Metamor Keep -- First and Last
By Christian O'kane & Wolf

Part 4

The scene that greeted the raccoon when he reached the square in front of the lower gatehouse was pure chaos. People of all shapes and sizes were rushing to and fro. Many were helping the wounded who lay sprawled on the pavement. Rickkter counted no less than one hundred soldiers fully armed and armored standing guard by the ruined gates. In the center of this tumult stood Lord Thomas bellowing orders, an island of calm in a sea of chaos.

At the corner of the square stood Matthias who seemed to be calmly viewing the proceedings. As Rickkter watched, a small girl came up behind Matthias, tapped him on the shoulder, and whispered something into the rat's ear. The raccoon recognized the girl as Lisa, one of Misha's Long Scouts. Matthias nodded and said something in reply.

As Rickkter watched Matthias quietly backed away from the confusion and slowly walked away into the night with the girl. Curious, the raccoon followed.

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Misha, Matthias and Craig were alone in the armory. The empty room made a secure, and private meeting place. Misha fidgeted as the prairie dog cleaned his wounded arm. "It's only a small wound Craig, I'll be fine." He turned to Matthias. "Exactly how much damage did he cause during his escape Matt?"

"There are twenty wounded, three seriously. No one was killed, but I think that was just luck and had nothing to do with Holivar holding back," Matthias explained. "Also both the inner and outer gates in the town gatehouse have been destroyed."

"That's a lot damage for one person to do," Craig commented.

"He was a lot more powerful than I expected," Misha added.

"Exactly what did he look like?" the rat morph asked.

Misha pondered for a moment before answering. "He was dressed in a red robe that covered him completely from head to toe. He was even wearing a scarf to cover his face, and gloves to conceal his hands. I remember the robe had gold and silver symbols sewn and painted on it. He looked and acted like a southern mage."

"What did the symbols look like? Draw them for me," Matthias ordered.

Leaning on the counter Misha drew something on a piece of parchment with a pen.

"How do you know what a southern mage looks and acts like?" Matthias asked.

"Well, I've never actually seen one, but I have heard stories." The fox finished drawing something on the paper and handed it to Matthias. "Do you recognize any of them?" Misha asked, changing the subject. "Maybe you'd like to come in an look at them too Rickkter, instead of listening at the door."

The door opened and the raccoon came in, dressed in simple baggy pants and a short sleeved vest. He shook his head and laughed. "You're good. May I see the paper," he asked calmly.

The rat just stared at Rickkter for several moments without moving or speaking. "Do you always eavesdrop on other peoples conversations?" he asked in a cold, angry voice.

"Of course he does," Misha replied in an almost casual tone of voice. "Don't you know raccoons are naturally curious creatures?"

"Only when such activities suit my purposes," the raccoon countered.

Matthias started to say something but Misha cut him off with a wave of the hand. "We don't have time for your petty feuding. I need to know exactly what we're up against."

Slowly the rat morph handed the paper to his enemy, glowering coldly. "I don't recognize any of the symbols, lets see if you have better luck."

The raccoon scanned the document and shook his head. "These are meaningless. They aren't of any southern faction that I know of. You said he was dressed in red?" Rickkter said.

"Yes. Completely covered," was the fox's reply.

Rickkter shook his head. "No, that's impossible. He couldn't have been a red mage. That much destruction would take a black level mage at least, and reds are two levels below that."

The rat nodded in agreement.

"When he arrived Holivar was dressed in black plate mail armor," Misha commented.

"Armor?" Matthias said incredulous. "No mage I've ever heard of would wear plate armor."

"A very strange person this Lord Holivar," Rickkter said. "If that's his real name."

"There is a Lord Holivar," The fox said. "My sister was able to confirm that much. But she couldn't find any solid information on him. The guild has him marked as an exiled, southern mage, running from some faction war."

"What faction?" the raccoon asked.

Misha shrugged. "No idea. The guild has no luck following the various factional wars."

"What if he's not a southern mage?" Craig suggested. "What if he's just pretending to be one?"

"That makes a lot of sense. And it would explain why neither of you recognize those symbols. He just made them up." Misha agreed.

"So the question isn't why did he imitate a southern mage?" Rickkter asked. "but what does he have to hide?"

"We can answer that question when we catch up to him," the fox replied.

"You know where he went?" the raccoon asked.

"Yes. Caroline's following him right now."

"Good," Rickkter stated. "We will have an easier time catching him."

"We?" Matthias said coldly.

