Acheron's Irregulars, Part 6

Since our tale is nearly at an end, we feel within our rights to bore you with yet another rumination upon the nature of something pertinent to the Multiverse. Specifically, we wish to discuss Bargains, Deals, and Transactions. Bargains (with a capital B) can take many forms, but the most common involve fiendishly grinning Baatezu and include such nastiness as contracts signed in blood, sacrifices of helpless virgins, and lots of nefarious demonic laughter. Thankfully for you, this story has absolutely nothing to do with Baatezu whatsoever - so you don't have to worry yourself about that sort of ugly business.Instead, this story is concerned with three specific Bargains and the consequences they caused when they met head-first - one made over a millenia ago, one made ten years ago, and one being hammered out right at this very moment.Bargains, Deals, and Transactions usually involve two parties who both acquire something they want from each other in exchange for something they assumedly did not want, but the other did. The most dangerous sorts of Bargains are those made by people in moments of desperation or distraction, too busy to read the fine print or ponder just how much they really need what they're giving up. Not surprisingly, the vast majority of Bargains fall under this heading - and the three Bargains we spoke of earlier are no exception.-------------Remember what you are..."Kizen?"Boric's voice was low, possessing an almost meekish hesitancy to it. He did not like disturbing Kizen when he was meditating. In fact, Boric disliked disturbing Kizen at all. "Mmm..." The dark-cloaked man's amber eyes were set towards the horizon. His lips were moving, but Boric heard no sound coming from them - only start of a slow whispering breeze that seemed to draw all noise away from Kizen and carry it towards the west.Kizen was sitting atop of a rock, legs folded and hands atop of his knees. Boric repeated himself. "Kizen... We've finished gathering up supplies. Rigus is only an hour away. We're ready."Stirring himself out of his meditation, Kizen drew himself up to his feet and turned to throw the ex-Paladin a sharp-toothed smile. "Let's go."-------------"Lord Rin."Clarity's voice caught Ben by surprise. Turning from his place at the bar, he blinked owlishly towards the lithe figure of Clarity, dressed in a flowing peasant's dress and holding in her hands a long object wrapped in white cloth. She was accompanied by the burly-looking Rash and the delicate appearing Timid, as well as several other villagers Ben did not immediately recognize."Eh? What's this all about?" Ben asked. Several of the bar patrons he had been drinking with watched with muted amusement and knowing glances."In order to show our appreciation for helping our village in return for so little, we wish to offer you this gift of gratitude," Clarity explained, moving to remove the cloth.Sleek iron glistened with a mirror-polished shine. It was a long-sword, its edge worn sharp and its hilt wrapped in freshly cured leather. Although it was undecorated, it was designed with a skillfully pragmatic eye."I..." Ben began, before reaching to touch the sword's hilt with a finger. "I, uh... Thank you. I'm not sure what to say." He found himself actually having to fight off a blush for the first time in years."We, ah, don't know if you, ah, have a blade of your own," Timid began, "But if you'd do, and, ah, you'd rather use that, then, ah, that would be-""I'd be honored to use your sword in combat," Ben quickly cut Timid off, reaching to grasp the weapon tightly by the haft. Although Ben was not highly trained in the art of swordsmanship, he had picked up a few things over the years. He carefully looped the blade through his belt-buckle, nestling the hilt against his waist.Clarity blushed. "Thank you, Lord Rin. You honor us with...""Listen," Ben interjected, suddenly finding the dishonesty of his current situation aggravating. "I wanted to talk to you about something, Clarity.""Mr. Rin!" The cry of one of the children interrupted Ben, all of the bar's eyes centering on Rumour. The boy's face-paint was streaked across his face in a fashion that was supposed to make him menacing. "The play's starting in just a half-hour!""Oh, yeah, I know," Ben said distractedly, trying to turn back to Clarity. "I'll make it down in time, I-""But it's Mr. Jerald! We can't find him!" Rumour insisted."What?" Ben twisted about, staring at Rumour. "Did you check the camp?""Yes, Mr. Rin! But he's gone!"It was then that the doors behind Rumour burst open, revealing a red-faced villager who's panic-stricken look far eclipsed that of the young boy's."What now?" Ben asked, beginning to feel increasingly irritable."One of the villagers scouting for more firewood caught sight of men approaching the town," The villager panted, his chest heaving."What?!" Ben took a step forward. The tavern erupted in sudden pandemonium. "But we've still got three days before-""They're here!" The villager yelled, his voice filled with hysteria. "Boric's going to be here in less than an hour!"