The Staff of Ramah

  Chapter 14

  Across the valley of shale and high in the Spire of Ruin, was the dwelling place of the Dark One. He sat on a black throne, his burning red eyes closed in concentration. Screams of pain could be heard echoing down the hazy halls of the massive tower as the unholy priesthood carried out their duties. Belial gained a sick pleasure from the suffering of mankind, so his followers for centuries had been carrying out human sacrifices. In the halls below the Dark One’s throne, a steady stream of slaves had their blood spilt on a massive wooden altar. Each time a cursed knife fell, a deep and ominous bell would ring out through the whole Spire. The bell had been rung once every hour for hundreds of years, and a black plume of smoke billowed from the top of the spire as the bodies burned. The bell had just rung once more as a large metal door swung open slowly at the end of the long, dark room. One of Belial’s fallen servants floated in, to wait at his feet. The Taint kept its head bowed as it waited for his master to acknowledge his presence.

  After a short wait, Belial opened his eyes and spoke in a dry voice, “Why do you disturb me.”

  “Master,” the cursed spirit responded. “Lord Bane is here to speak with you.”

  The fallen creature did not wait for a response, but left the throne room in a hurry, not wanting to incur the wrath of his master.

  Bane, being the high priest of Belial, was the only man who had ever seen this terrifying evil spirit face to face. As he approached the throne, he was bowed so low that he was nearly crawling. He could feel the fiery red eyes of the demi-god burning right through his soul.

  “All hail Belial, the lord of Terros,” Bane said with trembling lips. “I regret to inform you that all efforts to kill the chosen one have failed so far.” Bane fell to his face and lay prostrate before the throne.

  “Do you forget that I can send my consciousness out into the world? I know that you have failed, for I have seen that wretched Gaost and his friends nearing the city of Jeru.”

  Bane was now shaking in fear at Belial’s feet, but he said nothing in response. He knew that no excuse would be enough to diminish the wrath of his lord.

  “You have once again underestimated the enemy Bane. This woman was able to use her power to strengthen the Cleric against your attack.”

  “How was I to know master? I have always thought that the priestess needed the Staff to work any power against us. Gaost wielded a power that I have never seen before.”

  “My enemy has granted the woman a power that I do not understand yet. Because of that, I will not punish you this day. Do not fail me again Bane.”

  “I will not fail master. If you will allow me to face that rotten Cleric in battle, then he will surly die.”

  “First you must gather up some men at arms. Gaost will soon have others with him I suspect, and you will need more steel than those useless assassins can offer.”

  “I will hire all the mercenaries available from every city. That little band of weaklings will have nowhere safe to go. I will need you to tell me what route Gaost takes once he leaves Jeru. We know that he must be hoping to reclaim the staff, but I do not know which way he will go.”

  “Finding the Cleric will be your problem now,” Belial hissed through clenched teeth. “There is a power that has been awakened in the priestess. I cannot find her with my mind anymore. I was trying to reach her when you came in, but to no avail.”

  “There is nowhere for them to go now master. We will not fail again.”

  The high priest of the Dark One bowed low to his master once again before he turned to go. The eternal hatred that he felt for the Cleric of Ya festered in his evil heart to the point of madness. Now that Belial had given him permission to take on his enemy face to face, he would not stop until he had Gaost’s blood on his hands. As Bane descended the long spiral staircase, he pondered why his master had never let him face Gaost in open battle before. He had his suspicions of course, but Belial kept all the reasons to himself. Maybe he would never know, but none of that mattered now. He would make for the coastal city of Goram to gather all the men at arms that he could. From there, he could also speak with members of the assassin’s guild as to why their triad had failed in killing two women and one man. He smiled again at the thought of killing Gaost, and he whispered to the wind, “I will not rest until I hold the beating heart of this so-called priestess in my hands. Then I will kill you Cleric.”

  The dark priest mounted his black horse once he reached the bottom of the spire and rode off into the darkness, with an evil smile still on his face.

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