass, heads bowing in respect for a paladin of Israed. She nodded gravely as was expected, murmuring blessings to them as they did.

Finally they turned from the road onto a rutted dirt trail, a small sign reading "Conrad Farm and Smithy" the only indication that this was the place they wanted. The road was very short, leading into a cluster of buildings; a long, low farmhouse with a long porch, several wooden barns and a high roofed stone building, a large, thick black plume of smoke drifting out of several smoke stacks and out over the farmland. The farm had a quiet and peaceful feel to it, the muted sounds of metalwork coming from the smithy somehow working it's way into the calls of birds and the soft echo of workers out in the field.

Alicia and Brent reigned in their horses in front of the house as a group of servants lead by a tall elf dressed in the brown uniform of the House Steward came out to meet them. They exchanged greetings and reasons for being there before the pair turned their horses and gear over to the servants before following the Steward towards the smithy building.

The heat inside the smithy hit them the moment they opened the door, hot enough that it was visible in the noon sun. Though sweat broke out on the Steward's broad forehead, neither Alicia or Brent showed any sing of discomfort. A young Dragon-Kin, gender unidentifiable beneath a loose leather apron marked with an apprentice badge on one shoulder, appeared and listened carefully to the quickly speaking Steward before beckoning them to follow as the elf beat a hasty retreat to the cooler air outside.

Though big, the building felt narrow, dominated as it was by a trio of large forges at the far end, all three in full use by various beings running around keeping the forges and smiths at them going full tilt. Metal and stone tables took up most of available space, all covered in pieces of various projects, most with one or two beings at work, though one low table had a good half dozen small lizard folk swarming it, slipping in and out of something built around a large tank with pipes sticking from every surface.

The apprentice lead them past the great forges and down a hallway past offices and storage rooms, the hallway filled with other apprentices moving supplies everywhere, finally entering into another, much smaller room, a single forge burning at the far end, a pair of figures working at it at a much more leisurely pace then the main room.

Katrina Conrad was a tall woman, a member of the Blackthorn Gnoll clan. Her gold and black striped hide outlining the leather smock she wore made it look like parts of her kept fading in and out. Her son stood next to her, almost the same height as she was despite his young age, his dull coloring making him seem like he was a animated shadow in the furnace light while he watched her demonstrate something.

The front of the intricately crafted forge sported several hand sized runes that glowed a bright green color in the red and blue forge light. No fuel and bellows produced the bright heat that the two worked over, instead the energy being produced by a fire elemental bound into the metal. Another legacy of the fallen Empire, the forge and others like it still held within them the original magics that they had been imbued with all those years ago.

The Dragon-Kin knocked on a piece of metal by the door, the sound carrying well over the soft roar of the forge. The younger male glanced over in surprise and indicated for the group to stay where they were before taking over for his mother who watched long enough to make sure he had it before maneuvering around the various tables in the room to them, a grin splitting her canine-like face when she saw who it was.

"Well! Of all the shabby, two-faced pieces of crazy to show up here. I thought I wouldn't see either of you for the rest of my life!" She accepted a wet cloth the apprentice handed her and quickly rubbed some of the sweat from her head. "Well, what can I do for you two today?"

"Well beautiful, we were hopin' that-oww!" Brent glared at Alicia, who's elbow had just found it's way into his side. She merely shook her head, eyes going to the apprentice who stood nearby. Katrina's eye narrowed in suspicion as she caught both the movement and the unspoken words.

"Something is always up with you two. Let's head up to the house then. Alarei, please let both Jon and Misi know that we'll be in my office if needed and for Jon to close down once he's got the hang of it." The apprentice nodded and moved silently into the room to speak to the young man still working steadily at the forge. Katrina lead the two back down the corridor and out of the building, the apprentices scattering out of her path. She paused for a moment in the cooler air outside, eyes shut with her head tilted into the breeze before grinning at the two humans.

"Well, I have to say it's interesting to see you both, that's for certain." She waved vaguely at the surrounding farmland as she began walking towards the house again. "I didn't think I've ever see either of you two out this way. Is Rhymestair City that distracting?"

Alicia smiled softly and shook her head. "Just have not had the drive to go traveling. We are all retired, remember?"

Pulling the door open, Katrina just shook her head and let the other two go inside first, giving them time to get their long traveling coats off and handed over to the doorman before leading them into a simple but well furnished office. A large table dominated the room, covered with blueprints, schematics and other papers mixed haphazardly with odd devices and metalwork. She waved a hand to the well padded chairs off to one side beneath a large window and grabbed a chair from the table while they got comfortable.