-------------It is surprising how much you can get done in an hour when you are truly motivated.Boric walked upon the very same dust-laced field he had trekked across over two weeks ago. With his sword held slung over his shoulder, he was accompanied by the three members of his party - the axe-wielding Grumelda, the silver-tongued Selandria, and the menacingly dark Kizen.Between them and the village were five dozen villagers armed with shields and swords.Between them and the five dozen villagers stood one man.Here goes nothing, Ben thought. Stepping forward, he brandished his freshly polished blade and leveled the point towards the encroaching Paladin and his compatriots."My name is Rin. You are not welcome here. Leave at once."-------------"Jerum. Please, slow down.""He's here, Jaer," Jerum growled, throwing knick-nacks around the camp left and right. "He's finally here. Where the hell is my sword?!"Jaer sighed. "Jerum, listen. I've been thinking...""We're finally going to get that bastard for what he did. We're finally going to kill that son of a *****." Jerum found what he was searching for, drawing the blade from its scabbard with a triumphant snarl. "After three hard long years, we're finally going to make that bastard pay.""Jerum. We don't have to do this.""You don't know what you're talking about," Jerum snapped, leaping to his feet. He was all ready moving - all ready running - towards the edge of town. "You have no clue what you're rattling your bone-box about. He's going to pay!"Sighing, Jaer drew her bow and makeshift quiver, charging after Jerum in hot pursuit.-------------Rumour had just one job, and it was one he took very seriously.His job was to get the Aasimar and tell him what was happening. Then, hopefully, the old Aasimar would know what to do next. The Aasimar always seemed to know what to do, Rumour thought to himself.But a question nagged in the back of Rumour's mind as he arrived at the old Aasimar's house. What was Jerald doing outside the front door?He could tell it was Jerald because he was in the same shape he had been during the acting class yesterday - that of a young aristocrat in long funny-looking robes. But instead of helping Rin against Boric, Jerald was here. Had he come to tell the old man what was happening?But then why was Jerald wiping blood from his hands?Rumour was about to ask him these questions, but then Jerald saw him, and suddenly Rumour felt his heart leap up in his chest. It suddenly occurred to him that maybe Jerald wasn't exactly as nice as everyone had thought he was. And suddenly Jerald was right in front of him - how did he move so fast? - and his hand was reaching out for him.The last thing Rumour heard before darkness swallowed him was Jerald's low, sad voice."Quite sorry, my dear. But a deal's a deal."-------------"They're armed," Grumelda grunted, squinting her eyes. "And they seem t'have a general or something.""How remarkably strange," Selandria commented. "They seem to have swords, Sir Boric."Boric sighed. "Is there any way we can get around them without hurting any of them?"Selandria shrugged. "Not that I know of.""Maybe we ought t'sit down and talk with 'em," Grumelda grunted, though she sounded as if the very idea of sitting down and discussing issues politely was giving her heart-burn.Kizen was suspiciously silent. Boric turned to him, readying a question, when suddenly Grumelda squinted and leaned forward. "Hey, Boric," She muttered. "That guy who's running towards us... He looks familiar.""Huh?" Boric turned, searching the stretch of dirt that separated them and Rin's men. Shoving his way rudely through the line of villagers, a boy with a crop of dark coppery-red hair and a long blue-steel blade was charging towards Boric and his party. Rin seemed genuinely surprised by this, watching mutely as the boy darted past him. "Hey, you're right. I think I have seen him before...""Boric!" Jerum bellowed, racing forward. "I've finally got you, you son of a *****!""That's..." Boric's eyes widened in surprise, and then horror. "Oh Gods, that's one of...""Oh Hell's Bells," Grumelda sighed grumpily. "This isn't going to be pretty."-------------In essence, actors are liars.They are liars who are so good at lying that even though you know fully well that they are lying they manage to convince you that they aren't for a good hour or so.The problem is that some actors are especially good at lying and some people are especially vulnerable to being lied to. This sort of situation is especially prevalent in places that favor law over chaos, a fact which the Sigilan Acting Troupe became privy to during their Mount Celestia production of 'Blood War: The Musical!'.There were reported to only be two survivors. One was a female tiefling who managed to tumble off stage at an oppurtune moment, and the other was a red-headed boy who survived his grievious injuries and gained a particular distaste for Paladins. Specifically, this distaste was aimed towards a Paladin by the name of Boric.