Rickkter turned to the rat. "Yes. You're going to need my magic and combat skills to defeat this mage," Rickkter argued.

Misha just stared at the mage for several moments before speaking. "You refuse to join the Long Scouts but you keep butting into our business."

The raccoon hooked his thumb in the direction of the courtyard. "After what happened out there, it looks like you're going to need all the help you can get. Besides, I'm doing my job."

"So we're getting your help whether we want it or not?" Misha commented.

"We don't have time to argue this," Craig said. "Holivar is getting away."

The fox shot the prairie dog morph a cold glance and sighed loudly. "We're leaving in ten minutes with or without you Rickkter."

"One question, Misha," Rickkter asked. "This mage was obviously after something, and having obtained it, he left. Do you know what was taken?"

"Yes," the fox replied. "He left with Madog."

"How did he do that?"

"He gained control of Madog," Misha explained.

"Damn! How?" Rickkter asked.

"Lord Holivar knew the proper command words, Madog had no choice but to obey," was the sad reply.

"So now we have to fight both Madog and Holivar," the raccoon commented.

"If you want to stay behind, you can," Matthias countered coldly.

"Why? This is just getting interesting," Rickkter answered.

"Any idea how he knew those command words?" Craig asked.

Misha shook his head. "I don't know, but I have my suspicions. Enough chatter. You have nine minutes Rickkter."

The raccoon was ready in eight minutes flat. Dressed in chain mail armor, katana, throwing knives and a large bow was strapped to his back. He looked ready for anything. Misha gave him a short inspection.

What interested Misha most was his bow. It was five and a half feet long, and made of some dark wood he couldn't identify.

"Can I see your bow?" he asked Rickkter. The raccoon handed the weapon over to him without a sound.

It was a very odd bow, of a construction Misha had never seen before. The top had a pulley mechanism, extending the string several inches from the main shaft. He gave it a tug to test it's strength, noting how smoothly it drew.

"The pull on this is about a hundred pounds," the Long scout commented.

"Yes," Rickkter replied. "It's name is Windsword. It's a runic weapon, very powerful. Something I haven't had an opportunity to use much."

Misha noticed the odd arrows sitting in Rick's quiver. "What are those?"

Rickkter drew one out, handing the feathered end to his friend. "These are something I had made in the event I had to face Madog again."

The Long Scout saw that the tip was needle sharp, and a good seven inches of the shaft was made entirely of aluminal, the same metal as Madog's skin. The entire metal length of the shaft was covered in barbs as sharp as the tip. The rest looked to be of ash. In all his life, Misha had never seen anything like it.

"If you're going to try it out," said the mage, almost reading Misha's mind, "do use your own arrows. Those were costly to make, and I can't afford to have any ruined. And I would suggest using the worst ones you have."

Misha frowned. "Why?"

"Just trust me."

Misha shrugged and handed back the arrow. Drawing one from his own quiver, he selected a spot about fifty yards away on the outer wall. He raised the weapon and drew back the string.

It was a very odd sensation. As he drew back the arrow, it seemed as though the world was shut out, and it was just him and the spot on the wall that he was aiming for. Slowly exhaling, he released his grip and let the arrow fly.

The world came back with a rush, and he almost missed the loud crack of the arrow hitting. Almost.

The other members of the small party, all save for Rick, were staring in awe at where the arrow protruded from the wall. Misha had actually embedded it IN the stone!

Rick walked up to where the arrow was lodged. "Now you can see why I brought that. The force with which it releases the arrow is about five times greater then the force it takes to draw it." He reached out and broke off the protruding few inches of shaft. "With that much power behind them, those arrows should penetrate even the skin of Madog. The barbs will make them near impossible to remove, and their aluminal construction will ensure that they strip, warp, and generally break any gearing they become lodged in." He came back to the group. "I once used that bow to put an arrow through a four inch thick oak door, and into the back of the fleeing noble two feet beyond that. I think it'll work on Madog."

The fox morph looked appreciatively at the weapon in his hands before handing back the bow and arrow to their owner. He turned to Craig. "Alright I want you and the rest of the Longs to follow as soon as possible. Talk to Wessex see if he can't come along as well. His magic will come in handy."

The rodent nodded. "Yes boss. What about Andre? He sending out a war party?"

"Undoubtedly. Hook up with them if you can. You shouldn't have any trouble following our trail." He looked at Matthias and Rickkter one last time. "Let's get moving, we have a long way to go."

Forward to Part 5
Back to Part 3

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