After another servant had come and gone with food and drink for the guests, Katrina waved vaguely into the air with a pastry. "So, tell on now. What brings you both to my little corner of the world in such a state of censorship?"

With a glance at Alicia to make sure she wasn't going to hit him again, Brent placed his cup down on the small table besides him and leaned forward with his arms on his legs and said simply, "I found it."

For a moment Katrina froze, just looking at him, then slowly put the pastry down and looked pointedly at Alicia. "If you two-faced crazies showed up to just insult me in such a manner you both better never show your face here again." She said quietly, her entire body almost quivering with the anger behind the words as she stared into Alicia's unblinking and passive face. The paladin merely removed the small seal from her belt after a moment, unwrapping the white clothe around it before holding it so the sigil of the Empire of the Mark could be seen clearly, flipping it over to reveal the signet of Archmage Ganta on the other side even as the Gnoll cried out in a mixture of surprise and pain as the sight of the object caused her to remember the last time they had seen such a thing.

There had been eight of them back then. A group of adventures who worked for the Blessed Church of Israed; five humans, a Gnoll, a Lizard-Kin of extraordinary size and a Dragon-Kin. Alicia Wade and Eva Potter, both paladins in the service to Israed. Katrina Conrad, Renaldo Battle and Gavriil Giantsfang, blood-bound warriors of the sword and spear. Mikel Taylor and Brent "The Demon" McKinney, scouting and acquisitions for the group. And finally Dimitrios Davenport, master wizard of the Phoenix School.

Together they made up the group know as "The Will of the Phoenix" and did jobs as needed for the church. Then one day Brent McKinney came to them holding a ancient artifact known as a Seal of Ganta, one of the boundary seals on the legendary lost tomb of the last great God-King of the Empire of the Mark, Rahj Al-Ghar. Deciding to try to locate the tomb in the name of the goddess Israed, the group set out on their quest.

While they did manage to stop a threat that nearly destroyed part of the continent, they did so at a terrible loss. Renaldo Battle and Mikel Taylor were both killed while the group assisted in defending the great Draezino Fortress far to the north from an army of demons that had been summoned to destroy the magic reinforced stone walls that guarded the Melklin Pass and the fertile low lands of the Blackfang Lizard-Kin's home valley that lay beyond.

In the final fight against the demon-sorcerer Mandulaerag the Dragon-Kin paladin Eva Potter willingly fought her way into the summoning portal to the demon realm to reach the corrupted sorcerer by herself, removing his head before rendering beyond repair the anchor which held the portal open, closing it with her still on the far side, the last the group saw of her was her standing in battle against the constant hordes. When the group finally regrouped after the battle, they discovered that Dimitrios had vanished in the confusion. While his body was never recovered, no form of divination magic nor prophecy were ever able to locate him and he was presumed killed.

It was with these losses that the group, most of who were beginning to at least reach middle age for their race, finally decided to retire instead of replacing their fallen comrades only to see others fall to battle and misfortune. And so they split up, each pursuing their own paths in peace.

Alicia wrapped the wood and gold seal back up and put it away carefully, a look of concern for her longtime friend on her face. It was not easy for any of them to be reminded of those events from their last mission, especially not in such a forceful manner. "I am sorry we are here with such things Katrina. But we," she shot a harsh look at Brent, "decided to come here in a attempt to figure out what to do with it."

"Get rid of it," came the prompt response. A strangled noise came from Brent, a pained look on his face. Alicia gave him another harsh look.

"I do not think that may be the best course of action here. Not to mention destroying such a thing would not be very good for us." The paladin suddenly stood and moved to one of the bookcases, running a hand along the spines while she read the titles. "I would prefer to hide it away, make sure that it is never used for evil."

"And I think we should use it!" Brent suddenly said. "This is our chance to avenge the others, finally find the Tomb and the treasure, finish what we started back then!"

The other two both glared at him this time with enough heat to make him shrink back in the chair. "Just sayin'..." he muttered, grabbing another pastry to hide behind. Before anyone else could say anything though, there came a knock on the door, the House Steward appearing through it.

"Yes Aminta?" the Gnoll asked, her anger at Brent evident enough in her voice to make the Steward blink in surprise.

"Lady, you have well armed visitors at the door," was all he was able to get out before she was pushing past him. The other two stayed there in silence for a moment, not looking at each other before they were up as well and following.

Ahead of them they heard Katrina laugh loudly, followed by her shouting "In the name of the Gods who walk the earth! Now this is a group I never thought I'd see!"