-------------Boric's blade met Jerum's. There was a flash, the sound of clashing metal, and the vibrating jerk of steel meeting steel. For a moment, the actor's eyes met with the ex-Paladin's."I've been waiting a year for this moment," Jerum hissed. "You killed my friends."Boric could respond to him with nothing but guilt and sorrow. "I'm... I'm sorry. I-""You're sorry? You're bleedin' sorry?!" Jerum howled. His sword became a whirling dervish of hungry steel, lashing out with stroke after skilled, practice stroke, forcing Boric further back. "Oh, everything's honkey-dorey because the god-damn Paladin's sorry!" His voice raised to an incredulously shrill tone.Unable to find words, Boric found himself incapable of doing anything more than mutely defending himself. His blade raised again and again to ward off the sudden onslaught of blows, each stroke sending a harsh vibration up his arms. "I... I lost my Paladin-hood," Boric tried to explain in a poor attempt to placate the boy."I've been training," Jerum growled as he continued the attack. Boric was now being forced back between his puzzled comrades, all of them still too shocked to move to his aid. "Training for a damn year for this moment. Preparing. Learning. Gaining experience. All so I could kick your ass...""Jerum!" Ben bellowed somewhere in the distance, running towards the battle. "What the hell do you think you're doing?! Jerum, back the hell off before someone gets-"Three dozen villagers watched silently as one of Rin's comrades charged forward and entered the frey. Three dozen villagers watched silently as Rin himself began to run towards the battle, sword drawn, yelling out what sounded like a cry-to-arms.Three dozen villagers - buoyed by a sudden surge of courage - unleashed a war-cry of their own, then charged forward.-------------Kizen watched calmly as chaos reigned supreme. He watched and he waited.When the villagers sallied forth with their blades held high, he knew his moment had come. Without so much as a moment of hesitation, he stepped forward to meet them, daggers bared menacingly while wearing his dazzling white smile.It wasn't long until the first one reached him and swung their sword down in a clumsy vertical chop."Finally," He hissed, and allowed the farmer's blade to strike.-------------Startled from her reverie, Marien jerked up to attention. Several of the children around her were so surprised by the seemingly-inert githzerai's sudden motion that they squealed and leapt to their feet, stumbling to get away.The old barn's basement served as a storage place for food and supplies, but on this day it was the safe-house for the children, girls, and women of the village. Although Marien had been put in charge of making sure they were kept safe and none of them left, she had left the bulk of her duties to Fact and instead focused on attaining the clarity-of-mind necessary for another Vision.She had not seen how this would all end, but she knew one thing for certain: Things weren't looking good."The Bargain is broken," She sighed mutely. "Well, I suppose that means it's up to us, now," She glumly mumbled, glancing towards Fact.-------------Everything was going horribly, terribly wrong.At first, Ben had thought that this would be easy. He could see by the looks in the approaching party's eyes that they weren't looking for a fight, and that they could even manage to civilly discuss the matter.Then, seemingly out of no where, Jerum had leapt to the front of the line screaming something about Paladins and attacked the person who Ben assumed was Boric.Everything had just gotten steadily worse after that. Ben had rushed forward to stop Jerum, and apparently the villagers assumed that was some sort of battle-cry because they promptly rushed after him. And then one of the villagers had taken a swing at that creepy-looking thief in the hood-and-cloak.That's about the time when Ben's whole world exploded.A swirling, rushing flame consumed everything in Ben's vision, swallowing up the battlefield in an all-embracing fire. The sheer concussive force of its presence was enough to fling the actor to the ground, nursing a scorched tunic and a severely burned arm.The fire swept the battlefield clean. The villagers were either forced back or consumed by the growing sea of heat, while the entirety of Boric's party just disappeared in a bright flash of orange. Once the smoke had started to clear, Ben could make out the dim shapes of figures.The dwarf was cursing and crouching, suffering what looked like terrible burns all over her arms and chest. Boric was on the ground besides Jerum, both of them smoldering. The elven girl had been thrown back and wasn't moving. Several villagers were in similar states, with the bulk of the three dozen men untouched but extremely dazed.In the middle of it all, the hooded man was standing, baring a disturbingly serene smile on his face. His next words were spoken in a voice that rumbled with a depth that defied his small frame."The Bargain is broken, the Deal undone. Make peace with your Gods, for you will soon be meeting them."