The two humans exchanged a confused glance then pushed through the curious, gossiping servants that stood clustered around the windows. Katrina stood grinning on the wide porch, hands on her hips as she surveyed the dozen or so dismounting their varied mounts. The two had enough time to blink in surprise as they realized who was part of the group before a cry of "Alicia!" followed by a small form vaulting up the stairs and into the paladin's arms. Knocked off balance, she fell backwards against Brent who struggled to stay upright at the sudden weight of two additional bodies.

Alicia let out a joyful sound, hugging the smaller form to her tightly, laughter bubbling out of her that quickly turned to tears of joy. Brent lowered the two to the ground gently, petting the smaller one on the head as he stepped past them to stand besides Katrina looking over the group as servants began to bring baggage into the house.

"Well, ain't this just a set of twins." Katrina glanced back and forth between Brent and the human who now stood at the base of the stairs. "I can't help but think that this can't be by accident, all of you showing up one after another."

The young man pushed his narrow brimmed hat back enough to scratch at his forehead, a distinct line from it on his well tanned face. "Well Ma'am," his voice was of the posh, accented tones of the aerial cities of Clifford's Forest to the north. "We came out here for a very different reason then these two I say. I am certainly curious as to the goals of these two esteemed individuals." He made a slight bow to the two, though his very blue eyes never left Brent's. He made his way up the stairs, hand extended towards the other human.

As the two shook hands Brent nodded in greeting. "Garth, right? Mikel's oldest?"

The younger man grinned. "It is certainly a honor to shake the hand of the man who stood besides my father on the day that he died. I'm told you kept him alive as long as possible while at Draezino. Thank you for retrieving his hat for me."

Brent grimaced and shook his head. "Don't thank me for it. I wasn't able to brin' him back to you like I would have preferred to."

"Don't be harsh on yourself Brother," came a heavy, very accented voice behind Garth. "We all bleed that day, some more then others."

The group fell silent for a moment before turning to include Gavriil Giantsfang in the conversation. The half-giant looked much like his smaller Lizard-kin cousins of the Blackfang tribe, just of a much larger size, though his finned tail was proportionally smaller on his larger frame. The swirling red and blue tattoos of his mother's kind clashed horribly with his natural brown and green coloring, all of this visible as his only clothing was a loose pair of leather pants and boots. A two handed ax, obviously built for him, was slung to the side of his mount, a oversized stag beetle that a few servants were trying to keep from eating the porch.

"Do not be silent on my account..." the half-giant rumbled after a moment, though the group continued to silently watch the antics of the servants against the beetle before Katrina invited everyone inside, where Katrina instructing the Steward to bring anyone who wanted to the rooms they'd be staying in. The elf bowed then gestured for everyone to follow him before leading the way, Mikel and Brent having entered into a spirited conversation on the state and news of the northern lands, a location the olive skinned human never really traveled to. Gavriil followed behind, his head tilted in order to avoid hitting anything along the ceiling.

Alicia stayed outside on the porch, having moved to one of the benches along it with the small creature who was standing at the stairs directing the various servants and hirelings. Dressed in a very well tailored black tailcoat and leather pants that just further accented her sexuality, Kitten only stood at an even 5ft, not counting the furred tips of her triangle ears where they reached over her head. The tip of Cat-kin's tail flicked back and forth happily as she gave a last few orders and sat down with Alicia, cuddling up to the paladin with a soft sound of pleasure.

Inside Katrina watched the two for a moment through the window, far enough back to not disturb them with her mere presence. Though she could barely see the Cat-kin curled up against the paladin, she knew the pose well enough from memory to be able to fill in the gaps. With a smile that would have confused any of her staff if they had seen it with its wholehearted and genuine sincerity, she turned and made her way to her study at the back of the house, settling in behind the great desk that dominated the room. Behind her was a brick wall rather then another fireplace, the side wall of the kitchen ovens, it's insulated surface radiating enough heat to warm the room while not being unbearable in the summer months.

Where the front office was done in brighter colors and materials with the more acceptable paintings and books, this room was down in much darker colors and it was here that she had the objects from her homeland, paintings and books on subjects that many found disturbing or otherwise disapproved of. Not her fault that other species liked to place taboos on things like the dead and sexuality. The walls were covered with crammed full floor to ceiling bookshelves and paintings with the twisting rune that was the Conrad family's lineage seal.

With a smile the Gnoll warrior turned blacksmith bent her head to the paperwork awaiting her, then thought better of it and headed instead after Aminta with a grin. Whatever brought her old friends here could wait till after dinner. After all, what better occasion was there for a party?